Like most things in life, practice gets perfection, but to make fondant is not too complicated, and given the upgrade it gives to the cake, I would sure give it a try.

Fondant recipe - How to make fondant

When you come to make fondant it’s important to use the right fondant recipe and follow it to the letter.

I know many people who tried some shortcuts on my fondant recipe and ended up with a fondant they just couldn’t take off of the table.
The fondant gets greasy, sticky or just resembles the taste of a commercial fondant, which is bad enough J

Three important tips before we move to the actual “how to make fondant” instructions and the fondant recipe:

1. When you make fondant, both the dough and the icing, make sure to make it in room temperature – Too cold or too warm room will hurt the dough
2. When you calculate the quantity of fondant icing required, it’s better to have too much fondant icing rather than too little, as leftover icing can be stored and used at a later date, or used for extra decorations
3. Make sure you make fondant on a clean and smooth working surface.
   Jewelry on your fingers or wrists or fluffy clothing could hurt the fondant’s surface

Ingredients required to make the fondant recipe:

• 1 Tbsp of unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup of cold water
• 1 tsp of almond extract
• 1/2 cup of light corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp of glycerin (some recipes say it’s optional, believe me, it’s a must)
• 2 lbs  10X confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 tsp of white vegetable shortening

Directions how to make the fondant recipe:

• Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowl; Let it rest for two minutes to soften
• Place the bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds on High, until the gelatin dissolves
• Add the flavoring
• Add the corn syrup and the glycerin and stir until the mixture is smooth and clear (if the mixture is not turning smooth and clear, microwave it for an additional 15 to 20 seconds on high and stir again) 
• Sift 1 1/2 pounds of the sugar into a large bowl
• Make a hole in the sugar and pour the liquid mixture to it
• Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes sticky
• Sift some of the remaining 1/2 pound of sugar onto a smooth work surface and add as much of the remaining sugar as the mixture will take
• Knead the fondant, adding a little more sugar if necessary, to form a smooth, pliable mass
• Rub the vegetable shortening on your toes and knead it into the fondant
• Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and place it in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out
  If the icing dries out and harden it can often be revived by popping it into a microwave oven for a few seconds and then kneading it back to life

Now you know how to make fondant, I hope the following pictures will inspire you to give this easy, tasty Fondant Recipe  :-)

  Happy Cooking J 

Guacamole recipe can be described as an Avocado salad recipe, but this Mexican side dish can only be regarded as “guacamole“.

In food, besides the ingredients and recipe there’s a huge importance for the presentation, and the dish’s name is a part of the presentation.
You must admit that a Guacamole recipe is much more appealing than an Avocado salad J

There are many advantages for using a Guacamole recipe:

·        Guacamole recipe is easy to make

·        Guacamole recipe makes a great dish

·        Guacamole recipe is very nutritious, full of vitamins and contains a lot of fiber

In fact, Guacamole recipe makes a dish you can eat every day.

This Guacamole recipe makes a smoked, spicy Guacamole, I hope you like it.

Guacamole Recipe Ingredients:

• 3 avocados

• 1 small plum tomato

• 1/3 cup finely diced red onion

• 1 small minced chipotle

• 2 jalapeño peppers seeded and minced (you may add some of the seeds if you like very spicy dish)

• 1 minced garlic clove

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• Salt to taste

Guacamole Recipe Directions:

• Peel the 3 Avocados and cut them into 1/2 inch dices, move the cutted dices to a bowl 

• Cut the tomato into ¼ inch dices, add the dices to the bowl

• Add the onion, chipotle, jalapeño, garlic and lemon juice to the bowl and mix well

• Season with salt to taste

When you done making this Guacamole Recipe, serve it with Tortilla chips and enjoy!

You are also welcome to try this Guacamole recipe, hope you’ll like at as well as I did

Happy Cooking J

I got many messages from my readers asking for a Bisquick recipe.

The only problem was that I wasn’t sure what they mean by “Bisquick recipe”.

When saying “Bisquick recipe”, do you mean recipes for food made of Bisquick, or are you looking for a recipe saying how to make the Bisquick?

As I’m not sure, I’ve decided to post 2 different kinds of Bisquick recipe – one Bisquick recipe that describes how to make the Bisquick, and one Bisquick recipe using the Bisquick as a major ingredient.

