Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

These muffins are absolutely delicious, especially when still a little warm! Next time I make these I think I will try to add a bit of chopped fruit and a sprinkling of nuts on top to be fancy!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
from Parigi Bistro in Dallas via Ellise Pierce (Cowgirl Chef) - THANK YOU SO MUCH!

makes 8 muffins

1 cup or 72 grams All-Bran cereal
1 cup whole milk

1 large egg

1/4 cup or 57 grams butter, melted and cooled
½ cup or 100 grams light brown sugar
½ cup or 120 grams peanut butter

1/3 cup chopped nuts of your choice (I used pistachios.)
1 cup or 120 grams whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons jam (I used Bonne Maman's Strawberry Preserves.)

Preheat oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Pour the milk and All-Bran cereal in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the rest of the batter.

In a large bowl, mix together the egg, melted butter, brown sugar and peanut butter. Stir in the milk and cereal mixture and the chopped nuts.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. Add this all at once to the rest of the ingredients and stir only until combined. 

Fill the muffin liners with 1/4 cup of the batter, I used a disher for ease. Then  spoon in one tablespoon of jam, and then add another 1/4 cup of the batter on top of the jam. Bake for 27 minutes, turning halfway through, until the top feels firm and is slightly brown and crunchy around the edges. Let cool for 20 minutes and enjoy.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

These are a lighter version of a traditional bran muffin, using wheat bran rather than wheat germ and with the addition of blueberries, a perfect pairing. I love the Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica and having their cookbook is such a treat since traveling during covid times is limited for us.

Makes 12 muffins.

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter or 140 grams, melted and cooled

1/4 cup or 55 grams brown sugar

1 teaspoon Diamond salt (or 1/2 teaspoon other kosher salt) 

1 large egg, slightly beaten

6 Tablespoons avocado oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

1 cup or 130 grams all-purpose flour

1 cup wheat germ or wheat bran, toasted to a deep brown in the oven before use in the batter, (spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (or plain non-Greek yogurt, or sour cream, creme fraiche, etc.)

2 cups or 300 grams blueberries

Sugar for sprinkling on top (brown sugar, sparkling coarse sugar, or granulated sugar that's been dampened with a little water and placed in clumps - makes a nice crunchy sugar top!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add liners to a muffin pan. The tall liners work best so you can really pile the blueberries on top of each muffins. I used these liners. 

Melt the butter in a large glass mixing bowl in the microwave for a little over a minute and then let the butter cool. Whisk in the brown sugar and the salt. Then whisk in the egg, oil, maple syrup, and honey. Add the flour, wheat germ or bran, and the yogurt until just conbined. Evenly divide the batter between the muffin liners and then top the batter with the blueberries. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes, let cool slighly before serving.

Skirt Steak Marinade

I apologize for no photo, I honestly didn't think this would be worthy of a photo or a mention of any kind!! We have made too many skirt steak marinades to count over the years and none have ever been quite right. This was a really good one, I would make this again - finally, hooray! I read every skirt steak recipe I could find in my own cookbook collection as well as several online recipes and took the parts I liked and mashed them right up.

1.5 to 2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed

3 green onions, roots trimmed, cut into thirds

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (around 3 limes)

4 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon whole coriander, or 1/4 teaspoon ground

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder

1.5 Tablespoons anchovy paste or 2 anchovies

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place the skirt steak and the onions in a plactic bag or in a wide shallow bowl with a cover or use of plastic wrap. Place the rest of the ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour the marinade over the skirt steak and onions, making sure all surfaces are covered. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Before grilling, rinse marinade off the skirt steak, discard the marinade, and bring the beef to room temperature. Grill to desired doneness. We grilled ours over mesquite but if I wanted to grill in on a grill pan on my stove, I would bring preheat the broiler to medium, place a cast iron grill pan over high heat until screaming hot, and grill the meat for 2 minutes per side, finishing it under the broiler.

Melissa's Grandmother's Biscuits

I met my friend Melissa at a legal conference. Three days later when the conference ended it was like leaving summer camp having just found a best friend. Thankfully,  we've been able to get together a few times over the years and have also kept up our friendship through social media, long phone calls, and texting.

