Food – Brianne Elizabeth

Carlos’ Hawaiian Luau Birthday

April 26, 2018 brianneilizaliturri2 Comments

I love a good theme party, so when my husband suggested that we have a Hawaiian Luau party for his 31st birthday I was incredibly excited. Immediately, I began to brainstorm what kind of foods we would serve as the food is always my favorite part of any party. Carlos jokingly suggested that we roast a pig on a spit, much to my horror, but he ultimately decided on pulled pork sandwiches (with pork purchased at the store) and various sides. For an appetizer, we made bacon wrapped jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, both a regular version and a vegetarian version. Accompanying the pulled pork sandwiches was a spaghetti salad as well as chips and salsa. For the vegetarians in the group, we used the Gardein sweet and sour porkless bites. I had never had this kind of sandwich before and I was amazed at how well the pork bites, coleslaw, and King’s Hawaiian rolls complemented each other. I loved it so much that we made it again for dinner last night!

These are delicious and found at many grocery chains as well as on Amazon

For dessert, I wanted to do a cake that was on theme, however, Carlos also wanted a special birthday cake. I decided to make two cakes as we anticipated having around 20 people, and we still ended up having mountains of cake left over! The on theme cake that I made was a Hawaiian Wedding Cake. This recipe came from one of the ladies who goes to my parent’s church. It is simple to make and turned out well, however I will adjust a few aspects of the recipe next time that I make it.

I followed the recipe, however I did find one direction confusing. Where it says “Blend cream cheese with pudding and gradually add milk,” I didn’t know whether it meant to blend the cream cheese with fully prepared pudding or to mix it with the pudding powder. My mother believed that it meant to mix it with the pudding powder, so that is what I did. It tasted fine, but wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked. In the future, I will mix the pudding powder with the milk first and then blend in the cream cheese. It is also important to make sure that the cream cheese is softened to at least room temperature. Another variation to the recipe that I will try in the future is to make it like a poke cake. This would allow the pudding and pineapple mixture to seep into the cake and have the flavors be better incorporated, rather than just having a cake layer and a toppings layer. Overall, the cake was quite tasty and I was very glad that I’d made it.

The second cake that I made was a Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting from scratch. I found the recipe on the Life, Love, and Sugar blog and followed the cake recipe to a T. The cake batter itself was so delicious that I literally said “Screw, salmonella!” and licked several spatulas clean. The cakes came out evenly and while they cooled I moved onto the frosting.

I was excited to make a peanut butter buttercream frosting for the first time, and it did not disappoint! The recipe called for 9 cups of confectioner’s sugar, however I only used about 7 cups and I used both additional milk and water to get it to the consistency that I wanted. This lightened the flavor and thickness of the frosting, yet it still packed major peanut butter flavor. Copious amounts of leftover frosting were eaten by myself, my husband, and a few of his friends. I’m still working on my technique when it comes to frosting and decorating. I seem to learn new tips and tricks every time that I hope to implement on my next baking endeavors. I know that cutting off the rounded tops of the cakes will give a more neat and uniform look, but in the past when I’ve attempted this I’ve cut them unevenly, so I didn’t want to risk it this time. Any tips on how to do this well would be greatly appreciated! I loved using the peanut butter chips to decorate and the piping helped to dress up the cake as well. I didn’t end up making the ganache as it was already quite late once I finished the cake, but I would like to try it in the future. My husband loved the cake, which is really all that matters, but I was also happy with how it turned out. It is not as moist, in my opinion, as other cakes that I have made, but the explosion of peanut butter in each bite alongside the creamy frosting definitely makes this a recipe worth repeating!

The full recipe for the Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting can be found here: Loaded Peanut Butter Layer Cake

The Hawaiian Luau Birthday was a tremendous success, filled with laughter, food, and family. I am beyond thankful that I get to celebrate these special occasions with Carlos for the rest of our lives, and that he has family so close by to share in them with us.

Matching Picture

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 brianneilizaliturri2 Comments

A few weeks ago, I found out that my brother-in-law would be in town to celebrate his birthday with family and friends. I immediately began to think about what kind of cake I could make for the celebration. Baking a cake from scratch is such an exciting and rewarding experience for me. I very much enjoy watching a myriad of ingredients turn into batter, and then into cake, and ending with a frosted masterpiece. I was doubly excited because making the cake gave me a chance to use my new rotating cake stand and bench scraper, wedding presents from my mother. I love trying out new recipes, although it can be slightly nerve-wracking when serving them to others after a first attempt, and I found this recipe for a Strawberry Lemonade Cake in the Tasty app. Overall, the process was simple and straightforward. I would definitely make this cake in the future, it met with rave reviews and was almost entirely gone by the end of the night! Making and dividing the batter into pans was a smooth process, the only note that I would make is that if you don’t have three of the same kind of pan the cakes may come out of the oven in varying colors. I had two darker pans, and the cakes in those pans were more browned than the cake made in the lighter pan. All cakes were properly baked and there wasn’t a difference in taste, simply in appearance. This isn’t an issue unless you plan on having a more naked style cake.

