Charleston Wine + Food… Feb 28- Mar 3, 2013!

Well, the Charleston Food + Wine Festival will be starting soon, do you have your tickets? This is a hot event here in Charleston. If you’re in the area, I highly suggest you check it out!

Here’s a blip from their website:

Discover the distinctive flavors of the Lowcountry and uniquely Charleston experiences while interacting with and learning from the country’s best chefs, authors and beverage professionals. With over 80 events over the course of the Festival weekend, there is truly something for every person and every taste!

Click for  TICKETS… Also, keep up with all that’s going on, read their  BLOG ahhh, really there is so much on their website you need to check it out! It shows the local chefs, as well as all the other chefs that will be in town…

I truly think there is something for everyone!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via…

How to make homemade hot chocolate mix!

Hot chocolate. The epitome of comfort food during the cold months. There is nothing better then a warm mugful of the tasty treat that satisfies your need for warmth, sweet and chocolate craving all in one fell swoop!

I have previously posted how to make Hot Chocolate from scratch (using milk). It’s a treat, a real treat!

But… if you’d like to make  a hot chocolate mix (like the store brands) that is healthier (because it’s minus the strange ingredients) that you mix with water, just like the pouch you buy at the store, Alton Brown from the Food Network came up with a recipe to make it quick and easy.

This recipe received five stars by all those who reviewed it… that’s the highest… how convenient to whip it up yourself!

This recipe received FIVE STARS

Hot Cocoa

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown - (Food Network) - Yield 5 1/2 cups of hot chocolate mix

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

How easy is that?!  Catch you back here tomorrow!

White cheddar, tomato & kale omelet! This is too good to believe!

You know what they say… eat breakfast like a KING, lunch like a PRINCE and dinner like a PAUPER… meaning, eat your biggest meal early and scale back from there. Hard to do in modern society, but if you’re home and have the option it’s worth giving it a whirl. Dr. Oz (and others) stress how important it is to get protein into your body within 30 minutes of waking up. Not easy for all of us. I just like coffee. Period. Coffee, newspaper, iPad, and peace and quiet, ha ha… then I usually hop up, drink a protein shake, head out for a walk and the day begins… This omelet is a good choice for breakfast, lunch OR dinner!

Add what you like, the more veggies the better!

I use a nonstick skillet, add a small drizzle of olive oil…. beat two eggs. Get the pan hot, add the eggs *sizzle*, I added a few grape tomatoes that I sliced up, and big handful of kale, and a small amount of shredded white cheddar cheese… cook it low and slow… then slide it out of the pan and enjoy! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Fabulous Bean Soup – it can’t be easier!

This soup is amazing. When it’s cold outside it will warm you. With all the beans it will fill you up and keep you full for a long time. I used a ham bone from Honey Baked Ham and it had a good bit of ham on it. There was the perfect amount, so I didn’t need to buy extra. This soup is outstanding! This is a collaboration of several recipes. Note: I DID NOT USE THE SEASONING PACKET…

Why didn’t you use the seasoning packet you ask? Well, because there isn’t anything that even remotely resembles “ham” and if there was, how would they get it in that tiny little packet? This is what’s in the seasoning “HAM” packet: Hydrolyzed Soy Protein (omg, click orange link to read what it is!), maltodextrin, salt, artificial flavorings (including artificial smoke flavor), silicon dioxide. Ok, what in that list appeals to you? One rule to becoming healthier… don’t eat stuff you can’t pronounce, don’t know where it comes from or ISN’T REAL! Soy protein for ham flavoring? Creeps. Me. Out. All you have to do is add a few spices and this recipe goes from being CREEPY to being a true delight! AND it only takes a minute to add a few spices. Here’s how I made the soup (click HERE to print recipe only):

15 (or 16 or whatever beans you’ve got!) BEAN SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg of 15 Bean Soup (dried beans only) – approximately a pound, give or take

1 ham bone – whatever size will fit in your pot (mine came from Honey Baked Ham, they sell their ham bones and they have quite a bit of ham, if you don’t have a ham place near you, you can use 1 pound of ham, ham hocks or smoked sausage).

