Sweetie Pie

Roasted Garlic

This is just a suggestion, a gentle nudge in the direction of something scrumptious.  Roasted garlic doesn't need a special occasion, any fancy equipment or ingredients, or even a recipe.  It's just garlic, only better. 

Roasted Garlic

One whole head of garlic (you can do more at a time and save them for other recipes)

A splash of olive oil

A pinch of salt

Foil

That's it!  Just peel off the loose papery skin of the garlic and cut the top off to expose the cloves.  Place it in a square of foil, drizzle it with oil and give it a sprinkle of salt if you wish.  Close up the foil to form a package and place in a hot oven for an hour or so. 
You can just put it in the oven with whatever else you're cooking and leave it until it's soft and creamy.  Or, you can preheat the oven to 350 or hotter and roast it up.  It's sort of like baking potatoes, it's hard to mess up unless you don't cook them long enough or you burn them.  There's a lot of room for variation in between these two problems.

When you roast garlic, it becomes mellow and creamy.  You can eat it plain it's so mild.  Or add it to any dish you would use raw garlic in for a less intense flavor.   It's good spread on a pizza crust, used in salad dressings, in sandwiches, or with pasta.  Our favorite way to enjoy it is to smear it on crackers with cream cheese and a dab of jelly.  The sweet, salty, garlicky, crunchy mouthful is all you could want in an appetizer or snack. 

 How do you like to eat garlic?

Peppermint Patty Brownies

Peppermint patties are my favorite candy.  This is why it's probably not a good idea to learn how to make them at home any time I want.  On the other hand, how could I resist? I made the very easy recipe which is found at Savory Sweet Life and assembled one large square peppermint patty to fit in my brownie pan.  I also made some peppermint patty cups because I thought it would be easier than dipping them (it wasn't) and I put the rest of the filling in the freezer because it's a rather large recipe and I don't need all that candy sitting around my kitchen tempting me.

The inspiration for this baking project came from David Lebovitz and his post about Mint Brownies.    This is gonna be good.

I used my mom's basic recipe for brownies.  It didn't seem necessary to use an extra fudgy and rich recipe when the final product was going to to have a thick layer of candy in the middle.

Brownies

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter and blend in the sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat until smooth.  Sift in the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate.  Pour half the batter in a square brownie pan, lay on the peppermint patties, and spread the rest of the batter on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  You could easily make this recipe with store bought candy and it would be just as good.
When you take the pan out of the oven, let it cool completely before trying to slice it.  If you get impatient, you'll end up with a messy glob of motlen candy oozing all over the place ( don't ask me how I know this).  I actually put the whole pan in the refrigerator and we've been eating them cold.  

So, were these brownies as good as I'd hoped?  Well, when you bite into one of these mouthwatering morsels you get a layer of brownie, a crunchy layer of chocolate, mint candy, and more fudgy brownie on the bottom!!!  Unsubtly sweet and rich, they are so good that my pie loving husband actually said that this is the best dessert I've made yet.  He doesn't even like brownies and made a face when I told him I was going to bake some!  ( He later clarified that he only meant that it's the best non - fruit pie dessert, but still.)

Yowza! I just got my order of 1/2 pound (about 54) vanilla beans! Only $23, if you've ever priced them in the grocery store, you know what a deal this is! But it will take me years to use them all, so if anyone wants to go halfsies? 1/4ths? 1/8ths?? please just let me know.
Happy Spring everyone!

Gwendal's Pasta (a.k.a. Bacon Pasta)

Let's talk about bacon.  It is the magic ingredient in this oh so simple, oh so wonderful recipe.  If you start with good bacon, this dish will be simply delicious every time.  I get my bacon from Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork which is located right here in South Carolina.  The swine on this farm live the good life, and you can absolutely taste the difference. 
The first time I bought this pork perfection and tried it I had a bacon epiphany.  This is everything bacon should be.  I imagine it's very similar to the bacon many of our Southern grandparents and great grandparents grew up eating.  I never understood why people love pork so much, but now I do.  I can not say enough good things about this product, but please click on the link and read more for yourself. 

