Spider Bread!

We are going to make some spider bread for October.

Spider-Pan Dulce...Tutorial

With Halloween coming this next week, I thought I'd share how I make my Spider-Pan Dulce! Isn't she beautiful all perched on top of that loaf of bread? Well...she's also 100% edible! Isn't that crazy! I recently got all my licensing in place to sell bread and pastries from home (via AZDHS) So...it's on the level to make them here and ship. At any rate, if you don't want to make the spider bread yourself, they can be ordered here  along with a lot of my other baked goods here. 

To make the loaves yourself, take one pound of bread dough. Today I used Sweet Potato Yeast Bread but you could easily use my 5 day bread dough as well. take a 2 oz ball of dough out of the loaf and set aside. Pull the rest of the dough into a tight ball. 

Place seam side down on a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Poke a hole in the center of the top of the loaf and form the 2 oz of dough into a spider, placing the legs down first and then topping with the body of the spider. 

Using a dough cutter, make deep cuts into the loaf in a diamond shape, leaving the spider on the top intact.

Allow to raise 35-45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 40-45 minutes until internal temperature of 165 degrees.  Follow my directions for the basic bread painting here.  To get the white, use edible white gel paste. I have other methods...but that one is the simplest by far. The gel paste colors are perfect for bread too!  

There you go. 

Always My Very Best,

Chef Tess!

What are you making fun for Fall?!

Summer Skillet Pizza! Fun and Easy for Camping!

 Tomorrow I'm visiting our local Good Morning Arizona channel 3 TV station for a cooking segment on easy camping and summer meals for kids! I'm so excited to meet everyone there and cook with some new folks! The segment airs at 8:45 so if you're local, it should be a fun piece. I wanted to share one of the ideas I've used for camping that is just way too fun for kids and adults! I make pizza while camping using a skillet with a lid. It is fast, easy, and certainly can be done at home as well. In the summer this will give you that crispy crust and gooey melted cheese without the oven heating your house. I can make them a lot healthier and cheaper than purchasing the pre-made frozen meals and they take about 20 minutes to make 10-12 ready-to-eat pizzas!  For the most part, camping meals need to be simple. If I'm not using one of my shelf-stable convenient 52 jar method meals, I'll usually bring along some of these! You will need store purchased pita bread or you can use the  homemade pita bread tutorial. Today I'm using some grilled panini flat bread. It really doesn't matter what you use for the crust, as long as it is thick enough for a pizza. When the boys were younger I'd use homemade English Muffins, split in half they made two mini pizzas. Now we need the bigger size. They're getting into teen years and it is a whole new grand adventure!  The best part of the skillet-pizza is that it doesn't heat the oven and it gives us a gooey cheese with a crispy crust. That's hard to do in the microwave. It's just freakishly cool!

 I still try to suck the life out of the time I have with them and that included having them help make the meals they'll be eating while I'm at work. They like having some time with me. I have to admit, I adore having some time with them as well. So, this is my son aka Face. He's shredding the cheese and helping spread the sauce.

 I lay out enough pieces of foil to accommodate all the pizzas. In this way, we can make a whole bunch at once and have 10-12 pizzas on-hand for quick meals. This is great for camping too because the work is already done. I like not having to prepare food in the rough.

 Put a pita on each 10 inch piece of foil. Add sauce of your choice, just about 2 Tablespoons.

Put the children to work. They love this part!

 Top with cheese and your favorite toppings.

 Sprinkle with an outstanding Italian Seasoning. Um...I tend to lean toward my own blends whenever possible. Yup. I'm a fan.

 Now if you use a tomato based sauce, be sure not to use a foil to cover the pizza. The acid in the tomato sauce will react to the foil and make a terrible mess. It will taste horrid. I'm using a parchment lined foil. You can use wax paper here as well. Just cover the top of the pizza. Wrap the foil from the bottom around the pizza.

 Place in a gallon size freezer bag. We can usually get 5 pizzas in a bag. Freeze. I keep 3 or 4 in the fridge (up to 4 days) so the boys don't have to even defrost the pizzas. For camping, I always freeze them. This keeps them at a safe temperature and helps prevent food born illness. Remember the picnic food safety segment? It keeps them together and adds to the cold of my ice chest. For more information on picnic safety go here.

