kim, Author at Lovin' From the Oven

Twice Baked Potatoes

October 5, 2013 by kim 3 Comments

I posted this picture on Instagram months ago and a lot of you guys nearly passed out because I used turkey bacon instead of “real” bacon.

I’ll just tell you now… I LOVE turkey bacon and have no hard feelings whatsoever against it. Sure, real bacon is more flavorful, but turkey bacon has its own charm.

It’s not as greasy and has a better crunch. Although, I don’t discriminate against any bacon. I’d rather have turkey bacon than no bacon. Besides, these potatoes are filled with rich enough ingredients that you won’t notice the difference if you choose a little bit of a healthier route to top them off with.

These would be the perfect football snack. Football season has started, hasn’t it?

Oh, what do I know. I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

Recipe adapted from one on AllRecipes.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
3/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup nonfat milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
2 green onions, sliced, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Poke each potato with a fork, then wrap individually in plastic wrap. Microwave each one for three minutes, one at a time.
While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon on the stove until crispy. Crumble and set aside.
Allow the potatoes to cool so they're not too hot to touch. Slice each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle into a large mixing bowl, reserving the skins.
Add the sour cream, butter, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup of cheese, half of the green onions, and milk. Mix until creamy.
Evenly spoon the mixture back into the potato skins and top with remaining cheese, green onions, and bacon.
Bake for 15 minutes.

https://lovintheoven.com/twice-baked-potatoes/

Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread

October 3, 2013 by kim 3 Comments

I was sent Martha Stewart’s new book, Martha Stewart’s Cakes: Our First-Ever Book of Bundts, Loaves, Layers, Coffee Cakes, and more, to review and I was so excited to receive it in the mail since I’m a fan of her other ones (Cookies and Cupcakes). I never got a chance to grab her Pies & Tarts, but I’m sure it’s just as good as the rest.

Right off the bat, I loved how uniform the book was with the rest. They’re all the same size and line up beautifully on my cooking bookshelf. Is that weird? Hey, books can make or break your kitchen shelf.

There are over 150 different kinds of cakes in this cookbook, one for everyone. There are also plenty of full page photos to show you exactly what the outcome is supposed to look like. A cookbook is nothing without pictures, and this one doesn’t disappoint in that aspect.

The pages are nice and thick, yet still easy to flip through. The recipe that caught my eye was gingerbread. I’m all about starting holiday recipes as soon as possible.

I made mini loaves rather than making a big pan, but my gingerbread turned out pretty much the same as the picture. I didn’t level my batter when pouring it into the pans, so my top was a bit uneven. My fault… I’ve been known to be an impatient baker sometimes.

Again, my impatience comes through in these photos because I didn’t wait for it to cool before cutting. I just wanted to dive into the cinnamon ginger smell piercing my nostrils. The slices would have been cleaner if I waited, but who can resist warm gingerbread?

I brought these to the Giants vs Dodgers baseball game last week (woooo! I can cross AT&T park/going to a Giants game off of my bucket list of things to do before moving back to LA in May) and it was devoured in seconds. Literally. Everyone gave great feedback.

The dusting of powdered sugar on top is optional, but it brings its own level of sweetness to a pretty tame (in sweetness) bread. I wouldn’t do without it.

In the book, Martha discusses the ten golden rules for cakes:

Read the recipe all the way through before you begin.
Choose your ingredients wisely.
Be mindful of recipe details.
Don’t rush the mixing process.
Prepare you pans properly.
A good oven thermometer is key.
Rotate cake pans.
Watch out for clues.
Let cakes cool completely.
Serve your cake at the right temperature.

I totally failed on 2/10 rules: “Be mindful of recipe details” and “let cakes cool completely.” I didn’t even out the batter before baking and couldn’t wait for it to cool completely. Oops.

If gingerbread isn’t your number one choice, there are other recipes in the book that might tickle your fancy: margarita cheesecake, mint chocolate-chip cake, blackberry cornmeal cake (looking forward to trying that one!), chocolate baked alaskas, or coconut-lime-berry cake, just to name a few.

Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread

Serving Size: one 9x5 loaf

Martha Stewart's Gingerbread from her book, Cakes. Can be found on page 26 of her cookbook.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
Transfer batter to prepared pans; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen. Turn out cake onto a serving platter; dust generously with confectioners' sugar.

https://lovintheoven.com/martha-stewarts-gingerbread/

I was sent this book to review, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Daily’s Girls Night In

October 2, 2013 by kim 82 Comments

I am all about convenience when it comes to party planning. The less I have to do, the better. So when I saw that Daily’s had these Frozen Cocktail Pouches, I was thrilled! You can make margaritas and daiquiris without the use of a blender. No blender means no mess to clean up! They come in 13 different flavors, so you can take your pick out of the many choices. There’s even a “light” line for those a little more health conscious. Some of the other flavors not pictured include: Pomegranate Acai Margarita, Bahama Mama, Blue Hawaiian, Hurricane, Light Mango Passion Fruit Daiquiri, and Light Pink Lemonade. My girls night in consists of movies, drinks, and food. With the drinks taken care of, I can have more time focusing on the food. That means less stress when you’re hosting. With these Daily’s Cocktails Frozen Pouches, all you have to do is freeze, squeeze, and enjoy. Pretty cocktail cups for all your guests don’t hurt, either. The pouches were a hit at my girl’s night in. Everyone was able to have their drink of choice at the perfect consistency. I’m not even a big drinker, but I do love to taste a little bit of everything. I could tell that if they were to omit the alcohol and just have it as a fruit juice squeeze, they would be just as delicious. It makes sense that Daily’s actually started out as a juice company. They developed an expertise in the fresh taste of real fruit juice prior to adding alcohol. By the way, don’t let these pouches fool you. There are very generous portions in each silver squeeze. My favorite flavor was Strawberry Daiquiri. They’re made with real fruit flavors, too– succulent strawberries, luscious lemons, and creamy coconuts, just to name a few. The hardest part for me was squeezing the frozen pouch after letting it thaw for a bit. They’re FREEZING! If you do it under hot water, then I find that the inside melts too quickly. The best way is to wear some kitchen gloves while squeezing or wrap it in a layer of paper towels so that your skin isn’t directly touching the outside of the container. Daily’s is hosting a $100 Visa gift card giveaway to one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment with the answer to this question: Which flavors would you be most interested in trying at your own girl’s night in party? Be sure to check out Daily’s Cocktails on Facebook and Twitter. *This post is sponsored by Daily’s, but the opinions expressed are my own.* Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post b:Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post c: Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post d: For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 10/2/2013-10/31/2013

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