I chose to make the papas rellenas. The recipe had ingredients I would have never thought would go together well in the same dish: hard boiled eggs, meat, raisins, olives??? Curious, I followed the recipe with only one substitution, which was to use ground turkey instead of beef (which I don’t eat). My filling was a touch on the spicy side, so I accompanied it with some very simple sour cream mixed with just a dash of allspice and cumin.

It was delicious! I encourage you to give this challenge a try. You can find the recipe and some fantastic photos of other cooks’ completed challenges at The Daring Kitchen.

First, when possible I used seasonal ingredients. Although in much of the country nothing is really growing in February, most of these ingredients are growing in the southwest and southeast. Here in sunny San Diego, we are lucky enough to have wonderful fresh local produce all year round! But for those of you shivering under several feet of snow in the Northeast, these are some things you are still likely to find in the stores during the winter.

Second, while I want the menu to be exciting and delicious, I don’t want it to be overwhelming or too challenging for the average home chef. You won’t spend all day in the kitchen–you can spend most of it with your special valentine! Some things can even be made the day before.

Third, I wanted the food to inspire romance! We kept it light, choosing a mild white fish, without too much garlic, pepper or cream so after dinner you and your valentine will be ready for whatever comes next instead of feeling stuffed and bloated. I even included some ingredients that are reported to enhance excitement and stimulation–a.k.a. aphrodisiacs. These include almonds, basil, carrots, garlic, vanilla, raspberries, and of course chocolate!

The menu begins with an apertif created by Michelle, the French Kiss (read more about it and get the recipe at VinPrestige). After enjoying your delicious cocktail, warm up with an appetizer of creamy vegetable soup with a cheddar biscuit on the side. The light and fluffy biscuit is made with yogurt and is a perfect compliment to the herbs and vegetables in the soup. The soup can be made the day before and reheated before serving. Michelle suggests pairing this course with a Sancerre like the 2007 Chateau de Sancerre. Another option would be a white Bordeaux.

The main course is a roasted cod fillet with haricots verts and toasted almonds. Michelle paired this course with a white burgundy with some creaminess and an oak backbone such as 2007 Gilles Bouton & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “La Garenne”. While this dish looks fancy, it’s incredibly easy to make! The green beans can be made ahead of time and kept warm, and the fish can be prepared in the roasting pan before you sit down to enjoy your appetizers. The quick break between courses while the fish roasts will give you time to digest and enjoy the rest of your wine.

Finish the meal with a raspberry cheesecake brownie for two and a tawny port like the Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny (other options include Quinta do Noval 10 Year Tawny or Graham’s 10 Year Tawny). Sharing a dessert is lovely way to end the meal. After indulging in raspberries and chocolate you may want to leave the dishes for later and immediately move your dinner party to the couch for some quality embracing. I won’t judge. The cheesecake brownies can (and should) be made at least six hours ahead of time, preferably the night before.

These recipes (with the exception of the brownies) are for two servings, but feel free to double them if you decide to make them again for more people!

Click here to download a pdf of the entire menu with recipes.

Or view the recipes for the individual courses online:

Vegetable Cream Soup
Cheddar Biscuits
Roasted Cod with Haricots Verts and Almonds
Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Continue reading about the wine and cocktail pairings for this meal at VinPrestige.

Source: Kitchen Kitch by Taschen

Hey if you’re tired of pulling out your collection of shopping bags with bank and real estate agent logos on them that you’ve gotten as gifts from every business in town, or if you need something more portable (these fit in your purse!), get in touch and I’ll happily print up some bags for you.

What better time to do this month’s Daring Bakers’ challenge than for Thanksgiving dinner? The pasta frolla was the required part of the challenge, and then it was up to me to decide what to put in it. I considered apples and pears, berries, cream and fresh fruit, but I finally settled on the pastry cream recipe suggested by the challenge host. I almost followed the recipe precisely, but I did increase the sugar a bit since it was advised that the tart was very lightly sweet, and I had a little less than 1/8 cup of heavy cream leftover from making pumpkin pie just minutes before, so I used that and enough low-fat milk to equal 500mL. Perhaps one day I’ll follow a recipe step by step without changing anything, but then what would be the creative fun in that?

I found myself wishing I had a pastry wheel to make prettier zig zag lattice. However I quickly remembered that a year ago on Thanksgiving I was wishing for a hot shower and some pepto bismol and realized that I have a lot to be thankful for. Straight-edged lattice aside, the finished crostata was delicious! It was a fun challenge and a tasty dessert that I’ll surely make again. Next time I’ll try one of these lovely lattice designs.

One thing I knew I wanted to do as soon as I returned from Cameroon was to join the Daring Kitchen. Last Monday I completed my first Daring Cooks challenge: Soufflé! I decided to wait until I flew home to Georgia to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday to make the soufflé for two reasons: first, I thought it would be fun to make my first soufflé with my mom and my sister; and second, I don’t have a mixer and making soufflé requires beating egg whites until they are stiff.

