Stuffed Hot Red Cherry Peppers

Source - http://www.sarahcupcake.com/2012/01/stuffed-hot-red-cherry-peppers.html

14 cherry peppers, cored with tops cut off and reserved
4 ounces provolone cheese, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Arrange the peppers in a small baking dish. Stuff a piece or two of provolone cheese inside each pepper. In a seperate bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over the peppers. Let marinate for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place tops back on peppers and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Source: Adapted from Mad Hungry tv show with Lucinda Scala Quinn.

White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Source -  http://paleoparents.com/2011/3070264173/

Add to bowl:
1/4 cup coconut oil, liquefied
3 tbsp honey or agave
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp vanilla
Beat with electric mixer.

Add in gradually as you continue mixing:
1/4 cup tapioca flour, sifted*
1/4 cup almond flour, sifted
1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Beat with electric mixer.

*If you want to avoid tapioca flour, I’m sure the recipe would work with 1/3 cup of each of the other powdered ingredients.

Roll into little balls and place on (unbleached) parchment paper.

Use you fingers to create an indentation and fill it with cherry preserves. We found ours locally, our Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have juice sweetened jams if you don’t want to order online.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  While baking, melt chocolate (we use a vegan brand that’s soy free but 73% or darker is also dairy-free) over a double boiler.  Drizzle melted chocolate over completed cookies.

Chocolate Cherry Bombs

Source -  http://raspberrycoconut.com/2011/06/16/chocolate-cherry-bombs/

1/4 c. coconut oil
2 drops of Stevia or 1/4 t honey (both optional)
1/4 t. vanilla extract
One grind of sea salt
1 T. cocoa powder
1 c. frozen cherries (or frozen banana chunks, frozen mango… etc.)

Melt your coconut oil- it’s summer so if you don’t have a/c Mother Nature will have done this for you already- otherwise, fill up a large bowl with hot water and float your closed jar of coconut oil until it’s melted. (I should have explained this better in the video!)

Measure the oil into a small bowl and add your stevia, salt, and vanilla and whisk with a fork. Add cocoa and whisk until the mixture is blended. Toss in your fruit pieces one-by-one and roll each around until coated. Repeat until you’re out of fruit or chocolate!

I always use flexible plastic Ziploc containers when I’m making this recipe. The coldness of the fruit hardens up the remaining chocolate by the time I’m done with two thirds of the batch. Instead of wasting it, I just float the container in a larger bowl of hot water for a few minutes until it liquifies again. Also, if you put the cherry bombs on a surface before the shell has hardened, they’ll stick. A simple way to fix this is to place them in another flexible plastic container and pop them in the freezer for another minute or so. This makes the shell really hard and you can just “pop” the bottom of the container and they’ll let go.

Cherry Amaretto Cupcakes

Source - http://chocolatechillimango.com/2011/06/20/cherry-amaretto-cupcakes/

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients
Amaretto Cupcakes
200 grams sugar
50 grams bitter almonds (i.e. bitter apricot kernels)
185 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 eggs
40 millilitres Amaretto di Saronno liqueur (optional)
170 grams plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder

Cherry Mascarpone Frosting
80 grams pitted cherries (fresh or frozen)
300 grams mascarpone
150 grams icing sugar
85 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Set 18 cupcake liners on a baking tray or use to line muffin tins.  Set aside.

Place 50 grams of the sugar and the bitter almonds in the bowl of a food processor and grind until fine.  Set aside.

Place the remaining 150 grams of sugar and the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each addition.  Add the bitter almonds and the Amaretto liqueur, if using, and mix until the batter is smooth.

Sift the flour and baking powder together.  Add to the batter and mix until the batter is light and fluffy.

Two-thirds fill the cupcake liners with the batter and bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes until risen and golden.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Make the frosting
If using frozen cherries, defrost and drain them before weighing and using.  Purée the cherries and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, whisk together the mascarpone and icing sugar until thick and light.  Add the cherry purée and whisk again until smooth.  Whisk the cooled butter until it starts to thicken slightly.  Add the butter to the mascarpone cream and whisk until thickened.  Chill for about 15 – 20 minutes before using.

Fit a large piping bag with a decorative tip and fill with the mascarpone cream.  Pipe the frosting on to each cupcake.

They are at their best served on the day they are made, of course, but … un-iced cupcakes will keep for several days stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot.  Frosted cupcakes will keep for a day or two covered in the refrigerator.  Let them come to room temperature before serving.

Modeling Chocolate Cherry Blossoms Tutorial

* The following is the modeling chocolate cherry blossoms tutorial. for the fresh lemon cake recipe, please click the link below. thanks!

Source -  http://www.hostessblog.com/2011/06/diy-chocolate-cherry-blossoms-recipe/

Supplies:
– 10 oz white chocolate
– 1/3 cup light corn syrup
– Green and rose gel food coloring
– Edible yellow shimmer dust
– Wire stamen
– Sanitized kitchen Scissors
– Small paint brush

Step One:
Melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir in light corn syrup until it forms a ball. Use gel color to reach your desired hues. Wrap in plastic and let set overnight.

