2009 Holiday Baking Spree...

After a few busy days, we finally have all of the goodies baked, cooled, wrapped, packaged and either hand delivered or dropped off at the post office for our annual Holiday Baking Spree. I wasn't sure if we were going to be up to doing all of this, but the distraction was welcome and it lifted our spirits. This will be a fairly big post with plenty of treats, so get yourself a warm, steamy beverage (preferably chocolate in this house!) and grab a seat!

We decided to add a couple brand new recipes this year and the first I tried out were these Smoky Cheddar Coins. Imagine a sharp shortbread cookie, except instead of being sweet, it was rich with smoky cheese, crunchy toasted pecans and had a note of heat from a pinch of spicy cayenne pepper. You can use a regular sharp cheddar, but we couldn't resist the thought of a racy smoked cheese - we used a cheddar that was Apple Smoked and lightly flavored with garlic. This dough can easily be made ahead of time - wrap the dough logs well, then stick in the freezer until you're ready to slice off as many savory coins as you need (they are easier to slice neatly if you let the dough thaw first).

Smoky Cheddar Coins

One baked good we always, always have to make is one of Jeff's favorite holiday cookies. Using a scoop of chocolate malt powder, these thin, crispy cookies, bumpy from those festive M&M candies, have a unique taste that makes it hard to stop at one. Which is one reason why we make so many of them - this year we ended up making over 16 dozen (though plenty found a home in Jeff's belly already!).

Chocolate Malted M&M Cookies

If you're new here, or have yet to give this wicked candied popcorn a try, I urge you to whip up a batch as soon as you can... especially if you are a salty-sweet fan. Generous with ginger and cinnamon, this fragrant treat will earn you points alone for the sweet aroma that drifts throughout your house as it bakes.

Gingerbread Popcorn

The first time we made this fudge, we couldn't get enough of its creamy, smooth texture. It has quite a wallop of cinnamon, but it isn't overwhelming at all - love the surprise on people's faces if they've never had it before!

Cinnamon Fudge

Remember how we toyed around with the roca recipe we always use last year? It didn't let us down again this year either as we made almost 27 pounds and not one batch had any issues. This buttery candy is crazy addicting and I'm glad most of it has left the house, otherwise I'd have eaten way more than I need to!

Almond Roca

Since many of recipients have doggies running around their house, we had to include a little package for them too. Gus wasn't around when we first made these biscuits, which is why we choose them over the rest - he needed to sample some too you know!

Crunchy BBQ biscuits

This next cookie is new to the Baking Spree, but isn't new to us. We first made these snappy crisps back in September this year and we knew right away it was special enough to make the cut. This happens to also be one of those doughs that makes dozens with a single batch and can be made ahead and frozen.

Lemon-Scented Ginger Almond Crisps

We usually do two types of fudge and after some discussion, we decided to forgo the rest we thought about and hurried right back to these double-decker gems. Perfect for those chocolate-peanut butter fans in your life!

Two Toned Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

This next one couldn't be simpler, which is why it always gets made. Using a waffle pretzel as the base, we top each square with a caramel-stuffed chocolate Rolo candy (we've also seen these made with Chocolate Kisses, which would work just as well!), then slip the whole pan they were assembled on into a warm oven for just a minute or two. You'll know they are ready when the chocolate turns shiny. We top them with M&Ms, but nuts also work well (and if you use a pecan, they'll be a snazzy turtle-like clone!).

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Squares

When we first made this unconventional brittle, I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. Maple, chipotle and peanut? Could that really work well? You sure bet it can! The smoky heat from the chipotle is tamed by the sweetness, but you still get a little burn that comes by surprise. Working in just a bit of pure maple syrup adds an intriguing and slightly more complex depth than your ordinary peanut brittle.

Chipotle-Maple Peanut Brittle

These nutty, slender almond cookies are fun, sparkly and using red hots adds a real zinger to them. They are dipped in melted white chocolate, which helps the colorful crushed candy and coarse sugar stay in place.

Cinnamon-Sugar Sticks

Spiced nuts are commonly found on tables around this time of the year, but our snazzy kicked-up version is leaps over its competition. The pecan halves are tossed with egg white, Kahlua (a delicious coffee liqueur), sugar and a touch of cinnamon. Roasting them not only brings out the richness of the nuts, but it turns the mixture we coated them with into a tantalizing sugary casing that is a thrill for any lucky taste buds.

Kahlua Spiked Pecans

Another new treat to the list this year are these adorable spritz cookies. Last year we made an Eggnog version, but this year we went crazy with peppermint and white chocolate. We found the dough firm enough that we popped these melt-in-your-mouth cookies out in no time, but if you find that the dough is too soft to hold the shape you want, stick it in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. As with any spritz, it is best to pipe them onto cold, ungreased baking sheets - this helps them stick and pull away from the spritz gun.

White Chocolate Peppermint Spritz Cookies

I thought we were finally done with cookies, but then Jeff pleaded a case to make these swanky gingersnaps that he loves. I quickly caved and hauled the mixer back out, mainly because I love their satisfying texture - crispy around the edges, yet the closer you get to the crackly center, the more moist and chewy they get. Plentiful in the spice department, they do have a secret ingredient most can't pick out, but love - fresh ground black pepper!

Swedish Gingersnaps

And to finish our gifts off, we close with another "no-recipe" goodie that we've been making for as long as we've done this baking spree. These little bombs are small Ritz Bitz crackers, filled with creamy peanut butter, that take a dip in a lake of creamy white chocolate. Before the chocolate has a chance to set, we sprinkle the tops with all sorts of colored sugars or sprinkles - so easy, yet insanely good.

White Chocolate Dipped Mini Peanut Butter Ritz Bits

Whew - I believe that's everything this year! I was hoping to sneak in a few more new recipes, but we couldn't knock out any of the older favorites without some pouting! Maybe next year...

