Herbed-Baked Eggs
Our old neighbors brought us some fresh eggs from their chickens Friday night! Because these eggs are super special, I decided to make a fancy breakfast with them. My mom made us these eggs when Cooper was just a wee baby and I've thought about them ever since. The herbs, cheese and garlic are a wonderful addition to the eggs. You will delight in spearing the yolk with your toast because the combo creates a whole new dimension of garlic bread! Oooey gooey garlic bread!
Pumpkin Parfaits
Look at this picture from Gourmet magazine's website and tell me you do not want this???!?!!!?
Did you click on it?
Rustic Nectarine Tart
So I had ever intention to follow this recipe...but I got sidetracked...was making dinner and then I just winged it. I figured that I read the recipe enough times to know what the heck was going on. So here's what I ended up with:
Turned out wonderful! Tasted great! Looked pretty!
Here is my half-assed attempt at giving you the recipe.
Rustic Nectarine Tart
Ingredients:
-1 sheet of Trader Joes puff pastry (package comes with two sheet- i think they are 8oz. each)
-4 nectarines (I had some leftover...so it might be 3)
-1/3 cup of sugar-plus a few teaspoons full
-2 tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam
-1 egg (beaten)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Take puff pastry out of freezer. Put it on your counter for about 15 minutes to warm to room temperature. Once it's warm enough, peel off one of the two sheets of pastry. Place sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangular shape. Trim off the edges so you have a clean straight line. With a small knife, lightly score a 1 inch border around the entire rectangle. Make sure not to go all the way through to the bottom. Poke holes in the middle of the pastry with a fork. Brush egg wash over the entire puff pastry. Pop in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
3. While pastry is baking, cut up nectarines into small slices. Toss with 1/3 cup of sugar. Use less if the nectarines are super sweet. Put nectarines in a microwave and zap for 1 minute. Toss. Then zap again for another minute. They should be less firm..slightly cooked....a bit soft. But not TOO soft and mushy. I put them in the fridge until the puff pastry was done.
4. Layer the nectarines on the partially baked pastry. If the middle has risen, push down to flatten with a fork before you put the fruit on top. Add a little sprinkle of sugar on top of the nectarines. Bake in the oven for 10 more minutes.
5. When the tart is done, heat up your raspberry jelly in the microwave (I zapped it for 30 seconds-until it was thin & runny). Lightly brush jelly over the nectarines with a pastry brush. It will give it that shiny smooth glaze!
6. Cut tart into pieces (I made this into 4 generous portions). Add a dollop of whipped cream...or top with ice cream. MMM.
Here's the rest of the meal I made for this weeks Project Runway (IT'S ON!!!) dinner:
Grilled Chicken with Lemon, Rice Pilaf, Salad with almonds & feta, and a spicy pepper & corn hash!
Creamy Banana Pudding
My contribution to the 4th of July Block Party on my street:
This is my first of two...or maybe three servings?
It's very simple, incredibly light (watch out you might think it's calorie free) and super dreamy. Last year I doubled the recipe, but not enough people saved room for dessert after all the grilled meats & salads. This year there was NOTHING left. NOTHING. NOTHING!!!! I didn't have the chance to eat a bowl full in my pjs the next morning. SIGH. It is super easy to make---So I won't be waiting til next summer to make it again. Promise. Now let's get started!
Creamy Banana Pudding
Print This RecipeServes 12
(from the More from Magnolia Cookbook)
Ingredients:
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 cups ice cold water
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)
- 4 cups sliced ripe bananas
In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.
To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.
****If you don't like bananas, I would think raspberries would be scrumptious with this recipe as a substitution! ***
Raspberry Fool
I pity the fool!!!!!
because....I devoured it so fast!
Raspberry Fool
Ingredients:
-3 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (save a 1/2 cup for layering)
-1 cup heavy cream
-1/4 cup of sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Mash 3 cups of fresh raspberries in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Whip cream with sugar & vanilla extract until soft peaks form.
3. Fold in raspberry puree mixture (it's nice to see ribbons of red in the final mixture)
4. Serve in a fun cup/bowl/dish and alternate layering raspberries & cream.
5. Top with a yummy cookie! (I used shortbread)
6. Put into the fridge for an hour or just devour immediately!!!
It's incredibly light & creamy. The only problem I ran into...is wanting MORE!
