Click in honour of Bri

Jugalbandi hosts click each month and this month is in honour of Bri. Bri is one of the 5% of women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 30. That was two and a half years ago. In her words,

Only the person dealing with this disease can really know how it feels. You have to keep strong. Having alot of support from family and friends is a big help. Know that you have many people praying for you every day Bri.

Mile High Coconut Cream Pie

New post on Photo Blog

I have added new photos to the photo blog.

Oven Crespella with Nutella Sauce

I get many magazines. Too many actually, my son freaks whenever I bring home more. I also get some from the library. This recipe looked good so I made it last week for breakfast. The recipe came from Gourmet magazine April 2008. It was very easy to put together.

Oven crespella with Nutella Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp. whole milk, I used 2%
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, Nutella
Garnish: icing sugar

Directions:

Put a 12" heavy skillet in middle of oven (cast iron skillet) in a preheated oven to 450F.
Whisk together flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and 1 1/2 cups milk in bowl.
When skillet is hot, add butter and heat in oven until golden for about 1 minutes.
Remove from oven and pour batter into skillet and bake until puffed, set, and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
While pancake is baking, whisk together Nutella and remaining 3 tbsp. milk until smooth. If it is to thick for you add more milk.

Cool pancake in skillet on a rack for 5 minutes (it will shrink). Cut into slices and dust with icing sugar and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Quick Rum and Raisin Ice Cream

This is another recipe from Ruth Fremes "What's Cooking" She was on ctv in the late 70's to 80's. I watched her all the time, I believe I learned alot from her. This recipe is very good, something you can whip up in a hurry.

Quick Rum and Raisin Ice Cream

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. dark rum
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:

Soak raisins in the rum for 1/2 to 1 hour. Combine all ingredients except ice cream and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved and the sauce is hot. Serve over vanilla ice cream.

Dan's Chicken Caesar's Salad from his garden

Dan has a blog about his garden, the Urban Veggie Garden. He will be making dishes with what he harvests. This is the first recipe he has made. He made his own Caesar Dressing, and Croutons. Check out the recipe and his blog. The Chicken Caesar Salad.

Mile High Coconut Cream Pie

Dan decided he wanted to make coconut cream pie. But he did not whip cream on the top or normal meringue. The pie was absolutely amazing. I told him he could make money with this pie.

He used the Perfect Pie Crust that was previously posted at the following link:
Perfect Pie Crust
Or substitute a store bought 10" crust

Coconut Filling:

2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 cups coconut milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup unsweetened coconut

Directions:

Stir sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in coconut milk, heavy cream and egg yolks. Heat custard on low heat, whisking constantly for 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and continue whisking until custard thickens and becomes glossy, about 5 more minutes.

Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl.

Stir in vanilla, butter and coconut and stir until butter has melted.


Pour immediately into chilled pie shell. Let cool in the fridge for 4 hours, Placing plastic wrap on the pie to prevent skin forming on top.

Italian Meringue:

6 large egg whites
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut

Directions:

Once the pie filling has cooled you can proceed to prepare the Italian Meringue.
Place egg whites in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form, set aside.

Combine 1 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 238°.



Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.



Spread meringue over chilled pie, and sprinkle with coconut. Broil for 1 minute or until meringue is lightly browned; cool 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve immediately.

Best Fudgie Brownies Ever

Dan wanted a gooey fudge brownie, so I went hunting for one and found this on Canarygirl's blog.
And it was GREAT!! I did add icing sugar to the frosting though, and used milk chocolate. The next time I make them I will use semi-sweet chocolate and make the frosting the way canarygirl did.

Best Fudgie Brownies Ever

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 bars Lindtt 59% dark chocolate(6 ounces/150 grams), chopped into smaller sized pieces
(used milk chocolate chips, about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

frosting:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 bar Lindtt 59% dark chocolate (6 ounces/150 grams)
(used 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º F
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and reserve.

Using a medium sized saucepan, melt butter and sugar over medium heat.

Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Add 1 bar of chocolate and stir until melted.

Add in eggs one at a time, whisking quickly and constantly.

Add in flour mixture and whisk to combine.

Add the other bar of chopped chocolate and stir.

Pour into a 9 inch square baking dish (or similar).

