Italian Goat Cheese and Pesto Spread

4 oz. goat cheese

8 oz. cream cheese

salt, pepper

3 Tb tomato paste

3/4 c. minced, sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil 

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 c. pesto (must be thick)

 

Line medium sized bowl with saran wrap, edges hanging over.  Spray saran wrap with Pam.  Combine goat cheese, cream cheese and salt and pepper with electric mixer until smooth.  Reserve 1/3 cup mixture.  To reserved 1/3 c. mixture, add tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.  Mix with spatula until smooth.  Take half of goat cheese mixture and spread on bottom of bowl.  This part can be a little tricky since the plastic wrap likes to stick to the cheese and not the bowl as you’re trying to spread it!  I would suggest using a large, flat spoon (like a serving spoon) and run it under hot water until the spoon is warm.  Then using the back side of the spoon, gently press the cheese mixure along the bottom of the bowl.  (The warmth of the spoon will keep the cheese from sticking to it. If it starts sticking again, go run it under the hot water again.)  Next spread with pesto, then with sun-dried tomato mixture.  Smooth remainder of cheese mixture on top using the warmed-spoon trick.  Cover and refrigerate for one hour.  Serve with toasted baguette slices

 

From: Sisters Cafe

Grilled Corn Guacamole

■3 ears Corn, Shucked


■6 whole Avocados, Diced

■1 whole Large Tomato, Diced

■1/3 cup Onion, Finely Diced

■2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced

■2 Tablespoons Diced Fresh Jalapeno

■1 whole Lime, Juiced

■1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

■1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin

■1/2 cup Cilantro Leaves

Preparation Instructions

Grill corn until nice and golden, with good grill marks on the kernels. Allow to cool a bit, then cut the kernels off the cobs. Set aside.

Halve avocados and remove pit. Cut avocado into a dice inside the skin, then scoop out with a spoon.

In a bowl, combine corn kernels, diced avocados, diced tomato, jalapenos, minced garlic, lime juice, salt, and cumin. Stir gently to combine. Add cilantro and stir in.

From: Pioneer Woman

Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients

• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1 cup Plain, Nonfat Yogurt (vanilla Works Just As Well)
• 1 teaspoon (more If Desired) Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 cup (heaping) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Stir all ingredients together well. Store in the refrigerator; will keep for five to six days.

From: pioneerwoman.com

Carlo’s Bakery Simple Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 pinch salt
1 pound butter

Directions:
1.Put sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan over high heat.
2.Meanwhile, beat eggs and salt until fluffy.
3.When all of the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is boiling, pour over beating eggs.
4.Cut butter into cubes.
5.When the eggs-sugar bowl is lukewarm to the touch, slowly add butter while continuing
to beat until fluffy and smooth.

Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling

The Vanilla Version
3 T Flour
1/2 C milk (whole milk is best, but I used non-fat when it's all I have and it's actually fine)
1/2 C real butter
1/2 C sugar (that's granulated sugar, not powdered sugar)
1 t vanilla extract, or other flavor if you wish.

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. I think this is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe. I have a feeling people are under-cooking this part. Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it). Even though it's thick, you can still strain it through a mesh strainer (just whisk the mixture in the strainer to push the thick stuff through) and then let it cool completely to room temp. or chill it in the fridge. It needs to be cooled completely. If you don't let it cool completely, it will melt the butter and you'll have runny frosting.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can get to without it spraying all over the place for 7 minutes. Yes, 7 whole minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. I know that seems like a long time, but that's when the magic happens!

You will be scared because it will look like a weird goopy mess at first and you'll wonder what on earth you did wrong. Keep beating and something amazing happens. It goes from that goopy mess to something thick, velvety smooth, and perfectly fluffy.
Use it to fill cupcakes or other pastries, or as a frosting on top. You can't go wrong putting this on just about anything :)

One batch makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes with BIG tops. If you're just spreading a little on top, it will do 24.


After trouble-shooting with a lot of people, here are some helpful Notes:

1. Use real butter, and a good name-brand. Cheap butter does weird things.

2. If you beat for the 6-8 minutes and the mixture still looks strange, beat longer and at a higher speed if you can. It should come together, but it takes a little patience!

3. Store at room temperature in a sealed container. Frosting may separate in the fridge, but you can store it overnight if left at room temp and in a well sealed container.

The Chocolate Version
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1 cup real butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Optional: Additional cocoa powder as needed

Melt your chocolate chips if you haven't already and set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, salt and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1-3 minutes or until thickened like a thinned pudding. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in the refrigerator or freezer.

When chocolate flour mixture is cooled, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined fluffy, about 1 minute. Finally add in melted chocolate and beat again until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, add additional cocoa powder to taste, up to 4 tablespoons. Spread or pipe frosting on to cupcakes or cake.

Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.

Storage: Store unused frosting in fridge and bring to room temperature before using again. If needed, beat with an electric beater before using.

From:ourbestbites.com

Chocolate Truffle Sauce

3/4 cup whipping cream
2 Tb butter
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 t vanilla

Put butter and cream in a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until cream is hot. Do NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let it melt then whisk until smooth and add vanilla.

From: sisterscafe

Easy Hot Fudge

This is the notorious hot fudge recipe that caused me great problems when I tried making the sweetened condensed milk from scratch. But it is FABULOUS if you don't try to be Fran the Food Storage Queen- just BUY the stuff from the store.

For 1 pint:

3oz semi-sweet chocolate* (3 squares of baking chocolate, or about 1/2 C chocolate chips

1/4 C butter (that's a half of a stick folks. Admit it, at least one of you didn't know that)

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

*I wouldn't use milk chocolate for this, it's way too sweet, however both dark and bittersweet are awesome

1. If you're using baking squares, chop them up into small pieces so they melt easier. I chop the butter up into small chunks too.


2. Okay, it's not rocket science. Put it in a pan on medium heat and melt it all together till it's smooth, creamy, and just looking at it gives you happy thoughts.

3. If you have leftovers (but let's be honest, you'll have to quadruple the recipe to have leftovers) then put it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will harden into a soft, gooey fudge like consistency.


From: ourbestbites.com

Rachael Ray's Fake-Out Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

4 basil leaves
4 pieces sun-dried tomato
2 tubs semisoft garlic and herb cheese
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato tapenade
1/4 cup pesto

Line a 6-inch Pyrex bowl with plastic wrap. In the bottom of the bowl, arrange the basil leaves in a flower shape. Place the sun-dried tomato pieces in between the basil.

Empty 1 tub of the cheese on top of the basil and sun-dried tomato layer. Dunk a spatula in a bowl of hot water; this will make the cheese easy to spread. Smooth the cheese as if you were frosting a cake.

Scoop the sun-dried tomato tapenade on top of the cheese and spread into a smooth layer. Spread the pesto evenly on top of the tapenade.

Dump the other tub of cheese on top of the pesto and spread evenly.

Refrigerate the dip or serve immediately. To serve, place a serving plate on top of the bowl and turn the bowl upside down. Remove the bowl first, then the plastic wrap.

Place the dip with crackers or cucumbers and carrots, and you're ready to party!

From: oprah.com

Crab Dip

2 cans of 6 oz (4 oz dry) crab meat
1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese
1 small to medium onion

Dice onion. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. It helps to stir half way during baking.

Whole wheat crackers or Wheat Thins are the best to use as dippers. Stay away from buttery crackers because the dip is pretty rich itself.

From: Lori Egbers

Sun-dried Tomato Dip

1/4 c sun-dried tomatoes in oil
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c mayonnaise
10 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 t kosher salt
3/4 t black pepper
2 scallions sliced (both green and white parts)

Puree all ingredients except for scallions in a food processor. Add scallions and pulse twice. Serve with veggies, crackers, or other dippers.

From: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook