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Summer grilling season is fast approaching, and the bug has already bitten us. We started grilling a couple weeks ago when we had a few warm days, and we’ll probably grill every weekend and a few days during the week between now and winter. We usually do at least one simple grill a week with hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats because we like how easy it is, and the other times we’ll grill chicken, ribs, or steaks. Potato or macaroni salad or some kind of slaw is our regular accompaniment, but lately I’ve been grilling potatoes and we love them! It’s just like roasting them in the oven, only we put the pan on the grill. I like how it keeps the kitchen from heating up so much, a big plus when the temperatures soar in July and August. And I like how the potatoes in the bottom of pan turn into nice brown crusty bits, which taste really good!

This isn’t a recipe but more of a formula because the ingredients change a bit every time I make it. I’ve used various potatoes, even sweet potatoes, and sometimes I mix two or more kinds for color; and I always have garlic, peppers, onions, two or three herbs, salt or seasoning salt, pepper, and olive oil. For this batch, I used Yukon Gold potatoes, red onions, whole garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme, and sage. All the herbs were from our indoor garden.

This is my contribution to this week’s edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, a weekly event founded by the fabulous Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Anh of Food Lover’s Journey, so check out her blog next week for the round-up!

Other Recipes You Might Like

Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Salt Potatoes

Barbecued Ribs

Equipment

9×13 foil pan
aluminum foil
grill

Ingredients

3 or 4 large potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
1 head of garlic, all cloves peeled
1 medium to large onions, cut into bite-size chunks
1 large bell pepper, cut into bite-size chuncks
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil
herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme work well)
fresh ground black pepper
sea salt or a seasoned salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the grill.

2. Put the potatoes, garlic cloves, onion, and bell pepper into the pan. Toss with olive oil and herbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cover with the foil and place on the hot grill. Cook over medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes. Moisture may build up during cooking, so remove the foil about 5 minutes before done. Serve hot.

Copyright © 2008 Andrea’s Recipes. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at may be guilty of copyright infringement.

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Copyright © 2008 Andrea’s Recipes. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at may be guilty of copyright infringement.

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Cheesecake on a stick! How fun is that? I love cheesecake any way I can get it and few desserts in this world capture my imagination more than a rich, luscious, baked cheesecake. If I order dessert in a restaurant, it’s likely to be cheesecake, and I love sampling all the flavors at The Cheesecake Factory. But I do have a dirty little secret to share…I haven’t made one in several years (which is why you’ve never seen one on this blog) because I have no self control when it comes to cheesecake. If I make a cheesecake, especially one with booze or tricked out with all sorts of extra yummies like chocolate and caramel, you might as well slap a “Wide Load” sign on my behind because I’m done for. I did eventually realize I could make a full size batch but bake it in mini or half-size pans or muffin tins and freeze the extra or share with friends, and that helped my addiction. Somewhat.

I knew The Daring Bakers would eventually tackle cheesecakes in some form, and I got very excited when I saw this month’s challenge was cheesecake pops because they were a perfect mini size and they are so adorable! Of course we had to follow all the regular rules, but as always we were given some leeway for creativity. We could substitute another flavor for the vanilla extract and we could use whatever type of chocolate and decorations we liked. The pops just had to be made with the basic cheesecake recipe, rolled into 2-ounce balls, dipped in chocolate, and served on a stick. For my variations, I chose to flavor the cheesecake with Kahlua and rolled the coated pops in hazelnuts, toffee bits, and even sprinkles just for the kids.

The recipe comes from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, a fun dessert book by Jill O’Connor. I shared the pops with all the neighbors at an impromptu pizza party out in the cul-de-sac one evening last week and they were a hit. As expected, all the kids wanted the pops with sprinkles!

I was pretty confident going into this challenge since I had plenty of cheesecake experience under my belt, but I did know some bakers had said the cake would not set up, and as it turns out I had the same problem. You would think after a year in this house I would have the oven figured out already, but it still keeps me guessing. My oven thermometer says the oven is accurate but it almost always takes the maximum suggested time to cook anything, often more, and this baby was definitely not ready after 45 minutes. I pulled it out when it looked like the edges were getting a little too done, though the middle looked appropriately wobbly. I let it cool completely and chilled it before attempting to scoop, but it was still loose in the middle, though not runny.

