Monthly Archives: January 2011

by sugarbaker | January 27, 2011

Breakfast Pizza, great Weekender avocado, eggs and bacon

BEST Pizza breakfast made with eggs, bacon, fresh baby spinach and bacon on fresh easy to make pizza dough.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough
1 small package of active dry yeast
1 cup warm water at 105-110 F
2 1/4 to 3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
olive oil

Pizza toppings
Olive oil or truffle oil
2 cloves garlic finely diced
baby spinach
tomatoes thinly sliced
2 pan-fried cooked eggs (sunny side up)
cooked bacon
chili flakes
and sliced avocado
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Dissolve yeast in water.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 1/4 C flour and salt.

Add yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Let the dough rest 10 minutes.

Knead dough with floured hands until the dough becomes elastic and smooth, approximately 10 minutes.
If dough is too sticky to work, gradually work in flour until it is no longer tacky.

It will be softer than most pizza dough, so resist the urge to add too much flour.

Divide dough into 2 balls (each will make a 10 inch pizza).

Coat each ball with a bit of olive oil, place each into its own medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.

When dough is ready. Roll out the dough and make it as thin as you like.

Place on a pizza stone or pizza pan.

When pizza is done and placed on a pizza sheet or pizza stone, start adding the spinach drizzle olive oil and diced garlic. Bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes.

Add the bacon and eggs, chili flakes, sea salt and fresh ground pepper

(optional) tomatoes.

The pizza dough is enough to make individual pizzas for 6 persons. With the left over dough I made bread sticks.
I added chopped rosemary and sea salt. You can also add cheese. Be creative and always have fun!

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Filed under Bacon, Breakfast, Pizza

Tagged as Bacon and eggs pizza for breakfast recipe, Best breakfast pizza recipe, Breakfast pizza for brunch recipe, Breakfast pizza recipe, Eggs and bacon pizza for breakfast recipe, Love my breakfast pizza recipe, Pizza for breakfast recipe

by sugarbaker | January 27, 2011

Red Velvet whoopie pies

Ingredients
1 ounce mini semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 ounce mini milk chocolate
12 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry Jam

You can also use marshmallow fluff if you do not like cream cheese filling

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the semi-sweet chocolate and milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50% power until melted, about 2 minutes.

Whisk until smooth.

Mix melted butter, sour cream, eggs, vinegar, vanilla and food coloring in a bowl until combined.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add flour mixture to the butter mixture in a few equal batches, whisking each batch completely before adding the next.

Stir in melted chocolate.

Scoop a tablespoonful of mixture onto prepared baking sheets and smooth tops with a damp finger.

Bake until cookies spring back when lightly pressed about 7 to 9 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Do not over cook or top will start to crack and will not look smooth.

THE FILLING:

Mix cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth.

Beat in confectioners’ sugar ( powder sugar ) and vanilla.

Sandwich a heaping tablespoonful of filling and add strawberry jam on one side of a cookie and filling, press cookies 2 cookies. Will make about 12 large moon pies or 18 small.

You can also use “Nutella” chocolate spread on one side of the cookie.

Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Refrigerate 15-30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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Filed under Cookies, Holiday, Valentine's Day

Tagged as Best of the best red velvet whoopie recipe for Valentine's day, Red Velvet whoopie pies recipe, Valentine Day Red Velvet whoopie pie recipe, whoopie pies red velvet recipe

by sugarbaker | January 14, 2011

Lamb Soup made with leftover Leg of lamb

Lamb Soup with leftover leg of lamb

6 serving
2 cup cut up carrots,
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 leg of lamb bone with leftover meat
1 large diced onion
8 butter small potatoes cut up
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tomatoes chopped
2 cartons of beet stock (about 6 cups stock)
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1 dry bay leaf
2 stalks chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped cilantro and mint
Juice of 1 lemon to taste
sea salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper ro taste
chili flakes to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil on medium-high heat, add onion, garlic,

parsley, spices, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add beef broth, lamb bone, potatoes, carrots. ginger and the bay leaf. Bring to boil on high heat than reduce heat to medium or medium-low; simmer 35 minutes until carrots and potatoes are tender,. Add the chopped celery last so that there is a crunch.

Add salt, pepper and chile flakes to taste. Garnish with lemon juice cilantro and fresh mint.

This soup is rich in flavor, a delicious reason to save the bone of a leg of lamb,

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by sugarbaker | January 6, 2011

Quinoa side dish ~quinoa, the Andean "supergrain."

Quinoa’s rising popularity among First World foodies — the wholesale price has jumped sevenfold since 2000 as global demand climbed — has been a boon to the poor farmers here in the semiarid highlands where most of it grows.

“This food is about as perfect as you can find for human diets,” said Duane Johnson, a 61-year-old former Colorado State agronomist who helped introduce it to the United States three decades ago.

