JJ BEAN

JJ bean has the best muffins in the world.

It's true.

They even have a facebook group dedicated to burying your face into their sweet, moist + delectable muffins.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2237823931

Best way to get rid of a Sunday morning hangover: eat one of these!

MEAT AND BREAD

om nom nom.

This place is de-li-cious.

My friend raves that the porchetta sandwich is the best thing he has ever tasted.

But I got the grilled cheese, which was gooooey, stringy, sweet, and spicy heaven, if that is even possible.

You should check it out!.. This place ALMOST makes me want to eat meat!

http://www.meatandbread.ca/

Strawberry Ice Cream

This is the best strawberry ice cream I have ever eaten!

Confirmed by my sister and her boyfriend.

And my mom too!

Strawberry Ice Cream

(from the website: http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com/ice_cream_recipe_strawberry.htm)

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks (beaten)
1/2 pint (250ml) milk
1/2 pint (250ml) double/heavy cream
4 oz (100g) sugar
2 cups of strawberries
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Take the strawberries and mash them in with half the sugar (ie. 2oz or 50g) in a bowl. Place in the refrigerator whilst making the rest of the recipe.

In a separate saucepan, mix the egg yolks with the milk, salt and the remaining sugar. Place over a medium heat just to boiling point (stirring all the time). DO NOT LET IT BOIL.

Transfer the mixture into a chilled bowl to cool. When cool place in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours, remembering to stir the mixture from time to time. When cool, stir into the mixture the cream and vanilla and then blend in the strawberry/sugar mixture.

Transfer the complete mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

wowza!

Christmas Breakfast: Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls and Fruit Salad

Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls
Adapted from All You

Amounts for this recipe are not set and are dependant on how many you are making.

Crusty dinner rolls, as many as you choose
Eggs, large, one for each roll
Mixed herbs, chopped, such as, parsley, chives and tarragon, about a teaspoon for each roll
Heavy cream, 1 teaspoon for each roll
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated, as much as you want to sprinkle on each roll

Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet. Reserve tops. Crack an egg into each roll. Top each egg with some herbs and a bit of cream. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake in a 350 degree oven until eggs are set and bread is toasted 20 to 25 minutes. After eggs have cooked for 20 minutes, place bread tops on baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Let sit 5 minutes.

Place tops on rolls and serve warm.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate and Caramelized Almonds

For my twenty-third birthday, my parents bought me my first ever ice-cream maker! :-) Ever since, I have been staying up late into the night concocting my own ice cream creations.

The vanilla ice cream recipe I used for this was from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. Every single recipe I have tried out of Lebovitz's book has been a success; he is the god of ice cream!

For the dark chocolate, I melted some bittersweet dark chocolate over a double broiler, and drizzled it into the ice cream during the last few minutes of churning.

For the caramelized almonds, I melted sugar in a saucepan, added the almonds, and then spread them out on a cookie sheet to cool. You then want to break them into small pieces using your weapon of choice (knife, pie roller...) or by putting them in a ziploc bag and smashing the shit out of it. As with the chocolate, the almonds should be added with the last few minutes of churning.

Vanilla Ice Cream

About 1 quart (1l)

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)

For a richer custard, you can add up to 3 more egg yolks. For a less-rich custard, substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream, realizing that the final texture won’t be as rich or as smooth as if using cream.

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Note: Used vanilla beans can be rinsed and dried, then stored in a bin of sugar. That sugar can be used for baking and, of course, for future ice cream making.

Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Nothing beats eating double chocolate almond biscotti while drinking black coffee and playing cribbage on a rainy day.

I got this recipe off of the blog epicurious. Due to the shortage of walnuts in my household, I used almonds instead of walnuts, which was excellent (of course!). Also, I recommend cooking for less than 35 minutes, as the bottom of my loaves were completely black!!!!

Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup almonds, chopped

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.

2. In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips.

3. On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscottion baking sheet 5 minutes.

4. On a cutting board cutbiscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.

For the original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Double-Chocolate-Walnut-Biscotti-10994