Grilled cheese with brie, apples and bacon

Week 14 is sandwiches, so I figured I would make the sandwich I meant to make a few weeks ago for cheese week. I don't really think you all need a recipe, but here are the photos. It was a delicious sandwich!

Orange Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups

This week's challenge was frosting or filling. I am not a huge fan of frosting because it's way too sweet for me, so I started thinking about fillings. Cannoli's kept coming to mind, but I have never made them, nor do I own cannoli forms. I really didn't want to have to go searching all over Maryland for the forms, so I finally decided to try something different. I had some puff pastry in the freezer, so I figured I would go with that.

1 sheet of puff pastry
flour
cooking spray
1 15 oz container of whole milk ricotta
mini chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange liquor
2 tbsp orange zest

The first thing I did was dump the whole container of ricotta into a cheese cloth lined strainer. All the recipes I read said to let it sit this way for about an hour. I kept moving mine around every 15 minutes or so, since that seemed to help with removing some moisture.

Next I started working on the cups. I knew puff pastry wasn't really perfect for this, but I was being way too lazy to make proper cannoli shells. I started by putting some flour on a large wooden board, then laying the pastry flat. I figured that I really wanted to make it a little thinner, so I ran my rolling pin over it until it was almost as large as the board.

Next, I used a pizza cutter to cut the sheet into 12 pieces.

I sprayed two cup cake tins really well with cooking spray, then sprinkled them with powder and shook them up until they were well coated, to prevent sticking. Then I carefully lined each one with a piece of the pastry.

I baked these at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

They still came out puffier than I wanted them, so I carefully crushed the centers a bit to allow room for the filling, then I moved them to a plate.

While they were baking, I started working on the filling. First, I zested an orange.

I added the orange zest, powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup of the mini chips, the vanilla extract, and liquor to a bowl and mixed well. When the cheese had been sitting for over an hour, I mixed that into the bowl.

I moved the filling mix to a plastic baggie, and put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.

Now that the filling is well chilled, it's time to fill the cups. Tilt the bag on it's side and snip a small piece off the corner to create a piping bag.

Use that corner of the bag to fill your cups. You can be generous, as I had a little too much filling.

Now, top them all with more mini chips, and you're ready to eat!

Baked Brie with Honey and Berries

Brie is great! It can be savory or sweet, depending on what you serve it with. I really like it sweet.

1 wheel of brie
2 sheets of puffed pastry
1 egg yolk
Honey
Berries
Water crackers

Defrost the puffed pastry according to package directions. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. When it's defrosted, lay the sheets of pastry out flat. Put the brie wheel on one sheet.

I don't bother to take off the rind. It doesn't bother me. Start wrapping the brie in the pastry. Make sure the whole thing is covered by pastry. I didn't need the second sheet this time, but sometimes I do, so I'll use some of the other sheet to be decorative.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, the place the brie, seem side down on the sheet. Add any decorative touches to the pastry, then get the egg wash together.

Beat an egg yolk in a bowl, mix in just about a tablespoon of water, then beat a little more. Use a pastry brush to brush the sides and top of the brie with the egg wash. This will give the pastry a nice, golden brown color. Now put the brie in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed up.

I like to put it on a platter, then drizzle a generous amount of honey on top. I serve it with berries, water crackers and sliced baguette.

Buffalo Chicken Dip (Take Two)

Okay, this is my second recipe for buffalo chicken dip, and this one isn't so spicy you can't eat it. I've made it before, so I'm  sure about this, and every time I make it, people ask me for the recipe. 

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 12oz bottle of your favorite hot sauce (I prefer Frank's Red Hot)
1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 cup of shredded cheddar
1/4 cup of ranch dressing
Tortilla chips
Celery sticks
Carrot sticks

The morning of the gathering put the chicken and hot sauce in a crock pot. I set mine on low for about 8 hours. This may seem like too much sauce at this point, but trust me, once you shred the chicken later, it will get absorbed.

After the 8 hours are up, start shredding the chicken with two forks. mix it back in with the sauce, then add the cream cheese and mix well. Next add the shredded cheddar and ranch and mix it all in.

Serve this with celery, carrots and tortilla chips.

I usually just leave it in the crock (I use a small one for this), but for the pictures I put it in a bowl this time. 

Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread

I had something very similar to this at a friend's wedding and had to recreate it. Here is what I've come up with...

1 8oz brick of cream cheese
1 6oz bag of craisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp sugar

Let the cream cheese sit out for a bit to soften. When it gets to the point that you can start mixing the other items in, add about half of the craisins.

Using a fork, fold the craisins into the cream cheese until well incorporated.

Next, add the other half of the craisins and mix them in. (It just seems to be easier to do it a little at a time, instead of all at once.) Now add the cinnamon and sugar and mix those in really well.

By now the bowl you are using is probably pretty messy looking. Spoon the mixture into another bowl so that it looks prettier for presentations sake.

Either serve it immediately or cover it and put it in the fridge for later use. I serve this with crackers, graham crackers, or a sliced baguette.