Caramelized Onion Dip

Ingredients
1 T oil
1 large sweet onion
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¾ C sour cream
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ t garlic salt
½ t onion powder
pinch pepper
1 scallion

Directions
Thinly slice the onion. Sauté the onion in oil until it browns (5-7 minutes). Stir in ½ cup water, gently scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Continue to cook until onion is golden brown, translucent and very soft.

While the onion is cooking, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, Worcestershire, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper. Stir until creamy. Stir in onion. Chill until serving. Before serving, slice green part of scallion; top dip with scallion slices. Serve with chips or fresh veggies...

Apple Fries

Apparently, you can get Apple Fries at Legoland amusement park in Carlsbad, CA. This recipe was part of a collection in Food Network Magazine this past summer with recipes of amusement park favorites. 

Even with Granny Smith apples, these were a little too sweet (which is NOT usually a problem for me). Maybe not entirely too sweet, just...kind of one-note sweetness. I added a sprinkle of salt and it balanced the flavors to my liking. I'd add salt in with the cinnamon sugar next time around. I also had some cream whipped already (beyond soft peaks, as you can tell in my photo, but I wanted to use what I had rather than whipping up more); tasted fine, though a little tougher to dip in than the softer, creamier version would be.

I'd also like to play around with a SINGLE frying, instead of the twice-fried process in this recipe. (Fry first, bake second?) Mine were nicely crispy on the outside -- other than one batch where the temperature dropped in the first frying, which already starts at only 300°...definitley lower than I would typically deep fry anything. I even made sure the apples sat and came to room temp before I made these. The cornstarch should help create a seal even in the lower temp oil -- seal in the apple juices and seal OUT the oil -- but that batch of fries was greasier than the rest. I'd bump up the temp for that first frying!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/apple-fries-6607082

Apple-Maple Cider Cocktail or 'Mocktail'

Ingredients
3 C apple cider
3 T lemon juice
3 T maple syrup
optional: 2 or 3 sprigs of thyme for steeping; extra thyme sprigs and/or very thin apple slices for garnish, if desired

1 C ginger beer or gingerale (mocktail)
    or
¾ C bourbon (cocktail)

Directions
If stronger thyme flavor is desired, steep apple cider with thyme first: Bring apple cider to boil with 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme; remove from heat. Chill. Remove thyme sprigs. (Maple flavor is more pronounced without steeping thyme.)

Add lemon juice and maple syrup to apple cider, stirring until maple syrup is dissolved. Add ginger beer, gingerale, or bourbon. Pour into glasses over ice. Garnish with apple slices and/or thyme sprigs.

Cheesy Mushroom Pasta

The original recipe called for pappardelle pasta, which I love -- wide noodles that catch and stand up to a good deal of sauce. But I had some mixed veggie noodles which were wide and rippled enough to do the same. Either, I believe would do very well; it was a hearty meal, very balanced flavor; great with a side salad. Would probably be fine even without the ham steak if you needed a vegetarian meal (not vegan, with the milk & cheese); the mushrooms give it a meatiness. Might need a little extra salt.

Ingredients
2 T butter
4 ounces ham steak, small diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
s&p to taste
12 oz buttom mushrooms, sliced
2 T flour
3 C whole milk
8-10 oz pappardelle pasta
2 oz (½ C) grated havarti cheese
3 oz (6 T) grated parmesan
2 T chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Begin bringing large pot of salted water to boil (for pasta).
Melt butter in large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add ham, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent (3-5 minutes). Add mushrooms, cook another 3-5 minutes until tender.

Sprinkle in flour, stirring to coat ingredients. Gradually add milk, stirring; bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer, stirring gently, until thick and creamy. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat broiler. Add pasta to boiling water; cook until al dente. Reserve ½ C pasta water; drain pasta. Add pasta to skillet with mushroom sauce. Also add havarti, parsley and half of the parmesan. Fold together pasta, sauce, cheeses and parsley until well coated. Use reserved pasta water to thin sauce if/as needed. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Broil until bubbly and lightly browned.

"Butter Beer" (?) -- Butterscotch Soda (Non-alcoholic)

Apparently, "butter beer" is a creation from the Harry Potter world. Having never been much of a fan, I've no insights to offer as to any authenticity to descriptions from the text. The actual beverage was, it seems, created after the fact...so Universal Studios would have something to sell along side their theme park attractions. Probably a smart move on their part; I understand they sell both hot and cold versions. I've only tried this cold. I have no idea how 'butter beer' is described in the fantasy novels, or how it is 'supposed' to taste. But this is a flavorful butterscotch soda...perfect for crisp, sunny, fall days where the blue skies and sunshine are still lingering from summer, but the season is inviting rich, warm, buttery flavors.

Ingredients
1 C brown sugar
1 C heavy cream, cold
1 T powdered sugar
3 T butterscotch sauce
pinch salt
½ t butter extract
¼ t vanilla extract
6 C club soda

Directions
Mix brown sugar in small saucepan with ½ C water; bring to low bowl and simmer to dissolve sugar. Refrigerate until cold.

