Berry Cheesecake Salad (Red, White and Blue)

Are you still deciding on your 4th of July menu?  I, personally, like to wait until the last possible minute.  I'm one of those people.  Decisions are hard for me.  Especially really big ones, like menu finalization.  I have to think about it for a few days and weigh all options before committing.  Some people might say it's smart planning to look at every angle.  Others might say I should just make up my mind already and quit being such a procrastinator.  (I tend to fall in with the latter crowd, I don't know what my problem is.)  Well, if you're anything like me and you're still looking for ideas for what to take to a barbecue or what to make for guests, this 'salad' is super easy and a complete crowd pleaser.

TWD: Nectarine Upside-down Chiffon Cake

 I almost skipped this week's TWD.  I just wasn't feelin' it.  There were a few steps to this recipe.  (Normally I wouldn't be deterred by a few steps if I know the effort will be rewarded but I just wasn't sure. )  The only thing stopping me was that I haven't missed a week yet and I didn't want this stupid chiffon cake to get the best of me. :)  And guess what, it was pretty good.   The bottom of the pan is covered with brown sugar, butter and nectarines, then layered with cake batter and streusel before baking.  How could that not be good?  Now it seems silly of me.

Bake 52: Raspberry Streusel Bars

I know I still shouldn't be blaming my move for being so unorganized.  I mean, it's almost been two weeks.  But I have developed this nasty reading habit on top of everything else and I can't seem to shake it.  I took a break from reading and not organizing my life to make these bars.  They aren't really my thing since there isn't a speck of chocolate involved and I had to really restrain myself from adding it in some form along the way.  I did try one and they were pretty good, but since I knew Tyler's classmates might enjoy them more, I sent them to school with him today.  They have a buttery, crumbly crust, raspberry (and strawberry in my case) filling and topped with a streusel topping.  He reported back that everyone loved them and a few of them told him how lucky he is (I think it's good for him to hear that from someone besides me).  He said that he had 2 and they were delicious. 

TWD: Apple-Berry Galette

 Well, I am alive.  I am not organized.  I am still semi-living-out-of-boxes.  The kitchen is put together, of course.  That was first, but I can't say the same about the other 3 rooms in the house.  (5 if you count the bathrooms which I probably should since they also need to be taken care of.) This is our 10th move since Tyler and I got married 13 years ago and I can't say I hate it any less than the first move.  I will feel like I have arrived in this life when I can pay someone to pack and move all my crap for me.  I would say we are here to stay except I know we will be moving in 3 years when Tyler is done with school so at least one more move to come.

Bake 52: Lattice-top Peach Pie

 This week, I stopped being a snob long enough to try a pie crust recipe from the book.  Every time we have made a pie for the group, I have always stuck with what I know.  I was starting to feel like a poor sport for not stepping out of my comfort zone and trying a new recipe.  I even did all the steps like I was supposed to.  I made the dough, the refrigerated it, then I froze it and then I froze some more of it....and I liked it.

Berry Cheesecake Squares

I've talked about being obsessed with fruit and cream desserts lately.  I wonder if you guys knew that I was this serious about it. :)  When we were looking for baking ideas for the 4th of July, one of my friends posted a link to this on Facebook and it was love at first sight.  

Bake 52: Fresh Fruit Tart

This is my week to host!  I chose this recipe because I am completely obsessed with fresh fruit desserts right now, and it doubles if they have some kind of cream.  And, I think, pastry cream is what Heaven will be like.  I think you just get a spoon and giant tubs of pastry cream for being good on Earth.  For those reasons, all rolled into one, I chose this recipe.  I also don't have a lot of experience with tarts so that was an added bonus, I got to learn something new.  And what I learned, didn't really have to do with tarts at all.  

Patriotic Pavlova

We got home from our trip yesterday.  I am not sure why sitting in a car for hours on end makes me tired for days to come but I guess that's a lot of work for me.  Just sitting there.  Every once in a while turning my head to yell something at my kids in the backseat.  Not because we have a huge car and I have to yell for them to hear me but because we have a tiny car and everything they do starts to get on my nerves by the 11th hour.  The end of this trip marks the 8 billionth mile we have traveled since we got married.  And as of right now, going even to the grocery store seems too far.  (Although I did grudgingly go to the grocery store this afternoon, it was beyond ridiculous around here before that.)  

Another break from school has come and gone and today it was back to classes for the hubby.  It really went by in a flash, as it always does.  Some of our friends had a get together tonight to commemorate the start of another year.  They said to bring a side dish.  Doesn't dessert count as a side?  I really think it should also count as a main dish.  I have had this pavlova in my head since I saw this post the other day and knew if I made it for our family alone, I would eat it by myself.  

I have previously mentioned my love of pavlova.  And if you haven't tried it yet, I really don't know what you are waiting for.  I thought it would be an especially nice treat to bring because one of the guys can't have gluten.  (You really should have seen how excited he was when he found out it was gluten free.  It was worth it just for that.)  It is easy to make and everyone was impressed by it.  I felt a little guilty about how impressed they were knowing how little of my time it really took.  It does bake for 90 minutes and have to cool after that but it requires few ingredients and is simple to put together.  I understand your reservation, it has a weird name but you are just going to have to get over it!  

I am all about fresh fruit desserts right now, I can't seem to get enough.  The texture of the actual meringue is lovely.  It's light and pillowy with a slight crunch and then it melts in your mouth.  And not at all what everyone will expect you to bring. :)  It's traditionally shaped as a circle, but I opted for the rectangle since I had the flag theme going.  You can really put any kind of fruit you feel like on top, this is just what I used today.  Previously, I baked it at 200 for 90 minutes, turned off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 2 hours.  It seemed to crack less using that method and it stayed more white in color.  Today I was in more of a hurry and baked it at 225 for 90 minutes, then removed it from the oven to cool completely.  Either way works but if I have time, I will opt for the former.

Patriotic Pavlova

ingredients:

6 egg whites

1/4 + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

1 & 1/2 cups sugar

topping:

large container of cool whip

1/4 cup sugar

8 oz cream cheese

Fruit:

watermelon, cut into star shapes with cookie cutter.

strawberries (about 3/4 to 1 cup chopped)

blueberries (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 200 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Add egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla to the bowl of your mixer.  Mix on medium speed until frothy and light.  Add sugar a little at at time until all combined.  Turn mixer speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form. (about 5-10 minutes)

Spread into desired shape on parchment paper.  The meringue should be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.  My rectangle was about 9x13 inches.  Bake for 90 minutes, then turn off oven temp and allow to sit in the oven for 2 hours.  Remove and cool completely.

For topping:

Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cream cheese until smooth and combined.  Mix in Cool Whip and refrigerate about 20 minutes.  Spread onto the cool meringue.  

Top with chopped strawberries, watermelon and blueberries.  Serve immediately.  (Since it was a rectangle, we cut it into squares)

Now if only I could sleep for a week to recover from all that hard sitting and yelling work I have been doing. ;)  Oh and on top of that, I picked now to try and quit drinking Diet Coke.  Feel free to shoot me in the head.  Anyone?

Fruit Dip-The caramel-ish kind

How do you feel about asking people for recipes?  I don't usually ask.  I think I have some kind of mental disorder where I can't handle rejection.  The idea of someone saying, "No, it's a family recipe."  and the awkwardness that follows is enough for me to just eat it and say, "This is delicious!" and go on my merry way.  I went to a party once and they had a fruit dip that was brown and unlike the normal dips I had seen (which are also delicious) and needless to say, I loved it.  But instead of asking, I just decided to figure it out myself.  No awkwardness there, just me and my kitchen, and most of the time the kitchen is super supportive.

Pavlova for Valentine's

I had never heard of Pavlova before I saw it on my friend, Michelle's, blog.  Have you heard of it?  Maybe I am the only one.  :)  I was trying to think of something a little different for Valentine's and little by little, I landed here and it was a good choice.  

Strawberry Cream Cheese Crumble Tart

This is my 100th post!!!

When I go to the bookstore, my favorite thing to do is look at cookbooks.  Not that I usually buy one, I just want to look.  A couple months ago, I was perusing cookbooks when I saw this recipe.  And I was sold.  I went home and ordered the book that day.  It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  It's one of my favorite cookbooks right now.  I have yet to make anything out of it that I didn't love.  Including these three things.

Bake 52: Light New York Cheesecake (individual size)

If you haven't already guessed, when it comes to baking and desserts, I am more of a go-big-or-go-home-kind-of-person.  I don't bake "light" very often.  I would rather eat a smaller amount of a regular dessert (that's what I tell myself when I am making it anyway) or just not have dessert at all (this is the lesser chosen of the two options).  With that in mind, I will have you know I thought the cheesecake was pretty good!

Crêpes with Strawberries and Nutella

(updated photo: 2/14/2013)

My family has a tradition involving these crêpes.  If you ask any of them they might say they came up with the idea.  But seriously, don't listen to them.  It was all me.  I was in San Francisco for a work conference a billion years ago (it sounds better for the story that way but it was really probably 9 years ago) and we went to an outdoor mall with a bunch of little shops; including a crêpe shop.  I wish I could remember the name of it.  That place changed my life.  

Raspberry Pie

 My friend, Jenni, invited us to Arizona for Thanksgiving this year.  We were so excited to get to see our friends again we jumped at the chance.  She emailed me a couple weeks ago asking if we could make some desserts for Thanksgiving.  My response was, "Uh, YEAH!"  Isn't it always great to have an excuse to make desserts?  I think so.  I left the decisions up to her about which ones we would make because I figured she knew her family better and what they would like.  And because I will eat just about any kind of dessert so it didn't matter to me.  She did ask what Tyler's favorite pie was and I told her it was raspberry so she added it to her list.  She is so nice to Tyler.  I would have just let him make due with the other 50 dessert choices we had. 

Mini Fruit Pizza

I just love these. 

They are so yummy and beautiful. 

I guess they might be more of a summer treat, but I crave them year round.