Pimento Cheese Spread

Pimento cheese is a southern classic. My Aunt Betty gave me my first taste of pimento cheese as a child, an orange concoction spread between two pieces of white bread. My mom makes it when we are picknicking at the beach or camping. It's easy to make, it requires no cooking, and can fill up a bunch of hungry kids. Cheryl, my mother in law, makes it  too. They both have their own way, both equally good, but completely different. When we were in Atlanta a few weeks ago Cheryl had a huge bowl of pimento cheese in the refrigerator. It was a great afternoon snack spread on crackers, but also a delicious lunch on slices of homemade bread. You just can't beat that!

Since our visit I've been craving the stuff. I decided I wanted a big bowl of pimento cheese in the fridge too. I just like it being there. I can't get enough!

Pimento Cheese Spread, my way:

4 cups sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

12 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, or pimento peppers

4 green onions

Shred the cheddar cheese in the food processor

Drain the pepper and then chop them up. I pulse them in the food processor.  

(Mom: I know it's not really pimento cheese if I'm using roasted red peppers and I should call it "Roasted Red Pepper Cheese Spread". This is the way I like it.)

Finely chop the green onions. I love the flavor of green onions, especially with cheddar cheese. And it gives some nice color to everything.

Now just add everything to the cheese.

I like a little fresh cracked pepper in there too.

Now just stir it all up. A fork works well.

Heavenly...it really is!

If you have never had homemade pimento cheese you are missing out. The stuff in the tub is just not the same.

Summer Vegetable Galette

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner: a vegetable galette is perfect for any meal, served warm or room temperature.  Recently, Deb from Smitten Kitchen featured a beautiful zucchini and ricotta galette. I knew when I first laid eyes on it that this was right up my alley and I had to try it immediately. I have had an infatuation with galettes ever since I first saw the Apricot-Blackberry Galette in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. However, I've only attempted to make a galette once and the results were mediocre. Nonetheless, I have ogled over the rustic open faced pies on the glossy pages of magazines and cookbooks. Finally, I was inspired to attempt a galette once again and I am hooked.  I can't wait to try new flavor combinations. I will be hitting the farmer's market tomorrow in search of local veggies and fresh goat cheese for another savory pie. 

And this crust....AMAZING!  I've been intimidated by pie crusts and this one is just delicious...buttery and flaky. Yum!

Pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and refrigerated
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

Filling:
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon basil, chiffonade
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Begin by making the dough. Combine the flour and salt . Cut the butter into the flour until the butter is the size of small peas. In a separate bowl stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, and ice water. Add the liquid to the flour and stir just until the mixture begins to come together. With your hands, pat the mixture into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

For the filling lay out the slices of squash, eggplant, and tomatoes on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Allow the vegetables to sit for 30 minutes to pull out the moisture. With a paper towel wipe the salt and water off of the vegetables. In a bowl, mix the goat cheese, Parmesan, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil together and season with salt and pepper.

Assemble the galette:  Preheat the oven to 400. Roll the dough into a 12 inch round on a lightly floured surface and then place on an ungreased baking sheet. Cover the dough with the goat cheese mixture leaving a 2 inches around the edge of the dough.  Begin alternating the vegetables on the goat cheese, starting at the outer edge and working your way to the center in a circular pattern. Drizzle the vegetables  with the last teaspoon of olive oil. Fold the edges of the dough over the veggies to form a crust around the pie, pinch the dough as needed to make it fit.

Bake the galette for about 40 minutes until the crust is golden. Remove from oven and top with the basil. Let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Simple Tomato Sauce

Summer is upon us and the tomatoes are finally plump and sweet. I've been waiting on this moment since early spring, and I was beginning to think they would never be ready for harvest. Now I have an abundance of warm sun kissed tomatoes ready to be enjoyed.

A simple raw tomato sauce tossed with pasta is the perfect weeknight dinner on a hot summer evening when the last thing I want to do is stand over a hot stove.

Simple Tomato Sauce

2 pounds of tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

That's a huge head of garlic! I can't get enough garlic. Feel free to use more or less depending on your tastes.

Once the tomatoes, garlic, and basil are chopped put them in a large bowl along with the juices from the tomatoes.

Look at those colors!

Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Nice...action shot!

With a fork stir to combine. Gently mash the tomato mixture breaking up some of the tomatoes to release their juices.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the sauce to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or several hours to merry the flavors. The sauce can be made several hours in advance.

Now would be a good time to pour a glass of white wine. Relax!

 Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, I used corkscrew pasta, but spaghetti or angel hair work great too. Reserve a ladle or two of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Combine the pasta and the tomato sauce adding the pasta water to heat the sauce and loosen the pasta.

Top the pasta with parmesan cheese and more basil and enjoy.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Believe it or not I have never made pound cake until now. I was inspired to make pound cake after Jennifer whipped one up so quickly a few weeks ago when were visiting, and it was the perfect dessert after dinner...warm pound cake with a crispy outer crust with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

I really wanted to make Jennifer's pound cake (a Paula Deen recipe) but I didn't have the ingredients. I found another Paula Deen recipe on foodnetwork.com and decided to give it a try.

Paula Deens's
Grandmother Paula's Sour Cream Pound Cake


2 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour ceam
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.

Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar together.

Add the sour cream to the creamed butter and sugar and mix until combined.

Sift together the baking soda and flour.

