Halloween Brownies

Mwwwhahahahahaha!

(Scary Halloween noise.)

However, there is nothing scary about these babies, unless you count the part where you make them with crushed Nutterbutter cookies. And crushed Butterfinger bars. And chopped Reese peanut butter cups. And chocolate chips. Okay, maybe that is a little terrifying. But I am a brave girl, and all I can say about these treats is, so long as you only make them once a year, you really DO need to give them a whirl. They are out of this world amazing, I promise, and just about as easy as a sinfully rich chocolately peanutty unbelievably awesome recipe can be.

This recipe is adapted from one that I ran across on the Bake or Break website (isn't that a cool name? Go visit them when you get a chance -- the link is on my blogroll. Great recipes and beautiful pictures.). Anyway, they said this was a good recipe to use for leftover Halloween candy. Huh?? First of all, the words "leftover" and "candy" have never once been combined in a sentence in my particular house. Second, if I tried to snitch even one Reeses Peanut Butter cup from my child's Halloween loot, I would be busted immediately. Believe me, that candy is inventoried as soon as it comes in the door and each piece is assigned a tracking number, and woe to the parent or dog who casually tries to filch one.

So I went to the Mount Everest of Halloween candy at Fairway and picked up my OWN, and a couple of hours later these babies were born. And they are all treat...no tricks here.


Happy Halloween!!

HALLOWEEN BROWNIES, adapted from Bake or Break

• 1 16-ounce package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 7 & 1/2 ounces peanut butter cups (about 25 miniature cups), coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces Butterfinger candy bars (about 7 small candy bars), coarsely chopped
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13″x 9″pan with aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over edges of pan. Grease/spray foil.

Combine crushed cookies and butter. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

Combine condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

Sprinkle chopped candy bars and chocolate morsels over crust. Drizzle condensed milk mixture over toppings.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using foil, lift out of pan. Peel foil away, and cut into bars.

Makes 28 small or 18 large bars.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken Shepherd's Pie

Yes, I am aware that chickens don't have shepherds. But I thought if I called this "Chickherd's Pie" you would really think I had gone off my rocker. If anyone has alternate ideas for what I should call this, bring 'em on!In the meantime, here is how this little number was born. A little while ago I made this:

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Which I loved (I am a sucker for comfort food of any kind), and while I was eating it I thought, what if instead of a more conventional crust, I used mashed potatoes? And, what if instead of using regular mashed potatoes, I used THESE mashed potatoes???

Aligot Potatoes

I think my heart actually started beating faster.

So what you have here is a thick chicken pot pie base, with lots of carrots and peas and other good stuff, topped with a layer of cheesy mashed potatoes, and then baked until the potatoes are browned on top (but still gorgeously creamy underneath). You can make it in either individual dishes, or do it all in one casserole and scoop out the servings. Which will look like this.

Is anyone else salivating right now besides me?

Sorry. Anyway, here is a recipe mash-up of the chicken pot pie and the aligot potatoes, and if anyone has any better recipe title ideas, don't hold back.

CHICKEN SHEPHERD'S PIE

Serves 4

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup frozen peas
1/1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 tablespoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add carrot and onion and saute for 6 minutes.

2. Add flour and stir to coat. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add broth to carrot mixturem whisking constantly. Bring to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.

4. Add chicken, peas, thyme and season with salt and pepper.

5. Divide mixture among 4 single serving baking dishes. Preheat oven to 425.

6. Put sliced potatoes in large pot and cover with water. Add salt. Bring potatoes to a boil, partially cover and, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and wipe out pot.

7. Put potatoes, garlic and butter into food processor and process for 10 seconds. Add one cup of milk and process until smooth, about 30 seconds more.

8. Put potatoes back into pot over medium heat. Gradually stir in cheese, stirring continuously until cheese is melted and potatoes are smooth. If mixture becomes too thick, gradually stir in more milk until creamy.

9. Spread potatoes over chicken mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until top of potatoes start to brown (watch it carefully). Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Pumpkin Walnut Fudge

Yes, yes...we all know how wonderful pumpkin pie is, and pumpkin bread, and pumpkin muffins. And of course, when you add bacon to pumpkin you are pretty much on an express train to heaven.

Pumpkin Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese

But up until now, I had not tasted true pumpkin nirvana, and now I have, and its name is Pumpkin Walnut Fudge. Let me start by saying that this recipe calls for 12 ounces of white chocolate, and an Entire Jar of marshmallow creme, which us regular folks know as Fluff. So if you are looking for the health food blog, you are in the wrong place. But oh, mama...it does taste good.

This recipe is adapted from one I found on Recipe Girl, who sounds like someone I would love to hang out with, just from her name alone...and she has some rocking great recipes on her site...check out her link on my blogroll. Anyway, the only significant change I made to her fabulous recipe was to add about a cup of chopped walnuts, which I both stirred in and sprinkled on to the top. This recipe does involve a candy thermometer, which always slightly terrifies me, but honestly, it was a snap. Get one of those ones that clips on to the side of your pot and you are all set.

So there you go, Pumpkin Walnut Fudge...it's only three short hours away, and two of those hours are cooling time. It is your civic Halloween responsibility to make some. Recipe below -- thanks again, Recipe Girl!

PUMPKIN WALNUT FUDGE, adapted from Recipe Girl

3 cups granulated sugar
¾ cup melted butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
½ cup canned pure pumpkin
2 Tbs corn syrup
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
12 oz package white chocolate morsels
7 oz jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped walnuts, plus another 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line 9″ square pan with aluminum foil. Spray with nonstick spray.

2. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3½ quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

3. Once mixture reaches 234°, remove from heat and quickly stir in remaining ingredients until well blended.

4. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining walnuts on top and press down slightly. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Click here for printable recipe

Pork Dumplings with Chili Sauce

I just love this recipe, and I have to tell you, I am not sure why I made it in the first place, because I was absolutely sure it was going to be a disaster. But I found the recipe on the Steamy Kitchen blog (quick aside: Steamy Kitchen is a fabulous recipe site, written and photographed by the even more fabulous Jaden Hair. Jaden is one of those rock star food bloggers with a television show and a huge blog and a cookbook...and she still took the time to visit my little blog when it was in its toddler stages and leave me an encouraging comment that made me think -- hey, maybe I can actually DO this. Jaden, you rock, and I hope everyone in the USA buys your new cookbook.)

Anyway, Jaden made these dumplings look so good and sound so easy that I put them on the menu and got the ingredients. And scheduled them for a weekday dinner. And then got home on that weeknight and thought to myself -- am I NUTS?? The recipe made 50 of them, and I could just see myself making dumplings into the wee hours of the morning and then watching them all self-destruct as I put them into the boiling water.

