Today’s Thursday Recipe & a Tip is all about chocolate. I could talk for days about chocolate. I limited myself to 11 minutes this time around, but I think I’m going to have to do more chocolate-themed episodes. Because 11 minutes is not enough time to tell you all the ways to make perfect chocolate in your kitchen. Anyway, today I share one of my most favorite chocolate recipes with you as well as the secret ingredient you can use in your cooking to make chocolate rich in flavor.

Please note: In this episode I mention that the SoNo Baking Company is in New York, but I meant Connecticut. I grew up in the “tri state area” (which is essentially NYC/Long Island, Northern New Jersey and Connecticut). Apparently my subconscious considers all of that “New York.” 😉

Shownotes:

• Cocoa powders I love: E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge and Scharffen Berger Cocoa Powder
• Scharffen Berger Truffles Recipe
• Scharffen Berger Cookbook
• SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake
• The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Forget PB&J. Or PB&H. Today I give you PB&P! And it has nothing to do with peanut butter. But it is a sandwich. And it has everything to do with savory pear sauce, brie and prosciutto. That’s right, pear brie prosciutto grilled cheese sandwiches…PB&P! And this sandwich is scrumptious.

It’s springtime, so fruit is in the air. (Along with love, but that’s another blog post for another blog, really.) Libby’s hired me to develop a recipe using one of their canned fruits to celebrate the spring season. I immediately thought of canned pears (one of my favorite foods growing up!) and wanted to try out a fun savory twist. Enter the PB&P.

I love brie in a melted state. And I love the combination of salty prosciutto with sweet fruit. And I love bread. So, basically, today’s sandwich is the love of my life. The sandwich itself is quite simple – bread, sliced brie and prosciutto with a smattering of savory pear sauce. The layers of flavor are delicious, and the texture is perfect. Oh, and by the way, the savory pear sauce is so good and beyond easy to make. And, even though this is a great sandwich for springtime, by using canned pears it not only simplifies the recipe, but you can make this any time of year!

Before we get to the recipe, Libby’s has a giveaway for you today! One lucky winner will receive this super cute Crate & Barrel Six Bottle Spice Box along with an assortment of Libby’s Fruit, so you can get creative in the kitchen, too! Simply leave a comment on this post to enter! Comments must be posted by midnight PT on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 and prize must be shipped within the U.S.

Good luck to all on the giveaway…and now for the recipes! Enjoy!

PB&P Sandwiches (aka Pear Brie Prosciutto Grilled Cheese)

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 2 slices good quality bread
• 1 thin slice prosciutto
• About 4 thin slices brie
• 1-2 tablespoons savory pear sauce (see recipe below)
• Butter

Instructions

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat about 5 minutes.
2. While pan is heating up, spread pear sauce on 1 slice of bread.
3. On the second slice of bread, place the brie slices evenly to cover then top with prosciutto.
4. Put the sandwich together, then butter the top.
5. Place sandwich butter side down in the pan, then butter the other side (that is now facing up).
6. Cook sandwich over medium heat until both sides are golden brown.

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Savory Pear Sauce

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can Libby's pear halves, drained but reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced onions (about ⅛ of a small onion)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
• Couple shakes of ground pepper

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of the pear juice to the pan, then the drained pears. Break the pears up with a spatula a bit. Add salt, ginger and pepper and stir well.
3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to about medium-low, making sure to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and smashing up the pears each time you stir. The final consistency should be saucy with lumps.

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It’s a Monday, which means I get to share an interview with you on the podcast! Today I have a little chat with Catherine McCord, food blogger at Weelicious, author of two cookbooks and founder of the new meal delivery service One Potato. Catherine is a dedicated mother who cooks at home pretty much every day, despite an insane working schedule for herself and her husband. In addition to her kitchen awesomeness, she’s just a really nice person that I am grateful to know.

