2010 May

Hoisin BBQ Chicken with Tropical Salsa

May 31, 2010 By cheri 4 Comments

Summer entertaining is here. Since I am not a meat eater, I am always looking for new ways to cook chicken. This Hoisin BBQ chicken with Tropical Salsa is one of the new ways I am cooking it this summer. The hoisin sauce is sweet yet spicy. The salsa has pineapple, mango, strawberries and red pepper. This one has just a hint of ginger but you could add cilantro or mint if you want to. They are both easy recipes, one bowl each. Just a bit of chopping and stirring. You can make both earlier in the day, the Hoisin [...]

Filed Under: Chicken, Fruit, Grill Tagged With: barbecue sauce, bbq, bbq chicken, bbq sauce, chicken breast, chickens, cooking chicken, cuisine, food and drink, hoisin, hoisin sauce, salsa, sauces, tropical salsa, vegan cuisine, vegetarian cuisine, vietnamese cuisine

Salted Dark Chocolate Brownies

May 29, 2010 By cheri Leave a Comment

It is Memorial Day weekend and I have a great Salted Dark Chocolate Brownie to share with you. I could combine salty and sweet all day. There is something about that contrast that I love, similar to what I made earlier this week of peanut butter and chocolate. These are made in one pan so they are easy on the kitchen cleanup. To celebrate the beginning of a long weekend, last night I topped these with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for my niece and nephews. If you are looking for some last minute recipes for the weekend you [...]

Filed Under: Dessert Tagged With: brownie, brownies, chocolate, dark chocolate, salted

Flourless Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

May 27, 2010 By cheri 1 Comment

I have been on a bit of a cookie roll lately. Peanut butter and chocolate are such a tasty combination. I loved Reese’s Peanut Butter cups as a kids. I saw a recipe for flowerless Peanut Butter Cookies and decided to give them a try. I made more than a few adaptations but these were super easy. One bowl, a few minutes to put together and into the oven they go. They are small little bites making the perfect little snack. If I was a SAH they would make a perfect after school treat. My volunteers and co-workers thought they [...]

Filed Under: Cookies Tagged With: american cuisine, butter, chocolate dipped, Cookies, dipped cookies, dipped peanuts, flourless, flourless chocolate, flourless peanut butter cookie, food and drink, peanut butter, peanut butter chocolate, peanut butter cookie, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter cup, peanuts, reese's peanut butter cups, sugar

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

May 21, 2010 By cheri 2 Comments

These spicy grilled shrimp are addictive. They might not look like much but these are bursting with flavor. The paste is spicy and sweet with a bit of tartness from the lemon juice. The picture doesn’t really do them justice as all I had with me was my Iphone. I like shrimp but not necessarily enough to cook with them often. This dish changed my opinion. The sweet and spicy flavors make them addictive. One is not enough. Summer is right around the corner and time for outdoor entertaining. These could be a main course served with rice and grilled [...]

Filed Under: Appetizer, Main Dish, Seafood, Shellfish Tagged With: Grill, grilled shrimp, shrimp, spicy shrimp

Birthdays and Vanilla Cupcakes

May 17, 2010 By cheri 2 Comments

What is better than celebrating those you love? May is birthday month for my nephews and for the party I decided to whip up Vanilla Cupcakes topped with a vanilla frosting. One of my nephews is born at the beginning and the other at the end so we party through out the month. I love celebrating birthday’s and honoring them with homemade touches. I used a recipe by Martha Stewart for the cupcakes. I took some of the batter to create a small individual birthday cake to put the candles in and get the classic candle blowing shot. I [...]

Filed Under: Cake Tagged With: birthday, birthday cake, birthday cakes, birthday month, buttercream, cake decorating, cakes, celebrating, culture, cupcake, cupcakes, cupcone, frosting, martha stewarts, vanilla cupcake, vanilla frosting

Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Raspberry Filling

May 3, 2010 By cheri 1 Comment

Today was the day of firsts. I made my first batch of Chocolate Macarons and I conquered Caramel. It was a good day. A few months back I was supposed to go to Tartlette’s Macarons class up in LA. My dog was recovering from surgery and I wasn’t able to go. I look at the beautiful pictures on other bloggers sites but have heard they are difficult to make. Reading David’s post on his Chocolate Macarons it didn’t seem to be that hard so I decided to jump in and try. I have to admit I was pleased with my [...]