Dulce de Leche Chocolate Bread Pudding

I cannot even describe how amazing this dessert is. I don't care if you don't like bread pudding- trust me- you'll like this. It is super simple but it does require you to be around for a couple hours.

Dulce de Leche (SO EASY)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1. poke 2 holes in the top of the can and take off the paper wrap.
2. Put in a pot that has enough water in it to reach 3/4 the way up the can.
3. Turn on to a low simmer. Let simmer for about 4 hours.
4. Check every hour to make sure the water level stays up high.
5. Let cool, pour out of can and stir.

BREAD PUDDING

6 croissants
2 T butter
5 eggs
3 cups half and half
1 cup dulce de leche
1/2 t salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1. break croissants in to 1-inch peices. Toss with melted butter and bake until they are slightly toasted.
2. Mix together all the other ingredients. Add in the croissants. Let the bread soak up the milk mixture for 20 minutes.
3. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, until it is solidified.

Be aware, you house is going to smell AMAZING for the rest of the day.

What Today?

Pink sauce is like the best of both worlds (no not the hannah montana song, got it stuck in your head now though don'cha). Pink sauce is delicious, cream sauce + tomato sauce = YUM. Sometimes I feel like cream sauce alone is too heavy, this is a good answer.

Ingredients:

1 cup good tomato sauce (I use homemade, if you want that recipe let me know)
2 cups half and half
2 T butter
2 T flour
salt, pepper and garlic

Melt butter in a pan and add flour. Whisk on low heat for 2 minutes. Add milk a little bit at a time allowing for the sauce to thicken with each addition(keep wisking!) Add tomato sauce and seasonings and bring back up to temperature. This was really good on the ravioli but also on chicken and eggplant. An easy recipe for these is to dredge them in flour, salt and pepper. (DREDGE means to put it in a pan of flour and shake it off for a light coating). Then fry each in a thin layer of oil at a medium high heat. Delicious with a nice crust.



Enjoy!

Caesar Salad

I love Caesar salad, and have a hard time believing someone does not.
Mine might change your mind.

Croutons:

1/2 baguette sliced thin
olive oil
salt
pepper
parm

Lay out slices of baguette on cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil and add salt pepper and parm liberally. Bake at 400 until light brown. Yumm! Don't eat them ALL before they get in the salad.


Dressing:

Sometimes I make my own, sometimes I use store bought. On Sunday I thought I was going to use a bottle I had in the fridge only to find out there wasnt enough, here is my solution. And honestly, even if you do have enough, think about mixing what you have with my additions, it adds a fresh feel.

1 cup dressing
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/4 cup parm
1 tsp garlic
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix everything but the oil together. Then slowly add the oil while whisking so that the dressing doesn't break. Delicious!

That's it. Add these two to a head of romaine, and maybe some more cheese. Sometimes I add tomatoes, bacon or fried cheese, but honestly the salad doesen't even need it.

Nectarine Cream Cheese Tart

Here is the first recipe from this Sunday's dinner. I came up with the idea Saturday and just kind of went with it.
Cream Cheese Nectarine Tart Crust: 1 1/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold)
1 egg
1 T cream or half and half

This crust is VERY easy. It is a very rich crust that is a cross between shortbread and pie dough. In a mixer beat together the flour, sugar and butter. Add egg and cream, mix a little more (don't mix too much though, the less the better) Roll it into a ball and refrigerate for an hour at least. Once it is chilled roll it out like any other pie crust and put in preferably a tart pan. Chill until filling is prepared.
Filling: 1 8-oz box cream cheese 1 lemon, juice and zest 1 egg 1/4-1/2 cup sugar (taste it to make sure it is as sweet as you would like) Beat the ingredients together, either by hand or in mixer. This is pretty much like a cheesecake filling. 2 Nectarines 2 T sugar 1 t cinnamon Cut nectarines and toss with sugar and cinnamon.
Crumble Topping: 2 T butter 2 T flour 1 T brown sugar 1 t cinnamon Mix with hands until crumbly
Assemble: Fill tart with cream cheese. Spread nectarines around and add crumble on top. Bake at 350 until crust is brown, 30-40 minutes.

Side Note

Remember, if you have any questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer, find recipes, explain techniques, etc.