1 large onion, chopped.

1 14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 ribs celery, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

Pepper (I didn’t use salt because of the salt in the ham/bone, it didn’t need a speck!)

DIRECTIONS

Wash the beans and then soak in a large pot of water overnight (or for at least eight hours). Or you can use the Quick Cook Method (which is what I did because I decided to make the soup that day) – to do this rinse the beans then put them in a large pot with 3 quarts of water and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce the heat, cover and continue on a slow boil for 60-70 minutes, and then drain the beans and rinse one last time.

In a large dutch oven, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and celery and saute until translucent. Add minced garlic, saute 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add spices, beans, tomatoes and ham bone.

Cover with about 2 quarts of water, or enough to either cover the bone or fill your pot.

Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer about 1.5 hours.

Remove the ham bone, let cool a few minutes and cut the ham off the bone into small pieces.

Remove the bay leaf and add the diced ham back to the pot.

Serve… I served with an olive baguette from Trader Joe’s that I heated in the oven, then dipped in olive oil.

TOO GOOD, and it makes a large pot, so there is enough to eat, have lunches, and freeze!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

How to make a great pot of CHILI!

This is one fast and easy recipe. This chili is so tasty you absolutely won’t believe it, especially when you see how quickly it comes together… Not too many ingredients:

CHILI

1 pound ground sirloin (or whatever hamburger meat you prefer, I find whatever I can that has no antibiotics, etc.)

1 onion, diced

2- 28oz cans of diced tomatoes

2- 16oz cans of chili beans (I use Bush’s Chili Beans, whatever heat level you desire. Today I used Medium)

Chili Powder (to your taste, I use about 1-2 Tablespoons)

Crackers to crinkle on top when served… can also top with cheese, sour cream and any other topping. I just use crackers, oyster crackers are best!

Step One:

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Add onion. Cook until translucent.

Add hamburger and break up with spoon while it cooks. Cook until meat is no longer pink.

Step Two:

Add two cans of tomatoes and two cans of chili beans WITH the juice. Now take each can that you used (tomatoes and chili beans) and fill each can about 1/3 of the way with water. Add the water to the pot (this also gets the extra juice from tomato cans/bean cans).

Now add the chili powder, you can also add pepper… if you used no sodium tomatoes/beans you can also add salt at this time. (I don’t use it because I buy regular tomatoes and chili beans, so there’s plenty of salt).

Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour. Add more water if it needs it. You can make it as thick or as runny as you like! As it simmers it will reduce over time.

Serve in a bowl. Can top with saltines, oyster crackers, cheese, sour cream, green onions or whatever sounds good to you!

NOTE: Last time I made chili I didn’t have chili beans and didn’t want to run to the store. What I did have is cannellini beans, so I DRAINED those beans and added two cans and I doubled the chili powder. I think I also tossed in a tablespoon or two of diced jalepeno’s… I buy them in the pickle section, that way you don’t have to cut them up… good time saver! This chili was awesome. You can use whatever beans you like. Most common are red kidney beans or whatever you’ve got on hand!

ENJOY!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Recipe! White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese with Kale and Bacon

Recipe (and image) by GoodLifeEats!

LOOK at this amazing macaroni and cheese! Something DIFFERENT… as soon as I saw it I ran to the store and bought the ingredients. This Baked White Cheddar Mac n Cheese with Kale and Bacon recipe is by Katie Goodman, author of the Good Life Eats blog. Well, LOOK at that photo, doesn’t that just look so darn good? Well, let me tell you. IT IS! At first I was skeptical. Kale? Hmmm. Not sure if I like kale. I know some people love it. I also know some people really don’t love it. I emailed Katie to see if there was a good substitute for something less “kaley”, she offered the suggestion of swiss chard. Ooooh, I love swiss chard! So that’s what I was going to buy, but instead I saw that the kale was local and in season, so I thought I would try to be a grown up and try it. Guess what? I LOVED IT! It’s got to help to have cheese and bacon to go along with!

