Paula Deen & Her Boys Made Me Do It!!

Guess who ruined my healthy breakfast plans this morning?? Uh huh, Paula and her boys.  I was minding my own little bit of business and happened to see Bobby & Jamie making breakfast for their mom and they whipped up a tasty looking Strawberry-Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast, so Little Miss TSE had to give it a whirl.  It was a good move...now to the treadmill I go!!

 

Sheila Denise

Temptation Tuesday - Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese

A few days ago, I was reminded of how delicious vanilla bean butter is and that thought led to another and here we are. It had been quite a while since I've enjoyed vanilla bean butter or vanilla bean cream cheese, so I decided to do something about it. I elected cream cheese because I already eat enough "regular" butter that I'll likely spiral out of control if I added vanilla beans. Brace yourself for this very difficult recipe.

In addition to a bowl, a spoon and a knife, here's what you'll need:

1 8 ounce block of Cream Cheese, softened
(I left it on the counter overnight)

1 Vanilla Pod

With a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean, lengthwise.

With the knife, scrape the length of the pod to reveal those beautiful flecks.

Mix with the cream cheese.

Find a giant Pistachio muffin from Ingles Supermarket (or any muffin, bagel, etc.).

Smear it with a bit of vanilla cream cheese and enjoy.

Now about this muffin...it was quite tasty without the cream cheese, but it was OMG delicious with it. There were an ample amount of pistachios and the texture and taste was fantastic. If there's an Ingles near you, swing by and pick up a muffin. In addition to Pistachio, the other flavors spotted are: Strawberry, Lemon Poppy Seed, Cran-Orange, Butter Rum, Blueberry and Bran. Oh and they also have giant cinnamon rolls. I'm plotting to try them all, one delicious bite at a time.

If you're wondering what to do with the empty vanilla pod...stick it in a jar of sugar and the vanilla essence will make you very, very happy.

Sheila Denise

Got Duck Sauce?

I was reading one of my many foodie magazines {Every Day with Rachael Ray} and thought this little snippet about using those little packets of duck sauce was worth sharing. Many of us order Chinese takeout and end up with a secret stash of assorted sauce packets. What in the world do you do with them when your dish has been eaten? Well, here are three really great ideas to incorporate these sweet little packets.

Cream Cheese:

Toss dried cranberries, golden raisins and finely chopped red onion with duck sauce. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over a block of cream cheese. Serve with crackers, pita chips, etc.

Slaw:

For a sweet-and-sour addition, dress up your favorite slaw recipe or shred broccoli stalks and red cabbage and add duck sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and top with toasted sesame seeds.

Grilled Cheese:

Add a new spin to a basic grilled cheese sandwich, by spreading duck sauce on the bread. Try adding muenster, avocado and turkey or whatever you enjoy. For inspiration, click here for more grilled cheese idea.

Do you have other quick tips for using duck sauce or any other sauce packets we seem to accumulate?

Sheila Denise

Photo Credits:

Cream Cheese: Kraft Brands
Slaw: Nuts About Food Italy
Grilled Cheese: Sunset Magazine

We Went, We Ordered, We Ate...Red Velvet Pancakes!!

Today, I had the pleasure of eating Red Velvet Pancakes and I am in LOVE!!! Let me preface this with, I don't like Red Velvet anything (well I do now), but was compelled to give these pancakes a try, simply because West Egg Cafe was serving them and I thought it was an interesting twist on a pancake. I had made plans to brunch at The Egg this morning with my friend and fellow foodie, Tamara (Jem of the South), who happens to be a Red Velvet bakerette-diva, so the moment I saw the Facebook post (photo above) that The Egg was featuring Red Velvet Pancakes this weekend, I knew we'd made the right decision.

So, we wait about 30 minutes to be seated (always well worth the wait) and eagerly ordered the feature of the day and out they came with a HUGEMONGOUS dollop of ready-to-smear cream cheese frosting goodness!!! We weren't about to mess this up, so we knew we had to enjoy them straight, no chaser, errr I mean syrup. I can't imagine that syrup could do anything to enhance this deliciousness!! We looked at each other and as I pulled out my Blackberry to take pics, and Miss Red Velvet took a bite and her eyes literally rolled back in her head. I thought, if SHE thinks they're to die for, I just might like them. Well, have mercy on my greedy little soul--I LOVED THEM!! They were absolutely delicious. The more I ate, the better they got. They had just the right balance of all the things that make many Red Velvet Cakes go wrong--not too cocoa-ey and not too red food color-ey, not too dry, not too sweet...they were spot on!! With this perfectly balanced flavor combination, I could become a Red Velvet Cake lover, but until then, I'll simply be happy to eat this pancake version until the end of time. The only thing Tamara and I decided we wanted to add was a few chopped pecans to sprinkle on top, but I'm prepared to bring my own pecans next time, well very likely tomorrow. Did I mention how much I enjoyed the pancakes??
Naturally, we posted on Facebook & Twitter about our new-found love and we've both received great responses from folks wanting to know more. All I can tell you is this--STOP what you're doing, take yourself to West Egg Cafe and order the Red Velvet Pancakes NOW!! You'll love me for this one.

Sheila Denise

Fruit Tart - Blackberry Version

A local supermarket has been stocked with the most delicious blackberries for the past few weeks and I've been eating them like crazy. This morning, I decided to try something other than eating them straight, in smoothies or with my daily Greek yogurt. During my search, I stumbled upon a blackberry tart recipe on a blog called Eclectic Recipes. Just the sight of those luscious, juicy berries piled atop a cream cheesy bed with a shortcakey crust had me eager to recreate this lovely vision. I also loved the fact that Greek yogurt was incorporated into the recipe.

So I got to work and as I progressed, I KNEW I'd have a slice before I could assemble the berries on it. I was even more convinced to do so when I tasted the cream cheese mixture. Oh Em Gee!!! This tart is delicious!!!

Angelia, of Eclectic Recipes, entered this recipe into the Publix Berry Recipe Contest, which ended yesterday. If the judges taste buds are working...this one should be a winner!! Best wishes Angelia...you have my vote!

Just one note, the recipe includes salt and sugar; however, they aren't mentioned during the process, but I pulsed them with the flour and nuts. I'm sending this entry to Angelia, so she'll correct me if I'm mistaken. Also, I added a couple of tablespoons of sour cream and used pecans instead of walnuts, simply because I didn't have walnuts.

Oh yeah...please excuse my pitiful looking mint--it was here and I needed to add a bit of color. I'll have fresher mint next time, I hope.

If you're looking for a simple and delicious dessert, add this one to your arsenal. Thanks Angelia!!

Sheila Denise