Strawberry Cobbler...

For this week's Wednesday Treat Day, I gave Jeff full control on what we would bring in. I did nudge him towards a few cookbooks and recipe piles, but he really wanted to use our home grown strawberries and decided on this Strawberry Cobbler he found in one of our King Arthur Flour books.

Because we wanted to use the freshest just-picked berries, we actually bumped up the treats a day and he brought this into the office today. Usually when I think of cobbler, it is a hot bubbly layer of berries that are topped off with a biscuit dough-like crust. The version from this book is fairly different though, so maybe it is regional?

Instead of the fruit being on the bottom, a golden batter is spooned into the baking pan first. The preparation was interesting as the eggs where beaten with the sugar first, instead of the fat, then the butter was mixed in with a few splashes of milk. Once done and in the pan, we moved onto the berries, which were coated in a hot syrup-y mixture of bright lemon juice, vanilla, a touch of almond extract and water. The original recipe actually opted for using liquor (using sherry, brandy or bourbon) with the sugar to create the syrup, but Jeff wasn't too keen on using alcohol for a work treat on the off chance people couldn't have it. If this is an option you would like to explore, remove two tablespoons of milk from the recipe, along with the lemon juice, vanilla, almond extract and water - replace them with half cup liquor of choice and melt that into the sugar.

The hot sticky berries were then poured over the raw batter, then immediately placed into the oven to bake. This was definitely a fun one to watch in the oven - as the liquid-y batter bubbled up, it slowly began to envelop the berries, one by one, leaving you with a lovely marbled effect as the juices from the red berries stained the cake. We used small to medium berries and decided to leave them whole - if you wish to make this and have to use especially large strawberries, I do suggest at least halving them first.

While it wasn't exactly what I was expecting when Jeff said cobbler, what we ended up with was a fantastically moist and homey cake that was studded with enticing strawberries, exuding their sticky sweetness throughout the crumb. Jeff and I were eager to find out what the lemon, vanilla and almond would bring, instead of using the more potent liquor - their supporting role was noticed and their subtle tones matched well, but still let our strawberries be the star. I did make sure to tell Jeff if they wanted the best experience, to be sure to let them know that a quick 10 or 15 seconds in the microwave to warm their pieces up ever-so-slightly would be nice. Of course, if you wanted to be extra decadent, a heaping dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of your best vanilla ice cream would finish this off with a bang!

Recipes
Strawberry Cobbler

Crusted Pork Chops...

Looking for a way to perk up a pound of lean pork chops and have a little extra time to get messy? I was, and did, which is why these Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops ended up on our plates tonight!

Okay, so maybe the messy part is a little dramatic, but when I end up breading meat, I usually end up creating plenty of cleanup for myself. To get prepared, I needed fresh breadcrumbs that were made in a snap by whirling a single, but fairly large piece of slightly stale bread in our trusty food processor. Bread that is a day or so old ends up being a little easier to work with and doesn't seem to end up as gummy. To pack a punch into those crumbs, we combined them with sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a dose of fresh sage, along with the requisite salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Flour and an egg were needed, which we also seasoned - the flour with salt and pepper, while the beaten egg was pumped up with a dollop of tangy mustard. The flour and egg are used to ensure the cheese-laced breadcrumbs stick to the pork - just remember, using this trio method to coat, it always goes flour first, then egg and finally the crumbs. Going the route of pan-frying to cook these through, you won't want chops that are on the thicker side thick - each chop we used was about four ounces and maybe a half-inch thick. With the fresh crumbs and cheese, if the chops are too big, you might end up blackening the outside before the heat has a chance to reach the centers. If all you have are chops that are pretty thick, you could butterfly them, or perhaps start them on the stove and slide them into the oven to finish each one off.

Cooked up in a flash (just under 3 minutes per side for us!), our chops had a crisp, golden brown outside, while each was still plenty moist on the inside with just a hint of pink left in the center. Don't groove on pork? I bet this would be a delicious way to change up chicken breasts too - think about playing with the herb if you like, using fresh oregano or basil instead.

Recipes
Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops

Chipotle Pulled Chicken...

While we only talked about 5 new recipes I made this week, I did prepare a slew of others (including a few strawberry!) that we'll eventually get to. I have so many new recipes now stacked up to show you, but I just don't have nearly enough time to sit down and post about them! Out of the ones from this week, our favorites were those fun Roasted Garlic, Asiago and Pepperoni Pizza Sticks, the Upside Down Rhubarb Cake and that fresh-tasting Shells with Two Tomatoes and Mozzarella.

PS - the strawberry poundage we've picked from our patch as of last night? 25 pounds in total! Woo doggy!

Tonight's dish is definitely one you want to wait until a day where you have plenty of time to play in the kitchen without much interruption if you want to get it on the table for dinner, which is why I opted for a Sunday night do this. While I wouldn't say this Chipotle Pulled Chicken on Corn Spoon Bread is all that complicated to prepare, there are a few steps that happen at the same time that need attention.

Poaching chicken breasts was on tap first, which we did simply by covering the meat with water and adding a bit of extra flavor in the form of chopped onion, a garlic clove, a touch of cilantro and salt. You need about a pound and a half of chicken for this, but the time needed to cook through will depend on the size of the meat you start with - we went with 6 four-ounce portions and they only needed to simmer for about 12 minutes. However, if you use 4 larger six-ounce portions, up the time to 18 to 20 minutes.

As I waited on the chicken to cool down enough, the next part I worked on was a saucy chipotle pool we used to flavor the meat. To a skillet with softened onions and garlic, we stirred in a dollop of concentrated tomato paste and gave it contact with the heat to bloom. Fire-roasted tomatoes, that we pureed smooth with a couple smoky chipotle chiles, were poured into the mix and left to simmer, allowing the sauce to thicken.

Now that the sauce was off on its own, I had to turn my mind in a different direction to take care of preparing the spoon bread! Who needs down time? Spoon bread is somewhat similar to cornbread, except the end texture is extremely moist and could almost be described as pudding-like. There is only enough flour used to give the spoon bread structure and hold together the generous moisture content coming from the creamed corn and tangy sour cream used. For a sharp note, shreds of white cheddar were also tossed into the lumpy batter just before we scooted it into the oven to bake.

Not too long after the spoon bread went in, the chicken was cool enough to shred by hand and just when I finished that task, the timer ticked off for the sauce. Which is where that chicken needed to go, along with dried oregano for depth. Once the chicken had a chance to warm up in the sauce, it was finished off with a bit more fresh cilantro.

Giving the spoon bread a short time to cool down, we found it to be extrememly moist when sliced into, but it was thick enough that we were able to pull out triangles to serve. For a creamy bite, with the benefit of off-setting the heat in the chipotle, after we got the spoon bread and chicken onto the plate, we dropped a dollop of sour cream on each serving, along with rich avocado slices. My sauce ended up a little on the liquid-y side as you can see, so I wonder if I didn't have it on a high enough simmer? It didn't seem to dampen our experience though as we both made short work of our portions! Spread out over six servings, using just two chipotles in the sauce didn't empower a fiery heat, but left it with a savory smokiness that had enough punch to keep us happy.

Recipes
Chipotle Pulled Chicken on Corn Spoon Bread

Upside Down Rhubarb Cake

Our rhubarb plants seem to still be going strong, so after plucking a bunch of stalks to stash in the freezer for later in the year, I took the rest and prepared this Upside Down Rhubarb Cake to have as a treat today.

I used our common practice of using half all-purpose flour and whole-wheat pastry flour to retain a lightness to the cake, yet still impart a nutritional bonus. To impart a whisper of spice, I looked to our favorite Vietnamese cinnamon and shook just a touch over the dry ingredients to whisk in.

The wonderful pair of butter and sugar set the tone of the batter, with a splash of vanilla for its liberal floral notes. Keeping the batter from curdling and to allow the flour to be evenly absorbed, without being overworked, the dry ingredients are alternately added in with the milk needed to smooth it out. Could you skip this and just add the milk into the creamed butter mixture first? Maybe, but why not take the extra minute to give you the best result possible?

Because we wanted the top to look tidy, for extra insurance when preparing the pan, I lined the bottom with parchment paper before I started the assembly process of the cake. To prepare the rhubarb, after I sliced the stalks and scattered them into a baking pan, I doused the chunk pieces with granulated sugar to wrangle down their tartness. There isn't a ton of batter here, so to get the best coverage, we dropped dollops of it all over the top, then connected them all with an off-set spatula. It doesn't need to be perfect though, as the cake bakes, the batter will spread out and weave itself through the rhubarb, finding its way down to the bottom to hold everything together.

