Sylvia's Scenario

Here is a dessert for you to take to your next holiday party that will be sure to totally impress your host! Tiramisu is my favorite dessert but I wanted to figure out how to make it so it looked as good as it tastes.  Usually, it looks like a big glob and bringing a 13 by 9-inch rectangle pan with glob to a party isn't very impressive.  We were invited to an Italian dinner at a friend's house a few months ago and I offered to bring dessert so I decided to try a Tiramisu cake . It turned out fabulous and was a beauty to look at, too.  So, if you're going to a holiday party this season and want to make an impressive dessert, this just might be the one!  You must make it a day ahead to give it time to set and let the flavors blend. You will need a 9" springfoam pan and plastic wrap Serves 10-12 2-1/2 cups strong black coffee, room temperature 1-1/2 Tbsp. instant espresso powder 5 Tbsp. dark rum 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar 1/8 tsp. salt 1 pound ma...

Dutch Babies are one of our favorite breakfasts and we eat them all the time. Why?  Because they are so simple to make and they really hit the spot for breakfast.  Seriously, a recipe doesn't get much more simple than this.  Nick and Lauren grew up eating Dutch Babies as our special weekend breakfast. Kids love them because they are so impressive.  Poured into the pan as a simple batter, they magically puff up into a beautiful Dutch Baby.  When taken out of the oven, it's the highlight of the morning. We first ate Dutch Babies at a restaurant in Portland called  Original Pancake House  which is a real breakfast experience.  It opened in the 50's and has continued to keep that 50's feel to it by the servers wearing old fashioned uniforms and coffee served in cute little cups and saucers.  We've eaten breakfast there many times and each visit has been quite a long wait because it is such a popular place.  But it's well...

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of  meatloaf .  This must be meatloaf season.  It was surprisingly similar to the  Pioneer Woman's version  who was also recently on.   I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book,  Food Matters .  His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese!  I must be doing something wrong.  The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life.    If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health.  He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...

This year we are brining our Thanksgiving turkey. We used this recipe last year and everyone loved the way it turned out so why change a good thing?   I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman so you know it's going to be a winner.  She says this recipe will work for up to a 20 pound turkey so it was no problem for our little 12 pounder for 7 of us.  I will make this two days before Thanksgiving because it takes a day to cool and then a day for the turkey to brine.  You don't want to put the turkey into hot brine so leave lots of time for it to cool off.  Usually, overnight is good.    3 cups apple juice or apple cider 2 gallons of cold water 4 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves 5 cloves garlic, minced 1-1/2 cup kosher salt 2 cups brown sugar 3 Tbsp. peppercorns 5 whole bay leaves peel of 3 large oranges I love all these ingredients. 1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. 2. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then...

My cooking for Thanksgiving officially started last night. Five days of cooking lay ahead! I can't wait! With guests arriving today and Wednesday (just because they are my own kids, I still consider them my guests!) and a little family gathering tomorrow night, I have plenty of yummy dishes to whip up. Here is my pumpkin bread recipe that I use from Cook’s Illustrated because it is true you can use canned pumpkin puree that will taste just as good as fresh pumpkin but without all the trouble of messing around preparing the fresh pumpkin. I also use Cook's Illustrated recipe for my  pumpkin pie   too. The trick is to cook the canned pumpkin first which will get rid of any “fake” pumpkin taste and this will really enhance the flavor. Makes 2 loaves Topping 5 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/8 tsp. salt Using fingers, mix all ingredients together in bowl until well combined and topping resembles wet sand; set aside. B...

I've got my count down list ready for Thanksgiving and the cooking starts TONIGHT! Our first guests arrive tomorrow, Nick and Sachiyo are driving from Seattle. I have five days of cooking starting now and no time to waste to the biggest eating day of the year! As long as I stick to my list (I don't follow the times, only the days) I'll be on schedule with everything falling into place nicely! Of course, it's not just Thanksgiving I'm preparing for. With Nick and Lauren coming into town, I want to plan meals around my visitors, too. We're having a little pre-Thanksgiving gathering on Monday night since my brother and his wife have to work on Thanksgiving so this will be a nice little visit with them while Nick and Sachiyo are here. I am making chicken and dumplings tomorrow which I know will taste delicious after a long 8 hour drive. We've made the drive many times, Seattle to Boise, so I know exactly what will taste good on arrival. I am making ...

Carrot cake is a popular cake and many people's favorite kind of cake including my sister-in-law's so I decided to make one for her birthday party last night.  When making a cake, the first decision is what kind of pan to use, a 9 x 13 inch rectangle pan, round layer cake pans or a bundt cake pan. At least, those are the three kind of cakes I usually make.  When it comes to birthdays, I always picture a round layer cake with candles on top!  It just seems like a tradition.  Carrot cake is often made in a rectangle pan but since this was a birthday cake, I made it in round, layer cake pans. This shape is also a little more fancy for a special occasion…like a birthday.  This recipe is from  Martha Stewart  who makes it just the way we like it, a mildly spiced multiple layer cake with a generous amount of cream cheese frosting.   And I just happened to have some cute little carrot cake sprinkles to decorate the top.  You can usually fin...

I woke up this morning and turned on the Today Show to get updated on all the details after the big election day yesterday. As I watched, I saw that they were having as a guest on the show the author of one of my favorite cooking blogs, Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman . I actually record her cooking show and even Bruce likes watching it because of the interesting things they are always doing around the ranch. (Bruce mostly just cracks jokes about it the whole time.) In a way, her show reminds me of when we first moved here from the city and all our adventures with the animals - although we only have two acres, not a full ranch. We only had one horse, a slew of dairy goats (complete with goat milk), chickens, rabbits, a half dozen or so cats and two dogs. That's enough to keep one busy with teenagers coming and going. The Pioneer Woman is always running out to where everyone is on the ranch to take them their snack or lunch - a perfectly layed out spread. “Tastes good,...