Karin's Espresso Shortbread

I've had dreams about this cookie.  I woke up drooling and hungry.  I'm in a cooking club with some ultra hip foodie lovers.  We meet once a month with a specific theme, and we discuss food and we eat.  We've had some absolutely delicious, high quality, foods over these past few years.  For the first few years in December, we would meet to exchange cookies.  Karin made "Coffee-spice and Crystalized Ginger shortbread" from Epicurious.  She tweaked the recipe a bit, switched out the coffee and made it espresso, and developed a bold cookie. It's FULL of a strong coffee flavor, NOT sweet but SPICY, with great crumbly texture, and beautiful powdered sugar drizzle.  These cookies need to be enjoyed alone on a rainy day.  (These cookies are NOT for sharing!!)  Get a small plate, a cup of coffee, a book or a newspaper (put your phone down for a minute), and enjoy a break.  Think happy thoughts, eat spicy cookies, drink strong coffee, listen to the rain.  Everyone needs an indulgence from time to time.

Karin's Espresso Shortbread

adapted from Coffee-spice and Crystalized Ginger shortbread by Epicurious.com

Ingredients
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons instant espresso
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup, two sticks butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons water (maybe more)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
OPTIONAL: 6 tablespoons crystallized ginger

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2.  Add flour, brown sugar, espresso, ginger, cardamon and salt into a food processor for 5 seconds.  Scatter butter around the top of the dry ingredients and pulse until most clumps begin to form.  (this dough will be very crumbly...its OK, do not panic!)
3.  Pour crumbs onto a cutting board, and use clean dry hands to form the dough into a ball.   (The dough may still seem crumbly at this point, again, that's okay....short bread is supposed to be like that.)  Divide the dough into two equal parts, and put each part into a 9 inch diameter tart pans with a removable bottom.  Press dough firmly into each tart pan.
4.  Bake for 25 minutes, rotate pans and positions in the oven, and continue to bake for another 20 minutes or until the cookies are a dark golden brown, and have a SLIGHTLY soft center.  Remove from oven and cut each warm shortbread into 12 wedges.  Let cool completely.
5.  Make glaze by combining powdered sugar, water and vanilla.  Either use a off-set spatula to spread the glaze on top of the shortbread, or use a spoon or fork to drizzle the glaze over the top of the shortbread.  ("It looks like spiderwebs"-Jett, age 3).  Let glaze set until solid, about one hour.
OPTIONAL: chop the crystallized ginger and sprinkle on top of glazed shortbread, before the glaze has set.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

I could probably do a blog entirely devoted to cookies.  They are my favorite thing to bake. These soft pumpkin cookies, a recipe from Cooks.com, are a perfect Fall treat.  They are classic and simple to make, I usually double the recipe, and use one whole can of pumpkin.  I also prefer Libby's canned pumpkin.  I've tried the others, it's not the same.  After making these Soft Pumpkin Cookies, I brought them to a tea and cookies party.  And, one of my friends, Louise, a champion baker, proclaimed.  "These cookies the best pumpkin cookie I've ever had!"  But, if that didn't validate them enough, I gave them to my kids.  Brutally honest cookie lovers.  My youngest son, DEVOURED these cookies, the oldest one said, "these are better than I thought they'd be", and my daughter looked at one and said, "I only eat cereal." 

Soft Pumpkin Cookies
from Cooks.com

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup butter (one stick), at room temperature

1 cup canned pureed pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line un-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Gently combine with a whisk to aerate the flour mixture, and evenly distribute the spices throughout the dry ingredients.

3.  Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until mixture is fluffy.  Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla, and continue to beat until mixture is well combined.  Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.  Add flour mixture to butter-pumpkin mixture, one heaping cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

4.  Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake one tray at a time, for 15-18 minutes.  Let cool on tray for two minutes then let completely cool on cookie racks.

5.  Make Glaze, and drizzle onto baked and cooled cookies.

Glaze

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all Glaze ingredients into a small bowl, mix until glaze is smooth.

Use a spoon to drizzle glaze over cookies.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Creamy Tomato Soup

Fall is about family, giving thanks, love, warmth and comfort food. This soup is full of flavor, and full of all the wonders of fall. I recommend eating this soup on a rainy day.

