BAM-B-Q Baked Beans

Okay. I know lots of people pop open a can of baked beans when it's barbeque time, but let me tell ya,  these baked beans from Emeril are fab-u-lous!  They're actually pretty easy to make.  The hardest part of this recipe is planning ahead for the slow cooking.  I mean common on.  All of us can do that! Yes, it requires hours in the oven but all you have to do after the initial prep work is stir them a few times.  It's not arduous kitchen work.  Making these from scratch will reward you with a pot of smokey, nicely sweetened, complexly flavored baked beans. Oh ya, and no one will mistake them for some canned stuff.  Serve them at your 4th of July celebration and they'll be the belle of the ball.
BTW:  Every time I make these they're devoured!  When it's time for me to take my blog photo there's only a small bowl left!

If you like these yummy baked beans please press the Stumble button.  Thanks my friends!


Bam-B-Q Baked Beans: slighly adapted from Emeril

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
16 ounce pack dried navy beans, rinsed and checked for rocks
1 cup strong, brewed coffee
1/2 bbq sauce (I used homemade but your favorite store bought is fine)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tablespoons Creole Mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups water
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a heavy cast iron dutch oven, with a tight fitting lid, cook the diced bacon until it's crispy. About 4-6 minutes.  Add the onion and cook until it lightly caramelizes, 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and thyme and cook for about 1 minute.  Add all the rest of the ingredients and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil. Cover the dutch oven with lid and place in preheated oven.  Bake for 2 hours undisturbed.
3. Stir the beans well and continue to cook, covered, until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.
4. When the beans are tender, remove the cover and continue to bake until liquid has thickened to a sauce like consistency.  Probably about 1-1 1/2 hours.  Do not overcook or they will be a mushy mess.  Check seasoning and add more salt, black pepper or hot sauce to your liking.  Remove thyme stems and serve. Oh YUM!

Brown Sugar and Rum Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is a really delicious, extra homey, pineapple upside down cake.  I've made it many times and it always brings a happy smile to my face.  It differs from the traditional pineapple upside down cake in that it's sweetened with brown sugar rather than white.  To me, this really gives it a homier, friendly quality.  It's spiced with a nice amount of ginger which blends beautifully with the warm brown sugar.  Instead of being decorated with the standard maraschino cherries, it is donned with pecan halves.  I loved how they add a soft crunch to the cake.  Hubby and I loved them so much we were fighting to get the most pecans in our slices and maybe we went so far as to steal a few from the unsuspecting cake!  Then to make this baby even more wonderful, fresh slices of pineapple are soaked in dark rum before baking to give the cake a little extra pizzaz!  I like to serve it while it's still warm.  It's like a hug from Mom in a slice of cake!

Brown Sugar and Rum Pineapple Upside Down Cake:

from Bon Appetite

Ingredients:

5 1/2 inch thick center-cut rounds, peeled and cored, cut in half (I left mine whole)

1/2 cup dark rum

6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar, divided

1/3 cup pecan halves

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon mild flavored molasses

2/3 cup buttermilk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pour rum in a 10X14 pyrex baking dish. Place pineapple rings in rum and flip them to coat. Let stand for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

3. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a 9 1/2 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of the brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and syrup boils, about 2 minutes.  Drain pineapple and arrange in skillet in a nice pattern.  Tuck pecan pieces into spaces.

4. Whisk flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

5. Beat 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup brown sugar in a large bowl.  Beat in eggs, vanilla, and molasses.  Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk.  Spoon batter over pineapple.

6. Bake in preheated oven about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

7. Allow cake to cool for about 5 minutes. Place a large plate over the cast iron pan and flip it over.  Cake should pop right out.  Be careful!  I don't think anything is hotter than cast iron!

Craig's Amazing Signature Salmon and Spinach

This recipe comes to me from my very dear friend Craig.  He is an absolutely amazing cook and when he likes a recipe, I know it's something I MUST try!!!! This recipe is, without a doubt, no exception!  It is the most delicious Salmon dish I've had in a very long time.  It's pretty easy to put together and it's something my whole family loved.  I cooked the salmon stove top in a skillet but it would be wonderful grilled as well.  I hope you give it a try and please let me know what you think. A HUGE thank you to Craig for this amazing recipe!!!
Show Craig some love and Stumble this post!  Thanks y'all!


