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Salted Peanut Butter Caramel Bars with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Crust

Peanut butter was named one of the Top 5 Foods That Should Have A Place Your Diet by CNN.

Whoever wrote that probably wouldn’t have wanted you to mix it with butter and sugar, but regardless of the increased amount of calories and fat, you can still feel good about giving yourself a healthy dose of antioxidants. And eating a Super Food that has protein and fiber,  lowers cholesterol and your risk of heat disease.

Because, like I told you at the beginning of the year, I’m trying to seek a balance in my life. If I am going to have a fabulously delicious dessert, I also want it to have some good stuff in it too.

I have also decided to cut food dyes out of my diet all together by the end of the year. Because, unlike peanut butter, they have zero benefits, lots of risks and are known carcinogens. I’ll write more about that later once I’ve figured out how to conconct an all natural red food dye.

I don’t want to be perfect, I just want to find a balance in my life. Peanut butter caramel bars are a great balance, giving you a dose of healthy goodness with an incredible dessert. But don’t misunderstand me, this is in no way a diet food. They are high in calories and a treat that you should enjoy every once in a while, but at least you have the peace of mind that there are also health benefits.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread:

For the shortbread crust:

¾ cup Brown Sugar

1 sticks of Butter

½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp Salt

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 ½ cups Dark Chocolate Chips

Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce:

1/2 cup heavy cream

¼ cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 stick of butter

½ tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp course sea salt

Line the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with parchment paper, allowing the paper to go up and over the edges of the pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat on high until well combined. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder, stir to combine. Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer and beat on medium speed until mixed well with the butter mixture, scraping the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Press the shortbread into the bottom of the baking dish in one even layer. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges have turned a golden brown and have started to look dry. Allow to chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

In a pot over medium high heat, add the peanut butter and the cream. Stir continuously until the peanut butter has melted and is well combined with the cream. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and set aside.

In a separate pot over medium high heat, combine the sugar, & corn syrup. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to boil, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 230 degrees, about 5 minutes. While the caramel is cooking, do not stir, but swirl the pan every 30 seconds to redistribute the caramel sauce evenly. Once 230 degrees is reached, add the butter, stirring to allow it to distribute and melt, then remove from heat. Stir in the peanut butter cream, adding slowly as it will bubble up furiously.

Pour the caramel over the shortbread and refrigerate for 4 hours, or until set. Sprinkle the top with the sea salt. Remove from pan using the parchment paper and cut into squares. 

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Chipotle Hummus & Bone Marrow Donation

The night after I joined the Bone Marrow Donor registry I had a dream that I was a Bone Marrow match for a little boy who was dying of Leukemia. But in my dream, I had joined the registry one month after he died of the disease. I had the lifesaving cure just walking around in my body and I had no idea until it was too late.  

Horrible, I know. But It happens, I’m sure. This morning, when I woke up, I got an email for the registry, and whenever that happens I have a flicker of hope that I am one of those people who has the opportunity to donate. I want to. I want to use the marrow I grow so easily in my bones to save the life of someones else’s Tater, because I would want you to do that for me, if she is ever in need. Of course, if I ever am a match, I’m sure the news won’t come via email so as you have probably suspected the email was just an update about the progress being made by the Be The Match foundation

Now that I have this platform, I want to use it to reach out. To help save the life of someones baby. What if it is you. What if you are the one who holds the key to a cure inside your bones.

Are you in the Bone Marrow Donor database?

Here was how simple it was for me to get on the list:

Go to a donation center, give blood, sign a form.

It can be even easier for you. You can click here, fill out a form online and order your cheek swap kit through the mail. It’s so easy. 

It took about twenty minutes. Although it did cost me about $50 at the time, I can now put my mind at ease that I am doing what I can. $50 is a lot, more to some people than to others, but it was worth it for me know that I wasn’t the reason that someone was dying.  That I wasn’t caring the lifesaving cure inside of me while someone was dying, over a mater of $50. 

Click here to find out how you can get on the list of Bone Marrow Donors. 

Here are some simple facts about Bone Marrow Donation and how and why to get on the list:

Q: If I join the Be The Match Registry, how likely is it that I will donate to someone? 
A: On average, one in every 540 members of Be The Match Registry in the United States will go on to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells to a patient. We cannot predict the likelihood that an individual member will donate because there is so much diversity in the population. However, if you are between the ages of 18 and 44, you are 10 times more likely to be called as a marrow donor than other members of the Be The Match Registry. That’s because research shows cells from younger donors lead to more successful transplants.

Every person who joins the registry gives patients hope, and new patient searches begin every day. You may never be identified as a match for someone, or you might be one of a number of potential matches. But you may also be the only one on the registry who can save a particular patient’s life.

Q: How do I become a bone marrow donor? 
A: The first step to become a bone marrow donor is to join the Be The Match Registry. Doctors around the world search our registry to find a match for their patients. If a doctor selects you as a match for a patient, you may be asked to donate bone marrow or cells from circulating blood (called PBSC donation).

Q. Does bone marrow donations involve surgery?

A: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient’s doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical.

Q. Is Donating painful or involve a long recovery?

A: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of donating PBSC. Due to taking a drug called filgrastim for five days leading up to donation, PBSC donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches, or fatigue. PBSC donors are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days.

Q. Is donating  dangerous or weaken the donor?

A: There are rarely any long-term side effects. Be The Match® carefully prescreens all donors to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. We also provide support and information every step of the way.

Q. Once you have been chosen as a match do donors have to pay to donate?

A: Donors never pay to donate. We reimburse travel costs and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis.

Q: Does race or ethnicity affect matching?
A: Racial and ethnic heritage are very important factors. Patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity. Today, there simply aren’t enough registry members of diverse racial and ethnic heritage. Adding more diverse members increases the likelihood that all patients will find a life-saving match.

