Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Red Velvet Cake Balls

During the winter I tend to go a bit baking crazy. Maybe it’s because I’m always cold and hanging around the oven warms me up. Or it could just be my instincts telling me to bulk up for the winter. Regardless of what it is, something inside me tells me to make delicious, fattening, sweet, gooey, messy and wonderful goodies, and I happily abide. This winter, this recipe gives me good reason to go baking crazy.


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Who doesn’t love cake? Anyone? Exactly. But I know for me, I like smaller pieces of cake since bigger pieces can get overwhelming. These red velvet cake balls are delicious, perfect, bite sized balls of cakey goodness that are a real crowd pleaser. I made them for a party my parents threw and when I say everyone asked for the recipe I’m not joking. Everyone asked for the recipe: men, women, people that love cooking, people breaking their New Years resolutions (because of these cake balls.) They were a hit. I even promised my best friend Kat some, but by the time she got to my house they were gone… this recipe makes about fifty cake balls and they had all been eaten. Did I mention that that they were crowd pleasers?

What you’ll need (recipe from Bakerella.com):

One Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix (You can make it from scratch, but I got lazy and just used the mix).

16 oz can of cream cheese frosting

Chocolate bark (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and Bakers semi-sweet baking chocolate)

Did I mention that the directions are super easy:


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Bake the cake following the directions on the box. Once they come out of the oven (after you’ve inserted a toothpick in and it comes out clean) let them cool completely.


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Once the cake is cooled completely crumble the cake in a bowl and mix with the cream cheese frosting. Make sure they’re completely mixed and then use a cookie dough baller (or your hands) and form the mix into balls.


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Place the balls into the refrigerator for a few hours so that they can harden. I left them overnight because I frequently have difficulties being coordinated enough to dip things in hot chocolate, so I wanted them to be extra firm when I did dip them.


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Melt chocolate in a double boiler (whether it be a makeshift one or a real one). When the chocolate is completely melted remove the balls from the refrigerator and start dipping them one at a time into the chocolate. After you've dipped them, place them on wax paper and let them cool. You can find an explanation of how to dip cake balls in chocolate here.


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Let the balls cool and serve!


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Monday, January 17, 2011

Egg Drop Soup - Stracciatella

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My parents went out of town a few weeks ago and left me in charge of the house. This, of course, means cooking for myself. I don’t mind cooking, but sometimes cooking for one can be a pain. Sometimes you have so much left over you don't know what to do with it and other times you eat so much you end up in a food coma for the weekend.

While sitting at home, cuddling with my dog I was thinking about what I should make myself fod dinner that night. I was craving soup, but I wanted something simple and homemade. I decided to make myself some Italian egg-drop soup (also known as stracciatella). This is a very very simple soup that’s easy to make, whether it's for one person or four.

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All you need is:

2 cups of low-sodium chicken stock

1/3 cup of parmesan cheese I used a lot of parmesan cheese for this recipe, but that’s because I love cheese (In my opinion the more cheese the better).

1 eggs

Salt and pepper

First, start by bringing the two cups of chicken stock to a boil and then lower to a simmer.

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While the stock is boiling mix the parmesan cheese and the egg together until they’re completely mixed.

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(this is before they were mixed)

Finally, while the stock is simmering, slowly pour the egg and cheese mixture into the soup and stir it while you pour it in. Let it cook for about two minutes and then add salt and pepper to taste.

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For some variations on this recipe you can add peas, spinach, parsley or any combination of vegetables that you’d like. I chose to add a bit of nutmeg which added more depth to the flavor of the soup. But feel free to play with it, and enjoy!!