Eileen’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie will undoubtedly become one of your favorite cookie recipes after first bite! This scrumptious cookie has 3 kinds of chocolate, stands tall and is slightly chewy in the middle. The recipe makes 30 plus cookies and believe me, you’ll be lucky to have any left over if you’re making these for a party.
My kids and I have been devouring Eileen’s cookies for years and getting you this recipe was on my bucket list! Eileen herself, receives cookie requests throughout the year for parties, benefits, fundraisers and backyard BBQ’s. This is an easy and uncomplicated recipe as you saw in the “how to” video above where Eileen’s daughter, Molly, has mastered the recipe!
You know this labor of love is so worth the effort when you taste how tender and flavorful these homemade tortellini are! The delicate, circular shaped pasta are stuffed with a purée of sundried tomato, mozzarella, and Reggiano Parmesan and served in one of my all time favorites, a tomato-cream sauce. I introduced Steve to another easy and scrumptious sauce, Gorganzola Dolce-Cream Saucethat’s garnishedwith fresh thyme and a drizzle of truffle oil!
This past weekend I was at The Gulla’s house with Steve and his son Maximo making their homemade tortellini. Steve dedicates a few hours every Christmas Eve making these little gourmet bites for his family’s Christmas dinner. Making these tortellini is definitely a labor of love because you are creating each little amazing folded bundle of pasta by hand.
Having a Smart pasta machine like Steve’s really cuts down on the labor of making tortellini as the pasta comes out of the machine in long ready-made sheets in mere minutes. It’s a very cool process putting out smooth sheets of pasta in 3 minutes flat but you can also learn to make Steve’s tortellini using homemade pasta too if you don’t own an Smart pasta machine. I have a homemade pastarecipe below for all of us without a pasta machine who don’t want to miss out on learning how to make these incredible tortellini.
As Italian legend goes on how the shape of the tortellini came about dates back to the days when Venus, the Goddess of Love, was traveling to a small town in Italy between Modena and Bologna. She was staying at a tavern where the Innkeeper was so taken by her beauty he peeked thru the key to her room one night and got a glimse of her navel. He rushed to the kitchen and created a pasta in the likeness of her belly button. And that’s how the shape of the tortellini came about, the belly button pasta! Who Knew?
INGRDIENTS for making PASTA in The Smart Pasta Machine:
3 parts flour
1 part semolina
180 ml OR 3/4 cup of water for 2 lbs flour in pasta machine
1 egg and 1 tsp water whisked in a small bowl – set aside until ready to form tortellini
INGREDIENTS for Sun-dried Tomato FILLING: NOTE: THIS FILLING IS UNBELIEVEABLY DELICIOUS!…try it on crostini OR on crusty bread!
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup mozzarella – whole milk or part skim
1/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Purée these ingredients with an immersion blender or add to food processor and pulse. Start with 2 tbsp of olive oil and add a little extra if needed to purée til smooth texture
DIRECTIONS FOR FORMING THE TORTELLINI WITH SHEETS OF PASTA MADE FROM THE PASTA MACHINE:
Begin to cut 2″ circles with your cookie cutter out of the machine made sheets of pasta
Brush top 1/2 of the circle edge with a whisked egg
Place 1/4 tsp of sun dried tomato filling in the middle of the circle pasta
Fold the circle in 1/2
Press to SEAL the 1/2 circle of pasta…VERY IMPORTANT to SEAL this edge!
Take 1/2 circle and wrap around your pinky having each end meet
Press these two ends together to seal and form one continous circular shape
Fold down top of circular pasta to form tortellini
Place in a bowl as you finish each one until you gone thru all the pasta sheets
Bring large pan of salted water to a boil and add fresh pasta
Cook pasta for 8 minutes, test pieces of pasta for proper doneness
Serve with tomato-cream sauce or Gorganzola Dolce-cream sauce, garnish with thyme and truffle oil … mmm!
INGREDIENTS FOR TOMATO-CREAM SAUCE:
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
3 1/4 cup POMI “strained tomaotes” – 1 med box – 26 oz.
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp olive oil
Sauté finely chopped garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil for 3 minutes, add in POMI strained tomatoes, salt & oregano and simmer for 15 minutes. Add in 2 cups of heavy cream to tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer for 15 miutes more. Serve with cooked tortellini, garnish with fresh thyme (and truffle oil.
INGREDIENTS FOR GORGANZOLA DOLCE-CREAM SAUCE:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup Gorganzola Dolce cheese
1/4 cup dry vermouth
fresh thyme leaves
truffle oil
Add heavy cream, Gorganzola, and vermouth to a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. When it comes to a simmer whisk the melted cheese into the cream and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with tortellini, garnish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves and a drizzle of truffle oil.
INGREDIENTS for Easy Homemade-Handmade Pasta- (Recipe from “Pasta at Vin’s“)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
4 1/2 – 5 lg eggs
1/4 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS:
Put the kneading attachment on your food processor and add the flour
Add the salt and olive oil
Turn on the food processor to slow
Add in 1 tbsp of water
Begin adding in 1 egg at a time with the processor still on slow
Add in the rest of the eggs
Keep the food processor going on medium speed to begin kneading the dough
Let knead for about 8 minutes until the texture turns into a smooth consistency
Remove the pasta dough and place onto the counter
Knead briefly with your hands and let sit for 1/2 hr.
NOTE: Vin does not cover his pasta dough while it sits for the 1/2 so it can begin to dry out a little bit
Sprinkle some flour onto the counter or work surface and cut pasta dough into 8 pieces
Begin to roll out each piece of dough to your desired thickness, into long lasagna-like sheets
Sprinkle more flour on top of each thinly rolled out pasta piece and begin to cut out 2″ circles with your cookie cutter
Brush top 1/2 of the circle edge with a whisked egg
Place 1/4 tsp of sun dried tomato filling in the middle of the circle pasta
Fold the circle in 1/2
Press to SEAL the 1/2 circle of pasta…VERY IMPORTANT to SEAL this edge!
Take 1/2 circle and wrap around your pinky having each end meet
Press these two ends together to seal and form one continous circular shape
Fold down top of circular pasta to form tortellini
Place in a bowl as you finish each one until you gone thru all the pasta sheets
Bring large pan of salted water to a boil and add fresh pasta
Cook pasta for 8 minutes, test pieces of pasta for proper doneness
Serve with tomato-cream sauce or Gorganzola Dolce-cream sauce, garnish with thyme and truffle oil … mmm!
Buttery, paper thin crêpes filled with raspberry jam, topped with maple syrup, fresh berries and whipped cream is an amazing way to start your morning. Not only are these French crêpes a cinch to make but you can totally make them the night before. Re-heat them in your toaster oven wrapped in foil and they taste like you just made them! A real energy saver and perfect for all those holiday guests staying over.
The word “crêpe” actually means pancake in French, although they are quite different from the all American pancake. Now is it French crêpe or Swedish pancake? Well, they are really very similiar in the way that they are both paper thin compared to that well known Amercian pancake. Over the years I have found that French crêpes can be savory OR sweet while the Swedes like their swedish pancakes strictly with sweets, jams, ice cream or yogurts. The Swedish pancake also has a considerable amount more sugar in the recipe where as most crêpe recipe’s don’t have any sugar at all in the batter.
My trick to keeping a recipe as easy as possible is knowing how to save time with a proven method of preparation without foregoing the quality or taste. That’s what I do with my crêpe recipe here, the order in which you whisk your ingredients in the batter is crucial and saves you energy and time so you don’t have to strain the batter! This method of mixing is exactly how I make my Homemade Manicotti Pasta Crepes.
If you are big on breakfast you will definitely want to try my mouth watering Gourmet Frittata where you use what ever your favorite veggies are or my German Pancake that puffs to amazing heights coming out of the oven getting lot’s of ooh’s and ah’s! If your heading to lunch time try my Secret Family Zucchini Torta Recipethat also makes great appetizers! Another delectable brunch item to make are Homemade Gravlax, the best I’ve ever had, or my Pasta Fagioli that will have you going back for seconds! Hope you get to eventually try them all…you won’t be disappointed! Enjoy! 🙂
FOR EASY CRISPY CREPES: Add all ingredients below to food processor. blend until smooth, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. To get them crispy just cook 1 minute longer then the soft crepes below to get the edges golden approx 2 minutes on medium heat per side.
Ingredients for French Crêpes-“SOFT“- Makes 12 Crêpes:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup water
2 ex-lg eggs
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp. melted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
NOTE: If filling your crepes with sweets add vanilla, if savory omit
Maple syrup
Favorite jam
Confectioners sugar
Fresh berries, raspberries, blue berries black berries
Whipped cream
8″ non-stick pan OR sauté pan OR crêpe pan
Directions:
Melt 3 tbsp. butter and set aside to cool slightly
ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO A BLENDER AND BLEND UNTIL SMOOTH!
IMPORTANT….if you don’t have a blend here is My Trick for smooth batter – MUST MIX IN THIS ORDER then you won’t have to strain batter …saving time!
Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl
Pour in milk and water and whisk until smooth
Whisk in 1st egg until completely combined, then the 2nd egg
Whisk in melted cooled butter until combined
Tip for removing air bubbles – Gently stir the crepe batter with a large spoon to help remove any air bubble as these will cause tears in the crêpe
You can make this up to 1 day ahead keeping in the fridge
Put 8″ saute pan on medium heat
TIP for EASY pan coating…Peel back one end of a whole 1/4 stick of butter and rub open end across pan just to coat right before pouring in ladle of batter!
Right as you ladle in 1/4 cup of crepe batter QUICKLY lift pan off the heat and SWIRL to spread batter evenly
Put pan back down on heat and cook for 35-45 seconds, then flip, 10 more seconds cooking
Turn out cooked crêpes onto a dish or cookie rack
They will not stick together
OPTION: Cool a pinch and then stack them on top of one another and into fridge for the next day
Serve warm crêpes with you favorite fillings and roll up or fold and then top with syrup, confectioners sugar, fresh berries and whipped cream …YUM!
The crusty almond flour coating on the eggplant helps to soak up the meaty bolognese goodness getting ooey, gooey and decadent. Like making you feel warm all over on a winter’s day. That’s how my friend, Christine, describe’s her Paleo Eggpalnt Lasagna that we made at her house last week! She hit it right on the money.
It was Christine’s cross-fit community that introcuced her to this fresh Paleo way of living. Even though It did take a year before fully committing she has been following it for a couple of years and really loves it. Paleo refers to foods eaten during the Paleolithic times so basically if the cave man didn’t eat it, neither can you. There are different levels of Paleo, but true Paleo doesn’t allow any dairy or legumes. Not sure if being a true Paleo is exactly for me since I live for cheese and cetainly wouldn’t give up beans. Although, there are certain aspects of Paleo I think are wonderful like the fresh way of eating, nothing manufactured or processed! Like Christine say’s, everything in moderation.
This Paleo Eggplant Lasagna is definitly a guilt free dish that shouldn’t taste this darn good! You don’t even miss the cheese here because every bite is luscious! I highly recommend that you to get on the ball and check out this fresh Paleo way of eating. You won’t regret it one bit and may find yourself with a big ole smile on your face!
Make tomato- basil sauceand leave simmering on low, ready for the meats to be sautéed and added
Sauté the pork, veal and lamb separately and drain the oil from each of the meats after each sautéing, this will take about 5 minutes each
As each meat is finished draining stir it into your tomato sauce
Peel and slice 2 lg eggplants approx. 1/8″-1/4″ thick
Whisk 5 eggs in a medium bowl
Add 3-4 cups almond flour in another bowl for dredging the eggplant
Cover cookie tray with foil and spray with coconut oil
Dip each eggplant slice into the egg, then dredge into the almond flour flipping a couple of times to get a good coating on there
Then begin to lay the coated eggplant slices on the cookie trays
No need to spray the tops of the slices
Pop them into the oven for 20 minutes, just until tender
Note: the tops of the eggplant slices will not turn golden when baked
Begin to layer the pre-baked eggplant slices in a 13″ x 9″, 12″ x 8″ approx. baking dish
Spray bottom of baking dish with coconut oil
Begin with a sauce layer, then eggplant slices, meat sauce, eggplant, meat sauce and so on until you reach the rim of the baking dish ending with a meat sauce layer completeing the Paleo Eggplant Lasagna
Change foil layers on cookie tray to clean foil
Place the Paleo Eggplant Lasagna onto the foiled tray and bake for approx. 35 minutes still on 350º until bubbly all over
As with a traditional lasagna you want to let it sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing after you take it out of the oven…Mangia, mangia!!
Drunk blondies are a dessert that will have you and your guest’s reminiscing for days! These drunk blondies are a buttery, chewy cookie bar made with bourbon, butter, toasted coconut, pecans and semi-sweet chocolate chips…could it get any better then that! They get even more decadent when you serve them with vanilla ice cream, homemade bourbon caramel sauce, whipped cream and extra toasted coconut to top it off. In fact, I wouldn’t serve them any other way. You will feel like you are in dessert ecstasy!
The recipe for these mouth watering cookie bars actually originates from the Back in the Day Bakery CookBook by Cheryl and Griffith Day. I Found this recipe on a fellow food blogger, Adam Robert’s website, called Amateur Gourmet. I haven’t had a chance myself to buy this cookbook but it’s high on my list! Adam serves up these drunk blondies with a bourbon caramel sauce from Food and Wine but I have my own which I love that I share below.
The Drunk Blondie bars couldn’t get any easier to make. You don’t even need a kitchen aid or electric mixer to make these just a large bowl and spatula or wooden spoon! It literally take’s all of a few minutes to combine the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, toasted coconut, pecans, chocolate chips and flour mixture. Then off into a baking dish lined with parchment for easy removal.
This is a great dessert if you entertain a lot because is it’s a total make ahead project. You can make the drunk blondies up to 3 days ahead and the bourbon caramel sauce up to a week ahead. The toasted coconut you want to make the same day or night before. You may burn the toasted coconut on your first try because that cooks faster then you think and you only have 6 minutes of toasting time. Don’t worry, just toss out the first round and throw in a second batch. You will be that much more knowledgeable and ready for the toasty quickness in the next round! Be sure to toast up extra coconut too, because it makes for an incredible addition at the end to sprinkle on top of your drunk blondie sundae’s!
As for my bourbon caramel sauce I have you heat up the heavy cream. This is a necessary step that some recipes don’t even mention. It’s important to do this because adding cold cream into a boiling sugar mixture will most likely seize up and get temporarily lumpy. There’s no worries here though. If this does happen just put the pan back on the stove, keep whisking and it will become a smooth caramel sauce in a matter of seconds!
Hope you enjoy the amazing drunk blondie sundae’s with ice cream, bourbon caramel sauce and toasted coconut. If you are putting together a whole meal you could start with an appetizer like crab cakes, spanakopita triangles, my famous Caesar salad, salmon BLT sliders, or move right to a main course like mybolognese sauce right from Urbino, Italy made with homemade spaghetti!
Ingredients for Drunk Blondies – Makes 12 – 24 bars
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 sticks unsalted butter – melted
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs room temp
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Bourbon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup (1/2 cup is for sprinkling over the dessert at the end) sweetened flaked coconut, toasted in a 350º oven on a cookie sheet until fragrant and golden brown – about 5 minutes…NOTE: you need to stir every 2 minutes with a spatula and then shake the tray to distribute evenly ….watch it carefully- it burns easily
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Directions – Pre-Heat Oven to 350º:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan and line with parchment, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over two opposite edges of the pan
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside
Put the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir with a spoon until smooth
Add the eggs, vanilla, and bourbon, and mix until thoroughly combined
Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown
Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack
Cut the blondies into bars
The blondies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Tip: The easiest way to toast coconut is in the oven. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350º. Spread the coconut on a baking tray and bake for 6 minutes, tossing every couple of minutes. Keep a close eye on the coconut, because it can burn easily.
Ingredients for Bourbon Caramel Sauce:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup bourbon
1 1/2 cups heavy cream HEATED – If you don’t warm up the cream the temperature change will temporarily seize up the boiling water-sugar mixture…BUT don’t fret because all you need to do if this happens is put the pan back on the stove while whisking CONTINUOUSLY and it will all come back to a nice smooth sauce!
Directions for Bourbon Caramel Sauce:
In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil over high heat
You can stir the sugar-water mixture at first just to combine then DO NOT STIR after
Cook until the sugar is dissolved washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush…just once
Continue cooking without stirring until an amber caramel forms – from 5-8 minutes
When it turns the pretty light amber color add in the butter and keep whisking
BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET BURNED HERE because the mixture will rise up a little here at the butter/cream stages
Remove from the heat and carefully stir in 1/2 the cream while STILL WHISKING – it will foam up here quite a bit so whisk it down slightly, then add in the rest of the cream and butter
if it seizes up NO WORRIES all you need to do if this happens is put the pan back on the stove while whisking CONTINUOUSLY and it will all come back to a nice smooth sauce!
Let cool for 1 minute and then stir in the bourbon
Put the pan back on the stove and TURN DOWN the heat to medium and simmer any where from 3-15 minutes…how ever thick you like the sauce (it won’t get any darker at this point either just thicker)
Let the caramel sauce cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature
NOTE: as the sauce cools it will thicken anyways
The caramel sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
MasterChef open casting calls and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the highlights of my blogging today. With exhausting life events that have taken place over the last three weeks I was some how able to produce my chewy chocolate chip cookie show for you and show up to my second pre-registered casting call for MasterChef.
Three weeks ago we received horrific news that my brother-in-law, George, passed away at the age of 57 from a heart attack. It was both devastating and unexpected. He was taken from us much too young and will be deeply missed by many. George lead an incredible life having the opportunities to accomplish many wonderful things that so many people wouldn’t have even had the chance to experience.
Bella and Reilly visiting with Brody
While dealing with the loss of Uncle George our King Charles, Brody, was hit by a car on Wednesday. I had just finished shooting my chewy chocolate chip cookie show when we got news of the accident. My kids and I were running between two vets for six hours for the later part of the day.
Brody didn’t have any broken bones, but a deep open gash on his upper right leg and bruising across his chest causing a profuse amount of swelling. They don’t stitch wounds like this so he got four staples and spent the next few nights at the vets for care and observation. Brody was heavily sedated on Thursday so I began to edit my chewy chocolate chip cookie show and was then able publish it to my YouTube Channel.
A second task now out of the way. My first task, was accomplished earlier in the week on Tuesday making a test run of my “Cold Cucumber-Fennel Soup” for the MasterChef three minute plating part of the casting call. I wanted to make sure the flavors were exactly how I wanted them with the new addition of the fennel to the soup. I was then off to pick up the King Crab legs from Altlantic Seafood in Old Saybrook. This crab will be set up on top of the cucumber-fennel soup in the center with a eatable garnish of fresh dill. The cold soup will also have a drizzle of Sicilian extra virgin olive oil, and fine dice, a brunoise, of avocado, tomato and cucumber scantly decorating the top of the soup around the king crab.
Friday morning was upon us and I was now making the a final batch of my Cold Cucumber-Fennel Soup for the MasterChef open call. Just as I was finishing, Brody’s vet called and wanted me to come for a visit with Brody. I put the soup into the refrigerator and headed right out. I felt that the hour I spent there with him helped so much I brought Reilly and Bella back at six o’clock that night right after picking up the rental car for New York City. I decided on driving this time to MasterChef because the five plus hours of train rides the last time was too draining.
The Veterinary hospital was forty-five minutes away so the kids and I were home by 8:45 Friday night after the visit with Brody. I then finished organizing the ice, the cooler, and chopped up the eatable garnish for the soup. Then I worked on finishing the eight page application to the MasterChef open casting call. Finally, I went to sleep at midnight and that 4:30 am alarm came way too fast.
MasterChef on Camera Shooting in Times Square
On Saturday morning, the MasterChef crew wanted contestants there at 8:00 for morning filming, so that’s what I did. They filmed us in groups in Times Square chanting “MasterChef”. They then did individual on-camera pieces with every single contestant stating what we did for a living, where we were from and a finish on a “I’m your next MasterChef”, with much enthusiasm! Myself and a few others were then asked sign release forms.
After two hours at Times Square we all went back to the hotel to wait our turn to enter into the “plate-up” room. We met the tasting chefs and the first set of interviewers walking around with clip boards discussing your life and what kind of person you are. Well, I’m ecstatic to say the judges loved my Cold Cucumber-Fennel Soup! My number was announced first once again, as it was in the first open casting call that I attended back in October of 2015. Our group of 9 was on to the next interview part of the casting call and the remaining contestants from our group were dismissed.
At this point it was noon and my energy level was deteriorating fast even after having a coffee at 4:30 am, a mini can of coca cola at 8:00 am and a 1/2 of a coffee at 10:30. But once again, I am there ready to forge on. Worries of Brody are also going through my mind. The anticipation and excitement of picking him up after I leave NYC which also included dropping off Bella to her Tennis match, the rental car, picking up Reilly and then heading to Piper Veterinary to get our boy home!
Oh yes, we are back at the MasterChef interview room facing the last judge with his seductive English accent, a kind of 007 look to him, is now asking me to tell him about myself. What! Really? OK, everything I was hoping to express to him just went out the window and I’m thinking “just try and be your funny self Michel” and all will be okay, but that is not how it worked out. Although I was hopeful that I may still have a chance to get to thru this “personality” phase to my dismay I was not. I know more of me was expected in that last phase then I was capable of giving this time.
Well, I did make a kick ass dish once again and actually enjoyed this round of MasterChef open casting call much more then the first time. You can’t always plan your life events! Life happens as they say and you have to roll with the punches and enjoy every minute. Definite kudos go out to that MasterChef casting call team who were there working their tails off for a good twelve hours. There’s always another chance at the next casting call later this year when MasterChef comes back to NYC!
2014 – Laura, my loyal friend and follower making the icebox rolls for the holidays!
There’s nothing better than the aromas of homemade fresh baked bread, sweet onion and rosemary to wet the appetite! I was thrilled to find this icebox dinner roll recipe about fifteen years ago and have been making them ever since. The recipe card was from “easytobake” and I have tried to access their website but it doesn’t exist anymore. I have made many different bread dough’s in my life, kneading by hand, proofing, kneading again and it can all be exhausting. The whole idea behind icebox dough is that kneading is not necessary. The flavor and soft, tender texture develops as it proofs right in the refrigerator. Once you see how easy it is to make these melt in your mouth icebox dinner rolls you may never pick up store bought rolls again.
Laura making the icebox rolls for her 2015 Thanksgiving!
I have added lots of chopped green onion and fresh rosemary in my rolls but they are just as delicious plain too! It takes all of fifteen minutes to make this dough and can be made up to 4 days ahead. The dough stays in the refrigerator, hence the name “icebox” rolls. You take the dough out of the frig the morning of your dinner party. It get’s formed into dough balls mixing in chopped green onion and fresh rosemary. Then the rolls get lined up on a buttery baking tray and back into the frig. Two hours before you want to serve the homemade icebox dinner rolls you take them out of the frig and let them rise for an hour and a half to two hours. When they have doubled in size, give them an egg wash for a little shine, then bake.
Hope you enjoy these scrumptious “easy icebox dinner rolls” as much as our family and friends do. They will be asking you for the recipe for sure! These homemade dinner rolls aren’t just for holidays they are great for any day. Try them with my turkey stuffed peppers where you can dunk them in the sauce and pepper juices, the Au Jus in myBoeuf Bourguignon, or Bolognese Sauce. After all this savoriness you may need a chocolate fix with my perfectly chocolate chocolate cakeor for a light and refreshing sweet try this amazingPavlova!
Ingredients: Makes 24 Dinner Rolls
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 packets active dry yeast (NOT rapid rise)
1 cup warm water (105 -115 degrees)
3 lg eggs (if you use extra large eggs you will need to add a little more flour to compensate)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tsp salt
2 bunches of green onions chopped to 1/8″ pieces -(from white/greenish part to ends)
1/2 cup fresh chopped rosemary
1/3 stick room temp butter to coat the cookie tray or inside of the 10″x 15″ baking dish
Directions:
Using a KitchenAid mixer OR lg mixing bowl pour in the 2 packets of yeast then add in 1 cup of 105º – 110 º water.
Then add 1 Tbsp of sugar (from the 1/2 of cup of sugar that you add later) now because it feeds the yeast and really gets it activated.
Let this sit for about 5 minutes and you will see it get foamy.
Add in the eggs, melted butter, sugar, and salt and whisk- make sure the butter is not hot because it can kill the yeast if too hot
Begin to beat in a 1/2 cup of flour at a time using the whisk the whole time until the dough gets too stiff to mix.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, place the big ball of dough into a large Ziploc baggy and put it into the refrigerator for 2 hours…. up to 4 days.
When you are ready to make the rolls just cut the dough right out of the zip lock with scissors nice and easy…..then turn out the chilled dough onto a floured work surface and divide equally into 24 pieces with a pastry scraper
Roll each piece into a ball then firmly push into the pile of chopped green onion and freshly chopped rosemary and re-roll into a ball again. You can keep some of the rolls plain.
Coat 4 Tbsp of softened butter all over a cookie tray with 1/2″ sides or a 10″ x 15″ baking dish for taller rolls
Place the dough balls into the buttered baking tray, cover with Saran wrap and let them rise for 1-2 hours depending how warm your kitchen is (they need to dbl in size) OR you can put them back into the frig until 1 1/2 hours before you need them then take them rolls back out of the frig and let them begin to rise and double in size
Pre-Heat the oven to 375º
Whisk 1 whole egg with 1 tbsp water and brush a good coating onto the rolls after they rise and before putting them into the oven
Bake for 13-18 minutes until a dark golden color…it depends how warm the rolls got while rising so you’ll need to peak at them to see if they’re golden yet.
TIP: It’s a good idea to warm the stainless steel mixing bowl by running hot water into it before you begin so the cold bowl doesn’t take the necessary temperature of the water down.
This amazing German pancake is an awesome dish to make for your holiday guests! It’s festive and quite spectacular when your guests see how your pancake has puffed to enormous heights when you take it out of the oven. Not only does it make for a wonderful presentation but it’s made with little effort and can be served for breakfast or as a dessert!
A German pancake is really a giant popover. “Dutch baby” is another name for this pancake and rumor has it that the reason behind this name came about when a chef’s young child couldn’t pronounce the German word for German, “Deutsche”. Supposedly, this mis-pronunciation lead German Pancakes to the alternative name “Dutch Babies”. A couple other names that this German pancake has been called are “Dutch puff” and “Bismark”.
My kids get very excited for that moment when this amazing German pancake comes out of the oven! It has a bit of a custard like texture inside yet very light. We love eating these pancakes and have come to the conclusion that they taste like something in between a pancake, french toast and a crêpe!
My Vermont friends turned me on to this recipe years ago and I have been making them ever since. It’s fun for me to play around with recipes and see what works best so to this recipe I have added another egg, some vanilla and a little cinnamon. You can add grated nutmeg instead if you prefer. Originally, these homemade pancakes were served with lemon and confectioners sugar. I like to served them with confectioners sugar, real maple syrup, fresh blue berries and a dollop of my favorite “Wild Blueberry Preserves” by Bonne Maman, a product of France (sold right in our local market at Stop and Shop). German pancakes are so easy to make, taking on the same amount of time as making ordinary pancakes. The wonderful thing here is you are not glued to the stove pouring batter every few minutes.
Usingcast iron is the way to go here because it holds in the heat evenly distributing it throughout the pan but I have made them in other oven proof pans and it comes out great. Some recipes have you pre-heating the pan in the oven, pulling out the rack, pouring in the batter, then pushing the rack back into the oven and in my opinion, this is a disaster waiting to happen since the batter can easily swoosh over the sides causing the oven to smoke ! The easiest way to start these homemade German pancakes is heat the pan in the oven then add butter and whisked, warm batter. The finished product will make you will feel like a french pastry chef all day. This could also make for a great dessert to an impressive dinner with entrees liketurkey stuffed peppers,pulled beef tacos & mango salsaoryogurt-chicken kabobs & tzatziki. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Traditional German Pancake:
5 extra LG eggs ROOM temperature eggs (place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 20 minutes or leave on counter for 1 hr)
1 cup Milk – WARM the milk (not hot)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/4 Tsp cinnamon
1 Tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp melted butter (warm)
3 Tbsp butter – cut up to add to pan before you pour in batter
Ingredients for savory German Pancake:
5 extra LG eggs (or 6 large) ROOM TEMP.
1 cup Milk – WARM
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/2 cup swiss cheese OR cheddar
1/2 cup thin diced ham OR sauteed mushrooms
1/3 cup green onion OR sauteed sweet onion
NOTE: If you are going the cheddar, sauteed mushroom & onion route add 1 cup fresh baby spinach too!
3 Tbsp butter -cut up into 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) COLD
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425º
Add the cast iron pan to the oven while pre-heating
Whisk milk, vanilla, salt and flour first in a large bowl
Then whisk in 1 egg at a time just until combined
Whisk in melted butter, final mix of batter should be WARM not cold (you can microwave for 10 seconds at a time and stir in between to get to WARM temperature if need be, DO NOT go longer then 10 seconds at a time in the microwave or batter will cook
Take heated pan out of the pre-heated oven and add in 3 tbsp butter, let melt
Once the butter is melted pour in WARM batter (If making a savory pancake add veggies and cheese now on top of the poured batter)
NOTE: A savory pancake or blueberry pancake will not puff as much a plain German pancake!
Bake for 21 minutes until puffed
Remove from oven and transfer to a plate or cutting board with a spatula and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
Slice into wedges and serve with maple syrup, warm fresh strawberry jam/sauce (Recipe BELOW) and whipped cream! …mmm!
Ingrediesnts and Directions for EASY STRAWBERRY JAM/SAUCE:
1 lb. hulled and chopped fresh stawberries
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup fresh sqeezed lemon juice
Finely dice strawberries and add to a wide 8″ sauce pan with 1 cup sugar and lemon juice
Over med/high heat bring to a rolling simmer
Keep an eye on the mixture, keep simmering for 15 min. – make sure it doesn’t boil over
Skim off white foam that accumulates around the edges while simmering as this will make the jam cloudy (its just air bubbles that form in the jamming process)
Remove from heat and serve warm with German pancake
Jar the remaining strawberry sauce and refrigerate as it will thicken into a jam as it cools! It will stay good for 2 weeks in the frig.
There’s nothing like fresh blueberries simmering in a buttery, flaky pie crust with aromatic fruit juices getting bubbly and syrupy. It’s tough to let this mouth watering concoction cool for three hours when all you really want to do is scoop some vanilla ice cream over a slice letting the cream melt onto the crispy crust and gooey berries submerging oneself into pie heaven! This might just be the perfect dessert bite!
There are recipes out there that have you use flour as a thickener in some fruit pies but with this best blueberry pie recipe I think it’s important to use cornstarch. Blueberries release so much juice the best one for the job is cornstarch. You can add orange zest or lemon zest to brighten up the flavors and then there’s always cinnamon or nutmeg. Blueberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits and I feel that they are already flavorful enough so I only add one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to balance everything out. Blueberries are also considered to be one of the healthiest fruits out there offering up one of the highest levels of antioxidants of all fruits and vegetables so I think it’s a win-win here!
Cutting out decorative leaf shapes (or what ever shape you like) from the top sheet of pie crust is a no brainer for me because it’s so gosh darn easy to do, it looks like you spent all day on it and it’s very forgiving. When it bakes in the oven getting golden, crispy and slightly shiny from brushing on the egg wash it’s going to look and taste amazing no matter what!
This best blueberry pie recipe might just become your decadent dessert ritual for your holiday dinners! Making the “perfect pie crust in 5 minutes”a week or two ahead of time and popping it into the freezer until you need it is a great way to cut down on some of the work that’s involved in throwing a Thanksgiving dinner or any holiday feast for that matter. If you get ambitious you can always add a chocolate pecan pieinto the mix. To help save some time with the side dishes you might try these roasted brussel spouts. They are so delicious roasted like this you’ll never eat them any other way. Have fun and enjoy 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
4 1/2 cups blueberries (that’s after you have sorted thru bad berries…start with 5 cups to have enough)
1 1/2 ” – 2″ pie leaf cut outs or what ever shape cookie cutter you want to dress the top of the pie with instead of using a whole sheet of pie crust dough
DIRECTIONS:
Trace the edge of the pie plate onto both pieces of parchment paper
Roll out 1/2 of the pie crust at a time in between two pieces of parchment with circle drawing on the outside
When the dough is rolled out to approx 1/8″ thick and the proper circle size flip pie dough over with parchment paper into pie plate
Gently fit pie dough into dish without pushing down hard and place into the fridge
Wash and dry blueberries, picking through them to remove any under and over ripe berries and stems
Place berries in a large bowl and add 1/4 cup corn starch, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/8 tsp salt and juice from 1/2 lemon and toss until coated
Put the bowl of blueberries into the fridge
Roll out the other pie dough disc and cut out leaf shapes or what ever shape you want to be the top layer of the pie
Lay down a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet with a sprinkle of flour and place leaf cut outs onto the cookie sheet
Put leaf cut outs into the fridge
Take out pie dish with pie dough from fridge and crimp edges
Pour the blueberries into the pie dish and back into the fridge
Whisk 1 egg with 1 tbsp of heavy cream
Take the leaf cut-outs on the cookie sheet from the fridge and brush with the egg wash
Take the blueberries in the pie dish out of the fridge and dot the pie with 1 1/2 tbsp of cut up cold butter
Begin to place leaf cut-outs on top of the blueberries. Go along the edge of pie all around and then work your way in (you only need to gently push a couple of the edges of the leaf to crimped edges of the pie and to each leaf
Put the pie back into the fridge for 15 minutes while you pre-heat oven to 400º
Place blueberry pie on the cookie sheet that has a piece of parchment covering the bottom in case of spillage and pop into the oven for 30 minutes
Turn the oven down to 350º and bake for another 40 minutes until a golden crust and juices are bubbly
You must let cool 3 hours so the blueberry juicy can thicken properly
Serve with your best vanilla ice cream and you will be one happy camper! 🙂
Homemade pasta is something you have to try at least once in your life! You’ll see how satisfying it is when you taste the tender, slightly chewy texture of the fresh pasta. Making pasta has been a part of my life ever since I was young making homemade manicottiwith my mother for the holidays. At my Aunt Pasqualina’s, the counters were always covered with fresh pasta drying out on dish towels.
This past weekend, my friends Lisa and Vin, graciously agreed to share their grandfather’s secret family pasta recipe with me. I had the opportunity to try out, first hand, a pasta tool that belonged to Vin’s grandfather which he called the “trucal iron”. It’s a special pasta cutting tool, a roller, made years ago from medal and wood that was eventually passed on down to Vin. The center spiral part of this “trucal Iron”, made of medal, does the cutting as you roll out the pasta. It has Wooden handles which he said his grandfather glued back on a couple of times. Vin also has a newer version of this “trucal iron”, one made of all wood but the wood spirals have begun to chip away from wear and tear. They don’t make some things like they used to. Vinnie also shared some precious memories of his grandfather and father making this homemade pasta for Sunday dinners growing up where his grandfather would creatively hang the pasta noodles from atop the kitchen cabinet doors to dry out.
There’s nothing like an evening with special friends making homemade pasta! This night of homemade pasta making at Lisa and Vin’s reminded me of how much I really love to do this. Everyone has their own way of making pasta and that’s part of what makes this experience so fun. Now as for this “trucal iron”, there are other pasta tools out there that mimic what Vin’s special pasta tool does like the ones below from Amazon. I have to say, I haven’t used any of those tools from Amazon because I use my KitchenAid pasta attachment which is another great option for cutting the kneaded pasta dough. You could even cut your thinly rolled out pasta into strips by hand with a sharp knife to get the stands of fettuccine, spaghetti, or what ever thickness you might like.
Put the kneading attachment on your food processor and add the flour
Add the salt and olive oil
Turn on the food processor to slow
Add in 1 tbsp of water
Begin adding in 1 egg at a time with the processor still on slow
Add in the rest of the eggs
Keep the food processor going on medium speed to begin kneading the dough
Let knead for about 8 minutes until the texture turns into a smooth consistency
Remove the pasta dough and place onto the counter
Knead briefly with your hands and let sit for 1/2 hr.
NOTE: Vin does not cover his pasta dough while it sits for the 1/2 so it can begin to dry out a little bit
Sprinkle some flour onto the counter or work surface and cut pasta dough into 8 pieces
Begin to roll out each piece of dough to your desired thickness
Sprinkle more flour on top of each thinly rolled out pasta piece and use the roll cutter below or a sharp knife or a KitchenAid Pasta attachment to get desired pasta strips
Bring large pan of salted water to a boil and add fresh pasta
Depending on the thickness, cook pasta for 4-8 minutes, test pieces of pasta for proper doneness
My trick to keeping a recipe as easy as possible is knowing how to save time with a proven method of preparation without foregoing the quality or taste. That’s what I do with my crêpe recipe here, the order in which you whisk your ingredients in the batter is crucial and saves you energy and time so you don’t have to strain the batter! This method of mixing is exactly how I make my 
If you are big on breakfast you will definitely want to try my mouth watering 
Paleo Eggplant Lasagna at Christine’s
Drunk blondies are a dessert that will have you and your guest’s reminiscing for days! These drunk blondies are a buttery, chewy cookie bar made with bourbon, butter, toasted coconut, pecans and semi-sweet chocolate chips…could it get any better then that! They get even more decadent when you serve them with vanilla ice cream, homemade bourbon caramel sauce, whipped cream and extra toasted coconut to top it off. In fact, I wouldn’t serve them any other way. You will feel like you are in dessert ecstasy!
MasterChef open casting calls and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the highlights of my blogging today. With exhausting life events that have taken place over the last three weeks I was some how able to produce my chewy chocolate chip cookie show for you and show up to my second pre-registered casting call for MasterChef.