These are the only things I changed… Since there are just two of us, I made half a batch, which was enough for 4 servings (hefty servings). I left out the garlic (which we normally eat quite a bit of), nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. I used Cabot’s Seriously Sharp white cheddar (ohmygosh!) and I used the white fiber seashell pasta to make it a little more “healthy”. I also didn’t make the croutons on top, if I would have had the bread on hand I would have, but it was delicious without it as well!

Check out Katie’s blog, and if you’re a macaroni and cheese lover, give this a try. It’s heaven on a plate!! Here’s the recipe from Good Life Eats!

Baked White Cheddar Mac n Cheese with Kale and Bacon

Ingredients:

1 lb. macaroni
3 tablespoon butter
1/2 of a purple onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
3 cups whole milk
8 ounces sharp white cheddar, grated
1 ounce parmesan, finely grated
dash nutmeg
dash cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, or according to personal preference
6 ounces center cut bacon or pancetta, cooked and crumbled
3 1/2 ounces fresh kale, chopped (about a half a bunch)
1/2 cup crushed Homemade Sourdough Garlic Butter Croutons

Directions:

Cook pasta one to two minutes less than package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon pieces in half vertically, then into small bite sized pieces. Cook until crispy. Then drain, and set aside.

In a large French or Dutch oven, melt the butter. Saute the onion for 3 – 5 minutes over medium heat, or until tender and golden. Add the garlic and saute and additional minute or two, until fragrant. Whisk in the flour and cook over medium heat till golden. Slowly whisk in the milk while cooking over medium heat.

Stir in the sharp white cheddar and parmesan cheese, whisking until melted and creamy. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, black pepper, and salt (if desired). Bring to a slow simmer, and then stir in the pasta, bacon, and kale.

Transfer the pasta mixture to a 3 1/2 quart oven safe casserole dish or cast iron pan. Sprinkle the top with the crushed Homemade Sourdough Garlic Butter Croutons. Bake at 375 degrees F on the center rack in the oven for 10-20 minutes, or until the mixture is hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

adapted from Fontina, Spinach, and Bacon Shells and Cheese via GoodLife Eats

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Recipe for Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes and Basil… You’re going to thank me!

Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes and Basil

Recipe/Image from Cooking Light Magazine and www.myrecipes.com

Ok, I’m going to be a real friend to you right now… I’m going to pass on a recipe that is so good, I’m telling you that your eyes WILL roll into the back of your head when you taste it. You won’t be able to help it. You are going to thank me. Seriously, this recipe is out of this world, and for all the whining that you may do because you have to stir for 20 minutes or so… just know… IT. IS. WORTH. IT! You will be rewarded with the most scrumptious dinner ever. This is nice paired with a simple salad and maybe a baggette. The ONLY thing that I change is that I use about twice as much balsamic vinegar, mine seems to disappear after it’s reduced. And truly try to give it the time to cook until it’s a little thicker. You will not believe how sweet this is, and how much it adds to the dish! I find that when I boil the balsamic viniagrette  in the beginning (as the recipe calls for) it seems to almost evaporate, so I cook it closer to the time I serve… OK folks, this recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine (see, it’s not even bad for you), I hope you enjoy as much as we do! Check out the http://www.myrecipes.com website when you get a chance, always great recipes from some of your favorite magazines (Cooking Light, Southern Living, Coastal Living, Food & Wine, Health etc.).

Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes, and Basil

• Print

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cups chopped leek
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 5 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced

Preparation

1. Place vinegar in a small, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until slightly syrupy and reduced to 1 tablespoon (about 4 minutes). Set aside. (Barbara note: this is the step that I do closer to when the risotto is ready to serve).
2. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes, basil, and cheese. Place about 1 cup risotto into each of 6 shallow serving bowls; drizzle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon balsamic syrup and 1/2 teaspoon oil.

Mary Alayne Long, Vestavia Hills, Alabama, Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2007

Bon Appetit! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Farm Fresh Tomatoes, Pasta, Italian Sausage & Molly’s Basil = DELICIOUS!

