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Crispy treats seem to be the name of the game this week. First I see Jeff make some goo-balls on Chopped All Stars ... then Bakerella posts her version hours later, which were inspired by these treats at Smitten Kitchen.

They have reminded me of the cereal treats I made for edible gifts last Christmas (especially since the Chopped basket had marshmallows and coconut for mystery ingredients).

Behold! Toasted Coconut Pecan Treats!
The 1st batch was shipped to my sister & her boyfriend.
The 2nd batch went to my co-worker… she said her family ate them for breakfast!

I was initially inspired by a Martha Stewart Recipe, wanting to make something unique as a Christmas gift for my sister’s Boyfriend. He loves coconut, but my sister does not. So a dessert with coconut is quite an occasion. I tweaks I made to the Martha version seemed very sensible.

The 1st batch was pretty good, but I knew it could be better. So, I adjust the proportions a bit, and DIPPED THEM IN CHOCOLATE. This new version went to my coworker, and her family was very pleased!

Here is the updated (dare I say BETTER) recipe for you to try. Your life will be a lot easier if you use a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients. You don’t have to weigh everything… it just that ingredients like pecans and cornflakes can be hard to measure with the scoop method.

Toasted Coconut Pecan Treats

7.5 oz. sweetened shredded coconut, Toasted (½ of a 15oz bag)
3 oz. pecans, toasted, then roughly chopped (3/4 of a cup, or ½ of a 6oz bag)
4 TBL Butter (½ a stick)
10 oz. Mini Marshmallows (1 standard size bag)
3.5 oz. Cornflakes (4 cups)
Non Stick Cooking Spray
8 oz. Chocolate/Chocolate Bark/Chocolate Candy Coating, melted

Spray a 8”x11” Baking Dish with cooking spray.
(The original recipe calls for 8×8, but that makes THICK squares, but 9×13 makes thin squares… any dish that seems bigger that a 8” square but smaller than a 9×13 should work out fine.)

Combine Toasted Coconut, Pecans, and Corn Flakes in a large heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Melt butter and marshmallow on the stove over medium heat. Stir constantly (to avoid burning) until marshmallow is a creamy consistency and the butter has been completely combined.

Using a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula, transfer the marshmallow to the cereal mixture. Stir until all ingredients are equally combined.

Transfer entire contents of the bowl to the baking dish. Spray some cooking spray on 1 hand so you can press the treats into an even layer. Allow to cool.

Cut cooled treats into desired shapes. Hold treats at top edge and dip the bottom into melted chocolate, so the chocolate come ½ way u the treat. Let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.

Place treats chocolate-side down on a wax-paper lined cookie sheets (any flat surface will work, really) and let the chocolate harden.

Enjoy!

Don’t know how to toast coconut? Here are some simple instructions!
It is not scary. Just don’t abandon the coconut during the toasting process and you will be fine.

I you can think of any more fun additions to the traditional Rice Crispie Treat, please let me know!

My neighbor invited me over for East lunch and served this Pork Tenderloin. It was delicious!

Ever since I tried the Alton Brown Pork Tenderloin, I’ve been hooked on the grilling method for this cut of meat. Another recipe to add to my arsenal!

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Strawberries

1 (3-lb.) package pork tenderloins
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 10 bacon slices
2 (8-oz.) packages haricots verts (thin green beans)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, divided
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup strawberry preserves
1/2 cup quartered fresh strawberries

Preheat grill to 400° to 500° (high) heat.

Sprinkle pork with pepper and 1 tsp. salt; wrap 5 bacon slices around each tenderloin, and secure with wooden picks.

Place green beans, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, and remaining 1 tsp. salt in center of a 24- x 18-inch piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil; toss to coat. Bring up sides of foil over beans; double fold top and side edges to seal, making a packet.  

Turn off one side of grill. Arrange pork and foil packet over unlit side, and grill, covered with grill lid, 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mince remaining 2 garlic cloves; sauté in remaining 1 Tbsp. hot olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Add vinegar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in preserves. Reserve half of mixture for basting. Stir fresh strawberries into remaining mixture.

Remove foil packet from grill; transfer pork to lit side. Baste pork with reserved strawberry mixture. Grill 5 more minutes over lit side, turning once. Remove pork from grill.  Rest, before slicing.  Serve with strawberry mixture and green beans.  

My website is in the middle of a good face-lift/restructuring*. In the meantime, enjoy a great kitchen tip: How to toast coconut!

Toasted Coconut adds a little bit of class to your desserts. It is a great way to make up for a lack of cake decorating skills, turning an ordinary white cake into something elegant (like the Charleston South Carolina cake). I also prefer the texture of eating roasted coconut as opposed to raw. But I am finicky like that.

