National Peanut Butter Day and National Pie Day

Image from www.bakersroyale.com

January 23 was National Pie Day...personally shouldn't it be March 14? You know, 3.14....Guess my geekness is showing, oh well. January 24 was National Peanut Butter Day. What better way to celebrate both of those by making a Peanut Butter Pie!

This recipe I found while looking for something that was easy and quick and would meet with my husband's approval. If you love peanut butter and chocolate together, you will like this recipe. Frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Pie.

Ingredients: 24 oreos*, 4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted, 2.5 c whipped cream*, 3/4 c Peanut Butter, creamy*, 1/2 c Powdered Sugar, 1/2 c crushed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions: (1) Prepare a 9" springpan by spraying with cooking spray. If you don't have a springpan, you can use a regular 9" pan just line with foil and have some of the foil hanging over the sides so you can remove the pie easily. You can also use smaller springpans for individual pies. (2) Preheat oven to 350F. (3) Add Oreos to processor and pulse until finely crumbled. Add melted butter to crumbs and mix and then press into the pan*. Bake for 7-10. (4) In a pan over low heat, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar and stir until combined and peanut butter is melted. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. (5) Fold peanut butter mixture into the whipped cream then fold in the crushed peanut butter cups. (6) Pour into pan and freeze for 3 hours. Serve with drizzled caramel and chocolate sauce and top with more crushed peanut butter cups. Enjoy!


*I use Newman's chocolate creme sandwich cookies instead of Oreos.
*If you don't want to do whip cream from scratch, you can use Cool Whip.
*I use Jiff's Natural Peanut Butter or if I have some available, organic peanut butter.
*If you have extra crumbs you can push them along the sides of the pan. You will need to do this if you are using smaller springpans for individual pies.

National Chocolate Day

Image from theyummylife.com blog

January 24 was National Chocolate Day. Personally I'm not a huge fan of chocolate. I would rather have some Sweedish Fish or Sour Patch Kids than chocolate but there are times that I do enjoy a nice dark chocolate bar, or a Charleston Chew, or an Almond Joy. My husband on the other hand has a problem. He IS a chocoholic, just like his mom. Chocolate can't be kept in the house because he'll sniff it out and eat it even if it isn't the type of chocolate he likes. I've been looking at Pinterest for some fast and easy ideas for Valentine's day and I came across this recipe for Brownie Lava Cakes. Since they are individual, I won't have to worry about having left-overs and any left-overs can be given away to other chocoholics.

This recipe is really simple and even though it isn't from scratch, I'm still making it for Valentine's Day. What you will need is a brownie mix, eggs, canola oil, water, Dove Chocolate Promises (dark), ramekins/custard cups/mason jars. It is suggested to use Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge mix. The family size will yield 8 cakes so if you want a smaller number, grab a smaller size box. Custard Cups allow you to see what is going on and they make a rounded shape once they come out of the cup unlike ramekins, which will give you a flat bottom.

Pour the Brownie Mix in a bowl and whisk it until all the lumps are out. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, water, and canola oil as suggested on the back of the mix box. Add another egg to what is required for a cake-like texture. (So if it requires 2 eggs, add 3). Mix the egg mixture in with the brownie mix and stir until incorporated and not lumpy. Prepare custard cups/ramekins by spraying with PAM or another type of cooking spray. Dust with dry brownie mix so the outside of the cake won't be white as it would if you used flour. Add 1/2 c of the brownie mixture to the cups/ramekins. Stack 2 Dove Chocolate Promises in the middle of the cup, pushing down through the batter and then use a knife to spread some batter over the tops of the chocolate. Cook in the Microwave, yes Microwave, on full power for 1 minute. Each microwave is different so cook one first and add additional time as needed. You can cook up to 4 cups at the same time just add 30 more seconds per additional cup. Once done cooking, use a knife to go around the edges of the cake to separate it from a jar, and invert over a plate. Some of the brownie and lava might stick to the bottom but you should still get a nice 'volcanic-like' cake. Top with whipped cream and fruit or even more molten lava (chocolate) and enjoy.

If you want, you can use the mason jars (1/2 pint) and just eat out of the jar. I'm planning on doing this since I have a ton of mason jars around and I won't have to worry about washing more dishes.Last year I made individual Chocolate souffles so this will be a fun treat to enjoy on Valentine's Day.

Been awhile...

Yes it has been awhile since I've posted a blog about the bakery. To be honest with you once the Holidays hit, the last thing on my mind was posting a blog. So since I have some downtime between baking, I figured I would try to do a catch-up blog and hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently in the weeks to come.

The rest of 2012 went by fast and had us extremely busy. We still participated in our Hingham Market on Saturdays and then ended up doing the Thanksgiving Celebration Harvest Market the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had tons of apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies fly out the door during this time. We caught our breath for a few days before we plunged into the Hingham Holiday Market the beginning of December and this started another busy month for us.

