Month: October 2013

Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

YUM!!!!

Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Filling

2 packages (8 oz each) softened cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 can (12 oz) Evaporated Milk (not sweetened condensed)

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup (6oz) Nestle Toll House Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate Morsels

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in medium bowl; press onto bottom of a 13×9″ baking pan. Set aside

For filling, beat cream cheese, sugar and flour in large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla. Set aside.

Microwave morsels in medium bowl on medium high power for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave in 15 second intervals until most morsels are melted. Stir to melt them completely until smooth. Stir 1 cup cream cheese mixture into the peanut butter chocolate melted chips.

Pour the remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Pour chocolate mixture over cream cheese mixture. Swirl mixtures with knife pulling the plain cream cheese mixture in swirls with the chocolate mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until set. Cool completely on wire rack and then refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

Cut into bars.

Makes 15 bars

 

Cakes · Chocolate · Holiday Fare

Chocolate Praline Cake

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What a gorgeous creation, just perfect for a dessert centerpiece.  To save time and energy, bake your favorite chocolate cake mix in 2 (9″) cake pans. Let cook completely. Set aside while making Chocolate Ganache and Praline Frosting

Ganache

1 (12 oz)  package semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces

Microwave chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a glass bowl at medium power 2-3 minutes or melted. Stirring at 1 min intervals. Whisk until smooth. Gradually add butter, whisking until smooth. Cool, whisking often for 15 min or until spreading consistency.

Place one chocolate cake layer on a serving platter. Spoon half of ganache over layer. Let sit for about 10 min to allow ganache to set up on cake layer. Place 2nd cake layer on top and use remaining ganache. While this is setting up, make the praline frosting.

Praline Frosting:

1/4 cup butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teas vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in  1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in toasted pecans, stirring gently 3-5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thicken slightly.  When frosting is of spreading consistency, pour immediately over top of cake. If you wait to long, the frosting will harden and you will not be able to spread over cake. Decorate with whole pecans. Pr

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Babysitting With Candy Crush

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It is getting serious. My daughter just called for our morning visit. As always, I ask how her night went and what they did. She reminded me that she babysat her friends two children, which told me that son-in-law kept her kids, while she went to keep the other small children of her friend. So when I ask about how Eric did with staying home and keeping their kids while she was down the street babysitting, she told me that she took Jaden, 11 and Caleb, 3 with her, leaving the 1 yr old, Noah with Eric. That way she could be sure that Jaden got his homework done and use Caleb to help entertain the other 3 yr old. When I expressed that that was a great idea, she finally confessed. Her friends children began to chase Jaden around the house, so that also kept Caleb busy. When she noticed that all 3  kids were then occupied with chasing Jaden, she took advantage of this and sat back and played Candy Crush. She said that her only job then was to look up every once in a while and yell, “quiet down a little, you’re getting a little to loud.” Apparently they were distracting her from being able to complete a new level. She was finally able to complete 2 new levels. She was so proud. Of course, the kids had a great night. Jaden didn’t have to do his homework, and the younger ones were late getting to bed, but that was insignificant to the fact that she was able to play CC without interruption. She convinced herself that it was good for Jaden to learn responsibility of taking care of younger children. I guess she will begin to use him to entertain Noah, giving her more time to complete lever 70. Honestly, I thought I did a better job of raising her. Note to self “write a little note to Jodi encouraging her to seek help for her CC addiction.”

I am so glad to I know that I could quit CC any time I wanted. I only play while watching tv, relaxing or in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. I’ll get that note written to her as soon as I finish this next level.

appetizers · Breads · Holiday Fare

Blue Cheese & Bacon Puffs

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What a great appetizer for those holiday parties. This recipe makes 6 dz! You will have plenty to snack on while putting the finishing touches to your table, while waiting for guest to arrive, still having plenty for the party. Taken from a SL magazine, 2001. The dough is like the dough you make for cream puffs, but used as appetizer with cheese instead of cream filling.

