Pink Fluff Dessert

So last year, the Mother's Day festivities were literally created around the paper plates and napkins I bought for the occasion.  The plates were half-circles and looked like lemon wedges.  The matching napkins made it so cute I just knew I wanted a lemon dessert to match, and I made my TWO-INGREDIENT LEMON BARS. This year, I was stuck for inspiration, so I did the same thing.  I went out and chose my cute paper plates and napkins and decided to build a dessert around that.  I found some really cute pink paper plates with pastel roses, and coordinating napkins.  When I showed them to my friend, she said, "You have to make my husband's grandmother's Pink Fluff recipe."  Now I had no idea what Pink Fluff was but I assumed it was one of those desserts that may or may not be called a salad, but probably contains marshmallows and fruit, and qualifies as a dessert.  The cherry pie filling in this dessert gives it the perfect shade of pastel pink.  The only change I made is using freshly whipped cream instead of Cool Whip and I always do in these kinds of recipes.  It's light and fluffy and chilled so it is ideal to serve all summer long.  Both my mom and aunt loved it, and asked for the recipe.  AND I took the leftovers to my friend, who gave it the stamp of approval!  

A quick and easy dessert that 
tastes as pretty as it looks.

Just a handful of ingredients...

Combine the pie filling, pineapple
and pudding mix.

Fold in the whipped cream and 
then stir in the marshmallows.
Allow to chill.

Now you have a beautiful pastel pink dessert.

Garnish with additional marshmallows and
some maraschino cherries.

Enjoy!

PINK FLUFF DESSERT

(1) 20-ounce can Cherry Pie Filling
(1) 20-ounce can Crushed Pineapple, undrained
(1) 3.4-ounc box instant vanilla pudding mix
1.5 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
2 cups mini marshmallows (plus more for garnish)
maraschino cherries for garnis

In a large bowl, combine cherry pie filling, pineapple and pudding mix.  Allow to set up while you whip the cream.  Carefully fold in the whipped cream.  Once the whipped cream in incorporated, carefully stir in the marshmallows.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.  When ready to serve, garnish with additional marshmallows and maraschino cherries.

Homemade Bean Dip

There are a few food combinations that go so well together, they are iconic:  Peanut Butter & Jelly, Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup and of course Fritos Corn Chips & Bean Dip!  That dip in a can was a household staple growing up.  It was our go-to snack food all through college.  When Mr. Devilish Dish decided to make it from scratch a while back, it became an instant hit.  I just happened to have my college friends in town, so he whipped up a batch and everyone agreed how delicious it was.  We even gave it to my Mom & Aunt for Mother's Day.  That is how often this snack staple is enjoyed by my family.  The best part about this dip is it goes together in seconds, with just a hand full of ingredients.  It is so easy to keep an couple of cans of pinto beans in the pantry to pull out whenever we need a quick side dish or snack.  Of course tailgate season will be here soon, and I know this recipe will be on repeat.  Creamy, with just a hint of spice, this dip is ideal for dipping or as the base for a 7-Layer Dip.  Grab a bag of corn chips, and put this recipe into your summer snack rotation immediately! 

The ultimate snack combination...

This is so simple and delicious.

Just dump everything together.

Process until smooth.

Enjoy with corn chips for dipping.

We double this recipe every time we make it.
It's that good.

HOMEMADE BEAN DIP

1 can Pinto Beans, drained
1 Tablespoons Jalapeno brine
3-4 pickled jalapeno slices
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth and creamy.  You can enjoy immediately, or even better if you let the flavors meld together in the fridge for a couple of hours.

NOTE:  We double this recipe every time we make it.

Enjoy,

 

Charcuterie Nachos for National Wine Day...The BEST snack with WINE!

Add this one to my big list of GIRL DINNERS.  I have so many recipes that I make for myself when Mr. Devilish Dish is away, like Asian Chicken Salad and Dumpling Dinner.  In fact, I have been considering adding a search category on here for both GIRL DINNER and CHARCUTERIE BOARD, and this would qualify as both.  Like any charcuterie board, any thing goes.  Pepperoni? Sure.  Olives? Go for it.  Same for nachos.  That is our favorite use for Mexican ingredient leftovers.  In fact, last night we made an amazing pan of nachos using leftover charro beans, diced carne asada steak, guacamole and pico de gallo. This recipe is a delicious match up of both ideas, and ideal with a couple of glasses of crisp white wine.  Simply pick a bag of your favorite thick kettle-style chips (Sea salt or Truffle work great) and add all of the tasty things you might share on a charcuterie board.  You are only limited by your creativity.  I'll let you in on a little secret.  I had planned to enjoy this by myself when Mr. Devilish Dish was out of town, but I would up preparing it on a night he was home and he loved it.  So much for my girl dinner category tab lol. 