Beat heavy cream with powdered sugar to soft peaks. Fold in butterscotch sauce and salt; beat to medium-stiff peaks. 

Add extracts to chilled brown sugar water.

To serve, pour ¼ C brown sugar mixture into glass; add 1 C club soda and top with whipped butterscotch cream

Buttered Bourbon Spiced Cider

A hot-buttered-rum-twist on spiced cider. I like this better than hot buttered rum!

Ingredients
½ C butter, softened
 C brown sugar
 t each nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon
4 C applie cider
1 C bourbon

Directions
Mix the brown sugar and spices into the softened butter. Shape into a 1" thick roll/log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.

Heat the apple cider. Divide the cider and bourbon between 6 mugs. Add a slice of spiced butter.

The sugared and spiced butter sinks to the bottom and as it melts, drop by drop, floats to the surface where it spreads out in a delicious, spiced butter layer to sip through with each swallow!

Apricot Rosemary Jam

Ingredients
6 C (about 2.5 lbs) juicy, ripe apricots
2 C sugar
½ t salt
3 T pectin
3 T lemon juice
~12" fresh rosemary sprigs

Directions
Halve apricots and remove pits; rough chop into large pieces. Combine sugar, salt, pectin and lemon juice in large sauce pan. Add apricots and stir to coat thoroughly. Add rosemary sprigs. Let sit at least 2 hours and up to overnight (refrigerate).

Stir to combine juices with sugar that may have settled to bottom of pot.  Bring to boil; boil 6-8 minutes sstirring frequently (reduce heat if needed to prevent jam from boiling over or excessive spattering).

Remove from heat. Remove rosemary sprigs and discard (some loose leaves in the jam is fine, but they can be removed if preferred). Mash with potato masher for chunky jam, or purée with immersion blender for smoother jam.

Return to heat; continue boiling until jam is reduced to 4½ C; skim foam off top if/as needed.* Scoop or pour jam into sterilized jars.

* You can test jams for consistency: Scoop a little jam onto a spoon and place it in the freezer for 3-5 minutes to reach room temperature. Tip the spoon on end; if it's too thin and runny, continue boiling another 3-5 minutes and retest.

Sugar & Spice Bacon

Check out Food Network Spiced Bacon for the original recipe. But this one is easy to come up with your own personal riff on any spice combination that will compliment whatever you're putting your bacon onto or into (even if it's just your mouth!).

Ingredients
12-16 oz bacon
¼ C light brown sugar*
2 t water
2-3 T spices

* Light brown sugar, or...go dark if you want to highlight the flavor. If that mapley-molasses
   flavor is not at all complimentary to the spices you want, sub in plain white sugar.

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Place bacon strips in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (a 'jelly roll pan').* Bake 9-10 minutes (12-14 for thick cut bacon) until just begining to crisp.

* For easy clean-up, but a little more work on the front end: Line rimmed baking sheets with foil and set a metal rack (cooling racks work great) on the baking sheet; place strips of bacon on the rack.

While it's in the oven... Combine sugar with water; microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring each time, to dissolve the sugar. Prep spices if needed.

When bacon begins to crisp...  Remove from oven; use tongs or a fork to flip bacon. Use a pastry or small BBQ brush to coat top side of bacon thinly with sugar-water mix. Sprinkle with spices. Return to oven for another 8-12 minutes or desired crispness. Drain on paper towel lined rack or plate.

Spice combos to try...
* dk brown sugar with chili powder
* cinnamon chai blend
* jerk seasoning (purchased blend or make your own)
* cumin, coriander and peppercorns (grind or use whole seeds)
* rosemary & black pepper
* Chinese 5-spice (use soy in place of water; thorw in some sesame seeds too!)
* bourbon BBQ (use bourbon in place of water; add a little squirt of ketchup, chili powder, ground mustard...)

Beurre Blanc

There are many variations of beurre blanc recipes; all basically the same:Beurre blanc -- white butter. Yep, this sauce is mostly just butter...with a bit of white wine. Hard to get a good photo before it started to melt and thin. Serve it over fish, chicken, vegetables... This is a combination-compromise between a couple recipes from chefs I trust. I may tweak it a bit - especially depending on what I plan to serve it over. The lemon juice was a nice compliment with the fish, but not all recipes use lemon. Many do not use any white wine vinegar, but rather all white wine. I love the tanginess of the vinegar; but I should try it sometime made with all/only wine instead. Some recipes strain out the shallots; others made no mention of straining. They add extra zing (since they've been cooked in the wine/vinegar). But I like the smooth presentation without them.


Ingredients
¾ C butter; cut to small dice
¼ C dry white wine
¼ C white wine vinegar
1 small shallot, minced
pinch salt
pinch white pepper
1 t lemon juice

Directions
Combine wine, vinegar, shallot, salt and pepper in small saucepan. Simmer until reduced to 1-1½ tablespoons. Remove from heat. Whisk in about 2 tablespoons of butter - in small chunks. Return to very low heat (don't let it boil, the sauce will separate); continue adding butter chunks, whiskin continually. Remove from heat; whisk in lemon juice. Strain out solids. Serve immediately.

