Kate's Plate

Pin Recipes

2012-01-24T15:38:00.005-06:00

Hi.

It's been a rather hectic week for my household and to be honest, I've baked/cooked very little.

But in recent weeks, I've tried some pinterest recipes.

Oh they are all yummy. Pinterest is bonny eye candy. It's so easy to look at and feel happy. And I want to try everything on there I see.

Are you a pinterestholic??

I kinda am. No shame in conceding that little guilty pleasure. But I allow only a few minutes every or every other day. Or else I'd pin the entire internet.

Especially for those darn recipes. I must say, those cake batter pancakes we did for a recent 30th birthday within our household were an utter smash. Do try, do try.

ENJOY and hope yours is a happy, wonderful week!!

Buttermilk Syrup

2012-01-16T14:39:00.002-06:00

All I can say is, you’ll be glad you made it.

Think, melted butter flavor with a caramel texture, in a pretty light amber color.

Think, heaven poured over pancakes. Waffles. Ice cream. Bread Pudding. Oatmeal. Anything would be insane good times 100 with this drenching it.

Buttermilk Syrup

{Keeping Up Cookbook}

½ cup butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 TBSP corn syrup OR real maple syrup

¾ cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan (trust me, you’ll want it large), bring the butter, sugar, corn syrup, buttermilk, and baking soda to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to turn golden brown (the mixture will bubble up)- about 5 ish minutes. Remove from the heat, and add the vanilla. Skim the foam off the surface. Refrigerate until ready to use (it will thicken the longer it’s in the fridge).

Garden Chowder

2012-01-13T15:33:00.004-06:00

I sat sweating like an Olympic track athlete as the interview questions came pounding on me. "What is a roux"?... asked the Chef.

"Ahh.mmm..... fancy French talk for some concoction".. was my approximate reply.

I got a laugh from it. Or a sharp crusty... can't quite recall...

.. anyhow, later on the job in this wonderful restaurant, I learned what it was and would see Chef make roux many times to create a host of soups and sauces. Ever since then I have been a believer in roux. It makes everything better, because essentially, it's butter and flour, and then liquid added to make a creamy and rich liquid, serving as the base to many a things. And in that, I would run a campaign with Paula Deen on why butter makes life better.

This deliciously addicting and partially healthy (hoorray!) soup, has a roux base to it and then gains even more richness from the evaporated milk and later-added cheese. It's so flavorful- the whole thing, you'll eat at least two bowls in the first sitting. These colder winter months and shorter sunshiny days really beg for something comforting to eat and lemme be the first to inform you, that this is perfectly winter appropriate.

My cousin recommended this recipe to me some time ago, and then I've seen it in a few cookbooks recently.

I can see why now.

A favorite soup. Definitely.

It goes something like this:

Garden Chowder

3 TBSP butter (yes, the real deal stuff)
1 onion

2 zucchini

3 large carrots

¼ cup freshly cut basil

¼ cup freshly cut Italian parsley

1/3 cup flour

3 cups chicken stock

1 can evaporated milk

1-2 large handfuls of cheese ( I used an Italian shredded mix, but use whatever you wish)

1 cup white corn, thawed and drained

2 tomatoes, diced (remove the inner seeds)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, zucchini, carrots, and herbs in the 3 tbsp of butter until mostly tender. Add the flour and stir until everything is coated. Slowly add the chicken stock and bring to a boil- allow it to simmer and medium high heat for 20 ish minutes. Now add the evaporated milk, cheese, corn, tomatoes, and seasonings and allow to cook through for 10 minutes or so, stirring often.

Serve warm. Bon Appetit!

Wicked Marshmallow Brownies

2012-01-09T11:53:00.002-06:00

Have I posted this recipe already? Honestly, I cannot remember. But I know this isn't the first time I have made these so-called "wicked marshmallow brownies" and I know that this isn't the last time you'll hear me talk about them.

Why?

Because, imagine: moist brownie layer underneath, suffocating by creamy and oozy melted marshmallow layer atop, and then drowning in a rich and chocolatey, but not over-the-top glaze. SLURRRRRRPPPP!

Most of the time, if you place a homemade cookie and a homemade brownie in each of my hands, I'll tell you what I'd go for first: the cookie. Always. I am just not a huge brownie fanatic by nature nor do I regularly crave them, but believe you me, these little wicked souls might change that drastically overnight. They are really a brownie WORTH eating- I have always thought brownies fell under one of two categories: dull dry and gross OR superbly delicious to transcend any other sweet in existence.

What are you waiting for? Go, hurry! Deliciousness is right at your fingertips!

Wicked Marshmallow Brownies

{Keeping Up Cookbook}

1 cup (2 sticks), butter melted

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups flour

2 ½ cups mini marshmallows

Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, extract, and cocoa powder until smooth. Add the flour and salt, mixing just till combined. Bake in a greased 9 x 13 glass pan at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes (mine were just slightly undercooked at 20 minutes and I put the marshmallows on top right then and let them cook for a total of 22 minutes- they were perfect, but ovens vary, so do pay attention!). Immediately top the brownie mixture with marshmallows and bake an additional 2 minutes. Use a knife dipped in water to spread the marshmallows evenly- cool completely, then frost.

Frosting:

¼ cup butter, melted

2 Tbsp milk

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 ¼ cups powdered sugar

Whisk ingredients until smooth. Pour over marshmallow layer. Slice and serve!!!

Lemon Madeleines

2012-01-05T16:46:00.002-06:00

A wish came true on Christmas morning.

I opened up my long-anticipated Madeleine pan.

I've been wanting one for years, which makes me wonder why in the heck I didn't just go out and buy one because heavens, they are about as expensive as a trip to Cafe Rio. Well, nearly. I suppose it's just more fun when someone buys it for you, wraps it up and surprises you.

Madeleines are petite sponge cakes that are eaten like a cookie- they go perfectly between your thumb and index finger and in about 3 bites, are goners. They are so pretty, so aromatic, and frankly, make me feel like I'm a mile away from the Eiffel Tower.

.. which, is never ever a bad thing.

Cannot wait to make another batch- these ones went straight over to a New Year's game-night extravaganza!

Lemon Madeleines

{Williams Sonoma}

2 eggs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

and cooled

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Using a pastry brush, heavily brush softened butter over each of the 12 molds in a madeleine pan, carefully buttering every ridge. Dust the molds with flour, tilting the pan to coat the surfaces evenly. Turn the pan upside down and tap it gently to dislodge the excess flour.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granulated sugar and salt. Using a wire whisk or a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat vigorously until pale, thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg mixture and stir or beat on low speed to incorporate.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the lemon zest and half of the melted butter just until blended. Fold in the remaining melted butter.

Divide the batter among the prepared molds, using a heaping tablespoon of batter for each mold. Bake the madeleines until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 8 to 12 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a wire rack, then rap it on the rack to release the madeleines. If any should stick, use your fingers to loosen the edges, being careful not to touch the hot pan, and invert and rap again.

Let the madeleines cool on the rack for 10 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the tops with confectioners sugar and serve. Makes 12.

Olive Oil Muffins

2012-01-03T22:20:00.003-06:00

I have the public library to thank for the bounty of good recipes I get. My two little darlings and I have a routine: we go there and get them the Mt Everest-stacked high stack of children's books, 1 cookbook for me, and then we bring them all home, read the life out of them, and then three weeks later, return, and do the same thing all over again. It's a system I'm quite fond of.

Fate must collide with my luck whenever I return to the library because I always seem to have impeccable timing when all the "good" cookbooks are back in stock there. One of Giada de Laurentiis' newer cookbooks sat waiting on the shelf and I instantly checked it out. This gem of a recipe was located right inside towards the front and it grabbed my attention immediately, almost as if the words, "olive oil muffins" were flashing at me like Las Vegas neon lights. Desire and curiosity go well together.

You would never really expect to soil your muffin batter with olive oil, would you?? Me neither. Yet, it provides moisture: light, spongy, somewhat flavorful, moisture. I love the unpredictable crunch from the smooshed up almonds and the fresh zest of lemon and orange in abundance. I would sit and zest the skin off lemons and oranges all day if I had no other life- there is nothing to compare with that aromatic scent of citrus... AHH. It's what heaven will smell like.

Lastly, everyone who has sampled these muffins seems to say the same things: "Wow. I would've never thought.... soo delicious.. ...so moist...... so flavorful". And if you think I mis-typed the recipe, well, I didn't.... the muffins really DO call for balsamic vinegar too, which seems a bit counter-intuitive, but fret not, you don't taste it whatsoever.

Yup. I can't keep this recipe to myself. I hope you'll try them asapers!

Olive Oil Muffins

{Giada De Laurentiis}

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons whole milk

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Powdered sugar, for sifting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vinegar and milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Crush the almonds with your hands as you add them to the batter and stir until mixed. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for 5 more minutes. Sift powdered sugar over the muffins and serve.

Peanut Butter Fudge

2011-12-26T22:35:00.006-06:00

Did you have a merry weekend? I sure hope so. I just love Christmas, and the day after is usually such a let-down. All that hype, all the decorations, that glorious music, the preparation, all the wonderful good tidings.... gone---for another 365 days--- but then I console myself in the fact that if 2012 evaporates into thin air is fast as 2011 did, then we'll be right back at this spot talking about Christmas in no time.

One of our neighbor gifts distributed this year was peanut butter fudge. It has got to be one of my favorite little treat recipes because the output is so much greater than the input. You spend a wimpy 5 minutes tops making it the mixture, and believe me, it's so easy a first grader could do it, BUT then the results are magnificent and last for days. Well, hours if it's not going to anyone else, that is.

If you are the one required to bring dessert to your next party between now and Jan 1, I'm telling ya, this recipe would be a really good candidate....

..just be sure to not over-add the powdered sugar- it will result in a crumblier fudge as my picture kinda depicts (not the worse thing in the world, but eh..).

Peanut Butter Fudge

8 oz. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

16 oz. confectioners' sugar

Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Lightly grease with butter. Combine the butter and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave, stir, and microwave on full power for 2 minutes more- watch out and be careful as the mixture SHOULD be boiling hot.

Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave. Add the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar to the bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until evenly combined. The mixture will become difficult to stir and lose its sheen.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Place an additional piece of parchment directly on the surface of the fudge. Refrigerate until cool, at least 2 hours. Use a large knife to cut into 1-inch pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Holiday Peppermint Meltaways

2011-12-21T22:09:00.003-06:00

Every time the yuletide season rolls around, I always feel like I have to "up" last year's cookie recipe. It's an odd mental mini-civil war within my head that I cannot with reason, explain logically.

Well, eat your heart out 2010. I think I have my new favorite Christmas cookie recipe: peppermint meltaways with freshly dashed peppermint pieces all over it. Kleenex. Kleenex please my mouth is drooling.

Anyway. Need I fawn more over these?? And have you ever had a meltaway before by the way? They live up most accurately to their name. Melts.right.in.your.mouth. Instantly.

This post shall end here. There is a craving firing within me for another one of these. Must quickly gallop downstairs and answer that craving.

Holiday Peppermint Meltaways

{Land O Lakes}

Cookie:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 TBSP butter, softened

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 to 3 drops red food color, if desired

Candy canes or hard peppermint candy, crushed

Combine butter, powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour and cornstarch. Beat until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate until firm (30 to 60 minutes).

Heat oven to 350°F. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand for a couple of minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and just enough milk for desired consistency (I like the frosting thicker) in a small bowl. Stir in food color, if desired. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy.

December Fruits

2011-12-20T14:29:00.005-06:00

Right now as I type, my 3 year old is singing the happy birthday song to Jesus. I'm melting, I'm melting.

How Christmas has sprung up so rapidly I do not know. But I hope to squeeze in at least a few more posts of treats that we've been baking and trying around here before Santa comes. Man, my pants are getting smaller and smaller as we speak.

Here for the moment is a simple little fruit recipe we eat during these colder months of sans strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon. It's sweet and tart and creamy and affordable because most of it is completely seasonal. My local grocery store has had a lot of sales on blackberries lately, which I just hop right all over.

Since you can basically make the recipe from the image, I'll add in some extra help and tell you how to do it. Peel a clementine, set aside. Peel and slice banana, set aside. Cut the outer skin of a ruby red grapefruit off and cut it into segments. Toss all of this together as well as a pint of blackberries. Sprinkle a tiny sugar over it.

And if you want to really go over the edge, throw this over some thick yogurt and drizzle a trifle of honey over it. It's the best winter breakfast ever.

Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies with Icing

2011-12-13T21:35:00.002-06:00

We all have things in times of crisis we turn to for relief, for me, it's always either cookies or running, which, seems a bit paradoxical. But, hey, it's the truth.

Today was a day in particular that was crying for one of these two. A long-anticipated December snowfall gently swept its way over our suburb and was a most welcome sight from my window panes. And seeing that it's halfway through the month (nearly) and I've made no cut out cookies yet seemed alarming and panicking. Anyway, not that you need to know the preface as to why I impulsively made cookies- sometimes a girl just has to bake. And today it had to be without real reason.

This recipe you can find in the December issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart- that cute little pocket-size monthly magazine chock full of recipes galore. They are so easy to make it's almost embarrassing how effortless it was (oh, I meant before the frosting scene!) and honestly, if you just make the dough and never get around to baking them off, you'll be quite happy picking at what you have. Soft, incredibly tasty, incredibly-Christmasy-tasting dough. I'm quite content that I saved the second half of the dough for later- and I am equally convinced it will never make it to oven-ville.

My 3 year old helped me frost them tonight. Can you tell? We had fun. He is just as enthusiastic about sweet things, especially frosting, as I am and it makes my motherly blood boil with pride.

Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies with Icing

{Everyday Food, December 2011}

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

½ tsp salt

¾ cup dark brown sugar (yes, dark brown)

½ cup butter, 1 stick, unsalted butter, room temp

1 large egg

2/3 cup unsulfured molasses

6 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

½ tsp egg whites

¾ tsp cream of tarter

Desired food coloring

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and dark brown sugar on high until well mixed. Add the egg and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Form dough into two disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out 1 disk at a time, and stack dough in between parchment paper on a baking sheet and refrigerate again, until firm, for 30 minutes. Remove and cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 7-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

To make icing, use a whisk attachment and beat powdered sugar, egg whites, and cream of tarter on low until opaque- about 3-4 minutes. Add water as needed to make a spreadable but still thick icing. Place icing into various bowls and tint according to desired color. Spoon into frosting bags and decorate your heart out.