Go to the All Local Farmers Market, Rosewood Market, or order from the website and experience bacon bliss for yourself.  It's so decadent that a little bit goes a long way.  Notice how thick it is, and how much fat there is.  You can keep some on hand in the freezer to transform any ordinary meal into something wonderful. 

For this recipe you will need just a few pieces of bacon, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes.  You can substitute pancetta if you like.  Actually, this is more of a method than a recipe.  You can change it as you see fit.  I'm giving it to you exactly as it's found in Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard. 

3 Tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces slab bacon cut into 1/4 inch cubes

2 onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

4 carrots, thinly sliced

1 bulb fennel, coarsely chopped

2 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

3 sun dried tomatoes, diced

1 pound spaghetti

Chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan.  It's important to use a heavy duty pan so that everything can caramelize without scorching.  Add the bacon, onions, and garlic and saute 2 or 3 minutes until the fat is rendered and the onions are translucent.  Add the remaining veggies, stirring to coat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is softened and sweet.  Don't be afraid to let the bacon and veggies brown a little; that's where the flavor is.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water.  Drain, reserving a small cup of pasta water.  Add the pasta to the sauce, with a bit of the cooking liquid if you feel it looks dry.  Stir in the chopped parsley and a good grinding of pepper.  Enjoy.

I've made this recipe with and without the fennel, zucchini, and/or sun dried tomatoes and it's always very, very good.  As Elizabeth Bard said, "If you have the bacon and an onion, you're well on your way."

Meyer Lemonade with Mint

Fresh squeezed homemade lemonade sounds wonderful, but I had never successfully made it before.   I went a little crazy buying Meyer lemons about a month ago so I had a bunch in the fridge needing a purpose.  The warm spring weather calls for refreshing summery beverages.  Meyer lemons give a floral aroma to the lemonade and the mint compliments it.  This is the  lemoniest lemonade without being too tart. 

Before you get started making lemonade you need a simple syrup to sweeten it.  This is just sugar and water in equal parts heated long enough to dissolve.  You can infuse your simple syrup with any flavor you like such as ginger or mint or lemon zest.  I added some zest as an afterthought as the syrup was cooling, so it didn't add tons of flavor but it looks pretty.

I zested the lemons before I squeezed them because I didn't want to waste any of that fragrant golden peel.  Let your fruit come to room temperature and roll it firmly on the counter before you squeeze it to get the most juice out. 
I used 4 lemons to get 1/2 cup of juice.  Then I soaked the squeezed lemon halves in water until I was ready to mix it up in order to get all their flavor and essence out.

You can find the complete recipe at the  White on Rice Couple blog.  Just click through to see their step by step instructions for both simple syrup and lemonade.  The only change I made was to use mint instead of rosemary for the green herbal garnish. Fizzy club soda is also a refreshing addition. It is every bit as wonderful as is sounds and looks in their gorgeous photographs. 

Believe it or not, I STILL have a few of these beauties left.  Should I make more lemonade, or try a quick microwave marmalade recipe?

Popovers with Apples and Caramel Sauce

This is a perfect weekend breakfast.  It's indulgent, not tricky to make, and reasonably healthy.  Popovers are so much fun to bake.  I love peeking into the oven and watching them pop up.  The recipe is so simple and they always turn out. 

We usually eat these plain for breakfast, maybe with a little honey drizzle.  But that big hole in the middle and their neutral custard flavor are begging for a filling. 
I saw a recipe on tv for french toast with caramel apple sauce.  This seemed a bit too rich but I tried the caramel sauce with apples cooked in it.  It did not go well.  The apples were mushy and the sauce got too thin from all that fruit  juice.  I kept working on the caramel sauce and decided that crunchy raw apples chopped small would be better.   If I'm being completely honest I have to admit that I made not one, not two or three, but let's just say about five caramels before I got it right.  However, it was all in the name of perfecting the recipe to share with you.  The husband wasn't complaining as each batch needed to be tasted and sampled. 

