A society of gingerbread people

I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to figure out how am I going to write the intro to this blog, and all I can come up with, is how long I've been sitting here thinking about it....

So when this happens, the best thing to do is to keep things short and sweet. Hhmmm... sweeeeet.... Actually, we'll keep things spice and sweet today.

I present you, my society of gingerbread people:

The traditional guy (and his Christmas tree) He's old-school, but he's just as flavorful as any other. He is simple, what you see is what you get.

The fashionable crowd. These chicks know how to dress it up! They don't go anywhere without the dazzle of the color sugar

The gym nuts... Ya... Them wacky outfits... But watch out, they've got bites these sillies

Then there is the shy guy who doesn't really talk much. He seems nice, but no one knows much about him. Apparently, he is really sweet!

And last but not least, the party dude, who is always happy to funk & dunk

I found the recipe here on Joy of Baking, one of my favorite recipe sites for a lot of things. The batch yield 15 big cookies, but it all depends on the size of your cutter and how thick you roll them, you might get more than I did :)

You can use this recipe for the icing (use 1/2 cup cold water instead of half cold water and half lemon juice) Or you can also use melted white chocolate for a different taste.

Enjoy! And bring on the holiday cookies!!!!!!

Lobster, shrimp and salmon mousse waffles

I bought a variety pack of Lobster, Shrimp and Salmon Mousse Spread a couple of weeks ago with the intention of making a savory mille-crepe cake. Unfortunately, I never got around to doing so... damn lazy bone....

But then I saw this and it went *taaaaaaa!!!* in my head.... I can make waffles and mix in the mousse!!!!! *taaaaaaaa!!!*

Lobster, shrimp and salmon mousse waffles
(adapted from this recipe)
makes 8

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 cup lobster and/or shrimp mousse
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the first 3 ingredients together n set aside
In another bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Slowly incorporate the liquid mixture into the dry mixture while mixing well with a fork. The result will be a pasty

Heat waffle iron and make according to the instruction.

I served them with chunks of avocado and a side of string beans drizzled with home-made balsamic reduction.

The hint of the mousse is pretty subtle, so you really can't pinpoint what it is exactly, but you know it's seafood mousse in there. I'm thinking next time I would make some grilled shrimps to top them with.The whole meal was very yummy all together and I froze the rest of the waffles for next quick meals in need. Booya!

Kahlúa tiramisù

There is not much to say when it comes to tiramisù, except "hhhhhmmmmm!!!" LOL!

I think it is one of those desserts that cannot be made "light" because it just wouldn't be the same... Seriously, have a salad for dinner or something because I am speaking from experience... Light tiramisù just tastes... sad!

It is made by layering zabaglione (a custard-like mixture of egg yolks, liqueur, mascarpone cheese, cream and sugar) and savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers) soaked in espresso. Then dusted with cocoa powder and topped with grated chocolate if desired

...*drool*...

I love my espresso machine!

When making cold/no-bake desserts, I tend to avoid raw eggs. And so, this tiramisù is no exception. It is adapted from Gordon Ramsay and is supposed to yield 4 individual portions, but I doubled it so I can fill an 11x7 dish.

You must make this, but make sure you take it away to a dinner with friends, because it is dangerous to have it laying around in your fridge...

Easy Kalhúa Tiramisù
(adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Easy Tiramisù) serves 8-10

• 500g mascarpone
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp Kahlúa
• 1 1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso, cooled to room temperature
• 250ml whipping cream (30%)
  
• 8 tbsp icing sugar
• 20-30 lady fingers (savoiardi)depending on how you will try to fit them in the dish
  
• Cocoa powder, to dust

Put the mascarpone, vanilla, Kahlúa and a little less than 1/2 of coffee in a medium mixing bowl, blend until everything is smoothly mixed together. In another medium bowl, beat the cream with the icing sugar until smooth, then fold in the mascarpone mix.

Place the remaining coffee into large deep plate, quickly dip the biscuits flipping sides, one by one, enough to make one layer in a 11x7 casserole dish. Spread evenly half of the mascarpone mix on top. Repeat with another layer of biscuits and the rest of the mascarpone mix. Refrigerate.

Before serving, fill a small sieve with cocoa powder and lightly dust the top. If you are fancy, grate some of bittersweet chocolate or make chocolate curls and scatter them all over.

"Doctoring" instant noodle

Even when you are an obsessive cook/baker, sometimes you just want to call delivery instead. And when that isn't an option because your stomach is digesting itself, something quick is required.

Yes, I do eat instant noodle once in a blue moon... *sigh*

As a kid, I used to love eating the noodle right out of the bag as a snack. My mom didn't let me do that too often because she would say "It is bad for you!"

Unfortunately, she was right, as always. Have you ever looked at the nutrition information? Urgh...

So now as an adult, I would "doctor" the noodle to make myself feel better. And I think my artery thanks me.

