19 May 2020 Simple Berry Cobbler in a Cast Iron Pan

Simple Berry Cobbler in a Cast Iron Pan

May 19, 2020 By

I’m obsessed with desserts that feature berries. That’s been true since I was a kid as my family loves to pick fresh berries.

Last weekend, I have a bunch of week-old berries (yes, my guy over-bought again!) so I decided to turn them into a cobbler that I baked right in my cast iron pan for a no fuss dessert.

Note that I simply doubled my Very Berry Cobbler recipe for this and it’s easy-to-make and delicious. Even better topped with good quality vanilla ice cream while the cobbler is still warm.

Filling Ingredients:

  • 2-3 pints (5-6 cups) mixed berries (I used blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Crust Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 large egg
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
  • Berries in Pan
  • Batter
  • Batter Over Berries

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Coat 10 or 12-inch cast iron pan (or other baking dish) with cooking spray or softened butter.
  2. Combine berries, 2/3 cup sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Spoon into the prepared pan.
  3. Stir together the flour, ½ cup less 2 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse meal.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and eggs. Add the egg mixture into the flour mixture and combine until just blended – do not overmix.
  5. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls over the berry mixture.
  6. Mix cinnamon (if using) and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture over the batter.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Filed Under: American, Desserts, Fruits Tagged With: , , , ,
8 May 2020 Classic Gin Gimlet

Classic Gin Gimlet

May 8, 2020 By

I love cocktails with big lime flavors and the classic gin gimlet is one of my favorites. It couldn’t be simpler to make:

Ingredients:

2 ounce good quality Gin, I used Aviation

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1 ounce simple syrup

Lime peel (optional)

Directions:

Add ice to a cocktail shaker then all the ingredients. Shake well/hard for 15 seconds, then pour in a cute glass over ice then add a lime peel, if using.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Filed Under: American, Cocktails Tagged With: , , ,

Blueberry Pie Bars

May 4, 2020 By

Last week I totally overbought in terms of berries and had a ton of blueberries on hand that were becoming less fresh by the day. I love blueberry pie and frequently make this Crumb Top Blueberry Pie and it’s admittedly pretty perfect.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it’d be a bit different from the typical pies I make…and it was easy! It’s simple to make and turned out amazing with a crust similar to shortbread, a filing that’s blueberry-packed and nice crunch on the top from the set aside crust crumbles saved for the topping.

  • Ingredients
  • Unbaked Crust
  • Wet Ingredients
  • Lots of Blueberries

The bars bake in an 11×7 dish, so it’s not a huge amount like you’d get from a 13×9 dish, which is nice when there’s only two of you at home.

These blueberry pie bars would be awesome as a hostess gift or to bring to a potluck. Delish!

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Desserts, Fruits Tagged With: , , ,
30 April 2020 Dutch Oven No Knead Bread

Dutch Oven No Knead Bread

April 30, 2020 By

I’ve been meaning to try out one of the gazillion no-knead bread recipes on Pinterest since I’ve been on reduced work hours and home with no work trips and finally gave it a go last weekend.

I started the dough the afternoon before I was going to bake since the rising time is sooooo long, 8-18 hours.

When I woke up the morning I was going to bake, I couldn’t wait to see what was happening under the plastic wrap. Like magic, my dough had risen and was literally alive! I punched it down and plopped it on a floured piece of parchment paper and molded it into a ball with floured hands.

Dough Fermenting

As indictated in the recipe directions, I’d placed my Dutch oven in the oven for 30 minutes then removed it and carefully lifted my dough using the corners of the piece of parchment and placed it in the Dutch oven with the cover on.

Dough Right Before Going Into the Oven

The aroma of bread baking is like no other and this was no exception. I followed the recipe and baked my bread for 45 minutes with the lid on then 15 minutes with the lid off. Next time I make it, I might add two-three minutes to the with-lid cooking time as the bread was moist inside (which I love), but might be even better with a bit more time in the oven.

The exterior was perfectly crusty and the inside nice and chewy and fantastic. I highly-recommend this recipe by RED STAR YEAST.

Cheers, Veronique

Filed Under: American, Breads, Meal Type Tagged With: , , ,

DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe

April 29, 2020 By

Social media went crazy when, earlier this month, Hilton shared its DoubleTree cookie recipe. For those of us who often stay at DoubleTree by Hilton properties, it’s alway such a treat to receive a warm cookie at check-in time. I often wondered “what do they put in these cookies?” as they’re so so so tasty! There’s a texture thing that I thought might be coconut, but it’s in fact rolled oatmeal!

Here’s the link to the recipe and I’ve made a few observations:

300 degrees is lower a temperature than I’m used to baking at. My cookies baked in 25 minutes, so start checking the browning at 20-23 minutes, knowing it could take a few additional minutes.

I had pecans instead of walnuts so I used the pecans and the cookies were fantastic. Not the original receipe, but very delish.

I baked 4 cookies and froze the rest as dough balls that, according to the recipe, can be baked right from the freezer.

I like the idea of the lemon juice and will use it in all my cookie recipes going forward.

I ended up with 28 cookies…just couldn’t keep trying to resize them to get to the proposed 26 cookies.

These are amazing cookies!!

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , ,
15 April 2020 Hearty Sausage and Orzo Soup

Hearty Sausage and Orzo Soup

April 15, 2020 By

We love soup at our home, and I try to make it most Sundays so we can have a bowl during the week. This past week, we’d bought a few packages of fresh hot Italian sausage to freeze, and before they went into the freezer, I grabbed a few links to put in my soup.

Typically, I’d add kale to this soup, but I had a ton of spinach, so I added that instead. Whatever you have on-hand would be perfect.

