Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

This year April brings the return of vibrant color and lush greens to landscape here in the midwest, the Easter holidays, my favorite dark chocolate covered vanilla cream eggs from Fannie May (a candy store original to the Chicagoland area), and the much anticipated one month only (hot or cold) chocolate peanut butter flavored mocha drink on the local coffee shop menu. In other words, it's a feast for the eyes, soul, and sweet tooth kind of month. Why is it that the months providing and offering us so much last only thirty days? Wouldn't it be great if we could take a day from January and give it to April? 

Speaking of asking someone to make something I want possible, I must admit I have never been shy about asking friends for a favor. I don't mean like 'can I borrow a cup of sugar?'or 'could you drive me/pick me up from the airport?' (this would have been in the days before Uber). I mean things like 'could you bring me back a black Prada crossbody purse that costs less than "X" while on your trip to Italy?' (yes, I did that) or 'could you ask your sister if she could send me a copy of Ottolenghi's cookbook being released in the UK a month before it's released in the states? (yes, I did that), or 'could you look for and bring me back a square ice cream scoop while on your business trip to England?' (yes, I did that too). Yes, I have shamelessly asked for the 'could you please go out of your way? big kind of favors. Fortunately for me I am surrounded by some really good, no some really great friends, because all of those favors were granted. 

I still have that purse. I love my European version of one of Ottolenghi's cookbooks. And I love having had that unusually shaped square ice cream scoop well before Amazon existed. Almost as much as I love my oval shaped ice cream scoop to make oval shaped confections. Like these Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs. It's one of those nice to have, not a must have, kind of thing because you can make these divinely creamy eggs without one. All you need are a couple of tablespoons and your hands. 

Not counting the milk chocolate, it takes only five ingredients to make these way better than store bought Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs. Room temperature unsalted butter, creamy peanut butter, marshmallow creme, confectionary sugar, and flaky sea salt. While the mixture easily comes together  when using a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, you could also make it using a medium-large sized bowl and a hand mixer. 

The mixture should have a consistency where you should be able to scoop or hand mold it into an egg shape without having to chill it first. But for some reason if your mixture won't cooperate, cover and chill it for about an hour. However, once all of your eggs have been formed they will need to chill in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) before they can be dipped in the melted milk (or dark) chocolate. When you finally get around to reading the recipe, please also read the notes as they contain some very helpful hints.

The recipe makes one dozen 2 1/4 inch sized peanut butter eggs. You can make them smaller if you are shaping them by hand. But this isn't a make only at Easter kind of recipe! You can make them into Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (or truffles if you want to be fancy) using that round ice cream scoop you now use to make perfectly sized cookies. 

What makes these Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs so light and creamy is the secret ingredient of some store bought marshmallow creme. The flavor, texture, and finishing look of these incredibly simple to make eggs is akin to the flavor, texture, and finishing look of Easter confections you might find at a high end chocolate confectionary. Your family and friends might find it hard to believe they are actually homemade or that you made them. So don't be so quick to tell them how almost effortless they were to make. You might need a really big favor someday.

For those of you who love Buckeyes, you might be wondering what the difference between them and these peanut butter eggs is. Well, these eggs have a much creamier texture, in large part due to the use of the marshmallow creme. Which is an ingredient I believe contributes greatly to their slightly addictive, irresistible deliciousness. Additionally the marshmallow creme adds a bit of sweetness without making them too sweet. Unlike other peanut butter egg recipes calling for the addition of brown sugar to the mixture.

If we needed yet another reason to be grateful for the arrival of April, it might just be these Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs. Yet unlike the chocolate peanut butter mocha drink some of my friends have had to wait an entire year to enjoy, this confection can be made and savored year round. Which is great news for all of the chocolate peanut butter lovers in your life!

