Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Guinness-Glazed Lamb Chops

This is one of those recipes, that while the execution might not have been exactly what was intended, the results still turned out pretty dang good.

Being that it was near St. Patricks Day (you probably just realized I'm a bit behind on posting...taking a month or so off of blogging means lots of catching up) I wanted to cook with some Guinness. I originally saw this on various Pinterest boards and found that it came from Epicurious.com. I figured lamb with a Guinness glaze would be a prefect dish to serve pre holiday.

We bought a non-frenched small rack of lamb. Mr. L and I like having a little meat on the bone to chew on since that little bit of meat has such great flavor*. We've found we'd rather get the rack and cut it up ourselves than buy individual lamb chops (of course your butcher can do that for you). We usually have to ask the guy behind the counter for the non-frenched rack of lamb as it's not always out on display.

As I mentioned, this ended up having great flavor...but somewhere along the line I had problems. You see my nice "glaze" that was supposed to be brushed on the lamb before cooking and then drizzled on after? Didn't happen. Instead I had nice solid round discs of what seemed like candy. My glaze seized up on me and became a solid mass and I had no idea how to fix it. We microwaved our little solid discs a bit and tried pouring it on the chops but the glaze immediately became hard again. It looked like we had a disc of caramel candy on each chop! The good thing is that once the lamb was cooked, the disc became a sauce and coated the chops nicely. We ended up just cooking the lamb chops with the little discs on top and not worrying about having sauce to drizzle over after cooking.

Really good flavor. This was super simple to put together and gave the lamb a nice finish even if our sauce was a paste (or not even a paste really...caramel disc is what I'd call it). This recipe is also a great way to use up some leftover Guinness (if there is such a thing) or you can be like me...specifically buy Guinness to cook with so you have leftover to drink. And if you think about it, candy discs of Guinness might not be all that bad.

GUINNESS-GLAZED LAMB CHOPS
(Epicurious)

2 cups (16 ounces) Guinness stout
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
16 rib lamb chops (buy separately or buy two 8-rib racks of lamb and cut them yourself into individual chops)

Bring stout, sugar, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 2-quart nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then continue boiling (keep an eye on it and reduce heat to keep it from boiling over) until glaze is syrupy and reduced to about 1/2 cup, 20 to 30 minutes.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard solids.

Preheat broiler.

Pat chops dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Divide glaze between 2 small bowls and set aside for use later. Brush both sides of chops with glaze (from remaining bowl) and arrange on rack of a broiler pan.

Broil 5 inches from heat, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium rare. (Don't hesitate to cut and peek to check on doneness of the meat.)

Transfer chops to a platter and drizzle with reserved glaze.

Note: We cut the recipe in half.

Note: We ended up having much more glaze since it seized before we got down to th 1/2 a cup syrup it says to reduce to. But we liked having lots of the "candy" on each chop.

Note: Obviously we didn't strain our glaze as it's hard to strain a solid mass of candy-type sauce!

Note: We actually did have a bit of Guinness leftover (no worries, many bottles were opened) and Mr. L heated that up, added some butter and such and sauteed some mushrooms that we ate with the chops. Great combo. Just in case you open too many bottles and accidentally really do have a bit of Guinness left.

*Some of you may think that getting non-frenched racks of lamb means lamb bones for the dogs once dinner is over. But we don't have dogs. So we have to gnaw on the bones ourselves because it would really just be wrong to let those little tidbits go to waste. But if you are so inclined, get the non-frenched version and give the bones to your dogs. They will love you. Trust me.

 

Mint Oreos Dipped In White Chocolate

Currently that thing called work is still kicking my butt. I'd also like to point out that Murphy's Law has taken up residence at my job as we've had some of the busiest days on record. So though I'm cooking a bit (or at least providing Mr. L and I with food to eat when it's my turn), I'm still not finding time to try out all the great recipes I seem to be coming across. Or maybe it's just by the time I get home from work it takes all my energy just to push the on button for the television. Huge props go out to Mr. L who has taken up the daunting task of not only cooking every other week, but doing all the meal planning (and that's breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks), shopping and cooking for that week.

For St. Patrick's Day this year, Mr. L cooked our traditional Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage. He also scored some wonderful Irish Soda Bread from the caterer at his work. With this wonderful holiday meal, I figured I needed to come up with a dessert...something that was quick and easy. These White Chocolate Dipped Oreos fit the bill.

