Remember me telling you a while ago that I was slightly addicted to dark chocolate? Well I was not really lying. I seem to eat it multiple times through the week (only in moderation of course) and I love it!! I cannot get enough of it, especially as a little treat after a savory meal.

With that said, I thought to myself about making dark chocolate chip cookies.  I mean pretty easy – just substitute the milk chocolate chips in for dark chocolate chips and away you go.  Genius, but then I said… what if I eat the whole batch of cookies?  Mrs Zesty and little zest’s do not love dark chocolate at all as a matter of fact, zesty junior coins the taste as ” ewww yuck, Dad that is terrible”.

But guess what?  I made the cookies anyway and pretty much did eat the whole batch…. go Bowflex!

Ingredients

• 2/3 Cup Melted Butter
• 2 Cups Lightly Packed Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Hot Water
• 2 2/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1 Package (270g) Dark Chocolate Chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and hot water and mix well.
3. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
4. Add the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly.
5. Drop from spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet
6. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For a chewier thinner cookie, press the dough down with a spatula or fork and make sure you under cook them slightly.  I would suggest 7 minutes depending on the thickness.  Trial and error as this batch will yield at least 24-36 cookies.

So it is Friday and Monday is a holiday here for us.  Whoooo hooooo.  We have a sleigh ride slated for tomorrow afternoon but the weather may throw a wrench into that plan.  Too early to tell so I will play it by ear.  Other than that, I think this weekend may be deemed relaxation and catch up on consulting work.  Oh and likely a few Dexter episodes.  Have a super Friday and I will catch you Monday for a new week.

Take care

zesty

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Help The Student Event: Day 19

We made it! Survived the weekend!  Is that ever difficult.  I always find they zoom by so fast.  I played 18 holes of golf with the brother in laws and zesty nephew yesterday…. Is it embarrassing to say that of the 206 bones in my body, 196 of them are sore this morning?  I know I know… I am somewhat out of shape ( depending on what shape you are referring too)

However today, To wrap up the final week of “Help The Student Event” I bring to you a very simple yet very tasty quick dish you can make with your friends over or even when you are craving cheese.  5 Ingredients and 45 minutes is all you need.

This all comes back to the fact that I am a huge bread baby and I am always attracted to pastry.

For ease of time I opted to go for the puff pastry. This bake might be the easiest show stopper appetizer I’ve ever made. The look of this dish as it came out of the oven was pure bliss. I could almost taste the warm jam melted with warm soft cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 Pkg. Puff Pastry
• 1 Brie Wheel (1lb)
• 1 Egg
• Sprinkle Sugar and Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. Fruit Spread ( blackberry )

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 325°.
2. Thaw the pastry and put a couple of spoonfuls of the fruit spread in the middle.
3. Cut one side of the rind off the brie and put it face up in the fruit spread.
4. Wrap the fruit and brie with the pastry.
5. Cover with egg wash (egg and a bit of water) and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°. You’ll be able to tell when it’s done!



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For the filling, avoid the pastry from getting too wet from the spread by choosing what I call a tight spread (not too runny).

Have a super Monday!  Stay tuned for something simple yet practical for tomorrow’s recipe/tip.  Does anybody have anything they would like to see for the next three days, if so let me know and I will try my best.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

We made it!  Friday is here and I am super excited.  Why you might ask?  I am so tired that I could sleep standing up!  I am looking forward to relaxing on the weekend as well as doing a little blogging.

However today, I bring you the final installment of zesty’s catering week.  I do though have a couple of other dishes that were served that I will likely fold into the mix next week.  So stay tuned for that.

What surprise do I have for you today?  A Brie Bake – my first time ever making this beauty!  I was thumbing through a magazine where someone was talking about a Brie Bake which got me so excited that I had to try it out.  This all comes back to the fact that I am a huge bread baby and I am always attracted to pastry.

