- Sour Cherry Crumb Cake -

Because I believe that the only sort of dessert there is is one with chocolate in it (I know, I have a very narrow mind), I offer this one up to you as a snack. Great to have with tea - tea and cake, and all that. 

Don't be deterred by the "sour" part, it really isn't sour at all except the cherries, which, I suppose, really depend on how sour the type you buy happen to be. We made this with the frozen cherries, and it was quite delicious. And the crumb topping has so much flavor to it that I just couldn't get over!

Click here for the recipe: Sour Cherry Crumb Cake

- Happy Valentine's Day! -

- French Toast with Apple-Maple-Fig Spread -

I should confess, I'm all for eating breakfast for dinner. I think some people have written religions against it, but I'm not about to let that stop me! I see no reason to deprive yourself of any type of yumminess because of the name of the meal or the time of day you eat it at... no reason! 

To those who believe it is just wrong to partake of breakfast for dinner, I implore you: prolong this terrible sadness in your life no more! Let yourself go... fall into thick butter, juicy bacon, and mile high pancakes. Your life does not have to be this depressing, you can enjoy a life full of happiness and freedom if you just break your own vows and place before you at the evening meal a plate of French Toast with Apple-Maple-Fig Spread. This is my plea to you sad folk!

But please, don't let this make you think that you can't have this French Toast for breakfast either. Oh no, anytime of the day, my friends... anytime.

So why the drama? Well, I'm kind of in love, and I can't help myself. I should write a poetic song about this dish, it may be the only way to express my passions.

See? What'd I tell you? Am I right, or am I right. 

Fig Spread: a can't beat.

And it's perfect with bacon. But I will torture you no further with photos of fatty deliciousness. Here's how you make it. =)

French Toast with Apple-Maple-Fig Spread

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French Bread cut into 1 inch slices

3 cups of Milk

2 large dashes of Vanilla

5 Eggs

1/2 cup of Apple Sauce

2 T. Maple Syrup (the real stuff now)

2 T. Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Fig Jam (mine was labeled as fig spread)

1 apple, sliced thinly (optional)

Directions:

In bowl whisk together milk, vanilla, and eggs. Pour into a 9x13 dish. Heat a flat nonstick pan over a medium/low heat. Drop as many slices as will fit on the pan into the eggs mixture. Soak the bread for a second or two on each side. Place on pan and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Continue this with all the sliced until you have cooked up the entire loaf.

Meanwhile, while you work with the bread, whisk together in small saucepan over a medium heat the apple sauce, maple syrup, brown sugar, fig jam, until warm and all the lumps from the jam are gone and everything is mixed together well.

Place the cooked french toast slices on a large plate. Spread or drizzle the apple-maple-fig spread over each slice. Cover each slice with the apple slices as a festive option. Bon Appetite!

- Browned-Butter Sage Pasta -

I think I've fallen in love with...browned butter. So much flavor, so much amazingness! Seriously, all you need for this recipe is butter, sage, pasta, parmesan cheese and a seasoning of salt and pepper, and yet the flavor fills your mouth with its nutty butteriness! I can't explain the wonderfulness!!

First you melt the butter in a saucepan.

 

Add a sage leaf for a minute.

Take out the sage leaf and brown the butter on a medium to medium/high heat for two to three minutes or until the butter is nice and browned, but not burnt!

Drop in the pasta.

Add the salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese and please, do eat.

Browned-Butter Sage Pasta

Ingredients:

2.5 oz. Angel Hair Pasta

4 T. Butter

1 Sage Leaf

Pinch Salt 

Pinch Pepper

Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Boil water in a pot. Salt pasta water and cook pasta in it until al dente.

In small saucepan melt butter. Add a sage leaf and cook on medium/low heat for one minute. Remove sage leaf and turn up the heat to medium to medium/high. Brown the butter, about three minutes, don't burn it! Turn the heat off. Add pasta, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Plate and eat! Bon Appetite!

- I Say "Brownie Bottom Coconut Chocolate Cream Cake", You Say "Yum"! -

I look forward to the Super Bowl every year. But not because I enjoy the football, I really could care less! No, it's all about the food, of course. And this year we had a small group of people gather at the house to socialize and eat, and really not watch football at all (We stopped the game for Downton Abbey anyways!). 

But the Numero Uno of the feast was the delicious Brownie Bottom Coconut Chocolate Cream Cake. Oh yes, it was all that and more.

Here's the link to the recipe...try it!: Brownie Bottom Coconut Chocolate Cream Cake Recipe

- Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars -

Just this week I seem to have been able to get back up onto my feet after the Christmas rush. Yes, apparently it took almost a month! We were so busy with family over the holiday season, and as soon as they left, I crashed. All my creativity (to my frustration) seemed zapped. I was even unable to think about getting back into recipe creation for my cookbook. But this week, everything sort of *clicked* back into place, and I've really been itching to get back into the kitchen. I've got a list of recipes to make and put on this blog for the whole month of February already! Now I'm back on track and ready to go!

I started out by creating this little sweetheart for all of you today! My Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars! They were a pretty lip smack worthy, and my whole family told me they were a success, so I'm pretty jazzed.

You start with all ingredients necessary: Butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and coconut. 

Cream together melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well blended.

 

Sift in flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just blended.

Add coconut, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and mix together.

Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 jellyroll pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until nice and golden brown.

Cut into 2" squares. Yum! 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. coconut

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In electric mixer, cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix together. Add the coconut, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. Mix until just blended.

Spray a 9x13 jellyroll pan with cooking spray. Drop cookie dough in clumps all over the pan, and with your fingers, press the dough down till it fills the bottom of the pan. Put into  the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and chewy! 

Bon Appetite!

- Food in Vermont -

Today we explored Vermont with the family. Of course the thought of lunch came up, and we knew we had to stop at this little deli in southern Vermont. It's a cute place with cheese, cookies, sodas, sandwiches, soups, and a lot more. The place was popular, the lines were long, but it was worth it. I got mac and cheese and a delicious turkey sandwich with turkey, provolone, lettuce, and cranberry sauce...yum.

- J.