Wednesday, May 28, 2008

And now for something completely different

I've been really into cooking lately. Also I got a kick-ass herb garden started last week (I have cilantro and rosemary, and my friend is bringing me purple and italian basil plants this weekend). So here are pictures of two things I made in the past few days:

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Cinnamon and Toasted Hazelnut covered truffles (and the truffle part is also infused with cinnamon), made by me last night! (I even toasted the hazelnuts!) Tonight I'm going to make some espresso and chai tea truffles (not together, two different kinds of truffles)

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Mac n' Cheese done right! Baked penne with handmade mozzarella, basil pesto, extra dried basil, and rosemary from my herb garden

And a bonus picture:
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B! With my cat, Foo the ninja cat!

ETA:
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And synchronized sleeping with our other two cats this morning!

7 comments:

  1. Wow. You got talent! They look perfect. I love cooking and baking too, therefore I know the effort that goes into truffles as such. Bon apetit'

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  2. the chief-

    the truffles are actually super easy to make! (although really messy). The chocolate is just 2 parts dark chocolate to 1 part heavy cream. (so 1 cup of chocolate for half a cup of cream makes around 10-15 truffles). I used ghiradelli 65% cacao dark chocolate chips.

    You use a food processor to chop up the chocolate, put the chocolate in a bowl, boil the cream, and then pour the cream into the chocolate. Let is sit for a minute or two, mix slowly until combined, refrigerate for a few hours (with saran wrap directly on the chocolate so it doesn't grow a skin), and then scoop them out with a melon baller and spoon, and roll them in cocoa or whatever (cinnamon, hazelnut, etc). That part is the messiest and you might want to wear gloves. (or if you're like me you just lick the chocolate off your hands after you are done). If you soak your hands in ice water every few minutes, you'll have less chocolate all over your hands.

    For different flavors you boil things with the cream- so yesterday I made some espresso flavored and chai tea flavored ones, the first by boiling espresso (in a cheesecloth) in the cream (and I added about a tsp of espresso into the chocolate too) and the second by throwing a few chai tea bags into the cream.

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  3. does B know you put pictures of him in his underwear on the internet? :-P

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  4. actually yes, I showed him the pics and asked if I could post them on my blog(s) before I did :)

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  5. You are sooo nesting. You're an 8 on the estrogen meter. Tell me how the pregnancy book is ;)
    p.s. I want to eat all your food.
    p.p.s. My new place has a patio where we can smoke :)
    p.p.p.s. Dude, 2 hours, you so have to visit me there!

    See you at the BBQ! Woot!

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