Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

I poached this recipe from my sister's Pinterest, but when I clicked on the link, it went nowhere. There was one recipe in the picture's caption, but it appeared the picture was taken from another site with another recipe. This kind of internet black hole is increasingly common on Pinterest, and it irks me. But that's not really the point here. The point is that I made something with quinoa in it.

Since there wasn't really a recipe, I just sort of made it up based on some snippets and what was around.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
chicken broth
garlic
---
1 lb lean ground turkey
4 red bell peppers
frozen corn
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 4-oz can diced green chiles
onion powder
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Combine the quinoa, 2 cups chicken broth, and garlic (I used about 1 tsp minced but any form will do). You can also cook the quinoa in water, but I was trying to add a little extra flavor. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid and the little quinoas have exploded open or whatever they do.

Meanwhile, cook the turkey in a large pan until it is no longer pink. Add the green chiles, tomato paste, corn, onion powder, and whatever else sounds good to you. Mix well. Stir in the cheese.

Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove the ribs and seeds from the insides. Scoop the filling into the peppers and stand them in a baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

These turned out pretty well (sorry, no pic). I would probably make them a little spicier if I made them again, and you definitely need to add salt and pepper. Some black beans in the stuffing and maybe avocado on the side would be fun. Other than that, not much could improve upon them other than handfuls of cheese and other delicious things that would pretty much cancel out the health points you get for making something with quinoa.

Erin Go Bragh

While I'm pretty sure every bro in America claims Irish heritage, I think our claim is legit on both sides. Thus, we had to celebrate C's first St. Patrick's Day properly (let's leave aside the fact that actual Irish people most likely do not celebrate it like we do, but Americans sure have a knack for appropriating other cultures' celebrations and turning them into drinking holidays. And I'm all for that. Because AMERICA).

Also, our Upstate family was in town for the weekend, so we had to do it up right.

 

Had lots of cute outfits lined up. Pics were a general fail.

So here's this one again just for good measure:

Meeting Nana (he was not very social at the introductory dinner on Friday night)

Uncle Trev

On Sunday night, we had a big (very big) family (lots of family) dinner with a great braised beef recipe that BA found and other fun festive wares. I made this Guinness beer cheese--I think I've had it pinned for over a year but can now vouch for it--it's a keeper.

Prep work.

A good time was had by all, but little man was all tuckered out.

Too much green beer. 

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I saw this recipe on Pinterest on the precise day that I needed to use up some bananas that were a wee past their prime, so here you go.

I made a few modifications, so will reproduce here for your benefit. They turned out well, and are a good snack with less guilt, as they contain no sugar or flour. I'd say they are one of those things that are just good to have around, or would even be good to take to a new mom--they are easy to grab at any time of day, and oatmeal is said to help with milk supply. Who knew?

These are not particularly sweet, which I liked--muffins are often dessert masquerading as a healthy snack these days--but use sugar or more honey if you find them lacking.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins
makes 12 muffins

2.5 cups cooking oats
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt (I used one container of Fage 2%)
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a muffin tin.

Pulse the oats in a food processor for about 10 seconds.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and blend until well mixed and the oats are smooth.

At this point, feel free to add chocolate chips or anything you'd like to dress it up a little bit.

Fill muffin tins with batter and bake for about 16-18 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Ta-da! Easy peasy.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Chicken

We had another lovely Downton Dinner last night, though all of the usual suspects were either sick, tired, or otherwise engaged. So it was just me and BA, but this dinner was a hit anyway. It could easily be expanded, and can be served at room temperature or even cold, so you don't have to time it precisely. It came together really quickly and requires about the same skill set as making spaghetti, so I highly recommend it.

Original source here, via Pinterest. I added the chicken and modified the rest somewhat.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Chicken

I grabbed a pack of chicken tender strips at the grocery (easier than cutting up chicken breasts) and marinated them beforehand. I just made up the marinade, but it was approximately like so:

juice of one (leftover fridge straggler) lime
1/4 cup hot chili oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ginger (in any form)

mix it all up

toss in a bag with the chicken and marinate in fridge for however many hours you have

For the noodles:

1/2 cup sesame oil -- found in international/specialty section of grocery store

1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes/crushed red pepper -- I used 1 tbsp and it had plenty of kick, so don't be heavy handed with this unless your crew can handle the heat

6 tbsp soy sauce

6 tbsp honey

1/2 cup sliced green onion

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup peanuts

1 box linguine -- I used whole wheat

Put the water on to boil. Cook pasta and drain while you make the rest. 

Heat red pepper flakes in sesame oil over medium heat for 2 min, stirring. Remove from heat.

Strain out pepper flakes, reserving oil.

Add to oil: 6 tbsp soy sauce and 6 tbsp honey. Whisk together.

Toss the noodles with the sauce in a large bowl until well coated. 

Chop and combine the peanuts, green onion, and cilantro. As you can see, I just threw it all in the mini Cuisinart.

Cook that chicken. 

Put chicken on noodles and top with peanut mixture.

and there you have it. A quick and easy dinner, and it was even better (cold) for lunch today.

The only changes I might make would be to make it a little peanuttier--perhaps whisk in a bit of peanut butter with the soy sauce and honey. Also, if I'd had another lime on hand, it would be good to squeeze some lime juice over the top of the whole thing before serving. All in all, definitely a keeper. 

French Toast Bread Pudding

I made this on Sunday morning because I had a lot of random bread to use up, and I thought it would be good to post--this is a good time of year to have a solid breakfast/brunch recipe up your sleeve. It can be made the night before so all you have to do in the morning is bake and eat. It's a "skinny" recipe, so you can feel less guilty about over-indulging at those holiday parties.

Ingredients
serves 4-6

4 cups (about 8 slices) bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (whole wheat would be least sinful, but use whatever you have on hand)
4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
3/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
zest of 1 orange (or splash of OJ if you don't have an orange on hand)
powdered sugar for garnish, if desired

Lightly spray an 8x8 dish with cooking spray.

Add the bread to the dish. With a standing or handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and bananas until smooth. Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in the milk, syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and zest, and mix until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. **If you don't have overnight, it works fine to make it in the morning and let it sit at room temperature for a while until most of the liquid is soaked up**

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

If bread mixture has been refrigerated, remove from fridge and let sit at room temp for about 15 minutes. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until center is set and a knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Sift powdered sugar over top, if using. Cut/scoop and serve. You can use more maple syrup, but it might not be necessary.

I did not take a pic before we devoured it, so send one this way if you make this and I'll put it up!

Jar Cookies: Autumn Style

I decided to re-visit the ol' favorite cookie mix (originally posted for Valentine's Day here and here) and give it an update for fall.

For this round, I set out to use Halloween M&Ms, but I couldn't find them (are those not a thing? Did I make them up? It's entirely possible). So I got "fall" M&Ms and Reese's pieces, which seemed Halloween-ish enough.

I left everything else the same (including the chocolate chips), but subbed the Reese's pieces for M&Ms in a few of the jars. I made 4 total: 2 Reese's, 1 M&Ms, and one with a mix of both. I think Reese's are actually a little smaller than M&Ms, so it made it easier to fit everything in the jar. Good to know in the event that you have trouble with that, as I sometimes do. 

Reese's on the left; M&Ms on the right

I made one batch of the Reese's ones right away to take over to a friend's house to watch some football games. We can all vouch for the Reese's being a superb substitution. These make really soft cookies, perfect for eating by pieces or halves so that all the calories fall out (a.k.a Jenn Brown style). Not a crumb was left by the end of the night.

I zhushed up the rest of the jars and gave them as various hostess and thank-you gifts. All in all, a successful and tasty endeavor. I'll definitely experiment with other add-ins and substitutions for different holiday combos in the future. 

If you want to play around with your own, I'll email you my files for the recipe card with instructions that I tie on the jars when I give them away--let me know if you want them. Here was the latest:

Katie's Apple Pie

This is a guest post from my friend Katie...it looks tasty and very timely. I also like that it turns out pretty in a rough and rustic way--no need to be perfect. Enjoy!

the minute i found out that baby A was on his/her way into our lives, i screamed. literally. at my desk. in an office of 600 people in the middle of midtown manhattan. i then followed up the scream with "i need to get pregnant!" for some odd reason, no one thought anything of it. (no i'm not getting pregnant anytime soon).

i have been friends with boots since the 7th grade. we go wayy back. she found out that she was pregnant after dancing the night away at my wedding and honoring me by being one of my beautiful bridesmaids. 

as soon as i heard that boots was blogging about the baby and everything that goes along with pregnancy, i knew i wanted to contribute in even the slightest way. i cannot claim that i came up with this to-die-for recipe, but i actually made it. that's a huge step for me being that boots coined me best as a "faux bride" (in the most loving of ways). you see, i don't cook. my husband does. once i realized that he was going to send me back to where i came from, i decided to roll up my sleeves and make a pie. all i have to say is that if i can do it, you can do it. 

enjoy!

xo

Cast-Iron Skillet Apple Pie

2 lb. Granny Smith apples

2 lb. Braeburn apples

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 (14.1 oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts

1 egg white

2 T. granulated sugar

Peel and slice apples, toss with sugar and cinnamon.  Melt butter in 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 min. or until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and place one piecrust in skillet over brown sugar mixture.  Spoon apple mixture over piecrust and top with remaining piecrust.  Whisk egg white until foamy.  Brush top of piecrust with egg white;  sprinkle with 2 T. granulated sugar. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 min. or until golden brown and bubbly.  

Recipe Roundup, Pumpkin Edition

This isn't really an installment of Cooking with Baby, as I've been uninspired by the size referents lately. We could perhaps stretch it a bit and say that it's likely that Baby is the size of some pumpkin somewhere in the world--pumpkin is what all these recipes have in common. But I made a lot of stuff this weekend, so I wanted to share.

the size of a pumpkin.

I am not quite sure what spurred the pumpkin-a-thon...perhaps the cooler temperatures had me zeroing in on fall recipes, or (more likely) maybe it's just that pumpkin is really a vehicle for cinnamon and sugar and other delicious things. Whatever the reason, it happened.

First up: Pumpkin Poppers. I used this recipe, which was sent on by Kate. I made some modifications that she had suggested (more pumpkin, less flour) to make them less cakey and more moist. BA liked them, but I'm not sold. They were better when Kate made them. Maybe I'll have to eat a couple more today to see if they improved with age.

Next: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls. We went to a lovely dinner at the home of some friends, and I was searching for something to take (we no longer have a stash of wine in the house that I can grab for this purpose). BA reminded me of the time we had a party and someone brought a coffee cake for us to eat the next morning--how nice it was to not have to worry about breakfast on top of the dinner/party dishes. So I set out for a breakfast recipe, and this is what I came up with. This makes two pans/batches/circles/whatever.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
for the rolls:
2 pkgs Pillsbury Crescent dough (if you can find it, use this new nifty version they have called "recipe version" or something that is seamless, so you don't have to press the seams together. Otherwise, the original kind works fine) (If I were really good, I'd make pastry dough, but...not there yet)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent roll dough (you'll do one roll at a time). If necessary, pinch seams together to form one long rectangle. Put cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until well combined. Spread half the mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2" border around the edges. Starting at the long end, roll the dough up. Cut into one-inch pieces. Place around a 9" cake pan (see picture below). Bake for 26-30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Remove and allow to cool slightly before frosting.

for the frosting:
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp canned pumpkin

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

So, I wanted these to have more cinnamon, but I don't have the capacity to gauge whether this is normal or just my current taste-bud situation. You could add more, or sprinkle over the top before frosting. Or not, if that's weird.

The only annoying thing about this recipe is that it uses relatively little pumpkin, so if you've opened a can, you have most of it left over. I wanted to use the leftover pumpkin before it got gross, so I dug out this little recipe. It's based on one I pulled out of a magazine several years ago, but I've made changes.

Ravioli with Pumpkin Sauce
1 package ravioli (such as Buitoni) (I used tortellini because I had some at home)
1 can (approx) pumpkin
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp minced garlic, or 1 clove
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, or heavy cream

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the ravioli according to the package directions. Be careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside (drain well, because these pastas retain water in their little crevices and that can water down the sauce).

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and briefly saute the garlic until soft (I've also cut up an onion and put it in at this point). Stir together the broth, pumpkin, sugar, and all the spices. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated (10 min or so).

Remove from heat and stir in the cream or whatever dairy you are using. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon ravioli onto plates and top with sauce. If you'd like, add grated parmesan on top, or some fresh herbs, or whatever makes you feel fancy.

Perfect Roast Chicken

So the little turnip posed a bit of a challenge...I found yet another source that likened baby to an onion (this week is just a bust, really), so that worked much better with the dinner plan.

 I made this roast chicken, via Martha, which really does turn out just about perfect. I followed the recipe almost exactly, so I've just linked to it here. I served it with risotto, sauteed spinach, and salad.

The recipe calls for discarding the onions at the end, but I kept them for other uses because I thought they were nice and roasty. I used some to make an onion risotto that was underwhelming, so we'll just move on from that.

I also used more of the onions and the leftover spinach to make a quiche (my new favorite way to breathe life into leftovers), so I thought I would make good on a promise and share my favorite "lighter" quiche base.

This one had the aforementioned onions and spinach with some chopped breakfast sausage (also leftover), some red pepper flakes, and a little garlic. I used cheddar cheese because that's what I had on hand, but you can amend depending on what you're tossing in. Turned out pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

"Lighter" Quiche Base
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 small (personal size) container nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cheese

premade pie crust: I use a regular Pillsbury one or a Wholly Wholesome whole-wheat one from Whole Foods if we're feeling healthy.

Prebake crust at 400 for about 10 minutes.

Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 40-45 min or until set. Ta da!

Let it cool a bit before cutting. Cut out one piece and throw in the trash because the dog may or may not have licked it.

Life Lesson Guacamole

 final score notwithstanding, a lovely time was had by all

If you've ever been to family dinner at the Big House, chances are you've been given a job by the chef. Chances are good that you didn't really want this job. Chances are also good that the job had something to do with Dr. J's Life Lesson Guacamole. So you probably know this recipe, but I felt that it needed to be captured. Especially in time for football season.

First, a note from the chef himself--

My definition of life lessons:

Those things it is imperative for a father to impart to his daughters to prepare them for life in general and boys in particular.

Don't forget the the cilantro

Dad

So this isn't the only life lesson (see also: "Just say, 'they need to establish the run'"), but it's one of the tastiest. As it was forced upon imparted to many guests over time, well beyond just the daughters, it became known as Life Lesson Guacamole.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
good salsa
red onion, chopped
2 jalapenos
cilantro
salt + pepper
fresh lime
[Ed. note: Dad doesn't bother with trivial things like measurements. Sorry. It will work out]

Scoop out the avocado and add to a bowl ("a wooden bowl adds 'panache'"). Add salsa. Finely chop jalapenos (remove seeds) and add to desired spiciness. Do not touch your eyes.

Chop cilantro--you can use a mini food processor--and add to taste with salt, pepper, and lime juice (the lime keeps it from turning brown). Serve fresh. Don't be afraid of salt or cilantro.

If refrigerating, add one of the avocado pits to the bowl to keep fresh (I don't know if this really does anything, but it's a rule). 

I was unable to get to it before the hungry masses, so consider this an action shot

Cider Smash & Fried Green Apples

Welcome back to Bourbon & Boots, one delusional pregnant woman’s corner of the internet. Today, we will be pretending it’s fall.

Coming up with apple recipes in August/early September is not as simple as one might guess. I think we would all happily make the mental leap to yummy fall apple treats, but the reality is that it’s not truly apple season yet. Bad grocery store apples are guh-ross. So I have tried to present two solutions that address this reality. The first is a delicious adult beverage that is fall-ish, but uses sparkling apple cider in lieu of real apples. The second recipe uses (green) apples, but works with summer foods like grilled meats or fish.

Cider Smash

A bourbon drink, obvi

Pour 2 ounces bourbon and ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice into a tall Champagne-type glass. Top with chilled sparkling apple cider. If you wish, garnish with a thin red-apple slice.

Cider smash, far left. But feel free to drink all of these. 

Photo courtesy of Martha, not me

This makes one cocktail, which is a hilarious joke. I am going to math it up for you to make a larger batch for all to enjoy. 

To make 6 drinks (ok let’s be honest…4), combine the following:

1 ½ cups bourbon

3 cups cider

3 tsp lemon juice

This reveals an easy ratio. Just dump some bourbon in a pitcher and then add maybe about twice as much cider and some lemon juice. I think it would also be a pretty punch with some apple and lemon slices floating on top—in that case, 2 bottles sparkling cider to one (750ml) bottle bourbon. If you’ve ever been to one of our Derby or holiday parties, you know I love a punch. Guests do too. Cheers!

Fried Green Apples

These are intended to top or accompany your main dish—especially good with pork or fish

4 apples, thinly sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp minced garlic

3 tbsp cider vinegar

½ cup sugar

thyme

salt + pepper

Saute the onions in a little oil or butter (or even the bacon fat, if you're making the bacon-horseradish accompaniment below) until soft. Add the apples and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until tender, but not soggy (can you tell these are highly detailed instructions that I wrote down for myself?)

We like this with a bacon-horseradish sour cream, which I will find in Dr J's cookbook and add in later. 

Lemon Chicken

The current fruit of the week led me on a search for a quick and easy dinner, because I wanted to whip up something relatively healthful now that I feel like cooking again. I did indeed make this tonight, and it was simple and tasty. I particularly liked that it requires relatively few ingredients.

Lemon Chicken
original source, via Pinterest

2 tbsp lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (buy 2 large lemons)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp rosemary, finely minced
2-4 lbs of bone-in, skin-on chicken (the grocery did not have bone-in chicken, so I used boneless, skinless breasts. Changes noted below)
2-3 tbsp butter, melted
salt + pepper

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and salt/pepper--about 1 tsp each--in a large Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and shake well to blend. Place the chicken pieces in the bag, press out the air, and seal. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken (skin side up, if relevant) in a baking dish. Reserve the marinade in the bag. Brush the top of each chicken piece with melted butter.

For boneless, skinless breasts, bake for about 40 minutes. For bone-in, bake 50-55 minutes until skin is crispy and brown. Halfway through baking, pour the reserved marinade over the chicken. Remove from the oven and let rest.

then take an unfortunate iPhone pic due to dead camera battery

I served it with brown rice and sauteed spinach. 

Peach Barbeque Sauce

After reading the Week 11 Cooking with Baby, my mom emailed to say that they had a bunch of fresh figs they'd been given by a family friend (and fig farmer, apparently). The letter of the week is F. So Figgy Focaccia made its debut at Sunday family dinner and a delicious time was had by all.

sans bleu cheese pour moi.

We can now enthusiastically recommend that recipe.
-----

As one of my favorite aunts pointed out, peaches > shrimp. This is true, so this week I opted to go with a peach recipe. However, I also acknowledge that peaches are seasonal, which limits the frequency with which one could enjoy this recipe. For a less seasonal option, I point you to this shrimp recipe, which we have made and enjoyed.

I have not made this exact peach barbeque sauce, but I did make a large batch of peach-bourbon sauce 2 or so years ago that I canned and gave as gifts—this recipe is very close, but probably better. If you make this (or any other featured recipe), send me a picture and I’ll post it.

This would be a good recipe for the kitchen-shy, as the chopping is really the most complicated part, and the measurements do not have to be exact. It looks like a long list of ingredients, but the recipe has only two steps. You can do it.

This sauce is from the Blackberry Farm Cookbook and would be excellent with pork—including ribs—or chicken. Or anything, really.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

makes about 1 quart

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 Vidalia (or other sweet onion), finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

6 peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped

½ cup bourbon (you don’t have to use your best bourbon, but make sure it’s something drinkable*. If you’re stuck, email me or BA)

not everyone has a bourbon bar? oh.

½ cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup Dijon mustard

2 tsp chili powder

1. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onion is very soft. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the peaches, bourbon, vinegar, honey, mustard, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes until the peaches are tender.

2. Transfer the mixture into a food processor and process until very smooth. Cool to room temperature before using.

*As is the case with wine, you generally want to cook with something you would drink. From this spread, I would probably use the Maker’s or the Buffalo Trace (in decanter). If you only have Jack Daniel’s, as many people do, that will work just fine. Just know that it’s Tennessee whiskey, which is not the same thing as bourbon. For this purpose, that’s a technicality. That concludes this lesson.

Lime-cilantro vinaigrette

I'm not actually a major fan of plums, so I'm going with lime for this installment of Cooking with Baby (h/t to Catherine for that disturbing yet apt label).

Even before searching, I was like...margaritas and key lime pie: TOO OBVIOUS. While I do love both of those things, you can easily Google them if you want to make them or, really, just go to a restaurant. I'd like to provide ideas that are a little more interesting but still easy and versatile. Let's just say that not all my friends are wizards in the kitchen--though I've always thought this stemmed more from lack of confidence than lack of actual skill. I believe in you, friends!

On that note, I present:

Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

Disclaimer: unlike the rest of the recipes on this blog so far, I have not actually made this one. Hence the stolen photo. Your feedback is welcome.

Original source, via Pinterest

Ingredients

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tbsp white or white wine vinegar

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped*

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp spicy brown or dijon mustard

3/4 cup olive oil

* for the herbally uncertain among us (you know who you are...) cilantro looks like this:

Blend the lime juice, vinegar, and cilantro together in a blender until smooth. Add the brown sugar, garlic, and salt; blend again until smooth. Spoon the mustard into the mixture. Turn the blender on and slowly pour the olive oil into the dressing mixture in a thin stream; blend until thoroughly combined.

Put on a salad or something. 

Exciting news! After many, many requests from readers (2), I have decided to activate commenting. Also, I was lonely. I will still moderate them--do you hear that, mean people I don't know??--but now we can see each other. This will be an experiment for the time being. This is more complicated than I originally thought, so they might not show up right away. 

Figgy Focaccia

So all last week (when fetus was a fig), I kept thinking to myself "what IS figgy pudding?" I still don't really know, but somebody, at some point, thought it was appropriate to demand it of holiday carolers.

This is not figgy pudding, but you can learn what it looks like here. We'll leave it at that.

Then I randomly came across this recipe for fig focaccia, and then I had more thoughts. What if every week I tried to find a recipe related to the fruit or item that provides the size reference for bebe? I realize that this has a very weird element--find a way to eat the thing that is the size of your baby--but it also provides another dimension in addition to me just answering the same questions every week. I'm sure that's not thrilling to read, and it can feel like I'm answering a survey in a vacuum (like Survey Thursday, but alone).

So let's give it a whirl and see how weird things get.

Bachelorette Brownies

Before the brownies, some background.

About three years ago, BA was in the throes of studying for the Bar exam. Professionally sanctioned waterboarding, basically (for student and spouse alike). You know that thing that students do, where they claim "their" seats in a classroom over the course of the semester, even though there's no assigned seating? Apparently law students do this too, and BA always sat two seats over from Miss KC in their review course.

One day, the person who usually sat between them was absent (you've got to have a REALLY good reason to miss a Bar review session), so BA and KC struck up a conversation. Probably about whether their seatmate was dead. Long story short, KC's boyfriend was from Upstate New York as well, and went to high school with BA. They were a year apart, but had played hockey together. Post-college, both KC and the Upstate Boy resided here in the 'Ville.

So BA comes home and tells me I've just got to meet this girl, and that he thinks "we'd really get along." So he invites her over for dinner. Most wives would raise an eyebrow at their husbands bringing the pretty blonde from Bar review home for dinner, but we'll not go there. Most wives would also think that their husbands had drastically and tragically over-simplified what it means for girls to "really get along." But I went with it, and probably went with some wine, and wouldn't you know that we became fast friends.

Fast forward about two years from THAT, and Miss KC and her Upstate Boy moved in across the street from us. This was probably the most exciting development since margaritas in a bag. We really do borrow cups of sugar from one another (if by sugar I mean wine or cheese or cocktail napkins), and it's basically great all around. She's a lovely lady, always quick with advice and up for a good time--whether it's traipsing around town or watching Downton Abbey in soft pants. The boys are thick as thieves as well. They're true neighborfriends and we're so grateful.

Now for the brownies. Miss KC and her Upstate Boy are tying the knot this May (hooray!) and this weekend is the much-anticipated bachelorette. We begin with dinner at her casa [side note: a bachelorette party from which I can stumble walk home and sleep in my own bed? Yes please! Also, we are old.]. This morning, I was asked to be in charge of dessert. I had planned to make my go-to sea salt and caramel brownies, but was foiled by the lack of caramels in the pantry and was, frankly, too lazy to go to the grocery. But I had some other good supplies, and an idea formed. Next, an email exchange that went something like this:

Me:
brownies w/ Reese's cups

S'mores brownies

S'mores bars WITH REESES CUPS

please indicate your preference.

KC: How is this a real question? OBVI s'mores bars with reese's cups!

Me: Well, we haven't gotten to that all important how-do-you-feel-about-marshmallows point in our relationship, so I wanted to make sure you didn't have some weird aversion or something. 

KC: Quite the opposite.  I am embarrassed about my deep love of marshmallows, the likely reason we've never discussed  them.

And Bachelorette Brownies were born. I started with a recipe from here (yay Pinterest), but made some changes based on deciding to do whatever the f* I want, thankyouverymuch.

For the crust:
About 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (measurement approximate. Just grind a bunch up. I used the mini Cuisinart, but smashing would be fine and oh so fun)
1/2 stick butter (4 Tbsp), melted
1 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

Other ingredients:
A box of brownie mix--I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate
Whatever other ingredients are called for by your brownie mix
Reese's peanut butter cups
Marshmallows

As suggested by the professional recipe blogger, I lined the pan with foil, leaving an overhang so that, theoretically, you just lift those babies out when you're done.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt together. Drizzle the butter over the top and mix with a fork until all the crumbs are evenly moistened.

Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan in an even layer.

Make your brownie mix! You are a culinary wizard! If you want to make it from scratch, the link above includes directions. I had the box in the pantry, so...smoke 'em if you got 'em. I poured about half of the brownie mix over the crust, so that it was entirely covered.

Cut up the Reese's and sprinkle them evenly over the brownie batter. You could also use actual peanut butter, but...again, I was pantry foraging and Lord knows I do not need those in there as temptation.

Pour the rest of the brownie batter over the Reese's layer.

Bake for 22-27 minutes or so--this will vary depending on your brownie mix and such, so I just kind of set it for 20 minutes and kept watching after that. You want to take them out before they are completely done. Remove brownies from oven and switch it to broiler. Place the marshmallows on top of the brownie layer. You could use minis, but I had super jumbo ones left over from a s'mores bar we had for a friend's birthday.

Return to oven and hover, checking frequently. I like my marshmallows golden, so I wanted them to get melty enough but not burn them. I hate burnt marshmallow. This may require frequent checking and maybe moving the pan closer to or further from the broiler.

I had hoped they would spread more, but they made kind of a weird dinner-roll effect. I was able to smoosh them down gently as they cooled (careful! Do not burn yourself on the liquid hot magma within!), so maybe a little better?

Despite their unfortunate resemblance to Krystal burgers, they were delicious.