Apple Filled Phyllo Pockets

By pure mistake, I had a package of phyllo in my freezer (thought I was grabbing puff pastry) so after seeing this recipe in my magazine I thought I would give it a try!  I do NOT have the patience to work with phyllo on a regular basis, but this time it wasn't as horrific as I had remembered.  I had some great Honeycrisp apples (my all-time favorite apple) which were perfect for the little delictable dessert ... Apple Filling in Phyllo Pockets from Cooking Club.

Being in a hurry I made a monumental mistake ( I was in "Carol" mode)!  Since I only had about 4 Cups of apples I decided to just half the recipe,simple enough.  But  after I had peeled and chopped all the apples to make 4 cups, that's where I ended halving the recipe!  Long story short, I had to spoon off some of the liquid and the apples were a little too cinnamonny but still quite delicious. 

The final conclusion was a very good and flaky dessert

To cut some of the cinnamon I topped one with whipped cream. Vanilla ice cream would be fantastic with it also.  Since the taste was well worth the effort in dealing with phyllo I can't wait to make them again and follow the recipe correctly.  Since the box of phyllo has TWO rolls in it....

there will definitely be a next time!

I had phyllo left over from the first roll, the idea of a savory dish popped into my head.  I had a ground beef mixture made up for my loose meat sandwiches so I used that as a filling.  Another success.

Thanks For Stopping By....

Cathy@ Wives With Knives Did It Again!

Another winner!  Every recipe I try from Cathy @ Wives with Knives has turned out to be amazing, always delicious.  This time I tried her Individual Rhubarb Pudding Cakes, you can check out her blog HERE.

I was able to get five out of the ramekins I used, instead of the four on the recipe.  I could have made six, since as you can see, mine overflowed just a tad!  Live and learn, won't make that mistake the next time.  Not sure if I will share these or not.... maybe I'll just make another one in an 8x8 pan and take that one to work.

You won't be disappointed, hurry before the rhubarb season is over.  I will be freezing some rhubarb this year so I can 'surprise' myself during the winter months by making something like this again.


Individual Rhubarb Pudding Cakes


Cathy Wives with Knives

1/4 cup water

1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup sugar, divided

3 cups fresh chopped rhubarb stalks

1 cup all purpose flour

1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with the rack in the middle. Butter 4 individual 1-cup ramekins (or an 8 inch square baking dish).

Mix together the water, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan, then add the 3 cups rhubarb. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

In another bowl whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined - you will have a thick batter.


Reserve 1/2 cup of the rhubarb syrup mixture. Divide the remaining rhubarb mixture among the dishes, then spoon the batter evenly into each ramekin over the rhubarb. Drizzle the remaining rhubarb mixture over the top of the batter in each ramekin. Bake (I usually put my ramekins on a small sheet pan) until a tester inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

Cool slightly on a rack before serving.  Serve with some vanilla ice cream  or whipped cream for a real treat!

Just look at all that rhubarb sauce....

Thanks For Stopping By....

Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes

A lazy Sunday afternoon had me checking out the Williams Sonoma site to see all the new goodies. Headed to the Recipe section and found this for Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes.



Since I had all the ingredients and the mini bundt pan I thought I may as well do something constructive. It also gave me the chance to try out one of my citrus oils.




They whipped up fast and had only a 20 minute baking time! Cooled 10 minutes on the cooling rack and they slid right out of the pan.




As I was cooking up the glaze I thought it was lacking something..SO, I added some of the oil to the glaze also! Good decision!! Audrey was helping by putting a cap full of the oil in the glaze..some of it spilled down the side of the saucepan and caught on fire for a few seconds... Now I know how Carol feels most of the time when she cooks!!! The glaze was brushed on the cakes, dusted with a little of white sanding sugar and were ready to go…or were they?




Seemed like they still needed a little pizzazz ..so I opened a jar of strawberry ice cream topping! TA DA… that made it perfect! The mini bundt cakes looked great on the little appie plates my sweet friend Marsha, from Marsha’s Kitchen and Garden gave me. I was lucky to meet Marsha IRL this summer and will be getting together with her and her daughter, Jayme, this next weekend!