I have several "holiday" recipes that are basically the same, it's the color that changes. Cookie Bark and M&M Topped Brownies are two of the ones I've already posted here. Dipping Oreos in white chocolate and topping them with holiday coordinated sprinkles is another quick idea that makes for a festive (easy, quick) dessert. You only need three ingredients....Oreos, white chocolate, and sprinkles. The easy part is that Oreoss usually come out in coordinating colors around the appropriate holidays. Orange for Halloween, Peppermint for Christmas etc. In fact, I've taken the Peppermint Oreos, dipped them in white chocolate and then, instead of sprinkles, topped them with bits of crushed peppermints (you can get bags of the stuff at Trader Joes during the Christmas holidays).

I've had this link from Dandelions and Dust Bunnies pinned for a while. You can find lots of "recipes" out there for dipped Oreos if you look.

Note: You don't need specialty Oreo's, plain old white ones will do. You could even tint the white chocolate to the appropriate holiday color.

Note: To make these look more professional pay attention to the location of the logo on the cookie. I just dunked them in the white chocolate without even looking (or honestly, caring).

Note: You can find holiday sprinkles at Michaels. If you are local, Lunardis bakery area always has tubs of the stuff during holidays. Your local grocery store may do the same thing. I've already picked up Lunardis "Easter" version just in case. I think they'd go well on the Berry Oreos.

Note: I used a couple of mini muffin tins to stand up the dipped Oreos in so that both sides looked good.

Note: You can use sprinkles, colored sugar, Nonpareils, sparkle dust, edible paints, and sugar pearls as toppings on these.

 

Peanut Butter Football Dip

I loved this dip. And pretty much anybody who tried it also loved it. Did I mention it was actually quite easy to make? Dessert in an appetizer. My kind of food.

I made this for the SuperBowl. Which if you were a 49er fan, wasn't so super. I originally found the idea for this on Pinterest. I believe the original recipe came from the blog Crazy for Crust (though the recipe is not new, putting it into the football shape might be). I decided to go with her recipe for the dip as it sounded good. There are a ton of Peanut Butter Dip recipes online that you can use if the one from Crazy for Crust doesn't appeal to you.

I served this with football shaped pretzels that I found at Cost Plus World Market. Everyone liked the dip though some had to have it explained that it actually was a dip and that you used the pretzels to scoop up the mixture. My favorite reaction though was from one of The Men Who Drive The Cars. I brought the mixture into work and let my co-workers and drivers have a taste. I knew that I had a hit on my hands when the driver came back the next day asking if I had any of the football left. The success of the dip kinda (though not really) made the 49er loss just a tad bit less painful.

You can find the recipe for this here:

 

PEANUT BUTTER FOOTBALL DIP
(Crazy For Crust)

 

NOTE: Didn't add the extra half cup of powdered sugar. I wanted the dip to be easy to use since the football shaped pretzels I got were pretty flimsy. I think I might like it just a bit thicker next time and would add a bit more powdered sugar. I think regular pretzels would hold up just fine.

NOTE: I might draw a football shape on the wax paper before trying to shape the dip into a football since I sucked at the football shaping by hand. I definitely put this back into the fridge for a bit so that it made it easier to shape.

NOTE: I used a flat spatula to level the top and sides of the dip after it was shaped. Once I shaped the football to my liking I trimmed the rest of the wax paper so it didn't show so much.

NOTE: I found the Jimmie's at Cost Plus (couldn't find them in any of my local or gourmet markets). They had a milk chocolate and a dark chocolate...I used the dark. A bit tough to finagle the jimmies on...I used that small flat spatula to help adhere to the sides of the football shape.

NOTE: I used a tube bottle of white frosting to make the laces. You can check online for folks who really got creative and tried to make it all look like a real football...I figured an approximation would work.

I thought this was a very cool dish to bring to a football party. The dip itself was pretty good so if you are creative, you could shape it into just about anything you want. And you don't really need pretzels, you could use fruit (apples seems to be the thing). Or a spoon.

 

Bloody Mary Flank Steak

I know Guy Fieri gets a lot of crap these days. I have eaten in one of his restaurants locally here in San Jose and though some of the dishes weren't my favorites, some were very good. He might be a little crazy but I kinda like that. I've eaten at several of the places he's featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives and cooked from one of those cookbooks and had great success (American Chop Suey). I've always felt he would be a kick to hang out with. But he does seem to be the one to make fun of.

