Fudi Gudi

A sweet mama making sweet thangs~

[hungimama]

Three Cheese Sauce

The following post are to help Young People in the kitchen. They seem to love cheese and will eat almost anything covered in it. At our house, I've back off purposely to allow them to gain confidence in the kitchen and maybe even make light some of my work :)

My son who's a young person, says his favorite sauces are ketchup, mayonnaise, tartar, bar b-Q and Tariyaki.  Although those are great sauces along with Hot sauce.  I know for a fact that he loves cheese and macaroni and cheese especially. So I will start with our favorite cheese sauce, Mornay.

There are five mother sauces Bechamel, Espagnole, Tomato, Hollandaise, Veloute' and Demi Glaze

They are called Mother sauces because all the Sauces we use are started from one of these sauces. Today I'm posting the Bechamel it is relatively easy to make and double because the formula is equal parts butter and flour and milk. Read and follow the recipe below and enjoy.

Fondu is fun and easy to make. I have a fondu that holds about 2 cups, but with a few safety considerations, a small sauce pot can be used. We use ours to melt chocolate, cheese, and other delicious sauces. All it takes is to put a few ingredients in the pot and let it melt. Gather a few ingredients to dip depending on if the fondu is savory or sweet. Today I'll post an easy savory cheese fondue, which starts out as a Bechamel sauce, but once the cheese is added it is Mornay sauce.

Three Cheese sauce

I Love how Bechamel becomes Mornay:D  It's easy and cheesy.

what can you use this for?

·      Fondu lay out veggies, Croutons, apple slices you get the idea!

·      Take out my veggie chips and use as a dip

·      spread on crackers

·      Spread or pour over tortilla fillings or have in tortillas on its own.

·      Fondu bacon

Stir 3 Tblsp. flour into 3 Tblsp. melted butter and cook stirring constantly for 2 min. Gradually pour in 1 c. heavy cream until smooth, then whisk in 2 c, milk. Simmer gently until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5 min. Remove from the heat and whisk in 2 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar and 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese until melted smooth. season with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Non-dairy or Vegan Cooks

You can switch out the milk for other non-dairy milk like soy milk or almond milk. Switch the butter out for vegan butter or spread or a good olive or coconut oil.

Or Try The Organic Authority and check out the

3 ingredient mac and cheese

http://www.organicauthority.com/3-ingredient-vegan-mac-and-cheese-recipe-kid-approved/

[hungimama]

A fun do it yourself project. I have always wanted to make almond and cashew butter.  After my father in laws 90th birthday, we came home with a whole can of mixed nuts. So I just had my dd pick out the almonds. Then I brushed off the excess salt. Walla. I added a touch of honey for a bit of sweetness. Now I have another way to get a meatless protein.

 With a better food processor I could have produced an even creamier texture but make due until you can do better. Besides, I think it looks more like crunchy. Nuttins wrong with crunchy. 

Nuts can be pricey...but if you don’t have allergies to other nuts a mix is a good way to go. Who knew making a nut butter was this easy...The machine does all the work after I separated out the nuts I wanted. So I made almond butter this time. Next time I'll make Brazillian...I love those.

Almond Butter

1 cup almond butter

a food processor

1 Tbsp. Honey

Instructions

1. Place the almonds into the processor

2. Close it properly

3. Turn on the machine and let it go until smooth...It took about 20 min. on my small chopper.

There are 1000 ways to use Almond Butter. Literally, anywhere you'd use peanut butter. Here's 5.

Chocolate covered  almond cups (above)

Almond Butter Glaze

Almond Sauce for Pasta

Almond Butter Cream

Dipped pretzels sticks

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One cake three decors. Which one do you like the best? To see more visit, follow and like michelescafe.blogspot.com

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I LOVE … Swiss Buttercream on my Chocolate cake…mmm!

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Cookie maddness @ michelescafe.blogspot.com

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Cookie maddness! @ michelescafe.blogspot.com

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I remember watching “Weird Science” with my kids. Then Alton Brown on Food Network! I just loved seeing how it all works. I already knew baking is an exact science. At some point the formula becomes Art. Moisture in the air, is water and the enemy of chocolate and Heat is the enemy of modeling Chocolate. It became a costly science lesson for me, but once I learned… microwave! I had success. Below are My favorite tutorials… Dawn Meehan has very simple steps for roses…https://youtu.be/oReZyrJzZiA Cake Style how to mix modeling Chocolate https://youtu.be/A8TMVFdVc28

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The cake finally came together nicely…ha! I beat the heat! Or did the heat beat me. Definately need a microwave and air conditioner when working with modeling chocolate! Sill fun! Maybe another candy clay next heatwave?

[recipleaseremedieshow2ease-blog]

Bechamel sauce presto chango! Mornay sauce

When I was training at Colors Restaurant thru C.H.O.W. I learned somethings new about recipes I used everday. The five major sauces for one…first I didn’t know there are five. I already knew the names of 3. Tomato, bechamel, and brown sauce(espanol). Bechamel, Espanol, Tomato, Hallendaise, Veloute, and Dime-glaze. My favorite is the bechamel because it is what helped my macaroni and cheese go to the next level. The thing is when cheese is add to bechamel the name changes to mornay! Cool right? Bechamel is easy to remember equal parts flour and butter, s/p and milk. On its own you can use it for pasta, rice, thickening beans dishes, salads the list is well up to your imagination add a bit of stock ½ c. Flour ½ c. Butter 1tsp. Salt ¼ tsp. Pepper 5 c. Milk (any milk but non fat) Melt the butter, whisk in the flour cook 2 min. Then s/p…gradually stream in the milk stirring with a wooden spoon. Keep the heat med. Low and steady. Stir until thicken. Mix in any cheese you love for the Mornay, American, Cheddar, Pepper Jack. Add cooked elbow or other pasta to this sauce and bake till brown and even thicker or stir and enjoy as is. To think a friend of mine once said “any recipe that used flour to make mac and cheese just seems wrong!” Thus the age old saying. “Don’t knock till you try it”