Apple and Leek Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Quick note - we have been, and will continue to be, extremely busy the next couple of days as we try to put the finishing touches on our annual Holiday Baking Spree (current butter count used: over 39.5 sticks!). Look for the wrap up of everything we made this year either Wednesday or Thursday this week!

Between eating them out-of-hand for snacks and using them in sweet recipes, we've pretty much run through all of our apple supply from our last picking trip. Before we left for PA a few weeks ago, we figured we better use them a savory way and this Apple and Leek Stuffed Pork Tenderloin was just the ticket.

Stuffed inside our flattened plank of pork tenderloin is a mixture of leek, softened in extra-virgin olive oil, and a chopped sweet Honey Crisp apple with a bit of fresh thyme thrown in. The apple was added in with the leek to cook, but just for a brief two minutes - not long enough to make the apple mushy, but just enough to tame the crispness, leaving it barely tender. Before spreading it on the pork, be sure to give the chunky filling at least a few minutes to cool off.

If you've never had to butterfly a piece of tenderloin, there is no need for you to think it is at all complicated. All you'll need to do is halve the pork, lengthwise, yet hold back on slicing all the way though, which would split it in two pieces. You want one piece that you can open like a book, to which you'll cover with plastic wrap and whack the heck out of it to flatten the pork to an even thickness. Use a meat mallet if you have one, but a rolling pin, the bottom of a flat skillet or even a thick bottle will do the job.

Filling the pork is just as easy as flattening it - the apple mixture goes down the center, the very ends of the tenderloin are folded in and the pork is rolled up like you would a jelly roll or cinnamon rolls. Folding the ends in first aids in keeping the apples inside, rather than falling out as you work with it. Because the tenderloin is seared on all sides before being slid in the oven to cook through, you will want to tie the roast with kitchen string to not only ensure it won't unravel as it is jostled about, but it helps to even the pork out so it cooks consistently. Seasoned, then seared in the same skillet the filling was made in, we transferred the pork to a baking sheet to finish in the oven. Why not just use the skillet to roast it in too? Well, as the pork bakes, we use the bits left behind in the skillet to start the outrageous pan sauce!

We poured applejack, a snappy brandy, into the skillet and tossed in a couple crushed cloves of garlic and a whole sprig of fresh thyme to echo the flavor inside of the rolled pork. Once the liquid came to a boil, loosening those tasty bits stuck on the bottom of the pan, we whisked in a mixture of apple cider and cornstarch, then let the sauce reduce by about half (you should have about 3/4 cup of liquid left when it is ready). By this point, the tenderloin will have roasted through and begun to rest, which leaves us just enough time to round out the slightly thickened sauce. Since we just wanted a whisper of garlic and thyme, those are whisked away, while a dollop of tangy Dijon was added back in, along with any of the intense juices that accumulated on the baking sheet the pork was cooked on.

Sliced into thick, lightly pink-hued elegant rounds, we served the pork on a warm pool of the sauce, with a little drizzled over the top for good measure. Perfect to serve for a fancy dinner or just as an everyday meal, Jeff and I both swooned over the tender pork and the zesty sauce. If you can't find applejack or don't wish to use alcohol, you can simply use the same amount of apple cider, but do note that the sauce will have slightly less punch.

Recipes

Apple and Leek Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Crusty Apple Pie...

Remember when we went to pick all of those apples back in October? Well, there is one treat I try to make every year after our trip... pie! While I haven't gotten a chance to talk about it (I'm sure you can understand why...), I finally had time today to sit down and tell you about the Crusty Apple Pie I ended up making in early November.

This pie is special and unique in the fact that it was created in mind for people who love crust, as much as, or more than, the apple filling itself. This was done by forgoing the usual pie plate and instead, using a pizza pan to contain this monster. Ready?

Creating the homemade crust was on tap first as it needed a good half hour rest before it was ready to work with. Ample amounts of cold butter were used in this crust, but instead of the shortening one might expect, this recipe called for using cream cheese. Does that still give you a lovely flakiness? You'll find out soon! I used an old pastry blender that I've had forever to blend those two into the flour, giving me full reign on controlling the size of the butter pieces, If you're more comfortable using a food processor to do the job though, have at it!

With pie crust, you want to work with everything cold - especially the butter and cream cheese, but also the water you use to moisten the mix. When mixing in the water, use a light hand and don't mix until a cohesive ball of dough forms - you'll know when the dough has enough moisture when it is still crumbly, but if you squeeze the dough in your hands, it holds itself together. It may not look like its ready, but trust in the fact that it is - the flour will finish hydrating as it rests in the refrigerator. The recipe makes enough for the top and bottom crust, which means you'll want to divide the dough into two pieces - however, you want one piece slightly larger (about an ounce in weight) than the other. This is harder to accomplish without a scale - if you don't have one, just do the best you can.

When I pulled the larger piece out to roll, I immediately knew how well this crust was going to be as I noticed how marbleized it looked from the visible streaks of butter. Rolled out to snugly fit in the pizza pan, we then generously scattered granulated sugar over, laced with plenty of fragrant cinnamon. If you have the patience, you can neatly arrange the apples on top in concentric rings... but it's not like you're going to see that in the finished pie. Save yourself the fuss and just pile them on as evenly as you can. Since the apples haven't been given any treatment, a sprinkle of salt, a drizzle of lemon juice and a few lumps of butter tweak the filling with a little pizazz.

We rolled the other hunk of dough out, but before we adorned the pie with it, I took a small cookie cutter (an apple, of course!) and punched out vents for the steam to release. Slicing a few slits on top will also do the job just fine, but I couldn't help myself and had to spruce it up... hee hee! After sealing the two crusts together with a fork, we brushed the top with milk for color, which allowed us to stick on the apple cutouts and give the sparkly coarse sugar we scattered on top something to grab on to.

