Flickr Photo: kcaroli

With the latest release of Harry Potter, you may find yourself entertaining a wide variety of muggles from young to old, so in the spirit of Harry Potter we thought we’d share some of our favorite Hogwarts-inspired recipes that our fellow witches have brewed up. Of course, if you don’t have time to make a big production, you can add some Harry Potter themed signs like “Lizard Blood” for your cheese dip or “Cockroach Cakes” to your chocolate chip brownies.  Feel free to add your own Harry Potter inspired recipes to Foodista, we’d love to see your creations!

Please note the Butterbeer is intended for witches over 21.

Cheers!

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Categories:	Beverages • Entertaining • Sweets • Uncategorized • desserts	2 Comments
Tags:	Butter Beer • butterbeer • Harry Potter • Harry Potter Recipes • Hogwarts • Licorice Wands

Oh how I love palmiers! Their delicate and flaky layers, their bits of caramelized sugar…and to make them even more naughtily delicious, dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts!

Mon dieu. So many French pastries, so little time.

Best of all, these little “palm leaves” are a snap to make (if you’re not making your puff pastry from scratch). In less than one hour you can bring a little bit of Paris to your guests in the form of these petite sweets.

Go to Foodista for the easy recipe.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Chocolate • Cooking tips • Sweets • desserts	3 Comments
Tags:	Baked Goods • Chocolate • chocolate palmiers • cookies • palmiers • puff pastry

I can always tell the holidays are right around the corner because I get the urge to bake. One of my favorite (and easy!) cookie recipes is Russian tea cookies, also known as Russian tea cakes. They are light, buttery and full of nutty goodness. Did I mention they’re easy to make? Stash that in your holiday menu planner!

Russian Tea Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar, divided use
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

In a large bowl cream the butter and flour until well combined. Stir in half the powdered sugar, water and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour, then the nuts. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 325°F.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until slightly brown. Let cool.

Roll cookies in remaining powdered sugar, coating evenly.

Makes 36 cookies.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Sweets	14 Comments
Tags:	Baked Goods • cookies • desserts • Food • foodista • russian tea cookies • Sweets • tea cakes

Photo:  stu_spivack

Last week I found something new – Casina Rossa Honey & Hot (Acacia Honey with Hot Pepper) – that I simply must share.  Honey as beautiful as it is sweet and hot.  A delicious addition to vanilla ice cream – sure to be a hit on corn bread, cheese cake, goat cheese, the tip of your finger.  Use your imagination, but beware, this stuff is hot.

As creamy and soothing as vanilla ice cream can be, a little drizzle of this fire adds elegance and spark to even the most mundane of evenings.  For all of you who like the hot stuff, this is something you simply must try.

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Categories:	Entertaining • Sauces • Seasoning & Spices • Sweets • Uncategorized • desserts	5 Comments
Tags:	acacia • chili • honey • ice cream

If I were to live my life as a confection I’d definitely choose to be a cupcake. They’re cute, everybody loves them, and because they’re the perfect size you never hear, “Ugh, I really shouldn’t have eaten that. It was just tooooo much!” Unless you’re me, who gluttonously ate three of them the other day. But that’s what happens when:

1) you love cupcakes,
2) you stumble upon a bakery in your new neighborhood that just happens to specialize in cupcakes,
3) you decide your readers need to hear -more than anything else- about said bakery’s fabulous cupcakes.

So I blame my dessert debauchery on Cupcake Royale. It’s simply their fault that they had so many delicious cupcakes from which to choose and make myself happily sick.

The flavors we chose for our dutiful experiment were:

• Lavender: Real lavender buds in vanilla buttercream on vanilla cake,
• Coconut Bunny: Vanilla buttercream topped with coconut on chocolate cake,
• Peppermint Party: Minty green peppermint buttercream on chocolate cake,
• Triple Threat: Chocolate buttercream with dark chocolate bits on chocolate cake,
• A seasonal strawberry buttercream on chocolate cake,
• A specialty Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cupcake Royale was voted Seattle’s Best Cupcake 2008 and I gleefully concur. Their three Seattle-area bakeries whip up their diminutive sweeties bright and early each day. As they say, “Shelf life = Today!” Their “Rules of Cupcake Goodness” simply state: no preservatives, no box mixes, use only top-quality ingredients from local or sustainable sources, no shortening, hand frosted, and make them with lots of love.

Just like mom used to make!

I’ll be back soon for another round of “testing.”

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Sweets	6 Comments
Tags:	Cupcake Royale • cupcakes • Dessert • Food • foodista • review • seattle • Sweets

Why is it we love cupcakes so much? By “we” I mean us girls because, let’s face it, they’re pretty girlie. I’ve never heard a guy say, “Oh! Let’s stop and get a half dozen cupcakes! Won’t that be fun!?” Nope. I’m fairly certain I will never hear those words out of Barnaby’s mouth.

I found these little Red Velvet 4th of July cupcakes in a local bakery, and thought the gang of kids at the party today would really dig them.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Makes about 14-16 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces water
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake tins with cupcake papers.
2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add eggs and blend well.
4. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add to the butter mixture.
5. Sift flour and salt together into the above mixture.
6. One at a time, add the buttermilk, vanilla, and water.
7. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter, making sure it’s incorporated, but don’t beat it.
8. Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.
9. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes, then turn the cupcakes out of the tins and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Vanilla Frosting

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Stir constantly over medium heat cook until the mixture becomes thick and begins to bubble (approx. 10-15 minutes).

Cover with waxed paper placed directly on the surface and cool to room temperature (approx. 30 minutes).In a large bowl beat the butter for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously for 3 minutes until fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat well.

Add the cooled milk mixture, and continue to beat on medium high speed for 5 minutes, until very smooth and noticeably whiter in color. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (exactly 15 minutes – set a timer!). Use immediately.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Chocolate • Sweets	3 Comments
Tags:	4th of July • cupcakes • Food • foodista • frosting • Independence Day • red velvet • vanilla

Many of you may think I’m talking about the scandalous former mayor of Washington, DC, Marion Barry, but I am not. I’m talking about the succulent Pacific Northwestern fruit, the marionberry.

The marionberry was introduced in 1956 at my alma mater, Oregon State University, and developed in Marion County. While they grow throughout the Pacific Northwest, 90% of the world’s crops are grown around the Marion County area. There are few spots in the world where caneberries (the blackberry family) grow and thrive, and the Willamette Valley in Oregon provides the perfect climate: a moist spring followed by hot summer days and cool nights.

These aren’t just any old ordinary blackberry, their flavor is far superior, even to Boysenberries. The marionberry is a cross between two hybrids – the smaller, tasty Chehalem and the larger high-producing Ollalie – and is big, fat and distinctively sweet.

Marionberries usually reach their peak around mid-July, but since we experienced a much colder spring this year in the Pacific Northwest, all berries are just starting to come out in their full glory. Soon marionberry aficionados like myself will be out picking ’til our lips, tongues and fingers are stained purple. Our pantries will be filled with marionberry jams and syrups, and our tables laid with pies and fresh home-made ice cream.

Oh, summer in the Pacific Northwest is grand!

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Categories:	Canned Goods • Fruit • Sweets • desserts	5 Comments
Tags:	berries • blackberries • Dessert • Food • foodista • ice cream • jam • jelly • Marion County • marionberries • oregon • Oregon State University • Pacific Northwest • pie • preserves • syrup • Willamette Valley

Lemon curd is a quintessentially English treat. It reminds me of tea at Harrod’s in London when I was in the 5th grade. It’s delicious slathered over scones with cream or baked in a fruit tart. I especially love it when it makes you pucker.

