Caramel Cashew Bars

(They taste much better than they look in this photograph.)

Dessert for the book club, which met last night.

I love this month's read:



From Bake and Freeze Desserts by Elinor Klivans

Cashew Crust
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted cashew halves or pieces

Caramel
1/4 pound plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13" pan.

Mix the flour, brown sugar and butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until pea-sized crumbs form. Press crumbs firmly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle cashews evenly over crust.

Put the butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat until the butter and brown sugar melt, stirring constantly. Increase heat to medium and bring to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour hot caramel mixture evenly over cashew nuts in baking pan.

Bake until mixture bubbles, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped white chocolate evenly over the bars; let sit another 5 minutes. With the back of a spoon, swirl the chocolate over the bars. Cool thoroughly until topping is firm.

Yields 24 two-inch bars. Can freeze bars for up to 3 months.

Note: I find that way of doing white chocolate doesn't work well for me, so I put the chocolate in a zip-top bag, melt the choc. in the microwave, snip off the corner of the bag and drizzle the choc. over the bars.

Mac and Cheese and Roast Chicken Sausage Meatballs Redux

We tried this recipe once before and it wasn't pretty.

We tinkered with the recipe and had a re-do. The results were much more palatable. The Child liked it, too - we'll make it again.

Salt
about 12 ounces pasta, such as penne
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
Black pepper
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano, divided
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs, plus more, if needed*
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 10-ounce package chopped frozen spinach
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg, eyeball it

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta. When it comes to a boil, salt it and add the pasta to cook to al dente. Strain pasta reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

While the water is coming to a boil, in a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, salt and pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano - a rounded handful, egg and bread crumbs. *If the mixture seems too wet, add a handful of bread crumbs and mix together.

Form a bunch of smallish balls, or eight largish ones.

(I haven't tried it yet but I suspect at this point, the meatballs could be frozen. You could mix up a big batch, then pull out a few for dinner with pasta.)

Coat balls in a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and lightly grease a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange balls on the baking sheet and roast 17 to 18 minutes until juices run clear.

Defrost spinach in microwave.

While the meatballs roast, in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, melt butter, whisk in flour, cook 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and thicken 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 cup grated Parmigiano and reduce heat on lowest setting.

Wring spinach completely dry in clean kitchen towel then separate as you add it to the sauce. Also add the reserved 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Toss pasta with the spinach-white sauce and adjust seasonings.

Serve pasta with meatballs.

Fail

Why I don't make New Year's resolutions:

A couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to try to eat fish more often. Like once a week. And not just any fish, but tuna because it's good for you.

We always have tuna the same way. The Fiance prepares it and it is fabulous. We thought we might want to branch out and try something different, though, if we were going to eat it once a week.

Last week The Fiance marinated a tuna steak in soy sauce and sesame oil - sounds yummy, no? I love sesame. (I've GOT to try that recipe Pam left in the comments. It sounds wonderful.) He got the grill nice and hot and grilled the tuna. It took longer than we thought but was by no stretch overcooked.

But.

The fish, it tasted, fishy.

That sounds nonsensical but I grew up eating catfish, farm-raised catfish. Grain-fed farm-raised catfish is a white fish with a mild, almost sweet taste. It can be prepared a jillion different ways. That's the kind of fish I'm used to.

The Fiance said that he, too, thought it tasted fishier than usual. Maybe it was the marinade, maybe it was the longer cooking time on a grill rather than the quick stove-top sear. Maybe it was the piece of fish.

Next time we're going to try the same marinade seared on the stove-top.

We had the wonderful shredded brussel sprout dish with it, although we used turkey bacon and substituted olive oil for part of the butter. It was good but, I have to say, not the transcendental experience the first time was.

In other news, earlier this week, we re-tried a previous just-okay recipe and the second time around it was delicious. I'll post that one soon.

Everyone Else Is Doing It

Last night we had seared tuna steaks and sautéed spinach for dinner, which was tasty and healthy. This time of year aren't we all trying to eat better, healthier?

I’m thinking we should eat tuna once a week.

I’m also thinking I’d get really tired of having tuna once a week.

Fish lovers, please send recipes, for tuna and other healthy fish, except salmon. I don’t like salmon. I wish I did.

Thanks!

Gratuitous Toffee Photo

My grandmother's toffee recipe here.

Rather than chopped nuts, I melted candy melts in a ziploc bag, snipped the corner, and drizzled it across chocolate-topped toffee.

Garlic Cheese Grits

We're celebrating Christmas with my parents, brother, sister in law, and niece the evening after Christmas. My mother is roasting a pork tenderloin, baking a sweet potato casserole, and cooking green beans. Our contribution is garlic cheese grits casserole and peanut butter fudge.

This is a good breakfast/brunch dish, too. It can be made a few days ahead and refrigerated.

Garlic Cheese Grits

1 cup grits, uncooked
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 stick butter
6 ounces Velveeta, cubed
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
(OR substitute 1 roll of Kraft garlic cheese, cut in small pieces,for the Velveeta and garlic)
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
good dash of cayenne pepper
paprika for top of grits

If making to eat now, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add grits to boiling, salted water. Cook 5 to 7 minutes until thickened. When cooked, add butter, Velveeta cheese, garlic, cheddar cheese, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce. Put in greased casserole and sprinkle with paprika.

At this point, casserole can be refrigerated for 2 or 3 days. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serves 8 to 10 persons.

Peanut Butter Fudge, aka, The Best Easiest Thing to Make for Christmas or Any Other Day

Every family has recipes that show up each year at Christmas. Traditions. Peanut Butter Fudge is one of my family's. For as long as I can remember, there has been Peanut Butter Fudge around at Christmas.

Mom makes it and keeps it in a tin to snack on, takes it to friends, takes it to work. It's always a hit.

Besides the fact that the fudge is creamy and tasty, it is really, truly easy to make. The recipe has never failed me.*

Peanut Butter Fudge
3 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 of a stick) of butter (do not substitute)
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 teaspoon vanilla
chopped peanuts (optional)

Lightly butter a 10 to 12” round dish and set aside.

Using a candy thermometer, cook sugar, buttermilk, and butter over medium heat until mixture reaches soft boil stage. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until the peanut butter is dissolved and mixture is slightly thick.

Pour into prepared dish. If you like you can sprinkle chopped peanuts and lightly press them down. Let set up and cut into squares.


*This weekend I had a kitchen disaster, wherein I dumped a cup of brown sugar, meant for the mixing bowl that had butter and sugar in it for the pound cake, in the pan on the stove that had the butter, sugar, and buttermilk for the fudge. We had to throw it out and start over. By "we" I mean The Fiance, who took over the peanut butter fudge making job and mastered it in one try.