Today's baking adventure

I saw this recipe for Spiral Apple Bread with Caramel Apple Glaze on Pinterest this morning and knew I had to make it.  I pretty much just followed the recipe only substituting a little whole wheat flour for some of the all purpose flour, adding lemon zest, and some peaches to what was already written--so I won't write the recipe down here.

It is basically a simple bread dough rolled out, cut into strips and wound around slices of apples (and peaches, in my case) and baked.  The recipe calls for a cinnamon sugar topping to sprinkle on the bread after it is baked, I omitted it, and found the glaze added enough sweetness. This dessert is so beautiful, I wish I had guests over to serve it to.

Go check out Michael at Inspired by Charm for awesome recipes, cool DIY projects, and entertaining ideas.  This is my new favorite blog.

Farmers Market Pot Pie

I love the farmers market, you can read me wax poetic about it here.  This morning I bought a lot of beautiful produce, and among the mix was rainbow chard.  Now I love chard, but I usually do the same thing with it over and over: braise it with onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and a little strawberry jam.  Delicious? Yes, but starting to get a little boring.  So I consulted my favorite food blogs and fount this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and boy was I smitten.  Ree had just posted a recipe for pot pies, so I was already in the mood for a pot pie (just as we are on the verge of, what could possibly, be the hottest week of the summer, and all I want to make is classic winter comfort food).

While I love pot pies, I'm not a huge fan how sometimes the pie crust on top of the pie gets soggy as it bakes, I want a crisp and crunchy accompaniment to the warm and bubbly stew--so I decided to separate the two parts: serve a stew with puff pastry on the side.

Farmers Market Pot Pie Stew with Thyme Puff Pastry Triangles

Inspired by Pot Pies from The Pioneer Woman
Heavily based on Pancetta, White Bean, and Chard Pot Pie from Smitten Kitchen

Stew:
3 oz. pancetta, diced
1 Leek, just the light green and white parts, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
The kernels from 2 ears of corn, about 1 1/2 cups
1 bunch rainbow chard, sliced, about 1 cup, packed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1, 15oz., can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half

Thyme Triangles:
1, 14 oz, box frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Stew:

1. In an 8 quart pot over medium high heat, cook the pancetta until golden brown.  Remove from the pancetta to a small bowl and save for later.  
2. Add the leeks, garlic, carrot, and red onion to the pan and saute until lightly browned. 
3. Stir in the corn, chard, pepper, thyme, italian seasoning, beans, and wine.  Simmer until the wine reduces by half, about 5 minutes.  
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the flour into about 1/2 cup of the chicken broth.  
5. Add the flour/broth slurry, remaining chicken broth, half and half, and the reserved cooked pancetta to the pot, stirring constantly until thickened. Gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.  Taste for seasoning: add salt if needed, and possibly a sprinkle of sugar if the rainbow chard is excessively bitter.  

Thyme Triangles:

1. Lay out the puff pastry on a cutting board and brush with half and half.  
2. Sprinkle with thyme and black pepper.  
3. Cut into 16 triangles  and place on a greased baking sheet.  
4. Bake on 425F for 8-10 minutes until they start to turn golden brown.

Mini Lime Swirl Cheesecakes

Cheesecake: a wonderful dessert-rich, creamy, and decadent.  I really like cheesecake, but usually 4 bites into a slice I am overwhelmed by the dense texture.  So when I saw Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars I knew I had to try it--the bright and zesty flavor of the lime cuts through the richness of the cheesecake so I can definitely eat more than 4 bites.

Mini Lime Swirl Cheesecakes
based on this recipe from Sweet 2 Eat Baking

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons of butter, melted

Lime Curd
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
zest (about 2 packed teaspoons) and juice (about 1/3 cup) of 2 limes
3-5 drops of green food coloring, if desired

Cheesecake
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Crust: Stir together crumbs, sugar, and butter until the crumbs are moistened.  Equally distribute crumbs between 18 muffin tins with paper or foil liners.  Firmly press crumbs into an even crust layer.  Set aside.

