Frozen Tart Cherrytini

I can’t believe the first month of 2012 went by so quickly.  Here’s my question for you, my dear friends.  Were you able to keep up with your New Year Resolutions so far?  “Eat healthy food” and “exercise more to get fit” are among the top New Year Resolutions for most people every year.  Are those your New Year Resolutions as well?  What does it have to do with my Frozen Tart Cherrytini, you might ask.  Here’s what.  Have a few drinks and forget about your New Year Resolutions!  hahaha….no, no, no, I’m just teasing.  Seriously, here’s what.



Tart cherries are one of today’s hottest Super Fruits with many health benefits!  Did you know February is also National Cherry Month?  I’m so glad to have the opportunity to participate in Kitchen PLAY’s February Progressive Party featuring these lovely Tart Cherries brought to us by The Cherry Marketing Institute.

According to The Cherry Marketing Institute, there are more than 50 studies specifically on tart cherries, linking the fruit to anti-inflammatory benefits, reduced pain from gout and arthritis, and an extensive list of heart health benefits. Recent studies even suggest tart cherries can help reduce post-exercise muscle and joint pain. Isn’t that wonderful?



I love that bright red, vibrant color from the tart cherries. The color is not just for looks! This bright red color comes from the powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins, which are also responsible for tart cherries’ high antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory benefits.  If you’re interested to read more about the health benefits and nutrition information, please visit Choose Cherries.



So, drink up before and after you exercise! This super fruit is simply awesome and good for you. I prepared two different beverages using tart cherry juice. One is the cocktail version of Frozen Tart Cherrytini (with vodka), which is perfect for cocktail parties, gatherings, or a romantic date with your significant other to celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day! The other version that I have prepared for you is a non-alcoholic version, which is perfect for your every day enjoyment, especially post-exercise replenishment.  Both versions are super refreshing, with the sweet and tart flavors balanced so well with each other.



You might wonder the differences between sweet cherries and tart cherries? Sweet cherries are grown primarily for fresh eating. The tart cherry, also called “red tart”, “sour cherry” or “Montmorency”, is widely processed into dried, frozen and juice forms so they are available year-round.  For more recipe ideas, please visit Choose Cherries’ site, follow them on Facebook or Twitter.  It’s super fun and easy to Go Red Instead! 

The Cherry Marketing Institute is also sponsoring a delicious giveaway at Kitchen PLAY. Simply recreate one or more recipes from this month’s Progressive Party, post about the experience on your blog and provide a link to your post on Kitchen PLAY to enter.  All qualifying bloggers in each course will be entered to win the following prize pack shipped directly to each winner (valued at $100).

• A recipe rock
  
• Sur La Table red measuring cup set
  
• Sur La Table red mixing bowls, set of three
  
• Yaritza apron
  
• 1 lb bag of dried tart cherries
  
• 1 bottle of tart cherry juice
  
• branded cherries tote

No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited. Open to US residents only. The deadline is February 29, 2012. Please review the complete contest rules before entering. Good luck!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Kitchen PLAY and The Cherry Marketing Institute.  All opinions are my own and always will be.  


Please drink responsibly.  Health and General Disclaimers.






Frozen Tart Cherrytini  (Printable Recipe)
Servings: 4

12 frozen pitted tart cherries
2 Meyer lemons (or regular lemons if you can’t find them)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 cups tart cherry juice, chilled
1 1/2 cups vodka (I used Grey Goose)
2 cups of ice cubes

Thread 3 tart cherries onto each (4-inch) cocktail pick or skewer and keep them in the freezer until they are ready to serve.

Zest one Meyer lemon onto a shallow dish, mix together with sugar, set aside. Cut lemon in halves and “rub” the cut-side of the lemon against the rims of the 4 (10oz) martini glasses. Dip the rims of the glasses into the lemon-sugar. With a vegetable peeler, peel the other Meyer lemon.  In a large pitcher, twist the lemon peels to extract the natural oil, and leave the peels inside the pitcher after the twisting and squeezing.

Squeeze the juice from both lemons into the pitcher and add the cherry juice and vodka. Fill a cocktail shaker with 1 cup of ice. Pour 1/2 of the vodka mixture into the cocktail shaker and shake for at least 20 seconds.

Pour into 2 of the prepared glasses. Repeat with the remaining vodka mixture. Place a cocktail pick with frozen tart cherries onto each glass and serve.