We enjoyed this recipe. I put the flank steak in the marinade and reduced the sauce the night before so it made a quick dinner when I got home from work. Both Mr. L and I liked the flavor and liked having something different to go with our steak. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? No. But it's something that we will make again.

I found the recipe through Pinterest and the Serious Eats Website. The recipe comes from The Guy Fieri Food cookbook. No I do not own this cookbook. Yes, there is actually a cookbook out there I do not own LOL.

BLOODY MARY FLANK STEAK
(Guy Fieri-Serious Eats)

1 cup vegetable juice (Guy recommends V8)
1/2 cup vodka
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Guy recommends Tabasco)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 garlic gloves, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground celery seed
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound flank steak
Small celery stalks and leaves, and grilled tomatoes, for garnish (optional)

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix all the ingredients except for the flank steak and the garnish. Pour half the marinade into a resealable 1-gallon plastic bag and add the flank steak. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.

Pour the remaining marinade into a saucepan over medium-high and simmer until it is reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Preheat a grill to high or heat a skillet over high heat. Remove the flank steak from the marinade and wipe off the excess liquid with paper towels. (Discard the meat's marinade.) Grill or pan-sear both sides, then lower the heat to medium and cook to medium rare (135 degrees F), 8 to 10 minutes.

Let the flank steak rest, covered with foil, for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut the steak on the bias across the grain and serve with the reduced marinade. If desired, garnish with celery and tomatoes.

Serves 4 to 8

NOTE: I used V8 and Tabasco...not because Guy recommended them, but because they are favorites of mine too.

NOTE: I left the actual cooking of the steak to Mr. L who just broiled the steak to medium rare.

NOTE: Did not garnish with celery and tomatoes. I suck at garnish. Always forget even if I have bought the ingredients. Luckily garnish is usually optional.

Again, very tasty, not too much work, something I can put together the night before if I have time and then come home and put a decent meal on the table.

 

 

Baked Mashed Potatoes With Bacon And Cheddar (or Twice Baked Potato Casserole)

So when I first came across this recipe on Pinterest, it was the name that got me. Twice Baked Potato Casserole. Yummy. Visions of baking potatoes (skin and all) and then making it into some sort of casserole (skin and all) were my thoughts. It wasn't until I looked closer at the instructions that I realized there was no 'twice' baking. You boiled the potatoes and then baked them. Dang. That meant having to peel potatoes. Searching the interwebs I found that this is actually a Martha Stewart recipe called Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Cheddar. But that title didn't do the recipe justice either as it then gets lumped into regular mashed potato recipes (no pun intended with that lumped comment). So, I've renamed this Baked Mashed Potatoes. You can call it whatever you want. Cuz you will call it. Because it's potatoes and cheese and bacon. Which all work in my book.

One of the changes that the other recipes made to Marthas was leaving out the grated onion which I did. Not that I don't like onions, I just got lazy and didn't feel like grating them. Or maybe I just completely forgot to add them. Your choice.

BAKED MASHED POTATOES WITH BACON AND CHEDDAR
(Martha Stewart Living November Holiday 2002)

5 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
8 ounces bacon (about 10 slices)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1 small onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater, juice reserved
1/2 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.

Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the onion and any onion juice, chives, 2 cups cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.

Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.

Serves 8 to 10.

NOTE: I bought one of those five pound bags of russet potatoes thinking that was making it easier. Bad idea. Besides the fact that several of the potatoes were bad (which I couldn't see because the offending potatoes were hidden behind that brown plastic wrapper), they were smaller and took tons of time peeling (do you get the feeling that I don't like to peel potatoes!). Next time I'd just get five pounds of the large russets.

NOTE: Of course I made more bacon than the ten slices called for, who do you think this is anyway? I used regular Oscar Meyer bacon as I thought my regular thick cut stuff from the market might not incorporate as well into the dish. I wanted maximum baconness in each bite.

NOTE: I left out the grated onions entirely. Which I meant to do. You can have a brain fart do that too.

NOTE: Yes, I put more than half a cup of grated cheese on the top. In fact a lot more. I like cheesy.