With pastry like this, the only saying I will always remember is "Make it cold, cold, cold... but bake it hot, hot, hot!". Which means you want to give the oven plenty of time to heat up - with the size of this pie though, you'll start out darn hot, but remember that the temperature is notched down after few minutes so the crust doesn't turn too dark. As torturous as the smell of hot apple pie can be, just like fresh, homemade bread, you'll want to let this rest for at least an hour to give the filling time to set before you dig in.

Jeff and I sat with the clock in front of us, waiting as the minutes achingly ticked by before I gave up and couldn't wait any longer to cut our wedges out. With the crust crackling as our forks went in, I let out a brief sigh as I took my first bite - the crust was everything we could have hoped for... rich and buttery, with flaky layers that were still meltingly tender and quite light thanks to the extra dose of cream cheese. The apples inside were juicy and soft, but still retained enough of a bite to them that they didn't come across as mushy. Wealthy in crust, this may just be the perfect apple pie for us!

Recipes
Crusty Apple Pie

White Pizza with Sweet Italian Sausage

Sometimes our Friday Night Pizzas are pretty involved or have a fairly lengthy ingredient list. While those are always good, there are those pizzas, like tonight's White Pizza with Sweet Italian Sausage, that have very few ingredients and can be a spectacular surprise.

You can use a regular sweet Italian pork sausage, but as we often do to lighten things up, I used a turkey version that we have become a loyal user of. Because we wanted meaty nuggets of the sausage, we removed the casing from the links, but didn't crumble it as it cooked in the skillet. Instead, we flattened the sausage slightly, browned it in the skillet and then broke it up by hand to get the grandiose chunks. Those pieces were then tossed around in a bowl with half of the shredded mozzarella called for.

Using our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough that I buzzed up earlier in the food processor, we stretched the ball of dough into a rough round, slid it onto our heated stone that keeps residence in the bottom of our oven and gave it a few minutes head start to firm up. This helps give us the crisp crust we like, but if you prefer a softer base, skip the pre-bake and just top the raw dough. On top of the stiff round, we dolloped a mixture of creamy ricotta cheese, spiked with fresh parsley and chopped chives, along with salt and fresh ground black pepper. We did spread the ricotta smooth to cover the top, but we kept the rim around the outside clean and gave the naked edge a once-over with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil.

Over the thick white ricotta layer, we scattered the burly sausage and mozzarella mixture, then followed that up with the rest of the mozzarella and a couple tablespoons of grated Asiago cheese (if you don't keep Asiago in your refrigerator, swap that out with an equal amount of Parmesan). I realize, especially after writing it out, that the funky mozzarella step seems a bit redundant - why not just throw the sausage on top and then finish with all of the cheese at once? You could, but I noticed as the warm sausage hit the bowl of cheese, the shreds started to melt slightly and cling to the crumbles to drive its mild flavor in.

Baked once more to turn the cheese into a melt-y flood that envelops the top, when we pulled the pizza off the stone with our trusty peel, we freshened up the top with another dose of parsley and chives. Quite cheesy and very meaty, with a contrasting nutty crunch of the crust underneath, I really have nothing more to say other than don't wait too long to go out and gather the ingredients to make this pizza for yourself! I'd usually opt for hot Italian sausage, with a few crushed red pepper flakes for good measure, in a pizza like this, but that sweet sausage completely won me over in this combination.

Recipes
White Pizza with Sweet Italian Sausage

Christmas Tree Squares...

With Jeff's work vacation schedule for the rest of the year, this will end up being the last treat day of 2009! I left it up to him to decide what we would end up making, giving him a bunch of the holiday baking magazines to thumb through for ideas - I kept hearing "Oh, this looks good... but that looks better!" with what seemed like every turn of a page. After making several notes on other recipes to try out later, he finally narrowed it down to one recipe, these festive Christmas Tree Squares!

At first glance, I thought these were going to end up like little frosted cakes... however, we found that was not going to be the case! The dough for these tender, yet sturdy cookie bars is basically what one could use for a standard sugar cookie, flavored with a dose of pure, fragrant vanilla. Instead of dropping it into tidy scoops, we spread it all out into a thin slab on a baking pan.

You'll want to bake these until the dough around the edges of the pan turns a light golden and the center is set, which surprisingly enough, took about the same amount of time as a single batch of individual cookies! While I waited for the cookie slab to cool down, I used that time to gather the ingredients for the easy frosting.

You could use vanilla to flavor the buttery base of the frosting, echoing what's in the cookies, but I love the little unexpected zing when almond extract is used. Use what you like, or try a combo of the two! To the creamed, now almond-flavored butter, plenty of powdery confectioners' sugar was added, followed by enough milk to get the frosting to a spreadable consistency. Because we did this in bar form, rather than individual cookies, another benefit is you can frost the entire slab at once, then slice the slab into squares or rectangles.

You could leave the top as is, sprinkle them with a bit of sparkly colored sugars or pipe on a fun holiday design (hence their name!). As you can see, we went with the latter route by setting aside a scoop of the white frosting, then tinting half of it with red coloring and the other with green. Using a pastry bag, with a small round tip attached, we quickly pipped on a free-form tree design, alternating colors every other bar.

Recipes
Christmas Tree Squares

Chicken Potpie

With a blizzard happening outside, we figured Jeff would be working from home tomorrow, so I pushed off baking for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day until tomorrow. This meant I had plenty of time to get our Christmas Baking Spree started, along with getting dinner on the table!

Even though family-style serving certainly has its place, which we've been known to do, I happen to have a special place in my heart for preparing recipes that result in each person getting their own individual casserole or ramekin-type container. Tonight's meal is often served in one big dish, but this time when we made Chicken Potpie, we made it individual-style!

For the creamy filling, we started with diced onion and carrot softened in a few knobs of butter - I know it may seem like a fair amount of butter for just a bit of vegetables, but we do stretch this into six servings and you need that fat in the pan to absorb the flour we're about to add. Once the flour goes in, you'll want to stick right next to the pot, stirring, for longer than you think. While a minute or two is usually good enough to cook out the raw pasty taste of the flour, here we're looking for a little development of flavor - it has gone long enough when you can smell a nuttiness from the pot, along with the mixture taking on a very pale golden hue.

Making sure you've got your whisk handy, plenty of broth is gradually added in (using a whisk works out any lumpy bits that may form) and once it comes up to a full bubble, activating the thickening power of the flour, the sauce is turned down to sit and simmer, giving us time to shred the chicken! The chicken is then stirred in, along with peas an a healthy handful of peas and a bit of fresh thyme.

Now this next step just might have you scratching your head and wondering "Huh? Why do I need to bother with this?". I followed along with the original directions and they have you divide the filling between the ramekins, which isn't unusual, but then you're instructed to place them into the refrigerator to quickly bring the filling to room temperature. Because they are being topped with puff pastry, which is best kept cold, I can see the reasoning because by the time you've got the last ramekin covered, the steaming hot filling would have started to melt the delicate butter in the first ramekin. To get the best "puff" on the pastry, the butter needs to be cold - which is why after the fillings have been topped off, the assembled pots go back into the refrigerator once more to chill down the pastry. Yes, its fairly fussy, but it comes from a Martha publication, so don't be too surprised!

The ramekins are then baked until the fillings are once again hot and bubbly, and the pastry on top has puffed into a flaky, burnished topping. Jeff and I both quite enjoyed the filling - it was thick enough that it onto the spoon without running off, yet not too thin that it was soupy. Besides the salt and pepper, fresh thyme was the only added seasoning - I did wonder if the filling might end up being a touch bland, but we were glad we left well enough alone as we thought that potent herb brought just enough enhancement. This let the vegetables, creamy sauce and chicken all stand on equal legs underneath the buttery crust.

If this sounds like a dish you'd like to make, but don't want to mess with the individual portions, you can toss the entire filling into a favorite casserole dish (you'll need one that is holds about 2 quarts), then roll out the pastry sheet until it is roughly one inch wider than the top of the dish and set the entire sheet on top.

Recipes
Chicken Potpie

Tuscan-Style Potato Soup...

The chills have started to blow down from the north and I've definitely been looking forward to warming back up with hearty soups. Potato soup is a favorite around here and while we've had plenty of variations on it before, there are a couple additions in tonight's Tuscan-Style Potato Soup that made this one a bit more special than the others.

The first direction we go to develop this soup is by roasting off two whole heads of pungent garlic cloves, rendering them tender and sweet without their sharp bite. Since the garlic's journey takes place inside the oven, we were then free to dice the softball-sized onion we had in the pantry and cube a mound of buttery Yukon gold potatoes (and even though we are fans of leaving the peels on, we did remove them this time) to juice this soup up.

Once those danced around the bottom of our favorite Dutch oven (a heavy, enameled cast-iron pot), broth was stirred in and the heat was turned up to bring the liquid to a wild bubble, allowing the potatoes to cook through. Before we went to smooth out the potatoes, we stirred in all those soft, mellow garlic cloves that had been roasted off - Jeff was at the island watching and decided to count the individual cloves... we ended up adding about 19! In a panic, Jeff asked "Um, are you SURE you are suppose to add all of them because that looks like way too much!". I did my best to explain how the caramelized cloves are the polar opposite of raw cloves, but I just got one of those eyebrow-raised looks and an "uh huh".

Back to the soup... to smooth it out, you have a few options - I went with the simplest and plunked an immersion blender right in the pot to quickly buzz the soup. However, you can ladle the potatoes and liquid into a food processor or blender to do the job. If you want the ultimate texture, which is a little more effort, work the mixture through a humble food mill for the silkiest result. To add a creamy edge, we stirred half-and-half into the pureed soup, along with pecorino Romano for a salty, adult note. This whole process cools the soup down, so plan for an extra few minutes to gently reheat on the stove.

While I could have eaten this as is and been satisfied, this soup is given an extravagant topping with a nifty "pesto-like" kale drizzle and a racy concoction of browned hot Italian turkey sausage, crispy pancetta and softened onion. That drizzle was brought together by whirling together cooked kale, a touch of the same salty cheese in the soup, a ton of fresh sage leaves, toasted pine nuts, a little extra liquid we cooked the greens in and olive oil in a food processor.

I was a little annoyed with the pile of dishes I ended up with by the time I was done, but I didn't mind so much after I was lured back for a second bowl. It was worth the mess and I think this soup even motivated Jeff to lend a hand in cleaning up - yeah! I did remind Jeff of "the look" as he counted the garlic earlier and asked if he thought it came out too garlicky - I got an eye-roll response of "Yeah, I was wrong... but you don't have to bring this up do you?". Hee hee... of course I had to, he should have known better!

Recipes
Tuscan-Style Potato Soup

Pumpkin-Oat Dog Treats

We were nearing the bottom of our homemade doggy treat stash in the freezer and I thought I better get more made before we completely ran out. We can't have a sad doggy running around, now can we? This time I thought we could work in a fallish theme with cinnamon and pumpkin... and after throwing a few ingredients together, I ended up with these Pumpkin-Oat Dog Treats.

When making the treats for our pups, I like to use a variety of flours - in this case, I went with whole-wheat flour, old-fashioned rolled oats, rye flour, brown rice flour, a couple tablespoons of milled flaxseed and for a little warmth, a few dashes of cinnamon. If your dog doesn't tolerate whole-wheat flour, you can try swapping that out with barley or quinoa flour.

Into those dry ingredients, I added mashed pumpkin, a bit of water, canola oil, a drizzle of honey and an egg to bring it all together. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, we ended up with a dough that was still a bit rough and on the sticky side. Scooped out onto a floured surface, it was smoothed out by kneading the dough for a few minutes with my hands, adding enough additional flour to end up with ball that is just barely tacky to the touch.

With a few minutes rest time to let the dough relax, it was then easily rolled out and cut into shapes with some festive small cookie cutters I had handy, along with a bone-shaped cutter just because! The treats will puff up slightly during baking, but they won't spread much at all, which means you can keep them fairly close together and fit a good amount on each baking sheet. We got over two half-sheet trays full and while they can all be baked at the same time, just be sure you rotate them at least once for even doneness. If you only want to bake one or two sheets at at time, cover the other with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out until you're ready to place it into the oven.

When the treats are golden and firm, they can be taken out and cooled - however, if your pup likes their treats extra crunchy, turn the oven off, leave the oven door ajar and let them sit inside for a few hours to cool down slowly.

Recipes

Pumpkin-Oat Dog Treats

Red Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Pizza

Friday seemed to come quickly this week, which is always a good thing, and that means we're back with another pizza night! Between the potatoes and crust in this Red Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Pizza, we may end up in a carb-induced coma, but at least we'll be there with a smile on our face!

While our usual, easy to work with whole-wheat pizza dough was off rising in its bucket, we had to get the slender fingerling potatoes in a pot of water as they'll be pre-cooked before being added onto the pizza. Drop them in cool water, then put them on the stove to come to a boil, with a generous pinch of salt added as the rapid bubbles come up. Starting them off this way, rather than dropping them in already boiling water, will help ensure the little guys cook through evenly. Since the thin-skinned fingerlings typically run on the small side, it won't take them long until a knife can just pierce through them - a little resistance is fine though because you don't want them to fall apart either.

As soon as you can handle them, without literally playing hot potato, the potatoes are carved into thick coins and set aside until the pizza is set to take them on. While the potatoes were off cooling, I slid a skillet over one of our burners to start heating up, which we used to soften and dull the sharpness from slices we took off a red onion. Now that those were good to go, we took the malleable dough and stretched it into a large rectangle, rather than a rough round this time - though the latter would be fine too. Gotta change things up, right? As we love a crispier crust, we did our quick trick of setting the naked dough onto our heated stone until the top was no longer raw and the bottom gained a very light golden tone.

To that sturdy, but underdone-for-now crust, we scattered enough shredded mozzarella to cover the top, then arranged the potato coins and soft onions over the top. Even though the original recipe didn't call for this, I do suggest taking a couple pinches of salt and seasoning the those two vegetables - potatoes crave salt and in my opinion, if they are left alone, they can come across as being a little dull and uninteresting. Even though the mozzarella underneath and the goat cheese we then scattered over does have a salty tone, they still need a little help.

Before you think the pizza is ready to go back in the oven, we did sprinkle over one more ingredient - minced garlic! You can slice the cloves thinly to arrange on top, but mincing them into tiny dots allows them to reach into the nooks and crannies, allowing each square to dance in garlicky delight. Baked to finish off the crust, melt the mozzarella and heat those potatoes back up, as soon as it came from the oven, we dusted the top with a bit of fresh ground black pepper and the last of the fragrant fresh thyme we had growing in our herb box outside.

If you have never noticed fingerling potatoes in your market, try and seek them out as they are definitely worth finding. They can also be found in different colors, like the reddish-orange hued French fingerlings and those funky Purple Peruvian - these bright gems would surely make for a more dramatic presentation on this pizza!

Recipes
Red Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Pizza

Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce

I've been making at least a jar of homemade peanut butter every couple of weeks as we go through it like no ones business. Every so often though, I've been opting to use almonds, that we've roasted off, for a richer nut butter instead - we use both for everything from spreading on toast, apples, crackers and even using it in savory dishes. I put the food processor to work today to make the almond version as we needed it for this Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce dish we made this evening.

Using a small tenderloin for the cut of pork, we seasoned it simply with salt and fresh ground black pepper, then roasted it in the oven until it had reached the temperature we were after (I opted for roughly 145 degrees vs the 155 called for in the recipe - use whichever you are more comfortable with). Since it will be too hot to work with anyway right from the oven, a ten minute rest is required to not only allow it to be cool enough that you can shred the tenderloin without burning your hands, but it will help ensure the pork retains its natural juices and stays moist.

While that was off cooling down, we dropped a half pound of thick noodles, fettuccine in this case - when the pasta bell dinged, before we drained away the starchy water, we scooped out a quarter cup which we'll use right away. We used a portion of that warm liquid to thin out the almond butter we made, also adding in soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger and one of our favorite Asian condiments, chili garlic sauce (which happens to be killer on eggs if you've never tried it!). I only ended up using a couple tablespoons of the cooking liquid to get a consistency that flowed well, but if you want a thinner sauce, add as much of the remaining water as needed.

You can toss the pork, noodles and sauce together in a big bowl to serve family style, but tonight we mounded the fettuccine in a bowl, added the shredded pork, drizzled the tan sauce over each and then sprinkled sliced green onions and mint on top for a delicate, bright finish. I could see using peanut butter just the same in this dish, but the roasted almond butter added such pizazz that made it feel fresh and new, especially with those rounded, sharp notes from the vinegar, soy and ginger teasing our tongues with their tangy bite. If you're not a fan of pork, I could see using shredded chicken in its place, along with a nutty brown rice replacing the noodles for a different appeal.

Recipes
Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce

Chocolate-Caramel Sandwich Cookies...

