Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake

Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake by Cooking Classy 

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip together cream cheese and 1/3 cup granulated sugar until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream and heavy cream. Add in egg yolk, 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon zest and mix until combine, set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. In another mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together butter and 2/3 cup granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in egg. Mix in sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Pour cake batter into a buttered 9 inch springform pan and spread mixture into an even layer. Pour cream cheese mixture over cake batter layer and spread cream cheese mixture into an even layer (you don't need to swirl the cake, it did it on it's own while baking). Bake in preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes until edges are golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into slices.
• I tried serving and eating this a few different ways:
• 1. Serve warm garnished with lots of powdered sugar
• 2. Allow to cool at room temperature 30 minutes, then cover and chill 1 hour. Slice and serve with sweetened whipped cream and optional fresh raspberries.
• 3. Allow to cool at room temperature 30 minutes, then cover and chill 1 hour. Slice and serve with raspberry sauce and sweetened whipped cream.

Roasted Pork Chops with Hard Cider Jus

Ingredients:

8 (1-inch-thick) rib pork chops (4 lb total)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 lb large shallots (8), bulbs separated if necessary and each bulb halved lengthwise

1 cup hard cider

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Pat pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with sea salt and pepper. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chops in 3 batches, turning once, 6 minutes per batch, and transfer with tongs to a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep).

Add shallots and remaining tablespoon butter to skillet and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add cider and boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 3 minutes.

Spoon shallots and sauce around chops and roast in lower third of oven until thermometer inserted horizontally into center of 1 chop (do not touch bone) registers 150°F, 7 to 9 minutes.

Let chops stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 155°F while standing). Serve chops with shallots and sauce.

Maple Pecan Bars

Baking these bars fills me with warm memories of my Grandma Marie, who made a similar recipe. The pecan treats are popular at our office cookie exchange.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1-1/2 cups cold butter
•  TOPPING:
• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Press into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, syrup, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir over low heat until butter is melted. Stir in the pecans, cream and vanilla. Remove from the heat; spread over crust.
• Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 5 dozen.

Chicken Meatball Stroganoff

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1½lbs ground chicken breast
• 1 slice bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces (I used wheat sandwich bread)
• ½c finely minced onion
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2½c chicken broth
• ¼c sour cream
• 1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

To serve:

• 8oz egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
• additional fresh thyme, optional

Instructions

For the meatballs:

1. To make meatballs, combine chicken breast, bread, onion, milk, mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss with a fork until combined and smooth, but try not to over-mix. Using your hands, or a small scoop, form the mixture into 1½” meatballs (I usually get 20-24).
2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Working in batches, so as not to overcrowd them, add meatballs to the pan. Cook until well browned and cooked through, turning regularly and adding more olive oil as necessary (this took me about 8-10 minutes per batch). Transfer cooked meatballs to a plate and repeat with remaining meatballs.
3. Add the mushrooms and butter to the same saute pan and cook over medium heat, turning often, until mushrooms are golden and cooked through. If mushrooms begin to stick, feel free to add a little more butter or a small drizzle of olive oil. Add garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle flour over the mushroom/garlic mixture and stir to coat well. Pour in chicken broth and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the pan. Cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes, or until sauce has thickened somewhat.
4. Whisk in sour cream and Dijon mustard until smooth. Taste sauce and add additional salt and pepper as desired.
5. If serving to children or for ease of serving, slice meatballs in half. Return meatballs to the skillet and stir to coat with sauce. Add noodles to the pan and stir to coat. Top with an additional sprinkle of fresh thyme for garnish, if desired.

Cinnamon Vanilla Honey Butter

This butter recipe sounds melt-in-your-mouth amazing!  Just what I need for this fall/winter season!

Recipe from OneLovelyLife.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

In a large bowl, whip butter 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt (if using) and beat until well blended.

Refrigerate until ready to serve (it will still be spreadable when refrigerated, but will be easier to spread if you pull it out a few minutes before serving).


Stay tuned for your daily Ingredient of the Week (Bacon) recipe to come later on today. :)