PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE in CHOCOLATE CUPS

 PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE
In Dark Chocolate Cups
with Strawberry Blackberry Coulis

PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE:

4 Oz. Whipped Cream Cheese
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter (don't use natural peanut butters as they are not homogenized and will separate.)
1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
Splash or so of Half & Half

• With a hand mixer blend together the cream cheese, peanut butter and the powdered sugar until smooth.
• Slowly add in the half & half until you get a consistency similar to soft ice cream.
• Chill until ready to serve.

CHOCOLATE CUPS:

Small party balloons
16 Oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

• Blow up the balloons until they're the size of cup you want.  Mine were about an 1-1/2" across.
• Melt your chocolate in a double boiler (I don't like microwaves for melting large amounts of chocolate).
• Dip your balloons into the melted chocolate part way - you can get fancy and do a tulip shape like the video below if you want.
• Chill the cups in the refrigerator.
• Dip again for a stronger, less fragile cup.
• Chill until ready to assemble your dessert.

Here's a great video showing you how to create the chocolate cups - I forgot to take pictures, lol:

TIP: After I blew up my balloons I SPRAYED THEM LIGHTLY with Pam - made mine SO much easier to remove the balloon without breaking my chocolate cups!!

ASSEMBLING and PLATING
THE PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE CUPS

1/2 C. Extra Peanut Butter
Chocolate Syrup
Chocolate Shavings
Optional: Berry or Fruit Coulis
1/2 C. Whipped Cream

• Put your peanut butter mousse into a piping bag (or a plastic bag with a 1/2" hole cut out of one corner).
• Pipe the mousse into your chocolate cups.
• I added some berry coulis around my peanut butter mousse to make these a PB& J style flavor.
• Top off with some shaved chocolate curls.
• Microwave 1/2 cup of peanut butter for about 20 seconds.
• Take a pastry brush, dip in the brush in the peanut butter then paint a streak across your plate.
• Squiggle on some of the chocolate syrup in a decorative pattern.
• Drop some of the chocolate shavings on your plate.
• Spoon on a little extra of the fruit coulis.
• Add a dollop of whipped cream.
• Serve and enjoy!

I have been really jonesing for peanut butter and chocolate this week - check out my Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies too!   Tweet
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PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

So, I got a craving the other night for chocolate chip cookies - you know - the kind we all grew up with, Nestle TOLL HOUSE Cookies. So I made a batch. A batch of cookies all for me. I cannot eat all those cookies at once and I only like my cookies fresh baked, I'm finicky that way.  So I baked up a few and wrapped the rest of the dough up and stuck it in the fridge.

The next night I made a few more. The next night after that I had a craving for peanut butter.  (No, I'm not pregnant - I am just a slave to my food cravings, okay?) As I was grabbing the peanut butter out of the cupboard I had a little flash of inspiration....why not stuff the peanut butter IN the chocolate chip cookies?  So, I did.

PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Make the traditional Nestle Toll House Cookie dough.

Chill it for an hour or so to make it less sticky to work with.

Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take a 1-1/4" ball of dough and flatten it on some wax or parchment paper.

Spoon on a teaspoon or so of peanut butter (I used honey roasted, yum!)

Pick up the flattened, peanut butter filled cookie in your hand and mold the cookie dough around the peanut butter.

You don't have to close it completely up.

Put the cookie balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten them just slightly.

Bake at 375 for about 15 - 20 minutes - baking time will depend on how big your cookies are - you can see the size of mine from this:

Eat cookies.

(How much do you love me now?)

And now I'm thinking.....where did I put those mini marshmallow and the honey roasted peanuts?

And if you like peanut butter and chocolate.....wait until you see what I'm posting up this Friday!

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LEMON APRICOT BISQUICK SCONES

LEMON APRICOT SCONES

Made with Bisquick - Easy & Delicious

1 C. Bisquick (Heart Smart is okay!)

2 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar

1/2 C. Dried Apricots, Soaked and Chopped

1-1/2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1/4 Tsp. Fresh Ground Nutmeg

2 Tsp. Lemon Zest

1/4 Tsp. Vanilla

1/3 C. Half  & Half (or Milk)

1/4 C. Apple Juice (or water or apricot brandy)

• Pour some apple juice, water (or even some apricot brandy!) over the dried apricots. Cover with plastic wrap and warm this in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just long enough to warm the liquid. This will speed up the re-hydration of the apricots. Allow to cool.
• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mix the Bisquick, sugar and nutmeg in a large bowl.
• Break the butter into small pieces, then cut this into the Bisquick mixture until you get something that looks like crumbs.
• Stir in the vanilla, half & half, apricots and lemon zest until moistened.
• Drop onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or simply an ungreased baking sheet) using a 1/4 measuring cup as a scoop.
• Bake 10 minutes or until GBD (Golden Brown Delicious).

Serve with fresh butter or, better yet, clotted cream and some apricot preserves and one of my yummy TEA or COFFEE MARTINIS!

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CAPRESE BRUSCHETTA RECIPE

 

 RECIPE FOR

CAPRESE BRUSCHETTA

Turning a Salad into a Tidbit!

I love Caprese Salads with their lovely fresh tomatoes, basil and all that nice creamy cheese.  But you know me, I had to turn it into a TINY food!  So I took it off the salad plate, supercharged it with heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese then plopped it onto a nice little piece of toasted baguette!

INGREDIENTS

Mini Heirloom Tomatoes

Roasted Garlic

Goat Cheese, Crumbled

Fresh Basil, Chiffonade

EVOO ( Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Balsamic Vinegar

Toasted Baguette Slices

DIRECTIONS

• Break down a bulb of garlic, clean the cloves. Coat cloves in olive oil, season liberally with salt and roast in a 400 degree oven until caramelized and tender.
• Toast your baguette slices under the broiler until golden brown.
• Remove the baguette slices and spread a little of roasted garlic on top. Save the rest of the garlic for other recipes.
• Spoon some crumbed goat cheese on the baguette slices.
• Top the cheese with several slices of mini heirloom tomatoes.
• Layer on some of the basil chiffonade.
• Drizzle with EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar.

