Salty-Sweet Butter Pecan Cookies

I recently made these cookies for a family reunion at Lake Powell (talk about one of our countries beautiful landscapes! I could go on and on about our trip, but I’ll leave that for another post coming soon!). Everyone absolutely loved them! The Salty-Sweet combination is spectacular…seriously…you just can’t go wrong with it! I believe my dad even said you could use these cookies as currency because they’re so good! Anyhow, you should try them…they’re awesome!

Salty-Sweet Butter Pecan Cookies

Want the recipe to these luscious cookies? Head over to King Arthur Flour!

I’m linking this post up at:

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Today’s Creative Blog

Roman Pizza Series 4 of 5 – Eggplant & Parmesan Pizza

Like I’ve mentioned before, we visited Rome during the hottest time of the summer. After being out in the heat and sweating for 3 days straight, we decided that we needed to take a little break from sight-seeing and spend the day at the beach! Luckily before we left for Italy I researched a day trip to the beach that was a little more than an hour away from Rome to a little town called Sperlonga.

Sperlonga is a charming seaside town. The “Old Town” is built on a cliff overlooking the sea with the most amazing views of the Mediterranean. Below “Old Town” Sperlonga is the most perfect beach that stretches for almost 4 miles. I am so sad that I didn’t take a lot of pictures in Sperlonga (mainly because I was getting some much-needed relaxation in), but below are 2 of my favorites, enjoy!

The beautiful white-washed sea-town of Sperlonga.

Enjoying some R & R!

Now, I never actually had an eggplant parmesan pizza while in Rome (or any part of Italy for that matter), but I decided to make a pizza that was inspired by it. I had eggplant parmesan while dining one night in Italy and it blew my socks off. I think this pizza is a great pizza version of it. With all of the grilled eggplant on the pizza, I don’t miss not having meat with this dish.

The Eggplant Parmesan I had in Italy that inspired this pizza creation.

 

Roman Pizza Series 4 of 5 – Eggplant & Parmesan Pizza

Cook’s Notes: Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter.

Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick.

This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 2/3 C water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature

1 1/4 t table salt

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t sugar

5 T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Toppings:

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces

1 small eggplant (10-12 ounces)

1/2 – 3/4 C shredded parmesan cheese

2-3 large basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.  Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2.  Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3.  Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4.  One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5.  Drain the can of tomatoes over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

6. Preheat grill to medium-high.

7.  Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Grill, turning once, until marked and softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then thinly slice into strips. Reduce heat to low.

8.  Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

9.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle with drained tomatoes, mozzarella, eggplant, and parmesan. Return to the oven and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

10.  Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board and top with the chopped basil leaves. Let cool slightly and then slice and serve.

Serves 4-6

Source: Dough recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, toppings my own

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

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Today’s Creative Blog

Overnight Praline French Toast

One of my first memories of cooking in the kitchen was when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I remember making French toast and pancakes with my dad. My dad was—and still remains—the king of pancakes. He has perfected his method over the years and right now is big on making pancakes the “size of your head”. He’s a big fan of the TV show “Man vs. Food” and when my parents host sleepovers with the grandkids he’s been know to run a “Kids vs. Pancakes” contest…so stinkin’ cute!

My dad making his famous hotcakes!

I was feeling a bit nostalgic when I planned a brunch for my dad and husband for Father’s Day. I didn’t want to make pancakes because there’s no beating my dad’s pancakes, so French toast seemed like the logical choice. My husband described this dish as “bomb-tastic” and more like a dessert than brunch…but seriously, could you expect any less from a Paula Deen recipe!?! ;) If you feel the need, you can drizzle maple syrup over the French toast, but I don’t think you’ll need to because it’s very sweet. The next time I make this I think I’ll cut the praline topping by a quarter or half just because it was a bit too sweet for my taste. I would however, add some toasted pecans between the layers of bread…I think this would make the dish unbelievably good! You should really try this recipe, it was a sinch to throw together!

Overnight Praline French Toast

Ingredients:

1 loaf nice, crusty Italian bread (16 ounces or so)

8 large eggs

2 C half-and-half

1 C milk

2 T granulated sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground nutmeg

Dash salt

Praline Topping, recipe follows

Maple syrup (even though I don’t think you’ll need it!)

Directions:

I used that lovely, crusty Italian bread you get from Costco that comes in a 2 pak from their bakery.

Slice bread into about 16 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange half the slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish.

First layer of bread in my buttered dish.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly.

Pour half the mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture.

First layer of bread with half the egg mixture poured over it.

