Enter to Win a Dr. Bob’s Donuts and Doyos Complete Starter Kit!
You might recall a few blog posts back a certain donut I made for Andy: Gluten Free and Vegan Banana Maple Walnut Donuts with Banana Date Filling using Dr. Bob’s Blonde Mix. That was fine, but what about me? 😉 This time I decided to make a donut with a few of my favorite flavor combinations: Hazelnut and Chocolate!
First, I made the donut base with Dr. Bob’s Chocolate Mix and a few other ingredients:
Donut Base:
Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup Chocolate Mix
2 Tbs Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Tbs Hazelnut Flour
2 Packets Stevia or Zylitol
Liquid Ingredients:
3/4 cup of Hazelnut Coffee (or regular coffee if you do not have hazelnut)
3 Tbs Nut Milk of Your Choice
1 Tbs Frangelico or Sugar Free Hazelnut Syrup
Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix all of the liquid ingredients in a smaller-sized bowl. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
I like to spray/grease my silicone pan with Coconut Oil Spray (which can be found at Trader Joe’s) before adding the donut batter to the it.
Then I microwaved for 2 minutes (yep, that’s all it takes) and the donuts were done!
Allow the donuts to cool, and for an extra flavor boost, poke holes in them with a fork, and using a pastry brush, dab them with more Frangelico or hazelnut syrup.
For the filling, I used a hazelnut spread called Nocciolata is Italy’s health-conscious answer for a chocolatey treat. Crafted using carefully selected ingredients, including dark chocolate from the Antillean Islands, Italian hazelnuts (with low-fat content), raw cane sugar, skimmed milk and Bourbon vanilla extract, this high-quality certified organic spread is also free from trans fats, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.
You can find Nocciolata on Facebook here, follow them on Twitter here and follow them on Pinterest here. You can find Nocciolata at Nugget Market!
Icing and Topping:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate or chips
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts
For the topping, I just melted a little semisweet chocolate, 1 Tbsp of butter and a tiny bit more of the Frangelico. To ice the donuts, I carefully dipped them into the melted chocolate and set them on parchment paper. I then topped each one with toasted, chopped hazelnuts, then returned to each donut with a final drizzle of chocolate on their tops, so that the hazelnuts would stay in place.
And here’s the delectable cross-section. OMG. 😛
The bad news? All of the Chocolate Hazelnut donuts have already been scarfed down and I don’t have any for you to sample.
The good news? You can try making your very own with the Dr. Bob’s Complete Starter kit that Dr. Bob’s Donuts and Doyos and I are giving away!!
YES! Dr. Bob’s and I are giving away a Dr. Bob’s Complete Starter kit! This giveaway is only for those who live in the Continental USA.
The Complete Starter Kit includes a 100% food grade silicone heart shaped Vitamold, a bamboo drying rack, and a vented lid. The complete kit includes a regular size bag Chocolate unsweetened, Chocolate Sweetened and the Blonde Mix. This kit has a retail value of $89.97.
To be entered in the giveaway, comment below and tell me what kind of donuts you would create with your kit. Then for extra entries and an increased chance of winning the kit:
Like the Dr. Bob’s Donuts Facebook page and leave me a comment that you did.
Like the CAVEGRRL.COM Facebook page and leave me a comment that you did.
Follow CAVEGRRL on Instagram and leave me a comment that you did.
Follow Dr. Bob’s Donuts on Instagram and leave me a comment that you did.
Share this post on Facebook!!
You have until Friday, February 27th to enter! I will pick a winner at random on Saturday, February 28th and announce it on my Facebook page. Again, you must live in the Continental US to win and you must LOVE donuts!
GOOD LUCK!! 🙂
Dr. Bob’s Donuts and DoYos is located at 336 Lincoln Street in old town Roseville. They are open 7 am to 5 pm Tuesday thru Sunday. For more information, you can call them at 916-742-5241. You can find Dr. Bob’s Donuts and DoYos and tons of photos/ideas for donut creations on their Facebook page here and you can follow them on Twitter here. You can also follow them on Instagram here! 🙂
Valentine’s Day Our Way
We had a wonderful Valentine’s Day this past weekend. Andy and I decided to stay in and cook for each other instead of battling the landmine of multi-course (no substitution) wheat, sugar and dairy heavy pre-fixe menus arranged by local restaurants.
And deciding to avoid the crowd and the high cost of dining out (both to the wallet and to our waistlines) it turned out to be a great decision, because I had one of the most fun Valentine’s in years. 🙂
We decided we would each make one dish (paired with a wine) for the other person, and then eat them together family style.
I made this Chicken Korma for Andy, with a 4-ingredient gluten and dairy free naan to eat with it.
Andy made me one of my favorite things that he makes a few other times a year: Eggplant Moussaka. He uses the Primal recipe that can be found here at Mark’s Daily Apple.
I bought the ingredients for the Chicken Korma dish at Nugget Markets, and the rest of the ingredients needed to complete our dessert, a Black Bean Brownie mix I was sent by Breads from Anna.
The gluten free mix contains powdered honey, cocoa powder, tapioca starch, arrowroot, millet flour, chia flour, chickpea flour, navy bean flour, pinto bean flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum, so I was pretty happy to make it. All I did was add some coconut oil, a cup of coffee, and a can of organic black beans (following the package intructions).
I baked them in a cupcake pan (because portion control, baby!) and when they came out, I poked holes in the top and drenched each one with Kahlua. Kahlua makes everything taste better. 🙂
Then I frosted them with melted semisweet chocolate, and decorated them with coconut manna that I had melted a bit and sweetened with stevia (and colored with a few drops of food coloring to make it pink).
I made this candle holder for the table to sit out on every anniversary or Valentine’s Day. It’s made from 36 corks from bottles of red wines we have enjoyed together over the past three and a half years.
I made it with a glass plate, glue gun and ribbon for less than $10, including the candle. 🙂
This blog entry would be incomplete if I didn’t mention the wines we drank with dinner!
To start things off right, we toasted with a glass of Ayala Champagne. Because you should drink Champagne and not sparkling wine on Valentine’s Day! 😉
The next wine to the right is a Riesling made by Gainey. You can find their current release of Riesling here. The 2004 on the bottle worried me slightly, as I thought it might have been over-the-hill, but it still tasted great and was a perfect match for the Chicken Korma.
Then, with the Eggplant Moussaka, we drank a 2011 Stag’s Leap Petite Sirah (one of Andy’s favorite wines I had bought for him for Christmas). I would say this Petite Sirah is for you if you think you don’t like that particular varietal—because Stag’s Leap makes theirs so…velvety, soft and sophisticated.
You can find Breads from Anna on Facebook here, and on Twitter here.
Thanks again to Nugget Markets for sponsoring our stay-at-home Valentine’s celebration. You can find them on Facebook here and on Twitter here.
Drink Wine Day is February 18th, Celebrate with Tandoor Chef and Win a $250 Wine Gift Card
Indian cuisine is one of the most interesting food and wine pairings. Tandoor Chef has recently developed a pairing tool to help you choose the best compliment (wine or beer) to their restaurant quality authentic Indian cuisine.
And to celebrate the upcoming National Drink Wine Day on February 18th, my friends at Tandoor Chef are giving away a $250 wine gift card. You can enter by clicking this link!
The purpose of National Drink Wine Day is to spread the love and health benefits of wine. Wine has played an important role in history, religion and relationships. We embrace the positive benefits of wine such as new friends, reduced risk of heart disease and the enhancement of food and life. I really didn’t need another reason to drink wine, but whoever came up with this holiday deserves a pat on the back and a big bottle of 2008 Opus One. 😉
Speaking of enhancement of food, Tandoor Chef has developed a line of gluten free items, which I will be reviewing very soon and doing a wine pairing of my own. They also have 11 selections under 300 calories per serving for those of you watching your waistline.
You can find Tandoor Chef on Facebook here, follow them on Twitter here, on Pinterest here, and on Instagram here.
Hope you’ll join us for National Drink Wine Day on February 18th and enter to win(e)! 😉 Good luck!
Exploring Russian River Wineries and a Stay at the Applewood Inn
The Applewood Inn is a lavishly restored the historic Mission-Revival home built in 1922 by Ralph “Rooster” Belden for his wife Gretchen “Pet” and their son John “Bunny” Belden. It was purchased in 1985 by Jim Caron and Darryl Notter and converted into an Inn. The Applewood began its first for guests only, dinner on Thanksgiving Day 1985. Christmas and New Year’s Day dinners followed in quick succession and the inn’s reputation as a place to dine as well as stay rapidly began to take form.
This Boutique Wine Country Inn, with its now 19 rooms and suites, a fine food restaurant, and spa, is located one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the heart of the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir growing region. We stayed in room sixteen: Siena and Il Terrazzo di Amore. It’s located atop the Piccola Casa, and was designed with honeymoons and lovers in mind. 🙂 It features a king size bed with a Tempur-Pedic mattress, lofted ceilings, a dual head shower for two, a gas fireplace, and a private terrace.
The terrace showcases a couple’s “love triangle” hot tub, a fire pit table, and a fountain. This suite and terrace is the perfect hideaway for a romantic wine country interlude.
Breakfast is included with every stay and is served exclusively inn guests. It is served from 7:30-10:00 am at the restaurant.
The Applewood has chosen the finest organic coffees and teas from local artisans, and upon entry for breakfast guests are welcome to serve themselves at the bar and then take a seat at any of the tables that have been set. A two course breakfast is then served your table by the breakfast team.
As an alternative to the main course you may order eggs (any style) with toast and bacon. Included in your breakfast at no additional charge you may order: apple, cranberry or orange juice, espresso, cappuccino or latte, hot chocolate or mocha, or sparkling wine (Mimosas!!)
The second night of our stay (Sunday evening), we ate in the hotel’s restaurant, which has been awarded One Star by the Michelin Guide for 2011 and 2012. Sunday is local’s night and there is free corkage on All Russian River AVA Wines, as well as a $35.00 Per Person three course dinner available.
We had been wine tasting and shopping earlier in the day, and chose a bottle of Iron Horse Estate Pinot Noir (2012) to bring with us to enjoy the free corkage promotion with our dinner.
For our appetizers, we chose the Dungeness Crab: fresh crab, tomatoes, fennel, mushroom dashi stock.
And a beet salad with radish and chorizo:
For our entrées, Andy selected the Grimauld Farms Duck Breast with celeriac and chestnut puree, swiss chard cipollini onions, and a pinot-cherry jus:
And I ordered the Coffee Crusted Creekstone Ranch Ribeye: baby rocket, pommes anna, point reyes blue cheese marchand de vin:
The dinner was marvelous and very romantic. It was so convenient that our room was just a quick few steps back from the restaurant and we didn’t have to drive back.
I mentioned earlier that we had been wine tasting on Sunday, and I would like to mention some of the stops we made. Mainly because I truly enjoy the wines of the area and hope you’ll take my recommendations on where you should visit if you go!
Stop #1: Iron Horse Vineyards: Not only do they make some of the best sparkling wines I have ever tasted, they also make still wines from their all estate grown grapes: chardonnay and pinot noir. (You can find them on Facebook here and on Twitter here.)
Stop #2: Martin Ray Winery: This winery covers pinot noir, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot with skill. (You can find them on Facebook here and on Twitter here.)
Stop #3: Moshin Vineyards: I discovered Moshin wines at Sacramento restaurant (and my loyal advertiser) Piatti. So, when I found out Moshin had a tasting room nearby, they became the last stop in our afternoon of tasting. My favorite in their current release of red wines is the 2010 Lost Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast. (You can find them on Facebook here and follow them on Twitter here.)
On Monday morning before heading home, Andy and I ran the trails at Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, just a quick drive (about 3 miles) from the Applewood Inn. It was so scenic. The trees were unbelievable! 🙂
Thank you to the management at Applewood Inn. We had a wonderful time and I am blessed to let my readers in on a new place to visit in wine country! You can find the Applewood Inn on Facebook here and follow them on Twitter here.
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