Brownies

I made some changes to my Crisis Brownies recipe.

They are really good. Fudgey, chocolatey, gooey.

MMMM.

I'll add the new recipe soon.

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Almond Pastries

I had a hankering for a cheese danish the other night. Well no, first it was a craving for almond-filled croissants, croissants aux amandes, but then later on, I'd moved on to drooling after a good old cheese danish when the thought hit me: Why not combine them?!

So, practically the first thing I did this morning was take out my box of puff pastry from the freezer and let that last sheet of pastry thaw out. Then I took a look at what I had in the fridge that could simulate a cheese danish filling. A little cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, some ricotta, almond paste and an egg yolk formed the base of it. I added orange zest and almond extract to round it out, and finished it off with a lovely egg wash to give it a sheen.

Going into the oven, they were kind of a mess, I'll be honest. The crimped-together edges were not the least bit pretty and I wondered if I'd have anything photograph-worthy. I thought if the filling turned out ok, I could  troubleshoot the presentation the next time I made them, but to my surprise, when they came out of the oven, they were gorgeous, attractively puffed-up and golden brown.

The final test, then, would be how they tasted.

Sublime. The texture was just right, smooth and creamy, and the orange and almond flavors worked nicely with one another. It is strongly reminiscent of almond without being too strong.

Almond pastry

Ingredients

• 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 T ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 T almond paste
• 1/2 t pure almond extract
• 2 t grated orange zest 
• 1 sheet  frozen puff pastry, defrosted
• 1 egg beaten, for egg wash

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   
2. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until it's a 12 by 8-inch rectangle. 
   
3. Place the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth.
   
4. With the mixer still on low, add the ricotta and crumble in the almond paste and let the mixer combine them well.
   
5. Then add the almond extract, orange zest and egg yolk and mix on low speed until just combined.
6. Cut the sheet of puff pastry into eight rectangles with a sharp knife.
   
7. Place one heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of 4 of the rectangles.
   
8. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and then cover it with a free pastry rectangle, pinching the edges together so that they stick together.
   
9. Brush the top of the pastries with the egg wash.
   
10. Place the pastries on the sheet pan.
11. Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.
    

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Supper Popover

Growing up, this was my most-requested dinner dish. My mom said she'd found it in a magazine years ago (we're talking back in the 70s here, people). I've seen some people cite this as from a Betty Crocker cookbook. Whichever it is, I have always loved it. This and Pizza Without a Crust were my favorite meals growing up.

They were certainly way better than cube steak, which I had to eat all the time, my dad being a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and I could never stand it. I haven't eaten cube steak in almost 25 years now and despite Pioneer Woman's recipe for her husband's favorite sandwich, I don't think I will be able to eat it ever again. I have not-so-fond memories of trying to chew through grey bits of gristle, and yes, gagging.

This dish, on the other hand, I would eat once a week for dinner and gladly eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. My kids love it too.

Supper Popover

Ingredients :

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 T sun-dried tomato pesto (optional)
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 2 t Italian seasoning
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt

Instructions :

1. Heat oven to 425.
2. Brown the ground beef in 10-inch skillet until brown and cooked through; drain.
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, garlic, onion, sun-dried tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
   
4. Raise heat to high. Cook 1 minute, stirring to make sure nothing sticks and burns.
   
5. Add 1 T flour. Stir until well-combined.
   
6. Pour into ungreased 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
7. Beat eggs, milk, oil, 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt with hand beater; pour over cheese.
8. Bake until puffy and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• I once made a version of this using salsa in place of the diced tomatoes and substituted 1 cup of pepperjack cheese for some of the cheddar.
  

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Snark, the Universal Seasoning.

The bigger you are, the larger target you present, so when you have your own magazine and morning talk show, you are a damned-large target. Really, Rachel Ray ought to know better than to post something like this as a recipe on the Food Network site:

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The comments people are posting in response to Late Night Bacon are hilarious. They're as funny as those found in response to the Three Wolves shirt at Amazon.

"Wow! Thank god for this recipe! I had to use toilet paper because I was out of paper towels. Luckily, I use Charmin, so there were no little toilet paper bits left behind, just like the little red bears in the commercial. Well, maybe one or two little bits, but they just added to complexity of this amazing dish. Everyone who logs onto foodnetwork.com is looking for a great recipe like this. In the words of the master herself, it was "Deelish"."

or this one:

"An unabashedly modern twist on a seemingly-unimprovable classic! I like to substitute a country-themed tea towel for the paper on special occasions. I've found it even works at 10:00 am, in case you're considering adding "Late Night Bacon" to your next book club brunch menu. When I unwrap and reveal sur la table, everyone asks "How do you do it???" Only Rachel and I know for sure ;-"

and my favorite:

"This recipe saved my marriage."

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Stovetop Mac and Cheese

As the title of the blog indicates, I am big into comfort foods. As much as I love elaborate meals with fancy ingredients, there is nothing quite so comforting as a nice bowl of super-cheesy mac and cheese. This is my standard stovetop mac and cheese recipe which has completely replaced the boxed stuff in our house. Just like with the boxed variety, the longest prep time for this recipe is waiting for the water to boil, so this is a fairly quick and, once you know how to make a white sauce from a roux, very easy recipe.

