Hear ye, hear ye, all you peanut butter and Peanut M&M lovers out there. This is the bar cookie for you! But let me be perfectly clear about this cookie. If you don’t absolutely love peanut butter and chocolate or are of the persuasion that can take or leave either one, then this is not the cookie for you. Because these babies are super rich and absolutely chock full of chocolatey, peanut butter, and crunchy peanut goodness. So, consider yourself warned.
These cookies are not for wimps or people on a diet. These bar cookies are fattening, sugar laden, nutritionally challenged, decadent bites that should come with a dietary warning label. But good? OMG are they good! And the redeeming feature, if there is such a thing, is that you can’t eat more than one small square before your whole system screams – that’s enough! They are just that rich.
So, next time you get a hankering for a cookie that is easy to make, will feed an entire army of friends and family, and satisfy your peanut butter and chocolate craving for at least a week (or longer), get thee to your kitchen and bake up a pan of these tasty treats.
But please do not blame me if your family and friends keep requesting more, more, more. They are a bit addictive as I can attest to personally. But then, there are worse additions. (At least that is my justification for even passing the recipe on to you.)
But you are all adults and many with years of justifications of your own for eating food with no nutritional value. So, let your conscience be your guide.
And as always, peace and love to all.
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 c. brown sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 lg. eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
1 c. peanut butter (not natural) (I use crunchy, but creamy if fine too)
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed
2 c. Peanut M&Ms (10.05 oz. bag)
Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (glass is best) with cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined.
Mix in the flour just until smooth and then stir in the Peanut M&M’s.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. (I smooth out the top with a small offset spatula.)
Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Don’t overbake.)
Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares using a sharp knife.
Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Or freeze and let sit at room temperature for an hour or so before serving.
OK, you all, it’s fresh peach season. And as the old “Get Happy” song made famous by Judy Garland goes –
Forget your troubles, c’mon get happy, you better chase all your cares away. Shout “hallelujah”, c’mon get happy, it’s peaches in a pan today!
OK, I did change the last line but, I really believe it’s better than “Get ready for the judgement day”! (That’s a little too depressing for me to handle.) But fresh peaches, in a pan covered with tasty biscuits, baked and served with vanilla ice cream! That I can really get excited about. And this recipe (a bit adjusted by me) from sallysbakingaddiction.com is fabulous. So, I am totally thrilled to share it with you. (And BTW, Sally’s site is fantastic. She is the real deal. Check it out.)
Anyway, if you haven’t gathered by now that I am really happy I found this recipe, you are simply not paying attention. Because this is the best peach cobbler I have ever produced. And believe me, I have made a few cobblers in my day. But in my humble opinion, this is a perfect recipe. (Like I know anything about being humble!) Anyway, just make this cobbler. It’s worth every bit of effort.
So, enjoy this wonderful season of fresh fruit and veggies. And please support your local farmers by visiting their stands and putting some money directly into their hands. They work so hard. And you know the produce is going to be better than anything you can buy in a store.
And as always, peace and love to all.
For the peach filling:
¼ c. brown sugar, packed
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
10 c. peeled* and cut into 1-1½ Inch chunks fresh peaches
Stir the brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the peaches until each piece is coated. Scoop the mixture into a lightly buttered 9×13-inch baking pan. (Glass is best.)
Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the topping.
Remove from oven and set aside. Keep the oven on 350-degrees.
For the buttermilk biscuit topping:
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed
½ c. + 2 T. granulated sugar, divided
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. fine sea salt
½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
½ c. buttermilk
½ tsp. cinnamon
Place the flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until the mixture is well combined. Pour in the buttermilk, and pulse just until dough comes together.
Take handfuls of dough and gently flatten. Place dough all over the top of the warm peach filling until you have covered most of the peaches. Sprinkle with dough with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar that has been mixed with the ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
Bake in your already heated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the biscuit topping is golden brown and peach filling is bubbling around the edges. (The top is done when you stick a toothpick into the biscuit topping and if it comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Or serve slightly warmed with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
*Peeling peaches can be a pain in the patootie.
For ripe peaches: I cut the peach in quarters with a pairing knife. Then I separate the sections and remove the pit. Then I start at one end of each piece and peel the skin away.
For peaches that aren’t quite ripe: Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Carefully add your peaches. (I lower the peaches into boiling water with a slotted spoon.) This technique, officially called blanching, helps to loosen the peach skins so they peel easily using either your fingers or a paring knife. The process is quick (about 30 seconds), so take care not to leave the peaches boiling for too long.
Using the same slotted spoon, remove the peaches into a large bowl filled with ice water. (You should set this up before starting the boiling process.) Shocking the peaches stops the cooking process and allows you to hold the peaches without scalding your hands.
Once the peaches are cooled, remove the peaches from the ice bath. Using your hands or paring knife, gently peel away the skin. The skin should release from the flesh with minimal effort.
I have found that cutting the peaches by making the initial cut around the middle rather than from stem to stern works best for me when I use this method. And I personally like Clingstone peaches best. But I take what’s available and always remember to say thank you. I love peaches just that much!
I am always looking for new quick bread recipes to take along on trailer trips or when we leave for a few days to visit family, friends, or stay in a condo on the ocean. I enjoy going out for breakfast occasionally, but much prefer to save my eating out experiences to lunches on the road or dinners where I can have a drink and leisurely enjoy my evening meal. Breakfast out simply does not carry the same cachet as having dinner at a restaurant. And frankly, except for the hashbrown potatoes, I can whip up breakfasts faster in our trailer or condo than getting in our truck and driving into whatever town may be close by. And of course, I always like to try new recipes.
For my birthday celebration I made Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe on site) because I truly love a good carrot cake. So, when getting ready to go to a family reunion in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, I decided to continue the “carrot cake” theme and made this bread to take along. And it was well received. Moist and tender with a lovely bit of crunch from the pecans and streusel topping.
So, if you too love carrot cake but feel guilty when you have a big old piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for breakfast, then give this “bread” recipe a try instead. And yes, you might miss the cream cheese frosting. But I promise the streusel topping will make everything OK.
Well, it’s overcast here in Western Washington. And unfortunately, lightning storms are predicted for the Cascade Mountains. Which is always a problem. We already have a terrible wildfire burning close to the village of Stehekin, at the North end of Lake Chelan, in the heart of the North Cascades. And any lightning strike that hits land, especially in summer, is a fire just waiting to happen.
So, wherever you are, please be extra diligent in putting out your campfires, lighting and shutting down your outdoor grills, burning trash, or disposing of your cigarettes, etc. We are all in this together. And natural causes do enough damage without our avoidable assistance.
And sorry for no picture. I was so busy putting things together to take along, I failed to capture this bread on my camera. (Bad Patti!) But next time I make this bread I will rectify my error.
Peace and love to all.
1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. fine sea salt
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
3 eggs, room temp.
½ c. vegetable oil
⅓ c. sour cream
1 med. apple, peeled and grated
2 c. grated carrot
1 c. light brown sugar packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ c. finely chopped pecans
Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan or 2 7-inch loaf pans. Line the bottom(s) with parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and ground nutmeg in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, grated apple, grated carrot, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans.
Stir the flour mixture into the carrot mixture just until combined. Pour into prepared pan(s). Top with streusel mixture.
Bake a 9×5-inch pan in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake 2 7-inch loaf pans for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 5-7 minutes before removing from pan. (Also remove the parchment paper at this time.)
Streusel:
2 T. melted unsalted butter
½ c. brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
½ c. finely chopped pecans
Blend the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the flour and nuts, mix until crumbly. Place the mixture on top of bread dough and bake as instructed above.
I love teriyaki. I don’t care if it’s chicken or beef, as long as the meat has lots of flavor and hasn’t been cooked to death. (Isn’t that a stupid statement. Anything you cook, be it meat or vegies, is already dead. But I digress.)
Anyway, I am currently on a mission to use up the meat in our freezer that Mr. C. has deemed “obviously abandoned”. And included in that category were two small packages of mystery meat. One contained a small piece of sirloin steak (as it turned out), and the other, half a flank steak.
