Visiting a Friend with Baby #2

We are off to visit my oldest friend who just had a new baby.  We are so excited to meet her newest member.  Although I can't relate to having two, I can only imagine how exhausting it is to entertain guests when you have two under two running around.  That is why I am bringing lunch and dessert for our visit.

Both recipes that I chose come together pretty easily, but they need time to sit so they have to be made well in advance.  For lunch I made macaroni and cheese (the overnight edition) and for desert this lovely tart that I've been dying to make forever.

Overnight Mac & Cheese

Ingredients: 
4 cups whole milk
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/8 cup butter, diced into small cubes
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated  (I like to mix the cheese that I use: this time I used medium orange cheddar and an aged white cheddar)
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Grease a 13x9" baking dish.  Spread half the pasta in the bottom of the dish.  Sprinkle with half of the cheese, dot with half of butter and sprinkle with half the salt.  Repeat the layers with the remaining pasta, remaining cheese, butter and salt.

2. Pour milk evenly over pasta, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 24 hours.

3. Bake, covered with foil at 350F for 45-60 minutes.  Remove the foil during the final 15 minutes to allow the top to brown and get crispy.  (Sometimes I sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over the top when I remove the foil.)


Caramel-Swirl Double Chocolate Tart

Almond crust, cooling

Ingredients:

Crust:
2-1/4 cups almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled

Filling:
6 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup 35% whipping cream, divided

Dark chocolate filling

Caramel Sauce:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup 35% whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

Crust:
2. In a food processor, process the almonds, sugar and flour until the nuts are finely ground.  Pour in butter; process (or mix) until thoroughly moistened.  Pat nut mixture into the bottom of a 10" pie plate.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is lightly coloured.  Cool on rack.

White chocolate filling

Filling:

Caramel sauce simmering

3. Meanwhile place white chocolate in a bowl and dark chocolate in another bowl.  Bring cream to a boil in saucepan over medium heat.  Pour 1/3 cup of hot cream over white chocolate; pour remaining 2/3 cup hot cream over dark chocolate.  Whisk white chocolate mixture until smooth and the chocolate is melted.  Repeat with dark chocolate.  Let each cool for 10 minutes.  (At this point you can start making the caramel sauce in the same saucepan.)
4. Pour dark chocolate over cooled crust, spreading evenly.  Pour white chocolate over dark chocolate, tilting pan to evenly distribute.

Caramel Sauce:
5. In a saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Drizzle caramel sauce over white chocolate in decorative pattern.
7.  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.  Store in the refrigerator.

Assembled product without
the caramel sauce.

Ready to be refrigerated for 8 hours.

Classic Belgian Waffles #2 - Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Waffles - one of my most favourite "breakfasts that doubles as dessert" of all time.  You can top them with nutella and bananas, nutella and strawberries, whipped cream, maple syrup, icing sugar; the list is really endless.

I have a recipe that I've used for years to make them from scratch and they turn out delicious!  My husband promised my little one that I would make them this morning for her, only for me to realize that we were completely out of flour and pancake mix.  I didn't know what I could do until I remembered I had some gluten free flour left from my gluten-free stint a few months back.  I have adapted my recipe to be dairy free, so why not substitute the flour and make gluten free ones as well.

The result was a much thicker and fluffier waffle.  As I was making it I wasn't sure if it would turn out because the batter was so thick, but they really turned out so good.

You can find my original recipe here or read it again below.  At the end of the post I have provided my gluten free and dairy free substitutions.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk

Directions:

1.  Preheat the waffle iron according to its instructions.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a second bowl use the wooden  to beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow.  Add vanilla extract, melted butter and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine.
4. Combine liquid mixture with flour mixture and whisk just until blended; do not over mix.
5.  In a third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter.  Do not overmix!
6.  Coat iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover the waffle grid.  (I have a Cuisinart iron with 4 squares.  I always put about 1/3-1/2 cup into each square.  This normally prevents it from oozing out the sides.)  Close and cook per its instructions, about 2-3 minutes.
7.  Top with your favourite ingredients and serve immediately.

Makes about 8-10 waffles.

Gluten Free Option: I substituted the flour for a gluten-free all-purpose flour.  I really like the PC Brand.

Dairy Free Option: Substitute 1/4 cup vegetable or coconut oil for the butter.  Substitute almond milk for the regular milk.  I love using the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  When I'm short on almond milk, I often do 1 cup almond milk and 1 cup water - it still turns out delicious!

Gluten and Dairy Free Belgian Waffles

AABCD (Applesauce-Almond-Brown Sugar Cookie Drops)

The cooler temperature and drizzling rain made today a great day to bake with my little one.

We decided on cookies so I looked for an easy recipe that didn't require any chilling time.  The result is my "AABCD" (Applesauce, Almond Brown Sugar Cookie Drops).  Cheesy I know, but maybe it'll stick in your mind.....

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies and can easily be doubled.  The result is a really light cookie that really tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup almonds, finely chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Beat brown sugar, butter, applesauce and egg in the stand mixer on medium speed.

3. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add it to the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula.

4.  Add in the almonds (I ground them up in my food chopper) and stir again.

5. Drop dough by the tablespoonful about 2" apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake 9-11 minutes or until almost no indentation is left when touched in the centre.  Cool for a couple of minutes then remove to a cookie sheet to continue cooling.

A Vegetarian Dinner

Tonight was a meat free dinner with some delicious vegetarian options: eggplant pizza and baked broccoli.  Both recipes required the use of the oven, so I started with the eggplant and while it was cooking I prepped the broccoli.  When the eggplant was ready to be taken out of the oven, I put the broccoli in and topped the eggplant slices.  I then turned the oven to broil on high and put the eggplant back in beside the broccoli for about 5 minutes.  When it was ready, I left the broccoli to cook again at 425 for whatever time was left.

Baked Broccoli
This makes a great side dish to any meal and it's really easy to put together.

Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli, washed and cut into pieces
2-4 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to season
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp cheese (Parmesan or Asiago are my favourites), shredded or grated
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lemon, zest and juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Spray a 8x8" baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until the broccoli is coated.  Add the bread crumbs and 2 tbsp cheese; stir again.  Transfer to the baking dish.  Make sure you add all the crumbs in the bowl to the top of the broccoli.  (Easy clean-up option: Combine all the ingredients in a large ziploc bag and give it a shake to coat!)

3. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until everything is browned.  Stir the broccoli about half way through cooking if you like.

4. Zest the lemon over the broccoli.  Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli as well.  Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.


Eggplant Pizza
I've been wanting to make this for a long time.  With the ingredients required to make it, you really can't go wrong!  And this portion of our vegetarian dinner is gluten free as well!

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, sliced into 1" thick slices
1 jar/can (213mL) tomato sauce or pizza sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella, grated (this amount varies depending on how cheesy you like our pizza)
15-20 fresh cherry tomatoes, halved (enough so that there's 2-3 halves per slice)
4-5 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tsp sea salt
Asiago or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt.
This will help dry them out as they cook.

1. Preheat oven to 425F.  Arrange the sliced eggplant in rows on a baking sheet (or two if you need it).  Sprinkle with salt and bake for 20 minutes.

2. Remove the eggplant from the oven and turn the broiler on.  Spread 1 tbsp sauce over each eggplant, followed by the mozzarella.  Arrange the basil and cherry tomatoes over the cheese.  Grate some Asiago cheese over each slice.

3. Broil for 3-5 minutes.  Keep a close eye to make sure it does not burn.  Serve hot.

Instead of mozzarella, you can use Provolone cheese.  If you buy it already sliced, it makes for an even quicker prep and less clean up.

The cooked eggplant topped and ready to be broiled!

The final product - so delicious!

Yummy Pancakes!

There's nothing worse than promising your daughter pancakes on a rushed morning to discover you are out of pancake mix.  That's what happened this morning, so I had to whip up an easy "from scratch" pancake recipe.  This recipe came together quickly and was really quite light and fluffy.  It just soaked up the maple syrup and was absolutely delicious!

For a dairy-free alternative, use unsweetened (vanilla) almond milk and oil (vegetable, canola or melted coconut) instead of milk and butter.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1-1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla


Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, egg and butter; mix until smooth.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat.  Scoop the batter onto the griddle (approximately 1/4 cup each pancake).  Brown on both sides and serve while it's ot.

Feel free to add in your favourite mix-ins: chocolate chips, cinnamon, berries, etc.

Makes approximately 10-12 pancakes.

Zucchini Bread

My grandparents have given me a lot of zucchini from their garden.  I've made the muffins, fried zucchini, the zucchini flowers so I had to make zucchini bread.

This makes two loaves which is plenty: one for you and one for a friend!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
nuts and/or raisins

Directions:

1. Peel the skin off the zucchini.  Using a grater or a food processor, grate zucchini into thin slivers.

2. Lightly beat the eggs; then add the sugar.    Add the remaining ingredients one at a time (the order doesn't really matter), saving the nuts and/or raisins until the end.  When everything is mixed well, add in the chopped nuts and/or raisins.  (I used about 1-2 handfuls of walnuts that I roughly chopped.)

3. Pour into two greased and floured bread pans.  Bake about 60-70 minutes in a 350F preheated oven.  Toothpick inserted will come out clean when it's ready.

4.  Cool slightly in pan then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

To store it, wrap it in foil.  It can also be frozen.  This makes such a moist loaf and the walnuts add the perfect crunch.