Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes with Blueberries

Last Sunday I decided to try a meal of all new recipes. This is always a gamble but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I tried these lemon pudding cakes and they were a huge hit. This one was a thumbs up from everyone. Jace said he could eat these every night. I served them with blueberries, but any fruit would be good. They are so easy but turn out elegant enough for a special dinner. I had a leftover one for breakfast the next morning. Don’t judge, they are in the fruit group!! This recipe has earned it’s place in my all time favorite list. Recipe is courtesy of Jenn Segal from Once Upon a Chef

• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk (low-fat or whole)
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest, from 2 lemons
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• Fresh berries and Confectioners’ sugar, for serving (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

INGREDIENTS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Spray six (6-oz) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, and salt. Add the flour and sugar and whisk until smooth.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. (The peaks should curl when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.) Spoon about 1/4 of the egg whites into the lemon mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining egg whites and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold into the lemon mixture until smooth. The batter will be light, foamy, and liquidy.
4. Place the prepared ramekins into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Ladle the batter evenly into the ramekins (it will come almost to the top). Using a teapot or pitcher, pour room temperature water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cakes are puffy and lightly golden on top. Using tongs, carefully remove the ramekins from the baking dish and let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving. (They will sink a bit as they cool; that’s okay.) Dust with Confectioners’ sugar and serve with berries, if desired.
5. Make Ahead: The cakes can be made a day ahead of time. Once completely cool, cover the cakes with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Before serving, preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap and place the ramekins on a baking sheet; heat for 10-15 minutes, until warmed through.

 

Creamed New Potatoes and Peas

My Grandma Boyer was one of the sweetest women I have ever met.  I cannot remember her raising her voice or speaking bad about anyone.  When I was growing up I lived in Seattle.  Every summer when school got out, I would board a plane and fly down to Utah.  I stayed most of the summer with Grandma Boyer.  I thought this was the best place on the planet.  My days were filled with horses and more horses.  Each morning my cousins and I would get up before sunrise, meeting in front of the post office.  We would saddle our horses and head to the mountains.  We would ride all day and come home dirty and exhausted..  I was in heaven.  I never dreamed that some day, I would be moving down here and have my own horse.  And I never even dreamed that I would marry a Utah boy that loved horses as much as I did.  I have been blessed beyond measure.

Now  back to the whole purpose of bringing Grandma Boyer up.  She was a firm believer in us eating our vegetables.  She loved to make cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and creamed new potatoes and peas.  I wasn’t so keen on any of these, but ate them so I would not hurt her feelings.  I have now grown to love all of them, but I have a real soft spot for the potato and peas.  This is such an easy dish and is so delicious.  When I eat them I think of grandma!!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered
• 1 cup shelled English peas
• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Boil potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Simmer peas in boiling water for 6 to 7 minutes, or until tender (do NOT overcook). Drain.
3. Using the same saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour to make a thick paste; gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Now add potatoes and peas to the sauce; simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Serve immediately.

 

Super Bowl Menu cont. Nutella-Hazelnut Bars

 

If you like Nutella, you will love these bars. The only bad part about these is that you need to have Nutella in the house.  That is not a good thing for me as I cannot resist that little jar of gooey, wonderful, happiness traveling down to my belly (that is in memory of my father in law).  Of course when I was shopping for the ingredients, I had to buy the largest jar because “I didn’t really know how much the recipe would call for”.  I tried to hide it up on the top shelf, but seriously how hard is it to get the ladder out of the garage.

When baking these make sure you do not over bake them.  I baked them a little too long and they were too crunchy for my liking.  I like these kind of bars soft and chewy.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cups nutella

1/2 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.  In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.  In a mixer, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well.  With the mixer on slow speed, slowly add the flour until combines  Gently press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Evenly spread the Nutella over the dough.  Gently press the remaining dough on top of the Nutella.  Sprinkle the hazelnuts on top, gently pressing again.  You may sprinkle with a little more of the sea salt if desired

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cut into bars.  ( I like to cover the bottom of my pan with parchment so I can lift the bars out to cut.)

 

 

 

 

 

Caprese Lasagna Rolls

 

I really like lasagna but sometimes it is a bit heavy for me.  I was browsing through some recipes I had clipped and saved and thought these sounded so good.  I was late coming home from work and they were so fast and easy to put together.

This had the taste of lasagna, but the addition of the fresh tomatoes and basil gave it a much lighter and fresher taste.  Dave loved it.  He had several servings, even after saying, “I’m not hungry”.  I don’t know how many times I have heard that, only to want some of mine.