WARNING: THIS WILL TURN YOU INTO AN ADDICT. A TOMATO-BASIL-SAUCE-ON-PASTA-WITH-ITALIAN-SAUSAGE-ADDICT. Consider yourself warned.

We have been getting THE BEST tomatoes this year. I was inspired to create something new, not the typical spaghetti sauce I usually make, but something fresh and delicious where the tomatoes were the star and I think I did it…

There is no real recipe, use whatever quantities you like. The first time I made this (photo above) I used six large tomatoes. The last time I made it, I made enough to freeze, I used at least 11 tomatoes, big juicy fresh tomatoes from Boone Hall Farms, located in Mount Pleasant, SC. Also, the first time I made it I used penne pasta, which was a good fit, because this is NOT a thick sauce, so the tomato, garlic and onion juices got all wrapped up in the penne quite nicely. The last time I made this I used white whole wheat pasta which has more fiber, and tastes just like white (Barilla is the brand I used)… this sauce is so good we both think we can use it on whole wheat pasta with no problem. So, being the adult that I am, I bought some whole wheat pasta, so next time, we will give it a whirl…

A special THANK YOU to MOLLY WEAVER for the BEST. BASIL. EVER. She grows the sweetest basil I’ve ever tasted and she’s been incredibly generous to share it with me!

TOMATO BASIL SAUCE with GRILLED ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Ingredients:

Fresh tomatoes, at least 6-8 large tomatoes, or as many as you like!

Onion, chopped

Garlic, chopped (or I use a microplane, it’s much faster!)

Fresh Basil, chopped

Olive Oil

Pasta of your choice (my favorite so far was the Barilla white wheat mini penne)

Italian Sausage (I use Al Fresco, Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage, no nitrates!)

Wash, core and chop the tomatoes. Put in a big bowl so they’re ready to go…

Chop the onion (as small or large as you like), grate or mince the garlic (the smaller it is the healthier it is for you).

In a large stainless pan (I use a heavy pan, less likely for the garlic and onion to burn), drizzle some olive oil. Enough to keep onions and garlic from sticking to pan.

Once oil is warm, toss in the onion, once they begin to get translucent, make a little well in the center and toss in the garlic (make sure you still have olive oil, if not add some), cook for ONE MINUTE or until fragrant (on medium heat).

Now toss in the tomatoes… and stir it all around, get the onions and garlic mixed in with those tomatoes and wait until you start to see some bubbling. Then you can turn the flame down to low/med low and put a lid on the pan. (I do not leave the kitchen during this step in case they start to boil over). Let them cook for about 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and it will look like you have tomato soup! Take a handheld potato masher and slowly and carefully mash the tomatoes into the juice (you can omit this step if you prefer). Now let it cook with the lid off until it reduces at least an inch… right when it’s about there add the fresh basil, salt and pepper.

Cook your pasta according to package directions… about the same time, throw your Italian Sausage on the grill (I use chicken Italian sausage, oh is it ever delicious!) until done. Then slice thinly. (Note: if you don’t want to mess with the grill you could use scissors and cut the pasta and saute it, but I think the grill adds a nice crispiness to it that goes so nicely with this sauce.)

Scoop out some pasta, add some sauce, top with the Italian sausage and some parmesan cheese.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE IT. TRUST ME.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

UPDATE: I’ve made this again since I wrote the original post. I used Barilla Whole Grain pasta (51% wheat), and it was delicious! Thought I bought whole wheat because it was so dark, but noticed when I got home it was whole grain… NEXT time will try whole wheat!

Also… since tomato season is winding down, I’ve been making this and freezing it in batches. I don’t have a lot of freezer space, so this is how I do it.

Chill the sauce in the refrigerator. Then scoop enough (for the two of us I use 3-4 ladles) for one dinner into a labeled quart freezer bag. Put the bags on a cookie sheet and make sure they’re nice and flat. Once frozen, remove cookie sheet. You can store them standing up (like a file) or store flat. When it comes time to defrost, I just set out on the counter OR run under cold water for a few minutes. Because it’s not thick it defrosts quickly. Snip off one of the bottom ends of the ziplock and squeeze contents into a pan to heat. Toss the bag. Easy, right?

Pasta with zucchini and onions from the Farmer’s Market… delish!

Aren’t these just the sweetest baby yellow squash, pattypan squash and zucchini that you’ve ever seen? Here is a quick and easy meal to prepare that will make you want it again and again and again… you don’t have to use baby zucchini/squash, you can use regular. However, if you can find the baby, it’s a treat, we got this at the Farmer’s Market (Charleston, SC)…

This time I decided to try Trader Joe’s Spinach and Chive Linguini… it was tasty! I didn’t have any strong flavors in this pasta, so the chives and spinach flavor were a nice touch… You can use whatever kind of pasta you like… often times I cook whatever kind strikes me, cappelini (Angel Hair), Linguini, Spinach pasta of any type, whatever sounds good to you!

Cut up the zucchini and onion… if you have anything else to add, go ahead, it only gets better… red pepper, mushrooms, tomato. Sauté in olive oil (or canola oil) on medium high heat until zucchini starts to brown and onions are translucent… Cook your pasta, drain, and add to the pan with the veggies… stir around, dish up and sprinkle with copious amount of parmesan (ok, so my ‘copious’ and your ‘copious’ may differ, I get my parmesan cheese “habit” from my mom…) and TADA… dinner is ready in no time and it is KILLER! Fresh and tasty…

Here’s the “recipe” which as mentioned above can be changed however you like! All measurements are approximate, you can’t mess this up… well… for the most part!

QUICK SUMMER PASTA – Serves 2

1 medium zucchini (or an equal amount of baby squash)

1 small yellow squash, pattypan squash, etc.

olive oil

pasta of your liking

parmesan cheese

salt, pepper

In a large pan, boil water for the pasta. Depending upon the cooking time for the pasta, start the veggies… give them about 10 minutes.

Cut up the squash. I don’t peel (especially baby squash) but if its tough (or not organic) then go ahead a peel it, it has good vitamins in the skin, so I try to eat it… dice the onion.

In a nonstick frying pan add 1 Tablespoon (roughly, if it needs more, add it) of Olive Oil… (If using a regular pan you’ll need more oil)

Once the oil is hot, toss in the chopped squash and onion. Don’t stir around too much, if you can let it sit for a bit before stirring it will brown nicely. Don’t let it brown too much… just some crispy edges are nice…

Once the pasta is done, drain in a colander. When the veggies are done you can turn the heat to very low and add as much pasta as you think you’ll need (it’s hard to judge when cooking pasta, but when you put it in the pan you can tell if you have way too much pasta for the amount of veggies). Stir it around to coat the noodles (add a splash of olive oil if necessary if it appears to be dry). Dish up the pasta and sprinkle with S&P and parmesan… and ENJOY!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Cheese Crackers… quick and easy for an evening treat!

These little cheese crackers are the tastiest crackers in all the land… you can search high and low, near and far, and i’m telling you nothing beats these scrumptious little slices of heaven. This is the recipe Fred’s mom (Bobbie!) uses. The first time she made them for us we thought our tastebuds were going to explode, ha ha… they were way too good… dangerously good. I make a recipe and freeze half of it, then when you really want a tasty morsel you just defrost, slice and bake. Insanely simple and quick to throw together, you won’t believe it! And YES, if you’re wondering, these ARE the crackers often seen during the holidays! A few in this photo got a little brown… I like them that way, darn… thought I ate all the brown ones before Fred got home, hee.., I mean, shhhhhh! Ok, here goes… **Special note… I just received a call from my mom… seems I didn’t put the temperature or time to bake… heavy sigh! Also for those of you who would like to print, see the bottom of the page, the recipe in its entirety for you to copy/paste into a document/email… or send me a comment with your email and I’ll send it to you!

