Category: Food and Beverage

Posted in Food and Beverage

Wookie Cookies

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

Happy May the Fourth!!!

I love science fiction and fantasy. I grew up watching Star Trek with my parents and later fell into Dr. Who and Star Wars. 

Now I’m not into it enough to get a tattoo for star wars, but it has a special place in my heart. 

I’d love to make an elaborate party and have everyone dress up in costumes. I would love to do a couple-costume with my partner. We would be the perfect R2-D2 and C-3PO. 

These cookies would be perfect for any Star Wars themed party or a Star Wars fan in your house. 

The Wookie Cookie is not a new idea. I’ve seen so many versions of this, and each one is so perfect. 

I started with a simple chocolate cookie recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla 
  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Chocolate frosting 
  • Sprinkles

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Mix in the egg and vanilla
  3. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. 
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until well combined.
  5. Place dough onto a lightly floured parchment paper or baking mat. Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness with a lightly floured rolling pin. 
  6. Use a cookie cutter to cut dough and press with a fork to make the fur.
  7. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before decorating. 
  8. Once cookies are cooled, decorate as desired. I used a piping bag without a tip to pipe Chewbacca’s sash and then added sprinkles. 
Posted in Food and Beverage

Bittersweet BBQ

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

I took a little break from the blog and California and ran to Vegas. This was a planned trip, and it came at the perfect time. I really needed to see my family and get away from life for a minute.

It was nice seeing my family, my brother and my nephew especially. I plan on going back out there in about three months.

You’re probably like, “Eryn, why are you going back out there in three months?” Well, my brother left to go to Boot Camp. It was no surprise that he joined a military branch. He was an ROTC in high school. He was ready to go to Boot Camp last year when he graduated high school in May, but something happened. Now he’s finally been able to go. 

I don’t know how his Boot Camp will be -the only understanding I have with any military training is from Mulan.

I very much doubt that’s what he’s going through. So he will be training to be a marine, and I’ve learned their Boot Camp is 13 weeks or something like that. All that time with no phone I would cry.

He requested that for his going away meal, my mom makes barbecue. I have been dying to learn how my mom makes her bbq sauce, so this was perfect. This sauce is so good; I’d put it on everything if I could.

She makes her brisket, spare ribs, and baby back ribs, all with the same sauce and rub.

I think I’ve mentioned a few times my mom doesn’t measure. So when I write down her recipes, it’s best to measure how you usually would.

My Mom’s Baby Back Ribs

The Rub

  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Paprika
  • Cumin
  • Red chili flakes
  • Chili powder
  • Two tablespoons of instant coffee (literally the only thing she measured)

The Sauce

  • One tablespoon of unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • one tablespoon of minced garlic
  • one cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • One tablespoon of yellow mustard or, as my mom said, a hint of mustard. 
  • Two tablespoons of the rub seasoning 
  • Brown sugar
  • Juice from the meat

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 
  2. Season the ribs with the rub before placing them in a baking dish, meat side down
  1. Wrap the dish with aluminum foil and bake for two hours until tender.
  2. Remove the foil, take the juice from the meat and ingredients for the barbecue sauce in a saucepan, and simmer for ten minutes until thickened.
  3. Pour sauce on the meat and place the meat back in the oven for thirty minutes.
  4. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
  5. Enjoy!!
I didn’t get the best picture of them finished. I was trying not to lose a hand to the hungry mob behind me.
Posted in Blogmas, Food and Beverage

The Fudging Best

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

Guess who finally learned what fudge is?

That’s right it’s me.

After years of watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas and the holiday cheermeister scene and the Whos shoving different foods down the Grinch’s throat I finally stopped and said what is fudge?

The fact that fudge is a cream candy made of butter, sugar, milk, and usually chocolate. It’s so easy to make.

I had to make some. Luckily a friend of mine had a recipe and was willing to share. Of course she was confused how I never had fudge before.

I’m sure I did as a kid but I didn’t remember.

So we made fudge and watched the Grinch.