Recipe

Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

Makes 12-13 oval shaped 2 1/4 inch eggs 

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature (but not melty soft)

3/4 cup (180g) creamy peanut butter (but not natural peanut better)

1/2 cup (44g) marshmallow creme (see notes)

2 cups (250g) confectionary sugar

1/8 teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more for finishing

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) milk or dark chocolate (not chocolate chips, see notes), melted

Optional: Sprinkles

Directions

1. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter, peanut butter, marshmallow creme, and salt until smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl down as needed.

3. Add in the confectionary sugar. Starting the mixer on low and gradually increasing speed, beat until well blended. Note: The mixture should start to come away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Using an oval ice cream scooper or a large tablespoon, form the dough into eggs shapes. Place on parchment paper lined pan. Note: Instead of making these egg shaped you could also use a small or medium sized round cookie scoop. You are going to want to make these year round.

5. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours and up to overnight.

6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Dip the peanut butter eggs in the melted chocolate and set on the prepared baking sheet. Note: Melt your chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl set over but not touching simmering water.

8. After dipping all of the eggs, use a fork to drizzle chocolate over the top of the dipped eggs.

9. Before the chocolate sets, lightly sprinkle the eggs with flaky sea salt.

10. Let the chocolate set completely before removing from the parchment paper and placing in cupcake papers or cellophane bags.

11. Store the eggs in a sealed container at room temperature or keep chilled in the refrigerator.

Notes: (1) Jif is my favorite peanut butter but Skippy would work too. Do not use 'natural' peanut butter.(2) You can find marshmallow creme in the baking aisle. I used this one. (3) It is easier to weigh out the peanut butter and marshmallow creme than it is to try to measuring it out. I just place my mixing bowl on the scale and add the necessary amounts, resetting the weight between ingredients. (4) If your eggs on not completely covered in chocolate on the bottom, use the remaining chocolate to dip or spread chocolate on them. Just make sure the eggs are set before you do this. You can remelt your chocolate in the microwave in 10 second increments until it is the consistency you need. (5) I used this oval ice cream scoop. (6) You can easily double this recipe! (6) I use chocolate from a local candy store, you can use the Ghiradelli melting discs or a melting chocolate from your favorite chocolatier. (7) Instead of forming into egg shapes, make them into round Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls or Truffles! (8) Instead of flaky sea salt finish, you could always top them with colorful and/or holiday sprinkles.

Spring daffodils in bloom, Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL (April 2021)

French Silk Tart

It's been more than six months since I have safely traveled anywhere. Restlessness has set in. Yes, I know traveling anywhere these days is somewhat of a luxury, all things considered. But now that I am fully vaccinated (a significant accomplishment for my flu-shot avoidance self), I have planned two trips, one in mid-April with the other in mid to late May. The first trip will be a three day stay up in Door County, Wisconsin with (yes, vaccinated) friends. But rather than stay in a familiar, but larger resort in Egg Harbor, we are renting a condo overlooking the Bay in Sister Bay this time. While it will be too early to see or photograph the cherry blossoms, the spring landscape should be beautiful. The second adventure will be an almost week long solo stay in one of my happy places, Boulder, Colorado. Ever since spending a glorious birthday week there in September I have longed to return to the house at the base of the Front Range sooner rather than later. The mountains have been calling to me. Hiking on snow covered trails up in Rocky Mountain National Park should be quite the experience! Although I am praying for a mild heat wave to arrive in Colorado in either late April or at the beginning of May so some of their record setting snowfall can begin melting. It would be nice to see snow but even nice to not have to hike on icy trails. But regardless of the trail conditions, I can hardly wait to spend time in the mountains. 

In some ways this French Silk Tart topped mounds of sweetened whipped cream and studded with chocolate shards reminds me of snow capped mountains. Having a rather active imagination, the sights, aromas, and tastes of foods sometimes have a way of transporting me back to places I have been, back to places I love.

Growing up in the flatlands of the midwest, it would be a treat to make a trip to Bakers' Square for a piece of their decadent French Silk Pie. And you always crossed your fingers this pie wouldn't be sold out by the time you got there. 

