Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with Prosciutto

These appetizers are great for a beautiful spring brunch.  Especially with cute butterfly toothpicks! 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup goat cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
16 medjool dates
8 thin slices prosciutto, folded in half length wise
Decorative toothpicks

Preparation:
In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses and basil.  Season with salt and pepper.

With a knife, make a lengthwise incision in each date.  Gently open the dates slightly and remove the pits.  Spoon abotu 1/2 teaspoon of cheese mixture inside each date.  Close the dates around the filling.  Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each date and secure with a toothpick.

Arranged stuffed dates on a platter and serve.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic, Gorgonzola and Herbs

Ingredients:
12 plum tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freashly ground pepper
3/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoon chopped fresh-flat leaf parsley leaves

Preparation:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Using a teaspoon, remove the seeds from the tomatoes.  Place the tomato halves, cut side down, on  paper towels to drain, about 5 min.

In a large bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, salt and pepper.  Toss the tomato halves in the oil mixture until coated.  Marinate the tomatoes for 10 min.

In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and gorgonzola cheese.  I added a sprinkle of chopped parsley to the cheese mixture.  (If you don't like the robust taste of gorgonzola then try grated parmesan cheese.)

Place the marinated tomato halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Fill each tomato half with the bread crumb filling.  Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until tomatoes are softened and their undersides are brown.

Arrange the cooked tomatoes on a serving platter and sprinkle with parsley.


Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Tulipes

Easter dinners can be heavy and calorie filled, so I decided to make a light and simple yet delicious dessert that everyone would love.  

Ingredients


For Tulip Shells:
3 large eggs whites
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Organic fresh fruit
Spearmint sprig (optional)

Preparation:


Preheat oven to 359 degrees.  Grease cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, with a wire whisk, beat egg whites, sugar and flour until well blended.  Beat in melted butter, vanilla and salt until well incorporated.

Make 1-2 cookies at a time: Drop 1 heaping spoonful of batter onto cookie sheet.  (do not make more then 1-2 cookies at a time because, after baking, they need to be molded before hardening.  I did 1 cookie since the 2 would harden too fast.)  With a metal spatula or spoon, spread batter to form and 4-in round.  Bake cookies for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

Place a glass each with a 2-in diameter bottom (I used the bottom of a champagne flute glass), upside down on work surface.  With spatula, quickly lift cookie onto glass and mold into the shape of a tulip or flower.  I had to use constant pressure on the cookie until it was completely hardened or the cookie would lose it's shape.  Once hardened place cookie in a single layer on bottom on a wire rack.

Repeat this step with the rest of the batter.  Store tulips in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

To serve, place tulips on a plate fill with berries and garnish with whipped cream and spearmint sprig.


For Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:


In a standing mixer whip the cream until stiff.  Whip in the sugar until peaks form.

Let sit in the fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Good Housekeeping

Dutch Chocolate French Macarons

I've read and read all the scrumptious macaron (not macaroon, yes, there is a difference) posts that Tartelette writes about and finally decided to give it a go.  They are surprisingly not too hard to bake!  The key is not to over 'fold' the batter.  Instead of chocolate macarons I wanted to make Tartelette's red berry macarons, but I unfortunately didn't have any powdered food dye handy.  (And our craft and kitchen supply stores don't carry it either.)  Hmmmmm, guess I'll be perusing the net for some powdered food dye.

Ingredients

Macaron Batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup powdered almonds, pulverized
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, sat overnight
5 tablespoons granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely ground
1 tablespoon butter, cut into little pieces

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a Ateco 808 ( you could also use a 807 or 809) tip ready.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa until there are no lumps; use a small food processor.  Pour the sugar mixture through a sieve and throw away the larger almond chunks.

In a bowl of a standing mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape.  While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula.  When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag.

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-in circles, evenly spaced 1-in apart.  Let sit on the counter for 45 minutes.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 10-15 minutes.  Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Chocolate Filling:
Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup.  When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate.  Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth.  Stir in the pieces of butter.  Let cool completely before using.


Assembly:
Spread a bit of batter  evenly on the inside of the macarons with your finger then sandwich them together.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze.  If you freeze, defrost them in the unopened container, to avoid condensation which will make the macarons soggy.

