Bacon, Cheese & Caramelized Onion Quick Bread

Good Morning friends! Surprise, I'm back! My life has been crazy and I have been going through some huge life changes during the last 6 months or so and my blogging and baking/ cooking has been put on the back burner. I don't know how regularly I will be back here, so I'm not making any promises, but I've been missing all of you and missing spending some QT in my kitchen. I will post some more about all of the life changes and craziness soon, but I want the focus of this post to be this spectacularly delicious quick bread. It is totally worthy of a post devoted to its awesomeness.

 



The quick bread name is a little deceiving for this bread if you decide to make it all at once. Caramelizing onions properly takes time (read minimum 30 minutes). But the good news is that you can caramelize the onions and cook the bacon ahead of time. My method has you making the bacon in the oven while you caramelize the onions on the stove top, which will be the most efficient and least messy way to do the prep work!

Bacon, Cheese & Caramelized Onion Quick Bread
Recipe minimally adapted from Oprah Magazine

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. butter, plus more for greasing
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 slices lazy maple bacon
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1/3 cup EVOO
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups muenster cheese (or any other sharp, white cheese), shredded

Method

1. First things first - cook your bacon and caramelize the onions. You can do this up to 2-3 days ahead of making the actual bread. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lay the bacon in one layer, making sure the edges of the bacon don't overlap. Cook the bacon for 15-17 minutes or until crisp. Remove from tray to a paper towel lined plate and let cool. While the bacon is cooking - melt 3 tbsp. butter in a medium non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add onions. Cook, stirring every few minutes and making sure they don't brown, until onions are soft and caramelized. This should take approximately 30 minutes. If onions are browning, your heat is too high. Remove onions from heat and let cool.
2. When ready to prepare the bread, preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan or line with parchment paper. Don't skip this step or skimp on the grease!!! The cheese can stick to the pan as it cooks, so you need to grease well.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Make well in center of bowl.
4. In a medium bowl, combine milk, EVOO and egg. Mix until combined.
5. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Gently fold mixture together until flour is incorporated. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Add bacon, cheese and onions to batter and mix together gently. Don't over mix or you will have tough bread. Place mixture in prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool as long as you can bear it and then remove from loaf pan and slice. Delicious topped with butter or jam for that sweet-savory combo.

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite quick bread recipe thus far and I know its my hubby's favorite too. It doesn't last long in our house. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

The thing I love about this recipe is that you can mix it up - add some herbs and spices that you like, change up the type of cheese or change up the type of meat - you could do prosciutto (go easy on the salt if you decide to do that though), left over ham, etc. The possibilities are endless!

I'm so glad to be back! Hopefully you'll be hearing from me more often this summer as we get settled into our new life. :) Happy baking my friends!

Bacon Rolls for 7th World Bread Day

Its the 7th Annual World Bread Day hosted by Zorra Kochtopf!! Food bloggers all over the world join in and bake bread and post about it on October 16. How fun right? I missed it last year, so there was no way I was going to miss it this year. :)

I decided to do a savory version of cinnamon rolls - Bacon Rolls! Easy and delicious! First, you're going to start off by making my herb bun recipe and letting it have its first rise. Here's the recipe.

Once your dough has completed its first rise, roll it out into a large rectangle - til its about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. You'll need the following ingredients to put on that rectangle of dough:

• Bacon (I used 1 lb, but that was overkill!!) - chopped and cooked til crisp
• Cheese (I used a 4 cheese italian blend) - enough to sprinkle over the dough and a bit more to sprinkle on top of the pan
• 2 heads roasted garlic

Spread the roasted garlic on the dough rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Then sprinkle liberally with bacon and cheese. Roll tightly, starting on the long side of the rectangle (like you're rolling cinnamon buns). Then pinch the seam tightly to make sure it stays put. Next, cut into approximately 12-15 buns. Place in a greased 9x13 inch pan with the cut side up. Once the pan is full, sprinkle with a bit more cheese, bacon salt and a bit of smoked bacon salt. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 45 minutes to one hour or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes or until they sound hollow when you tap on them. Let cool slightly and enjoy!

The picture above is the bacon salt I like to use, but you can use any brand you like. Most gourmet food stores will carry various types of salt and since bacon is so popular right now, they're likely to carry bacon salt.