Layer the rest of the bread in the baking dish and pour the remaining milk-egg mixture over the bread slices.

Second layer of bread.

Second layer of bread with the remaining egg mixture.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

After sitting in the fridge all night.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping (see recipe below) evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Before it went into the oven.

Fresh out of the oven!

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 C packed light brown sugar

1 C chopped pecans

2 T light corn syrup

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Source: Adapted from Paula Deen for the Food Network

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Skip to My Lou

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Today’s Creative Blog

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and a GIVEAWAY!

*****PLEASE NOTE: This giveaway is now closed!


I am SO excited to share this post with you because not only does it include **THE** best ice cream recipe on the planet, it also includes a fabulous giveaway!

Bridgette from Oh So Girly is not only hooking up one lucky reader with a $15 credit to her store (with free shipping), but she is also sharing a recipe with you!

A couple of weeks ago Bridgette had us over for dessert and games and she entertained our taste buds with seriously THE best ice cream I’ve ever had! It’s called Strawberry & Pretzel Cheesecake Ice Cream…that’s right, you heard me correctly: strawberries, pretzels, cheesecake, AND ice cream! <squeal> If you’re a cheesecake fan, you’re going to especially love this recipe! Bridgette got the recipe from Hello my name is Heather. Click here for the recipe!

Now onto the giveaway!

Bridgette is giving away a $15 credit to her store (with free shipping)! $15 goes a LONG way in her shop because her prices are ridiculously reasonable for such high quality products. Here are some of my favorites from her site:

Perfect bow for the upcoming holiday and ONLY $3!

So cute and only $2!

$1...are you kidding me!?!

Super cute and only $3!





Now, here’s how to enter the giveaway:

Mandatory Entry: Check out Oh So Girly and write a comment telling me your favorite product.

Bonus Entries:

·        Follow Oh So Girly & tell me

·        “Like” Oh So Girly on Facebook & tell me

The Giveaway will end on Monday, June 27^th at 11:59 PM PST. I will pick a winner via random.org and I will email the winner on Tuesday, June 28^th. Good luck everyone!!

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

Menu Plan Monday

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Today’s Creative Blog

Roman Pizza Series 3 of 5 - Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza

When you visit Rome, two of the must-see attractions are the Vatican Museum and the Basilica of Saint Peter located within Vatican City. These sites can easily take you all day to go through, depending on your speed and how much of the masterful art you’d like to absorb.

To say the Vatican Museum is enormous would be an understatement. I thought you’d simply go in, see a couple of art exhibits before you head to the Sistine Chapel and be in and out in an hour or so, but that SO is not the case! The Vatican Museum is composed of over twenty distinct collections—any of which could be their own stand-alone gallery—that you have to walk through on your way to the Sistine Chapel. The amount of art that is on display is completely overwhelming to the point you are almost “art-ed out” by the time you reach the remarkable ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately the Vatican Museum does not allow its patron to snap pictures of the Sistine Chapel (they have ample staff in the chapel that walk around clapping and constantly reminding folks “no photo”)so I am unable to provide you with a look here. But…here are some highlights of my Vatican experience:

Gallery of Maps: the most amazing hallway I've ever been in.



Raphael's "The School of Athens"



Even the floors were amazing!

I guess they don't want you wearing underware into the Vatican...

Curtis and I in Saint Peter's Square.

After touring the Vatican all day it was refreshing to enjoy what would later be such a memorable piece of pizza. Now that I’m thinking back, the version of this pizza that I had in Rome started my love affair with arugula. I love arugula! The little spicy leaves are so peppery and almost mustardy. I enjoy how the salty prosciutto cuts through the peppery tang of the arugula to create the classic Italian pairing.

Roman Pizza Series 3 of 5 – Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza

Look at those air bubbles in the crust!

Cook’s Notes: Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter.

Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick.

This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Mia enjoying a bite of pizza.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 2/3 C water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature

1 1/4 t table salt

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t sugar

3 T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Toppings:

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces

1 ½ C loosely packed arugula

2 oz prosciutto

Directions:

1.  Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2.  Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3.  Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4.  One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5.  Drain the can of tomatoes over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

6. Roughly chop the arugula and set aside.

7.  Tear the prosciutto into pieces and set aside.

8.  Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

9.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle with drained tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula and prosciutto. Return to the oven and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

10.  Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Let cool slightly and then slice and serve.

