Cheddar Ale Fondue

My mom always made this during the winter and today seems like a lovely day to curl up with some warm pretzels and fondue. Note: This is thin when just coming off the stove, but thickens nicely as it sits. This is best warm, though, so you may want to make the day before you want to serve it and refrigerate overnight. Then, all you have to do is re-warm it with a little more ale (if needed) to thin it out.

Ingredients:

4 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (this works best if you shred it yourself, but bagged will work, too)

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

12 ounces ale-I’m going with a pale ale, but you can go crazy

2 teaspoons ground mustard (or more, if you like it-I use a Tablespoon)

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

A pinch of smoked paprika to make it pretty (optional)

Assorted pretzels, toasted breads, vegetables, etc. for dippers

Directions: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cheese and cornstarch. Set aside while you put a medium saucepan on the stove. Add the ale to the saucepan and heat over medium heat until simmering. You will see bubbles forming around the edges of the pan.

Add the cheese one small handful at a time, whisk (yes, you need a whisk here) until each addition is incorporated. This is where things get dicey—it will look like the cheese isn’t really blending with the liquid. Once all the cheese is added, stir in the mustard, salt and Worcestershire. Bring the heat up to medium high, whisking constantly for about 4-5 minutes. Trust me, once the cornstarch starts to thicken this up, it all becomes smooth. You don’t want a full rolling boil, though. You should be whisking enough that the bottom doesn’t burn. Nothing worse than trying to remove burnt cheese from the bottom of a pan, right?

Remove from the heat and let cool for several minutes to really tighten up. Sprinkle with paprika, if you want. Pour into a bowl, dip, eat, and repeat.

Bacon, Veggie and Cheese Strata

Ingredients:

3 cups (packed) stale bread or rolls (just tear into roughly 1 inch pieces before measuring)

½ cup chopped bacon

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1cup sliced leeks or onions

1 cup frozen, quartered artichoke hearts, thawed

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

6 eggs

1 cup milk, cream or half and half

2 cups shredded cheese, your choice, divided (I used a combo of cheddar, Colby and jack)

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup grated parmesan

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil cooking spray. Place the bread on the foil and bake for 15 minutes until dry. Spray a 2.5 quart rectangular baking dish with cooking spray and spread the bread in the bottom. Increase the oven heat to 350 degrees F.

While the bread is toasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the mushrooms, leeks/onions, artichoke hearts, spinach and red peppers to the pan. (if you want, you can season with a little salt and pepper here). Cook over medium heat until all the vegetables are soft and there is no liquid in the bottom of the skillet, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly so they don’t scramble the eggs.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk and salt and pepper (I used a teaspoon of salt and 8 turns of the pepper grinder). Whisk until combined. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, all the veggies, and all the bacon. Pour over the bread cubes. Push down with the back of a wooden spoon and let sit for 15 minutes so the bread can absorb the liquid. Bake  for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining one cup of cheese with the sour cream and parmesan in a small bowl. After the strata has baked for 40 minutes, remove from the oven and spread the cheese/sour cream mixture over it in a thin layer. Bake for another 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is bubbly.

Get creative on me: This is the perfect dish to use up whatever you have in the fridge. You know those leftover hot dog buns that seem to accumulate? Use them. Change the veggies out, change the cheeses, leave out the bacon to make it vegetarian (just sauté the veggies in olive oil), or even add some red pepper flakes.



Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownies

It was a dark and stormy brownie, and the salted caramel waves crashed upon it's shores. Ok, enough. Quick, easy, one pan gooey goodness!

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick) butter (can substitute margarine or light butter, but don’t use tubs)

¾ cup dark chocolate morsels (can substitute semi-sweet)

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon espresso powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup flour

½ cup jarred salted caramel sauce (I like Trader Joe’s ®)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8x8 square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and stir until combined. Add the vanilla, espresso powder and salt. Stir in the cocoa and flour and pour the batter into the baking dish. Place spoonfuls of the salted caramel sauce randomly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top appears dry. You can test with a toothpick, avoiding the caramel. It should come out with just wet crumbs sticking to it (not liquid). Let cool for 20 minutes or so and cut into small squares ‘cuz, honey, these are rich!

Chocolate and Oranges

What a great last minute dessert. Love these flavors together.

Ingredients:

1 orange for each person

1 teaspoon of honey or agave for each orange

1 teaspoon of water for each orange

1 Tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate chips for each orange

Directions: Using a knife, cut off the top and bottom of the orange. Cut the peel and pith (white part) off of each orange in a wide, shallow bowl. Save those peels—we can make fantastic candied orange peel out of them. But I digress. Section each orange by cutting vertically between the membranes of each section. Place the orange sections on a plate. Take the juice that accumulated in your cutting bowl and put it in a small microwaveable bowl. Add the water and honey/agave. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Pour the sweetened orange juice over the orange sections. Pulverize the chocolate chips in the food processor until fine and sprinkle over the orange sections. Grab forks.

Greek Dip

This is addictive. I’ve been making a version of this with homemade aioli in place of mayo for years, but this is quicker, easier, and lighter. Please don’t be put off by the anchovy paste—it really is what gives this it’s rich flavor. However, if you can’t/don’t eat fish, leave it out. By the way, leftover dip (properly refrigerated) makes a great salad dressing!

Ingredients:

1 cup light mayonnaise

2 cloves of garlic, pressed (or very, very finely minced)

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup light sour cream

1 (8 oz.) package of reduced fat feta cheese, drained and crumbled

3 green onions, chopped

2 Tablespoons capers

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, garlic, anchovy paste, olive oil and sour cream. Stir in the feta, green onions, capers, Greek seasoning, dried oregano and black pepper. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight to let the flavors develop. Serve with pita chips, carrot and celery sticks,  and/or  slices of green or red bell peppers. I like to drizzle a little more olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper before serving.

Crispy Seed Crackers

I love seeds-sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, whatever. However, seeds with shells leave a mess and if the seeds are unshelled they can be too small to pick up with just your fingers. Here’s my seed delivery system.

Ingredients:

24 (3 inch) won ton wrappers, cut in half diagonally

½ cup shelled, roasted and salted sunflower seeds

¼ cup white sesame seeds

3 Tablespoons honey or agave syrup

3 Tablespoons hot tap water

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In one small bowl, mix together the two seeds and set aside. In another small bowl, stir the honey and water together until you have a thin syrup. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place half of the won ton wrappers on the baking sheets and brush each one with honey-water. Sprinkle half of the seed mixture over the won tons, trying to get as many seeds as possible touching the honey water (that is glue number 1). Pat the seeds lightly into the won ton wrappers and then spray the tops with cooking spray (glue number 2). Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through,  until golden brown and repeat with remaining won tons, honey water and seed mixture.

Sweet and Spicy Won Ton Crisps

Crispy, sweet-hot little crackers with virtually no fat. Pass the plate.

Ingredients:

24 (3 inch) won ton wrappers, cut in half diagonally

½ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cayenne.  Line two baking sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place half of the won ton wrappers close together, but not touching on the two baking sheets. Spray with cooking spray to thoroughly coat and then lightly dust with half of the sugar/cayenne mixture. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, turning the baking sheets halfway through, until light golden brown. Repeat with the remaining won ton wrappers and sugar/cayenne mixture. These store very well in an airtight container or zip top bag.