Halloween Cancy Chocolate Bar

To prepare for Halloween, prepare to have leftover candy from your kids that you are not going to know what to do with! Besides donating to Unicef (which is a great cause) you should make this candy chocolate bar! Aside from having all the ingredients at your whim for this…the Halloween candy…you only need to other things.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Halloween candy!!
We used:
Whoppers
Candy corn
Tootsie rolls
Reese’s peanut butter cups
Ghost sprinkles
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
¼ cup coconut milk

Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.

Chop up your candy into the size you want.

In a double boiler, heat about an inch of water on the bottom, and in the top melt your chocolate, constantly stirring, slowly adding a little bit of coconut milk at a time while stirring so that it is completely absorbed.

Pour chocolate onto baking sheet, sprinkle with candy, stick in freezer, and eat when ready!

This is particularly great with ice cream!!

 

 

Squid Ink Couscous

Nothing says adult spooky like cooking with squid ink! This dish will impress all of your fancy grown up friends out there, and is great for Halloween dinner parties. We have made for you squid ink couscous, topped with Andouille sausage, oven roasted acorn squash, and dehydrated kale! Enjoy!

Ingredients: serves 4

3 cups pearl couscous
4 teaspoons squid ink
½ yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 acorn squash
4 pre-cooked Andouille sausages
2 large leaves kale
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
kosher salt

I always like starting by preparing the items that top the dish, so that I can have that out of the way and cooked.

Preheat oven to 400. Cut acorn squash in half, then into 1 inch thick slices. Using a knife, remove skin, cube, toss in oil, place on baking sheet, then sprinkle with garlic salt. Cook squash for about 30 minutes, rotating half way through.

Reduce heat to 275. Tear kale up into small pieces, discarding the stem, and placing on a baking sheet.   Cook kale for 15 minutes.

Since the sausage is already cooked, simply cut on a diagonal and cook at medium high until you get a slight sear. This will also bring out the spiciness of the meat.

Set all of this aside so we can now make our couscous. Melt butter in a large non stick sauce pan on medium high heat. While that is melting mince up garlic and onion. Cook onion and garlic in butter until onion softens and becomes semi translucent. Add 4 ½ cups of water to onion and garlic and bring to a boil. Add squid ink and make sure that it completely dissolves before adding the couscous. Bring the water back to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Once the couscous is done, fluff it with a fork. Serve in a dish, pinch salt to your taste, top with squash, then sausage, then add the kale at the very end.

Boo!!!

 

Vegetable Bone Pocket

Welcome to the boneyard!! These vegetable pockets are great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, standing on your head, dancing in the halls…whatever your heart desires. What is even better about these is that they are super easy to put together, a great last minute Halloween party item. To make it even easier we used premade pizza dough as the crust, and there is nothing wrong with that! Sometimes you just need a little cheat to make things go easier.

Enjoy your meal, bonedaddy!

Ingredients: depending on size makes about 5-6

4 Pillsbury pizza doughs (it is super easy, and can just roll right out)
3 large leaves kale
1 medium leek
1 /2 cup shredded Brussel sprouts
3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 cups cubed pepper jack cheese
Pinch of flour

Start by chopping up all of your vegetables. Heat oil in a sauté pan on medium high heat, and place vegetables in. Sprinkle salt on top, and sauté until slightly cooked, about 6 minutes.

Next preheat oven to 425. While preheating start rolling out your dough on a lightly floured surface, roll out one at a time so it doesn’t get cray in your work area. Once you roll out the dough, cut shapes of bones that are about 8 inches long, and 3 inches wide. Place vegetable mix on the dough, making sure that you don’t get too much towards the edges of your bone shape because the oil will make it tough to close all the way. Top with cheese and place another bone cut out on top.

Once you have filled all of your bones, use a fork to pinch the sides down to close all the way.

Place in oven and cook for 14 minutes, or until golden brown, turning half way through!

Enjoy!

 

Devil Eggs

We are always a fan of the classic deviled egg; it is a great go to appetizer, and in this case an awesome thing to dress up!

Enjoy our Devil Eggs!

