Have you ever felt completely overlooked? I stand a staggering 5 feet off the ground so I can say that pretty much everyone looks over me. 🤷🏻♀️ #shortgirlproblems 🤣I was standing in the lobby of our tiny post office today - a space limited to a total of 3 customers - when a 4th person entered the lobby - looking downright shocked to see me. 😳 Realizing her mistake almost immediately, she turned around to step back out of the lobby but not before loudly announced to the rest of the customers and postal workers: "There was 'little one' in the lobby that I never saw." 😅 I was holding a stack of boxes at the time but I wasn't trying to be covert. 💁🏻♀️ These apple cider caramel bars are almost as unassuming as I am. Don't be deceived though. These plain Jane looking treats pack a powerful punch. The secret is the super concentrated apple cider that makes the homemade caramel extra special. Pairing that cider infused caramel with a buttery shortbread cookie is extraordinary. And a little sprinkle of sea salt on the top balances this heavenly treat just perfectly. If you're mouth is watering and you're suddenly craving apples and caramel - I've done my job. 🍎😅 I do hope that you will give these a try this Fall. They do require an investment in time but they are sooooo worth it. Apple Cider Caramel Bars Caramel 2 1/2 cups apple cider 1 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg Shortbread crust 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons cold butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg yolk 1 2/3 cups flour
Sprinkle with sea salt. Cut with a sharp knife into squares. I packed up these bars and took them across town a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, they had been out of the frig for a few hours by the time we were ready for dessert and by that time, all of the caramel had slid off of the shortbread. 😭 There's no way that I was going to let them go to waste though - I scraped the caramel back on top and devoured my caramel apple bar with a fork. 🍴So take a lesson from me - keep these refrigerated until you're ready to serve them - especially on hot, humid afternoons. Even though they're just as scrumptious when they're melted 0 just not quite as neat or pretty. 🤣
Ciao!
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Well hello, long lost blog friends. It's been 8 days since I posted on the blog and even though most of you probably never even noticed my absence, I feel compelled to explain. 🤣 You're going to have to stick with me here because even though my explanation may take a minute - I WILL (eventually) get to the reason for my blog hiatus. We are officially T-minus 10 days until our kitchen remodel begins!! As excited as I am about a new, more efficient space to work and create, I have to admit that I'm a little nervous about the process. The thought of not having a kitchen sink is a little unnerving, to say the least. 😬 In anticipation of my upcoming, "forced" cooking sabbatical, I've been loading my September calendar with catering orders. I'm not sure if it's the need to validate my "shut down" during kitchen construction next month but I've been stepping out of my catering comfort zone more than ever. 🤷🏻♀️ This weekend I tackled a charcuterie style brunch for 90! NINETY!! 😳 It was a huge undertaking which ended up as 16 amazing feet of morning deliciousness. I made eggs, bacon, cheese, fruit, muffins, bagels, croissants, biscuits, tarts, biscotti, yogurt - all the typical "brunchy" foods. 🥐🍳🥓 It was a lot of fun but preparing this epic brunch buffet occupied so much of my time this week that there was just no time left for blogging. (Told you I would get there eventually.) Not one, but two apple cider donut cakes had staring roles on my charcuterie brunch table. Soaking the fruit in apple cider really gives this cake a rich, deep apple flavor. 🍎 This cake has earned a spot as a Fall staple at our house. Apple Cider Donut Cake 1 large honey crisp apple, peeled and chopped 1 1/2 cups apple cider 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 8 Tablespoons butter, softened 3/4 cup light brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 3 large eggs Topping 6 Tablespoons butter 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg Pinch of salt
Let cool in pan 15 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely. Brush cake with browned butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
It's apple season in Georgia and I think I found the most delicious way to enjoy this delicious fruit. 🍎😉 Ciao! I regret to admit that my plan to do all of my Christmas shopping safely online this year got sidelined. Like, really quickly. 💁🏻♀️ I tried - I really did. Honest. 🖥 The biggest obstacle to my online gift buying plan was shipping fees. (Am I the only person too cheap to pay for shipping?) 💸 I just can't seem to justify paying more to ship a basketball than it costs to buy one.🏀 I would rather drive to the store to pick up my purchases than pay extra to have gifts delivered to my house. 🚗 All this running around to pick up online purchases was NOT part of my plan for this Christmas. But if I'm being honest - my Christmas shopping never goes as planned. 😅 I was naive to believe that I'd be able to get my entire list of Christmas gifts delivered to my home without any extra cost. 🤷🏻♀️ It should come as no surprise that December is the busiest month of the year for a self employed baker who specialized in cookies. 👩🏻🍳 My December baking schedule has to operate with military precision in order for all of my orders to go out on time. And my schedule is extra tight this year which means that there's not a lot of extra time for Target pick up runs. When time is short - dinner is the first thing to get pushed to the back burner. We could eat broken sugar cookies for dinner and nobody would complain but I prefer to eat something healthier as fuel for this hectic holiday season. Fussy, time consuming dinners are NOT an option this month soooo quick and easy meals are the name of the game. The operative word is ... QUICK. Mediterranean Braised Chicken is the perfect meal for busy nights. It's quick - it's easy - it's healthy and it's DELICIOUS! Mediterranean Braised Chicken 4 bone in chicken breasts 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence 1 pound small red potatoes 5 shallots 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/3 cup kalamata olives 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped 3 sprigs fresh thyme 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Spoon sauce over chicken and serve with vegetables.
One final tip: Don't skip the wine in this recipe. 🍷 Even though it's only a quarter cup, it's an important ingredient to add richness to the sauce. A small amount goes into the recipe and the rest of the bottle is left for you to enjoy. Merry Christmas friends. Ciao! It's officially layering season. Time to break out the hoodies and jean jackets. I think we can all agree - layers are fabulous. There's something so comforting about throwing an oversized sweatshirt over my favorite t-shirt on a cool Fall day.🍂 Fall layering isn't necessarily exclusive to clothes though. Some Fall layers have nothing to do with style. Cheesy pasta dishes, scrumptious dips, decadent pastries, croissants and fancy cakes - all foods with layers. 🥐What would Fall be without a gooey lasagna or a layered bean dip to snack on while watching a football game? And if you're a Shrek fan - the first thing that comes to your mind when I say layers is... onions. Building a salad is all about creating layers of flavors. Combining different textures - the soft with the crunchy - keeps my salads interesting. Using opposing flavors, like sweet and sour like my favorite lemon vinaigrette, brings my salads to life. Layering in a some whole grains like quinoa or farro, makes my salads heartier and more satisfying. I eat a LOT of salads and layering in different flavors and textures is what keeps me going back for more. 🥗 Although this Fall salad isn't a traditional "layered salad" - it IS layered with all of my favorite Fall flavors. Roasted sweet potatoes, crisp apples, tart cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds and hearty quinoa. Tossed in a light apple cider vinaigrette - this is the taste of Fall. Fall Salad 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 cups quinoa 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 2 large Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch dice 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced 8 packed cups baby greens 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries
Toss with potatoes, apples, parsley, onion, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and greens. I didn't include this salad on my Thanksgiving menu but I'm starting to reconsider. The roasted sweet potatoes, the dried cranberries, the crisp apples, the crunchy pumpkin seeds and the quinoa all come together perfectly in this salad. And who knows, this might just be the recipe that I need to convince my kids to eat cranberries on Thanksgiving. 😂
Ciao! Remember 3 days ago, when I said that I was sneaking in ONE more pumpkin recipe into October? Well, that wasn't exactly true. 😬 I'm officially sneaking in one MORE pumpkin recipe. This will officially be the last pumpkin recipe of the month --- probably. 😅 We can all agree that there are health-ier things that you can eat than a muffin. But some days - I just wake up craving a muffin. 🤷🏻♀️ There's nothing like a warm muffin and a nice hot cup of tea to start my day but I also don't want to consume all my calories for the day before 8 am. 😬I considered going to the new bakery in town to pick up a muffin for myself but even though their oversized creations are scrumptious, they're also loaded with saturated fats and sugars. I decided that making a healthier, fat-free, homemade version was a better option for me. After all - it IS Halloween and I am pretty sure that I will be consuming plenty of sugary snacks today. 🍭 I buy a lot of pumpkin puree this time of year and I don't have any recipes that use the entire can. Does anyone else wonder why they don't sell pumpkin in 1 cup portions? I am constantly trying to figure out how to use up the leftover pumpkin in my refrigerator. Sometimes I get creative and I add it to my pancakes, cookies or granola. 🥞 Yesterday, my leftover pumpkin became the inspiration for a new healthy muffin recipe. Well, a bit of leftover pumpkin, a single overripe banana on my counter and a tiny bit of applesauce left in the bottom of the jar - the recipe almost writes itself. 😅These muffins really should have been named "leftover muffins" but that sounds way less appealing. It's the jambalaya of breakfast foods and as an added bonus - my frig also got a good clean out. 😂 Healthy Pumpkin Muffins 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup banana 1/4 cup applesauce 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup milk 2/3 cup sugar 2 cups flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Before you judge me, yes, dark chocolate chips are an absolute must - even in the healthiest of muffin recipes. I guess I could have swapped them out with nuts but when I crave something sweet - nothing is better than chocolate. 🍫 Feel free to make your own substitutions.
Ciao! |
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