Serves 4-6

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Skip to My Lou

Tip Me Tuesday

Today’s Creative Blog

Berry Crisp

Back during my husband’s law school days in Washington, D.C., we lived in a part of Arlington, Virginia called Crystal City. We were within walking distance to 3 metros, the Mt. Vernon walking/biking/running trail that ran right along the Potomac River, about 50+ restaurants, a fantastic mall, grocery store, AND Costco (right after we moved a Nordstrom Rack opened up literally right across the street from our complex) and not to mention we were right across the river from DC! We absolutely LOVED living there and loved all the people we met through church, work, and school and we’d totally move back to the DC area in a heartbeat!

We lived in a high-rise apartment building that a lot of our friends from church also lived in which made it super convenient for social gatherings. We’d get together weekly with one group of friends to watch the epic TV show, Lost. As the weeks went on, our gatherings progressed into full-fledged parties with food, laughter, and fellowship. Our friends, the Tate’s, would host our Lost parties and Rebecca would consistently have the best treats for us to nosh on during commercial breaks, and this recipe is no exception! It is so easy to whip up and yet so delicious. I love how these frozen berries taste so fresh when baked up, and the topping is PER-FECT! There’s a lot of it and so tasty…I could seriously eat the topping by itself!

Cook’s Note: The frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries) from Costco works great for this recipe. Depending on how berry-rific you want the crisp to be, add between 6 to 8 cups of berries. I’ve made this crisp many times and I personally go for more berries, but it’s all up to your personal taste.

Perfect dessert for summer!

This is the berry blend I use from Costo.

Berry Crisp

Ingredients:

6 - 8 C frozen berry mix (I used the frozen berry mix from Costco)

1 T corn starch

2 C rolled oats (not the quick cooking)

1 C flour

1 C brown sugar

1 C butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the frozen berries in a 9 x 13 Pyrex pan. Toss the berries with the corn starch to lightly coat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, make the topping by mixing together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and softened butter. I find my hands to be the best mixing tool for this step, but a wooden spoon will also work...it’ll just take longer.

Slightly crumble the topping over the berries and bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through cooking. The berry crumble is done when then topping is golden and the berry mixture nice and bubbly.

Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. This crisp is especially delicious served with a little bit of fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 6-8 healthy-sized servings.

Source: My friend, Rebecca Tate

Roman Pizza Series 2 of 5 - Summer Squash & Zucchini Pizza

Mmmm, Hmmm!

We took our trip to Italy during the month of August, and I’m not so sure I’d recommend going to Italy at that time because it was H*O*T and wicked humid. Most of the sites we toured were outside and a lot of the churches and museums we toured had their lines start outside, so respite from the heat was few and far between (but it did make a quite reasonable excuse for us to have gelato multiple times a day). 

One of my favorite sites we visited in Rome was the Colosseum; I thought it was such an enduring monument to the culture of the ancient Romans. It was built back in 80 A.D. and it’s still standing today. I think my favorite factoid about the Colosseum is that is could be emptied of its 50,000+ spectators in less than five minutes! Seriously, that’s amazing!! How many modern stadiums can say that?!?

The Colosseum

My hubby and dad overlooking the Colosseum.



Curtis and I at the Colosseum.



I don’t know about you, but when I’ve been in the heat and sweating all day, the last thing I want is a piping hot piece of food to eat…but that logic was thrown out the window while walking back to our hotel one afternoon. We passed a little pizza shop that was crowded with local business men and women that displayed the most magnificent looking pies in their window. My husband and I didn’t say anything to one another as we were passing, but when the questions arose “where do you want to go for dinner” we both had the same answer. We headed back to the little pizza shop and had us the most amazing pizza of our lives! I had a pizza with summer quash and zucchini, and this recipe is directly inspired by it. Enjoy!

Amazing Roman Pizza Shop

Roman Pizza Series 2 of 5 – Summer Squash & Zucchini Pizza

This just makes me smile!

A close up of a piece.

Cook’s Notes: Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter.

Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick.

This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 2/3 C water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature

1 1/4 t table salt

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t sugar

3 T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Toppings:

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces

½ of a summer squash, julienned

½ of a zucchini, julienned

2 large basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.  Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2.  Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3.  Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4.  One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5.  Drain the can of tomatoes over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

This is what the tomatoes will look like after they've drained for 20-30 minutes.

6. Julienne your summer squash and zucchini. To see a quick little how-to video, click here. Place your julienned pieces in a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the veggies, set aside.

7.  Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

8.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle with drained tomatoes, mozzarella, and summer squash and zucchini. Return to the oven and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

9.  Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board and top with the chopped basil leaves. Let cool slightly and then slice and serve.

Serves 4-6

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen