Baileys Irish Cream Biscotti

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

Chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream are a natural combo for St. Patrick’s Day food goodness. Wrap it all up into a biscotti and you have a little bit of Irish perfection.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and has been a cause for celebration each spring since the 17th century. Irish people have migrated worldwide, and wherever there’s an Irish community, you can count on a legendary St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

St. Patrick’s Day parades, dyed green rivers, overcrowded ‘taverns’, festive green drinks mark the March holiday. Many wear green and Irish imagery abounds. St. Patrick’s Day is also a great excuse to feast. While boiled bacon and cabbage may not be everyone’s favorite, desserts are always welcome.

Baileys is not just for St. Patrick’s Day. Speaking of, it’s also not just for mixing drinks either! You might be most familiar with the magical combo that is Baileys + chocolate. It took two years of trial and error but by 1974, the founders had added the finest spirits, rich chocolate and vanilla flavors along with a little magic, to create the famous Baileys recipe. The Irish have been distilling whiskey since somewhere around 1000 A.D., when Irish monks brought the technique home from their visits to Mediterranean countries. The word whiskey translates from the Irish language to ‘water of life’. Mixing the ‘water of life’ with other fine spirits and luscious cream, then adding rich chocolate & vanilla flavors with other flavors and ingredients made such an incredibly delicious treat.

Whether you dunk, drizzle, shake or bake. Adding some Baileys liqueur can be a total game-changer. These Irish Cream Biscotti served with some Irish coffee will be a perfect treat for the day.

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Baileys Irish Cream Cookies
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add eggs and 1/4 cup liqueur; mix well.
  3. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Place 2 pieces of dough on each baking sheet, leaving space between them. Form a slightly rounded 2-1/2- x 8-inch loaf that is about 1/2 inch thick.
  4. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow loaves to cool 5 minutes. Cut each loaf into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Lay slices cut side down on baking sheets and bake an additional 15 minutes. Turn biscotti over and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let cool.
  5. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, Irish cream liqueur, mix well. Take a small amount of the prepared icing, place in a cup & add food coloring, mix well.
  6. When biscotti is cool, place white icing in a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe a line about 1/8 in from edge of biscotti. Flood inside with white icing. With green icing make 3 shamrock designs on each biscotti on top of white icing.
  7. Melt chocolate & place in a small piping bag with a round tip. Outline the edge of each biscotti with a line of chocolate. Set aside to dry before storing in an airtight container.
  8. Serve with Irish Coffee!

Pomegranate Apple Cobbler

Cobblers are simply delicious desserts. Often made with in-season fruit—from strawberries in the summertime to apples in the fall. Pairing pomegranate with apples seems like a good choice except when it’s already March. Fresh pomegranates are available usually from September through January. But then if you’re using pomegranate juice that makes it feasible.

The pomegranate is a unique fruit with distinct edible seeds. The brilliant color and odd shape are eye-catching. Because of their high amounts of these antioxidants, pomegranates have gained a reputation as a superfood.

Yet, despite its health benefits, the consumption of pomegranates is relatively low in our country in comparison to other fruits for several reasons. First is its limited availability. In addition, they are expensive, and it also takes a bit of work to get through to the sweet fruit.

But nevertheless, the popularity of pomegranates seems to be growing. They have crept into salads, main courses, smoothies and even alcoholic mixed drinks. Now there is even pomegranate-flavored candy and gum.

These nice little individual cobblers are some of that comfort food we all like to enjoy but with a healthy twist.

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Pomegranate Apple Cobbler
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Instructions
Apples
  1. In a large pot over medium heat, simmer pomegranate juice for 5-8 minutes.
  2. In a small dish, combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, spice & salt. Add prepared apples & sugar/cornstarch mixture to pomegranate juice.
  3. Simmer apple mixture for 10 -20 minutes or until apples are soft. Remove from heat & divide evenly between 8 ramekin dishes. Set ramekins on a large baking tray.
Biscuit Dough
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. Add cold butter, then using a pastry blender or your finger tips, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles small peas. Add cold milk & combine with a fork ONLY until mixed.
  3. Top each ramekin with dough, dividing it evenly between them. If you wish, you can sprinkle them with coarse sugar.
  4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until biscuit dough test done with a wooden pick.
  5. When baked you can serve them right in the ramekins or flip them upside down on serving plates. If you wish you can serve them with whipped cream or ice cream & top the with pomegranate seeds.