After baking, don't try to flip the pipping hot cake out of the pan right away - give it a ten to fifteen minute rest so it holds together. Just sweet enough, this cake was quite moist with an intriguing, shiny mosaic on top from the tender rhubarb. I didn't know if the rhubarb would play well with the cinnamon in the cake, but we were pleasantly surprised to find just how well the two work together! While I don't think this cake needed any adornment, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top of a warm piece certainly didn't hurt!

Recipes
Upside Down Rhubarb Cake

Pizza Sticks...

Yesterday we checked out the berry patches on the hill and guess what...

8 1/2 more pounds of perfectly ripe berries! And today, while the berries were a little smaller, we managed to pull off another 6 3/4 pounds. Dang! We are swimming in strawberries and lovin' every sweet minute.

Nothing really struck my fancy when I was looking for pizza recipes to make for our Friday Night pizza, so I thought we would just stick some of our favorite ingredients on top and wing it. After playing around, I ended up with what we'll call Roasted Garlic, Asiago and Pepperoni Pizza Sticks.

For the roasted garlic, I looked to a recipe we made back in March and prepared the garlic much the same way by roasting the individual cloves (just ends up being a little quicker) and mashing it to create a garlic smear. We took that now sweet and mellow paste and spread it all over the top of (wait for it....) our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough. What, did you think I'd actually branch out to another recipe? I know... not just yet - I just can't get over how easy to prepare and a dream to work with this dough is. Ok, ok I'll stop now... but really, try it if you haven't yet!

Since we had the idea to make sticks, we stretched the pound version of the dough (giving us thicker sticks) into a large rectangle just before that lovely mashed garlic went on. Next came a wealth of Asiago cheese that we used our handy microplane to grate into tiny, fluffy shreds, which looked like snow as it fell from my hand and hit the dough. After looking at our patches of fresh herbs, Jeff said these flavors so far reminded him of those Cloverleaf Rolls we make every Thanksgiving and suggested we chop a few leaves of fresh rosemary to add.

Once that fragrant herb made it on, I took a pizza wheel and sliced the dough in half lengthwise, then went back crosswise to make the sticks. I did this now to ensure the pepperoni slices I was about to add stayed intact, but I also wanted to be able to just pull the sticks apart from one another after they've baked. Doing it this way lets me complete the assembly of the pizza as a whole, rather than trying to fit the toppings on each individual stick too. I did use turkey pepperoni simply because we find it less greasy and think it tastes just as good, without the guilt. Since we had it anyway, we swiped a couple ounces from a hunk of mozzarella we had in the refrigerator and shredded it to add on top. I mean really, as if we were going to just stop at the Asiago!

To give the dough a little boost, I did give the topped dough a rest, allowing the yeast to do its business and add a little height. This doesn't take too long to bake either - these sticks were ready as soon as the dough was golden and that mozzarella we added on top had melted and turned golden in spots. Give it just a minute or two to cool down so you don't burn your fingers, but if you tear into it while it is still warm, the pieces come apart without any effort. However, if you let it sit, you might want to score through the cheese first so each piece isn't stripped of its topping.

Using the pound of dough left us with sticks that were puffy and chewy, with enough crispness to the bottom that you could pick up each piece without if flopping around, keeping the topping in plate and not on your lap. As suspected, Jeff was spot on with suggesting the fresh rosemary - I figured its punch would match well with the roasted garlic, but more interesting was just how well we thought it worked well the spice in the pepperoni and nutty Asiago. Quite fun to make and chow down on, I can see these sticks being enjoyed by all ages - I'd even think about doubling the recipe just to freeze the extra pieces for easy snacks!

Recipes
Roasted Garlic, Asiago and Pepperoni Pizza Sticks

Holy buckets - the strawberries are here!

So, we've been anticipating the first pick... we went out this afternoon to survey our plots and guess what we ended up with?

Whoa baby - just over 9 pounds of fresh, juicy and devilishly red strawberries, with many, many more to come. Yeah!

I always end up over buying on pasta just because I like to have a variety of shapes and kinds (whole-wheat, multi-grain or good 'ol regular) handy in the pantry. This works in my favor with recipes like we made for dinner tonight, Shells with Two Tomatoes and Mozzarella, as even if I don't have the exact shape called for, I always have some sort of backup that works just as well, if not better.

While I was waiting for the roomy pot, filled with salty water, to bring itself up to a boil, I stashed the cubes of fresh mozzarella I needed into the freezer. Fresh mozzarella can be quite squishy and delicate to the heat, but letting it hang out in the freezer makes a world of difference in the end result, which I'll explain in a bit!

After the pasta splashed around in the water and softened, I scooped out some of the cooking liquid, then drained away the rest. To keep the dishes down to the minimum, I let the pasta hang out in a colander while I prepared the sauce in the same pot (woo - go one-pot meals!) for this dish. Starting with a couple glugs from our bottle of olive oil, we tossed juicy grape tomatoes into the pot, along with sliced sun-dried tomatoes, an ample amount of thinly sliced fresh garlic and the reserved cooking liquid. This isn't a sauce that takes a long time to cook so its freshness can shine - all you need to do is heat the tomatoes until they begin to pop, soften and break down, which happens to be just enough time to rub the harsh razor edge off the garlic.

The pasta is tossed into the mix, along with those chilled cubes of mozzarella and a dose of mild chives snipped right off the plant in our backyard garden. Back to the cheese - if you tossed in the cheese that either came right from the refrigerator or had warmed up from being on the counter, as soon as you toss them in, the residual heat would have began the melting process, leaving you with a stringy mess. Which, in all honestly, isn't that big of a deal and wouldn't bother me, but if you want them to stay in their tidy cube shapes for those cheese pockets, this freezer business does the job quite well. The cheese won't stay cold or cool down the dish too much as the warm pot quickly brings their temperature back up.

The original recipe called for penne rigate as its ridges would work well to catch the bits in the sauce, but when I noticed I didn't have near enough on hand (used most of it in last week's pasta dish!), I grabbed for the shells. I figured their little pockets would make a perfect catch-all for the tomato, garlic and chives in this dish. Don't have either? Rigatoni would be another shape that would be a good match here. Plenty of pasta, a decidedly easy sauce and enough cheese to please... how could one go wrong?!

Recipes
Shells with Two Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Gingerbread Bars...

Today and tomorrow, Jeff is in meetings with his local co-workers, along with a few that had driven up or flew into Minneapolis to participate. He asked if I could make a treat to bring in today, in addition to the regular Wednesday item - when I asked what he thought might be nice, his only suggestion were those dangerous Oreo Truffle Balls that we've made several times now! Yesterday I got rounds dipped and to change them up a bit, we sprinkled Oreo crumbs over the top.

I also suggested for those peanut butter and chocolate lovers out there that we do a version with Nutter Butters! I used the same proportions, expect we used a darker chocolate dip, rather than the white chocolate we do with the Oreo version.

To be a little unconventional with this week's Wednesday Treat Day, especially after sending in those truffle balls this morning, I offered up these Gingerbread Bars and Jeff jumped right on board with the idea!

I think of fall and the cool winter time when I hear gingerbread, but that doesn't mean it has to only be made during that time! Peppering the dry ingredients with familiar, richly aromatic spices in these bars are pungent ginger, sweet cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg and a pinch of seductive cloves.

To sweeten the batter, instead of using a lighter brown sugar, a more robust dark brown is used, adding moisture and a little chew, with a good measure of granulated sugar for depth and a touch of crispness. Giving gingerbread its classic darker golden color, along with a potent essence that is faintly bitter, yet still sweet is of course molasses! A little does go a long way here as you don't want the viscous syrup to overwhelm the bars. This recipe used an interesting technique that drew me to it - once the batter was spread into the baking sheet, flour was dusted over the top, followed by a light sprinkle of granulated sugar for crunch.

It didn't say why this was done like this, but as I pulled the bars out of the oven, I found it to be a spiffy way to add an attractive, sparkly top that reminded me of an old-fashioned ginger cookie. Just before I retrieved the pan though, I kept thinking to myself how that the spicy aroma that flowed out from the kitchen to meander all over the house was reason enough to give these bars a chance!

Sliced into hefty squares, after Jeff and I sat down and gave these a try after dinner, I found myself attracted to the lovely texture - kind of like a cross between a moist, dense cake, a tender blondie and an exciting cookie. Jeff tried to go back for another piece, but I reminded him he needed to share and to slowly back away! Besides, I have a feeling it won't be too long before these are made again and he'll get his share.

