Lemon Bar Cheesecake

My coworkers noted my lack of bringing in treats as of late and requested a sweet treat with cream cheese.  I compiled a list of several recipes from my Pinterest dessert board and they choose Lemon Bar Cheesecake.  It is essentially a cheesecake stuck in the middle of a lemon bar.  There are three steps... crust (which is like a short bread), lemon curd and cheesecake.  I made the crust and curd on Saturday and the cheesecake on Sunday.  

The crust was easy to prepare - all in a food processor and then rests in the refrigerator.  The lemon curd was made super simple using the microwave.  Finally, the cheesecake was rich and also easy to put together.  I used neufchatel cream cheese and this did not affect the taste at all.  I also prepared the cake in a 9 x 13 pan and this worked perfectly.

April 28, 2013

 

Carol hosted us on April 28, 2013 and we had a Spring Bunny theme with all of Carol's cute bunny dishes, decorations and flowers.  And of course, there was BUNNY BUTTER.  Carol makes the butter by spreading softened butter on a cookie sheet and then cutting out the bunny shapes. 

Janet supplied the two beverages and got the party started.

  

Our appetizers of two types of deviled eggs (Paula Deen and curried, minus the salmon, prepared by Teresa) were served at the breakfast table.  Carol also served a Ranch dip with vegetables.

Paula Deen recipes were popular this Sunday!  Mary made Deen's recipe for Fruit Salad with Honey Dressing.  It was a unique fruit salad due to unusual ingredients like mustard and avocado.  All blended together beautifully for a light, refreshing salad.

Our main dish of Chicken Breasts with Shrimp Stuffing was colorful and flavorful.  Chicken breasts were prepped by pounding until thin and then a layer of stuffing was spread inside and the chicken rolled and secured with toothpicks until baked to 165 degrees.  I think the stuffing recipe could be simplified by cooking the spinach with the peppers and onions and then adding to the cheese while still warm to allow the cheese to be fully incorporated.  The stuffing is then cooled prior to putting on the chicken.

Chicken Breasts with Shrimp Stuffing 

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken between 2 layers of plastic wrap and pound slightly to 1/4 inch thickness.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.  Place 1/2 cup stuffing in the center of each breast.  Roll breast around stuffing; secure with a toothpick.  Place chicken rolls, seam side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Bake until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Let chicken rest for 5 minutes, remove toothpicks and slice each breast on the bias into thirds.  Fan chicken breast on individual plates or a meat platter and serve.

Shrimp Stuffing - Makes about 3 cups

2 T vegetable oil

1/3 c finely chopped red bell pepper

1/3 c finely chopped green bell pepper

1/3 c finely chopped red onion

1/2 pound (90 to 110 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined and cut into halves or thirds

1/2 T Creole Seafood Seasoning

1 T Louisiana hot pepper sauce

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 c water

1 (10 oz.) package fresh spinach, stemmed and washed

1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 ounces soft goat cheese

2 ounces feta cheese

Tabasco sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium  - high heat.  Add red and green bell pepper, onion and shrimp;  saute until vegetables are tender.  Spread out in a colander to drain excess liquid.  Season with Creole seafood seasoning, hot sauce and Worcestershire; chill in refrigerator.

Place water in a large skillet over medium - high heat.  When simmering, add  spinach and cook

until just wilted.  Drain in colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.  Use you hands to squeeze out as much water as possible.  Coarsely chop and refrigerate until needed.

When shrimp mixture is chilled, combine in a large bowl with spinach, cream cheese, goat cheese and  feta.  Season with salt and pepper and Tabasco.  Reserve stuffing in refrigerator until needed. May be made one day in advance.

 Creole Seafood Seasoning - Makes about 3 1/2 cups

3/4 cup salt

6 1/2 T finely ground black pepper

4 T cayenne pepper

7 1/2 T garlic powder

6 T onion powder

1 c  paprika

1/2 c tightly packed dried thyme leaves

7 T tightly packed dried oregano leaves

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.   Or, place in a food processor

and pulse lightly to make a finer mixture.  Store seasoning in a covered container and keep

in a cool, dry place up to 6 months.

One side dish was another Paula Deen recipe for Pecan Parsley Rice.  The rice was crunchy and fresh tasting with the parsley, lemon zest and juice.  It was served in the bunny ramekins.

