Subscribe to the LTG Newsletter

Living The Gourmet

Recipes - Wine Features - Interviews

You are here: Home / Archives for holiday

holiday

Crab Cakes, Crostini, and Torresella Prosecco

0 · · 12 Comments

Thank you to Torresella Wines for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own. The following message is intended for those 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

Complete the holiday season and ring in the New Year with this simple yet elegant spread featuring plump crab cakes and ciabatta crostini with a tomato and artichoke salad served alongside a bubbly glass of Torresella Prosecco.

“The common wisdom says that to be happy means to be rushed along within the crowd, drifting from fashion to fashion, and rushing about hectically for the sake of rushing about, or that purpose is found within the busyness of business. Those activities have their virtues, to be sure, but I always preferred the role of spectator, of being off in the undisturbed quiet of the unvisited distance, watching at my leisure and learning at my own pace, and there I thrived”

The holidays are pretty much a case study of that sentiment. I know that the prevailing sentiment at this time of the year is that there is a ‘certain magic’ or a ‘certain something’ or a ‘certain cheer’ drifting on the air, and that all of this ‘goodness’ is centered around a set of appointed feast days. While I must agree that there is an undeniable quality about the holiday season, I’ve always been one to favor those rare moments of quiet that immediately follow the great feast days. Perhaps it’s the contrarian in me, or perhaps it’s the romantic quality ingrained in being the ‘mysterious character’ of the film noir who lingers in the back of the lounge after the rest of the guests have left.

Whatever the reason, those moments in the melancholy of coming down from the holidays has always been my favorite part of the season, and this year was no different.

Allow me to demonstrate. This year, like every year, my family and I enjoyed our Christmas Eve, followed by a similarly pleasant Christmas Day. However, in the pleasant and relaxing quiet that followed on the Day-After-Christmas Day, I wanted to more or less ‘complete’ the scene, to sort of ‘lounge up’ my living room.

As luck would have it, earlier this month I was contacted by the representatives of Torresella, asking if I would be interested in sampling their Prosecco DOC. Naturally, I agreed, since this was just what sanity had ordered for a post-holiday spread.

On pouring, the prosecco is a nearly translucent yellowish-white, featuring sparse and fine bubbles, with a very thick foam that quickly evaporates. The nose is instantly floral, with white spring flowers predominating throughout, with fruit essences becoming more evident the longer you linger on the bouquet, chiefly white citrus. On the palate, the aromas largely carry over, carried on a distinct creaminess, with pleasantly fine bubbles.

While the orthodox thing to do would be to suggest this either as an aperitif, or with a warmed brie, I decided instead to pair it with a late luncheon spread that was light, Mediterranean in flavor, and blissfully satisfying.

Naturally, that meant homemade crab cakes, ciabatta crostini, grilled fennel, and an artichoke, olive, and tomato salad served as a late luncheon beside my bay window.

Starting off with the crab cakes, we begin with four cans of pink crabmeat. You must thoroughly drain the liquid from the crabmeat. Then you combine crumbled bread, bread crumbs, grated garlic clove, flour, grated cheese, an egg, the seasonings listed below, with lemon juice, parsley, anise greens and olive oil in a large bowl and mix. Then add in the drained crabmeat and work the resulting mixture together until it is blended nicely.

Next, it’s time for the dirty work, and that means separating the above mixture into roughly half inch thick by three to four-inch-wide patties, and then coating those patties in breadcrumbs.

Heat a large cast iron frying pan with about a quarter of an inch of canola oil, and while that heats up, prepare a plate with a paper towel, which you will need for the fried crab cakes.

Once the oil is hot, carefully set the patties in the frying pan, being careful of the oil splattering up at you. You will want to cook the patties for about three minutes on each side. As they finish cooking, set them on the plate that you prepared with the paper towel.

Once the patties are done, arrange them on a platter with alternating thinly sliced Asiago cheese and lemon wedges, as shown below for a stellar post-holiday plating.

Yields 4

Mediterranean Style Crab Cakes

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of crumbled Italian bread
  • 1 egg
  • 4 (4.25 oz.) cans of pink crabmeat – drained thoroughly
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
  • 1 tbs. lemon juice
  • 3 tbs. chopped Italian parsley
  • 1 large clove of garlic - grated
  • 1 tbs. Anise greens – chopped
  • 2 tbs. olive oil
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbs. bread crumbs – and more for coating the crab cakes
  • ½ cup flour
  • Canola oil for frying
    • Grilled Fennel:
  • 1 head of Anise (Fennel)– trimmed and cleaned and patted dry
  • Olive oil
  • Salt/black pepper

Instructions

    For the Crab Cakes:
  1. Place the crab meat in a colander and press down on it to thoroughly drain the liquid from the crab meat.
  2. Place the crumbled bread, bread crumbs, flour, grated cheese, egg, seasonings, lemon juice, parsley, Anise greens and olive oil in a large bowl. Add the drained crab meat and work the mixture together.
  3. Prepare a small bowl with about ½ cup of bread crumbs.
  4. Form the crab mixture into small ½ inch thick patties.
  5. Dip the formed crab cakes into the bread crumbs to coat the cakes.
  6. Prepare a plate with a paper towel for placing the cooked crab cakes on.
  7. Heat a large cast iron frying pan with ¼ inch of canola oil.
  8. Carefully place the crab cakes into the hot oil and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes on each side. When one has become a beautiful golden color, carefully turn over and repeat this on the other side.
  9. Place the cooked cakes on a plate prepared with a paper towel.
  10. Serve with a lemon wedge and thin slices of Asiago cheese.
    11. For the Fennel:
  11. Heat a large cast iron frying pan and place the fennel in the dry pan to become slightly charred.
  12. When the fennel has become slightly charred on both sides add a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  13. Remove from the pan and plate.
7.8.1.1
717
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/12/crab-cakes-crostini-torresella-prosecco.html

Since I had a whole wheat ciabatta loaf left over from Christmas, I sliced that up thin and turned it into crostini. Just slice it thin, brush the slices with olive oil, and bake them in the oven for about ten minutes, turning over once mid-way.

However, I didn’t ‘merely’ want crostini, no, I paired this instead with a tomato and artichoke heart salad, and grilled anise, to complete the post-holiday tablescape with my crab cakes.

Artichooke & Tomato Crostini

Ingredients:

Fresh Ciabatta Bread – sliced ¼ inch thickness
Olive oil for brushing the bread

For the Topping:

2 pints of cherry tomato medley – quartered
1 large clove of garlic – grated
6 oz. can of pitted black olives – drained and chopped
14 oz. can of artichoke hearts – drained and chopped
1 bunch of scallions – chopped
2 tbs. of capers – chopped
3 tbs. of chopped fresh Italian Parsley
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Romano or Parmesan cheese for Grating

Directions:

Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.

Brush the sliced Ciabatta bread with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes turning over once midway and brushing the other side with olive oil.
Remove and set aside for the salad.

Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a bowl and then place in a colander to drain any liquid and place back in the salad bowl.

Add the olive oil and the seasonings and toss.

Place on the prepared Ciabatta bread and grate with Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Naturally, this all perfectly complemented the Torresella Prosecco DOC, which I can wholeheartedly recommend to my readers looking either for an accessible and delicious aperitif bubbly, or who might be interested in pairing a prosecco with a light late lunch as I’ve done here today.

Cheers & Enjoy with Love!

Lemon Snowball Cookies

0 · · 10 Comments

Thank you to Limoneira for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own!

Add some sunshine to your winter days with these soft, buttery Lemon Snowball Cookies!

A few weeks ago, our favorite lemon company sent us a beautiful box of crisp California citrus fruits. For a food blogger, this was like celebrating Christmas early.

Nothing quite compares to the sweet lingering scent of freshly picked lemons, and now I understand why these little gems embody sunshine.

Some may argue these are Mexican Wedding Cookies, Greek Butter Cookies, or Russian Teacakes…wherever you are from or whatever you wish to call them, one thing is for certain- these cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Every bite bursts with fresh lemon, hints of almond and the velvety sweetness of the confectioner’s sugar.

Since it is “tis the season” of cookies, I wanted to share one of my favorites with you but remember this recipe is perfect for all year round!

This recipe makes a perfect dozen and the best part is this is a one bowl recipe- no muss, no fuss.

Yields 1 dozen

Lemon Snowball Cookies

5 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup Confectioner's sugar, plus more for coating
  • 1 egg
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • ½ teaspoon Almond extract
  • 1½ cups AP flour
  • ¼ teaspoon cream tartar
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Cream butter, ½ cup confectioner's sugar and egg. Add lemon and zest.
  3. Add the flour, baking soda, tartar and salt.
  4. Scoop one rounded tablespoon of dough onto prepared baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Transfer immediately to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes.
  6. Dip each cookie while they are still warm in powdered sugar and serve!
7.8.1.1
716
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/12/lemon-snowball-cookies.html

Enjoy with Love!

Greek Butter Twists

0 · · 4 Comments

Celebrate this season with a delicious batch of soft, Greek Butter Twists and cup of our favorite Gourmesso brand coffee!

There’s a cliché about autumn in New York, whose origins lie in the inherent charm of leaf dusted sidewalks strolled by those cloaked in long coats and scarves. It’s a scene that’s been put to words by those possessed of far greater word-craft than my own, and so I won’t dare attempt to embellish thereon. However, while I’ve been known to curse the snow, and to dread the prospect of a white Christmas, no matter how many times I ponder my eventual southward retreat, I can never quite cease to adore the Currier-esque scene into which the realm just beyond my bay window transforms – no matter how I try.