Lime Curd: In a medium stainless steel sauce pan (it's fine to use a non-stick pan--just use a rubber spatula to stir, not a metal whisk or you'll risk scratching off the non-stick coating) whisk together butter, sugar, and flour.  Add eggs and whisk until smooth.  Add zest and juice, and food coloring-if desired for a more vibrant color, whisk to combine.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for 3-5 minutes, until the mixture thickens.  Pour lime curd into a shallow pan and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap to the surface of the lime curd to prevent a skin from forming.  Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

Cheesecake: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and flour together until smooth.  Add one egg, mix on low until incorporated. Add the second egg and the vanilla and mix on  low until incorporated.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, mix again until smooth.

Remove 1 cup of cheesecake batter to a small mixing bowl, stir in 1/2 cup lime curd.

Scoop remaining cheesecake batter evenly between the muffin tins, using a spoon spread cheesecake batter to the walls of the paper or foil liners, so no crust is visible.  Evenly distribute  cheesecake/lime curd batter in small scoops over the cheesecake layer.  At 1 heaping teaspoon of lime curd on top of the cheesecake/lime curd batter layer (there will be about 1/2 cup of lime curd leftover--spread it on toast or stir it into plain yogurt).  Use a toothpick to swirl the 3 layers, and level the surface of each mini cheesecake so they cook evenly.

Bake on 325F for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned on the edges.  Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until serving.

Honey Chai Snack Mix

Tonight at Lutheran Campus Ministry we are having a game night.  I love playing games, so I already have mine packed up and ready to bring along: Yahtzee, Racko, The Game of Life, and Clue.  While the games are the focus of the evening, no game night is complete with out snacks: something you can munch on while you formulate your next move in Clue or decide on your career path in The Game of Life.

While I love the classic savory Chex Mix I'm in the mood for something sweeter.  This recipe is a great way to use up the almost empty boxes of cereal in your cupboard.  I used a combination of Honey Grahams, Honey Nut Cherrios, bran flakes, and rolled oats.  If I had Chex I would definitely have used them, because Chex is a standard part of snack mixes. You can use whatever cereals you have on hand, or replace up to about 1/2 cup of the cereal with walnuts, almonds, or any nuts.  If you want to add dried fruit, I would suggest adding it to the snack mix after cooling because dried fruit tends to get even dryer and too hard to chew when baked.

Honey Chai Snack Mix
based on Chai Crunch from Pillsbury

1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6 cups cereal

Preheat oven to 300F and grease a jellyroll pan.  In a large bowl whisk together butter, honey, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and extracts.  Pour in cereal and mix until well coated.  Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, or until the cereal is deeply golden.  Pour onto a large sheet of parchment paper and spread out to cool, when cool store in an air tight container.

Bananas Foster Muffins

I love Bananas Foster.  There is something about slices of ripe bananas in a brown sugar butter sauce over vanilla bean ice cream that just makes perfect sense.  Yum.  If you want the history and original recipe check out Brennans, the New Orleans restaurant where Bananas Foster was born.  

When the bananas on my counter start to turn black I'm always looking for a recipe to use them up that isn't just run-of-the-mill banana bread.  This recipe makes it socially acceptable to eat Bananas Foster all day long--just in the form of a muffin (rum and all).

Bananas Foster Muffins
based on Caramelized Banana Bread
from The Chef Next Door

You may ask: "Is a crumble topping really necessary?" Look at
the toasty oats and almonds in the crumble on these muffins--
does that answer your question?

Muffins:
1/4 cup salted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 medium ripe bananas, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup oatmeal
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Crumble Topping:
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Muffins: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.  In a medium skillet or sauce pan melt butter with brown sugar, add sliced bananas and simmer on medium low for 5 minutes, stirring often, until bananas are considerably softened.  Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk together milk, rum, vanilla, and eggs. In a separate bowl stir oatmeal, flour and baking soda together.  When the bananas are cool whisk them into the milk mixture, breaking down the bananas as much as you see fit.  Stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened.  Scoop batter into the prepared muffin tin.

