Charcuterie Board, by Diane

I made this cheese and charcuterie board over the holidays, and while it’s not exactly a recipe we thought it would be a good thing to post as it takes some thought to select the right ingredients and arrange them. I’ll list what I got below, but you want a mix of salty/sweet/spicy/soft/hard to satisfy all your taste buds. Ideally you want meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits (fresh or dried), and pickles or olives. My board has the following:

-Meats: mild hard salami sticks, spicy salami slices, salty prosciutto slices, and peppery capicola slices.

-Cheeses: a sharp rumrunner cheese that was a bit boozy and harder in texture, and a soft cows milk cheese with garlic and herbs.

-Crackers: plainer crackers such as flatbreads, and fruit and nut crackers made with brandy

-Salty items: pickles and olives (I forgot olives but would have included a few kinds)

-Sweet items: soft things like grapes, crunchy things like spiced pecans, and a jam (I used fig jam)



To assemble, you want to start with a pretty plate or platter (I didn’t have one so I used a baking tray covered in holiday tissue paper and topped with clear plastic wrap to separate the paper from the food). Then you want to spread out things that are of the same taste (salty/sweet/crunchy/soft) as well as color to make it more visually appealing. If you don’t have enough ingredients or your plater is too big you can make multiple piles of the same items just spaced out. Finally, for things like meats that are sliced you want to display them by folding in 1/2 then 1/2 again and make a ribbon, or swirl them into flower shapes (I did both). Don’t forget a fancy knife for your cheese!

"Breakfast Friends" (French Toast), by Cheryl

Back when I did my little MLM stint as a Barefoot Books ambassador, I purchased a large deck of healthy and easy kid recipes that the kids can help with. That was five years ago and we finally dove into them the other day. Julia chose about 20 recipes she wants to make, and so for day 1 of winter break by myself with both kids all day we tackled one of these recipes this morning. So basically, this is French toast, lol. But I'm posting it because it included things in the mix that I don't usually put in my French toast. I usually just use eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Maybe some brown sugar if I'm feeling it that day. This mix includes yogurt and honey and I think it really gave it a slightly different flavor which I thought was great! Yum!

Ingredients:

4 slices of thick whole-grain bread
2 eggs
3 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tsp honey
1/3 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
Toppings

Directions:

1) Use cookie cutters to stamp out some shapes from the bread.

2) Crack eggs into a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs.

3) Add the yogurt and beat again.

4) Beat in the honey and cinnamon.

5) Dip the shapes, one at a time, into the egg mixture. Thoroughly coat the pieces.

6) Heat butter in a frying pan and when it is hot, add some bread shapes. Cook each one for 1-2 minutes and then flip onto the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Use toppings for eyes or designs as desired.

Polpette Alla Napoletana, by Cheryl

For the first cookbook club that I hosted I chose the cookbook Cucina Napoletana. I thought it would be different than the typical American food cookbooks that we have chosen and I could also use my nice Italian ceramic dinnerware! These meatballs were amazing!! I have always wondered how to get my meatballs as tender as the ones we had in Italy and this recipe does it. I think the trick is soaking the bread in milk beforehand and then when it's mixed into the meatballs it produces such a softness and tenderness to it. I will definitely be making meatballs this way again. Yum!

Ingredients:

1lb 2 oz stale crustless bread (I bought the pre cut stuffing cubes)
a little milk
1lb lean ground beef
handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 large egg, beaten
1.75 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1.5 oz golden raisins (optional)
1.5 oz pine nuts (optional)
EVOO
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 lb 5 oz canned whole peeled plum tomatoes
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Soak the bread in a little milk. Squeeze gently to remove any excess liquid and place in a bowl with the ground beef, parsley, and garlic. Mix well and add the egg, a pinch of salt, black pepper, Parmesan, golden raisins, and pine nuts. Combine thoroughly with your hands. Shape into meatballs.

2) Fry in plenty of hot oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat for ten minutes .Keep turning the meatballs carefully to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

3) Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Sweat the onion in a little olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce and cook for ten minutes to heat through. Serve hot.