Bisquick recipe – How to make the Bisquick

Bisquick recipe Ingredients:

• 9 cups sifted all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup baking powder

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 2 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk solids

• 2 cups shortening (which does not require refrigeration)

Bisquick recipe Preparations:

• Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar and sugar three times
• Add the dry milk and mix well
• Cut in shortening with two knives until mixture looks like cornmeal
• Store in room temperature 

A quick tip: To measure the Master Baking Mix, pile it lightly into cup and level off with a table knife.

Bisquick recipe – How to make Bisquick Muffins

Bisquick Muffins recipe Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• 2 cup Bisquick baking mix
• 1 cup of peeled and finely chopped Apple
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2/3 cup Milk
• 2 ts Oil
• 2 1/4 ts grounded Cinnamon

Bisquick Muffins recipe Preparations:

• Preheat the oven to 410F
• Grease the bottom of 10 medium muffin cups
• Slightly beat the egg, stir in the Bisquick baking mix, chopped apple, sugar, milk and the grounded cinnamon, stir till moistened
• Divide the batter evenly among the 10 muffin cups
• Bake till golden brown, it should take 15 to 18 minutes

I hope that you’ll find at least one of those Bisquick Recipe useful.

If it’s not the Bisquick Recipe you were looking for, I found another good Bisquick Recipe at this blog post

Happy Cooking :-) 

Guacamole recipe makes it the best way to bring the amazing taste of Avocado to your table.

There are many advantages to the Guacamole recipe: it takes minutes to prepare, it’s much healthier than most dips and the taste is amazing.
It’s so good that I’ll try to add more Guacamole Recipe soon.

As with many other dips, Guacamole is best when served fresh, and as the Guacamole recipe is so easy to make, try to make it just before serving.

Guacamole will keep for several days in the refrigerator, but you must make sure to have it wrapped as tightly as possible, and have a dash on lemon on it to keep it from turning brown.
Having a good Guacamole recipe is a good start, but the presentation is always very important, so you don’t want to serve a brown Guacamole…

Guacamole recipe Ingredients:

• 3 Avocados

• 1 Medium Red Onion

• 3 Plum Tomatoes

• 2 Jalapeño Pepper

• 1 wedge of Lemon

• 1 Tbsp of Cilantro

• 1 Tsp of Salt

Guacamole Recipe Directions:

• Chop the Red Onion into small pieces and put it in a large bowl
• Remove the core of the Plum Tomatoes and through it
• Chop the rest of the Tomatoes into small pieces and add to the bowl with the red onion
• Chop the Jalapeño peppers and add them to the bowl (As the Jalapeño Peppers are very hot, you might want to slice them in half and remove the seeds before chopping it)
• Slice the Avocados in half, remove the avocado from the skin and add the avocados to bowl (If you remove the skin with care, you can use it for serving the Guacamole in it)
• Using a fork and spoon, mash and mix all of the ingredients that are in the bowl together
• Add Salt and Cilantro to the bowl and mix it
• Cut a wedge out of the lemon, squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl and mix (In addition to the flavor, the lemon juice keeps the Guacamole from turning brown)

That’s it – your Guacamole recipe is finished and ready to serve.

Here’s a picture of serving the Guacamole using the Avocado’s skin.

Please note that due to the Jalapeño Peppers this Guacamole recipe can be a little hot, so taste it and add Avocado if needed.

I hope you find this Guacamole recipe useful and more important – try it and enjoy it!

You are also welcome to try this Guacamole recipe, hope you’ll like at as well as I did

Happy Cooking

One of the most popular posts in my blog is the post called “how to make a Diaper Cake”.

It’s actually one of my favorites, not only because it answers a specific need, but it’s the post I get most replies on J

I get a few mails a week saying that after reading the post, especially after watching the videos I recommended, they managed to make a diaper cake and get very good results.
From reading all the replies I get, I figured that the diaper cake can be divided into two main categories:

1.      Plain rolled diaper cake

2.      Fancy “fanned around the center” diaper cake

How to make a diaper cake got a lot to do with the type of diaper cake you choose.

