Loaded Potato Soup

I know this is crazy... soup on my desserts blog.  But, I had to share!  Also, this is my second post of the day!  I just have lots to share right now. :-)  Hope you don't mind!  Also, I had to get this post up because I told my  Mom about the soup, and she wants to try it soon!  

I mean... what's better this time of year than nice hot bowl of soup!  

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 leek, halved, washed and sliced
• 1/4- 1/2 cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 4 medium red potatoes, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 sprig rosemary, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1/2 cup shredded aged white cheddar cheese

*This soup will be pureed, so don't worry about cutting things to any particular size.  Just make everything about the same size so it will cook around the same time.

Directions

1. Slice bacon and cook over medium heat until brown and crispy.  Remove from pot and drain on a paper towel lines plate.  Set aside.
2. In bacon fat, cook onion, leek and garlic for 5 minutes.  
3. Add cauliflower, potato, stock and rosemary.
4. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Stir occasionally.
6. Add most of the bacon back in (save some for the top of the soup when you serve it)
7. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until its smooth.  If you do not have an immersion blender, you can puree the soup in a food processor or blender in smaller portions.  
8. Once smooth, stir in cream and cheese.  Heat until everything has come together. 
9. Sprinkle bacon on top and serve and some crusty bread.  

ENJOY!  

Banana Creme Brulee

I eat a banana every day for breakfast.  So, I always have lots of bananas in the house.  For me, they have to be the perfect ripeness. Can't be too green (although I sometimes like them a little green) and they certainly cannot be getting too many brown spots.  But really ripe bananas are the best for baking.  They have a more developed flavor.

Ever wonder what to do with this super ripe bananas that no one wants to eat anymore?  How about trying Banana Cream Brulee, or simply Banana Custard if you do not like the crunchy sugar on top.

Ingredients

10 oz light cream

2 oz milk

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

4 yolks

Directions

1. Combine cream, milk and 1/4 cup sugar in pot.  Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the inside and add to pot.  Mash the bananas and add to the pot.

2.Heat the mixture, but do not boil.  Whisk the mixture so it does not burn.  Turn the heat off once it starts to steam.

3. In small bowl, whisk yolks and 1/4 cup sugar. 

4. Temper the cream into the egg mixture.  Using a small ladle or measuring cup, slowly pour some of the cream mixture into the bowl with the eggs.  Whisk the mixture together as you combine them.  Gradually add more cream.  Pour the egg mixture into the pot. (This will help the eggs to incorporate nicely without turning into scrambled eggs!)

5.  Whisk the mixture and heat until it thickens a bit, just a couple minutes on low to medium heat.  Caution: do not overheat at this step!  It is best to pull it off the stove before it thickens than to let it cook too much (you will end up with a lumpy consistency).  

6. Run the mixture through a mess strainer into a clean bowl. 

7. Heat over to 350 degrees.

8. Place ramekins in a baking dish.  Pour mixture into ramekins.

9. Fill the baking dish with hot water, about half way up the ramekins.  This is a water bath.  It will help to creme brulee to cook slowly and not burn.

10. Bake for 30-40 minutes.  When you tap the side of the ramekin, the top should be set.  It is ok if it is still a little jiggly in the center.  It will be ok once it cools.

11. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.  If you do not want to make creme brulee, enjoy at this point!

12.  Sprinkle a layer of sugar on top.  Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar until it turns golden brown.  If you do not have a kitchen torch, you can it them under the broiler for a few minutes.  Make sure you watch them though, as they can burn very quickly.  I personally do not like putting things in the broiler, but if you like to, then go for it!  

Do not throw out the vanilla bean once you are done with it.  I will show you what to do with it in my first Edible Christmas gift post!  Stay tuned... its coming very soon!  

Rose Cake

I just got back from my honeymoon in St. Lucia.  What an amazing place to visit!  I have a special post that I am going to do about all the desserts I ate while I was there, but that is for another day.  I am totally exhausted with unpacking and laundry.  It was a LONG travel day yesterday!  And now, the Pittsburgh Steelers game is on.  Enough said!

So anyways, for now... here are some pictures of a cake I made before I left.  Hope you enjoy!

Be sure to check back soon for my St. Lucia post!  Then, I will be starting my Christmas posts soon!  I will of course be making some Christmas cookies, but am also going to do a series of edible gifts that you can give to your family, friends and coworkers for the holiday season.  I have LOTS to share with you!

