Tuxedo Strawberries

Sharp Dressed Strawberries

Recently I was asked to make the grooms cake for two of my good friends. They wanted the best grooms cake possible so the obvious choice for decoration was chocolate covered strawberries. Not just any chocolate strawberries, but tuxedo strawberries!

Now im not going to lie, when they asked this of me I was a little intimidated, I had never made them before. But because my friends are just that awesome and I love them I decided to give it a try. As it turns out, they're actually just as easy as they are adorable.

So easy, I figured I would share the instructions with you guys. Even though there are videos on youtube and probably plenty more resources online.

Tuxedo Strawberries

Ingredients:

1pkg Fresh Strawberries (washed and patted dry)
3oz White melting chocolate
3oz Dark melting chocolate(I say dark but its more like milk chocolate, I just want have a clear distinction for my OCDs sake)
toothpicks for detailing










1. Once you get all the ingredients ready, melt the white chocolate by following the instructions on the chocolate package.

2. Now, you can do this two ways. You can dip only the front of the strawberry or you can dip the whole berry in white chocolate. It works either way, it just depends upon whether you really like white chocolate or not. Let the coating dry before continuing to the next step. It helps to put the strawberries in the fridge first if this hasnt already been done.

3. Melt the dark chocolate and dip each side at an angle so both dipped sides together look like a very snazzy jazzy jacket.

 You want to have a nice "V" shape.

4. Take your toothpick, dip the tip in chocolate and make 3 little chocolate buttons down the white part with it.

5. Now comes the bowtie which frustrates me sometimes. It can be trickier than actually tying a bowtie, when using the wrong technique. You may develop one that works wonders but here's the way I do it: Make a slightly bigger chocolate dot above the buttons.

On one side of the dot put a glob of chocolate, then spread it around so it takes on a triangle shape with the top point pointing on the dot. On the remaining side of the dot place a glob of chocolate and spread it into an identical triangle shape. Let it dry and you've got yourself a bowtie!

 6. As Im sure you already know they are delicious and quite enjoyable. Which brings us to the final step: Enjoy ;)

Latin Vegetarian Omelets(unless your one of those vegetarians that doesnt eat eggs then, sorry) & Pancakes

Best Breakfast Evaaa!

Well..kinda, I woke up really hungry so I made an epic omelet using random stuff from my amazing friends Christina and Kim's fridge. While Kim made some delicious pancakes!
It gave my day a great start (and not just because I got to sleep in until 11!). Food does the craziest thing, not only being a source of nourishment for our bodies but also having the power to change our moods for the better. Dont believe me? Test it one day;

Challenge #1- Go through a tough day of work(make sure you have a headache and a sour mood), then eat a big plate of something warm and delicious that you've been craving. Then see how much more delightful life is after. :)

Even more amazing than food for the body, is food for the soul. What might that be? (Its about to get spiritual up in this blog..) God's word for starters! It does the same thing for your soul that healthy "body food"does for your body. Not to mention, if consumed regularly you get really close to God and start realizing there are little miracles and blessings he uses to communicate with you daily.

Challenge #2- Start you day off not only with breakfast but with a big heaping bowl of God's word and a tall glass of prayer to go with it ;) It does wonders for the rest of your day, trust me.

Anywho, now that im done telling you my life story... here's some recipes!

Latin Vegetarian Omelets

serves: 4

8 eggs
To Taste Salt & Pepper
TT Red Pepper flakes
AN some sort of cheese *I would use mozzarella, but you can use pretty much whatever cheese you like, its best to stay away from a strong overpowering cheese though :p
AN Fat *I say fat because its really up to your preference, you may use butter, veg. oil, olive oil..the possibilities are endless...just don't use baby oil, that would be weird.

For Filling:
*I like doing the filling separately from the raw egg because if you dont use all of it you can always dip some chips into it later!

1 green bell pepper
1 tomato
1/2 onion
1 small clove garlic
1 avocado
juice of 1 lime
TT whole cilantro leaves *I dont put very much because im not huge cilantro fan.
TT Salt & Pepper


Instructions:

1. Whisk the 1st 4 ingredients together and set aside.

2. Small dice the bell pepper, tomato, onion. Mince the garlic. Combine in a clean bowl.

3.Then scoop out the avocado, and squeeze the lime into the bowl of veggies and mix together.

4. Season it with the cilantro leaves, salt and pepper.

5. Pour the 1/4th of the egg mixture into a pan on med. heat, swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan and let it cook about 2/3rds of the way then add a few spoon fulls of filling.

6. Let it finish cooking then fold it over.

7. Get a plate ready and slide that omelet onto the plate.

8. Repeat for the other three omelets.



Pancakes

1 1/2c flour
3 1/2tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/4c milk
1 egg
3Tbsp Butter, melted

1. Combine the dry ingredients.

2. Whisk in the liquid ingredients.

3. Oil a med high pan, let the oil get hot then add 1/4th of a cup of pancake batter.

4. Wait until top of the pancake get bubbly and the bottom is browned, then flip it to brown the other side. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

I used some berry syrup and whipped cream because im kind of a fatty like that :)
Hope ya'll enjoy the recipes. Have a great day!

"Kind of Famous" Chicken Parmesan

Another Basque Stage Candidate post. This recipe may seem common and too simple to put on a culinarian blog, but trust me theres a method to my madness. Me and chicken parmesan go way back; everytime my grandparents would let my brother, my cousin, and I cook dinner this is what we made. Pretty much because that was the only thing we knew how to cook at our young ages. Everytime I have chicken parmesan I think of my family and all sorts of good times. So, I decided to use our "famous" recipe and make some fancy tweaks on it.

Chicken Parmesan

4 SLBL Chicken Breasts
1c Zesty Italian Vinaigrette
1c Italian Breadcrumbs
1/2c Shredded Parmesan


For Pesto:

2c Baby Spinach Leaves
3/4c Almonds
1clove Garlic
AN Extra-Virgin Olive Oil




Parmesan Crisps

1c Shredded Parmesan


Instructions:

For Chicken:

1. Preheat oven to 375*.


2. Cut each chicken breast in half and pound to 1/4in thickness.

*The one on the left is what it should look like.






3. Put the vinaigrette in a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan in another medium bowl.

4.Bread the chicken by first coating in vinaigrette then the breadcrumb and parmesan mix.

5.Put breasts in a deep pan and roast in the oven until done(use thermometer).






For Pesto:

1. In a food processor puree the almonds, spinach, and garlic.


2.Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture is the right, spreadable consistency.

Parmesan Crisps:

1. On a parchment lined pan create small, thin circles of parmesan cheese.

2. Bake in a 375* oven until golden brown and crisp.

Plate the chicken, cover with pesto, and top with parmesan crisp.

Now all thats left to do is enjoy! ;)

Basque Stage

My Basque Stage Candidate Video.