Blue Cheese Bread

I'm not knocking the typical mozzarella-topped Italian cheesy bread.  In fact, I don't frown on any carbohydrate that's topped with cheese!   But blue cheese is my absolute favorite....so why shouldn't my cheese bread be BLUE?

The ingredients:
French Bread
Blue Cheese
Balsamic Vinaigrette (I used homemade - but a high quality store-bought type would work)
Red Onion
Mandarin Oranges
Walnuts

Start by toasting the walnuts in the oven
(350deg for about 12 minutes)
Let cool, then chop

Split the French bread horizontally

Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.

Add caramelized red onion & mandarin oranges
(Red grapes would work really well in place of the oranges too!)

Top with blue cheese...

....lots of it

Ready for baking!
Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted

Top with toasted walnuts

Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Happy St Patrick's Day!


I'm not Irish, but I'll celebrate any holiday that gives me the excuse to bake with booze!  

Irish Car Bomb Cupcake

So what is an Irish Car Bomb Cupcake?  


Well, an Irish Car Bomb drink is made with Guinness, Bailey's Irish cream, and Jameson Irish whiskey.  


So, I guess technically this isn't a true Irish Car Bomb cupcake.  My cupcakes consisted of Guinness chocolate cake, a Bailey's white chocolate ganache filling, and Bailey's buttercream frosting.  I suppose I could've made the ganache filling with Jameson....but Bailey's is just SOOO good!  


(Did I just invent a Filipino car bomb?)
.

Start by making Guinness chocolate cupcakes

Once cooled, hollow out the centers

Fill with white chocolate Baileys ganache

Top with Baileys buttercream frosting!

Crawfish Etouffee

The best thing to come out of my three years living in Cajun country is my mastery of the my absolute favorite meal: CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE.  I had never heard of etoufee before moving to Orange, TX, but after the first time I tried it, I was in love....and I made it my mission to perfect my own recipe.  

AMAZING....

My dad claims that mine is THE BEST.  Admittedly, he may be just a bit biased....but I'll gladly accept the title!

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni & Cheese
Buffalo Pulled Chicken
Sharp Cheddar, Colby Jack & Blue Cheeses
with Homemade Sourdough Breadcrumb Crust

Start with a cup and a half each of shredded
extra sharp cheddar cheese and colby jack cheese.

Make the cheese sauce.
Melt butter, then add a tablespoon of flour.
Cook for a few minutes before adding milk.
Once milk is hot, add one cup of cheese at a time, stirring

with whisk until melted.

Stir in Greek yogurt. Add cooked pasta.

Saute garlic and celery in oil until tender.
Season with salt and pepper.

Add cooked chicken
and a generous amount of Franks Hot Sauce

If this dish isn't loaded with enough fat and carbs for you,
 Boneless, breaded buffalo chicken strips would be great here too...

Bring it all together!
Layer the chicken and mac & cheese

...top with crumbled blue cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs
& a pat of butter.

I typically LOVE to use panko breadcrumbs to top my mac & cheese.  But this time, I used homemade breadcrumbs with the sourdough bread I had on hand.  I just cut a few cubes and ran 'em in my food processor.  It actually worked really well!  The chewy, crustiness was perfect as a topper.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

Keepin' the Chocolate Love Alive....

I told you there would be more chocolate to come!  


A girl's gotta take full advantage of the chocolate holiday.  But not all chocolate has to be sweet.... Mole is a prime example.

Beef Chili 
with Ancho, Mole & Cumin

While "mole" is a generic Spanish term for "sauce," the most common mole is mole poblano which is made with chocolate and chiles. 

And for dessert, yummy Belgian chocolate.  Courtesy of my friend Pam! :)

Pam brought my chocolates back with her during a recent trip to Amsterdam, but you can order them online!
Neuhaus   http://www.neuhauschocolate.com/index_en.htm

Valentine's Day: Celebrating Our Love (...of Chocolate)

I can't say I've ever totally bought into all the Valentine's Day hoopla.  
In fact, I pretty much despise the notion of any holiday that sets "requirements".  New Years Eve is a prime example of a high pressure holiday with obligations.   You have to have big plans.  What fun is "fun" when you're under duress?  