Every year, I make gift baskets for my family holding lots of goodies.  I am continually searching for new and exciting gifts.  I mean... my family probably does not want the same thing every year!  Although I do have a few things that are ALWAYS in my baskets!  Stay tuned for more!  I am very excited about this... I hope you are too!  

Caramel Apples

For my wedding, I had all these great ideas for different things I could make for favors.  I had just gotten all these new wedding cookie cutters, so I had some great ideas for different cookies I could make.  

Story of my life... SO many ideas, SO little time!

Then, I got sick!  The week before our wedding, both my husband and I were sick.  

Ohhh great... I thought.  Just what I need.  I have lots of little last minute things to do for the wedding, and I don't have time for being sick.  He got better in just a few days.  Not me.  I had to miss Canadian Thanksgiving the weekend before the wedding.  

All those cookie ideas went out the window.  Cookies take days to make!  From baking the cookies, and icing the base of the cookies.  Then, letting that dry.  Next are the details.  Let them dry.  Then, the next day... bag them up.  AT LEAST 2 days, but probably 3.  

By the end of the week I was starting to feel a little better.  My Mother in Law said maybe I should look into buying caramel apples to give out.  Hmm... I had to figure out how to make them.  I didn't need to buy them!  So, I found out how to make the caramel apples, and then I went to the store to buy the apples and caramel.

Caramel Apples 

1- 14 oz bag of caramels

2 Tbsp. water

6-8 Granny Smith apples, remove the stems

Cookie sticks (you can find them at Michael's or Karen's Cookies) 

1. Wash and dry the apples.

2.  Push the cookie sticks 3/4 of the way into the top of apple where the stem was.  (Tip: after a few apples, my hands started to hurt.  I took a metal measuring cup and used it as a "hammer".  Just gently tap the stick until it goes in 3/4 of the way)

3.  Unwrap the caramels (yes... this is the most time consuming part!) and put into a pot.  Choose a pot that is deep enough that you can dip the apples into it, but one that is not too wide.  I used one that is 2 1/2 quarts.

4. Add the water to the pot and melt the caramels over low heat.  Stir constantly.  At the beginning I used a spatula to stir the pot.  Once the caramels started to melt, I started using a whisk.  Use whatever works best for you!

5.  Once the caramels are completely melted, dip the apple in and use a spoon it cover in caramel. (roll in any additional toppings like crushed nuts or chocolate candies that you wish)

6. Place on a baking sheet with a silpat or lined with parchment paper.  

7. Once all the apples are dipped, place in the refrigerator so the caramel can set, at least 2 hours.  Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  They are best if you eat them in the first 3-4 days.  But I have heard that you can keep them in the fridge for around a week.

8. Wrap in a plastic bag if you wish.  

Apples taking a bath in the sink.

Putting the sticks in the top of the apple.

Covering the apple in melted caramel.

All of the apples are covered!

Caramel Apples!

At my wedding dinner, I didn't get a chance to take too many pictures, but I found one with a caramel apple in it.  I wrapped them in plastic bags and tied them with purple or green ribbon.  Oh, and this picture happens to have my AMAZING bouquet.  I wish it would stay looking like that forever!  I have it drying upside down in the basement, so we will see what it ends up looking like.  My flowers were one of my favorite things of the wedding!  I still have a centerpiece in my living room a week and a half later!  A couple roses are starting to wilt, but most of it still looks nice!  

I told my husband that he needs to get the same exact flowers every year for our anniversary.  We will see!  

Make some caramel apples!  Super easy and so delicious!  

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween!  First of all, I have probably already mentioned that Fall happens to be my favorite season! The weather starts to cool down, and it is the beginning of the holiday season that I love so much!  Halloween starts it off.  Well... it used to start it off!  Now that I am married and will be living in Canada, Thanksgiving is in the beginning of October here.  I really feel like I have the best of both worlds.  Thanksgiving is the ONLY holiday that we can spend with both of our families.  We are here in Canada with my husband's family for Canadian Thanksgiving.  Then, we get to go visit my family for American Thanksgiving.  This year we are going to Boston to visit my sister and brother in law who have recently bought a house.  Every other Thanksgiving in my life has been at my parent's house.  So, it will be a little different this year, but I am so excited to see my sister's new home!  

Last Halloween was the first year that I was able to buy candy and pass it out to trick or treaters.  Every year before that in my adult life, I have lived in an apartment building and you don't really get trick or treaters there.    

So back to last year.  First of all, the Steelers were playing.  I LOVE the Steelers.  They are my team, and they are not always on here in Canada.  It normally turns out that the Buffalo Bills are on 2 channels.  Really?  Couldn't one of you have chosen a different game... like the Steelers?!?  So, I was happy that the Steelers were playing.  6pm rolls around and I start to see some kids outside in their costumes.  No one was coming to our house!  It turned out that almost all of my neighbors were sitting at the end of their driveways with their bowls on candy.  No one was coming to my house because it obviously was too much work to walk up to my door when everyone else was sitting outside.  Also... it had SNOWED on Halloween!  It stopped by trick or treating time, but still.  

So... even though the Steelers were playing, off I went to get my chair from the garage to sit at the end of the driveway in my winter coat, with a blanket on to pass out candy.  You might be wondering where my lovely boyfriend (at the time) was.  Oh, he was inside wanting nothing to do with sitting outside in the cold and passing out candy to kids.  He came out briefly to bring me some hot tea.  The quickly went back inside to watch football.  

This year I will not be able to give out candy on Halloween.  I am a little disappointed, and then I remember that I won't be here on Halloween because I will be laying on the beach in the Caribbean with my husband for our honeymoon!

So I made some Halloween cookies this past week.  Hope you enjoy!

Large Happy Halloween cookie!

Lots of icing ready for decorating!

Dining room table filled up with cookies!

Candy corn, spiderwebs and pumpkins.  I was running out of room, so they were drying on the bench in the living room. 

All different colored spiderwebs. 

Candy corn!  Simple, yet one of my favorites!  I also LOVE the real thing!  I need to be good and not buy too much of it because it disappears very quickly!  

More spiderwebs.  Love the bright and vibrant colors!

Lots of pumpkins.

I love how these Jack O' Lantern cookies turned out!  They were a big hit too!

These fall leaves were inspired by the amazing Sugar Belle.  I have made these a lot.  They have been a big hit!  I now love using the color mists.  Makes me want to get an airbrush machine!

These ghosts were the most simple cookies I made, but I think they were one of the most popular with the kids.  

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!  I will be enjoying some candy on the beach for my Halloween.  :-)  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

Well, a lot has been going on for me since last time!  I now am a married woman!  Last Friday night, I married my college sweetheart after meeting more than 6 years ago.  I have been a very lucky girl in the past couple of months.  After the summer, I came up to Canada to see my fiance and went to his friend's wedding in Toronto, then we went to Minnesota for his best friend from college's wedding.  A few days later I was off for a week in Hawaii with 2 of my friends from high school.  Then, back to Canada, then Pittsburgh and back to Canada to get married!  Phew...  I feel like I have been living out of my suitcase!  But my favorite trip comes in a little more than a week.  We leave for our honeymoon in the Caribbean!  This will be our first "big" trip together, so I am super excited!!!

Us on our wedding day!

ANYWAYS, back to the desserts!

Fall is probably my favorite season!  I love being able to wear jeans and a sweater after shorts and tank tops in the summer heat.  I especially love all things pumpkin.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin dip!  And apples... I love all kinds, but McIntosh and Granny Smith are probably my favorite.  

I am not really sure where this recipe came from, but my mom found it years ago and we have been making it ever since.  So many great flavors: pumpkin, cream cheese, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg and more!  

 Make sure you pull the cream cheese out of the fridge a few hours before you start so it has time to soften.  This will make it so much easier to mix, and you will get a nice, smooth and creamy dip.  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

1- 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1- 15oz. can pure pumpkin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 tbsp. orange juice OR 1 tsp. orange extract

With an electric mixer or food processor, blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Scrap down the bowl.  Add pumpkin and remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly.  

Chill for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.  

Serve with gingersnaps, apples and/or pears.  Slice the apples and pears into 1/2 inch slices.  *Toss the fruit with a little lemon juice mixed with water to prevent browning.  

Mmm... it's like pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake with a touch of orange in a bowl.  Of course, you can dip the apples, pears and gingersnaps in the dip, but I sometimes like to eat it with a spoon.  It's that good!  Another thing that is good to know is that this freezes very well!  Just put it in an airtight container and you can freeze it for at least a month or two!  

Since we will be on our honeymoon for Halloween, I am working on some Halloween treats this week to enjoy a week early!  I will post about them later this week.