Freezing Basil

Or, how I turned this...

into this....

I've got several basil plants this year and they've been growing like crazy... producing far more than I can use or even give away at the moment. So, I decided to take some of it and freeze it for use later on. There are several ways to do this. Do a search on Google for "freezing herbs" and you'll find countless pages on the subject. This is the way *I* freeze herbs for later use... I don't pretend to say it's the only way... but the way that I've found works best for me.

I took several bunches of basil and discarded the stems, leaving only the tender leaves. I washed the bunch and spun them dry using a salad spinner. I placed the bunches of basil leaves in my food processor with only a tiny bit of water and processed it until the basil was chopped quite finely. Once that's done, I fill ice cube trays with the basil and water mixture and freeze until solid. Finally, I pop the cubes from the tray and place them in labeled zip-lock freezer bags. I go by the rule of thumb that the basil cubes will be at their peak for about 6 months when frozen. Of course they will keep longer than that... but it won't have as fresh a flavor as the first 6 months of storage.

These small cubes I made are about a teaspoon each when thawed, if I use the larger trays, it's about a tablespoon. Fill one of the compartments on your tray and measure the amount so that you'll know about how much herb you have in each cube.

Easy Cheese Danish

This is a quick and easy recipe for cheese danish that my family simply adores. Honestly, I don't know where the recipe comes from originally, since my Mother and Grandmother both made this for as long as I can remember. Despite being so easy to make, it's satisfying and wonderful for a quick weekend breakfast treat. We love it best still warm from the oven, but it will keep well for a couple of days if it's well covered and placed in the refrigerator. It also reheats well in the microwave for a few seconds. Try this simple recipe for your own family one of these days and see if they don't rave about it too!



Ingredients:
2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 350* degrees and grease a 13X9-inch baking pan. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent rolls on top of the cheese mixture and brush with egg white. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.

Kitchen Notes:
I have made this danish using low fat cream cheese and splenda (sugar substitute) and it was delicious! Also, the amount of filling the original recipe calls for makes a VERY heavily filled danish. I have halved the filling using 1 package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 whole egg, and a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and it was still very good. If you use the half filling method, bake for closer to 30-35 minutes.

Caprese Pie

Recently one of my neighbors shared a bounty of fresh beefsteak type tomatoes with us. We spent a good week eating these luscious beauties in salads, on sandwiches and simply sliced with a touch of sea salt and balsamic. They were wonderful! But when we got down to only a few left, I wanted to do something "different" with them... but I didn't want to make an extra trip to the grocery to do it. So, I took a look around and came up with this with what I had already on hand.



What I came up with, I call a "Caprese Pie." It's got all of the elements of a classic caprese salad... only layered in a pie shell and baked. It was really delicious. Delicate, light and a perfect side to the grilled chicken I'd made for dinner that night. I've made it a couple of times since then, my family enjoyed it so much. We also like it along side some crusty Italian bread as a light lunch.



Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie shell
12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
2-3 Large sliced tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Fresh chopped basil
Pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 400* F. Place the pie shell in a pie dish and layer the bottom with half the cheese. Sprinkle cheese with pepper (to taste) and chopped basil. Layer the sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with more pepper. Repeat with another layer of cheese, basil and pepper. End with a layer of tomato and a sprinkle of pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the pie just before baking. Bake for 45 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes begin to shrivel a bit. Serve hot out of the oven or at room temperature.

Serves 6 as a side dish, 4 as a light lunch.

Barefoot Wine and Pillsbury Winners!

I'm in a hurry this morning... my son has a TKD tournament! But I wanted to get these posted before I go :)

The winner of the Barefoot wine beach pack is: HoneyB who said...

Love your drink! I personally would like the White Zifinandel!

Welcome back! I'm glad that things are slowing down so you can be around again!

Congrats HoneyB!!! I'll be in contact with you today to get your mailing info!

The 2 winners of the Pillsbury giveaway are: Bob who said...

Definitely those barbecue cup things. My work sometimes gets those cookbooks, I've spent hours reading them. Good times.

And: Vicki who said...

The strawberry cream cheese pastries sound delicious!

Congrats Bob and Vicki!!! I'll be in contact with you today to get your mailing info!

Thanks for entering everyone... there will be more great giveaways soon!