Recipes
Gingerbread Bars

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes...

Jeff was excited to learn this morning that I was planning a breakfast-for-dinner night this evening, which was heightened when I told him it was going to be these Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes!

Making these a little more unique, I pulled out my stash of blue cornmeal that I keep in the freezer to use as part of the dry ingredients. Yellow cornmeal is perfectly acceptable, but I figured we might as well bust this out since we were using fresh blueberries... at least, that's what I told myself. Compared to yellow or white, blue cornmeal comes across as being a touch more nutty with a slightly sweet edge over the other two.

To give the pancakes a little fluff and tang, a combination of thick buttermilk, milk, melted butter and an egg form the base of the liquid ingredients used to moisten the flour and cornmeal. When you pour this in the dry ingredients, use just a few flicks of the wrist to combine the batter and then let it be while you wait for your griddle to heat up. Lumps are good - if you work the batter too much, trying to get the batter completely smooth, you take the risk of ending up with tough pancakes! Lumps don't mean you'll end up with flour pockets... rest assured they will cook out!

This batter is more viscous than you might be used if you've never used cornmeal in your pancakes before, so resist the urge to thin it out. What happened to the blueberries? Well, instead of tossing them into the batter, the plump berries are tossed with a bit of granulated sugar and then sprinkled over the top as soon as you dollop the batter onto the griddle. This way each pancake has roughly the same amount and you won't end up with a few pancakes at the end that have no blueberries! Don't look for the typical bubbles on top to let you know when to turn these since the batter is more thick - once the edges turn matte and look like they have begun to set, then slide your spatula underneath to turn them over.

Serve a stack of these simply with a couple thin pats of butter, maybe a drizzle of your favorite warmed syrup, or since these are plenty moist on their own, a snowy dusting of confectioners' sugar would also do just fine on top. Not too thick, yet not paper thin either, I liked how beefing these up with cornmeal brought a heartier texture that was a welcomed addition at dinnertime. Unless you have a humongous griddle, you'll want to barely heat the oven to keep the first pancakes warm as you wait for the rest to be done.

Recipes
Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Productive Saturday...

We got through seven new recipes this week - the ones we selected as our favorites were the Caprese Pizza with Bacon, that decadent Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze and those easy Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayonnaise.

We had a pretty productive day yesterday and I thought it would be nice to give you a peek into how it went. After we had those scones for breakfast, Jeff and I took Gus downtown to stroll through the artsy booths at the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts.

It was such a beautiful day (if a bit toasty!) that we had to get out - we first went to this festival last year and had to go back this year. The booths were littered with fun, unique and quirky items - come on, doesn't everyone need one of these?

Okay, so maybe that isn't our style, but I'm sure it will find a home!

We walked Gus over the bridge so we could feel the cool breeze and he just couldn't help himself - he had to go sit up by the railing and strike a pose with his happy little tongue sticking out.

And PS... Gus tends to be quite the people magnet... it took us a pretty long time to walk the whole event as we made frequent stops so people could pet him!

What's behind Gus? It's a great spot to stop and gander at the "falls" on the Mississippi River...

And you can't go down to St. Anthony Main without getting a snap of this old building!

Once we got home, I had the pleasure (well, I wouldn't exactly call it a pleasure...) of getting these darn trees trimmed.

You would think these trees are on a drip supply of steroids with how fast they shoot their branches - they are called "Austrees" and are a hybrid of the Willow tree. I first tried using scaffolding to get me up high enough, but that just didn't work as well... so I gave up and crawled up the middle of each tree - my legs are so sore from trying to not fall out! I cut about 3 1/2' to 4' off of each tree... and to think, this needs to be done at least twice, if not three times a year! I'm up about 18 feet at this point and all I could do was hope the branches wouldn't snap underneath me.

This would have been impossible if we didn't pick up this handy trimmer... although, it got darn heavy after a few hours of hauling it up and down.


Finally - all done and tidy... and the neighbors get their view back!

Scones and a quick Garden Update...

Before we get to the food, we went out and took some quick snaps to update how our little garden is doing!

Snow peas on one side of the climbing fence...

The other side!

Here is a baby sugar snap pea...

The snow peas didn't grow too tall, but the snap's sure did!

Here's another angle... the height of the fence only goes up to four feet.

When we went up the strawberry bed, guess what we found?!

Hello beautiful! It looks like the plants love their little hill.

Max was sittin' pretty too (and a little jealous of all the Gus coverage lately), so we figured he was ready for his close-up...

It's scone time again! I made sure to get up a little earlier today as I thought these Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones might make for a nice change to have as breakfast this sunny weekend morning.

You could use completely all-purpose flour in the dry ingredients for the scones (as we've done that plenty of times before), but to give these a little more tenderness, some of that was swapped out for a softer, less-protein filled cake flour. With just three piddly tablespoons of sugar to sweeten, once we got the dry ingredients whisked together, I used my trusty pastry blender to cut in tablespoons of butter until the butter broke down, leaving us with a texture of coarse meal - basically you want the butter bits to be randomly sized, without being much larger than the size of a pea. You can also do this in the food processor, but that would have been too noisy for how early I was up! Also, because I quite like the pairing of lemon and blueberries, I tossed in a couple teaspoons worth of the bright, yellow-y zest as we went along.

Just after we stirred in the plump, fresh berries, we moistened the dough with buttermilk, an egg and a few drops of pure vanilla. A few gently strokes later and before the dough had completely absorbed all the liquid, you'll want to scoop this unfinished dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to gently squish it together a few times until you've finished working in the remaining dry ingredients. After patting the dough out into a rough round, if you want smaller scones, divide the dough into twelve wedges, but I went with ten to get slightly bigger pieces. We've made recipes before where you just score the dough and then bake, which leaves you with softer edges, but if you separate the wedges, you'll get a crustier exterior all the way around.

To enhance their tops with a bit of crunch and color, we brushed each triangle with a beaten egg and dusted with granulated sugar - if you happen to have coarser turbinado sugar, this would be a fine place to use it. After giving them a rest from baking (which happened to be just enough time to shower!), I cracked into mine to find a delightfully moist, tender inside that contrasted beautifully with the almost crumbly sugar-spiked exterior. Since there isn't a lot of sugar used, I thought a jam might be nice to slather on, but the bursting of the berries added enough extra sweetness for me to think twice and leave it off. Plenty of scones are made with cream, which make for a delicious treat on its on, but the slight tang that comes through from using buttermilk is a pleasant change with the benefit of being less heavy on the fat. Plain yogurt could be used in its place to attain that tang if you wish - use the same half cup amount, but thin it out with a couple tablespoons of milk to up the moisture.

Recipes
Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones

Caprese Pizza with Bacon...

This week's Friday Night Pizza, Caprese Pizza with Bacon, is one that I will definitely be making again later this summer once our green tomatoes outside grow and ripen to a vibrant shade of red.

Using our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough as a base, I drizzled the large round of dough with olive oil and gave it a good rub down with my fingers. Because we wanted a crispier crunch to the thin bottom, I slid the dough onto the stone and left it to bake until the bottom just began to take on a golden hue.

As that was taking place, we kept busy by turning our attention to a few slices of smoky bacon I had cooking in a skillet. When it was almost cooked through, yet still a touch chewy, I snatched the pieces from the pan and let it drain as the crust was ready to come out. To give both sides of the crust contact with the stone, we flipped it over so the toppings would actually be arranged on what was the bottom. The first layer? A batch of homemade pesto that I was just barely able to make after snipping at our basil plants that were finally starting to get tall enough. The half cup we used was pretty lavish for this pizza and I think you can get away with using a third of a cup without losing out.

Rounds of a large tomato (if yours are on the smaller side, you might wish to add two) were laid on top, followed by just enough thinly sliced fresh mozzarella so each bite you took had a piece. This isn't the type of pizza that you want to drown in cheese so every inch of the top is covered, but you don't want to be skimpy either. Remember that bacon? After seasoning the cheese and tomatoes with a bit of salt and fresh ground black pepper, the chunky crumbles were scattered on top just before the pizza went back into the oven to finish baking. The reason I left the bacon a touch chewy is the pieces are not hidden under a blanket of cheese, so they will crisp a little more from the intense heat of the oven.

