Caramelized Pear And Bleu Cheese Skillet Souffle #BakeTogether

There's nothing like waiting until the last minute to crank out a recipe I'd been meaning on making all month.

The good news...I made it just under the wire for October's #BakeTogether

The bad news...My version of Abby Dodge's  Caramelized Pear Skillet Souffle wouldn't win any beauty contests for height, airiness or lightness of being  :)

But luckily, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and while this little sweetheart tried as hard as she might to make the "beauty cut", she missed the mark. She did however win the award for amazing taste and a winning combination of flavors!  A "Miss Congeniality" if you will. LOL

CARAMELIZED PEAR AND BLEU CHEESE SKILLET SOUFFLE

For the caramelized pears:
2 firm ripe pears, peeled and cut into 1/2" slices
2-3 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
pinch of salt

For the souffle:
2 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons pear liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pinch of salt

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

To make the pears:
-In an  8"skillet  over medium low heat, melt the butter and add the sliced pears. Make sure you don't use a larger skillet (like I did) or you may run into the same problem I had of a flat souffle.
-Add the brown sugar and a pinch of salt.
-Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until the mixture bubbles and turns a lovely caramel color.
(This will only take a few minutes, so don't walk away from it).
-Remove from the heat place aside while you make the souffle part of the recipe.

 To make the souffle:

-In a medium size bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk in the mascarpone cheese.
-Whisk in the pear liqueur, vanilla extract.
-Switch to a spatula and add the bleu cheese, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Stir well. Set aside.
-In the bowl of your stand mixer whisk the egg whites, starting on low and increasing the speed to high, until soft peaks form.
-Gently fold the egg white mixture into the cheese mixture making sure not to deflate the egg whites.
-Carefully spoon the souffle mixture evenly over the pears in the skillet.

-Carefully (using pot holders), slide the skillet into the preheated oven and cook until the souffle is (hopefully) puffed and golden.  Approximately 7-10 minutes.
-Remove the skillet from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes while you mentally prepare yourself to invert the souffle onto a serving platter.
-Place a large enough serving platter (larger than the size of the skillet) on top of the skilled and USING POTHOLDERS, quickly and without hesitation, flip the skillet (and the platter) to invert the souffle pear side up onto the platter. 

 -Breathe. You've done it and it's not on the floor!

My aim was to make a souffle that was sweet AND savory and happily I think I hit the mark with it.  Abby suggests you serve your souffle right away while it's still puffed up and pretty but since I made mine on a Monday afternoon (and it didn't puff or look that pretty), we ate it as dessert on Monday evening.  What the heck, it's wasn't going to get any flatter than it already was! LOL

We sincerely did enjoy it as it made a lovely ending to an otherwise unexciting Monday meal.

Elfin' Good Coconut Caramel Cookie Brownies For SRC

I've been keeping this secret for weeks and today is the day I can finally reveal... THE BEST TASTING BROWNIES I HAVE EVER MADE!

And they're compliments of Ros and her recipe for Mint Oreo Fudge Brownies over at  The More Than The Occasional Baker.  

Believe me, it was extremely hard to keep this secret!! I made these brownies a few weeks ago for the October challenge of Secret Recipe Club and had to keep it zipped until today, the reveal day!  Thank you so much for sharing this recipe Ros. It truly was the best brownie EVER. I also enjoyed perusing your blog. You have so many wonderful sounding recipes that it took me quite awhile to settle on this one (but I'm so glad I did)!

In order to make Ros' recipe (because she is a food blogger from across the pond) I needed to use a conversion chart to change her recipe from grams to cups. In a few cases with some of the ingredients, I kind of needed to guess at the amounts because the conversions were just a little off with what I'm familiar with. I'm not quite sure why I had difficulties in doing this, but happily my "guesstimations" worked out just fine.

Ros used mint Oreo cookies in her recipe. But what I love the most about these brownies is that you can use whatever cookie you like, so I set off to the store to see what looked good to me.  I settled on these because they reminded me of  girl scout samoa cookies. Can you blame me?

 
ELFIN' GOOD COCONUT CARAMEL COOKIE BROWNIES

1  cup butter 
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 ounces  semi-sweet chocolate chips  
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 package of cookies broken into pieces (or, your call how many or what kind)

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter.
-Add the sugar and whisk to dissolve.
-Whisk in the chocolate to melt.
-Add the salt and the vanilla extract. Stir.
-Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. (10 minutes)
-In a small bowl, add the eggs and whisk to combine.
-Add a small amount of the melted chocolate mixture to the eggs (to temper the eggs) and stir.
-Add the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan of the chocolate and stir well to combine.
-Add the flour and the cocoa powder to the melted chocolate mixture and stir well to combine thoroughly.
-Stir in 2/3 of the broken cookies, reserving 1/3 for the top.

