Honey Roasted Plums with Fresh Thyme and Greek Yogurt

This weekend I want out!  Out of the kitchen and into a pool.  Out of these clothes and into a bathing suit.  Out of this computer and into a poolside book and cocktail situation.  

I want you out too.  I don’t want you in the kitchen all weekend.  Don’t you think your time would be much better spent in sunglasses and a big floppy hat with your feet up by the pool!?  Good.  I’m glad we agree.

If you’re celebrating the 4th of July this weekend, be sure to say things like “Go America!” and watch colors explode in the sky if you can.  It’s fun.  

If you’re not celebrating America’s independence… well heck… I think a weekend by the pool is still in order.  You just don’t have to scream things like “Go America!” unless you really want to. 

Here are the recipes that will keep you out of all day kitchen adventures and magically keep your bellies satisfied.  

Let us explore.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

S’mores Brownies.  Heck yes!

Dutch Baby with Orange Sugar.  Easiest breakfast ever. 

Crunchy Oven Baked Fries with Herbes de Provence 

Spicy and Sweet Cabbage Slaw

Proscuitto Dijon and Gruyere Puffs

Summer Sweet Raspberry Lemonade.  You know you’re thirsty. 

Homemade Kettle Corn.  Because I’ve eaten it everyday since I posted the recipe.  Seriously.

Lovely friends… hi.  Dear readers… hello.  

Let’s talk about keeping it classy.  Hot dang! I try hard to keep it classy.  Holy smokes… do I ever fail sometimes.

Let’s discuss classy versus not classy, and what the heck chocolate dipped bananas have to do with anything.  

Classy:  a tastefully short summer sundress.  Not class:  booty shorts that awkwardly bunch in the crotch.  

Classy:  gracefully switching from wine to water at the company picnic.  Not classy:  maybe getting drunk and punching the sous chef in the face.  Oops. 

Classy:  How much I love listening to public radio.  Not classy:  How much I love to watch The Real Housewives of  New Jersey.  Guilty… but why do they yell so much?

Classy: Enjoying mini chocolate dipped bananas on a summer afternoon.  Not as classy:  Trying to gnaw your way through a giant chocolate dipped banana.  It’s just not pretty friends.  Let’s try to avoid this scene this summer.  I think we all know why.  

In case you’re wondering what I’ll be eating all summer, the answer is homemade kettle corn and these little lovelies.  Gracious heavens, how have I not come to these sooner!?  Use the best chocolate you can get your hands on.  I used a Valrhona 70% chocolate.  How about nuts!?  Heck yes!  I liked chopped honey roasted peanuts, but walnuts or toasted pecans would be lovely too.  

Mini Chocolate Dipped Bananas

3 firm but ripe bananas

9- 12 wooden popsicle sticks or lollipop sticks

2 cups chocolate chips or chunks, melted

1/2 cup nuts of your choice, pulverized in the food processor or finely chopped.

Peel three firm bananas and slice each banana into thirds or fourths.  Each banana slice should be about 3 inches tall.

Place wooden sticks or lollipop sticks through the center of one end of the banana slice, about 2 inches deep.  

Place of a tray or plate, making sure that the bananas do not touch, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for four hours, or overnight.  

Using a food processor, pulse the nuts until they are chopped very fine.  You can also do this by hand, it just takes a bit longer.  Place in a bowl and set aside for the dipping.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler.  Simmer 3 inches of water in a pot, place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl and, once the water is simmering, place the bowl of chocolate over the simmering water.  The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.  Stir the chocolate pieces  occasionally until they’re all melted.  

Remove bananas from the freezer, dip in chocolate, roll in nuts and place on a foil lined baking sheet.  When all the bananas are dipped, return to the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.  Once hard, wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer until you’re ready to snack on them.  Yum!  I think they’re best eaten when thawed at room temperature for about 7 minutes.

Exactly one year ago I was rockin’ out with a mug of this stuff.  I was also saying things like “totally tubular!”  and “radical!”, wearing acid wash jeans, and hair-spraying my bangs into a tall wave across my forehead.  Ooooh 2008.  

Banana Pudding Ice Cream.   Rad, right?

