The last post about Marissa’s bridal shower is “the dessert post” … you know – just saving the best for last!

Before I share the recipes that Raina used for her cookie trio, I want to tell you about the iced Vietnamese coffee that we served, along with iced chai tea, milk, and chocolate milk, at the Milk & Cookies dessert station.

Vietnamese coffee is a blend of cold brew coffee and sweetened condensed milk. I used a 50/50 ratio of Press Coffee Roasters Cold Brew and sweetened condensed milk. I mixed them together the night before and served them over ice. So Good!

On the lunch buffet table, along with the salad, savory tart, and bruschetta, we served my Lemon Glazed Blueberry Bread. It was an extra loaf I had baked for a cooking class the week before. Barb stored it in her freezer, defrosted it in the fridge, and then glazed it just before serving.

Now for Raina’s scrumptious cookies!

[Read more →]

The original craft that Tram planned to bring for the Craft Party was a very cool black and white-painted harlequin pumpkin. She and I looked at several options on Pinterest and we were both quite excited about it.  Then… time passed and well, if you’ve read this blog for more than a few months, you know that Tram has adorable 7-month-old twins, Zak & Zoey. 

Yeah, I know! They are just about the cutest thing on this Earth! And to think that when they start talking up a storm, they will be calling me “Aunt Linda” – I’m super excited about that!

Anyhow, Tram has her hands more than full. As the party approached, I decided to take the pressure off and offer an easier craft option. One that I could help her with and one that was close to her strength. One with coffee! You also probably know that Tram and her husband, Steve, own Press Coffee Roasters.

So… I found some awesome bottles. Here are the bottles we used. Next, I gathered up all the ingredients needed – except some cinnamon sticks, and the coffee, of course, which I left to the expert! Somehow, between the two of us, we came up with the most popular craft at the party.

Photo courtesy of Tram Mai

Cocktail Infusions!

And not just one flavor, but three delicious options!

Shopping Notes: All of the dried fruits were purchased at Trader Joe’s.  The whole spices can be found at any grocery store. The brown sugar cubes at Cost Plus and the rock sugar at an Asian market.

They come together in no time and make THE perfect hostess gift for the holidays. Or just a super cool thing for your own bar. Enjoy!

To make the Cranberry Infusion:

Gently remove the cork topper.

Place about 5 of each of the three varieties of cranberries in the bottle. Add 2 brown sugar cubes and 8 white rock sugar pieces. Tear 2 of the large pieces of the dried Mandarin fruit into the bottle.

Return the cork topper and add the Cranberry Infusion label.

 (Trader Joe’s carries at least three varieties of cranberries. All have slightly different coloring and textures, so I bought 3 packages for added interest. You can use just one variety and drop in 15 cranberries of the same type.)

To make the Ginger-Cardamom Infusion:

Gently remove the cork topper.

Place 4 pieces of the Crystallized Ginger and 6 pieces of the Uncrystallized Ginger in the bottle. Add 2 brown sugar cubes and 8 white rock sugar pieces. Add 1 tablespoon of Cardamom seeds to the bottle. Tear 2 of the large pieces of the dried Mandarin fruit into the bottle.

Return the cork topper and add the Ginger-Cardamom Infusion label.

(Same thing with the ginger. It would be perfectly fine to just use either ginger, but the two add a better look to the bottle with more variety and interest.)

To make the Espresso Infusion:

Gently remove the cork topper.

Place 2 tablespoons of coffee beans (preferably Press Coffee!) in the bottle. Add 2 brown sugar cubes and 6 white rock sugar pieces. Next, add 1 piece of vanilla bean (cut a vanilla bean in thirds and just add 1/3 of the bean) plus 1 piece of cinnamon stick, and 3 whole loves.

Return the cork topper and add the Espresso Infusion label.

[Read more →]

I don’t recall if I’ve ever shared this before but I will now confess…

… I don’t drink coffee. I’ve never liked it. I love the smell, and I adore coffee ice cream, but I knew that if I was to become a coffee drinker, I’d need to load that bitter liquid up with sugar and cream and I don’t see the point of starting each day off with that!

Most mornings I start my day with water, now and then with juice and if someone offers, I’ll have hot tea. Not in the summer, but at other times of the year. That’s the other thing I don’t get, how can people drink steaming hot coffee when it’s 100 degrees out? It is often 100 degrees out by 9 AM here in AZ!

Iced Coffee – that has sounded like something I might enjoy, once in a while, when I need a kick-start. Not too often, since it too, is loaded with cream and sugar.

Today is that day, I’ve been up since 4:15 and I am already dragging. I can’t be dragging today, I have too much to do. Iced Coffee! I’m gonna give it a try.

I’m going with the simplest recipe possible for this first try. One thing I do know is that it is best to start with cold-brewed coffee. Since I don’t drink coffee, I don’t make the best-tasting coffee, so I bought a bottle of cold-brewed coffee at Trader Joe’s.

My verdict?  It was OK, maybe a person who likes coffee would like it more. I’m going back to the drawing board and I’m going to make something more exciting. I’ll keep you posted. Until then, here is my simple iced coffee “recipe.”

[Read more →]

As I’ve told you many times before, I am NOT a baker.

I don’t like to bake.
I don’t have the patience to bake.
I am not skilled at baking.

That being said – I baked these cupcakes… and they are The BOMB!

Seriously! I gave Connor one to sample and his eyes rolled back in his head with delight! He made me promise him that I would make them for his birthday in May. That is a promise I intend to keep!

The recipe came from HERE.

If every recipe on bakersroyale.com is as scrumptious as these cupcakes, and if YOU love to bake, you should be going to this site every day from here on out!

All I did was change them from standard cupcakes to mini cupcakes. Otherwise, I followed the recipe almost as written and they were perfection! So much so, that I could eat the caramel frosting, with a huge spoon, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

OK, maybe not! The frosting alone has a pound of butter – but to be fair, there was quite a bit of frosting left over, even after all the cupcakes were made.

To prevent me from using a spoon to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I put it in the trash and then dumped the nasty contents of my Roomba on top of it!

I can’t have that sort of temptation around here!

[Read more →]

Seared ahi tuna is already one of the easiest and most impressive things to make for a special occasion or on the fly any ordinary weeknight.

A little salt and pepper, a little oil, and a hot skillet or grill pan are all you need. I’ve decided to make it a tiny bit more complex, by adding a marinade of coffee, sugar, and salt.

See, not too much more difficult, just a little something extra.

[Read more →]

There are some things in the world of cooking that are like money in the bank or resemble beautiful gold treasure. Things like having a really well-stocked pantry and freezer. You know what I’m talking about; when you want to make a recipe that calls for chili paste or tamarind or cake flour… there is no getting in the car and going to the market for you, just open a cupboard and there it is – smiling back at you! Pure Jubilation! Hugs, high-fives, and kisses to everyone in the house!

Or how about when your spouse comes home and tells you that last week he/she signed up to bring two dozen homemade cookies to the office potluck, by the way, the potluck – well it is tomorrow!  Sure, as you walk towards that pillow that is calling your name, you could say, “Darling, how absolutely fabulous! Now you have fun making those cookies tonight, sweetie, I’m off to bed.”  That method doesn’t work when the entire office knows you cook for a living.  Edible, in fact, delectable, cookies are anticipated and expected! So that gold treasure in this case is the “slice and bake” cookies that you have in your well-stocked freezer. Even your older kids (when they casually mention that they need fresh-baked cookies for the school carnival, that is (wait for it…) of course, in the morning.) could do the slicing and baking without you anywhere to be found.  Your home is instantly filled with Joy, Peace, and Happiness for all!

The espresso powder can be found at an Italian deli or ordered online, and I found the cappuccino chips at Trader Joe’s.  This recipe makes three logs of dough. I generally refrigerate all three for the 8 hours, then slice and bake one log. I double wrap and freeze the other two logs for up to 1 month. The frozen dough does not need to be defrosted before baking – just slice the logs and bake about 1 minute longer. Or the logs may be thawed in the refrigerator if that works into your schedule better. After all, it’s all about you – as it should be!!! Oh, and these are going in the “Easy-Breezy” category on the recipe index too because they are just a more adult version (hence the “big girl” reference) of good old Toll House cookies and nothing is easier or breezier than slice and bake!
[Read more →]