*** DO NOT- UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES CHECK THE NUTRITIONAL FACTS ON THE BACK OF YOUR WHIPPING CREAM CONTAINER***
Magnolia Bakery Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake
two words: HOT DAMN!
Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake
makes enough for 8 servings
(recipe from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
-4 cups heavy whipping cream
-3 tablespoons sugar
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-1 1/2 packages Nabisco chocolate wafers
1. Whip Cream: In a large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream with the sugar & vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Make sure to not over beat!
2. Start assembling the cake: On a flat plate (at least 9 inches in diameter) arrange seven wafers, with one in the center and the remaining 6 surrounding. Scoop about 3/4 cup of whipped cream onto wafers and gently spread the cream in a thin layer to completely coat the cookies.
3. Finish & Refrigerate: Continue to layer the wafers with the cream, making sure to end with the whipped cream layer on the top. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight before cutting & serving.
I topped mine with strawberries to make it look extra special. It helps mask all the drippies.
***BTW-This was soooo good. I can't believe I've never tried this before. I made this for a family BBQ on Sunday. Everyone seemed skeptical about the cookies...but one bite erased all doubt. Think cookies & cream ice cream...but creamier...and less cold! I can't wait to experiment with different flavors. Lemme know what you think and what you come up with!! ***
Tiramisu!
Yesterday I spent about 3 hours trying to think of what dessert I was going to make for this week's Project Runway Girls Night. It wasn't until I was 3 minutes away from home that the idea came to me. TIRAMISU! And the best part...I had all the ingredients waiting for me in the kitchen!
I ran home and immediately started my online recipe search. I had less than an hour to pull it all together, so I went right to Martha Stewart's EVERYDAY FOOD site and searched.
Below, you will find my version of the recipe. I decided to use mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese to make it more authentic.
Ingredients:
- 2 3oz. packages ladyfingers
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 1 8oz. container mascarpone
- 3 tablespoons instant espresso
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 splash coffee flavored vodka (Kahlua would be fun too)
- 1 1/2 cup water
- a bunch of bittersweet chocolate shavings
Put the 3 tablespoons of instant espresso in a medium bowl combine with 3 tablespoons of boiling water. Stir until the espresso powder completely dissolved. Add the 1 1/2 cups of water and the splash of booze. Stir!
Meanwhile, whip the cream with the 1/2 cup of sugar. When you have made whipped cream, add the mascarpone and stir it up! Try not to take too many tastes, because you might get stressed at the assembly part and think you may not have enough! (I'm serious)
In the dish/bowl/serving container you are using put 3 heaping tablespoons of the cream on the bottom. Dunk each ladyfinger in the coffee mixture for less than a second. Layer them on top of the cream in the dish. When you are done with the first layer, add more cream on top. It's like you are making a lasagna! Now continue with your second layer. Top that with the last of your cream. With the help of a potato peeler, and shave a hunk of bittersweet chocolate on top. If you do not have a hunk of bittersweet chocolate lying around like I do.... Dust the top with cocoa powder.
I let this sit in the fridge for about 45 minutes and then brought it over to my friends house. We ate it about 3 hours later and it was scrumptious! It took about 20 minutes to assemble (phew!).
Here's a shot of the layering process:
Up close on the shavings-
Here's the layered dish:
Curry Zucchini Soup
Curry Zucchini Soup
Print This Recipe- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 7 large zucchini cut into chunks
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup melted butter mixed thoroughly with 1/4 cup of flour
- salt & pepper
In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil until transparent. Add thyme and chopped zucchini. Cook until soft. Add curry powder, cream & stock. Bring to a boil; add butter & flour mixture. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 15 minutes. Puree soup in blender or use an immersion blender. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
**It's the perfect fall/winter soup. My mom always makes it special on Christmas Eve. We look forward to it year after year. In the soup pictured above, I used whole milk instead of Half & Half. It tastes just fine that way. Serve with some crusty/cheesy bread or top with some bits of bacon and you have yourself a wonderfully hearty meal. ***