And of course I have the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups dark chocolate chips,
  • 1 14- oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbsp caramel topping

Directions

  1. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving the ends hanging over the sides. Be sure to press it down.
  2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and condensed milk. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Return to the microwave and heat for an addition 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until smooth when stirred.
  3. Stir in the vanilla extract and half the walnuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread into a single, even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining walnuts.
  4. Warm the caramel sauce until its of spreading consistency. Drizzle over the fudge. Cover with foil and chill at least 2 hours or until Fudge sets completely.
  5. When the fudge has set, remove the dish from the refrigerator. Carefully run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen any fudge that is touching the side of the dish. Use the ends of the parchment paper to lift the fudge and place it on a cutting board.
  6. Cut the fudge into your desired size.
Posted in Blogmas, Food and Beverage

Santa Cookies

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

I know im late with this post but I had to see a woman about a cookie.

I confused a few people when I said I wanted Santa cookies instead of Christmas cookies a couple of days ago.

No they aren’t cookies that look like Santa.

These are called Santa cookies because they are Santa’s favorite cookies. I know you think your grandma’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies are his favorite, but they aren’t.

I would love to take credit for these, but they are a friend’s cookie recipe. 

My friend and her mom make these during the holiday season. 

While my family and I make dozens of tamales, my friend makes dozens of cookies. 

Now you can make these all year round, but they like to make them at Christmas time just cause it makes it more unique and gives us something to look forward to.

Now my friend hasn’t made the cookies yet. And I’m fiending for them. I can eat my body weight in these. So I begged for the recipe. The original recipe, not the version they currently use, makes 100 cookies at a time.

Luckily my friend’s mom took pity on me and gave me the recipe. And she even gave me permission to share it. I’m so excited i plan on making them tomorrow.

They did preface by saying it is not a unique cookie recipe and that they don’t know if the grandmother made this up or found it in a magazine. So humble of them to downplay it.

They make two types of cookies. The cookie base is the same for both Christmas and traditional versions. I love the classic cookie better. But maybe you prefer a more festive cookie. 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup shortening 
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed lightly
  • Two eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 6 oz chocolate chips

Directions 

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening on medium speed for one minute until smooth and creamy. 
  3. Gradually add in both sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.
  4. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into the wet ingredients and combine well. 
  5. Add chocolate chips and oats to the batter. (For the Christmas version, add half a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans and half a cup of shredded coconut, and replace half the amount of chocolate chips with festive M&Ms.)
  6. Shape the batter into small balls using your hands and place them on a greased baking sheet. Leave a few inches between cookies for them to spread.
  7. Bake for 13 to 18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on the tray for 3-4 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

Do you prefer to eat traditional cookies or something with an added festive flair? Either way, you’re going to love these cookies!

Posted in Food and Beverage

Chipotle Pumpkin Pasta

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

Of course, I wanted all my fall cravings when it was impossible to find them.

I usually always make a meal with pumpkin or butternut squash. I just couldn’t think of a fun recipe this year until now. And Trader Joe’s sells a pumpkin pasta sauce that I love, but once October is over, everything pumpkin-related gets swiped off the counters.

Literally try this next October. It’s amazing.

So for my Friendsgiving dinner on Monday, I decided to experiment. I wanted something significantly fall. I wanted that pasta sauce, but I couldn’t have that. So I decided to try to make my own sauce. A better sauce; something a little savory and a little spicy.

Ingredients

  • 3 TBS butter
  • salt and pepper
  • Italian seasoning
  • Minced garlic
  • onion powder
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 can chipotle peppers 

I recently noticed I stopped measuring seasonings and measured by a bit of this and a bit of that. I literally hate that about myself.

Instructions

  1. Heat a pot over medium heat, and add butter. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a skillet with the olive oil over medium heat, until the onion is soft and transparent.
  2. Add pumpkin puree, crushed tomatoes, and chipotle peppers, and seasonings. Stir until the ingredients are combined and smooth.
  3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Turn the heat down to low Add the heavy whipping cream and cook for a few more minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
  5. Cook your favorite pasta according to package directions, and serve with pumpkin sauce on top.  

