Attifood

A favorite, summer foodie event for me is sitting out on the deck, consuming mass quantities of Fresh-Mex and cooling off with a Margarita or another choice cold beverage. Fish tacos, with fresh, grilled mahi-mahi, pico de gallo, and crème fraîche, are a perfect, zesty way to highlight that event...

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Introducing... Robin!

Who?

My sister Robin (yes, our parents named us Rob and Robin, and no we're not twins, and yes, we know it's a little corny, so deal) is who. She's a fellow foodie-- my "hey, I just made this" and "hey, do you have a recipe/recommendation for that" resource. AND she's ready to share her side of the story on the Attifood blog. Yes, I know, cool.

So onward to her first post, which will follow shortly...

I am beginning to practice what I preach and finding my sermons to be quite practical. We freely give advice and sometimes even get paid for it but why do we not use it ourselves? You know the scenario, doctor tells patient not to smoke and lose some weight while their at it, then goes out for a cheese steak, fries, and a few smokes themselves. Are we above our own advice? Well not any more! I am listening to both my personalities and carrying out their wisdom bearing voices to the nines.

I have a few signature dishes, old stand-bys, and frequently requested recipes. The ingredients are readily available, straight forward and often times regular inhabitants of my pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. But why do I let them run out, I mean really run out, for months even? Well I have decided to keep a running supply of a few select items that can be whipped together to complete a dish, last-minute-company-just-pulled-in-the-driveway-appetizer, or “hey can you bring a dessert to the potluck tonight?” I am changing my "No Ingredients Left Act" to "An Ingredient For Every Pot Act" starting with these little gems; Brie Tarts. Nifty, sophisticated little affairs that go long on visual appeal and taste.

Brie Tarts
1 (15 count) mini frozen Phyllo cups (tenants of my freezer)
Brie cheese– cut into 15 cubes the size of a regular dice (refrigerator regular attendee)
2 1/2 T. apricot preserves-or any other jam or preserves (hangs out on my refrigerator door)
15 pecan halves (freezer drawer monger)

Preheat oven to 400°. Remove Phyllo cups from their package and place on a cookie sheet. Place one cube of Brie in each cup and top with 1/2 t. preserves then a pecan half. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and preserves bubble. Remove to a pretty serving device and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

This frosting was the best solution to using up eggs whites I had leftover from making ice cream. I am very excited about my new KitchenAid Ice Cream Attachment. I think the thing I enjoy the most about it is that I can store it in my freezer and not take up any valuable space in my pantry and its ever expanding kitchen gadgetry. I made the Vanilla Ice Cream #2 recipe from “The Ultimate Ice Cream Book.” This was the most luscious vanilla ice cream I have ever made. How can you go wrong with a recipe that calls for 7 egg yolks? Then those whites! I couldn’t just throw them away and I can’t stand white omelets, so...

Italian Meringue Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup egg whites, from about 3-4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 pound sweet cream butter, cut into 20 pieces
4-8 ounce bittersweet or dark chocolate, melted

In a double boiler over simmering water beat egg whites and sugar on medium speed using a hand mixer. Beat until an instant thermometer reaches 160ºF. Remove from heat and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, then lower speed to medium and beat until almost room temperature. Add butter one piece at a time while beating on medium speed to incorporate. Then add melted chocolate and beat until smooth. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Prior to use, bring frosting to room temperature. Once the item (cake, cupcakes, husband) is frosted it will have to be stored in a cool place.

A good thing to adorn with this abrosia of all frostings is on a decadent chocolate cake (doctored up cake mix) with layers of ganache (Alton Brown’s recipe).