Okay, I told you a couple of weeks back that I was a true lover of Tiramisu. There is a place here in town called Tamaras that I am a big fan of. She makes the most amazing cupcakes. Tiramisu is one of my favorites. I have bought several from her, but Scott has a hard time paying $3.00 for a cupcake, so it is usually my job to recreate something that we both enjoy. This recipe is a favorite of my husbands. He says he would pay way more than $3.00 for this little piece of heaven. I am quite overjoyed that I have come up with something that not only he loves, I love and our guests have gone crazy over as well. The key is the homemade mascarpone I think, which you have to make the night before. It  makes it a little more time consuming, but well worth it in my opinion.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Tiramisu Cupakes -Serves 12

Cupcake batter- 1 box White Cake Mix, 2 egg whites, 1 egg, 1/3 cup oil, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3/4 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/8 cup coffee and 1 TB instant coffee crystals.

First off, let me say that this is not my original recipe or picture. Her picture turned out much better than mine and I wanted you to get the full effect of how wonderful this really is.  However, I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it with you. I served this as my fruit cup before breakfast, but I think it would make a wonderful after dinner dessert as well. This recipe and picture came from shewearsmanyhats.com.

Fried Nectarines with Vanilla Mascarpone – Serves 3-4

Fruit- 3 TB. butter, 4 C nectarines, sliced (6-7), 1/4 C brown sugar, 1/4 C amaretto

Mascarpone Topping- 8 oz. mascarpone, 4 oz. vanilla yogurt, 1 tsp. vanilla. (you will have some left over, but it is so tasty, you can use it on something else.

For the fruit, melt butter in a saute pan. In a small bowl combine sliced nectarines and brown sugar. Add the brown sugar coated nectarines and cook over med. heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add amaretto and simmer over med. heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For the mascarpone topping, mix together the mascarpone and the yogurt until smooth. Add vanilla and mix well. Serve warm.

I know this is one day early but  my  new website goes live sometime on Thursday and I wanted to make sure you received your weekly recipe.  I may have never said this, but I am in love with Tiramisu.  I am constantly trying new recipes and adapting them to make them my own. I have been working on tiramisu in a jar all winter, but I am just not ready yet to present yet, but be ready, I am almost there.   I am ready though to share this one with you. I did find this recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, but have changed it up a bit. I hope you like it. By the way, you will probably be seeing  A LOT more tiramisu recipes from me. This one is really easy and really good for breakfast or dessert.

Tiramisu Bread Pudding – Serves 8

1 1/3 cups milk, 1 1/4 cups whipping cream, 2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals, 6 eggs, lightly beaten, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup  brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 7 C Challah bread and 1/3 cup powdered sugar,

Creme Cheese Topper – 3/4 cup whipping cream, 1 ounce cream cheese, softened and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl stir together milk, whipping cream, and coffee crystals until coffee is dissolved. Reserve 1 tablespoon milk mixture; set aside.

Stir eggs, the sugars, and vanilla into milk mixture. Stir in bread pieces until moistened. Evenly divide among eight greased 6-ounce ramekins, filling each almost full. Place on a  baking pan. Bake 30 minutes or until puffed and set.
In small bowl combine powdered sugar and reserved 1 tablespoon milk mixture; stir until smooth. Drizzle over bread pudding. Dollop with Cream Cheese Topper.

The last two days have been heaven for me. I love this warm weather and am already dreading the cooler temps this weekend. Okay, back to the positive. Tuesday evening my family decided it was a good night to grill out with some brats, burgers and all trimmings to go with it. My job, to make pasta salad. I realized that I did not have a blog recipe for this week, so I wanted to be able to come up with something to serve my family for dinner that would do double duty for breakfast. I ran to the store and picked up a package of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, a pineapple and an apple. I washed everything, cut it up and through it in a bowl. I pulled out some cheesecake flavored instant pudding from the cupboard and sprinkled about 3 Tb over the fruit. I stirred it up and let it blend in the refrigerator for about an hour. It came out with a slightly creamy texture and wonderful flavor. I am sure vanilla pudding, banana or coconut would work just a great depending on your taste buds.

Fruit n’ Pudding – Serves 6

Container of strawberries(sliced) , raspberries, blueberries, half a pineapple( diced) and one apple (diced) and one package of instant flavored pudding. I used cheesecake, but your favorite white flavor would work great too, I am sure.

I got the urge the other day for some chocolate chip cookies, but then I saw and opened a package of caramels and decided why  not put the two together in a bar. The only I might do differently the next time around is put them in a larger pan. They came out pretty thick, which isn’t a bad thing, but to make them go a little further, this might be an option.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2 1/3 C flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled to room temp., 1 C light brown sugar, 1/2 C sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. vanilla, 3/4 bag of chocolate chips, 10 oz. of caramel chips, 3 TB heavy cream and sea salt.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9″ square pan and set aside. In a med. bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Mix together the melted butter and sugar(s) on med speed until combined. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and  mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a med. microwavable bowl, combine the caramel chips and heavy cream. Microwave until the caramels are melted, stirring every 20 seconds or so for about 2 minutes until creamy.

Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan and smoothing the top. Pour the hot caramel over the cookie dough and spread evenly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Drop the remaining cookie dough on top of the caramel and spread evenly over the top. Sprinkle with  more sea salt.

Bake the bars for 30 min until the top is light brown. Cool completely before cutting.

Scott and I had some friends over the other night to watch the premier of the 2013 season of Mad Men. This couple we had over got us into watching the series, so the last couple of years we enjoyed some wine and a few appetizers together while dissecting the first few segments. Whenever we get together with this couple they always do such a great job of entertaining that I feel like I do not do our place justice. After creating this enjoyable platter, I thought it would be great to share it with our inn guests over wine and cheese. The bread I made is the recipe I shared with you a few months back (Crusty Bread). This time I just used pepperjack cheese and thyme to give it a more mild flavor with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I purchased some black and green olives with feta from the Festival Foods deli, along with a fresh mozzarella, sundried tomato and salami panini roll, hand rolled salami, Satori Monte Amori cheese and grapes.  The recipe below is for the tomato ricotta frittata which you could use for breakfast, but I prefer to serve it cold as an appetizer.

Tomato Ricotta Fritatta

3 TB olive oil, 1 large onion, sliced 1/4″ thick, 1 large tomato, sliced 1/2 inch thick, 8 eggs, 1/2 C shredded parmesan, 1/3 C fresh, coarsely shopped basil, salt, pepper and 6 TB ricotta.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med. heat. Add onion slices and cook until softened. Transfer to a plate. Add tomatoes to the skillet and cook, turning once until edges are softened. Transfer to the plate with the onions.

In a bowl, stir the eggs, 1/4 C parmesan, basil and salt and pepper.

Spread the onion slices in the bottom of the skillet. Pour the beaten eggs on top and cook over med. heat until the eggs are set around the edges.

Place the tomato slices on the top of the frittata. Dollop the ricotta between the tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining parmesan on top. Bake the frittata until the top is golden and set, about 18 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes and then slide out of pan and let cool. Cut into wedges.

Last week I posted a recipe for Spinach and Feta Baked Eggs. I served it with this upside down Apple Coffee Cake that I found on Pinterest. It has a great flavor and looks really pretty and impressive when served. You do have to be careful though, because it does have a tendency of falling apart when trying to get it out of the pan, if you are not careful.

Upside-Down Apple Coffee Cake Recipe

1-1/2 cups apples, chopped and peeled, 1 can (12.4 ounce) Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with icing, 1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces, 2 tablespoons butter, melted, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons corn syrup

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.  Spread 1 cup of the apples in pie plate.

Separate dough into 8 rolls.  Cut each roll into quarters; place in large bowl.  Add remaining 1/2 cup apples and pecans.

