Toad In The Hole

Posted on June 8, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

You have to take my word for it. Toad In The Hole is delicious. The name is not delicious. No matter how I tried, the photographs are not really delicious. But, sausage cooked up in a lovely Yorkshire pudding batter cloaked with some tasty gravy IS delicious.

Toad In The Hole

Ingredients:

2 eggs
150g (1 cup) plain flour
300ml milk
2 tsp Dijon mustard or English mustard
8 pork sausages
1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
vegetable oil

Ingredients for caramelized gravy:

2 onions, halved and sliced
butter
500ml beef stock

Directions:

1. To make the gravy, cook the onions in a large knob of butter and a big pinch of salt, stirring until they are dark brown and caramelised (this will take about 30 minutes so be patient). Add the stock then simmer for 20 minutes.

2. To make the batter, add the eggs to the flour with a little milk then whisk until smooth. Add the rest of the milk and whisk in. Stir in the mustard and season.

3. Heat the oven to 400℉/200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the sausages and red onion into a large ovenproof dish or tin with plenty of room between the sausages and drizzle with 2 tbsp oil. Season then cook for 20-30 minutes until sausages are browned. Pour over the batter then put back in the oven for 30-40 minutes until puffed and golden.

4. Serve with the gravy.

Recipe from Olive Magazine

I’m sorry. Toad In The Hole, musically, makes my mind go in the gutter. It’s a lovely gutter, though.
Frightened Rabbit-Poke

The Just Joans-Stuart’s Got A Dirty Book

Chll Pll-Dick Moves

Cheers!

Posted in Main Courses | 2 Comments

Dreaming Of Carvel Ice Cream Cake

Posted on June 7, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

Carvel Ice Cream makes me feel young. Some of my earliest memories are of my father taking me to Carvel every day for ice cream. EVERY DAY! I always got the same thing. Soft vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. Still my favorite.

My birthdays were always celebrated with a Carvel ice cream cake. If you have never had one, the cakes have these delicious chocolate crunchies layered between the ice cream. I have always been wild for those crunchies.

In my area of Vermont there are no Carvel stores. You can buy the cakes frozen in some supermarkets, but it is not the same as the excitement of picking up a personalized one at the shop.

I wanted to try my hand at making a Carvel style ice cream cake. This recipe comes pretty close. I couldn’t be fussed to get the “secret ingredient” whipped cream icing right, so I just dumped more crunchies on top to decorate. Easy.

If you love those Carvel cakes you’ll want to make this recipe. I closed my eyes while eating my slice and I was instantly a young Brooklyn girl again. Back in the day when I couldn’t wait for my next birthday. Ha!

Carvel Style Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream (or any flavor really)
1/2 pkg Famous Wafers
10 Oreo Cookies
Chocolate Magic Shell

Directions:

Note: Assembling ice cream cake recipes will require a few trips back and forth to the freezer. Make sure you have enough room for cold air to circulate around the cake pan.

1. Start by chilling the cake pan. Leave the vanilla ice cream out to soften for about 15 minutes. (You’ll want the ice cream to be the consistency of soft serve, but not runny).

2. Place a cardboard cake disc in the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. (I have a glass bottomed springform pan that I love. If you use one of these, you don’t need the disc.)

3. Use a metal spatula to spread vanilla ice cream all around the sides of the pan to about 1/2″ thickness. If the ice cream is so soft that it slides down the pan, put it back in the freezer for a few minutes before trying to spread again.

4. Make the chocolate crunchies: In a food processor, chop wafers and Oreo cookies into large crumbs. Add magic shell, a little at a time until crumbs are completely coated, but not swimming in it. (I used about 1/2 of the bottle)

Important: Do not refrigerate crunchies before adding them to the cake. They will chill into a solid lump.

5. Sprinkle vanilla ice cream layer with crunchies. Place pan in freezer until crunchies are hard.

6. Allow the second ice cream flavor to soften. Spread 2nd flavor into pan, packing it down as you go. Leave about 1/2″ space from the top of the pan.Chill until completely solid.

7. Spread the rest of the vanilla ice cream over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining crunchies if you like. (LIKE!)


8. Chill 1 -2 hours or until completely solid.

9. To unmold, run the sides of the pan under hot water until you notice a little melting along the pan sides. Place the cake pan on top of a bowl, unlatch the pan hinge and press the sides down. Remove the cake bottom.

Recipe adapted from Cake Decorating Corner

Now that I am feeling so young, I’m going to play some young music.

This song is so cool. Sounds like a bunch of other stuff, but that’s okay. Dawn Landes has that soft, sexy kind of voice that is irresistable.
Dawn Landes-Young Girl

Buy Dawn Landes’ music here.

