My Bacon Cheesy Biscuits

I have finally made and taken photos and am now about to write about my experience making one of the many recipes I put on this blog. I tried the bacon cheesy biscuits and I must say that they were pretty good.

A couple things went, not quite wrong but a little differently, like the fact that I had to use whole wheat flour instead of regular white all purpose flour because Mummy inadvertently bought whole wheat thinking that it was regular flour. I used cheddar cheese in mine as well. I think those were the only real differences though. The whole wheat flour I think caused the texture to be more dense than I was expecting and I didn't sift the flour either which could have also contributed to that. I also ended up baking them for way longer than 15 minutes, because at 15 they were far from ready. Next time I'll have to play around a bit with the oven to figure out the right temperature and time to bake them for.

Next time I'll definitely add more bacon. My brother and I are bacon fiends so there's no such thing as too much bacon. Initially when I grated all of the cheese I thought that it might have been too much cheese but the flavour in the end was nice. All in all I think they came out well and my brother and next door neighbor ate them all off. Although that could just be because they're boys and will eat pretty much anything.

(Photo Slideshow: http://tinyurl.com/46tf5wd)

Delinquent

When I began this blog my intention was to put photos of my own attempts at cooking and I realize that I've been very delinquent about this. I've made the peanut butter caramel apples (they were amazing!), I've made brownies (albeit Betty Crocker), I've made cheesecake (JELLO brand- the easiest possible version of cheesecake I know of), I've made bacon crepes and possibly other things I can't remember but I haven't posted any photo's or any of my experiences doing them, so I will take my camera with me today when I am going to make the Christmas pudding and I will take photographs galore. That is if I finish at work early enough to be able to go and bake.

Featured Blog: Zoom Yummy

Zoom Yummy is the blog that I got the cheesey bacon muffin recipe from and every other recipe I see on it is one that I want to try. I don't know if the recipe's are actually good or if it's the fabulous photography that makes the end product look amazing but I must say that I'm hooked on this site. The recipes are simple and the ingredients are pretty common everyday things that should not be a problem to find in Jamaica. I think I may try the brownie recipe next. I am a huge Betty Crocker fan and I don't see why I should have to put out the extra effort for something that may not be as good when Betty and I work so well together. This brownie recipe looks very simple though, simple enough for me to give Betty a break and try it.

The problem with loving to make food is that there are always far more recipes to want to make than time to make them. =(

Domestic Inclinations

It's been a while, but not to worry, the cooking fever has not left me yet. I've just been busy I suppose. I had graduation, my dance season and work. Of course the work never ends but now that the other things have I can devote more time here.

I love shopping for cooking things. Since I last wrote I've acquired two whisks (one big, one small), a candy thermometer and a spatula. Each purchase gets me more excited than the last and I had to resist the urge to buy a third whisk simply because it's the baby version to my big one. Have I used any of the things yet? Well I have used the big whisk and spatula, but the baby whisk is waiting on me to make chocolate mousse. In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for heavy cream which refuses to be found anywhere. Tomorrow I will go searching again because today is already very crazy.

Over time I have found that whenever I like someone my domestic side comes out, it's so weird because generally I despise cooking, cleaning and the like. My cooking thing is a recent development, hopefully one that will stick. Since Christmas is coming I told my mother that I want her to teach me how to make Christmas cake/pudding this year. She in turn told me that I should go to my grand-aunt's house and have her teach me because her cakes are amazing, and at age 97 she can't make them anymore. This is what I should be doing at some point today. I'm not quite sure how that will fit into the already hectic schedule of today but I'm still excited.

I also bought a journal to write my random recipes in. It's such a pretty book and it's one that is ring bound so that way it will lie flat when I'm reading a recipe from it. I've written in about four recipe's so far. Eventually I want to write the ones I put on this blog in there because that way I'll have them at the ready when I need them. Like during the past week, I went home to the country and for some reason the internet wasn't working so I couldn't access the cheese and bacon biscuits recipe. That was the first recipe I wrote from the blog into my book. I figure eventually if the book lasts that long then I'll pass it on to my daughter or something like that.

Bacon and Cheese Biscuits

Bacon and Cheese Biscuits

This recipe looks so easy and it's hard to imagine that these biscuits will come out anything other than yummy =)

Bacon Avacado Deviled Eggs

Bacon Avacado Deviled Eggs

So I hate egg yolks but love the egg whites and then I do believe I've already proclaimed my love of bacon on this blog already but avacado is another favourite of mine. I tend to use it to make dips but I'll eat it on bread or by itself. So when I saw this photo on food gawker I had to add it here. Again its from the cooking with my kid blog.

Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
2 ripe avocados
1/2 lemon
2 to 3 slices bacon (we used turkey bacon)
salt & fresh cracked pepper

Cook turkey bacon and set aside to cool. (We cook the turkey bacon in the toaster oven on a tray at 375 degrees for 10 mins or until crispy.) Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine flesh of avocado with 1/2 lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer avocado mixture to a small baggie, seal and use a scissor to cut off one corner of the bag. Slice hard boiled eggs in half and carefully remove yolks. Rinse off to remove excess yolk and pat dry. Use baggie to pipe avocado into each egg cavity and crumble bits of bacon atop avocado. Makes 12 ‘deviled’ eggs.

Marshmallows :)

There are few foods as perfect as marshmallows in my opinion and despite the kinda unappealing name (who wants to eat something that has a name reminiscent of a low-lying wetland), this goes well with pretty much anything as far as I'm concerned and it's even better by itself. I have recollections of Mummy buying marshmallows and I would pour them in a bowl, microwave them, take a spoon and devour! Now I try not to indulge in such base instincts and I save my marshmallows for hot chocolaty beverages and s'mores.

Of course when I saw this recipe for homemade marshmallows I had to add it here to my very elaborate list of recipes to try.

The Perfect Homemade Marshmallows (adapted from Smitten Kitten) (note this recipe is found at the link above called "homemade marshmallows)

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

3 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, divided

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla

Step 1: Grease the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch rectangular baking pan, and sift enough powdered sugar over the pan to coat the bottom and the sides.

Step 2: Add 1/2 cup cold water to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), and sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand to soften, and mix to make sure it is all 'wet.'

Step 3: In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, mix corn syrup, sugar, and 1/2 cup cold water over low heat, stirring just until the sugar is dissolved. Then, increase the heat to medium/medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil, and do not stir it. Heat this way until a candy thermometer or instant-read thermometer measures 240 degrees Fahrenheit. This may take 8-12 minutes depending on exactly how high your heat is, but be sure not to overcook it, or heat it too high.

Step 3b (do this while your sugar is boiling): In medium bowl, beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. You should not do this with your stand mixer, unless you have two bowls (remember, your gelatin is in the bowl already). I did this with my immersion blender with the whisk attachment, but you would also use a hand mixer, or whisk by hand (flex those muscles!). Set egg whites in fridge until ready to use.

Step 4: After your sugar mixture has reached 240 degrees Fahrenheit, remove it from the heat and pour it over the gelatin mixture in your stand mixer. Stir until all the gelatin is dissolved (the consistency will be thick and the color will be brownish). Then beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and at least tripled in volume, about 6 minutes in the stand mixer. Add the egg whites from step 3b and vanilla into the sugar mixture, and beat until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan and sift about 1/4 cup confectioners sugar over the top. Let stand until firm, at least three hours, although I let mine sit overnight at room temperature.

Step 5: Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the marshmallow.

Step 6: Turn pan over onto a cutting board sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, and use your fingers to loosen one corner of the marshmallow from the pan. Let the rest of it drop from the pan by gravity onto the cutting board.

Step 7: Using an oiled, sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice the marshmallows into cubes 1-inch cubes. Sift the remaining confectioner's sugar into your baking pan, and roll the cubes in the sugar to coat all six sides.

Step 7 con't: Alternatively, you can also cut the marshmallows into even smaller squares (perfect for adding to hot chocolate), or you can cut out cute shapes from the marshmallow using cookie cutters. I would recommend slicing the marshmallow block in half for this, so you have a slice of marshmallow that is approximately 1/2-inch thick (see photo). Then coat the side you intend to cut with the sugar before using your knife or cookie cutter.

Marshmallows keep for one week in an airtight container at cool room temperature. Although, they won't last that long because they are amazing. AMAZING. The most perfect marshmallow ever.

And...Ta Da!

I've found my new blog to feature it's called "Jelly Shot Test Kitchen: jell-ing classic cocktails one drink at a time". How can I not love a blog that has that as it's title. I am Jamaican after all, and most of us were drinking from at most age 15 at least... I'm not even gonna say :).

The recipe however that brought me to this site was a non-alcoholic one for kids called "Jellied Eyeballs" and it's fitting with the whole Halloween theme for October. Even though it's not a big holiday in Jamaica, I've always loved the whole idea of a holiday that is practically devoted to candy.