Crispy Smashed Brussels Sprouts, by Diane

This recipe came from @platingsandpairings and it looked like a fresh new way to create a veggie side dish for my week. I really liked these, and they had a sauce to go with them (see original recipe here) that I ran out of time in making but I think it would have made them even better! Mine didn't get as crispy as hers, but it's because I have a really sensitive smoke alarm and I was scared they would burn- next time I'd go for it!!

Ingredients:

2 lb fresh brussels sprouts
EVOO
Flaky sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. While the oven preheats, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and parboil the sprouts for 10-15 min until *just* fork tender.

3. Drain the sprouts and place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

4. Smash each sprout in between a dish towel to flatten and absorb all the moisture- this will help them crisp up in the oven.

5. Place the sprouts on a parchment paper lined baking sheet evenly spaced apart, and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle flaky salt on top.

5. Bake for 30 min, flipping sides halfway through. I drizzled more EVOO and sprinkled more salt when I flipped them over. They should be crispy and browned on the edges when done, so watch closely so they don't burn!

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup with Herbs, by Cheryl

Another recipe from Once Upon a Chef! This soup was fairly easy to make and was tasty! It was a good appetizer to our meal. If I made it again I would increase the number of mushrooms used in order to have more chopped ones in there. Otherwise each bite without them was good, but needed more oomph. That being said, it was a great compliment to the meal and warming on a cool night. Yum!


Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup chopped shallots
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup flour
1.5 lb mixed wild mushrooms (shitake, oyster, portobello), stemmed and roughly chopped
1/2 cp dry white wine
5 cups chicken broth
1.25 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish
croutons, optional

Directions:

1) In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute more, then add the mushrooms, 1/4 cup of wine, the chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender.

2) Using a slotted spoon, remove about 2 large ladlefuls of the mushrooms and set aside. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.

3) Stir in the cream, the remaining 1/4 cup wine, the thyme, the sage, and the reserved mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and top with the chives and croutons.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding, by Cheryl

I used this recipe for the dessert I made for my cookbook club. It comes from the book Once Upon a Chef. It was sooooo good! It was definitely everyone's favorite dish of the night! I soaked the croissants in the custard mixture for six hours and it really absorbed it well! I'm making it again this weekend and I'm going to soak them overnight. Eat it warm. Yum!

Ingredients:

3/4 lb croissants, torn into 1-in chunks (I used 7 largish croissants)

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used chocolate chips)

5 eggs

3 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup bourbon

vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1) Generously butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Place the torn croissants in the dish. Scatter the chocolate chips over the top and toss gently with your hands to mix.

2) In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the half and half, sugar, vanilla, salt, and bourbon; whisk until well combined.

3) Pour the custard evenly over the croissants and chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours to allow the croissants to soak up the custard. 

4) Preheat the oven to 350F and set an oven rack in the middle position. 

5) Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden and the center is set, about 20 minutes more. Spoon into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream, if desired. 

Nutty Wild Rice Salad, by Cheryl

This is a recipe from Once Upon a Chef. It's the cookbook my friend chose for the cookbook club this month. This recipe was a hit! It's great cold or slightly warmed up. So flavorful and yummy! And not too bad for you either. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 cup wild rice, rinsed
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice from 1 orange
1/4 cup EVOO
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley,
2 celery stalks, diced
1 tart yet sweet apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup roasted and salted pepitas
2 scallions, light and dark green parts, thinly sliced

Directions:

1) In a medium pot, cook the wild rice according to package directions.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, pepper, and remaining salt. Add the cooled rice, pecans, dried cranberries, parsley, celery, apple, pepitas, and scallions. Taste and adjust the seasoning if desired. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Diane

This thanksgiving my family decided to try out a famous chocolate chip cookie recipe. I had heard the buzz about this recipe a while back when the New York Times declared it the best chocolate chip cookie recipe of all time, and then a little while later Tasty did an in-depth test of all the cookie ingredients to see which combo made the best cookie. Both articles came to a strikingly similar conclusion: dark brown plus white sugar made for the best flavor combo, bread flour plus all purpose flour made the cookies a little denser, adding one egg plus one egg yolk rather than 2 eggs made the cookies fudgier, browning the butter and then cooling it gave the cookies a better flavor than regular butter, adding more than one type of chocolate gave the cookie a nice variation with pockets of chocolate, and refrigerating the dough for a minimum of 24 hours allowed the cookie ingredients to develop more.