She once told me, I love your guts out. That's a lot of love! I wouldn't trade her for anything! I love your guts out too, Melissa Cook! ❤

She kindly shared her grandmother's biscuit recipe with me recently,  knowing that I have an affinity for biscuit making. I took one look at it and said, I better half this recipe. No problem, her grandmother had written a half recipe out too! 

Obviously her grandmother knew my type well! Because what did I do? I just looked at the full recipe, decided I could do the math in my head and proceeded to measure out 50% of the flour and 100% of all the other ingredients. 🙄 All because I was just too smart to follow the half recipe this woman from the past took the time to write out. Maybe she just didn't KNOW my type,  maybe she actually WAS my type. I would'nt be surprised, because her granddaughter and I are two peas.

I'm very glad I made the whole recipe. The biscuit dough keeps in the fridge until you're ready to make it. I made a few today for Willie to have with gravy and for me to have with plum preserves, and another with just butter... and another with honey. Yes, I'm very full!  Willie made Alton Brown's pork breakfast sausage with his gravy. It's terrific if you'd like to try it out.

The soft texture of this biscuit to makes it perfect for breakfast but could also be perfect for a tender dinner roll. I'm going to use a cookie scoop tomorrow and see what happens. I might try the dough for dumplings too, I have a feeling it would work.

Rolled Oats, Instant Pot

I make a lot of my own nut milks (recently toasted pecan milk is a favorite) but the Silk cashew milk is great to have on hand at the ready, tastes delicious, and is only 25 calories per cup!

1 cup Bob's Red Mill rolled oats

pinch of salt

2 cups Silk cashew milk

Topping:

Bob's Red Mill hemp seed hearts

Rock Acer Works Maine maple syrup - available on etsy.com

Place first three ingredients in the liner of the Instant Pot, stir. Pressure cook on manual for 3 minutes, natural release. Stir well and serve with toppings.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Willie made an absolutely fantastic pot of soup tonight. Perfect for a cold fall evening! 

Mushroom Barley Soup 
Adapted from the recipe on the back of the bag of Bob's Red Mill Pearl Barley -Chicken Soup with Barley

2 1/2 quarts water
3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegan Seasoned Vegetable Better than Bouillon 
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds freshly sliced mushrooms, .5 pound separated and finely chopped
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Pearl Barley

In a large saucepan, prepare bouillon according to instructions on the package. Add 1 cup of the prepared bouillon broth to a 6 quart Dutch oven over medium high heat and then saute the celery, carrots, onion, thyme, bay leaf and pepper until the vegetables have softened. Add the remaining bouillon to the Dutch oven and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and add the mushrooms and the pearl barley and simmer, until the barley is tender, about 50 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Can be garnished with chopped parsley or microgreens.

Makes 8 servings.

Instant Pot Carne Guisada

Dear Lauren,

I handed your dad a cookbook last night and said, hey, take a look and see what looks good to you for the weekend. So he chose five recipes and marked them with those little 3m page stickers I like. Then he said, carne guisada sounds good.

Oh? Was that one of the recipes in the book?

No, I marked chicken fried steak, Iowa skinnies, biscuits and sausage gravy, Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches and funeral potatoes. But carne guisada sounds good.

I decided to come up with a recipe for the Instant Pot. Why Not? It's summer and who wants to heat up the kitchen with a stew on the stove or a braise in the oven? Not me.

This recipe is adapted from one I found early on in my internet research. Reading over it, I knew the complexity of flavor would be there. I made a few changes, including to the cooking method.  We loved it. Serve this over rice, in a tortilla, or simply as what it is, a stew - a spicy, Tex-Mex stew. You can garnish it with chopped onion, chopped cilantro, avocado, or anything else you like.

1 teaspoon cumin
2 Tablespoons avocado oil, divided
1.5 pounds top sirloin, trimmed, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, seeded, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 tomato, (seeded over a strainer and bowl, tomato juice reserved), peeled, diced
1 cup water
1/2 cup tomato sauce
reserved tomato juice
1 teaspoon beef Better than Bouillon, optional
2 Tablespoons avocado oil
2Tablespoons all purpose flour


Toast the cumin in a small skillet for 5 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and place the cumin in a bowl or plate to cool completely.