Members of these backgrounds are especially needed:

  • Black or African American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian, including South Asian
  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Multiple race
This in no way relates to Chipotle Hummus. Except that maybe those lazy summer days, hanging out with friends, enjoying a spicy dip, are gifts that you maybe able to give another person, if you are a match. And if you get on the registry, and get to donate marrow and save someones life: I will be really jealous. 

Chipotle Hummus

15 ounces garbanzo beans

1/4 cup tahini

3 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1-3 tbs water

salt and pepper to taste

Crudites for serving

In a food processor, add the garbonzo beans, tahini, chilies, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice and process until smooth. Add the water until you reach the consistency that you prefer, more water will equal a creamier hummus. Salt and pepper to taste.

I find that this dip tastes best with the cool crunch of fresh vegetables such as cucumber slices, sliced peppers and carrot sticks.

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Olive and Goat Cheese Tartlets & The Blogger vs Pinterest Controversy

I’m officially on Pinterest. It’s such a brilliant and simple idea. A big digital pin board that you can share with friends. 

If you aren’t a blogger, you probably have no idea how many arguments and debates go on in blog land about this social networking site. The petitions, the disagreements, the loathing. If you are a non-blogger, you are probably a bit confused. What could anyone possibly have against pinterest?! It really comes down to respecting the originator of the idea you pin as well as the sanity of your pin followers. Here is a little list so that we can all pin in peace and harmony. 

1. Pin to the original post. This is the biggest irritation of pin followers. You see a pin and think, "I LOVE those shoes. I will buy them right now." you click and then pin goes to the google homepage or someones email account or even the pinterst homepage. You’re a disappointed buyer and the seller of those shoes just lost a sale to a Ghost Pin. Check the URL of re-pins so that you don’t perpetuate this. I’ve had my own photos lead to everything from the Foodgawker homepage to the Facebook homepage to, for some inexplicable reason: Target.com. Even if you found the recipe on Foodgawker, or you found those shoes on a fashion tumblr, click through to the original website or blog and pin directly to that, for the sake of your pin followers.

2. Don’t cut and paste the recipe into the pin description. It doesn’t bother me so much, but it is the biggest frustration and the source of most animosity between pinterest and bloggers. Bloggers feel like they will lose traffic if people can get the recipe from pinterest, and traffic is all we have people! It validates what we do. It comes down to respecting the content of the person who has created it. 

3. Follow your favorite bloggers. Pinterest generates an amazing amount of traffic for us and we are SO thrilled with that. If you have a favorite blogger, follow them on pinterst and re-pin their posts. It’s the easiest way to know that you are pinning or re-pinning correctly. If you have any questions, just ask. 

4.Bloggers need to relax a bit. If pinners break these rules, it isn’t out of malice. People either didn’t realize their mistake or are just trying to make things easy for their friends. Just sigh and let it go, there is no need to get upset about possibly loosing a little traffic when most people will probably click through to your recipe (or seek it out) if they want to make it. My general philosophy is that it is better to lose traffic than lose readers. 

5. Pin comments. We have covered that fact that bloggers don’t so much like it when they see their entire recipes posted in pin comments, which has been largely eliminated due to the enforcement of a character limit. And most pinners don’t like the long comments because it ruins the aesthetic of the overall board. But I personally love to see a quick review of the recipe written in the pin. For instance: "Made this for Thanksgiving! Loved it!" or "I didn’t make the frosting but the cake was great all on it’s own!" or even constructive comments: "I liked this but it needed more salt. I also added parmesan and it was a hit!" But don’t bash us. There is a pretty good possibility that we will see it and it hurts our feelings. We are real life humans with hearts and brains and feelings. Be nice, or at least helpful and tactful. 

And please, if you have more to add to this conversation, do so in the comments section! And please, pin away!

Here is my pinterest, a little bare at the moment but I’m working on it!

Olive and Goat Cheese Tartlets

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry

1 6 oz can of Large Black Olives

4 oz goat cheese

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup chopped tomato

1 tbs chopped fresh tarragon or basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry with the rolling pin three to four times in each direction, making the pastry thinner, longer and wider. Using a 3.5 inch biscuit cutter cut out 12-16 circles.

Place the pastry circles on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

In a food processer, add the olives, goat cheese and cream cheese. Pulse until well combined.

Top the pastry rounds with 1-2 tbs of the olive mixture.

Bake until the edges of the puff pastry turn a light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and top with tomato and fresh herb.

Irish Beer Brownies With Mint Sour Cream Frosting

This week will be full of recipes for Guinness. Although I will always favor local craft beer, I do harbor a soft spot for Ireland and their World Famous Brewery. Just out of college I scraped together enough money to put myself on a flight from LAX to Dublin.  I landed in Ireland on a drizzly morning, jet lagged and confused. I had no idea where to go, or how to get there. Before I really knew what was happening, I was being dragged though the streets of Dublin by a charming Irishman, clad in a newsboy cap and green wool sweater.  Through his thick accent I was able to discern that he was taking me to a youth hostel at the foot of the Guinness brewery.  Once we arrived at our destination, he said goodbye with a smile and a cheerful wave and he was on his way, leaving me to realized that this kind stranger had walked at least a mile in the wrong direction just to make sure I found a bed for the evening.

Although most of you will be breaking out the famous Irish Stout this weekend, I will be sticking with beer brewed a little closer to home. Rogue Brewery makes several beers that would be perfect for this recipe, including the Chocolate Stout, the Double Chocolate Stout, or even the Hazelnut Brown Nectar, I choose to go with the Mocha Porter although the idea of the Irish Lager almost drew me in.

Whatever you decide to consume on St. Patrick’s day, just remember:

Good beer does not need green food dye.

Drink well.

Irish Beer Brownies With Mint Sour Cream Frosting

For the brownies:

12 ounces dark beer, such as Rouge Mocha Porter

1 stick unsalted butter

10 ounces dark chocolate

3 whole eggs plus 2 additional egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

For the Mint Sour Cream Frosting:

2 sticks of butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp mint extract

In a sauce pan over medium high heat, cook the beer until reduced to about 3/4 of a cup, about 10 minutes.

Add the butter, stir until melted. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, additional whites and sugar. Beat on high until very light and frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. While the mixer is still on high, slowly add the chocolate mixture in a slow stream. Once about half the chocolate mixture has been added to the egg mixture, dump the remaining chocolate into the stand mixer allowing to mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir on low until just combined, don’t over mix once the flour has been added or your brownies will be tough.

Generously spray a 9×12 inch glass baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until the surface of the brownies begin to look dry and cracked and a tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Make the frosting:

Softened butter is important to this process. If you use cold butter your frosting will have the consistency of ground beef, but melted butter will give you frosting that is too soft.

Add the softened butter and the sour cream to a stand mixer and beat until well combined. Add the sugar and beat on low until the sugar is mostly mixed in. Add the mint and beat on high until frosting is light and fluff.

Allow the brownies to cool before frosting.


Portobello Mushroom Benedict with Sriracha Hollandaise


Food is one of the greatest choices we have as members of the 1st world. For the most part, we get to choose what we put in our bodies, and how much. 

The path people take to the way they eat as adults is a direct result of the experiences they have as children. Although I am no longer a practicing vegetarian (as evidenced by the extensive number of bacon related posts on my blog) I did spend about 4 years in my early 20’s with a very meatless existence. That choice was a direct result of the farm style living of my youth. 

Just before I started Junior High, my parents moved me from the Central Coast of California to a small farm in Eastern Washington state. It sounded like such a romantic and adventurous journey, my love of animals having the full indulgence it had always wanted. 

I was a 4-H kid, and the idea of acres and acres of animals was like a dream and within hours of a pig pen fully inhabited by squealing little pink and brown creatures I was in love. I named my favorite guy Garfunkel, as an nod to my love of 70’s music. I spent the summer feeding, walking, and training my new pet. In my head was the knowledge of the inevitable fate of this little guy, but some how it didn’t reach my heart. 

Then, towards the end of summer, came an old Chevy pickup truck. White and faded with wooden boards rising up above the sides of the truck bed. I watched from the window as the town butcher consulted with my step father, compared guns, pointed at the pigs, and unceremoniously shoots Garfunkel in the head. 

He struggles to get up. Another shot. He moves again. Another shot. 

Three days later, I stared at the pork chops on my dinner plate, unable to get the image of his last moments out of my head. Unnerved by the feeling of knowing the first name of my dinner. 

Although this is a brutal reality for the meat eating world, and one that we should come to terms with if we choose to eat meat, I am not advocating for everyone to go vegan. I know that the pigs my family raised had great lives. They were loved, cared about, and fed well. If it wasn’t for the dinner they became, they wouldn’t have existed in the first place. 

Choice. Choosing to spend more for free range. Choosing to support local growers. Seeking out raw milk and cheese from reliable farms. 

Because if the story of Garfunkel is horrifying to you, it is Disneyland compared to way some commercial farms are like. 

Just some food for though. 

Let me know what you think. If you disagree, agree, or even if you don’t care. 

In the interim, here is a meatless breakfast that will give you a break from meat, if that is what you are looking for. 

Portobello Mushroom Benedict with Sriracha Hollandaise   

4 Portobello mushrooms

1/4 cup olive oil

pinch of salt

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1/4 cup chopped onions

3 cloves of garlic minced

4 eggs

1 large tomato, cut into slices

For the Hollandaise:

4 tbs melted butter

4 egg yolks

1 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs room temp water

1 tsp sriracha sauce 

salt and pepper

In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil and allow it to get hot but not smoking. Place the mushrooms in the pan. If the pan is two small for all of the mushrooms to fit, cook in two batches. Turn the mushrooms once the bottom has turned dark and has softened, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and allow to cook on the other side until the entire mushroom is dark, soft and cook all the way through. Remove cooked mushrooms from pan and add the spinach, onions and garlic, cook until soft. 

Poach the eggs in lightly salted simmering water. (Tutorial)

Melt the butter in the microwave. In a good quality sauce pan, add the yolks, lemon juice and water and whisk quickly and continually over low heat until it’s frothy and doubled in size (this is an arm work out, be prepared). You don’t want too much heat or you’ll have scrambled eggs. If you need to step away for even a second, or if it’s getting to hot, remove from the heat. While continuing to whisk, slowly add the butter in a steady stream. Continue to whisk until thickened, and almost doubled. If your sauce gets too dry and thick, you can add a few tbs of water. Add the sriracha, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Place the mushroom on a plate, top with spinach, then tomato slice, then poached egg and drizzle with hollandaise. 

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BLT Caprese Sliders With Puff Pastry Buns

Small food is for the commitment phobic. 

Or maybe just for those of us that want to experience everything. 

I don’t want to have to decide between a pull pork sandwich, bree grilled cheese and a burger. I want them all. Which is why I will always owe a debt of gratitude to Spain and the brilliance of Tapas. 

Some people want to hunker down with a bowl of their favorite food and call it a day. I fancy myself more of a food gypsy. I want a bite of everything. I’m the girl at the Thanksgiving dessert table that takes a sliver of each piece of pie, brownie, and cake onto one plate because the idea of not knowing what each type of pie, plus the cherry brownie, plum tart and the pumpkin turtle cheesecake all taste like is unthinkable. While other people can just take a slice of apple pie and watch the game. Lucky bastards. 

BLT Caprese Sliders With Puff Pastry Buns

2 sheets  Puff Pastry

3 tbs butter, melted

1/2 tsp course Kosher salt

5-6 Roma Tomatoes

2 tbs Pesto Sauce

20 spinach leaves

4 balls Fresh Mozzarella, Bocconcini size

10 slices of bacon, cooked and cut in half

Preheat oven to 350.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of puff pastry to approximately 14.5 inches by 16.5 inches. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut out 20 circles. Repeat for the second puff pastry sheet.

Brush each puff pastry round with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the circles to the baking sheet(s), butter side up.

Bake for 16-19 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

While those are baking, prepare your ingredients.

Cut each Mozzarella ball into 5 slices, set side.

Cut the off the stem end of the tomato, as well as the opposite, pointed end of the tomato. Cut the remaining tomato into ¼ inch slices. You will need 20 slices.

Once the puff pastry has cooled, assemble to sliders:

Take one puff pastry round, spread with about ¼ tsp of pesto sauce. Top with a tomato slice, then a spinach leave, then mozzarella slice, then slice of bacon and top the entire thing with another puff pastry round. Secure with a 3.5 inch skewer, if desired.

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Lemon Pilsner Cake

 If you have ever had the opportunity to talk to a brewmaster, you have seen it. You’ve seen that look that lets you know that there is an art and a respect for what they do that goes far past what most Americans experience at their day jobs. The look that tells you that the paycheck isn’t the reason he does the job. The flavors, the journey, the solving of the problems that yield to an end result of a drinkable, shareable masterpiece. You’ve seen that look.

It’s because of that look that I try to create recipes that respect the years of love and hard work that go into the process of making Craft Beer. I had the idea of making a lemon cake with pilsner, but the issue is always the hops. Hops are a hard ingredient to cook and bake with, given that they often reduce to a very bitter product. Scrimshaw Pilsner, while still a pilsner, has a low, and well balanced hop taste. It is also from one of my favorite breweries, North Coast, that produces an incredible variety of craft beer. And you can bet that if you are ever lucky enough to take a tour of the brewery, you will see that look I’m talking about, all over the place.

Lemon Pilsner Cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 tsp salt

2 tbs lemon zest

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup Pilsner

Icing:

4 oz cream cheese, softened (cold cream cheese will result in lumpy icing)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Pilsner

1/2 tsp vanilla

Direction:

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a large loaf pan with butter flavored cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest until well mixed.

In the bowl of  stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl between additions. Add the lemon juice and mix until well combined. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour a bit at a time until just barely combined, do not over mix.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the pilsner, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until the top turns a light golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese and the powdered sugar, beating until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and whip until smooth.

Top the cake with the icing, chill prior to serving.

 Cooking and baking with craft beer. 

Apple Ring Pancakes

As a kid there were a few phrases that take an ordinary day and give it a bit of a sparkle. Like hearing the name of YOUR school being read over the radio as a closure for a Snow Day. Or hearing: "Let’s go get ice cream!" or, one of my favorites: "Breakfast For Dinner!!" 

And now that I am a mom, I want to have breakfast for dinner too. It’s fun. But then I have the responsibility of an entire humans future health on my hands. That’s a lot of pressure. The way I reconcile these two things is by taking an ordinary pancake and filling it with a slice of fruit. Breakfast for dinner and a serving of wholesome fruit. 


These babies only have 60 calories each. And you don’t even need massive amounts of syrup, the apple in the middle has the flavor and moisture to compensate. 

Apple Ring Pancakes

2 large apples (I used Fuji Apples)

1 cup of flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup reduced fat (or fat free) sour cream

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sparklink water or club soda

(yields about 20 apple ring pancakes)

Preheat a griddle to 375, or use a large skillet. Coat with butter flavored cooking spray prior to cooking pancakes. 

Peel and core the apples (I use this apple corer all the time). Cut the apples into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Thicker slices will give you a crispier apple once cooked and a thinner slice will give you a softer apple once cooked. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt until well mixed. In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, egg and vanilla, mix until well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and stir until just barely combined. Add the sparkling water and stir. One at a time, dip the apple slices into the batter and place on the hot griddle. Allow the pancakes to cook until the edges start to look dry and then flip over, cooking on the other side until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat for all apple slices. 

You don’t need syrup for these little guys but I couldn’t resist using the last of that Coconut Caramel Sauce that I made the other day. So good. 

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Prosciutto Wrapped Olives Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Last week, I mentioned how bloggers rarely make the same recipe more than once. We are in constant pursuit of the Next Big Thing. That exciting recipe that will be pinned, and shared and trafficked like crazy. Our poor spouses wondering why we rarely make their favorites anymore.

Over the weekend I had some readers ask me which recipes I DO make all the time, so here is a list for you.

Ten recipes I make on a regular basis:

1. I made these breakfast muffins last night, as a quick on-the-go breakfast for this week. Less than 200 calories and keep me full until lunch. 

2. In one form or another, I make this salad several times a week. It’s my go-to lunch. 

3. This is the pie crust I always make. 

4. I always make this vegetable gratin for holidays, it was one of my first posts so forgive the photos.  

5. When I make layer cakes, this vanilla pastry cream is what I usually use as a filling.

6. This Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake is an easy dessert that I tend to make again and again. And once you make the whipped cream from scratch, you’ll never buy store bought again.

7. I roast a chicken at least once a month. You should too. It is cheap (about $5 and feeds 4), easy and you can make delicious broth from the scraps.

8. Eggs Benedict is a fav of my husbands and I make it at least once a month. This Italian Eggs Benedict with Pesto Hollandaise is a one of my favorites.

9. I’ve also started to make my own tortillas. Not just because they are so much better, but they are also a way to use up that bacon fat I store in the fridge and they only cost a couple of cents to make yourself.  

10. And for number ten, I’m including this recipe below. It was so easy, quick and with only 3 ingredients I can’t imagine never making it again. Oh, and super addictive if you love goat cheese and prosciutto as much as I do.


Prosciutto Wrapped Olives Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

24 large (or colossal)  Black Olives

6 thin slices of prosciutto

2 oz goat cheese

Directions:

Cut each slice of prosciutto in half, length wise, and then again width wise forming a “T” cut. This will leave 4 sections of prosciutto, about 4 inches by 1 inch for each slice of prosciutto.

Stuff all of the olives with goat cheese.

Wrap each olive with a small slice of prosciutto and secure with a toothpick.


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Homemade Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Dip Plus How To: Roast Garlic & How To: Caramelize Onions

One big food blogger secret is that we rarely make recipes more than once. It’s true. And sad. It’s this constant race to provide new, fun, exciting, creative content for you that leaves us little time to revisit those recipes that we love. Of course, there are always those few recipes that we will make all the time, for the rest of our lives even if it means missing an opportunity to create a new post. This is one of those recipes for me. All I want to do now is make it all over again and add bacon and parmesean cheese. 

So addictive, creamy and delicious. 

It’s a simple recipe with only a few ingredients. It isn’t hard to make but it does take time to develop the flavors, time that is well worth it. I’m moving myself and my family away from process’s foods as much as I can, a little at a time and this is my way of having that onion dip that everyone’s mom used to make with the instant soup mix packet, but with loads more flavor and no mysterious chemicals. 

Also, I’m going to show you the right way to cut an onion. 

And how to roast garlic. 

Two skills that I hope stick with you for the rest of your life. My kitchen would be a much different place without onions and roasted garlic. 

Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Dip

1 whole white onion (I used a Walla Walla Sweet onion)

1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1 tbs, divided

1 large head of garlic

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1/4 cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

How to cut an onion:

Cut the onion in quarters. 

With the tip of the knife close to the center, make vertical cuts all the across the onion, about 1/4 inch apart.

Then cut the onion in the other direction, cutting across the cuts you just made. 

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. The key to caramelizing onions, and not BROWNING them, is: low and slow. Heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmery, then reduce the heat to low and add the onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally until the onions are soft and have turned an amber color. You want them to have that amber color or the sugars in the onion haven’t been caramelized yet and the flavors are not developed. This will take between 30 and 40 minutes, but you only have to stir occasionally so it isn’t a lot of work.

 How to roast garlic:

This is very easy and gives you the most incredible tasting stuff. If you haven’t roasted a head of garlic yet, you should. 

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cut the top off of the head of garlic. 

Place on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil. 

Fold the foil up over the garlic into a tight packet. Place in a baking dish (I use a muffin tin) and place in the oven. 

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, or until garlic is soft and starting to turn an amber color.

Once you have brought out those incredible flavors in your garlic and your onions, break out the food processor. 

Add the softened cream cheese, sour cream, onions and squeeze the garlic head until the soft cloves pop out and add them to the food processor as well. 

Process until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

So simple, so good. 

Next time, I’m gonna try it with bacon and Parmesan cheese. I’ll let you know how it goes. 

Printable: Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Dip

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Girl Scout Samoas Waffles Recipe With Coconut Caramel Sauce

I had a couple of crack dealers show up at my door the other day. Looking all smug in their green little uniforms, pretending to be nothing more than just innocent little children. But they knew what they were doing, trying to force me to buy their crack. Or Girl Scout cookies. Whatever. I don’t need this guy with his cartoon gun to help me choose my favorite cookie, that’s easy: Samoas.

And you need to get creative when you have 17 boxes of cookies because you remember what it was like to try and sell stuff as a kid, and people shut their door in your face or calculated the cost per ounce and then told you it wasn’t a "good buy" as if that was the point, then once you grow up, you are a total sucker for kids selling crack. I mean cookies.

I’ll tell you my brilliant selling strategy I used when I was a kid.

Picture this:

Late 1980’s, tiny, blond, innocent looking elementary school kid with huge blue eyes outside the grocery store. My target was hip looking men in their early 20’s.

Me: "Sir, will you help us raise money for Rick Dees?"

Him: "What happened to Rick Dees?"

Me: "He’s in the hospital, he fell off the Top 40."

Worked every time. They laughed and then bought cookies. Humor and crack cookies are a dangerous combination.

Another dangerous combo? Waffles and crack cookies.

Girl Scout Samoas Waffles With Coconut Caramel Sauce

6 Girl Scout Samoas Cookies

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

3 eggs, divided into whites and yolks

1 3/4 cup milk

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Butter flavored cooking spray

Coconut Caramel Sauce Recipe

Preheat waffle iron.

Roughly chop the cookies and put them in a food processor, processing until mostly crumbs are left. A few larger pieces are fine.

You’ll need three bowls.

On one bowl, put the cookies crumbs, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir until combined.

in the second bowl, put the egg yolks, milk, vanilla and oil, whisk until combined.

In the third bowl, add the egg whites and beat with a hand mixer until frothy and very light, about 4 minutes.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the milk mixture, stirring until just combined. Don’t over mix.

Gently fold in the egg whites.

Spray the inside of the waffle iron with butter flavored spray. Cook the waffles according to waffle iron specifications. 

Top with caramel sauce, and additional Samoas crumbs if you wanna get craaaazy. 

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Coconut Caramel Sauce

The phrase, "If I had a gun to my head, and was forced to choose between [A. non-imporant thing] and [B. non-important thing]…" is hilarious.

Maybe it’s because I’m all hopped up on caffeine and DayQuil, but the thought of some masked man running around with a fire arm demanding that someone choose between Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds fills me with the giggles.

The image I have is of a cartoon man, a hybrid of The Hamburgler and a bank robber from Ducktales running rampant through a mall, guns flying: "EDWARD OR JACOB!?!" It’s like a real life game of Would You Rather? with disastrous consequences. 

+

So lets say that I someday meet this striped shirt, leather newsboy cap wearing, eye-masked character and he forces, yes, FORCES me to choose between chocolate and caramel…my choice would be caramel. * Sigh * I’m so sorry chocolate, but I had a GUN to my HEAD. 

Coconut Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup 

2 tbs butter

1/2 cup coconut milk

In a pot over high heat, melt the sugar and corn syrup. Stir until melted, then stop stirring, allowing to boil untouched. You will start to see the edges of the sauce turn a dark amber, while the center is still clear. Swirl the pan, without stirring, to redistribute the sugar so the edges don’t cook faster than the middle. Once the entire pot is an amber color and you can smell the caramel flavors, remove the pan from the heat (about 8-10 minutes). Stir in the butter, the sauce will bubble up furiously. Add the coconut milk and stir until well combined. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. Store in the fridge in an air tight container.

Printable: Coconut Caramel Sauce 

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Bruleed Blood Orange and Ricotta Mini Cheesecakes

That miniature cheesecake pan I have has begun to taunt me from my kitchen.

Reminding me that my previous reasons for not making cheesecake, namely my drive to avoid having an entire huge cheesecake in my fridge, is now void.

Small, adorable cheesecakes and the ability to "test" a recipe without having to deal with an entire HUGE cheesecake.

And I had an unsightly amount of homemade ricotta after deciding that I should not just make one batch, but I really needed to make two because it was so much better than anything I have ever bought in the grocery store.

All willpower was lost once I remembered the blood oranges I had.

And then I began to wonder how that delicious sour cream topping, that you are sometimes lucky enough to find on top of a cheesecake, would taste if you made it with ricotta.

Then I decided that it needed the crunch of a bruleed sugar crust on top.

I really just don’t know when to stop.


Bruleed Blood Orange and Ricotta Miniature Cheesecakes

I used the Chicago Metallics Miniature Cheesecake pan, and this recipe made 12. You can also use a standard muffin tin lined with cupcake papers, this recipe will make about 6. If you want to make a standard sized cheesecake in a spring-form pan, I would suggest that you triple the recipe. 

Crust:

4 standard sized graham crackers (about 3/4 cup crushed)

2 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs melted butter

Cheesecake:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup ricotta

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tbs orange zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice

Topping:

1/3 cup ricotta

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

Plus 2 tbs granulated sugar for the brulee crust

Preheat oven to 375.

In a food processor, add the graham crackers and brown sugar, process until nothing is left but crumbs. Add the butter and process until it resembles wet sand, adding more butter or graham crackers if necessary to achieve the right consistency. 

Place metal disks into place in the bottom of each slot. Spray with butter flavored cooking spray.

Place about 1 tbs of crust into the bottom each Cheesecake slot. Press very well into place until compacted. 

Place the cream cheese and ricotta in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until well combined. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar beat on high until creamed. Add the egg, orange juice, and zest and beat until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well combined. 

Spoon the batter on top of the crust, filling the cheesecake slots until 3/4 of the way full. 

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the cheesecakes no longer giggle in the middle when the rack is shaken. This is not a situation where "a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean."

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before attempting to remove from pan. 

Once cool, press upward in the hole on the bottom of the pan. Disk should remove easily. 

Once the cheesecakes cool, they will sink in the center, this is normal.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, powdered sugar and vanilla until well combined. 

Top each cheesecake with enough ricotta mixture to fill to hole in the center until level.

Chill until ready to serve, at least on hour. 

Just prior to serving, sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar over each cheesecake. 

Slowly pass a kitchen torch over the sugar until it melts into a liquid and becomes a golden brown. 

Be careful, sugar burns are super nasty and hurt like a mother. 

Seriously. 

Don’t brulee the sugar until just prior to serving, the sugar will start to turn to liquid after about an hour.

 

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Jalapeno Pale Ale Cornbread

The past few weeks I’ve been craving summer. I live in Los Angeles, so feel free to laugh at my inability to cope with a mild seasonal chill. It isn’t so much the weather of the Summer months that I miss, but the culture of the season. Backyard barbecues, a slower life pace, vacations and water related activities. There is something about the way that summer feels in my bones, the feeling of endless possibilities that the days bring that I miss. Cornbread is an epicurean reminder of what I’m missing out on, and brings a comfort that the Summer isn’t too far away.

Beer is a great way to add a new dimension to cornbread. Not only is it a leavening agent, insuring that your bread won’t be overly dense, it is also a preservative, giving you a few extra days to consume it. But I don’t think you’ll need them.

I chose Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale because it has a beautiful chili flavor, without the heat, a hard thing to accomplish. It also has a bit of a cinnamon and spice finish that pairs very well with a recipe that runs the line between savory and sweet.

If you can’t get your hands on this beer, look for a pale ale with strong, bold flavors of chili and spice.

Jalapeno Pale Ale Cornbread 

Jalapeno Pale Ale Cornbread

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 tbs chopped fresh jalapenos seeds removed
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ¾ cup dry polenta course corn meal
  • ¾ cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup pale ale with notes of spice I used Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs raw honey
  • 1 cup corn kernels fresh is better. If you use frozen, make sure they are thawed
  • 2 tbs melted unsalted butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Spray a large, deep dish loaf pan generously with butter flavored cooking spray.
  • In a sauce pan over medium/heat, add the butter and the jalapenos and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the milk and polenta and stir until the milk starts to bubble and is well combined with the polenta. Cover and remove from heat, allowing to rest for about 20 minutes.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  • In another bowl, whisk the eggs and the honey until well combined.
  • Add the egg mixture to the polenta pan and stir. Add the dry ingredients and stir until incorperated. Add the beer and the corn kernels, stirring until just combined.
  • Add to the prepared baking dish and pour the 2 tbs of melted butter over the top.
  • Bake at 350 until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes.

Homemade Ricotta and Prosciutto Wrapped Mangos on Toast

I’ve been re-reading Plate to Pixel this week. An attempt to push myself forward off this photography plateau I’ve been stuck on. I struggle, at times, with the balancing act that is being a mom, working full time, and maintain a blog. When my photos suck, and I know it, I see them as the crack that will bring down the wall and a panic begins to rise within me.

I know that when it comes to the blog trifecta: "Recipes-Photos-writing" I have a long way to go in all areas. The pursuit of goals isn’t about being perfect, or even about raw talent, as much as it is about struggle. Continue to fight, learn, seek objective feedback, challenge yourself, and don’t give up. 

The best thing about this recipe, is how easy it was to make homemade ricotta. Cheese making has been on my To Do list for a while and ricotta was a great intro, so easy and fast. 


Durring my research, I used three posts as guides and made two batches, all of which I consumes over the weekend. 

I used posts from these three blogs:

Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body

Smitten Kitchen

The Italian Dish 

I used the milk I had on hand, and this is what I came up with:

Homemade Ricotta and Prosciutto Wrapped Mango on Toast

2 cups of whole milk

1 cup of cream

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbs lemon juice

8-10 large slices of sour dough bread

1 large mango

4-6 slices of prosciutto, sliced in half down the center to make 8-12 long skinny strips

salt and pepper to taste

To Make the Ricotta:

Put the milk, cream and salt into a sauce pan. Attach a thermometer (either candy or deep-fry is fine) to the side of the pot, making sure that the tip of the thermometer does not touch the bottom of the pan but is still submerged in the milk.  Heat over medium/high heat until it reaches 190 degrees, about 6-8 minutes. You will know it has reached this temperature because it will foam up really fiercely. 

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, stir only once. you want it to distribute, but you don’t want to disrupt the curds that will be forming. Leave it alone for about 5 minutes. Don’t touch it. 

Place a mesh strainer over a large bowl, line the strainer with 3-4 layers of cheese cloth. 

It will still be pretty thin, this surprised me. I was expecting something that looked like cottage cheese, and it looked more like thick milk. Thats fine. Pour it into the strainer that you have lined with cheese cloth. 

Allow it to drain for about 20 minutes to 2 hours. The longer you allow it to drain, the thicker and stiffer it will be. Remember that once you chill it, it will continue to thicken, so place it to chill when it is a bit softer than you want the final product to be. 

I liked Julia’s tip about tying the cheese cloth to the kitchen faucet in order to speed the draining process up a bit. Worked like a charm. 

Scrape the cheese into a a container with an air tight lid. Chill for at least 20 minutes prior to use. 

Ricotta should keep in the fridge for about 5 days. 

To make the toast:

Using a biscuit cutter, cut 3 to 4 inch circles out of the bread. Place under the broiler until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. 

Peel and slice the mango, wrap with prosciutto. 

Spread each toast circle with ricotta, top with a prosciutto wrapped mango, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

I also made these with apples slices, and that was equally as amazing. 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever

Here I am with a super bold statement of "Best Ever."

Finding the perfect cookie recipe for what you love in a cookie is a bit of a personal journey. Figuring out what you want, and how to make that happen. For me, I love a cookie to be soft, chewy, puffy without being cakey and the perfect amount of chocolate chips.  

I did my research. Years of baking, problem solving, reading and asking people.

Consulting pastry chefs, New York times articles, Grandmas, kids, chocolate companies, and my big Sister.

It all finally paid off. This recipe is based on the famous and ground breaking New York Times 36 hour, Jaques Torres recipe with a bunch of additional advice and changes.

I like to call them Thursday Night Cookies, because if you want to have them over the weekend, you should probably start making them on Thursday night. The wait is worth it, I promise.

If you like the kind of cookies that I like, you will love these. 

Thursday Night Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt, plus 1/2 tsp divided
  • 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups dark chocolate chips

(makes about 30 cookies)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, baking soda, baking powder, corn starch and 1 tsp salt. All types of flour have different properties and will produce difference results, the combination of these two different types gives you cookies that are both soft and chewy. You won’t get these results if you just use one type or if you use all-purpose flour.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with both types of sugar, scraping the bottom of the bowl periodically to ensure the ingredients are well combined. Add the eggs, one at at time, and then the vanilla, beat very well and scraping the inside of the bowl between addition.
  3. Reduce speed on the stand mixer to low and add the dry ingredients until just barely combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure that the butter and flour are all combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until incorporated. You don’t want to over mix or your cookies will be tough.
  4. This is where you will need some self control. The butter needs to reconstitute as a solid or the cookies won’t cook well. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the bowl and press it against the top of the cookie dough, making a tight seal.
  5. Place the cookies in the refrigerator to chill for at least 24 hours, preferably 36 hours. This is important, don’t skip this step or the cookies will spread and become dry and crispy.
  6. Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and using a cookie scoop, or an ice cream scoop, make balls of dough that are a bit larger than a golf ball. Place on a baking sheet, with ample space between each cookie. Sprinkle lightly with the remaining salt. (Only about 6 cookies will fit on a standard cookie sheet.)
  7. Bake each cookie sheet one at a time for 21-23 minutes (*Note: Jaques Torres and I got this cooking time, but I hear from others that they are getting much shorter cooking times. Keep a close eye on your first batch) or until the cookies are just starting to get a light golden brown. Don’t over bake, the cookies will continue to bake about an additional 10 percent after being removed from the oven. Immediately transfer to a wire rack or a row of paper towels. (Here is a great tip from Michelle Tepper: Try cooking on parchment paper and just sliding the whole sheet off of the cookie tray and onto the counter to cool.)