Ingredients: makes 2 dozen –make sure you have a ziplock  bag      

A dozen eggs
½ cup roasted red peppers
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup canola oil
1 fresh red pepper
Cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Place all 12 eggs in warm water and set to high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, let boil for 12 minutes. Remove from water, and set eggs in an ice bath.

Once all eggs are cool, peel, and slice in half. Remove yolk and set aside.

Now we can make the filling, in a blender combine oil, salt, mustard, yolk, and roasted red pepper and blend until smooth. If you want it smoother add more oil.

To pipe the filling, place into a ziplock bag and cut the corner off fill in a circular motion.

To finish them off, cut pepper into thin slices, and then into little triangles to create the horns, and then sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

Let chill in refrigerator and then serve!

Happy Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween! We have a week of awesome Halloween recipes. Some are playful, some are a bit more on the grownup side, but they are all delicious!

Cheddar Filled Pretzel Bites

Alas we are in October, the month of my birth, the month of one of my favorite holidays, and an awesome month to celebrate the soft pretzel! According to the tales, pretzels were invented in Italy by monks in 600s from leftover breads. Pretzels have since been linked to Christianity, and featured in many Catholic holidays and traditions. The Germans really grabbed onto these traditions, and it is the Germans we have to thank for immigrating to America and introducing the US to pretzels!! There is some history with your food.

To honor the Oktober tradition of enjoying a good soft pretzel and some beer, we have made cheddar stuffed pretzels balls. This dish is really easy and is great with an Oktoberfest beer.

Ingredients: makes about 2 dozen

11 cup warm water + 1 Tablespoon
1 envelope active dry yeast
3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, well softened
Vegetable oil for bowl
Medium cheddar cheese
2/3 cup baking soda
One egg

 



Stir together 1 cup warm water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand until foam forms. If it doesn’t, start over.

In a smaller bowl, stir together flour, salt, and light brown sugar.

Add flour mixture and butter to yeast mixture, and stir together completely and then knead with your hands. Take dough out of bowl and wipe with oil, put dough back in, cover, and let stand in refrigerator for an hour.

Once an hour is up preheat oven to 450 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper and rub a little oil on it.

Cube cheese into small inch pieces.

Cut dough into three pieces and one at a time roll out onto a flour dusted surface. Cut into 8 pieces. Place a cube of cheddar into the middle of the dough, and roll, making sure the dough seals around it. Set aside, and continue until you have made all of your pretzel bites.

Boil 10 cups of water and 2/3 cup baking soda. Place 4 pretzels at a time in the water to boil for 30
seconds, and then place on baking sheet. Once you have boiled all of them, mix together 1 egg yolk and one tablespoon of water, and brush all of the pretzels. Sprinkle with salt, and bake for 14 minutes.

Enjoy! These are so addicting.

 

Fall Vegetable Creamy Polenta!

Happy Fall!!!! Now if only it would cool down in Los Angeles so that I would know it is Fall, in the mean time I will just sit under the AC and have a fan blasting in my face.

For our first fall dish of 2015 we have made creamy polenta topped with fall vegetables and a balsamic reduction. I love the fall because some of my favorite vegetables are at their best, such as mushrooms, squashes, Brussel sprouts, and so many others. Enjoy

Ingredients: * To make completely vegetarian use vegetable stock. **Serves 2-4 based on if it is an entrée of side.

Kosher salt
Olive oil
Package already cooked polenta (because why not)
¼ cup cream
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 cup Brussel sprouts
6 mini Portobello mushrooms or 2 large ones
½ butternut squash
2 medium leeks
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey

What is great about this dish is that you can make all of the components at the same time pretty much, which is lovely. Or you can make all the vegetables ahead of time, mix them together, and reheat them before plating.

Start by preheating oven to 400 degrees and prepping all of your vegetables, listed below is how to properly prepare them:

Leeks:
Cut the end with roots off, and where the leek turns from white to green. Slice the leeks in half length wise. Run the leeks under water, making sure to get any bugs or dirt out. Chop leeks into small half circles by laying the cut side down.