If you do a search for French Silk Pie you will find there are a significant number of recipes out there. Most of them claiming to be exactly like or a copy cat version of the iconic one from Bakers' Square. But with ingredients and techniques varying somewhat significantly in many of these recipes, it might be difficult to discern which one is actually the French Silk Pie Holy Grail. So I am not going to tell you this is the one. But I am going to tell you this French Silk Tart is as chocolaty, as decadent, as addictive, as tempting, and as mouthwatering delicious. Maybe it's even better than the one inspiring its' name, but that would be for you to decide. 

Some might think it a bit sacrilegious to make a luscious, decadent, homemade French Silk Tart using a refrigerated pie crust rather than a crust made from scratch. I don't subscribe to that way of thinking. Besides, if there is a way to make a recipe just a little bit easier without sacrificing flavor, I'm all for it. However, if you are a master of pie dough, go ahead and make your own buttery crust. But. if you are like me, make the tart shell using a good quality refrigerated crust. However, don't bake it according to package directions. The tart shell should first be blind baked for 12-14 minutes, then pricked with a fork and brushed with an egg wash before going back into the oven for another 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brushing the tart shell with the egg wash not only gives it a beautiful color, it helps to seal the crust from getting too soggy after the french silk filling goes in.

Some French Silk Pie recipes call for using cooked eggs, some for using raw eggs. This rendition is a raw egg recipe. While there is very little risk to eating a dessert made with raw eggs these days, you can always use pasteurized eggs to reduce that risk even further if you have any concerns. To make the filling, cold from the refrigerator eggs are whipped into the sugar/butter mixture one at a time. Each egg is whipped for five minutes. So keep your eggs in the refrigerator until you are ready to each one. The total whipping time for the four eggs will be twenty minutes. Yes, that's alot of whipping!

Lightly sweetened whipped cream can be dolloped on top of the filling or piped on using a pastry bag. And instead of making chocolate shards, you could easily make chocolate curls using a vegetable peeler and a semi-sweet bar of chocolate.

Allowing the French Silk Tart to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight is essential to further developing its' decadent chocolate flavor. While this French Silk Tart is more dense than cloud-like, it is nothing short of heavenly. 

If you are looking for a show stopping, ambrosial, irresistible dessert to serve for Easter, make this French Silk Tart to bring some joy to this not yet completely normal holiday celebration! And, if by chance, any of your chocolate loving friends and family grew up eating the Bakers' Square French Silk Pie, they just might declare this French Silk Tart to be the richest, best version ever! 

Recipe

French Silk Tart

Serves 8-12, depending on how you slice it

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1 refrigerated pie crust (I used Pillsbury) or one recipe for a homemade pie crust

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon milk

French Silk Filling

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

8 ounces (227g) good quality bittersweet chocolate (60% cocao), melted and cooled. See notes.

4 large eggs, cold

Whipped Cream 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2-3 Tablespoons confectionary sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Shards

4 ounces of semisweet or dark chocolate, melted and cooled (See notes)

Directions

Pie/Tart Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F). Whisk together the large egg and tablespoon of milk. Set aside.

2. Place a single pie crust into the 9 inch (2 inch high) tart pan with removable bottom. Place tart pan on a large baking sheet.

3. Line the bottom and the sides of tart pan with piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.

4. Place in the oven and bake for 13-14 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove the foil/paper and beans/weights.

5. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust (to prevent bubbles) and brush with the egg/milk mixture. Return to the oven and continue baking for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven and let the tart shell cool completely. When cool, transfer the baked tart shell to a serving platter.

French Silk Filling

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add in the butter, sugar, Kosher salt, and vanilla. Beat until light and creamy (approximately 3 minutes) scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

2. Add in the cooled melted chocolate and beat until blended in.

3. Remove eggs from the refrigerator one at a time. Crack an egg into the bowl and beat for 5 minutes. Repeat for each of the three remaining eggs, making certain to beat each egg for 5 minutes.

