Slow-Cooker Boursin Spinach Artichoke Dip

Here is yet another very addictive recipe!  I love spinach and artichoke dip, if it is done well (for something that should be simple, it's amazing how many places can get it wrong).  When I came across this recipe, which includes the wonderful Boursin cheese, I simply had to make it.  I don't have a 'small' slow-cooker, but I actually wonder if it would fit anyway.  As you will see, it turned out just fine for me in the regular sized slow-cooker.  Highly recommend, will make again for sure!!

Link to original recipe:
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a44664/slow-cooker-boursin-spinach-artichoke-dip-recipe/

Ingredients:

1 box (10 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed
2 cans (14 oz. each) artichoke hearts packed in water, chopped
1 package (5.2 oz.) Boursin
6 oz. white cheddar, shredded
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1 tsp. crushed red flakes
kosher salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in slow-cooker and stir to combine.  Cover and cook on high for 45 minutes, or until mixture begins to sizzle a little.

2. Stir mixture, turn heat down to low, cover again and cook for additional 20-30 minutes.

3. Serve with desired accompaniment (I chose tortilla chips, mmm!) and enjoy!

Green Beans Italiano

This is one of the sides we (my mother and I) prepared as part of the family Christmas meal this year.  It was my first time preparing fresh green beans--you may recall from one of my previous posts that despite enjoying green beans, I don't often prepare them because I'm the only living in the house that will eat them.  Anyhow, I modified the recipe significantly on the cooking part, as I (and my mother) prefer green beans to be at least slightly soft, not super crisp/barely warmed.  Will make again, tasty and healthier alternative to green bean casserole.  (We undid the benefit by making actual onion rings for this meal as well lol.)
Link to original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/63310/marilyns-green-beans-italiano/

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed off, cut into ~1" pieces

1/4 c. butter

1/2 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 c. fresh grated Parmesan-Reggiano (or could use grated Parmesan, which is the original)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Instructions:

1. Place the trimmed green beans in a medium saucepan and add just enough water to cover the green beans.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Drain, then spread the green beans onto paper towels to dry.

3. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-low heat.  Stir breadcrumbs and cheese into butter.

4. Add green beans to pan and cook for 3 minutes.  Cover pan, then cook for additional 5-10 minutes, or until desired level of softness.  Check and stir occasionally to ensure that beans do not burn (lower heat slightly if needed).  Serve and enjoy!

Lasagna Soup

This is so very, very, very yummy--I want to make it again right now!  Hang on, be right back...
Seriously, though, this is an easy recipe and reheats well.  Did I mention that it is very tasty?  That you will want to eat 5 bowls in a row?

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/HZvJRUKWJFw

Original recipe credit: https://www.cookingclassy.com/lasagna-soup/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

7 oz. mafaldine noodles (or broken up lasagna noodles)
1 lb. mild and/or hot Italian sausage (or 1/2 lb Italian sausage and 1/2 lb. lean ground beef)
1 large yellow onion, chopped in food processor
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) low-sodium chicken broth (or 4 cups, if measuring out)
1 large can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes (note: I used the kind with basil in it in the video; if you opt for the same, reduce the dried basil amount to just 3/4 tsp.)
2 1/2 T. tomato paste
1 3/4 tsp. dried basil
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 c. (or up to 1 c.) reserved pasta water
1 1/4 c. (5 oz.) shredded Italian cheese blend (or Mozzarella)
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
8 oz. ricotta cheese

Directions:

1. Cook mafaldine noodles according to package directions.  Reserve 1 c. of cooking water when draining.

2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage and beef together, breaking into small pieces as you do so.  Remove meat from pan and set aside, leaving fat behind.

3. Add onion to pan and cook, stirring often, until begins to brown (around 3 minutes).  Add garlic and cook 30 more seconds.

4. Return the meat to the pan and add next 11 ingredients (chicken broth through salt and pepper, which count as 2 ingredients).  Increase heat slightly and bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for at least 25 minutes (I think I did closer to 30 minutes).

5. Add cooked pasta to soup, along with 1/2 to 1 c. reserved pasta water, depending on desired soup consistency (I only used 1/2 cup).

6. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.

