Hog Island Clam Chowder

The hog island clam chowder that can be experienced at their ferry building location is delicious!  good thing the recipe is on their website! pretty simple in preparation.  I was surprised there was no wine or alcohol so I added some anyways.  I also didn't portion out the clams and I also didn't time it right and overcooked everything a bit.  the potatoes disintegrated and clams overcooked.  serve with bread and butter!

Ingredients
• 1/2 pound high quality bacon, sliced
• 1/2 stalk celery, thinly sliced
•  2 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 8-10 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered into bite-size cubes. Do not peel!
• 6 pounds small, raw Hog Island® Manila clams in the shell, rinsed (note: Hog Island estimates ~3/4 lb. of clams per serving)
• 1 quart heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• Parsley for garnish

Preparation

First step: place clams in a colander in the kitchen sink and rinse thoroughly under running water.  Pick through and discard clams with broken or open shells.  Allow clams to drain in the sink while you prepare your stock base.

 

BASE: In a large stock pot bring about 5-6 cups of water to a boil (no salt) and cook the potatoes until al dente, or just before fork-tender.

 

While the potatoes are boiling, in a second heavy-bottom pot melt the butter with the thyme. Render the bacon in the butter and thyme (over low heat, careful not to burn); once bacon is rendered add leeks and celery, cook until vegetables are translucent. Add carrots and cook until bendable without breaking.  Add the potatoes and 4 cups of potato water.  The base can be made (up to one day) ahead and kept chilled.

 

CLAMS: Portion your clams out per single serving (~3/4 lb per serving) and cook each serving individually. Working in batches, place a single serving of clams in a heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium heat.   Ladle one cup of the chowder base on top and cover the pan, simmer for about 5-6 minutes, or until the majority of clams open. Skim through and pick out any clams that have not opened. (Don’t skip this step — unopened clams may spoil the chowder.)

 

Add in 1/2-cup cream per serving and bring the chowder to a simmer. If it is too thick, add in more of the potato water. When the chowder is bubbling in the middle, it is ready to serve. Pour individual servings into a large soup bowl.

 

Serve garnished with cracked pepper and chopped parsley.  Don't forget to place extra empty bowls on the table for discarding clam shells.

 

Smores Cups

i used this recipe to make some smores boats for my sister-in-law's nautical baby shower. i added chopped hazelnuts and toffee bits to the recipe.  sweet and delicious

Ingredients:

7	whole graham crackers (1 cup/250 mL finely crushed)
1/4	cup (50 mL) powdered sugar
6	tbsp (90 mL) butter, melted
4	bars (1.55 oz or 43 g each) milk chocolate candy, divided
12	large marshmallows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place graham crackers into a large resealable plastic bag. Finely crush into crumbs using Baker's Roller®;. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and butter in Small Batter Bowl. Using Small Scoop, place scant scoop of crumb mixture in each cup of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan. Press crumbs to form shallow cups with Mini-Tart Shaper. Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Meanwhile, break two of the candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.
2. Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using Professional Shears dipped in cold water. Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are just slightly softened. Remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool 15 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. Cool completely.
3. Break remaining candy bars and place in (1-cup/250 mL) Prep Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute-1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn top-side up and let stand 40 minutes-1 hour or until set.

Yield: 24 cups

cranberry orange pecan coffee cake

to go with the hot cocoa on a stick i also made coffee cake from this recipe.  the cake was flavorful, moist, and delicious! i was able to make 6 mini loaves

Cranberry Orange & Pecan Coffee Cake
makes two 9×5-inch loaves
Print this Recipe!

