5 Christmas Dessert Ideas

With Christmas is less than 48 hours, I figured I would give you a few ides for desserts. I had planned to make a bunch of desserts and blog about it but with the general election, I got sidetracked and busy. I didn't cook at all last week and ate out so much. I did a little bit of baking but it was orders of things that I've already shared with you.

This year, I'm not hosting Christmas dinner at my house. I'm having friends over for Christmas Eve but we're having a Mexican Fiesta with tacos, black beans, guacamole, seven layer dip and sangria. I'm super excited.

Candy Cane Brownies

I feel like the holiday season is just flying by me. We got our tree the last week of November and decorated it last week so we are definitely full of Christmas cheer in the house. I've already bought a couple boxes of candy canes and they are all gone. My son sings Jingle Bells just about everyday and keeps asking when he's gonna see Santa (Not that he hasn't already seen him three times at three different events).

This weekend, I'm taking him to see Santa again and then we are going to go to another Christmas related event. Sadly enough though, I haven't had one glass of egg nog. Maybe I'll buy some tonight. But seriously, it seems the season is passing by so quickly. I adore the holidays so this is a bit sad to me. Maybe it has something to do with that thing we have coming up on Monday. You know, the election.

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

I must seriously love you guys because I'm about to share my favourite recipe of all time with you. These are the best cookies I have ever eaten in my life. I look foward to the Christmas season all year specifically for these cookies. I don't actually remember where I go the recipe from, but I've definitely made it my own. It's not a difficult recipe at all. If you can melt some butter and chocolate and throw it all in a mixer, you can make these. The hard part is having the patience to chill the dough overnight. But it's so worth it. These cookies are soo gooey, chocolately, minty and delicious :)

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is the oldest I have ever been and the youngest I will ever be. I turned 27 today and it's been a fabulous day so far. I just wanted to chill out and relax with the people I love and so far, that's all I've done. Usually, I am in a big party mode but this year I wanted to keep things more low key. I'm having some friends over on Saturday night for fabulous food, drinks, games and conversations. It should be a ball. But before that, I'm going to La Serena at The Reefs for a much needed spa need with my gf Nadia. Her birthday was in Sunday and we always do something together.

Let's Get to Know Me :)

Since my birthday is tomorrow, I figured we should get to know each other a little bit better. If you are reading this blog, you must be interested in food and you must be interested in me. If you weren't interested in me, you wouldn't be reading this blog. Well, unless you are here solely to steal my recipes!

OK, I know you aren't here to steal my recipes but let's play a game. The get to know Mikaela game. Here we go.

My Christmas Thoughts + Simple Eggnog Cake

Well, it's finally Christmas season. I feel like just yesterday I was on a boat in a bikini, drinking and having a blast. But alas, summer has actually left Bermuda. On Sunday, the boy, Amari and I went to the Santa Claus parade. I still think it was a bit early to have a Christmas parade but oh well. Amari had a blast. He got tons of candy and was beyond excited to see Santa.

This year, I've decided to do things a bit different for Christmas. Since both the boy and I are December babies (my bday is December 5 and his is December 23), it gets to be a bit much. My sister is also a December baby, the 18th. So needless to say, the month is busy. I've decided that I won't do a traditional Christmas. Yes, we have a tree that will be decorated this weekend. And of course we will have a huge meal and lots of wine for Christmas. But, I don't want to go big on the gifts.

Happy Thanksgiving + Apple Pie w/ Crumb Topping

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know we don't technically celebrate it in Bermuda but since I grew up in the US, I cook a dinner every year. Not only is it a time to enjoy some amazing food, it's a time to celebrate with good friends and family.

This year, I am thankful for my amazing boyfriend, my beautiful son, my wonderful friends and family and my kick ass job :). But seriously though, this has been a rough year and I am truly thankful for all the things God has blessed me with.

Tonight, I am having about 15 people over for dinner. I am making my herb roasted turkey which is hands down the best turkey ever. I'm also making a sweet potato gratin and a salted caramel apple cheesecake pie which I will post tomorrow. The rest of the menu is roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, vegetable lasagna, stuffing, dinner roast (a vegetarian meat), pumpkin pie, gingerbread and spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer. It will be epic!

Local Eats @ Tribe Road Kitchen + The Newport

Have you ever had a breakfast that was simply the most amazing thing that you have ever eaten? That happened to my boyfriend and I last weekend. On Saturday morning, we decided we would go to Tribe Road Kitchen for breakfast. I have been a fan of this place for over a year now, especially of their breakfast. I first tried the breakfast earlier this year and had chicken and waffles. They were to die for so I knew I had to go again soon. The boy was game so off to Tribe Road we went.

Rice Krispie Treats Two Ways

I love rice krispie treats. I think they are so underrated and I find that to be very sad. I know some of you are thinking I'm crazy because rice krispie treats can be very boring. If made incorrectly, they can be hard and dry and not at all appetising. But when they are made right, they are perfection. They are gooey, sweet and buttery. All things that are amazing to me.

The problem I've always had with rice krispie treats is that usually, they don't have chocolate. As you know, I am a HUGE chocolate fan and will try to eat everyday. Shh...don't tell my trainer! This recipe is special because I've made "traditional" rice krispies and a chocolate version in the same pan. The "traditional" ones look traditional but actually aren't because instead of just melting the butter, I make brown butter which takes the flavour to another level. The chocolate version is actually chocolate and peanut butter mixed into the rice krispie marshmallow goo. They are soo good! Let's get started.

I'm So Healthy....Not Really

Today, I had a shot of wheat grass. Then, I had half a fruit smoothie. Then, I went to body combat at my gym and totally kicked ass! Then, I got a quinoa, chicken and vegetable salad. I'm soo healthy!

The truth is, I wanted to go to Rock Island and get a chai latte and a date bar. However, I ended up going to Down to Earth with my boyfriend who coerced me into having a shot of wheat grass. He gets them all the time. I had never had one. He said it would make me healthy. I said OK even though I planned to have bread and cheese for lunch. But I got so caught up in the new found healthiness in my life that I caved and had my quinoa.

Best Apple Cake Ever

It's finally getting cool here in Bermuda. Summer seems to be officially over which is such a wonderful thing. I was getting tired of the 80 plus degree weather. I feel that once middle to end of October comes, I should be able to wear a long sleeve shirt and not feel hot. Well today, I have on a cardigan and it feels awesome! There's a chill in the air and it's long overdue.

I know we don't have Fall here, but it feels like Fall so I want to eat Fall related foods. I love apples and anything appley gets me everything (unless there's chocolate, chocolate always wins). Growing up, my nana made pies - apple, pumpkin and lemon meringue. I would happily stuff my face with her apple pie every time she made it. I love my pie warm with ice cream on top. Apple pie/cake/turnovers/tarts always remind me of Fall.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Yes, I have had my caffeine already and am quite chipper today despite not being able to take advantage of the extra hour. My son woke up at 6:22 yesterday morning. Yes, I said 6:22am. Needless to say, that wasn't the best start to my day and by 8am, I was starving. We decided to go to breakfast at Grotto Bay and that was the best decision I made all day. The servers kept refilling my cup of coffee which I have to say was wonderful. The breakfast buffet was amazing and the food was delicious.

Candied Ginger Molasses Cookies + My Halloween Look

Happy Halloween!

I do have an actual recipe to share with you today but first, I want to talk Halloween. I love Halloween because of the candy, the costumes and the makeup. Growing up, we had no parts of Halloween. My family was very Christian and to this day, my mother abhors anything to do with Halloween and calls it the devil's holiday. But like I said, I love it. 

I love to dress up, I love to eat copious amounts of candy corn and I love have scary makeup on. So let's talk costumes/makeup. Last year, I was Nicki Minaj. It was epic.

Local Eats @ Grand Cafe

Yes, that's me stuffing my face. It's not an unusual sight at all. I love to eat and eat all day long with no apologies. Today, I met up with my friend Nadia for lunch at this new spot called Grand Cafe. It's at the old Greg's Steakhouse. The menu looked decent and the prices were even better. As we all know, food is very expensive in Bermuda so when you can find good food for cheap, I'm there!

Vegetable Frittata

I am a big breakfast person especially on the weekends. Everyday, I have the same thing, my homemade granola with vanilla greek yogurt. It's not by any means glamourous but it tastes good and fills my belly :).

On the weekends, I have great breakfast. It's usually pancakes and bacon or codfish and potatoes. This past weekend, I had pancakes and bacon on Saturday and couldn't figure out what to have for Sunday. I wanted codfish and potatoes but had forgot to buy the fish the day before. For those of you who don't know, codfish needs to be soaked overnight to get rid of the excess salt. So, with no codfish, I decided I would make a frittata.

Local Eats @ Blu Bar and Grill

Yes, this is a plate of sushi.  A plate filled with delicious looking sushi. And in case you can't tell, there is a half lobster on this plate filled with sushi. It's lobster season here in Bermuda and lobster is definitely popping up on the sushi menus. We didn't eat this. I just took a picture because it was so pretty.

So, I went to Blu last Friday with the boy, my gf Kelly and her hubby Donte. We went to the Masterworks Gallery first for the Charman Prize, an art show with the top prize of $10,000. Kelly is an artist and paints these amazing florals on canvass. She won honourable mention for her category. We feel 100 percent that she was robbed! Regardless of the non win, we had a great night.

Pumpkin Blondies with Salted Caramel

These blondies are serious. But let's have a quick chat before we get into to them. So this past weekend I did a lot of cooking and baking and eating this weekend so I have plenty to share with you this week. I made these blondies, ginger cookies, a butternut squash soup, vegetable enchiladas and I had a fabulous dinner at Blu Bar and Grill which I will write about later this week. All in all it was a fabulous weekend and I am all set to have a fabulous week of food blogging :)

Apple Pie Cake

I love apple pie, apple turnovers, apple tarts, apple crumbles, apple everything. When I was younger, my nana made pies all the time. Apple, pumpkin and lemon meringue. The only one I would eat was apple. When I started baking, I was a little scared of pies but have made a few apple pies in my day. My favourite it apple crumb pie.

Local Eats (again) + Partner Re 5k

I ran a 5k on Sunday with my girls Jamila and Alia. It was the 15th annual Partner Re 5k women-only race and proceeds go to a different charity every year. This year, the chosen charity was the Women's Resource Centre and they certainly deserve it for all the work they do to help and protect women.

Local Eats @ Ten Cafe and Bar

The other night, I met up with Kelly at Cafe Ten for an after work drink. We do this this pretty regularly. The reason we choose Ten is because the chef, Mike will make us all kinds of crazy things that aren't on the menu. And Mika the manager will whip up crazy concoctions for us to drink. It's pretty fun.

So I'm just going to do a rundown of what we ate.

Chipotle Black Bean Soup + My Weekend

This past weekend, I did a ton of relaxing.
It was really great. I also did a lot of eating per usual.
On Saturday night, the boy and I went to Culture Fest in Dockyard.
The weather was a bit muggy but the entertainment was pretty good.
But being the person that I am, I immediately gravitate towards the food section.
I want to know what people are selling, who has the best deal and more importantly, who has the best food.

Perfect Pancakes + Sunday Lunch

Ah, pancakes. 

Pancakes are my absolute favourite thing to eat for breakfast. 

Anytime I go out for breakfast, I order them and I make them every weekend at home. 

Usually, I make them on Saturday because Sunday is dedicated to codfish and potatoes of course. 

I can eat about two regular sized pancakes covered in cheddar cheese and syrup, the perfect blend of sweet and savoury. 

I made pancakes for breakfast on Saturday and they were wonderful. 

This recipe is pretty simple and can easily be doubled. 

These pancakes are quite light and aren't terribly puffy, something I'm not a fan of when eating pancakes. 

You add in whatever you like ie chocolate chips blueberries, banana, nuts, etc. 

You can also use whole wheat flour and skim milk if you are being health conscious, something I need to be :)

Easy Granola

Since I keep talking about eating healthy, I've decided to actually do it.
I had a conversation with one of the trainers at my gym, Nerseh about what to eat for breakfast.
I would usually eat some kind of Kashi cereal with fruit but would be hungry by 10am. Not good.
She told me that I get hungry because a) there was no protein and b) cereal is a sugar rush.
Nerseh suggested I try yogurt with granola and berries.
I immediately balked at this idea.
First off, I hate yogurt. I am disgusted by it.
But Nerseh kept insisting I should find one I like and go from there.

It's Friday :)

Yes, I do think like this :)
It's that kinda day!
I went to lunch with my gf Kelly per usual.
My Fridays consists of NewBite in the morning, Boot Camp and then lunch with Kelly.
During our weekly lunches, we have great conversations and laugh our asses off for the majority of the time :)
And drink wine.
This is kind of our motto...

