Ariadne Pure: Raw Honey with Hazelnuts Review

About a month ago, I was contacted by Tasos of Ariadne Pure asking me to review one of their newer products, a raw honey with hazelnuts spread. A quick look at their website www.ariadnepure.com allowed me to learn a little more about Ariadne Pure. Ariadne Pure specializes in Greek centered products whether it be Extra Virgin Olive oil, wines or organic raw honeys. So, when asked if I would be willing to review their raw honey with hazelnuts, I happily obliged. Not to mention, it's also organic.

First of all, when I opened the package and pulled out the jar, I was impressed with just how it looked. It was simple, yet elegant at the same time. There's just something about putting a simple piece of decorative paper with twine, a long with a label, that just makes things look as if they took the time and effort just to make sure everything looks as good as their product tastes. Simply, it just shows that they believe in their product completely.

Now for the taste. Before I even opened the jar, I had preconceived notions of what it was going to taste like. Think Nutella without the chocolate, and replace that with the floral sweetness of honey. I also thought it would be chunky from the hazelnuts, giving it a crunchy textural aspect.

What did it actually taste like? It was sweet with those hints of floral notes from the honey and the flavor of the hazelnuts came right through. However, unlike what I thought about the texture before, this raw honey with hazelnut spread was completely smooth which surprised me. It was legitimately like Nutella, without the chocolate, and really allowed the honey to shine with hints of hazelnut flavor. Cool right? But, be careful with this product, a little goes a long way. Remember, this is honey! It would be a no-no to take a spoon and eat it straight out of the jar like Nutella. But hey, who am I to judge?

I would love to try this product on biscuits, bake it into corn muffins, or make cakes out of it! Given that the texture is smooth, this can be used directly in recipes that call for honey. This honey will give added flavor from the hazelnuts, which will add more dimension to recipes. Not into hazelnuts? Well, head on over to www.ariadnepure.com and check out their other honey spreads with almonds, peanuts and so much more!

I want to thank Ariadne Pure for allowing me to review their product. This is the thing I love about being a food blogger. It has allowed me to venture out and try products that I wouldn't normally go out and try, because I don't have knowledge of every single company out there. Before being contacted by Ariadne Pure, I had no clue it existed! Now that I know about them, so can you all!! So, get out there and try their product and let me and them know what you think of their stuff!

-Aaron John

Granola Bars

I'm behind on blogging yet again! Busy, busy, busy. First of all, I would like to say that my heart goes out to the people of Japan. No one deserves anything like this happen to them. It was truly shocking to turn on the television and see the devastation that the tsunami had caused. Japan can use any help they can get. If you would like to donate, here is a link to the Red Cross Website.

Let's get back to the food. The Nature Valley Trail Mix Bars have to be one of the greatest snacks. It has oats (healthy), almonds and peanuts (healthy), and dried fruit (healthy). Despite being "healthy" it doesn't taste healthy. It's actually pretty filling and doesn't lack in flavor. So, this is my attempt at recreating the Nature Valley Bars by using Ina Garten's recipe as the base.

Tips
-The recipe below was my adaption of Ina Garten's Recipe to recreate the Nature Valley Trail Mix Bars. Thus, I omitted some of her ingredients and added in some extras.

Results
Taste: Almost exactly like the Nature Valley Trail Mix Bars. A floral sweetness from the honey with a deep rich sweetness from the brown sugar. In addition, bursts of sweetness and tartness from the raisins and cranberries with hints of nutty-ness from the oats and almonds.

Texture: Not completely chewy like the Nature Valley Bars. Has a crunch on the exterior from the caramelization of the sugar and honey, with the Rice Krispy cereal giving more crunch throughout the bars. Chewiness from the fruit and crunch from the almonds as well.

Granola Bars
Original Recipe by Ina Garten, Adapted by Me

Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup salted and roasted whole almonds
1 cup Rice Krispy Cereal
3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Syrup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Place the oatmeal on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the almonds, Rice Krispy Cereal, Raisins and Dried Cranberries until evenly combined

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture and mix until well combined

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

-Aaron John

Granola

Oats are one of my favorite things. They have such a nice nutty-ness to them which I love. Even though I love oats, I dislike oatmeal. That kind of "mushy" texture doesn't do well with me. I remember when I was growing up, I only made myself oatmeal from the instant package that you just add boiling water to and bam, you have oatmeal. Well, I always added as little water as possible to keep the "crunchiness" that the oats have. Am I weird for doing that? Anyway, even when I do this, oatmeal isn't something I crave to eat in the morning. So, what other food involves oats and is something I can eat for breakfast instead of oatmeal? Granola of course!

