Chocolate Bowls

It's hard to believe that I am thinking about food at this moment... considering the fact that I ate so much today that I feel like I might explode. But, nonetheless, I have some down time now that everyone is in a food stupor to post something I've been meaning to share for a few months now.

I absolutely adore making these cute little chocolate bowls. They are so easy and fun and they never cease to amaze. Because I always make and consume them within the same day, I don't worry about tempering the chocolate. I just try to be sure that I do not let my chocolate get too hot in my double boiler. The risk there is that too high a temperature can cause the chocolate to end up not hardening at all. Not a good thing, obviously.

Melt enough semi-sweet chocolate in a bowl over some lightly simmering water. Prepare a sheet pan with some parchment, wax paper, or a Silpat. The first step is to make a small puddle of chocolate that will become the base of your bowl. Keep the puddle somewhat small, you don't want it oozing all over the place!

Then inflate some small balloons. I use the size that you typically use to make water balloons. Obviously, you can make your bowls whatever size you want, but if you want to make small bowls, you want to use small balloons. Under-inflated balloons tend not to have a smooth bottom on them, which can deform your bowl. Dip the balloon into the chocolate. I usually dip a couple of times to make sure I have a good, solid coat. Too thin a coat becomes a nightmare when you go to remove the balloons later. You can dip the balloons with one even motion for a straight edged bowl...

Or dip them at an angle four to five times around the balloon to form a scalloped edge that is very pretty.

Place the dipped balloon into the puddle you previously poured. Usually, they stand on their own fairly well, but if you get a troublesome one, just hold it for a minute or two until the chocolate firms up a bit. (It's best to work with chocolate in a somewhat cool room).

When making bowls, always do a few extra because it is not unheard of for one or two to break one while removing the balloon. Place the tray in the refrigerator to harden for 30-60 minutes. To remove the balloon, be ready to work quickly! If the chocolate softens just a little too much, I find it makes removing the balloon more challenging. Take a straight pin and - pinching the top of the balloon - carefully poke a hole in it. Slowly let the air out. As the balloon deflates, you can start to peel it away from the bowl. Deflating the balloon too rapidly will usually result in a broken bowl, so go easy! Once the balloons are removed, chances are you'll want to keep them in the refrigerator. If you'd rather have bowls that are more shelf stable and can be made ahead of time, you can do that, you'll just have to be sure to temper the chocolate then. Serve with ice cream or mouse... or anything that goes well with chocolate and is served in a bowl!

Christmas Ribbon Jello Salad

This jello salad appeared on our Christmas dinner table every year growing up- and for good reason. Its delicious, festive, and easy to put together. I've probably made it for the last 9 Christmases in my own home since I've been married. Its definitely a great tradition.

courtesy google images

Christmas Ribbon Jello Salad

Becky Jewkes

1 3-oz. pkg. Lemon Jello

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

1 3-oz. pkg. Lime Jello

1 3-oz. pkg. red Jello (I use raspberry)

1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup fresh whipped cream + some for topping

Bottom Layer: Dissolve lime jello according to package directions. Pour into a 9X13 dish and set until firm.

Middle Layer: Dissolve lemon jello according to package directions. Let set until partially firm. Mix whipped cream, cream cheese, and pineapple and fold into the lemon jello. Carefully pour over first layer and set until firm.

Top layer: Dissolve red jello according to package directions. Carefully pour on top of the middle layer. Set until firm.

Top jello salad with thin layer of fresh whipped cream.

So Pretty!

I've posted a few times already about making these cute little jelly candies. I originally posted about the lemon ones, but recently posted about making them in orange and lime as well. Well, I finally had an opportunity to make all three in the same time frame so that I could photograph them together. How cute they turned out! Yellow, and orange, and green, oh my!

Sweet Fruit Muffin

Photo from Tasty Sensations blog

Super yummy!  I made these with a mixed frozen fruit from Costco...super good and nutritious feeling!

Sweet Fruit Muffins

Recipe from tastysensations.blogspot.com

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
2 c. fresh blueberries - rinsed, drained and patted dry
1 c. chopped strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray the top of a muffin pan with non-stick coating, and line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix together 1 3/4 cup of the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk and almond extract, mixing just until incorporated. Crush 1/4 of the blueberries and stawberries, and stir into the batter. Mix the rest of the whole blueberries and chopped strawberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of the flour, and fold into the batter. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar. Makes a dozen very large muffins, or 24 mini muffins + 6 large muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown, and tops spring back when lightly tapped (about 18-20 minutes for mini muffins)

Nantucket Cranberry and Blackberry Pie

                                       
                                                            picture courtesy of pioneerwomancooks.com


I wonder what the precentage of recipes on here are desserts? What does that say about us Jewkes women? We LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEEE sweets. However, ladies...the sweets are not lovin me back. So....come New Years lets get some low-cal, low fat stuff on here, alrighty? :) Anyway...this recipe is adapted from Pioneer Woman. Nuff said. Her's was just a cranberry pie but my sister-in-law Jen -who turned me on to the recipe- added blackberries and I LURV it. Its called a pie but its a lot like a cobbler. Its perfect for the holidays because it acutally uses cranberries which I never know what to do with but always feel like I should. Y'know?


