Chocolate Pot de Creme

Chocolate Pot de Creme

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk (I've substituted 2% with success as well)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 egg yolks
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place chopped chocolate into a blender.
2. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and almost boiling.
3. Pour the hot mixture into the blender over the chocolate. Cover and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Hold a kitchen towel over the lid of the blender to be safe, everything will be hot.
4. Divide the mixture among 6-8 ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Citrus & Mustard Vinaigrette

All-Time Favorite Mustard Vinaigrette

• 2 T. honey
• 1 1/2 T. white wine vinegar
• 2 T. orange muscat champagne vinegar (from Trader Joe's, so delicious!)
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 t. lemon zest
• 2 t. whole grain mustard
• 2 t. dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 t. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a mason jar & shake, shake, shake.
2. Will keep for one week in the fridge.

Favorite ways to use this:

• over sautéed Brussels sprouts. Serve at room temperature or chilled with shaved manchego cheese, marcona almonds & craisins.
• over a kale salad or spring mix.

Pork Carnitas & Tomatillo Salsas

Pork Carnitas

• pork butt
• salt & pepper
• 2 t. oregano
• 2 t. chipotle chili powder
• 2 t. cumin
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, rough chop
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (approx 3 oranges)
• juice of 1 lime

1. Trim the pork of excess fat. Season generously with salt & pepper. Rub with chili, cumin & oregano. Place in crock pot.
2. Top with the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Pour the OJ and lime juice over the pork.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours, until meat is fork tender.
4. Take the meat out of the crockpot and shred it into smaller chunks. Reserve the liquid.
5. Heat a pan over medium-high with a small amount of oil. Spread a single layer on carnitas in the pan and cook on one side until it starts to get brown and crispy, drizzle a little of the reserved liquid over the meat, flip and brown for a couple minutes. Repeat with all meat.
6. Or... if you don't want to take the time to pan fry, you can spread the meat on a baking sheet and broil in the oven until browned and crispy.

Fresh Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa

• 4 tomatillos
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 serrano peppers (I left the seeds in)
• 1 garlic clove
• handful of cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 avocados
• salt to taste

1. Peel the husks (skins? what do they call those things?) off the tomatillos. Rinse under warm water to get that sticky-waxy residue off.
2. Rough chop all the ingredients, then blend it all together in a food processor. Salt or add additional lime juice to taste.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

• 1-1.5 lbs. tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 2 serranos
• 4 garlic cloves, still in peel
• 1/2 white onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• lime to taste
• salt to taste

1. Cut tomatillos in half. Broil halved tomatillos, whole serranos & garlic until the skin is blistered and charred. Let cool. Remove seeds from serranos (or leave them in for a spicier salsa)
2. Process with the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Done!

Triple Berry Coffee Cake

For the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 heaping teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup EACH raspberries, blueberries, blackberries

Crumb topping:

• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a spring pan.
2. For the cake: Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar with electric mixture until light. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, lemon zest and sour cream and mix well.
4. Alternately, add flour mixture and the milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.
5. Spread half of the batter evenly into prepared pan and smooth the top. Spread berries (thawed & well-drained, if using frozen) on top of batter. Cover berries with the remaining batter and spread the top evenly with a spatula (some of the berries will show through).
6. For crumb topping: Combine all ingredients and use fingers to mix and form crumbs.
7. Spread crumbs on top of cake and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and cake is golden brown. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve at room temperature.

Peach Coffee Cake: substitute peeled, sliced peaches for berries. Orange zest or 1 tsp. orange zest for lemon zest.

Doubling recipe: bake in a 9x13 for 50-60 minutes.

Fruit Dip

Basic fruit dip:

• 1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream

Whip the cream cheese until smooth, add in the marshmallow cream and continue to mix until well-blended.

Strawberry fruit dip:

• 1 (8 ounce) package of strawberry cream cheese
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Whip the cream cheese until smooth, add in the marshmallow cream and continue to mix until well-blended, add it the orange juice until combined.

Tips:

• Serve with fresh fruit (favorites: strawberries, pineapple, bananas, apples, etc.), cubed pound cake, graham crackers, etc.
• Run a spatula under hot water before you remove the marshmallow cream from the container, it'll slide off the spatula instead of being a sticky mess.
• Low-fat strawberry cream cheese tastes fine in the recipe, if you want to save some calories.
• I never double the recipe- if I think I'll need more, I'll fold in some cool whip to spread everything a little further.

Wild Blueberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Wild Blueberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

• 1 1/2 cups vanilla sandwich cookie crumbs (such as Golden Oreos)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• wild blueberry sauce
• 1/2 cup whole blueberries (can be frozen)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap foil around the bottom of a 9" springform pan. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, tablespoon of sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of the springform pan.
3. In a double-boiler, melt the white chocolate with the half and half, stirring occasionally until smooth. Alternatively, microwave in 30 second intervals (stirring after each interval) until the chocolate and half and half is smooth.
4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and light. Add 1/2 cup sugar, beat until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Blend in vanilla and the melted white chocolate. 
5. Pour half of the batter into the pan, then spoon 1/2 the blueberry sauce over the top. It's thick- don't bother trying to spread it. Sprinkle the whole berries over the top.
6. Pour the remaining batter into the pan, and spoon the remaining blueberry sauce over the top. Swirl the jam with a knife to create a marbled-effect.
7. Place the pan in a jelly-roll pan, fill the pan with some water to create a water bath. Bake for 65 minutes, until filling it set (it should still be jiggly in the center). Then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an hour. 
8. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours (overnight) before removing from the pan. 
9. Garnish with extra blueberry sauce, fresh blueberries, white chocolate curls, or whipped cream before serving.  

Wild Blueberry Sauce

• 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients. 
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, allow to boil for one minute, stirring occasionally. 
3. Cool before using in cheesecake recipe, but can be served warm with pancakes, waffles, crepes, or ice cream.

Cake Batter Blondies

Cake Batter Blondies

• 1 box yellow cake mix (or Funfetti!)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sprinkles (OR only 1 tbsp. if you opt to use Funfetti cake mix)
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the oil, milk, egg, and cake mix in a large bowl until well-mixed. Add in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips; mix until evenly-distributed. 
3. Spread the batter evenly into the baking dish- it'll be thick! Sprinkle with some more sprinkles!
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting into small squares.