Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake

A very disturbing thing happened the other day. A wonderful and very thoughtful friend brought me a very sweet treat from a little bakery that shall remain nameless. The treat was supposed to be a Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake and I was excited to try something that sounded and looked so good. So you can imagine my disappointment when the treat was anything but sweet, not to mention completely lacking in taste. Don't you hate it when that happens? You expect to be wowed and end up ingesting something that could be mistaken for chalk. It's like a slap in the face!

There's not a lot that gets under my skin as much as bad food from a bakery whose sole purpose in life is to churn out great baked goods. In my insulted state, I did what anyone would do, I found a recipe and made my own. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen and knew it would be amazing just from reading the ingredients. I switched out the graham cracker crumbs for ginger snaps and the result was fantastic and worked wonderfully with the pumpkin and spice filling. After tasting this, my bitterness over that bakery's utter failure, slowly faded away. I am now in a blissful state of forgiveness. Enjoy!

S'mores Cupcakes with Kahula

The kid in me is out and raging. Enter the most fantastic of all fantastic treats from childhood with a little grown up injected inside and you have S’mores cupcakes with a hit of Kahula. Somebody pinch me.

I first saw these cupcakes on Annie’s Eats and then it seemed like the S’mores influence was everywhere with S’mores cakes, snack bars, energy bars, candy bars, you name it. So, this has been on my must bake list forever and I finally got around to making them. The cupcakes shown on Annie’s Eats were beautiful and refined and I wanted mine to be more rustic and, for lack of a better term, sloppy. In my mind, that’s what S’mores are, sloppy kid food that are a mess to eat. That’s the fun of them and being a kid, permission to be sloppy and unrefined. I also have to be buttoned up in a corporate office all day so I like to take a more laid back approach to my baking.

So, I used the Annie’s Eats recipe but I put my own spin on it with the Kahula injection. I also made some minor alterations to bits and pieces to suit my palate.

Enjoy! AJ – xo

Pumpkin Bourbon Pancakes

In life, we sometimes have to roll with the deck we have been dealt. For me, that means finding the bright side of a child that sleeps minimally.

I have been told by the teachers at school, fellow parents, books and every child psychologist who has managed to publish something that if your child is not getting 10-12 hours of sleep in a day/night, they will have stunted growth, behavioral problems, learning difficulties, socialization issues, the list goes on and on. So, despite rearranging my schedule so my little guy is in bed by 7:45 p.m. every night, he continues to wake up at 5 a.m., 6 if I am lucky. Of course, this leads to a tired and difficult child in the afternoon who can no longer nap in his pre-kindergarten class. God help me.

So, this morning, after going to bed at a very late 9 p.m. last night, my little monkey was up and ready to go at 6 a.m. Argh! Sleep, my child, please, sleep!! No dice, he was up and nothing was going to change that. So, I did the only logical thing to do at that point, dragged my overly tired tail out of bed, fixed myself an industrial strength cup of coffee and made Hot Chocolate and Pumpkin Bourbon Pancakes with my son. For a brief moment, I am going to block out the criticism and paranoia and enjoy this moment while silently praying that the 9 hours of sleep will not stunt his growth.

I got the recipe here. I added in a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of bourbon. I threw some chocolate chips into a few pancakes to experiment and I thought they drowned out the pumpkin taste. Out with the chips. Then I tried big chinks of cooked bacon on on a fork full of pancake and syrup and I swear, angels did sing. Make sure you top this off with whipped cream, a critical component.

Cheers! xoxo

Cherry Almond Coffeecake Pie

I am attempting to put out of my mind a less than desirable day and come to peace with the fact that sometimes being a parent can test every last ounce of patience I ever possessed. It was one of those days that I told my kid to go left, he went right, I said up and he went down, I said no and he did it anyway. My little man also decided to sprinkle a little back talk, a few tantrums and an overall questionable attitude into an already trying sequence of events. I am working alone and it is times like these when I wish I could morph into a male authority figure with a deep booming voice that always seems to get kids to behave. Instead, my child was in time out today on multiple occasions and Mommy had to break into a bottle of wine earlier rather than later. Note, this child can be one of the sweetest and most charming children I have ever been around but when he has a bad day, I am convinced my life expectancy plummets immeasurably.

