A while back I had a similar appetizer to this at The Tipsy Pig and was inspired to try it on my own. I’m pretty sure there was mint and some salad mixed in, which would be a nice twist to this dish as well, and I was further reminded this was a good combination of flavors, when Bon Appetit featured a recipe for Snap Pea Salad with Burrata from April Bloomfield in the May issue. I was pretty sure that I couldn’t go wrong making these Spring crostini with out using a specific recipe.

They were a HUGE success. Everyone at dinner club loved them (because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love something with burrata on it?!) and I loved them too. If you don’t know already, burrata is mozzarella with a cream and cheese mixture inside the ball. In this dish it is the perfect creamy texture and rich flavor against the crispness of the toasts and fresh veggies. Next time I would use a little more balsamic reduction and maybe rub a little raw garlic on the toasts when they come out of the oven, but for the most part, the simplicity and freshness of this dish is what makes it amazing.

Spring Crostini:

• 2 smallish handfulls snap peas
• 1/2 bunch asparagus
• 4-6 scallions, thinly sliced or mandolined, white and light green parts
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano (or mint, if that’s your thing)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 12 slices baguette, sliced on the diagonal
• 1 ball of burrata

Snap off the end of the peas, and slice diagonally into 3-4 slices. Cut through the outer shell and peas all in one. Snap of fibrous ends of the asparagus and blanch in boiling water for 1 minute unit bright green and barley tender. Slice into 1 inch pieces on the diagonal.

Mix peas, asparagus, thinly sliced scallions and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer balsamic vinegar in a shallow pot or pan, until it starts to thicken slightly. I just used a couple of tablespoons because it was all I had, and it only took a couple of minutes. I don’t imagine it would take that long for 1/4 cup, but keep an eye on it!

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet. Bake or broil until lightly toasted, approx 3-4 min on each side. The dinner club oven was set at 400 and I did 4 minutes on each side, so really you can just pop in with whatever you are already cooking for dinner- if you have garlic, you could cut a clove in half and rub the cut end on the warm toasts when they come out of the oven. This is common practice with most bruschettas and would have been a great added flavor here.

Cut the burrata into 12 wedges. Place one wedge on each crostini. I left the creamy side up so I could press the peas/asparagus on and they would stay. Top with pea/asparagus mixture. Drizzle with balsamic reduction, to taste. Season with more salt if needed.

• 2 cups cream
• 3 oz. chocolate (semi sweet or bitter sweet, I use 2 oz semi and 1 oz bitter)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar + extra for sprinkling
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Set water on to boil and preheat oven to 325

Heat the cream in a separate sauce pan, until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat and add chocolate, or pour over chocolate in bowl. Let it sit for a minute to heat chocolate, then stir to dissolve. Add cinnamon and chili powder and stir well to combine.

In a separate bowl whisk yolks and sugar until thoroughly combine, but do not over beat – you don’t want too much air in the mixture. Slowly whisk hot chocolate milk mixture into yolks/sugar. You can temper it a little but will be straining it anyhow. Add vanilla extract.

Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl or large measuring cup. Then fill ramekins. Place ramekins in baking dish and pour the water you’ve let come to a boil into the baking dish. Make sure it comes halfway up the side of the ramekins. Carefully place in oven and bake for 20-25 min (will depend on how deep your ramekins are). I would start checking at about 15 min and go back in 5 min intervals to see how it’s set.

Remove from hot water and let cool to room temp. They may still be a bit runny in the middle. Refrigerate a few hours to fully set. Remove from fridge right before serving, sprinkle sugar on top and use a cooking torch to caramelize the sugar. Serve when melted sugar is set.

During my trip to Europe last summer, I had a healthy amount of time with friends and family, but still toured around a lot of the time by myself and had to good fortune to rent an entire apartment in Brussels for a weekend. I took full advantage of having a nice terrace and even a full kitchen as I cooked an impressively simple steak dinner one night. A single piece of filet mignon called my name in the grocery store and I swear I was out the door for under 10 euros with that, a few potatoes, green beans and a bottle of wine in my bag. After a little research, I decided to cook the steak with some red onion, finish it in the oven and reduce some of the wine down for sauce. So so so good.

It may seem that it’s a bit weird to be posting my ‘steak for one video’ for Valentine’s Day, but I think it’s good to remember on this funny little holiday that even if there is no special someone, there can still be pleasure found in doing things alone or treating yourself to something nice. Not to mention that while the video does showcase a meal for one, it is easily adapted for two and would make the perfect simple weeknight Valentines Day meal to show your someone you care.

Steak recipe inspiration here ,tips:

• I used red onions instead of mushrooms, both would be great.
• My piece of steak was thinner than in the recipe, so it would have actually been cooked after a sear on both sides, gauge if your piece is thick enough to warrant a trip to the oven.
• I don’t generally have demi glace with me on vacation, so I just used red wine to deglaze the pan and reduced it thicken, use a good amount, not just a splash like in the video
• Finishing with butter is always the right thing to do.

Potatoes: place in cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender. Mash into a chunky mixture with cream, butter, salt and pepper.

Beans: boil until tender, finish with garlic, butter and salt in a saute pan.

Anyhow, this weekend I had an extra day off of work and soaked in as much home time as possible. Saturday I organized my closet, prepped for a project that I’ll be sharing shortly and strayed out only for a couple of hours for an epic trip to Target. Sunday was slightly more adventurous with watching the 49ers game with friends (SUPERBOWL!!!!), grabbing drinks with a new friend and starting my day with the below parfaits.

I saw these parfaits on the Bon Appétit site and have had them on my mind for a couple of weeks. Such a curious combination of red wine, sugar, citrus and yogurt, they are gorgeous, and pretty tasty too! The red wine flavor is much stronger than I anticipated, but somehow seems to work. I’d recommend not getting too much orange juice in your layers and using quite a bit of caramel to balance out the tart yogurt. Definitely an interesting idea that seems appropriate for dessert or breakfast – as I learned in my cook the book project, it can sometimes be a very fine line.

It always feels good to be back in the kitchen and trying new things. The knife and camera feel so right in my hands, that I promise to try to make the next post not so distant.

Orange and Red Wine Caramel Yogurt Parfaits original recipe here

• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup dry, fruity red wine
• 2 large oranges, I used a variety of Navel, Cara Cara and Tangelo
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds and pistachios, coarsely chopped

Stir sugar, cream of tartar and 3 tbsp of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, swirling occasionally (do not stir) until sugar is caramelized and the color of dark maple syrup, about 8 min – this happens FAST keep your eyes on it. Remove from heat and carefully add 1/4 cup red wine (will bubble vigorously) stir to dissolve. Add remaining 1/4 cup wine. Boil for 30  seconds stirring to make sure all sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely. Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm slightly to loosen before using.

Using a sharp knife, remove peel and pitch from oranges. Segment between the membrane and set aside.

Layer a few pieces of orange in the bottom of small glass jars – make sure to drain or pat dry slices. drizzle with red wine caramel and top with a spoonful of yogurt. Sprinkle with nuts and continue to top of jar.

This year we took a family vacation to San Diego for the holidays and got to stop to see some extended family on the way down, which was great. We toured around during the day; read, watched movies, and played games by night; we fashioned a Christmas tree out of a fake plant on a tall stand in the apartment living room; and I made cinnamon rolls (by hand) on Christmas Eve to ensure we’d have as much of home with us as possible on Christmas morning. I wasn’t quite the champion sister I was on Thanksgiving, as this is most definitely not a gluten/dairy free dish, but it is oh so tasty. The flaky dough is rolled with a layer of sugar, cinnamon, pecans and butter in between, coming out ooie, gooey, and very very tasty. I typically frost these with a standard powdered sugar frosting, but could apparently only remember so much for the trip out of town. Nonetheless, these were just as good and easy as ever, and so long as I can help it, will continue to be a King family tradition.

Some of the places visited, in order of photos below:

• Botanical Garden at night time
• The very first California Mission – highly recommended
• San Diego Safari Park – a 4 mo. old baby elephant!
• Cabrillo Point – amazing views, highly recommended

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Roll Recipe here

and a silly photo for good measure

I did slack a bit with the last few chapters here, but really wanted to pull through with a win at the end, so I made Orange Marmalade from the condiments chapter of The Breakfast Book. There were so many interesting things to choose from, but this project for me was a lot of cooking basic things that I’d said I’d been wanting to try and this just gave me the push to go do it! Orange Marmalade definitely falls into that category… I became a fan of this spread when I was living in Germany of all places. The family always had it on the breakfast table and I loved putting it on top of peanut butter on my toast, rather than traditional American peanut butter and jelly.

I love how rich the flavors are and how bright marmalade is; however, this recipe is one that needs a little finessing. You use orange peels so your are really getting the most vibrant flavors of the orange, but mine came out pretty bitter. The orange peels and fruit are cooked down with some lemon as well and quite a bit of sugar, but I think I need to get less pith in my peel next time, or cook down the peels more, so they begin to breakdown. I do think this will be good baked in something though, the flavors are strong and would definitely hold up as part of a recipe!

All in all, I’m happy to have tried it, as I have with all the other recipes along this adventure. More than anything, it was fun doing a project with new friends, and seeing how everyone’s tastes, blogging styles are different and so enjoyable.

Be sure to check out Aimee, Natasha, Rachel, Claudie and Sammy’s blogs to see what they’re up to!

Orange Marmalade from The Breakfast Book

• 3 larger oranges
• 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups water

Peel the oranges and 2 of the lemons, and cut the peel into very thin strips. Remove the pith from the oranges and cut up the fruit. Put the orange fruit and all peels in the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool over night.

Measure out the fruit and water and add approximately 1/2 cup of sugar for every cup of fruit. Boil water fruit and sugar together for 30-45 min. The sugar is the jelling agent, so test for jell point by putting a bit of marmalade on a saucer and putting in the fridge freezer for a minute or two, it is ready when the liquid jams. Add more sugar and cook down a bit more, if it doesn’t jam the first time.

When the marmalade is cooked, thick and jammy, put into jars for storage.

Tips for your Dungeness season:

• Cook in ocean water! It helps keep the meat moist and sweet. If you don’t have the good fortune to be staying by the ocean, uncomfortably over salted water will do.
• Keep your crab on/in ice so it’s sedated for the drop into scalding water.
• Boil a pot of water first and cook crab for no more than 15 min.
• When it’s done take off the shell, gills, yellow stuff, brown stuff (there’s a lot of stuff… just get it out)
• Get cracking! Serve with garlic butter and lemon – the fresher it is, the simpler the preparation.

Tips for Monterey Bay:

• Monterey Bay Aquarium is a must
• If you have time, take a trip to Carmel-By-The-Sea
• Eat seafood! Whether you cook it yourself or not
• Walk on the beach, look for shells, watch the sunset – you know, all that good stuff

I’ve loved caramels since I was a kid… Milk Duds, Rolos, See’s Milk Chocoalte covered Caramel Squares, those Tahitian Vanilla Caramels from Trader Joes. You name it, if it’s stick to your fillings good and covered in chocolate, I’m all about it. I did some reading up on making caramels and there may be some people who call this a ‘cheaters’ recipe because you start with corn syrup, but it does make it MUCH more foolproof for first timers like me. But yum yum yum, these are SO good I guarantee you’re going to forget what’s in them and just devour. The vanilla is just right, they are silky smooth and chewy without being too hard – the perfect combination.

