Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits & The Times, They Are A’Changin’

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Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

 

It occurred to me earlier today that I have been cooking for about 40 years now. I’m not quite sure whether to be proud of that fact or to go get my walker and economy size bottle of Geritol. I look back to when I was first starting when I was about ten and it amazes me how much grocery stores have changed. Back when I was a kid, you could still find a fair amount of mom and pop stores that carried the basics and a lot of cheap candy but not much else. Then you had the chain stores, which in the case of where I lived, were Jewel and Dominicks. You could fit two or three of those quite neatly into say, a Super Wal-Mart. They sold more than the mom and pop stores but the variety back in the ’70’s just was NOT what it is now. We take it all for granted and just blithely walk through huge grocery stores without batting an eye, but those of us who are older (as well as those who have lived in other countries that don’t have mega marts like we do) remember it being much different back in the days of the dinosaurs :-P  Stores had about ten aisles and if you wanted something fancy, you’d better have access to a large city with small gourmet shops.

Now however, you can go to any large chain grocery store and get gourmet cheeses, artisan breads, fancy meats and some even sell a good variety of decent wines. One of my favorite things about the here and now is the variety of ice cream hehe. When I was a kid, you got vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Neapolitan, butter pecan, rocky road and that was about it. My favorite then was Neapolitan , my sisters was Butter Pecan and my brothers was vanilla. He was the boring one 😛 NOW however, I can easily spend 20 minutes in the ice cream aisle choosing from gourmet gelatos and ice creams of every flavor under the sun.

Another thing that has changed is biscuits. You know those four packs of the canned biscuits that make biscuits with very little flavor and that are the size of a silver dollar? That was IT as far as the selection went. Those and *shudders* the prepackaged “Brown N Serve” rolls. My mom got those every holiday and I hated them. Even then I knew there had to be better out there somewhere. And now you can get some pretty good biscuits in the frozen section. But even then, they aren’t homemade. It took me literally years to learn to make a good buttermilk biscuit. Mine were….edible… but rather too hard and dense, to say the least. Now, if I do say so myself, I make some darn good biscuits. I’ve even taught my daughter and one other family member (who prefers not to admit they were schooled by me 😛 ) how to do so. Now I’m writing it down for the rest of you. They are NOT difficult. The main thing to remember with biscuits? A light touch and don’t overwork your dough. It took me forever to figure that out. I used to knead it about a dozen times the way some recipes said to do. Now, I just dump the dough out, press it into shape, fold it a couple of times, press again and cut them. That’s it. Overworking is the death of a biscuit. Plus, as counter intuitive as it sounds, too much fat in the dough will make for a tougher, flatter biscuit. Stick to the ingredients and ratios here and you’ll have great biscuits. It may take a few times to learn to work the dough properly so if these don’t look like my photo right away, don’t sweat it. They will. I promise.

This makes about ten LARGE biscuits. If you want smaller and aren’t feeding an army, you may want to cup the recipe in half. If not, freeze the leftovers, securely wrapped.

You know the drill… 🙂

Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

  • 4 cups self rising flour (please, if you have access, use  White Lily brand flour. If you can’t find it, then Martha White is a decent substitute.)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (yes, even though the flour is self rising)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, refrigerator cold and sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup solid shortening, chilled and sliced thin
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (use whole milk buttermilk if you can find it. It makes a far better biscuit and really, low fat milk in a biscuit is a waste of time calorie wise)
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, Grease a large baking sheet.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Drop the butter and shortening into the bowl of flour. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter and shortening into the flour until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
  4. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk, all at once, Use a fork to stir and combine the milk with the flour until you have a cohesive dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured board or counter top. Pat it down into a flat circle. Fold it into thirds like you’re folding a letter to fit into an envelope. Pat it down again, fold it one more time. Finally, pat it into a rough circle of about 1 inch to 1 1/4 inches high.
  5. Cut out as many biscuits as you can get, laying them right next to each other in the baking pan if you want soft sided biscuits or about an inch apart if you want crisp sided biscuits.
  6. Bake at 425 for about 20 to 24 minutes, until they are firm on top and golden brown. Take off the pan and serve piping hot, preferably with some nice fresh homemade butter (in the background of my photo and yes, it will be a later post) and good quality jam, preferably something like my homemade Apple Pie Jam because homemade is always better 😀

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Lemony White Chocolate Double Berry Bread Pudding

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Lemony White Chocolate Double Berry Bread Pudding

Lemony White Chocolate Double Berry Bread Pudding




When we get to this part of Winter, that time when you have some warm days then Winter has a hissy fit, backpedals and becomes cold again, I start having major cravings for fresh fruits. Citrus is always a good bet since it’s still in season, but I want berries, darn it! Problem is, what I can find in stores around here, besides being outrageously expensive, has been shipped either from the other side of the U.S. or from another country altogether. So it’s no longer very fresh and it just doesn’t have the flavor that in season berries have. So I compromise. I buy frozen berries. Believe it or not, they are a damned good substitute. With any company worth buying from, the berries are frozen within hours of being picked so you are still getting something that is extremely close to fresh. You may not be able to use it in ALL the same ways you can fresh ones, but in baking, so long as you remember the rule of thumb to use it still frozen, not thawed, you can use it in a LOT of recipes.

You may know I love bread pudding. I used to hate it, but have come to love it since I began making it myself and realized it didn’t always have to be an insipid nursery food with no flavor. Like I mentioned to my husband the other day, I like foods with strong flavors and that includes in bread pudding. This one definitely satisfies. I have made bread pudding enough now that I have no need of a recipe; I just change up the basics to go with whatever add ins I’m doing. This one turned out wonderfully. You have a mild lemon tang and peel taste in the pudding with a bit of smooth white chocolate in there. Then practically every bite, you get some nice tangy berries. It’s bright and fresh tasting and perfect for this time of year. I loved this both warm and chilled. Warm, it’s softer and the flavors are more intense. Chilled it has the texture of a firm mousse, which I love. So far I’ve had it only with some cream poured over it, but I can see this going quite nicely with a berry sauce or custard sauce.

You know the drill… 🙂

Lemony White Chocolate Double Berry Bread Pudding

  • 6 cups cubed Kings Hawaiian Bread (about 12 ounces or 3/4 of a 16 ounce round loaf)
  • 11 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • zest of two lemons (about 3 tablespoons zest)
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
  • boiling water for the water bath
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 4 quart baking dish or 2 2 quart ones. I used 2 2 quart souffle dishes. Place the baking dish/dishes into a large pan. An 11×15 works well.
  2. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Put your chocolate and lemon zest into a medium bowl. Heat the cream up in the microwave until very hot, but not boiling. Pour cream over the white chocolate in the bowl, stir once, then let sit for five minutes. Stir well to combine the cream and chocolate and complete the melting process.
  4. In a large bowl (I know; lots of bowls. Have your kids, neighbors, stranger off the street or husband or wife do the dishes 😛 ), beat together the 6 eggs and the vanilla until frothy. Add in the 1/2 cup sugar and beat well.
  5. Slowly pour the warm cream into the egg mixture. Make sure you spoon out any lemon zest that may have sunk to the bottom and get it in there too. Beat in the lemon juice.  Let this mixture sit for about an hour so the bread can soak up the custard. When ready to bake, carefully fold in the frozen berries.
  6. Pour the pudding mix into the buttered dish and place it in the middle of the oven. Pour boiling water in the outer dish to reach about a third of the way up the sides of the dish the pudding is in. Carefully push the oven shelf back in to avoid sloshing.
  7. Bake at 325 degrees for about 75 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and a knife inserted into the center of the pudding doesn’t come out liquidy and no liquid wells up in the hole left behind.
  8. Cool the pudding at room temp for about an hour. Then you can either serve it warm or chill it for later.

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Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

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Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting




I remember the first time I tried Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls. It was at a mall in Louisville Kentucky. I immediately loved them. I also started to buy them far too often. We went bankrupt, had to live in a cardboard box on a street corner with me holding a sign that said, “please help support my Cinnabon habit. Oh yeah, and help us get a new home too.”  My husband wasn’t pleased with me. But I was happy with all the nice people who dropped Cinnabon money in my tin cup. We eventually got a new place to live. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near a Cinnabon store. The closest one was across the state. So I had to learn to make my own. Which I did. And yes, I’ll post those someday too. So when the idea occurred to me to mix one of my favorite desserts, pound cake, with cinnamon rolls, I ran with it. Of course, upon googling it, I found that a lot of other people had also run with the idea lol, but that’s ok. I’ve come to realize that it is very hard to have a totally original idea in cooking anymore. All you can do is put your own spin on it. And that I have done. I used my favorite pound cake recipe, turned half of it into a cinnamon flavored cake and covered it all with half a batch of the icing I use on cinnamon rolls. This is far from my prettiest photo ever. The light stunk, I was having a crap photo taking day and I’m still sick. But you know what? The cake tastes good. 😛 It has that nice crispy crust that is so good on a pound cake,  a delicate vanilla flavor in half the cake and a tasty cinnamon flavor in the rest. All of that is smothered in a thick cream cheese frosting. All in all, this is a good rendition of a cinnamon roll that had a sex change operation and became cake.

You know the drill…. 🙂

Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Cake-
  • 3 cups cake flour (yes, it makes a difference)
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 12 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 6 eggs, room temp
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • Frosting-
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10 cup bundt cake pan with a flour and oil non stick baking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
  3. Add the flour in and beat on LOW speed just until thoroughly combined.
  4. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Add the cinnamon to the other half of the batter and beat well to combine. Spoon the cinnamon batter on top of the plain batter and smooth it also.
  5. Bake at 325 until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean with no loose crumbs and the top is a nice golden brown, about 75 to 85 minutes.
  6. Let cool in the pan on a rack for ten minutes, then carefully turn the cake out onto the rack to finish cooling.
  7. Meanwhile, make your frosting- combine all the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
  8. Spread over the cooled cake. You can also thin it down some with cream or milk and drizzle it over the cake.

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Triple Lemon Bars

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Triple Lemon Bars

Triple Lemon Bars



There are times when you just need comfort, usually in the form of some sort of food or drink. Whether your idea of that is a bag of chips and a beer and old reruns of Andy Griffith, some chicken & dumplings and a cold glass of milk, sitting under a warm blanket reading Little Women while you sip at some tea or anything involving chocolate, or downing a bottle of Smirnoff, going clubbing dressed in only a thong and high heels and then spending the night over a toilet (which btw, if that’s your form of comfort, I have some numbers you may want to call for help 😛 ) you just have to have some form of comfort. For me, it always involves baking and usually not something new, but something tried and true, something that brings back good memories, which for me would mean when my kids were little. One of the things I baked often then was lemon bars. I mean, who (other than my 17 year old and he’s strange) doesn’t like lemon bars? Well, except for (also) those strange people who just don’t like lemon desserts at all. personally, I think they are aliens come to destroy our world. but I also watched War Of The Worlds last night so I may still be caught up in bad 1950’s movie effects.

Lemon Bars have always been one of those quintessential “you need to know how to make these” sort of recipes to me. SO when I realized that after almost 3 years of blogging, I hadn’t yet posted my go to lemon bar recipe, I knew I needed to change that. These are the ones I have been making for about 20 years, though with some changes form the original, which came from (again) one of those monthly Pillsbury cookbooks. You will notice however, the addition of Boyajian Lemon Oil . I have always added either lemon extract (back in the day) or lemon oil (when I realized it was better than extract) but it’s just been in recent months that I have gained an extreme fondness for their specific brand. Give it a try. You can omit the lemon oil but it does definitely add to the overall flavor.

These have a lemony crust, a tart lemon filling and a glaze that I make using lemon zest and lemon oil, but very little lemon juice so that it can offset the tartness of the filling. These have been worked on over the years to make, what I think is, the best lemon bar around. These make a nice thick bar so cut the pieces small unless you’re trying to send everyone, even your healthy friends, into a diabetic coma 😀

You know the drill… 🙂

Triple Lemon Bars

  • Crust-
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon water, if needed for crust to come together
  • Filling-
  • 6 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Lemon Oil  (if you don’t have it, these will be almost as delicious without it; just not quite as lemony)
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (use room temp lemons to get the most juice)
  • Glaze-
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Few drops of lemon oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 inch baking pan with non-stick foil. That is of course optional, but I highly recommend it.
  2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on low speed, combine all the crust ingredients until mixture is crumbly and holds together when pressed in your hand. if you need to add more water, add a little at a time to get it crumbly and not dry.
  3. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and then bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.
  4. Meanwhile, make your filling- combine the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon oil, flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add in the lemon juice.
  5. When the crust is browned, pour the lemon mixture over the warm crust. Return to the oven and bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the filling is firm, lightly browned and set. If you insert a skewer halfway to the center, it should come out just moist, not liquid, rather like a thick lemon curd. It will set up more as it cools.
  6. Cool the bars completely before glazing. For the glaze, simply whisk all the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over the cooled bars and spread gently.
  7. Cut these into small squares or triangles and you can either store them, covered, on the counter for a day or two, or in the fridge for about a week. The fridge is a better bet because they become quite soft and hard to handle when left out.

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Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling

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Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling

Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling



I’ve always been a doughnut fan. I mean, it’s fried dough which is then usually covered in a glaze or frosting. What’s not to love, right? Back when I was a kid (heck, even now. I admit it) getting a treat of Dunkin Donuts made my day. My favorite was always the Bavarian Creme. And the Boston Creme. And the ones with the thick vanilla filling. And the ones with…. erhmmm, ok, I liked them all. As I got older though, and my palate become more sophisticated (saith the woman who brags about loving Cheetos) I would wish they had more interesting flavors. Not that that stopped me from eating 98 doughnuts in one sitting, just that I wanted more variety. So how do you get more interesting flavors? You make them yourself. Or live in a city with a gourmet Doughnut shop, but that’s not here in rural Kentucky. Gourmet here is “Franks Doughnuts”; good but not fancy.

I made this recipe for Orange Curd knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it. Other than spoon bites of it into my waiting mouth at 2am when no one is looking, that is. Along with Lil’ Smokies sausages. Don’t ask… just don’t ask.

I wanted to use the curd (gosh, curd is a word that soooo doesn’t do justice to the smooth creamy, buttery topping that it is.) as a doughnut filling. And what better way to do that then a yeast doughnut covered in chocolate. Chocolate…orange…classic, right? While my doughnut shapes leave something to be desired, namely, symmetry lol, they taste fantastic. You have a puffy, fluffy and tender yeast doughnut that is mildly sweet with a subtle hint of orange, then a smooth rich chocolate icing and finally that wonderful slightly tangy orange filling. Pure heaven. And oh so easy to eat way more than you need, this why I don’t make doughnuts often. I’d weigh 800 pounds. This is a multi step recipe, but none of the steps is difficult. If you’ve made any recipes using a yeast dough before, this is no different. You’re just frying it instead of baking it. Just make the curd the day before, so that it’s thoroughly chilled when you fill the doughnuts. If orange curd isn’t to your liking, you could use jam or pastry cream or even instant pudding if you’re feeling lazy lol.

You know the drill… 🙂

Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling

  • Doughnuts-
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 envelope dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup milk, warmed to between 115-120 degrees
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Orange Oil
  •  1 egg
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • vegetable oil (enough to fill a pot about 4 inches deep)
  • Icing- (Alton Browns Recipe)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • Filling- Orange Curd
  1. For the doughnuts- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the yeast and warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add in the milk, egg, sugar, vanilla, softened butter, orange zest and orange oil and one cup of the flour. Mix with the paddle attachment just until it is mixed.
  2. Switch over to the dough hook, then add the rest of the flour. Mix at low speed until the dough pulls away cleanly from the side of the bowl. Scrape once or twice if you need to. When the dough is smooth and elastic looking, dump it out into a lightly greased bowl. Turn to coat all sides, then cover with a clean cloth and set somewhere warm to rise. Let rise until doubled in bulk.
  3. After is rises, pat or roll it into a circle that is about 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a 2.5 inch cutter (obviously, if you want smaller or larger doughnuts, change the cutter size but remember to watch your frying time in that case). Cut out the doughnuts, then set them aside on a clean baking sheet. Allow them to rise again until they are doubled in bulk.
  4. While they are rising, slowly heat 4 inches of oil in a large pot to 350 degrees.
  5. When the doughnuts are risen, carefully slide a few at a time into the hot oil. Let cook for one minute on each side (if making 2.5 inch doughnuts), until nicely browned on both sides.
  6. Carefully scoop the doughnuts out and lay them on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. While they cool, make your icing.
  7. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, milk, corn syrup and vanilla. Heat until the butter is totally melted. Add in the chopped chocolate and swirl the pan around, then let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir to finish incorporating the chocolate, then sift in the powdered sugar. Whisk well until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
  8. Filling the doughnuts is easy- pour the orange curd into a plastic squeeze bottle, the type you see ketchup in. You can find them for a dollar at Wal-mart. Poke the top of the squeeze bottle into the side of the doughnut. Squeeze the bottle gently, pulling back as you do so, until the tip comes out of the doughnut. If it looks like you need more filling, squeeze a little more in.
  9. Dip each filled doughnut into the warm icing, swirling as you lift up to get rid of the excess.
  10. Set the doughnuts aside to let the icing dry…. or just eat them. I’m fine with that.

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Blood Orange Curd

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Blood Orange Curd

Blood Orange Curd




I may have mentioned once or twice that I absolutely love citrus fruits. The plethora of lemon posts on the blog shows how much I love them, but my heart really lies with oranges. Back when I was young, eating an orange if you lived in most of the U.S. meant a navel orange. While those are good and I still love them, now, with the world so much smaller in many ways thanks to good methods of transportation, they are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Now, this time of year, you can get in season citrus of so many varieties it boggles the mind. Cara Cara, navel, Sweet lemons, Myer lemons, Mandarins. Tangelos, Pummelos, Kumquats, Clementines and so many others. But my favorite, one that is only around for a couple of short months, is the Blood Orange. Such an ick name for such a tasty fruit. In case you don’t know what it is, a blood orange is a somewhat smallish variety of orange with a reddish-orange rind and a medium to dark red flesh. The flavor is similar to a “regular” orange, but with a bit of a raspberry or even a somewhat winey flavor to it. The scent is intense and a bit more floral. They are absolutely delicious oranges. You can usually find them at any decently stocked grocery store these days.

Since they are in season for such a short time, after I get my fill of eating them, I like to do things with them that keeps around the house for a while longer. This curd is one of those things. It’s made like a basic lemon curd, but obviously subbing in the blood oranges. I personally add in the zest and juice form one lemon because otherwise, the flavor can be a bit one dimensional and flat since oranges are sweeter than a lemon. I also add in a few drops of orange oil at the end of cooking, but that is entirely optional, though I DO recommend it. It adds just a but more of that orange zest flavor and brings it out in the curd itself.

As yummy as this is, hold on to a good portion of it because we’ll be using it in something else that will be utterly delicious in a few days. So resist the temptation to just stand in front of the fridge with the bowl and a spoon. Or just make two batches. 😀

You know the drill… 🙂

Blood Orange Curd

  • Zest from 3 Blood Oranges (about 3 to 4 tablespoons. If there is more, use it)
  • Zest from one lemon (about 1 tablespoon. Again, use it all)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 6 eggs
  • juice from the oranges and the lemon (you should end up with just about 2/3 a cup of juice)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon Boyajian Orange Oil (optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Blend in the citrus zest and the sugar.
  2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until combined.
  3. Add in the blood orange/lemon juices, the vanilla and the salt. Blend well.
  4. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepot. Over medium heat, cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a temp between 170 and 175. Do NOT let this boil. It should take about ten minutes.
  5. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of all the zest and any lumps of eggs that may have cooked too fast.
  6. Pour into a container and store in the fridge. The curd will keep for about a month or so. But we’ll be using some of it up here this week. 😀

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Lemon Pots de Crème

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Lemon Pots de Crème

Lemon Pots de Crème



I will now join the club.. I’m ready for Spring to be here. I want to go out and have adult dirt playtime, otherwise known as gardening. I want to see my Hyacinths bloom as well as put in all of my yearly herbs, flower bulbs and seeds. I want to see leaves on our fruit trees and smell the scent of freshly cut grass. I want to hear the crickets and frog serenade me in the evening.

But… what I want doesn’t mean squat to mean old Mother Nature. She is a harridan who does things on her own schedule and this Winter, she has been in a really really bad mood. Kentucky (the part I live in at least) has seen more snow and ice than I recall seeing here in over a decade. But compared to what other parts of the country have endured, it’s been a cake walk here. I don’t know anyone at this point who isn’t ready for a little warmth. I feel like an aging cat who wants nothing more than to find the nearest sunbeam and let it soak into my body lol.

Spring isn’t going to be here for a while though, even here in the south, so I have to content myself with making foods that make me feel like it is almost here. This Lemon Pots de Crème is definitely one of those foods. This is smooth, ultra creamy and rich and intensely tangy; very much a taste of Spring. The recipe is straight from FineCooking.com. The only change I made was to add 1/4 cup of Limoncello to the lemon syrup mixture, but you can always omit that if you don’t want to bother with it. The Mascarpone Cream is also my own touch. I adore having an excuse to make it and use it and it adds so much to a tangy dessert like this one. This is also a touch more involved than some recipes I post, but nothing you can’t handle. Like I’ve said before, just remember to get your ingredients ready beforehand and it makes putting this together a lot quicker and easier. Prep in cooking is SOOOO important.

What is a  Pots de Crème btw for those of you who may not know? Simply a fancy name for a rich baked pudding/custard. This is egg yolk and cream rich so bakes up very smooth if you don’t overcook it.

You know the drill… 🙂

Lemon Pots de Crème With Mascarpone Cream

  • zest of 4 lemons
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup Limoncello Liquor (optional)
  • 3 1/2 heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out (hold onto the pod; you’ll use it too) or 2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract (but the sight of the speckles form the beans in there adds some visual appeal)
  • 10 egg yolks (save those whites and make some meringue cookies or egg white omelets!)
  • Boiling water for the water bath
  • For the mascarpone cream-
  • 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place 8 6 ounce ramekins inside a large baking dish. Set aside.
  2. In a small pot, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the Limoncello (if using). Simmer the mix until it has reduced down to about 1/2 cup. This will take about 15 minutes. Set aside.
  3. In a medium pot, combine the 3 1/2 cups cream, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla beans and reserved pod (if using extract instead, you’ll add it later) and bring the mixture to just below boiling over medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  4. Gently whisk the egg yolks with the last 1/4 cup of sugar, just until smooth. Don’t make it airy, just smooth.
  5. Add a ladleful of the hot cream into the egg yolks, whisking the whole time. Do this one more time to temper your yolks. Whisk the egg yolk mix into the rest of the cream mixture.
  6. Cook slowly, stirring constantly (wooden spoons or silicone spatulas work best to make sure you hit all edges of the pot), until the mixture reaches 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Stir in the reserved lemon syrup, then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the lemon zest and vanilla pod. Add your vanilla extract now if that’s what you’re using.
  7. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and carefully transfer the whole baking dish to the 325 degree oven.
  8. Gently pour in boiling water, using enough to reach about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Be careful here, it’s easy to splash it into the puddings and you don’t want to do that. Cover the pan with a large sheet of foil. Don’t tighten it, just lay it over the top. This holds in the steam and also prevents browning.
  9. Bake at 325 for 25 to 45 minutes (start checking it at the 25 minute mark), until the  Pots de Crèmes  are set at just about 1/4 inch in from the edges. You’re not making a firm pudding here; these are looser. If you insert an instant read thermometer in the center, the temp should be between 150 to 155. If so, they’re ready to come out. If you’ve made other baked puddings or custards, you’ll think “no way are these done”. They ARE. They will firm up to the perfect texture as they cool. Take them one at a time out of the baking pan and let cool for about an hour at room temp, then transfer to the fridge to finish chilling and firm up.
  10. When ready to serve, combine all the ingredients for the mascarpone cream and beat at high speed until it forms nice creamy semi firm peaks.
  11. Garnish the Pots de Crème with lemon zest and the mascarpone cream. I also used some sliced Kumquats because I love them. They’re so darn cute!

