When I lived in Chicago I was lucky enough to get reservations at Table 52, the restaurant Oprah's personal chef opened, and had this AMAZING million layer hummingbird cake.  Ever since going there I have wanted to replicate that delicious dessert and here is my not too shabby attempt!  I have to admit Art Smith's was better - but come on - he was Oprah's chef!

For the cake you will need:
1 cup pecans, toasted at 350 for 8 min and then finely chopped
3 cups cake flour
2 cups sugar (measure out two cups then take OUT 2 Tablespoons of it, so a little less than 2 cups)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 - 8 oz can crushed pineapple, and juices
2 cups mashed ripe bananas(3-4 bananas)
1/2 cup coconut

For the frosting you will need:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz/1 box cream cheese, room temperature
4 - 4.5 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Garnish:
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely crushed

To make:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease two large, round cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. 

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar (remember to remove two tablespoons from the 2 cups - I did this because I added coconut, which is all ready sweetened, and didn't want to over do the sugar content).

In another bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, vanilla, pineapple and pineapple juices, mashed bananas, and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and fold until combined. Evenly divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from the pans and cool on the wire rack until totally cooled.  

For the frosting:
Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and all the lumps are gone. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla.  Beat until light and fluffy.

Place one cake, top side down, onto a cake plate. Spread a little less than half the frosting on top and spread around (don't go onto sides just yet).  Put the other cake layer, top of cake facing up, onto the first layer, and spread the rest of the frosting over the top (and now you can do the sides IF you have enough frosting - I did not!). Sprinkle the crushed pecans on top and lightly press them into the frosting.  Refrigerate the cake for a bit so the icing sets, especially if it's hot out!  

Art's cake may have been good enough for Oprah but mine got the approval of one of my favorite little girls - she loved it!

Caprese salad is one I make all the time in the summer months once we start getting good Jersey tomatoes.  Burrata cheese is a fresh Italian cheese that is made of mozzarella and cream.  It is very similar to fresh mozzarella but the center is creamy.  Along with roasted tomatoes, burrata cheese adds a nice twist to caprese salad. 

You'll Need:

For salad:
3/4 lb mixed yellow and red cherry tomatoes, or just use regular fresh garden tomatoes
2 Tbs olive oil
salt & pepper
1 pkg baby romaine or mixed greens, enough for 4 small salads
1 lb fresh burrata cheese at room temp (leave out of fridge for about 30 min prior to making salad)
10 fresh basil leaves, julienned (sliced into thin strips)


For dressing:
1/8 tsp dry mustard
salt & fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Half the tomatoes and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a shallow baking pan under broiler for a few minutes until skins just start to get browned.
Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare dressing.  

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.

Arrange salad greens on a serving plate, top with burrata cheese and the tomatoes (which should be about room temperature by now).  Sprinkle the julienned basil on top of the cheese and tomatoes.  Then drizzle the dressing over all and serve immediately.  If making ahead, add dressing right before serving. 

This is an easy but delicious summery salad that I KNOW I ate long ago at Emily's beach house, but she has no rememberance of it...who knows where it came from but it was great and here's what i came up with from what I tasted (or perhaps imagined I tasted).   

Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked cheese tortellini
6-8 oz fresh baby spinach
8-10 oz polish keilbasa
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
Drizzle of olive oil

Cook the tortellini according to package directions being careful not to overcook (test pasta atleast 2 minutes prior to recommended cooking time).  Drain and place in a large serving bowl.  

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and drizzle in a titch of olive oil.  Slice your keilbasa into little disks about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.  Working in batches so you dont crowd the pan, brown the keilbasa on both sides in your saute pan.  Don't stir them too much, just add them to the pan and then flip them when they are browned.  As they are done, add them to the bowl with the tortellini.  Don't wipe out your keilbasa pan.  

Wash spinach well and add that to your saute pan.  Cover with a lid and let it wilt slightly.  This will only take a minute or maybe less.  Add the spinach to your bowl.  

Add the tomatoes to your saute pan and cook just until warmed through, maybe a minute.  Add the tomatoes to your bowl, as well, then top with parm.  

Toss and serve!  

Note: If your keilbasa is leaner (like turkey keilbasa) you may need a drizzle of olive oil over the salad.  Salad can be eaten warm, room temp, or cold.  Serves 6-8.  

