Candy Glass Brownies

I thought this was really fun. I took them to a party on a pedestal. Candy glass shards in ganache covered brownies. YUM. You could put the candy glass into the top of a cake or cupcakes as well.
First step- decide what vehicle you want to put the candy in ;) I cheated and used mini brownies from Costco, my best friend.
Make a shiny ganache glaze by mixing 3/4 cup heavy cream with 1/2 cup light corn syrup and 1 cup of your favorite chocolate. I used dark.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until it melts. Set aside to cool until room temperature, about 1 hour.

Pour over desired cake. These are mini brownies from Costco.

Candy Glass

• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 2 cups assorted candies (hot cinnamon candies, candy cane pieces, sliced spice drops etc.)

I have to note: I would not use Andes chocolate mints again- stayed too melty. I think shards of candy cane sticks would look great.

In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar, 3/4 cup water and corn syrup until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 300 degrees F, about 15 minutes.

Place a 24-inch long sheet of foil on your work surface. Be extremely careful, the syrup is extremely hot. Pour the boiling syrup in wide zigzag lines across the foil. Working quickly and using an oiled offset metal spatula, spread the syrup evenly onto the foil, leaving a 1-inch border. Immediately sprinkle with all the candies, pressing the larger pieces into the syrup to make sure they stick. Be careful not to touch the syrup. Cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Food Network

mIlK & CoOkiEs

I want to serve these again for sure. Milk & Cookies for dessert at our Christmas book club dinner! If you want to feel like a kid again, this dessert will do it. ;) I used really tall glass flutes and dipped the rims in dark chocolate and sprinkles. Fill with cold milk and serve with a giant cookie- recipe below. These are really tall flutes, so I attached two paper straws together so they would be tall enough.


Giant Bakery Cookies
The trick I found is to melt the butter, then mix all the ingredients and then CHILL the dough well. then make balls and bake. They were chewy and soft, but if you don't cover them well, the will get slightly crunchy. It's up to you what texture you like.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar-packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups of your favorite chocolate or chips. I used a mixture chopped dark hersheys bar, milk chips and chopped white chocolate
1-2 cups roughly chopped pecans or your favorite nuts (opt) (Next time I would add more nuts)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour and baking soda, salt.
Melt butter then cream with sugars until mixed well.
Beat in vanilla, whole egg and yolk until creamy. Mix in the flour mixture until just blended.
CHILL until firm (an hour or longer- you can even chill overnight if you want to make ahead)
Scoop up 1/4 cup amounts and roll into an even ball.
Place on un-greased cookie sheet 3 " apart.
Bake for 15 min. check and bake for a few more minutes if needed.

You want them slightly under done for a chewy texture-- but not raw. If you find them not quite done after they have cooled you can pop them back in the oven for a few minutes. Cool completely then package in airtight container or wrap individually tightly in plastic wrap. These are giant and the perfect size to package in those cute glassine envelopes too. I just discovered the bags fit through the printer :)

Mini Pies

Jacob really wanted to make these, so I thought we'd give them a try for Thanksgiving and I am in love with them! He lost interest after the first batch, but regained it when he smelled the finished product. I wish I had taken pics of the steps, but it's pretty quick and easy.

I cheated and used Pillsbury pie dough. Cut circles out using a glass large enough to fit into muffin tins (reg size) You could do mini size too.
Squish and pat dough up the sides to make sure it is all covered letting some dough come up about the top. Do NOT rim dough around way around the outside of the tin, or it will never come out. (learned that the hard way) I just fluted it and made sure it didn't come way out around the rim. I made the dough come up to the edges of the pan only.

Fill with any filling you like. I used lemon curd, apple filling and berry filling. Use your favorite fillings. I liked the look of the lattice a lot and the covered tops. I made lemon uncovered and with tops. I like the tops better, but you and put whipped cream on the uncovered tops too.

These pics below are from the site not martha where I got the idea. I forgot to take pics of mine in the pans so here is what they look like before they are baked.

When you are finished filling the pies put the tops on. To add a top, cut out the same size circle, wipe edges with egg wash to help adhere to the pie and cover pies. Pinch together and try to flute edges. It's no biggie if it doesn't look great, it will taste great!

*It's important to chill the the pies before baking. Cold dough plus hot oven equals flaky dough. That is one thing I did learn from Martha Stewart 20 years ago. ;)

Brush tops with egg wash. You can sprinkle with sugar too. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes and check them. If the tops are getting brown you can cover them with foil lightly and bake for a few more minutes until bubbly.

Let cool completely and gently run a sharp knife around outside to ensure it will come out. Gently lift out.

Flavored Butters

These are three favorite flavored butters I made for a dinner at my house. Cranberry butter, Honey butter, bacon chive butter. I like to use Land O Lakes whipped butter. It's really easy to mix and light.

Cranberry Butter:
I mixed 3 T. or so of cranberry nut relish from Harry and David's into 1/2 a tub of softened whipped butter. Mix well and spread in a crock or pipe for individual servings. I piped these on tiny butter plates as well. Remove 30 min. before serving to soften. If you can't get a hold of Harry and David's any cranberry chutney that is slightly sweet would work. I love the little nuts in this one though.

Honey Butter:
I like Cox's creme honey. My sister got my hooked on it last Thanksgiving when she made killer Honey butter.
Mix 3 T. or so of cremed honey with 1/2 tub softened whipped butter. Spread in container or crock and chill. Remove 30 min. before serving to soften a bit.

Bacon Chive Butter:
I use turkey bacon because it's not greasy. Microwave 3 strips of Oscar Meyer turkey bacon until crispy. Chop into tiny pieces and stir into 1/2 tub of whipped butter. Stir in 1 T. or so of chives or finely diced green onions.

These all keep up to a week covered in the fridge. You can mix any flavors, using the whipped butter makes it super easy and quick to make.

Fall Salad

I LOVE this salad. I could eat it everyday right now. It has nuts, cheddar cheese, grapes and pear etc.. It's a nice fall to winter salad. In this picture I served it with grilled chicken for more of a main course salad.

Ingredients:
1 head romaine
1 head red leaf
1 pkg. baby spinach
3 cups walnuts (sauted in 2 T. butter and a sprinkle of sugar)
1 package Oscar Meyer turkey bacon- cooked and chopped up
3 cups red grapes- halved
1/2 red onion sliced into thin pieces
2 red Anjou pears (opt)
1 cup or more of English Coastal Cheddar shards (or your favorite cheese, Gorgonzola would be great)

Raspberry Vinaigrette
1 cup olive oil
1 cup raspberry vinegar
1/8-1/4 cup splenda or white sugar
4 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 t. finely minced garlic
salt to taste
Grilled chicken (opt)

Put ingredients (except oil) into a container or large tall glass and blend with immersion stick blender . Add oil slowly to emulsify. The mustard acts as an emulsifier anyway, so if you don't have a blender, just put everything in a jar and shake. Add more of any of the above ingredients to taste. Sometimes it needs a bit more garlic or mustard or sugar according to your taste. Chill.

Mix washed salad greens together and place on individual plates or on a serving platter or in large bowl.

Top with red onion slices, (I slice the onion into quarters then turn on it's side and slice thin) grilled chicken if you choose, nuts, grapes, bacon and then the cheese shards.

Chill until ready to serve. If you want pear on it, slice them thin and top salad right before serving. Or- gently saute and warm slices in a pan with a little butter then top salad. Shake vinaigrette and serve.

I love love love English Coastal Cheddar. The only places I can find it are Costco or Trader Joe's. Costco has nice big packages. If you can't find it, you can use Dubliner Irish cheese or your favorite cheese. (One of my favorite lunches is a chunk of Coastal Cheddar, a handful of cashews and sliced apple, pear or grapes)

Popcorn Bar

Here's some fun popcorn recipes. This was a dessert for a dinner I had at my house. I like the idea of everyone helping themselves. I put scoops in all the containers and served retro popcorn boxes from Hobby Lobby. It was a fun do ahead, no mess dessert, and it was fun!!

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn is already listed in the dessert section. I served Trader Joe's brand white cheddar. It's great and didn't have to make it. Here are the other recipes.

Snickers Popcorn (I LOVE this-new favorite)
8 quarts of microwave buttered popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 t. salt
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 t. baking soda
2 cups salted peanuts
30- yes 30 fun size snickers chopped up

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Over med heat boil butter, sugar and syrup for 5 minutes. Remove and stir in baking soda. Pour over popcorn in BIG bowl and stir to coat. Stir in peanuts really well. Transfer to baking sheets and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove and stir in chopped snickers. Return to oven for 3 more minutes so snickers begin to melt a bit into the popcorn. Pour out onto waxed paper to cool Drizzle melted chocolate over the top if you want. Let set, then store in bags or containers.

