SMS - Strawberry Lemon Rosemary Muffins & A Winner

We have a winner!!! My blogging pal, Gnee of Singing With Birds is the winner of the $45.00 CSN Stores certificate! Congratulations, Gnee!!

Sweet Melissa's cookbook contains numerous sweet and savory versions for these muffins. The Peach version of these muffins was the first recipe I ever baked with SMS. Carmelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar were my first savory muffins.

The first time I made these I learned the batter was very thick and the muffins tend to be on the dry side. With each subsequent baking, I've been adding a little more milk or cream and depending on the moisture in the fruit or vegetables, about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of sour cream.

Lemon and rosemary are two of my favorite flavors. I couldn't wait to taste these muffins. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. There was only a hint of the rosemary flavor and I could hardly taste the lemon. Rosemary can be such a strong flavor, I am always hesitant to add more but this is one recipe where more is necessary. With the price of strawberries right now, I decided to use frozen. I was a little concerned they might be too wet but I should have known better. Even with the addition of sour cream, these were still a little dry.

I am determined to figure out the perfect combination of milk, sour cream and vegetables or fruit for this recipe. I think it has the potential to make a fabulous muffin.

Thanks to the talented Shandy of Pastry Heaven for choosing this weeks recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog. If you'd like to see the combinations chosen by the other SMS bakers, go here!!

Happy Pink Saturday!

A beautiful rose from our recent visit to Lauritzen Gardens.

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweeet the Sound.

Red Wine Poached Pears

There's still time to enter my giveaway.

Poaching is a cooking technique I rarely use. Poach - to cook food gently in liquid just past the boiling point. Do you have a favorite recipe using this technique?

Pears poached in red wine are so beautiful! With all of the pumpkin and apple recipes flooding the blogsphere, it's a nice change. This is an easy, yet elegant dessert. It can be served along with whipped cream, creme fraiche, mascarpone or even vanilla ice cream.

Red Wine Poached Pears

6 medium sized firm pears (Bosc pears work well for this recipe)
2 cups red wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
4 - 5 peppercorns
cinnamon stick
pinch of nutmeg

Select a sauce pan which just holds all of the pears lying on their sides.
Mix the red wine, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and nutmeg in the sauce pan. Place on medium heat and bring to a very low boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile peel the pears. For a pretty presentation, leave the stem on and cut a thin slice off the bottom of the fruit so it will stand upright when served.
Place the pears in the simmering wine sauce and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the pears are tender but not mushy. Turn them over 1/2 way through cooking time.
Carefully remove the pears when they are done. Reduce remaining sauce by boiling it for about 7 minutes or until until it is thick and syrupy. Place the pears as you are intending to serve them and spoon sauce on top.
Poached pears are perhaps best served at room temperature, but you can keep them in the refrigerator and serve cold.
Serves 6

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

From The Good Life - Veterans Day

Take time today to remember those who have lost their lives and those serving our country! A special tribute to my Father, who served in Pearl Harbor. At 91, I imagine he's one of the few remaining survivors. Thank You, Dad!

Coca Cola Cake

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!!

Have you ever had Cracker Barrel's Coca Cola Cake? We don't eat at Cracker Barrel a lot but when we do, it's for breakfast. Usually I don't eat cake for breakfast, notice I said usually. There's quite a few copy cat recipes for this cake. When I found this recipe, using diet coke and a low fat cream cheese frosting, I couldn't pass it up.

I was skeptical, just cake mix, coke and two egg whites? Would it rise or cook properly? Don't be skeptical. This cake is so good. It is so moist and the frosting is delicious. I am looking forward to trying some of the other versions of this cake.

Diet Coke Cake
Recipe adapted from Erin of grin and bake It

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 can Diet Coke
2 egg whites

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Bake according to the directions on the cake box. Makes 24.

Flavor Variations

Chocolate cake mix and Diet Coke
Spice cake and diet root beer
Vanilla cake mix and diet root beer
Pineapple cake mix and 7 Up
Vanilla cake mix and 7Up
Vanilla cake mix and diet orange

Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. light cream cheese, softened
1 c. marshmallow cream
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, marshmallow creme, lemon juice and vanilla until well combined. Then gradually beat in the powdered sugar.

Makes 1 3/4 cups

NOTES: The use of marshmallow creme instead of butter in this easy frosting recipe keeps the fat, calorie and cholesterol counts low. To simplify clean-up, spray the measuring cup with non-stick spray before attempting to measure out the marshmallow cream!

I am linking this to Tuesday's at the Table and Tasty Tuesday's.

Ginger Custard Pumpkin Crustless Pie

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!!

I was going to skip this week's SMS until I read everyone's reviews about how delicious this is and realized I had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge. Since pie crust and I aren't friends, I decided to go crustless and make these in ramekins.

The recipe calls for scalding the cream. I am sure I've made recipes before where scalding is required? I was curious, though, what is scalding? "To heat a liquid, generally referring to milk or cream, to just below the boiling point. It should be heated just until tiny bubbles begin to form at the very edges. "

I whisked the eggs for this recipe by hand. Are you watching Top Chef, Just Desserts? In the relay race two weeks ago, the contestants were challenged to whip 6 six egg whites to hold upside down for 10 seconds. That's amazing!!

I baked these in a water bath for about 25 minutes. I think they could have baked a few minutes longer. While I thought these were delicious, I was hoping the cinnamon and ginger flavors would be stronger. I could barely taste them. Maybe steeping longer would have helped? This recipe is a nice change from my standard pumpkin pie recipe.



Thanks to Debbie of Everday Blessings of Five Dees for hosting this week. You can find the recipe on her blog. If you'd like to see what the other SMS bakers created this week, go here!

Pink Saturday & A Giveaway!!!

Happy Pink Saturday!!

For the details on my giveaway, go here!!! The winner will be announced on November 12th . Thanks for entering!!!

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound!!!