Craig's Amazing Signature Salmon and Spinach


Ingredients:


creole seasoning
4 salmon filets

sauce:
1/4 honey
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

veggies:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2/3 cup shallots, finely chopped
2/3 cup golden raisins
2/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced
15 ounces baby spinach

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle both sides of salmon with creole seasoning. Set aside.
2. Bring sauce ingredients to a boil in a small sauce pan. Set aside.
3. In a large saute pan heat olive oil to medium high.  Add shallots and cook until very soft.  Add raisins, olives and spinach and cook until spinach is just cooked. Keep warm
4. Cook salmon in a grill pan until salmon is opaque.
5. Plate with veggies, then salmon and a drizzle of sauce. :)

I served this with my favorite Rice Pilaf. 

Chewy Coconut-Lime Sugar Cookies

Here's a super yummy cookie that's perfect for summer.  It's an amazingly, soft and chewy sugar cookie flavored with lime and coconut.  Hello SUMMER! I adore everything about this baby. The texture, flavor combination and the sugary exterior. This cookie is really an all over winner.  Hope you give it a try soon!

If these yummy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies look good to you please Stumble them! Thanks!!!


 Coconut-Lime Sugar Cookies
from Cook's Illustrated (seen on Tracey's Culinary Adventures)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz) sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
2 oz cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, chopped fine
1 teaspoon lime zest
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the lime zest, and cream cheese yet. Put the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a pie plate and set aside. Pour the warm butter over the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine - the mixture won't be completely smooth yet, that's fine.  Add the oil, egg, milk and lime juice. Mix until smooth.
4. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet, until a soft dough comes together.
5. Using a small cookie scoop form the dough into balls, roll in the reserved sugar and place on cookies sheets. When cookie sheet is full, use the bottom of a drinking glass to gently flatten cookies down into a disk. Try to work quickly as handling the dough too will produce flatter cookies
6. Bake the cookies, 1 tray at a time, for about 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are set and beginning to brown. The tops will be puffy and slightly cracked. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.

Makes 24 cookies

Coconut Rice Loaded with Goodies!

I love this rice dish so much I could make an entire meal of it.  Coconut rice has always been a favorite of mine. Every time I find it on the menu of a restaurant, I have to order it.  This recipe started out as a simple, standard coconut rice, then I started adding and tweaking and now, finally, I have a super yummy coconut rice that I love beyond belief. Every time I make this I swear the whole fam ooohh's and aaahhh's and totally devours the whole batch. 

I use regular coconut milk, as opposed to low fat, but you can obviously use which ever you prefer. I like the added richness the full fat version brings to the dish. I also use sweetened coconut, the same kind I bake with.  I toasted it on a cookie sheet in the oven until it gets a nice and golden brown and a little crispy.

If this wonderful rice looks yummy to you, please press the Stumble button to share it with others on the web!  Thanks friends!!!

Loaded Coconuts Rice: from Gonna Want Seconds

Ingredients:

1 14ounce can coconut milk

1 cup water

1 cup jasmine rice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 shredded coconut, roasted

Instructions:

1. In a medium pan bring the coconut milk and water to a boil.

2. Add the rice, salt and sugar, reduce the heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.

3. Stir in peanuts, cilantro and coconut and server immediately.

Thai Style Beef Salad

I love a fabulous, main dish salad with lots of goodies. There's nothing I like more for dinner when the weather warms up a bit.  Here's a wonderful recipe from Emerils cookbook At The Grill.  I picked this book up last summer and have been enjoy trying these new recipes.  This has been, by far, the family fav so far! The main change I've made to this recipe is to really make the herbs a larger player in the dish. I love how wonderfully fresh they make it!

Thai Style Beef Salad: slightly adapted from Emeril's At The Grill


Ingredients:

1-1 3/4 pound flank steak
Creole seasoning

2 tablespoon jasmine rice
3 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup fresh mint, chopped

1 bag of angel hair shredded cabbage
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Instructions:

1. Season the flank steak with Creole seasoning on both sides. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat grill.
3. Place the jasmine rice in a small skillet and heat it over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is toasted, golden brown, and fragrant, 6-7 minutes.  Transfer rice to a plate and allow to cool.  When cool, place in a clean coffee grinder, and process it to a very fine powder.  Set the rice powder aside.
4. Grill steak for 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare. (As always, my flank steak took a heck of a lot longer to reach m.r.). Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Thinly slice the steak against the grain, reserving any accumulated juices.
6. In a small bowl, combine rice powder, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice,  sugar, and reserved steak juice. Whisk to combine.
7. In a mixing bowl, combine the green onions, shallots, cilantro, mint, cabbage, cucumber, almonds and toss with half of the dressing. Toss well and arrange on a platter. Toss the steak with the remaining dressing and arrange the steak slices over the top of the cabbage.  Serve immediately. Oh-YUM

Nutella Sandwich Cookies with a Creamy Nutella Filling!

I adore Nutella. Who doesn't?! Well, I've heard there are a few people who actually don't! Can you believe it? If you're in the same camp as me, the love-love-love Nutella camp, then these cookies are for you. They are fabulous! Seriously!!! They're a soft, chewy, cookie sandwich with an incredible creamy Nutella buttercream filling. I mean, pass the cookie plate, STAT!!!

Nutella Sandwich Cookies with a Creamy Nutella Filling: Cookies from Erins Food Files and Cream Filling from Gonna Want Seconds


Ingredients:
Cookies:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup nutella
1 egg
½ tsp. frangelico or vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Filling:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup Nutella
1 cup powder sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:

Make Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer, on high speed, about 3 minute until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla. Add the Nutella and mix well.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Using a small ice cream scoop form the dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool about 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make Cream Filling:
1. In a large bowl mix all filling ingredients with an electric mixer, on high speed, about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Assembly:
1. Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of filling on the flat side of one cookie. Top with another cookie, flat side on filling.
2. Repeat with remaining cookies and fillin

Tabbouleh Salad

Tabbouleh is one of my family's all time favorite foods. What's not to absolutely love about it?  It's delicious, refreshing and amazingly, really great for you.  The Tabbouleh I make is a very simple, straight forward, authentic, Lebanese version. Now, every family obviously has their own recipe, but I believe mine is pretty darn authentic.  I know a lot of people add fresh mint and I love it in the Tabbouleh but my fam prefers it without.  Feel free to add a bunch finely chopped if you'd like.  

The secret to making a great Tabbouleh is to start the day before you want to serve it and prep the parsely.  By drying it overnight in a kitchen towel in the frigde, your salad will be drier and the lemon juice and olive oil won't get watered down.  The salad also will not be as watery and runny as some you've probably tried.  I made my Tabbouleh for years with an old family recipe before I learned this secret!!! Seriously, I think this lil piece of info may be the one that most people don't want to tell you cuz then their Tabbouleh will just be that little bit better than yours and you can't figure out why!!! Do you know what I mean or have I just gone totally paranoid?!? Oh come on. I know you know what I'm talking about!  LOL!!!!

I serve this as an appetizer and also a salad.  Serve it with fresh pita bread cut into wedges or with Romaine leaves cut into about 3 inch lengths.  Hubs always eats it with Romaine.  Last time I made this I forgot to measure out the salt and pepper.  I'm really sorry about that.  Next time I will and I'll update this post.  You'll need a generous amount of each so don't be too timid with it!

Tabbouleh Salad

Ingredients:

5 bunches curly leaf parsely
1 cup bulgur wheat
4-6 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 small white onion, finely diced

1 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Rinse bunches of parsely very thoroughly.  Wrap a few bunches at a time in clean kitchen towel and refrigerate overnight.

2. In a medium bowl, cover bulgur with boiling water and let sit for a few hours. Drain any excess water. Allow to cool.

3. Gather parsely bundles by the stems, hold the stems up and the leaves of the parsley down on your cutting board. With a chef knife, cut the leaves off from the large stems. Pick through the mixture and remove any thicker stems within the bundle of leaves. Process leaves in a food processor until you have a fine chop.

4. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper. Refridgerate for a few hours and allow flavors to mingle. Check salt and pepper again and adjust. Serve with fresh pita cut in wedges or Romaine lettuce leaves. Enjoy!