Butternut Squash:
 Cut in half lengthwise. This can be challenging the bigger the squash, so I insert knife on the thin side, cut through the stem and it should make it easier to wiggle the knife around. Since we are only using half, you can wrap up and store one half. Peel the squash with a strong peeler until the squash goes from white to dark orange. Remove seeds with a spoon, and using a sharp knife, cube the squash. Toss with two tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Brussel sprouts:
Trim the ends off and peel outer layer of leaves. Cut into quarters, and rigorously rinse under water to remove any dirt or bugs. Toss with two tablespoons and a pinch of salt.

Mushrooms:
Run the mushrooms under4 water and rub the inside and outside with your thumb to remove all dirt. Slice thin using a very sharp knife.

Now we can prepare everything. Place Brussel sprouts and butternut squash on separate sheet trays and in over. Set timer for 40 minutes, and flip tray halfway through. This is a good time to make your balsamic reduction. In a small sauce pan bring your balsamic to a boil, and then add honey. Turn the heat down to a small simmer and let simmer until you reached desired thickness. The reduction will thicken quite a bit while cooling so keep that in mind. I did mine about 7 minutes. Set aside when done.

At the 20 minute mark you can start putting everything else together. Heat up one tablespoon of oil on medium high in a large non-stick pan and place leeks in. Let soften, about 2-3 minutes, and pour in a ¼ cup of chicken stock. Let cook on low-medium heat until caramelized, about 15 minutes. While that is going, place one tablespoon of oil in a different non-stick, place mushrooms in. Cook until completely softened, about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Once you start all of your vegetables, or after everything is done it is time to start the polenta. Cube your polenta and place in sauce pan on medium high heat. Add ½ cup of chicken stock, and mash up using a masher. Try to mash it up as much as possible. Add cream and cheese and stir until the polenta has absorbed all the liquid and all the cheese is melted.

Time to plate! Put down your polenta, pile your vegetables on, and using a spoon drizzle your reduction!

This dish is so delicious as a side or even your entrée!

 

 

Welcome Fall 2015!!!

Happy Fall!!! This fall better start cooling down! All we want to do is wear a sweater without fainting from heat, so we are keeping our fingers crossed. We have some awesome stuff planned for this fall.

Stay tuned!

Back to School Lunch!

Happy Back to School! I don’t know about you guys, but it seems earlier and earlier every year. That being said, adults get a little bit of freedom back, and kids get to catch up with old friends. First day of school screams new outfits, summertime tales, fresh notebooks, new teachers, and old haunts.

We came up with a great back to school lunch delicious to kids (it has been child tested) and it is chock full of great things such as broccoli, yam, apple…but it is all snuck in with a twist!

On the menu we have: broccoli cheese whole wheat pasta, yam chips, and cinnamon apple rice krispy treats. Enjoy!

Ingredients will make about 5 servings

Pasta:
1 box whole wheat pasta (we used rotini because it is fun)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large head broccoli
Kosher salt

Yam Chips:
1 large yam
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt

Cinnamon Apple Rice Krispy Treat:
5 Cups Rice Krispy Cereal
5 cups small marshmallows
1 Large green apple
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter + some for greasing
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Bring a large pot of water, and a small pot of water to a boil. In the meantime cut the large head of broccoli into smaller pieces. When large water comes to a boil, pour in pasta. When small water comes to boil, pour in broccoli. In a medium sized pot start melting butter right before pasta is done, cook pasta 9-12 minutes or until slightly al dente. Cook broccoli about 5 minutes or until tender when poked with fork.

Once butter is melted, strain and pour in pasta. Stir pasta so that it gets coated in butter, pour in broccoli and stir more. Pour grated cheese in thirds and stir so that it doesn’t melt in clumps. Sprinkle salt in to your liking.

For the chips I suggest using a mandolin, because they are awesome! Preheat oven to 415 degrees.

Clean outside of yam before slicing. Slice yam relatively thin, not so thin that you can see light through it, but no so thick that they snap in half…they should be able to bend. In a bowl, toss with olive oil.

Lay out on cookie sheets and very lightly sprinkle with salt, they get salty very easily.

Bake about 10 minutes, or until you see little brown spots pop up. Rotate halfway through.

These Rice Krispies don’t hold together as tightly as the old fashioned kid without apple, so we are adding a bit more marshmallow…but who cares, they won’t be around long because they are so quickly devoured!

Before doing anything, make sure to grease bottom and sides of 9”x11” pan.

