Jolene's Recipe Journal

How would you rate your skill level in the kitchen?  While I consider myself to be proficient overall, there are still tons of things I'd like to perfect, especially when it comes to baking.  Nielsen-Massey's Better Your Bake tip series is a great educational tool, walking you through various techniques and then giving a selection of recipes to choose from to test out what you've learned. Disclaimer:  I received product from Nielsen-Massey to test in exchange for my honest review .   All opinions are my own. This post contains an Amazon Affiliate link.  I earn a small commission at no cost to you with the purchase of the product.    The first tip is how to separate eggs and how to properly whisk eggs.  The recipe I chose to showcase my whisking technique is the Honey Vanilla Pancakes. Look how light and fluffy they turned out!  I used the Ugandan Pure Vanilla Extract , and served them with blueberries from our new bushes. Tip #2 focuses on how to brown butter, an

You might be wondering, what the heck is an affogato?  In Italian, affogato means "drowned," and in the case of the dessert, you are drowning gelato or ice cream with a shot of coffee or espresso.  Disclaimer: I was provided samples of Door County Coffee's new flavors in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own. This post also contains an affiliate link.  I earn a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase the linked item.     When Door County Coffee & Tea Company asked if I wanted to try their new Brownie Batter and Birthday Cake flavors, an affogato immediately came to mind because both brownies and cake pair naturally with ice cream. It really is super simple. Brew a strong cup of coffee, I used the smallest setting on my machine, and used the Brownie Batter.  Some people like to add a shot of amaretto or other liquor, I didn't. Dish up the ice cream. Pour the hot coffee over the top of the ice cream, and then top with chocolate sh

It's been a while since I've been able to jump in on the Improv Cooking Challenge, so I'm glad to be joining the other bloggers this month! The two ingredients this time around are lime and avocado, and this one truly was a challenge for me, because I've not had much success when it comes to avocados. I can never seem to time the purchase of them correctly so that they are ripe when I need them.   This time I avoided that dilemma by purchasing pre-mashed avocado in the produce section.  It had a best by date on it that was almost 2 weeks out, which was fortunate because my schedule has been a bit out of my control as of late.  With that secured, I went searching for recipes, and found this Lime Avocado Hummus on the Taste of Home site. Over the past year I've become a big fan of hummus, and was excited to try a new spin on it.  What I was not as excited about was seeing cilantro in the ingredient list.  Sadly, I am in the camp of people that cilantro tastes like