Tuesday Tasters

Since the fall of last year, I have had the unique opportunity to volunteer in my daughter's middle school office once a week. I originally had signed up to work in the library and not put myself in the position of having to answer all those questions from the parents - the same ones that I'm usually asking on the other end of the phone. But as luck - or fate - would have it, I was switched to the front office. In my initial conversations with my new friends, I quickly noticed that these lovely office ladies were very open to trying anything laden with sugar or butter. So I decided to make this a win-win and use the front office as my taste-testers (guinea pigs?) for new recipes I was compiling for my cookbook. And with that, the "Tuesday Tasters" were officially formed.

Now along with testing new recipes, I also had to work around some dietary issues, religious traditions (Lent) and personal preferences that the ladies had. Some weeks were a bit of a challenge but one thing I found out in all of this was that if you bring them sugary confections they will swoon, and by "swoon", I mean that it won't matter as much if I accidentally cut someone off on the phone while transferring a call... or sending visitors to the wrong part of the school... or constantly asking annoying questions (sorry Liz). It just means they will blissfully "bless my heart" with a smile on their lips and a fork in their hands. So next time you volunteer in your kid's school, just remember to bring a plate of something sweet. Think of it as "paying it forward" if your kid ever ends up in the principal's office... I'm jus' sayin'!


Linda's Lemon Berry Cheesecake


Linda (who I will truly miss) gave up chocolate one year for Lent and decided to never go back. (I know, very sad) but with that challenge in mind it pushed me to think more outside of the box for her. Chocolate is always easy and perfect on it's own but with that said, sweetness comes in many flavors. Since cheesecake is one of her favorite desserts I decided to mesh together a lemon bar and cheesecake to create a dessert that would send her off with lots of love.


Crust:
1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1/3 cup Butter or Margarine, melted

Filling:
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 Eggs

Lemon Curd
2/3 Cup of your favorite homemade lemon curd
Here is my favorite recipe courtesy of Patent and the Pantry.

Topping:
2 cups of berries (your choice) I used strawberries and blackberries because they were on sale.


HEAT oven to 325°F

MIX crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 55 min. or until center is almost set. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Right before serving, spread a nice layer of lemon curd on top of cheesecake and then pile berries on top of that. If you want a shiny look. melt 1/4 cup of apricot jam or grape jelly in the microwave until thin. With a pastry brush, carefully paint the tops of the berries to give it a beautiful sheen.

Tami's Salted Caramel Delites

Tami is a chocolate lover no doubt, but equally, she loves salted caramels. One day I brought in a container of freshly made salted caramels. She loved them so much she wondered if I could create a brownie combining her two favs. Hence this easy brownie recipe...

1 box of brownie mix (for 9x13 pan)
Follow directions except replace water with strong coffee.
Kraft Caramel Bits
1/2 caramel ice cream sauce
Kosher flake salt

Make brownies to instructions substituting the coffee for water. Spread in 13x9 pan or individual cupcake liners (24).
Sprinkle the caramel bits on top all over.
Bake per directions on box.
After slightly cooled, drizzle caramel sauce on top and sprinkle with kosher salt. Cool completely before cutting and serving.



This year has been an absolute treat (pun intended) working in the office with Liz, Patti, Tami, Linda, Susan and those sweet student runners. It has been my absolute pleasure feeding y'all and getting to know you. I can't thank you enough for testing all of these recipes!

Bacon Hangover!

Lately, every time I turn around, I find bacon being used in all sorts of ways other than being served up crispy with eggs. I've also found a new cult-like following for this love of pork fat. With this in mind, I wanted to try my hand at some new bacon recipes so I searched several food blogs and found a few recipes that I feel will pay homage to this sweet, yet savory, salty strip of delicious heaven. This also gave me an excuse to go on a local field trip with my family in tow.