You know what?  You deserve a break.  Seriously.  It’s Saturday.  Let’s take it easy.

I know… I know.  You have that whole list of things to do.  Sure, you need to get the car washed.  Yes, there’s that thing about going to the pet store, and getting a present for your mother-in-law’s church friend’s niece.  You’ve got a lot on your plate.  I know.  But… well what would happen, if for today, you kicked the list to the curb and kicked you feet up on the couch?

I’ll tell you what would happen.  The car would stay dirty, the pet store would miss you, and your mother-in-law’s church friend’s niece would have one less present at her party.  She’ll have enough presents.  Go on… take a break. 

Now… if you’re anything like me, you have a list and you can’t stand not to start crossing tasks off.  Here’s my tip:  make a new list.  I’ll help.  On our new list are these things: go to the farmer’s market and buy the prettiest cherries you can get your hands on, treat yourself to frozen yogurt, call that friend you’ve been meaning to call, watch at least three hours of a Law and Order marathon, and have two glasses of wine with dinner… dinner out.  

See?  Better list.  It’s the list you should be working on this Saturday.

Aaaaand, if you wanted to add the making of these sugar cookies to the list… forget about it.  These can go on your Sunday to-do list.  Yea.  Sunday.  

These sugar cookies are superb.  Superb.  Why?  Their greatness is do, in part, to their giant size.  Who doesn’t love a super giant cookie?  There’s more cookie to love.  Simple fact.  

Also… I know I’ve been using this doily a lot lately.  I’ll switch it up soon.  

Giant Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

     from The Pastry Queen   (I kinda looooove this book)

     makes 1 dozen 4-inch cookies or 2 dozen 2-inch cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola or sunflower oil.  I used almond oil.

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus additional for sugaring tops

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or foil, or grease generously with butter or cooking spray.  

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter in a large bowl on medium speed for about 1 minute.  Add the vegetable oil.  It may not fully incorporate with the butter, but that’s ok.  Add the granulated sugar, powdered sugar, egg and vanilla, beating on medium speed until each ingredient is completely incorporated.  

Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt all at once using a wooden spoon or the mixer set on low.

The dough will be soft.

Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes just so it’s easier to handle.  

For large cookies, dollop 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  For smaller cookies use 1 Tablespoon for each cookie.  Press the dough evenly with your fingers or palm to 1/4-inch thickness.  Generously sprinkle sugar on top of the cookie dough.  

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes for larger cookies or 8 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.  The cookies will keep for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Bust out the booze friends!  I’ve got a weekend project for you!

We’re making our very own vanilla extract!  Why?  Why make your own vanilla extract when you can just buy the stuff in a teeeeeeny tiny bottle at the grocery store for close to ten whopping dollars?  Hm… see what I did there?  I seem to have answered my own question. 

Homemade vanilla extract only requires a handful of things.  Come on… we can totally rock this. 

First let’s talk vanilla beans.  Yea… they’re a tad bit expensive, but totally worth their weight in… vanilla.  

There are a lots different varieties of vanilla beans.  So many varieties all with their own subtle nuances… it can be a bit overwhelming.  There are beans from Madagascar, Mexico, Tahiti, Tonga… just throw a dart at the map and they just might produce vanilla beans there. Ok.  I’m exaggerating.   Different beans from all over the globe have different characteristics.  We could talk about this for days… seriously.  Here’s a brief brief brief run down of my favorites.  

Madagascar beans are powerful, dark, full vanilla flavor beans.    Tahitian beans remind me of vanilla figs- fruity and floral.  The Mexican variety has just a hint of sweet creaminess.  How’s that for brief?

What beans are you going to choose for your vanilla extract?  Where are you going to get them?  Use exactly any bean you want!   Maybe you’ll buy them online here.  Use exactly whatever you can get your hands on.  Mix and match!  It’s your world.  It’s your extract.  

This is going to be so easy!  Let’s get started!

I started two types of vanilla extract.  One jar is filled with vodka and  Mexican vanilla beans (on the left above) while the other jar has bourbon and Tahitian vanilla beans (on the right, silly).  I’m beyond excited!  I’m ready to bathe in this stuff.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own vanilla extract:

- A mason jar, or some other clean, super sealing container.