Quinoa isn’t a cereal. It’s a seed that is eaten like a grain, but is gluten-free and more easily digestible than corn, wheat, rye, millet and sorghum. And it can be substituted for rice in just about anything — from soup to salad to pudding to bread. A nice nutty taste, Peru and Bolivia account for as much as 97 percent of global production. All ingredients can be found at Trader Joe’s markets.

And demand is booming.

Ingredients
1 cup organic Quinoa(Trader Joe’s Quinoa are excellent)
2 cup vegetable broth(Trader Joe’s Organic low sodium chicken broth)
1/2 diced onion
2 cloves diced garlic
10 leaves sweet basil
1 diced celery stalk
20 leaves cilantro
1 diced jalapeno
4 Tablespoon olive oil
sea salt & ground pepper
dash of fresh lemon
handful of roasted pine nuts(Trader Joe’s pine nuts)

Directions

In a sauce pan add 2 cups of broth (Trader Joe’s low sodium chicken broth) . Bring to a boil than reduce heat, add 1 cup of Quinoa with the diced onion and garlic.

Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Cool quinoa unless you want to eat it hot or serve it cold as a salad.

add extra virgin olive oil, basil, cilantro, jalapeno, celery, pine nuts, sea salt & pepper, toss & mix well. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on quinoa before serving.

Refrigerate Quinoa for a cold salad or eat it hot

other ideas: use cut up roasted chicken, goat cheese, almonds, be creative.

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Filed under Grains, Side dish

Tagged as Best quinoa salad recipe, chicken broth, Quinoa recipe using Trader Joe's products, Quinoa super food salad recipe, Trader Joe's organic broth, Trader Joe's pine nuts, Trader Joe's quinoa superfood recipe

by sugarbaker | January 5, 2011

Italian Olive Oil Cake With Grand Marnier

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp. flour for dusting pan
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 tsp. lemon zest
2 tsp orange zest
3⁄4 cup quality extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup whole milk
4 tbsp. Grand Marnier or other-flavored liqueur or lemon etact or almond extract ( pick one flavor )
2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup chopped almonds

Poweder sugar for dusting the cake ( optional )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease bundt pan or-deep round 8″ cake pan with butter, then dust with 2 tbsp. of flour, tapping out excess

Beat eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed about 1 minute.

Add remaining flour, lemon zest, orange zest, olive oil, milk, and liqueur or almond extract and stir until well combined.

Add baking powder to mixture and stir until incorporated. Add almonds and mix well.

Spoon batter into bundt pan or cake pan.
Smooth out top with back of the spoon.

Bake until cake is deep golden brown and use a wooden skewer or tooth pick to test the cake if done, inserted in center comes out clean.

Bake about 40 minutes.

Transfer cake to a wire rack to let cool completely, in its pan. Dust with Powder sugar and serve with fresh fruits. ( optional )

Enjoy~<3 <3<3

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Filed under Cakes, Desserts

Tagged as best olive oil cake recipe, Easy oilive oil cake recipe, Italian Olive Oil Cake With Grand Marnier recipe, Italian olive oil lemon zest cake recipe, Olive oil Italian cake recipe, orange olive oil cake recipe

by sugarbaker | January 3, 2011

Lobster Cantonese style… Chinese New Year

Ingredents:

1 large fresh live lobster
1/3 cup peanut oil, divided
3 clove garlic, crushed
1 slice fresh ginger root, sliced
8 shrimps
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoon rice wine or cooking sherry
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 eggs, beaten
3 green onions, chopped

Garnish with fresh cilantro

Directions

Directions

Rinse the lobster, and hold it belly up. At the bottom of the tail, there is a small opening, stick a long knife and drain any body green liquid.

Prepare a very large ( pasta pot ) with boiling water and put the live lobster in the pot and cover with a lid cook for 15 minutes. ( reduce heat to medium )

After lobster is cooked 10- 20 minutes ( depends on size ). When done snap the tail off, chop the tail into small pieces, and crack the claws in half as well.
If you know how to eat the body of the lobster add that as well.

Heat half of peanut oil or canola oil in a deep heavy skillet or wok over medium heat.

Add crushed garlic but do not burn the garlic.

Place cut up lobster pieces, and stir fry until they are cooked through, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Remove lobster and garlic from the pan.

Heat remaining oil in skillet. Add sliced ginger and shrimp and fry until shrimp is pink. Pour in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

In a small bowl, mix together rice wine or sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch and brown sugar until well blended.

Add rice wine mixture to the pan, and stir-fry for a minute or two, until the sauce becomes thick and translucent.

Stir in green onions, and turn the heat off.

Drizzle beaten eggs over the mixture in pan, and stir until scramble eggs are in tiny pieces.

Finally, return lobster to pan, and cook over low heat for a few minutes to blend flavors.

Transfer to a serving dish, and let stand, covered for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh Cilantro

Lobster goes great with Steam rice and garlic baby Bok Choy.

I will add a photo later