Tips

Drizzle up Some Style, Fresh Raspberry Sauce

Here is one of the simple tips that I let the hosts of Twin Cities Live demonstrate and how you can achieve it at home. You mostly likely already have everything you need.

Adding a little drizzle not only adds design to a plate it adds another element of color and flavor making the food more interesting and tasty. Here is what I did with a traditional box brownie mix to make it a decadent treat. Cut the brownies first then drizzle them with melted white chocolate  Make a fresh raspberry sauce to decorate the plate and introduce another flavor and color. Finish off the presentation with a fresh mint leaf and raspberry and no one would ever guess it came from a box. Enjoy!

You can add a drizzle to almost anything. Here are a few suggestions and what you will need.

Equipment:
Some items like dessert sauces and thicker salad dressing already come in bottles that you can drizzle from. If you want to create your one or have a little more control you can easily make a piping bag from any plastic food safe baggie. To easily fill the bag fold the edges over an empty cup to hold the bag open while you fill it. Be sure not to use items that are too hot or you will melt the bag. Gather the mixture to be drizzled in one corner or the bag and carefully cut just the tip of the bag. remember the larger the cut the faster and thicker your drizzle will come out.


Craft stores also sell plastic bottles that can be filled and reused.

Items to drizzle

Sweet:
chocolate sauce
carmel sauce
thin down preserves with a bit of water
chocolate, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon shortening
make your own dessert sauces (see below)

Savory:
Extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
thick salad dressings
peanut sauce
Asian sauces
pan sauces from roasting meats

Love,
Rachel

 

Fresh Raspberry Sauce

This sauce is perfect to drizzle over plates, desserts, ice cream add a touch of vinegar and you could even drizzle it over a salad. You can also subsituite out the raspberries for any other berry fruit if you prefer strawberry, blackberry or blueberry.

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (you can add a little more at the end if the sauce is too tart)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

In a small saucepan combine with water, sugar and cornstarch mixing well to be sure there are no lumps. Next add the lemon juice and raspberries. Heat the mixture until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5-8 minutes until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Allow to cool and use to drizzle over your desserts and or decorate your plates.

Make Outdoor Entertaining a Breeze

This summer before you plan your activities and events be sure to keep comfort in your mind. Make a basket of the essential outdoor items and put them in a pretty basket. Keep the basket close to the door or in an easy to find location this way if you have guests over or the kids are outside playing you don’t have to always be looking for the essentials when you need them most.

This is a great thing to have on hard for outdoor parties or any event where people will be outside for a longer period of time. Leaving a little welcome note on it lets guests know they can help themselves if needed rather than having to ask for it. This lets you the host be free to enjoy your company and attend to other activities rather than rummaging through the house for half the event trying to find the requested items.

Items to include in the outdoor comfort basket could include items such as:
Bug Spray
A few varieties of sun screen
Aloe Gell
Hand Sanitizer
Travel Tissues
Wet Wipes
Travel Spot remover, just incase you spill
Aspirin
Band-aids and ointment
Sting Relief spray or gell
Paper Fans
* Add items as you feel necessary to fit your group and families needs

I wish you and your loved ones a fun filled and comfortable summer.

Love,
Rachel

Building a Better Brownie

Homemade A Boxed Mix B
Homemade A
Boxed Mix B

I love brownies and to be honest, I don’t think I have ever met a person who said they did not like brownies. I think they are great because with just a few ingredients you have easy desserts for a group. The best part is that they can easily be made into custom treats. By adding just a 1/2 cup of another ingredient such as chocolate chips, nuts, butterscotch chips, marshmallows, coconut, or dried fruits like cranberries either on top on mixed into your batter you can create signature brownies. Go ahead and experiment to see what is your favorite.

 

The real question is which is better? Brownies that are homemade or brownies from a box, and can you really tell the difference?
I took the matter to the into my own hands and invited you to be the judge. After making several batches of brownies, one set from a box and one set from a trusted general brownie recipe. The results are in and what the distinguished tasters had to say is very interesting.

The overall brownie winner for taste alone was Brownie B with a total of 22 votes for being the favorite of those votes 14 said they thought this brownie was homemade with comments such as they thought it was, “chocolate’er, softer, more moist, tasted fresh and smooth, that it had more chocolate flavor, was more creamy fudge like and overall more sweet.” 5 people thought that is was baked from a box.

But the race was a close one as Brownie A had 16 votes as the better brownie. Of those votes 13 thought that it was homemade with comments such as, “it has a better texture, moist, it was lighter, had more flavor, tasted like eggs not preservatives and was creamier.” 3 people thought it was made from a box.

2 people said they could not tell and liked them both! So, which was which? Brownie A was the homemade recipe and Brownie B came from a box.

I think that last comment says it pretty well. If you did not have the two side by side people will always eat them up and enjoy never even questioning how they were made. With that said, the choice is really yours. What do you like and what do you have the time and money for? Box brownies are so very simple you can have a batch of these in the oven usually in less than 5 minutes only dirtying one bowl and they relatively inexpensive ranging from $1-$4 per box. Homemade brownies depending on the recipe take about 15-25 minutes to get into the oven. They usualy use a few bowls and maybe even a pan or mixer as well. They cost $5+ depending on what quality of chocolate you are using.

For me I always have a box of brownies in my cupbord because I know I always have a simple sweet to offer guests or, give the kids a treat or make an impressive semi-homade dessert in minutes. Box brownies have been a lifesaver for parties in the past and they will always hold a space in my pantry. I am all for homemade items as I do like to know what is in my food but sometimes in a buys life time is short and convince is king. Box brownies are one product I am happy to have.

Happy Baking,
Rachel