7. Ladle into bowls and enjoy (with garlic bread and wine, if so desired :))

Bûche de Noël

When I was a classroom high school French teacher, as part of the culture element, I did some cooking with my students.  One of the recipes that we sort-of did together was this one--the yule log cake, known as 'Bûche de Noël' in French.  This particular recipe comes from a wonderful, now out-of-print book called "Holiday Celebrations with Recipes from Younkers" (as in, the department store of that name).  It's such a great recipe that I've never used any other yet.  This is a very involved recipe that requires some time commitment, yet so worth the effort!
p.s. The cocoa powder may not necessarily wash completely out of the kitchen towel used in step 10, so do not use a nice one...

Ingredients:

--cake--

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder, plus additional for the towel
1 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
2 T. butter
1 tsp. honey

--filling--

1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

--frosting--

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 T. butter
3 c. powdered sugar, sifted, divided
1/4 c. milk, plus more to thin if needed
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Grease and lightly flour (or line with waxed paper and lightly grease--much easier) a 15"x 10"x 1" pan (I suggest aluminum foil/disposable ones if possible).  Set aside.  Heat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder ('cake' ingredients).  Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed for about 4 minutes, or until thick.

4. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

5. Add the dry mixture.  Beat on low speed until just combined.

6. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine milk, butter, and honey.  Stir until butter melts, then remove from heat.

7. Add milk mixture to cake batter, beating until combined.

8. Pour into prepared pan, spread evenly if needed.

9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until top springs back on cake at touch.  After removing from oven, immediately loosen cake from pan.

10. Sprinkle cocoa powder onto a kitchen towel and invert cake onto the towel (remove wax paper if used).

11. Roll up warm cake and towel, gently, starting from a short side.  (Yes, this can be tricky, and yes, your cake may break a little, it will be ok if so. :))

12. Cool on a wire rack--this will take a while.  Or do like me: I usually put it in the fridge to get it cooled down faster and make sure that the filling won't melt when added.

13. While waiting for the cake to cool, prepare the filling: In a small mixing bowl, stir together powdered sugar and cocoa, then add whipping cream and vanilla.  Stir until combined.

14. Chill mixture for at least 15 minutes, along with beaters for mixer (do not place in the mixture).

15. Beat mixture at medium speed with chilled beaters, until soft peaks form/tips curl.

16. Once the rolled up cake has cooled completely, very gently unroll cake and remove towel.  It will retain the curled up form somewhat, which is desired.  Spread the filling on the inside part of the roll, covering completely.  Re-roll with filling inside and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

17. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: in a medium saucepan, heat and stir the chocolate and butter until chocolate melts (medium-low heat).  Remove from heat.

18. Stir in half of the powdered sugar (1 1/2 cups), milk, and vanilla until combined.

19. Add remaining powdered sugar and additional milk if needed to reach spreading consistency.  You want it to be somewhat thick, so only add a very small amount of milk at a time.  (I found this time that stirring in 1/2 cup of the sugar at a time works very well and I did not need extra milk.)

20. If desired (for presentation purposes only), cut a diagonal slice from one of the ends (or both) of the cake log.  Frost the exterior of the cake, then attach slices to look like trimmed branches or knots.  Frost exteriors of these as needed.  Drag a fork through the frosting if desired to create 'bark' effect.

21. Slice off a piece and enjoy!  Keep remaining cake in fridge, covered.

Butterfinger Truffles

First time to try this recipe and had high hopes for it.  While it is good, it's not over-the-top, and the texture is not quite as firm as I expect for a truffle.  Thankfully, it's an easy recipe--albeit with a very, very messy step, not for sissy cooks that can't stand dirty hands (or perhaps have some clever way of doing it that I didn't think of...).
Link to original recipe:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/butterfinger-truffles

Ingredients:

10 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped/morsels
1 T. unsalted butter
1 c. heavy cream
8 oz. crushed Butterfinger candy bars
unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate and butter in a medium bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, bring cream to boil.  Remove from heat and pour over chocolate and butter in bowl.

3. Let stand for 1 minute, then mix together until smooth.  Stir in crushed candy.

4. Cover and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Put about 1/4 c. of cocoa powder in a small bowl.  Here comes the messy part: using a melon baller (or just a teaspoon, as I don't think the baller helped much), scoop out a small ball.  I had to use my fingers to get the ball out of the baller and then roll it in my hands to make actually round--thus the reason for no pic on this part.

