Cake Glaze

This is soooooo good. Mami made it for a fruit pizza (Muerbeteig) with fruit and it was just perfect.

1/2 c. OJ
1/2 c. Lemon Juice
1/c c. sugar
1/4 c. water
2 T. cornstarch

Bring to a boil until it's clear.

Drizzle over your fruit cake/pie or whatever. It's super yummy!

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

I've had this recipe in my "to try" pile for quite some time now. I love Carino's and Macaroni Grill's bread with oil... that's kind of the whole reason I go there to eat. So, when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it and it totally hit the spot. I doubled the recipe for dinner group, and made 4 loaves, thinking I'd take the extra loaf to a neighbor or something nice like that. Instead, Jared and I polished 2 loaves off in about 5 minutes flat. It was sooo good and relatively simple. We just used some balsamic vinaigrette to dip it in, but next time I'll make a good oil dip myself. (Perhaps this one, with some roasted garlic?) I got the recipe from Our Best Bites, and went ahead and "borrowed" their pictures, too, since my bread was devoured long before I ever had a chance to get a picture.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (Makes 2 small loaves, allow at least 2 1/2 hours)

1 c. warm (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit) water
1 Tbsp. yeast (I used 2 packages)
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. Kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 Tbsp. rosemary (dried or fresh)
2 1/4-2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until bubbly (I never need 10 minutes...) While the yeast is getting bubbly, combine 2 C of the flour, salt, 1 Tbsp. rosemary.

2. Add flour mixture to yeast mixture along with 1 Tbsp. melted butter. Mix well. (I put it in my stand mixer with the dough hook on). Slowly add remaining flour to make a very soft dough--try and resist the urge to add too much flour. You want a soft, slightly sticky, wet dough. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

3. Lightly flour work surface and transfer dough onto this surface. Divide in half. Shape each half into a round loaf and place on a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Cover and allow to rise another 45 minutes.

4. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and mix with remaining tablespoon of rosemary. Brush on loaves and sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until very lightly golden-brown. I baked mine on two different pans, one dark and one light and the bottoms on my dark pan ending up burning, so use a light colored pan if possible and don't let the tops get too brown.

Watermelon Pops

I made these for dinner group a couple weeks ago and we loved them! Even Jared and I wished we had more. The cream cheese layer adds a little extra something and I'm surprised at how much I like frozen Jell-O. They're a little time consuming, but WELL worth the effort. So yummy and fun! I found the recipe at allrecipes.com. (And as my pictures attest, ours didn't look nearly as cute... but they were cute enough.)

1 cup sugar
1 (3 ounce) package JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin
2 cups boiling water, divided
Ice cubes
1 cup cold water, divided
1 (3 ounce) package JELL-O Strawberry or Raspberry Flavor Gelatin
3 tablespoons miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 ounces PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
16 3 oz. cups (skinnier ones are better)


1. Mix 1/3 cup sugar and lime gelatin mix in medium bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to 1/2 cup cold water to measure 3/4 cup. Add to lime gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Refrigerate 25 min.

2. Meanwhile, repeat Step 1 using strawberry gelatin mix and omitting the refrigeration step. Pour into 16 (3-oz.) paper cups. Freeze 20 min. Stir 1/2 tsp. chocolate chips into gelatin in each cup. (We found that just stirring the choc. chips in didn't work. I used a wooden skewer to push the chips into the gelatin and all the way down. That way they were "floating" in the red gelatin a little better. Otherwise, they just all sit at the top.)

3. Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over gelatin in cups. Make sure that your red gelatin is well set before spreading the cream cheese layer. Otherwise you'll get "floaties."

4. Once your lime Jell-O has gotten thick (not set... but very thick and no longer "pourable"), spoon lime gelatin over cream cheese mixture. Insert wooden pop stick into gelatin in center of each cup. Freeze 3 hours or until firm. Remove pops from cups just before serving.


How to Easily Remove Frozen Pops from Cups: Dip cups in warm water for 15 sec. Peel off cups. (Do not twist or pull pop sticks.)

Candied Chicken

6 chicken breasts

Sauce:
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c chopped green onion
1/4 c mustard
1/2 c ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Flour and brown chicken breasts in pan and place in 9x13" baking dish. Mix all ingredients for sauce and simmer for 5 minutes in saucepan. Pour over chicken and bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour. Yum!

Lemon Garlic Angel Hair Pasta

I've made this several times and I really enjoy it. It's very light and it is meatless (warning to Joey...).

1 t EVOO
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine (yes, I'm evil... I use cooking wine I find next to the vinegars in the grocery store)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup chopped fresh tomato (maybe this recipe isn't for Emily either...)
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (do NOT use anything but fresh!)
2 T grated parmesan cheese
ground pepper to taste

Bring large pot of water to boil over high heat.

As water is coming to a boil, place olive oil and garlic in a saute pan and cook over medium heat just until garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and pour in wine. Return to heat and cook on high for another 1-2 minutes until reduced by half. Stir in lemon juice and tomatoes, remove from heat.

Place pasta in boiling water and cook to desired doneness (usually 1-4 minutes). Drain pasta and place in warmed serving dish. Add wine, garlic, tomato mixture. Add basil, parmesan and pepper. Toss and serve immediately. Goes quite well with crusty warm bread and a green salad.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

I stole this recipe from Emily's Relief Society newsletter (the March edition) and I made it tonight. Super easy and super fast. Super yummy with some ice cream!

4 T flour
4 T sugar
2 T cocoa
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T oil
3 T chocolate chips (optional...but who are we kidding, they're absolutely essential!)
1 small splash vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Add chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again.
Put mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake might rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed. Allow to cool a little and tip out onto plate if desired.
This can serve two, if you are feeling in a generous sort of mood.

Pesto Bruschetta on Toasted Garlic Crostini

Make these for your next party. Or for your midnight indulgence. Don't be afraid. You will thank me. Your guests will thank me....err...you. And when you invite me over, I'll give you a hug and a kiss. Really I will. Just make sure everyone eats one (or inevitably several of them!) so that you can all have garlic breath together. Stephanie, I will forever be grateful to you for introducing me to such divine yumminess! Mmmmmmmm.....

Pesto Bruschetta on Toasted Garlic Crostini

Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 large minced garlic cloves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 T freshly grated Pecorio Romano Cheese (Or I just used the Kraft Parmesan/Romano mix in the green container for both of these....so sue me. It was still delish!)

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Additional Ingredients

1-2 baguette sliced at a 45-degree angle about 1/2 inch thick (I'd say 2...there's enough pesto and once your guests figure out how fabulous they are, you'll be glad you did!)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise

1 basket grape tomatoes

Preparation:

Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan, Pecorio, and pine nuts in food processor or blender. Slowly drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until fully incorporated. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Prepartion:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread on rimmed baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and rub with cut side of garlic. Bake until beginning to crisp, about 8 minutes.

While bread crisps, make pesto and half cherry tomatoes lengthwise.

Top crostini with pesto spread and cherry tomato slice.