NANTUCKET CRANBERRY AND BLACKBERRY PIE

■Butter, For Greasing
■1 bag of cranberries and one large container of blackberries
■1.5 cups Pecans, Chopped (measure, Then Chop)
■1 1/3 cups Sugar
■2 cup Flour
■2 cup Sugar
■2 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
■4 whole Eggs, Lightly Beaten
■2 teaspoon Pure Almond Extract
■1/2 teaspoon Salt
■Florida Crystals Demarara Sugar For Sprinkling (brand is important here: use florida crystals brand!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Generously butter two cake pans or pie pans. Wash berries and add cranberries and blackberries to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle on chopped pecans, then sprinkle on 2/3 cup sugar on each pie.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, 2 cups sugar, melted butter, eggs, almond extract, and salt. Stir gently to combine.

Pour batter slowly over the top in large "ribbons" in order to evenly cover the surface. Spread gently if necessary.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. 10 minutes before removing from oven, sprinkle surface with demarara sugar for a little extra crunch.

Cut into wedges and serve with ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

no-boil macaroni and cheese

Photo from plainchicken.com

I loved this recipe because I could cook it without boiling the noodles.  Super easy!

No-Boil Macaroni and Cheese  

Recipe from plainchicken.com
serves 8

1 (16 oz) pkg elbow macaroni
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups shredded cheese - I used a cheddar jack blend
8 oz softened cream cheese, cubed (I used light)
2 tsp onion salt
1 tsp dry mustard
fresh ground pepper
1/2 c flour

In a large bowl, stir together the macaroni, milk and chicken broth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together using a large wooden spoon. Pour into a very large, deep casserole dish. *Make sure all the pasta is covered.  It won't cook if it isn't in the liquid mixture.  I just pressed the noodles down in the pan until they were all covered.*  

Bake uncovered in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until pasta is fully cooked. Turn oven broiler on for the last two minutes of cooking time to brown up the top part of the mac and cheese. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Pumpkin Pie

Everyone has their favorite pumpkin pie recipe, I guess... unless you always get yours from the store. As a scratch cooker, obviously, I can't condone such actions. ;-) I am, however, a serious pumpkin pie snob. Pretty much, unless I've made it, I usually don't eat it.

I have a number of problems with most of the pumpkin pie out there, not the least of which is that canned pumpkin tastes, well, like canned pumpkin. It's the same reason I don't eat canned peas or green beans. Canning vegetables just changes their flavor and texture in a way I can't enjoy. I also often find other's pie too sweet. I don't like it savory, mind you, but I don't want it to be syrupy either. This started out as the recipe from the back of a can of Libby's pumpkin, I think. Then my mom tweaked it, and then I tweaked it even more. I really like the balance. I use the frozen pumpkin puree I put up every fall. The frozen, not canned, puree gives this pie a fresh flavor that can't be beat. To me, it's the perfect pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pie
Yield: one 9-inch pie

2 eggs
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (preferably not canned)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dry ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (one 12 oz. can) or light cream

Prepare a 9-inch pie shell. If you want to be sure your pie shell does not get gummy (see note 2 below), blind bake it first in a 425° F oven for 10-15 minutes lined with a little foil and weighted down with pie weights or beans. Let pie shell cool completely before filling. Preheat the oven to 425° F. In a bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently to mix. If you mix too aggressively, you will end up with foam on the top of your pie. It doesn't taste bad, your pie just won't be as pretty. Pour the filling into a prepared pie shell. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° F and bake for another 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serve well chilled.

NOTE 1: I also like to make this as a custard, where I simply make the filling and bake it in a dish without a crust. Use a 9x9 inch glass/porcelain baking dish or similar. Otherwise, make exactly the same as for a pie. It's a great, easy, treat to make year round!

NOTE 2: The picture above shows a pie crust that I did not blind bake first. I was in a hurry, so I skipped that step. See how the crust looks like it has two layers? The inside layer here was chewy and not flaky at all like the outside half. The pie still tastes good, but the crust is not quite as delicious. I strongly recommend blind baking first, if you have the time and patience. If you do go this route, be prepared to lightly cover the edge crust with foil as it may begin to darken too much toward the end of the baking period.

Gingerbread Cutouts

I've been in serious cookie making mode lately. Last week I made an army of these cute little guys for a "cookie caper" on base, where volunteers bring in homemade cookies and then they are packaged and distributed to airmen. (I also made a double batch of my sugar cookie holly cutouts.) What I love about gingerbread men is that the cookie is not overly sweet and has a nice spiciness to it. I often make and give them as gifts. They can be packaged in such cute ways and everyone loves to receive them!

