pistachio cherry crumble - let's get crackin'

I'm not sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios nor do I even think they know this blog exists (actually I'm positive they don't), nevertheless this post is going to be me trying my best to get their attention. So let's get crackin' (ohhh...I see what you did there).

If there was an award for biggest pistachio fan, my grandma would win it twice over blindfolded with her hands tied to her back. She is a pistachio fanatic, the quickest pistachio huller I've ever seen. Recently, and by recently I mean a couple hours ago, we bought a 3 pound bag of pistachios and within that time from the car to the house half the bag was gone. Keep in mind that this feat would be impressive for anybody, let alone a small, 80-something year old chinese lady. She pops those quicker than tic-tacs. Sometimes, even two at a time. But in all seriousness my grandma is wonderful...pistachios. Okay even I thought that one was lame, I'm gonna move on to the cooking. 

coming soon - pistachio cherry crumble

Cherries are bubbling away under a crumble of pistachios and butter. Check back soon. Unless I already posted it and it's right above in which you should scroll back up. 

frozen yogurt shortbread bars + coconut + chocolate

I want to say thank you to all the kind people at Foodista and Food Gawker who featured this measly, blurry picture filled blog on their sites. How you inflate my ego internet. Now I can't walk down the produce aisle without knocking down apples. (So with the cooking unrelated introductions aside, so do the cooking related introductions begin)

In the beginning of the summer of my sixteenth year, I made Frozen Yogurt Shortbread Bars (and watched TFIOS). I'm sure all of you have seen The Fault in our Stars in movies, but for those of you who haven't what's wrong with you. But, this blog isn't about movies or whether if Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort are dating, it's about food, good food, especially fudge swirled creamy coconut frozen yogurt layered upon delicious buttery crunchy shortbread food. 

This chow creation was born out of my desperation to escape the beating heat of the San Diegan sun. And I know what some of you may be thinking, "I didn't know San Diego had it's own sun?" Troll much. You don't know how many trolls spite me and mock my ambiguous 10th grade wishy-washy grammar. Anyways. People of the internet and beyond, before you can graduate to Frozen Yogurt Shortbread status, you need to learn how to make the veins of Easy Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce that is swirled throughout this dessert. For those of you who need me to say, click the orange link.

coming soon - frozen yogurt shortbread bars + coconut + chocolate

Although it may not look like I'm trying, but I'm trying to shorten these titles. These recipes are just so jammed pack with awesomeness that I can't find a way to downsize to just 35 characters (which as you all know is the "preferred" length of a title). Titles are my enemy. Good thing Frozen Yogurt Shortbread Bars + Coconut + Chocolate lend succor to title anxiety. Stay with Chow. And as always, 

Chow!

easy hot fudge sauce + coconut + sea salt

Remember when you were a kid and you used to brazenly cascade pump after pump of chocolate sauce over your ice cream, beautifully unaware of its affects on your mind and body. Before now, the health conscious population has avoided the indulgent world that I live in. Finally a chocolate sauce that will take away all that worry, and bridge the gap between health and food. That's right this is vegan. Say what?

coming soon - easy hot fudge sauce + coconut + sea salt

There is so much hate and animosity in this world. It's no duty for one person to burden themselves with all this suffering - that's fudge sauce's job. 

Remember when you were a kid and you used to brazenly cascade pump after pump of chocolate sauce over your ice cream, beautifully unaware of its affects on your mind and body. Before now, the health conscious population has avoided the indulgent world that I live in. Finally a chocolate sauce that will take away all that worry, and bridge the gap between health and food. 

This is vegan, "healthy" (as healthy as a chocolate sauce can get), and unequivocally delicious. Stay tuned foodies and health nuts of the world. This is coming out soon so do not flinch. Technically you can flinch. It'll be on the internet forever. Well I could take it off after a half-a-second, which is the technical measure of a flinch. But that would be mean. Just stay tuned. And as always, 

Chow!