Set the Instant Pot to Saute. Add 1 Tablespoon avocado oil. When the indicator shows Hot, add around 10 pieces of the beef and sear them, making sure not to crowd the pan or the beef will steam. Remove each batch of the beef to a plate when seared and add 10 or so more pieces until you've seared all of the beef.

Add the sliced onion and jalapeno with a little splash of the water if needed. Stir the onion and jalapeno into the bottom of the pan to deglaze the pan. Cook about 1 minute. Add the garlic, stir about 30 seconds. Add the remaining tablespoon avocado oil, stir, add all spices (cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder) and stir. Add the diced tomato, water, tomato sauce, reserved tomato juice, and Better than Bouillon, if using. Stir well. Return the beef and any accumulated juices to the Instant Pot liner.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set on Sealing, Manual, 40 minutes. While the stew cooks, make the roux.

In a small skillet over medium-low hear, add the avocado oil to the pan. When the oil is very hot, add the flour a bit at a time and stir well and constantly with a small whisk. Continue to add the flour, continually whisking, until all the flour is incorporated and the roux is a golden color which will take about 2 minutes. You are not looking for a dark roux like when you make gumbo, this roux is simply to be used as a thickener for the stew. Remove from heat and set aside.

When the carne guisada has finished cooking, do a Quick Release, and reset the Instant Pot to Saute.* Once the stew comes to a simmer, stir in half the roux. Check the thickness of your gravy.  Add more roux until you reach the desired thickness.** Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.Turn off the Instant Pot. Serve.

*Quickly taste the beef to make sure it is very tender. If it isn't, you can place it back under pressure for 10 minutes. I don't believe that step will be necessary.
**I used about 1/2 to 2/3 of the roux.

Love,
Mom

Bacon Braised Rice

I received three notes yesterday from three people. Where is this recipe, where is that recipe, where is the other recipe? Three notes, three people, three recipes. It told me I had fallen behind on my blogging. I thought about why this had happened and then I decided there was no use in shaming myself! I am very much an admirer of my blogging friends, like Donna Currie at Cookistry, who never, ever fall behind. I do. but I'm trying to get caught up today with the blog posts I have been wanting to write the most. This is one of them.

I'm in a cookbook group and last year we all cooked from Edward Lee's Smoke & Pickles.  I'm not really a big rice fan but who doesn't love bacon? So I tried this recipe and everyone loved it! My favorite thing about it is I learned if you are out of parsley, you can chop up the inner leaves of a bunch of celery. WOW! Paradigm shift! I have celery almost always! The parsley in my herb garden is hit or miss and if I keep parsley from the store too long it quickly gets moldy so this is a great tip for me. Hope it is for you as well.

Braised Bacon Rice
adapted from Smoke & Pickles

8 ounces slab bacon*, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred, of course!
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 cup white rice, we use Jasmine
2 Tablespoons celery leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
salt and pepper

Cook the bacon over low heat in a Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot until all the fat is rendered. Add the onions, the celery, and the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the next three ingredients and then add the two liquids. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the contents of the pot to a boil.  Add the rice and lower the heat to medium to medium-low depending upon your stove top. Simmer for about 16 minutes uncovered. At this point, most of the liquid is absorbed and you can add the celery leaves, butter, salt and pepper. Leave on the hot stove until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Serve.

*If you don't have slab bacon on hand, you can use the kind of bacon you like, cut into a dice or lardons.

Amaretto Honey from Eataly

Amaretto Honey (center) and Apricot Mostarda (right). The
honey steals the condiment show at Eataly in Chicago.

This is a picture of a jar of amaretto honey in Eataly Chicago. They served it with an Italian meat, cheese and bread platter and my friend Tamela and I fell in love with it. She bought some that day and I didn't. I really regretted the decision so I went back the next day and bought some along with a Wineskin to seal it up and take it home in my suitcase (which worked really well, by the way!) When I went back to Eataly, the area where they sell the honey was empty! No more honey? I struck up a conversation with a lady who worked there and she not only found me some honey (I bought two!), she told me that it is made by combining 8 parts honey to 1 part amaretto liqueur. Warm it in the top of a double-boiler and then stir in toasted , slivered almonds. So easy! So unique and delicious! If you are in a town with an Eataly, I highly recommend you go as often as possible (we visited three times in as many days in Chicago in April 2016!), you won't regret it!

