As I always say my inspiration for the things I cook come from my friends. I have had store brought almond milk before, I enjoyed it, but the $4 for a little carton was starting to hurt my pockets.

The solution to this problem came from my Raw Food expert, Sharon, she gave me some of her homemade almond milk, I fell in love!
It was a creamy delight. Overall almond milk is a great alternative for cows milk for those who are lactose intolerent, and can be used in vegan and raw food diets. If this was a Bobby Flay throwdown, Sharon's Almond Milk won, but don't worry I'll get you next time.

Sharons Almond Milk Recipe
1/2 C almonds (or more for a more nuttier taste)
1 1/2 C distilled water
3 tbsp Raw Agave
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch cardamom
Pinch Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Now I was in a hurry to make this and didn't have most of the ingredients that she used so I made do with
what I had already in the kitchen.

Gourmet Diva Almond Milk Recipe
Yield: Between 2-3 cups

Total cooking time: 15 minutes

Equipment:
Bowl for soaking
Blender
Cheesecloth, sprout bag (http://www.rawglow.com/sproutbag.htm), or strainer
Bowl for catching milk
Container for milk

Ingredients:

1 cup of almonds
3 cups of distilled water
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
Sugar, syrup, 3 - 5 soft pitted dates, honey, or stevia to sweeten (optional)

4) Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth into a bowl. Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the fridge for later use

5) Put the almond milk back into the blender and blend in the vanilla and optional sweetner until smooth.

  Happy Valentines Day! What screams Valentines day more than chocolate covered strawberries. I always wondered how they made those “Husband and Wife” chocolate covered strawberries. I found this video online and its pretty simple to make. If you need a last min gift from the 'heart' homemade chocolate covered strawberries should do the trick. (PS. I'm about to experiment with chocolate covered grapes!)

Tips to perfection: If possible get the strawberries with the stems on it, it makes it easier to dip.

You can use chocolate candy wafers, its easier to melt and coat strawberries

In this audio clip I explain the term 'cream' and how to use it in the following recipe below.

Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002
Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: 1 min Cook Time: 10 min Level: Easy Serves: 10 to 12 servings Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• Pinch salt
• Bottle dark rum
• Boiling water

Directions:
 1) In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
 2) Refrigerate until almost firm. 
 3) Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs.
 4) Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). 
  5) Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.


© 2010 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

I was very excited to try this Sweet Potato gratin recipe from the "Today's Kitchen" cookbook that I recently picked up. How can I go wrong with sweet potatoes, ginger and pineapples. Well.... the recipe didn't produce enough pineapple mixture for the amount of sweet potatoes.  Lucky I'm here to make these mistakes to save you time.   I tweeked the measurements and added some notes so you can get it right the first time around.

Baked Sweet Potato Gratin with ginger and pineapples
Serves 8

3 lbs 4 lbs of, sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced thin into 1/8 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter, plus 6 tablespoons, chilled
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 (12 – ounce) can crushed pineapples in its own juice
½ cup minced fresh ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
½ cup light brown sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use a 9 by 13 baking dish or a gratin dish
2) Use one tablespoon of butter to grease baking dish
3) In a bowl mix together orange juice, pineapple,nutmeg, and ginger; set aside.
4) In the baking dish, make one layer of overlapping sliced of sweet potatoes.
5) Sprinkle with pineapple mixture, dot with butter, and then make another layer of potatoes and continue until potatoes are finished. End with pineapple mixture and butter on top.
6) Bake in oven for 40 to 45 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender when a pairing knife is inserted. Baste gratin with excess juices every 10 minutes. The top should be bubbly and brown. If the top gets too brown or starts to burn, cover with aluminum foil and continue cooking until sweet potatoes are done.

Tip for perfection:
 * Be sure to slice your potatoes as thin as possible. They get all melty and creamy. Slice them too thick and you'll have trouble cooking them through.

Random fact:
1 cup sweet potatoe puree = 1 lbs sweet potato

When its cold outside having a little hot chocolate with that special someone is always a good option.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
* 2 cups half & half
*12 small dark chocolate covered peppermint patties
*2 cups 1% Milk
*Pinch of salt

Directions
Combine 2/3 cup half and half with candy in heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir continually with a wire wisk over low heat until patties melt. Stir in remaining half and half, milk and salt and continue heating until mixture reaches simmering stage. Serve immediately. Garnish with peppermint sticks if desired.

What else can we do with an egg? I feel like Forrest Gump and shrimp, there are plenty of things to do with them.  Today I decided to make a 'frittata'. A what? Yes frittata.

In my Alton Brown voice:
"The frittata is an Italian dish, similar in composition to an omelet. Unlike an omelet, however, the egg mixture is not folded over and finished on the stove top. Most variants of the frittata start with a few moments on the stove top until the bottom layer of the egg mixture has solidified, and then are baked in the oven for half an hour to an hour depending upon the size and recipe"

This thing was soooo easy to make, give it a try.  You probably have all the ingredients in your fridge. The possibilites are endless, you can try mushroom and peppers or another veggie combo. 

Spinach - Feta Frittata
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:
6 slightly beaten eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon of dried dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic or 1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon margarine or buttre
1/2 of a 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 teaspoon lemon - pepper seasoning
1/4 cup feta cheese
chopped red sweet pepper
*source easy dinners vegeterian

1. In a medium bowl use a fork to beat together the eggs, milk, dill, salt and black pepper until combined. Set aside. (I'm not a huge fan of dill so I didn't use that much)

2. In a 10 inch broilerproof or regular skillet cook onion and garlic in hot butter until tender. Stir in spinach and lemon  - pepper seasoning.

3. Pour egg mixture into the skillet over the spinach mixture. Cook
over medium heat. As egg mixture sets, run a spatula around the edge of the skillet, lifting egg mixture to allow the uncooked portion to flow underneath. Continue cooking and lifting edge until egg mixture is almost set but still glossy and moist.

4. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Place broilerproof skillet under the broiler 4 - 5 inches from the heat; broil for 1 to 2 minutes or just until top is set.
(or if using a regular skillet, remove skillet from heat, cover and let stand for 3 to 4 minutes or just until top is set)

This was the point where I hoped my house wasn't going to go on fire. 

5 To serve, if desired sprink with red sweet pepper. Cut into 8 wedges

Nutrition facts per serving 206 calories, 14 grams total fat, 335 mg cholesterol, 535 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 13g protein

It's the holiday time and to me that means a lot of dinner parties.  I usually like to bring a dish or a bottle of wine.  I'm a white and dessert wine girl.  Bring on the muscato, pino grigio, and sauvignon blanc! 

I asked the Divas Uncorked for some advice about what new wine I should bring to a party. Aslo how do you choose a 'safe choice' wine for a party? ·

 I recieved the following response:
      "Hi Keesha,you could bring a Prescecco to cleanse the palette before the dinner. This is always a nice wine to start off the meal with. Lots of folks have never had this before. A Chardonnay is always safe (unoaked) or try a Pinot Noir (red), goes with most foods"

There you have it, some choices on what to bring, lucky I have a bottle of Prescecco left from my launch party.  I never knew Prescecco (its an Italian sparkeling wine) could be used to cleanse your palate.  Also in between meals I have seen a lemon sorbet being used.  During wine tasting crackers are used in between sips.

I always love looking for new appitizers to try out.  I saw this "Spinach and Feta Cheese Purses", they look so CUTE! And easy to make!  Give it a try, what else can we put in our purses?  Guava and Cheese?

 "Do you make Red Velvet Cheesecakes?" M. Ansel

"Nope - but I will put it on my todo list on things to figure out" - Gourmet Diva

"It's always a hit at parties"

She was right!!! This is the first time that I didn't get any pictures of the cake, everyone ate the cake before I got to it

To illustrate how to make this cake, I'm borrowing pictures from the Domestic Goddess's blog. (giving credit where credit is due).

The Red Velvet Cheesecake that I heard about was from the Cheesecake Factory. I never had one so I was imagining how it would taste. Looking at a picture the Red Velvet cake it was a multi layers cake with cheesecake in between. I could have simply made a red velvet cake and put a regular cheesecake in between, but I could imagine its probably more to it than that.

I looked up recipes for a red velvet cheesecake and it was not what I was looking for. They had a red velvet cake at the bottom and a cheesecake on top with some sour cream looking frosting.

