A Foreigner in the United States

New York Style Cheesecake

2012-01-07T16:28:00.000-06:00

My latest creation...I'm extremely busy working and I barely have time to hit the kitchen, but now and then it's nice to relax baking something.

Me!

2011-03-29T13:53:00.000-05:00

.....a few years ago

morning shake ...my own creation!!

2011-03-26T16:34:00.000-05:00

This is a very healthy shake, very nutritional, and easy to make. It is made from scratch (thus no preservatives, artificial stuff, synthetic powders you name it), it has a good amount of proteins (from milk and yogurt), fats (from the flax seeds and..from the milk), carbs (from the honey and fruit), it has antioxidants (from all the fruit especially blueberries), vitamins (from fruit), fiber (from the flax seeds). Soo..it's perfect way to start your morning!

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup greek yogurt
raspberries
blackberries
bluberries
2 TBS honey
3 TBS freshly ground flax seeds

Porthos and Georgia

2010-11-25T09:20:00.000-06:00

Porthos (now 16 months old) and Georgia (almost 5 years old)

Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with oven roasted vegetables

2010-09-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

I posted a picture of it long time ago, but I never posted the recipe...so here it is:)
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Peel,wash and slice vegetables. You can use any vegetables you want. I used yukon gold potatoes, baby carrots, red onions, vidalia onions (which are very sweet onions), red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and orange bell pepper.
Season the vegetables with plenty salt (kosher salt), olive oil, rosemary ( I used dry rosemary), thyme (dry). Again, you can use whatever herbs you want.
While preparing the vegetables and preheating the oven, put the pan you're going to roast the vegetables in the oven too. We want the pan to be very hot so when the vegetables hit the hot surface of the pan they will from right away a crust and won't stick to the pan.

After you put the vegetables in the oven,prepare the pork tenderloin. I only seasoned it with some salt (remember,the bacon has some salt too), freshly ground pepper and I think I put some dry rosemary too. Wrap each slice of bacon around the tenderloin and secure it with toothpicks.
After the vegetables roasted for about 30 minutes, put the pork tenderloin on top of the vegetables and cook for another 30 minutes. Pork tendeloin (like chicken breast) is soo seasy to dry out because it doesn't have any fat at all. The bacon will keep this piece of meat moist inside and it will give it such a nice flavor. Also, the vegetables will get a really nice flavor from the bacon.

Goodbye Summer!

2010-09-29T00:05:00.002-05:00

The summer's gone...so are my cute hummingbirds for whom I made sugar watter all summer long; gone are too my flower baskets hung by the deck; gone are my lilies...and soon the green of the forest will be gone...I'll miss you!

Blueberry French Toast

2010-09-20T19:21:00.001-05:00

This is not a dessert! This is the richest,most delicious breakfast ever.It will keep you full for many hours!
Rich brioche bread topped with cream cheese and blueberries and bathed in a mixture of 12 eggs,4 cups of milk and honey. A rich homemade blueberry sauce is the final touch!

Coming up: Goat Cheese Brownie Cheesecake

2010-07-09T11:15:00.001-05:00

I already made it, I already ate it...more pictures and the recipe...umm, someday!:D

The goat cheese took this brownie cheesecake to another level!

Berry Pie

2010-07-08T21:59:00.001-05:00

I love pie! Blackberry-raspberry pie is my favorite by far and so it's my husband's.
Maybe the pie is soo good because I get the berries "drunk" with framboise (which is French raspberry liqueur), German raspberry liqueur, Grand Marnier, blackberry liqueur and Jamaican spiced rum. Hehe, if the alcohol in that pie wouldn't cook off during baking, I'd get a little "happy"eating that pie :D
I always use fresh or frozen berries, never from a can (unfortunately, I hate most canned stuff)!Sugar to taste, a little tapioca flour, and freshly grated nutmeg..oh, and a little of the forever secret ingredient: love!

I make my own pie crust, needless to say....
Unfortunately, I forgot my precious pie under the broiler and it got a little too brown on top..ohh welll...we ate it all:)

Junior's Tiramisu Cheesecake

2010-07-07T21:43:00.001-05:00

This recipe is from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook by Alan Rosen and Beth Allen, all rights reserved. This is an awesome book that has so many wonderful recipes. This must-have book has a lot of tips for baking the perfect cheesecake.

I am not sure if the copyright laws allow me to post the recipe on my blog. I am going to go ahead and post the recipe and hope I won't get in trouble.

All pictures belong to kittytwedy, the administrator of A Foreigner in the United States.

For the Cheesecake:

1 tablespoon hot water

1 tablespoon instant freeze-dried espresso or coffee

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese (use only full fat),at room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/4 cornstarch

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs

2/3 cup heavy or whipped cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan will aluminum foil,covering the bottom and extending all the way up the sides.

2. Stir the water and espresso together in a small cup until dissolved. Put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstrach in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low intil creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down a couple of times. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, scraping down the bowl after each one. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1 cup sugar, then the vanilla. Add coffee into the cream, add to the cream cheese mixture, and beat just until it's completely blended. Be careful not to overmix! Gently spoon the batter into the springform.

3. Place in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1 inch up the sides of the springform. Bake until the edges are light brown and the top is light tan, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove the cake from the water bath, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold, preferably overnight or for at least 4 hours.

For the Tiramisu Syrup and Ladyfinger Layer:

1/2 cup hot water

1 tablespoon instant freeze-dried aspresso or coffee

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur

22 ladyfingers (9 for the layering and 13 for the ring around the edge) split

4. Make the tiramisu syrup. Combine the water and espresso in a small sauce-pan until dissolved. Add the sugar and Kahlua, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and let simmer, uncovered for 3 minutes, stirring a few times. Top the cold cheesecake (still in the pan) with a layer of split ladyfingers, rounded-side down (you will need 18 halves). Transfer the cake to the freezer until completely frozen, at least overnight and/or until ready to assemble.

For the Mascarpone Cream:

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored granulated gelatin

1 tablespoon cold water

1 1/2 cups cold heavy or whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

One 8- to 10-ounce carton mascarpone cheese

5. When you're ready to assemble the cake, make the mascarpone cream. Place the gelatin in a heatproof measuring cup, stir in the cold water, and let stand until it sweels and thickens. Cook in the microwave on high about 30 seconds or over a pan of simmering water for about 1 minute, until clear and completely melted. In a medium-size bowl, whip the cream with the mixer on high until it thickens and soft peaks just begin to form. With the mixer still running, add the sugar and beat just until the cream stands up in peaks ( don't overmix or the cream will curdle). Beat in the vanilla. Add the melted gelatin all at once and beat until throughly incorporated. Gently fold in the mascarpone with a rubber spatula.

6. Remove the cake from the freezer and let it stand at room temperature about 10 minutes. Release and remove the sides of the springform, then remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a cake plate. To attach the remaining ladyfingers (26 halves) to the outside of the cake, spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream over the flat split sides of the ladyfingers. Stand them up around the edge of the cake, rounded-side out pressing each one gently in place. Spoon the remaining mascarpone on top of the cake and gently even out with a metal spatula; it will come up almost to the top of the ladyfingers. Since the cheesecake is still very cold, the mascarpone cream will set fast.