This soup does contain bacon, and chicken broth. Two tablespoons of olive oil, and vegetable broth can be easily substituted to make this soup vegan. The only "thing" about this soup is that it uses every pan in your kitchen, plus the blender!! So, be ready for some dishes, but it's totally worth it!!

Creamy Tomato Soup with Foccacia

• 4 pieces of thick cut bacon
• 1 small-medium onion, or 1/2 large onion, chopped fine
• 60 ounces canned diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 cups chicken broth (16 ounces, homemade is best)
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Garnishes: chopped cooked bacon, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, basil, or croutons.

1. In a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat, cook the bacon, careful not to burn the bacon.  When done, remove bacon from pan, and set aside to drain.  DO NOT POUR out bacon fat from pan.  Immediately add onion to bacon fat, and saute until onion is translucent and cooked, scraping up all the browned bits.
2. Add drained tomatoes to onions.  Saute until the tomatoes start to caramelize, and begin to break down.  Add in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper and sugar.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until mixture is thick, and tomatoes have broken down further.  Turn off heat, and let soup cool slightly.  Use the simmer time to chop up the bacon that you cooked earlier.  
3. 1-2 cups at a time, puree soup in a blender.  The soup will be hot, therefore the steam from the soup will create pressure in the blender.  IF you have too much soup in the blender, the blender will explode open, and you will be covered in hot soup.  This is not fun, this is painful and dangerous.  SO, 1-2 cups of soup, in the blender.  Puree until smooth, and then strain into another large saucepan.
4. Return soup to a simmer, stir in basil and heavy cream.  Do not let soup boil.
5. Pour into soup bowls.  Serve with crusty bread, or grilled cheese sandwiches.  Garnish and serve!

Shrimp Burgers and House Sweet and Tangy Tartar Sauce

Shrimp Burgers

with Sweet and Tangy Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 scallions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste (be easy on the cayenne)
1 tablespoon canola oil
Lemon wedges

1. Put shrimp in a food processor and pulse until there is an even mix of finely minced shrimp, and coarsely chopped pieces, about 7 pulses.
2.  Whisk mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, lemon zest salt, pepper and cayenne together in a large bowl.  Gently fold shrimp and bread crumbs into mayonnaise mixture.
3.  Scrape shrimp mixture onto small baking sheet, divide into 4 equal portions, and loosely pack each into 1 inch thick patty.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one minute (or up to one day).  NOTE: This would be a good time to make the Sweet and Tangy Tartar Sauce!!
4.  Heat oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Gently lay shrimp burgers in skillet and cook until crisp and browned on both sides, 8-10 minutes.  Gently transfer burgers to platter and serve with lemon wedges.
To assemble: Serve on soft brioche buns with lettuce, tomato, avocado and tartar sauce.

Sweet and Tangy Tartar Sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and minced
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, let sit for 15 minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Burrito Mojado's

I'm a sucker for food magazines, and I'm a sucker for America's Test Kitchen, so when I saw the "Special Collector's Edition" of ATK magazine featuring the Best Mexican Recipes, I had to pick it up.  The magazine was sold as soon as I saw "Chicken Mojado Burritos".  These are those giant burritos smothered in red and green sauce that you see at awesome Mexican restaurants.  My sister introduced me to the Chicken Burrito Mojado, and it very quickly caught on with my family.  I don't eat out that often, but I always get the Chicken Mojado Burrito, and now I get to make it at home!!  The red sauce is killer, the green sauce is a bite of pure freshness, the chicken is moist and full of flavor.  Eat this with a knife and fork, and it's good when shared, and it makes great leftovers too.   I recommend serving it with the "Literal Top Shelf Margarita".