First off, from notwithoutsalt.com, I have bacon caramels. My husband was a bit skeptical of this at first because, though his love for both is strong and true, he didn't think this combination would hold it's own. I quickly reminded him of how much he loves it when I make sticky brown sugar bacon and he paused... then with a smile said "Your right. That could be good!" However, once I started the adventure, it quickly came to a halt when my thermometer proved to be less then accurate. I should have gone with my gut and my candy making experience and done the old fashioned drop in ice water test. Instead, I decided to risk the accuracy and go with what it said. I can now say that one should always go with their gut feelings. I ended up with bacon caramel sauce, which luckily can be salvaged as a topping on an ice cream sundae. Rest assured, before I make another batch, I will be purchasing a new candy thermometer. Sometimes these things happen and you just have to roll with the punches. Still, please go to the above site to see how they are supposed to turn out.

Next on my list was Bacon Jam from notquitenigella.com. The picture looked to die for and all kinds of thoughts ran through my head of how I would use this lovely condiment. I took the two-plus hours to make this and yes, my friends, this was tasty! It has a nice "German" feel to it. I served it on crackers with cram cheese as a light appetizer, but I think having it on toast with a poached egg would be divine. I will be sending some of this to a mutual bacon-loving friend and awaiting to hear his opinions.

Lastly, a trip to Frank's, a local eatery that serves bacon in a large portion of it's menu, proved that the traditional Bloody Mary can be a top shelf cocktail when made with bacon infused vodka and a strip of peppered bacon as the condiment. Though it was a bit spicy for my taste buds (I was hoping for more smokey bacon flavor), it certainly is a beauty to admire. After finishing my lunch of a Chicago Dog and waffle-cut fries with bleu-cheese buffalo dipping sauce, I finished with a bacon chocolate chip cookie to end the meal. Again, great cookie, but no true bacon flavor shining through.

At this point, you are probably wondering if my husband is skilled in CPR - no worries! I didn't eat enough to render a pork-induced heart-attack, however, the bacon-infused hangover will stay with me a few days. Even with that, I'm still forever on that quest to find real bacon flavor, especially when incorporated into dishes unexpectedly. So whether you prefer sweet or savory, the fact of the matter is that bacon is more than a crispy side to eggs. Google "bacon" and you might just find that it gives you a whole new meaning to "the other white meat". Now to go find a remedy for my hangover - maybe some "Hair of the Dog", or more appropriately, some "Hair of the Pork"! I'm jus' sayin'!

Dutch Apple Pie

Yummy! Who doesn't like the sweet smell of an apple pie baking in the oven? We buy candles and air-fresheners with this scent to fill our homes so why not just take the little bit of time to create that smell for real? That inviting smell will take you back to your Mom's kitchen or your favorite little diner. Whichever memory it conjures up, it always makes me think of Fall. This is the time of year to get to your local farmer's market and check out all the varieties of apples available. Honey Crisp is my favorite for just snacking - it's crisp and sweet with a little tartness at the same time - just amazing! I urge you to seek it out and try it and you will be forever happy, I promise. For baking, I always go for the tart Granny Smith. It holds up so well in the baking process and the sugars just meld together to create the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. Now, there have been times when I have picked-up other varieties, only to find them soft or mealy when I go to eat them. No worries! Don't throw them out as they make great applesauce.

Below is an apple pie that I played around with because I had some left-over Kraft Caramel Bits (my new fall baking ingredient) I added them to the filling and then made a streusel topping because my daughter thinks streusel should be on everything. It turned out super-juicy with just the right balance of apples and caramel. Home-made crusts scare you? In a hurry? Don't let these stop you! Buy your crust in the refrigerator section of your grocery store - it won't change the sweet aroma that will flow out of your oven and into the house... I'm jus' sayin'...



Dutch Apple Pie

1 9in pie crust
1 batch of streusel topping (see below)
5 medium tart apples (peeled and sliced thin)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits (found in chocolate chip aisle)

Streusel Topping

1 stick of butter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the above together until small pea-size crumbles are made.
Set aside

In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon.
Put all of that into the pie crust. Distribute strewsel topping all over top of pie. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until it is brown on top and juices are oozing out of the top, and the house is smelling like pure comfort!