So, while the meat was thawing, I went to work finding a new and exciting way to give this meat the respect it deserved. And I landed on this teriyaki marinade recipe from the heartnaptime.net site. (Great site BTW.)
And OMG, what a wonderful teriyaki dinner we had last evening. Along with steamed brown rice, I prepared Teriyaki Salad Dressing over Romaine, Carrot, Celery, and Green Onions. (Recipe to be published in the next few days.) (But get a preview by scrolling down to find the recipe below.)
Now, this is not a wimpy marinade/sauce recipe. It is bold, brazen, and any other word you might think of to mean “holy moly powerful”! So, go slowly into that good sauce when it comes time to decorate the grilled meat before serving.
Well, that’s all I have to say today. Mr. C. has a gig in Anacortes at 3:00 this afternoon. So, I am going to keep this preface short and sweet. Which reminds me, this teriyaki marinade/sauce is not too sweet. A taste of honey, as the old song title goes, but not in the least bit overpoweringly sugary. Perfectly balanced.
So, next time you get a hankering for teriyaki, give this recipe a try. Easy, and relatively inexpensive to make. And better than most beef teriyaki you can find in restaurants.
Happy Saturday to all. And of course, peace and love from our home to yours.
½ c. low-sodium Tamari or soy sauce
¼ c. water
2 T. toasted sesame oil
2 T. honey
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2-3 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1½ lbs. flank steak, fat and silver skin removed
sliced green onions, garnish
Combine the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, honey, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and ginger in a glass bowl. Whisk until combined. Pour 1/3rd of the marinade in a small pan. Set aside.
Add the flank steak to the remining marinade, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (Best when marinated for 4-6 hours.) Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes ahead of grilling.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Place the steak on the hot grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the steak over and grill another 2-3 minutes. For medium-rare (135-degrees).
Remove from grill and let rest for about 5 minutes before thinly slicing on the diagonal. Serve with remaining marinade (now teriyaki sauce) which has been brought to a boil, reduced to simmer, and cooked for about 5 minutes.
TERIYAKI SALAD DRESSING FOR ROMAINE, CARROT, CELERY, AND GREEN ONIONS
For the dressing:
½ c. mayonnaise
1 T. rice vinegar
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
tiny pinch granulated garlic
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
freshly ground black pepper (not too much)
Whisk together the mayo, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, granulated garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a covered container. Refrigerate before serving.
For the salad:
3-4 c. chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce
½ c. shredded carrot
½ c. thinly sliced celery or cabbage
2 finely chopped green onions
Place in a bowl and toss lightly with salad dressing just before serving.
OK, for me, there is nothing better for breakfast than biscuits and sausage gravy. And I say “sausage gravy” because I have been fooled when ordering biscuits and gravy in a café or restaurant. Unless so noted as sausage gravy on the menu, you might just find yourself eating a biscuit with no meat in the gravy. And then, why bother!
Anyway, the other morning we went to breakfast at a local cafe, and I ordered Country Benedict Biscuit, 2 sausage patties, 2 poached eggs, covered in Sausage Gravy with Hashbrowns. I know, I know! Way too much food and none of it what anyone in their right mind could possibly consider healthy. But it sounded good at the time.
Well, suffice it to say, I ate half a biscuit, one of the sausage patties, but the poached eggs resembled rubber. So, I’m sure they are still bouncing around in some garbage can in downtown Stanwood. The hashbrowns I brought home. But I was left with a huge desire for truly tasty biscuits and gravy. (And make that sausage gravy, thank you very much!)
And although I have a great recipe for Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and 2 recipes for buttermilk biscuits already on this site, I wanted to simplify the whole process. And that’s just what I did.
So, I hope you enjoy this recipe for easy to prepare drop biscuits smothered in chicken sausage gravy. Add an easy over egg to the plate, and life is good.
And do make the breakfasts you fix for your family as much of a treat as the dinners you serve. And I know, it takes time to make and serve breakfast especially if you are a working mom or dad. I’ve been there. But scrambled eggs, toast, and some fruit or hot cereal and toast and fruit don’t take that long to prepare. And full tummies to start the day for children especially, helps them concentrate on the hard work of learning. And these items are a whole lot cheaper and better for your family than cold cereal. OK, enough telling you how to live your life.
But I still say – peace and love to all.
3 T. butter, divided
1 lb. bulk chicken sausage (I use Isernio’s all-natural Classic Chicken Sausage)
5 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ c. whole milk, plus more if needed
1 c. chicken stock (or additional milk)
½ tsp. seasoned salt
freshly ground black pepper
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium sized pan. Add sausage, breaking it up as it cooks, and fry until good and caramelized.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and add the flour lifting the browned bits off the bottom as you stir the mixture. Let burble for a couple of minutes. Slowly pour in the milk and chicken stock (gently stirring the entire time) and when thoroughly blended add the seasoned salt and pepper.
Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The sauce will thicken nicely during this time.)
Taste and adjust seasoning. Add additional milk if the consistency is thicker than you prefer.
Serve over Easy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits (recipe below) or your favorite baking powder biscuits.
EASY BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed
1 T. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
6 T. (¾ stick) grated cold unsalted butter
1 c. cold buttermilk, plus additional for brushing on top
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
Add the grated cold butter to the mixing bowl. Work the butter evenly into the flour mixture using a regular table knife.
Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with that same table knife just until combined. (This will be a slightly wet and very sticky dough.) (BTW, a plain old table knife is one of my favorite implements for mixing thick or heavy dough. Cuts (sorry) right into the ingredients and blends the dough much better than any spoon or spatula can accomplish.)
Using a large ice cream scoop (about a quarter cup), plop balls of dough onto your prepared baking sheet about 2-inches apart. Brush tops with additional buttermilk right before baking.
Bake in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for about 12-14 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet.
Serve immediately (while still hot) or cool completely before storing in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
So, what do you do with leftover ganache? (Oh, what a horrible problem to have. Not!) After recently making Chocolate Ganache Topped Cream Cheese Danish Pastries, (recipe on site), I had leftover ganache. But what to do with the ganache? Well, why not use it as a filling for a sandwich cookie. But not a chocolate cookie, because ganache is very rich. And although some would argue that there can never be too much chocolate, I felt that a ganache filled chocolate sandwich cookie would be over kill. So then, why not 2 shortbread cookies stuck together with ganache? So, that’s what I came up with. And it worked. Because who doesn’t love shortbread? No one I know, that’s for sure!
So, if you ever find yourself with extra ganache, (lucky you), give this recipe a try. Or just for grins and giggles you could actually make ganache just for this recipe. Because if you look at the recipe for both the cookie part and the ganache, you will find only 6 ingredients listed. (Butter being used twice, so you can call it 7 ingredients if you must.) But regardless, this is a very easy cookie to make. And perfect for chocolate lovers and as one of your afternoon tea or Christmas cookie offerings. Because frankly, these cookies are darling. And who doesn’t love a darling cookie.
Anyway, just make the darn things and be happy.
Well, that’s it for today. As I am writing up this post, our living room is being used as a rehearsal hall. Mr. C. (piano), Mike (guitar), and Brian (fiddle) are preparing for a gig on Lummi Island. So much fun for me to have live music to listen to as I diligently work to bring you one more way to spend your hard-earned money on a food item with no nutritional value. I should legitimately feel guilty for not posting another recipe with quinoa, kale, beets, lentils, or other totally healthy ingredients. But I feel justified because I do post a lot of recipes that include really healthy ingredients like spinach, lemons, garlic, lentils, raspberries, walnuts, avocados, and salmon. But culinary bliss doesn’t come from just eating healthy. At least for me it doesn’t. I need a treat once in a while. And these cookies are really a treat.
So, may everything you feed your family and friends be a perfect balance of mostly healthy, with an occasional not-so-healthy treat to make life worth living. Life is short my friends. And we must remember to live it to the fullest.
On that happy note, and as always – peace and love to all.
For the Shortbread Cookies:
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
½ c. powdered sugar
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add flour and salt and mix until well combined.