I had to work fast while rolling the balls and I popped them into the freezer right away with the sticks already in. They sat in there for about 24 hours before I had a chance to go back to them, so they were well frozen. For the chocolate I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet chips. I had planned to add some espresso powder in the chocolate to carry on the coffee theme, but I forgot, so I’ll have to try that next time. I should have enrobed the balls in chocolate all the way up to the stick, but I wasn’t thinking clearly late at night when I finished these up. With the chocolate clinging to the stick, that would have helped keep the balls in place while eating. After coating all the pops, I put them back in the freezer, and we ate them frozen. We really liked them frozen as it was like eating a really rich popsicle.

One thing I definitely did wrong was estimating the proper size. The recipe states 2-ounces of cheesecake for each pop, and I thought my #60 scoop (small, 2 teaspoons) would be just right, but I realized that was not so when I had 32 balls on the tray and half the cheesecake left! As it turns out we liked the small size for such a rich dessert, though next time I might use the #40 scoop (medium, 1-1/2 tablespoons) instead. That might be just a bit smaller than called for, but close enough.

So now that I had all this cheesecake leftover I had to decide what to do with it! I finished scooping it all out with the #60 scoop and put them into mini muffin pans, then covered them with plastic wrap and foil. They are sitting in my freezer waiting for another opportunity to enjoy cheesecake pops, or even a cheesecake sundae! I made fudge sauce from more of the Ghirardelli chocolate and heavy cream, then floated a frozen cheesecake ball on it and sprinkled crushed hazelnuts and toffee bits on top. Oh, was that heavenly!

Thanks to Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell for choosing such a fun and delicious challenge for us! To see all the other cheesecake pops, head on over to The Daring Bakers Blogroll.

If you have never made a cheesecake before, I highly recommend an article called Perfect Cheesecakes written by the staff at Allrecipes. It’s full of great tips.

Equipment

stand mixer with paddle attachment
10-inch cake pan, greased (You can use a springform pan if necessary, just make sure to line it completely with foil to keep the pan from leaking. Spray the foil lightly with cooking spray.)
large roasting pan (large enough to hold the cake pan)
#40 cookie scoop (medium) (#60 if you want the smaller balls)
30 to 40 (8-inch) lollipop sticks (60 or more if you make the smaller balls)
half sheet pan, lined with parchment or wax paper or a silicon mat
double boiler or medium glass bowl

Ingredients

CHEESECAKE
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (not light or fat free), room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons Kahlua (or pure vanilla extract)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) heavy cream

CHOCOLATE
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

OTHER
several cups of boiling water (for the waterbath)
colored sprinkles
finely chopped hazelnuts
toffee bits

Preparation

1. CHEESECAKE: Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325° F. Set some water to boil.

2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt on low speed until smooth. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

3. Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in the large roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes. (I can’t guarantee the accuracy of this cooking time. My cake was definitely not set after 45 minutes. A number of Daring Bakers reported 60 minutes or more for cooking times. Make sure the water is boiling hot before pouring it into the roasting pan, and keep an eye on the cake while it bakes.)

4. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or overnight.

5. MAKE THE BALLS: When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on the wax paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 to 2 hours.

6. CHOCOLATE: When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate using the stovetop method or the microwave method. STOVETOP: In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety. MICROWAVE: Put half the chocolate and half the shortening in the glass bowl. Microwave on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

7. Dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. Roll the pops quickly in the decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean wax paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening as needed.

8. Refrigerate or freeze the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Variations

Chocolate - Use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white. You can also use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating, or wafer chocolate. Candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.

Decorations - chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees

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Source: adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, by Jill O’Connor

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Contest only open to residents of the Continental United States.

Copyright © 2008 Andrea’s Recipes. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at may be guilty of copyright infringement.

