Red, White & Blue Fruit Salsa

In honor of Memorial Day here in the US, I wanted to put together something very American.  We have all kinds of patriotic themed desserts, but I have not seen this version of a sweet fruit salsa.  There are no jalapenos in this, but if y'all wanted to add some, go right ahead.

Some serving suggestions that come to mind are:

• over shortcake with whipped cream
• used as a salsa with corn chips to satisfy that "sweet/salty" flavor craving that we all get from time to time  
• with ice cream 
• on cheese cake 
• in a salad with goat cheese and raspberry walnut vinaigrette over baby field greens
• with your favorite yogurt
• or any other way that suits your personal fancy

Servings:     About 6

Time:     45 - 60 minutes

Temp:    Room temperature

Difficulty:     Easy

Ingredients

1 cup chopped fresh Bosc pears, about 1/4 inch

1 cup chopped fresh strawberries, about 1/4 inch

1 cup blueberries, not chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon superfine sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Mix all ingredients together, cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you.

Enjoy,

S.

"Fluffernutter" Bread Pudding with Chocolate Ganache

It seems that the trend is to make new breakfast foods and deserts from the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich flavors.  I'm going to go in a little bit of a different direction tonite.  I grew up eating PB&J sandwiches, but I had a different favorite that was called a "fluffernutter".  For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a marshmallow fluff and peanut butter sandwich.  

To make this a more "grown-up" version of this classic American childhood sandwich, I decide to change it a bit.

Yield:    8 servings
Temperature:   350' F
Time:  2 hours (Prep time approximately 60 minutes, cook time 30 minutes)
Difficulty:  Easy

For the Bread and Filling
8 slices of white bread
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup marshmallow fluff.  If fluff is not available, use mini marshmallows


For the Custard
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Chocolate Ganache
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1.  Liberally grease a 5 x 7 loaf pan with butter (glass works best for this recipe)

2.  Spread 3 slices of bread with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and 2 tablespoons of fluff or sprinkle on the mini marshmallows and cover with the remaining slices of bread, cut into wedges.

3.  Arrange the wedges in the bottom of the loaf pan and set aside while making the custard.

4.  Whisk the eggs until well beaten, add the milk, sugar and vanilla and whisk to incorporate.

5.  Pour the custard mixture over the "sandwiches" in the baking pan, cover let sit for 30 minutes.  Then bake at 350' for approximately 30 minutes in a hot water bath, or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.  This should be soft in the center.

6.  While the bread pudding is cooling, make the ganache by heating the cream to scalding, then pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until melted.  

To Serve

Using martini glasses, divide the bread pudding by the spoonfull among the glasses and drizzle with the chocolate ganache.  Serve warm.

For those of you that are familiar with "fluffernutters", this will bring back wonderful memories.  For those of you who are new to this flavor combination, I know you will enjoy this rather decadent dessert.

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you, enjoy!!!

S.

Obsession - yep, I definitely need treatment for this!!!

OK...now for a simple and delicious pizza.  No red sauce, no white sauce.  The only"sauce that is on the pizza is pesto.

This makes one 12 - 14 inch pie, which will serve 2 to 3 people, if served with sides.  If not, it will serve 1 to 2 people.

Using your favorite pizza dough or prepared crust, spread about 1/2 cup of pesto on the dough,
Sprinkle on 1 and 1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella
Spread on 1 1/2 cups roasted, peeled and diced red peppers
1 cup of diced tomatoes
Bake at 375 until the crust is golden and crispy

Once removed from the oven, add 2 sliced or diced avocados that have been drizzled with lime juice and dig right on in.

This is really good!!!

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you,
Enjoy!!!
S.

Obsession with flavor combination

OK....I admit, I have now gone completely over the edge of reason.  I posted a sandwich recipe the other day and for some reason, can't get enough of the flavor combination.  So, I did a few other things with the ingredients:

1 pound of cooked mini penne pasta
1 - 12 ounce jar of roasted & peeled red peppers, julienned
1 cup of basil pesto
1/2 cup of sun dried tomato strips packed in olive oil...be sure to use the oil
2 large avocados, diced
3 cups of shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts

While the pasta is still warm, mix all the ingredients together and serve.  This makes 6 servings and can be served warm or at room temperature.  Since there is no mayonnaise used in the recipe, this should work well for a picnic.

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you,
Enjoy!!!
S.

Soft, Creamy and Flavorful Sandwich

I must say that this sandwich was a bit of a surprise for me.  I normally always have meat in a sandwich but recently, I had some pretty significant oral surgery done and could only eat soft foods.  So, I decided to do a take-off on a Caprese salad and make it into a sandwich.

I love the traditional tomato, mozzarella and basil salad, but wanted to add some creaminess to the sandwich idea.  Here is what I did:

2 slices bread of your choice
2 tablespoons of mayo mixed with 1 tablespoon of basil pesto, spread that on the bread.
Then place 1-2 slices of provolone cheese, a few slices of thinly sliced tomato and strips of roasted red peppers that have been julienned.  Now comes the best part......avocado...place 4 slices of avocado on the sandwich and then cover with the other piece of bread.  Place in a panini press and cook until crisp and golden.  Slice and serve.

If you are any thing like me, I don't have a panini press.  I find that an old fashioned griddle works just as well.  I have even pulled out my George Forman grill to make sandwiches on.

My husband LOVED this sandwich when I made it and he is very much a meat and potatoes kind of man. He has also asked if I would make it again......"score" one for the Pookie!!!!

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you,

Enjoy!!!
S.

Messy Miguel's

As a child of the 60's and 70's, I grew up eating "Sloppy Joe's".  For those that may be unfamiliar with this, it is a mixture of ground beef, tomato sauce and some spices, cooked until the sauce becomes very thick, a scoop of this concoction is served on a hamburger bun and it is mainly a food for children....well, children of all ages.

I was watching an old movie and in one of the scenes they are serving this meal to a bunch of kids at camp.  I couldn't help but think.....what can I do to update this?  Knowing that I lean towards the flavors of the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, I decided to turn this into a more adult, spicier version of the meal.  Then came the name.  It's kind of cute, dontcha think?

Yield:  8 servings
Temperature:  Stovetop, medium to medium low
Time:  45 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 pounds of ground beef
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium, purple onion, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
1 - 2 chipotles in adobo, minced (use 2 chipotles if you like your food to bite back)
30 ounces of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Shredded cheese (1 cup of pepper jack, 1 cup of cheddar and 1 cup of mozzarella mixed)

Steps:
1.  In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil.  Then add the ground beef and cook until browned.  The meat should be "scrambled" so that there are no large pieces or chunks of ground beef.
2.  Add the garlic, onion and peppers, chipotles and cook until the peppers and onions are soft.
3.  Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper and stir to incorporate.
4.  Cook on medium low, stirring occasionally, until the mixture becomes thick and holds it's shape on a spoon.

Serving suggestion:
1.  Serve on tortillas with shredded cheese and avocado - 8 servings
2.  Use as a filling for empanadas.
3.  Use as a filling for arepas.
4.  Serve as a dip, using tortilla chips or plantain chips.

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you, enjoy!!!
S.

New Recipes Coming Soon

Hi Everyone!!!

I have not forgotten about y'all or about posting new recipes.  I have been hard at work on my cookbook with my "mentor".  We have been editing my first chapter and I am almost finished with the first group of edits.  Over the next several days, I will be sending the updated chapter to "J" for review.

Then, it is on to my next chapter and time to begin thinking about publishers and agents......this is so exciting.

I can't tell you what a blessing having a professional Chef and cookbook author as a mentor has been for me.  I am learning so much from such a generous individual.  You may be able to tell the difference in a recent recipe posting or two......we changed the format and structure of the recipes so that they contain some important and vital information that I had not always written into the recipes.

I will keep y'all posted and will post a couple of new and fun recipes over the weekend.

In the mean time, I wish you many blessings!!!

From the heart of my purple kitchen to you!!!
S.