These caramels were shockingly easy. They do require a bit of attention, but are worth every minute and every stir. Make sure you’re using a really big pot, 6-quart is recommended in the recipe, and a candy thermometer to get the temperature and chewiness just right. You also might want to share the finished product with a friend because this recipe will make a TON of caramels. I got about 64 from half a batch. Wrapped up in little bundles like below or even in seasonal baggies, they make the perfect little something for the holidays and are bound to be a hit!

Chewy Vanilla Caramels*

• 2 cups light corn syrup
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, pod split and seeds removed
• 1tbsp pure vanilla extract

Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or combination of other similarly sized dishes.

Start with all ingredients except vanilla extract in your large pot. Place over medium heat and whisk mixture to evenly distribute the vanilla bean seeds. Heat the mixture stirring occasionally until it comes to a boil and the sugar dissolves. Once it starts to boil clip on the thermometer and get ready for magic. The mixture will start to rise and bubble vigorously – this is when you’ll be happy to have the big pot.

Cook, stirring frequently (switch to a wooden spoon or spatula) until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. Don’t let it go higher as that is more of a hard caramel rather than soft caramel stage. It will take a long time to reach 240. It will hover around 200/220 for a long time and you may wonder if it’ll ever happen, but eventually you’ll get to 240! As soon as it hits 240, remove from heat, add vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan(s). Do not scrape out caramel from the bottom of the pot, as it’s a different temperature than the rest. Let rest at room temperature overnight.

Cut into strips to make it easier to remove from dish and cut further into small squares. Wrap each piece in waxed paper and bundle in your favorite gift giving way. They’ll keep for at least a month.

*ingredient list from and directions adapted from Tante Marie’s Cooking School

Ok, technically this recipe is called The Coach House Bread and Butter Pudding, and Marion describes it as “the best bread pudding ever” quite the acclaim, if you ask me. In real life, it’s good. It’s really good. So creamy, yet kind of like clouds in your mouth.

When we were initially choosing recipes in The Breakfast Book, we joked that we should keep tabs about how much butter, cream and bacon fat we went through throughout the course of this series. It’s recipes like this that made us feel like we were going to gain 20lbs after it all. I had some whole milk left over from holiday candy making this past weekend and mixed with the cream, eggs and sugar it was just the ticket for this bread pudding. Just like everything else in this book, this was basically like the base recipe; you could add so many extras to make it special and just the way you like – rum/raisins, spices, bananas/chocolate chips… I’d recommend layering it in between the bread slices. And while we’re talking bread, I’ll let you know I chose to go with a very nice pain de mie from Acme Bakery, which was absolutely perfect. It’s light and airy that allows the bread to nearly dissolve when baked in the custard. I had been meaning to make bread pudding for a while now, and I think this is definitely a go to recipe that I’ll be adapting in the future.

Good luck with this one!! Actually, you don’t need luck. It’s so simple that I’m sure yours will turn out amazingly.

This is our 4th to last cook the book post – can you believe it?! So be sure to check out Aimee, Natasha, Rachel and Claudie this week too.

The Coach House Bread and Butter Pudding, split in half from The Breakfast Book

• 6-7 slices French bread or other light white bread
• ~ 4 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 eggs (I know 1/2 and egg is awkward, but I did just split the recipe in half)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375.

Butter one side of each slice of bread and layer in baking dish, buttered side up.

Mix eggs, yolks, sugar and salt until well combined.

Heat milk and cream in a heavy-bottom saucepan and head until scalded (tiny bubbles around the edge). Remove from heat and slowly add egg mixture while whisking. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture through a sieve over bread slices.

Have enough boiling water ready to come up 2 1/2 inches up the sides of your baking dish when placed in a large pot (I used my oval dutch oven, it was perfect). Place pot of boiling water in the oven, and then put in your pudding dish.

Bake for about 45 min until custard is set with a slight tremble in the center. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or cold. As if the milk and cream in the dish wasn’t enough already Marion does recommend serving it with unsweetened heavy cream poured over!