I got MY peanut butter in MY chocolate

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Hello there, I have been off the radar lately!  No excuses.  Moving on, today I would like to share a nummy recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies.

It was the hubby's birthday recently and the ingredients he wanted me to work with were PB & chocolate.  Well that was last years secret items too!  I didn't want to make another layered cake with peanut butter frosting.  

One of his favorite cookies as a child were Nutter Butters.  I wondered if I could incorporate them in a dessert.

I was also itching to use my new Pampered Chef square muffin tin.  I bought it forever ago and have not used it.  Shame on me.  I don't know if they even sell it anymore.  

First I made some brownie batter using two Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mixes.  It's really a wonder there are other brownie mixes out there with a name like that one.  I filled the squares a little less than halfway with batter, topped with a cookie and then put more batter on top.

Ignore all the Pam over spray :-)

I took the rest and made a giant version with my 8x8 pan, which I promptly took a picture of.  Oh wait, no completely spaced that last part.

Here is where it got tricky.  How long do you bake them?  I set the oven to 325, if you use an 8x8 pan it is about 40-50 minutes.  I started at 20 minutes and then checked every 5.  I ended up baking them for  35 minutes but I think that was about 5 minutes too long because they do continue to bake while in the hot pan.

When they are cooled, mix up some ganache.  I have never made this before so I opted for the microwave version which turned out ok.  I think next time I will make the stove method.  It would be nice to see if cooking over the stove would allow it to be thicker without waiting so long to cool.  That aside, it tastes amazing!

Mix chocolate and heavy cream 1:1 ratio.  You need to use a scale for this.

Put in the microwave for a minute, whisk and repeat until completely integrated.  If it is too runny when you are done, wait for it to cool - it will thicken.

Then you top those bad boys with chocolate deliciousness....mmm

After this I didn't feel like they were quite done.  So I whipped up some peanut butter frosting and piped it over the top.  Just peanut butter, butter, milk and powdered sugar.  How pretty are they?

Just for an added touch of I dunno what, I popped little mini Reese's Peanut butter cups on the top.

The jury definitely liked these bad boys.  The Nutter Butter in the center was a great surprise when you bit in.  

Womens History Month

I have been dabbling in my family history for a few months.  It is a pretty fun and interesting hobby.  If you haven't tried you should really give it a whirl.  There are loads of resources out there to help you.  

Recently, Olive Tree Genealogy had a challenge out for Women's History Month.  Write a blog about your favorite female ancestor.  Oooo, I am in!

My favorite female ancestor would have to be my Grandma Fries.  First, look at how beautiful she was:

1906-1989

I wish I could see her dress more in this picture.  I was told and I think you can see in this picture, she was super stylish.  I mean the pearls and the super dreamy fabric here is enough to confirm that!!!

I grew up living right next door to my grandparents.  First, there is nothing better than that.  I could walk over to their house any time of day or night and I was always welcome.  Grandma was a cook by profession and let me tell you, she was really good.  She could make anything and it would be wonderful.  Her cooking ability seemed like magic to me because nothing was written down and she certainly didn't own measuring cups.  I would love going over and smelling whatever she had going in the kitchen.  She cooked, baked, canned, you name it.  I think the most crazy memory I had was when she would make Crab Apple Jelly.  She would cook the apples and then put them in the cheese cloth to drip.  Imagine white cones of the fine fabric propped all over the kitchen and dining room with red goo dripping out of the bottom of them.  It was almost circus looking.

She was also a crafter.  Although I think most people of her generation were, but that made her no less special or inspiring to me.  Her and I would sew, make Christmas ornaments or whatever popped in our heads that day.  

I spent loads of time with her.  She was basically my daycare.  She would chat with me about anything and always had time to listen to my banter.  I also liked that she was protective of me.  If there were a threat, she would tell me to come over and sit real close to her.  The comfort and warmth of being near her was priceless.  

Like most grandmas she had pockets of advice that I thought was random....always keep a quarter with you in case you need to make a call....watch out for strangers, you're a pretty girl and someone might grab you (yep, she would say that!), or simply ah just ignore it, that will pass.

She gave me some of her costume jewelry and hankies which I now love to think about ... where did she wear such things?  I guess when she was a cook she would fold one of the delicate, embroidered hankies and fix it to her uniform with a lovely pin.  

