Easy Cheese Danish

After thinking about it for a good month or more, I finally got off the fence and made the Barefoot Contessa Easy Cheese Danishes. They were pretty good and certainly easy to make.

First, you cream together cream cheese and sugar...then add in a bit of salt, vanilla, and in my case, a teeny tiny bit of almond extract. The recipe calls for ricotto and lemon. I didn't have ricotta on hand and didn't want to buy a whole tub just for 2 tbsp. And those who know me know my hatred of lemon in places where it doesn't belong - like danishes and cheesecakes.

Then two egg yolks...

Which leave you with a more yellowy filling. Ok, filling done (I said it was easy)


I took two sheets of defrosted puff pastry and rolled them out a bit - mainly enough to get rid of the fold creases. Cut each sheet into four large squares, put a heaping tablespoon blob of filling in the middle, then fold over the corners, sealing with egg wash. Then I brushed the whole top with egg wash.


20 minutes in a 400 degree oven later, voila.


These were quite tasty. Things I might change in the future - add a dusting of powdered sugar to the top or a very simply plain white sweet glaze. I may also add in a tbsp or two of sour cream to bump up the "tangy" factor. But regardless, this was a terrifically easy recipe with tasty results.

Back with a Bang

For those of you who have ever watched an episode on TLC or Discovery channel featuring The Duggar Family of Arkansas, you will know the importance of tater tot casserole. I've been wondering what it would taste like since I saw my first Duggar special several years ago....so last night, I embarked on a mission to find out.

First, I browned off a pound of ground beef and one small onion.


Meanwhile, I got a large bag of tots cooked in the oven - most recipes don't call for this step, but I wanted to attempt to have a wee bit of crunch to the tots - I got them v. brown.


After cooking, the tots were loaded into my casserole dish

Then the meat/onion topping was poured over


Then the creamy casserole goodness - 2 cans of cream of mushroom (the healthy variety), 3/4 c sour cream, a handful of french-fried onions, and some shredded cheese


After an hour in a 350 degree oven, the creamy topping had slightly browned in the oven, but the meat/tot mixture was bubbling beneath.


And here we go - part of a balanced dinner with the ubiquitous pea side dish.

I have to say it was pretty good. I mean, casseroles are rarely the meals you dream about - but after only really experiencing rice or pasta based casseroles, this tot-based variety was kind of tasty. Something to keep in the back pocket of the Midwestern chef is all I'm saying...