Shownotes:

• Catherine’s website Weelicious
• Book: Weelicious: One Family, One Meal
• Book: Weelicious Lunches
• One Potato, Catherine’s new family-focused, organic meal delivery service currently serving California and parts of Nevada and Arizona…but soon to expand!
• Weelicious meal planning service
• Catherine’s chocolate chip granola bar recipe
• My recipe for chocolate chip granola bars, inspired by Catherine’s (Catherine’s bars are more crispy, mine are a little more chewy)
• Banana Bites

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Hello, friends. For Easter weekend we visited Sequoia National Park and just pulled into the driveway. We ended up enjoying our Easter picnic in a park overlooking the ocean in Dana Point and I think Easter picnics are my new favorite.

Menu planning time! Here goes nothing…

MONDAY:
– Bertucci’s Tortellini

TUESDAY:
– Loaded Nachos

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Stir Fry

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– BLTs

SATURDAY:
– Take Out Night

SUNDAY:
– Camping food! Menu tbd…

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

Now it’s your turn! Tell us in the comments what you’ve got cooking this week!

Today I’m sharing a recipe for flaky, baked homemade samosas that don’t really taste that much like real fried samosas and are a lot of work but are also super delicious. How’s that for selling a recipe?

My friend Traci wanted to make homemade samosas and found two recipes for baked samosas, one from The Kitchn that uses egg roll wrappers and another on Food 52 that uses puff pastry. We got together one Friday morning and tried making the puff pastry version. It took hours. I don’t know, maybe our chatting made us slow, but I don’t think so. In the end it’s a recipe with several steps, one of which involves rolling out each samosa individually and stuffing them. It can get time consuming, especially if you are making a lot of samosas. Traci and I did have a lot of fun cooking the samosas, but it was indeed a labor of love.

The good news is the samosas were really delicious. The texture was nothing at all like a fried samosa you would get at an Indian restaurant, but I suppose in the end that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. I mean, it’s puff pastry. And they weren’t fried. So, yeah, they’re gonna be different. But they are still really good and the filling is divine.

Knowing that puff pastry samosas are best served fresh, Traci and I froze a bunch of the unbaked samosas for cooking later. When I baked a frozen batch they came out perfectly. So, if you do in fact decide to tackle this recipe, triple or quadruple it and then freeze a whole bunch of the samosas before baking. Although, if you just make one batch, then it won’t be as time consuming because you want be rolling out and stuffing as many. I’ll let you decide your own strategy!

But the freezing-ahead aspect of this recipe is why I’m really excited about sharing it with you. Seriously, having homemade, yummy samosas just waiting in the freezer for you on a busy weeknight is pretty awesome.

One more thing, the green cilantro sauce you see in the pictures. I threw that sauce together on the fly and it was almost good…but I added too much onion. As I was getting this post ready, I decided not to share what I did with you and looked up some actual Indian cilantro sauce recipes. This one on Fine Cooking looks like what I was trying to accomplish, so that’s what I will make next time.

Homemade Baked Samosas

 

Print

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

 

From Food 52, although I have rewritten the directions based on our experience with the recipe.

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 20-25

Ingredients

• ½ pound potatoes, cut into large chunks
• 2 large carrots, cut into chunks similar in size to the potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• half of a small yellow onion, chopped
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾ cup frozen peas
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 1 serrano pepper, minced
• salt (the original recipe calls for a pinch, but it definitely needs more than that...I think we did ½ teaspoon - measure ¼ teaspoon at a time to taste)
• Two 15x10-inch frozen puff pastry sheets (the puff pastry at my store was smaller than that, more like 9x9 inches, so I needed two packages...be sure to check the size!), place in refrigerator to defrost a few hours before using
• Flour
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, until tender.
2. Drain water and mash potatoes and carrots together with a potato masher. Leave mixture slightly chunky.
3. While potatoes and carrots are cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and cumin. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions are tender and translucent.
4. Add onion mixture, peas, cilantro, mint, garam masala, serrano pepper and salt to the potato/carrot mixture. Mix well. As I mentioned in the ingredients list, add salt ¼ teaspoon at a time and taste the mixture to get the right amount.
5. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. On a lightly floured surface, unfold one of the sheets of cold puff pastry and cut it into 3x3-inch squares.
7. Roll each square out with a rolling pin quite thin (this is where my directions diverge from the original recipe more significantly). Place a scoop of the mixture onto the center of the square, about 2 tablespoons. You do not want to overfill or the filling will escape when baking, so it might not seem like enough filling, but it is. Brush two sides of the square with water just along the edge. Fold the dough over the filling diagonally to form a triangle, folding the unbrushed edges onto the wet edges. Once the dough is folded over, gently squish the filling sideways to fill the samosa evenly. Using a fork, press down all along the two joined edges to seal both sides, then flip the samosa over and crimp the edges with a fork again.
8. Place triangles on prepared baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between the samosas. Brush the tops with egg wash. At this point you can bake the samosas or place them in the freezer.
9. If freezing: Place baking sheet with samosas in the freezer. If freezing you can fit more samosas on the tray than if you were baking them. Fully freeze, then transfer samosas to an airtight container or ziptop freezer bag. When ready to eat, follow baking directions below, adding 5-10 minutes to the cooking time.
10. If baking: Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.
11. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
12. Serve warm!

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It’s that time again…weekly menu planning time!

This year for Easter we’re going crazy and heading to Sequoia National Park! I’m going to plan an Easter picnic for Sunday and I am actually really excited.

MONDAY:
– Homemade Hamburgers (there’s a tip in this podcast episode for how I’ve been cooking hamburgers lately)

TUESDAY:
– Chili

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Caesar Wraps

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Eat on the road! Visiting Sequoia National Park for Easter Weekend!

SATURDAY:
– Eating on the road

SUNDAY:
– I’m packing an Easter picnic to eat at Sequoia…any suggestions for food that would be fun for that, please leave them in the comments, with links if you have ’em!

As usual, please leave your dinner plans for the week in the comments! Have a wonderful week, and if you celebrate Easter, have a great holiday!

Hey everyone! It’s Thursday, so I have a quick recipe and a tip on the podcast for you. I wax poetic about one of my favorite slow cooker recipes and share an easy but awesome tip for tender chicken. Enjoy!

Shownotes:

• Recipe for Homemade Slow Cooker Sweet Korean BBQ Beef

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Whenever I write about a product, I tag that post so it shows up in The Goods category on my blog. Often while I’m in the kitchen using some of those items I think, “I should let everyone know I still love this thing.” So, I sat down and scrolled through every post on my blog with that The Goods tag. It was a lot of posts. The cool part? I still like everything I’ve written about, but there are a few things that could do with some updates. So, here we go! What I still think of products I’ve written about in the past!

Blendtec Blender
Our Blendtec blender was the first “big ticket” item I received from a company to share on my blog. That was 2009. We still use that same blender. It is awesome and I love it and recommend powerful blenders to people all the time. I especially love Blendtec because of the preset buttons for different types of food. I visited the Blendtec booth at the International Housewares Show last week and they’ve got all kinds of cool stuff on the market these days, and even cooler stuff in the pipeline. It makes me want a pretty shiny new blender, but that said, our blender is still blending up a storm!

Bosch Dishwasher
Bosch gave us a dishwasher about 3 years ago and I am still head over heels in love with the thing. I never knew I could love a dishwasher so much, but I do. We have not had one problem with it and the thing is just so awesome for so many reasons. Click here to read more about it. Also, no matter what kind of dishwasher you get, make sure it has a third rack. That is key!

KitchenAid Refrigerator
I still love our fridge. There are a few things to note. First, we got a counter depth fridge and I do not regret it. That said, we have a second fridge in the garage for overflow and extra large items, like a brining Thanksgiving turkey. I think if I didn’t have the second fridge, I would probably feel frustrated with the size of a counter-depth fridge. The water and ice dispenser also take up a lot of space in the fridge, but I am SO glad we have them. There have been no problems with our fridge and I really love it, but it does get a little icy build up in the very bottom of the freezer that will sometimes melt onto the floor. It is not a big deal and easily fixed, but it does happen. Other than that, it’s a great appliance! ANOTHER UPDATE: So, the ice in the bottom of the freezer got worse and worse after this post. I contacted KitchenAid and they sent a repairman. Turns out that there is a pump or something that was easily plugged, which caused the problem, but they’ve since redesigned that part so that can’t happen anymore. They replaced our old part and the problem is gone. Thought I’d give an update in case anyone else ever has the same issue!

