Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Crust
We did it. I can’t believe it’s true, but we planted two pecan trees in our yard. We spotted them at Lowe’s in late September and selected a Sumner Pecan and a Stuart Pecan. We are slightly north of the growing zone for the Sumner, but our area has mild winters so it should do well. Pecan trees need another variety nearby to produce, and we planted these within 30 feet of each other. They got a little dry at one point and we were worried we might lose them, but it looks like they have taken to their new home. They don’t look like much right now, just a couple sticks about five feet (152 cm) tall since they lost their leaves, but they are full of promise, I can feel it. We have hopeful visions of harvesting pounds and pounds of pecans in about eight years. Yes it will be a long wait, but if the trees produce then my dream to grow our own pecans will be fulfilled. Read more
Chocolate Gelato with Hazelnut Praline
I have very fond memories of tasting gelato on my trip to Italy way back when, but my first taste of gelato didn’t happen in Italy; it was actually in Bogota, Colombia. Centro Andino was a pretty new shopping center when I lived in Bogota in the early 90s, and they had a gelateria that drew me in every time I visited the center. I always ordered the dark chocolate gelato with whole almonds because the chocolate was so rich and almonds were my favorite nuts. I don’t fully trust my memory of the taste of that gelato, after all it was 15 years ago, so I haven’t tried to recreate it, but I have been in search of a dark chocolate gelato that would satisfy my cravings. Read more
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Avocado and Champagne Vinaigrette
We truly enjoy strawberry season, and every time I start cleaning another batch of berries the boys are at my elbow begging for some of the juicy red fruits. I have to watch Monkey Boy and Top Gun because they will sneak the berries off to a hidden corner and get the sticky juice all over the furniture and floor. Read more
The Daring Bakers Make Strudel
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of Make Life Sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague, by Rick Rodgers.
I felt a lot of excitement for this challenge because I adore puff pastry and have wanted to try making my own for some time, and of course anything with apples, spices, and rum-soaked raisins just has to be good, right? And besides, this gave me a chance to play around with my long-forgotten high school German and prepare for my trip to Germany in a few weeks! Read more
The Daring Bakers Make Cheesecake: Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
The infamous cheesecake recipe comes from Jenny’s friend Abbey, and in this challenge we were given lots of room for creativity. We had to use the cheesecake recipe as is, though we could flavor it any way we wanted to. We also had freedom to choose the crust and anything else to go with it. I chose to make a variation on my mini chocolate pecan pies and spotted a recipe in one of my mother’s cookbooks that gave me the idea for how to put it together. Bourbon and pecans are a classic combination, so it seemed natural to flavor the cheesecake and the pecan topping with bourbon.
After being on hiatus for several months, I was glad to get back into the fun of the challenges and enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since cheesecake is my favorite dessert. We liked the combination of flavors, and the cheesecake was a hit with all my neighborhood friends. Read more
Cranberry Apple French Toast
Inspired by cranberry orange upside down cake, I wanted a good easy hot breakfast for holidays mornings such as Christmas or Thanksgiving when I don’t have much time for a big breakfast. Baking French toast is an easy and delicious way to make it without having to stand over the stove while cooking each slice. The toppings go into the bottom of the pan with the bread and custard on top. To serve, simply scoop out spoonfuls and turn over onto plates. The fruit and juices run down and around the plate, soaking the bread in it’s goodness. It doesn’t look like much on the plate when everything dumps over, but the spices and the flavors of fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges will make up for it’s unassuming appearance.
Like many baked French toast recipes, this one requires an overnight resting time in the refrigerator so the bread can soak up some of the custard by morning. Pull the pan out of the frig while the oven preheats, then bake covered for about 40 min. You can remove the foil for the last few minutes to help brown and crisp the top layer of bread.