For ease of time I opted to go for the puff pastry as I did with the Beef Mushroom Pastries from yesterday.  This bake might be the easiest show stopper appetizer I’ve ever made.  The look of this dish as it came out of the oven was pure bliss.  I could almost taste the warm jam melted with warm soft cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 Pkg. Puff Pastry
• 1 Brie Wheel (1lb)
• 1 Egg
• Sprinkle Sugar and Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp.  Fruit Spread ( strawberry)

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 325°.
2. Thaw the pastry and put a couple of spoonfuls of the fruit spread in the middle.
3. Cut one side of the rind off the brie and put it face up in the fruit spread.
4. Wrap the fruit and brie with the pastry.
5. Cover with egg wash (egg and a bit of water) and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°. You’ll be able to tell when it’s done!



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip:  For the filling, avoid the pastry from getting too wet from the spread by choosing what I call a tight spread (not too runny).

Before leaving for the weekend, I want to announce that the e-book will be ready for download early next week.  I am really excited to have put this together.  As well I am happy to have included some of the top food bloggers out there.  I cannot wait to share with you the list of foodies that are featured in the book.  Have a great weekend.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Ever crave homemade bread but you don’t have the energy to do it from scratch?  I had this issue on Tuesday – so I decided to haul out the bread maker and let it do the work for me.  I am a little lazy at times or perhaps it’s better to call it efficient.  Neither here nor there, I want to share with you a very nice bread recipe for your bread maker.

Cheesy Cheese Bread sounded delicious when I read it and I had all the ingredients on hand.  What the heck, lets drop the ingredients into the bread maker and let it spin.

Remember with bread maker recipes you have to follow the measurements exactly or you could have a flop.

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Lukewarm Water
• 1/2 Cup Creamed Cottage Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Old Cheddar Cheese
• 3 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 3 Cups White Flour
• 2 Tsp. Yeast

Method

1. Measure ingredients in order listed into baking pan.
2. Insert baking pan securely into bread maker; close lid.
3. Select sweet setting and 1.5 lb Loaf.  Choose light or dark (I chose dark).
4. Push the start button and let it go.  Time will be 3:50 hours.
5. Once complete, remove baking pan and allow to cool before slicing.



6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When using bread maker recipes, be sure to measure exact and ensure that your ingredients are fresh.  Especially flour and yeast.  The slightest adjustment when measuring can throw the process off.

Question of the Day: Do you have a breadmaker and if so – Do you use it frequently?

Have a great Thursday!  We are preparing for a winter storm here yet again.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

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Well as we all know – great pizza starts off with a great crust/dough.  Below is a simple quick recipe I tend to use if I make it from scratch.  If I dont make it from scratch I usually purchase “pizza dough” from a bakery or grocery store.  Totally up to you – but I tend to go for homemade.

Ingredients

• 1 package dried yeast (1½ tsp – 8ml)

• 1/2 tsp sugar (3ml)

• 1½ cup lukewarm water (375ml)

• 3½ cups white flour (500 gm)1½ tsp salt (8ml)

• 1 large egg

• olive oil

Instructions

Sprinkle yeast and sugar into warm water and mix. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until mixture begins to bubble. Combine flour and salt in large bowl, make a well in the centre, pour in yeast mixture and beaten egg and gradually work in the flour to make a dough.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead thoroughly until smooth and elastic – at least 5 minutes. Use only enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.

Place in lightly oiled bowl, turn dough to coat with oil and cover with a clean cloth.

Allow to rise for 45 minutes, or until doubled in volume. Punch down and then use as directed in recipe. (Use rolling motion with fists to force-stretch dough to size of pizza pan)

Building the Pizza

I first started off with a simple tomato sauce,not too much we dont want the pizza dough to get wet and soggy. After that I always put a little cheese on there – for this pizza i went with some fresh parmesan cheese down, followed by some really good pepperoni, pineapple and mushrooms.

I then topped that with some mozzerella cheese and baked in my new fancy toaster oven until bubbly and brown. Once baked perfectly, I removed it from the oven and topped it with fresh tomatoes and some shredded parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper.

I must say it was a very good pizza and of course the toppings are endless and definitely customizable to your tastes. Give it a try and let me know what you thought. I would love to hear other peoples tips and tricks to great pizza.

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