Our weekends have been hectic lately.  We just crossed the one-year mark of owning a house, and suddenly every sentence starts with “I can’t believe we’ve lived here for a year and we haven’t__________.”  Your answer choices are:  planted trees, landscaped the front yard, or established a lawn that has more grass than bare dirt.

The answer is D. All of the above.

I usually pop out of bed on Saturday morning at the same time I would for a work day (ridiculous, I know), and make us a big breakfast to get us going.  One thing I’ve been doing lately is putting a tray of bacon in the oven.  I think bacon made in the oven tastes better.  It holds it shape, it doesn’t splash grease on my cooktop, and it’s chewier.  Place a wire rack on top of a roasting pan that has sides to catch any bacon grease, and place your bacon on top.  Flip halfway through; perfect bacon every time.

One Saturday, I decided to make BLTs with the leftover bacon for lunch.  But, I knew I wanted it to be the best version of a BLT.

What could be better than a BLT?  A creamy BLT!  What could be better than a creamy BLT?  The addition of avocado (I can sense all of you nodding along in agreement).

Meet my BLTa wrap:  chewy, thick slices of bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and a creamy avocado mayonnaise.

Avocado mayo makes my world go ’round.  You’re going to love this one.

Head on over to Food Fanatic for the recipe for my Creamy BLT.

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: avocado, bacon, dinners, mayo, wrap

I have long dreamt of yogurt truffles.

Truffles are my favorite dessert to sneak when no one’s looking.  I slyly pop one on my tongue and it dissolves into bliss.

My love affair with truffles was getting a bit obsessive. The heavy cream containers in the trash were judging me.  I knew there had to be a slightly healthier version of truffles that I could enjoy guilt-free. (Did you ever see my mashed potato truffles? Man alive, are those good!). Enter yogurt:  one of my favorite ingredients in the kitchen.  The truth is, I haven’t bought sour cream in years.  When a recipe calls for sour cream, I substitute plain Greek yogurt.

I use a thick, high-quality Greek yogurt that only has 2 ingredients (milk and live cultures; I’ll share more on ingredient simplicity in a minute).  I used Chobani 2%.  I mention the brand here because there are brands of Greek yogurt that are not as thick or as consistent.

I think these yogurt truffles are fabulous. I may never go back to the real thing.

I melted a bar of white chocolate, stirred in enough yogurt for some tang, and stuffed a strawberry bite in the middle.  I rolled them in sparkling sugar and powdered sugar.  My favorite way to eat them is with powdered sugar on the outside, but if you like some crunch, roll them in sparkling sugar.  Or, roll them in nothing at all and enjoy this 3-ingredient dessert!

Remember I said I had a rant about the purity of ingredients?  Get ready.

So, it’s gross, but I have to tell you:  there are a lot of white chocolate impostors out there. The ingredient list on a white chocolate bar should read ‘cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla’.  Not much else.  Corn syrup? No. Palm kernel oil?  Definitely not.  Soy lecithin?  Not a chance.  Be real!  Eat real!  And eat Greek yogurt truffles!

Disclosure:  The folks at Chobani sent me their product for review.  The opinions  expressed here are 100% my own.  And I love Chobani!

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: strawberry, truffles, white chocolate, yogurt

Granted, my only ‘troubles’ are the weather went from snow to 90-degrees too quickly, and the fact that weekends only last 2 days.  But, troubles are troubles, and moonshine soothes all.

Is there a pink drink that doesn’t brighten your day?

A ‘smash’ is an easy drink to make:  you smash fresh fruit in the bottom of a jar with a sprinkle of sugar, herbs if you like, and top with your alcohol of choice.  For this rhubarb smash, I muddled fresh rhubarb and strawberries with sugar and lime.  I think herbs overpower the raw rhubarb, so I left them out.

