Peanut Butter Crispy Treats

In 20 days I'm moving back home to Charlotte. After two short years in Raleigh, it's packing time again. As a foodie, my pantry is bursting with staples. Cooking is stress relief. At midnight I decided to purge so there would be less to pack.There was a bit of peanut butter, a package of peanut butter chips, some corn syrup, plenty of chocolate chips and a whole box of generic crispy cereal. After perusing some recipes, this one was born from a combination of ingredients. BEWARE! These bars have sugar and are not diabetic friendly. 

Prepare a 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Ingredients for the bars:

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanut flavored chips (or just use 1 cup of peanut butter and leave out the chips) 
6 cups crispy rice cereal

Ingredients for the topping:

1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 T whipping cream

1. Combine 1 cup of corn syrup and 1 cup of sugar in a 3 quart pan over medium heat Stir and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add peanut butter and peanut butter chips. Stir until boiling. 
2. Add rice cereal and stir until combined. (Warning-it will be sticky like caramel, so you may want to coat the spoon with cooking spray before you add the cereal).
3. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and press down. I use parchment paper on top of the sticky mixture to press down evenly without sticking. 
4. Prepare topping by melting the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Add whipping cream to thin and continue to stir until smooth.
5. Pour over cereal mixture in the pan and spread with an offset spatula until evenly covered.
6. Allow to cool, cut and eat. Remember, these bars are sticky and chewy, but so good!

Middle Eastern cooking for beginners --Hushwee

As I've grown older my hearing has declined. However, my sense of smell seems to have become more acute. The fragrance and smell of food transports me to specials places, times and memories. I am able to vividly imagine the smell of a favorite dish by simply viewing an item of food. On a recent trip to the grocery I spotted ground lamb. It's a hit or miss item in my local Kroger. Ground lamb is favored in Middle Eastern cooking. When I saw the package of lamb and my brain immediately smelled Hushwee, referred to as 'rice-meat stuffing' by my Lebanese friends. 

Hushwee with cranberry sauce

More than 20 years ago a small pizza shop opened in my Toledo, Ohio neighborhood. The pizza was good, but I discovered they served Lebanese food. My favorite was Popoff's stuffed grape leaves. I became a regular, and the owner Michelle became my friend. During one of my all to frequent visits, I opened the door and the fragrance of cinnamon and allspice wafted through the tiny restaurant. Begging to know the source, I was presented with Hushwee, a Middle Eastern comfort food and a side of laban (yogurt). I fell deeply in love with Lebanese food. Sadly, my favorite little spot closed before I could purloin the recipes for the dishes I craved.

A couple of years later, I met a man of proud Lebanese parentage. We began dating, and I became the grateful recipient of Middle Eastern Sunday dinners lovingly prepared by his mother. Learning to eat raw lamb (known as kibbe) was my proudest moment! During a Thanksgiving Holiday we made a visit to his sister's home near Chicago. Diane prepared Hushwee with our turkey dinner. It was nirvana! And I discovered it didn't need to be covered in laban, but tasted just as good with cranberry sauce. The dating relationship only survived a year, but my love of Lebanese food has continued to grow. My recipe is derived from a Syrian-Lebanese church cookbook purchased while I lived in Toledo, Ohio. My Lebanese friends will be able to smell this dish by simply looking at the photos. For the rest of you; step out of your comfort zone and try this one. You'll love it.

Hushwee (Rice-meat stuffing) Serves 6 as side dish, 4 as main dish

Total time: 40 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients for Hushwee

Ingredients:
1- 1/2 cups white rice, rinsed. (place rice in bowl of water and soak for 15 minutes, strain)
1 pound ground lamb (or organic ground beef)
3 T butter
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cups homemade chicken broth (or store-bought if necessary)
1 tsp ground sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp good quality cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice

1. In a large 10-12" saucepan (with a lid), sauté the pine nuts in butter until golden. 

2. Remove with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and set aside. 

3. Add the ground meat to the remaining butter and cook until slightly browned. 

4. Add rinsed rice, browned pine nuts, chicken broth, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice.

Combine Ingredients

5. Stir ingredients and bring to a boil. (About 5 minutes)

Hushwee

6. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.


7.  Serve with laban or cranberry sauce.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini

This post happens to be on Valentine's Day. February is also synonymous with cherries thanks to a president who couldn't tell a lie about chopping down the cherry tree.  In a recent quarterly trip to the ABC store I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of flavored vodkas.  In a weak moment I purchased one named 'S'mores' and it was a huge mistake. It did not taste like S'mores; it tasted like alcohol. 

My quest for the chocolate covered cherry martini was born from a friend's Facebook post and a picture of what she called a "Marilyn Monroe." She said it had chocolate and cherry. Of course I Googled! But the Marilyn Monroe drinks in my search did not have chocolate or cherry. It lead to a search of drinks with chocolate and cherry. BINGO! The recipe I found was for a shooter, but it seemed pretty easy to turn a shooter into a martini. And, there is no strange flavored vodka. Then again, there is no cherry except for the garnish. Four simple ingredients and you have a martini with the taste of a chocolate covered cherry. No kidding!

Chocolate covered cherry martini

Serves 2 (or not)

2 shots Amaretto

1 teaspoon Grenadine syrup

2 teaspoons chocolate syrup

2 teaspoons heavy cream

Fill martini shaker with ice. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into 2 small martini glasses. Add a maraschino cherry for garnish .

Cheers!

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato and Bacon Pasta

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato and Bacon Pasta

On Saturday I have the luxury of sleeping past 6:00 a.m. It means luxuriating under warm blankets long after a socially accepted time. When I finally descended the stairs at 10:30 this morning, it seemed too late for breakfast and I wasn't in a brunch mood. The refrigerator is uncharacteristically empty. These are the moments I love. Few ingredients to choose from brings out my creativity. My tastes can be rather enigmatic. Lately I'm favoring salty and sweet. A five ingredient lunch was born. So very simple and perfect--at least to me. Unfortunately this creamy delight is not photogenic, nor is it heart healthy. Today I didn't care. The salty bacon, silky rich cream and sweet tomatoes combined with pasta and parmesan was the best 11:00 a.m. lunch I have enjoyed in a very long time. This recipe will serve two--maybe

Note to self--when playing with food, write down the measurements so you aren't guessing when writing these recipes...

Ingredients:

6 oz Angel Hair Pasta
4 slices of bacon, finely chopped
1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
pinch of pepper

Directions: 

1. Cook pasta al dente and drain (reserving a bit of pasta water). Place in bowl with a bit of reserved pasta water and cover with a plate to keep warm.

2. Cook bacon in frying pan until crisp. Drain grease reserving about a teaspoon in the pan. (At this point you could add a chopped onion and garlic and fry them in the bacon grease. I don't like onion and it was too early for garlic)

3.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, cream and a pinch of fresh ground pepper. Cook and stir on medium low heat until the mixture becomes thick and begins to bubble, approximately 6 minutes.

4.  Spoon sauce over cooked pasta and top with fresh grated parmesan and a sprinkle of bacon.