I recently saw this bread on Memoria’s blog, Mangio da Sola and knew immediately I wanted needed to try it. And boy am I glad I did – I found a winner! I actually ended up making this two weeks in a row we liked it so well! After making it twice, I discovered I had actually been doing it wrong (oops); instead of doing two layers of cinnamon/sugar, I just dumped it all in the middle. Well, I actually think I like it better that way – it makes for a nice, thick layer of gooey “cinnamony-ness”…mmmm, cinnamony-ness. Anyway, the bread part is actually more like a buttery, soft pound cake, and the layer of cinnamon/sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor. We really loved this one…it will most definitely be in the regular rotation from now on! Great for company, too – absolutely perfect with morning coffee!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
-adapted from Mangio da Sola

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9″×5″×3″ loaf pan. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine the 1 cup of white sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl or mixer bowl. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg/buttermilk mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not over-mix.
Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat (obviously I didn’t do this and it turned out great). With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Look, it’s smiling at us!

Ok, I know this picture is slightly less-than-appetizing (I discovered that no matter what color of plate I tried, this dish just wasn’t very photogenic), but trust me, this sauce is seriously good. And quick. And easy. Got store-bought marinara? Cream cheese? Ground beef??? Then you’ve got creamy bolognese! There’s an “Italian” restaurant in our hometown that my family would eat at practically every Sunday after church. Without fail, I would always order their pasta bolognese (actually not bolognese at all, but it was still really good!); basically, it was a really creamy, slightly spicy meat/mushroom sauce. The other night, while throwing this dish together, I happen to end up with a sauce almost identical to their “bolognese” completely by accident- yay! Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is real bolognese. And it’s good. Really good.

Creamy [Cheater] Bolognese

1 pound lean ground beef
1 jar of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce (I actually used the canned kind)
4 ounces cream cheese
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained
freshly ground pepper to taste (I like lots!)
pinch Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound pasta, cooked and drained

In a large skillet, brown and drain the beef. Stir in the marinara sauce, mushrooms, black pepper, cayenne pepper and sugar; mix well. Add the cream cheese and stir constantly until it melts into the sauce. Taste for seasoning. Toss with the cooked pasta and serve immediately.

This tart was last week’s Tuesdays with Dorie pick, but since my mother was coming to visit for her birthday, I wanted to wait and make it then. And let me tell you, this tart is worth the wait! I don’t even like coconut cream pie, but this….oh, this is something so delicious and special. I absolutely loved it. We all did. Something about the combination of that salty/sweet/buttery crust with the thick, rum-infused pastry cream and the whipped cream on top is just pure heaven! My mom (the honored guest) said it was better than any coconut cream pie she’d ever had. That’s all the acclaim I needed! This one will definitely be re-visited again and again! This was chosen by Beryl of Cinemon Girl – I owe you one, Beryl! Thanks for one heck of a pick!! (I’m posting the recipe here since I’m posting so late- just thought I’d save time!)

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart
-Dorie Greenspan

For the Custard:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted

1 9-inch sweet tart shell, baked and cooled (recipe below)

For the topping:
1 cup cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring milk to a boil. In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, yolks, cornstarch and salt until well blended. Whisk in 1/4 cup of hot milk to temper the yolks, then whisk in the rest of the milk. Continue whisking over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk an additional 1 or 2 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in rum and vanilla and let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the butter, stirring until custard is smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Transfer to a container, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
To make the topping, use a stand mixture with whisk attachment or a hand mixer to whip the cream to medium peaks. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat to firm peaks. Whip in rum and vanilla.
To assemble the tart, whisk the custard vigorously to loosen it then scrape into the crust. Spoon the whipped cream over the tart and spread evenly to the edge of the custard. Sprinkle with additional toasted coconut.

Sweet Tart Dough
(makes one 9-inch crust)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

To make the dough:  Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.  Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely – you’ll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that’s just fine.  Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.  When the egg is in, process in long pulses – about 10 seconds each – until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.  Just before your reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change – heads up.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface.

Very lightly and sparingly – make that very, very lightly and sparingly – knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To make a press-in crust:  Butter the tart pan and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Don’t be stingy – you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it.  Also, don’t be too heavy-handed – you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don’t want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbreadish texture.  Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To partially bake the crust:  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust.  Bake the crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil.  If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.  Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan.

You know how when you say something like, “I love this pencil sooo much!”, and then the other kids at the lunch table say, “then why don’t you marry it?!”? Well, I’ve decided to marry this brownie pudding. That’s right. It’s the newest love of my life. Forget hubby (sorry, honey). From now on, I shall make this brownie pudding my one and only. What, you think that’s crazy??? Well, have you tried this brownie pudding?? Have you experienced the delicious, gooey, chocolaty, HEAVEN that is brownie pudding??? Because, until you’ve tried it, you can’t understand how magical it is. For years, I’ve said that “brownie goo” is my favorite food; you know, the warm, undercooked center of the brownies? (Seriously one of life’s greatest pleasures). Well, Ina Garten gives us something better – a whole DISH of brownie goo!!! I’ve had this recipe flagged for a long time – now I’ve finally experienced it. Simply said, this dessert will knock your socks off. I think I may have slightly undercooked mine (you can tell I was soooo upset over that…) – it says to cook it for exactly one hour, which I did, yet it was still slightly under-baked. Gee, too bad, huh?

Brownie Pudding
-Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream. *Obviously, I did not allow mine to cool…that’s brownie blasphemy.

I know, I know – more Mexican food. But hey, we can’t get enough of the stuff, ok? Back when we had my family over for the Super Bowl, my Nana brought these chicken empanadas and MAN, where they good! Not too spicy, full of flavor, and the best part – they’re baked instead of fried so you can feel better about eating a lot! Luckily, I had made some homemade guacamole – they were perfect together! We all loved these- they got gobbled up pretty fast! Luckily, I managed to save a couple for my lunch the next day, and the good news is, these re-heat perfectly. I’ll definitely be making these again! SO glad Nana decided to bring these over! Give ‘em a try – they’ll be perfect for your next “Mexican Feast”!

Chicken Empanadas
-Paula Deen

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 (8-ounce) package shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, making 12 to 15 circles total. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches are something I’d never eaten before. Mainly because I grew up hating peppers and onions, and only recently overcame my hatred. These sandwiches just seem like something that wouldn’t be very tasty, yet everytime I see someone make them on TV or see someone blog them, they look SO good. I decided to put my fears aside and give these sandwiches a try once and for all. And boy, am I glad I did – they were great!! The peppers and onions are really sweet and soft, and the smokey, spicy sausage really balances it all out perfectly. And they’re cooked with beer, which my hubby really likes! These would be great for a whole number of occasions: weekend, tailgating, Olympic-watching, backyard barbeque….or even just a plain ‘ol weeknight!

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Sandwiches
-adapted from the Neelys

1 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into quarters then lengthwise (I used turkey sausage)
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 medium yellow onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beer
1 tablespoon barbeque sauce
4 fresh hoagie rolls

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausages and brown on all sides, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from skillet and reserve.
Add onions and peppers to the skillet and saute until tender and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste, beer, and barbeque sauce. Cook for a few minutes, then add the sausages back to the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is nice and thick, about 10 minutes.
Slice the bread open, put on sheet tray, and toast in the oven while the sausage is simmering. Remove the bread from the oven and fill with the sausages and peppers.

Pretty much everyone in my family or close circle of friends is well aware of my undying love for A-1 Sauce. I could eat it on just about anything…seriously. Growing up, anytime my dad would grill steaks, I would literally pour almost half a bottle of it all over my plate (including my baked potato) – over the years he learned not to be offended at me drowning his steaks in A-1; it’s not personal – it’s just what I do. To this day, my favorite thing to eat A-1 on is my baked potato – I don’t eat one without it. Which is how I arrived at these. I was making sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches (coming soon) and wanted to make my yummy Southwestern Potatoes for a side dish, only I discovered I had no barbeque sauce. I noticed a bottle of A-1 in the fridge and thought about how much I love A-1 on my baked potatoes…so why not try it on these? Bullseye! These were SO good (even though, judging by the picture, they don’t look so appetizing…). We both gobbled these up in no time; and I can definitely say, I’ll be making these again soon.

A-1 Potatoes

2 unpeeled large potatoes, scrubbed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup A-1 Sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 sour cream, optional (for dipping)

Line a large baking sheet with foil and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Toss the potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper in a big ziploc bag to coat the potatoes. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes. Brush with A-1 Sauce, then top with the shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese melts, about 3-5 minutes. Top with sour cream, if desired.

*You want to go easy on the salt, since the A-1 already has so much salt in it.

This week’s TWD recipe, Honey Wheat Cookies, was chosen by Michelle of Flourchild. These are definitely some interesting cookies. And by interesting, I mean I don’t like them. Hey, it happens…not often, but still it happens. Perhaps it was because I used orange zest instead of lemon zest and it threw off the flavor balance, but I thought these cookies tasted a little like orange-y saw dust (thank you, wheat germ).

Anyway, these could’ve very well turned out beautifully for lots of other people, so don’t be thrown off by my opinion! If you’d like the recipe, head over to Michelle’s blog and she’ll have it posted.

Oh man. Oh man, OH MAN! If you love tacos, or Tex-Mex, or…food; then you’re going to love these pulled pork tacos! Look no further, because here is the best darn taco I ever put in my pie-hole. Seriously! I’ve never been much on pork…it doesn’t do a whole lot for me, honestly. So naturally, I was a little unsure about these…but I’m so glad I didn’t wimp out and skip them – BOY, would I have missed out! Ok, ok, I’ll stop being dramatic – onto the facts. These seriously, couldn’t be easier to make – just throw everything in a dutch oven, let it cook for an hour and 45 minutes and you’re done! I made these Saturday night for our “Mexican Night” (which you can read about in the post below. Don’t miss out on the homemade salsa and guacamole, my friends!), and hubby and I had ourselves a GRAND time! I mean come on – pulled pork tacos, homemade salsa, guacamole and margaritas (Big Gulp, please!)? It just doesn’t get any better than that! Try these. Try them today. Then send me your hearty thanks for introducing you to the new love of your life. You’re welcome.

Pulled Pork Tacos
-adapted from The Neelys

1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pork loin (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into big chunks
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
dash liquid smoke
1 orange, halved and juiced
1 lime, halved and juiced
1 package corn tortillas, warmed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
Season the cubed pork chunks with the spice mixture and put into a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, chicken stock, the tomato paste, honey, liquid smoke, orange and lime juice, and the juiced orange and lime halves. Stir together with a wooden spoon. Put the pot on medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Transfer to the oven and cook, covered, until the pork is tender and easily shreds, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Remove the meat from the Dutch oven to a cutting board. Set the Dutch oven over medium heat and reduce the liquid until it becomes slightly syrupy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the meat and add to a bowl. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid into the pork and toss. Serve with tortillas.
*Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and cilantro

Don’t even think about serving these without some homemade salsa and guacamole! Scroll down a ways to get some great recipes!