cheery cherries

I’d fully intended to get this post up BEFORE Valentine’s Day, but… hey… life happens, right? So, consider this your post-Valentine’s Day/Valentine’s Week treat! (And I hope yours was fille with lots of LOVE!)

These cherry-cheesecake brownies are utterly decadent and a bite or two goes a long, long way. They’re melt-in-your mouth fudgy and OH so good. I’ve mixed them up a bit by incorporating a bit of goat cheese into the cheesecake topping – leaving just a little tang to offset the sweet of the cherries and the richness of the brownie base. If goat cheese isn’t your thing, sub in some more cream cheese for the goat cheese for a more classic flavor.

Cherry Cheesecake Brownies
(adapted from Just Best Recipes)
Cheesecake Topping
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling
Brownie Base
1 cup unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350°. Line a 13 x 9″ baking pan with foil, letting ends extend a bit over sides. Lightly coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Prepare the topping by beating together all topping ingredients except pie filling in a medium mixing bowl until blended and smooth. Set aside.

In a large microwavable mixing bowl, melt butter and chocolate on medium power for about 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 45 seconds. Heat until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Stir in sugar, vanilla and salt into melted chocolate mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring briskly after each egg until well-blended. Stir in flour until evenly incorporated.

Spoon brownie mixture into prepared baking pan and smooth out using a knife of offset spatula. Scatter alternating heaping tablespoons of cheesecake topping mixture and cherry pie filling on top of brownie batter. Run the tip of a clean knife through topping and pie filling to create a marbelized look.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until brownie edges begin to pull away from sides and edges of cream cheese are slightly brown. Note: the center will still “jiggle” when shaken even when the brownies are done.

Cool brownies in pan on wire rack. When cooled, chill for at least 4 hours before cutting.

After chilling, lift brownies from pan using the foil that lines the pan. Place on cutting board and cut into squares.

cabbage

My German roots run deep, so when cabbage popped up as our Culinary Capers ingredient of the week, the answer came quickly to me… sweet and sour red cabbage! To this point, I’ve always gotten it from a jar – but, really, how hard could it be, right? No really… three ingredients… 20-30 minutes on the stove… EASY.

I paired this with pork schnitzel, egg, and roasted potatoes for a wonderful dinner on a cold Sunday night. Comfort food at its finest!

I have to apologize for the last shot… it was late (and dark) and I was hungry. So, I didn’t drag out my super-special light. And I didn’t realize until after we’d started eating that there was an awful lot of yellow going on there. But… it was still pretty awesome. So, take my word for it and go make yourself some cabbage!

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
(recipe from Simply Recipes)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 2-pound red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
6 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, toss to coat evenly. Add vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover, simmer until cabbage is tender, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (serves 6-8)

World Nutella Day – 5 ingredient Nutella Brownies

Oh, by the way… Happy World Nutella Day! It’s late, and there are brownies to eat, but I wanted to be sure that I shared these with you… five little ingredients that magically transform into yummy Nutella goodness. Just be sure not to overcook them or they’ll dry out!

5 Ingredient Nutella Brownies
(adapted from Desserts 4 Today by way of Wenderly)
1/2 cup Nutella spread
1 large egg
5 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º

In a medium bowl, whisk Nutella and egg until smooth. Add flour and whisk until completely incorporated.

Spoon batter into a mini muffin tin lined with paper or foil liners, fill about 3/4 full. Sprinkle each generously with chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist/wet crumbs stuck to it (you’ll want these nice and fudgy). Cool completely on cooling rack. Serve immediately or store for up to 3 days in a sealed container at room temperature.

magical quinoa

I haven’t posted much about quinoa lately, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not still utterly smitten with this little super-grain. Loving quinoa has gotten easier over the past couple of years because I can now even find this at my local Walmart Supercenter here in NW Arkansas – and when it’s convenient to purchase, it’s convenient to work into your recipe rotation!

I’ve seen a couple of quinoa patties around the internet lately (I blame Pinterest). So, when I picked up a new pack at the store last night, I figured there was no time like the present to give it a go. Might’ve been some sort of (vain) attempt to offest some of the damage I’ve done this Superbowl weekend. Maybe.

These are really easy to throw together and will be a new regular at our house. In the future I can see dressing them up in all sorts of ways – with different veggies, different cheeses, maybe even a Mexican or a Greek version!

Quinoa Patties
(adapted from Epicurious)
2 cups cooked quinoa, at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, plus more if needed
Water, if needed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the onion, cheese, and garlic. Add the bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a mixture you can easily form into four 1/2 cup patties (approximately 6″ in diameter and 1″ thick). Try to err on the very moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if need be. Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, add patties and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the bottoms are browned. Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the second sides for another 5-7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and serve warm.