Tag Archives: Marcia Williams Cromer

Jan23

Chocolate-Caramel Trifle with Raspberries

Posted on by
Standard

Chocolate Caramel Trifle with Rasberries

Bad weather days require CHOCOLATE! Nothing improves my outlook on life like discovering new ideas for appreciating chocolate! This is a light dessert that’s relatively easy to make, but provides a very lovely presentation. Enjoy!

Notes: Make and cool pastry cream while cake bakes and cools. For a nonalcoholic version, substitute a hazelnut- or raspberry-flavor syrup for the liqueur; the trifle will be somewhat sweeter.

Ingredients

About 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature
About 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup hazelnut- or coffee-flavor liqueur (see note)
Caramel Pastry Cream (See recipe below)
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 oz.), rinsed and drained

Preparation

1. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Coarsely chop 3 ounces of the chocolate and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in a microwave oven on full power (100%), stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes total.
3. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium-high speed, beat 1/2 cup butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate.
4. In another bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, stir to combine, then beat until well blended. Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread level.
5. Bake in a 350° regular or convection oven until cake begins to pull from pan sides, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cake cool to room temperature in pan on a rack, about 1 1/2 hours.
6. Run a thin knife between cake and pan sides and invert onto a board to release. Cut cake into 1- to 1 1/2-inch cubes. Layer a third of the cubes in the bottom of a 3- to 3 1/2-quart trifle bowl or other straight-sided glass bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup liqueur evenly over cake. Spoon a third of the Caramel Pastry Cream over cake and spread level. Repeat to make two more layers each of cake, liqueur, and pastry cream, ending with pastry cream. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
7. Finely chop remaining 1 ounce chocolate or scrape into curls. Arrange raspberries on trifle and sprinkle chocolate evenly over berries. Scoop onto dessert plates to serve.

Caramel Pastry Cream Recipe Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 2/3 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Preparation

1. In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, tilt and stir sugar until melted and amber-colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour onto a sheet of foil (about 12 by 18 in.) and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Peel off foil and break caramel into chunks; put in a food processor or blender and whirl into a fine powder.
2. Combine milk and caramel powder in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart pan; stir over medium heat just until caramel is dissolved (it will form lumps, then melt; do not boil), 9 to 10 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks to blend. Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into yolks and whisk until blended, then whisk yolk mixture into pan and stir over medium-high heat just until mixture boils and thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Rub pastry cream through a fine strainer set over a bowl; discard residue. Cover pastry cream and chill about 1 hour, or nest bowl in ice water and stir until cool, about 30 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. Gently stir the whipped cream into the cool pastry cream.

Jan23

Balmain Pre-Fall 2014 Collection

Posted on by
Standard

I am excited about some of the designer clothes being shown for 2014. My affection for animal prints, ethnic and multicultural influences remains predominant, and I am happy to see the look evolve in such a sleek, understated chic manner. A true Parisian powerhouse, Balmain was founded many years ago by couturier Pierre Balmain, and was kick-started back into fashion-prominence in 2005 by the valiant Christophe Decarnin. Now with Olivier Rousteing at the helm as Creative Director, the label continues to deliver decadent rock-inflected glamour with ultra sexy, severe and distinctive collections for both women and men. I really like the styling of the garments which gives me ideas to reinvent items already in my closet.

Our love for Olivier Rousteing only deepens with the launch of his Pre-Fall 2014 collection. His aim was to push the idea that his brand is for women of different cultures, ethnicities, and price ranges.

The result was a sort of safari-meets-hip-hop aesthetic, which pulled inspiration from Peter Beard’s photography of Iman in Africa, back in her early modeling days. We can definitely see his muse Rihanna rocking the little miniskirts. Enjoy!

