Archives for February 2012

Pinterest Experiments: Layers of Color Cake for Valentine’s Day

February 19, 2012 By Stephanie Louise

I saw this pin on Pinterest & went wild. I love this cake recipe. I have made it many times but never frosted it. Its so light and beautifully fluffy! If you are interested in a box of cake mix & a can of soda being turned into a gorgeous cake, read on!

So basically I decided THIS would be the Valentine’s Day dessert. Its light, pretty, & looked pretty easy…right? Well…kinda…

Make your cake:
1 box of cake mix
1 can of soda (I like a lemon/lime or cherry based soda best!)

Simply mix the two together then bake as you normally would!

Now to make it rainbow inside similar to Omnomicon’s please check out the pin which will lead to the site! For my journey in pictures see below! I went with Pink, Purple, White, & Red gel food coloring, all from Amazon as is the cake pan. I am an avid Amazoner & I admit it! I made 2 in 10 inch pans & one mini in a 6 inch.

So everything went great until the frosting. The cake seriously crumbled! I let it cool completely & everything else you would do with a regular cake but I guess the soda made it super light. Next time, I’ll do an inside out cake AKA a layer of frosting in the middle of the two layers of cake. Oh sweet sweet next time! I finished frosting & tossed sprinkles on top. They may not cure it, but they help right?

Lucky for me, my husband doesn’t see a messed up, falling apart cake. What does he see? Free cake.

Till next time…XOXO

Pinterest Experiments: 2 Ingredient Decadent Chocolate Mousse

February 8, 2012 By Stephanie Louise

This 2 Ingredient Decadent Chocolate Mousse is pretty ridiculous. 2 ingredients? I didn’t even need milk or eggs! I bet you are wondering what they are and if you have them on hand…bet you do…

All you need is chocolate & water.

Yes you did read that right!

I found this on Pinterest just by the pictures, I wasn’t even aware it was 2 ingredients! The original site is Eat, Live, Run written by Jenna who is a trained chef. She found this elsewhere as well, visit her site for more information & the recipe! The main thing I changed is not using my highest quality chocolate. I don’t believe in wasting chocolate, that just doesn’t happen in our household. So, in case you were wondering, regular ol’ chocolate chips will indeed work!

It was gorgeous, rich, & clearly much easier than expected! I did switch from whisking (which I generally prefer) to a handheld mixer which I recommend. It takes some patience, but it turned out beautifully. My husband loved it as well! I added a bit of sugar to mine which I will probably leave out next time for a darker taste. It is some really potent stuff!

I can definitely see this being a great summer dessert with some strawberries!

Pinterest Experiments: Pizza Stuffed Monkey Bread with Garlic & Herb Coating

February 6, 2012 By Stephanie Louise

I first discovered this magical dish on Pinterest, my foodie addiction. If you love to cook or just stare at food, do yourself a favor & follow me on Pinterest over on the left. Anyway, after I saw this I immediately thought of my husband. He has a sick obsession with pizza and pizza sauce so this was right up his alley. On a particularly glum day, he asked me to make it. I figured I could find something in our sickness filled house that I could use in place of some ingredients & here is what I found & what you’ll need!

Ingredients:
– 2 rolls of Pillsbury Thin Crust dough
– 1 Package of pepperoni, 2 if you want extra!
– 6 oz Mozzeralla cheese cut into about 48-50 cubes

Butter-Herb-Garlic Coating:
– 3 cloves of garlic or 2 tablespoons pre-chopped garlic
– 6 tablespoons butter
– Herbs of your choice! If I was in a hurry I’d go with regular pizza seasoning but this time I used basil & parsley.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the butter, garlic and herbs. You can do this in the microwave in a heat safe measuring cup or over the heat in a pan. Melt thoroughly. Brush the inside of the pan with this lightly.

To create the balls break off a hunk of dough. Place the pepperoni then the piece of cheese before rolling or folding into a ball. Make sure you seal the ends as you go. Keep doing this until you’ve used up all of your cheese.

At the end, brush the remaining butter mixture over the top. It will settle down and bake through to flavor and brown the whole bread.