Hope you enjoy my contribution to World Bread Day! I can't wait to see what everyone else contributes this year. :)

Happy Baking my Friends! And thanks Zorra for hosting this lovely gathering of food bloggers.

Macaroni & Cheese Carbonara

 



Hi Friends! Happy Saturday - hope you have some fun stuff planned for one of the last weekends of summer. :) We are heading out hiking this morning on a 10 km adventure which I am looking forward to a lot. I hadn't planned on blogging this recipe - I made it for my sister's BF's birthday dinner last night, but a number of people are asking for the recipe - so here ya go! I've changed the recipe quite a bit from the original recipe, but we loved it. Hope you enjoy it too!

 

Macaroni & Cheese Carbonara
Adapted from Bobby Flay's Throwdown

Ingredients:

• unsalted butter, for the baking dish
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8-10 strips of bacon, cut into bite size pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 5 cups milk, hot (the recipe called for whole milk, but this is such a rich sauce recipe, skim or anything in between would also work here without impacting the taste)
• 4 large egg yolks, lightly whisked
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like heat)
• 3/4 cup grated asiago cheese + 1/3 cup for the top
• 2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, + 1/4 cup for the top
• 1 * 250g tub of McLaren's Sharp Cold Pack Cheddar Cheese
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked just under al dente

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x 13 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large saute pan (remember you need to be able to fit 5 cups of milk plus all that cheese in here later) over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
3. Add the garlic to the remaining fat in the pan and cook until light golden brown, 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk, raise the heat to high, and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 5-6 minutes. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated (be careful here or you will end up with scrambled eggs!). Let cook 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the thyme, cayenne and all three cheeses until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If mixture is too thick, add additional warm milk, 1/4 cup at a time.
4. Put the cooked macaroni in a large bowl, add the cheese sauce, reserved bacon and stir until combined. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
5. Combine additional 1/3 cup asiago and 1/4 cup parmesan and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake in preheated oven until heated through - about 15 minutes. Then broil for 3-5 minutes until top is browned and crisp. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe is a little involved for mac and cheese - Bobby Flay's recipes tend to be a little on the heavy side (think dirtying every dish in your kitchen) but well worth the effort and the cleanup later. I've tried a lot of mac and cheese recipes (check out my archives for this blog and you'll see what I'm talking about), but I think this is one of the best one's I've made to date. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Cooking my Friends! Enjoy your weekend. :)

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich for CCC

Woohoo! Its time for the Crazy Cooking Challenge again. Wondering what the CCC is? Well, its this great monthly challenge hosted by Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking. Every month, Tina chooses a classic dish and challenges each of us to make the "ultimate" version of it. People then vote on their favorite by clicking on their favorite dish in the blog hop down below!! So, if you like what you see here today, be sure to find me in the blog hop at the bottom of this post and click on me!!

My past entries in the challenges have been:

Earl Grey Blueberry Muffins

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

And these recipes are delicious! So check them out - I'll still be here when you get back. :)

This month the challenge was to make the Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich!! How fun is that? There are so many opportunities to get creative and turn something ordinary into something extraordinary! I made a crispy chicken jalepeno popper grilled cheese with cheddar sauce. Overkill? Yes. Delicious? Heck yes!! You've got to try this once. For all the guys in your life! They will LOVE it.

*DISCLAIMER: This is not something to make for ladies night! Its messy, hugely full of calories, and unbelievably huge. Make it for your husband and his buddies on game nigh or your teenage sons as a treat! I guarantee it will win you some mega brownie points!

I have to apologize, I didn't document this recipe very well, so measurements are lacking a little bit! But here's an overview of what I did and the ingredients I used. :)

Funnily enough, my inspiration for this sandwich didn't really come from a grilled cheese post... I saw a couple jalepeno popper grilled cheese recipes on Pinterest... and I liked the flavour combo, but it just didn't seem "ultimate" enough. Then I saw this Crunchy Cheddar Chicken over at the Happy Little Tomato. I knew the flavours would go perfectly sandwiched between two jalepeno popper grilled cheese sandwiches and the cheddar sauce would make the perfect condiment for my crazy sandwich. Check out this cute little blog! There's lots of delicious looking recipes on there. :)

Jalepeno Popper Grilled Cheese with Crunchy Cheddar Chicken

Step 1: Make bacon. Lots of it. I think we made 1 lb of bacon and used about 2/3rds of it for three sandwiches. You'll need about 4 pieces of bacon per chicken sandwich you make. Be sure to make your bacon crispy! Thats the best way to do it for sandwiches.

