Appetizers/Starters, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch, Savory Snacks, Sides, Sweet Snacks

Blueberry Lemon Soufra

Something a little different today: a Blueberry Lemon Soufra. What is a soufra, you ask? It’s a Greek and Middle Eastern filo souffle pie. You fill the pie dish with buttered filo dough layers, folded or ruffled together, toast in the oven before pouring/ladling on custard. They can be savory (skip the sugar and vanilla in the custard) with spinach and feta or walnuts for example, or sweet as in this one with lemon and blueberries, or dates and walnuts, or any fruit or even chocolate chips. I made it for brunch (and truth be told, added some maple syrup over the top), but also would be a nice breakfast or lunch. Tastes best right out of the oven, and eaten the same day for sure.

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16. January 2023
Appetizers/Starters, Dinner, Lunch, Sides

Bacon + Cheddar Hasselback Potato Bake

So Hasselback Potatoes…. I think that most of you know the story (and the reoccurring results) of my Hasselback Potato Skillet Bake winning the Idaho Potato Recipe of the year about a million years ago (back in 2015). The recipe resurrects itself every now and again and I make it for myself sort of often. Many of you also know that I spend a lot of time randomly pondering “How can I make this recipe better?” for lots of my recipes. Well, I got to thinking about that this afternoon, after finding some perfectly sized russet potatoes (on the small side): How do I make Hasselback potatoes even better? They are already sort of like a baked/jacket potatao meets potato chips/crisps, so why not not go all in: bacon (and the bacon fat)…. cheddar … scallions. Yup, these Bacon + Cheddar Hasselback Potatoes are sort of a love child between baked potatoes, potato skins and chips. Serve with sour cream. Add on some pickled jalapenos and serve with guacamole. Simply to die for.

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15. January 2023
Cookies, Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Florentines

Thought I’d start off my “cookie year” here in January with something at least semi-healthy with oatmeal cookies. Of course, there is lots of butter, toffee bits, jammie bits and chocolate chips, so that takes away most anything healthy about these, but they are delicious, so there is that. Thin, very crisp, with a bit of a crunch. If you like “thin and crispy” these are definitely for you.

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14. January 2023
Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Cardamom Nutmeg Spiced Bundt Cake

I love cardamom. It is by far, bar none, my favorite spice. Second to that is nutmeg, so if I have the opportunity to combine the two, I am all for it. AND I love bundt pans because you can make really cool looking cakes without frosting — and you all saw evidence of how untalented I am at frosting the other day. I bought myself this bundt pan for my birthday this week and really like the pattern. Just a sprinkling of powdered sugar and this Cardamom Nutmeg Spiced Bundt Cake really pops. Very straight forward recipe and extraordinarily pleased at the outcome.

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12. January 2023
Appetizers/Starters, Dinner, Lunch, Soups

Carrot and Smoked Gouda Bisque

winter is soup season, and this one turned out great: Carrot and Smoked Gouda Bisque. It’s sweet and savory at the same time, righ and smokey too. Might even be healthy, except for the rich cream. Either way, it was delicious.

It is, however, hard to photograph. You might have heard me complain before: soups and chowders aren’t fun to photograph — monochromatic, often light colored liquid. [Yawn]. This time, I went for adding a few carrot swirls, just to give it some contrast in the picture. Totally unnecessary for the recipe though. 🙂

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11. January 2023