For the Cake:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into medium chunks
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
For the Topping:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Line loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang on each side. Grease the parchment paper and dust with flour on all sides. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add chunks of butter and work the butter into the flour with your fingers. Try to blend the butter into each bit of the dry ingredients. The mixture will resemble a coarse meal.
In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract.
Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir together to incorporate. Add the cranberries and pecans and fold into the batter.
To make the topping combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly.
Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Sprinkle each loaf with topping. Place in the oven and allow to bake until the cake is golden brown and the center is cooked through. Insert a skewer into the center of the cake to ensure that it’s cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to life the loaves from the pan and allow to cool further on a wire rack.
For the glaze I whisked together 1 cup of powdered sugar and just over a tablespoon of milk. I drizzled it over the cooled coffee cake.
Cake can be stored, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 5 days.

bloody mary

i cant remember how i came across this blogs recipe for bloody mary but it turned out delicious!  i did use fresh horseradish.  and instead of tobasco i used this yuzu hot paste that i had at a yakitori restaurant.  sooo good.  i garnished with celery and also castleveltrano olives

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
2 Tbsp hot sauce (like Tabasco)
2.5 oz lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1.5 oz lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 Tbsp olive brine
1 tsp celery seed
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp kosher or sea salt
64 oz tomato vegetable juice

Mix all of the ingredients together except the tomato juice. It should yield about 1.25 cups of mix. Add as much or as little to the tomato juice as you prefer. I usually start with about 1/2 cup of mix for every quart of juice. Add your preferred alcohol, or drink it as a Virgin Mary.
At the bottom of the post is a picture of my “Bloody Margarita” with tequila instead of vodka.
Notes about ingredients
Tomato Vegetable Juice; most Bloody Mary mixes use canned tomato juice, and that’s fine, but I prefer a tomato vegetable juice like V-8 or the one from Trader Joe’s which is what I usually use now. It has more flavor. If I had canned some of my fresh tomato juice this summer, I would certainly consider using that instead. But given that fresh tomatoes are not in season right now, I’ll stick with the tomato vegetable juice.
Horseradish; The recipe calls for prepared horseradish (yes, the stuff in the jar), but if you can find fresh horseradish root, you could use that, just make sure it’s grated very fine, and adjust the amount to your personal taste.

Olive brine; this is the stuff out of a jar of good green olives. I have a bottle of “dirty martini” olive brine so I used that rather than leave my olives dry in the jar.

coconut flan

i made this from the family meal book we have and it was delicious!  i prefer the caramel more burnt and the flan slightly undercooked. i also skip the grated coconut because i dont like it

Ingredients
For the caramel:

• 2 tsp water
• 2 ½ tbsp sugar

For the coconut flan:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 ¾ grated coconut
• 2 tbsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put the water and sugar into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil to make a dark caramel. Divide the caramel among individual or large molds and set aside to cool.
Break the eggs into a large bowl, then whisk until frothy.
Put the coconut milk, grated coconut, and sugar into another large bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Save any leftover coconut milk for serving later. Add the eggs and whisk until even.
Pour the mixture into the caramel-filled molds. Cover the tops of the molds with foil, then transfer to a roasting pan. Pour enough cold water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the side of the molds.
Bake for 30 minutes, making sure the water does not boil.
When ready to serve, loosen the flan with a round-bladed knife. Carefully turn over the crème caramel out of the molds. Slice into ¾-inch slices. Serve the slices surrounded with a few spoons of coconut milk.

peppermint hot cocoa on a stick

i wanted to make some homemade treats for some friends and thought of hot cocoa on a stick.  i added a marshmallow and some chocolate disks for color/presentation.  they were cute and delicious stirred in a hot cup of milk.

 

i used this recipe

 

Ingredients

• ½ cup heavy cream
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened baking chocolate
• wooden sticks

• 4 ounces heavy cream
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 18 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips)
• 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• wooden sticks

• 113g heavy cream
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 510g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips)
• 113g unsweetened baking chocolate
• wooden sticks

Directions

1) Line an 8" x 8" pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

2) Heat the cream and condensed milk over low heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate; allow it to gently melt.

