summer salad days

As I sit down to write this post I remember that the oven hasn't been on in over four days. Wow. Is that a new record for me? I think so. The heat and the humidity have taken over very early this summer and the last thing I want to do is add more heat. So I've been eating a lot of salads, subs, tomato & mozzarella, etc.. and of course ice cream.
I asked on twitter what ya'll wanted me to post next and almost everyone said salad. OK. To be honest I never thought to share salads, but maybe someone out there will dig it as much as I do. My salads are a little out of this world, but that's because I love my salads kicked up too, just like my desserts and meals. But I think you might like this salad as it has a lot of flavor and textures going on in it. Not to mention protein. It's pretty easy to guess what's on this one: avocado's, tortilla strips, black olives, feta, red kidney beans. The dressing is catalina. Yeah big gourmet surprise. But have ya'll tried Catalina? Man that stuff is goooood. I've just tried it in the last two years. That stuff goes with everything. Amazing in taco salads too. What's not in the photo are banana peppers; I saw those in the fridge last minute and had to have them.
What's your favorite way to kick up a salad? Do you eat more salads in the summer?

pb, chocolate chunk and bacon cookies

Nothing fancy this time around, just good old comfort food. I love the cookbook Baked, inside there is a recipe for chocolate-peanut butter cookies. Of course they are wonderful on their own, but you know me I had to add something to it. What came to mind? Bacon of course!
Needless to say these are insanely good, very addicting and will satisfy that craving you get for something sweet and then something salty. These cookies never ever left the house; they were devoured in less than a day. I ate too many and of course gained 500 pounds, but that's ok, it was worth it. Ha! I know bad writings for a blog post. But hot damn these cookies were fabulous! And you know what's even better? Any leftover cookies (LOL like that'll happen, are really good in ice cream). I'm just saying....

peanut butter cookies with chocolate chunks & bacon
adapted from Baked
print recipe

1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces good milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked, chopped bacon chunks

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.
The mixture will look light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until just incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate and bacon chunks. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (I left mine overnight, it was fine).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, very gently press each cookie down so it forms a very tall disk shape. Do not press too hard and do not press it flat.
Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown. (I did not do this, but feel free).
Should make about 30 cookies.

apricot cheesecake w/ salty vanilla cookie crust

Who doesn't love a good cheesecake. I know I do. But what really makes me a happy camper is a mighty fine, tasty, thick crust. The filling of the cheesecake is so thick and so rich, there just has to be the equivalent in a crust. It just bothers me to see these lame ass cheesecakes with the thinnest of crusts. Why? I can't eat all that cheesecake without some balance of salty, crispy crust. Can you? I would tire, I would bore.... Oh the humanity! And there are those people that 'leave' cheesecake crust on their plate! They should be fined.
The crust, if done right is the best part. I have solved such a problem, I have made a superb duper crust; it's almost double crust, but not quite--perfect. Instead of using graham crackers (which can get boring at times) I used those vanilla cookie wafers from Oreo (called 'golden'), a bit of salt, and some butter. I know this is not big NEW news, but I've never used those cookies before.

apricot cheesecake w/ salty vanilla-cookie crust
print recipe (by dawn finicane)

1 lb. bag of vanilla oreo’s: center fillings removed; cookies crushed up fine
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
¾ TB salt
5 packs (8 oz) cream cheese, room temp
1 cup white sugar
3 TB flour
½ TB pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs

apricot topping:
About 7 – 8 apricots skin removed, chopped into ½ inch pieces
1 – 2 TB white sugar
The juice of 1 lemon
A dash or two of pure vanilla extract or pure almond extract

Make the apricot topping by mixing all in a glass/ceramic bowl, cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight. See notes below.
Heat oven to 325 degrees, spray a springform pan heavily with non stick spray.
Mix crushed up vanilla cookies with melted butter and salt in a bowl. Then press into cake pan. Take a smooth round glass and firmly press crust into all edges. Bake this for only 10 minutes.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with mixer. Add sour cream, then add in eggs, one at time. Pour over crust. Bake for about 30 minutes, gently turn pan around and bake another 30 minutes (unless you have a confection then you really don’t need to turn cake unless you have hot spots in oven). Recipe by Dawn Finicane. You’ll know when it’s done when the center is almost set. Turn off oven, open door and leave it alone. Then cool, then refrigerate for 5 hours or more.
When ready to serve top with the apricot topping.