The only thing this pizza needed was a smattering of torn fresh basil once it was ready. Jeff asked, before taking a bite, if he should grab the wedge of Parmesan from the refrigerator to grate on top. I said "Taste it first... then you tell me!". He did and after I heard him finish comping through the crust, he muttered "Okay, I get your point". So there! Actually as I put Parmesan in the pesto, its sharpness came through in that layer well enough that there was no need for another dose on top. Using the bright pesto as the "sauce" was an ideal match as its freshness blew away anything else you might be tempted to use, especially when paired with the tomatoes and mozzarella. If you think you might have a problem getting the cheese to slice into thin rounds, wrap it up and toss the ball into the freezer for just about 15 minutes to firm it up.

Recipes
Caprese Pizza with Bacon

Chipotle Mayonnaise in a wrap...

After spending a good portion of the afternoon getting work done outside, when it was time to come in to prepare dinner, I knew I was not going feel like doing much. That's why I planned these snazzy Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayonnaise for a non-fussy dinner that didn't involve much work.

While a turkey wrap may not sound all that exciting, that darn chipotle mayonnaise we smeared on demanded our attention and completely made these. That spread is created by swirling together mayonnaise, fresh cilantro, a minced scallion, a hefty tablespoon of smoky chopped chipotle in adobo sauce and a couple squirts from a lime half.

If you would rather not use mayonnaise, I've made the switch before by using equal amounts of sour cream and Greek yogurt for a creamy base that still presents a nice tang to it. Once we spread that concoction over a couple large tortillas, we arranged thinly sliced smoked turkey meat on top, along with crisp romaine leaves for a little texture. That's all there it to it! Just the right kind of no-nonsense dish I needed after today. I'm thinking this would be perfect to take along to enjoy on a picnic as well!

You can cut down on the chipotle if you don't groove on the heat, but I really didn't find it to be all that spicy since the mayonnaise and lime juice worked well to balance. This recipe makes enough for two servings that were satisfying for us, but you could easily adjust up if you need to serve more. If you wanted to expand on the smoky theme with a little extra work, I bet some strips of crispy bacon down the middle would be a nice touch!

Recipes
Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayonnaise

Spicy Pasta with Broccoli...

I don't know what it is about broccoli... I would not go near it growing up and didn't work it into my diet until maybe 6 years or so ago. Though, I can probably say that about most vegetables, but broccoli ranks right there. However, now I love to snack on it raw, steamed, roasted or sautéed - funny how things change! I think it would be fun to grow it next year if the gardening continues to work out for us... before you know it, we'll have dug up the entire back yard and have filled it with food! The dogs may have something to say about that though.

In the mean time, we'll just have to pick it up from the market like we did today so I could make this Spicy Pasta with Broccoli for dinner. What initially drew me into this dish was the use of the entire head of broccoli, stalks and all. The stalks don't seemed to be used all that often and while they seem to be slightly less flavorful than the florets, they are still tasty and full of nutrition. While you don't have to do much to the florets but slice them off, the stalks do take a little more effort. The first thing you need to do is remove their tough outer skin either by using a peeler or paring knife - once that is off, they then need to be sliced into thin pieces so they are able to cook at the same rate as the florets. The stalks also work well for to make broccoli slaw instead of or in addition to cabbage for crunch.

Use any type of short pasta you like - orecchiette or fusili would be nice, but our pantry already had penne on hand and we went with that. While the pasta was off cooking, we had another pan on the stove heating up with a slick of oil to toast a few cloves of sliced garlic and a couple pinches of crushed red pepper. The broccoli florets and stems were slid into the party with a splash of water - this creates a steamy environment once the cover is added to help start chipping away at the rawness. After a few minutes, the cover is removed, allowing the excess water to evaporate and the broccoli to finish coming to the crisp-tender point.

When the pasta was ready, we scooped out a rough half cup of the starchy water, then drained away the rest. The pasta was put back into the pot (off heat!), along with the garlicky broccoli and handful of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Enough of the saved cooking liquid was added, which melted the cheese and bound this dish together with a thin sauce. Once portioned out, we sprinkled a little extra Parmesan on top for a salty finish, which was definitely welcomed and appropriate.

An enticing veggie meal for sure, if you wanted to stretch this out and introduce a little meat, I bet cooked and crumbled Italian turkey sausage (especially hot, but I wouldn't dismiss the sweet variety!) would be an exciting addition to bring in a little flare.

Recipes
Spicy Pasta with Broccoli

Pound cake with a twist...

Chocolate and peanut butter... there are few things in the world that seem so perfectly matched. That combo is close to, if not, my (and Jeff too!) favorite sweet combination and that is why this Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze that I made for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day sounded way too good to pass up.

This is very much like a classic, traditional pound cake with plenty of butter, eggs (3 short of a dozen!!) and sugar to go around. However, instead of using all flour in the dry ingredients, this cake's twist comes by swapping out a portion of the flour for your best unsweetened cocoa powder to turn it chocolate. Which is handy, because all you would have to do it swap that flour back in for a regular light cake!

It is best that you have the butter and eggs used for the batter at a cool room temperature so the ingredients are well incorporated and the best volume possible can be achieved as there is no additional leavening called for. This also means you need to let the butter and sugar beat for quite some time - this recipe happens to call for a full eight minutes to get plenty of air whipped in! Once the eggs join the party, along with a splash of fragrant vanilla, the dry ingredients are added and the batter is swirled around just enough to moisten the flour. Of course you can do this with the mixer by gradually adding it, but I like using a sturdy wooden spoon so I can get a feel for the batter and prevent any overworking.

Poured into a couple large loaf pans (measure to be sure you use the correct size, otherwise you may have overflow issues!), to get any large air bubbles out of the light, voluptuous batter, don't be afraid to get a little rough and tap the pans on the countertop a few times. Now, even though these are baked in those loaf pans, don't expect they will be done quickly - they will require a fairly lengthy time in the oven to get the center of the cakes baked through. I like to make sure and check at least 5 minutes or so before the cake is scheduled to be done - a quick poke with a wooden skewer in the center will let you know if you need more time or not. You are looking for the skewer to come back out mostly clean and ideally with a few moist crumbs attached.

Taking these baked beauties over the top is a fiendish glaze consisting simply of warmed creamy peanut butter and milk, turning the peanut butter into a flowing consistency to drizzle over each dark loaf. After letting the glaze set, I hastily grabbed my knife, sliced in and found a tempting tight crumb that while dense, didn't come across as being heavy or greasy. Yeah, a fork was waiting to go on the side and a bite was in my mouth before I gave it another though!

When Jeff came in to check on the happenings, he decided not to wait for dessert to have a slice. Eye rolls were all I needed to see, letting me know he was thoroughly enjoying his piece! He then said he was a little sad that we were sending this decadent treat into the office... but, I don't mind because if we kept this around the house, I have a feeling not one dense, buttery crumb would be left in too short time of a time!

Recipes
Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze

Gruyère Gougères...

Have you ever thought about making pâte à choux, but thought the process might be too complicated? Or, maybe you've never heard of pâte à choux and are wondering what the heck that is and why should you want to try it?

If you think you don't know what pâte à choux, or choux paste, is, I bet you have heard of éclairs or cream puffs, right? That's all that fancy name is and when you make them sweet, you get either of those two (which can also be labeled as profiteroles if you want to be real swanky) - however, you can take that same dough and go into the savory realm. Which is what we did to make these Gruyère Gougères tonight.

You don't have to be afraid of making these French cheese puffs as the process is really quite fluid if you take it step by step. Water, butter and salt are brought to a high enough simmer to get those butter pats melted. Flour is rapidly stirred in and you will notice it quickly soak up the liquids, leaving you with a ball of dough in your pan. Cooking out that raw flour-y taste at this point is important, but all you need to do is constantly smash that ball around in the skillet until the dough no longer seems sticky and for the best clue to when it's done, a slight film will form on the bottom of the pan.

Because you need to incorporate eggs into this mass, set the dough aside and leave it be for a couple minutes just to let some of the heat evaporate. If you want to build up your arm muscles, you can beat in those eggs by hand, but a stand mixer takes much of the work out of this dish and works those eggs in a little quicker. Just be sure to add the eggs one at a time and beat them into the dough until they are completely incorporated before you add the next. When the eggs are all in, the dough will be soft, shiny and just tacky to the touch, which is the time we turned these very savory by stirring in fresh ground black pepper and a liberal amount of intense Gruyère cheese.

