Jalapeno Pancakes

The other night my friends Jon, Adam and Jack came over. They love to eat and are my guinea pigs for most of my recipes.

Now you’re probably thinking “Jalepeno Pancakes...WHAAAATTT?” But trust me, they are delicious, I pinky promise. The spiciness of the jalapeno pepper plus the sweetness of the apricot jelly makes for a vary unusual taste that actually goes together very nicely. and the bacon adds just enough crunchine

ss. My friends John, Adam and Jack were a bit skeptical when I first told them that I was making these, but they ended up loving them, unless they were lying to me, to not hurt my feelings, so I would keep cooking for them.

JALAPENO PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE TOPPING

-8 strips bacon

-1 12 oz jar apricot jelly

-1/3 cup orange juice

-1 tbsp chopped onion

-half of a jalapeno, seeded and chopped

• one side of green pepper, seeded and chopped

FOR THE PANCAKES

-1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

-1/2 cup all-purpose flower

-2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-2 tbsp sugar

-1 large egg

-1 cup milk

-2 tbsp canola oil, plus more for pan

-other half of jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

-2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the toppings: Fry the bacon in a medium nonstick skillet until crisp. Meanwhile, make the syrup: Heat the jam, 1/3 cup orange juice, the onion and jalapeno in a small saucepan over low heat. Add more orange juice if the syrup is too thick. Keep warm.
2. Prepare the pancakes: Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the egg, milk and canola oil until just combined. (The batter will be thin.) Fold in the diced jalapeno, parmesan and scallions.
3. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat and lightly oil it. Ladle 2 or 3 tablespoons batter onto the griddle for each pancake; cook until golden on the bottom.
4. Stack the pancakes on 4 plates. Top each stack with 2 strips of bacon and drizzle with the orange syrup.

This recipe was altered from Food Network Magazine.

MAPLE-GINGERBREAD LAYER CAKE WITH SALTED MAPLE-CARAMEL SAUCE

Fall is in the air and the holidays are definitely on everyones mind. My friends, Haley and Audra decided to have a pre-celebration for Thanksgiving. So I decided to make Spiced Gingerbread layer cake with salted carmal sauce. The smells of warm maple and toasted pecans filled our apartment, bringing a smile to everyone's face.

INGREDIENTS:

MAPLE COATED PECANS

-3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted

-1/4 cup maple syrup

-coarse kosher salt

CAKE:

-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 1/2 chinese 5 spice powder

-1 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

-3 tbsp ginger

-1 cup sugar

-1 tbsp maple syrup

-3/4 cup unsalted butter

-2 large eggs

-3/4 cup hot water

FROSTING:

-1 1/3 cups chilled creme fraiche

-1 1/3 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

-1/2 cup sugar

-6 tbsp powdered sugar

SALTED MAPLE CARMAL SAUCE:

-1/4 cup unsalted butter

-1/2 cup sugar

-3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

-1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

-5 to 6 drops imitation maple extract

DIRECTIONS:

MAPLE COATED PECANS: Place large piece of foil on work surface. Combine nuts and maple syrup in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat and bring to boil, tossing to coat. Cook until syrup is dark amber and almost cooked away and thickly coats nuts, tossing often, 3-4 minutes. Place nuts on foil Working quickly with two forks, separate nuts. sprinkle with sat. cool until coating is crisp and hard about 1 hour. (Pecans can be made ahead 1 day. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.)

CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 inch diameter cake pans with 1 1/2 inch high sides. Combine first 5 ingredients in processor. Using mixer, beat sugar and butter large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Stir 3/4 cup hot water and maple syrup in small bowl. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture in 4 additions alternately with water/syrup mixture in 3 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans (about 2 1/2 cups each). Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans

on racks.

FROSTING: Combine creme fraiche, cream and both sugars in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until very thick and stiff. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake layer; turn out onto racks. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 1 1/3 cups frsting. Drizzle with 3 tbsp caramel sauce. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting smoothly over top and sides of cake. Drizzle top of cake with 3 tbsp caramel sauce. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting smoothly over top and sides of cake. Drizzle top of cake with 3 tbsp sauce. Chill at least 1 hour. *Can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing. Cut pecans into pieces and place on top of cake. Spoon sauce over. (Sauce is even better if you heat it for a bit first in the microwave about 10 seconds.)

SALTED MAPLE-CARAMEL SAUCE: Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar. Whisk until sugar melts and mixture is thick and boiling, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in cream. Bring sauce to boil, whisking often. Boil until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon and and is reduced to 1 cup, whisking often, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from

heat. Whisk in coarse salt and extract. *Can be made 1 week ahead. Cool, cover and chill.

*This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetite.

*Creme fraiche is sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods store. I found it at Whole Foods.

Lola's Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

On this chilly morning in November, I thought nothing would be better than to sit and have a nice warm muffin and a cup of coffee. So this morning I made my favorite kind of muffin, Lemon Poppyseed and believe me the smells of warm lemon muffins, coffee and the crisp fall air is the greatest thing ever. The lemony zing plus the creaminess that is created from the yogurt, makes these muffins melt in your mouth. So I sit here on this Saturday morning, in my pajamas, watching Harry Potter and eating my delicious muffin. Best Saturday morning EVER!

Ingredients:

-2 cups flour

-2/3 cup sugar

-2 tsp baking powder

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp salt

-2 tbsp poppyseeds

-zest and juice of 2 small lemons

-3/4 cup greek yogurt

-2 large eggs

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-1/2 cup canola oil

-1/3 cup skim milk

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and combine.

-Place all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and mix until smooth, but don't over mix.

-Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix. Again don't over mix. If batter still seems dry add a little more milk.

-Pour batter into muffin lined tin. Bake for 15 minutes and ENJOY!

S Club Pizza

S Club Pizza

My friend Jack and I made pizza tonight for dinner. You may be asking why it's called S Club Pizza. Remember that old show on on ABC Family called S Club 7? Well, we recently rediscovered it. We made fun of the the cheesy lines and awkward dancing, realizing how humorous and weird the show actually was. So, here's to you S Club 7!

S Club 7 Pizza

The spices in this pizza mixed with the mozzarella cheese, make for a scrumptiously gooey cheesy pizza. (The cheesiness of the pizza is not to be confused with the cheesiness of the S Club 7 show!)

Ingredients:

-Pepperoni (to your discretion)

-1 cup mozzarella cheese

-1 cup mushrooms, chopped

-3/4 cup tomato sauce

-Boboli Pizza Crust, Whole Wheat

-oregano, basil, garlic powder and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Preheat oven to Boboli's Pizza Crust directions on the package.

-Spread pizza sauce over crust. Put on pepperoni, then mushrooms.

-Place cheese over toppings. Then sprinkle on spices.

-Place in oven and bake according the Boboli's Pizza Crust directions.