A couple of weeks ago, Robin Sue of Big Red Kitchen, had mentioned getting together sometime to cook. I couldn't have been happier because I know what a great chef she is. She was actually my Biology teacher back in ninth grade, and since then, I've had plenty of chances to try out some of culinary creations. And I must say, she makes some especially yummy Italian food!
She surprised me with a neat idea, creating a savory "cinnamon roll". So we put our heads together, not literally, and had some fun experimenting. Instead of a sweet dough, we were going to be using the 5 minute artisan bread. And for the filling, instead of a cinnamon and sugar mixture, we went with a herb and cheese mixture. We were thinking of making a cheesy Alfredo type of sauce to drizzle over the finished product, and really give it the "cinnamon roll" look. That however didn't quite work out, but we are going to work on that. In the end we made two batches of "savory cinnamon rolls", each slightly different.
The First Batch
The first batch we made was more simple then the second. It reminded me a lot of garlic bread, but more fancy. :) Robin Sue also whipped up some homemade marinara, with lots of yummy herbs from her garden to go with it.
We started by rolling the dough out into a large rectangle, and then let it rest while we went to cut the herbs.
Then then there was the garlicky herb spread. Robin Sue minced the garlic up Emerald Style. :)
The garlic was sauteed and then added to some melted butter, along with the chopped herbs, salt, and pepper. We let it come to a simmer and then spread it over the rolled out dough.
Next, we sprinkled some yummy Italian mixture of cheeses:mozzarella, Romano..., over the dough and then some red pepper flakes, which added a tad bite.
Then everything was rolled up inside to keep all the delicious gooeyness inside while it baked. We cut the roll into eight individual rolls and placed them in a round spring form pan. 
We didn't put a pan under it, so we had a smokey mess when the butter spread started dripping out. So if you make these, make sure you have a second pan underneath them. :)
They baked at about 350 F. for 25 minutes and were then ready to be enjoyed!!
Although these were amazing...we didn't get the desired cinnamon roll look on the inside. Everything kind of fused together. I'm not sure how we could get that look with this one without adding more cheese, and making it too greasy.
I am a huge cherry fan! So when I was browsing around Coleen's Recipes the other day and spotted these, I knew I had to try them. When Coleen had originally found the recipe, it was for apple struesel bars, and she had the brilliant idea to add cherries. With this recipe, I guess you could pretty much add whatever fruit you wanted. Maybe strawberries? I stuck with cherries. They were delicious, especially out of the oven, all warm and gooey with the frosting drizzled over them!
Dark Cherry Struesel Bars
Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup COLD butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pecan pieces
Fruit Filling:
16 ounce bag frozen dark sweet cherries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Glaze:
2 tablespoon butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Put the first 4 ingredients into your food processor; cube and add the butter. Pulse until you get pea-sized crumbs, then add egg and mix well.
Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan and pat two thirds of your crust mixture into the bottom of the pan, set aside. To the remaining one third of the crumbs, add one cup of pecan pieces and set aside.
Mix cherries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour in medium sauce pan and stir & cook just until thick. Remove from heat and add extracts. Pour fruit filling over crumb crust and sprinkle the reserved one third of the crumb-pecan mixture evenly over the top. Bake in PREHEATED 350 oven for 40 minutes.
While bars are still a little warm, mix 2 tablespoons melted butter with 2 cups powdered sugar, about 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Whisk until smooth and drizzle over fruit bars.
I had just loaded all my whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries on top of my pound cake and was about to take my first bite...it looked so good. But then Amber had to walk by and casually ask me if I knew where the name "pound cake" came from. I said no and she looked at my plate and started laughing. According to her, with each bit you take, you gain a pound. =) I'm not sure where the name came from, but I'm pretty sure that isn't true...unless you really pile the whipped cream on.
But with that all behind us, I was really proud of this pound cake. It turned out so well! The gooey part in the middle, where the cake splits, was especially delicious! And the batter...Before it had even baked, I knew it would be yummy because the batter was so silky and golden. Definitely give this one a try, it really is the Perfect Pound Cake!
The Perfect Pound Cake
(Recipe adapted from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book)
3 large eggs, at room temp.
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temp.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and then cooled to warm
Before you start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly butter and flour a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vanilla and heavy cream to combine. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and whisk together until mostly incorporated. Pour half of the cream mixture over and whisk until mostly combined. Repeat with one-third more of the flour, followed by the remaining half of the cream mixture and the remaining flour. Do not over mix!
Pour the melted butter over the batter and fold gently until incorporated. The batter will be silky and gorgeous. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for twenty minutes before turning out the cake onto the rack.
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