*if you absolutly CAN NOT wait 36 hours, here is the only shortcut I will allow, although the cookies won’t be AS good:
Once the cookie dough is made, scoop the large golf ball sized cookies onto the cookie sheets, cover and then chill them for at LEAST 4 hours. Not one second shorter. This will only work if the dough is in a ball on the cookie sheet, not if it is still in the bowl.

Bacon Fat Biscuits

I’m a bit of a bacon fat hoarder. I make excessive amounts of bacon on weekends, straining and storing the bacon fat that gets left behind into small containers that are now littering my fridge. 

I have to find ways to use it. I make tortillas with bacon fat, which are delightful and this past weekend biscuits were also made in an attempt to decrease my ever-growing stash. 

Bacon and biscuits. Saturday Breakfast Indulgence at its best. 

Bacon Fat Biscuits 

1 cups cake flour 

1 cup all-purpose  

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

5 tbs bacon fat

2/3 buttermilk, plus an additional 1/4 cup, divided 

1 tbs melted butter 

Preheat oven to 450

In a food processor, combine both types of flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Give a quick pulse until combined. Add the bacon fat and process until the flour and bacon fat are well combined and look like course crumbs. Add 2/3 cup milk and pulse until just barely combined. Add additional milk, a bit at a time until all of the dough has been dampened and pulls away from the sides of the food processor. Don’t over process or your biscuits will be tough. 

Remove from food processor and place on a floured surface. Form into a long rectangle and cut into squares with a sharp knife. This will give you square biscuits without any waste. Since over worked dough becomes tough, "scraps" left over from cutting out round biscuits can’t really be re-rolled and used, they should be discarded. Forming the dough into a long rectangle and cutting with a sharp knife will allow you to use all the dough as biscuits without any waste. 

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the biscuits on the sheet. Brush with melted butter. 

Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Miniature Cheesecake Pan Review & Miniature Lemon Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a very dangerous thing to make.

Not in the way that Creme Brulee is dangerous, with the open flame and molten sugar that you just want to touch before it’s dry giving yourself the worst sugar burn of your life and using words that should never be said in public. 

But in more of a, I-totally-don’t-care-if-this-will-make-me-gain-137-pounds-if-I-eat-the-whole-thing, kind of way.

But I love it. LOOOOOOVE it.

And then there is this mini cheesecake pan. It’s a fabulous little invention that offers tiny, portion controlled mini-cheesecakes. Let’s be honest, they aren’t good for you, but eating one won’t make you gain 137 pounds.

(Photo from:Chicago Metallic)

Here is the low down on this little pan, the one that made these adorable cheesecakes:

Chicago Metallic Mini Cheesecake Pan, 12 Cavity

Specifics:

Brand: Chicago Metallic

Dimensions: 1.75″ h x 10.75″ w x 14.00″ 

12-cavity mini cheesecake pan made of heavy-duty aluminized steel

Each cavity comes with pop-up bottom disc for simple dessert removal

Measures 13-8/9 by 10-3/5; each cavity measures 2 by 2 by 1-1/2 inches; 25-year limited warranty

Pros:

Creates adorable, small Cheesecakes that bake quickly and provide the right amount of dessert for a small group.

The metal disk inserts make it easy to remove the cheesecakes from their pan, without the use of a cupcake papers which tend to ruin the over all effect.

 The shape is much more attractive than those mini-cheesecakes bake in muffin tins.

Perfect for parties. 

Cons:

Although the product states that it is dishwasher safe, that does not seem to be the case. The small metal disks are almost impossible to get clean in the dishwasher, and the metal pan does not seem to respond well either. Making hand washing a must for this pan.

The Cheesecakes were a bit smaller than I would have liked.

The excessive use of the word "Cavity" on the product materials along with the word "Cheesecake" conjures up disturbing images of Dessert with Jeffery Dahmer. 

Overall:

I really liked this pan and the options that it provides. Although the size was much smaller than I had expected (slightly larger than a mini muffin) the amount of batter needed was small as well, making it easy to throw together without a pound of cream cheese. This also leaves the option of making your basic, go-to, regular sized New York Cheesecake recipe, splitting it up into three different batches and adding different flavors to each, giving your guests three options instead of one. Variety is always a plus.

I love it and will probably use it until it falls apart. You can buy one here

Lemon Goat Cheese Mini Cheesecakes

Crust:

3/4 cup crushed graham crackers

3 tbs melted butter

2 tbs brown sugar

Cheesecake:

1 8 oz Package of (full fat) Cream Cheese (room temperature, very important)

2 oz Goat Cheese (room temp as well)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs lemon zest

Lemon curd:

1 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp corn starch

2 tbs butter

Preheat oven to 375

In a food processor, add the graham crackers and brown sugar, process until nothing is left but crumbs. Add the butter and process until it resembles wet sand, adding more butter or graham crackers if necessary to achieve the right consistency. 

Place metal disks into place in the bottom of each slot. Spray with butter flavored cooking spray.

Place about 1 tbs of crust into the bottom each Cheesecake slot. Press verywell into place until compacted. 

Place the cream cheese and goat cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until well combined. Add the sugar beat on high until creamed. Add the egg, vanilla, and zest and beat until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well combined. 

Spoon the batter on top of the crust, filling the cheesecake slots until almost full. 

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the cheesecakes no longer giggle in the middle when the rack is shaken. This is not a situation where "a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean."

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before attempting to remove from pan. 

Once cool, press upward in the hole on the bottom of the pan. Disk should remove easily. 

While the cheesecake is cooking, make the curd.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, zest, corn starch and lemon juice until well combined. 

Add to a pan over medium heat along with the butter and whisk constantly until thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow pan to cool a bit, about ten minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes or until cool and thick. 

Once the curd has cooled, top the mini cheesecakes with about 1-2 tsp of curd. Chill until ready to serve.