DB: Strudel - not one of my favorite things!!!!

The May Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of CoCo Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafe's of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Sadly, my camera is broken and the disposable one I used to capture my attempt... well, stunk. So no pics! The result for me was ok... it looked great and came together easily. I let my dough rest for a full 2 hours so it stretched out very thin, very easily. I made mine with yummy raspberry and rhubarb filling - the filling was great! But the strudel itself... ehhh. I just didnt think it tasted that great. The butter that was melted and spread everywhere didnt really come through with the buttery flavor I love in pastries, and there was no sweetness (even though I sprinkled mine with vanilla sugar!) It tasted sort of cardboard ish and I didnt love the texture of the bread crumbs at all :( Disappointing! I guess crisp (apple) strudel ISNT one of my favorite things, and I had high hopes!

Paste function isnt working in dumb blogger right now for some reason, so no recipe here!!!

Strawberry Banana Pancakes

Best pancakes Ryan or I have ever had! I made these awhile ago (then again this weekend) thanks to his suggestion that I use up some almost-past-their-prime berries we had... wowsa! Very yummy. The first time, I just used this banana pancake recipe, adding chopped up berries at the end. This weekend I healthied it up a bit by using Canola instead of butter and half whole wheat flour - still just as yummy!

Recipe - Revised (based on wm sonoma recipe)

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (half whole wheat)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 small, very ripe banana, peeled and mashed

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 pint of strawberries, cleaned hulled and chopped

Maple syrup for serving

Directions:
Heat skillet over medium with a little butter to coat. (just used spray)
Combine all ingredients and beat until just combined (few lumps remaining). Pour using a 1/4 cup measuring cup for consistency onto pan. When the edges start to set and there are bubbles popping through, flip the pancake. Finish cooking and serve. Repeat until all are done.

TIP: separate the eggs and beat the whites a bit before adding to batter - it helps a bit to make the pancakes fluffy!
Serve with syrup.
SO GOOD

Panko-Fried-Mango

This is the dessert I made as part two of Platinum Chef 7. Again, the ingredients for this round are: Mango, Mint, Yogurt, Panko, and Bok Choy. This dish for me had all but the bok choy.

I peeled, pitted and diced a mango and then combined in a bowl with: about 1/2 cup of panko, 1/2 a cap of cocnut milk (or enough to bind the panko) and 10-15 mint leaves, minced. Then, I pan friend them in a bit of butter and served over vanilla frozen yogurt. Really good! May make it again, but with toasted coconut instead of the panko.

Mango Lamb Steaks

I made this dish as one of my two entries for Platinum Chef 7. This month's ingredients are: Mint, Yogurt, Bok Choy, Mango, and Panko.

The ingredients screamed lamb to me, which was perfect since I had a couple lamp strips in the freezer from a recent trip to Whole Foods. My plan was to season the lamp and cook it like steak, then top with a mixture of Mango, chives (growing in our yard!), mint, lime, and yogurt and serve it all over wilted Bok Choy. I saves the Panko for dessert.

In looking for a good spice rub for the lamb, I found this recipe on Epicurious - basically my whole idea minus the yogurt - so... at least I know it would be good if not very original! The spice rub was fantastic - very potent! THe smoke from it was a bit TOO potent though... Ryan and I were coughing up a fit! But it was worth it - we both loved the combination of spices. The mango/mint/yogurt topping cooled it nicely.

Lamb

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 large lamb steaks

Mix the spices together. Combine oil and garlic and brush over both sides of steaks. Rub steaks in spice mix and cook on a skillet to desired doneness (same cook time at NY Strips for my steaks). If you have a grill, I recommend using it!

Mango Topping

In a food processor or blender combine:

1 mango, peeled and pitted

about 10 mint leaves

2 pieces of chives

juice of 1 lime

Blend to mostly smooth, a bit chunky. Then stir in about 1/4 cup of greek yogurt. All ingredients to taste.

Bok Choy

I just washed and chopped the bok choy bunches in half, and wilted them in a skillet with a little oil.

Plate as follows: Bok choy on the bottom, then lamb steak, and mango puree over it all.

Very yummy!

Top Chef - My Take

If you watch Top Chef and have not yet seen last week's episode - stop reading now! Spoilers ahead!

Are you gone?

OK. Last week on Top Chef Ryan and I completely disagreed with which team lost. In this challenge, the contestants were in teams of two and had to create a dish using three random words from an improv club. The words were a color, a food, and a feeling. There were two teams at the bottom: one teams words were Orange, Turned-On, and Asparagus and their fatal flaw was that there was too much on the plate and the food just was not that good. The other team's words were Fuschia Drunken Polish Sausage. They decided that they were too good for the Polish Sausage and refused to serve it at all. Instead they served fish (????). Their dish tasted good... but was missing the food they were assigned. They also behaved in a very klassy way by taking a shot of tequila as they served the food - in front of their guests - and did not serve them anything! Yikes!

Needless to say, the Polish Sausage team stayed and a chef on the asparagus team went home. I am sure that if the asparagus team completely ignored the rules too, their dish could have been yummier. The Sausage team basically said "we arent going to cook a sausage in some beer and serve it. No"

WELL. Ryan and I were able to immediately come up with an awesome idea for those three words. He came up with Hangover Food - breakfast and I expanded on it.

So - my take on Drunken Fuschia Polish Sausage (and if lil ol me can come up with something good I know they could too!) This was really really good - I would even make it again. I am sure the Top CHef's could have prettied it up, I am not a "pretty" cook, but I think this proves that the sausage team could have turned on their creativity and made something good AND within the rules!

Drunken Fuschia Polish Sausage

(or, Sausage Sweet Potato Hash Fritatta with Raspberry Pancakes and Raspberry Mimosas)

Fritatta Hash:

1 sweet potato, cubed

1 small onion, diced

1/2 large ring of polish sausage, cubed

1 yellow pepped, diced

(I only used about 1/2 or 1/3 of the hash for the two of us, the rest I put inhte fridge and made the next day)

5 eggs

~4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

splash of milk

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high. Add the sweet potato, onions, and sausage and saute until soft and just browning. Add the peppers and let soften just. put extra aside and fill an omelet-sized pan with the hash, over medium heat - so it looks to be about omelet sized. Add the eggs (beaten with milk) and cook until almost set. Flip the egg (I had my husband flip, or just wait until egg is set through if you arent a flipper). Add cheddar and cook until melted. Serve in slices.

Pancakes

I used America's Test Kitchen recipe for the pancakes base (which was great - nice and fluffy!):

1 cup flour

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg, separated

2 T butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients together. Combine the milk and buttermilk in a 2 cup (or larger) measuring cup (or bowl). Whisk in egg white. Mix in the yolk and butter and add to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

I added 1 pint of fresh raspberries (minus a few for serving)

Drop 1/4 cupfuls onto oiled skillet (med high - if the pancakes are browning too quickly lower the heat) - give enough space to breathe. 2-3 minutes on side 1, 1-2 minutes on side 2. I like to keep them warm in a 200 degree oven on a plate covered in foil while you cook the rest.

Sauce

Amounts are approximate...

1/2 bag of frozen raspberries (probably 1-2 cups) plus about 1/3 cup of Orange juice and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar in a small saucepan heated over high until berries start to break down. Add about 1/2 cup of maple syrup and heat to boiling until syrup thickens. Serve over pancakes (if I was a top chef and had time/wasnt starving by this point I would have strained it, but, well, Im not and I didnt!)

Drinks

I didnt make these alcoholic because a) neither of us had a need for the hair of the dog and b) i would prefer it with champagne, but Ryan is allergic and I didnt want to open a bottle at 10am just for me, and vodka wasnt appealing to me.

These would be great as mimosas though, and I might just make them sometime!

