Though I am still away from home, I am enjoying every minute of the time with my girls (my daughter and two granddaughters).  It is like a total girl power party every night (no offense to my dear son in law).  And with Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday the 6th of March (only for my UK and Irish Peeps, as the American one isn’t until May) I thought why not celebrate this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday with a perfect ‘mother to be’ honoree? AND recreate her ultimate recipe for what could be a centerpiece dish for a Mother’s Day Brunch!  Bring on the gorgeous gourmet gal this week, the incredible Chrissy Teigen!

The timing for Chrissy to be this week’s #WCW couldn’t be more perfect as this multi talented lady is about to give birth.  And I’m not just talking about her first baby with award winning musician husband John Legend. Yes Chrissy’s other impending birth is her new highly anticipated cookbook called Cravings. Though when you look at this stunning part Norwegian, part Thai model/chef/television host, you might not think that food is this woman’s passion. Wearing a swimsuit for the famous Sports Illustrated Magazine cover and eating decadent food don’t usually go hand in hand.  But with Chrissy it works!  She loves to cook and eat, and does it all with amazing charm, grace and yes even bravado!  Hence she is adored by her millions of social media fans on Instagram and Twitter.

Chrissy’s blog called Delushious is a love letter to food! I happen to love how it is broken down into categories “What I Make, What I Eat and Stuff You Made!” as it is very user friendly and interactive. There are so many great pics and recipes you could get lost with stars in your eyes. Of course, with Chrissy’s stunning beauty as well, it is easy to see why. Yet what is fab about her is that she and her hubby are so in love and aren’t afraid to show it.  Not only inspiring to those who glimpse a pic of the two sharing some PDA, but also, Chrissy has been a muse for her hubby’s amazing songs!

Here is a recipe of Chrissy’s that will make all of us sing!

CEREAL & MILK FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE WITH SALTED FROSTED FLAKE TOPPING

Ingredients

1 tablespoon softened butter
1 pound (450 g) French loaf bread (cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes)
8 eggs
2 cups (475 ml) heavy cream (called Double Cream in Ireland and UK)
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) spiced rum
1 cup (220 g) brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
CRUNCHY CEREAL TOPPING
3 cups (135 g) frosted corn flake cereal
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup “streaky” bacon, cooked and crumbled, which is about 3 slices
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Butter a 9inch x 13inch casserole dish (or 12-inch high-sided oven-safe skillet) and arrange the cubed bread in the dish.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, heavy cream, milk, rum, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and mix until smooth. Pour the mixture over the bread, pressing on the bread to submerge it in the custard. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 12.
For the Crunchy Cereal Topping: preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, combine the cereal, butter, bacon and salt, and stir to combine. Spread the mixture evenly over the casserole.
Place in the oven to bake until the topping is golden and the bread cubes peeking out of the top are crusty and toasty, about 50-to 55 minutes.

Okay, this casserole is so good, really now, you have to make it. It is not only easy to put together, but is also flexible, as you can make substitutions if need be.  I did.  My five year old granddaughter cannot have dairy, so I swapped out the cream, milk and butter with suitable alternatives.  Not a problem as it still tasted fantastic.  Also, if you don’t eat bacon then just leave it out.  I love that the final result is so crunchy and yet soft as well.  It has the perfect balance of sweet and salty.  It would be great to have on a buffet brunch table with a fruit salad on the side.  And the best thing is that it can be prepped in advance (up to 12 hours in fact) and then popped into the oven just an hour before you need to serve it. My kind of entertaining!

Chrissy is such a fun loving person and I can imagine the get togethers at her and husband John’s home would be a blast.  One look at Spike TV’s hit show Lip Sync Battle which she co-hosts with LL Cool J and you get the gist that even work is fun!  The recent episode with Channing Tatum vs his wife Jenna Dewan was hilarious!  Personally I had a blast singing and dancing while doing the snapchat tutorial for this #WCW recipe.  If you want to try to catch it in the next 24 hours my username is:  blissbakery.

