One of my Favorite things...

...is something my mom made as a kid and called it "Frosty Treasures" it is also called "snowman poop" and "puppy chow." Ringing a bell?

I made some Friday night around 10 pm because I was craving it on the way home from eating on of my top 10 favorite burgers, ever, from Urban Burger Company in Rockville. I had been craving a cheeseburger for a full 24 hours, after reading an article about cooking them on Serious Eats, mainly their "A Hamburger Today" portion. A quick search of The Washington Posts' "going out guide" led us to Urban Burger. It was delicious. If you live in Maryland, especially those of you near College Park, it's worth it. It was $19 and change for 2 delicious, made-to-order burgers, an order of fries (you only need 1 order for 2 people, trust me!) and 2 sodas (they had Old Dominion Root Beer on Draught-amazing).

Anyways, back to the real story here-Frosty Treasures.

My mom would make them when the cereal in the pantry was starting to get a bit stale. She'd throw other stuff in there too, like stale marshmallows (my mom, sisters, and I all seem to like our marshmallows stale...mom will buy Peeps on sale, stab a hole in the cellophane, and give them to us the next Easter. delicious.), pretzels, m'n'ms. Whatever was lying around.

Ingredients and Tools:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (in case you haven't tried it yet, Giant's brand is GROSS. Wegman's is amazing)
1 12oz bag of chocolate chips (most recipes call for semi-sweet. I used Hershey's milk chocolate because I was going for the "Reeses" taste)
5 tablespoons of butter (most recipes call for a whole stick, but it doesn't need that much. You can probably use less. Or use cooking oil, whatever you prefer)
1 box of Crispix cereal [(Any of the Chex works as well-Rice, Wheat, Corn.)(If you have any other snacky foods that are going stale, or you're just sick of eating plain, put some of those in there, too. (Speaking from experience, Cheddar Goldfish are GROSS in there))]
2 cups of powdered sugar

Tools:
A microwave
A microwave safe bowl large enough to hold the chocolate, peanut butter, and butter. (A 4 cup pyrex is perfect)
Wooden/mixing spoon
Either a large ziploc bag (gallon sized or bigger) or a large plastic bowl with a lid.

Here's what you do:
1. Melt the peanut butter, butter and chocolate in the microwave. I do it in 1 minute increments, stirring as it gets melty. You want it to be pretty liquidy, but not to the point of separation. You could use a double boiler if you want, but it will take awhile.
2. While the stuff is in the microwave, pour the cereal into the large bag/bowl.
3. After the PB/chocolate/butter mixture is melted, pour it over the cereal. Seal the bag/bowl and shake vigorously until the cereal is well-coated.
4. Pour the powdered sugar in, and shake it up again until the cereal is whiteish with sugar. You might need to add a bit more if the cereal mix won't coat.
5. Now you can eat it. It might look a little iffy, but it is so good!

Enjoy!

It makes good gifts at Holiday time! Pour some in a bag, stick it in a festive mug, and voila!

What I'm working with

Lots of other cooking blogs that I read religiously use some fancy-schmancy stuff. I'm a graduate student, so by my very nature, I'm not exactly swimming in dough.

The fanciest thing we probably have is the toaster...or maybe Dave's 5.5 quart skillet. Most of the stuff we have is hand-me-down from the random people who knew I was moving into an apartment.

Pots'n'Pans:
3 large saucepans for boiling water for things like spaghetti or making soup. 2 non-stick and one aluminum (we should probably get rid of one of them...)
1 5.5 quart skillet with lid
1 square flat frying fan (perfect for grilled cheese, french toast or anything non-liquid-y)
1 large frying pan- used for crepes, scrambled eggs, tasty breakfast meats
3 small frying pans- good for frying eggs, smaller portions of things
Random assortment of various sized quart saucepans, varying stick/non-stick
Aluminum bowl that I use as a double boiler for puddings and melting chocolate
1 panini press

Mixin' it up stuff:
3 matching mixing bowls from Target. I don't like them very much because they narrow in at the bottom
1 GIANT red mixing bowl from Wal*Mart (I bought it in college) I use this the most
1 Ancient hand-mixer. It was my mother's when she first got married in 1979 (it might be even older than that). I use it for all of my cakes and cookies. It only has three settings and works perfectly!
Seventy-billion wooden mixing spoons in various sizes.
1 Bamboo mixing spoon that always seems to be dirty
1 Balloon whisk- nicely weighted and all-around perfect
1 Rainbow flat whisk (it's coated so we can use it in Dave's fancy pan)
1 Pastry Cutter- used for incorporating butter into things, like scones
1 Rolling pin- non-stick (I'm really bad at rolling things out)

Cooking Utensils:
4 pancake flippers/spatulas- One OXO one that we all love, varying plastic/metal ones
Various plastic serving/stirring spoons
Slotted spoon for fishing things out of liquid (ie Poached Eggs)
Spaghetti Spoon
Rubber Spatulas- they're everywhere- in the drawer, in the crock next to the stove, in the dishwasher.
A chopstick or two in the crock helps give sauces a quick stir'n'taste

Measuring Up:
I have a problem with pyrex...I have about 6 measuring cups in various sizes from 2 cup to 2 quart.
Ikea measuring cups and spoons. I don't really like them because they get all scratchy and cloudy and I accidentally sent the 1/8teaspoon through the garbage disposal.
Hard plastic Kitchen Aid measuring cups- I seem to have lost a few of them over the years
1 metal 1-cup measuring cup. My favorite. Will wash it if it's dirty in the dishwasher so I can use it again.
We just got a measuring cup sifter from the Kitchen Store. I'm very excited!

K-nives
Dave has some nice Henkels knives
Beth has a knife block of some decent knives
I have random knives from my mom
Most of the knives we have between the three of us are pretty dull. We should sharpen them.

Other tools:
Garlic Press
Vegetable peeler (it's old and kinda dull and I always forget to pick up a new one)
Blender
George-Foreman knock-off
Zyliss vegetable chopper
Crock Pot
Electric Skillet
Butter Crock
Cheese Grater
Can opener
Frosting Spatulas (One large, one small)
Electric kettle for boiling water
Tiny microwave from college (works like a charm)
Toaster Oven
Espresso Pot
French Press

I keep flour, sugar, brown sugar, coffee, and rock sugar in canisters big-to-small on the counter.

We have an electric stove that's new, and a new fridge. So, that's all very nice and non-gross. Except when I burn things and the stovetop gets a little gunky.

As far a serving dishes are concerned, I collect Fiestaware . I have been collecting the dishes since I was 16 (I figured I'd start early) and the dishes have been around since the 1940s and will continue to be for years to come, I think. I have the place settings in Scarlet, Colbalt, Peacock, Tangerine, Sunflower, and Shamrock. I have a few serving pieces in Rose as well. I love the bright colors and the vintage look.

We use Ikea basic silverware- it is something like $10 for service for 8, but I'm collecting some nice Oneida stuff for when I "grow up." Our drinking glasses are leftover from my college apartment- a purchase from Wal*Mart. (Oh, Farmville). Dave also collects pint glasses, so they're in the cabinet as well.

I also collect teapots, so we have QUITE a few of those. And cups that may or may not match.

That's about it, really. We're really lucky that the kitchen in this apartment is actually bigger than any that I've been in since I left home. (My mother LOVES to cook and bake, so her kitchen was HUGE and had a Professional Viking Stove. I miss it.)

That's what I have. If you look around, you'll notice that you probably have the same stuff, too. Yay.

First Post! Omnomnom

Hi. My name is Alice. I'm a 24 year old Master's student at the University of Maryland's iSchool. iWhat, you ask? Library Science. That's right, I'm going to be a librarian. (Puffs up chest and looks proud). I already have the cardigans, the shoes, and the bun. I just don't have the glasses. Yet.

I'm also getting rather soft shaped...er...curvy. See, I have a problem. I like to bake. A lot. Too much, I think, as going to the gym two times a week clearly isn't melting the sticks of butter and cups of sugar away. But I'm working on it.

So, I don't know how else to start a food blog except for describing some of my most recent escapades. Like breakfast this morning. Well, early lunch. Egg McMuffins. Real Egg McMuffins. What McMuffins would be if McDonald's had the time to make you feel good about buying four basic ingredients that, apart taste delicious, and together taste absolutely heavenly.

Alice's Egg McMuffins for 2

Ingredients and Tools:
Something I'm still learning is: Get everything ready first. That way you aren't scrambling to the Fridge-toaster-stove while something's burning and everything else is still totally raw.