I usually double this recipe and bake it in a casserole dish, but for those times when we need a quick side dish, or God help me, fast main dish, this works for us. If this is a main course, I'll try to add some vegetables or leftover ham to add something nutritional to it, though I'll admit we sometimes jut eat a bowl of this and call it dinner.

Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. dried macaroni (half a standard box)
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk - I usually use 2%
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• whole grain mustard (optional)
• mustard powder (optional)
• garlic powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the water on to boil in a large pot.

2. Cook the pasta according to directions.

3. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter over medium-high heat in a sturdy saucepan and warm the milk in the microwave.

4. When it is melted and foamy, whisk in the flour.

5. Keep stirring when the roux is golden colored, add the warmed milk and whisk constantly, making sure there are no clumps.

6. Raise the heat to medium-high, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and let thicken. Add the nutmeg.

7. Add the grated parm and the cheddar and stir well until the cheeses have melted.

8. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now you can add mustard, garlic powder of whatever other spice you like to taste. Sometimes I add a dash of hot sauce.

9. Dump the cooked, drained pasta into the pot and mix well.

10. Serve.

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Pumpkin Pancake Puffs

I had some leftover pumpkin puree from when I made the gingerbread. It was not enough for a pie or another batch of gingerbread, and I didn't want to throw it out, so I thought it was time for another one of my "just throw some shit together and see what happens" types of recipes. In addition to the pumpkin puree, I had several items loitering around the kitchen I wanted to use up. Best of all, since I used packaged pancake mix, I get bonus Sandra Lee points as well.

These were pretty good. They're not really a muffin, which is denser, so I hesitate to call them pumpkin muffins. They were gone within 15 minutes of being pulled out of the oven, so I'll work out the kinks of the recipe for next time.

If I were totally depraved, I would deep-fry the batter as a sort of knock-off of Denny's Pancake Puppies, but I am not depraved. Also, I don't have a deep fryer. So, there ya go.

Pumpkin Pancake Puffs

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups pancake mix ( I often have New Hope Mills)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Greek yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• cinnamon sugar
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar and cinnamon.
   
3. Add the yogurt and stir well.
   
4. Add the beaten eggs, mixing well to combine.
   
5. Add the pancake mix and stir well until it is all combined.
   
6. Grease mini muffin tins and drop in the batter.
   
7. Bake for 20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a cake tester come out clean.
   
8. Dust with cinnamon sugar and eat warm.

Notes:

• These stuck to the muffin tins like hell. I don't know if I should butter and flour them next time or use muffin liners.
  
• These were very tangy- possibly because I used Greek yogurt. I might add a bit more brown sugar to the pumpkin puree next time, or use cream instead of the yogurt, though I actually liked the tanginess.
• I also might add bit more baking soda for more lift.
  

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Seafood Lasagna

We tasted this some weeks ago at a family gathering. My kids, in fact, all of the kids there, absolutely devoured this dish. Every one of them went back for no less than thirds of this dish. If they had been allowed to sit on the kitchen floor in a ravenous huddle around the baking dish and scrape it clean with their graspy fingers, they would have. It amused the adults greatly.

Needless to say, I told my SIL that I would need that recipe. I am thankful that my kids are growing out of their pickiness. They have been gamely trying out new things I foist on them, but when I see that there is something that they seem to inhale off their plate and then request seconds of, well, I have to add it to my repertoire.

I won't lie to you: This is rich, with 4 cups of a cheese sauce, ricotta and seafood, but my goodness, is it tasty.

Seafood Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick or 1/4-pound)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 t Old Bay
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/2 pound shrimp - I used frozen, cooked shrimp
  
• 1/2 pound scallops - I used frozen scallops
• 1/2 cup grated parm
  

Directions:

1. Thaw the seafood according to the package.
   


2. Preheat the oven to 350.
   


3. Saute the chopped onion in butter. Set aside once they are soft and translucent.
   


4. Over low heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Once the butter is foamy, add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
   


5. Whisk in the flour and cook until the paste is golden and bubbly.
   


6. Add the milk and broth, stirring constantly.
   


7. Bring to a boil and then let boil for 1 minute, keep stirring.
   


8. Lower heat and add the mozzarella, Old Bay and sauteed onions.
   


9. Cook until the cheese has all melted.
   


10. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta and the grated parm.
    


11. In another small bowl, mix together the shrimp and scallops.
    


12. In an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish, spread 1 cup of the cheese sauce on the bottom. Cover with 4 of the uncooked noodles, then spread more of the sauce on the noodles. Spread it out so that all of the noodles are lightly covered with the sauce.
    


13. Spread half of the ricotta-parm mixture over the noodles, and then top with half of the seafood. Then ladle out more of the cheese sauce and top with 4 more noodles.
    


14. Repeat one more time until all of the ricotta and seafood are layered in, top with sauce and then 4 more noodles and pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top. Let the excess sauce run down into the layers below.
    


15. Top with extra grated parm and sprinkle a bit more Old Bay on top, then bake, uncovered for 40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes, then cut into pieces. If it seems soupy, put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes, then serve, with fresh shredded parm on top.
    

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