Fun Stuff
How A Foodnut Celebrates the Royal Wedding
April 30, 2011 | 
Author 
- TV and Tea- Almost as Good As Being There?
Scones and chicken and egg finger sandwiches purchased from The Tea Garden in Valencia.
Open faced sandwiches, homemade. Cream cheese with cucumber and tiny green onions,
and cream cheese and salmon with dill. All very proper. Opps, did I mention the English
Breakfast Twinnings tea and the champagne with Chambord and fresh raspberry garnish?
Chocolate Dipped MMMacaroons
Ok FoodNutters, its COOOOOKie time! Want a gluten-free cookie that tastes like something you bought at a fancy cafe? Having guests over who have celiacs and don’t know what to serve for desert? Need a host gift for a foodie type who doesn’t eat wheat? Look no further, I have your solution in the form of deliciously decadent (but ridiculously easy to make!) Chocolate-Dipped MMMacaroons. I’ve had a great response from this recipe on my blog www.glutendairyfreedom.net, and I wanted to share it with you, the food-nuts-foodies, so you can proudly place your stamp on something that looks store-bought and fancy-schmancy! And if you’re curious, the extra M’s in “MMMacaroons” are for Ummmmmmmm, mmmmmmm, good.
Ingredients:
No, you didn't buy them!
- 5 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 2/3 cup rice syrup or honey
- 4 egg whites
- 6 tablespoons rice flour
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Bittersweet chocolate (optional)
What do I do?
- Preheat the oven to 350′F
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients (except chocolate) quite well until entire mixture is wet and the same consistency.
- Form into balls and flatten slightly on cookie sheets with a bit of space in between.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until edges are golden.
- Remove from oven and let cool on pan to set.
- When set, transfer to parchment lined tray and if you are doing the chocolate dip, refrigerate for at least one hour.
- For chocolate dip, melt chocolate in a small pot on very low heat, stirring constantly.
- Tilt the pot to the side, and dip half the cookies one at a time and lay back on parchment lined tray.
- Refrigerate again until set.
These look really fancy and appear much more difficult then they actually are. They are sure to impress when served to guests or as a host gift when wrapped in a white box with some ribbon, or on a plate with some cellophane and tied with a bow. People will think you went to a fancy bakery. Let them think that, then slip in that you made them yourself! You’re such a pro!
Posted in Blogging, Dessert, Foodies, Fun Stuff, Gluten-free | 
Tags: cookies, macaroons | 
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Vegan Marshmallow Sandwich
Yep, I was crazy enough to do it. I made a marshmallow sandwich.
I toasted an Ezekial English Muffin. I cut it in half and added three Sweet and Sara vanilla marshmallows, a teaspoon of unsweetened, shredded coconut and a teaspoon of Navitas cacao nibs. I microwaved the sandwich for thirty seconds.
And then I squealed with delight.
If loving this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Original post on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale. You can follow JL on Twitter and Facebook.
No Cake at a Wedding? Say It Ain’t So!!!
A good friend of mine, Cindy, attended a wedding recently. She shocked me with some astounding news, so it’s a good thing I was already seated or I might have keeled over and knocked a tooth out when I collapsed onto my desk: There was no wedding cake.
C’mon, join me — clutch at your chest as your eyes bug out, gasping for breath as though all the air has been punched out of your lungs.
No … cake? No cake! It’s a sacrilege! There has to be cake at a wedding! Guests ooh and ahh over it, vie for the best pieces, hope to get some of the edible decorations. Brides and grooms indelicately shove some into each other’s mouth. Cake at a wedding is a tradition!
But perhaps not so anymore? Cindy said that people she spoke with that evening told her that there hadn’t been cakes at other weddings they’d attended recently, either.
I’m sufficiently ancient and decrepit that my friends and relatives have either been married for 30 years or they’re divorced, and our children aren’t yet old enough — please, God, make sure they’re aware of that! — to get married. So I admit that I’m not an authority on this subject.
I hadn’t been to a wedding in years until attending one in July, and thankfully there was a cake. (Who knew it was now possibly considered optional?) It was really good, too, with luscious creamy white frosting … But I digress.
I’ve known of people who offered tiers of cupcakes that were arranged to resemble a cake. I’ve known people who offered an array of treats and sweets in addition to the cake, but the cake was still a major attraction.
Cindy said that other desserts were available at the wedding. There just wasn’t a cake, and from what she can gather, having no cake is becoming a trend. So, in horror, I started to do some remedial and less-than-scientific research.
Here is an assortment of quotes and responses gathered when I tossed this life-altering notion out into cyberspace and sought comments via Facebook and Twitter (so excuse grammatical/spelling quirks inherent in trying to type on a phone or cram a message into 140 tidbits!):
What else would the bride shove up the grooms nose? 
Seriously, yes…cake, of some sort, is a MUST!
What are people going to do, cut into a cupcake or a cookie? Sheesh!
That is ridiculous! If anything I have heard people turning to options but not getting rid of cake entirely! Thumbs down!
Haven’t heard this in the UK, though some friends had tiers of cheese instead.
I don’t know if I want to go to a wedding that doesn’t have cake. It’s a travesty!
We had cupcakes as our cake and then an ice cream sundae bar with cookies and brownies and no one ate the cake! We had like 100 cupcakes left over. Maybe it’s true 
Shut up!