Vegan Blackberry Ice Cream

Vegan Blackberry Ice Cream

Yes! Finally an ice cream recipe that doesn't require an ice cream maker. My only problem now is where on earth (ie. in Jamaica) am I going to find blackberries and a vanilla pod. I wonder if my mother would know where to find vanilla, because I do recall many years ago when she worked in the food department of the Bureau of Standards and was responsible for the standards of food in the country, somehow she had obtained some pods of vanilla and took them home to show me that vanilla wasn't just a fragrance and that it actually came from somewhere plant like. As for blackberries even if I can find them I don't know what kind of quality they would be.

I just spoke to my mother on the phone and now she wants to know why am I giving her all this trouble to find these random ingredients. She was helpful enough to tell me that vanilla comes from an orchid and that an old aunt (Aunt Joyce) who used to live nearby the country house used to have several of these orchids on her mango tree. Fortunately my parents are friends/acquaintances of the new tenants and so I told Mummy to call her up say "hi" and then ask her if we can raid them. Then she told me I should drive to Westmorland (a parish in Jamaica) because they grow wild there. As for the blackberries, she doesn't know of them being in Jamaica.

I thought about it and think that possibly raspberries could be substituted for blackberries and I know that raspberries do grow (however scarcely or scantily) in Jamaica. When I was much younger there was another old aunt (Aunt Goldie- now deceased) who used to live in the country and on occasion we would go and visit her. She used to have a raspberry shrub on her property and whether it was wild or cultivated I don't know. This sadly is probably the only memory I have of her or her property as the case maybe. And to this day my younger brother only remembers her as, "the lady where we picked the raspberries".

Ice Cream Maker

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!

Right now for some reason there are quite a few ice cream recipes on foodgawker and I really want to try them. I think it would be so cool (no pun intended) to make my own ice cream. I then decided to look up ice cream makers and this is the one that I want, the Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker. While I am not that big an ice cream fan generally (my teeth cramp really easily around cold) when I crave ice cream it would be nice to be able to make it myself. And if there is any ice cream I would definitely eat, it is always soft serve ice cream. The only place in Jamaica now, that I know of, that sells soft serve ice cream is PriceSmart, and its not exactly the most convenient place for me to go to when I want ice cream. So what better way to solve this problem than to have my own.

The Tell Tale Tart

I was food gawking and came across an image of a plaid pie looking thing. I like plaid, I think it's neat, and cute and preppy all at once and I'm a sucker for preppy. My friend who went away to boarding school came home one summer, looked at what I was wearing and said, "You dress like the uniforms at my school". I was quite please to hear this because thats exactly the kind of look that I admired although it wasn't a conscious decision to go around looking like a New England prep school student.

When I read the blog page that had this tart as it turned out to be, I was fairly entertained at the word play used. In selecting a name for the blog they played upon titles with the word "heart" which would then be substituted for the word "tart". They settled with "Bravetart" and while that wasn't my favourite, it was the most convenient for typing purposes.

Food Blog I Like :)

After realizing that I was getting distracted from food gawker by other food blogs that it led me to, I decided to do a blog feature on my own blog. If I find a food related blog that I really like then I'll highlight it here.

So while food gawking, I noticed that a couple of the recipes that I clicked on came from this blog called Cooking With My Kid. This blog, done by the mother of a picky eater, more or less chronicles the adventures of her and her child in the kitchen. There are inventive recipes, as well as tips to other mothers of picky eaters on how to get their child to eat.

I'm only 20 and have no plans for children anytime soon but being a somewhat picky eater myself (possibly even pickier than I was as a toddler) the advice she gives seems like sound, sensible advice; and it doesn't hurt that the recipes look delicious.

Pumpkin Seeds

I really am not a big pumpkin fan but I love nuts and seeds and things like that so I think I'll try and make roasted pumpkin seeds one of these days. I know my mother and helpers use pumpkin fairly regularly at the country house, so I think I'll ask her to bring some of the seeds for me to experiment with. I found two recipes that I think I'll try out. I'm not going to post the entire thing here, just the links for them.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

This recipe suggests using sea salt to salt it and possibly some red pepper for more flavour. Flavour is good so I think I would try and find some other powdered flavoured spices that I could try with this.

