Cinny Chums

Do you like Muddy Buddies®? Who am I kidding, you're human. Of course you do.

Well, true to our foodie gumshoe ways, Dish and Spoon decided to use up some Cinnamon Toast Crunch® in a twist on the chocolate-peanut butter classic. The result is a bit like churros–another duh-yes-you-love-those treat.

5 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup almond butter
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Measure out cereal in bowl big enough to contain the cereal as you do some aggressive stirring later.

In microwave-safe small bowl, combine chocolate, almond butter, and butter. Microwave on high 30 seconds then stir well. Microwave 15 more seconds and that should be enough to get everything melted when stirred well once more.

Depending on the white chocolate you use, it can melt at various times. The mixture will be a bit thick; another thing white chocolate loves to vary on–when it will over cook. But almond butter is probably the main thickener here. Might try a bit more butter next time to help it be a bit more runny.

Adding the vanilla once mixture is melted helps smooth it a bit. Scrape buttery goodness into the cereal bowl and start stirring. It's almost more of a pressing motion to spread the paste around. Just keep at it; it will spread in time.

Dump all the coated cereal into a gallon zip-top bag. Pour the 1/3 cup powdered sugar into the bag and seal. Shake and massage those goodies. :) Serve and delight.

Cream of Carrot Soup

Carrots' best friend, that's what this is. Also it's your new favorite soup you've probably never tried. Unless you hate carrots and milk, then move along, traveler.

1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. butter (6 Tbsp.)
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. flour (6 Tbsp.)

2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules or powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. dry parsley
1 tsp. dry basil
3 cups milk
2 to 4 cups sliced carrots (6-10 large carrots; doesn't have to be precise. Add depending on how carroty you like it. I like more carrot flavor to the cream base and a titch more spices accordingly)

First thing to start is the carrots boiling (it's much preferred to make the carrots wait to go into the roux than for the roux to wait for carrots to be ready). In 2-quart pot, cover the carrot slices with about an inch of water and put on high heat. Let boil until carrots are soft. Don't let the water boil out, it's okay to add more as needed. Then dump the carrots in a blender, water included (or use an immersion blender right in the pot) and puree or pulse the carrots to desired texture. Sometimes I like a few whole-ish carrot slices in the soup, so I ladle some carrots out before the blending. When the roux/cream base is ready, pour carrots in. If soup seems to thick to your liking (it also gets thicker as it sets), add water. 

Roux Cream Base

While carrots are boiling, melt butter in soup pot over medium heat. Combine flour, bouillon, and spices. Whisk dry ingredients into butter and turn heat to low. If you get the chance to use fresh parsley and basil, that's delicious! Just use about three times the fresh versions and add those along with the milk. Once roux is bubbly remove from heat. 

While whisking, pour milk into soup pot. Return to medium heat and stir constantly until cream base comes to boil. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Combine with carrot puree and stir well. Serve hot with your favorite bread item.

This is just the perfect fall soup. It's mild, delicious, warming, and orange! Enjoy!

Clever Cutter Test-Drive and Review

Saw a video floating around social media recently promoting the Clever Cutter. Just a day or two before I was cutting Brussels sprouts and wished up in my mind something between scissors and a knife. Upon seeing the Clever Cutter, I hoped my wish was coming true! But was it too good to be true?

Since it was soon thereafter my mom's birthday, I made that an excuse to buy a Clever Cutter from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It was about $15, but I used a coupon mailer BB&B sent me, so I got 20% off. Sweeeet.

I cut to intermission since the packaging was a bit of a beast to open, as these sorts of clear, hard-plastic casings tend to be, but it was eased by the presence of some perforated lines. The materials inside include some instructions and tips and customary fine print. Helpful stuff.

Oddly, my gadget was dusted in some sort of white, sandy substance...no idea what that was about. It's generally wise to wash all new kitchen items anyway! Overall it's lightweight and yet sturdy, the grip is solid, and the resistance is firm for a smooth slice 'n snap. The blade is sharp and thicker than I imagined it would be, and it makes complete contact with the cutting-board strip. The safety latch holds tight when locked into place. To me it seems a well-designed device from quality materials.

Now watch below for the oh-so-entertaining test-drive.

I was actually pretty pleased with the device. I cut some more mushrooms right after making the video, and while I started out with a bit slower of a slice, if I snapped quickly at the end, the cut finished clean. That's the trick, is to snap. Be confident and be prepared for non-uniform chunks of food until you're practiced. :) You can see I quickly improvised several holding positions depending on the food about to go under the knife. Maybe using tongs or something would be safer. Sometimes unwisely I live on the edge.

A couple days later I sliced some more carrots and I noticed that no matter what angle I held the carrot at, the blade sliced at a bit of an angle itself, plus the sliced edge was kinda rough, as though microscopically torn from the rest rather than sliced away smooth as seen with a knife. So I swapped hands (put the cutter in my left hand), and I was surprised how differently the food sliced! The blade angle was much more pronounced on the food as it entered under the blade from the right, but the food slices came off smoother too. So that's something to consider if you're left-handed or want smoother slices of food. It still does the job, it was just recognizably a different experience. My right hand was starting to fatigue from the unfamiliar motion, so that was another reason I swapped hands. I need to get one of those grip strengthening-resistance majigs. :)

Another thing I started noticing was that if I placed the carrot closer to the hinge of the scissors, the slices dropped a bit more calmly into my pot. Closer to the open end and the carrots practiced their Olympic dives much more flamboyantly, often to missing the steaming pool entirely (a lonesome dusty grave between the fridge and oven to greet them). Of course the swiftness with which I snipped also made a difference in flight, but a steadier slice came out of the area with the tighter pinch.

But anyway, pretty cool kitchen gadget! Experiment and discover how it can help you. I'm definitely stoked to have it for my Brussels sprouts. So now I'll just wait for next month's BB&B coupon and go get my own. :)

Note: On Amazon where these are also being sold, there seem to be two models or blade options. I honestly don't know which blade this one from BB&B is, but it seems solid. I sure love Amazon for some things, but sometimes I am reluctant to have uncertain options like that and feel relieved when a store has it where I can see it, buy it, test it, and not have to deal with shipping!

Deconstructed s'mores

I saw a Serious Eats post about clever uses for your silicone muffin cups right before my recent Moab camping trip and an idea struck me: deconstructed s'mores.

Apologies for the quality of quick pics taken in the diminishing light of dusk.

True story: I once employed my chocolate fountain during a backyard (still close to electricity) campfire s'mores-go-round to solve that pesky problem of sandwiching a solid slab of chocolate between stiff crackers around that gooey mallow. It's the classic fire food, but come on, it's just so messy and I don't love the mixing textures. Cold, hard chocolate against the melty mallow along with the graham plates that squish all that goo onto fingers and cheeks—pretty much everywhere except the mouth—I mean we gotta think outside the square here, people.

So my idea was to pour mini chocolate chips into a couple silicone cups and melt them down during the s'mores toasting process.

It worked great! I put the cups on a Dutch oven lid on a grate over the mostly coal-heat fire and the chips started melting. I stirred occasionally with a plastic fork and in a few minutes, the chocolate was well melted and smooth. Next time I think leaving the cups on the lid to keep it from getting a bit harder in preparing the s'mores would be a good move.

A bowl of graham cracker crumbs completes the assembly line. When the s'mores were roasty toasty, I removed them from the roasting stick and let them set just a few seconds then dipped half into the melted chocolate. Using the fork to help lift the delicate goo puffs from the chocolate helps to keep the shape and is an easy transport into the crumbs. A couple turns in the crumbs and your s'more is complete.

My campfire buddies said they were great or the best s'mores they'd had! Try it out for yourself and enjoy a new twist on an old classic!

Steak Fajita Puffs

It's not all that common to have leftovers when steak is for dinner, but we went out to eat and couldn't finish our steaks. Sometimes I'll toss together some fajitas with the leftovers, but this time I wanted to try a new twist on that fajita flavor. I saw a recipe on the Pepperidge Farm website for veggies and puff pastry and thought it looked yummy. The zucchini I bought for it went limp and jiggly after two days (produce these days, am I right?) so I had to invent my way into a new recipe! These little bites are a snappy appetizer for a group get together.

Yield 25 puffs | 20 minute prep | 20 minute bake (40 min thaw for puff pastry)

Needed

Cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Pastry brush

Steak Fajita Puffs

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (cream cheese might work, might work even better)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp fajita seasoning mix (I found this mix at an Amish bulk foods store. Lots of recipes online to make your own too. The spices are likely in your cupboards already.)
1 tsp lime juice
Steak, sliced into strips
Red pepper, sliced into matchstick strips
1/4 of a yellow onion, sliced into matchstick strips
1 egg
1 Tbs water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together ricotta, Parmesan, fajita mix, and lime juice. In a separate bowl whisk egg and water. Set aside.

Prepare sliced steak, pepper, and onion, 25 slices of each. I wrapped my pepper slices in some paper towels to help absorb some of their abundant sweet juices.

Roll out thawed pastry on floured surface or parchment paper to make a 12x10 rectangle. Cut a two-inch strip off the long end of the rectangle so there's a 10x10 square and a 2x10 strip. Cut out 25 two-inch-square squares from the 10x10 sheet. Cut the long strip into 25 small rectangles (about the width of a piece of Trident gum). Luckily the dough is a bit forgiving if you want to pinch back together a bad cut.

