Neapolitan Krispies

I made these bars for a get together this weekend. I wanted to bring a dessert the kids would enjoy eating. Ironically, it wound up that none of the kids wanted to stop playing long enough to eat dessert. So, you guessed it, there were a ton of leftovers. You can't tell the size of these bars from the photo, but they are monstrous. I used a pan that is slightly larger than 9x13 and each layer has 6 cups of rice krispies!

Blockette and I had fun making them. I think most of the fun on her part was from eating marshmellows that I "accidently" dropped. At one point I was measuring out the marshmellows and I slipped and half the bag wound up on the table. Her eyes got as big as saucers and she started cramming as many of the little guys in her mouth as she could. I had to tell her to stop because I really did accidently drop them, and if she kept eating them we wouldnt have enough to make the bars. She listened but I could tell she was having a dilly of a time restraining herself.

I originally saw this on Cookie Madness, but she had a peanut butter layer instead of the pink layer. The pink layer looked better visually due to the contrast between the layers, but I think the peanut butter would have tasted better. I used strawberry jet puffed marshmellows. I'd never had them before. They had this weird artificial taste. I don't plan on buying them again.

I modified the recipe slighly from what cookie madness has on her site. Here are the ingredient ratios I used, keeping in mind I used a pan that was slightly bigger than 9x13 (probably 10x14. I'm to lazy to search for a ruler). You won't get all the layers to fit in a 9x13 pan. I really had to smash down the layers to get them all to fit, and the bars were up to the top of my pan. I followed the rest of the directions with the exception that I found wax paper sprayed with cooking spray to be better than parchment paper for smooshing down the layers. The krispies kept sticking to the parchment which was rather irritating.

Layer 1:
3T butter
4 c mini marshmellows
6 c krispies (you could use cocoa krispies. I don't care for them. The regular kind worked just fine.)
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips

Layer 2:
3T butter
4 c mini marshmellows
6 c krispies

Layer 3:
3T butter
1 10 oz. bag of strawberry jet puffed marshmellows
6 c krispies

Baked Ziti and Easy Cheese bread

I guess you can't technically call it Baked Ziti since I used Rigatoni, but close enough. Head on over to the Crepes of Wrath for the recipe and great pics of the Baked Ziti. This dish reminded me a lot of lasgana. While no bake lasagna noodles make lasagna easy to make, this Baked Ziti was even more of a breeze.

Holy cow did it make a lot though. We will be eating leftovers of this for days. Good thing everyone liked it so much. Blockette plowed through her bowl. We didn't have to remind her to eat once.

Next time, unless I'm making this for company, (which I definitely will), I'm going to half the recipe, with the following changes: use a pound of meat and a heaping half cup of sour cream. I like my red sauce dishes to be meaty and the original 1 lb of meat to 2 jars of sauce spread it a little thin for my tastes. I also thought there was a bit too much sour cream. I didn't like scooping into the dish to find that white layer. The sour cream was a bit too thick to melt into the provolone. Stirring the serving eliminated the white layer, but for presentation sake I'd rather not have to do that if I was serving it for company. I'm guessing the thinner layer of sour cream would melt better into the cheese. I guess you could use ricotta. Ricotta would melt nice, but I'm not a fan of ricotta.

The Cheese bread from My Kitchen Cafe was really an after thought. I realized that I had forgotten to buy garlic bread and all we had was regular old sandwich bread. I wanted something that could sop up the red sauce a little better than that. (Or maybe we could blame Mrsthunder who was talking about how she was making garlic basil bread in her bread machine the other day.) I had debated on making the no knead bread but I didn't have enough time. I also didn't want to have the oven on for that long either.
I rummaged through my recipe folder and came across a few different ideas. Most of them you either needed a stand mixer or you had to knead by hand. I have bad luck kneading by hand so those were out as well. This particular bread recipe is technically a quick bread. There is no yeast and no kneading involved. Right up my alley!