Zucchini Tart

Dear Lauren,

I've absolutely fallen in love with Sheet Pan Suppers cookbook. You cook the whole meal on one sheet pan! Clean up is a breeze and of the ten or so recipes I've made, all but one has been outstanding and the other one was still good! I've given a copy to you, Cojo, Louise, Rebbekkah, and Patrick, and I am certain I've worn out my facebook friends with photo after photo and take after tale of cooking from this book! I think this zucchini tart is my favorite recipe but that's hard to say. The Arctic char, the flank steak, the chicken sausage with mushrooms and onions, and the tilapia tacos were all fantastic. SO were the figs, the bruschetta, the French toast casserole, the pesto chicken turnovers, and the cod on potato rafts! You see what I mean? GREAT BOOK!  Go look at my Instagram for photos of more of these dishes if you like.

Zucchini Tart
based on Sheet Pan Suppers cookbook

1 sheet frozen puff pastry*, thawed per package instructions**
all-purpose flour, for rolling out the dough
4 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces herbed goat cheese
4 medium size zucchini
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 with the oven rack in the center. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out the thawed puff pastry with a rolling pin to a little smaller than the size of your sheet pan. If you make it slightly too big, you can trim off the edges with a pastry scraper. Transfer the puff pastry to a parchment lined sheet pan. Use your pastry scraper to make slight indentions (do not cut all the way through) around the edge of the pastry to make a 3/4 inch border. Dock the pastry inside the border with a fork about every inch or so. Place the sheet pan in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. If your cream and goat cheese are room temperature you can simply mix them together with a spoon in a bowl. If they are still cold, place both in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds and then stir them together until combined. Set aside. Cut both ends off the zucchinis and slide a vegetable peeler down the length of each zucchini to make dozens of zucchini ribbons. You can also use a mandoline. Place the ribbons in a bowl and add a large pinch of salt and several turns of pepper and toss. Set aside. After 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator, remove the sheet pan with the pastry and spread the cheese mixture inside the 3/4 inch border. Take a paper towel and pat the zucchini dry - the salt will have caused the zucchini to shed some moisture. This is an important step, you do not want a soggy tart. Arrange the ribbons by the handful (or in any artistic display you can conjure) and drizzle the olive oil over the zucchini. Bake for 45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the zucchini is browned in spots. Serve warm or at room temperature. We have also eaten leftovers of this tart straight from the refrigerator - it is delicious any way! 

Love,
Mom

*I made this with both Dufour and Pepperidge Farms puff pastries. Dufour is much more expensive and yes, it is tastier. You will love this tart regardless of the brand you use.
** Do NOT try to unfold puff pastry until it's thawed or you will tear it.

Gingersnap Cookies and Molasses Cookies - The Same Cookie

This cookie post is always going to be my favorite. It involves all of my favorite things. My husband, my friend, a grandmother, and sugar. Did you see the photo that I made as big as I possibly could make it? Those cookies are GOLD in this house. For about twenty years, Willie has been asking me to make molasses cookies just like he likes them. I tried and I tried and I tried and I failed...a lot. Luckily for me, I was introduced to a wonderful woman, someone Willie knows and respects and who is associated with his work. I first met Tamela when she was hosting a dinner in Willie's honor. She told me later she was very nervous about meeting me! I found that hard to believe! She said the way Willie talks about me I am the perfect woman! Ha! That's so nice to hear! But as Tamela quickly learned, I am just a quirky lady who likes to talk a lot! Tamela joined my cookbook group and one day she shared a photo of some cookies she made from her grandmother's recipe. She generously shared the recipe with all of us and has allowed me to share it with the world! 

Grandma's Ginger Snaps OR
Willie's Favorite Molasses Cookies

by Tamela's grandmother

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling

2 teaspoons ground ginger (I usually use 1 3/4 teaspoons.)

1/2 cup molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients and roll dough into balls. Roll cookie balls in sugar. Bake 12 to 15 minutes at 350°F.

