Cookbook Give Away!!!

Can you believe it is July already? Where is the year going? I am halfway done with my New Southwest Cookbook challenge! And I want to share the book with you guys, so I am going to give one away!!! Keep reading to see how…

I also wanted you to know that it doesn’t have just dinner recipes. A few months ago, while I had friends in town, I took advantage of the chance to try out some of the breakfast recipes from The New Southwest Cookbook. There are few things better than cooking something delicious for houseguests. Makes me feel like a good hostess. And these were some pretty delicious recipes!

Tomato-Basil-Swiss Cheese Quiche
(p. 23- The Garden Cottage Bed and Breakfast- Cedar City, UT)
This was really delicious. The aroma was amazing, wafting out of the oven! It had all the delicious flavors of pizza- tomatoes, basil, cheese, which was not at all expected in an egg dish. This will definitely be made again soon.



Southwestern Biscuits with Sausage and Crayfish Gravy
(p.32- Remington's Scottsdale Plaza Resort- Scottsdale AZ)
I was slightly disappointed that this recipe did not include homemade biscuits, but just said to use Southern style biscuits. However, the gravy more than made up for it.


Nutball Coffee Cake
(p.39- The Garden Cottage Bed and Breakfast- Cedar City, UT)
I think I overcooked this one a little bit. It was bisquick/cinnamon dough, rolled into little balls, and each ball was coated in butter, then cinnamon sugar and then nuts. Pretty work intensive and I had really high hopes. It also had a yummy cream cheese frosting drizzle. Sadly, I think it baked a little long because the balls were a little dry in the middle.



Apple Fritters
(p. 38- Waunita Hot Springs Ranch- Gunnison, CO)
These were sooooooo good. Apple fritters that actually tasted like apples! You know how most fritters are just fried dough with maybe a couple of tidbits of apple? Not these- shredded apple was at least half of the doughnut. And anything that is fried and coated in sugar can’t be bad!



Ok, so you want to try some of these and the other delicious things I have been making? Here is how you get a copy- post a comment about which recipe you have seen that I have cooked that you want to try. Also, if share this give away on your Facebook page and leave me a comment about that, you will be entered a second time to win. I will post in the comments section who wins. Good luck!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

I have been obsessed with the idea of root beer cupcakes ever since I saw a couple of versions on the cupcake project blog over a year ago. I kept thinking about how fabulous they would be if they truly replicated the deliciousness of a root beer float- yummy, almost spicy root beer cake topped with creamy vanilla frosting. I found this recipe that actually used melted ice cream in the frosting in the cupcake book Hannah got for her birthday. The root beer cupcakes were good and moist, but the root beer flavor was not quite as powerful as I was hoping. So I doubled the amount of extract in the recipe below. I think it should be perfect.



¾ cup butter
3 eggs
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
2 Tbsp. root beer extract
½ tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cups root beer

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowlbeat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about sugar, about ¼ cup at a time, beating on medium speed until combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat on medium speeed aabout 2 minutes more, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in root beer extract and vanilla. Alternatly add flour mixture and root beer to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 to ¾ full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the batter in the cups.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in muffing tines on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin. Cool completely on wire rack.
5. Pipe Float Frosting over cupcakes. Top with root beer candy and straws.

¼ cup better
¾ cup vanilla ice cream
½ tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Allow the butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Allow ice cream to stand at room temperature for 1o minutes, In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in ½ cup of the ice cream and ½ tsp vanilla. Beat in the powdered sugar. If needed, stir in additional ice cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches spreading consistency.

San Francisco and Low Fat Clam Chowder

Last weekend we went to San Francisco! Andrew and I had been, but not together, and Hannah had never been. It was a lot of fun to explore the city together.
Other than Alcatraz, redwood trees and Fisherman’s wharf, it was all about eating, Eating and walking. And more walking. I don’t know if you have ever explored San Francisco on foot, but no matter which way you turn, you are walking up a hill. And they are some really steep hills. It was a good thing that we were walking so much to counterbalance the eating we were doing. (Hopefully you can get perspective in this picture- we started walking way back down at the bottom of this hill...)


Many a bread bowl of clam chowder was enjoyed. I normally don’t eat clam chowder often, as the reason it is so creamy and delicious is heavy cream. And eating a bowl of cream is the caloric equivalent of eating a stick of butter. This is all ok if you are going to walk up hills for 7 hours straight, but not so much on a regular day.



So I set out to find a lower fat version of clam chowder. I found something online and altered it a smidge. Andrew and I agree that, although it loses some of the thickness due to not having cream in it, the flavors are really delicious. The starch from the potatoes thickens it and the fat free half and half gives it some creaminess. Let me know what you think.

Low Fat Clam Chowder



Ingredients
• 1 bottle clam juice
• 3 cups water
• 4 large red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 slices lean center-cut bacon, chopped
• 2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup fat-free half-and-half
• 4 cans chopped clams
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Combine clam juice in water in a medium pot. Add the potatoes, cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove half of the potatoes. Continue to cook the remaining potatoes, covered, until soft, about 10 more minutes. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot.
Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and cook, stirring, about 3 more minutes. Add the bacon mixture and reserved potatoes to the soup. Cover and cook over low heat, about 5 minutes.
Stir the clam meat and half-and-half into the soup; remove from the heat, cover and set aside, 20 to 30 minutes.
Discard the bay leaves. Season the soup with salt and pepper and reheat. Serve topped with parsley.
Makes 6 servings: about 350 calories