 

Frozen Tart “Cherrytini” (non-alcohol version) (Printable Recipe)
Servings: 4
12 frozen pitted tart cherries
2 Meyer lemons (or regular lemons if you can’t find them)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 cups tart cherry juice, chilled
1 1/2 cups white grape juice
2 cups of ice cubes

Thread 3 tart cherries onto each (4-inch) cocktail pick or skewer and keep them in the freezer until ready to serve. Zest one Meyer lemon onto a shallow dish, mix together with sugar, set aside.  Cut lemon in halves and “rub” the cut-side of the lemon against the rims of the 4 (10oz) martini glasses.  Dip the rims of the glasses into the lemon-sugar.

With a vegetable peeler, peel the other Meyer lemon.  In a large pitcher, twist the lemon peels to extract the natural oil, and leave the peels inside the pitcher after the twisting and squeezing.  Squeeze the juice from both lemons into the pitcher and add the cherry juice and grape juice.

Fill a cocktail shaker with 1 cup of ice. Pour 1/2 of the tart cherry mixture into the cocktail shaker and shake for at least 20 seconds. Pour into 2 of the prepared glasses. Repeat with the remaining tart cherry mixture.

Place a cocktail pick with frozen tart cherries onto each glass and serve.



I'm sharing this recipe with:

I'm Lovin' It
Full Plate Thursday
Foodie Friday
Friday Potluck
Friday Food

Winner Announcement for The Little Old Lady Recipes Book Giveaway

Book Cover Image from Quirk Books’ site

I hope all of you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving weekend.  I had a relax and wonderful time with my family.  Believe it or not, I didn't cook this Thanksgiving.  My In-Laws took care of everything, which was so nice of them.  


We have a winner for the Little Old Lady Recipe Book Giveaway.....it's Nami from Just One Cookbook who said....


"Your candied nuts look yummy! My favorite holiday treat? All kinds of chocolate treats... I don't bake myself but we get a lot of fancy chocolate gifts... I actually don't have "favorite" I think... oh I love pumpkin cheesecake (from famous cheesecake shop in SF).

November 21, 2011 1:48 AM "

Nami has a beautiful blog herself called Just One Cookbook featuring her Japanese home cooking with gorgeous photography.  Check it out if you haven't.  I'm sure you'll love her blog.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week ahead of you!  

Winner Announcement for The Cookiepedia Cookbook

Image from Quirkbooks.com

Thank you for those who participated in The Cookiepedia Giveaway.  A special thank you to Quirk Books and Stacy in providing a copy of this book for the Giveaway!  

Here’s the winner selected from Random.org……ValleyWriter from Adventures of Valley Writer who said…

“I am a cookie fanatic and am so excited about this giveaway! Your pinwheel cookies look fabulous - and I'm drooling over the other Cookiepedia pictures, too. My personal favorite is chocolate chip - crispy on the edges and soft in the center. But really, I don't think I've met a cookie I didn't like! :-D”

Congratulations!

Winner Announcement of the Tom Bihn Shopping Bag Giveaway

Thank you everyone who participated in the Tom Bihn Shopping Bag Giveaway.  Special thank you to Tom Bihn for sponsoring this giveaway.



The winner selected by Random.org is….Irene who said…

“Wow! Your review was sooooo detailed, now i want the bag to fit my ipad and laptop. Liked the Facebook Page.”

An email will be sent to Irene to notify her of the winning.  If you haven’t entered The Cookiepedia cook book Giveaway, there’s still time to do so.  To enter, please click here to go to the original Giveaway post.  Thank you.

Tom Bihn’s Western Flyer Review - With Free Giveaway!

As my blogging get more frequent and taking care of my kids get more demanding, I have noticed that I have a need to carry my laptop around town more often, just so that I can work on my recipes or blog posts as I travel.  Unfortunately, the only decent laptop bag at home is the one that is currently being used by my husband.  Therefore, I have been on a mission to look for a good laptop bag for my travel.
Today, I want to share with you my review on this very well made Western Flyer bag from Tom Bihn.  I am certain that a few of you may not have heard of Tom Bihn prior to this post.  So please allow me a short paragraph to give you a quick introduction.

Tom Bihn, the person, is the CEO of Tom Bihn, the bag company/manufacturer.  Tom has been designing bags for over 20 years, and he designs ALL the bags that he sells from his factory/retail store in Seattle, Washington.  Noticed that I used the word ‘factory’?  That’s right!  All of Tom’s bags are manufactured right here in the United States, at his Seattle Factory.  I have read that you can easily see Tom, himself, walking around the factory all the time, chatting with the sewing crew, to ensure quality standards.