Corn Pudding

Dear Lauren,

After the Kentucky Derby in 2015, one of Dad's lawyers had a barbecue at his house afterward. Everyone fell in love with this dish - it sounds so basic and kind of uninteresting, but somehow it wasn't! The host's mother made it for the party. She wasn't in attendance, but we were assured the recipe would be forwarded. Here it is. As I read the recipe, I still can't tell why it is so delicious! I've made corn pudding in the past and it wasn't as good as this gal's mother's! I'm sorry I don't have a good picture of it. Next time I make it, I'll take one. I use a large oval baker which adds a little visual interest. Don't underestimate this recipe - of all the dishes served that day, this was the one they ran out of first!

Corn Pudding

by Judith Rudd's mother (by all accounts, a fantastic cook!)

1/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
Black pepper

Combine above ingredients.

6 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 stick butter, melted
8 cups fresh corn kernels (You can use frozen corn if you like - I have and it still tastes delicious. If you use fresh corn, each cob yields about 1/2 cup of corn.)

Beat eggs with whisk. Stir in cream and butter. Gradually add sugar/flour mixture. Stir in the corn. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until almost set in center.

Love,

Kitchen Musings Today

Dear Lauren,

Back in December of 2014, I sent a note to a young woman and told her I thought she should check out 37 Cooks, that I thought she would be a good fit for the group. She eventually did and a little less than one year later she joined the group. Her name is Lindsay O'Connor. She is bright and inventive,  and mindful about cooking for good health as well as taste. I admire her work ethic, positive attitude and spunk.  She also likes her Instant Pot! For all of these reasons, I think you'll want to refer to her blog, Kitchen Musings Today. She got me on the right track in cooking steel cut oats in the Instant Pot. For that alone, I'll be eternally grateful! Steel cut oats in 3 minutes with no stirring? Yes, please! She makes them with almond milk, your favorite!

That's all I wanted to say today! Love you, have fun with your cousins in Spokane this week. Xoxoox.

Love,

Overnight French Toast

 

Dear Lauren,

I have dearly loved French Toast my entire life. I've seen overnight French toast recipes from time to time for years but thought, why would anyone want to mess up a perfectly amazing breakfast by letting it sit overnight in a casserole? I imagined a soggy mess.

Recently, as you know, Grampa and Cojo sold their house and had a truck full of their furniture and housewares they wanted to send to us. Dad flew to Austin and drove for 15 hours straight to bring all of these treasures home. Yes, he is the best husband in the world! I knew we'd have a few people here to unload the truck so I figured I would make them some breakfast. I know the usual fare for moving parties is pizza and beer, but not at 9 a.m.!

I was thumbing through a new cookbook and landed on the overnight French toast page. Well, why not? I'm so glad I made it! In the last 5 minutes of baking, call your guests over to the oven door to oooh and aaah over the puffiness of the dish! It's gorgeous!

Overnight French Toast
adapted from Farmhouse Rules

12 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick salted butter, melted
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
pinch of coarst kosher salt
1 cup grade B maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 loaf challah bread, sliced

Mix together the first seven ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. Pour the maple syrup in the bottom of a large (9 x 15) baking dish. Place the slices of the challah in the dish, yes, all of them, they should fit in tightly together. Pour the egg mixture evenly over all of the bread slices. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove all racks above the center rack in your oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Place your baking dish on a baking sheet in case any of the contents should spill over, butter is the usual culprit and you don't want it on the bottom of your oven! Bake for about an hour or until the bread rises and is nice and brown on top and you can insert a fork in the center and it comes out dry. Serve with additional maple syrup or a little sprinkle of powdered sugar or both! You can add a nice fresh fruit salad and some bacon to the table, but make no mistake, this casserole is the star of the show!

Love,

Chocolate Pretzel Crispy Squares

Top tray!

I baked for only one family before Christmas. And actually it was on Christmas Day! So technically, not before at all! No, I wasn't too busy, too booked up with holiday affairs. Not at all. Next year I'll do better, that is my pledge, and I seriously doubt that will be a problem since I love Christmas and love baking for the neighbors.

In the week or two after Christmas I learned about two cookies, two baked goods, two GOODIES (here is one, the other follows) that require no baking and are fantastic to give at Christmas or any time of year at all. It made me wish I'd given that one family both of these things, and so I decided to make them and surprise them with these treats when they came home from their holiday trip.

