Banana-Coconut Cream Pi

Happy belated Pi Day! We celebrated March 14 with a banana-coconut (banananut? cocoban?) pie. The pie combines two great flavors, with slices of bananas covered in a coconut custard, and then topped with whipped cream and toasted flaked coconut.  The recipe is here.

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Eggs Wrapped in Canadian Bacon

There's been a lot online lately about eggs baked in bacon. I decided to try baking the eggs in Canadian bacon--which has the advantage of already being cooked and is a little healthier, too. I placed two slices in ramekins--you could use a muffin tin for larger numbers of eggs--and then cracked an egg on top of each one. I then added a splash of cream, a little cheese, some fresh pepper (no salt needed with the bacon and cheese), and baked for 10-15 min. The eggs popped right out and were creamy and delicious. Super simple and really good.

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Vanilla Bean Sablés

Sablés are rich, buttery cookies that really let their simple ingredients shine. In these, the seeds from two vanilla beans are mixed with a little sugar, and then that mixture is combined with butter, sea salt, an egg yolk and flour. The dough is chilled and then rolled in sparkling sugar, which adds crunch and a bit of sweetness.


See the little flecks of vanilla bean in these cookies? Vanilla beans aren't cheap, but they are so well worth the price. The whole house smelled like vanilla, and the flavor is amazing--worlds away from some "natural flavors" that are passed off as vanilla-like. The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

It always amazes me how a few simple ingredients can come together and taste so good. In this case, some long-frozen challah, an apple, some eggs and milk combined to make a comforting Sunday breakfast on a chilly morning.
I sliced the bread into four thick slices and shingled them in a baking pan.  I then mixed together four eggs, two cups of milk, some brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger etc) and a dash of vanilla, and poured it all over the bread.  You could do this ahead of time and let it soak overnight, but 10-15 min. works just fine.  I tucked the apple slices in and around the bread, covered the pan, and baked it for about 45 min.  At that point, I took off the foil, sprinkled on some pecans, and let it all cook another 15 min, uncovered.  The bread puffed up, the apples had caramelized a bit on top, and the pecans were all toasty.

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Spicy Coconut Chicken

Chicken and rice is one of my favorite comfort combinations. This recipe adds to that with red curry paste and coconut milk mixed into the pot. I used the higher amount of curry paste, and the end result wasn't super spicy--though it's possible that the heat might have faded. I'll have to try this again, and soon, with a fresh jar of curry paste. I'd also wondered if the coconut flavor would overpower the dish, but it was more of a hint of coconut and super tender chicken in the end.
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Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries

This is one of my most favorite combinations of all time. Rich, dark chocolate combined with whipped cream and fresh raspberries? Oh yeah. I have to keep telling myself it's much harder to make than it is (really easy), so I don't find myself alone with an entire batch of this and a spoon.

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Chocolate-Dipped PB Pretzels

Say it with chocolate--but don't forget the peanut butter. And adding crunchy, slightly salty pretzels just makes these even better. I found the recipe via Pinterest.  Below are the pretzels waiting for their chocolate bath:
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