To get this dough onto the pans, you can use a spoon, a tablespoon cookie scoop or if you have a big enough round tip for a pastry bag (you don't want to get the shreds of cheese stuck!) to make the process fly by. We opted for the cookie scoop to drop the golf ball sized rounds on the pans to keep the mess down to a minimum. If you use a spoon or pipping bag, you may end up with spikes or peaks to the dough - lightly wet your fingers and press them down so the balls stay somewhat even and smooth. Baked until the dough puffs up and takes on an alluring golden hue, if you have any questions to if they are done or not, you can take one out and pry it open with the tip of a sharp knife - the inside should be moist and just slightly egg-y as they will finish cooking through as they cool down.

With no baking powder or soda in the dough, these explode and rise simply from the leavening power of the eggs (be sure to give them plenty of room to grow as they bake!), which made for a crazy light, crisp and airy puff that is crammed with cheesiness. Eat several of them (so easy to do unfortunately) right away as is, or let them cool to room temperature (ha!) and stuff them with your favorite chicken or egg salad as they have an empty pocket inside, making for a creative serving vehicle. They would also make a dainty tea sandwich if you split them and add your favorite sandwich toppings. Best on the same day, they can be made ahead and frozen if need be - just let them thaw and rewarm them in the oven for 5 or so minutes to bring back their crispness.

Recipes
Gruyère Gougères

Oven-Fried Fish and Chips...

We finished off the week with another 7 new recipes - this time our tops were those Mini Pizzas with Spinach, Peppers and Prosciutto, Coconut-Lime Bars with Hazelnut Shortbread Crust and the tortilla-less Naked Salsa Verde Pork Burritos.

After Gus indulged in a couple squares of his personal birthday cake yesterday, we figured it couldn't hurt to take him for a walk in the beautiful weather. After a fairly chilly start this month, it seems the classically warm June weather has finally arrived! This time we decided to go for a three mile jaunt around Lake Nokomis - the path around this lake is nice because it has areas that are quite shady in some points, so the sun beating down wasn't as bad.

And for the exercisers, it also has several stops around the lake with different activies like stretching, pull up bars, rings and parallel bars! There was one downside though... it is so close to the airport that the noise can get distracting!

Gus testing the waters... one of those run in and "ewww... I'm not so sure about this!".

Though, he was ready to run in to try and make friends with this guy!

Obligatory shot of downtown...

I bet Gus would love a trip in a boat like this lucky doggy!

Get those jars of malt vinegar out of your pantry as it will make the perfect compliment to go with this Oven-Fried Fish and Chips dish we had for dinner this evening.

It's not that I have anything against deep frying, which certainly has its places, but we just rarely prepare everyday foods that way and we tend to save that for more special occasions (like homemade donuts!). The chips, or fries if you will, are plants of russet potatoes that we sliced not too thick or thin so they wouldn't take too long to bake in the oven. We did a couple of our tricks with the preparation of them - to give them a leg up getting crispy, we placed the sliced potatoes into a bowl with hot salted water.

After letting them sit for several minutes, some of the excess starch is drawn out, which will result in potatoes that are moist and fluffy on the inside with a crispier outside. Instead of just your basic salt and pepper, after we drizzled the potatoes with oil, we gave them a dusting of Cajun seasoning for a tinge of heat. The other trick? Preheating the baking pan for a good five minutes first - you know it's a good sign when you slosh the potatoes onto the pan and you immediately hear the sizzle begin.

Now that those could be left alone, the fish was on tap next. Rather than common breadcrumbs, the fillets are coated in cereal... yup, good 'ol cornflakes! They come crispy to begin with, so you can be assured you'll get a lovely crust on the outside. With your standard breading procedure, the Pacific cod we used was dredged through seasoned flour (using Cajun seasoning to match the chips!), dipped in beaten egg whites and then coated with plenty of crushed cornflakes. If you've never gone through this before, it really does help the cornflakes grab a hold and not fall off through the cooking process. Just remember - use one hand for dipping into the eggs and the other one for the dry ingredients so you don't end up with plastered fingers! Another trick comes into play with the fish - set the coated pieces onto a wire rack, set over a baking sheet to catch the drippings, to allow for the hot air of the oven to flow completely around the fillets - this helps the bottom stay crisp instead of turning mushy from sitting in its own juices.

While Jeff is the malt vinegar person in the house, I don't use it all that often and figured I'd try it here - good call! If you are not a fan, slice up a lemon into wedges and serve a couple along side to squeeze on top. The chips were not overly spicy, but I thought it could have used an extra half teaspoon or so of spice. It will depend on what is exactly in your Cajun seasoning - if it seems a little weak, you may wish to add a bit more than called for. I'm not the biggest seafood lover, but the delicate, flaky fish in this dish, contrasted by the textural crunch of the cereal, showed me there is hope - I couldn't get enough! Not as indulgent as deep frying both the fish and chips, but neither Jeff nor I felt as if we were missing out!

Recipes
Oven-Fried Fish and Chips

Birthday cake for Gus!

Usually we talk about some sweet treat we've made for us to munch on over the weekend on Saturday's post. However, today is no ordinary day! Gus, our blue-eyed lovable pup, turns a whopping one year old today - woo!

Call me crazy, but we couldn't let this milestone go by without making a little extravagant treat for him (and Max too if Gus will share!). Jeff actually asked me a couple weeks ago if there was anything we could do, rather than the normal homemade treats I often prepare, and after giving it some thought, I made this Peanut Butter Pup Cake with Carob Frosting.

You could get away with using regular whole-wheat flour in this cake, but I opted for pastry flour just so the cake wouldn't end up too dense (yeah, I know, the pups won't care... but I do!). With a little baking powder for lift and nonfat dry milk powder for tenderness, the wet ingredients I used for the batter included honey, unsalted peanut butter, an egg white and a bit of water to thin it out. If milk powder isn't an ingredient you keep around, nonfat milk would work just fine... use it to replace the milk powder and water. To drill in a little extra peanut power, I also threw in a couple tablespoons worth of chopped peanuts.

To make this a layer cake, instead of baking the batter in one loaf pan, I divided it between two pans so I wouldn't have to bother torting the cake later. You could also bake this in a single 8" cake pan if you like, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Testing for doneness is the same as any other cake - it is ready when the top springs back when lightly pressed in the center, the edges look like they are beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan or a toothpick placed into the center comes out clean. After taking them out of the oven, give them a five minute rest before turning them out to cool completely.

Fine as is, if you know us, then you can imagine we had to dress it up with a little pizazz! Chocolate and peanut butter is a dreamy combo, but chocolate isn't safe for dogs. I didn't throw that idea away though as carob is safe and we could use the powder form (just like cocoa powder!) to make a dark cream cheese frosting! Just three ingredients - cream cheese, the carob powder and a splash of vanilla, just because. To assemble the cake, a couple spoonfuls smeared on top of one of the cakes worked as a good glue to adhere the other layer, which was topped off with more of the creamy frosting.

Since I was probably going overboard already, I just left the sides open and clean, rather than encasing the entire cake. Of course, I say that after I capped the cake off with a few finely chopped peanuts on top - oops!

Now, don't worry, we don't plan on letting the little guy pig out and eat the whole thing at once as we know weight can be an issue with dachshunds and their backs. We'll be cutting up most of it into cubes, freezing the pieces and bringing them out every so often as a special treat. Both of the pups were too busy licking their chops to let me know what they thought, but I think it was clear by their happy smiles and pointed tails, wagging like there's no tomorrow, that they enjoyed their piece of birthday cake. If you really wanted to up the cuteness factor, you could make a template to lay on top of the cake layers before assembly and use it as a guide to cut out a bone shaped cake... I was tempted, but I tried to use a little restraint this time!

Recipes
Peanut Butter Pup Cake with Carob Frosting

Spunky Mini Pizzas...

For our Friday Night Pizza last week, we had "mini" calzones and since we were quite amused with the notion, we thought we would keep with the theme this evening and prepare these Mini Pizzas with Spinach, Peppers and Prosciutto.

For a quick sauce to top the dough, we drained away the liquid from fire-roasted tomatoes (diced or whole, whichever you have handy) and placed them into the food processor with oregano, garlic and a couple teaspoons of olive oil. You can make a smooth sauce if you wish, but we thought a bit of texture would be nice here and just pulsed it a couple times to break down the tomatoes.

Since these are mini pizzas, I took the hunk of our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough and divvied it up to get twelve equal portions. I used a scale to move things along, but you can could just as well quarter the dough, then divide each into thirds to get roughly the same size pieces. Since there are a wealth of toppings in place to add, we stretched the dough out just enough, but not as thin as we would normally. While the dough won't end up as crunchy, the base needed that oomph to hold up to the additions.

On top of the tidy rounds, we gave each a rub down with olive oil, then added a spoonful of the chunky sauce, a mound of fresh spinach, strips of roasted red pepper and sliced salty prosciutto. For the cheese? Shreds of mozzarella were dropped on top, followed by a scattering of fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Even if it looks like it might fit, don't try to cram the dough onto one baking sheet - go ahead and disperse them between two and once placed in the oven, remember to rotate the pans halfway through for even baking.

Pulling these out from the oven immediately widened our eyes as we saw the gooey cheese on top all bubbling and golden. Remember how we drained those tomatoes before we added them into the sauce? Since the sauce wasn't cooked down first, taking that step ensures it doesn't run all over the place and sog the crust as it cooks. While these may be small, these explicit little gems are sure to please with their overloaded tops and chewy crusts. To give these a little heat, you could either add crushed red pepper into the sauce or have a dish on the side so each person can add as much or as little as they like to their rounds.

Recipes
Mini Pizzas with Spinach, Peppers and Prosciutto

Rhubarb Salad with Goat Cheese

Small garden update, more to come later! Since we've had some cold weather lately, the tomatoes and peppers have slowed down, but that means the lettuce and peas are taking off! So far, just flowers on the peas, but we're hoping to see them start maturing here soon.

I've been dipping into our little garden patch we set up on the side of the yard, pulling off lettuce and spinach leaves here or there when needed to fill in for whatever dish I was making. This afternoon though, I went out to harvest quite the large bowl of spinach (go slow-bolting plants!), along with stopping by the rhubarb to pull out a few stalks.

Rhubarb and spinach? Together? You bet! We took both of them so we could take rhubarb in a slightly more savory direction with this Rhubarb Salad with Goat Cheese!

To shave the tartness off the rhubarb, we sliced the stalks into chunky pieces and tossed them with enough honey to coat just before they went into the oven. I would suggest trying to find stalks that are roughly the same size, while also being not too thick and fibrous to allow the pieces to cook evenly. It took less than 5 minutes in the hot oven for the rhubarb to go from firm to just tender enough that they were soft, yet still held their shape - you don't want them to turn mushy.

Since you don't want to work with pipping hot rhubarb, while it was cooling down, we made a clean dressing by whisking together olive oil with an equal amount of tangy white balsamic vinegar. If all you have is regular, dark balsamic, that would certainly be fine to us... the white is really used for aesthetic reasons, though it does feel a bit more sweet as well. With plenty of tender textures already happening between the rhubarb and spinach, the salad was aching for a crunchy contrast... which came in the form of thinly sliced fennel! Tossed together with the modest dressing, the salad was complete with a smattering of creamy goat cheese crumbles and a handful of toasted walnuts.

Delightful, with a notable spring influence, I was happily surprised how the licorice-y notes from the fennel playfully bounced off the tamed rhubarb to create an energizing salad that had us slowing down to savor each bite. If I had arugula around, its peppery quality would have been a nice compliment, but the homegrown spinach did the deed quite well on its own. I have to say, it is quite satisfying having only to walk out the back door, snapping fresh ingredients you need right off the plants, to complete a meal!

Recipes
Rhubarb Salad with Goat Cheese

Stuffed Chicken Breasts...

Chicken breasts can easily fall into the realm of plain and boring, however this can be avoided if you choose dishes like the one we made for dinner tonight - Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Spring Onions and Thyme.

Because the filling needs to cool down before you get too far into this, I went right to work with my knife slicing the bulbs of spring onions. Never looked for this type of onion before? These can easily be described as green onions on steroids and as their name implies, usually found during the spring. You may have a harder time locating them in a regular grocery store, but they are more common at farmers' markets - if you can't get them, leeks would work well here.

Caramelizing the onions is not a process that takes to being done quickly, so be sure to take that into account if you try this recipe out. After they were in the pan, the onions took about 20 to 25 minutes to get to the point of being golden and very tender. They were then combined with goat cheese, parsley, a splash of milk and fresh thyme to create the creamy filling. This concoction was then slipped into pockets we made in the meatiest portion of the chicken breasts.

You could bake the breasts if you like, but they can be done in a snap by using a skillet and not having to heat up the house! Cooking them this way also leaves you with intensely flavored bits stuck on the bottom of the pan just waiting for them to be pulled up into a simple sauce. When the chicken was ready, we took the breasts out and set them aside, covering them to keep warm, and poured a couple splashes of white wine into the skillet. After bubbling away, releasing those bits on the bottom, we stirred in broth and let the mixture simmer away until it had reduced, concentrating the flavors. If you wanted a richer sauce, a tablespoon or so of butter stirred in off heat would be nice, but after giving Jeff a taste, we both decided it was good as is and left well enough alone.

I asked Jeff what he thought might be a nice pair to this and he suggested some sort of polenta - I looked through my untried piles to see if any stuck me, but came up empty. However, after looking back through the blog, I ran across this recipe for Creamy Polenta with Thyme we first made back in '07... which was just what I wanted! This is one of the reasons why I love keeping the site updated with all these recipes we push out. After spooning a puddle of the polenta on the plate and adding the breasts on top, we sliced in to find quite juicy meat and a filling that was well-balanced from the tang in the cheese, the slightly sweet onions and the delicate herbaceous whispers from the fresh thyme.

Recipes
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Spring Onions and Thyme

Refreshing Coconut-Lime Bars...

Tangy and refreshing with a wicked good crust - those are the first words that entered my mind when I took a bite of these Coconut-Lime Bars with Hazelnut Shortbread Crust. I think we'll have some pucker-y smiles tomorrow when Jeff brings the bars in for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day!

We roasted a full cup of intensely nutty hazelnuts until their skins began to break away from the meat of the nut and the insides were toasty brown. To ease those skins off, wrap the warm nuts in a clean towel and set them aside for a few minutes to cool, then take out some aggression by vigorously rubbing them together. Don't fret when you open the towel and find you are not left with sparkling clean hazelnut - if there are bits of skin stuck on, leave it be and just continue on. The main reason you want to do this is the skins are a touch bitter, but it is not that big of a deal.

To get the nuts small enough to incorporate into the crust, they are finely ground in a food processor. Add your sugar when you do this as it will absorb some of the oils that are released as the nuts break down and give you a buffer from turning the hazelnuts into nut butter. The rest of the crust consists simply of flour, salt and chilled cubes of butter to bring the dough together. Patted into the baking pan, this is the type of crust that needs to be baked and cooled before you top it off - be sure to note the extra time needed for this.

After stripping off the zest of quite a few limes (and most of the excess went into the freezer!), we squeezed enough of the green balls to get a whopping three-quarters of a cup worth of its precious juice. I don't use a juicer and never did get around to picking up a reamer - however, I use one tool that I already have and works pretty well for this process... a metal pair of tongs! After slicing the limes in half, I close the tongs until they are almost shut, then use it just as you would a reamer. The tip is small enough to fit right in and the tongs break down and scrape the cell walls of the limes just fine to get every last drop out without creating a big mess.

Since that juice is positively tart, don't scoff at the amount of sugar needed for the filling as its sweetness is there to persuaded the juice off its tangy ledge. Eggs are bound with the sugar, followed by the juice, a touch of flour for strength and a portion of the fresh zest to reinforce the presence of lime. Over the cooled crust, the filling was then spread on top and baked almost to the point where the filling was completely set. Almost, because we had one more addition to sprinkle on top - coconut! You want to add this during the last ten minutes as the coconut is fairly fickle and can get too dark in the blink of an eye.

Now, before you get out a fork to dig in, the bars will need to cool down to room temperature. But, they are not ready yet! The pan then needs to go into the refrigerator to chill down for the best texture. You don't want to stash the hot pan in the refrigerator though - besides raising the temperature of the fridge inside, if it goes in warm, the top will be riddled with water droplets... which doesn't make for a good treat! Chilling also gives you an edge in getting the bars cut into tidy squares. I'm sure you can already imagine how well these went over with us, but I particularity enjoyed how durable these were - the crust was substantial enough to pick 'em up to eat without worry, yet still be tender and buttery, while the filling held its own if you need to stack a few of the bars up.

Recipes
Coconut-Lime Bars with Hazelnut Shortbread Crust

Naked Salsa Verde Pork Burritos

You know a recipe is going to be fun when it has "naked" in the title! For our dinner tonight, we left the tortillas behind so we could prepare these Naked Salsa Verde Pork Burritos!

Instead of using that starchy wrapping, the pork filling is rested upon a version of Mexican rice, which is a little more involved than cooking your rice simply in broth or water. We took the fragrant grains of basmati rice and heated them first in a slick of canola oil until they were lightly toasted. A pureed mixture of plum tomatoes, onion and garlic are then poured into the rice and left, giving the sauce a chance to cook briefly. Enough vegetable broth (or water if you wish) is then poured in to finish cooking the rice through.

Now that the rice was taking care of itself, we moved on to the filling by smashing lean ground pork in a hot skillet to crumble and cook the meat through. To mimic the rice, chopped onion and more garlic are tossed in to soften, along with a few pinches of cumin and oregano to season. Pinto beans are added to the mix, bulking up the filling with protein and fiber, with salsa verde thrown in to add moisture and a tangy zing. Just before this was ready, we tossed in a bit of chopped cilantro to freshen up the filling with a bright note.

When the rice looked like most of the of the liquid had been absorbed, we took the pot off the heat and left it alone for about 5 minutes - this gives the rice a chance to settle down a bit before plunging a fork in to fluff and loosen the individual grains. After spooning the now tinted rice on the plates and adding a healthy portion of the meaty filling in the center, we dropped a simple dollop of mashed avocado, laced with fresh lime juice and a single green onion, for a cooling condiment on top.

While I'm sure this would have been just fine wrapped up in a tortilla, leaving it out of the picture and serving it as a layered dish added to its composed attractiveness and let what would have been a hidden filling be the stars of the show. I've never prepared rice in this fashion and I can see why those extra steps are worth doing to infuse those subtle flavors right each grain. If you don't care for the version with green salsa we used, don't let me stop you from using your favorite red - you may want to add some green chiles for a little pep though.

Recipes
Naked Salsa Verde Pork Burritos

Cumin-Scented Sweet Potatoes...

Seven new recipes breezed through our house this week - our favorites this round were those Mini Spinach Calzones, the Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt Torte and just because it got Jeff to eat mushrooms (without knowing of course!), those Black-Bean Mushroom Burgers!

While we were not planning on a new main for our dinner tonight, I did prepare a new dish, Bulgur with Cumin-Scented Sweet Potatoes, to go along side.

If you've never used bulgur before, it is made from grains of wheat that have been parboiled, dried and then cracked into smaller pieces to allow for a quicker cook time. That also happens to be the main difference between bulgur and what you may find labeled as "cracked wheat". The latter has not been pre-cooked and is just that, cracked wheat kernels. Bulgur typically come in varying sizes from coarse, which we used in tonight's dish, down to medium and fine grains.

A mound of cubed sweet potato, peeled or not is up to your preference, was placed onto a baking sheet, then drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with coriander, cumin, salt and fresh ground black pepper. After tossing the mix together to ensure each cube was graced with the coatings, the pan was stashed in the oven to bake the potatoes until they were tender and their sugars began to caramelize, turning the potatoes a light golden.

As the potatoes were busy roasting, we were left with enough time to bring a pot of vegetable broth up to a boil, stir in the bulgur and let it simmer until the grains had plumped up and became tender. We did end up with a bit of extra broth leftover as the grains couldn't accept anymore - if that happens, go ahead and drain it away so this salad isn't too wet. To assemble the dish, we tossed the sweet pieces of potato into the bulgur and added a snazzy kick by drizzling over a couple tablespoons of fresh lime (lemon would be acceptable too!) and a sprinkling of cilantro. Don't be too aggressive when you go to incorporate all those ingredients together - the potatoes are still on the softer side and you don't want to mash them.

This veggie salad (which I think could also be considered vegan as long as you keep with the vegetable broth) had plenty going on to retain my interest, along with being quite healthy, light and refreshing with that zippy lime! The bulgur still had a chewy bite to it, yet wasn't too much of a contrasting obstacle to the potatoes that it seemed out of place. If you can't find the coarser type of bulgur, you can still use medium without issue. Instead of cooking the grain in simmering broth, bring the broth up to a boil, stir in the bulgur, take the pot off the heat and set it aside to absorb the liquid and become tender, which should be about the same time as the coarse took to simmer.

Recipes
Bulgur with Cumin-Scented Sweet Potatoes

Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt Torte...

Quick update on the backyard - the flowers on the strawberries are starting to push out their berries by the boatload! And just think, this is a single plant!

Look for a larger garden update a little later next week!

I've been anxious to see how well our rhubarb would do this year and the plants apparently love their sunny little home and are shooting out stalks left and right! Now we just need to keep up and crank out some recipes to put it to work, which we did today with this Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt Torte!

After pulling out a few stalks and slicing them up this morning, we tossed them into a pot with water and sugar. You want to cook this combo until all of the rhubarb pieces have lost their crispness and have softened. Once the rhubarb was ready, we added a touch of bloomed gelatin into the hot mixture. Use of gelatin will help set the torte, along with adding a smoother texture - however, you must dissolve the granules before you want to use it. Once it has dissolved and sat around for a few minutes, it will have absorbed all of the liquid and look like a spongy and firm mess. If you've never worked with it before, it may look ruined, but that is just the process to get it ready - now you'll be able to add it into the hot rhubarb liquid where it will instantly melt and vanish.

After letting it cool slightly, it went into the food processor to break down the rhubarb into a smooth, crimson puree. Stop and check every so often, scraping down the sides if need be, to make sure you get all the pieces worked in. A few cups of vanilla yogurt are tossed in to be whirled into the puree, then the whole shebang is poured into an ice cream maker to freeze. I thought using only a half cup of sugar to 4 full cups of rhubarb was a little on the light-handed side, but with that sweet vanilla yogurt added, a quick taste revealed this was definitely on the right track and needed nothing more.

While that zipped around in the ice cream maker, we covered the bottom of a springform pan with ground graham crackers. The original recipe actually called for crisp amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons), but I didn't feel like running to the market and a trip through the pantry left me with the choice of graham crackers or well, graham crackers! It didn't call for any binder with the cookies, so I just added them as is, but that was probably an error on my part... we'll get to that in a bit. As soon as the ice cream maker beeped, we poured the thickened frozen yogurt (minus a few spoonfuls from tasting - I couldn't help it!) over the graham crackers and worked at the top with an off-set spatula so we would end up with a smooth surface. Just remember, this is going to need at least a good two to three hour stint in the freezer to firm up before you go to serve it.

To help the side of the pan release from the frozen yogurt, wrap a towel (that had first been soaked in hot water) around the pan and hold it there for just a few seconds. That will have melted the edge just enough so you can cleanly pull the side off. At this point, the torte is fairly hard and would be awful to slice - leave it at room temperature until it has softened enough that a knife can glide through without needing to be warmed up, about 10 or 15 minutes is good enough. While we waited, we hulled a pound of fresh strawberries and tossed them with just a couple tablespoons of sugar to get their juices flowin'.

Back to that crust issue... I apparently wasn't thinking that much when I replaced the crushed cookies with the graham crumbs - the amaretti themselves would probably have a little more moisture to them, which would help them hold together. However, I thought maybe the graham crackers would soak in some of the frozen yogurt and magically take hold - that didn't happen so much! When I went to pull out the wedges I sliced, a fair amount of the crumbs were still loose and stayed behind. Oh well, I ended up spooning some of it onto the plates, while holding back the rest to sprinkle over the top right before we served it - I wasn't going to waste them!

With a spoonful of the juicy strawberries gracefully draped over the top, the first forkful left my taste buds jumping with its gentle tart attitude, yet not so much that my mouth was puckering in confusion. The texture is a little on the icy side, so don't expect the texture of this to be the same lusciousness you would find in a custard-base ice cream. Saying that, this frozen treat was fairly guilt-free, quite light and incredibly refreshing. The next time I make this, there is one change I think I would do. I would prepare the rhubarb mixture up to the point where we puree it with the yogurt, then stash it into the refrigerator to chill down before adding it to the ice cream maker. Whenever I make ice cream, I just find the base benefits from being very cold and won't stress the ice cream maker as much when processed.

Recipes
Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt Torte

Mini Spinach Calzones...

It's another pizza night for us this Friday evening and we have quite the fun little treat to share - these Mini Spinach Calzones!

I wonder if we'll ever get tired of doing this each week, but so far the pizzas are coming out of the kitchen left and right. I don't see us slowing down anytime soon... as long as we can keep up the variety! Use whatever dough you want as a base, but of course, I toddled off to the pantry so I could grab the ingredients for our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough. I've made this so often now I don't even bother to look at the ratios anymore... I do think we should branch out and try a few other types at some point, but this one is so consistent and a breeze to make.

