Apple & Goat Cheese Crostini with Honeyed Walnuts and Crisp Bacon

(from Sugar Plum)

(I also made this for the housewarming party. Good response... yummy yummy!)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 T honey
3/4 tsp finely ground sea salt, divided use
3 T unsalted butter, divided use
1 1/2 cups finely chopped apple (Braeburn, Gala, Jonagold)
2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
8 slices Whole Wheat with Honey Bread
6 oz goat cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped cooked applewood smoked bacon

Add walnuts to a large nonstick skillet, over medium heat, and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden; stir in honey and 1/4 tsp salt, and cook and additional minute or until well coated with honey. Pour the walnuts onto a plate and set aside. Melt 1T butter in skillet; add apple and sage and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender and golden. Stir in additional 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and garlic, and cook an additional minute; remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven broiler. Spray a large sheet pan with cooking spray. Cut the bread slices in half diagonally and place on pan. Melt the additional 2T butter and brush evenly over bread. Broil 1 minute or until golden brown; flip and broil an additional minute or until golden. Remove pan from oven; evenly spread goat cheese over bread slices. Break up walnuts a bit and stir into apple mixture; evenly divide apple walnut mixture onto bread slices. Top with bacon and serve.

Sausage and Sweet Potato Kebabs

(from Martha Stewart)

(I made these for a house warming party not too long ago..... they're killer. SO good!)

Kebab Ingredients:

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 32 (1-inch) cubes
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage, cut into 32 (1/2-inch) pieces
32 wooden picks
Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs

Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise Ingredients:
1T lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Kebab Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased 15x10 inch jelly-roll pan. Drizzle potatoes with 2T oil, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Toss to coat. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, turning cubes twice. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Drain on paper towels. Place 1 sausage slice on top of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with a wooden pick. Repeat with remaining sausage slices and potato cubes. Serve with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise. Garnish, if desired.

Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise Preparation:

Combine lemon juice and minced garlic in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato-Rosemary Tart

(from Southern Living)

Ingredients:

3 plum tomatoes (or any tomatoes)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I actually buy whole mozzarella, cut into thin strips, then I top the whole thing with shredded mozzarella right before cooking)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1T chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices, and place on a paper towel-lined wire rack. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt. Let stand 20 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Unfold 1 puff pastry sheet on a lightly greased baking sheet. Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on pastry. Stir together cheese and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle cheese mixture over tomatoes. Bake tart at 400 for 24 to 27 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Rosemary Scones with Strawberry Jam

(from Giada at Home - Giada De Laurentiis)

Scones Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1T finely chopped rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
6T unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Glaze Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2T water

Directions:

For the scones: Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, salt, and butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. (Jennifer's note: I actually don't have a food processor, so I do this all with my hands.) Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll our the dough into a 1/2 inch thick, 10-inch circle. Cut out pieces of dough and put on the prepared baking sheet. Gently knead together any leftover pieces of dough and roll out to 1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough and add to the baking sheet. Using an index finger or a small, round measuring spoon, gently make an indentation in the center of each pastry. Spoon a heaped 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Transfer the cooked scones onto a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes.

For the glaze: In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add the water until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes (which I of course never do). Serve or store in an airtight plastic container for 2 days.

It's catch up time my friends....

I'm embarrassed at how long it has taken me to finally put some recipes up. My apologies... I've picked out some goodies that I go to quite often. Here goes...

Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

Pancake Ingredients:
1 1/2 c Flour
1T Sugar
1T Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1c Milk
2 Eggs
4T Unsalted Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

I mix all ingredients together and then spoon 1/4 c of mix into a skillet. Cook over medium heat (Level 5). You'll have to decrease the heat a bit once your pan has fully heated. If you don't, your pancakes will start to burn. Might I encourage you to throw some semi-sweet chocolate chips in there for the full, delicious experience. :)

Strawberry Sauce Ingredients:
1T Butter
1c Strawberries (sliced)
2T Sugar
1/8 tsp Cinnamon

Melt butter over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium low heat until thick and bubbly (approximately 7-8 minutes... I actually cook it for about 10-12 minutes). Serve in place of syrup and I PROMISE you won't regret it.

Up next... Rosemary Scones with Strawberry Jam....