PW Sweet Cream

I went to Heidi's for Sit n Chat last night and she had this Pioneer Woman recipe. And it was THE BEST. She served it with bananas and strawberries. And we tried it with Banana Bread (which was heaven.) So good.

Ingredients

• 1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 10 whole Egg Yolks (save The Whites For Another Use)
• 2 teaspoons Good Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla Beans)
• Fresh Berries

Preparation Instructions

Combine cream with half the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a strong simmer, but don't boil.

Whisk egg yolks in a bowl (I used my electric mixer w/ whisk attachment) with the other half of the sugar. Add vanilla extract. (If using vanilla bean instead, scrape caviar into cream/sugar mixture.)

After whisking on medium for a minute, begin slowly pouring in the hot cream; I use a metal measuring cup to scoop out small portions at a time.

After all cream is added, turn off mixer. Pour mixture into the top of a double boiler (or a glass bowl fitted over a saucepan). Cook in the double boiler over medium heat. Stir gently but constantly as the egg/cream mixture slowly thickens.

Watch the mixture: if it starts to really thicken up, remove it immediately from the heat. You want this to be more of a thick, pourable cream than a thick, heavy pudding texture. As soon as you remove the pan from the heat, set the bottom of it in a bowl of ice to stop the cooking process (but be careful not to let ice or water drip over the edge of the pan.) Stir to cool. If you need to use the cream right away, keep it in the ice bath and stir to cool.

Ideally, you'll transfer the cream to a container and refrigerate it for several hours.

Quick Chicken Luau

From Denise again!

1/2 10 ounce package of frozen spinach (or real taro leaves if you have them!)
1 standard size can of cream of chicken soup
1 12oz can of coconut milk
8-12 chicken thighs, skin removed

Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can and layer in the bottom of a casserole dish. Combine the soup and the coconut milk. Arrange the chicken in the pan and pour the mixture over the top. Bake 350 for one hour. This is very mild flavored chicken.

Kalua Pig

Denise (My SIL) gave me some of her Hawaii recipes:

Kalua Pig in the Crockpot:
1: 4 or 5 pound pork butt roast
2 tablespoons of sea salt
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup water (to keep it moist while cooking)

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook six hours or until the meat is tender enough to shred with a fork. Remove the meat and shred it into a serving dish. Pour some of the juices back over the shredded meat to keep it from drying out and discard the rest.

Cherry 7-up Drink

This came from Leah, she served it at Sit n Chat tonight. Yum.

1 (2-liter) bottle of Cherry 7-Up

1 Can of pineapple juice

Mix and serve! Easy peasy, but so yummy!

White Bean Dip

I want to make a bean dip and I turned to Giada de Laurentis to give me a recipe. I'm hoping for the next Sit n Chat I host to make this.

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
• 1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 pitas
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.

Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.

Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree.

Peach Poke Cake with White Chocolate Mousse

Kerri had this at her house when she hosted Sit n Chat. It was good. I literally couldn't stop eating it. Which probably means I shouldn't make it, but in the end will make it a bunch of times until I tire of it.

Peach Poke Cake with White Chocolate Mousse
Cake: 1 vanilla cake mix
1 c. mashed peaches and peach juice
1 c. fresh peaches, diced
3 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted
For the poking of the cake:
1 c. boiling water
1 small package peach jello
Dissolve the jello packet and the boiling water together and when the cake comes out of the oven poke all over with a fork. Pour the jello water all over the cake evenly and place in the fridge until ready to frost and until it is completely cooled.

Mousse:
4 T. boiling water
2 t. gelatin powder (1 packet Knox brand)
2 t. cold water
Dissolve the gelatin powder with the 2 t. cold water and let sit for 1 minute. In a bowl, microwave the 4 T. water for a couple minutes until water is very hot or boiling. After one minute, add the hot water into the gelatin mixture and stir. Let sit again for a few minutes until ready with the rest of the recipe.
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. white sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. white chocolate chips or almond bark, melted in a microwave safe bowl(you need to use a good quality chip--I used Guittard and it worked perfectly)

Whip together the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until medium peaks form. Add the melted chocolate and gelatin mixture and continue to beat until firm peaks form. Place mousse in the fridge until ready to frost the cake. When the cake is cool, spread the mousse over the cake. Top with fresh peaches and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. This cake is best served cold.

Blueberry Buckle

I got this from Twoshadesofpink blog. It caught my attention because it made me think of baby food. This is exactly the kind of cake that I LOVE.

Blueberry Buckle

2 1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. butter. softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk

Streusel Topping:

1/4 C. white sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. butter

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the creamed mixture alternating with milk. Fold in blueberries. (Make sure they are washed, then completely dried. You don't want any extra moisture in your batter.) Pour into greased 9x9 baking dish. Combine sugars and flour for topping, then cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Fresh Fruit Spritzers

I got this from Martha Stewart.com. I think it sounds tasty.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• Fresh seasonal fruit, such as 8 cups cubed seedless watermelon, 6 cups cubed honeydew melon, 6 cups cubed cantaloupe, 6 cups cubed mango, or 4 1/4 cups raspberries
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of coarse salt
• Sparkling water, or club soda

Directions

1. Put sugar and 1 cup water into a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.

2. Puree fruit, syrup, lemon juice, and salt in a blender. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl. Refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes (up to 2 days).

3. To serve, fill 8 medium glasses with ice; pour 1/2 cup puree into each glass, and top off with sparkling water. Stir to combine. Serve immediately.