Chicken Mojado Burrito

adopted from America's Test Kitchen

2 1/4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
salt and pepper
2 scallions thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
6 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 package of LARGE flour tortillas
2 avocados, halved, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups tomatillo sauce (recipe included at bottom)
1/2 cup Mexican crema

1.  Bring 1 1/4 cups broth, rice, beans and 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder and 1/2 teaspoons salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cover and reduce heat to low, and cook until rice is tender and broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Remove rice from hear and let sit, covered for 10 minutes.  Add scallions and fluff with a fork to incorporate; cover and keep warm.
2.  Meanwhile, cook oil, garlic and remaining 3 tablespoons chili powder in large saucepan over medium high heat until fragrant 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in tomato sauce and remaining 1 cup broth and bring to simmer.  Nestle chicken into sauce.  Cover and reduce to medium-low and cook until chicken registeres 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.
3.  Transfer chicken to cutting board and let cool slightly.  Using two forks, shred chicken with 1/4 cup sauce and 2 Tablespoons cilantro in bowl.  Set remaining sauce aside.
4.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line baking sheet with alumnium foil.  Wrap tortillas in damp dish towl and microwave until warm and pliable, about 1 minute.  Lay warm tortillas on counter.  Mound rice across the center of each tortilla, close to the bottom edge, then top with chicken avocado and Monterey Jack.
5.  Whisk 2 tablespoons cilantro into the green tomatillo sauce.  Add tomatillo sauce on top of chicken on tortilla.  Working with one tortilla at a time, fold sides and then bottom of tortilla over filling, pulling back on tortilla firmly to tighten it around filling; continue to roll tightly into burrito.  (Burritos can be held up to 1 hour before baking.)  Place burritos seam side down on prepared sheet, cover tightly with foil, and back until hot throughout, 20 to 30 minutes.

6.  Before serving, reheat red sauce in saucepan, over medium heat until hot, about 3 minutes, loosening with water to achieve perfect consistency.  Reheat green sauce in a separate saucepan.
7.  Arrange burritos on individual plates.  Pour red sauce all over burrito.  Top with tomatillo sauce, and drizzle mexican crema over the top of burrito.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Tomatillo Salsa

1 pound tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well and dried
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, cut into wedges
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
salt
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
sugar

1.  Adjust oven rack to 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler.  Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Toss tomatillos and onion wedges with vegetable oil and transfer to prepared baking sheet.  Broil until tomatillos are spotty brown and skins begin to burst, about 7-10 minutes.  Transfer tomatillos and onions to food processor and let cool completely.
2.  Add cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Pulse until slightly chunky, about 20 pulses.  Let sit at room temp for 30 minutes, add olive oil and sugar to taste.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Snack Cake

The kids are back in school, the weather is getting slightly cooler, and there is an abundance of zucchini in the garden.  This cake is super moist...and it would be considering it has buttermilk, zucchini and applesauce in the recipe!  The cake has a bright orange and chocolate flavor, the chocolate chips are just delightful, they melt in your mouth and make the cake extra chocolatey.  My kids like this cake as an after school snack....served with baby carrots and cucumber of course... and NO, the cake doesn't taste like zucchini.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Snack Cake

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
2 eggs
Zest of 1 large orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups grated zucchini (do NOT peel the zucchini.  Just grate it.  Get a colander and line it with paper towels, put the grated zucchini in the colander and let it drain until ready to use.)
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (divided use)

1.  Preheat oven to 325 and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish, and set aside.
2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, whisk gently.
3.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in orange zest and vanilla extract.
4.  Add the flour and cocoa powder mixture and the buttermilk to the butter and sugar alternately.  Start with adding third of the flour mixture, and half the buttermilk.  Then, add another third of flour of mixture, and remaining buttermilk.  Finish up with the last third of flour mixture.   Make sure the batter is thoroughly combined after each addition.
5.  Fold in applesauce, zucchini (make sure the zucchini has been drained of all liquid) and 1 cup of chocolate chips.
6.  Pour batter into prepared baking dish, add remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to top of batter and bake for about 50 minutes, or until when the cake passes the fork test.  (Stick a fork in the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean, the cake is done....hence the phrase "stick a fork in me, I'm done" 

House Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad is my favorite salad.  It's so simple. Almost too simple, like if one thing gets messed up it could ruin the whole salad.  So, each component needs to be spot on.  Let's start with the dressing.  I used a mayo based dressing because I'm afraid of raw eggs.  Bring on the anchovies though!  My favorite part of Caesar salad is the fact that it pairs really well with a crisp glass of champagne.