Rather than popping out tiny pieces of dough and pressing each one out for these mini guys, once my pound of dough was ready to work with, I stretched it out into a fairly large square and then divvied it up into smaller squares. In the center of each, I placed a small dollop of a creamy, spinach-laden filling made from stirring together creamy cheese, spinach, Parmesan, scallions, a clove of garlic, crushed red pepper and one of those "special" ingredients that go surprisingly well with spinach, fresh grated nutmeg! To help the dough stick together, we brushed the edges of the squares with an egg wash, then folded over the dough of each square into a triangle and sealed the edges together using the tines of a fork.

After placing the charming triangles on the baking sheets, we brushed the tops with a little more of that egg wash and randomly tossed on a bit of Parmesan cheese. You'll also want to puncture the top of each with a fork so the air has somewhere to go as these enclosed pizza pockets bake. Since they are miniature, they won't take long to bake - ours were pipping hot and golden in just about 12 minutes!

After we had all we could eat tonight, I wished I had made a double batch of these - I think they would be perfect to freeze and have on hand for a speedy, nutritious afternoon snack after a trip through the toaster oven or microwave. You could play around with the filling to suit your wants - how about replacing the Parmesan with feta, use a flavored cream cheese or even try adding some crumbled crisped bacon into the mix? Serve them alone for a poppable one or two-bite appetizer by themselves or have a warmed bowl of your favorite pizza or marinara sauce on the side for dipping!

Recipes
Mini Spinach Calzones

Linguine with Spring Vegetables...

I'm all about pasta slickened with saucy tomato-based dressing, but there are times when lighter add-ins come into play and you want a cleaner coating. This came into play tonight when we prepared this seasonal Linguine with Spring Vegetables for dinner tonight!

I don't know what it is about asparagus this year, but we can't seem to get enough of those green stalks in our meals lately. Along with the asparagus, we increased the vegetable quotient in this pasta dish with a hefty handful of trimmed sugar snap peas - the original recipe actually called for a zucchini to be sliced and tossed in as well, but neither of us was groovin' with that idea, so I just upped the peas. I don't mind zucchini so much, but Jeff doesn't go crazy over it in savory meals (though we both quite enjoy it in baked goods - imagine that!).

Because it was a fairly hectic day, one of the reasons I was attracted to this recipe was it happened to be a contained one-pot dish, which meant less dishes and clean up - woo! When the long strands of linguine were a few minutes short of being done in the pot of boiling, salted water, we tossed the vegetables in and let them cook along side just long enough to perk up their color to a vibrant green and leave them crisp-tender. Some of the starchy water was first set aside, then the pasta and veggies poured out into a colander to drain while we prepared the sauce.

While the recipe didn't call for this step, we wanted to infuse some garlic into the mix - to accomplish this, we melted a pat of butter into the same pot we cooked the pasta, then tossed in a couple cloves worth of minced garlic to take their pungent edge off. Heavy cream was then stirred into the mix, followed by the pasta and vegetables to warm them in the lush sauce. As the cream will tighten as it stands, at this point you'll want to add in enough of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce, allowing it to keep feeling light and fluid.

One more touch will take this over the moon - can you guess what that is? Thin, fresh leaves of tarragon! Refreshing, with its bold anise flare, tarragon added enough zip with just two tablespoons that it brought such an interesting and complex twist to this pasta dish that was just what it needed. Tarragon can be somewhat of an under-used herb (at least by us!) as it can quickly become overpowering if restraint isn't followed, but now that we have two plants taking hold in our herb box, we'll have to keep up and start using it more! Filling, rich with vegetables and one alluring, creamy sauce to coat it all, fresh grated Parmesan cheese was sprinkled on top just before we sat down to reveal in spring's awesome bounty.

Recipes
Linguine with Spring Vegetables

Black-Bean Mushroom Burgers...

Oops... someone is not happy with me tonight. I'm fine with that though... and I say that as I try to hide this deceitful grin that isn't leaving my face. See, I got Jeff to happily munch away at mushrooms, again, and not know about it until afterwards when he was telling me how much he liked dinner tonight! He wasn't clued in until I told him him the name of what used to be on his plate... Black-Bean Mushroom Burgers!

Hee hee! I think he is going to start daily inspections of the refrigerator to see if I have anything else hiding in there that is on his "I don't like it" list. Too bad everything on his list he actually does enjoy, as long as he doesn't know it has been used! For these veggie burgers, once I got an onion softened, I secretly tossed in a half pound of finely chopped baby portobello mushrooms in, along with fresh garlic, cumin and smoked paprika. You'll want to let this cook until the mushrooms have exuded their juices and taken on a bit of color - as long as the heat is above medium, this shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

If we would have left this mixture as is, he might have been able to spot that fungi if he picked at the patty, so into the food processor it went, along with black beans a few leaves of fresh cilantro. Don't turn on the processor and walk away - you want this on the coarser side and not pureed smooth, so just a few pulses to break down the beans and mushrooms is good. This concoction is fairly wet as is, so to help bind the ingredients together to form a solid patty, we stirred the chunky mixture with a few slices of whole wheat bread that we first toasted and then processed into breadcrumbs. And, I should note as I did in the directions, do this before you process the bean mixture so you won't have to clean out the bowl!

To give the patties a mild creamy tang, we also added a couple ounces of soft goat cheese into the bowl to swirl through. The patties were ready to be shaped now, but you have options on the size - we made pretty giant burgers and portioned it off into four bulky pieces. You could easily go up to six though and still get reasonably sized burgers. If you find it a little tacky to work with, use lightly dampened hands and that will help keep it off your fingers. These patties were tidy, held together well and not really that messy, which made them excellent candidates to throw on the grill to cook!

To help crisp up the outsides of these healthy patties, we brushed each with a little olive oil before they hit the grates. You don't need to cook them to death either - heat them long enough to warm through their centers and attain a few marks. Use a burger bun if you wish, but we went the toasted English muffin route since I didn't have a chance to get our favorite homemade buns made. Definitely "bean-y" in taste, what I particularly enjoyed was the smoky factor coming from the cumin and smoked paprika - subtle, yet apparently enough to take notice. While the mushrooms (yeah... you ate 'em and you know you liked it!) added to the moisture inside, their earthiness is what anchored the burgers and corralled all the other flavors together into a neat little (or in this case, big!) package. For a jazzy condiment on top, we added a couple spoonfuls of zesty salsa verde, but I'm sure any salsa you like would add to this enticing veggie dish!

Recipes
Black-Bean Mushroom Burgers

One rich crumb cake...

The fresh berries are slowly starting to trickle in up here and we especially took notice when we came across some plump raspberries at the market! I thought it would be nice to work them into the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day with this decadent Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake.

When you see crumb cake, you know you need to prepare yourself for the ingredient list - try not to be scared off when you see all the butter that went into this! I promise those calories were put to good work in this cake and as soon as you take your first bite, you will know it's going to be worth a little extra exercise to burn it off!

Before getting the batter together, those extravagant crumbs that are laid on top need to be prepared. This is done by working chunks of butter into flour and plenty of brown sugar - you can use a pastry blender, but your fingers work just as well to marry the ingredients together. When the butter had broken down and created those crumbs, we tossed in quality white chocolate chips - I say "quality", meaning, be sure to use a brand that has cocoa butter in the ingredient list to get the best flavor.

While there isn't anything too unusual in the batter for this cake, what made this a little more special is the dose of almond extract, in addition to the vanilla, to imprint a richer depth into its core. To play off the crumb topping, when I added the last of the dry ingredients, I also tossed in a couple handfuls of that white chocolate to get combined. Those delicate fresh raspberries were added last and folded in just enough to get them evenly distributed through. Once the batter found its home in the baking pan, that crumbly topping we got out of the way first was finally showered on top to really set this cake off.

While the sweet fragrance that poured off this cake might be calling you to take a sample, once this cake comes out of the oven, keep any fingers or utensils away until it has cooled off enough to let the crumb relax and set those chocolate pieces. When I finally couldn't take it anymore and cut out a couple squares for us to try out, I was first smitten with how I felt the tender, faintly almond-scented cake turned into a vehicle to just get at that outrageous topping! But, after nibbling away, I came to appreciate the denseness (though not heavy) of the base, along with those dainty berries who got their groove on with the creamy treasures of white chocolate drops. I could go on, but I think I'll just slink back downstairs and sneak a few more bites before they travel into the office in the morning!

Recipes
Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake