How To Make Modeling Chocolate from Candy Melts (courtesy of cakeb0t.com)

Only 2 main ingredients!
14 ounces candy melts (color of your choice)
1/3 cup of light corn syrup
Directions:
1. Warm the melts in the microwave them at 30 second intervals. Until it is just melted. The discs will keep their shape, but will soften once you start mixing. Use Candy Color to make custom colors.
2. For this next step, make sure the melts are cooled, not hot. Pour corn syrup into melts. As you mix ingredients, the mixture will become taffy-like.
3. Pour the mixture onto parchment. Sandwich between another piece of parchment. Flatten to about ¼ inch thick.
4. Let it rest until set, about 2 hours.
5. Uncover, and break up the sheet as needed.
6. Knead until it becomes clay. Shape, mold or cut…just like clay!

Cute, edible flower – yum! Use to decorate your cakes! Enjoy, and please visit my blog – Cakeb0t.com!

How To Make DIY Valentine Gifts (courtesy of GlamTrotter.com)

Hey you guys, it’s Amber, and this is going to be a little Valentine’s do-it-yourself video, and this is something that I like to do for my husband, as well as my friends and family. We love chocolate covered strawberries – I think a lot of people probably do – and, they can be quite expensive when you’re picking them up from a bakery, or like, Godiva in the mall for example. They’re so expensive! Like $6.00 for 2 strawberries! So, I’m gonna show you kind of a cute, little way to do it yourself – to make your own chocolate covered strawberries, and sort of turn them into a Valentine’s Day gift. So, if you are interested in how I make them, please stay tuned, and I will show you how I kind of present them and package them as well, at the end of this video.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Measuring Cup

Your Choice of Chocolate Morsels

1 Quart of Washed Strawberries

Ribbon with a Wired Edge

Package of Empty Treat Boxes

Wax Paper

Tray/Plate Lined with Wax Paper

Add 1 cup of morsels.

Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Churn the mixture from bottom to top.

Heat mixture for 30 seconds.

Again, churn the mixture from bottom to top.

Heat mixture for another 30 seconds.

Finally the chocolate is ready for dipping!

Since these are gifts, select the most attractive berries. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Line your box with wax paper.

Place the berries in the gift box.

How To Hard-Boil An Egg (courtesy of 5Min.com)

From Out and Bound to Martha Stewart to Jacques Pepin – everyone seems to have their own way of making the perfect boiled egg. I’m Katy, and, with my simple method, there’s no egg puncturing or pan shaking required!

First put the eggs in the saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover by 1 inch. You may want to consider using room temperature eggs, but, fresh from the fridge is fine, too.

Then, bring the eggs to a boil on high heat.

Next, cover the pan and immediately remove it from the heat.

While the eggs are sitting, fill a medium bowl with ice and water.

After 10 minutes, remove the eggs from the hot water, and transfer them to the ice water bath. Let them sit for another 5 minutes. Giving the eggs a cold water bath helps remove the shell, so if you’re looking at 2 eggs and can’t tell which one’s raw, spin them on the counter top. Hard-boiled eggs should spin quickly and easily, like a top!

For more delicious egg recipes, like my famous deviled eggs, check out Yum Sugar TV!

How To Roast Garlic (courtesy of EHowFoods.com)

To roast garlic, first start with your oven set to 350º.

Next, take a head of garlic, and go ahead and cut off the top part of the garlic, so it’s exposing the cloves.

You’re gonna next set that into a little foil bowl, on a sheet pan, with a roasting rack.

Next, add a little olive oil on top of your garlic cove.

And then, we’re gonna add just a little bit of salt.

Next, we’re gonna set it into the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it gets really soft to the touch.

And that is how you roast a head of garlic!

Learn how to make delicious tamales (courtesy of AllRecipes.com)

Tamales are as beautiful as they are delicious! Wrapped and steamed in leaves, this authentic, Latin-American treat can be made in so many variations – just like the American sandwich! Served as a special occasion food, in part because they take time to make, tamales are steamed, cornmeal dumplings filled with moist, flavorful filling, all wrapped up like a gift, in a corn husk! First, let’s take a look at what goes inside a tamale, from the inside out.

Filling. This is traditionally meat – braised beef or pork – but, you can pack tamales with chicken, roasted veggies, cheese or seafood.

Masa dough. The dumpling or breading of the tamale, is made from ground corn flour, lard and salt. This doughy mixture is cooked into firmness through steaming.

The wrapper. Tamales are wrapped and cooked in a plant leaf – dried corn husks, fresh corn husks or banana leaves are common wrappings. This non-edible layer holds the tamale together as it cooks, and it gives the tamale its distinctive, authentic look. Before you get started, be aware that tamales take a fair amount of time to make. Some tamale makers suggest you may need as much as 2 days.

Day 1 – You cook the meat.

Day 2 – You assemble the tamales.

Others suggest that you make the tamales all in one day, and make a party out of it! Invite over your friends and family to form a tamale making assembly line. Either way, here are the tools to make tamales:

A dutch oven to cook the meat
Large capacity, 16 to 20 quart steamer to steam the tamales
Tongs
Knife, spoon or spreading utensil of your choice

Step 1 – Prepare the filling. Most tamales are filled with braised pork or beef, in a sauce of spices and dried and crushed chilies, but you can use chicken, roasted vegetables, cheese, beans or seafood. Even make dessert tamales, filled with a sweet mix of fruit and nuts!

Traditionally, you simmer a large, 3-4 pound piece of pork or beef roast in a dutch oven with onion, garlic and enough water to cover the meat. Cook the meat on low heat until it’s tender and cooked through, for at least 2 hours. Ideally, you want to be able to pull it apart with a fork.

Once you’ve cooked the meat, you can ad spices and seasonings. Typical choices are chilies,
chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, black pepper and salt. Well, here’s how you season the cooked meat. Heat a splash of corn oil in a large pan. Heat on medium-high and add seasonings of your choice. Add the pulled, cooked meat and mix with the oil and seasonings.

Step 2 – Prepare the husks. Soak the dried corn husks in water for about an hour, to make them pliable.

Step 3 – Make the masa. Traditional tamale dough is a mixture of masa, lard and salt. Fresh masa is dried corn that has been cooked in lime water, soaked overnight and ground up while still wet. You can buy fresh masa. It makes the lightest, fluffiest tamales! Or, you can make your own masa, using Masa Harena – flour from dried out masa. If you use Masa Harena, you add liquid – either water or meat broth, to moisten it.

For light and fluffy tamale dough, whip the lard and salt with an electric mixer for a few minutes. If you don’t want to use lard, you can use the same amount of vegetable shortening. Add masa and continue to whip, adding water or broth, until the mixture is the consistency of soft cookie dough. How do you tell if your masa mixture is moist enough? Here’s a test. Drop a small ball of dough into a glass of water. If the dough sinks, it needs more liquid whipped into it. If it floats, it’s ready to use!

Step 4 – Wrap it up! Open up a corn husk or leaf and lay it on a cutting board. Spread a layer of masa dough, about a ¼ to a ½ inch thick. Then, spread a tablespoon of filling down the middle of the masa dough. Carefully roll up the husks so that the masa dough completely covers up the filling, and the parcel stays in tact. Use a strip of husk to tie the package closed. Pretty, isn’t it?

Step 5 – Steam the tamales. Stand the tamales upright in a steamer basket. Turn the water to high and steam over boiling water for 45 minutes. Remove the tamales from the steamer with tongs, taking care not to burn yourself. Arrange the tamales on a platter, and Dig In! Remind tamale newbies to remove the corn husk before eating!

Make a lot of tamales and freeze the excess. Tamales can be frozen for up to 6 months. Wrap them in a heavy, resealable plastic bag. To re-heat, thaw tamales in the refrigerator, and steam or microwave them until they are heated through.

If you’re craving tamales, set aside some time, invite over friends and family, and get rolling! Tamales are easy to make, when there are lots of hands to help!

How To Make Fortune Cookies (courtesy of Howcast.com)

Making homemade fortune cookies is a snap, and your loved ones will get a kick out of their personalized predictions! You will need:

Paper

Scissors

Nontoxic Pen

Cookie Sheet

Butter or nonstick Cooking Spray

2 large egg whites

½ cup of all-purpose flour

½ cup of sugar

1 tsp almond extract

Wax paper

Measuring cup

Muffin tins

Step 1: Cut paper into 16 2 x ½ inch strips, and write a fortune on each with a non-toxic pen.