Bake brownies for about 40 minutes, more or less according to how fudgy you like them

Frosting:

Heat butter and milk over medium heat and bring to boiling.
Remove from heat.
Add chocolate bar and stir until melted
(1/2 cup milk chocolate chips)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
Pour over brownies.
(this frosting is almost like a ganache…very soft)

A Wonderful Gift From Rosanne

In May Rosanne posted on her blog a post about container gardening. She chose a few ideas from Proven Winners site. Rosanne asked which ones we liked best, my choice was Sanibel Island. Then she picked someone from the list to send a special gift she has made. She makes amazing scrap-booking items. I received an email that I had won the draw!!! I was extremely excited. The first part of this week the item arrived . It is a lovely note book. I LOVE IT!!! Check out Rosanne's Blog it is lovely blog. Thank you so much Rosanne for the notebook.

Hawaiian Dream Cupcakes

Last week was my daughters birthday. Dan made dinner for her and a cupcake for dessert. We bought a beautiful pineapple at the store, so he decided to make cupcakes with pineapples in it. He did start with the Caramel Puddle Cupcakes recipe and changed it a bit.

Hawaiian Dream Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup regular or low fat sour cream
1/2 chopped fresh pineapple


Preheat oven to 350F
Line 12 cupcake tin with paper liners

Directions:

In large bowl using electric beaters, beat butter for 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugar, beat for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Using wooden spoon, alternately stir flour mixture and sour scream into butter mixture, making three additions of flour and two of sour cream, when almost mixed add the pineapple and mix only to combine.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling about three quarters full.
Bake in centre of oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tops spring back when lightly pressed.
Transfer to rack for 5 minutes.
Remove cupcakes to rack; let cool completely.

Icing:

Makes 2 cups

2/3 cups unsalted butter, very soft
Up to 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup finely minced pineapple, (Drain the pineapple) you may need to put on a tea towel to get the juice out. You do still need some juice however for the liquid

Using electric mixer, beat icing sugar and butter on low speed until mixed and pineapple and beat until you achieve a spreading consistency.

Dried Pineapple for the toppers

Thinly slice the pineapple

Place on baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper

dehydrate in 200F oven for about 1 hour

Remove from oven let cool on rack

To assemble the cupcakes

Ice the cupcakes

Roll the cupcakes into coconut

Then place the dried pineapple on top.

Sunday Dinner

Dan BBQ'd today. He used a boneless pork rib roast. We have a charcoal BBQ. For the potato I made Cottaged potatoes. This recipe has been around for many years. The recipe follows the pork. The vegetable was asparagus, boiled just until tender with butter and salt and pepper.

The pork is scored on the top so it will cook faster and the sauce will penetrate into the meat more.

The basting sauce mix:

1/4 cup Vinegar
3/4 cup Water
3 tbsp. Brown Sugar, heaping
3 tbsp. salt, heaping
You could also add, onion, garlic, chili flakes anything you would like to this

Heat mixture on stove until dissolved. Then transfer to a spray bottle or brush on roast often while it is cooking.
It should take 40 minutes to 1 hour to cook

Tomorrow he will make pulled pork on a bun with the left-overs.


Cottage Potatoes

Ingredients:
10 medium sized potatoes, amount for size of family
1/2 lb. pkg. velvetta cheese, chopped
1 onion diced finely
1/2 cup margarine
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. parsley
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk
corn flakes, crushed

Directions:
Boil potatoes with skins. Allow to cool, then dice into a greased baking dish.. I sauted the onion just until it softened. Add the chopped velvetta cheese and onion. Mix in melted butter, salt, parsley mositen with milk. Cover with crushed corn flakes. I did not have corn flakes, so I made dried bread crumbs with a bit of melted butter added to them.
Bake 350F for 1 hour.

Inside Out Sausage Pie

When I went to Woodstock a couple of weeks ago. I got meat at Rudy's, the meat here is great. We have tried other places for meat..but they are the best so far. Anyway, I bought their farmers sausage (plain). Frying the sausage in small pieces until crispy on the edges and serve with corn relish....is so good. If you have been reading my blog you likely realize I do not cook much anymore, Dan does the day to day cooking. However, if there is something I am really wanting to eat from the past, I will make it. For a few months I have been wanting to make this pie. Serve it with a salad and it is a nice dinner.

Inside Out Sausage Pie

Ingredients:

I forgot the red peppers in the photo.

1 lb. pork sausage meat, take out the meat from the skin
20 soda crackers, crushed finely
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup diced onion
1 100z. can tomato soup
2 to 3 cups cooked rice
1 cup grated cheese

Directions:

Brown sausage in fry pan, drain off any fat the accumulates.

When the meat is nicely browned add the peppers and onions and saute until veggies are tender.



Add crackers and 1/2 the can of tomato soup, mix well.


Take this mixture and pat into pie pan of your choice.




In medium bowl, combine rice the other 1/2 can of tomato soup and cheese.


Mix well, then add this to the meat mixture.


Bake 350F for 35 to 40 minutes.