Some things are just wrong, this is one! weddings=cake
Not any weddings I’ve been to.. no.. wait.. there wasn’t a wedding cake at the most recent one. Probably because the bride and groom didn’t want to spend $1,000 on a cake.
Plus, you have to save the top of the cake for your first anniversary! I have such fond memories of our wedding cake — made at a Swedish bakery in Minnesota with lemon filling… and it’s been almost 36 years!
So, there you have it — I’m apparently not alone in feeling weak and dizzy at the notion of not getting my cake fix at the end of the festivities. Deep sigh of relief.
I also did a search and found a website called Exquisite Events Seattle that addresses the cake-less issue:
“Cake has dominated the wedding industry for years. However, right now there is a growing trend to skip the cake all together. Maybe cake is not your thing. For many people cake is okay, but they have a dessert that they simply swoon over. So, why not have that dessert at your wedding?”
Why not? Because people expect a cake and want a cake! And they won’t leave your ceremony talking about how beautiful the bride was, but instead will leave talking about how deprived they felt at being denied cake!
I am fully aware that there are more earth-shattering and life-altering situations taking place in the world than not serving cake at a wedding, just in case anyone was wondering. However, this clearly struck quite a nerve for many of us.
In my obsessive compulsion to learn more about this issue, I’ve discussed it with many people who are in their 20s and 30s, those on “the wedding circuit,” in other words. Almost universally, there has been cake at the receptions they’ve attended. One of my co-workers told me that she’s never been to a wedding that didn’t serve cake.
Cindy (who may regret, at this point, ever having mentioned this to me!) brought up the issue of the Jewish dietary laws, and having to serve a non-dairy cake — which is very often inferior — with a meat meal.
In that instance, settling either for the lesser cake or for a vegetarian meal wouldn’t make for an optimal situation. The better dinner served without a cake might easily take precedence over the butter-less dessert.
So finally, as my brain was starting to hurt from all of this contemplation, I consulted a true expert: my favorite baker, Bryant Stuckey of Ann Arbor’s Decadent Delight. Here’s his professional opinion:
“I don’t know if I would say it’s a trend, but I have had many instances in the last couple years where couples have forgone the wedding cake … I think this is to stay within their budget. It seems a shame to me… I just can’t see a wedding without a wedding cake. The wedding cake is another character in the wedding. It’s symbolic to an idea of a ‘sweet life’ together.”
I think the notion of cake playing a role and symbolizing a sweet life together is absolutely perfect. And I think that symbol should be enjoyed with all the loved ones who’ve joined the happy couple on their special day, literally and figuratively sharing that sweet life with all of those who have been — and will continue to be — integral to it.
So skimp on the rose petals that flower girls toss along the aisle; they’re just going to get ground into the rug or the runner anyway. Do away with having 14 bridesmaids and save money by not ordering so many bouquets. Don’t bother with an ice sculpture that will just melt. There are so many non-essentials at weddings.
But cake — cake is an absolute! It’s a classic that never goes out of style. Change the shape, the colors, the flavors, and even the doohickeys that go on top.
But never, ever shun the cake! And if you do, please know that I will not be offended if you leave me off the invitation list.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
Potato Chip-Crusted Ice Cream Pie
I was able to celebrate two holidays on Monday — sometimes a girl gets to have way too much fun, eh???
First of all, it was the famous Pi Day: March 14, otherwise known as 3/14, otherwise known as 3.14 — pi, that endless (thus far — it’s been calculated to a trillion places and is still going strong!) number that most of us haven’t used since high school unless we happen to be math teachers.
It was also National Potato Chip Day, an occasion that simply couldn’t be overlooked.
Did I indulge in chips ‘n’ dip, followed by pie for dessert??? Heavens, no! That wouldn’t be very adventurous, now would it?
So I combined the two foods … yes, I did. You’ve had chocolate-covered pretzels, right? Same concept, just a variation on the theme.
I made a chocolate-drizzled ice cream pie. It has a crust made from — surprise, surprise! — crushed potato chips.
And you know what? It’s really, really good!!! It is! Jeremy said that the crust was his favorite part; it was even better than the ice cream, of all things!
The pie has that sweet-salty thing goin’ on, with each complementing the other and forming an entirely new taste experience. It’s cold, it’s creamy, it’s crunchy … all good things blended into one.
So let me tell you how to make this gorgeous specimen. It’s easy — you just have to start a day ahead and allow some time first for the ice cream to melt somewhat, and then for it to re-freeze.
But this is well worth the investment of waiting — remember, patience is a virtue even when impatience is trying to rule the day!
Chocolate Drizzled Potato Chip ‘n’ Ice Cream Pie
1/2 cup crushed lightly salted potato chips
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup Breyers Snickers ice cream, very soft
8 large, unbroken, lightly salted potato chips
1 pint Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche ice cream, very soft
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Combine the crushed potato chips and butter; press into the bottom of a 7″ foil pie pan. Freeze for 10 minutes to set the crust.
Spread the Snickers ice cream over the crust.
Carefully place the intact potato chips around the perimeter, like petals. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Spread the Dulce de Leche ice cream over the Snickers ice cream. Freeze for 45 minutes.
Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle the chocolate over the top of the pie. Freeze overnight, or the ice cream will not be fully set and it will ooze out over the chocolate drizzle … trust me, I know what I’m talking about!
Cut the pie, pulling the edge of the foil pan down if needed to remove slices. Makes 8 slices.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.