If you choose to do the plain rolled diaper cake, you can understand how to do it from reading the instructions on my previous post, and look at my pictures gallery to have a clear understanding of the expected results.

This kind of diaper cake is called “plain rolled diaper cake” but it doesn’t mean that it looks simple.
You can get very beautiful results with it, and your diaper cake can be the proud centerpiece of the baby shower.

The “Fancy fanned around the center diaper cake” is a completely different story.
Making this kind of a diaper cake makes the most beautiful results, but I learn from my readers that guidance is needed.

My readers that watched the how to make a diaper cake video tutorial got great results, while those who didn’t either watched the video tutorial after a few attempts, or decided on doing the plain rolled diaper cake.

Once again, although I like the “Fancy fanned around the center diaper cake” better, some great results can be achieved with the plain rolled one.
In fact, the reason for this post is a mail I got from one of my readers, Pati B, who made a diaper cake for her child Erin.

This is what she wrote:“Dear Duke 
I can understand how hard it is to make the diaper cakes. 
I have seen the one you tried to attempt on a site that sells the cakes.  It’s the diapers fanned out around a center, very hard to do I would think. 
It was a valiant attemp. 
I just made a plain old rolled diaper cake.  I did the diapers first  one night watching the boob tube.  Then my cousin and I made the cake together. 
She’s my “bow” expert LOL 
Here it is, not too bad for a first one. 
Caption:  Diaper cake for shower 4/6/08  for my daughter Erin. 
It was fun to do. 
Take care
Pati”

And here is the picture of the diaper cake she made:

In her words “not too bad for a first one”, in my words: Great work Pati, the diaper cake looks amazing, it looks like the work of a professional!

You are more than welcome to send me more pictures and stories of the diaper cake you made, if you need guidance, I recommend this “How to make a diaper cake video tutorial”

Happy Cooking J

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Pork chops
• 6 tb Olive oil
• 1/4 c Red wine vinegar
• 3 tb Dijon mustard
• 1 tb minced Chives
• 1 ts Dry tarragon
• Freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION:

1. Arrange chops in a foil-lined rimmed baking pan
2. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, chives and tarragon in small bowl;
   Season with pepper to taste
3. Spread 1 tablespoon of the mustard baste over each chop
4. Bake for 10 minutes on upper rack of the oven preheated to 475 degrees
5. Turn chops over and spread each one with one more tablespoon of the baste
6. Continue to bake until meat in thickest part is no longer pink (around 8-10 minutes)

I hope you love this pork chop recipe, it is easy to make and yet very tasty.

Happy Cooking

As I’ve used dozens of Shrimp scampi recipe, I wasn’t sure what Shrimp scampi recipe is best to start with.

The reason I chose this Shrimp scampi recipe is that you get a great results in only a few minutes, so who said Shrimp scampi recipe should be complicated

Ingredients

• 2 pounds peeled and de-veined large shrimps
• 6 tbsp softened, unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp minced shallots
• 1.5 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp minced fresh chives
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat grill at high heat
2. Put the shrimp on a large plate and pat them completely dry with a paper towel
3. Use a bowl to combine the softened butter, shallots, garlic, chives, paprika, olive oil, salt, and pepper
4. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss till the shrimps are evenly covered
5. Lightly oil the grill grate
6. Place the shrimp on the grate, as close to the flame as possible, and cook each side for 2-3 minutes, until opaque in color
7. Arrange the shrimp or on a platter and serve

This Shrimp scampi recipe takes only minutes, but the taste is AMAZING!

Happy Cooking

If you want to make the most out of the lobster you bought, a Lobster Bisque Recipe is what you’re looking for.

Lobster Bisque is a thick, creamy, highly-seasoned soup, and basically it’s a method of extracting every bit of flavor from Lobster, usually from parts not good enough to eat by otherwise.I have tried many different recipes, trying to find the ultimate Lobster bisque recipe, and although most lobster bisque recipes are quite similar, some are naturally better than the others.When I was about to post my Lobster bisque recipe, I came across this site that presents the same recipe, but as a video.As this site is about the passion for food and not about ego, I’m presenting the other site’s video, as it might be easier to follow.

Follow this Lobster bisque recipe for great results

Remember - Lobsters are best when you get them alive, I use only Maine Lobsters that are being shipped for me alive.

Happy Cooking

The most important thing when it comes to lobsters is the freshness.

If we were able to just take a lobster from the ocean straight to the kitchen, well, that is how to cook lobster.

The most popular ways to cook lobster is either to boil the lobster or to steam it.

When it comes to boiling a lobster the best way to cook lobster is to put it in the water when it’s still alive.
French chefs through them into boiling water; other chefs had adopted a more humane method and they kill it just before throwing them to the boiling water.

The truth is that both methods are not too humane, and yet, you get the best taste when the lobster is still alive when you start boiling it.

So, how to cook lobster in a humane way?

Use a pot deep enough to hold 6 liters of salted water (You can tell when the water is salty enough by throwing a raw egg into the pot. If the egg floats the water are salty enough)
Put a baking stone or any kind of a roasting rack at the bottom of the pot, and place the lobster on it.
By doing it you prevent the lobster from touching the bottom of the pan and it will not be burned as the pan heats up. (You insert the lobster to the pot when the water are still at room temperature)

When you start to boil the water, use a gentle heat, gradually raise the temperature of the water to around 90°F, at which point the lobster will be fast asleep.

At this stage (the best way is to check the water’s temperature as not all lobsters snores) turn up the heat until the water reaches a gentle simmer.

This cooking method is not only the most humane way to cook lobster; it also brings out the best results.

The lobster’s meat comes out succulent and tender, as it didn’t experience any trauma when entering the water (the trauma causes the lobster to secrete adrenaline, which ends up in a less succulent meat)

Bear in mind that The Only Way to cook lobster for a great result is by buying it alive.(And remember to be careful with the claws as there is no lobster served in the E.R)

And one last tip: Whether you’re having a summer cookout or a black-tie affair, fresh lobster delivered overnight makes all the different.

Indulge yourself in succulent, fresh live Maine lobsters, delivered directly from the ocean to your home.

The purpose of this article is to present a humane, rewarding method for how to cook lobster.

If you want recipes and detailed instructions on how to cook lobster please visit my article called “Cooking Lobster”

Happy Cooking

No Bake Cookie Recipe Collection

The No Bake Cookie Recipe section at The Cook Duke offers a huge selection of free, easy and delicious No Bake Cookie Recipe!

No bake cookies is a great solution as they’re very easy to make and yet very tasty.

Making the cookies can also be a great way to have your kids get more familiar with cooking and food ingredients (You can read about the importance of that in the post called “Boys Food”)

Follow those links for dozens of No Bake Cookie Recipe

• Almond Bark no bake cookie recipe
• Apricot Banana no bake cookie recipe
• Apricot Nut no bake cookie recipe
• Butterscotch no bake cookie recipe
• Caramel no bake cookie recipe
• Cherry Bourbon no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate Chip no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate Coconut no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate Frosting no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate Oatmeal no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate Oats no bake cookie recipe
• Chocolate Peanut Butter no bake cookie recipe
• Cornflake no bake cookie recipe
• Crème de Mint no bake cookie recipe
• Easy no bake cookie recipe
• Fruit and Nut no bake cookie recipe
• Grand Marnier Chocolate no bake cookie recipe
• Hawaiian Mocha no bake cookie recipe
• Kentucky Bourbon no bake cookie recipe
• Maple Walnut no bake cookie recipe
• M&M no bake cookie recipe
• Oatmeal Coconut no bake cookie recipe
• Oatmeal Fudge no bake cookie recipe
• Peanut Butter no bake cookie recipe
• Peanut Butter Vanilla no bake cookie recipe
• Peanuts Granola no bake cookie recipe

Making no bake cookies can be a great way to have some quality time with your kids, as the making is not complicated and they can feel equal baking partners.

Getting your kids involved in the kitchen is very important and has a huge influence on their eating habits.

If you have young kids I advise you to read my post on Boys Food.

I hope you found the No Bake Cookie Recipe you like.

Please visit my other sections of The Cook Duke, Such as the:

• Fried rice recipes
• Baby shower cakes
• Childrens Birthday Cakes
• Childrens Birthday Cakes 2
• Birthday Pirate Ship Cake
• How to make a Diaper Cake

Happy Cooking