The following recipe, from the cookbook Once Upon A Tart, was prepared the other night by my friend. She made another batch from a Martha Stewart recipe and, in a blind tasting, this one won hands down. While Martha’s was delicious, Once Upon A Tart’s had a cleaner, more pure lemon flavor, even though both were made from fresh lemons.

Give it a try…

Lemon Curd (from Once Upon A Tart)

Grate the rind of one lemon and set aside. Beat 8 egg yolks in a bowl to break them up. Pour the yolks through a sieve into a heavy-bottomed pot to strain out the white membranes. Stir in 1 ¼ cups sugar and ¾ cups lemon juice (3-4 lemons) and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula in a figure-eight motion, making sure to scrape the edges of the pot.

Continue cooking until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon. Lift the spoon out of the curd and run your finger down the length of the spoon. If your finger leaves a line, the curd is thick enough. If the curd runs and covers up the line, it’s too runny and needs to cook longer.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter and the lemon zest, and stir until the butter is completely melted. Pour the curd into a small bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Cover the cooled curd, and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. Lemon curd will last in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Stand in front of the refrigerator late at night, in your pajamas, and spoon-feed yourself lemon curd.

Sweet dreams…

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Cookbooks • Cooking tips • Sweets • desserts	5 Comments
Tags:	citrus • curd • Dessert • Food • foodista • lemon • lemon curd • Lemons • Sweets

Nothing tops off a Summer Solstice dinner more perfectly than an apple tart. My friend’s mother, Val, made a simply divine one the other night, and I am still daydreaming about its goodness. I’m talking the-skies-opened-up-and-the-angels-sang good.

Although tarts seem like a relatively simple dessert, it’s the crust wherein lies the excruciating challenge. And to me, it’s the crust that’s the crucial ingredient. What you put on top – albeit delicious – is secondary. But Val, sweet Val, you nailed it! If crust making were an Olympic event you would win the Gold Medal. Perfectly browned; neither too thick nor too thin; and (here’s where the angels started singing) ever so light and flaky.

Mmm…mmm…mmm!

I asked her for her recipe, afraid that she wouldn’t divulge some secret family recipe, and she responded, “It’s Julia Child’s recipe. You can never go wrong with Julia.” Amen, sister.

And so I share the Queen’s recipe for Pâte Brisée Sucrée (Sweet Short Paste), which can be found in her must-have book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Sweet short paste is made exactly like regular short paste except that sugar is mixed into the flour before you begin.

For an 8- to 9-inch shell.

1 cup flour, scooped and leveled
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon plus a pinch salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter
2 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
4 to 4 1/2 tablespoons cold water

Directions for making short paste by hand: Place the flour in the bowl and mix in the sugar and salt. Add the butter and shortening and, with the tips of your fingers, rapidly rub them together with the dry ingredients until the fat is broken into bits the size of small oatmeal flakes. Do not overdo this step as the fat will be blended more thoroughly later.

Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, fingers held together and slightly cupped, as you rapidly gather the dough into a mass. Sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon more water by droplets over any unmassed remains and add them to the main body of the dough. Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball. It should just hold together and be pliable but not sticky.

Directions for making short paste in the food processor: Measure the dry ingredients into the bowl (equipped with the steel blade). Quarter the chilled butter lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/8-inch pieces; add to the flour along with the chilled shortening. Flick the machine on and off 4 or 5 times. Turn the machine on and pour in the water. Immediately flick the machine on and off several times, and the dough should begin to mass on the blade. If not, dribble in a little more water and repeat, repeating again if necessary. Dough is done when it has begun to mass; do not overmix it. Scrape the dough out onto your work surface and proceed to the fraisage.

The fraisage — or final blending — for handmade and machine dough: Place the dough on a lightly floured pastry board. With the heel of one hand, not the palm which is too warm, rapidly press the pastry by two-spoonful bits down on the board and away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches.

With a scraper or spatula, gather the dough again into a mass; knead it briefly into a fairly smooth round ball. Sprinkle it lightly with flour and wrap it in waxed paper. Either place the dough in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it is firm but not congealed, or refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. (Uncooked pastry dough will keep for 2 to 3 days under refrigeration, or may be frozen for several weeks. Always wrap it airtight in waxed paper and a plastic bag.)

Rolling out the dough: Because of its high butter content, roll out the dough as quickly as possible, so that it will not soften and become difficult to handle. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or marble. If the dough is hard, beat it with the rolling pin to soften it. Then knead it briefly into a fairly flat circle. It should be just malleable enough to roll out without cracking.

Lightly flour the top of the dough. Place rolling pin across center and roll the pin back and forth with firm but gentle pressure to start the dough moving. Then, with a firm, even stroke, and always rolling away from you, start just below the center of the dough and roll to within an inch of the far edge.

Lift dough and turn it at a slight angle.

Give it another roll. Continue lifting, turning and rolling and, as necessary, sprinkle the board and top of dough lightly with flour to prevent sticking. Roll it into a circle 1/8-inch thick and about 2 inches larger all around than your pie pan or flan ring. If your circle is uneven, cut off a too-large portion, moisten the edge of the too-small portion with water, press the 2 pieces of pastry together and smooth them with your rolling pin.

The dough should be used as soon as it has been rolled out, so that it will not soften.

Making a pastry shell: Mold your pastry in a false-bottomed, straight-sided cake pan 1- to 1 1/2- inches deep and refrigerate.

(A French tart is straight sided and open-faced and stands supported only by its pastry shell.) When the shell is ready for unmolding, the pan is set over a jar and the false bottom frees the shell from the sides of the pan. It is then, with the aid of a long-bladed spatula, slid off its false bottom and onto a rack or the serving dish.

Prebaking the pastry shell: Partial baking sets the dough and is a safeguard against soggy bottom crusts. Line the pastry with buttered lightweight foil or buttered brown paper, press it will against the sides of the pastry and fill it with dried beans. The weight of the beans will hold the pastry against the mold during the baking. Bake at the middle of a preheated 400-degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes until pastry is set. Remove mold or foil and beans. Prick bottom of pastry with a fork to keep it from rising. Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more. When the shell is starting to color and just beginning to shrink from sides of mold, remove it from the oven.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Cookbooks • Cooking tips • French • Sweets • desserts	6 Comments
Tags:	apple tart • baking • cooking • Dessert • Food • foodista • julia child • pastry • pastry dough • pate brisee sucree • recipe • recipes • sweet short paste • tart crust • tarts

Flowers enhance food in both an alluring and fun way. They give a romantic dinner a sensual touch, or add a bit of playfulness with a surprising splash of color. Best of all, there’s that little “lift” of fragrance that’s unbeatable.

My favorite is to toss in a small amount of nasturtiums or pansies to a green salad. You don’t need much. Flowers may look timid and shy, but they pack a powerful punch. They can be wonderfully peppery, nutty, even tart.

In a liquid form, such as orange flower, they’re blissful whipped into cream to top a dessert, or mixed into a classic cocktail. One such cocktail that tops my list is a Ramos Gin Fizz. Icy and floral: perfect for a summer brunch.

Lightly dusted with a fine pastry sugar, flowers such as violets are a beautiful addition to a dessert like cupcakes, or atop a vanilla bean ice cream.

Personally, I stay away from marigolds, also known as calendula, which is frequently used in cosmetics. Years ago, my mom and I found out that we were both highly allergic to them when an herbal book recommended we brew them to make a cleansing face tonic. We both ended up looking like Freddy Krueger, and I had a blind date the next night. Oh, the wonders of emergency dermatologists, cortisone shots and theater make-up!

Have fun adding flowers to your dishes, but just in case, keep them away from your face!

Thank you Mouth Watering Moments for your beautiful photo.

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Categories:	Entertaining • Salads • Seasoning & Spices • Sweets • Veggies • desserts	1 Comment
Tags:	Beverages • brunch; edible flowers • Dessert • flowers • Food • foodista • salad