Let’s get back to our bag-of-the-moment, the Western Flyer.  I have been using this bag for almost 4 weeks now, and I must say, the love of this bag just grew on me.  I admit that I was not that impressed by this bag after the first few days of using it.  But the more I put into this bag, the more I like it!  The Western Flyer seemed to have the ability to soak in everything that I try to put inside, without any sign of ‘stress’ (or stretched) on the outside.  How many times have you seen (mostly at the airport that) someone carrying an ‘overloaded’ bag that the owner simply tried to stuff too many things inside?  You can tell because the bag/pockets are all stretched out to the limit; but not for this bag.  With a capacity of 1600 cubic inches (or 26 liters for my Readers in Asia), this bag carries everything that your arm can lift!  See the Coke Bottles picture below?  The bottle in the middle is the 1 Liter bottle.  This bag can hold 26 of those... just to give you an idea.

There are 2 primary configurations available for the Western Flyer.  Rolling Luggage vs. the Backpack Straps.  I opted for the Rolling Luggage Handle so that I can slide the rear opening through the handle of a rolling luggage when needed.  The picture below is a shot that I took while waiting to check-in to a hotel.  


 
When you’re not sliding the bag through the handle, you can unzip the bottom and turn the same feature into a large outside pocket.

Otherwise, the Backpack Straps option would allow you to convert this bag to a Backpack (style), as seen from this picture below, copied from Tom’s official website.



Once I have un-boxed the impressively designed shipping/packaging box (I like the box so much that I am keeping the box for future use!), the first thing that told me that this company’s bags are not 'all just looks,' is the zipper!  I’ve read all about the zipper on their web-site on how all the external zippers on this bag is ‘weather-proof.’  I did not put too much thought into the zipper thinking that a zipper is a zipper, and how the last thing I would worry about on the bag is the outside zippers.  However, not only these zippers look very water proof, they are also very smooth to glide open and close. 



After playing with zippers, I started to navigate the various compartments inside the bag.  To keep things simple, the bags are divided into 2 primary sections.  Front and Rear.  And both sections are lined with bright yellow fabric.  At this point, what caught my eyes are two things; the ‘clips’ on the Back compartment, and the Divider on the Front compartment. 



The Divider in the Front compartment is very straight forward.  It allows you to unzip the Divider in the middle to convert the Front Compartment from being Left/Right Sectional to a single wide section to accommodate wide/large items such as a folder or even a second laptop.



Contrary, the Rear compartment is not ‘sectional’ like the Front, but what you will see are two ‘Annex Clips.’  They allow you to clip on the infamous ‘Brain Cell.’  


 
While most of you may be familiar with the concept of a laptop sleeves such as these, the ‘Brain Cell’ takes the laptop protection concept a step further, and integrate its Brain Cell into most of Tom Bihn’s bags.  Not only the Brain Cell is heavily padded, once it is hooked onto the ‘Annex Clips’, it suspends the Brain Cell slightly above the bottom of the bag.  Hence, an extra protection against impact is created by a space/gap between the bottom of the bag and the bottom of the ‘Brain Cell.’ For those who find the Brain Cell to be costly, I would like to remind you that you are NOT just getting a typical laptop sleeve.  In fact, you can use the Brain Cell as-is on its own, as it provides you with two ‘D-rings’ on the side, so that you can attach your own carrying strap and use it as a simple laptop carrier.  Now, try this with your typical laptop sleeves and see if you can do the same!

 
Since I have already touched on the topic of this Western Flyer’s zipper of choice, I would also like to go into a little bit of specifications of this bag.  The outside of this bag is made out of ‘1050 Ballistic Nylon.’  Ballistic what?  Exactly!  Here’s highlight in simpler terms.

• It is originally developed for bullet proof vest
  
• One of the toughest fabric on earth
  
• It is very difficult to dye (Hence the limited colors)
  
• Most manufacturers have stopped using 1050 Ballistic due to its almost-doubled costs over other ‘more common’ materials.