Best Blueberry Muffins

These stay fairly pale, even when fully baked, but they're super soft and moist!

Ingredients
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
pinch salt
1 egg
1 C sugar
¼ C butter, melted
1 t vanilla
1¼ C sour cream
1 C frozen blueberries
Optional: 3 T turbinado sugar - for sprinkling on top (I sometimes use this, or a simple flour-butter-sugar crumble...that's what's on the ones in the photos.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with 12 paper muffin liners.

Melt butter; set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, briefly whisk egg vigorously. Add sugar, again whisk vigorously until well combined and smooth. Continue whisking while slowly adding melted butter (or add a little at a time, whisking after each addition). Add vanilla...whisk again. Add sour cream stiring just until smoothly blended.

Toss frozen blueberries in about ½ C of the flour mixture.

Add the rest of the flour to the batter, stirring just until blended (do not overmix!). Gently fold in blueberries -- and any remaining flour with them. Divide eevnly among 12 muffin cups. To with turbinado sugar (if desired...or a simple crumble topping).

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Hoisin-Garlic Mushrooms & Pepper

Easy and tasty!

Ingredients
½ C hoisin sauce
2 T minced garlic*
¼ t crushed red pepper (or more if you like it hot)
24 oz whole fresh button or baby bella mushrooms
1 sweet red bell pepper

* That's about 6 cloves; or...I buy a jar of preminced garlic - saves time (and smelly fingers!) and still has very good flavor.

Directions
Trim dry ends off mushrooms; I cut the largest ones in half, but you can leave them all whole if you like. Cut bell pepper into large chunks; discard stem and seeds.

In crock pot/slow cooker, stir together hoison sauce, garlic and crushed red pepper. Add mushrooms and bell pepper chunks, stirring to coat with sauce.

Cover. Cook 2½-3 hours on high (or 5-6 hours on low). Use a slotted spoon to remove mushrooms and pepper chunks.

Serve...
...with decorative toothpicks as an appetizer
...over rice, polenta, quinoa, etc as a side dish

Cheesy-Mustard Cauliflower

Cauliflower's never been a favorite of mine. I don't particularly dislike it, it just has so little flavor on it's own. But in my ongoing efforts to up my veggie intake, I've tried a couple options lately, both of them roasted. The appeal of a toasted-roasted, golden, almost-crispy-crusted top of the florets makes cauliflower at least inviting in appearance. This one, with gruyere cheese and mustard, gives cauliflower the flavor boost it so desperately (in my opinion) needs!

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
3 sprigs of thyme
6 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 stalks celery
1 shallot
zest of 1 lemon (large, wide strips is fine)
1 C dry white wine*
¼ C sugar
¼ C  + ½ tsp salt
2 T olive oil
3 T dijon mustard*
1 C shredded gruyere

* I used some homemade mustard I recently whipped up

Directions
Trim cauliflower, removing leaves and stem to level with bottom of florets. Rough chop celery and shallot. Preheat oven to 450° F.

Wrap 3 sprigs thyme, 3 cloves garlic - smashed, bay leaves, coriander and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie to secure. (I only had ground coriander, so I added that to the water with the salt and sugar.)

In a large pot, combine celerty, shallot, lemon zest, wine, sugar, salt and cheesecloth bundle with enough water to submerge cauliflower. Bring to boil, whisking to dissolve sugar and salt. Reduce heat to simmer. Gently add cauliflower core-side down; cover, Simmer 12-15 minutes until fork tender. The top florets will be fine even if they're not submerged. Remove to baking sheet.

While cauliflower is boiling, 3 garlic cloves - thinly sliced, olive oil and ½ tsp salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat 4-5 minutes until garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat; remove and discard garlic slices. Whisk in mustard. Brush two-thirds of the mustard mixture on cauliflower. Roast 30-40 minutes until florets are lightly browned and toasted.

Remove from oven; brush on remaining mustard; sprinkle with gruyere. Return to oven just long enough to melt cheese.

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower with Romesco Sauce

Cauliflower's never been a favorite of mine. I don't particularly dislike it, it just has so little flavor on it's own. It's rarely worth the effort. But I'm always looking for ways to increase my vegetable repertoire. When it's got the appeal of a roasty-toasty browned top, and thyme and garlic...well it was worth a try. The romesco sauce is another flavor boost, and the accompanying recipe made plenty for the cauliflower (I chose a smaller head) and it'll be fine for topping other veggies or roast potatoes or toasted garlic bread...

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
6 sprigs of thyme
6 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 stalks celery
1 shallot
zest of 1 lemon (large, wide strips is fine)
1 C dry white wine*
¼ C sugar
¼ C  + ½ tsp salt
¼ C olive oil

Directions
Trim cauliflower, removing leaves and stem to level with bottom of florets. Rough chop celery and shallot. Preheat oven to 450° F.

