Birmingham Alabama Travel Guide with Garden & Gun

1. Thaw your puff pastry according to the packaged directions. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. While puff pastry is thawing, cut your butternut squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon and the skin with a vegetable peeler. When the squash has been seeded and skinned, run it through a mandolin (or slice thinly with a knife). You will only need about ½ of a butternut squash per puff pastry square.
3. Unfold your puff pastry and score the top with a fork reserving one inch of crust around the edge. Lightly brush the entire surface with buttermilk (regular milk or an egg are okay too) and place in oven and pre-bake 8-10 minutes until the middle has slightly puffed and the edges have started to darken.
4. Remove the partially baked puff pastry from the oven and pat down any bubbles in the dough that may have formed in the middle.
5. Layer on your sliced shallots and then layer on the sliced butternut squash so that each layer slightly overlaps the next. Sprinkle the butternut squash with your coriander and lightly drizzle on your olive oil.
6. Next, top on the parmesan cheese, dot on your thin slices of prosciutto, season with salt and pepper.
7. Place in the oven and continue baking on 400°F for an additional 6-8 minutes until the edges are well browned and the parmesan cheese has melted.
8. Remove from the oven, and top with your torn sage leaves and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.
9. Cut and serve while warm. Pairs excellently with Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc.

Recipe Video

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1. In a Food Processor , grind the pine nuts and garlic into a paste and turn the processor off.
2. Add half of the tomatoes to the processor, then turn it back on to emulsify the mixture.
3. Add in the basil so that it starts to look like the color of traditional pesto.
4. Add in your powdered parmesan cheese. If the mixture is too thick, add in the remaining tomatoes to thin it out. You're looking for a chunky but spreadable mix.
5. Finish the pesto by adding salt and pepper to the food processor to taste.

Recipe Notes

Use this pesto for pasta and stretch it out (thin it out) with pasta water (water reserved from cooking your pasta).
You can also use this as a flavor enhancer for your favorite condiments (hummus, mayonnaise, as is...)
Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, although in my experience it doesn't last that long.

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1. For the Cake:
2. 1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using the floured baking spray, grease three 9-inch pans and line with parchment paper.
3. 2) Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. 3) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl down.
5. 4) Combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl with a wire whisk.
6. 5) Combine the milk, flavorings, and coconut milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
7. 6) With the stand mixer on low, alternately combine the flour mixture and the milk mixture begging and ending with the flour mixture until well blended.
8. 7) Scrape down the sides of the bowl again with a rubber spatula, making sure to incorporate any unmixed batter until well folded in.
9. 8) Beat the batter for 7 minutes on medium speed.
10. 9) Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans. Tap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles that may have gotten trapped.
11. 10) Bake for 18-20 minutes. Test doneness by touching a cake top. If it springs back, it's done. If an indention stays, it needs 2-3 minutes longer.
12. 11) Cool the cakes at least 10 minutes on a cooling rack before removing the pans.
13. For the Icing:
14. 1) Cream the Butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3 minutes. At the end of the 3 minutes, scrape the bowl extremely well.
15. 2) Add the flavorings and beat for 1-2 minutes.
16. 3) Slowly add the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed to ensure the sugar does not fly out of the bowl.
17. 4) After each addition of the confectioners sugar, scrape the bottom of the bowl extremely well.
18. 5) Once all the confectioners sugar is incorporated, add the coconut flakes and beat on low speed for 3 minutes.
19. 6) Let stand at room temperature until ready to frost your cake.
20. For the Lemon Curd Filling:
21. 1) Zest two lemons and set aside. Strain and juice lemons to get 3/4 cup of lemon juice.
22. 2) In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon juice until blended. Add butter and lemon zest.
23. 3) Continue cooking over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the curd has thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
24. 4) Transfer to a Le Parfait resalable container and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to the fridge to cool completely.
25. To Assemble the Cake:
26. 1) Make sure the cakes are completely cool. After their initial cool on the counter, I like to transfer them to the freezer for 30 minutes to ensure all heat is gone. If there is any lingering heat, it will cause the icing to melt and the cakes to slide.
27. 2) Trim the tops of the cake so that they are flat. I like positioning them on the counter, uneven side up, between two rimmed baking sheets to ensure I'm getting a flat cut.
28. 3) Place a dollop of frosting on the base of your cake stand. Then put the first layer of cake cut side down.
29. 4) Using a rubber spatula, spread a generous amount of coconut icing on the layer. Then add a thin layer of lemon curd.
30. 5) Place the second layer cut side down, and repeat step four.
31. 6) Place the top layer cut side down, and repeat step four without the lemon curd but do not ice the sides yet.
32. 7) Place the semi-assembled cake in your freezer to let the icing set. About 30 minutes is necessary.
33. 8) Remove cake from freezer and with a rubber spatula, gingerly spread on the icing on the sides. Using an icing spatula to get a nice even coat all the way around.
34. 9) Refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be served cold or room temperature.

Recipe Notes

* recipe originally calls for 1 teaspoon of coconut extract in the cake, but I wanted mine more coconutty.

Adapted from Very Vera Stewart

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1. Preheat oven to 325°F oven and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Combine1 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 -1 1/5 teaspoons cayenne pepper in a food processor
3. . Pulse until combined.
4. Add in 8 ounces of shredded Tillamook Sharp Cheddar. Pulse until little balls form.
5. With the food processor running, add 1 stick of unsalted cubed butter piece by piece until a dough ball forms.
6. Remove dough ball from food processor and stuff into a cookie press .
7. On a marble surface, squeeze out the cheese straw dough using the star adapter and cut into 10-inch pieces. Carefully transfer to your aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
8. Bake in a 325° F oven for 10-15 minutes on the middle rack or until edges are slightly golden brown.

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1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the lemon juice and the thyme until fragrant. Add gin and sparkling lemonade, stir to combine.
2. In your cocktail glasses, put three blackberries at the bottom of each glass and muddle lightly then fill each glass to the top with crushed ice. The blackberry mixture should be at the bottom of the glass.
3. Using a strainer, equally pour the juice and gin mixture over the ice.
4. Garnish with a lemon peel, edible flowers, thyme, and/ or blackberries. Enjoy.

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For the Birthday Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325°F with a rack in the center of the oven. If using the little spring form pans, spray with baking pam to keep the cakes from sticking.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light gold colored and thickened. Should take about 2 minutes at medium high speed. DO NOT OVER BEAT.
4. Turn the speed down low and slowly add the dry mixture. Mix just enough to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix again briefly.
5. In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the milk. Remove pan from heat and add butter and oil, stirring until butter has melted.
6. Slowly mix the hot milk-butter-oil mixture into the batter, stirring on low speed until everything is well combined.
7. Divide the batter between the mini spring form pans so that it comes to 3/4's of the way to the top. If there is extra batter, fill a ramekin or a cupcake mold with the batter and enjoy later.
8. Bake for approximately 25-28 minutes. You want the top of the cakes to be golden honey in color and when a toothpick is inserted for it to come out clean.
9. Once cooked, remove from oven, set on a cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes before removing from springform pans.
10. Remove from springform pans and let cool completely (about 30 minutes) before frosting.

For the Chocolate Icing

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until lumps are dissolved, will be a thick and tacky mass.
3. Alternate adding 1/4 of the milk and 1/4 of the powdered sugar until all of the milk is added and most of the powdered sugar. The consistency needs to be like thick pancake batter and stick to the back of a spoon. Once consistency is reached, remove from heat.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract.
5. When the frosting is still warm, frost your completely cool cakes. If stacking your cakes, put a dollop of frosting on the bottom of the base layer to help the cake stick to your surface to frost.
6. If the frosting starts to harden as you work, plop it over the oven for a moment to reheat it.
7. Moving quickly, frost your cake and decorate to your liking. Since the cakes are completely cool once you assemble your cake, no need to wait anytime to eat it.

Recipe Notes

As I said above, this recipe does not need the exact brands I use, they're just listed because they are the brands I love to use in my kitchen and I always find that the quality is one that I can continuously trust.

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1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
2. Place two cups of your flour into a large mixing bowl and add 4 TBSP of butter into bowl. Using your hands, cut the butter into the dough until fine cous cous sized grains are left in the bowl.
3. Add your cream cheese in the same manner.
4. When both the butter and cream cheese is incorporated, make a well in the middle of your dough and pour in the buttermilk. Using your hands, scoop from the outside in as you incorporate the buttermilk. If the dough is too dry, add your remaining 1/4 cup and continue to mix with your hands until a crumbly but sticky wet dough is left.
5. With the remaining 1 cup of flour, flour your working surface and dump the biscuits onto the floured surface. Dust the top of your dough with flour, and morph into a circle.
6. With a rolling pin, roll out your dough until it's an inch thick.
7. Using a biscuit cutter, firmly cut out each biscuit and place onto a parchment paper rimmed baking sheet. Once all biscuits are cut, melt the remaining butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with butter.
8. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve and eat immediately.

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For the Ice Cream Base

1. The night before, place your ice cream drum in the freezer to chill according to manufacturers recommendation. I also recommend placing the blade in the freezer to keep everything as cold as possible.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer your cream, milk, sugar, and salt until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk your egg yolks. Whisking constantly, pour about 1/3 of your warm milk mixture into the yolks to temper the eggs. Once whisked, add your egg mixture back to the milk mixture in the saucepan and return to medium-low heat. Gently cook until the mixture is thick enough and coats the back of a spoon, should read about 170-180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in your vodka and whisk thoroughly. Add your vanilla bean paste and whisk again.
4. Transfer to a fridge safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 4 hours over overnight before putting in the ice cream machine. The colder the base can be, the better the ice cream will yield in the final product.

For the Strawberry Puree

1. Wash and hull your strawberries and place them in a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
2. Using a fine mesh strainer, pour the strawberry puree into a fridge safe bowl through the strainer to remove any small seeds from the strawberries.
3. Place the strawberry puree in the fridge to get it as cold as possible.

For the Ice Cream

1. Turn on your ice cream maker, and add your milk mixture to the bowl. Let churn for roughly 10 minutes until soft serve consistency is reached. At this point, slowly spoon in your strawberry puree. You may have to add two spoonfuls of puree and wait for that to incoporate before you add more.
2. Continue adding your strawberry puree until it is fully incorporated. I added some at the last minute to leave "streaks" of strawberries.
3. In your ice cream storage containers, transfer the ice cream. Put in the freezer and let chill for an additional 2 hours or serve immediately if you want more of a soft serve consistency.