Step 2: Preheat oven to 375°, and grease a baking sheet with butter or non-stick cooking spray.

Step 3: Whisk egg whites into a medium-sized bowl, until they’re just foamy.

Step 4: Add the flour, sugar, and almond extract to the egg whites and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Step 5: Drop 4 separate tablespoons of batter onto the cooking sheet, spaced far apart. You have enough batter for about 16 cookies, but don’t attempt to make more than 4 cookies per sheet. They need room to spread.

Step 6: Use a butter knife or the back of a spoon to spread the dropped batter into circles about 2 inches in diameter.

Step 7: Bake the cookies until the edges just begin to turn brown, about 6 minutes. The centers should remain pale.

Step 8: As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, lift them off the cookie sheet with a spatula and place them on a piece of wax paper.

Step 9: Place a fortune in the center of a cookie, and fold the cookie in half, to form a semi-circle. Pick up the cookie and place the straight edge across the rim of the measuring cup. Fold the pointed edges down, one on the inside and one on the outside of the cup. Put the cookie in a muffin tin so it retains its shape as it cools. Work as quickly as you can! Once these cookies cool, they’ll be impossible to bend.

Step 10: Enjoy the looks on your loved ones’ faces when they read fortunes written just for them!

Did you know? The largest fortune cookie manufacturer in the world is located in Brooklyn, NY!

How To Make Hummus (courtesy of Howcast.com)

Make this delicious and healthy chickpea puree in a matter of minutes. You will need:

A 15-ounce can of chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans

One clove chopped garlic

One lemon

Salt

Two tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

Two tablespoons of olive oil

Pita bread, pita chips, crackers or vegetables

Equipment:

A colander

Food processor, blender or a potato masher

Bowl

Optional:

Olives, red peppers or chili peppers

Garnish of parsley, pine nuts or diced garlic

Step 1 – Open and drain the can of chickpeas. Rinse them off in a colander and put them in a food processor or blender. Or, place them in a large bowl to mash by hand. Save a few good chickpeas to garnish the finished plate.

Step 2 – Add the tahini paste and the garlic.

Step 3 – Squeeze the lemons and add the juice to the mix. Make sure no seeds get in. Make your own variations by mixing in olives, red peppers or chili peppers.

Step 4 – Add about ¼ teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of olive oil.

Step 5 – Blend the mixture or add by hand for about a minute, or, until it’s as smooth or chunky as you want it. If the hummus is too thick or chunky, add extra olive oil to thin it out.

Step 6 – Pour the hummus onto a plate, and smooth it out in big circles with the bottom of a spoon. Garnish with the leftover chickpeas and parsley, pine nuts, or more chopped garlic. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

Step 7 – Enjoy your hummus as a dip with pita bread, crackers or veggies, or use it as a sandwich spread.

Did you know? Besides providing a healthy serving of vegetables and legumes, hummus is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

How To Clarify Butter (courtesy of GialloZafferano.it)

Butter is a type of fat not very suitable for cooking, since it burns at a very low temperature. Clarified butter allows you to cook at high temperatures, to get, for example, crispy-fried food. Let’s see how to do it.

Put the butter in the or in a heavy saucepan and turn on the heat. The butter will melt, letting a white foam come to the surface.

As the foam rises to the top, skim it off with a ladle.

Let the butter simmer slowly until transparent, so that the casing settles on the bottom.

Now, strain the butter through a cheesecloth, and discard the casing settled on the bottom.

If you’re not going to use the clarified butter immediately, pour into sealed jars and keep in the fridge.

Here is your clarified butter, ready to use!

How To Roast Cashews (courtesy of HerculesCandy.com)

Today, we are roasting our delicious, jumbo cashews.

We cook our cashews in copper kettles using pure vegetable oil.

They start out as a pale, tan color.

You cook the cashews until they become a wonderful, golden brown!

When the cashews are done, we drain them on absorbent, food-grade paper.

Then, we salt them.

I think you know what happens next!