Red Velvet Ice Cream…The Groundhog Lied To Us All!!!

Well world, we almost toward the month of May and for most of y’all, y’all dont have sunshine.

Y’all got Snow. And I’m just gonna put it out there: That Groundhog lied to us all.

Heck even here in Texas, it’s in the low 60′s…normally we hit 80 by March. It’s CRAY CRAY!!

With that said, who wants Ice Cream???

Red Velvet Ice Cream that is….

What conspired this concoction? Well…. just random thought in my head to try it.

A lot of the time, it’s just random… hey I wonder how’d this taste in “Red Velvet” or…

You get the point.

So How’d I do it? Well it was kinda easy if you can make Ice Cream…

Which is TOTES easy!!! Yeah I just said that…anywho

To make this

You need the following

Red Velvet Ice Cream

• 1 1/4 C Heavy Cream
• 3/4 C Buttermilk
• 3 Eggs
• 2/3 C Sugar
• 2 Tbspoons Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 1/2 Tbspoons Cocoa Powder
• Red Food Coloring

Sidenotes:

• Heat the Heavy Cream with 2/3C of Sugar in a Saucepan
• Whilst that heats up, add the Eggs, Buttermilk, Brown Sugar and whisk together til it comes together.
• Temper the Cream aka “Add the Hot Cream little by little while Whisking The Egg Mixture” til there’s no more cream in the  pan, then add it back in the Saucepan back on the stove.
• Add the Cocoa Powder and Red Food Coloring and Vanilla.
• Pour in a bowl over Ice and stir til it cools.
• If you got an Ice Cream Maker, use it.
• If you don’t have an Ice Cream Maker, put custard in a blender and place in the freezer for an 90 minutes and take out and pulse to break up the ice crystals. Repeat every 45 minutes for about 3-4 times.

And you’ll get somethin like This:

Fancy huh???

Welp, that’s all I got for now y’all.

If y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Like and/or Subscribe…I do update this sucker though, so it aint like a “Where’d he go???” type of thing.

Til then, Stay warm… Something I prolly wouldnt be saying at this time of the year.

What’s next snow in June?

#kiddingnotkidding

Apple Pies & a “My Bad” post…

Hey world,

Long time no? Yeah, I’ve been a busy boy lately… too busy to be in the kitchen bakng stuff…

For those who follow along w/this, I say… My Bad. Its tough keepin this thing a float, mostly cuz I’ve been preoccupied with work /interviewing for work/running outta of ideas sometimes…

Yeah I said it!! I sometimes run outta ideas! #dontjudgeme!!!

So what else has been goin on in my world? Ironically, losing weight by running.

I say Irony cuz I make dessert and I run…weird huh?

Actually, you can have your cake and work out as I find out as long as you dont over do it.

The eating that is… like I usually say, “Dont eat til you get a food baby”.

Anyways, I should think of more desserts ideas, but this is also where Y’ALL come in!!!

If you follow this sucker, and/or just want something random made, say so…

As a way of saying “My Bad” here’s some Apple “Pie”

Why I quote “Pie”, cuz it aint the traditional way at all… It’s a Free Form Tart.

I find this style is a lot more fun, than the traditional pie format.

When it comes to Apples, I use either Granny Smith’s or Golden Delicious…

Porque?

They hold their shape when you cook ‘em and they’re tart so you can make them how sweet you want to.

You use Apples with a lot of water in ‘em, they turn to Apple Sauce and it aint as pretty.

Pretty as this:

#BOOM That just happened.

So to do that above, you need the following

• 2 Apples (Granny Smith or whatevs), sliced
• 1/4 C Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Lemon (juiced)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• Whatever Pie Dough Recipe you got

Bake for 25 min @ 400 degrees

Sidenotes:

• Slice up the Apples and place in a bowl, coat apple slices w/ Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Lemon Juice, Vanilla, and Nutmeg. Let ‘em sit for about 5 minutes.
• Roll out pie dough crust and place on a cookie sheet or cake pan.
• Add the apples and cover up the sides in whatever fancy way you want.
• Brush sides w/ milk.
• Throw in the oven for about 25 minutes

And thats it!

You get this:

So, I realized this weekend, I dont have to work, go outta town or nothing.

This shall be my time to think of new ideas esp for the summertime.

Also I shall be continuing my quest for working out.

Swimsuit is almost upon us y’all!!! We gotta get that Bikini Bod together…

TMI??

Anyways, do subscribe/like/and or comment.. I do update this sucker (fairly) often…

Til then, Be sure to do y’all taxes…. I did, I felt all growed up too!!!

Peanut Butter Bread Pudding…I may have a PB problem.

