Category Archives: belle-icious

off to the races with bourbon salted caramel

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Talk about winning the trifecta!! Bourbon, sea salt and caramel! In preparation for the Kentucky Derby this weekend, we thought we would share this winning recipe…a true triple crown winner courtesy of shutterbean and Bon Appetit magazine.

We were perusing the magazine and came across these caramels and just knew we had to make them! Especially since one of our manly belles was having a birthday and he is quite partial to bourbon. A perfect addition to the birthday menu! shutterbean gave it rave reviews and some great tips. Of course, our favorite tip was the addition of extra bourbon.

We plan on making these again soon….sooner if we can…and since the Derby is all about bourbon…well with a little horse racing thrown in for good measure…let’s just say it’s an opportune time to have your way with bourbon in the kitchen.

We made this twice and the second time was better because we decided to add that extra touch of bourbon (you couldn’t taste it the first time…what a waste!!)

So off to the races:

Nonstick vegetable spray

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (1stick) unsalted butter ( we used salted and it was fine)
3 Tbsp. Bourbon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Flaky sea salt ( such as Maldon )

You will also need a candy thermometer

Lightly coat an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper,leaving a 2″ overhang on 2 sides. Spray parchment!!!

Bring sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water to boil in a medium saucepan over medium- high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook swirling pan occasionally ,until mixture turns a deep amber color, 8-10 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, and whisk in sweetened condensed milk and butter( mixture will bubble vigorously) until smooth. Fit pan with thermometer and return to medium- low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until thermometer registers 240 degrees . Remove from heat and whisk in bourbon and kosher salt. Pour into prepared pan..let cool. Sprinkle with sea salt.

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Cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

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Wrap individually in parchment pieces. We tried but ours didn’t last that long!!

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Everybody will be betting on you!!

a&a

brownie batter for two…a sweet friday friend-1-1

25 Friday Apr 2014

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Even the rarest of belles can get a little hormonal once in a while…shocking, but true. Once the madness hits, there’s no stopping her determination to consume any chocolate (even sneaking into the kids’ Easter candy) within the confines of her maison belle. Well, my dears, time to step away from that Reese’s egg! It’s just not worth it!

We have a warm, sweet, chocolaty delight that is (somewhat) portion-controlled…and, sweet belles, it will not disappoint! This is an adaptation from our favorite brownie recipe…discovered essentially by accident while “testing” the brownies in progress. (And, as a bonus, we will share the full brownie recipe for those who want to take it to the next level)

Here’s what you’ll need:

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– 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate
– 1/2 stick butter
– 1/2 c sugar
– 1/4 c flour
– 1 t vanilla extract
– pinch salt

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Place the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted…just a minute or 2.  Stir until smooth, then stir in remaining ingredients.  Enjoy!!!

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How easy was that??!!  It is pure warm, sugary, chocolatey perfection!!

…and now for the full recipe…

SugSug’s Brownies

1 stick butter
4 squares semi- or un-sweetened chocolate
2 c sugar
1 c flour
4 eggs, beaten
2 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1/2 c chopped pecans (optional)
1 c chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into 9×13 pan (spray pan with cooking spray first). Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool.

Now THAT’S a chocolate fix for you, belle!
a&a

kan’t kwit kale…

17 Thursday Apr 2014

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We are here to tell you, it’s true, we simply can’t get enough of the stuff. We jumped on the kale train and we are all on board.

This version we are sharing with you is from Joy the Baker. If you haven’t visited her blog yet, it is about time you did. We find ourselves getting lost in her recipes and the photos will tempt your taste buds.

Just a few ingredients and a little time and you will be thanking your lucky stars (and us) that you made this tasty salad with an Asian spin.

You will need:

A fresh bunch of kale (curly) stems removed, cut into the thinnest chiffonade you can manage.

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1/3 cup roasted almonds coarsely chopped

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In a bowl whisk together:
1 small clove garlic minced
Generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch of salt
2 T soy sauce
4 T rice wine vinegar
2 T sesame oil
2 t honey
Pepper to taste

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Now toss the kale , almonds and dressing and try to restrain yourself from eating it with your bare hands.

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The original recipe calls for sesame seeds but in our eagerness to create this we neglected to notice we didn’t have any in the larder. We also doubled the recipe because we just KNEW this salad was going to cause a ruckus if there wasn’t enough to go around.

In a word: scrumptious

a&a

kale, yea!

27 Thursday Mar 2014

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We see so much of kale lately! There’s a kale-this or a kale-that on almost every menu…but finding the perfect recipe for at-home prep is a bit of a challenge. “Cooking it down” as greens have been subjected to in the South since the discovery of the collard green just doesn’t seem to cut it. (“they” say it destroys all of the good stuff in it) Most salads we have tried are a bit overwhelmingly “green” – if you catch my drift. Enter our good friend and gastronome, Cathy, with the Perfect Kale Salad!! Dilemma solved…and belles ringing!!

Perfect Kale Salad

6 c. kale chiffonade

kale in process

1/4 c. panko, toasted

parmesan

3 cloves garlic, pressed

garlic

1/4 c plus 2 T parmesan, grated

parmesan (not panko)

4 T evoo

olive oil

juice of 1 lemon (and we like to add some zest!)

lemon juice:zest

3/4 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, and 1/4 t red pepper flakes

salt pepper red pepper

Place garlic, 1/4 c parmesan, evoo, lemon juice, salt and pepper into blender. Blend. Toss with kale. Just before serving, toss in panko and remaining parmesan.

Delicious perfection! Ring-a-ling!!

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a&a

corned beef…an Irish-belle feast!

17 Monday Mar 2014

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We had no earthly idea that there were so many ways to cook corned beef when we began this quest for the perfect St. Patrick’s feast. I mean really, you can boil it, bake it, crockpot it, boil AND bake it…or you can take seventeen days (yes, seventeen days!!) to create it.

We fully intended to take a tried and true path with just the right recipe, but as the day in question drew closer and the spring-like weather practically pulled us out of the kitchen, we just had to tweak a touch to get the best of both worlds. Taste and time. So we have mixed and matched, dumped and poured and come up with a pretty good rendition for all you Irish belles.

Don’t forget corned beef on rye the next day!

So we started out using this recipe for the beef. We chose baked.

Then we added the cabbage and vegetables from this site!

And we made the sauce from above as well! Belles are always saucy!!!

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Via Pinterest

Now if we are presenting this a wee bit late for y’all , may we recommend another Irish treat to tempt your taste buds? How about :

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Via Pinterest

This sweet delight can be found right here.

Feel free to make it all. That will keep the Irish eyes smiling!

a&a

salted caramel blondies…ring. a-ling!

14 Friday Feb 2014

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Salted caramel…let us count the ways!! This has become one of our latest obsessions, and it could be a rather dangerous one! (We are going to be forced to log 20,000 steps a day on our Fitbits pretty soon…uh oh). We have pinned and tried various versions of this sinful combination of salty, sweet, gooey goodness; and you, our dear belles, will certainly be hearing more from us on this very important topic. But…this one recipe has been ringing our belles (and collecting oohs and ahhs from friends) lately. So, we feel almost obligated to get it out to all of our belles immediately. We can’t have you missing out on all the fun!!

Now, before we divulge the gooey details, we must give you two very important pointers.

1. The recipe, as presented in the link, is to be prepared in an 8″x8″ pan. Now, you know what that means? It is just not enough!! Our solution…go right ahead and double that recipe and pull out the 9″x13″…especially if you plan to share (which a good belle would always do). Add 5 minutes to your baking time and you are all set.
2. The recipe also calls for a perfectly delicious homemade salted caramel sauce as well as a perfectly delicious homemade fudge sauce. We adore these recipes and encourage you to try them…but save them for a time when they will be the star of the show. For this recipe, they are drizzled on prior to baking and we find that the store-bought versions work beautifully (and allow you to crank these babies out in record time…making everyone happy). Let Trader Joe’s help you out here with their Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce and their Fudge Sauce & Fondue. You’re welcome!