The dough is very easy to mix. Probably the hardest part is grating the ginger, but a microplane makes short work of the task. Just be sure that the fresh ginger is ground into a paste; you want it to mix evenly into the dough. Mix the wet ingredients together first.

Then mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding the flour mixture to the wet mixture. I've tried a lot of gingerbread cookie recipes, and I love the combination of spices in this one.

Form the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap, letting it firm up in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Once it has firmed up, cut the dough into four or five large slices and roll one disk out at a time. Roll it fairly thin, about one eighth of an inch is best. Use a gingerbread cutter to make figures. Bake on a greased cookie sheet or a parchment lined pan. For best flavor, bake until the cookies are nicely browned. I've found if they are under cooked, the flavor is a bit lackluster.

Once they are baked and completely cooled, pipe decorations in royal icing (I use the recipe on the package of Wilton meringue powder). Let the cookies sit out for at least a few hours until the icing is dried hard. Then package them up! They keep fairly well in an air tight container. I like to maximize my time, so I always do the same decoration on them, but you can certainly get creative! You can use a variety of colors and small candy decorations if you want. Make your gingerbread army however you see fit!

Gingerbread Cutouts
Yield: approx. 70 3-inch cutouts

3/4 cup brown sugar, firm packed
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
3 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Beat the sugar and butter together until smooth. Add eggs, molasses, and fresh ginger. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Stir well. Add slowly to the wet ingredients, stirring until well mixed. Shape dough into a log and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least one hour. Slice log into four or five disks. Roll out one disk at a time. Roll fairly thin, about 1/8 of an inch. Place on greased or parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350° F for about ten minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool completely before decorating with royal icing.

Cinnamon and White Chocolate Caramel Apple

You guys...seriously. I just need to emphasize that this is one of the BEST desserts I have EVER had. Its amazing. I don't like green apples, don't love white chocolate and don't love cinnamon. Let me just say that the marriage of these flavors is intoxicating. Am I making myself clear? You may think you don't want these apples- YOU DO! I also wanna add that I did not take a pic of my apples b/c whenever I take pics of my food it never looks that good. So...I found this one which is....decent. Mine are prettier because I use demarara sugar (see pic above) and its very coarse and gorgeous!
             I keep on saying mine. I need to give credit where credit is due. I got this recipe from my amazing and talented cousin- Katie. And I have probably eaten 12 of these apples in the past couple weeks. I LOVE finding excuses to make them so I can eat them. I shouldn't admit that. Before I go any further though there is one thing that is absolutely imperative with making these: YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW ALL OF THESE TIPS/INSTRUCTIONS for them to turn out. Trust me. Me being impatient, I tried to cut out a few and they were ugly and the caramel was crispy not soft, etc. etc. If you have had problems with caramel apples before (as I have) if you follow these tips you won't! They will be gorgeous. And you MUST MUST MUST buy the coarse sugar. The texture and flavor MAKES these. Ok, do I sound crazy yet? Good. Because I am crazy over these apples. Moving on....

CINNAMON AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CARAMEL APPLES
INGREDIENTS
-One bag of Kraft caramels (Wal-mart sells the "chips" instead of the squares specifically for baking. They are awesome.
-5 medium granny smith green apples
-Popsicle sticks
-One package of white chocolate for candy making ("almond bark", "quick candy", whatever the store has)
-1 cup of demarara sugar (FLORIDA Crystals brand-- very important!...others brands taste different)
-1 t cinnamon
-1/4 t vegetable shortening

DIRECTIONS (listen up folks...do NOT stray from these directions!)
1. Wash and DRY your COLD refrigerated green apples. Insert sticks and make sure they are firmly in, tugging slightly. Make sure apples are fully dried before moving on to step 2.
2. Prepare your "space". Get out cookie sheet or some flat surfaced item (tray for example) that will fit in your freezer. That's right, your freezer. Spray surface with pam.
2. Melt caramels as directed on package. (I used microwave method and its great. Just be sure to NOT to overcook and stir every thirty seconds after the initial 1 minute. The stirring will often times melt remaining small chunks of caramel and you might not even need to put it back in.)
3. You need to work somewhat fast here. That's why we already prepared the tray/cookie sheet. Dip apples into caramel making swirling motion with your wrists. Lift up and let excess caramel drip for a few seconds and then take rubber spatula and scrape caramel off the bottom of the apple. Put on tray and immediately place in freezer. Do not wait until all the apples are dipped to place in freezer. I did this and that ruined it. Those first initial seconds are crucial to the caramel setting evenly around apple. Con't with the other apples  and carry each one to freezer and place on tray one at a time after dipping. Katie's little tip here was to have a sliced green apple spread out on a plate in slivers and she drizzled remaining caramel over those. Don't waste ya'll!
4. Prepare your cinnamon sugar in a bowl. Mix 1 c demarara sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon sugar. Leave the spoon accessible b/c you will use this to sprinkle sugar on top. Set a paper plate beside the bowl with sugar in it.
5. Melt the package of white chocolate in microwave. Add 1/4 t of veggie shortening for workability (its too thick without it. you can also use veggie oil but I prefer shortening). Cook in microwave at 30 second intervals. Chocolate gets hot spots in the microwave so this is super important. Stir white chocolate every 30 seconds. A lot of times stirring will melt the remaining small chunks of chocolate making it unnecessary to put back into the microwave.  Again, work fast here. Get the first apple you dipped off the tray (do NOT take tray out of freezer). Dip in DO NOT OVERCOOK. It just needs to be smooth.
           Go to the freezer and remove the first apple that you dipped with caramel. Dip in white chocolate let it excess drip for a few second and then scrape bottom with rubber spatula then hold apple over paper plate and using a spoon, sprinkle cinnamon sugar over apple generously. Do not dip in sugar. It doesn't work. This a very messy step and some white chocolate will drip off. That's why we are holding the apple over the plate and NOT the bowl with the sugar in it. Then run the apple back to the freezer and return it to the tray. Get the next apple and con't these steps until apples are covered in chocolate and cinnamon sugar.
6. Take remaining white chocolate and drizzle over the slivered apples then top with cinnamon sugar. Again, this is just to use all the ingredients and not to waste.
7. Let apples set-up in freezer for about ten minutes. Then transfer to fridge. These apples need to be stored in a fridge. If they are left out at room temp for a long period (we're talking hours here, not minutes) of time the caramel will slip off. But before you cut them, let them drop in temp a little. I usually let them sit out for about 10-20 minutes before I cut them. If you cut them too cold, the chocolate chips off in big pieces.

Now....Enjoy the most delicious apples you have ever eaten. And just so ya know, I had to make these three times before I got all the steps right and actually followed the directions and made the apples correctly. The tips work but don't be discouraged there is a HUGE learning curve to this process.

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

Mom sent me this recipe- they made it for Thanksgiving dinner. It sounds delicious and looks amazing. You can't go wrong with pumpkin and cream cheese.

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

1st Layer:

1 pkg. spice cake

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. water

3 large eggs

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and blend with electric mixer on low for one minute. Scrape down bowl and blend at medium for two minutes. Spray 9X13 pan and pour batter into it. Bake for 32-39 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool completely. When ready to assemble trifle, cut into 1-inch cubes.

Second Layer:

1 large pkg. instant cheesecake flavored instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

2 cups freshly whipped cream (unsweetened)

1 bag Heath Toffee bits (by chocolate chips in grocery store)

Combine pudding with milk and blend with whisk until it starts to thicken. Fold in whipped cream.

To assemble the trifle: Place 1/3 of cake into large bowl, followed by 1/3 cream mixture and then 1/3 toffee bits. Repeat two more times. Refrigerate.

Orange Dust Cookies

Hi Everyone!
Today's recipe is one of my favorite Mexican cookies! Polvorones de Naranja! Orange Dust Cookies. These delicious cookies are hard in a good way, they are very crunchy but as soon as you bite into them, they melt in your mouth, that's why they are call "Dust". These are a must Try if you are a cookie lover!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 a stick butter
zest 1 orange plus
3 tablespoons the orange juice
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Mix flour and salt together, set aside.

In an electric mixer at medium high speed, cream the vegetable shortening and the butter, blend until fluffy and creamy for about 4-5 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium low, and slowly add the sugar, blend for about 1-2 minutes or until the sugar is well combined with the rest of the ingredients.

Reduce the speed to the lowest, add the egg yolk, vanilla, orange extract, orange zest and the orange juice, blend for 2 more minutes.

Scrape down the sides, and slowly add in the flour mixture blend on low until well combine. Do NOT over mix.

On a floured surface roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 inch and start cutting your cookies with a cookie cutter.

Bake at 400ºfor about 18-20 minutes or until slightly brown. Transfer to a rack to cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

A few more thoughts on tempering...

In the first few months after starting this blog, I posted a whole series on making chocolates. In my Tempering Chocolate 101 post, I discussed the technique involved in making sure your chocolate cools in the right crystalline form. Improper crystallization results in the development of an unappealing fat "bloom" in the final product. The amount of bloom shown here is excessive, and is the amount I typically see - for instance - with the chocolate that is leftover after dipping truffles that gets collected and thrown in the back of the pantry for eight months. It also can happen with a chocolate bar that is left in a car on a hot day and then eaten a week later. While it doesn't look appropriate when making chocolate confections, I do think it's pretty in its own, strange way. It may have something to do with my geology background regarding the crystallization of minerals, but I find fat bloom in chocolate fascinating.

