Adding a little flavor...

It's pretty warm around here. What am I saying? It's ridiculously hot. No baking for me the past few days, but our grill is getting some use. It would be so nice if the contents ON the grill would cook, turn over and deliver themselves to my kitchen so I didn't have to go out IN the heat at all to check up on the stuff. No luck there.

If you're wanting to use your oven a little less, your grill a little more and want to flavor up the meat you're throwing on there, I've got a few suggestions:

Rosemary Balsamic Marinade for chicken or pork
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. (or more if you like it) Dijon mustard
3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey
1-2 cloves minced garlic
Fresh or dried rosemary, about 1 Tablespoon

Mix the vinegar, mustard, sugar, garlic, and herbs in a bowl or large ziploc bag. Add the chicken or pork. Refrigerate 30 minutes, a few hours, or my personal favorite -- overnight.

No fancy name for this one, I just use it with chicken or pork. Hmmm....might be good with shrimp too.

1/2 cup lime juice
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper.

Stir ingredients together and pour over the meat or put in a ziploc bag. Marinade as long as you like, but not longer than overnight of course!

This one is a long time family favorite. It's my mom's marinade for beef kabobs. Try it with flank steak, tri-tip, London broil, a steak -- any cut of beef will do. It's got such a savory, distinct flavor.

1 cup oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Mix all ingredients well. Use a food processor or blender to mix even more thoroughly, if desired.

So get grilling and if you've got any flavor tips of your own -- SHARE!

Checca Sauce

Despite what I may blog about, we really do eat real food -- not just dessert for every meal.

Here's proof:

I didn't really care much about tomatoes until a few years ago when I was in Zambia and one of our very talented volunteers made me a tomato sandwich. No turkey, no lettuce... just bread, a little mayo and lots of sliced tomatoes. Loving and devouring it probably had a little something to do with the three weeks of peanut butter sandwiches I'd had every day for lunch, but still...it was SO good. Since then, I've been hooked. And when tomato season rolls around I always think of (and thank!) Pam for enlightening me.

(Picked, washed and cut in half. Delicious already!)

My mom picked the first tomatoes from her garden, and I couldn't wait to make up a little something with what she shared. I can't wait for ours to be ready. Just another week or so I think. Don't you love tomato season? It's brings with it fresh bruschetta and salsa, BLT's (with LOTS of T), and the best salads of the year.

(Love the colors! Ready to be pulsed in the food processor.)

This recipe is a winner from Giada who says that it's made all over Italy in the summer time, but only in Rome is it called 'alla Checca'. It did not disappoint. It's a great way to use those tomatoes, NOT use your oven and put a meal together pretty quickly. I added in three sliced chicken sausages but you could throw in any protein -- italian sausage, shrimp, or ground turkey are just a few ideas. Any pasta will work, but it sure looks good with a thin spaghetti -- probably about 12 ounces of it, maybe a little more. It's up to you. Mangia and enjoy!

(Ready to eat!)

Checca Sauce
adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentis

16 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
3 green onions (white and green parts only), coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 ounce parmesan cheese
10-12 fresh basil leaves
2-3 tablespoons olive ooil
4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic, Parmesan, basil, and oil just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped. Do not puree. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce immediately with your choice of freshly cooked pasta or serve over the top of pasta.

A little festive for the Fourth

I made this recipe a while back and thought I'd try it again for tonight's family barbecue. Again, not the fastest, but definitely worth the work. I'm no perfect star maker...it took a few tries, but I think as a finished product this little sweetie will make for a suitable decoration AND dessert. I made a few alterations to the recipe, mostly in the amount of ganache to use (and some ridiculous spelling errors!). Maybe tonight I'll actually get a picture of the inside layers this time. Hope you're having fun celebrating today too!
What did you make for the Fourth?

Can I make a suggestion?

So Fourth of July is just days away. Chances are your having a little barbecue with family or friends. If you're bringing dessert, might I recommend this easy, almost no-bake, tasty treat?

My mom has been making this for years -- long before I was born. The story goes that she and some friends once called it 'Better than Robert Redford,' but she decided once she had kids it needed a more kid-friendly name. Thus, I present to you Chocolate Cloud.

Every layer in this is simple, but makes for a delicious combination. The crust is three basic ingredients, but so full of flavor, especially with the layers of sweetness.

If you're a little tentative about baking or don't have a lot of time, this is a good one. Just don't try to make it an hour before you need it. It will need a little time to set up. Enjoy and hopefully this will become a favorite of your family as well!

Chocolate Cloud

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 cube butter, chilled
1 cup finely chopped nuts (I use walnuts)

Preheat oven at 350. Combine ingredients like you are making a pie crust. I like to use my food processor and pulse the flour and butter until combined and then mix in the nuts and pulse a few more times.
Press into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool.