And, now, here it is…in all it’s salted caramel goodness!!
Simply heaven on earth:

salted caramel and hot fudge blondies

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a&a

chocolate mousse…cupid’s sweet secret

06 Thursday Feb 2014

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We adore cooking. We crave chocolate. We love our blenders. And we are addicted to easy gourmet recipes.
As any good belle will do, we feel it IMPERATIVE to share this chocolate mousse. It was handed down and has withstood the test of time. Well, perfection usually does.

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Via therarebelle

What you’ll need:

1/2 lb good quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted (we’ve been known to use dark in these modern times and for the sake of health)
8 large eggs separated
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
A pinch of salt
A shot of cognac (or not!)

Place all ingredients EXCEPT egg whites into blender. Blend for 1 minute.
Add egg whites and blend for 3 minutes.

Pour into compotes, pot de cremes, bowls or your mouth (just kidding) and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Should make 10-12 compote servings

And that is it. A true masterpiece in a skinny minute!

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Via therarebelle

Now it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to accessorize these babies with some whipped cream and some chocolate shavings. Or even a chocolate covered coffee bean. But if your spoon gets in the way we will totally understand.

A special treat for all of your sweethearts…or just for yourself 😉

Belle-icious plain or dressed. Y’all decide.

a&a

le caniche français…ooh la la!

31 Friday Jan 2014

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Okay y’all,

True friends share, “belle” friends share their best finds. In this case it’s a salad dressing. Now it’s important that you understand we are genuine snobs about salad dressing. We snub our noses and curl our lips at that bottled stuff. We pride ourselves on making our own dressings and experience glee that it tastes soooo much better than anything you find at the supermarket.

But we make one exception to the above statement. A vinaigrette from the French Poodle in Carmel, California. They have converted us…just this once. So much so that we have given it to friends as gifts. Packaged in wine bottles, a little goes a long way.

The French Poodle knows their salad dressing. We should know. We order it a case at a time.

http://www.thefrenchpoodlecarmel.com

french poodle vinaigrette

an apple a day…your friday friend 1-1

24 Friday Jan 2014

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Can it possibly be true, that old saying about keeping the doctor away?  Well, these belles never claimed to have anything resembling a medical degree…we leave that to the professionals…but we have actually come to the conclusion that a good old apple can be just about the perfect snack/breakfast/lunch…yes, we have even been known to nosh on one for dinner!  Add a tablespoon or two of freshly ground almond butter (our favorite is Fresh Market…but Whole Foods comes a close second) with a pinch of sea salt, and you have quite the power meal!  Yum!!

One of us has had an apple habit for quite awhile and introduced the non-breakfast-eating one of us to it. Lo and behold, she liked it!  Lets see if you are willing to give it a try after reading these benefits:

Apples have been shown to:  reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, reduce the risk of stroke, regulate blood sugar helping to reduce the risk and symptoms of diabetes, help prevent some types of cancer, and aid in the prevention of heart disease.  They are an excellent source of antioxidants…a very good thing…with the highest concentration being in the peel (which is why I buy organic..pesticides…not a good thing). Bonus…apples and other whole fruits and vegetables are REAL FOODS…nothing pre-packaged or artificial in sight!

Read more on the benefits of this little goodie:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=15

By the by…if you have already tossed out a resolution or two, this might be an easy update to get you back on track!!

Belles ringing here…how about there?

a&a

our cure for the common cold….

09 Thursday Jan 2014

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…as in baby, it’s cold outside! Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, has the best recipe to warm us up from the inside out…for the full recipe, click here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/11/chipotle-chicken-chili     Image