sangria for my #gno friends

ok, as promised to all my twittermom friends on girls night out (#gno) last night, here is my sangria recipe

I am not a big wine drinker (I need it to be really sweet), but I have found that I am a BIG fan of sangria. I have played around with this recipe and made it some different ways, but the recipe below is by far my favorite. feel free to change the fruit and wine to whatever your favorite is. also, one word of caution, when you get to the fruit on the bottom of the cup, eating it is very addictive and after sitting in all that alcohol, it is really potent stuff. enjoy!!

1 pineapple peeled and halved lengthwise, and cored

4 ripe but firm plums, pitted and cut into wedges

1 tablespoon superfine sugar, or more if needed

3 ounces cointreau

3 ounces brandy

1 bottle chilled fruity red wine

1 1/3 cup pineapple juice

1 cup sparkling water or seltzer

1. cut half of the pineapple into ¾” thick spears and the other half into 1” chunks.
2. transfer all the pineapple to a pitcher and add the plums. sprinkle with the sugar and stir to combine.
3. add cointreau and brandy and let set for at least 1 hour at room temperature (or up to 8 hours in the fridge).
4. stir in the wine, pineapple juice, and sparkling water.
5. sweeten with more sugar if desired.

current food obessions

so, for those of you who do not know me well, I am very obsessive, especially about my food and cooking. below is the list of my current food and cooking obsessions, hope you enjoy the list.

1. talenti sorbet -- this stuff is out of this world!! here in waco I have only been able to find it at HEB, but those of you in larger cities probably have more options to get it. it is italian sorbet and it is to die for, we have tried quite a few of the flavors, but my favorite is sonoma strawberry. I can talk myself into it because a pint of it is about 1/3 the calories of a pint of blue bell ice cream, unfortunately its also about three times the cost of bluebell as well.
   
2. diners, drive ins, and dives -- I am a food network junkie and mike got me hooked on this show. there is really not much else to say, if you've never watched it, you should give it a try.
   
3. what about cupcakes -- this is a local cupcake shop here in waco (actually it is just a block away from my office) and they have the best cupcakes that you have ever tasted! I am so addicted to them and that is not a good thing with them being so close!
   
4. prime rib from rudy’s barbq -- rudy's is a local barbq chain here in texas and as I have mentioned before, I am a bit of a barbq snob, but rudy's is definitely the best barbq in waco. they have prime rib every week from friday night until they run out on sunday and it is so good. in fact, very few weekends go by that we do not have rudy's prime rib for at least one meal.
   
5. sopapillas from rosas cafe -- for drive thru food, these are pretty good and they always cure any sweet craving I've got.
   
6. hideous pomegranate liquor -- I love the taste of pomegranate, but when I went to the liquor store for some pomegranate liquor, there were 3 or 4 different kinds. the hideous one had lime green on the label, so naturally, I choose that one. it has been wonderful in everything that I have tried it in; orange juice, lemonade, cream soda.
   
7. michael's famous biscuits with fuzzy navel jelly -- as I have said before my hubby makes the best biscuits and the only thing that makes them better is the fuzzy navel jelly from woody's smokehouse in centerville, texas
   
8. the whole foods mega-store in austin -- naturally, as I foodie I love to grocery shop and this is like the mother ship of all grocery stores. I could spend days in here. we try to make a stop in every time we go to austin.
   
9. zucchini fries with parmesan and horseradish dip -- this is one of my favorite snacks and actually one that the boys like as well. I will post the recipe soon here on my blog.
10. le creuset cookware -- this is my favorite cookware (in lime green of course). it makes all my cooking so much more enjoyable and taste so much better.

well, I hope you've enjoyed my list. I know that I have really enjoyed putting it together. hopefully, you found a few new things to try.

molten chocolate cakes in honor of chelsea

in honor of my friend, chelsea's birthday today, I'm sharing with you a recipe that I originally got from her. I'm sure I've tweeked it since then (I can't seem to help myself), but she's the one that got me started on these. chelsea, we still think of ya'll whenever we make these yummy cakes. we miss you guys!

molten chocolate cakes

makes 6 individual cakes

3 oz. Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering
3 Eggs
3 Egg yolks
1½ cups powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
½ cup all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Butter 6 ¾ cup ramekins.
3. Stir chocolate and butter in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly.
4. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl. Add sugar, chocolate mixture, and flour. (At this point, you can save the batter covered in the fridge for up to a week.)
5. Pour into ramekins.
6. Bake cakes about 11 minutes, until sides and tops are set, but center remains runny. Run a small knife around cakes to loosen.
7. Turn cakes onto plates and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

beer and pretzel pot roast

mike does not like pot roast, but he really likes this recipe (I think it was something to do with beer being in the recipe name), but seriously, beer and pretzels is a time-honored combination. we usually just serve this by itself and count the veggies in it as our side dish. you can substitute potatoes for the parsnips if you want, but the parsnips are really good in this. one of the best ways to crush the pretzels is to put them in a freezer ziploc bag and smash it with a meat mallet, it's a great way to work out your anger or frustration. it takes a little time to cook (about 3 1/2 hours), but it is well worth the time and your house will smell so yummy while it is cooking!

beer and pretzel pot roast

1 boneless chuck pot roast (3 -3 1/2 lbs), trimmed
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and halved
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
2/3 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped, divided
1 cup parsnips, chopped, divided
1/4 cup garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup pretzels, crushed
2 bottles of dark beer (guinness), 12 oz each
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1. preheat the oven to 325
2. season the meat with salt and pepper. heat oil over medium-high heat in an ovenproof dutch oven. sear roast on both sides until brown, 8 -10 minutes total. remove roast from pan
3. sweat mushrooms, vegetables (1/2 cup each of the carrots and parsnips), and seasonings in the pot for 5 minutes. add the tomato paste, cook 2 minutes, then stir in the pretzels.
4. deglaze with the beer scraping up the brown pits on the bottom of the pan; stir in broth, dijon, and worcestershire. return the seared roast to the pot and bring the liquid to a simmer. cover the pot, then transfer to the oven; braise roast for 2 hours.
5. after 2 hours, remove pot from the oven and turn the roast over with a carving fork. add the remaining 1/2 cup carrots and 1/2 cup parsnips, then cover and return pot to the oven.
6. braise another 45 minutes, or until the meat is spoon-tender. to serve, transfer roast and vegtables to a platter and spoon the sauce over.
   

cheese puffs

growing up, my mom always had these in the freezer for unexpected guests. we now keep them in our freezer for unexpected guests and cravings.

1 loaf unsliced bread with crusts removed
6 oz cream cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup margarine
4 eggs whites, stiffly beaten

1. Cut bread into 1” cubes.
2. Combine cheeses and margarine in a bowl. Cook in microwave, stirring every minute, until cheese is melted and mixture is becoming smooth (it takes about 12 minutes in my microwave).
3. With a hand mixer, beat until mixture is smooth (if mixture does not become smooth quickly, put back in microwave for a few minutes).
4. Fold a small amount of hot cheese mixture into egg whites. Fold egg whites into remaining cheese mixture.
5. Dip bread into mixture.
6. Place dipped cubes on lightly greased cookie sheet and freeze overnight.
7. Remove cubes from baking sheets and store in Ziploc bags in freezer.
8. Bake frozen cheese puffs @ 400° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden