Thick Homemade Whipped Cream (Where Have You Been All My Life?)

It's great to finally have time to cook. Most days now, I want to create something in the kitchen. I made fresh whipped cream for the first time yesterday and will never go back to store bought. I don't use whipped cream often but when I do it'll be this recipe from now on. Whipped up another batch today just to see the magic happen again. Amazing how the heavy cream transforms into a slightly sweet, luscious, thick, cloud pillow. This whipped cream belongs on everything! I'm going to try some in my coffee tomorrow morning. I don't even want to look at the nutrition label. You can freeze it too, while it's still in the carton or after it's been whipped.

1 cup cold, heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Mexican vanilla

With an electric hand mixer, blend the ingredients for 5-6 minutes on medium-high. The whipping cream transform from a creamy texture to a thicker, clotted texture. That's when it's time to stop mixing or you'll end up with butter. 

The small photo is this thick whipped cream atop chocolate pudding. An excellent combo.

Creamy Cocoa Cheesecake

For a time, this cheesecake was my go to "fancy" dessert. I haven't made it in years until today, and was inspired by a photo I saw of a peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake. I will have to make it another time because today is all about cream cheese, sour cream, and cocoa. I'd forgotten about the sweet sour cream topping on this creamy cocoa cheesecake. Adds a nice touch. The original recipe is from my 1981 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook. I changed up the original and used the following ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Crust:

1 1/4 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sugar

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a small bowl. Press firmly onto the bottom of a springform pan.

Filling:

1 8 oz package low-fat cream cheese 

1 8 oz package regular cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)

1 teaspoon Penzey's Mexican vanilla

2 eggs

In a large bowl, blend all ingredients well with electric mixer. Pour into crust.

Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven.

Topping:

1 cup low-fat sour cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon Penzey's Mexican vanilla

Increase the oven temp to 425. Stir together the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl. Carefully spread the sour cream mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Bake for 10 more minutes and remove from oven. Let cool for 20 minutes and remove the rim from cheesecake, and slide the cheesecake off of the baking pan onto a plate, and chill. Cut and serve. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Simple Sea Scallops

Large sea scallops fresh from the Pacific Ocean. Pat them dry with a paper towel before cooking. Cook over medium heat in a non-stick skillet with salted butter and serve. Don't overcook them, just a few minutes on each side. Add lemon, capers, or white wine to the sauce if you'd like. Tonight was just a simple cook. The scallops taste sweet and the house smells great. Serve it up with a salad and homemade bread.
 

Garlic Parmesan Rolls

This recipe is part of my experimentation with baking different types of bread, aside from the rosemary bread I love to bake on a regular basis. I need to broaden my bread baking horizons so I found a few recipes online for breadsticks and changed them up a bit to come up with these rolls. They are garlicky and soft and hard to stop eating. They freeze well and thaw quickly.

1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water    

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

4 tablespoons salted butter, melted 

3 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

4 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

In your stand mixer, add the dough hook and mix the first five ingredients on low. Slowly add in the flour. Once things are mixed well increase the speed to medium and let the dough knead for seven minutes. 

Put dough in a bowl lightly sprayed with oil and cover for 90 minutes. I set mine on top of my stove and heat the oven to 200 degrees while rising. 

Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll into the shape of a ball. Place on a baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise another hour.

Preheat oven to 400. Uncover the rolls and bake at 400 for about 17 minutes. They should be dark golden brown on the bottom. Melt butter together with garlic powder and parsley and brush on the rolls as soon as you take them out of the oven. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese while the rolls are still hot. 

Cold Sesame Noodles with Veggies & Peanut Sauce

Have you ever tried cold sesame noodles at an Asian restaurant? Good, huh? This recipe takes it farther and results in something even better. A cold sesame noodle dish packed with flavor, crunchy veggies, and peanut sauce--and the ginger is so good--it almost makes the dish. This salad is filling, pretty good for you dang it, and includes a crowd favorite--peanut butter. It makes about 10 cups so enough for a crowd. You can easily cut the recipe in half. It makes a lot of peanut sauce and I didn't put it all in the with the noodles. Saved some for grilled chicken breasts later in the week. Here's what you'll need:

 
1 16 oz package whole grain thin spaghetti noodles

Peanut Sauce:
1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup water
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chili oil
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Veggies:
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, unpeeled, cut lengthwise in half & thinly sliced crosswise
1 medium carrot, cut into thin strips

Get the noodles cooking according to package directions, rinse with cold water, and drain. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut sauce ingredients.

Add the sauce to the noodles in a large bowl and mix together well. Chill, serve, and top with veggies. Or, throw the veggies in with the peanut sauce and mix it all together.

Simple Fruit Salad

I'm blogging this just for the pretty photo. The salad keeps well covered tightly with foil. Fresh pineapple, strawberries, and giant green grapes all sliced up in a big bowl. Delicious! Eat more fruit.

Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce

From:

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a8877/ryans-bolognese-sauce/

Baked Ziti with Hot Italian Sausage

This is one of my Dad's recipes from his foodie files...so delicious and perfect comfort food. Here's everything you'll need:

12 oz hot Italian sausage, casing removed

1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, diced

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seed (optional)
1 tsp salt

8 oz ricotta cheese
½ c Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ c fresh parsley, chopped

8 oz ziti (or similar tube pasta)

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (or fresh mozzarella)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large sauté pan, cook the sausage for 5 minutes, breaking the sausage up as it cooks. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in the pan and sauté the onions until softened. Return the sausage to the pan. Add the next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Mix the ricotta, Parmesan and parsley in a bowl. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Drain the pasta and stir in the ricotta mixture. Add the sauce to the pot. Mix well and pour into a greased 4-5 qt baking dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

No-Knead Jalapeno & Cheese Bread

This dutch oven baked bread is hearty and cheesy with a nice kick. No kneading required so there's that, and only six ingredients are needed. Monterey jack and cheddar cheese were used in this recipe but many other cheeses would work beautifully. This recipe makes a large loaf of bread and you can freeze it whole if needed, or by individual slice. It's delicious toasted. Here is my recipe for pickled jalapenos if you'd like to make your own for the bread recipe.

4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

2 cups warm water

25 slices pickled jalapenos, drained & chopped, plus a few slices for the top

2 1/4 cups shredded monterey jack & cheddar cheese (1/4 cup for the top)

In your favorite stand mixer on low, blend the flour, salt, and yeast with the paddle attachment. Add the water and mix until well blended. Add more flour if needed. Remove dough from the mixing bowl and transfer to a large bowl lightly sprayed with oil. Cover the dough with a light towel and let rise for 1.5 hours. The dough should at least double in size and will probably get bigger.

Put the dough on a piece of parchment paper and fold in the chopped jalapenos. Cover the dough and let it rise for another 1.5 hours.  

Turn the oven to 450 and put an uncovered dutch oven inside. 

Sprinkle a little flour on a piece of parchment paper. Gently punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough and shape it into a ball. Fold in the cheese. Put 1/4 cup of cheese on the top of the dough along with a few jalapenos. Sit dough on the parchment paper, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Remove dutch oven from the oven. Carefully transfer the dough (while on the parchment paper) into the dutch oven. Just drop it in quickly! Cover dutch oven and return to the oven. Bake covered for 45 minutes, and then bake for 15 minutes longer without the lid. The bread should be dark golden brown. Remove bread and move to a cooling rack for about an hour before slicing.