Glide Zen

I have a confession. This is the very first time in my life I have made royal icing. It is the very first time in my life I've made iced sugar cookies. So please don't be too critical I've got a few things to learn about the tricks of icing. The reason I haven't made icing and iced sugar cookies up until now because I've tasted iced sugar cookies before and I've always liked the frosted puffy version better. But, iced sugar cookies can be decorated far prettier and they make better gifts so I decided it was the perfect season to give them a try.  The icing really wasn't hard to make thanks to Annie's wonderful tutorial (from her blog - Annie's Eats ). Before I reading that tutorial I didn't even know what flood icing was. Her blog has always been one of my favorites. She does amazing work that always looks flawless.  These cookies are so delicious and are also so fun to make. Some of you may know by know how I love art and I love food so th...

Mmmmm doughnuts. Who doesn't love them? I love that this version comes in muffin form and tastes just like cake doughnuts without being fried! Therefore they are easier, healthier, with less frying mess to clean up and they taste just as good as the real thing. I saw this recipe over on Fine Cooking  and knew I had to try it. After reading through the reviews I made a few adaptations of my own to add flavor, increase muffin height, slightly change texture and opted to go for a doughnut glaze rather than a buttered cinnamon sugar coating.  Now the only problem I have is that I want to eat them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner and dinner. I'm excited to try other variations of this muffin in the future (like orange cranberry, lemon poppy seed, dulce de leche, blueberry or jam filled, chocolate or pumpkin). Endless and delightfully delicious possibilities. Enjoy! Glazed Doughnut Muffins Yields 1 dozen Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 tsp baking ...

Who doesn't love a quick and simple meal that wows? This Pasta with Browned Butter and Mizithra cheese can be made in 15 minutes, yes 15 minutes, and its a recipe you are going to want to keep for life.  In my opinion one of the best entrees you can get at the Old Spaghetti Factory is their Spaghetti with Mizithra and Browned Butter. It is simply amazing! But, why go there and spend $11 for one when you can feed a family of 4 the same meal for less than that at home? It's funny to me posting such a simple recipe because it's so simple you don't need a recipe for it, this is more sharing the idea if you haven't yet tried it.  Another great thing about this meal is that it pleases everyone, from the gourmet sleuth to your pickiest eater. No one can deny the delicious flavors of this pasta. And "Mizithra," isn't it just fun to say? You can serve this garnished with chopped fresh parsley like they do at The Old Spaghetti Factory but I really don...

Okay, so this is officially the longest post I think I've ever done. It's taken a few days for this one and I've been thinking of what I'd put in these Cinnamon Rolls for a long time . I've been wanting to create my own cinnamon roll recipe for months and yesterday I finally decided it was time. So, let me explain a few things. The first batch I made was delicious but I knew it could be just a bit better. It was flavorful, tender, moist, fluffy. Basically it had nearly everything I could ever ask for from a cinnamon roll, except they just weren't big and grand enough. So today I woke up bright and early and made a second batch, and in my opinion, perfected them. Words nearly can't describe the goodness of these cinnamon rolls. I have never sunk my teeth into a cinnamon roll so good. I'm sorry, I know that sounds SO bragish but it is true. This is what I work for. These are why I love my job. I get to wake up and create something delicious, then slow...

A healthy breakfast smoothie that tastes like dessert, I will take one of each flavor please. I'm a firm believer that healthy foods don't need to taste like cardboard, indeed they can be just as delicious as their unhealthy competitors. I don't know if I've mentioned before but I always like to have a healthy, low calorie breakfast and lunch, then at dinner I splurge a little and always have dessert. I exercise 6 days a week because I think it's a good balance for me. I watch Food Network while I run on the treadmill, it always keeps me going =). For breakfast I try to keep it around 300-400 calories 6 days a week (every Sunday I make a big brunch and splurge), so I like to have banana oatmeal, whole grain cream of wheat, whole grain cereal with almond milk or these smoothies with almond milk. Yes, I've made the change over to almond milk. I didn't believe it when I heard some random fact of how many people prefer the taste of almond milk to milk until ...

