Parmesan Herb Scones

I cooked brunch this past Sunday for my good friend and myself.  The deal was that she would bring the drinks and I would cook some fantastic brunchy type foods.  Personally, I've never quite understood brunch.  I feel like it's for people who just don't know whether they like breakfast or not, or hobbits who have already had breakfast and are now ready for a mid-morning snack.  Let's just call it what it is.  Second breakfast.

For you hobbits out there, here is a recipe for scones that I modified from one I found in December's Bon Appétit.  I've had these scones for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I'm still eating them.  Naturally, if you aren't a clotted cream fan, you can pile the butter on them.  But, true hobbits eat them with clotted cream.  Brits too, I recon.  Enjoy!

Parmesan Herb Scones

Makes about 16 scones

Modified from Bon Appétit

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. smoked paprika

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

1 cup chilled butter, diced

3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

3 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Whisk baking powder, sea salt, paprika, and flour together in a large mixing bowl until blended
3. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until there are no large pieces of butter and you have a crumbly texture
4. Mix in the cheese and herbs
5. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the eggs and cream
6. With your hands (or a fork, whatever), slowly mix the dry ingredients into the liquid until you end up with a shaggy dough
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about an inch thickness
8. Cut into 16 even scones (I cut diagonally to create diamonds)
9. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and divide the scones among them
10. Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream
11. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, rotating half-way through
12. Serve warm with clotted cream!

Cranberry Pineapple Sorbet

This one is a bit of a life hack for parties and get-togethers.

Do you have an ice cream maker?  If you do, go out and buy cranberry juice cocktail and pineapple juice.
Got that?  Follow the instructions below and enjoy!

My husband and I were lucky enough to get an ice cream machine and Jeni Britton Bauer's ice cream cookbook, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, from his brother and our wonderful sister-in-law.  Ever since then I've been experimenting with ice cream and sorbets.  While this recipe does not come from Jeni's cookbook, I still highly recommend picking it up if you enjoy making ice cream.

This sorbet is so simple, and completely delicious.  I had originally tried a much more complicated sorbet, with fresh cranberries, but to be honest with you, I just didn't like it.  It was bitter, had a ton of sugar in it, and took way longer than this alternative.  Everyone loved this one.  My next plan is to do the exact same thing but with apple cider instead of cranberry and pineapple.

Cranberry Pineapple Sorbet

Ingredients:

2 cups cranberry juice cocktail

1/4 cup pineapple juice

Juice from one lemon

1. Freeze the ice cream canister from the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions
2. Mix together the cranberry juice cocktail, the pineapple juice, and lemon juice
3. Turn on the ice cream maker, and slowly pour the juice into the frozen canister
4. Allow to churn until the juice has turned into a slushy mixture
5. Pour the semi-frozen sorbet into a container with an air-tight lid to freeze
6. Allow the sorbet to freeze for at least 4 hours in the coldest part of your freezer

Thanksgiving Left-Overs

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If you cooked as much food as my family and I did this past week, you are probably up to your eyeballs in turkey, stuffing, and potatoes.  I took a cue from one of our favorite restaurants in Carlsbad, Tin Leaf, and recreated their sandwich, Thanksgiving on a Bun.  I think that the secret to this sandwich is in the cranberry mayo.  While I'm sure that everyone has their own favorite recipes for the turkey and its accouterments, I will include the Cran-Apple Relish that I made.  It's... ridiculous.  If you believe that you do not like cranberry relish, you need to try this recipe.  It's so simple, and we couldn't stop eating it.

Thanksgiving on a Bun
Adapted from Tin Leaf Fresh Kitchen's sandwich

Here's what you need:

Rolls

Turkey

Stuffing

Gravy

Lettuce

Sliced red onion

1 Tbs. Cran-Apple Relish (recipe below)

3 Tbs. mayonnaise

1. Heat up the turkey, stuffing and gravy
2. Whisk together the Cran-Apple Relish and mayonnaise
3. Spread the cranberry mayo on one side of the rolls
4. Pile the stuffing on top of the roll
5. Drizzle some of the gravy on top of the stuffing
6. Top the stuffing with a layer of turkey
7. Next place the red onion, and top everything with a leaf of lettuce
8. Enjoy!

Cran-Apple Relish

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

2 cups apple cider

1/2 cup sugar

Bag of fresh cranberries (12 oz.)

3 small granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 tsp. lemon zest

Juice from 1 lemon

1. Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan and reduce until you have a little over a half cup
2. Add the sugar to the saucepan and stir over medium heat until it's dissolved
3. Take the syrup off of the heat and stir in the lemon juice
4. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for about an hour
5. Add the cranberries, apples, and lemon zest to the bowl of a food processor
6. Pulse, gradually adding the syrup, until chopped finely
7. Chill until ready to serve