Scallop, Scallops, and Scallop's.

Ever since I had a passion for cooking, I've always wanted to try scallops. They seem like they are so fun to eat. And they look easy to cook. But then again, I could be wrong. However, when it comes to cooking. . .I will most likely be willing to try anything AND everything. So scallop's should be no problem at all. . .atleast I hope they aren't. . .

Lovely Bruschetta

A couple of nights ago, I decided I wanted to try this Italian recipe. The name of it is Bruschetta. I went to the store and got all of the ingredients. I came home and did my favorite thing: take the original recipe an turn it in to mines. Here is my own recipe of Bruschetta:

Ingredients:

- 2 on-the-vine tomatoes

- 1 round ball of mozzarella

- 4 basil leaves

- one french-style baguette

- ground black pepper

- kosher salt

Directions:

Wash and cut both tomatoes. Make sure to get rid of the seeds. Then slice the mozzarella as thinly as possible. Take the 4 basil leaves and fold them in half, then slice thinly. Take the baguette, and slice at an angle.

Take a 2-quart sauce pan, put 1 teaspoon of oil in it. Then add the tomatoes, and sprinkle a little pepper and a little salt. Cook the tomatoes until they are a little soft.

Take the bread slices and butter on both sides, heat up any size pan and wipe oil around the pan. Then take the bread slices and put them in the pan. Once toasted on one side, flip them over and toast the other side.

Once toast is ready, flip the toast back to the originally side; on the hot side place the mozzarella, tomatoes, and a little basil on it. Then eat and enjoy.

Bestfriends and Food

As you all know, I love too cook! And most of the time when I do cook, its with my bestfriends. I love to cook with them, because, we get to spend time together; while tasting new recipe's. I believe that if you love something, you should do it with the people you love. Because, that brings more fun and joy to your life. so enjoy cooking, whether its with your friends, family, or just yourself.

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My Personal Food Capital

Hmmm. . .I just went to Chicago for a week, for the first time, a couple of weeks ago. All I can say is AMAZING! Like, I never knew Chicago had so many famous places. Especially food places, :). Like we went to this one pizza place, they served the Orginal Chicago Deep Dish, it was tastey. And my family and I wondered if we were eating it right. Haha. However, there is another pizza that I enjoyed dearly. this deep-dish was from a restaurant called Connie's. It was created like a regular pizza, BUT deep dish. It was so wonderful!

My mother, her good friend, and I went to this fest called, "The Taste of Chicago". It was nice to enjoy the different food from around the city. The one thing I loved from the fest was this one dessert. I can't think of the name of it. But. . .it melted in my mouth. Well, atleast the powdered sugar did. . .

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars W/ Streusel Topping

Ingredients:
-2 cups of All-Purpose Flour
-1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
-1 cup (two sticks) Butter, Softened
-2 (8-ounce) Packages of Cream Cheese, softened
-1/2 cup Sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
-2 Large Eggs
-1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
-2 Granny Smith Apples: peeled, cored, and finely chopped
-1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
-1/2 cup Caramel Topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs (one at a time0 and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evernly over cream cheese mixture.

-Streusel Topping;
-1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup quick cooking oats
-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Sprinkle evernly with Stresel topping over apples.

Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and enjoy.






(I looked up and made this recipe, courtesy of Food Network's website.)

Chocolate Cake Anyone. . .?

Hmmm. . .I remember whenI was 14; and my bestfriend and other friend came over my house. I found a recipe on Food Network for a Chocolate Cake, that we made from scratch. So we went to the store, got all the ingredients, came back to my house, and got down to business. We were having fun. You know. . .having flour fly every where, throwing ingredients at eachother, getting yelled at for messing up the kitchen. But hey, we were having fun. So we did a 2 layer cake; and we made the icing from scratch also. When the cake came out, we let it cool, iced it, and cut into it. That must have been THE worst cake we have every tasted in our LIFE! The cake was so dry and I wasn't a big fan of the icing; and neither was my friend. However, my bestfriend loved it. So. . .I got a container, put the icing in it, and gave it to her. My bestfriend left with a smile on her face, my other friend upset, and I stayed home with a bad taste in my mouth. . . (Sigh) what I won't do for food. . .

Hot Link & Spicy Scrambled Eggs

Since I just off of a work an hour ago, I decided to give you guys one of the first recipes I ever created. Hope you enjoy it, and try it out for yourself.

Ingredients:

- 2-3 Hot Links (chopped)
- 3-4 large eggs
- 1 cup of American or Chedder Cheese
-Ground Black Pepper
-1/2 cup of onions
- 2 teaspoons of Red Pepper Flakes

Directions:

Get a medium sauce pan and put it over medium-high heat.

Once the pan is heated, put the hot links in and let cook all the way through.

While the hot links are cooking. In a bowl, wisk together the eggs, half of the cheese, black pepper, onions, and red pepper flakes. After everything is whisked together, pour mixture in the sauce pan. Once the egss are half way cooked, put the hot links back in to the pan. Finish cooking the eggs, and put the rest of the cheese on the top.

When finished, cover the pan with a lid, and let cheese completely melt. Then Enjoy, :).

Serving Suggestoins:
-Sour Cream and Salsa
-Extra Cheese of Choice
-Ketchup

Salad Gone Wrong

I remember when I was 13 and one of my close friends came over. We were sitting there bored, just watching TV. Then an idea came to her head. She said, "Why don't we make salad dressing. . .?" I looked at her and thought about it. Then I said, "Hmm. . .might as well." So we went into the kitchen and started putting idea's together. Then we finally got one. So we took a bowl and a wisk. And we mixed together: ranch, italian dressing, and lemon juice. We wisked it together, and it was THE best salad dressing we ever tasted. So we decided to actually try it out on a salad. I thought I was being smart by picking the hedge of lettuce, that has been sitting on the counter for 2 weeks, whether then getting the salad mix out of the fridge. We each broke off a piece, dipped it in our new dressing, and almost threw up. The lettuce was so hard to chew that we were cracking up laughing. I will never forget that day, its to funny to even forget.

P.S.: Til this day, we still don't have a name for our infamous dressing, :).

Introduction To My Dreams

I never really was a food lover when I was younger. Didn't eat certain things that I probably should have. However, I was 12 when I realized my dream career. I was an innocent pre-teen sitting on the couch watching TV. Then that one channel. . .changed my WHOLE life. That channel was Food Network. I love watching how Alton Brown used science; how Rachel Ray made meals quick and easy; how Ina Garten loved to entertain on Barefoot Contessa. It gave me a good feeling inside, and I decided then and there. . .that my heart belonged to cooking great meals for great people. I decided that I want to be a chef and own my own restaurant down in San Diego, on the beach(one of my favorite places).

After I discovered my dream, I started learning how to cook. My mom taught me how too make scrambled eggs. She always said, "Amaya. . .when it comes to cooking, you have to take one step at a time. That way you produce quality in every meal." And sure enough, she was right. As I grown older, I started branching out more and more into food. Now, I make full breakfasts' and dinners on my own. An even though I'm not a big fan of baking, I still practice the skill. Cooking has always been a release for me. I'm kind of glad I picked that day to watch what I'll do the rest of my life. . .