Unfortunately, it's not very fascinating when it happens to the results of my hard work. I try very hard to be sure my chocolate is in temper before I dip a batch of truffles. I made a batch the other day for the first time in a while. I tried some new things; I tried to perfect some old things. In the end, I decided I had a few additional thoughts to add regarding tempering:

• Tempering is a pain in the butt. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So I often catch myself pushing the envelope of what I deem acceptable when testing whether my chocolate is in temper. Tempering is a pain, but it's even more of a pain when you jump the gun and coat a bunch of truffles with chocolate that dries with horrible looking streaks, or - even worse - won't properly harden at all. In the end, it's always better to be safe than sorry. If you have to go through the procedure again to ensure a good temper, do it!
• I have found that I don't usually have great luck getting proper temper using the seed method (see my other post for a refresher). It's been three times in a row now of tempering chocolate when I try to do the seed method first, am not satisfied, and then go through the longer but very straight-forward seed-free method. In the future, I may just start with that method. Again, it takes longer, but you can be doing other things for the vast majority of the time.
• Although I described a series of things to look for to determine the level of temper in your chocolate, the frustrating thing is that you often can't be totally sure you got it right until the next day. Sometimes, it all looks right, but by the next day, those darn streaks have shown up! The moral here is that I never make truffles the same day or day before I expect to give them away. I like to be able to make sure that fat bloom doesn't show up after the fact!
• In my previous post, I only discussed dark chocolate. If you want to use milk chocolate or white chocolate, you still have to temper them, but they require slightly lower temperatures. As a guideline, use temperatures 2-3 degrees less than what you use for dark chocolate. Speaking of white chocolate... it's pretty darn hard to find real white chocolate these days. Virtually all white chips sold in stores today are not chocolate at all. You have to look closely. If it doesn't actually say "white chocolate" and have cocoa butter in the ingredient list, you are using a totally different beast. White "chips", such as Ghirardelli or Nestle, do not need to be tempered (but they don't really taste that good either). Real white chocolate must be tempered to ensure proper set up, gloss, and shininess. Baker's brand white chocolate blocks are the only real white chocolate I've seen around in a long, long time.
• Remember that chocolate can build up heat very rapidly. Be sure to heat it slowly. If you get impatient and crank the heat up too much, there will be too much residual heat and even once you remove the chocolate from the heat source, chances are it will continue heating another 5-10 degrees. So go slow and easy. Patience is key.
• Lastly, you really do get what you pay for. The cost of chocolate is typically proportional to how pure it is. Cheap brands have more sugar and other fillers in them and can be more challenging to work with. Most confectioneries use couverture when dipping truffles because it has more cocoa butter and is easier to work with and has a nicer mouth feel. Unfortunately, it's really expensive. I've had very good luck using Ghirardelli's 60% cacao chips and find it to be a nice middle ground compromise.

Five Star Berry Cobbler

I am frequently in the mood for cobbler. Over the years I have tried many recipes. All have been a little disappointing. On a funny note I remember I made one about two years and my dad teased me that it should have been called "essence of blackberry cobbler" b/c it hardly had any fruit in it. :) This one is called five star for a reason folks. Its from allrecipes.com and its rated five stars- literally. YUM! Everyone loved it. Oh, and one other thing is that cobbler looks gorgeous and looks like you spent a lot of time making it but we all know that cobbler is a cinch! I made a few changes. I doubled the crust on top, added coarse sugar, used frozen blackberries instead of fresh and the original recipe throws in a cast iron skillet with some complicated steps. Go ahead if you have one.

Five Star Berry Cobbler from allrecipes.com adapted by Claire
• 2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups white sugar, divided and coarse sugar to taste
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (any berries will work...or fruit for that matter. THAW a little if using frozen berries)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. In a large bowl mix the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/2 cup boiling water just until mixture is evenly moist.
3. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water. Mix in remaining 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, and blackberries. Transfer to frying pan and bring to a boil on stove top, stirring frequently. Transfer to 8x8 or 9x9 ungreased pan. Drop dough on the top of fruit mixture by spoonfuls. Sprinkle coarse sugar (demerara sugar is YUM) Place on the foil lined baking sheet.
4. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until dough is golden brown. (mine took slightly longer..maybe 30")

Serve with ice cream- DUH!

Pumpkin Spice Brake

                                                                     picture courtesy

I am not a huge fan of pumpkin bread (but its growing on me- no pun intended haha!). However, I LOVE LOVE LOVE spice cake. And the simplicity of this recipe caught my eye as well. This is a combination of a bread and a cake, thus the name "brake". Adapted from bloggingitswhatsfordinner.blogspot.com.

PUMPKIN SPICE BRAKE

1 box of spice cake (I used Duncan Hines)

1/2 cup oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
Demerara cinnamon sugar (see below!)

Combine demerara sugar  (see pic)and cinnamon to taste (about 1/4 c. sugar to 1/4 t. cinnamon). You can use regular sugar but this sugar is worth the investment- its amazing! I will be posting more recipes featuring this sugar later! You can find it next to the other sugars in the baking isle. The brand is florida crystals.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two to three bread pans. I used three pans and the bread was about 2-3 inches thick. Combine all ingredients in a bowl using a hand mixer except for water and cinnamon sugar mixture. Then add water.
Pour 1/6 batter into one pan, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar, then add 1/6 more batter. Then cover with cinnamon sugar. Repeat two more times to make three loaves. Cook for 40 minutes. Eat hot and spread each piece with butter.

Chili Potato Burritos

Photo from tasteandtell blog

Before you mark these off--listen!  These are really good and practically vegan, if you leave the cheese off.  These were a HUGE surprise.  They sound weird, but they are really, really good.

Chili Potato Burritos

Recipe from tasteandtell blog

makes 8 burritos
4 baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
milk and butter
1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup red enchilada sauce

Put the potatoes in a large pot of water and bring it to a boil.  Cook until tender but still firm.  Drain and mash, adding a bit of milk and butter.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup of the cheese, chili powder, cumin, and garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix in about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce.

Spoon evenly into tortillas and roll up.  If you are going to freeze them, this is the point where you would wrap them for freezing.  If you are eating them right away, place them in a baking dish and spread the remaining enchilada sauce on top.  Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350F oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Granola

Granola
Recipe from my MIL, Debbie Hutchings


8 c. oats (old-fashioned)
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. of any or all of the following:
       slivered or sliced almonds
       cashews
       sunflower seeds
       flaked coconut
       pumpkin seeds
       any other raw nut you desire
Mix well in large bowl.

In a saucepan heat:
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 c peanut butter
1/2 c. maple syrup
3/4 c. honey

Heat until bubbly then turn off heat and add 2 tsp.vanilla.  Pour over granola mixture.

Spread onto 2 extra large baking sheets.  Bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours.  Do not overcook.  It may seem moist, that's how it's supposed to be!  Let cool.  Put back into bowl and stir in:
2 c. craisins and/or your choice of any other dried fruit.

Store in airtight containers.

Breakfast Panini

Hi Everyone!
Today's recipe is a breakfast Panini! Super easy and a great alternative to start  your mornings!

Makes 1 panini (could be enough to feed 2 persons)
 Ingredients:

2 slices white old fashion bread ( or any bread you like)
1 egg
1 bacon slice (I'm using turkey bacon)
2 slices of cheese ( I'm using colby jack cheese)
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese
1 slice 1/4 inch thick of Smoke Turkey Ham
1/4 cup of baby spring mix (baby greens or lettuce)
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 of cup of green bellpeppers mix with onion (I'm using the frozen kind,use fresh if you want to.)

1 tablespoon milk
salt and black pepper to taste

Beat the egg with the milk and season with black pepper to taste and a pinch of salt. (Do not add too much salt, we will be adding some Parmesan cheese later on... and the cheese is kind of salty.) Set aside.

In skillet on medium low heat, cook the egg mixture for about 2 minutes, flip it around and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the Parmesan cheese over one half of the omelet, cook for 30 more seconds, fold the omelete in half, and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove it from the heat. Set aside for a minute.

Cook the ham and the bacon until slightly brown. 3 minutes on each side.
In the same skillet, melt the butter and cook the bell peppers and onions for 2-3 minutes, just to warm them through.

Let's build the Panini...

Spread the Dijon mustard over the bread slices.

Top one of the slices with the omelette, add the mixture of bell peppers and top it with a slice of cheese.

Top the second one with the ham, followed by the baby greens and the second slice of cheese, top it with the bacon. Put both sides together.

If you have a panini maker, go ahead and press your panini.
If you don't have a panini  maker, you can cook your Panini on a large skillet, a gridlle, a toaster oven or a regular oven.

On a skillet or a griddle: add a teaspoon of olive oil or butter, toast your Panini until golden brown on the bottom, flip around and  continue to toast the second side, press down with your spatula or with a second skillet to flatten it up.  Let the Panini get nice and brown on both side, and let the cheese melt. 3-4 minutes first side. Second side will take less to toast since it will be pressed down. (2 min.)

In a toaster oven or regular oven: Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Bake Panini until golden brown and the cheese has melted. (5 minutes) If you want your Panini to be flat like a Panini should be, just top it with a larger cast iron skillet as soon as it goes into the oven.

Classic Apple Pie

Because not everyone likes pumpkin pie, I decided to make an apple pie yesterday as well. It may have been the prettiest pie I ever made. A few years ago, I saw a picture in a magazine of a pie where the top crust was made of leaf cut outs. I guess because I more often make single crust pies, yesterday was my first chance to give it a go. It was so easy and so incredibly beautiful! The picture below does not do this pie justice. It was a work of art; I hated to cut into it!

As for making an apple pie, the best thing I ever changed about my technique was pre-cooking the filling. This step negates a number of potential apple pie problems I've had. When you simply throw the ingredients into the pie raw,you can't always be sure you have the right amount of sugar or thickener. The other issue is that when you put raw apples in the pie shell, their volume is much larger than when they're cooked; that usually means that the crust ends up "frozen" in place way above the actual end level of the pie. I hate it when you cut a pie and there is an inch of space between the top crust and the fruit! When you cook the filling first, the apples have already softened. When you place the top crust over it, you know that everything is in the place it will be once the pie is cooked. Just be sure you let the filling cool before adding it to the pie shell!

Classic Apple Pie
Yield: one 9 inch pie

Enough cored, peeled, and sliced apples to fill a 9 inch pie tin, mounded (use Granny Smith or another tart, firm apple, usually 5-10 apples, depending on size)
1/2-1 cup sugar
3-5 TBS flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 TBS lemon juice

Place apples in a large pot. Start with the smallest amount of sugar and flour; add the spices and lemon. Stir thoroughly. Cook over medium low heat, covered, until the apples are slightly soft and the juice is thickened. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. Taste. Add sugar and flour as necessary until the sweetness and thickness are right. Remember that the filling will be thicker when it cools than it is when it is hot. The apples do not need to be fully cooked, as they will continue to soften when baked in the pie shell. To reduce the chance of lump formation when adding more flour, add it by placing the flour in a small strainer and tap a small amount into the filling at a time. Let filling cool before adding to an unbaked pie shell. Pour cooled filling into the pie shell, cover with the top crust. Be sure there are vents in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. If desired, brush the top of the crust with an egg yolk wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 400° F for 25-35 minutes, or until the crust is nicely golden. Let pie cool before serving. Can be served at room temperature or chilled.

Artichoke Dip

One of my all-time favorite appetizers...

Artichoke Dip

Adapted from a friend

1 large can artichoke hearts, not marinated

1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1- 8 oz. package cream cheese

small can of diced green chilies, drained (I used 3/4 of the can)

pinch of garlic salt

Dice artichoke hearts fine. Mix together with everything else. Bake, uncovered, in flat casserole dish for 20-30 minutes at 350, or until bubbly. Serve with chilled vegetables or crackers.

Thanksgiving Dressing

I'm not a big fan of stuffing a turkey. I like mine a little on the drier side rather than a big ball of mush. So I tried this recipe last week for our feast, and I loved it! I couldn't find Mrs. Cubbison's herb dressing in the store, so I used the entire box of seasoned dressing and added my own herbs--sage, thyme, and celery salt.

Thanksgiving Dressing

Jessica Sedgwick

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups chopped celery, include leaves

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 box Mrs. Cubbison Herb Dressing

1/2 box Mrs. Cubbison Seasoned Dressing

3/4 cup cooked wild rice

3/4 cup dehydrated cranberries

3/4 cup chopped peeled apples

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Melt butter in 8-12 quart pot. Saute the celery and onions until limp. Add the herbed and seasoned dressings, rice, cranberries, and apples. Toss to mix well. Pour the chicken stock over the dressing evenly and toss to stir. Spray a 9x13 dish with non-stick vegetable spray. Lightly fill pan level. Do not pack. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Serves 8-10.

IHOP Corn Cake Pancakes

Photo from tasteandtell blog

Weird, right?  I know these sound crazy but they are really good and tastes a lot like the IHOP pancakes.  I would add more flour next time to the batter--I thought it was a bit runny.  I served it with the delicious buttermilk syrup.  Hmm...yummy!


IHOP Corn Cake Pancakes
Recipe from tasteandtellblog
Makes 16 pancakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter, melted


Preheat a griddle to medium.


Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
In another medium bowl, mix eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the milk, buttermilk and melted butter; mix well.


Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with the mixer until smooth. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.


Spray the hot griddle with nonstick spray. Spoon 1/4 cup portions of the batter onto the hot griddle and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side until brown. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Green Bean Casserole from Scratch

I have always been a fan of the idea of green bean casserole. I mean who wouldn't be? Fresh green beans swimming in a savory mushroom sauce with crunchy onions on top? Sounds pretty good when it's put that way, huh? Unfortunately, being a scratch girl, not only do I never have canned cream of mushroom soup on hand, I am not a big fan of it's commercial taste. The use of frozen green beans over canned was an automatic; there was no debate there at all.

Last week I decided to make my own green bean casserole, from scratch. What that means is simply making a homemade sauce versus opening a can. It's pretty quick and easy, and boy was it good! I'm going to make it again later this week for the big day. Here's how it goes...

Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
Yield: 8-12 servings

3 TBS butter
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup cream sherry
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups whole milk, warmed
2 1/2 lbs frozen cut green beans, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups french fried onions

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Melt butter in a deep skillet. I prefer using a stainless pan so I get better browning on the bottom, leading to a richer flavored sauce. Add the onions and cook over medium high heat until translucent and starting to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are tender and browned. Add the sherry and stir vigorously to deglaze the pan and lift up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together. Add to the skillet and stir to mix. Slowly add the warmed milk, stirring as you go to minimize lumps. Once all the milk is added, cook, stirring continuously until it just comes to a boil and is thick. It will thicken more as it bakes and then cools. Add the green beans and stir to coat. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x12x1 inch baking dish (or similar). Sprinkle the top evenly with the french fried onions. Bake at 375° F until bubbly through and the onions are nicely browned, about thirty minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

Pic courtesy of Pioneer Woman

I saw this recipe a couple weeks ago on Pioneer Woman and it just spoke to me. It looked so yummy and different and Fall-ish. I'm not a huge fan of pork and I really don't do roasts all that often any more, but I knew I just had to try this. I'll quote Pioneer Woman on this, "Oh, how I love life. For life includes dinners like this. " True, true, true. This was so different from any roast I have ever had. I loved the sweetness of the apples and the saltiness of the roast and onions. It's convinced me to start making roasts again (every once in a while isn't so bad, right?!).