Oh hey there world,

I’ve realized I kinda suck at when I say,  ”Stay Tuned Next Week I got something EPIC”.

Last week, I DID make somethin Epic, but I forgot due to my work schezule (that “schedule” in hipster)… I beg you FORGIVE ME !!! ATTICA!!!!!

Anyways, I had a craving to make Bread Pudding…dont really know “WHY?” but I just did…

And as you maybe aware of, I’m a bit of Peanut Butter Junkie and I figure I’d combine the two and get this gem h’yah!! (thats “here” in…whatever it is)

Fancy no? Well it is to me and thats all that matters okay!??!

Sorry it’s Monday, and its cold out…which is odd cuz its “Spring”

But good news, my March Madness Bracket has survived the weekend!! #Huzzah!

Usually the Sweet 16 round is where I get the matches ready to burn my bracket.

But currently I am sitting at “THA THRONE” (thats #1) and I intend to stay there!

But I know what y’all thinkin, enough of the bracket talk, show us how you made this:

Well to that I say, “Sheesh!” and then I say its simply this:

Peanut Butter Bread Pudding

• 1 loaf of day old bread from Jimmy Johns (shameless plug, I know)
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 1/2 C Whole Milk
• 1/2 C Heavy Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

Bake @ 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Sidenotes:

• Slice up the Bread into cubes and place in a Giant Ramekin.
• Place Cream, Milk and Peanut Butter in a Saucepan for about 5 minutes, til the Peanut Butter has melted into the milk/cream and thens its Peanut Butter Milk.
• After that take off the heat, let it cool for a few minutes.
• Whilst that cools, Whisk the remaing ingredients together.
• Then pour the PB-Milk over the eggs mixture, then pour THAT over the bread and push down the bread so it absorbs it.
• Place ramekin in a “Water Bath” or a giant skillet with an 1 inch of water and set in the over for about 45 minutes.

And then this happens

Chocolate Syrup not included, but you can add that if you must…actually I’ll allow it.

So there y’all have it folks….hopefully y’all are the “Forgiving” type…

If I’ve learned anything over the last few weeks, its this

“Think First, React Later”…that’s easier said than done. But if y’all give it a shot, then SOOOOO many disastrous situations can be avoided!!

That is all…

But if y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Subscribe and/or Like this sucker cuz I do update it, every so often…

Til then, When the heck will “Spring” show its face???

Part 2 of the Parfait Saga: Key Lime….y’all forgot about this “saga” too huh?

Oh hey world, It’s March…not only that.

It’s PIE DAY, PIE DAY….gotta get down on PIE DAY!!

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!!!

Yes, that just happened….

So I’ve took a bit of a “Break” and by “Break I mean, I completely forgot about writing or cooking somethin new last week…. #whoops.

Sometimes I work cray cray hours or get pre-occupied w/stuff and I completely forget…

Please FORGIVE ME..I BEG YOU….ATTACA!!!! (HUH?)

So as you may not be aware of…I’m making dessert for a rehearsal dinner…for 100 peoples….yeah

And I gotta make 4 diff parfaits: Black Forest, Red Velvet, Tiramisu and (what this post is about) Key Lime.

Key Lime is technically a pie so…this ties in well!!! YAAAY!!!

So world, I would like to give some advice: Go with your Gut…

Pardon the pun/ fact this a “Food” site, but whenever you find yourself uncertain about stuff: Go with your Gut.

If you know you prolly shouldnt eat that last slice of pizza, go w/your gut.

If you not sure about a potential job opportunity, go w/your gut.

If you know you should try somethin different, go with your gut.

I say that cuz I figure somebody out there may need it…Idk…maybe.

I just realized theses 3 Sundays in a row are 3 monumental things…

Daylight Savings, St. Patty’s Day AND Easter?? Whaa???

Who decides when Easter is?? I always am confused by that…

So hopefully y’all have a good St. Patty’s Day…I got some tricks up my sleeves y’all!

And this time I’ll tell y’all what I did..

That’s all I got this week, but hopefully this was an entertaining post.

I cant really guarantee your money back, since…well y’all know.

But if y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Subscribe and/or Like this page…I do update this sucker frequently.

Til then, remember go w/your gut…

That thing knows what it wants… usually.

Blackberry Muffins….THEY SO TINY!!

So world, I’m a tad cranky…

To whoever that it is thats doing that obnoxious tapping on the windows outside…

I will find you….and give you a STERN talking to!!! Maybe even a mean mug too…

Those are dangerous too.

SO…last week I did it!!

I pulled off cooking on V-Day!!! I cooked an entire pasta dinner for 50 some-odd people.

#victoryhuzzah!!!

I cooked Shrimp & Chicken Alfredo pasta and it came out quite lovely…or so I think.

Or what I’ve been told too…I don’t know. As for that Brownie Cheesecake as seen below?

That sucker was gone before I even got to look at it…guess that may be a good thing.

So to the post at hand… Blackberry Muffins.

Why did I make these?? I was too lazy to go buy Cereal so I thought I’d make muffins to eat instead…#bakerproblems

I like muffins, I don’t make’em too often. Not sure why thought???

Anyways, the recipe which I found on a certain “Pinning” site… I kinda took their recipe and twerked it a bit….

With Blackberries!! I find they get over shadow by the Blueberry waaay too much.

So with that I shall now share y’all the recipe, I know FINALLLY!!

Lemon-Blackberry Muffins

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Pint of Blackberries
• 1/2 Cup Applesauce
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 Egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Sidenotes(been a minute since I’ve done that):

• Gather all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl & set aside.
• With the Blackberries add the Sugar, Vanilla & Lemon Juice and stir’em around so they get coated.
• Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside. A lot of settin aside this time around.
• Combine the berries and stuff with the dry ingredients.
• Add the Egg Whites in thirds. First batch just mix in, next batch fold in nice n gently. Also fold in the Zest of the Lemon.
• Place batter  in muffin tins and toss that sucker in the oven.
• It should yield 10-12 muffins all together.

And you get this

I found this to be a fairly simple thing to whip up. Esp if you one of them “On The Go” folks.

Or in my case the last month n half, training for a 10k race.  I’ve been myself outta house and home

#runnerproblems?

Anyways, hopefully y’all get somethin from this recipe and hopefully on Saturday, I wont go out and get trampled…

That would suck.

So w/that I’ll leave you some muffins….

Anybody else realize February is almost over…dang.

Brownie Cheesecake for all my V-Day peoples…Single or Taken.

So world, it’s V-Day…

Or for those who dont care, it’s Thursday.

But for those like Moi who are Single since the beginning of time, I offer this:

You don’t need a “Lover” on Valentines Day, You just need “Love”.

Top THAT Hallmark!!!

Well today is a big day for yours truly.

No I dont have a date. Like I said, I’ve been single since the beginning of time.

I am cookin for a singles dinner tonight. I’m in charge of making Pasta.

Shrimp & Chicken Alfredo Pasta.

For 40-50 people.

Am I nervous? Nope

Am I scared? YEUP

Never cooked for THAT many people and I’m terrified…I’m just terrified on the inside.

BUT I’m also in charge of makin dessert and I’m makin Cheesecake

A BROWNIE CHEESECAKE

Yeah thats right, That’s what I’m serving tonight.

I had some left over Brownies from a couple weeks ago I kept fresh and I thought “What to do?”

And I thought why not incorporate into a cheesecake?? HOORAY!!!

So thus is why I made this….

 

 

For those wonder what the heck is that up top???

It’s Chocolate Ganache…

Ganache= Chocolate Chips+ Warm Cream.

I used Dark Chocolate w/a bit of Milk Chocolate to Sweeten it up a bit.

So it’s basically Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate.

Fun huh?

Well world I would stay in chat longer, but I gotta start prepping 4 tonight’s dinner..

Wish me luck!!

Also that I don’t go nuts by the end of the day too….

Oh and I dont cause food poisoning too…That would SUCK!

BYEEEE!!!

Peanut (Butter???) Meringue Cookies

So….I had a moment where I thought

“Holy Crap! I forgot to post something!!” last week.. My Bad.

I apologize, I almost feel what Lance Armstrong’s going thru. Except I never lied & cheated and destroyed folks lives for so long.

So, Lance may be a bad example, figuratively & literally. But I’d been working so much where I literally said out loud “Holy Crap its Friday??!!!”

So, heres a post, on a Monday. Hopefully you dont have a case of it, but are like me enjoying this day off.

Honestly, I think they should make Monday a holiday, make it easier to deal with the rest of the week.

With that, here’s my latest wacky creation: Peanut Meringue Cookies.

Dont know how to describe how they look without sounding like I’m a 3rd grader but they do taste good though and not like Crap (HELLO!!!).

Anyways, this is for my Peoples on the whole “Gluten-Free” diet or can’t eat Gluten.

Hopefully, you dont have a Peanut allergy…cuz you can sub it for another nut.

Vegans, y’all gonna have to wait y’all turn.

This is one of the fewest ingredients I’ve used in a dessert. WHAAA??! HOW??!!!