Grapefruit in the Oven

2011-12-08T21:50:00.003-06:00

Broiled grapefruit.

A little cinnamon.

Little brown sugar.

Some butter.

All mixed together and spread over each surface. Broil on high until it's like this.

Who would've thought? It's really not bad at all. And I found out that I like it fresh but I like it broiled as well.

However it's served up, let us be thankful it is citrus season. Especially for these ruby red babies.

Yes, please.

Cranberry Streusel Cake

2011-12-03T21:59:00.004-06:00

There are things in life where words just lack. This cake is one. I can't tell you how crazy good it is and how the people it was served to flipped, including moi. You are just going to have to trust me on this one. It is like those delicious coffee cakes (which don't have coffee in them) you make for the mornings... except better, for some reason- almond extract, sugared cranberries.. a very sophisticated and posh "YOW-sers" is about all I can find in my brain to utter at this time.

I found this recipe on pinterest- link is provided. The recipe instructions weren't phrased as clearly as one might hope, so I (hopefully) delved a bit deeper and tried to clarify things a trifle better (i.e. like dusting the cranberries with a little flour, etc).

Enjoy! Best cake ever! For the holidays at least!!:)

Cranberry Streusel Cake

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 stick salted butter, softened at room temperature for a few hours

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp almond extract

1 ½ cups sour cream

2 cups fresh cranberries (yours are probably frozen, allow them to thaw at room temperature for an hour)

3 tbsp sugar

Topping/streusel:

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ sticks, salted butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch round baking pan- grease very well- might I add.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking powder- set aside. In another mixing bowl, cream 1 stick of butter and the 1 cup sugar until well mixed and creamy. Add in the eggs, one at a time- make sure to use a rubber scraper to stir it all by hand and make sure everything on the very bottom has gotten a chance to be mixed in!

In a small bowl, combine the cranberries with a dusting of flour (so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake while baking) and mix with the 3TBSP of sugar. Set aside briefly.

Add in the extracts, sour cream, and flour mixture- stirring only until combined (again, make sure you dig down and account for everything sitting at the way-way-bottom of the bowl). Fold the cranberries in gently. Spoon the batter into the cake pan. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients until crumbly. Spoon evenly over the top of the cake. Bake until light golden brown, about 50-60 minutes- or just when the center is no longer “jiggly” when shaken.

Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Invert the cake into your hand (hopefully, it’s a big hand you’ve got) and then gently and gingerly put it streusel side up on a plate.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

Maple Cake with Brown- Sugar-Maple Frosting

2011-11-26T16:14:00.007-06:00

Hello. Why hello.

It's been a scanty few weeks for me in the blogging world! Please excuse moi- holidays, turkey, decorating, family, friends... you know how it is.

I hope you had a truly warm and memorably wonderful Thanksgiving. This is a holiday really worth celebrating- it's a chance to spend every day of the month thinking and pondering on all the many blessings you have in your life- because all we have more than we can count- really, we do. And secondly, it's a day you can pull together with people you like/love, and stuff the heck out of yourself as much as you'd like, practically till you're unable to move, without feeling any real pangs of guilt (if you are counting calories on turkey day, knock it off:)) . And guess what? You'll never guess the startling discovery I made Thursday night around approx 5 pm.......

... I.LOVE.PECAN.PIE.

Love. Not even just "semi-fond of". Love it to the moon and back. Oh it was luxurious and sweet and nutty and flavorful and beaming with every taste that resonated within my palate. We should all feel that way about something on the Thanksgiving dessert menu- I know that many are piously religious about eating a slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and I happen to NOT be one of them. I sample everything else. And this year, I took a stab right off the bat at the seemingly unpopular pecan pie sitting there in despair loneliness. From here on out, I could care less about any other dessert that garnishes the table. There, it's off my chest. Pecan pie and me are like long lost friends.

Recently too, I made a maple cake with maple frosting for a Sunday dessert. It was also a major smash within the walls of my junk-food-inclined palate. A very appropriate cake for the time of year. My only major regretful affliction with this baking attempt was overcooking it. Truly, blech. Who in the universe enjoys a bone-dry, arid, barren cake, I ask?

Luckily the frosting came to the rescue and together, it was great. If you can keep your eye on this cake while it bakes and remove it the minute the center of the cake springs back via touch of the index finger, then it will be golden.

You will need to invest in the real maple syrup, however, if you plan on baking this. As much as I love my generic-style maple syrup that only costs a couple green stubs, you know the kind that your kids drench waffles in, it won't do and you'll end up with a really odd cake. So, find the most inexpensive real, grade A Maple syrup out there and then make sure to really enjoy every bite of this kinda-more-lavish cake.

Peace, hope, and joy to you and yours this weekend.

Maple Cake with Brown Sugar/Maple Frosting

{Everyday Food, November 2011}

Nonstick cooking spray

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

3/4 cup whole milk

1 cup chopped walnut halves, toasted

For The Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp maple extract (this was a Kate addition- I needed a little more maple flavor)

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans (2 inches deep) with cooking spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper; lightly coat parchment with cooking spray. Flour parchment and sides (tapping out excess); set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on medium-high, add maple syrup in a slow, steady stream. Add flour mixture in two additions, alternating with milk, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl as needed. Fold in walnuts (Kate note: we left these out and used a few only for garnishing the top of the frosted cake).

Divide batter between pans; firmly tap pans on a flat surface several times to remove air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks, 15 minutes, then invert onto racks; peel off parchment. Invert cakes again and let cool completely on racks. With a serrated knife, trim domed top from each cake to make a flat surface.

Make frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Assemble cake: Place one layer, top side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread top evenly with 1 1/2 cups frosting. Top with second layer, top side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and around sides of cake.

Menu Ideas Repeat

2011-11-22T22:22:00.002-06:00

Shh... I have a secret.

It's almost Thanksgiving.

In less than 36 hours.

Have you removed the turkey from your freezer yet? Please don't say no.

Have you decided on side dishes? Dessert? Nothing??

If you're like me and still waffling about what dessert to make and which side dish to settle on, here's a list I composed last year. I think it's pretty helpful.

Hopefully if you're like me and still pathetically undecided in some areas you can glean from some ideas here.

Good luck..

AND..

Have a fantastically phat and wonderfully delicious and endlessly grateful holiday!!

It's Cookie Season, After All.

2011-11-16T12:05:00.002-06:00

Hi there. Oh hi.

Do you feel like cookies today? Do you feel like cookies this week? These questions should produce no-brainer, easy, innately-robotically-yes-answered answers. I think cookies are essential to my life's life. To put it as simply as humanly possible, I really really really love to make cookies.

I needed to put a list together for my own records of some of my favorite, top-notch cookie recipes. I'll spread the love and share it with you too!

1. Goblin Valley Raisin Cookies.

2. Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

3. Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cookies

4.Molasses Cookies- My FAVORITE COOKIE in the world. No question.

5.Banana Whoopie Pie Cookies

6. PB Chocolate Chunk Cookies

7. Golf Ball Cookies- No BAKE!

8.Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

9. Pumpkin Butterscotch-Chip Cookies

10. New York Times Chocolate Chippers

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Bars- VEEG Style!!!

2011-11-06T20:36:00.002-06:00

It's true. These are vegan friendly... and if you thought life couldn't get any better, you must make these and then watch it improve some more.

These bars somehow encompass three of my favorite foods: peanut butter, pumpkin, and oatmeal, and somehow, don't even taste like a 1rst grader made them. I never knew it was possible.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

{adapted from love veggies and yoga.com}

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 cup pumpkin

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar

½ white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp all spice

Mix all the ingredients together and place in a greased 8 x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (more or less). Remove from the oven and allow these to cool ALL.THE.WAY before cutting, like, an hour at least…I promise. You will die by the smell. This is a true test of patience to see if you can wait all that time before diving into them to taste them. I couldn’t do it.

SOOOOOO GOOOODDDDDD.

Witches' Finger Cookies

2011-10-31T10:04:00.002-05:00

WITCHES FINGERS..

Disgustingly delicious. Creepy and sinister. Freakishly fun.

Seriously, I had way more fun making these than I’d like to confess. Crushed oreos for the dirt is the icing on the cake in terms of presentation! My green and black food coloring was out- so I used a dark blue for the "fingernails" and purple for the flesh. I think it turned out pretty cool!!

You still have 12 hours to knock these out- just sayin’!

Go here for how-to and recipe.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Pumpkin Cornbread

2011-10-26T17:55:00.003-05:00

I invite you to try this recipe as soon as humanly possible. Make sure your pantry is stocked with pumpkin, cornmeal, flour, and molasses and go to work. Really. I am certain this recipe is new to you. How have I lived 29 autumns already without having this gem of a recipe?? This is what my mystified mind is contemplating and pondering.

It's complicated to find exact words for describing this. It's not dry like most cornbreads- so if that's your qualm, then fear no more. And I know adding molasses to your cornbread mixture seems absolutely goofed and inexact, but you barely taste it- all it does is add slight flavor but big moisture and subtle color. The pumpkin acts similarly too- moisture, color, and slight flavor. The "cornbready" texture is really diffused by so many layers of ingredients.

If you can't already tell then, I think it's sensationally delicious, very tasty, and wildly moist.

Eat with chili, on Halloween night, and you will be spooked-out happy.

Pumpkin Cornbread

{Two Peas and Their Pod}

1 cup flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg

½ cups brown sugar

1 cup cornmeal

2 whole eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

¼ cups olive oil

1 TBSP molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease an 8×8″ baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, and molasses.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

2011-10-23T20:43:00.004-05:00

So... evidently, my one-week pumpkin week didn't suffice. Still in my image files are pictures of more pumpkin recipes I've been experimenting with lately. Good news for me, bad news for you?? Pumpkin week continues!!!!!

Have you ever had pumpkin snickerdoodles??

Me neither.

But I am sure glad that I can now say YES with complete bliss streaming from my breath. They are delicious and moist and a perfect little cookie. I personally found that they taste best after you allow them to cool for a few hours. AND... under bake them by a minute or so-- I found they were better if I did that and allowed them to finish their baking on the cookie sheet out of the oven.

One more thing: immediately upon removing them from the oven, use the bottom of a glass to kind of "smash" them down again-I don't love "cakey" cookies.. so under-baking them and then smashing them with a glass out of the oven helps seal the moistness and denseness of the cookie.

Oh you love them.

Ta ta!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

{Annie’s Eats}

For the cookies:

3¾ cups all-purpose flour ( I used just a bit less so they wouldn’t be so cakey)

1½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

¾ cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the coating:

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

Dash of allspice

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the pumpkin puree. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Combine the sugar and spices for the coating in a bowl and mix to blend. Scoop the dough (about 2½ tablespoons) and roll into a ball. Coat the dough ball in the sugar-spice mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough to fill the sheets, spacing the dough balls 2-3 inches apart. Dip the bottom of a flat, heavy-bottomed drinking glass in water, then in the sugar-spice mixture, and use the bottom to flatten the dough balls slightly. Recoat the bottom of the glass in the sugar-spice mixture as needed.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just set and baked through (kate note: I baked them for about 8 minutes, then let them bake longer on the cookie sheet once they had been removed). Let cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (snack cake)

2011-10-21T14:46:00.003-05:00

Three words:

Moist.

Soft.

Dizzingly good.

I went ga-ga for these little pumpkin snack bar thingies- although I would argue they are more like small pieces of cake than actual bars. Whatever they really are, the texture is so wonderfully the opposite of dryness, and they are studded with oozing chocolate chips and bursting with pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices. I just can't say enough good.

I could eat this for breakfast the rest of my life. Or lunch, or dinner.

You might wanna make a bee line for the store today and get the ingredients.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (aka, snack cake)

{Martha Stewart}

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

Cool bars completely in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Are You Sick of Pumpkin Yet? (please say no)

2011-10-20T17:54:00.003-05:00

Today I lovingly bring to you an assortment of delicious pumpkin, tried and true recipes. Each one has been wildly successful with happy after thoughts and comments. Hope you enjoy!!

1. Pumpkin Granola (different, fun, different, and fun)

2.Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (cookie)

3.Dinner in a Pumpkin (the ultimate comfort food)

4. Pumpkin Streusel Cream Cheese Muffins

5. Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake with Glaze (rich with flavor and insanely moist)

6.Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (there are just no words to even explain)

7. Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter

8. Pumpkin Scones with White Chocolate Chips (yes, very good)

9.Pumpkin Roulade (one of my ultimate favorites)

10. Pumpkin Soup (holy smokes)

Pumpkin Honey Cake

2011-10-19T21:45:00.002-05:00

You've never had a pumpkin cake like this before. At least, I don't think you have. It's teeming with honey and spices and sour cream...and let me assure you, it is instantly addictive!

I took my liberties seriously and decided to use a bundt cake pan instead of what the recipe suggested and after one slice of the cake, me, of all people, decided to also FORGO the frosting portion of the cake. Part of the reasoning behind this was that we ate it too quickly when it was warm to even have time to make the frosting. A likely situation.

But attached to the cake recipe is also the frosting and I can't imagine you'd go astray by adding it!!!!

I truly hope you like this one! It's going down in history as a favorite autumnal cake.

Pumpkin Honey Cake with Frosting

{via Epicurious}

For the cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs

For frosting

1 pound Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

1/4 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon (scant) ground allspice

1 cup chilled whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly roll pan with foil, leaving overhang on short sides; butter and flour foil ( Kate note: I used bundt cake pan and it worked wonderfully!). Sift 2 1/4 cups flour and next 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Whisk pumpkin, sour cream, honey and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture alternately with pumpkin mixture.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

Make frosting (Kate note: I DID not make this frosting, but here are the instructions if you are interested!)

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, 1/3 cup pumpkin, honey and allspice in large bowl until fluffy. Beat whipping cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture in 2 additions. Spoon 1 1/2 cups frosting into small bowl to use for decorating; cover and refrigerate.

Using foil as aid, lift cake onto work surface. Cut cake crosswise into three 10 x 4-inch rectangles (reserve remaining cake for another use). Slide spatula under 1 rectangle; transfer cake to platter. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with second cake. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with third cake. Spread 1 cup frosting in thin layer over top and sides of cake to anchor crumbs. Chill 1 hour.

Spread remaining frosting from large bowl decoratively onto sides of cake. Spoon 3/4 cup reserved frosting from small bowl into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe frosting in diagonal lines on top of cake, spacing about 3/4 inch apart. Squeeze frosting from pastry bag back into small bowl of frosting. Mix in remaining 1/4 cup pumpkin. Spoon pumpkin frosting into pastry bag and pipe lines of shells or rosettes between frosting lines on cake. Refrigerate until frosting sets, about 2 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover with foil dome and keep refrigerated. Let stand 2 hours at room temperature before serving.)

