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Friday, November 15, 2013

Coconut Cashew Dulce de Leche Bars



coconut cashew bars
Coconut Cashew Dulce de Leche Bars
Funnily enough, I made these caramel cashew bars with some Stonewall Kitchen Maple Dulce de Leche before I went and visited Stonewall Kitchenin Maine. I actually won a giveaway on Delicious Dishings and was the lucky recipient of some Stonewall Kitchen products. I immediately began brainstorming how to use the dulce de leche and I was reminded of one of my flavors at Kopp’s Custard in Milwaukee: caramel cashew. 
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coconut caramel bars
Transforming the custard flavor into a bar cookie wasn’t all that difficult. I made a buttery oatmeal crust and reserved half of it for the topping. Between the two layers I stuffed the maple dulce de leche, chopped, salted cashews, and some toasted coconut for good measure. The finished result exceeded my expectations and made me think Kopp’s should start adding coconut to their caramel cashew custard! 
dulce de leche
Friends went crazy for these bars. The maple in the dulce de leche adds an interesting element, but any dulce de leche (or even caramel ice cream topping) would work equally well. Because they’re so rich, you can cut them in small pieces and serve a crowd. The filling makes them pretty sticky, so you’re best off storing them in the fridge and serving them slightly chilled.

One Year Ago: Roasted Carrot, Leek, and Goat Cheese Hand Pies and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup
Two Years Ago: Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches and 50 Thanksgiving Recipes
Three Years Ago: Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins with Peaches and Pecans and Shrimp Fajitas
Four Years Ago: Candy Sushi 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Mixed Greens with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Dried Cranberries

pecans, goat cheese, dried cranberries
Mixed Greens with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Dried Cranberries

Last month I hosted a dinner party for three other couples. Because it was scheduled for a Wednesday night I had to be super intentional about my meal-planning. I didn’t have hours to mess around in the kitchen and instead spread out my cooking over a few days. It made that Wednesday after work much less stressful and dinner for 8 by 6:30 pm totally manageable.
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This salad was on the menu that night and while salad isn’t all that time-consuming to make, I shaved a few minutes of time off of the preparation by making the candied pecans and the dressing a day ahead of time. All that was required to finish it off was throwing all of the ingredients together.
candied pecans
Of course, you could also omit the homemade candied pecans and just buy some or even throw plain ones in there. I liked the bit of spice these gave to the rest of the salad. Judging by the amount of leftover salad (none), this would be a good addition to your salad repertoire!