The middle cake was less browned, but all three were well baked.

The frosting is made using whipping cream, which I typically prefer as it is lighter and not as sickly sweet as buttercream frosting can often be. It took a few minutes longer than usual for the heavy whipping cream to whip, but once it did I added the strawberry preserves and it was delicious. For anyone not used to using whipping cream, be careful not to over-whip or it could turn into butter rather than frosting! The light strawberry frosting was the perfect complement to the lemon cake and was quite easy to spread. I intend to use this frosting recipe for future cakes, but will try using different kinds of preserves. A chocolate cake with an orange frosting sounds like an excellent experiment! I let the cake have a slightly naked feel, but still used generous amounts of frosting on the top and sides. The layers of strawberries and frosting between each cake also made each bite super flavorful and moist.

The frosting is generous on top and between each layer, with a slightly naked feel around the sides.

I’m still learning how to frost and decorate cakes, but I loved using the bench scraper and rotating cake stand. They were so helpful in keeping the frosting in even amounts around the sides. I had originally intended to decorate the top of the cake with sliced strawberries, but when it came time to blow out the candles it seemed unnecessary. If you do choose to do so, be careful not to decorate the top of the cake with the sliced strawberries in advance. If you do, the strawberry slices will leak juice all down the sides of the cake. The strawberries between each layer of cake will not do this as the frosting on the sides holds it in. I had so much fun making and frosting this cake. It is light, delicious, and tastes like a summer picnic!

Simple and delicious! Sliced strawberries and lemon peel could be used to make a more elaborately decorated cake.

I take no credit for creating this recipe. It can be found here: Strawberry Lemonade Cake by Tasty

Simple Vegetable Pasta Sauce

March 13, 2018 brianneilizaliturri4 Comments

I’m not much of an inventive cook or baker. This is something that I would love to improve at, however, I’m currently a strict follower of recipes. I’m always amazed by those who can whip something up in the kitchen without meticulously measuring ingredients and following step-by-step instructions. My tomato vegetable pasta sauce is the only recipe I’ve created on the fly, and even though it is super simple it is still one of my favorite things to make for dinner. I came up with this recipe a few years ago when I wanted pasta but was out of canned marinara sauce. It is a very basic recipe and allows for a lot of variation. It serves 4-6 and takes about an hour from start to finish. I often make a hearty version, but it can be made to be more like a traditional marinara sauce by using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender after it has finished cooking.

To begin, I sauté 3/4 of a large or one whole medium yellow onion in 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. I use a large pan with high sides as the recipe makes a decent amount. I then add a lot of chopped garlic. I used the entire packet shown in the picture above, roughly 8-9 cloves of varying sizes. I love garlic and still didn’t find it to be overpowering in flavor. While those are sautéeing, I chop up 4 medium sized carrots and then add them to the onions and garlic. The carrots take the longest to soften, so it’s important to get them into the pan quickly. After the carrots, I chop and add 2 large zucchini to the mixture. You could also use yellow squash if you prefer. Then, I chop up the two medium tomatoes and add them to the pan.

Once all of the fresh vegetables are in the pan, I add two cans of Italian diced tomatoes. You can also use regular diced tomatoes, you will just need to add extra seasoning. The sauce should begin to bubble nicely. I add generous amounts of pepper, additional Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, and a little bit of salt. This is all to taste, if you’re unsure of how much to add start with a smaller amount and you can add more if necessary. Once all of the seasonings are in, cover the pan and lower the heat to halfway between medium and low. Allow it to simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the carrots are tender, the sauce is ready!

I enjoy it with whole wheat pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The sauce is flavorful, full of vegetables, and, in my opinion, much better than canned pasta sauce! I’ve also made this using only tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seasonings if you’re in the mood for a tomato basil sauce. The recipe is pretty much the same, however you’re adding a much higher amount of fresh tomato instead of the zucchini and carrots and it doesn’t require as long to simmer. This is one of my comfort foods and I can’t wait to make it again this week!