I use only half a bag of noodle, and put lots of vegetables. And instead of using the soup powder, I would use chicken broth instead.

Get the broth boiling, throw in some tomatoes and string beans like I did, or basically almost any vegetable (I like using tomatoes because they add a tangy taste to the broth)

When it boils again, throw in the noodles, swirl around to loosen up the strands for a minute and pour everything in a bowl.

Zap!

How many minutes did that take? Five at most.

Slurp it all up. Relax, and pour yourself a glass of red.

Amaretto Dark Secret

This passed Sunday my friend and I participated in a charity event called Cupcake Camp, where bakers, professional or amateur, donated bunches and bunches of cupcakes to raise money for a good cause.

3500 cupcakes were on site and the funds raised this year ($8000!!!!) is going to Kids Help Phone Canada.

Lots of people (about 700!!!) came to support by buying all kinds of amazingly cute cupcakes, and it was so great. There was a contest as well, for best pro design, taste, best amateur design, taste, etc. The room was hot and it was hard for me to stay focus most of the time, but it was all worth it.

I donated 48 cupcakes and they were called Amaretto Dark Secret: Amaretto cupcake, banana cream cheese frosting and an amaretto dark chocolate truffle in the middle of it all. I thought it was quite good! So I will go ahead and share the recipe with you, because I'm pretty sure some of you out there get weak in the knees when it comes to alcoholic dessert. Ya... you know who you are...

Amaretto cupcakes (makes 24)
adapted from a recipe I found here

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup milk (I used skimmed milk)
• 1/2 cup amaretto cream liquor
• 1/4 cup amaretto liquor or a bit more ;)
  
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds (I didn't add this)

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Alternately add 1/3 of the flour, then the milk and the amaretto cream, then 1/3 of the flour and all of the amaretto, beating well after each addition. Add remaining flour; mix until smooth. Stir in almonds if using.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375ºF for 14-16 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pans for a few minutes then remove and cool completely.

Cut a cone off of the top of a cupcake, slash a bit of the tip, put a little truffle inside and close it up.

Amaretto Dark chocolate truffles

• 2 oz. cream cheese, soften
• a handful of dark chocolate pellets, or chips, melted
• a shot of amaretto
• a shot of cream of amaretto

Mix cream cheese and melted chocolate together well, then add the alcohol. Roll into 24 truffles.

Banana cream cheese frosting

• 2 bananas, ripe, mashed
• 4 oz. cream cheese, soften
• 1 cup butter, soften
• 1/2 -1 cup of powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you like your frosting (the bananas will sweeten this a lot already)

Mix the bananas with the cream cheese well. Beat in the butter until creamy, then slowly add the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, according to your taste. Frost! Or... eat some with a little spoon...?

Now, here are some of my favorites from Cupcake Camp. Enjoy!!!!

My friend's entry for Best Amateur Design. Isn't it adorable????

This one won Best Montreal Theme: Youppi jumping out of a poutine


Poutine!!!!!! Awesome!!!


This one won Best Amateur Design. So cute!!!

Mo cookies for Movember

Do you like mustache? Which style is your favorite?

According to this chart, mine is "The Connoisseur". I don't even like mustache, but for the health of men everywhere, I am supporting it this Movember in order to raise money for Prostate Cancer Canada.

What? Yes, MOvember, the month formerly known as November... A mustache-growing charity event that takes place every November, all month, to raise awareness, support and funds for research of prostate cancer.

It kills 4400 men in Canada alone each year
One in six men in Canada will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime.
There are no noticeable symptoms.
BUT 90% of cases are curable if detected and treated at an early stage. So, we need to spread knowledge and by doing so, we will save many lives.

As a girl who, fortunately, cannot grow a mustache (knock on wood) I can help by baking. Yes, everything can be done with cookies. And what else would I put on the cookies but the awesome "Connoisseur" mustache. These will make their way to the bake-sale (along with loads of other goodies) that my friend and I are organizing this Monday at work, and I really hope everyone will come by to purchase and show their support. We are donating all proceed to Prostate Cancer Canada along with our love. All for a great cause!

Now, if you would like to do something similar, which I highly recommend, here is the recipe that I found over at Lovin' From The Oven (She's really adorable!!!)

Sugar cookies

• 6 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. of extract of choice (I used lemon oil)

Put flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and extract and mix well. Then slowly mix in the flour, continue mixing until the dough is well incorporated.
Chill dough for an hour or so.
Roll and cut, and freeze a few minutes before baking at 350*F for about 10 minutes. Make sure it only browns a little bit on the edge.

Lemon icing:

• 1/4 cup meringue powder
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat meringue powder, lemon juice and water until peaks from, then slowly add powdered sugar until icing reaches desired consistency.

UPDATE: My friend & I each raised $250 from the bake-sale!!!!! I am so happy! Yay!!!!