BTW, if you like, you can toast the brushcettas again after you've added the cheese or after you've added the tomatoes.

Serve up with my Caprese Martinis! 

Bon Appetweeto!
 

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HERE'S WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER STEAK

I went out to dinner last night and had a great ribeye steak. It was huge, so course, I took home a doggy bag. The only problem with leftover steak is there isn't very much of it , but I had enough to slice it up and make myself a snack!

Here's what I came up with, and , yes, you can use any steak leftovers:

ROSEMARY RIBEYE CROSTINI

Thinly Sliced Rare Ribeye

Small Baguette Slices, Lightly Toasted

1/ 3 C. Sour Cream

1 Tsp. Horseradish Sauce

1 Tsp. Fresh Rosemary, Chopped

Sea Salt and White Pepper; to taste

Clove of Garlic, Peeled

Tbsp. Steak Sauce

Few Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

Toast some baguette slices in the oven until lightly browned.

Slice your steak fairly thin, set aside.

Combine the sour cream, horseradish, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl, set aside.

When the baguettes are toasted, remove from the oven and rub the top quickly with a clove of garlic.

Top each baguette with a few slices of the ribeye, then place back in the oven for a few minutes to warm the steak.

Top each crostini with a dollop of the sour cream mixture.

Place the crostini on your serving plate, add a streak of some steak sauce for dipping, then garnish with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.

It's like a steak sandwich, only classier!

EASY HOMEMADE KETTLE CORN RECIPE for Caramel Popcorn Day!

HOMEMADE KETTLE CORN

for Caramel Popcorn Day!

 I love caramel popcorn but it's such a pain to make so when I get a craving I make this Homemade Kettle Corn instead!  Kettle Corn is that great sweet and salty popcorn that you find at county fairs all over the country that's sold for as much as $5 for a small bag.  

I love the stuff and I found a way to make it at home for a fraction of the cost! Plus it's as easy as making regular popcorn if you do it right!

INGREDIENTS

1/4 C. Coconut Oil

1/2 C. Popcorn Kernels

1/3 C. Sugar

Salt to Taste

DIRECTIONS

• Melt the coconut oil in a large lidded pot over medium-high heat.
• Drop in 3 kernels of corn, when they pop you oil is ready.
• Remove the 3 kernels of test corn.
• Add the sugar and the popcorn kernels and give the pot a quick stir then cover.
• Shake the pot every few seconds until the popping slows down, about 3 - 4 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat and immediately pour the Kettle Corn into a large bowl.
• Sprinkle with salt and serve.

To aid in cleaning your pot, fill the pot completely with water and let this set to dissolve any leftover caramelized sugar. By the time you finish your popcorn you should be able to easily clean the pot with soap and water!

Enjoy & Happy Caramel Popcorn Day!

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ROASTED ASPARAGUS BROCCOLI SOUP & Roasted Shrimp Appetizer

   Roasted Asparagus and Broccoli Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 Pounds of Asparagus, Ends Trimmed, Stems Peeled
1 Pound of Broccoli, Stems Peeled, Florets Removed
5 Yukon Gold Potatoes, Peeled & Cubed
1 Bunch of Scallions (Green Onions)
1 White Onion
2 Tablespoons of Roasted Garlic
Juice from One Lemon
6 C. Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 C. Half & Half
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
Toss the broccoli stems in olive oil, salt, pepper and some garlic powder. Place in the oven at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Toss the asparagus in the left over olive oil mixture and add those to the baking sheet in the oven, stir and roast all for an additional 10 - 15 minutes.

While your broccoli and asparagus are roasting:
Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your stock pot and turn burner to medium.
Dice your onions and chop your green onions and add these to your stock pot, reduce heat to medium low until lightly caramelized.
Add the stock, the potatoes, un-roasted broccoli and the garlic, bring to a boil on high. If necessary, add enough more stock or water to cover the potatoes and broccoli.
Reduce heat to medium and cook until the potatoes and broccoli are fork tender.
Add your roasted broccoli and asparagus and cook until completely tender.
Once your soup is cooked blend with an immersion blender OR transfer, in batches if necessary, to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
Return to the stove on medium until reheated then add the half & half and the lemon juice.
Add salt & Pepper to taste.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and/or some dry sherry.    HOW DID I TURN THIS INTO AN APPETIZER?

  Easy, I simply added a nice roasted shrimp to the mix! The soup is already a great pureed sauce so....

ROASTED SHRIMP IN A SEA OF GREEN

INGREDIENTS
1 Pound of Large (31 - 35 Count) Raw Shrimp in Shells
(I buy mine cleaned & deveined, saves time)
Leftover Roasted Asparagus Broccoli Soup
Olive Oil
Roasted Garlic, Smashed Up
Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
Pinch of Saffron & a few threads for garnish
Sea Salt & Pepper

TOOLS
Baking Sheet

DIRECTIONS
Toss some cleaned, deveined shrimp - in the shell - with olive oil, roasted garlic, Saffron, salt, and pepper.
Roast at 400 degrees for about 6 - 8 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
Set these aside.
Spoon some warm Asparagus Broccoli Soup into a serving spoon.
Top with one warm shrimp.
Garnish with a sprinkle of the Trader Joe's Seasoning Salute and a few threads of saffron.
Serve warm or cold.   I served these up with my Heirloom Tomato Martinis - nice pairing!   Bon Appetit! Tweet
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