buttermilk buckle + grape + blueberry + streusel

Confession Time ... there were no laboratories, nor any scientific agricultural breakthroughs, simply put no Grapeberry, I lied. I deceited you and since the time I last wrote I have been feeling an excruciating  amount of guilt. It's a good thing I have this cake consoling me, unfeigned in its generosity and care for my situation, lending its moist, fruity, buttery self to my buckleless albatross. Unless...perhaps I did you all a favor. Isn't our world filled with enough sadness. What is this world lacking but a new genetically engineered fruit to keep our fruit bowls and buttermilk buckles exciting...yeah I'm not even going to try. Forgive me? :-)

coming soon - grapeberry buttermilk buckle

At the Chow Creations laboratories, we've finally engineered the perfect combination of grape and blueberry humbly known as the Grapeberry. The perfect convergence of your two favorite fruits, now together in one epic, berry-bursting, moist, tender, buttery, streusel-y explosion. Mark my words. In a couple months, this will be known as the recipe that sparked the nationwide grapeberry trend. Stay tuned folks for food history. And as always, 

Chow! 

peanut butter swirled blondies - sweet | salty | creamy

And tilt your head to the right, just a little more...perfect. You'll notice this is the first time in Chow Creations history that the text is slanted in a title picture. I'm trying to stay relatable with the new influx of hipster viewers I'm getting. Hopefully everyone is copacetic (look it up) with the new changes; meet me in the comments.

Blondies are delicious as is in their argent luster. However, if you swirl in some peanut butter you're looking at one satiny, chewy, heavenly hell of a treat. Veins of rich peanut butter course through this dense and chewy bar; adding a salty sweet layer of complexity to this, what would otherwise be, mundane bar. 

coming soon - peanut butter swirled blondies

Like my good cyber-friend Jessica Hylton, proprietor and writer of Jessiker Bakes|The Blog says, "Peanut butter takes brownies to a whole new level of creaminess". And I agree, but I also wanted to know if the same applied to blondies. Yes, the achromatic brother of the brownie, and second cousin of the Chewy Coconut Bar. Blondies are delicious as is in their argent luster. However if you whip up some peanut butter and swirl it in, you are looking at one hell of a treat. The post should be out momentarily (two to three business days). And as always, 

Chow!

coming soon - thyme and black pepper cheez-its

This is a cool twist on a familiar snack. You'd be surprised how easy these are to make, and how much more delicious they taste than the store-bought variety. And as always, 

Chow!

spicy asian cucumber salad - sweet | cool | spicy

If there was only one thing I would want people to remember about my momma, it would be that she is an amazing cook. Okay...she's also kind, and funny, and all these other things, but really, people don't come over for the jokes, they come over for the food (sorry momma). And this is one of the "secret" dishes that drives droves of hungry folk through our dinky paint-scraped doors every weekend. 

This spicy cucumber salad is the perfect side dish and accompaniment to...everything. Spicy, crunchy, sweet, refreshing, and probably best of all, it takes 5 minutes max to make. 

the best lemon bars in the world - a classic perfected

Lemon Bars are one of those classic desserts you can find in about any of the supermarkets these days. What's different about my lemon bars is they actually taste good. I know, surprising (not the part about my lemon bars tasting good, the part about lemon bars tasting good at all). Sweet without being cloyingly so, buttery without being too rich, and certainly not dense. If I were to use one word to describe these lemon bars it would be, perfect. The dilemma chefs have always had when making lemon bars, was getting a firm enough top, without sacrificing a crispy bottom. With this recipe you won't have to give up any of that. This is the perfect summer dessert, gift, or picnic item for your next special occasion (or just for everyday eating). It's absolute perfection in a bar, so let's get started (before I go off on one of my tangents). By the way, did I tell you that I finally got a twitter account. @chefchowblog #awesome #madcookingskills #i'mnotmadatyou #i'msorry #don'tcry #nowyou'remakingmecry. Why didn't you stop me!

Like many of our recipes we'll start with the butter. You want to cut the butter into small chunks and put it on a plate in the freezer to harden. Whenever you're baking, often times the temperature of your butter will dictate the success of whatever you're making. Recipes that call for melted butter (i.e. cookies) are intended to have a chewy outcome. Desserts that require the butter to be cold (i.e. pies, pastries) mean the end product will one of these three, crispy, crunchy, or flaky (it could even be all three, oh my). The more you chow.

coming soon - the best lemon bars in the world

What constitutes the title "The Best in the World"? Well if we're talking Lemon Bars you should expect a buttery, crispy crust with a silky lemon-brimming filling, and a light dusting of powdered sugar. All of these components working in precise balance and harmony. In a dessert so famously known, you have to be sure everything about it is perfection. These bars bode the perfect ratio of filling to crust, perfect sweetness to tartness, and they're exquisitely rich without being heavy. Though I'm still writing the post for these, please be sure to check back soon. And as always, 

Chow!