Thanksgiving 2018 Recipes

I tried two new recipes for Thanksgiving this year. I love using phyllo dough cups since they are so easy and perfect for bite-sized appetizers. I thought I was bringing cranberry sauce, but turns out that dish was already taken. Since I already bought the berries, I coated them in sugar and added them to a sweet potato tartlet recipe that I found. They were so pretty and really added a lot of flavor! Plus, the original recipe topped the tartlets with brown sugar pecans, but I absolutely love Trader Joe’s sweet & spicy pecans since they have a kick to them, so I used them instead. 

In addition to the tartlets, I brought iced tea (I’m pregnant so no wine for me this year). We have a lot of rosemary growing in our backyard so I threw that into the tea with some peaches and a ginger simple syrup. The tea was really tasty but I should have given myself more time to make it. I put the hot water into my drink dispenser to brew the green tea but the heat ruined the seal so it started leaking. Luckily my grandma had a backup dispenser that we transferred it to when we got there.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and got to spend quality time with your loved ones! 

Sweet Potato Tartlets with Sugared Cranberries, Sweet & Spicy Pecans & Mint (adapted from My Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 4 (1.9 oz) packages frozen mini-phyllo shells, thawed
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 sweet potato
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 T vanilla extract
• Trader Joe’s sweet & spicy pecans (if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can follow this recipe to make them yourself)
• Sugared cranberries (recipe below)
• Mint leaves

Directions:

1. Wash the sweet potato, stab holes in it, rub in olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil, then cook in the crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high (or cook the sweet potato by your preferred method).

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place shells on baking sheets.

3. In a food processor or with a mixer, blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sweet potato (no skin), sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Spoon filling into shells.

4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until center is set. While still warm, press on pecans.

5. Once cooled, garnish with mint leaves and sugared cranberries.

Sugared Cranberries (adapted from Cincy Shopper)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1 cup water
• 12 oz fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat water and 1 cup sugar over medium heat until boiling. Keep just at a boil for 10 minutes or until it thickens slightly.

2. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a cooling rack over. Toss batches of cranberries in the simple syrup and transfer to the rack to dry (try to space the berries out so they don’t stick together).

3. Allow to dry for 30-45 minutes, then toss the berries in the remaining 1 cup of sugar.

Iced Rosemary-Ginger Peach Green Tea (adapted from She Knows)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups boiling water
• 6 green tea bags
• Several rosemary sprigs
• 2 peaches, slices
• ¾ cup fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Ice cubes
• Cranberries for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Add tea bags and rosemary to a pitcher and top with boiling water. Allow to steep for 6-8 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea.

2. Remove the tea bags and allow the tea to cool.

3. Meanwhile, boil 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and ginger in a small pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium then allow to simmer uncovered until the syrup thickens Remove from heat and allow to cool.

4. Fill a drink dispenser part way with ice. Top with sliced peaches, cranberries, rosemary iced tea, and ginger simple syrup.

The Dessert Spot at Toffee to Go – Tampa, FL

Toffee to Go is a Tampa institution that’s been around for nearly 20 years. I had the privilege this week of having lunch with its founder and co-owner, Lisa Schalk, through my friend Rayla Bailey’s group On Fridays we Lunch. Rayla focuses on a different local female leader each month and arranges incredible lunches with young professionals to hear their success stories.

I already was very familiar with Toffee to Go - my mom worked there during one of their busy holiday seasons and the architecture firm I work for gave their gift boxes to clients last Christmas.  We had a million thank-you notes, so we’re planning to repeat the gifts again this year. I’d highly recommend it for corporate gifts since its so simple and it’s guaranteed to make everyone happy – all you need to do is give them your list of names & addresses and they do all the rest.

Lisa runs the company with her husband, Jim, whose family recipe inspired their business. At first they made it just as a gift for friends, but everyone was so impressed by the treats, they decided to start selling it. It started spreading by word of mouth, then Jim quit his job in the hotel industry to join Lisa in the toffee business full-time. 

They’ve grown from an in-home operation to now running a retail shop in Tampa and 16,000 square foot warehouse in St. Pete. Their product is so amazing that it even ended up on Oprah’s Favorite Things list!

The thing I’m most impressed by is that they have made enormous sacrifices to make their business a success. In the early years, Jim would travel for trade shows regularly, so they went 9 years straight without having a Thanksgiving together. They’ve had to turn down countless holiday parties because 80% of their business occurs in a 2-month window. 

Despite all the hard work, Lisa said that all the long hours are worth it because she loves what she does and it makes so many people happy.

This upcoming week they will launch their latest endeavor – The Dessert Spot at Toffee to Go! They’ve teamed up with other local small businesses so their Bay to Bay location will now offer Kahwa coffee, Working Cow ice cream, and Mike’s Pies. In addition, the shop will feature an assortment of decadent sweets by their pastry chef, Sharon Nasrallah, who previously was an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando. Their daughter, Courtney Schalk, will be the General Manager of The Dessert Spot.

I stopped by for a sneak preview this weekend. The shop has been completely renovated with beautiful high ceilings, wood-look tile floors, a new seating area, and large display cases showcasing all the treats.

I tried a coffee ice cream with chunks of their dark chocolate pecan toffee (I realized I devoured it so quickly I didn’t get a photo).  We also brought home the most gooey, delicious cake topped with chunks of toffee and a light, airy amaretto cookie. Everything looked amazing, so I’ll need to return soon to try more!

The Dessert Spot at Toffee to Go is located at 3251 W. Bay to Bay Boulvard, Tampa, FL 33629.  They officially open for business 10am on Monday, October 9^th and will be open 10am – 9pm Monday through Thursday and 10am – 10pm on Fridays & Saturdays. Go check them out! 

Upside Down Banana Bread

Our friend, Claire, just joined the Peace Corps and is about to move to The Gambia for the next few years! Before her new adventure, Tony & Katie hosted a surprise going-away brunch.

I decided to try out a recipe I saw on BuzzFeed for upside down banana bread – which is more of a dessert really.  You make your standard banana bread mix, but before pouring it into the pan, you line it with a layer of bananas covered in caramel sauce.  When you flip it over at the end, it becomes a gooey treat. 

The bananas on mine slid around a bit when they were flipped and I had to clean up some of the excess caramel sauce that leaked off the plate, but overall I’d say it was a success.  Next time I’d dry adding walnuts or pecans to the recipe as well (maybe just toast some to sprinkle over the top). 

We didn’t serve ours with ice cream, but Buzzfeed suggested that you do and I’m sure it’d be amazing. 

I don’t think this will be my replacement banana bread recipe since it was a bit too sweet and dense for me, but it’s perfect for a potluck when others can help eat it!

Best of luck to Claire on her exciting journey to come!

Upside Down Banana Bread (adapted from BuzzFeed)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ripe bananas (I had a few ripe ones in the freezer that I thawed out along with some fresher ones)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 T ground cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 fresh bananas, sliced
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)
• Toasted walnuts/pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl (or in a stand mixer), mash the ripe bananas.

3. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until evenly incorporated.

4. Add the flour and mix until the batter has no large pockets of flour. Set aside.

5. In a pot over low heat, melt the butter, then mix in the brown sugar until dissolved.

6. Bring up the heat to medium, cooking until the mixture starts bubbling.

7. Remove the caramel from heat and pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan.

8. Lay the banana slices evenly on top of the caramel.

9. Spread the banana bread batter on top.

10. Bake 40-50 minutes.

11. Cool until the bottom is barely warm and use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan.

12. Place a plate upside-down on top of the pan, then invert the pan, flipping the banana bread onto the plate.

13. Slice, then top with toasted nuts and/or vanilla ice cream. 

10th Annual Easter Cheesecake

This is year #10 that I’ve baked a cheesecake for Easter and it was one of my favorites! I try to make a different flavor each year (minus the first two years…)

For recipes, click the year: 2008 & 2009 Apple Caramel, 2010 Amaretto, 2011 Dark Chocolate Raspberry, 2012 Chocolate Peanut Butter, 2013 Pumpkin Spice Latte, 2014 Carrot Cake Cheesecake, 2015 Chocolate Baileys, 2016 Almond Joy

We went blueberry picking last weekend at Starkey Farms in New Port Richey and came home with over 2 pounds of berries. So this year, I did a white chocolate blueberry cheesecake. 

The recipe I followed used a pre-made pie crust, but I did a homemade crust instead which turned out great.  My only complaint about this cake was that I wish there was more. It was pretty thin, so if I make it again I’d double the filling for a thicker cheesecake.

Lance and I hosted Easter at our house. We had 16 people and it was amazing! We did it potluck style so we ended up with lots of food.  The cheesecake was devoured. 

Lance’s mom always makes bunny-shaped pears for Easter.  She also made a family recipe of candied bacon and a corn casserole. We also had fruit, mac & cheese, two different egg casseroles, and pineapple bread pudding.

Lance made crockpot maple sugar ham and it was so easy (recipe here).  The ham was so big we had to split it between two crock pots though. All you do is rub the outside in brown sugar, put it cut side down, and cover it in pineapple juice and maple syrup. Cook it 4 hours and every hour baste it with the juices. 

We did a DIY mimosa bar with cranberry, orange mango, and grapefruit juice along with raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. I found cute tags for the juices from the Target dollar section.

We used the chevron runners and vases from our wedding and bought tulips & daisies from Trader Joe’s (love their flowers).

We had a really great Easter. Hope you all spent the day with people you love!

White Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake (adapted from Cooking Classy)

Crust Ingredients:

·        10 full sheets of cinnamon graham crackers

·        6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

·        1/3 cup granulated sugar

Filling Ingredients:

·        1 Tbsp granulated sugar

·        1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

·        1/2 cup cold water

·        1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

·        2 tsp lemon juice

·        12 oz. cream cheese, softened (1 1/2 pkg.)

·        1/3 cup granulated sugar

·        1 egg

·        1 egg white

·        1 tsp vanilla extract

·        1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

·        1 cup white chocolate chips (vanilla chips)

·        1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

·        About 1/2 cup more blueberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300.

2. Grind graham crackers in a food processer, Mix with the melted butter and 1/3 cup sugar. Spray the bottom of your cheesecake pan with cooking spray (I use Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray) and press the graham cracker mixture firmly to the bottom with some going up the sides of the pan.

3. Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven to cool.

4. Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

6. In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 Tbsp sugar and cornstarch until well blended. Stir in cold water, blueberries and 2 tsp lemon juice. Cook over medium heat whisking often until mixture begins to boil lightly. Boil 30 seconds whisking constantly.

7. Remove from heat and force mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl (to remove blueberry skins), set mixture aside.

8. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in egg and egg white. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Set mixture aside.

9. Combine white chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave mixture on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add melted chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth.

10. Pour 2/3 cup cheesecake mixture into the graham cracker crust and spread evenly over bottom. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp blueberry sauce. Slowly ladle remaining cheesecake mixture over the drizzled blueberry sauce, covering all of the blueberry sauce. Carefully giggle the pan to even out the top.

11. Drizzle 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp blueberry sauce over top (reserve remaining blueberry sauce in refrigerator). Take a knife and swirl it through the cheesecake to marble blueberry sauce.

12. Bake cheesecake in center of the oven for 40 minutes, then turn oven off and leave cheesecake in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Add blueberries to the top for garnish, then refrigerate cheesecake for 6 hours, until set. Serve slices with remaining blueberry sauce (we actually forgot to serve ours with the sauce).

Happy Easter!