Add a little flour to the creamed butter and mix to combine before adding an egg and mixing. Continue alternating between the flour and the eggs.
Once all the flour and eggs have been combined stir in the vanilla.

Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.
Let cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.

A dusting of confectioners sugar makes this pound cake perfect. 

Black Bean Burgers

Black bean burgers for dinner on a Saturday night. What a cruel way to treat my meat eating man after a tough day of shed building.

You know, he is lucky that I cook at all!

He is lucky that I love him and his heart enough to feed him grease free healthy black bean burgers. 

It's not quite like a burger, but it is really tasty. 

Hearty and filling.

Come on. Give it a try. 

Black Bean Burgers adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman:

15 ounce can of black beans

2 green onions, chopped in half

2 cloves garlic

3 mushrooms

1/2 cup of rolled oats, not quick cooking

1 tablespoon chili powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 egg

To a food processor add beans, onion, garlic, oats, spices, and egg and pulse until mixture is combined but still chunky.

Let the mixture rest for a few minutes before forming patties. With wet hands form patties and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

See! It looks just like beef. Let the patties rest before cooking. I put these patties in the fridge for a few hours and then let them come to room temperature before cooking.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large nonstick skillet. Over medium heat cook the bean burgers until the burgers are browned and firm on each side. About 4 minutes on each side.

Great shot! It was late in the day and if I recall correctly I had two beers before dinner.

But who's counting?

I figure with all the calories I'm giving up by eating a bean patty that a girl deserve a beer or two.

Or three.

And cheese, of course!

I refuse to have a burger without cheese. What is a burger without cheese?

Extra sharp white cheddar. Cheese...my favorite food! Ever! YUM!

Crunchy Granola

My latest cookbook obsession is with Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  Lately I have been trying to cook healthier and include more vegetables and less meat into our diet.

Luckily, I married a man that isn't all about meat and potatoes, and he will eat whatever is in front of him with an open mind. I will still have a cheeseburger or steak from time to time. I am not giving up meat, I just don't  feel I need it present at dinner every night to be satisfied.

My adventures into flexitarianism. Bittman writes that the term "flexitarian" is  used to describe meat eaters who eat mostly vegetables and vegetarians who aren't strictly vegan. Bittman writes in his book about the health benefits of eating less meat and his own experiences as a flexitarian and his resulting weight loss.

 Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is definitely on my list of must have books to add to my library. The recipes are straight forward practical recipes for delicious, healthy cooking. Currently I am borrowing the book from the MLP. Definitely one of my favorite things to do is to check out cookbooks from the public library and, fortunately for me, my library has quite the cookbook collection.

Earlier this week I made Crunchy Granola from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. The recipe is fast and simple. In the book there are flavor variations and a recipe for granola bars. I made the basic granola. We have eaten it as a snack, for breakfast with milk poured over it, and as a parfait with chopped bananas and yogurt. Yum!

Crunchy Granola

6 cups rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
1 cup of pecan halves
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup honey
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 300.

Place a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the oatmeal to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. The oatmeal will become toasty and fragrant.

Add the pecans and the almonds and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, salt and honey and stir to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring  twice during baking.

Stir in raisins and let the granola cool on a rack.

Store the granola in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

The recipe states that this granola will last indefinitely, but this granola is so tasty that I can't imagine it  lasting for more than a week. I'm almost ready to make another batch just to have around next week. It makes for a healthy snack and a satisfying breakfast. 

Have you ever had the cereal Great Grains? I used to love Great Grains and this is it...except better! It tastes so much better than that boxed stuff and even more so because I know exactly what is in it. I love cereal. I grew up eating boxed cereal and still love it. Or at least thought I did. I like it when I've worked late and just want something to settle that hunger before I go to sleep.

And it does wonders soaking up the tequila.

But...I'm changing my ways.

After having crunchy granola around...I may never buy that boxed stuff again! 

Really. It's that good.

Diana and Clete's Wedding

This past weekend I was so fortunate to be a part of Diana and Clete's wedding. Instead of having a traditional wedding cake Diana opted for a dessert table with a variety of cakes and desserts atop beautiful cake pedastals. The only request...yellow cake with chocolate frosting for Clete, the groom.
The wedding dessert table included classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting, a coconut layer cake with cream cheese frosting and shredded coconut, berry layer cake, mini cupcakes, french macaroons, cheesecake lollipops, and bowls of assorted berries.
The berry layer cake was dramatic with four layers of golden sponge cake topped with billowy buttercream frosting and topped with red raspberries, golden raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.
The french macaroons were stunning. Lemon, raspberry, and plain almond macaroons in vibrant colors of pink, teal, and yellow with delicious buttercream filling. These macaroons were a hit! Not bad for my venture into the world of macaroons. Macaroons are my new obsession. Definitely more to come on the subject of macaroons.

Mini yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing for Clete and chocolate minis with cream cheese frosting just to keep things interesting. The cupcakes were dressed in these adorable cupcake papers from Bella Cupcake Couture. Diana chose five different paper designs to dress the cupcakes.

Yum! Cheesecake lollipops covered in chocolate with a sprinkling of rainbow sparkling sugar.

And for the groom, Clete's favorite...a classic yellow cake with a rich shiny chocolate frosting sitting pretty on a tall cake pedestal.

Diana and Clete's wedding dessert table was by far one of the most beautiful things I have done. Thank you guys! Thanks for having faith in me and allowing me to be a part of such a beautiful day.