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TBD puffs

The reason they are TBD puffs is - they are SO good - but they are good because of the dates! So many people say "dates Ew! no thank you" -- My new inlaws tried them and were convinced it was german apple pie and not dates and pineapple.

so, here we go!

So I stole the idea from another blog to be fair. -- which was stolen from another blog called janetishungry. (She seems really cool)

The inspiration for the puffs was a random browsing through the cupboards and spotting a can of cashews, to my delight, yet unopened. Woo! We've gotta do something with these bad boys!

Filling:
small tub of cream cheese (I'm sure they make soy or tofu?)
1 cup crushed pineapple - drained well
1.5-2 cups dried dates - well chopped (or food process about 10 pulses)
3/4-1 cup rough chopped cashews

cinnamon sugar blend - I ended up using about a quarter cup in all. mix a 2:1 sugar to cinnamon ratio. sprinkle about a tbs on the cream cheese and blend it. - do this 'to taste'

then add the fruit and nuts and whip that all up. if the pineapple makes it a little watery and cottage cheese like, keep folding, the dates and nuts will soak up the juice :)

go ahead and put that in the fridge while you get your dough off and running.

it's phyllo dough - ((@*&#^ to work with, but worth it) -- maybe because I purchased the organic kind --
take a sheet, brush with melted butter, add a sheet, brush with butter - do this until you have 3 or 4 layers. I sprinkled a teeny bit of the cinnamon and sugar between layers too.

once you have this all together, cut strips about 3 inches wide - so the will be as long as about a piece of paper and as wide as a floppy disk.

get the filling and put a reasonable sized dolop in the lower right corner of the strip, fold to make a triangle, brush slightly with butter, fold again. (you remember how you used to make notes in grade school all fancy like? or folding a flag? yeah...like that.)

keep folding and brushing and here and there maybe a sprinkle of the cinna-sugar. brush the final triangle with a nice coat of butter, cin/sug

bake 20 mins at 375 :)

I used parchment - came out great!

Second Day Potatoes

We grill quite often and hubby's favorite thing is to throw a couple of baked potatoes on because it's easy and fairly versitle as far as toppings. When we have people over, we tend to over anticipate quantity and end up with left overs.

A quick tasty way to recycle your baked potato is to slice or dice them up, throw them in a pan with a little butter onion and garlic (additional seasonings as desired) brown them up and Viola! It comes out somewhere between southern hashbrowns/crispy mashed potatoes

If you don't happen to have any left over potatoes to work with - grab some spuds - clean, poke them with a fork, wrap them in wet paper towels and nuke them until tender. Let them cool, and slice them up. :)

Bufflalo Chicken Pizza

Friday nights are Pizza night in our house. Through trial and error we've figured out THE recipe for dough.
BUY IT FROM SAMS CLUB!

Seriously. It comes in a pack of 18 frozen balls. Take one out the night before you want pizza, throw it in the fridge overnight to thaw. Then put it in a bowl with a little olive oil a few hours before dinner so it can rise and warm a little. Perfecto!

My next endeavor is to make my own sauce. More on that when I have success. ;)

For this pizza I used chicken breast that was seasoned in sweet pepper blend and pan seared. I had a left over bratwurst, so I coined and quarted those (yum! great substitution for sausage) and pepperoni. I used a bag of preshredded "pizza" blend cheese. I put 3/4 of the bag down on the sauce, threw on the toppings, then sprinkled the remaining cheese. I bought a cheap hot sauce that I'm loving, it doesn't have as much vinegar as franks, but any will do. I sprinkled that liberally for the final touch!

We bake on parchment on a pizza stone. It gives the crust a perfect crunch without wicking too much moisture. 455 degrees for about 12 minutes typically does the trick!

about 1/2 hour prep to table time!

San J sauce - Do not go without!

I LOVE this sauce. I use it on just about everything.

Originally I bought it to recreate an Annie Chungs noodle pack. You know, sometimes you just want your ramen. I was in a Schezwan mood, so I picked up a box. It was nearly $4.00 - and while the spices were nice, it wasn't really worth it. I figured if I could find or make my own sauce and use .10 cent noodles I'd be in business!

I found this at Albertsons, but I have seen it many places. It was fantastic on the .10 cent ramen! Though, the first time I used a bit too much and while I love heat, it was a little much. A tablespoon actually is more than enough for the right amount of kick.

Since then I've used it in everything from marinades - delicious with seafood and chicken - to scrambled eggs and of course chinese food. Also fantastic on a grilled veggie mix such as peppers and asparagus. (more on those in a future post)

Do yourself a big favor and add this into your condiment line up. You'll be tickled pink!

Bangin' Potato Salad - With San J sauce

It's not easy to photograph tater salad. It doesn't really have a "good side" but I've promised myself I'd learn the art of foodtography as well and make sure I had a pic for every post.


The other day hubby decided to do a smoked pork shoulder. (Quite Delish!) When it neared completion, I asked what he'd intended to have along side. He said he meant to buy some potato salad, but forgot. I perked up "I can make some!" A slight debate ensued as to the economy of the home made salad... effort vs reward. Feeling like puttering in the kitchen I went forth and peeled!

For the two of us I only used 3 potatoes. I assume most reading this are going to be foodies or experimental types, so recipies will likely not be precise. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll happily answer any questions you may have.

Potato salad for me is usually quite dull. If it has any bang at all it's from the over use of mustard. Also, celery is just filler *IMHO* so, none of that.

While the potatos were boiling:

either 1/4 cup finely chopped onions or two pinches dehydrated onions (hydrate them first)

1/4 cup red pepper finely chopped (or dehydrated, just a pinch - hydrate along with the onions)

2 big ol' tablespoons of sweet relish

1 table spoon horseradish sauce (like HorseySauce from Arby's)

4 or 5 cloves garlic - pressed

a dash and a half of San J sauce

Go ahead and mix those all together while your potatos are on to boil. It gives them a chance to play together and you won't need to let your salad sit as long to marry the flavors.

When your potatos are to your liking (personally, I chop a few thinner and smaller so when you fold in the final ingredients, they break down and make a nice binder)

Cool your spuds in cold water and drain well.

Put them in the bowl with the relish you've made, top with miracle whip and or mayo - about 3 tablespoons - or to your liking. Add a generous squirt of yellow mustard along with that. Fold all the ingredients together, chill for about an hour or so and there you have it!