Step 2: Make the crunchy cheddar chicken. Get it into the oven to cook while you make the other parts of this sandwich. If you time it right, the chicken will be done when you are ready to assemble the sandwiches. The only thing I omitted from the recipe was the parsley. Too healthy for this sandwich right? ;)

Step 3: Make some garlic butter (or buy prepared) by combining butter, olive oil, kosher salt, fresh chopped basil and some minced garlic. Mix well and set aside.

Step 4: Make your jalepeno popper filling by combining a couple spoonfuls (about 1/3 cup each) of mayo and sour cream in the bowl of a food processor. Throw in some red chili peppers (I used two) with seeds removed. Toss in about 3/4 cup shredded jalepeno jack cheese. Whirl until red chili's are worked into the rest of the ingredients. Sauce will be semi-smooth. Set aside.

Step 5: Make the cheddar sauce from the crunchy cheddar chicken link in step 2.

Step 6: Grill your grilled cheese. Assemble each sandwich as follows: Grab two pieces of bread - spread one side of each piece with garlic butter. Top non-buttered side of bread with a little shredded cheddar, a few spoonfuls of the jalepeno popper filling, two strips of bacon, a little more cheddar cheese and then top with remaining piece of bread (butered side out). Grill until lightly golden on both sides and cheese is melted. Make two grilled cheese sandwiches for each chicken sandwich your prepare.

Step 7: To assemble chicken sandwiches - start with one grilled cheese sandwich, top with one piece of chicken. Drizzle with a spoonful or two of the cheddar sauce, top with some banana pepper rings and finally top with remaining grilled cheese sandwich. Grab a big knife and cut this bad boy in half. You'll need to in order to eat it! Enjoy (but not too often because these are really bad for you!!).

So, that's my version of a crazy, ultimate grilled cheese sandwich! Hope you enjoy. :) Don't forget to vote for me below. Happy Cooking my Friends!

Individual Seven Layer Dips with Homemade Salsa

During one of my tireless google searches for cute Superbowl appetizers, I came across these adorable individual seven layer dips on The Girl Who Ate Everything. These are perfect appetizers and party snacks for any kind of get together, especially a game day party or a summer BBQ. They're perfect because they prevent double dipping and you avoid that unappetizing mess that most seven layer dips turn into after a few people have dished themselves out a serving. These have a wow factor to them that make you look like you put a lot more work into them than you did!! So what are you waiting for? Plan on making these for your next party - you and your guests will love them. :)

I only made mine with five layers because I don't like veggies on top of my seven layer dip, but you can add green onions, tomatoes and olives if you want. My layers were as follows:

Refried beans - straight out of the can
Guacamole - this is a good recipe
Sour Cream - mix sour cream with some taco seasoning to taste
Salsa - recipe below
Cheddar Cheese - I used Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, but Pepper Jack would also be delicious
Garnish - I garnished with a tortilla chip

I piped in all of the layers except the salsa and the cheese using a freezer bag with the corner snipped off. Its far less messy and your layers will be prettier!

I am slightly concerned that this salsa recipe isn't going to get the attention it deserves because I've lumped it in with this seven layer dip recipe. But if you only try one thing from this post, try making the salsa - its quick - you can make it in under 5 minutes and it tastes soooo delicious. It is the closest to mexican restaurant salsa I've ever tasted and I LOOOOVVVVEEEEE that stuff. I found this recipe on Mountain Momma Cooks. I only changed the recipe a little because it was honestly such a delicious sounding recipe on its own!!

Speedy Salsa
Recipe minimally adapted from Mountain Momma Cooks

Ingredients:

• 2 14-oz cans of fire roasted, diced tomatoes
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalepeno, seeded and roughly chopped (leave the seeds in if you like additional heat)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• large handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in the large bowl of a food processor and pulse until your salsa reaches the desired consistency. I like mine quite finely minced, but you could pulse it for a very short time for a chunkier salsa.