Living For The Weekend

March 5, 2018March 6, 2018 brianneilizaliturriLeave a comment

This weekend has been relatively uneventful. I’ve been sick for the past few days, only venturing out of the house twice, and have spent the majority of the weekend in bed. I spent much of that time catching up on my tv shows, but I also thought a lot about last weekend. Last weekend was the BEST. My husband was home and it was filled with fun, family time, and food. Sunday was the most action-packed day, and it was literally one of the best days that my husband and I have had for a long time. We were able to fit a lot in, but decided what to do as we went along, so it didn’t feel like we were trying to cram too much into one day. We slept in, as much as you’re able to with a five month old puppy, and started the day off with a long walk with both of the pups. We walked to one of the parks in our neighborhood and back, which was about three miles round trip. Izzie loved it, and Wickham did so well for all of his tiny four pounds! He walked all of the way to the park, and then was happily carried by Carlos on the way home. After our morning exercise we felt no guilt whatsoever in making vegetarian biscuits and gravy from scratch. We found the recipe a few weeks ago and this was our second time making them. They are amazing. My meat-eating husband says they are better than regular biscuits and gravy and has even declared them his favorite breakfast! He makes the biscuits while I make the gravy, and making them is almost as enjoyable as eating them, especially when you have a mimosa while cooking! The only variation that we do from the recipe is adding more vegetarian sausage patties than the listed amount. We prefer a chunkier gravy, filled with bits of sausage, so we add 5-6 instead of the 2-3 in the recipe. The end result may not be the prettiest, but it really is one of the most satisfying and delicious breakfasts that I have ever had.

Biscuits and Gravy Vegetarian Gravy Recipe

Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

After our incredible brunch we went to see Black Panther, and if you haven’t seen it yet I would highly recommend that you do! I’m a huge nerd and love superhero movies, and this one definitely delivered. We ended the night by ordering pizza and laying in bed watching The Office, which is always a good combination. Just thinking back on last weekend makes me smile,and helps me to momentarily forget how under the weather I’m feeling.

(I take no credit for coming up with this recipe, I have linked the website where we found it and just wanted to share it as we love it so much.)

Valentine’s Day Baking

February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 brianneilizaliturriLeave a comment

I love to bake and try out new recipes, whether it be for a special occasion or just for fun. This past week was Valentine’s Day, and, while we don’t usually make a whole ordeal of it, this year was our first Valentine’s Day as husband and wife and Carlos had been gone for a few weeks, so we decided to go all out! We had a dinner planned at our favorite restaurant, but I wanted to do a few things to surprise him as well. I decided to make red velvet truffles, as that is Carlos’ favorite kind of cake, and they looked festive and delicious. They also looked relatively simple to make, about which I was horribly mistaken! These were a NIGHTMARE to put together! The first baking mistake was my own, putting too much batter into the pan. It overflowed into the oven and I had to clean out the oven, put some of the batter into another pan, and attempt to bake it again. The cake ended up being a bit crispy around the sides, but still tasted delicious. You then crumble the cake and mix it with cream cheese and roll it into balls before coating it in the chocolate. Perhaps if I had not left my cake in the oven for so long it would have mixed better with the cream cheese, but I found the mixture too dry and it didn’t form as easily into balls as I would have hoped. When it came time to melt the chocolate I was ready to create delicious and visually appealing truffles, but this was not to be. The white chocolate seized as I attempted to melt it, a phenomenon that I did not understand and had to look up. Essentially, the white chocolate heated too fast and became hard and lumpy like butter rather than melting. I had to go to the store and buy more white chocolate. I melted it much more slowly the second time, but the white chocolate was still quite thick when melted, and as soon as it touched the cake balls they began to crumble apart, mixing in with melted chocolate. I tried several different methods, but they refused to look picture perfect. I decided to cover half of the truffles in milk chocolate, which was far preferable both aesthetically and taste-wise, in my opinion. My husband preferred the ones coated in white chocolate, which made the laborious process worth it, but I can safely say I will not be attempting red velvet truffles again for some time! They received rave reviews from several friends and family members who tried them after Valentine’s Day, so overall they were a success, despite their frustrating and time-consuming creation. I am under no false pretenses as to their appearance, they were not overly pretty! The milk chocolate ones looked passable, at best, but I am glad that I attempted a new recipe and that I was able to share them with others who enjoyed them. I also set up a little cheese board with Valentine’s Day themed cheeses, which we didn’t end up trying until the following day, but they were all amazing and we loved the unusual flavors. Valentine’s Day, and all the foods that accompanied it, was a smashing success and I loved having the entire day to spend with my husband.