Pumpkin Trifle

2011-10-18T13:17:00.002-05:00

Could there be anything better than a pumpkin trifle?? Let's talk about this.

There isn't anything better. Conversation over.

If having Heath-bar bits, pumpkin cake, AND butterscotch pudding all together in the same bite is too much for you, then swap out the Heath bar bits for something else.

But how could it be too much? This dessert screams autumn.

Enjoy. I know there won't be a problem doing so!:)

Pumpkin Trifle

1 recipe pumpkin cake, baked and cooled (recipe follows)

1 carton whipped cream, whipped, OR 1 big tub cool whip

2 smaller packages butterscotch-flavored pudding made according to package directions

1 bag Heath toffee bits

In a trifle bowl, layer as follows: chunks of pumpkin cake, butterscotch pudding, whipped cream and toffee bits. You should have two of these layers. Finish with toffee bits on top of whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers. Serves a LOT.

Pumpkin Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup canned, mashed pumpkin

1 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix

1/2 cup oil (or applesauce)

1/2 cup water

3 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp all cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix on high speed for at least 2 minutes. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 glass dish (or a bundt cake pan works too), and bake until done.

First Up: Pumpkin Doughnuts. For Reals.

2011-10-17T15:02:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Pumpkin Week...where all your greatest pumpkin recipes will hopefully/maybe/maybe-not come true!

Today’s first recipe will make you fatter and happier than life itself: pumpkin donuts (yes, slang spelling, I know I know)... and yes they are as good as it sounds.

These taste like pure Autumn in the most casual way possible. I have no other idea of how to explain it. You know how good a donut from the local joint can taste straight from the mill? Try a homemade one, spiced with fall’s essences and pumpkin, fried up before your eyes, then mercilessly dipped in either sugar/cinnamon or a delicious glaze. I really had to stop myself cold from eating more than I was.

Our niece and nephew, S & C, came over to help us. Oh we had so much fun making these. Perhaps too much. And it further concluded in my mind that if you make these in your home, please have people around to help you and to laugh with joy along with you when that boiling oil gives birth to your first homemade pumpkin donut. It’s a memory you won’t want to relish alone. Homemade donuts are made for people who love each other and want to spend time with each other. This recipe is, no doubt in my mind, going down as a Halloween tradition from this time forth. You heard me!

Here’s a few pointers to hopefully assuage any anxiety about making these:

+You don’t need a fryer. Use a large saucepan and leave the oil only 2-3 inches deep.

+You will want a candy thermometer. Promise. It’s the only way to determine if the oil is at the right temperature- believe me- if it’s too hot, you’ll not just fry the donut, you’ll kill it, but if it’s too cool, the donut won’t fluff up properly. And you don’t wanna do the “finger” test to see if the oil is hot. You’ll need that finger in the future!

+The cinnamon/sugar topping as well as the glaze are imperative. They MAKE the donut what it is. And they are both winners. I highly recommend preparing both and seeing which one you like best. Personally, I found the sugar mix was fabulous with the donut holes and the glaze fit perfectly with the actual donut.

+You don’t need fancy biscuit cutters or fancy cookie cutters to make these- you may use the rim of a drinking glass to cut out donut shapes from your dough (which is what we did). You may also use the edge of a frosting tip to cut out the middle of the donut hole… this worked wonderfully- then use those little dots for donut holes. Yum!

+Don’t wimp out! Try it! Try it! Try it! The oil burning at 350 degrees is nothing to be too scared of!

Pumpkin Doughnuts

For the doughnuts:

3½ cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup buttermilk

1 cup pumpkin puree

Canola oil or peanut oil, for frying

For the cinnamon-sugar:

½ cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the spiced glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Dash of ground nutmeg

Dash of ground ginger

Dash of ground cloves

2 tbsp. milk

To make the dough, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter and beat until well blended. Stir in the egg, then the egg yolks, and then the vanilla until incorporated. Combine the buttermilk and pumpkin in a liquid measuring cup and whisk together. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Once the dough is mixed, cover and chill for at least 3 hours or until firm.

On a well-floured work surface, roll or pat out the dough to a ½-inch thick round. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Using a 2½ to 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough. Use a smaller cutter (or a wide pastry tip) to cut a hole out of the center. Reroll and cut the dough scraps as necessary.

Add oil to a large saucepan or Dutch oven to a depth of about 2-3 inches. Attach a thermometer to the side of the pan and heat the oil to 365-370˚ F. Add the rings of dough to the hot oil so that they are in a single layer and not touching. Fry, turning once, until both sides are golden brown and doughnuts are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes total. Use a skimmer/strainer to remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined rack. Bring the oil temperature back up to the target range before repeating with the next batch of doughnuts. Use the same process for the doughnut holes, frying for a shorter time.

To make the cinnamon-sugar, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish and whisk to blend. When the doughnuts are just cool enough to handle, dip half of them in the cinnamon-sugar to coat completely, shaking off the excess.

To make the spiced glaze, combine the powdered sugar and spices in a small bowl. Add the milk and whisk to combine, until a thick glaze is formed. If necessary, add a bit more milk to thin the glaze out. Dip the remaining half of the doughnuts in the glaze. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Ahhh... can't wait to make them again. See ya in '12 beautiful pumpkin pastry!

Sweet Potato w/ Butter, Syrup, and a Host of other Goodnesses

2011-10-13T22:03:00.004-05:00

If life has something better, in the edible world that is, than a soft, mushy, starchy, sweet potato drowning for help in real maple syrup, real butta' (sorry, just spent some time in Boston), and sage leaves, let me know. Because this is a fall dinner/fall side dish ( I absolutely renounce any claims that sweet potatoes could potentially be a 'dessert'. Bosh!) you will not want to miss out on. Your taste buds will pick out every flavor it senses of how butter really tastes, each sweet little molecule from the syrup, and each speck of sage-flavor sageness from that leafy herb and somewhere in the impeccability of that, you may also have spicy sensations ringing in your cheeks from the crushed red pepper.

And do you know what maple syrup and butter and sage leaves do when they are all combined and compressed between two thick and extremely hot flaps of potato??

Absolutely nothing.

That, is why it is sooooo good.

Sweet Potato with Butter and Maple Syrup and Crushed Red Pepper and Sage Leaves. OH, AND Cumin.

{Inspired by Good Housekeeping October 2011}

2 sweet potatoes-or yams, or whatever the thingies are called that are orange fleshed inside- let’s also not talk about how I much I shun at the word “flesh”.

½ stick of butter (yes it’s a lot of lard for only two people, but worth it my darlings..), softened

½ cup PURE maple syrup (seriously, don’t even bust out the sugar free-wanna-be stuff for this one)

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

Sage leaves, minced (fresh sage leaves, people, fresh)

Cumin

Kosher salt

Pam OLIVE OIL spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash and scrub the potatoes very well, using all your wrist power. Pat them off with a towel, and lay them on a cookie sheet. Prick them with a fork all over. Spray each one well with PAM spray and then rub salt and cumin all over its surface. Stick in oven and cook baby cook!

Meanwhile… nope, no resting yet.. meanwhile, mix the softened butter, maple syrup, and crushed red pepper together in a bowl until it’s all nicely combined and “whipped”. Refrigerate until the potates are soft.

Once the potatoes are somewhat cool enough to handle (i.e. your fingertips aren’t scorched off)… slice halfway down, and squish some potato flesh up and out. Take the largest butter knife you can possibly find, scoop up at least ½ cup of the butter mixture, and throw it down into the potato. Sprinkle some minced sage leaves over the entire thing and watch everything melt and glisten before your very eyes.

Swiss Chard Roll- Ups. Don't Judge!!

2011-10-10T09:56:00.005-05:00

I was on an airplane watching Food Network shows when Giada's came on and she made this lovely vegetarian dish that had me glued with attention. Goat cheese?? Lentils? Arugula? Big leafy greens? All wrapped up together somehow and smothered to death in marinara and Parmesan cheese?? This might be as close to my definition of a perfect dish as possible. I couldn't think of anything else for hours after seeing it.

Though experience from making it taught me that you wholly and entirely MUST know your audience before serving it. My sweet husband, who eats everything like it's his favorite food, later told me quite gently that of all the things I've made, this was one of his least favorite. Of course, he isn't partial towards goat cheese and lentils, which happen to be two of my favorite foods ever.

So, if you have friends over for dinner who you know are strict vegetarians, then fly with it! If you are having family over that tend to follow a meat and potatoes kind of trend, I'd steer clear. If you don't like lentils or abhor the taste of goat cheese, this may not be your dish. Of course, having that said, it's also highly versatile and you can use the recipe as a guide but create a different filling.

This recipe posted below is a spin- off of what Giada did on her show. I couldn't find the recipe anywhere on line, so this is my memory doing it's best to recall what went in and what I did personally. I think it worked out splendidly. Ooooh it's soooooo good and heart-warming and healthy. I LUVVVVVVVV eeet.

Swiss Chard Rolls with Lentils and Goat Cheese

{Inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis}

1 large bunch swiss chard

1 cup brown rice, cooked and set aside- add 1 huge handful of arugula to the rice while it’s still warm.

1 cup lentils, cooked and set aside

4-5 ounces, goat cheese, crumbled

1 huge handful of baby arugula (see the instructions above for how to incorporate it)

1 tsp herbs de provence

½ tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Favorite marinara sauce

Parmesan cheese

Prepare the swiss chard first: you will need a large pot of simmering water. Wash and dry the Swiss chard. Using a large chef’s knife, cut out the stiff stem that is in the middle of each leaf, all while trying NOT to cut the leaf in half (yes, the leaf will have a large sliver cut out of the middle). Using kitchen tongs, place each prepared leaf into the simmering water for LESS THAN A SECOND. You will literally dip it in, and remove it immediately onto a dry paper towel. If you have them in the water for much longer, they will be soggy. You are simply trying to barely soften the leaf so you can wrap it easier.

Once all the leaves have been dipped in the hot water, pat each one off gently with a paper towel. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the rice and arugula with the lentils, goat cheese, salt, herbs de Provence, a drizzle of olive oil, and crushed red pepper. Taste it to make sure it has enough flavoring- add more seasonings if needed.

Preheat oven to 350.

Take one Swiss chard leaf and lay it flat on the counter, overlapping the leaves were the stiff stem was taken out. Tag a normal dinner spoon, place a heapful of mixture into each Swiss chard leaf. Very gingerly, wrap up each leaf and place in baking dish. Continue until all the leaves are used up.

Pour as much marinara sauce over the wraps as you wish. Sprinkle the surface with lots of shredded Parm. Cheese and then drizzle lightly with olive oil to keep it moist. Bake for 25-35 minutes until everything is bubbly hot.

Sandwich Musts

2011-10-07T16:51:00.008-05:00

Potbelly’s, Chicago, 2007

SAND WITCHES!!

Whoops! Silly, I’m talking about the other kind, sandwiches. They’ve been on my mind a lot. I tend to eat more of them in the fall through winter time- don’t ask me why, but that’s been a consistent cycle. We took a trip to New England last week and I had my fair share of good sandwiches- most of them from little locals’ that surpassed my highest sandwich dreams. Hence, they're on my mind, hence it's become a post.....slobber……

So in the spirit of good sandwich season, here is a list of my top few- in specific ORDERJ.

Potbelly- Ham & Swiss. That place has warmed my heart since I met it in Chicago in 2007- my husband and I were there on his business stuff and he told me to meet him there. I was skeptical. “What kind of place named Potbelly’s could really be that good??” I wondered- alas, we ended up eating there every day up until we left. Back in Philly, half of our budget was allotted towards Potbellys. Their bread is indefinitely so soft- they melt the cheese on top of the meat and then slather all of that in a mixture of their own pickled hot peppers, Italian Seasoning, shredded lettuce, tomato, and onion. Together, it is sandwich-making masterpiece. Oh how I really could go for one right about now. Located unfortunately, not in Utah, but back east and mid west!

The Dodo- particularly their veggie sandwich. It’s fresh, it’s not heavy, and it doesn’t lack personality. I LUV it. Their smoked turkey sandwich comes with a side of rustic BBQ sauce for dipping and it might blow your boots off. Eat it along with their side salad that is dressed in the nicest-tasting dressing and you’ll get why this place is a popular Salt Lake City destination.

Kneaders Bakery & Café- another SLC local gem. I cannot get enough of their veggie sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread. Any bread there is worth going to the limits for. It’s so very fresh and real and natural tasting. Fortunately for me, they are approx 3 miles away from my house, so I get to sneak on up there often and partake.

Lastly, my other favorite sandwich shops include Great Harvest Bread, Panera Bread, and Cosi’s. The latter two, I am afraid to inform you, are NOT located in Utah. Yes it’s quite tragic. But for now, the Dodo, Kneaders, and Great Harvest will keep my sandwich cravings at bay and satisfied.

Am I missing anything?

Roasted Tomato Soup with Creme Fraiche, Bacon, & Basil

2011-10-03T22:23:00.005-05:00

I gotta be as blunt as possible with you: this is not a perfect recipe. I was the lucky reciptent of a grocery bag's worth of just-picked garden tomatoes, one of life's grand pleasures if you ask me and a few hours later I gave birth to this recipe which probably needs a bit of tweaking and twisting. But keep reading. I have a point.

Being the soup jockey I am, I opted to make a homemade roasted tomato soup. It just sounded delectable. My mind began soaring into different horizons of possible add-in's and potential garnishes- bacon came rolling instantly into my culinary brains because tomatoes and bacon are a perfect duo in one of my favorite sandwiches, the BLT. Then I thought of whipping cream because the best tomato soups I've ever slurped down in this world involve some kind of dairy thickening agent- creme fraiche in my opinion is step above sour cream and whipping cream, and so there we have it. Lastly, and I hope this doesn't need much elaboration, the meshing of tomatoes and basil is probably one of the most popular and outstanding combinations known to man. From that, I knew I wanted a soup with the dominating role of the garden tomato with assistant key players like bacon, creme fraiche, and basil.

As I said, this recipe, it is NOT perfect. You may find that it needs a heckuvalot more pepper, or some more chicken broth, or less of it. I am usually rushing my brains out to get dinner made all while trying to keep two little cutie pie's happy and thus, my precise note-taking abilities for recording what I've done just gets drowned out in the moment. Apologies if you make this and the measuring seems off. The great thing about soup is that you can keep experimenting with flavors until you reach the pinnacle. Soups are quite flexible and accommodating for mistakes.

