Happy Saturday with Almond Cheese Danishes

Saying "Good Morning" can be a challenge sometimes. But when this cheese danish on your plate it will be a whole lot easier. This idea came about because I was going through cupboards and  realized that had some leftover puff pastry and a can of almond paste. So I thought why not put them both to good use? 

 I kind of came up with this recipe on my own out of basic baking knowledge but I real think you could really play with this recipe to make what you would like. I choose almond because it it truly my favorite.

Here is the recipe:

Almond Cheese Danishes

1/2 can of almond paste

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 8 oz Cheese Cheese softened (or I use the 1/3 less fat stuff)

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

Take the sheet of puff pastry and cut into nine squares. The whip together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. You can place a thin layer of almond paste on each of the squares of puff pastry and then spoon the cream cheese mixture over the almond paste. Once you have done this and fold two corners over lapping the cream cheese mixture. Then bake the danishes in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

This is what the danishes will look before you but then in the oven.

These danishes can really be made with anything. The almond paste can easily be replaced by lemon curd or raspberry jam or anything that floats your boat. You could also make a quick icing with some milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar to add something extra to these danishes and then sprinkle with slivered almonds. The wonderful thing about a danish is that there are so many possibilities.

This is what the danishes look like when they come out of the oven. These danishes are very delicious and helped to coax my fiance out of bed this morning. I would suggest making these for a special breakfast, a brunch or even as something quick to grab on the way out of the door to work. I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how your danishes worked out.

From Hangovers to Leftovers: Dealing with what St. Patty's leaves behind (Part Two)

Now that it has been a few days since St. Patrick's day and for your sake I hope everyone is feeling back to normal. But you may still have some leftovers from the festivities. I have a ton of leftover Irish Soda Bread even though I have been grabbing a piece every time I go by the bag.

I decided since the bread is starting to get dry, the best solution is to whip up some bread pudding. I came up with this recipe on my own-it just spoke to me. The soda bread is perfect for bread pudding. It is a sturdy and will hold its shape in the custard but it has some nice flavor profiles that will shine through.

So here is my recipe for My Irish Soda Bread Pudding:

• 1/2 of a loaf of few day old Irish Soda Bread (cubed)- Here is the Irish Soda Bread Recipe I used
• 2 cups of buttermilk (which  used up the leftover buttermilk from making the bread in the first place- this can easily be replaced with milk or cream)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• a few dashes of nutmeg

Set the oven at 350 degrees.  Place the cubed bread in a greased 8x8 baking dish. Whisk the remaining ingredients together and then pour evening over the bread. Then bake for 45 to 55 minutes; until the custard has settled and the top is golden brown.

I decided to top the bread pudding with a little hair of the dog and added a rum glaze. To make the glaze melt 3 tablespoons of butter, a generous splash of spiced rum and about a cup of powdered sugar. Then apply glaze while the pudding is still warm.

This was a simple recipe and a wonderful way to use up left over Irish Soda Bread. I think this recipe is perfect as dessert or brunch. Hope you enjoy this recipe.

From Hangovers to Leftovers: Dealing with what St. Patty's leaves behind (Part One)

Whether it is a pesky hangover and/or tons of leftover potatoes, corn beef and Irish soda bread. I will help by dealing with the leftovers may help nurse you back to health from your hangover. 


Here is a recipe for Corn Beef Hash to have with eggs to drive your headache away and use up your abundance of potatoes and corn beef.


INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked corned beef
• 2-3 cups chopped cooked potatoes, preferably Yukon gold
• Salt and pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

1 Heat butter in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes, until translucent.

2 Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high and press down on the mixture with a metal spatula.

3 Do not stir the potatoes and corned beef, but let them brown. If you hear them sizzling, this is good. Use a metal spatula to peak underneath and see if they are browning. If nicely browned, use the spatula to flip sections over in the pan so that they brown on the other side. Press down again with the spatula. If there is too much sticking, you can add a little more butter to the pan. Continue to cook in this manner until the potatoes and the corned beef are nicely browned.

4 Remove from heat, stir in chopped parsley. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and add salt to taste.

Serve with fried or poached eggs for breakfast.

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Side Notes: This seemed to go over very well with my fiance. I used the leftover roasted potatoes with my corn beef. I did cut back on the salt and pepper as my roasted potatoes were well seasoned. This is also a good recipe for any big breakfast.


I hope your hangovers are better and you have fewer leftover.


To follow soon: Part 2- Irish Soda Bread Pudding

I'll drink to that! My first Irish feast.

I have always loved to participate in St. Patty's day festivities but the traditional food have never been on the menu. It has always been much more a  liquid-based holiday f0r me. But as per the request from my Irish-blooded fiance I was willing to give it all a shot.

My family never cooked corn beef and cabbage. I actually have never had it before-I know, crazy! I mean I was not even sure what corn beef was-thank you google for clearing things up. So since this was going to be my first time making this traditional dish, I decided to take a side step away from the norm and do it Anna's way.

I started by cooked my corn beef in a crock pot. First I rubbed the corn beef in brown sugar and the spice packet that came with the beef on all sides and then poured in a beer (after all it is St. Patrick's Day).  The recipe I saw called for Guinness, which would be good but I was not going out of my way to buy a Guinness, so I used a Narraganset. Now just let this cook for 5-6 hours on high or 10-12 on low and when it pulls apart it is ready to go.

Potatoes are traditional Irish fare but boiled is not my style. I roasted my yukon gold potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper and adobo seasoning. Then Iput them in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes and I flipped the potatoes. Then baked the potatoes for another 15 to 20 minutes until brown and crispy.

And of course I needed to bake some Irish soda bread to finish off this feast. I used Ina Garter's recipe from Food Network. For some reason I feel like I have heard that soda bread is hard to make. This could not be farther from the truth-it is a quick bread (super simple.)  

Here is Ina's recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 cup dried currants

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Side Notes: I swapped the currants for dried cranberries-I just think that the cranberries go wonderfully with the orange zest. I also did not have any parchment paper in the house, so I sprayed the baking sheet and covered with corn meal. This seemed to work very well and I enjoyed the corn meal on the bottom of the bread.

This feast went over very well with my red head who was craving a St. Patty's feast. I hope your St. Patrick's Day was wonderful!

Got old brown bananas? Anna Banana to the rescue!

Everyone has been plagued with a plethora of bananas that have started to get brown age spots like your grandma. You buy a bunch of bananas at the store with the good intention of throwing  one in your purse each day for a health snack. Either this simply just does not happen or you find a brown hot mess in the bottom of your purse a week later. So the real question is how do we fix this situation.

The most obvious solution is banana bread. I love banana bread-it is easy to make and it is a crowd pleaser. Here is my recipe:

Banana Bread 

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1cup chopped walnuts

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and walnuts last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Side Notes: These could easily be made into muffins. I actually made mine in a bunt cake pan.


So yes banana bread is great but can get a bit mundane if you are making it every time your bananas get old. So I thought of a few ways to spice up.
 The first is Banana Bread French Toast.
To make this treat- mix a few eggs and milk with about a tsp. of vanilla and a few dashes of cinnamon. Slice the bread to your desired thickness and dunk the slices in the egg mixture. Then cook in a frying pan as you would any french toast. This is a great way to shake up a breakfast favorite.

Another banana bread option is to make a bread pudding. Here is my Banana Bread Pudding recipe:


1 loaf of banana bread (cubed)


2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.


So now there is no reason to throw away your old brown bananas. And if you do have time make these delicious recipes, you can always freeze the bananas for a later date. Let me know what you think and enjoy.