- A high-proof alcohol like vodka, bourbon or rum.  We’re talking 80 proof.

- Three vanilla beans per cup of alcohol

- A dark spot to store the jars.

-  Two months.  That’s how long it takes to create vanilla extract!

Here’s how:

Use a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down the center of the vanilla beans, leaving about an inch at the top of the vanilla bean uncut.  

Put the vanilla beans in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.  I used mason jars.  

Cover the beans completely with alcohol.  It’s three vanilla beans per cup of alcohol, so if you use 2 cups of vodka split open six vanilla beans and throw them in the jar.  

Tightly cover the jar and give it a good shake.  Store in a cool dry place for two months.  Give the bottle a good shake every week or so, just so you don’t forget all about it.  

After two months have passed, your vanilla extract should be ready for your favorite chocolate chip cookie or pound cake recipe.  You might also want to put the extract in cute, tiny bottles and give them to your favorite baker friends.   

I still write letters.

I still hand write letters in a festive card with a return address sticker.  I might even decorate the envelope with a rubbe-stamped dolphin stampede.  

I still write letters and I still have pen pals.  

My favorite pen pal?   My grandmother.  I call her Mommom.  She’s rad.  I don’t know how she would feel about me calling her rad.  She writes me short letters during the break she takes on her morning walk.  These letters are usually written from her favorite bagel shop.  Letters always include some sort of loving greeting, an update about her walking adventures and the bagel shop, something about an upcoming trailer trip, inquiries about my little sister, and an abrupt closing.  Short, sweet and to the point.  

The best part about being pen pals with Mommom is that she will not let me slack off.  If  I haven’t written her a letter in a few weeks, I’ll get another letter urging me to, if I know what’s good for me, write my grandmother back.  If for some reason I don’t get to that letter in adequate time… well, I’m liable to hurt my grandmother’s feelings.  Hurt grandmother feelings, of course, leads to all sorts of guilt from all sorts of family members.  News of pen pal activity, or inactivity travels fast in my family.  

Letter writing isn’t a chore.  It’s a nice break from simultaneously writing an email and checking my blog stats and watching stupid cat videos.   Letter writing is not technology multi-tasking.  It’s easy, breezy, simple… all about just sendin’ a little love.  

Then there’s cobbler, which couldn’t be any more simple and delicious.  This easy cobbler is like letter writing, in baking form.  Spend a little time baking up a little love with this cobbler.  Sit down with a nice warm slice and write a letter to someone.  It’s supreme.  

This cobbler just couldn’t be easier to throw together.  I used delicious golden nectarines as the filing, but feel free to use fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or peaches in any combination.  You can also use frozen fruit, although it should be thawed and drained before incorporated.  Enjoy summer the easy way.  

Easy Nectarine and Cream Cobbler

     adapted from The Pastry Queen

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of cloves

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

3/4 cup milk (low fat milk will work fine)

3 cups sliced nectarines, skins left on

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Melt the butter in a medium saute pan set over medium high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut brown color.  Watch the butter closely, as it can go from browned to burnt in just a few seconds.  The butter will have all sorts of browned bits in it.  That’s good!

Pour the butter into an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish.  Do not try a pie baking dish.  I did.  Overflow!

In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and spices.  Add milk and stir.  

Pour the mixture on top of the melted butter.  Here’s the hard part:  do not stir!  Without mixing, arrange the fruit evenly over the top of the batter.  Sprinkle with brown sugar.  

Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown.  Amazingly, the batter will migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the fruit.  Yum!  Serve warm with slightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

… eat watermelon, in a park, in a row with several friends, quickly, in a race-type situation.  See who finishes first.  Crown them the winner.  

Call it a Watermelon Eating Contest.  

It’s summer.  Summer is fun.  Watermelon is summer fun.  

Here are five Watermelon Eating Contest tips, from a photographer not a participant.

Just before the race, it’s not a bad idea to lick your lips and stretch out the back.  You’ll need every advantage.  No… pregnant women do not have to eat twice the amount of watermelon.  It doesn’t work that way. 

Positioning is important.  

Cool sunglasses might prevent watermelon splatter.  No?  Feel free to cast them aside.