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Three Cheese, Pancetta and Fig Scones

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Three Cheese, Pancetta & Fig Scones

Three Cheese, Pancetta & Fig Scones

I’ve always had a yearning to travel. While I love my country and have hopes to someday explore all the back roads and hidden gems in North America, there are soooooo many other places I want to see. There is a movie I absolutely love called The Way . I have now seen it 8 times and have recommended it to so many people that Emilio Estevez should be sending me part of his royalties lol. I won’t give the plot away. Just go to the link and then go buy the movie.
This movie leaves me aching to see the world (as well as attempt the pilgrimage the movie portrays though I know I may never be able to afford it), including parts of it not shown in the movie. I honestly can’t think of one part of the world I don’t want to see. I am “that” person who watches with wide eyes the TV travel shows, devours travel books and especially loves when my two loves; food and history are mixed in with the travel idea. When I lived in Germany, I was never blessed enough to get anywhere else in Europe and it is, of course, one of the parts of the world I want to see. And one of my main loves there is Scotland. I have seen so much of the country via books, movies, TV and the Internet and love it. I admit that food wise, there are some Scottish specialties I will probably not try… think Haggis, “Potted Heid” (their version of headcheese)

While they may not have originated there, scones seem to be synonymous with Scotland. I am pretty sure however, that these are not exactly Scottish in the flavor combo. The other day I asked on my facebook fan page whether everyone would prefer bacon and Swiss or pancetta and Swiss. One woman mentioned using figs and I loved the idea. So I incorporated them into the scones and I love them. Thanks Diane! These scones marry sweet and savory quite nicely. I just took my go to scone recipe, deleted the sugar and added in chopped dried figs, 3 types of cheese and crispy pancetta. These are slightly crispy, wonderfully flaky and getting a bite of fig with a bit of pancetta, all mixed into a cheesy scone, is amazing. The use of both butter and cream in these makes them melt in your mouth tender.

You know the drill… 🙂

Three Cheese, Pancetta & Fig Scones

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Herbes De Provence (found easily in the spice aisle and is wonderful with so many foods, it’s worth buying if you don’t have any on hand)
  • 10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, sliced thin
  • 4 ounces diced Pancetta, fried until crisp and then blotted with a paper towel to remove the grease
  • 3/4 cup of coarsely chopped dried figs (use good ones. Trader Joes sells some great dried figs. But where ever you get them from, make sure they are nice and fresh, not all shriveled and hard)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (NOT that powdery stuff. Buy the real thing)
  • 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 9×13 baking sheets.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and Herbes De Provence. Mix well.
  3. Using a pastry blender, cut the chilled butter into the flour mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the pancetta, cheese and figs
  4. In a small bowl (measuring cup, large pair of hands, whatever) combine the egg and the 1 1/2 cups of cream. Mix well.
  5. Pour the cream mixture into the flour all at once. Stir well with a large wooden spoon or a fork. The mixture will still have some flour left on the bottom of the bowl. Dump it all onto a lightly floured board (make sure to scrape the bowl to get anything clinging in there) and knead for about one minute, just to get all the dry parts well combined.
  6. Pat into a large rectangle about 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a sharp knife and cut the dough into 12 pieces. Lay them on the prepared baking pans, near to each other but not touching.
  7. Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with sea salt.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees until they are light golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  9. Let cool on the pan for one minute, then transfer to a serving dish. These are best served warm and fresh, though you can reheat them by either nuking them for 30 seconds or so or putting them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

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Coconut Tres Leches Cake

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Coconut Tres Leches Cakes

Coconut Tres Leches Cakes



It’s been an interesting few weeks. The weather practically nationwide has been astonishingly cold. We even got noticeable snow (like 6 inches) of snow here in Kentucky. More mass chaos world wide, politics still suck donkey toes and I STILL haven’t won the lottery. Go figure. Plus, I had surgery and surgery when you’re an old fogey like me is just not quite as easy as when you’re a young pup.

Today was the first day I had cooked since having the surgery. I stood and wobbled over the stove making dinner as my field of vision got smaller and smaller and things got gray while I tried not to pass out lol…. I have this really really bad habit of overdoing things.

I did finally manage to make the cake I mentioned wanting to make a few days ago on my facebook page. Wow, that sentence was awkward grammatically. Sorry… moving on… cake, facebook, yada yada… I said days ago that I was gong to make a Tres Leches Cake. Well, here it is. This was my first time ever having Tres Leche cake and I’m going to be 100% honest with you….. I know this cake is a favorite dessert of many people and quite a popular recipe with many variations if you google it. But…. it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I am, of course, still posting it, because it isn’t always about what I like. Sure, most of what I blog about I enjoy but sometimes I will post things that I didn’t care for just because I know some of you WILL enjoy it. This was a nice moist cake and the way I flavored it, it was wonderfully flavored. But the whole sauce soaked into cake thing didn’t work for me. But again, I know some of you will love this…. soft cake, creamy coconut flavored sauce, and not difficult to make.

The original recipe for this came from Bon Appetit. I made only minor changes, those being the use of coconut extract and coconut milk as well as the lime zest.

You know the drill…. 🙂

Coconut Tres Leche Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon lime zest
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon coconut flavoring
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking pan. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and lime zest.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add in the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, beating just to blend after each one. Beat in the 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring.
  5. Alternately add in the flour and the 1/2 cup half and half,  starting with and ending with the flour (flour, half and half, flour, half and half, flour), beating well after each addition.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 325 and continue to bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched on top.
  7. While cake is baking, in a large measuring cup, combine the coconut milk, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon coconut flavoring.
  8. Cool the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then poke holes all over it with a wooden skewer or fork.  Slowly pour about half of the cream topping over the cake, smoothing it to get it down in the holes. Let that soak in for a few minutes, then pour about half of what is left on it, again letting it soak in. The rest can be used to pour over individual slices of cake (or just eaten with a spoon…hey, i said I liked the topping! 😛 )
  9. Serve the cake with extra topping poured over it, if desired.

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Chocolate Triple Berry Snack Bars

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Chocolate Triple Berry Snack Bars


You know how after Christmas, you’re just never sure what kind of baking to do? You definitely don’t want cookies because you gained 35 pounds eating the little boogers over Christmas. Bread is always good when it’s freshly made and I make a lot of that. But even though I’m rather burnt out on sweets (well, baked ones anyway. I can ALWAYS manage things like flan or ice cream), my family still manages to get to me with puppy dog eyes and heavy sighs when there is nothing home made to nosh on.

So I bake. Well, I also bake for all of you because I lurveseses you. 😀

I love things like these bars. They could also be called a snack cake because the texture is fairly cake like. Cut these in small squares and serve them to the kids after school. Top with a scoop of ice cream and they make a great dessert. leave the pan sit out and watch your husband devour them in ten minutes. Wait… maybe that’s just my house and I need to get a padlocked cabinet. Preferably see through so that he could look through it, see the goodies and whine piteously. Yes, I’m cruel hehe

These are easy as can be to throw together. The fruit makes you feel like you are doing something a little healthy for your families snacks and the small amount of cornmeal in these gives theses a punch of fiber plus a rustic feel. And chocolate of course is just…well, chocolate! Need I say more? These aren’t gorgeous. They aren’t food porn to look at. But they are sweet and chocolatey and when chilled, have a lovely texture and a slightly sticky, you have to lick your fingers sort of top and will definitely take care of your sweet tooth. You could add a drizzle of sauce to the top of these, but truthfully, they are great as they are.

You know the drill… 🙂

Chocolate Triple Berry Snack Bars

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (optional but it adds a nice flavor)
  • 1 can triple berry pie filling (can sub any berry flavor you’d like)
  • 5 to 6 ounce bag of dried berry mix
  • 1 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 inch pan.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and extracts and beat well.
  4. Pour the flour mix into the butter and beat on low speed just until combined.
  5. Using a wooden spoon (or a plastic spork if it makes you happy) gently fold in the pie filling and dried fruit just until well combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes. When testing with something with chips in it, always make sure to poke twice if the first one comes out goopy. You may have just poked right into a gooey chocolate chip.
  7. Let cool in the pan on a rack. When cool, you can either chill this before cutting (I prefer the texture chilled myself) or serve it at room temp.

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