For The Topping:

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate made into Chocolate Curls

1 tablespoon unsweetenedcocoa powder

7. To decorate, cover the top of the cake with the chocolate curls, then sprinkle evenly with the cocoa. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until the mascarpone layer is cold and set and the cheesecake layer has defrosted enough to slice easily. Slice with a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serated one. Cover any leftover cake and refrigerate or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

What I did different than the recipe is this: I used Italian savoiardi instead of American ladyfingers; I put whole savoiardi on top of the cheesecake; I made double the amount of the mascarpone cream; I drizzled some tiramisu syrup on the standing savoiardi.

Dulce de leche

2010-06-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

I love dulce de leche! And it's so easy to make..I think it's way easier to make than the caramel sauce because you don't have to worry about burning the sugar. It just takes much longer, that's all.

This is Alton Brown's recipe. It seems that every Romanian blog or blogger that mentions dulce de leche thinks that the only way to make dulce de leche is by boiling a can of condensed milk in water for a few hours. Yes, that is one way to do it, but it's easier and "healthier" to make dulce de leche from regular milk.

I always have caramel and dulce de leche in my fridge because they are soo good on ice cream.My husband also likes apples and caramel together but I don't really care for that combination.

Ohh, you can see the vanilla seeds.Sooo good!

Caramel sauce (RECIPE)

2010-06-30T08:20:00.001-05:00

As I said, we only need sugar,water,heavy cream,vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and very little butter (optional).
We need 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, 1/3 cups water,

1 and 1/cups heavy cream. THAT'S IT!

So, we put the sugar in a sauce pan.

GENTLY pour the water over the sugar. You do not want to splash sugar on the walls of the pan.

Turn on the heat on low and cook it until the sugar dissolves. DO NOT STIR to make the sugar melt faster. It is very important to leave the sugar alone at this time. Once it all melts, you can stir;)

Once the sugar is dissolve you can insert the candy thermometer and you can stir whenever you feel the caramel needs to be stirred.

From this point on, do not leave the caramel unattended. It can burn easily within seconds.

The original recipe says to let the caramel reaches 350 F degrees, but to me that seemed too much.I took it off heat when it reached 330 F and looked like this:

Take the pan off heat, pour the heavy cream and be careful as the mixture is going to bubble up and spew...no need to get burned. Return the pan to heat and cook it for another 2-5 minutes until the caramel melts into the heavy cream.

Take the pan off the heat. The caramel is going to look very thin and runny. Don't worry...it will thicken up a lot as it cools down.

You can add butter if you want to while it is still warm.

And this is how it looks when it cools down:

My husband has a lot of caramel with his apples:

Carrot Cake

2010-06-29T01:19:00.000-05:00

Today it's my husband's birthday! Happy Birthday sweetheart!
I just found out few days ago (we've been married for more than 5 years now) that he likes carrot cake. Never made it, never had it. So yesterday I made one. It's Alton Brown's recipe. I have always liked chemistry so Alton Brown is my kind of chef, and "Good Eats" is my kind of show!

In the flour, I mixed in nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.. We also need sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt (I actually mixed 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 sour cream for more richness),eggs, brown sugar and of course carrots. I also added a tad of buttermilk to make the cake even moister.
The icing is just a plain cream cheese icing:cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.Simple yet delicious!
Please excuse the childish drawings on the cake. Me and decorating are not good friends. I was trying to "make" carrots LOL

Plum Cake "Tatin"

2010-06-28T23:07:00.003-05:00

I've said it many times: I love Ina Garten, I love her show Barefoot Contessa, I love her personality, and I love her husband (not that way, although he looks incredibly good for his age...but he's equally funny and smart and spontaneous and all those qualities you want in a man. They are such a perfect fit!)

Two days ago I tried another recipe of hers called Plum Cake "Tatin". It turned out pretty well, but the next time I'm going to make this recipe I'll use the type of plums suggested. The kind I used (forgot how they're called) were much juicier and you can see the juice soaking up the cake (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing). I followed the recipe exactly except I used a different type of plums, I added some nutmeg in the cake batter, and I just noticed that her picture then her recipe calls for the plums being arranged cut side down. I didn't see that partt and I arranged my plums cut side up in my dish...oopsy!

So, we butter a pie dish, slice and pit the plums, then we make a caramel syrup out of water and sugar and pour it over the plums.

We then make the cake batter (sugar, butter, sour cream,eggs, flour, baking powder, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt),pour the batter over the plums and bake it.

After it cooled for about 15 minutes, we turn the cake upside down on a plate

And ...tada.. we have an upside down plum cake.

Thank you Ina! Your recipes are always wonderful!

Heirloom Tomatoes Salad with Goat Cheese

2010-06-26T08:32:00.002-05:00

I LOVE heirloom tomatoes! They are beautiful and tasty!.And I love the combination between tomatoes and goat cheese.I added some spinach, onion, olive oil and salt. Easy and fast to make and healthy too on top of that:)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake/Tort Ananas

2010-06-22T23:41:00.003-05:00

I propose a game...un jeu. Let this be a "no words" recipe...just images...and "you" figure out the recipe!

{Tip:the order of the pictures it's important too;)}

Sooo you can play my game OR you can go on Foodnetwork to get Emeril Lagasse's pineapple upside down cake recipe.. it would be easier ;)! Emeril Lagasse rocks!!

The day has come!

2010-06-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Finally, today I'm going to a speciallized store to browse around and maybe buy some stuff...knowing myself, probbaly I'll buy more than "some" stuff...I have passed by this store many times but never went inside. But today is the day. This is the website and these are the pictures posted on their website showing the inside. I might take a few pictures myself. Look at these wonderfull wedding , birthday they make there! And they make all kinds of cakes! It is 9:08 and it will take me around 45 to drive there...so I better leave now!! Woohoo...I'll be like Alice in the wonderland!!

Caramel sauce

2010-06-17T01:09:00.001-05:00

I love this sauce! Not hard to make at all if you understand some chemistry concepts about sugar crystallization. The recipe belongs to Ina Garten (of course!!!). I have made this recipe quite a few times...the first time I actually ruined it, but I gave it a second shot and I'm glad I did. Ina's recipes are always perfect, so I knew it must have been "me" doing something wrong the first time. The second time I tried it, it came out perfectly.

All you need is sugar,water,heavy cream and vanilla...I did add a pinch if salt and 2 TBS of butter at the end.

More pictures and the recipe TOMORROW (well, today actually...it is already 1:08 am)!

Strawberries...and more (II)

2010-06-16T10:28:00.003-05:00

Because I had a lot of strawberry sauce leftover I had to do something with it...and I made strawberry shortcakes trifles! I had never made a shortcake before and it was hard to decide which recipe to try out of the thousands recipes I found online.

Now, these are pictures of the shortcake cookies:

Strawberries...and more (I)

2010-06-16T09:17:00.002-05:00

I am just now posting these pictures although I made these strawberry shortcake trifles like a month ago, when the strawberry season was on. Nearby my house, there is a strawberry farm where you can pick your own strawberries! What can be fresher than that? I ate them fresh, I got them "drunk" and made trifles out of them and also I made a fluted cake...soo delicious!
For the strawberry sauce,I used raspberry liquor (2 types), grand marnier,blackberry liquor and cognac,lemon juice,lemon zest, nutmeg and white sugar. It was good to eat it by itself with a spoon

Toasted coconut marshmallows

2010-06-16T08:24:00.003-05:00

I made homemade marshmallows!! I was so impressed!
Reteta este cea a Inei Garten , bucatareasa mea favorita de la Foodnetwork.

This is the video of Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) making the marshmallows! She's the best.

A scary night/ O noapte infricosatoare

2010-06-05T22:57:00.001-05:00

Tonight there have been at least 15 confirmed tornados that touch the ground around the area where we live. Very scary. I spent a lot of time in the basement!

Asta-seara au fost cel putin 15 tornado confirmate care au atins pamantul in zona unde unde noi. Am pentrecut mult timp la subsolul casei!

3 shapes mini-cheesecakes:roud,square,fluted

2010-05-26T22:03:00.003-05:00

I made these cheesecakes the night before surgery.I think it was past 9 pm when I started making them but I knew that if I went to bed I wouldn't have been able to sleep. I needed something to keep my mind busy and not think about my surgery. At the same time though, looking through the pictures, it seems that my mind wasn't really focused on baking either because the pictures and the mini-cheesecakes and the setting aren't that great! Oh well...

Am copt aceste mini-cheesecakes-uri in noaptea dinaintea operatiei chirurgicale pe care am suferit-o. Era trecut de 9 seara cand m-am apucat de ele.Stiam ca daca ma duc la culcare o sa ma gandesc la operatie asa ca am decis sa coc ceva si sa-mi tin mintea ocupata in loc sa ma invartesc in pat de pe o parte pe alta. Uitandu-ma prin poze, se vede totusi ca mintea mea nu era chiar concentrata pe ceea ce faceam pentru ca pozele nu sunt chiar asa de grozave. Eram obosita, era foarte tarziu in noapte..poate ultima mea noapte din viata cum parea la ora aceea....

I made 3 types of sauce: raspberry, strawberry and caramel.
Am facut 3 feluri de sos: de zmeura,de capsuni si caramel.

Romanian Dumplings soup/Supa de galuste

2010-05-26T16:17:00.001-05:00

I made this soup 1 day before my surgery. I knew I could only eat "light" food after surgery and this soup is perfect: it has proteins, carbs and fat, vitamins and minerals. The Romanian dumplings are different than the American or Chinese dumplings. They are easy to make and very delicious! This is the only soup where I have to use my kitchen scale and a CALCULATOR, or a pen and paper! The farina ( semolina flour) and egg proportions have to be exact: for every 60 grams of egg we need 90 grams of semolina or 80 grams of semolina for softer dumplings. So, I put all the eggs on the scale and weiged them, then calculated how much semolina I have to put(I usually use 3-4 eggs...it all depends how many dumpligs you want to make...it also depends on how big of a soup pot you have...these dumpligs get big and they need not to be crowded in the pot you're cooking them...they need room to expand).

Ingredients:
For dumplings

4 eggs ( 244 grams total)
330 grams farina or semolina flour..same thing
1 TBS oil
pinch salt

For soup: water,a whole chicken cut up, 1-2 onions, 4-5 carrots, celery, 2-3 bell peppers different colors, salt OR yo can also use homemade or store bought chicken stock or chicke broth if you don't want to go through the whole process of boiling the chicken with all the vegetables.

Step 1 (for people who use already made chicken stock/broth skip this step): clean the chicken and put it in cold water in a 6 or 8 quart pot to boil and add some salt. When the water will begin to boil skim all that unpleasant looking foam that forms. When you get rid of the foam completely add the onions (whole or cut in half, not sliced), the carrots, bell peppers cut in half, the celery. Boil on medium heat until the chicken meat starts to fall off the bone.
Step 2 Fish the chicken pieces and the vegetables from the pot...we don't have any use of them as we wanted them for taste only. Grab another 6 quarts pot (as wide as possible). Using a strainer, strain the liquid from the pot we boiled the meat and vegetables into the new pot and put it back to heat and bring it to a boil.
If using already made chicken stock/broth put 2 quarts of stock or broth in a 6 quart pot and bring it to a boil
Step 3 We are going to make the dumplings. Follow these instructions very close to get the best dumplings:
Separate the yolks from the whites. Weigh the farina ad have it ready. Mix the yolks with a pinch of salt and with the tablespoon of oil. Beat the whites to medium peaks. Carefuly fold in the whites into the egg yolk mixture. We don't want to deflate the whites and loose all that air we incorporated in the egg whites because that is what is going to make our dumplings fluffy. Add all of the semolina flour and again mix only enough to incorporate.
Step 4 Scoop the dumplings with a small ice cream scoop into the simmering broth. You don't want the broth to be boiling like crazy or the dumplings are going to desintegrate when they hit the boiling broth. I always have cold water on had and tame the boiling. You don't want to make the dumplings too big are they are going to expand 2-3 times their size. Cover the pot lightly (allow the steam to excape)and let it simmer for like 10 minutes.After 10 minutes turn each dumpling, tame the boiling with some cold water if necessary,cover again and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.To know if the dumplings are done, you'll have to try one dumpling..cut it in half and check the middle...if it's not tough and it's completely done and fluffy in the middle they are ready to be eaten!! Traditionally, you only serve the dumplings and the broth, but you can add back some of that chicken meat you boiled and some of the boiled vegetables..it's up to you!

Primul meu premiu!!

2010-05-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

I am doing a happy dance now! A very sweet and talented lady Anca decided to award me! My first award! Anca, you are in angel...you made made my day:) Thank you!

Astazi sunt in culmea fericirii: am primit primul meu premiu!! Anca, iti multumesc ca te-ai gandit la mineEsti o scumpa! Inca o data multumesc!!Acest premiu inseamna mult petru mine:)

I offer these awards to the following people:
Je les offre à :
La randul me doresc sa premiez urmatoarele gospodine si sper ca premiul o sa va aduca atata bucurie cat mi-a adus mie!
Miha
Laura Adamache
kadiavsdutzu
nadjibella

Surgery/Operatie chirurgicala

2010-05-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I had a surgical procedure done and still don't feel well.I'm on pain pills all the time.As soon as I will be able to post something I will...including my first award for my blog which came from Anca.

Marti am suferit o operatie chirurgicala si inca ma recuprerez.Iau pastile de durere tot timpul. Indata ce o sa fiu capabila, o sa postez noi retete si primul meu premiu in blogosfera care a venit de la Anca.

Preview

2010-05-15T23:33:00.002-05:00

This is just a preview of the two new recipes I'm going to post...sometime in the future...I already prepared the recipes, took the pictures, ate the food :D
The first one is "Pork Tenderloin wrapped in bacon with roasted vegetables" (I know, the name says it all, right?).
Acest post este doar o "avampremiera" a doua retete pe care o sa le postez candva in viitor. Am preparat deja retetele, am facut pozele, am papat mancarea...imi ramane doar se le traduc din Engleza in Romana.
Prima reteta este"Muschiulet de porc infasurat in bacon cu legume la cuptor"

Second recipe is "Chicken Fried Steak with garlic mash potatoes and gravy"..enough said!
A doua reteta este ""Chicken Fried Steak cu piure de cartofi si gravy"...o reteta specific Americana. Carnea folosita este in intregime de vita.