Caesar Salad

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil based mayonnaise
1 2 oz. can anchovies, drained
1 Tablespoon Capers
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
Olive Oil (optional, used to thin out the dressing if need be)

Put all ingredients into a blender, blend until smooth.  Taste.  Adjust seasonings if needed with lemon juice, pepper and olive oil.  There should be enough salt in the dressing with the anchovies, and capers.  Set dressing in fridge until ready to use.

Salad
Romaine Lettuce, rinsed, and roughly chopped
Caesar Salad Dressing
Parmesan Cheese
Croutons (homemade is best, see note)
Chicken or Shrimp, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and grilled.
Black pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: garlic clove

OPTIONAL STEP: Rub a fresh garlic clove over bowl being used to serve the salad.  Add lettuce to bowl.  Top with Parmesan cheese, fresh croutons, and grilled chicken or shrimp.  Add salad dressing and gently toss salad.  Taste.  Add black pepper to salad.

To Make Croutons: Take a day old baguette and cut into cubes.  Brush olive oil on bread cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper (if you're adventurous add some garlic powder to the croutons....I'm not a fan of garlic powder).  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  If the croutons need more time in the oven, add another few minutes.  When they're golden brown, remove from oven and let dry out and cool on the counter.

Moscow or Irish Mule

I accidentally ordered an Irish Mule at a restaurant.  But, I'm glad I got one, it was delicious, and I would have never ordered one on purpose. LOL!  This drink is best served in a copper cup.  It's icy, crisp, a bit spicy and refreshing.

Moscow Mule

1 lime wedge
ice
2 oz. vodka
Ginger Beer
Mint Leaf

Squeeze a lime wedge into the copper cup.  FIll cup with ice.  Add two oz. vodka, top with ginger beer and mint leaf.  Stir drink with a spoon or straw.  Cheers!

Irish Mule

1 lime wedge
ice
1 oz. vodka
1 oz. Irish Whiskey
Ginger Beer
Mint Leaf

Squeeze a lime wedge into the copper cup.  FIll cup with ice.  Add vodka and whiskey, top with ginger beer and mint leaf.  Stir drink with a spoon or straw.  Cheers!

Spicy Bloody Mary

In the words of Ron Burgandy, "it stings the nostrils".  This is a SPICY Bloody Mary, and it gets you with every ingredient.  It's perfect for Sunday Morning brunch.  The trend in Bloody Mary's is heavy garnishes....The best garnish is the Spicy Bacon.  It's rare to have an extra slice of spicy bacon, but on the rare occasion it works out.

Spicy Bloody Mary

2 oz. Absolut Pepar

Mr. T's Bold and Spicy Bloody Mary Mix

A dash Tobasco Sauce

A dash Worcestershire Sauce

Ice

Garnish:

Spicy Bacon

Large Grain Salt

Pickle Spear

Jalapeno Stuffed Olives

Lime Wedge

Rub a sliced lime wedge around the rim of a pint glass.  Dip the wet rim of the glass into the large grain salt.  Fill Pint glass with ice.  Pour 2 oz. Absolut Pepar over ice, fill to rim with Bloody Mary Mix.  Add a dash of Tobasco, and a dash of Worcestershire Sauce.  Use a long spoon or a straw to stir.  Garnish with Spicy Bacon, Pickle Spear, 2 jalapeno stuffed olives on a toothpick and the lime wedge.

Cheers!!

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Hoisen Chicken Lettuce Cups

Hoisen Chicken Lettuce Cups

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 pound sliced white button mushrooms
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I've successfully substituted 1 1/4 pounds of ground turkey), diced into 1/2 inch cubes
8 oz. chopped water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup hoisen sauce (available in the Asian section of the grocery store)
1 teaspoon salt
4 green onions
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
crunchy chow mein noodles
chopped fresh cilantro
Iceberg lettuce rinsed and drained.  Carefully pull apart leaves to make "cups"

1.  Heat a large wok, or heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan, and when oil is hot add ginger, and mushrooms.  Saute until ginger is fragrant, and mushrooms are cooked through, and soft.
2.  Add chicken and water chestnuts mushrooms and ginger.  Add more oil if necessary.  Cook until chicken is cooked through.
3.  Add hoisen, salt, green onions, Worcestershire, and rice vinegar to pan.  Combine all ingredients, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until chicken and sauce are hot and well combined.