-Butter and flour a 8" square pan.
-Pour the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan.
-Top with the remaining broken cookies.

-Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes our fairly clean.
-Cool completely on a wire rack and then slice and serve!

 

 

Pork Cassoulet

So I started with an actual recipe.

I swear I did.

Then, without warning, I completely veered off. (Strange, I know. HaHa!)

Next thing I know, I came up with my own version of a PORK CASSOULET.

It was simply delicious and wonderfully flavorful.

Simply paired with a nice green salad and some garlicky French bread,

It was a big bowl of love and a perfect comfort food meal!!!

 PORK CASSOULET

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into 1" chunks
12 ounces kielbasa sausage, cut into 1" chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (16 ounce) cannellini beans, drained
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes, with their liquid
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons herbs de provence
1 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
1 French baguette
olive oil and 1 clove garlic to top the bread

-In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, brown the pork cubes in the 1 tablespoon of olive oil (you may need to do this in two batches).
-Season with salt and pepper.
-Remove the pork to a separate dish and then brown the cut sausage in the same pot.
-Remove the sausage to the same dish with the browned pork. Set aside.
-Reduce heat to medium.
-Add the chopped onion to the pot and brown them slightly, stirring occasionally.
-Add the chopped garlic. Stir and cook for an additional few minutes. 
-Add the browned pork and sausage back into the pot.
-Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes and drained cannellini beans to the pot.
-Add the bay leaves and the herbs de provence.
-Add the water and the lemon juice.
-Season with salt and pepper.
-Stir to combine all the ingredients.
-Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for one hour.

-After the cassoulet has simmered for one hour on low, add the butter. Stir well.
-Continue to simmer for 1 hour with the lid off so the stew will reduce and the flavors will concentrate.

-Meanwhile, make the baguette for topping your cassoulet.

 For the baguette:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Slice the baguette on an angle and brush each slice with olive oil.
-Toast the bread in the oven until lightly golden (about 5-7 minutes) making sure to keep an eye on it.
-Remove the toasted bread from the oven and rub each slice with a cut clove of garlic.

-Place a healthy portion of cassoulet in a bowl and top with a few slices of the toasted baguette.

My husband absolutely LOVED this dish. He went back for seconds (don't tell, but I did too) and he even took some leftovers for his lunch today at work!

This cassoulet would freeze wonderfully well and is also one of those meals that will taste even better the second time around.  I think it would be perfect for entertaining because it's a great make-ahead meal.

Come to think of it, this would make a GREAT meal to serve at your next SUPER BOWL party instead of that old boring chili that everybody expects.  Why not mix things up a little?  You'll be glad you did :)

Until we eat again,
Chow!

Corn Dog Casserole

This recipe is quick, simple and loaded with good old fashioned corn dog flavor.

All it takes is a fast saute of a few simple ingredients combined with a speedy mix of some prepared corn bread mix and dinner is ready in no time.

CORN DOG CASSEROLE

2  cups chopped celery
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 - 2 packages of hot dogs (your choice of brand), cut into bite sized pieces.
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2  packages corn bread mix
1 small can fire roasted jalapeno peppers
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (more for topping, if desired)

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-In a small skillet over medium heat, saute the celery, onion and garlic in the olive oil for approximately 5 minutes.
-Add the hot dogs and saute an additional few minutes.
-In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, dry mustard and honey.
-Stir in the corn bread mix, the cheese and the jalapeno peppers.
-Add the hot dog mixture into the corn bread ingredients and stir well to combine.
-Spray a 3 quart baking dish with olive oil and spread the mixture evenly into the dish.
-Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
-Top with additional cheese if desired and pop back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

This dinner was a hit with my family of men. You can adjust the amount of hot dogs you like, but for me and mine, the more the merrier!!!

My guys were so hungry after smelling this baking in the oven that when it finally came out there was no way I was going to keep them from digging in so mom could take pictures! Go figure.

I  served this casserole with a nice big green salad and some store bought potato salad to round out the meal.  This dish was a winner and one that I'll keep in my back pocket for those evenings when I want something quick and tasty without any fuss.

Until we eat again... Chow!
Renee

Glazed Apple Cider Donuts For A Friend

As a special surprise for one of my dearest friends who was celebrating a big milestone birthday, I decided to make her something I absolutely knew she loved...DONUTS!

And not just any donuts, mind you...GLAZED APPLE CIDER DONUTS!

In this post, I'll share with you my recipe and experience for making these donuts. *Plus you'll learn some valuable tips and tricks that you may want to use when you making them yourself.*  You can benefit from my experience of what to do (and not to do) to make your donuts look bakery window perfect.  Maybe next time I'll even use them. LOL

This was a complete learning experience for me, but they still tasted totally YUMMY! (Well...somebody had to taste test them to make sure they were OK, right?)

GLAZED APPLE CIDER DONUTS
For the donuts:
3-3/4 cup all purpose flour (plus more if needed)
4-1/2 teaspoons yeast (2 packets)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup apple cider (plus 2 additional tablespoons)
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg yolks
canola oil for frying

-In a microwave safe container, heat the apple cider and butter to very warm (120-130 degrees).
-Add the vanilla to the butter apple cider mixture. Set aside for just a moment.
-In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl, using a wooden spoon), combine 2 cups of flour, the dry yeast, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
-Add the apple cider mixture to the flour mixture and mix together thoroughly.
-Add the additional flour and the egg yolks, mixing continually until a soft dough forms (This will take quite a few minutes).
-On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough by hand and then place the dough into a lightly greased bowl.
-Allow the dough to rise until doubled (about an hour) in a warm, draft free place.

-Once the dough has risen to double in volume, punch down and allow to rest a few moments.
-Divide the dough in half.
-On a lightly floured surface, roll (or pat) the dough out to 1/2" thickness.
-Using a 3" biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds.
-Using a finger, poke a hole through the center of the donut and gently work the dough to make the hole quite large.
*I wish I had taken the time to make my holes a little bigger. As the donuts went through their second rise, the holes closed up quite a bit.  I would have preferred them to have bigger holes (but that's just me).*
-Place the donuts on a parchment lined baking sheet that has also been sprinkled with a little bit of flour.

As you can see from the about photo, I also tried to make some donut "bites" with the remainder of the dough that was leftover after I cut my rounds. I tried to re-roll the dough, but with all the flour, they didn't roll into neat little balls.
*In order to have nice little donut holes, use a second smaller cutter (and not your fingers to poke a hole into the center of the cut donut.  This will insure a perfect looking little donut bite and will make sure your large donut will have a nice large hole in the center.*

-Allow your donuts to rise again (approximately 45 minutes to one hour) in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size.

*Here's the part where my parents came for a visit and I forgot to take photos of the frying process. Drats!*

*This is also the point where I had my oil WAY too hot and I turned some of my donuts really, really dark brown instead of a lovely golden color. Double drats!*

*While your frying, keep your wits about you and pay attention to what you're doing and the temperature of your oil*.

*Do as I say and not as I do.*

-In a large deep sided skillet (or deep fryer) heat roughly 2" of canola oil to 350 degrees.
-Place the donuts 2 or 3 at a time into the hot oil and fry until they're a lovely golden brown on each side.  This will only take a few moments for each side.

*It was nice that I was able to use some of my donut "holes" to experiment with and guage the heat of the oil, because as I said, some of them got really, really dark brown.* 

*Use a thermometer people! Dont be like me and try to guess.*

-Using a slotted spoon, remove the donuts from the oil and place them on a wire rack to cool.

*Allow your mom and dad to munch on as many of the deep dark ones as they like. They still taste really, really good it's just now they look like chocolate donuts and not apple cider ones.*  :)


For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon maple extract

-In a medium bowl, whisk up all the ingredients until smooth and slightly runny in consistency.
-Dip the donuts into the glaze, turning them once, to coat the entire donut.

*Don't do it like I did where I dipped one side, allowed it to set and then came back to dip the other side.*

*It's not pretty people, you'll get drip marks that you don't want!!*

*Remember: dunk, flip, remove.*

-Again, now is the time for you (and your parents) to sample as many of the donut holes as you need to (in the name of quality control, naturally) before you package them up for gift giving (or more munching)! LOL

I hope you've enjoyed my recipe for Glazed Apple Cider Donuts and will have learned a thing or two in the process.  Please don't hesitate to leave me any questions or comments you may have or share something that you may think will be helpful to me (an others) about the donut making process.  I value your comments and suggestions!

Well then, until we eat again!
Chow down people!
Renee