6 ounces (1½ cups packed, 170g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided (1¼ cup and ¼ cup)
2 tablespoons diced fresh jalapeños (more or less to taste)
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream (200ml), plus extra for brushing
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, salt, sugar, cayenne, and baking powder. Stir in 1¼ cups of the grated cheddar cheese and the diced jalapeños.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the cream into the center of the well and your (clean) hands to gently bring together the ingredients. If you need to add a bit more cream then do so a tiny trickle at a time. You just want everything to get wet enough so that the dough will be sticky and clumpy.
Turn the dough out onto a surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough just a few times - maybe only three or four pushes. You just want it to come together. (Over-kneading will result in firmer, denser biscuits.)
Form the dough into a disc about ¾-inch to an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (or a small juice glass) to cut round biscuit shapes out of the disk. Combine the leftover dough and keep forming small round biscuit shapes until the dough is used up.
Place on a Silpat-lined or parchment lined baking sheet, with at least an inch or two between the biscuits. Brush the tops of the biscuits with a little more cream. Top the biscuits with a sprinkle of the remaining cheese.
Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 11-12 minutes or until golden and the cheese is nicely melted.
orange (or a combination of red and yellow) food coloring
Directions:
Prepare a 13x9 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cream, and butter over medium heat.
Continually stir the mixture until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
Brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush.
Bring the mixture to a boil, and once it starts boiling, stir continuously for four minutes.
After four minutes of boiling, remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the marshmallow cream and white chocolate chips.
Stir until the white chocolate has melted and the fudge is completely smooth.
Working quickly, pour about a third of the white fudge into a bowl and set aside.
To the remaining fudge, add the orange extract and orange food coloring, stirring until it is a smooth, even color. It is important to perform these steps quickly, because the fudge will start to set if you take too long, and the end result will not be smooth.
Pour the orange fudge into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
Drop the white fudge over the top by the spoonful, then drag a table knife or toothpick through the fudge to create orange-white swirls. You can spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray and gently press them into the top to smooth out the swirls, if desired.
Allow the fudge to set at room temperature for 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
To cut, pull the fudge out of the pan using the foil as handles.
Use a large sharp knife to cut the fudge into small 1-inch squares. Store Orange Creamsicle Fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, and bring it to room temperature to serve.
1 tablespoon all spice (not a typo, I used a whole tablespoon!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 limes, juiced (about 1/3 cup)
Directions:
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Skin the bird as much as you can (or don't.
it's your choice.) and place it into the slow cooker. I prefer to cook
my chickens upside down, to keep the breast meat as juicy as possible.
Make sure all the giblets, neck, etc. are out!
In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and dry spices. Rub this
spice and sugar mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Pour on the
lime juice.
Cover, and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4. Check doneness
with a meat thermometer, or cut in to make sure the meat is no longer
pink. Usually the bird falls completely apart--which is great. Moist,
juicy, wonderfully-flavored meat.
Serve warm.
Note:
serves 4 to 6, optional; serve with lime wedges for a bit of extra citrus flavor.
6 (18 x 14–inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Remaining ingredients:
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, divided
2 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar
Directions:
Ricotta:
Line a large colander or sieve with 3 layers of
dampened cheesecloth, allowing cheesecloth to extend over outside edges
of colander, and place colander in a large bowl.
Combine milk and buttermilk in a large, heavy stockpot. Cook over
medium heat until a candy thermometer reaches 170°, gently stirring
constantly. As soon as the milk mixture reaches 170°, stop stirring
(whey and curds will separate at this point). Continue to cook, without
stirring, until the thermometer reaches 190°. (Be sure not to stir, or
curds that have formed will break apart.) Immediately remove pan from
heat. (Bottom of pan may be slightly scorched.) Pour milk mixture into
cheesecloth-lined colander. Drain over bowl for 5 minutes, and discard
liquid (whey). Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely. Hang
cheesecloth bundle from kitchen faucet, and drain 12 minutes or just
until whey stops dripping. Scrape ricotta into a medium bowl. Sprinkle
with salt, and toss gently with a fork to combine. Cool to room
temperature.
Add 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and fromage blanc
to ricotta; beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Cover
mixture, and refrigerate.
Shells:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cut out 12 (12 x 4–inch) pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Using
your index fingers as a guide, loosely roll up each foil piece
jelly-roll fashion to form a cylinder with a 1-inch opening. Lightly
coat outside of each cylinder with cooking spray. Combine 1/3 cup
granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or work surface (cover
the remaining dough to prevent drying); lightly brush with butter.
Sprinkle evenly with 2 teaspoons sugar mixture. Repeat layers once. Cut
phyllo stack lengthwise into 4 equal strips. Place a foil cylinder at
bottom of 1 phyllo strip; roll up jelly-roll fashion around cylinder.
Lightly coat with cooking spray. Place on a parchment paper–lined baking
sheet. Repeat procedure with the remaining phyllo, butter, sugar
mixture, and foil cylinders. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until
lightly browned; cool completely on a wire rack. Carefully remove foil
cylinders from phyllo shells by twisting ends of foil in opposite
directions and gently pulling foil from shells.
