This time of year I can’t seem to get enough corn. Off the cob or on, it is by far one of my favorite vegetables. Since corn in so plentiful, I thought it would be a good time to try my hand a creamed corn. I have never made creamed corn, and really hadn’t eaten all that much. But, I took a swing at it, added a twist and it turned out great!

Creamed Corn with Sharp Swiss

5 ears Corn, cut off cob
1 ½ cup Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste
¼ cup Sharp Swiss Cheese

Cut corn off of the cob with a sharp knife. Be careful not to cut to deep into the cob. Once kernels are removed, scrap each cob with the back of your knife to remove the “milk” from the ears. The “milk” is the juice that is left on the cob.

In a small saucepan simmer 1 ½ cup of milk with corn for about 20 minutes, or until kernels are tender. Remove pan from heat and puree slightly with an immersion blender. You want most of the kernels to remain intact, but some to blend with the milk. If you don’t have an immersion blender (which is a great tool to have to mix puree things right in there pan) you can blend in a food processor or blender. Return to low heat. Season to taste and add cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.

Please remember to take a trip over to Barnes and Noble.com to check out my book Celebrating Simplicity- it’s great for beginner cooks!

One of my nephews turned 1 yesterday… which meant (once again) I went crazy making a fondant covered cake. The theme of the party was “sock monkey”, so I quickly googled sock monkies to find out what they were! We were more Cricket and Glow Worm kids. After losing many nights of sleep thinking about how I would make the cake- I finally tackled it. An obsene amount of hours later and here it is! The cake is marble with chocolate frosting and strawberry mousse filling. I baked and iced the cake on Thursday, decorated on Friday and it was surprisingly moist on Saturday.

Notice the candles in the bedposts! That was my sisters idea… I can take no credit!

Don’t forget to check out my new cookbook– You will find nothing about fondant cakes in it– but it is a great book for beginners. Get your copy on Barnes and Noble.com

Pierogi… pierogis? Not sure the proper plural for pierogi but I know one thing… anything filled with potato, fried in butter and dunked in sour cream is good for me! I decided to tackle making homemade pierogi, and boy am I glad I did. They were somewhat time consuming, but I wouldn’t call them difficult. The pierogi dough was the softest, easiest dough that I have worked with. These little dumplings are great for a full meal, or make great appetizers for a party. Give them a try when you have a little spare prep time- turn up some tunes and roll some pierogi. You won’t regret it.

Pork and Potato Pierogi

Dough:
1 cup Warm Water
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ tsp Salt
3 cups All Purpose Flour
Filling:
4-5 Russet Potatoes, peeled and large diced
1 cup Milk
½ tsp Kosher Salt
Pepper
1 lb Ground Pork
2 cups Sauer Kraut
1 egg, for brushing

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Any ideas what can make this chopped ham, swiss and dill pickle sandwich even better?

Why, dunk it in egg and fry it in butter of course! The flavor of a ham sandwich with pickle is hard to beat, but add some French toast action and it is incredible! This sandwich truly requires no recipes, but is much more impressive than cold cuts on a summer day. Simply build your sandwich as you normally would. Mine consisted of: chopped honey ham, swiss cheese (made by my wonderful husband at his families cheese factory!) dill pickle and spicy brown mustard. I stacked all of this on thick sliced Italian bread. The key is to use a bread hearty enough to withstand the dunking. Once your sandwich is constructed simply dip each bread side in seasoned egg with a touch of milk, salt and pepper. Cook much like you would French Toast, over low heat with enough butter to coat the pan. Brown each side and serve right out of the pan!
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There was a time that I thought nothing could beat a good old BLT on a hot summer day. That was yesterday. Today however, I know now that nothing beats a BLT with an amazing crab cake added to the mix! The prep for these cakes is super easy, and doesn’t add much time to making normal BLT. Give them a shot and you may start loving the CBLT!

Crab Cake BLTs

Makes 6

2 cups Crab, drained
Juice of ½ Lemon
¼ cup Sour Cream
½ cup Sweet Pepper Relish
1 egg
¾ tsp Old Bay Seasoning
½ tsp Garlic Powder
Pinch Salt
Pepper
¾ cup Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp Butter

Tartar Sauce
1/4 cup Sour Cream
¼ cup Mayo
¼ cup Pepper Relish
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Many of my childhood memories involve food. One in particular involves Pillsbury Blueberry Muffins. There are so many mornings that I can picture my mom draining the canned blueberries, spooning out the batter, then carefully sprinkling the topping over each unbaked muffins. When they were baked my siblings and I would each devour at least three smothered in butter. Today I found myself craving that same experience. Minus the box. These muffins are made with self rising flour- so they are just about as easy to whip together as their boxed friends. I had some frozen sweet cherries, so I added those for a change of pace.