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1. In a microwave safe bowl, place potatoes in bowl filled halfway with water. Microwave until soft, about 4-8 minutes.
2. Peel potatoes once cool and put in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment on.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
4. Add the remainder of the ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer and beat until no lumps are left.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile in a stand mixer, whip egg whites until soft peaks form, then slowly add in your maple syrup. Beat on high until stiff peaks form. Once the peaks form, reduce speed to low and add your vanilla and bourbon until combined.
7. Pipe or spread meringue on top of warm potatoes and place back in oven for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the top has slightly browned.

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For the Cookies

1. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, cream Sola Sweetener, butter, vanilla bean paste, and eggs until light and fluffy.
3. Slowly add in your flour mixture to the wet mixture. Mix together until well combined.
4. Divide into two equal sized dough balls and refridgerate for 30 minutes or overnight. Dough can be stored in an air tight container and wrapping for 4 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.
5. When ready to bake, remove from fridge and preheat oven to 325°F.
6. While oven is pre-heating, flour a marble pastry board and roll cookies out to 1/4" thickness. Using a biscuit cutter or a cookie cutter in whatever shape you desire, cut your cookie shapes out of the dough and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are starting to turn light golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the Sugar Free Buttercream Icing

1. In a stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, whisk the butter until light and fluffy. Then, slowly add in the Sola Sweetener and drip in your teaspoon of vanilla extract.
2. If you are adding food coloring, add a very small bit of it when the sugar and vanilla has been incorporated.

Assembling the Cookies

1. When the cookies are completely cool to the touch, add 1 TBSP of frosting (or more) to each cookie and spread with a butter knife. Top with Beautiful Briny Sea Salt's Chocolate Sprinkle Mix.

Recipe Notes

Roll your dough into a cylinder before freezing so that you can cut individual cookies whenever you want to indulge in a "sweet treat".

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For the salad

1. In a large bowl, toss together cooked farro, corn, tomatoes, olive oil, salt & pepper.
2. Next, gently fold in arugula, being careful not to overwork the leaves.
3. Lightly layer the nectarines on the salad and garnish with shaved parmesan.

For the Basil Chimichurri

1. Using a food processor (or expert knife skills), pulverize the basil leaves adding in the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice until combined.
2. Drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of dressing over each plated salad to serve.

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For the Ice Cream Base

1. The night before, place your ice cream drum in the freezer to chill according to manufacturers recommendation. I also recommend placing the blade in the freezer to keep everything as cold as possible.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer your cream, milk, sugar, and salt until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk your egg yolks. Whisking constantly, pour about 1/3 of your warm milk mixture into the yolks to temper the eggs. Once whisked, add your egg mixture back to the milk mixture in the saucepan and return to medium-low heat. Gently cook until the mixture is thick enough and coats the back of a spoon, should read about 170-180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat and whisk in your vodka and vanilla bean paste.
3. Transfer to a fridge safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 4 hours over overnight before putting in the ice cream machine. The colder the base can be, the better the ice cream will yield in the final product.

For the Peach Puree

1. In a blender, add your pitted peaches, skin on, and brown sugar and puree until completely smoothed out. Should have the consistency of apple sauce or finer. Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge.

For the Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookie Crumble

1. In a food processor, pulse the brown sugar and shortbread until combined in a rough powder. Slowly drizzle in the butter until small clumps can be formed by pressing the dough together with your fingers. Remove from bowl and set aside.

For the Ice Cream

1. Turn on your ice cream maker, and add your milk mixture to the bowl. Let churn for roughly 15 minutes until soft serve consistency is reached. At this point, slowly spoon in your peach puree. You may have to add two spoonfuls of puree and wait for that to incoporate before you add more.
2. When the peach puree has been incorporated, let run for an additional 3-5 minutes until you can spoon out a spoonful of ice cream and it has a firmer consistency than soft serve. At this point, slowly add in 2/3 of your cookie crumble. Churn for another 30 second so it's worked in and stop the machine.
3. In your ice cream storage containers, transfer the ice cream and once filled half way, add additional shortbread crumble. Then fill and top with more shortbread. Put in the freezer and let chill for an additional 2 hours or serve immediately.

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1. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes or until it begins to caramelize around the edges and soften. Stir the garlic in and cook another minute.
2. Add the ground beef in and crumble with the edge of a flattened wooden spoon, and brown for about 8 minutes.
3. Once the beef has browned, add in the pablano pepper (and seeds if you want it spicier), chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt and cayenne. Stir together so that the spices are mixed throughout.
4. Reduce your heat to medium low and add 2 cups of your chicken broth, 1 cup of beer, the tomatoes, tomato paste, maple syrup, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer on medium low for roughly an hour, tasting as you go and adjusting spices as needed.
5. Remove the bay leaves and ladle the chili into bowls. Top with additional garnishes as desired.

Recipe Notes

If you find that your chili is either too thick, thin it out with the additional chicken stock until desired thickness is reached. If your chili is too thin, add 1 TBSP of cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

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1. Zest two lemons and set aside. Strain and juice lemons to get 3/4 cup of lemon juice.
2. In a heavy bottomed saucepan on medium heat, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon juice until blended. Add butter and lemon zest.
3. Continue cooking over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the curd has thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
4. Transfer to a Le Parfait resalable container and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to fridge to cool completely.
5. Use over freshly made biscuits, cakes, muffins, and more!

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1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve a cup of starchy pasta water.
2. Let pasta cool and stir in olive oil to keep pasta from sticking together.
3. When pasta has cooled, mix in fresh pesto and 1 TBSP of starchy pasta water until the pesto stirs in easily and the pasta is well lubricated.
4. In a mixing bowl, add grape tomatoes, and diced Tillamook white cheddar.
5. In a resealable glass container, layer in a few sprouts, then spoon in pasta salad. Top with more sprouts and pickled watermelon radish (or capers, or cornichons).
6. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line two non-rimmed cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
2. Layer on your bacon, and cook for 15 minutes. Removing from the grease to drain on a paper towel.
3. While the bacon is cooking, mix your olive oil with the red pepper chili flakes. Slice your loaf of sourdough and using a pastry brush, brush on the olive oil mix and set aside on an aluminum foil cookie sheet.
4. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and basil.
5. When the bacon is done cooking, place the bread in the oven and toast for 5 minutes.
6. When the bread has crisped, remove from the oven, slather on mayonnaise on one side, layer on bacon, tomato, Tillamook Swiss cheese, lettuce, and top with the other slice of bread.
7. Wrap in parchment paper and tie with cooking twine and stash in your picnic basket.

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line hazelnuts on a baking sheet.
2. Bake hazelnuts in oven for 12-15 minutes on the middle rack until the smell of toasted hazelnuts is prevalent and they've started to turn slightly golden brown.
3. Remove from oven and let cool completely, about 10 minutes (in the fridge) up to one hour (on the counter).
4. Using a double boiler pan (a glass bowl on top of a saucepan filled with boiling water), melt semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted. When melted, remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.
5. In a Vitamix blender (or food processor but blender delivered best results) add nuts in and turn to medium-high speed. Grind until nuts become crumbled like sand and may stick together to form a paste.
6. Add oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt and continue processing until a thick, well-mixed paste occurs.
7. Add the melted chocolate to the blender and let blend together until a perfectly smooth paste is create.
8. Scrape your homemade chocolate hazelnut spread into a Le Parfait Jars and use as desired. Will last up to 2 weeks on the counter or up to 2 months in the fridge.

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1. In a Dutch oven over medium high heat, heat your olive oil and add your whole cloves of garlic and roast until the outside has browned.
2. Add your diced butternut squash and oven to the dutch oven and cook for about 8-10 minutes until the onions have softened and the butternut squash starts to soften.
3. Add your salt coriander. smoked paprika, and butter and stir until combined and aromatic (about 2 minutes).
4. Add your apple cider, pumpkin ale and chicken stock to the pot, stir and let simmer until the squash has completely softened, about 15 minutes.
5. When the squash has softened, using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. When the soup is smooth, add in your 2 cups of Tillamook Sharp and Sharp White Cheddar Cheese and blend until smooth. You can let the soup simmer for an additional 10 minutes on medium low, or remove from heat and serve.
6. Ladle into bowl and garnish with additional Tillamook Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, bacon, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cream, or whatever else you have on hand.

Recipe Notes

Coriander is a wonderful spice to add to butternut squash and enhances the savory and sweetness of the vegetable. You can always add more spices while the soup is finishing to simmer if there isn’t a strong enough flavor for you.

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1. Cook pasta in heavily salted water according to package directions for al dente (about 9 minutes). Drain and reserve a cup of starchy pasta water.
2. While pasta is cooking, place a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat and melt your butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour and stir with a whisk until it’s combined to look like very wet sand.
3. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking continuously until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a runny milkshake.
4. Stir in brown mustard, salt, black pepper, paprika, nutmeg, and Aleppo pepper until well combined.
5. When the spices have been combined, add in your Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Shreds and stir until the sauce has thickened and the cheese has completely melted.
6. Add in your pasta and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
7. Once combined, if the pasta is still too thick with sauce, you can thin it out with a little bit of pasta water, slowly adding about 1 TBSP at a time until desired consistency is reached.
8. 20 minutes prior to eating, preheat oven to 375 °F, top with panko bread crumbs and bake for 10 minutes until the top is browned.
9. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

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1. In a large bowl, combine corn, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, English cucumber, sharp white cheddar, red onion, and salt. Toss until well mixed.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together basil, mayonnaise, white balsamic vinegar, lemon, and black pepper until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour the dressing into the bowl with the corn mixture, and toss lightly to combine.
4. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
5. Serve cold.