If you ask me which moonshine is the best, I’ll tell you to drive to Tennessee and buy Popcorn Sutton’s moonshine.  I’ve tasted a lot of ‘shine in my day, and Popcorn Sutton really knew what he was doing.  His moonshine is smooth.  Yes, smooth!  Most other moonshines taste like rubbing alcohol (sorry it’s true).  So, that said, use moonshine if you like it and you live in Tennessee, if not, vodka works great here.

Drink up!  Rhubarb season is short!

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 32 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: cocktail, drinks, moonshine, rhubarb, strawberry

A great no-fail roasted chicken recipe is the little black dress of the kitchen.  You keep it on standby for any occasion when you know you need to look fabulous.  Rosemary chicken is gorgeous (look at those roasted lemon slices—so fancy!) and delicious.  Put this on the table, and enjoy the oohs and ahhs from your dinner guests.

This recipe is as dependable as that black dress:  a quick marinade in olive oil, lemon juice and rosemary is the secret.

Head on over to Food Fanatic for my latest Dinner For Two recipe:  Rosemary Chicken.

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 27 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: chicken, dinner, lemon, rosemary

First, promise me something:  Promise me that you will not hide these frozen mocha brownie bites from your husband.  Promise me that you won’t wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store them inside a bag of frozen asparagus in the back of the freezer.  Because that would be selfish.  And also, there’s a chance that after you sneak one and head back to the couch, you will have a tell-all chocolate stain on your lip, which might lead to questions from your husband, which might lead to an awkward confession.

Not that I would know…

To make these, we’re going to use a mini muffin pan to make mini brownie bites.  We’re going to top them with a scoop of coffee ice cream (the best ice cream flavor in the world, Amen!).  After a quick jaunt in the freezer, we’re going to dunk them in magic shell (melted chocolate + coconut oil).  You’re so very welcome.

If you have willpower (what is that?) and won’t be eating all 6 brownie bites in one sitting, you should store the brownies at room temperature and pop them back into the muffin pan for their ice cream topping later.  You can store them already assembled tightly wrapped in the freezer (not in an asparagus bag), but beware!:  let them sit on the counter for at least 10 minutes before trying to eat them.  You will break a tooth on frozen brownie if you don’t!  The magic shell will hold in any ice cream that softens while the brownies defrost slightly.

Here’s what they look like before dunking:

The beauty of magic shell is that it hardens immediately when it touches the ice cream.  Dunk them quickly and serve.

Just to be clear:  these brownie bites are for sharing.  Sharing, I say!  They are not personal two-bite desserts to be hoarded in the freezer for anytime you have a bad day.

Not that I would know…

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 49 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: bites, brownies, chocolate, coffee, frozen, ice cream, mini, mocha

I call these ‘emergency cookies.’  I make  these quick cookies anytime an emergency strikes.  My most common emergency is last-minute dinner guests.  Last-minute dinner guests are quite common around here, because I love a good challenge.  Other times, I put a lot of effort into making a meal, and then 20 minutes before my guests arrive I slap my forehead because I can’t believe I’ve forgotten dessert (again!).  Monday is also an emergency.  You know, every Monday.  We all need cookies after the first day back to work from the weekend.

My most recent emergency with these cookies was that I couldn’t stop eating marshmallow fluff out of the jar with a spoon.  I had to get a hold of myself.  Last week, someone from our Church dropped by the house unannounced.  Did I have my Southern belle card on me?  Was there a fresh pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge?  Was the house spotless?  Was I wearing acceptable clothes and a cute apron?  No.  I was sitting on the couch in yoga pants reading the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, and in my clenched little fist was a spoon dipped in marshmallow fluff.  It was not my finest moment.  My Southern belle card has been temporarily revoked.

I stared down at my sticky little fist and knew I had to put the marshmallow fluff to good use before it got the best of me.  I turned to my easy, 4-ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe.

These cookies do not contain flour, so they are perfect for baking up a quick batch for my gluten-free neighbor.  They don’t contain butter, so I don’t have to let a stick of butter soften on the counter.  They’re the perfect cookie all-around:  easy, quick and gluten-free!