I didn't know if I was ready to start the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day again, but I figured now would be the best time as it would be a nice diversion to help take my mind of these last few weeks. I wasn't looking for anything too ambitious, but after teasing my taste buds by simply reading through the recipe for these Chocolate-Caramel Sandwich Cookies, I knew the fate of my afternoon on Tuesday was set.

There are three parts that need to be done before these cookies are ready - a quick, homemade caramel sauce, the dough for the cookies and then the frosting used to create the sandwiches. Because the sauce needs to be completely cooled, we got that on the stove first. This sauce was made by heating sugar until all the granules not only liquefy, but turn a rich and toasty deep amber color. As soon as it reached that point, chilled cubes of butter, a hearty pinch of salt and vanilla were immediately whisked in to combine. Now, you are adding cold ingredients to a fiery hot mixture - it will bubble and splatter a bit, so just be aware and be careful. The sauce may look a little funky at first, but as soon as you whisk in the heavy cream, it will smooth out into the silky sauce one desires.

The cookies themselves are just an everyday chocolate dough, made a little more special by using Dutch-process cocoa powder and a touch of espresso powder. Because these are a bite-sized treat, we portioned the dough using a level teaspoon - you could, of course, make bigger cookies if you like, but just because these happen to be small, doesn't mean they lack a powerful punch! As soon as the cookies baked into beautiful cracked rounds, we set them aside to cool completely so I could begin the killer filling.

Using a scoop of the cooled caramel sauce as a base, we used a sturdy wooden spoon to beat in plenty of softened butter. After gradually adding enough confectioners' sugar to stiffen the mixture, the buttercream filling was ready to spread (or pipe) on the flat bottom of half the cookies. Topped with the remaining cookies to form a sandwich, there was no way I was going to wait to take a picture before snagging a couple myself to devour.
The cookies themselves were on the crisp, almost sandy side, with a notable chocolate bite, which was thankfully bumped up by the espresso powder (don't fret though, it doesn't come across as drenched in coffee). The filling was decadent and sweet with its burnt sugar notes, yet neither of us found it to be tooth-achingly sweet as we polished off enough of it alone that more than a couple of the sandwiches may have been a little short on their filling... oops!

If you take a look at the recipe for the sauce, you'll noticed we ended up with roughly 2 cups, yet the filling only requires a whopping quarter cup. This wasn't a problem for us, but you could try and scale down the ingredients for the sauce - however, why bother? It keeps in the refrigerator for a few weeks and is a dream served over vanilla bean ice cream (or your favorite flavor!).

Recipes
Chocolate-Caramel Sandwich Cookies

Bean Burgers with Spicy Guacamole

I'll start right off the bat and let you know that tonight's dinner, Bean Burgers with Spicy Guacamole, has a fairly lengthy ingredient list and may look fairly involved, but I also think you shouldn't let that scare you away. Let's go find out why!

You'll find your usual suspects in this veggie burger - softened onions, garlic and beans - however, these patties are spiked with cilantro, rich smoked paprika (also found as pimenton) and cumin. That cumin wasn't just your ground variety you pick up at the market - we used whole seeds that we first toasted, then ground for more intensity. We also cooked a batch of pinto beans to use (I froze the rest in the bean's cooking liquid to use later on), but I imagine a tinned variety would work just fine. Instead of using, say, a food processor to whirl this bean-y mixture into a smooth puree, we just used a handy potato masher - this way we could control the texture and leave it a little coarse.

This mixture is a little too sticky and wouldn't shape into burgers well as is - to help them hold together, we threw in a few tablespoons of cornmeal. That wasn't the only ingredient used for this - we also cooked a small batch of quinoa in vegetable broth and tossed that in to bulk and stretch the burgers. Cooked millet might also work for this, as may couscous if you can't find quinoa. I've been able to find quinoa in just about any market now though... they even have it at Costco!

Now that the mash could be handled easily, it was divvied out into equal portions, with each being formed into a patty. To give the patties a touch of crunch to the outside, the burgers were then coated on each side with a little extra cornmeal. For added insurance, the assembled patties do go for a quick trip in the refrigerator to chill them down, firming the rounds before we went to cook them. While the wait is a bummer, it does help and it gave us enough time to get the guacamole together!

There isn't anything crazy or unusual here - a ripe avocado, fresh cilantro, a splash of lemon juice, a single clove of garlic, a pinch of cayenne and one more thing that Jeff won't admit was in this... raw red onion (he isn't a raw onion fan at all)! Not much, a couple teaspoons was all, but that's just enough for a mild bite... which passed muster without Jeff putting his veto stamp on this.

To cook the burgers, we used a heavy cast-iron skillet heated with just barely enough oil to coat the bottom. Since there isn't really any raw ingredients in the patties, it only took a couple minutes on each side to brown them off and warm the centers. Served on our favorite homemade burger buns (toasted or not, do what you like!), we smeared the bright guacamole on the buns, then added the patties, a couple lettuce leaves and a juicy slice of tomato on each. While it took about an hour from start to finish, all those ingredients and preparation did wonders to make what could have been an ordinary vegetable burger come to life!

Recipes
Bean Burgers with Spicy Guacamole

On our way home...

We thought we might make the drive back home in one fell swoop like we did coming out to PA, but we made it as far as Portage, Indiana and decided we were just too tired. After another 7 to 8 hour drive tomorrow, we'll be back home and start the process of getting back into our old routine. My plan is to start posting early next week, as soon as we restock the house and start cooking again.

Jeff, the rest his family and I wanted to thank all of you, once again, for those comforting thoughts and prayers you sent our way - they helped us through a very tough time.

I wish I didn't have to say this....

With much sadness, I'm here to say Jeff's Mom passed away Saturday morning. We'll be busy over the next week with arrangements and family, but Jeff and I wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate all the thoughts and prayers.