Simpson Spring Co., located in Easton, MA., opened their doors to vendors for a Wintertime market. Vendors from the Easton Summertime market along with vendors from other markets converge on Simpson Spring every Saturday through the winter from 10-2. Some vendors are there every week and some are there bimonthly. There are several bakeries bringing bread and sweets. There is local farm bringing in root veggies and other produce. There are a few cheese vendors, a pickle vendor, a pasta vendor, a seafood vendor, a jellies/jam vendor along, a honey vendor, an olive oil vendor... the list goes on. We are there again this coming weekend, Feb. 9 but won't be back until the first weekend in March. If you are in the area, stop on by. You can take a tour of the oldest bottling company and take home some soda, fizzy water, or plain water (or as my friends in Europe say, flat water). I can personally recommend the White Birch Beer and the Ginger Ale.

The last few weeks have had us celebrating, National Chocolate Day, National Pie Day, and today is National Pancake Day.  I'll post some recipes dealing with chocolate and pie...maybe one that has both in it later. Here is real simple recipe for Banana Pancakes that are Paleo. All you need is 2 ripe bananas, 1 egg, and 1 TBSP nut butter (almond is good), and some coconut oil. Mush up the bananas; it's okay to have lumps. Add egg and butter to the bananas and mix until you get the consistency of pancake batter. Heat up some coconut oil in a pan and make pancakes. You don't really need syrup for them but if you do, try Nutting Farm's Maple Syrup. We use their products in some of our baked items and they are delicious. I have a hard time not eating the Maple Cream straight from the jar!

Valentine's Day is next Thursday. If you are looking for something different than just a box of chocolates, we offer a wide variety of chocolate items that are delicious. We also offer cookie and cupcake bouquets. Make sure to place orders by Sunday. Local Delivery will be happening on 2/13 and 2/14 or you can pick up your order at our location, whichever is easier for you.

Well, that's about it for now. Enjoy the cool weather and we hope to see you on Saturday.

Hingham Farmer's Market and more...

We'll be at the Hingham Farmer's Market, located on Route 3A at the bathing beach, on October 20 and possibly on October 27. We will not be there after October. The market still runs from 10-2 every Saturday up until November 17.

We will be doing the Marshfield Winter Market starting in November. The market will run the 3rd Saturday of every month from November until May and the times are from 10-2. The market will be held inside under the grandstands. We will be participating for the following months: December, January, March, and May.

We have sent in our application to be part of the Harvest Festival held on the Plymouth Waterfront on November 18. This is part of the American Hometown Celebration which kicks off on Saturday with the Thanksgiving Parade and the New England Food Festival. We'll let you know if our application was accepted. If it is, we will have cookies, sweet breads, pies and other delicious treats for you.

Macarons with Apple-Cinnamon Buttercream Filling

Living here in the Boston area, I've been able to enjoy many different types of ethnic foods. Since I love food, this place is right up my alley. Depending on your mood, you can pretty much so find anything to appease your appetite. One place I enjoy visiting is the North End. It's referred to as Little Italy since there are so many Italian restaurants, bakeries, butcher shops, etc. There are two pastry places you can visit while in the North End: Mike's Pastry and Modern Pastry. There is always a debate for which pastry shop is better. I like them both.

My first date with my husband, then a guy I went out on a date with, was to the North End. Bob is from an Italian/Irish family so whenever he is in the mood for Italian, he heads to the North End where, as he says, "It's done right." We had a nice lovely sit down dinner at Lucia's and then walked around the North End ending up at Mike's Pastry. Being an Irish Southerner, I never encountered the macaroon. Needless to say that one night over 15 years ago had me falling in love with an Italian cookie: the Almond Macaroon with pine nuts (pignolias) on top. I've made these cookies a few times but to be honest with you, I rather just go into town and purchase some.

4 years ago, I went to Switzerland to visit my best friend, Stacey. Stacey and her husband moved there due to her job and this gave me an opportunity to see her but also to see the country. Upon arrival in Geneva, Stacey had these cookies called macarons for me. Of course I pictured the Italian cookie and was surprised to see these little button cookies that had an airy cookie and a filling inside. I tried them and thought they were ok, just a little too sweet for me. Stacey loves these cookies and I guess they are big over in Europe.

Not to long ago, I got a new recipe book to try out. I wanted to do different types of cookies than the usual ones I did for a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party. The book I picked up was by Cecile Cannone and was entitled Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the Macaron Cafe. I decided to try my hand at making these delicate Meringue cookies. I made red shells and filled them with a peppermint buttercream filling and rolled them in crushed peppermints. They were a mess to make but were a hit at the party and I was told by the host that I had to bring these to every cookie swap in the future.

Since I'm enjoying this rainy New England day, I decided to make some macarons and fill them with an apple cinnamon buttercream. If you are up for the challenge, feel free to try these out. They are time consuming, require almond flour (so they are gluten free), and can easily break when putting them together; however, they are very good and worth it.

Ingredients  (cookie shells) 2 3/4 c almond flour, 2 3/4 c powdered sugar, 1 c egg whites*, pinch of salt, 3/4 c superfine granulated sugar, food coloring (optional) (filling) 3 eggs, 1 c sugar, 1 c applesauce, 1 apple*, 1 TBSP cinnamon, 1 c + 2 TBSP chilled unsalted butter

Instructions: For Cookie shells- (1) Line baking sheets with parchment paper. (2) Blend almond flour and powdered sugar in food processor to make a fine power (or sift together). Sift mixture through a strainer until its as fine as you can get. (3) Using a wire whip attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with salt, starting slowly then increasing with speed as they whites start to rise. Add the sugar and food coloring (if using). Beat until egg whites form stiff peaks and meringue is firm and shiny. (4) Pour egg whites into almond flour mixture and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula. Move spatula from bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, and using other hand, rotate the bowl. Continue until you can't see any more crumbs of flour and mixture is shiny and flowing as a wide ribbon off the spatula. (5) Fill pastry bag with #8 tip and squeeze small amount onto prepared sheets to form a 2.5" circle. Leave 1" space between macarons. If you get peaks the batter could have been beaten more, eliminate them by tapping the baking sheet on the countertop; hold parchment paper in place. Let the macarons rest for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 300F (325F if non-convection). Bake for 15 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, open the oven to let out the steam. Let cookies cool completely on a rack before taking them off. Press the bottom of the cooked shell with your finger, it should be soft. IF it is hard, reduce baking time for the rest of the macarons by a minute. For Filling-(1) Beat 3 eggs and sugar with an electric mixer at high speed; you want to double the volume of batter and have it become fluffy. (2) Pour egg-sugar mixture into a saucepan, stir in applesauce and chopped apple, and heat mixture at medium temp., stirring continuously until the mixture forms a compact batter. Pour into a shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. (3) When batter is cold, add the cinnamon and butter, which is cut into small pieces. Using a wire whip attachment, beat at high speed until no butter pieces are visible.  (4) Pipe a small amount on to the flattened side of one cookie shell and LIGHTLY twist another shell on top of the filling. If you push too hard, the cookie shell with crumble/crack.

*Egg whites should be at room temperature and all the egg yolks can be saved to make a Creme Brulee.
*Core and chop apple (including peel).
*Cut the butter into small cubes; the smaller the better since it will take awhile for the butter to breakup when in the mixture.

GF Apple Cake

At lunch this week we (fellow teachers) talked about apples. Most of us had just gone apple picking and more were heading out this weekend to go pick some themselves. Basically the conversation can be summed up into this, you have 3 separate and distinct categories of people: those that love apple crisp, those that love apple pie, and those that love apple cake.

I haven't made this apple cake in awhile but decided to try it gluten free to see if it was something I would be able to offer in our GF line. Feel free to try it out.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1.5 sticks of butter, room temperature, 1.5 c + 5 TBSP sugar, 2 eggs*, 1 TBSP vanilla, 2 c gluten free all-purpose flour*, 1 tsp xanthan gum, 1 tsp baking soda, .50 tsp sea salt, 4 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 c sour cream*, 4 granny smith, 5 TBSP brown sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. (2) In a large bowl, cream butter and  1.5 c sugar until fluffy. (4) Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. (5) Add flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, .25 tsp sea salt, 2 tsp cinnamon beating after each addition. Add sour cream and beat batter until it thickens. (6) In a medium bowl, place apples, 5 TBSP sugar, brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, .25 tsp sea salt, and cornstarch. Stir to combine. (7) Layer half the cake batter in the dish and spread evenly then place apple mixture on top. Top apple mixture with remaining cake batter and spread evenly. You might need to use wet hands to spread the remaining batter. (8) Bake the cake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and slice into squares and serve.

*Use extra-large eggs and low-fat sour cream is ok but don't use nonfat. You need the fat to hold things together.
*I usually use Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour but King Arthur has a GF all-purpose  that I've been using lately and love.
*Granny smiths are good, Spencers are even better.

Caramel Applesauce Cobbler

Another apple dish I love to make is a cobbler or a crisp. Just taking a bite into the warm apples bursting with cinnamon makes my mouth go happy. Topping off a crisp or a cobbler with some homemade Vanilla Bean ice cream or a Pecan Bourbon Ice Cream, makes my mouth go into a food coma.

Here's a recipe for a Caramel Applesauce Cobbler. It's a version of a pie I use to have at my grandma's. Enjoy.

Ingredients: 1/2 c butter, 12 large Granny Smiths*, 2 c sugar, 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice, pie crust*, Vanilla Ice Cream*,  1 c pecans, 1/4 c bourbon

Instructions: (1) Toast pecans then chop. Stir softened ice cream, pecans, and bourbon together. Freeze for 4 hours. (2)Preheat oven to 425F. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add apples, sugar and lemon juice. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring often, until apples are a caramel-color. Spoon into a greased 2qrt baking dish. (3) Cut pie crust into 1/2" strips and arrange strips in a lattice design over filling. Place remaining strips on a baking sheet. (4) Bake strips at 425 for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Bake cobbler for 20-25 or until crust is golden. Server warm with pastry strips and ice cream if desired.


*I substituted Spencer apples for this recipe but usually make it with Granny Smiths.
*I make my own pie crust but you can save time and purchase a refrigerated pie crust from a local grocery store.
*I usually make my own vanilla ice cream but if I'm running behind or totally forget, I'll use Brigham's Vanilla Bean.

