Chocolate Lemon Pie for Pi Day

Happy Pi Day! I don't have a typical post for today, because I wanted to introduce you to a new project. For a while I'd mused about the idea of starting a food blog, I even had the name all picked out, but never felt like I'd have the time and energy to get it off the ground while still running this blog. Then last year my mom said she wanted to start a food blog, and that she'd do it with me. I was anxious to get the ball rolling, registered a domain, and got things set up with blogger (clearly, I'm afraid to leave my comfort zone). There was an attempt at a cheesecake recipe and then... nothing.

I forged on, learning the nuances of getting a food blog set up - apparently all the cute recipe card widgets are in the Wordpress only club - but I did eventually find a template I could use that would be pinterest friendly. My only still persistent technical problem is that I can't get the domain to redirect without the 'www' - as it turns out the instructions I followed six years ago when I set up my domain don't work presently. If anyone knows how to fix this, message me please!

That was a year ago, and no amount of badgering on my part seemed to get my mom to embrace the blog. However, it was not something I was ready to let go of, and since I'm back home again, I traded nagging for insistence. I demanded she choose a recipe for Pi Day, and she chose the Connecticut native pie, Chocolate Lemon. She did the baking, while I took care of the technical aspects of photographing, editing, and formatting the post. She wrote the copy.

I'm determined to make posts on the food blog weekly, with the focus largely being on classic family recipes, the ones my siblings and I would always be calling my mom for, the ones which feel like home.

Anyway, I hope you will check out Cooking In Cashmere and give it some love!

Recipe: Thyme Cranberry Sparklers

This week is all about the holidays! Today I'm sharing a delightful cocktail which is about as festive as they come. A cranberry-ginger simple syrup gives it the gorgeous red color, and other than making the syrup, it's pretty easy to put together. The thyme liqueur is a really unique spirit and might be tricky to come by, but so worth it. Here is what you need to mix it up:

2 oz Mt Gay Gold Rum
3/4 oz Giffard Thym Liqueur
1 oz Cranberry-Ginger Syrup
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon

Shaken, strained into flute, topped with:
1 oz Sparkling Apple Cider

Garnish with cranberries and sprigs of thyme. (Get extra fancy - make sugared cranberries)

To make the Cranberry-Ginger Syrup, simply add one cup of water, one cup of sugar, a piece of ginger (about an inch) and a handful of cranberries to a small pot. Simmer until all the berries have burst and it's a bright red color. Strain out the berries and ginger.

**This is a festive variation of the classic Daiquiri Cocktail (Rum, sugar, lime)

   

 

Thyme Cranberry Sparklers

By Chic on the Cheap

Thyme Cranberry Sparkling Cocktails, a festive holiday drink

Prep time: 5 Minutes, Cook time: 2 Minutes, Total time: 7 Minutes
Yield: 1 Drink

Ingredients:
2 oz Mt Gay Gold Rum
3/4 oz Giffard Thym Liqueur
1 oz Cranberry-Ginger Syrup
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
1 oz Sparkling Apple Cider
Optional Garnish of Thyme Sprigs and Sugared Cranberries

Instructions:

Combine first 6 ingredients in shaker, strain into flute

Top with sparkling apple cider

Add garnishes

Recipe: an almost traditional cheesecake

This past weekend was my Mother's birthday, and when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she responded, just a regular, plain cheesecake.

Cheesecake lovers, through and through, I wouldn't say we've tried all the recipes, but we've certainly tried a lot! The all time favorite being the chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake (my birthday choice last year). I like to experiment, so I found something a little different to try.

Since I haven't shared a recipe here in a while, and my brother took these lovely shots of the cake, I thought I'd post it.

I love looking through old issues of Taste of Home, and this one came from December 1999.

I chose it because I wanted a recipe with three packages of cream cheese rather than two, and I was intrigued by the fact that you separate the eggs, beat the whites and then fold them in.

The result is a light and fluffy cheesecake that is all to easy to devour. This barely lasted a day before we were licking up the crumbs.

Photos by Louis Abate

Ingredients
CRUST:
2-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 18 whole crackers)
1/3 cup sugar
7 tablespoons butter, melted
FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, separated
TOPPING:
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
Strawberries to garnish

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 325°.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg yolks; beat on low just until combined. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust.

Bake for 1 hour or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate until completely cooled. Combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla; fold in whipped cream. Spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.

Yield: 12 servings.

 

Photo by Anna Abate

Recipe: Kahlua Fudge

The very first time I made this fudge, I accidentally made brownies.
To be fair, I was (one) a teenager who'd never made fudge before, (two) cooking by myself, and (three) the recipe for the fudge was on the same paper as the recipe for the brownies, so I just started reading the wrong one without realizing.

I figured something had to be amiss when I started adding eggs and flour and preheating the oven, but at that point I just had to follow through and make the brownies. They were delicious all the same, but really, I'm more of a fudge girl, so this is the recipe I'd like to share.

What's in it:
1 1/3 cups sugar
7 ounces (one jar) marshmallow fluff
2/3 cup evaporated milk (The 5oz can is in truth, just shy of 2/3 cup, but I wasn't going to buy the bigger can and then throw the rest away.)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Kahlua
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I did all semisweet, because the bags of milk chocolate chips actually have less in them for the same price as the semisweet. And I refuse to be taken advantage of in the grocery store.)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Putting it together:

1. Line an 8" square baking pan with foil.
2. In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter, and add sugar, fluff, evaporated milk, Kahlua and salt.
3. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly for five minutes. You may want to consider some sort of protection for your hands and clothes at this point (especially if you haven't taken outfit photos yet). Molten sugar is bound to jump out of the pan and get on you. My hand got burned, but you wont see the scar in my photos, I'm photoshopping it out.
4. Remove from heat, and add all the chocolate you haven't eaten yet. (I know you've been snacking.)
5. Stir until melted.
6. Add nuts and vanilla. And possibly another tablespoon of Kahlua if you like your candy extra boozy.
7. Pour into prepared pan. Get someone to help you do this. That pot is crazy hot!
8. Refrigerate until firm. Waiting is hard, use this time to lick all the remaining fudge out of the pot.

Yields two pounds.

And before you know it, that is all that will be left.

Recipe: Curried Chicken Salad

I've decided to do another recipe post, because this is a recipe that I am constantly making, and continually craving. The mixture of sweet fruits with spicy curry makes this chicken salad so unique and tasty.

There is this little restaurant/antique shop called Anna's Temptations which serves a really great curried chicken salad. Thus, the inspiration for this recipe was born.

I like mine extra spicy and tend to add a lot of curry, so depending on your love of the spice, you might want to add it in a little at a time. You probably don't need two kinds of curry powders either, but if you've got em...

Also you should note that this is the first time I've ever made this and actually made a note of what the quantities were - typically I just eyeball it and adjust until it tastes right. However I thought if I was going to write this out as an actually recipe it might not be very well received if I just said, "Here is what you need, put in as much or as little as you want."

I've also substituted apple for pear, walnuts for almonds, dried cranberries for raisins - it's really all good.

You will need:
1 1/2 pounds of split chicken breasts
1 apple (I like Gala)
2 ribs of celery
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
1/2 teaspoon hot curry powder (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil chicken breasts for approximately 20 minutes. (You can add a rib of celery and a small onion while it cooks to make broth for soup. Which is like a bonus meal.)

2. Wait for your chicken to cool enough that you can handle it, and take all of the meat off the bone. Cut into bite size pieces. Throw into a mixing bowl.

3. Wash, peel, and chop the apple and celery. Put that in with the chicken.

4. Coarsely chop the walnuts, put those in too.

5. Add the dried cranberries. I like to put more of a rounded quarter cup.

6. Throw in all your spices, and your mayo. Combine, and taste.

7. Put into a croissant, or if you have them, those seasonal cranberry english muffins are perfection.

Another Valentines Day

This is the third Valentines Day post seen here at Chic on the Cheap, and the third post in which I have nothing more interesting to share than an outfit worn to work.

No fancy dress for going out to dinner, no sequined clutch nor super high heels. No dinner date to look forward to, no gifts in small velvet boxes to be received.

But maybe 2012 will be my year. Maybe next Valentines Day I'll have something to blog about.
Here is hoping.

The Rundown

Red Pencil Skirt Express Similar - Blouse Tucker for Target - Booties Madden Girl Virtual - Clutch Zara - Bracelets The Cavernous Jewelry Box, Coco's, Macy's Similar - Antler Ring House of Harlow - Ring TJ Maxx - Necklace & Belt Banana Republic - Nail Color Essie Super Bossa Nova

To prove to you that I can still be good natured about v-day, I made these absurdly adorable peanut butter blossoms, doused in red food dye, complete with truffle hearts and hugs.

{Find the Recipe Here}

Recipe: chocolate, cherry & walnut biscotti

What is going on here? This isn't a food blog. Still, this weekend we had a snow storm, and since weekend looks have become the life blood of my outfit posts (thanks winter solstice) my not getting dressed all day puts a cramp in my having a style post to share. 

To make it up to you, I've prepared two cooking posts, a review of a camera bag, and a post about my closet. I can diversify if I feel like it.

On to the food. This is the second time I've made these particular biscotti, and they are pretty darn good. I got the recipe from an issue of Cooking Light from a million years ago and made a couple small changes.

Good news, one biscotto (who the heck knew that was the singular of biscotti?) only has 81 calories.*

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips



1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Combine flours and salt in a bowl, stir well.


3. Beat sugar and eggs with a mixer at high speed until thick and pale (about 4 minutes).
Add oil and extracts, blending well.


4. Add flour mixture at a low speed until just blended.
Stir in cherries, chocolate and nuts.


5. Divide dough in half, shape each portion into a 10" log on the baking tray, flatten to 1" thickness.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the tray and let cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.


6. Cut each roll diagonally, supposedly into 20 slices.


7. Place slices cut side down on to baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn cookies over, bake for 10 more minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.


8. Enjoy.

*Allegedly yields 40 cookies. I got something like 27, so I guess that changes the calorie count a bit.

If I were in Stockholm

It's Sunday again. How did that happen? And the last weekend in September no less. Christmas things are already out in stores, which is really not helping!

This morning I spent a while on the pages of Stockholm Street Style, and I wanted so badly to have that effortless, messy hair, fabulousness of many of the girls who you find there.

I really want to plan another trip to Europe. Badly. Who wants to come with me?

The only truly productive thing I managed to accomplish this weekend was to make Harvest Loaf, a spiced pumpkin bread with chocolate chips. Probably my favorite thing to bake in the fall, this bread is unbelievably moist and delicious!

I wanted to share the recipe, but I wasn't in the mood to type it up, so here is a scan of my yellow, food covered recipe.

The Rundown

Skirt TJMaxx - Top Too old to remember - Jacket H&M - Boots Migliorini - Necklace Gap - Sunnies Aldo