On days so deep within winter’s grasp, it’s a strange thing to watch the river water slow to a crawl, as if heeding the sentiment of the season, and as if on cue the sky blankets the earth in celestial white. Gradually, the scent of smoldering logs coils from neighboring chimneys, mixing with the ice and salt of the riverside air, and I find my eyes drifting from snowcapped pier to snowcapped pier, and though I still curse the snow, I can’t imagine a season without it. Lonely carols and tired Christmas songs light up the silence from somewhere far in the distance, as across the river my neighbor’s home lights up like a lonely star in a cosmic black sky, electric candles housed in each window, like a vision given life from a nautical snow globe. For all the bustle, rat-race, and commercialization of this most Imperial of states, there is quite no place like New York in December.

Days like these, it’s nice to pretend that there’s nothing to be done except to take in the scenery. Naturally, however, to truly complete the scene we need to add a few of our own touches. Granted, the instant candidates would include hot chocolate and some variation of a Christmas themed cookies, and I would hardly fault anyone for opting for such. However, in all cases – in case you haven’t guessed – I prefer coffee. And, at the risk of causing a Christmas uproar, I’m also a bit more inclined towards a cookie possessed of ‘plain elegance’ as opposed to copious seasonality.

That pairing, of course, brings us to today’s recipe – Greek Butter Cookies with Coffee.

To start things off, we combine butter, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium-sized mixing bowl with vanilla and one egg, and mix until the mixture is nice and smooth. Once that’s been achieved, we begin slowly adding in the flour and chopped almonds to form a workable dough.

Now, here comes the fun part – form the cookies.

To do this, portion out the dough into either teaspoon or tablespoon sized portions, depending on how large you want your cookies. Then carefully roll each portion into a smooth, thin log as shown below in the pictures. Once that’s been achieved, carefully ‘braid’ the log into a twist, being careful not to rip or break the dough.

Then line these twists onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake for about ten to twelve minutes or until the edges turn a beautiful golden color and then let them cool on a wire rack.

Yields 2 dozen

Greek Butter Twists

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter – (2 sticks) softened
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup chopped almonds
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ½ tsps. vanilla
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 2 ¼ cups flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.
  2. In a medium sized bowl combine the butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and egg.
  3. Cream this mixture until smooth.
  4. Slowly add in the flour and the chopped almonds to form a dough.
  5. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
  6. Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until the cookies become golden around the edges.
  7. Place on a wire rack to cool.
  8. Enjoy with coffee.

Notes

7.8.1.1
715
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/12/greek-butter-twists.html

Up next – the coffee. To pair with these Hellenic cookies, I opted for Gourmesso pods for my Keurig machine. For this particular batch of cookies, I opted for Glory Brew’s The Noble, The Knight, and the Duke, which are Extra Dark Roast, Dark Roast, and Medium brews respectively.

And just like that, you have the perfect snack for a wintery day.

Enjoy with Love!

Holiday Leftovers with Damaris Phillips

0 · · 1 Comment

We are pleased to welcome Food Network Star Damaris Phillips to Living the Gourmet today as she shares her best tips and tricks for serving up holiday leftovers.

After the crowds are gone and the ovens are cooled down, most household refrigerators are bursting with delicious leftovers.

Damaris Phillips is here to show us her go-to tips for reimagining all the delicious food that didn’t get eaten during their holiday gathering – so nothing goes to waste, and no one will say “oh, THIS again?!”

Check out our full interview below for some delicious inspirations on how to revamp holiday leftovers this season!

Enjoy!

Wines for Hanukkah

0 · · Leave a Comment

This post has been sponsored by Yarden Winery. All opinions expressed are my own. The following message is for 21+. Please enjoy responsibly this holiday season!

“One of the unyielding charms of wine, and of viniculture in general, is the constant state of flux in which it exists. No two bottles are ever truly alike, no two years ever reproduce precisely the same result, and no two regions, no matter how related, ever possess precisely the same qualities.”

That sentiment is part of the reason why I like returning to the offerings of various wineries, and seeing how they have either developed or if they’ve maintained the quality that I had originally enjoyed from them.

Naturally, when the representatives of Golan Heights Winery contacted me, asking if I would be interested in sampling several of their bottles, I naturally agreed. I received five bottles in total, a Yarden Malbec, a Galil Mountain Yiron, a Galilee White Wine, a Gilgal Sangiovese, and an Upper Galilee Merlot.

That said, we’ll start off with the Yarden Malbec. The wine introduces itself with a dark ruby to purple coloration with minimal translucence. Off the top of the glass, the wine is quite earthy, with soft notes of spice and tobacco punctuating through the middle of the glass, with ever so vague hints of coffee or dusty cigar box towards the bottom, creating a complex and earth-heavy aromatic profile. On sampling, the wine is a pleasantly by-the-book Malbec, featuring dark fruit essences carried on soft tannins.

For pairing, think grilled steaks, roast lamb with garlic and herbs, or pesto sauce over pasta.

Next up is the Galil Mountain 2014 Yiron, which is a cabernet sauvignon based blend of merlot and syrah. The wine introduces itself with a surprisingly reserved aromatic profile featuring black and red berries off the top of the glass cut with hints of thyme and peppery essences. Towards the bottom, or on a second approach, charcoal or smoky essences predominate, with hints of herbal notes perforating throughout – or that could just be me lingering a bit too long on the nose. On the palate, the aromatics carry over quite strongly, and this can make for a very bold wine considering its robust tannic qualities and marked acidity. Dark fruit, black pepper, and smoke are the first notes to greet the palate, with a pronounced herbaciousness, ending on a very short but pleasant finish.

Overall, I would suggest letting this bottle age for at least another one to three years before opening for maximum enjoyment. For pairing, think substantial entrees such as roast meats, steaks, heavy burgers, or spicy red sauces.

Now, we move onto the 2016 Galilee White Wine blend. On pouring, the wine introduces itself with a light straw yellow hue, and hints of green melon dusted with white flowers off the top of the glass, alongside copious citrus notes. On the palate, the aromatics largely carry over with the addition of crisp green apple, and just a hint of white stone fruit and damp leaves.

For pairing, while this might sound like a dodge on my part, I’m going to say that this bottle is a perfect candidate for the ‘White Wine Cliché.’ That means, simply, things like sushi, grilled salmon, and light pasta sauces of garlic and oil.

Finally, we come to the Gilgal 2014 Sangiovese, which introduces itself with aromas of dark fruit laced with ground coffee essences, which intensify strongly deeper into the glass. On sampling, the palate is greeted with ripe berry notes mixed with sliced dark cherry. Muted tannins, and a vague herbal essence lingering in the background, create a pleasantly complex and unusual Sangiovese experience.

For pairing, while this isn’t your typical Sangiovese, it’s still going to pair best with a typical-Sangiovese menu, so think Northern Italian cuisine, or perhaps beef stews, braised meats, and aged cheeses.

Up last, we have the Galil Mountain Merlot from Upper Galilee. Off the top of the glass, the wine introduces itself with bright berry and dark fruit notes framed in aromas of toasted oak, with a vague herbaciousness lingering at the bottom of the glass. On the palate, the wine features dried spice notes laced in licorice, which are carried on potent tannins.

I’ll defer to the winemakers themselves on the pairing, and suggest ample burgers, roasted foul, and grilled steak.

Overall, I was very pleased the selections of wines I received, and I can wholeheartedly recommend any of them to my readers.

Cheers!

Delicious Food & Gorgeous Decor for the Upcoming Holidays

0 · · 2 Comments

Today we are pleased to welcome Executive Chef Jeff Anderson and Design Expert Debi Lilly to share their best tips, tricks and recipes this holiday season!

The holidays are a joyous time of year when people come together to celebrate with family and friends. Delicious food and beautiful decor often become the centerpiece of these memorable occasions. Executive Chef Jeff Anderson who is known for his culinary creativity, is sharing special holiday recipes using O Organics® and Open Nature® products. With him is Debi Lilly, one of the nation’s top event planners and creator of the Debi Lilly design™ floral and décor line to show you how to create just the right ambiance in the center or your holiday table. Together, they’ll share timely tips, tricks and recipes to inspire your viewers to create the picture-perfect holiday party!

**O Organics®, Open Nature®, and Debi Lilly design™ are all available exclusively at Albertson’s company stores!

Enjoy!

Top 5 Easy Party Tips for the Holidays

0 · · Leave a Comment

We’re pleased to welcome Lifestyle Expert Alejandra Ramos to Living the Gourmet today as she shares her top 5 easy party tips for the holidays with us!

During the holidays, parties and gatherings with family and friends make the season extra fun and exciting. And the snacks and foods that come along with the entertaining…make it even better!

Alejandra is here to help streamline holiday party shopping plus sort through the best snacks and hacks for the perfect gathering.

Enjoy with Love!

No-Bake Dessert Bars for the Holidays

0 · · Leave a Comment

We are so pleased to welcome Jamie Johnson of My Baking Addiction and Melissa Sperka of Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen to LTG today as they share one of their favorite holiday desserts with us – scotcheroos!

The holidays are a time for family, fun, and food! And what better way to celebrate than by making (and enjoying) delicious, ooey-gooey, peanut butter and chocolatey Scotcheroos for your next cookie swap or holiday gathering!

Today, Jamie and Melissa are here to show us how to make these easy, delicious and versatile no-bake sweet treats and how you can personalize these simple bars for your holiday gatherings!

Enjoy!

Holiday Entertaining with Kia Malone

0 · · Leave a Comment

We are pleased to welcome Lifestyle expert, Kia Malone, to Living the Gourmet today as she shares some of her best and creative ideas for holiday entertaining this season!

As we head into the holiday season, now is the perfect time to step out of the box and blow your party guests away with style. Whether it’s your favorite recipe, a family tradition or a twist on that delicious holiday cocktail…for your next gathering try skipping the traditional habits and try a little experimenting. Today Kia Malone is here to give us the inspiration to do just that!

Make this holiday season the most delicious one yet with a few great ideas from the dinner table to the pantry. Check out our interview and let Kia help you spice up your holiday like never before!

Enjoy with Love!

Holiday Wines from Montes Winery

0 · · Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by Montes Winery. All opinions expressed are my own. The following message is intended for those 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

Early last month I was contacted by the representatives of Chile’s Montes Winery asking if I would be interested in sampling some of the bottles, describing the winery, and its owner Aurelio Montes, as ‘iconic’ figures in the current Chilean wine landscape.

Naturally, I agreed.

However, let me begin with a little background and context to Chilean wine in general. Chile boasts nearly three-thousand miles of coast, and that of course equates to copious sea breeze, which in turn creates a generally favorable wine growing climate. However, while Chile’s wine history dates to the original vines brought over by the conquistadors and missionaries, Chilean wine lineage shares a bit in common with that of the US in that international-quality production began with a relative handful of Francophiles and French immigrants in the nineteenth century, which saw the introduction of, among other varietals, Chile’s all-important Cabernet Sauvignon. While the Pais varietal of the conquistadors was original Chile’s primary grape, Cabernet has grown to become the nation’s lead varietal, forming the base for almost all of Chile’s most highly rated bottles, and has led to a handful of ‘Cult Cabernets.’ While Chile’s ‘cult cabernets’ have not quite reached the nosebleed pricing of California’s own cult labels, they nevertheless remain of impeccable quality, and a sign of the region’s vinicultural development overall.

That being said, I received four bottles, two from Aurelio’s Montes Winery in Chile, and two from the Argentine Kaiken Winery.

Now, onto the wine.

Let us begin with the Kaiken Ultra, a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine introduces itself with dark fruit aromas off the top of the glass, chiefly sliced plum mixed with crushed blackberries dusted with dried herbs. Deeper into the glass, the wine’s French oak origins perforate into the mix with hints of toasted oak and faint notes of driftwood. Overall, a pleasantly by-the-book Argentinian cabernet. On sampling, the bouquet largely carries over in the form of thoroughly ripe dark fruit carried on pleasant and copious tannins laced in crisp acidity.

Pairing here is thoroughly simple. This cabernet is substantial, and it’s best pairing, when not being enjoyed on its own, is with similarly substantial fare. Think herbed roasts, grilled steaks, or heavy sauces with pasta.

Next on offer is the Montes Alpha 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine introduces itself with a deep polished ruby complexion, and thick aromatics of sliced red fruit mixed with herbal essences. Deeper into the glass, dark red berries and licorice dominate an otherwise pleasantly complex bouquet. On the palate, the wine shows immediate evidence of its eight months in French oak, featuring distinct oaken notes set against a pleasant backdrop of vanilla and smoke laced red fruit essences. Hints of dried cigar box and spicy notes manifest towards the end, carried on opulent tannins to create a lasting finish.

While this wine more or less pleads to be paired with roasted meat, such as herbed lamb, hearty steaks, or even just a really good burger, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it’s certainly within the realm of possibility to pair this successfully with something like peppers stuffed with a spicy tapenade topped with an herbed aioli, or perhaps even with polpettes topped with fresh mozzarella.

Next in the roster is the Kaiken Terroir Series 2014, a cabernet sauvignon-fronted blend with Malbec and petit verdot. The wine introduces itself with instantly earthy tones of dark cocoa and coffee, with intense blackberry or dark fruit essences deeper into the glass. Pleasant notes of wildflower or perhaps vanilla lingered distantly in the background, creating a surprisingly complex bouquet towards the end. The aromatics largely carry over to the palate, with dark fruit laced in earthen notes predominating, carried on a very silky mouthfeel with crisp acidity and fine albeit ever-present tannins.

For pairing, I’m going to be quite by-the-book at the risk of being boring, and suggest ample entrees. Think roast duck with an herbed cream sauce, or pork roasted with garlic and herbs. Substantial pasta dishes with red sauce would pair nicely as well.

Finally, we come to the Montes Alpha 2012 titled simply ‘Chilean Red Wine,’ which is a cabernet sauvignon-led blend featuring cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot. The wine introduces itself with ripe red berries and dark fruit essences off the top of the glass, featuring crushed cranberries or perhaps sliced black cherries, with hints of currant and licorice deeper into the glass. Notes of toasted oak and perhaps damp cigar box finish off the aromatics towards the end. On the palate, the wine is possessed of a very intense but pleasant mouthfeel, with the dark berry notes of the aromatics carrying over and predominating, with licorice and oak notes floating in the background, leading off to a very long lasting finish.

For pairing, entrees remain the order of the day. Once again, think roasts, think duck, think steaks, and, of course, as with any solid cabernet, think red sauce and pasta.

Overall, I was very pleased with the wines I received from Aurelio’s wineries, and would wholeheartedly suggest them to any of my readers looking to expand their wine menu.

Cheers!

French Holiday Wines

0 · · 1 Comment

This post has been sponsored by Sommailier Winery. All opinions expressed are my own. The follow messages are intended for those 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

It is that said “Chaos breeds life, while order breeds habit, which begets decay. For it is from the great and eternal flux of the cosmos, the endless cycle of creation, destruction, and rebirth, that our consciousness was born.”

This is not to say that habit or routine are inherently ‘bad,’ on the contrary they provide comfort, certainty, and predictability. However, creativity, exploration, and spontaneity demand not only that which is new but also that which is ‘different.’

In the world of wine, it is very easy to fall into ‘habit,’ and I’ve been guilty of this myself in my personal life, defaulting to a selection of favorite varietals, regions, and wineries. The simple truth is that, even for someone like myself whose job it is to be knowledgeable on the topic, finding quality wines that are ‘new’ and ‘different’ from one’s habit can be a daunting.

Does one follow the herd to the latest vogue region or varietal? Or aught one simply flip and coin and pick an upstart winery to sample? Better yet, how about putting a mammoth multiplier on the price tag and hope that the posh cult winery promising a ‘revelation in flavor and aroma’ delivers on their promise? And I’m only slightly exaggerating.

What if, however, you could take the guesswork out of the process of selecting new wines? That’s precisely what Sommailier promised to do when they contacted me last month offering me a sample of their wine service. Simply put, Sommailier selects wines from boutique wineries around France, and delivers them to your door.

Now, I’ll be honest, I was at first very skeptical – emphasis on ‘very’ since you’ve likely noticed that I’ve – never – featured any other wine service here on Living the Gourmet, and for the simple reason that I’ve not found one worthy either of your attention or of my word count. Sommailier, therefore, is the first wine service I’ve ever agreed to feature.

That being said, I received three bottles from Sommailier, a 2014 Bourgogne, a 2015 Margaux, and a 2016 Chateau La Fleur des Pins.

However, before we get to the wine, I feel compelled to mention the packaging and presentation that accompanied my shipment. The wine arrived with a glossed pamphlet for each bottle, describing the wine, and giving a brief overview of the area and winery, which included space for personal notes on the wine itself. In addition, they included a cute no-spill pourer. Overall, I was quite impressed with the effort here.

Yet, as the saying goes “presentation is easy, delivering is hard.” So, how do the wines themselves hold up? Let’s find out.

We begin with the Bourgogne, which comes from the Cote Challonaise subregion of the Burgundy wine region. The Bourgogne introduces itself with aromas of crushed red berries set against a mixed backdrop of earth and ivy. On sampling, the wine is instantly dry with a very smooth mouthfeel, carrying notes of black berries and earth, with just a hint of minerality on the finish.

Pairing here is largely by the book, think baked salmon, roasted chicken with herbs, roast duck in a red wine sauce, or with an aged cheese platter with crusty bread.

Up next is the Margaux. If you’re ‘in the know,’ then you’re likely aware that 2015 saw several chateaux in Margaux produce the best wine in their history, with the region in general performing excellently, and receiving copious praise to prove it. This happened for the simple reason that 2015 encapsulated what is considered the ‘ideal’ weather conditions for production – a mild winter, a warm spring, and rapid budding.

Today’s Margaux introduces itself with aromas of black fruit and hints of cut grass or perhaps wild flowers, which further intensifies deeper into the glass. On the palate, the wine is instantly fruit-forward carried on silky tannins, with a very ‘clean’ mouthfeel overall, with vague hints of oak perforating throughout.

For pairing, think hardy entrees such as venison, grilled or roasted, spicy red sauces, or steaks. Hardy, ‘classic’ entrees.

Finally, we come to the Chateau La Fleur des Pins Graves. The wine greets with aromas of fresh vanilla and honey, with hints of nuts or light oak perforating through deeper into the glass, with just a hint of tropic fruit towards the bottom. On sampling, the word ‘velvety’ was the first to come to mind, with grapefruit and apricot dominating the palate, and ending off on a medium, oily finish.

For pairing, I’m going to be a bit unorthodox and say I could actually see myself enjoying this with a light garlic and oil sauce over pasta, with a side of crusty bread and infused oil. That aside, think herbed chicken and grilled light bodied fish.

Overall, Sommailier provided me with three bottles of boutique French wine with which I was very pleased, and for that I can wholeheartedly recommend them to my readers.

Cheers!

Thanksgiving 101 with Shelly Jaronsky

0 · · 1 Comment

We are pleased to welcome food blogger & cookbook author, Shelly Jaronsky of the popular blog, Cookies & Cups, to Living the Gourmet today as she shares her best tips for the Thanksgiving holiday!

Pressed for time this Thanksgiving or feeling a little intimidated by trying out new ingredients or techniques? Well, here is some good news- it’s a lot easier than you think!

Wow your Thanksgiving guests with delicious, homemade dinner rolls from scratch with guidance from cookbook author and blogger, Shelly Jaronsky. Join Shelly, author of The Cookies and Cups Cookbook, in the kitchen for an easy to follow dinner roll recipe and helpful tools, tips and tricks that yield delicious homemade goodies that are sure to impress your loved ones.

Thanks again to Shelly for stopping by today! Wishing you all a happy & delicious Thanksgiving!

Enjoy with Love!

Wines for Thanksgiving

0 · · 1 Comment

Today we’re sharing some of our favorite wine suggestions and pairings for the Thanksgiving holiday. This message is intended for 21+. Please enjoy responsibly!

In reviewing wine, one quickly learns that a wine’s vintage is not just a mark of how long the liquid within has been aging, but that it is an encapsulation of the year, of the year’s weather, soil quality, and the personnel on hand at the time who aided in the production.

That said, perhaps it’s the nostalgia that naturally accompanies the holidays, and perhaps, as a result, I subconsciously crave the familiar aromas and warming flavors that bring me back to the big dinners and gatherings of my youth. Whatever the reason, I’ve been on something an unintentional Chianti-streak lately, having reviewed several bottles in quick succession here on Living the Gourmet, and today is going to be no different.

You see, not long after agreeing to review the previous bottles I just posted here, I was contacted by the representatives of the Tuscany based Santa Margherita winery, asking if I would be interested in featuring a Riserva. Naturally, I agreed.

For the uninitiated, Chianti is produced in the Chianti DOCG, which comprises much of central Tuscany. The Chianti DOCG, in turn, is divided into several sub-regions, with ‘Classico’ being the centermost region, and is so-named because it comprises the original, smaller, Chianti DOCG, which was redrawn and expanded in 1932.

However, geography is not enough for a Chianti to be titled ‘Classico.’ First of all, for a Chianti to be dubbed ‘classico,’ it needs to be aged for a minimum of one year. The top Classico wines are dubbed ‘Gran Selezione,’ and as the name implies these are wines selected as being the very best incarnations of Chianti, and these must be aged for a minimum of two and a half years and must be estate grown. Directly below the Gran Selezione wines are the Riserva, which are aged for a minimum of two years, with ‘standard’ Chianti Classico, as well as Rufina and Superiore, being aged for a minimum of one year. In each case, the wine must be 80% Sangiovese.

That being said, how does today’s Riserva hold up? Let’s find out.

To begin, the wine is ruby in coloration, with almost no staining. On pouring, the wine introduces itself with an aromatic profile that is complex to the point of being chaotic, being both very gamey and very floral at the same time, which is further complicated by the distinct earthen notes that perforate throughout, especially into the middle of the glass. Dark fruit and occasional minerality further add to the mosaic of the bouquet.

On sampling, the wine’s first notes are of ripe cranberry or raspberry, flavors which are set on a foundation of damp soil, and leave essences of fresh tobacco leaf or cut spice drifting about in the mouth. The tannic qualities are muted to medium in their proliferation, which leads to a pleasantly long finish.

For pairing, I find myself in complete agreement with the winemakers themselves who suggest Tuscan or Northern Italian cuisine, or roast pork chops with herbs. This is a sturdy, full-bodied wine that need not be at all intimidated by hardier meals or holiday fare.

That said, I was very pleased with this wine, and can wholeheartedly recommend it to any of my readers looking for a bottle to pair with their big holiday meals this season.

Cheers,
Mike

Gluten Free Chocolate Cranberry and Almond Biscotti

0 · · 10 Comments

Tracking Pixel

These chocolate biscotti are loaded with almonds and cranberries and rich in chocolatey goodness. The best part, however, may be that they are completely gluten-free!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.

On a recent trip to a local pork store I’ve been frequenting on and off since my son was in a stroller, I was ‘treated’ to a rather disappointing surprise. To set the scene, it’s a faux-quaint place, the sort of “New York Italian” theme you see in mobster movies or cop shows. Walking in, you’re greeted to the quintessential brass trimmed cases, a purposefully distressed tile and wood floor that creaks beneath your steps, and a few strategically placed religious murals, with the entire scene laced in an air carrying antique Italian tunes perforated by the aroma of dried pork, aged cheese, and just a touch of butcher’s wood or sawdust.

I wasn’t there for anything in particular, just some essentials for a pre-holiday dinner party that my brother was hosting – fresh mozzarella, cured meats, and the crusty bread they bring in each morning from Brooklyn bakeries. After selecting my order, I asked for a pound of ricotta salata on a whim, thinking it would be a nice finishing note to the antipasto. The guy behind the counter looked at me, and asked point blank, “What’s that?”

It didn’t really register, and so my son asked a second time, this time explaining that it was “basically like Italian feta.”

“We have feta, but maybe the boss knows what you’re asking for,” was his response, and he called over the owner, who’s a dear longtime friend of mine, and he explained, with evident disheartenment, that “No one buys it anymore. A lot of that kind of stuff just can’t carry anymore, like oxtails or chicken feet, none of that stuff,” he said, almost embarrassed. “You need the clientele, and people around here, honestly…, they wouldn’t know what to do with any of that. I mean look at this, look at what I have to sell,” he said, motioning at a jar of plastic wrapped biscotti on the counter. “You think my father would eat this? Your father?” he said, pulling out a biscotti covered in ‘artisan sprinkles’ with candies baked into it. “Of course not. My father used to dip his in wine, you think he’d want sprinkles in his wine? Of course not, but the people around here, what can I say, they buy these and leave the real ones on the shelf.”

It was a candid reveal on his part, but one that I can sadly relate to. You see, my brother had recently shared exactly the same sentiment with my son – albeit in a much different context. The last time I had my brother over, he offered my son the antique typewriter that our father had worked on most of his life. It’s a real-time capsule of a piece, all metal and in near pristine condition, like something you might see in a Bogart movie. After that, my brother started to tell him about ‘old times,’ waxing nostalgic about all of the big meals and noise that characterized our lives growing up, and became misty-eyed describing how ‘quiet’ everything is these days. He then went on to describe how the bakery items back then “just tasted better,” and how our grandfather would – you guessed it – dip his biscotti cookies in wine. “You don’t see people do that anymore,” my brother mused. “Ah well, Mike, no offense but you can’t appreciate what I’m talking about, you need to have lived it,” he concluded.
If you hadn’t guessed, thanks to my last-minute stop at the pork store, I knew exactly what I would be bringing my brother – homemade biscotti. Naturally, I would take this as my opportunity to make the sort of chocolate biscotti that we would have eaten growing up. In other words, as I’ve spoken about before here on Living the Gourmet, this was basically nostalgia and wellbeing through baking put to action. Yes, I live what I preach.

There was just one caveat – they would, of course, need to be gluten free for my niece.

To start things off, we begin by sifting together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt listed below. For this recipe, to keep it gluten-free and delicious, I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, which I use for a couple reasons, the first being that it’s perfectly formulated for baking, assuring a delicious taste and perfect texture. This means that no additional specialization or customized recipes are necessary when using this flour – which takes of the biggest hurdle when baking gluten-free. That aside, Bob’s Red Mill products are simply of the highest quality, which really makes any baked goods produced with them truly shine.

Then, in a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and then slowly stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. Then stir in the chopped nuts and dried cranberries.
Form the resulting batter into logs and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for about twenty-five minutes until they are slightly firm. Then cut the logs into half-inch thick biscotti as shown below. Then place the biscotti on the baking sheets and place them back in the oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Yields 2 dozen

Gluten Free Chocolate Cranberry and Almond Biscotti

15 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

55 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
  • ¾ cups cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 teaspoon flaxseed mixture* or xanthan gum
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • ½ tsp. almond extract
  • ½ cup almonds – toasted and chopped
  • ¾ cups dried cranberries – chopped
    • Sugar Glaze:
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbs. raw sugar

Instructions

    Flax seed mixture:
  1. In a small pot, combine 1 part flax seed with 2 parts water. Bring the mixture to a simmer until thickened like gelatin. Remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl. Allow to cool.
    2. For the Biscotti:
  2. Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.
  3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour coco powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a smaller bowl beat together the 3 eggs, sugar, flax seed mixture vanilla extract and almond extract.
  5. Gradually stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then stir in the nuts and chopped dried cranberries.
  6. Line the baking with parchment paper and place the logs on the lined baking pan.
  7. Bake 20 minutes until slightly firm, then let cool about 10 minutes before slicing on a diagonal into ½ inch thick biscotti.
  8. Place slices side down on the baking sheet and place back in oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
  9. Let cool. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Can be stored in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.
7.8.1.1
698
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/11/gluten-free-chocolate-cranberry-almond-biscotti.html
ESHA Logo
Calories
3264 cal
Fat
84 g
Carbs
451 g
Protein
212 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Once they’ve finished cooking, let them cool. These are sturdy cookies and can keep for about a week, more if you’ve brought to a truly firm crisp – provided you store them airtight.
For today’s purposes, I set them neatly in the Bob’s Red Mill gift box, and just like that, I had the perfect season’s greetings for my brother and his family.

Enjoy with Love!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.

Baked Egg Muffins & Strawberry Shortcakes for Mother’s Day

0 · · 11 Comments

Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

Surprise Mom for Mother’s Day with an elegant brunch featuring Baked Egg Muffins & Strawberry Shortcakes!

“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a word of what I am saying,” Oscar Wilde remarked. Any of my fellow bloggers who read this are well familiar with the “The Writer’s Quandary.” Wait for the muse, dare to write in her absence, or suffer the blank page. That was my predicament last night in preparing this post. You see, I wanted to put together something terribly ‘poetic’ for lack of a better word, something that really pulled at the heartstrings. Unfortunately, we mere mortals are governed greatly by chance, and the dictum that “Whatever can go wrong, shall.” The ‘muse,’ as it were, decided she had more interesting places to be. Rather than summoning my inner genius, I instead found myself shifting between varying stages of focus – or lack thereof – and rationalizing away the night’s hours as they passed, all the while attempting to move that blinking cursor across the page.

Oddly enough, I believe that night will likely be one that I remember for quite some time, sort of like a mental ‘battle scar’ in producing these pages. You see, the ‘productive’ nights, which thankfully have become routine, tend to fade into one sort of messy mosaic of experience. Last night’s chink in the routine, however…now that stands out.