Tonya prepared Spring Vegetable Saute' with blanched edamame, asparagus and red onions.  Fresh mint gave this dish a bright flavor.  Delicious and so healthy!   

Zucchini Cornbread was also cooked by Tonya and it was one of the best corn breads I have ever had!  Tonya reduced the sugar to 1/4 a cup and baked the cornbread in a cast iron skillet, like a good Southern girl would do!

Carol requested that I prepare a single serving dessert to be placed on the bunny platters.  I baked Lemon Mascarpone Cupcakes.  I had never made such a fancy cupcake before.  I realize that I could have put the filling in deeper in the cake, as well as used more.  I did not make the icing "stiff" enough, using powdered sugar, in order to pipe it (though I tried!).  I thought if I put in more sugar then the flavor of cream cheese and butter would be diluted.  Despite my cake not being as beautiful as the original source recipe the flavor was decadent yet light with the lemon zest and juice.  The icing had no lemon flavor but it must have soaked it up from the cake and filling.

March 3, 2013

We met at my house and all were in attendance except for Teresa.  

Appetizer:  Carol, Individual Seven Layer Dips

Cocktail:  Janet, Agua de Valencia:  Made with Cava

Salad:  Tonya, Argula, Apple and Manchego with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Side Dish:  Carol, Parmesan Baked Tomatoes

Main Dish:  Angie, Spanish Style Toasted Pasta with Shrimp

Dessert:  Mary, Sweet Catalan Cream and Bizcochos Borrah

Carol started us off with Individual Seven Layer Dips with homemade pico de gallo.    These were as tasty as they were pretty.   Piping using a Ziploc bag was the key to the neat layers. 

Our cocktail was Agua de Valencia made with Cava.  It is a Spanish cocktail that was first made in 1959 in Valencia.  You can ask for it in Spain and there are bottled brands of the drink for sale.

The salad had sweet apple, slivered almonds, spicy arugula and shaved cheese.  The slightly sweet vinaigrette pulled all the elements together.  Tonya picked the perfect salad recipe for our dinner!

Carol brought Parmesan Baked tomatoes as our side dish and it paired perfectly with the pasta.  The dish is simple and showcases the freshness of the tomatoes.  The green herbs on top add color and flavor.

I picked the main dish, Spanish Style Toasted Pasta with Shrimp, from Cooks Illustrated.  It had an interesting technique of cooking the pasta dry to a peanut butter color.  It then is finished in the wine, chicken broth and water in the oven.  Since we doubled the recipe the pasta was not all able to brown because my pan was too small. 

I really liked this dish and it re-heated well for days of left overs! 

Spanish Style Toasted Pasta with Shrimp

Serves 4

3 tbs plus 2 tsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds extra large shrimp

2 3/4 cups water

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

8 oz thin spaghetti, broken into 1-2 inch pieces by wrapping dry pasta in kitchen towel and breaking on counter

1 onion, chopped fine

14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp anchovy paste

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tbs chopped parsley

lemon wedges

1 recipe Aioli (optional - we did not use)

Peel shrimp, reserving shells.  Combine 1 tbs oil, 1 tsp garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper in a medium bowl.  Add shrimp, toss to coat and refrigerate until ready to use.

Place reserved shrimp shells, water, chicken broth and bay leaf in a medium bowl.  Cover and microwave until liquid is hot and shells have turned pink, about 6 minutes.  Set aside until ready to use.

Toss spaghetti and 2 tsp oil in skillet until spaghetti is evenly coated.  Toast spaghetti over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until browned and nutty in aroma (should be color of peanut butter), 6 to 10 minutes.  Transfer to bowl.  Wipe out skillet with paper towel.

Heat remaining 2 tbs oil in now empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.   Add onion and 1/4 tsp salt;  cook, stirring frequently until softened and beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.  Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until mixture is thick, dry and slightly darkened in color, 4 to 6 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and add remaining garlic, paprika, smoked paprika and anchovy paste.  Cook until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes.  Add spaghetti and stir to combine.  Adjust oven rack 5 to 6 inches from broiler elements and heat broiler.