6. Drop the ball into cocoa powder in bowl and roll around until coated, then place on lined sheet.  Repeat until you have really dirty hands all dough is used.

7. Place tray in fridge and let firm again.  Even after 24 hours, mine were just firm enough to keep shape.  Enjoy with some milk and a napkin ;)

Italian Margarita

Confession: I love the Italian margaritas at Olive Garden.  Like many things served in restaurants, I figured there might just be a 'copycat' recipe available on the web...and I was right!  This was seriously very near the same as at the restaurant.  Thankfully I read the comments and made the additions suggested by the person who claimed to have been a bartender at OG.
There are no pics for this entry for 2 reasons: 1. I have no margarita glasses, so the presentation would just be sad.  2. Even if I had the proper glass, the color of the drink is not very attractive after adding the amaretto, which is why I think they bring it separately to be added at the table at the restaurant.  Either way, you'll just have to do without a pic and trust me--these are yummy!

Link to original recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-italian-margarita-355050

Ingredients for 1 serving/drink:

sugar crystals for the rim of glass, if desired

ice

1 1/4 oz. José Cuervo gold tequila
1/2 oz. triple sec
4 oz. prepared sweet and sour mix
1 1/4 oz. amaretto liqueur
splash of orange juice
splash of lime juice (I squeezed a half of a lime)

Instructions:

1. If you desire sugar on the rim of glass, moisten rim and dip in sugar.

2. Fill glass with ice.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together well in glass until mixed.  Enjoy!

Pistachio Macarons

One of my very favorite treats to get when I go to France is macarons.  There is nothing quite like them here in the US, apart from the bakeries that do make and sell them here (and at that, they are often not nearly as good).  They are a bit tricky to make and time-consuming, but so very, very worth the effort.  This version comes from a book called "Macaroons: 30 Recipes for Perfect Bite-Sized Treats" by LOVE FOOD.  I made these for one of my French exchange students once and she was so impressed with it that she bought the same book to take back with her to France, if that tells you anything :)  My favorite flavor is pistachio--have also made several others.  Will post those varieties eventually.  For now, enjoy these!

Ingredients:

--cookie--
1/2 c. ground almonds/almond meal
1/4 c. finely ground pistachios
1 c. powdered sugar
2 large egg whites
1/4 c. superfine sugar
green food coloring (I use Wilton)

--filling--
6 T. unsalted butter, softened
green food coloring
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 T. finely ground pistachios

Instructions:

1. Place ground almonds, pistachios, and powdered sugar in a food processor.  Process for 15 seconds.  Sift the mixture into a bowl.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

3. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat at high speed until soft peaks stage.

4. Gradually beat in the superfine sugar until a glossy meringue forms.

5. Beat in enough food coloring to give a light green tint to the meringue.

6. Using a spatula, gently fold in the almond mixture one-third at a time.

7. Assemble a pastry bag fitted with a round tip that is about the diameter of a pencil (sorry, don't know the exact measure of mine).  Get someone to hold the bag open for you (if available).  You will need to also either hold a finger over the tip to block it or point it upward while you spoon/scrape/pour the batter into the bag.  Yes, this part is do-able solo, but it takes work, you've been warned...

8. Pipe circles onto the parchment lined sheets, about the size of half-dollars or slightly larger.  (I pipe starting at middle and making a spiral outward.  This pattern is sometimes visible on the final product.)

9. Let the piped circles rest of the sheet undisturbed for 30 minutes at room temperature.  Meanwhile, heat oven to 325°F just before this time period is over (depending on how long your oven takes).

10.  Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes.  Be very careful not to overbake!  They will have a very, very slight browned tint near the bottom edges.

11. After removing from oven, slide parchment sheet with cookies onto cooling racks to let cool for 10 minutes.  At the 10 minute mark, gently and slowly peel the parchment back from the cookies to remove them (this can also be tricky--if your cookies did not get quite done enough, the middles will tend to stick to the parchment).

12. Make the filling:  beat butter and a little food coloring in a bowl until butter looks slightly whipped/fluffy.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar (this is very important; I once accidentally added it all at once instead and it did not turn out correct!) until smooth and creamy.

13. Stir in the pistachios.  Take one cookie, 'frost' the flat side, then press another cookie flat side to the filling to form a sandwich.

14. Enjoy a lot!!