Tiana's Famous Beignets

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1. In a medium bowl, combine 23/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture from Step 1.

3. Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 21/2 -inch squares.

4. Now it’s time to fry the beignets—be sure to ask an adult to help you! Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer. Check the temperature every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.

BY CAITLIN R. ON 3/19/2010 8:00:00 AM 6 COMMENTS

St. Patty's Edible Leprechaun House

Didn’t get to make that gingerbread house this year for Christmas?

No worries!

Satisfy your spring sweet tooth with a tasty house just big enough for St. Patty’s little leprechaun friends.

Sugar cookie recipe of your choice, plus all required ingredients (or pre-made roll) OR graham crackers 
Icing (make sure it's chilled)
Food coloring of your choice (this it to mix with the icing! For St. Patrick’s Day we'd suggest mainly green, but orange and white work, too)
Chocolate or vanilla wafer cookies

Skinny pretzel sticks

Graham crackers for decor
Mini marshmallows
Flaked coconut 

Dum Dum lollipops
White chocolate chips
Green gum drops
Green peppermint spiral candies
Peppermint skittles (they come in shades of green) or sort out the green skittles from a normal pack
M&Ms and Skittles (rainbow colors!)
St. Patrick's Day cake decorations (look at your local supermarket)
Chocolate truffles, or rounded candy that you can scoop the center out of

Use your fave sugar cookie recipe to make the dough. Roll out the dough so it is flat and easy to cut into eight squares, measuring them out to be the same size. You can cut 'em big or small, depending on how big you want your house. Using a ruler will ensure that they'll fit together evenly. These will be a base, walls and roof for the house. While your cookies are baking, mix food coloring with the icing. If you want a few colors, divide the icing into separate parts. Put icing back in the fridge so it's chilled. If you don’t want to bake the sugar cookie walls, graham crackers are a quick alternative. Just measure 'em out and you'll be good to go.

Once the cookies are completely cooled and hardened (pop 'em in the fridge for a few if need be), it's time to make your St. Patty’s Day house stand. Use two cookies on the bottom to form the yard. This will serve as a base. The icing will be used to weld all the cookie walls together.

On the base, stack four pieces to form a square house frame that will look like a box with no top. Use icing to hold the walls and roof together. Make sure the sides stay together by using lots on the seams. Ice the frame to the base and the tops of the house, too.

For the roof, wait a bit to make sure that the wall icing is all set. Place two of the cookies on top of the box in an upside-down V shape. Connect the roof and the house, and the two roof pieces together with icing. There will be a small space between the box top and roof. You can fill this in with wafer cookies or graham crackers or leave it open (for extra-sneaky leprechaun visitors, of course).

Remember to fill in every lil’ crack with icing so your house doesn’t come tumbling down. Put long pretzel rods where the cookies connect to make the house even more sturdy. After construction is finished, put the house in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to make sure the icing is hardened.

Windows and doors are necessary decor for any edible house. Small, thin pretzel rods can create these must-have features. Use icing to connect all of the decor. Graham crackers, wafer cookies or leftover sugar cookie scraps also work great for add-ons. Graham crackers are perf for a door that you can keep hinged partly open. Do this by only icing one side and leaving it cracked away from the wall. Frost the entire roof in white frosting, then use green skittles or M&Ms to cover the roof. Make a chimney by using wafer cookies, stacking them in the shape of a four-sided long rectangle, and attaching 'em to the roof with some icing.

What is a St. Patty’s Day house without a field of clovers? Add green food coloring to vanilla icing and coconut flakes. Spread your green mixture around the house to represent grass. Use colored Skittles or M&Ms for the rainbow walkway to your front door. Hollow out a chocolate truffle and stick yellow M&Ms inside for your very own pot of gold. Scatter cake decoration shamrocks around the yard. Create a picket fence from licorice or pretzel rods.

Spruce up the house with tasty decorations. Go crazy with candy! Use your imagination to add the finishing touches to this festive treat. You can add Skittles, green peppermints, gum drops and lollipops to the walls to add texture. Make a snowman-like leprechaun man to stand guard in his yard. Stack three gum drops on top of each other, using frosting to stick, and have pretzels sticking out as the arms. You can use a Skittle or M&M for a little top hat. Whatever decorations you decide on, have fun!

BY CAITLIN R. ON 3/12/2010 8:00:00 AM 13 COMMENTS

Linguini di Spinaci

Trade in your boring, greasy mac 'n' cheese for this healthier pasta. Not only is it yummy, but its nutritional ingredients make it a great way to get a jump start on a healthier body for spring break!

What You'll Need:

1 pound linguini
1-10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup white flour
1 cups 1% or 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon each: cayenne pepper and nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

What You'll Do:

1. Put water in large pot on to boil for the pasta.
2. Put thawed spinach in a colander to drain.
3. Peel the garlic and chop into tiny pieces.
4. In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium high heat until melted.
5. Stir in garlic for about 30 seconds until soft, then whisk in the flour for a few seconds until bubbly.
6. Pour in the milk, add the spices, and lower the heat to mdeium.
7. Stir the sauce occasionally until thickened (about three minutes), then remove from heat.
8. Put the pasta in the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
9. While pasta is cooking, stir the spinach and cheese into the sauce and simmer for not more than two minutes or the spinach will be overcooked.
10. Drain the pasta well in a colander.
11. Put into a large bowl and pour on the sauce.

BY CAITLIN R. ON 3/5/2010 8:00:00 AM 16 COMMENTS

Blondies: The "Un-chocolate Brownie"

When you think brownies, you might automatically think chocolate, but check these out. Blondies, the “un-chocolate” brownie, are just as delicious as their darker counterpart, and a whole lot of fun to whip up in the kitchen. Try packing them in your lunch for a sweet afternoon pick-me-up.

¼ Cup Canola Oil (or any mild oil)
½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Egg
¾ Cup Sifted Unbleached White Flour
½ tsp. Baking Powder
½ Cup Mini-Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly oil the bottom of an 8x8 square pan using a paper towel.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, vanilla and egg. Beat until smooth.
4. Add flour and baking powder. Beat on low until mixed. Quickly scrape off the beaters and stir in chocolate chips.
5. Pour evenly into the pan.
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool, and then put pan in freezer for 20 minutes or so.
8. Cut into squares and remove with a spatula.

BY CAITLIN R. ON 2/26/2010 8:00:00 AM 25 COMMENTS