So I lied

I'm not a failure. I didn't REALLY think I was anyways but you can never be too sure.

Friday I had my long, 3 hour glucose test. It wasn't so bad. Except for the 2 blown veins it was fine. I showed up a little early and the lab was gracious enough to start me test ahead of schedule. There was another pregnant lady, Tanya, who was doing her 3 hour so we became fast friends. She's very pleasant and I really enjoyed our time together. We had so much in common and it's amazing how stressful situations can cause artificial bonding. I'm not sure of the protocol when you've spent 3 hours enjoying the company, hourly blood draws and lack of food but I left my number with her on the back of a lab slip just in case she and her little man "Diesel Jett" want to meet Bug and I for a play date some day.

While I was sitting on the horribly uncomfortable waiting room chairs I realized I hadn't update the food portion of my blog in awhile. These are some delicious, summery cookies that I mad not too long ago but forgot to mention. It's my own recipe creation based off of Marc at [No Recipes] Strawberries and Cream Melting Moments . Those cookies are fantastic and everyone needs to make them.

These Lavender Lemon Dreams are my spin. I had a craving for the strawberry version but I couldn't find the strawberries so it was a back with what I have on hand kind of night. Those are always pretty fun. These are perfect for a tea. I took all of these to work and people loved them. There were a few who were a little thrown by the floral or tea like qualities of the cookies but at the end of the day, ever single one was devoured.

Cookies:

-2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

-2/3 C powdered sugar

-1/3 C cornstarch

-1 1/2 C of all-purpose flour

-2 tbl lavender flowers

-1 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a blender, pulverize the lavender flowers with 1 cup of the flour. Sift into a bowl to remove leftover large bits of the flower. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until it is white and fluffy.

Add the cornstarch and the 1 C. lavender flour into the mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add the remaining ½ C flour into the dough and mix until just combined.

You can either use a cookie press to create small snack size cookers or spoon small teaspoon sized balls of dough into the palm of your hand and roll into a sphere then place it on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 13-14 minutes, but do not let them turn brown. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for a minute on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Once cool, place a small bit of frosting on a cookie and sandwich the crème between the two. These are delicious cold so you can place them in the refrigerator for a nice cold snack.

Filling:

-5 tbl butter (Unsalted)

-½ c powdered sugar

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 tbl lemon juice (1/2 a small Lemon from my tree)

-1 tsp lemon zest

Combine all the filling ingredients in a kitchen-aid mixer and beat until fluffy.

I'm back! - Time to change directions.

Yikes! Being gainfully employed sure does take up a lot of time. I've come to the conclusion that it's better to combine my blogs rather than letting this one sit idly by waiting for the odd occasion that calls for a bacon cake. There is a part of me that misses being able to cook and dream up meals with carefree abandon. I also feel this pressure and need to start adding the recipes that I've doctored and created which will hopefully be passed down to my own family. So that said, I still plan on eating my inheritance but also want to create inheritances to be eaten...pretty cheese laden clogged artery pasta inheritances with bacon and love are just dying to come out. Two in particular...

The first one was inspired by the fantastic dinner Josh took me to at Arrivederci Ristorante to celebrate the escrow closing on our house a few weeks ago. I had the most delicious pasta ever. It was simple, smokey, creamy, and perfect. We have kinda been obsessing about it since. It doesn't even have a name. It was just listed as Gemelli Pasta del Giorno - smoked mozzarella cream sauce, wilted spinach and sun dried tomatoes. So that will be posted soon. I promise. I also have a special Kitchen Sink Beer Mac and Cheese that I whipped up and have been meaning to post. I get asked about it all the time so I think it's finally ready to be shared.

I know all there is to know about the Pantry Game

Rosemary Citrus Chicken Breast with Herbes de Provence Potatoes

I finally did it! I made my very own recipe from scratch and it came out really good. I've had nothing but rave reviews and after testing it a few times I feel safe and can post the recipe. My little chicken dish has such a wonderful birth story. Growing up whenever it was in-between paydays my Momma would bring us into the kitchen to play an pantry game called "Let's See What We Can Make". I love this game and I still play it with myself all the time and that is how this little darling was born. Sure there have been some misses like ground meat and rice with ketchup (Bleh!) but the hits far exceed the misses. To quote a genius, Willy Wonka, "Invention, my dear friends, is ninety-three percent perspiration, six percent electricity, four percent evaporation, and two percent butterscotch ripple." In my case it was probably 40% starvation and 90% Inspiration and a desire to clean out my pantry. I hope you enjoy.

Marinade

½ c Orange Juice

1 TBL Balsamic Vinegar

2 Cloves Chopped Garlic

3 Sprigs Rosemary leaves chopped finely

4 Chicken Breasts

Vegetables

1 bag Tiny Potatoes from Trader Joes

1 medium Onion (quartered or large chop)

1 TBL Butter

2 TBL Olive Oil

2 TBL Herbes de Provence

1 Sprig Rosemary leaves chopped finely

Marinade the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a small pan of water to a boil and boil the tiny potatoes for 5 minutes. Pour 1 tbl olive oil in a pan and heat. Pan sear the breasts on each side for 1-3 minute. Remove the breasts to a plate and add the rest of the olive oil and butter to the pan. Add the herbes de Provence and chopped rosemary to the hot pan and brown them a bit. Place the tiny potatoes and quartered onion in the pan with the herbs and cook for 5 minutes.

Place the potatoes and onions in a Pyrex dish, cover with foil and bake for 8 -10 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and top with the chicken breasts and marinade, return foil cover and cook for 12 minutes or until chicken is done and juices run clear. Uncover and cook for another 8 minutes. Take pan drippings and return to a warm skillet. Add the thickening agent (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 c water) and simmer and stir to thicken.

I love you, I love you, I love you so well if I had a peanut I'd give you...

The frozen peanut butter pie with candied bacon! Ok, so the song isn't as catchy but a pie sure beats giving someone you love a shell. I found this fantastic recipe on Gourmet. I think I will be sad when they stop publication but I can't really complain since I never bought their magazines. We have not eaten it yet but from the taste testing (As my Mom says, "I have to check for poison.") I think the results will be quite nice. It's times like these when I thank God that I am not Kosher or allergic to nuts. I'm just a happy little Catholic girl who's unable to eat soy products or be near marijuana or hemp products (I'd make a really bad Hippie). So while this isn't a "family" recipe perhaps it will become one. I figure it's time to think outside the box and start creating and trying recipes out that will eventually become family favorites. So here it goes. I'll post a detailed review of the frozen peanut butter pie after we devour it.


Frozen Peanut Butter Pie with Candied Bacon

Serves 8 (Might be really rich so I'm thinking I can squeeze out 10 servings)

• Active time: 30 min (Such a lie. Note* I might be slow but realistically plan for probably 45 - 1 hour)
  
• Start to finish: 6 1/2 hr (includes freezing)

Candied bacon might seem like the ultimate example of gilding the lily, but it adds a sweet, smoky edge to this already luscious pie. Elvis would be proud. (The bacon is delicious! Just give in and try it people!!!)

• 7 bacon slices (about 6 ounces) (I used a smoked maple variety)
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1/4 tsp)
• About 35 chocolate wafers, finely ground in a blender or food processor (about 2 cups crumbs) (I could not for the life of me find these darn wafers! I had to improvise with 35 chocolate graham crackers)
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural) (If you must know choosy moms {and NOT moms} choose JIF)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups chilled heavy cream
• 1/3 cup salted roasted peanuts, finely chopped ( I forgot these when I my 2 hour grocery store trek so I left them out)

• Equipment:

  a 10-inch pie plate (6-cup capacity)

• Cook bacon (in 2 batches if necessary) in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning once, until lightly browned on edges but still flexible, 5 to 6 minutes total per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Pour off fat from skillet and arrange bacon in skillet in 1 layer. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon over bacon and cook over low heat, turning occasionally with tongs, until sugar has dissolved and then caramelized (sugar melts very slowly and burns easily; reduce heat if necessary after sugar begins to caramelize) and coats bacon, 8 to 10 minutes. (Bacon will be dark and look lacquered.) Transfer bacon with tongs to a cutting board to cool. When bacon is cool, finely chop 5 slices, leaving remaining 2 slices whole. (I saved the caramelized bits in the pan by placing them on wax paper. It creates a really hard "candy" but the flavor is really good and it's fun to suck on.)
  
• Stir together wafer crumbs and butter, then press onto bottom and up side of pie plate. Chill pie shell.
• Heat remaining 1/2 cup sugar and milk in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter and vanilla until combined well, then transfer to a bowl and cool completely in an ice bath, stirring occasionally. (I didn't have enough ice for a bath so I stuck the bowl in the freezer and stirred every other minute.)
  
• Beat cream with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks, then fold into peanut butter mixture with peanuts and chopped bacon gently but thoroughly. Transfer filling to pie shell, smoothing top.
• Cut remaining 2 bacon slices into 2-inch-long pieces and arrange in a decorative starburst shape in center of pie. Freeze pie, uncovered, until frozen hard, about 5 hours. Let pie soften slightly in refrigerator before serving, about 30 minutes. (I skipped this step. I know my people are nervous about meat products in their desert so I chopped all the bacon and folded it into the peanut butter filling in an attempt to win them over to the bacon for desert side. The plan is that they'll love the desert and after I have hooked them I can spill the bean...er bacon.)
  

Cooks’ note:

Pie can be frozen, covered after 5 hours with plastic wrap and foil, up to 2 days.

Recipe by Andrea Albin