Pour broth through fine mesh strainer into skillet.  Add wine, 1/4  tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and stir well.  Increase heat to medium high and bring to simmer.  Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until liquid is slightly thickened and spaghetti is just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.  Scatter shrimp over spaghetti and stir in to partially submerge.  Transfer skillet (OR, put in casserole dish without shrimp, then add shrimp, if your skillet is not oven proof) to oven and broil until shrimp are opaque and surface of spaghetti is dry with crisped, browned spots, 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, passing lemon wedges and, if using, Aioli separately.

We had two desserts from Mary!  HOORAY!  This is starting to be a trend to have multiples of the same course.  I shall never complain about this!  One was a cake and the other a creamy custard.  The cake is light with a hint of lemon.  The custard is silkier than creme brulee and also has the taste of lemon.  Both were delicious  and complimented each other perfectly!

Two Bean Soup with Kale

I planted kale seeds in my garden in about October 2012.  All the other seed-to-plants that I planted at the same time are long gone.  What the bugs did not eat, the freezing temperatures killed.  Kale is like the roach of vegetables.  Nothing can kill it.  For the past couple of months I have harvested the tender leaves in the middle and I will repeat this until the kale finally gives up.  My continually giving kale plants is why I pinned this recipe for Two Bean Soup with Kale.  I am glad I did because it is the best soup recipe I have ever made especially given the few spices required (salt and red wine vinegar - I did not add pepper).

The modifications I made were adding a pound of mild Italian sausage and a can of Rotel (original), not pureeing the beans and omitting the olive oil and pepper.  I cooked the sausage until brown and then did not drain the fat.  I omitted the olive oil, and sauteed the vegetables with the browned meat and the little amount of rendered fat.

I did not add the salt when called for because I knew the sausage and Rotel would add some.  I added the Rotel at the same time as the beans.  At the end, I added a minimum amount of salt to taste.  The soup is hearty and flavorful with the fennel from the sausage.  I think without the sausage it would be bland.  The carrots and celery add some crunch and the beans are hardly noticeable (I am not a huge cannelloni bean fan).  The kale is in every bite.  This soup is hearty, healthy and flavorful with very little fat.

Two apple cakes

I made two apple cakes for work.  Both were well received.  One, the Mom's Apple Cake is a bit on the wholesome side, with no icing and the other, Apple Fritter Cake is naughty in all the right ways with both a brown sugar topping AND a glaze.

For the Mom's apple cake, a tube pan really is essential.  I baked mine in a bundt pan, and when I removed it, the cake split at the middle apple layer.  I was able to push it back together and it tasted fantastic.  I used about 5 Granny Smith apples and the cake over-floweth with apple goodness.

The apple fritter cake.  WOW.  It is so moist and sweet without being overly sweet.  I do not think the cooking of the apples is a necessary step, so I will skip that next time, along with the cornstarch.  Oh, and I used way more apples - 4 granny smiths.  I also only prepared half of the glaze.  I could have used a tiny bit more, so next time I will prepare the entire recipe and just use my judgement on HOW MUCH GLAZE IS TOO MUCH GLAZE?!  That really is not something that I should ever ponder, but I am trying to cut down empty calories. 

P.S.  My apple fritter cake won second prize at the office bake off.  I think I would have won first except my coworkers thought I was the Lance Armstrong (minus the steroids) of the company baking competitions and my reign needed to be stopped.  At least that is how Chad explained it to me.  Next time I will not tell people which dessert is mine.

Winning Cookie, 2012

I think I neglected to post this back in December.  This was my winning "cookie" from my office's 2012 Cookie competition.  And here is my trophy (and Claire).

February 17, 2013

The Gourmet Gals gathered at Janet's house.  I could not make it because of a cold.  Teresa was back.  Yea!

Appetizer:  Carol, Carrot Ginger Dipping Sauce and Fig Jam, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Crostini
Side:  Mary, Orange Sweet Potatoes and Herbed Wild Rice
Main:  Janet, Pork Chops with Rosemary Vinegar Sauce
Dessert:  Janet, Chocolate Blackout Cake
Salad:  Teresa, Green salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

All sound delicious!  I love the idea of the wild rice being prepared in a crock pot.

 

 The salad had greens, tomato, cucumber, red peppers, blue cheese, almonds and hemp seeds with simple dressing of balsamic vinaigrette with balsamic and olive oil and a little garlic, salt and pepper.

Chocolate Blackout Cake