I learned about Chocolate Pretzel Crispy Squares in a wonderful cookbook my friend Tracy sent me. The book contains food truck recipes. I've made six recipes out of the book so far. The food is so delicious; makes me want to only eat at food trucks from now on!

Chocolate Pretzel Crispy Squares

Adapted from a recipe from The Treats Truck - Kim Ima - New York, NY from Food Truck Road Trip

4 Tablespoons butter, divided
1 10 ounce bag mini marshmallows

6 1/2 cups Rice Crispies cereal

85 mini pretzels, *see prep instructions

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

*If you have a food scale, measure 125g mini pretzels. If you don't and you don't want to count, just use about 3 handfuls. Place the pretzels in a Ziploc, zip it, and lightly roll a rolling pin across the bag. You are looking for various sized pieces, not pulverized pretzels!

Butter the bottom and walls of a 9 x 13 pan with one tablespoon of butter. Set aside. In a medium pan, over medium heat, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. When completely melted, reduce heat to medium-low and add the marshmallows and stir until smooth. Remove pan from heat and add Rice Crispies and stir until they are coated with the marshmallow mixture. Add pretzels and both chips and stir until they are well mixed. Pour mixture and press evenly into the 9 x 13 pan. Let set for at least 30 minutes and then cut into squares or bars. 

Love,

Debbie's Lake Travis Peanut Butter Chocolate Ritz Cookies

Making these cookies is so easy and requires no baking. I learned how to make them when we stayed with my parents in Texas over the holidays. I don't think we'd been there ten minutes when my dad walked up to me with one of these cookies, trying to get me to take a bite. Of course, I did, and the whole thing!! I asked him if it was a Girl Scout cookie. He said his friend Debbie made it.

Joe and Debbie are my parent's friends and they live about one minute away in Point Venture, TX, where my parents also live. Point Venture, population 861, is huge compared to what it was when I was a kid. I can't find any published population information before the town was incorporated, but I would guess there might have been 247 people when I was young, probably less. I don't remember much of my life before I remember Point Venture. We used to spend summers there and some weekends in the spring and fall, too. Yes, it's a little more crowded than it used to be, but I still absolutely love it.

I should add that Debbie told me everyone in PV loves these cookies! She has no name for them so I named them myself. I sure hope she approves!

See the middle rack. Click for a close-up!

Debbie's Lake Travis Peanut Butter Chocolate Ritz Cookies

Ritz crackers
Peanut butter
Chocolate flavored coating (this is the brand I used)
(optional - you can mix half chocolate and half vanilla together)

The instructions are so simple. You make peanut butter sandwiches with Ritz crackers. Then you melt the chocolate candy coating and dip the sandwiches in, covering them completely. Set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let them cool. That's it. Make as many or as few as you like!

Love,

P.S. Debbie says a man in PV loved these cookies so much, he requested they be served at his funeral when he died. And they were.
P.P.S. My friend Gary is in charge of a large law firm's food and beverage division. Somehow one of his caterer's knows about these cookies (she must be related to Debbie, ha!). Gary says when they hire her they always request a batch.
P.P.P.S. What I'm trying to say is...they're great.

Kettle Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies, cookies, cookies! I was in the hospital over the holiday season, so no holiday cookie posts - boohoo! It may be January and the holidays may be over, but I don't care! I still love cookies in January and I bet you do, too! So let's savor the cookies and have a series of cookie posts, ok?! 
I know it was a long time ago (April 2013!), but yes, that is the date I posted these gorgeous cookies on my Facebook page but never to my blog (why, oh why?). They were inspired by a trip to Trader Joe's, where I saw a pretty bag of kettle corn that beckoned to me. Obviously, I bought it and clearly the contents of that bag inspired, what else? Cookies!

