From my research, minestrone soup is basically the Italian whatever-is-in-season veggie soup with beans and sometimes pasta or rice tossed in.  The good folks at Cooks Illustrated use a hunk of parmesan rind to deepen the flavor as well as some pesto. Pesto? I had never heard of including pesto in a soup before, but hey, it works. Now for that parmesan rind…not something I typically have in the fridge. I did happen to have a hunk of parmigiano-reggiano, so I used that. Could I tell the difference in flavor? Not really. But then again, I don’t have the most in-tune taste buds out there. Anyhow, this soup packs in healthy goodies and warms the tummy. That’s a winner in my book.

Minestrone Soup

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 small leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced(about 3/4 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 small onions, peeled and finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 medium stalks celery, trimmed and diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 medium baking potato, peeled and diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 3 cups stemmed spinach leaves
• 1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, packed in juice, drained and chopped
• 8 cups water
• 1 parmesan cheese rind, about 5×2 inches
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup pesto
• I also added about 1/2 cup corn leftover from another dish

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring all ingredients except beans and pesto to a boil in a large stockpot of Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the cheese rind.
2. Add the beans and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the pesto. Adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

SOURCE: adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker who adapted from The Best Soups and Stews

Oh my God, this bread takes FOREVER to make! It has 4 rise times of 45 minutes each. And that’s not counting all the prep time, mixing time, rolling time, baking time, cooling time… Whew, just tires me out to write about it and relive it all again.

But is it worth it? I sure as heck was hoping so as the interminable hours passed waiting for one rise…then another…then another…and yet another.

And once it’s finished baking, you need to let it cool for two hours! Oh, this was killing me!

And to make it worse, I started this entire process after dinner–not the kind of timing I recommend. Start it early in the morning one day when you have all day to hang around and no errands to run or parties to attend.

Make other goodies in between rise times. I mixed up ice cream and made jam and cooked some soup… And of course I had to clean up all the messes I made. I kept busy but my eyes got droopy as the clock ticked closer to midnight. That’s way past my bedtime, people!

But the thought of some homemade cinnamon swirl bread just sounded soooooo good. To add to that, the entire house smelled like a bakery. Cinnamon wafted into every corner, totally teasing my taste buds and triggering a drool factory.

By the time the bread finished baking, I had to wait for it to cool, but at this point, I was just glad I could go to bed. I was okay with not tasting it yet.

And YES, the following morning I awoke bright and early, eager to cut a slice. Oh my, people, IT WAS WORTH THE PAIN.

Delicate, light, airy bread laced with slightly gooey cinnamon sent shockwaves through my taste buds. I had to practice some serious raging willpower to not scarf the entire loaf right then and there. And I’m not kidding.

I can imagine it made into french toast. Good thing this makes two loaves so I can freeze one to try that out later.

Now, let me share a few observations I made along the way. This is easy to mix with a big stand mixer; I imagine it would be a nightmare without one.

The dough is very sticky after the first mix. Once butter is added (a lot of butter, I might add, but it helps create a tender bread), the dough looks very slick yet it grows quite elastic and easy to handle at this point. After rising, gas bubbles appear. I left them alone, for the most part.

Read the directions carefully; otherwise, you’ll mess up like I did on the rolling and sprinkling of the cinnamon swirl. I got to the step about patting out the dough, folding it into thirds, but totally forgot to then roll that into a ball and split the dough into halves. Hence, I rolled out all of it, thinking this was the step to sprinkle the cinnamon swirl. Oops! It really needed one more rolling and even some rest time somewhere in there. That’s what happens when you work late at night and are droopy eyed with fatigue. Never fear, I just rolled up the dough, cut it in half, and rolled again–and had to simply let go of the fact that I forgot to include rest time for the dough. My bread and swirls still came out pretty and tasty in the end.

As I was rolling, the dough had more of the gas bubbles and kept letting out the gas. It was quite hilarious. Lots of popping noises going on.