Mix together:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1/2 of a large container of Cool Whip

Spread on cooled crust. (A large off-set spatula works great for this!)

Mix together:
1 large package instant vanilla pudding
1 large package instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat until smooth. Spread on top of cream cheese/Cool Whip mixture. Top the pudding layer with remaining cool whip. Garnish with chocolate shavings (get out your vegetable peeler and a chocolate bar!) if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Peanut Butter Candy Bars - YUM!

Here's one you're going to like -- I promise. I made this for some good friends and it got great reviews. A few of them are antsy for the recipe, so here you go:

I think you could probably come up with all kinds of variations of this just by changing up the type of candy used. But the peanut theme going on in this recipe makes for a pretty great finished product.

Maybe bookmark this one and see what chocolate combination you can come up with when you've got all of that Halloween candy laying around in a few months!

Peanut Butter Candy Bars
adapted from Oxmoor House

1 16-ounce package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed 1/2 cup butter, melted 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 7 & 1/2 ounces peanut butter cups (about 25 miniature cups), coarsely chopped 4 ounces Butterfinger candy bars (about 7 small candy bars), coarsely chopped 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13″x 9″pan with aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over edges of pan. Grease/spray foil. Combine crushed cookies and butter. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Combine condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside. Sprinkle chopped candy bars, chocolate morsels, and peanuts over crust. Drizzle condensed milk mixture over toppings. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using foil, lift out of pan. Peel foil away, and cut into bars.

Chipster Topped Brownies

There's a BIG group of baking bloggers out there who are part of a group called 'Tuesdays with Dorie'. One of them chooses a recipe and every Tuesday they post their own version of the recipe by well-known and very talented baker Dorie Greenspan. Maybe one day I'll be a Dorie devotee, but committing to doing it every week is tricky these days. But, I have definitely gotten some great recipes from these Tuesday postings. This one is no exception.
Do you like chocolate chip cookies? Do you like brownies? Perfect. Not only can we be friends, you'll love this because it's BOTH. A rich chocolatey brownie topped with cookie dough and then baked to perfection. Rich and delicious. Yum...Chipster-Topped Brownies
Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From my Home to Yours

For the Brownie Layer:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the Cookie Layer:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store bought chocolate chip

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line it with wax paper or parchment paper and butter the paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To Make the Brownie Batter:
Put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture get too hot, the butter will separate from the chocolates. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speed, add flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

To Make the Cookie Dough:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Working with the stand mixer in the cleaned bowl or with the hand mixer in another large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minutes after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep gold brown and firm and a thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When the brownies are completely cook, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn the right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inches x 1 inch. (You can cut larger bars if you're serving cookie lovers with Texas-size appetites.)

Makes 24 servings.

Serving: Ice cream, whipped cream and creme fraiche are all great accompaniments, as is a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Storing: Wrapped well or packed in an airtight container, the bars can be kept at room temperature for 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Playing Around: The cookie top can be varied easily be swapping peanut butter, butterscotch or white chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate. You could even use all of them.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

If you're looking for a quick bread, something that doesn't take a lot of time and is so reminiscent of coffee cake, and a little bit of cinnamon roll too, give this a try. I love to make it in little loaves. They make such great gifts for friends!
Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg
* 1 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1/3 cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 loaf pan (or little loaf pans -- my favorite!) Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk, vanilla and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not over mix.

Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat. With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done, less time if you have little loaves. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.

Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet

A kitchen confession: Our ice cream maker is not being used to it's potential. Every time I use it I think, "Why don't I do this more often?" The answer usually has something do with lack of planning because I haven't frozen the inner canister ahead of time. But I'm hoping to change that. That silly canister is in the freezer right now, because next time I want to be ready. In fact, did you know you can use your ice cream maker just to make Slurpee-type drinks? Just pour in some soda or juice or whatever you'd like and get it spinning. Who doesn't love a cool little something (that's EASY to make) in the hot summer? Get out your ice cream maker. I know you don't use it as much as you should.

I'm sticking with strawberries for another post or two and sharing a truly yummy one with you.

This recipe is very similar to one I did last year with blackberries. It's good, really good, and a lot lighter than ice cream, which usually uses cream and whole milk. Give it a try. And, let me know if you've got any other suggestions for my ice cream maker!Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet
adapted from Southern Living Magazine

2 cups fresh strawberries*
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (or more!) chopped strawberries (optional)

Process strawberries in a food processor or blender 30 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Pour strawberry puree through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing with back of a spoon. Discard solids.

Add buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla to puree; stir until well blended. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Pour strawberry mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2-qt. electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times may vary.) Fold in the half cup of strawberries if desired.

*You could also use 1 (16-oz.) package frozen strawberries, thawed if you can't get to some fresh picked, local berries.