today is national pie day - don't forget to bake a pie...

or you can head to portland maine for a whole weekend of  pie making, baking and eating.
it is awesome.  portland is fantastic in the summer but we went a couple of weekends ago and it is
fantastic in the winter too.  tons of awesome restaurants, cute shops, and of course skiing,
snow shoeing etc.  put it on your "places to go" list.

\

love sent, xo

a sunday well spent....

                                                        brings a week of content....

love making the most of my weekends.

have a great week ahead

love sent, xo

thank you

cinnamon coffee cake...

cinnamon coffee cake
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3 large eggs, whisked
• 1 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans)

whipped cream 

Topping
• Dried Cranberries
• Nuts
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Fresh Cranberries

instructions

coffee cake
• preheat oven to 350 F with the rack in the middle. Spray a 9" springform pan with cooking spray. combine dry ingredients (excluding nuts and raisins.) in another bowl combine wet ingredients. mix wet and dry together until well combined. fold in nuts and raisins. add cake mix to the pan, smooth out the top if needed.
• bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out crumb free. let cake cool on a rack.
 
Assembly
• Top cooled cake with whipped cream, nuts and fruits.

cinnamon swirls

leftover pie dough
softened butter
cinnamon and sugar

 roll out pie dough scraps into a rectangle. spread with a layer of butter. sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. roll into a spiral. cut crosswise into slices.
bake at 375º for 10 to 15 minutes
keep an eye on them; they brown quickly at the end.

love sent, xo

saturday morning breakfast...

apple pancake
ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

preheat oven to 375.
combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
whisk together eggs and milk.
mix together flour and baking powder and stir it into the egg/milk mixture.
in a skillet, heat butter, add the apple slices and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar mixture and cook, stirring, until soft. about 5 minutes.
pour the batter over the apples and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on top.
bake until it puffs up, about 18-20 minutes.
dust with a little powdered sugar.


love sent, xo

blueberry, almond, banana bread with sugared almond topping

batter
2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
4 ripe bananas,  mashed
4 tbsp. unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
1/3 c plain greek yogurt
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c blueberries
1/2 c sliced almonds
1/2 c white chocolate chunks

topping
1/4 c sliced almonds
1 tbsp. unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
1 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

preheat oven to 350 line a loaf pan with parchment paper grease the pan and the parchment paper well.
in a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. set aside.
in another bowl stir together the topping ingredients until the almonds are evenly coated. set aside.

in a bowl mix together the mashed bananas, melted and cooled butter, greek yogurt, egg, extracts, and sugar until combined well.  fold in the flour mixture just until combined.  fold in the blueberries
white chocolate and almonds. scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. sprinkle
with the sugared almond topping mixture and bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.  cool on rack before serving.

delicious.

love sent, xo

peaches

can't get enough of them...

4 ripe peaches
1/3 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

optional extras: 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, pinch of sea salt

heat oven to 350 degrees. halve peaches and remove pits. place fruit cut side up in baking dish. in a food processor, grind almonds and sugar together until coarsely ground (with a few pebbles left). add oats and other flavorings, if using, then butter, pulsing the machine until the ingredients are just blended. spoon the almond mixture into the center of each peach, then press it flat, as if icing the tops of the peaches with it. bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (baking time varies with peach size), until the top is brown and crisp and you can easily slice through the fruit with a fork or spoon.

serve warm or at room temperature, with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies.

you really should try these.  they will make your day better than it would have been.
             

cranberry pistachio shortbreads:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup  unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 cup dried cranberries chopped

In a large bowl whisk the flour with the salt. 

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth (about 1 - 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. (Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half of dough on the center of a 14 inch  length of parchment  Smooth and shape the dough into an evenly shaped rectangle that is about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Then thoroughly wrap the shaped logs in the parchment or wax paper, twists the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, or up to three days. (The logs can also be frozen for about two months. If freezing, it is best to defrost the logs in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F  with the rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 shortbread cookies.

love sent, xo

salted chocolate caramel tarts

seriously good.  find the recipe ..    here

i cooked my crust a little too long so check them before 12 minutes.

love sent, xo

a slice of my life...

 pumpkin creme brulee  (via sunday suppers)


spiced pumpkin crème brûlée

serves 4


1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 vanilla bean
3/4 cup. pumpkin purée
4 tsp superfine sugar reserved for top of brûlée

preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks. combine the cream, cinnamon stick, nutmeg and vanilla bean (de-seeded) in a saucepot, and bring to a simmer. slowly whisk the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture through a fine-meshed sieve. whisk in the pumpkin purée.
divide the mixture among four 8-oz. ramekins and place in a large baking pan. add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custards are just set (about 30 minutes).
transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
just before serving, sprinkle 1 tsp. superfine sugar evenly over the surface of each custard. using a kitchen torch, move the flame continuously over the surface until the sugar melts and lightly browns. serve immediately

best food of 2011

i was going through my hundreds of pictures and decided to post the best food
of 2011.  it was really so hard to choose.

january - making cinnamon bread over and over

february - making sugar cookies and chocolate covered angel cakes to share

march - crab cakes

april - easter brunch

may - pizza and salad

june - sunset dinner

july - lighter fare

august - amazing breakfast in york.  did i say amazing? visit them

  here

september - dinner in the north end

october - apple crunch with pumpkin martinis

november - turkey dinner

december -- peach crepes with whipped cream and brown sugar



winter wednesday...

my snow day project..                                                         
sugar cookie recipe (30 small cookies)

2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp of cream of tarter
1 tsp of baking soda
1 egg
in your kitchen aid fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter and powdered sugar. add flour, vanilla, cream of tarter, soda, and egg. on slow, stir together ingredients just until combined. turn the dough out onto a floured board and wrap it with plastic wrap. let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
unwrap the dough and put it on a floured board. be sure to flour the rolling pin, as well. roll out dough until 1/4 inch thick.
cut shapes. place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees just until the edges begin to turn brown - baking time will depend on size and thickness of the cookie.
let cool on a wire rack

royal icing  (martha stewart)

3 egg whites
4 cups of powdered sugar
in the kitchen aid fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until almost frothy. add in the powdered sugar and whisk on slow until smooth. you may need to add more or less powdered sugar or water to achieve desired thickness. for sugar cookies, you want the icing to be thin enough that it will fall back on itself and smooth itself out, but not too thin so it will run off of the cookie.
add  a tiny amount of food coloring to start, you can always add more if you want a darker color.  good colors are important for professional looking cookies.
let dry thoroughly before putting in bags etc.

 put in glassine bags or envelopes and add a sweet message.  give to all of your valentines....<3

            gotta save one for this guy... is he not the most gorgeous baby you have ever seen? i think so...

and try mini angel food cakes with melted chocolate topping...