Bruschetta with Pesto and Salami

I love baby showers for the food (the baby's great too!).  The best appetizers are pulled out and there are not many other times that you are able to eat an entire meal of just appetizers.  I went to a baby shower for a friend of mine where I grabbed a few bruschetta to start with intending to go back and try the rest of the treats.  Unfortunately I  was unable to try the rest of the food because I just had to eat more of the bruschetta.  Suddenly none of the other food mattered.  Flavorful basil pesto, and yummy salami, kept me coming back for more.

 I went home thinking of the bruschetta and a week later I still couldn't get it out of my head.  I had to call up the hostess to find out exactly how to make it, and then I made it for my lunch.  Now if I'm hosting a shower I always pull out this bruschetta and I always get asked for the recipe.  It's incredibly simple and great to pull out for parties.  Truthfully though, it more often makes an appearance as my lunch because I just can't wait for another party to make it.

Bruschetta with Pesto and Salami 


Ingredient amounts are approximate.

1 Crusty Baguette
1 cup basil pesto (store bought or your own)
1 slice of hard salami per slice of bread (hard salami is my preference but if you prefer genoa go for it)
fresh cracked pepper

Slice the baguette into thin slices and toast in you oven until just lightly browned.  Take one spoonful of pesto and spread it over the toast.  Place one slice of salami on top and a sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper over the whole thing.  Repeat until you use all the bread.  Ta da!  That's it!  Incredibly simple, Incredibly delicious. Pin It

Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Smokies

Whether you are heading out to a party to celebrate New Years or you're ringing in the New Year at home good food is necessary. There are numerous recipes for Bacon wrapped brown sugar smokies out there and for good reason. I have yet to meet anyone who didn't absolutely LOVE them. It's bacon, brown sugar, and little smokies. What's not to like?  I dream of these all year long but I try to save them for New Years because they aren't exactly health food.  Thankfully New Years Eve is NOT about health food.

Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Smokies

1 16 oz package Little Smokies
1 lb bacon
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350.  Cut your bacon into thirds (If you are using center cut bacon only cut it in half).   Place bacon in a single layer on a paper towel lined plate (you will probably need to use multiple plates).  Microwave each plate for one minute just to get the bacon started cooking.  You want the bacon to be partially cooked otherwise it will take forever  to cook in the oven, and even then you might end up with bacon that is less than crispy.

Wrap your precooked bacon around the little smokie and secure with a toothpick.  Alternately you can use skewers and line them up on the skewers like kebabs.  When you are finished wrapping the bacon, place the smokies, and the brown sugar into a gallon size Ziploc bag.  Close it up and shake the bag to make sure all the smokies have a good coating of brown sugar.  If you are using skewers, sprinkle them with brown sugar.

Bake until the bacon is crisp and the brown sugar is melted, about 20 minutes.  And if you forget about them in the oven like I did, don't worry.  They still taste fantastic over cooked! Pin It

Burnt Sugar Almonds

There are some foods that when you taste them they immediately bring to mind memories and emotions that were locked away in your mind.  It's like suddenly remembering a wonderful dream.  These almonds do that for me.

My mom probably made over a hundred different recipes for Christmas treats over the years while I was growing up.  I remember a sweet almond recipe that I just could not get enough of as a kid.  As an adult I tried to get that recipe from my Mom.  Unfortunately my mom acquired many sugared almond recipes but none of them was the one I remembered!  I tried a number of recipes that were all pretty good, but none were amazing.

Then last year I discovered this recipe on Tasty Kitchen.  It was a dream come true.  At the first bite emotions that I didn't know were in me rushed to the surface.  They were so good, I had to make another batch two days later because the first one was all gone.

This is not a difficult recipe to make but is does require your constant attention.  Don't worry.  It's worth it. In about 30 minutes they're done and you just made a fantastic homemade treat for your family.

Burnt Sugar Almonds

1 and 1/3 cup sugar (divided)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups raw almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla


To start, you need to get out parchment paper or a silpat to put the almonds on when they are done.  Then you will need to have your ingredients out near the stove so you can add them when you are ready.  Have 1/3 cup of the sugar already measured so you can use it at the right time.

In a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan combine 1 cup of the sugar, the water, and the cinnamon.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  When it boils add almonds and turn the heat up to high.  Stir constantly until all the water is evaporated, about 5-10 minutes.

In this photo the almonds are mostly dry but are just starting
to become shiny.

When water is gone turn the heat to medium low.  At this point the almonds are going to look dry and powdery and you will be wondering why you are stirring.  Keep stirring.  After a few minutes the sugar will start to melt and the almonds will become shiny.

When the almonds are all coated in the shiny melted sugar, add the reserved 1/3 cup sugar and the vanilla.  Stir just a couple minutes longer until the almonds are mostly shiny but still have a few lumps of sugar on them.  Immediately pour it out onto your parchment paper.  Spread the almonds out with a spoon so that they don't dry in a clump.


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Sauteed Corn with Lemon and Thyme

I enjoy cooking for company.  I'll pick a favorite main course, homemade rolls, and dessert from scratch.  I want the whole meal to be fantastic, but the problem is when after making these items I just don't have time for the side dishes.  I really hate to cook up frozen corn for dinner.  It just seems so blah compared to the rest of the meal, so why bother?

This my friends, is no ordinary frozen corn.  Though it takes only minutes to prepare the taste is out of this world.  Sweet buttery corn with a suggestion of lemon and fresh thyme.  Thanks to the thyme growing in my garden this corn is no longer just reserved for company.

I got this recipe from a sweet friend of mine who sadly no longer blogs.  I do suggest that you check out her blog since it is still listed.  It will inspire you to be a better mother, wife, and . . cook.  Her photography is amazing and she is just as delightful in real life as she seems in her blog.

Sauteed Corn with Lemon and Thyme

1/4 cup butter
3 cups frozen corn (thawed and drained)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar

Melt butter in a large skillet(I like using my cast iron skillet) over medium high heat.  Add the rest of the ingredients and saute about 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste  DONE!  It's that easy.


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Toffee

Growing up in my family Christmas always had a plethora of food because every year there are always too many new recipes to try.  Do you do the same thing?  Do you ogle over all the delicious looking recipes but know that you don't possibly have time to make all of them.  How do you narrow it down?  There was only one recipe that make the cut with my mom every year.  Crunchy toffee with smooth chocolate topped with almonds consistently made the cut.  Toffee was everyone's favorite. Especially mine.

It's actually a fairly easy recipe to make.  The key is to find an old penny to help you.  An old brown penny (not a shiny new copper one) is exactly the color you want your toffee to be when you finish cooking.  This is the most important part as under cooking will make chewy toffee and over cooking will just taste burnt.  Work quickly to get the toffee out of the cooking pot and into the cool pan because it will keep cooking in the hot pot even if you take it off the heat.


Toffee

1 Cup real butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 T Corn Syrup
3 T water
8 oz milk chocolate chopped
1 cup finely chopped toasted almonds


Prepare a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan by coating it with butter.

Melt butter in a heavy 2 quart saucepan

Add sugar corn syrup and water and cook until hard crack stage (300 degrees or as mom says cook until it is the same color as an old penny).

Immediately pour onto prepared pan.  Wait only a couple minutes for it to solidify then while it's still warm spread milk chocolate on top. Allow the heat of the toffee to melt the chocolate then spread chocolate with a spatula.  Sprinkle almonds on top and lightly press into melted chocolate. When completely cool break into pieces and store in covered container.
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Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

I don't remember where I first got the recommendation for Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking, From My Home to Yours" , but I am indebted to whomever it was.   I picked it up from the library to see if it was any good and I have been enjoying it ever since.  I normally try to avoid cookbooks where the basis is desserts.  Because really, I don't need any more sweets.  But I just couldn't resist with this one.  Her recipes are so delicious that when my brother found out I started this blog he immediately requested that I post "the chocolate cake with caramel frosting with peanuts."  I had made it for him about a year ago, but it is a cake worth remembering.

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One thing I love about Dorie is her introduction which says "Until I was a junior in college, my sole cooking experience consisted of burning down my parents' kitchen when I was thirteen... I didn't bake so much as a chocolate chip cookie."  I love that she made it to adulthood without knowing anything about cooking but then ended up an amazing cook.  It helps me to remember that even though I'm an adult I can still learn something new and even become fabulous at it.

Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake
Adapted from a recipe by Dori Greenspan

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Ingredients:

Cake:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
5 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or chocolate chips)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup salted peanuts

Start by buttering and flouring a 8 inch round spring form pan.  Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper (trace the pan on a piece of parchment for sizing).  Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (or use a double broiler).  Melt the butter and chocolate in the bowl stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and the eggs then whisk in the corn syrup and vanilla.  Mix in the melted butter chocolate mixture.  Whisk in the flour mixture only until it is just incorporated.  Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 40 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool for 15 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.  Cool the cake to room temperature, invert it and remove the parchment paper.  Place cake on serving platter.

To make the topping place the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium high heat.  Heat without stirring until the caramel turns a deep amber color about 8 minutes.  Lower the heat and add the butter and cream.  Stand back, it will bubble up and spatter.  Wait a moment for the spattering to lessen then stir.  Add the peanuts.  Spoon the caramel covered peanuts over the cake and then spoon enough caramel to cover the peanuts over the cake.  You will probably have caramel left over but as Dorie says it's too hard to work with smaller ingredient amounts.

Christmas Wassail

It's officially December.  There are so many reasons to love December.  The festivities, the friendliness, family and food.  In December we make food that we don't make the rest of the year special treats come out.  Have you ever had wassail?  There are many different recipes out there.  This recipe was so good it was served at my brother's December wedding.  This one has pineapple juice in it which really makes it special.  Hot, citrusy, and sweet I also use it to sooth the sore throats that come this time of year.

Christmas Wassail


Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
6 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
4 cups water divided
3 cups apple juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine 2 cups of the water with the sugar and spices.  Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Let this stand for several hours to get all the great flavor from the cinnamon and cloves.  When ready to serve strain and combine with the juices and the rest of the water.  Heat and serve. Pin It