By Charlotte Pratt for Style Pantry
On January 21, 2014

Balmain_011_1366.683x1024_1Balmain_026_1366.683x1024_2Balmain_009_1366.683x1024_3Balmain_014_1366.683x1024_4Balmain_016_1366.683x1024_5Balmain_015_1366.683x1024_6Balmain_021_1366.683x1024_7Balmain_030_1366.683x1024_8Balmain_003_1366.683x1024_9Balmain_013_1366.683x1024_10Balmain_028_1366.683x1024_11Balmain_001_1366.683x1024_12Balmain_031_1366.683x1024_13Balmain_017_1366.683x1024_14Balmain_033_1366.683x1024_15

Jan23

LTD – Over The Hump Old School Sound Check

Posted on by
Standard

Happy Thursday!!

LTD is a favorite… A 1970’s band originally called Love Men Ltd., who would later become known as L.T.D. The band recorded hit singles such as “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again”, “Concentrate on You,” “Love Ballad” and “Holding On (When Love Is Gone)”. At first, Jeffrey Osborne was a drummer, sharing lead vocal duties with his brother Billy, but by 1978 he became the group’s primary lead vocalist. He and Billy both left L.T.D. in early 1980 to start solo careers.

Jan22

Italian Chocolate Panna Cotta

Posted on by
Standard

Panna cotta has become a very popular dessert on our shores these last few years, and for good reason. It’s a luscious, totally Italian custard, no eggs, just cream and flavorings. This is good served alone or with the slightest dusting of finely ground cocoa nibs or shaved chocolate. Panna cotta is usually vanilla—this one is for us chocolate lovers.

Panna cotta 3

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 tsp. plain gelatin
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese or additional heavy cream
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Instructions:
Coat four 5-oz. ramekins or 6-oz. custard cups lightly with flavorless oil.

Pour 1/4 cup of the cream into a small heatproof bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it and let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of hot water and stir until the gelatin has dissolved.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining 1 1/4 cups cream, the mascarpone, sugar and salt just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Add the gelatin mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until well blended. Pour through a fine strainer into a 4-cup glass measuring cup or a bowl with a pour spout. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins and let cool to room temperature.

Cover the panna cotta loosely and refrigerate until set and thoroughly chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 1 day.

To serve, dip the ramekins one at a time into a bowl of hot water for about 5 seconds, then run a table knife around the edges of the custard and invert onto a chilled serving plate.

Jan22

20 Things That Mentally Strong People Don’t Do

Posted on by
Standard

In my never-ending quest for positivity and motivation, I came across the following post and had a moment of confirmation. I hope that the message will do the same for you. #preachingtothechoir

Mental Strength

I often write about the things I believe we all should be doing, trying or experimenting with in order to maximize our success and happiness. However, it’s not always the things we do that make the biggest difference in our lives; it’s often the things we avoid doing that have the biggest effect. As human beings, we have a strong aversion to not doing; we feel that in order to produce results, there must be an initial action.

However, because we are almost always doing something, piling on more and more often has a negative effect, rather than a positive one. Among the mentally strong, there are several actions that are avoided in order to produce the greatest benefit in the shortest period of time. These actions are those that the mentally strong avoid, and that we should consider adapting as our own:

1. Dwelling On The Past
Mentally strong individuals focus on the present moment and on the near future. They understand that the past is out of our control and the far future is about as predictable as the weather this winter.
2. Remaining In Their Comfort Zone
The comfort zone is a dangerous place, a dark abyss where anyone who remains there for too long loses his or herself entirely. Staying within your comfort zone is giving up on life.
3. Not Listening To The Opinions Of Others
Only the foolish believe themselves to be sufficient in all regards. When it comes to brainstorming, ideas can’t so much be forced as they can be caught. A good idea is a good idea, regardless of whether or not you came up with it. Don’t let your ego get the better of you; if someone has great advice to give, take it.
4. Avoiding Change
What the mentally strong understand that the mentally weak do not is that change is unavoidable. Trying to avoid the inevitable is pointless. Therefore, trying to avoid change is pointless; it’s a mere waste of time and energy.
5. Keeping A Closed Mind
You don’t know everything. Even the things you believe yourself to know are likely to not be entirely true. If you keep a closed mind, you are preventing yourself from learning new material. If you stop learning, you stop living.
6. Letting Others Make Decisions For Them
Only you should be making your own decisions; you can’t allow others to make them for you. All this does is shift the responsibility from you to someone else, but the only person failing in the end is you. If you don’t have the courage to fail, then you don’t have the courage to succeed.
7. Getting Jealous Over The Successes Of Others
When others succeed, you should be happy. If they can do it, so can you. The success of others does not, in any way, lessen the chances of you succeeding. If anything, it should motivate you to keep pushing forward.
8. Thinking About The High Possibility Of Failure
Our thoughts control our perspective; our perspective controls our results. The mentally strong understand this and use this to their advantage. There’s always the chance you may fail, but as long as there is the chance you may succeed, it’s worth trying.
9. Feeling Sorry For Themselves
Sh*t happens. Life can be hard. People get hurt; others die. Life isn’t all roses and butterflies. You will fall off that horse again and again and again. The question is, are you strong enough to keep getting back on it?
10. Focusing On Their Weaknesses
Although working on our weaknesses does have its benefits, it’s more important to focus on banking on our strengths. The most well-rounded person is not the person that gets the furthest in life. Being average in all regards makes you average. However, mastering a certain skillset or trait will allow you to beat the competition with less effort.
11. Trying To Please People
A job well done is a job well done, no matter who is judging the final product. You can’t please everybody, but you can always manage to do your very best.
12. Blaming Themselves For Things Outside Their Control
The mentally strong know the things they can control, understand the things they cannot control, and avoid even thinking about that which is completely out of their hands.
13. Being Impatient
Patience isn’t just a virtue; it is the virtue. Most people don’t fail because they aren’t good enough, or aren’t capable of winning or succeeding. Most people fail because they are impatient and give up before their time has come.
14. Being Misunderstood
Communication is key in any properly functioning system. When it comes to people, things get a bit more complicated. Simply stating information is never enough; if the receiving party misunderstands you, your message is not being properly relayed. The mentally strong do their best to be understood and have the patience to clear up misunderstandings.
15. Feeling Like You’re Owed
You aren’t owed anything in life. You were born; the rest is up to you. Life doesn’t owe you anything. Others don’t owe you anything. If you want something in life, you only owe it to yourself to go out and get it. In life, there are no handouts.
16. Repeating Mistakes
Make a mistake once, okay. Make a mistake twice… not so okay. Make the same mistake a third time, you may need to consider giving up alcohol and drugs. You’re either stupid or permanently high.
17. Giving Into Their Fears
The world can be a scary place. Some things frighten us with good cause, but most of our fears are illogical. If you know that you want to try something, try it. If you’re scared, then understand that being scared of failing must mean that succeeding means a whole lot to you.
18. Acting Without Calculating
The mentally strong know better than to act before completely understanding the situation at hand. If you have time to ponder over something and cover all your bases, then do so. Not doing so is pure laziness.
19. Refusing Help From Others
You’re not Superman; you can’t do it all. Even if you can, why should you? If others are offering to help, let them help. Be social. Listen to their ideas and watch how they do things. You may learn something. If not, then you can teach them something and do what humans are meant to do: socialize.
20. Throwing In The Towel
The biggest weakness in all of humanity is giving up — calling it quits, throwing in the towel. The mentally strong go about things in such a way. Only do things if they are important to you; forget the things that aren’t important to you. If they’re important to you, then pursue them until you succeed. No exceptions, ever.

Credit: PAUL HUDSON • JAN 9, 2014

Jan21

Chocolate Brigadeiros from Brazil

Posted on by
Standard

Brigadeiros, or chocolate bon bons, were created in Brazil in the 1940s to support a candidate’s campaign who was running for President. This no-bake gooey, chocolate-y, caramel-y treat is super delicious!

Brigadeiros from Brazil 2

Prep Time: 45 min Total Time: 1 hr 30 min Servings: 40

Ingredients

2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts
1/3 cup chopped sliced almonds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chocolate candy sprinkles
1/3 cup colored candy sprinkles

Directions

1) Grease large shallow pan or platter with butter. In 4-quart nonstick heavy saucepan, heat condensed milk, cocoa and 2 tablespoons butter to boiling, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and shiny and starts to pull away from bottom and side of saucepan when pan is tilted. Pour mixture into shallow pan; cool completely (refrigerate to firm up faster).

2) Place remaining ingredients in separate small bowls. Use teaspoon or melon baller to scoop truffle mixture, then use greased hands to shape into 1- to 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll each ball in pistachios, almonds, coconut or sprinkles. Place in mini paper baking cups.
3Store tightly covered at room temperature up to 2 days or in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Tips
To make rolling the balls easier, chill the truffle mixture in the refrigerator until firm before scooping and rolling it. Toast the almonds and/or pistachios, if desired, before rolling the truffles. Put a variety of truffles in small gift boxes for friends and family.

Jan20

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted on by
Standard

From one dreamer to another… Thank you for your sacrifice.

MLK Day 6

MLK Day 4

Jan17

E&B World Music Showcase -Nina Simone

Posted on by
Standard

As most of my readers know by now, TenaciousM cannot be edited. What I like, I love and that includes people, art, chocolate and music. So I’ve decided to get a conversation going around some of the amazing music from around the world. Please feel free to share your thoughts and/or submissions for repost or shout out here at Egos & Buffaloes.

If I’m going to do my blog justice, I have to start with Ms. Nina Simone. Her musical influence reached worldwide audiences. When my parents used to listened to her I thought she must be the saddest woman in the world. But I realize now that Nina was soulful like no other. Nina Simone accomplished global appeal during a time when the fires of civil rights and women’s rights movements were just being stoked.

Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.

Born the sixth child of a preacher’s family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone was later told by someone working at Curtis that she was rejected because she was black. When she began playing in a small club in Philadelphia to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist she was required to sing as well. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendering of “I Loves You, Porgy” was a hit in the United States in 1958. Over the length of her career Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958—when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue—and 1974.

Between 1974-2003, Simone stayed in Barbados for quite some time. A close friend, singer Miriam Makeba, then persuaded her to go to Liberia. Later, she lived in Switzerland and the Netherlands, before settling in France in 1992. Credit: Wikipedia

Nina Simone’s relevance is still visible today. She wrote “Four Women”, a song about four different stereotypes of African-American women, and included the recording on her 1966 album, “Wild Is the Wind”. The following rendition of the song is performed by Ledisi, Jill Scott, Kelly Price, & Marsha Ambrosius during “Black Girls Rock” in 2010.

Jan17

Owning Leadership

Posted on by
Standard

Black Female Super Heros 5

As I’m sure that many of you can relate, I’ve had some awful managers over my career. It wasn’t until I became a manager that the definition of good vs bad leader became an acutely sensitive topic for me. The last thing I ever wanted to do was to suck at being a leader. And, it was at the point of questioning the difference that I realized I was still being influenced by my bad experiences with those hideously awful managers. I was experiencing a sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that made me run like hell from the next leadership role.

Even with the glaring “DO NOT DRAFT ME AS A LEADER” badge that I wear over my business suits, I continually find myself a habitual leader. Then, in my quest for clarity and self-realization, I found this quote and finally, finally, I get it. I understand why I actually am perfect for the role.

“Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration— of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.” -Lance Secreten

Jan16

South African Chocolate Crunchies

Posted on by
Standard

Africa produces around 70% of all cocoa beans so no wonder chocolate is popular here. Try this authentic South African Chocolate Crunchies recipe to bring a bit of culture and sweetness to your home!

South African Chocolate CrunchiesSouth African Chocolate Crunchies 2

Prep time › 10 mins
Cook time › 20 mins
Serves › 24 squares

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margarine
2 tbsp syrup
1 tsp baking soda

Ingredients for Icing:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients for the crunchies, except for the baking soda.
3. Melt the butter and syrup together. Mix in the baking soda.
4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix well.
5. Press into a medium sized greased baking pan, about 10 by 8 inches. Use the back of a spoon to press the mixture together and smooth the top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F.
7. In a bowl, mix together the icing ingredients.
8. Put in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth.
9. Pour the hot icing over the hot crunchies to cover their entire surface.
10. Cut into squares when cool.