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teas salt

1/4 teas black pepper

1/4 teas ground red pepper

6 large eggs

8 oz crumbled blue cheese (Stilton is a good brand to use)

8 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

4 green onions

Bring the water and butter to a boil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and next 3 ingredients; cook, beating with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a smooth ball of dough. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Mix in cheese, bacon and chopped green onions.

Drop by rounded teaspoonful 2″ apart onto lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Puffs will be moist in the center. Serve puffs warm or at room temperature.

Puffs may be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight and reheat at 350 for 5-7 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Kitchen Addiction

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I don’t know what is happening, but the past few days, I cannot walk through the kitchen without baking. Is it the weather? Is it that I know I am getting older and there are so many recipes out there and so little time, or is it that I am just a sugar hoarder? Last night I found myself making the carrot cream cheese pound cake that I posted yesterday and it is absolutely amazing. Then this morning, I headed to the kitchen, still in jammies and pulled out the Pillsbury Pumpkin cake mix and proceeded to bake Pumpkin Poppers that I talked about the other day. I just followed the directions on the box except that I added 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Baked them in mini muffin pans (made 60) and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar while still hot out of the oven. Have eaten 5. Then our daughter sent us a picture of Kenley our grandaughter we are headed to see at Thanksgiving. They were making acorns out of miniature Nutter Butter cookies, Hershey Kisses and chocolate chips. A little melted chocolate holds the 3 items together, as you can see in the picture. So open those windows, celebrate this gorgeous autumn weather and get those baking pans out. Baking time is here.

Cakes · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Carrot Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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The thought of going a full day without posting something sweet just makes me crazy. When I found this in the same old Tea Time  Magazine that the Bittersweet brownie recipe came from, I saved it for when I had the energy to shred 2 cups of carrots, but now that you can buy them in the store already shredded, I love to make any type of carrot cake. This one combines the flavor of cream cheese in the cake. So…when you are thinking, “I need to eat more veggies” hiding them with cream cheese is a great way to eat healthy. At least in my world.

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 ( 8oz) cream cheese, softened

3 cups sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teas ground cinnamon

6 large eggs

1 teas vanilla

1/2 teas lemon extract (or orange extract) (I used the orange because I added orange zest to the batter)

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325. (I added orange zest along with orange extract) Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. Using mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed 5-7 minutes.

In small bowl, combine flour and cinnamon. Add 1 cup flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Add 2 eggs, beating just until yellow disappears. Repeat procedure with remaining flour and eggs.

Stir in vanilla and lemon (or orange) extract, carrots and pecans. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour and 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Glaze

2/3 cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoon orange juice

Add enough powdered sugar to make glaze spreading consistency.

In small bowl, combine sugar and orange juice, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Casseroles · Holiday Fare · Starches · Vegetables

Caramelized Onion & Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes (or Cauliflower)

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As I was writing that title, I’m thinking to myself, if you are not eating potatoes, why not substitute cauliflower. Taken from a November 2001 Southern Living, this is a favorite side to all meats.

Since getting quite a few emails telling me that I needed to post something besides desserts 95% of the time. I listened. So for the remainder of this week, I will post great holiday sides, meats or salads. (I know I can’t stand to not post a few desserts, so might have to post a couple of times a day to get in my 95% desserts, plus the other foods I have promised. So here it is; the first of the commitments:

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (or cauliflower)

1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided

2 tables butter

1 tables olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teas chopped fresh or 1/2 teas dried rosemary

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup half & half

3/4 cup Gorgonzola or blue cheese

3/4 teas pepper

Garnish: fresh rosemary springs

Bring potato or cauliflower to a boil with 1 teas salt with enough water to cover in a Dutch oven; cook 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and keep warm.

Melt 2 tables butter with oil in a skillet over medium heat; add onion and cook, stirring often, 12-15 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook 3 minutes. Stir in rosemary, remove from heat.

Mash potato or cauliflower with a potato masher, stir in 1/2 cup butter, half & half and cheese until blended. Stir in onion mixture unto a lightly greased baking dish.