Yep, thats it!! So easy and flavourful. Do you have a favorite salsa recipe or do you put something unexpected in your seven layer dip? I'd love to hear what you do!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

How to... Make Ricotta Cheese

I sometimes suck at taking pictures of the food I make. Sometimes out of laziness, sometimes out of lack of time and sometimes I just forget. This time I was lazy and I also forgot to take photos of my ricotta cheese until I was halfway through putting together a batch of scones (see my post tomorrow) that used up the rest of my homemade ricotta cheese. So I snapped a quick pic of the cheese, right before I put it into my scone dough. No effort = very bad results. But trust me, this stuff tastes about one million times better than this picture makes it look. SERIOUSLY.

I have never made cheese at home before. I've always seen other bloggers post about it and somehow thought it was out of my league. I don't know... I just always thought it was difficult and time consuming and that I'd have a bunch of batches that failed miserably (and wasted a lot of ingredients in the process). But after reading about Julia's experience on her blog Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body, I HAD to try this stuff out. She raved about how good it was even just spread on toast or crackers and boy was she right! Its so amazing. I ate it on toasted english muffins with jam or honey every day for a week. Then used the rest to make the above mentioned batch of scones. Mmmmmm!!! Make it! Right now!!!

One other thing to note about this at home cheese making process - its pretty economical. Buy yourself a $3 package of cheesecloth. It is washable therefore you can use it a bunch of times. Also, you can use whatever fat content milk you like! I made my first batch using high fat milk products (see recipe below), but you can use a combination like Julia to come up with a better-for-you version that tastes just as good. Making a batch with lower fat content milk products results in making a far cheaper batch of ricotta than you could ever buy in the grocery store. So get on it now and you can have yummy ricotta in less than 3 hours! Woot!

Ricotta Cheese
Recipe slightly adapted from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Pour milks and salt into saucepan. Attach a thermometer to the side of the pan. Heat gently, stirring often to avoid scorching the bottom of the pan, until temperature reaches 190 degrees.
2. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir very gently. Let mixture sit for five minutes - don't touch it for five whole minutes. Set the timer and just walk away.
3. Double layer a cheesecloth and line a colander with it and place the lined colander over a large bowl to catch the whey. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let strain for 2 hours.
4. Scrape the ricotta from the cheesecloth into a small container. Chill the ricotta. It will firm as it cools, so the texture after it is finished straining will be completely different than the ricotta you scrape into your container.

Julia also notes that you can save the whey and use it by freezing into ice cube form and plunking a couple into your morning smoothie. Thats what I've been doing and it helps to keep you full longer because its a great source of protein.

Hope you enjoy this little tutorial! I will update my post with step by step photos next time I make this, because I will be making it again in the very near future!!

This post has been linked up with Fusion Fridays at Jennifer Cooks! Head over there to check out all the Superbowl yumminess that was whipped up this week in the blog-world. :)

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Baked Macaroni & Beef Casserole

Okay, okay, I know I've been very neglectful of my blog the last couple of weeks... its a vicious cycle and I'm not even going to start making excuses! Yesterday was my birthday and it was a fantastic day (other than having to work all day annnnddd having to finish up an assignment that was due at midnight last night)! My sister surprised me with a wonderful birthday present and my husband ordered takeout from my favorite indian restaurant. Tonight hubby and I are going out for a nice romantic dinner on the beautiful White Rock strip. Not sure where he's taking me, but its bound to be somewhere good!

The recipe I'm posting about today has absolutely nothing to do with my birthday! I just felt like sharing the recipe with you. Its a really homey, easy recipe that is perfect for when you're craving comfort food. Serve this casserole with some fresh garlic bread and some ceasar salad and you've got a great meal that your whole family is bound to love. This recipe is quick and easy enough to make on a weeknight and you will likely have most of the ingredients on hand too!

