Cream Filled French Crullers

French Crullers are probably my favorite doughnut...well, second to a Krispy Kreme glazed that is just out of the oven and still warm. Warm doughnuts are so much better...so I started making them at home and they are unbelievably easy. I found this recipe and made them and they turned out so light and airy. But something was missing...and since I was making them at home, I could do what I want, right? So I filled them with Bavarian Cream! And topped with a Star Fine Foods cherry! Now that's what I call a doughnut! Top that Krispy K! 
     
    Cream Filled French Crullers 

    1 cup water 
    6 tablespoons unsalted butter 
    2 teaspoons sugar 
    1/4 teaspoon salt 
    1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted 
    3 large eggs 
    2 egg whites, slightly beaten 
    vegetable oil for frying 

Combine butter, sugar, salt and water in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan. Place over medium high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Stir in the flour all at once and continue stirring until the flour is completely mixed. Keep stirring over medium-high heat. When you see a thin film start to coat the bottom of the pan, the batter is ready. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to stir the dough for a minute to help it cool. Turn the mixer to medium speed and add one egg. Don’t add the next egg until the previous has been completely incorporated into the dough. Then add the egg whites a little bit at a time until the dough becomes smooth and glossy and holds a little shape (not much). Don't add to much egg white or the crullers will be heavy. 

Transfer the dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip. Fry the crullers in 2-inches (or more) of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. The oil should register 370°F. While the oil is heating, cut a dozen 3-x3-inch squares of parchment. Lightly grease the squares with vegetable oil on one side and pipe a ring of dough onto each of the squares. When the oil has reached temperature, carefully place a cruller, paper-side up, into the hot oil. Do this one at a time unless you like the idea of hot oil burns and other disasters. After a minute or so, I would use tongs and a sharp knife tip to gently peel the parchment off the cruller. When the cruller turns golden (about 2 minutes), flip it over and let it fry for another couple of minutes before removing it to drain on a cooling rack or paper towels. 

Bavarian Cream 

2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin 
1/2 cup cold water 
4 egg yolks 
1/2 cup white sugar 
1 pinch salt 
2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 cups heavy cream 

In a small bowl, stir together the gelatin and cold water. Set aside to soften. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until smooth. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Pour the hot milk in a steady stream into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour the custard through a strainer. 

Stir in the softened gelatin and vanilla and stir to melt the gelatin. Allow to cool. When the mixture has cooled almost to room temperature, whip the heavy cream to medium stiffness and fold it into the custard. Split your puffs and fill with filling. Refrigerate for about an hour to set 

NOTE: Crullers can also be baked. Preheat oven to 450°F. Pipe crullers onto a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2-inches apart. Bake for five minutes then reduce oven to 350°F and bake another 15 minutes. Turn off heat, open the oven door a crack, and let crullers sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Makes about a dozen. 

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Classic Cream Puff

You remember...when we were all little, it was always so much fun to get a dessert with lots of whipped cream and that cherry on top. Well who says we've outgrown that? But not just any cherry...so many today are so artificial and almost bitter. That's why I only use Star Fine Foods Cherries for my desserts. Here is a classic cream puff filled with decadent whipped cream and dusted ever so lightly with powdered sugar...and the perfect ending...a cherry on top!

Classic Cream Puff

1-cup water
1/2-cup butter
1-cup all-purpose flour
1/4-teaspoon salt
4 eggs

powdered sugar for dusting

In a saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until mixture is smooth and shiny.

Drop by rounded teaspoonful about 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove puffs to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each for steam to escape. Cool. Split puffs and add filling.

Cream Filling

1 pint heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cream and sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fill cream puff as much as you want!

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Disclaimer: I have an ongoing relationship with STAR Fine Foods for my recipes and photography using their wonderful products. This post is sponsored by STAR. I am compensated for my time and work and I am sent products as I request them. However, all opinions of the product stated in this post are 100% my own. I truly love their products!

This Child Is Different

This Child Is Different
She is beautiful. She isn't white. She isn't black. She isn't Asian or Hispanic. She is of all these nationalities. She is different. I choose this picture to make a point and to support my efforts to stop racism and bigotry in this country.

Her mother is a black woman born in Ohio. Her father is white man born in California. Her grandmother on her mother's side is a native American Indian born in Wyoming.

Her grandfather on her father's side is Japanese, born in Hawaii. Her great grandmother is Jewish, an immigrant from Germany. Her great grandfather is a Roman Catholic from South America.

So does that mean no one hates her because she is a part of every race? Or does it mean all races hate her because she doesn't belong to any specific one. Would it be hard to find the right hate group for this little girl? Because she is different and not like any of the rest of us.

We need to end bigotry and racism in America....because God made us in many different colors. We are all his children regardless of what color our skin or our beliefs or who we love.
~Marty

Motherless Daughters

“When a daughter loses a mother, the intervals between responses to grief lengthen over time, but the longing never disappears. It always hovers right at the edge of awareness, prepared to surface at any time, in any place, and in the leastexpected ways.”

"I am fooling only myself when I say that my mother exists now only in the photographs on my desk or in my albums, or in the outline of my hand or in the armful of memories I still hold tight. She lives on in everything I say and do. Her presence influences who I was and her absence influences who I am."

“There is an emptiness inside of me -- a void that will never be filled. No one in my life will ever love me as my mother did. There is no love as pure, unconditional and strong as a mother's love. And I will never be loved that way again.”

“I truly believe that the death of my mother has made me the way I am today. I am a survivor, mentally strong, determined, strong willed, self-reliant, and independent. But I also keep most of my pain and anger inside because I refuse to be vulnerable to anyone."

Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss by Hope Edelman

♥ Ham Salad

What's for lunch today? Well I see some leftover ham...not enough to make a whole meal but perfect for just a ham sandwich...maybe a ham salad sandwich for a change. Yum!

Ham Salad

2 cups diced ham, (remove any hard rind)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use Dukes or Hellmann's)
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 hard boil eggs, chopped (optional)

Pulse ham in bowl of food processor until coarsely chopped, about ten one second pulses. If you don't have a food processor, you will want to finely chop your ham. Combine mayonnaise, relish, mustard, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add ham and mix. Serve chilled with crackers or on a sandwich roll with lettuce. 

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Bacon Turkey Wrap

 Who doesn't love a good wrap now and then? Wonderful pinwheels stuffed with whatever you decide to create. This one is unique in that I added a surprise instead of mayonnaise and it turned out delicious!

Bacon Turkey Wrap

1 Tortilla wrap
Romaine lettuce or baby spinach leaves
Ripe tomato
Thick sliced turkey Breast;
slice or two of Swiss or Monterrey Jack Cheese
2 slices cooked bacon
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 teaspoons strawberry cream cheese

Mix together the mayonnaise and cream cheese until well blended. 

Lay out tortilla on parchment paper spread on mayo mixture. Then layer the lettuce first, followed by bacon slices, then turkey, then cheese and finally your tomato slices. Roll into log and slice in half or in pieces and serve.




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People see God everyday.

"People see God everyday. They just don't recognize Him."

~Pearl Bailey







Photo Source: Galina Jacyna  http://500px.com/photo/21325739
http://4himglory.tumblr.com/post/67754348110

♥ Lobster Ravioli in a Lobster Cream Sauce

You ask where I've been this afternoon? I started craving pasta as I was posting them earlier today so I decided to go make some. This will be my dinner tonight with a nice salad and a loaf of crusty Italian bread. Keep in mind, you can buy frozen ravioli and make this recipe, but I felt adventurous today and made my own. Once you realize how easy it is to make your own ravioli, you will keep on making them. This one's a keeper my friends!

Lobster Ravioli in a Lobster Cream Sauce

Homemade Ravioli (or frozen 15 ounce bag of Lobster Ravioli)

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 whole eggs (beaten)
2 egg yolks (save the whites for another recipe)

Place the flour in a mound on a smooth work area and make a well in the center. Pour the 2 beaten eggs and the two egg yolks in the middle of the well. Then slowly bring the flour into your eggs until every thing is mixed well. Next knead the dough by hand, and add more flour if you need in order to get a smooth consistency. Cut the dough in half and roll out each half very thin. Continue to roll out as many sheets as you can get from your dough.

Lay out the first piece of pasta dough on the table and place 1/4-ounce mounds of stuffing 2 inches apart. Using a pastry brush, brush egg white around each bit of stuffing, making the dough damp but not wet. Take the second piece of dough and lay on top of stuffing. Press around each ravioli being careful not to squeeze the stuffing out. Using a round ravioli cutter with jagged edges, cut each ravioli round and lay on a sheet of parchment paper until ready to boil. Gently place ravioli in boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Lobster Ravioli Filling (again you can buy frozen lobster ravioli)

2 ounces unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
2 cups cooked and finely chopped lobster meat (I get mine at Costco)
pinch of salt
pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of fine bread crumbs
1 tablespoon chopped chives
one large whole egg, slightly beaten

In a large sauté pan, add the butter and melt. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté until golden brown. Add lobster meat, breadcrumbs, and chives and sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes or until room temperature. Follow directions above to fill and cook your ravioli.

Lobster Cream Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic (smashed or crushed)
1 tablespoon shallots, chopped fine
1/2 cup cooked lobster meat, chopped
1/2 cup good quality dry white wine (or use chicken broth)
1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute for three minutes until soft. Add the wine or chicken broth and heavy cream. Cook for 12 minutes over medium low heat. Add the salt and parsley and stir. Add the cooked ravioli to the sauce and let cook together for about 1 minute before serving.

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookies

What is better than a chocolate chip cookie? A chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated.

Chill the dough in the refrigerate for 2 hours. Scoop out a 1/4 cup size of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll it around in some Chocolate Chips and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place 6 cookies on a sheet since they will spread due to their size. Bake for 12-14 minutes until just slightly golden around the edges. Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet. They might look a little under baked in the middle but they will continue to bake when removed from the oven.

Chocolate Dip

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons shortening

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted; stir until smooth. Dip half of each cooled cookie into melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper until chocolate is set.

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home. 

Oatmeal Raisin Macadamia Nut Cookies

So what's your idea of the perfect cookie? I like my cookies thick and chewy. Soft on the inside with just the slightest bit of crisp all around the outside rim. I like them warm...just out of the oven....with a cold glass of milk that you sip between each bite of cookie. I likes lots of extras...nuts, and raisins, and chips, oh my!

Oatmeal Raisin Macadamia Nut Cookies

1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of rolled oats (quick oats will work)
1/2 cup raisins or currants
1/2 cup of macadamia nuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

Whisk the flour baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Then slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins, and nuts and mix until well combined.

Drop scoops of dough on your baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be brown and slightly crispy around the edges. Let the cookies sit for a minute or two before transferring them to your cooling rack.

  Photographs are copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.