Bottom line: if you are up for a long process and a deliciously delicate-tasting final product, by all means try this recipe. I will definitely try this again some day…just not in the evening!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

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INGREDIENTS

• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 1/4 cups (20 2/3 oz.) bread flour, plus extra for dusting work surface (recipe calls for 3 3/4 cups flour, but when I measured 20 2/3 oz. on my scale, it came out to 4 1/4 cups)
• 3/4 cup (2 3/4 oz.) nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/3 cup (2 1/3 oz.) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz.) golden raisins (I omitted these)

Filling

• 1 cup (4 oz.) confectioner’s sugar
• 3 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Dough

1. Cut butter into 32 pieces and toss with 1 tbsp. flour; set aside to soften while mixing dough (tossing butter with flour helps the dough grip the butter and pull it into the dough, resulting in a lofty baked loaf).
2. Whisk remaining flour, milk powder, sugar, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add water and egg and mix on medium-low speed until cohesive mass forms, about 2-5 minutes, scraping down bowl if necessary. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.
3. Remove plastic wrap from mixer bowl, add salt, and mix on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 7-15 minutes (the long kneading time creates more elasticity and better traps gas for a taller rise).
4. With mixer running, add butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to knead until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 3-5 minutes longer.
5. Add raisins and mix until incorporated, 30-60 seconds.
6. Transfer dough to a large greased bowl and, using bowl scraper or rubber spatula, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Repeat 6 more times for a total of 8 folds. (All this folding incorporates more air into the dough, encouraging it to expand and rise more.) Cover tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to middle rack of oven. Place loaf or cake pan on bottom of oven and fill with 3 cups of boiling water (this will create warm, humid air which will stimulate yeast activity and speed rise time); close door and allow dough to rise for 45 minutes.
7. Remove bowl from oven; gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Repeat folding step (making another set of 8 folds), re-cover with plastic wrap, and return to oven until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
8. Filling: Whisk filling ingredients together until well combined; set aside.
9. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans (mine were 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch).
10. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide into 2 pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough, pat into rough 6 x 11-inch rectangle. With short side facing you, fold long sides in like a business letter to form 3 x 11-inch rectangle. Roll dough away from you into a ball. Dust with flour and flatten with rolling pin into 7 x 18-inch rectangle with an even 1/4-inch thickness.
11. Using spray bottle, spray dough lightly with water. Sprinkle half of filling mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border on sides and a 3/4-inch border on the top and bottom. Spray filling lightly with water, making sure entire surface is speckled with water (FYI: powdered sugar absorbs water from the dough, dissolving to form a sticky paste that helps hold the layers together as the bread expands during proofing).
12. With short side facing you, roll dough away from you into a firm cylinder. Turn loaf seam side up and pinch closed; pinch ends closed. Dust loaf lightly on all sides with flour and let rest for 10 minutes.
13. Repeat with second ball of dough and remaining filling.
14. Working with 1 loaf at a time, use bench scraper to cut loaf in half lengthwise; turn halves so cut sides are facing up. Gently stretch each half into a 14-inch length. (Cutting loaf and having cut side face up allows any trapped gas to escape during baking.) Line up pieces of dough and pinch 2 ends of strips together. Take piece on left and lay over piece on right. Repeat, keeping cut side up, until pieces of dough are tightly twisted. Pinch ends together. Transfer loaf, cut side up, to prepared loaf pan; push any exposed raisins into seams of braid (so they won’t burn during baking).
15. Repeat with second loaf.
16. Cover loaves loosely with plastic wrap, return to oven, and allow to rise for 45 minutes.
17. Remove loaves and water pan from oven. Allow loaves to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes longer (top of loaves should rise about 1 inch over lip of pan).
18. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
19. Brush loaves with egg mixture (this will make crust shiny). Bake until crust is well-browned, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F, tent loaves with aluminum foil to prevent sugar from burning, and continue to bake until internal temperature registers 200 degrees, 15-20 minutes longer (took 20 minutes for me).
20. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and cool to room temperature before slicing, about 2 hours.
21. Baked and cooled loaves can be wrapped in double layer of plastic and stored at room temperature for 2 days. To freeze bread for up to 1 month, wrap it with additional layer of foil.

Yield: two loaves

SOURCE: Cook’s Illustrated magazine (March & April 2012)

This tropical mango sorbet made a brief appearance last summer but disappeared before I could snap a photo for the blog. I’ve been awaiting the return of mangoes so I could make this again to share with you.

Whipping up this sorbet couldn’t be easier. Well, I guess cutting up the mango makes it a bit of work, but other than that, it just requires mixing in the blender and then mixing in the ice cream maker.

Easy peasy.

And super tasty.

And oh-so-pretty with the yellow-orange color.