More pictures and the recipes to follow!

Mai multe poze si retetele in curand!

Volcano Cupcakes/Cupcakes Vulcan

2010-05-14T09:41:00.006-05:00

It just crossed my mind to name these cupcakes "Volcano Cupcakes' a few minutes ago when I was looking through the pictures, hours after I baked them and the"cupcake photo shooting" was over. Some of them, with a little imagination, do look like volcanoes! The magma chamber is filled with whipped cream, the lava is the red raspberry sauce...oh, and the cupcakes that don't have raspberry sauce drizzled down their sides...umm, those volcanoes haven't erupted yet :D

Mi-a trecut prin minte sa denumesc aceste cupcakes-uri "Cupcakes Vulcan" acum cateva minute cand m-am uitat prin poze, ore dupa ce le-am copt si am terminat "sedinta foto". Cu putina imaginatie, unele dintre ele seamana cu un vulcan...camera magmatica si craterul umplut cu frisca, lava este sosul de zmeura....cupcakes-urile care nu au sos de zmeura pe margni sunt vulcani care nu au erupt inca :D

Reteta/Recipe mini-cheesecakes

2010-05-13T08:46:00.013-05:00

Ingrediente blat:

2 pachete branza Philadelphia la temperatura camerei (226 grame fiecare pachet)
3/4 cana zahar alb (aprox. 125 grame)
2 linguri amidon de porumb
1 lingura extract de vanilie
2 oua mari la temperatura camerei
1/2 cana frisca lichida (cea facuta din lapte, nu frisca vegetala) (aprox. 125 ml)
1 ligura cacao de copt

Decorat
zmeura,zahar, apa; ciocolata

Mod de preparare:

Se pre-incalzeste cuptorul la 175 grade Celsius,punem apa la fiert si punem hartie de copt in tava de muffins (vezi poza)
Se mixeaza 1 pachet de branza cu jumatate din cantitatea de zahar si amidonul pana cand se omogenizeaza bine
se adauga celelalt pachet de branza si omogenizam,apoi restul de zahar si omogenizam din nou
se adauga lingura de vanile (lichidul maro din a doua poza) si un ou si omogenizam, adaugam celalt ou si omogenizam
adaugam frisca lichida si mixam doar cat sa obtinem o umplutura fina si omogena fara cocoloase dar odata adaugata frisca nu vrem sa mixam prea mult ca sa nu incorporam prea mult aer
repartizam majoritatea compozitiei in cele 12 forme ...nu umplem ochi formele pentru ca cheesecake-urile o sa se dilate un pic pe timpul coptului. Eu folosesc o lingura de inghetata astfel incat stiu sigur ca fiecare forma contine aceeasi cantitate de compozitie.
in compozitia ramasa adugam lingura de cacao si amestecam
punem cate o lingurita de compozitie cu cacao in doar 6 forme si apoi cu varful unui cutit amestecam prin compozitie
punem tava cu compozitia intr-o tava mai mare si turnam apa fierbinte cam pana la jumatatea in inaltime a formelor de copt
dam la cuptor pentru aprox. 45 minute
scoatem din cuptor si lasam la racit...2 sau 3 ore si apoi dam la frigider (reteta din carte zice sa le punem in congelator pentru o ora dar eu nu le-am pus)
decoram si ornam dupa gust. Eu am facut un sirop din zmeura proaspete (merg si congelate), zahar si apa si apoi l-am strecurat

Recipe adapted afer Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook 50 To-Die-For Recipes New York-Style Cheesecake. The mini-cheesecakes in this book are called "Little Fellas"
Reteta adaptata dupa cartea "Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook 50 To-Die-For Recipes New York Style Cheesecake". Numele original pentru aceste mini-cheesecake-uri este "Little Fella".

Chocolate/raspberries mini-cheesecakes..ciocolata/zmeura in miniatura

2010-05-11T23:00:00.007-05:00

Oh, they're absolutely delicious! One-bite of heaven!
Aceste cheesecake-uri in miniatura sunt foarte usor de facut si usor de mancat: o "imbucatura" per cheesecake!

Tomorrow (it's almost midnight) I have to go to work so I cannot stay up to post the recipe ..but I promiss I will!Most likely I will post the recipe on Thursday, and I promis it will be a short recipe, not a "detailed" one!

Maine (e apropape miezul noptii acum) ma duc la serviciu asa ca nu pot sa postez reteta acum, dar o sa o postez joi cel mai probabil. Pana atunci delectativa cu pozele care,zic eu, au iesit destul de bine!

Si promit ca o sa fie o reteta "scurta", nu din-aia detaliata, care sa va ia 2 zile sa o cititi :)

Reteta cheesecake pe bat

2010-05-10T07:43:00.007-05:00

Blat standard cheesecake:

3 pachete branza Philadelphia la temperatura camerei (fiecare pachet catareste 226 grame aici)
1 cana zahar (225 grame) *nota
1 cana smantana groasa (115 grame)
3 oua la temperatura camerei ( cam 60 grame fiecare)
1 lingura esenta de vanilie (daca se poate, esenta adevarata facuta din vanilie, nu fiola sau imitatie)
2 linguri amidon de porumb **nota

Pentru crusta avem nevoie de: 1cana biscuiti simpli sfaramati foarte foarte fin ca un pesmet.

Pentru glazura de ciocolata :

3 pachete de chipsuri de ciocolata alba de copt***nota
3 linguri grasime vegetala solida (vegetable shortening) ****nota

Preparare:

