Rosemary Almonds

When we lived in the apartment, my mother snipped a bit off her rosemary plant and put it in a pot for me. We had it on the balcony of apartment, but it always looked like the sad little dried out sprig. When we moved into the house, i planted it in the front bed. It just exploded into this massive thing, happily living alongside prickly pear, yucca, red sage, and blue agave. Any time of of the year you can go and snip a little and have wonderful fragrant fish, potatoes, or almonds.

• Heat a skillet to medium heat.
• Add a teaspoon of olive oil - swirl around.
• Dump in about 3/4 a cup almonds. Stir around to coat with olive oil. Keep stirring for a minute or so.
• Add 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary.
• Stir, stir stir, a couple minutes until it begins to brown. Watch it very closely so it doesn't burn.
• Transfer to a bowl.
• Add salt (in this case it was Pink Himalayan salt).
• Allow to cool for a few minutes.

These are super easy and addictive. I make them when we have a cheese board or fondue for dinner, or they are great with cocktails.

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

I made these brownies for Brian's birthday this year, and then again for Father's day. Cut these very small - they are incredibly rich.

For the Brownies:

1. 1 cup butter
2. 2 cups sugar
3. 3 eggs
4. 3 teaspoons vanilla
5. 2/3 cup cocoa powder
6. 1 cup all purpose flour
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the Peanut Butter Filling:

1. 1/2 cup butter, softened
2. 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3. 2 cup powdered sugar
4. 2-3 teaspoons milk

For the Ganache Topping:

1. 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2. 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3. 1/4 cup butter
4. 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the sugar; stir to combine. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add flour and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.
3. While the brownies are cooling, make the peanut butter filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients and beat until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make it spreadable. Spread in an even layer over the brownies. Place in the refrigerator until filling is set, about 30 minutes.
4. While the filling is setting, make the ganache, combine the ingredients in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Melt together and combine. Pour the ganache over the top and spread gently. Return to the fridge until set.

Yields: 24 brownies

Printed From: www.sweetpeaskitchen.com

Avocado, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza

I made this whole-wheat pizza back in April. It has the following toppings:

-Pesto
-Mozzarella
-goat cheese
-yellow baby bell peppers
-Sun-dried tomatoes
-Kalamata olives

After baking, I topped it with freshly chopped avocado and sprinkled with smoked salt and parm-reg.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

I made the whoopie pies for Easter. I used this recipe at Tracy's Culinary Adventures:

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
adapted from Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Finally, add the grated carrots, beating to distribute evenly.

Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Using a small cookie scoop (mine measures about 1 1/2 inches across - you'll need to adjust the baking time accordingly if yours is larger), portion the batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake (one sheet at a time) for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies spring back when gently pressed. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes then remove the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough, alternating baking sheets.

Makes about 20 sandwiches

Cream Cheese Filling
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl in between additions. Beat in the vanilla extract. With mixer on medium, beat for another minute or so, until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Match the cookies in pairs by size. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe a small amount onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Sandwich the cookies together, and press the filling to the edges.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I have cooked... I sometimes photograph... I'm just not a good blogger.

But check out the other blog I seem to have already abandoned: The Postcard Files.

State Fair Food

Since Brian and I knew we wouldn't be able to make to the State Fair this year, he had the idea to have fair food at home. We picked up some veggie corny dogs, and he wanted to make fried pickles. As we were walking toward the checkout line at the store, i jokingly said we should try fried oreos too. He stopped dead in his tracks, and so it was a go.

Here's our attempt at State Fair food at home! http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericagill/sets/72157624964972425/

Heirloom Caprese Avocado Salad

Aren't these heirloom tomatoes beautiful! This was an heirloom tomato, fresh mozzarella, pesto, and baby greens with balsamic vinegar.

Faux Salade Niçoise

Blurry picture...darn...

I'm sure the French probably hate anything faux French, but I threw together this salad with ingredients I had around the house. I had fresh tomato, but I didn't have capers, so I thought sun-dried would add a nice brininess. Brian called it "a nice kitchen-sink salad."

Ingredients:

2 red skinned potatoes - boiled

2 eggs, hard boiled

1 can tuna, drained

sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

red bell pepper, chopped

olives, sliced

onion, chopped

feta cheese

Dressing:

Red wine vinegar

olive oil

squirt of spicy brown mustard