It’s been a strange week. Dave was out of town on business Friday – Friday. I was in California that first weekend for a wedding (gorgeous wedding). Then Marissa went down to Tucson for her boyfriend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Alberto!).  And on Thursday, I took Connor up to Flagstaff to begin his sophomore year at NAU (Have a great first day today, Con! Missing you!).

The four of us were never home at the same time, and now we won’t be again until … Thanksgiving, probably (insert sad face here). After all that disruption, what we need is breakfast for dinner. There aren’t too many things that feel more cozy than having traditional morning food in the evening.

These sandwiches are delicious with or without the addition of a poached egg. I did four with and four without. Use any cheese you like, but I’m using pepper Jack to go with the jalapeno sausage I purchased at The Pork Shop… so darn good!

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Who would think that with four people living here, we wouldn’t be able to get rid of a box of blueberries in a week? I used a portion of the 2-pound box (from Costco, of course) for blueberry muffins, another portion for blueberry pancakes, and was thinking the family would devour the rest. Well, they haven’t, now the sweet little gems are getting moldy, so I have to bake again… this finally finished them off!

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Now that Marissa is living back at home, the house is always filled with a boatload of friends. Her boyfriend, Albert, and three other friends from Tucson drove up yesterday and stayed overnight. Luckily, I picked up a 2 pound box of blueberries at Costco yesterday and I happily found 3 overripe bananas in the fridge. Thus they shall have these muffins plus blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Actually by the time they roll out of bed, it’ll probably be more like brunch. The pancake recipe will be up tomorrow.

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I feel like a fraud, an imposter, a poser. Only a couple days ago I came to learn that I had not posted one of my favorite foods on this site in more than 325 posts. Then when I finally do get a recipe up for cheesecake, I have to learn from a dear friend, neighbor, and faithful follower that today is National Cheesecake Day. How do I not know this already!? Out of all the foods that have a “National Day”, and there are about 475 foods that do, National Cheesecake Day is the one that I would actually honor. For a full list, go to this LINK to check out what do your favorite food is honored. (Disclaimer- I have no idea if this is THE official list, but it is what Google found for me) Or find out what food is honored on your special day. I just discovered that my birthday is National Potato Day – love it! Now I’m thinking that when I am not inspired to make something, I’ll just go to this list and make whatever food is “National” that day.  Good idea, or bad? I guess it depends if that day falls on January 8 (good!) or November 24 (bad!).

The recipe here can be configured any way that best suits your needs. I love to make individual cheesecakes and use them for a salad course. You an purchase the pan HERE to make these little cuties ourself. As is, the recipe makes 24 individual cheesecakes to use as a first course or salad, plus a 6-inch appetizer cheesecake to be served with toasted baguette slices or crackers. Or it will make one full-size 9-inch savory cheesecake. It can also be cut in half to make just one 6-inch cheesecake.

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It’s been nearly two months since I promised this recipe would be posted here. I can not believe how quickly the summer goes by!  The last week of May we finished the third and final step for homemade limoncello liqueur. Then I gave you a wonderful recipe for lemon-limoncello meringue pie and said another limoncello dessert recipe was forthcoming. It has arrived in the form of these amazingly creamy, yet not too sweet, cheesecake squares. This recipe comes courtesy of the talented and lovely Giada De Laurentiis. Not only am I surprised how long it has taken me to finally make these but I am shocked to realize that this is the first cheesecake recipe posted here. And since it’s not made in a springform pan, it’s not even an actual cheesecake.  Shocking, because I love cheesecake, which is by far one of my favorite desserts. Not only that but I can honestly say that I am a master at making them; The Cheesecake Factory has nothing on me!  I’m not bragging, just stating the facts and I’m going to share with you three of the most important tricks of the trade to making creamy and crack-free cheesecakes of your own.

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I am trying to avoid the aroma that is currently flowing from my kitchen and filling the entire house… baked sweetness. So instead I shall write about something else that may not seem so sweet at first, but truly is… compost.

Some thirteen or fourteen years ago I began composting. I would love to say that I am an avid composter, but honestly I’m more of a sporadic composter. It all began when I spotted an article in the newspaper stating that the City of Phoenix was recycling old worn out trash cans into compost bins and all you needed to do was call and they would gladly deliver one to your home … free! I was into gardening so the idea of composting appealed to me and the word “free” – of course, was all it took. The next day a city truck arrived and dropped of my new bin. What they had done was cut off the bottom of the large rubber trash can, cut large holes all around the sides of the can, and taken off the hinged lid, leaving an opening where the hinge had been – voila, a compost bin was born.

