coming soon - lime curd

Just don't mistake it for Lime Crud.

the best zucchini bread - that's in the world

After staying up all night to watch the ball drop, or in some places a large shoe, a giant peach, or a live possum, you want something super delicious to wake up to. And this, is that somethin' something. Not only is this really tasty, but you can prepare this days before you want to serve. Actually I'll say my peace now, it does taste better if you wait for like two days. The bread sinks down into the tin, and the flavors meld together, I think it's just superb. But please don't wait more than two days because then you will have a different kind of green thing running through your bread, and it won't be the zucchini.

coming soon - the best zucchini bread

What's so special about this zucchini bread? Years and years ago, long before whisks and spoonulas my aunt's grandmothers and their mothers before them made zucchini bread for the entire village. Well I'm not sure about that village part but I do know this recipe is at least twice as old as I am maybe even a little older. I stole this bread from my Auntie Rosa's cookbook last week when we made this together, and I have to say, it was delicious. We quadrupled the recipe and made ten loaves to give to all of our family members. I've never made zucchini bread before and I have to say not only were they easy to make but they're healthy and beautiful. I think it was because I had really good teacher. This is the perfect gift for your favorite grandparents or friends that you want to live for a very long time. The bread is lightly sweet and very moist, you have to stick around for this one. I'll probably have the recipe out in a few short days so... And as always,

Chow!

strawberry mousse chiffon cake - brought to you from the mystical lands of atlanta!

Chiffon sounds interesting right? I bet it was the only reason why clicked this link. Well sorry to disappoint you but, a chiffon cake is nothing but a sponge cake in French. Disappointing right…wait, I bet you don’t even know how to make a sponge cake. Hypocritess ;) This cake is light and fluffy, layered with my Five-Second Strawberry Mousse, and covered with whipped cream. For the holidays I flew to Atlanta to see how the great bakers there bake their cakes, and to also share this delicious chow-fection to the entire world (otherwise known as the 5 people who have visted this blog and my immediate family). The recipe demonstrated in this blogpost is none other than of famous Chinese chef, Victor Hsu, also known as my uncle, and also referred to as “who is that guy?” Well you would be right, he is a nobody, but there’s one thing he is known for, Chiffon Cakes. After smuggling from Taiwan the secrets to making perfectly light, fluffy chiffon, he perfected it with his own mad scientific flair. Littered below are his many pro tips on how to make a perfect chiffon cake that will surely impress your relatives and friends this holiday season. So without two twists of a peacock’s feathers let’s get bakin’ so we can get cakin’.

Uncle Vic begins his recipe by weighing out his dry and wet ingredients. For me I don't have a digital scale, or any scale for that matter, so in the recipe below I converted all the measurements to volume, however a part of me agrees that weight measurements would be more precise. Once your mise en place is complete we can begin to mix the meringue for the cake. The thing with a chiffon cake is that it doesn't have baking soda nor baking powder in the batter. For a cake to rise you need one of the two components, a mechanical leavener, or a chemical leavener. Usually in cakes and cookies we add baking soda or powder, these are called chemical leaveners. When they are baked they cause a chemical reaction in the batter that rises the cake. In things like puff pastry, or chiffon cake there are certain components in the dessert that cause it to rise. In puff pastry it is because of all the layers of fat and flour that expand when they're stack on top of each other. In chiffon cakes the air pockets in the meringue expand with steam causing the cake to rise. These are called mechanical leaveners. 

coming soon - strawberry mousse chiffon cake

It's been a while and I've been meaning to tell you but I've been on vacation in the far east for the past week. I know so exotic. Well by far I mean having to fly on an airplane, and by east I mean Atlanta. But that's okay I like Atlanta you guys are cool. Anyways while I was there a certain celebrity chef took me through the makings of his famous Chiffon Cake. I won't say who yet, but let's just say he's up and coming. Stay with me for his light and airy Lemon Chiffon Cake layered with my 5 Second Strawberry Mousse, you'll feel like your taste buds have sprouted wings and floated to heaven. So I hope you guys give this one a go, and I'll be sure to have the recipe up in a day or two. And as always, 

Chow!

nutella no-bake crumb bars - "fudge"ddaboudit

Are you cheap? Is it too much effort for you to get a shopping cart so you end up carrying all your groceries? Are you hungry? If you answered yes to any of the questions above  then, this chow-fection is perfect for you. Not only is this easy to make, but you can have better than store-bought fudge in under ten minutes. Yes, it's amazing what sugar, butter, and chocolate can do in the same amount of time it takes for you to take a dump. And although these bars are certainly fudgy I wouldn't necessarily call them fudge. When you sink your teeth into these bars the chocolate automatically melts on the tongue, but the oats provide a nice chewy, nutty finish. If the kids are itching to give the family gifts this is the perfect activity to get them involved. Not only are these super easy to make, but you're friends and family will finally know that you have the best kids in the family. So scroll down and check these out!