Baked Macaroni & Beef
Recipe adapted from Canadian Living's Everyday Favorites

Indredients:

• 1 lb lean ground eef


• 1 onion chopped


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1/2 tsp dried oregano


• 1- 700ml jar of your favorite pasta sauce


• 2 tbsp tomato paste


• 1 1/2 cups macaroni


• 1 cup 2% cottage cheese


• 1/2 cup shredded provolone or part-skim mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. In a large nontick skillet, fry beef over medium-high heat, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink. Drain off any fat. Add onion, garlic and oregano; fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.


2. Add pasta sauce and tomato paste; bring to boil. Reduce heat to meium low; simmer stirring occasionally, until thick enough to mound on a spoon (anywhere from 10-20 minutes).


3. Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni until tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Drain well.


4. Spread half of the macaroni in 8-inch square glass baking dish. Cover with half the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Spoon cottage cheese over top, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with provalone cheese.


5. Bake in 375F oven until bubbly and golden, about 30 minutes.

Now you're probably wondering about the next picture in this blog post (see below)... I just had to share this with you. That sandwich is my hubby's version of gourmet breakfast. He made it all by himself. The obvious ingredients are bread (toasted and buttered), about a pound of bacon, about a pound of cheddar cheese thickly sliced, and about half a dozen eggs scrambled. Yep, typical male!! Hope you get a good laugh out of that picture like I do every time a look at it.

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip

I LOVE ordering crab and artichoke dip when I go to restaurants. I was so disappointed when Cactus Club discontinued theirs a couple years ago.... I know, I know, they have to constantly update their menu to keep with the times and such, but honestly, why get rid of a good thing? I was pretty excited when I found this recipe for crab and artichoke dip. It isn't quite up to snuff with Cactus Club's dip, but it is pretty darn close. :)

Another great thing about this recipe is how easy and quick it is. Step 1 - gather ingredients; Step 2 - Whirl ingredients in food processor; Step 3 - Bake til hot. Thats it - its that simple. One thing I would recommend - don't use canned crab. Use either lump frozen crab meat or fresh crab meat. It honestly makes a big difference in the taste and texture of this dip.


Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip
Recipe from The Guy Can't Cook by Cinda Chavich

Ingredients:

• one 4-oz package cream cheese
• 2 tbsp bottled chili sauce
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp prepared horseradish
• 1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 1 cup finely grated fresh parmesan or romano cheese
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• one 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained well and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 cup fresh or frozen crabmeat
• smoked paprika for garnish

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a food processor, add cream cheese, chili sauce, lemon juice, horseradish, mayonnaise, yogurt, parmesan, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Process until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl so all ingredients are well combines. Add the artichoke hearts, garlic, green onions and crabmeat (be sure to pick through the crab to remove any bits of shell or cartilage). Pulse a few times, just to combine. Spoon the dip into a small baking dish. Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and some smoked paprika, and bake for 20-30 minutes or until it begins to bubble and starts to brown on top. Serve this dip hot, with pita chips or crostini (I like tortilla chips too).

Pretty easy huh? Any yummy! You can make a restaurant quality starter for your dinner party and impress your guests (or bring back some nostalgic feelings about Cactus Clubs delicious dip...)! I am heading out of town this week for work, so might not be blogging as much as I should be. But I have set up a few posts to attempt while I'm out of town, so we'll see how it goes. Hope all of you have an awesome Sunday and a great week! Today I'm making Ginger Cake with a Warm Apple Compote before I head off and leave hubby to fend for himself this week... at least he'll have cake!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

More Mac & Cheese... and peas & bacon!

All I have to say about this recipe is YUM!!!! It was sooooo good. I know the photos aren't great and there aren't very many of them, but thats because I was far to excited to just eat this mac & cheese. Its nothing fancy and mine is really low class because I ran out of macaroni and just substituted broken up spaghetti instead... oh well, its the taste that matters right? And cheesy goodness can cover up a multitude of sins!

I am in the middle of prepping for my Superbowl party which as most of you are aware (or should be aware in hubby's opinion) is happening tomorrow - like ALL DAY! I am definitely not a football fan, nor will I ever be, but I am always game for having people over and cooking and baking for them! Its so fun and it gives me an excuse to try out new recipes and spend exhorbitant sums of money on food without hubby getting after me! Entertaining is the one time its acceptable to go all out in the kitchen! WAHOO!!! I will be tired on Monday, but it will be worth it.