 To prepare, simply slip the pizza out of the wrap and place in a thick covered skillet. Mine is 14 inches and the bottom is thick enough to not burn the crust.

 The main secret is making sure the flame is low and letting them cook with the lid on the pan about 7-10 minutes.

 The cheese will melt and the pizza will have a crispy crust. It's just what we love in a pizza without all the trouble of baking it.

Ironically we find ourselves using this stove-top method a lot more at home than we do camping. After all, how often do we really go camping? On the other hand, when we have taken them camping we have been very excited to have pizza! This is great for a Dutch oven or even on "no burn days" here in Arizona when we have to use our Solar Oven. Tomorrow I'll be sharing a few new tips for camping as well as the fun Hobo Foil Dinner that my kids adore! I'm looking forward to an amazing segment tomorrow! There you go! Make skillet Pizza and don't forget to watch tomorrow morning! Always My Very Best, Your Friend Chef Tess

Chicken Noodle Salad

Hi!!! This is Dolphin Girl with what we're cooking in Shanghai China :D
This is a family favorite, Chicken Noodle Salad, My mom has been making it for I don't know a while. Now,  some people might look at the title and have an image of noodles, lettuce, and chicken in their mind. (maybe not, but that is what some people might think :D) But look at the recipe and you will see that it does NOT have ANY lettuce in it that might make it a regular salad, or else, I wouldn't be posting this on MY blog! I am one of the people who dislike lettuce (shudders) so sorry green-salad-likers I don't. Well anyway it is made up of Noodles, Chicken and a sauce with spices and seasonings in it. Now we weren't able to add any chicken, so it was just noodle salad, we didn't have any chicken just then. So here it is:

Chicken Noodle Salad.


1 lb skinny noodles, (it can be whatever kind of noodles that you want :D)
6 Tbs rice vinegar,
2 Tbs chili sauce (or chili powder whatever you have)
1/4cup oil,
5 Tbs soy sauce (now if you have gotten soy sauce from China, do about 3tbs of it)
2 Tbs sesame seed oil,
2 cups cooked diced chicken,
some basil. (as much as you want or need :D)


Cook noodles as directed. Mix with above and mix in the basil so that it is all over the noodles. Serve warm or cold. and here are some pics that we took of it:

Guess what this is?? post in a comment with what you think it is :D

Here's another guessing game :D guess what this is and the one above, and you Can't cheat by using Google Translate, it must simply be a guess :D

These are the noodles in a bowl, they were Very good, but  a little salty.

Ema Had to take a picture of Someone eating it, and it Had to be me :D Please just ignore Nathan in the background :D (I am thinking *Hurry up!!! And take it. It is HOT!!* :D)

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Okay kiddos...how many of you like cheese crackers? We make a lot of them at our house and I thought I'd give you  quick tutorial. You need permission from an adult/parent to use the oven or need to make them with a parent or adult. You'll need several sheet pans, a large mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, a rolling pin, a pizza cutter some non-stick spray for the pans. 

 As for the cheese crackers. Let's begin. As a random fact, mine don't have any fake stuff in them so they're good that way. I also like to see the cheese...so if you like an orange cracker, you may have to melt your cheese more than I do. 

 Chef Tess' Homemade Gourmet Cheese Crackers


1 cup freeze dried cheddar cheese (or 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese)
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour OR 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


salt and seasoning of your choice. I use Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning  


Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder. 

 Combine cheese and water. If you use fresh cheese, use only 1/4 cup water. The warmer the water, the better melted the cheese will be...but don't get it too hot or it will be gooey cheese. We want it to be able to blend. If using the freeze dried cheese, let it soak about 10 minutes.

Measure your pretty olive oil. I use Lucero Olive Oil because I adore the flavor. Make sure it's a good oil folks. 

 Combine the dry ingredients with the cheese mixture.

 Add the oil.

Mix until just combined. It only took about a minute.

Roll half of dough out on a lightly oiled baking stone. 

 Use a pizza cutter or a pastry cutter to cut the dough into squares.

 Prick with a fancy cracker making tool...like a fork.