Naturally, I didn't have the exact ingredients for this bread. I wasn't about to go to the store because, hey, if I was going to go to the store I could have just bought a loaf of garlic bread. I didn't have the sharp cheddar cheese to chop up. I did have twisted cheddar and mozzarella string cheese. I used that instead. I also didn't have whole milk. The recipe specifically says not to use skim milk but that was all I had. Would it have tasted better with the intended ingredients? You bet, but the end result of this loaf was still mighty tasty.

I think next time I might omit the Parmesan cheese. I couldn't get it to shred nicely. It all sort of crumbled into a coarse grit. That was more of a visual thing though. I don't think the way the cheese shredded had an effect on the taste of the bread. If you go to My Kitchen Cafe and look at her pic, the large grate of the cheese on top looks much better than the crumbled stuff on my loaf. The Parmesan made the bread rather salty as well. I think a different cheese could make just as pretty of a crunchy crust without the saltiness.

Baked Ziti from Crepes of Wrath
1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce, dealer’s choice
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups low-fat sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, 8 min; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground turkey over med heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 min. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and/or line a 9×13" dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mix, remaining ziti, mozzarella and remaining sauce mix. Top with grated Parmesan. Bake 30 min til cheeses melted. Let sit for a few min before serving.


Simple and Delicious Cheese Bread from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
**If the toothpick comes out with what looks like uncooked batter after testing the bread for doneness, try again in a different spot since the toothpick may have hit a pocket of cheese the first time. You definitely don’t want to overbake the bread or it will be dry. According to the original recipe, the texture of the bread improves as it cools, so if you can, resist the urge to slice the bread while it is still very hot. I can attest that this leftover cheese bread makes excellent toast. Use a toaster oven or baking sheet in a 425-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes (a conventional toaster can be messy because the pockets of cheese will melt and burn).**

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded on large holes of box grater (about 1 cup)
3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4-5 ounces sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups whole milk (2% milk may be substituted but don’t use skim milk)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg lightly beaten
3/4 cup sour cream

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position in the oven and preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 5x9"loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, then sprinkle 1/2 c of the Parmesan evenly in bottom of pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper to combine. Using a rubber spatula, mix in cheddar cheese cubes, breaking up clumps, until cheese is coated with flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg, and sour cream. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (the batter will be heavy and thick). Do not overmix. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level surface with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c Parmesan evenly over surface.

Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45-50 min. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 min; invert loaf from pan and continue to cool until warm, about 45 min. Cut into slices and serve.

Peeved

Today Blockette and I went to the Library (Bookatorium for those of you in the know). As we were entering, another woman and her child were leaving. The woman and I were both holding onto the door to keep it open. (The Blockette likes to stand in the doorway and on more than one occasion I have assumed that she has passed through the threshold only to see the door smacking her in the face or butt. This happened less than a week ago and the door hit her so hard in the head it knocked her to the ground. Naturally, I was more concerned with my child not getting hurt than this random woman holding the door open. ) This lady turns around and in a snotty voice says "You're welcome."

EXCUSE ME??? How is it that you get to be rude when you are in essence scolding me for being rude to you? Hypocrite!!! The "you're welcome" said before someone says "Thank you" is one of my pet peeves. It's a sure fire way to piss me off. I don't even think you should do it to kids. It's much better to tell them to say thank you than to do the preemptive you're welcome. I think it just reinforces the rudeness cycle. No one needs that.

I was already not having the best day dealing with an uncooperative munchkin. This just tipped the scales to totally pooptastic. Thanks snotty lady! You're number 1.

I do have to say that I can think of one exception where I wouldn't be angry at the "You're welcome." If Mrblocko came up to me and gave me a peck on the cheek and said "You're welcome" in a loving voice, and then proceeded to tell me he just killed the King Kong of spiders in Blockette's room without her knowing. I would be totally OK with that.

Peas and Espresso

No...not together!! That would be really icky. Peas and anything coffee are two things I don't normally say "mmmm!" too, but there is always an exception to every rule.