So I enlisted the helpful Southern husband, figuring it would be comforting to share the blame when everything went South (went South...Southern husband...get it?? I crack myself up!) and we got down to it. And you know what? 15 minutes later we had 50 adorable looking little pork dumplings. I held my breath and lowered them into the boiling water, and 6 minutes later we had the most perfect little cooked dumplings. Not a single one fell apart. I popped them onto plates with a puddle of Sweet Ginger Chili sauce (see link below) and they were as light and tender and delicious as can be.

Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce

I got this fabulous sauce at Fairway (natch!) but you can order it online and I promise you won't be sorry.Anyway, thank you to the amazing Jaden for this recipe, and go check out her website AND her great new cookbook:

THE STEAMY KITCHEN COOKBOOK

Happy dumplings!

PORK DUMPLINGS WITH CHILI SAUCE, from Steamy Kitchen

Makes 50 dumplings

12 ounces napa cabbage leaves, roughly chopped (or regular cabbage)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (use microplane grater)
1/4 cup minced Chinese chives or green onions (white and green parts)
2/3 pound ground pork
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 package frozen round dumpling wrappers (gyoza/potsticker wrappers), defrosted at room temperature for 30 minutes
for the slurry: 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1/2 cup water

1. To make the filling, put the cabbage in a food processor and process until cabbage is finely minced. Remove the cabbage to a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let cabbage sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, return the food processor bowl to the stand and add the ginger, chives, pork, pepper, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. Pulse 4 times to mix the ingredients well. Set aside.

2. Use your hands to grab a handful of the cabbage and squeeze and discard the excess moisture out into the sink. You can also spoon all of the cabbage onto a cheesecloth and then squeeze all the water out. Place the dry cabbage back into the large bowl and add the pork mixture. Fold the cabbage into the pork mixture.

3. Mix together the slurry. Take one dumpling wrapper, spoon scant 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture onto the middle of the wrapper. Dip one finger into the slurry and “paint” the edges of the dumpling wrapper. Bring up the bottom side of the wrapper, fold up and press to shape into a half-moon shape, encasing all of the filling. Place on baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and repeat with rest of dumplings. Make sure that the dumplings do not touch each other on the sheet.

4 When all dumplings assembled, you can cook immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to several hours. To cook, half-fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. When boiling, and gently slide in 1/3 of the dumplings. When water returns to a boil, turn heat to a simmer and gently cook for 6-8 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and repeat with remaining dumplings. Serve with hot chili sauce.

Click here for printable recipe

Meatloaf Sandwiches

You know, I really wondered about this one. I found the recipe in one of my favorite places, the Everyday Foods magazine, and at first I thought, this sounds like a fun use for leftover meatloaf. And then I read it more closely and realized that the recipe called for making the meatloaf specifically for the sandwiches.

Hmm. Meatloaf-making is not a short process. It's not hard, but it's not short. So in my house, that automatically turns it into a Sunday dinner. So I did a little bit of agonizing about serving the family sandwiches for Sunday dinner. We are a little fast and loose about where and how we eat during the week (eat dinner on the couch while watching Glee? Sure, we can do that!) but on Sundays I do insist on the dining room, the candles, all family members present and accounted for, etc. So...sandwiches? The dog promised me it would be okay, so I went for it.

And oh my goodness. This meatloaf is laced with both horseradish and shredded cheddar cheese, so it is already way ahead of most of its meatloaf brethren. The recipe calls for letting it sit for abut 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven, so by the time it makes it into the sandwich it is still plenty warm, but firm enough to stay intact as you lay it upon some nice country bread and anoint it with ketchup, thin sliced dill pickles and a layer of romaine lettuce.

Meatloaf Sandwiches. It's what's for Sunday dinner. Oh yes.

MEATLOAF SANDWICHES, adapted from Everyday Foods

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 cup crush saltines (15 crackers)
• 1 cup grated cheddar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons horseradish
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Country style bread
• Lettuce
• Sliced dill pickles
• Ketchup

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and add onions. Cook 5 minutes until softened. Add tomato paste and stir constantly for 3 minutes.

3. In large bowl, combine beef, onion mixture, crackers, cheese, horseradish, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment and shape beef mixture into a 9 inch loaf. Bake unti cooked through, about 45 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes.

5. Cut into thick slices and place on bread with pickles, lettuce and ketchup.

Click here for printable recipe

Bacon and Egg Muffins

So, I have a large, wonderful extended family. (Hi, guys!!). And on many a Sunday they have congregated at my house for a noisy breakfast. Because there are so very many of them, I tend to lay it all out buffet style, stack up the plates, and it is every man, woman, child and dog for themselves. And lately, I have gotten into, well, an extended family Sunday breakfast rut. Scrambled eggs. Bacon (of course). Fruit salad. Cheese grits (that is the Southern husband influence). Bagels with cream cheese (that is the teenager influence). Something sweet, to make up for the fact that there are no carbs anywhere else on the table.

Not that anyone is COMPLAINING (well, not in front of me, anyway), but now that I have made this exact same breakfast about 1,000 times in a row, I have been looking for something to shake it up a little. (We did try pancakes once, but once the last pancake was off the griddle, the first pancake eaters were already done and ready for lunch.)

So when I saw these totally adorable little bacon and egg muffins on The Noshery I thought, here is my way out of the Sunday Breakfast Rut. Because these babies are easy to make, they look and taste fabulous, and they are all ready at the same time. This is key. So I gave them a test run a few days ago, making two each for me and the Southern husband, and one to photograph. They were delish, but I knew I really had a hit on my hands when I was finished photographing that last one, and was about to drop it into the dog's dish (it was cold!) ...and the Southern husband intercepted it for himself. Yes, they are that good. The dog is still in mourning.

So give these a try. You can make 2, or you can make 12, or you can make 24 -- you are only limited by the size of your muffin tin and your oven. And before the family starts to worry, I will still be making the cheese grits. Never fear.

BACON AND EGG MUFFINS, adapted from The Noshery

Makes 6, but expand it as far as you want!

• 6 slices of bacon
• 6 slices of bread
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs
• Salt and pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease muffin pan.
2. Microwave or fry bacon until partially cooked but not crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Cut out rounds of bread from the center of each bread slice, using a round cookie cutter or the top of a glass. Press the bread rounds into the greased muffin wells.
4. Curl a piece of bacon around the periphery of each piece of bread, positioning it between the bread and the muffin tin to help keep it in position.
5. Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheese in the center of each piece of bread.
6. One at a time, crack an egg into a small bowl or measuring cup, removing about half of the white, and dropping the remaining white and yolk over each piece of bread, being careful not to break the yolks.
7. Once all the bread pieces have been topped with eggs, bake until eggs are cooked through to your liking (about 6-10 minutes depending on how runny or firm you like your eggs) and bacon is crispy.
8. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin well and pop the muffins out. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Sesame Noodles and a Cookbook Contest!

First of all, for those of you eager to get to the contest, you might as well scroll right down to the middle of this post and look at the cover of the gorgeous new cookbook by Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.

But before I get into the contest details, I would like to submit this post as Exhibit A in my ongoing quest to do absolutely everything that the Pioneer Woman tells me to do. For those of you who don't know who she is, the Pioneer Woman writes the blog that all of us cooks/photographers/foodbloggers/dog-lovers aspire to. If you haven't visited her website yet, you are missing OUT. Not that she needs any help from me -- you will probably go from here to there and then never come back again. But if you PROMISE to return, take a look at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. It is a sight to see.

Anyway, a little while back she put up a recipe for sesame noodles, and told us (and I quote), "Make them this weekend!"

And since I am her devoted slave, I did. Amazingly, I had everything in the house except for the hot chili oil, and so I called 1-800-MYMOTHER, who always has everything somewhere in her pantry. Of course she had chili oil, so my lunchtime that same day the Southern husband and I were sitting down to the Pioneer Woman's sesame noodles. Which were outstanding, as usual. We had them plain, but they would be terrific with some shredded chicken, and/or cucumber, carrots, shrimp, etc etc etc.

And if I haven't been enough of a Pioneer Woman groupie for one day, I also need to tell you about this new cookbook she has.

And you can read more about it at the link below...

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

And guess what??? I have not one, not two, but THREE copies to give away! The rules are simple: leave a comment on this post that gives me a suggestion for a recipe you would like me to make and photograph. In one week I will pick 3 incredibly lucky commenters at random to get a copy of THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS. Which I already know will be one of my favorite cookbooks of all time. (For my peeps who subscribe on email -- click on the recipe title up top and it will take you to the web page where you can comment. I love you guys!!)

So back to the sesame noodles for a second...for all of you who have already seen this one on her site, I have road-tested it for you and it's perfect. Of course. And for the rest of you...just don't forget about me once you have seen her site. And last but not least, make sure you check the Pioneer Woman website for her book tour dates to see if she is coming to your town...if she does and you get to meet her, ask her for me how she manages to photograph Every Single Step of Every Single Recipe, and still have it come out perfectly Every Single Time?

Okay then...ready, set...comment!!

SESAME NOODLES, from www.thepioneerwoman.com

12 ounces linguine, cooked and drained
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon hot chile oil
4 to 5 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons hot water
3 to 4 green onions, sliced thin

1. Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.

2. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.

3. Sprinkle with green onions and toss.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Mini Pancake Muffins

Do you ever find yourself with something in your fridge that you just can't seem to use up, even though you are pretty sure you have used it in about 17 different things?

That happened to me this week with a quart of buttermilk. The Powers That Be don't sell small containers of buttermilk, and so I had to buy a full quart to use in whatever I was making recently. Maybe it was the crumb cake? Who can remember. Anyway, whatever it was did not call for an entire quart of buttermilk, and so there it was lurking away in my fridge, taking up valuable space that could be used for butter, or bacon, or one my other major food groups.

So when I was browsing through my mile-long list of Things I Want To Make Someday and I saw these cute little pancake muffins, they catapulted right to the head of the line when I saw they called for...you know what. Even better, they come together in about 10 minutes of mixing, they bake for about 12 minutes, and 5 minutes later there you are, eating chocolate chip muffins for brunch because they have the word "pancake" in the title and therefore count as an entree. (Right?)

I found these on the always wonderful Bakerella website (go visit! she is AWESOME!) and followed her recipe pretty closely. I did bake mine a little bit longer than hers, and I used the mini chocolate chips instead of regular. They are sweet and tiny and simply adorable. I followed her advice and loosened them by running a toothpick around the edge while I let them cool - I also flipped them around a bit in the muffin tin...

I didn't let them cool TOO long because the ravenous Southern husband was circling. I'd say about after 5 minutes of cooling, they were on the plate. I served us up about 5 each...

AND...get ready, this is the very best part...I put out little bowls of melted butter and warm syrup to dunk them into for the full pancake-tasting experience. Can you STAND it???

We, um, had seconds. And maybe thirds. And as we speak, the teenager is polishing them off as a before-dinner appetizer.

Okay, go make them. And don't forget to visit www.bakerella.com.

MINI PANCAKE MUFFINS, adapted from Bakerella

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Extra melted butter and maple syrup for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.
3. In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.
6. Divide batter into well-greased mini muffin tin
   
7. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. Cool in tin for 5-10 minutes. You may want to loosen around the edges with a toothpick to help them pop out.
9. Serve with melted butter and syrup for heavenly dunking.

Click here for printable recipe.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

So, we interrupt our usual blog posting to bring you the "news-just-in" that this little blog has been named a Best of the Web site by none other than Saveur. Which is a very ooh-la-la wonderful magazine and website, and oh, my goodness. I am blushing, and thrilled, and don't know what to say, other than...check this out!!

Framed on Saveur's Best of the Web!!

Thank you, my new best friends at Saveur! I am seriously, completely honored.

Where was I? Oh yes. Chicken Pot Pie.

I know, we miss the summer, it was over way, way, way too fast. But the coming of fall means the coming of PIE. And I don't just mean the sweet pies, although I do love pumpkin pie. And apple pie. And pecan pie. Etc. But I also have great love for the savory pies...seafood, beef, chicken...they are an incredibly satisfying comfort food at the end of a long chilly day.

And me being me, I am always looking for the short cut. Not that I don't appreciate a long Sunday's worth of cooking in the kitchen, but sometimes a girl likes a little pot pie on, say, a Wednesday. In those cases you have to cut a few corners, and the trick is to do that while still getting all the old-fashioned pot pie taste. If you know what I mean.

So this one gives you all the warm, comforting, creamy, chickeny goodness of pot pie...without all the time and effort that usually goes into it. Don't tell anyone, we'll just keep it between us. The secret is...pre-cooked chicken and puff pastry. That's all that is standing in between you and a supper that will make you feel like everything is right with the world. Now, this DOES go a bit over my 30 minutes or under rule for cooking during the week, but that just goes to show you how flexible I really am. (That racket in the background is my family laughing their heads off at that comment.) Basically you make a lovely thick chicken and vegetable base, and instead of all the fuss of making a pie crust...you use puff pastry. Which is usually in the freezer section next to the frozen fruit. You pop a square of the pastry on top of the base and voila! Fuss-free chicken pot pie. How great is that?

I will tell you that as we were eating this wonderful dish, fabulous as it is, it gave me the idea that you could use the same base but substitute a mashed potato crust on the top. Stay tuned to this channel for that one..but in the meantime, here's the original.

EASY CHICKEN POT PIE, adapted from Everyday Food

Serves 4

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg yolk

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add carrot and onion and saute for 6 minutes.

2. Add flour and stir to coat. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add broth to carrot mixturem whisking constantly. Bring to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.

4. Add chicken, peas, thyme and season with salt and pepper.

5. Divide mixture among 4 single serving baking dishes.

6. Preheat over to 375. On a lightly floured work surface, roll pastry to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 4 equal pieces.

7. Cut small vents into pastry and lay pieces over each serving dish.

8. Mix egg yolk with a little water and brush over the top of pastry.

9. Bake until pastry is golden, about 30 minutes.

Click here for printable recipe

Jam Cake

A litttle while ago I made these:

Jam Sugar Cookies

and this:

Crumb Cake

And the whole house was in a blissful stupor of sugar while those were sitting on the kitchen counter. And then -- sadness! -- they were gone. I did still have about half a jar of the most awesomely scrumptious jam on earth though.

And I started thinking -- what if the jam cookies and the crumb cake got married and had a baby?

Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be THAT adorable, but it sure would taste good, right? Oh yes, right. This easy coffee cake not only has the amazing sour cherry jam in it, but also a swirl of apricot - mainly because that was what was lurking in the jam area of my fridge. You should fee free to experiment away with the jam of your choice. I made it early on a Sunday morning, and it is amazing what the aroma of baking jam cake can do in the way of getting teenagers out of their beds and dogs off of the couch. Not that dogs have any shot at jam cake. Kibble, anyone?

JAM CAKE, adapted from About.com

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/2 cup cherry jam

Topping:

1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender to make a fine crumbly mixture - or you can use a food processor.

2. Add egg and milk; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Spoon batter into a generously buttered 9-inch square pan. Spoon both jams over the batter, then swirl through the batter with a knife.

4. Mix topping ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle evenly over batter.

5. Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes, until done. Cut into squares and serve while still warm.

Click here for printable recipe

Pumpkin Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. I do love pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins. Of course there are THESE:

Incredibly Amazingly Delicious Pumpkin Pie Bars

I think there is only one thing that could make pumpkin better than it already is. Say together with me now...

B A C O N.

And this recipe not only involves both pumpkin AND bacon, but it also comes together in, oh, about 10 minutes. Does life get any better than this? I don't think so. Sweet, salty, cheesy, bacony, pumpkiny wonderfulness. Who loves you, baby?

PUMPKIN SOUP WITH BACON AND BLUE CHEESE, adapted from All Recipes

2 15 ounce cans pumpkin
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup half-and-half
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 slices bacon
1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1. Stir together the pumpkin, chicken stock, half-and-half, shallot, molasses, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large stockpot over low heat; simmer 10 minutes.

2. While soup is cooking, cook bacon until crispy and crumble into pieces.

3. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with bacon and blue cheese. Sigh with happiness.

Click here for printable recipe.

Pasta with Baked Camembert

One of the nifty things about this blog is that I get all kinds of SUGGESTIONS. Some are actual recipes (like the chocolate chip cheese ball! whoo-hoo!!), some are for cookbooks or websites or restaurants I should try. Some are requests for dishes calling for specific ingredients (bacon), or requests that I not use specific ingredients (bacon). Note to this last group of requesters: you have no shot. Zero. Sorry. I love you but I have my standards to uphold.

Anyway, one of my good friends (let's call him the Narnian) has been telling me for a while that I really should try some of Jamie Oliver's recipes. I didn't know much about Jamie other than the fact that he goes by the name "The Naked Chef," which was slightly alarming until I realized that meant he is a big proponent of using non-processed ingredients. He is also on a mission to get the United Kingdom to cook and eat healthier, which I dearly hope does not knock out scones with clotted cream and jam, which is my absolute favorite part of going to the UK.

Anyway, I finally checked out Mr. Oliver, and ran across this recipe, which has instantly become one of my favorites. It's a nice easy one that is basically a super-charged version of macaroni and cheese, only this time the cheese is Camembert that has been baked with fresh rosemary, garlic and olive oil until it is soft and creamy and you want to weep with happiness. The picture above shows the Camembert right before it goes in the oven, in case you are wondering how it actually works. It gets tossed with pasta and baby spinach, and looks like this when it is done:

Need I say more? So with thanks to the Narnian, I am now a Jamie Oliver convert. Except, I wonder how he feels about bacon?

BAKED CAMEMBERT PASTA, adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe

1 round of camembert (the kind that comes in the thin wooden box)

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

1 sprig of fresh rosemary, with the leaves stripped off

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

8 ounces penne

1 pound baby spinach

1. Open the box of cheese and unwrap it. Put it back in the wooden box, or in a small baking dish if it didn't come in wooden box.

2. Cut a circle in the top of the rind, then peel off and discard (see picture above)

3. Lay the garlic slices on top of the cheese and cover with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

4. Scatter the rosemary leaves over the top. Grind pepper over all.

5. Bake the cheese at 350 for about 25 minutes until soft.

6. When the cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, cook pasta until al dente. When the pasta is cooked, add the spinach to the pasta for about 30 seconds, then drain all.

9. Add remaining olive oil and grated Parmesan to the pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

10. Remove the cheese from the oven and scoop the melted cheese into the pasta. Toss thoroughly and serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

Crumb Cake!

One of my favorite memories is going to the bakery after church with my dad. The one and only thing I ever wanted on Sunday morning after church was a big, thick chunk of crumb cake. You know the kind I mean: soft but slightly chewy cake on the bottom, which was nice but just a base for the real attraction - a dense layer of brown sugar crumbs, big round crumbs held together with a shiny vanilla sugar glaze. Oh, the sheer sugary heaven of it all. They would come home from the bakery in a waxed paper bag and there they would stay until you had finished all of your scrambled eggs. I did not especially like scrambled eggs back in those days (oh, but I do now!!), so getting to the end of my plate of eggs was especially sweet knowing that the crumb cake was just seconds away.

Now that I am all grown up I actually could drive to a bakery any time and get a square of this little piece of heaven, and I don't even have to eat any eggs first. But since you know I love a challenge, I decided to try and replicate it here in my own kitchen. And for something as critical as this, I had to go right to the top, which of course is Cook's Illustrated. They had a recipe for something they call New York Style Crumb Cake, which only needed a little adapting to become Northern New Jersey Style Crumb Cake. I'm calling it Crumb Cake for short. Dad, this one's for you.

CRUMB CAKE, adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 stick melted butter

1 3/4 cups cake flour

Cake:

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup buttermilk

Vanilla Glaze:

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1. Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 324. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.

3. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

4. Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Roll crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

5. Whisk confectioner's sugar and milk together and drizzle over warm cake. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting edges of parchment paper, and cut into squares.

Click here for printable recipe

Ham with Chunky Apple Walnut Cranberry Sauce

Fall is really here, and all those summer tomatoes, all that never-ending basil, the sweet corn...it's all a memory now. But that's okay, because now we have butternut squash, and pumpkin, and apples, apples, apples. And they aren't just for dessert, no ma'am. This super-quick recipe is a luxurious tasting number that would be perfectly wonderful on a holiday table if you used a spiral cut ham...but this version uses ham steaks and therefore cooks up in about 10 minutes. The absolute longest and most challenging part is cutting up the apple (which you don't even need to peel -- we are talking coring and chopping only).

I like to get the large ham steaks -- usually sold next to the bacon in the supermarket -- and I cut them into quarters and pop them right into a non-stick skillet over medium low heat. They are fully cooked so you are just looking to heat them through and maybe get a little bit of brown on them. If you are feeling really feisty, you can send your significant other out into the brisk fall evening to grill them. Whatever way you choose to heat them up is just fine with me.

Meantime, you can throw together this chunky sauce in just about the amount of time it takes to heat up the ham. Chopped walnuts are browned briefly in butter, and then you quickly cook up the apples, with some dried cranberries, maple syrup and brown sugar. It all combines into a syrupy, succulent sauce that you ladle over your ham slice (here comes that sweet and salty combo that I love so much!) to make a quick and happy dinner that practically sings "Fall is here!" It's enough to make you not even miss those summer tomatoes. Well...almost.

HAM WITH CHUNKY APPLE WALNUT CRANBERRY SAUCE

Serves 3-4

• 1 large ham steak
• 1 medium apple, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Heat ham over medium low heat in large skillet until heated through and slightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium skillet over medium high heat and add walnuts. Stir until walnuts are browning, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add apple, walnuts, cranberries, syrup and brown sugar. Bring to boil and stir until sugar is dissolved and apple softens slightly, about 3 minutes.

4. Place ham slices on plates and ladle sauce over top. Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Welsh Rarebit

I really wanted to title this post "Welsh Rabbit," since that is the name that this recipe sometimes goes by, but I was afraid you would think I had gone and cooked up some small woodland creatures. But don't worry, no bunnies were harmed in the making of this old-fashioned country dish. In its most basic form, it is a slice of bread doused in melted cheese...but you know I can't leave well enough alone, and so my version includes a thick slice of tomato, some beer and Worcestershire sauce stirred into the melted cheese (Vermont cheddar of course), some chopped parsley. And bacon. Because I think I have firmly established that every recipe is better with bacon.

You can, of course, customize your rabbit any way you like. The only requirements are that you use nice bread (I used ciabatta from my beloved Fairway market, but I have seen it made with everything from English muffins to sourdough bread) and nice cheese. I do think cheddar is the best because it melts so very perfectly. This is comfort food with a capital C, and makes a perfect cozy dinner on a chilly night.

WELSH RABBIT

Serves 5

• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups grated cheddar
• 1/2 cup beer
• 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard
• 10 slices cooked bacon
• 10 thick tomato slices
• 5 slices bread, lightly toasted
• chopped parsley

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan. Melt 1/4 cup butter in another saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk hot milk into flour mixture, stirring constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add cheese, beer, tomato paste, Worcestershire and mustard and stir constantly over low heat until cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes.

3. Spread remaining butter on bread and place on broiler-proof pan or cookie sheet. Top bread with bacon, then tomato. Pour 1/2 cup cheese sauce over each bread slice. Broil until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

4. Garnish each with chopped parsley and serve, assuring diners that there are no bunnies involved.

Click here for printable recipe

Greek Style Shrimp Scampi

I do love this recipe. It is a mixture of regular shrimp scampi and that classic recipe where you bake together shrimp and tomatoes and feta, only there is no baking, because this is one of my most tried and true speedy weeknight dishes, and you KNOW how I feel about the 30 minutes and under rule. So this delicious little number does it all in one skillet. Well, and one pot for the pasta if you are going to get all technical on me.

First off...really good large shrimp please. There is only one seafood place for me and that is Costco, who stocks the BEST, most succulent shrimp anywhere. I heart you, Costco. Next, a good, soft feta cheese -- worth going to the deli or cheese counter instead of buying that pre-crumbled stuff in the regular cheese section of the supermarket. As a matter of fact, it is ALWAYS better to avoid that pre-crumbled feta. Sure, it does save you some time -- about 15 seconds, because how hard is it to crumble feta??? And the pre-crumbled stuff has been pre-crumbled for a while, so it has had lots of time to dry out. These are my words of wisdom for you for the day: crumble your own feta. You'll thank me, I promise.

Where was I? Oh yes. Fresh parsley is important for this one. But you can and should use tomatoes in the can, they are just fine. I like the Muir Glen brand, but up to you. Anyway, if you start the sauce at the same time you put the pasta water on to boil, you should be all ready to roll in about 20 minutes, start to finish. This is not only a great delicious weekday dish, but a totally reliable company recipe -- it always comes out great and looks very elegant once you have the shrimp all nestled in on the plate in their bed of pasta and tomatoes. Tres Elegant! Or however you say that in Greek. So here you go, one of my all-time favorites, from me to you.

GREEK-STYLE SHRIMP SCAMPI

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled (get them from Costco! Trust me!)
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Fresh ground pepper
• 8 ounces pasta, cooked and drained

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat and add garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup parsley and all the tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Add shrimp and cover skillet. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and cooked through.

3. Add feta and stir. Simmer over low heat for about one minute until cheese is slightly melting.

4. Pour pasta into skillet and toss to combine.

5. Divide among plates. Drizzle with lemon juice, sprinkle remaining parsley over top, and grind pepper over all.

Click here for printable recipe

Carrots with Thyme

So, I never seem to have a problem figuring out main courses to make for dinner. There are so many recipes waiting in the queue for me to get around to them, I worry that I will never get around to all of them. And dessert? Forget about it. That line-up is even longer. Every Saturday I spread out the pile of possibilities on my kitchen counter and agonize about the fact that I really only should be making one of them. Or two...or three might be okay....

But side dishes often stump me. It's not as hard in the summertime when the fresh produce is all around us, and here are a couple of my favorites:

Roasted String Beans with Walnuts

Chilled Sesame Spinach

But in general, I seem to have some kind of block when it comes to a simple yet satisfying side dish. So when I made this one and it was so easy, so delicious, so colorful...ahhhhhhh. The side dish pressure was off. Fresh thyme does make all the difference with this one, and luckily we are early enough into fall that my brave thyme plant is still hanging in there. This is perfect with any sort of meat or chicken dish, and simple enough that you can make it alongside whatever else you are cooking up without any trouble at all. And isn't it beautiful?

Now back to my ever-multiplying stack of dessert recipes crying to be made. I'm thinking caramel-glazed apple cake, or maybe chocolate cream pie....

CARROTS WITH THYME, adapted from Everyday Food

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds carrots cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped off
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper

1. In a large skillet, combine carrots, butter, thyme and water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally, 7-9 minutes

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Jam Sugar Cookies

So, do you ever have one of those days where everything just seems to go your way? The other day I was yearning to bake just a simple sugar cookie, and usually I have everything I need to make basic baked goods in the house. Because you never know when someone is going to remember at 9 at night that they need to bring in cupcakes for So-And-So's birthday. Not that I am pointing out anyone in particular. Who happens to live in my house. Who happens to wear mismatched Day-Glo shoelaces in her Converse sneakers. Or anything.

So I was sad to see that I had only one lonely egg in my fridge, and so instead of happily baking my own cookies, I thought I would console myself by browsing around on www.joythebaker.com -- my FAVORITE baking site -- to drown my sorrows in some of her gorgeous pictures of baked stuff.

When what should I find but a recipe for cherry jam cookies that she specifically says are to be made when you have only one egg in the house. (and when you are down to your last stick of butter, which has never ever happened to me. I think butter is like oxygen -- if you don't have huge amounts of it around at all times, it gets hard to breathe.) Well...was that a SIGN, or what?

You can make these super-simple, super-good cookies with whatever jam you have on hand. I had a jar of this from Stonewall Kitchen. Stonewall Kitchen = rocking good jams. If your local store doesn't carry them, they have a great website. Smuckers, you should be very, very afraid.

Anyway, one egg later these beautiful, scrumptious cookies were born, and they were every bit as wonderful as Joy promised. I think I am going to run out of things more often. Just not butter.

Jam Cookies, from Joy The Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup of cherry preserves, or any thick jam you have on hand

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt.
3. Beat the butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat for a minute. Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes more. The mixture will be satiny. Add the milk and vanilla and beat just to combine. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled, it will even out shortly. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the jam and beat for 1 minute more. With the mixer still on low add the dry ingredients and mix only until they are incorporated. You’ll have a very thick dough.
4. Spoon the dough by the rounded teaspoonfuls into a dish of granulated sugar. Toss to coat and place on a baking sheet, leaving about an inch between the mounds.
5. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies will be only just firm, fairly pale and browned around the edges. Pull the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, the carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.
6. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Click here for printable recipe

Cookie Truffles

Three ingredients.

One hour.

36 mindblowing truffles.

MINDBLOWING.

And you know I never exaggerate.

But let me back up for a minute. This all started as I was roaming around the Bakerella website. There is an area on this fabulous site called "Bite-size," which always fascinates me. There are a ton of things that I am way too intimidated or impatient to try, like little cake lollipops on sticks, but there are also lots of little baby sweet treats that draw me in like a moth to a flame. And when I saw the words "Nutterbutter" and "truffle" in the same sentence...well, they had me at hello. Or to be perfectly accurate, they had me at Nutterbutter.

So here's what you need: one package of Nutterbutter cookies. One package of cream cheese. One package of chocolate candy melts (I got the kind made by Wilton. If you have a Michael's craft store anywhere nearby, they sell them in all sorts of flavors.) You grind up almost the entire package of cookies in your friendly food processor until they are completely pulverized. Then dump the cookie crumbs into a bowl and mix them up with the softened cream cheese. Honestly, the best way to do this is with your hands. It will seem like a REALLY bad idea for the first 30 seconds or so but trust me, it will all come together. Once the cookies and cream cheese have come together in a smooth truffle dough, start rolling pieces of dough into little one inch balls of heaven. You will be powerless against taking little bites of the truffle dough as you go along, and you will see that it tastes kind of like Nutterbutter cheesecake.

Once you are done making the little balls, it's time for the coating. I dumped the candy melts into a bowl and nuked them for about 2 minutes on 50% power in my microwave, stirring them at 30 second intervals until they were perfectly melted and creamy and smooth. Then all you need to do is roll the little truffle balls in the melted chocolate (I found this easiest by putting them on a teaspoon and swirling them around). Place them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper, and when you are done, put them in the fridge so the chocolate can harden back up.

From there on in, you are in Nutterbutter truffle heaven. I thought life could not get any better. And then...

...I made Oreo truffles, with white chocolate coating. All I will say is, I left some on the counter the day my beloved housecleaning guy came this week, and he left me the following note:

"Sweet Mother of God, those oreo truffles are out of this world FANTASTIC!!!"

That pretty much sums things up.

COOKIE TRUFFLES, adapted from www.bakerella.com

• 1 16 oz package Nutterbutters or Oreos
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 14 ounce package candy melts

1. Place all but 6 cookies in food processor and process until ground to fine crumbs.

2. Put crumbs and cream cheese in bowl and mix until completely combined.

3. Form dough into one inch balls

4. Melt candy in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between each heating, until melted.

5. Coat each ball in candy and place on cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

6. Chill in refrigerator until candy is hardened.

7. Do what you will with those 6 extra cookies.

Click here for printable recipe

Eggs Florentine with Baby Spinach and Goat Cheese

I know, I know, I am egg-obsessed. I can't help myself - the egg is just a perfect thing to behold. Easy, quick, good and good for you. Eggs are my go-to dinner when I have had a long day and want a very quick but creative supper, and so I collect egg ideas wherever I go. I made this one at the end of a long week and it was just the thing...comfort food with just a little bit of elegance in the creamy goat cheese mixed up with the baby spinach.

Here's the deal on this one: you need some pretty nice bread -- sourdough, ciabiatta or something similar. You brush it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and toast it up until it is golden and crunchy. The baby spinach is sauteed quickly, and you toss the goat cheese in with it until it makes a creamy little goat cheesy sauce. Last but not least, gently fry that egg -- sunnyside up or over easy, whatever floats your boat. Bread, topped with spinach, topped with egg, topped with fresh ground pepper. Priceless.

This has been a public service annoucement from the incredible edible egg.

EGGS FLORENTINE WITH BABY SPINACH AND GOAT CHEESE, adapted from Everyday Food

• 4 slices (1 inch thick) sourdough bread
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1/3 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese (3 ounces)
• 4 large eggs

1. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Place bread on a baking sheet, and brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Broil until golden, 1 to 3 minutes per side; set aside.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium. Add spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain off excess liquid; mix in goat cheese. Transfer to a bowl; cover to keep warm. Set aside.
3. Wipe out skillet; heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium. Gently crack eggs into skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook until whites are almost set, about 1 minute. Cover, and remove from heat; let stand until whites are set but yolks are still soft, about 3 minutes. Or flip over to be over easy, whatever you like best.
4. Top each piece of toast with spinach mixture and 1 egg; serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Soba Noodles with Edamame, Carrots and Spinach

Lately it feels like this blog has been a rollercoaster of bacon, and chocolate, and bacon, and pasta, and bacon. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I will defend my right to eat bacon and pasta and chocolate with every fiber of my being. But from time to time I do like to throw some healthy stuff into the mix, just to keep everyone on their toes, including me. And when I saw this recipe on Mark Bittman's fabulous Bitten blog a little while ago, I thought -- this thing is so incredibly nutritious that one plate of it will probably balance out the entire last month's worth of bacon.

Plus it sounded so delicious. I am a big fan of edamame, although I usually eat it in those liberally salted servings you get at sushi restaurants. So I was delighted to see it start appearing in the frozen food section of the supermarket in all its green and healthy glory. Soba noodles were a little trickier to find, but I tracked them down in the Asian section of the supermarket. They cook up in no time -- 4-5 minutes tops. Fast-cooking pasta, right up my alley! Miso is the hardest part; it is in the refrigerated section of the store.

Anyway, once you assemble the ingredients it is about 10 minutes from start to finish. I modified the recipe slightly to drop the baby spinach in the water for the last 30 seconds or so -- for those of you who want to try it Mark's way, he mixed it up with the pasta once it was drained. It depends how "cooked" you like your spinach. I like mine cooked, baby.

So the next time you feel the urge for something supremely healthy and super-delicious, give this a try. We now return you to your regularly scheduled bacon-imbued programming.

SOBA NOODLES WITH EDAMAME, CARROTS AND SPINACH, from Mark Bittman's BITTEN blog

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 to 4 ounces soba noodles

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 cups edamame (frozen are fine)

2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Juice of one lime

2 tablespoons white or light miso

1 tablespoon mirin or 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

1 10-ounce package fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Drop in the noodles and carrot and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes; add the edamame and spinach for about 15 to 30 seconds just to warm, then drain everything in a colander. Set aside.

2. In a large salad bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, miso and mirin or sugar. Add spinach, noodles, carrot, edamame, scallion, and toss; then taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with grated ginger at the table.

Yield: 4 servings

Click here for printable recipe

Ropa Vieja!

Rrrrrropa Vee-ay-ha!

Half of the reason I make this dish is because I like to say it. Give it a try.

The other half is that it is one of the ultimate great comfort foods of the world. Roughly translated it means "old clothes," reason being that when it is done, the shredded beef looks like a pile of old clothes. Theoretically. I think it looks like a pile of mouthwatering shredded beef that has been slow cooked in tomato and onion until your entire kitchen smells like heaven and you want to toss your hat in the air and shout "RRRRROPA VEE-AY-HA!!"

Or maybe not. It's pretty fabulous, though. As the tag says, it is a Slow Sunday Supper, because the beef needs to simmer slowly and happily until it is easy to shred with a couple of forks, or even your fingers if you are a fancy cook like me. There are a million different variations on this dish, and mine has been refined over the years to be a nice redheaded Irish Catholic girl's version of this Cuban dish. So proceed at your own risk, all you purists out there. I serve it on a bed of rice, but I have heard tell that it is great with fried bananas on the side, and I would bet that any leftovers would be wonderful reheated and eaten out of corn tortillas.

That's all I have to say about this one, except for...Rrrrrropa Vee-ay-ha!!!!!!

I'll stop now.

ROPA VIEJA, adapted from COLD WEATHER COOKING by Sarah Leah Chase

• 2 pounds flank steak
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, quartered
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons capers

1. Put the steak, carrot, celery and quartered onion in a heavy pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer until meat is very tender, anywhere from 2-3 hours depending on the cut of meat. Cool in cooking liquid and then remove meat. Reserve the stock.

2. Shred the beef into strips, using your fingers or two forks. Place in large bowl.

3. Mix 2 tablespoons oil, lime and orange juice, 1/4 of the minced garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over beef, mix well and marinate for one hour at room temperature.

4. Heat remaining oil over medium high heat in large skillet and add chopped onion, remaining garlic and jalapeno. Cook for 5 minutes and add tomato. Cook 1 minute more and add marinara sauce, 1 cup reserved stock and spices. Simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the beef with the marinade and add capers. Simmer 15 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Serve over rice, or be adventurous and go for the fried bananas on the side.

Click here for printable recipe!

Roasted Butternut Dip

It's October, and you know what that means, right?

(I can hear both my dad and my Southern husband yelling in unison, "IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!")

Well, yes it is. And with football season come football snacks. Because if you are going to hunker down at 1pm and not come up for air until 7pm, you need some sustenance to keep you going. I am certainly not beyond dumping the Family Size bag of nacho cheese Doritos into a bowl and calling it a day, but amid all the salty/cheesy/Day-Glo-colored stuff I do like to sneak in something modestly healthy every once in a while that can hold its own with the other snacks.

This delicious dip is one of those things, and I promise you, the hardest part of the whole thing is cutting open the dang butternut. Those things are tough, and it would be really convenient to have a linebacker on call to cut the squash in half for you, but maybe you can convince whomever is watching the football in your house to chop it open for you before kick-off. Unless that person is you, in which case...grab your most serious knife and go for it!

In my case, I totally lucked out this weekend because my beloved market, Fairway, had butternut squash already cut in half, seeded and peeled for me and packaged up in adorable half-butternut bundles. How great is that? The rest of the ingredients for this super-simple dip were already in my pantry -- onion, garlic, a little sour cream (okay, that was in the fridge, before you start worrying about me), nutmeg and red pepper. I picked up some Stacy's Pita Chips (LOVE those. Try them if you haven't already.) and I was ready to roll. An hour later: warm, spicy, creamy, delicious and actually HEALTHY football game snacking was going on in my family room.

Okay, sports fans and those who love them, over to you. And remember, it isn't whether you win or lose...oh, wait a minute.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT DIP

1 (2-pound) butternut squash

1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3 tablespoons sour cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.

2. Brush cut sides of squash halves, cut sides of onion quarters, and garlic cloves with oil. Arrange squash halves, cut sides down, on a jelly-roll pan. Put onion quarters and garlic cloves on pan. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly.

3. Scoop the cooked squash out of the peel and put in food processor with onions. Squeeze garlic cloves so that pulp goes into food processor and blend until smooth.

4. Add sour cream and remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Serve warm with pita chips. Whatever you do, don't block the tv screen.

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Baby Chocolate Croissants

Aren't they adorable? They are about 3 inches long, 1 inch wide, and filled with about a teaspoon of dark melted chocolate. And they can be all yours in 30 minutes or less.

This recipe comes via Joy the Baker, who got it from Nigella Lawson. (If you have never visited Joy's site, you need to go. Her recipes are amazing, and her photographs are breathtaking. www.joythebaker.com.)

And so now I pass this recipe along to you. It's like a chocolate croissant version of Pay It Forward. All you need is frozen puff pastry (usually next to the frozen fruit part of your supermarket's freezer section), some really good dark chocolate, an egg and a little sea salt, if you are the kind who likes a little hint of salt on their sweet stuff. I am that kind, myself. Once the pastry is defrosted, it is 30 minutes from start to take a bite. And you do have to take a bite pretty soon after they are out of the oven. They actually do heat up pretty nicely (10 seconds in your friendly microwave), but they are out of this world when they are freshly baked. And they are so cute and tiny, you can definitely have two. Or three.

So with thanks to Joy and Nigella and whomever else had a hand in these, here's the recipe.

Baby Chocolate Croissants

recipe from www.joythebaker.com, inspired by Nigella Lawson

*1 (14 oz) package frozen all-butter puff pastry, left to defrost in the fridge for 2 or 3 hours

*1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces, 60% or 70% cocoa solids

*1 egg, beaten

* sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Gently unpackage the slightly thawed puff pastry and place on a lightly floured surface. With a light floured rolling pin, gently roll out the puff pastry, extending the dough about 1 inch on all sides.

3. With the pastry sheet horizontal, make three vertical cuts, making four strips of pastry dough. Cut each strip in half horizontally. You'll have eight medium sized rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally, creating 16 triangles.

4. Place each triangle so the wider part is toward you and the point is away from you.

Place small pieces of chocolate about 1/2-inch above the wide part of the triangle.

5. Carefully roll the chocolate loaded end toward the point, pinching the dough together at the beginning of the roll to ensure that the chocolate doesn't ooze out during baking. Once rolled, curl the ends toward the center slightly.

6. Place the 16 small chocolate croissants on a lined but not greased baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle each top with just a bit of sea salt if you like a little salt with your chocolate.

7. Place in 425 degree F oven and immediately turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and puffed.

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Mussel Bisque

Remember the great mussel with blue cheese recipe from a couple of weeks ago?

Mussels with Blue Cheese Sauce

Well, when I originally got those mussels (or, I should say when the helpful Southern husband went and got those mussels) they were supposed to be made into a mussel bisque. I had been meaning to make the mussel bisque recipe from the SILVER PALATE cookbook for the past 100 years or so, but never seemed to get around to it. But I was bound and determined this time, and picked up all the ingredients...but broke one of my golden rules, which is the Always Read The Recipe Carefully First To See How Much Time It Takes To Make Rule. And so when I got home from work in the rain that Friday night and finally read the dang thing, I realized that this was not a weekday quick dish, but a weekend leisurely dish.

Oops.

So THOSE mussels went into the speedy blue cheese recipe, but I was prepared for the next batch, and so last Sunday I finally made the bisque. I should warn you that while it is not hard at all to make, it DOES involve steaming the mussels and then taking each and every one of those little puppies out of the shell. Not hard, but this is the sort of thing that one likes to come to grips with beforehand. Anyway, the soup is a gorgeous, rich concoction of mussel broth, white wine, cream, tomatoes, basil and a load of tender mussels. I served it up with a salad and some fresh bread and a nice merlot, and voila! the perfect Sunday supper. Thanks for the umpteenth time to the SILVER PALATE.

MUSSEL BISQUE, adapted from SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK

Serves about 6-8 as main course

• 2 cups water
• 3 cups dry white wine
• 3 pounds mussels, rinsed and bearded
• 1 stick butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large leek, white part and 2/3 green part, cleaned and minced
• 2 carrots, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 cups light cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Pour water and one cup wine into large pan. Add mussels, cover pan and steam until mussels are open, about 3-5 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open and cool. When cool enough to handle, remove mussel meat from shell and set aside. Save 3 cups of cooking liquid and set aside.

2. Melt butter in large stock pot over high heat and add onion, leek, carrots and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, reduce heat to low, cover pot and and cook for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

3. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes. Add remaining wine to mussel cooking liquid, add to pot and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

4. Add herbs, then creams, then mussel meats. Season to taste with salt and pepper and heat just until soup is heated through. Serve with salad and nice crusty bread.

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Baked Potato with Broccoli, Cheddar and Egg

I wasn't going to blog about this one, because it was going to be a little more trouble than usual to photograph. My usual approach to photographing all these dishes on the blog is to make a little extra, which then gets photographed after dinner and then popped into the fridge for the appreciative Southern husband to have for lunch later in the week. (I developed this method after my first approach, which was to photograph one of the servings BEFORE dinner. And since I am not the speediest photographer in the world...you guessed it. Lukewarm dinner. Or on some nights, cold dinner. Until it occurred to me that I could do it after dinner if I just made a little extra. D'oh!!)

Anyway, this meal shows up on the menu regularly because after macaroni and cheese and hamburgers, it is the teenager's favorite. Except for the broccoli, but I do have to get those vegetables in where I can. So when she was doublechecking to make sure it was on the menu, she also doublechecked to make sure I was photographing it. Which I wasn't planning to, because leftover baked potato and egg...not so much. The Southern husband is very agreeable, but even he has his limits. So I had only three potatoes on hand, none scheduled for a close-up.

That did not fly with the teenager. "It's my FAVORITE! You HAVE to put it on the blog! (Much of what gets said by the teenager involves capital letters and exclamation points.)

Good grief. Okay. So with a little fancy footwork in terms of an extra egg and some reheating, I managed to both take its picture AND serve it relatively hot, and everyone was happy, including the dog (who got the extra egg). In the meantime, the teenager and I both recommend this easy, filling, delicious dinner. You can substitute pretty much any veggie or cheese that you like.

BAKED POTATO WITH BROCCOLI, CHEDDAR AND EGG

• 1 Idaho potato, scrubbed
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, either poached or fried
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper

1. Prick the potato several times with fork and microwave until cooked through, about 15 minutes on full power.

2. Steam broccoli, or microwave for 3-5 minutes with a little water until crisp-tender.

3. Poach or fry one egg.

4. Split potato open and fluff insides with fork. Spread butter over top and season with salt and pepper. Arrange broccoli over top of potato and scatter cheese over broccoli. Microwave for 1 minute until cheese is just melting.

5. Place egg on top and break yolk so it spreads over all. Grind pepper over top and serve immediately.

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