She was a beautiful lady inside and out.  I loved spending time with her no matter what she was doing. It is good to have someone in your life you can simply just BE with and love it.  For me, that was her.

I love you Grandma, miss you.  XOXOXO

Learning about making pasta

As you have figured out I am kind of a one note wonder lately.  I keep experimenting with my new pasta making attachments.  This will be a quick post of lessons learned.

1.  If you can find it, get some semolina flour.  Mix up some pasta flour to store in your pantry.  Basically it is 50/50 unbleached white flour and semolina flour.

You may be wondering why bother?  Well, first the pasta tastes better -duh.  Second, it is much easier to work with.  Semolina flour has more gluten in it and therefore is more stretchy, like... well... pasta.

2. If you live in a humid area or if your kitchen is humid, get a drying rack even if you are not planning on drying the pasta.  This will make transferring your cut pasta to the boiling water better.  No accidental clumping by squeezing too hard.

3.  Experiment!  There are so many recipes out there.  Try some!!!  I made lemon pepper fettuccine last night and it was a big hit.  The lemon and pepper flavors came through the pasta that did not disappoint.  

Easy recipe....

3/4 lb pasta flour

juice of one lemon

zest of three lemons

3 eggs

I just tossed with some butter and sea salt.  I should have taken a picture of it before we dug in.  It was pretty, really it was.  But it was nummy and the only picture I had a chance to grab was this one:

Happy New Years!  

Chocolate love....

For Christmas I got a really neat book:

With my new pasta attachments I have been curious about making different types of pasta.  This book is a really neat read because she gives you a lot of information.  For instance, did you know chickens with white ear lobes lay white eggs and chickens with brown ear lobes lay brown eggs?  I didn't even know chickens had ear lobes.  I will wait a moment while you google chicken ear lobes... ... ... weird right?

Anyway, I was going through the book looking at different pasta options and I stumbled on chocolate pasta.  Um, hold up, wait a minute, are you saying you can combine CHOCOLATE and PASTA?  I'm in!!!

Assemble your ingredients:

350g of flour

1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp cinnamon

4 large eggs

I added a couple of teaspoons of water because it is so dry here right now.  It looks absolutely beautiful after it is made...

Boil for 3-4 minutes, drain and top with either butter and powdered sugar or a little ice cream topping or maybe even some ice cream!!!

Here is an added bonus, you know how you have a dessert, say a brownie and you could have another and maybe even another.  Chocolate pasta is filling, how great is that?!?!  Try it out, you won't be disappointed.

Mi piace la pasta!

It was my birthday yesterday and I must have been a super good girl.  All of my presents were absolutely FABULOUS.

This post however is about one particular present.

One I have had my eye on for years.

One I wondered if I could do awesome things with.

Pasta attachments for my favorite kitchen toy....my Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!!

I was so excited I decided I had to try it tonight!  It didn't disappoint.

I went with a super basic recipe (that didn't require my waiting 20 minutes - patience was at an all time low)

4 large eggs

2 tbs water

1 tbs oil

3 1/3 C semolina flour (oops half way through I realized this but used all purpose - worked fine)

1/2 tsp salt

Started like this...

Then you put in the flat beater at speed 2 for 30 seconds...followed by the dough hook at speed 2 for 2 minutes...

Hand knead for 1-2 minutes...roll out a bit...and the fun begins!

After you just boil water, add a pinch of kosher salt and boil for 3 minutes.  It was so good!  And so fun! Yes, I am easily entertained.

I served my fettuccine pasta with Roasted chicken with Pears.

MMMMM!!!!

1 pound chicken breasts cut in half

4t olive oil

1/4 salt

1/4 pepper

1 T honey or real maple syrup

1 T white wine vinegar

3 pears cored and thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 oz crumbled feta cheese

1 bag spinach

Place chicken on sprayed cookie sheet, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast 10 minutes at 450 degrees.  Toss pears with syrup or honey, 2t olive oil and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Add pears to the other side of cookie sheet.  Roast 15 minutes.  Combine celery, feta, vinegar and 1/8 tsp pepper.

Place handful of spinach on plate top with pears and celery....add awesome pasta.  :-)

Sweet Potato Souffle

I have been rather MIA lately, sorry about that!  Regardless you are in for a special treat today.  I have a guest blogger, my beautiful daughter.  She made an amazing dish for Thanksgiving this year.  I mean it,  I think I had 3 helpings!  And I certainly wasn't the only one.  You need to make this!!!

Please give a warm welcome to Kyleigh.

T-Day Challenge 2012: Sweet Potato Souffle!

It’s a holiday classic, yet every year I have kept my distance from this odd dish. Now keep in mind, I’m not one of those picky eater types - and I’ve even joked about living off of mashed potatoes (the normal kind). But something about the so-called “sweet” aspect of the sweet potato just seemed, well, troubling. And I’m guessing I’m not the only one who finds the toasted marshmallow topping as the only enjoyable part of the dish.

But this year, things were going to be different. I don’t know what got into me, but I was determined to make a sweet potato dish that I would actually enjoy this Thanksgiving. It was, as odd as it sounds, my own personal challenge.

So I took to surfing the web for the recipe, relying on reviews & five-star ratings to sift out the good & the bad. Luckily, I stumbled upon this one fairly quickly thanks to the FoodNetwork- and was officially sold on it after watching the fun video tutorial :)

And guess what...it was a hit!

Thanksgiving day had come, and I had my fair share of fun whipping up a double batch of the stuff - but when it came time to serve up our plates & eat, I found myself eating around the orange & marshmallow mush, much like my usual self.

But I was shocked to hear my friends & family around me begin asking about the dish - “Who made this? It’s great! ... My wife makes a pretty good one, but you’ve GOT to get her this recipe!”

All this flattery & I was motivated enough to try the stuff myself - and it WAS good! Despite my reservations, I was pleasantly surprised with the dish. We’ve even cooked it up a second time for a family gathering since then - and a similar round of compliments were received.

What’s so special about this recipe, you ask? It beats me.

But maybe its the loads of sweets you put in it, making it more like a pumpkin pie than anything (how can you go wrong with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar...). Or maybe my accidental yam mix-up (see ingredient list below) is actually my own secret ingredient. Who knows? I’m just happy to say that I can officially add sweet potatoes to my taste pallet now with this recipe, though they may not have replaced my beloved mashed potatoes :)

Enjoy!!

♥ Kyleigh

“Old School Sweet Potato Souffle”

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/old-school-sweet-potato-souffle-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

•          Butter (for casserole dish)

•          3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed - or YAMS (long story, but I accidentally bought yams instead and they tasted great, if not better! But “Yam Souffle” sounds even less appealing than sweet potato...)

•          1 (4.5-ounce) can evaporated milk

•          1/2 cup brown sugar

•          5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

•          1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•          1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

•          2 eggs

•          Salt & black pepper (to taste)

•          1 cup coarsely chopped salted cashews (fewer seems to taste better - too much crunch)

•          1-2 cups mini marshmallows (your choice - but more marshmallows never hurt!)

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.

2) Add the potatoes to a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Drain in a colander in the sink.

3) Mash the potatoes in a large bowl or mixer. Add the evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, eggs, salt and pepper, to taste. Mix together until smooth. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes.

4) Remove the casserole dish from the oven and top with stripes of crushed cashews along the top (or completely covered if you really like it). Then cover completely with mini marshmallows. Bake until the marshmallows are lightly toasted, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Gift Idea

My daughter recently had a darling baby girl.  :-)

I wanted to get her something that would be practical and nice.  Flowers in the hospital just wouldn't do.

When I give a gift I try and think of what a person would really like, or enjoy or need.  I focused on the latter.  

What would she need help with?  What be overwhelming for her?  

Cooking dinners for her family when she got home.  

Unfortunately I couldn't take time off work to stay home with her and help.  However, I could make some tasty meals that would be super simple for her.

My plan was formed..

1. Get crock pot recipes.  
2. Assemble ingredients and put them in 1 gallon bags.  
3. Give to your favorite person with some crockpot liners.

The bags can be stored in the fridge and then just pop in the crockpot for easy meals.

This was super simple for me because I just used the sample menu plan from My family meal planner.  She has an entire cookbook of just crockpot recipes!  I am definitely going to buy it....I am just waiting a bit to see if she puts it in iPhone app form like one of her other cookbooks.