Caramelized Pumpkin Seeds

Caramel Apple Lollipops

Caramel Apple Lollipops

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Hot Water
• 1/3 Cup Corn Syrup
• 2 tsp. Apple Flavoring
• 1 tsp. Sour Flavoring
• 2-3 Drops Green Food Coloring
• 2 CK Lollipop Molds (8H-5203 Round Sucker Mold 2 1/4″)
• Lollipop Sticks or Wooden Dowels Cut to Fit

Spray molds lightly with Pam and place sticks in their designated spots. Mix sugar, water and syrup stirring until sugar is dissolved in a heavy pot. Cook to 300 degrees or until candy tests “Hard Crack”. Remove from heat and stir in flavorings and food coloring. Pour into molds. Spin each stick around to cover with candy while still hot and easy to move. Let cool before removing. Once you have removed your Lollies, lay them all on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Place them good side up. Melt some Peter’s Caramel in the microwave and drizzle over each Lollie with a spoon. When caramel is cooled, cut excess off with kitchen scissors. Wrap in plastic and tie with ribbon if you are giving them away as gifts. My kids ate them faster than I ever could have wrapped them!

Dublin Dr. Pepper Float and Cinnamon Cookies

Sometimes it's going to be much easier for me to just post the link. This is one of those times and here is the link for the Dublin Dr. Pepper Float. This looks like it would taste pretty amazing and I think I'm going to try and make it this weekend. Maybe not the cookies but the float at least. Basically it's Dr. Pepper poured over vanilla ice cream. They recommend that you use Dublin Dr. Pepper (from Dublin, Texas) specifically and they also recommended a specific brand of vanilla ice cream but having access to the limited supermarket resources that exist in Jamaica, I will just have to make do with whichever Dr. Pepper I can find, and my own personal favorite brand of vanilla, whatever it may be.

Peanut Butter Caramel Dipped Apples

Peanut Butter Caramel Dipped Apples

Peanut Butter Caramel Apples
Like dipping apples in caramel and peanut butter? Here's a sweet way to get your apple dipping fix in one bite. This smooth, creamy peanut butter caramel is a nice change from
2 Tablespoons butter plain old caramel. It's about a thousand times more delicious than caramel apples made from those plastic squares, too.
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup karo syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
In a medium pot, bring butter, sugar, karo syrup, and heavy cream together until smooth and melty. Stir in peanut butter, then keep stirring over medium-heat. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 3-5 minutes (or, if you want to be technical, until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage). Remove from heat, allow the caramel to cool slightly, then dip skewered apples right on in it.

Disclaimer

This post probably should have come before the first one but it's too late for that now. I'm not really a foodie or a wannabe foodie for that matter and I sort of have a love hate relationship with food, but I do like to cook when the mood strikes and I just wanted a place for me to put various recipes that I find online and so this blog was created. So many times I go on foodgawker and just look and think to myself, "hey, I want to try making that", but then I get buy and I forget all about it. This way I have something to come back to and remind me of the various things that I wanted to try. And once I have tried them, I'll be sure to post my own photos and experiences of trying out the recipe. :)

Where possible I will give credit by posting the link from where I got the recipe, if any are something that I came up with on my own, then I'll say so but otherwise I've more than likely got them from somewhere on the world wide web.

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Prep Time: 5 mins Cooking Time: 20 to 25 mins

Ingredients: 1 package biscuit dough (10 biscuits) 3 eggs 3 tablespoons milk 1/3 cup of shredded cheddar 4 slices bacon (we used turkey bacon and veggie bacon) salt and pepper

Cook the bacon in a pan or in the oven until it’s almost done. Chop into small bits and set aside. (Note: if using veggie bacon do not cook it ahead – simply defrosted it and chopped it up.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together eggs and milk, a pinch of salt and some cracked pepper to taste and set aside. Meanwhile, roll out each biscuit until it’s slightly bigger than the circumference of your muffin tin. Grease the muffin tin with cooking spray and push one biscuit into each muffin cup being sure to push it all the way down and to the sides. Leave the ridge hanging over the edge. Divide the cheese evenly in each of the biscuit cups and then pour egg in, filling each cup only 1/2 way. They will look empty but resist the urge to top them off. You must account for the biscuits puffing up – otherwise you’ll have a mess on your hands. Sprinkle bacon atop of the egg and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden and eggs are set. Use a butter knife to loosen each muffin and serve warm.

Note: if your egg does overflow, just let it bake the rest of the way and then remove the extra egg when you are loosening the muffins. They’ll still taste terrific.