Flourless Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a gluten free cookie recipe that I found on the back of Trader Joe's rolled oats bag.
1/4 cup of butter
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 ounces chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, and butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and baking soda and mix well. Add peanut butter and mix. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts. Place teaspoon full of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown around edges.
Makes about 48 cookies.

Braised Artichokes

Recently, I learned that braising artichokes is a great alternative to steaming them and that the blue color on the outside leaves means they have been kissed by frost and that adds a sweetness to them.
2 large artichokes
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
lemons

Trim stems of artichoke and cut tips of leaves. Cut artichoke in half lengthwise and scoop out fuzzy choke bits. Keep artichoke halves in lemon water to keep from browning.

Heat olive oil in saute pan and put artichokes heart side down and saute until caramelized. Add white wine and garlic and reduce slightly. Add stock half way up artichokes, season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn artichokes, cover and cook about another 20 minutes until artichokes are done, a leaf comes out easily when pulled. Serve hot with melted butter.

I chilled these artichokes and served with caper mayonnaise.

Caper Mayo:
1/2 cup Mayo or Vegenaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
dash of Tabasco
1 Tablespoon capers
dash of smoked salt

Roasted Cauliflower

Kati made this for dinner using broccoli and even the little kids gobbled this up, so tonight I tried it with cauliflower and got the same results.
1 head of cauliflower, small florets
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
sprinkle of Alfies seasoning
1 Tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Mix cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and Alfie's seasoning together in a bowl and put on baking sheet.
Roast for about 30 minutes. When finished sprinkle with Parmesan, serve hot.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Thinking ahead to Valentines Day, I started with fresh picked, washed, and dried strawberries and dipped them in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Then I realized the Super Bowl was up first, so melted some white chocolate and with a toothpick drew the lines for the football laces.
So here is a treat to enjoy with your Valentine during the Super Bowl!

Shrimp Stuffed Peppers

The Bake picked up some stuffed peppers from a local Mexican restaurant that is very popular. I don't have their recipe but this is my attempt to recreate these addictive little guys. Soon as I took this photo, the Bake was ready for another round of them.
12 little peppers (yellow) triangle cut at stem with a slit down the front to take out ribs and seeds.
24 medium shrimp (uncooked)
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Alfie's seasoning
1/2 lime, zest
1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese, grated (or Cheddar)
soy sauce
mayo
Grill the peppers until lightly charred and cooked, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Toss shrimp with olive oil, garlic, seasoning and put on a lined baking sheet. Bake until no longer pink. Toss with lime zest. Slice shrimp and put in a bowl and mix with cheese. Stuff pepper with shrimp mixture and broil until lightly browned on top.
Serve with sliced lime, and cilantro, if desired. Soy sauce and mayo on the side. (I know it sounds odd but so tasty!)

Pear and Pomegranate Crisp

Late fall and we are grateful for the beautiful red jewel pomegranate seeds. The Bake used to have the messy job of cleaning the pomegranates but now you can purchase the seeds packaged at Trader Joe's. We enjoy them in salads, on yogurt and in Champagne. They look so festive. Our northwest Bartlett pears are also a treat, especially with some blue cheese or warm gingerbread. And since the Bakes favorite dessert is some kind of a crisp, this is a perfect pairing.
the base:
4 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and diced
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons flour (I used gluten free)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup pomegranate seeds

the crisp topping:
2/3 cup oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
6 gingersnap cookies, crushed (Trader Joe's gluten free)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly butter 6 ramekins.
Toss the ingredients in the base together and set aside.
In another bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, crushed cookies, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add butter and vanilla and cut into mixture until crumbly.
Add base filling to each ramekin and top with crisp topping. Place ramekins on a baking sheet in oven and bake about 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Top with ice cream if desired.

Scallop BLT's

1 dozen sea scallops
2 ounces pancetta, cooked
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup micro-greens
1/3 cup mayo mixed with 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

Wash and dry scallops well. In a lightly oil heated pan, cook scallops about 2 minutes on each side until opaque. Slice each scallop almost in half and stuff with pancetta, tomato, micro-greens and mayo.
skewer with toothpick and serve