Valentines Day?  It's all expected... and, therefore, completely meaningless.
Romantic dinner?  Blah.  
Flowers?  Overpriced.  (And dead in a week.)
Presents?  Unless it's 3-carats, you can have it.
Chocolates?  Well.... there's a Valentines tradition I can embrace!
The only silver lining of this Hallmark holiday is that it provides an excuse for everyone to rally around the beautiful cacao bean...
Here are three V-Day dessert recipes.... More to come. After all, the 14th is still four days away!  :)


Chocolate Cherry Cobbler

Never say never.  I used to swear that fruit ruined any dessert.  In my mind, dessert had to be chocolate-centric.  But they say that your palate changes every few years....and lately, I've really learned to embrace fruit desserts.  But chocolate is still my favorite.  Chocolate Cherry Cobbler combines the best of both worlds. 

 Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter
Cut with pastry blender....

....until crumbs are the size of large peas.

Dump the can of cherries into a 9x13" baking pan.

Melting the chocolate and allow to cool.
Add the egg and milk
and mix until completely combined.
Add to flour mixture.

mmmm....chocolate....

Combine chocolate with flour mixture.

Drop chocolate dough randomly over the cherries

I used walnuts in my cobbler.
Chopped pecans, almonds or any other nut
would work well too. 

Sprinkle nuts all over.

Chocolate Pizza

 Nutella, Dark, Milk & White Chocolate and Toasted Macadamia nuts....

If you wanted to get really cheesy,
make the pizza heart-shaped!

The Richest Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Red velvet does have cocoa!

To make the whoopie pies, make a batch of red velvet gooey butter cookies and cream cheese frosting (recipes for both below).  Once cookies have cooled to room temperature, spread a tablespoon of frosting on the flat side of one cookie.  Place the flat side of another cookie on top.

Carnivorous Cookies: When a cookie swallows another cookie

A whole Oreo cookie baked into a chocolate chip cookie
My co-worker called them "Python Cookies"

No recipes here... 

This post is more about the idea of a dessert option....a cookie in a cookie.  

I think this concept could go a MILLION different directions.  I've already come up with several.... trust me, it's only a matter of time until I post pics of the endless variations.  (Nutter Butter cookies in a chocolate cookie, Thin Mints in a sugar cookie, gingersnaps in a.... you get the idea!)  Just call me the Bubba Gump of Carnivorous Cookies!  

Feel free to comment with your ideas!!! 

Sandwich a cookie between cookie dough

 Press edges....

 ...and completely seal the dough around the inner cookie.  

They'll be pretty thick!

Don't forget to leave a lot of room between cookies...

They certainly spread quite a bit!

Bake... per your cookie recipe instructions.
You'll likely have to increase bake time by a few minutes

Tex Mex Chicken with Cornbread Cobbler

Saute 1/2 an onion, diced

Add chopped 1-2 chopped jalapeños (depending how spicy you like it), 
3 cups chopped chicken,
a 10oz can of Rotel tomato & green chiles,
a 15oz can of black beans, a cup of corn,
and two 10oz cans of enchilada sauce.

Season with 2 tablespoons each of chili powder, garlic powder,and oregano
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, cumin and black pepper.
Once everything is hot and bubbly, add a couple handfuls 
of chopped cilantro.  
Stir! Stir! Stir!

Put all ingredients into a 9x13 casserole dish.  Top with a double batch of cornbread batter.
You can totally use a mix here (two boxes), but if you're feeling ambitious, my favorite cornbread recipe is noted below.


Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cornbread is golden and cooked through.

I know there are several schools of thought on cornbread, but I love mine sweet.  When I make this, I usually drizzle it with honey or slather it with homemade honey butter.