Connor is completely addicted to these tasty morsels!  And if I had owned and operated a bar, I would put out huge bowls of these. Customers would inhale them and then order more drinks!

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So easy, so good!

Sweet and Savory Pretzel Bites

1 package frozen Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed according to package directions
Savory
3/4 cup baking soda
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Sweet
Melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

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Do you have a child in your life?
Does he/she love spaghetti?
Do you want to see a huge smile on their face?
Then make this – and be sure to have them help you!
Joy!

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Today is the last day of the 2012 Summer Kid’s Cooking Classes – meaning yesterday was the last “Surprise Me Thursday” – which is the day we make cool stuff I found on Pinterest.  How darn cute is this?

Rice Krispies Treats are one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, always have been, always will be. It takes all kinds of stupid willpower to avoid them at the ballpark when those vendors come down the aisles with a tray full of them. I am proud to say that I have never paid for a Rice Krispies Treat at Chase Field. Why pay for such a thing when they are the easiest things on earth to make at home? That being said, somehow I still have to fight the temptation to pay big bucks for one. I can tell you one thing if they sold Rice Krispies Treats that look like this, I’d buy one for sure!

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Mini Skirts, Mini Coopers, and Mini Food – they’re all awesome.

What is it about taking what is commonly full-sized and shrinking it down to mini-sized that makes it even more appealing? Is it just that it is cuter or does it actually make it taste even better?  I’m not certain, but there is most certainly something about it that is so very likable.

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For our Meatless Monday classes this summer, one of the favorites has been this salad. An adaptation of the iconic Stetson Chopped Salad from Cowboy Ciao, which has been open on Stetson Drive in Old Town Scottsdale for 15 years.

Traditionally the salad has a row of chopped smoked salmon. We have left it out to make it a vegetarian dish.  If you would like to make it the Cowboy Ciao way, (which is exactly what I would do!!) add in 4 ounces of diced smoked salmon as the last row of the salad.

The photo above is the salad at Cowboy Ciao. It is an individual serving, brought to the table with the dressing on two spoons, ready for you to toss in as you like.

This recipe makes enough for 8 and is also brought to the table to have the dressing added at the last minute and then served family-style.

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This post should be called “Surprise Me Thursday – Part 4” except we didn’t make this dessert on Thursday.  No, we made it to serve 24 at our Teen Week graduation lunch on Friday.  Although, I did find it on Pinterest… and originally I had planned to make it on a Thursday.  Until, one of the students wrote down “Red Velvet Cake” on their menu suggestion card (which I have the teens fill out on Monday mornings), and I thought, “Hey this is the perfect opportunity to make those cute mason jar cakes I see daily all over Pinterest.”  Two Birds – One stone.

These are so delightful and oh so delectable, that they are now my go-to party dessert!

By the way, we made the recipe twice to get 24 jars.  You may double the frosting but don’t try to double the cake portion… instead, make two separate batches.

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Yesterday I explained how I had an extra angel food cake hanging around after I had made one ahead for class and then had the kids make one too.  The question was, “What does one do with an entire extra angel food cake?”  I took to Pinterest for the answer and found out that one makes Angel Food Cake French Toast.  But of course! The recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens.

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I don’t know what my record high is for the number of photos in one post, but this may top them all.  Why would such a sweet, innocent, plain-Jane-looking, and in fact, angelic cake need so many (14) descriptive pictures? Because when we’re talking about angel food cake, we’re talking all about the “Incredible Edible Egg.”

Eggs truly are incredible!  Perfection in a shell.  Magical, if you will.  They are the workhorse of the kitchen, providing the strength to bind ingredients, the power to rise and puff soufflés, and the delicacy to act as the wings of an angel food cake. Simple egg whites whip up into soft, fluffy, light as air, clouds of creamy goodness.

Egg whites are mostly protein and have no fat.  When whipped, they hold air, and their volume increases by up to 7 times. When whipping whites, what you are looking for is “peaks”. With soft peaks, the bubbles are a little more pronounced, and when you remove the beating whisk, the peaks tip over. Stiff peaks stand up straight when you remove the whisk. Egg whites whipped to this stage are used in meringues and cakes when sugar is added.

Plus, once the sugar is added, you won’t need to worry about over-beating, and the meringue can be whipped almost indefinitely… but only once the sugar is in there, otherwise it is quite easy to over-beat the whites. They will become dry and separate into clumps. Once that happens – they are ruined.

A most important note: Egg whites simply will not whip in the presence of fat. Egg yolks contain all the fat in an egg, so if you drop a little bit of yolk into your whites, carefully remove it by scooping with a bit of eggshell, this works because the shell attracts the yolk (same is true if egg shell gets into your cracked egg -shell also attracts to shell).  If there is more than a drop of yolk in the whites, just toss that egg out and start over.  And always whip with a sparkling clean whisk and bowl.

Ironically, fresh cold eggs are easiest to separate but older room temperature eggs whip quicker and can achieve a bit more volume. Personally, I separate my eggs when they are cold and don’t worry about how fresh they are or even wait for them to come to room temperature, it is what it is!

The reason recipes often call for cream of tartar or lemon juice is that acid makes beaten whites more stable.

And the reason angel food cakes are inverted as they are cooling is because this cooling method keeps the cake from collapsing or deflating once it is removed from the oven.  (I think my photo of the cake inverted on a wine bottle looks like a table lamp… but maybe that’s just me.)

Hopefully all this is more than you ever wanted or needed to know about the wonderful egg  –  now on to the main attraction – The Cake!

Oh wait, one more thing… real quick… I had to make a cake ahead of time, then the kids made the cake in class.  They frosted my cake and tomorrow I will show you what we did with the cake they made – Oh my word, you will L-O-V-E IT!

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On Saturday, I was supposed to post the scallop and chorizo recipe I served at the Thursday night “Dirty Book Club”.  I forgot – but no one seemed to notice.  No harm, no foul.  Since you didn’t appear to be waiting with bated breath, how about I delay it a tiny bit longer and tell you all about my pretty flowers and trophies?

Above is a photo of the flowers I gave to Dave for Father’s Day.  I was about to arrange them in regular old vases, when I remembered that I had just seen peonies and other flowers as trophies at the gorgeous home of my friend, Shelia.  Yes, trophies, are so much more manly than vases.   Especially when you consider that Dave won the golf tournament he played in over the weekend! I wish they gave out trophies at the darn club, but I think he’ll just get club or store credit. That sucks, trophies are way cooler!

The two tall trophies hold peonies and sunflowers from Trader Joe’s. They are replicas of vintage trophies. I bought them online at Antique Farm House.

If they are offered for sale again, I’m going to get at least one more – OK probably two – can’t help it, I love them!

The small loving cup is a true antique and holds dahlias and lavender sprigs from my garden.

Oh, and it was exactly one year ago today that my baby girl moved to San Francisco. Time Does Fly!  I miss her dearly but am so excited because I just booked tickets for Connor and I to fly off and visit her in just six short weeks!!!  OK, no more delaying… it is recipe time…

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