spicy pecan pie with cheddar cheese crust

I'm always raving about the great finds at Trader Joe's, and my deep love for their Sweet & Spicy pecans. The best part of these pecans is finding new ways to use them in recipes. Because in all honesty, I can literally sit down and eat 2 bags of the pecans. That's not good for me because they are kind of fattening. The heat/spice does not bother me; I can eat fairly hot food items without getting too over-heated. Some people say that over time you lose the sensitivity in your tongue because of eating to much spicy foods. That can't be true? Can it? I do know people that can eat way hotter foods than I can and never ever be bothered by it. Why is that? I've always wondered if it's a myth about your tongue over time becoming desensitized from the over-consumption of spicy foods. What do you think?

So, I've found another recipe for my favorite sweet & spicy pecans: spicy pecan pie. It was good, we had a lot leftover as hubby won't go near that spicy stuff, ever!

Spicy Maple-Pecan Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust
(I adapted some of this from Closet Cooking)

print recipe

1 1/2 cups sweet & spicy pecans (found at Trader Joe’s)
1 cup light brown sugar, not packed
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon bourbon (optional, but makes all the difference)
¾ stick of unsalted butter
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (I used 2 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
(I used a pinch of cayenne-optional)
2 pie crusts (chilling in the fridge until used)
¼ - ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional, just use plain crust if you want)

Take 2 pre-made pie crusts of your own homemade pie crusts shaped into 2 circles for a regular sized pie plate.
Take one of the pie crusts and place on floured surface, place the shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top of the pie crust and gently push the shredded cheddar into the pie crust. You can use a rolling pin to push it in there. It's ok if some of the cheddar sticks out.
Take the other pie crust and put on top of bottom pie crust. Seal the crusts together and place into pie pan and form into a regular pie crust, crimping edges as you would any other pie crust. Once formed place ready pie crust into fridge to stay chilled.
Heat the sugar, syrup, bourbon and butter in a large saucepan until it boils, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and let cool.
In a separate bowl beat in the eggs, cream, vanilla and salt (and cayenne if using). When sugar mixture is cooled add in the egg mixture, combine well.
Spread the spicy pecans over the bottom of the pie crust.
Pour the liquid mixture into the pie crust.
Bake in a preheated 350F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes

double chocolate brownies with minty cream cheese frosting

The main reason I made these brownies is because of the frosting. Isn't that what it's always about: either the frosting or the crust? Aren't they the best parts? Just like when there is a really good cheesy casserole, the best part is the most golden, crispiest part of the crust; that's the part everyone wants in on. That's how I feel about frostings--go big or go home. I mean if you're going to go to all the trouble of making some stellar brownies, cakes, cookies, etc... then make a good frosting. Don't you hate when you bite into a gorgeous looking cake and the frosting is just awful: greasy, oily, too much sugar, too much food coloring (that does have a really bitter taste).
I had been mulling over a good mint cream cheese frosting for a while, but what was holding me back was the mint. I've tried some mint frostings that were just way too minty, so much so that it blew you away as you were coming in for a bite, all you could smell was the over-whelming smell of mint. And then it's colored green! Ick. Not for me. I like a really mild mint flavor with no food coloring. And once you have that then you can add in the creamy richness of cream cheese. Some of you may think mint & cream cheese in a frosting? Ugh. No! Trust me, if done right it's good and it melds well.

To make these bad boys just use your favorite brownie recipe and then use this minty frosting:

1 package of cream cheese, 8oz. room temp
1 cup of confectioners sugar (maybe a little more)
1 ts of cream or half & half (maybe a little more)
a splash of peppermint extract (like a 1/2 ts; all depending on your liking)

Sift confectioners sugar, this is a must because it will help get rid of the lumps! Then mix all in a bowl until nice and creamy.
I decorated the tops of the brownies with some chocolate peppermint bark. Or you can use crushed candy canes. These should be kept in the fridge as it has cream cheese in it.

apple-cheddar hand pies w/ maple glaze

Most of you know I love Emeril. A huge dream of mine is to meet him and cook with him--I mean cook things up to notches unknown! I think he is just absolutely fascinating to watch, always is quick-handed during cooking, knows how to react perfectly with people and just has this contagious energy to get people involved in cooking, just like he did in his show "Emeril Live"!
Remember that show?  Good times. Wish they'd bring that one back.

Emeril would get you so engaged, so excited to cook!
Best of all, I love that he likes to think as do I and kick things up a notch; as he would say "why be boring?...we're gonna make it better and badder!"  He definitely made you think about doing your same old recipe different; for me anyways.
Here is one of his recipes and one of my very favorite ways to make apple pie. I love hand pies. This way everyone gets their own individual pie, plus you can shape them into any form. Did you know that with hand pies come MORE crust? Think about it, you get more crust per square inch in a hand pie than you would with a slice of pie. For me, the crust is the best part--hands down. It's all about ratio baby! I don't think there should be an equal amount of filling to crust, I think it should be 60% crust and 40% filling.
(my apologies for the dark photos)





