Thursday, December 29, 2011

What happens on Christmas morning when your husband receives a camera? You get lovely pictures of the latest food creations!

Aren't these pictures of the homemade Asiago Cheese Bagels amazing! His camera is a Nikon CoolPix L105 which was a very great deal at Target this year. The camera has a "Food" setting! How fun is that? I'm sure that this will be a gift for him that will be used in the future as I start up blogging again this next year.


Thanks to my daughter, Erin, I also found a site called Pinterest. It is a great way to share fashion, food, family, technology and more. It will be a way to share my pictures and blogs and recipes. Pinterest appears to be a fun way to get my geek on and share what I do, find out what others are doing and find new things to try. If you would like an invitation, please let me know and I'll be happy to send one. There are some amazing things on the site.

Here are the bagels cooling on the rack. The camera captured such great detail, you can see the fresh bacon grease on the griddle from the bacon and eggs served with the bagels.

The picture captures the crispy cheese with the golden brown and gold colors. It was hard to wait until they cooled enough to eat. The kitchen smelled yummy!

The bagels tasted better than my favorite bakery chain store. I won't mention names so as to not hurt their feelings. I know I'll still be in for soup and sandwiches even if I'm not in for bagels.

Here is another great shot of the bagels once they were cut open. They had a great texture. I think if I changed anything, I'd let them sit a bit longer to create more of a crust before dunking them in the boiling water.

We cheated a little by having the bread maker make the dough. It is a great option that we will be using again and again and again. Let the machine do most of the work, be creative with the recipe and make it fun!

We added the asiago into the mixing process and then topped with more asiago cheese after a light egg wash post water bath.

If your bread maker is sitting around gathering dust, please try bagels. Cost to make eight bagels is less than three or four at your local chain.

Perfect to keep the little luxuries and spoiling yourself a little.


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Thank you Rick Bayless



Tonight's dinner as a little late to arrive on the table but oh so worth it!

You know how family members tend to like certain recipes? The ones that are tasty, comforting, remind them of a special event or are a favorite go-to dish.

These Enchiladas Especiales Tacuba Style are a special recipe for my home. We found the recipe about 18-24 months ago after watching Rick Bayless on the Top Chef Masters and heading to his website. Lo and behold! Recipes, lots and lots of recipes.

I picked this recipe off of his site first and made it for my husband. I don't know why this recipe but it is now a favorite, often requested dish. It has a lot of steps but nothing too complicated. I have charred the poblano peppers on the grill, under the broiler and even on the stove top. The best thing you can do for yourself is to pick up some disposable food preparation gloves. Be sure to seal them well in foil to steam the charred skin off!

It is easy to use per Rick's suggestion a deli chicken but I have great results by boiling the chicken breasts in water with a bit of hot sauce sprinkled in. The chicken stays moist, shreds well and the hot sauce adds a bit of a kick.

I like to take my time and shred the queso but in a pinch I like to use the Kraft Natural Shredded Mexican Style Four Cheese.

Hope you enjoy this recipe's challenge and taste as much as I did.

Tricia