3) After about 10 minutes, return the chocolate mixture to low heat to completely melt the chocolate. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick and shiny. Add a few drops of flavoring oil if you like; hazelnut, coffee, or vanilla are popular flavors.

4) Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan; shake the pan gently to level. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Set aside overnight to slowly set up.

5) Run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto a clean cutting surface.

6) Slice into 1 ¼" cubes. Heat a knife in hot water and wipe dry before each cut, for smoothest cuts.

7) Stick a wooden stick into the center of each block.

8) Roll in cocoa or crushed peppermint candy, if desired.

9) Wrap in waxed paper, parchment, or plastic wrap to store.

Yield: about 3 dozen blocks.

 

 

 

pumpkin cheesecake

this recipe has a yummy crust.  i thought it was weird it asked for a food processor.  mine couldnt fit all the ingredients in and i had to do it in batches.  not sure if anyone has a food processor bigger ...

INGRE­DI­ENTS

13 oz. gin­ger­snap cook­ies

½ cup chopped wal­nuts

½ cup con­fec­tion­ers' sugar

8 tbsp. unsalt­ed but­ter, melt­ed

1¾ lb. cream cheese, soft­ened

1 cup sugar

¾ cup canned pump­kin

3 tbsp. dark rum

1½ tsp. ground cin­na­mon

1 tsp. vanil­la extract

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground gin­ger

¼ tsp. ground mace

2 eggs

INSTRUC­TIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°. Process gin­ger­snaps, wal­nuts, and con­fec­tion­ers' sugar in a food proces­sor until fine­ly ground. Add but­ter; pulse until even­ly com­bined. Trans­fer to a 9" spring­form pan set on a rimmed bak­ing sheet, and press crumbs into the bot­tom and halfway up the sides of the pan; set aside.

2. Clean food proces­sor, and then add cream cheese, sugar, pump­kin, rum, cin­na­mon, vanil­la, salt, cloves, gin­ger, mace, and eggs; puree, stop­ping to scrape down bowl with a rub­ber spat­u­la at least once, until smooth. Pour into crust; bake until browned on top and the mid­dle jig­gles slight­ly when the pan is tapped, about 1½ hours. Let cool to room tem­per­a­ture; chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

 

 

crab zosui rice soup

my friend had a post thanksgiving crab feast at her place and we went home with one crab.  i decided to make a crab porridge with it that i had at a japanese restaurant.  ours was more of a porridge and less of a rice soup but delicious and satisfying anyways.  it was combination of this recipe and this recipe

• cup of short-grain Japonica rice
• 7 cups of dashi soup stock, or chicken stock (you can use cubes or granules for either)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves, washed (you can substitute other greens, such as bok choi leaves, Swiss chard leaves, etc.)
• 1 cup of crabmeat, or cut-up chicken breast, or imitation crabsticks (optional)
• 1 handful of flatleaf parsley leaves, or chervil, or (if you can get it) mitsuba (a kind of Japanese herb), or fresh coriander (Note: coriander would make this taste very not-Japanese, but that's ok. Mitsuba would be the most Japanese-tasting but is hard to get unless you grow your own.)
• Salt, white pepper, soy sauce

Wash the rice following the instructions for plain rice. Put the rice in the stock, heat up and then cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender.
In the meantime, blanch the greens in a pot of boiling water. (Blanching means to cook for a few seconds in the boiling water.)
Add the seafood or chicken to the rice soup, and stir until just cooked through. Add the blanched greens.
Whisk the eggs into the soup, stirring all the time. The eggs should form into sort of soft strings throughout the soup.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and soy sauce. You may wish to add some Japanese chili powder (Ichimi tohgarashi, or Shichimi tohgarashi - look for these at Japanese food stores).
Garnish with the herb leaves. Serve piping hot.

pumpkin blondie bars

at times this blondie from this recipe tastes more like a pumpkin bread but was a crowd pleaser in the end.  chewy, sweet, nutty