Well Meringue = Egg Whites + Sugar.  It’s that simple. Whip up the whites til they look like styrofoam and then add the sugar til it looks like whipped cream.

There’s a couple of ways of knowing you’ve done your job:

A. Take some of it and rub between your fingers and if it feels nice and smooth and not grainy…then you’ve done your job.

B. If you’re brave enough, hold the bowl upside down over your head and if nothing falls on your head… then you’ve done your job!!

If option B scares the crap outta you, just stick with A.

So to get this:

You’ll need this….

Peanut Meringue Cookies

• 5 Egg Whites
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 Cup Grounded up Peanuts
• Pinch of Salt.

Bake for 2 hours @ 200 degrees. Meringue is very gentile. Remember that people.

Sidenotes:

• Put Egg Whites in mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and the lemon juice and start whipping (preferably w/ an electric whisk, unless you going for the workout version) til it looks like styrofoam.
• Once its at soft peaks (aka styrofoam) proceed to add sugar, GRADUALLY!!! If you dump in the sugar it’ll make the egg whites lose volume.
• Proceed to continuing beating in the sugar til it’s dissolved.
• Fold in Grounded Peanuts (or whatever Nut) into the meringue til you see specs throughout.
• Pipe out or Spoon on a  Baking Sheet and Bake @ 200 degrees for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours, turn off oven and let them sit in there for another 30 minutes.

So there you have it folks. Give this a shot.

Like I said before, this is for that “Health Kick” that everybody is prolly on for another week or so…

If y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Subscribe and/or Like said page (here)

I do update this sucker fairly regularly…

So til next time,  have a cookie for the road…

Apple-Blackberry Crisp…my take on tryna be “Healthy”… allegedly.

Well y’all, it’s that time of the year…

Where we swear we gonna hit the gym and lose that weight from all the ham and cake we ate over x-mas but by 2 weeks in, we quit and try to do it again next year.

Well to that I say…. that maybe true. BUT it don’t have to be w/your food eating.

No you aint gotta go on a soy diet or starve yourself.

Or in yours truly case eat a lot of food w/ Flax Seed in it and have slowly come back to haunt you…. #TMI ???

I learned last year, you can drop some weight if you don’t overeat.

AKA “Don’t keep eating til you have a Food Baby”

Eat til you feel yourself get full y’all!!

With that said, for those w/a sweet tooth, I’m startin a MOVEMENT!!

I sound like Puffy/Diddy…(Don’t care what he calls himself, I know him as Puff).

Anyways for this month (or however long I keep y’alls and my attention in this) I will make desserts that can be seen as quote/unquote “Healthy”.

See what I did there…cray cray right???

SO I present the first one: Apple-Blackberry Crisp!!!

The word “Crisp” sounds fancy huh???

Well its  in the same style as say Cobbler, BUT crisp has a lighter topping on it rather than a biscuit dough up top.

It even looks pretty right??…. Maybe???

Anyways, it’s a bit of a fancier step than just putting a bowl of berries together w/some sugar and cream and sayin that’s dessert.

No, that is just bein LAZY!!!

Forgive me for my some-what outburst… if that’s what you call it.

But none the less, it’s fairly simple to pull off to get this:

You’ll need the following.

Apple-Blackberry Crisp

• 2 Granny Smith Apples (they SUPER tart)
• 1 Cup of Blackberries
• 1/4 Cup of Sugar
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (Grated)
• 1/2 Cup Oats (ya know,the ones you make oatmeal with)
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1/4 Cup Butter (cold & cubed)
• pinch of salt
• 2 Tablespoons of Sugar

Sidenotes:

• For the topping start w/ the ingredients starting with the word “Oats” on down in a blender and pulse til it looks on crumbly and stuff.
• Peel the skin off the apples and slice ‘em up and place along with the blackberries in a baking dish.
• Pour sugar over the fruit and stir to coat.
• Add cinnamon & nutmeg. Thats important for whatever reason.
• Add the topping and place in the oven @ 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.

Pretty straightforward y’all. You can even eat it w/some (GASP!!!) Vanilla Ice Cream…

I know, I know “CLUTCH THA PEARLS!!!”, you can sub it w/yogurt if you must.

Welp, that’s all I got for this week….

If y’all like what y’all see? Comment!, Subscribe! and/or Like! this page

That’s me shoutin at y’all….

But I do update this sucker fairly regularly … you can insert a joke there somewheres.

But w/that said, here’s another look at the CRISP!!

I don’t know why I like that word “CRISP” so much…

The Oreo Cake…The Opposite of Your New Years Resolutions

Well world, Its 2013…

We survived whatever apocalypse we thought was gonna happen (but likely was all in our head) and got to 2013…

Hopefully y’all ate plenty of Black Eyed Peas on New Years Day, its for good luck.