Se pune hartie de copt pe fundul unei forme rotunde de tort cu fund detasabil si se ung marginile formei cu unt *****nota
Se mixeaza 1 pachet de branza Philadelphia cu cele doua linguri de amidon si o treime din zahar. Se mixeaza pana devine o crema foate fina fara cocoloase. Se curata marginile si fundul vasului cu o lopetica sau spatula ca sa nu avem "bucati" sau cocoloase de branza. Se adauga cel dea-l doilea pachet de branza philadelphia si restul de zahar si se mixeaza din nou,apoi se adauga cel de-al treilea pachet de branza. Se trece din nou cu lopetica pe margini si pe fundul vasului pentru a ne asigura ca nu sunt cocoloase si totul e mixat foarte fin. Mixam atat cat este necesar. Prea mult aer incorporat in blat o sa faca cheesecake-ul sa crape.
Se adauga smantana si lingura de esenta de vanilie si se mixeaza din now.
adaugam oule pe rand. Mixam DOAR ca sa incorporam oule. Daca mixam prea mult punem prea mult aer in blat si o sa se crape in timpul coptului.
Se pune amestecatura de mai sus in forma de tort preparata si se coace la 176 grade celsius pentru aproximativ 1 ora (depinde cum coace cuptorul). A NU SE COACE mai mult decat trebuie! Cand inca in cuptor, veificati cam 10 minute inainte de timpul limita. Daca miscati tava si mijlocul cheesecake-ului nu mai este lichid dar se "misca" ca gelatina sau ca piftia, atunci cheesecake-ul e copt. Cheesecake-ul o sa se inchege complet in timp ce se raceste.
Se scoate cheesecake-ul din cuptor (sa nu fie curent de aer in bucatarie) si se lasa la racit in tava in case s-a copt. Trebuie sa fie complet rece cand se da la congelator.
Se acopera tava cu folie de plastic alimentara si se da la congelator petru cel putin 8 ore.
Se scoate cheesecake-ul din congelator, se ia foaia de plastic pe deasupra si se lasa la temperatura camerei pentru aprox. 30 de minute. Este important ca cheesecake-ul sa fie la temperatura potrivita. Daca se decongeleaza prea mult o sa fie prea moale si nu putem sa "excavam" sau decupa mingiutele de cheesecake pentru ca o sa se lipeasca de maini, lingura de inghetata etc. Daca este inca congelat prea mult o sa fie casant si cand introducem lingura de inghetata in cheesecake ca sa decupam mingiutele, cheesecake-ul o sa ne crape.
Punem biscuitii pisati intr-un catron sau farfurie. Punem hartie de copt sau preferabil hartie cerata pe fundul unei tavi cat mai mari dar care sa va incapa in congelator. Punem betele aproape ca sa le avem la indemana.
Incepem sa decupam bilele de cheesecake cu cupa speciala de inghetata. Lucram repede ca sa nu ni se dezghete cheesecake-ul. Decupam o bila (diametru aprox. 3 cm), o trecem prin pesmetul de biscuiti, impingem un bat in bila de cheesecake, si punem pe tava tapetata cu hartie. O sa ne iasa in jur de 45 bile de cheesecake. Lucrati REPEDE!
Se pune tava cu bilele de cheesecake in congelator pentru aproximativ 1 ora sau pana cand bilele defin foarte ferme(congelate).
Intre timp, se topesc chipsurile de ciocolata cu cele 3 linguri de grasime vegetala solida. ATENTIE mare: ciocolata in general se arde destul de repede, dar ciocolata alba se arde mult mai repede decat ciocolata amaruie sau neagra.
Pregatim in castronele separate decoratiunile pentru bilute ca se le avem la indemana: nuca de cocos, zahar colorat in diferite culori, tot ce va pofteste inima
Scoatem tava cu bilele din congelator, apucam fiecare bat si "inecam" complet fiecare bila in ciocolata alba topita.IMEDIAT, se presara decoratiunile. Pentru ca bilele sunt congelate, ciocolata o sa ni se intareasca pe bila in cateva secinde. Daca s-a intarit ciocolata, decoratiunile nu o sa se mai lipeasca de ciocolata.
Punem bilele "imbacate"in ciocolata si decorate pe o farfurie si se servesc imediat sau se dau la frigider. Daca bilele s-au inmoiat prea mult, atunci cand apucam batul ca sa mancam bila de cheesecake, o sa ne cada de pe bat. Atata timp cat bilele sunt reci si ferme, batul o sa stea in interior.

*nota - eu folosesc zahar facut din trestie de zahar care este considerat superior celui de sfecla de zahar. De asemenea zaharul de sfecla este mai dulce decat cel de trestie deci trebuie sa puneti mai putin zahar daca folositi zahar de sfecla.

**nota - in reteta din revista nu se specifica amidon de porumb dar eu am inceput sa adaug amidon in cheesecake. In cei peste cinci ani de cand sunt in Statele Unite, cred ca am facut mai mult de 200 de cheesecake-uri pe care unele le-am si vandut deci am cautat sa-mi imbunatatesc techica de preparare. Unii specialisti culinari de aici recomada amidon pentru cheesecake, altii nu.

***nota - o sa atasez o poza cu chipsurile. Nu stiu daca noi avem in Romania asa ceva. Puteti folosi ciocolata alba pentru copt, dar a nu se folosi niciodata ciocolata "de mancat" pentru copt. Ciocolatat de menaj sau de copt si ciocolata de consum au unele ingrediente diferite care fac mare diferenta (textura si gust) in unele preparate.

****nota - nu stiu daca avem in Romania grasime vegetala solida. Este o grasime vegetala hidrogenata, este alba,arata ca untura si destul de nasanatoasa pentru organismul nostru dar are unele aplicatii culinare deosebite pe care untul sau margarina nu le au asa ca nu am incotro decat sa folosesc acest produs. In aceasta reteta, se pune impreuna cu ciocolata ca sa dea luciu ciocolatei dar mai ales sa impiedice ciocolata sa devina casanta si sa se sparga sau crape pe bile deoarece bilele sunt inghetate.
*****nota - eu am inceput sa coc cheesecake-ul in apa acum cativa ani cand am inteles ca, coptul "uscat" da rezultate nesigure. Ca sa coacem cheesecake-ul in apa, folosim folie de aluminiu alimentara "heavy duty" adica tipul folosit in restaurante. Aceasta folie aluminiu este mult mai groasa decat folia obisnuita si nu se perforeaza asa usor. Pentru ca folosim tava cu fund detasabil, daca nu am folosi folia, apa ne-ar intra in forma la baza cheescake-ului si ar fi un dezastru. Ca sa fiu sigura ca nu imi intra apa in forma, eu folosesc un strat dublu de folie de aluminiu. Se taie o bucata mare de folie, se indoaie ca sa obtinem strat dublu, se inveleste forma goala cu fund detasabil astefl incat folia se acopere si marginile formei. Coptul "umed" (se cheama asa pentru ca se creeaza aburi in cuptor" este mult mai delicat, ia un pic mai mult timp si singurul lucru care nu-mi place despre aceasta metoda este faptul ca, creeaza cheesecake-uri care au o culoare "palida". O alta metoda de copt cheesecake, metoda "uscata" fara apa, este sa punem cheesecake-ul in cuptor la o temperatura foarte foarte mare pentru primele 15 minute, si apoi reducem temperatura foarte mult si coacem pentru inca 1 ora si 15 minute ca aici. O alta metoda despre care am auzit dar nu am folosit-o inca este sa se coaca cheesecake-ul, metoda uscata, cu usa cuptorului un pic crapata pe tot timpul coptului.

O ultima nota finala: Americanii au perfectat acest desert de-a lungul a zeci de ani si l-au adus la nivel de arta. Cheesecake-uri se gasesc pe toate drumurile aici si sunt sute feluri de chesecake. Poti gasi cheesecake-uri ieftine ca pret si ca gust as adauga eu la toate supermarket-urile sau cheesecake-uri de caliate dar cam piperate la pret in "cofetarii" specializate. Astea fiind spuse, ei au ajuns la concluzia ca cea mai buna branza pentru cheesecake este Philadelphia sau o combinatie de Philadelphia/ricotta italieneasca. Orice alta branza decat aceste doua tipuri o sa altereze gustul dar mai ales textura acestui desert. De semenea, cea mai buna branza este cea "full fat" adica cu continutul maxim de grasime, nu versiunea 'lite" sau "fate free", adica continut mai scazut de grasime sau fara grasime complet. Unul dintre caracteristicile de marca ale cheesecake-ului este gustul textura. Gustul trebuie sa fie "rich", adica "greu"...atunci cand mananci o felie de cheesecake sa simti ca te-ai ingrasat 10 kilograme. Gustul "rich" il obtinem de la grasime: grasimea din branza philadelphia, grasimea de la smantana, grasimea de la galbenusurile de ou - sunt retete care folosesc 5 oua mari pentru cheesecake si inca 2 galbenusuri. Cu cat mai multa grasime cu atat gustul este mai bun si mai "rich". Cealalta caracteristica este textura: cheesecake-ul trebuie sa aiba o textura fina, fara cocoloase si aceste este un alt motiv pentru care se foloseste branza philadelphia. Atentie totusi, chiar si cu branza philadelphia poti sa ai cocoloase in cheesecake daca nu lasi branza sa fie la temperatura camerei. Daca este direct de la frigider, nu o sa ni se mixeze intr-o crema fina si uniforma.

Cu peste 200 de cheesecake-uri la activ, ma consider cumva o specialista in acest desert dar nu pretind ca stiu totul. Le-am "patit" pe toate: cheesecake-uri crapate, lasate in mijloc, coapte prea mult, nu coapte indeajuns... Am la activ sute de ore petrecute in fata calculatorului citind despre tehnicile de preparare, sute de ore petrecute in bucatarie, am peste 10 carti de specialitate dedicate cheesecake-ului si cateva zeci de cheesecake-uri vandute. As fi vandut mult mai multe, dar aici e greu, apropape imposibil, sa ai propria bucatarie "legalizata" de Inspectoratul de Sanatate (ex: bucataria mea este deschisa catre sufragerie..nu sunt pereti care sa le separe si avem caini, o pisica, un papagal si acest lucru nu este acceptabil pentru a obtine avizul de sanatate..vor o chiveta cu trei compartimente...in fine, mult cerinte stricte). "Intr-o zi" o sa construim o bucatarie separata care sa intruneasca toate cerintele necesare pentru a avea o afacere cu cheesecake...si acea "zi" se pare ca se aproprie.
Cheesecake-ul este un desert care pare usor de facut, si este pina la un anumit punct daca intelegi unele reguli fundamentale despre tehnica de preparare. Intelegand aceste reguli este diferenta dintre a face un cheesecake "obisnuit", si unul spectacular ca gust si textura.

Pofta buna!
Reteta preluata din revista "Taste of Home"

Cheesecake pe bat/Cheesecake on a stick

2010-05-08T07:25:00.001-05:00

E deja trecut de 1 dimineata si maine(de fapt azi) trebuie sa fiu la serviciu de dimineata...Voi reveni cu mai multe poze si detalii despre reteta.

It was past 1 am when I was done with this desert and uploaded the pictures.Oh,it is a fabulos dessert and it came out pretty good considering this is the first time I've ever made it.

Cinnamon Butter/Unt aromat cu scortisoara

2010-05-03T00:45:00.003-05:00

I made a ton of it as I'm going to give most of it away. It is very good and very simple to make: butter, brown sugar, confectioner sugar, cream cheese (optional - for richness), and cinnamon of course.That's it! It is very good on toast in the morning or on freshly baked bread!

Acest unt aromat este foarte bun pe paine prajita dimineata sau pe painea proaspat coapta si abia scoasa din cuptor. Este usor de facut: unt moale la temperatura camerei (nu topit,ci moale), zahar brun, zahar pudra, crema de branza philadelhia (optional) si scortisoara bineinteles!

Cinnamom Rolls (2)

2010-05-02T14:06:00.004-05:00

On Friday I decided to make some cinnamon rolls. I miscalculated the time would take me to make them so I ended up being a little late for work that day. Due to the lack of time, I didn't make the cinnamom rolls like I normally do, but I intend to make cinnamon rolls again today...this time "Angie's style" ( like here ..before putting them in the oven)

Untill then, here Friday's pics..

Porthos @ 9 months

2010-04-28T13:31:00.000-05:00

Creme Brulee

2010-04-26T15:33:00.010-05:00

OH, I love LOVE creme brulee! It's of one my favorite deserts, if not THE MOST favorite one. I like classic creme brulee the most, which is made wih vanilla (ohh, click on the pictures to see the vanilla seeds floating in the heavy cream) but I also make chocolate creme brulee for my husband.

Iubesc creme brulee la nebunie. Este poate cel mai favorit desert. Imi place reteta clasica de creme brulee, cea facuta cu seminte de vanilie...daca dai click pe poze, o sa vezi semintele de vanilie "innotand" in frisca lichida. Sotului meu ii place creme brulee de ciocolata. In josul paginii am atasat un video facut cand caramelizam zaharul pe deasupra si este partea mea preferata..atat ca gust cat si ca "executie" a retetei. E usor si rapid de facut: galbenusuri, zahar, frisca sau smantana lichida..nu stiu cum o numim noi in Romania...este pojghita aceea de grasime de deasupra laptelui care se bate si se orneaza toturile, deci nu este vorba de ororea aceea numita "frisca vegetala"..deci, galbenusuri,zahar,frisca,vanilie sau ciocolata. Atat! Pofta buna!

My favorite part: melting the sugar into a nice caramel crunch top!

hot chicken wings

2010-04-26T13:16:00.003-05:00

My husband loves them! He says these are the best chicken wings ever. The recipe is Pat's Famous Hot Wings. I didn't do the blue cheese deeping sauce because Joe wouln't like it... ranch would go well too instead of that blue cheese sauce. Also, I couldn't find Texa Pete's hot sauce so the first time I made them I used Tabasco habanero but they came out very spicy. The 2nd time I made them I used Frank's RedHot Wings Buffalo (not the "hot bufallo" which is spicier) sauce and they came out perfect!

Georgia&Porthos

2010-03-27T23:42:00.003-05:00

4 years old Georgia and 8 months old Porthos having fun

Tug of war

2010-02-24T13:22:00.003-06:00

The videos are made a few days after we adopted Georgia. She's getting a little better at sharing the toys with her "big" brother Porthos. Hmm, should I say "big brother Porthos" altough he's more than 3 years younger than she is?

Big baby Porthos

2010-02-24T13:02:00.001-06:00

My baby boy is growing too fast .He's already past 100 lbs. He has outgrown his bed. but he sleeps with his doll:) He's a big baby

My first attempt at making hamburgers

2010-02-20T16:01:00.000-06:00

Ground beef and pork meat with garlic and lots of spices in it. I sauteed mushrooms,onions, and red bell pepper in butter, then I fried some bacon, and put the cheese on the patties while they were still in the pan so it would melt and get gooey. I used ciabatta rolls. Next time, I'll make the patties thinner because it was hard to wrap your mouth around the whole thing.

Recipe adapted after Rachel Ray's MOP Sausage Burgers . Although I watch Rachel Ray pretty often I don't like her cooking and never before got interested in any of her recipes...untill yesterday. My husband liked these humburgars but he wants them thinner next time I make them.

Porthos and Georgia..latest pics

2010-02-09T19:15:00.002-06:00

Porthos is 93.5 lbs as of yesterday. His growing pace has slowed down a little, but I bet there is going to be another growing spurt waiting to happen. I am happy he hasn't experienced yet any growing pains. He's going to be 7 months old in 4 days (02/13/10)

I love kittens!

2010-01-28T22:52:00.000-06:00

Surprised Kitty @ Yahoo! Video

Meet Georgia

2010-01-28T12:14:00.001-06:00

On Monday we adopted this little girl. She is a Boston Terrier, she is 4 years old and 22 lbs. She is very sweet and lovable. She does get really excited and fiesty when playing though. I am posting videos of her and Porthos playing tug of war on YouTube (there is this one here and there are 2 more videos uploading right now). They are really funny, you should watch them..'cuse she's winning every single time lol. Btw..Porthos is 6 months old and 91.2 lbs.

The Green Big Egg

2010-01-22T13:04:00.001-06:00

ughh ohh, I love this grill/smoker!The meat tastes just amazing!! Today I'm smoking some spicy baby ribs and I'm going to brush them with barbeque sauce when they're done!
Pictures taken with my Droid phone

test

2010-01-04T19:24:00.000-06:00

Porthos' videos

2010-01-03T23:26:00.002-06:00

I am putting lots of Porthos videos on youtube. Look up for kittytweedy . I put up some info also.
I already posted the first video here. The same colar,same doll...same wrinkled face!
Another one here. And another one here.
I will upload more videos tomorrow..well, today actually.It is already 2:25 am so gotta get some sleep.
Porthos is snoring pretty loud right now by the way :(

FRAUD

2010-01-02T23:22:00.000-06:00

Somebody stole Porthos' pictures, put them on a website and pretends that the dog in the pictures is his dog! The poictures are Porthos' pictures!!!! Check and see yourself!
http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/shadow-the-mixed-breed_2010-01-01

Useless to say, I'M MAD!!!!
Well, I wish I knew where this person lives and let Porthos (who's now 84.4 lbs) chew a little of his butt!!

Eclairs

2009-12-25T22:03:00.001-06:00

I love eclairs!Just love them! For the Christmas party I made around 50 and thank God I "hid" 10 for me otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to taste any because they "dissapeared" very fast. I made the vanilla cream filling on Wednesday night after I came for work ...it was like 11 pm when I got home and it was like 2 am when I was done, then I made the eclair shells in the morning (among with an apple cake tatin but I didn't get to take pictures of it). 18 yolks and milk and cream and sugar and butter and vanilla seeds..yummooo, that filling is good to eat by itself! I also made a New York Style cheesecake, but didn't get to take a picture of it either and I wish I did because it came out just perfect! Probably I wouldn't have gotten to take any pictures of the eclairs either if I hadn't put away some for me :D.
Btw...I kept the "ugliest" eclairs for me and took the nicest ones to the party but...oh boy, once they get in my mouth they sure ain't ugly no more cause they are sooo good!

Porthos..and the stick..and the funny faces

2009-12-15T00:05:00.001-06:00

Porthos loves to bring things from outside inside the house: sticks, leaves...you name it...
Today, he brought in a stick. Although I knew he would make a mess, I couldn't resist that "Can I, Can I Mom?" face he was displaying thru the glass ...so I let him in with the stick..and here are the pictures..lots of them, but each of them "unique" in its own way...really funny:)
Btw..Porthos is 5 months and 1 day old today and he weighed 69.9 lbs on Saturday ( Dec. 12)

After he was done with that stick, I vacuumed and he went outside again....and again he came back at the door with some grass in his mouth begging to be let in...I had to say "No" though :(

Porthos' tooth

2009-12-10T23:59:00.002-06:00

My baby is loosing his baby teeth

Snowwww

2009-12-08T19:46:00.000-06:00

Today was Porthos' first encounter with the snow. At first, he was a little confused by the white stuff it was covering his deck, but he ended up liking the snow. He just loves it! He would spend hours outside playing in the snow.Btw, he is 4 1/2 months old and 67.7 lbs!

Porthos' first kill

2009-11-23T14:58:00.001-06:00

haha..his first real bone I meant..from the butcher of course :)

Porthos' Awards

2009-11-23T09:40:00.004-06:00

Videos

2009-11-14T15:49:00.007-06:00

You can watch better quality videos of Porthos on YouTube.Just click on the clips under the Video bar" tab.

Porthos

2009-11-14T15:40:00.004-06:00

Doesn't he look funny? Every Saturday we take him to Petsmart to weigh him. Today he weighed 51.9 lbs.Yesyerday he was 4 months old :)

Latest pictures of my babies

2009-11-13T12:42:00.005-06:00

Pictures taken on November 7.It was a beautiful day outside and we definitely enjoyed it!

clown cake

2009-11-01T11:25:00.002-06:00

I had forgotten about these pictures...my first attempt to decorate a cake :)
As I have said before, I just can't decorate, but the cake was so moist and delicious..
ohh...and another thing...this cake was made out of a box :O ...I know, I know, I'm shocked too, but I needed a "fast" cake so I could focus on decorating

Brownie Cheesecake

2009-10-30T22:46:00.006-05:00

I found this recipe in the new issue of " Taste of Home" magazine. It didn't turn out exactly as in the magazine (yet), but I'll make it again and again until it turns out right.It is very tasty though. The "bad" part is that this thing is so rich, that you can only eat a small slice at a time. I "might"post the step-by-step recipe with pictures and everything...but I won't do it now...

this is the original recipe in the "Taste of Home" magazine...as you see, my cheesecake didn't turn out exactly like that one :(

Porthos and me

2009-10-05T17:11:00.002-05:00

My dogue de bordeaux puppy is growing very fast. He is exactly 12 weeks old today and 30 lbs! The color of his eyes is changing, the color of his coat is changing...wellll...he's become a big boy :)

Apple "Pizza"

2009-10-02T17:45:00.007-05:00

Why do I called this pizza? Because it looks like a pizza, you built it like a pizza...and also I cut it with a pizza cutter :D . It is very easy to make and sooo delicious!

We need pie dough (preferably homemade!), some 3-4 tart apples (like granny smith), sugar,(dark)brown sugar, cinnamon (I use "regular" cinnamon and saigon cinnamon which looks a little different and has a more powerfull flavor), unsalted butter, and and oven of course. We also need some 2 tablespoons of appricot preserves for a glossy finishing.

First we make the pie dough. It is easy to make and well worth it. I "might" post the recipe for the dough some time soon, but it is so easy to find a recipe online. Just google it :)

Then, we roll it (well, it should be like a 14x10 regtangular, and 1/4 inch thickness, but I just didn't have the heart to cut the dough so I left in in that "oval" shape). We put the dough in a cookie pan. I also use perchament paper for easy clean-up.

Then we prepare the apples.

We put the apples on the dough in a diagonal (or whatever way you want)

Then we add a little less than 1/2 sugar (and by all means, if you have a sweet tooth add more..whereas people who don't like their stuff really sweet should add less sugar).

Then some brown sugar. I use dark brown sugar for that molasses taste, but I don't put much.