Don’t worry, it is not scary.
Just Remember: Don’t abandon the coconut during the toasting process and you will be fine.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the coconut out in as thin and even a layer as possible on a cookie sheet.

Put the pan in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
DO NOT WALK AWAY!

After about 5 minutes, open the oven and use a spatula to “rake” the coconut (like raking and in those little desktop Zen Gardens). This rotates the shavings from the bottom to the top… it’s the coconut touching the pan that gets toasted. So if you don’t rake, the bottom will burn and the top will still be raw.

Repeat the raking process every few minutes, especially if you see the bottom edges start to look crispy.

You’re done then the coconut is no longer moist… the dried coconut has the consistency of hay and the shavings doesn’t stick to each other anymore.

That’s it! You did it!
Now go dip a frosted cupcake in your toasted flakes or goodness… or even add some to your next batch of cereal-crispy treats!

*My Master Plan is to turn this web space into a Reference Guide for all of the thing I love that make up my life… and less of a blog of my random ramblings. We’ll see how it goes!

Forget the can.  If you have enough kitchen prowess to make Top Ramen or a Box of Kraft Mac & Cheese, you can make your Cranberry Sauce from scratch.  Seriously.  It’s so easy.  And adding the words “from scratch” makes anything you serve 1000x more impressive.

This time of year, you can find bags of fresh cranberries in the produce department of your regular grocery store (no need for a special trip to some fancy market).  This bag at Wal-Mart cost $1.99.  Cans of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce cost $1.10.

Buy an extra bag or 2, pop them in the freezer,
and you can have fresh cranberry sauce year round

Here is the recipe, straight from Ocean Spray, for your basic cranberry sauce:

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 12-ounce package Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

Directions:
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan.
Bring to boil.
Add cranberries.
Return to boil.
Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.

Makes 2 1/4 cups.

That is it.  The cranberries pop open and their juice is what helps make it “saucy” instead of “soupy.”
And when you can make it yourself, you can adjust the sweetness level to your preference (or use a sugar substitute to cut calories**gasp**)
You can even make it on WEDNESDAY so it is one less thing to stress out about on Thanksgiving.

Last year, I took my homemade cranberry sauce a step further and made Barefoot Contessa “Cranberry Fruit Conserve”... the same basic process with some extra stuff stirred in at the end.  But doesn’t it sound so much more sophisticated?  Make some to impress you relatives this holiday season.

Ingredients
1 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, cleaned
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions
Cook the cranberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open.
Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the raisins and nuts.
Let cool, and serve chilled.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Do not be fooled by the Christmas commercials on TV or the unexpected snow fall around the country.  It is FALL!  Full of some of my favorite yearly things, including but not limited to the following:

Seasonal Beer  Fall means the weather is getting cooler an the beer is getting darker.  Excellent!  Some of my personal favorites are St Arnold’s Oktoberfest and Dogfish Head Punkin. -*I strongly encourage supporting Craft Breweries-

Turn on the Oven, Roast Everything!  There is a good reason we grill food outside in the summer time… keep the heat outside!  Why crank up the AC indoors if you are just going to turn on your oven and heat up the kitchen/house.  That is silly.  We don’t even run the dishwasher during the day in summertime.

Roasting may be my favorite method of cooking… oven is at 400 degrees+ and food gets a yummy char/caramelized deliciousness.  Roast chicken, turkey, potatoes, and even broccoli and green beans!

Sage and Pumpkin and Cranberries, oh my!  Ah, the flavors of fall.  You should eat “seasonally” because the food tastes the best when it is in season.  Stores usually have A LOT on hand, so it is cheap too. Here is a list of healthy fall produce.

Just cool enough Not to hot and not to cold.  Pants and a Sweatshirt is just right… and cool enough at night for a blanket. When the weather gets to cold, I never want to get out of bed or even leave the house… I just want to hibernate.

Soup!  Salads are for summer.  Fall and winter means it is time for SOUP!  It keeps you warm and is very filling for not a lot ton of broth soups.  And despite my name, I recommend steering clear of canned soup!  It is SO EASY and INEXPENSIVE to make it from scratch.  Once you start making your own, you feel silly for every buying it from a can.
Here are a couple great soup recipes:
Mimi’s Corn Chowder
Best Cream of Broccoli

Leaves  Leaves are changing pretty colors!  And then falling to the ground… you don’t have to throw them in the trash… put them in the compost pile!

Thanksgiving  A Holiday centered around food, family, and being grateful for the things you have.  All of my favorite things!

Football & Basketball Sorry, but the Houston Astros were a bit of a let down this Summer. But the Texans are making things quite exciting this Fall! The Rockets season has started as well, but we have not been able to view ANY game because ComCast is blocking all home and away games for non-cable-subscribers. YAY Texans. Boo Comcast.

Is there anything I am forgetting?