Chocolate-Coconut Cheesecake Squares

Beautifully embroidered napkin, courtesy of my daughter

Mmmmm ... I love Mounds Bars. Maybe because the coconut is the right consistency, not long and stringy. So I've made it a practice that when I'm baking anything with coconut, I always pulse it a few seconds in a food processor. Be careful, don't go overboard with the pulsing or you will end up with coconut powder.

This dessert is from Martha Stewart's website. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups finely ground graham crackers (from 15 rectangles)
3 cups (10 ounces) finely shredded unsweetened coconut
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 2-inch pieces, plus more for pan
3 large eggs plus 5 large egg yolks
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Butter parchment.

2. Stir together graham cracker crumbs and 2 cups coconut.

3. Place chocolates and 3 tablespoons sugar in a heatproof bowl, and set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring, until melted. Add butter,and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Whisk in 1 egg.

4. Stir chocolate mixture into coconut mixture. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake until set, 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool in pan.

5. Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and remaining cup sugar on high speed until very smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add egg yolks and remaining 2 eggs, 1 at a time, until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until completely smooth, about 3 minutes.

6. Pass mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and stir until smooth. Pour over cooled crust. Sprinkle remaining cup coconut evenly over the top.

7. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until top layer is just set and coconut is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate, loosely covered, overnight.

8. Run a sharp knife around edges of pan, and use parchment to lift out cheesecake. Run a knife under hot water, and dry well. Use it to cut cheesecake into 1-inch squares, wiping knife clean between cuts. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Up Coming Give Away

Y'all haven't heard from me in almost a week. Were ya worried? Did you think I was probably arrested, rotting away in some jail cell for indecent exposure? Or even worse, illicit trafficking of cupcakes? Well if you were thinking those things, shame on you. I'll have you know, that if I were to do the mentioned offenses I wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught. And besides, I'm pretty slippery and spry for a granny, moving like a ninja in the night.

What I've been working on is a surprise for y'all. Recently I've been in a sewing kind of mood and I decided to whip together several aprons. (I'm still finishing up on them and will have them ready for next week.) Until then, you can be waiting with bated breath.

I've also been working on costumes for Pap and myself. We are going to a dance at the clubhouse next month. The theme is 50's & 60's. So Pap and I are going as Hippies. I'm in the process of altering jeans for both us with a bell-bottom flair. They look groovy... baby.

In addition I made a dessert this morning. It needs to refrigerate overnight before I can slice it. So tomorrow you can look forward to a yummy posting.

That's all for now. Have a nice day and I will chat with y'all tomorrow.

Amaretto-Pineapple Cupcakes

Cupcake? I don't think so. This is so much more than just a cupcake. And it's worth every bit of work involved to create this tasty dessert.

I'm kind of tired at the moment and don't feel much like chatting. But I saved enough energy to get this posting done. And to really suggest that you purchase a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. This recipe and many other mouth-watering cupscakes are waiting for you to try.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
1/3 cup unblanched almonds, finely ground in a food processor
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup amaretto (almond flavored liqueur)
1 cup heavy cream
Flambeed Pineapple (recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush standard muffin tins with butter; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in extracts. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and mixing until just combined.

3. Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks; immediately poke holes all over tops of cupcakes with a toothpick. Pour amaretto evenly on top; let cool completely before removing from tins.

4. To finish, whip cream to soft peaks. Using a serrated knife (and a gentle sawing motion), slice off tops; reserve. Spoon 1 tablespoon flambeed pineapple on each cupcake bottom; replace tops. Dollop cupcakes with whipped cream; spoon more pineapple on top. Serve immediately.

Ingredients for Flambeed Pineapple:
8 rounds (each 1/4 inch thick) peeled pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup amaretto
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Stack pineapple rounds; cut into quarters. Trim core from each wedge, and discard. Cut pineapple into small dice. Heat sugar in a large skillet over medium-high, stirring, until sugar melts and turns golden brown. Add pineapple; toss.

2. Carefully pour in amaretto; immediately tilt skillet slight to ignite alcohol. (If using an electric stove, use a long match to ignite alcohol.) When flames subside and caramel melts, carefully stir in cream, orange juice, and vanilla-bean seeds. Reduce heat to medium; boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely before using or storing. Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container; bring to room temperature before using.