A salty snack, with a little tang and sweetness too.
This is the ideal girl dinner, with a glass of 
crisp white wine.

Here is what I used, but the topping ideas
are endless.  I've added a list of suggestions below.

Spread the potato chips on a baking sheet. 
Top with pieces of prosciutto and brie cheese.
Broil under a low broiler.

Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Such a good snack or light meal.

CHARCUTERIE NACHOS

1 bag kettle-style potato chips (sea salt or truffle work well)
1 package prosciutto
1 small package brie cheese (peeled and diced)
balsamic glaze for drizzle

Place your potato chips on a baking sheet.  Tear the prosciutto strips into small pieces and sprinkle over the potato chips.  Top with diced pieces of brie cheese.  Place in the oven under a low broiler until cheese is melted and prosciutto is starting to crisp a little bit.  Drizzle generously with a balsamic glaze before serving immediately.

Other topping ideas:

sliced olives
pepperoncini pepper rings
fig or apricot jam
pepperoni slices
salami slices
mozzarella or goat cheese

hot honey

Enjoy,

Cucumber Caesar Salad

I started this blog in 2011.  Hard to believe I've been at this on and off for 15 years.  I stand behind the recipes 100%.  Not so much by all of the pictures though.  Looking at some of my older posts, the pictures were so bad.  The lighting in our kitchen was so bad until we remodeled a few years ago.  The technology of the camera in cell phones has certainly improved.  In no way do I pretend to know what I'm doing, I just  love to create, cook and share. A while back Mr. Devilish Dish bought himself this fancy new cutting board.  It's enormous and he insists on leaving it out on the kitchen counter.  Really because there is no way to store the thing, but he justified it by saying, "It will make a nice background for our food pictures." And he's right.  So then he had another idea, and suggested, "Why don't you make some of your favorite recipes that have already been blogged and update the pictures?"  We made a list of some of our favorites that I have been wanting to re-share but have been too embarrassed by the poor photo quality.  His first suggestion was baked beans, followed by, "That way I can smoke something ribs this weekend and you can make baked beans."  Which is pretty much how he wants all of our weekends to go, but I get tired of baked beans and potato salad so I am constantly trying to come up with new and interesting side dishes to accompany his selection of smoked meat.  This Cucumber Caesar Salad is amazing.  It's all the regular ingredients of a good Caesar salad, minus the Romaine Lettuce.  Crisp cucumbers are substituted for lettuce, making this an ideal side salad for a plate of hot and spicy barbecue.  It really did hit the spot next to the ribs and baked beans, because I got that last batch of baked beans a little spicy.  If you're looking for a fun alternative to a traditional Caesar Salad, or an ordinary cucumber salad, then this is it!

A refreshing twist on a
traditional Caesar Salad.

CUCUMBER CAESAR SALAD

For the Dressing:

1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon good quality Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise

For the Salad:

1-2 large English cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 package Caesar-style croutons

(Optional: you could easily make this salad a meal by adding grilled chicken or shrimp)

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor and process until minced.  Add the anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice and mayonnaise.  Process to create a smooth dressing.  Refrigerate if not using immediately.  When ready to serve, toss the dressing with the cucumbers, Parmesan cheese and croutons.

Enjoy,

Banana Cold Foam for Coffee

We are coffee drinkers around here!  Mr. Devilish Dish even makes his own homemade vanilla syrup for my coffee in the morning.  So when the Devilish Nephew's sweet wife sent a text and said, "Do either of you know how to make cold foam for coffee?" we were ON IT.  Typically I just make a latte in the morning or a vanilla cold brew, but I'm no stranger to a good cold foam so Mr. Devilish Dish and I went to work.  We immediately bought some bananas so we would have some ripe, flavorful ones to work with.  After a little trial and error, we had perfection.  I'm not gonna lie, this is delicious.  Probably not my morning drink of choice before work, but a little banana cold foam on top of a small afternoon pick-me-up cold brew is an afternoon snack all on its own.  A really tasty treat to add to our home coffee bar menu.

Such a tasty topping for your favorite
coffee beverage.

BANANA COLD FOAM FOR COFFEE

1 very ripe banana
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of sea salt

In a small blender or food processor, combine the banana, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Blend until smooth.  You can save this in the refrigerator for later and re-froth when ready to use, or use immediately.  To serve, pour a glass of your favorite cold brew coffee and top with a few tablespoons of the banana cream foam.  

NOTE: We used a hand-held frothing wand to get this extra foamy and frothy.

Enjoy,

 

Breakfast Charcuterie Board - Just in time for Mother's Day

You know the memes and jokes about breakfast in bed for moms on Mother's Day?  Dad and the kids make an enormous mess in the kitchen for mom to clean up.  I'm not saying moms don't want breakfast, they just want to take is easy for one day.  Well what some of us want is a dark, cool hotel room and a glass or two of wine and not having to wipe any noses or make any decisions.  But we will all settle for a hearty, beautiful breakfast or brunch board featuring minimal mess and easy clean up.  Not only is this ideal for a Mother's Day Brunch, but this board idea would easily work for a bridal or baby shower, and of course a morning tailgate.  Football season will be here before we know it.  Go ahead and bookmark this now to enjoy with gameday mimosas.  When I made this board, I made it only for Mr. Devilish Dish and I, and we actually enjoyed it for dinner on a chilly Sunday night.  It's not quite as full as I would make a board were I feeding a crowd or taking it to a tailgate, but you get the basic idea for the breakfast/brunch theme.

This fun board works great for any
Mother's Day breakfast or brunch...

I tried making homemade biscuits until
I realized my baking powder was expired...
UGH.

This was more of a mini-board for the two
of us.  I would pile this thing FULL for 
shower or morning tailgate.

I love the idea of having jellies for a sweet biscuit
topping and ham and cheese for a savory option.

We added some fried bacon and also some cubed
up cinnamon rolls, but mini muffins would be
cute too.  The sky is the limit!

BREAKFAST/BRUNCH THEMED CHARCUTERIE BOARD IDEAS:

Bacon
Scrambled Eggs
Cinnamon Roll Bites
Biscuits
Ham
Cheese
Assorted Jellies
Honey
Assorted Fruit

OTHER THINGS TO INCLUDE:

Honey mustard or other "savory biscuit toppings"
Mini pancakes or waffle sticks with syrup
Fruit skewers
Mini donuts or donut holes

Mini muffins
Yogurt
Sausage patties or links
Mini quiches
Breakfast sliders


The ideas are endless.  Think of what you enjoy for breakfast and pile it on!

Enjoy,

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

 I love a good Homemade Blue Cheese Salad Dressing.  I especially love Mr. Devilish Dish's version.  And I definitely love a good creamy blue cheese dressing with buffalo wings.  But sometimes I just want to enjoy a salad with a tangy vinaigrette-style dressing. This blends the best of both worlds.  A tangy, vinegar-based dressing with crumbles of delicious blue cheese.  Not only is this zesty dressing delicious over salad greens, it would be so good drizzled over a big platter of grilled vegetables.  We love to enjoy this dressing with a salad alongside a juicy steak.  You'll love this too, especially if you're looking for that familiar bite of blue cheese, without the heaviness of a creamy-style dressing.  Lighter, tangy-er and perfect for spring and summer salads, and a great twist for a traditional wedge salad too!

A tangy, tasty twist on a traditional
creamy dressing.

Just a handful of ingredients for this
delicious dressing.

Blend everything together in a blender.
If you prefer a chunkier dressing,
stir in the blue cheese AFTER blending.

Enjoy over a salad, grilled vegetables
or even a wedge salad.

Save a few blue cheese
crumbles to top your salad!

 

BLUE CHEESE VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup good quality olive oil

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.  If you want the chunkiness of the blue cheese crumbles, blend everything except the blue cheese, and then stir it in afterwards.  We saved some extra blue cheese crumbles to top our salad too.  Refrigerate until serving if not using immediately.