Just the right size desssert to have without getting the feeling you shouldn't have had that last bite! See, a totally guilt-free dessert...nothing better than that!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - PUMPKIN ROLL

Just a very quick post to join Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet with her "Flashback Friday" Check out her post and the links to other flashbacks!!


I made this pumpkin roll last year for the first time - you can get the recipe at All Recipes... An easy and delicious recipe..the family loved it.. I think I ended up making it about three times last year.




Have to share my sisters', Laurie, front door decorated for Halloween..I wonder if the kids will think twice before they knock on the door tomorrow night.....




HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!

Summer Fruit Torte

Just had to try this recipe since it's been floating around many blogs these past few weeks. There are different variations, some use vanilla some don't...wether you call it a torte or just a cake topped with fruit there will be NO disappointment. Any type pan will do... a pie plate, torte pan or a springform pan (which is what I used). Find the recipe on Kathleen's blog Cuisine Kathleen or check out the recipe for Summer Torte by Marion Burros posted on GardenWeb.

Since I had some raspberries on hand I needed to get used up, I thought this would be perfect for the recipe. I did sweeten the raspberries a little before I put them on the batter since I didn't want a "tart torte"!

My edges did seem to be a tad over baked so I would start checking for doneness at 40 minutes... but even with that it was still DELICIOUS!!!! This is such an easy recipe to throw together I will be using it all year long. Can't wait to do one with peaches or mangoes....

Ice Cream Social - Individual Baked Alaskas

It's finally here - the Ice Cream Social hosted by my good friend Suzy from Kitchen Bouquet! I unselfishly nominated myself the official taste tester for this event so if you all would kindly send your entries to me..packed in dry ice and shipped overnight, I will pick a winner as soon as humanly possible!!

Since I do not own an ice cream maker, it was necessary for me to take a different approach. Only once in my life I was served Baked Alaska, which was in New Orleans, and I was immediately smitten with this dessert. Convinced that to make this dazzling dessert you surely had to be an experienced pastry chef or at least an experienced baker of some sort! Thanks to Suzy and this event it allowed me to research this and was happily surprised to learn it isn't that difficult at all to make this unbelievable delicious and stunning concoction!

For the most part my boys have left the nest so I did not want to make the traditional large Baked Alaska. I opted for the individual servings instead...this way you can just serve as many as you need and save the rest for that late night indulgence when necessry. Rich chocolate brownie base, strawberry ice cream topped with fluffy meringue...yes, you are in Heaven!!






I found the recipe on the Epicurious website, which was reprinted from Bon Appétit. The official title is Strawberry and Chocolate Baked Alaska! Read the reviews for tips from those who have made it. Most Baked Alaskas use sponge cake as a base..this recipe captured my attention because it used a brownie type base! What can I say....



The Baked Alaska will definitely be in my "go to dessert file" for a long time to come... you will impress your family and guests and most of all you will impress yourself!!

DIG IN...

Mixed Fruit Pavlova

Something I always wanted to attempt was to make a Pavlova! I have seen numerous videos and recipes ranging from various flavors to difference in sizes.

The recipe I used was for a Mixed Fruit Pavlova found on Epicurious. There is a detailed video and recipe which can be found HERE.

In the Pavlova I made, the fruit used were Mango, Strawberries, Grapes and Blackberries. Pleasantly surprised in the outcome of the meringues, which were chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. Filling the meringue with the pastry cream made the ideal "nest" for the fruit. By topping the fruit with apricot glaze was just the thing to bind all the fruit together, and the raspberry sauce was heavenly!



These will most definitely be on my list for summer desserts... something that is light and doesn't make you feel guilty after devouring every bite!