Pillsbury Bake-Off Voting and Giveaway

For the first time in the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest's 60-year history, we can help determine 10 recipes among the final 100 that will compete for the $1 million grand prize! How fun is that?

How does the You Be the Judge! voting work? Judges will select 20 recipes to be placed online at www.bakeoff.com in pairs for a period of two weeks for each pair. Consumers can vote for their favorite recipe in each pair. The recipe from each pair that wins the most votes will earn a spot in the final competition, April 11-13, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.

Voting is limited to one vote per person per each pair of recipes. Voters must be registered members of www.pillsbury.com and 18 years of age or older as of May 1, 2009, to participate.

The first pair of recipes was posted on May 14, 2009 and a new pair of recipes will be posted every two weeks (namely, May 28, June 11, June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20, September 3 and September 17, 2009). The voting period for the tenth and final pair of recipes will close at 11:59AM CDT on October 1, 2009. Visit www.bakeoff.com for the official rules.

As an added bonus, My Blog Spark is offering prize packs featuring a magazine of past Bake-Off® recipes and a Pillsbury Doughboy giggle doll to two of my lucky readers!



To enter this great giveaway all you have to do is take a look at the past bake-off contest recipes and come back here and tell me in a comment which is your favorite! Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you, in case YOU are the winner! You have until Friday June 19th at 11:59 PM EST to enter and I will random draw the winners and announce them here on Saturday June 20th! US participants only, please.

Good Luck!

The Pomosa... and a giveaway!

I know I've been a really bad blogger recently but sometimes the obligations and home and family just have to come first. Hopefully though, I am back on track and will be posting with a bit more regularity again :) I've missed interacting with my readers and visiting all my favorite food blogs. I'll be around on twitter again now too, since things on the home front have calmed down.



Today I bring you one of my favorite ways to drink champagne... "The Pomosa." You know the old standby cocktail, the mimosa... the classic combination of orange juice and champagne. This is similar... only instead of OJ, I use pomegranate juice. The combination is so delicious that it's nearly sinful!

The Pomosa
*Ingredients*
2 oz chilled pomegranate juice (I used POM Wonderful's POM Cherry Juice)
4 oz chilled champagne (I used Barefoot's Brut Cuvée)

*Method*
In a champagne flute, pour in the pomegranate juice first and top with champagne. No stirring needed. Enjoy immediately. Repeat! *wink*

The Brut Cuvée I used in this cocktail was sent to me by the lovely folks at Barefoot Wines and Bubbly. I've been a fan of Barefoot wines for quite some time and when they asked me to try some of their wines and offered to do a giveaway with me, I was all for it!

Barefoot wines are great quality wines without the pretentiousness. Delicious libations that are easy on the pocketbook... and who doesn't need that these days? If I was going to use a single word to describe Barefoot's wines and bubbly... I'd use the word FUN! These wines are the kinds that beg to be shared with friends. A glass shared over dinner, over a game of chess, on the beach soaking up some sun. Grab a bottle or two, your best buddies and have a party!

To help you get started on that party, Barefoot is offering a lucky winner this great prize pack that includes a tote bag, wine opener, stemless wine glass, and a big soft beach towel!



To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is check out the Barefoot Wine & Bubbly flavors and then come back here and leave a comment with which flavor you think you would try first and your email address, so that I can contact you if you're the winner!

You have until Friday June, 19th at 11:59 PM EST to leave a comment here. A winner (US entries only, please) will be randomly drawn and announced here on Saturday June 20th!

Good Luck!

Amano Chocolate Giveaway Winners!

I did things a little different this time and let my 3 little ones pick numbers from a hat to pick the winners.... and here they are:

#5 Elisa said... The Ocumare bar sounds awesome! I prefer milk chocolate most of the time, as long as it's not too sweet and it has that rich chocolaty flavor :-) Fantastic reviews, BTW, you totally made me crave chocolate - you know, the good stuff :-) And these sound like they are good! I would love to win. Chocolate is always welcome in my house :-)

#3 darkfire007 said... mmmmm chocolate!!! :)

#24 Donalyn said... Hands down, the dark stuff - always my favorite!

#2 Katie said... I could really use some chocolate today! And your description of the Ocumare 30% Milk Chocolate Bar sounds fantastic! I would love to try that one!

#13 5 Star Foodie said...I love dark chocolate the best!

Congrats and thanks for entering! If you're listed here, I'll be contacting you this weekend for mailing information!