FOODINI FRIDAY presents HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES!

This is how it all started......!  Me becoming a cooking instructor that is.

Waaaaaaaaaaay back when, over 25 years ago, I was a happy, but slightly bored, stay at home mom.  Once I finished organizing all of my closets, drawers and cupboards, and those of my friends, family and neighbors, I decided it was time to do a little freelance work.  I was a legal secretary before Soldier Girl came along so I did some freelancing around town in law offices but one day a temporary position came available in Pinckney Schools.  I thought that was perfect!  They thought I would do - and I started what would become one of my favorite jobs ever.

Personalized for Marino and the Morning Crew!

I think it's no secret that I have always loved to cook - it's actually downright relaxing and fun for me so after I would get Soldier Girl (and eventually #1 Son) in bed, and other chores done, I usually would wind up in the kitchen whipping up something or trying out new recipes.  Since it was impossible for us to eat everything I made, a lot of my leftovers (good and bad!) would wind up heading into the office with me.  It was kind of funny, I thought I was sooooooo popular when I was working at Pinckney Schools!  Turns out everybody was just coming by to see what I brought in that day!!  Oh well, that's when I learned...."If you feed them, they will come."

On Valentine's Day, I decided to make chocolate truffles for Mr. W., and of course, I didn't make a dozen, I made about 200 and took them in to share at the schools.  I shared with everybody and the secretaries in other buildings - then I got a call from Community Education and they wanted me to teach a class on making chocolate truffles!  I said I couldn't, that I was waaaaaaaaay to shy (I was back then!!) but I did agree to teaching all the other secretaries so.....our friend, Chrissie, hosted all of the secretaries for a truffle making party!  I brought the ingredients for the truffles, and everybody else brought other goodies, like munchies, wine and Margaritas.

Somewhere between the Tempranillo and the Tequila, I said I would teach a class and wound up in the next Community Education brochure....and as they say, the rest is history!  It's been over 25 years of sharing my passion, which is cooking and food, with people that come into my classroom as students and leave as friends.  It's a great gig!

Speaking of friends - I learned today that if you take chocolate truffles into the radio station on Friday mornings you make lots of friends!  I had a great time with Mike and Jon this morning - we added a new feature to the Foodini Friday segment and started answering questions - click on the link or check out my Facebook page to replay the program - I answered questions on chocolate, spaghetti, lumpy gravy and cooking oils.  If you have questions about cooking or food or ingredients - ask away here, email me or post to either of our Facebook pages!  We'd love to help you out in the kitchen!

I am posting the truffle recipe and pictures here - but -if you'd like a more in-depth, hands on class - click the link to Howell's MainStreet Winery.  I have a class coming up there on Thursday, February 9 just in time for Valentine's Day!

  RENEE’S CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

1 ¼ cups heavy (whipping) cream

6 tablespoons butter (use only real butter)

2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (milk chocolate, 

  dark chocolate, semi-sweet etc)

 Or 18 oz chopped brick chocolate

1/3 cup liqueur (Kahlua, Amaretto, 

  Grand Marnier etc) or 1 teaspoon of extract

Directions for truffles:

Using heavy saucepan, heat cream and butter over medium heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.  Boil two minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add chocolate.  Stir until chocolate melts and is completely smooth.  Add liqueur and continue stirring until mixture cools and thickens.

Pour into container or cookie sheet and refrigerate until mixture is firm – at least 3 hours.  (At this point, candy will store in refrigerator, covered, for about two weeks)

Directions for forming truffles:

Dust hands with cocoa or powdered sugar.  Using a spoon, take a small amount of mixture and very quickly roll into ball – drop into coating and roll – coating outside of ball.  Place on waxed paper.  Continue until all chocolate is rolled into balls.  If mixture becomes difficult to work with, refrigerate and continue.

Directions for decorating:

You may roll truffles in cocoa, powdered sugar, colored sprinkles, colored sugars or ground nuts.  Place in decorative cup and store in refrigerator.

Directions for dipping truffles:

After all truffles have been formed, and refrigerated again until hard you may dip them in chocolate for a nice finish.  You may use a little paraffin wax or paramount crystals to thin the chocolate for easier dipping.

To decorate dipped truffles – melt various colors of chocolate buttons and create your own design!

RECIPE TIP:  While a lot of candymakers prefer unsalted butter I actually prefer salted butter as the minute amount of salt in the recipe actually enhances the flavor of the chocolate, especially the darker chocolates

PRODUCT ALERT:  I prefer a 60% cocoa chocolate and Ghiardelli is my preferred brand.  Experiment with different chocolates and find your favorite.

That's it for today!   Have a great week and I'll be back with fabulous recipes for Superbowl very soon!!

RED GOLD TOMATOES IS SENDING ME TO INDIANAPOLIS FOR THE SUPERBOWL!!!

You read that right!  I am really excited to announce here that Red Gold Tomatoes has selected me as one of their top 7 food bloggers in the nation - can you believe that?  I am so excited I could just go cook...!  I found out last week - I put a few teasers on my facebook page but was waiting to make the big announcement until I knew a little more - and also, unfortunately in their promo and press postings they are listing me as from Grand Rapids - I was hoping that would be fixed but I know they are working on that.....

If you have been reading for any length of time, you know that I have always loved and promoted Red Gold tomatoes.  They have had people reading and reviewing blogs of people who threw their hat in the ring and I am so honored that they chose me.  I am hoping that they liked some of my recipes that I developed using Red Gold tomatoes too!!!  I know that you have - thanks for all the emails and notes!

A couple of things - while I am not attending the Superbowl game, I will be attending what I think are two events equivalent to the superbowl game - I get to tour the Red Gold headquarters and attend what I am calling Tomato School - can't wait!  I also get to attend the Taste of the NFL - a huge fundraiser for foodbanks across the country where I will get to eat, drink and rub elbows with celebrated chefs from every NFL city as well as Food Network personality Ted Allen - currently the Chopped host!  LOVE HIM!!!  I'll get to hear Sara Evans perform and, did I mention that I get to eat great food???  So excited - I will post more details as I receive them!  If you get a chance, check out www.tasteofthenfl.com and you will see first hand why I am excited - feeding America's hungry and a good time - what a great combination!  Just like me and Red Gold Tomatoes!!

Have a GREAT weekend!

SOUP'S ON!!!

Check this out!!!













Soldier Girl made this for me for Christmas!!!  Isn't that awesome!!!  She took a pottery class and freehanded my logo on the plate - LOVE IT!!!!!  I just used a white board marker to make the announcement - and none too soon, it's like 3 degrees here in Michigan!!!

Lots of activity for me this week - yesterday I was on Fox2 Detroit in the morning - they invited me to come in and do a promo for my Soups and Breads cooking classes coming up next week - I am in Novi on Monday, Pinckney on Tuesday and Brighton on Wednesday - all links are below and include their telephone numbers.  All classes are 2 hours, range between $35 and $40 and are jam packed with recipes, tasting, tricks and tips that are guaranteed to keep your tummy warm and full this winter.  I have taught this class over 20 times in the past 14 years and people continually tell me it is one of their favorites!  I have some light and healthy soups like my Minute Minestrone and I have some soul warming comfort soups like Chicken and Dumpling Soup.

Then - last night I taught a jam packed fitness studio - My Stronger Self in Brighton, Michigan - we did my class called Smart Choices for Real People - check out their website at www.mystrongerself.com and click on their blog section - the recipes, photos, video and information will be posted very soon.  I am excited to be taking classes with Lori Murphy, the owner of the studio - I love the idea of making myself stronger and healthier through fitness.  Thanks for having me and thanks to Lisa for all of her hard work with the promotional materials and marketing - you rock!!!  I loved the ladies in our class last night - thanks for your enthusiasm - it was contagious!

Then this morning, always one of the highlights of my week - Foodini Friday with Marino and the Morning Crew!  Holy cannoli - good day for soup.  It was literally 2 degrees when I left the house this morning!  I took in one of my family favorite soups this morning - Creamy Tomato Bisque with Grilled Cheese Croutons and of course something sweet - Michigan Cherry Walnut Cookies - aka Phyto Cookies since they are loaded with healthy phytonutrients.  You could say.....Great Foodini had some retro recipe makeovers this morning!

Here's some photos and the recipes.....

Tomato Soup for the Soul!

Creamy Tomato Bisque with 

Grilled Cheese Croutons

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth                                

8 oz cream cheese, softened. 

2 cans condensed tomato soup                                    

15 oz can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained                  

15 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup half and half or milk

dried or fresh basil for garnish

In medium stockpot, bring broth to a boil.  Reduce heat and add cream cheese and tomato soup, stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted and blended.  Add tomatoes and half and half, stir and heat through before serving.  Garnish with Grilled Cheese Croutons

GRILLED CHEESE CROUTONS

Little grilled cheese croutons of yumminess.....

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare 4 grilled cheese sandwiches using favorite bread and cheese.  Let sandwiches cool completely before cutting.  Cut into small squares using pizza cutter or sharp knife.  Spread out on baking sheet and grate a little parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese over croutons.  Bake 10 minutes or until croutons are browning and crispy.  Store leftovers in sealed container in refrigerator.

RECIPE TIP:  Be sure the cream cheese is softened before adding to the hot broth - it melts much better when it's already soft.

PRODUCT ALERT:  You already know I love Red Gold tomatoes - their Basil, Garlic and Oregano diced tomatoes are PERFECT for this recipe!