Ok, now, about this pie and happier things. The combination of cherries and almonds was amazing and I insist that you make this addictive concoction immediately or while the cherry supply lasts. There is a layer of cherries on the bottom with a sweet almond filling and a bit of a bite from the sour cream. Sweet, nutty and wonderful with vanilla bean ice cream on top. Enjoy! xo - AJ

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies

After two weeks of trying to keep my head above water at work, being a crazed loving Mom, getting my running in, all while trying to cover up stress blemishes and barely being awake enough to make myself presentable in the morning, I need these cookies, badly. It takes a lot of work to put on the, keeping all the balls in the air act. Therefore, there is not enough chocolate on this planet to sooth my worn out soul.

I am not complaining. I am medicating and I believe in chocolate and cocktails to do so and this cookie has a little bit of both. This is a cakey cookie that I hit with some Tia Maria coffee liqueur but you can obviously use whatever you have on hand. I also put in some strong coffee that I had left over from the morning and it really boosted the flavor. Excellent and may I add, moan inducing. xo - AJ

Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce

This is a recipe that I made simply because I happened to have all of the ingredients in the fridge and they needed to be used before funky organisms started growing on them.

Actually, that is kind how I would describe my body right now, very funky with many weird discolorations. Whatever could I mean by that, you ask? Well, over the past month I managed to slice my finger in such a way that the wound required stitches. Then, I ran a half-marathon that completely bruised and discolored three toe-nails, one of which is about to fall off. Ewww, gross. Yes, that is gross and no, I am not apologizing. Right now, I have more cuts and bruises on me than a prize-fighter and a sick side of me is kind of proud of it. So, now, dear reader, that you have a horrified look on your face, the answer to your question is yes, I have had therapy and yes, I probably most definitely dropped out way too early.

So, on that happy note, about this cake. I made a few changes to the recipe that was posted on Smitten Kitchen. The most important modification is that I used olive oil on the first try and found that it completely overpowered the other flavors in the cake. On the second try, I used vegetable oil and it worked beautifully. That white stuff in the picture is creme fresh with a teaspoon of honey mixed in. Excellent! You can also add vanilla ice cream and I am sure that would also be delicious.

Enjoy! AJ

Key Lime Pie

The flavors of summer are so sublime. One of the advantages of living in a four season city, is having the distinct advantage of experiencing a range of seasons and the beauty and feeling that is unique to each one. Just as I love the warm and hibernating quality of huddling in front of the fire with snow falling outside of my window, a glass of Burgundy or Pinot Noir in my hand and a feast of Beef Bourguignon, I also love the feeling of sitting outside with the sun on my neck, a glass of sweet tea by my side and a piece of frozen Key Lime Pie. It really is the simple pleasures that make life so sweet.

So, about this ever so refreshing pie. I have made Ina Garten's Key Lime Pie for a long time and it has always been foolproof. However, because I can never just leave fabulous alone, I went searching high and low through the depths of the web and my piles of cookbooks, for a recipe or recipe combination that would improve a proven winner. I was surprised to find that Ina's recipe is not unique. The ingredients and method for all of the recipes I found were all basically the same. That said, I did find Emeril's recipe that called for sour cream and I imagine that would be an excellent complement and would add a creamy quality to the pie and accent the citrus flavor quite well.

So, try Ina's or Emeril's and remember to eat the pie with the sun on your neck. xoxo - AJ

Recipe adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Family Style, by Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) salted butter, melted

For the filling:
7 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes)

For the decoration:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Thin lime wedges dipped in sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pyrex pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and allow to cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of a clean electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with limes dipped in sugar. Freeze for several hours or overnight.