Author: Michael Metzler Jr.

Amateur baker, pianist, filmmaker, writer & reader.

Fish Tacos

Michael Metzler Jr.Leave a comment

So this is my first entree in a while–a quite easy one, too. If you’ve ever been to Rubio’s, you may have had one of their fish tacos, perhaps a Blackened Fish Taco? Gradually spicy but satisfying, these Blackened fish are simple to make, and have the potential of feeding a larger group, depending on how much fish you have.

Basically, blackening your fish involves heating butter or other fat on a (cast iron) pan on high heat, then putting your fish on, just a minute or so, in order to sear each side, which will previously be coated in a particular spice mix.

Next comes the familiar part, which is assembling the tacos. You can do this any way you want of course, which makes this meal more custom than not.

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I use Tilapia, and it works very well with this recipe, but you can use any white fish, and it should work just fine.

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Fish Tacos recipe – – PRINT

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Chewy Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Michael Metzler Jr.2 Comments

I realize this is my first post in a while, since I’ve been rather recently busy.

This summer I went to an AWESOME summer camp in the mountains. Generally, the food for every meal was amazing. This particular recipe I made, these “Chewy Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips,” were inspired by the  cookies that were served one evening at that summer camp. My goal was to get them nice and chewy, and rich and chocolaty–very much like the ones at camp, and I think they turned out amazing.

The second time I made them, (and by suggestion of one of my friends), we added crushed Heath Bars to the mix and it tasted PERFECT. So feel free to do that as well, but it is purely optional.

So try them out; if you love chocolate, you’ll love these cookies!

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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with White Chocolate Chips RECIPE

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Blogger Recognition Award

Michael Metzler Jr.3 Comments

I’m excited today to respond to Blogger Recognition Award that I received (actually a while ago) for the first time since starting my food blog in October. I will also nominate 15 others for the award.

First off, the rules for the nominees:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link their website.
  2. Write a post to show your award.
  3. Give a short story of how your blog started.
  4. Give 2 pieces of advice for new bloggers.
  5. Select 15 other bloggers that you would like to nominate.
  6. Comment on the blogs and let them know that you have nominated them, and make sure you provide a link to the post you made about it.

 

Next, thank you so much, Nicolas for nominating me for this award! Nicolas is an amazing and talented chef who owns the food blog “Blogtastic Food” in which he posts delicious recipes with AMAZING food photography. So make sure to check out his website. I learned lots of things from him just by reading a post of his on Food Photography tips and tricks.

I started my blog just last October as a way to further follow my passion with baking–mainly desserts–and a bit of cooking. I started when I was 10 years old, and have continued ever since, eventually creating my own recipes, which you can see on my blog. Being a beginner, and an amateur, I’m trying to further my audience and become better acquainted with the language of Social Media. But for now, I create my own recipes for (mostly) desserts I love to make, shoot some pictures with my sister’s (she has a writing blog: http://www.ateawithtumnus.wordpress.com) dslr camera, and post both on my blog, and Instructables.com.

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Me filling in cookies with an Instructables apron 😀

Now that I’ve mentioned it, Instructables is a great way to get your projects out on the internet with easy step-by-step instructions that you create. In fact, I was posting on Instructables a full year before I decided to create my food blog; Instructables is a great way to get more traffic on your blog, especially for beginners like me 😀 I recommend you check it out.

Since I’m a beginner, I can’t really give my own advice to others on how to run a food blog, only things I’ve heard from more advanced bloggers:

1. Develop your target audience

2. Post consistently

3. Take at least decent pictures (the better the picture, the more likely someone will want to eat it!)

4. Do what you love to do

Not that I can really attest to having done all of these, but those are some things I’ve heard that helps a ton. And of course there are so many different things that go into making your blogging successful.

