The Cookbook Junkies

My friend, Miriam Pascal, creator of OvertimeCook.com published her first book, Something Sweet! Congratulations, Miriam!

Something Sweet, Desserts, Baked Goods, and Treats for Every Occasion just hit the shelves and it is a keeper! The recipes are approachable, look delicious and vary from cookies and muffins to showstopping desserts.

Oatmeal Cookie Wedges, Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake, Grandma’s Sweet Yeast Dough, Fruit-Filled Pastry Roses, Chocolate Chip Peanut Pie, Cookie Dough Fudge Pie, Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Tartlet and the Hot Gooey Caramel Pie (recipe below) are some of the recipes I have marked to try soon.

There is a chapter devoted to Party Treats which includes recipes for Pretzel-Crusted Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Neopolitan Zebra Cheesecake, Pecan Pie Cigars, Rice Krispie Treat Truffles and more. Miriam even includes a chapter on drinks!

Gingerbread Biscotti and Lemon Olive Oil Biscotti will be hitting my holiday baking list this year. This book is packed with great looking sweet treats for any occasion. Another plus, are the beautiful photographs to accompany every recipe.

Start here by trying a recipe for Gooey Hot Caramel Pie courtesy of Miriam and her publisher, Me’sorah Publications, ltd.

Hot Gooey Caramel Pie

Dairy or Pareve Yield 2 pies, each 8-10 servings

2 sticks (1 cup) butter or trans-fat-free margarine

8 oz cream cheese or soy cream cheese

1½ cups brown sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups flour

1 cup caramel chips

2 ready-made graham cracker pie crusts

vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional

Caramel Sauce for serving, optional

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium speed, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add brown sugar and corn syrup; beat until smooth and creamy.

1. Add eggs, baking soda, and vanilla, beating to combine after each addition.

1. Reduce mixer speed to low; add flour. Beat until combined. Stir in caramel chips.

1. Divide batter between pie crusts. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center is just set (it will still be jiggly).

1. Serve warm with ice cream and caramel sauce (optional).

Note As the name suggests, the pie is gooey— and it doesn’t cut into the neatest slices when warm. For a fancier presentation, make mini pies (see Variation) or serve it closer to room temperature, when it won’t be as gooey.

Variation For neater serving, bake in mini graham cracker crusts or ramekins for 22-24 minutes.

Plan Ahead This pie freezes well in an airtight container. Defrost and reheat before serving.

Random Number Generator chose comment #33 Devorah! Congratulations – please see the email I sent to you!

GIVEAWAY:  Special thanks to Miriam Pascal and her publisher, we have a copy of Something Sweet for one of you. The giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only and will run through September 27th. To enter leave a comment here telling me which recipe from this book sounds the most tempting! Good luck!

This macaroni and cheese came to me when I saw the package of Yancey’s Fancy Steakhouse Onion Aged Cheddar in the fridge. I was making macaroni and cheese today to have with our leftover brisket and pulled pork from our Labor Day meal and to be used in a special project tomorrow. Adding the Steakhouse Onion cheddar and the caramelized onions to the mix really made this mac and cheese incredible.

I’ve used Yancey’s Fancy cheeses before in my macaroni and cheese recipes – their horseradish cheese was so great mixed with some sharp cheddar a few months ago.

Andrew declared me the best cook in the world after he ate a huge bowl for dinner.

I hope you try it soon.

Caramelized onions

I sliced one Vidalia onion thinly and slowly caramelized it in a heavy bottomed pan with two tablespoons of butter for about 30 to 45 minutes. After the first ten minutes in the pan I added about a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of sugar to help the onions along. After the onions were nice and brown, I set them aside as I made the macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni and Cheese

One pound of elbow macaroni, cooked for five minutes in heavily salted water, drained and rinsed (set aside)

1 8 oz. package of Yancey’s Steakhouse Onion Aged Cheddar, shredded

1 8 to 12 oz. package of cheddar, shredded (or you can use gruyere)

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

salt, pepper to taste

3 cups of whole milk, warmed

4 tablespoons of flour

4 tablespoons of butter

Warm three cups of whole milk in the microwave or on the stove top. Add the butter to a heavy bottomed pan and melt – add the flour and cook until it is chestnut in color. Add the spices next — salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder (you can add a 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard and a touch of freshly grated nutmeg if you wish) — slowly add the warmed milk to the roux and whisk continually.

Once the mixture has thickened about five minutes — add the shredded cheeses to combine. You should have a thick, rich cheese sauce.  Combine the cheese sauce and pasta and place into a baking dish (I used roughly a 9 x 13 dish), cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil after 30 minutes and bake for 10 additional minutes to get brown and bubbly. I sprinkled the caramelized onions on the macaroni and cheese as I served it because my husband is anti-onion.

I love Casey Barber’s great book, Pierogi Love, and shared my thoughts on the title over at TasteBook here.

Casey’s dough was so easy to work with and our family gobbled up all the pierogies I have been making. My goal is to make all of the great recipes in this book.

GIVEAWAY:  My friend, Vivian, has an extra copy of Pierogi Love and would love to send it to one of you! U.S. Addresses only. To enter leave a comment here telling me about your favorite flavor combination for pierogies.

Good luck.  A winner will be randomly chosen on September 7th.

Random number generator picked comment – #24 – Connie – Lady Leonardo – you won!

I have a few more giveaways to post in the next week and am working on a huge collection of cookbooks for our 20,000 member giveaway plus an Instant Pot!