Cherry Blueberry Muffins
Makes: 16 muffins

1 stick Butter, softened
2 large Eggs
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Milk
2 ½ cups Self Rising Flour
1 cup Sweet Cherries, frozen or fresh
1 cup Blueberries, frozen or fresh
1 tsp Lemon Zest

Topping:
¼ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Flour
3 Tbsp Butter, softened
½ tsp Cinnamon

Whip softened butter, eggs and sugar together until pale yellow- with a hand mixer. Then add milk and vanilla. Then blend in self rising flour, then lemon zest.
With a rubber spatula gently fold in fruit.

Spoon batter into a muffin pan lined with paper cups. Fill ¾ of the way full.
In a small bowl combine brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix together with hand mixer until crumbly. Sprinkle each muffin with about 1 teaspoon of crump topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes- or until you can touch the tops of the muffins and they spring back.

Enjoy these muffins straight out of the oven with a dab of butter. I am refraining from eating three in one sitting…

~ SD

PS… Be sure to check out my new book Celebrating Simplicity!

After a long anxious wait my cookbook has finally gone to print!

Celebrating Simplicity
The Starter Kitchen

Celebrate Simplicity with Chef Stacey DeHass! The Starter Kitchen presents approachable techniques, suggestions and recipes that make cooking simple. As the first in a series of cookbooks, The Starter Kitchen begins at the very beginning. Imagine yourself walking into your kitchen with empty drawers, an unfilled refrigerator and a shockingly vacant pantry. This book explains what you need, why you need it and most importantly how to use it. With bright, full color pictures, an aspiring cook can see where to begin and be motivated to organize their own kitchen.

In the first three chapters the reader will learn must know information, without being overwhelmed. Simple how to sections such as, how to clean as you go, explore some of the most basic concepts in the kitchen. Before there is even a recipe to browse, there are instructions on how to read a recipe. By the end of the third chapter the reader will be confident enough to cook dinner for their family.

For more info or links to purchase the book visit www.celebratingsimplicity.com

or visit: Barnes and Nobles Website

After a long break from recipe blogging, I am excited to be back and to introduce a new member of my family. This new addition has been long awaited and I am happy to call it my own…

My brand new cuisinart food processor was a gift for my birthday. I am trying to think of recipes that require a food processor, just so I can play with my new toy. I decided, for my first round using my food processor, I would make an apple crisp. Rather than doing a plain old pie I decided to make them bite sized. These little pies would be great as an addition to your fall party.

Bite Sized Apple Pies

Topping:
1 cup Oatmeal
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, chilled

Filling:
6-8 Medium Honey Crisp Apples (or another firm, tart, cooking apple)
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Cold Water

1 recipe Pie Crust

Place all topping ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. You can easily do this by hand, I just really wanted to use my new food processor! Blitz a few times until ingredients are well combined.

Peel and dice apples. Saute in a medium pan over medium heat, with butter. Cook until nearly soft. Add brown sugar and cinnamon. Combine cornstarch and water and pour into simmering apple mixture. Cook, while stirring until well thickened. Turn off heat and allow to cook slightly.

Roll out chilled pie crust and cut into circles. Be sure to cut one then double check that the circle size works for the size of your muffin pan. Place circles in greased muffin tin, be sure not to pierce holes in the bottom. You can use mini muffin tins for bite sized treats or regular for something more substantial. Spoon filling into dough cups, all the way to the top. Place one spoon full of topping over that. Press the topping gently so the crumbs don’t fall off of your pies. Bakes pies at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes then serve warm.

If you are in a rush and don’t want to make all of these components from scratch you can:

Use pre-rolled purchased pie crust
Use canned apple filling
Give the recipe to someone who likes to cook and invite yourself over for dinner

~SD

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
2 large Red Bell Peppers
1 tsp Olive Oil
4 Roma Tomatoes
1 Onion
1 clove Garlic
1/2 Jalapeño Pepper
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Pine Nuts
Kosher Salt to Taste

Rinse red peppers. Coat with olive oil. Place peppers directly over the open flame of a gas burner, or grill. Allow the skin to turn black, turn the peppers so they darken each side.

Remove from stove and immediately place peppers in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow pepper to steam, and cool. Once cooled, peel peppers under running water. Remove stem and seeds.

Core and slice Roma tomatoes. Peel one clove of garlic. Remove the stem and seeds of 1/2 of a jalapeño pepper. Place prepared vegetables, along with cleaned roasted peppers in a small sauce pan along with chicken stock.

Allow mixture to boil, stirring frequently for 1/2 hour. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Puree mixture in a food processor with pine nuts. Season to taste.

~SD

Quick Pear Tart
1 prepared Pizza Crust (plain)
1/4 cup Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Pears, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Milk

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and brown sugar. Stir together to mix well. Spread cream cheese mixture over prepared pizza crust. Arrange pears on top over cream cheese spread. Bake at 450 degrees unti lightly golden, about ten minutes.

In another small bowl whisk powdered sugar together with milk. Drizzle icing over warm pear tart.