Sarah's Birthday Dinner

Every week we have my brother Brad, his wife Sarah and their daughter over for Sunday dinner. This week was extra special for Sarah's 29th Birthday.
The menu included:homemade ravioli with pink sauce (birthday girl's request)
Caesar salad with homemade croutons
Sauteed Dredged Chicken Breasts
Fried Eggplant
and of course a baguette

Dessert was in two parts, mainly because I couldn't pick one. Sarah loves fruit and she loves pie and so instead of the normal birthday cake, we had:
Cream Cheese Nectarine Tart with a Pate Sucree Crust Apple Pie Purses

Yum! Talk about a good dinner.

Check back through this week as I post the recipes.

My Apologies

I have been dreadfully sick for over two weeks now. After too many days of pushing through it, pretending its not there and over exerting myself- I am finished. I finally went to the doctor, I am finally trying to do as little as possible, and I am finally getting better instead of continuing to get worse.
I promise to return by the end of the week. I miss making good food- hopefully you all are still living the dream. As for me I'm living on PB&J and Newman's Grape Juice.

Miss you,

Joy

Traditions- Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

I love traditions. Me and my husband are constantly looking for things from our families to incorporate into our new family's set of tradtions. Very often they aren't very big things, but that makes it all the easier to keep up on them. And what makes it even easier and more irresistible is if they revolve around food.

One such tradition is Monkey Bread Saturdays. Twice a year we break out the recipe, hang out in our pajamas and watch General Conference (the twice yearly broadcasted worldwide LDS conference).

Pull-Apart Bread (for anyone whose family didn't make this growing up, so sad!)

Rhodes Rolls (10-15)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 pkg. butterscotch pudding mix
1 t cinnamon

Melt butter and mix with brown sugar, pudding mix, and cinnamon. Put frozen rolls in a tall, greased pan(a bundt pan works best). Pour the mixture over the top. Cover and sit out overnight (It is best made right before you go to bed so the rolls don't rise too much). In the morning set the over to 350 and bake until the tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Turn over on a plate and serve. Ooey, Gooey Good. And yes, it is just that easy.

Dessert Plates and Macaroons

There are very few things that can improve upon a great dessert:

1. a dollop of whip cream
2. a tablespoon of ganache
3. a great dessert plate


I collect gorgeous dessert plates. I love having a collection that I can use and display. It is a mixture of plates from generations past and new ones I can't help but pass up. It's something that makes me happy and makes dishing up dessert for friends even more fun.

Brown Sugar Coconut Macaroons
one of my very favorite cookies, and look great on a colorful dessert plate



2 2/3 cups coconut
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 t salt
3 egg whites
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients(so easy!) Bake on parchment paper or a silpat for 15-20 minutes. You can dip in chocolate after they are cooled, but I usually can't wait to eat them!

Food As Love

I have always believed that FOOD=LOVE. In culinary school on the day we made ravioli my teacher said that making ravioli meant you loved someone. Making ravioli is tedious and unnecessary, and that you must love someone to make it for them. I took that to HEART. It has become my signature dish. If you come to my house for dinner, four times out of five I will make ravioli because even if you don't know it, I know that RAVIOLI=LOVE. Today I spent a lot of my day making ravioli for a few friends as well as freezing plenty for the person I love most, whose had more ravioli than a person could ever ask for. What does food mean to you? And what do you make to let the people around you know that they are loved?

I use homemade pasta, but you could also use wonton wrappers. If you have a pasta roller my pasta recipe is 1 cup flour, 1 egg, and a little olive oil and water. Knead until it is smooth and refrigerate for an hour before using. The filling is a container of ricotta, an egg, seasoning, parmesan cheese, spinach... and whatever else you want, its a good place to be creative. GO AHEAD, SHOW SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM.

My 6 Favorite Kitchen Items

Here is a list of the six things (because I couldn't pick just 5) I would be very sad to not have tomorrow. In fact last time I moved they were the absolute last things to be packed.

My Blue Kitchen-Aid w/ all the attachments I can get my hands on
Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking Its a must have baking book without a single bad recipe
My Nigella Lawson Salt Pig Keeps the salt close at hand and is absolutely adorable
My wooden utensils- I love the feel of the wood and it seems far more organic (silly I know)
My scalloped circle cookie cutter set- perfect for biscuits, ravioli or cookies
My HIPPO COOKIE JAR- because it is incredibly kitsch, and doesen't that just make you happy?