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Marill and Pikachu are the topper my son wants on his Pokémon Birthday cake…so far I’m off to a rough start. I can't recall the last time I seized chocolate! But here is the pic to prove it.. a pound of melting the chocolate and his older sister ate the other whole pound, just because!!! Well this is the kind of mess up my kids love for me to make, the birthday boy said, delighful…more! LoL..! BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD! See recipes for modeling chocolate here https://youtu.be/A8TMVFdVc28

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Favorite Blog treats and Outing

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BRING BACK EGG SALAD Due to a simi-tramatic episode in my early childhood…bad eggs, I’m sure…I stopped eating egg salad for more than 40 yrs.! Maybe because of economics, easy access to certain resources? Nastalgia most likely? I made it for my children. They love it. Do you recognize my secret ingredient in the first picture above? This spice when crushed makes my egg salad … 😙 At work one of the exec. came to the deli station and didn’t have an appetite for the offerings. I had egg salad on the menu before, but not that day, but I offered to make it. It takes all of 5 min..to whip up when all the ingredients are right in front of you, but I had to go to the walk-in to get the eggs, chop them etc. She said she didn’t mind waiting and I didn’t have other customers. From that point on, when she came through that’s what she asked for..even when she was about to go away to see her daughter in college. “2 for the road!” She requested! I just used a simple pinch of kosher salt/cracked pepper, eggs and a bit of mayo! It was a real confidence booster. Ha, I know it’s just egg salad…how hard can it be? Ok you try it and see if you feel the love! Great in any wrap too. Tah!

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Fudge or Cakey brownies with techniques to apply for the yummiest results all in one bowl.

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How does the same brownie recipe turn out differently? Timing. I mean how many recipes does one need…?? One! Just bake one 5 min longer or to no crumb and the other when the crumbs attach on the toothpick or whatevers…take it out…it’s still cooking and will set up to chewy. Well if your patient and not greedy, like so.e of my crew! Crazy little fiends smell chocolate and sugar? Forget about it!

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Remembering Simpler Times...even with all the struggles. Today I made my first bread pudding! My daughter gets huge cinnamuffins from work...no way you eat it all in on sitting...so I kept it in a baggie...along with whole wheat toast (that was a little too toasty). With my youngins down south for memorial day...I've been feeling like my old self...I made a batch of tortilla bread, 2 Loaf milk and honey bread and the Bread Puddin above! I added a handful of chocolate chip and and walnuts, apologies they didn't show up for the photo shoot till later! And Honey, well she ... decided not to participate but the whole thing was fantastic and the fresh whipped cream made this dessert oooh so delightful! I even pulled off a simple dinner of burgers, potato salad and greens... Don't know when I'll do this again but you know what, I'll be glad when I do!

[hungimama]

Life is complicated so bake your cake and eat it too, says No one ever...no that doesn't work!? Anyway. This is my dd birthday cake she loves flowers and every yr. I find a way to give her Clovers because of their color and healing virtues to children. Her loving care heals all who know her. One yr...I gave her a bouquet of flowers ...no.clover! I really enjoyed giving her the bouquet seeing as that yr. was a ruff time and the gift practically landed in my lap! This year I created a smash cake in the form of a rose. I was aiming for Terra cotta and lighter hues after that, for the frosting. By far Swiss Merangue Butter cream is my favorite butter cream to work with and eat! American Butter cream is not my favorite. I love a balance of butter, creamy and sweet! Mild sweet, creamy enhanced by a buttery flavor. With the American frosting the powdered sugar is overwhelmingly sweet! I want to taste the cake and the frosting compliments the flavor of the cake...otherwise what's the point in having it on the cake?? Just put it in a bowl and have it on it's own.(My kids practicly do that) I would say that cake is my strength and frosting is my weakness. So my effort now is to come up with the perfect compliment for my cakes! Some of my tasters loved the frosting but some thought it was too sweet or thick. The cake on its own was a great success. I found a box cake recipe similar to one of the first cakes I'd made in my teens, that used flavored gelatin, but also used fresh strawberries! The flavor of the cake was spot on for what I was looking for in a strawberry cake, but the one cup measure of oil was too heavy and I think made the cake too dense. It collapsed during cooling. I've never seen that amount of oil for box cake...so I'm going to adjust that to 1/3 oil/ butter, which is what I usually use. OH I just remembered to tell you the clovers around th border of the cake were created using chocolate modeling clay. Well that's the #sweetlife @ chocolate mondays! I'd love to hear what you do to make everyday sweeter! Especially if it evolves a chocolate treat! Tah tag for now.

[hungimama]

As the saying insists.."If it's to hot in the kitchen, get out" my box of a kitchen is so hot but not too hot to cook for 6 ravenous appitites! Then afterwards somebody exclaims "what's for dessert?" Xtra Special cupcakes with lemoncurd buttercream frosting! Chocolate roses on top! It's soo hot the roses are glistening, and the buttercream is weaping under the heat! If your not salivating by now...well get someone to check your pulse! STAT!