On floured surface, roll dough ¼-inch thick. Cut with 1½-inch to 2-inch round or scalloped cookie cutter.
Place ½-inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until set. Don’t over bake.
Remove from oven and cool for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.
Cool completely before placing about 1½ teaspoons ganache on bottom of half of the baked cookies. Top with remaining cookies bottom sides down.
Store in an airtight container in your fridge.
For the Ganache:
¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use mini chocolate chips)
3 T. unsalted butter, room temp.
¼ c. whole milk
In a small mixing bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter.
In a liquid measuring cup, heat the milk in your microwave until the milk begins to bubble.
Pour the very hot milk over the chocolate chips and butter. Allow to sit for about 3 minutes, then use a whisk to stir until smooth and creamy. (It may take a minute or two to come together; it often looks separated at first. There also might be small chunks of chocolate that never melted. That’s just fine.)
Allow to cool for about 45 minutes at room temperature before using as the filling for your sandwich cookies.
So, what happens when you bet your husband “dollars to doughnuts” on some trivial matter that you can’t even remember but you are sure your husband remembers that you lost? Well, I’ll tell you what happens when I lose a bet in this household. Dollars are disregarded, but a nagging reminder is always present that I owe Mr. C. his reward for winning the bet. And because Mr. C. is the wonderful man that he is, he never even mentions, much less demands his reward. Which is good, because in our relationship I would start laughing at any kind of a demand, walk out of the room, and come back in to discuss the matter in an adult fashion when he too stopped laughing.) (We are, after all, adults!)
Anyway, I decided that since Mr. C. is a devout lover of pain au chocolat, which is basically a chocolate filled croissant, I would work up a recipe for a chocolate topped cream cheese Danish as his reward for winning the bet. And the recipe you find below is the result. (And for those of you who know me, working up a new recipe is always a win. So, in this case, our bet, won or lost was in reality a win/win situation.) But enough about our delightful life and on to this recipe.
The basics for this recipe come from my recipe for Individual Jam Filled Cream Cheese Danish Pastries on this site. I just left off the jam part and added a ganache topping. So, if you too are into pastry and chocolate, I recommend you give this recipe a try.
But be warned, this is not a quick pastry to prepare. It’s easy to make, but it does take some time. Most of it simply waiting for the dough to rise. But you still need significant time to dedicate to the whole process. But truly, it is worth the time and effort. And as a special treat, or reward for a bet, there is nothing finer.
Well, that’s it for today. Mr. C. has a gig in the dining room of the Bellwether Hotel this evening. And I am fortunate enough to be joining Karen, the bass player Tom’s wife, for a lovely evening of fabulous conversation, fine dining, and not incidentally, great music. Life just does not get any better. I am one truly lucky lady.
May you too be lucky in love, friendship, and a life filled with fabulous music.
And as always, peace and love to all.
Pastry Dough:
1 c. lukewarm whole milk
2 tsp. active dried yeast
⅓ c. granulated sugar
2 T. sour cream
4 egg yolks
¼ tsp. kosher salt
3 oz. (¾ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3½ – 4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
vegetable oil
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the lukewarm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add the sour cream, egg yolks, salt, butter, and about 3 cups of flour. Using your dough hook, mix/knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and feels slightly tacky to the touch. (You will probably need more flour. And there will still be a bit of dough that wants to stick to the bottom of the bowl when it’s time to stop the machine.)
Pour a bit of veggie oil over the dough, and using your hands and a stiff spatula, roll the dough into a ball. Make sure the entire ball of dough is lightly oiled. (This helps keep the dough from cracking and drying as it rises.)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 70-90 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese filling. Once the dough is doubled, punch it down and divide it into 14-16 equal sized pieces.
Shape each piece of dough into a ball by tucking the ends underneath until you get a smooth surface on top. Set the balls on large parchment paper lined baking sheets evenly spaced. Make sure the pastries are at least 3-inches apart. Let rest for 10 minutes, then dip the bottom of a glass into the middle of each pastry to form an indentation that goes almost to the bottom of the ball.