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There is a lot of frustration in being a cooking teacher to young ones. But luckily, there is reward to. The frustration comes in many forms and I shall share with you just two examples from the last 5 weeks of summer classes. Heck, these occur every year and have for the past 15 years of kids classes!

1. Telling the same child for 3 or 4 days in a row to “read the recipe” over and over and over again. This occurs when he/she asks for the umpteenth time, “What do I do next?” or “When to I stir in the peppers?” or “How much milk do I need?” or “How long does this have to bake?” or “Does this onion need to be cut up?” My answer to each of these questions is, “Please go back and read the recipe and then you may ask me again -if you can’t find the answer to that question.”  OK, honestly, that’s what I say the first 2 or 3 times, then I just say, “Read the recipe.” [Read more →]

Happy 4th of July!

The recipe for Red, White, and Blue Red Velvet Cupcakes follows,

but first…

What is your happiest or earliest memory of celebrating July 4th? Mine is standing in my maternal grandparents’ backyard, holding sparklers with our big extended family all around. That would include my grandparents, mom, dad, brothers, sister, cousins, aunts, and uncles. There could be up to 43 of us at any one time, given that my mom is the oldest of eight. We would either barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers or there would be big buckets of KFC scattered around, and always huge watermelons … and … soda! We were allowed to drink soda – at my grandparents’ house! [Read more →]

A few days back, my teen students had their graduation lunch and chose quiche as one of their buffet menu items. Since our time to cook on graduation day is a bit more limited, I made the crust dough ahead and refrigerated it so that when the kids arrived they could roll out and blind bake them immediately. They then proceeded with the recipe, making the filling, baking the filled quiche, and then going back to the beginning to make the crust dough, so they had the experience of actually making the recipe in its entirety. So what’s the point of me telling you all that back-story? The point is, I then had two disks of dough in my refrigerator – hence my utter brilliance in making these lovely wild mushroom tarts for Father’s Day to go with our Steak au Poivre.

You will notice from the photos that I decided to make three rectangular tarts, while the recipe instructs to make a 9-inch round tart. That is because I had two sets of dough and I also knew that with my limited freezer space – two long ones would fit much better than a big old round one.  I have to say, in general, I really do like the rectangle pans better than the round.  You never have to worry about the center of the crust becoming soggy and they are easier to cut and to serve. So if you enjoy making sweet and/or savory tarts, you might consider investing in this great size and shape too.

Now, as for the wild mushrooms, use whatever type you like. Costco sells a large container of wild mushroom mix and also a large bag (as you’ll see pictured here) of dried shiitake mushrooms. And just about all grocery stores sell small packages in either their produce or gourmet sections, as does Trader Joe’s.  That reminds me, when do you suppose Costco and Trader Joe’s are going to start paying me for all the free advertising I give them here?!? Wishful thinking… love ‘em both anyhow!

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Right # 1 – Pizza! It is one of the most popular foods for a huge majority of Americans. Why? Because it is packed with flavor; you’ve got the great bread, with melted gooey goodness, and tasty toppings. It can be eaten in hand and is the perfect food to share. It is fabulous eaten hot or cold.

Right #2 – Chocolate! Another all time favorite of people world-wide. Why? For starters, chocolate melts at about 98 degrees and not so coincidentally, our body temperature is about 98 degrees. The soothing quality achieved  by merely placing a piece of chocolate in your mouth and just having it melt away is simply luxurious and luscious. Plus chocolate is known to be a mild mood elevator, stimulating brainwaves and pushing your stress levels down. When your stress levels lower, you become more relaxed which in turn is beneficial to your health. Chocolate also raises antioxidant levels in the blood, which in turn help fight any foreign bodies that can cause illnesses. And of course there is the benefit your taste buds feel when consuming chocolate-which keeps you in touch with that happy little child within.

Excellent overall - combining Pizza and Chocolate! Sounds like the perfect food to me! You’ve got the great bread, the gooey melted chocolate, which not so coincidentally are also the tasty toppings.  You eat it out of hand either hot or cold, and you’ll want to share so your friends can ooh and aah along with you!

But…. before we get to the recipe of the day, I have to once again share a post from one of my favorite bloggers (heck one of my favorite writers) out there. Cheryl Sternman Rule of “5 Second Rule” has such talent, humor, humanity, and style that I just can’t help but share.  Sure, she’s on my Blogroll (in fact, right near the top) but you really must read her post from yesterday, please click this LINK, and thank me later.

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