Congrats Chrissy on all the great things happening in your life. Thank you for being a wonderful inspiration for enjoying food and life in general. Looking forward to many more cooking adventures with you!

Mama Love,

YDP

How fun is it to see that another Wednesday has rolled around, which means that another female chef is gonna be getting some love!  This week is a bit different as I am traveling today from L.A. back to my daughter and family in Washington State. Spending many hours on planes and layovers, unless I commandeer the snack cart on board, our cooking tutorial will have to wait a day.  But I can still shine a light on another gorgeous gourmet gal, and recreate her recipe for snapchat (username: blissbakery) tomorrow.

Though today’s chef isn’t from Los Angeles, her recipe was inspired by a popular treat found here at many bakeries. The lovely English rose Olivia Wollenberg from Livia’s Kitchen is this week’s #womancrushwednesday and her sweet treats will knock your socks off!  But the good news is they won’t hurt you in the process because all of Livia’s recipes are wheat, dairy and refined sugar free. Her desserts are wholesome and delicious and I’ve been eager to share her with all of you.  Her first book, Livia’s Kitchen:  Naturally Sweet and Indulgent Treats,  is about to be released so I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce you. And when I read her intro to this recipe, the word “LA” jumped out at me.

“Blondies are a very American thing and something I have been wanting to recreate ever since I changed the way I ate. I was worried that I would never manage to make some as delicious as the ones I remembered from my time spent in LA but luckily, these are as good if not better! They are so moist and gooey but also crumbly and the chunks of raw chocolate make them the most dreamy things.”

I suppose because I have been back here visiting for the past two weeks I’ve gone all “LA-LA Land!” Lots of blondes here, many are likely the bleached variety though!  But, not surprisingly, Los Angeles is a wonderful breeding ground for healthy foods, so all the stars were indeed aligned for these amazing Chocolate Chip Vanilla Blondies.

Ingredients:-

250g ground almonds
2 teaspoons vanilla powder
50g buckwheat flour
100g cashew butter
50g coconut oil
45g coconut sugar
130ml maple syrup
200ml almond milk
100g raw chocolate (I used ombar but you could use your favourite brand, make your own or just add chopped nuts instead)
Method:-

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a brownie tin with greaseproof paper.
In a bowl, combine the flour, almonds, vanilla and raw chocolate and set aside.
Cream together the coconut oil and coconut sugar in a food processor.
Add the maple and cashew butter to the processor and blend again until it’s combined.
Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix it really well.
Add in the milk and stir again until it’s all completely combined.
Pour into the lined tray and bake for 35 minutes until golden.
Leave to cool for 10 -15 minutes in the tray before slicing.

Besides her cookbook, Livia hosts super popular “Cream Free Teas” a nice alternative to the proper British Teas that might not be suitable for people with daily intolerance.  Livia also teaches healthy baking classes and runs a business baking delicious treats.  Her sought after  crumbles are now running neck and neck with an exciting new product to her range, the awesome Raw Millionaire Bites.  These come in three flavors (chocolate orange, salted date caramel, and almond raisin) and are packaged in a cute little bucket.  This girl is not only a fab chef, she is also a beautiful business woman!  Yet she is totally humble and very accessible to her loyal social media followers.

She has nearly 75,000 followers on Instagram alone, and shares pictures of stunning food, pretty friends and even a glimpse in the kitchen with her “elves” (as she calls her helpers) happily baking away!  It is indeed a family affair as she works out of her parents’ kitchen and includes her mom and sister to lend a hand melting chocolate or sprinkling the oaty crumble on top of the fantastic fruit!  But what I love about her Instagram posts is that all of them are positive.  In the midst of a bad day, Livia reframes it as a challenge and provides so much inspiration and encouragement for those who look up to her.

It is really lovely to see someone so talented and so nice, doing so well. And feeling well!  It was because of a diagnosis of food intolerances back in 2014 that spurred Livia on to create treats that she could eat.  I think I met my sweet tooth match with her!  But these Blondies are beyond yummy and while you feel satisfied after eating them, you don’t feel guilty. The sky is the limit for her! She just so happens to be “besties” with another of our  #WCW recipients, Ella Woodward. And lo and behold, Livia is baking the cake for Ella’s upcoming wedding.  Very eager to see that!

Thanks Livia for being not only an awesome Woman Crush Wednesday and sharing your sweet treats with us, but also for being such a sweet person! You’re making the world a better place one bite at a time!

Millionaire Love!

YDP

It’s here! Yes today is Woman Crush Wednesday and it is coming to you from Los Angeles! It is not even the middle of February and while most places in the world are dealing with winter cold, it is 80 degrees and sunny here in L.A. And who is the epitome of L.A. sunshine and smiles? None other than Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking!

When it is this hot, who feels like cooking? Yet, hello, we still need sustenance! Gaby is the perfect one to provide fab recipes that are light and healthy, full of flavor and super easy to make. So when I popped over to one of my oldest and dearest friends, we teamed up to make Gaby’s super delish Asian Chicken Slaw. My friend Traci is a vegetarian. So her husband and I had the slaw with the chicken. But it is simple enough to toss together and then add the chicken for the meat eaters!

The great thing about this dish is that it holds well even for the next day. If you remember from my Salad Scentral Week, I am a salad nut. And yet most salads, once dressed, need to be eaten straight away. This salad is just as good the next day as the cabbage and peppers are hearty enough and hold up well.  Not to mention the dressing is to die for, literally! It is so moreish I could eat it on its own! Though Gaby doesn’t specify how to cook the chicken, I had an idea. Using skinless boneless chicken breast, we just put some freshly squeezed lemon juice and a generous splash of soy sauce and baked them in a 350f/180c oven for about 20 minutes. It kept the meat nice and moist. But leftover roasted chicken would be great too.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 head Red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, shredded
6 green onions, thinly cut on the bias
1 avocado, thinly sliced
fresh basil, thinly sliced
fresh cilantro
1-2 cups shredded chicken breast (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, peanut butter and garlic until smooth.
Combine the Napa cabbage, red cabbage, sliced bell peppers. carrot and green onion and toss together. Add in a handful of avocado, sliced basil and fresh cilantro along with the shredded chicken.
Pour the liquid mixture over the vegetables and chicken and toss to combine. Season with extra soy sauce if needed and serve immediately.

This was the perfect dinner and really hit the spot. Totally guilt free! And considering I had picked up some Sprinkles Cupcakes for dessert, this meal was a balance of nice with the naughty. But just because this Asian Chicken Slaw is healthy doesn’t mean it lacks anything in the way of taste. It was really satisfying and we all had seconds!

Though I have never met Gaby, I feel like I have.  She was actually at my son and daughter in law’s wedding back in 2013.  She and my daughter in law Koko were working for the same person and became friends.  I remember seeing her from a distance at the wedding reception with her gorgeous smile and bright red lipstick. She was dancing with her husband and having a great time. So when deciding who to choose for this week’s edition of the popular #WCW I had to shine a well deserved spotlight on the effervescent Gaby.  She embodies love of food, clean eating, and yet enjoys her treats too.

She is probably most known for her love affair with avocados.  So much so that she even wrote a cookbook about it. Originally from Arizona, she likely grew up eating Mexican food on a regular basis and perfected her guacamole game!  Today Gaby is one of the most well known food bloggers sought after by many culinary companies such as Williams-Sonoma to promote their products. She has partnered with another of our #womancrushwednesday’s the Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond, and has guest posted on her website as well.

And Gaby is one of my fav snapchatters! That’s right, she is a Snap Sista! I look forward to her cooking tutorials each Friday (she calls them “Snapisodes”) as her natural easy going style is so refreshing.  She engages with her followers even asking them to help choose which dish they would like her to demonstrate!  She is very active on Instagram as well and shares selflies with loads of her famous and talented friends.  I just love her and if you aren’t already following her I really encourage you to do so.  She makes cooking seem effortless and is great at both savory and sweet recipes.   In fact, Koko was the one who told me about Gaby’s infamous “slutty brownies” which she would make for the staff at their job. It is a triple layer decadent treat that you too will want to make ASAP.

Thanks Gaby for being a gorgeous gourmet gal inspiring so many of us in the kitchen! Thanks for bringing sunshine into my life.   Not just when I’m here roasting in L.A. and making your refreshing salad.  But when I am back home across the pond in the rainy cold weather too. Because your recipes are a bright light like you!

Shining love,

YDP

ps. If you are interested, I have more of the Gaby lovefest on my snapchat story (username: blissbakery) as my friend and I recreated her colorful salad. But fair warning, though it is a great recipe, there is some bad singing by me on there!  LOL!

Welcome back to the fantabulous Woman Crush Wednesday, the most fun and delicious day on the calendar.  Each week we shine a well deserved light on a female foodie in the culinary world and recreate one of her recipes for a snapchat tutorial (username: blissbakery). And today is especially wonderful as my granddaughter was able to assist me in the kitchen!  Normally I am apologizing for my bad singing and dancing, but Harper is not only a great singer she can also bust some moves.  A fun cooking adventure indeed! This week’s honoree is the gorgeous and oh so talented chef Rachel Khoo. Though Rachel is English,  she studied pastry at Le Cordon Blue in Paris, so we figured why not make one of her tasty desserts!

But this isn’t just any dessert, this is a decadent hot chocolate and banana caramelized taste explosion wrapped in a buttery and flaky puff pastry. While Rachel certainly has the skill to make homemade puff pastry, she actually chooses to use ready made pastry for this recipe. I love that someone so accomplished in her field, is still down to earth.  She helps the rest of us with a little short cut in the kitchen. That way we can spend more time with our guests having the old chat or two. Certainly something she would have done during her years living in Paris. But just because this recipe is simple doesn’t take away from the complexity and perfection of flavor combinations. Quite honestly, it is heaven on a plate!  Especially with a side of vanilla ice cream!  Now we are talkin!

Hot chocolate and banana rolls

Serves 4-6

Preparation time 10 minutes
Baking time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Good quality ready rolled puff pastry, roughly 215g
2 bananas
50g Dark chocolate
Handful chopped hazelnuts or other nut of your choice (we used pecans)
2 tbsps golden or light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten

Serve with ice cream, frozen yoghurt, or freshly whipped cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Place the sheet of puff pastry in front of you and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with nuts and a tablespoon of sugar.

Add the bananas in a row followed by the chocolate broken in pieces.

Roll up and brush with egg on the top. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and sugar.

Cut into 2 pieces and squash down the ends. (the pastry sheets I used were already in two pieces)

Place on baking tray and bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until golden and puffy.

Best eaten warm and extremely delicious with ice cream or freshly whipped cream!

As if Rachel isn’t busy enough with cooking, writing, and filming, she is launching a life style magazine. But it isn’t a surprise really. She studied art at university in the U.K. and worked in fashion PR.  She is a world traveler and shares her adventures on her Instagram account. So in essence it is the likely next step. The sky is the limit for Rachel.  Her uber popular The Little Paris Kitchen Book let the novice into her tiny culinary corner in the mecca of French food to tackle traditional recipes with a twist.  The fact that when she moved to France she didn’t even speak French says volumes about her tenacity and courage.

Wow, Rachel you are a shooting star and we are so happy to have you as our #WomanCrushWednesday! We wish you the best in your new endeavors and thank you for being an inspiration and role model. You are beautiful inside and out and we are so eager for more of your culinary creations!

Avec amour chocolat banane,

YDP + granddaughter Harper too!