Chicken, Potato, Boursin & Thyme Tart w/ Caramelized Onions

Our love affair with Boursin started about a year ago. Being cheese lovers I’m not sure why it took us so long to try it, but we are definitely under its spell now. Years ago, it was an imported delicacy from France, so creamy and so garlicky. Now made in Canada, and even though manufactured on an industrial scale, the garlic and herb Boursin is very similar to the French version.

It’s easy to understand why Boursin may well be the most popular flavored soft cheese in the world. More than 50 years later, the original recipe remains unchanged and food lovers in more than 35 countries have spread their passion for Boursin all around the world.

Boursin was developed by French cheesemaker Francois Boursin in 1957 in Normandy. He was inspired by a traditional fromage frais dish in which dinner guests use bowls of fine herbs to season their own cheese.

A major newspaper in France reported incorrectly that Boursin’s cheese was flavored with garlic. It was actually a competing cheesemaker who had introduced the garlic cheese. The newspaper article generated such interest and demand for garlic Boursin that the cheesemaker spent two years developing a garlic-flavored cheese—which was introduced in 1963 to quickly become a household name across France.

Not only was Boursin an excellent cheesemaker, but he also had marketing smarts. In 1968, Boursin made history as the first cheese featured in a TV ad campaign. It featured famous French comedian Jacques Duby cast in the role of the first ‘Boursinophile,’ a cheese lover unable to resist the alluring taste of Boursin whatever time of day or night. Waking in the middle of the night, he rushes to the fridge in his pajamas yelling for Boursin over and over again. You may recall seeing Boursin commercials on Canadian TV.

Today’s tart consists of a puff pastry shell encasing a layer of sweet caramelized red onion, topped with roughly broken up chunks of potato and chicken dotted with luscious Boursin. The tart is then baked in a creamy egg filling and sprinkled with a little thyme. Yum!

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Chicken, Potato, Boursin & Thyme Tart w/ Caramelized Onions
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a heavy based pot. Add onions, salt & pepper; cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add balsamic vinegar & sugar, remove the lid; cook a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.
  3. Put potatoes in a medium pot, cover with water, season with salt & bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cook potatoes 15-20 minutes until just able to be pierced with a knife. Drain & set aside to cool.
  4. Roll out pastry to fit a 10-inch round removable base tart tin. Pop in the freezer to chill.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  6. Layer the onion, potato and chicken into the pastry shell. Dot with Boursin cheese and thyme. If you happen to be using left-over roast chicken & have a bit of stuffing spare, pop that in too! Whisk eggs and cream and pour over filling.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the filling is set & pastry is golden.

Banana Cream Pie Cookie Cups

It’s hard to pin down the origin of banana cream pie, but it seems adding bananas to the pie happened around the end of the 19th century, when bananas went from exotic to commonplace. Until then, most North Americans have never seen, never mind eaten, a banana.

The turning point in the banana business came with technological advances in transportation and refrigeration. Steamships and railroad cars brought the fruit to market faster, and refrigeration slowed the ripening process. The combination was a bonanza for the industry.

One of the earliest known published recipes for banana cream pie called for sliced bananas and powdered sugar placed in a pre-baked pie shell. The ‘Woman’s Exchange Cook Book’ from 1901 advises cooks to then put the filled pie in the oven for a few minutes and then remove it once the bananas have been softened. After the pie is removed from the oven, the cookbook instructs the cook to cover the filling with whipped cream and to flavor it with lemon juice.

A recipe published just five years later in ‘The Blue-Ribbon Cookbook’ provided a banana and custard filling, but the two were not blended together into today’s familiar, creamy banana filling. Instead, sliced bananas lined the bottom of the crust, and the custard was poured over it. By 1950 we get a version covered with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

An old fashioned dessert , but one of the most comforting treats, banana cream pie offers a rich, sweet and velvety filling. If you like bananas like I do, it’s one of those desserts where you put a spoonful in your mouth and can’t help but lean back and close your eyes as you savor the buttery crust and creamy filling.