Wrap 3 sprigs thyme, 3 cloves garlic - smashed, bay leaves, coriander and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie to secure. (I only had ground coriander, so I added that to the water with the salt and sugar.)

In a large pot, combine celerty, shallot, lemon zest, wine, sugar, salt and cheesecloth bundle with enough water to submerge cauliflower. Bring to boil, whisking to dissolve sugar and salt. Reduce heat to simmer. Gently add cauliflower core-side down; cover, Simmer 12-15 minutes until fork tender. The top florets will be fine even if they're not submerged. Remove to baking sheet.

While cauliflower is boiling, combine 3 thyme sprigs, 3 garlic cloves - thinly sliced, olive oil and ½ tsp salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat 4-5 minutes until garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat; discard thyme. Brush half the oil over cauliflower. Roast the whole head until browned, 30-40 minutes, brushing with oil again half way through.

Serve with Romesco Sauce.

Romesco Sauce

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 T olive oil
 C blanched almonds*
2 tsp smoked paprika
pinch cayenne
1 12-oz jar roasted red peppers, drained
2 T sherry vinegar*
optional: bread crumbs

* I have nut allergies so I always make substitutions. I used pine nuts this time. I also substitued red wine vinegar this time as it's all I had on hand.

Directions
In small fry pan or sauce pan, cook sliced garlic in olive oil 3-5 minutes until it begins to brown. Add almonds (or pine nuts!), paprika and cayenne; continue cooking, stirring frequently, until nuts are toasted and golden (another 3-4 minutes).

Place drained, roasted red peppers and vinegar in blender with garlic, oil, nuts and spices; puree. (If it's a little thin... Romesco sauce is often thickened with bread, so feel free to throw in some bread or bread crumbs.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with Garlic Roasted Cauliflower, roasted potatoes, fish, chicken...

Mustard

Cleaning out the kitchen, I found that I had two jars (both almost full) of powdered/ground mustard. I use it in few things I can think of off the top of my head, but two full jars is more than enough for quite some time. Had to dig a little, but found a recipe I had tucked away -- ripped from a Cook's Country. This is slightly adapted. It's got a good tang to it.

Ingredients
4 T mustard powder
4 T white wine vinegar
3 T brown sugar
2 T cornstarch
1½ t salt
¾ C water

Directions
Whisk together all ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until thickened. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to reach spreadable consistency -- but keep in mind it will thicken as it cools.

5 Cool (sparkling!) Drinks for Hot Summer Days

Cool drinks for hot summer days...or whenever! Personally, I love carbonated drinks; bring on the bubbles! But they can tend to have a lot of sugar (and sometimes caffeine) and the healthier versions can get kind of pricey. So...here are some homemade flavors; with a little extra effort ahead of time, you can have more control over the amount of sugar and keep costs down. I made a few of the base syrups and kept them in the refridgerator; with some seltzer or club soda on hand...easy to mix and enjoy spontaneously! If desired, you could substitute Prosecco or any other sparkling wine for an alcoholic version. Let these inspire other flavors as well...

Grapefruit Jalapeno Soda
Ingredients -- per 4-6 servings
2 C grapefruit juice
¼ C sugar -- more or less to taste
½ jalapeno*
seltzer or club soda

* more or less, with or without seeds...to your taste; I'm not a big jalapeno fan; I used 1/2 of a smaller jalapeno without seeds -- and wasn't sure I'd like it even then. But I love grapefruit...I used a grapefruit flavored seltzer with this one; and--to my taste--it was good!

Directions
Combine grapefruit juice, sugar and jalapeno (slice or dice it if you want to release more flavor) in a small saucepan. Bring to simmer for 5-10 minutes until syrupy. Let cool, then strain. Combine 2 or more ounces with seltzer or club soda and ice.

Sparkling Basil Lemonade
Ingredients -- per serving
2 oz frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed*
6 (about) torn basil leaves
seltzer, club soda or gingerale

* or make your own simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled to dissolve all the sugar) and mix with lemon juice.

Directions
Combine concentrate and torn basil leaves in a small saucepan and bring to boiling. Remove from heat; let cool, then strain. Combine 2 oz of syrup with 10 oz (more or less) club soda, some ice, and a fresh sprig of basil.

Minted Sparkling Limeade
Ingredients -- per 2 servings
2 oz each: lime juice and water
2 T sugar (more or less to taste)
6 (about) mint leaves
seltzer, club soda or gingerale

Directions
Combine lime juice, water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to simmer for 5 minutes until syrupy. Stir in mint leaves, muddling slightly; let cool, then strain. Combine 2 oz of syrup with 10 oz (more or less) seltzer, club soda or gingerale, some ice, and a fresh sprig of mint.

Grape-Vanilla Soda
Ingredients -- per serving
2 oz frozen grape concentrate, thawed*
½ tsp vanilla extract
seltzer, club soda or Prosecco

Directions
Stir together the grape concentrate and vanilla in a glass. Add ice and seltzer, club soda or Prosecco.

Minted Sparkling Grapefruit Punch
Ingredients --  per 4-5 servings
 C loosely packed mint leaves
1-2 T sugar
3 C grapefruit juice
optional: 1 C vodka (personally, I'd prefer rum in this mix, but suit yourself!)
seltzer or club soda

Directions
Muddle mint leaves with sugar in the bottom of a pitcher. Add grapefruit juice (and vodka, if desired). Chill. If desired, strain out muddled mint leaves. Serve over ice with seltzer or club soda and a fresh mint sprig.

Blackberry Chocolate Pie

A traditional blackberry pie is delicious! Especially when I can pick the berries and make the pie the same day, which is possible right now. But I came across a recipe in Better Homes & Gardens for a Blueberry Chocolate Pie that inspired me...adding chocolate to anything is almost always a good idea! But I like blackberries better than blueberries -- and have ready access to them growing wild. The ingredients below for the crust are borrowed straight from BHG (as is their suggestion for a 'star topped pie' -- I think this was in their July issie). The rest is my own modification of a precooked blackberry pie filling...

Ingredients - Crust + Chocolate
½ C butter, softened
½ C sugar
½ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1 egg yolk
¼ C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 C semisweet chocolate pieces
coarse sugar (turbinado, demerara, sanding sugar...)

Directions - Crust + Chocolate
Whip butter 30 seconds; add sugar and cream together. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt; beat until combined. Add egg yolk, sour cream and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in flour.

Divide dough in half. wrap and chill until easy to handle (1 hour).

Preheate oven to 450° F. Roll half dough on floured surface to 12" circle. Line 9" pie plate with dough; trim and flute edges as desired. Dock; line with foil (to prevent overbrowning). Bake 8 minutes; remove foil, bake 3-4 more minutes until golden. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate pieces over bottom of crust. If desired, once melted, spread into an even layer.

Reduce oven to 375° F. Roll remaining dough to 1/8" thickness (I like mine a little thicker). Cut into star shapes (or whatever shape inspires you!); arrange on parchment lined baking sheet. In a small bowl beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush cuttouts with egg mixture, sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake 8-10 minutes or util edges are lightly browned.

Ingredients - Blackberry Filling
½ C sugar
3 T flour
¼ C lemon juice
6 C blackberries1 tsp vanilla

Directions - Blackberry Filling
In large saucepan, stir together sugar, flour and lemon juice. Add 4 C of the berries. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently, until bubbly and thickened. (If it's not thickening much, sprinkle in another tablespoon of flour; some berries are juicier than others.) Remove from heat. Gently stir in remaining berries. Spoon or pour into prepared crust.

Bake 18-20 minutes. Cover edges of pie crust with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning. Remove from oven; immediately, gently press star cutouts onto top of pie. Cool completely.

Dutch Baby

I've posted a recipe for Dutch Apple Pancake, but I've still wanted to try out a more basic and traditional Dutch Pancake (German pfannkuchen) or "Dutch Baby"...large or small. This one, from Victor Manca, a Seattle restaurant ownder in the early 1900's, looked worth a try. 

This Dutch Baby recipe is very similar to German Pancakes, but without sugar and with more flour. This Dutch Baby is more pancake like, while the German Pancakes are egg-ier. Both are good!

Ingredients (for 6 servings - in a large skillet, paella pan, or similar)
½ C butter
6 eggs
1½ C flour
½ tsp salt
1½ C milk
For serving: nutmeg, powdered sugar, lemon wedges, honey...

Ingredients (for 2 servings - in a small skillet, about 9")
2 T + 2 tsp butter
2 eggs
½ C flour
dash salt
½ C milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Put butter in skillet, oven safe fry pan, paella pan, etc. and place in oven.

While butter melts, whisk eggs with flour and salt; slowly add milk while continuing whisking, until batter is smooth. Remove pan from oven; pour in batter. Return pan to oven and bake 20-25 minutes until panckae is puffy and well browned around the edges, golden on top.

Serve immediately.  ...it deflates quickly, so truly serve it immediately if you want guests to see it at it's most puffy and beautiful!

The Dutch Baby recipe's traditional serving suggesting is dusted with nutmeg then powdered sugar, and served with lemon wedges and/or a drizzle of honey. I had lemon wedges, but I also had a jar of lemon curd to use up...thinned just slightly, it ws delicious!

Sour Cream Blackberry Pie

Blackberries are in season! I love a traditional blackberry pie. All the same, I'm always curious to try new recipes. This single crust option was worth trying. Not as fruity, of course, as a traditional blackberry pie, but a relatively quick and easy alternative that leans slightly toward a cheesecake.

Ingredients
1 9" pie crust; par-baked (1/2 - 2/3 baked)
20 oz blackberries
8 oz sour cream
¾ C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 T flour
¼ tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine sour cream, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in a bowl and mix until smooth. Fill par-baked crust with berries. Pour sour cream mixture over berries, stirring gently as needed to settle cream around berries. Bake 30 minutes (longer if frozen berries are used...up to 50 minutes) or until filling is set and bubbly.

Cool completely (2 hours); serve immediately or refrigerate.

Blackberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients
4 C fresh blackberries
1¼ C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1½ C half-and-half
1½ C heavy cream
½ tsp salt
1 egg and 3 egg yolks
6 oz mini semis-sweet chips or chopped chocolate

Directions
Cook blackberries with ¼ cup sugar in saucepan over low heat 20 minutes until blackberries are very soft, broken and syrupy. Strain through sieve, using a spoon or rubber scraper to press as much through as possible. Stir in vanilla; set aside. Discard seeds and remaining pulp.

In a small bowl, beat together egg and egg yolks; set aside.

In saucepan, combine half-and-half, cream and salt and bring just to simmer. Temper eggs: very slowly, pour at least a cup of hot liquid into the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour all of egg mixture back into saucepan with half-and-half and cream. Return to simmer, stirring constantly until thickened (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; refrigerate 1-2 hours.

Churn in ice cream maker according to directions. Stir chocolate chips/chunks into ice cream; Spoon into air tight container and freeze several hours or overnight.

Brownies by Duff

I have a brownie recipe I love. But when two FoodNetwork chefs were facing off in a brownie battle, I thought it might be worth trying a new recipe. One was an iced brownie, which I'm not really a fan of. The other was a Duff Goldman recipe. As good as it is (and it makes a FAT brownie!), I still like my other brownie recipe better. But here it is all the same: Duff's "The" Brownie.  As written by himself...

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
3 extra-large eggs, plus 2 extra-large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-inch square pan. Lining it with parchment paper is helpful as well. In a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate together, stirring often to avoid scorching. Set it aside off the heat.

In a big bowl, whisk both sugars, the eggs and yolks. Whisk in the salt and vanilla. Add the melted butter and chocolate and whisk to just combine.

Gradually stir in the flour and mix until everything is combined and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle displays as much goo on it as you want to see in the middle of those brownies!

Let the brownies cool in the pan on a rack for about 45 minutes. Brownies need time to set, and if you try to cut them while they are too warm, they will fall apart and ruin your day. Slice them at room temperature or colder, and if you want them warm, just put them in a hot oven for a minute or two.  Serve the brownies with ice cream, duh!

Carrot - Scallion - Snow Pea Salad

Using up shoestring carrots from Carrot Fries a few days ago. Got this idea from FoodNetwork...

Ingredients
10 oz bag shredded carrots
2 C snow peas (or sugar snap peas)
4 scallions
Asian sesame dressing (¼ - ½ cup)
2 C crisp/dry chow mein noodles
1 T sesame seeds

Directions
Julienne the peas; slice the scallions very thinly (on the bias). Toss carrots, peas and scallions with dressing. Add chow mein noodles and toss just before serving. Garnish with sesame seeds.

This was crisp and fresh and, depending on the dressing you use...delicious! I think the same combination of veggies and crunchy noodles would be great with a honey-soy-rice vinegar dressing. And maybe some julienned red pepper for color and flavor...

Shoestring Carrot Fries

Ingredients

oil for frying (about 2 cups)

10 oz bag shoestring carrots

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 T fresh orange juice

1 T orange zest

2 T finely chopped fresh mint leaves

salt to taste

Directions

Lay paper towels (a couple layers) in a 9x13" pan or a over large plate. Spread shoestring carrots evenly over paper towels; allow them to dry and come to room temp (about ½ hour*).

* water/moisture makes the oil spatter, so letting the carrots dry first is helpful to reduce that; also, cold carrots quickly drop the temperature of the oil...which means they'll absorb more oil rather than fry up nice and crispy

While carrots are drying and coming to room temp...

Finely chop mint leaves; zest orange and squeeze enough of orange to produce 1 tablespoon juice. Mix cider vinegar and orange juice in a food-safe (clean!) spray bottle.

Place the oil in a deep pot/saucepan over medium high heat until it reaches 350° F. Add a handful of carrots; stir occasionally, frying about 3 minutes or until crispy. (Work in batches -- don't try to fry them all at once; the temperature will drop below 325° F, and your oil may boil up...or up and over the top of your pot!) Thicker cut carrots will take a little longer to fry...  Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towel lined plate (or back into the 9x13" pan). Make sure temperature of oil returns to 350° F between batches. 

Spray carrots with vinegar & orange juice; sprinkle with salt, orange zest and mint leaves.

Watermelon Salad - 2 ways

Summer means watermelon! I like it...but just plain watermelon gets boring fast. (At least it does to me...) Here are a couple quick and easy ways to bring some extra flavor to fresh watermelon.

Watermelon with Feta & Seeds/Nuts

Ingredients
4 C watermelon, small diced
½ C crumbled feta
¼ C sunflower seeds*
3 C torn/chopped lettuce

Optional: lemon poppyseed vinaigrette

* Walnuts are often used here, but I'm allergic. Sunflower seeds are great, but I've also used toasted pine nuts. Walnuts or another nut will do -- anything that adds a crunch and a little nutty-umami flavor.