To serve: Put Hoisen Chicken in one serving dish, and top with crunchy chow mein noodles and fresh cilantro.  Put the lettuce cups in another serving dish.  Scoop the hoisen chicken into the lettuce cups.  Eat with fingers.  YUM!

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Chicken and Crab Egg Rolls

Chicken and Crab Egg Rolls

1 1/2 pound chicken breasts or tenders

12-14 ounces crabmeat drained

1 1/2 cups finely shredded Napa or Chinese cabbage

1 large carrot, grated

4 green onions, sliced fine

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons dry sherry or rice wine

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Zest of 1 lime

1 package egg roll wrappers

Vegetable oil for frying

1. In a medium saucepan add water to fill about half way, and season with 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar.  Add chicken, and poach until chicken is cooked through about 12-15 minutes.  Remove chicken, let cool slightly, and shred with a fork.
2. Combine shredded chicken, crabmeat, cabbage, carrot, green onion and cilantro in a large bowl.  In another bowl combine soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, sesame oil, sesame seeds and lime peel.  Pour sauce over chicken mixture, and stir to combine.
3. Working with one egg roll wrapper at a time.  Take an egg roll wrapper, and lay it down in front of you so it forms a diamond shape.  Place 1/4 cup of chicken mixture in center of wrapper.  Fold the bottom point of the egg roll wrapper until it almost reaches the top point, making sure it covers the chicken mixture.  Fold each side point over the center, so the points meet in the center.  Dip your finger tips into water, dab the edges of the egg roll wrapper with your wet fingers.  Bring the top point down to seal the egg roll.  Gently seal the egg roll with wet fingers ensuring  that no filling can come out of the wrapper, and that's it's wrapped up tightly.  This step takes some practice.

Add quarter cup filling to bottom half of wanton wrapper

Fold up bottom tip over all of the filling.

Fold side points toward the center of the egg roll, seal seams with wet fingertips

4. 

   Roll egg roll up tightly, seal all seams with wet fingertips.

   

   Small white bubbles should quickly form around egg rolls.

   When egg rolls have been wrapped, place seam down onto baking sheet.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  And, in a heavy 3 quart saucepan pour in vegetable oil, until it's about 3 inches deep.  Heat oil over medium high heat until 350-365 degrees.  If you don't have a thermometer to check the oil temp, you can carefully dip one end of the egg roll into the hot oil.  It it starts to bubble around the egg roll, then the oil is ready.  
5. Fry the egg rolls for 2-3 minutes per side, until the wrapper gets golden brown.  Remove egg rolls from hot oil, drain and keep warm in oven.

TO MAKE AHEAD:  Fry egg rolls, and let drain.  Let cool, and then freeze.  Reheat in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes before serving.  

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Breakfast Sandwiches

If you're normal, you LOVE McDonald's breakfast sandwiches.  But, did you know that you can make your own breakfast sandwiches at home??  And, did you know that breakfast sandwiches are freezer friendly?  SO, on a busy morning you can just pop a breakfast sandwich into the microwave and POOF, you have instant breakfast.  These sandwiches are very versatile, you can add your own stuff.  Add a sliced tomato, avocado, sauteed mushrooms, peppers or zucchini.  Sometimes, I add some blanched broccoli to a scrambled egg before adding it to the sandwich.  Also, add some tapatio, or salsa too! I love these grab and go sandwiches...I think I'll go grab one right now.

Breakfast Sandwiches

For 1 to eat right now:
English Muffin
Sausage, Bacon, or Canadian Bacon cooked
Sliced Cheese (I prefer a sharp Cheddar)
Egg
OPTIONAL: any other toppings you'd like!  See above for ideas!

Set oven to warm.  Carefully separate the English muffin into two halves.  Add sliced cheese and choice of breakfast meat to the English Muffin and make a sandwich.  Wrap sandwich with foil and place into warm oven.