Which brings me neatly to the original point I had planned out for myself last night.

As Plato remarked through the voice of Socrates, and I paraphrase, “Simplicity is the highest form of grace.” So to put this simply…I’ve never been fond of ‘intentional memory making’ – regardless of the occasion. Instead, I’ve long contended that anything that breaks routine, anything that helps chip away at the standard code of our lives is perhaps the best ingredient for a memory.

For that reason, even the simplest form of spontaneity can cut through drudgery and turn even the most mundane of moments into something that will be pleasantly graced into our memories.

For example, last Mother’s Day is perhaps a perfect example of what I’m talking about. As one might imagine, the spring season, and particularly Mother’s Day, is one of the busier times here at Living the Gourmet, and as the old adage runs “The builder’s home is typically the last to be repaired.” Similarly too, the gourmet is the last for whom the party is planned or the dinner prepared – and this year is certainly no exception. However, it’s times like these where I’m reminded I’m hardly the only hand on deck. Just a few days ago, after I came back from a supply run to Walmart, I found that my daughter had set up a complete ‘Mother’s Day’ themed brunch tablescape – knowing that the ‘actual’ Mother’s Day celebration would be taken up by company coming by leaving me little or no time to myself. Needless to say, that precisely demonstrates what I’ve been talking about.

This, of course, brings us nicely to today’s set of recipes, Baked Egg Muffins served with a Fresh Whipped Cream Strawberry Short Cake.

To start things off, we begin by whisking together six eggs plus four egg whites, chopped Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage Beef, salt and pepper, and then pour that mixture into or muffin tray.

We then serve these alongside Thomas’® Pre-Sliced Plain Bagels and The Original Nooks & Crannies English Muffins.

Yields 12 egg muffins

Baked Eggs Muffins

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs plus 4 egg whites, whisked
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
  • ½ cup green scallions, chopped
  • ½ cup Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage Beef, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.
  2. Butter the muffin tins.
  3. Divide the ingredients between each muffin tin.
  4. Whisk eggs with salt then divide into each muffin tin. Top with fresh ground black pepper.
  5. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until the muffins set.
  6. Let cool a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin.
7.8.1.1
489
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/04/baked-egg-muffins-strawberry-shortcakes-mothers-day.html
ESHA Logo
Protein
5 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

To start off the pound, we begin with Sara Lee® Pound Cake All Butter, 16 oz. We begin by whipping up some fresh whipped cream with vanilla extract and powdered sugar as shown below, being careful not to over whip. We then sandwich the whipped cream with the sliced strawberries between the pound cake slices, and just like that we’ve got an elegant, light dessert perfect for precisely this sort of brunch.

Don’t forget to head over to www.tysonlovesmom.com, where you can enter for your chance to win one of five $200 Walmart gift cards. To enter, post a picture of your mom, your brunch with mom, or breakfast in bed for mom on Instagram or Twitter and hashtag it #TysonlovesMom and tag @TysonFoods.

Enjoy with Love!

Italian Easter Pies

0 · · 6 Comments

Italian Easter Pies are a traditional dessert made of a sweet whipped ricotta filling that’s baked over a flaky crust!

While I am a fervent classicalist, perhaps one of my favorite lines of dialogue comes from the movie Blade Runner, specifically Roy Batty’s brief exchange at the end of the film, which ran “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe: attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those… moments… will be lost… in time, like… tears… in rain.”

Why do I bring this up? For the simple reason that I sometimes find myself relating to it. No, I’ve never been a spacefaring mercenary, nor witnessed the glittering of C-Beams – at least not yet. Instead, it’s the perpetually ‘lacking’ nature of trying to relate the memories of a ‘past life’ to those for whom my experiences are largely foreign. While words are part of my living, there is an element of ‘experience’ that even the most eloquently laced words can never even hope to touch.

Having lost both of my parents quite early in my life, much of the ‘family tradition’ I grew up with is locked inside a ‘past life’ my children were never able to experience.

In that regard, I’m a bit like an actor left alone on a stage, struggling to fill the roles left vacant by the passing of time and tragedy. Though the observing audience is none-the-wiser that something is amiss, I know what has been lost. Not unlike a satire of Pagliacci, I do my best for my audience, playing by memory a rendition of an ever fading script written many years ago by a cast of familiar faces.

Where words fail, however, material helps fill the void. For example, I posted here some time ago a recipe for my mother’s grain cake, which was a staple at our holiday events, particularly Christmas and Easter. Similarly, today’s recipe was also one of our holiday favorites, usually served alongside the centerpieces, or stacked neatly amongst the dessert spread.

This, of course, brings us to today’s recipe – Italian Easter Pies.

To start things off, we begin by combing flour salt, and sugar together with cubed butter as shown below. For this, I prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour, a super versatile staple for all your baking needs, which is produced from freshly milled hard red wheat, and isn’t enriched with any additives.

Now, using a pastry cutter, work that mixture until its crumbly, and then add in eggs yolks as described below one at a time, along with fresh orange rind. Now, you might hate me for this, but as the saying goes you “gotta do what you gotta do.” Set aside the pastry cutter, and knead the dough with your bare hands as shown below. Yes, this will be messy.

Once you have a proper dough, refrigerate it for about an hour before continuing.

While the dough is refrigerating, mix together the ricotta cheese with sugar, egg yolks, and cinnamon, along with a dash of orange rind, and mix that until its smooth, adding in the raisins as you do.

Once the dough has finished refrigerating, roll it out on a well-floured surface and cut out and cut out circular portions to fit the bottom of your cupcake or muffin tin. I like to use a glass for this purpose.

After pressing the circular portions to the bottom of the muffin tins, top each with about a tablespoon of the ricotta filling as shown below, and crisscross thin strips of the dough over the ricotta.

Once that’s done, bake for about forty minutes, or just until the filling is nice and firm and you’ve got beautiful golden coloration to the crust.

Yields 18 pies

Italian Easter Pies

15 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

45 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Grated rind of 1 orange
  • 1 ½ lbs. Ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup confections’ sugar
  • 2 egg yolks ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • 4 tbs. raisins (optional)
  • 1 tbs. grated chocolate (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl sift the flour, salt and sugar together.
  2. Add the cubed butter and cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
  3. Mix in one egg yolk at a time and stir in the orange rind.
  4. Work the dough gently with your hands until it comes together, adding a tablespoon of cold water at a time to help bring the dough together.
  5. On a floured surface quickly knead the dough until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  6. On a floured surface roll out the dough to a ¼ inch thickness and use a glass to cut the pastry into rounds to fit the bottom of a muffin tin.
  7. Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.:
  8. In a large bowl combine the ricotta cheese, confections sugar, egg yolks, cinnamon and orange rind.
  9. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy; then stir in the raisins.
  10. Press the rounds into the bottom of the muffin tins and top with a heaping tablespoon of the filling. Sprinkle a little of the grated chocolate on top of the filling if desired.
  11. Cut small strips of dough and crisscross the dough over the muffin tops.
  12. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until the filling is firm and the crust is a beautiful golden.
  13. Cool and serve.
  14. Use any leftover dough to make cookies to serve with the Easter Pies.
  15. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden around the edges on a non-stick cookie sheet.
7.8.1.1
492
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/04/italian-easter-pies.html
ESHA Logo
Calories
21 cal
Carbs
5 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

What are some of your favorite Easter desserts? We would love to hear from you.

Discount for our readers: Get 15% off Bob’s Red Mill products (does not apply to shipping or bulk bags) with promo code livingthegourmet15. Offer valid until 4/20.

Enjoy with Love!

Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

0 · · 23 Comments

Tracking Pixel

These traditional soft and sweet little buns are easier to make than you think and the best part is- they are gluten free! This is a sponsored post on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill however all opinions expressed are my own.

At some point, we recognize when an object, custom, or ritual crosses the line into becoming ‘iconic.’ Perhaps after a few years, or a generation, a certain recipe prepared for a certain occasion stops being either merely ‘beloved’ or ‘traditional,’ and starts to wholly embody the occasion.

Decorated trees at Christmas, for example, or Mirror balls being dropped from skyscrapers on New Year’s Eve. Similarly, along with bunnies and molded chocolate, Hot Cross Buns have come to symbolize the Easter Season – in particular the end of Lent. While not as ‘deliberately nonsensical’ as dragging a fern into the living room to string with electric lights (fire hazards be damned), or as faux-audacious as dropping crystal balls from skyscrapers, Hot Cross Buns nevertheless found themselves outlawed by the government of Queen Elizabeth I, to be sold and consumed solely at Christmas and Good Friday.

A tad odd, I think, considering they’re a quaint thing, really. Humble of ingredients and flavor, almost purposefully simple, and thoroughly antique as if reaching back to a bygone era. I can’t help imagining “Black Market Bakers” selling these in the alleys between pubs, or in graveyards past midnight to Hot Cross Bun-craving Londoners in desperate need of their spice cake fix.

The precise origin of these once fugitive buns is, like most such traditions, largely lost to time. Some attempt to link the eating of hot cross buns to ancient Greek and Roman festival food, where small spiced cakes were common fare for the attendees. However, I can’t really imagine how Hellenic era festival food would vanish for several millennia only to reemerge in Elizabethan England. Others link the buns to St. Albans Abbey in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, with monks piously marking their food with iconographic…frosting?

Growing up, I must admit that we bought rather than baked our Hot Cross Buns, and that they were almost exclusively a morning treat, or eaten midday with black coffee.

However, today, no Easter arrangement in my home would complete without these now coveted cakes. There is but a single caveat to the Hot Cross Buns in my home – and that is they need to be gluten free.

You see, my niece suffers from a gluten allergy, and I wouldn’t even think of preparing a batch of these without her being able to enjoy them.

For precisely that purpose, I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. I use Bob’s Red Mill for a couple reasons, first being that it’s perfectly formulated for baking, assuring a delicious taste and perfect texture. This means that no additional specialization or customized recipes are necessary when using this flour.

