You will need this. Trust me. This little recipe (thank you Martha Stewart) with only 4 ingredients will become the base of many desserts I plan on bestowing upon you during the upcoming holiday season. In fact, later this week I will kick off the Holiday Desserts series.
Don’t pretend you’re not excited.
Memorize this recipe. Say it out loud 50 times if you have to. Make flashcards. Keep a 3×5 up on the mirror in the bathroom. Whatever you need to do to learn it, do it…this guy is your holiday dessert weapon.
Plus, it’s quite tasty.
You can make the dough in a food processor, but it’s risky unless you really know what you’re doing. I do mine by hand and just cut in the butter with a pastry blender.
Makes enough for one double-crust or two single-crust 9-inch pies
Ingredients::
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed
Directions::
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add the butter, and cut in butter by hand with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining.
- Add the ice water and continuing to use the pastry blender, mix it in gently, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not over blend. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a little more water, 1 TBS at a time.
- Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen up to one month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
Oh, my. My roommate/soul mate went and got married on Saturday.
Before I spent the rest of my Saturday crying at every little thing – “I’m so lonely! Amy’s never coming back!” Amy’s vows. Amy’s dad’s speech. Amy’s dad’s prayer. Zach and Amy’s stories. Honestly… – I made breakfast for her bridal party and closest friends.
At least I’m good for something other than crying.
If you love quiche, you will love this version. It is light, fluffy, and easy. There are a ton of vegetables (hidden, for the kids maybe?) and I really like that zucchini has a starring role in here. The most time consuming part of this dish is actually cutting up all the vegetables and sauteing them.
This would make a great breakfast/brunch entree – or even dinner. I mean, the world’s “most perfect food” should be eaten at any time of day, right? Please look past the ingredient “11 large eggs” and remember that this equals less than 1 egg per person. It’s ok, I promise.
Go wild.
Makes about 12 servings
Ingredients::
- 11 large eggs
- 3 cups lowfat Mexican-blend cheese
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free cottage cheese
- Cooking spray
- 4 cups sliced zucchini (about 4)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (about 1)
- 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Directions::
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Beat eggs in a large bowl until fluffy. Add 1/2 the cheese, milk, flour, baking powder, salt, and cottage cheese.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add zucchini, onion, and bell pepper; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the zucchini mixture to egg mixture.
- Pour mixture into a 3-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Top with the remaining cheese. Arrange tomato slices over cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove dish from oven), and bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and set.
Alright, alright. I know. Fruit? The men are saying, “What the heck is this stuff on my plate?” However boys, all’s fair in love and football.
Football season coincides with holiday season. While this may a be a food dream for some, it is a jeans nightmare for others. So I created this little accompaniment to go along with all that meat. And cheese. And salt.
Bananas, apples, and strawberries. Lime juice. Sugar. That’s it! I love, love, love the way that bananas deconstruct and become a little gooey mixed with citrus juice and the juices from the other fruits. Lime or lemon juice also keeps the apples and bananas from oxidizing (turning brown and becoming gross) and adds a punch of vitamin C. I personally like lime juice because it’s different and fun.
This is a real fruit salad. None of that crazy jello/whipped cream add in stuff. Feel free to mix and match your fruits. I also may or may not have used Splenda (but I’ll never tell).
Makes about 8 servings
Ingredients::
- 2 apples, cored, and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 bananas, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced in half or quarters
- 1 oz. lime juice
- 2 TBS sugar
Directions::
- Combine cut fruit in medium bowl. Gently stir in lime juice and sugar. Refrigerate until chilled or serve at room temperature.
Oh good gracious. Please Notre Dame, PLEASE pull out a make-it-look-easy win. I honestly don’t think I can handle another week of the emotional torture that you are putting Ryan through.
Not to mention, the food is all but wasted if it gets thrown across the room as the men jump up off the couch in dismay.
This hasn’t actually happened, don’t worry. I’m just sympathizing with you ladies out there.
This week, we explore two popular pizza toppings, bacon and pineapple. Rolled up together. And in true appetizer fashion – secured with a toothpick.
Let me just say that I am not usually a “toothpick holder” person. I honestly find them to be a bit…tacky? However, sometimes a girl’s got no choice.
The bacon gets dredged in brown sugar before you wrap it around the pineapple. It’s quite amazing really.
For the women, football season is about a third of the way over. Keep the hope, girls!
For the men, remember…if you throw it across the room, you must clean it up. And probably will be serving yourself PB & J for the rest of the season.
Just a thought.
