TRACY PORTER PETITE BLUE CHEESECAKES

Last week I was browsing around Tracy Porter's blog http://www.tracyporter.com/blog (no secret that I totally admire her and her work) she had this amazing recipe for Blue Cheesecakes...I had a girls dinner party to attend and decided to make these darling, yummy little gems for our gathering! Huge hit!! They are sweet and savory. They are super easy to make! A few notes from my experince making them....I got a square "muffin" tin from Kohl's. It's non stick! Very important. Tracy reccomends using a petite cheesecake pan and I agree...I could not find one in time, but now I'm on the hunt for one. If you have a Trader Joe's I used their Triple Ginger Snaps---divine! However, they add a little extra sweetness...so if you want less sweet use regular snaps or make you own! I also used 2/3c blue cheese and 2/3c gorgonzola (the mixture cut back a little on the pungency of the blue cheese but if you LOVE blue then use all blue cheese) Go ahead---knock'em dead with little delicacies!

Here is the link to her video...it helped to watch it... http://tracyporter.com/blog/?s=blue+cheesecake


TRACY PORTER PETITE BLUE CHEESECAKES


GINGERSNAP CRUST

3 ounces gingersnap cookies (should equal 3/4 C. of crumbs)

2/3 C. yellow raisins

1/2 C. pecans

3 Tbsp. butter (melted) + 1 Tbsp. to butter muffin cups



BLUE CHEESECAKE

3 ounces blue cheese (crumble by hand)

1-1/2 Tbsp. shallots, finely minced

1-1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

12 ounces cream cheese (room temp)

2 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. rosemary, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. honey

1/4 C. sour cream

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Lightly butter each cup of 12 cup mini muffin tin. If your mini muffin pan does NOT have removable bottoms, I would recommend using paper cups in each cup.

Put all gingersnap crust ingredients (except butter) into food processor. Chop until thoroughly mixed and resembles a pasty crumb mixture. Once finely chopped, add in butter and whirl gingersnap crust again until combined. Divide gingersnap crumb mixture equally amongst all mini muffin cups. Press down firmly and bake at 325F for 8 minutes. Reset oven to 300F when the crust is done.

Beat all blue cheesecake ingredients (except eggs) together in mixer. Once all blue cheesecake ingredients are thoroughly combined, add eggs and continue to mix until well blended. Divide the filling amongst the 12 cups; fill about 3/4 full.

Bake for 30 minutes or until mostly set. Look for the cheesecake to have nicely browned edges. They will look puffed up and luscious. Remove cheesecakes from oven and cool for 30 minutes while still in the muffin pan. These are impossibly decadent with a good glass of white wine and a simple, elegant side salad.

Macaroni and Cheeses

I love Fall...have I mentioned that? One of my favorite Fall dinners is Macaroni and Cheese, and no, I did not make a typo when I called this recipe "Macaroni and Cheeses." I love blending several different kinds of cheeses in the cheese sauce. Homemade mac 'n cheese is one of the easiest pasta dishes and such a crowd pleaser. Even Jettson loves it! Jett won't eat boxed mac 'n cheese but he will eat his mama's!

Ingredients:

Any kind of pasta...macaroni, cavatappi, shells (that's what I used--cuz it's what I had on hand). Make according to package directions.

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups of milk (you can use any kind...whole, 1%, 2% or 1/2 and 1/2...whatever you have on hand)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp thyme (optional---I love thyme in my cheese sauce)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack

1 cup shredded Mozzarella (or you could use an Italian cheese blend that you get at the grocery store---the goal is to use what you have on hand)

1 cup shredded cheddar (you can use sharp cheddar if you wish)

4-8 slices American cheese (this is the secret to the creamiest, yummiest mac 'n cheese sauce---don't leave this cheese out...you can substitute all the other cheeses but this one)

Heat oven to 350.

Coat a 3 quart broiler and oven safe dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan melt butter over medium heat, stir in flour whisk till smooth (you want to cook the flour for a bit) then start pouring in milk, whisking all the while, reduce heat a bit and start adding cheeses, one cup at a time till melted. Once all cheeses are added and melted add salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme...taste and adjust. Set aside.

Your pasta should be done by down---drain, rinse & add back to pasta pot and combine cheese sauce. Stir together. Pour pasta mixture in baking dish. At this point you can add a topping if you like---I used a combo of bread crumbs, butter and cheese and crumbled it on top. Bake for 20 minutes. At the last 3 minutes broil the top till lightly browned.

Serve with a veggie or salad!

   

Cook Pasta

Make cheese(s) sauce

Pour into baking dish

Bake and viola! Macaroni and Cheeses!! Yummy.