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 38 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: cookies, gluten free, marshmallow, peanut butter

This dish comes to you by way of my craving for something salty and sweet and my Southern heart, of course.  If you’ve never had strawberry pretzel salad in all of its Cool Whip glory, you haven’t lived.  Befriend a blue-haired lady at Church, offer to mow her lawn and she’ll make you a strawberry and pretzel salad.  (Did I mention you should probably cross the Mason-Dixon line before attempting this)?  Once you receive your strawberry pretzel salad, you’ll notice the strawberry gelatin topping.  You will think “I don’t like Jell-o.”  But, grab a fork anyway.  Once you dig in past the strawberry gelatin part, you’re rewarded with a creamy sweet layer and a salty-sugary pretzel crust.  It might just be one of the world’s most perfect casseroles.

We’re going to ditch the gelatin and Cool Whip, friends.  I want to be able to eat this for breakfast.  So, grab a tub of full-fat yogurt.  Yes, full fat.  Mine clocked in at 3.5% fat.  That’s not too far above your 2% milk.  You can do it.  You need creaminess in your life.

In a pretty cup, layer brown-sugar sweetened yogurt, strawberries married to their sticky sweet syrup, and crushed pretzels.  Oh baby.

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 52 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: cream, pretzel, strawberry, yogurt

Don’t these hot pink cookies look like the perfect thing to bring to potlucks and picnics all summer long?

These beauties are from my sweet friend Heather Christo’s new cookbook.  Her book Generous Table is just as gorgeous as she is.  Heather makes me feel like I can entertain any night of the week.

Heather has recipes for any type of entertaining festivity.  From Ladies’ Luncheon, Southern Housewarming, Backyard BBQ, Game Night, and Holiday Dinner Parties, Heather has you covered.  She even shares decoration tips!

I was so happy to see a few traditional Greek recipes in the book.  She has a recipe for Bougatsa that she describes as a cross between baklava and creme brulee.  You can be sure that’s what I’m making next!

I will be cooking from this book for all of my summer entertaining.

Her recipes are delicious with a twist.  The beet pesto pasta called to me.  The macaroni and cheese with pumpkin and bacon stared me down.  But ultimately, I decided to make these pretty little pink cookies.  You know the first recipe I make from any cookbook has to be a dessert!

The sugar cookie dough couldn’t be easier.  The berry frosting is what makes these cookies sing—fresh berries crushed and mixed with butter and powdered sugar.  So pretty, so good!  I used raspberries, but I’ve got my eye on some strawberries for the next batch, too.

Would you like to win a signed copy of Heather’s new book before it is released?  Of course you do!

That’s it!  Good luck!  I will choose a winner on Friday, April 26th at noon.

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 131 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: berry, cookies, frosting, raspberry, strawberry, sugar cookies

Remember that Earl Grey tea latte?

I can’t stop thinking about it either.  These tea lattes went from a once-a-week treat to a daily fix.  Times two.  I make 2 lattes some mornings.  I tell myself I’ll have just one and then switch back to green tea.  But, before I know it, my milk is frothing and another tea bag is perfectly steeped.  Again.

I discovered the secret to making a tea latte taste like one from a coffee shop:  sugar. Just a splash.  I use agave nectar most of the time.

There’s a local coffee shop next to my yoga studio that makes a green tea latte just for me, even though it’s not on the menu.  They leave the tea bag in the cup for serving, and I think that’s necessary for green tea since it’s so lightly flavored.  An Earl Grey tea bag only needs 5 minutes of steeping to reach its richest, darkest brown.  I recommend covering the cup during steeping for maximum flavor.

You’re going to need a milk frother for this recipe.  Sorry about that.  But, maybe lay off your Starbucks habit one day a week and you’ll save enough money to buy one?

I got my milk frother as a wedding present, and I love it. Love love it.

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: earl grey tea, milk, tea

Breakfast:  Twice a month, I bake a double or triple batch of granola for my husband.  My go-to recipe is by Pam, and it’s a light version:  it uses a few tablespoons of oil, water and maple syrup.

