Cheese Dreams & Curry Pumpkin Soup and weekend recap

We had a bridal shower today for one of my friend's, Janna, at Rachel's (new & gorgeous!!) house.  These Cheese Dreams were the biggest hit -- zero came home with me.  I've been making a batch and freezing and then popping 8-10 in the oven when we have another couple over for dinner.  Easy and absolutely delicious appetizer.  Thanks mom for introducing me to these gems!

Cheese Dreams

2 cups finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 c. butter, softened

2 T. heavy cream

1 egg

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. dry mustard

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 16 oz. package firm sandwich bread (I used Pepperidge Farm White Sandwich bread)

Preheat oven to 375.  Beat cheese & butter with electric mixer.  Add cream, egg, Worcestershire, salt, dry mustard cayenne pepper and mix well.  Cut crusts off bread and then slice each piece of bread into 4 squares.  Spread about 1 t. of the cheese mixture onto one square.  Top with another square of bread and spread cheese mixture on top and a little on the sides.  I then did one little small tap of cayenne pepper on each cheese dream.  Place on greased cookie sheet and put in freezer for them to set up for at least 30 minutes prior to baking them.  If you want to bake later then still put on cookie sheet in freezer and then once frozen you can transfer to freezer bag.  Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  I take out of oven and put on paper towels to get some grease off and then transfer to platter.  Enjoy!

Curry Pumpkin Soup

This is a recipe my mom and Bailey came up with and served at Caroline's bridal luncheon.  This was my first attempt at making it and it was really pretty easy and something different (aka not chicken salad) for a ladies luncheon.

1 c. sweet vidalia onion, diced

2 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

1/2 jar red curry paste (about 2-3 T.)

1 T. chopped candied ginger

1 1/2 t. salt

Saute the above ingredients together for about 10-15 minutes over medium heat.

Then add the following ingredients and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.  

2 cans pumpkin

1 can light coconut milk

1 c. vegetable broth

2 T. PB2 (dry peanut butter - I found this at Whole Foods with the peanut butter)

2-3 T. honey

2 sticks dried lemon grass (HT carries this; I actually couldn't find it and bought fresh lemongrass from Whole Foods and bashed with back of knife before adding to pot)

Remove lemongrass after about 20 minutes and continue to simmer for another 45 minutes.  Then take batches and put in blender to really puree to a smooth consistency.  Whip one can full fat coconut milk and top with a dollop of that and roasted pumpkin seeds (can find at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods)

A few more from the shower.  How stunning is Rachel's home???

The beautiful bride-to-be

Josh's firm had a 1920s themed party at a Speakeasy last night - really fun night out.  Josh's mustache wasn't exactly the right shape... :)

Charles was really not feeling this outfit....he's turning into more boy than baby every day.

XO,

Whit

Carrie's Bridal Shower - including recipe for insanely delicious French Toast Casserole

The miniature chicken and waffles and french toast souffle were both hits!  The chicken and waffles were mini eggos drizzled with butter & syrup and topped with a Chick-fil-a nugget.  French Toast Souffle recipe to come at end of post.

The 4 hostesses - all friends of Caroline's from high school and now we all live in Raleigh.

Caroline's sweet State friends

The Harrall ladies

French Toast Souffle

Thank you to Ashley Hodges for passing along this recipe for your darling sister (Kathryn) to make.  It was such a hit.  My mom declared we are having it Christmas morning.  Hope you don't mind me sharing it here, but so many ladies asked for the recipe.

Ingredients for the French Toast:

1 loaf crusty sourdough or french bread (Kathryn used French)

8 whole eggs

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

2 T. vanilla extract

Ingredients for the topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

1 pinch nutmeg (optional - I don't think Kathryn used)

1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

fresh fruit (optional - we did not do this)

Grease a 9x13 baking pan with butter.  Tear bread into chunks and evenly distribute in the pan.  

In a medium sized bowl mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla.  Pour evenly over the bread.  Cover tightly and store in the fridge for several hours or overnight if possible.

In a separate bowl mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Add nutmeg if desired.  Add butter pieces and cut them into the dry mixture until resembles fine pebbles.  Store in a ziploc bag in the fridge.

When you're ready to bake the casserole preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove casserole from the fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top.  (If you're using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.)  Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture.  Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture. We did closer to an hour.

Scoop out individual portions.  Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup. I'm not sure, but I don't think we drizzled with butter and syrup.

Enjoy!  It is so yummy!

XO,

Whit

Cape Cod Chopped Salad

My friend Laura invited me up for lunch one day last week and served up a variation of this Barefoot Contessa Cape Cod Chopped Salad with a quiche.  It was so delicious that my mom and I made a version we ate for a few days while they were in town for Easter weekend.  Ina nailed this one!  I plan to have this dressing on hand all summer.  

Here is how we made our version:

• Mixed baby arugula and spring mix (as opposed to all arugula)
• 1 large honeycrisp apple, chopped (she calls for Granny Smith)
• 1/2 c. toasted pecans, coarsely chopped (recipe calls for walnuts)
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries
• We omitted the bacon and blue cheese.  I may add in protein like bacon or grilled chicken next time if eating as an entree and not a side.

We followed the dressing recipe exactly as Ina describes:

• 3 tablespoons good apple cider vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 
• Kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2/3 cup good olive oil 

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, apple, nuts, cranberries. 

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. 

Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss well. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

XO,

Whit

Jiffy Cornbread Muffins with Cream-Style Corn and Honey Butter

Perfect little accompaniment during soup season.  So easy and so yummy.

Recipe here.  I opted to make muffins as opposed to a loaf -- it made 12, but next time I would probably make them fuller and make a few less.

Enjoy!

XO,
Whit

A few summer recipes

1st of all....happy belated 4th anniversary to my sweet husband and favorite person in the world. 

How has it been 4 years since this day?  I thank God every day that we ended up together on this crazy adventure of life.

Josh was actually off in VT for a guys trip on our anniversary AND I sent a round of shots to he & his friends, so I think I get the wife of the week award.  I was glad to have him home last night -- it hadn't been just us at home in about 10+ nights.

A few recipes we have been eating around the Otto household:

"Raw" Chocolate Truffle Bites

When my sisters, Bailey & Allie, were in town last Sunday we made these and I couldn't get over how good they were.  We didn't make them quite as "raw" and healthy as the original recipe calls for, but still healthier than some alternative sweet treats.  They call them brownies, but we rolled them into little balls and I don't think I'd ever make them another way now.

Original recipe here.

How we did it:

Ingredients:

1 c. pecans (could also use walnuts)

1/4 c. + 2 T. raw cocoa (I cheated and used Hershey's)

Dash of vanilla

1 T. brown sugar (we added this)

1/8 - 1/4 t. sea salt (+ more to taste if you want the sweet / salty combo)

2 T. almond or peanut butter (we used natural peanut because it's what we had on hand)

10-12 pitted & chopped dates

In a food processor blend the nuts - careful not to blend too long or it will turn into pecan butter.  Add cocoa, sea salt, brown sugar & vanilla and blend until it's all combined.  Add peanut butter and blend well.  Begin adding the dates (roughly chopped) a little at a time.  You may have to scrape down the sides to make sure it's all blending together.  At this point the mixture will be sticking and clumping together.  If it is too crumbly and not holding together, add a few more dates.

We then rolled in little bite sized balls and put in a mini muffin tin in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes.  So good!

We then put a tiny bit of powdered sugar on them just to make them a tiny bit sweeter.  I'd recommend adding the powdered sugar right before serving.

Baked Bacon with Honey & Cracked Black Pepper

1 lb. bacon (we used the thickly sliced kind)

Honey

Cracked pepper

Again, something Bailey and Brandon have enjoyed when they needed a little treat on their paleo diet.  Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spread one layer of bacon - drizzle bacon with honey & lots of freshly ground pepper.  Put in oven and set to 375 degrees (Bailey advised you don't preheat the oven when cooking bacon this way...who knew?).  Since we purchased the thickly sliced bacon it took a while so we ended up turning up the temperature at the end to crisp it up a bit.  I am a pork lover and was in heaven!

Oven "fried" Squash

Squash

Egg whites

Lots of S & P

Cracker meal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray well with olive oil cooking spray.  Slice squash into round pieces.  Season well with S & P, dunk in egg whites and make sure they are wet on both sides, then dredge in cracker meal.  Place squash in single layer spread out on cookie sheet.  Spray tops with the olive oil cooking spray.  Keep checking every 10-15 minutes - if looking dried out spray more of the olive oil spray.  Flip a few times so they brown nicely on both sides.  This usually takes about 45 minutes - 1 hour.  Add more S & P to taste.

My mom and I made this last Saturday night when I was home in Charlotte.  We served with a watermelon & mint salad (made champagne vinaigrette  and bourbon glazed grilled chicken.  It was the perfect summer meal.

Grilled Peaches with Blackberry Butter & Mint

After the above summer dinner, we finished it off with this dessert.  Another one I had to share.  

Peaches, pitted & halved

Blackberrys

1 stick butter, softened

Pinch of sugar

A few T. chopped mint, plus a few pieces to garnish (optional)

Peach non-fat yogurt (optional)

I softened about 3/4 stick of butter and then added a few handfuls of blackberrys to the food processor and blended it together.  I then added just a pinch of sugar.

We "grilled" them inside on a grill pan so they wouldn't taste like our chicken.  We sprayed the flat side with a little olive oil spray and put on the grill pan on medium heat until they browned nicely.  

Immediately when they come off put a spoonful of the blackberry putter in the pit hole.  We then sprinkled some chopped mint on top and garnished with a mint leaf.  We served ours with non-fat peach yogurt.

 

On of my husband's aunts passed away on Friday at the young age of 55.  We are off to the funeral tomorrow and I'm praying her family (including 3 sons and 5 sisters) and friends can find peace.  Thinking of all of you during this difficult time!

XO,

Whit

Weekend Recap

Our weekend looked something like this:

Delicious dinner at Hayes Barton

Lunch at Merritt's after a trip to the Camellia Forest.  I think it's safe to say Josh got my mom as addicted as he is!

Oven "Fried" Pickle Chips

I made oven "fried" pickles and served with spicy ranch (ranch + cayenne pepper to taste).  We all unanimously agreed they were just as delicious as any fried ones we'd ever eaten.  Recipe here.

Of course Ethel and Eloise came along to visit too.

Speaking of pups...my new niece arrives in Boston next Tuesday.  Her name is Gertrude, Gertie for short.  Cuteness overload.

XO,

Whit

Easy weeknight meal: skinny Greek yogurt chicken & kale chips

I jumped on board with two trendy foods of 2012 last week -- Greek yogurt & kale -- for a really easy weeknight meal.

Skinny Greek Yogurt Chicken

I'd pinned this a while ago and finally made it last Thursday.  Really yummy!

Side note: Hydrangea was $14 at Costco!

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

As I was combining the ingredients I realized it looked like a lot of sauce for 2 breasts -- the original pin of mine said this was for one breast so I doubled it.  Oops!  Half way through cooking I searched again and realized the mistake and took some of the sauce out.  It still tasted delicious, but resulted in a less beautiful looking dish.

Correct directions from Life of Meg:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Combine Greek yogurt, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper in a bowl.
3) Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
4) Coat each chicken breast in Greek yogurt mixture and place on foiled baking sheet.
5) Bake for 45 minutes.

Kale Chips
My friend Carson inspired me to make some easy kale chips and I am now addicted!

1 lb. kale (which only cost a little over $1)
Olive Oil (I actually just used Pan Olive Oil)
Seasoning of your choice

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  Tear the kale off the stem.  Don't make the pieces too small because they do shrink a lot.  Spray with Olive Oil cooking spray and season.  I used garlic salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and they had a nice kick.  Josh didn't seem that impressed - his reaction was something like, "Tastes like seasoned leaves!"

Olivia was a fan.

XO,

Whit