Pump­kin Blondies

Yield: 24 bars

Prep Time: 15 min­utes

Cook Time: 35 min­utes

Total Time: 50 min­utes

Gooey Pump­kin Blondies loaded with but­ter­scotch chips, white choco­late and pecans.
Ingre­di­ents:

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2½ tea­spoons ground cin­na­mon
¾ tea­spoon ground gin­ger
½ tea­spoon ground all­spice
½ tea­spoon ground nut­meg
1 tea­spoon bak­ing soda
½ tea­spoon salt
1 cup unsalt­ed but­ter, melt­ed and cooled to room tem­per­a­ture
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup gran­u­lat­ed sugar
1 egg
1 table­spoon vanil­la extract
1 (15-ounce) can pure pump­kin puree (about 2 cups)
1 cup but­ter­scotch chips
1 cup white choco­late chips
1 cup pecans, coarse­ly chopped

Direc­tions:

1. Pre­heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch bak­ing pan and line with parch­ment paper, with enough to hang over the sides; set aside.

2. In a medi­um bowl, whisk togeth­er the flour, cin­na­mon, gin­ger, all­spice, nut­meg, bak­ing soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk togeth­er the melt­ed but­ter and both sug­ars until com­plete­ly smooth and no lumps remain. Add the egg and vanil­la and whisk to incor­po­rate, mak­ing sure the egg has been com­plete­ly mixed in. Add the pump­kin and again whisk to fully incor­po­rate. Add the flour mix­ture to the bat­ter and, using a rub­ber spat­u­la, fold the mix­tur until com­bined and no pock­ets of flour remain. Fold in the but­ter­scotch chips, white choco­late chips and pecans. Pour the bat­ter into the pre­pared pan and smooth into an even layer.

4. Bake until a thin knife insert­ed into the cen­ter comes out clean, 35 to 40 min­utes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool com­plete­ly, then use the parch­ment han­dles to lift the bars out of the pan and cut into squares. Store in an air­tight con­tain­er at room tem­per­a­ture for up to 5 days.

pumpkin burnt sugar shortbread bars

i had high hopes for this recipe but i couldnt really taste the burnt sugar. not sure if i didnt burn it enough.  overall not too bad

Pumpkin and Burnt Sugar Shortbread Bars
Makes 25 small squares
Inspired by these bars from Joe Pastry
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) whole milk
1 1/2 cups (350 grams) pure pumpkin purée*
1/3 cup (70 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon (7 ml) vanilla
3 eggs
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups (187 grams) flour
1/2 cup (50 grams) powdered sugar
1/2 cup (63 grams) raw pecan halves, very finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 113 grams) butter, cold and cut into pieces
For the burnt sugar base:
3/4 cup (142 grams) sugar
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Caramel-making requires a bit of planning so prepare everything before you begin: Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8 x 8 pan then line with two sheets of overlapping parchment and set aside. Measure out the milk and set aside. Whisk together pumpkin, sugar, spices and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk together eggs in a small bowl and set aside. Have a wire cooling rack at the ready.
Make the crust: In a medium bowl whisk together flour, powdered sugar, finely chopped pecans, and salt. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub the cubes into the flour mixture until a dough begins to form and the mixture holds together when pressed. You can also pulse together the flour, powdered sugar, whole pecans halves and salt in a food processor until the nuts are finely chopped, then add the butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. It may be a little crumbly but don’t fret, it will hold together. Bake the crust for 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking make the filling: Combine the sugar and water in a large, heavy pot and tilt the pan until the sugar is wet. Heat the mixture over medium high heat, swirling occasionally. It will begin to bubble. Keep a close eye and swirl the pan often. It will begin to turn an amber color then quickly start to deepen. When you get to this point turn down the heat and remove the pan from the flame, grab a whisk, and prepare for the sputtering ahead!
Add a splash of the milk to the burnt sugar. It will sputter and splatter so be careful. Quickly whisk to combine then – continuing to whisk constantly – add the rest of the milk to the caramel. Return the pan to a medium low heat and whisk in the pumpkin mixture until smooth and stir until it has thickened slightly.
With one hand re-whisk the eggs and with the other, slowly pour a small amount of the warm pumpkin mixture into the eggs. This is called tempering and prevents the custard from turning to scrambled eggs. Add the tempered egg/pumpkin mixture back to pot and whisk until the filling is smooth and well-combined or about 2 minutes.
Bring it all together and assemble the bars: Somewhere along here your timer should have gone off to alert you about the crust, and it is just hanging out and cooling on the rack. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the middle no longer jiggles. Let cool completely before removing from the pan, then slice and serve. Serve at chilled or at room-temperature, preferably with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream. Store bars in the refrigerator for several days.

cheesey creamed corn casserole

for thanksgiving with my sister and dad i made a simple creamed corn casserole.  we couldve done without the cheese i think but overall it was easy, simple, and delicious

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15¼-ounce) can sweet whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14¾-ounce) can sweet cream style golden corn
1 (8¼-ounce) package corn muffin mix
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups), divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together the corn, muffin mix, sour cream, melted butter, and ½-cup of the cheese. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and spread into an even layer.

3. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and sprinkle the top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow the casserole to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

other things we made:
arugula, hazelnut, beet, parmesan salad

roasted asparagus with parmesan

brown butter brussel sprouts with bacon

apple crisp

roasted eggplant with miso dressing

i picked this as another dish to bring to the saturday potluck and i love it!  it is so simple and easy and tastes so delicious and fresh!  this recipe is from the family meal recipe book that we have. 

Ingredients:

• 2 small-to-medium whole eggplants (1 1/2 pounds total)
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons dashi powder (see headnote)
• 1/2 teaspoon red miso paste
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (see NOTE)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the whole eggplants on the baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Cool on the baking sheet.
Meanwhile, combine the water, dashi powder, miso paste, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and sunflower oil in a tall jar or pitcher. Use an immersion (stick) blender to puree until emulsified and thickened. (Alternatively, combine the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Seal and shake until emulsified.)
Peel the roasted eggplants and discard the skin. Cut the flesh into long, 1/2-inch-wide strips, then arrange the strips in a serving dish. If necessary, use the immersion blender to re-emulsify the dressing.
Spoon the dressing evenly over the eggplant. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.
NOTE: Toasted sesame seeds are available at Asian food markets, or you can toast the raw seeds in a small, dry skillet over low heat for 5 minutes.

pao de queijo

i first had these cheese breads at bossa nova in san francisco.  they were cheesy and chewy like mochi almost.  i found this recipe and it was decent.  they are better fresh than reheated.  as with all foods i guess.

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (10 ounces) tapioca flour or sour cassava flour
2 eggs
1 - 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
Equipment
2-quart saucepan
Long-handled spoon
Standing mixer with paddle attachment (or mixing bowl and elbow grease)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking pan with parchment and set aside.
1. Boil the Milk and Oil: Combine the milk, oil, and salt in the saucepan, and whisking occasionally, bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from heat as soon as you see big bubbles coming through the milk.
2. Add the Tapioca Flour: Add all of the tapioca flour to the saucepan and stir until you see no more dry tapioca flour. The dough will be grainy and gelatinous at this point.
3. Cool the Dough: Transfer the dough to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Alternatively, you can do the next few steps by hand. Be prepared for a work-out.) Beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed until it smooths out and has cooled enough that you can hold your finger against the dough for several seconds.
4. Beat in the Eggs: Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl. With the mixer on medium, beat the eggs into the dough in two additions. Wait until the first addition has been fully incorporated into the dough before adding the second. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Beat in the Cheese: With the mixer on medium, beat in the cheese until fully incorporated. The resulting dough will be very sticky, stretchy, and soft with a consistency between cake batter and cooke dough.
6. Portion the Puffs: Using an ice cream scoop, a tablespoon measure, or a dinner spoon, scoop rounded portions of the dough into mounds on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Space the mounds an inch or two apart. Dip your scoop in water to prevent sticking.
7. Bake the Puffs: Transfer the sheet with the puffs to the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 350°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the puffs have puffed, the outsides are dry, and they are just starting to color. Cool briefly and eat. Leftover puffs can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week and re-crisped in a warm oven or toaster oven.