For the popovers you will need:

A blender

well greased muffin pans

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

3 tablespoons melted butter (use real butter or don't bother making them)

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Dump everything in the blender and whir it up.  Scrape down the sides and make sure it's well combined.  Pour the batter into very well greased muffin pans.  It's so frustrating to crush your popovers trying to pry them from the pan if they stick.  Spray the pans, then spray them again, and maybe once more just to be sure.  They will rise higher if plenty of hot air can circulate around each one, so only use the outside edges of the pan as shown in the picture. 
You will need one 12 muffin pan and one 6 muffin pan.  Fill the cups about 3/4 full.  Let them bake for 20 to 30 minutes until they are puffed and golden brown.

While they are baking you can make the caramel sauce.  You will need:

 a heavy, thick saucepan

a whisk and a wooden or heat resistant spoon

a large bowl of ice water

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup cream

 Make sure you have everything ready and no small children underfoot before you start making caramel.  The sugar gets VERY hot and will cause a bad burn if you splash or drip it.  Never ever use your finger to test it, even when it's on a spoon.  If you do get some hot sugar on you (!) dunk the burn into the bowl of ice water (don't stick that burned finger in your mouth or you'll toast your tongue too). 

This recipe is for a 'dry' caramel.  I like the method because it's faster.  Place the sugar in your pan over medium heat.  Pick up the pan and swirl it around every once in a while.  You will see the sugar melt and brown around the edges and in the middle. 
You can start stirring now.  The sugar needs to stay in an even layer on the bottom of the pan so that it will melt evenly.  Once all the sugar is melted and it begins to boil, stop stirring and go back to swirling until you've reached the color you want. 

Caramel should be dark golden brown, but some people like it a little lighter or darker.  Begin adding the butter in pieces and whisk briskly.  Be careful because it will foam up and spit at you.  Keep adding and stirring until all the butter is incorporated.

Once all the butter is whisked in, take the pan off the heat and count to three.  Then add the cream slowly in a stream while continuing to stir.  Keep stirring until it's all incorporated and creamy.  You can pour this into a heat proof jar or bowl to let it cool.  It will be fine in the refrigerator for a week or two.  This recipe will give a thick sauce.  If you'd like it thinner and richer you can increase the butter amount to 6 tablespoons and the cream to 1/2 cup.  By the way, half and half does not work.  I tried it and tried it, then finally bought some heavy cream.

The popovers should be done by this time.  Take them out of the pans and slice up the apples.  Make them small bite size so they'll fit into the shells.  Fill the popovers with apples and then drizzle them with warm caramel sauce.  You will love this breakfast!  The crisp apples, silky rich sauce and popover shell all go beautifully together. 

The recipe for popovers is from The French Chef with Julia Child.  The caramel recipe is adapted from Simply Recipes.

 

 

 

Spring Dreams

Can you believe March is here?  I looked at my 'plans' and saw that I should be focusing on bread this month.  I'm just not into bread right now.  I'm unsatisfied with the recipes I've tried, I don't have a baking stone, and I don't have a mixer or food processor that can handle dough.  So if I want to make bread I have to be prepared to knead it by hand, a lot.  I would be happy to do this, maybe, ... another day. 

Today the sun is out and the garden wants attention.  I always have such high hopes for my garden in the spring.  I cram way too many plants, seeds, bulbs and dreams into a very small space.  Then I water sporadically, fertilize maybe once, and am so dissapointed by my yeilds.

I will do better this year.  I will not succumb to the wide variety of beautiful tomato plants and buy one of each.  I will not try to grow five different varieties of peppers or anything else.  What I really want is one slicing tomato, one cherry tomato, a few peppers and some herbs.  I also want to try potatoes again.  If I can maintain focus and not get sucked into trying all sorts of heirloom beans, carrots, and odds and ends maybe I'll have more success. 

It's still early, but we have a very warm climate, and sugar snap peas love cool weather.  These are already in the ground thanks to help from my little digger.  I'll plant potatoes next.  Apparently the conditions in my kitchen are perfect for sprouting them.  Some lettuce, spinach and shallots survived the winter.  Weeds are popping up so it's time to get crackin'.