White is not the ideal shirt color for such a contest.  Rest easy,  this is nothing a little Tide can’t fix.

Thorough.  If not speedy, please do be thorough.  Heck… might as well enjoy the melon!

Happy Summer!  What are you doing for fun times?

You know this guy, right!?  

He’s my Dad.  He makes some amazing pancakes… the best pancakes, the best tacos, the best sweet potato pie, the best tofu potato bake.  He’s a champion in the kitchen.  

He’s also a champion Dad.  Top notch.  The kind of man that will talk to you for hours about the intricacies of Alfred Hitchcock movies… when you’re eight years old, make your stuffed animals talk and have fake bowel movements, and microwave your ice cream so it’s not too cold.  He’s the best I know.  Happy Father’s Day.

Want pancakes?  Take the jump!

Dad’

s  Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 teaspoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Whisk together milk, eggs and vegetable oil in a medium bowl, then whisk in the butter.

Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in another medium bowl. Whisk in egg mixture until combined.

Once combined, let the batter sit for 10 minutes while griddle preheats. 

Spray a griddle or skillet with nonstick vegetable spray over medium heat. Working in batches of 3 (or 6 if your griddle will allow) pour 1/4-cup measures of batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles have formed on the top and sides of the pancakes and broken, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula (a super thing metal spatula works great) and cook until undersides are golden, about 1 minute more. Lower heat if pancakes brown too quickly. Serve with maple syrup or molasses.

Can you see the steam!?  That’s legit!

I’ve been struggling for the past few hours with what to tell you in conjunction with these Blackberry Pie Bars.  

I thought maybe we could talk about how I’m still totally dragging my feet about going to my ten year high school reunion.  No… that’s been done.  Boring.

Maybe we could talk about how I sat around a campfire with Andrea Zuckerman… a character from that show Beverly Hills 90210, but that was actually just a dream I had last night.  Not real.  

We could chat about the weather?  Seen any good movies lately?

No?  Ok… let’s not fight this.  

Let’s get on to the bars.  They’re good.  Really good.  Good enough to not need a silly introduction.  

Think of these bars as your escape from the land of pie baking.  Maybe you don’t need an escape, but let’s be honest… putting together a pie crust can be a pain in the rear sometimes.  Problem solved.  Just press this crust into the bottom of a pan, top it with creamy fruit filling, sprinkle it with more crust bits and you’re in business.  

The result is pure summer blackberry goodness.  The recipe includes directions for either frozen or fresh fruit.  If you’re using frozen berries, just be sure to defrost the berries and drain the excess juices.  What about raspberries or blueberries instead of blackberries?  Those would probably work too!  Just stay away from strawberries. 

Blackberry Pie Bars with Lemon Sugar

     adapted from The Pastry Queen

Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

zest of two lemons

Blackberry Filling

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2  (16-ounce) packages frozen blackberries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh blackberries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen blackberries and 3 cups of fresh blackberries)

To make the crust and topping-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch backing pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.  Zest two lemons.  Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface.  Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon.  Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.  

Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment.  Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.  

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.  

To make the filling-

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt.  Gently fold in the blackberries.  Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust.  You may have to distribute the blackberries evenly around.  

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned.  Cool for 1 hour before slicing.  

**If you’re using frozen berries, be sure to defrost and drain the excess liquid.  Place the frozen berries on a plate in the refrigerator overnight.  They’re defrosted and ready for bar baking!

Number Five: Peanut Butter Fudge Treats

For those moments when you decide to kill your noisy neighbors by gifting them an epic sugar rush in the form of these super charged bars.  Not a crime, right?

Number Four: Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

Because red dye makes everything… red velvety! 

Number Three:  Pumpkin Pie Bars

Why add rolling out pie crust to the monstrous holiday to-do list?  Plus, butterscotch chips!?  Success!

Number Two:  Lemon Whoopie Pies

Two cookies brought together with cream cheese frosting!?  Every meal, everyday?  Ok!  

Number One:  Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins  

Like a cinnamon roll loophole.  Also, is it weird that I always type cinnamon rolls as sinnamon rolls before correcting myself.  Yea… that happens.