Broil 3″ from heat 5 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Garnish, if desired. You can just sprinkle paprika and dried parsley if you don’t have fresh rosemary sprigs.

Serves 6-8 people

Now can I post the new carrot pound cake recipe that I found?

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Crab Streudel

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I am not a big seafood lover, but this streudel sounded really different and good. The fact that it is made with phyllo dough makes it a recipe that I will try. This will be an awesome appetizer for the holiday open houses.

1 (16 oz) package phyllo dough

Filling

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat

1 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley

1 tables Dijon mustard

1 cup white bread crumbs

Juice of two lemons

Salt and Pepper

Melted butter

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine lump crab meat, chopped chives, parsley, Dijon mustard, bread crumbs and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Using a French bread pan or two 9×5″ loaf pans, line pan with individual sheets of phyllo pastry that have been brushed with melted butter, making three layers, (each loaf pan with use 3 sheets)

Place filling into center and completely wrap with phyllo pastry.

Trim edges to make streudel neat. Brush top of phyllo with melted butter. Place on baking sheet and bake for approx. 20 minutes.

Serve with Red Wine Butter Sauce

2 shallots, minced

6 sprigs fresh thyme

3 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups red wine

6 tables red wine vinegar

2 tables heavy cream

6 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes

Salt and Pepper

Juice of 2 lemons

In saucepan, combine shallots, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaf, red wine and red wine vinegar.

Bring mixture to a boil and cook until nearly dry (approx. 3/4 volume is reduced away)

Add heavy cream and stir. Over low heat, begin to slowly add butter into sauce a few cubes at a time until all butter is incorporated.

Season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice and strain mixture through fine sieve.

Keep warm until ready to serve.

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Bittersweet Chocolate Nut Brownies

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Since going to storage a few weeks ago and being “forced” into going through old cooking magazines to pick out the good ones so Mr. Bah Humbug can rid our lives of some of our treasures, I have found some great ones that I cannot believe I had never noticed; like these brownies. I made them last night so we could have something good to eat while watching The Voice. At the first bite, we looked at each other and knew that these were ones that would go down in our “must have chocolate tonight” recipe favorites. The bittersweet chocolate and the nuts give them such a great deep chocolate flavor, very different from just brownies made with cocoa. Next time, I am kicking them up a notch and soaking the nuts in almond liqueur before adding them to the mixture. I am going to also experiment with soaking them in raspberry liqueur when I am wanting the chocolate raspberry flavor.

1/2 cup butter

4 (1 oz) squares bittersweet chocolate ( I used Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bar Bittersweet Chocolate (60% cacao)

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teas vanilla

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans  (to toast nuts, spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 5-7 minutes, stirring halfway. Taste one after 4-5 min to see if they still need a minute or two. Cool before adding to mixture)

Preheat oven to 350.

In heavy saucepan, melt butter with chocolate over low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

In medium bowl, combine chocolate butter mixture and sugar, stirring well. Stir in eggs, vanilla, flour and nuts.

Pour mixture into a well greased 8″ pan. Bake for 23-25 minutes. Let cool completely. We didn’t do that, we cut into them immediately and aren’t going to apologize one bit for doing so.  Randy told me to just give him one since sometimes chocolate gives me heartburn. He ate 4! He said they were worth dealing with heartburn.

Next time, I am going to soak the nuts in the almond liqueur instead of toasting them and all almond extract instead of vanilla.

Daily Thoughts

Thumbies Arrived & Ready

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Make individual cheesecakes, peanut blossoms, brownie bites easier with a Thumbie. Not having to use your thumb, the indentions are even, no crumbs under your nail and prep time is shorter.

Instructions for care is included.
I have been using the same Thumbie for over 4 years. Handwash only!

When making your yummies, always use your Thumbies!

Thumbkins Used for mini muffin pans $6.00 Shipping is $1.99 (If ordering 5 or more, shipping will be $2.99)

Thumbos Used for regular size cupcake pans $7.00 Shipping is $1.99 (If ordering 5 or more, shipping will be $2.99)