Feta, Roasted Pepper and Basil Muffins

I apologize for all this downtime on the website. Jeff's Mom had some serious complications with her surgery and has a very, very long recovery ahead of her. We were planning on staying for two weeks, but we may have to extend that due to these circumstances - we can only take it hour by hour at this point. However, before we left, I was able to make quite a few recipes that we haven't had a chance to talk about yet and I'm going to post as I can... like tonight!

We've made plenty of savory biscuits before to serve along side for dinner and while I almost opted to make one of them again one evening, I decided to go a slightly different route and try out these Feta, Roasted Pepper and Basil Muffins!

That's right, muffins don't always have to be sweet and in fact, there isn't any added sugar at all in these! I did use my usual flour combo though, using half all-purpose and half whole-wheat pastry flour to nudge up the nutrition. You can use completely all-purpose, use white whole-wheat flour or even regular whole-wheat, but with the last option, the muffins will end up a little more dense.

Now, instead of mixing in some sort of chocolate, nuts or other sweet things you'd normally find in a muffin, these use crumbles of salty feta cheese, chopped roasted red bell pepper and fresh basil! If you use a jarred red pepper, be sure to pat it dry before tossing it in - you don't want excess moisture from them running into the batter. You could just fold those ingredients in separately at the last moment and not dirty another bowl, but I stirred them together beforehand as I wanted to make sure they would be evenly distributed.

One would typically use butter for sweet muffins, but this called for rich olive oil, along with buttermilk and an egg to moisten the dry ingredients. The easiest way to get the batter into the baking tin is using an ice cream or cookie scoop - this way you have much better control on how much gets into each muffin well. When they test done, checked easily by a toothpick or pressing on the top of a muffin to see if it springs back, leave them in the tin for just about five minutes before trying to tip them out. These muffins are very tender and need those precious minutes to firm up before being manhandled.

We both thought these were quite good as savory muffins, especially with those nuggets of feta inside, and was an admirable accompaniment to the soup we had. If you don't have the buttermilk called for, you can sour regular milk (or soy milk if you like) by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the cup of milk. The basil was a welcomed addition, but fresh thyme (cutting the amount back to a tablespoon) would also be an excellent herb to use.

Recipes
Feta, Roasted Pepper and Basil Muffins

A little crazy...

Sorry for the downtime - things are kind of crazy around here! We found out a couple weeks ago that Jeff's Mom was having some heart issues. It turned out she needs surgery, so Jeff and I spent Saturday, with Gus in toe, driving from Minneapolis out to Pennsylvania. We are taking her in Monday morning (tomorrow) and she'll be in the hospital for close to 5 days. With us out here, we can take care of things during her long recovery time - we expect to be out here for at least two weeks. Gus is excited to be Mr. Therapy Pup!

I do have quite a few recipes to get posted that we've made over the past few weeks and I'll get to them as soon as I can. Stay tuned for updates...

Edamame-Ginger Dip...

We often make sweet treats to snack on, but I had a wicked craving for something savory yesterday afternoon and I never found anything to satisfy that. A few hours after lunch today, that same tug came back... but this time I was prepared as I found this Edamame-Ginger Dip in my stacks of to-try recipe piles last night.

You'll need shelled edamame for this, which isn't as hard to find as it was just a few years ago - I always pick up a few bags to keep in the freezer when we make the haul to the Trader Joe's close to downtown Minneapolis. The little soybeans, rich in both protein and fiber, don't require a lengthy cook time - a quick three to five minute dunk in boiling, well-salted water is enough to cook them through.

The cooked bright-green beans were then tossed into our trusty food processor (I use this way more often than I thought I would!), along with vegetable broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, tahini (sesame seed paste), a full tablespoon of pungent minced ginger and a garlic clove. Once it was combined, we added salt to taste and for a little zip, a few dashes from our favorite cayenne pepper sauce. You don't need much - you could leave it out if you wish as the ginger brings some heat, but you know us and our love of spice!

This won't be an ultra smooth puree as there is only enough extra moisture from the broth to process the beans to bits - however, we found this to be a benefit, rather than a hindrance. The resulting dip had texture and enough thickness that when we dipped in with homemade crispy pita chips we were able to grab up enough of it, yet it didn't break the chips or run off either. Be sure to give the dip a quick taste before you toss in the salt and hot sauce - with the salty soy, you won't need much and you may not want to add any extra if you are salt sensitive. Also, this benefits from a rest in the refrigerator before you dig in - this gives the ginger, tahini and garlic time to mellow and permeate through. If you wanted to be especially good and skip the chips or crackers, this would be an excellent dunker for crunchy fresh vegetables!

Recipes
Edamame-Ginger Dip

Chocolate Caramel Espresso Chews

Just like last week, I browsed through one of the new holiday baking magazines to figure out what we were going to make for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day. Though, this week, Jeff needed to bring the treats in this morning as his office will be closed tomorrow... so, it was technically a Tuesday Treat Day!

In the center of these Chocolate Caramel Espresso Chews hides a delicious candy that just happens to be one of my favorites - Rolo's! You know, those small chocolate covered caramel bombs that one (meaning me) could endlessly unwrap and pop in my mouth if I didn't worry about having a sugar coma.

The dough for these two-bite cookies is devilishly dark, rick and laced with dissolved espresso powder, not only beefing up the chocolate-ness, but adding a very mild coffee zing. The recipe didn't state which cocoa powder to use - natural or Dutch-process, but we happen to enjoy the smoothness of the latter. That isn't to say that these wouldn't be just as good if you used a natural cocoa powder - use whichever you have in the pantry. When combined, the dough was soft and pliable, almost on the verge of being sticky, but I was still able to divvy it out and roll the dough into balls without it sticking to my hands. I did use a tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough, which ended up giving me just the right size pieces. If you find the dough to be a little sticky for you, keep your hands dusted with flour when rolling and that should help move the process along.