That being said, we start things off by proofing our yeast as directed below. While that sets, soak some raisins in hot water until their nice and plump.

Don’t be a wise guy and ask me “Wow, way to complicate things, why not just use grapes? Aren’t grapes literally ‘already plump raisins?’”

No, no grapes are not ‘already plump raisins.’

Up next, mix together the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour with the rest of the dry ingredients. After that, gently heat about a cup of milk, and whisk in an egg and vegetable oil. Then add in the dry ingredients, the proofed yeast, plumped raisins (or currants), and stir until thoroughly combined.

If you’ve done this all correctly the dough should be wet and sticky. Now, cover the dough with a towel, and place in a warm dark place to rise. It should just about double in size within an hour.

Once the dough has risen, work the dough into a ball as described below, and then cut into eight equal parts, and then set them aside to rise a second time. No kneading necessary. Again, they should about double in size.

After that, bake them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about twelve to fifteen minutes, and you’re done.

Yields 8

Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

10 minPrep Time

12 minCook Time

22 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

4 based on 1 review(s)

Ingredients

    For the Buns:
  • 2 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup raisins or currants
  • 2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    • For the Crosses:
  • 1 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  1. Proof the yeast first by mixing the yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Let the yeast stand for 10 minutes until foamy.
  2. Soak 3/4 cup raisins in 1 cup hot water to let the raisins plump up. Set aside. (Remember to drain the raisins before adding to the dough).
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.
  4. In a large pot, heat 1 cup milk until very hot but not boiling. Let the milk rest until warm. Whisk in egg and vegetable oil to the warm milk.
  5. Add the dry ingredients, proofed yeast and drained raisins to the milk mixture. Stir until combined. The dough will be wet and sticky.
  6. Cover the dough with a towel and place in a warm dark place to rise and double in size, about 1 hour.
  7. Turn the dough over to a well floured surface and shape into a ball gently. Since this is gluten free you do not have to knead this dough.
  8. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the dough rest again until each bun has doubled in size.
  9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the buns for 12 - 15 minutes, until nice and golden. Remove and let cool on a cooling rack.
    10. For the Icing:
  10. In small bowl combine confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk vigorously until all the clumps are out. You want the icing nice and thick, but if it's too thick add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
  11. Transfer the icing to a piping bag and pipe a cross over each bun. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Prep Time does not include Inactive Prep Time

7.8.1.1
483
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/03/gluten-free-hot-cross-buns.html
ESHA Logo
Calories
118 cal
Carbs
27 g
Protein
2 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

What are some of your favorite Easter treats? We would love to hear from you.

Enjoy with Love!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.

Easter Cake Pops

0 · · 7 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, MARS Incorporated. All opinions are mine alone. #SweeterEaster #CollectiveBias

Brighten up your holiday tablescape this season with these fun and festive Easter Cake Pops and for a twist on the traditional egg hunt, make little candy bundles with mason jars featuring M&M’S® and Starburst® Jelly Beans!

Imagine an antique church setting from a distantly bygone era. Beyond the darkened stained glass windows, grey clouds hang overhead, the prelude of a storm gathering in the distance, conjuring faint echoes of thunder across an otherwise still and silent Sunday afternoon. Now, imagine a priest’s pious voice booming through that aforementioned church “Tradition is the voice of our ancestors.” Needless to say, that particular Sunday afternoon was rather thoroughly impressed upon my then still young mind.

I suppose in some vague, subconscious way that formed how I view tradition today, and I’ve written here on Living the Gourmet a fair bit about tradition. I’ve spoken about the paradox of certainty in an ever-changing world, of the false-security it provides against the unknown of tomorrow, and how it connects us to our fast fading past.

Growing up, my family’s Easter traditions, like those of all the other holidays, reached back not merely generations but across an ocean. Without delving into detail, suffice it to say that with the passage of time, the dispersal of family, and an oral tradition that proved only as strong as the memories that held it, those ‘ancestral voices’ are growing faint.

For better or for worse, Easter today is all about the sweets, and given the holiday’s aesthetic of bright colors and ‘rebirth,’ it’s safe to say that not merely any arrangement of sweets will suffice, but rather sweets that are in and of themselves decorations and symbols of the season. Whether its overwrought baskets, molded chocolates, or multicolored eggs, it is as though the crafters of these confections were seeking to instill a sort of guilt in their consumption.

That said, I will admit that this is a part of the holiday I have come to thoroughly enjoy. Indeed, I’ve posted here in the past about my family’s copious Easter basket giving, and how the crafting of such baskets has become an annual event.

This year, however, while shopping through Walmart for Easter supplies, I decided I wanted to try to do something a little more ‘elaborate’ than just the baskets, or to perhaps craft something extra for them. That said, I picked up a pack of Starburst® Jelly Beans, a pack of M&M’S® Milk Chocolate candies, some DOVE® Peanut Butter Eggs, and the new Walmart exclusive M&M’S® White Chocolate.

I decided to put together a medley of Easter goodies. I was going to craft Easter Cake Pops in the shape of Bunnies, Chickadees, and Eggs. To pair with these, I was also going to put together candy jars, which would be great either as basket stuffers, or to give as gifts on their own.

Before we begin, I should warn you that this is not a ‘half hour’ project. Instead, you’re going to have to roll up those proverbial sleeves, because by the time you’re done you’re going to be elbow deep in cake and melted chocolate…and covered in a fair bit of sprinkles, you may also find your faith in humanity waning, but it will be restored, I think.

Sounds fun, right? Right…? Moving right along.

We start off with a vanilla cake mix, which we prepare as directed. Once the cake is cooled…break them. Yes, take your newly baked cakes and break them.

Don’t give me that look, you can’t make an omelet with breaking a few eggs, and in this case you can’t make Easter candy without breaking a few cakes.

While breaking the cakes, add in honey and frosting until you reach maximal ‘workability.’ Once the cakes are sufficiently broken, begin rolling them out by the tablespoon, and begin shaping them into balls as shown below.

This should result in roughly two dozen or so cake balls…depending on how much cake-frosting-honey batter you’ve devoured in the aforementioned process.

My son tried making this in our LTG Test Kitchen, we ended up with about five cake balls, and he swore that was all the batter made.

True story, different recipe.

Once that’s done, melt down white and yellow melting candies as shown below, and coat the balls as directed. After that, you want to let them cool for about five or so minutes.

Now, to prepare the Bunnies we use the white coated cake balls. First, we’re going to need to cut some Starburst® Jelly Beans and mini marshmallows in half.

Once that’s done, we use the candies to form the ears of the bunny as described below using the remaining melted white chocolate. We repeat this process with the marshmallows but this time to form the bunnies’ feet. For the eyes, carefully poke two appropriately positioned holes and dote them with a single candy sprinkle. This is delicate work. Finally, for the nose, cut the end off of a jelly bean, and paste it on with a bit of melted chocolate. Once that’s all done, you have the option of dusting the entire Bunny in shredded coconut for added cuteness.

For the Chickadees, I’ll make this simple…repeat the entire aforementioned but with the yellow coated balls. When I said ‘simple,’ I meant for me.

For the eggs, begin by finely chopping about a quarter of a cup of M&M’S® Milk Chocolate candies and then set these aside. After that, prepare melted green chocolate as described below, and coat the bottom of your white coated cake balls in the chocolate. Once that’s done, dust the bottom of each egg with the chopped M&M’S® Milk Chocolate, and then dot with green chocolate using a toothpick as described below.

Now, here comes the fun part, impaling your carefully crafted chickadees and bunnies on lollipop sticks to form your Easter Cake Pops.

Yields 2 dozen cake pops

Easter Cake Pops

25 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

45 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

    For the Cake Pops:
  • 1 box vanilla cake mix
  • 8 oz vanilla frosting
  • 2 tablespoons honey
    • Decorations:
  • 16 oz white chocolate melting candies
  • 8 oz yellow melting candies
  • 8 oz green melting candies
  • ¼ cup Starbust® Jelly Beans
  • ¼ cup M&M’s® Milk Chocolate candies
  • Sprinkles (assorted Spring colors)
  • Pearl Sprinkles
  • Black sprinkles (for eyes)
  • 1/8 cup Mini Marshmallows (for feet and tails)
  • ½ cup Shredded coconut (optional)
  • Lollipop sticks

Instructions

  1. Prepare vanilla cake mix as directed. Let cool completely before proceeding to make cake pops.
  2. In the bowl of your mix master, break up the cakes. Add frosting and honey until the mixture is sticky enough to roll out.
  3. Roll out about a tablespoon amount of cake mix onto a parchment lined baking sheet. You should have about 2 dozen cake balls. Make sure to shape about ¼ of the cake balls into oval shapes for the eggs. Take a lollipop stick and carefully place underneath each cake ball to mark the hole for later. Refrigerate the cake balls for up to an hour or overnight.
  4. Melt down the white and yellow melting candies. Coat ¾ of the cake balls in the white chocolate and the remaining ¼ in the yellow chocolate. Let the chocolate set before continuing about 3-5 minutes.
    5. For the Bunnies:
  5. Cut Starbust® Jelly Beans in half and mini marshmallows in half.
  6. With the remaining bit of white chocolate (you may have to reheat slightly if it has set), dab a little of the white chocolate on the jelly beans and place on top of each cake ball for the ‘ears’. Do the same with the marshmallows to create the feet and tail.
  7. Use a toothpick to dab a light bit of chocolate for the eyes and carefully place a black sprinkle.
  8. Finally, for the nose, cut the end off a jelly bean, dab with a little chocolate and place accordingly to finish each face of the bunnies.
  9. *If you like before adding the faces, immediately after coating the cake balls in the white chocolate, roll in finely shredded coconut flakes for the bunnies. This is optional.
    10. For the Chickadees:
  10. Follow the same basic outline for the bunnies minus the mini marshmallows to create the faces on each chickadee. Use only the orange jelly beans.
    11. For the Eggs:
  11. Finely chop about ¼ cup M&M’s® Milk Chocolate candies and set aside.
  12. Melt down the green melting candy and dip the bottom of each egg in the green chocolate.
  13. Sprinkle the chopped M&M’s® Milk Chocolate candies all around and place on the parchment lined baking sheet to set.
  14. Using a toothpick, dot each egg with the remaining green chocolate (or white chocolate if you prefer) and carefully place the sprinkles all over.
  15. One each of the cake balls have set, place the lollipop sticks in the holes we made earlier. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Prep Time does not include inactive Prep Time.

7.8.1.1
482
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/03/easter-cake-pops.html
ESHA Logo
Calories
32 cal
Carbs
9 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Once that’s done, it’s time to prepare the Candy Jars. We begin with 4 ounce Mason jars. To start, prep the bottom of each jar with Easter grass, and then begin layering the candy. Don’t shy away from being creative, use your MARS candies like Skittles®, the new DOVE® Peanut Butter Egg, or the New Walmart Exclusive M&M’s® White Chocolate. Then seal the jars with ribbon, and you’re done.

What are some of your favorite Easter projects? We would love to hear from you. Find more sweet Easter confections and inspiration HERE!

Don’t forget to download this exclusive Ibotta rebate on your MARS Easter candy purchase this season!

Enjoy with Love!

One Bowl Fudge Brownies

0 · · 14 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SendingYourLove #CollectiveBias

Treat your special Valentine to a batch of these easy one bowl fudge brownies and a beautiful handcrafted Hallmark Signature Valentine’s Day Card.

“There’s something intensely unsexy about a dethorned rose. It’s the idea of a ‘Beauty’ demanding to be handled with delicate precision, the strange allure of knowing the mysterious elegance between your fingertips can bite back at any moment, the idea that the rose retains a measure of its own power, that it’s never fully yours…it’s the beauty of defiance, and that’s the beauty behind the thorns. Remove those, and the rose is just another flower, not a symbol of love or passion.”

While flowers are fine on Valentine’s Day, in fact no Valentine’s Day would be complete without red rose petals, truly impressing requires a bit more creativity.

I know what you’re thinking creativity is its own reward…or so the cliché runs. However, for those of us not employed as starving artists, creativity is very hardly its own reward, instead it is the means to an end. You see, I like to think of creativity as the fuel for success – and the willingness to apply it. ‘Standing out,’ ‘being different,’ or ‘breaking the mold,’ all requires the ability, and willingness, to innovate.

Whether it’s impressing guests, decorating for a holiday, or putting something together for your Valentine, the ‘equation’ is really quite simple. Your guests, or Valentine, are impressed in direct proportion to your creativity.

And let’s be honest, impressing people is far more ‘its own reward,’ and who doesn’t want to impress on Valentine’s Day?

Now, we’ve all dined upon chocolate hearts, we’ve all watched candles shed waxen tears, and we’ve probably all rolled about in rose petals at one point or another…haven’t we? Now, with the countdown to Valentine’s Day well underway, tips and tricks abound in great quantity on how to put together a Valentine’s evening, or how to set a fantastic tablescape, but what about those times you’re #SendingYourLove? Let’s say your Valentine is away, or you’re sending Valentine’s greetings to a friend, how might one ‘impress’ in that situation?

As you might have guessed, that’s precisely where today’s post comes in – a Valentine’s Day Basket arranged with Decadent Brownies, candies, and a premium handcrafted Hallmark Signature card.

First things being first, you’re going to need a set of super moist, melt in your mouth brownies. After all, there are few things sexier than fudgy chocolate…but I digress. We begin by melting together baking chocolate and butter as described below, and stirring until the chocolate is completely melted and mixed with the butter. After that, stir in the sugar until its fully blended together, then mix in the flour, then pour the batter into a baking dish as described below, and bake for about thirty to forty-five minutes.


While the brownies are cooling, it’s time to prep the basket. To start, weave mini violet (or pink) paper doilies with twist ties through the handle, and decorate the rim of the basket with flowers as shown below. Once that’s done, we slice the brownies, and prep them in clear baggies tied with bows and flowers. Then we arrange these in the basket and in a box of chocolates for good measure. Then for the final touch, add in the Hallmark Signature card, which is available right at Walmart in a wide range of varieties. Just until 2/15, you can get $2 off a 2 card purchase (min $2 purchase required) with the in-aisle coupon!

Serves 8

One Bowl Fudge Brownies

10 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

50 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Melt down chocolate and butter and stir until the chocolate has completely melted and is smooth.
  3. Stir sugar into chocolate until well blended, then add eggs and vanilla. Mix in the flour until the batter is smooth. Lastly stir in chopped pecans.
  4. Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch square baking dish.
  5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean.
  6. Let the brownies cool completely before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar, serve and enjoy!
7.8.1.1
474
https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/02/one-bowl-fudge-brownies.html

What are some of the ways you get creative on Valentine’s Day? We’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to download your special digital savings here!

For more Valentine’s inspiration follow Hallmark Signature on:

Hallmark Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Enjoy with Love!

Mommy’s Time Out Wine

0 · · Leave a Comment

This message is intended for persons 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

Holidays conjure images of crowded tables, copious and gratuitous decorations, and, of course, at least for the hosts among us, thoughts of impossible expectations both from one’s guests and from the memories of ‘good old days’ now locked in the idealized past. Within the culinary industry, we’ve devoted much time and publication to space to giving you tips on meeting this gauntlet, and meeting the expectations of your guests, but what of the day after? How does one go about unwinding, or simply recharging for the next round of holiday chaos?

To that point, I was contacted early last month by the representatives of the quirkily named “Mommy’s Time Out” wine asking if I would be interested in reviewing one of their bottles. Since I couldn’t refuse the name, I agreed. However, amidst the holiday rush, both on this site and in my home, I had set the bottle aside, and it wasn’t until a tired afternoon behind my desk, with the holidays blissfully behind me, that the bottle, and it’s thoroughly apropos name, caught my eye again.

Needless to say, a seasonal ‘time out’ was exactly what I needed.

To start, the Mommy’s Time Out is 80% Garganega and 20% Pinot Grigio. For those unfamiliar, while you’ve likely never heard of the Garganega grape, anyone even remotely familiar with Italian wine has probably heard of Soave – the dry Venetian white wine produced chiefly from Garganega grapes. The reason for this, oddly, is that Garganega is not listed on Soave labels, which are instead labeled strictly according to the Soave namesake DOC. That said, Garganega is a white grape varietal grown in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, particularly in the Verona province. Also produced from this grape is the lesser known, but perhaps slightly less over-produced, Gambellara – also a Venetian white wine.

Obviously, to keep with the spirit of the bottle I received, I decided on making a simple weeknight meal for both myself and the LTG crew that would pair perfectly with the wine – chicken grilled in olive oil, roasted garlic and herbs, paired with homemade flatbreads with a garlic and herb infused dipping oil.

On pouring the wine, it greets with a largely characteristic Garganega bouquet of wild flowers and lemon essence. This bouquet persists through to the bottom of the glass, and is very delicate throughout to the point of vagary. On sampling, the wild flowers from the nose translate to a summer fruit palate, think light white stone fruits. Hints of nuts, lemon curd, and perhaps citrus are discernable throughout, again creating a white wine largely characteristic of a majority Garganega blend.

Overall, the wine was precisely what the label implied – easy drinking for an informal meal. In that regard, I was pleased with the bottle, and can recommend it to any readers looking for a light white wine easily paired with a similarly light and easy meal.

Cheers,
Mike

Holiday Mocktails with Detoxwater

0 · · 14 Comments

Celebrate the New Year by treating yourself to a healthy and delicious mocktail with Detoxwater!

Amidst the chaos and lethal beauty that is the void of the Cosmos, it is perhaps no wonder that we so heartily celebrate each successful journey of our planet around its parent star. Perhaps in subconscious recognition of our planet’s safe journey, one of the ways we celebrate the completion of our planet’s annual trip is the making, and often breaking of, promises to ourselves in the form of ‘Resolutions.’

The higher-minded among us aim these Resolutions at self-betterment, spiritual awakenings, or self-discipline. Most, however, aim these resolutions squarely at their waistline. After all, since we are all destined to hurdle through space at roughly 828,000km per hour, we may as look our trimmest for such a wild journey.

I will admit, for all my classicalist upbringing and study, a recent ‘size departure’ from my favorite coat guided me towards a ‘waistline orientated’ Resolution. However, rather than simply focus on my weight, and give into the temptation of a fad-resolution-destined-to-fade, I decided that the parting of my coat and my physique was a sign that my general wellness was in need of some attention.

Little decisions like excising the cream from my coffee, forgoing post-desk late night snacks, and getting back into the routine of a sensible exercise regimen are simple givens. Now, aside from cutting things out from my wellness regimen, I’m also adding things in. One extra box I’m checking is the addition #healinghydration in the form of Detoxwater from detoxwater.com. In addition to organic agave nectar, Detoxwater contains their patented ACTIValoe® gel, which contains all of aloe vera’s most effective polysaccharides, which support immune function, aid healthy digestion, and promote both nutrient absorption and skin elasticity.

Now, those health benefits aside, since each bottle also contains a host of vitamins and electrolytes, Detoxwater is a great compliment to a vigorous workout, meaning it pairs nicely with the aforementioned portion of my New Year’s self-healing.

However, Detoxwater isn’t something I’ll have to remember to pick up at the store, or that I’ll have to make special trips to the vitamin shop for. Instead, I order right on detoxwater.com, and can schedule to have mine bottles delivered weekly or monthly, however best suits my schedule. This makes Detoxwater a no hassle addition to my self-heal regimen.

That being said, fitting coat or no fitting coat, I am still a gourmet, and of course I just had to try to work Detoxwater into a New Year’s themed mocktail that would fit seamlessly into the welcomed calm of my New Year’s Day.

Originals being first, I prepared a “Lychee & White Grape Detox Mocktail” with eight ounces of the ‘Original’ Detoxwater, which is lychee and white grape flavored. I prepared this with frozen blueberries, fresh ginger, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and honey, as shown below. I then prepared a Mangaloe Detox with frozen banana’s cinnamon, lemon juice, and honey, as shown below. Finally, I used frozen strawberries, fresh lime juice, shredded coconut, and honey to make a mocktail with the PinaMint Detox – which is pineapple and mint flavored.

Lychee & White Grape Detox Mocktail
 
Recipe Type: Drinks
Author: Living the Gourmet
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of Detoxwater Original Lychee & White Grape
  • 1 cup of frozen blueberries
  • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger – peeled and sliced
  • ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
  • 1 tbs. fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbs. honey
Instructions
  1. Combine all of the above in a food processor and process to a nice thick and creamy consistency.
 

Mangaloe Detox Mocktail
 
Recipe Type: Drinks
Author: Living the Gourmet
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 cup frozen banana
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbs. honey
  • 1 cup of Detoxwater Mangaloe
Instructions
  1. Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor and process to a nice creamy consistency.
 

PinaMint Detox Mocktail
 
Recipe Type: Drinks
Author: Living the Gourmet
Prep time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of Detoxwater Pinamint
  • 1 cup of frozen strawberries
  • 1 tbs. fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbs. shredded coconut
  • 4-5 fresh mint leaves
  • 1 tbs. honey
Instructions
  1. Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor and process to a nice thick and creamy consistency.
 

That said, I couldn’t have been happier with how the mocktails turned out. What are some of your New Year’s Resolutions? We would love to hear from you.

Visit Detoxwater today and use promo code ALOE30 at checkout to receive 30% off your purchase! Find your local retailer here to find where you can buy Detoxwater in-store!

Follow Detoxwater™ on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Enjoy with Love!

Holiday Meal Planning with Chef Richard Chamberlain

0 · · 3 Comments

Thank you to Chef Richard Chamberlain for joining us today as his best tips for holiday meal planning!

Today we are welcoming renowned chef and owner of Chamberlain’s Steak and Chophouse, Richard Chamberlain.

With the holidays and New Year upon us we bid adieu to another year and welcome a new one with open arms.

Thoughts of celebrating the holiday season are quickly followed by thoughts of eating better, which is where Chef Chamberlain comes in who says that the answer to leading off a healthier New Year begins with beef.

Not only is beef nutritious but it also more affordable than some may think.

So today, Chef Chamberlain is showing us new ways to dish up a dinner perfect for all our holiday festivities!

Enjoy with Love!

Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies

0 · · 28 Comments

Peanut butter and vanilla cake mix come together for an easy soft, delicious cookie sure to please the holiday crowd and Santa!

Living the Gourmet: Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies | #SweetSquad

Living the Gourmet: Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies | #SweetSquad

To quote Norman Vincent Peale, “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” And I would add, far more innocent. That terrible ‘race of the rats’ fades into the background, and a world bedecked in colored lights and holly gradually comes to the fore, slowly brought into focus through the chaotic haze of daily life. We dream sentimental dreams of a Savior’s birth, and of the welcomed warmth of icy winter nights draped in the season’s purest white.

In reality, this brief escape is what this season is all about. We reimagine our cities, and our own homes, into images easily plucked from a fireside film noir treasure. Then, of course, we tell vague tales to our children of a Living Saint who…creeps into our homes, eats our cookies, and then leaves behind gift wrapped toys of uncertain origin.

While that last part might need adjustment, I suppose that bit of ‘suspension of disbelief’ is part of that aforementioned innocence.

For this reason, when one of my niece’s daughters asked for a ‘special’ recipe for cookies that she could in turn prepare for Santa Claus, naturally, I simply had to comply.

Living the Gourmet: Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies | #SweetSquad

What I prepared was a batch of M&M’s® Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies.

To do this, we start with a simple base of a yellow cake mix, a peanut butter cookie mix, and eggs. For this particular recipe I like to use plain milk chocolate M&M’s®, however, you can really kick things up a notch using M&M’s® Christmas White Chocolate Peppermint.

To start out, combine the two box mixes with eggs, water, and vegetable oil as shown below. Mix these well, then add in the M&M’s®, and stir again. After that’s done, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and form the cookies onto the sheets as shown below. Then simply bake for about twelve minutes, and you’ve got a batch of M&M’s® Christmas Cookies that the ‘Seasonal Reverse Burglar’ is sure to love.

Living the Gourmet: Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies | #SweetSquad

Yields 2 dozen

Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies

5 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 (15.25 oz) box of yellow cake mix
  • 1 (17.5 oz) peanut butter cookie mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 plus 3 tbs. vegetable oil
  • 3 tbs. water
  • ¾ cup M&M’s®

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.:
  2. In a large bowl combine the eggs, vegetable oil, yellow cake mix, cookie mix and water. Stir these ingredients until well incorporated. Add the M & M’s and stir again.
  3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop the cookies on the cookie sheet by the teaspoonful.
  4. Do not over crowd the pan.
  5. Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until slightly golden.
7.8.1.1
467
https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/12/peanut-butter-vanilla-cookies.html
ESHA Logo
Fat
11 g
Protein
3 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Living the Gourmet: Peanut Butter Vanilla Cookies | #SweetSquad

What are some of your favorite holiday confections? We would love to hear from you.

Don’t forget to follow along with M&M’s® on:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

Enjoy with Love!

Holiday Gingerbread Bundt – #BundtBakers

0 · · 22 Comments

Treat your guests to their very own little gingerbread bundt made with fresh ginger and filled with delicious buttercream frosting!

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

It’s hard to believe this Chocolate Cake with Eggnog & Peppermint Drizzle was made a year ago. The space in between is almost a blur…and yet when time catches up to you- or in this particular case, when you catch up to time, you begin to remember some pretty extraordinary moments.

2016 has been a wonderful year to me and my family. My one regret may be not taking more moments to truly appreciate it…and now, in the blink of an eye, I’m preparing to welcome the next year of my life.

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

We’ve been baking alongside the #BundtBakers for about two years now and I can’t express what a wonderful experience it has been. It feels like family at this point. Of course I’ll find any excuse to make a cake, but I always look forward to seeing what everyone has brought to the virtual dessert table.

Our hostess this month is Laura a dear friend and talented baker. Laura has hosted several times this year and has always been a willing participant…it’s only fitting she hosts the final event of the year.

That said, the theme we were presented with was ‘Winter Wonderland.’

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

The first thing that came to time was gingerbread. I was almost tempted to create another peppermint cake, but ultimately I decided, your first choice is always the best.

I’ve gotten a new affinity for ginger and all it’s powers the past couple of months. It’s so healthy and I just love it’s spicy warmth. When it comes to gingerbread however, I use only the freshly grated ginger and it’s spicy juice. You can taste the difference immediately and it’s so much better than the powdered version.

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

I start by sifting all the dried ingredients then adding the wet ingredients gradually.

Add the fresh ginger with the wet ingredients rather than the other spices. I used the Deiss PRO Zester to get the ginger fine without the stringy fibers. Once it’s all combined, add the milk and mix until a smooth batter forms.

For the holiday season I decided to divide the batter into a mini bundt pan so each guest gets their own cake. It’s the holidays- time to indulge a little!

I finished it off by piping buttercream in the center of each cake and a light dusting of powered sugar. If you like you can also shave some dark chocolate over each.

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

Yields 6

Holiday Gingerbread Bundt

10 minPrep Time

25 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons dark molasses
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • Buttercream Frosting:
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • 3-4 tablespoons water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bundt pan and set aside.
  2. Sift flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and baking soda together. Whisk in brown sugar.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each.
  4. Add the fresh ginger, molasses, butter, and vanilla. Mix again on low speed until well combined.
  5. Finally add the milk and beat on low speed until a smooth batter forms.
  6. Divide the batter between each bundt mold if you are using a mini bundt pan.
  7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before removing the cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
    8. Buttercream Frosting:
  8. Combine all ingredients for the buttercream frosting. Whip until smooth. Fill the center of each bundt with the buttercream. Sprinkle with icing sugar and shaved chocolate if desired before serving.
7.8.1.1
466
https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/12/holiday-gingerbread-bundt-bundtbakers.html
ESHA Logo
Calories
290 cal
Fat
14 g
Carbs
36 g
Protein
6 g


Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Living the Gourmet: Holiday Gingerbread Bundt | #BundtBakers

Check out the rest of our Winter Wonderland below and see what everyone has made!

A big thank you to Laura again for always being the hostess with the mostess and of course the rest of the BB family for always inspiring me with their delicious bundts.

As we near the end of another fine year, I would like to thank each and every one of you. At the beginning of this post, I spoke briefly about my one regret, which is letting time get the better of me. I see so many familiar faces come by and each day my heart is warmed by your kindness and the very thought that you took time out of your day to read each of our posts- I really can’t properly express how special that is to me.

We’ve come a long way with Living the Gourmet and it would never have gotten here without you…so I am forever grateful. As the days pass fleetingly, I’m left with a shortage of time unable to do as many things as I would like, but please know I read every comment that comes through; not just on the site but on our social channels as well. I hope to find the time to reach out to each of you before the month is through, that is my goal for the rest of December.

I’d also like to dedicate this post to Dottie Sauchelli, an old friend of ours who we lost this year. Dottie was a fellow blogger who we had gotten to know very well over the years. I think of her often and miss her sweet notes a great deal. I know she would have loved these bundts so this post is in her honor.

In parting, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a beautiful and blessed holiday season!

Toodles,
Tammy<3

BundtBakers
 

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.