Crumble Topping: Add butter, brown sugar, oatmeal, and almonds to the bowl of stand mixer (or use a hand mixer--I like to use a mixer to make this crumble because it breaks down the sliced almonds into beautiful fragments that get really toasty when baked) and mix for about 30 seconds on medium speed until the ingredients are combined and the almonds are somewhat broken down.

Generously sprinkle the muffins with crumble topping and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.  Remove immediately to a cooling rack, when cooled store for up to 5 days in an air tight container.

Yields 1 dozen muffins

Fudgy Walnut Pie

At every Culinary Science Club meeting we have a drawing for prizes that our awesome advisor, Erica, finds.  Sometimes the drawings are for cookbooks and sometimes for small kitchen items like cookie cutters or fun dish towels.  This is the best way to end a club meeting.  We finish all the important business about fundraisers, cooking competitions, etc. then do a drawing for awesome kitchen stuff.

I have been lucky enough to win a few times (probably due to the special Grinde Slip Folding Technique, perfected by my mother.  Just write your name on the slip for the drawing, then employ the Technique (sorry, I can't reveal the specific paper folds found in the Technique; if you want it bad enough you'll have to marry into the family) and you are guaranteed 1 win for every 10 drawings you employ the Technique.). ANYWAY, one time at Culinary Science Club I won a recipe box filled with recipes from Jello, Kraft, Cool-Whip, and many other brand name products.  I've made a few recipes out of this collection, but the Fudgy Walnut Pie has been  my favorite so far.  The buttery graham cracker crust is the perfect counter point to the smooth and sweet filling.  If eaten while warm (who has the patience to wait until it is cooled and refrigerated?)  this pie has the texture of an underbaked brownie, if you let it cool and then get cold in the fridge it has more like a dense cheesecake texture: either way, this pie is delicious.

Fudgy Walnut Pie
based on this recipe from Kraft

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened baker's chocolate, chopped
1 cup (6 oz.) semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1/4 cup toffee bits, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For the crust, stir together crumbs, sugar, and butter press into a 9 inch pie pan.

For the filling, cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 minute on medium speed.  Add 1 egg at a time, mixing it in then scraping the bowl after each addition.  Melt the unsweetened and semisweet chocolate then slowly pour into the butter, sugar, and eggs, while the mixer is on low.  Add the flour and all but 1 tablespoon, each, of the walnuts and toffee bits.  Stir until smooth and pour into the crust.  Smooth the top with a spatula, then sprinkle with the reserved tablespoon of walnuts and toffee bits.  Bake for 23-25 minutes or until the center of the pie is set and the crust is starting to brown.  Let cool completely then refrigerate.

Brie Apple Tarts

Last week I bought a wheel of brie and intended to eat it with crackers and grapes like normal, but then I happened upon this recipe while browsing through my pins on Pinterest.  I pinned that recipe a year ago and still had not made it (that statement holds true for too many recipes and crafts on my pinboards) until today.   

I modified the recipe slightly, adding a little veggie cream cheese and thyme to pump up the mild flavors of brie and apples.  I really love this recipe because it finds the perfect balance of sweet and savory, all wrapped up in the buttery crunch of puff pastry.

They smelled so good coming out of the oven I didn't even try to get a good picture.  This is just evidence that there were tarts.  We ate them in 5 minutes flat.  

Brie Apple Tarts

based on Individual Brie and Apple Tarts by BlogHungry

1 (17.3 oz) package puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

2 oz. vegetable cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced

8 oz. wheel of brie, cut into 16 wedges

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Unfold the sheets of puff pastry on a large cutting board and cut each sheet into 4 equal sized squares.  Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese equally over each of the 8 squares, making sure to leave an inch un-cream-cheesed around the edges so you can wrap it up.  Sprinkle the thyme over cream cheese, cover with apple slices.  Place two slices of brie over the apples and sprinkle equally with brown sugar.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg and brush the un-cream-cheesed 1" edges with the egg.  Fold 2 opposite corners of each square over the brie and egg wash the tops.  Place tarts on a greased baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops and edges are golden brown.  Serve hot, drizzled with honey.