Last year while prepping for the Superbowl party I burned myself really badly by stupidly picking up a hot pan... I had to hold ice packs on my hands for the next two days and my hands blistered. :( It was not fun, but the food was still delish!! So far, this year's prep work is going far better than last year... will keep you posted because I still have a lot to do!

On to the mac & cheese though...

The Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese with Peas & Bacon

Recipe from Tyler's Ultimate

Ingredients:

• kosher salt
• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups warm milk
• 5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat,leaf parsley
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• leaves from 1/4 bunch of fresh thyme
• 2 cups froze peas, thawed in a colander under cool water

Method:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add macaroni and cook 8-9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. Melt the butter in large, deep skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to keep lumps from forming. Gradually whisk in the milk and, whisking vigorously, cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Stir in 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked macaroni and the parsley and folt that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3 quart baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
4. While thats going on, heat a 2 count of olive oil in a saute pan. Add the bacon, onion, garlic, and thyme and cook for 5 minutes to soften the onion. Fold in the peas and season with salt and pepper (I cooked mine longer to make sure the bacon was a little crisp).

Enjoy!!!

Happy Cooking my Friends! Hope you get a chance to take in some Superbowl festivities and maybe do some cooking and baking! :D

BBD #36 - Corn Jalepeno Lava Bread

Well - this is my first time participating in Bread Baking Day! It is a monthly event where people who are passionate about baking bread make bread that falls within a specific theme. Participant entries are rounded up on the first of each month and posted on the host's blog. This month the theme was "Corny Bread" hosted by Girlichef .

I didn't want to just make corn bread (although I love cornbread), so I settled for making Corn Jalepeno Lava Bread. I found the recipe on CookingBread.Com. I had never seen that website before, but it really is a great resource for people who like to bake bread or people who would like to learn or improve their skills. There are so many great recipes with step-by-step instructions and photos! Do check it out when you have a minute.

This bread was a bit time consuming to make - you make a mixture the night before and leave it sit overnight, then there are two 2 hour rises and another 1/2 hour rise prior to baking for 35 minutes. So definitely do this on a day when you have all day! But I promise - its worth it! The bread is absolutely delicious - so tender and flavourful and don't forget cheesey. And don't cut back on the jalepeno - it sounds like a lot, but trust me, it is not spicy at all - the jalepenos must mellow out as they are baked in the oven because they add a lot of flavour, but not much heat!

Now, on to the recipe:

Corn Jalepeno Lava Bread

Recipe from CookingBread.Com

Ingredients:

The night before:

• 1 1/4 cup bread flour (I used regular all purpose)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast

The day of:

• 1 3/4 cup luke warm water
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 3 - 3 1/2 cups bread flour (I used regular all purpose flour)
• 1 cup diced, seeded jalepeno peppers
• 3/4 cup corn niblets
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese, shredded

Method:

1. The night before, combine the night before ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature 12-18 hours or overnight.
2. In the morning combine the water and cornmeal in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil then turn the heat down and simmer for five minutes. Stir frequently so mixture doesn't burn. Remove from heat and add the butter and honey. Stir until well incorporated.
3. Pour into stand mixer and let stand until cooled to 110F. Once cooled, add the night before mixture, yeast and one cup of flour. Mix on low speed until well blended.
4. Add the salt, 3/4 cup of the jalepenos and 1/2 cup of corn. Mix til blended.
5. Start to add the flour slowly. The dough needs to be sticky, so don't add too much. While mixing on low speed, you want the dough to stick to the bottom of the bowl, but not the sides. Continue to knead on low spead for 8 minutes more. Afterwards, leave in bowl and spray with oil spray.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in bulk.
7. Using a wooden spoon, punch down dough, then cover with plastic wrap again and leave to rise for another 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk. After second rise, sprinkle good amount of flour on counter (remember, dough is sticky). Take the cheese and mix in remaining jalepenos and corn. Put the dough onto floured surface and sprinkle more flour on top. Using your hands, lightly press the dough into a 12x12 square. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the dough. Roll the dough as you would if you were making cinnamon buns - you should have a nice log shaped loaf. Pinch the seam and ends closed.
8. Take a large tea towel and sprinkle it generously down the middle with flour. Place the dough on the floured tea towel and sprinkle more flour on top. Wrap the dough with the tea towel and leave on the counter to rise for another half an hour.
9. Before you cut the dough, preheat the oven to 425F. When oven is ready, cut the dough into 4 even pieces. Spread open the tops so the cheese is exposed. Place onto parchment lined baking tray with cheese side up. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

