Elephant Monkey Choco-Delight and Panzanella

This milkshake/smoothie might not look too tasty, but it is my son's most requested drink. It goes well with meals, or can be an after-school snack. I always use Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Rich and Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream when I make this smoothie. It makes me feel a little bit better about the fat content. This pleases kids and adults, alike. We had it along with The Barefoot Contessa's Panzanella, because some things are so good, you just have to make them again. I made the panzanella a few weeks ago for Barefoot Bloggers, but repeated it because it has also become a new family favorite.

Monkey Elephant Choco-Monkey Delight
1 medium banana, sliced and frozen for at least 2 hours
1 cup skim milk
1 cup chocolate ice cream (I use Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned 1/2 less fat)

1/4 cup peanut butter

Place all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately!

Soya Chicken with Rice and Veggies

I made this for my brother's birthday dinner a couple weeks ago and haven't found a chance to post it. The pictures are not that great, but it is a simple meal that we have eaten for many years, that is very good. It is really easy, not very intimidating and tastes great.
Soya Chicken with Rice and Veggies by my Mom
4-5 lbs chicken thighs and legs

1 1/2 cups soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 med. piece fresh gingerroot, diced (or grated with microplane grater, if frozen)

cooked rice

steamed vegetables of your choice-I used broccoli, assorted bell peppers and zucchini

Place chicken thighs and legs in a dutch oven or large heavy bottomed saucepan. In a separate bowl, combine soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and gingerroot. Stir and pour over the chicken. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce heat, and simmer, covered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Smoky Black-eyed Pea and Rice Cakes with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread

A few weeks ago, I saw this recipe in the Local Paper. It was taken from the Associated Press and the photo that went along with it was so, can I say cute? Anyway, I knew I wanted to make it and try to recreate the photo. Not so great on recreating the photo, but the taste was wonderful. The recipe was only for the Black-eyed Pea and Rice cakes, but it showed it with cornbread and collard greens. I used spinach, because I had some in the fridge and sauteed it the way I usually do. I tried a new cornbread recipe, which was pretty good, but next time I would probably add a pinch of salt and a tsp of sugar. With my husband being from the South and having lived there for almost all of our married life, I really thought this was an interesting take on Black-eyed Peas, Cornbread and Collards. It was easy and really yummy. The cakes taste best warm, so make sure to have the cornbread and spinach ready to go when they cakes are done. Happy Eating!

SMOKY BLACK-EYED PEAS AND RICE CAKES with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread

1 teaspoon plus 3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
4 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped (1 cup)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked white or brown rice
2 large eggs
1/4 cup roasted garlic-flavored tomato paste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

In a small skillet over medium, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the onion and saute until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the black-eyed peas, Canadian bacon, parsley, hot sauce, salt, pepper and rice. Transfer half of this mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed, no more than 10 seconds.Return the chopped mixture to the bowl and mix thoroughly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and tomato paste, then add to the rice and bean mixture. Mix well. Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Form the rice and bean mixture into 12 cakes and press both sides of each into the breadcrumbs to coat. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining oil. Add six of the cakes and cook until crisp and browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside and cover with foil to keep warm. Wipe out the skillet, heat the remaining oil and cook the remaining cakes

Mama's Corn Bread- Curtis Aikens

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 Tbls canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except oil and mix well. On the stove top, heat the oil in a large skillet until hot but not boiling. Pour the hot oil into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 35 to 50 minutes. Start checking for doneness after 35 minutes; it should be golden brown when done. To serve with cake on top, cut into 1/2-inch tall square slightly larger than size of cake.

Sauteed Spinach by Mary Ann

12 oz baby spinach

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

dash of fresh lemon juice

cooking spray or canola oil

heat oil in an electric skillet or spray with cooking spray. Add spinach and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Saute until spinach is wilted and turn off or remove from heat. To serve on top of Black-eyed Pea Cake, spoon spinach into a Tablespoon measuring spoon and carefully arrange on top of cake.

Baked Fish with Roasted Mixed Vegetables

At the beginning of this year, I was determined to fix fish at least once a week for my family. I did pretty good for awhile, but got off track. My kids love fish and I have alot of frozen tilapia on hand, so we are going to start having some kind of fish at least once a week. This was something that I just threw together that turned out being really yummy. The lemon pepper adds a little zing to the fish and the roasted veggies are great because the leftovers can be used in sandwiches, quesadillas, etc. (Look for some of them to reappear in next week's lunchbox). So, here is an easy weeknight dinner that is satisfying and healthy!