As for the inside fabrics, I was a little skeptical after the first few days of use, that the fabrics that  the ‘Annex Clips’ were sewed onto, would hold up to the weight of the Brain Cell and my laptop.  So I asked Tom Bihn’s team to provide some more information on this uniquely texturerized fabric that is in use inside of this bag.  It turns out that the fabrics that lined the inside of this bag is something called ‘Dyneema/Nylon Ripstop’ material.  And upon further research on the Internet...I have learned that:

• The lines that formed the square pattern is called the Dyneema threads
  
• Each Dyneema thread is 15 times as strong as steal per weight
  
• An additional X patten of Nylon overweave improves abrasion and tear resistance, making it essentially tear-proof
  
• This fabric, on average, costs 3 times more than the typical nylon fabric as found in the inside of other bags
  
• And the bright yellow color of choice inside my Western Flyer makes searching for items in low-lighting situation easy!

There are many accessories available to compliment this Western Flyer.  First and foremost, the Absolute Shoulder Strap.  In my opinion, other than the Brain Cell, this item is a must have for the Western Flyer, or any bag that you own that would allow you to replace the carrying strap.  I don’t know how did the Tom Bihn team did it, but this carrying strap made my fully loaded Western Flyer feeling like it is half the weight it was supposed to be.  This carrying strap is so comfortable that I would even take it with me to use on other bags.  Yes, it is this comfortable on your shoulder!



Up next is the Horizontal Freudian Slip.  On one side of the Slip, are compartments and pockets that allow you to store things ranging from cell phone, pens, business cards, and more.  On the other side of the Slip, are divided sections that allow you to store files and papers.  Logically, I put all the stationary on one side of the Slip, and my most often used files and paper on the other side of the Slip.  One day when I had to do some work at a local Starbucks, I noticed that I only had to pull my laptop and this Slip out, head into Starbucks to find a seat, and I’m ready to work.  I didn’t even have to drag my entire bag into the coffee shop with me. 



I also put to use on a few other accessories such as the Clear Organizer Pouch for my highlighters, a smaller one for my medication or better yet, cosmetics!
 

There is a padded pouch for storing scratch-sensitive items such as a cell-phone or an iPod.  
 

I also used the Snake Charmer to store all my cables that go in and out of my laptop.  

And for those who have an iPad or eReader, there is also a Cork Organizer Pouch that is made out of real cork!  

All these accessories can fit inside the Western Flyer without any issue.  More importantly, none of these accessories, including the Brain Cell and Shoulder Strap, is exclusive to the Western Flyer.  You can put these accessories to other bags of your choice.  Want to throw the Brain Cell inside a suit case?  Go for it! 

With that said, the point that I am trying to get across is that, the Western Flyer along with its accessories may come to be on the expensive side.  However, all of the accessories can be cross-utilized individually, or can be applied towards other (Tom Bihn’s or not) bags of your choice.  As for the Western Flyer itself, what you are paying for is truly an exceptionally sourced, designed and manufactured product.  It is a bag that is very versatile, sturdy and durable, and most importantly, comfortable to use and to touch.  Also, do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a bag that is made in America these days?  Knowing that this bag is built in America, by American, with careful quality control under the supervision of the owner himself, makes me really proud to be carrying this bag around town, and around different countries.

I know I will be using this bag for a very long time.  Maybe, after a year or so of ‘abuse,’ I will post another update on the condition of this bag, to sort of ‘testify’ my faith on the quality of this bag.  P.S. For my Readers who are interested in Camera Equipment Bag, I have been informed that Tom *is* working on a (or more?) camera insert.  I will post an update as soon as I hear from Tom’s team.

This giveaway is now closed.  Winner will be announced shortly.

Here comes the giveaway details.  Tom Bihn’s team has agreed to giveaway one 'The Shopping Bag' and one 'Clear Organizer Pouches' (Up to $49 value), to one lucky Reader of my blog.  Now, remember I talked about the super-strong Dyneema fabric that lined the inside of my Western Flyer bag?  This Shopping Bag is made entirely out of the same material!  It means that you can shop till your shoulder drops, because this bag simply won’t tear apart! 



To participate, you must first ‘Like’ Tom Bihn’s Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/TOMBIHN, then leave a comment on this post to tell me that you have ‘Liked’ the Tom Bihn’s Facebook Page, and I’ll pick a random winner using random.org. Please make sure to leave your email address within your comment so I can contact you in case you won.  And thanks to the Tom Bihn Team, they have agreed to open this giveaway to my Reader WORLDWIDE! And yes, you can pick your color of choice if you be nice!  The deadline to enter this giveaway is September 26th, 2011 by PST mid-night.  


For extra chances to win, simply do any or all of the following.  Just leave a separate comment for each additional entry.


1. Follow uTry.it on Gooogle Friends Connect. (on the right hand side bar)
2. "Like" uTry.it's Facebook Page, click here.
3. Follow uTry_it on Twitter, click here.
4. Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS feed. (on right hand side bar)
5. Tweet about this giveaway.  Please include my Twitter handle @utry_it and the link to this post in your tweet.
6. Share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook.  Please include the link to this post when you share.



Good luck everyone!




Disclaimer: I received a Tom Bihn Western Flyer bag, the Brain Cell, and the accessory bags shown on this post free of charge for the purpose of this review. I was not compensated in any other way to write this post. All opinions are 100% my own, and always will be.

This post is shared with:

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Foodie Friday

Winner Announcement of the uTry.it Birthday Giveaway

Thank you everyone who participated in the uTry.it Birthday Giveaway.  I’m thankful and appreciate for all your supports, suggestions and comments as always.  The winner selected by Random.Org for this giveaway is….Lisa from Sweet As Sugar Cookies who said:

“I always love seeing desserts. Of course, I also have a place in my heart for yummy Asian food.” 

Lisa will receive a Silpat Baking Mat and a bottle of Pure Vanilla Powder. 


Thanks again for your participation.  Stay tuned for another giveaway coming up real soon.  Have a wonderful week, my friends.

Almond Cookie Crisps

If you’ve been to a Chinese bakery, you would have probably seen these Almond Cookie Crisps.  They are usually packaged in small plastic treat bags going for $4 to $5 for just 10 or 12 cookies.  Yeah, kind of pricy but they are ridiculously good.  I obviously don’t want to pay $5 anymore for just 10 little cookies (although I had in the past, many many times when I lived closer to a Chinese bakery).  Now, I can make my own at home.  Besides saving a whole lots of money, I can enjoy these anytime I want.  *I’m doing a happy dance here when these little cookies are out of the oven!* 

The ingredients in these cookies are simple.  There are egg white, sugar, flour, salt, almond, a little butter and vanilla extract, that’s all. Yes, very simple ingredients, but that can turn into something truly amazing. Here’s a warning, these cookies care ADDITIVE! Super ADDITIVE!  Okay, you’re officially warned.



These Almond Cookie Crisps are crispy, crunchy, nutty and with a hint of vanilla.  I love to hear that crunch when you bite into one.  They’re even semi-see-through too.  They are perfect for Christmas gift-giving as well.  Hm…with a glass of milk, I can easily finish the whole batch on my own... truly some very dangerous stuff!



Not only there are just a few ingredients involved in these cookie recipe, they are super easy to make, too.  All you need is a small mixing bowl, measuring spoons, measuring cups, and a whisk.  Yes, you don’t even need to take out the hand held mixer.  The key to making these cookies super thin and crispy is to spread a small amount of the batter out.  Then, make sure the almond flakes are in a single layer, which do need a little time and patience to get the whole batch done, and so it is worth it.  Or, simply ask your kids to help out spreading them out.  It would be a fun baking project together. 



Today marks the very first day of a school year for my little boy, who started pre-school in less than a year ago.  It is also my first "back to school" experience as a Mom.  These cookies are perfect as after school snacks.  I'm sure he'll love these cookies, as much as his Mommy does.  I'm so proud of my little boy!






I'm submitting this recipe to Holiday Recipe Swap.  Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by OXO.



Almond Cookie Crisp: (Adopted from Agnes Chang’s Baking Made Easy)
Print This Recipe
Makes 42 to 45 cookies (depending on the size)

2 large egg whites, room temperature
a pinch of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons castor sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup almond slices
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven 325F. Line baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk egg white, salt, vanilla extract and sugar until foamy.  Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved.  Whisk in flour until no lumps.  Then, gently fold in almond slices and butter.

Spoon 1 to teaspoon of batter onto prepared baking sheet and spread batter into a 2 to 3-inch circle.  Make sure the almonds flakes are not overlapping each other.  Spoon the rest of the batter on baking sheet with each cookie at least 1-inch apart. Might need to bake cookies in batches.

Bake 9 to 12 minutes depending on their size, rotate baking sheet once during baking.  Bake until slightly golden brown.  Remove from baking sheet and cool completely on wire rack.  Cookies will crisp up once completely cool.

*Do not over bake them because they tend to turn a little more golden brown after they're out of the oven.

This recipe is shared with:

Full Plate Thursday
Foodie Friday
Friday Favorite
I'm Lovin' It
Friday Potluck
Fresh Food Friday
Fat Camp Friday
Sweets For Saturday
Family Fresh Cooking
Savory Sunday
Mingle Monday
Making You Crave Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
This Week's Craving
On the Menu Monday
Everyday Sister Sharing Sunday
Tuesday Talent Show

uTry.it Turns One! More Macarons…Oh yeah…and a Giveaway

uTry.it turns one today!  Woohoo!  It’s amazing looking back to the past 365 days.  365 days of happy memories because of you, every single one of you, my dear readers and food blog friends. 


When I wrote my very first blog post a year ago, I’ve never expected I would gain so much from writing a food blog (besides gaining the weights from testing out recipes, hahaha…). I’ve made so many news friends and fellow bloggers. I truly cherish all of your friendship, comments, supports, feedbacks and kindness. It’s overwhelming, but in a very positive way.





Did you know, the post that received the most comments and feedbacks in the past year was The Culinary Smackdown Battle-Cookies.  It was such a fun event/contest.  I really love to see all those scrumptious cookie recipes that you shared on my blog.  Maybe I’ll host another similar event again in the near future.  What do you think?


Speaking of cookies, the French Macaron was the type of cookie that got the most recipe posts in the past year from the cookie category.  Probably because it’s a plain canvas that I can create so many different flavor combinations in these little cuties.  What can I say, they are absolutely addictive.  If you haven’t make these cuties before, here’s the post for some basic Macaron making tips. 




To extend my appreciation for your supports of my blog, I’m hosting a Giveaway on uTry.it’s Birthday.  The prizes from the giveaway will help you to a step closer to making these Macarons as well.  That is, if you haven’t make them before. 


This Giveaway is now Closed. Thank you for everyone who participated.


Prize #1: Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Mat 11 1/2-by-16 1/2-inch.  It fits perfectly on my 12 by 17-inch baking sheets.  A must have for Macaron making. Of course, you can use the Silpat when you make any other cookies, breads, meringues, etc.

Product image from Amazon

Prize #2: Bourbon Vanilla Powder 2.5 oz. by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas. A key ingredient for Macaron making.  Adding lots of flavor but not moisture, which is essential for successful Macaron making. 

Product image from Amazon

Rules for the Giveaway:

This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world.  1 winner will be selected using Random.org and the winner will get both prizes. Must be a uTry.it public follower/member through Google Friends Connect to participate.  (See the right hand side bar under “Follower” with the button “Join this site”).  You have until Wednesday, August 31st, 12 midnight PST to enter this giveaway.  Winner will be contact via email shortly after the giveaway is closed.

Mandatory Entry: 

Leave a comment and tell me what kind/type of recipes you would like to see more on my blog.  Is it desserts,entrée, or entertaining appetizers? Do you like Chinese, Asian, French, Italian or whatever you can think of?

Additional Entries: (you can do any or all of the following, just leave a separate comments for each)

1) “Like” uTry.it’s Facebook page.  Here’s the link. 

2) Share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook.  Please include the link to this post when you share.

3) Follow uTry.it on Twitter.  Here’s the link.

4) Tweet about this giveaway.  Please include my Twitter handle @utry_it and the link to this post in your tweet.

5) Subscribe to my blog via email.  You’ll receive an email to verify the subscription.  

6) Subscribe via RSS feed.

Meyer Lemon Macarons with Blueberry Buttercream and Meyer Lemon Curd:
Printable Recipe

Makes about 30-35 filled macarons

For the shells:
110 gram egg white (3 large eggs), age the egg whites in the fridge for 2-3 day
30 gram granulated sugar
185 gram powdered sugar
110 gram almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 tablespoon of finely grated Meyer Lemon Zest

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Then, add the lemon zest and vanilla powder until well combined.
In a food processor, process the almonds and powdered sugar until the almonds are fine.  Pour into a large mixing bowl and whisk to break any lumps. 

Add the meringue into the almond mixture and fold carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. The whole folding process should be around 40 to 50 strokes.

Test a small amount on a plate. If the tops flattens on its own after 10 seconds, you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple more turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip with the batter and pipe small round (about 1.5 inches) onto baking sheets lined with a Silpat.

Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 280F and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely.

For the Blueberry Buttercream:

1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Zest of 1/2 a Meyer Lemon
2 tablespoons of Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup blueberry preserves

In a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk the sugar and egg whites constantly until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.


Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberry jam, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, about 6-10 minutes.  Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. 


For the Meyer Lemon Curd, please see recipe here.


To Assemble:
Spoon a dollop of Meyer lemon curd in the middle of a Macaron shell, pipe blueberry buttercream around the lemon curd and top with another Macaron shell.  Enjoy.


This recipe is shared with:

Sweets for Saturday
Foodie Friday
Fresh Food Friday
Friday Favorite
Fat Camp Friday
On The Menu Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Full Plate Thursday
These Chicks Cooked
Friday Favorites
I'm Lovin It
Friday Potluck
Sweet Tooth Friday

Fairy Hobmother visited me and the Fairy granted my wish!

I have a wonderful news to share.  Have you heard of the Appliances Online Fairy Hobmother?  The Fairy, who comes from this Site, goes around to different blogs granting wishes to those who have left a comment.

Not long ago, I left a comment on Lisa’s blog, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, who just got a visit from the Fairy Hobmother!  Now, the Fairy just visited me and gifted me an Amazon gift card.  It was such a pleasant surprise visit!  I spent my gift card on a lovely pink cake stand that I will use it for my Baby Girl’s upcoming birthday party.  I will show you the picture in a future post.

If you want a chance to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother, simply leave a comment and make a wish on this post and you will never know... the Fairy Hobmother could visit YOU next!!!  Good Luck!

Thank you Fairy Hobmother for granting my wish!

"On A Stick" cookbook Giveaway--Winner Announcement

We have a winner….




….to this wonderful cookbook. 

The winner will surely enjoy all 80 Party-Perfect recipes….and the winner is Melissa from Melissa’s Cuisine who said...

“I love food on a stick...I would love to have a copy of this book!”

June 14, 2011 11:06 AM

Congratulations, Melissa! 

Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway.  Thanks to Quirk Books and Matt again for sponsoring such a wonderful giveaway.  Have a wonderful day.

Baking Molds and Hong Kong Trip Goodies Giveaway--Winner Announcement

This Giveaway includes:

• 10 "Paper Wrapped Cakes" Cake Molds (aluminum)
• 20 Paper Cups that fit perfectly into these molds
• 2 Pairs of Wooden Chopsticks with Cloth Covers
• Some of my favorite candies from Hong Kong (Coke Cola flavor mentos—tempting? Frutips—black currant fruit drops, mango flavor hard candies with fructose filling)

Sorry, table cloth not included!    :P
 
And the winner is….Vseward from V’s Daily Indulgence who said

“I also "liked" uTry.it ... showing on my FB Wall. I'm suddenly craving cola mentos? Those have to be bomb, I Love mentos!”

Crave no more, Vseward.  You’ll be getting your cola mentos really soon. 

Thank you everyone who participated.  Please stay tuned for the next post and a new giveaway!  Yup, you’ve heard me right.  Another giveaway coming up soon!  Happy Monday everyone.

$50 Thrive Product Giveaway Winner Announcement

Thank you everyone who participated on the $50 Thrive Products giveaway.  The winner of this giveaway is…Mikaela, aka mama mouse who said...

“i subscribe to mistys blog”

May 29, 2011 9:59 PM

Thank you again, Misty for this wonderful giveaway.  We will contact Mikaela directly to claim her prize.  If you did not win the giveaway but interested to purchase Thrive products, simply go to Misty’s site, Shelf Reliance, or contact Misty directly for more information and discount rates on the retail prices.
Misty Marsh:  misty [at] yourownhomestore [dot] com

The baking molds and goodies from Hong Kong giveaway is still up for grabs, simply click here for the details.  Stay tuned for more giveaways on my future posts.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Braised Stuffed Cabbage—Using Thrive Products

As you know from my previous post that I’ve received some Thrive products to try.  I really enjoyed using them to create new recipes.  This was one of my favorites to share with you.  Many stuffed cabbage recipes required hours of baking/braising because of the stuffed raw meat and rice.  Thanks for Thrive products, this dish was simplified and energy friendly.  I say, it truly was a green recipe (no pun intended).



With a few simple ingredients, dinner was ready in no time.  I really love Thrive’s freeze dried products.  The flavors of each ingredient was really concentrated.  Just wanted to show you how the products looked before I add them into my recipe.