What great bread! I have never made bread with cornmeal before, and this was delicious! I love that there was cornmeal and whole corn in the recipe. :) This is a bit labour intensive, but sure is worth the effort. Such a unique bread and something you could mix up the flavours in over and over again. I bet some chipotle peppers would be delicious in this recipe too... the possibilities are endless. I will be making this one again!

Happy Baking my Friends! Enjoy. :)

Happy New Year & some Simple Comfort Food

Happy New Year to all of my awesome readers! Thanks for checking out my blog this year - I hope you've enjoyed the recipes and tips that I've posted for you. I have certainly enjoyed writing them! As I mentioned in my previous post, my goal this year is to blog more frequently and post recipes that my readers want to see! So if you have any suggestions for something you would like to see more of, please post a comment or send me an email. I will do my best to incorporate your suggestions into my writing, cooking and baking!

Now, if you're anything like me you've spent the holiday season eating rich food that you don't normally eat. All that food leaves me craving comfort food. So I thought I would post a simple mac & cheese recipe to satisfy that craving for comfort food. I've tried a lot of mac & cheese recipes and this one is by far the best. Kudos to Chef Michael Smith for the delicious recipe.

Macaroni & Cheese

Recipe from The Best of Chef at Home by Michael Smith

Ingredients:

• 1 one lb box of penne (454g)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• big splash of white wine
• 4 cups of milk
• one 354 ml can of unsweetened evaporated milk
• 1 lb of medium aged cheddar cheese, shredded (454 g)
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• sprinkle or two of sea salt
• 1/2 loaf of italian bread, torn into large pieces
• a generous splash of olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in lots of boiling salted water.
2. To make the sauce, met the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for several minutes until it softens and flavours the butter. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a smooth paste forms. Combining the butter and flour in a roux first helps evenly distribute the flour throughout the sauce and prevents lumps.
3. Continue cooking a few more minutes as the roux toasts and develops a bit of flavour. Slowly stir in the wine and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth again. Add both milks and switch to a whisk, mixing until the sauce is smooth again. Continue whisking until the mixture is very thick, a few minutes longer.
4. Stir in the cheese, dijon mustard, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir the cooked pasta into the cheese mixture. Pour everything into a 9x13 inch ovenproof casserole or baking dish.
5. Toss the bread with a splash or two of olive oil, then sprinkle it evenly over the top of the cheese mixture. Bake until it is heated through and the bread topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
   

Michael notes that you can substitute other semisoft cheeses such as Swiss, Jack or Emmenthal. He also says you can add any fresh herb you like, some ideas include dill, tarragon or thyme.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family did! My hubby loooovvvvveeeesss mac & cheese and tastes every recipe I make and he raved about this one. This recipe will definitely satisfy your comfort food craving and its great to eat on a cold evening because it feels like it warms you all the way through.

Best wishes in 2011 to all of my wonderful readers! Happy Cookingmy Friends!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas... Two Fabulous Sides!!

For most people turkey is the focal point of Christmas dinner - they look forward to it all year and they are very excited to heap a bunch of turkey on their plate. I like turkey too, but my favorite part about Christmas dinner is the side dishes. These are two of my absolute favorite side dishes and they go so great with a perfectly roasted turkey. The first recipe I am going to share with you is one for a golden mashed potatoe casserole. It is a delicious spin on the traditional mashed potatoe side dish. Second I'm going to share a recipe for Vegetable Gratin which my mother in law shared with me. It is my husband's favorite side dish and this is the one time each year I see him heap his plate full of veggies (even though they're smothered in a delicious cheese sauce, they're still veggies!!!).