Happy Cooking. xoc

Grilled Veggie Pizza

This the Grilled Veggie Pizza I made. I loosely used the recipe from Cooking Light Magazine.
The Easiest Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe EVER! This is not from Cooking Light magazine this one comes from Food.com, however it's posted right here and with my tweakings.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (you can use white flour or you can use 1/2 white 1/2 wheat, that's what I usually do)


1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon fast rising yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Throw all ingredients into a bowl and mix together with a mixer that has dough hooks or by hand.

2. The dough will be fairly sticky but don't add any more flour.

3. Scrape it into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. I let my dough rise in a warm area of my kitchen. While it's rising, this is when I usually have to take kids to Karate or someother activity, so it's the perfect amount of time to let the dough sit.

4. When dough is finished rising, pre-heat oven to 400 F degrees or turn your grill on high.

5. Turn onto a floured surface and work in a bit more flour until the dough loses its stickiness -- you shouldn't need too much -- then roll out to desired size, keeping the dough about 1/2 inch thick.

6. Leave to rise for about 10 minutes, before topping with your favourite ingredients. (I did not do this part...but if you feel the need to do this you can ;)

7. Put on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour or cornmeal (I highly reccomend not to skip this step...it's what keeps your pizza from sticking to the pizza pan or grill) and bake for 10-15 minutes in a very hot oven until lightly browned. Our standard is 230-240 C in a fan oven for 10 minutes on a top shelf.

THIS IS THE PART IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE YOUR PIZZA ON THE GRILL:
BTW: This is the perfect way to make pizza in the summer that way your house stays nice and cool ;) The idea is to use what you have on hand so that you don't have to go out and buy special ingredients...it's stuff you should already have on hand or using from Sundays dinner.

Ingredients:

Pam Grill Spray

Cornmeal

Leftover grilled veggies...any kind, peppers, mushrooms, squash, onions, tomatoes, etc.

2/3 cup Pizza Sauce (make your own, marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fontina cheese or a mix of cheeses...mozzarella, chedder, jack etc.

1/4 cup basil leaves (optional)

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Prepare grill to high.

2. Prepare your pizza dough as in the above easy pizza dough recipe. Roll it out in any fashion you choose.

3. Grab a cookie sheet spray it with non stick Pam or what have you and then sprinkle the sheet with cornmeal...

4. Place pizza dough, cornmeal side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 4 minutes or until blistered. Turn dough over; grill 3 minutes. Remove from grill. Place the cornmeal side down back on your cookie sheet and then... 

*WATCH IT CAREFULLY so it's not burning...also you will need two spatuals if you do not have a pizza paddle to turn it over.

5. Spread pizza sauce evenly over top side of crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange vegetable mixture evenly over sauce; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper (optinal). Top with cheese. Return pizza to grill rack, and grill for 4 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Cut pizza into 10 pieces; sprinkle with basil or thyme (optional). Also at this point I turned my grill down to med so that I would not burn the bottom of my pizza.

Viola! I know it sounds like a lot of steps but I promise once you try it you will see how easy it really is...and the next time you do it...it will be that much more easy.

There are so many options...you can do just cheese, add meats, etc. This weekend I'm going to do mini's for appetizers for a party. I will post pics later and show how those came out. Just thought I would share can't wait to hear if someone tries it and how it turns out. xoC

Bacon done the Easy Way!

A couple years back my Aunt Arlene showed me the easiest way in the world to cook bacon. We don't eat bacon very often. However, when we do have it, I make such a huge mess cooking it, and I absolutely detest cooking it! It's greasy and splashes and spits out oily grease everywhere. Yuck! My aunt cooks her's in the oven! & best of all it's not messy! It does'nt even get my oven messy!

Here's what ya do....

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees;
*Line a cookie sheet with foil;
*You can use a little pam on the foil to keep the bacon from sticking. However, I find I don't really need to do this  step.
*Line your bacon strips on your cookie sheet;
*Cook for about 10-15 min or until the doneness you perfer.

Out comes perfect, crisp, yummy bacon! 

Enjoy!

Pizza!!

Quite a few postings ago I posted a recipe for roasted veggies...& then you could turn them into a pizza. Well...you can do the same thing with your leftover grilled meat and veggies. The above went from this....to

To this....super easy....

You can make your own pizza dough, which is super easy or you can buy premade dough from Trader Joe's for $1.29!! Just follow the back of the directions on the dough...roll it out...use a can of marinara sauce, or speghetti sauce, or you can make your own pizza sauce with a can of tomato paste, olive oil, a little salt, a pinch of brown sugar, brush it on your pizza dough. I did half just cheese (for the boys) I chopped up the chicken, peppers and zucchini---placed them on the dough then sprinkled it with cheese. Cooked in a preheated 425F oven for 20 min! Voila! Homemade pizza in less that 30 minutes!!!

Berry Clafoutis

This is a wonderful light summertime dessert...perfect to showcase summer berries. You can make this while your guests are chatting and digesting their meal.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1/2 C all purpose flour (I experimented with cake flour...I do not reccomend...it was ok... but I think it made it more dense instead of light)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
4 TBSP white sugar
1 C whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP unsalted butter
12 oz or 1 1/2 C raspberries, olallieberries, blackberries (which are almost in season) sliced strawberries or blueberries
1 TBSP confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 425F.

In mixing bowl combine flour, salt, eggs, 2 TBSP sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix for about a minute or until batter is smooth. Set aside.

In a 9" heavy cast iron skillet melt butter over medium heat, coating bottom and both sides of pan. Add berries and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Cook for another 1-2 minutes or until sugar is melted and syrupy.

Pour batter over berry mixture and bake for about 20 minutes or until clafoutis is golden brown.

Important: Keep oven door closed the entire time, or the clafoutis will collapse.

Sprinkle a light dusting of confectioners sugar over top...slice and serve with whip cream or vanilla ice cream!

Rita's Famous Bran Muffins

One of my very favorite women on this planet, Rita Gatti, sent me her bran muffin recipe. I am sharing it with you all...esp you mom's out there who are trying to get your little ones to get more fiber in their diets. I am always on the hunt for recipes that I can disguise and trick the boys into eating...Owen thinks that muffins are cupcakes...so that is what we call them.

BASIC BRAN MUFFINS


4 cups raw bran or bran buds

2 cups wheat germ (test for freshness)

2 cups boiling water

1 cup corn oil

1 and 1/2 cups honey

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

3 eggs

1 qt. buttermilk

1 and 1/2 cups enriched all-purpose flour

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. salt

5 tsp. baking soda



1 cup sesame seeds (optional)

1 and 1/2 cups raisins (optional)

1 cup walnut pieces (optional)



Combine bran and wheat germ in 6 qt. bowl.

Stir in boiling water.

Add oil, honey, molasses, eggs and buttermilk.

Stir well.

Sift flours, salt and baking soda together and

blend into the liquid. Stir until all dry ingredients

are just moistened. Fold in optional ingredients.



Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake in 350 degree

oven for 12-14 (test with knife or tester ) minutes.

Makes 6-7 dozen muffins. Freeze extra muffins and

warm in microwave when needed. Batter will keep

in frig for 4 weeks.

*A few things I did a little different were substituted 1 of the 2 cups of Wheat Germ for Ground Flaxseed and it worked perfect, then  did 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white flour...partly cuz I want the boys to eat these muffins for breakfast and I did not want them to be too grainy & they weren't.

Just in time for St. Patty's Day

This is not my recipe or photo it's taken from Smitten Kitchen you can check it out the recipe and photos here--- http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes. I have not tried it---yet! Am planning on it tomorrow...for all you Irish folks out there and all you other die hard St. Patty's Day lovers----without further adieu...here is a cupcake recipe that is going to blow your mind...

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes


While the Guinness in the cake gets mostly baked out, the Baileys is fresh and potent, so if you’re making this for people who don’t drink — ahem, nobody I know, but I hear such people exist — you’ll probably want to swap it with milk.

The Baileys frosting recipe makes a smallish amount of frosting — enough to just cover the cupcakes. Because they were so rich and this frosting so sweet, I felt it only needed a little. Double it if you want more of a towering effect.

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream


Ganache Filling (Updated to double it, based on many commenters suggestions — thanks!)

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)


Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)

3 to 4 cups confections sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue

3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)


Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)


Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.


Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

[This is a fantastic trick I picked up while working on the cupcakes article for Martha Stewart Living; the test kitchen chefs had found that when they added the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.]

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. [I used a star tip and made little "poofs" everywhere and sprinkled it with various colors of sanding sugar to keep it looking festive for New Years. I bet shaved dark and white chocolates would look gorgeous as well.]

Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Roasted Veggies

I love vegetables! I mean, I truly adore them! I will eat a bowl full of veggies over fruit any day. I try to make at least 2-3 meals a week that are mostly vegetarian. I have found that roasting veggies is an easy way to make sure that my family is getting a lot of veggies in one serving. A few years ago my friend and neighbor, Kim P. made me one of her signature dishes with roasted veggies. Her veggies contained a root vegetable, that up to that point, I would have never, ever have eaten---they were BEETS! yuck! Well, after that dinner, I was hooked on roasted beets, their earthly loveliness is like nothing I have ever tasted. I love, love them roasted---and now, I will even eat them in a salad and pickled. 

Since, that dinner I have more perfectly, perfected the art of roasting vegetables. I used to throw them in with whatever meat I was cooking, but have since found that they taste much better roasting them by themselves and slowly. I use mostly root veggies, but, really, any veggie will do. They are the perfect side dish to the Sunday Roasted Chicken. I use the leftovers later in the week for all sorts of other dishes, such as, pizza toppings, a frittata, a pasta topping, risotto topping or a delish Roasted Veggie Winter Tart that I make (I will post that recipe sometime). Whatever I am making at the beginning of the week usually, will work in other dishes that I have mapped out for that weeks' menu. It is a very cost and time effecient way of cooking.