Canon Rebel DSLR
Unless you plan to be a professional photographer and/or shoot photos for print (like a cookbook), all you need is a Canon Rebel. I love the Rebel line of cameras and they just keep getting better every year. I’m still shooting with my T2i and it works great. Of course I’d love to get the latest, but honestly it would be a waste of money to do so at this point. The post I wrote about shopping for a DSLR has lots of great info for what to look for, even 5+ years later.

Breville Smart Oven (or any toaster oven for that matter!)
I find that it is very difficult to convince people who do not have toaster ovens that they should have toaster ovens. But, seriously, everyone should have a toaster oven. Especially these days, with the abundance of large, beautiful, wonderful toaster ovens out there. I’ve had the Breville Smart Oven for 5 years now and it’s like the 6th member of our family. For real. THE BEST.

Bissell Upright Carpet Cleaner
I LOVE my upright Bissell carpet cleaner and use it regularly. It does a great job cleaning the floors and I seriously love having it, especially with my light carpets. I’ve been seeing these at Costco lately. In fact, our piano teacher bought one and is equally as in love as I am. We both highly recommend it! Side note: I ended up getting rid of the small Spot Bot because I found it to be a bit redundant and, if I had to choose one, the larger cleaner is better for my needs. I also did a poor job cleaning out the hose the first time I used the Spot Bot and it got SUPER gross, so make sure you rinse the hoses with clean water after every use! If you don’t want a huge carpet cleaner, though, that Spot Bot is super handy and works great.

Q Squared Melamine Dishes and Serving Platters
I’ve done many sponsored posts for Q Squared over the years (although I am not currently working with them). I love everything they’ve ever sent and use Q Squared items in our home every day. The only issues I’ve had: the “silver” on the flatware has started wearing off, and the yellow salad plates from the Montecito collection started to change color a bit. That said, I would still buy those plates because they are such a great shape and size. And I haven’t had any other issues. Great stuff.

Knife Sharpener
Alton Brown once said that you should only hone your knives at home but always pay a professional to sharpen your knives. And so I was a little scared to use this knife sharpener from KitchenIQ…but I finally gave in and I use it EVERY DAY. What I love about this particular sharpener is that you can change the angle, so if you have a traditional knife or a Japanese knife, it’s easy to adjust the sharpener properly. And it totally sharpens my serrated knife. And it’s easy to use. And my knives have never been happier. These kinds of sharpeners can be a little pricey, but it is worth the investment.

ThermoWorks DOT Probe Thermometer
I bought this a year ago. It’s still awesome. I anticipate it will continue to be awesome for many years to come.

Olive Oil Bottle for Dish Soap
I still use a glass olive oil bottle for my dish soap and I still love it. We’ve only had one mishap over the years when a babysitter poured soap over the caprese salad. Other than that, no breaks and no other oil-soap mixups! 🙂

Kenmore Chest Freezer
We’ve had our $80 Kenmore chest freezer for 5 1/2 years now and it’s still going strong. Couldn’t live without it.

Whirley Pop
We still use the Whirley Pop every time we make popcorn. Haven’t had microwave popcorn since this arrived in our home over 3 years ago. It’s holding up beautifully, even though the lid doesn’t clip on quite as tightly, which isn’t a problem.

Vanilla Bean Paste
I still love vanilla bean paste and even found it on Amazon for cheap. You’re welcome.

Earth Box
I never wrote a final update on how gardening with the Earth Box went…because we went out of town and everything died. But until that point, the tomato plants were amazing and full and huge and wonderful. So, barring vacations where you neglect to care for your garden, I still think the Earth Box is a great way to garden, especially for people who have a black thumb like me.