Using a medium-small sized ice cream scoop, fill each pastry indentation with the cream cheese filling. Smooth out the filling and place in a warm place to allow the pastries to almost double in size, about 45 minutes.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 19-22 minutes, or until the outside is golden brown. The internal temperature of the pastry should be at least 190-degrees.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, top each Danish with the ganache topping. Then Store in an airtight container on your counter for up to a day. Then move to the refrigerator.
When ready to serve, warm on high for 10 seconds in your microwave. You can also freeze the pastries for up to a month. To thaw, pop them in the oven straight from the freezer for about 5 minutes at 350-degrees.
Cream Cheese Filling:
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temp.
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Set aside until needed.
Ganache Topping:
1½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6T. (¾ stick) unsalted butter chopped into small cubes
½ c. whole milk
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter.
In a liquid measuring cup, heat the milk in your microwave for 1 – 2 minutes, or until the milk begins to bubble.
Pour the hot milk over the chocolate chips and butter (do not stir yet!). Allow to sit for about 3 minutes, then use a whisk to stir until smooth and creamy. (It may take a minute or two to come together; it often looks separated at first.)
Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before topping the Danishes. You will probably have extra ganache. Lucky you!
OK, I’m a sucker for East Indian food. And especially curry. But when you live outside a large metropolitan area it can be very difficult to find good Indian food. And since driving into Seattle is tantamount to driving a nail into my knee (Seattle traffic is horrible), I find my only choice is to make Indian food at home. Which is fine. But darn, I like variety. And that is exactly what a restaurant can provide.
So, what to do? For me, it’s to prepare a curry unlike the one I have been making since my kids were young. (Which BTW, is mighty tasty, but probably not a recipe you would find anywhere in India. Curry Sauce for Chicken, Shrimp, Beef, or Lamb. Check it out. My kids loved this curry sauce.)
Anyway, with this recipe I added traditional East Indian spices and made some naan to go with the curry. And served the curry over brown basmati rice. And the result was very good. In fact, damn good!
So, if you too love curry, but live in an area where a great Indian restaurant is easier to find than a Trader Joe’s (we don’t have one of those close by either), then make this recipe. It tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant but is rather easy to make. Served with naan, life is good.
So, I hope you enjoy this recipe. It does contain a few unique ingredients, but then cuisines from different countries call for ingredients that are new and often times exciting. Embrace the difference. Our world has a lot of wonderful taste experiences just waiting to be tried. So, don’t be afraid to venture into the unknown. Life is to be lived. And new taste sensations are a great way to live your life to the fullest.
On that happy note, peace and love and world cuisine to all.
Creamy Shrimp Curry
½ tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 T. Garam Masala
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. granulated sugar (opt.)
2 T. unsalted butter
½ white onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
2 T. tomato paste
1 T. flour
1½ c. whole milk
2-3 T. sour cream
1 lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, to taste
In a small bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, Garam Masala, cardamom, paprika, chili powder, turmeric, and sugar together. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the spice mix, bay leaves, tomato paste, and flour. Cook for about 2 minutes.
Whisk in the milk. Bring the sauce to a high simmer and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly and thickened a bit.
Add the raw shrimp and cook until done. Add the sour cream and lemon juice to taste and adjust other seasonings. Serve over steamed rice. (I like brown basmati rice for this recipe.)
I also like to serve naan with curry. So, below you will find my recipe for Easy Baked Garlic Naan. And when I say easy, I mean EASY!
EASY BAKED GARLIC NAAN
3 T. hot water
3 T. whole milk
½ tsp. granulated sugar
1½ tsp. active dry yeast
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 T. sour cream
1¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, or more as needed
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ tsp. dried parsley
3-4 T. melted unsalted butter
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add water, milk, sugar, and yeast and leave alone for about 5 minutes.
Add salt, sour cream, and about 1¼ cup flour. If more flour is needed, add in tiny increments. Knead the dough with your dough hook for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and soft. Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Divide the dough into 4 equally sized balls and cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the garlic, parsley, and melted butter together in a small bowl.
Using a light dusting of flour, roll out the dough into thin, oval shapes. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and generously slather most of the garlic butter mixture on top of the naan.
Transfer the baking sheet into the pre-heated oven and bake for 4 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Flip and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until brown spots appear.
Remove from oven and brush the top of the naan with the remaining butter mixture just before serving.
OK, if you have ever dined at a Red Lobster restaurant, then you have probably made as big a pig of yourself as I have when a basket of their cheesy garlicky biscuits is set in front of you. If you haven’t gone crazy like me, then frankly, I don’t think we can be friends! Because anyone who doesn’t think these are the best biscuits, they ever tasted, is way beyond me culinarily. In fact, as my daughter Paula would say – these biscuits are simply life-changing!
On our way home from a family reunion in Oregon a couple days ago, we stopped at the Red Lobster in Kelso, Washington for a quick lunch. I was hungry for a Crab or Shrimp Louie. And what better place to find a Louie than at a restaurant specializing in seafood? Well, as it turned out, I would have had the same luck if we had stopped at McDonald’s. Not a Louie to be had. But I’m telling you the truth, the cheese biscuits saved the day for me.
So, of course, when I got home, I decided that I had to learn how to make these biscuits. So, the recipe you find below is what I came up with after reading 436 copy-cat recipes I found online. (Apparently, I am not the first person to decide these biscuits just must be a part of their life!)
If you too think cheddar garlic biscuits are the be all and end all, then let me recommend you give this recipe a try. Besides being beyond delicious, they are very easy to prepare. You don’t even have to roll out the dough. Or get out your mixer. Just plop blobs of the dough on a baking sheet, throw it in the oven, and wait the interminable 14 or so minutes until the biscuits can be removed from the oven, slathered with more garlic butter, and devoured before any of the rest of your family is even aware that you have been in the kitchen!
There are just those times when being able to produce an edible that is really amazingly delicious is the greatest feeling in the world. And when the said item is as easy to build as one of these biscuits, I get super/supper excited to be able to share the recipe with you.
So, next time a biscuit would be the perfect addition to a meal, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner, give this recipe a try. You and your family are in for a treat. That is, if you deem it necessary to share with your family. If not, they will never know what they missed, and I’m sure as heck not going to tell them! This can remain our little secret.
So, regardless of whether your little shoulder angel or devil wins, I wish peace and love to all.
For the biscuits:
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed
1 T. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp. granulated garlic
1 packed c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ c. (1 stick) melted unsalted butter
1 c. buttermilk or whole milk (or a combination)
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and granulated garlic together in a large bowl. Stir in cheese.
Combine melted butter and buttermilk until small lumps form. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Don’t over mix.
Using a #16 ice cream scoop (¼ cup) or two soup spoons, drop quarter cup balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 14-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Meanwhile make the topping.
Remove from oven and slather the hot biscuits with the topping.
For the savory garlic topping:
¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. granulated garlic
Whisk together just before biscuits come out of the oven.
The other day Mr. C. and I were shopping at our local IGA here on the island. He happened to notice that in the freezer section with all the other seafood options, appeared a shrink-wrapped package of thick, boneless, skinless tuna steaks. He showed it to me and said, “what do you think?” I said, “let’s go for it!”. And oh, am I glad I said that! Because Nagi’s recipe on recipetineats.com for Tuna Steaks served with Sauce Vierge (slightly modified by me) is one of the best and easiest entrées I ever made or eaten. Absolutely delicious! And the whole meal had been exceedingly easy to prepare.
I served the fish with Easy Plain Polenta (recipe below) and steamed broccoli. Yum, yum, YUM!
So, if you too have ever wondered if frozen tuna was worth the effort, I can only tell you, my experience. The tuna was perfect. I let it thaw completely and then used paper towels to dry it off a bit. Then went from there with the recipe below.
I think the main reason the tuna was so perfect is because when fish is frozen within hours of harvest, the freezing process stops deterioration and actually preserves the freshness of the fish. Plus, when seafood is frozen at sea and sold still frozen, we the consumer get to decide when to defrost the fish and can thaw it right before cooking. So, will I be buying more frozen tuna next time I go to the store? You bet your sweet bippy!