NOTE: No I did not use a fork to mash five pounds of potatoes. I was lazy and just used my potato masher. I mean who mashes five pounds of potatoes with a fork anyway? (except for Goddess Martha of course).

NOTE: The recipe states that you can make this through step 3 (which is through adding the onion, chives, cheese, bacon, and combining) the night before and bake it the next day.

I did find the dish to be a bit on the dry side (which might be because I used more of a flat rectangle dish to bake in instead of a deep round dish?) but nothing that a bit of butter or some added sour cream on my part didn't fix. Or maybe that was just because I usually like my baked or mashed potatoes swimming in butter and sour cream? Definitely make this again (and it really would be great for a pot luck).

Linguini with Roasted Beets, Fresh Tarragon and Caraway

I do not like beets. I will eat all sorts of strange vegetables like okra, turnips, and brussels sprouts...but I've never been fond of beets. I'm sure this aversion started with those rubbery rounds of beets that tended to be in any salad one ordered at restaurants years ago. The kind where the beet coloring would leak all over pieces of the salad making it totally inedible on my part. So last year when we started receiving our CSA box, and it always had some beets included, I happily gave away most of the beet bounty. Friends and co-workers were thrilled. Unfortunately they kept trying to give me wonderful recipes that incorporated said offending vegetable because they were sure that their recipe would cure me of my anti-beet ways. I almost came up with a "beet allergy" just to stop the kind offers. But I am weak and felt bad rebuffing their kindness so I decided to stop giving out the beets. I then figured I better use the beets in a recipe (which I knew I'd hate) so that when asked I could at least say I tried to like the beet.

Somewhere in my anti-beet mind, I remembered reading or hearing that roasting beets gave them a very nice complex flavor. Since I'm all for roasting vegetables, I went in search of a roasted beet recipe that would tantalize the taste buds (or one that wouldn't leave me with a scrunched up OHMYGODTHISBEETSUCKS look on my face). I came across many different variations on a theme...roast the beets, cook them with something (be it spinach, pine nuts, cheese, beet greens, chard), and lots of different types of pasta used to put the beet concoction over. But it was Viviane's linguine roasted beet recipe from the wonderful blog Food & Style that caught my eye. Her photograph of the finished dish was amazing! Such wonderful rich color to the pasta. I figured no way my dish would turn out that beautiful, but I was willing to give it a try.

I still hate beets. But oh my I loved this dish. I ate this for days (it reheated well). And the color! Wow, best presentation ever. It looked so appetizing served on a white plate with a bit of greens for a pop of contrasting color. And again, it didn't taste like beets. Or maybe it did. Suffice to say it didn't taste like any beet I'd ever encountered. The roasted beet flavor wasn't overpowering and maybe, just maybe, should I ever be gifted with some beets in the future, I'll keep them. If you are a fan of beets, then you really need to try this dish. Even if you are not a fan, maybe this will make you one. Just cook the dang dish!

Do check out the original recipe here from Food & Style. It's a wonderful blog full of great recipes and amazing photographs. I love her style section where I got some wonderful ideas on presentation of dishes.

LINGUINI WITH ROASTED BEETS, FRESH TARRAGON AND CARAWAY
(Reprinted with permission from Food & Style)

6 medium red beet roots - washed and trimmed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoons sea salt for the pasta water
1 lb (454gr) linguini
4 large garlic cloves - skinned and minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
3/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

tarragon sprigs as garnish
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C)

Step 1: Place the beets in a medium baking dish. Fill the pan with 1/2" water. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until tender. Remove from pan and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Step 2: Peel the beets with the back of a knife. Using a mandoline, cut the beets in 1/16" julienne slices. (If you don't have a mandoline, slice the beets crosswise in 1/8" slices and then cut them in julienned strips.) Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Cooks Note: The beets can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Step 3: Heat a large, non-stick heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add the oil, caraway seeds and beets. Saute for 10 to 12 minutes until the beets have caramelized, tossing from time to time (the beet slices will lose their moisture, shrink by half and look very dark around the edges.). Remove from heat and set skillet aside.

Step 4: Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the salt and the pasta. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain well.