Cook egg to your personal preference.  Scrambled eggs work well. OR, eggs over medium or hard work well too.  I DO NOT recommend over-easy eggs.  It's too messy.  The eggs should just ooze slightly when you bite into the sandwich, not explode over your hands, face and clothes.  When the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove foil wrapped sandwich from oven.  Unwrap, separate sandwich (the cheese should be all melty, gooey) add egg, make into a sandwich and enjoy!!

For 12 to save in the freezer:
English Muffins
Sausage, Bacon, or Canadian Bacon cooked
Sliced Cheese (I prefer a sharp Cheddar)
12 Eggs

Assemble sandwiches with meat and cheese.  Cook eggs to your preference.   Scrambled eggs and eggs over hard work best for make ahead freezer friendly sandwiches.  Add one egg to each breakfast sandwich.  LET COOL!  When cool, place into freezer friendly plastic bags, and place in freezer.

When ready to eat:  Remove from freezer, place into microwave for 2 minutes.  Let cool for 1 minute, enjoy!

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House Sausage Patties

If I had a choice between sausage and bacon, I would choose sausage.  And, when I find something I like, I want to make it myself.  This recipe is based off of a Martha Stewert recipe, but I found hers to be slightly mellow and sweet in flavor, also they didn't stay into nice round patties.  I changed the seasonings, and added some breadcrumbs.  These patties are great on their own, but I like to put them on a breakfast sandwich.

House Sausage Patties

1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (panko, or homemade)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tablespoon ground sage
3/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg white
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
OPTIONAL: pinch of red pepper flakes

1.  Combine all ingredients, except for the vegetable oil, in a large bowl.  U se a fork to mix ingredients until the spices are evenly distributed.  Chill bowl for approx. 15 minutes.
2.  With clean, cold hands (rinse in cold water), shape pork mixture into patties.  Add vegetable oil into a skillet, over medium-high heat.  When hot, fry patties until cooked through.

Serve and Enjoy!

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Spicy Bacon

This is the best bacon recipe I've every found. I always make it on Thanksgiving with pumpkin pancakes, but lately I've been making it for very special breakfasts. It's not THAT spicy, it has just enough spice that your tongue tingles a bit, and your mouth fills with warm heat and sticky sweetness. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin. The secret to this recipe is THICK CUT bacon. Not all bacon is created equal. When you're buying bacon, get the good stuff. Make sure it's equal parts meat and fat, and see if it's the same size at each end of the strip. My personal favorite is the thick sliced Applewood Smoked bacon that is sold at Costco. Excuse med while I wipe the drool off my chin again. Out of all my breakfast parties, this dish has been consistently oohed and ahhed. So, if you need a wow'em breakfast dish, this is your recipe. And, the best part of this recipe, it pairs very well with a mimosa! OR, for the man in my life...he likes it as a garnish in a bloody mary. 

Spicy Bacon 

16 slices bacon, thick cut (see above)
1 cup light brown sugar 
1 tsp. black pepper 
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (use more if you'd like, just don't kill your taste buds...or your guests) 

 1. Preheat oven to 350, and prepare baking sheets. Take a rimmed baking sheet and line it with foil. Place a wire rack on top of foil lined baking sheet. Lay strips of bacon on top of wire rack and bake 10 minutes. Combine sugar and peppers. Flip bacon over, and bake another 10 minutes. 

 2. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of brown sugar pepper mixture along each strip of bacon. Use your fingertips to rub the mixture into the bacon. Place bacon into oven, bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven, flip bacon over, and sprinkle another teaspoon of brown sugar pepper mixture on back of each strip of bacon. Stick the bacon back into the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked and crispy, and the brown sugar pepper mixture has caramelized all over the bacon strips. 

 Serve and enjoy!