I hope, if nothing else, this recipe will give you a base of ideas of which to spring from. I know that we certainly enjoyed the outcome- and it tasted even better the next day. Leftovers, you have saved me more than once.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Crème Fraiche, Bacon, and Basil

3-4 lbs of garden tomatoes, diced into fourths

Olive oil

Salt and pepper-lots of it

1 onion, diced very small.

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1-2 cups chicken broth

1 handful of fresh basil, chiffonaded- a little reserved for garnish

1 cup crème fraiche*

1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat your oven to 425 F. Over a large jelly roll pan, place all the tomatoes and using your hands, drizzle olive oil all over. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Mix it all together on the sheet pan, and then throw it in the oven. Roast until tomatoes are juicy hot-they will be bubbling, leaking, and the edges will be nice and crispy golden brownish. Take them out and let them cool for 30 minutes or so.

Dump (such refined cooking vocabulary!:) the entire jelly roll pan full of tomatoes and all their oily juices into a blender or food processor. Process until it reaches a consistency you are happy with- you can have it as chunky or as smooth as you wish. I am a total fan of rustic textures, so I left it chunky.

In a large saucepan, drizzle some olive oil and over medium heat stir the onion and garlic cloves until tender. Add the tomato puree and 1 cup of chicken broth (you can add more if it’s not thick enough, or leave it at that if it’s too much liquid). Add tomato paste and bring this mixture to a boil for 20 minutes, adding more liquid if needed. Taste and make sure it’s flavorful enough- you may wish to add more salt and pepper (if adding more salt use caution because chicken broth isn’t exactly known for its dearth of sodium). Reduce the heat to low. Add the fresh basil and a ½ cup of crème fraiche, stirring to incorporate.

Ladle into bowls, garnishing with more fresh basil, bacon, and a dollop of crème fraiche.

*Creme fraiche unfortunately, carries an ugly- high price tag with it. So I make my own- always. And it's seriously just as good. I take 1 cup heavy whipping cream (not whipped though) and a 1/2 cup of sour cream and combine them. In a perfect planning-ahead world, I would let them sit at room temperature for at least 12-24 hours, stirring every so often. In a not-so-perfect-planning-world, I still make it and allow it to sit at room temperature (preferably a warmer spot of the abode) for an hour, stirring once or twice in that time. Refrigerate leftovers.

Have You Tried?

2011-09-27T15:47:00.003-05:00

Hey there. Yes, that's me up there. Hiding my face behind this uberly celestial yogurt.

Every once in a while I'm going to be posting a "have you tried____?", hhmmm k?

In this case today, it's the most expensive yogurt ever, I am convinced.

You see, I'm always struck with perplextion (I'm sure this is a word in the urban dictionary) when I see a tiny carton of yogurt being up in the 2 dollar price range (that is, per carton, people!). It has me wondering WHY ARE YOU SO EXPENSIVE, O tiny little yogurt?? Truly. I mean, you can get your Yoplait or generic fruit-on-the-bottom (please knock me out before I have to eat one of those) yogurts for .60-ish cents a pop! And here is this snobby little Siggi's thing, this Icelandic yogurt or whatever (skyr if you're wanting to learn some icelandic lingo!) that blew me away with it's ugly price tag. Lucky for my hungry growling tummy, I wasn't feeling overly thrifty or frugal that day, so I made an exception and bought two. Like I say, it's a grocery splurge.

Which I later found out, that two cartons is completely enough for a week. This is THEE thickest yogurt- yes, even more so than the Fage Greek stuff!! No kidding!! The texture is so heavy (but low fat all the while) you really can (but not a rule) only eat half a container per day. So those two cartons lasted me nearly a week. I love good rationing.

The other thing I loved about this yogurt besides it's goopy, European style texture, is that it's high in protein and seemingly low in carbs- to me, that signals a real yogurt that isn't drowned in sugar and sweetners. It's made with the real stuff and it tastes to healthy. It's slightly tangy with those fruitish undertones and will fill you up quite happily.

And so, the next time you are feeling Skyr-ish, go splurge on an Icelandic container of yogurt and experience what yogurt should really taste like: natural, thick, semi-sweet, and mildly tangy.

Ohh. Yum.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies. Triple Yum.

2011-09-26T09:00:00.005-05:00

I have a really cute 3 year old who is pressing me to watch "Curious George" right this very second and so, I must be concisely brief right now and save the rambling for another post.

But.

Let's just say this.

Pumpkin + butterscotch chips = dynamite- out- of -this- world glorious perfection of autumnal blissful raptures.

Do it. I may never use chocolate chips again in my pumpkin cookies.

Ever.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
{Annie’s Eats}

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; whisk to blend. In a the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and light in color, about 1 minute. Blend in the oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Gently fold in the butterscotch chips with a spatula.

Drop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets (I used a medium-sized dough scoop), spacing them a few inches apart. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through baking, until the tops feel set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 14-16 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Blondies

2011-09-22T10:33:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine brought by a cupcake for me the other day that was so prettily set in a black box, I was almost certain there was jewelry inside. It was better. A chocolate cupcake, topped with chocolate meringue and peanut butter frosting somewhere in between. My heart literally stopped for a few seconds as my own little PB and chocolate world collided and my tongue and tummy settled into ecstasy.

The next day I went searching for peanut butter and chocolate dessert combinations. La dee da there they were: peanut butter chocolate blondies. There wasn't much of a squabble to get me baking those babies up. They taste like a giant pan of peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips, essentially. Duh, no brainer there!

And the real nice thing with these are- they are nearly instantaneous! Remember those NY Chocolate Chip Cookies recently?? No waiting around for the dough to chill, no pacing back and forth for that silly butter to come to room temperature... face the facts: most of us have PB in our pantry. Most of us hopefully have chocolate chips (cmon, do you??) and it doesn't matter what state of solidification your butter is in: frozen or refrigerated, it doesn't.matter.at.all. The butter is combined in a pot with sugar and you allow it all to melt anyways.

Like I say, they can be made in a zip!

I like zip.

Well. Here's to these amazing bars and a mighty hefty good luck trying not to consume the entire pan (which you shouldn't feel guilty about anyway).

Peanut Butter Blondies

{Two Peas and Their Pod}

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips (Kate note: I used semi-sweet)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the peanut butter, until creamy and combined. Set mixture aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the peanut butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared dry ingredients, and stir until batter is smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips, reserving the rest for sprinkling on top.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and lightly press them into the batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden and the edges are slightly browned. Remove blondies from oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, cut into squares and serve.

Utes Popcorn

2011-09-18T21:53:00.003-05:00

scamp 2

scamp 1

I have taken the cyber liberty to rename this popcorn to “Utes Popcorn”, from it's book-given name of "Irresistible Honey Corn". If you are familiar with Utah culture, this shouldn’t require much explanation. For those of you with no idea what I’m alluding to, “Utes” are the mascot of our local university here in Salt Lake. The annual football game between Utes and its rival took place last night: red vs. blue. What’s a game without a good treat, right?? So I threw on an apron, and whisked away at this easy recipe. The red you see on the popcorn in the image isn’t blood or dirt- that is red food coloring for a red victory game! It must’ve been this delicious treat that sent out those good, winning vibes.

And tell me, have you ever taken a bite of popcorn and thought, “that’s good. I’m done”? Really. Is popcorn not the most addictive, edible substance ever? Especially if it’s drenched in caramel, chocolate, white chocolate, or all three?? I can’t seem to ever get a grip on my self- control in these circumstances. It's like my hands are magnetized to the grasping pull of its deliciousness. Curse.

This isn’t really caramel, nor is it chocolate, but it is sure something good- a mixture of creams and sweets boiled to a soft ball stage and then warmly poured over popcorn. You wouldn’t want to withhold this yummy treat from yourself and your kin, would you???

I didn’t think so.

Utes Popcorn, aka, Irresistible Honey Corn

{Always in Season, Jr. League of Utah}

1 cup butter (= 2 sticks, softened)

1 cup heavy cream (not milk, not half n half…. The real stuff- lard, cream, got it?)

4 cups sugar (yes, four)

1 cup honey

3 bags of lightly buttered popped popcorn ( you know, that microwave stuff)

In a large saucepan, combine the first 4 ingredients. Stir until the sugar seems to have dissolved and the butter has liquefied, then bring to a boil and allow to boil rapidly until the mixture reaches about 240 degrees on a candy thermometer (a highly recommended kitchen tool!). If you don’t have one, allow the mixture to boil for about 5-10 minutes, but watch it vigilantly so it doesn’t go crazy on you. Then, take a spoonful and drop it into a cup of warm water. If you can sculpt that into a “soft ball”-ish like formation, then it’s probably done. Pour hot mixture over the popcorn and stir until combined. Dye with food coloring at this point if desired.

Chicken Soba Noodle Salad

2011-09-15T15:23:00.004-05:00

This might be one of my favorite dinners. It's so versatile. And trust me, although the picture makes it look like a blob of disgusting sogginess, in real life, it's killer. It's the kind of food I feel like my body takes a deep breath with and says "thank you for feeding me well".

In an effort to save and use up, I only utilized what was in my fridge: green cabbage, red pepper, cilantro, carrot shavings (which I added later, post-photo), cooked chicken, and scallion. In a perfect world, this salad needs purple cabbage shreds, edamame beans, and sesame seeds too, to make it its very very best. Believe you me, when you go that route, you have this gorgeous, eye-popping salad that you will not keep your paws off of. You or your kin.

My recipe is merely approximations, so if you need a bit more of this, or less of that, don't be shocked..

Chicken Soba Noodle Salad

1 big handful of soba noodles (or you may use whole wheat- sphagetti style- in exchange), cooked and cooled

½ head of purple cabbage shredded thinly (or green if that’s what you have)

2-3 scallions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 red pepper, julienned

2 long carrots, shaved with a veggie peeler

1 cup edamame beans, cooked and cooled

2 TBSP sesame seeds

2 cups chicken breast, cooked and cooled

Dressing:

¼ cup lime juice (from about 3 limes)

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (for heat)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar (may need a bit more)

2 Tbsp sesame oil

Pinch of salt

Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients and pour dressing over. Eat immediately. Trust me, you will.

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

2011-09-12T14:42:00.002-05:00

Oh gracious, have you been sick too? I am so utterly delighted we are finally coming out of it. It must be this sorbet that did the trick- I am convinced. It's so lusciously strawberryish (go figure) and sweet, yet soft on your tummy and soothing on your throat- I might have to fake sick more often to justify making this stuff.

As I was eating it, my mind went haywire thinking of all the possibilities with this extremely simple method of sorbet- making: you could exchange nearly any fruit for the strawberries and still come out with the greatest grins on your face and alternatively, if you own popsicle molds, this sorbet base would offer wonderful homemade popsicles for your little nugget toddlers.

If you are the kind of folk who buys their jellies/jams without the seeds, I would probably suggest you strain the base liquid after blending it to rid of all the seeds. Personally, I found them rustic and natural tasting, so they fit my affinity fine.

Don't eat all the strawberries while they are macerating in their juices! Trust me, it will tempt even the most controlled of fools. ENJOY!

Strawberry Sorbet

1 lb of strawberries, rinsed and hulled (isn’t that just a great word??)

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Tiniest pinch of salt

Slice the strawberries and combine them in a stainless steel bowl with sugar. Allow them to *macerate for about an hour. After that hour, pour the strawberries and all the juices into a blender and puree this until completely smooth. Add the salt, and pour this mixture into your ice cream freezer (aka, ice cream maker). Freeze until sorbet-like. Eat immediately. You won’t have leftovers, so no worries about storage!

*macerate: fancy pants talk for “marinate”- it tends to deal with things sweet- allowing them to soften or break up…. And in this case, we are allowing the strawberries to release their juices with the sugar, creating something extraordinary!

Brown Butter Peaches over Ice Cream

2011-09-07T21:56:00.004-05:00

Please excuse all the instagram pictures. Our main source of photo taking has been in and out of commission and in emergency cases, I use my husband's phone. Instagram is so fun.

I am mentally still stuck in summer. It may take Christmas bells and "ho-ho-ho's" to shake me out of it. For the first time in so so so many moons, I am surprisingly not ready to say goodbye to flip flops, popsicles, shorts, hot summer afternoons, and the pool in exchange for scarves, cooler temps, and beautiful fall leaves. Odd isn't it? After roasting all summer in the heat, most folks seem ready to adios it all for the more pleasant side of a muted autumn.

This dish will keep me in August forever. Peaches drenched in butter and brown sugar, all while being slowly heated in a skillet for 30 minutes. The result? Go get thee some peaches and try this immediately to find out. Why are you still sitting there? Haste!

Sweetly heated soft peaches oozing out sugar and butter on top of vanilla ice cream for a clue.

Brown Butter Peaches over Ice Cream

1 lb of ripe peaches (3-4 medium), washed and sliced-skins on

1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup), room temperature

1/2 cup – ¾ cup brown sugar (just depends on how sweet you wish)

In a large skillet, combine peaches, butter, and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring every so often. Finally, when the sugar is dissolved and the butter has cooked the peaches just so that they are soft enough, then they are ready (this may take up to twenty minutes at least). Serve warm on vanilla ice cream.

RoadTrippin' Granola Bars

2011-09-05T12:06:00.006-05:00

We were gone...

...all last week-driving 2 small children in a packed up mini van across to California- through Utah, through Nevada, and onto the beach in Orange County. It's been a few years since I've made that drive and let me tell you- rain drops never fall in southern Nevada- true fact. And so, entering California and seeing ocean as far as the eye could see was like tasting ice cream for the first time: so good you never wanted it to end. Oh how I could inhale that salty oceany smell for the rest of my life and never tire of it. It was so wonderful. I loved watching my children squeal with perfect innocence while they strenously played and galloped on the shore.

And over all, road trips are fun. Err... revision. Road trips with youngens are a lot of fun work. Yes that it's it. It is FUN, but boy, it is a lot of WORK dragging these two cuties along with us though I wouldn't have it any other way. But today I can simply and fully appreciate and understand the highly- used cliche of , "we need a vacation from our last vacation". Perhaps you can imagine well the majority of our car being piled roof high with snacks and treats and goodies and electronics. And between all the i-pad playing, the smarties, the infinite amount of highly processed chicken nuggets from Mcadeez and Wendys, I think my children need some major detoxifying this week- a library and carrot/celery diet if you will.