So having never made soufflé before, we decided to make two different kinds at once, and to make up our own recipes, modified from the delicious recipes provided by the challenge hosts. We started with a savory Spinach Garlic Parmesan Souffle. Although it could have used a scotch more salt, it was so creamy and delicious! The biggest issue was that there wasn’t enough of it. We barely got a chance to photograph it before it was devoured like a freshly killed antelope set upon by a pride of hungry lions. That poor soufflé didn’t stand a chance.

While the savory souffle was in the oven rising, we set to work making a raspberry chocolate souffle. That creamy blend of raspberries and chocolate smelled so good baking in the oven, and my stomach was still growling from not enough savory soufflé, it was all I could do to wait for it to be done. For this souffle, we used an 85% cocoa dark chocolate, which was a tad too bitter for some of our taste testers, so in making it again I’d probably use a slightly sweeter chocolate. We also threw in a dash of cayenne pepper, which my sister and I really liked, but my mom didn’t (her sensitive tongue protested the hint of heat).

I enjoyed this challenge so much and I can’t wait to make soufflé again. I think I’ll wait until I have a mixer of my own though. I’ve whipped up some heavy cream by hand in my time, but after seeing how much power went into beating those egg whites stiff, I’m saving up for this machine.

Recipe for Spinach Garlic Parmesan Souffle

Recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Souffle

‘Tis the season to carve pumpkins! After selecting the finest pumpkin in the patch and running my fingers across that big orange canvas into which hopes and dreams are carved, I picked up my tools and set to work. Behold, my Unicorn Double Rainbow Pumpkin! From the front you can see the glowing unicorn in all its magic and glory praising the sun. The full double rainbow all the way across the sky can only be viewed from the back, but I think 9 out of 10 readers will agree that it’s not as exciting as the unicorn.

After carving pumpkins, it’s time to toast some pumpkin seeds! Toasted Pumpkin seeds are so easy to make and they make quite a tasty snack. Here are some fun pumpkin seed facts (courtesy of wikipedia):

• They have been eaten in the Americas since the time of the Aztecs.
• They are good sources of protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and potassium.
• Eating pumpkin seeds may even be an effective preventative measure against anxiety attacks, depression and other mood disorders!

To make toasted pumpkin seeds, you need about a tablespoon of butter for each cup of seeds, and some spices, like cinnamon and sugar, or salt and chili powder. The possibilities are nearly endless! I decided to try making some spicy pumpkin seeds. I didn’t exactly measure anything while I was putting it together, so the measurements here are approximate:

Spicy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pumpkin seeds
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (plus additional for sprinkling)
• 1/8 tsp ground corriander

Preparation: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Rinse pumpkin seeds with water and drain well. In a bowl, mix together melted butter and spices. Pour pumpkin seeds into the bowl and toss to coat the seeds. Spread seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle additional salt over pumpkin seeds to taste. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring and turning the seeds occasionally.

If you have any other recipes for tasty toasted pumpkins seeds, feel free to share them!

Old-Fashioned Dis Cards help you say what’s on your mind with a touch of formality and class. The set of five cards comes with “You’re a Jerk!”, “You’re out of the band”, “Please don’t call me anymore”, “You might need therapy”, and “Dude, what is wrong with you?”. Honesty is the best policy!

If you have something special to say, say it with Robots with Roboccasion Cards! Messages include “Happy Birthday”, “Hey, Congratulations”, and “I’m sorry!”. All of the cards were screen printed using my Gocco screen printer on re-purposed leftover sample paper, and the envelopes are made of recycled paper. But hold on, the environmental train of awesome doesn’t stop there! The sets of cards come in a mailable, reusable fabric bag!

Since my shop was inactive while I spent the past two years in Africa taking bucket baths and teaching kids about the magic of computers, I have a backlog of approximately 463 ideas for new things to design and make. And while I was writing this blog post, I thought of 6 more. So I’m off to get started!

There is nothing like the satisfaction of making something with my own two hands. From choosing the perfect paper for someone’s wedding guestbook and stitching it all together to designing a custom pattern for a set of invitations and screen printing them, I love the process and the tools and of course the beautifully hand-crafted finished product.

Don’t get me wrong, I love making websites too. Each design medium is like a child of mine–I love each one for different reasons (and each have their own special frustrations) and I can’t possibly choose a favorite. Or if I do, I just can’t tell the others. (I’m your favorite, right mom?)

I added a new page to my website right up there between Portfolio and Blog: Handmade. This photo gallery shares some of my favorite things I’ve made by hand. It’s been two long years since I put my screen printer, my bookmaking tools and my other art supplies in storage before leaving for Cameroon. Now they are all unpacked and ready to be used again. If you have an upcoming special event and want some kick-ass invitations, send me an email at thryn@zzilch.com.

Motion Math is a new movement-based learning game for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Motion Math is the first learning game to fully leverage the unique sensors of mobile devices – the game makes estimating fractions an engaging, physical experience.

For Motion Math, I designed their logo and their website. The logo needed to say “dynamic, movement, fun, math!” To convey all of those things, I created the word “motion” out of the bouncing line which follows the plus sign as it falls into its place representing the ‘T’ in “Math.”

You can read more about Motion Math on their website, follow them on Twitter, and join their group on Facebook. Download the game and see how well you know your fractions. It’s pretty fun, even if you don’t have a math test this friday.