Chilled Avocado Cucumber Soup

I've had this recipe for about one million years, and I both love and make it so much that the Southern husband gets that beef barley soup look in his eyes when I pull out the recipe, which is an interesting combo of "I like that soup!" and "wow, she's making that AGAIN." But I can't help it...this soup is cool and refreshing and delicious and only involves one kitchen appliance and that is the blender. Highly satisfying in so very many ways.

So here's the scoop. Pull out that blender and you toss in the following: some cucumber (get the English kind if you can. They are usually shrinkwrapped in plastic next to the cucumbers with the regular old American accent. Why? No idea. But they have less seeds and if you can get 'em, they're great.) Then some avocado, some yogurt, a little lime juice, some minced jalapeno, some salt and pepper and a little ice water. Press that puree button, baby.

And that puree sound is the MOST satisfying thing, can I just say? In about one minute it will be a lovely, thick chilled soup. Now all you have to do is thin it down with a little more ice water until it is nice and soup-like, and stir in some chopped avocado and cuke for substance and crunch. Garnish with some tomato, some fresh ground pepper and...the best part...some chopped crabmeat or shrimp. Dinner in about 10 minutes, and so delicious and healthy, too! Happy sigh.

Chilled Avocado Cucumber Soup, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 English cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 2 avocados, pitted and peeled
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 minced small jalapeno chile (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
• 1/3 cup sliced scallions
• 1 tablespoon cilantr0 (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 ounces cooked shrimp or crabmeat
• 1 chopped tomato

1. In a blender, combine half the cucumber and 1 avocado with the yogurt, lime juice, jalapeno, scallions, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 cup ice water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Puree until completely smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Cut remaining avocado into 1/4-inch cubes. Stir avocado and remaining cucumber into soup. Thin with 1/2 to 1 cup ice water, as desired. Season again with salt and pepper. Chill, about hour.

3. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with shrimp or crabmeat and tomato.

Click here for printable recipe

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I do love baking with bananas. But somehow, I always seem to fall into a banana-baking rut by making the same old thing over and over. Banana bread, right? You see those, um, aging bananas on your counter and your mind goes blank except for the banana bread. Now, a few weeks ago I broke out of my banana rut and made these cute little banana bites, and I was just overwhelmed by all the banana love that came my way from all you banana-fans out there.

And so I was inspired, and I have been collecting banana recipes ever since. On my to-make list over the coming weeks are: Layered chocolate banana parfaits. Bisquick banana muffins. I even have a recipe on deck for Extreme Banana Bread, made with SIX bananas. Crazy, right? But in the midst of all this banana-rama I found a recipe for banana cupcakes with whipped peanut butter frosting. The cupcakes are like a light, airy banana bread, and the frosting....peanut butter heaven.

One last little observation -- that frosting job that I did on the cupcakes involved a pastry bag and one of those little star-shaped decorating tips, which all sounds very fancy and complicated, but it's as easy as easy can be. But feel free to slather that frosting on there however you want. It's going to taste AWESOME no matter what it looks like.

It's a banana summer!

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, from Bon Appetit

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 very ripe large bananas, peeled
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
• Chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts (optional)

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Mash bananas with fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into bananas.

2. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with banana-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (generous 1/4 cup for each).

3. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and let cool completely. 

4. Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes, dividing equally.

 

Click here for printable recipe

Panzanella!

Panzanella! Isn't that a great word? And if you saw it actually being said by my pale, freckled, Irish girl self you would laugh your head off, because it really needs to be said with a fabulous Italian accent to get the true benefit. But no matter, it is wonderful and summery, and the perfect, perfect thing to make when tomatoes and basil are in full swing and the days are still too hot to even THINK of turning on the oven.

Basically, it is a bread salad that involves tossing chunks of crusty bread with tomatoes, basil, red onion and just enough vinegar and olive oil to soak into the bread and soften it up just a little bit. This particular version calls for a generous scoop of fresh ricotta on the top, which then gets drizzled with a little more olive oil. Some fresh ground pepper, and you are good to go.

Now, we ate this all by its gorgeous self, but I can also imagine it as a scrumptious side dish alongside grilled sliced steak or chicken. Yum, right? In any language.

Panzanella!  Adapted from Everyday Food

• 5 cups crusty bread, cut or torn into one each pieces
• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into one each pieces
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup basil leaves, torn
• 2 cups fresh ricotta

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spread bread on a baking sheet and toast until golden, about 20 minutes.

2. Combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar and oil in a large bowl.  Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.  

3. Add toasted bread and basil and toss to combine.  Let sit for 20-30 minutes so bread can soak up the liquid.

4. Divide among plates and top with a generous spoonful of ricotta, a drizzle of olive oil, and a little more salt and pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Tarragon Lobster Salad with Corn and Tomatoes

Here we are smack dab in the heart of summer. It's hot, hot, hot out there, and while I do my share of complaining about the hazy hot and humidness, I secretly love it, and will take it over February any day of the week.

We are also happily right in the middle of fresh Jersey tomato season. None of those hard, pale-red supermarket February tomatoes...we have THESE now, in every variety from tiny heirloom varieties to big old beefsteaks...

...and along with tomato season comes fresh corn season. Fresh, sweet corn that is so tender you sometimes don't even have to cook it.

Which is the case with this recipe. Now, you know my philosophy on lobsters, which is that cracking and eating lobster out of the shell is something that is better done in a really great seafood restaurant at the shore, where someone else gets to both cook the lobster and clean up all the flying pieces of lobster shell and lobster juice that sail all over the place. If you are going to go to the time and extravagance of making lobsters at home, let's make it a happy, peaceful experience that even the cook (ahem!) can enjoy. My all-time favorite recipe for this is something called The Way Life Should Be, but I think this gorgeous salad of fresh lobster, sweet corn and summer tomatoes is a close second.

Two preparation notes. You really do need one lobster per person to make this dish all that it should be, and ask your supermarket to steam it for you right in the store, so you are going home with nice freshly cooked lobster. Then all you need to do is talk someone into taking the meat out of the shell. (I don't even have to ask the Southern husband to do this any more. He sees the lobster come in the door and he springs into action. There is, after all, a great dinner in it for him at the end.)

And the corn...as I mentioned above, if you get great young corn, you don't even have to cook it. Just cut those kernels off the cob and toss them in the bowl. They will be perfect just as they are. If you really need to cook your corn to feel like everything is right with the world, then drop the cut-off kernels into simmering water for about 1 or 2 minutes, tops. You want the corn nice and crunchy in this recipe.

Lobster, corn, tomatoes...do it now. Summer is speeding along!

Tarragon Lobster Salad with Corn and Tomatoes, adapted from Emeril LaGasse's recipe

• Two medium size lobsters, cooked (get your supermarket to steam them for you)
• 2 tablespo9ons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. 1. Combine the shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Whisk in the 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cayenne. Add the corn kernels and mix together. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Cut the tiniest heirloom tomatoes in half, and quarter the larger ones. Add the tomatoes to the corn mixture. Add the lobster, tarragon, and parsley, and mix gently to combine.

Click here for printable recipe

Meatloaf Burgers with Grilled Corn

Oh, I have so much to say about this fabulous, not-your-usual-hamburger recipe. First of all, the burger itself is made of a scrumptious meatloaf mix, including fabulous stuff like chopped Vidalia onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and mustard, just to name a few. Second, the burger is topped with both bacon (yes!!!) and a fruit-nut cheese that you will have to stop yourself from completely devouring on crackers before the burgers are even ready. Think of this as a very, very special bacon cheeseburger.

OK, let's start with the cheese. (and by the way, the whole devouring on a cracker thing? Guilty. My best advice is, make extra.) First, toss some cream cheese in a bowl. I used the whipped variety, but you can use the regular version too, just make sure you leave it out to soften first.

Add some shredded cheddar. (Cheese on cheese. Mmmmmmmm....)

Some chopped pecans (or really, any other kind of chopped nut you have around. Clean out those pantry shelves.)

Dried cranberries. I'm betting raisins would be just fine in here as well.)

A little chopped sweet onion...

And some fresh parsley. Mix mix mix.

Tempting, right??? Make sure you hold some back for the burgers.

Next, let's discuss the corn. Every time I cook corn on the grill, I ask myself why on earth I ever go to the trouble of hauling out a giant pot of water to cook it on the stove. If you are going to have the grill on anyway, it is super-easy to grill the corn alongside anything else you are making. All you do is toss the un-husked corn on the medium hot grill for about 20 minutes. Some folks like to soak the corn in water for a little while first (I guess to lessen the chances that the husks will catch fire) -- personally, I just put the corn right on the grill with no preparation at all. The husks will get a charred look, but the corn inside will be sweet and tender.

So now you have your meatloaf burgers, your delicious cheese topping and your grilled corn. And probably a crowd of people around you who can't wait for supper to make it to the picnic table. Barbecue dinner extraordinaire. I love summer!!

Meatloaf Burgers with Grilled Corn, adapted from Taste of the South

Cheese Spread ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup minced Vidalia onion
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Burger ingredients

• 1 cup minced Vidalia onion
• 1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon steak sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1/2 pound ground pork sausage
• 12 slices cooked bacon
• 1 recipe fruit and nut cheese
• 6 hamburger buns, toasted
• 6 slices tomato, optional
• 6 green lettuce leaves, optional
• Dijon mustard, optional

• 6 ears corn

1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, Cheddar, pecans, onion, cranberries, parsley, Worcestershire, paprika, and salt, mixing to blend. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, approximately 3 minutes. Add garlic, and stir for 1 minute. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl, and let cool completely.
3. Add bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire, steak sauce, dry mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper to vegetable mixture, mixing well. Add ground beef and sausage, mixing until just combined. Shape mixture into 6 patties, and place on a baking sheet. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
   
5. Grill corn with husks on for 20 minutes. When they have been on for ten minutes, add the burgers so everything is done at the same time.
   
6. Grill burgers, turning once, just until they feel firm when pressed in the centers (meat should bounce back), approximately 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat, and immediately top each burger with two slices bacon and desired amount of Fruit-and-Nut Cheese. Serve on buns, with tomato, lettuce, and Dijon mustard, and grilled corn on the side.

Click here for printable recipe

Caramel French Toast

French toast is the teenager's all-time favorite, and I make it a LOT. I can almost make it in my sleep at this point, that's how often she comes into the kitchen with those puppy dog eyes and says, "Mommy, can you make me french toast?"



It's the "Mommy" part that just kills me. She's 17 and I still instinctively whip my head around whenever I hear a little voice call out "Mommy!!" in a crowded store.

Anyway. I thought I knew everything there was to know about french toast, but as it turns out, there was one vital trick I wasn't aware of, and that is that you can caramelize the outside of it with one very easy extra step. Yep, I said caramelize. Can you STAND it? All the creamy, comforting goodness of french toast, but with a thin, slightly crispy caramel coating on the outside.

Now, a few weeks ago I did a post on all fabulous Stonewall Kitchen goodies, and among other things I mentioned this stuff.

Which was the perfect accompaniment to caramel french toast. Although I wouldn't say no to good old Vermont maple syrup too. Drop some of the wonderful blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and/or strawberries that are springing up all around us right on top and you are in French Toast Heaven. The world's best breakfast, although to be totally honest with you, I made this for dinner. Breakfast for dinner. Does it get any better???

Caramel French Toast, from Bon Appetit

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 1-inch-thick slices French bread
• Powdered sugar
• Fresh blueberries and raspberries
• Your choice of syrup

• Mix butter and brown sugar in small bowl to blend.
  
• Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, and spices in large bowl to blend, and soak the bread slices in the milk mixture until they are good and soaked, at least 5 minutes. 10 is even better.
  
• Melt 4 tablespoons brown sugar-butter mixture in large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. (If you can't fit them all in one skillet then only use 2 tablespoons butter mixture and save some of the next batch.) Spread remaining butter mixture over bread. Add bread slices to each skillet, butter side UP. Cook until bottoms are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn slices over. Cook until bottoms are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Divide French toast among 4 plates. Sift powdered sugar over. Top with blueberries and raspberries; drizzle with syrup.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp and Watermelon Salad

I have to say, I paused a bit on the idea of this salad. Shrimp and...watermelon? In the same bowl? Possibly ending up on my fork in the same bite? Really?

Really.

It's one of those things that sounds like it might not work, but trust me, it does. It's kind of the whole sweet and salty thing that I love so much, only seafood style. The shrimp and the feta cheese are the savory salty end of this recipe, and the watermelon and fresh tomato are the sweet side. Even the dressing has the sweet and salty thing going on -- the sharp taste of vinegar and Dijon mustard and garlic are mixed with the sweetness of honey and orange juice, and the whole thing is a Taste Sensation! Sweet and salty and tropical and summery and cool and wonderful. Summer on a plate.

Plus it is as easy as easy as easy can be.

Thanks for walking on the wild side with me, shrimp and watermelon-wise.

Shrimp and Watermelon Salad, adapted from Epicurious

Dressing:

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 6 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• Juice and rind from 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 cups chopped watermelon
  
• 1 pound heirloom tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
  
• 1/2cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in food processor and process to blend.

2. Fill a 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil; add lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt. Add shrimp, cover, remove from heat and let stand until shrimp is cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool 10 minutes, then refrigerate 30 minutes, or run under cold water to cool if you are in a hurry.

3. Toss shrimp, melon, tomatoes and cheese together in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing to taste and toss again. Scatter basil on top and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

Now this is one of those recipes that has a backstory, so hunker down. A few weeks ago, we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. We had a wedding cake and great music, and many many friends and family, and it didn't rain. Thank you, Lord.

They had a wonderful time, and then they went off to Maine on a little 50th anniversary honeymoon trip. (Aren't they adorable??). And while they were there, they visited one of my favorite, favorite makers of all things delicious, the amazing Stonewall Kitchen. And they brought me back some delectable Stonewall Kitchen goodies. Including this...

I have big plans for this that involve caramelized french toast and cinnamon and berries. Stay tuned for that one. They also brought me this...

I'm considering my peach jam options. Suggestions welcome. Now brace yourself for this next one...

I don't even know what to say. I am seriously considering just hiding somewhere and eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Last but not least, this was in the Stonewall Kitchen bag...

Along with a recipe card for Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. (Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!) Anyway, this scrumptious recipe calls for making a super-easy shortbread cookie crust. On top of that crust goes a classic cheesecake batter...and then comes the fun part. You take that whole jar of wild blueberry jam (and when you open it up you will see there are tons of teeny tiny whole little baby blueberries in the jam. Deep breaths.) and drop it in spoonfuls on top of the cheesecake batter. Then take a knife and swirl, swirl, swirl the jam through the batter.

Bake. Cool, counting the minutes. Cut into squares. Try not to eat all of them at once. And if you have the self-discipline to put them in the fridge to chill down for a while -- well, the only better than a blueberry cheesecake square is a cold blueberry cheesecake square.

Stonewall Kitchen, have I told you lately that I love you??

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares, from Stonewall Kitchen

Cookie Crust:
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon ice water

Cheesecake Filling:
• 16 ounces (2 packages) softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup blueberry jam. I highly recommend Stonewall Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry Jam!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X13 inch pan.
2. Place flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse.
3. Add butter and process until the dough begins to form a ball, adding ice water if necessary.
4. Press dough evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until crust is lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.
5. While cooling, prepare filling. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended.
6. Add eggs and mix just until eggs are incorporated.
7. After crust cools for 30 minutes, pour cheesecake filling evenly over the crust.
8. Spoon Blueberry Jam randomly on top of filling and then swirl to combine.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 35-45 minutes or until center is set. Allow to cool in pan.

Click here for printable recipe

Spicy Coconut Noodles

Coconut! I am a devoted coconut lover. Coconut cake. Coconut cookies. Coconut ice cream. A few days ago I made individual chocolate coconut cream pies that will be appearing on this blog as soon as I sit down and write the post. I love 'em all. But coconut desserts are the easy part...what's really exciting is finding a recipe that lets you incorporate coconut into the main course...now we're talking!

I've run into a few of these over the years, and they have a special place in my crazy conglomerate of a recipe collection. Coconut shrimp risotto, for example. Coconut fusilli. I even have a recipe for a coconut soup. But for a coconut lover like me, you can never have too many coconut recipes, so when I spotted this one in the always wonderful Real Simple, I knew it had my name on it. The light sauce is a combo of sweet coconut milk with spicy chili sauce and tomato sauce, and the pasta gets tossed with this sauce, some scallions and bean sprouts and fresh basil and topped with...you guessed it, more coconut!

And for dessert, I think I will have me one of these. Because you know they are in my freezer!

Spicy Coconut Noodles, adapted from Real Simple

• 8 ounces fettuccine
• 1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon chili paste or sauce (optional)
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces bean sprouts
• 16 basil leaves, whole or torn
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted
  

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the coconut milk, tomato paste, chili powder, salt, and chili paste or sauce (if using). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the drained noodles and toss. Divide the noodles among individual bowls. Top with the scallions, sprouts, basil, and coconut.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage with Grits

Okay, so I've been very good and patient -- I haven't posted yet another recipe for shrimp and grits in ages and ages. Well, not since May, when I put up the post on shrimp and grits with artichoke hearts. But I can't help it. I'm married to a Southern man, and with those vows come love, cherish and enthusiastically eat shrimp and grits for as long as we both shall live. And I do love all of 'em -- the shrimp, the grits and the Southern husband, so I'm always on the look-out for new variations, and this is a great one.

The grits you cook up the way you always do. I like this variety, which you can order online, but if the only thing available is the Quaker quick-cooking grits -- well, that's better than no grits at all. (And for those of you grits-doubters out there, feel free to subsitute the word "polenta" for "grits" throughout this post. It's all ground corn, and it's all good.)

This recipe is all about the topping, which is a glorious mixture of shrimp, spicy sliced andouille sausage, and a garlicky cream sauce. It all gets cooked up together and spooned over the grits and oh, my my. Broil up some of the cherry tomatoes that are springing up all around us to toss on the side, and you have a quick and luxurious supper that would make my Southern husband proud.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage with Grits, from Everyday Food

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup grits
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Olive oil and salt and pepper
  

1. Cook grits according to package directions.
2. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Broil until lightly charred, 8 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add andouille and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer andouille to a plate and reduce heat to medium.
   
4. Add garlic and scallion whites to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour. Whisk in broth and cream. Cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet, until thickened, about 3 minutes.
   
5. Add shrimp and andouille and cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes.
   
6. To serve, top grits with shrimp mixture and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve with tomatoes.

Click here for printable recipe

Bacon Cheddar Bagel Panini

Don't you just love it when you eat something somewhere, you fall in love with it, and you just KNOW in your heart of hearts you are going to be able to figure out how to make it yourself in the comfort of your own kitchen?

Such was the case with that bagel up there. And oh, oh, oh, that is so much more than a bagel. It is a sesame seed bagel that has been layered with thinly sliced sharp cheddar cheese, and a generous helping of bacon cooked in brown sugar. Then it was cooked in a panini press until the cheese is melted and the bagel is pressed down and just a little crispy on the outside. You bite into it and get this amazing combo of sweet bacon, salty melted cheese, chewy warm bagel...my heart is pounding just thinking about it.

So where was this amazingness born? There is a little bit of heaven in the middle of Grand Central Station in New York City called the Grand Central Market....

And in the middle of the Grand Central Market is this place called Dishes. Where they make things like coconut apricot bread pudding, among other things.

I've had some, and yes, it tastes just like you think it does. If you live anywhere in the NYC area, I would stand up right now and go get me some. And yes, Dishes is the place that came up with this scrumptious bagel concoction, so no matter where you live, you can have one of these anytime. Like, today. Which is what I am recommending.

One side note about the bacon. It has taken me lo! these many years to understand that the only sensible way to cook bacon is in the oven. It only takes about 10 minutes, and let's face it, you are going to spend any time you save cooking bacon on the stove or in your microwave on cleaning up the bacon spatters. Cooking bacon in the oven? No splatters. PLUS it comes out perfectly cooked every time. AND if you sprinkle the bacon with brown sugar or drizzle it with maple syrup (my personal favorite) before it goes in the oven, it will have this caramelized coating that will make you want to sing at the top of your lungs.

Anyway...bacon cheddar bagel panini. Go try it.

Bacon Cheddar Bagel Panini, inspired by Dishes

• 1 sesame bagel, sliced in half
• 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, sliced thin
• 2 slices bacon
• 1/8 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400, and line a baking sheet with foil. Cut bacon strips in half, lay on sheet and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes or until bacon is cooked to your liking.

2. Assemble bagel by putting cheddar on on bottom half. Top with bagel slices and then the top half of the bagel.

3. Grill in panini press until cheese is melted, about 2-3 minutes.

Click here for printable recipe

Ham, Brie and Apple Sandwich

Ladies and gentlemen, it's HOT outside. I love my kitchen as much as the next girl, but at the end of a sultry afternoon I come home and look at the stove and I just...can't...do it. That's when it is handy to have a nice pile of sandwich recipes in your back pocket. Recipes that involve dealing with only one large kitchen appliance, and that is the refrigerator.

If you can find it under all the magnets and pieces of paper.

Take the following out of your fridge: thin sliced ham. Really good Brie cheese (I am in love with a brie-like cheese called D'Affinios. If you can find it, give it a try...it will ruin all varieties of Brie for you for the rest of your life, but it will be worth it.) Back to the fridge: you also need a nice crisp Granny Smith apple, some good bread (I used ciabatta bread for our sandwiches)...and here's the kicker. The secret ingredient. The thing that elevates this ham sandwich above all other ham sandwiches...

Mango chutney.

I'm always a little fearful of chutney, to be perfectly honest. I'm just suspicious of all those sweet and sharp bits and pieces of things all lurking together there in the same jar, and you are never really sure about what all of them are, but in this case I don't care, because it just WORKS. I used the Stonewall Kitchen variety of mango chutney and that may have had something to do with it, because everything they make is pretty much perfection. But do whatever you need to do chutney-wise.

So tonight for dinner, just say no to the stove, and hello to ham sandwiches.

Ham, Brie and Apple Sandwich, adapted from Everyday Food

• Thinly sliced ham
• Sliced Brie cheese
• Thinly sliced Granny Smith apple
• Mango chutney (or the chutney of your choice)
• Sliced bread

Spread mango chutney on bread slices. Layer ham, cheese and apple on bread, top with second piece of bread, and enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe

Blueberries with Vanilla Cream

Blueberries...did you know that there is a gigantic poem by Robert Frost all about blueberries? Here's a teeny piece of it.

"You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson's pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!"


(And you thought all you were getting on this blog was recipes!) Anyway, I am not at all surprised, because if any fruit deserves its own poem, it's the blueberry. I love them, I love them, I can't stop piling them into my cart at the local farm market...

And while they are amazing in everything from muffins to blueberry cobbler bars, sometimes you just want to eat a pile of them plain...or maybe with just a little vanilla cream sauce, perhaps?

Okay, maybe a LOT of vanilla cream sauce.

Maybe we what we are talking about is not eating blueberries with vanilla cream sauce, but vanilla cream sauce with some blueberries.

This recipe comes from the always awesome Pioneer Woman, so when you drink down the whole bowl of this decadent sauce with your berries, you can blame her, not me. By the way, her recipe shows this sauce with blackberries...and I am sure it would be just as good on strawberries. So whatever sort of berry person you are...cream sauce. Yum.

Blueberries with Vanilla Cream, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• 1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 10 whole Egg Yolks (save The Whites For Another Use)
• 2 teaspoons Good Vanilla Extract
  
• Fresh Berries

Combine cream with half the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a strong simmer, but don’t boil.

Whisk egg yolks in a bowl with the other half of the sugar. Add vanilla extract.

After whisking on medium for a minute, begin slowly pouring in the hot cream.

After all cream is added, turn off mixer. Pour mixture into the top of a double boiler (or a glass bowl fitted over a saucepan). Cook in the double boiler over medium heat. Stir gently but constantly as the egg/cream mixture slowly thickens.

Watch the mixture: if it starts to really thicken up, remove it immediately from the heat. You want this to be more of a thick, pourable cream than a thick, heavy pudding texture. As soon as you remove the pan from the heat, set the bottom of it in a bowl of ice to stop the cooking process (but be careful not to let ice or water drip over the edge of the pan.) Stir to cool. If you need to use the cream right away, keep it in the ice bath and stir to cool.

Transfer the cream to a container and refrigerate it for several hours before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

Every summer I seem to run into a recipe that I just simply can't stop making over and over again. In the past it has been the Silver Palate's pasta with tomatoes and brie cheese, and fabulous "Way Life Should Be" lobster recipe from New York Times, and one summer many moons ago I made this super-simple raspberry sherbet recipe almost every day. This summer I am fixated on this buttermilk grilled chicken recipe.

It must be something about the buttermilk that makes it taste so wonderful. Buttermilk is a scary, scary thing to me (have you ever taken a really close look at this stuff?), but I have to say that anything I make with it, from this chicken, to fresh ricotta cheese, to my all-time favorite buttermilk fried chicken recipe, turns out great. This recipe calls for mixing up buttermilk, paprika, lots of garlic and some fresh herbs and letting the chicken soak in it all day before grilling it up. It comes out with a delicious flavor that is even better when you eat the leftovers cold for lunch the next day.

One trick that I always use when it comes to grilling chicken: I use kitchen shears to cut the chicken breast halves in half again, so you are left with breast quarters. Much more manageable in terms of picking up and eating...which is what you are going to do with scrumptious summertime grilled chicken, right? Right!

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken, adapted from Real Simple

• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 6 pounds bone-in chicken breasts, cut into quarters
• Fresh rosemary and thyme
  

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, garlic, paprika, 1½ teaspoons salt, ¾ teaspoon pepper, and whatever fresh herbs you have around -- I especially like fresh rosemary. Chop them up a little and add them to the marinade.

2. Divide the buttermilk mixture and chicken between 2 large resealable plastic bags. Let marinate in the refrigerator, turning the bags occasionally, for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

3. Heat grill to medium. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and grill, covered, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.

Click here for printable recipe

Ace of Cakes Winners!!

Happy long holiday weekend everyone! And thanks to everyone who chimed in with their favorite cake suggestions...my list of cakes that I need to try is now ten miles long, thank you very much!

As always, I was wishing I had a book for every single one of you and didn't have to narrow it down to two winners, and usually I do this narrowing by using Random.org. But given that this particular post was inspired by my teenager and her amazing guitar cake project, it seemed only right that I let her pick the lucky winners. So I turned things over to the teenager...

Isn't she adorable?

Here are her winners....

First... Calamity Anne! She picked this winner because of the chocolate cake. The teenager likes chocolate just a little bit. (She gets this from her mama.)

Second...Lisa, who talked about the pound cake her mom makes for her, and what great memories that brings back. The teenager thought it was really sweet that Lisa loved this cake because of her mom. And I loved that she loved it because of that! (Lisa, I need an address for you, so please email me at kate@katescasualportraits, okay?)

Thanks to everyone for commenting - you are all Aces to me!!

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

Ahh, blueberry season, I love you so! Blueberry muffins, blueberry pie, blueberries eaten straight out of the carton. Blueberries, you may just be my favorite berry.



And so it is no wonder that my life got that much better when I found this recipe for blueberry cobbler bars on the Joy The Baker website. She credits the recipe to The Pastry Queen, and whomever the Pastry Queen is, I want to come live in her castle, or at least work in her kitchen, because these were...oh, my my. First of all, they include a shortbread-type crust that is made with lemon sugar. Lemon sugar! Which is made by rubbing the zest of two lemons into a lot of sugar. Among other benefits, it makes your hands smell really, really good.



Now brace yourself, because the crust is made with three, count 'em, three sticks of butter. At this point, it is best just to throw caution to the wind, promise yourself you aren't going to eat the whole thing yourself, and hang on the for the ride.



That buttery, lemon-sugary crust bakes up into this...



..and then you start the truly mind-blowing part, which is the blueberry cobbler topping. Eggs, more sugar, sour cream, a little flour, some salt, and a whole lot of blueberries. Mix it all up and try not to start licking the bowl while it is still full.



Pour it over the lemon crust...



...and wait, you're not done. You've saved a little of the crust batter, and at this point you drop it in little chunks on the top of the berry mixture. (You can see where this is going, right?)



Bake. Dance around the kitchen. Cool.



Warm, chewy, lemony, sugary, blueberry heaven. I've found my thrill...

Blueberry Cobbler Bars, from Joy the Baker

Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

zest of two lemons

Berry Filling

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2 (16-ounce) packages frozen mixd berries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh berries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen berries and 3 cups of fresh berries)

To make the crust and topping-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a half sheet baking pan (12×17-inch) with butter or cooking spray and set aside. If you use a 9×13-inch baking pan you’ll have thicker bars. Zest two lemons. Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon. Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.

Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling-

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt. Gently fold in the berries. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust. You may have to distribute the berries evenly around.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Click here for printable recipe