Martini Cake

This weekend was my dad's birthday and his favorite drink by far is a martini. We happened to have an over sized martini glass in our closet and I thought it would be fun to incorporate it into a birthday cake.

Since I wanted the base of the martini glass to be cake, I looked for a thinner cake that was still rich and flavorful. I decided on an Italian flourless chocolate cake. It basically tastes like a fudgy brownie. Sooo good!

Flourless chocolate cake with peanut butter cream and a martini glass filled with vodka jello.

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe: (From Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle)

1 stick unsalted butter

6 oz dark chocolate

1 cup sugar

5 eggs, separated

1 1/4 cup finely ground hazelnuts

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9-10 inch spring form cake pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of pan.

Combine butter, chocolate and sugar in a heat proof bowl set over simmering water. Heat until butter and chocolate are melted. Stir until mixture is smooth and cool to room temperature.

Beat egg yolks into chocolate mixture, one by one, with wooden spoon until completely mixed. Add ground nuts.

Beat egg whites wtih salt until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture, 1/3 at a time, until no white steaks can be seen. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until cake starts to shrink away from sides and top is firm. Cool on rack.               

             Mixture going into pan.                       

Cake out of the oven

Peanut Buttercream Icing Recipe:

9 tbs butter, softened

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat beat butter and peanut butter in bowl until mixed. Add milk and vanilla. After combined, add powder sugar and stir until spreadable.

Vodka Jello Recipe:

2 packages of melon jello

2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

1 1/2 cups vodka

Add boiling water to jello mix and stir until combined. Add cold water and vodka. Pour into martini glass and chill until firm in fridge (about 2-3 hours). Decoate with "olive" marshmallow. (Coat mashmallow in green food coloring. When dry, add one dot of red food coloring on each side.)

Week 1 Run 2

On Thursday I finished run 2 of week 1. I hit the treadmill and ran 2 miles in 18:13. As for my additional cardio, I stayed on the treadmill for an additional 5 minutes at the highest incline level to cover a .3 distance. I wish I was able to do more of the "additional cardio" but I forgot my ipod and the treadmill was sucking the life out of me. Next time I should opt for the bike or elliptical I guess.

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 18:13
Time per mile: 9:06

I really can not wait until the weather warms up and I can do these runs outside. The treadmill has been really beating me down.

10K Training Week 1 Run 1

My first run of 10K training is done. It was only 1.5 miles but I'm glad it was short since I've been struggling to get to the gym in the past two weeks due to a new job and getting use to my new schedule. Since it was a short run, I tried to run work on my time by doing 1-2 minute sprints though out.

Miles: 1.5

Time: 13:14

Time Per Mile:  ~8:50

Afterwards I did some weights and leg and chess presses.

I got off work early but had to use the treadmill due to this:

And that's just after 2 hours of snow.. There is suppose to be more to come tonight. It's so pretty but I think I'm looking at the treadmill for the next few days. Boo.

Apricot Chicken

This recipe is easy to make and helps mix up "chicken dinner" night. I had some apricot jelly that I had left over from holiday cooking and decided to try to incorporate it into dinner. You can use this recipe with different jellies and cheeses. I'm sure it would be great with pepper jelly and pepper jack cheese, apple jelly and brie, etc.

Recipe:

2 chicken breasts

1 slice swiss cheese

4 tbs apricot jelly

Cayenne Pepper powder

Salt

Pepper

Pat chicken dry and then sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and cayenne powder. Cook in an oiled skillet over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Top each chicken breast with jelly and half a slice of swiss. Remove from heat and put pan top on to hold in heat to melt the cheese. Serve when cheese has melted.

Jake has been trying to help out in the kitchen and committed to make a side to go along with our apricot chicken and salad. He tackled the Kraft Home Style Mac and Cheese kit :)

Pretty delicious. Can't go wrong with mac and cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs.

Chicken and Dumplings.. and the importance of first-year-o-marriage back ups

So this week I figured out I like the idea of chicken and dumplings way more then I liked the actual dish. I came across an interesting recipe on the Pink Parsley blog. It is a chicken and dumpling dish that uses Salsa Verde which adds a kick and herb cornmeal dumplings which adds more flavor.

It took about an hour to put together but I had been cold all day and had the motivation to make a super comforting food.

        Recipe found here.

The first few bites tasted awesome. It had a lot of flavor, spice, and was incredibly rich. However, it was way too heavy for Jake and I to eat as a meal. We had ate about 1/4 of our plate and agreed that the rest was going to have to go in the fridge for another time.

In came my first-year-o-marriage back up food. Since I like to try new recipes quite a bit, it is crucial I have back up food in case the recipe is a flop. Some of these back ups include hot pockets, chicken pot pies, skillet meals, and of course toasted PB&J.

I think I got way more compliments on my 3 minute PB&Js then the hour long chicken and dumplings with fresh cut herbs, but I'll take what I can get :)

Colorado!

Jake and I just got back from Colorado the other night. It was soo beautiful and fun.

We went to go visit these guys:

After they picked us up from the air port, we went to an awesome restaurant called The Sink in Boulder. I was seriously craving a post 4 hour flight beer. This beer was brewed just a few miles away from Boulder and hit the spot.

Appetizers of guacamole/brie/and bruschetta followed...

We then split the best pizza I have ever had. It had tomato, basil, artichokes, and tofu. I had to take a few bites before I took a picture..

The next day we went skiing near by at Eldora. The slopes are in the background. I was way too paranoid to bring my camera skiing so this will have to do.

On Saturday we were motivated to climb a mountain.

We made it to the top without any major falls or freak outs.

On our last full day we went into town to do some shopping and watch the Jets/Patriots game at a whiskey bar. I am more of a clear liquor type of person so I went with the French Mojito.

It was so tasty! It included strawberry, mint, lime, lavender simple syrup, vodka, and champagne. I might have to try to recreate this drink sometime soon..  

Lemon Pepper Chicken Home Made Crouton Salad and Fresh Bought Ravioli Ridiculousness

One of the things I will miss about my old job is its close location to Eastern Market. They have a large indoor market with all sorts of fresh and hand made foods. I particularly love the home made pasta section. Earlier this week I bought these little beauties:

Hand made cheese ravioli with pretty stripes.

I boiled them for about 3 minutes and they were done! Fresh pasta has so much more flavor then store bought pasta and cooks in about a third of the time. I try to buy it anytime I come across it.

I topped it with my home made marinara sauce and....

Yummmy ridiculousness!

I know Jake doesn't consider food a meal without a meat so I grilled up some easy lemon pepper chicken.

Recipe:

4 chicken strip cuts

Lemon pepper seasoning

2 tbs olive oil

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Remove chicken strips from package and pat dry. Season both sides with the lemon pepper seasoning. Cook for about 8 minutes flipping chicken half way through. Remove once chicken is fully cooked through. Makes 2 servings.

I topped mine with a raspberry walnut light dressing and Jake went with the light ranch. I forgot to buy croutons at the store so I thought I would give home made croutons a shot.

Recipe:

4 pieces of Healthy White or Wheat bread cut into bite sized cubes

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs of salt

1/2 tbs of pepper

1/2 tbs of garlic powder

1 tbs dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss bread cubes with oil. Add seasoning and gently toss again. Arrange on tin foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until bread is golden brown. 

They turned out pretty good and definitely more healthy then store bought croutons. I might try adding Parmesan cheese next time as well.

Home Made Marinara Sauce

I have always wanted to try to make marinara sauce from scratch. I don't know if it's the Italian in me or my super pickyness when it comes to marinara sauce - but this is a sauce I feel like I should master. During my lunch break I bought some fresh tomatoes, onions, and what I thought was garlic....

Has the shape of garlic and the store labeling of garlic...

But not garlic at all...

I swear it's staring at me saying (in a squeaky British accent for some reason..) "Ohhh nooo I'm an onion, not garlic silly.."

Sigh.. I told you all I was not a master chef...

After being humbled by my garlic failure, I returned to my marinara mission. I had some dried minced garlic and garlic powder that would just have to do. I prefer marinara sauces that taste light, slightly spicy, and aren't chunky.

Recipe:

5 tomatoes deseeded and chopped

1/2 yellow onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

10 basil leaves chopped

1/4 cup white wine

4 tbs olive oil

1tbs dried oregano

1 tbs salt

1/2 tbs pepper

1/2 tbs cayenne pepper powder

1/2 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs dried parsley

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat until hot. Reduce heat to medium low. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and soft (about 7-10 minutes). Add wine to deglaze bottom of pot. Add tomatoes and basil. Let simmer for a few minutes. Take a hand blender and blend until no big chunks can be seen. Make sure to wear long sleeves and an apron since this can get messy. (There will be less of a splash if you keep the hand blender submerged the whole time.) Add remaining ingredients and stir. Add more or less of the spices depending on your taste. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Makes about 4-6 servings. 

While I really like how the sauce turned out, I'm going to tweak this recipe slightly. (i.e. remove tomato skins, add tomato paste, and try roasting the garlic and tomatoes). Hopefully I can do this in the next week or so and update the recipe :)

10K Training Plan

I researched a few 10K training plans before I came to the decision that I wanted to make my own. All the plans I found online had a few things in common. They all had a run that focused on pace with strength training afterwards, a run that was more relaxed but added in other cardio work, and a "long run" at the end of the week. Most of these plans took up about 5-6 days out of the week... Something I'm not ready to commit to for a 10K run.

My plan needed to be flexible and realistic for my schedule which means 3 days of runs per week.

Each week I will have a shorter run that focuses on pace and then strength exercises afterwards, a slightly longer run which will be slow and steady and then will do another form of cardio exercises, and finally a long run on the weekend to increase my mileage.
Here is my (color coded) plan starting January 22nd!

Week 1 :   1.5m + strength    2m + additional cardio        2.5m long run
Week 2:    2m + strength       2.5m + additional cardio     3m long run
Week 3:   2m + strength       2.5m + additional cardio     3.5m long run
Week 4:    2m + strength        2.5m + additional cardio     4m long run
Week 5:   2.5 m + strength      3m + additional cardio      4.5m long run
Week 6:   2.5 m + strength      3m + additional cardio     4.5m long run
Week 7:   2.5 m + strength      3m + additional cardio      5m long run
Week 8:   2.5 m + strength       3m + additional cardio      5.5m long run
Week 9:   2.5 m + strength      3m + additional cardio       6m long run
Week 10:  2.5 m + strength      3m + additional cardio      4.5m long run

Week of Race: 2.5 m + strength   3m + additional cardio     10K!!!

Not going to lie.. I'm kind of worried about the amount of miles towards the end of this plan but I'm going to do my best to stick to it!

1/11/2011 Run

Ever just have a bad work out? It happens at least once a month for me. I don't know why it happens. I guess a bad work out is just like a bad day - sometimes you can't control it and it just happens.  I got on the treadmill and after being on it for 2 minutes I knew the run was going to suck. I didn't enjoy one minute of it which actually improved my time since I was upping the pace to get off asap.

Distance: 2 miles
Time 17:58
Time per mile: 8:59

I did some leg and chest presses, ab work, stretched, and made a bee line out of the gym. I came home, drank a smoothie, and didn't move for the rest of the night.

Important things to remember with bad work outs are that they happen and don't be discouraged by them.