Potatoes au Gratin

These 2 pictures are an update to illustrate the layering better.


Ahh, cheesy layered potatoes !
I was craving those so I just made them !
They do take a while (1 - 2 h from the moment you go to your pantry or fridge to the moment you can actually eat them), but it is all worth it.
I chose red potatoes (3 medium and 1 large in my case) because they are holding better at baking, as they are waxy as apposed to the white ones that are more starchy and are more suitable for mashed potatoes.


Ingredients:
4 potatoes (medium size)
2/3 cup shredded cheese
1 garlic clove, mashed
salt
pepper
thyme
hamburger seasoning
3/4 cup milk, boiling hot
2 TBSP butter, cut into small pieces
Oil to spray/grease the pan
aluminum foil to cover the pan

Directions:
Wash the potatoes very well and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices and place in a large bowl.
Chop the garlic clove on a chopping board and sprinkle some kosher salt on it - and with a fork mash it up.
The kosher salt combined with the fork strips will help you achieve that in less than a minute and try not to go overboard with the garlic as its power amplifies as it bakes.
Choose a 9 inch pan or an 6 by 8 inch pan or thereabout, but not too wide or not too big as you will not end up with a tall stack of potato slices.
Grease your baking dish and layer half of the potato slices BUT make sure they OVERLAP like shingles on a house roof as this keeps them in a compact block and makes cutting into and removing from the pan easier.
Half of a slice should be layered on half of the slice next to it
Spread half of the garlic and sprinkle with half of the condiments.
Dot with half of the butter and half of the cheese.
Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
Bring the milk to a boil and spread over the potatoes.
Cover with the aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven at 425 F for 35 minutes covered and 25 uncovered.
It should look a bit golden - brown when ready, the milk should have been absorbed by the potatoes and they should be soft and taste like done.
You do have to take a slice out and taste it to make sure.
If you see it turns brown too quickly, cover back with the foil and cook until the minimum cooking time has passed.
They make a marvelous side dish !
Oh, and they can be reheated the next day in the microwave for 25 seconds and they taste as if just taken out of the oven !

Is it a Badger ? Is it an Armadillo ?

For a while now we have been having a visitor around the house and it is really frustrating not to be able to catch it.
In this picture you can see one of the types of holes I find in the morning when going to check the grass.
I saw an animal behind our house which I could swear it was a badger, but I have also been told that we have armadillos around here.
So what could it be that is messing my neighbor's flower beds and my grass ?

Lime Pie or Lime Cheesecake

Lime Pie is a true delicacy and I am proud to tell the world I developed a recipe of my own to make it.
Yes, I developed a recipe myself because all the recipes I found so far had a method of cooking I did not particularly fancy and I wasn't even sure about the ingredients.
I also worked a bit on my curd recipe - and using curd and cream cheese and half of a packet of gelatin dissolved in hot cream, I got my delicious lime pie !
You could probably also call it lime cheesecake because of the cream cheese that went in it.
Besides this pie you see in these pictures I also made another lime pie, lemon pie and lemon/lime pie. All with graham crust.

Ingredients for the CURD:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit etc - to get that amount of juice you will need approx 5 lemons or 4 limes as they are juicier, but it all really depends on the size of the fruit)
1 stick butter
2/3 of the zest of the citrus fruit

Directions:
Beat the eggs with the sugar in a medium-large glass bowl and keep on a water bath (double boiler) for approx 10 minutes stirring almost continuously, preferably with a plastic or a wooden spoon as you do not want any metal to react with anything in your curd.
When the mixture has thickened start adding the butter 1 TBSP at a time, making sure it has fully incorporated before adding the next.
The curd will thicken even more as it cools down.
Add the zest at the end.
Pour in a container and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients for the PIE:
The curd (you will need at least 2 cups curd )
the graham crust
2 packages of cream cheese (I always use fat free)
1/2 package of gelatin (4 gr)
1/2 cup hot cream to dissolve the gelatin in


The Graham Crackers Crust:
1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 TBSP sugar
6 TBSP melted butter
*** Mix all the ingredients and press in your pie pan.
At this point you can either chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before pouring the filling or you can bake it for 8 minutes at 350 F and cool down thoroughly before pouring the filling.
Works fine either way as I have tested both.

