Attack of the mini doughnuts!

Photos of powdered sugar covered or chocolate dipped rings started showing up on Foodgawker and Tastespotting...the mini doughnut craze was taking over. Little did I know I would be the next victim. They had taken over my thoughts and my cravings. The only way to free myself was to eat them. All of them. So I did. 

Take that super delicious mini cakes with holes in them!  You thought you had me, but I showed you who's boss. I beat you up into a batter, tortured you with a little heat, and drowned you in chocolate ganache! And then, like that wasn't enough...I pelted you with sprinkles. The rainbow kind. I enjoyed that and yes I would do it again. Next time, though you'll be dredged in a tub of cinnamon sugar. Muahaha haha haaaa!

Baked mini doughnuts

Ingredients:

Secrets, BBQ and Men

I was shooed out of my own kitchen the other night. It was 9:40 P.M. and Mr. Incredible was concocting a version of his favorite BBQ sauce: Gates Bar B.Q. from Kansas City, Missouri, home of the best BBQ. Yes, I said it. Simmer down Texans. You make some awesome brisket. But let's save that for another post.

Was the secrecy really all that necessary? Sharing is caring I told him. And that's when I got lectured forever about BBQ and men. I'll spare you the details because I'm sure you're strapped for time and also because I was only partially listening. He explained that men judge other men on two things. One is their grilling ability slash BBQ-ing skills. Two are their chili making abilities. The rest of the skills, you know, like nunchuk skills, bow hunting skills, and computer hacking skills do not apply here. Those are reserved for impressing the opposite sex. Because everyone knows girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.

A man who already possesses decent grilling skills must then create a signature sauce. A sauce he can call his own and hopes that one day he can snicker in the faces of those who ask for this special recipe. "Alright, I get it," I said and had a taste. It was surprisingly good. Sweet, tangy, peppery with a bit of heat at the finish. It was the perfect accompaniment to the beef ribs I prepared the next night. Unfortunately, I was unable to coerce Mr. Incredible into giving me his recipe, so I'm hoping the pictures of these delectable beef ribs make up for it (fingers crossed). 

Ribs marinating in lemon juice, a little soy sauce, and pepper. The ribs are then covered and baked in a 350 degree oven for 1.5 to 2 hours until tender.

The ribs brushed with Mr. Incredible's signature sauce. Then placed under the broiler until the sauce is dark and caramelized. 

Ribs are turned over, sauced again and returned to broiler to brown.

Finished ribs served with jasmine rice and sauteed zucchini.

Super Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, I packed up 4 years worth of stuff into 5 moving boxes. It's the end of the school year you see. Usually, I'd pack light (a few speech pathology books and some communication books I could work on over the summer), and wave a little goodbye to my work buddies knowing I would see them again in a couple months. But some won't be back in the Fall. One of them is me.
While everyone was celebrating surviving the school year, for me it was bittersweet. I'll be leaving the place that I've known since becoming a speech pathologist and starting brand new, not in one, but two schools of my own.

One thing you should know about me is that I'm no good at the mushy stuff. I'm awful at it. I'm equally as awful at saying goodbye. I get emotional, the waterworks start and I get the ugly cries. You know when your facial features contort and fluids spew from the eyes and nose simultaneously? Yeah. Not pretty. I managed to do that only 3 times today.



I came home this afternoon in need of some comforting. Two things immediately came to mind. One...The Peanuts cartoons. I don't know why, but watching them dance gives me the giggles.

Two...Chocolate chip cookies. It uses a combination of all purpose flour and bread flour making the cookies slightly crispy and chewy. These cookies soothe the soul and feel like a good hug. The genuine kind of hug that says, "Hey, you're family."

Bribery with Breakfast Pizza

The stars must have been in optimal alignment last weekend when Mr. Incredible willingly agreed to take me shopping. Shopping for floor to ceiling bookshelves. An hour and a half away. At IKEA. Knowing full well that I would take my sweet little time exploring every inch of that 300,000 square foot warehouse with genuine childlike wonderment. Those of you who personally know Mr. Incredible understand that his willingness to shop is the equivalent to an annular eclipse...a rare occurrence happening only once every 241 years (yes, that's an exaggeration).

How did I get him to do it you ask? It may have been my flirtatious chin down, look up, bat the eyelashes and smile coyly technique.  No joke, it works. The research has been done. Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes by Jena Pincott. Check out Chapter 6 "What's the strongest signal you can use to get someone's attention?" It could also have been my smile technique combined with a little breakfast pizza. I'm pretty sure it was. It's a killer combination.

The great things about breakfast pizza are (if you have leftover pizza dough on hand...if not, here's the recipe I use) it's fast to put together and it doesn't take long to bake. So you can have that pie in your belly in under 20 minutes. Here's what you do...

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees (you can use a pizza stone or a regular oiled pizza pan). Roll out your dough. (Click here for recipe) Top it with cheese, bacon pieces, and green onions. Crack a few eggs on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until cheese is melted and eggs are cooked to your liking.

Slice it up.

Serve.

Breakfast brioche and eggs

Good morning sunshine! How are you today? I'm sorry, did I hear you say that you have some brioche leftover from the last baking venture? You have way more self discipline than I do. Those plump little suckers were demolished in a couple days in this home. And there are only two of us. (I'll let my butt and my skinny jeans battle that one out later). In the mood for something savory? Well, if I had a couple brioche leftover this is what I'd do...

Preheat the oven to 350. Put a couple (or more) brioche on a baking sheet.

Off with their heads!!!

Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Crack an egg into the cavity. They're watching you...

Bake until egg is set to your liking.

Dig in!

It's about the pretty. It's about the brioche!

            

Aren't they exquisite? These aprons make me swoon! (For the men out there, it's completely acceptable to let out a gasp of excitement. It's even more acceptable to want one in your size). They are handmade with love by Boojiboo from Etsy.com. The quality is excellent and as you can see from the photos (taken by Boojiboo) the detailing is lovely. 

The yellow bird one is my favorite <3. Perfect for baking lemon bars or mixing a martini. I would host a dinner party for 30 just to show off that gorgeous red and black apron. Who cares if the cake falls (see Strawberry Cream Cake post) or the roast is deemed inedible, you are looking and feeling mighty fine in that apron! So get one already. You totally should.

Super cute apron...check! Now, let's bake some bread. If I were bread I would want to be something small, cute and pretty. Wait...small, cute, pretty and with substance (no airheads please). I would also want to have a shape with character to catch the eye of a passerby who couldn't help but take me home to toast and butter up. (This is getting to be a strange sounding post...hang in there). Yes, if I were bread I would be brioche!

Birthday bones

10 months ago Mr. Incredible and I brought home an angelic faced 8 week old Welsh Corgi whom we named Yoshi. In those 10 months, our little angel has torn through 3 pet beds, demolished dozens of innocent stuffed animals, picked the fibers off 3 square feet of carpeting, grazed upon the leaves of our house plants scattering the half eaten remnants all over the floor, chewed through 4 pairs of shoes and the cord of my favorite lamp, plucked all the leaves off 6 rose bushes then used the branches as toothpicks, used the legs of my 90 year old piano as a gnawing post...

Aw...look at that face. With a mug like that, how could you stay mad at the guy? You can't. A stern, "No Yoshi!" (in one ear and out the other) is all I have the heart to do before he gives me the "I'm sorry" look.  By then, it's all over and I'm baking him doggie bones. [sigh]. Disciplining is not my strong suit, but lucky for him baking is! So in honor of my little ruffian's 1st birthday I made him peanut butter bones. Yummers!