Apple Brown Betty

This past Columbus Day we went apple picking with friends at Tougas Family Farm. We get a lot of our fruits from this place. The apples we were excited to get were the Spencers. I personally think they are better than a Honeycrisp apple any day. We picked several bags of Spencers and since we have a lot of apples hanging around the kitchen, I figured I would make a few apple desserts. First dessert is a simple Apple Brown Betty. I'll post the other dessert tomorrow since I haven't decided if I want to do a spice apple cake or scones or cobbler....the list is endless. Enjoy this recipe and if you haven't gone apple picking yet, do so. There are ton of apples out there and it is always fun hanging out with family/friends for the day in an orchard.

Ingredients: 8 white bread slices, 1/3 c butter, melted, 1 c firmly packed brown sugar*, 1 TBSP cinnamon, 4 large Granny Smith Apples*, 1 c apple cider

Instructions:  (1) Preheat oven to 350F, lightly grease an 8" square baking dish and cut bread into 1/4" cubes. (2) Pulse the bread cubes in a processor 8 to 10 times or until mixture resembles fine crumbs. (3) Stir together breadcrumbs and butter in a small bowl. (4) Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon. Place half of the apple slices in the baking dish; sprinkle evenly with half of the brown sugar mix and half the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat process with remaining apples, brown sugar mixture, and breadcrumb mixture. Pour apple cider evenly over the top. (5) Bake at 350 for 55 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*I usually use dark brown sugar over light brown sugar.
*I substituted Spencer Apples for the Granny Smiths but Granny Smiths will work.
*I love using fresh apple cider from C.N. Smith Farm.

Pumpkin Soup

Over the weekend, we sponsored and participated in the 2nd annual South Shore Celebration. I brought along a lot of the normal items we do for markets, cookies and sweet breads, but also brought along some pumpkin items. Such items were Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with a Maple Frosting, Pumpkin Cinnamon Ginger Scones, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a Maple Cream Cheese Filling, Pumpkin Cupcakes with a Cinnamon Frosting, Pumpkin Bread, and Pumpkin Sugar Cookies.

Everything that dealt with Pumpkin was a big hit and I realized that I have been slacking off on getting out some recipes on the blog. I'm cheating tonight and posting a recipe for Pumpkin Soup that I had in our October newsletter. I'll spend some time tomorrow between baking cookies and add a few more fall recipes for you to enjoy.

Ingredients: 3 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 c sliced onion, 6 medium sized scallions (separate bulbs and greens), 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 5 c chicken stock, 2.5 c pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 c light cream.
Instructions: (1) Heat oil in sauce pan ans saute onions and scallion bulbs over low heat for approximately 8-10 minutes. (2) Add spices and stir well to coat the onions. Cook 3-4 minutes. Add pumpkin, stock and salt and raise temperature to med. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (3) Let soup cool slightly. Puree in a blender or processor then return to pot and add more cayenne if desired. Heat to simmering and stir in most of the cream and heat for another 2-3 minutes. Serve Hot with a swirl of cream and topped with scallion greens.

Pumpkin stuffed with Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

Image from Southern Living.

I made this bread pudding one year but never tried it in individual pumpkins. I think the idea is cute and would be great for when you host Thanksgiving or a fall party with friends. I'll just have to host Thanksgiving this year and try this out or just throw a party for my friends and try it out. One way or another, I'm going to have to try this out.

Ingredients:   Pumpkin*, 2 Tbsp butter, melted, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 eggs, 1 c sugar, .5 c butter melted, .75 c half-and-half, .75 c chopped pecans*, 1 loaf of raisin bread, .5 c fresh cranberries, 1 vanilla bean, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 1 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp lemon zest, 1/3 c fresh lemon juice.

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350F. Cut off the top of a 2.5-3.5 lb. pumpkin. Keep the lid with the stem. Scoop out pumpkin seed and pulp and use for another time. Brush inside of pumpkin with 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar. Top with lid and bake for 35 minutes. (2) Brush inside of baked pumpkin with another Tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle with another Tbsp of sugar. (3) Stir eggs, sugar, .5 c melted butter, half-and-half, pecans, cranberries and bread that has been cut into 1" cubes. Spoon mixture into a greased 8" square pan. (4) Bake Pumpkin and bread pudding at 350F for 25 minutes. (5) While pumpkin and pudding are baking, cook the vanilla bean, 1 c water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan over med heat, stirring until smooth and thickened. Stir in butter, lemon zest and lemon juice and cook until thoroughly heated. Removed vanilla bean. (6) Let pumpkin cool, then spoon pudding into pumpkin and serve with sauce.

*I toast the pecans before using them.
*You can use individual pumpkins (.5lb). Scoop out seeds and pulp. Sprinkle each shell with 1 tsp. butter and 1 tsp sugar and bake with bread pudding. You don't need to pre-bake if you are using smaller, individual pumpkins. You will need about 12 little pumpkins.