With all of this science, we couldn’t wait to see what the hype was about! There were 9 of us in the house, including a mix of cookie haters and cookie enthusiasts, and everyone agreed these were the best chocolate chip cookies we had ever had- even our cookie haters had multiple ones. The addition of the bread flour and the yolk did make them denser (they looked store bought), the two types of chocolate were amazing (check out that money shot in the center!), and the browning of the butter in combo with the wait to bake them (we did 23 hours we couldn’t wait!!) created the most outstanding salty savory sweet buttery cookie ever.

We all agreed these were best when eaten about 3-5 minutes after they had sat on the cooling rack, so be patient! We also thought they were not as great the next day (although still amazing!) so I would consider baking in batches if you need them to last! Finally, I liked mine sprinkled with sea salt flakes just after they came out of the oven.

Ingredients:

1 cup bread flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 tbsp room temp water
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
5 oz. dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, brown the butter by bringing to a boil and stirring constantly so as not to burn it. You are looking for a toasty brown color. Eventually the butter will foam and the milk solids will separate before it start to change color. As soon as it is browned, pour it into a glass measuring cup and cool for 1-2 minutes before adding water to bring the liquid back to once cup exactly. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes (you want it to cool otherwise the cookies will be greasy, but still be liquid so it incorporates into the dough).

3. In a large bowl, cream together the sugars, vanilla, and cooled brown butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 1-2 min. Add the egg and yolk and beat until incorporated.

4. Add the dry ingredients from the other bowl 1/3 at a time until just incorporated, and then fold the chocolate into the dough with a wooden spoon.

5. Scoop the cookies onto parchment paper lined baking trays in 3 tbsp sized mounds spaced 3 inches apart. Refrigerate the trays 24-36 hours before baking.

6. Bake at 350 for 12-14 min. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 min before moving to a cooling rack.

• 
  
• 
  

Dark Chocolate Superfood Bark, by Diane

I have been making this bark for years and only now did I realize I have never posted it! This recipe is a hit for the holidays/gift-giving/healthy snacking. It’s highly customizable, but I created this particular combo a few years back and it is the most requested combo. All of the toppings are aimed at reducing inflammation or introducing healthy fats or proteins into the body. My secret is the chocolate, I only use Whole Foods brand dark chocolate morsels- they melt smoothly, aren’t too sweet, and have a very expensive taste when melted imo (all of the recipients over the years have been surprised when I tell them it’s from Whole Foods!).

Ingredients:

2 bags Whole Foods dark chocolate morsels
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup craisins
4 tbsp hemp seeds
1/4 cup pepitas
1-2 tsp cinnamon
Optional- sea salt

Directions:

1. Prepare a double boiler or a glass/metal bowl over a pot with 1/2 inch water. Bring the water to a boil and pour the chocolate in to the bowl or double boiler.

2. While the chocolate is melting, prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and get your remaining ingredients nearby.

3. With a baking spatula, continuously stir the chocolate, scraping the sides and bottom so that nothing burns.

4. When the chocolate is completely smooth, pour it over the parchment paper. Use the spatula to ensure the chocolate is evenly spread across the baking sheet, and tap the baking sheet on the counter to  loosen up or pop any remaining bubbles.

5. Immediately after step 4, sprinkle all the toppings on, making sure to include the edges and corners. Tap the baking sheet again a few times to make sure the ingredients really stick to the chocolate.

6. Place the sheet in the fridge overnight or until hardened. Once hard, break the chocolate into uniform pieces and store in an airtight container or freezer.