Birthday Apron

My daughter's birthday was the end of April and I am just now finishing one of her presents. Shame on me. But if she is anything like me, she will probably never use this apron, except for holidays or maybe when I visit. She's a good kid, never wanting to hurt my feelings. As for myself, I just can't be bothered with donning an apron for everyday baking and cooking.

When I saw this fabric, with the cute little skull heads, I just had to purchase some and make her this apron. Don't y'all just love the cute little pink bows.

Happy Birthday Sweetie

Georgia Peach Leaf Pie

My Blue-Willow pie bird, a gift from a friend, looks right at home in the middle of this fragrant Georgia Peach Pie. But doesn't that little bird look a little sad, like he needs some sweet soul music from Ray Charles? I know the feeling my little feathered friend. Sometimes you just need to let go, close your eyes, sway to the music, and sing like there is no tomorrow. Who cares if your voice has the neighbor's cat screeching like his tail is caught in the garbage disposer? Just let go and enjoy!

Turn up the volume and sing along to this great song while you look over this recipe.


Recipe adapted from Best-Ever Pastry Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson.

Ingredients for Pastry:
2 cups plain flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, diced
3 tablespoons white vegetable fat, diced
5-6 tablespoons chilled water

Ingredients for Peach Filling:
2 & 1/2 pounds ripe peaches
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, diced
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to glaze

Directions:

1. To make pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and vegetable fat, and rub in with your fingertip or cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

2. Sprinkle over the dry ingredients just enough water to bind the mixture and use a fork to bring it together for form a soft dough. Gather the dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

3. Drop a few peaches at a time into a large pan of boiling water, leave for 20 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of cold water. When cool, peel. Slice the peaches and mix with the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and spices. Set aside.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of pastry to a thickness of 1/8 inch thick. Use to line a 9-inch pie plate. Chill until ready.

5. Roll out the second piece of pastry and cut out leaf shapes about 3-inches long. Cut enough to completely cover the top. Mark veins with a knife.

6. Brush the base of the pastry case with egg glaze. Add the peach mixture, piling it into a dome in the center. Dot with butter.

7. To assemble the pie top, start with the outside edge. Make a ring of leaves around the edge attaching each leaf to the pastry base with a dab of egg glaze. Place a second ring of leaves above, staggering the positions. Continue the rows of leaves until the pie is covered. Brush with egg glaze. Sprinkle with sugar.

8. Bake the pie on the hot baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 35-40 minutes more, or until golden. Serve hot, with ice cream, if you like.

Pineapple-Stuffed Burgers

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to a burger. I want my lettuce and tomato, maybe a few pickles, a slice of cheese, and raw onion if I'm in the mood. But several years ago I discovered a restaurant that served up the best burger with a slice of grilled pineapple. It was love at first bite. But alas, we moved away, and there were no more yummy pineapple burgers. But this afternoon I changed all that when I mixed up this divine concoction. Even Pap was duly impressed.

If you haven't had the pleasure of a pineapple burger before; Please ... please give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1/2 pound lean ground beef

2 slices fresh unsweetened pineapple

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 hamburger buns, split

2 lettuce leaves

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, ketchup and mustard. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, shape beef into four patties. Place pineapple slices on two patties; top with remaining patties. Seal edges; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting grill. Slather burgers with sauce and grill, covered, over medium-hot heat for 7-9 minutes. Flip over and apply more sauce and grill an additional 7-9 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees and juices run clear. Serve on buns.

Serve this delicious burger with a side of potato salad and your family will think they have died and gone to hamburger heaven.

This is a picture of my 'Rock the house potato salad'. I have no recipe, I just add whatever I have in the refrigerator; red potatoes, celery, cucumber, hard-boiled eggs, chopped onion, chopped radishes, and Miracle Whip.

I Want Some More S'mores Cookies

This recipe has all the ear marks of an evil genius. First of all the cookie batter is so wonderfully delicious on its own. But I can visualize it being used with lots of other ingredients, such as nuts and dried berries. But what puts this cookie over the top is the soft gooey chocolate and marshmallow. Groans and moans will be all you hear from those that take a bite.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
1 large egg
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 30 squares ( I used Hershey's' Bliss candy, dark chocolate. One was the perfect size for each cookie.)
15 large marshmallows, halved horizontally ( I used 2 halves for each cookie. My cookies were a little larger.)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; pulse to combine. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down side of bowl. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture just until combined.

2. Drop by tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate square. Bake just until lightly golden, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; heat broiler. Top each cookie with a marshmallow. One sheet at a time, broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 1 & 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Root Beer Man Ice Cream on a Stick

Save those juice boxes and create your own Root Beer Man. He is yummy delicious and a snap to make. Kids of all ages will love him. FYI, if I squint my eyes, he kind of looks like Pap, except Pap has doesn't have that much hair, and his head isn't a rectangle. But he does have the same silly grin.

Ingredients:
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 & 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons root beer extract

Directions:
1. Whisk together the egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, and the salt in a large stainless-steel bowl until combined.

2. In a medium saucepan, cook the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, the milk, the cream, and the root beer extract over medium-high heat, stirring until it bubbles around the edges, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

3. Slowly whisk the cream mixture into the egg yolks. Pour the egg-cream mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat proof rubber spatula, until it coats the back of the spatula, about 3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a clean bowl and cool over an ice bath to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold, 2 hours to overnight.

4. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions. Transfer the ice cream to juice boxes and freeze until solid, overnight.

5. Unmold and garnish with whipped cream.

Black Beans and Yellow Rice

I whipped this up to take to the end of season Bocce Ball Luncheon. I probably should have written a disclaimer announcing that I'm not responsible for any gas or gas related accidents in any one's tidy whiteys.

Adapted from Southern Living Five-Star Recipes

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium-size green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup olive oil
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can Cajun-style stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 ½ cups water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
Hot cooked yellow rice
½ cup chopped green onions
Sour cream

Directions:
1 .Cook first 3 ingredients in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender. Add beans and next 7 ingredients; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Uncover and simmer 20to 30 additional minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Serve black bean mixture over hot cooked rice. Top each serving with green onions and a dollop of sour cream.

Mascarpone Cheesecake in Mexican-Chocolate Crust with Pecans

I'd love to chat but I just don't have enough time. All I really need to say, is how light and wonderful this cheesecake is. Use my recipe to make your own mascarpone cheese. Otherwise you might have to sell one of your kids, or remortgage your house to come up with enough money to buy the 24 ounces that is needed for this recipe.

Adapted from Gooey Desserts: The Joy of Decadence by Elaine Corn

Ingredients for Chocolate-Pecan Crumb Crust:
2 ounces (2 squares) semisweet chocolate
10 double graham crackers (from 1 wrapped package from box)
1 cup pecan halves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons (½-stick) unsalted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Filling:
1 tablespoon gelatin (measured from less than 2 envelopes)
¼ cup cold water
1 ½ pounds mascarpone cheese
1 ½ pounds cream cheese (3 8-ounce packages), softened

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups cream

Garnish:
Chocolate shavings
Additional whipped cream

Directions for Crust:
1. Set oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop chocolate and drop through feed tube of an activated food processor or blender. Add graham crackers and pecans and process until fine crumbs (or crush crackers between sheets of waxed paper with a rolling pin).

2. Pour crumbs into 10 or 12-inch springform pan. Stir in cinnamon and brown sugar. Add melted butter and, using your fingers, quickly mash the mixture until the crumbs hold together. Use your knuckles to press up the sides, then press over bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

Directions for Filling:
1. Dissolve gelatin in water in a little bowl, then set aside to soften for 5 minutes. To keep gelatin liquefied, set bowl in a larger bowl of hot water.

2. Beat the mascarpone and cream cheese at high speed with an electric mixer (use paddle attachment, if you have one) until fluffy. Gradually pour in sugar while continuing to beat. At medium speed, beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and, using a big rubber spatula, quickly fold gelatin into cheese mixture.

3. In a cold bowl and with cold beaters, whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold a scoop of cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten it and make it easier to blend with the cream. Then fold remaining cream into the cheese base. Pour into cooled crust. Cover well with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours.

4. Decorate with shaved chocolate and , if you like, with more whipped cream piped at intervals around the rim of the cake. Slice wedges with a knife dipped in a tall glass of hot water, then wiped dry.
Makes 16 servings.