NUTRITION TIP:  If you are watching salt intake - use a reduced sodium soup; if you are watching fat content, use a reduced fat or fat free cream cheese, and the grilled cheese croutons can be made with any type of cheese to fit your taste or nutritional requirements.

MICHIGAN CHERRY WALNUT COOKIES

Phyto cookies - NOT Fido cookies!!!

(aka PHYTO COOKIES)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup Crisco

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1 3/4 cups oat flour (ground from rolled oats)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup Michigan dried cherries

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine butter, shortening and sugar.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Combine flour, oats, cinnamon, soda and salt.  Stir into butter mixture, mixing well.  Stir in nuts and dried cherries.  Drop by spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are baked and starting to brown.  Cookies will be dark because of the cinnamon and the centers will still be soft.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

RECIPE TIP:  Be sure to use old fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick oats) for the cookies - much higher in nutritional value and better texture.  Use a food processor or blender to make your oat flour - measure AFTER your make the flour.

NUTRITION TIP:  I have loaded this cookie with phyto nutrients and superfoods with the dried cherries, cinnamon, whole oats and walnuts - good things to put into your body.  Don't panic with the shortening - shortening/Crisco does not have transfats and isn't as bad for us as it used to be.  

A couple of notes about my recipe redo....my goal with this cookie wasn't to make the world's healthiest cookie.  It was to make a delicious cookie loaded with good for you things so that if you are going to have a cookie, it's not gonna hurt too bad!  

I love to say - nutrition and healthy eating is quite simple - eat more good, eat less bad and mooooooooove your body!

Hope you enjoy these recipes - it's a perfect day for soup and baking!

COMFORT FOOD FOR THE SOUL...AND YOUR PLATE!

Here we are - almost to the middle of January in Michigan, where the temperatures are cold and the nights are long -  I can guarantee you that there are very few people who go through winters in Michigan who don't love a little hug from the kitchen in the form of comfort food.  What gets a little tricky is....what is YOUR comfort food?  For some (Mike Marino....) they reach for salty and crunchy things like Fritos!  For others (Jon King......) a Hershey bar sounds good....  And for others -  (Meeeeeeeeeeeee!!!) I get a hankering for some old fashioned 60's style foods like.....Meatloaf and mashed potatoes!

However....

This ain't 'yo mamas' meatloaf and mashed potatoes!

No.  This is Great Foodini style BBQ Grilled Meatloaf and Twice Baked Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  This is how I roll.......;-)

Meatloaf....Grilled and 'Q'd - that's how I roll.....!

BBQ GRILLED MEATLOAF

2 lb ground chuck or round 

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 eggs
¾ c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 t ground or rubbed sage                    

salt and pepper

1 ½ cups favorite BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients (except BBQ sauce) until very well blended.  Press into loaf pan.  Bake about 45 minutes or until meatloaf is cooked through to 160 degrees tested at the center.  Remove from oven and cool completely.

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium.  Place bbq sauce in shallow bowl.  Slice meatloaf into ½ to ¾ inch slices.  Dip into bbq sauce to coat and place on heated grill.  Grill 3 or 4 minutes each side, remove and dip into bbq sauce again (or baste with additional sauce), grill another 2 or 3 minutes each side and remove.  Serve with Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes.

RECIPE TIP:  The onions must be finely chopped, otherwise they make little pockets in the sliced meatloaf  and may fall apart when grilling.

RECIPE TIP:  The meat mixture must be pressed into the loaf pan very firmly which will eliminate air pockets giving the sliced meatloaf a more firm texture, perfect for basting and grilling.

RECIPE TIP:  Be sure to prepare the meatloaf ahead so it can cool completely before slicing, if the meat is too warm it has a tendency to crumble when slicing.

CALORIE COUNTERS  You may substitute ground turkey or chicken for all or part of the meat mixture if you prefer a healthier choice.

PRODUCT ALERT:  I love Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce – the original is my favorite.  It has a nice not too sweet flavor, an excellent consistency and adheres to the meat very nicely.

‘TWICE BAKED’ GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

Loaded...garlic mashed with cheese and BACON!

2 lb boiled potatoes (I like to use peeled white potatoes and unpeeled redskins)

½ cup warmed milk
½ cup sour cream

3 T butter
1 or 2 cloves pressed garlic
1 cup cheddar cheese
½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon           

3 sliced green onions                                        

salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until cooked through, drain.  Add milk, sour cream and butter, mash just to blend ingredients. Add pressed garlic, cheddar cheese, bacon, green onions, salt and pepper to taste, stir to blend.  Serve as is or place in oven safe baking dish to warm through.  Garnish with additional cheddar cheese and green onions.

RECIPE TIP:  Warm your milk a little before adding to the potatoes and they will absorb more evenly - the cold milk shocks hot potatoes and they seize up and don't absorb the milk as well.

RECIPE TIP:  I prefer not to mash the potatoes too thoroughly, I like a little texture – I used to tease that people knew they were homemade if there were lumps!  Actually, beating or whipping potatoes releases the starch and gluten which will make some potatoes gummy and pasty.

Sound good?  Hope so!  A little history on this recipe - I had a delicious meatloaf at a bar in Boston - on the campus of Harvard as a matter of fact and it was soooo good I had to come home and try to duplicate it - this is my take and from the number of requests that I get for the recipe - I am thinking it may be Winner Winner Meatloaf Dinner!

My potatoes are simply a mashed version of everybody's favorite 'Loaded Baked Potato' - just my way of keeping it simple!

I hope you enjoy these recipes during the cold months we have coming up - as always, feel free to call or write if you have questions!

Enjoy and stay warm!

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH HEALTHY HARVEST PANCAKES!

Me with Soldier Girl, Mr. W and Edo the taste tester, lol

Resolutions Schmezolutions.  For the record, I broke mine by 7:15 a.m. on New Year's Day when I trudged down to the paperbox in my fuzzy new light blue robe and Mr. W's shoes only to find the paper wasn't there yet.  I got a little pissy but only for a couple seconds and then I realized - who cares - this was way too early on New Year's Day anyhow - so I came in, turned on WHMI - grabbed my new cookbook and realized that in the big picture - even though I broke my resolution to not sweat the small stuff - I still had plenty of time to break the habit and you know what?  It's never too late to make changes and sometimes the first steps have to be baby steps.

That being said, just like lots of people out there, I am always wishing and hoping and working on losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Given my business - that is no small task, so what I like to do is simply make small changes that make sense.  I like calling it Smart Choices for Real People.  I have a class coming up at My Stronger Self  Fitness Studio in Brighton, and will share info soon.

I am not a nutritionist and I don't play one on TV.  This is how I look at it:  There are basically two simple ways to eat healthier:

1 - Reduce the bad foods.
2 - Increase the good foods.

Manage those two and throw in a little exercise and I am pretty sure that your health will increase and your size will decrease.  I have always been one to use the KISS principle when it comes to anything - Keep It Simple Sweetie!

The recipe I am sharing today has been called many names - Michigan Fall Harvest Pancakes....simply Harvest Pancakes and with a couple of tweaks - Healthy Harvest Pancakes!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE pancakes (really love pancakes!!) but with my low blood sugar and the fact that pancakes and syrup are probably at the top of the bad foods list on the glycemic index (it's a little complicated - but in a nutshell - simple carbs like sugar and white flour make you hungry sooner while complex carbs - oats, whole grains etc., keep you fuller longer because of the increased fiber), I wanted to come up with a pancake that I could eat and enjoy without upsetting my apple cart.  Speaking of apples.......

This recipe incorporates really great high fiber foods - apples, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots and nuts, right into the mix.  So, merely adding these ingredients to any pancake mix instantly increases its healthfulness.  If you take it one step further - and start with a whole grain, buckwheat or oat based pancake mix - you are kicking it up yet another notch!  Go YOU!!!  Now - add some cinnamon - add a lot if you'd like and you've added another ingredient that is proven to regulate blood sugar levels - which controls your hunger - which controls your cravings and you have yourself a Great Foodini Recipe Redo worthy of pictures, posting and maybe a trip to the grocery store???

Yes, I ate these!

HARVEST PANCAKES

Prepared pancake batter - whole

grain is suggested for maximum health!

Add:    

1 cup solid pack pumpkin                                

¾ cup grated zucchini

¾ cup grated carrots                                        

½ cup grated peeled apple                                           

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more to taste)

Prepare favorite pancake batter according to package directions, using the quantity that requires 2 cups of dry mix.  To that add the pumpkin, zucchini, carrots, apple and cinnamon.  Stir in nuts if desired. 

Lower the heat a little under the
griddle to make sure the pancakes
get done in the middle.                   

Continue with package directions for cooking pancakes – because of the added ingredients, it may take slightly longer for the pancakes to bake.  I typically turn my burner down a little so the denser pancake can cook all the way through without overcooking the outside.

RECIPE TIP:  If the thought of a little zucchini and green specks in the pancakes will send your kids (or spouse!) running - peel the zucchini before adding to batter - they will NEVER know!

RECIPE TIP:  The pumpkin and apple add a natural sweetness to the pancakes - I don't use syrup at all but if you wanted to watch sugar content - you could use a sugar free syrup - the new sugar free syrups are actually quite tasty these days!

Not to toot my own horn, but these pancakes have been a huge hit at all of my classes and with friends and family - I hope you enjoy them too!

I shared these with Mike and Jon of Marino and the Morning Crew on the Foodini Friday show today on WHMI - even though Jon said he would prefer chocolate chip pancakes - I think these magically disappeared by the time I left!

Have a great weekend and do let me know if you give these a try!