Start by cubing apple into pretty small pieces about a centimeter cubed. In a small sauce pan melt butter and sugar. When melted pour in apple pieces, stir to coat, then add 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes until apple is soft. Set aside.

In a medium/ large deep sauce pan melt marshmallows while stirring constantly. Add teaspoon of cinnamon and stir for two more minutes. Add in apples and stir in completely. Then add in cereal and stir that in completely.

Using a greased spatula, pour mix into your already greased pan, pushing mix in as tight as possible. Let cool, and then slice!!

This is such a delicious combo, I suggest that adults enjoy it too!

Avocado Shrimp Toast

Happy Summer! Hello WORLD! Michael and I have been a bit off the grid for a bit, hence the no posts since February, Michael is head chef at a new fabulous restaurant, I have been doing some work with a gallery in the Santa Fe Art Colony, showing my paintings. All in all, it has been pretty busy, but a wonderful time!

That being said, we have put together a simple yet delicious dish inspired by summer and my recent trip with my family to Puerto Vallarta (Michael couldn’t make it because he is el jefe and needed). We have made avocado shrimp toast. This is such a simple dish, yet very complex in flavor, and is great for brunch or even just a snack.

Ingredients:

½ Lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (about medium size)
Sourdough baguette
Cilantro
3 avocadoes
1 lemon
1 lime
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoons kosher salt plus some pinches

Start by preheating oven to 400 degrees and slicing bread a ¼ to ½ inch thick, depends on your preference. Put bread on sheet tray and in the oven when the oven reaches temp. Toast bread about 12 minutes, flipping half way. Since all ovens are not created equal, just keep an eye out on toast burnage.

I like to buy my shrimp peeled and deveined to save the time, but check to make sure it is completely deveined because I know it's childish but it's just guhross if they are not completely cleaned. Heat oil and juice of a lemon inn a skillet on medium high heat, until it starts to slightly brown….SUPER CRUCIAL, don’t let oil burn, just let it slightly brown. Place shrimp in skillet, season with a teaspoon of salt, and cook about 3 minutes each side, or until shrimp turns pink. Remove from heat.

To assemble this glorious masterpiece get all of your ingredients ready; have your bread out, open your avocado up, pick some rinsed cilantro, slice your shrimp down the middle length wise, and roll and then slice your lime.  The reason you roll the lime is to open up the juiciness inside!

Start with your toast, then layer slices of avocado, and the pinch some salt on top. Next lay 3-4 shrimp slice on top, squeeze some lime on top, sprinkle some chili flakes, and lastly top with some cilantro!

Enjoy!!!

Summer 2015

   Happy Summer!!! I know it has been an extremely long time since we have posted, but we have been extremely busy! Michael is Chef at a new restaurant, I have been taking on much more with work and painting. We apologize for the blog vacation, but we promise that the food we have in store is worth it.

xoxoxo

F&M

Valentine's Day Strawberry Upside Down Cake

Happy Valentine’s Day!! Tis the season to remind the ones you love why you love them, how you love them, and generally just how lovely they really are. It doesn’t hurt to show that love with a strawberry upside down cake!

Ingredients:

Whip cream:
½ Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Topping:
2 teaspoons cinnamon
 ½ stick of unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups strawberries

Cake:
Pinch of cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs room temp
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup heavy cream
2 sticks room temp butter

 

 

 

 

 





Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Start by slicing the strawberries and measuring out all of your ingredients.

Make the cake first. In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate large bowl beat the two sticks of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in vanilla.

In a small bowl mix together ½ cup water and the cream. Start mixing it all together by beating the flour in thirds, and adding the cream mix in between.  Set the batter aside.

Spray down your loaf cake or butter it in preparation of pouring batter in. To lay down the topping for the cake, melt down ½ stick of butter, ½ a cup of sugar, and the cinnamon until the sugar melts.
Pour at the bottom of the loaf pan. Lay the strawberries down creating two layers if possible to ensure maximum juiciness! Next spoon the batter on top.

Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes, and turn half way through. Check to see if baked through about 40 minutes in.

In the meantime, make your whip cream by beating the remainder of your whipping cream and vanilla extract on high speed until it forms peaks.

Serve warm to the ones you love!

Happy Valentine’s Day!