If not, hopefully y’all didnt do your laundry that day, thats bad luck.

Apparently, Im chalked full of southern New Years traditions.

Hopefully y’all had a good time partying and bull… nevermind.

With that said, its a new year, for most of us, a chance to make resolutions.

I dug up and found mine from 2012… I accomplished a few and made strides towards others.

While others, I laughed at.

I did pull off a groomscake for a wedding and I was able to help out in a restaurant style- kitchen…

So Kudos to me!!

This year, Im gonna try and be a bit better about cleanin my kitchen.

Thats the downside about being a cook, I guess.

Also I’m gonna drop more weight, I’ve dropped about 15 pounds in 2012. I wanna drop some more.

Not bone skinny, Just enough to where my “Man-Clevage” up top gets flat…

I call it like I see y’all.

I hope y’all keep up w/the resolutions. But I present to you a cake I made for a cake contest on New Years Eve.

The Oreo Cake.

Fancy huh? Welp Unfortunately… it aint win.

I know WHAAA???!!!!

I wasnt TOO bitter about not winning nothing. It was all for fun, but I at least should’ve took home “Fan Favorite”.

I got a lot of compliments for it, but oh wells.I aint harping…. I don’t think….

But it was a fun night, I competed in a pie eating contest where I ate chocolate pie and got it up my nose… I still smell chocolate.

Not sure if that’s a good thing.

For this site, I plan on attempting (keyword there) on makin healthy desserts.

SO, for the next few weeks, I shall attempt this goal, to show y’all out there, you can have your cake and be healthy too.

I’m pretty sure somebody is gonna see this post and think this makes no sense what-so-ever.

Oh wells…

With that said, hopefully y’all enjoyed this random post and stick around for more wacky adventures in 2013 from yours truly Ole-Bill…

So please, Like/Comment/Subscribe to this sucker…I do update ever so often.

To further bribe you, here’s one more pic for the road.

Btw, anybody feel this whole New Years in the mid of the week is REAL confusing???

My Top 12 of 2012… Original aint it???

1. Welp, whatta ya know…

We survived y’all!!!

I’m pretty sure we knew that all along… although that John Cusack “2012″ is goin straight to the Comedy section on Netflix now.

That said, hopefully y’all had a good 2012… maybe it was full of laughter, maybe not so much…

But at the end of the day(or this case year)if you can look back and reflect and crack a smile and think “It wasnt so bad” then it was a good year.

You may not have accomplished ALL the goals you set 4 yo’self such as losing 15 pounds instead of 25 pounds.

#firstworldproblems.

But as long as your work towards them… then its all good (somewhat).

This year I attempted a lot of different foods and different styles.

From French to Southern to A Groomscake… I know that aint an actual “Style, but its a pretty freakin cool thing to pull off for 100+ peoples.

So I composed a “Top 12″ list of the things I made this year I found to be my favorites.

Now composing this list, I put together “criteria” (fancy right?)

Well it was more, what I liked and what got a lot of feedback from y’all out there…

SO heres my list… so read it backwards please.

1. Doughnut Holes (Why cuz it went viral..duh!!) 
2. Macarons (its harder than it looks…)
3. Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream (quite delish….)
4. Tarte Tatin(Rolls off the tongue so eloquently…)
5. Vegan Whoopie Pies(see, desserts can be healthy right….)
6. Eclairs (This was durin my whole french obsession…)
7. Peach Ice Cream (My first attempt at Ice Cream for reals…)
8. Peanut Butter Cupcakes (I wing’d it on those…..)
9. The Practice Groomscake (figured it should make the list no?…)
10. Creme Brulee (Easiest thing in the world…seriously…)
11. Apple Pies (like the ones at the fast food place….)
12. Wildberry Pop Tarts (One of the greatest things ever…)

And there y’all have it…hopefully y’all enjoy my picks and pics (see the wordplay there…) and if there’s one you thought shoulda made the list…tell me!

Seriously… I take criticisms…to an extent.

Also if y’all got any ideas/suggestions for 2013…comment!!

I’m screamin as I write this…also I’m watchin my Texans play (my optimism for that Super Bowl run is slowly diminishing by the minute).

But y’all have a good new year!

And if y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Like and/or Subscribe….I do update this sucker frequently.

I would say weekly, but that was a lie. Maybe that could be on my New Years Resolutions.

But here’s a pic of some Creme Brulee for the road…

 

Fun Fact: I’m a firm believer that Sipping any beverage from a wine glass automatically makes you classy… just saying.