A Special Tribute for Mothers Day


I am hosting my first ever blog event, a Mothers Day tribute the weekend of May 8th. Please stop in and post photos and recipes or special heirloom items from your Mother and Grandmothers! If all goes well, I will have Mr. Linky up and running!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!! Thanks to the very gracious Kathleen, at Cuisine Kathleen, for hosting this super fun party for all of us! Kathleen..these are for you!!!



For your enjoyment, please take the time to listen to this magnificent song IRISH ANGEL performed by Jonny Lang. Two of my sisters heard this rendition and passed it on to me. It is now a favorite, next to Danny Boy! The lyrics can be found here.. IRISH ANGEL



I had every intention to start off the day with the PERFECT Irish breakfast..had my bowl and spoon ready…

Then, Carol (There's Always Thyme) and Marsha (Marsha's Kitchen) stole my Lucky Charms! What to do next???? I suppose the only thing I had left to enjoy breakfast with was….



As usual I concentrated on desserts!! My first one is a chocolate cake, cut into small rounds, sandwiched in between a fluffy marshmallow filling, drizzled with ganache and topped off with a chocolate transfer fitting for the day! This was the first time I tried the chocolate transfer sheets and happy to say they are very easy to work with. I purchased mine at Fancy Flours, but you can get them at a multitude of sites on the Internet.






My other dessert is called Grasshopper Dessert Squares! It is a Betty Crocker recipe and is absolutely delicious if I do say so myself. Kept in the freezer, it has just a faint flavor of the crème of de menthe. Garnished with chopped Andes mints, adds another mint flavor!


My shamrock dishes I have used today are “Foley” of course!!


My favorite T-shirt for St. Paddy’s Day…


Thank you for visiting and sorry I was so late…




May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

KEY LIME CHEESECAKE

Foodie Friday is hosted by Michael at Designs by Gollum. Check out her blog to see links to other blogs participating in Foodie Friday.

This month anything green is a go for me!! So what’s more green than something LIME…. Key Lime Cheesecake to be exact. You have to remember I live in the Midwest so we don’t have access year round to certain “fancy” ingredients. So, instead of using ‘key limes’, I used just regular limes. Also, I decided to make individual cheesecakes and used the pre-made individual graham crust shells, which come 6 to a package. You will need a minimum of 12 shells and depending on how you fill them, you made need a few more!

But most importantly, these taste GREAT!! The zest makes them a little tart, but that suits my taste buds. I made up a little raspberry puree to use as garnish, complimenting the lime taste perfectly. My oldest son decided to use some Hershey’s syrup on his, which suited him fine!



The recipe is from Allrecipes titled Key Lime Cheesecake 1
Top your cheesecake anyway you like; there are many flavors that meld well with lime. When in doubt, follow Marsha & Debbie’s outlook on life… CHOCOLATE ON EVERYTHING!!



As you slide down the banister of life,
May the splinters never point in the wrong direction!

Chocolate Pots with Irish Crème Liqueur

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Around Valentines Day one of my favorite bloggers, Susan from Savoring Time in the Kitchen made delectable Chocolate Pots de Crème.

We both had purchased these cute 2 oz red lions head pots from Sur La Table and I figured it was time to put them to use. Since it is getting close to St. Patrick’s Day I decided to make Chocolate Pots with Irish Crème Liqueur.




Simple, simple recipe:

Chocolate Pots with Irish Crème Liqueur

5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Egg
1 Tbsp Irish Crème Liqueur

Break up the chocolate and place it in a food processor. Over medium heat, heat cream to almost boiling. Combine cream with chocolate and blend until chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
Add the egg and Irish Cream liqueur and blend again until smooth. Pour into six ramekins and chill for at least 24 hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.
Serves 6.



Needless to say, these are very rich tasting and should be served with a cookie of choice… one recommendation would be Irish Oatmeal Cookies!


Irish Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups McCann’s Quick Cooking Irish Oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and oatmeal. Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared sheet, leaving space between. Bake 7 to 8 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool.

YIELD: 2 Dozen



IRISH SAYING ...
May your home always be too small to hold all your friends