Spiced Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

 Apple Picking is one of my favorite this to do in the fall. If I can't have warm sunny weather every day, then a cool crisp day picking apples from a local family farm is where I want to be. Sometimes I get luck and have some warm apple cider donuts while picking apples. I'm not big on warm apple cider for a drink. Last season friends of our went with us to pick apples. At first we were all set on the types of apples we wanted to pick but as soon as we were introduced to the SPENCER, we gave up our other options and just filled with bag with Spencers. If you haven't tried a Spencer apple, you are missing out. They are delicious, sweet, crunchy...kind of puts a Honeycrisp apple to shame; in my opinion.

Here's a recipe for an apple bread pudding. I usually make this with Granny Smith apples but will be trying it out in a few weeks with Spencer apples once I get back from apple picking with friends. Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1 Granny Smith Apple, .5 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 a loaf of Italian bread, cooking spray, 3 eggs, 1.5 c milk*, 1 c apple cider, 1/4 c packed brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, .25 tsp nutmeg, .25 c pecans, .75 c sugar, 1 tsp corn syrup, .5 c evaporated milk, 1.5 tsp butter, 1/3 c water

Instructions:  (1) Peel and chop the apple and saute it and .25 tsp of cinnamon in a lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until tender. Cut bread into bite-size pieces and add bread and mixture to a 11x7" baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. (2) Whisk eggs, milk, cider, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread mixture and cover and chill for 1 hour. (3) While pudding is chilling, preheat oven to 350F and bake chopped pecans on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle sugar in an even layer in a small saucepan and stir together syrup and water, and pour over sugar in saucepan. Cook, WITHOUT stirring, over med-high heat for 12-14 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is golden. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in milk. Stir in butter and pecans. (4) Preheat oven to 350F, if not already warm from toasting pecans, and bake mixture for 45 minutes or until top is crisp and golden brown. Serve warm with sauce.

*I usually use whole milk but you can use 2% if you want.

Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding

Image from Southern Living.

There are few bread puddings that I like and this is one of them. I got this recipe awhile ago from Southern Living Magazine. It was a hit when I made it one Thanksgiving. I love the caramel pecan sauce. It reminds me of eating pralines. Having individual ramekins, makes this dish more personal but you can cook it in one large dish* if you don't have them.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:  4 large eggs, 2 cans (15 oz) of pumpkin*, 1.5 c milk, 1 c half-and-half, 1 c sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, .5 tsp sea salt, .5 nutmeg, 1.5 tsp vanilla, 1 loaf of French bread, 1 c pecans, 1 c packed light brown sugar, .5 c butter, 1 TBSP corn syrup

Instructions: (1) Whisk eggs, pumpkin, milk, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, .5 tsp vanilla in a large bowl. (2) Cut bread into 1" pieces (about 10 c) and add bread pieces to mixture. Stir to coat thoroughly. Cover with Saran-Wrap and chill for 8-24 hours. (3) Preheat oven to 350F. Spoon mixture into individual 6-oz ramekins that have been lightly buttered*. Place ramekins on a foiled lined baking sheet. Bake for 50 min. and shield with foil after 30 min. (4) While pudding is baking, make sauce by adding pecans to a medium skillet and heat over med-low heat, stirring often for 3-5 minutes. Add brown sugar, butter, corn syrup to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla and pecans. (5) Drizzle sauce on ramekins and bake for 5 minutes more or until sauce is heated through and begins to boil.

*I usually make my own puree from freshly grown sugar pumpkins from a local organic farmer.
*If you are using ramekins, you will need about 12. I use PAM to spray the ramekins.
*If you are baking as one dish, spoon chilled mixture into a 13x9 baking dish that has been lightly buttered. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Add sauce and bake for another 5 minutes.

Hello Fall!

The crisp cool mornings. The lessened daylight hours. The arrival of butternut squash, apples, and pumpkins to farmer's markets. The leaves turning colors. These are just a few tail-tell signs of Autumn. Another sign of fall, is cranberries. I travel some back roads on the way to work every morning and get the privilege of passing many cranberry bogs. This morning, I saw my first truck carrying a load of cranberries to the Ocean Spray facility. More and more trucks will be traveling from all over the Cape and South Shore to bring in these tarts berries. Soon towns will be having their Cranberry Festivals and others can see what goes into harvesting these berries. Living here, we sometimes take for granted this delicious fall crop. I stock up on tons of cranberries during this time and give bags away. My neighbor is a grower so I get fresh harvested berries every year. So fresh, I usually have to clean out the leaves and twigs before using them in pies, breads, muffins, pancakes, etc.

Another sign of fall is the Autumnal Equinox and this weekend is the official start to fall. It's that time of the year where the Sun's path is at the Equator and is projecting equal amounts of sunlight on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Everyone on Earth will be experiencing the same amount of daylight. For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, this means that our amounts of daylight will continue to decrease as we move into fall and winter seasons. For those living in the Southern Hemisphere, this means that their amounts of daylight will be increasing as they move into their spring and summer seasons.