Baked Fish by Mary Ann

5 tilapia fillets

5 tsp fat free mayo

salt and pepper

3 Tbls lemon pepper

3/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

Preheat broiler and spray broiler pan with cooking spray. Place tilapia fillets on broiler pan. Spread 1 tsp mayo on each fillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine lemon pepper and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over fillets and press into fish with fingers. Drizzle fillets with olive oil and bake under the broiler for 8-10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Roasted Mixed Veggies by Mary Ann

4 yellow squash, cut in 1/2-inch slices

3 zucchini, cut in 1/2-inch slices

2 green peppers, 1 1/2-inch chunks

1 yellow and 1 red pepper, 1 1/2-inch chunks

2 Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls dehydrated onion flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.

Mix all veggies in bowl with oil and seasonings. Toss to coat. Roast in a single layer on pans. Roast 30 minutes, turning veggies halfway through and switching baking sheets from top to bottom.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream in Cinnamon-Sugar Won Ton Cups

Unbelievable as it may be, I still had some leftover wonton wrappers in the fridge. I made those super yummy taco wonton cups last week and as I was thinking, I decided that a cute individual dessert could be served in a wonton cup too. So, with all the lovely fresh peaches on the countertop I decided to make ice-cream. And, why not serve it in tiny little scoops, (Thank you melon baller!), in a cinnamon-sugar wonton cup. It was delicious and so cute! Unfortunately we had a huge storm and I didn't get very good pictures. Some of us were daring and drizzled leftover chocolate sauce from the eclairs I made the other day. Yum! This was the best peach ice cream, not too sweet, and really peachy. I left some of the skins on just to give it a more homemade, natural taste. It was good!



Fresh Peach Ice Cream in Cinnamon-Sugar WonTon Cups by Mary Ann

1 1/2 cups sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon (2 Tbls)

2 pds. fresh peaches (without pits removed)

1 pint half and half

1 cup whole milk

Remove pits from peaches and some of the skins. Mash peaches in a large bowl. Combine sugar and lemon juice with fresh peaches that have been mashed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Combine with other ingredients in ice cream maker and proceed according to manufacturers instructions. When done churning, remove to container and freeze for 4 hours or more.

Makes 2 qts

Cinnamon-Sugar WonTon Cups

18 wonton wrappers

cinnamon-sugar mixture

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Place one wonton wrapper over each cavity of muffin tin. Spray wonton wrappers with cooking spray. Generously sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over wonton wrappers, so that they are covered. Press wonton wrappers down into cavity of muffin tin, so wonton makes a cup. Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown on edges and crispy. Let cool for a few minutes. Scoop ice cream with a melon baller and fill wonton cups. serve

What's in Your Lunchbox?Rice Cube and Tofu, Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies, Marinated Vegetables, and English Muffin Pizzas

At least I know the limit for the title up there- It is really Rice Cube and Tofu Salad, but it wouldn't fit. ha So, I decided that I am going to do a "What's in Your Lunchbox?" post every wednesday to highlight some of the tasty lunch snacks I make every week. I bought too much tofu for our Kung Pao Tofu the other night so I decided to make a yummy salad with it. Both my son and brother love tofu (yippee!).My son loves meatballs, so when he saw these Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs in the lastest issue of Cooking Light (he likes to look with me and pick out what to make)- he requested them for lunch. (I know that they look very similar to the chicken balls I made last week, but they actually had a completely different flavor). They were great- very moist and flavorful, mostly due to the ricotta and fresh basil, and tasted great cold. They also doubled as a after-school snack the next day. The Zucchini cookies I had seen on another blog and everyone wants a sweet treat in their lunch right? The spices reminded me of a pumpkin cookie and these were cakelike, but still enjoyed. The Marinated Vegetables are great as a side dish as an alternative to carrot sticks, also served cold- my son loved it. And of course, everyone loves individual pizzas!

Rice Cube and Tofu Salad slightly adapted from kids healthy lunchbox by cara hobday

2 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup basmati rice, unrinsed

1 Tbls cornstarch

2 Tbls sesame seeds, toasted

1 1/2 cups firm tofu, cut into bite-size pieces

2 scallions, sliced

3/4 cup snow peas, finely sliced

1 cup bean sprouts

salt and pepper

For the dressing:

3 Tbls canola oil

1 Tbls sesame oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 Tbls honey

1 Tbls light soy sauce

Take a plastic container measuring 6 by8 by 1-inch and line with parchment paper.

Boil the water and add the rice. Boil for 12 minutes until very soft. Drain well. Puree 5 Tbls of the rice using a food processor. Stir into the rest of the rice and spoon into prepared container. Cover and weigh down with cans. Refrigerate

Mix together the cornstarch and sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper. Coat the diced tofu in the cornstarch mix. Fry the tofu in a little bit of canola oil over medium heat. Drain on paper towels. Refrigerate the tofu cubes in airtight containers overnight.

To assemble, mix together the scallions, snow peas, and bean sprouts. Cut the rice into cubes and add these and the tofu. Mix the dressing ingredients and add. Refrigerate. Separate a portion for the lunchbox and pack.

Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs from Cooking Light Magazine

1 pd ground turkey breast

1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl with hands. Shape into 18 meatballs. Heat skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add meatballs and brown on all sides. Transfer to broiler pan coated with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes or until done.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies From "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c brown sugar

1/3 c honey

1 T vanilla extract

Combine in large bowl.

1 c white flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture.

1 c finely shredded zucchini

12 oz chocolate chips

Stir these ingredients into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes

Marinated Fresh Vegetables

2 tomatoes

2 ribs celery

1 small unpeeled zucchini

1 carrot

1 onion

1 green pepper

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Peel tomatoes, scrape out seeds, and dice in 1/2-inch squares. Clean and dice remaining vegetables; toss together. Combine sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir into vegetables. Refrigerate several hours. Drain with slotted spoon and serve.

English Muffin Pizzas by Mary Ann

6 english muffins

pizza sauce

turkey pepperoni

1 small zucchini, very thinly sliced

shredded cheese

Preheat the broiler. Split each english muffin in half. Spread desired amount of pizza sauce on each half of muffin. Layer zucchini on top of sauce and pepperoni on top of zucchini. Sprinkle cheese on top and broil, until zucchini is tender and cheese is melted, about 5-7 minutes.

TWD-Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Stefany over at Proceed with Caution , so go to her blog for the recipe of click HERE to get it from an earlier post. These cookies were a great choice. Chock full of tasty ingredients, everyone loved them. I was able to take them as a dessert to a small gathering and luckily we all tried them before I took them, because they were gone quickly. I really liked the combination of chunky peanut butter with the oatmeal and the chocolate chips just made them that much better. Go to the Tuesdays with Dorie Blogroll to see all the other delicious cookies!

Operation Baking GALS Thank You from Team Meet Me in the Kitchen

This just in, Anna over at Life's too short for mediocre Chocolate
was able to get these lovely bar cookies in the mail!

I was lucky enough to be one of the hosts for this months' Operation Baking GALS, sending goodies to my brother-in-law, Russ. I had alot of support from my team and so much enthusiasm. I wanted to say Thank You to everyone who took some time to bake up a treat and send it Russ's way. My sister was here visiting, so we made Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti and Crunchy Sesame Cookies.

Bridget from The Way the Cookie Crumbles made tons of cookies! She sent granola grabbers, chocolate chip cookies, whopper cookies, and peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Sheri, who runs the really fun blog, http://cookingmom.livejournal.com/, sorry, I couldn't get it to link up, sent chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Brenda of webbie's world sent those yummy thumbprint cookies and some oatmeal cookies as well.

Sabrina over at Superfluous sent the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies above, from a favorite Dorie recipe

Greg from Oatmeal CookieBlog sent S'more Cookies!

Madame Chow of Madame Chow's Kitchen sent Granola Grabbers- Here is the LINK

Jan over at Did you know chin hairs are nothing but stray eyelashes sent Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, Oatmeal Raisin, and Peanut Butter- Wow!

Adrienne of Adrienne's House sent Chocolate Chip and Walnut Chocolate Chip- Great Choices!

Fran sent chocolate chip cookies and all sorts of other treats

Funky Frum sent chocolate jalapeno cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate peanut rice krispy treats- yum!

Dolores from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity
also sent a couple boxes of goodies!

Thank You to everyone who participated!! Don't forget to sign up for a team next month and keep giving a little support!

Operation Baking GALS-Crunchy Sesame Cookies

I saw these cookies on Cooking Light in an article that was about how to pack cookies when you are sending them in the mail. I thought they sounded very interesting and I had some tahini in the fridge (leftover from making hummus), so I decided to try them out. I didn't like them very much when they were warm, although some people did, but once they had cooled and over the course of a few days, we all liked them alot.
If you are looking for a different cookie with an interesting twist, these will do!

Crunchy Sesame Cookies from Cooking Light
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup tahini (roasted sesame-seed paste)
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk; set mixture aside.Place brown sugar, tahini, and oil in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup, vanilla, and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Shape dough into 36 balls (about 1 inch each). Place granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten balls slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.

Daring Bakers- Pierre Herme's Chocolate Eclairs

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and co-hosted by Tony Tahhan and Meeta at What's for Lunch, Honey. They chose Eclairs.Not just any eclairs though, Pierre Herme's Chocolate Eclairs. We were given a little leeway, as long as we kept either the pastry cream or the glaze chocolate. We also needed to use Pierre's recipe for the pate choux. I have never made eclairs before simply because I don't really love them. My mom on the other hand, loves them. I haven't seen her eyes light up the way they did today, for a long time. I mean she was excited-like little kids on Christmas Day, excited. It was fun to watch.

These came together quickly and didn't give me any trouble. I did have to bake them longer than the 20 minutes called for, because they were not firm or nicely golden after 20 minutes. I was going to make the chocolate pastry cream, but my mom wanted vanilla, so I went with Dorie's Pastry Cream- I added that recipe all the way at the bottom of this post. These were fun to make and they turned out looking good. I made some little puffs, just for fun and I really think the last picture looks like a little monster or something. Maybe I have just been looking at it too long! Anyway, this was a fun challenge. Go see how everyone else did with their eclairs by checking out the Daring Bakers Blogroll. I can't wait to see what we will be up to next month!

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds bypositioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets withwaxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets, top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:

1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)

• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:

1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk

• ½ cup (125g) water

• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

• ¼ teaspoon sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour

• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to mediumand start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time youhave added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:

1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined bakingsheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer thepiped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk

• 4 large egg yolks

• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted

• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted

• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the

tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:

1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream

• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin

to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:

1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé (makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 1 cup (250 g) water

• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream

• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:

1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.

2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Dorie's Pastry Cream from Baking
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk– this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.Whisk in the vanilla. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly–as I always do–put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes

Cupcake Hero -Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream, Raz-Pepper Preserves, and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I have to admit- when I saw the theme for this month's Cupcake Hero, I was a little shocked. I mean, I have heard of mixing chocolate and chilies, but JALAPENO for a cupcake? My mind was completely blank. Completely. This month is being co-hosted by 2 guests, Rachel- Confessions of a Tangerine Tart and Teri-the 90/10 rule. And they are the ones responsible for this interesting challenge. I was racking my brain, seriously, and then, when I was at the Farmers Market with my mom and sister, I saw the answer to all my problems-Pepper Jelly. PepperLane Products happened to have a booth at the Farmers Market and they were selling ALL sorts of Pepper jelly. We tasted-Blackberry Buzz,Pepp'ricot, Cherry Bomb, etc. You get they idea. There was every type of Pepper jelly and I decided that Raz-Pepper would pair perfectly with these Lemon Cupcakes which have a cream cheese center and lemon cream cheese frosting. I added a 1/2 tsp to the filling before the cupcakes baked and then swirled some into the frosting and, SURPRISE- They were amazingly delicious! Try them out for yourself and see.


Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream from Gourmet Magazine, makes 5 large cupcakes 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cream cheese (about 2 ounces), softened

2 1/2 tsps Raz-Pepper Preserves

Preheat oven to 350° F. and line four 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk in 2 teaspoons zest. In another bowl with a fork blend butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon juice until smooth. With a wooden spoon beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until smooth. Stir butter mixture into flour mixture until batter is combined well.
In a small bowl with a fork stir together cream cheese and remaining 1/2 teaspoon zest, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon juice until lemon cream is smooth.
Spoon 3 level tablespoons batter and about 1 tablespoon lemon cream into each paper liner. Drop 1/2 tsp Raz-Pepper Preserves over the lemon cream. Spoon remaining batter over preserves, and smooth the tops. Bake cupcakes in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until golden brown, and transfer to a rack to cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting with Raz-Pepper Swirl

1 stick butter, softened

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 pd powdered sugar, sifted

juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

Raz-Pepper Preserves

Beat butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in lemon juice and lemon zest. When ready to pipe, spread desired amount of Raz-Pepper jelly into your decorating bag and fill with frosting. Pipe onto cupcake. or, stir desired amount of preserves into frosting and spread onto cupcakes. There will be leftover frosting.