To contain the cookies and give them height to be able to stick the candy inside, the ping pong-sized rounds were plunked into a miniature muffin tin and sent off into the oven to bake. The key to these is to not over-bake - take the tray out when the cookies have puffed up and the tops are set, yet if a toothpick is placed into the center, it may come out cleanly. If the toothpick comes out with raw batter, give them another minute or so, but don't worry if there are a few sticky crumbs. As soon as they were ready, we then took the chocolate covered caramels and gently pushed one into the center of each cookie.

They are fairly delicate while warm, which means you'll want to leave them in the muffin tin for at least ten minutes before pulling them out. Once they had finished cooling, each cookie is topped off with a sweet, espresso-spiked drizzle made from confectioners' sugar, espresso powder and just enough hot water to thin. Thankfully, the full batch made a ton of cookies, because there was no way either of us was going to stop at just one!

Recipes
Chocolate Caramel Espresso Chews

Moroccan Pita Sandwiches...

Since we had an unseasonable warm up this past weekend, Gus spent countless hours romping around the backyard...

Doesn't he look all ready for summer again? I'm sure he will be shocked back to reality in a few weeks when the snow comes back!

Before we went on vacation a few weeks ago, I picked up a bag of pitas and had good intentions to use them. However, I ended up tossing them into the freezer as time flew by and I never got around to them. I forgot about the little buggers until I did a quick sweep of the freezers to update the inventory list and figured it was time this week to bring them back out. I moved them to the counter this morning to thaw so we could make these Moroccan Pita Sandwiches for dinner tonight!

To prepare the patties we were going to slip into the soft pita breads, we worked quite a few ingredients into lean ground sirloin - finely chopped onion, a couple dollops of concentrated tomato paste, an egg, ground coriander, crushed fennel seeds, smoky cumin and two spices one might be more comfortable using in baking and not so much with savory meat.... cinnamon and ground ginger! Even if it seems too odd for you, go with it for now... you just might be surprised!

Shaped into small rounds, if you have a large enough skillet, which we do, brown all of the patties at once, then slide them into the oven for a gentle heat to finish them through. If you have a smaller skillet, opt to do these in two batches so you give them enough room to cook in the pan. Since they finish in the oven, doing a couple batches isn't a problem as they will all end up being warm in the end. You could probably even do them all on the stove if you like, but we stayed close to the recipe this time and liked the even results we got from the quick oven trip.

To add some moisture to the pitas, we whipped together a zesty sauce to spoon inside. Greek-style yogurt gave us a thick base to start, to which we added tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice and a single clove of minced garlic. For a bit of freshness and pop of color, thinly sliced tomato and little lettuce joined the party inside the pitas and we were set for dinner! Well-seasoned, with an interesting, complex twist from the sweet spices, the patties held together and stayed moist, but they were a bit on the small side for us. Both of us did comment how well we liked pairing the spiced burger with the sauce - so clean, refreshing and tangy!

Recipes
Moroccan Pita Sandwiches

Apple Cupcakes...

Those cupcakes we made for that Wednesday Treat Day not too long ago started a monster in my stomach that has been evil, annoying and loud enough that I caved and made more cupcakes (which we are greedily keeping to ourselves!). I was able to dig into our overflowing apple supply though, which made me feel a little better about making these Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Marshmallow Frosting.

It also pushed me to get in gear yesterday and dehydrate a few trays worth of sliced apples as the recipe called for them! We tossed just a bit of those diced, pliable dried apples with shredded fresh apples (Honey Crisp and Golden Delicious in our case) with a few tablespoons of brown sugar and cinnamon to stew while the rest of the ingredients came together.

One of the bonus points for these cupcakes is how quickly the batter comes together - instead of waiting for butter to soften enough to cream, this recipe uses canola oil instead and pairs it with brown sugar for a rich depth. Lightened with a couple eggs and a splash of vanilla, the creamy concoction was primed for the dry ingredients - cake flour, whole-wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda for lift. Whisked together ahead of time, those ingredients were alternately added with thick, tangy buttermilk to smooth the batter out. The apple mixture that had been marinating is finally folded in, creating the cupcake batter we scooped into our muffin tin.

After baking and giving the cupcakes plenty of time to cool, it was time to start on the soft, caramel-esque marshmallow frosting. Unlike that lengthy, but luscious and butter-rich Swiss Meringue frosting we made for those other cupcakes, this frosting is made much like your classic seven-minute frosting in a bowl set over simmering water. This one uses brown sugar though and is speckled with our favorite Vietnamese cinnamon to echo the flavor in the cupcake. As these cupcakes were just for us, I just went ahead and used a couple of fresh egg whites - if you're worried about using those, you can replace them with dried egg whites, reconstituted according to the package to the liking of two egg whites, or try using pasteurized eggs instead.

Once beaten together, the frosting ends up being fluffy and thick, with a delightful shine to it, and indeed tasted just like an unset marshmallow (without the stickiness I might add!). My plan was to smear the cupcakes with the frosting using a spatula, but when I noticed how it retained the track marks from the mixer, I grabbed a pastry bag from the cupboard, fitted it with an open star tip and went to town! I feared it was just going to turn into a squishy pillow as it sat since the frosting was a little too soft to keep definitive sharp lines, but it actually set up and didn't fall! Keep that in mind though, if the frosting itself sits for too long, it will begin to firm and be harder to work with - make the frosting right before you are ready to frost them all.

Remember how I talked about using canola oil instead of softened butter? That did speed up the prep time, but using that resulted in a texture that reminded me more of a moist muffin than a cupcake. I wouldn't say that detracted from the overall picture though as these apple-filled treats were the essence of fall all wrapped up in a compact edible package.

Recipes
Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Marshmallow Frosting