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TV Dinners: South Park - Microwaved Peeps

YumSugar — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:51:42 -0700

Last night the bf was flipping through the channels and landed on a new episode of South Park. The episode itself poked fun at Easter in a Da Vinci Code style. The weirdest thing is I was actually writing a post about how we microwaved Peeps when, what? What is that? They are microwaving Peeps on South Park?!?

Sometimes the universe is wild like that.

So, for today's TV Dinner, I present microwaved Peeps. However, unlike the ones on South Park, ours did not expand to the point where they took over the building and burst out all the windows - but they did expand. We ran three tests and then tried a Peep joust (we didn't have toothpicks so we improvised). Unfortunately, the microwave in our office has a weird screen in front of the window, so we really couldn't see in. This meant no fun video for us (we tried, it looked terrible), so we'll have to show you what happened with still photographs instead.

We put the first Peep in for 15 seconds, it puffed up a tiny bit and deflated into a pile of sticky goo. I preferred the 15 second taste to the 0 second taste. It was warm and a tiny bit more flavorful. I was also surprised because it somehow still managed to look like a bird.

Our tests also ran at 30 seconds, 45 seconds and then a jousting event:

To see the rest of our microwaved Peep adventure (Peep jousting!), and a clip from South Park (while it lasts), read more

Next we tried upping the time to 30. It puffed up in the middle, got crispy on the sides, and then became golden in the back (note: our microwave's rotating tray thing, doesn't actually rotate). The taste reminded us a bit of roasted marshmallows, which surprised me since where was the roasting?

After seeing a slight burn and only a small puff (it was hard to see through the grate, but we tried our best), we upped the time to 45 seconds. At 45 seconds our Peep more than doubled in size (they deflate immediately after you open the door), became charred on the edges and made the office smell like burnt toast.

We were going to go for 1 minute, but decided that the last two Peeps would be better spent jousting. Unfortunately we didn't have any toothpicks in the office, so we broke off some tines off of a plastic fork and set them up that way. I was expecting one of the tines to pop the other (I think that's the point of Peep jousting), however instead of hating each other, they just merged into one big giant lovefest Peep. I guess our Peeps were lovers, not fighters...

Check out a larger image by clicking on one below, or scroll down for the South Park clip (the exploding Peeps are at the end - and I'm not sure how long til the clip gets yanked from YouTube).

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Kitchen Experiments: Forbidden Fried Rice

YumSugar — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:30:58 -0800

Earlier this week, I gave you a recipe for a Balsamic Soy Chicken. I purposely made an extra serving for lunch the next day. However, when it came time for lunch, the chicken and Forbidden Rice wasn't cutting it. I really wanted a vegetable. To see what I did for my latest kitchen experiment, read more.

The first thing I did was look through my cupboards. There wasn't much left, but I decided to take out two carrots, and some eggs. I peeled and finely shredded the carrots, and then in a separate bowl I lightly beat the eggs. I then threw the rice and chicken into a large skillet, heated it up until it was warm, then I tossed in the carrots, mixed that together, and finally I poured the egg mixture around it. I then scrambled it up, seasoning with salt and pepper as I went along.

The end result was a tasty - if not a bit odd-looking - black fried rice. It made for a delicious meal, and came together really quickly. I topped it off with a bit of sriracha sauce.

What do you think? What would you have whipped together?

Kitchen Experiments: "Heavenly" Banana Bread Pudding

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:57:10 -0800

Although my 52 Weeks of Baking series is officially over, that doesn't mean I won't be in the kitchen all the time. This year, in addition to trying new recipes, I have vowed to share my kitchen experiments with you guys. As much as I love recipes, I also just enjoy throwing things together and seeing what I get. I'll warn you now, these don't always work like I planned, but sometimes I get lucky.

On New Year's Day, I woke up to a dirty kitchen - we had a small shindig the night before - two rotting bananas and half of an angel food cake. I was also crazy hungry. So I combined my random leftovers with my appetite for breakfast and threw it all together. The result was a simple bread pudding made with angel food cake as the base. To see what I created, read more.

"Heavenly" Banana Bread Pudding
A kitchen experiment by YumSugar

I created this on New Year's Day morning. I had some leftovers I wanted to get rid of and threw everything together. It was warm and tasty and hit the spot, but it was also lacking something. Maybe a little sugar sprinkled on top? If you try it, be sure to tell me what you think and let me know how you'd improve it.

2 bananas, overripe
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups leftover angel food cake, cut into cubes

enough butter or cooking spray to grease the pan

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease an 8-x-8 baking dish (or several small ramekins).
Line the baking dish with very thin slices of banana. I used 1/2 of a medium sized banana to cover my 8-x-8 pan.
Place rest of bananas in a large bowl. With a fork mush until you have achieved a smooth consistency. Alternatively, you could puree the bananas in a food processor first. This particular batch was whipped up on New Year's Day, and I was hoping to make the least amount of noise as possible.
Next, add eggs - one at a time - whisking throughly between each egg.
Stir in milk.
Whisk in brown sugar, allowing it to dissolve. Add in cinnamon.
Add in the angel food cake. Make sure all the pieces are coated. Let the cake sit for 10 minutes in order to absorb the liquid.
Pour cake mixture into pan and place into oven.
Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

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On Thanksgiving, Nothing Beats Classic Pumpkin Pie

partysugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:30:43 -0800

As much as I love experimenting with alternative pumpkin desserts like pumpkin layer cake and mini baklava pumpkin tarts, sometimes nothing is better than the beloved standby, classic pumpkin pie. This year I tried out an old-fashioned style recipe.

The delicious crust is flaked with pecans, and the filling is a mixture of pumpkin puree, molasses, and sour cream. The resulting pie is silky with a rich pumpkin flavor that's not too sweet. Rum-spiked whipped cream is an ideal and necessary topping that takes this pie over the edge. To take a look at the recipe, read more.

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie With Pecan Pastry Crust
From The New Thanksgiving Table

Ingredients

For the crust:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and finely ground
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) ice-cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice-cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons ice water
For filling:
3 1/2 cups or 2 cans (15 ounces each) unsweetened pumpkin puree
7 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups sour cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons milk
sugar for sprinkling
For topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum or one tablespoon pure maple syrup

Directions

Make the crust: Combine the 2 1/4 cups flour, the pecans, salt, and granulated sugar in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Scatter the butter and shortening pieces over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sour cream and water and process for a few seconds, just until the dough begins to form. Do not over process. (To make the dough by hand, place the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture. Add the sour cream and ice water, and mix just until the dough comes together and forms a mass.)
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, gathering all the loose bits, and form into a disk about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 2 pieces, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
Have 2 9-inch pie pans ready. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Dust the work surface and dough with a little more flour, as necessary, to keep the dough from sticking. Roll the dough around the rolling pin, lift it over the pie pan, and unroll the dough over the pan. Adjust to center the dough, then press it into place, Trim the excess dough by running a knife around the edge of the pan. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Refrigerate the pie crusts while you make the filling.
To make the filling: in a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, egss, molasses, granulated sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and pepper. Whisk until smooth. Blend in the sour cream and heavy cream. Whisk until smooth and no white streaks are visible. Set aside.
To assemble the pies, divide the pumpkin filling between the chilled pie shells. Use a pastry brush to brush milk on the edges of the pastry. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the pies for about 40 minutes until the filling just begins to puff at the edges and the center no longer jiggles when gently shaken. Turn off the oven and leave the pies, undisturbed, in the oven with the door ajar for 20 minutes. Transfer the pies to wire racks and let cool completely.
Meanwhile make the topping: In a medium bowl, combine the cream, confectioners' sugar, and rum. Using a whisk or electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Slice the pies into wedges, top with whipped cream and serve.

Makes two 9-inch pies.

Make ahead: The pie dough can be made, wrapped tightly, and frozen up to 3 weeks in advance. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out. The filling can be made up to 1 day in advance. Place in a covered container and refrigerate. The whipped cream can be prepared up to 4 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The pie is best when baked the day you are planning to serve it.