Directions for the PIE:
Keep the cream cheese at room temperature for 30 minutes before using as it is a lot easier to whip if not straight from the fridge cold.
Put the cream cheese in a large bowl and whip it for approx 1 minute.
Now start adding the curd to it a little at a lime with the mixer on low until all is fully incorporated.
Place in the fridge until you get the gelatin ready.
Heat the cream and when hot, pour the gelatin in it and stir for 3 minutes until fully dissolved and cool down in the fridge.
When cold but not fully set, incorporate in the curd/ cream cheese mixture.
Pour in the prepared chilled graham crust and let set in the fridge overnight for best results.
Decorate with whipped cream and serve !
Now you know how to make my curd pie or cheesecake !

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

Beacuse I found myself wanting to eat some bratvursts and did not have hot dog buns, I decided to make myself some !
So I did, using THIS recipe.
I used 2, then put all the rest of the buns in the freezer for later use.
Will defrost them in the microwave when they will be needed.
Handy, isn't it ?
Be careful when shaping the buns, as they will puff up and will become double in size.

Chinese Cake

This is not a Chinese cake by all means, it all just comes from the fact that back in the day when they invented this cake, people used to make chocolate decorations on it that somewhat resembled the Chinese letters.
Hence the name.
It's a very special cake to me as it is my mother's recipe and she used to make it mainly on special occasions.
I baked one and took it to church and people there seemed to like it.
Yeeey !
It is fairly easy to make and it is very tasty.
A bit rich though.

Ingredients:
5 eggs, separated
1 cup (200 gr) powder sugar
1 cup (200 gr) granulated sugar or again powder if you wish
200 gr (please weigh) ground walnuts or pecans (you can even go for 300-400 gr nuts)
1 stick butter, room temperature (softened)
3 heaping spoons of all purpose flour
1-2 TBSP cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips for final decoration

Directions:
Whip up the egg whites, add the powder sugar (200 gr) and whip again until stiff peaks form.
Add the flour, cocoa, butter and nuts.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake the batter 15 minutes until the top hardens.
Whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until they become a pale yellow and are doubled or even tripled in volume.
This will be like a meringue.
Pour it carefully over the brownie and put back in the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes until the top dries / hardens, but does not brown.
So keep an eye on it.
Put the chocolate chips in a very small plastic bag and melt for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Decorate right after taking the cake out of the oven and cut it while still hot.
It may crack, but don't worry.

Homemade Granola

This is the sweet granola with cranberries.

This is the unsweetened granola.

Because I love Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) and almost all her recipes, I decided some time ago to make some homemade granola using her recipe.
Well, ok, with some adaptations because I did not want to buy honey on my last grocery shopping trip.
So not having the honey asked for in her recipe, I decided to be inventive.
I subtituted the honey with some boysenberry syrup I had in my fridge, but pancake syrup works just as well, as the syrup you will use (even a simple syrup made with water, sugar and vanilla thickened in the microwave for 6 minutes, with pause every 2 minutes) will concentrate even more and will eventualy have a hard cany consistency and will make the granola crispy when cool.

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 and 1/2 cups oats (old fashioned are best, but I used quick cooking and they were great)
1/2 cup almond slices
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts or any nuts you like
1/2 cup cranberries
* if you like you can also add cherries and /or chopped dried apricots or even raising
cinnamon if you like it in your granola
1/5 cup vegetable oil
1/3 up honey or any syrup

Directions:
Toss everything and bake in a sheet pan at 350 F for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or even at 7 minutes intervals.
Cool down and store in an airtight container.
You will get crunchy clusters.
Yummy !

*** I made a batch of the above granola and then mixed up the following and in the end combined the 2.
They are really good and make awesome trifles !

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup oats

Directions:
Just toss and bake at 350 F for approx 20-30 minutes, strirring every 5 minutes as the coconut can burn easily.

Pita Pockets with Roasted Corn on the Cob

For an easy lunch or even dinner, just heat some pita, cut in half to make pita pockets and stuff them with (rotisserie) roast beef or any other meat that is thinly sliced....and with shredded cheese.
The roasted corn has been baked in a 450 F oven for roughly 40 minutes.
You can do it in the regular oven, but I would recommend using a toaster oven if you have one.
You can put butter, margarine or oil on the corn ears before baking, but you risk having the fat drip and burn, or you can reserve that addition for the end.
Anyway you do it, the corn has an awesome taste.

