We Have Moved!!

Have you heard?  Amber's Delectable Delights has moved.  I am so very pleased to announce the launch of my new site.   We are at new site, with a new name, a new look, new recipes, and the whole shebang!  Please come and check us out!

www.SugaredWhisk.com

Don't worry, Amber's Delectable Delights is not going anywere.  This site will stay live with all of the old recipes and anything that you have saved in your readers will not dissapear.  I will just not be posting here anymore.

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2008, A Year in Review

The beginning of 2009 is not only a time to celebrate the new year, by setting goals and resolutions for the coming months, but also a time to reflect upon what the past year has given to us. I thought that a review of my favorite recipes from the past year would be a great way to end the year.

Daring Bakers Challenge
Danish - Now that I think about this delicious danish, I need to make it again. It was simply amazing and so much fun to make. Definitely a show-stopping breakfast or brunch treat.


Appetizer
Three-Cheese Spread This spread was great, the combo of cheeses went really well together and it was the perfect topper for crackers.

Bread
Garlic Knots I could not just pick one item in this category. I am sure you all know that I am a carb-aholic and can not get enough bread. These garlic knots were definitely addicting. I could probably eat my weight in them but then I would weigh about 5 times as much as I do now, so I suppose that is not a good idea.


Italian bread
Peter Reinhart definitely created the perfect Italian bread with this recipe. It was simply amazing and looked beautiful.


Breakfast
Bacon, Potato, and Cheddar Frittata This was so delicious I made it quite a few times over the course of the year. It is perfect for entertaining for breakfast or brunch.


Chicken
Buffalo Chicken Strips I don't know what it is about these but I just can not get enough of them. The crunchiness and spiciness make them totally delicious.


Dessert
French Chocolate Brownies These are the best brownies I have ever had. Definitely my new go to brownie recipe. Dorie Greenspan hit a home run with these.



Pasta
Fresh Fettuccine Alfredo This recipe was so very good. Not only was it the first time I made a real alfredo sauce but it was also the first time I made homemade pasta. Hooked I tell you, I am seriously hooked on fresh pasta. It is beyond amazing.


Side dish
Herbed Rice Pilaf I am so glad that I came across this recipe. The rice was cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. I really like the crunch that the almonds added.


Honorable mentions
Pizza Napolenta This crust was so delicious and would be perfect for a make your own pizza party due to the amount of dough that it made. I really enjoyed making this recipe because it was my first time tossing pizza dough. You should give it a try, it was really fun.


Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
This is my go-to recipe for pizza dough when I need it quickly for a last minute dinner decision. It tastes great and can even be made the night before and stored in the fridge.


Italian Pinwheels
These are a quick and easy appetizer or snack that is always a hit


Rocky Road Ice Cream This ice cream was amazing. So smooth and velvety with the perfect chocolate flavor. Definitely amazing.

Dill-icious

I love dill pickles, especially the cold packed ones like Claussen. They are so crisp and refreshing! I have seen this recipe floating around and had been dying to make it but finding fresh herbs in my neck of the woods is quite a task, let alone trying to find the pickling cucumbers. Last Wednesday my friend and I went to Flea Market and one of the booths was selling pickling cucumbers 5 for $1! I couldn't pass up the deal so I bought 10 cute little cucumbers. I got home and remembered that I would probably need some dill in order to make dill pickles, DUH! Since no stores within a 10 mile radius of me carry dill I had to drive to the nearest Meijer to find it but it was well worth it. :)

I don't have any fancy canning jars so I simply used my pampered chef classic batter bowl. Today is the second day these little gems have been in my refrigerator so I decided to give on e a try. They tasted great but I think they will be even better in a couple more days; they still had a slight cucumber taste. I think I will add some more garlic to the brine while I have them out, more garlic is never a bad thing. :)


I have a bunch of extra dill in my fridge so I am thinking about making some cheddar dill bread, mmm sounds good huh? Stay tuned...

Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Source: Annie's Eats, originally from: Delicious Meliscious

Ingredients
For the brine:
3 cups water
6 tbsp. white vinegar
3 tbsp. kosher salt

minced garlic
fresh dill
cucumbers, cut into spears

Directions
Combine all brine ingredients in a pitcher. Stir well to dissolve salt.

Put several sprigs of fresh dill in the bottom of each jar. Pack half full with cucumber spears. Layer with more sprigs of fresh dill. Finish filling the jar with cucumbers. Sprinkle some minced garlic on top. Pour brine into the jar until it is full and pickles are completely submerged. Put the lid on and allow to refrigerate at least 2 days before eating.
Source: adapted from

Blake Gave - You-Bars

This was yet another give-away by Blake over at Blake Makes. This time the lucky winners all received sample bars of You-Bar.

You-Bar is a company that provides you, the consumer, the option to create your own customized nutrition bar. So far I have tried the Honey Cashew and it was wonderful.

Thanks you to the wonderful people at BlakeMakes and You-Bar for the wonderful give-away.

Blueberry Bushes Forever

I know I know the song is really "strawberry fields forever" but "blueberry bushes forever" made more sense for this post. This evening my husband and I went blueberry picking along with his parents. We had a great time and probably ate just as many blueberries as we picked.

For $1.50 a pound you can't go wrong with these beautifully delicious plump juicy berries. Mmmm berries.


I must now warn you, whatever you do please be careful when you come home from picking and place your lopsided 15 pound bag of blueberries onto the table. If you turn your head, if only for a second, you may hear thump, plop plop plop plop plop plop only to turn around and see your kitchen floor lined with berries. Lesson learned, eat more berries so the bag is not so full and lopsided. :) Thank goodness I was able to tip-toe through the blueberry maze and grab the bag before all 15 pounds hit the floor.


Stay tuned in the next few weeks for more blueberry recipes that you care to ever see. Ok maybe not that many but as many blueberry recipes as I have time to make before blueberry burnout sets in.

If you have any favorite blueberry recipes or ideas of things I can make feel free to share your ideas in a comment.

Blake Makes, Gave TCHO

A couple of weeks ago Blake over at Blake Makes gave away some Beta TCHO chocolate bars that the company so graciously donated to him. The requirements of the give away is that you had to be a member of Blake's fan club of super hero food bloggers (in which he calls Soopz), you had to love dark chocolate and you had to have a blog (preferably a food one) but the most important thing is that whomever received the TCHO bars had to show some love by blogging about and spreading the word about their magnificent chocolate.

Surprisingly the dark richness of this chocolate was a bit to much for me but my husband absolutely loved it. He said it was wonderful and one of the best dark chocolates he has ever had. For more information on TCHO check out their website.

William Sonoma GC Giveaway

How awesome would be to win a $50 Williams-Sonoma gift card? Well I think that it would be totally awesome so that is why I am posting about and spreading the word about the giveaway that Kate over at The Clean Plate Club is having.

All you have to do is blog about the event in your own blog and then leave a comment on Kate's original post about the giveaway by 5pm EST on April 30th and check back on May 1st to see if you are the lucky winner.

Good luck to all.

Catch up Time

I have been rated and awarded a few things that I never got around to posting about so I figured it was about time I get my rump in gear and get these things taken care of.

My blog has been rated "E for Excellent" by Robin over at Made with love.. and by Annie over at Annie's Eats. I thank you ladies for the wonderful rating. You both have beautiful blogs with tons of great recipes and wonderful pictures. Now, I must pick 5 people to pass this excellent rating on to, in alphabetical order...

Ally at Culinary Infatuation
Ash over at Delish
Bridget over at Crumbly Cookie
Jessica at What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen
Joelen at Joelen's Culinary Adventures


I have also been given the You Make My Day award from Annie of Annie's Eats and Kate of Paved with Good Intentions. Thank you ladies, it is great to know that I make someone's day.

And Joelen at Joelen's Culinary Adventures bestowed upon me the Nice Matters award. Thank you Joelen, you are to sweet for words!

Penzeys to the Rescue

For Christmas this year I received a gift card to Penzeys from my Mother (thank you mom, look what you bought me). After spending hours searching through the catalog and browsing online I finally decided what wonderful items I wanted to stock my shelves with.

I have decided to show my love of Penzeys to the world and show off all the wonderful things I got.



These are all of the items that I ordered. Click on any particular one to be taken to that spice on the Penzeys website. I did not order any garlic powder this time because I have about half a pound left still but their garlic powder is wonderful also. One last thing, these spices are so reasonably priced. Everything that I got (including shipping) was only $55.


California Basil
Kosher Style Course Fake Salt
French Thyme
Chicken Taco Seasoning
White Granulated Onion Powder
Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
Minced Garlic
Northwoods Seasoning
Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle
Chicago Steak Seasoning
Galena St Rib and Chicken Rub
Malabar Peppercorns
Turkish Oregano
Hungarian Sweet Paprika
Pasta Sprinkle
Creamy Peppercorn
the Sandwich Sprinkle came along with my order as a free sample.

Also check out The Spice House which is run by a member of the Penzey family. I have not prchased much from them but what I have has been excellent. Their Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Pizzazz helps make one amazing garlic cheese bread.

Copy Cat Alert

Yeah, I know you are probably wondering why I am making cole slaw for Christmas but the answer is easy. I felt the urge to. :) This afternoon I am heading to my parents to celebrate Christmas and one of the meats that they are serving is pulled pork so I thought that cole slaw would be a perfect accompaniment. With the help of a food processor this can be made in a matter of 10 minutes. And yes, it really does taste just like KFC's.


KFC Cole Slaw
(Source: RecipeLink.com)

Ingredients
8 c finely chopped cabbage (1 head)
1/4 c shredded carrot ( 1 med)
1/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 c milk
1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions
*Be sure cabbage and carrots are chopped into very fine pieces
*Combine sugar, salt, pepper, milk, buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, and lemon juice and whisk until smooth
*Add the carrots and cabbage to the liquids; mix well
*Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving - (this time is vital for the best flavor)

Krispie Kisses

A few years ago I bought these really cute funnels from ebay. They were made by Tupperware and shaped like a giant Hershey's kiss. I did not know for sure what to do with them but I knew that I would eventually figure something out. Along came Valentines day and I decided to make rice krispie treat kisses.

I just checked e-bay and the funnels are still available if you would like to purchase some for yourself, http://tinyurl.com/32dkv9. These would be great treats to send with your children to daycare or to school, especially on Valentines Day.

Ok, now are these not the cutest things you have ever seen? Ok maybe not cutest, but pretty close. :)
Look at the size difference between a real Hershey Kiss and these giant kisses.


And finally the unwrapped krispie kiss. I used the orignal rice krispie treat recipe that can be found on the inside of the box and I added some mini chocolate chips to give them a bit of a chocolate flavor.

Cool treats

I had a container of strawberries in my fridge that were about to go bad and I knew I needed something to make with them. I went to myrecipes.com and typed in strawberries and this was one of the recipes that came up. I thought that it was perfect because it would use up all my strawberries, it took little time to make, and I could finally use the popsicle molds I bought a few months ago.

The recipe says to press the pured berries through a fine strainer but the only fine strainer I have is to small to get the job done in a timely manner. So after getting mad at the strainer I decided to just leave the seeds in. These are so easy to make and taste great. My husband has already managed to eat a couple of them and it is not even noon yet.


Strawberry-Cream Fruit Pops
(Source: MyRecipes.com via Sunset Magazine)

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh strawberries (rinsed and hulled)
1/2 cup light sour cream
2-3 Tbls sugar
2 tsp lemon juice

Preparation
1. In a blender, whirl 2 cups rinsed, hulled strawberries until smooth. Push through a fine strainer into a 1-quart glass measure; discard seeds. Return berry purée to blender and whirl in 1/2 cup light sour cream, 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar (to taste), and 2 teaspoons lemon juice until smooth.
2. Pour fruit mixture into 6 to 8 juice bar molds (see notes below). Attach covers firmly and insert sticks, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches of each sticking out. Set molds in freezer, making sure they're level and upright, and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours, or up to 2 weeks.
3. To unmold, run warm water over the molds up to the rim, just until pops are released from sides, 5 to 15 seconds. Remove the covers and pull out the pops.

Notes: Use juice bar or pop molds with a 1/4- to 1/3-cup capacity. Cookware and hardware stores are selling many new models this year. Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes, plus at least 3 hours to freeze.

My dog Cole felt the urge to be in this picture. And although it is not the best picture I thought that I would put it in since he has yet to appear in my blog. Cole is our 2 1/2 year old Black Lab.

Dogs and logs

This morning I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner. I named off 4 or 5 different kinds of meats and he said hot dogs. I said ok, but we do not have any buns so I think I will make pretzel dogs instead. He said ok. But when he walked in the door from work this evening he said, these don't look like hot dogs. LOL He had apparently forgotten what I had mentioned this morning. But I don't blame him, working outside in the 90 degree heat would fry my brain too.

Pretzel Dogs
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Follow the soft pretzel recipe, but instead of shaping the dough into pretzels or stick simply flattened a piece of the dough and roll it around a hot dog. The overall cook time was about the same as the regular pretzels. These were very good, my husband and I both agreed that cooking the hot dogs inside the pretzel dough really kept all the juices in the hot dog.

Cheese Logs
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

(Sorry I have no pictures, the camera decided to eat these pictures for some unknown reason. But they were very good and the string cheese inside melted perfectly. In fact, they were so good my camera ate the pictures!! HAHA)

Again, follow the soft pretzel recipe. But instead of shaping into pretzels or sticks roll out a piece of dough and roll up a piece of string cheese into the middle. It is very important to seal all the seams very well otherwise the cheese will ooze out of them. The cook time on these is also the same as the pretzel recipe.

A wonderful resource

I am a proud member of a site called BakeSpace. I joined almost a year ago and I am so glad that I did. First of all the site creator Babette is an amazing woman with so many great ideas up her sleeve. Second, there are so many great recipes submitted to the site daily. Along with some great tools and features too. But best of all is that all of this is yours for FREE just for becoming a member.

BakeSpace just announced its Kitchen Aid Appliance-a-Day giveaway!! It runs for the entire month of July. All members of BakeSpace have a chance to win appliances from Kitchen Aid just for submitting recipes and inviting friends to join the site. How easy is that?

If you would like to become a member and try your luck at winning a great Kitchen Aid appliance just for submitting recipes and inviting friends click here to join.

The promotion is now over and I am so happy to announce that I was the first daily prize winner. I won a very nice blender that I can not wait to receive and put to good use. Also I would like to thank everyone that supported me and joined BakeSpace via my link. Thank you!!

My first planting experience

I have a love for sweet juicy strawberries. So much that I decided to grow my own this year. I was skepticle of growing them because I figured I would have to plant them in the ground and that my dog would eat them. But obviously I was wrong.

This morning my sister called me to inform me that Lowes got another shipment of herbs/vegetables/fruits in. I headed over there with the intensions of getting herbs but did not find any that I wanted. Instead I managed to rack up a bill of $50 on things needed to grow my own strawberries. If these things die I am going to be sooo sad!

(PS. See my cute little wind chime bug hanging above the strawberry planter?)

Look a little tiny strawberry is already growing.

Dear little strawberry I can not wait to eat you!!

Feel free to leave me any comments on how to care for strawberries. Because I have no clue how to do it. My current plan is to keep them in the sun and make sure the water is always moist and eat them when they grow. :)

Serving up sandwiches

I was helping a friend with a craft project and told her I would take care of lunch. I was puzzled as to what to make. I did not want the normal sandwich so I decided to make some kind of warm sandwich.

I think the bread is what made the sandwich. If it was on any regular ole bread it would not have been half as good as it was.

Hot Italian "Krash" Stack
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
1 loaf fococcia bread I used Parmesan cheese fococcia
Pepperoni
Deli ham
Geona Salami
Mozzarella cheese
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Parsley (dried)
Oregano (dried)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cut loaf of bread in half and sprinkle both halves with Parmesan cheese.
• On the bottom half of the bread: arrange the pepperoni, then add some Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and 1/2 of the ham.
• On the top half of the bread: Sprinkle with some parsley and oregano. Arrange the salami, then add some Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese, and the rest of the ham.
• Top each half with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese and place into preheated oven. Cook for ~10 minutes or until cheese has begun to melt and the meat has warmed. Turn on the broiler and broil until the cheese starts to brown. Remove from the oven, slice and serve immediately.