Notes: there will be leftover cheesecake batter, you can use it for something--I didn’t. It might freeze ok though. I highly recommend using a hint of rum in the apricot marinade. It clearly begs for it when I tasted this. Or even an almond liqueur.

strawberry puff pastry w/ white chocolate ganache

I know I just posted a post on strawberry shortcake BUT let me explain. Remember when I did the devil's food cake with crunchy cream cheese-peanut butter filling & chocolate ganache? And then did a 'white' version or as I like to call his evil twin? Well I did the same thing here. After doing a decadent strawberry shortcake with chocolate ganache and fresh whipped cream I just had to make one with white chocolate ganache. Ok, and the other reason is I love strawberry shortcake a little too much and wanted to mix it up a notch by using a puff pastry this time. Puff pastry goes really well as a base for strawberry shortcake? You knew this right? Good. Because to honest I hadn't used puff pastry for strawberry shortcake.... yet. Why did I this time? Well, it was 90 degrees outside with 5000% humidity, and the last thing I wanted to do was roll dough out, sweat off 10 pounds, wait for it to bake (and bake while the oven was on) and then have dishes to wash. So I used those little frozen puff pastry cups, baked them for 15 minutes and voila we have fancy schmancy shortcakes.
The whipped cream looks like crap because it was 5000% humidity and the whipping cream wasn't cooperating. Well, OK I forgot to chill the bowl and beaters before whipping the cream, I know BAD girl bad. So please excuse my crappy whipped cream in the photo.
No money shot this time as I had hungry people waiting impatiently to devour this.

To make this strawberry shortcake:
print recipe

for the strawberries:
½ pound strawberries, washed, hulled & chopped
2 TB white sugar
1 TB fresh lemon juice
a splash or two of pure vanilla extract (champagne is good too)
It’s best to get the strawberries done first as you want them to sit for a while at room temp before serving. I like to let mine sit for at least an hour or two before serving (room temp).

white chocolate ganache:
by dawn
a small saucepan or double boiler
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 TB butter

(you can halve this recipe as this makes a lot). Melt white chocolate, heavy cream, and extract over a double boiler. Do not boil. You need to stir this A LOT. It will take a long time before it gets to a thick consistency. Now if you want a little bit of shine to your Ganache add some butter into it just after you take it off the heat. When it’s melted then add butter and take off heat immediately. Stir to combine butter completely. Keep stirring. And stirring. I like to let my Ganache sit a bit before using; the longer it sits the thicker it gets.

whipped cream:
place your whipping bowl and the beaters in the freezer at least ½ hour before using. This is good for keeping the whipped cream nice and cold.
I use about ½ cup of whipping cream, beat till almost whipped, then add in a couple splashes of pure vanilla extract, then resume whipping till done.

to assemble:
take a baked puff pastry cup, fill with marinated strawberries, then top with the warm chocolate ganache, then top with the freshly whipped cream, then devour! The puff pastry cups do not keep well overnight, so it's best to eat them right up, but I think you have no problems with that.

asian beef short ribs over warm balsamic potato salad

Would you believe this is my first time making beef short ribs? I can't believe it either. I don't know why I haven't used these sooner because they are the perfect sponges for sauces. I remember always passing them by at Whole Foods thinking what the heck am I gonna do with those? They don't look very meaty to me, and to be honest they really don't. They look all fatty, but underneath all that fatty is the hidden gem of tender meat. Really tender. The only downfall is they are not cheap--very expensive, but it was worth it. A meal you won't soon forget. And as I said before they are the perfect vessel for sauces, and you all know how I love my sauce.
Please bear with me, I think I got all the ingredients for the ribs; I kind of used what came to mind and/or what it needed as I went along. But you're all smart little foodies and know to taste your sauce as you go along and see what it needs, right? Good.

asian beef short ribs
by vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 TB sesame oil
4 TB ketchup (oh yeah, gourmet time)
4 TB rice vinegar
4 TB minced fresh ginger
About 5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ts red pepper flakes
4 - 5 lbs beef short ribs

Preheat oven to 260 degrees.
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper in a bowl.
Place ribs in a dutch oven and pour sauce over.
Cover and cook about 4 hours, then move them around a bit, cook for another hour with the cover off. Check to see if they are done (the meat should be really tender and falling off bones, if not, just cook a bit longer).
Remove ribs from crockpot. And at this point I like to make a reduction sauce using the sauce along with a bit more brown sugar & ketchup (taste as you go along and add what you think it needs); reduce till nice and thick. (this should be enough for four people).

warm balsamic potato salad

4 large potatoes (I use russet, use whatever you like)
¼ cup of Hellmans mayo
2 TB high quality balsamic vinegar
Dashes of black pepper
5 TB red onion, chopped fine
3 TB chopped scallions

First make dressing mix all the ingredients but the potatoes and scallions in a dish and chill.
Chop up potatoes into med. size chunks. Boil in salted water until just tender. Drain very well, I mean very well, and let them be and cool off a bit. OR if you want a cold salad this would be the time to chill them in the fridge for a while. When ready add the sauce to the potatoes and stir, then add in the scallions. (this should be enough for four people)