Step 5: While the pasta is draining, return skillet to the stove and heat over high heat. When the beets begin to sizzle, add the garlic and vinegar. Saute for 1 minute only, until the vinegar has completely evaporated and glazed the beet slices. Add the pasta, reserved pasta cooking water, fresh tarragon, salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce. (It's while tossing the pasta with the beets that the pasta acquires it's gorgeous red color. You'll marvel at how fast it happens and how intense the color is!)

Step 6: Spoon pasta in bowls. Garnish with tarragon sprig, drizzle with a little olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 4

The above recipe was reprinted with permission from Food & Style. The notes below and the photograph of the finished dish are from me.

NOTE: I actually used a different recipe (which I can't currently find but will post if I do) to roast the beets.

NOTE: I did not use a mandoline, I used a knife which turned out to be pretty easy to do. I did roast the beets the day before to make it easier and quicker to put together the dinner after work the next day.

NOTE: Viviane recommends serving Roasted Beet Linguini with Bonny Doone Vineyard wines (which you can read about here).

This is probably one of the top ten dishes I've ever made. Surprisingly good flavor (considering it included that disgusting vegetable call a beet), and such a vibrant looking dish to serve to guests!

Red, White and Blue Cookie Bark

Continuing my 4th of July goodies, this cookie bark is a wonderful blend of salty and sweet. And a great way to use up leftover Oreo's, should there ever be such a thing. I went out and bought a new bag of Oreo's...and this recipe didn't use the whole bag, so now maybe I need to make another batch. It didn't help that the day I made these I finally got around to watching the last episodes of House (which the connection won't mean a thing unless you saw said episodes). So yeah, I looked at my bag of Oreo's and got all weepy. Sigh.

Anyway, another quick 4th treat that is super simple to make and can be coordinated for any holiday. You could even use holiday Oreo's if you can find them (I'm thinking the Halloween Oreos with the Halloween or Fall M&M's will go great!). The best photo of the Oreo Cookie Bark with a recipe I found on Pinterest is here. The recipe for Halloween bark which is the recipe I'll use for pretty much any holiday bark is on the Kraft site here.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE COOKIE BARK

16 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups miniature pretzel twists, coarsely broken
1 12-oz package White Chocolate Chips
Enough white chocolate melts to make a pound of white chocolate
3/4 a bag of Patriotic M&M's
Red, White and Blue Sprinkles, Jimmies or sugar

Line a rectangle baking sheet pan with a silpat liner, parchment paper, or lightly grease with cooking spray.

Mix the chopped Oreo's with the broken pretzels and spread in an even layer over baking sheet.

Gently heat the white chocolate chips and white melts in the microwave (do not overheat!)

Spread the warm chocolate mixture over the oreo/pretzel mixture using a spatula to evenly coat all ingredients. Top with M&M's and sprinkles; lightly press into chocolate mixture to secure.

Cool until firm, then break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

NOTE: Don't pulverize the Oreo's. You want some small chunks to give the bark texture and a nice look.

NOTE: Though lots of recipes say to use all white melts for better consistency (you know the packages you can get at Michaels that come in quarter size discs) using good quality white chocolate chips makes for better flavor. I've started mixing the two (more chips than melts though) to get a nice dipping or pouring consistency. How much you use of each is a personal preference. I just made sure I ended up with a pound of chocolate.

NOTE: You could use a whole bag of M&M's, I wanted room for the sprinkles.

NOTE: Though most of the photos of this type of bark used the red, white and blue sprinkles that include stars, I couldn't find any...or any that I'd buy. I found one ridiculously exspensive bottle of the stuff at Michaels. I ended up just using blue and red sugar to blend in between the M&M's.

NOTE: I just used some parchment paper without any cooking spray and the bark came up fine.

NOTE: I'd say use a 13x9 or 10x15 inch cooking sheet. I was worried that I had too much "stuffing" and that the chocolate would spread enough or hold the mixture together. You can see by the photo below that my mixture didn't cover the entire sheet pan so don't spread it out to thin.

NOTE: When microwaving white chocolate chips, I read that it should be done in a bowl that doesn't collect heat, otherwise the chips might overheat. So I melted mine in a heavy tupperware type plastic  bowl. It still got hot so I'm not sure it helped at all. Microwave at 50% power in 30 second increments. Even though it looks like the chips haven't melted, take them out at each interval and stir. Better to stir a bit to melt the entire batch than have the mixture seize up from overheating.

NOTE: Definitely smush the M&M's and any sprinkles into the chocolate coating to make them adhere. Even though I did this, once the mixture set, there were plenty of M&M's and bits of this and that in the pan after breaking into pieces. Take all that goodness and use it to top some ice cream.

Again, couldn't be simpler or quicker to get a treat on the table after dinner. Or to nibble on before dinner. Or during the day. Or while your at work. Or waiting in line at the store...

 

Red, White & Blue M&M Topped Brownies

Sometimes it's the simplest recipes that make an impression. This brownie treat is basically a brownie mix and some M&M's. Originally found on Pinterest, the recipe comes from a Betty Crocker boxed brownie mix here.

Now, there is no reason you couldn't just do this to your favorite 'from scratch' brownie recipe. But if you're like me, there are times when you just might not be Betty Baker, and using a mix is the only thing that's going to get that batch of brownies on the table for the pot luck that you completely forgot about until two in the morning the day of said pot luck. Or you forgot that the husband had invited neighbors over after dinner and they expectantly look at you with those "aren't you Betty Baker?" eyes thinking some treat will be coming out of the oven any minute to tickle their tummies. All I know is that I usually have a bag of M&M's for whatever current holiday is upcoming  (I think I even have a "fall" bag still in my stash) and with a premade brownie mix I will always have a holiday dessert I can put on the table. Besides, when I served this to someone at work, they made a comment that they could tell I'd made this from scratch since brownie mixes have an off taste. Score one for the lazy bakers.

RED, WHITE & BLUE M&M TOPPED BROWNIES
(Betty Crocker)

Boxed Brownie Mix (or your favorite brownie mix recipe).
1 Bag of appropriately colored M&M's

Follow the brownie mix recipe. During the last 10-15 minutes of baking, sprinkle the M&M's over the brownie batter.

NOTE: I used the Patriotic Red, White, and Blue M&M's. I only found them at one store in my area (CVS) and they sold out pretty quickly. I'll remember if I want to make this next year, to pick up a couple of bags earlier in the season.

NOTE: I used my favorite boxed brownie mix which is Ghirardelli. They have many different flavors and I like the fact that little Ghirardelli chips are included in the mix.

NOTE: I waited until the last ten minutes of cooking time to put the M&M's on top of the mix and it was almost too late as a crust had already started to form on the top of the brownies. The M&M's don't tend to melt into the brownie mix and when you picked up a cooled piece of brownie, a couple of the candies would fall off. I think if you lightly pressed the M&M's into the top when you put them on the brownie mix it would help them "adhere" better.

NOTE: The Ghirardelli mix I used made an 8x8 pan of brownies. I used about 1/2 to 3/4 of a bag of M&M's to get the look on the top of the finished brownies in the photo. I just kind of dumped the candies on top of the mixture. I've seen where others have arranged the M&M's into a much nicer formation (where the colors are more evenly distributed), where they have placed the M&M's upside down so the logo doesn't show or where every single candie is flat and not on it's side...but I am not Betty Baker and I just didn't want to spend the time.

NOTE: The M&M's crack so don't worry about that.

I now have an excuse to buy bags of holiday M&M's. Now I can tell Mr. L "It's for the brownies Dear. Of course I won't eat them right out of the bag."

Not Yo’ Mama's Banana Pudding

The other day while shopping with my mom, she picked up a box of Nilla Vanilla Wafers. That box brought back so many wonderful childhood memories. It was one of my favorite cookies to eat as a kid (that and Lorna Doones) and I remembered the old Wafer Banana Pudding that folks used to make with them back in the day. I immediately asked my mom if she'd let me make said pudding as I'd remembered seeing a recipe for it on Pinterest. So yes, I deprived my mother of her box of cookies just so I could make a dessert.

The first thing I noticed when I went to look at the recipe for Nilla Banana Pudding was that it wasn't exactly the recipe I remembered from my childhood. It seemed to be a much fancier version and, alas, a much more caloric recipe (not that the original was diet food). The recipe was from a Paula Deen version that used Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies instead of NIlla Wafers. I admit, it's an impressive version with those Chessmen on top, but I really was just looking for the old fashioned version with the Wafers. And while there were many variations of Paulas recipe, it was one by Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour that caught my eye. Okay, just the name of the blog caught my eye, but it was her double pudding  version of the Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding that I decided needed to be made.

The Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour version uses two boxes of the pudding mix which I think just sent this whole thing over the top and made it super rich. But not so rich that anyone who I gave a piece to, didn't ask if they could have seconds! Easy to put together, no baking during the hot months of summer, this is one great blast from the past dessert to serve, especially for this upcoming holiday.

I made a few changes to her recipe which is what I'm listing here. For the original, please go to Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour's original post. Be sure to check out her blog in general (subtitled, A Pinch of June Cleaver, A Dash of Martha Stewart and a Whole Lotta Mommy!). You'll find some tasty recipes and some great DIY home projects.

Of course I do plan on making this again. But next time I'm just gonna go all diva on the thing and drizzle some rum over those wafers...maybe even coconut rum and then mix in some toasted coconut into the pudding mixture. Hey, go big or go home!

NOT YO' MAMA'S BANANA PUDDING
(adapted from Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour)

6 bananas sliced (not too ripe, but not green either)
3 cups milk
2 3.4-ounce boxes Jello Instant French Vanilla Pudding
1 11-ounce box Nilla Vanilla Wafers
1 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 8-ounce container Cool Whip (thawed)

Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan with the Nilla Wafers (I used a glass pan). Evenly slice your bananas and place them on top of your Nilla Wafers overlapping if necessary.

Combine the milk and pudding mix in a medium size bowl using a handheld mixer until just mixed.

In a separate bowl, with the handheld mixer, mix together the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Gradually fold in the Cool Whip.

Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mix and stir until well blended.

Pour the mix evenly over the bananas and smooth to make a flat surface. Layer the remaining Nilla Wafers on top of the pudding mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Makes 12 servings.

NOTE: I used 6 medium bananas that were fairly on the ripe side. Next time I'd probably not let them get as ripe. The recipe I followed only used four bananas but I really wanted a banana taste so I used six. You could use more or less depending on how much banana taste you wanted.

NOTE: Most recipes call for a 12 ounce container of Cool Whip. My store only had the 8 ounce so that's what I used. The mixture almost spilled over the sides of the pan anyway so the 8 ounce worked fine for me. Gave me a more banana flavor I think too.

NOTE: I actually had a good handful of Nilla Wafers left over. I probably could have crowded them in more but chose not to.

NOTE: The cookies need to soften a bit, so this actually works better to meld for several hours before serving. But the bananas do tend to darken after a bit so don't wait too long to serve this.

 

 

 

 

Chex Lemon Buddies

Where have these been all my life and why have I wasted my Chex cereal on regular Chex Mix?

These little Lemon Chex Buddies are addicting. Seriously addicting. Do not put a bowl of them next to you while you watch TV or work on the computer or read a book because you will find the entire bowl has disappeared without you noticing and you won't be able to blame it on the cat who is asleep upstairs.

Lemon Chex Buddies are deceptive. They're just cereal with some powdered sugar and white chocolate. Apart, they are just simple ingredients. Together they are evil little things that must be locked up or when one wakes up in the middle of the night one must gravitate to the cupboard in the kitchen where they are hidden. Or where they were hidden because some evil little husband had already found them stashed away and ate them. Grrrr.

I originally found this on, where else, Pinterest (you can see by most of my last posts that I'm a bit addicted. I promise to cook from one of my cookbooks again soon). Unfortunately the link on the Pin no longer works, but you can find the original recipe on the Chex website here.

Super simple to make, these would make a great addition to a holiday food gift bag (something different to add to all those cookies).

CHEX LEMON BUDDIES
(or Lemon Chex Buddies)

9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

Into a large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seat bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Makes 24 servings (1/2 cup each) at 160 calories per serving (26 grams carbs)

NOTE: While preparing this and putting it in the bag, I really didn't see how it wasn't going to just become a big glob of Chex mess...but the chocolate and sugar did individually coat each Chex piece and once it cooled it wasn't sticky to pick up and eat.

NOTE: There are many variations of these out there. You can use chocolate, add bits of peppermint candies etc.

I'm not kidding. These really are addictive. You've been warned. And don't worry about some of the chex breaking into tiny pieces and the sugar and chocolate not sticking cuz that stuff is really easy to just eat with a spoon once it's left at the bottom of the bowl. Just sayin...

NOTE: Typepad seems to be having issues and it won't let me put spaces between paragraphs so sorry this isn't formatted very well