TWD: Tall and Creamy Cheese Cake

This is the last TWD recipe for this year! When I started baking with the group, I thought I needed to bake every week, until I realized how much time and ingredients that took! There are many bakers out there that do participate each week, but unfortunately I'm not one of them. So, it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted a TWD post, but this cheesecake was a great way to finish off December. Thanks goes out to Anne at Anne Strawberry for choosing this week's recipe. This is a nice basic cheesecake that I chose to dress up a bit. I've included the topping recipe, as it's not a Dorie Greenspan recipe. (PS. Happy Birthday, MOM!)



Cranberry Topping
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 Tbls cornstarch
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar and water. Bring to a boil. reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and orange juice until smooth; stir into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in pecans. Place in small bowl to accompany cheesecake or spoon over cheesecake once mixture has cooled to room temperature.

Barefoot Bloggers: pappa al pomodoro

This is a classic Italian soup in which leftover bread is used as a thickener. This recipe was chosen by Natalie at Burned Bits, thanks Natalie!

Pappa al Pomodoro (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and sliced (I substituted celery)
4 tsp minced garlic (4 cloves)
3 cups diced ciabatta bread, crusts removed
2 (28 oz) cans good plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Topping:
3 cups diced ciabatta bread
2 oz thickly sliced pancetta, chopped (or you can use thick bacon)
24-30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 Tbls good olive oil, plus more for serving

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel (celery), and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil and 1 Tbls salt, and 1 1/2 tsp pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. For the topping, place the ciabatta, pancetta (bacon), and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold everything in single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until all ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crispy. Reheat the soup, if necessary, and beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot, sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil. Serves 6.

Merry Christmas!

I love Christmas and all that it means. A baby was born on this day to save me and the world! I especially love that Christmas to me means spending cherished time with my family and eating wonderful food. My husband and I are fortunate to be spending this holiday with our family, as we know many military families are continents apart and only get a phone call. We are thinking of all those serving our country right now and hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Asian Pork Tenderloin and Horseradish Baked Potatoes

My husband and I enjoyed this the other night for dinner. We liked how the glaze on the tenderloin made a nice crust and the horseradish in the potatoes was very subtle. I'm sure we'll enjoy this meal again!
Asian Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins, 1 pound each

2 Tbls soy sauce

2 tsp dry sherry

1 1/2 tsp honey

3/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp hot chili paste or crushed red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients minus the tenderloin. Preheat gas grill to medium high. Put the tenderloins on the preheated grill and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and brush with soy glaze. Cook an additional 4 minutes, turn again, and brush with glaze. At this point you will cook the tenderloin for another 4 minutes. Continue glazing the tenderloin until a nice crust forms. The meat should take approximately 13-15 minutes total of cooking time. The internal temperature should read 140 degrees. Once the correct temperature has been achieved, remove tenderloins from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Horseradish Twice-Baked Potatoes

2 baking potatoes, scrubbed

3 Tbls unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup whole milk or heavy cream, heated

2 Tbls prepared horseradish, drained

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

sour cream

chives

Bake potatoes until soft. Remove from oven, slice in half lengthwise. Remove flesh to a mixing bowl, reserving potato skins as you will put the flesh mixture back in to broil. Add butter, milk/cream, horseradish, salt and pepper to flesh. Mix until well combined and as smooth as you can get it. Add more milk/cream if mixture seems too dry. Pile flesh mixture back into skins, and broil on baking sheet 3-4 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven, top with sour cream and chives.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

I made this Mexican Hot Chocolate mix for my friend, Laura, and included it in her Christmas basket. There was a little mix that wouldn't fit into the jar, so I was able to use it for my "taste-test". I liked how the mix was "chocolaty" enough and had a hint of cinnamon. It wasn't an overpowering cinnamon taste, but it was almost an afterthought once you swallowed the drink. I'm thinking I need to make more to keep here!

Mexican Hot Chocolate (Taste of Home)
1 1/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup nondairy creamer
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup miniature marshmallows
Additional ingredient:
3/4 cup hot milk

In a bowl combine all dry ingredients; mix well. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place up to 3 months. Yield: 18-19 servings (about 3 1/2 cups total). To prepare hot chocolate: dissolve about 3 Tbls hot chocolate mix in hot milk.

Black Bean Soup

I needed something quick and easy to throw together for dinner last night, as I had another function to attend. (I'm looking forward to a night at home soon!) This soup fit the bill and had a lot of flavor for something so simple. I used canned black beans which really cut down on the time. Besides, since living in a high altitude location, I didn't want to mess with dry beans and the experiment to see how long it would actually take them to soften up when cooking. Black Bean Soup (Mesa Grill by Bobby Flay)

1 pound dried black beans, or 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbls olive oil

1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 cup red wine

3 jalapeno chiles, roasted, peeled, and seeded

1 poblano chili, roasted, peeled, and seeded

4 cups chicken stock, low-sodium chicken broth, or water

2 Tbls fresh lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

I also used shredded cheese and sour cream as a topping.

If using dried beans, pick over them to remove any stones, put them in a large bowl, and add enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain well. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half. Add the beans and reduce the heat to medium. Add the jalapenos, poblano, and stock and simmer for 30 minutes if using canned beans, or 1 1/2 hours if using dried, until the dried beans are cooked through. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Using a blender or food processor, puree half of the soup and return it to the pot. Bring to a simmer before serving. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Serves 6-8.

easy sticky buns

These are SO easy and SO delicious! My husband and I had friends staying with us the past weekend, and I made these easy sticky buns for breakfast Sunday morning. It's one of those recipes that after you make it, you wish you had never discovered as they could be addicting.

Easy Sticky Buns - Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

12 Tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces

1 pkg (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed

Filling:

2 Tbls unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the 12 Tbls butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded Tbls of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Lightly flour wooden surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins (I omitted the raisins and substituted with more pecans). Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, invert the buns onto the parchment paper, easing out the filling with a spoon. Serve warm or at room temperature.