These granola bars are perfect road trip food material- if you're kids will eat it- I think these were a bit too, what's the word.... chunky/nutty/fibery for my toddlers' to stomach. My man and I, on the other hand, la-la-la LOVED gnashing on these babies. The honey imparts such a subtle but not overbearing sweetness and the texture derived from a multiplicity of good things, like dates, craisins, nuts, coconut... is just hard to beat, and they are filling and healthy.

That Ina Garten. She sure knows how to make a good granola bar.

Homemade Granola Bars

{Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics}

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (Kate note: I used flaxseed instead)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates (Kate note: I used the Dole brand of pitted dates)

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch (I used a 9 x 13 sized and it worked fine!) baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares (another test of patience!! Indeed- follow this instruction- they must cool!!!! So very hard to wait but worth the painstaking delay!). Serve at room temperature.

Caramel/Chocolate Chip Bars. Hear Me Drool.

2011-08-28T22:06:00.003-05:00

I am a happy girl today. For a number of reasons, and not forgetting the fact my husband miraculously salvaged my camera from being tossed into the bin.. it's up and running now like new. Ahh! Sunday miracles are great.

Among the other reasons for my state of rapturous happiness today are these ooey, gooey, sinfully repressive, utterly intoxicating bars that I've been picking at all.Day.Long. We took them with us to a church social but I left behind many remnants in my 9 x 13 glass dish to stealthily eat throughout my Sunday. You know - each baker has to stash some leftovers of the desserts behind in order to enjoy it too for later. Selfish? Yes. Deserved though? Eahhh...yeah.

The thanks for this recipe discovery definitely goes out to my friend Liz McDo (abbreviated), and her husband for introducing these to us about a month ago. I've made them twice since then for groups of people and let me tell you people, your audience will go bananas for them. Nuts! Something about the brown-sugary crust and topping, sandwiching the caramel and chocolate layers..... there is something for everyone in this dessert, and are one of the more memorable cookies/bars I've had in a while. It's like biting into a dessert you expect to eat when you go home to visit your family- something that is comforting, inviting, warm, somewhat-predictable, but filled with pure pleasure.

My friend used a recipe on the internet, but I found one in a cookbook of mine, so here it is. The only two things I would altar next time using this recipe is to increase the oatmeal crust (so, 1 1/2 times it) and then to DOUBLE the caramel layer- I just didn't think the caramel was thick enough and was blatantly eclipsed by the strong chocolate chip presence. Not a bad thing if you are a caramel foe, but I like equal representation from each.

Otherwise, delicious!

BFF Caramel Bars

{Keeping Up Cookbook}

3/4 cup butter (the more the better!)

¾ cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

(Again, I would maybe consider increasing this by another half)

-Mix butter, brown sugar, oats, soda, and salt. Press ¾ of the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 or so minutes (just until it’s barely light golden brown).

1 (14-ounce) package of KRAFT caramels, unwrapped (beware- the generic packages are typically only 11 or 12 ounces)

3 TBSP cream (because cream makes everything better)
3 TBSP butter (so does butta’)
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet…. )

(Again, I would also maybe consider doubling the caramel/cream/butter mixture- it just seemed like an awfully unfair dominion on the chocolate chips’ part, but follow your heart)

-While crust is baking, melt the caramels, cream, and butter over low heat in a double broiler (a bowl set on top of boiling water, aka)… and try as hard as possible to have patience for the caramels to take their sweet time melting. Pour melted mixture over the baked crust and sprinkle with chocolate chips- then crumble the oat mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees (yes, again) for an additional 15 minutes, or listen to intuition to tell you when it’s done. Let these cool completely before slicing. Slice, serve, and watch them disappear into thin air! Yum.

Zucchini Sandwich Cookies

2011-08-26T10:02:00.004-05:00

{via}

My camera broke this week (hence the borrowed image).

Double sigh, double groan.

But it's hard to stay sullen for very long when cookies spiced with zucchini and piled high with cream cheese frosting are around. Yum. They remind me so much of a miniature carrot cake- same kind of texture, very similar flavors, and comparable colors. And if you love carrot cake, you will go ga-ga for these.

It's been a fun week using zucchini! I hope it's been helpful for you in expanding your zucchini recipe repertoire.

Till next week.

Ta ta!!!

Zucchini Sandwich Cookies

{Martha Stewart}

Coarse salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup finely grated zucchini

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts (kate note: ugh, no thank you for me)

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat 1 stick butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix in zucchini, oats, and walnuts. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Beat together remaining 1/2 stick butter, the cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of 1 cookie, and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining filling and cookies.

Zucchini Fries

2011-08-25T10:41:00.002-05:00

Oh boy are these easy. And good.

No frying, no oil, no unnecessary fats needed for this.

We used ketchup as our choice of dip, but marinara sauce was whispering to me later. That would also be a good pairing. Here's to another healthy and different way to utilize that darn plentiful squash!!!

Zucchini Fries

1 large zucchini, cut into "fries"

2 egg whites, lightly beaten in a large bowl

1-2 cups, Italian bread crumbs, put into another bowl

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet pan with spray and set aside.

Take your zucchini strips and dip them first in the egg whites, until each part is covered. Then transfer these to the bowl of Italian bread crumbs. Then, onto the oven! Spread these out all over your sheet pan and bake until golden brown on the outside.

Eat hot with dips.

Zucchini Squash Goat Cheese Pizza

2011-08-24T09:21:00.004-05:00

Today's zucchini recipe comes in the form of a PIZZA. If you're like us over here in the Kate abode, you love a good homemade pizza with slightly unusual and unexpected toppings, like goat cheese and thyme. Drool-slobber-drool in that order.

This is one of my favorite summer-time dinners. It's insanely easy to throw together, especially if you have a Trader Joes (oohhh how I am green with envy!) nearby and can pick up their .99 cent pizza dough- they carry both white and wheat variations- and an herb if I remember correctly. Anyway, this pizza features goat cheese too. Did I mention that?

If you have more than just one zucchini stalk, by all means, swap those for the yellow squash- you are in no way compelled to use both green and yellow.

Happy zucchini cooking to ya!

Zucchini Tomato Cream Pasta

2011-08-23T11:23:00.002-05:00

{Image circa September 2009}

Today's zucchini recipe is one of my favorite vegetarian main dishes.

Ever.

It might be veering on the naughty side of diet standards with the heavy cream and butter, oh, AND the cheese, but it's just too easy, versatile, inexpensive, and might I add insanely, dizzingly good, to resist. Julia Child once said, "if you're scared of butter, use cream". Well, I use BOTH and I'm not scared of either. What's a little lard???

So, this dish was featured on my blog back in the 2009 days, but I made it again last night and added fresh spinach to the mix just before adding the drained al dente pasta. The spinach was a happy addition and made me feel a bit more justified in eating pasta soaked in butter and cream.

And although this recipe may appear a little austere from the outside, make it, and you'll be so very surprised at the flavor powerhouse this dish is, thanks be to the garlic, onion, basil, and cheese.

I might have to make it again today.

Penne with Zucchini Cream

½ lb penne pasta, cooked according to package directions

2 medium zucchini, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup whipping cream

½ cup milk

2 roma tomatoes, inside flesh removed, and diced

1 large handful of fresh basil, chopped

1/2-3/4 cup freshly grated Parm. cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter. To the heated butter (don't let it brown or burn), add the onion and a couple minutes later, add garlic. Add the zucchini and saute for a couple more minutes until the onion is translucent and the zucchini is tender. Add whipping cream and milk, and let simmer for one minute- it should thicken slightly.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente, according to directions on box. Drain the pasta but reserve a spoonful or two of the pasta water- add this and the drained pasta to the zucchini/cream mixture. Stir in the chopped tomatoes (and spinach if using), and continue to allow this to simmer rapidly for a few minutes until it’s all incorporated. Add the cheese and basil, stir, and serve HOT.

Zucchini Banana Flaxseed Muffins

2011-08-22T10:48:00.003-05:00

Greetings, Monday morning. It's zucchini week; the mighty green squash of summer that we all anticipate eating with great excitement by now. Let's get something clear: I am a lover of zucchini bread- don't mistaken me at all on it- it will always be one of my top ten favorite quick breads to make. However, by October, I've had my fill - and I can only eat sauteed zucchini so many times before I start gagging on it.

So this week is all about some variations on how to use zucchini more creatively and in some perhaps, unexpected ways. I hope you enjoy it!

First up: zucchini banana flaxseed muffins. Clarification: different in my mind than a normal zucchini bread recipe. For one thing, ripe mashed banana, flaxseed, whole wheat flour, and ZERO oil or butter take over the recipe. They add a new flavor and new texture without all the fat or calories. I mean, if it's any indication, my otherwise adorable picky toddler ate three in a row- but let's not talk about his diaper 5 hours later.

These muffins have such great *moistness* (yes, this word makes me cringe too) to them, you will never know they weren't made with a cup of oil. AND, there is a subtle banana flavor with a hint of cinnamon leaking through. The zucchini, well, it's flavorless in this but adds to the moist (argh, said it again!!!) texture of this muffin.

In sum, this recipe has me swooning from left to right and from low to high. It's just good and healthy and satisfying, all in the same bite. Oooh ooh ooh I love 'em.

Zucchini Banana Flaxseed Muffins

{Martha Stewart, Everyday Food, September 2011}

Nonstick cooking spray

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) (Kate: I used whole wheat flour- works great)

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1 cup lightly packed light-brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (from 1 large zucchini)

1/3 cup mashed ripe banana (from 1 large banana)

3/4 cup whole milk (Kate note: I used 1 % milk, worked wonderfully)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 12 standard muffin cups with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add zucchini and banana and stir to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined (do not overmix).

Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let muffins cool completely in pan on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.

Zucchini Week Coming Up!

2011-08-18T20:19:00.002-05:00

{image from}

Are zucchinis coming out of your ears yet???

It's the perfect time of year to start using up all those green squashes that are so very insanely versatile. Next week I'm posting something each day with zucchini in it. And NO, it will not be variations on zucchini bread (although that's hard to beat): main dishes, side dishes, etc.

Stay tuned. August 21-27th: ZUCCHINI WEEK!!

Let the grating begin.

Nutella Gelato

2011-08-15T16:33:00.003-05:00

I keep thinking that someday there is going to be a drought of recipes to pull from. Can new recipes really keep emerging?? And yet, all I have to to is a tiny bit of electronic surfing around favorite foodie-centered websites and like a bolt of lightning striking my head, there's again, another recipe I am screeching to try.

Come 6 months from now, ice cream will be as extinct as the dinosaurs (you can tell I've been playing with a certain 2.5 year old cutie today). I just don't make homemade ice cream as frequently in those winter hibernation months. Makes sense, no?

And since we're really good friends, can I admit right here and now that nutella might be one of my all-time favorite foods? Nutella and I have been well acquainted for many years- it's always been a loyal friend, a total comfort food fall back, and ever reliant for my high strung chocolate needs. I like nutella on my toast, drizzled over pound cake, used as a dip for pretzels, slathered in evil proportions between freshly made crepes, spooned over ice cream, and now, as the main star in a homemade ice cream recipe.

I think this ice cream also falls into the "OMG" category of life. It's kinda good, like, excellent good. Smooth and creamy and invigorating........think Wendy's Frosty, but homemade and slightly richer. That's what it tastes and feels like on your tongue- only again, you get that slight hazelnutty undertone because, well, it's made with hazelnut chocolate spread but it's hardly noticeable and completely not overly daunting for any nut non-enthusiasts.

I'm just now feeling bad that amongst the three of us (me + 2 children), we have consumed the majority of the recipe as if we were in a world ice cream eating competition, with hardly any leftovers for the man who works so hard for us. Hmmm... must think of plan B for that stud.

Enjoy!!!

(oh yes, PS, please excuse my lack of ice-cream-all-scooped-up-so-cute-in-a-dainty-bowl photograph. We ate it too quickly before it had a chance!).

Nutella Gelato

{Giada de Laurentiis}

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup

4 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts (kate note: or if you’re like us, you won’t even need a garnish when it’s eaten straight from the ice cream freezer! Bwa ha ha!!)

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

2011-08-11T16:38:00.003-05:00

Three things in this world that are a match made in heaven: heavy cream, sugar, and strawberries. One technique that brings these two ingredients into celestial sublimity, freezing.

One unexpected component that made this equation boo-ya awesome, SOUR CREAM.

I love when sour cream can be used in unpredictable ways. Don't you? It strengthens my foundational belief that all things sour cream are right and good and true. This is a brightly-colored, bright-tasting, and bright-looking dessert for your summer repertoire. Sure to please any crowd, I am convinced!

Ooh how I devoured and sinfully loved each tiny bite.

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

{The Perfect Scoop: David Lebonitz}

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vodka or kirsch (I left this out)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, if using- I left the alcohol out and you can too if desired. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve and all of the strawberries are coated. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky.

Refrigerate mixture for at least one hour. At least. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You will melt into a blubbering mess for some ice cream. It’s just perfectly i-scream, u-scream, we all scream for ice cream-esque! Good luck staying away!:)

Prune Cake. And Yes, it's Fabulous.

2011-08-09T15:45:00.004-05:00

Prune cake.

So unexpected. So grandma-sounding-ish. So old fashioned. So habitually rejected.

SO so SO sO So good. Is that clear enough?

Really. Prune cake. And the minute I saw this recipe, I was instantly grabbed with curiosity and optimistic skepticism. That little immature, untamed culinary voice inside of me told me this would be a surprisingly lovely cake.....and ohh... how it was so luscious!

Your house will smell like warm fall days and your tummy will be the happiest it's been in a while. Your kids will not even know what they just took a bite of and will consequently wish for seconds and thirds until you must coerce them into eating something else for fear of the near-future diaper disasters... if you get my drift. No pun intended.

The actual prune-taste and prune-texture are nearly absconds during the oven love time, and what you have is again, a cake moister than a sponge with happy combinations of spices. The glaze is important to facilitating such a moist texture, so I recommend you do the work for procuring it. I must say, I think I removed my glaze mixture from the stove top a minute too early, so read the instructions carefully and go to the link I have for Pioneer Woman's step-by-step if it seems too intimidating. She has an excellent, visual, might I add, tutorial on it.

Otherwise, delish! Easy! Kinda/sorta/maybe-I'm-just-convincing-myself, healthy.

