Sweetie's Kitchen Adventures

I have a confession... I have never eaten Cannoli!! I've seen it on the menu, but never ordered it... in fact, I've never ordered any Italian desert, other that Tiramisu... I LOVE TIRAMISU!!! There are no words to describe the ulitmate pleasure you get when eating Tiramisu. I mean seriously people, rum saturated lady fingers, covered with creamy marscapone cheese, topped with decedant cocoa... is there anything better??? Whew, I feel better now. Ok, back to the subject... so, when I read my first Daring Bakers Challenge, I was rather intrigued. The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives . She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes,...

Weekend mornings are my chance to have me time; to sit with a cup of coffee and enjoy the silence; to think of things to make for my sweeties. This morning I decided to wake them up with a scrumptiously decadent cup of Minty hot chocolate. Ahhh, the weekend. My sweeties are asleep and I've got a little time to spare. (ok, not sure what's going on here... I've already picked him up off the floor once) Minty Rich Cocoa 1 1/2 cups powdered nondairy creamer 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup milk chocolate chips peppermint sticks divided (crushed for mix and whole for stiring) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. (this makes a lot so have a container handy to store the rest) Place 1/4 cup cocoa mix into a cup and add 3/4 cup boiling water... stir and enjoy! Now go wake those kids up.

Side Dish Superstar!! What a busy day! I have so many things to be thankful for, but most of all I am thankful for my wonderful family. I chose Nigella's Garlic Roast Potatoes as my Side Dish Superstar. They were absolutely delicious... I just wish I would have gotten a better picture before they disapeared. Garlic Roast Potatoes Ingredients 3 pounds maincrop potatoes (I used red potatoes) 1/3 cup regular olive oil 1 head garlic Kosher salt   Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Wash and dry the potatoes, and cut them into about 3/4-inch dice. Toss in a large oven tray and pour over the oil, smulching around with your hands to mix well. Separate the head of garlic into cloves adding them to the tray, and roast for about 1 hour, turning once or twice during that time, until crispy and golden but still soft on the inside. When they're done, remove to a large plate and sprinkle with salt.

My first adventure... a challenge! I came across a recipe for Broccoli and Cheese soup in a bread bowl. The soup itself would be no problem but the bread bowl, on the other hand, is terrifying. I don't quite know what the problem is with me and yeast but I just cant seem to get it right very often. Here are the results... a few of them were usable. My darling husband suggesting using the rest of them for skeet but I had another idea. Even though this is not a sourdough, the texture of this bread reminded me of a Schlotzsky's sandwich and so I went with it. They were absolutely delicious!!