Buttermilk Waffles

 

If you have visited my blog enough times, you may have noticed that I love using buttermilk in place of regular milk. I got this love of buttermilk from my mother and share in her sentiment that buttermilk makes almost everything better, haha. Now don’t get me wrong, I could NEVER and would NEVER drink the stuff by itself, blech! Also, I am not a fan of its smell. However, I firmly believes buttermilk makes my baked goods more moist and adds another dimension of flavor that regular milk cannot produce. Also, I use brown sugar in place of white sugar for similar reasons.

The batter is quite thick, but the waffles come out fluffy, not dense. I have heard of folding egg whites into the batter to yield fluffier waffles, but I thought using a bit of cake flour would create comparable results. I was very pleased with the end result and am now compelled to buy my own waffle iron (I used my friend’s). I hope you try out this recipe soon! In the meantime, I hope the following close-up shots will convince you to make these waffles on Christmas Eve or the morning of Christmas Day:

So fluffy and light (and blurry. sorry!)!
Ah much better!
YUM! Look at that slightly crispy and caramelized bite!
This shot makes me want to jump and make another batch!

Excuse me while I make some more!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ¡FELICES FIESTAS! BUONE FESTE! BOAS FESTAS! JOYEUSES FÊTES!
Buttermilk Waffles
heavily adapted from allrecipes

2 cups all-purpose (AP)/plain flour (I used 1 cup cake flour/1 cup AP flour)
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or regular milk
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the waffle iron. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder). In a medium-sized measuring cup, pour (and measure) in the milk, then add the butter, vanilla extract, and eggs. Whisk the eggs into the milk mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and mix until combined. Do NOT overmix!

Ladle the batter into the preheated waffle iron, and cook the waffle until ready or until desired doneness. Serve immediately. For leftover waffles, wrap cooled waffles individually in cling wrap and place them in the freezer.

For future consumption, just place the frozen waffle in a toaster or toaster oven until hot and eat! 🙂

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

My Mom, Christmas Gifts, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Tartlets

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets

Recipe and Photos of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets below!

If you haven’t noticed already, my mom and I are very close. We have a very “Gilmore Girls” type of relationship in the sense that she is a single mother, and I’m an only child on my mother’s side. She is my best friend and my mother. I talk to her every single day, 5-10 times a day.

For many years, she and I had been graduate students at the same time. When she started working on her dissertation, I invited her to live with me in order to expedite the PhD process so she could graduate sooner. Only two semesters later, I was able to call her “Dr. Mom”, and she became a professor of English Literature. I am immensely proud of my mom. She is my inspiration and my role model.

For Christmas, she bought me a bunch of stuff for my somewhat new cooking/baking/photography addiction to make up for all the times she couldn’t give me everything I wanted while she was a struggling student. So, I thought I’d share all the kitchen-related gifts I received because the non-kitchen stuff like clothes and batteries (yes, she even wrapped up my batteries!) is just boring haha!

Canon EOS
A beautiful Canon EOS XSi with a 50mm lens! I love this camera!

 

Christmas Kitchen Gifts
Left to right: glass cake stand; steamer (used to make the tamales; was on sale for 30 dollars at Bed, Bath, & Beyond); mortar & pestle (yes!); in and near the Pyrex cup: pastry cutter, grater, candy thermometer, offset spatula, zester, egg separator; pastry mat; roast pan (no more foil pans anymore!)

 

Lodge Cast Iron
Ahh, a cast-iron dutch oven! My mom actually bought this a few years ago and never used it (GASP!) because well…she doesn’t cook much. After a bit of coaxing, she reluctantly let me have it! Yes!

In return, I cooked and baked for her, including making chocolate peanut butter tartlets! Most importantly, I bought her a standing globe, which is something she’s wanted for years. She would always say, “Whenever I become a professor, I want to have a standing globe in my office.” I got to admit, out of all the presents I saw on Christmas Day, her present, not mine, was my favorite because I got to make her happy. She even cried happy tears, and she doesn’t cry very often. I love you, mom! Thanks for everything!

GlobeOkay, enough of the mushy stuff! I promised to post these Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets a long time ago but never got around to it because of the tamales and the rosca for Three Kings’ Day. I made these Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets for Christmas because I thought the crust looked very interesting and indulgent. It is comprised of melted chocolate and chocolate wafers (I used Oreos)!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets Unfortunately, the crust was really hard, and after discussing this problem with the blogger who posted the recipe originally, we figured that it may be hard because of the thickness of the crust. So, if you decide to make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets, make the crust thin around the edges.
Chocolate Peanut Butter TarletIn order to remedy the hardness factor, I placed the next Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets in a small pool of milk to soften the crust. That worked perfectly. Unfortunately, I’m not a great fan of peanut butter, and I’m getting tired of chocolate. Nevertheless, these Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets were good. If you’re craving chocolate and peanut butter make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets while keeping the abovementioned pointers in mind. Enjoy!!

Like peanut butter anc chocolate? Check out these Peanut Butter Brownies!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarlets
adapted from Once Upon a Chef (She made one large 10-inch tart)
Note the differences in how much each layer yields if you’re making small tarts! I would half the peanut butter layer for the small tarts.

Chocolate Crust (makes about 5 small tarts):
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I use Ghirardelli)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
8 ounces Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies (about 32 cookies from a 9-ounce package), finely ground in a food processor (2 cups)

Peanut Butter Filling (makes 8-10 small tarts):
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 small tub or box)
1 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy peanut butter)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup well-chilled heavy cream

Chocolate Topping (makes enough for 5 small tarts):
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli)
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped (I didn’t use this; I’m not a nut lover)

Chocolate Crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted. Stir well, then stir in the cookie crumbs. Press the cookie crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the rim of the tart pans (Be sure not to make the crust too thick in any one spot, especially around the rim. Keep it thin throughout, otherwise it will come out too hard.) Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then cool on rack.

Peanut Butter Filling: In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract until blended. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the chilled cream until firm. Fold one-third of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to loosen it, then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spoon the filling into the crust, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate uncovered for about 1 hour.

Chocolate Topping: In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate with the heavy cream and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted and the cream is hot. Stir the chocolate topping until blended, then let cool to barely warm, stirring occasionally. Spread the chocolate topping over the chilled peanut butter filling and sprinkle the chopped peanuts around the edge of the pie. Chill uncovered in refrigerator for 3 more hours.

Carefully remove the rim from the pan by gently pressing upwards on the bottom while holding the rim in place. (If using a springform pan, run a thin knife around the crust to loosen it, then remove the springform ring.) Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into wedges. Run the knife under hot water and dry it between each cut. Serve chilled or slightly cooler than room temperature.

Can be made one day ahead of time.

P.S. Here is the red mixer I won on Pioneer Woman! The mixer my mom gave me last year is the black one.
kitchenaid mixers

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

Tamales Part 3: Assembly & Finale!

Tamales

Part 3 of 3: Tamales

Finally the tamales are done! We have reached the last step – assembly. Now, that the filling, corn husks, and masa are ready, we just need to put everything together and steam the tamales.

TamalesHere’s how I did it: Open the corn husk with the smooth side facing up,

and place the masa on the bottom 2/3rds of it with the back of a spoon, leaving a 2-inch space to the left of the husk. Try not to add too much masa (I added a bit too much in the photo below, and this masa ended up looking different because I had added more masa harina to it).

Spread the masa over the husk (don’t forget to leave space to the left of the husk, so it should be off-center) and then add the filling. You’ll only need 1-2 Tbsp of filling for a large husk and 1/2-1 Tbsp for a smaller one. Make sure you center the filling in the middle of the MASA filling, NOT the center of the corn husk.

tamales
Smooth side on top, and rough side on the bottom.

Fold or roll the husk around the filling starting from the right side or the side with the filling. Ensuring that the flap of the husk is facing up, fold the skinny tip of the husk over the base of the tamal.

Tie the tip to the base with a slivered section of a random husk (I picked out the small, torn husks out of the big batch and reserved them for this purpose). Tying the tamales is not mandatory, but it helps keep everything together while they sit in the steamer, and they look prettier, too.

tamalesPlace the tamal in the steamer pot, and continue making the other tamales.

To add the rajas y queso filling, just do the same thing:

Once all the tamales are in the steamer, fill the bottom of the pot with about 2-4 cups of water. Place a few pennies at the bottom of the pot so that you know there is enough water down there (I found out that my pot makes its own noises when the water level is low; it was scary!). Once the water starts boiling, place the steamer pot in the main pot.

tamalesCover the tamales with additional corn husks (this is when I use the husks that didn’t fully hydrate during the soak) or aluminum foil, and cover. Steam the tamales on medium heat for 1-2 hours (it took 2 hours for me).

tamalesThe filling should be pretty firm and dry, but not too dry. Also, when you unroll the tamal, most of the filling should no longer stick to the husk when fully unrolled.

tamalesAdd leftover salsa verde to the undressed tamal…

tamales…and enjoy!! YUM! ¡Buen provecho!
tamales

ALL GONE! Oh, there are more in the freezer!
tamales

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

Tamales Part 2: Masa (RECIPE REVISED!) and Corn Husks

tamales

Tamales: Part 2 of 3 Masa and Cornhusks

Okay, let’s move on to part 2 of the tamales series. Yesterday, I posted about the filling I used: salsa verde con pollo. Today, I will share with you all how I soaked the corn husks and made the masa. For part 3 of 3, go here.

Corn Husks: (printable version)

You can buy these husks at most stores, especially around the holidays. I’ve seen them at Wal-mart and at some regular grocery stores. They come in a large bag. Here is a photo of them fresh out of the bag. Aren’t they photogenic?
tamalesPlace the husks in a large pot of boiling water. They will not all fit without a bit of coaxing. So, try to submerge all of them in the water.

tamalesWhile they’re soaking, work on the masa:

Masa for tamales REVISED!!:
2 cups of masa harina (Maseca is a popular brand and is the one I used)
1 tsp salt (I used kosher)
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups of reserved chicken broth (remember that broth from yesterday?)
2/3 cups of manteca or lard (you can render your own or get freshly-rendered lard from a grocery specializing in Latin-American products. They have less fat than butter.)

Place and mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl or mixer.

tamales
tamalesPour in the broth until the mixture starts to look clumpy…like pie dough with too much water, or like the photo below. The mixture should not be watery at this point!

tamales
tamalesWith another mixer or by hand, beat the lard (or manteca) until it reaches a lighter consistency. This step is optional, but I tried it out to see what would happen.

tamalesPour the manteca (that word sounds better in Spanish, doesn’t it?) into the masa mixture until the it looks like thick cake batter.

tamales
tamalesI had to later adjust the below mixture by adding more masa harina (I started with 2 1/2 cups of masa instead of what I posted above), so the batter or masa should look a bit thicker than this.

tamalesNow you’re done with the masa!

Back to the corn husks:

After 1 to 2 hours, take the husks out with tongs. Then, place them in a large open container for easy assembly. If some of them are not completely soaked (i.e., there are dry spots), use those later for when you steam the tamales). (Can you tell I live in graduate-student housing? :D)

tamalesNow that the filling, masa, and corn husks are ready, we can move on to the assembly process….tomorrow. Then, we can eat them gleefully! 🙂
tamales
tamales

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

“Over The Rainbow” Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

“Over the Rainbow” Macaroni and Cheese

I have been wanting to blog about this macaroni and cheese for a very long time. This is my go-to mac-n-cheese, and it comes from Patti LaBelle, a popular R&B singer from the 60s to the 80s. The macaroni and cheese recipe calls for 5 different cheeses, lots of butter, and half-n-half. Also, there’s no need to make a roux for the cheese sauce.

Macaroni and CheeseOn a similar note, here is the Christmas dinner my mother and I had. Since it was just the two of us, we didn’t have to make loads of food, but it still turned out to be much more than we could handle because we still have leftovers of everything but the gravy.

My mom made potato salad and green beans. (Notice out traditional, holiday drink: Welch’s Sparkling Red Grape juice cocktail! YUM! I can drink a whole bottle w/o the use of a glass!)
macaroni and cheeseI brined and roasted a whole chicken (the only way to roast chicken and turkey in my opinion). I also made yeast rolls (not pictured), the “famous” crockpot dressing, “Over the Rainbow” Macaroni and Cheese (recipe below), and chicken gravy (chicken drippings + roux + salt to taste). (Do you see the standing globe in the background? That is the present I gave my mom for Christmas. She was so excited about it that she wanted it in almost all of my photos haha.)

macaroni and cheeseFor dessert, I made chocolate peanut butter tartlets, which I will blog about next.

I hope you try out this macaroni and cheese dish. It is fabulous. Please grate your own cheese instead of buying the already grated kind for a cheesier, creamier result, and don’t be afraid of the Velveeta. 😀

macaroni and cheese“Over the Rainbow” Macaroni and Cheese

adapted by LaBelle‘s cuisine: Recipes to Sing About.
Recipe posted on Oprah.com (here is a video of her making it with Oprah Winfrey)

1 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 lb elbow macaroni (454 grams) or any other small-shaped pasta
8 Tbsp (1 stick) plus 1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese (Use more of the other cheeses in place of this if you don’t have it)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mild Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup (8 ounces) Velveeta , cut into small cubes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp seasoned salt (I use Lawry’s)
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole.

Bring the large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the oil, then the elbow macaroni, and cook until the macaroni is just tender, about 6-7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well. Return to the cooking pot.

In a small saucepan, melt eight tablespoons (one stick) of the butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses. To the macaroni, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta (all of it), and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and dot with the remaining one tablespoon of butter.

Bake until it’s bubbling around the edges for approximately 30-35 minutes.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

Molasses Spice Cookies

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! BUON NATALE! FELIZ NATAL! JOYEUX NOËL! 즐거운 크리쓰마쓰! 圣诞快乐 新年快! メリークリスマス! Selamat Hari Natal!

These. cookies. are. so. good. I’m serious. When my mom saw that I was going to make cookies made with molasses and no chocolate or nuts, she quickly said, “I’m not going to want any of them,” to which I quickly responded, “Well, they are going to be all for me then!”

However, after I made them and took one bite of a fresh, warm cookie, I knew that she would change her mind. I broke off a small, warm piece and meandered towards her stealthily. Then, while holding the tempting piece close in front of her face, I asked her, “Want to try a piece?” She looked up at me and reluctantly said, “Okay.” After one bite, she wanted more. They are that good.
You can taste the molasses, brown sugar, butter, ginger, and other common winter flavors. They are soft, chewy cookies and are best eaten when warm. They lasted and tasted fantastic for 3-4 days and that is with homemade fudge, oatmeal cookies, and other sweets lurking around the kitchen.

Because I felt like playing around with my new camera even though I knew the lighting would be bad since I made these at night, I took process photos of the making of the cookies below. If you’d like the regular, printed version of the recipe with my adjustments, click on the link next to the title of the recipe. Enjoy!

Molasses Spice Cookies (printed version)
adapted from Simply Recipes
Yield: 2.5 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4-1/3 cup for rolling cookies (Use 1/4 to not waste sugar)
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulphered molasses (I used Grandma’s Molasses in the dark yellow jar)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice together in a bowl and set aside.

Use an electric mixer (I used the new mixer that I won from Pioneer Woman!), and beat the butter for 2 minutes (Oops! I put the sugar in first because I left the butter defrosting on the oven top). Add the brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar…

and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes at medium speed).

Add egg, vanilla extract, and…
molasses…
I sprayed in cooking spray so that most of the molasses would glide out easily…
Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. If you are not blessed with a beater blade (like me boohoo), then make sure you stir this mixture well at this point. See the unmixed batter below?

Add dry ingredients, and beat at low speed until just combined (~30 seconds).


Once you add the dry ingredients, don’t beat the mixture too much so that the cookies do not come out too tough. See the bits of flour left in the dough? That’s just enough. The mixture will integrate a bit more once you start making the dough balls.
Place the remaining 1/4-1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. I had quite a bit of sugar left after making the balls, so in order to avoid wasting sugar, I suggest starting with 1/4 cup of sugar.

Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls.

[Check out my new cookie scooper! It is called a “Chip Clip“, and I got it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for about 3 dollars. This scooper is unique because the back of the scoop is made of a special type of rubber that allows easy removal of cookie dough. So, in order to demonstrate how it works, I will be presenting to you all my lovely finger below (aside from the profile photo, this is probably all you’ll ever see of me on this blog b/c I abhor taking pictures haha).]

The back of the spoon…
My finger and unmanicured nail! Woohoo!
Further demonstration of how it works. Scoop up the dough…
Push the silicon part of the spoon to remove the dough. If it’s sticky, as this dough is, you may need to help it out a bit by scraping out the sides of the scoop.
Roll the dough in a ball.
Roll balls in sugar and…
…place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. I tried flattening out half of the dough balls to see if the flattened shape made a difference, and it didn’t make much of a difference. So, just leave it in a ball.

Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 12 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.

EAT THEM WHILE THEY’RE WARM! Store in an airtight container; they last more than 3 days, if you have any left after that.

Note: Do not overcook. The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.

Glaze (optional): When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and dribble over cookies. (I put some of this glaze on a few of the cookies, and they don’t enhance the cookies that much or make them look any prettier.)

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas/Enchiladas del estilo Tex-Mex

Look at that cheese…

One of my colleagues decided to throw a party in the form of an International Buffet, since we all work and study in the Spanish and Portuguese department and thus come from various countries. We all made dishes that come from our place of origin. Since I was born in the United States, specifically Texas, I decided to make Tex-Mex Enchiladas. I have made these enchiladas MANY times; they are outrageously good. To make them even more over the top for the buffet, I made the enchiladas with homemade, FLOUR tortillas instead of corn. They taste fantastic either way.

Look at that gravy…

The chili gravy is so unbelievably good that not even the greatest amount of accolades could give it justice. Now, a warning, if you are into authentic Mexican food, you may get angry or bothered about this dish. As a Spanish-speaking, xenophile, new foodie born in Texas and raised on Tex-Mex (whew, say that five times fast!), I go through my moments of being ashamed of liking the processed, yellow cheese (i.e., Velveeta), carne molida (ground beef), and brown gravy. However, I get over it once I take one bite of this stuff.

This photo comes from another occasion when I made this. These have corn tortillas, beef, and LOADS of Velveeta and sharp cheddar.

You will have to break out the Velveeta for this dish or you could use medium or sharp cheddar for a less Tex-Mex taste. I obtained this invaluable recipe from Homesick Texan who got it from Robb Walsh’s Tex-Mex cookbook. I have made them with chicken and with ground beef (my fav). You could also make these with cheese and lots of veggies.

Homemade flour tortillas fresh off of the cast-iron skillet (I need to get a comal).

Everyone who tried the enchiladas raved about them. In fact, one person, whom I didn’t know very well, ran up to me and requested the recipe and then reminded me to give it to her as I was leaving.

Pleeeeeease make this dish; you won’t regret it. 😀

Beef & Cheese Enchiladas with Chili Gravy
from Homesick Texan and Robb Walsh‘s The Tex-Mex Cookbook

(If adding meat, start preparing it before or while making the chili gravy.)

Chili Gravy (Yields 2 cups):

1/4 cup lard (or vegetable oil)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp powdered garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano (Mexican oregano is preferred if it’s available)
2 T chile powder (either homemade or a dark brand such as Gebhardt’s or Whole Foods)
2 cups chicken broth (or water)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and continue stirring for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it makes a light brown roux.

Add all the dry ingredients and continue to cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring and blending ingredients.

Add chicken broth or water, mixing and stirring until the sauce thickens.
Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes. Add water to adjust the thickness.

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas
Yields 8 enchiladas (I get more than that every time I make this dish)

1 lb of ground beef (any variety) or 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 corn (or flour) tortillas
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (can make it with Velveeta for Tex-Mex authenticity)
One medium onion, diced
2 cups chili gravy

Preheat the oven to 450.

[If using corn tortillas, pour the oil in a small skillet, and heat the corn tortillas one at a time. Keep them wrapped in a cloth until all 8 are heated. If they are homemade and still hot, you’ll still need to fry them a bit to make them pliable.

If using flour tortillas, simply microwave them for about 30 seconds. If they are homemade, fresh off of the comal or skillet, just start filling them.]

Pour 1/2 cup of chili gravy in a baking pan.

Take a tortilla, put 1/4 cup of cheese and 1 tablespoon of onion in the center and roll it (I just cook the beef with the onion (and garlic) and then spoon the filling in the tortillas).

Place rolled tortilla in baking dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining tortillas.

Take remaining chili gravy, and pour it over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle remaining cheese and onions on top.

Bake for 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies

UPDATE: I created a Valentine version of these cookies here! They continue to be delicious.I’m sure many of you’ve seen these cookies by the front entrance of Wal-Mart or near the bakery section of Costco. These cookies are called Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies, and they are beyond delicious and comforting.

If you’re not familiar with these cookies, the cookie part has a very cake-like texture (even the batter looks like cake batter) with a sweet, buttercream frosting on top. The cookie part is not particularly sweet, so you get most of the sweetness from the frosting.

The underside of the cookie is perfect.

I’m not a creative, fanciful person, so it was hard to make these cookies look decent enough for this post. Although not perfect-looking aesthetically, they taste wonderful. They are very soft and sweet.

They taste close enough to the real Lofthouse sugar cookies that you won’t have to buy them in the stores anymore. I made quite a few changes to the original recipe after reading through many comments I found on various websites for copycat Lofthouse cookies, so you won’t have to do any of the research yourself!

Also, I used a 4-inch cookie cutter after rolling out the dough because I wanted big, thick cookies instead of the traditional 2.5-3-inch size. I think these cookies would be perfect for the holidays. Be more creative than I am by coloring the frosting different colors.
NOTE:
I don’t recommend making these cookies the same day you want/need them because you will have to refrigerate the dough for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Lofthouse Cookies
adapted from Recipezaar
For 4-inch cookies, you will end up with two dozen cookies. So, if you make 2 1/2 – 3-inch cookies, you should end up with about 3-4 dozen cookies.

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar (in my halved version, I added 2 Tbsp (1/4 cup for full version) EXTRA of sugar to make the cake part a tad sweeter)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream
5-6 cups AP flour, until desired consistency for rolling (in my halved version, I used 2 1/2 cups in the dough and then added about half a cup more of flour while rolling out the dough)

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate overnight (or 6-8 hours).


Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Roll out dough to a 1/4 to 3/8 inch thickness using a generous amount of flour (I used a combination of flour and powdered sugar for a non-stick surface and flavor). Cut out shapes, and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.
Frost (recipe below), and decorate as desired.

Lofthouse Cookie Frosting
adapted from Recipezaar
Yields enough for 2 dozen cookies, so double the recipe, if you need more.

3 1/2 – 4 cups confectioners’ sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup shortening
5-8 Tbsp (or more) evaporated milk (or regular milk), until you reach the desired consistency
1 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners’ sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the evaporated milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.
Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

An Ode to My Old Camera and My Mom (not necessarily in that order hehe)

My mother:

I’ll apologize to all of you out there ahead of time for what I’m about to announce, but I truly have the greatest mother in the world. Your mothers are a close second LOL!

I declare proudly that she’s the greatest because last Christmas, my mother bought me an onyx Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (see below)…
…and this Christmas, she bought me a Canon XSi with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, and both items arrived at my doorstep the day before yesterday!!!! Words cannot even begin to describe how excited I am.

I thought that it would be easy to shoot from this camera on manual mode since that is what I use on my old camera, but I definitely need a lot more practice!

My old camera:

I tend to personify inanimate objects; it’s one of my many idiosyncrasies. So, I feel like my old camera is not feeling the love anymore now that I have this new camera.

My old camera captured by my new camera at night!! 🙂

Since my old camera has helped me produce more than decent photos that have been published on Foodgawker, Tastespotting, Photograzing, and Refrigerator Soup, it deserves a decent thanks and somewhat of a farewell.

Notice the taped-up battery door! hahahahaha

My phone camera (Blackberry Storm)

I went from photos like the photos below of the focaccia bread that I took in my dark kitchen, which was either taken on my phone camera or my old camera.

What is that? haha

Believe it or not, all I had to do was step outside on my patio to produce much better photos like the one below of this focaccia bread from the same recipe of the one above.

Now that’s more like it. I want some of that right now.

So, get ready to see better photos (hopefully) of delicious food. I already have photos of a meatball sub I made yesterday, but most of them were blurry, but I managed to produce a couple of decent ones. I just bought a tripod today to rectify those issues, though.

Thank you, mom!! I love you!
Thank you, old camera and Blackberry!
Thank you, Lord!!

Have a great day!

P.S. I received my new mixer yesterday, too!!! I will take photos of that once I get someone to help me take it out of the box haha.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com