Pecan Bars

Preheat oven to 375.     Take your biggest ROASTING PAN (yes, you read that right) and line with parchment paper.    

For crust:

cream:
1.25 pounds butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar

add:
3 eggs
1 T good vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt

when that is well combined, add 4.5 cups of flour.    

Press into the roasting pan (put some flours on your fingers, but it'll be a mess anyway) - bake for 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pan combine:

1 pound butter
3 cups dark brown sugar
teaspoon of orange zest
dash of salt

in a single cup measuring cup:  bit of molasses, bit of orange juice, remainder corn syrup   (which I was subbing for honey)

melt over medium heat, then boil for three minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in:

1/4 cup heavy cream
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 pounds chopped pecans
1/2 pound pecan halves

Pour over crust, return to oven for 30 minutes.   

Weekend Breakfasts

I love to cook breakfast food. Even more I love to eat breakfast food. But given that I work a regular 8-5 type job, weekday breakfasts tend to be a high-fiber english muffin or something equally mundane.

But every once in a while I have a Saturday morning free (or get up early enough on Sunday) to cook something a bit more rewarding:

1-2 slices of quality bread per person (by quality I simply mean something that will not fall apart easily. Mine was honey whole wheat pulled from the freezer, and was from a bakery call Great Harvest Bread. Day old French bread or many regular grocery store breads would also work)


1 egg per person
milk or cream
nutmeg
vanilla

Carmelized Bananas:

1 banana per person
butter
brown sugar
nuts (I used pecans)

bacon

For the french toast:

Heat skillet to medium-high. Add butter or oil to pan.

Beat eggs and milk, plus some nutmeg (preferably freshly ground) and some vanilla extract.

Dip the bread in the egg mixture and place on skillet. When lightly browned on the bottom side, flip and continue.



In another pan, melt a few tablespoons butter and allow to brown a little bit. Slice bananas into pan. After they have started to brown, add some brown sugar and a bit of salt (needed to create that carmelized flavor)




Cook the bacon in the microwave, and then serve all the yumminess on a plate with big cups of coffee to welcom the dawn (or more likely, the noon hour).



French toast (from day old baguette this time), fruit and bacon from a different day, that turned out much prettier in the pictures:

Mocha Shake & Links: recipes I'd like to try

This hardly requires a recipe, but in case you happen to have "extra" coffee ice cream in your freezer right now:


Mocha Shake:


~ 1 cup strong cold coffee
~ 3/4 pint coffee ice cream
~ 1/2 chocolate bar (.75 oz)
~ 1 tbsp cocoa powder
~ 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
~ 5 ice cubes








Blend coffee, cocoa powder and ice until cocoa powder is completely mixed in. Add the chocolate syrup, ice cream and chocolate bar, and blend again. Split between two glasses, and, if you're feeling fancy, garnish with chocolate shavings (run a potato peeler down the side of a chocolate bar).













A few links of recipes I've picked up here and there that look great:


Chicken Cheese Puffs


Apple Dumplings - these look pretty easy, too!


Pecan Pie Bars


and an oldy but a goody I haven't made since I was old enough to drive:


Lemon Bars