Directions
Make a bed of the lettuce on serving dishes (or one large platter). If desired, gently toss diced watermelon with vinaigrette. (It adds extra zing for sure, but with the feta and seeds, this salad is delicious without any dressing!) Scoop diced watermelon onto bed of lettuce; top with feta and sunflower seeds.

Watermelon with Lime Dressing

Ingredients
4 C watermelon, small diced
1 lime
¼ C sugar

Directions
Zest the lime, then juice it. Place lime juice, about half the zest, sugar, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat but continue boiling until liquid is thickened and reduced about ¼ cup. Let cool.

Gently toss watermelon in lime dressing. Divide into serving dishes (or serve from one large bowl); garnish with remaining zest.

Sea Glass Candy

Heading to Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast for a family vacation...so, just for fun, I made some "sea glass candy" to take for everyone to share.

Ingredients
2 C sugar
¾ C water
½ C light corn syrup
1-2 tsp flavored extract*
few drops food coloring, if desired
2-3 T powdered sugar

* I used mint in my green candy, and raspberry in the blue...but any flavor will work.

Directions
Combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan; heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to 300° F. While it's heating line a baking sheet (or pizza pan or 9x13" baking pan) with parchment, lightly coat with non-sick cooking spray.

When sugar, water and corn syrup reach 300° F, remove from heat. Working quickly while candy is still very liquid, add flavor and color -- carefully, it may spatter a bit as the candy syrup is so hot. Stir to incorporate. Pour onto prepared pan. Let cool completely (15-20 minutes).

Use a clean meat mallet to crack the cooled candy into bite sized pieces (or gently drop it on the counter). Place powdered sugar in plastic bag and gently toss candy pieces to coat. Rub off excess sugar.

Bread Pudding ...with berries

The original recipe called for blueberries, but acknowledged other berries or chopped fruit would work; without berries you'd have a perfectly good plain/basic bread pudding recipe -- which, honestly, I might prefer; but I had blueberries I wanted to use up, so this was perfect! My first choice would be blackberries. Raisins are the most traditional. Use what appeals to you...or whatever you have on hand!

Ingredients
6 C cubed bread*
1½ C whole milk
¼ C butter
1 C sugar
¼ t salt
5 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
½ t cinnamon
Optional:  2 C fresh berries or chopped fruit; turbinado or other coarse sugar

* Any bread will do, but if you have brioche or french bread or even croissants it's a bonus!

Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Lightly coat a 2 qt casserole dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
Place cubed bread in baking dish.

Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan just until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. (Or temper in the egg mixture...)

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk in milk mixture. Pour over cubed bread and let stand 12-15 minutes. Gently fold in berries (if desired), turning bread in baking dish so all cubes are soaked. Top, if desired, with coarse sugar.

Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Delicious as is, or...serve with blueberry syrup or crème Anglaise.

Easy Peach Hand Pies (or..."Peach Pie-lets")

My friend Teresa has asked me (...'encouraged me') more than once when I am going to start teaching cooking classes. I think she just wants to get more experience and learn some new recipes and tips! :) (Besides...though it could be fun to teach cooking classes occasionally, I already have a full time job, and a second part-time -- VERY part-time -- side hustle. I don't need a 3rd job!) Last time she mentioned it, I invited her out to bake and told her we'd call it a "pilot" class. She's been experimenting with baking pies; we decided try a hand-pie recipe and call it our "pie-let pilot" baking day! 

We used a Cooking Light recipe as a guide. It called for store bought dough, but I had some of my own in the freezer -- whole wheat even, which is what was recommended. Whole wheat is not as pliable, however, and produced more cracks in these folded over half-moon pies. I'd play with the recipe or use less whole wheat. And the fruit-to-crust ratio is slight on the fruit side, in my opinion. That's probably inevitable with this style and size, but again, this was our first try with "pie-let" hand pies.

Teresa had saved something on Pinterest that showed glazed pies...so I whipped up some powdered sugar vanilla glaze we drizzled over our pies to dress them up a bit (and hide some of the cracks). Fun day! :)

Ingredients (for 8 hand pies)
1 9-inch frozen whole wheat piecrust, thawed*
¾ C chopped peaches
3 T light brown sugar
1 T unslated butter
¼ t ground cinnamon
1 egg
turbinado or other coarse sugar

* I used my own dough, made with this recipe but using 2 C whole wheat and 1 C all purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.

Peel, pit and chop peaches. In a medium bowl, mix chopped peaches with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon.

Roll out pie dough; use a 4" round cookie cutter to cut circles; gather scraps and re-roll as needed to cut 8 circles. (Or...divide dough into 8 equal portions; roll each into a 4" circle.)

Spoon about a tablespoon of chopped peach mixture onto each dough circle. Moisten dough edges with water; fold circle in half over peach mixture. crimpe edges with a fork to seal securely.

Place pies on parchment lined baking sheets. Pierce with a fork (or make a small slit with a sharp knife).