Mango Sorbet

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 large, ripe, sweet mangos (about 2 pounds)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp. dark rum, plus more to taste (I skipped this)
• pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the pit. Cut the flesh into chunks and put them in a blender with the sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt. Puree the mixture until smooth. Taste, then add more lime juice or rum if desired. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

SOURCE: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Quite a few years ago–like maybe a couple decades ago–I dined at Macaroni Grill with a couple friends. We ordered a dessert called panna cotta, which I had never encountered before. It arrived as a perfectly-shaped, smooth white dome drizzled with raspberry sauce. My spoon slid into the custard-like dessert, picking up some of the tart raspberry sauce on the journey back toward my mouth.

H-e-a-v-e-n.

It was love at first bite.

I had never tasted anything so light and so creamy and so dreamy and so elegant. Why had our paths never crossed before?

Not long after, my friend from that evening shared a panna cotta recipe with me when I raved about the dessert from that dinner. I made the recipe once only. I don’t recall how it tasted, but I guess that means it wasn’t scrumptious enough to leave an impression on me. I also had minimal kitchen skills back then, so maybe that had something to do with it. Okay, maybe it had a lot to do with it.

When I chanced upon this particular panna cotta recipe on a food blog, my memories flooded back to that night at Macaroni Grill and my short-lived love affair with the dessert. It was time to reignite the flame.

Plus, I had some Greek yogurt in the fridge in need of use.

And I had exactly one packet of gelatin leftover from a refreshingly fizzy fruit gelatin recipe.

And I had some mixed frozen berries in the freezer to add pizzazz to this treat. I kept it simple and just defrosted the berries, which released enough juice to dress up the dessert.

This all came together easily. And I got to use my cute trifle dessert cups for these.

So, if you are looking for simplicity, elegance, and a dreamy taste, this just might be the dessert for you.

By the way, I only used four trifle cups, but they were big portions. This can definitely be spread amongst more dessert cups. I can envision small juice glasses working well to house the panna cotta if you happen to have some of those in your kitchen cabinets.

Yogurt Panna Cotta

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cups milk (any kind or combo of types should work…I used 3/4 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream)
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 — 1/3 cup honey (or sugar)
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt (hint: strain regular plain yogurt for a few hours to eliminate some water and you’ll have the consistency of Greek yogurt for a lot less money)

DIRECTIONS

Panna Cotta

1. Place 1/4 cup of milk in a small bowl and sprinkle the packet of gelatin on top. Set it aside while the gelatin becomes moist.
2. In a saucepan, warm the remaining milk until simmering but not at a full boil.
3. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup honey; stir and taste. Add more honey if you want a sweeter taste.
4. Add the gelatin and whisk until it has fully dissolved into the hot milk mixture.
5. Remove pan from heat and add the Greek yogurt; stir until fully combined.
6. If using fruit sauce, spoon some into the bottom of the containers you plan to use; set aside the remaining sauce for topping the panna cotta when you are ready to serve it.
7. Pour panna cotta mix into small glasses, bowls, or ramekins (do this carefully if you have fruit on the bottom to not displace the sauce too much). Cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for 3-4 hours (I found overnight allowed the panna cotta to set more firmly than just a few hours in the refrigerator). The panna cotta will keep well for 2 days.

Fruit Sauce (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries…fresh or frozen)

• Easy version: defrost frozen berries, which will create some tart juice.

• Slightly-more-work version: In a small saucepan, warm 1/2 cup of good-quality jam with 3/4 cup fresh or frozen berries. Mix until fully combined and hot. Allow to cool slightly before using.

• And a bit-more-work version: In a small saucepan, mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch until blended; stir in 1 1/2 cups berries. Bring to boil over medium-high heat; boil 2 minutes or until thickened. If you want some fruit chunks, add 1/2 cup more of berries when mixture cools. (from a very old Family Circle magazine…so old I don’t know the year!)

SOURCE: adapted from Glorious Treats

As a kid, I loved to slice bananas and line them up on top of toasted bread spread with peanut butter. That was my culinary talent as a youth. I haven’t done that in years, but sometimes when I’m hankering for a quick snack, I peel a banana and spread some peanut butter on top and munch away.

The other day I had my latest bunch of bananas sitting on the counter getting close to  the overripe stage. I wasn’t in the mood for doing something funky like roasted banana ice cream, nor was I in the mood for the usual banana bread I whip up with old bananas (can’t believe I’ve not posted that recipe yet). Instead, I wanted muffins. No reason for the craving. I just wanted muffins.

I have about five banana muffin recipes saved. The one that calls for a crumb topping sounded appealing, so I started reading the reader reviews about it. Someone mentioned substituting some peanut butter for a portion of the butter, and instantly I knew this was the recipe I wanted to try. Peanut butter and bananas. That took me right back to my childhood. Plus, that substitution works well in my chocolate chip cookies, so I figured it would work in the muffins, too.