I remember being 16 like it was yesterday. I can hardly remember yesterday, but 16 I recall. I was a bit crazy (well, a lot crazy).

Sixteen may be too young. I don’t know. I loved that year. And I love The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir.
The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir-Sixteen Is Too Young

Go buy The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir’s music here.

Cheers!

Posted in Cake, Ice Cream | 12 Comments

Short And Sweet. Cheesecake And Lemon Curd Filled Raspberries

Posted on June 6, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

The title of this dessert takes longer to say than it does to make.

It never occurred to me to fill a raspberry. What a brilliant idea. Just pipe a little lemon curd into some, cheesecake flavored filling into the others and you have yourself one really sweet dessert.

Cheesecake And Lemon Curd Filled Raspberries

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh raspberries
Lemon curd, homemade or store bought

No Bake Cheesecake Filling ingredients:

8oz (227g) cream cheese (don’t use light, as it won’t work the same)
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp (37g) granulated / castor sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla using an electric mixer until smooth.

2. Whip the cream, and then gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture so it’s fully combined.

3. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes to firm up, if necessary.

4. Fill two piping bags fitted with small star tips with your fillings – 1 with lemon curd and the other with the cheesecake mixture (note: if you don’t have any piping tips or bags you can put each filling into a plastic zip lock bag and snip the tips off of them). One by one, take each raspberry and carefully fill each one with either the cheesecake or lemon filling.

Aside from being a lovely snack, these stuffed raspberries would also make a great garnish for cakes, cheesecakes and cupcakes.

Brilliant idea and recipe from Andrea at Made With Pink


The short and sweet songs here are a bit morbid, but they fit together very well. Two of my faves, to boot.

Short.
The Lemonheads-Waiting Around To Die

Sweet.
Guillemots-If The World Ends

Cheers!

Posted in Dessert | 3 Comments

Rainbow Pancakes

Posted on June 5, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen


I just made these rainbow pancakes for breakfast and I am still smiling. Pure happiness on a plate. The perfect way to start the day.

Rainbow Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Food gel paste in rainbow colors

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

2. Divide batter between bowls and add different color of food coloring to each.

3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Awesome Rainbow Pancake idea from Amanda at i am Mommy

Add a little color to your ears.
The Pass-Colors

Check out The Pass on their Myspace Page
Furland-Quiero Ser Un Color

Furland can be found on their Myspace Page You’ll want to brush up on your Spanish first.

Cheerful.
Cheers!

Posted in Breakfast | 4 Comments

Asparagus And Ramp Skillet Soufflé

Posted on June 4, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

Last Saturday DaHub was reading the newspaper and said “This looks good”. He was referring to this recipe for Asparagus And Ramp Skillet Soufflé. You know what? I made it the next day for breakfast and it was good. Really good.

Amazingly, the crust was crisp, which ramped up the goodness quotient.  And the cheese. Really good.

I didn’t have ramps on hand, so I used green onion instead. Ramps are a garlicky wild leek. The next time I see ramps at a market (which probably won’t be until next spring) I am definitely going to make this recipe to try it with them in it.

Don’t let a lack of ramps stop you from making this recipe. Oh, and invite me for breakfast when you make it.

Asparagus and Ramp Skillet Soufflé

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup all-purpose white flour
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
15 spears asparagus, about ½ pound
4 ounces aged cheddar cheese (Cabot’s Seriously Sharp is my favorite)
5 ramps or spring onions, thinly sliced, yielding about ¾ cup
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a 10-inch skillet, preferably cast iron, in the oven as it heats.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in milk until well combined.

3. Sift flour, salt, baking powder and cayenne into egg mixture. Whisk until there are no lumps and just combined, about 20-30 seconds. Season batter with black pepper and set aside.

4. Trim tough ends from asparagus and slice 3 spears lengthwise. Cut remaining spears crosswise into ½-inch pieces. Grate half the cheese and cut other half into small cubes.

5. Stir sliced ramps and ½-inch asparagus pieces into batter.

6. Using an oven mitt, transfer pan to stovetop and set over medium-high heat. Swirl butter into pan and immediately pour in batter. Cook for 20-30 seconds.

7.Meanwhile, quickly scatter cheese cubes evenly throughout batter. Neatly crisscross lengthwise asparagus in center and scatter grated cheese over top.

8. Transfer soufflé to oven’s top rack and bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden and voluminous. If top isn’t golden brown, broil soufflé for final 2 minutes.

9. Serve immediately—the skillet soufflé deflates quickly.

Serves: 4

Recipe from Andrea Reusing


My new favorite song is Atta Boyz by Silverbacks. I love the retro feel of the video, the shouting of the title and especially the guy spinning around.