4. Spoon filling into the cooled tart shell. Smooth top of the filling. Return to the refrigerator while making the whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, confectionary sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. 

2. Use a spoon to dollop and spread the whipped cream on top of the french silk filling layer OR place the whipped cream in a large pastry bag fitted with the pastry tip of your choice and create the design of your choice. Return to the refrigerator while you make the chocolate shards.

Chocolate Shards

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over simmering water.

2. Spread the melted chocolate into a thin layer on the bottom of a clean, large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator to let chocolate set up or let chocolate set up on its' own. Chilling it just makes things go a little more quickly. 

3. Use a bench scraper or putty knife to scrape up the chocolate. Then break the pieces into shards. Alternately, spread the melted chocolate on a large piece of parchment paper and let set up. You can just peel the chocolate off the paper and break into shards.

4. Place the chocolate shards into the filling in the design of your choice. 

5. Instead of melting chocolate to make shards, can use a vegetable peeler on a bar of chocolate to create chocolate curls.

Notes: (1) Use a chocolate bar for both the tart filling and to make the shards. Do not use chocolate chips. I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet (60% cocao) bars. (2) If using a homemade pie crust, bake as directed above. (3) This recipe inspired by multiple sources but this version is all mine. (4) I used a tart pan with a removable bottom, but if you don't have one you could always use a pie plate. 

DuPage River at the Four Rivers Environmental Center, Channahon, IL (March 2021)

Birthday Cake Cookies

It was a year ago this month when drive by and Zoom birthday celebrations became the new normal. In spite of the onset of a Pandemic and subsequent lockdown, we still managed to find ways to commemorate the birthdays and birthday milestones of our friends/family. Never before has simple gesture of extending a birthday wish carried so much weight or meant so much. While these virtual or at a distance gatherings may be a far cry from prior years birthday festivities, our creative attempts to keep the celebratory spirit of someones birthday alive have made them a different, yet distinctive kind of memorable. 

Until such time we can return to the time honored traditions of sharing our slathered in buttercream or chocolate birthday cake and blowing out candles to make a wish, these Birthday Cake Cookies might be a perfect new birthday custom. And who knows, given the choice between a birthday cake and birthday cake cookies, it's quite possible we might begin choosing cookies! Especially ginormous, buttery, scrumptious beauties made with white chocolate morsels and jimmies sprinkles!  

These Birthday Cake Cookies are a close cross between a birthday cake and a sugar cookie. Crunchy on the outside and a little bit soft on inside, they are destined to delight the sweet tooths of young and old alike. 

If there was ever recipe where the ingredients as specified matter, it's these Birthday Cake Cookies. In order to ensure they have a kind of birthday cake flavor use should use a high quality European-style unsalted butter; light brown versus dark brown sugar; a generous amount of good quality vanilla; and, the jimmies sprinkles usually found in the ice cream section of the grocery store. While some recipes for Birthday Cake Cookies call for the use of a cake mix, the combination of all-purpose and cake flour gives these cookies their slight, made from scratch cake-like texture.  

Using an ice cream scoop (one of my most favorite cookie making tools) to form your cookie dough balls will not only create uniform sized cookies, it will give them their beautiful slightly textured top finish. The recipe yields a dozen, maybe a baker's dozen cookies. Which means you will need to use a large (2 1/4" in diameter) sized ice cream scoop. Note: If you use a smaller scoop, you will need to adjust your baking time.

Once your balls of dough are formed, they get topped with even more white chocolate chips. Press 7-8 chips (preferably flat side up) into each dough ball, then cover and chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Baking time for the cookies ranges from 20-22 minutes or until they are lightly golden on the top and bottom. To help prevent the cookies from burning on the bottom (they bake at 375 degrees F), stack two cookie sheets on top of one another. Let your baked cookies rest on the baking sheet(s) for about 8 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Only four balls of birthday cake cookie dough are baked at a time as they will bake up as eye-popping, bakery-style, ginormous cookies.

While the jimmies sprinkles add a pop of fun color and a bit of whimsy, the white chocolate morsels add that sweet, creamy deliriousness you get from eating cake frosting. For those of you who are chocolate lovers, you might not even miss the frosting.

You don't have to or shouldn't wait for anyone's birthday to make these destined to wow Birthday Cake Cookies.  But you should definitely make a batch of them to celebrate the birthday of a family member or friend! It might be one of the most heartfelt (and might I say one of the easiest) ways for you to make their birthday feel even more special and memorable. And who knows, Birthday Cake Cookies might even become a new birthday tradition in our ever evolving new normal!

Recipe

Birthday Cake Cookies 

Makes 12 large cookies, possibly 13 (Baker's Dozen)

Ingredients

2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (113g) cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup (8 oz/226g) unsalted butter, semi-room temperature, cubed (recommend a European style butter)

2/3 cup (134g) light brown sugar or a light brown/dark brown sugar combination (heavier on the light brown than dark brown sugar side)

2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/4 cups (351g) white chocolate chips, divided

3 ounces (85g) jimmies sprinkles (the ones you find in the ice cream toppings area of the grocery store)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt in a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cold butter on low speed until the butter cubes lose their shape (about 30-45 seconds).
3. Beat in the granulated sugar (about 30 seconds)
4. Beat in the brown sugar and vanilla (about 30 seconds). Mixture will be thick and creamy.
5. With the mixer on low speed add in 2 cups (312g) of the white chocolate chips and jimmies sprinkles to distribute evenly in the batter (about 30 seconds).
6. On low speed mix in the dry ingredients in three additions. Do not over beat, but there should be no streaks of flour showing.
7. Add in the lightly beaten eggs in two additions. Beat until mixture forms a cohesive dough.
8. Use a large (2 1/4") cookie scoop to divide the dough into 12 balls. Balls of dough will weigh about 4 ounces each. Notes: You might end up with 13 cookies, making the recipe yielding a baker's dozen.

9. Using the remaining 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips, firmly press 6-7 semi-evenly into the top of each ball of dough.
10. Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet, tightly cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line two baking pans with parchment paper. 
12. Place 4 balls of the cookie on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Note: You will be baking one cookie sheet at a time.
13. Bake cookies for 20-22 minutes or until the edges and spots on top are lightly golden. Rotate cookie sheet midway through the baking process. Do not over bake the cookies. Let cookies rest on the cookie sheet for about 8 minutes. Note: To ensure you don't burn the bottoms of the cookies, bake the cookies on a stack of two cookie sheets.
14. Remove cookies from baking sheets and place on a cooling rack. Let cool slightly or let come to room temperature before serving. 
15. Store any left over cookies in a tightly sealed container or wrap in a cellophane bag.

Notes: (1) To get perfectly rounded cookies, place a clear glass bowl slightly larger than the cookie or an oversized round cookie cutter over the warm out of the oven cookie and gently swirl it around. (2) If you want to send these cookies over the edge, make some buttercream icing and create Birthday Cake Sandwich cookies. (3) For a beautiful presentation, place a single cookie in a cellophane bag and tie with a beautiful ribbon! 

Pelicans on the DuPage River, Channahon, Il (March 2021)

Irish Brown Bread aka Kathleen's Irish Brown Bread

A recent comment about my Irish Soda Bread post got me thinking about what makes a recipe traditional. If you do a search for recipes containing the word 'traditional' in them, the number of variations for a single recipe are mindboggling. As an example, what a traditional Irish Soda Bread or a traditional lasagna is to one person isn't necessarily traditional to another. If we think of a traditional food or dish as one passed on through generations, then the traditional version of any recipe might heavily depend on the family or place you grew up in. But then what happens when those 'traditional' recipes get nuanced over time based on personal taste or the availability/quality of ingredients? Do they become the 'new traditional' or our own personal 'traditional'? Regardless of how you answer those questions, maybe believing the version you are making is the most delicious one is what truly matters most. 