In small bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and corn syrup until well blended.  Add brown sugar mixture to dough mixture; toss gently to combine.  Spoon mixture over apples in pan.

Bake 28 to 38 minutes or until deep golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes.  Invert onto serving platter.

Remove lid from icing.  Microwave icing on high 10 to 15 seconds or until drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over warm coffee cake.  Serve warm.

I had to do some quick thinking the other day and luckily it worked out well. I thought I was having 8 gentleman for breakfast on Sunday morning, but late Friday night I was told that only 4 would be dining. I had made a breakfast lasagna earlier in the day just waiting to throw it in the oven in the morning. Since this lasagna recipe serves 8,  I didn’t want to waste half of the lasagna so I wrapped it up and put it in the freezer for a later day. Sunday morning I was scrambling a bit to come up with something fast for 4 guys with the ingredients I had in the kitchen. tomato and spinach baked eggs were born. As I served this new little dish, I warned the guys that they were my experiment for the day and my feelings would not be hurt if they did not care of this dish. To my husbands surprise, the bowls were literally licked clean.

Tomato and Spinach Baked Eggs  Serves 4

2 TB olive oil, 1 med. yellow onion, 5 oz. fresh baby spinach, 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp. cumin, salt, pepper, and horseradish, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 2 tsp. chipotle or hot sauce, 4 large eggs and 1/4 C crumbled feta.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 4- 8oz. ramekins with non stick spray and set aside.

In a med. saucepan, heat oil over med heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Remove from heat.

In a med. bowl, stir together the tomatoes, cumin, salt, pepper, horseradish, chipotle, and paprika. Add the onion-spinach mixture and stir to combine. Divide among the four ramekins.

Crack an egg into the center of each ramekin and sprinkle with feta. Bake until the whites are set but yolks are still soft, about 12-15 minutes.

I served this with an upside down Apple coffee cake. See next weeks blog for this recipe.

Do you know the health benefits of chocolate and peanut butter? Imagine putting them together. Double whammy. Feel good about this next recipe first by reading all the benefits of these two items and then fall in love with this recipe I found on Pinterest. All I can say, Oh my Gosh! Not only could I not keep the Reeses Peanut Butter cups out of my mouth, but once these little devils came out of the oven, I couldn’t stop eating the finished product either.

Health Benefits of Chocolate

1. A 2011 Swedish study found that women who ate more than 45 grams of chocolate a week had a 20% lower risk of a stroke than women who treated themselves to fewer than 9 grams of the sweet stuff.

2. Regular chocolate eaters welcome a host of benefits for their hearts, including lower blood pressure,lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease.

3. Because it’s rich in fiber, dark chocolate can actually help keep you full, so you’ll eat less, Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center.  Regular chocolate eaters might do themselves a favor by treating themselves to a bite instead of snacking on “11 other things first” he said.

4. Chocolate May Fight Diabetes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1 1/2 C, plus 2 TBSP. flour, 6 TBSP, cocoa, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1tsp salt, 6 TBSP butter at room temp., 1/4 C creamy peanut butter, 1/2 C sugar, 1/2 C brown sugar, 1 LG egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 TBSP. milk, 2 C coarsely chopped peanut butter cups, divided. Hint- much easier if you have these in the freezer first. Easier to chop up.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a med. bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a larger bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter and both sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla and milk. Blend until smooth. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients. Add 1 1/2 C chopped peanut butter cups and fold in gently with a spatula.

Drop large rounds of dough onto the baking sheets. Gently press a few pieces of the reserved peanut butter cups (if you have any left from eating them), on top of each of the dough balls. Bake 12  minutes-14 minutes, rotating the pans half way through. They will look under baked when you take them out, but don’t worry, they will firm up. You DO NOT want to over bake these. Let col on the baking sheet about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I spotted this recipe as I was tuning into Rachel Ray cleaning one of the guest rooms the other day. Sometimes this is why it takes  me so long to clean. Ha. I get side tracked easily sometimes. I liked the thought because it was one of her 30 minutes meals. Not really breakfast,  not really dinner, so I am classifying it as brunch. It reminded me of when I vacation down in Mexico and what I might eat for breakfast while I am there. You be the judge.

Frito Frittata – Serves 4 healthy portions.

1 TB olive oil, 1/3lb. ham, 3 TB butter, 1 small onion, 1/2 sm. red pepper, seeded and finely chopped, 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced and chopped, 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, salt and pepper to taste, 1 sm, tomato chopped, 2 TB. cilantro, 1 1/2 C Fritos lightly crushed, 10 eggs, lightly beaten, 2 oz. pepperjack cheese, cubed and 2 oz. shredded sharp cheddar.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large , ovenproof skillet, heat olive oil over med. heat. Add the ham and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add butter to the skillet and cook until foamy. Add onion, peppers, garlic and salt and pepper. Cook about 3-4 minutes. Stir in tomato and cilantro. Scatter ham and corn on top.

In a bowl, beat eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over ham. Scatter the cheese on top. Cook until the eggs are just set-3-5 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and bake until puffed. About 12 minutes or so.

I really try to stick with recipes that we make at the inn. That usually limits us to breakfast, fruit cups, desserts and few light nibbles that we serve with wine and cheese.  Last summer, you may remember, that I posted a strawberry soda ice cream recipe. I claimed that it was the “Best” strawberry ice cream I have EVER had. I still believe this by the way. It was strawberry season and though we serve a fruit cut with our breakfast entrees, I thought that this strawberry ice cream could take the place of that, or just as a great dessert afterwards. Being that St. Patricks day is this weekend, I wanted to come up with something other than mint brownies, cookies, and other every day items that one might come to expect from us. So, I went back to my trusted strawberry ice cream recipe and threw together my favorite flavor. Mint Chocolate Chip. The key to a really good, easy, ice cream I believe is sweetened condensed milk. It is really what makes the strawberry recipe so creamy and as it does with the mint. Also, leaving out the eggs is also a sure bet that you don’t have to worry about anyone getting sick. So, all that being said, I am going to claim that this is now the BEST mint chocolate chip ice cream I have ever had as well. I know it’s a lot to live up to, so if you think you have got something better, that is just as easy to throw to together, I am up for the challenge. Until then, I hope you enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup milk (I use skim since that is what I had on hand), large pinch salt, 1 C sugar, 1 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract, 4 drops green food coloring (more or less depending what color you like) and 4 ounces chocolate. (whatever you have on hand. I used milk chocolate this time, but I prefer dark but bittersweet and semi are also wonderful)! Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate in a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour into your ice cream maker and process about 30 minutes. It will still be soft. 5 minutes before churning is complete, shave chocolate into the ice cream and continue churning a few more minutes. Pour the ice cream into a freezer container and freeze until hard, usually a few hours.

This time of year, I really miss the fresh berries and the cool tastes of summer. So, I go the freezer and grab a bag of strawberries that I have frozen from the summer. This cool treat is great for breakfast by itself, with a meal, a treat mid day or even dessert after dinner. The candied walnuts give it a nice crunch as well.

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Parfait

Strawberries, banana, yogurt, (candied walnuts) – walnuts, brown sugar and butter – Serves 1

Slice a strawberry and slice a banana and add to the bottom of a parfait glass or anything you want to use. Add a dollop of your favorite plain yogurt. Add another couple of slices of strawberry and bananas. Add your candied walnuts. Add another dollop of yogurt and top with a couple of strawberry slices, banana slice and more candied walnuts. Enjoy!

Candied Walnut nut recipe – I take a handful of walnuts, melt 1 TB of melted butter and then add 1/8 C of brown sugar. Stir. You can store in the refrigerator any left overs and use at another time.