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For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Thoroughly grease your pan whether it's a bundt, loaf, or other.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together gluten free flour, salt, baking powder. Whisk in sugar and poppyseeds, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and flavorings. When thoroughly mixed, whisk in the dry ingredients. If the dough is too thick, add in additional milk, 1 tbsp at a time. We are looking for thick pancake batter consistency.
5. Pour cake mix into the cake pan and tap a few times to release any air bubbles. Set in oven and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the Icing

1. Sift powdered sugar together in a large bowl. Add in lemon juice and milk. The icing should have a thickness to it and not be too runny. Let sit on counter to firm up while the cake is baking.
2. Remove cake from oven and let cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes before removing. Once removed from pan, let cool completely before adding icing.
3. Pour icing over and let it naturally run off the sides. Sprinkle lemon zest on top for a garnish.
4. Make sure to store the cake in an air tight container to retain it's moisture. If you want to freeze it, cut it into smaller portions, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer ziplock bag. Let it come to room temperature on the counter to reheat if desired.

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1. In a large punchbowl, combine all ingredients and stir gentle to combine. Stir every so often to keep the liqueur from settling to the bottom.

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1. On a cuttng board, carefully cut your cantaloupe in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Using a melon baller, scoop out as many balls of Cantaloupe you can  get without cutting into the rind of the cantaloup. Place balled melon into a bowl and finish cleaning out the interior of the cantaloupe so you have a smooth bowl-like shape.
2. To your bowl with the melon, add you mini mozzarella balls, proscuitto, and basil leaves. Toss to distribute evenly.
3. Add your olive oil and white balsamic vinegar to the mix and toss gently to combine.
4. Place the salad into the cantaloupe halves and serve.

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For the Crust and Topping

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with butter.
2. Combine together the flour, 1 cup of white sugar, baking powder, salt and spices into a food processor. Pulse a few times to make sure it's mixed together.
3. Add the cubed butter into it and run until the dough mixture looks like wet sand and will stick together if you press it between your fingers. Pulse the egg in until the dough is mixed.
4. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the greased pan and reserve the other half for the crumb topping.

For the Blackberry Peach Filling

1. In a clean food processor, combine the blackberries, peaches, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Process together until the mixture looks like a thick soup.
2. Add sugar and cornstarch to food processor and pulse together until combined. You're looking for the consistency of a thick preserve or thinned out jam.
3. Pour the blackberry peach mixture onto the bottom crust and ensuring that the mixture is spread evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough mixture on top of the blackberry filling.
4. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting. It may help to freeze the bars slightly to cut and remove them without crumbling apart.

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For the Pickled Red Onion

1. Combine all the ingredients into a jar of your choosing, ensuring that the liquid covers the slices of onion. Shake to combine, and let sit in the fridge for at least a day and up to 3 weeks.

For the Deviled Eggs

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil and place the eggs into the water, making sure that the tops of the eggs aren't covered. Cook the eggs over high heat for 8 minutes.
2. Remove the eggs and dunk into a bowl of water filled with ice water. Let sit for a few minutes before attempting to peel.
3. Once the eggs are cool, peel the shell and cut the eggs in half, lengthwise, carefully removing the cooked yolk and placing into a medium-sized bowl.  
4. Once all of the eggs have been halved and their yolks have been removed, add you mayonnaise, dijon, sumac, and salt to the bowl. Mash together with a fork so that it's well incorporated.
5. Using a pastry filling bag or the back of your spoon, refill your eggs with the yolk mixture forming a nice mound on the top of the egg white.
6. Garnish with your pickled red onion, black sesame seeds, and a pinch of sumac before serving.

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1. Preheat oven to 375°F and position the rack in the middle of the oven.
2. In a stand mixer, cream butter, sugars, and olive oil until fluffy, on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The muscovado sugar won't break down like typical brown sugar so don't be alarmed if there are a few granules left.
3. While the sugar mixture is creaming, sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
4. Once creamed together, add eggs one at a time, incorporating each to the batter before the next one.
5. Add the vanilla extract. My favorite is Neilsen Massey.
6. Put the splash guard onto the stand mixer and slowly add the flour into the mixture, waiting until each cup is incorporated to add the next.
7. When flour is incorporated, add in the chunked chocolate and give it a good mix then turn the mixer off and fold together with a rubber spatula making sure the bottom is mixed in.
8. Put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to let the dough chill before we scoop.
9. Using a 1 inch scooper, scoop out preportioned dough balls and place it onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place back into the fridge for 20 minutes to firm the dough some more.
10. When the dough is firm, pull out the portion you want to eat today and place on an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with a few flakes of sea salt. Bake in your 375°F oven for exactly 11 minutes.
11. 9 minutes into your baking time, remove from the heat and tap the baking sheet on the counter to keep your cookie from puffing up too much. This mid-cook tap also helps create those gorgeous ridges with chewy cookies.
12. Continue baking for an additional 2 minutes. The middle should not be gooey looking so if yours is gooey looking, keep it in the oven for 30 second increments until the top looks baked through. I've found that 11 minutes in a properly heated oven is perfect, 13 minutes is the max and will make crispy cookies.
13. To save the rest of your cookies: Transfer the parchment paper and cookies into a freezer bag and suck the air out of the bag by sucking in on the bag (or if you have a vaccuum sealer this is the time to use that), and freeze in the freezer. This enables you to pull however many you out whenever you want and always have fresh baked cookies.
14. The cookie dough should last your about 1.5-2 months in the freezer but I doubt it'll last that long since these are the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

Recipe Notes

You can use dark brown sugar, but the muscovado sugar adds a molasses-like complexity that can't be beaten. Sometimes, I will use 1/2 medium brown sugar and 1/2 muscovado sugar depending on my supplies- the result yields the same. Also, I know what you're thinking, this feels like a lot of steps for a simple recipe like cookies, but I promise, it is worth it to have freeze and bake cookies whenever you want!

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1. In your dutch oven over medium-high heat, add 2 quarts of beef broth, corn starch, and your black pepper stir and cover then reduce the liquid by about half. We are looking for a thicker consistency and a more concentrated flavor. Remove to a separate pot and set aside for later.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. In the dutch oven again over medium-high heat, add olive oil and bring to temperature. Season your chuck roast with salt and pepper and sear the chuck roast on all sides until each side has a nice golden-brown crust. Remove chuck roast from heat and set aside.
4. To the pan, reduce heat to medium and add your onions. Saute until browned. When browned add your A-1 sauce and ranch packet. Stir together.
5. Place the chuck roast back into the dutch oven on top of the onions and add your beef broth back in. Stir together. The chuck roast should be slightly exposed on the top, don't worry if the liquid doesn't cover it all the way.
6. Cover your dutch oven with a lid and bake for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes add your potatoes, carrots and celery. Return back to the heat with lid and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Meat should be fork tender and the potatoes should be soft.
7. Top with fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread and nice red wine.

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1. Bring milk and butter to a boil in saucepan.
2. Turn heat to low to simmer and whisk in grits.
3. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes, stirring often.
4. Once grits are cooked, remove from heat and fold in cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.

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1. In two separate glass bowls, melt the dark chocolate wafers according to the package directions.
2. While the wafers are melting, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Pour the dark chocoalte wafers as a base first, using a rubber spatula to make an 8 x 12 chocolate rectangle. Layer on the Snack Factory pretzels, over-lapping them so that all of the chocolate is covered.
4. Let the dark chocolate base and the pretzels set in the fridge for about 3-5 minutes while you melt the white chocolate wafers.
5. Pour the melted white chocolate over the pretzel base, and add your cracked hard shell cadbury eggs, white chocolate marshmallow M&M's, your oreos, puffed rice cereal and mini Cadbury Cream eggs.
6. Finish with a sprinkle of colorful sprinkles and coarse sea salt. Let cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before breaking.
7. To break, pick up the parchment paper on both sides and drop from about 6-8 inches back onto the cookie sheet. Repeat until bark is broken into as many desired pieces as you want.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is meant to be explored at user discretion. I do strongly suggest adding salt as a finishing touch! It helps pull together the entire snack without making it overly sweet.

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1. Clean and debeard your mussels and discard any that have opened significantly as they may be dead.
2. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat, add your garlic clove and tomato paste and cook until the fragrance has "bloomed" meaning you can smell a bit of the garlic.
3. Whisk in your light coconut milk and sambal oelek. The sauce should be about the color of reddish orange as in the photos. If not, add additional tomato paste. If you don't like super spicy dishes, reduce the sambal down to half.
4. Reduce heat to medium low and bring to simmer. Let simmer for roughly 10 minutes so that the flavors have a chance to meld together. Whisk in your lime juice and continue to simmer.
5. Add salt if desired.
6. Bring the pot up to medium high heat and add your mussels. They should take about 4-6 minutes to cook. You will know they are cooked when the shells open up completely. If the shells do not open, discard those mussels as they are likely not fit for eating.
7. Ladel into a wide-rimmed bowl and garnish as you desire. Serve with warm garlic naan.

Recipe Notes

** If you cannot find sambal oelek or don't want to buy it, you can replace with equal parts siracha. Traditionally the recipe would call for 1 TBSP of thai red curry paste in lieu of the tomato paste and the sambal.

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1. If you don't have leftover potatoes from a previous meal, quarter your potatoes and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and dried rosemary and bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes. Let cool completely before moving onto the next step.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the tahini, lemon juice and zest, water, dijon, mayonnaise, and garlic. You want to combine these ingredients so that it has a nice runny consistency. At this point I recommend you tasting the liquid and if it isn't creamy enough for you, add another tablespoon of mayonnaise.
3. Add in dill and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add in potatoes and toss to combine, being careful not to damage the potatoes.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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For the Chicken Taquitos

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once heated, add onion, garlic, and the bell pepper, saute until the veggies soften, about 6 minutes.  
3. Add the cumin, cayenne, and salt and then add the tequila. Let the tequila simmer for about 2 minutes so the alcohol burns off.
4. Stir in the chicken and finish with a squeeze of lime. Remove mixture from heat and let sit for a few minutes before adding the cheese.
5. In the same skillet, add water until it's lightly simmering. Dip tortillas in one at a time completely submerging them, but just to soften them.
6. On a parchment paper covered work surface, working quickly, lay one wet tortilla down and then add a few large spoonfuls of filling in each one. Roll tightly to seal and place seal side down in the baking dish.
7. Repeat until all taquitos are finished and then brush with olive oil.
8. Place baking dish in oven and bake for about 10 minutes until the tops of the tortillas begin to brown.

Avocado Lime Cream

1. While the taquitos are baking, combine your avocado, lime and sour cream in a small bowl. Whisk so that it's thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2. When the taquitos are finished, let cool for about 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a serving dish. Spread on a little avocado lime cream or put it in a dipping bowl to dip the taquitos in. Garnish with cilantro, cotija cheese, jalapenos or lime wedges.

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For the Zucchini Fries

1. Line a cooking sheet with a paper bag and layer your zucchini fries on them. Generously sprinkle salt over the top of the fries. Place in Fridge for an hour up to over night to Salt Cure and pull the moisture out of the fries.
2. When you've finished salt curing your fries, you'll notice the water droplets that have pooled on top of the fries, wipe those off with a paper towel.
3. Preheat your oven to 425 Degrees F.
4. Place your flour in one bowl, then mix your panko and seasonings in another bowl. Break your eggs into a bowl and scramble the yolk and whites together.
5. Take one zucchini fry and dip it in the flour, then egg, then panko, and place it on a baking rack that has been sprayed with Pam Canola Oil Pump Spray.
6. Repeat the process until all fries have been dredged in panko crumb.
7. Spray the top of the fries with more Pam Canola Oil Pump Spray, then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the panko starts to get golden brown. No need to flip the fries.

To Make the Aioli

1. While the fries are cooking, in a food processor, combine all aioli ingredients and pulse until it's well blended. Store in fridge until ready to serve.
2. When fries are done, remove from cooking rack, and serve with aioli.

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For the Habanero and Honey Cornbread

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9 inch round baking pan and set aside.
2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, kosher salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, honey and eggs in a bowl.
4. Add the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and stir until smooth. With a rubber spatula, fold in the habanero cheddar jack cubes and ½ of the shredded cheese.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack. After the first 25 minutes, sprinkle on the remaining Habanero Cheddar Jack and then continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

If the top of your cornbread browns too quickly in your oven, you can add an aluminum foil “hat” on top to protect it from getting to dark. The foil will not impact the cooking time.

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1. In a cocktail shaker, combine Dulce Vida Blanco Tequila, lemon, and simple syrup together. Stir vigorously to combine.
2. In a Tom Collins glass (or any high ball glass you may have), fill the glass with crushed ice. Pour your tequila mixture over the ice, and then top with mineral water. Garnish with a little salt and a lemon wedge.

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For the Strawbarb Simple Syrup

1. In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool completely before straining.
2. Strain juice using a mesh strainer and store in an air tight container. Will last in fridge for 2 weeks.

For the Strawbarb Margaritas

1. Crush ice (if desired) and fill up your cocktail glass.
2. In a cocktail mixer, muddle the tequila and the mint leaves together just to release a little bit of the mint oil into the tequila.
3. Add Cointreau, lime juice and strawbarb simple syrup to cocktail shaker. Stir to combine.
4. Strain out into glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of mint.
5. Thoroughly enjoy.

Recipe Notes

I don't care for a particularly sweet margarita but you can add as much simple as you want. If you don't find it sweet enough after you've poured it over ice, just pour on a little syrup as you go. I doubt the simple syrup will last 2 weeks in the fridge, it's so good you'll find yourself making it every night.

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For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325°F with a rack in the center of the oven. If using the little springform pans, spray with baking pam to keep the cakes from sticking.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pulverized freeze-dried strawberry. Set aside. (To pulverize strawberries, put in a small blender or a food processor and blend until powdered).
3. In a large stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light gold-colored and thickened. Should take about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. DO NOT OVERBEAT.
4. Turn the speed down low and slowly add the dry mixture. Mix just enough to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix again briefly.
5. In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the milk. Remove pan from heat and add butter and oil, stirring until butter has melted.
6. Slowly mix the hot milk-butter-oil mixture into the batter, stirring on low speed until everything is well combined.
7. Divide the batter between two 8-inch pans so that it comes to 3/4's of the way to the top.
8. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. You want the top of the cakes to be golden honey in color and when a toothpick is inserted for it to come out clean.
9. Once cooked, remove from oven, set on a cooling rack, and cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans.
10. Remove from pans and let cool completely (about 30 minutes) before frosting. To speed this process up, put in the freezer until completely cooled.

For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3 minutes. At the end of the 3 minutes, scrape the bowl extremely well.
2. Add the vanilla and beat for 1-2 minutes.
3. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed to ensure the sugar does not fly out of the bowl. Halfway through adding the sugar, add the strawberry powder. Then continue adding the confectioner's sugar.
4. After each addition of the confectioner's sugar, scrape the bottom of the bowl extremely well.
5. Let stand at room temperature until ready to frost your cake.

To Assemble the Cake

1. First, be certain the cakes are completely cool. If you’re weary of this, pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before assembling.
2. Using a serrated edge knife, carefully cut your cakes in half. I like positioning two baking sheets on either edge of the cake and following the edge around so that the cake is evenly split.
3. Add a dollop of frosting to the base of your serving platter. Place the top half of one of the cake halves top down on the platter so the crumb side is face up.
4. Place a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the center of the cake and using an offset spatula, slowly spread the frosting out to the edge. Remove excess back to the frosting bowl.
5. Place the next layer onto the cake flat bottom side up. Repeat cream cheese frosting spreading. Repeat for the other two layers, ensuring that the bottom flat half is the topmost layer of the cake.
6. When the cake is assembled, squish and twist it left or right to make sure it isn’t lopsided.
7. Add a generous portion of frosting to the cake and using an offset spatula, spread the frosting all around the cake and the layers. This first pass of adding frosting is called a “crumb coat” and will be how we can get a smooth and perfect finish on our cake edges. A crumb coat should be light so that you see the edges of the cake but “fill in” any gaps that the layers may have created so that it’s a solid foundation for a smoothing coat next.
8. Place in fridge for half-hour to let the crumb coat set.
9. When set, add a generous portion of frosting to all sides of the cake. Use your offset spatula to get an even edge around all sides. For the remaining frosting, you may find it fun to add a pearl edge (as seen here), or use a tip to create a floral motif throughout. Sprinkle any remaining strawberry powder on the cake as desired.

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Chop your Sola bread into 1" squares. Reserving some for heart garnishes if desired. Place squares of sola into a baking casserole dish.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and Sola sugar until well combined.
4. Pour wet mixture over the Sola Bread in the casserole dish and evenly coat all pieces.
5. Place heart-shaped Sola bread pieces on top to garnish. Sprinkle top thoroughly with Sola sugar.
6. Sprinkle in hazelnuts and add Nutella in small spoonfuls around the bread.
7. Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, let cool and then decorate with additional white chocolate hearts if desired.

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To Dry Brine the Chicken

1. First, spatchcock your chicken by cutting the spine out and pressing firmly with your palm on the breast bone to break the breast bone. Spatchcocking the chicken enables you to roast your bird more quickly.
2. Once spatchcocked, sprinkle the kosher salt over every inch of skin and place on top of a cookie sheet in the fridge and let it chill for 8 hours until you're ready to cook.
3. When ready to cook, remove chicken from fridge and rinse and dry thoroughly before seasoning.

For the Seasoning

1. Mix the sumac, thyme, pepper, and garlic salt in a small bowl.
2. Using your hands, rub the olive oil over every inch of the skin. Next sprinkle the seasoning on the skin and press firmly in with your hands. You should be able to cover all the skin with your mix.
3. When ready to cook, place your cast iron in the oven and bring to 450°F. Once the oven has reached temperature, carefully remove the cast iron from the oven and add olive oil to lubricate the bottom.
4. Carefully put the chicken skin side down, the pan should sizzle.
5. Put the cast iron back in the oven and cook for 45 minutes and add two halves of the lemon.
6. After 45 minutes, remove the cast iron and carefully flip the chicken with tongs and a spatula. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, skin side up or until a thermometer inserted in the breast reads 160°F.
7. Remove from heat and squeeze roasted lemon on the chicken when ready to serve.

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1. In a large food processor, combine garlic, 1 can of the liquid from the black beans, and salt until the garlic has been reduced to fine pieces.
2. Turn the food processor off and add the black beans and tahini. Turn the food processor on and let it run until the black beans have been completely smoothed out and resemble a purple paste. Add in your lime juice and continue to process. If your dip seems too thick, you can add additional olive oil, but if you're happy with the consistency move onto the next step.
3. Add your cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, sumac, and cayenne. Return food processor onto high and mix until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
4. Serve in a shallow bowl and top with avocado oil, cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, sumac, red chili flakes, and or a sliced jalapeno. Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe Notes

Sumac is a delightful spice that has strong notes of citrus so if you don't have it on hand, you can substitute it with lime and lemon zest. Although, we highly recommend stocking some of this in your pantry as it's a bright and flavorful addition to soups, salad dressings, fish, poultry and more.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Roll the puff pastry out so that it's large enough to fit in your removable bottom tart pan. Then press it into the tart pan ensuring that the edges are covered and wrapped slightly around the edge to ensure it doesn't slip. Then using the tines of a fork, press holes into the puff pastry so that air can escape while it bakes. Pre-bake the puff in the oven for 5-10 minutes. When you remove from the oven, stamp out any air bubbles that may have arisen during cooking.
3. Bring a non stick pan up to medium heat and melt the butter. Add your onions, leeks, green onions, shallots, and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat stirring occasionally, ensuring that the onions aren't burning but slowly browning. This process should take about 10 minutes.
4. While the onions are cooking, whisk together your creme fraiche, eggs and spices.
5. When the vegetables are close to being done, throw in your broccolini and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes longer so that the broccolini stems soften. Remove the onions from heat.
6. Layer the browned onions on the bottom of the tart first, ensuring that they are spread evenly. Gently pour over egg mixture on top and jiggle with your spoon to get it spread around the veggies.
7. Place on a baking sheet and in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from heat, let cool for 5 minutes in mold, then pop out when you're ready to serve.

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1. Preheat oven to 450°F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Blanch your peaches to easily peel the skin off of them. Slice up two of the peaches and cube the other half of the peach.
3. In a sauce pan over medium low heat, combine 1/2 peach cubed, brown sugar, white sugar, lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon and cornstarch. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until peaches have softened and the mixture is a thick paste.
4. While the sauce is simmering, roll out your pie crust and transfer to your silpat cookie sheet. Then layer on the peach slices in a circular pattern, leaving about 2 inches around the entire crust. Fold the crust over the edge of the peaches. With a pastry brush, brush on the egg wash on the exposed crust.
5. When the sauce is finished, pour generously over the top of the tart. Dot the top with cubes of butter.
6. Place tart in oven for 20-25 minutes until the crust is brown and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack until completely cool.

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For the pie crust

1. Remove the pie crust mix from cardboard box and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once chilled, pour contents out into a metal bowl and add the cubed cold butter. Working quickly with your hands, pinch the butter into the flour until it leaves behind a sand-like texture.
2. Slowly drizzle in ice water, one tbsp at a time until you can form a dough ball and the dough sticks together just enough without crumbling away.
3. Wrap in plastic wrap and put into the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
4. When ready to make your hand pies, remove from fridge and roll out into a 1/4 thick round on a floured marble slab. Cut 6" circles out of the dough and place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.

For the pie filling

1. Combine blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and cornstarch into a bowl.

To assemble the pies

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Whisk together the egg and tbsp of water to make an egg wash.
3. Using a pastry brush, brush the rim of the 6" round of dough with roughly 1" of egg wash on the edge.
4. Use a spoon to spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into the middle of the mixture.
5. Carefully take one edge and fold the pie in half, being careful not to rip the dough and pressing the edges firmly onto the other side. Repeat for remaining hand pies.
6. Using a fork, press the edges of each hand pie together to create decorative ridges, this step is optional but it does look nice. Then using a small sharp knife, slice three slits in the middle filling area of the hand pie to allow steam to vent while it cooks.
7. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the hand pies with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar to finish.
8. Place hand pies in the oven and bake for 15-20 minute until the tops of the pies turn deep golden brown. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack for minimally 30 minutes or overnight.

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1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk sugar and pineapple or grapefruit juice together until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool before transferring to a serving bottle.

Recipe Notes

You can use this technique to create a variety of simple syrup juices to add to your cocktails. Whether you want to make a concentrated tea flavor, watermelon juice, apple juice, or more, this technique will help you add a touch of sweetness and tons of flavor.

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1. In a saucepan, dissolve your sugar and water together over medium high heat to make the simple syrup. When dissolved, remove from heat and put 5 stalks of thyme in the pan, let steep for 30 minutes.
2. In a cocktail shaker, muddle together 1 half of the plum, 1 ounce of simple syrup and 2 sprigs of thyme. Transfer released juices to a small rocks glass.
3. Fill rocks glass with prosecco and add a small squeeze of lemon juice.
4. Garnish with fresh plum slices and thyme.

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1. Preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the center of the oven.
2. Lay your partially thawed puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper and lightly brush on your olive oil.
3. Next, add a layer of oil free pesto * and cover with 6-8 ounces of Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar.
4. Before layering on your sliced tomatoes, place in oven and bake fore 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the edges have start to puff up and turn lightly golden brown.
5. Remove from oven and layer on your sliced Heirloom Tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Turn oven onto broil and place your tomato and cheddar tart back into the oven, keeping a close eye on the baking process for up to 5 minutes.
7. Remove when the edges have started to darken and the tomatoes have soften.
8. Garnish with fresh basil slices.
9. Wait until tart has cooled completely (about 15-20 minutes) before cutting.

Recipe Notes

* If you're using store bought pesto in oil, skip the olive oil step.

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1. In a large pitcher, measure one part lime juice, one part Cointreau, and two parts Don Julio Blanco tequila. Stir to combine.
2. Add ice if you plan to serve it as is.

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1. In a highball glass, combine Pimm's, gin, and lemonade over ice.
2. Top the concoction off with lemon lime soda.
3. Add in your fruit and cucumber slices and top with a skewer of cucumber for a fun effect.

Recipe Notes

To slice your cucumber thinly, slice the cucumber in half length-wise and then with a cheese grater, start peeling the skin back in long slices being careful not to cut your finger.

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1. In a blender, combine prosecco, peaches, ice, and lime juice. Turn on and blend until it looks like a smoothie consistency.
2. In your serving glasses, pour 1 TBSP Chambord in the bottom of each glass (you can sub muddled raspberries if you want less alcohol), and pour your frozen mixture over the top.
3. Garnish with mint. Serve.

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1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2. On a floured surface, roll out your pizza dough into two oblong ovals.
3. Transfer to an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and spread your pesto evenly on both pieces of the flatbread leaving ½ inch of the crust edge uncoated.
4. Next, lightly sprinkle on some of the mozzarella, then layer the peaches on, and then sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella.
5. Slice your prosciutto to thin strips and dot them over and beside the peaches. Next, dot the blackberries on the flatbread. *I added a bit more cheese on the top after this step.* Finish with a small drizzle of olive oil over top- if you are using an oil pesto do not add additional olive oil.
6. Place in oven on the top rack and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges of the crust are nice and brown.
7. Remove and lightly drizzle your balsamic over the top in a zig zag motion. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting into slices.

Recipe Notes

Using a homemade pesto recipe (like this one here ) really helped pack a punch to this appetizer.

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1. Turn the broiler on in the oven and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush both sides of baguette with olive oil and broil until edges are golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine peaches, heirloom tomatoes, lemon zest, white balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss lightly to combine, turn the bowl over to a plate and place two large pieces of burrata on top. Garnish with mint and basil. Serve.

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1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, position the rack on the middle of the oven.
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light. About 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla and lemon zest, stirring until combined.
5. In a separate, smaller bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
6. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the creamed mixture.* if your peaches are particularly juicy, add in less milk. The batter should be thick and loosely hold it’s shape. Think of it like very pliable cookie dough.
7. Fold in the peaches, being careful to not overwork the batter.
8. Line the 9 inch bread pan with parchment paper and then spoon the mixture into the loaf pan. Sprinkle with a dusting of Demerara sugar (optional but encouraged).
9. Bake in the oven for 60 minutes, checking to see if a toothpick comes out clean.
10. At 45 minutes cover the top of the bread with a tinfoil tent to prevent from over browning.
11. Bake until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

If your peaches are particularly juicy, reduce milk to 1/4 cup. This way you prevent the batter from getting too wet.

If you want to make these into muffins, raise your oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 30-35 minutes.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9" round pan with floured baking spray then layer in a circle of parchment cut to fit the bottom. Spray the parchment paper with floured baking spray.
2. On the floured parchment paper, sprinkle on 1/2 TBSP sugar and then layer on oranged. Sprinkle remaining TBSP of sugar on the oranges. Set aside.
3. In a Stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk.
6. In a liquid measuring cup, combine your milk, vanilla and orange extracts.
7. With the stand mixer on low, alternate combining the wet milk mixture and the dry flour mixture until it is well blended then beat the batter for 4 minutes on medium speed.
8. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared baking dish with the oranges. Tap firmly on the counter to release any air bubbles.
9. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Test doneness by touching the cake top. if it springs back, it's done. If the indentation stays, it needs 2-3 minutes longer.
10. Cool the cake on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. When you're ready to remove, cover the open end with a plate and flip the cake over, the parchment should peel off smoothly without destroying the oranges. Let cool for an additional 10-15 minutes before serving.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. While oven is preheating, bring a skillet to medium high heat and cook mushrooms with 1/2 TBSP olive oil until softened, about 5-8 minutes. If the oil disappears in the pan while cooking, add 1 tbsp water. Once Mushrooms are softened, remove from heat and set aside.
3. Over medium high heat, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil and red onion and cook until the red onion is softened. Remove from heat and turn off grill.
4. Using the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, cover the base of the puff pastry with oil out to the edges. Use a fork to prick the pastry all over to keep it from puffing up too aggressively in the oven.
5. Add your dijon and garlic to the oiled puff pastry.
6. Next, evening distribute the mushrooms and red onion. Cover with white cheddar, and then season with fresh thyme, salt and pepper.
7. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown.
8. Remove and let cool completely, roughly 10 minutes, until cutting and serving.

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For the Corn

1. Peel the leaves back from the corn but don't remove them all the way. Place corn in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. There may be some sounds of popping, but it's okay. Rotate the corn over and cook for an additional 1 and a half minutes.
2. While the corn is cooking, preheat the oven to broil (or turn your outside grill up to high). When the corn is done cooking, slather the exterior of the corn in butter and then drizzle equal parts of cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper onto each corn stalk you use.
3. When the corn is well covered, throw it under the broiler or on the grill to char up the exterior. Cook for 6 minutes max, rotating halfway through.

For the Avocado Lime Cream

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together to combine well. There should not be a chunky texture to it.
2. On a large serving platter, spread the cream on the bottom roughly in the shape of the corn.
3. When the corn is finished cooking, remove from the oven and place onto the creamed platter. Sprinkle with tons of cotija cheese, cilantro, and jalapeno slices.

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1. In a food processor, puree chickpeas, tahini, lemon, salt, pepper, and garlic. Slowly add in your olive oil until desired consistency is met.
2. Add in Cilantro and jalapeno and puree until no chunks or leaves remain.
3. Plate and serve.

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1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter completely and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Allow the roux to cook for about 2 minutes while continuously stirring.
2. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking constantly, allowing the mixture to blend and thicken slowly. This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Once it's cooked through, add your nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
4. Add your Tillamook Cheddar cheeses to the mix and melt until completely incorporated.
5. Remove from heat, and serve immediately with accouterments to dip like apples, bread, broccoli, tomatoes, and grapes.

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1. Thaw your puff pastry on the counter for a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge.
2. Unroll your puff pastry and lightly drizzle truffle oil on the base of the pastry. Next, layer on the gruyere leaving roughly 1.5 inches of unexposed crust to be folded over later.
3. In a sauce pan over medium high heat, combine olive oil, shallot and sliced mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms are softened but not fully cooked.
4. Place your sautéed mushrooms and shallots on top of the cheesed puff pastry. Fold over the uncheesed crust making sure to tuck the puff over any cheese or mushrooms to avoid them escaping while baking.
5. If you are making the tart to eat in the same day, place the unbaked dish on parchment paper in the fridge for 15 minutes. If you are not making the puff to eat on the same day, place on parchment paper and on a baking pan with a lip on it. Tightly seal with plastic wrap and freeze. Will keep for 2-3 days.
6. Preheat oven to 425°F.
7. Take your puff out of the fridge and place on parchement paper and a cookie sheet. Lightly brush the crust with the egg wash. Lightly salt and pepper the crust and the puff interior to taste.
8. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until you see that the crust has puffed and the edges have started to turn lightly golden brown.
9. Reduce your oven to 375°F and continue baking for 15 minutes. You want to make sure that the pastry is a deep golden brown before you pull it out.
10. Cool and top with freshly minced chives to serve your dish. I don't recommend cutting this before it has proper time to set, otherwise you and your guests will be fighting over the string of gruyere that is being pulled apart from the puff pastry.