For the Poached Eggs:
2 Eggs
Splash o'Vinegar (White vinegar is best..and cheap- 89 cents at Shoppers)
Non-stick pot WITH cover (1-2 quart is fine, whatever you have, really but it HAS to have a cover)
Slotted Spoon
Few cups of water
2 small ramekins or 2 measuring cups
Cereal Bowl with cold water in it (Set near the stove)
Paper Towels

For the Meaty Bits:
2 slices of Canadian Bacon (Regular Ham lunch meat also works quite nicely, as does turkey)
Small Frying pan. I use a tiny one, the size of a piece of bread, non-stick. You can use what you have, it will be fine.
Pancake Spatula/Fork/Utensil for flipping meaty

For the Toasty Get-this-amazingness-to-my-mouth:
A toaster. Or an oven. Or a fire with a toasting basket. Whatever you use to make toast.
2 English Muffins (I use Thomas's Double Fiber Honey Wheat)
Bit o'Butter
2 Slices of American Cheese (I use white American because I think it melts better and honestly, it isn't day-glo orange which kind of freaks me out)

Here's what you do:

To Poach Eggs:
Don't let the movie Julie & Julia scare you. Poaching eggs is NOT HARD. At all. You just need a little patience and "the courage of your convictions" to realize that if you mess it up, it's only an egg, not an entire cake or country that's fallen.

1. Get a non-stick pot of water boiling. You want about an inch or an inch and a half of water in there. Enough so the eggs will be covered in a nice water bath. DO NOT ADD ANYTHING to the water. No salt. No vinegar (yet). While you're waiting for the water to boil, crack the eggs into your ramekins or the measuring cups. One egg in each bowl-shaped item.

2. The water probably isn't ready yet, huh? Split your English Muffins and stick them in the toaster. I have them on setting 4 or 5. You want them to be nice and crispytoastycrunchilydelicious.

3. Water ready yet? No? Heat up the small frying pan (I put it on medium-low) and stick your meat-y bits in there. The meat is already cooked, but you want it to be warm.

4a. Water boiling yet? Yes! Score! Ok, lower the pot to medium/lowlymediumish. You want a nice gentle simmer going on. After is simmers, pour a splash o'vinegar in there. For you people who like to measure things, about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons(ish). Give it a nice stir with the slotted spoon. The vinegar helps the white of the egg to coagulate. And it really doesn't affect the taste of the eggs, so it's all good.

4b. If the water isn't boiling, the English Muffins are probably done. Butter those guys up! Put a piece of cheese on side of them (Bottom or top, doesn't matter). Do you have a toaster oven? Yes? Put the Muffins in there on the pan that it came with that you probably never use and put the toaster on Broil. Set it to medium. Don't have a toaster oven? Use the regular oven on Broil (this could get complicated) or use the microwave. Just melt the cheese the easiest way possible for you.

4c. Check on the meaty-bits. You might need to flip them over. Do it.

5. (Here comes the poaching part!) Get your ramekins/measuring cups of eggs. Take a deep breath. You're about to poach an egg, and you're not going to be scared. Hold one of the ramekins over the water and gently pour the egg into the water, and use the spoon to keep the egg white near the yolk. They need to be friends and together. Do the same thing with the second egg. Put the cover on the pot. Turn OFF the heat, but leave the pot on the burner. Set your timer for 4 minutes and leave the pot alone. Resist the temptation to look at the eggs. Do something else, like get the Cheesy Muffins and Meat going. If the Cheesy Muffins and Meat are done, keep the meat on low so it doesn't burn or get cold, and leave the muffins where they are. Be patient, it's totally worth it. Maybe you could set the table, start a pot of coffee or tea, or pour some Orange Juice.

6. It's been 4 minutes! Take the lid off the pot. Smells kinda vinegary, huh? Ignore it. No big deal. Get your slotted spoon ready and fish one of those eggs out very carefully slide it into that bowl of cold water. Do the same with the other egg. Let them sit in there for about a minute so that they cool off. Get your Muffin/Cheese/Meaty Bits assembled on their plates. I prefer Muffin with Cheese on the bottom, then the Meat. Pick one of the eggs out of the water (I use my hands so I don't inadvertently stab the other one and let all its deliciousness out.) and place it gently on a paper towel and pat it to dry it off, then put it on one of the muffins. Do the same with the other one.

7. It's time to eat! You have to bite into it very carefully because the yolk likes to squirt out everywhere. Use the rest of the muffin to sop up the yolk. It's amazing, isn't it?

Congratulations, you've poached an egg! Don't you feel powerful?