Kettle Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Joy the Baker and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups Trader Joe Kettle Corn
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add the combined mixture of the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to fold in the popcorn.  Some of the popcorn will break down a bit as it’s folded in and this is fine. Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little coarse sea salt. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until the edges and tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Love,

Jalapeño Corn Cakes

I didn't have cornmeal. I tried to make my own, using grits and my food processor, but that was a big fail. Obviously, all I needed was a quick grocery store trip, but somehow I kept finding other pressing matters, like chores, that got in the way. Hours after the breakfast I'd planned, I was starving! Finally, I made this beautiful masterpiece and now several days later I'm still in love with it! The pancakes are hearty, so I'd recommend serving 1-2 with a poached egg instead of 3, but I can also tell you there are many other ways to serve this. Try them alone with butter, with butter and honey (thank you, Melissa Cook), in place of a corn tortilla and with taco meat, lettuce and tomato, like a tostada. Save the leftover pancakes and pop them in the toaster to heat them up. Tear them up, toss with a little oil and bake for a few minutes and you will have croutons. Any way you would eat cornbread! Writing about them just makes me want to whip up another batch.

Jalapeño Corn Cakes
Adapted from recipe by Dennis Kum of Big D's Grub Truck in New York City/Food Truck Road Trip A Cookbook by Kim Pham & Philip Shen with Terri Phillips

3/4 cup (75g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (33g) masa
1/3 cup (57g) cornmeal
1/4 cup (48g) sugar
1 Tablespoon (12g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup avocado oil (use the kind you like)
1 cup (151g) corn (I used thawed frozen)
1/3 cup (60g) jalapeños, canned with seeds, chopped

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine milk, eggs, and oil in a small bowl and then pour into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add corn and jalapeños. Heat a large, non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat (you may need to adjust the heat depending on your stove) and when hot, pour 1/4 cup of the mixture per pancake (or any size you like).

Tip from Dennis Kum: Place the cakes on a towel-lined plate, covering with an additional towel to keep warm. (Why didn't I know this tip? I tried it, works GREAT!)

Love,

Thanksgiving Roast

Dear Lauren,

I like it that together we've been working on cleaning up our eating habits and trying to figure out if we have any food triggers that might be causing us health problems. You've been a great partner, especially because you seem to have no addiction to sugar. You're a great role model for me! 

The other day, a lady named Lynne, posted a note and photo in our food group we belong to. She had the idea to combine Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and fresh cranberries. She said she liked it so much, she decided to put it on her Thanksgiving menu. I was immediately intrigued because I love all three of these.

So I decided to play around with veggies today and guess what? Big win. I'm adding this dish to our Thanksgiving this year as well. Thank you, Lynne! 

Thanksgiving Roast

6 Brussels sprouts, cut in half through the stem
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 bag fresh cranberries
olive oil or avocado oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the cranberries on one sheet and both the Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes on the other. Add a little oil, start with 1-2 tablespoons, to each baking sheet. With your hands, toss the contents of each sheet until well covered with oil. Add salt and pepper and toss again. Turn the cut sides of the Brussels down so they will brown nicely. Add each sheet to the oven. Cook the cranberries for 18 minutes and the Brussels/sweet potato combination for 20 minutes. Your oven may run a little cooler or hotter than mine so watch to make sure nothing burns. Remove from the oven when nicely browned and toss the contents of both baking sheets together and serve.

Love,

P.S. Thank you for taking care of Max and Catarina so often for Dad and I. I left you some Thanksgiving Roast in the fridge as a thank you. Love you!

Celebrating the One Year Anniversary of Donna Currie's Make Ahead Bread!

Cheese Ball Rolls

Dear Lauren, 

As I've told you many times before, Donna Currie is an incredible baker, cook, and all-around person. I have thoroughly enjoyed baking from her book, Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day, which celebrates its one year anniversary Wednesday, November 4. 

Donna breaks down every recipe into baby steps over at least two days so even beginning bread bakers will have success. Take the recipe I've highlighted for you here. I've never made cinnamon rolls before, yet my dough was fantastic! I mean look at it! If I can do this, so can you!   

In addition to these rolls, I just want to tell you about some of my other successes with this book that have now become staples in my kitchen.

Sweet Bubble Loaf - I followed Donna's instructions and I looked at the unbaked results on Day 1. I was concerned. How in the world would these little dough balls turn into something amazing? Yet, they did! I think of this loaf as a cross between cinnamon bread and monkey bread. It's better than either!

Grandma Pizza - I've made this so many times you thinks it's "my" recipe! No, it's Donna's! My favorite toppings are Muir Glen Pizza Sauce, grated Dubliner cheese (untraditional, but so flavorful!), and Boar's Head pepperoni. I go very lightly on the toppings because it's the "bread" that is the real star of this pizza show.

Gluten-Free Seed and Nut Bread - We have a neighbor whose mother must eat a gluten free diet so he is always looking for a good gluten free this or that. This loaf is a wonderful nut bread. It could be used for french toast but we really liked ours buttered and toasted. It's wonderful straight out of the oven too! Had I been served this, I would not have known this was a gluten free bread!

Crisp Sesame Breadsticks - I'm planning a party at my home in November and these breadsticks will provide an edible centerpiece. And bonus - these breadsticks will keep in the pantry for weeks in the unlikely event I have leftovers!

Basic Pizza Dough (not photographed, I am SO SORRY!) - I read and re-read this recipe. Are you kidding me? You literally throw all the ingredients in a ziploc bag, zip it, and then squish and smush the ingredients around for a minute. That's it? No kneading? No mess? I admit, I had low expectations for this. I've put a lot more effort into pizza dough in the past and it never tasted very good to me. But what was there to lose? It's so easy! I will tell you this. I made a pizza with this dough and it was a thing of beauty. Thin crust that holds the ingredients without bending, yet is flavorful and tender to the bite. Keeper.

Cheese Ball Rolls
by Sandra
Adapted from Blueberry and Cream Cheese Buns with Lemon Zest from Make Ahead Bread by Donna Currie

For the Dough:
3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg, slightly beaten, plus water to equal 1 1/2 cups total

For the Filling:
One recipe of a cheese ball of your choice, I used Nettie's Cheese Ball (see below) but a double recipe of this would be another excellent choice.

On Prep Day:
1. Butter a 9" x 13" glass baking dish. 

2. Make the cheese ball. Set it aside and keep it at room temperature for easy spreading.

3. Combine all dough ingredients in a mixing bowl and then knead for 10 minutes until dough is elastic. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you like, I didn't. 

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit until the dough has doubled in size, about one hour in a warm room. (Tip: When you begin making this recipe, preheat your oven to 180°F and as soon as it has preheated, shut the oven off and open the oven door. Set the covered bowl of dough in the oven to rise. If your house is already warm - 70 to 80 degrees - this step is unnecessary.)

5. On a clean, dry work surface, spread a little flour and pat the dough into a rectangular shape. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is approximately 12" x 16". With an offset spatula, spread the cheese ball mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1" edge on the long side free of cheese ball mixture.

6. Starting on the opposite long side from where you left the dough free of cheese ball mixture, loosely roll up the dough, jellyroll style. Cut into 1" rolls. You will end up with 12, but if your end rolls are small you might end up with 13. This is fine.

7. Place the rolls in the baking dish 3 across and 4 down. If you have 13 rolls, place the two smallest side by side as if they are one. Cover the pan and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

To Bake:
1. Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Bake the rolls for 40-45 minutes. If the rolls seem to be browning too much, tent the pan with aluminum foil for the rest of the baking period.

3. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then serve. Can be served as they are, with sausage and eggs, or with butter and fig spread.*  

4. These rolls are best the day they are baked. Unlike any other bread I know of though, you can reheat these one at a time for 20-30 seconds in the microwave and the roll's texture does not suffer. Try it and see what you think. We refrigerated these rolls and every day for 3 days had another and another, all of them reheated in the microwave. 

Nettie's Cheese Ball
by Sandra
Adapted from Nettie's recipe that my friend Tamela shared with me

2 8-ounce cream cheese, softened
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup beer
2 - 3 Tablespoons green bell pepper, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons pimentos, minced
2 green onions (both white and green parts), minced
1/2 cup nuts of your choice, finely chopped (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well-combined. Set aside.

If you are making a cheese ball with this recipe, rather than the Cheese Ball Rolls, mix all ingredients except the nuts together and form a ball. Roll in the nuts. Refrigerate from several hours to overnight before serving.

Love,

P.S. I now consider my obsession with this fig spread to be lifelong. You've seen it, I know you have. It's in the cheese section of many grocery stores. You can try to substitute fig preserves or fig jam, but it's not even close to the same. This goes very well with these delicious Cheeseball Rolls or with the Sweet Bubble Bread. Or in a spoon. Yum yum.