Puff Pastry Pizza!

At a loss for what to make for lunch, I tried a little improvising with the ingredients on hand. The taster said he wanted pizza and he even helped pick out the toppings. I have to note that the taster has taken an active role in helping with meal preparation. Yay! He pulls up the chair and asks how he can help.
Be forewarned, this pizza is over-the-top decadent.
Any variation of it, cut up in small pieces, would be a nice party appetizer.

Take your frozen puff pastry out of the freezer. It's supposed to thaw 40 minutes at room temperature but I cheated. Snap off a third of one sheet (it's folded in thirds). Dust with flour and microwave on a plate at half power, for one minute. Ours is an antique microwave so just keep checking it.
Place thawed dough on a cutting board dusted with flour to roll out a bit. Once rolled, slice in half and put pieces on your baking sheet (line with non-stick foil or parchment).
Preheat the oven (I used the toaster oven) to 400º.

Coat the dough with a spreadable goat cheese (Chavrie).
Use around 3 Tb sun dried tomatoes packed in oil and chop them up (Trader Joe's). Top the dough.
Slice up 6 marinated mushrooms (again, Trader Joe's) and top the dough.
Sprinkle on some capers (but beware, they cause a rich effect).
Slide into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Shield the top with foil (to prevent the toppings from burning) and bake another 5 minutes.

Top with smoked salmon, slice up and eat!
Yum! And, shockingly, taster approved.

Brown Sugar Baked Bacon

Oooo! Bacon candy!
This recipe is super delicious and sinful.
I first encountered bacon cooked with sugar, yesterday during an amazing all-you-can-eat brunch with the family at the Newcastle Tavern in Maine. All you can eat candied bacon!

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon mustard
  
• 1/4 pound thick sliced bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine brown sugar and mustard in a bowl. Add bacon and toss to coat. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil (Reynold's). Roast in oven for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it after 10 minutes, or if you smell the sugar burning. Use damp paper towels to wipe the burning sugar away. Since the sugar was beginning to burn, I lowered the oven temp to 350º. Keep a close eye on it and mop up bacon grease and sugar puddles every 2-3 minutes. It ended up taking 30 minutes to cook.

Dan'l Webster Chive & Bacon Dip

This is a classic holiday dip! It will appeal to any bacon lover and give you fantastic garlic/onion breath. It's the holidays, no one will care!
This recipe is a variation of the original, courtesy of Chef Rober from the Dan'l Webster Inn.
I made it more like a dip than a spread (less cream cheese). Also omitted is parsley, though chopped parsley would add appeal, sprinkled atop. If you do use more cream cheese (3 packages instead of one) this can be shaped into a ball and covered chopped parsley, then bacon crumbles (instead of adding the bacon to the dip). If you are concerned about fat, try low-fat cream cheese and sour cream instead (I am not one for sacrificing flavor for calories).
3/4 lb bacon, fried up until crispy then crumbled. I scissored anything not crumbling.
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 tsp chopped garlic
1-2 Tb chopped chives (in photo below, I used scissors to snip them)
1 package cream cheese, left out for an hour to soften
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp A1 sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Mix together with a blender or mixer (or by hand), until really combined. Spoon into serving bowls.

Baked Herb Eggs

I continue to be on a quest for tasty make-ahead breakfasts. This recipe was assembled the night before and baked in the morning for 35 minutes. While it baked, I fried up some bacon.

Preheat oven to 350º.
Mix together 2 large eggs and 2 Tb oil packed, chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Grate in cheeses: 1/4 cup cheddar, 1/4 cup monteray jack, 2 Tb parmesan. Be flexible and try other cheeses if you don't have these on hand.
Snip in some green onions, 2 Tb.
Add 1 Tb pesto (thawed from freezer) and 1/2 tsp minced garlic (from a jar).
Sprinkle in a dash of oregano and some pepper.
Plop in a large tablespoon of your favorite mustard.
Stir in 3/4 cup milk (I used 2%) or light cream.
Shred 2 slices of black forest ham (or your favorite) into 2 small ceramic bowls or ramekins.
Pour mixture into dishes and top with a marinated mushroom, quartered (Trader Joe's).
You could top with whatever you please, it just looks nice. Cover with wrap and refrigerate to bake in the morning!
The taster said "Eww!" (refusing to taste it) but greedily gobbled up the bacon.

Quick & Delicious Baked Haddock

Since husband and child already ate dinner & I wanted something quick, I made this.
Just bake with butter, wine, lemon juice, and top with Ritz crackers.
You could make it look more fancy by sprinkling with paprika and/or chopped parsley.

Preheat oven to 425º (I used the toaster oven).

1/2 lb haddock fillet

melt: 2 Tb butter
add: equal amount (eyeball it) white wine
Squeeze in: 1 Tb lemon (I just lopped off an end of lemon and squeezed out the juice)

Pour 1/3 of liquid into bottom of small baking dish.
Place fillet on top (fold under thin parts).
Drizzle 1/3 of liquid on top.
Crumble Ritz crackers over fillet.
Drizzle remaining liquid on top.

Bake for 10 minutes.
Allow to sit for 5 minutes to cool before serving.

Breakfast Sausage Patties

Breakfast sausage patty recipe:

1 pound ground pork

1 Tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped (fresh from the garden, even though it's beginning to freeze)

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon granulated onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix your spices then gently incorporate into the meat. Form meat into patties the size of your liking. Flatten to no more than a 3/8" thickness. Have two plates handy on which to place formed patties.
Cook over medium-low heat.
Pack the extra patties amidst layers of parchment in a covered container and freeze. They easily reheat in the microwave for quick breakfasts. Reheat at 75% power, wrapped in paper towels, for 1 1/2 minutes.
Spice heat is on the high side (not for me) so cut back on the cayenne and red pepper flakes, if you must.

Savory Palmiers

I was introduced to this fabulous treat when a mommy friend made them for a recent holiday party and shared her recipe afterward.

What I learned is that this recipe is really open to interpretation.
You can improvise and use whatever variation of fillings you feel like trying.

The palmiers are perfect when eaten straight from the oven but are also fine at room temperature. Their form is elegant and can be shaped more like hearts. A great party food or even, as in this case, something to graze, on a Sunday afternoon!

Start by thawing out a packet of puff pastry, according to package directions.
Found some ingredients on hand.

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Dust flour over your clean work surface (I like to use a large wood cutting board).
Unfold the pastry, dust with flour and roll out to 18" x 11". You don't have to roll it out if you don't want to, they'll just be larger in size.

Top with your fillings of choice. I used leftover pasta sauce, pesto from the freezer, mozzarella, parmesan, and pepperoni (microwaved for 45 seconds on paper towels to rid them of excess grease). It looked like I was making a pizza!

Pesto made with basil from our garden.

Roll each side to the center and cut into 3/4" slices. Place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick Reynold's foil (I used parchment but the cooked cheese adhered to it and they were hard to remove).

Beat 1 egg and 2 teaspoons of water, brush on top & sides.

Bake at 400º for 10-12 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Gobble up! Taster approved: not when offered, but on his own terms.