NO-BAKE BARS

In addition to the Candied Cashews, I also made No-Bake Bars for my friend's visit. These started out as No-Bake Cookies, until I saw that I was going to run out of cookie-dropping space. Instead of clearing off the table, the laziness side of me won out with a peeping voice that said, "Dump them in a pan! Cut them like bars!" And so I did, and I think it was much easier, both in the cooling stage and in the storing stage. These turned out to be very good breakfast bars as well. Not something to have every day perhaps since they are a desert, but the oats, nuts, and peanut butter seem to redeem them just a little. For a vacation, they were perfect.

NO-BAKE BARS

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 cups white sugar

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 cup mixed nuts, chopped

1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

2 cups rolled oats

1. Put all the ingredients from the first list in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring often.


2. Let boil for about a minute.


3. Remove from heat and add nuts, coconut, and oats.


4. Stir well to blend. Let stand for about two minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken.


5. Pour into a 9X13 pan and smooth down. Cool completely before cutting. (I stuck mine in the refrigerator to speed the process.)
   

These can be stored either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. I stored mine in the frig because my kitchen gets a lot of sun during the day and can become quite humid in the Miami heat.

CANDIED CASHEWS

This past weekend I had a wonderful houseguest. I took a few days off work and had a mini vacation myself. I was so excited about my friend coming that I was actually eager to do all the prep work - the laundry, the cleaning, the emails that couldn't wait until the end of my hiatus. I was so on top of it all that I had a little extra time to make a few goodies to really spoil my friend.

My friend and I both have a monstrous sweet tooth. He happens to be the only person I know who can come close to consuming the amount of sugar I can without feeling sick, getting a headache, or showing the hyperactivity of a three-year-old. What can I say - I've got a high tolerance.

So something sweet was really the only option. However, my oven hasn't been working lately. I can't manage to get the pilot light lit. Instead of possibly blowing up my entire building, I came up with two sweet alternatives: No-Bake Cookies and Candied Cashews.

The Candied Cashews started as an idea that combined the gooey sweet caramel of a New Orleans Praline with the poppable loveability of Praline Pecans that have a more sugary coating. This past July, my family and I met on holiday in New Orleans and had many pralines, beignets, crawfish, chickory coffees, and bread puddings. I bought a small cookbook while there, The Little New Orleans Cookbook by Given McKee, that features a simple family recipe for Creamy Pralines. I used this recipe as a guide, using only half of all the main ingredients except the nuts.

CANDIED CASHEWS

1 cup white sugar

1 cup milk (regular or buttermilk, I used regular)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 stick of butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups raw cashew nuts

1. Put first three ingredients in a large, heavy pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly. (Have the remaining ingredients ready to throw in.)
   
2. Slightly lower the heat when the mixture rises. The mixture will bubble and turn progressively darker until it turns a dark golden brown.


3. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken (about 7 minutes). Test for soft ball stage by dripping a few droplets into a cup of cold water. When it forms a soft ball, add the remaining three ingredients.


4. Stir and heat mixture, allowing it to return to the soft ball stage.


5. Remove from heat and let mixture sit for a few minutes to thicken. Be careful not to let it harden in the pan.


6. Stir mixture until thick enough to drop onto wax paper or other nonstick or greased surface.
   
7. Let cool and store in an airtight container.
   

I used cashews because it's my friend's favorite nut, but anything would be equally divine. Most of them dropped nicely without clumping. The few large clumps were easily broken up after cooling.

These cashews had a lovely, golden brown color that hinted at their buttery caramel-goodness. Thankfully they were not too sugary; the caramel was soft without being sticky. I think I ate more of these than my friend did, which means I definitely need to make them again.

Beware: Being overly eager to sample the caramel mixture and see how it was doing during the soft ball stage, I decided to sample one of the droplets. Mistake! One I paid for with a burn mark on my lower lip (which is still there!).

SPICED PICKLED CARROTS

Lately I've been craving something crunchy, something salty - and this usually leads straight to French Fries. I decided to try a different route this time, and was baited by a recipe on Smitten Kitchen for Pickled Carrot Sticks. I modified it a bit, adding spices to layer more flavors and give it an added kick.

SPICED PICKLED CARROTS

1 pound of baby carrots, cut into thirds
1 1/4 cups of water
1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of plain vinegar
1/4 cup of plain sugar
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
4 cardamom pods, cut open
2 cloves
1-inch piece of ginger, minced
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Place carrots in a heatproof bowl


2. Bring remaining ingredients to boil


3. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes


4. Pour pickling liquid over carrots and cool uncovered


5. Chill carrots for at least one day, allowing flavors to develop

Carrots will keep for one month chilled in an airtight container.