C H A R L E S T O N  C H E E S E  C R A C K E R S 

I N G R E D I E N T S

8oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I think I used a bit more… I used Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp 2%, which is so wrong to use light cheese, but they taste great so why not?? And if you’re wondering… the answer is YES, I do realize that light cheese and a stick of butter is quite like a diet drink and a candy bar, ha ha, not light, but still tasty!)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (heaping if you like, but be careful, it’s hot, or omit if you don’t care for spicy)

D I R E C T I O N S

Grate the cheese…

Put a stick of room temperature butter in the mixing bowl… a stand mixer is mighty helpful for this recipe, if you’re mixing by hand… find someone with some muscle (either than or you may want to train for a few days first)

Mix together salt, flour and cayenne pepper, then whisk it to mix it well, you don’t want to get a big bite full of cayenne!

Cream together the butter and cheese (this is where a muscle bound friend comes in handy if you don’t have a stand mixer), I swear my mixer was bucking like a horse, but it mixed the dough, no problem! THANK GOODNESS!

Add the flour mixture to the butter/cheese mixture.

Mix until dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl (it won’t be in one big clump and that’s OK!)

Now empty the bowl onto a clean counter dusted with flour. You won’t need a lot of flour on the account of the, ahem, amount of butter… it’s not a sticky dough, it’s just perfect… just beautiful and perfect…

Now form the dough into one log… try to make it even, so you can divide it up evenly… perfection is not necessary (whew, how often do you hear that?)…

Now you want to divide the dough in quarters, so you can refrigerate it and it will chill quickly… the easiest way to do that is to cut it in half, and then cut each of the halves in half… whoa! Sounds as if I might be a math wiz…

Now take each quarter and form an even log, it can be round, it can be square, it can be shaped like a pear (ohmygosh… now i’ve turned into Dr. Suess?) you’re the boss, make it however you like! I made some square and some round, not sure why, it’s the way they ended up, and I like a change! I make the log approximately the diameter of a quarter (give or take… I promise not to send the recipe police after you! If you want bigger crackers you may have bigger crackers!!).

Now you’re going to continue on, making four logs total. We need to wrap them so they don’t get funny in the fridge, I use wax paper, put one log, roll it, when it’s covered I put the next one… I’m only going to refrigerate two, and I’m going to freeze two for later… If you only have plastic wrap that’s fine too!

Pop them in the fridge for about 30 minutes… longer if you need… (I mean, if you can… it won’t be easy KNOWING that perfection is so close….!)

NOW for the fun part! Slice and Bake Cheese Crackers! Woot Woot! Sorry, I got carried away, these crackers they make me smile

Slice them fairly thin (but not too thin), about 1/8″, if you slice them thicker they won’t be as crunchy and cracker like, but they will be good, like little cheese cookies, hee.

Note that I had the crackers placed fairly close together on the cookie sheet. They don’t puff up much, so you don’t have to worry about them spreading and becoming one big uni-cracker. Once out of the oven, cool on a wire rack (for as long as you can stand it). Then once cool you can store them in a sealed container. The dough lasts a few days in the fridge. You will enjoy the heck out of these, I know it can’t just be us! I hope these make you smile!

Here’s the recipe to copy and paste…

C H A R L E S T O N  C H E E S E  C R A C K E R S

1/2# (8oz.) extra sharp cheddar cheese (I use Cracker Barrell 2%)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

H O W:  Preheat oven to 350. In stand mixer (ideally) or in large bowl with hand mixer or by hand (if you’re strong) cream together the cheese and butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Add to butter/cheese mixture in mixing bowl. Combine until mixture comes away from the sides. Empty mixing bowl onto clean counter dusted with flour. Shape dough into a log, divide that log into quarters (easiest to divide in half, then divide each half in half) wrap each log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes or hard enough to slice easily. (At this point you can put it in a freezer bag and freeze it to bake later). Slice about 1/8″ thick. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes. (You don’t want them to get real brown, but they are good nice and crispy like a cracker should be, so if it starts getting brown, test one, if it breaks apart like a cracker then they’re done, if still soft but outside is beginning to brown turn OFF the oven and let them stay in until they get more like a cracker (crunch). 

Catch you back here tomorrow!