And I happened to have a bag of Reese’s peanut butter chips in the freezer left over from the holidays that I thought might work well in the batter. Truthfully, I’m not fond of those chips. They taste kind of funky and plasticky. Nonetheless, I wanted to use them up. It made the muffins a bit too strong on the peanut butter taste in my opinion, though. I think mini chocolate chips might work well. Now that sounds like a great combo: banana, peanut butter, and chocolate. Yep, that’ll be tested out one of these days.

I also liked the additional spices reviewers added, so I adapted the recipe according to their ideas. The spices gave the muffins a warm wintery feeling and a deeper flavor.

The crumb topping sometimes melted onto the pan and made a slightly sticky, caramel mess. Maybe I filled the muffin liners too much or maybe I sprinkled on too much topping. The topping does add a crunchy, sugary touch, though, that I found a pleasant complement to the sweet banana.

At first, shortly after these muffins came out of the oven, I wasn’t thrilled with their taste and they seemed greasy. I actually liked them better the following day, for they lost the greasiness and their taste grew on me. Hence, I decided to share this recipe afterall.

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

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INGREDIENTS

Muffins

• 3 bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp. vanilla (or use vanilla bean paste)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter or chocolate chips (regular or mini)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Topping

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mash bananas; add spices and vanilla.
3. Melt butter and peanut butter in microwave or on stovetop; add to banana mixture.
4. Lightly beat egg; add to banana mixture.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, white and brown sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
6. Stir banana mixture into flour just until moistened.
7. If using chips and nuts, mix them in.
8. Spoon batter into prepared muffin liners, filling about 3/4 full.
9. Topping: In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Use fork to cut in 1 tbsp. butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.Sprinkle topping over muffins.
10. Bake in preheated over for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. If you want to make mini muffins, bake for 14 minutes.

SOURCE: modified from allrecipes.com

Driving home from work last week, I was having cravings for both espresso ice cream and chocolate. I imagined squeezing some chocolate syrup over the espresso ice cream. Then I had a vision of having a ripple of chocolate already in the frozen ice cream. Now, I’m sure this isn’t a new combination by any means, but it is certainly one ice cream combo I haven’t mixed up yet. And it sounded delectable to my sweet tooth.

Easily enough, I found a fudge ripple recipe, which, by the way, is way better than the Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup which we keep on hand for hubby’s chocolate milkshake cravings. This ripple is thicker yet still pours easily. It holds up well in the fridge for a couple weeks. It calls for Dutch-processed Cocoa, which I purchase from Penzey’s, but the one I used for this recipe came from North Shore Market (North Market Spices) in Columbus, Ohio from our summer visit there. I’m not sure how this would taste if you used plain ol’ Hershey’s Cocoa Powder because that stuff isn’t nearly as smooth and rich in flavor as the Dutch-processed cocoa. Overall, this fudge ripple comes together quickly and tastes divine.

I really wanted to make an ice cream sundae for the picture for the blog, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. It would be absolutely scrumptious with some chopped up bananas, whipped cream, and toasted almonds. Mmmmmmmm… I bet this would work great in an frozen pie dessert, too! Must try that soon…

Espresso Fudge Ripple Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

Fudge Ripple

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Ice Cream

• 3 cups half-and-half
• 6 extra-large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 tbsp. ground espresso coffee beans (I buy the Medaglia D’Oro brand at the grocery store)
• 1 tbsp. coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua; I buy from BevMo! in the small bottles)
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Fudge Ripple

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa, then add corn syrup and water. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges. Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for one minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using. Can be stored for up to two weeks, covered, in the refrigerator.

Ice Cream

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half on medium-low heat until it forms bubbles around the edge of the pan and steam starts to rise.
2. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until mixed.
3. Slowly add the hot half-and-half to the egg yolks until combined, creating a custard base.
4. Pour the custard back into the pan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5-10 minutes, until is it thickened and the cream coats the back of the spoon (170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer).
5. Pour the custard through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the ground espresso beans, coffee liqueur, and vanilla. Refrigerate until completely chilled (preferably overnight).
6. Pour into ice-cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
7. As you transfer ice cream into a container, layer generous spoonfuls of the fudge ripple between layers of the ice cream. Avoid stirring in the fudge ripple, for it will make the ice cream muddy.
8. Spoon into a container and allow to freeze for a few hours.

SOURCES: ice cream slightly adapted from Food Network (Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa); fudge ripple from Brown Eyed Baker via The Perfect Scoop book

Aren’t these cool looking taters? So easy to make, too. Just slice the potato in sections, making sure to not cut all the way through. Tuck slices of garlic in between for loads and loads of flavor, top with butter and oil, and bake. Or, you can try whatever mix of spices and flavorings/garnishes you desire. Ours came out very crispy, so I probably baked them a bit too long. They are a twist on baked potatoes and sure make for an impressive presentation.

Hasselback Potatoes

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 russet potatoes–small, medium, or large
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced (or more if you prefer)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter (or more if you prefer)
• kosher salt (or regular table salt)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• toppings of choice for baked potatoes: cheese, sour cream, chives…

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Scrub, rinse, and dry potatoes.
3. Slice a thin layer off bottom of potatoes to provide stable base. Slice into potatoes widthwise but not completely through to bottom. Aim for an accordion effect.
4. Thinly slice garlic cloves and slide garlic between potato slices.
5. Place potatoes on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Top each potato with 1 tbsp. butter. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for one hour or until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. Remove pan every 15 minutes to baste potatoes in the oil and butter on the pan. This will make the skin extra crispy and buttery.
6. Remove from oven; cool for 10 minutes.
7. Top with sour cream, cheese, chives, or any other toppings you desire.

SOURCE: Joy the Baker

Years ago, a friend and her husband introduced me to a kalamata olive spread. Darn tasty stuff, especially spread on a fresh hunk of french bread. However, I hadn’t eaten it in years and had forgotten all about it until I chanced upon this recipe for kalamata tapenade. I just happened to have a partial jar of kalamata olives that had been sitting in the fridge and needed to be used up.

By the way, tapenade simply means “a savoury paste made from capers, olives, and anchovies, with olive oil and lemon juice” (from dictionary.com). Well, this spread doesn’t use capers and anchovies; it’s a bit simpler. It’s highly salty from the kalamata olives already, so I cannot imagine how much saltier the capers and anchovies would make it. But slathering it on a hunk of bread, pita chips, or crackers helps to mellow the saltiness.

In this recipe, the lemon juice packs a tangy undertone, so the spread has the salty from the olives and the sour from the lemon going. It also has a pungency from the garlic and a freshness from the parsley. All those strong flavors–this is not a spread for the lighthearted, let me tell you. Nonetheless, it’s different, fun, and would certainly make an impressive addition to a party or gathering.

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeling and grated
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor; pulse until well combined.
2. Serve with bread, pita chips, crostini…

SOURCE: My Life as a Mrs.

Back in December, one of my students gave me a container of homemade pecan tarts (also known as pecan tassies). I had never tasted pecan pie prior to that. Boy, have I been missing out on a tasty little treat!

They were ultra-delicious chewy little packages of sweetness and nuttiness wrapped in a flaky mini pie shell–cute to boot as well as yummy. I could hardly wait for my precious two-week winter break from teaching to end so I could ask her for the recipe. However, her family declined to share it because it’s a family “secret” recipe. Bummed, I scoured the internet for other sources of this delight. No shortage of recipes on the internet–whew!

This morning I developed an intense craving for these mini cuties, so I caved and departed from my healthful eating since the new year (okay, that’s a lie; I broke that path a week or two ago).

The tart shell includes cream cheese, imparting a tangy flavor to the crust. The filling uses brown sugar, so it adds a caramel-y flavor. I also used vanilla bean paste to deepen the sweetness of the vanilla taste. And I toasted the pecans to enhance the earthy nuttiness. Oh my…these little tarts explode with scrumptiousness!

The wooden gadget is a tart tamper.

You need a mini muffin pan to make these. And this tool called a tart tamper makes forming the tart shells a breeze! I had a heck of a time finding the tamper, though. I didn’t find it at several local small kitchen shops nor did I find it at Sur La Table or Bed Bath and Beyond. I finally found it at a small cake shop near my home, Classic Cake Decorations, and amazon.com sells them, too. It’s a handy dandy purchase, and now I want to make other mini tarts just because they are cute and this tool is fun to use! Oh, the small cookie dough scoop allows for uniform size of the dough balls, so that is handy, too.

Pecan Tarts 

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INGREDIENTS

Cream Cheese Pastry

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Pecan Filling

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla or vanilla bean paste
• dash of salt
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream Cheese Pastry: Allow cream cheese and butter to soften to room temperature. To speed this process, cut cream cheese and butter into small chunks.
2. Blend cream cheese and butter (use wooden spoon, pastry blender, or mixer).
3. Sift then measure flour; add salt and whisk to blend. Stir into cream cheese and butter until flour is absorbed.
4. Form 1-inch balls (I used my small cookie dough scoop) and place into ungreased muffin tins. Chill for 30 minutes.
5. For pecan filling, toast chopped pecans by spreading them on a jellyroll pan and baking in a 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes. Beat together egg, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Add toasted pecans.
6. Tart shells: Remove pastry from refrigerator. Form shells by using tart tamper : Dip tamper into flour to prevent it from sticking to dough. Press tamper into the dough ball in each muffin well until the dough rises up the sides and to the top (allow dough to reach top; otherwise, pecan filling may cause tart to stick to pan). If you don’t have a tamper, press dough with thumb around the edges and bottom until muffin well is evenly covered.
7. Bake in 325 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until filling is set. Place on cooling rack for 5 minutes then remove from pan to further cool.

Yield: 30 tarts

SOURCE: adapted from My Adventures in the Country

I am soooooooooo excited to have FINALLY gotten a decent picture of this Honey Sesame Pork Loin so I can share the recipe with you. I discovered this a few weeks ago and have made it about four times already. Every time, my pictures have come out terrible! I keep making this pork not only because I love the flavor but also because I desperately want you to try this recipe.

I’m actually glad, though, that I had to make it several times because I’ve learned a few things about how to handle the addition of the sesame seeds a bit more easily and can now pass that on to you and make this process less messy.

So, this gets marinated in a sweet Asian mix. Then it gets rubbed all over in a thick sweet pasty sauce. And then it gets rolled in sesame seeds–and this is the messy part but I have some tips to make it less messy. Finally–and for sure DO NOT SKIP this part–you make a reduction sauce that will make you want to swoon.

Every step of this recipe involves sweetness, which is probably why I enjoy it so much. It also has saltiness from the soy sauce, a slight nuttiness from the sesame seeds (I like to use toasted seeds, which you can buy already toasted; I get a big jar at the Asian market), and a touch of heat from red pepper flakes. Loads of flavor layers to tease your taste buds.

Don’t toss the marinade when you take the meat out like I did the first time I made this because you use the leftover in the reduction sauce. Now, if it grosses you out to use the marinade that the raw meat soaked in, then just mix another batch. It’s worth it–trust me on this one. The sauce boils and boils until it reduces and thickens, so I guess all that high heat kills off anything from the raw meat.

A little FYI: The reduction sauce calls for apple juice. I’ve juiced fresh apples from our tree for this part just because I’d rather not use the store-bought juice with all the preservatives. But store-bought apple juice will do just fine, too.

Now, the thick sauce and sesame seed part calls for rubbing the sauce all over the hunk of meat and then rolling it in the sesame seeds. I find it much easier to do one of two things: either brush the sauce on with a pastry brush and sprinkle the sesame seeds on one side, place in pan, then brush and sprinkle on other side; or [2] apply sauce to top only and sprinkle with seeds. Forget the rolling business. It creates a horrible mess and the seeds and sauce stick to the rolling surface. Ugh.

I think that’s about it. I highly highly highly recommend you try this recipe. Fabulously delightful!

Honey Sesame Pork Loin

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INGREDIENTS

Marinade

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup less-sodium soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger (I keep peeled chunks of ginger in the freezer–easy to grate when frozen, too)
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Glaze

• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Reduction Sauce

• 1 cup apple juice
• reserved marinade
• 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp. honey

DIRECTIONS

1. Marinade: Combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a large plastic bag. Add pork; marinate all day or at least 2 hours in refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Glaze: Combine honey, hoisin sauce, and brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Remove tenderloin from marinade (RESERVE MARINADE!); pat meat dry with a paper towel. roll tenderloin in honey mixture, then roll it in sesame seeds (or brush on glaze and then sprinkle on seeds–much easier and less messy this way). Place in shallow pan and roast for 20-30 minutes or until temperature registers 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before slicing (this helps it maintain moisture and tenderness).
4. Reduction Sauce: Place reserved marinade in a small sauce pot; add hoisin sauce, honey, and apple juice. Place over medium-high heat and reduce, stirring frequently. Reduce until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Set aside for serving.
5. After meat has rested 10 minutes, slice and place on platter. Drizzle with reduction sauce and serve.

SOURCE: Fake Ginger