FOAM!!! I got a milk foamer for Christmas and I'm kind of obsessed. This little machine has single handedly turned me into a barista.☕️I'm making lattes for breakfast, afternoon cappuccinos and evening mocha lattes. What can I say? I'm well hydrated. 😂 I'm pretty sure that you couldn't classify my homemade concoctions as true lattes or actual cappuccinos - but whatever it is - I love it. I don't even really know the actual name of this appliance. I call it the "foamer" because it makes great foam. (Any other Father of the Bride fans out there?) Clearly, I need to work on my foam art. I would describe my latte foam as abstract. I've been experimenting with different kinds of milk in my foamer all month. Just in case you were curious, whole milk and vanilla soy milk make the best foam. Low-fat cows milk makes a little less foam and almond and coconut milk don't hardly foam at all. I also tried the almond/coconut creamer and didn't have much luck getting that to foam either - but it was still delicious. 🥛 I've also used my foamer to make hot chocolate. This little machine warmed the milk perfectly and added just enough foam on top so I didn't even need to add marshmallows. Have I mentioned how much I love my milk foamer? Believe it or not, we do get cold February days in Atlanta. The kind of damp cold that just chills me to the bone. And nothing warms me up faster than a nice hot latte. Warming up from the inside out - that's my excuse to make lattes on chilly days, anyway. 🤷🏻♀️ Cold weather is a great excuse to drink lattes but the truth is, I really need no extra incentive to use my foamer and make afternoon lattes. The only problem is that I usually require a little snack to go along with my afternoon coffee treat. I can think of no better confection to accompany my homemade latte creation that this red velvet cake roll. Red Velvet Cake Roll Cake 1 cup minus 1 Tablespoons flour 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 Tablespoons canola oil 2 Tablespoons buttermilk 1 teaspoon white vinegar 1 Tablespoon red food coloring 2 teaspoons vanilla Filling 6 ounces cream cheese 4 Tablespoons butter 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour. Slice while frozen.
This particular red velvet cake roll doubled as a birthday cake. It's easy to transport and when it's pre-sliced - as easy to serve as cupcakes. Happy birthday friend - Love you. Ciao!
1 Comment
One of the reasons that I continue to write this blog is to share my recipes with all of you. The other reason, which seems somewhat selfish, is that it turns out that narrating my life on this blog has become therapeutic for me. My husband may disagree, but I would describe myself as "non-confrontational" and it's always been easier for me to write down my thoughts and feelings than to express them verbally. I wrote letters to my kids on special days, like their last day of high school, because I knew that I would be way too emotional to be able to express what I was feeling in that moment. How do I tell your son how much he means to me on his wedding day when I couldn't even get through the rehearsal dinner without tears? Letters help me to get my all of my thoughts out of my head. Putting my stories in writing also helps me recognize the ridiculousness and absurdity of situations. Remember the day that I got kicked out of the grocery store for taking pictures? 😂📷Driving home that day, I thought that was the most embarrassing and humiliating thing that ever happened to me. Then I started to journal it on my blog. As I typed the story, I began to realize just how illogical and hilarious it was. The process of journalling on this blog helps me sort things out when I'm upset too. It's a great place for me to vent when I'm angry. You have no idea how many times I rant on the blog without ever pushing the publish button. Just being able to get my thoughts onto the page, makes me feel better. This is also a great place to share when I'm bursting with pride over something that my kids are doing. (Saves me from group texting my entire contact list. 😂) My Story in Recipes helps me keep things in perspective. The recipes that I share are not what's really important. I do hope that in some small way, my stories will touch the lives of the people who read them. I hope that you can relate to them in some small way or at the very least, that they make you laugh at my ridiculousness. We all have struggles and I'm here to share my joys and my trials and this crazy life of mine with all of you. I hope that it brings you some amusement. I don't mean to imply that the recipes on my blog are irrelevant. They're simply a by product of my life story. Food is such a big part of my life that I really couldn't tell my story without including food. Taste is the sense that's most closely connected to my memory. It's not unusual for me to forget places or even people that I met last month but I DO remember specific meals that I ate ten years ago. I had my first Cuban sandwich in Florida a few years ago. I have vivid memories of the bright blue and yellow tiles that lined the walls in the restaurant. I can still hear the crunch of hungry patrons sitting near me, nibbling on homemade potato chips. Smell the aroma of spicy roasted pork lofting out of the kitchen. But for the life of me, I have no idea WHAT the restaurant was called or WHY I was in that particular place on that day. (See what I mean about food memories?) Today, I'm recreating that mouth watering Cuban Sandwich. Cuban Sandwiches Cuban bread 1/4 cup mojo from cuban pork 1/4 cup mayonnaise 12 ounces deli ham 10 ounces thinly sliced cuban pork 3 ounces deli Genoa Salami 6 ounces deli Swiss cheese 16 dill pickle chips 1/4 cup yellow mustard 4 Tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
Today's the day it all comes together. All the hard work to make the roast pork and the cuban bread pays off today. Yes, they're both delicious recipes on their own but when you combine them into one - you achieve sandwich perfection.
Ciao! 72 degrees in the first week of February. No joke. 🤷🏻♀️ I grew up in Cleveland where we would get snow by the foot and we spent our winters building snow forts in the front yard. The great thing about snow is its ability to keep kids occupied for hours. ⛄️As an adult, I lived in both Utah and Pennsylvania where I learned that adulting in cold climates is way less fun. ❄️ I spent a ridiculous amount of my day shoveling, bundling kids up in one piece snowsuits and looking for a single glove that always seemed to disappear. Obviously, we don't get a lot of snow in Atlanta. There's very little shoveling, snowman building or sledding. On the rare occasion when we do get heavy icy snow-like precipitation, the city panics. Anyone remember Snowpocalypse 2014? People drive like maniacs and empty the grocery stores of milk and bread at the very prediction of snow. 🥛🥖 😂 Even though we don't get a lot of snow, don't think for a minute that Southern kids are missing out on those wonderful gifts known as snow days. My kids had more than one "cold day" when the thermometer dipped into the 30's. I'll have to say though - cold days are way less fun than snow days when there's no sledding or snowball fights. ❄️ One of my favorite things to do on a cold-ish Georgia winter day is to bake bread. I like spending the afternoon standing in front of a warm oven and putting my icy cold hands in warm dough. Even though the humidity is better for rising loaves in the summer - I bake a whole lot more bread during the winter months. Italian bread, baguettes, whole grain rolls, flatbreads, bagels, pita, challah, babka - I've made them all. The one bread that I haven't yet attempted was Cuban Bread. The thing that separates Cuban from other bread loaves is lard. Yes, lard. It's what gives this bread it's unique softness and crispy exterior. Cook's Country magazine published this recipe for Cuban bread in their most recent magazine and I think it's absolutely amazing. Cuban Bread Sponge 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon yeast Dough 3 cups flour 2 teaspoons yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 cup warm water 1/4 cup lard
Remove pan with tongs and bake an additional 10-12 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool. Did anyone else think that Cuban bread originated in Cuba? I just found out that Cuban bread actually originated in Florida. Tampa or Miami to be exact. Still trying to process this information.
In case you're keeping track - this is the second recipe in my 3 part Cuban Sandwich series. Make sure you check back in on Friday to see how it all comes together. Ciao! I admit that I push the trespassing boundaries occasionally, but when it comes to cooking, I don't stray from the recipe very often. I change up the ingredients and alter the proportions every once in a while but I typically follow the step by step instructions exactly as they are written. There's usually a reason that the steps are arranged in a particular sequence in a recipe. After all, you can't make a pie without first preparing the crust. 🥧 You can't make a loaf of bread without first proofing the yeast. 🥖 You also can't make a great Cuban sandwich without first making some great roast pork. Even though this is a post about Cuban pork, my ultimate goal was to make a great Cuban Sandwich. Before I could start on my sandwich though, I first had to tackle the roast pork and then the homemade Cuban bread. Once I made my pork and bread, then and only then, could I gather the rest of my sandwich ingredients and start to assemble the sandwich. The first step in a perfect Cubano is expertly roasted pork. This Cuban and Spanish influenced pork is amazing all on it's own but it also makes a great filling for a delicious Cuban sandwich. Cuban Roast Pork with Mojo Pork 1/3 cup salt 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 Tablespoon lime zest 1 Tablespoon orange zest 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons oregano 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 5 pound boneless pork butt roast Mojo 1/3 cup olive oil 6 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup pineapple juice 1/3 cup orange juice 1/3 cup lime juice 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon pepper 3/4 teaspoon oregano 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Slice pork as thin as possible. Serve with mojo. If you plan on slicing this pork for sandwiches, make sure that you chill it first. My pork fell apart in pieces when it was warm. After refrigerating it overnight though, I managed to get some nice thin slices, perfect for my Cuban sandwiches. Enjoy.
Ciao! |
Like my page on facebook.
Follow me on Instagram
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|