Makes 15 servings – this is relative to what you deem a “serving”
Ingredients::
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 can chunked pineapple
- ½ cup brown sugar
Directions::
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the pound of bacon in half. Put the brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Take a half slice of bacon and dredge it through the brown sugar.
- Put two chunks of pineapple, side by side, on one end of the bacon slice and roll up. Secure with a toothpick and place on jellyroll pan or cookie sheet.
- Bake for at least 25 minutes, or until the bacon looks brown and crispy.
My quest to create the best mascarpone cream based dessert continues. This was a mildly successful venture. Don’t get me wrong, it was good! There is definitely some room for improvement though. For example, next time I will mix the melted chocolate into the mascarpone cream base. And I will make puffs out of the pastry instead of squares. Then I’d fill them like an eclair or something.
What I’m saying is, my recipe is sound. Learn from my mistakes and go forth. And if you do it my way, it will still taste good, but Ryan and I discovered that the best tasting parts had a solid mixture of chocolate and cream in every bite. So spread it out, good and thick, even into the corners!
PS, Currently I have no electric mixer so I literally whipped the cheese and cream by hand. I just want you to know that this was a labor of love. For you. And maybe me.
Makes about 6 square pastries
Ingredients::
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 TBS vanilla extract
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Directions::
- Preheat oven to 430 degrees F. Whip the mascarpone, vanilla, and cream on medium-high until medium peaks form. Set aside. Meanwhile, cut puff pastry sheet into 6 squares. Lay evenly on baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking rack.
- After pastries have cooled, slice in half and spoon a generous layer of melted chocolate onto bottom half (see photo). Next, spoon a thick layer of mascarpone cream onto chocolate. Fold pastry over to form a “sandwich”. Top with any remaining mascarpone and chocolate.
Week 4 of college football season is here. Man, I hope that’s a correct fact, otherwise men everywhere will delete me from their RSS feeds forever.
Well, anyway this week’s fantasy football food consists of 3 things that most men love: Chili. Beef. Bread. Oh, and cheese. So 4 things.
Chili is already one of Fall and Winter’s best dishes. Add to that cornbread, cheese, and one-dish easiness, and this may become one of your go-to meals for the season. And boys, while I realize that this is not eating-with-your-hands-food, I don’t think that one week of eating with a real bowl and spoon will make you feel like any less of a man.
Don’t like beef? Use ground chicken or turkey instead. Vegetarian? Leave all the meat out. There are plenty of beans and vegetables to make this a great stand alone meal. Tip:: buy or make a little extra cornbread. It’s such a great partner to chili.
Ryan watched me make this the whole way through. And threatened to keep my pie plate. I think he has plans to make it himself! Now that’s what I call a culinary success!
Makes about 5 servings
Ingredients::
- 1 pound cornbread (you can buy it pre-made at Whole Foods)
- 1 (15-ounce) can vegetarian bean chili
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney or black beans, drained
- 1 (12.5-ounce) jar medium salsa
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack & Cheddar cheese
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
Directions::
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Season and brown the ground beef in a saute pan over medium high heat until cooked through. Crumble half of the cornbread into a medium size baking dish or regular size pie pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the chili, beans and salsa. Spoon the chili mixture evenly over the cornbread. Spoon the ground beef over the chili mixture. Crumble the remaining cornbread over the beef. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese.
- Bake in the top third of the oven for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and top is golden brown. Allow to sit 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Ladies, it’s time to abandon all your good eating habits for one evening. Gents, we already know you pretty much eat whatever, so maybe lace up those running sneaks.
I’ve got Alfredo.
I won’t call it “Fettucini Alfredo” because I used spaghetti noodles. And I’m here to spur your creativity, so please call it “insert pasta here alfredo” until you decide on noodles I guess.
To repair my arteries, I used whole wheat pasta. Plus, it holds up better to all that thick sauce anyway.
And can hold more weight in cheese, so good choice on my part I think. Oh, and I added spinach.
This is ridiculously easy. Alfredo might be another one of those things you thought was harder, but really isn’t. You could also use this sauce as an accompaniment to poultry.
Please don’t hate me.
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Ingredients::
- 6 TBS butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- baby spinach
- salt & pepper, to taste
Directions::
- Melt the butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Let simmer for about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and parmesan cheese, stirring constantly until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Continue to warm over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add spinach to sauce just before serving. Stir to wilt leaves.
- Serve over cooked pasta or chicken.
P.S. I finally (finally!) saw Julie & Julia and am now dying to go to culinary school. Anyone else?
