Raspberry-Chipolte Sauce

This is really good.  I'm sure you have all been to a party and have had the spicy jelly on cream cheese with crackers.  Well, this is it, but 10 times better.  I found a jar of this in my fridge after a dinner party.  My friend Kris had made it and she is now Philly's new BFF.  The sweet raspberries go so well with the smoky chipoltes.  Then give it a minute and some heat kicks in. The oh so easy appetizer is always a crowd pleaser.  Form cream cheese into a ball or loaf and top with the sauce.  Serve with plain crackers like water crackers and try not to eat it all.   Here was my breakfast this a.m., a toasted whole wheat pita, some laughing cow cheese and the raspberry sauce.  Yummy!    They also pair it with pork.  You have to put it on at the very end.  Otherwise the sugars in the sauce will burn.   I think it would be good on grilled chicken....I think I know what we'll be having tonight.

Raspberry-Chipolte Sauce

•                1/2 g pectin (Must be one 1.59 ounce pouch Ball Fruit Jell Freezer Jam)

•                1 1/2 cups sugar

•                2 -3 chipotle chiles in adobo

•                4 cups crushed raspberries

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins       Total Time: 15 mins

1.             1 Combine freezer jam pectin and sugar in a medium bowl, stirring to evenly blend. Set aside.

2.             2 In food processor or blender, purée 2-3 chipotle peppers and 3 tablespoons adobo sauce; remove seeds from peppers if less heat is desired. Add chipotle pepper purée and crushed raspberries to pectin mixture. Stir for 3 minutes. Serve immediately, if desired.

3.             3 For longer storage, ladle jam into clean freezer jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; apply lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.

4.             4 Yield: about five 8-ounce jars

serve on chicken, porkchops, cream cheese and crackers

Thumbs up from the nieces-PB&J Blondie Bites

Here is another slightly weird sounding, but very yummy recipe. It is from "Gourmet Game Night" by Cynthia Nims.   I tried it out on the family with many rave reviews.  If you like peanut butter as much as Philly and you like jelly, you'll love this dessert.  After freezing, they end up tasting like PB&J ice cream sandwiches.  It only makes a 9 x 9 in. pan because you have to cut the whole pan in half, lift the upper layer, put in filling and replace the top.  That is the hardest part and the top is really soft.  It breaks apart easily.  The recipe suggests using a piece of clean cardboard to help, I think parchment paper might work too.  If you want more, make a couple of batches.  I tried one the next day and it was still good.  So, you could make them a day ahead of time.  The recipe says you can make them 5 days ahead of time and cut 2 hours before serving.

PB&J Blondie Bites


1 c. chunky peanut butter at room temp
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 (8 oz) cont. mascarpone cheese
3/4 c fruit jam (I used raspberry All fruit)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly butter a 9" baking pan.

Combine the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until creamed and smooth.  Add the eggs, one at t a time, blending until smooth.  Add the vanilla, scraping down the sides as needed.  On low speed, add the flour and beat until well blended.  Spoon the batter into the baking pan.  Bake until firm around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  About 30-35 minutes.  Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the mascarpone and jam with a mixer and whipping blade.   Whip together at medium-high speed until firm and fluffy.  1-2 minutes.  Refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

When the blondie is fully cooled, turn it out onto a cutting board.  Use a serrated knife to cut it in half horizontally.  Place the bottom half back into baking pan cut side up.  Spread the mascarpone mixture evenly.  Top with the other half of the blondie, cut side down.  Cover the pan and freeze until mascarpone is solid, at least 2 hours.

30 minutes before serving, cut the blondie sandwiches into squares.

Ice Cream! S'mores Ice Cream

We had some friends over for dinner a couple of weeks ago.  My friend brought homemade ice cream with toasted coconut, banana and pineapple.  Delish!   I hinted very strongly about wanting an ice cream maker.  Luckily my birthday was right around the corner.  We broke in the new ice cream maker the other night and it was delicious.  This could be a very bad habit, but it will be super fun to experiment. I hope to post a lot of yummy experiments.  Please feel free to comment and add some of your own.  This is a recipe that came with my ice cream maker and it  was very chocolaty.  Next time I would leave out the melted chocolate.  If you do add it, add it in very small amounts.  Once it hits the cold ice cream it clumps up.  Also, make sure to chill your blade and I chilled the graham crackers too.  The melted chocolate should be at room temp and same with the fluff.  As per the instructions, freeze your freezer bowl overnight.

This is going to be a delicious summer!  Enjoy!

S'mores Ice Cream


1/2 c cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
pinch salt
2/3 c whole milk
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanila extract
3/4 c marshmallow cream (Fluff)
2 Full graham cracker sheets, crushed
2 oz. milk chocolate (1/3) chips). melted and at room temperature (this I would leave out next time)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugars and salt.  Add the milk and with a mixer, beat to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved.  Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.  cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight.

2. Turn on ice cream maker.  Pour in the mixture and let mix until thickened, about 15-20 min.  Five minutes before mixing is complete, gradually add the marshmallow cream.  Once mixed, gradually add crushed graham cracker and melted chocolate and let mix.  The ice cream will have a soft creamy texture.  If firmer ice cream is desired, place in an air tight container and freeze for about 2 hours.

You can serve with additional crushed graham crackers.   Instead of adding the melted chocolate, just top with chocolate syrup.