Then the cinnamom. We can't make this without the cinnamon.

And finaly, we add some butter on top...around 1/4 cup. If you use store bought pie dough, I wouldn't put much if any butter as the store bought dough has already a ton of fat in it and the pizza would come out too greasy.

Then we put it in the preheated oven at 350 F for about an hour. I get mine out the oven after 50 minutes.

And it looks something like this when it comes out the oven

We mix the appricot preserves with a tablespoon of water,put in the microwave for like 20 seconds then brush the mixture on top the pizza. And we can cut it up and eeeeeat it!

Deviled eggs

2009-10-02T15:39:00.005-05:00

Ohhh...everybody loves these deviled eggs! And they are so easy to make!
We need boiled eggs,bacon, mayonnaise (homemade preferably!), mustard, cream cheese,white wine vinegar, salt, and some smoked spanish paprika (optional).
First of all we boil the eggs. This seems an easy process...or not lol. It sounds easy and everybody should know how to boil eggs, right? Wellllll...if you want "perfectly" boiled eggs, then you should do some reading. In my mind, a perfectly boiled egg peels fairly easy, and the yolk doesn't have any greenish color.
So, we boil our eggs, we peel them slice them in half, put the whites on a plate and put the yolks in the bowl we are going to make the filling.

We fry the bacon and let it cool.

Then we make the mayonnaise. I do NOT do store bought mayonnaise...actually, I don't do store bought anything. Mayonnaise is so easy to make and much better tasting than the store bought crap (btw..when making mayonnaise, everything needs to be room temperature: egg yolks, oil, mustard, lemon juice)

Now, we mash the boiled egg yolks with a fork really well, then we add the mayonnaise to the mashed yolks (this recipe is for 6 whole eggs, so for 6 yolks I put around 1/2 cup of mayonnaise..but it all depends...sometimes I put even more :) ). Then we add the mustard (I use Dijon mustard..around 1 tablespoon), 1 or 2 teaspoons of vinegar,1 teaspoon of kosher salt (if tablesalt is used, then add less). I also add like 2 or 3 tablespoons of room temperature cream cheese...this is optional...I add it for richness. Mix everything and taste. You are more than welcome to adjust the vinegar, salt, mustard,mayonnaise, and cream cheese to your taste! You might like more or less vinegar, salt etc. Don't forget that we are going to add bacon too and that is packed with salt!

We fill the egg whites with the mayonnaise mixture. If you can make it look pretty good for you...I can't.

Then we add the bacon..yummm

Then I sprinkle the eggs with some smoked spanish paprika. I like the smoky flavor that it adds to the eggs..and the color too.

Depending on the company I have, I may move the eggs to another plate (regular plate or special plate for deviled eggs), but most of the time it is family and friends so they don't care about that paprika mess between the eggs on the plate...soooo less dishes to do sounds good to me :D

I make these eggs like 1-2 hours before we eat them so they can rest in the fridge, the flavors blend together, and they get nice and chilled.

Well...bon appetit!

Jimmy, my double yellow headed amazon parrot

2009-09-18T09:17:00.004-05:00

this is my goofy Jimmy! He loves to sing "Oh, my darling Clementine," he LOVES LOOOOVVESS showers and being silly and goofy

more pictures of my puppy :D

2009-09-18T09:02:00.003-05:00

wellllllll....he is so cute I cannot resist to take pictures of him :D

My baby

2009-09-13T22:39:00.004-05:00

This is the love of my life.I fell in love with him the second I saw him. I brought him with me from Romania (he was 8 months old) and now he is an American cat :D

My new baby

2009-09-13T19:16:00.008-05:00

We have a cat, 2 birds, a snake, and a guinea pig (I'll put up pictures of each of them later). On September 3rd, we added a new baby to our family: a puppy! He is a dogue de bordeaux (the same breed as in "Turner and Hootch" movie). He is an angel and a devil at the same time...depending on the mood he is :) He was born on July 13, so tomorrow he'll be 9 weeks old and he is already 18 lbs. Here are a few pictures of him.

Ice Cream from Romania

2009-08-28T15:01:00.008-05:00

This is ice cream I had in Romanian last year when I went visiting for the first time since I came to the United States. Doesn't it look pretty?

And yes, that big ice cream you see it is for just one person, not for he whole group! They had their own ice creams!

Cheesecakes MISTAKES!!

2009-08-26T11:10:00.005-05:00

If you scroll down, you can see my first attempt at making a cheesecake. It was a total success..maybe by accident, maybe because I used Ina Garten's recipe and tips.

Now, the two cheesecakes you see above...well, people said they were very delicious, but we do see some problems going on.

The raspberry cheesecake..well, I forgot to buy fresh raspberries from the store so I used frozen raspberries. Not a good idea! They don't hold their shape too well, as opposed to the fresh raspberries! Another thing is the color of the cheesecake itself. Again, my first attempt at making a cheesecake was successful, but every time after that, my cheesecakes cracked. There are quite a few explanations why that would happen, so I read and read and I started to bake my cheesecakes in a water bath. They never cracked again, but the New York style cheesecakes look "pale" because the cooking process is more gentle so the cheesecake doesn't "brown" anymore . I do not have this problem with the other cheesecakes I make because the batter has already "color" in it (from the chocolate, peanut butter etc).
The chocolate-drizzled cheesecake. It is cracked not because of the baking process (when I got it out the oven it looked perfect), but because of..me! What I do 99% of the time is let the cheesecake cool completely on the kitchen counter, then wrap the pan with the cheesecake in with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. Then, the next day I take the cheesecake out of the spring form pan.Because I was in hurry that day, I did not let the cheesecake cool enough on the kitchen counter let alone leave it in the fridge overnight, so when I got it out the springform pan it was still warm and it cracked very badly trying to get it out. Lesson learned: do not hurry things!!

Cinnamon rolls (1)

2009-08-26T11:01:00.007-05:00

Cinnamon rolls just (before putting them in the oven)! Yet another thing I hadn't heard of until I came here! I just love them! I make them from scratch.It takes like 5 hours to make them :((, but it is definitely worth the trouble!
By the time it cross my mind to take a picture of them after they were baked and glazed, they were...gone!!

my first cheesecake!

2009-08-26T10:44:00.004-05:00

Before I came to the United States (Nov. 2004), I had never heard of cheesecake, let alone taste one. One day,I watched Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa" cooking show on FoodNetwork channel and I saw her making this cheesecake and I was amazed. I had to make it.This is my first attempt at making a cheesecake. I don't know about the looks, but it tasted soooo good!!

more dessert

2009-08-26T10:32:00.007-05:00

cupcakes!! mhhhh!!

Another dessert that I learned how to make here!

dessert

2009-08-26T10:21:00.007-05:00

This is an amazing Romanian dessert, called "Prajitura desteapta" ("smart cookie" the approximate translation). The dough is very liquid but when you bake it, it separates itself into 3 layers!! It is soooo good!!!

kitchen gadgets

2009-08-26T10:06:00.007-05:00

I love my kitchen "toys"!!

Me!!

2009-08-26T09:37:00.005-05:00

This is me and my very goofy Amazon parrot Jimmy.