I lightly mist the crackers with a little water from a spray bottle and then sprinkle with seasoning. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Mmm.

 I really love seeing the cheese in my crackers...but again, if you are more conventional...let the cheese melt a little longer.

There you go! Homemade cheese crackers. I'm looking forward to seeing all the ones you make!  Do you want the printable PDF for all the rest of the recipes for the class? Go here. Enjoy!




Thanks to Auntie Em!
 Get the printable of this tutorial:


cheese cracker tutorial PDF

Chinese Crepes

Hi!! This is Dolphin Girl :D
Now I know that there is already a recipe for crepes on this website, but I didn't put the recipe on here, just the pics about our crepe making adventures in Shanghai China.
And I know what you people must think, Chinese Crepes? There isn't such thing! But there is, This morning we were able to make a French dish, in China. And I was able to make them. I was taught (By Arizona's Chef Tess) that ANYONE can make crepes. They are one of the simplest dishes that the French could EVER come up with!!!  The recipe that we used was Stephanie Peterson's recipe for crepes.  Thank You Miss Stephanie :D


 And here are the pictures that I took of our crepes this morning:

this is the crepe in the pan, look at all the goodness:)

This is my dad, cooking crepes.

This is the table before we sit down to eat.

And this is the "Aftermath" of a successful  crepe breakfast

I thank Miss Stephanie for giving us that cooking class that also gave us the recipe for crepes. It was the one of the 3 best breakfasts I have had since we left America. And one of the 2 best breakfasts that the rest of the family has had since we got here:D Thank You Miss Stephanie :D

                       Dolphin Girl

A Challenge for My Bakeroose (Even in China!)

Tuesday's Tutorial is one I have been working on for a long time. I think a lot of times it easy to get caught up in my mind with a "this is how we cook" mental state. In the last few years I've studied and applied the use of  

Solar cooking , including the building of several different Solar Oven cookers.  I've come a long way since My first solar oven   

In that process I learned a lot. Number one, first and foremost...I can learn something new everyday.  Second...I should learn something new about how to cook food.  I'm a chef and as food is hard wired in my brain so is the absolute desire to see that people all over the world are blessed.  I have a vision of seeing lives changed every day through my efforts...and I hope you do too. I know that together, we can make a difference.  Wow. I just got really sappy right there.  {Insert suave eyebrow raise} I know.  I don't do that often.

So...my challenge to the Bakeroose...I want you to try cooking with a new method. The method is here: Heat-retention Cooking  

 These are the Zuni Gold beans. I think they're pretty. I'd hot glue them to my favorite funky-purse and wear them as a snazzy accessory...but I think today we'll just cook them instead. Right?{ I'm secretly stuffing some in my pocket of to my right side. Now I'm mystically waving my hands in front of your face. You didn't see anything.}

 Our Heat Retention cooking class starts NOW.  For more on this amazing cooking method look HERE. It's not, in fact, a new method!   I've used my solar cooker as a sun-less cooker! Yes...it can be done! You can cook without the sun too! It's been particularly off-n-on sunny the last bit so I wasn't sure if I could pull it off...but I did. So I'm showing you. I did the post on Using Your Sun Oven as a Slow Cooker 101
 but failed to mention what to do should the sunlight be intermittent or it get cloudy shortly into your cooking. Heaven forbid! Well...there is salvation. You who don't have a solar oven, can also still cook without one using this method.

 Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain. Add 6 cups more water.  Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes in a pot on the stove (or in the solar oven, cook 20 minutes until at 350 degrees.)

 At this point, let's hypothetically say that the sun goes behind the clouds. In Arizona we've had several days like this lately. Annoying. But...I've found this out...I can sitll cook the beans. Cover the pot quickly. The more full the container the better.

 Cover the pot with towels, tightly fitting them around the bottom and sides of the hot pot. If you don't have a solar oven, this method will also work using a hay basket lined with blankets.  For more on this amazing cooking method look HERE.

 Close up your solar oven and allow beans to cook for 1 1/2 hours or more. Up to 8 hours.

Okay. So that's your assignment. Those in China can do it too! Report back your results and things you've learned. I'm excited to hear how it goes.

There you go!...That means it's your turn my friends.
Lots of Love!
Chef Tess.