An Easy and Delicious Gift

Happy New Year Everyone! I know you haven't heard much from me lately. I've been so busy with planning showers and wedding stuff, then came the holidays...well, you know how it goes.

I wanted to share a recipe that I have been making during the holidays for many years: Peanut Butter Snowballs. They are very easy to make and they make a nice homemade gift for Christmas or any other special occasion. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and friends do!

Love,
Michele

Peanut Butter Snowballs
Makes 2 dozen (small ones)

Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons softened butter
1 pound white confectioner's coating (Almond Bark or similar)

Combine the butter and peanut butter. Mix well. Add in the sugar (sifting it in might help prevent some lumps). Stir until fully combined. Melt coating (either in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave). Roll filling into balls and dip into coating. Place on parchment paper until dry.

Delicious! Enjoy.

Spice Up Your Life

Prior to entering college, I hated spicy foods. Now, while I won't chomp into a pepper for fun or pour hot sauce onto my food, I enjoy certain dishes with a little kick. I credit Chipotle Mexican Grill for my change of heart. The first few times I went there, I ordered steak in my tacos. It is delicious, however, for someone not used to eating spicy foods, it can really kick your tush. I would go through 4 glasses of water just to finish my meal. Slowly, I began to adjust to the amount of heat these tacos contained, and now I can eat them without any problem. Because of this, my appreciation for other spicy foods has increased. Though I have not yet taken to dumping hot sauce on all my food (Dad), I do like my food slightly spicier.

We made these stuffed jalapenos for my sister's bridal shower, after I had them at a work party and came home raving about them. You need to wear gloves and remove the seeds and ribbing, particularly if you don't want them to be crazy spicy. Consider this: the more effort you put into removing the insides of the pepper, the less heat they will contain. For a more mild pepper, scrape out as much of the inside as possible. If you prefer a little heat, try to remove only some of the seeds. If you're really brave, leave it all in there...though as I haven't tried this method, I cannot attest to the heat level. So beware. And if, like me, you aren't a huge fan of peppers to begin with, just try these. After the baking process and with all the creamy, sausagey (yes, I made that up) goodness they contain, you honestly won't taste the actual pepper. Try them! They are brilliant! And fairly easy once you get past the whole seed scraping part :)

Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

Makes 12

1 pound ground pork sausage

1 package of cream cheese, 8 ounces, softened

1 cup shredded Parmesan

1 pound large fresh jalapenos

With gloves on, cut peppers lengthwise and remove as much of the insides as you want. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. Drain and place in a bowl. Add the cream cheese and Parmesan and mix together. Place a tablespoon of filling in each pepper half. Return to baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly. 

See? Easy!

Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Getting back on track...

I know it's been forever and a day since I've posted one of these. I'm a little ashamed. And I apologize wholeheartedly. I can offer excuses...blah blah, work, blah, sister's wedding, Christmas, so on and so forth. But honestly, I just haven't given it much thought. But I'm through with that! I'm back and my goal is to try and post something every week. Feel free to yell at me if I fall behind :) the motivation will help. So Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope you all are enjoying your holiday. Here is a fun little treat that I made for my work people a few days ago. If you like meringues, you absolutely must make these. They melt in your mouth and the peppermint is a delightful and unexpected twist on a traditional meringue. In the future, I plan on doing a few variations of this recipe. It's super easy as long as you have a mixer. I used a pastry bag and a star tip to make mine, but you can cut the corner of a ziploc and do essentially the same thing.

It takes them a couple of hours to bake but I promise the result is worth it. BEWARE humidity. It doesn't ruin them, but we had the windows open and they got very sticky when they were cooling. I just popped them back into a warm oven for a few minutes and they crisped right back up. Then I dumped them immediately into a ziploc bag and suck the air out with a straw. Overcautious maybe, but they didn't get sticky!

Also, in the magazine, they were cute pink and white swirled. I tried their recommendation to get the desired swirl, but mostly they just turned out solid pink. Still cute.

Happy Holidays!

Peppermint Meringues
Makes about 60 small ones

Ingredients
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 drops red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 200 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites and salt on medium high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer, until white and foamy, about 1 minute. With the mixer on, add the 1/3 cup sugar in three parts, beating for 2 minutes in between, and 2 minutes after you add the last batch, until stiff peaks form. You should be able to take the whisk, dip it into the meringue, and turn it upside-down. The meringue should stay standing fairly straight up. Add the powdered sugar and peppermint and vanilla extracts. The meringue might soften up a little bit. Don't get scared. Mine did too.

Dot the food coloring on the surface, without stirring. Spoon into plastic bag or pastry bag with 1/2 inch tip. Pipe into 1-inch mounds on parchment paper, about an inch apart. Mine were closer together than this. They don't spread at all.

Bake for 2 1/2 hours, until meringues are dry. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. If they get sticky while cooling, I popped mine back into my barely-warm oven for a minute then put them right into a container.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine

Enjoy!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Breathe deeply. Can you smell it? Step outside. Can you feel it? That crispness in the air. The coolness of a breeze on your skin. The smokiness of an evening fire. And the sweet aroma of cinnamon that brings such warmth to a kitchen this time of year. Welcome. It's finally here. Fall. My favorite time of year. Granted, to those of us that live in Florida, fall is more a state of mind than an actual experience but it still works for me! After suffering through what seemed like an endless summer of record breaking temperatures and extreme humidity, this mild reprieve from sweating is certainly welcome.

 

Among the other benefits, PUMPKINS! Seriously...could they be any better? As decorations, as a fun craft experience, as food, pumpkins bring me such enjoyment. Though I will go so far as to say pumpkins in savory dishes are simply not for me. Maybe I haven't found a good recipe yet. Maybe I just think pumpkin belongs in desserts. Regardless, I will spend the next couple of months trying to share some of my favorite pumpkin recipes with you.

To start off, Pilgrim Pumpkin Bars. A delicious layer of pumpkin spice cake, topped with a delightful amount of cream cheese frosting. A couple of things to note before you dash off to make this...you know you want to :) I baked these in a 13x9 inch pan. Too small. Not only did I add at least 20 minutes to the cooking time, but I kept having to check them and turn the oven down so the outside didn't brown too quickly. And I sort of ruined the title. Mine was more like Pilgrim Pumpkin Cake. Too thick to fall into the bars category. Which is a shame, because it did make it more difficult to eat. I had to use a fork...and what fun is that? So that said, use a larger pan...or maybe two batches in a small square pan? Also, for the frosting, I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. I personally like it. I don't find that it changes the taste and it makes it easier for me to justify a bigger piece! Plus it is a little softer so it makes a nice, creamy frosting.

 

So onward I say! With a nip in the air (hopefully) and a spring in your step, trot to your kitchen and whip these puppies up! Your first taste of fall will be as sweet as the first time you got to open your windows to let in the fresh air!

 

Andrea and Michele

Pilgrim Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin

1 cup oil

4 eggs

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

6 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a large rectangular baking dish (preferably larger than 9x13)

Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl. Stir. Add oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Mix until combined. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 25-35 minutes.

Once cooled, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a medium sized bowl. Add the powdered sugar slowly and mix until creamy. Spread on top of the cooled cake. Cut into bars and serve.

The Tastes of Childhood

Of all the senses humans possess, it's said that the sense of smell is most closely related to memory retrieval. For anyone  who has ever smelled the delicious aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking, and has been thrown back to their childhood, back to a simpler time when cookies cured all worries, you understand this peculiar sensation. For me, food smells in particular allow me to embrace floods of wonderful memories that bring me back to my childhood. These ginger cookies smell and taste like the Christmases of my younger years. They are a version of the classic gingerbread, only updated to make them more sophisticated, and thus more enjoyable all year long.


Mom recently expressed an interest in candying her own ginger. For those of you who have bought candied ginger before, you know it can get kind of pricey, ranging from about $5-7 for an 8 oz jar. With this recipe, it becomes monumentally cheaper. At first glance, it may seem intimidating to make, but it's actually fairly simple. You only need a kitchen scale. Since this cookie recipe calls for a lot of candied ginger, it is far cheaper to just make it yourself. We store our leftover ginger in a jar in the fridge, in order to extend its life. We recommend chopping the ginger up fairly finely before adding it to the dough, so nobody chomps into a giant chunk of ginger, which can be a little overwhelming for the tastebuds.


These cookies are our substitute for traditional molasses cookies. They retain the classic flavors found in molasses cookies, but punch up the volume. They don't stay fresh for more than a couple of days, however they freeze extremely well. We always leave out a few, freeze the rest, and use them as needed.


Enjoy!

Ultimate Ginger Cookies
Makes 16


Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger
Granulated sugar, for rolling cookies


Preheat the oven to 350 and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.


Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a large bowl and give the mixture a quick stir. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes using the paddle attachment. Switch to low speed and add the egg, beating for 1 minute. Keep the mixer on low and slowly add the dry ingredients. Turn mixer to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until just combined.


Scoop the dough and roll each cookie into a 1 3/4 inch ball. Flatten slightly with your hands. Dip each side of the cookie into the granulated sugar and place on the pan. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies should be crackled on the top and soft on the inside. Cool on pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to completely cool.


Recipe courtesy of Barefoot Contessa at Home Cookbook

I Like My People Nutty, but Not My Brownies

All my life, I have been considered odd. Out of all my family members, I’m the only one who doesn’t like ketchup. And though over the years my tastes have changed, (I now eat a lot more vegetables than I used to) I still despise that slimy red condiment. When it comes down to it, I hate all condiments. Relish, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles. All of them rank on my “I will never voluntarily eat these” list. That’s right. I eat my burgers plain- with only a nice slab of cheese.

Running along the same line, I hate nuts in most of my foods. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the value of nuts by themselves. I could sit down and eat an entire bag of pistachios. I love almonds on my salad. I can eat cashews by the handful. But for heaven’s sake, don’t put nuts in my cookies. Keep them away from my brownies. And most importantly, NEVER make me eat chunky peanut butter. There is just something about the texture of nuts in a nice chewy dessert that I find truly upsetting. Because of my weird hatred of nut-filled recipes, most of the things you see on this blog will be nuts-optional. You may want to add them. I, however, will probably not.

Some might think my taste is boring. I entirely disagree. I like to consider myself a food purist. My strongest desire is for all ingredients in a dish to enhance, rather than detract from, the other flavors of the dish. When I eat a burger, I expect it to taste like meat. I don’t want it to taste like some strange tomatoey concoction. When I eat a sandwich, or a burrito from Chipotle (my favorite!), I want it to taste like the main ingredients. This is primarily the reason I don’t even like to order lettuce in subs or burritos. It detracts and it makes me sad. I believe brownies should taste like a chocolate explosion, and chocolate chip cookies should taste like buttery, sugary, chocolatey goodness. Not walnuts. Thus…no nuts.

That being said, I will give in and say that there are certain foods that are honestly better with the addition of nuts. This coffee cake is one of them. This recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember. And I’ve eaten it so many times, I’ve probably tried it with any nut you can think of, as well as minus the nuts. Pecans are unquestionably the best. Walnuts probably run a close second. But, as I have a longstanding grudge against walnuts, odds are I would avoid them. But in this particular cake, the nuts add a certain necessary crunchiness to the streusel crumble. So if you leave them out, you’ll be missing out.

Since it is one of my favorite flavors from my childhood, I hope you enjoy it!

-Andrea

Coffee Cake

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts work best)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and butter a pan with a tube in the center. 

Blend together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and mix well. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture and stir until just blended.

In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts for the topping.

Pour half the batter into the pan. Sprinkle half the topping over the batter. Add the rest of the batter. Top with the remaining sugar mixture. Bake for 45 minutes. 

A Simple Crowd-Pleaser

This pizza has become a favorite of the family's. It is delicious! But also a littler rich. In order to lighten it up, use half and half or even milk, and thicken it with a roux. My daughter has successfully used skim milk. Just double the amount of butter and flour and simply follow the directions.

P.S. You can grill your own chicken or buy it already cooked.

Enjoy!

-Michele

Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Serves 4

Ingredients
3/4 lb chicken breast
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter (use 4 if using milk)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon flour, plus more to roll out dough
1 cup heavy cream (or half and half or milk)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 16 oz ball of store bought pizza dough (or you can make your own)
2 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup grated mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375. If using a pizza stone, place in oven to preheat while preparing sauce. Preheat a grill pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place in grill pan and cook until no longer pink. Set on cutting board to cool. Dice.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add garlic and red pepper and cook a few minutes until garlic is fragrant, but not browned. Add flour and cook, stirring, for a minute. Whisk in cream, reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened. (When I use milk, I wait a minute before reducing the heat. It may also take an extra couple of minutes to thicken.) Add Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Flour a work surface and roll out the dough until about 13 inches in diameter. (We make it into a rectangle since that is the shape of our pizza stone and most baking sheets.) Place on a baking sheet, or onto the preheated pizza stone. Spoon the sauce onto the dough and spread. Top with spinach, tomatoes, chicken, and mozzarella. Brush the crust with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake about 25 minutes, until golden.

Recipe adapted from The Neelys