ZEBRA Popcorn
Ingredients:
12 cups popped corn (approx 1/2 cup un-popped) or use butter flavored microwave kind.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces dark chocolate (approx 1 cup)
6 ounces white chocolate (approx 1 cup)

Method:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lightly butter a large baking sheet or two 9x13 pans, set aside. Place popped corn in large mixing bowl.
Place butter in 2-qt microwave safe bowl; microwave on high about 1 minute or until butter is melted. Add brown sugar and corn syrup; microwave on high, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Without stirring, continue to microwave for 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla and baking soda.
Drizzle syrup over popped corn; mix well to thoroughly coat popcorn with caramel. Spread popped corn on prepared pans. Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove popcorn from pan, spread out on parchment paper or wax paper far enough apart so pieces do not touch. Cool.
On low heat, slowly melt dark chocolate (in double boiler, microwave, or according to package directions). In a straight thin line, drizzle dark chocolate across caramel corn (see tips below). Cool while melting white chocolate, drizzle as for the dark chocolate. Cool completely and allow chocolate to harden.
Notes:

To make even consistently thin lines place melted chocolate in disposable cake decorating bags or freezer bags; close bag tightly. Clip a small hole in the tip of the bag and squeeze or pipe chocolate across popcorn.

Snowflake Peppermint Bark

I have to credit the blog "Baked by Rachel" for this recipe and idea. It's one of those Pinterest ideas that became obsessive to me. We love peppermint bark and I thought these looked like they could have come out of Williams Sonoma.
After seeing the idea I searched everywhere for the mold. There were lots of silicone snowflake molds, but I wanted that EXACT one, with the pointed ends. And so the obsession began. Rachel had found them at the Christmas Tree stores back east, a store I've been to before and loved. Lynn had just been by one a few weeks earlier before I saw this idea-darn.
Anyway, finally found one on Ebay for $12, waited 3 weeks for it to come from China. I was thrilled! The DAY it came I was at Target and found them in the dollar section.... So what's a girl to do? I bought several more. Now I can bark in bulk ;)




Ingredients:
8 oz. dark or milk chocolate. I like Hershey's dark
8 oz. white chocolate
2 t. veg. oil, divided
1/2 t. peppermint extract, divided
crushed candy canes (I used the candy sticks that come in a box. I like the deep red color)

Any silicone shaped mold you like. Hobby Lobby has several cute ones. Or you can just spread out onto waxed paper and make like regular bark.

Place dark chocolate in bowl with 1 t. veg oil. Melt in microwave at 30 second intervals. Stire well in between. When fully melted add peppermint extract. Stir well and taste. Do you want more? Add another drop of two if you do.

Divide chocolate between the 6 molds with a spoon. Spread evenly and make sure it gets into all the corners. Gently tap on counter to release air bubbles. (You can sprinkle a little candy cane on top if you want) Chill for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate has set.

Repeat process with white chocolate. and evenly pour and spread into corners top of dark chocolate. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Let it stay in the fridge for at least 2-3 hrs. Remove when fully harden. They peel right out.

Package or store in fridge.

Mini Cheese Balls

I really like this size. Your family or guests can take one and put on their plate along with crackers or breads. The toppings are really fun, nuts, chives, bacon, really whatever you'd like.
Directions:
Mix 8 ounces softened cream cheese with 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1 cup shredded firm cheese (like cheddar, parmesan, pepper jack or gouda); season with salt and pepper. With moistened hands, form into 1-inch balls, chill 4 hours, then roll in toppings. Here we used chopped pistachios, chives, tarragon, hulled pumpkin seeds, bacon with paprika, almonds, and black and white sesame seeds.

Give Thanks Subway Art

This was a free download (8x10) from the site Craftily Ever After. It's also linked up on Pinterest. I loved it and it inspired me to design some Christmas ones of my own.

Bacon Bark

I made this for a party without trying it first, but I guess if you make anything with bacon, you don't have to worry! The only problem I ran into was baking it on a foil lined cookie sheet. It stuck to the foil and was hard to peel off. Next time- no foil. It's called bark, because you break it into chunks. I made it the day before and it was great, but you could serve it warm out of the oven as well. That was good too. ;)

Bacon:
1 pkg. of good quality bacon, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2-1 t. Hungarian Paprika (if using reg. paprika, use 1/2 t. and add 1/4 t. or more of cayenne pepper to taste) I ended up adding cayenne pepper anyway just to give it more of a kick.
Sprinkle of salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees and toss everything in a bowl to coat well. Pour out on a non stick cookie sheet and bake until bacon is almost ready and sugar is bubbling- about 8-10 minutes. Take out of oven and add nut mixture.

Nuts: (mix while bacon is cooking)
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecan halves
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. maple syrup
1/2 t. Hungarian Paprika
Pinch of salt and pepper

Mix all in bowl until well coated. When bacon comes out of oven, add nut mixture onto the pan and stir and mix well. Spread evenly out on pan and put it back into the oven for another 15 minutes or so. Stir half way through.

Serve warm or cool and break apart into chunks.