apple-cheddar hand pies
adapted from Emeril Lagasse
print recipe

2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, & chopped (I used 3 McCoun) 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (I used pie crust this time, both work great) 1 cup cheddar, shredded
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water (I used no water)
Maple Glaze, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and toss to combine.
In a saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Cook apple mixture for 7 to 10 minutes until apple juices release and apples are slightly softened. Sprinkle flour over mixture. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry sheet. With pizza wheel, cut pastry sheet into 6 squares.
Add the cubed cheese to cooled apple mixture.
Divide the apple mixture in the center of each pastry square, leaving a 1-inch border along the long sides.
Carefully fold into triangle shape; crimp the ends together with fork to seal, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
In a small bowl, beat together the egg and water to make an egg wash. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the outside of each square with the egg wash. Using a paring knife, make a vent in each triangle.
Bake until risen and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool slightly and drizzle with maple glaze. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.
If using pie crusts, they take about 30 - 35 minutes to cook.

Maple Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
7 tablespoons maple syrup
Combine sugar and syrup until smooth.
(I added in about 4 - 6 oz. of softened cream cheese)

These really taste like a pop tart only 1000x's better.

Orange-Hoisin Scallops

Living on cape cod has many benefits: seafood.
We get access at times to lobster, scallops and cod.
I'm always more than happy to take whatever I can.
Sometimes you can tire of the same old baked stuffed or broiled scallops, so why not put a little twist
on it and add an asian flare.  Hoisin sauce pairs really nicely with scallops.

It's super easy and has the best flavor-combo one can use for seafood; any seafood too. Works great on shrimp, salmon, scallops and even lobster. Very versatile sauce, and one that will be your go to sauce. Living on cape cod one becomes used to eating a lot of scallops. This dish sounds like it's hard to prepare but its not--I just made the photo all kinds of fancy for you.
All you have to do to make this fancy is place rice in a ramekin, pack it in, then turn upside down
on the plate, cover with scallops.  Easy fancy pants post.



scallops with hoisin-orange sauce
print recipe

sauce
1 8.5-ounce jar hoisin sauce (I used little more than half of this when cooking for 2)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

vegetables
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce (nam pla)
1 bunch watercress, trimmed (sometimes I skip this)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
3/4 cup cilantro leaves (from large bunch)
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

scallops
1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds (I used 1 ts of dried instead)
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
12 large sea scallops
Vegetable oil

For sauce:
Mix all ingredients in bowl. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.) ß I did not do this but cooked the sauce (see below).
For vegetables:
Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Add watercress, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, and onion and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand 30 minutes or chill up to 1 hour, tossing occasionally.
For scallops:
Stir coriander seeds in small skillet over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darker, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to plastic bag. Using mallet or hammer, coarsely crack seeds. Combine sesame oil and ginger in medium bowl; mix in coriander seeds, then scallops. Let stand at least 30 minutes or chill up to 1 hour.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Thread 3 scallops onto each of 4 skewers. Brush barbecue rack with oil to prevent sticking. Grill scallops until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Divide vegetables among 4 plates. Top each with scallops and serve, passing hoisin-orange sauce separately.

Serves 2 in my house (might serve 4)

cook notes: It’s too cold to grill outside, so what I did was cook scallops in pan in a little oil or non-stick pan, set aside, then cooked the veggies, then combined the two together. And then in a separate pan I cooked/warmed up/reduced the sauce with about 1 TB of cornstarch. I used cornstarch to make a thicker sauce. Keep in mind the sauce is really strong and I don’t advise pouring it all over the scallops, just a few dabbles on each plate should be good. Serve with Jasmine or sticky rice. (to make the rice uniform like I did, just stuff a good amount of rice into a ramekin, flip upside-down on plate, let sit for a while or until ready to plate and you should have a nice uniform pile of rice).

double chocolate muffins

Not much cooking lately--It's cocoon season for me.
That means I'd rather be warming my cold body in a down filled cocoon on my bed sleeping winter away only to be awoken when spring shines her brilliant sun. That or I'd like to be sitting in a hot jacuzzi tub warming my cold bones up. I only have the first option, wishing I had the second as a hot bath does wonders for me on frigidly cold days. I don't know if it's me getting old or what, but I can't take the cold as I used to. And the dry cold air at night is a pain in the butt for skin care and breathing. I need to look into buying a really good warm-air humidifier.
Can anyone recommend a good one?
I think I might go to the local YMCA to use their hot therapeutic pool--that sounds so good right now. I feel so old in the winter, anyone else get like this?


These double chocolate muffins are seriously strong in chocolate.
I can always depend on Dorie Greenspan for a trustworthy, stellar recipe.
If you can, use the higher cacao chocolate in these muffins for best taste and best way to quell that chocolate craving.


A little frosting never hurt.

double chocolate muffins
adapted from dorie greenspan
print recipe

1 stick butter
4 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of good quality milk chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or butter, then flour a regular size muffin tray.
Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate in a pan over medium heat, do not boil! Let cool for about 15-20 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture over dry ingredients and then add the melted butter & chocolate mixture. Mix all together until just combined. Do not overmix.
Stir in milk chocolate chips or chunks.
Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Bake for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes and remove onto wire racks.
Makes 12 muffins