cauliflower au gratin

for a potluck saturday i decided to bring cauliflower au gratin.  this recipe is not so cheesey and quite peppery.  i didnt notice that our gruyere went bad so i didnt use gruyere and just used parmesan.  that couldve made it more cheesy i think ...

Ingredients

• 1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
• Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

cherry chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies

when i saw this recipe i knew i wanted to try it with dark chocolate chunks and cherries.  im not a huge fan of white chocolate and i love dark chocolate.

Ingredients:
* 2 cups old fashioned oats
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 1/4 cups (about 6 1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
* 3/4 cup (about 6 ounces) light brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 cup dried cranberries
* 1 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips, put in the freezer for 20 minutes


Procedures:
1. In a small bowl, combine oats and water; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt; set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. As soon as it's melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, stirring quickly until incorporated. Add flour mixture to the pan and stir to combine. Stir in oats, cranberries, and white chocolate. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
2. Adjust oven rack to lower and upper middle positions and preheat oven to 350°F. Drop cookies by the rounded tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheets and bake until brown on top, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely before moving.

roasted pears

i made this on a random weekday night.  it was delicious.  the caramel hadnt really formed a thick sauce though.  we just had it with ice cream. we also didnt have the cognac so i just whipped the cream with whiskey

Caramel Roasted Pears with Gingersnaps & Cognac Whipped Cream Recipe

Caramel Pears
4 T (60g) unsalted Butter
1 c (180g) packed Brown Sugar
4 firm but ripe Pears, halved & cored
Whipped Cream
2 c (470 ml) Heavy Whipping Cream
1 t (5ml) Vanilla Extract
2 T (30ml) Domaine de Canton (Ginger Cognac), or any cognac or brandy
2 T (15g) Powdered Sugar
3 T (45ml) Domaine de Canton (Ginger Cognac), or any cognac or brandy for topping finished pears
16-24 sm Gingersnap Cookies
Preheat oven to 400° F

1. Make Roasted Pears and Caramel Sauce. Melt butter in approx 9″x13″ baking dish in oven until butter begins to slightly brown and has a nutty aroma. Spread brown sugar over butter, then lay pears, cut side down, on top of the brown sugar. Return to oven and bake for approx. 30-40 min, or until pears are soft and sauce is thickened to coat the back of a spoon well. Set aside to cool to your desired serving temp. (Can be served still warm or room temp. – both are fantastic)

2. Make Whipped Cream. Combine whipped cream ingredients in a mixer and whisk on high speed until it reaches the soft peaks stage. Set aside in refrigerator until ready to serve.

3. Serving. Plate pears with a nice spooning of caramel sauce. Spoon the 3 T of Domaine de Canton over the pears, and serve with whipped cream and gingersnap cookies.

kalua chicken

this is a super simple recipe thats easy to prep but takes a while in the oven. you can use chicken for the pork which is what we did.  we used chicken thighs.  we also added cabbage at the end

Ingredients:

3 to 5 pound pork butt roast

3 teaspoons of salt

1/2 cup tamari soy sauce

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

5 garlic cloves, crushed

2 inch piece of ginger, crushed

2 teaspoons liquid smoke

Instructions:
Combine seasonings and rub all over pork, and marinate the pork for 1 hour. Wrap roast in leaves, then in heavy foil. Bake at 325 degrees farenheight for 4 or 5 hours. Drain off the fat and shred meat.