Mozzarella, sopressata, olive cornbread muffins

This is definitely one of those things that you have to make to store in the freezer for those grab-and-run moments, or just to fill your bf's freezer when he's away for school. All you need to do is dab the frozen ones with a bit of water on the surface, and pop in the microwave to reheat for about 45 seconds or a minute and voila!

They're seriously yummy. Make sure you bake an extra batch or two just in case... you never know who might pop in to visit...

I found the recipe at beautiful Food Mayhem. The original recipe called for butter, chorizo, Manchego cheese, green olive and cream style corn. I switched it up with a few things that I had in the fridge.

Mozzarella, sopressata, olive cornbread muffins
(adapted from Chorizo Manchego Olive Corn Muffins here) makes 24 muffins

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 can of corn
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped black olives
• 1/2 cup chopped sopressata (or any dry/cooked sausage that you prefer)
• 1 cup shredded mozarella
• a small bunch of fresh coriander, or parsley, roughly chopped.
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Use silicon muffin cups if you have, if not line your muffin tins.

Beat olive oil and eggs together in a large bowl, one egg at a time. Then throw in the corn, olives, sausage, cheese and herb. Mix well.

In another bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients. Then stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until everything is well moistened.

Fill muffin cups and bake for 22-25 minutes. Test with a toothpick, if it comes out dry, it's done!

Prosciutto wrapped Ataulfo mango or pear, with blue cheese & basil

When I gave my dad a bite of this, he decided that he needed to pour a glass of wine to fully enjoy it. That's when I know it's good, because my dad, whom I consider a picky eater, made his way up the stairs for just three pieces of "amuse-bouche"

I made a pear version and a mango version. The pear one was crunchy, with a refreshing burst of juice. The mango had a more pronounced sweetness and so it gave more of a contrast when bitten into.

It's like having all your food groups in one bite, it's awesome:

• Vegetables: basil
• Fruit: mango or pear
• Meat: prosciutto
• Dairy: blue cheese

I also like to switch up with goat cheese & figs when they are in season... Hmmm... fiiiigssss...

Finish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a crack of pepper, and you're good to go grab a glass of red with your dad in the kitchen.

My birthday cake

Speaking of birthday, I had mine too a couple of weeks ago. And let me tell you, I don't think anyone has ever gotten a birthday cake as AMAZING & AWESOME & FULL OF LOVE as mine.

It was made by one of my best friend Catherine and it took her FIVE days to make it: my favourite alien of all time, Stitch.

See, that's not just a sprinkle of love. That's a truck load of love and then some more.

As you can imagine, I was more than happy when she removed my blindfold. Speechless. Surprised. Awestruck. Anything you can think of. My heart fluttered & I was completely light-headed.

And then I was sad to cut into it, but at the same time really excited... *sigh*... it's hard being an adult with complex emotions... lol!!!

I can finally move on & grow up now, because I got the best birthday cake EVER.

Cat! Je t'aime and I dedicate this post to you :) xoxoxoxox Merci encore!!!

Yup, I went for the ear first...

The talented Catherine with her creation, whom I poked his nose to look for cake snot...

It's almost too painful to look at this picture, but I wanted to show you how it looks inside.

P.S: These pictures are from various friends that were conscious to remember to take pictures, at the time the cake was revealed. Thanks guys!

Birthday cake pops

I made these cake pops my cousin's bf K's birthday. Of course, totally inspired by the amazing Bakerella. She always has such crazy great ideas, it's awesome! (THANK YOU BAKERELLA!!!)

Her basic cake pops are made with: one 13x9 cake, made from cake mix as according to instruction on box; 1 can frosting (16 oz) Candy melts (1 lb package)

I used what I had on hand and made 40 pops total:

• 9x9 chocolate ricotta cake (I made this a couple of weeks ago, only used half of it & so I stored the rest in the freezer & thawed it 1 hour in the plastic wrap before I started the pops)
• 1 pkg cream cheese (8oz)
• White chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Lollipop sticks
• A big block of styro-foam so you can stick the pops in to dry

Mash the cake up into bits & crumbs. Soften the cream cheese and mix into the cake with your hand really well so that it adheres when formed into little balls.

Insert lollipop sticks. Put in fridge to keep firm while melting white chocolate in a double-boiler over very low heat, because white chocolate is capricious & it will be ruined if the heat is too high.

Take the "naked" cake pops & dip into the white chocolate. Wait for them to dry, then do the same with the dark chocolate, if you'd like.

I decorated the pops with numbers for every year that is K's age. Since he's not so old, I had left over pops to play with.

I hope K & my cousin like them :) But like I said, if they're not his taste, at least there is the love.

Duo of Chocolate Custard shots

Literally shots.

Not because they're in these adorable micro mini Tic Tac Toe shooter glasses that are as big as my thumb, but because they're boozy. I was quite generous on the alcohol, so the custard refused to set properly, thus these alcohol-ish creamy chocolaty concoctions came to life.

Dark chocolate & Kahlua. White chocolate & Cointreau. Who said intentional accidents are bad?

Dark chocolate & Kahlua (or I like to say Dark MoKahlua... get it??? Fine... never mind....)
(my recipe is adapted from this one)

• 2 cups skimmed milk
• 4-6 oz 70% chocolate (depending on how intense you like it, I just basically poured in until I liked the taste)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1-3 tbsp Kahlua (I obviously put 4 or something... lol!!!!)

White chocolate & Cointreau

• 2 cups skimmed milk
• 3-4 oz white chocolate (you can put more if you like, but remember that white chocolate is very sweet, so taste as you go)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1-3 tbsp Cointreau

Use the same method for both

Over medium heat, melt chocolate in milk in a pot. In a bowl, whisk eggs & corn starch together well.

When the chocolate milk starts bubbling gently, slowly pour it into the egg mixture, in a thin stream while constantly whisking the egg mixture.

Pour everything back into the pot. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Drop in the butter, continue to stir until it melts. Take it off the heat and stir in your alcohol. If you want to fill a tart shell, keep the alcohol at 1 tbsp. Cover with plastic wrap directly pressed onto the surface so it doesn't form a skin. Chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Cheers!!! XOX

Stir fried pork & vermicelli

You know when you go to a Vietnamese restaurant, anywhere in North America, there will be a "Grilled chicken/pork/beef served with vermicelli/rice and salad and fish sauce" on the menu? Well this is the stir-fry version, for when you just have to have it NOW & got no patience for marinating meat.

Ok, this is not a recipe. Ready?

• Meat: chicken/pork/beef/shrimp/tofu, whatever you have on hand. Grilled or stir fried, with a bit of oil, sliced onions & garlic, and a few drops of pure fish sauce right before taking it off the heat
• Salad: iceberg lettuce/spring mix/romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, mints/Thai basil/coriander
• Vermicelli, cooked and drained according to package
• Sauce: prepared fish sauce
• Chopped peanuts (optional)
• Vietnamese "do chua" (pickled shredded carrots & daikon, optional)
  
• Chopsticks (oh c'mon! You can't eat this with a fork!!! It's just not the same!)

Make sure your bowl is big, so when you mix everything together, nothing flies.

Hmmm... I looooove it.... And of course, I ate too much...
***sigh***