This time of the year has me craving comfort foods like stews and soups, breads, cinnamon rolls, and hot drinks like tea and hot chocolate.  I'm going to try and post a recipe every few days. Some recipes might be for stews/soups, others might be for baked goods or desserts. Either way, it is a win-win situation. I get to make those foods I enjoy during this time of the year and you get to enjoy some fall items that I like to make.

First I'm going to make a few bread pudding recipes. I'm not really big on bread pudding but there are a few recipes that I enjoy.  So we'll see where I go from there.

Happy Fall Everyone. Enjoy!

Salsa Muffins

I love Salsa! Just saying that, has a nice Latino beat playing in my head. But it's true, I love salsa in any type of form and hotness. Personally for me I love really hot salsa. Growing up in Cajun country, you develop a taste for all things hot. My husband and I have one section of a cabinet over our stove that is dedicated to hot sauces. There are a few that just a drop gives whatever you are cooking a KICK!

When the summer season is at it's peak, that's when I'll make some homemade salsa using great local veggies; some from area farmers and some right from our own garden. Depending on the mood I'm in when I'm making the salsa will determine if the salsa is chunky or pureed. When I was in Mexico many moons ago, the owner of La Pasado and his wife made homemade salsa. I got to hang out in the kitchen and see how it was done. The type of salsa they made was more of a pureed salsa but it was very hot and very delicious. Whenever I make a pureed salsa, I use the techniques that Victor and Sonja use to make their salsa.

With family visiting and with a ton of tomatoes from our garden being ready to pick, it is salsa time. Making medium and hot salsa to use with chips, in/on dinner dishes, or in a breakfast omelet, there comes a time when you need to come up with another way to use salsa. I decided to add it to my basic corn muffin recipe. Enjoy this delicious recipe. I might just have to have a Mexican night and make more of these muffins along with tamales, tacos, and other delicious dishes.

Ingredients: 1 c flour, 1 c cornmeal, 1 TBSP baking powder, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, .5 tsp sea salt, 3 TBSP sugar, 1 egg, .5 c milk*, 1/3 c canola oil, 3/4 c chunky salsa*

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400F and prepare a 6 or 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or paper liners. (2) In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and cumin. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk egg, sugar, mil, and oil until well blended. Stir in salsa. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. (5) Divide batter evenly amongst prepare muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes on a wire rack before transferring them to the rack and cooling completely.

*Try to use at least 1% milk. Most of the time I'm using fat-free milk but in my corn muffins I always use whole milk or even buttermilk.
*If you don't want to make your own salsa, a bottle of a chunky tomato sauce will do. I love Pace but there are some great chunky salsas out there. Don't be afraid to try a flavored salsa like say Chipotle.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Several years ago I had the privilege of taking high school juniors and seniors on a science trip to Belize and Guatemala. One of our first stops while visiting these countries was at the IZE located on South Water Caye. IZE has a marine biological station and lodge and hosts many school trips from the high school level to the college level. Since it is located right on the second longest barrier reef, it is a fabulous place to spend several days, a week, a month, or several months.

Some of the people helping to run IZE are called Garifunas. They are descendents from Carib, Arawak and West African people and live primarily in Central America along the Caribbean Coast. These are some of the nicest people I have every met. They have their own language that is beautiful when spoken. Elveria Smith was the head cook at IZE and she made amazing traditional dishes while we were there. One delicious dish was her Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. I asked her for her recipe along with Lunch salad and Coconut Shrimp Soup recipe when were were leaving and was honored when she gave them to me.

This is her recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. It is sugary and delicious. If you ever have a chance to go to Belize, spend a few nights out on South Water Caye at IZE. You will have a fabulous time.

Ingredients:  (topping) 3/4 c sugar, 1 stick butter, melted, Pineapples, Cherries, Papaya for decoration (cake) 2 c flour, 2 c sugar, 3 eggs, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 c milk, 1 stick butter, melted

Instructions:  (1). Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pan for cake by using cooking spray with flour or by greasing pan with butter and sprinkling with flour. (2) Mix topping ingredients and pour into the pan. Using fruit, make decorations on top of the topping. (3) Mix and blend ingredients for the cake and pour into the pan over the fruit decorations and topping. (4) Bake for 45 minutes and cool on a rack for a few minutes before flipping cake out of the pan. Let cake cook completely before serving or you can serve it warm.

Raspberry Lemon Corn Muffins

Raspberries are currently being found at local farmer's markets along with other delicious fruits like plums, peaches, blueberries, red currants and blackberries. The next several blogs will focus on these particular fruits.

Here's a recipe for Raspberry Lemon Corn Muffins. I like corn muffins, plain, with sour cream added to the batter, jelly put in between layers of batter, jalapenos, etc. I figured I would try adding raspberries and using up the last lemon in the bowl.  The tartness of the berries and the lemons definitely makes you pucker but the color of the raspberries against the corn muffin is pretty. I think if I make these again, I would add a little more sugar so it wasn't so tart but they were still go none the less. Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1 c flour, 1 c yellow cornmeal, 1 TBSP baking powder, .5 tsp sea salt, 3/4 c sugar, 2 eggs, .5 c unsalted butter, melted, 3/4 c milk, 2 TBSP grated lemon zest, 1.5 c raspberries, turbinado sugar for topping

Instructions:   Preheat oven to 400 and prepare muffin tin with muffin liners or cooking spray.  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and sea salt. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, milk, butter, and zest until well blended. 3. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in raspberries. 4. Divide batter evenly amongst prepared muffin cups and sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar. Bake for 16 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes then turn out onto the rack and cool completely.


*I usually invert the muffins while in the pan so the bottoms don't steam while they are cooling in the pan before turning out onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Peach Cobbler

Cobblers, I love cobblers. It doesn't matter what type of cobbler it is, I just love them. Bob makes a pretty mean apple cobbler and he'll let you know it.  Since peaches and blueberries are abundant right now, I have a ton of them just waiting to be incorporated into delicious baked goods for the market. I purchased some peaches from C.N.Smith Fields last week at the Plymouth Farmer's Market located at the Plimouth Plantation. I'm making some peach pie for this weeks market and had a few left for a cobbler.

Here's a recipe for cobbler. You can substitute the peaches for just about any type of fruit. Enjoy.

Ingredients: 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Topping: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces, 1/4 cup boiling water.  Mix Together: 3 tablespoons white sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.   2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.  4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes. 

* I will sometimes add oats to the topping; depends on what I'm in the mood for.

National Pecan Pie Day

July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day, just in case you didn't know. Pecan Pie is considered a specialty Southern dish. Usually it is served at holiday meals and consists mainly of pecans, corn syrup or molasses. Chocolate or bourbon whiskey are popular additives to the traditional Pecan Pie.

Tradition has it that the French invented the pie soon after settling in New Orleans. Supposedly they were introduced to the Pecan by Native Americans. No early recipes prior to 1897 can be found and popular cookbooks like Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking didn't include a recipe until the 1940s. The Corn Products Refining Company, the makers of Karo syrup, popularized the dish and state that the pie was a "1930s discovery of a new use for Karo syrup by a corporate sales executive's wife."

This pie is very sweet. Us Southerners love our sugar and the only type of pecan we use are Georgia Pecans.

Here's a recipe for Pecan Pie. We use my granddaddy's pie crust and I can't give you that recipe or the family will kill me. Use whatever pie crust recipe you have and if you don't want to waste time making crust from scratch, purchase a prepared pie crust or the boxed pie crust located with the canned biscuits. I hear they taste just as good.

Ingredients:   2/3 c sugar, 1/3 cup butter, melted, 1 c corn syrup, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 3 eggs, 1 c pecan halves/broken

Instructions:  1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Prepare pastry and line pie plate with crust. 2. Beat sugar, butter, syrup, salt and eggs with an electric beater. Stir in pecans and pour into prepared pie plate. 3. Bake until set, usually 40-50 minutes. Chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

*After chilling the pie, you can freeze the pie for 3 hours uncovered then cover it and freeze for up to 1 month.
*Decrease the corn syrup to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup brandy to the mix for a Brandy Pecan Pie. You can also use bourbon.
*Melt 2-1 oz squares of unsweetened chocolate with the butter to make a Chocolate Pecan Pie.

All Things Southern

Open Faced and Covered Peach Mini-Pies

Last week I headed home to spend some time with my family before the craziness of the market season took over for the rest of the summer. I love going home for several reasons. One reason is to hang out with my family. Second reason is to ride roller coasters with my dad. Third reason is Chick-fil-a. Fourth reason is peaches. I can go on and on and on.

Living in Louisiana, we always frequent farm stands that were dotted along the backroads and highways. One stand we hit always had Ruston Peaches from Mitcham Farms. Mitcham Farms is the state's largest peach orchard in Louisiana. Biting in to one of these peaches was heavenly. The taste was amazing and the peach was very juicy that you needed several napkins. It was definitely something to savor. 

Peaches are grown in zones 4-8 here in the United States and are usually available mid-June to mid-July. Having a tree-ripened peach is the best and I am always disappointed when I pick up peaches in a local grocery store. They look good, they smell good, but the taste is nasty. For this reason alone, I stopped wasting money on buying peaches here in New England. So you can believe it when I say, I was super happy about bringing back a case of peaches from South Carolina. Before I left South Carolina, I hit a local farmers market held in the Market Common. I picked up some peaches from a farmer and when I got back to the family, we all bit into one and the first words uttered were "Oh my, that is SO good!" My sister stated she needed to hit a stand on the way out of town to get some to take back to Ohio. We stopped along Route 501 with the intention of getting a few more, well I grabbed a case instead along with some plums. (This is another reason why I love going home).

So I ate some peaches and brought some peaches back for my husband and decided to make some peach pies for a local market.  They got rave reviews. Here's a recipe for Peach pie. I recommend using tree-ripened, Southern peaches but if you can't get them, local peaches grown here by a farmer would be the next best option. If you have to, you can use frozen peaches or canned peaches. I would shy away from purchasing peaches at a local grocery store UNLESS you have had them and know that they are good.  Enjoy.