Put aside some of the raspberry mixture before adding the syrup. Spoon into wine glasses and top with orange juice. Add a fresh berry for garnish. Add champage or vodka as needed ;)

Strawberries and Mint

I have always loved the flavor combination of strawberries and mint. Is this a normal combo? I feel like it is weird but I love it. I got soem berries from the store that were so-so so I didnt want to just serve them plain.... so I minced about 15 mint leaves (chiffonade then cut those crosswise so the pieces are teeny - big pieces of mint leaves are just way too overwhelming) and tossed them with a pint of sliced strawberries and about 2 spoonfuls of sugar (to help draw our the juices). Then let the macerate for an hour or two in the fridge.

Served over really good vanilla ice cream... heavenly.

Chocolate 'Covered' Banana Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes to bring to a party. There was going to be a 20 month old there who cant yet have peanuts or coconuts (or booze probably!) so I wanted to make some cupcakes with something else to kick them up. I had saved this recipe ages ago from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody that I used to make cupcakes (the explosion of overripe bananas in my freezer helped too!)

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup shortening

8 ounce Mascarpone cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup mashed bananas (I used 2 overripe frozen then thawed bananas)

Cream together the sugar, shortening and Mascarpone cheese. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. Add banana and buttermilk. Mix together all dry ingredients, then combine sugar mixture with dry ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. (This made 22 cupcakes, on the full side, and took about 15ish minutes to be done).

I picked up the April issue of Cooks Illustrated and decided to test out their "Foolproof Chocolate Frosting' claim. After all, my mom's birthday is coming up and she loves a good chocolate frosting. This recipe lived up to its claims: easy decadently deeply chocolatey...

Foolproof Chocolate Frosting

Makes 3 cups

20 T unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

pinch salt

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

8 ounces chocolate (I used unsweetened), melted and cooled slightly

In food processor (NOT your KASM), process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 sec. Scrape sides as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process to just combined, 5-10 sec. Scrape sides, and add chocolate and pulse to smooth and creamy, 10-15 sec. Frosting can by used immediately or held (longer than 3 hrs, chill covered and let stand at room temp for an hour prior to use). Yummmmm

Strawberry Crepes

Ryan requested that I try making crepes when I asked for breakfast suggestions last weekend. Man they are HARD! Definitely a few went in hte trash! But then I got the hang of it... yum! I used this recipe from william sonoma, with the addition of some vanilla beans mmm.

These crepes can be used with a variety of sweet or savory fillings. They're the perfect foundation for our souffléd crepes
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbs. melted unsalted butter, plus 8 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
In a blender, combine the milk, egg, flour, the 1/2 Tbs. melted butter and the salt and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours. In a crepe pan over medium heat, melt 1 tsp. of the butter to coat the pan evenly. Lift the pan at a slight angle and pour 2 Tbs. of the batter into the center, tilting the pan to spread the batter to the edges. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the crepe is golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover. Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 8 crepes.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Simply served with sliced strawberries and fresh whipped cream. Sooo good...

Balsamic Strawberries YOU FOOL!

I have been wanting to make fools for a while now but just never got around to it. Stop and Shop has had great strawberries lately, so we have an abundance, and some were getting a bit peaked looking... perfect opportunity! I wanted to try something a bit different for it, though, so I macerated the (sliced, cleaned, stemmed) berries in a few tablespoons of balsamic for about an hour first, then shot them through the cuisinart with a tablespoon of sugar. The balsamic flavor was subtle but same through and gave a nice acidity to the fruit. They would be great seved sliced over vanilla ice cream too!

Meanwhile, I whipped some cream (no sugar added). Fold in the berries and serve! These can be made ahead a little and refridgerated. SO good...

I use about 1 cup of whipping cream and a little less than a pint of berries.

This made about 4 martini glasses worth, but it is very rich so I think that it would be plenty for 6 as well.

I will definitely experiment with other fruit this summer!

Bananas Foster

Always on hte lookout for wheat-free dessert's to serve my sis... this one was from Everyday Food and is ridiculously quick and easy. And yummy!

1 Pint Vanilla Ice Cream (I used Haagen Daaz Vanilla Bean... mmmm)

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1/4 cup dark or gold rum

3 bananas, halved crosswise and lengthwise, peeled

1) Set Ice Cream out to soften. In a large skillet, heat butter, sugar, and rum over medium low. Cook stirring occasionally until smooth and bubbly, 4-6 min.

2) Add bananas and cook, gently swirling skillet until bananas are just warmed through, 1-2 min. Scoop ice cream into bowls, top with bananas and sauce. Serve immediately.

BLACKberry and GOLDen Pineapple Breakfast

Homegrown Gourmet time! I missed the last few challenges but the holidays are way over by now - no more excuses! The premise of this event is that you create a dish that somehow represents your hometown. It can be whatever interpretation works for you! This month's challenge was BREAKFAST!

Not my hometown, but where Ryan is from and we both went to school - PITTSBURGH bleeds black and gold. The only city where all its professional teams have the same colors (Steelers, Pirates, Penguins): Black and Gold.

I decided to run with that and created BLACKberry and GOLDen Pineapple Pancakes! We ate them this morning... yum!

I based it on a recipe from Martha Stewart Living with a few tweaks.

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 small handfuls of diced fresh pineapple
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 pint blueberries (about 2 cups)
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 pint blackberries (about 1 cup)

Directions
Make the pancakes: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Whisk together flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk in buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Let stand 10 minutes and fold in pineapple

Make the compote: Heat blueberries, lemon juice, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until berries begin to burst, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in sugar. Simmer, stirring often, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in blackberries.
Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Spoon in 1 tablespoon batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles appear. Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Keep warm in oven while you cook remaining batter. Serve with compote.

Healthy and yummy! These are quite sweet with the berries and the pineapple and Ryan loved the theme (big steelers fan) and that they included some of his favorite fruits.

Striped Bass with Pineapple Salsa

Ryan picked up some nice striped bass from our local fish place. I was tired and not up for something too fancy but wanted to do a little more than just pan frying with lemon... I got a few suggestions and ended up making a pineapple salsa to top the pan-fried fish with lemon and olive oil ;)

Salsa:

fresh pineapple (peeled and cored) diced (about 2 handfuls)

1/2 *small* red onion, diced

1 mango firm but ripe, peeled and diced

Lime juice from 1 lime

6-12 mint leaves, minced (to taste)

Combine salsa and set aside (let it sit out for a bit so the flavors mingle)

Striped Bass:

the filets I used were skin on and I cooked them that way.

Squeeze lemon over both filets and place them skin up in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Sear for 2 min and flip to hit each side for a minute, then flip to skin side down. Lower heat to medium low and finish fish (took about 15 min for my thick filets). Top with salsa to serve!

We really liked this - I love fish paired with fruit (or other sweet flavors like balsamic) and Ryan loved a nice meaty fish like this. If you like fish like tuna, salmon, and swordfish, you would probably like this one too. Nice and meaty but still a mild flavor.

Sunshine Salad!

Winter's take on my summer berry salad that I loved so much! As I said in August, I am not such a big fan of salad for dinner but this is totally the exception. YUM! I have been thinking about this dinner for a week or so and it did not disappoint!

My initial idea was because clementines are in season and then I went from there. Well, the clementines didnt really mesh with the other flavors but the rest was perfect together. Mangos are clearly NEVER in season in New England so by that logic... they are always in season right?

Very good, highly recommend especially if you need a shot of sunshine to perk up the winter doldrums!

I thawed and shelled 1 pound of raw jumbo shrimp. Then shook them up in a container with about 1/3 cup of OJ and 1/3 cup of honey and a splash of canola and then put the shrimp in a skillet heated to med high (discard extra liquid). Saute until cooked through then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, prepare lettuce (I used romaine, boston, and red leaf - fresh not bagged - it keeps MUCH longer and tastes better too I think) and toss with italian dressing (I use good seasons, made with raspberry vinegar) Use less than half the dressing you would put on a regular green salad.

Top the lettuce with blueberries, diced avocado, diced mango, sliced almonds, and Shrimp (I would have teh clems for dessert or on the side)

Great meal for weeknights too - quick!

Tip for dicing mango/avocado: score the dice when the peel is still on the slice of mango/half of avocado then use a large metal soup spoon to scoop the fruit out. Voila! WAY less messy

Cran-brie poppers

We went to a small superbowl party this yr and all the usual suspects for food were being provided so I asked my mom for appetizer ideas. I am BAD with appetizers for some reason! She gave me this recipe and it was SO GOOD. Easy too! I will make these again for sure (they would be good with other flavors of jelly too, or maybe with cream cheese?)

Basically, you just get some phyllo dough and thaw it in the fridge. Depending on hte 'shape' of the phyllo, will affect how you wrap it (just play around to get it right). each piece will have 3/4 to 1 inch square of brie and a spoonful of canned cranberry sauce (whole berry kind). Wrap it up so there are a few layers around the cheese and fruit. Put them in a mini muffin pan and I brushed the top of each with a little melted butter to help it stick and brown.

Bake at 325 for 10-15 min (watch it though!)

So good - dont be like me though, wait for them to cool a little before you try to eat them :)

I baked this ahead and just warmed them when we got there - perfect!

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

We have been on a weekend-pancake kick lately. This recipe for Blueberry ones, again from WIlliam Sonoma online. Very good! I faked the buttermilk by adding white vinegar to milk - lower cal than buttermilk and less wasteful than buying a whole container for just one cup.

To do this, just add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar (or lemon juice) to 1 cup (less 1 T) of milk and let it sit out for about 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken (it will look pretty gross - this is how it shd be!)

Anyhow, the recipe!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbs. vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Softened butter for serving
Warm maple syrup for serving

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 200ºF. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until frothy. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Stir just until the batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain; do not overmix. (I just did it all by hand in one bowl with a whisk)

Heat an electric griddle to medium-high heat until a few drops of water flicked onto the surface skitter across it. Lightly grease the griddle with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Using a batter dispenser set on the large setting, dispense the batter onto the griddle. Alternatively, ladle about 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Scatter 1 Tbs. blueberries evenly over each pancake.

Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining pancakes. Dust the pancakes with confectioners' sugar and serve warm with butter and maple syrup. Makes about 16 pancakes; serves 4.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Banana Pancakes

Yum! Made this for Sunday breakfast last week. Ryan loves pancakes but they dont really excite me. These, with the banana in them, were perfect for us both! From the william sonoma website, these were fab and easy!

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter (I used much less, for the pan)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small, very ripe banana, peeled and mashed
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple syrup for serving
Sliced bananas for serving

Directions:

I didnt write down teh directions just the ingredients so here is what I did (I for example only used the butter for the pan not the batter. Oops!)

Heat skillet over medium with a little butter to coat.

Combine all ingredients and beat until just combined (few lumps remaining). Pour using a 1/4 cup measuring cup for consistency onto pan. When the edges start to set and there are bubbles popping through, flip the pancake. Finish cooking and serve. Repeat until all are done.

Serve with syrup.

SO GOOD

Cran-Orange Sugar Cookies

Every Christmas, I try to make at least one new cookie. Sometimes they make the cut to become regulars, sometimes they dont. This one DEFINITELY will! It is a light counterpart to all the chocolate and rich cookies and the bite from the orange and cranberries is both seasonal and different. I saw this recipe on Good Eats N Sweet Treats, and it is originally from Land o Lakes.

Orange Sugar Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel (I found I needed double the orange sugar)
Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped macademia nuts (omitted)
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all orange sugar ingredients in small bowl; stir until well mixed. Set aside.Combine 1 cup sugar, butter and egg in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until well mixed.
Add all remaining ingredients. Continue beating just until mixed.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in orange sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass to 1 1/2-inch circles.
Bake for 7 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. (DO NOT OVERBAKE.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.Yield: 5 Dozen Cookies.

Note: these do spread alot, so give them plenty of space!

Banana Coconut Lime Rum Bread

I saw this recipe and immediately thought of my friend Suzanne who has been dreaming of a banana bread earlier that would have coconut and lime in it. So for our christmas party I made two loaves to give away. I havent had any myself since I made the risky move of giving away something as a gift I had not tried myself. But I am told it was yummy and it sure LOOKED and smelled fab!

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze (Adapted from CL)

For the bread

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (you can use all-purpose if desired)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana

1/4 cup plain yogurt

3 tablespoons dark rum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut, divided

For the topping

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

To make the bread

Preheat oven to 350

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum and vanilla - mix until blended. Pour in the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in 1/2 cup coconut.

Scoop the mixture into a 9" x 5" loaf pan coated with nonstick spray. Scatter the batter with the remaining 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake until a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 55 to 65 minutes. Remove and let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack, top side up.

To make the topping

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and juice - drizzle over warm bread. Let sit on the wire rack to cool completely.

Taste of the Tropics Shrimp

I found this recipe on the Paved with Good Intentions Blog and thought it looked yummy - I love fruit with seafood! It was very yummy!! The only thing I would change it I would use much less onion in the marinade- it was very strong. The Mango tempered it though :)

Broiled Shrimp

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup basil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp creole mustard (couldnt find this so I used southwestern instead)

1 tsp dried mustard

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1) Combine all ingredients in ziplock bag, refrigerate one hour.2) Heat broiler. Broil shrimp 4 minutes, turning over half way through.

Mango Salsa

1 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 jalepeno seeded and chopped

1 tsp crushed ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ripe mango, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/6 cup fresh orange juice

1 tsp light brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine all ingredients but salt and pepper.2) Place in fridge for 30 minutes to let the salsa do the flavor tango.3) Season with salt and pepper

I served it with jasmine rice, and cooked the remaining marinade in a saucepan until slightly reduced and the onions were softened (and the raw seafood was cooked!) and mixed that with the rice, it was great!

Cheddar Apple Pie

Another fool-proof William Sonoma recipe! I have made this one once before, and it turned out well so I volunteered to make the apple pie this year too. There is a decent amount of cheddar cheese in the crust - I used extra sharp white in a block and hand shredded it. I dont think you would get enough sharpness from teh pre-shredded kind. I also always add extra apples to my apple pie since I prefer it tall and full, and alot of times the apples shrink during baking and you are left with a too-thin pie. There were so many apples in this that I had a hard time stacking them all in the pan without falling! It is nice too, when you eat the pie you get a nice hint of cheddar aftertaste, not overpowering at all. CHeddar and apple is such a yummy combo!

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

6 oz. white cheddar cheese, finely grated

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:

2 lb. Braeburn apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick (I used granny smith only and 4+ pounds total)

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

3 Tbs. cornstarch

2 Tbs. heavy cream

To make the dough, in a bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and cheese, breaking apart any large clumps of cheese. Put the butter in a separate bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes. In a food processor, pulse the flour mixture until the ingredients are combined, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (I made the dough the day before)

To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and stir to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, remove 1 of the dough disks from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick. Brush off the excess flour. Transfer to a pie dish and press the dough into the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (I didnt bother)

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Pour the apples into a sieve set over a small saucepan, then transfer the apples to a large bowl. Set the saucepan with the juices over medium-high heat, add the butter and cook until reduced to 1/3 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the apples and toss to combine, then stir in the reduced juices. Transfer the apples to the pie shell. Roll out the remaining dough disk into a 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick. Drape the dough over the apples and press gently to eliminate any air pockets. Trim the dough flush with the rim of the dish. Fold the bottom crust over the top crust and crimp to form a decorative edge. Cut 4 slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the top of the crust with the cream. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover the edges and top with aluminum foil if they begin to get too dark. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until the apples are easily pierced with a knife, 65 to 70 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving. Serves 8 to 12.