How To

Homemade Marshmallow Creme

August 30, 2012 by Lynsey 1 Comment

There are staples I keep on hand at all times; I have my cooking staples and my baking staples. Since I am a fan or s’mores and marshmallows, one of my baking staples is a jar (or 2) of marshmallow creme (fluff). It is rare that I don’t have a jar on hand, but there have been a few times where I have been without one of my beloved staples. So what do you do when you want marhmallow-y goodness and you have no marshmallow creme? Make your own!

Did you know you could make your own marshmallow creme? Well, I did…but I didn’t. I’ve gone through the steps of making the creme before, but it was just part of a process to get to point B. The process is incredibly simple and takes hardly anytime to put together. The next time you have a hankering for s’more brownies, s’more cookies, or maybe even some fluffernutter sandwiches whip up a batch of this marshmallow creme and bake away!

Homemade Marshmallow Creme

Ingredients:

3/4 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup corn syrup
1/4 Cup water
Pinch salt
2 Large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 Tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small saucpan combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt and place over medium-high heat. Carefully attach a candy thermometer on the side of the pan. Heat, stirring occassionally, until the temperature on the candy thermometer reads 240 F.

Meanwhile, place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the temperature of the sugar mixture approaches it’s endpoint begin whipping the egg whites on medium-high until soft peaks begin to form. Once the peaks begin to form, reduce speed to low.

Once the temperature of the sugar mixture reaches 240 F, immediately remove from heat. Slowly and carefully pour the syrup, in a steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl until it’s completely incorporated.*

Once all of the syrup has been incorporated, increase the mixing speed to high and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form and the mixture has cooled significantly, about 6-7 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat an additional 2 minutes. Use immediately or store in an airtight container and refrigerate for upto 2 weeks.

*Make sure the syrup is incorporated slowly to ensure the egg whites don’t cook during the mixing process.

Recipe source: Marshmallow Madness by Shauna Server

Poached Eggs- A Tutorial

March 28, 2012 by Lynsey 1 Comment

Have you ever been to one of those fancy schmancy restaurants that serve brunch? If so, I’m sure you’ve seen items on the menu such as eggs benedict or croque madames, as well as multiple other items that include poached eggs. There’s just something about poached eggs that turn a regular, everyday meal into a “special” or fancy (feeling) meal. Poached eggs are a simple way to dress up any breakfast or brunch plate. The flavor combinations are endless; use them to top roasted tomatoes, bacon cups, asparagus, various types of salads, or even toast-your options are only limited to your imagination.

Since poached eggs are typically seen in the breakfast and brunch type setting, which aslo means they are typically seen in smaller bistros or a more upper-end restaraunt, they have the reputation of being difficult to make. This mindset about poached eggs is definitely a misconception. The process is fairly simple, utilizing minimal tools. Remember, practice makes perfect and if you don’t nail it the first time then try again. Practice patience and take your time and you too can make a perfect poached egg to top anything your heart desires!

There are as many egg poaching methods as there are types of eggs and egg cooking techniques. I am not a pro at egg poaching, by any means. This method, however, is the method that works best for me!

How to poach an egg

Ingredients/tools-

Eggs, very cold
Water
2 Tsp white vinegar
1 Tsp Kosher salt
Large saucepan
Small bowl or ramekin

Directions/how to-

Fill a large saucepan with water until it’s about 2 inches deep. Place the pan over medium heat. Add the vinegar and salt to the water.
*The addition of vinegar to the water helps to tighten the egg.

Allow the water to become extremely hot, about 190. At that temperature the water will be on the verge of boiling, there will be the small bubbles on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat very slightly so ensure water does not boil

*Do not allow water to come to a bowl or even a simmer. If the water does begin to boil, reduce heat so boiling subsides.

Crack a very cold egg into a small bowl.

*This will help to ease the egg gently into the hot water.

Using the handle of a spoon, gently stir the water so it begins to swirl, this is called the whirlpool method. This is a very important step in egg poaching.

*This method helps the whites to come together and wrap around the yolk.

Gently slide the egg out of the bowl into the middle of the whirlpool.

*Your egg will look like a scary, hot mess for only a moment…DON’T panic. It will begin to come together (because of the whirlpool) and become a perfectly poached egg!

Turn off heat, cover the pan and allow to sit for 3-4 minutes. I like my yolks a little on the runny side, so 3-4 minutes is perfect for my liking. I you prefer them to be a little more set, allow for 4-5 minutes of cooking time.

*Do not peak during this time. Allow the egg to have some privacy during it’s hot salt bath.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the egg from the water bath to a tea towel lined plate, if serving immediately. Alternately, if serving at a later time transfer egg to an ice water bath. Eggs can be store in an ice bath for up to 8 hours. Reheat before serving by placing in warm water for 1 minute.

Gently trim any excess whites, that didn’t quite form around the yolk before serving. Just to make it pretty! We all like pretty food, right?

Pantry Organization

January 4, 2012 by Lynsey 2 Comments

Do you ever find yourself walking into your pantry, looking around, cringing and then walking out in frustration? Frustration of not being able to find anything. Frustration of clutter, unorganization, and pure chaos? I know I have found myself in this situation many times, not just with my pantry either. Let’s face it, we all have good intentions of keeping everything neat and tidy and in it’s own special place. But even with the best of intentions we don’t always succeed because, well, life happens. With the new year, I decided to start things off by getting everything back in place.

There are many new recipes and techniques I want to attempt this year and I thought it would be much easier to accomplish with a clean and organized pantry where I can easily access the items I need. I have had every intention of cleaning out and reorganizing my pantry but I honestly just haven’t gotten around to it, until now. I am so happy with how it turned out. It’s amazing how much difference some time, cleaning and organization make. Now there won’t be anymore boxes, packeges or bags of stuff being pushed to the back of the shelves and forgotten forever.

I promise organization can be accomplished! I am embarressed of what my pantry was before but because you are all so very important to me I am going to swallow my pride and show you my mess. Brace yourselves…

This was my pantry before. I promise it didn’t start out like this. It started out nice, neat and very organized but as time goes on and multiple people enter your pantry things tend to get put back in the incorrect place and stuck here and there. Before you know it your stuck with an unorganized closet of chaos.

Let’s fast forward a few hours, add new shelf liner, wipe down the walls with bleach (it’s nice to start completely fresh), Elfa cabinet sized drawers, various sizes of shelving inserts, a couple of hooks for my aprons, and you’ve got my new and very organized pantry!

Take a little time to strategize. Look at the space you have to work with and envision how you would like it to look. Use the internet to browse organizational websites, I LOVE the Container Store, they not only have endless options for storage but ideas and inspiration as well. They would be a great starting point to help bring your vision to life. Think about what the space is used for now, what is your biggest complaint about the functionality of it, then find the type of shelf, drawer or organizer that will best fit your needs.

Now that you’ve got a plan, ather and buy your supplies. There’s nothing worse than getting started on a project only to find that you don’t have something you need.

Now that you have all of your supplies, now it’s time to get started. Don’t get overwhelmed, just take it one shelf or cabinet at a time. Remove everything, wipe your shelves and walls down, and replace the shelf liner if desired. Once everything is removed from your project area, place your shelving inserts and drawers to get a visual and once you have everything how you want, secure it with the supplies that are provided.

Now that your project area is organized and how you want it, now it’s time to organize your products and put them back in their new home. Be sure to get rid of everything that is out of date or that you won’t use…now is the time to get ride of stuff, don’t put it back if you know you won’t use it!

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