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Bean dips are one of my favorite appetizers because they are versatile, easy, and (usually) healthy. Just start with a can of your favorite beans, two or three herbs and spices you like, then add some olive oil and a little salt and some kind of pepper and you have the formula for a tasty snack or even a light lunch. Today a bean dip with pita was calling my name, so after finding the cannellini beans in the pantry, I whipped out the skillet and the food processor and had lunch ready in about 10 minutes. This dip recipe uses fresh rosemary, sage, and garlic, and to extend the theme I made extra herbed oil and spread it on whole wheat pita then toasted it. I thought the combination was quite yummy, and so did my boys.

The full recipe makes about 3 cups of dip, but you can easily halve it for a smaller batch, and it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

This is my contribution to this week’s installment of Weekend Herb Blogging, founded by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Margot from Coffee & Vanilla, so be sure to check out her blog with the round-up next week!

UPDATE: The round-up is posted here.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Slow-Cooker Four Bean Baked Beans

Black Bean Soup

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Hummus Bi Tahini

Equipment

medium skillet
food processor

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped sage
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons water
sea salt to taste
pinch or two cayenne pepper

SERVE WITH
whole wheat pita chips (see instructions below)

Preparation

1. In the skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the garlic, sage, and rosemary and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until fragrant and the garlic is just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Add the beans and toss to coat.

2. Transfer the cannellini beans and oil mixture to the food processor. Add the water, season with salt and cayenne and process to a fairly smooth puree, about 2 or 3 minutes. Serve in a small bowl with the remaining olive oil drizzled on top.

3. PITA CHIPS: To make plain pita chips, cut a round of pita into 4 to 8 slices and toast for 2 or 3 minutes in a toaster oven or on a baking sheet in the oven at 350° F. To make the herbed pita chips, make extra herbed olive oil mixture and brush it on top of the pita round. Cut into slices and toast as above.

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Source: adapted from Food & Wine, 2003

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The book, recently released by DK Publishing, is a spin off from the “competitive dinners” that Old and Calagione started in 2003 at his brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Each evening offers a five course meal, and each course comes with both a beer and a wine pairing. Using anonymous ballots, the diners vote for the best pairing for each course, and though both Marnie and Sam thought there would be a clear winner, that has never been the case. The margins have been slim, and the number of wins for either side has been pretty even, strong evidence that beer and wine both pair well with a variety of foods.

The book presents information in five sections, including brief primers on both wine and beer, as well as the main section dedicated to pairing food. There is a handful of recipes in the final section, and of course each comes with suggestions for good beers and wines to enjoy with the food. The folks at DK always do a great job with their full-color books, and this effort certainly fits in with their style. There are some lovely, bright photos of wine, beer, and food that compliment the text well, and of course Sam and Marnie keep up their friendly banter about the relative merits of wine and beer throughout.

I found the book enjoyable and informative. I was in my early to mid 30s before I acquired a taste for beer, but I’ve enjoyed wine for a long time, and I’ve tried to pick up some knowledge here and there, especially while Michael and I were on our honeymoon in Germany. (Aside: We chose Germany because we wanted to go to Oktoberfest, and we arranged our whole trip so that we could be there for opening day. Oktoberfest started off as a wedding celebration in 1810, and we had a great time celebrating our honeymoon there! Well, and everywhere else we went in Germany! Good beer, good wine, traveling throughout Germany. What more could you want?)

Yes, that’s me, before children and gray hairs, sipping from that huge mug of beer in Munich! Good times! We don’t have any pictures of us sipping wine, but trust me when I say we sampled plenty! (Just so you know, Marnie looks so much more elegant in her book photos than I do with that big mug in my face!)

Ok, enough of my babbling, now for the give away! This is my first time to host a give away here and I’m excited!

I have two copies of this fun book to share with my readers. If you want to win your own copy of He Said Beer, She Said Wine, leave a comment below telling us your favorite wine and/or beer. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are one of the lucky winners. Apologies to my international readers, but the books can only be shipped within the continental U.S. Contest closes at 6 P.M. EST on April 27, and I’ll have Random.org select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winners in this post soon after.

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners, Michelle M and waynebretski! A copy of He Said Beer, She Said Wine is on it’s way to you!

And if you want to catch up with Sam and Marnie, check out their websites for details on appearances, book signings, and other events. They are coming to DC in the middle of May and I may have to check out that event!

Marnie Old - Calendar

Dogfish Head - Calendar

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