Prune Cake with Glaze

{The Pioneer Woman Cooks}

1 cup prunes

1 cup sugar

3 whole eggs

1 cup canola oil (Kate note: used half applesauce, half oil)

1-1/2 cup flour, sifted (Kate note: I used whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE ICING:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon white corn syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Cover prunes with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft and mashable, about eight minutes. Remove from heat, drain water, and mash on a plate. Set aside.

Mix together oil, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add buttermilk and vanilla and stir gently until just combined. Throw in the mashed prunes and stir gently to combine. DO NOT OVERMIX!

Pour batter into buttered baking dish (9 x 13 or so) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. (kate note: Who wants an overcooked cake? A prune one at that? No thanks).

While cake has five minutes remaining, make the icing:

Combine all icing ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil. Boil without stirring for 5 to 7 minutes, or until icing starts to turn dark. Do NOT allow icing to reach soft ball stage; icing should be caramel in color, but not sticky like caramel. Icing should be easily pourable.

Remove cake from oven and pour on icing immediately.

Allow to rest on the counter. Serve warm. (Kate note: Watch it vanish into thin air!)

Perfect Pico de Gallo

2011-08-04T14:36:00.003-05:00

It's summer and that means one thing:

Kate want Pico.

Kate want Pico now.

Kate want Pico all day.

It's true. Pico de gallo might be one of my all time favorite foods ever.... okay, all time favorite condiments. Throw in some fresh fish tacos and you can say any heinous remark to my face and it won't even stab at my ego. I am just a lover for anything fresh-mex- we were kind of made for each other in the circle of life food chain.

I seem to eat my fair share of pico in the summer months when come December, tomatoes are either tasteless or pricey, or both, and making anything with tomatoes and cilantro seems awkwardly out of place.

After a little research, I think I've finally nailed the down the perfect pico- it's easy, it's a no-brainer, and it's about a 10 minute process, start to finish. Perhaps 20, depending on your celerity in the chopping-up department.

I think the general rule of thumb with Pico de Gallo is to have an equal amount of each ingredient- so that the onions don't out-daunt the tomatoes, or vice versa... though, I can't handle too much jalapeno, so one is good for me. Otherwise, I try to have an equal share of every ingredient in the bowl- everyone is happy that way. How can something with only a few ingredients be soooooooooooooooooooooooo mind-blowing fantastic? I'm fine to live without the answer.

Adios!

Perfect Pico de Gallo

Roma tomatoes (about 8)

2 white onions, medium sized

1 large jalapeno

1 large bunch cilantro, diced

2 limes

Salt

Cut the tomatoes in half, lengthwise. Using a soup spoon (or some other larger sized spoon), remove the juicy seeds of the tomato and discard. Dice up the remaining tomato and put into a large bowl.

Dice the onions into the same size as you did the tomatoes. Add to the large bowl.

Cut the jalapeno, discarding the inner membrane and seeds. Dice finely, and add to large bowl.

Cut up all of the cilantro and add to bowl. Juice the limes, add to the bowl, and finally, season the entire mixture with salt. Allow to sit for a few hours before serving for flavors to marinate with one another. And then eat, and watch yourself fall into pico twitterpation. Yum.

To Try: Goat Cheese in the AM

2011-08-03T18:15:00.005-05:00

Goat cheese for breakfast. Why?

1. tasty

2. satisfying

3. versatile

4. it just rules

Sometimes when I start topping my toast in the AM with this delicately delicious and really should-cost-much-cheaper-in-the-grocery-store cheese, my husband starts getting a little dubious if we can be expecting another naughty angel to the family in 9 months.

Uh... justified. But no.

Dear husband, I like goat cheese at all times and in all seasons of life and I will eat it happily at 4 am or 4 pm.

With whole grain toast, ripe garden tomatoes and freshly blacked pepper on top, it's about the best my breakfast's ever get.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-08-01T16:26:00.005-05:00

I know that from these images, that these little cookies look nothing out of the ordinary. And perhaps it's the effect of a recipe having the noun, "New York" in it that makes my mind convince my taste buds that these are extraordinarily marvelous, but I've dismissed that theory and decided you need this recipe. You do. These cookies, in my book, go down in the hall of fame for best chocolate chip cookie. The flavor is totally spot-on, the texture is soft but just barely crispy enough on the outside, AND, and.... they are really, fool proof: under cook them, you've got nice gooey chocolatey richness. Over bake them, and someone will appreciate your work for making them crunchy and likable.

The only not-cool-thing about this recipe is the fact you are instructed to chill the dough for 24-36 hours. Bummer. If you'd like to truly be more empathetic towards children and what it must be like for them to wait for Christmas morning to open up their gifts, then I double dare you to chill this dough for the entire 36 hours. Me? I made it about 18. The dough would've been completely obliterated, in the form of consumption then digestion, and that just wasn't acceptable. So, we baked before the dough was swimming in intestine land.

On the contrary, once you have waited out your patience until it's string thin and had the satisfaction of finally baking these yummers off, you will be greatly rewarded with what tastes like America's true, symbolic cookie. These make enough for you to take at least a few plate-fulls around to people, leaving you and yours with still enough. Bottom line, you will be happy and this world needs more happiness in my opinion.

Thank you, NY chocolate chip cookies, for coming into my life. Most of the world's major issues and crisis could be more swiftly resolved if all the leaders sat down together and ate some chocolate chip cookies. I'm alluding to a certain congress that can't seem to agree on much; these cookies would unite- I am completely convinced!

Enjoy!!!!!

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

{via}

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks (Kate note: I used chocolate chips)

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing we

ll after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Bake until just golden brown but still soft, 10 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Vive Homemade Ice Cream!!!

2011-07-30T09:56:00.006-05:00

{photo by janem}

Dear recipe blog,

I am sorry for being so negligent in updating you regularly. My brain has been in other places. Please forgive me. I hereby commit to updating you at least 2-3 times a week- that is a sincere, electronic pinky swear.

In the mean time, it's ice cream season. Are you eating your fair share of homemade ice cream? The loud roaring sound it makes as it freezes its contents is like Vivaldi to my ears- homemade ice cream gives my summer life zing and joy.

Procure for yourself an ice cream machine- it is so worth it. We use ours year round but in high summer months like now, it gets the sha-daieses kicked out of it. I've garnered a decent amount of ice cream recipes that I'd like to share with you- later today we are making a sour cream strawberry ice cream which, really, might make my heart stop just at the thought. Yum.

Enjoy the rest of summer with these especial recipes.

As Julia Child once said, "If you're scared of butter, use cream!"

I believe in cream- the heavy stuff. The naughty stuff. The good stuff. It makes the ice creams decadently memorable.

Ta ta.

1. Buttermilk ice cream: very creamy and rich, unexpected, and unique.

2. Lime ice cream: uber-refreshing, and perfect balances of tart and sweet.

3. Coconut frozen yogurt: different, unpredictable, and an instant mind trip to Huh-why-ee!

4. Kiwi sorbet: completely unexpected, extremely refreshing and tart, yet sweet enough to satisfy and is even kind of "healthy" in an, I-don't-feel-guilty-for-one-second-eating-this type thing.

5.Watermelon and lime sorbet: this will knock your socks off with idyllic summer dreaming. To me, this sorbet epitomizes the sensational flavors of the season.

Check out the sidebar under "icecream/sorbets" for more ideas: ice cream sandwich cake (o.m.g.g.- oi moi goodness good), lemon sorbet, chocolate sorbet, etc.

Homemade and Quick Granola

2011-07-26T15:55:00.003-05:00

I just love a good, oversized bowl of homemade granola in the morning with some yogurt. Does it get better than that??? Really. I'll wake up at 4: 30 am if it means getting some of this stuff.

Unfortunately, I winged this recipe, but here are my approximations. You may find that more or less really applies to each ingredient. You can also switch out the nuts and dried berries for whatever you prefer. You go!!!

Almond/Oat/Flax/Coconut Granola

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 cup raw, whole almonds, diced

1 cup dried cranberries

Pinch of salt

2-4 Tbsp canola oil

2-4 Tbsp honey

In a small bowl, mix together the oil and honey (again, in order to coat all the granola, you may need to use at least 4 Tbsp of each in order to achieve a good coverage of moisture). Set aside.

In another large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour the oil/honey mixture all over the dry ingredients. Spread out evenly on some cookie sheets and bake at 350 until just light brown (it may take up to 30 minutes- in that time, please take granola out and give it a stir so that all the oats have a chance to brown- make sense?).

Avocado Tofu Smoothie

2011-07-22T16:01:00.002-05:00

Despite the fact that nearly 80% of what I post deals entirely with either sugar, butter or both, inside the scenes I really do strive to eat healthily and to stretch that habit into my husband and children. More than just looking good, feeling good is one of my top priorities- I figure if I am feeling top notch, than my children get a mom who is patient and fun, and my husband gets a woman who is confident, energetic, and has enough love to share around. That is why I want to feel good.

I really like "weird" food. Well, maybe not "weird" per se, but earthy foods: lentil anything, bean-anything, lots of kale, lots of swiss chard, roasted veggies, garlic mixed with oil for salads instead of all those scary bottles found in the store. I am not must-eat-it-directly-from-the-chemical-free-soil, but you get my drift.

... which, this kind of fondness can translate into some interesting and slightly unintuitive concoctions- this smoothie for instance, while it's oddly refreshing, was also seriously not innate for me to just gulp down like a slurpee. I felt awfully "green" (no pun intended) for doing so and my 1 year old drank it like a solider in the desert, but oohhh..... this may be taking the superfoods too far into extremes. Not sure if this will be my staple morning go-to. It's fine, not fabulous.

But if you are a lover of tofu, avocado, spinach, and pear juice all together, then all my best to ya!!!! Someone out there has to like this!

Avocado Tofu Smoothie

{Superfoods Cookbook}

1 ripe avocado, skinned and pitted

½ cup of silken tofu (make sure it’s the silken type)

1 handful of baby spinach

1 cup organic pear juice

1-2 Tbsp of honey

1 big handful of ice

Mix the above ingredients together until completely smooth. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelized Peaches and Creme Fraiche

2011-07-20T15:26:00.002-05:00

Blinner is pretty big at our house and oddly enough, the breakfast foods so typically eaten in the AM taste a hundred times better late in the evening (speaking for myself). Weird? Weird.

My kids are huge pancake and french toast lovers. I decided to give the french toast some snobby bling to it and found it was good enough to serve even company. Creme fraiche helps the cause. And if you decide to buy creme fraiche from the store you are perhaps not aware that it's so ridiculously easy to make at home from scratch and lasts a lot longer. Roasted peaches, with warm and sweet juices extracting from their flesh, combined with the creamy homemade cheese, all on top of cinnamon-dusted french toast.... um, good. Really good.

This here link is the recipe I always use for homemade creme fraiche. Just plan a few days ahead of time and make sure to make it about two days before you need to serve it. I like to allow it to chill in the fridge for about 12-24 hours before serving. It's a mental thing, I suppose, but it tastes better if it's had some fridge TLC time.

Oh, and really, let's talk about the bread. You should use thicker bread if possible. My mistake was found in using some cheapola generic sandwich bread which was just flat enough to really be vexed by it. Go thick, be happy. Words for breakfast life.

Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelized Peaches and Crème Fraiche

{Curtis Stone}

For the Caramelized Peaches:

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter

2 peaches, pitted, each cut into 8 wedges

For the French Toast:

6 large eggs

Four 1/2-inch slices brioche bread, or other thick bread

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup crème fraîche

To prepare the caramelized peaches:

Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the pan and cook without stirring for about 5 minutes or until the sugar melts and slowly begins to caramelize (Kate note: this did not really work me. I simply added butter to the pan, allowed it to heat up, added the peaches and sugar, and allowed them to cook slowly until they were covered in nice, rich, sugary goodness). Add the peaches and butter and sauté for 2 to 5 minutes depending on the ripeness of the peaches or until the caramel melts and the peaches are just heated through and tender.

To prepare the French toast:

Using a fork, beat the eggs in a 13x9-inch baking dish to blend. Place the slices of brioche in the eggs. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the eggs are absorbed, turning the brioche slices once.

Melt the butter on a heavy large griddle pan over medium heat. Add the brioche slices to the hot pan and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown on the outside and heated through.

Meanwhile, stir the sugar and cinnamon on a large plate or pie dish. Transfer the French toast to a cutting board and cut the French toast diagonally in half. Immediately place the hot French toast in the cinnamon-sugar and turn to coat completely.

Divide the French toast among 4 serving plates. Spoon the peaches over the French toast, and drizzle the caramel sauce from the pan over the peaches and around the French toast. Spoon a dollop of crème fraîche atop each and serve immediately.

Raspberry Cornmeal Crumb Bars

2011-07-18T15:11:00.004-05:00

When I flip through cookbooks and cooking magazines, within my mind comes often the question and sometimes troubling bewilderment as to why I am attracted to only certain recipes- why the chicken with feta and spinach versus the chicken with glaze and rice, for instance?? Does this happen to you too??? After much contemplation, the only conclusion I can draw is that it's no different than taste in clothing, decorating, and the like. Why is it, I pressed myself further, that in a petite little cooking magazine, the featured article presents four different dessert bars, namely, a seven-layer oozing with coconut and chocolate, a peanut and caramel one, a citrus bar, and then these- and out of the four, I am zapped instantaneously with interest for 25 % of the article?- discarding the other 75%- even though I've tasted all other three previously and have been head over heals for each? Clear as mud??

Even though I can tell you choosing recipes is a lot like choosing a new shirt or shoes, I still can't supply any viable clarification why some recipes make it into my kitchen and others never, ever will. Do you have a formula down pat for this sometimes irksome conflict? You can tell it's an issue here.

But..... all I know is that when the picture of these raspberry cornmeal bars exposed itself to my two set of eyes (one set in my face, the other set, in my stomach).... I just had to follow that inner culinary voice that tempted me to try them. They are good- worth the time and money-good, I mean. Very buttery, but not too heavy. The raspberries cook and mingle with each other, while the sugars within them release and create a thick, juicy, and syrupy like middle that is sandwiched happily between a cornmeal, buttery crumb. And the cornmeal, you can't taste, but can certainly notice a notable and positive difference in the texture- more oomph, more "crumble" and more lightness.

I had to wait quite a few hours however, until they had really cooled down before I was smitten on them. Round two I tried them warmed up ever so slightly with a slobbering dollop of vanilla bean ice cream soddened into it. That, was pristine and pure deliciousness.