Finely chop 1 1/2 ounces chocolate. Combine ricotta mixture and
chopped chocolate in a bowl. Transfer mixture to a large zip-top plastic
bag; snip off 1/2-inch of 1 corner of bag. Pipe ricotta mixture evenly
into each of 12 prepared shells (about 1/3 cup). Grate remaining 1/2
ounce chocolate. Dust cannoli evenly with powdered sugar and grated
chocolate; serve immediately.
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full sized crackers)
⅓ cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon sugar
Directions:
Vanilla Pastry Cream:
In a medium bowl, beat eggs with a fork to combine. Set aside.
Mix
sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually pour in
milk, while whisking, to make a smooth mixture. Cook over medium heat,
stirring almost constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils.
Continue to cook and stir one minute.
Pour several tablespoons of
the hot mixture into the bowl with the eggs and immediately stir well.
Pour warmed egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the hot milk
mixture. Return to a slow boil, and cook one minute, stirring
constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Set
aside to cool. When the pan has cooled, place in the refrigerator to
fully cool. If desired, lay a piece of plastic wrap on the top surface
of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming.
Graham Cracker Crumble:
Crush crackers in a large ziplock type bag. Pour crumbs, sugar and
melted butter into a bowl and , stir until fully combined. Pour into a
9″x13″ casserole dish and press into a even layer. Bake at 350*F for
10-12 minutes, until light brown. Allow to cool.
Assembly:
Spoon about 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumble into individual
serving dishes. Use a small glass to press the crumble into a firm
layer (as pictured below).
Add a layer of pastry cream into
each dish. For easy assembly, fill a large ziplock type bag with the
pastry cream, snip off the end and fill the dishes from this bag.
Add a few slices of banana.
Top bananas with a layer of whipped cream.
Add some graham cracker crumble and a drizzle of caramel (scoop caramel
or dulce de leche into a small ziplock bag and snip off the end for
easy application).
Repeat layers 2-5.
Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 hours. Top with a slice of fresh banana just before serving.
Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, rosemary and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and olive oil.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until top is light golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Note: Serves 12, each serving has a total of 7.6g of carbs
½ cup vegan shortening (you could use Earth Balance shortening sticks)
1 cup vegan dry sugar (you could use Whole Foods 365 brand)
2 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoon corn starch (or arrowroot powder)
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 dash cinnamon
2 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of salt (optional)
1 teaspoon molasses (optional)
Directions:
Dissolve the corn starch into the cider.
Add the cider/starch to a sauce pan with the other ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil - stirring constantly. When the bubbling becomes intense, reduce to medium heat and continue stirring until the mixture thickens a bit. Next, whip the caramel in a food processor for a few minutes to beat some air into it. This makes it really fluffed up the caramel in the end. After whipping it, reheated it for another minute - then turn off the heat. You could try also using a foam wand (normally used for coffee) that actually seemed to work well too!
Remove from heat. Pour the sauce into a bowl, Dip apple slices in caramel sauce while hot, and then dip it into the cup of crushed cashews, chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Note:
Serves 4, You could use the sauce for more recipes if chilled!
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, with all lumps broken up
5 eggs, large
1 cup sour cream, thick style
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
Ganache:
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ cups chopped dark chocolate
Directions:
Pound Cake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a tube pan, or a 9" to 10" springform pan fitted with the tube insert, with vegetable shortening. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper cut to fit. Grease the paper. Dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.
Stir together the espresso powder, vanilla extract, and hot water in a very small bowl.
Onto a large sheet of parchment or wax paper, sift together the flour,
cake flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium
size bowl, toss the chocolate pieces with about 1 Tbsp. of this flour
mixture. Set both aside.
In the large bowl of your mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
Pour in the granulated sugar in 3 additions, mixing for about 1 minute
after each addition. Scrape the bowl frequently to ensure even mixing.
Add in all of the brown sugar and beat for 1 more minute. Scrape again.
One at a time, add in the eggs, beating for 45 seconds after each one. Scrape!
Blend in the espresso mixture.
On low speed, add in the sifted ingredients alternately with the sour
cream (3 additions of flour and 2 additions of the sour cream). Scrape
after each addition.
Blend in the heavy cream.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate pieces well with a spatula.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
Bake the cake on the middle rack of your oven for about 70 minutes or
more, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and the
cake starts to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes. (If you used a
springform pan, remove the sides of the pan after only 5 minutes. Run a
thin knife around the edge if there seems to be any resistance at all.)
Invert the cake onto another cooling rack, remove the parchment paper
and invert the cake again so it's right side up. Allow the cake to
completely cool on the rack.
Ganache:
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium size bowl. In a heavy sauce pan,
warm the heavy cream over a low flame. Do not let it boil. Pour all of
the warm cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for a few
minutes, then gently stir until all the chocolate is melted, completely
blended in, and the ganache is smooth.
Wait until the ganache is closer to room temperature before spooning or
pouring it over the cooled cake. (Be sure to place the cake on a rack
over a sheet pan, to catch the drips, before pouring or spooning on the
ganache! You can save and refrigerate any extra ganache to use for
something else.)