Monterey Chicken

This is the recipe from Chili's restaurant. It's easy and great to make for a crowd. It can stay warm in the oven for several hrs.
Ingredients:
Chicken:
1 boneless breast of chicken
2 t. of barbecue sauce (I like Bull'sEye)
2 slices of cooked bacon
1/4 cup mixed jack and cheddar cheese blend

Garnish: (optional)
1/2 small diced tomato
1 green onion diced
Directions:
Pound the breast until slightly flattened. (Place between two pieces of plastic wrap or in
a ziplock)
Spray nonstick skillet with Pam. Season with salt and pepper. Cook or grill chicken on both
sides until done (medium heat for 6 minutes per side).
*Chicken should have no pink
Top with barbecue sauce, bacon, and cheese. Cover with lid (or place breast on a plate
and microwave) until cheese is melted.
Optional: Sprinkle garnish on top

BBQ Ribs

Great ribs, slow cooked then finished on the grill. These are fall off the bone ribs with glaze.
Ingredients:
2 slabs of good baby back pork ribs (I used 1 slab pork and one beef)

Dry Rub:

8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon diced jalapeno

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Braising Liquid:

1/2 cup white wine (cooking wine, non alch. wine or beef stock)

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon honey

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the braising liquid. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. They should be very tender. If not cook a bit longer.

Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place on the grill or under a broiler to brown glaze for a few minutes watching carefully so they don't burn. Slice each slab into 2 rib bone portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze or brush more on.

*This recipe makes several batches of dry rub. If more rub is needed, it can be extended by any amount, as long as the ratio of 8:3:1:1 remains the same.

Adapted from Alton Brown

The other two men in my life

Ben and Jerry came out with a super fabulous new flavor several months ago- Red Velvet Cake... Just fyi ;) This is really unbelievable even if you are not a fan of red velvet. It's hard to pick favorites here, but this is close to the top of the list! I hope it's not a limited flavor and decides to hang around awhile. Ironically, Elise had a project in her advertising class at BYU to market Ben and Jerry's. I volunteered to be her test market. She ended up not needing me, but I did the research anyhow, one pint at a time.
It's running a close second to my #1 slotted pick- Chunky Monkey. Other favorites are Triple Caramel Chunk and Peanut Butter Cup. Competing for the #1 spot along side Chunky is Haagen Daaz's Caramel Cone, which will change your life. ;)

Chocolate Cranberry Nut Bark

There's really no firm recipe for this one. Basically, melt some of your favorite chocolate and spread onto waxed paper in a fairly thin layer- around 1/8" or so. No strict rules here.
Let cool completely until set. If you melt chocolate on a wax paper covered cookie sheet, you can place in the fridge to speed dry time up. Melt good quality white chocolate and pour and spread onto of cooled chocolate layer. I used both kinds of chocolate because I don't like plain white bark usually. I do like dark / milk bark, BUT... the white is very pretty with all the toppings.
While white chocolate is still cooling, top with dried fruit, nuts etc.. really anything you like. I used cashews and dried cranberries. Break up into severe shards with sharp knife and package to give away or serve. That's it. This looks way more complicated than it is. ;)

Candy Bar

This is my tiny homage to Amy Altas, whom I love and aspire to be like in my fantasy life. This was for my book club I was hosting around Valentine's Day. I love serving dessert this way, with lots of fun treats to choose from, and people can help themselves.
I mixed red Valentine's treats, Godiva truffles, Hershey bars (because they were in the book I chose- "Unbroken" which I think has to make my top list of book picks) I made the chocolate cranberry nut bark, but everything else was purchased. Easy dessert!

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

This is another Best Bites and really really good stuff. Great for parties and munchies!

1 of roasted red peppers (about 1 c. chopped
3/4 cup mayo
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
2 T. minced onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 T. Dijon mustard
12 oz. pepper jack cheese-shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Blot all excess water from peppers really well. Dice. Combine mayo, cream cheese, onion, garlic and mustard. Add cheese and peppers.
Once this step is done, you can cover it and leave in fridge for 2-3 days- which is great!
Place in oven and bake 30-45 min. Remove when golden and bubbling. Serve hot with chunks of good french bread and cubes of good bagel or veggies.

Strawberry Bruschetta

I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites. You can add additional fruit such as kiwi, mango etc. I had strawberries on hand, so that's what I used. These are very very good, I fixed them as breakfast for company. These are especially wonderful when fruit is in full season...

Ingredients:
1 baguette of best quality french bread
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries (about 10)
1 med. mango and 3 kiwis or any other fruit

Orange Honey Creme Sauce:
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup sour cream
3 T. honey
1 t. orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and slice bread into 1/2 inch pieces. Put on sheet pan in single layer and brush each with melted buter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the tops. Bake 10-12 minutes. To make sauce combine all ingredients and put in fridge. If using several fruits, combine and top the bread with fruit. Drizzle with sauce and serve immediately.