Golden Mashed Potatoe Casserole
Recipe from Everyday Favorites (Canadian Living) p. 156

Ingredients:

• 10 yukon gold potatoes (about 3.5 lbs)
• 1/2 cup choped fresh chives
• 1/2 cup milk, heated
• 1/2 cup herbed cream cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded old cheddar cheese

Method:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into chunks. In large pot of boiling salted water, cover and cook potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes; drain and return to pot. Add 1/3 cup of the chives, the milk, cream cheese, butter, egg, salt & pepper; mash together until smooth.
2. Spoon into greased 8-inch square glass baking dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese for remaining chives. (You can also make this dish ahead at this point: let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Uncover. Increased baking time to 55 minutes).
3. Bake in 375F oven until knife inserted in centre comes out hot, about 40 minutes (mine took less than this).

This really was a delicious recipe and adds some great flavour to mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoe lovers will still love it and people who don't really like mashed potatoes will like it too!!

Vegetable Gratin

Recipe adapted from my mother in law's Cauliflower & Carrot Gratin

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs mixed veggies (I do cauliflower, carrots and broccoli) (enough to fill a 9x13" pan)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 tbsp flour
• 2.5 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp salt, pepper to taste and pinch nutmeg
• 1 cup shredded old cheddar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup shredded old cheddar (for topping)
• 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs (for topping)
• 1/4 cup melted butter (for topping)

Method:

1. Cook veggies in salt water until tender crisp (don't overcook them because they will cook more in the oven). Drain & set aside.
2. For the sauce: Melt butter, stir in flour and cook stirring constantly a few minutes. Don't brown the mixture. Whisk in milk and broth, stirring until thickened and smooth. Stir in seasonings. Blend in cheese. Place veggies in greased 9x13" baking dish. Spoon sauce over veggies.
3. For the topping: combine cheese, crumbs & butter. Sprinkle over casserole.
4. Bake at 375F 15 minutes (if warm) 20-25 minutes if room temperature. Broil 2-3 minutes to crisp topping.

Both of these recipes will be a hit with your families and friends. I have been making the recipe for vegetable gratin since my husband and I got married and it never fails to impress everyone who eats it. :) I know you are all busy with your holiday preparations, so I won't ramble on and on... I am off to find a Christmas tree! Finally get to decorate my house for Christmas.

Happy Cooking my Friends!

On the 2nd Day of Christmas... Chutney Baked Brie

No holiday dinner is complete without a delicious appetizer; something hot, rich and delicious to nibble on while waiting for the turkey to come out of the oven and the gravy to be made. I found this fantastic recipe for baked brie that is quick and tastes amazing. Serve this baked brie with fresh baguette slices or some yummy crackers and you're set. Your guests will love how beautiful the brie looks when its plated and you will love how quickly it comes together.


For best results on this recipe, use a high quality curry powder that packs a bit of spice to it. I used some fabulous curry powder given to me by a wonderful woman who toasts and grinds her own amazing spice blends! It really does make all the difference to use good quality curry powder though - it actually smells and tastes different than the stuff you buy in the grocery store.

Chutney Baked Brie

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 - 2.2lb wheel of double creme brie
• 2 tsp good quality curry powder
• 1 - 12oz jar mango chutney
• 1 cup chopped cashews
• 1 french baguette, sliced
• assorted crackers

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Sprinkle curry powder over top and sides of brie and massage into rind to thoroughly coat the cheese. Place brie wheel in a large pie plate or other oven-proof dish. Spread a generous layer of chutney on top of the cheese wheel. Evenly sprinkle with cashews.
3. Bake 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until cashews are golden brown and cheese is melty. Serve with baguette slices and crackers.

I hope this recipe inspires you to try something new for your Christmas menu this year! Your guests will enjoy it and you will love that this appetizer doesn't take hours in the kitchen or oodles of patience - it is not a finicky recipe (because who has time for that at Christmas-time right?!).

Stay tuned for the 3rd day of Christmas recipe - you can look forward to a second appetizer recipe for your family and friends to nibble on while you finish making dinner! You might be thinking: "I have enough to do already, why make an appetizer?". Well I'll tell you why you want to throw together a couple of easy appy's for your guests. When you have easy, low-stress appetizer recipes, you can toss them together and serve them to your guests about 1-2 hours before dinner is ready. This will keep them occupied and satisfied while you put the finishing touches on dinner - without your "starving" guests hovering around asking when dinner will be ready!! ;)

Happy Cooking my Friends!