Ingredients:
1 small sweet onion (such as a Vidalia onion)
1 small red onion
1 yam or sweet potato
1 russet potato
3-4 carrots
1 bunch of beets (there are usually 3-4 beets per bunch)
3 celery stalks
& whatever other veggies strike your fancy---Roma tomatos are good to use, winter squashes ie.zucchini, mushrooms, or any other veggie in season or root veggie you like.
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Tbsp crushed garlic
1 tsp Provencal herbs (or a mix of thyme, lavendar & rosemary)
Salt (I almost always use Kosher salt and save table salt for eggs or baking) and Pepper (fresh cracked is my preference).

Directions:
Wash & chop all veggies (chop chunky---not fine)

Washed and chopped

Put veggies in a ziplock baggie and then add

all spices, oil and vinegar 

 

Coat all veggies with the spices, oil and vinegar. I find that putting it all in the ziplock is the best way to make sure all your veggies are evenly coated. However, if you don't have any on hand or you don't want to be wasteful---a bowl works fine too.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil (if you want---I like to do it this because it makes for easy clean up, again you can skip this step if you don't have any foil or you don't want to be wasteful).

Dump veggies onto sheet;

spread veggies out with a wooden spoon (any spoon will do ;)

Roast veggies in a preheated 325 degree oven and roast until a fork goes easily into the potatos & beets, since they are the bigger veggies they will take a little longer than the others. Usually around 40-50 min. Check the veggies about every 15 min and stir them...you are basically, carmalizing the veggies in the oven. You want to make sure they are all coated with the sugars that are being released from the veggies.

Remove from oven and Viola!

Roasted, luscious, rich goodness!!

 

Transfer to a bowl (it's the same one I used at the beginning & yes, I washed it ;)

Sunday Roasted Chicken with Veggies

My favorite dinner of the week, Sunday dinner. I have always loved the idea of Sunday dinner. My dad's mom always had a family style Sunday dinner every---well, Sunday. I have taken over this family tradition. I usually make some sort of roasted meal that I can turn into other meals throughout the week.

Ingredients:
One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken, or organic (or whatever chicken you perfer)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or whatever garlic you have on hand will work fine)
1 stick unsalted soft (not melted) butter
2 carrots
1 large onion
2 large potatos
A bunch of beets (there are usually 3 stalks in a bunch)
Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. 

Now, mix the butter with the salt, pepper, garlic and thyme, to a paste. Rub the chicken with the butter paste, like you were rubbing it with suntan lotion. This is how it will get it's nice brown skin when you take the foil off later. Place the chicken in a large dutch oven or deep pan.

Now, wash and cut up all your veggies in large chunks and them all around the chicken. Drizzle just a little of the olive oil onto your veggies. Cover in tin foil, the put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes (the last 20 min or so take off the foil and let it brown). Remove it from the oven. Baste the chicken with the juices & let it rest for 15 minutes. Then serve!

Roasted Tomato Soup w/Mozzerella Cheese Sammies

Ingredients:

5 Roma tomatos
3 large garlic cloves
1 jar of roasted peppers (or can roast them yourself....I had a jar on hand and used it)
2 celery stocks
2 carrots
1 medium onion
1 can tomato sauce (29 oz)
1 can chicken broth (14.5 oz)
2 can crushed tomatos (14.5 oz)
1 can tomato paste (4 oz)
fresh basil (I used about 8 leaves)
1/4 tsp salt, pepper, thyme, ginger, oregano, white pepper, paprika and mustard (dry).
1 tsp brown sugar

Garnish:
sour cream or cream fraiche
Parmesan cheese

Sammies:
Good bread
Mozzerlla cheese...whatever kind you want to use.

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Wash and slice the Roma's and the garlic throw them in a ziplock bag add olive oil and a little s & p. Shake. Place on cookie sheet. Roast at 250 for about 2 hours. Shut stove off and leave in warm oven until ready to use.

Cut all veggies and place in food processor (don't worry if you don't have any of this stuff....just chop fine and blend at the end or leave chunky if you like it that way). Place veggies in a hot soup pot w/ olive oil and 1/4 pat of butter. Omit butter if you want.

While this is all cooking and getting nice and translucent. Take out the cookie sheet of Romas & garlic slide them into the food processor add roasted peppers and about a 1/4 tsp paprika pluse until blended. Add to veggies.

Then add all your canned goods, and spices including fresh basil. Cook for about 45 min on low until bubbling. Shut off and let simmer.

Make your grilled mozzerlla cheese sammies....bread, cheese and grill. Laddle your soup in bowl and garnish. Yum...that's what for dinner tonight folks!