Stanley Cup Brownie

May 31, 2016

Stanley Cup Brownies – Candy Coated Culinista

Probably a little over zealous on my side; but it has been 49 years since the Leafs won the Stanley Cup. Looking at that daunting number in this post is a little sad considering the price of tickets is so high and continues to go up every single year … sigh. My original intention was to make a Toronto Maple Leafs brownie; but since they always disappoint nowadays here is my Stanley Cup brownie. I am routing for the San Jose Sharks purely because they are the only team with teal in there team colours. Also an IG friend from San Jose is a mega super fan an she loves a Tim Hortons timbit oh so much. Go Sharks Go!!!

Yield/Serving: 12
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 25 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

I used the basic brownie recipe from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
• ½ cup butter, cut into pieces
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup dutch-pressed cocoa
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cups gluten-free flour
• Stanley Cup chocolate
• Silver Coca Cola Chocolate balls

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 325°F
2. Line an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and let cool slightly.
4. Whisk sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium-sized bowl
5. Pour butter in a steady stream slowly into bowl and incorporate.
6. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
7. Add the eggs in one at a time until well combined.
8. Stir in flour but just barely and do not only mix.
9. Pour brownie into the pan and smooth the top.
10. Place the Stanley Cup chocolate on and add the Coco Cola chocolate balls into the batter. (place in don’t push in)
11. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
12. Transfer whole pan to a wire rack and let cool.
13. Cut into pieces and serve.

Tips
• I altered the Bon Appetit recipe by substituting all-purpose flour with the gluten-free flour.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
I am unsure of this recipe. I’m not quite sure if it’s the substitution of gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour or the recipe in general; but the lack of baking powder or baking soda made this brownie very flat looking and not like the picture or any other brownies I have ever made before. It tasted good and was moist; but I just don’t know. I think I may stick with one of my other brownie recipe or keep trying other recipes put there.

Family Style Fried Rice

May 25, 2016

Family Style Fried Rice – Candy Coated Culinista

Can you believe I have never made fried rice before? I love making stir fry and Chinese food yet I have never made fried rice. I was prepping a meal for some guests and I had planned to make just plain rice served with some teriyaki chicken breasts and on the fly I decided to turn this into a fried rice.

Yield/Serving: 4-6
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 30-40 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

Ingredients
• 4 cups basmati rice
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 5 gloves garlic, finely diced
• ½ cup diced frozen carrots
• ½ cup frozen peas
• ¾ cup corn kernels
• 4 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 eggs
• 5 tbsp soy sauce

Assembly
1. In a pot cook the rice in 2 cups of water over medium-high heat until cooked.
2. In a frying pan with 2 tbsp on sesame oil, fry onions for 4 minutes and the add garlic for 30 seconds.
3. When rice in finished cooking add onion and garlic along with the carrots, peas and corn along with the sesame oil and fry and stir frequently for 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.
5. Add soy sauce and toss until coated.
6. Serve.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
This couldn’t be easier and this was perfect to serve family style; so everyone could help themselves at the table. This can be made the day before and then re-fried again with a little sesame oil before serving; as fried rice always tastes so much better on the second day.

Drink Diaries: Chachago Toronto

May 17, 2016

Food Diaries: Chachago – Candy Coated Culinista

Location: 3 Elm Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1H1
Hours: Everyday: 11 am – 11pm
Website: http://www.chachago.ca/

Another Tea shop has opened up in Toronto and I can say I have enjoyed my second Asian style tea. Chachago is a part of the Taiwanese tea culture with a promise of a great cup of tea with quality ingredients. Milk teas, fresh fruits, fresh milk, salted whip and other beverages are available. I was quite surprised at all the beverage options and I just decided to go the safe route and select a drink that I could see a picture representation of. You can select three different ice levels and three different sugar levels. I choose the Sicilian Orange made with Sicilian oranges and passion fruit with regular ice and sugar. I enjoyed my tea a lot and the atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxed with a constant stream of K Pop Music Videos playing on the TV. I could smell a taste the fragrance of the oranges and passion fruit and see the actual fruit which I appreciated. Everything at my table looked quite tasty and I could have easily seen myself having almost anything on the menu except the chocolate items. I will be visiting again for sure and prices range from $4.50 to $6.20. There is also punch card where you get 10% off your next visit after you purchase your first drink.

Top picks at Chachago are: Strawberry ice smoothie, Chachago bubble milk tea, Taiwan taro milk tea, Passionfruit rocket, Green bean ice smoothie, Grapefruit green tea, Mango aloha, Ice cream chocolate, Cranberry aloha green tea, Sicililian orange, Black tea milk cap and kiwi ice smoothie. There is something on the menu here for every flavour palette.

Skillet Chicken Pepperoni Pizza

May 10, 2016

Chicken Pepperoni Basil Crustless Pizza – Candy Coated Culinista

This fancier weekend chicken pizza dish is crustless and perfect dish.

Yield/Serving: 4
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

Ingredients
• 4 skinless chicken breast, cut in half
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp margarine
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 anchovy fillets, chopped
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• Balsamic vinegar
• ½ green pepper, diced
• ½ small red onion, diced
• Handful of basil, chopped
• 100g mozzarella shredded
• 75g pepperoni, sliced
• Handful of whole basil for topping

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut chicken breast in half to make them thinner.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. In a 9” cast-iron skillet, heat oil and margarine over medium-high heat.
5. Add the chicken in a single layer and sear until both sides are brown and just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.
6. Using the skillet add garlic, anchovy and red pepper flakes, sauté for 1 minute.
7. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, green pepper, red onion, basil and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Add chicken back to the skillet and top with mozzarella, pepperoni and whole basil and let cook for 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and slightly browned.
9. Serve.

Tips
• Serve with pasta if desired.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
This is one of my favourite dishes I’ve made. It was saucy and tasted just like pizza just classier.

Chicken Pepperoni Basil Crustless Pizza – Candy Coated Culinista

Cinqo De Mayo: Chorizo & Chicken Tortilla Soup

May 5, 2016

Cinqo De Mayo: Chorizo & Chicken Tortilla Soup – Candy Coated Culinista

Feeling in a Mexican mood, but not in the typical way I thought let me try to make a Mexican inspired soup. With Cinqo de mayo this week I thought a Mexican dish should be made.

Yield/Serving: 6-8
Prep Time: 40 min.
Cook Time: 1 hr.
Difficulty level is: Medium

Ingredients
Soup
• 5 chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp vegetable olive oil
• Cumin
• Chilli powder
• Cayenne pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Sea salt
• 2 chorizo sausages
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 796 ml can of tomatoes, rough chopped
• 900 ml vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cups water
• 540 ml black beans
• 540 ml chic peas
• 340 ml corn
• Handful of cilantro, rough chop
• 1 tortillas , cut into strips and fried
Garnish
• Sour cream
• Diced avocado

Assembly
1. In a frying pan over medium-high heat fry chicken thighs and season with cumin, chilli powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, garlic powder, and sea salt until cooked.
2. In another frying pan over medium-high heat frying chorizo sausages until cooked.
3. Using a large stock pot with a little vegetable oil sauté onion, green pepper and garlic for a minute or two and add in the tomatoes.
4. Add water black beans, chic peas, corn and cook over medium high heat for 60 minutes; stirring occasionally.
5. Shred the chicken and break the chorizo into pieces and add into the stock pot in the last 30 minutes.
6. At the last minute add cilantro.
7. Cut tortilla in small strips and fry until just crispy and put on a paper towel to drain and set aside.
8. Ladle soup into a bowl and add some diced avocado and tortilla pieces and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
Even though there were lots of spices I found this recipe lacked flavour and I couldn’t get it to be as seasoned as I’d like. Next time I will have to over season to get this to where I want it to be or perhaps I was feeling a little under the weather and the seasoning was fine.