I finally came across this recipe for a "Red Velvet Cheesecake, it was made with a Red Velvet cake and a White Chocolate Cheesecake. I think we found a winner.

After reading her blog I had the same concerns about making the cake, all the parts had to talk to each other I didn't want it to be overly sweet or the cream cheese frosting to dominate the cake.

I brought the cake to a family gathering and everyone enjoyed it, even those who didn't like red velvet cakes or cheesecakes.

Give it a try! If not don't worry, this one will be on the Gourmet Diva menu

Original Post from:
Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake
Judy In Her Natural Habitat: The Kitchen

Red Velvet Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp red gel-paste food color (or 1 oz. liquid red food coloring)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

With an electric mixer on med-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisk well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam), add mixture to the batter and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

Line two 9 inch spring form pans with parchment paper. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack. Allow to cool before removing the cake from the pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the cheesecake.


White Chocolate Cheesecake
Adapted from the Williams Sonoma Baking Cookbook

2 oz white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature ( 2 packages)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, using an electronic mixer, mix the cream cheese on low speed until creamy. add the sugar and mix slowly until smooth. on low speed, mix in the flour. turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Add one egg at a time and mix until smooth. scrape down again. mix in the vanilla and cream until the mixture is smooth. Using a large spoon, stir in the melted white chocolate until incorporated.

Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you shake the pan slightly. Allow to cool before removing from the spring form pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the red velvet cake.
Cream Cheese Frosting

24 oz cream cheese (3 packages), at room temperature
3 sticks of butter, at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar, plus more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electronic mixer until well combined. Add more powdered sugar to taste, if a more sweet frosting is preferred. Use immediately to frost the cake.

Assembling the Cake:

Level the two red velvet cakes. If you don't have a cake levler you can use a long serrated knife.

Frost the bottom layer of the cake, place cheesecak on top, frost again, place top layer. Frost entire cake.

After assembling the cake, allow it to rest in the fridge over night, before serving. Serve immediately after taking it out of the fridge.

  Points to perfection:

Red Velvet cake - do not over cook your cake, you want to make sure it

stays moist and not dried out.

Frosting - taste the frosting while your making it, feel free to add more sugar if you like

Frosting the cake - Make a 'crumb coat' with a small amount of frosting thinned with a tiny bit of milk.

Spread the thinned frosting over the cake to trap the crumbs.

Chill the cake for 30 minutes or so after crumb-coating then frost with the remaining frosting.

This should give you a very smooth finished cake. If it still isn't as smooth as you would like, chill it again after frosting with the second coat for about 30 minutes. Then smooth the frosting with a 'hot and dry' frosting spatula (first dipped in very hot water then dried off). Apply the hot dry spatula to the cold frosting and it will smooth out nicely.

Dear Gourmet Diva

Can I make a meal for under 20 dollars?

Help me out in NYC,
Mark Frazier

Dear Mark,

Yes you can make a meal for under $20 (thank you for the gracious budget). This is one of my go to recipes when I need some thing economical and tasty. The spinach is mixed into the rice. Using frozen vegetables also cuts down on time, so you can prepare this in less then an hour.

I take a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce and add freshly grated ginger, garlic and brown sugar. You can also have broccolli and julienned (matchstick shaped) carrots.

Add a few extra bucks in and you can have some ice cream for dessert – put it in a martini glass if you are having guest for an extra flair.

Salmon Teriyaki (Rosemary Black – Daily News March 13, 2005)

Serves 4

1/3 cup bottle teriyaki Sauce

4 salmon fillets (6 to 8 ounces each)

1 (10 – ounce) box frozen spinach

1 ½ cups instant brown rice (or white rice)

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh dill springs for garnish (I use toasted sesame seeds)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and line the bottom of a large shallow baking pan (with edges) with foil. Pour all but 3 tablespoons of the glaze into the baking pan. Add the salmon and turn to coat with glaze. Bake 10 minutes or until done.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water and the frozen spinach to a boil over high heat . Stir in the rice and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes until the rice is done.

In a 1 – cup measure, stir remaining teriyaki sauce with ¼ cup water. Stir into hot rice. Serve with salmon with the rice.