Freeze Dried Shredded Cheddar Cheese and Freeze Dried Instant White Rice

I love onions, but not so much in chopping them.  These freeze dried chopped onions (picture below) came in handy!  I used them in both the sauce and the stuffing for these Braised Stuffed Cabbage.

 

Tomato Powder, Freeze Dried Chopped Onions and Freeze Dried Cooked Ground Beef

Picture below shown the inside of the Braised Stuffed Cabbage.  My family loved this dish.  The tartness from the tomato powder really balanced well with the savory beef and cheese stuffing.  This is such a perfect dish to enjoy in the summer.  Not only it was elegant, it was also easy to make but looked as if you put hours of work into it.




I included pictures of each steps on how to prepare the cabbage leaves and to stuff them. 
1) Remove and discard the tough bottom ribs of each cabbage leave.
2) Add the cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
3) Immediately plunge them into the bowl of iced water, then, remove leaves from water and pat dry.
4) Spoon a generous 1/4 cup of filling into each leaf.

 
5) Fold the bottom part of the leaf to the center.
6) Then fold the outside edges in and roll the leaf around the stuffing
7) Arrange each roll with the seam side down so that the roll will hold itself shut.
8) Add the cabbage rolls to the sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick, sauce-like consistency, about15 to 20 minutes.




Sounded easy enough?  It really was.  My kids loved the cheesy, beefy, rice stuffing!  The cabbage leaves were soft and tender and absorbed the lovely tomato sauce.  They both ate 2 stuffed rolls each all by themselves (they are only 2 and 4 years old).  I’ll definitely make these Braised Stuffed Cabbage more often from now on.  How about you?  Would you like to try? 
 

It's still not too late to enter your name for a giveaway, courtesy of Misty from Shelf Reliance.  Please refer back to my previous post here for details.  Good Luck!

If you have any questions regarding Thrive products, Misty will be available to chat with you live at her blog on June, 6th (Monday) between 1:00pm to 1:30pm PST. Please click here to access the chat room.

A Friendly Reminder from Misty: I notice some of you shown interest in purchasing Thrive products.  Please make sure you place the order through Misty's site here (http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore) and you'll save 5%-45% off retail price, courtesy of Misty.  Isn't it cool?  If you go straight to http://shelfreliance.com you will end up paying full retail price.  Thank you for the great tip and savings, Misty!


Just linked up this recipe with “Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans.”




*Disclaimer: I received the free samples for the purpose of this review and I am not compensated in any way to write this post.  All comments and opinions are 100% my own.





Braised Stuffed Cabbage: 

Makes 12-15 Stuffed Cabbage rolls

For the sauce:

1 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, smashed
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Thrive Tomato Powder
1/4 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Chopped Onions
2 cup beef stock
2 bay leaves
1 bundle thyme
1 tablespoon of sugar
Kosher salt

For the stuffing and cabbage:

1 large head savoy cabbage (or green cabbage), tough leaves removed and tough bottom ribs discarded
1/2 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Chopped Onions
3 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
1 1/2 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Ground Beef
1 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Instant White Rice
1/2 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 egg
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
3/4 cup beef stock

To make the sauce:

Puree the carrot and garlic to a coarse paste in a food processor. Coat a large wide pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the pureed veggies and cook until they become very soft and aromatic and are starting to turn brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the white wine and let it reduce by half. Add the tomato powder, onions, beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme bundle sugar and season with salt, to taste. Adjust seasonings to your own preference.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Reserve.

To prep the cabbage:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Set up a bowl of iced water. Add the cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then immediately plunge them into the bowl of iced water. When the leaves are cool, remove them from the water and pat them dry. Reserve.

In a large bowl combine the onions, garlic, ground beef, rice, cheese, egg, rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt, to taste. Add the beef stock and mix well to combine.

Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat work surface. Spoon a generous 1/4 cup of filling into each leaf. Fold the bottom part of the leaf to the center, then fold the outside edges in and roll the leaf around the stuffing.

Arrange each roll with the seam side down so that the roll will hold itself shut. Add the cabbage rolls to the sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick, sauce-like consistency, about15 to 20 minutes. Rotate the cabbage rolls once half way through braising.

Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer the cabbage rolls to a serving platter and lightly cover with the sauce.


This recipe is linked to:
Full Plate Thursday
Food Trip Friday
Potluck Friday
Foodie Friday