Tortilla Warmer
I use this every single week. It’s the greatest. The end. And I need to get a big one for burrito size tortillas…on my shopping list!

Homemade Yogurt Maker
I really like this appliance (it works beautifully) and got into a regular yogurt making groove for a time. BUT…once I got out of the groove I haven’t gotten back into it since. I also recently learned that a lot of pressure cooker/Instant Pots out there have a yogurt setting, so I think I would recommend getting that over the stand-alone yogurt maker. Multitaskers are always a good way to go!

The Kupp
I love these cups for kids and my kids loved them, too. Sadly, we’ve broken all five of the Kupps in our possession. Bummer.

Onion Saver
This is another unitasker that I actually do use all the time (like the tortilla warmer). It may only do one thing, but it does it so well.

Cheese Paper
This is one of those items I keep bringing up because it is awesome. ‘Nuf said.

Crisco 64-ounce Canola Oil Bottle
I seriously still buy this brand and size of oil just for the measuring cup lid. Why doesn’t all oil come with this feature?

Salt Box
My salt box is another thing I love and use every day, with kosher salt. I rarely get out any other kind of salt. The family uses the salt box. It’s the best. Easy for grabbing a pinch while cooking or measuring out if you need to.

Non-Stick Cookware
This is just a quick update on how some of the non-stick cookware I have is holding up. The Anolon Nouvelle Copper Cookware set I received a few years ago is still great and cooks evenly, but there is a little bit of the non-stick stuff coming off on one of the pots. The Calphalon Unison non-stick frying pan I have is awesome, no peeling or scraping and I use it all the time. Lastly, I have a Le Creuset non-stick 12″ deep drying pan that is my favorite pan I own, also no scraping or peeling and I use it for almost every meal I cook.

Phew! Is that enough updates? Like I said, if you click on The Goods tag, you can believe anything I say, but these items were ones I wanted to call out specifically for various reasons. hope it’s helpful!

Hi friends! So, last week I took a little podcast break, but today we are back! Since it’s Monday I have an interview for you and it’s a doozy, in a good way, of course. My colleague, business partner and friend Allison Czarnecki from the lifestyle blog Petit Elefant joins me to discuss several great recipes and kitchen tips. Allison started her blog many moons ago and writes about style, family, home, travel and, of course, FOOD. Allison, our friend Marie (who was on the podcast previously) and I started a business together in 2009 and are pretty much bonded for life. On today’s episode we talk a lot about food but Allison also gets me in a silly mood, which just plain means trouble. Thanks for that, Allison.

Shownotes:

• Allison’s favorite recipe, her mom’s rolls
• Allison’s other favorite recipe, her dad’s German müesli
• Czarnecki Polish Christmas Eve
• Marie’s Kitchen Tip (Allison has an update on the tip Marie shared)
• Allison’s pie crust
• Vetebröd, the cardamom bread I talk about on the show. Click here for the bulle (bun) version and a picture of my Grandma.
• Jane’s Swedish meatballs
• Chicken Pot Pie (the recipe I have on my site that Allison uses all the time)
• Chest freezer similar to what Jane has (this one is a wee bit bigger than mine)
• 55-Gallon water barrel at Costco (for storing whiskey)
• Justified

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Oh my goodness! I planned my menu this morning…and then forgot to finish publishing it! But it’s still Sunday, phew! Here we go…lots of carry-overs from last week’s menu. It ended up being one of those weeks and I am glad to start fresh this week!

MONDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
– Sweet Korean BBQ Beef Tacos

WEDNESDAY:
– Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
– Chips and Guacamole

THURSDAY:
– Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We already had corned beef this weekend because I needed to photograph it! The recipe will be on Cool Mom Eats tomorrow, I highly recommend it – super easy and still tastes great!
– Green Noodles and Green Lemon Bars

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Take out night

SUNDAY:
– Leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

As usual, please leave your weekly meal plan in the comments! Thank you and have a wonderful week!