Alfredo Sauce

The season finale of True Blood and the Giants first game of the season happened to be on the same day a few weeks ago.  That of course, meant a full day of hanging out in my family room with my family and friends.  A few days before, David asked me if we could make Alfredo sauce.  Someone at work had just heated up their leftovers and it smelled so good so he wanted some.  With that one request we had our dinner planned for Sunday night.  To round out the dish we added sauteed chicken breasts and steamed broccoli which I think made a really good combination.  This recipe made just enough sauce for a pound of pasta which fed the 4 of us with no leftovers.  I will not be making this often since it is so high in fat and calories but it was really good and perfect for a once in a while treat.

Alfredo Sauce
From Colleen's Kitchen Therapy

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic powder, white pepper and cheese and whisk until thoroughly combined and heated through.  Serve over cooked pasta immediately.  Garnish with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

There is just something about chocolate and peanut butter together that I love. If you look back in the blog you will see it is a flavor combination that I use often. It is one of those timeless combinations that I never get tired of. For me, there has to be just the right mix of the too though, too much peanut butter and I am not a fan. For example, I really don't like a regular size Reese's peanut butter cup. There is too much peanut butter and not enough chocolate in it for me. The mini size ones however, have the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio.  For this batch, I had some leftover white chocolate chips that I threw in there too.  The mixture between milk and white chocolates and peanut butter was really good.

I have tried a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes and keep finding myself coming back to the good old Toll House recipe that is always on the back of the bags of chips. Not that there aren't other recipes that I like too but this one is just really good. It creates a cookie that is crisp on the edges and soft and chewy in the center. It is a good thing that Joe's office is receptive to homemade goodies because we had to get these out of here quickly or else we would have eaten all of them. Thanks for taking them off our hands and hips!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
From Toll House

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups (11 oz package) Nestle peanut butter & milk chocolate chips
3 oz white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks.  Store in an air tight container.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

I was on the hunt for a new ice cream flavor and when I get in the mood to make ice cream my first stop is always to David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop. I was flipping the pages of the book and came across a recipe for white chocolate ice cream. It was a French style ice cream (includes egg yolks) which I tend to like better than American which doesn't include eggs. The French style definitely produces a smoother finished product. The American styles that I have tried seem to get a little too icy for my taste after being frozen for a couple of days. I like white chocolate so I decided to give it a try. I had some Godiva chocolate liqueur at home so I decided to throw a little of that in to enhance both the flavor and the texture.

Ever since I created my Bailey's ice cream awhile back I am a big proponent of adding at least a little bit of alcohol to all of my ice creams. Since alcohol doesn't ever completely freeze, it helps the keep the ice cream silky and smooth even after it has been in the freezer for awhile.

This ice cream was fabulous. Perhaps the best batch of ice cream I have ever made. The flavor is wonderful and not too overpowering and the texture is by far the best that has ever come out of my ice cream maker. I love white chocolate and raspberries together so I am already trying to figure out a way to add raspberries to this recipe. I will keep you updated on my progress. In the meantime, make this ice cream!

White Chocolate Ice Cream
Very slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp chocolate liqueur

Directions:
Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate. Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  Just before adding the mixture to the ice cream maker, stir in the chocolate liqueur.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

I love beef stew.  It is one of my favorite fall and winter comfort foods.  I have been making this recipe for years and once the weather turned a little colder earlier this week I couldn't wait to make it again.  This make a lot of stew.  There was enough for the 2 of us to eat dinner for 2 nights and 3 lunches for me so it is a great size for a crowd.  Just make sure that you have a big enough slow cooker to fit it all in.  I have a 6 quart cooker and it is filled up almost to the brim when I make this recipe.  You may be tempted to skip the step that asks you to brown the meat before putting it in the slow cooker but I highly recommend you don't.  I think it imparts a lot of flavor in the dish.  I am sure I will be making this again quite a few more times this season.  Yum!

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients:
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch chunks
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups vegetable juice
1 cup beef broth
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried majoram
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups cubed potatoes (about 3 medium)
24 oz. frozen mixed vegetables (green beans, corn, peas, carrots)
1 cup sliced carrots (2 medium)

Directions:
Place flour in a plastic bag and season with salt and pepper.  Add meat cubes, a few at a time, shaking to coat.  In a large saucepan or Dutch oven brown meat in hot oil.  Place browned meat in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Layer the onions, potatoes, mixed vegetables and carrots on top of the meat.  Combine the vegetable juice, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, majoram, pepper and bay leaf.  Pour over meat and vegetables and cover.  Cook on low 9-10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Oatmeal Cookies

A few weeks ago I was looking to make something to go with the Bailey's flavored ice cream that I was making (which came out so good but was gone before I can get a photo so I have to make it again so I can post it!) for dessert and decided that I wanted to do some sort of cookie. After taking stock of what I had in the house and thinking about what flavor would go well with the ice cream, I decided on an oatmeal cookie. I went to my trusty Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and found a recipe to try and I am glad I did. These cookies were so good. I brought them over to my parents' house and they were devoured by everyone, even David who doesn't really like raisins! I used a mixture of raisins and craisins in my cookies but you can use either or neither if you want, entirely up to you.

Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup craisins

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in the flour and then the rolled oats, raisins and craisins and mix until just combined.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.