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions
adapted from Pioneer Woman

• Pork Roast (shoulder, butt, or any roast you prefer)
  
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 4 cups Apple Juice
• 1 cup Beef Stock
• 3 whole Apples, Cored And Cut Into Wedges
• 3 whole Medium Onions, Sliced
• 1 whole Bay Leaf

OPTIONAL: Saute onions until brown. (Or you may just add them raw to the roast.)

To make the pork roast, heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Salt and pepper pork roast, then sear on all sides to give it some color. Reduce heat to low. Add apple juice, beef stock, apple slices, onions, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. (Or you may place in a 300 degree oven if you prefer.)

When the roast is done, remove the roast, apples, and onions to a platter. Raise heat to medium-high (to high) and boil liquid, reducing it until thick and rich. For a little extra thickness, whisk 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water with 2 Tbl flour and then whisk into gravy sauce.

Spoon thick sauce over the roast, then cut the roast into slices. Serve with apples, onions, and mashed potatoes.

Pear Pastry Pockets

Hi Everyone! Today's recipe is a very easy and delicious dessert, perfect for any occasion specially for the Holidays, it will save you tons of time and you will for sure impress your guests with this delicious pastry. (This idea was taken from The Costco Connection magazine issued Sept. 2011. I made some modifications but the idea came from the magazine.  My husband asked for this particular recipe, so I decided to share it with you all. All credits go to The Costco Connection Magazine for this delicious and super easy dessert!)

Makes 16 pockets
Ingredients:

4 large pears
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg beaten
2 packages puff pastry sheets
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine sugar and cinnamon together, mix well and set aside.

Wash the pears, cut them in half, remove the seeds, and then cut each half into 1/4 inch slices, cut the slices in half.

Pour the melted butter over the pear slices sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the pears. Combine and set aside for a minute.

Cut puff pastry sheet in half then each half in half. (it will make 4 equal size squares.)

Add some of the pears over each pastry square, sprinkle with a teaspoon of the sugar mixture.   Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash. Close the pocket by bringing the four corners of each square close together over the center of the pastry. Try to cover as much of the fruit as you can. Press down lightly to seal the pocket. Brush  with the egg wash.

Keep on repeating these last steps until you are done with all the pockets.

1.-place some of the pears over the pastry square
2.-sprinkle with 1 tsp. of sugar mixture.
3.-brush the edges with the egg wash
4.-close pocket by bringing all four corners of each square together
5.-Brush the whole pocket with the egg wash


Bake at 400º F for about 20-25 min. or until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Photo from tastykitchen.com

These seemed a little high maintenance, but they were easier than I thought they would be and they were really delicious.  The dough seemed to runny to roll in cinnamon but it actually worked well.  

Snickerdoodle Muffins

From tasty kitchen blog

Ingredients

• 1 cup Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 2-¼ cups Flour
• ¾ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¾ teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• ¼ cups Buttermilk
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• ⅔ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a muffin tin with liners. (I learned the hard way that they are too fragile for just cooking spray.)
In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.
Use scooper and plop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner.
When you have completed all of the muffins, sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops of all of the muffins.
Bake the muffins at 350ºF for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Baked Pull-Apart Pumpkin French Toast

I had my doubts about this recipe, but I made it this morning and loved it! It is really rich, so I didn't eat too much. My kids weren't big fans, but if you love pumpkin, this would be a fabulous Thanksgiving morning breakfast--tastes almost like pumpkin pie!

Baked Pull-Apart Pumpkin French Toast

adapted from SimpleBites.net

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 loaf hearty whole wheat bread, sliced
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup milk or cream
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions

The night before…

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, molasses and 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend.
2. Dip each slice of bread into the mixture to coat well, then place, one layer thick, on a 13×17 baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining pumpkin mixture on top of the bread.
3. Place plastic wrap over the soaking bread slices and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

In the morning…

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter an 8 x 11 baking dish. Mix together brown sugar with remaining teaspoon of spice blend.
2. Remove plastic wrap from the soaked bread and brush tops lightly with remaining 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle French toast tops all over with cinnamon sugar mixture.
3. Starting with the smaller pieces, arrange the slices of bread in the buttered baking dish, propping them up on top of each other until the pan is full. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are crispy.
4. Serve at once with pure maple syrup and whipped cream.