Jenny's Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas- Casserole Style

I am sure all of you are familiar with Picky Palate. Jenny comes up with so many scrumptious, crowd pleasing meals and snacks, that it is hard to choose which one to make first! Her pictures are beautiful and she is just about the kindest person out there. I don't really know her, but she comments back to you after you make comments on her blog and it makes you feel like you are friends. Anyway, I saw THESE enchiladas (Please go look at her pictures, they are much more beautiful), and loved the fact that she had incorporated more veggies into them. We were going to have Chicken Enchiladas anyway that week, so I decided to try hers, instead of our family favorite. I did make this casserole style, by layering all the ingredients, because that is how we do it at my house. ( I am not sure how that got started!) And the results were, that everyone loved these! They were absolutely fabulous. I did change a few things, I used flour tortillas, just because my hubby doesn't like corn ones, and I used some queso fresco cheese as well as shredded, because it really needed to be used. I also used Greek Yogurt in place of the sour cream, which I always do. They were so yummy! Thanks, Jenny!
Jenny's Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas-Casserole Style adapted from Picky Palate
1 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 fresh cloves garlic, minced
6 oz bag baby spinach leaves, chopped
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 10 oz can Mild Rotel diced tomatoes with Green Chilies
2-10 oz cans cream of chicken soup, healthy request or lower fat
1-10 oz can red enchilada sauce
8 oz greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt
Flour Tortillas
3/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled
2 Cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place oil into a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and cook until wilted down. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin and diced tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
2. Place soup, enchilada sauce, greek yogurt, milk and salt into a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until warmed though.
3. Ladle 1 cup of sauce into the bottom of a large 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer flour tortillas over sauce. Cover tortillas with chicken-spinach mixture. Sprinkle half of queso fresco and 1/3 shredded cheese over chicken mixture. Cover with another layer of tortillas. Spread sauce on top of tortillas. Spread remaining chicken-spinach mixture over sauce and sprinkle with remaining queso fresco and 1/3 shredded cheese. Cover with one more layer of tortillas. Spread remaining sauce on top and sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on sauce.. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Chef Jeena's Fishing Trip Event-Blackened Tilapia

This is for Chef Jeena's Fishing Trip Event and because we like to eat fish. I have been using this seasoning on fish for years and we love it. The recipe originally called for catfish, but I always have tilapia in the freezer and so that is what I usually use. I always cook a few fillets with less spice rub for the kids, because it is a little spicy for them. When my hubby was eating this he actually said that we should have fish more often. Yes, that is how tasty this is. Something even a McDonalds lover can appreciate. And, don't you just love those colorful home grown peppers underneath?
Blackened Tilapia adapted from Cooking Light

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets

2 teaspoons olive oil

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of fish with the paprika mixture.Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add fish; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork

Cookie Carnival-Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Yes, my friends, I have joined in on Cookie Carnival.

I saw so many yummy cookies floating around last month and I decided I could use some fun cookie recipes that are not picked by me. This month we got to try Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti. I had some very excited family members due to great memories of last month's DB Challenge. We loved these, although we didn't eat too many since I decided they would be a good cookie to send to my brother-in-law, Russ, who I am hosting Operation Baking GALS for this month. These was a lot of nibbling and luckily, not all of the biscotti would fit in the box. These were great, an easy first time biscotti making experience for me. I will probably make these again because everyone here love the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate!
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BISCOTTI from The Bakehouse via Bon Appetit
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, husked
3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grind 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in processor. Set aside. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and sugar in another large bowl to blend. Add eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in 1 cup whole toasted hazelnuts, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece on baking sheet into 2 1/2-inch-wide by 14-inch-long log. Place logs on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs feel firm when tops are gently pressed, about 35 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
Using long wide spatula, transfer baked logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 baking sheets. Bake biscotti until firm, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely. (Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti can be prepared ahead. Store in airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)