Now for the bloggers who I’ve nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award 3:

  1. Revolutionary Pie
  2. Sarah Vassallo
  3. Agatha Chocolats
  4. Lithuanian in the USA
  5. Artsy Teen
  6. The Grapefruit Glow
  7. La Cuisine d’Eli
  8. Cooking Without Limits
  9. My Yellow Apron
  10. Swetha’s Culinary Trials
  11. Simply Made Kitchen and Crafts
  12. Midwest Nice
  13. Frugal Hausfrau
  14. So Beautifully Real
  15. Absolutely Muffin

And there you have it! Be sure to check out this awesome food bloggers, and lastly, make sure to check out my blog at Michael’s Test Kitchen!

Fruit Thumbprint Cookies

Michael Metzler Jr.Leave a comment

These Fruit-filled Thumbprint Cookies are quick & easy to make, and don’t require very many ingredients. The cookies are simplistic, consisting only of flour, butter, sugar, and vanilla. But put them together with fruit jam, and you add a whole other level of taste.

Serve with tea or enjoy anytime!

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Fruit Thumbprint Cookies Recipe  — — — PRINT

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Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Michael Metzler Jr.2 Comments

These almond butter chocolate chip cookie treats are a great & easy way to snack.

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The almond butter adds protein and fiber while the coconut oil adds healthy-ness and moistness. These cookies are just as easy to throw together as any other cookie, but are healthier in some ways…not to mention extremely delicious. Enjoy!

 

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe  —    PRINT

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Almond & Fruit Cupcakes

Michael Metzler Jr.2 Comments

These Almond & Fruit Cupcakes are simple and fast to make, happen to be gluten-free, and hold very little sugar. This makes them quite versatile, and can be served primarily at breakfast, lunch, eaten even as an after-dinner light dessert, or just snacked on whenever (in moderation).

Enjoy with a topping of your favorite fruit jam.

 

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I based this recipe off of the New York Times Food recipe for ‘Mini Almond Cakes’ which I really enjoyed but wanted to make my own recipe, and make it a little differently. I added egg yolks in addition to the usual fluffy egg white–but not before also fluffing the egg yolks with some confectioners sugar.

The cool thing about these Almond cupcakes is that they are automatically gluten-free, as they use almond meal instead of flour. They also do not use a ton of sugar and taste light, and go especially well with the sweeter fruit jam on the top. Enjoy!

 

Almond & Fruit Cupcakes Recipe   –   –   –   –   –   PRINT

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Chocolate Cheesecake

Michael Metzler Jr.4 Comments

This Chocolate Cheesecake is packed full of rich chocolate flavor, accompanied with a homemade Oreo cookie crust, and topped with dark chocolate ganache.

I made this for an Easter 2017 party, but it is really good for any gathering on any occasion.

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This recipe promotes chocolate as the most prominent flavor, so the type of chocolate you choose will be key in determining the outcome, or quality of the finished product. For my first time making it, it turned out just fine with semi-sweet chocolate chips. But obviously, there are many better and different options of baking chocolate out there.

In fact, I don’t necessarily recommend chocolate chips for baking. I would recommend quality baking chocolate, if you don’t mind the trouble. If you do mind, then chocolate chips work just fine.

I had the idea to make my own recipe for chocolate cheesecake when our friends invited us to their house for an Easter dinner. I knew they wanted something chocolatey, so cheesecake eventually sprang to mind, and with it came Chocolate.

It turned out great and received alot of compliments.

I hope you enjoy it too!

“Chocolate Cheesecake” Recipe  –      –      –   Print

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Black Bottom Cupcakes

Michael Metzler Jr.3 Comments

Black Bottom Cupcakes are a simple but delicious type of muffin; basically comprised of a chocolate-muffin base, then topped in the center with rich cheesecake filling. They satisfy chocolate lovers and cheesecake fans alike.

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This recipe may be different than others in that I use coconut oil in the batter rather than vegetable oil. I recently read a Bon Appetit snippet that explained that coconut oil was better in chocolate cake than other options; that coconut oil in fact increases the moistness of the cake the longer it sits after baked, instead of drying out. So I thought that principle should apply to these muffins.

This recipe is also different from others in that I use melted chocolate chips in addition to the usual cocoa powder. I also used hot coffee instead of the usual water, and used the hot coffee to melt the chocolate chips in. Double purpose.

The result is a great combination of rich cheesecake filling with dark chocolate base, which rises beautifully in the oven, and tastes as delicious as it looks. See recipe below.

Enjoy! Also, for full step-by-step pictures, see my post of this recipe on instructables.

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BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES RECIPE  – – – – – – – – – – –  PRINT

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Hot Cross Buns recipe

Michael Metzler Jr.3 Comments

Hot Cross Buns are sweet bread rolls, traditionally made for Easter, and have icing drizzled in the form of a cross. The bread is moist with a hint of cinnamon.

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This recipe is different from others because of the two egg yolks that are added to the dough. Make sure to save the 2 egg whites in two separate containers, though: you’ll need one for the icing, and one to spread thinly over the rolls just before baking them.

It makes around 18 rolls, but you can make them alot smaller if you want to serve them to a larger group of people. The balls of dough initially look small, but after their second rise time on the baking sheet, they should grow more than double in size, and get even larger in the oven. So don’t be fooled by their previously small appearance.

The ones in the picture (above) started at 1-inch balls of dough–so you can see how much larger they got.

Be sure to make these delicious rolls for your Easter celebration! And, although they are traditionally made for Easter, they make great rolls anytime of the year if you simply desist from adding the icing (WARNING: icing is a strong temptation). Remove the icing cross, and you have made these into multi-purpose baked goods.

Enjoy!

Hot Cross Buns Recipe                                                                Print

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7 Desserts to Try

Michael Metzler Jr.2 Comments

This post is basically me compiling 7 different desserts that I’ve tried and recommend. Some are my recipes, but alot of them come from different areas of the internet.

  1. Sur La Table’s CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

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These souffles are probably the easiest gourmet dessert I’ve made; and they don’t take super long to make. The middle of these souffles are meant to be a very rich creamy chocolate. I recommend you make these souffles, especially if you love chocolate, and don’t mind buying the 6 oz ramekins needed for the recipe.

 

2. APPLE BLUEBERRY CRISP on Michael’s Test Kitchen

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I actually just posted this recipe on my blog. It was inspired by the apple crisp by Tastes Better From Scratch, and both are great recipes. Blueberries add a dash of bright contrast to the autumn-colored apples, and it is good for serving at larger gatherings.

 

3. BLONDIES by America’s Test Kitchen

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This is an America’s Test Kitchen recipe that I made, and I liked it. If you’re bored of the traditional chocolate brownies recipes, then make this and add butterscotch chips to the mix.

 

4. CHOCOLATE CAKE from Michael’s Test Kitchen

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This chocolate cake I developed from different cake recipes on the internet, but I also add fresh raspberries inside the layers with chocolate ganache frosting. Dark brewed coffee added to the mix makes the cake more rich and moist.

 

5. HOMEMADE CINNAMON BREAD by Pioneer Woman

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This cinnamon swirl loaf from Pioneer Woman is basically like taking cinnamon rolls and putting them in a loaf pan. I actually made a recipe inspired this one, but as I have not posted it it yet, I recommend this one for a twist on the good old cinnamon roll. Optionally, you can toast these swirled pieces of bread, and spread over with butter.

 

6. CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES from Michael’s Test Kitchen

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These chocolate chip cookies on my blog are soft and delicious. Plus, the recipe provides healthier partial substitutes to sugar and some flour.

 

7. CREAM SCONES by America’s Test Kitchen

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I’ve really liked almost all the America’s Test Kitchen recipes I’ve made, and this is one of them. It is a simple base for scones, and leaves you the opportunity to add in chocolate chips, or any kind of fruit pieces, such as dried blueberries.

 

That’s it for now; I hope that gave you some ideas.

Have fun baking!