Bake until lightly browned and bubbly, about 40 minutes.

To remove, just turn out onto a serving platter. Mine stuck a bit so i just ran a butterknife lightly around the outside.

Your last step? Pull apart a hunk and enjoy! I served these with a little container of marinara for personal dipping. It was definitely a big hit!

As stated before, I found this on pinterest! Here’s is the site where I first adapted this recipe to suit my needs.

Dale and Thomas Popcorn Valentine’s Day Sampler Box Review & Giveaway!

February 4, 2012 By Stephanie Louise

So if you have never tried Dale & Thomas Popcorn before, you are definitely missing out! To officially launch Cookinista, I have teamed up with this blossoming company to host a giveaway for you guys. If you are the lucky winner, you will receive everything reviewed here!

The packaging is adorable. Instead of creating a whole new box for holidays, Dale & Thomas adds a sleeve, this one being covered in holiday hearts! I love this concept because their boxes are always packed securely. I mean, what’s the point of getting popcorn if its all crunched up right?

This package comes with 6 sample bags all packaged in really durable coating. I mean seriously, get scissors, these are really hard to open with just your hands! Although they make tons of variations on flavored popcorn, this is for Valentine’s Day so these all revolve around what? Chocolate of course! If you aren’t a chocolate fan, I urge you to try out the Southwest Cheddar Chipotle!Keep in mind these bags serve 2-4 people according to the site. Personally, I like to grab a handful or a little bowl full here and there so it lasts me quite awhile! These are also gluten free as well as kosher!

The 6 bags included in the Valentine’s Day Six-Bag Sampler are:

Dark Fudge with Praline Almonds

D & T Description- We combine Dale and Thomas’s all natural corn, pop it to perfection, then dust the corn with praline almonds and finish it off with a drizzle of fudge.

My Take- I am such a sucker for almonds! The mix of deep fudge and almonds makes this popcorn something really special. There are bigger chunks of almonds throughout so I suggest shaking up the bag a bit before eating.

Cinnamon Creme DrizzleCorn

D & T Description- We have transformed our just-popped corn with a hint of aromatic cinnamon and brown sugar, for an enticing taste of fresh-from-the-oven sticky buns. Then we drizzle a layer of creamy white chocolate for the perfect finishing touch

My Take- Like a warm, iced cinnamon bun with extra…white chocolate icing? Indeed! This isn’t overpowering, just the perfect blend of flavors. I love the vanilla kick it has.

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate DrizzleCorn

D & T Description- Welcome to heaven. Nirvana. Whatever you want to call it, our Peanut Butter & White Chocolate DrizzleCorn takes you there. This sweet-and-salty, creamy, and crunchy delight will blow you away!

My Take- This is the perfect blend! The peanut butter isn’t too overwhelming like with most mixes. The white chocolate and creamy peanut butter really are nirvana!

Twice-As-Nice Chocolate DrizzleCorn

D & T Description- Big, fluffy kernels of our farm-fresh popcorn are perfectly paired with not one, but two luscious chocolate toppings: creamy milk chocolate and dreamy white chocolate. This over-the-top taste sensation is a chocoholic’s dream!

My Take- Perfect for when you just can’t choose! This is some high quality white chocolate, it really stands out and holds its ground against the milk!

Double Chocolate DrizzleCorn

D & T Description- Chocolate is good. Twice the chocolate is even better. We drizzle dark fudge over our sweet-and-salty Kettle Corn and then top it with a sprinkling of tiny chips made from real semi-sweet chocolate.

My Take-Double chocolate, why yes I will thanks! This is a chocolate lovers dream with dark chocolate for a punch of richness.

Black & White Biscotti

D & T Description- Our delicious caramel-dipped popcorn has been infused with the fresh Italian flavor of almond biscotti, and then dressed with decadent dark fudge and a coating of white chocolate. Try it with espresso and live a little

My Take- This is truly decadent! Almost every inch of popcorn is covered and the fudge is really rich. This is also probably the crunchiest coating of the bunch.

Here’s how you enter! Be sure to read the rules guys!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*This product was provided for review however this in no way guarantees blog coverage. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.*