Chicken + Vegetable Enchiladas

So the boy says I don't eat healthy.
He says all I do is talk about eating healthy, but I actually don't.
Of course I proceeded to argue with him and he then pointed out that I bake almost daily and happily indulge in the things I make.
He then said I eat junk food.
I was offended because my food is hardly junk.
Yes, everything I bake is laced in butter but it's good butter, high quality delicious butter.
He then pointed out that I said I was going on a healthy meal plan and all I do is talk about it.
I'm starting to think he's right....only a little bit though.

Healthy Fried Rice

I love chicken fried rice.
In fact, I love Chinese/Japanese/Thai food, really Asian food in general.
As a child, my mom would make a variety of stir fries and curries.
I made sense because we were vegetarian so we could eat out at a Chinese restaurant and not feel like we were missing anything.
Also, adding Asian spices to tofu makes it taste really good.

Blondies!!!

Firstly, I want to apologise for being amongst the missing for the past few weeks.
Things have a been a bit hectic but I am back with quite a few exciting things to share with you.
And this recipe will definitely make up for my absence :)

Blondies are my absolutely favourite thing to bake.
They are chocolately, gooey, satisfying and just simply amazing.
These are my far my most requested item for orders and requests from family and friends.
They are a crowd pleaser and everyone always asks for more when the pan is done.
My favourite way to eat them is a few minutes out of the oven with vanilla ice cream on top...HEAVEN!

Local eats- Swizzle Inn

Last night, I had planned to take Amari to Harbour Nights but it got cancelled due to rain that lasted about five minutes.
So I had to come up with a backup plan since I promised him a night out.
Enter Swizzle Inn.
Amari loves to eat here and regularly says it's his favourite place.
The food is usually good so I don't mind eating there.
And the Swizzle is fantastic.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Swizzle, it is a pub with a pub menu.
It attracts as many tourists as locals.
There is a downstairs and upstairs, both have outdoor dining.
They are known of course for their swizzle but also burgers, wings, pizzas and more importantly, nachos.

Ah, Barbecue Chicken Nachos.
I order these every single time I come here.
And they are perfect every single time.
They come with chicken, barbecue sauce, a mix of cheeses, jalapenos, tomatoes, black bean and corn salsa, sour cream and scallions.
This is the junior size, a bargain for $9.75 considering how massive the plate is.
I usually eat about 3/4 of this plate, unapologetically :)

Amari always gets one of two things: pizza and fries or chicken nuggets and fries.
Last night, he chose pizza.
He also got a fruit punch.
He said the food was yummy but he only are half the pizza so who knows.
I think he just likes being in a restaurant where he can make noise :)

We went to Double Dip after and got chocolate and vanilla soft serve in two cones. 

Yum!

Amari's cookies

I call these Amari's cookies after my beautiful son, Amari.

He looks quite grumpy here but anyways, back to the cookies.

These cookies were actually an accident.
Last Sunday, I was craving chocolate chip cookies, a reoccuring thing for me.
I always have stuff in the house to bake so I headed to the kitchen and popped out a stick of butter to soften.
Once I started pulling everything together, I realised I had no brown sugar.
What was I to do?!
It was pouring rain so I had no desire to go to the store but I really wanted cookies.
So I figured I would use white sugar with my usual recipe and see how they turned out.
And they turned out soo good!
My normal recipe is based off Elizabeth Faulkner's, a pastry chef who comes on Food Network regularly.

The white sugar gave them a crackly-ness that brown sugar doesn't give to cookies.
They weren't incredibly gooey, but they were amazing and tasted quite similar to Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies.

After I made them, Amari told me I couldn't give them to anyone except him.
He said I could have some if I wanted :)

So let's get started.
Here is what we need:

one stick softened butter, 1 1/4 cup sugar, one large egg, one teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, one teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, one cup chocolate chips, one cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 then cream the butter and sugar for about two minutes, being careful not to overmix.

Add the egg, vanilla and salt, mixing until just combined.

Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until combined.

Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix on low until combined, this will take less than 10 seconds.

Doesn't that look soo good!
You know I licked the mixing thing and the bowl afterwards :)

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and then scoop out dough using a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop.
You can also use parchment paper to eliminate the Pam.

Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pan after 7 minutes.