Beat egg in a small bowl; brush on pies. Sprinkle generously wiht coarse sugar.

Bake at 400° F until golden brown (about 14 minutes). Let cool slightly before serving...or glazing.

Simple Powdered Sugar Glaze: ½ C powdered sugar, pinch salt, ½ t vanilla and just enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency.

Plum-Nectarine Crumble

The original recipe (from Food Network, here) called for hazelnuts in the crumble topping, and no oats. I like the heartiness of oats in a crumble or crisp topping, so I adjusted the recipe a tiny bit and added some to my topping. And since tree nuts and I are not on friendly terms, I always make substitutions depending on the recipe and what I have on hand...peanuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. I used chopped honey-rosted peanuts with this recipe.

Fruit Filling Ingredients
2 lb nectarines (about 5)
1 lb plums (about 4)
¾ C sugar
2 T flour
1 T lemon juice
¾ t salt

Crumble Topping Ingredients
½ C flour
½ C whole wheat flour
¾ C packed brown sugar
1 C oats
1 t cinnamon
¾ t salt
¾ C roughly chopped nuts
¾ C very soft butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly coat 9x13" baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray (or equivalent sized baking dishes -- I use 3 smaller sized baking dishes to make separate servings so I could enjoy some NOW and freeze some for later).

Thinly slice plums & nectarines (½" slices). In a large bowl, combine sliced fruits with remaining filling ingredients and toss gently to coat evenly. Spread filling -- with all the juice! -- in baking dish(es).

In a medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients except butter, stirring until evenly mixed. Add butter, working it in with your fingers, until the topping begins to clump and is crumbly. Distribute evenly over top of fruit filling.

Bake until the topping begins to brown and filling is bubbley (40-50 minutes).

I plan to serve this with what's left of the honey ice cream I made a couple days ago. But vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would be fine too. Or caramel ice cream...

Honey Ice Cream

Ingredients
1¾ C heavy cream
¾ C milk (1%)
¼ C honey
¼ tsp salt
5 egg yolks

Directions

Place yolks in a medium bowl; set aside. (Reserve egg whites for another use.)
In a medium saucepan, heat cream, milk, honey and salt until just simmering, stirring continually.
Temper yolks: SLOWLY add the hot cream mixture into the bowl of yolks, whisking constantly. Once all ceam mixture is incorporated, return all to sauce pan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and barely begins to simmer.
Strain through a sieve into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap set directly on the surface of the cream mixture; chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. If a firmer texture is desired, freeze for an additional 3-5 hours.

Mint Juleps

My mint plant is growing like crazy lately. So...I made some minted simple syrup and threw together a mint julep!

For each Mint Julep...

Ingredients
2-3 fresh mint leaves
1 T minted simple syrup*
1 (or 2) T bourbon
crushed ice
1 fresh mint sprig

* Simple syrup is simply equal parts sugar and water, heated enough to dissolve all the sugar. For minted simple syrup I used 1 cup each of sugar and water, brought it to boiling, then threw in 4 generous mint sprigs (muddling and crushing them to release the mint oils) and let them steep while it cooled. 

Directions
Muddle 2-3 fresh mint leaves in the bottom of a glass with the minted simple syrup. Add bourbon and crushed ice, stirring to mix well. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and a straw (next to the mint so you smell it while drinking the julep!).

Raised Doughnuts

 National Doughnut Day (the first Friday in June) is coming right up. My students -- our Trojan Cafe cooking club -- have elected to celebrate by making our own. So, of course, I had to test out the recipe in advance. Really, the sacrifices I make for my students... ;)

Ingredients

2 t yeast

2 T warm water (105-115°F)

¾ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

½ t salt

1 egg

2 T + 2 T butter or shortening

2½ cups flour

oil for frying

powdered sugar, sugar & cinnamon, icing(s), sprinkles, etc.

You can get as creative as you want, here! I'm sure at school we'll have a lot more colorful icings; I just used what I had on hand here at home!

Directions

Combine lukewarm water and yeast in bowl of stand mixer. Let it sit until dissolved (about 5 min).

Meanwhile in glass bowl, heat milk until very warm, but not boiling; let cool slightly while yeast is blooming (bubbling, producing a froth).

Add milk, sugar, salt, egg, butter and 1 cup of flour to bowl with yeast. Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add remaining flour, continue mixing dough. Scrape down sides. Dough will be very sticky.

Transfer dough to large bowl coated lightly with oil. Cover loosely with cling wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled (1-2 hours).

Roll dough out on a floured surface to about ½” thickness. Cut using a donut cutter or large & small round cookie cutters. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Fill electric skillet approx. 1” deep with vegetable oil; heat oil to 375°F.

Carefully place doughnuts in hot oil, a few at a time; do not crowd doughnuts. Do not let oil temperature drop below 350°F.  Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on cooling rack positioned over paper towel covered tray.

Glaze doughnuts with your favorite frosting, thinned with milk or water. If desired, top with nuts, sprinkles, etc.