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An Afternoon at Argentina's Flichman Vineyards

partysugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:50:48 -0800

This story was written by member Eleuthera and comes from the Wine Cellar group in the YumSugar Community.I recently had a chance to attend a wine tasting for Flichman from Argentina. I especially enjoyed the experience because I had a chance to chat with the winemaker, Luis Cabral de Almeida. From my standpoint, it didn't hurt that he was pretty hot also. We began with a bottle of their Chardonnay for $8. Frankly, I didn't want to taste a bottle of $8 Chardonnay as I hate that overly oaked buttery flavor of vanilla predominating, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was delightful and easily equal to wines I have enjoyed at twice the price. In fact everyone of the wines' price points was spectacular.

To learn more about these amazingly priced Argentine wines read more.

Although there were some I preferred more than others, I enjoyed all of them. All the others, with the exception of an interesting and delightful champagne (for about $8!!) were red. In fact, even the champagne was made in part from Malbec also! The biggest surprise of the afternoon was how much I enjoyed Malbec.

Several years ago a friend tried to tell me how great the Argentinian (and Chilean) Malbecs were, but I wouldn't even taste them. However, the grape I knew from living in Bordeaux was a far cry from the one I finally tasted in South America: Malbecs from Argentina are rich, jammy, and luscious with some surprising complexity. Malbec thrives in Argentina, Luis explained, because of the low humidity. This explains their ability to get the delightful jammy qualities which I thoroughly enjoy.

One I liked is called Gestos (2007) (gestures in English) and it was made from Malbec at two different elevations. You have to be careful because there are several varieties of Gestos, including one with Cabernet. The first thing one notices was the lovely aromas, like blackberries and maybe blueberries. The taste was even richer with jammy qualities mixed with the French oak and the earthy background.

Luis was kind enough to explain to me at length that he uses two different elevations of Malbec in order to achieve an extremely well-rounded wine. It is somewhat interesting that Argentina seems one of the few places where this combination can be exploited, although to a lesser degree, California winemakers have been touting mountain grown fruit for years. I rated this wine at least 88 points and perhaps even 89 out of 100. It was $12 or 13 and worth every penny.

Another wine I liked and purchased was the 2007 Expresiones reserve which was 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet. I would rate this slightly better, perhaps 89-90 points as it had a lingering finish. The complexity reminded me greatly of a Bordeaux style wine and it had the great structure of the Cabernet with the luscious sweet berry qualities of the Malbec. Personally I think this will do better with a few years of patience, although it is delightful now.

The last one I tasted was called Dedicado (2004) and it was clearly the top of the line. At almost $20 it was hitting my price point, but rarely have I had a wine this good for this money...so I bought two. The bottle weighs a ton and it is a mixture of Cabernet, Syrah, and Malbec (30%,10% and 60%). It spends 12 months in new French french oak and 12 months in the bottle according to the label, but I thought Luis told me this one spent 2 years in wood. In short, I thought the result was stunning, perhaps even 91-92 points. The deep intensity and aroma of the berries and black pepper is wonderful and its opulence is nothing short of amazing with a lovely lingering finish. It will benefit from a year or two more in my estimation but it's fantastic just the way it is, at least with an hour or two of breathing.

Because of the high inflation in Argentina and the fact that they are tied to the Euro which is strong (the owners are a Portuguese group) the wines get the benefit of great prices on oak barrels. As far as price point is concerned, I thought each of these wines was wonderful and they certainly impressed me a great deal. Luis wasn't all that bad either!

Have you been to an amazing winery? Join the Wine Cellar group, upload your photos and a description of the experience, and it could be featured on YumSugar! If you are new to the YumSugar Community, here's a detailed guide to posting to groups.

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Savory Sight: Gorgonzola, Apple, and Bacon Mac-n-Cheese

Yum Community — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:15 -0800

This story was written by member jadenirvana and comes from the Savory Sights group in the YumSugar Community. I made Yum's insanely good mac 'n' cheese recipe in some ramekins my mother in law gave me for creme brulee. The little tart-size dishes made the meal extra cute, and I substituted bacon for walnuts for extra yumminess. The combo of sharp gorgonzola, crisp apples and rich bacon was so good, literally one of the most delish things I've ever tasted, and I never would have thought of it on my own. How do you do it Yum?