And since I’m sure you were wondering – Sauce Vierge is the French version of salsa. Salsa apparently can be traced back to the Inca, Mayan, and Aztec civilizations of Central and South America. Whereas Sauce Vierge was popularizedin the 1980s by Michel Guérard, a French chef, author, and one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine.
And since I needed to have “nouvelle cuisine” defined for me, I thought you might appreciate the definition too.
According to the Oxford dictionary, nouvelle cuisine is “a modern style of cooking that avoids rich, heavy foods and emphasizes the freshness of the ingredients and the presentation of the dishes.”
Well, that’s it for today. I am spending my week getting ready for a 3-band picnic here at Chez Carr next Sunday. So, I am spending a bit of time each day baking, mixing, shredding, dicing, whisking, etc., and generally dirtying up my kitchen in preparation for the gang. In other words, I am doing what I love. Feeding people, I know and love, and those I hope to know better. And trying in my own way to spread a little joy.
It’s a tough reality we are living through right now. Most of what is happening to our country makes no sense to most of us. It’s a tumultuous time, to say the least. So, getting together with friends and family and sharing a meal, or going for a hike, or teeing off for a round of golf, etc., can serve as a reminder of what is still wonderful about our own little corner of this crazy world. We need each other. And we all need to know we are not alone.
So, invite a friend over. Bake a batch of cookies and share them with your neighbors. Take someone a bouquet of flowers from your yard. In your own way, let people know how much they mean to you. It’s the simple gestures that make the most impact.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of What the world needs now is love, sweet love No not just for some but for everyone
(Thank you Hal David.)
And as always, peace and love to all.
For the Sauce Vierge: (make this before you cook the tuna steaks)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. anchovy paste
¼ tsp. finely minced garlic
½ tsp. finely minced parsley
½ tsp. finely chopped basil
1 tsp. capers, drained and roughly chopped
pinch kosher salt, or more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. finely diced shallot
6-8 cherry tomatoes, diced
6 kalamata olives, sliced
Mix ingredients in a bowl. Taste and add more salt if needed.
For the Tuna Steaks:
8-12 oz. thick, boneless, skinless, tuna steaks
extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
On a small baking pan or dinner plate,drizzle olive oil over the tuna. Smear the oil with your fingers over one side, then lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat.
Heat a skillet (preferably a skillet with grill lines) over high heat until smoking hot.
If your skillet is not well-seasoned, brush the skillet with olive oil or take pan off stove and spray with any cooking oil.
Place tuna steaks in the skillet and cook for 45 seconds.
Turn steak 45 degrees. Continue cooking for another 45 seconds.
Flip the tuna carefully, then leave for 1 minute or until the internal temperature in the middle reads 118-degrees.
Remove tuna from skillet and place on a cutting board. Rest for 5 minutes. (The tuna will cool down to almost room temperature. That’s what you want!) Slice the steaks into 1-inch pieces. Plate the tuna and spoon the Sauce Vierge over the top. Then drizzle just a bit more olive oil over the whole mess. Serve immediately.
Great with Easy Plain Polenta. See recipe below.
EASY PLAIN POLENTA
1½ c. water
½ c. whole milk
rounded ¼ tsp. fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ c. polenta (not instant)
2 T. unsalted butter
In a medium saucepan, bring water, milk, salt, and pepper to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium. While whisking, slowly pour the polenta into your liquid over the course of about 1 minute. Take it slow! This ensures that there will be no lumps in your cooked polenta.
Once all the polenta is in the liquid, continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Then turn down the heat to low and cover the pan. The polenta should be gently bubbling but not fully simmering. Set a timer for 30 minutes and be sure to whisk the polenta every 5 minutes or so to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
After 30 minutes, test your polenta. It should be soft and creamy, with no lumps or graininess. If you want your polenta to be slightly thicker, let it cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Taste again and add more salt or butter if you want a more savory or salty flavor.
Great side dish or base for any prepared food that would be perfect over mashed potatoes, quinoa, rice, etc.