To start I am going to bring my sugar, butter, cream, and cocoa to a boil over medium heat. Once the butter has completely melted and the mixture boils, keep it on the heat for another minute. 

coming soon - nutella no-bake crumb bars

I cannot stress how easy this is. I mean you could literally have holiday fudge in less than 10 minutes. These bars are perfect for giving as gifts, or just for you selfish indulgent people. So I hope you check back for this amazing holiday chow-fection. And as always, 

Chow!

crunchy chewy orange chocolate cookies - happy national cocoa day!

Instead of the traditional single bite shot, I decided to go with the more daring double bite.

As you all know on December 12th it's National Cocoa Day! So in recognition of this truly special food holiday, I decided to make a chow-fection that embodied everything I love about cocoa, while presenting it in a shape we all know and love. Thus the birth of the Crunchy Chewy Orange Chocolate Cookie, and the extra fold in my love handle. But we can work that off later however there's no better excuse to make these cookies other than right now. Using a little bit of my scientific knowledge I was able to combine my two favorite textures to create a cookie unlike any you have ever tried, so stay tuned for the secret shortly. But without further-ado let's get started! 

To begin I'm going to whisk together my All Purpose (AP) flour, my salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder. You don't need to dirty a sifter when whisking proves just as effective. 

coming soon - crunchy chewy orange chocolate cookies

I'll be showing you how to make one of the easiest, most delicious cookies on the market, Chewy Chocolate Orange Cookies! Inspired by my love for oranges and chocolate there's no way you could mess up this recipe. Well, unless you mistook the sugar for salt. Or if you forgot to turn on the oven and waited all day for you cookies to bake. Or if you listened to a song that was not christmas related while you were baking these cookies. But other than that, as long as you don't do the three mentioned before, there's practically nothing that can stop in your way. So stay tuned for that. And as always, 

Chow!

chewy coconut bars - the brownie's lesser known cousin

The holidays lend me so much to be grateful for, my family, good health, and coconut bars! Well, less than good health after you eat them. But isn't that what the holidays are about. We suffer and scrape by on atkins and or weight watchers for the better part of the year just so we can eat chewy coconut bars today. This holiday season don't you think your family deserves to indulge a little, and what better way to gain back those 3 pounds than with this scrumptious chow-fection.

coming soon - chewy coconut bars

Maybe I have a coconut fetish, or I accidently here I am again will another coconut recipe. In the coming days I'll be showing you the perfect holiday, work, potluck offering that will not only be delicious, but easy to make. These relatives of the fudgy brownie are chewy and gooey, filled with coconut and chocolate. After a heavy thanksgiving meal you want to have something you can carry around while you do your black friday shopping. These bars are so delicious that it's been reported to be deployed to distract shoppers from deals. Reported by me. Nevertheless I hope you make these for your big day, please stay tuned, and as always,

Chow!

assorted macaroons - welcome to america

Oh boy! Macaroons! I sure love me some of those mini french sandwich cookies that are soooo in style right now. You're really showing us how to make those Chef Chow? EH-UH! That was supposed to be the sound a buzzer makes. No I'm showing you how to make the american coconut macaroons. You know the you always shy away from because they're way too sweet macaroons. The only difference is, mine are delicious!

Now I know not all of you think that they're overly sweet but I do, and so do the members of my weekly, overly sweet macaroons club. But you don't have to worry because I found two tricks to cut the sweetness of the macaroons so they taste just perfect! The first trick is to toast your coconut flakes before you actually bake the cookies. This way the initial sugar from the sweetened coconut gets caramelized, and all you're left with is a deep coconut flavor. My second tip is to add different flavorings. Macaroons are often too sweet because there's no flour or butter to absorb the sugar. Adding citrus or nuts can balance the flavor, and not to mention show people that you aren't just a one-trick pony. 

sweetened coconut flakes - better than store bought

Now if you've been following me since the last post on how to prepare a coconut, you probably have a container of coconut meat hidden in your fridge so take that out now. To turn this fresh coconut into sweetened coconut that you buy from the store you need to boil a cup of water. Add 16 teaspoons of granulated sugar and mix until dissolved, shut the stove off. While your water was boiling you should've taken your coconut and shredded it on a grater or in a food processor. You want small flakes of coconut, it depends on how merciful you are feeling today. Pack cups of coconut and throw them into the sugar water. You should have 4 cups. Buy more if you don't, and eat the remainder if you have extras. The coconut should absorb all of that liquid. Spread them on a lined cookie sheet until dried. To speed up the process every thirty minutes shuffle the flakes around with a spatula.

coming soon - assorted macaroons

Okay I promise this is the last time this will happen. Actually i can't promise that, but I'll try my best. Originally I was going to use the coconut I prepared in the post before to make my delicious Coconut Bundt Cake but, as you can probably guess there has been a slight change of plans.  I thought about it and I decided to make my potluck famous, assortment of macaroons. That's right!, why make only one type of something if they're this easy to make. This is definitely an easier party dessert than a cake, and you don't have to worry about slicing it. I know, I was hoping to eat cake too, maybe next year. But nevertheless these macaroons will be the spotlight of your next dinner party so I hope you give these a try. The post will be up in the next day or earlier so keep checking back for that. And as always, 

Chow!