Eclairs with 2 Different Fillings (Cocoa and Vanilla)

Just filled, setting. YUM !

Eclair shells, just out of the oven.


I have a few recipes for eclairs and I seem to be changing steps or ingredients every time I make them. Only to improve the end result, of course.
This time I did not do that, but decided to follow the recipe I found HERE.
So yummy !

The vanilla filling (creme patisserie) chilling on ice. The recipe can be found HERE.


The cocoa filling chilling on ice.

Soft Bagels

Ah, the smell of bread baking in your oven !
Yeasty smell fills your house and the best part of all this is.........you get to enjoy it !
I have made bagels before using whole wheat flour and even though they were very good, I wanted to use a different recipe this time.
I wanted the NY style bagels (as opposed to Montreal style bagels) that are slightly chewy and are boiled for 2 minutes on each side before being glazed with egg and topped with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or just kosher salt.
You can make anything you want with these bagels from sandwiches to bread crumbs.
Freeze them in freezer safe ziplock bags and thaw them in your microwave before use.
Or eat them while still warm.

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water (I like to use milk)
1 TBSP brown sugar (can be susbstituted by white sugar or honey)
1 TBSP instant yeast
2 scant teaspoons salt
5 cups flour (625 gr)
2 to 3 TBSP butter
1 to 3 TBSP powder milk
1 beaten egg and kosher salt, poppy and sesame seeds for topping

Directions:
Knead by hand at least 10 minutes, let rise 30 minutes, divide in 12 equal pieces.
Form the bagels by inserting your thumb in the center and pulling and stretching the dough gently until you get a circle.
Let the shaped bagels rest and rise for 30 minutes.


See, they will puff up and if you don't make the hole large enough (should be 1.5 -2 inch), after boiling and baking, the hole will almost be gone.
Which is not a problem, but maybe you wanted to know about this.
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and drop 2 bagels at a time in the pot.
Let boil approx. 2 minutes on each side, then scoop with a slotted spoon and lay them on a few plates.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Beat the egg, glaze the bagels, top them with your choice of toppings and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.
It depends on how puffy they become, but keep in mind that they will be ready when they look golden-brown and delicious !

Chicken Soup with Eggs and Sour Cream

Really this is a European kind of soup, as it has vinegar, garlic and eggs mixed with sour cream, which makes me think most of he American people would not find it on their taste.
I found the recipe for it HERE and if anyone wants it, please let me know and I will post it.
The process involved using a hand held blender which I did not have, so I went and bought one.
Surprisingly inexpensive and so easy to work with !
I totally recommend it (yes, we did check the reviews for it online before buying) !

Vanilla Filling Pie

I took this pie to church and people there liked it.
I find it to look cute and taste delicious !
It's a breeze to make, but takes a bit over 1 hour to chill and set in the fridge.
The pie dough is pate brisee, and I have the recipe for it here on the blog, then I have a layer of vanilla filling and on top I have whipped cream hardened with 1/2 envelope of gelatin dissolved in water.
You could do that in orange juice.
This is somewhat like chocolate silk pie, only the chocolate has been replaced with vanilla filling.

Kinder Pingui Cake

This is a very easy cake and it is very tasty too.
It uses chocolate sponge cake (baked in a jelly roll pan) with whipped cream, a chocolate glaze, more whipped cream and the final layer of sponge cake.
Let set a bit in the fridge and cut after it has chilled for at least 2 hours, with a very sharp knife.
The name of this cake comes from a chocolate treat (Kinder Pingui) made by an Italian company (Ferrero) .

HERE is their website.

Velveeta Sausage Dip

This is a recipe somebody at church gave to my husband and he asked me to make this for him to snack on.
It is good if you like velveeta. I found out it keeps well in the fridge and it also microwaves well for reheating. Also, feeds a crowd !

Ingredients:
1 lb sausage
1 big package of Velvetta
1 jar of Picante Sauce

Directions:
Melt the cheese in a glass or plastic bowl in the microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir in the cooked sausage and the picante sauce.
Cook for 1 to 3 more minutes, until all has blended and it is melted.
Serve with tortilla chip scoops.
For appetizers, garnish with fresh basil.

Quesadillas for Dinner

Easy to make and so good !
Cooking them in the skillet will crisp up the tortilla surface and will melt the cheese nicely.
They keep well in the fridge and can be reheated for a quick snack in the microwave.

Ingredients:
2 tortillas (1 per person)
1/3 cup cheese per tortilla
1/3 bell pepper, diced
meat of your choice (I used sausage links)

Directions:
Top half of a tortilla with the ingredients, cover with the empty half and cook in a preheated non stick skillet for 2-4 minutes on each side - on medium heat.
Remove to a cutting board, cut in 4 and enjoy !

Fresh Peach Pie

I have never made fresh peach pie, so this time of year and with lots of peaches in my fridge, this was the perfect time for one !
The pie seems to have been a hit with my girl friends at MCA.
They even sent me a note back telling me they award me a blue ribbon for the best peach pie. So it must have been good !
Also, my husband does not like to eat fresh peaches or peaches from a can, but he likes this pie.
I'm so happy !
Trying to avoid the 1 stick of butter needed for homemade pie dough, I used a box mid pie dough. How about that ?
Also, I made a second style of pie, as in - in the first pie the peaches were cut to cherry size pieces and in the second pie I used peach wedges.
The pieces hold better together and I would not recommend using the wedges unless you make an open face tart or galette.


Ingredients:

6 -7 ripe peaches
2/3 cup sugar
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons cold water
2 teaspoons corn starch
4 TBSP tapioca
1,5 TBSP butter


Directions:

Line the pie pan with the pie dough and put it in the fridge to rest.
In a large bowl place the peaches and add the sugar, tapioca, vanilla, lemon juice and the starch dissolved in the 3 teaspoons of cold water.
Toss and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Pull the pie pan out of the fridge and pour the peaches.
Line the pie with the lattice and and cut the butter into small pieces and place it on top.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
After the 35 minutes have passed, remove the aluminum and bake for 15 more minutes.
It will look bubbly and beautiful.
Let cool at least 10 minutes in the pan before eating.
Pairs perfectly with whipped cream.

Mixed Greens Salad

Refreshing. Easy. Quick.
Ingredients:
1 bag of mixed greens from your grocery store
croutons
pine nuts
1 egg, hard boiled, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chooped
ham, chopped
olives
salt
pepper
oil

Directions:
Toss and enjoy !

Grilled Chicken with Orzo

Following the recipe I used for THIS meal, I cooked orzo again as I love it so much !
But this time, instead of salmon or pork I grilled some chicken thighs (which I consider to be the most savory cut of meat from the whole chicken - yes, I do find the breast a little bit on the dry side ) using the George Foreman Grill.
All in all it took me under 20 minutes to have this meal ready on the table.

Cheesy Omelette

This is probably supposed to be a breakfast or lunch item, but if I remember well, I might have made it for dinner.
I mainly cook for dinner, as my wonderful husband is not home to have lunch together.
Ok, ok, I also seem to have built quite an impressive list of desserts here.
Can you fight with the sweet tooth ?
Ok, so after reading somewhere that you can make an omelette in the microwave and actually testing the idea, I wasn't necessarily convinced that it was the best approach, so I went back to the good ol' oven. And let's not forget the aluminum foil !
What is wrong with the microwave you might ask ? The eggs start to cook around the edges and it takes a lot of time for the middle to cook - resulting in an unevenly baked omelette. Try it for yourself once.

Ingredients :
3 eggs
about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cheese (I used 4 cheese sticks cut into pieces)
1/2 of a bell pepper any color you want
some type of already cooked meat (I used frozen already cooked sausage links)
salt
pepper
some oil or butter to grease the pan

Directions:
Beat the eggs a bit and add the seasonings.
Grease the pan and cut a piece of aluminum foil lrge enough to cover the pan really well.
Pour the eggs in the pan and evenly distribute the peppers and cheese pieces and then arrange the meat, cover and bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 10 to 15 minutes.
It should be wonderful when you take it out.
It keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave the next day.