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Banana Cream Pie Cookie Cups
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Banana Cream Mousse Filling
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Banana Cream Mousse Filling
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Instructions
Base
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cups.
  2. Use a food processor to grind gingersnap cookies into a fine crumb. Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl until melted. Combine melted butter with cookie crumbs and stir until there are no dry crumbs left. Divide ginger snap crumbs between the 12 muffin cups. Press down with a spoon or tart shaper.
Banana Cream Mousse Filling
  1. While the cookie cups are cooling, prepare the banana cream mousse filling. Whisk together the box of dry pudding mix and the milk. Add in the whipped topping and stir GENTLY until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag or a zip lock bag and store in the fridge until the cookies are fully cool.
  2. Take cookie cups out of muffin tin. Pipe banana cream mousse into each cup and top with a slice of banana. Sprinkle with a small amount of gingersnap cookie crumbles.
  3. Store in the refrigerator.

Orecchiette au Gratin w/ Salmon & Broccoli

Orecchiette au gratin is an immensely satisfying mac & cheese-like dish. Then take it a step further and add salmon, broccoli and alfredo sauce … pure comfort food! Personally, I’ve always loved the taste of alfredo sauce with its creamy parmesan flavor. You might be surprised to know that alfredo sauce does not exist in Italy! Well, mostly.

The origin of this popular American dish comes from the love story between Alfredo Di Lelio and his wife, Ines. Alfredo, a young cook from Rome, prepared this dish for the first time in 1908 to entice his wife Ines to eat while she recovered from pregnancy; she was very weak and had lost her appetite after giving birth.

Alfredo made egg-fettuccine and dressed it with a mix of fresh butter and parmesan cheese. Fortunately, his wife not only loved the dish, but also suggested that he put this creamy pasta on his restaurant’s menu.

He later did introduce the dish, modestly named after himself, into the menu of his restaurant on via della Scofa in 1914. Some years later, in 1920 he famously served it to American film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, who were visiting Rome on their honeymoon. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Alfredo’s original recipe does not call for cream; that was added when the dish crossed the ocean to North America. In the original version, the cheese is mixed vigorously with the pasta and a bit of the water in which the pasta is cooked, forming a creamy consistency without the actual cream.

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Orecchiette au Gratin w/ Salmon & Broccoli
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta al dente. Add broccoli to the pot 5 minutes before the pasta is done cooking. Drain.
  3. In another saucepan, heat the sauce over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in pasta, broccoli, flaked roasted salmon & if desired basil.
  4. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch baking dish, Cover with mozzarella & bake for 20-25 minutes.

Bacon & Corn Griddle Cakes

A griddle cake is another word for a pancake, but it seems to be used more often to indicate something more rustic and less breakfast-y than the word ‘pancake’. This makes it the perfect description for these bacon and corn cakes.

People began using the word ‘pancake’ during the 15th century, and the word became standard in 19th century North America. Previously, people referred to them as Indian cakes, hoe cakes, johnnycakes, journey cakes, buckwheat cakes, griddle cakes, and flapjacks. Early North American pancakes were made with buckwheat or cornmeal.

Pancakes have really stood the test of time with their extensive history. Each culture seems to have a unique take on them. People eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all over the globe. Some examples of this transcultural food include crepes, potato latkes, Irish boxty, Russian blini, Welsh crampog, Indian poori, Hungarian palacsinta, and Dutch pannenkoeken.

Today I’m making some savory ‘griddle cakes’ stuffed with corn, crumbled bacon, onions, chives and Monterey Jack cheese. What’s not to love about that!!

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Bacon & Corn Griddle Cakes
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Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Servings
GRIDDLE CAKES
Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Servings
GRIDDLE CAKES
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Instructions
  1. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon pieces until they begin to brown. Add the onion and continue to cook until the bacon is crisp and the onion is softened. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the bacon mixture for topping the griddle cakes upon serving- and set it aside.
  2. While the bacon is cooking, combine the flour, chives, baking powder, salt and paprika in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, egg and oil, just until moistened. Stir in the bacon mixture, corn and cheese. The mixture will be thick, if you wish, add a little more milk to thin out the batter.
  3. Heat and grease a griddle or large skillet. Pour a heaping ¼-cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until it is golden brown- 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining batter.
  4. Serve stacks of griddle cakes topped with a sprinkle of the reserved bacon/onion and warm maple syrup.

Bagel Breakfast Bake

Today, February 19, is Family Day in Canada … a uniquely Canadian holiday occurring each year on the third Monday of February. It gives Canadians the chance to spend more time with their families and to celebrate the importance of the home and family life.

Alberta was the first province to adopt Family Day as a statutory holiday in 1990.

Although going out for brunch is always great, sometimes it’s nice to invite some of your family and friends over for a homemade brunch. Family day seems like the perfect opportunity for a bagel breakfast bake.

Did you know that ‘brunch’ is one of Canada’s favorite pastimes? It’s one of those meals that’s a little hard to describe. Timing-wise, it fits just after normal breakfast hours and could run as late as 3 pm. Generally, it’s considered a replacement for both breakfast and lunch. Plus, you get the best of both meals on offer; you might choose decadent French toast loaded with fresh berries, Canadian maple syrup, and whipped cream… or you might just as easily have steak and eggs. At brunch, anything goes… and often does!

The origins of brunch can be found in England in the 1890s. It was described as a wonderful post-church meal that would eliminate the need to get up early to eat on Sundays. Brunch has stayed true to its origins, especially in Canada, as a primarily Sunday meal to be consumed after church—or after a sleep-in. ‘Once upon a time’, most restaurants were closed on Sundays, so the concept of brunch became synonymous with hotels and motels in the early 20th century. At that time, folks looking for a bite to eat after church could drop into a local hotel restaurant on the way home and enjoy a delicious meal. Of course, this resulted in more restaurants remaining open on Sunday mornings, as they were leaving a huge pile of cash on the table by being closed.

Brunch’s continued popularity with restaurant-goers throughout the 20th century eventually has made it into a plausible everyday meal, although still mostly eaten during the weekend, to be enjoyed at any point between breakfast and lunch hours.

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Bagel Breakfast Bake
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Course Brunch
Cuisine American
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Instructions
  1. Arrange bagels in a 9 x 9-inch square baking dish.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, bacon, green onions, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper. Pour over bagels, pressing down slightly to submerge. Cover & refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Uncover dish & bake 45-55 minutes or until set.
  4. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving; garnish with additional green onion if you wish.

Creamy Orzo w/ Bay Scallops, Broccoli & Parmesan

Oblong and common in Mediterranean cooking, orzo has a look of rice and the texture of pasta. While orzo’s origins lie in Italy, it is now a staple in cooking across Europe, especially Greece, and the Middle East. Its use in North America can be traced to the mid-20th century or even earlier. It seems there are recipes that date back to the early 1950s like orzo pasta salad, orzo stuffed tomatoes and Betty Crocker’s Chicken Orzo Soup.

The pasta itself is made from durum semolina wheat… a particularly hard variety of wheat. It holds up perfectly during the cooking process and has a very pleasant clear flavor and chewy ‘mouthfeel’. The name is somewhat misleading though as orzo actually means barley in Italian, but there is no barley in it. Instead, the pasta derives its name from its shape, which closely resembles the grain.

Orzo has been around a long time… and stands on its own as a versatile and tasty pasta in a supporting role as a side dish, or as the star in a main dish. Because of its size, and ability to absorb flavors very well, orzo can be combined with other ingredients and become a perfect filler for things like stuffed peppers and squash.

Orzo pasta also comes colored, and flavored with vegetables. Spinach is common, but it can also be mixed with beets, carrots and other vegetables. Rainbow orzo pasta combines several different vegetables to create a highly colorful take on this wonderful, and versatile pasta.

Today, I’m pairing it with bay scallops and broccoli in a nice cheesy parmesan sauce. Yum!

