Garlic Fingers

To finish off the pizza family. . .

First thing's first you will need a recipe for Pizza dough and Garlic Butter, links to mine here or use your own.

Garlic Fingers

Ingredients:

• 1 Pizza Dough recipe
• 1 Recipe Garlic Butter
• About 1 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley

Instructions:

1. Roll out the pizza dough to roughly 1/4-1/2 inch thick 
2. Melt the garlic butter. 
3. Brush the garlic butter over the entire surface of the pizza dough. 
4. Evenly spread the mozzarella over the garlic butter. 
5. Sprinkle parsley over the top of the cheese. 
6. Bake in a Preheated oven at 400°F for about 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is a nice toasted brown color.
7. Let the finished garlic fingers sit on the hot pan for about 5 minutes before you slice it, the cheese will firm back up just enough that it is easier to eat, and easier to cut.

Enjoy!

Home Made DQ Style Dilly Bar (With Chocolate Ganache Recipe)

I had a brief moment were I think I must have gone insane because I decided to get really ambitious, in August, during the most humid heat wave I can remember. During this heat wave madness I decided that for my lovely fiance's birthday party I would make something special.

So I made this;

A home made Dairy Queen style dilly bar. I didn't name this so laugh all you want. But it was fantastic. I made a french vanilla bean ice cream and used a silicone muffin tray to shape the ice cream into round disks. Then I let the ice cream firm up in the freezer for about 3 hours. While the ice cream disks were setting I made a creamy chocolate ganach. My ice cream treats didn't have the same crunchy chocolate shell as Dairy Queen, but I am pretty proud of them.  

So to make Chocolate Ganache things couldn't be simpler.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

• 9 Ounces of Milk Chocolate
• 2-3 Ounces of Dark Chocolate
• 1 Cup Whipping Cream

Instructions:

1. Place the milk and dark chocolate in a large bowl and set a stiff wire whisk nearby. 
2. In a small sauce pan bring the whipping cream to just a boil. 
3. Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate and whisk quickly until the chocolate has melted and the ganache looks even and doesn't have any lumps.

And that is Chocolate Ganache! Use it in desserts and impress your friends with your French awesomeness.

To make the Dilly Bar:

Next, ideally while the ice cream is setting in the molds in the freezer, let the ganache cool to about room temperature. Or chill it in the fridge until about 30 minutes before dipping the ice cream.

Prepare a pan or tray that will fit in the freezer and line it with parchment paper.

Once the ganache is ready and the ice cream is set, pop the ice cream out of the molds and stick a candy stick in the middle. Carefully and quickly dip and coat the ice cream pops with the chocolate ganache and place the coated ice cream pops on the parchment lined tray. Work quickly or work in 20 minute intervals because the ice cream will melt.  Place the finished ice cream pops in the freezer for about another hour to let them firm up again. After this I wrapped All mine in Plastic wrap and tied them with a ribbon. Yay ribbon.

Keep frozen and enjoy on a hot summer day and wow your friends!

Enjoy!

Rustic Garlic Butter

Rustic Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup butter
• 1 Teaspoon rosemary
• 1 Teaspoon basil
• 1 Teaspoon parsley
• 2-3 Cloves garlic, smashed, or finely minced or extra finely grated

OR

• 1/2 Cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon pizza spice
• 2-3 Cloves garlic, smashed, finely minced or extra finely grated

Instructions:

1. Leave the butter at room temperature for at least an hour, or until it is soft and easy to mix. 
2. Add the rosemary, basil, and parsley and stir once or twice, just to get the process started. 
3. Add the garlic mince or paste, and mix really well. 
4. Once everything looks evenly mixed the butter is ready to serve.
5.  Leaving the butter to rest for an hour before serving also helps the flavors mix. 
6. Once prepared the butter can be stored in the fridge for about two weeks.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Garlic butter should pretty much be a staple recipe for most home cooks. You can whip it up and easily prepare a home made garlic bread, or even just serve the prepared butter with bread or rolls at the table. I also sometimes use left over garlic butter to season chicken before I cook it, or to saute vegetables. It's easy and useful to have around. Oh and since we are still in lobster season, this is excellent to melt down and dip fresh steamed lobster into.

Here is a secret, sometimes when I am feeling a bit more lazy I just use a tablespoon of my pizza spice blend as the seasoning per 1/2 cup of butter, then the fresh garlic cloves. The flavor is a little different, but it will still get the job done.

I also like to whip this recipe up with my mortar and pestle, that way I know all the herbs are well ground in, and their oils have been released to create a brighter flavor, and it also ensures the  garlic is finely incorporated as well. Only use a mortar and pestle if you have one that is stone or ceramic, something non-porous. If you don't have one at all, well a small bowl and sturdy fork can be substituted.