Let cool on cookie sheet for about a minute then move to a rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container and more importantly, enjoy!

Amari's Cookies

Ingredients
one stick of softened butter
1 1/4 cup of white sugar
one teaspoon vanilla bean pasta or vanilla extract
one large egg
one teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
one cup chocolate chips
one cup white chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 then cream butter and sugar for two minutes.
2. Add egg, vanilla and salt and mix until just combined.
3. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder, mixing on low until combined.
4. Add chocolate chips and mix until combined, less than 10 seconds.
5. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough onto sheet, about 12 cookies at a time.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating pan after 7 minutes.
7. Once baked, cool on cookie sheet for a minute then transfer to a wire rack until cooled.
8. Store in airtight container.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ah, pizza.
Possibly my single favourite thing to eat ever.
I know I've said that about mac and cheese and I will probably say it about mushroom risotto, filet mignon with mash potatoes and fried fish with french fries, but seriously, I love pizza!

I started out like many just eating cheese pizza and it still remains my favourite but I've managed to branch out.
One of my favourite pizzas is the Vegetali Pizza from La Trattoria here in Bermuda.
It's a very thin crust pizza topped with roasted vegetables.
It is completely amazing and gooey and yummy.

The first time I had BBQ chicken pizza was at California Pizza Chicken in Natick Mall in Massachusetts.
We would go there at least once a month to do shopping when I lived in Massachusetts as a teenager with my mom, brother and sister.
I loved those outings because it automatically meant eating at CPK which was almost just as good as eating at Cheesecake Factory.
Anyways, this pizza has stuck with me and it's my favourite to make at home.

I usually make pizza when I have no idea what I feel like eating but need to pull something together quickly.
This is more of a method rather than a recipe.
I forgot to take a photo of the ingredients, but here is what we need: 1 tube of refrigerated pizza crust (or homemade when I have time), 1 bag pizza cheese, 1/2 cup of your favourite barbecue sauce, leftover chicken breast, thinly sliced onions.

Open the can of dough and roll out of on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam.
Make sure you push it as close as possible to the edges of the pan to ensure a thin crust.
Prebake for eight minutes.

Meanwhile, slice an onion thinly.
Use as much or as little as you like.

Once the dough is ready, put about 1/2 a cup of barbecue sauce on the pizza and spread it to the edges.

Top pizza with cheese, then chopped chicken and onions.
If you don't have any chicken cooked, roast or grill a chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper and give it a rough dice.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

I prebaked my crust a bit too long so the edges are a bit dark but of course, I dont mind.
Anything gooey and cheesy is good in my book :)

Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza
1 pizza crust or refrigerated pizza dough
1 bag pizza cheese
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
left over chicken breast, chopped
thin slices of onion

Instructions
1. Roll out pizza dough onto cookie sheet sprayed with Pam.
2. Press out as close to the edges as it can go.
3. Prebake crust in 425 degree oven for 8 minutes.
4. Once out of oven, top with barbecue sauce then cheese, chicken and onions.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese and bubbly and crust is brown.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hmmm.....Red Velvet cupcakes....where do I begin?
As I said before, I bake for a cafe and do special orders from time to time.
Yesterday, I baked up four dozen cupcakes for this woman's 50th birthday party...red velvet, carrot, vanilla bean stuffed with chocolate ganache and dark and stormy, a take on our national drink.

I decided to blog about the red velvet because they are by far my most popular request.
Maybe it's something about the colour, the little bit of chocolate or the delicious creamy icing.
Whatever it is, people love red velvet.

My recipe is quite simple but tasty and makes 24 cupcakes.

Here is what we need.

2 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon red gel food colour, 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add all the wet ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix on slow until combined.

I forgot to take photos until everything was already mixed.

Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the batter into the lined cupcake tins.

Bake for 20 to 22 and let cool on a wire rack.

Again, I forgot to take pictures!

When the cupcake have cooled, frost with cream cheese icing ( 1 stick butter, one block of cream cheese, 2 to 3 cups powdered sugar).

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes 

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon red gel food colour
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Combine wet ingredients in mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until combined.
4. Add dry ingredients and mix on slow speed until combined.
5. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop into lined cupcake tin.
6. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes.
7. Let cool in tin for 5 to 10 minutes and put on wire rack.
8. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese icing.

Makes 24 cupcakes.