So what do you do when you want to make a 'traditional' food but it's one you didn't grow up eating or making? You can go on the hunt for one by scouring the internet and/or books/magazines and try to decide which one to make or modify, you can ask a good friend (specifically a friend coming from a family making it for generations), or you can do both and then decide. Spoiler alert: I made the recipe given to me by a very good friend.

Sheila was first a neighbor, then a good friend when I lived in my rented farmhouse in Little Compton, Rhode Island. I can't even to begin to count on two hands the number of kindnesses she has extended to me over the years. After talking on the phone with her last week I came away with her mother Kathleen's recipe for Irish Brown Bread. One beloved by everyone in Sheila's family. Before moving to the states years ago, Sheila grew up in County Clare. It's the place where her mother still resides. So there were a myriad of reasons why I decided to make this Irish Brown Bread recipe. It was one having a bit of tradition to it; it came from Ireland; and, last but not least, Sheila happens to be a really, really good cook. Yet, in spite of all of those compelling reasons, I still felt the need to go down the Irish Brown Bread recipe rabbit hole. 

The ingredients for this Irish Brown Bread recipe were unlike any others I had found. First, it was made using only all-purpose flour, not whole wheat flour or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. Second, wheat bran, yes wheat bran, was a significant ingredient. Wheat bran happens to be rich in fiber and protein, has very little fat, and adds a slight nutty flavor to baked goods. And lastly, there were no sweeteners in this brown bread recipe. No granulated sugar, no brown sugar, no molasses. All of which had me wondering how this dense bread might taste. But I wouldn't know if I didn't make it.

Kathleen's Irish Brown Bread is traditionally shaped in an oval, not as a round loaf. Like most Irish Brown Breads it has a deep cross cut into it as well as deep cuts into each of the quarters. And before going into the preheated 450 degree (F) oven, the loaf of bread is ever so lightly dusted with flour.

Rather than bake the bread in a pan lightly dusted with flour, I opted to bake it in a cast iron pan lined with parchment paper. The bread bakes in 35-40 minutes, although my loaf was done right at the 35 minute mark.

The most difficult part of making this recipe (other than having to search for Wheat Bran) was waiting for it cool down just long enough for it to be cut into thick slices.

If Irish Soda Bread is on the sweet side with a scone like taste, then the denser in texture Irish Brown Bread is on the savory side with a deep nutty flavor. Both are delicious slathered with room temperature Irish butter. However, the Irish Brown Bread is equally delicious topped with both butter and jam, toasted and topped with some soft scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, and or topped with a slice of fresh mozzarella sprinkled with sea salt. 

Irish Brown Bread is a simple, hearty, rustic bread. With fat coming only from the buttermilk along with it being made with wheat bran, it's a little on the bread healthier side. But most importantly, it also happens to be satisfyingly delicious. This treasured recipe is one that will be repeated around here.

Had I never moved to Rhode Island for a few years and had I never became friends with Sheila, I would have never been able to make Kathleen Arkins from County Clare Irish Brown Bread. Seems things always happen for a reason.

Recipe

Irish Brown Bread aka Kathleen's Irish Brown Bread

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour (recommend Gold Medal)

2 cups (120g) wheat bran (recommend Bob's Red Mill)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

Serving options: Room temperature Irish butter, your favorite preserves or jam, scrambled eggs/smoked salmon, slice of fresh mozzarella sprinkled with flaky sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F).  Line a cast iron baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. 

3. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk.

4. Using your hands or a dough whisk bring the dough together. Once the dough begins to form, use your hands to shape it into a round or an oval loaf. Be careful to not overwork the dough.

5. Press down so the height of dough is somewhere between 2" and 3".

6. Cut a deep cross over the top of the dough. Make a deep slit into each quarter.

7. Place dough on parchment paper.

8. Place pan in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom (my baking time was 35 minutes).

9. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

10. Let bread rest for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing.

11. Keep any leftover bread at room temperature. Wrap in plastic wrap or keep in a sealed container.

Notes: (1) If you would like your Irish Brown Bread to have a tad amount of sweetness to it, consider adding 2-3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons of light brown sugar, or 2 Tablespoons of molasses.

The Boulevardier Cocktail

In times of duress I don't often say something like "I need a drink!". A piece of chocolate is often my go-to antidote to either dealing with stress or coping with disappointment. But watching March Madness basketball this weekend, specifically the Illinois vs Loyola game, I actually uttered those words. The classic, iconic Boulevardier Cocktail was supposed to the post-game celebratory drink. Instead it became the post-game recovering from shock and wallowing in defeat cocktail. For those of you have a fondness for Bourbon Whiskey, you know it has a way of putting a disappointment into perspective. So in spite of watching my Alma Mater lose, the Boulevardier Cocktail was a winner.

First invented and served during Prohibition at Harry's Bar in NYC, The Boulevardier is Bourbon's answer to the gin made Negroni. The original recipe was made with equal parts Bourbon Whiskey, Campari, and Sweet Vermouth, but over the years the ratios has been nuanced. In addition to increasing the amount Bourbon, the more traditional orange peel garnish is often replaced with a lemon twist, with a maraschino cherry or with the more decadent Luxardo cherries.

However, unlike the Paper Plane, my other favorite Bourbon based cocktail, The Boulevardier is a stirred not shaken cocktail. Unlike a shaken drink where water is often one of the added 'secret' ingredients, a stirred cocktail is the more gentler, perfect way to keep your cocktail Bourbon forward. 

Instead of the more common Martini and Rossi Sweet Vermouth, this cocktail was made with Antica Formula, the exquisite Italian Sweet Vermouth. Considered to be a standard in any highly respectable bar. In addition, to being the perfect ingredient for a refined cocktail, it has just the right amount of richness, vanilla notes, and spice to hold up to the Campari. Either an orange peel or Luxardo Cherries perfectly compliments the flavor profile of this sweet vermouth. And if you ask me, a cocktail made with Italian made Campari and Antica Formula Vermouth calls for a luxe Italian maraschino cherry as the garnish.

Serving The Boulevardier Cocktail in a coupe glass rather than a lowball glass isn't just a more elegant presentation. It encourages sipping. In other words, you don't want to rush the experience of savoring this classic cocktail.

Serve The Boulevadier with a bowl of Marcona Almonds or your favorite cocktail nuts. 

Soon we will again be able to host gatherings with family and/or friends. Which means it's time to up your Bourbon cocktail game. Boulevardier Cocktails or Paper Planes are both perfect beverages to welcome the return of a new, better normal. And speaking of game, the Boulevardier is a perfect cocktail whether your team advances in or loses during March Madness. Becausee Bourbon based cocktails make everything a little bit better. And given the choice between a piece of chocolate of a Boulevardier I think I would choose the latter.

Recipe

The Boulevardier Cocktail

Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

2 ounces Bourbon Whiskey (I have a fondness for Russell's Reserve.)

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce Sweet Vermouth (highly recommend the Italian Antica Formula Vermouth)

Ice Cubes

Luxardo Cherries or an Orange Twist

Optional: Marcona Almonds or your favorite mixed nuts

Directions

1. Pour the Bourbon, Campari, and Sweet Vermouth into a cocktail shaker.

2. Add a generous handful of ice cubes. Stir until the liquids are blended and chilled (no more than 30 seconds).

3. Strain into a coupe glass.

4. Garnish with either Luxardo Cherries or an Orange peel.

5. Sip and savor. And as always, drink responsibly.

Notes: (1) The original Boulevardier Cocktail was made with 1.5 ounces of Bourbon whiskey, 1.5 ounces Campari, and 1.5 ounces of Sweet Vermouth. Alternately it can be made with 3 parts Bourbon whisky, 2 parts, Campari, and 1part Sweet Vermouth. You can decide which version of The Boulevardier Cocktail is your favorite.