It's Good Though…

Yield: 9” Cheesecake

Baker By Nature

Love Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur? Crazy for cheesecake? Well then you have to try this Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake! Featuring a chocolate cookie crust, creamy Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake filling, and a thick layer of chocolate ganache. It’s out of this world flavorful! And it’s the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert!

Note: Watch the timing. This is a long recipe. About 2 hours in oven and 6 in refrigerator. Not for same day service!

Comments: Has a great coffee, chocolate and Baileys flavor. The texture is a little softer than some cheesecakes, probably from the Baileys thinning it out some. The ganache layer is too thick. You could cut those in half.

 

For the chocolate cookie crust:

• 1regular full-size package Oreo cookies, crushed into fine crumbs (36 sandwich cookies in total)
• 8tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the baileys Irish cream cheesecake filling:

• 3packages (24 ounces total) full-fat cream cheese, very soft
• 1cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
• 1cup granulated sugar
• 3large eggs + 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1teaspoon espresso powder
• 1/2cup Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur

For the baileys Irish cream chocolate ganache:

• 12ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3/4cup heavy cream
• 1/4cup Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur

For the chocolate cookie crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap the bottom and sides of a 9″ spring-form pan in heavy duty aluminum foil. Lightly spray a 9″ spring-form pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl combine the crushed cookie crumbs and melted butter, mix well to combine.

Press the mixture into the bottom – and slightly up the sides – of the prepared pan.

Bake the crust in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack until needed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

For the baileys Irish cream cheesecake filling:

In the body of a high-power blender, food processor, stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and sour cream until completely smooth.

Add in the sugar and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Add in the eggs and yolks and beat until smooth. Turn mixer off and fold in the espresso powder.

Finally, fold in the Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur, mixing just until it’s incorporated in the batter.

Pour filling on top of the partially baked crust and use a spatula to smooth the top.

Place the cheesecake pan into a large, deep pan.

Bake:

Place pan in the oven and then add an inch of hot water into the pan. This is your water bath.

Bake cheesecake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 40 minutes, inside the oven with the door shut. The cheesecake should be still slightly wiggly.

Remove cake from oven, run a knife very gently around the edge of the cake, and let it sit in the pan for 15 more minutes before removing. Cover the spring form pan loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

For the baileys Irish cream chocolate ganache:

Add chopped chocolate to a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a rolling simmer. Pour the cream on top of the chocolate pieces and set aside for 1 minute. With a whisk, begin to incorporate the melted chocolate into the cream, whisking until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the Baileys Irish Cream.

Set aside, at room temperature, until needed.

Pour ganache over cooled cheesecake. Set aside until ganache is set, about 1 hour.

To serve:

Slice the cheesecake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.

Store, loosely covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.

Yield: 6 Servings

Adapted from Oh Yum with Anna

Naan is traditionally baked on the walls of a tandoori oven, but you can easily make this at home, using a cast iron skillet. Once you see how easy it is to make authentic naan from scratch, you’ll never use store bought again!

• ¾cup warm water (just about body temperature)
• ½cup plain yogurt (any fat %)
• 2TBS olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2¼tsp (1 pkg) instant yeast
• 2½cups AP flour (plain flour)
• ½tsp salt
• melted butter or ghee, for brushing
• sea salt and/or chopped fresh coriander, for sprinkling

Place the water, yogurt, oil, yeast, 2¼ cups of the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes too awkward. Pour the remaining ¼ cup of flour on a clean work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, turning it and working in all the remaining flour. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for an hour.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour and divide it into 6 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a rough circle (precision is not essential here) about 8 or 9-inches across.

Heat a cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet on high heat. Drop in a naan and cook for about 90 seconds, until browned in spots on the bottom. Use tongs to flip the naan over to cook another 90 seconds, until the bubbles blister and turn toasty brown. Brush the naan with melted butter or ghee, sprinkle with salt and/or coriander. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Stacking the naan will keep it warm, or you can hold them in a 300°F oven until ready to serve.

The naan is best eaten the day it’s cooked.

Yield: 8 Buns

Lola Hubbell, probably from Cooks Illustrated

Melted butter is used in both the filling and the dough and to grease the pan; it’s easiest to melt the total amount (8 TBS) at once and measure it out as you need it. The finished buns are best eaten warm, but they hold reasonably well for up to 2 hours.

Cinnamon-sugar filling

• ¾cup dark brown sugar, packed 5¼ oz
• ¼cup granulated sugar (1¾ oz)
• 2tsp cinnamon
• ⅛tsp ground cloves
• ⅛tsp table salt
• 1TBS butter, melted

Biscuit dough

• 2½cups AP flour (12½ oz), plus more for work surface
• 2TBS granulated sugar
• 1¼tsp baking powder
• ½tsp baking soda
• ½tsp table salt
• 1¼cups buttermilk
• 6TBS butter, melted, divided
  

Icing

• 2TBS cream cheese, softened
• 2TBS buttermilk
• 1cup confectioners’ sugar (4 oz)

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Pour 1 TBS melted butter in 9-inch round pan. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Cinnamon-sugar filling: Combine sugars, spices, and salt in small bowl. Add 1 TBS melted butter and stir with fork or fingers until mixture resembles wet sand; set filling mixture aside.

Biscuit dough: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder. baking soda. and salt in large bowl.

Whisk buttermilk and 2 TBS melted butter in measuring cup or small bowl. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until liquid Is absorbed (dough will look very shaggy), about 30 seconds to lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy.

Make rolls: Pat dough with hands into 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter, leaving a ½-inch border un-buttered around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar filling over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 8 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in buttered cake pan. Brush with 2 TBS remaining melted butter.

Bake: Bake until edges are golden-brown, 23 to 25 minutes. Use offset metal spatula to loosen buns from pan; without separating, slide buns out of pan onto greased cooling rack. Cool about 5 minutes before icing.

To make icing and finish: While buns are cooling, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy cleanup); set rack with buns over baking sheet. Whisk cream cheese and buttermilk in large nonreactive bowl until thick and smooth (mixture will look like cottage cheese at-first). Sift confectioners’ sugar over; whisk until smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Spoon glaze evenly over buns. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 Servings

The French Cooking Academy

The chicken hunter style or (poulet sauté chasseur) is a classic French stew made with sautéed pieces of chicken, which are braised using a combination of brown chicken stock, tomato sauce, mushrooms, shallots and fresh herbs (tarragon and parsley). it is best made using a cast iron Dutch oven. Best served with a side of potatoes or quality tagliatelle and a bottle of dry white wine like a Muscadet wine.

• 2lb bone-in chicken thighs
• salt & pepper
• 2½TBS AP flour
• 2TBS butter

Brown chicken stock:

• 1lb chicken bones
• 1carrot
• ½yellow onion
• 2cups veal stock
• 1TBS tomato paste
• 1clove garlic
• 1bouquet garni

Sauce:

• 1medium shallots
• 4oz mushrooms
• 2TBS cognac or brandy
  
• 2oz white wine
• 2cups chicken stock
• 1TBS butter
• 1TBS tarragon
• 1TBS parsley
• 1pinch salt
• 1pinch pepper

Prepare the garnish:
Preheat oven to 400°F.Trim and slice the mushrooms. Peel and chop the shallots. wash the parsley and tarragon and when done, reserve in the fridge.

Start cooking the chicken pieces:

Season each chicken piece with salt and pepper and dredge them in plain flour. Melta TBS of butter in a Dutch oven or sauté pan and wait for the butter to stop foaming. Add the chicken pieces one by one in the pan (skin side down) and cook for a few minutes. When the skin is light brown turn the thighs over and brown the other side. When done cover the pan and continue to cook in the oven at 400°F for 15 minutes

Start the sauce “Chasseur”

Start by quickly washing and chopping the mushrooms. then the pan out of the oven, remove the chicken pieces and place them on a tray to keep them warm and reserve on the side to allow them to rest. Place the pan you used to cook the chicken on the stove on medium heat, add the mushrooms in and sauté them for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the excess of fat (if any), add the chopped shallots and let them sweat a little bit. Flambe with the cognac, then deglaze with the white wine. Reduce until a TBS worth of wine is left. add in the brown chicken stock, turn the heat back on low and let the stock reduce for a few minutes.

Finish the sauce Chasseur

Chop the tarragon and parsley finely, about two TBS each. Check the sauce for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Take the pan off the heat and incorporate a TBS of butter in the sauce by stirring slowly. add a TBS of tarragon and parsley to the sauce and stir again. Add the chicken pieces in the pan and warm up on a very low heat (the sauce must not boil!!) for a few minutes until the chicken is warm enough to be served.

Plate and serve

Use a large dish (or individual plates) place the chicken pieces in the dish and cover the chicken with the warm sauce. Finish off by sprinkling the last TBS of freshly chopped parsley and tarragon over the meat and serve.

Side dish suggestions:

Vegetables	Starches
Green Beans	Tagliatelle
Asparagus	Steamed Potatoes
Broccoli	Mashed Potatoes
Green Salad	Noodles

Servings: 8

https://food.ninahendrick.com/new-england-apple-crisp/

New England Apple Crisp is a regional classic with sweet apples, cinnamon, and a crunchy oatmeal and brown sugar topping. Serve with vanilla ice cream for the perfect finishing touch!

Oatmeal Crumb Topping:

• 1cup quick oats
• ½cup light brown sugar
• ½cup all-purpose flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• ½tsp cinnamon
• ¼tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼tsp ground allspice
• ½cup butter melted

Apple Filling:

• 6Apples peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
• ½cup light brown sugar
• 1TBS lemon juice
• 3TBS butter melted
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp apple pie spice ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground allspice
• 1TBS all-purpose flour use almond flour for gluten-free

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, combine topping ingredients until crumbs are formed. Set aside.

In a second bowl, combine apple filling ingredients. Using a large spoon, mix until the apples are evenly coated.

Add a thin layer of oatmeal crumb topping to the bottom of a 9×9″ baking dish or a 10″ cast iron skillet.

Next, spread apple filling ingredients over crumbs evenly. Add the remaining crumb topping to the top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Serve warm.

For traditionalists, serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I prefer chilled, straight out of the fridge.