Croque Monsieur Pockets

These were easy to make and super yummy!

My only problem was rolling out the dough as wide as they suggested.  It was just not possible!  So mine were a bit puffier.  But they stayed closed and tasted great!

This recipe comes from the October 2011 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Croque Monsieur Pockets

1 cup grated gruyere (3 oz) (I used swiss -- much cheaper!)
1 cup deli sliced ham, chopped (4 oz)
2 tsp dijon mustard (I might try honey dijon next time)
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I used a few shakes of dried)
pinch of cayenne pepper (I skipped this)
1 11 oz tube of refrigerated French bread dough
1 large egg
flour for dusting
vegetable oil for pan

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix cheese, ham, mustard, nutmeg and pepper in bowl until combined.  Squeeze the mixture together with your hands to make it compact.

Brush a baking sheet lightly with vegetable oil.  Cut the dough into four pieces.  On a floured surface, roll out the dough into 6 x 8 inch rectangles. (good luck with that)  Fill the pockets and close the sides. 

Place the pockets seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet.  Beat the egg and 1 Tbsp water in a small bowl.  Brush the pockets with the egg wash.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Spiced Pumpkin Squares

This recipe is from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts. I've made it a bunch of times. Particularly tasty in fall, but good any time of the year. The book describes them as a brownie, but they seem a bit more cake like than brownie to me. I generally eat them plain, but if you want to dress them up, a bit of whipped cream is perfect!

Pumpkin mixture:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup cooked pumpkin puree (I use canned and use the other portion for other pumpkin recipes)

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I generally leave the nuts out, good either way)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and dust with flour.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and well blended. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla and the pumpkin puree and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice and stir them into the pumpkin mixture to form a smooth batter. Fold in the chopped walnuts by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno

I found this recipe on the blog Annie's Eats via Pinterest.  (If you don't know what Pinterest is,  you have yet to indulge in one of the most addicting sites on the internet!  Don't say I didn't warn you...)

I didn't have canned tomatoes, but I DID have fresh tomatoes from my mother-in-law's garden.  I added a few pinched of Italian seasonings and they were fantastic!  (I skipped the oregano)

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-14 oz. cans diced Italian plum tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
S&P
1 lb. pasta (tubes)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
2/3 c. parmesan

Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium high heat, 1 min. Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min. Add S&P. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Toss pasta with sauce. Place half of pasta in an oiled 9×13” dish. Cover with half parmesan and half mozzarella. Top with remaining pasta, then parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.

Source: Pasta by Dorling Kindersley

Chocolate Orange Blossom Cake

Chris made this cake for the first time yesterday, and it was decadent....delicious....fantastic!

It comes from the April 1, 2007 issue of Woman's Day.  (It's been in my "desserts to try" file for YEARS!)

Chocolate Orange Blossom Cake

Cake

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp triple sec or 1 Tbsp orange extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting

4 sticks (YES, 4 STICKS) butter, softened
1 16 oz tub marshmallow fluff
2 cups confetioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup grated orange zest (3-4 oranges)
2 Tbsp orange juice

Garnish: orange slices or sections

Heat oven to 350.  Grease two 9 inch round cake pans.

Cake:  Beat cake mix, buttermilk, oil, eggs and liqueur in a large bowl with mixer on low speed 30 seconds or until blended.  Scrape down sides of bowl; beat on medium speed 2 minutes.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into prepared pans.

Bake 28-32 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes.  Invert on a rack, turn right side up and cool completely.

Frosting:  Beat butter in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until creamy.  Beat in marshmallow cream.  When well blended, beat in sugar, vanilla, zest, and juice.  Increase speed to high and beat 3-4 minutes until fluffy (makes 5 cups).

Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate.  Spread with one cup frosting.  Top with remaining cake layer.  Spread top and sides wiht remaining frosting.  Decorate with orange slices.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with Creamy Icing

These are a delicious change of pace from your average pancake!  The consistency is like a very moist cake.

The recipe comes from the October 2011 issue of Cuisine at Home.  It calls for "apple pie spice," which neither I nor my grocery store had.  The magazine said it was a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  We had everything but the cloves.

The icing is delicious and would be great on real cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, or streusel.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 oz Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Original (use the rest for the icing)
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil (for the griddle)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees with a baking sheet inside.

Combine dry ingredients, set aside.  Whisk together buttermilk, Cooking Creme, maple syrup, egg and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Fold buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients until just moistened (small lumps are OK).  Let batter rest 10 minutes (this allows the baking soda to activate and will produce lighter, fluffier pancakes).

Heat a large griddle or nonstick skillet over medium-low.  Brush griddle with a thin layer of oil.  For each pancake, pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle.

Cook batter until bubbles form on surface, 2-3 minutes.  Flip pancakes and cook until golden, 2-3 minutes more.  Keep pancakes warm on baking sheet in the oven while cooking remaining pancakes.  Oil griddle as needed.

Creamy Icing

6 oz Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Original
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp warm water

Whisk Cooking Creme, sweetened condensed milk, buttermilk, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until warm.

Add water as needed to thin sauce until desired consistency is reached (I didn't use any water at all).

Fluffy French Toast

The boyfriend found this recipe on allrecipes.com a few months ago and made it before I went to work one morning. I thought the holiday weekend would be the perfect time to have it again! Although it's originally pictured with strawberries, raspberries were what I found at the farmer's market yesterday. And it says 12 slices of bread, but I only got nine out of it. Do keep whisking up the egg mixture as the flour starts to settle.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 12 thick slices bread

Directions

1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Crab-Alfredo Baked Shells

Oh. My. God.  This is TO DIE FOR!!!  And you know what?  It's a very simple recipe!!

The alfredo sauce would be good alone on linguine or as the top layer of lasagna (I always top mine with alfredo, since I discovered a recipe from Classico years ago -- I'll blog that next time I make it!).  It's a tasty recipe that is very versatile.  The secret ingredient?  Nutmeg!

You are supposed to make these in individual baking dishes, but I made it in a 9-inch square glass instead.  It is VERY rich, so you won't be able to eat as much as you think you can -- or as much as you want to!

I fear the broiler because I tend to char things.  Quickly.  So instead, I baked it at 350 for about 12 minutes.  Also, I used imitation crab meat, because I think it has more flavor than canned crabmeat.  It would also be great with shrimp, scallops, or even chicken.

This recipe comes from the October 2011 issue of Cuisine at Home.

Crab-Alfredo Baked Shells

8 oz dry medium pasta shells
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tbsp minced shallots (I just used onion)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups grated parmesan cheese, divided
4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used about 1 1/2 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp fresh ground pepper (I used WAY less)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
2 cups pasteurized or premium canned jumbo lump crabmeat (13 oz)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat broiler with rack 6 inches from element.  Coat four 8 oz or six 6 oz individual baking dishes with nonstick spray.

Cook shells according to package directions; drain.  Rinse shells under cold water and set aside.

Heat cream, shallots, and nutmeg in a large saucepan over medium-low until steaming.  Whisk in butter until completely melted.

Add 1 1/2 cups of parmesan, 3 Tbsp parsley, and pepper.  Increase heat to medium; cook, whisking often, until thickened, 10 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice; season with salt.  Transfer sauce to large bowl.  (To cut down on dishes, I just poured it into the pan I boiled the shells in)

Fold crabmeat and shells into sauce.  Divide mixture among prepared dishes.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup parmesan and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle over each casserole.  Broil casseroles until golden and bubbly, 3-4 minutes.  Garnish with parsley.