Surprise surprise, this recipe for Granola comes from Ina Garten. But the great thing about Granola is that you can flavor it anyway you want it to be. Really, there is no recipe. Before I made this Granola, I read the reviews and the reviews were almost consistent in complaints about the amount of oil and honey and the baking temperature. I took all of these into account and changed the recipe as suggested by the reviewers. I will place the different measurements I used in the recipe. Like I said before, you can flavor Granola any way you want. Making this granola was kind of a "spur of the moment" thing this morning. Thus, the only dried fruits I had were raisins and cranberries so I used those but you can use anything you want. Then, because of my love of chocolate, I decided to put some milk chocolate chips in as well. Overall, the granola is great with or without the dried fruits and chocolate. It's crunchy, nutty and slightly sweet from the honey. YUM!! Put this on yogurt, use it as a cereal or use it as a snack. It's perfect for them all. Here's my tips and the recipe!!

**Tips:
-Stir every 10 min to ensure even browning (The edges tend to brown quickly)

-After 20 mins, make sure you keep checking back because it will burn in no time

-Once a pale golden brown, take the Granola out immediately. The Granola will be slightly soft which is what it's supposed to be like

-When cooling, the Granola will harden. If you want large clumps, leave the pan alone for at least 15 mins. The Granola will begin to harden almost in one slab which enables more clumps to form when you mix.

Granola
Ingredients
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
1/2 cup good honey (I used 3/4 cup honey)
1 1/2 cups small diced dried apricots
1 cup small diced dried figs
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (I baked at 300 degrees F instead)

Toss the oats, coconut, and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a 13 by 18 by 1-inch sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even, golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Add the apricots, figs, cherries, cranberries, and cashews. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Baklava

The weather this past week in Seattle has been the best it's been this whole summer. Up until now, we've had cloudy skies, rain and chilly weather. In all my life I've lived here in Seattle, never has the weather been so bad during this season. But finally this week, it all changed. It even reached 95 degrees F!! Talk about HOT!! Now that's what I call summer! It's times like this where the day time is equally as great as the night time. In addition to the great weather, I was approached by CSN to do a review and/or giveaway!! WOOT WOOT!! Can this week get any better? I took a look at the site and they have so many great products from bakeware, clothing, to even outdoor and indoor lighting. Especially in these kinds of hot summer nights, there's nothing like being outside at night. Now, what screams summer nights than FIRE PITS!! CSN has a variety of Fire Pits or different lighting options to really set off the night. But, Fire Pits are great because you are able to make S'mores (YUM!), tell stories, talk with friends and just be in awe of the wonder of fire. Remember to be careful though! You can find a variety of different outdoor lighting options, especially fire pits, here!! Definitely check out everything CSN has to offer!! For their main site, go here.

This whole notion of summer and heat brings up this weeks food creation. You may think that the creation is S'mores but nope, it's Baklava. Weird right? I'll tell you why. When I think of Baklava, I think of the Mediterranean. I picture, clear blue oceans, great landscape and the same exact sunny weather we had this week in Seattle. Making Baklava is the perfect way to "transport" myself to the Mediterranean without paying thousands of dollars. Plus, it's a great sticky treat to eat around that fire pit. It's something different from the regular old S'mores but has the same aspects of S'mores as well. It has that crunchiness from the phyllo like graham crackers, it is sticky and sweet just like marshmallows and instead of chocolate, it uses nuts. A bit different but the same in a way.

I first had Baklava almost a year ago at an event at UW. Then, I had Baklava a second time around Christmas. From then on, I've learned that there is good Baklava and bad Baklava. The one I ate at UW was good but it was overly sweet and was candy-like because of how chewy it was due to the abundance of syrup. The other Baklava from Costco was sweet without being overpowering, not as chewy and still had a nice flakiness to the phyllo dough. This is my first time making Baklava and first time working with Phyllo dough as well. The recipe comes from Emeril Lagasse and it seemed simple enough.

When I made the Baklava, it was pretty simple. The only thing that might give difficulty was the phyllo dough because of how delicate it is. After a couple of layers, I began to get the hang of it. This dessert is so simple to make but it definitely has that "WOW!" factor. Now, don't we all need that "WOW!" factor every now and then? Well, maybe we need it every time we make something.....haha. Overall, this Baklava was good, not great. The syrup wasn't a winner for me. It was overbearingly sweet and thick. In addition there was just TOO MUCH of it!! I had about 3 cups of syrup and I thought that was too much so I only put 1 1/2 cups into the Baklava and they were still soggy on the bottom. Other than that, it was good. Just need to change the syrup. Here's my tips for Baklava and the recipe!!

**Tips:
-Don't layer the phyllo dough one at a time into the baking pan. I found it easier to layer them on the counter, then as a stack, put them into the baking pan. It prevents the phyllo from tearing. Talk about strength in numbers!!

-Once all the layering is done, and are ready to cut, DON'T!! Place in the refrigerator for 30 mins first!! It makes cutting easier and makes the cuts look 10 times better!! :D

-If the Baklava begins to brown too much in the oven, tent it with foil. No one wants burnt food!! haha.

-Don't use all the syrup!! I would say, start with 1 cup of syrup and go from there. 1 1/2 cups of syrup was still too much for my Baklava.

Baklava
Ingredients
For the Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (1-inch) strip lemon zest
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch ground cardamom

For the filling and dough
1 pound walnuts, or a combination of walnuts, pistachios and almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound phyllo, thawed according to package instructions

Directions
To make the syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, water, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves and cardamom in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest and set syrup aside to cool.

Using a Chef's knife, finely chop the nuts. (Alternatively, if you have a food processor, pulse the nuts until finely chopped.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon, and salt and stir well to combine.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch or 15 by 10-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.

Open the package of thawed phyllo and lay the thin sheets on a clean work surface. Measure the phyllo sheets; if the type you have purchased measures approximately the same size as the baking dish you are using, then proceed from here. If they are larger than your baking dish, use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo sheets approximately the same size as your baking dish. Discard any scraps. Cover the sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a lightly damp kitchen towel, as the sheets of phyllo dry out very quickly if left uncovered.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 of the sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the buttered baking dish and lightly brush with some of the melted butter. Repeat this procedure with 6 more sheets of phyllo, for a total of 7 layers. Measure about 3/4 cup of the nut mixture and spread the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer as before, and top these sheets with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Continue this layering process, buttering 7 sheets of phyllo and topping each 7 sheets with 3/4 cup of the nuts, until you have used all of the nut mixture. Layer any remaining sheets of phyllo on top, buttering between each layer, until all of the phyllo sheets have been used.

Use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts lengthwise through the layered phyllo at 1 1/2 inch intervals. (You should end up with 5 lengthwise strips 1 1/2 inches wide.) Now use your knife to cut diagonally across the strips at 1 1/2-inch intervals to form diamond shapes. You should end up with approximately 36 diamond-shaped pieces of baklava in the baking dish.

Bake the baklava until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baklava from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, slowly drizzle the cooled syrup over the warm baklava. Allow to stand several hours before serving.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Sticky Buns

I have always wanted to eat and make Sticky Buns. While growing up, the closest thing to Sticky Buns that I've had were Cinnamon Rolls from Cinnabon. YUM!! But, I always wondered what a Sticky Bun would taste like. Would it be too sweet? Would it be cinnamon-y? Would it be soft and fluffy? Would it taste like a regular old Cinnamon Roll? The more I type this, the more I wonder. Finally, I decided to make Sticky Buns. As I began my search for a recipe, I was trying to find the best one. Then it hit me! I remembered watching a Sticky Bun episode on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". Joanne Chang supposedly has the best Sticky Buns in the country. That's a pretty big title to uphold. Since it's the best, I might as well try it, right? However, there has been different recipes that were posted of Joanne Chang's Sticky Buns so I had to choose which one. I just decided to use the Food Network recipe because that was the first place where I first saw Joanne Chang's Sticky Buns.

So, I got to work. I was shocked to find out that this recipe uses more than a pound of butter!! If it uses this much butter it better be good. Because of this, I decided to halve the recipe for the dough since the dough is a "double batch". This recipe definitely is time consuming, labor intensive and requires a ton of patience. The dough takes up most of the time whereas the "goo" and the Sticky Bun filling only took mere minutes to prepare. When making the dough, I practically did it all by hand. Talk about muscle power! I did it by hand because the dough burned out the motor in my mixer!! :'( I think my mixer is broken now..... After that ordeal, I put the dough in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I started on the "goo". Super easy to do. Put everything in a pot and let it do its thing. When that was finished, I poured it into two 9-inch cake pans instead of the 9 x 13 baking pan. While that was cooling, I rolled out the dough, spread the filling, rolled it into a log and cut Sticky Buns out of it. I placed the Sticky Buns into the cake pans and let them proof. Then I baked them until golden brown.

When they came out of the oven they looked delicious and they made the house smell great!! I couldn't wait but I knew I had to. I find that when you make something like this, you have to let it cool, almost completely, or else the center has a "doughy" quality to it. It isn't until it cools that the center loses the "doughy" quality. I was patient and waited. When I took out the first Sticky Bun covered in the "goo", my jaw dropped! They looked decadent so I had to try it. The brioche was light and fluffy, the "goo" was sweet with the flavor of butterscotch and a floral note from the honey and the pecans gave a nice crunch and nutty-ness. YUM!! If you have a sweet tooth, this is for you! So, after 20 hrs of creating them, sore arms and a broken mixer. These were worth it. Well, let me take that back. It was worth it except for the BROKEN MIXER part!! Now I have to go and buy a new one!! :( Darn Sticky Buns!!! Here's the recipe!

Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Goo
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 170 grams, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups (345 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup (110 grams) honey
1/3 cup (80 grams) heavy cream
1/3 cup (80 grams) water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Basic Brioche Dough (recipe follows)

Filling
1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (100 grams) pecan halves, toasted and chopped

Directions
First, make the goo. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and cook, stirring, to combine (it may look separated, that's ok). Remove from the heat and whisk in the honey, cream, water, and salt. Strain to remove any undissolved lumps of brown sugar. Let cool for about 30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature. You should have about 3 cups. (The mixture can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Divide the dough in half. Use half for this recipe and reserve the other half for another use.

On a floured work surface, roll out the brioche into rectangle about 12 by 16 inches and 1/4-inch thick. It will have the consistency of cold, damp Play-Doh and should be fairly easy to roll. Position the rectangle so a short side is facing you.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and half of the pecans. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Starting from the short side farthest from you and working your way down, roll up the rectangle like a jelly roll. Try to roll tightly, so you have a nice round spiral. Trim off about 1/4- inch from each end of the roll to make them even.

Use a bench scraper or a chef's knife to cut the roll into 8 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2-inches wide. (At this point, the unbaked buns can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. When ready to bake, thaw them, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then proceed as directed.)

Pour the goo into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, covering the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the remaining pecans evenly over the surface. Arrange the buns, evenly spaced, in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm spot to proof until the dough is puffy, pillowy, and soft and the buns are touching-almost tripled in size, about 2 hours.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees F.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the dish on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes. One at a time, invert the buns onto a serving platter, and spoon any extra goo and pecans from the bottom of the dish over the top.

The buns are best served warm or within 4 hours of baking. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, and then warmed in a 325 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes before serving.

Brioche Dough
2 1/2 cups (350 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
2 1/4 cups (340 grams) bread flour
1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast or 1-ounce (28 grams) fresh cake yeast

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (82 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cold water
6 eggs
1 3/8 cups (2 3/4 sticks; 310 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces

Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and 5 of the eggs. Beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until all the ingredients are combined. Stop the mixer, as needed, to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Once the dough has come together, beat on low speed for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and seem quite dry.

With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, 1 piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Continue mixing on low speed for about 10 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. It is important for all the butter to be thoroughly mixed into the dough. If necessary, stop the mixer occasionally and break up the dough with your hands to help mix in the butter.

Once the butter is completely incorporated, turn up the speed to medium and beat until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny, another 15 minutes. It will take some time to come together. It will look shaggy and questionable at the start and then eventually it will turn smooth and silky. Turn the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. You should hear the dough make a slap-slap-slap sound as it hits the sides of the bowl. Test the dough by pulling at it; it should stretch a bit and have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it. It is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in 1 piece.

Put the dough in a large bowl or plastic container and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Let the dough proof (that is, grow and develop flavor) in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight At this point you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to 1 week.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Honey Cornbread Muffins

So, I wasn't actually planning on baking Honey Cornbread Muffins today. I was saving this recipe for later on. I already baked Mexican Wedding Cookies earlier and so I thought I was about done baking for the day. I was working diligently to finish my 3 essays, art homework and read for my Asian Studies Class. A couple hours went by and I decided to take a break and get something to eat in the kitchen. While in the kitchen, my brother comes out of his room and says "What you making? Cornbread?!". I replied "No, if you look over there, I already made some cookies". He then said "Come on. You should make some cornbread". Well, that's why I made these Honey Cornbread Muffins. I got the recipe from the Neelys. These were super simple to make and I made them in no time which was great because I had a lot of other work to do. The Honey Cornbread Muffins were moist and had that classic corn/nutty taste from the corn meal, sweetness from the sugar and honey (the honey also gave a nice floral note) and the sweetness was balanced out by the salt. Overall, very good recipe. I didn't like the crumb of these however. I think I need to figure out how to make the crumb better and I have an idea in mind. I also think the temperature should be lower because these did brown up fairly quickly. Well, here's the recipe.

Honey Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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