Homemade Original Krispy Kreme Donuts: Warm and Wonderful

My love of Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts is unconditional, unwavering, and absolute. They are warm, and soft, and they can pick me up when I'm feeling down. They never disappoint me. They never annoy me. And they never, ever tell me that the dishes need to be done or that I need to pick my clothes up off the bathroom floor (I may or may not have  a problem there...). And I will love them until the day I die. You might think I'm joking, that I'm being dramatic. So let's see how you You Know what else I love? Freshly baked Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chips Cookies. *Swoon* Anyway. Back to these doughnuts. The key to getting them just right is in two very important steps: The Rising. You must let the dough rise twice. Once in the bowl, and once after you've cut the doughnuts. Which leads me to... The thickness of the doughnuts you cut. I had the best results with rolling the dough out pretty thin before cutting, down to about 1/4 inch. Think roll-out sugar cookie dough thick, and that's about where you want these. Be sure to follow those two simple rules, and you'll have perfectly fluffy Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnuts made in your very own kitchen. Krispy Kreme Glazed Donut Recipe Print This Recipe Ingredients 1 1/4 cups water, warm 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/4 cup honey 3 cups flour 1 1/2 tablespoons non fat dry milk 1/2 tablespoon salt 4 sifted cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup milk 4 cups vegetable oil Directions Pour the warm water into the bowl of your stand mixer (I like to make the water a little bit warmer than bath water, so that when the bowl cools it slightly, it will still be warm enough to activate the yeast). Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the water. Drizzle the honey over the yeast. Let rest for 5-10 minutes until yeast is very foamy. Add the flour, dry milk, and salt to the bowl. Knead with the dough hook on a low speed. Once the dough starts to form, allow the hook to continue to knead for another 5-6 minutes until the dough is elastic and no longer sticky. Cover the bowl and let dough rise until doubled in size. Punch down the dough and move it to a floured workspace like the kitchen table. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the doughnuts, and be sure to cut a small hole in the middle (this prevents the center of the doughnut from being undercooked, so don't skip it!). Cover and let the dough rise once more for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the oil. You need about 2 inches of oil in a pot. I just used a small 2 quart saucepan, and I was able to fry 2 doughnuts at a time. If you want to fry more doughnuts at a time, simply use a bigger pot with more oil. 4 cups of oil worked perfectly for me. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. It's ready when water droplets make it slightly sizzle. Gently place each doughnut in the oil. Once you see brown begin to creep up the side of the doughnuts, flip them (this should happen pretty quickly, it won't take more than a minute, especially as the oil continues to get hotter). Remove the doughnuts to a wire rack over paper towels to let dry and cool slightly. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Add 1-2 tablespoons of additional milk if the glaze is too thick for dipping. Thoroughly dip each doughnut in the glaze, top and bottom. Place back on the wire rack to allow excess glaze to drip off. Notes My instructions are for use with a stand mixer. If you do not own a stand mixer, you can still mix and knead the dough by hand without a problem. via Food Fanatic http://www.foodfanatic.com/2013/05/homemade-original-krispy-kreme-donuts-warm-and-wonderful/

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Chopped Review: Cook Your Butt Off!

This week, four chefs who lost significant amounts of weight through healthy eating and cooking took over the Chopped kitchen, attempting to prove that healthy recipes do not have to be bland or uncreative. The Contestants Chris – Food service director who lost 140 pounds Elizabeth – Founder of Winning Diabetes who lost 100 pounds Phillip – Private chef who lost 92 pounds Joel – Corporate executive chef who lost 105 pounds The Judges: Alex Guarneschelli, Scott Conant, and Marcus Samuelson The Appetizer Round: The chefs had 20 minutes to create an appetizer using dried goji berries, bitter melon, duck breast, and kumquats. There were a lot of very strong flavors in this basket, which really served to separate out the chefs who knew how to combine and nuance flavors from those who did not. In spite of his slightly undercooked duck, Phillip had perhaps the best balance of flavors in his Southwestern Seared Duck Breast with Warm Salsa. Chris succeeded in achieving a perfectly crispy skin on his Seared Duck Breast with Sweet Potato and Onion Hash, though the judges found his pickled bitter melon to be too acidic. The judges felt that Joel's Pan Seared Duck Breast with Noodle Salad was creative in spite of its sloppy appearance. It was Elizabeth's use of raw bitter melon with her Softly Spiced Seared Duck Breast, however, that sent her to the chopping block. The Dinner Round: The contestants had 30 minutes to create an entrée containing coconut oil, black cod, dinosaur kale, and pork rinds. While the chefs should have had an easy time with at least three of the four ingredients, none of them really succeeded in this round. Phillip's Black Cod Crusted with Pork Rinds and Sesame Seeds was well cooked with a good crust, but desperately needed an acidic element to brighten it up. Joel achieved a good sear on his Black Cod Filet with Cabbage and Kale Ragout, but the judges felt that there was nothing unifying about the dish. Chris made the twin mistakes overcooking his Seared Cod Filet with Broth and adding too much orange zest to the dish, ultimately sending him home. The Dessert Round: The two remaining contestants had 30 minutes to create a dessert recipe using clotted cream, passion fruit puree, spirulina, and angel food cake. While the judges appreciated the creativity and ambition behind Joel's Spirulina and Clotted Cream Pudding, it was Phillip's overall meal – if not so much his Fruit Salad with Angel Food Croutons - that just barely won them over and won him the $10,000.  If this episode serves to demonstrate anything, it is that beautiful, creative, delicious food does not have to be unhealthy. All four of these hard-working and inspirational chefs were proof of that, whether they went home with the $10,000 or not. NOTE: Remember to bookmark our section of Food Network recipes for more! via Food Fanatic http://www.foodfanatic.com/2013/05/chopped-review-cook-your-butt-off/

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Peanut Butter–Honey Banana Bread

Saved 1 Save to profile 1 Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins, plus at least 10 mins cooling time | Makes: 1 (9-inch) loaf Stirring chunky peanut butter into the batter for this banana bread is a great way to add nuts without having to mess around chopping them; honey and brown sugar add a caramelly sweetness to the ripe banana flavor. For an extra punch of honey, slather on some of our compound Honey Butter. 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for coating the pan 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 cup mashed very ripe banana (from about 3 medium bananas) 2/3 cup unsalted chunky natural peanut butter (no sugar added) 1/3 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature Honey Butter, for serving (optional) Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-by-5-inch metal loaf pan with butter; set aside. Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside. Place the measured butter and both sugars in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, banana, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add half of the reserved flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Add half of the milk and stir until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake until the bread begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 to 75 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan and turn the bread out onto the rack to finish cooling. (Or serve it warm, with honey butter if desired.) Once completely cooled, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. via Latest Recipes from CHOW.com http://chow.feedsportal.com/c/34948/f/645490/s/2ca19e72/l/0L0Schow0N0Crecipes0C30A7380Epeanut0Ebutterhoney0Ebanana0Ebread/story01.htm

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Chicken and Mushroom Pasta: A Bucket Full of Yum

Dinner is one of those things I'm always thinking about, yet when it comes to be that time of day, I never know what to actually make. If I ask the husband what he feels like, his standard answer is "a bucket full of yum." I've gotten better at figuring out what exactly that means, and truthfully I tend to go to this Chicken and Mushroom Pasta recipe when he says that. There are so many reasons I love this recipe' for starters, rotisserie chickens are the best added value item ever. In our area of the country, our grocery store is Wegman's, where you can get one for $4.99, hot and ready, any time of the day. Plus, I have a confession to make" Whole raw chickens scare the @#! out of me. They are gross, and slimy, and teaming with bacteria… and they come with organs stuffed into them!? What kind of sick joke is that?? No, thank you. But give me a fully cooked juicy rotisserie chicken and I am all in, sister. Seriously, a whole chicken, cooked and hot and ready to go? Perfection. Some may call them boring, but that's where this recipe steps in. Taking your boring chicken and making it into a fancy-shmancy delicious family friendly meal, and healthy to boot. Even better is it comes together in 30 minutes or less depending on how fast you are at getting chicken off the bone. (See, even that gives me the chills.) For other chicken options, consider this Lemon Rosemary Chicken Recipe. Chicken Mushroom Pasta Recipe Print This Recipe Ingredients 1/2 pound whole wheat pasta 1/2 cup water, reserved from cooked pasta 1/2 rotisserie chicken, shredded 6 ounces mushrooms, sliced 2 cups pasta sauce 2 cloves garlic, diced 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon olive oil 4 handfuls fresh greens 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, for garnish Directions Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside. Reserve ½ cup of the water to use later. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced mushroom and let cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir, add garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add pasta sauce, water, and vinegar. Turn heat down and let simmer until warmed through, stirring on occasion. Add greens and stir until they are wilted. Finally, toss in shredded rotisserie chicken, if the chicken is cold keep on stove until warmed through, if it's still warm turn off the heat and stir in the pasta. Serve with a sprinkle of mozzarella on top. Notes Cut your time down even more by buying pre-sliced mushrooms. When choosing your pasta sauce, look at the label, don't go for a variety that has added sugar, and don't buy kinds with 50 unpronounceable ingredients. We buy Wegman's Diavola sauce and here's the ingredient list: Tomatoes (Crushed Tomatoes, Diced Tomatoes, Citric Acid), Water, Onion Puree, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Roasted Garlic (Garlic, Soybean Oil), Crushed Red Pepper, Basil. Yup that's it, sounds like something you'd make at home right? But without the hassle. Fresh greens can mean anything, from spinach to arugula to field greens. via Food Fanatic http://www.foodfanatic.com/2013/05/chicken-and-mushroom-pasta-a-bucket-full-of-yum/

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American Baking Competition Review: Series Premiere

It must be summer because the new crop of reality shows are here! One of CBS's offerings is its jump into the food competition genre: The American Baking Competition is meant to be a take on an apparently popular show in Britain. Now, I've never seen the British version and I'm guessing most of you haven't either, so I don't know why CBS decided to make this show scream "America!" From the title,...to Jeff Foxworthy as host (such a foodie, y'all)... to the oddly draped American flag bunting, this show does NOT want you to forget where you are. And, of course, the first challenge is pie. As always in a first episode, we get to know the contestants but none of them seem to be stand-outs. Everyone has a quirk, from a guy "loving to clean" to a grandma with a sweet classic car. I'm hoping we'll get to dive a little deeper into their personalities so I can avoid calling them things like Bearded Guy and Southern Blonde 1. Most of them make classic pies like peach or lemon meringue, but Francine decides to add bacon to her chocolate peanut butter pie, earning a scrunchy face from judge Paul Hollywood when the judges make the pre-bake rounds. Clearly bacon has not hit its peak in Britain, but I'm not surprised when he deems it a great pie in the end. The second part of the pie challenge has them making a savory pie from Paul's personal recipe collection. It sounds like the instructions are purposefully lacking – tricky, tricky Paul! Considering hot water crust is not a common way of making pies here, it's definitely a test of their skills. Their pies all look pretty good at first glance, but Paul's a stickler against soggy bottoms, and even though they have the same recipes the filling flavors are different. Brian's in the top group and he's pretty cocky about it. A little early, dude! Finally, they need to make 3 dozen tartlets in 3 hours. Jeremy messes up his custard but instead of pressing it through a sieve to save it, it tosses it and starts again, essentially ruining his chances. He knows it and pretty much cries. Trying to show the softer side of firefighters? It seems early in the show for tears, but hey, there are only 10 contestants. Predictably, Francine is the star baker of the week – they love her Southern gal personality and how it comes through in the pies. I'm betting she'll be a fan favorite as well, although her sugary sweetness might backfire in the end. I feel bad for Whitney, being the youngest contestant automatically puts her at a disadvantage in both experience and expectation. Luckily, she squeaks by, as does weepy Jeremy, whose issues were blamed on time management. Carlo ends up being the one sent home, partially because his Italian dessert recipes didn't win in flavor, and partly because his savory pie was almost a hockey puck of crust. Sorry we didn't get to learn more about your Italian influences, Carlo! Overall, I hope the excitement is amped up on this show. Although the contestants are all "home bakers," there is $250,000 on the line – perhaps even more of a prize for amateurs. We've already had two guys tearing up but the stress levels aren't coming through. With only a few weeks in the entire show, I'm not sure they'll have enough opportunity to make this a show people will want to see again next summer. via Food Fanatic http://www.foodfanatic.com/2013/05/american-baking-competition-review-series-premiere/

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New Orleans Trip 2013

I really have to share.  I'm still digging New Orleans, you guys!  Obviously, I have to blog about it.  I took a ton of pictures and figured I should share some here.  Let's just say that I went to all the most-talked-about-and-important places.  Naturally, a lot of them are food-related, because heck, a girl's gotta eat sometime.  So let's get this party rolling. Warning: This is a pic-heavy post.  It's mostly my fault because I should just make collages to make the photos more compact, but it's a long story and I can't do anything about that now.  Just so ya know... Before I get started, I just want to mention that I'm a planner.  I spent a ton of time perusing TripAdvisor to find out the best places to go and things to do.  I also relied upon recommendations from friends and the hotel concierge. OK, now let's do it. I rolled into the Big Easy early last Wednesday and promptly checked into the J.W. Marriott on the edge of the Central Business District.  The Marriott was literally across the street from the edge of the French Quarter, so I decided to begin to get a lay of the land.  I was also starving and needed to fuel up before a 2.5 hour French Quarter walking cocktail tour.  Yeah, you heard that right.  Food was a necessity, not an option. It was a slightly rainy afternoon but I got a few pics of the architecture in the French Quarter.  This pic was my favorite since it was the first time I saw the famed New Orleans balconies in person.  There are lots more of these types of photos, but I'll spare you the rest of those. I stopped by Pierre Maspero's and ordered the grillades & grits with a side of jambalaya.  Oh my.  I housed the entire plate of food below.  The jambalaya was alright, but this was really the star.  Grillades is a traditional New Orleans favorite.  It involves the slow cooking of meat (in this case, beef) with wine and vegetables.  The meat is served over grits and it was tied as one of the best dishes I ate while I was there.  Talk about striking gold immediately.  Of course this was paired with an Abita Amber, one of the city's most popular brews. Let's take another look at that, shall we? After lunch, I definitely needed a stroll.  I walked through historic Jackson Square, which is a nearby park.  A lot of New Orleans really reminds me of being in Nassau.  The old world architecture and historic parks are really similar.  There is a lot of Caribbean influence in this area, so I guess it shouldn't be that surprising.  Also, humidity much?  Yes.  Especially post-rain. What is this I spy?  Cafe du Monde was on the other side of Jackson Square!  I was still full from lunch (which ended about 15 minutes prior to this discovery), but I made sure to pick up a cafe au lait to go. Around this time, I got a call that my walking tour had been cancelled for the day because I was the only person signed up for it.  Since the walking tour was my only activity planned for that evening, I figured I'd get the "shopping for gifts" portion of the trip out of the way.  Cafe du Monde is right next to the French Markets, which is an assortment of stores selling touristy items.  I picked up a shirt for my sister, a mask for my nephew and "pretty faces" (ceramic painted masks) for myself and my mom. I walked around a bit more, but by this time I was exhausted and returned to the hotel for a nap. Then I pretty much passed out for the rest of the night, with the exception of walking across the street to pick up dinner.  Traveling is tiring! Side note: I was able to see both the sunset AND sunrise from my room.  That was pretty cool. Sunset Sunrise over the Mississippi River! The next morning, I was up early to have breakfast at the Degas House.  Edgar Degas was a famous French impressionist painter whose mother and grandmother lived in New Orleans.  Tours are offered daily and last about 2.5 hours. Since this house is a bed and breakfast, there is also the option of showing up early for breakfast before taking the 10:30am tour.  Let me just say that you should definitely choose the French Toast breakfast option.  The french toast was covered with a bananas foster syrup and was served with a side of eggs, pork patties, and fruit.  Coffee, tea, toast, muffins and yogurt were also offered.  The setup was cute and reminded me of eating in my grandparents house in the Bahamas when I was younger.  I made friends with the two families who were staying in the rooms upstairs and we got to chatting before they joined me on the house tour.  Unfortunately, no one is allowed to take pictures of the inside of the house since they're trying to preserve it so I have no pics for you, but you can check out their website for professional pictures. A few fun facts: 1) Degas was the only known impressionist painter to have visited America and he stayed for some time in this house. 2) The houses above actually used to be one house when Degas stayed here.  Later on, they were separated to create two houses. 3)  Degas' great-grand-niece gave the tour! Once I was done with the excellent tour, I took a cab to Cafe du Monde because I was getting hungry and I needed those beignets! Cafe du Monde only sells beignets and beverages (cafe au lait and coffee drinks being the most popular).  If you want to do something well, you gotta focus I guess. The view from my table The beignets only come in orders of three.  I had to restrain myself from digging right in.  I also had to take pictures, of course.  These beignets came right out of the fryer because they were about 100 degrees F under all that powdered sugar.  But you can be certain that I didn't care and obviously ended up burning the roof of my mouth while eating these.  Not the smartest thing I've ever done but sometimes you do what you gotta do. After my snack/lunch, I walked around the quarter again and found my way over to Bourbon Street.  Oh Bourbon Street.  You were a little too intense for me even at 3 in the afternoon.  I couldn't imagine the hell being raised here during Mardi Gras! As I was walking around, I started hearing live music so I quickly found the source: The New Orleans Musical Legends Park. I kept trying to get a good pic of this place but this guy ended up in.every.shot... In the back, you can sort of see a roof and an archway for Cafe Beignet.  I ordered gumbo and a frozen boozy daiquiri there.  The daiquiri was way too sweet and not really boozy at all, but the gumbo was pretty good.  Steamboat Willie was playing and he and the band were pretty good.  It was a nice little stop on my adventure around town. Gumbo   Steamboat Willie Not gonna lie, after this I needed a nap.  Again!  I ventured back out later in the evening to catch a few dueling piano sets at Pat O'Brien's. Right next door to Pat O'Brien's is Preservation Hall.  This is a musical venue known for its authentic New Orleans jazz.  I heard the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in NYC back in February and they actually inspired my whole trip to New Orleans! I wish they had been playing Thursday night, but the Newbirth Brass Band was playing instead.  The 8pm set had a line of people waiting to get in by 7:30pm!  There are about 50 seats inside and then some standing room in the back.  I made it inside (sometimes they sell out) but they ran out of seats before I got a chance to get one. This actually worked out better for me since I got a position at the front of the standing section. The Newbirth Brass Band was amazing!  Each set is only about 45 minutes, and I wish I could have stayed for another set, but I was starving by this time!  Preservation Hall also doesn't have a bar or any bathrooms and I was sort of in need of both.  OK, I didn't really need a bar, but I did need the bathroom. I made my way back to the hotel, trying to figure out what I was going to have for dinner when I remembered a recommendation from the hotel concierge: Deanie's Seafood.  After avoiding the obviously drunk people on Bourbon Street (it was only 9pm!), I found Deanie's.  This place was more of a diner but it was packed so I assumed it would be good. Since they were closing pretty soon after I got there, I ordered a crawfish po' boy to go.  I was going to get it grilled but since I forgot, I ended up with a fried crawfish po' boy.  This was delicious and was devoured within 5 minutes of taking this picture. On Friday, I woke up early once again and took a tour of the historic Hermann-Grima house.  This tour offers the visitor a glimpse into the life of the Hermanns and Grimas in the 1800's.  The history of the house is explained in detail, as well as how the purpose of the house has been transformed throughout the years.  Once again, I couldn't take pictures inside the house, so here is the outside courtyard. After the tour, I popped over to Stanley for brunch.  I had gotten a recommendation from my friend Tuan and this place did NOT disappoint. Can we please take a pause for this Breaux Bridge Benedict?  This is comprised of (from the menu): housemade boudin, smoked ham, American cheese, poached eggs (I had mine scrambled because I don't like poached eggs) and creole hollandaise on toasted French bread.  Ridiculousness in every bite!  This dish tied with the grillades for the best meal of my entire trip.  There was a 20 minute wait just for seats at the bar, so clearly everyone else knew how awesome this place was as well! So obviously right afterward, I'm walking down the street with a beer and simultaneously texting Tuan about how good that brunch was.  His response was that I should make sure to have some pralines as well.  He recommended Southern Candymakers.  My reply was that I would probably eat all the pralines and subsequently bust a gut, so thanks for the recommendation but I would not be picking up any pralines this time around. Two blocks later, lookie what I stumbled upon... It was a sign.  Of course I stopped in and spent $20 on pralines (regular and rum-flavored!).  Side note/question: Why are pralines so expensive?  They're almost $3 a piece!  I'm definitely making these someday to save money.  Who wants to help me eat them? It was almost time to catch a shuttle back to the airport for my 6pm flight, so I whiled away the final hour hanging out with George at the hotel bar.  He was a really cool guy and introduced me to a new drink: a Pimm's cup.  I had heard of it before but for some reason thought it involved Campari.  My only experience with Campari was not a pleasant one and I never want to have it again.  Ever.  But George set me straight and explained that it's actually a gin-based drink.  Gin?  I like gin.  OK, I'm in! Pimm's cup - I loved it! Then it was straight to the airport for the trip back to New Jersey on Friday night. Whew!  Is anyone else tired?  Cause I just spent the last two hours writing this post (I was watching TV as well.  I cannot tell a lie.) and I'm tired. But listen, in a nutshell, all I'm really trying to tell you guys is that you should (need to!) visit New Orleans.  It has proven to be a fabulous city that's full of history, art, music, and adventure.  I'm already looking forward to my next trip there in 2014.  Time to break out the spreadsheets and start planning again! via The Bitchin' Kitchin' http://thebitchinkitchin.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-orleans-trip-2013.html

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