You can download Silverback’s EP for free over here.

How about an old fave of mine? I love the Morrissey vibe. I also like the way that the beat matches my running stride almost perfectly. These things are important.
Levy-Rector Street

You can buy the album Rotten Love here.

Cheers!

Posted in Breakfast, Main Courses, Vegetable | Leave a comment

Chocolate Fudge

Posted on June 3, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

Here is another recipe that I made for my Porch Party last weekend. I love how easy this fudge was to make. It is a week on since I made it and the leftovers are just as delicious out of the fridge.

The music is what makes this post super delicious.

Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups chocolate chips
1 cups chopped nuts
1 cup butter
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Combine chocolate chips, nuts, butter and vanilla in a large bowl; set aside.

2. In a large (5 Qt) heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and evaporated milk to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring while it boils for 8 minutes (mixture will bubble up).

3. Pour milk mixture over chocolate mixture and stir to blend. Beat with an electric mixer approximately 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Chill before cutting.

Makes 30 pieces.

Recipe from Nestlé, slightly reworded by me.

A little Americana from Glasgow. (Isn’t it great?)
The Porch Song Anthology-Hang Me Good

Check out Porch Song Anthology’s website. Buy their music here.

James Murphy’s music makes me so happy. I wish he could have come to my Porch Party. I wish I was in that circle of  all of his friends. Check him out and buy him out on his website.
LCD Soundsystem-All My Friends

I’m so grateful for all of my friends.

Cheers!

Posted in Candy, Dessert | Leave a comment

Fat Ladies

Posted on June 2, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

I did not name this dessert. I am quite sure I know how it came to be called Fat Ladies though. One of these ooey, caramelly, nutty, chocolate chippy squares is never enough. They are incredible. I haven’t met a person, yet, who doesn’t love them.

I love the name Fat Ladies. You might not know this, but I am one of the most politically incorrect people you will meet. In a nice way.

You know, sensitivity is one thing. But, the whole PC movement has become intrusive and ridiculous. If I want to call something ‘retarded’, dammit, let me.

That said, you can call these yummy treats ‘Horizontally Challenged Non-Gender Specific Thingies’.

I’m sticking by Fat Ladies. If you are offended by the name of the dessert, definitely don’t listen to the songs. Oooh. I love me some political incorrectness.

Fat Ladies

Ingredients:

1 roll chocolate chip cookie dough
1/2 cup half and half
35 caramels (12 oz) (I LOVE the caramel block that I picked up at King Arthur Flour. I lose patience unwrapping all of those little individually wrapped caramels.)
2 cups chocolate chips (I like a mix of semisweet and bittersweet)
1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.

2. Pat dough into a 9×12 inch pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

3. Melt caramels with half and half in microwave.

4. Sprinkle chocolate chips over cookie layer. Bake 5 minutes longer or until chocolate is melted.

5. Spread caramel mixture over the top and sprinkle with pecans.

Cut into small bars to serve.

Recipe from Nelda Mooney

Too Fat Polka ALWAYS cracks me up. I’ve had some dicey moments when my children were younger and they’d be belting this song out in public….where the general public was, in general, too fat.

“Does she fit in your coupe?
By herself she’s a group
Could she possibly
Sit upon your knee?
No, no, no”

Kills me.
Bobby Vinton-Too Fat Polka

This song charted at #12 US, #2 UK in 1977. Can you imagine hearing it play on popular radio today??? In freakin’ Vermont??
Joe Tex-Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)

One of my favorite songs. Yep, it’s politically incorrect.
Louis Prima-Closest To The Bone

Cheers!

Posted in Dessert | 9 Comments

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Posted on June 1, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

These Chocolate Sugar Cookies are fun and elegant at the same time. They taste good, too. Always a bonus.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

¾ cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated and no streaks remain. Form the dough into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1-2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters and place cut outs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, just until set. Let cool on the baking sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired. (I used dragées, edible glitter and sanding sugar)

Yield: about 20 medium sized cookies

Recipe from Martha Stewart

You can find the recipe for Royal Icing here.

I know I recently played Beach House, but I cannot get enough of them. Teen Dream is my current obsession. The cd comes with a dvd, too, of videos for all of the songs. You can buy Teen Dream, and the band’s other music on their website.
Beach House-Lover Of Mine

Check out this completely out there video.

Cheers!

Posted in Cookies | Leave a comment

Irrational Fear? Not Of Stuffed Crust Pizza.

Posted on May 31, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

I have some irrational fears. Oh, I know you are just dying to hear them.

First one. Those Pillsbury dough cylinders where you have to press the seam to open them. You know the ones. These.