Recipe Notes

This dish could be easily elevated with the addition of cured meat. Tiny chunks of ham or thin slices of spec would be a nice addition to this mellow mushroom tart. If adding cured meat, be careful not to over salt your puff as the meat will add an extra salty component.

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For the Butter Batter

1. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat together all ingredients until whipped nicely.

To make the Hot Buttered Bourbon

1. Boil water. While water is boiling, combine bourbon and 1.5 tbsp of batter in a mug. Pour water over the bourbon and batter, stirring to combine.
2. To garnish rim of glass with sugar, dip one side in honey and sprinkle sugar over edge. Garnish with unsweetened whipped cream.

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1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Slowly stir in the marshmallows until they've completely dissolved.
2. Remove from heat and gently fold in the cereal.
3. Transfer to a sheetpan (I lined mine with a silpat to keep it from sticking) and let cool completely before cutting into rounds or squares and serving.

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1. In a small deep pot, empty out your peaches from the bag into the pot and turn the heat on medium high. Place the lid on the pot and let the peaches thaw occasionally breaking apart the larger frozen chunks into smaller bite pea-sized pieces.
2. When the peaches have started to thaw and have started secreting a liquid, add your sugar, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon to the pot. Continually breaking apart the peaches and mashing the fruit in with the sugar and spices.
3. Cook for 10 minutes until the preserves have come together. It should look chunky and thick like a jam.

Recipe Notes

Since these preserves have no pectin in it to act as a preservative, I would recommend eating this within a week. The recipe itself is extremely scalable and you can cut it back if you don't need to make that much jam.

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1. In a saucepan, dissolve your sugar and water together over medium high heat to make the simple syrup. When dissolved, remove from heat and put 5 stalks of sage in the pan, let steep for 30 minutes.
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the grapefruit and lime juice with the sage simple syrup. Shake lightly and then transfer the contents to a small rocks glass.
3. Fill the rocks glass with prosecco and then garnish with a small lime wedge and fresh sage.

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1. In a cocktail shaker, combine 1/2 of the grapefruit juice and the basil leaves and muddle to release the basil oils into the liquid. Add remaining grapefruit juice, aromatic bitters, and ice. Shake vigourously.
2. Using a cocktail strainer, strain mixture evenly into two goblets, discarding what remains in the cocktail shaker.  
3. Add 1.5 ounces of ginger ale into each goblet and then top with sparkling mineral water until glass is full, about 2 ounces.
4. Garnish with basil leaves and flower sprigs.

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1. In a pan, add your quartered mushrooms and water over medium high heat. Gentle cook the mushrooms letting the water evaporate fully so that the mushrooms soften.
2. Add olive oil, stir to coat, and then add spinch and pine nuts. Cook until spinach has wilted and pine nuts have browned. Turn heat off and remove from heat.
3. Add parmesan cheese to spinach and mushroom mix. Stir, and set aside.
4. Generously salt and pepper one side of the flank steak. Add your mushroom and spinach mix to the salted side.
5. Using a firm hand, roll the flank steak into a burrito and tie it together with some cooking twine. You should be left with something that looks like a burrito so that the edges are closed in on themselves. See IGTV video for directions.
6. Rub olive oil onto exterior of the meat, and salt and pepper the exterior as well.
7. Turn your grill on and let the temperature come to 450°F. When the grill is at temperature, add your meat and close the lid. Let cook for 8 minutes on that side, until a nice crust has been made.
8. After 8 minutes, flip steak over and sear on the other side.
9. If you are adding potatoes and veggies to the grill, now is the time to add them. Then close the lid and let sear for 8 minutes.
10. After you've seared the second side, reduce heat to 350°F and place meat on top rack of grill. Cook for an additional 35-45 minutes until internal temperature has reached 125°F or desired level of doneness. We like medium-rare.
11. Remove from heat, let rest for 5-10 minutes and slice to serve.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Roll out your puff pastry to desired size and pierce the pastry with a fork.
3. Add olive oil to the base and cover edge to edge.
4. Sprinkle on Cheddar Cheese leaving 1 inch margin around the edge of the puff pastry for a "crust".
5. Layer on prosciutto and figs, covering evenly enough.
6. Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme.
7. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown and crispy. If you notice the puff pastry puffing up in the middle while baking, remove and pierce the bubble with a knife to keep the steam from building up and your ingredients to slop over.
8. Let cool completely, about 10 minutes, before cutting and serving.

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1. Place two coupe glasses in freezer to get cold.
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, grapefruit juice, granulated sugar, lime juice and ice. Shake vigorously.
3. Strain into coupe glasses and top with tonic water.
4. Garnish with a lime wedge and a sprig of mint.

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1. In a blender, combine gin, grapefruit juice, tonic syrup, lime juice and ice. Blend until smooth.
2. Pour into a tumbler and top each drink with .5 ounces of elderflower liquer. Serve.

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For the Dough

1. Combine the sugar, milk and yeast together in a bowl and let it come to life for about 10 minutes. When little gas bubbles emerge, add the rest of your ingredients. Knead into a soft dough for about 2 minutes. You’ll know it’s good when you press your finger into the dough and it springs back. Don’t over work the dough. If it doesn’t seem super springy, or if it’s too wet, add a little extra flour.
2. Transfer dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 1-2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. If you have a proof setting on your oven, pop it in there (with a cloth covering instead of plastic) for 30 minutes.
3. While the dough is rising, make your filling by combining the brown sugar with the cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
4. Once it has risen, grease your working surface and roll the dough out into a large rectangle.
5. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
6. Spread your unsalted butter on the rolled out dough and sprinkle on your filling. Gently press the filling into the dough to keep it in place.
7. Starting with your short end, tightly roll the dough up. Once rolled, cut into 2 inch slices and place in your greased baking dish.
8. Let the dough rise for 15-25 minutes on the counter before popping in the oven. Place pads of butter on top to keep the dough moist while cooking.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
10. While cinnamon rolls are baking, combine all your ingredients for the frosting and set aside.
11. Remove cinnamon rolls from the oven, let sit for 5-10 minutes, spread frosting and enjoy.

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1. Preheat oven to puff pastry box temperature, should be 400°F
2. Roll out your prepared puff pastry onto a gently floured surface and use a rolling pin to thin it out slightly.
3. Using a 1.5" or 2" biscuit cutter (or a glass with roughly the same diameter) cut out as many circles as you can and set them aside on a parchment paper lined cooking sheet.
4. Using one size down biscuit cutter, cut out circles from the cheddar slices and place one on top of each puff pastry round. You should have half the rounds topped with cheese. Toss scraps into the broccoli cheddar soup recipe above or save for future cheese shred needs.
5. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the puff pastry round with the egg wash (whisked egg and 1 tbsp water) and then press the un-cheddared round onto a cheddared round. Use a fork to secure the edges together. Lightly brush the top of the poptart with the egg wash and then cut four holes in the top with a knive to let steam escape.
6. When all rounds are pressed together, top with Tillamook cheese shreds and flaky sea salt. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes until the puff pastry is nice and golden brown.

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1. Heat butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until melted. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and continue to cook. Stir in the chicken bouillon cube and saute for an additional minute. Add the flour in and stir frequently, you don't want the flour to burn.
2. Slowly pour in the chicken stock and using a whisk, thoroughly mix the flour, onion, carrot mixture in with the chicken stock. Once combined, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Continue cooking the soup until it reaches a simmer.
3. Once simmering, add your cheese and broccoli, stir until completely combined and broccoli florets are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Remove from heat and serve warm.

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1. For the Creamy Tomato Basil Soup;
2. In a Dutch Oven, heat your olive oil over medium heat then add your yellow and sweet onions.
3. Cook over medium heat until onions have softened and browned slightly, about 15 minutes.
4. Add your garlic and cook for an additional minute.
5. Next, add in your San Marzano tomatoes and loosely break up the whole tomatoes with your cooking utensil then add in the can of diced tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices.
6. Cook on medium low for 15 minutes, allowing the mixture to come to a heavy simmer.
7. After 15 minutes has passed, using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients in the pot until completely smooth and all the large chunks have dissolved.
8. Pour in your cream and add your torn basil then hit it with the immersion blender again. Let simmer for 20 or more minutes. The longer it cooks, the thicker the soup. I pulled mine at 20 and it was perfect.
9. Remove from heat, add any additional salt or pepper to your tastes and get ready to plate once you’ve made your grilled cheese sandwiches.
10. For the Greatest Grilled Cheese You’ll Ever Eat;
11. Heat a non-stick skillet with a glass lid over medium low heat.
12. When the skillet is hot, spread mayonnaise on one side of the white bread slice, and place mayonnaise side down in the skillet. Quickly layer on your cheese alternating between white and orange cheddar.
13. Place the lid to the skillet on and let the heat from the pan slowly melt the cheddar while you spread mayonnaise lightly on the top layer of bread, about 1 minute.
14. Remove the lid, place the other slice of bread mayonnaise side up, and carefully flip the sandwich. The now top slice should have a perfectly golden crust.
15. Let the bottom piece of bread crisp up for about 1 to 2 minutes in the pan, checking every 30 seconds for the perfect color.
16. Remove and let cool for about a minute before cutting. Enjoy the greatest grilled cheese sandwich you’ll ever eat with a cup of creamy tomato basil soup!

Recipe Notes

For the soup, soup is always better if you let it sit for a day or two. I found that this creamy basil tomato soup was exponentially better on day two even though on day one it was terrific. For the grilled cheese, mayonnaise may not be a conventional way to toast your grilled cheese, but it gives your sandwich the perfect umami flavor without adding any additional spices and it doesn’t leave your bread soggy like using traditional butter can. I encourage you to try it next time you go to toast any sandwich in a skillet!

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1. Heat on medium high in a heavy saucepan, or dutch oven, all liquid ingredients and whisk until well combined and the milk starts to foam a little.
2. Add your Droste cocoa powder and continue whisking until combined.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add in your chopped dark chocolate.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for 2-3 minutes or until the liquid has thickened. If the chocolate looks too thick, slowly add one tablespoon of milk until desired consistency is reached.
5. When hot, my hot chocolate has the consistency of thick cream.
6. Pour into Santa Clause mugs while still hot, then top with cold unsweetened whipped cream. Finish with a sprinkle of peppermint candy and a drizzle of liquid chocolate.
7. To spike this hot chocolate, add one ounce of Baileys Irish Cream at the bottom of your Santa Clause mugs, then proceed to pour hot chocolate mixture in the mug.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease muffin tins and line with parchment paper liners or muffin liners.
2. Whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat the oat milk, yogurt, eggs, extracts, and lemon zest together in a mixer until the mixture is frothy and has lightened.
4. Gently pour in the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk together briefly and until just incorporated. You don't want to over mix.
5. Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in blueberries with a spatula.
6. Divide the mixture equally into the muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top. Sprinkle on remaining sugar on top of muffins.
7. Bake in oven for 22 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely and serve.

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1. In a blender, blend Bai Molokai Coconut with the yogurt and the coconut milk and blend until well combined. Remove from blender, set aside and rinse out the blender.
2. In the clean blender, combine the frozen mango with the orange juice and blend until smooth. You may need additional orange juice so you can thin out the frozen mango.
3. In a popsicle mold, pour both the coconut and the mango mixture in together at the same time to create a marbled effect or you can create stripes by alternating mixtures and freezing for about 30 minutes between each new layer.
4. Before the popsicle is completely frozen is a good time to add additional toppings. I like to sprinkle some granola in the tip of the popsicle mold or toss some shredded coconut on the base of the wet popsicle.
5. Freeze for a total of 90 minutes before serving.

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1. In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm you olive oil. When warmed, add onions and saute until softened. About 5 minutes. Add garlic and celery and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add carrots.
2. Slowly pour in a cup of chicken broth and scrape the bottom of your pan to remove the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When incorporated into the chicken broth, add the remainder of the chicken broth.
3. Add cream cheese and stir together to incorporate it.
4. Add in your shredded chicken, herb bundle, saffron, salt and pepper. Stir.
5. If you are using leftover parmesan cheese rinds, add that now and dried tarragon.
6. Cover the pot and let simmer on medium-low for half an hour.
7. Add your gnocchi to the pot and stir. Continue to cook for another half hour. The gnocchi will release potato starch into the water to help thicken the broth a little bit as it cooks.
8. Remove from heat and eat. Or eat it the next day.

Recipe Notes

*If you are not using cheese rinds, add an additional 1/4 cup of cream cheese to the recipe for a creamier stew.

**Parmesan cheese rinds add a layer of umami-ness to this soup that can't be beat. I highly recommend as you buy and eat parmesan, to throw the rinds into the freezer and save for a soup-y day! They always add an unexpected "tang" to a recipe that can't be replicated.

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1. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. In a stand mixer, cream together butter in sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Agg egg and vanilla, and beat thoroughlly.
4. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixer until well blended. Dough should resemble playdough and slightly sticky. Put bowl in fridge to chill while you make the frosting.
5. In a saucepan over medium low heat, add sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and 4 tsp cherry juice. Stir until chocolate has melted. Keep on low heat until ready to use.
6. Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1" balls. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Use thumb to press hole in middle of dough.
7. Add 1 cherry to each cookie dough hole. Cover with 1 tsp ish of frosting, ensuring that cherry is covered by frosting.
8. Put in the middle of a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from heat and garnish with a festive sprinkle or leave as is.
10. Win the cookie swap

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For the dough

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk and heat so it’s warm but not simmering then add 2 tablespoons of yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar, whisking to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt to a bowl (if you have a stand mixer make sure you are using the dough hook). Add the milk mixture and the egg and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the melted butter and orange extract and continue to mix until a dough ball forms.
3. Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough is still sticky, sprinkle it lightly with additional flour.
4. Lightly grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm place (on the counter away from a window). Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 1½ to 2 hours. Punch down the dough then refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.
5. When the dough is chilled, put it onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out into a 16-inch x10-inch rectangle that is about ¼-inch thick.

For the Filling

1. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and orange zest. In another small bowl stir together the butter and the orange juice.
2. Brush the surface of the dough with half of the butter mixture and sprinkle with the brown sugar mixture in an even layer, patting the sugar mixture down to ensure it sticks. Evenly spread the pecans over the top then drizzle with the remaining butter.
3. Starting with the end closest to you of the long side of the dough, roll the dough up into a tight coil. Cut the log into 9 even slices, about 1¾-inch thick. Lightly spray a 12-inch cast iron pan with vegetable spray and arrange the dough coils in the pan. At this point the rolls can be covered and refrigerated overnight.
4. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until the dough has risen again, about 1 hour (it may take longer if the dough was refrigerated overnight).
5. Preheat oven to 375º. Bake until the rolls are golden brown and fluffy, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.

For the glaze

1. In a small bowl whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, orange juice, and orange zest until an icing forms. Drizzle over the top of the sticky buns and top with pecans. Serve warm.

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For the Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. In a stand mixer, blend sugar, butter, vanilla bean paste, and eggs until creamy.
4. Slowly pour in flour mixture to the sugar while the mixer beats on low.
5. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, and mix until blended.
6. Divide into two equal sized dough balls and let rest in the fridge for up to one hour (or the night before).
7. When you are ready to roll them out, lightly flour a pastry slab and roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Store back in the freezer for 5 minutes before popping in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

For the royal icing

1. In a stand mixer, whisk together the water and meringue powder until a slight foam forms. Reduce speed to low and add in powdered sugar and vanilla until icing becomes light and airy, about 2 minutes. If not thin enough, add in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it has the consistency of pancake batter.

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1. In a bowl, whisk together apple cider and cornstarch.
2. In a large dutch oven, combine the apples, sugars, spices, apple cider, and cornstarch mixture over medium-high heat. Cook until the sauce has thickened and apples are tender about 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Mix in lemon juice and remove from heat.
3. While the mixture is cooling, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and position a rack at the lower third of the oven. Lay one pie crust at the bottom of the pan, ensuring the edge of the pie crust drapes slightly over the end of the cast iron.
4. When the filling has cooled a little, pour into the crust lined pan, and layer the top crust on top. Whether you do a lattice crust or a regular pie crust, brush with the milk and egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove, let cool for 1-2 hours until cool. Cut and serve.

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1. In your dutch oven, cook the bacon on medium high heat until crispy and remove with a slotted spoon leaving the bacon fat in the bowl.
2. Next, thoroughly salt and pepper your chicken thighs, and place in the bacon fat to cook. Roughly 3-5 minutes each side until golden brown. Transfer thighs to plate.
3. Add shallots to dutch oven and saute until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms in and saute until softened and browned. Add the thyme and garlic in and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add brandy and wine, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan to loosen and browned bits. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
5. Return chicken and bacon to the skillet and add the tomatoes, tomato juice and chicken broth.
6. Partially cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
7. Remove chicken from sauce and place in a covered dish, while you cook the remaining sauce until it's thickened, about 5 minutes.
8. Remove dutch oven from heat, and whisk in tarragon, thyme and cold butter; sauce will be thick and glossy.
9. Ladle sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

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For the Langoustines:

1. Bring the oven to broil. While it is heating up, clean and devein your langoustines and place onto a aluminum foil covered baking tray.
2. Rub Carbonell Cordobesa Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the langoustines, paying attention to the split back. Sprinkle tarragon over each langoustine lightly. Then add salt and pepper.
3. Broil in the oven for about 8-10 minutes until the flesh is cooked through. Remove and tent with aluminum foil until the rest of the dish is done.

For the Pasta:

1. While the Langoustines are cooking, boil pasta, salt and water together until cooked al dente (should be about 6-8 minutes depending on the package directions.)
2. Drain, reserve some of the pasta water, and set aside in a bowl with a drizzle of Carbonell Cordobesa Extra Virgin Olive Oil to keep it from sticking.

For the Steamer Clams:

1. In the large pot you cooked the pasta in, add tarragon, tomato paste, Carbonell Cordobesa Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and the leeks to the pot. Cook on medium high until the leeks are cooked through and the tarragon is fragrant, about 4-6 minutes. Add white wine and cook for 20 seconds while the alcohol burns off.
2. Add the steamer clams to the pot and place the lid on. Cook the steamers for 5-10 minutes until the shells are wide open. Any that did not open should be discarded.
3. When they’re open, immediately plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking.
4. In the large pot with the steamer clam juice, add chicken broth, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
5. Cook together, until the sauce has thickened a little, should be the consistency of a hearty broth.
6. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to combine.
7. Place the pasta on a large flat platter and draining the juice onto the top of the pasta. Place the langoustines in a circle around the middle of the dish. Dot the clams on top of the pasta or serve in a bowl separately.
8. Garnish with parsley and more Carbonell Cordobesa Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Recipe Notes

If you want to skip the clam step, you can always substitute ½ cup of clam juice into the recipe. If you do this, I recommend reducing the amount of chicken broth in the recipe by 1/4 cup.

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a large loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter and melt completely. Continue cooking until the butter has turned lightly brown, max 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the butter. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 4 of the bananas and mash using the paddle attachment on low speed. When the bananas are mashed and slightly runny, add the sugar, and slowly drizzle in the butter.
4. After the sugar and butter have been combined, add the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
6. While the stand mixer is on low speed, slowly add the flour into the mixture. When it's almost mixed together, add the chocolate and chopped walnuts. Stop the stand mixer.
7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and add two long slices of banana or multiple little circles of banana.
8. Bake for 45 minutes, check the top to make sure it's not browning too quickly. If it is, tent it with aluminum foil and continue cooking for up to 75 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
9. Let cool for up to 15 minutes before removing and cutting, serving, enjoying.

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1. In a cocktail shaker, add one ice cube, bourbon, orange juice and simple syrup to it.
2. With a cocktail stir, give the concoction a thorough stir so that all ingredients are well combined.
3. Slowly add your prosecco, and give a gentle stir to combine.
4. Put remaining 3 ice cubes in a cocktail glass, and pour mixture into glass.
5. Garnish with a sage leaf and edible flowers.
6. Serve cold.

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For the Burgers

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix together with hands. We're trying to mix the meats well together.
2. Using a kitchen scale (or your best guess) measure out 2 ounce meat balls, roll into a ball with your hand and then press together to 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of wax paper.
3. Repeat until all meat has been pressed into patties. You should have 16 patties at the end. (32 ounces of meat divided by 2 ounce patties). Set aside.
4. Heat your griddle on high and lightly oil to keep the patties from sticking.

For the burger sauce

1. While the griddle is heating, mix all ingredients together in a bowl and adjust at the end if it's not to your specifications. If you need additional sweetness add ketchup, if you need more creaminess add mayonnaise. You should be left with a slightly tangy, apricot-colored sauce that is easily spreadable with a spoon.
2. When the griddle is hot, place the burgers on the griddle and cook roughly 1-2 minutes on each side. Once you've flipped from the first side, add your cheese to the other side.
3. While the second side is cooking, add the burger buns to toast a little before serving.
4. Remove the burger patties from the griddle and place directly on the bottom burger bun on a plate. Add a healthy dollop of the burger sauce and two bread and butter pickles. Top with top bun. Serve and eat immediately.

1. Heat the milk so that it is just bubbling, be careful not to scald the milk. You want it to be warmed throughout so make sure to continuously stir while heating.
2. In a large bowl, add butter (or margarine) and sugar. When milk is heated, pour milk in while whisking ingredients together. The butter and sugar should dissolve in the warm milk.
3. When milk, butter, sugar mixture has reached 110°F, add in yeast and let the yeast bloom (produce bubbles) in the bowl.
4. Sift flour and salt together. Add 1/2 cup of the flour salt mixture and stir to create the batter. (Adding the flour in now helps prevent flour clumps from forming when we add the rest later).
5. Add in egg and whisk thoroughly.
6. Stir in remaining flour mixture. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
7. Remove dough from bowl and turn onto a floured surface. Roll out into 1/4 inch thickness and cut into squares. Cover and let rise for 1/2 to 1 hour.
8. Bring oil in heavy bottomed deep walled pan to 325°F. Plop 3-4 beignets into the oil and let fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, turning once. The outside should be a deep golden brown.
9. Remove and place onto a cooling rack. Dust immediately with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light in fluffy. Beat in egg, molasses, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix well.
4. Remove dough from bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
5. When you're ready to make the cookies, working quickly on a floured marble pastry board, remove dough from fridge and section half off to roll out with a Rolling Pin. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and then using desired shapes, cut out your shapes and place on a Silpat Cookie Sheet.
6. Repeat process until dough is used up.
7. Bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes on the top rack, removing promptly and setting the cookies while on their silpat on a Cooling Rack .
8. When completely cooled (about 30 minutes-1 hour) you can begin frosting.

For the frosting

1. In a metal bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together until your frosting has a runny consistency.
2. Place in a Piping Bag and pipe desired designs onto your cookies.
3. Let dry for 30 minutes before packaging.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Roll out puff pastry and pierce with a fork all over the top to ensure that the puff pastry doesn't puff up too much while baking.
3. In a non-stick pan, saute the broccolini so that it softens a little bit before baking.
4. On the puff pastry, layer the artichoke, cheese, and top with the sauteed broccolini. Season with parsley, thyme and salt, and pepper to taste.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the puff pastry has started to turn golden brown and the broccolini has started to char.

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1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat and add your spicy kielbasa sausage. Cook until the sausage has developed crisp edges and remove then set aside on a plate. Add the seasoned chicken to the spicy oil and cook until you've developed a crust on the chicken but it's not cooked all the way through. The chicken will finish cooking in the stew. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside but leave the oil.
2. In the dutch oven with the oil, reduce heat to medium and sprinkle the flour slowly over the oil and add 3 tablespoons of the butter. We're making a roux here so keep whisking it while it cooks, about 10 minutes. The roux should be well incorporated, slightly heavier than cake batter, and acquired a darker color. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the roux cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Return the dutch oven to low heat and melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the roux, whisking while it melts. Add the onion, garlic, celery, jalapeno and green, and red pepper and cook for 10 minutes until vegetables and onions have softened.
4. Add the Worcestershire sauce, parsley, dried thyme and dried oregano, whisking constantly. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.
5. Add 3 cups of hot water and the bouillon cubes to the pot, whisking while the cubes dissolve. Once dissolved, add the cup of white wine.
6. Bring the liquid mixture to a boil.
7. Once boiling, add the chicken and sausage to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
8. After 45 minutes have passed, add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer for an additional 45 minutes.
9. Finally, add your uncooked shrimp and green onions to the pot and cook until the shrimp have cooked through, about 10-15 minutes depending on how much room you have in your dutch oven.
10. Serve over rice and with tons of Louisiana hot sauce.

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F and prepare muffin tins with a spray of non-stick spray.
2. Thaw your puff pastry according to package directions and roll it out so that the creases are gone. Cut into 2 inch squares, you should get about 9 pieces per puff pastry sheet.
3. Cube your havarti cheese into 1 ounce pieces.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush the edge of the square of puff pastry with water, add a spoonful of cherry preserves to the center. Place the Havarti square in the center, then top with walnuts.
5. Using your index finger and thumb, gather together the edges of the puff pastry to touch, like folding a dumpling or a paper fortune teller game. The end shape doesn't matter so much that all the edges are sealed.
6. Place the puff pastries in a muffin tin and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until perfectly golden brown. Don't worry if they ooze out a little bit. Quickly transfer them to a cooling rack once they're done baking.
7. When cooled, about 5 minutes, transfer to your serving platter and drizzle with honey and a fresh crack of pepper.

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1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast and 1/4 cup luke warm milk. Let sit for 10 minutes for the yeast to wake up. You should notice small bubbles forming on the top of your mixture.
2. Using a dough hook, add flour, yogurt, sugar and salt until decently incorporated. Slowly add in remaining milk and melted butter. You should be left with a sticky wet ball.
3. Remove dough hook and bowl and loosely cover the rim of the bowl with saran wrap, allowing one side to be loose to let gases escape as the bread starts to rise.
4. Let sit in a warm spot for about 2 hours until doubled in size.
5. When you bread dough has doubled, spread some flour on a flat surface and cut the dough into 6-8 equal balls, careful not to handle the dough too much.
6. Roll out each ball, as you are doing so, add your desired garnish if any and roll it into one side of the dough. Set aside once all dough pices have been rolled out into a small circle.
7. Heat a cast iron pan over medium high heat and add a little oil to the bottom to keep the naan from sticking.
8. Once the pan is hot and slightly smoking, add one naan at a time to the surface and cook for roughly 30 seconds to 1 minutes per side. It should bubble up when you flip it onto the other side.
9. Remove from heat and eat immediately.

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease your donut pan with baking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add milk, canned pumpkin, egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, sift together your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom.
4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and gently fold together until just combined. Don't worry if there are little lumps of flour, they will dissolve when it bakes.
5. Using a spatula, fill your pastry bag with the dough. Cut an index finger diameter tip from the bag and fill your donut pan 1/2 of the way through. I made two circles to achieve this in my pan.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes on the middle rack until a toothpick comes out clean. When baked, remove and transfer donuts to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. While cooling, combine your granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set aside while you melt the butter over low heat.
8. Using a pastry brush, brush the donuts lightly with the melted butter and then dredge them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Return to cooling rack to set.
9. Eat and store on the counter in a non-air tight container. These donuts do get a little moist after day 2 so hurry up and eat them before then.

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To Make the Ginger Cinnamon Syrup

1. To make the ginger cinnamon syrup, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium high heat, bring to a boil, stir and then reduce heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes to soften the ginger and cinnamon. Remove from heat, cool, and transfer to an airtight container to let sit over night in the fridge.

To Make the Bourbon Punch

1. Combine all ingredients except ice and garnish in a punch bowl, stir thoroughly, add ice and garnishes and serve.

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1. In a large glass, add your ice and all of your liquid ingredients. Stir with a cocktail stir. Garnish with a festive straw, a few shakes of cinnamon and a lemon wedge. Enjoy!

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Recipe Notes

If you are making multiple drinks, this recipe doubles/triples/multiplies extremely well. You can interchange "parts" with "ounces".

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1. In a large pot, cover potatoes with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and add 1 tablespoon salt.
2. Once to a boil, reduce heat to keep a mild boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes have softened. Drain in a colander.
3. While potatoes cook, warm milk in a saucepan, careful not to scald it.
4. Set the ricer on the rim of a deep bowl and fill ricer halfway with potatoes. Slowly press the plunger until the potatoes are pressed through. Discard the potato skins after each use.
5. When all potatoes have been riced, put the cubes of butter in the potatoes and stir gently with a spoon. Add the milk in to desired creamy consistency.
6. If you are making truffled mashed potatoes, you will want to add the tablespoon of white truffle oil at the end.
7. Stir to combine, serve immediately.

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Now that you've mastered the perfect mashed potato, you might want to think of pairing it with a hearty stew or my favorite french chicken recipe, chicken chasseur.

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For the French Toast

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Slice your brioche loaf into 1 inch thick slices. in a shallow baking dish layer the slices in making sure not to completely overlap one slice with another.
3. Dot the blueberries and pecans on top and in between the slices of toast.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the seasonings, sugar, egg and liquids together being sure to whip the mixture to a smooth consistency.
5. Carefully pour the liquid mixture over the brioche toast making sure each slice gets coated, finishing with a light sprinkle of sugar so that while the toast bakes, the top caramelizes a little bit.
6. You have the option of letting this sit overnight in the fridge, a couple of hours, or popping it strait into the oven.
7. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

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For the Blueberry Syrup

1. Combine both ingredients into a small saucepan on medium heat. Continuously stir and slightly smash the berries as the liquid heats up. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to warm until ready to serve.