Drop about 1 tsp of cheese mixture into the middle of a pastry square. Slap on some steak diagonally across the square so there are two dough wings at the side, ready to wrap around the filling. Place the veggies on top of the steak with their natural curving up.

I ran out of steak before veggies so I made a few vegetarian ones. Both are tasty. But having the chew of the steak in with the bite of veggies and puff of pastry is nice for us meat eaters.

Wrap the dough wings over the veggies and pinch tight. Take a "trident stick" strip of dough and wrap it around the middle of the puff, pinching the ends together at the underside of the edible little canoe that it is.

Place puffs veggie-side up on parchment-covered cookie sheet about an inch or two apart. Brush with egg wash and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. I always like a little extra bake on my pastry, so I went with 20, moving from bottom rack to top rack for last minute or two for golden pump.

Allow to cool a minute on the cookie sheet, then cool on a rack for a couple minutes before serving hot. They're still pretty good after they cool to room temperature, but they might not last that long!

I love how endlessly flexible this bite could be. Try jalapeño cream cheese, go wild with shrimp or meatballs and matching flavors...I know I'm definitely going to try a sweet version soon enough! I've been kind of intimidated to work with puff pastry for some reason. It was way too simple. I'll likely become kinda puffy in the middle section soon for all the things I'll try with puff pastry. Maybe someday I'll even try making my own puff pastry. Spoonful at a time.

Bite to it!

Creamy Horchata Custard Dip with Churro Bites

Recipe first, chitchat below :)

My Cinco de Mayo dip contest entry

Needed

Medium pot
Whisk
Mixer (hand or standing, whatever you prefer)
Bowls (glass preferred)
Folding spatula
Smallish deep pot for frying churro bites

For Custard

5 eggs, separated
1/3 cup Klass Rice and Cinnamon Horchata Instant Drink Mix (I'm going to wager that 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 3-4 tsp cinnamon would also do if you don't pick up the mix, though the ricey flavor will lack. Try rice flour in place of or in addition to corn starch? Be daring.)
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Rice milk if needed for consistency

For Creamy

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp or to taste Klass Horchata Drink Mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
Rice pudding, if desired (I used one container Reynaldo's Traditional Rice Pudding)

Churro Bites

Tres Estrellas Flour Mix for Churros (Sorry guys, I went for quick and simple this time! There are lots of recipes online for making the pastry dough from scratch.)
Oil for frying

Optional
Raw flour tortillas
Strawberries

For Custard

Separate eggs. You won't need the egg whites for this recipe, but those are great for many uses so don't toss them if you can help it! Gather egg yolks in medium bowl, whisk in 1/3 cup Horchata mix and 1 Tbsp corn starch until yellow color lightens and sugar is well mixed, a minute or so. Set aside.

In medium pot, heat 1 1/2 cups cream over medium heat until just simmering—hot but not boiling. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and slowly pour hot cream into egg yolk mixture while quickly whisking. If you pour it in too fast the egg will cook and curdle—not what we want. When all cream is well incorporated, pour mixture back into medium pot and place onto medium heat. WHISK CONSTANTLY as your custard thickens. If it threatens to go lumpy, remove from heat, whisk madly, and incorporate teaspoons at a time of rice milk if it seems too thick. But if you give it constant whisking attention over medium heat, you should be good. Once it takes on a pudding thickness, remove from heat. Pour into a glass bowl or dish (the wider the faster the custard will cool in the fridge) and cover with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to prevent it from forming a skin. Let cool completely in fridge (at least 2 to 3 hours or overnight).

For Creamy

Once custard is cool, remove from fridge and prepare the whipped cream to fold in. This is where we add the creamy to the custard. Pour cup of cream into high-sided bowl (I use a metal one that works great; glass also works great for whipping cream) or stand mixer bowl and using whisk attachments, begin whipping cream on low speed until bubbly. Sprinkle in Horchata mix and go to medium speed. Add vanilla. When your cream holds stiff peaks, you're ready to fold it into the custard.

I like to use my hand mixer so I can move it over to my custard bowl now and whip it up real quick so it's easier to stir and not holding its shape from the fridge time. Start with a large-spatula/rubber scraper scoop of whipped cream and press it into the center of the custard and then with a folding sweep, come up the side of the bowl and dive into the middle again. Continue this motion somewhat gently while turning the bowl in whichever clockwise direction feels natural. We're not really trying to preserve any height of the whipped cream as we fold (like we'd do with egg whites), but folding is how to get them to combine better than just stirring. Once the first scoop is incorporated and the custard is softening, you can dump one bowl's contents into the other and mix thoroughly. 

