A Tasty Twist On Macaroons

Passover may be three weeks away but it's always good to think about what to serve ahead of time. One of the most traditional American foods is the coconut macaroon. This flourless treat has been gracing tables for decades. Now there's a new twist on this much beloved cookie.

Coconut macaroons are always a treat  and now Manischewitz has two new flavors, Cold Brew Earl Grey and Birthday Cake.

I like these new flavors.

The Earl Gray one has a delicate flavor - not overpowering and perfect for after dinner or a snack with  - what else - a  steamy cup of Earl Gray.

I also like the birthday cake.It has more of an almond-y flavor with the surprise of multicolored sprinkles inside. It was a bit sweeter than the Earl Gray flavor but not too sugary sweet.

Both are perfect as desserts for the seder and for gift giving. Manischewitz also has other updated flavors such as red velvet, chocolate chip mint, carrot cake and hazelnut chocolate chip. There are also the traditional flavors too such as almond, coconut, chocolate and chocolate chip.

This is the time to start thinking about hope and Spring holidays such as Passover. Think about the addition of Manischewitz's latest flavors, Cold Brew Earl Gray and Birthday Cake to your holiday table. They're a fun  delicious treat, perfect for family and guests.

Mmmmm M and M's

One of the most classic American candies is M&M's. These little multicolored gems are just good on their own or in a variety of different dishes and treats.What is even more interesting is their history and their impact on the American culinary landscape.

M&M's made their debut in 1941 during the beginning of World War II. Forrest Mars Senior based them on the British candy Smarties when he saw soldiers eat them as a snack during the Spanish Civil War. The British version had only debuted a few years before in 1937. and were possibly based on the Moravian version first made in Holesov Czech Republic as early as 1907.Mars was the father of the famed Milky  Ways and Mars Bars  introduced in 1923 and 1932. The candy is nothing more than a chocolate pellet coated with hard panning, basically hardened sugar syrup. Those iconic M's? One  is for Mars - of course and and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey's chocolate president  William F.R. Murrie. They candy was made with Hershey's chocolate which had control of all the rationed chocolate at the time.After receiving a patent for it ,Mars had the candy made in the posh neighborhood of Clinton Hill, in Newark, New Jersey. Their first customer was the US Army who saw the candy as the perfect foodstuff that wouldn't melt in the pockets of soldiers stationed in tropical climates. It was strictly  army food until the end of the war when it was finally sold to civilians. The iconic brown package came about in 1950 while the Ms came about in 1949.It was black at first and then changed to white in 1954.

Most of us grew up with the classic milk chocolate or peanut ones that came about in 1954. The eighties saw the candies go global with being introduced all over the world, from Australia to Malaysia. They even hit the UK where they 've been competing with Smarties.Holiday M&M's were introduced then too, with pastel candies imprinted with bunny, chick and egg symbols. The Christmas ones were colored with  red, white and green coatings, with the last one  being mint flavored. The M's were replaced with fir trees, bells and candles. The Nineties saw the ushering in of M&M Minis sold in plastic cylinders . The new century welcomed such new flavors as dulce de leche, caramel, and peanut butter.Also entering the candy scene was dark chocolate - a nice break from the milk along with white chocolate.There's also chocolate crispy and pumpkin spice that comes out in the fall. Fruit flavors have also crept into the M&M flavor mill as  well. There are coconut, orange,cherry cordial raspberry and even candy apple.! Newer flavors are birthday cake and pretzel - the last a nice mix of sweet and salty.Mars  also makes pecan pie and caramel which is sooooo addictive.

Everyone has a favorite M&M. What's yours? Mine are caramel and almond for now. That may change when I taste the dark chocolate ones again.

The Perfect Birthday Cake

One of the crowning moments of any birthday is the cake. It's usually a perfect two layer affair with a yummy filling , frosted with buttercream. Buttercream roses or marzipan figures decorate it.It's a challenge for many home bakers , yet it doesn't have to be. Any home baker can create the perfect birthday cake.

One of the biggest dilemmas home bakers face is what kind of cake to bake.Scratch or mix? Many purists will tell you scratch is much better for you health wise and taste wise too. However, if you're pressed for time, a mix is a lifesaver. If you want to make a scratch one, keep it simple with a vanilla or a chocolate flavors Make sure you have all the ingredients from the baking powder to the butter and eggs. Remember to have unsweetened  cocoa powder if you're making a chocolate scratch cake. As for mixes, Duncan Hines  brand is really the best. The mix produces the best crumb - moist and flavorful. Pilsbury and Betty Crocker are also very good. All have a variety of different flavors that include such fruit flavors as orange ,lemon,pineapple and strawberry. Betty Crocker has the  fun SuperMoist Rainbow Chip cake , a mix filled with multicolored sprinkles. Once you decide on what kind of cake you're going to bake, check your inventory of pans.  The best kind is nine inch metallic ones. These  produce perfectly baked and even layers , with no burning. Also make sure you have a cake tester which is crucial is determining when the layers are done along with a sturdy wire rack for cooking.

The filling is important too. Many home bakers just use the icing as the filling, which can be OK if it's not too sweet. Cream cheese icing is the filling of choice for classic Red Velvet and carrot cake as well as banana cake. For other cakes, pureed fruit and whipped cream make for a nice  not too sweet filler. Try a layer of fresh cream and raspberry for any chocolate or vanilla cake.Lemon curd is a great filling for a lemon or pineapple cake. It's an easy mix of lemon juice with zest blended with egg yolk, sugar and butter to create a kind of pudding. A strawberry cake would be made decadent with a chocolate mousse one., and then iced with a dark chocolate butter cream. As for the finishing touch, buttercream is the way to go. Fondant, a combination of corn syrup, shortening and powdered sugar, flavored with vanilla is heavy and will make the cake cloyingly sweet. Save it for making figures and objects. Go with buttercream. The frosting can be made in a variety of flavors from vanilla to raspberry to orange to even peanut butter. Again, make sure you have the instruments to make the perfect gateau. An icing spatula is a must  because it gives a smooth glossy finish to the cake. Icing combs will give the sides those perfect even lines that bakery cakes have. Make sure you have a good cake icer that has a variety of nozzles to make buds and leaves. A cake nail is necessary to make those big roses that grace every birthday cake.Also have a nozzle with a small tip for writing.

The perfect birthday cake is the perfect gift. It should have a moist cake, a delicate filling and a creamy , buttery icing. The combination will give you  a memorable creation that's worthy of any birthday wish.

A Healthy Birthday

Can you have your birthday cake and eat it too? Most diet conscious people will say no and insist on a tiny sliver instead of a hearty slice.However even a decadent birthday meal can also be good for you healthy.You can go crazy for your birthday , but it can be backed up with reason and thought. One of the most wanted or desired birthday meals is lobster.It is rich in flavor and the height of decadence,as well as self indulgence,It isn't high in calories, and it is vitamin and mineral packed.It's loaded with magnesium, niacin or Vitamin and potassium.It is high in cholesterol however so if you do have cholesterol issues, rethink it.Yes, you can have it with butter but for a better choice, just ask for a lemon wedge to spritz on it.You can also turn the lobster into a salad, with a simple olive oil and lemon or lime dressing.Serve it with bright and crisp Romaine lettuce along with Campari tomatoes and corn kernels. You could also make a lobster wrap with a tarragon dressing. Roast beef is another birthday wish for.It's a low calorie meat with only fifty four calories a slice.Unfortunately so many people love their roast beef on bread or stuffing ,drenched in gravy.This is the height of tastiness but drenched in fat and cholesterol, not to mention starch.A better alternative is a steak salad ,with a bed of kale, beefsteak tomatoes ,and red peppers.Nothing beats a beef fajita .You can even make this at home for a festive in house party.Cook up onions and peppers and just top with fresh made guacamole and salsa .If you want a tad of creaminess add just a dollop of sour cream.You could also add steak to pasta sauce for a truly delicious meal. As for sweets, yes there is is the birthday cake.The best part is the icing.?Let's face it nothing beats the sweet creaminess of a well made buttercream and that absolute prize, the pink blue or yellow buttercream rose.Each tablespoon has about sixty calries of fat.If you truly want the traditional taste for your big day, then gofer a cupcake.One 'loaded" cupcake is about three hundred calories.The best part is no leftovers.If you do want. Cake then think about an angel food cake.This is only seventy two calories per slice.What is great abut angel food cake is that it pairs up well with everything. One of the best is strawberries or blueberries but you can also try sliced banana with dark chocolate sauce.Also have a big blob of Cool Whip on top too.Fruit pies are another low calorie birthday treat .Add Ginger for zing and if you're baking it yourself,, then go for farm picked ones.A fruit birthday cake is super healthy and super fun.All you need is a watermelon as the base and various other fruits as decorations.Ice cream cakes are also big. However you can make a healthier one using frozen Greek yogurt along with fruit, syrup and CoolWhip as the icing. You can have your birthday cake and meal and eat them too.Just have it on the healthy side.It's a birthday gift to yourself, one that"s good for your heart and taste buds.

Birthday Cakes - Our Favorite Memory

There's nothing like a birthday cake to evoke memories of good times and good tastes. Our earliest memories are the festivities to mark our coming into this world. Memories of favors or games may fade but cake ones remain strong. they kind of like what Madeleine's were to Marcel Proust.

The best ones are the homemade ones in my opinion These are the one from Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines, usually in a chocolate or devil's food. The best icing ? Homemade butter cream where the icing gets hard on the top forming a thin crust but remains buttery soft underneath.The decoration? Colored sprinkles to round it out. It's still a favorite of mine - unless you sub in the vanilla icing with fudge frosting.

Of course as we get older some of our tastes change. I've enjoyed strawberry shortcake or Grand Marnier infused sponge cake as a birthday dessert with family or at a friends. There were the birthday cannoli as well (trying putting a candle in one of those) and the birthday crostata. A fun one is the cupcake, really a mini version of the standard birthday cake bit a cake just for me and me alone.

Yes, there' s nothing like a fun birthday cake to bring back the good memories. Just the taste of mosit vanilla cake frosted delicately with homemade buttercream icing can remind one of the small joys in life. Not to mention the fun that came with it.

Happy Birthday to anyone celebrating today!!!

Happy Birthday Cake

Yes, today is my birthday (it's also Samuel Taylor Coleridge's birthday and the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar).I've decided to dedicate today's entry to the birthday cake. We all have good memories of them.

The birthday cake has been around since ancient Greek times when they made simple cakes for each other. They had to be round like the sun or the moon to celebrate "the circle of life". Also the Greeks put candles on them so that they would glow like the moon. Our wish making comes form them as well because the Greeks believe that the smoke could carry wishes and prayers to the gods. The 16th Century Germans also picked up on this but believed that one single taper in a cake represented the light of life.
We still carry these customs to this day. Another custom is smearing the celebrant's name on the cake so that the wish will come true.

If any of you out there has a good birthday cake recipe share it with us. I'd love to hear about your memories of butter cream roses or birthday cakes shaped like castles.

October Is Here!!!

hard to believe that's it's already October, month of pumpkins, cider and Halloween candy! It's also my birthday month (I share a birthday with the great Early Romantic poet and critic, Samuel Taylor Coleridge - October 21st also Trafalgar Day in Britain) so I'm going to be indulging in my faves.

The best part about this month is it;s kind of like fall's version of July. The weather is still beach worthy. The farms are brimming with crops. The sky is still a bright blue while the air is still warm during the day. I plan to make the mos t of this month with beach picnics, on the road trips to new eateries and seeing what the farms of South Jersey offer. Hopefully I'll pick up some good , sturdy pumpkins along with trying some fresh apple cider.

This is my month. As a dedicated foodie I'm going to enjoy it - birthday cake and all!!!