Sometimes I’ll press my spoon into that stupid ‘press the spoon into here’ line and there will be a massive BOOM. One time I fell to the floor and clasped my chest as my horrified toddlers looked on. “Mummy got shot by the Dough Boy. OW. OW.”.

Revenge.

Revenge is sweet.

Second Irrational Fear. Dangling my arms off of a bed. I never, ever sleep with an arm hanging off of the side of the bed. EVER. I saw this movie when I was 9. Loved it. Hated it. Still with me all these years later.

“We want you Sally.” Ugh….creepy as all hell.

Third Irrational Fear. Dolls coming to life.

Like in this mini movie.

You’ve seen some of the other movies. Yikes. This one??? Hurl.

And Holy Freakin’ Clown. How about this scene?

I was given a Lester ventriloquist doll as a gift when I was about 11. Damn, he was cute. Fun. Silly.

But, only in the daylight. I spent years covering him with a blanket at night, as though he were a parakeet. Scary as all get out in the night when the two of us were alone in my room. Irrational? Perhaps.

Let’s just get back to this easy pizza recipe. You’re tired after a long day. You think the kids would love pizza for dinner.

That is NOT irrational.

If you are me, you just need someone to open that blasted Pillsbury Crust package.

Pillsbury Stuffed Crust Pizza

Ingredients:

1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
7 sticks (1 oz each) string cheese
1/2 cup pizza sauce
24 slices pepperoni (from 3.5-oz package)
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (8 oz)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Grease 12-inch pizza pan with shortening or cooking spray.

2. Unroll dough; place in pan. Starting at center, press out dough to edge of pan, pressing up and extending over sides by at least 1 inch. Place string cheese around inside edge of crust. Fold extended edge of dough over cheese; pinch firmly to seal.

3. Spoon sauce evenly over dough. Top with pepperoni and cheese blend.

4. Bake 12 to 16 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese in center is melted.

Scary, irrational music. Nah. Ya think?
Searider Falcon-Everybody's Scared

The Magnetic Fields-The Doll's Tea Party

Cheers!

Posted in Main Courses | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Chocolate Salted Caramel Mini Cupcakes

Posted on May 30, 2011 by I Sing In The Kitchen

This is my favorite recipe of all the new ones I made for the Porch Party I threw on Saturday Night. If you love the caramel/salt thing, then these are for you.

I love that they are mini cupcakes, too. Just the right amount to pop into your mouth and experience all of the flavors at once.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Mini Cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

Directions for cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line mini muffin pans with paper liners.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and water. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix until smooth.

3. Fill muffin pans about 2/3 full. Bake about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks about 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to wire racks to let cool completely.



Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen in an airtight container for up to a month.

Ingredients for salted caramel filling:

2 & 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 & 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Directions for salted caramel filling:

1. Heat sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Stir occasionally until syrup is clear. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan. Stop stirring, and cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed.

2. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and temperature just reaches 360°.

3. Remove from heat. Slowly pour in cream and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt. Use immediately. If caramel begins to harden, reheat gently until pourable.

4. Use a paring knife, cut a cone-shaped piece, about 1/2-inch deep, from the center of each cupcake. Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of warm filling into each cupcake. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.



I managed not to eat all of the removed cake.

Ingredients for dark chocolate frosting:

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 & 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 pounds semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions for dark chocolate frosting:

1. Combine cocoa and boiling water. Stir until cocoa has dissolved.

2. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add melted and cooled chocolate. Beat until combined. Beat in cocoa mixture.

Frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days or frozen up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth before using.

3. Fit a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (Wilton #18). Fill pastry bag with frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish with a pinch of sea salt.

Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container until ready to serve.

Yield for Martha was 56. I got 72 mini cupcakes. (The quantity “72” always creeps me out)

Recipe from Martha Stewart found over here.

It is hard to know whether I love the salted caramel thing more than the band Meursault. Good thing it is not one of those things that I will ever have to choose between.

Meursault are a band out of Edinburgh, Scotland. I love that in one song you might get a wall of electronic sound and another will give you tender, echoey guitar. I’m all over Neil’s voice. Really good stuff.

The band is touring with Sparrow & The Workshop right now. How I wish I were in the England/ Wales vicinity. I’d be at a gig in a heartbeat.

It just so happens that Meursault has some salty songs.
Meursault-Salt Part 1

Salt Pt. 2 was the last song on countless mix cds that I made in 2008/2009. It’s just one of those perfect songs you want to leave off with.
Meursault-Salt Pt. 2

You can watch a video for A Mother’s Arms, see Tour Dates and buy Meursault’s music over at Song, By Toad Records.

Cheers!

Posted in Cupcakes | 3 Comments