POTATO WEDGES

From my childhood, I seem to remember the best potato wedges coming from the gas station. This would need to be verified by my sister or mom and could very well be a figment of my active imagination or a complete fusion of different memories into one, somehow the grocery store becoming the gas station in my mind. Either way, I recently made some while visiting my mom, and these turned out much better than I ever remember. I think I just gave potato wedges, a food I haven't thought about in ten years, a sure spot in future cravings.

POTATO WEDGES

from chocolate & zucchini's jo jo potatoes

1/4 cup melted butter

2 pounds of potatoes, scrubbed andcut into 1 1/2-inch wedges

2/3 cup of flour

2 ounces of parmesan cheese

2 tsp of mustard powder

1 Tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a re-sealable plastic bag. Shake, shake, shake until covered. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Flip potato wedges and cook another 30 minutes or until done and golden.

FRENCH TOAST BREAD PUDDING

Can you imagine - there is a way to legitimately eat bread pudding for breakfast!

Bon Appetit's French Toast Bread Pudding might even be enough to get me out of bed on a Saturday morning! The recipe was so tantalizing that I immediately jotted it down and made it on a lovely Saturday morning while visiting my mom. It was perfect with our first, and second, pots of coffee. Of course, I had to play with the recipe and ended up modifying it quite a bit.

FRENCH TOAST BREAD PUDDING

1 large loaf of French bread with crusts,
torn into 3/4-inch pieces
3 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon (preferrably saigon cinnamon)
1/2 cup of chopped and toasted pecans
1 banana, cut lengthwise
2 Tbsp of brown sugar

1. Butter an 11X7X2 - inch glass dish.
2. Put bread in dish.
3. Whisk together eggs, milks, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pecans to blend. Pour over bread and lightly press down bread to moisten.
4. Cover with foil and chill at least an hour.
5. Place in a cold over. Set to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove foil. Place banana pieces on top and sprinkle with brown sugar.
7. Return to oven uncovered and back until the pudding is puffed and golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
8. Serve fresh from the oven with warm Karo or maple syrup.

VEGGIE CORNMEAL PIE

It may look a bit like a pizza, but it's more like a pie.

VEGGIE CORNMEAL PIE

1/2 head of broccoli

1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I used a cobly + jack combo)

1/4 cup of plain yogurt

1/2 cup of milk

2 eggs

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1/2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 cup of white or yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 handful of toasted pinenuts

1/4 cup of onions

1/4 cup of mushrooms

1/4 cup of small shrimp

1/4 cup of spinach

1/4 cup of corn

salt, pepper, creole seasonings

1. Steam or boil broccoli until almost done. Rinse in cold water.
2. Whisk together cheese, yogurt, eggs, oil, salt, pepper and seasonings.
3. In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, and baking powder.
4. Fold the liquid mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.
5. Pour into a well-greased iron skillet, or other baking dish*.
6. Sautee mushrooms in a one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Do the same with the onions, adding 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, until they are glassy.
7. Combine the mushrooms, onions, pinenuts, shrimp, spinach, and corn. Layer on top of the cornmeal batter and smooth over.
8. Bake 30-40 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 360 degrees F until golden on top.
9. Remove from oven, cool slightly, cut, and serve.

*I used two iron skillets to make this, however, in the future I will probably use one deep dish iron skillet. There is something about cornbread coming from an iron skillet that just seems right. You could use any cake or loaf pan as well.

WHITE BEAN & ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP IN CUCUMBER CUPS

After returning from the once weekly local produce stand, I was in the mood to dish up something from the kitchen. I'd seen a yummy looking White Bean Roasted Red Pepper Dip on Smitten Kitchen, and thought it would be perfect to smear on sandwiches, dip into with carrots, and have hanging out in the frig all week. Plus, I'm going to a wine and cheese get together next Friday so this will be perfect pulled out of the freezer in a few days. So I modified Smitten's recipe.

WHITE BEAN & ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP

1 15-ounce can of white cannelini beans
1 red pepper, roasted
3 ounces cream cheese
half a lemon

salt & pepper (black and cayenne) to taste

Blend all in a food processor until smooth.



The hardest thing about this recipe is cleaning the food processor afterwards. It's a lovely orange color that hints at fall, even in September in Miami. I roasted the red pepper on the stove eye, perfect for those that have gas stoves. I let it get all black and then easily scraped off the skin.








For the cucumber cups, I simply cut a cucumber into sections and scraped out the seeds, leaving a bottom bit to make a cup and scooped in the dip. Simply delicious and hit an interesting combo of light and cheesey.