Have you eaten an awesome meal? Join the Savory Sights group, upload your photos and a description of the experience, and it could be featured on YumSugar! If you are new to the YumSugar Community, here's a detailed guide to posting to groups.

Top Chef Quiz: Culinary Olympics

partysugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:15:16 -0800

Things took a serious turn on the most recent episode of Top Chef. The cheftestants had to cook serious food for some serious chefs. Thomas Keller appeared, the Voltaggio brothers struggled, and Kevin experimented with the culinary technique known as sous vide. How closely were you watching? Find out when you take the quiz!

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Take the quiz

Kitchen Experiments: Apple-Date Muffincakes

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:01:31 -0800

This weekend I was expecting houseguests and wanted to offer them a homemade treat. I figured a nice breakfast muffincake would be a good option, as it would work for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack. However, I didn't know what kind I wanted to make, so I headed to my kitchen without a recipe and scoped out the ingredients. I was treading dangerously - no recipe - but I ended up with deliciously, moist apple-date muffincakes. If you'd like to see what I did, as well as what went wrong - so wrong that the cakes themselves were laughing at me and I've got the photo to prove it! - read more.

Apple-Date Muffincakes
A Kitchen Experiment by YumSugar

1 cup chopped and pitted dates [I had 14 Medjool dates]
1 apple, peeled, cored, and grated
1/2 cup apple cider
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup organic white sugar
4 oz. cinnamon applesauce
2 eggs

frosting:
1 stick of butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl place dates and apple. Pour apple juice on top. Let soak for 15-30 minutes [I soaked it until I was ready to use them.]
In another medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
In a mixer, cream butter and sugars together.
Add applesauce, mix thoroughly.
Add eggs, one at a time. Making sure each one is fully incorporated.
Gently add in 1/3 of flour mixture. When incorporated add in 1/3 of date mixture (including liquid). Mix completely. Continue until all flour and date mixture is incorporated.
Completely fill each cupcake liner with batter. You should be able to fill 18 liners.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. You want the tops to be slightly golden brown.
While baking, make frosting (aka glaze). For the glaze, mix all ingredients in a large bowl until creamy. Adjust sugar amount as necessary. Do not try to frost your cakes before they are cooled. This will result in a glaze. Mine were glazed, but I was actually hoping for a dollop of frosting. As you can see, one is laughing at me for not waiting.

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Kitchen Experiments: Baked Egg in a Ham Shell

YumSugar — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:03:38 -0800

Earlier this week, I wanted a simple, yet hearty breakfast. I knew I had some eggs and ham, but I didn't have a lot of time. I had to get ready for work, but also wanted something yummy. That's when I remembered baked eggs. Baked eggs are great because you can pop them in the oven, get ready for work, and have a warm breakfast before you leave.

I was originally going to have a simple egg, but then thought about lining a ramekin with ham in order to make a self-contained meal. Next I decided to toss in some tomatoes sautéed in garlic. To find out how it all turned out and get the recipe I used, read more.

The overall concept was a good one, I don't think you can really go wrong with a baked egg. However, my dish was a bit runny. I halved the tomatoes, but didn't really let them cook down much. This was a mistake, I should have let them cook down as they weren't seeded and the tomatoes were really watery. There was nowhere for the liquid to go, so the bottom of my creation was a bit soggy. The top, however, was great. Next time, I won't get lazy with the tomato cooking!

Baked Egg in a Ham Shell
A kitchen experiment by YumSugar

handful of plum tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic
2 slices of ham
1 tbsp. jack cheese
splash of milk
1 egg
salt pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Grease a small ramekin or one slot in a muffin tin. Place two pieces of ham inside the ramekin, make sure they overlap to create a sort of crust. Set aside.
In a small pan on medium heat, heat a small amount of oil until shimmering. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add tomatoes to pan, salt, and cook for a few minutes.
Spoon tomato mixture into the ham shell. Add a splash of milk and cheese.
Crack an egg on top of the mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place ramekin on baking sheet and place into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until egg white has set.

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Do You Experiment With New Recipes In The Kitchen?

partysugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 09:01:38 -0700