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 4 hot Italian sausage links (could use mild also), taken out of the casings and broken up into bite size pieces
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 celery ribs, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 8-ounce package of fresh, chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tsp. each, salt, pepper, dry thyme
  • 48 ounces of chicken broth
  • 14-ounce can of pureed tomatoes
  • 5 ounces baby spinach
  • ½ cup dry orzo

Direction:

  1. Heat oil for 30 seconds over medium-high heat in a large, heavy saucepan. 
  2. Add the sausage and break up the pieces as the sausage cooks, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot, turn down the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring frequently.
  4. Add the mushrooms and the seasonings and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the broth and chopped tomatoes, lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot partially and simmer for 45 minutes.
  6. Add the spinach and the orzo to the soup and cook for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Filed Under: American, Italian, Pork, Soups Tagged With: , ,
14 April 2020 Easy Cobb Salad

Easy Cobb Salad

April 14, 2020 By

Okay, this isn’t really a ‘recipe’ but I thought I’d share as it was delicious and simple to make. Through this pandemic, we’re been doing so much pasta and Italian food that one day I decided we had to do more salads and put this baby together for dinner.

I used ingredients I had at home so please customize your version to what you have and what you eat. Would be delish without chicken and bacon but with chickpeas and artichoke heats too.

Served and plated this way is soooo pretty and if you don’t toss it, each person can use the dressing he/she likes. I did my Easy Greek Vinaigrette and my guy did blue cheese dressing. To each his/her own!

This used a half head of iceberg lettuce and two half chicken breasts that I grilled. I know blue cheese crumbles are more typical of a Cobb, but I had a ton of fresh Mozzarella, so I used that. And I included my No Fail Hard-Boiled Eggs.

Cheers!

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Bacon, Chicken, Salads, Vegetables Tagged With: , , ,
30 March 2020 Easy Recipe for Two Cookies

Easy Recipe for Two Cookies

March 30, 2020 By

Having a sweets craving but don’t want to be at home with a normal batch of cookies in fear you might have more than a couple? Here’s a super simple chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies that makes just two large cookies!

These will seems a bit strange as they’re more liquid (see photo below) than what we’re used to where cookie batter can be balled up and placed on a cookie sheet. Because the ‘batter’ is more liquid, be sure to space out the cookies on your cookie sheets as they get super large (and awesome) when they bake.

This time I used both chocolate and butterscotch chips, but you could easily use all chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 Tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp. butterscotch chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. If using foil, coat with cooking spray.
  3. Heat the butter in the microwave until it just starts to melt and is softened – don’t let it bubble up.
  4. Add the white and brown sugars, the salt and the vanilla and blend well.
  5. Add the egg yolk and stir until well-incorporated.
  6. Add the flour and the baking soda and stir until just combined.
  7. Add the chips and stir until just incorporated.
  8. Scoup batter onto the baking sheets into two cookies.
  9. Bake for approximately 9 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.

Makes two large cookies.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: ,
10 January 2020 Jalapeno Popper Warm Dip

Jalapeno Popper Warm Dip

January 10, 2020 By

I love warm dips. They’re tasty and I like that serving them at a party brings everyone together. Over the holidays, my fabulous sister made this awesome warm dip that we crushed…..soooo good!

The dip follows the idea of a jalapeno popper but is placed in an oven-proof dish or in a bread bowl to bake to bubbly goodness. It’s spicy without being fiery and keeps you wanting more.  

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4-ounce can diced jalapeno peppers
  • 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • Round sourdough loaf (optional)
  • ¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. (could use the toaster oven too).
  2. In a large bowl mix together the cream cheese, jalapeños, chilies, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese and mayonnaise.
  3. Take the round loaf of sourdough, slice off the top, scoop out the inside and set it aside.
  4. Spoon the jalapeno mixture into the bread loaf, or an oven-safe dish, and sprinkle breadcrumbs over top.
  5. Place the the bread loaf or the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Serve with Ritz crackers, scoop tortilla chips and/or crudités vegetables.

Servings: 8-10.

Recipe inspired by this.

Filed Under: American, Appetizers, Cheese, Mexican, Snacks, Starters, Vegetarian Tagged With: , ,
5 November 2019 Cream of Vegetable Soup

Cream of Vegetable Soup

November 5, 2019 By

Soups are our thing at our home and I try to make a giant batch on Sundays to eat throughout the week. This week, I had a ton of vegetables left and tried to use them all in this delish and easy to make Cream of Vegetable Soup. It’s perfect for #MeatlessMonday or any old day where comfort in a bowl is needed.

I puréed this soup and ran it through a fine sieve to get a super smooth texture but sometime I just purée it in the blender to keep some texture. Up to you, what you’re in the mood for.

Note that when I’m sautéing the vegetables, prior to adding broth, I let them brown quite a bit to boost up the flavor and give the broth a rich look and earthy flavor.

Who else likes to eat soup out of a cup??!

cream of vegetable soup

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium-large carrots, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
  • ½ tsp. each turmeric, garlic powder, dried thyme, sage and paprika
  • 64 ounces low-sodium vegetable broth, preferably homemade
  • ½ cup heavy cream + 1 tsp corn starch combined and stirred well, optional
Vegetables Sauteing
Soup Simmering
Soup Going Through Sieve (Optional)
Finished Soup

Directions:

  1. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil then sauté the onion, carrots and celery for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms, garlic and spices and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add broth. Simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
  3. Purée with an immersion blender until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, add the soup to a blender and purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Pass the puréed soup through a fine sieve if you’d like ultra-smooth soup.
  4. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and add the cream mixture, if using, and warm for 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
  5. To serve, ladle soup into cups or bowls.

Serves 4.

Filed Under: American, Mushrooms, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
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