STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE COBBLER

1 stick ( 1/2 cup) butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 quarts whole strawberries, capped and washed
4 ounces cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir.

Add the strawberries, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over strawberries. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. (Crust rises up and around the fruit, but fruit will still peek out of top.)

 

Pepperoni/Mozzarella Pull Apart Bread

REPEAT PEPPERONI/MOZZARELLA PULL APART BREAD!!!!WITH TIME AND TEMPERATURE :) can be made gluten free!!)
1/3 cup favorite flavored dipping oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 (16 ounce) pkgs pre-made pizza dough or homemade pizza dough
1 (7 oz) pkg sliced pepperoni
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Separate pizza dough into small bite sized pieces.
In a bowl add your favorite flavored dipping oil. Toss dough pieces in dipping oil to lightly coat.

Layer dough pieces in bottom of Bundt or fluted tube pan, next layer sliced pepperoni, shredded cheese and sprinkle with garlic powder. Repeat layers again, and end with final layer of dough pieces. (Put sauce between each layer and more cheese if you like)

Layer until about 2/3 of the pan is full. Definitely plan for it to feed a hungry crowd. You can scale down the ingredients if you choose to feed a smaller crowd. You can serve it hot or room temperature.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Bread will come out in one piece. Let cool until cheese settles.

Serve by pulling the bread apart into individual servings with optional marinara dipping sauce on the side.

Cherry Cabernet Glaze for Meat

Cherry Cabernet glaze.... Pretty darned awesome!

Written Method

Peel the garlic, dump all the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the garlic clove and thyme springs. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve warm, or room temperature. Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.

Season pork chops.  Allow them to come to room temperature before grilling.

Peel a clove of garlic, but leave it whole.

"With a name like Smuckers, it HAS to be good!" 1 cup of cherry preserves.

1 cup of Cabernet.  I know... hard to part with!

4 sprigs of fresh thyme.  Do not strip them.  Leave whole so you can fish them out later

Simmer and reduce.

Transfer to a serving dish.  This step also speeds the cooling.  The cherries are like little rubies of goodness in a silky, burgundy liquid gold.

Allow the grilled pork to rest for a few minutes to allow all the juices to redistribute so you'll have juicy meat!

This gives you time to play with your favorite tot while things are simmering and such...

Either spoon the glaze over the meat, or serve in a dipping bowl along with it.

Food notes:

So here is my take on it.  

• The flavors are THE BOMB!!  Sweetened, but complex.  Notes of thyme and garlic are just in the background...lingering on the palate but not boldly upfront or overbearing.  The cherries complement the grape'i'ness (can that be a word today) wonderfully. The spice of the freshly ground pepper was a perfect balance for the sweetness.
• My only criticism, is that it is not as thick as I would ideally have liked.  I don't particularly want my sauce to run over my plate.  I want it to "stick" to the meat where I put it!  (Control issues?)  So next time, I think I'll add a thickener to it or let it reduce longer.  
• The solution du jour... I put some of the sauce in a small condiment bowl and used it as a dipping sauce.  Voila! Problem temporarily solved! :-)

Chicken Parm Meatballs

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino (or Parm)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 egg, whisked
zest of half a lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-ounce can your favorite pizza sauce or I use homemade sauce
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella (a dozen thin slices; to pile on the cheese would be to cancel out the fact that you were virtuous enough to replace fatty beef with lean chicken)

Directions

In a large bowl, gently mix together first 11 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be a little smaller than tennis ball) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Place it in heated oven ( Preheat oven to 400°F) and bake for 15 minutes.

After that, remove meatballs from oven, put some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is golden.  Heat remaining sauce in a small pan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce and a raw Tuscan kale salad that has been shredded and tossed with shallots, olive oil,  a little honey, little of your favorite flavored vinegars, salt, and pepper.   Mmmmm!!!

Melt in your mouth Skor Squares

Ingredients for Skor squares:

• 1 (6 ounce) package Skor English toffee bits
• 1 box Ritz cracker
• 1 can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
• 1 cup of chopped pecans (optional)

Preparation of Skor squares:

1. Crush the Ritz into fine crumbs and put in mixing bowl.
2. Add 3/4 of the Skor bits 3/4 of the pecans and the can of Eagle Bran milk.
3. Mix well.
4. Press into a 9 inch buttered square pan.
5. Sprinkle the remaining Skor bits and pecans on top.
6. Cook at 350 degrees for 8 minutes (no more).
7. Make sure you cool off completely before cutting into squares or they will fall apart.

Best Pancakes Ever!!!

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar (see note)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar (I used 3)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes to "sour".This is an important step and it is called "soured milk" which is much different that sour milk. I guarantee you will NOT taste the vinegar in the final product. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soured milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone, but DO NOT OVER BEAT!!
The batter will be thick, don't add any more liquid. LET THE BATTER SIT UNDISTURBED FOR TEN MINUTES!! After 10 minutes, you will see bubbles in the batter, very important DO NOT STIR AGAIN.
GENTLY dip out (don't pour out) 1/2 cup of batter and place it on a buttered grill or frying pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake and then flip with a spatula and brown the other side.

NOTE: This recipe only feeds about 3 or 4 people, but doubles or even triples nicely.

NOTE:  Don't skip the soured milk part of this recipe, you will not taste the vinegar in the pancakes. The vinegar super-activates the baking soda.

NOTE:  You can subsitute BUTTERMILK for the milk+vinegar in this recipe, but I have had the best luck (fluffiest pancakes) using the milk and vinegar.

NOTE: A few people have written to me and said that their pancakes weren't quite as fluffy or tall as mine. I suspect they are stirring the batter just before cooking the pancakes which deflates the bubbles in the batter. Stirring or pouring the batter essentially deflates the air bubbles in the batter. Personally, I use a half cup measuring cup and GENTLY dip out batter and put it on the griddle and I always get super fluffy pancakes. 

ROSE VICTORIA'S HASH BROWN CUPS

These cheesy flavorful morsels make a wonderful presentation when served for breakfast or brunch. Serve with your favorite breads, muffins, etc., and some assorted fresh fruits, along with a great cup of coffee or tea, milk etc. and maybe even a great breakfast pastry!

ROSE VICTORIA'S HASH BROWN CUPS:

3 cups refrigerated Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 pound ground (bulk) Italian sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
2 cups (16 ounces) Better'n Eggs
1/2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup Finely shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12-cup regular muffin cup pan; set aside. In medium bowl combine Shredded potatoes, butter and salt; mix well. Press about 1/4 cup Potatoes mixture into each muffin cup lining bottom and sides. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Meanwhile, brown Italian sausage in a skillet; drain grease. Add mushrooms and red bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Fill each baked hash brown cup equally with sausage mixture.
In a small bowl combine Better'n eggs and Italian seasoning; mix well. Pour over sausgae mixture, filling each muffin cup equally. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 12 - 14 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cup comes out clean.