Frozen Margarita Lime Pie

Say the word "Margarita" and you have my attention.  A self-proclaimed margarita snob, I like my margarita tart and strong with a heavy dose of lime.  Being somewhat particular, I've been known to send drinks back time and again when they boast only a sweet, somewhat limey and no tequila flavor.  With some 25+ years of margarita experience, I finally know what I like.

And what I like more than the drink itself just may be this Frozen Margarita Lime Pie.  Going against all of my rules, this pie is creamy, somewhat sweet with only a very, very faint hint of tequila (and that might only be because I doubled the ingredient in my pie...).  It does however bring a fabulous lime punch that brings a smile of approval to my face and makes the most perfect summer dessert.

Taking part in the ever popular Pass the Cook Book Club (where we reach to use the sometimes neglected cookbooks already on our shelves, or at least on Kita's shelf), Kita has once again chosen a winner, and another one that I personally don't have on my shelf but after trying this recipe I just might have to buy.  Slushed!: More Than 150 Frozen, Boozy Treats for the Coolest Happy Hour Ever, by Jessie Cross, boasts an Amazon bargain price of under $6.78 (that's under 5¢ a recipe!) and if this Frozen Margarita Pie is a sign of the rest of the book, I'm sold.

Using low-fat cream cheese in my version, no one was any the wiser and my calorie guilt reduced.  The addition of lime juice and zest (we did add a little lemon too) brought a wonderful margarita flavor that combined beautifully with the little bit of tequila and Grand Marnier.  Reminiscent of a cheesecake, I actually preferred the pie a bit less frozen, though others liked the fresh from the freezer texture.

Definitely a keeper, this recipe will be making the rounds this summer everywhere we need to bring a dish.  Thanks Kita!  (I just ordered the book...)

Strawberries and Cream Crepes - A Food Photography Challenge

Every once in a while one needs to "call in sick" just because.  Because... well, how can you enjoy a sick day if you are really sick?  And, with schedules crazy as they are, sometimes a day off is just what the doctor ordered.

Liv will be starting high school next year and we all know how the attendance record tightens up with the more intense pre-college workload.  As such, I'm savoring these last few months of middle school with my girl where taking an occasional day off hasn't been an issue in her straight A grade record.

After waking to the sun instead of the alarm, Liv and I sauntered down to the kitchen which at this later wakeup time glowed with morning sunlight.  Asking her where her breakfast desires led her she immediately exclaimed, "Crepes!"

Since discovering crepes a few years ago Liv has learned to swirl crepe batter into ever so thin, perfectly cooked crepes which she occasionally whips up on her own as an after school treat.  And with this month's Inspired Plate Food Photography and Styling Challenge prompt of "Breakfast" looming on the horizon, crepes became my subject of choice.

Choosing between our old faithful vanilla crepe batter and a new Giada chocolate version became too much for our sleepy minds making the decision of both the perfect choice.  Alton Brown taught us years ago to pulse the crepe batter in a blender and then allow it to rest for about an hour for easier to handle crepes, and we've been following his advice ever since.  Tried and true, you can't go wrong with his recipe and process.

Giada's recipe didn't recommend resting the batter, but we gave it a good half hour anyway as we've been so please with Alton's advice.  Adding 1/4 cup of cocoa powder gave the crepes that extraordinary chocolate look, and these beauties cooked up just as nicely as the others.

Filling them, though, is where Liv's and my opinions differed slightly.  With strawberry season is in full swing here in San Diego, the sweet, perfectly ripe, organic berries in the fridge seemed the perfect choice, and what better than a luscious, lemon-laced creamy base for those sweet berries?  Served on either the chocolate or the vanilla crepes, the combination proved almost heavenly, and indeed, the perfect cure for our "sick" day.

While Liv enjoyed the Strawberries and Cream, she had ideas of her own, which usually tend to directly oppose mine.  Thinking the berries added just a touch of healthiness to the low in fat and protein enhanced crepes (they contain eggs) I didn't feel guilty for the breakfast splurge.  Liv, however, felt no need for health with her Powdered Sugar Sprinkle version that she lovingly created as my back was turned.  Making me proud that she thought to shoot her version with the already set up set, I returned from a quick dog walk to find a powdery plate with the remnants of rainbow sprinkles sitting in the middle of my set.

Whichever version you choose, Breakfast Crepes are sure to chase away any lingering blues.  For more incredible "Breakfast" Photography, please make your way through our Inspired Plate blog circle.  First up,  Jayme Franklin, a Bay Area Food Photographer with her beautiful breakfast photos.

Double Chocolate Quick Bread with Cream Cheese and Peanut Butter Spread

Food styling and presentation have never been a strong suit of mine.  The family was lucky to get dinner on one plate, and hopefully the ingredients somehow worked together.  Making it look pretty?  Who has time for that?

Passing Liv Life's two year anniversary just yesterday, I took a moment to look back at my early photos and posts and, well... I've gotten better.  New camera equipment most definitely makes a difference, but presentation is what it's all about.

Presentation need not be fancy to be pretty, nor does it need expensive props or serving dishes.  Simplicity works well for me, but now I take a moment before setting the plate on the table to perhaps add a sprig of cilantro, to slice the avocado and then fan it out on top of the salad, or spoon the mango salsa nicely on the pork tenderloin rather than just dumping a spoonful on the side.

Hence, I've become somewhat protective of my kitchen creations before they have been photographed for the blog.  The family is now accustomed to asking, "Can I have some of this or do you still need to take a picture?" before diving into a plate of brownies or cookies.  They even occasionally offer suggestions for styling, and Liv has become quite adept at placing the perfect dollop of whipped cream atop nearly anything sweet.

With my protectiveness, you can imagine my surprise upon entering the kitchen where Liv and her girlfriend were working on their broadcasting claymation project.  There, I found one of my perfectly shaped, freshly baked and most importantly, non photographed Chocolate Bread Loaves had been turned into nothing less than a volcano complete with a peanut butter cream cheese lava in the middle of a candy world.  A slight miscommunication of "use whatever you need" had them indeed, using whatever they needed.

While I was lucky to have 2 remaining loaves pristine and waiting for their moment in the spotlight, I do have to admit that this delectable chocolate bread inspired by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's Double Chocolate version from their awe inspiring book, Baked Explorations, did indeed make an ideal volcano.

Chocolate at its best, we "heathified" our version with the addition of spelt flour and the replacement of some of the oil with a nice, tangy yogurt.  Intense without being too sweet, it was the peanut butter/cream cheese spread that had me gushing and reaching for another slice.  While the spread also made a beautiful lava flow on the girls' volcano, I prefer mine spread ever so lightly across a nice warm piece of the chocolate chunk studded bread.

Mango Cheesecake

Mango Cheesecake... light, silky, and utterly irresistible.  Hued with pale orange and combined with a delicate mango twist, our Easter 2012 dessert left hints of the tropics on our quickly emptied plates.  Not as dense or rich as many cheesecakes, even my "I can't eat cheesecake" husband cleaned his plate after telling me his piece was far too large.

Epicurious provided the base recipe for this luscious treat which I adapted to our tastes with a few changes.  Watching my waistline as we enter spring and feeding the diabetic grandparents, we reduced some of the fat as well as some of the sugars from the original version without sacrificing any of the taste or texture.

Trader Joe's provided an unexpectedly perfect crust with crushed "Cat Cookies" combined with butter and a touch of brown sugar.  A household favorite for years, I pulled our ever present container off the shelf when I realized I had forgotten to even think about a crust ingredient for our cake.  Low in fat themselves, they suited my "healthier" dessert path and produced a crust I will now be using regularly.

Reviews on the original recipe brought many comments of "not much mango flavor", and I have to agree, the mango flavor is light.  Reviewers commented that fresh mangoes actually brought the least amount of flavor, while frozen and canned mango chunks or pulp seemed to kick it up a notch.  And though I had 3 beautiful, fresh, champagne mangoes ripe on the counter, I turned once again to Trader Joe's with a bag of frozen mango chunks from my freezer.  Easily pureeing the chunks into that beautiful orange hued blend, a squeeze of fresh lime juice provided just the touch to intensify the flavors.

Producing a beautiful mango kissed cheesecake, the puree brought a delicate and not extremely pronounced mango flavor, but a light springy dessert that perfectly suited our Easter meal.  Served with fresh fruit, this dessert is one that has left us wanting more.

Savory Stuffed Sourdough Baguette

Last night's TGIF Jazz in the Park set a new record for summer cold!  Brrr... I think the high here in Cloudy Carlsbad hit 69º in the late afternoon and brought a light, yet chilly breeze to our usually bright, hot and sunny Friday Jazz in the Park.  The sun teased us with a short visit a couple of days ago, but quickly returned to hiding.  My mom recently told me that this summer has been listed as the coldest and grayest since 1933!  Not a record that I'm happy to be participating in.  While I'm feeling very sorry for myself, it is the people who have traveled to San Diego for a sunny beach vacation that I really feel bad for.  Imagine leaving your sunny, hot, home and looking forward to warm days on a San Diego beach only to be met with endless fog and chilly waters. 

Cabernet was the wine of choice for our Jazz in the Park evening, and between all of us we put out quite a spread.  Our Savory Stuffed Sourdough Baguette blended perfectly with the Cab and other tasty treats as we sat back, wrapped our jackets a bit tighter and enjoyed a local blues band.  The filled bread created a good amount of interest from the ladies all wondering just how I got the filling inside and an equal amount of interest in the men as our good friend Evan commented that this was better than a "high class twinkie"!  I wasn't quite sure how to take the comment, but as he reached for another slice, he assured me that it was meant to be taken as one of the highest of compliments.

Hollowing out the bread was actually easier than I had expected with the help of my long, serrated bread knife, although filling the bread did take a bit of time (but was most definitely worth the effort).  The cheesy ingredients mixed together easily, and by using low fat cream cheese I didn't feel so guilty indulging in a couple of pieces.