This  was such an elegant and extremely easy recipe. The honey balsamic glaze on the sweet pears was so flavorful and delicious. It went perfect with the toasted pecans and goat cheese. A great salad to serve with any meal but went perfectly with a classic lasagna.

The leftover glaze makes a wonderful dressing to top the salad with. This salad was wonderful with the goat cheese but I think it would just as good with a good blue cheese such as a Roquefort or Gorgonzola.

2 firm-ripe Bosc pears, whole, skins removed ( cut the very tip of the bottom off so the pears stand flat)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
5 ounces baby spinach, washed, dried
4 oz Manchego or mild fresh goat cheese, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1/4 cup whole pecans, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries *optional

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Wisk together melted butter, honey and balsamic in a medium bowl. Arrange pears in a small roasting pan. Top the pears with glaze and place in middle of oven until tender, about 20 minutes making sure to baste the pears with the glaze halfway through. When pears are tender but still firm and holds their shape, remove from oven and allow to cool. Reserve the glaze from the pan.

Dressing
(makes 3/4 cup)
3 tablespoons balsamic glaze (from roasting pan)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They chose Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux and Savoury Tuiles from Thomas Keller “The French Laundry Cookbook”.

I was really excited for this months challenge. Missing last months French Yule Log challenge I was anxious to find out what this months challenge was and try my hand at brand new recipes. I was very pleasantly surprised to find we were making tuiles. With the choice of make a sweet or savory tuiles and pairing it with something light.

I chose to make orange cigar shaped tuiles and paired it with a light cranberry mousses. The mousse was amazing,  so airry, light and the flavor was delicious. For the tuiles, I grated a little orange zest and added it in the batter and made sure the mousse was completely set before adding them on top. It took me a few try’s getting the cooking time exactly right but the tuiles came out very delicious and went perfectly with the mousse. I can’t wait to make them again and maybe try the savory version or making chocolate tuiles!

Tuiles
The Chocolate Book by Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck

Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

Cranberry Orange Mousse
Sourse: Baking Obsession

1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
6 tbsp granulated sugar
¼ cup water
Zest of 1 medium orange ( I omitted this and used the zest in my tuiles)
1 tbsp Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
3 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whipping cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and becomes a jam-like, about 8-10 minutes total. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a medium bowl, pressing hard onto the solids. Add the orange zest and liqueur, stir. Cool to room temperature.

Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a wide skillet. Turn the burner off (if your stove is electric, remove the skillet from the burner) and wait for 30 seconds, then set the bowl of chocolate in the hot water. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the hot water. Let the chocolate cool to about 85 F (a small dab on your upper lip should feel slightly cool, not cold). If the chocolate mixture is too cold, the mousse may turn out grainy; if necessary, set the bowl in the pan of warm water for a few seconds before the next step.

Whip the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold about a third of the whipped cream into the cranberry mixture. Then fold in the melted chocolate. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Spoon or pipe into the serving glasses or bowls. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Cover with plastic wrap without touching the surface if refrigerate longer.

So it’s really not a huge surprise that I love carbs. Breads, muffins, pasta’s, you name it i’m sure I love it. And all though I really do try to eat more of the “good” carbs sometimes I need to break it up with something very delicious and maybe not as good for me. I love ordering bread pudding at restaurants but for some funny reason I have never made it at home.

I had a beautiful loaf of Italian bread I bought at the farmers market and needed to use it up before going stale. I found this great recipe at epicurious and couldn’t wait to give it a try. I decided to leave out the apples and replace the raisins with dried cranberries since that is what I had on hand. I also chose to make the pudding in single ramekins instead of a full pan. This bread pudding was amazing and something I will definitely be making again.

Recipe:
Apple-Raisin Bread Pudding*
Bon Appétit- April 2001
by Carmen Scott, Bangor, ME

*For ramekins, use 6 large. Also, you might want to put them on a tray as the ramekins are likely to boil over.

This dish is a take on the classic risotto. With all the beautiful Meyer lemons everywhere I felt inspired to add them to my favorite dishes. The lemons add a great citrus flavor, wonderful freshness and compliments the dish very well. It is perfect by it’s self or try topping with your favorite fish.

2 tablespoon butter
1 onion (chopped)
1 cup arborio rice (or other medium or short grained rice)
1/2 cup wine
2 cups chicken stock or veggie stock
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
Zest from 1 meyer lemon
Juice from 1 meyer lemon
Handful fresh italian parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring the stock to a low simmer in a medium saucepan, cover and keep warm.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in large sauce pan.
Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and cook, stirring until glossy
Add the wine, deglaze the pan and stir while simmering until it is gone.
Add 1/2 cup of the stock at a time and stir while simmering until it is gone. Continue until the rice is al dente.
Add the parmigiano reggiano, the other tablespoon of butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and stir to combine.
Serve and top with fresh parsley.

I served this tasty hash for dinner the other night after having a huge craving for breakfast food. I threw in the veggies I had on hand, some fresh parsley and topped it with a soft creamy poached egg. Of course, it took a few failed attempts at poaching but I think I finally got it right! All in all this hash was delicious.

(Serves 2-4)

2 tablespoons  olive oil
1 sweet potato, chopped into ½” pieces
1 large Yukon gold potato , chopped into ½” pieces
1 carrot- chopped into ½” pieces
1 medium onion, diced small
1 clove garlic – diced small
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. oregano
1  tsp. Salt 
1/2 tsp. Pepper
handful fresh parsley- chopped

Pour oil into a large skillet and place over medium high heat. 
Add onion and saute, stirring, 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
Add potatoes, carrots, garlic, oregano, salt and red pepper flakes.
Saute over medium heat  stirring occasionally 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and some are browned. Remove from heat. Top with poached egg and freshly graded black pepper

Poached Egg
2-4 large eggs
1 to 2 teaspoons vinegar

Break each egg into a small bowl.
Fill a large, straight-sided skillet with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil.
Add vinegar. Reduce to a gentle simmer: the water should be steaming and small bubbles should come up from the bottom of the pan.
Submerging the lip of each bowl into the simmering water, gently add the eggs, one at a time.
Cook for 4 minutes or until set.
Using a slotted spoon remove the eggs, letting the excess water drip off. Top the eggs onto the potato hash.

This deliciously moist banana bread was a great treat for breakfast. This bread has just the right amount of  banana flavor without it being over powering. It stays very moist with the sour cream and not as sweet as most quick breads. The thing I love most about this bread is the texture. It is not as cake like as with most quick breads, but almost a fluffy yeast bread texture. Perfect with butter and a drizzle of honey.  Make sure to keep and eye on it as mine was done in almost 50 minutes.

1 cup mashed ripe bananas-about 2 bananas ( an additional half banana for topping, optional)
10 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar *
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mash together the bananas, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl or food processor.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fixed with a whisk attachment.
Add the remaining 10 tablespoons butter and mix on medium-low speed until blended, about 30 seconds.
Add the banana mixture in 3 batches, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing on medium speed between each addition.
Pour into the loaf pan. Top the banana mixture with slices of banana from half a banana.
Bake until lightly browned and bread bounces back to the touch, about 1 hour( check it after 40-50 minutes) Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

* I used about 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon stevia powder

These soft buttery melt in your mouth crackers were such a delicious treat for New Years Eve. Not only were they very quick to put together but devoured with in a few minutes! I experimented a little with the herbs and made one batch with pecorino cheese and thyme and a second batch with pecorino and dried basil. I have to say they were equally delicious.

I used about a teaspoon each of the dried herbs and topped the dough with fresh thyme (or basil) and sprinkled them with sea salt. I also rolled the dough in a log and placed it in the freezer for about 15 minutes so I could cut them instead of rolling them into balls. Such a delicious and easy appetizer or snack.

Recipe: Giada’s Pecorino Crackers
Optional Ingredients:
1 teaspoon fresh or dried herbs
Sprinkle sea salt or fresh grated pepper

 Here’s to a wonderful year of great friends, family and of course food blogging. May your new year be full of delicious and tasty treats!

 My best of 2008

January:
Pancetta and parmesan torte
Chicken Cacciatore

Febuary:
Savory Herb Sun-Dried Tomato Scones
Angie’s Famous Strawberry Cupcakes

March:
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Parmesan Crusted Chicken With Lemon Spaghetti

April:
Tuesday’s With Dorie- Bill’s Big Carrot Cake
A Taste Of Yellow – Strawberry Lemon Yogurt Bread

May:
Tuesdays With Dorie: Madeleines
Pastel De Tres Leches

June:
Lemon Chicken With Fresh Herbs
Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes With Key lime Cream Cheese Frosting

July:
Fig And Honey Tartlets With Cream Cheese Filling
Eggplant-Goat Cheese Tart

August:
Daring Bakers: Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Tiramisu With Homemade Mascarpone And Lady Fingers

September:
Tender Honey Yeast Rolls
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

October:
Pumpkin Chili
Butternut Squash And Caramelized Onion Galette

November:
Mocha Fudge Cookies With Walnuts
Golden Pineapple Fried Rice

December:
Buckeyes (Peanut Butter Balls)
Pumpkin Bread With White Chocolate Chips And Walnuts

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Each year as a tradition in my family we make my homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast and this year I wanted to add something a little special to the table and decided to try my hand at making homemade eggnog. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful this eggnog was. My husband has never really been a huge fan of eggnog but he absolutely loved this recipe. The recipe has both the raw version and the cooked version. I decided to stick with the cooked since I am a little freakish about raw eggs lol. This really was a wonderful addition to our Christmas breakfast and will be a new tradition in our home.

Source: Alton Brown

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pint whole milk ( I used 1% since that is what I had on hand)
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces bourbon (*Optional- I added in a teaspoon of pure vanilla and omitted the bourbon)
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 egg whites

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

Cook’s Note: For cooked eggnog, follow procedure below.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

(I finished mine off with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and fresh grated nutmeg on top.)

In addition to all the other goodies I send as gifts I love to make this incredible moist pumpkin bread to go along with it. This is one of my favorite breads to make and share with friends and family. This bread has just the right amount of sweetness, spices and texture and it freezes beautifully.  The recipe calls for a large amount of oil but I do substitute half the oil for apple sauce and it is still is very moist. Original recipe below.

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (It is also delicious with KA Whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
*1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
*1 teaspoon ground allspice
*2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups white sugar
1 cup canola oil or half cup oil, half apple sauce
4 eggs, beaten
1 15 oz can solid pack pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two loaf pans or four mini loaf pans.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugar, oil and eggs. Stir in pumpkin. Slowly blend the flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. While blending the mixture add water incrementally. Pour the batter into two prepared loaf pans.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 60-90 minutes (I find I have to check on it at 60 minute for the larger loafs and 30 minutes for the mini loafs. Make sure not to over bake.) As soon as removing from the oven place cling wrap over each loaf and let cool.

* You can also use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice and an extra 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon.

Another great gift for the holidays and simple to put together. The key to a great peppermint bark is to use good guality ingredients. I am a huge fan of a good dark bitter sweet but a good semi sweet milk chocolate would be just as delicious. This is a great recipe to experiment and just have fun with.

12 oz bitter sweet dark chocolate, finely chopped
12 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tsp Peppermint extract
6 oz candy canes or peppermint candies (I used miniature candy canes )

To get started, Crush candy cane and chop the chocolate, set aside.
Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with wax paper. Melt chocolate and cream on low heat in saucepan. When halfway melted, add  teaspoon peppermint extract. Stir thoroughly until melted. Immediately spread over prepared baking sheet. Let cool for one hour.

In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and stir until smooth.
As soon as chocolate is fully melted, spread evenly over cooled dark chocolate. Sprinkle crushed candy on the top and place in the refrigerator until cooled. Break in pieces and enjoy!

My husband introduced me to buckeyes our first holiday spent together eight years ago. I had  no idea what they were but of course it was love at first bite. His grandmother made them for the kids every Christmas and gave them as gifts and every year we both looked forward to these delicious peanut butter balls. Since his mother gave me the recipe I have been looking forward to making them again and bringing back all the memories and good times we have  had over the years.

The recipe is pretty straight forward but I did tweek it just a tad with the ingredients I had on hand. The trick to to really make sure not to add all the powered sugar at once but gradually so you end up with a nice smooth consistency and not too crumbly, but also not to sticky. It’s also important to make sure they have chilled really well before dipping them in the chocolate.

This holiday season I decided to do homemade gifts for my family and in-laws. Since I enjoy baking so much I though it would be fun getting my son involved and letting him enjoy that experience  as well. I made these cookies back in june for my sister and I loved how easy the recipe was and how well they traveled that I decided to use them again for christmas.

The frosting is just powered sugar, milk and food coloring mix for the right consistency and  color.

Recipe: Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

Additional Goodies I sent:
Buckeyes
Peppermint bark
Pumpkin Bread

Granola
Caramel Popcorn

Popcorn is one of those foods that I seem to always crave around christmas time. I love to curl up in front of my fireplace and enjoy a movie and a big bowl of popcorn. This year is all about caramel popcorn. I saw this great recipe on Lisa’a blog and loved how she added a bit of heat to it by using cayenne. The caramel was delicious and the added nuts went perfect. This recipe  really was simple just make sure to make it about an hour before you plan on watching a movie

Also, this would make a wonderful christmas gift.

3/4 c popcorn kernels
1 1/2 c whole almonds
1 1/2 c pecan halves
2 c light brown sugar
6 T unsalted butter
1/4 c pure cane syrup
1/4 c honey
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 – 1/2 t cayenne (I used 1/2 t, and it wasn’t spicy but was just enough to know it’s there.)
1/2 t sea salt for finishing

Pop the popcorn kernels as you prefer.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees; mix warm popcorn, almonds, and pecans in a large roasting pan and place in oven.
In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar, cane syrup, and honey; stir until sugar dissolves into melted butter; attach a candy thermometer and increase heat to high; allow mixture to reach 255 degrees without stirring, about four minutes.
Remove pan from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, the first teaspoon of salt, baking soda, and cayenne; the mixture will bubble at this point.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully pour the caramel over the popcorn and nut mixture; Stir gently and coat the entire mixture thoroughly.
return the roasting pan to the oven and bake while stirring occasionally, until the mixture feels dry, about one hour.
Serve in a large bowl and sprinkle sea salt over top.

Perfect for the holiday season. These cookies came together so quick and easy. With a crispy outside and a moist fugdy inside. I loved the hint of espresso in every bite! Next time I will be sure to double the recipe since they were gone within minutes of making!
Makes:2 dozen

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder (like Illy Fine-Grind Espresso)
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts*
Cooking spray
powered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt; set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder,espresso and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add walnuts and flour mixture, stirring until moist. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Dust with powered sugar.

*You may also try it with chocolate chips instead for an extra kick of chocolate in them