My kind of bracket!

With March Madness nearly in full swing, there's basketball on our TV constantly. Most nights, I subject my poor husband to Food Network, E! News and shameful shows like the Kardashians or Toddlers & Tiaras. So for him to watch basketball for a few short weeks, well, I owe him at least that.

A few folks have suggested I fill out a bracket and try to follow along. Ha. I went to a football school and know about as much about NCAA basketball as I do about neurosurgery. I might as well just "Christmas tree" the thing (like I always wanted to try with a science test in middle school but never could get up the nerve).

But now this... this is a bracket I can get excited about.

Pulled Pork versus Fried Okra. Pimiento Cheese versus Deviled Eggs. Collard Greens versus Mac & Cheese. It reads like my favorite meat-n-three!

Click here to vote on round one. Winning dishes announced Friday. Round 2 begins next week. Here's pulling for Peach Cobbler!

PS - Happy Pi Day, friends! Or pie day, if you'd rather. : )

You go, grill!

Ladies, I almost blew it this weekend. (And guys, you'll know why in two seconds.) I asked my husband if I could cook the steak. Not because I don't like it when he grills it, but because I pinned a new method and I wanted desperately to try it.

He was kind enough to let me... and words cannot describe the deliciousness. Y'all, there is a reason that none of the high end steakhouses grill their steaks. And. this. is. it.

Oh. And your house will smell HEAVENLY.

Restaurant-Style Steak

Adapted from Whit's Amuse Bouche

Ingredients

• 2 6-8 ounce filet mignons
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, softened and divided
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400*.
• Make compound butter by mixing three tablespoons of softened butter with garlic, parsley, thyme and lemon zest.
• Shape into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Generously season filets with salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon each per side.
• Heat remainder of butter and olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat.
• Sear filets, 2-3 minutes per side, spooning butter over filets as they cook.
• Transfer skillet (filets and all) to the oven and cook 6-8 minutes more for medium rare.
• Remove skillet from oven and each filet with a pat of compound butter.
• Serve immediately.

I don't know about you, but because of this recipe... we're about to starting eat more beef in this house. Please don't tell the Chick-fil-A Cows! : )

3-Ingredient Breakfast Pinwheels

5 out of 5 dentists agree that flossing is good for your teeth. (Or maybe it's your gums?) Either way, floss is fabulous. At least to them. But fun? Not so much. Until now. : )

Did you know you can use this stuff to make an easy weekend breakfast? I keep a little package in a kitchen drawer for this very purpose.

With floss, just 3 (count 'em, three) ingredients, and 10 minutes of prep tops... you're on your way to a winning meal!

3-Ingredient Breakfast Pinwheels

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 16 pinwheels

Ingredients

• 1 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 lb. breakfast sausage
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Unroll crescents into four rectangular pieces, leaving two rolls connected in each piece.

• Pinch diagonal dough seams together.
• Spread 1/4 of sausage evenly over each rectangle.
• Sprinkle cheese evenly over sausage.

• Roll each rectangle into a spiral, starting on the short edge.

• Cut a 12" piece of dental floss or thread. Crisscross around center of first dough log as if you were just beginning to tie your shoes (but don't thread it).

• Tug right and left so that floss slices through dough, creating a disc.

• Repeat method, slicing each log into four discs.
• Arrange pinwheels on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until crescents are golden brown, sausage is done, and cheese is bubbling.
• Serve immediately.

Great not just for breakfast or brunch, but also as an easy appetizer!

$5 Cookbook Clearance

Friends! If you like cookbooks, get thee to Taste of Home. Stat.

Now through February 27, they have a ton of great cookbooks for $5! (Some originally priced as high as $28.) I've purchased several Taste of Home magazines in the past, and they've all had great easy-to-follow recipes. No doubt their cookbooks are equally as awesome.

I'm pondering:

Fast Fixes With Mixes
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Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes
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Healthy Cooking
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Now, I just need to decide on one more... because you can get free shipping on a $20 purchase with code LST108!

The Prize-Winning Cheesecake

Here it is, folks! The Biscoff Bake-Off winning recipe. Would you believe it was the first recipe I ever made up entirely by myself?

Delta had it posted on their site for a while, and I wasn't sure if I could put it here without conflict (I did sign my rights away when I entered the contest, after all). But now it's gone from their page and people are asking for it.  And what the people want, the people get. : )

So grab yourself some Biscoff Cookies (click here to find a retailer in your area; both Publix and Kroger sell them in my neck of the woods) and get to baking!

Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Winner of the 2011 Delta Biscoff Bake-Off

Ingredients

• Crust
• 24 Biscoff Cookies, finely crumbled
• 1/3 cup salted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• Filling
• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 21-ounce can apple pie filling (Comstock "More Fruit" brand recommended)
• Topping
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 Biscoff Cookies, coarsely crumbled
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Prepare crust.
• Mix together Biscoff cookie crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.
• Press mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 9" springform pan.
• Bake 10 minutes. Cool and maintain oven temperature.
• Prepare filling.
• Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add sour cream, whipping cream, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and vanilla until well blended.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition.
• Assemble cheesecake.
• Pour half of cream cheese mixture into crust.
• Starting from the center outward, spoon apple pie filling onto cream cheese mixture. Leave at least 1" plain border around edge of cake.
• Gently portion remaining cream cheese mixture over top of apples, ensuring that no apples show through.
• Tap on counter to remove any bubbles.
• Bake.
• Fill a 9"x13" pan with hot tap water and place on bottom rack.
• Bake cheesecake on center rack until set, about 45 minutes to one hour. Center inch of cake should remain loose in order to firm during cooling.
• Turn off oven and let cheesecake stand inside with door closed for at least one hour.
• Cool.
• Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
• When cheesecake has reached room temperature, refrigerate overnight.
• Make caramel topping.
• Melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan.
• Add brown sugar and stir over medium-low heat until dissolved.
• Increase heat and bring to a boil.
• Gradually add heavy cream and whisk until smooth.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Complete assembly.
• Pour warm caramel topping over center of cheesecake, allowing to spread outward to within 1" of cake edge.
• Sprinkle with coarse Biscoff cookie crumbles and sea salt.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• This recipe is based on the size of Biscoff Cookies available in the grocery store.  If you travel like a madman and are stockpiling the Delta ones, they're actually a good bit larger. You won't need as many.
• If you use reduced fat anything (sour cream, cream cheese, etc.) the cake will almost definitely crack.
• About half of mine still crack even when I use the full fat goodies. Don't fret; that's what the topping is for! : )
• To slice without stress, run a large, sharp knife under hot water for about 60 seconds. Wipe blade with a damp towel between cuts to prevent transfer of cheesecake from one slice to the next. Run under hot water again after every other slice.
• This cheesecake is very rich. A little bit goes a long way! Recipe will easily yield 10 generous or 12 smaller slices.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I may have to go make another one of these!

Delta Biscoff Bake-Off Video

Remember Delta's Biscoff Bake-Off? I realized this week that (gasp) I never posted the winning recipe!  Next post. I promise.

Oh how I love thee, Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake. I'm drooling just remembering it.

And how's this for serendipitous...  a girlfriend from college stumbled upon the video below today! I knew they were filming, but I never saw the final result. So until the recipe goes up, here's a fun look at my first foray into competitive baking!

(Please someone tell me I don't always sound like a six year old. Or talk that fast. Whoa!)

Haute Chocolate

Happy February! It's officially the month of roses, cupids and (my personal favorite)... chocolate. : )

And while you won't see me turn down chocolates in a heart shaped box, I'm more of a haute chocolate girl myself. I like unexpected things, like salted caramels and spicy chocolates. Like the recipe below, for example. Spicy Dark Hot Chocolate from the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead. It's one of their Haute Chocolate Experiences, going on all through the month of February.

There's a candy making class this Saturday, a class on pairing port with chocolate Wednesday night, and a Haute Chocolate Bar available all month long. The bar includes not only the Spicy Dark Hot Chocolate below, but also a Milk Chocolate Caramel. And homemade marshmallows. Ohymyword.  The list goes on and on. Check out their website for details. I can't do it all justice.

In the meantime, you can make their Spicy Dark Hot Chocolate for yourself, courtesy of Pastry Chef Dallas Marsteller. Trust me, it is stellar! (Update: the Marsteller/stellar pun was entirely unintentional. I can't decide if I like it or if I'm a total goober.  Probably the latter. : )

Spicy Dark Hot Chocolate

By Pastry Chef Dallas Marsteller

of the Ritz Carlton, Buckhead

Ingredients

• 8 ounces half and half
• 1 package powdered hot cocoa mix
• 2 ounces chopped dark chocolate, preferably Valrhona brand
•  Cayenne pepper, to taste
•  Rose water, to taste

Directions

1. Combine the cocoa mix, cayenne pepper, and Valrhona chocolate in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the half-and-half and rose water in a pan, pour the hot liquid over chocolate mixture and whisk together.
3. Use a hand blender to completely melt/mix the chocolate.
4. Pour in desired cup, garnish with marshmallows, shaved chocolate or whipped cream.

Enjoy!