What is one out of the ordinary thing you should add as a new highlight to the Thanksgiving feast this year? Something that probably wouldn't have come to mind, whipped specialty butters to go along with those fresh out of the oven, homemade rolls. These butters are amazing! I was at my mother-in-laws a few days ago and she had fresh bread and some whipped cinnamon honey butter she'd bought at the store. I knew it would be a breeze to recreate after reading the ingredients list on the packaging label, so I came home and made it. In my opinion the homemade version may just be a bit better because it's freshly made, but other than that they taste exactly the same.  I also decided to create a few other versions as well because why stop at just one flavor? There are many more I wanted to make but didn't have the time. Here's a few I had in mind: orange honey butter with orange extract and fresh orange zest, salted caramel butter with caramel sauce (rather than ho...

Is there anything like a fresh, hot out of the oven, homemade dinner roll? Dinner rolls are a classic that will never fade. These dinner rolls are dangerously good! How could something with so few simple ingredients be so delicious? I will tell you how: lots of butter, whole milk and a little patience. While creating this recipe, I was looking to achieve a tender, pillow-y soft texture, along with a light sweetness that wasn't overpowering (if I wanted a roll that was super sweet I'd just have cake), with just the right amount of moisture and fats - hence the use of whole milk along with the butter. I prefer a larger ratio of milk than water because water has zero flavor so why let it waste good space in the roll?  I love making fresh breads and rolls, because I let my KitchenAid mixer do all the work =). The hardest part is that "little patience" I mentioned before, the rising time. I wish they'd just go POOF! in a number of seconds and be beautifull...

Not too long ago we received out very first water filtration system! It is the PUR Advanced Faucet Water Filtration System. (I chose chrome to match my chrome faucet.) Not only is it a water filtration system, but it is a natural water filtration system! The water is cleaned by the activated carbon microfilter. It is then filtered over natural minerals ( not some chemical or who knows what ) to improve the taste. So all you are left behind with is crisp, clear and refreshing water as the filter removes over 99% of many substances from you tap water. We've never lived in a big city so I never felt like I needed a water filtration system, but I think that was definitely a misconception. My observant little three year old quickly noticed the new addition to the kitchen sink faucet, once we added this faucet filtration system, and she asked my husband and me what it was all about. We explained how it cleaned our water so it would be better for us to drink. Well, a fe...

Say hello to soup season and another restaurant copycat recipe you can make at home. Whenever we'd to go to Olive Garden I use to always get the Minestrone soup or once in a while the Zuppa Toscana. A few months ago I finally decided to step out of that comfort zone and try something new, their Pasta e Fagioli Soup. It is hearty and delicious. It is a meal of itself. I don't love everything at Olive Garden but I always like their soup and their salad (although I wish the salad had better greens in it and it wasn't so skimpy on the tomatoes and olives. And no I'm not picky =). Anyway I thought this soup would be pretty easy to recreate at home, so yesterday I went and ordered their Pasta e Fagioli Soup and brought it home to make my own and compare. They are nearly exactly the same. I didn't do the fancy matchstick cut of the carrots but feel free to do so if you'd like.  I just served this as the main dish along with some fresh out of the oven (unbeliev...

Hello Breakfast! Ordinary French toast gets a major upgrade with a few exciting coconut additions. This fluffy french toast is made with creamy coconut milk and then it gets more real coconut flavor from pure coconut extract. Then it's cooked until perfectly golden and drenched with an irresistible, deliciously sweet coconut syrup (which again is full of real coconut flavor from coconut milk and extract) and to finish it's sprinkled with what more but the real thing, shredded sweetened coconut.  I listed below additional ideas for this french toast which I cannot wait to make in the future. This recipe is definitely going into my breakfast (and dinner) rotation! Enjoy and share! Coconut French Toast Yields 10 slices (about 5 servings) Ingredients: 1/2 cup canned coconut milk, well shaken 1/2 cup milk 5 large eggs 1/2 tsp coconut extract 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 1 Tbsp granulated sugar 1/8 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp s...