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I am a self-proclaimed culinary reject. So, when Charlotte's group of crafty entrepreneurs (Crown Town Handmade) sent out invitations to their Valentine's Sweet Swap, I began to panic. My most recent attempt to bake resulted in WAY undercooked BOX brownies... my poor, obliging friends had to eat them with a spoon. But then I came across a foolproof truffle recipe. It was so easy - even I could do it! Here's how...

INGREDIENTS //
1 Box Oreo Cookies
1 8oz Package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 Boxes Semi-Sweet Baker's Chocolate

Makes 4 dozen truffles

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STEP 1 // Put the Oreos in a Ziploc bag and crush them into pieces. I even crushed them a little more, with a mallet, after putting them in a bowl. Be sure to save a couple tablespoons of crushings to garnish the truffles later.

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STEP 2 // Soften the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 secs and then stir it into the crushed Oreos.

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Step 3 // Roll the mixture into 48, one inch balls and place on wax paper.

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STEP 4 //  Melt the Baker's chocolate in the microwave for 2.5 mins (stirring the chocolate every 30 secs). Next, dip the balls into the chocolate (I used a candy dipping tool from Michael's, but you could use a fork too) and place on the wax paper.

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STEP 5 // Sprinkle the leftover cookie crumbles onto the wet chocolate for garnish. Refrigerate the truffles for about an hour or until the chocolate is hardened.

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STEP 6 // Enjoy!
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My two new favorite foods = Fig & Olive Spread and Spicy Bread & Butter Pickles. I discovered these delectable delights, last weekend, at the Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, Ca. It's a quaint general store /gourmet sandwich shop in the midst of Sonoma County's beautiful vineyards. Like something out of the Andy Griffith Show, it's a nice respite from the hustle of San Francisco. 
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Every sandwich on the menu features simple, yet rich ingredients. I chose the Jimtown Sandwich, of course, which consists of prosciutto, blue cheese, and the infamous Jimtown Fig & Olive Spread. It was served with spicy bread and butter pickles and a glass of white wine. I wound up buying an entire container of the pickles and ate the flaming fermented cucumbers in two sittings. In fact, in the middle of writing this blog, I went to Amazon and bought the Jimtown Cookbook. 

(Recipe for Fig and Olive Spread after the jump!)
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This afternoon I'll be making my all time favorite salsa recipe. It's yummy, delicious, goodness from my favorite chef over at The Belle Tower. Get the recipe and full scoop here.
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It's not that I can't cook- it's that I'm not passionate about cooking. I really wish I was. But I'm not. And believe me I've tried to be. Unfortunately, when it comes down to eating a Lean Cuisine or using ingredients and a stove... well, the microwave wins. I like my cooking to be quick, fast and painless. Don't get me wrong, I love a good home cooked meal (prepared by someone else) or an expensive gourmet dinner on the town. I guess that just means I'm passionate about having other people cook for me.

But when it comes to cooking, for Melissa McDougall, she's.... well... "passionate" is an understatement. That's probably one good reason we get along so well. She loves to cook, and I love to eat Other People's Cooking (You down with OPC? Yeah you know me!). Not only is Melissa an amazing cook, she's an avid writer and emerging photographer to boot. And so, it was only an amount of time before Melissa started a blog focused on cooking called, The Belle Tower. 
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As much as I enjoy OPC, it's not just a one sided affair, I think I'm pretty good company in the kitchen. You know the old saying about having too many cooks in the kitchen? Since I'm not a cook, people always seem to like having me around in the kitchen. I have no opinion on the best way to sauté garlic, or chop a tomato, heck, I can even spell sauté (the spell check corrected it for me). I love to help, but I'm content to stay out of the way too. So when Melissa asked me to help with her "Italian Flag Pasta" dish, I happily obliged. 

She's used to doing the photography and cooking simultaneously, but since we did it on our lunch break, and time was of the essence, she trusted me with her fancy camera (supervised of course). 
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One of my favorite parts about her blog is the step-by-step photos. Growing up my mom wouldn't buy a cookbook unless it had pictures. She'd say, "Who cares if everyone swears by The Joy of Cooking? It doesn't have photos, so it's worthless." And not only does Melissa include pictures, but an option to print an abbreviated version of instructions with all the ingredients listed at the top. Plus her amazing writing style has me reading recipes for fun. Do yourself a flavor, and check out The Belle Tower blog.
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