Chocolate Lava Cake

This has to be the best dessert with the best chocolate. My uncle Joe makes the best organic fair trade chocolate in the whole world. It is called Theo Chocolate just to emphasize that. It is sooooo good and I use it in all of my desserts. Go buy it at Wegmans or None Such Farms or anywhere that you shop! It is soooo gooooooooooodddddddd and you won't regret buying it. Here is the recipe for chocolate lava cakes.

Chocolate Lava Cakes
Serves 4

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, plus more for buttering the molds
4 ounces of 70% Theo Chocolate, chopped into small pieces
4 large eggs
1/4 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of flour, plus more for dusting the molds

Put the butter in a medium bowl and melt it in the microwave. Add the chocolate to the hot butter, and stir until melted.
Crack 2 eggs into a bowl, and add 2 more yolks. Add the the sugar and beat and whisk until light and thick, about 1 minute. Add the egg mixture and 2 teaspoons of flour to the melted chocolate, beat until combined.
Butter and lightly flour four 4 ounce molds or ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Divide the batter among the molds.
When your ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the molds on a baking sheet and bake until the cakes have puffed up a bit, and the tops are set, but they are still slightly jiggly when shaken, 7-8 minutes. Take them out, and them let them sit in the molds for 1 minute.
Put a plate on top of the ramekin, invert it, and let it sit for 10-45 seconds. Lift up the ramekin.
Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or just a plain big old spoon.

Isn't it cute?! :) 

TRY IT

Here are some odd combinations that create yummy ideas:

Peanut Butter and Cheese - Don't judge me but this is my favorite sandwich ever! The savory and sweet factor is very satisfying

Gruyere and Apple - Make a Gruyere and Apple Grilled Cheese. You could even put mustard on it! But… I don't really like mustard soooo…

How about Hot Dogs and Whitefish Salad? Sounds disgusting right? Wrong!! The smoky and salty flavors complement everything nicely.

Peanut Butter, Banana and Sour Cream Sandwich - Two pieces of bread spread with peanut butter. In a bowl mix a banana with 2 teaspoons of sour cream and some white sugar, adjusting it to your sweetness level. Put on the sandwich and YUMMY!

Try It!

Avocado Mango Salad with Cheese, Bacon and Pumpkin Seeds

I love salads! I mean not like lettuce, and tomato salads. I mean avocado mango salads with bacon and so much more! I'm sick of boring salads so here is a recipe for a crazy delicious salad!!

Avocado Mango Salad with Cheese, Bacon, and Pumpkin Seeds

Serves 4

4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

1/2 cup of hulled toasted pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup of fresh lime juice

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Fresh hot green chile, stemmed

1 tablespoon of honey

Salt

1 large head of butter head lettuce

2 large ripe avocados, peeled, and diced

2 ripe mangoes

3/4 cup of coarsely crumbled Mexican Queso Fresco, or blue cheese

Put about 1/3 of the pumpkin seeds into a blender, and add the lime juice. Pour the remainder of the seeds into a bowl. 

Then, put a pan on the stove, and add the oil. Add the garlic, and chile. Cook until the garlic and light brown and slightly soft. Scrape the oil, garlic, and chile mixture into the blender with the seeds and lime juice. Add the honey, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Process until smooth. Taste and season with more salt, if necessary. 

Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Pit the avocados, and slice the inside of it. 

Arrange the avocado and mangoes among the plates. Drizzle the dressing over everything, sprinkle with cheese and leftover pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle with bacon and enjoy your yummy salad!!!

Serve with : Sautéed Chicken

Caprese Panini

This is one of my all time favorite sandwiches. My family and I make it like once every two weeks! Trust me…thats a lot for me. Anyway, here is the yummy recipe!!!

Caprese Panini
Makes 1 huge panini

1 Loaf of Sourdough Bread
Store-bought, or homemade pesto
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (optional)
6oz of sliced mozzarella
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup of diced tomatoes

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and pepper flakes, sauté until tomatoes start to break down, about 3 minutes.

Off heat, add vinegar.

Brush oil on one side of the bread, spread the other side with the pesto, arrange the mozzarella on top, sprinkle with salt. Add the tomatoes mixture on the sandwich. Top with the other side of the bread, oil side up.

Toast sandwiches on both sides, serve immediately.

ENJOY!!

Amazing Pizzas! (with Bacon)

Pizza, my one true love. Pizza before social life and I right? Here is a great recipe for a loaded pizza.

Potato Leek Pizza
Makes 1 pizza

Homemade or Store Bought Pizza Crust
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or as Rachael Ray says EVOO
Kosher Salt
6 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
3 leeks, rinsed very well, grit removed, and sliced thinly
4 small red or Yukon gold potatoes, sliced thinly with a mandolin, or a sharp knife
1 pound of mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
4 oz of crumbled goat cheese
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (Woah thats hot!! Don't burn yourself!!)
 Roll out the pizza dough thin, and drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt.

Cook the leeks in the bacon fat that you have randomly in your refrigerator, or if thats not the case you can just use veggie oil.

Arrange the potatoes thinly on the pizza, top with salt and pepper, then top with mozzarella (not a heavy layer). Put the leeks on top in a big pile, cause thats how I like them. Next, sprinkle it with that salty smoky bacon, and top with tangy goat cheese crumbles, parmesan cheese, and a little bit of pepper.

Pop it in the oven, and bake for about 8-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and crunchy, and the cheese is all melty and gooey and all delicious!
Cut into squares and serve immediately!!

Another way to make pizza is a pesto pizza with tomatoes:
Prepare the pizza crust with the olive oil and salt, and spread with pesto. Layer on mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10-11 minutes, and ENJOY YOUR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE PIZZAS!!!

The Before Picture… Sadly the after picture got eaten like wild ferocious animals. No I'm just kidding!

I'm Back!

Hi everybody!! I'm so so sorry that I haven't been on my blog in forever. School has gotten crazy! Don't worry I have still been cooking every night, but I just haven't had time to do my blog. Now that one of my activities is done, I will have time to catch up on all of my missed blog posts! Keep on checking from here on out to see the amazing things that I am making!!!

Just like this blackberry, and strawberry parfait with home-ade whipped cream and crushed cookies!!