Raspberry Cornmeal Crumb Bars

{Martha Stewart, Everyday Living, May 2011}

3/4 cup natural almonds

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

10 ounces frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square (Kate note: I used a 9 inch and it worked great) baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides. In a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup). In a large bowl, whisk together ground almonds, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Press about two-thirds the dough into dish. Scatter raspberries over top and crumble remaining dough over raspberries. Bake until top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack before cutting into 9 bars.

Homemade Oreos

2011-07-12T15:32:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite past times, besides baking, is actually taking what I've baked to someone with a bright and gushing note. Everyone deserves to open their door and find a plate of goodies taking over their front door mat, something that was specifically made for them. We all work so hard after all, don't we? We're all just trying to make it in this crazy world. These particular puppies were being delivered to 9 squirrly but completely adorable 8 year- old children that we have the honor of teaching in church each Sunday in primary class. I hope these cookies merit their stamp of approval.

Homemade oreos always hit the spot for me- far more than those hard and crunchy things you find in the store. These are soft yet dunkable and hold up to any milk drenching techniques employed. They are rich but not so heavy to the point you feel like being a paperweight after eating one. They are awesome, a cookie that everyone can relate to, and will brighten even a summer's day drenched with rain.

This is, let it be known, my third attempt making homemade oreos in the last month and this time around, they were a huge success. Finally. Attempt one, I placed the rolled up dough too close to each other on the baking sheets which, during oven time, they all melted and spread like butter into each other- what I had were alien-looking cookies, not petite little rounds. Not pretty. The second time around, I used a basic knife to frost each sandwich, as opposed to a frosting bag and rounded tip, and they just looked plain sloppy. Today, I did everything correctly- made sure each ball of dough had room to bloom on the pan, baked each pan in 6 minutes, leaving them slightly underdone but not gooey, and finally, used the darn pastry bag fitted with a larger round tip. Believe me, that step makes a HUUUU-MONGOUS difference in its presentation I can't even stress it enough.

Homemade Oreos

{adapted from Smitten Kitchen}

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (Kate note: add 1 cup if you want them more “bitter” tasting, add the maximum amount if you like these overly sweet. I added 1 ¼ cups for a happy medium).

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

1 Tbsp of heavy cream (Kate addition- my dough was too dry without it)

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 Tbsp heavy cream

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass (Kate note: I added a TBSP of heavy cream and the mass was perfectly moist and came together better than it did without it).

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla and cream. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Now do what you wish with them.

Kale Berry Smoothie

2011-07-08T15:39:00.007-05:00

One of the major boons of summer time is the way in which I convince myself that we can eat three smoothies a day with no lingering feelings of guilt.

This is one of our favorites and I promise, you can't really taste the kale: maybe feel the kale in tiny bits, but certainly not taste. And ladies and gems, you will for sure want to check your teeth after drinking this to ensure those pearly whites are free of any nasty kale or berry bits hanging around. It can get bad, so use caution when using this smoothie in any social situations.

We use the frozen mixed berries that you can find at Costco for this, but I'm sure using straight strawberries or straight blueberries instead of the motley would be acceptable. I simply love the taste of the mixture and the color it produces. Pretty, eh? And super duper nutritious. I feel like a mighty woman after consuming a glass: it's full of antioxidants, vitamins, potassium, and definitely a plethora of other medical jargon terms that I'm not familiar with. Love love this- you can also use spinach in place of the kale. Arugula might be too "peppery" so I'd steer clear from that.

Kale Berry Smoothie

1 1/2 heaping cups of frozen mixed berries (i'm sure you can get by on less though)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain.. or any other natural plain yogurt

1-2 ripe bananas (love using a ripe banana that has been in the freezer!)

1 cup soy milk (perhaps a bit more)

1 heaping TBSP of orange juice concentrate

1 large handful of kale leaves (inner stem removed)

In a blender that can handle this, puree all the ingredients until completely smooth. Add more milk if it's too thick. Serve, drink, and floss. This should serve about 3-4 people.

July 4rth Flag Cake

2011-07-06T14:02:00.004-05:00

Happy Fourth to you!

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of lusciously rich cakes. I mean, happiness. Or cake.

I decided to conquer the Flag Cake in the wee hours of 7/04/11- since we eat with our eyes first, this cake, so beautifully photographed in Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook, has had my attention for a long time and the cake gods were sending me vibes that this was the year to do it.

In life in general, I tend to bloom a little late on most things. It usually takes me at least a try or two before my confidence is brimming at the top and this cake was no exception. Having now made it all the way through once, I could do it again, feeling positive it would turn out far better.

For instance, I ditched Ina's instruction of baking it in an 18x13x1.5 inch pan (Sorry, Ina!) and sought my 9 x 13 glass cake pan instead- thinking that the former would produce a wimpy, thin, and dinky cake. I like my cakes to have a little height and depth, or so I thought and the 9x 13 worked, but but but....... rest assured, the cake was dry- like, there's -a -sock -in- my- mouth-dry. Because it was so very thick in that pan, the outer edges were baked far sooner than the middle of the cake was and as soon as the middle was just barely dry to the touch, I removed it from the oven. The outcome? Dry edges and just barely done middle. Tough combination.

The second thing I would do is serve this on a completely flat serving ware. My cake was inverted onto a favorite porcelain serving piece that will be timeless until the year 3000 but the cake was just barely too big and as a result, the center of the cake collapsed within a few hours of cooling. Shucks.

The third thing I would do differently, and it's far easier said than done, would be to take more time in carefully making straight streaks of frosting across the cake (you note my frosting job looks a bit like a wobbly hand was in charge). Having two squirmy, squirrly, active children pulling at my legs didn't help the situation much- and since frosting cakes perfectly isn't in my natural skill set, it must needs be that I need perfect solitude and all-encompassing attention given.

Other than those little faux pax's, it's a real dandy cake to have on July 4rth- the cake is very pound-cake like in both taste and texture. The frosting is divine, and everyone gets as big a piece as they want. See? Perfect. Furthermore, as a bonus for all your labor, your work will be greatly validated with oooh's and awww's for it's presentation, even if the frosting job is a bit wobbly and the cake itself has prematurely collapsed.

And since we are basically celebrating the 4rth all month long, it's not too late to bake this for your next BBQ extravaganza!

Flag Cake

{Ina Garten}

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 cup sour cream at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature

1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

2 half-pints blueberries

(Kate note:have all the berries thoroughly washed and dried long before you plan on using them for cake to prevent any "bleeding" onto the frosting)

3 half-pints raspberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth (Kate note: you may need a splash of milk or whipping cream to get your desired texture- whipping cream makes a killer good addition).

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

Kate note: I would personally store the cake in the fridge and then let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or so before distributing.

Throwing some Pizaaz into your Patriotism

2011-07-02T20:40:00.006-05:00

{picture of a beautifully charming red brick row home in Philly, proudly waving the American flag, July 4rth, 2010}

Happy (almost) Fourth of July-very close to being a very top favorite holiday- how can you not feel anything but complete affection and love for it? Summer is in full swing, the air is warm (perhaps a bit too much?), children are playing outside and squealing with delight all over the place, the sun stays out until my bedtime, pools are open, people are giving their grills a mighty good work out, and having a shirt stained with watermelon drips and teeth chock full of corn on the cob remnants is socially acceptable. I love it. Oh, did I mention fireworks? Those sparklers that are so exciting at first and then nearly burn off your fingers?? Red-white-blue? Neighborhood breakfasts? Cabin?? All of that too. Equally loved.

The 4rth of July really has snuck up on me this year, darn thing. I hope next year my brain isn't so cramped with other busy to-do's so that I can throw parties and plan to bake more 4rth of July goodies for neighbors and friends. Tomorrow night for dessert I shall attempt the flag cake found in Ina Garten's Family Style Cookbook- blueberries as stars, raspberries as stripes, and a whole heckuvolat of frosting and cake in the middle. Yum. You note I said, "attempt". Yes, that is the perfect verb for my undertaking.

If you still have time, here are some other 4rth of July ideas that I love and have found successful/ or hope to find successful in the future!

Happy Freedom Day to you!

1.Thumbprint Cookies

2.Ribbon Jello

3. Orzo Salad

4. Pretzel Sparklers

5. Buttermilk Blueberry Tart

6. Skewers and other food ideas (lovin' this whole party quite frankly)

7. Patriotic Cake Pops

8. Star Cookies

9.Vanilla-Raspberry Sundaes(this makes me drool uncontrollably it you needed that tmi)

10. Fireworks and Sand Centerpiece ( We have something very similar on our kitchen table right now and I am loving loving it)

Spice Cake with Blackberry Preserves and Mascarpone Frosting

2011-06-29T20:06:00.006-05:00

I am a big believer that every wedding or baby shower needs something spectacularly sweet to top everyone off. One of my great great friends is having a girl in September and as such, deserved all the love and affection in the world. Isn't that showers and friends are for after all??

I searched high and low for a killer cake and found one that had me giddy to bake. The first time around, I followed the instructions word for word yet found that the butter didn't yield that moist spice cake texture so desperately yearned for. Which is odd, can we just talk about this? The cake was quite dry. No one wants to be sock-mouthing on dry cake at a shower. So I made a round two-go on it and substituted the butter straight out for canola oil- no teetering with the measurements were necessary and wala: perfect texture (it's been my experience that most cakes bake up nicer with oil as the fat component, but believe you me, butter reigns as queen fattie in most other desserts)!

I served the monster cake on a ceramic and dramatic pink cake stand, as shown in the photo above. Poked through it were two wooden skewers with "flags" on them saying, "Sugar and spice and everything nice"- you know... girlish nursery rhymes with perfect relevance to the dessert. It seemed to good to be true- spice cake, sugar and spice personality.

The cake, you should know, might give me heart disease. Or at least send my cholesterol numbers up through the roof. You have these layers of delectable yet subtle spice cake with a thick and incredibly creamy mascarpone cheese frosting in between as well as on top. Throw in some sweet blackberry preserves, a cinnamon sugar dusting over the entirety of it, and.... well, I am filled with raptures. While eating it, I tried to keep a composed expression of total coolness, but deep down, my zinging heart was pounding rapidly for more of it. It is, to this date, my very, very favorite cake. We all need one, right?

The top picture shows the last piece of cake that I anxiously waited for eating for breakfast the next morning. It was even better 12 hours later. And, it really is a shame that I was negligent in snapping a picture of the real deal before it was served, but you get the idea.

Spice Cake with Blackberry Preserves

& Mascarpone Frosting

{Martha Stewart Living, May 2011}

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

Salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups blackberry jam (from one 17.5-ounce jar)

Mascarpone Frosting (recipe below)

Garnish: cinnamon-sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 8-inch round (I used 6 inch and 9 inch. Yes, I made two cakes and both sizes worked amazingly) cake pans with cooking spray, line with parchment, and spray parchment. Sift flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl.

Beat butter (or canola oil) and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more.

Divide batter among cake pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes (mine baked in less time than that). Transfer pans to wire racks, and let cool for 20 minutes. Turn out cakes from pans, remove parchment, and flip right side up. Let cool completely and (this is Katie talk) freeze for a few hours until substantially hard enough to saw through without it crumbling to smithereens.

Trim tops of cakes to create a flat surface. Cut cakes in half horizontally. Spread 1/2 cup jam onto 1 layer, then spread 1 cup frosting over jam. Top with another cake layer. Repeat layering cakes with jam and frosting, leaving top layer (bottom side up) uncovered.

Spread remaining frosting on top of cake, and garnish with cinnamon-sugar.

Mascarpone Frosting

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.

DIY Scraps

2011-06-27T13:52:00.006-05:00

Ruffled streamers. Ruffles are still so ubiquitous in the blogosphere, it just kills me. But how brilliant is this? It turns boring old crate paper into something frilly and feminine and elegant and colorful. I own about a gazillion rolls of old and lonely crate paper that have a new life ahead of them thanks to this idea.. pink, red, and light blue are looking f-i-n-e together here.

I have made circular felt banners before, but paper?? Awesome. I had no clue until this project that a sewing machine could rip through paper like it did. New life for all my paper too! Here is a link to the how though it's pretty easy peasy to figure out.

My genius crafty friend once looked at her ginormous pile of empty formula cans and inspiration told her to wrap fabric around them. I copied her, and now they are all over my house serving for different uses. My boys' bathroom has a little gray-colored theme to it, so these sit there with all of their toothbrush and comb and what-have-you items in it. Thank you, first lady of the house Camilla!!

Some shoes need new oomph. I thought rosettes would solve the problem. And for me, they did. I got so carried away that they started showing up on random things all over my closet.... shoes, shirts, and I even made earrings out of them (see below). Easy. Best yet, all those annoying 2.5 x 12 inch fabric scraps are now being used to spice up my life with color. For these rosettes, I googled how to make them and trust me, a plethora of links will pop up- I would cite which site I used but now I cannot find nor remember which one it was- apologies.

Scraps are on my mind more than I should admit- i.e. how should use up this last little bit of stale bread, how can I utilize this box into something functional, etc. Fabric and paper aren't the least of these.... and as much might as I give it, it's hard to not feel urges of desire for new fabric and papers, thus, permitting my scrap piles and scrap bags to proliferate.

A few weeks back I was vehemently determined to put them all to use before buying anything new. And these are a few of the things we (meaning, me, my two year old, and my 1 year old, because they are basically around for all of it:)) put our scraps to- earrings, shoes, storage, and party decorations.... I also used fabric for sprucing up some boring old white onesies and t-shirts, none of which are pictured.

It makes me feel like a part of the great "Green" revolution that has swept over America. It's not perfect, but it's a start to finding new uses for old things.

Do you have any fun crafts using up scraps? What am I missing out on? Would love any of your creative juices shared!!

Raspberry and Cantaloupe Popsicles

2011-06-22T10:15:00.005-05:00

One of the great plus's of having a toddler in the summer time is that it brings back a lot of childlike magic from my own childhood and among other things, some of our current favorite activities we seem to indulge in often is popsicle eating, particularly outside all while trying to eat it as quickly as possible before the hot sun melts it into liquid waste. We like to find shapes in the clouds, run through sprinklers, draw with chalk, and play ball all while stuffing our faces with these cool and refreshing treats. If I can admit it without sounding like a juvenile adult, I still feel like a kid most summer days right along with my toddler- I'm just a lot taller and can actually speak in full sentences. Most the time.

And since popsicles are becoming my tot's main staple of nutrition, I am opting to take matters into my own hands and actually make them from scratch. This might just be the only area of my life where I title myself a complete control freak-knowing what is actually going into his food- it's hard not be with all the bad talk about preservatives and what have you.