Me?  I don’t eat granola for breakfast.  I like HOT food in the morning; cold milk over granola makes me crabby.  Every morning, I make myself a cup of green tea, and I grab something on my way out the door.  I bake on the weekends to have things on hand.  My favorites are: Lauren’s no-bake granola bars, Heidi’s oatcakes with flax and walnuts (above), and also Heidi’s bran muffins (below).  I simply must fill my belly with whole grains and nuts in the morning, or I’ll be hungry  30 minutes later.

On days when I don’t feel like going to work, I bribe myself with an Earl Grey Latte.  This used to only happen on Fridays, but it’s becoming more of a daily thing lately…

Mid-morning:  I try to eat a snack before lunch.  I’m not the best at it.  If I eat anything, it’s usually a small piece of cheese, a cup of yogurt or a piece of seasonal fruit (lately it’s red grapefruit).

Lunch:  I pack our lunches each morning.  For him, I always pack a sandwich on whole-grain bread.  I use avocado or hummus as the ‘glue’, and I layer on meat, cheese and greens for him.  If he’s lucky, I grilled some portobellos the night before, and I’ll make him a sandwich with roasted red peppers, olive oil, basil, balsamic and fresh mozzarella.  Sometimes, I pack him parsley-egg salad.  I pack him a handful of baby carrots (or cucumber slices or celery sticks), and I’ll add a few pieces of seasonal fruit or yogurt.  Once a week, I’ll add a package of pistachios or banana chips.  He loves those.  I take leftovers from dinner for my lunch ( again, I have to have HOT food).  I add a handful of baby carrots and a piece of fruit to round out my lunch.

After-work:  This is my weakness. I come home famished and grab anything salty in sight:  mostly pita chips, pretzels, or chips with Texas caviar (black eyed pea salsa, if you don’t know).  I’ve been trying to eat smarter this time of day.  I tell myself I’ll make a small green smoothie, or I’ll try to eat my mid-morning snack that I neglected, but most often, it’s something crunchy and salty.  Brian rarely snacks after work. He usually pours himself a beer or a splash of whiskey while I cook.

Dinner:  Dinner is the highlight of my day.  I put a lot of effort into healthy dinners.  I meal-plan, I grocery shop, and I prep ahead of time.  I try to pack as many vegetables into dinner as possible.  The truth is,  we don’t eat a lot of meat.  No real reason. I’m not trying to save the planet or tell you meat is bad, honestly!  If I have to see meat raw, chances are I don’t want to eat it cooked.  Plus, I hate how many times I have to wash my hands when I’m cooking with meat.  I definitely eat meat at restaurants, but we’ll get to that later.  I rely on beans, lentils, tofu, cheese (mainly ricotta or feta), eggs, soba noodles and quinoa for our protein.  One night each week, I’ll try to work in some chicken or ground turkey.  Once or twice a month, I’ll force the beef.  It’s hard, though.

From top left: Otsu (by 101 Cookbooks), Roasted Vegetable Risotto over beef broth, Millet Stir-fry, Fried Polenta over Salad, and Quinoa Patties (by 101 Cookbooks).

Certain dinners make excellent lunch leftovers:

From top left: Spinach Crockpot Lasagna (recipe by Eat, Live, Run), ricotta gnocchi, Curry Noodle Pot (by 101 Cookbooks), and Taco Salad (adapted from How Sweet Eats).

Dessert:  We have to have dessert.  Have to.  I’ve read that craving sweets is due to a lack of protein (because your body craves cheap, easy energy from sugar), and we’re probably walking examples of this problem.  Brian will snack on whatever Dessert For Two we have laying around, and I’ll munch of those fleur-de-sel caramels from Trader Joe’s.  I’ll end my night with a cup of herbal tea.  

I also have one little rule:  I eat dessert or  a glass of wine—never both.  It’s a good rule to live by, and it has served me well.