Ingredients: 1 c sugar, 1/4 c flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon*, 1 tsp lemon juice, 2 TBSP butter, pie crust of your choice (we use my granddaddy's pie crust recipe for all our pies), 5 c sliced fresh peaches*

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425F.   2. Peel and slice peaches. Make sure not to have any of the pit in your slices. 3. In a bowl, add peaches then add other ingredients except the butter. 4. Pour peach mixture into a prepared pie plate and dot with butter. Cover with an additional second layer of crust or leave open. 5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

*I usually use a tad bit more cinnamon then what is listed above.
*Overripe peaches are best for pies. Mixture will be soupy. You can substitute peaches for apricots.

Strawberry Sorbet

Summertime is my favorite time of the year. I grew up in Louisiana so I enjoy the hot, humid weather. I love the smell of fresh cut grass, the hum of  the insects jumping from one flower to another in the garden, fresh produce at the local farmers markets or out of my garden, the smell of the ocean in the air, the flight of a butterfly, and of course, berries. I love all types of berries. Summertime for me starts with arrival of strawberries and continues on through raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and blueberry seasons.

Living in Louisiana, when it was hot or even if it wasn't, my favorite treat was a Sno-ball or as non-Southerners would call, a Snowcone. We're not talking a Hawaiian Ice or a snowball off an ice cream truck that is so hard it breaks your teeth. We are talking about a New Orleans Style Sno-Ball. Large blocks of ice are shaved on a machine called the Southern New Orleans snow maker and then stuffed in a Styrofoam cup and a funnel is used to make the top of it. The ice is a perfect consistency between chunky ice and very soft ice. The Hansen family from New Orleans invented this machine and if you travel to New Orleans, you can stop in at their shop, Hansen's Sno-Bliz Sweet Shop, located in the 4800 block of Tchoupitoulas. Syrup, not just water and sugar mixed, is then added to the top of the cone. The syrup is boiled and consists of pure cane sugar, water, and flavoring. My favorite Sno-ball combination was Cherry, Coconut, and Blue Raspberry. The sno-ball was a very patriotic creation. Some other choices that are added to sno-balls, besides syrup, are ice cream, cream, or chocolate. I wasn't really big on adding cream to my sno-ball but friends of mine where.  I mentioned to my husband about maybe doing a Sno-ball machine during my summer markets and he, being a Northerner, thinks that it really wouldn't take off. Maybe I'll get the machine just for me so that I can have sno-balls whenever I want instead of when I head south for a visit.

A few posts this month have been centered around Strawberries. Since I can't have a sno-ball, I figured I would go to the next best thing, sorbet. I love sorbet over sherbet. Whole Fruit has some amazing sorbets and I recently tried some sorbets from a company called Ciao Bella. I love the Lemon Zest and the Blood Orange. They have many more flavors and I just hope my local store will start to carry them.  Sometimes I'll make a fruit Sorbet. It can be done using an ice cream machine or not and is fairly simple and easy to do.

Sorbet became very popular in the 19th and 20th centuries as a palate cleaner between meals. It's usually referred to as Intermezzo, which translates into "in between the work." Sorbets  are usually known as ice and have a softer consistency than sherbets, which contain milk and sometimes eggs. Fruit sorbets usually consists of 3 ingredients: water, sugar, and fruit. Other ingredients can be added based on the type of sorbet you want.

Here's a recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. Enjoy.

Ingredients: 1/3 c water, 1/3 cup sugar, 2.5 c or 1 pound of fresh/frozen strawberries*, 1 TBSP lemon juice.

Instructions: (1) Place sugar and water in a small saucepan and over low heat, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil the mixture for one minute then remove from the heat. Pour sugar syrup into a heatproof container and place in fridge until completely chilled.* (2) Process strawberries in a food processor until pureed. Transfer puree to a large bowl and add the lemon juice and place bowl in the fridge until thoroughly chilled. (3) Once syrup and strawberry puree are completely chilled, combine simple syrup with the strawberries. Transfer to a chilled container of an ice cream machine* and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer sorbet to a chilled container and store in the freezer.

*Local strawberries at farmers markets are the best since they have flavor and sweetness. If you can't obtain fresh, local strawberries, use frozen ones. Usually the strawberries at a grocery store lack flavor and sweetness though they look all read and shinny.
*If you taste the sorbet after freezing and the amount of sugar isn't right, adjust the level of sugar syrup. Add some syrup if there is too little sugar in the sorbet or add water if there is too much sugar in the sorbet. Refreeze the sorbet.
*Since it takes time to make the syrup, make a large quantity and store in the fridge so you have it ready to go when you want to make more sorbet.
*If you don't have a machine, pour mixture into a stainless steel pan (8", 9"...). The metal will help the sorbet to freeze faster. You can use a glass pan if you want it will just take longer. Cover the sorbet with plastic wrap and place in freezer. After 3-4 hours, remove sorbet from freezer and let it stand at room temperature until partially thawed. Transfer partially thawed sorbet to a food processor and process to break up large ice crystals. This gives the sorbet a fluffy texture. Place sorbet back in the pan and refreeze for 3 hours or up to several days.