This ice cream is very adult and powerfully delicious. It was inspired by a tiny bottle of Makers Mark Bourbon (and the Booze and Shoes tour that took us on a trip to the Jim Beam bourbon distillery) that I received as a welcome gift on my recent trip to Louisville, Kentucky. Continue reading
If anyone has ever had the pleasure of feasting on Pimiento de Padron (sometimes just known as Padron peppers), you know exactly what I mean by playing Russian Roulette with these gorgeous tasty peppers. Most of them are sweet, mild, a little bit nutty and very tasty, but every so often (usually a couple in each batch) are hot … ranging from mildly spicy to super hot. And the trick is there is no way to differentiate the mild ones from the hot ones. So when you’re eating them you never know what you’re going to get. Continue reading
Share our Strength Taste of the Nation Napa Valley
Even in the land of plenty, we face an epidemic of child hunger. Estimates are that as many as 1 in 4 children in America face hunger at some point growing up. And not the kind of hunger that strikes at midnight when you want a little sweet to nibble on, but the kind of hunger that gnaws at your belly wondering where your next meal will come from.
The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.
I was pretty excited to try my hand at making pierogis because I’ve never tried them and am always up for a new adventure. Pierogis are kind of a cross between a noodley dumpling and a ravioli, but are decidedly Eastern European. The typical fillings are potato or cabbage but many variations exist.
I knew I wanted to create a regional periogi filling and I thought about it for a good part of the month. I finally decided to create some Ragin Cajun fillings, one with cabbage and andouile sausage an the other with sweet potato, pecans and light Cajun seasonings. Continue reading
I’m about to embark on a new phase in the evolution of My Luscious Temple.
Over the next few months I’ll be:
- doing more cooking
- reviewing more restaurants
- covering more destinations with a ’10 Favorites in … ‘ feature
- writing about our month long trek across Spain in 8 weeks
- opening an OpenSky store to sell some of my favorite cooking and travel gear
I’m also competing in Foodbuzz‘s ‘Next Food Blog Star’ competition (though it starts when we’re in Spain so not sure how fully I’ll be able to participate).
I’m hoping that My Luscious Temple will become a fun destination for you on the web whether you’re looking for some great approachable recipes, some interesting culinary challenges, where to eat on your next trip to Vegas or are just interested in some armchair travel adventures … all in the spirit of living life to it’s fullest while savoring every minute of pleasure, passion and joy.
To help get things started, I’m hosting a giveaway for Susan Spicer’s Crescent City Cooking cookbook. Continue reading
The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s World – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.
When I first read this challenge, I thought, what a beautiful, challenging, fun project to try. And it has been all of those things. I love ice cream (particularly in the summer – even in the cold San Francisco summer), love cake and adore the two together. And it was super fun to come up with some different flavor combinations. I chose cherry, Grand Marnier and chocolate as my flavors … cherry ice cream, Grand Marnier ice cream and filling with chocolate cake and fudge sauce. Divine! Continue reading
This hot fudge sauce was one of the components of a Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake, the July Daring Bakers Challenge. Continue reading
With an abundance of cherries (one of my favorite fruits) this summer, I’ve been looking for as many ways as possible to use them. I participated in July’s Daring Baker’s Challenge which was a Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake … Yum! This ice cream was one of the layers. Continue reading
This ice cream was one of the components of the July Daring Bakers Challenge, a Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake. It is rich and sophisticated and just a very light tasting. It combines well with chocolate or other fruit flavors. Continue reading
A Swiss Roll Cake is a thin rectangular cake made in a jelly roll pan that you fill with some kind of creamy goodness and roll it into a log shape. They are the basis for some wonderful desserts like the Buche de Noel.
I had never made one of these before and thought it would be pretty tricky. But as it turns out it was a piece of cake (pun intended). The only tricky bit is making sure you don’t overcook the cake because if it dries out, it will be impossible to roll without crumbling.
I participated in the July Daring Bakers Challenge where we made a Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake using this cake as the foundation for the dish. Continue reading