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Sprinkle Cookies

Not going to lie, I love Real Housewives of whatever...it's a guilty pleasure, I'm not proud of it. But, I love it.  There was an issue in the last episode involving "sprinkle cookies".... which is apparently very offensive to bring to someone's Christmas Eve party.  I don't get the drama, but I'm fascinated.  And, at the end of the episode I had a desire to make sprinkle cookies for my friends, who would never ever throw them away.  I liked this recipe because it's cakey and uses a lot of vanilla.  I would even recommend using a vanilla bean to make these cookies extra special.  These cookies have lots of names like, funfetti cookies, confetti cookies, or sprinkle cookies...but I like the name that Jett has given them, "Donut Cookies"

These cookies are basic, and festive.  You are limited by the types of sprinkles that you have in your pantry.  I suggest investing in some colored sprinkles so you can make these beautiful cookies for all occasions.

Sprinkle cookies

aka "Donut Cookies"

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, 2 sticks at room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla, or 1 vanilla bean split seeds removed

2 eggs

1 cup sprinkles

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter, white sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla bean seeds.  Beat until the butter and sugar is light and fluffy.  Gradually add the eggs on at a time, blending well after each addition and making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Gradually add the flour, blending well, making sure the dough has the same consistancy throughout.

Chill the dough for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Use un-rimmed baking sheets that are either non stick or lined with parchment paper.  Remove dough from fridge, and roll into one inch balls.  Roll each cookie dough ball into the sprinkles and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes.  Let cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Cheers!

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Lemon Burst Cookies

(Chocolate Crinkle cookies - chocolate) + Lemon = Lemon Burst Cookies!
They taste like a bite of sunshine, and are perfect on a Summer Day, with a cold iced tea.  No fake lemon crap.

Lemon Burst Cookies

3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
yellow food coloring (optional, I did not use)
powdered sugar


In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In an electric mixer combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time making sure the eggs are completely mixed in with the butter.  Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Mix again until all wet ingredients are well combined, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.

Scoop the flour mixture into the butter-sugar-egg-lemon mixture, about a cup at a time.  Make sure the flour mixture is well mixed with the butter-sugar-egg-lemon mixture.  The cookie dough should have the same consistency throughout the entire batch.  Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in fridge for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Use un-rimmed baking sheets that are either non-stick or lined with parchment paper.

Put 1/2 cup of sugar into a shallow bowl.  Scoop out 1 tablespoon of cookie dough, and roll into a ball.  Then, roll the ball into the powdered sugar and place onto prepared cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough and powdered sugar.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Let cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, and then let cool completely on cookie cooling racks.
enjoy!

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Chocolate Chip Cookies for a Crowd

I once wrote an essay on Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I have no idea where it is now.  Chocolate chip cookies are just full of nostalgia.  They're simple.  They're sweet.  They're lovely.  And, I think that everyone has a chocolate chip story.  These are the cookies that are provided after soccer games.  These are the cookies that we pack up and give the neighbors.  These are midnight snacks, and munchies.  These are desserts in the kids lunch boxes, and they are what I bring to share at the park.

This recipe makes A LOT of cookies, like 6 dozen.  The dough will freeze, so if you're not ready to produce 60 cookies make them into cookie balls, and pop them in the freezer until ready to use.  I like options for variations in cookies.  
NOTE: This recipe can use milk, semi-sweet, or white chocolate chips.  Sometimes I see fancy chocolate chips that are chocolate mint or chocolate raspberry.  I've been known to make these cookies with those types of chocolate chips too.  Live on the edge, jazz up your cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 pound butter (four sticks) at room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons vanilla
6 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
3 cups chocolate chips + 1 cup more for garnish  (I prefer nestle semi-sweet morsels, see note above)
1-2 cups chopped nuts (I'm not a nutty person, but I've heard that walnuts taste good in cookies if you're in to that sort of thing)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Use non-stick baking sheets, or line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and a pinch of salt.

In an electric mixer beat butter and sugars together until very light and creamy.  Add eggs, one at time beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla.

Add flour to butter-sugar-egg mixture one scoop at a time making sure the flour is well incorporated.  Add 3 cups of chocolate chips and nuts if using.  Mix until the chips and nuts are evenly distributed throughout the entire dough.

Scoop out cookie dough 1 tablespoon at a time.  Roll into a ball, and place on to prepared cookie sheet. Use remaining cup of chocolate chips to add more chocolate chips to the top of the dough ball, I recommend 3 per cookie.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Let cool for 3 minutes on the rack and then place on a cookie cooling rack until completely cool.

enjoy!

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