I learned a lot writing this out.  I learned that I’m slightly more inclined to make sure Brian eats healthy than myself.  I focus on his healthy snacks, but not my own.  I’ve got to fix that.  I should tell you that I will eat meat at restaurants (because I didn’t have to see it raw or wash my hands 10 times during cooking).  Don’t be mistaken:  I love a good In n Out or Smashburger, and hot dogs are my personal weakness and cross to bear.  I’m not a role model when it comes to eating.  Most likely, I’m not getting enough protein or calories throughout the day.  I am working on this, I promise.  But, lately, I’ve had high acid stomach issues due to life stress.  When your stomach hurts after every time you eat, it kinda makes you not want to eat, ya know?

Goals: I’m going to work on adding frozen seafood to our meals.  It’s easy, quick and I hardly have to touch it with my hands, hah!  Brian loves juicing, so I’m going  to recommit to green drinks for snacks.  I adore pineapple + kale + strawberries.

If you’re curious about exercise, well, not much to report.  We both have jobs that require us to be active throughout the day.  I lift heavy stuff and I’m on my feet all day.  Brian essentially farms during the day.  I try to go to yoga at least once a week (yoga is my drug and I’ll pass you a hit anytime).  I know we need to set fitness goals.  I’d like to learn to lift small weights and do some strength exercises.

I know lots of you are going to have comments and opinions on this, so feel free to express yourselves!

Do y’all have any tips on how to work in more protein?

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 46 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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No, that’s not a typo.  I really used mashed potatoes to make truffles instead of heavy cream.

And believe me when I say:  no one can tell the difference.  I served them to many discriminating house guests over the past month. I watched closely for a raised eyebrow, a slight frown, anything! to tell me that you can taste the mashed potato.  But, you simply can’t.

I’m in love with them.  Excuse me while I indulge.

Just 4 ingredients:  leftover mashed potatoes, chocolate chips, vanilla extract and a coating. I used chopped pecans, sweetened coconut, cocoa powder and 10x sugar.

Don’t make me pick a favorite.

It goes without saying (one would hope) that you may not use leftover mashed potatoes flavored with herbs, garlic, or pepper.  We’re looking for cold mashed potatoes made with only cream, butter and salt for this recipe.

Click to continue reading and grab the recipe!Mashed Potato Truffles

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 54 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: candy, chocolate, dark chocolate, mashed potato, pecans, potato, truffles

Well, it seems Spring is going to take its sweet time arriving this year.  And I’m okay with that. We are still undecided if we are going to start a garden.  The truth is, when your day job is growing and harvesting plants, sometimes the last thing you want to do is take care of more plants at home.  (My severely malnourished and wilting houseplants will attest to this).

Plus, I know myself too well—gardening gives me anxiety.  That last year in California, Brian and I grew most of what we ate on a 1/2-acre plot behind my house.  Each morning, while sipping tea and watching the sun come over the hills, my eyes would drift over the garden.  The plants that needed my attention weighed on me.  I would try to blur my eyes away from all the tomatoes that needed picking and canning.  The zucchini swelling an inch every few hours—yeesh, please slow down!  The basil that needed to be whirred in a food processor with olive oil before even more of those purple flowers popped out.  The tomatillos, well, hell, how are you supposed to deal with those?  (I tried freezing and it worked ok, but it did steal some of their zing).  Seeing all the excess produce just reminded me daily of how much I needed to do.

I determined that 3 canning sessions is about all I have in me.  The kitchen gets hot, your fingers get burnt, and scraping tomato skins out of my white sink is less than pleasant.  I think I might take my grandma’s stance and embrace store-bought.

Anyway, we need some more time to think about it.  We are only two people, and we would be served well by a few tomato plants and one squash plant.  But, if you’re going to grow some, you may as well grow many and save the excess.

Speaking of excess, a few weeks back, the weatherman kept threatening snow.  Each time he did so, I rushed to the store to buy milk and eggs.  You too?  I ended up with a few too many half-gallons of milk in our fridge, and so I put them to use the best way I knew how:  milk punch.

Milk punch spiked with Bourbon is a great New Orleans invention.  It’s light, spicy and uplifting.  If you have the patience, freeze it for a few hours before serving.  Break up the iciness with an iced tea spoon and enjoy.

This unique drink deserves a spot in your party repertoire.  Classic milk punch is scented with vanilla and nutmeg.  It’s lovely, but the ginger lover in me wanted a bright, spicy lemon version.

Bourbon Milk Punch

 

Print

5 mins

30 mins

35 mins

 

Makes 2 servings.

Christina Lane: www.DessertForTwo.com

Ingredients

• 1½ cups milk
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 slices of fresh ginger
• 1 strip of lemon rind (pith removed)
• 1 small cinnamon stick, broken in half
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 tablespoons Bourbon

Instructions

1. In a small sauce pan, combine all ingredients except vanilla and Bourbon. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat and stir a few times.
2. Cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Stir in the vanilla and Bourbon. Taste and see if you want to add more Bourbon.
4. Strain the mixture into two serving glasses and chill before serving.

3.2.1230

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: bourbon, cinnamon, cocktail, drinks, ginger, lemon, milk, whiskey

So, I hope you enjoyed photos of me & Brian, the food and the décor.  Yes, we are Catholic. Yes, that is a waterfall braid in my hair. And most importantly: we are serious two-steppers. Serious. All photos by Wrenn Bird Photography.

Rehearsal Dinner:

This is our practice run at the Church on Friday night.

The last 24 hours before we were married!

Our rehearsal dinner was at the historical Dulaney house in McKinney, Texas. Our color for the evening was coral.

Dinner was crab cake salad, buttermilk fried catfish, jalapeno hushpuppies, fried okra (my personal favorite), cole slaw, and squash casserole. Dessert was lemon bars and peach cobbler.

Brian bravely gave a toast. I just held his hand and smiled.

Wedding Day:

Wrenn took this amazing photo of my dress and my boots.

Getting ready: I chose a waterfall braid for my hair style. My hair was off my face, yet still down. I loved it. A photo of Brian’s boutonniere before pinning it on. I love the succulents + wheat. We both wore boots for the Big Day.

Top ring is my grandmother’s wedding band. I love it. It has 63 years of happiness inside of it. The middle ring is my diamond (obviously). Hey girls who are about to get engaged: gold is back. For real. The bottom ring is his lovely thick milgrain band.

This is from my bridal portrait session. It’s a very Southern tradition for the bride to have her portrait done alone.

While we took photos after the ceremony, our guests enjoyed a whiskey tasting. Our guests also wrote us their ‘recipe for a happy marriage’ and placed them in a turquoise recipe box. They feasted on deviled eggs, bacon-wrapped jalapenos, and Tex-Mex chicken tartlets to soak up the booze. We sneaked in a shot of whiskey before entering the reception.

I couldn’t have been happier with the table decor. My wedding planner sourced vintage hobnail milk glass. My florist designed a mini-arrangement for each piece of milkglass. No two were alike!

I love the cake stands in the center pieces. I wanted to take them home!

Another theme of the decor was vintage scales. Since our reception was in a flour mill, we mimicked the large ground scales found throughout the building. My wedding planner made us personalized flour sacks that said ‘Lane Grass Fed Beef’ and ‘Lane Corn Fed Pork.’ I was so surprised! The bouquet in front made of wheat and cotton is from my maid of honor.

Let’s get to the food! Our menu was: smoked brisket, pulled pork sandwiches with Alabama white sauce, smoked macaroni and cheese, potato salad, Southern green beans, cornbread, yeast rolls, and a pickle plate. It was perfection.

The cake was as delicious as it was pretty! Two layers were caramel cake, and the middle layer was carrot cake (Brian’s favorite). Brian also had an ice cream bar as his groom’s cake.

We danced to two songs, back to back. First, we two-stepped to Randy Travis’ ‘I wouldn’t have nothing if I didn’t have you.’ Then, we immediately went into Aaron Watson’s ‘Breaker Breaker One Nine.’ Brian spun and flipped me all over that dance floor. It was so much fun! I love this photo because it shows the rustic vibe of the venue.

Our photographer saw a moment of perfect light shining through the window, so she grabbed us to snap this quick shot. I love the glow!

Weddings can’t last forever, although we wish they could! We said goodbye as our guests threw peach rose petals.

At this moment, I looked at Brian and said “We did it! We’re married!”

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 86 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: wedding, wedding photos

Yes, we are still on a New Orleans soul food kick in this house.  I just can’t help it.  The food we had in New Orleans was outstanding.  I had a bowl of crawfish etouffe that knocked my socks off.  I ate it quickly in silence, and Brian turned to me and said “that’s the first time you’ve ever finished your food before me.”  I had a bowl of gumbo at Court of Two Sisters that left me speechless, as well.  I sopped it up with butter biscuits and rubbed my tummy like a glutton.

I recreated this gumbo at home, but without all the leftovers.  Welcome to:  a small pot of gumbo for two.  Even better:  you don’t have to stand over the stove and stir the roux until it turns a copper color.  We’re going to pre-toast the flour instead.  I suggest making a big batch of pre-toasted flour and keeping it in the fridge for the times when you need a quick roux.  When added to the oil in the pot, the roux is instantly light brown, and only minutes away from the perfect coppery hue.

Here’s what flour looks like before and after toasting.

I learned this method in a recent issue of Southern Living, and they indicated to toast the flour til it’s the color of pecan shells.  I realize that not everyone grew up with pecan trees in their backyard (and subsequently did not watch squirrels bury pecans—a great Southern porch pasttime), I thought I’d take a photo before and after.   Several hours passed between my toasting and photographing, which explains why the green towel appears to have been toasted, too.  (Sunlight changes throughout the day, it’s true!)

I hope you enjoy this small pot of gumbo.  I worked my way through many gumbo recipes to make the most authentic tasting version.  This one is spot on.
You can find my  recipe for a small pot of Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo, head on over to Food Fanatic today.

© Christina for Dessert For Two, 2013. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
See more: chicken, gumbo, rice, sausage, soup

Welcome to the first recipe ever to contain yeast on Dessert For Two!  I used to be afraid of yeast.  And then, I read the ingredients on a loaf of store-bought bread and quickly decided to make my peace with it.

The way I learned to trust yeast and treat it well is through the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  The method is easy, convenient, and it really works.  We always have fresh bread on hand.

Once yeast and I became BFFs, I knew I wanted to make my childhood favorite breakfast food:  kolaches.  Say it with me:  ko-la-CHEY.  I know some people say ko-la-CHEE, but my family is Czech, so I’ll tell you with authority that it’s CHEY.

Kolaches are Czech pastries that can be described as soft dough with a cream cheese, jam, dried fruit, poppy seed, or even sausage and cheese filling.  The tender yeast-y dough lends itself to almost any type of filling.  I combined my 2 favorite fillings for this recipe:  apricot jam and sweetened cream cheese.  I love prune kolaches, but I had a feeling that a recipe with ‘prune’ in the title would send y’all running.  Also, next time you’re in the baking aisle, see if you can find a can of poppy seed filling:  it’s scrumptious.  Don’t be afraid to add a mini (cooked) sausage link and sharp cheddar (even in this savory version, do not eliminate the sugar from the dough recipe—the yeast need it).

This recipe requires 3 rises.  If you find it difficult to accomplish this in a normal day, just refrigerate the dough after the second rise.  Kolaches made with un-refrigerated dough are fluffier, but taste is not sacrificed with this time-saving technique.  I usually make the dough on Saturday afternoon and refrigerate it overnight for Sunday morning breakfast.  It will deflate, but do not worry.

The most important thing with this recipe is to ensure you have a warm spot for your dough to rise.  I put my dough in a recently turned-off oven or in front of the fire place.  I’m telling you:  this dough is lazy at room temperature.  For the quickest rise, snuggle your yeast in a warm environment.

The second most important thing is kneading. This dough is fun to knead.  Yes, really!  It’s supple and begs to be rolled around.  It hardly ever sticks, though you should still flour your counter.  The best way to knead is to gather the dough into a ball, push it away from you with the heel of your hand, and then fold it over.  Repeat this for 10 minutes.  The end result is a soft dough that just fits in your hands.  Remember, we’re only making a half-dozen kolaches, so you won’t have lots of dough.  See my photos below for proper kneading technique:

I love kolaches for breakfast because while they’re sweet, they’re not loaded with sugar like a cinnamon roll or sticky bun.  If you use an all-natural jam filling without the cream cheese, it’s a low-sugar sweet treat.  Kolaches aren’t traditionally stuffed with jam and cream cheese—that’s just my delicious variation.

Making kolaches reminds me of college, because I went to Baylor in Waco, Texas.  Waco is a short drive away from West, Texas, which has many kolache stops.  The best kolaches are at Czech Stop, right off the freeway, but any Czech restaurant in town has delicious ones.  We used to drive 15 minutes north to West, pick up a box and bring them back to fuel our study sessions.  Frequently, my parents would pick up kolaches on their drive into Waco to visit me.  My Dad always goes for the savory kolaches with sausage and cheese, while my Mom and I love the apricot and prune.  Everyone loves the sweet cream cheese ones.

I should also tell you that my Aunt (the one I talk about so much here), used to make a quick version of kolaches with refrigerated biscuit dough.  She would cut the biscuit in half to fit in a muffin cup, then top with jam and bake.  Biscuit dough is not exactly the same texture as true kolache dough (biscuit dough is greasy and heavy), but when a kolache craving strikes, I’ve been known to use the same method.

Kolaches seem appropriate for Easter to me because it was my grandmother and Aunt’s favorite holiday, and has become mine.  I bake to remember them.
If you’ve ever wondered why Texas has quite a few Czech towns, I can explain:  when Czechs immigrated on ships (just like my great grandparents did), the boats came up through the Gulf of Mexico.  Many Czechs found the growing climate suitable to crops they were already used to growing (like cotton), and so they settled here.  My family grew cotton in central Texas.

I hope y’all have a wonderful Easter holiday!  Bake something special with yeast to commemorate this special day.

Sweet Czech Kolaches

 

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Makes 6 kolaches

Christina Lane: www.DessertForTwo.com

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• ⅓ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar, divided use
• 1 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided use
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 6 teaspoons apricot jam

Instructions

1. Warm the milk in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds until lukewarm. The target temperature is 110 degrees. Once it’s at precisely 110, add the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar and ⅓ cup of the flour. Mix together well and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
2. In another bowl, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Ensure it’s not too hot and then stir in the egg yolk. Add this to the risen dough and mix well. Add the remaining ⅔ cup of flour and mix well.
3. Knead the dough according to the instructions above for 10 minutes. Smear it away from you with the heel of your hand, then fold it back onto itself. Lightly flour the board and your hands as you go. At the end of 10 minutes, the dough will be supple.
4. Grease a bowl with cooking spray and add the dough. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size. At the end of this rise, you may cover it and put it in the fridge to use the following day. It will deflate, but it’s okay.
5. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and have ready. Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll them into round balls. Flatten them slightly to have a square shape.
6. Place the dough balls about 1″ apart on a greased cookie sheet and let rise in a warm place while you make the filling.
7. Combine the remaining tablespoon of sugar with the softened cream cheese. Beat together well.
8. Using your knuckles, gently make an indentation in each dough ball to hold the filling. Brush each kolache with the remaining melted butter. Place a heaping scoop of cream cheese filling in each indentation, and top with the jam.
9. Bake for 14-16 minutes until the sides are lightly brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then serve warm.

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