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

'Wood Smoked' Tri-Tip with a Thyme Garlic Sauce

This was a big crowd pleaser in our house, even with the kids!  This simple and delicious dish is extremely juicy and flavorful.  A must for family or single dinners.

Ingredients:
3 Tb fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 well-trimmed 2 1/2 pound tri-tip beef roast
3 cups oak, mesquite wood chips, soaked in water 1 hour and drained

Preparation:
Blend thyme leaves, garlic cloves, dried oregano, and course salt in mini processor until garlic is finely chopped.  With processor running, gradually add lemon juice, then olive oil.  Season herb sauce to taste with pepper and transfer to bowl.  Let chill to room temp.

Sprinkle roast generously on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Let stand at least 30 min.

Prepare barbecue (med-high)

Wrap wood chips over coals and place roast on rack.  Cook roast uncovered 7 minutes.  Turn roast over.  Cover grill and cook until thermometer inserted into thickest part of roast registers 128 degrees-135 degrees for medium rare, turning roast occasionally, about 13 minutes.

Let roast sit for 10 minutes and thinly slice across grain.  Serve and drizzle sauce over roast.

Recipe adapted from  Epicurious

Wheat-Free Lunch

My girlfriends and I try to get together a few times a week to walk, lunch (out or homemade), gym, yellowbird (baby/kids music class), bbq's, etc...  Since one of the ladies is wheat intolerant, we thought we would try making a wheat-free lunch.  If you haven't worked with wheat-free crusts, it's very difficult. The crust crumbles and tears making it hard to transfer to a pan.  I made a tart (which actually stayed together) and a quiche but the crust fell apart while par baking.  Clearly I need to explore the whole gluten-free world a little better. One of the ladies made an amazing flourless chocolate torte.  Wow, is all I have to say!  It was absolutely scrumptious and fairly easy to make.  The recipe came from blogger, Gluten Free Goddess.  If you haven't checked out her blog, I suggest you do.  Lots of fabulous recipes!

The quiche was of my creation.  I just LOVE quiches and wanted a slightly lighter version.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Quiche:

For Crust:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup potato starch, plus extra for dusting

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup millet flour

1/3 cup almond meal

1 Tb powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine potato starch, tapioca flour, millet flour, almod meal, sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Add butter and pulse again until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add egg and pulse until completely combined to make a lightly sticky dough.  Place dough onto a large sheet of waxed paper dusted with potato starch.  Sprinkle potato starch over dough and knead gently, working in about 2 more Tb of potato starc, until dough holds together without being sticky.  Using your fingertips, press dough into a 10-in circle.  Invert a 9-in pie pan on top of dough then quickly flip over both the pan and the dough so that the dough now rests in the pan.  Gently peel away wax  paper and press dough into pie plate, patching it together, if needed.  Crimp and trim edges as desired then prick sides and bottom with a fork.  Line crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights.  Bake until crust is just set and slightly dry around the edges., about 15 minutes.   Remove parchment paper and pie weights.

For Filling

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

3 eggs

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/2 heavy cream

1 med shallot, chopped

5 oz sun dried tomatoes

6 oz artichoke hearts

1/2 cup fontina cheese

1/2 cup gouda (non smoked)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk eggs, eggs whites, 2% milk, heavy cream, shallots, salt and pepper.  Whisk sun dried tomatoes and artichokes into egg mixture.  Sprinkle 1/2 fontina and 1/2 gouda cheese on the prepared crust.  Pour the egg mixture in crust and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Bake for 20-25 min and let cool before serving.

Crust recipe adapted from Whole Foods

Pear and Almond Frangipane Tartelettes

Makes 6 4-inch tartelettes or one 9-inch tart

For the crust:

Ingredients:

5 Tb unsalted butter, room temp

3 egg yolks

pinch of salt

1/2 cup fine rice flour

1/2 millet flour

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup corn starch (or tapioca flour)

2 Tb to 1/4 cup milk or water (I used milk)

Preparation:

In a mixer, whip the butter on medium speed until light and airy.

Add the egg yolks, one at a time and beating well after each addition.  Mix until well incorporated.  Add the salt and, all the different flours, and mix briefly. 

Add some milk , 1 Tb at a time (if the dough feels too dry.)

Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured (rice flour) board and gather the dough into a smooth ball.  Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and position a rack in the center.

When the dough is cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board (rice flour) to fit 6 4-in tart pans.  If the dough the dough tears while you roll or/and transfer into the pan and patch it with your fingertips. 

Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper, fill with pie weights and par bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the weights and parchment paper.

For the frangipane 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1/3 cup honey

1 cup ground almonds (I used organic blanched and silvered)

2 eggs

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp cardamon

2 medium bosch pears, cored, halved and thinly sliced

Creme fraiche (for garnish)

Vanilla sugar (for garnish)

Preparation:

Place the butter, honey, ground almonds and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor.)  Add the cream and cardamom but stir in it instead of whisking not to emulsify it or it will rise while baking.

Divide the frangipane among each tart rings, add a few slices of pears right on top (no need to push them through) and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool garnish with a dallop of creme fraiche and vanilla sugar.  

Recipe adapted from Tartelette

We accompanied this lunch with an affordable yet delicious Chardonnay.  It can be found at most grocery stores for around $13.00.

Organic Crispy Chanterelle Mushroom Burger with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola

My husband is an avid chanterelle mushroom hunter...Yes mushroom hunter! I never knew about the mushroom culture until I married him. (People will scour the woods, especially after a big rain, and hunt for mushrooms to sell or to enjoy for themselves.)  How lucky am I???  Chanterelle mushrooms, if you can even find them, will run you in a grocery store upwards of $15-$30 per lb.  Expensive little fungi, aren't they!?

Chanterelle's are extremely meaty  and very rich in flavor.  A lot of cooks even consider them to be on the top of the gourmet fungi list, which includes truffles and morels.  Since they're a more robust fungus they really compliment meats.  More often than not I cook the chanterelle's with a beautiful filet mignon, but this time I wanted to try something slightly different. 

Servings: 3
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb organic lean ground beef (of course higher fat beef will have better taste and juicer burgers)
1 cup organic red lettuce (washed)
1 large organic sliced yellow onion
1 Tb olive oil
1 1/2 cup sliced organic chanterelle mushrooms
1 Tb butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp garlic
1 organic sliced tomato
1 cup gorgonzola cheese
3 hamburger buns
Any condiments of your choosing


Preparation:
Melt 1 Tb butter and garlic in a small or med skillet on med heat for about a min, or until garlic is fragrant.  Add chanterelle's and white wine and cook until chanterelle's are crispy (be sure not to charr them.)

Melt 1 Tb olive oil in a different small or med skillet.  Add the sliced onions and cook until caramelized (browned.)

Heat grill to med/high and oil grates.   Cook the burgers until desired doneness.  Medium is about 5-6 minutes.  Place the buns on the grill for about 1 min.

Assemble the lettuce, tomato, patty, gorgonzola, onions and top with the chanterelles and add any condiment desired.

Recipe adapted from Epicurean Mom

Rich Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting and Truffle-Egg Nest

• Ingredients:
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Whipped Ganache Frosting
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 pound bar of milk chocolate
• Truffle Eggs

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 3-inch-high, 7-inch-round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment paper. Coat parchment with cooking spray, and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa and espresso powders and water; whisk until dissolved. Whisk in sugar until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk until combined.

Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes. Unmold, and remove parchment; let cool.

Trim tops of cake layers level. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Spread with 1/2 cup ganache frosting. Place remaining layer, cut side down, on top. Coat top and sides with remaining cup frosting. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Put semisweet chocolate, cream, and corn syrup into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and stir until smooth. Let cool 5 minutes. Pour over cake, and then refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Using a chef's knife, scrape milk chocolate bar at a 90-degree angle, forming enough curls and shards to measure 1 1/2 cups. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate until ready to use.  *Very Important* When shaving chocolate heat  chocolate until it's warm but not melted.  It makes the chocolate more pliable and easier to shave long shards rather then thick chunks.  

Transfer cake to serving dish; form a nest with chocolate shavings on top, and fill with truffle eggs.


Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

1st Birthday Invitations

My little butterfly is turning ONE!  I usually try to homemake as much as I can.  Being a mom of 2 sometimes it doesn't always workout that way.  Although I love to make themed invites so I usually try to set aside the time for them.  This year Lola's 1st birthday theme will be a gold and pink butterfly party.

The butterflies were very easy to make. All you need is:

A large butterfly hole punch, thick gold cardstock paper, super fine pink and gold glitter, elmer's glue (or any similar glue), craft sponge, 3 small cupcake liners and a wood stick.  

1.  Punch out as many butterflies as desired, set aside.  Place 3 small cupcake liners in a row.  In the first liner pour a small amount of gold glitter and half as much pink.  

2.  In the second liner pour a small amount of gold glitter. Repeat with pink glitter to create a 50/50 mix.

3.  In the third liner pour a small amount of pink glitter and half as much gold glitter. Mix all 3 liners with wooden stick.

4.  Fill in butterfly body with a thin layer of glue and cover with gold glitter.  Shake off excess.

5.  Use glue and sponge to coat the butterfly wings with a thin layer of glue.

6.  You will work from the inside out.  Sprinkle the innermost part of the wings with the glitter mixture that contains more gold glitter. Next to that sprinkle the 50/50 mix and finish the outermost part with the glitter that has more pink.  

And Viola...beautiful, glittery butterflies! 

7.  Let dry and apply it to the invite with a round foam adhesive. 

Organic Raspberry Scones with a Lemon Glaze

Why did I think scones were hard to make??  They are so easy and so yummy! Usually scones are a bit crumbly and fall apart in your hands but these really hold together well without being too dense. The light lemon glaze is a perfect compliment to the raspberries.

Ingredients:
2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb organic sugar
5 Tb organic unsalted butter, cold cut into chunks
1 cup organic heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 1/2 cup organic fresh raspberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup fresh organic squeezed lemon juice
2 cups organic confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 organic lemon, zest finely grated
1 Tb organic unsalted butter

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Sift together all the dry ingredients; the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Using a fork cut the butter into the flour mixture.  The mixture should look like course crumbs.  Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream.  Fold everything together just to incorporate, do not over work the dough.  Fold the raspberries into the dough.

Press the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 10 by 5 by 1 1/4 inches,  Cut the rectangle in half then in half again, giving you 4 squares.  Cut each piece in half making the classic triangle shape.  Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are a nice brown color.  Let the scones cool a bit before glazing.

Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl.  Stir the sugar until dissolved.  Add the lemon zest and sugar.  Nuk for 45 seconds on high.  Whisk the glaze then drizzle on top of the scones.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

Organic Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup

I finally smoothed out, most, of the kinks on my blog so I can start posting again! A few weeks ago I made a soup that I previously made for our Christmas dinner and it was a HIT! The combination of the savory prosciutto, creamy cheese and the sweet apple really gives this soup a lovely complexity!

Ingredients:
5 Tb organic butter
1 med organic onion, thinly sliced
2 med organic apples, thinly sliced
1 large organic potato, diced
1 1/2 cups organic peeled diced butternut squash, fresh
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp organic dried or fresh sage
2 Tb organic unbleached flour
1/3 cup organic apple cider
4 cups organic low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup organic milk
2 ounces thinly sliced organic prosciutto , torn into bite-size pieces
2 cups grated organic cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish
Chopped organic chives, for garnish
Garlic crusty organic bread, for serving (optional but recommended!)

Preparation:
Melt 4 Tb butter in a large pot over med-low heat add the onions, potato, apples and butternut squash. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the sage and flour.  Add the cider cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened.  Add the broth and milk, cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the potato is soft, 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 Tb butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Add the cheese to the soup and cook on med-low heat until cheese is completely melted. Puree in a blender in batches *VERY IMPORTANT* If the batches are too large the heat of the soup and the blender will cause the soup to explode and burn anyone around!! Use less then half a blender full.

Return pureed soup to pot season with salt, pepper and any desired seasonings. Garnish with prosciutto, cheese, chives and bread.

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Lola 10 months

Every month is flying by! My lovely Lola Belle is 10 months! She is now saying: "Hi", "Dog" and "That!" Yes, "That!"  I'm assuming since we point at EVERY object and say "What's THAT!?" She has now adapted that term.  Lola is coming up on her 1st Birthday and lots of birthday planning has begun!  I recently started making her birthday invitations, which will be posted very soon!  Happy 10 months sweet Lola Belle!