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Creamy Orzo w/ Bay Scallops, Broccoli & Parmesan
Instructions
  1. Rinse scallops & pat dry. Set aside.
  2. Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion & sauté until soft, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove the onions to a plate. Set aside.
  3. Add 2 Tbsp of the butter to the skillet & melt over medium heat. Add the prepared scallops & sauté for 4 - 5 minutes. Place scallops on a heated platter & cover with foil.
  4. Fill a large sauce pan of water with 4-6 quarts of water & bring to a boil. Add the orzo & stir.
  5. After the orzo has been boiling for 5 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the same pot and continue to cook for 5 additional minutes. Once the orzo & broccoli are cooked and tender, drain well and pour into a large mixing bowl.
  6. Quickly add the parmesan cheese & the final 2 Tbsp of butter to the orzo & broccoli mixture. Stir thoroughly, allowing both the cheese & butter to melt. Slowly add the cream, while stirring. Next, add the sautéed onions, scallops. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley if you wish. Serve immediately

Fudgy Valentine Brownie Cake

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

It seems one of the most common symbols associated with Valentine’s Day are heart shapes, used to decorate cards, gift boxes, wrapping paper, cakes, cookies, candies, etc. etc.

Chocolate not only adds a touch of decadence but is one of the quintessential Valentine treats. This little chocolate fudge cake is kind of reminiscent of the ‘hot fudge pudding cakes’ from the 1960’s.  Easy to make, you don’t need any special equipment, just a bowl, a whisk and a few simple ingredients. The big thing is it tastes like pure unadulterated fudge.

Brion & I have never felt the need to give gifts on ‘occasions’ but rather just a card with a loving and sincere verse. As we grow older, it becomes clearer every day, the special privilege is to simply have each other to share life with. This year my valentine card for Brion is this edible chocolate heart. The bonus is I’ll get to share it with him!

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Fudgy Valentine Brownie Cake
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat & whisk in sugar. Add eggs & vanilla; whisk well.
  3. Add flour, cocoa powder & salt; whisk just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips & nuts (or seeds).
  4. Bake about 18 minutes. For a real fudgy texture, slightly UNDER BAKE it. This makes it sooo.. good!
  5. Write your valentine greeting on when cooled & give to your special someone.

Sour Cream Rice Pancakes

ENJOYING SHROVE TUESDAY!

Whether you call it Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Pancake Day, Tuesday is the day of feasting and celebration before 40 days of fasting known as Lent. Celebrated by Anglo-Saxon Christians, participants would attend confession in order to be ‘shriven’ (forgiven for their sins). A bell rang to call everyone to church. This bell came to be known as the Pancake Bell and is still rung today.

Shrove Tuesday was the last day to use up eggs, sugar and fats before the fast, and making pancakes was the perfect way to do it! The ingredients of pancakes also symbolize four pillars of the Christian Faith. Flour for sustenance, eggs for creation, salt for wholesomeness, and milk for purity.

While other countries celebrate Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, with extravagant and exotic parades, in England, people race around towns and villages wielding frying pans that hold pancakes. The tradition was created in 1445 when a woman of Olney, Buckinghamshire was making pancakes when she heard the bell summoning her to church. In a rush to get to church, she ran, still in her apron and holding her frying pan. The Olney Pancake Race is now the most popular pancake race in the world. Participants must be local housewives and they must wear an apron. The goal of the race is to run while carrying a frying pan with a cooked pancake inside flipping it as you run. In order to win, the woman must successfully toss the pancake three times throughout the race, reach the church and serve the pancake to the bell ringer. Hundreds of people gather every year to participate in this fun tradition!

Mardi Gras, which translates to Fat Tuesday in French, is largely celebrated in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Parades, parties, and feasts dazzled in colors of green, gold, and purple fill the city for two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday.

Personally, I have always liked pancakes, so in keeping with the Shrove Tuesday tradition Brion & I will be enjoying some today. Although I can’t quite picture myself running in a pancake race, I’m making some sour cream rice pancakes … if you like rice pudding as well as pancakes, these are for you!

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Sour Cream Rice Pancakes
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
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Pancakes
Blueberry Sauce
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Pancakes
Blueberry Sauce
Votes: 1
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Instructions
Pancakes
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, sour cream, butter & vanilla.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cooked rice, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
  3. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture & whisk together. Let batter sit for 15 minutes.
  4. Heat a nonstick griddle to medium-low heat. Spray with oil. Using a 1/4 cup measure, portion out batter on griddle. Cook for about 2 minutes per side.
  5. Serve immediately garnished with blueberry sauce or your choice of topping.
Blueberry Sauce
  1. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar & salt. Add water & blueberries & cook until 'clear' & bubbling. Remove from heat & stir in butter & lemon juice. Serve warm over pancakes.