I've been feeling very daring in the kitchen as of late. I told Mrblocko that I was making Crunchy Pea Salad as a side dish to burgers for dinner and he indicated that he thought it sounded unpleasant. I went ahead and made it anyhow. I loved it. The salt from the bacon and pecans went great with the uncooked peas. Plus, everything was crunchy. I think that is the big thing I don't like about peas, they turn mushy and pasty when cooked. Mrblocko said he thought they would taste better with some grape tomatoes. I just happened to have some and he liked it enough to tolerate the salad as leftovers for lunch. Blockette said she didn't like it, but we made her eat a small portion anyhow. After the 3rd bite she said, "Maybe I do like this after all, but I don't think it tastes good." (I think she was in an especially contrary mood.) Next time, I'll add some chopped water chestnuts for even more crunchy goodness. I couldn't get a good picture, so if you want to see what the salad looks like there is a great pic in the link above.

Now onto dessert! I bought this instant espresso specifically to make this shortbread. I had a hard time tracking it down. A few months ago I was near a Whole Foods and thought I'd check in there. Lo and behold, there it was.
Why go to so much trouble to find an ingredient for something I was unsure I'd like? First, this recipe got such rave reviews I thought it would be worth the risk. Second, there are quite a few people in my life that are coffee freaks. I thought they would really go ga-ga for this cookie. Third, I've found a few other dessert recipes that call for instant espresso powder. If the cookies bombed, I'd have a great excuse to experiment with something else.

The Espresso Chocolate shortbread cookies are originally found in a book called Baking:From My Home to Yours, but I found them on a great blog called Smitten Kitchen. The book is by Dorie Greenspan who apparently is some sort of baking guru. There are blogs where all people do is make recipes from her books. Food bloggers can't seem to say enough good things about her creations. Guess you'll have to add me to the list. While this is the first "Dorie" creation I've baked, it won't be the last.

I had always heard how fussy shortbread was. I don't know how true that is as I've never made shortbread before. This recipe was super easy! I loved rolling it out inside the gallon ziploc bag. I usually have trouble with roll out cookies. The dough always sticks to whatever surface I roll it out on. Inside the bag it didn't matter if it stuck. Once the dough chilled, I cut away the bag. I think the heavens parted and a ray of celestial light filled my kitchen. (or that could have just been the sun coming out from behind a cloud through the kitchen sky light. We'll never know.)
You are supposed to measure out the dough into 1.5" squares after it has chilled. I thought that might be tricky until I remembered my clear plastic quilting ruler. I wrapped that sucker in plastic wrap so I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it or if the ruler was food grade plastic. I even used my pizza cutter like a rotery wheel. Zip, zip, zip!

I don't know why I like these cookies. I don't like coffee at all. Coffee flavored things usually gross me out. Maybe the coffee taste is too mild for me to care? Whatever it is, it's hard for me to stop at one. Naturally, Blockette took the eentsiest nibble and handed it back to me. I would have been shocked if she had liked it. Mrblocko said that he wouldn't ask for me to bake them again. HUH? I was stumped at that reaction. I thought he would have flipped over them at least half as much as I did. After getting over my shock, we talked about it and he said that he was expecting them to be sweet like a regular cookie. (They are shortbread after all. They're not supposed to be super sweet.) He did ask if he could take some to work to drink with his coffee. I guess a mediocre cookie is better than no cookie at all.
I think the biggest test will be over the 4Th. My uncle is a coffee nut/freak/snob/loonie toon AND a cookie tester of the nth degree. If he doesn't like them, I guess I'll have to eat them all myself. Hopefully they won't magically disappear before he gets a chance to evaluate them.

Crunchy Pea Salad from Savour Fare
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Ground pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
10 oz frozen peas, thawed and drained
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
6 slices bacon
1/4 cup minced red onion

Cook bacon in a 400F oven til crisp, 15 min. Crumble and set aside. Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in a salad bowl. Add peas, bacon, nuts and onion, toss thoroughly and chill before serving. Make at least an hour in advance so the flavors blend.


Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from Smitten Kitchen Makes 42 cookies
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Dissolve espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium for 3 min, til mix very smooth. Beat in vanilla and espresso, then reduce speed to low and add flour, mixing only until it disappears into dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

Using spatula, transfer soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2" rectangle that’s 1/4" thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

Bake 18-20 min, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Awwww Snap!

Last week it was hot and gross in the 90's. I didn't even want to leave the house to get the mail. Today it is in the 70's and breezy. It's a great day for baking. The wind carries all the heat from the oven right out the window.

I had intended on making Penzeys Spices' Gingersnaps yesterday while Mrblocko and the Blockette were out and about, but alas, I was short on molasses. They ever so kindly picked some up on their way home so I could make gingersnaps this morning instead. Please don't ask me how many I've tested for quality control. One can never be too careful when it comes to the safety of one's family. I'm still not sure if they're up to snuff...maybe 2 or 3 or 10 more and I'll be 100% certain.

Penzeys Gingersnaps
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup vegetable shortening
1 Cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 Cup molasses - either regular or unsulphured
1 tsp. GINGER, powdered
1 tsp. CINNAMON, powdered
1/2 tsp. CLOVES, powdered
1/3 Cup granulated white sugar (to roll dough in)

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar until well blended. Beat in egg, molasses, GINGER, CINNAMON, and CLOVES. Add the flour mixture in two parts, blending well. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350°. Shape dough into 11/2" balls for large cookies - smaller are fine too. Roll the balls thoroughly in sugar, place on ungreased cookie trays. The cookies spread out during baking, so don't crowd them. Bake 15 minutes. Cool for a minute, then remove from cookie sheets. Store in an airtight container for crispy cookies, or in a regular cookie jar for chewy cookies. Yield: 40-60 cookies

Summertime

It's official, once the gigantic mutant lilies have bloomed, it's truely summer!

Honeycomb Flower Pasta

I'm on a red sauce kick these days. For so many years I just couldn't eat anything that was tomato based without a severe stomach ache and digestive problems. I've solved that problem and apparently it is Red Sauce City at the Blocko house.

Last night I finally got around to making Taste of Home's Wagon Train Pasta. The recipe kept popping up and I kept saying, "Oh, that looks good. Maybe I'll make that next week." It's really too bad I waited so long to make this because after Blockette took her first bite she said, "Mommy can you make this again?"

The recipe originally called for wagon wheels, but I could not find them at Meijer's. Why my store doesn't carry them I don't know. It's not like it's some exotic shape or anything. I did have Fiore noodles in my pantry. Fiore is apparently Italian for flower, but they remind me of Honeycomb cereal. Where did these Fiore noodles come from? I know I didn't get them at Meijer's because it was not a brand they carry. Maybe my pantry just spits out weird shapped noodles. Last week I found Turkey and Christmas shaped noodles in there! Those are an even bigger mystery than the Fiore noodles!

I doubled this recipe as well. I hate it when a recipe calls for 1/2 a pound of ground meat. I always wonder what I'm supposed to do with the other half. It's much easier to freeze red sauce than to freeze an already opened package of meat.

The last alteration to the recipe was simply because the only bread crumbs I had were panko. I wasn't about to use the panko mixed into the meat. Panko is for crispy crunchy coatings and toppings, not as a filler. Instead, I substituted crushed Ritz crackers and omitted the salt. I thought the crackers would add enough salt to the mix.

I'm not sure what made this so tasty. The sauce wasn't that different from other red sauces I've made in the past. I think the difference was the egg added to the meat mix. It gave the meat ragu something that made you say, "Hmmm what is that? It tastes different, but in a good way."

Wagon Train Pasta from Taste of Home
3 cups uncooked wagon wheel pasta
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/2 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
1-1/2 cups meatless spaghetti sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Cook pasta. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat egg, salt, garlic and pepper. Add beef and mix well. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bread crumbs; mix gently. Crumble beef mix into large skillet. Cook over med-high heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2-4 min til heated through. Drain pasta; place in a serving bowl. Add beef mix; sprinkle with 1/2 c mozzarella. Toss til pasta well coated and cheese melted. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Yield: 5 servings.