Caprese Lasagna Rolls

 Ingredients:
8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
3 1/2 cups shredded, fresh mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg white
1/3 cup shredded, fresh Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
3-4 medium Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
2 cup marinara sauce (fresh/homemade is the best, but bottled works too)

Directions:

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain pasta and align noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese and egg white until well blended. Stir in fresh Parmesan cheese. Mix about 3 cups of the Mozzarella cheese and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture over each lasagna noodle, covering it completely from one end to the other. Lay about 4 thin tomato slices over the cheese mixture and then sprinkle fresh basil over top. Snugly roll lasagna noodles to opposite end. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 11×7” baking dish. Place lasagna rolls seam side down in dish and top each roll with a heaping spoonful or pasta sauce. Make sure to cover the edges of the pasta so they don’t dry out while baking. Sprinkle remaining shredded Mozzarella on top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with more fresh basil ribbons. Enjoy!

(cooking classy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Girl and Her Pony

Emmaline got her very own pony for Christmas.  He is he cutest thing ever and she loves him.  She goes out every day to see him and always has to give him a kisses on his nose.

This is a daily event!!  I can’t stand it, it is so precious.

 

 

Homemade Marshmallow Fluff

Homemade S’more with chocolate and marshmallow on a graham cracker

 

I remember as a kid, I loved, loved the marshmallow crème in a jar.  I thought it was the most amazing invention .  I loved the taste, the texture and almost everything about it.

I came across this recipe one day and thought I would give it a try.  It is amazing and I now have a whole new taste for the stuff.  I think I have upgraded some since my youth and developed a much more sophisticated palate!!!!

Need a fast snack, spread a little of this on a graham cracker and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.  Or make some “no fire” s’mores.   Just spread some fluff on a graham cracker and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Use a kitchen torch to melt the chocolate and give the marshmallows a wonderful just out of the fire look.  Place another graham cracker on top.

Or just grab a spoon and dig in!!

 

Homemade Marshmallow Fluff

 

1 egg white at room temperature

¾ cup light corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup shifted powdered sugar

2 ¼ tsp vanilla

 

Beat egg white, corn syrup, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until mixture is thick and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in confectioners’ sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat vanilla extract into marshmallow creme just until incorporated. Can be refrigerated in a covered container up to 2 weeks or frozen for 1 month.

 

 

Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

I have been wanting to try this cake for some time.  I found it on pinterest and it looked so good.  I am a sucker for chocolate mousse and strawberries.  I tried it yesterday for Sunday dinner and it was a huge hit.  Even for Dave who is a dessert sceptic.  Making it is a little time consuming and mine didn’t quite look like the picture–a little more rustic, but well worth the time.

Cake:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup + 2 TB. flour

1/4 cup +2 TB cocoa

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup boiling water

 

Mousse:

6 TB unsalted butter

12 oz. good quality semisweet chocolate

3.5 oz. white chocolate

1 3/4 cup whipping cream

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. unflavored gelatin

2.5 TB. cool water

2 quarts strawberries

Alternate Mousse.  I did not like the recipe above as well as my go to mousse, but some may not like the raw eggs in the recipe.  If you want to try that one, go to Rocky Road Cake and follow that recipe.

Ganache:

2/3 cup cream

5.5 oz. semisweet chocolate

I would double this as I did not think there was enough to pour over and make smooth

 Chocolate Curls:

3.5 oz. semisweet chocolate

1 TB shortening.

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350. , grease a 9 inch round baking and line the bottom with paper. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla.

Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and mix until combined. Bake for 25-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and place on wire racks upside down.

To make the Mouse   

In a small dish, soften 2 tsp. gelatin in 2.5 TB water, set aside. In a heat proof bowl, combine chopped semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate and butter. Melt over double boiler until smooth. Set aside and cool. Heat softened gelatin and stir to dissolve and free of lumps. Set aside. Mix 1 3/4 cup whipping cream and vanilla until medium peaks form, gradually adding powdered sugar. Mix in gelatin. Pour a little of the whipping cream into chocolate to lighten it and then add back to whipped cream, folding in until incorporated.

To make the ganache:

Heat the cream and pour over the chocolate, mixing until smooth.

How to assemble the cake:

Place the cake into a 9 inch spring form pan. Spoon some mousse over the cake (about ¼ inch). Cut stem off strawberries and slice in half vertically. Place around the edges of the cake with the pointed edge up. Spoon or pipe the remaining mousse over the cake. Place in refrigerator until set.   I added more strawberries over the top of the cake before adding the mousse. After set, pour over the ganache and place back in refrigerator until set.

In the meantime you will make the curls by melting the chocolate and the shortening and pouring it on to a cookie sheet. Spread thinly and place in the freezer for about 6-8 minutes. Take out and using a small spatula, start at the bottom and scrape the chocolate into curls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place on top of the cake and add strawberries if desired.

When ready to serve, run a knife around the edges and lift out of spring form pan. Marvel at your masterpiece!!!!

 

Bruschetta Flatbread

I love anything with tomatoes, basil and balsalmic vinegar.  I mean anything.  But my favorite is flatbread.  There is a restaurant in Farmington (Twigs) that serves this as an appetizer and it is so good.

Well I found the best recipe for grilled bruschetta flatbread and I am somewhat infatuated with it.  I could eat this every night.  It is fast, simple and so delicious.

• 1 pound whole-wheat pizza dough  ( white is great too)
• 2 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
• 3 teaspoons basil, chopped plus more for garnish
• 1 ½ garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar, plus more to drizzle
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pinch of pepper
• ½ cup pesto
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks
• For the drizzle, I use balsamic glaze.  You can make your own or it can be found at most supermarkets.  The store bought stuff is really as good as the homemade without the whole house smelling like vinegar!!

Instructions

1. Heat grill.
2. In a medium bowl toss, tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Divide dough into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle. (It’s easier to grill this way)
4. Soak a paper towel in a bit of olive oil, quickly run the towel on the grates to prevent the dough from sticking. Using your hands or a pizza wheel, place pizza dough directly onto the grates of the grill. Cook until slightly charred, about 2-3 minutes. Flip dough over.
5. Spread a ⅓ of the pesto over the pizza then dot with ⅓ of the cheese. Close the lid and cook until the dough is cooked and the cheese is melted, another 4-5 minutes.
6. Remove flatbread from grill and spoon tomato mixture over. Sprinkle with extra basil and drizzle with balsamic glaze

This would be great for Super Bowl Sunday!!

 

 

 

 

 

New Year-New Resolutions and a Quiet Book

This past year has brought many struggles and triumphs as we have dealt with Dave’s diagnosis and treatments.  We have grown more this past year than any other time in our lives.  I am so grateful to a wonderful husband that I have learned so much from.

As this new year starts, one of the things that I have decided to be better at is this blog.  Not that anyone really cares about it , but that it is therapy for me.  A place I can share my thoughts and also some of the successes in my life.  I need to do that at this time as I feel so dependent on outside factors.  It  is really hard to not live from one MRI to another.  This outlet helps me so much and I need to carry on with it.

As some of you know I have the most beautiful, intelligent, funny , sweet grandbaby in the world.  A sweet little spirit straight from God that has pulled us through some very dark times.  I always know when Dave needs an EM fix and she can sure cheer him up!!  She has him wrapped around her little finger and I am sure there will be nothing that she wants that he will not move mountains to give her.

I have spent the last six months working on a quiet book for her.  I really should have thought this one through.  I can’t say how many hours I have spent on this or what it finally cost me.  Also it really set a precedent and I know I will be making more of these in the future.

I think it turned out pretty cute and she loves it.    Just a little slide show to show off the pages .

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Peach Slab Pie

I love this time of the year when all kinds of fresh fruit is available.  One of my all time favorites is fresh peaches.   There is an orchard by our home that has the most amazing huge peaches and when the harvest starts, I stop by every several days for another box.  That is even before the canning starts.  I love peaches in every way possible but I think my favorite is just a big bowl of cold sliced peaches with maybe a little sugar.

I had a big bag of peaches today and wanted to do something good for Sunday dinner.  Dave is really having a hard time finding anything that tastes or smells good.  Chemo does a real number on smell and taste.  I love the smell of peach pie cooking so that was my choice   I love all kinds of desserts but pie is probably my least favorite.  I am just not a fan of all that crust.  This was good as I am trying to cut out sweets and I may be able to turn my back on pie.  Chocolate on the other hand–maybe not.

My mother in law is the queen of pie making and I have tried to learn from the best.  Today I changed things up a little and made a “Peach Slab Pie”.  It was easy and so pretty.  This is really a much easier way to serve pie than the traditional pie shape and would be good for a crowd.

I used my go to pie crust recipe from “Pioneer Woman”.  I just have not found one I like better.  I have posted this before, but for ease, I will post it again.

Pioneer Woman Pie Crust

Ingredients

• ◾1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• ◾3 cups All-purpose Flour
• ◾1 whole Egg
• ◾5 Tablespoons Cold Water
• ◾1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
• ◾1 teaspoon Salt

Directions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.) When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan. With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

PEACH SLAB PIE

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 cups fresh sliced peaches
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 rectangular pieces of pie dough rolled out to approximately 11×14-inches*
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400-degrees F. Position oven rack in bottom third of oven.
2. In large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Add peaches and lemon juice; toss to coat. Set aside.
3. Fit one piece of pastry dough into an ungreased 9x13x1-inch sheet pan (quarter sheet pan). Allow access overhang. Do not trim. Pour peach filling into crust and spread evenly.
4. Place remaining piece of dough on top.** Pinch edges of two crusts together to seal, tuck under any extra pastry crust, as needed. Use a knife to cut vents across top of pie crust.
5. Brush crust with beaten egg. Optional: evenly sprinkle top with about a tablespoon of sugar.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely before slicing (if you can wait that long!).