Step Two:
In the palm of your hands roll balls of pick chocolate in varying sizes. Form the balls into a tear-drop shape and flatten the fat round end.

Step Three:
Using the handle-end of your paint brush make a small divot on the fat flat end of the tear drop.

Step Four:
Holding your scissors at a downward angle, make 5 incisions equally spaced around the divot to form petals. Flatten and shape each petal between the tips of your thumb and index finger.

Step Five:
Insert your stamen into the center of your blossom and give a generous dusting of shimmer powder around the stamen using your paint brush.

Note: Leaves can be made by making much smaller tear drops and flattening them out. You can use a toothpick to create veins if you desire.

Baked Mozzarella and Cherry Tomatoes

Source -http://www.lanascooking.com/2009/04/06/baked-mozzarella-and-cherry-tomatoes/

Here’s what you need:

1 pint (or more) cherry tomatoes
2-3 green onions, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. mozzarella* (or other Italian cheese of your choice)
2-3 oz. prosciutto

*Note about the cheese: You need to choose one that will melt without “weeping” very much or else the dish will be watery. The fresh mozzarella in water is so good, but it’s not the best choice for this dish. Choose something that is somewhat drier. 

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half and place in au gratin dish or casserole.

Sprinkle green onions over tomatoes.

Add garlic.

Stack the basil leaves, roll into a cigar shape and cut across the roll to make the chiffonade or ribbon cut. Sprinkle over tomatoes and onions. Add salt and black pepper to taste. 

Slice the mozzarella into thick slices, enough to cover the top of the dish.  Place on top of other ingredients.

Slice prosciutto into thin ribbons and sprinkle over cheese.

 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly and prosciutto is crispy. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

 Enjoy!

Download a printable copy here.

Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta and Pesto

Source - http://simply-delicious.co.za/2011/03/14/pasta-with-roasted-cherry-tomatoes-ricotta-and-pesto/

It can be incredibly simple or really complicated but it’s very hard to go wrong with pasta. In Nigella’s new book “Kitchen”, she has a recipe for Marmite Spaghetti. It’s actually just Marmite, butter and spaghetti. Now, if that’s not simplicity at it’s finest, I don’t know what is. For me, garlic-buttered spaghetti is like Nigella’s Marmite Spaghetti. It’s immensely comforting and wonderful but sometimes, I need a bit more to my meal.

In moments like that, I choose seasonal veg, beautiful herbs and luscious cheese to jazz up my plate of pasta.

That’s exactly what I did with this dish. The key to making this a success is using the absolute best ingredients you can find or afford. Sweet Cherry tomatoes roasted with a splash of Balsamic vinegar, fresh and creamy Ricotta cheese and packed-full-of-garlic basil pesto combined with Al Dente pasta makes one of my favourite meals, ever.

Serves 4

400g cherry tomatoes
2tbsn Balsamic vinegar
1tbsn olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

500g pasta of your choice (I used spaghetti)
300g Ricotta cheese, crumbled
4tbsn basil pesto thinned out with 2tsbn olive oil

• Pre-heat the oven to 220°c.
• Toss the cherry tomatoes with the vinegar, oil and seasonings and transfer to a roasting tray.
• Roast for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes are blistered and the skin starts coming loose. Keep watching the tomatoes because the oven will be very hot and you don’t want them to burn.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente. Drain and combine with the tomatoes (and all their pan juices), ricotta and basil pesto.
• Serve with extra Ricotta and basil pesto.

Chocolate Chunk and Cherry Skillet Cookie

slightly adapted from a recipe by: Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks

source: (http://www.ouichefnetwork.com/oui_chef/2011/02/chocolate-chunk-and-cherry-skillet-cookie.html )

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for buttering the pan
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Butter a 10 or 11-inch ovenproof skillet (cast-iron is ideal), one that is at least 2-inches deep. Make sure your pan is at least this deep or you run the risk of a messy overflow.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, and then whisk until blended.
3. In another large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and the sugars. Mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes using the mixer on low speed. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl along the way if necessary. 
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined, then add in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low speed until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
5. Add most of the chocolate to the batter. Mix just until the chocolate is evenly incorporated, then scrape the batter out into the buttered skillet, pressing it out into an even layer. Sprinkle any remaining chocolate across the top, and press it into the dough a bit, just enough that it isn’t riding directly on top of the dough.  Having a few chunks on the top makes for a better looking cookie in the end.
6. Bake the cookies for 35-45 minutes, or until until the dough is a deep golden brown along the edge, and the center has set. Remove from oven and let cool a bit before slicing into. Cut into wedges or small squares, as you wish.

Makes one large skillet cookie, which is deep and rich enough to feed quite a crowd.