A Strawberry Sweet Treat

Strawberry Cream Cheese Crepes

By Tricia Monaco

You don't have to wait for strawberry season to enjoy this sweet treat. Just pick up some fresh strawberries at your local grocery store for this magnificent treat.

This strawberry sweet treat recipe belongs to my daughter-in-law Tricia.  She makes this tasty sweet treat with simple ingredients. The best part is that she takes the time to make her own crepes.  

This is a perfect dessert surprise for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Birthday. Or, impress your guests at your next Dinner or Luncheon date. They'll think you're a pastry chef for sure.

Ingredients:

Crepes:

1 cup of flour

1 cup of milk

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Filling:

8 oz. package of cream cheese

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

Strawberries cut in half

Caramel Syrup

Instructions:

• Combine flour, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl and mix until you have a batter
• Spray an 8" non-stick pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat
• Pour enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan
• Cook the crepes for a couple of minutes on each side, stack and let cool
• In a bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla, and mix until soft
• Fill each crepe with 2 tbs. of cream cheese, add a few strawberries, and roll
• Serve 2 crepes per plate and drizzle with the caramel syrup
• You can add whipped cream or more of the cream cheese mixture to the top if you like

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Making your own Crepes is easy

& 

HIC Crepe Pan, Blue Steel, Made in France, 8-Inch CookingEuro Cuisine CM20 Electric Crepe Maker - PTFE and PFOA

How Are Cigars Made?

A True craftsman hand-making cigars

Let's talk a little today about how cigars are made. There are three distinct methods, the hand-made, true to its name, the machine-bunched cigar, with the final wrapper completed by hand, and the machine-made cigar completely made by a machine. 

 Now just to let you know, I'm not any kind of expert on how to make cigars. Following here is what I've learned over the years from reading and enjoying many of my favorite cigars.

First some cigar vocabulary. Of course, there are two ends of a cigar, the Head is the end that you smoke and the Foot is the one that you light. The cigar is made up of three types of tobacco, The Filler, The Binder, and The Wrapper.


Filler - This is the center or core of the cigar, in premium cigars the filler is a long leaf that will run the entire length of the cigar. Smaller cut leaf fillers are used in the machine-made process.

Binder - This is the first layer holding the filler together, you want the binder to match the flavor of the filler. The binder also controls the burn rate and the aroma of the cigar.

Wrapper - The wrapper is the final touch to the handmade cigar. The wrapper can make up 60% of the cigar's taste. This is an art left to the most skilled craftsman in a cigar factory.

 Each wrapper leaf is trimmed to size by the roller. Then the roller adds a cap using a sticky natural gum tree substance to finish off his creation. This is only done after the cigars are placed into wooden molds and stacks. The molds are placed into a bunch press to apply just enough pressure to shape them to their size.

This is why a premium handmade cigar is so expensive, and why they are so pleasurable to smoke. Of course, this doesn't mean that machine-made cigars are no good, there are many machine-made cigars that will give just as much enjoyment.

Well, this is what I know about making cigars. Next time I think I'll talk about Humidors.

Did you enjoy reading about how cigars are made?



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Cigars-Give Me One Hour With A Good Cigar

Just some of my favorite cigars in my humidor

Cigar smoking has become a national pastime. At least I think it has because cigars have been around since before baseball. There is nothing that I like better than taking one hour with one of my favorite cigars.

Cigar sales were declining in the United States, but made a huge comeback in 1994 with over 8 million cigars sold, it was the 1st increase in sales since 1970. There are many books published today about the art of selecting and smoking cigars.

You might ask what is the best cigar? Well, that depends on you, whatever cigar gives you the sensation, contentment, and unforgettable pleasure of the smoke, that is the best cigar.

 I have a few favorites that I'd like to tell you about.  My 1st is H. Upmann, Petite Corona, and Lonsdale. They are made in both Cuba and the Dominican Republic. I'll be describing the Dominican, the flavor is mild to medium-bodied with sweet overtones. Did you know that President John F. Kennedy smoked H. Upmann Petite Coronas?

Next, we have Arturo Fuente. As of 2010, the Fuente family was producing more than 30 million cigars per year. The quality of the cigars is superior, and the flavor is medium to full-bodied. The one I smoke the most is Curly Head Deluxe, which is affordable.

Another great cigar that I like is the Aston, also made by the Fuente family. The quality is also superior, they have a rich medium flavor. My favorite here is the corona. The Aston was created by William Aston Taylor who was a fine pipe maker.

These are just a few of my favorite cigars, I'm sure that you have your favorites. All you need is your favorite cigar and one hour.

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