How to make your own Mascarpone Cheese
Commercially, this cheese is one of the priciest on the retail market. If made at home, it only cost you the price of a quart of cream.

Ingredients:
1 quart heavy cream
½ teaspoon citric acid, such as Manischewitz sour salt

Directions:
1. Have ready a heavy Dutch kettle, a slotted spoon, some cheesecloth, a strainer, and a candy thermometer.

2. Pour the cream into the kettle and set over low heat. Slowly heat the cream to 180 to 190 degrees. (At 175 degrees, start to keep a close watch.) You can stir a little.

3.When the cream is ready, remove from heat. Sprinkle in the citric acid, stirring gently twice. Wait until liquid stops moving and stir gently a few more times. Cover the pot and let the curds form for 30 to 40 minutes. The curds will firm up, but may not be obviously separated from the whey.

4.Meanwhile, line a strainer with damp cheesecloth and rest the strainer over a large bowl.

5.Pour the cream through the strainer. Drain until mascarpone is room temperature. Cover the strainer, bowl and all, with plastic wrap to prevent refrigerator odors from assaulting the delicate cheese and chill for 24 hours, to finish firming the cheese.

6.The mascarpone left in the strainer will be thick and creamy and ready to use. Transfer to a bowl and peel off cheesecloth. Keep refrigerated. Use within a week.
Makes 7/8 of a pound.

Giveaway at "girlichef"

There is a giveaway at girlichef. She is celebrating her 101 posting and is presenting us with an opportunity to win not one, not even two, but three wonderful gifts. So hurry on over to http://girlichef.blogspot.com/

The giveaway items are:

1. A cookbook, Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski

2. A knitted cupcake from the wild and wacky Lady P of Madly Creative

3. A delicious package of Fleur de Sel (Organic French Grey Sea Salt) from Charmane from SALT

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes

Pancakes, just about everyone loves them. But after you eat two or three, well, it feels like you just swallowed a five pound hunk of dough. Y'all know what I mean. God, I hate that nauseating feeling. It makes me want to run outside and throw up in the neighbors shrubs. Call me crazy, but I consider that a win-win situation. I get to enjoy the taste of the pancakes, plus I get to piss the neighbors off. Nothing brings a smile to my face faster than the old folks next door complaining about puke all-over their roses.

I guess the good times are over because this recipe creates the lightest most delicious pancakes ever. Pap and I each had four and our grandson woofed down eight this morning without blinking an eye. I highly recommend that you give this recipe a try. Unless, of course, you also enjoy barfing.

Desserts from America's Top Chefs

Ingredients:
1 pint ripe strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced ¼-inch thick (I used fresh blackberries)
¼ cup honey
1 cup milk
4 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches of salt
Grated zest of 2 lemons
2 cups ricotta cheese
Whipped Cream
Powdered Sugar

Directions:
Place the strawberries in a medium-size bowl and drizzle them with the honey. Toss gently and let them stand, tossing them once or twice.

In a large bowl, beat the milk, egg yolks, flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest together until well blended. Add the ricotta and blend gently, leaving some of the curds whole.

In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until they hold stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. Add about one-fourth of the egg whites to the ricotta mixture and, with a rubber spatula, gently fold them in, scraping the ricotta mixture from the bottom of the bowl over the whites. Add the remaining egg whites in the same way.

Grease the griddle and heat it over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances quickly across the surface. Pour the batter by ¼ cupfuls onto the griddle and cook until the undersides are a lace golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the seconds are light brown, about 1 minutes. Stack the pancakes on a plate and keep them warm, covered with a kitchen towel, while cooking the remaining batter.

Serve the pancakes warm, topping each serving with some of the strawberries and their juices, a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Makes 6 servings.

Root Beer Cookies

It's summertime and the living is easy, quiet, and very laid back at my house. These are great conditions for old folk who sleep a lot. But sitting around watching the grass grow will bore the heck out of a ten year old in a heartbeat.

Well it's July and hot as blazes. So what kid can't resist swimming on a hot afternoon? With that decision made, we packed up our suits and towels, and headed down to the clubhouse pool. I knew that two hours of swimming would require a special cookie to give a power boost of energy.

Okay, visualize in your mind a big frosty mug of root beer, with a thick foamy head, and so icy cold that it hurts going down. Now make that in the form of a cookie, except that it's not frosty, doesn't have a foamy head, and it's not even icy cold. But it does have the yummy distinct flavor of root beer.

Taste of Home Ultimate Cookie Collection

Ingredients for Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¾ teaspoon root beer concentrate or extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 & ½ cups chopped pecans

Ingredients for Cookie Frosting:
3 & ½ cups confectioners' sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons water
1 & ¼ teaspoons root beer concentrate or extract

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in buttermilk and root beer concentrate. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in pecans.

Drop by tablespoons 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine frosting ingredients; beat until smooth. Frost cooled cookies.

Omelette du Fromage and the grandson

All this week, I will be sharing grandson postings with y'all. He's ten years old, smart as a whip and full of energy. My daughter and son-in-law are raising a well behaved, polite young man, and that makes him a delight to be around. So this morning I made one of his favorite breakfasts, Omelette du Fromage.

Do yourself a favor, make your own Omelette du Fromage. Then sit back and enjoy this timely episode of Dexter's Laboratory.

This episode is also how we got the grandson to eat his first cheese omelette. At that time he was a wise five years old, and I guess he figured if it was good enough for Dexter then it was good enough for him. Now he is ten and he still loves for his grandmother to whip him up a nice big plate of cholesterol and fat... yum.

via videosift.com

Jamaican Banana Bread

No more Plain Jane banana bread for me. If I had known this recipe was going to taste so divine, with the hints of lime, rum, and coconut. Well, I would have made it in 1997 when I ripped it from a Cooking Light Magazine. It makes me sick to think of all the years I forced people to eat my dry banana bread. All I can do is ask for their forgiveness.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons stick margarine, softened

2 tablespoons tub light cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe banana

1/2 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons dark rum

1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind

2 teaspoons lime juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons margarine

2 teaspoons lime juice

2 teaspoons dark rum

2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside.

2. Beat 2 tablespoons margarine and cheese at medium speed of a mixer; add 1 cup sugar, beating well. Add egg; beat well.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Combine banana and next 5 ingredients (banana through vanilla); stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Stir in 1/4 cup pecans and 1/4 cup coconut.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375 degrees for 60 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Let cool slightly on a wire rack.

5. Combine brown sugar and 2 teaspoons margarine, lime juice, and rum in a saucepan; bring to a simmer. Cook 1 minute; stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons each pecans and coconut; spoon over loaf.

Blackberry Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise

Pap is my hero, braving thorny brambles, spiders, poison ivy, and who knows what else, just to get me some wild blackberries. A special guy needs a special treat, something to comfort him while he tries to remove a thorn that was lodged in his thumb ... poor baby. This is the kind of recipe that will probably rekindle memories of desserts that your grandmother most likely made, nothing fancy, just basic food that satisfies.

Ingredients:
1/2 large loaf brioche or challah (about 8 ounces)
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups heavy cream
1 pinch salt
6 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups blackberries

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut the crust off the bread and cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. (You should have about 3 & 1/2 cups of bread cubes.) Scatter the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they do not brown too much. Set aside to cool, leaving the oven on.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the half-and-half, cream, and salt. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla together. Whisking constantly, gradually add the cream mixture. Strain into a large bowl to remove any lumps. Add the bread cubes, toss gently, and let soak until they absorb the custard, 125 to 30 minutes, folding the mixture once after 5 minutes to ensure even soaking. Fold the blackberries in carefully, and pour into a deep 9x13-inch baking dish.

4. Place the dish in a large roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to reach about halfway up the sides of the baking dish, to create a hot water bath. Bake until the pudding is set and golden brown on top, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the water bath and serve immediately, or let cool to serve warm or chilled. Serve by the large spoonful, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Ingredients for Creme Anglaise:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large egg yolks

Directions:
In 1-quart saucepan, combine heavy cream and milk; cook over medium heat just until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat. In medium-size bowl, beat together sugar and egg yolks. Gradually pour cream mixture into yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Pour mixture back into saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. (Do not boil.) Stain sauce into bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.