I added spicy sausage to this, but you could also use chicken. For a little extra step I recommend adding a little grated Parmesan and a little cracked pepper, when you serve.

When I told everyone pumpkin was in the pasta, everyone kept expecting some sweet pumpkin-spiced mess. And I was like, guys; pumpkin is in the squash family.

The pumpkin and crushed tomatoes blend nicely with fresh herbs, then topped with heavy cream for the perfect creamy texture!

Posted in Birthdays and Other Celebrations, Food and Beverage

Today Deserves an Apple-ause

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

Happy Turkey Day!!!!

Now that I’m starting to recover from my food coma, I can finally type.

The Theme was apple. It was entirely by accident that almost every meal had apples in it.

My friend’s turkey recipe, which is to die, a recipe her mom used to make, covers the turkey in seasoning, chopped apples, onions, and celery. And I learned how to baste a turkey for the first time in my 25 years on earth.

The stuffing a friend made also had apples in it. It sounded bizarre at first, but honestly, it was delicious.

We had a salad full of apples and Asian pears. It was amazing. I never had Asian pears before and now I only want to eat them.

My contributions to dinner were a caramel apple cheesecake and a drink I made up that was supposed to taste like fall in your mouth. I had to make a perfect fall drink, which was a little tricky. I didn’t want too much pumpkin or apple, just the right amount of pumapple- or at least that’s what my friend called it after drinking some.

I love playing bartender when Hector isn’t available to be the personal bartender.

I made the drink base since I knew there would be kiddos and people who don’t drink.

  • 4 cups of apple cider
  • 8 oz of orange juice
  • 6 oz of lime or Lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice

For the nonalcoholic version, I used Cock and Bull ginger beer. Three ounces of ginger beer per glass. I recommend using a different drink, maybe pear juice, if you don’t like how spicy ginger beer is.

And for the alcoholic version, i was going for a margarita vibe. I used tequila- also three ounces per glass. Any tequila works; my personal choice of tequila is La Gritona. You can also replace the orange juice with an orange liqueur.

Since I’m extra, I like to garnish my drinks. I rimmed the glass with caramel and a cinnamon sugar mixture for both versions. Add ice and serve. This made about 8 cups.

Each cup is about 1/2 a cup of apple cider, so increase or decrease how much you would like to make based on that.

Posted in Food and Beverage

No Sleep, Just Coffee

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

It feels like I’ve been through so much this week and I haven’t it was just the stress from trying to get my damn Taylor Swift tickets.

I work the night shift, so I was prepared to stay up until 12 on Tuesday. I thought that noon would be the latest I’d get my tickets. So when the queue closed at 10 am, I had so much anxiety about going to sleep and not waking up in time to get the tickets at three that I just stayed awake the whole day, and I never went to sleep, so I was so tired that night at work. But I got the tickets so it was worth it!

But I made myself a bunch of coffee for work and took a pan dulce that my coffee and sugar rush kept my heart beating so hard I didn’t notice I was tired.

I’ve been craving Starbucks so much now, but between how expensive it is (my regular order is $8) and the fact that they are closed when I’m going to work, I learned to make coffee at home. Also, I just learned a PSL doesn’t have pumpkin in it.

Now I’m no coffee snob, but I want to justify making it at home and not spending the eight bucks. So my coffee has to be excellent.

I’ve been trying to make my own coffee syrups cuz coffee syrup is expensive. I can’t justify paying $6 for tiny bottles.

I got a lot of help on making coffee syrups from a lady I met at a farmers market. She even understood me when I expressed my love for pumpkin spice and how I hate peppermint mochas but love peppermint hot cocoa. I know that’s weird, but it’s how I feel.

So I’m going to share my recipe with you. It’s not perfect, but it works as a beginner syrup.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1½ cups water
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 cinnamon sticks

Directions

  • Combine both sugars and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, stirring until all sugar is dissolved.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon sticks. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until fully incorporated.
  • Remove from heat and strain through a mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Discard cinnamon sticks and transfer syrup to glass bottles. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
  • Strained pumpkin may also be saved for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.
Posted in Food and Beverage

Orange Tea

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

It’s the time of year when I get sick. Colds, sore throats, body aches, headaches, you name it, I get it. I don’t get sick often, so it hits me hard when I do. And I thought I could avoid the getting sick since I only go to work and home. I thought wrong.

Now I have a sore throat and a killer headache. I want a big cup of tea, a super-steamy shower or bath, and to lay down with every blanket known to man on top of me.

Nyquil and Orange Tea help me the most. But all the stores around me don’t have Nyquil. So I decided to make tea. Don’t be fooled by the pretty name; it is a bittersweet tea. It’s a home remedy my parents would make and force me to drink growing up.

Isn’t it funny when we grow up to like what our parents force us to eat or drink? It doesn’t always happen to this day I will never eat lima beans.

It is a pretty simple recipe. I take four cinnamon sticks, about three large oranges, one ginger root that I cut into thin slices, and honey for sweetness.

Add cinnamon sticks, gingers, and oranges to a pot of water. Cook on medium heat. When it reaches a rolling boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, and remove it from the heat. I let it cool for another 30 minutes before drinking. Add honey to individual glasses. It makes about four glasses.

What are some home remedies that work for you?

Posted in Food and Beverage

History in the baking

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

You guys, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like I can’t bake anymore.

I tried making muffins and failed. I tried making cookies that ended up being gross, and today, I tried making ice cream, and it came out chalky.

And it’s not the oven I used or the mixer I used. I even measured everything out. Like I was on a food network show.

It’s just me. I can’t bake. And I wasn’t being impatient when baking, and I wasn’t experimenting or anything; I was following basic recipes straight off the boxes. Recipes I’ve been making since I was a kid.

The thing is, I want to give up and never bake again. But I can’t. Have to make two dozen cupcakes for a Halloween party next week. How am I going to make cupcakes and frosting?

The last time I made something that was kind of decent was Elmo cupcakes I made a few weeks ago. And even those aren’t super great. I feel like I belong on that Netflix tv show Nailed it or Worst Bakers in America.

Posted in Food and Beverage

Mini Brownies and A Girls Night.

Posted on by Eryn 🐰

So I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately. Mentally and physically I have been feeling worse than ever. I quit my job and couldn’t really remember the last time I felt okay. I needed to feel like myself again and an excuse to hang out with my friend.

Luckily I got the chance when Peacock announced The Vampire Academy tv show. Now before you judge us for our amazing tv choices and having an entire watch party for this tv show. People plan Super Bowl parties months in advance this is no different.

My bestie and I are the types that get together every few months and play catch up on each other’s lives. It sucks that life gets busy and we’re both working adults and it seems harder sometimes to see each other, and we don’t text as often because we feel like we annoy the other person. Also, I’m a shitty texter.

Saying this best friend date was overdue is an understatement. Now all I knew was going into this that we would be watching tv and drinking wine. The only dessert I could think of that fit that theme was brownies, mini brownies, precisely.

Let me start by saying our friend date was so freaking cute. I felt so loved and spoiled. I will have to find a way to make her feel the same way at our next get-together.

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Note: my favorite buttermilk substitute is 1 cup whole milk and 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar or lemon juice for each cup of buttermilk. Mix together and let sit for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. I used two mini muffin pans and sprayed them with Pam. (Note: a 13×9-inch baking dish works, just like with parchment paper.)
  2. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, cocoa powder, and oil. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Slowly whisk in the butter mixture. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Pour into the prepared baking dishes and bake for 20- 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

I store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

These paired perfectly with a charcuterie board and Stella Rosa Blueberry Fruit Wine. I used to be so ashamed to tell people I drink Stella Rosa because it’s like, you know, but after spending $45 on a fancy and disgusting wine, I will stick with the cheap shit.