Therefore, I am always on the lookout and search for "healthier" recipes that are kid-friendly and kid-appealing and this particular recipe sang Hallelujah's to me: fresh fruit puree protein-infused yogurt...... and they were an opportune coincidence: ripe cantaloupe lay on my counter, Greek yogurt hanging out in my fridge, and raspberries were just a trip away. The raspberry portion of the popsicle is such a perfect concoction of sweet and tart- the cantaloupe portion is just sweet and subdued- the two flavors make a perfect match for oscillating between tart and pure sweetness. I'll surmise and say that if cantaloupe isn't your thing, which, for a lot of people is true, you can use whatever fruit tickles your taste buds. It was tempting to not get my brain wrapped around all the potential combinations: kiwi and strawberry, banana and lemon, strawberry and nectarine, lime and raspberry... oohhhh don't entice me.

Raspberry and Cantaloupe Popsicles

{Everyday Foods, July 2011}

½ cantaloupe, seeded

1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 ounces)

2/3 cup sugar

½ cup Greek yogurt (or any other plain yogurt)

In a blender, puree cantaloupe and 1/3 cup sugar until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh colander into a mixing bowl. Discard the solids (you should have a cup or so of “cantaloupe juice”). Set aside.

In a clean blender, puree raspberries and 1/3 cup sugar until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-mesh colander into another mixing bowl. Discard the solids (mostly seeds).

Whisk in a ¼ cup of yogurt into EACH bowl of puree. Whisk until finely incorporated and no longer lumpy.

In a Popsicle mold, fill the top 1/3 of each with raspberry puree. Then fill the last half with the cantaloupe puree. Freeze overnight (you may have to run it under mild water to loosen the molds).

Tilapia with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

2011-06-20T22:46:00.003-05:00

I'm going to make this short and sweet for all of us.

It's summer. It's finally warm, and pesto, grilled fish, and tomato-anything are really taking over my mind. The combination makes me feel like I'm on some kick-trash charming, and might I add, private beach residence on Cape Cod sipping snooty sparkling water. Never been there before yet this dish transports me there. This dish is the essence of simplicity-simple minds simple meals.

And ohh.... Cape Cod. Now that's somewhere to go.

Tilapia with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

2 fish fillets

2 Tbsp olive oil, separated

Salt and pepper

4 roma tomatoes, halved

Prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)

On a large jelly roll sheet, rub 1 Tbsp olive oil all over each side of each fish fillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss roma tomatoes with the other Tbsp of olive oil and season those as well. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake until tomatoes are slightly blackened on edges and the fish is flakey. Serve with pesto.

Lemon Goat cheese Cheesecake

2011-06-15T10:24:00.003-05:00

All these years I've been eating goat cheese and only recently discovered a recipe calling for it as a main star in a cheesecake. WHO KNEW?

I have so much to say about this it could be a novel. I'll keep it terse, for your sake.

First. If you make this, know your audience. Goat cheese is such a love or hate relationship- a black or white thing- rarely have I met a person who simply "doesn't mind it". No no. It's usually either i-love-it or i-abhor-it. Not knowing what to expect the first time around, I simply baked it as a summer treat for our family and what do you know? Three of us loved it, and the fourth did not (I will not mention the latter's name though suffice it to say, he's a grown adult). I think that's a great sign if a toddler and infant go back for seconds. Having that said, I would be cautious serving this as the main dessert to a large group of people- you're bound to have one or two palates unaccustomed goat cheese's "tart/tangy" flavor.

Second. If you are a fan, I think it's safe to say you will love it. It's so creamy and rich, satisfying and the best lemony accent ever. It's "cheesecakey" in that it closely resembles both texture and flavor of a normal cheesecake except because of the goat cheese there is an inherent "tang" or "tartness". To me it wasn't as heavy as a normal cheesecake- it seemed to be fluffier and lighter.

Third. If you are a fan, part 2, it's a dangerous thing to have around. Quite seriously. We ate ours within a day and a half. No sweat. No problem.

Fourth: the only thing that could make this a titch better, hard to imagine, would be some kind of fruit sauce to slather over it: homemade blueberry sauce.. fruit preserves.. nutella.. whipped cream. That sorta stuff.

Lemon Goat cheese Cheesecake

{Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham}

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

¼ stick unsalted butter, melted

2 cups sugar

¼ cup finely grated lemon zest (3-4 big lemons)

1 ½ lbs soft, mild goat cheese*

8-ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup fresh lemon juice

8 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9” springform pan. Have ready a roasting pan (if you choose to bake it in a water bath- I did NOT bake it in a water bath). Boil some water to have ready for the hot water bath.

Stir the crumbs and melted butter together in a bowl until well combined. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake about 8 minutes until the crust is just set and then remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 325.

Process the sugar and the zest in a food processor until the zest is finely ground. Beat the goat cheese and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar mixture and lemon juice, beating until smooth (be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl a number of times during this process). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Wrap the outside of the springform pan with heavy foil. Pour the filling into the pan (the one with the baked crustJ). Place this in a large roasting pan. Carefully pour in boiling water inside the roasting pan (but not getting into the pie) until the water reaches about halfway about the springform pan**.

Bake for 1 hour and 30-40 minutes until the center is almost set. Do not over bake- cheesecakes firm up during the cooling process. Check on the baking around 1 hour and see how it is doing- at that point, you can better gauge how much longer is required.

Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and set it in an ice water bath for 10 minutes (do NOT submerge the entire thing in water- just enough ice water to reach the halfway point of the pan). If you didn’t bake the cheesecake in a hot water bath, forgo this step and simply allow it to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Remove the foil and refrigerate the cake for at least 8 hours.

Let it stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes until serving. Enjoy!

*I only used a 1-lb log of goat cheese and substituted in 4 ounces of cream cheese , in addition to the 8 –ounces already called for.

** Baking a cheesecake in a hot water bath ensures even and “soft” baking. I chose to forgo this technique this time around simply because my roasting pan is tucked away in storage somewhere- you may call it pure laziness. My cheesecake still turned out evenly cooked and perfectly baked. You just have to watch it very carefully and remove it from the oven when the middle is still partially “jiggly”. Just a little jiggle. Not a lot of jiggle. We don't want a soggy cheesecake.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote with Lime and Ginger

2011-06-10T15:24:00.005-05:00

For someone that has rarely used rhubarb in her entire adult life (see story below), this late spring/early summer-whatever you call it- has me positively encumbered about with how to use it more and more and more. I reckon the next few months might be teeming with rhubarb recipes.

My senior year of college brought with it an opportunity to work as a dessert chef at a restaurant up in our local Millcreek Canyon. Oh, don't be intimidated: I was about as amateur and novice as they come. The chef, dare I say, took a huge leap of faith hiring someone with no professional experience and needless to say, it takes the cake on being the most adventurous, scary, nerve-racking position I have ever held. It had its let-me-pat-myself-on-the-back type moments, but it was a once-in-a-decade-job- that is for sure.

During the Valentine day month we offered a strawberry rhubarb crisp for those with that canyony (it IS a word you know) rustic dessert palate. That entire month my mouth was continually stuffing itself with strawberry-rhubarb filling that was stewing over the stove. I can STILL taste it in my mouth and being the first time tasting that combination, I was dead-stricken with love for it- and sadly, that was my last encounter with rhubarb until this last year.

Coincidentally, or perhaps NOT, I had all the ingredients in my fridge a few days ago for this recipe- how cool is that?? I love when good recipes turn opportune from simple good timing.

You will love this- and I think you should really make an effort to try it- a little zip from the ginger (the lime component is completely repudiated by it) and huge chunks of strawberry and sweetened, broken-down rhubarb. It's like a really good strawberry jam from the store minus the freaky syrups and minus the who-knows-how-long -jar life. Eat it over yogurt or freshly whipped cream or on top of cheesecake. I'll be waiting with bated breath until I can get my face in this again.

LLAAAAA!!!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote with Lime and Ginger

{Bon Appetit via Epicurious}

2 pounds strawberries, halved or quartered if large

1 pound rhubarb, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

3/4 teaspoon grated lime peel

Place 1 1/2 pounds strawberries and rhubarb in medium pot. Mix in sugar, ginger, lime juice, and peel. Cook over high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring often. Boil 4 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium; simmer just until rhubarb is beginning to fall apart, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining strawberries. Cool. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day

Chili Sweet Potato Fries

2011-06-08T10:11:00.003-05:00

We all need a favorite side dish.

This is ours.

We eat this nearly every week and let me tell you, it goes with everything. Burgers, pasta, fish, tacos, soup.... you name it, it goes. Succulent, sweet and spicy, healthy, easy... yes yes please.

Sweet Potato Fries

{Keeping Up Cookbook}

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into “fry” strips (we keep ours slightly thicker)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt

Dash of cayenne (our addition to the recipeJ)

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all the above, tossing well so that all the fries are covered with the oil and spices and bake for 20-35 minutes until soft. Serve warm.

OOHH SO GOOD!

Beehive Mini Lemon Cakes with Almond Icing

2011-06-07T10:55:00.004-05:00

We Utahns have an affinity towards the beehive. As a symbol of our pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains and settled here in the Salt Lake Valley as early as the 1840's, it became an emblem of sorts that represented their thrift, industry, and perseverance. The beehive is especially common within my church. Yes, this blog supports history snippets!

So be it as no surprise that when my mom saw some mini Beehive-shaped cake pans there was little restraint in purchasing one. The recipe accompanying the cake pan seemed perfect. I could already taste how yummy it would be- 1 cup butter, 4 eggs, milk, lemon zest..... mmm hmm. It's the kind of cake batter that tastes like a thicker version of sugar cookie dough and if you are familiar with that than you know exactly the level of deliciousness I'm alluding to.

If you don't have a Beehive shaped cake pan, which, can't blame ya if you don't, a mini bundt cake pan would be perfect. Otherwise, you can try baking this as a cake or cupcakes.

Beehive Mini Lemon Cakes w/ Almond Icing

1 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

3 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 whole lemon, zested

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour the pan. Mix flour, baking powder and salt-set aside. In large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Beat in flour mixture alternately with one cup o f milk mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter in the pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes. Invert on a wire rack and cool completely.

Icing:

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix the above together- although, you may need to fiddle with the components in order to achieve an icing texture that you are comfortable with. Pour over cakes- make sure they are all the way cooled down. Refrigerate leftovers.

Tres Leches Cake

2011-06-01T14:37:00.004-05:00

Tres Leches cake. Supposedly in Spanish translates to "three milk" cake, but in my perfect word world, it really should be named, tres-deadly cake.

It is deadly deadly deadly dangerous with such an addictive-forming after taste, I'm not sure whether it's the moist, almost custard-like cake that is to blame for it, or if the combination of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream should be the culprit. Whichever element of this rich cake can have the finger pointed to, the sum of all these little factors in creating this cake is out of this world succulent and delicious. It's the dessert that I want to eat all day long when I'm on my deathbed.

May I warn you? If you are dieting for whatever reason, you will not want this cake within a mile of your radius. If you are not dieting, you will still not want to keep this deadly cake around for long.

And if you don't know how delicious it is to eat something that has been drenched-soaked-saturated-immersed-drowned-in those three different kinds of milk, then I invite you to try this at your own risk. One thing I am quite fond of with this dessert is that it's a total crowd pleaser- I don't care WHO you are dining with- be it the Queen of England- whoever... they will fall off their seats oohing and awing at this. Nothing says love language like a Tres Leches cake!!!

This also makes enough to serve at least 8 adults, but maybe not much more than that since you will have to account for second helpings. Just speaking from experience.

Finally, isn't my photo horrible though? This was the last, teensy-tiny square remaining from my huge pan and taken at 10 pm at night in fake lighting. Sorry- you'll just have to make it to really see how beautiful it is.

Tres Leches Cake

{adapted from Keeping Up Cookbook}

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups heavy cream

1-2 tubs of cool whip

Make yellow cake mix according to package instructions, baking it in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Immediately upon removing it from the oven, poke holes all over the surface of it with a fork. Mix the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and the heavy cream together in a bowl, whisking well and slowly pour this evenly all over the warm cake (yes, you will USE all of the liquid). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. When ready to serve, spread the top with cool whip (or if you haven’t had enough cream yet, you can also use whipped cream instead) and cut into squares. Get ready to be sent to heaven.

Chipotle Meatloaf

2011-05-30T20:33:00.002-05:00

Happy Memorials Day to you! There is nothing more homelike, more patriotic, more red-stripes and blue-stars to me than a good ol' meatloaf. Its name alone exudes thoughts about American tradition, home, and family.

And this recipe will really "spice" up your meatloaf world. The single one chipotle pepper added gives enough heat to light the world on fire. It's spicy, it's incredibly savory and packed full with a perfect symphony of flavors. I love the topping on it- just a little zippage.

Anyway. Meatloaf. I've said it before: makes me happy.

Chipotle Meat Loaf

{Cooking Light}

Meat loaf:

1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup regular oats

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large egg whites

1 pound ground turkey

1 pound ground turkey breast

Cooking spray

Topping:

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare meat loaf, remove 1 chipotle chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Chop chile. Combine chile, adobo sauce, onion, and next 14 ingredients (through ground turkey breast) in a large bowl, stirring to combine. Place turkey mixture in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes.

To prepare topping, combine 1/4 cup tomato sauce, ketchup, and hot sauce in a small bowl; brush mixture evenly over meat loaf. Cover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Herbed Potato Salad

2011-05-24T14:52:00.003-05:00

I am so tickled that potato salad season is here. It was truly a long and dark winter without it. Throw in some grilled corn on the cob, little BBQ chicken, and I am as good as gold.

I know that potato salad isn't the most exciting recipe ever and like lasagna, we all have a variation of it that suits us best, but maybe you'll give this one a try. Maybe? I really, really liked this one. Thumbs up, whole-heartedly.

It requires lots of fresh herbs, onion, and simplicity. No hard-cooked eggs, no pickle juice, just straight up mayo and flavor accents to make it creamy and satisfying and pleasurable.

Tarragon and Dill Potato Salad

{Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is that?, pg 112}

3 pounds small white boiling potatoes

Kosher salt

1 cup mayo

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbsp diced green onion (white and green parts)

3 Tbsp red onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons chopped dill

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot off the heat and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Leave the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but firm.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, lemon juice, vinegar, and pepper. While potatoes are still warm, pour this dressing over them and toss well. Add the scallions, red onion, and the herbs, and toss well. Allow the salad to sit at least 30 minutes for flavors to develop. Sprinkle with salt and serve at room temperature.