Girl Scout at Heart

Growing up I was a Girl Scout. I started in the Brownies and moved up the ranks eventually helping my mom out - who was our Troop leader. Now we were not your typical Girl Scouts. We never went camping, we stayed in hotels. We did art and crafts most of the times. But the cookies were all well worth it! (Mental note: I must make a recipe using Girl Scout Cookies!)

Now I have to admit I had a blast in Girl Scouts. I met my Best Friend in my troop. Ive known her for almost 20 years now and she was even one of my bridesmaids at my wedding. The only thing I wish we would have done was Camping. Yes its a hard concept...me in the woods with a tent. We called ourselves "Troop Beverly Hills". Great movie! I honestly don't now how I would have been able to handle eating berries and sleeping on the ground, but i hear that camping goes hand in hand with S'mores.

One year my mom had the bright idea to make S'mores at a family gathering at my Grandparents house. 20 kids all hoped up with sugar near an open flame. Good times! Needless to say it was only about 3 minutes into the process that we discovered that a flaming marshmallow flies quite well.

This year my husband and I had a BBQ with my family. Instead of flaming marshmallows flying all over my new home I made this reciepe. Normally I would make the batter from scratch but I was cooking for about 80 people. If you use boxed the Ghiradelli Brownie is the best, in my opinion. Betty Crocker makes a good batter as well.

S'mores Brownies
1 Bowl of Brownie Batter
10 oz bag of Marshmallows
1 Graham Cracker Crust

Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 10 minutes for the crust, 40 minutes for the brownies, 5 minutes marshmallows

Crust:
2 cups of Crushed Graham Crackers
1/4 cups of Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup of Melted butter

Mix the Crushed Graham Crackers, sugar and melted butter together. Firmly press into a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. You will need to pour the brownie batter on top so make sure your pan is big enough to hold it all.

Pour the brownie mixture over the Crust. Make sure it is nice and even. Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean

While the brownies are still hot layer the top with your marshmallows and set it under the broiler for just a few minutes. I personally love crispy gooey marshmallows so I leave it in for about 7 minutes. If you like yours more on the golden brown side 4-5 minutes should do. Make sure you keep an eye on them. They can and will burn very fast.

Happily ever after

I never understood why people think making a nice dessert takes forever. Dessert is usually the best part of any meal and its the last thing someone will taste. I guess it can be a very daunting task but it doesn't have to be.

I love me some Chocolate...no lots of Chocolate. As much of a Chocoholic as I am, I can not and will not have a heavy chocolate cake for dessert. It usually is great the first few bites but it will have you reaching to loosen your belt in no time. I believe a dessert should be satisfying and not heavy. Nice and light. Otherwise it may ruin your meal. I save the decadent desserts for girls nights and when we have friends over for coffee.

This has all the best qualities for a great sweet ending. It looks pretty and impressive. Everyone gets their own serving. You can make it a day in advance. It is also very dangerous because it is very cheap, quick and easy to make. Not to mention I usually have all the ingredients on hand anyway. You can even drop a dollop of it into your morning coffee the next day.

Chocolate Mousse
2 Cups of COLD heavy cream

1 cup of Semi Sweet Chocolate chips

2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract.

3 tablespoons of butter

Garnish: Chocolate shavings and 6 strawberries

Depending on how big your cups are this recipe will serve 6.

Melt the butter and a 1/4 cup of heavy cream over low heat.

Add the Chocolate Chips and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Set aside and let it cool to room temperature. The butter will prevent the chocolate from hardening up again.

Whip the remaining Heavy cream into Stiff peaks. Return to the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Divide the whipped cream in half. In one half VERY gently fold the chocolate in. Return to Fridge for 20 minutes. Fold the reaming cream into the chocolate. Whisk it again on Medium speed for 3-4 minutes.

Divide into 6 Cups, top with a strawberry and the chocolate shavings.

I lied. This is the worst food I've made

There is nothing like the summer in NYC. The blazing heat. The white light reflecting off of every window onto the concrete blinding your eyes. The wonderful aromas of the subway on a mid summer afternoon. The homeless people hoarding around you to sell you a bottle of mildly cool water for $2. Sweaty Joe Blow and Bonifa sandwiching you on the 7 train in rush hour-FYI for some strange reason deodorant and soap are not required use for the subways. The tourists stopping the the middle of the street in Times Square to take a picture. Not to mention to poor saps from the sticks trying to navigate the subway tunnels. Ahhh the good life.

Then there is another side of NYC in the summer. Roof top parties on a breezy night. Picnics in Central Park. Reduced admission at the museums. Long walks after the theater. But the best part are all the street fairs. The streets of NYC smell like Grandma's kitchen. Vendors line the streets selling anything and everything you can think of. And my god the food! Braciole, Clams on the half shell, zeppoles, funnel cakes, sausage pepper and onions sandwiches, shish kabobs, dirty water dogs (hot dogs), Nutz4Nuts, you name it and its sold in stands lining the streets.

There is one Street Fair that I both look forward to and dread every year. The Creme de la Creme of Street Fairs. Its the best one but when the street is cleaned, the flags are taken down and the Fair is over I know the summer nights are gone with it. The San Genero Feast in Little Italy closes the Summer season in NYC every September. Mulberry Street is closed to traffic for two weeks every year to celebrate San Gennaro and the Italian way of life. Live music on the corners, handsome Italian boys dressed to the nines trying to entice you to eat at their restaurant. The smell of cigars from the street side cafes. Carnie Games "ill give you one dart for free to hit a balloon!" "such a pretty lady! would the gentleman want to win this lovely lady a prize?". When I was younger I have such fond memories of Little Italy. Back then it really was a Little Italy. Now the true Little Italy is down to about 3-4 blocks long. Down Mulberry St from Broome to Canal St. Chinatown has taken over. Don't get me wrong I love Chinatown (where else can you get a Rolex for $10, a Birkin for $20 and Noodles at 3am?). But Little Italy is a part of my Soul. Every year it gets smaller and smaller. Beautiful clean streets lined with restaurants and shops are now littered with trash and the restaurants have long since disappeared. It truly is the end of an Era. At least I still have my San Gennaro Feast.

There is nothing like the San Gennaro Feast. The best food of any feast. All the restaurants set up tables in the middle of the streets. If you don't want to sit you can visit one of the many vendor stands. On the corner of Motts Street there is a guy who spends all day and night opening fresh clams. The next stand over is braciole and steaks. Down by La Mela you can get a plate full of meatballs. Every other stand sell Zeppolies...and they are all called "NYC BEST ZEPPOLI! get 'um while their hot!". I think they went to Chinatown to get the knock off signs for $1 each.

There is one stand that will forever hold my heart. I can smell it the second I get near the feast. I push and shove my way through the hoards of people to reach my pot of gold at the end of the Italian Rainbow. Deep. Fried. Oreos. (a moment of silence please)

Before I got Married I would have these once a year at the feast. Now that I got my own deep fryer for my Bridal shower I can indulge anytime I want. The second I ripped off the wrapping paper and saw the Deep Fryer I had one thought: Oreos. I've had ones that friends have made, I've heard horror stories from family trying to make them and they have all been epic fails nothing compairs to the ones at the feast. Too doughy, to dry, too soggy, no crisp bite, too crisp. Now I know the trick, and I will share it with you but you must keep it a secret. I have spent many hours of trial and error trying to get the batter just right. Thinner and less sticky then zeppoli batter but thicker than a crepe-with the taste and texture of a zeppoli. Its gotta crunch when you bite into it and be soft and fluffy inside. It also HAS to crust fast so the cream in the Oreo doesn't melt out and cook fast enough so the Oreo stays crispy. When I ran out of flour I found the trick. Determination wins again.

Deep Fried Oreos

One Package of Oreo Cookies

2 Cups of Bisquick (yes, pancake mix...just trust me ok?)

2 Eggs

1 1/2 Cup of Milk

2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil

Vegetable Oil for frying

Powdered sugar for garnish.

Turn on your deep fryer and get it hot. If you do not have a deep fryer then you can fill up a dutch oven pot or any heavy, deep, even heating pot over the stove with oil. You need about 4 inches of oil in the pot.

Mix together all of the ingredients. Dip the Oreos in so that they are completely covered. The batter should stick to the Oreo and not run off as shown in the picture above. If its to runny add more Bisquick, too thick add more milk. You want to put the coated Oreo in the hot oil as soon as it is dipped. Do not try to dip them all at once. If the batter sits on the Oreo it will make the cookie mushy and it will also never 'poof' up to a perfect little gem.

Gently place some the dipped Oreos in the hot oil. It is best to do them in batches and not all at once. You can test the oil first by dropping a bit of batter in, if it bubbles right away then your good to go. Make sure the Oreos don't touch when you first place them in the oil otherwise they will stick together. After two minutes turn the over and let the other side cook. Do not move them around to much or the batter will come off the Oreo if it is not cooked through. When both sides are a nice golden brown they are ready to come out.

As you remove the Oreos from the hot oil place them on a plate or cookie sheet lined with paper towels. this will absorb all the oil off the surface leaving you with a nice crispy crunchy shell.



Dust with powdered sugar and loosen your belt!


Serving recomentdation: A nice big ole cup of cold milk!