Taste and see if you like your creamy custard just like that. If you need that rice flavor to be stronger, definitely add that rice pudding. I tried a small spoonful of rice pudding with a scoop of creamy custard first to see if I wanted to commit to adding the whole container to my dessert. I liked it a lot so I dumped and stirred it in. SO good!

Churro Bites

Heat oil to 350/375 degrees F. I don't really use a thermometer for this. I've learned that on my stove if the pot of about 1 1/2 to 2" of oil sits on "4" heat (medium-lo) for about half an hour, it'll be ready. Plop in a little test batter and if it sizzled and rises up from the bottom after a second, it's ready. For preparing the churro batter, follow the box instructions. Stir boiling water into mix, let cool for a bit before scooping the mix into the awesome little (12") disposable pastry bag+tip the box provide and then squeeze into oil. Use kitchen scissors to snip the dough into bite-size drops. Drain on paper towel–lined plate and then toss with cinnamon-sugar(-and Horchata mix too if desired).

Careful not to let the dough drop into the oil! Lower it with the scissors. Watch the sweet video I made by pinning my phone between chin and chest. Skillz.

You'll see in my dip display that I also had fried tortilla bites coated in cinn+sug. Ever had those raw tortillas you can pick up in the refrigerated section, usually near the dairy? My husband and I love those and seriously don't eat flour tortillas these days unless they're the kind we can cook up ourselves. They taste so much better than precooked dry-shelf flour tortillas. Anyway, cut your raw tortillas into triangles or strips, then fry, drain, and coat. I bet frying already cooked tortillas might work too if that's what you have.

Grab your serving platter and make it all pretty. I sprinkled some sugar mix on top of the dip. Watch out, those churro bites will disappear in a flash! And yeah, the strawberries are suuuuper good in the dip too!

Now for the chitchat

The place I call work threw a party for Cinco de Mayo. They have a dip competition that anyone can enter. I knew there would be inventive salsa and creative guacamole entries, as in years past, but no one had yet attempted a dessert dip. Sounds like a job for Dish and Spoon.

I considered inventing a tres leches dip (which I might still try someday) or maybe somehow a churro-flavored dip, but nothing was coming together until I spied a horchata drink mix. Bingo!

I whipped up a custard using the Klass horchata drink mix and let it cool overnight. The next morning I literally whipped up some cream with sugar, cinnamon, and a bit more horchata drink mix and folded it into the custard. That was yummy and creamy, but I wanted to give the dip some texture and more rice-flavor kick, so I added some rice pudding! So it's a fix 'n mix recipe: not all from scratch, and that's okay, because it's amazing.

Did my dip win? No. Because at work, these contests are always about popularity and proofreaders aren't popular, no matter their fantastic skills beyond the red pen. But it's okay, because in my heart I know it was the fairest dip in all the office.

Christmas Candy Countdown

You have too much leftover Halloween candy, don't you. I don't even have kids, we didn't even have trick or treaters, and still we bought a bunch of candy...because Halloween. 

So, use up your extras in a super fun way that was a highlight every year when I was growing up. The Christmas Candy Countdown.

This one's made of fabric.

Instructions:

• Find some kids that you love; count them. 
• Gather the following supplies per counted kid:

• 25 pieces of candy for their countdown stash (You can select or they can choose. My mom says one year I chose all Tootsie Rolls so I could eat the best stuff right away. I don't remember this, but it sure sounds like something I would do.)
• A roll of plastic wrap, or wrapping paper, or if you're ambitious, your odd yards of Christmas fabric
• Ribbon, string, anything about 8 to 10 inches long that ties, some clothes pins, or some sturdy twist ties—any securing device :)
• Line up the pieces of candy and then measure that same length in plastic wrap or wrapping paper. (For fabric, you may need 7-inch-wide strips of whatever you've got, short ends sewn together, then long ends sewn into one long tube, to meet the length required. Payout for this more complicated method is that you get to reuse the countdown next year, but if you're like me, sewing is like running and you do it only when you don't see any other means of escaping your dilemma, so you know, do what you're up for.)
• Pinch your wrapping material between each piece of candy with your securing devices. Cut your ribbon or string into 8-inch pieces. (For fabric tubes, tie off one end of your tube and call it the bottom; drop first piece of candy down to that bottom then tie off above it, then drop candy on top of that, then tie, drop, tie, etc.)
• Hang countdown from something high (or coil up like a snake in a box with the first piece of candy hanging out, or do whatever you want, because you're creative like that).

There are so many combinations of these steps and materials to make this fun for the whole family! When you use clothes pins, you can write the countdown numbers on them in colorful marker. You can use colored plastic wrap. You can zigzag your filled tube to look like a single-line Christmas tree with a name-tag star on top.

Like this. Kinda.

Got ideas for other ways to variatize (made-up word) the craft? Leave a comment and we'll all benefit. There's no limit to the fun, so go have some!