There is an awesome ice cream shop in our town that we love to go to in the summer called Washtenaw Dairy.  They are the real deal...homemade donuts, homemade ice cream, a kiddie size that could feed a horse and a line wrapped around the corner every time you go! But...after making this recipe for strawberry ice cream my visits may become less and less frequent!  It's pretty amazing.  And making it with fresh strawberries just adds that little bit of summertime wonderfulness that makes it taste even better!

For the ice cream batter:
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk (the less fat the milk has the less creamy - I used skim and it was still delicious)
2 cups of heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

For the strawberries
4 cups of fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar

To make:
Mix the strawberries with the 1/4 cup of sugar and gently mash them up.  Set aside in the fridge for later.

Heat the milk (not the heavy cream) in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Prepare an ice bath by setting a 2-quart bowl over a larger bowl partially filled with ice water.  Set a strainer over the smaller bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl or in your mixer, whisk together the egg yolks and cup of sugar until pale yellow in color and the sugar has dissolved.

Remove the milk from the heat.  Gradually pour the warmed milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  If you heat your milk too much then when you add it to the yolks some of the eggs may "scramble" - if this happens it's ok - you can strain out those pieces later.

Pour the mixture back into the same saucepan you used to warm the milk. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. (You can tell it's right if you dip the wooden spoon in the batter and then draw a line in the batter on the spoon with your finger - if the line stays you are good to go!).  You don't want the batter to boil or foam or bubble - this means your eggs are scrambling!

Strain the batter into the top bowl of the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and stir over the ice bath until cool. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for about 8 hours.

Follow the instructions on your ice cream maker to make the vanilla ice cream base.  As the ice cream gets harder and more frozen (like soft serve consistency) add your strawberries and their juices until combined.  

Take a bite...heck, serve yourself a bowl if you are not patient enough to wait any longer...or you can put your ice cream in the freezer for a bit to get it to hard ice cream consistency.  And enjoy!!!

This is a cocktail to be served in a brandy snifter, with a lot of ice.  It's a strong fancy rum drink.... the perfect ending to a long day with the kids! 

For one generous cocktail, you'll need:

2 oz dark rum
1 1/2 oz Liquor 43 

3 sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 lime 

Muddle cilantro and juice from 1/2 lime. 

In shaker filled with ice, combine rum and Liquor 43 and juice from the remaining 1/2 of lime, and shake vigorously.

Fill your glass with muddled cilantro and lime juice, then top with the rum/Liquor 43 from shaker.  Garnish with a piece of lime and serve immediately. 

And relax!

I have been perfecting this pie ever since trying Mandy's Strawberry Rhubarb Bar recipe for the first time years ago.  That recipe is so good, and I make it every summer as soon as we start getting some good berries, always experimenting with it by changing the fruits (peaches, blueberries, or a combo of different berries), then one time I moved it to a pie dish, added crust and made a couple other little changes with the prep.... Suddenly I have a mean blueberry pie.  

Like the Rhubarb Bars, this too is really, really good.  If you're not afraid of making pie crust, you've got to try it.  Make the crust ahead a day or two to save time.  If you are afraid of making pie crust, or you're in a pinch for time, make it with a frozen pie crust until you are ready to take the next step.

You'll Need:
for the crust:
(makes 2 9" pie crusts)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg
1/3 cup plus 2 T ice water (more if needed)
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into cubes
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

To make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours, sugar & salt.  Add the shortening and the butter to the flour mixture, and using a pastry blender, cut it until the butter resembles small peas.  You can also use two knives but you will do a LOT of cutting to get to the appearance of small peas.  In a small separate bowl, beat the egg with 1/3 c of the water and the vinegar.  Add the egg mixture to the flour/butter mixture gently tossing with your hands just until it comes together in a ball.  If the dough is too dry, add another T of ice water.  Gather the dough together on a CLEAN lightly floured surface and divide evenly into 2 balls.  Flatten the balls until about 1/2" thick and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and fridge at least 1 hr.  

If not using right away, fridge for a couple days or freeze for up to 3 wks.  If frozen, thaw for 1 day in the fridge before you roll it out to use it.

for the topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter at room temp (leave out 30 min prior)
1/8 tsp baking soda

for the blueberry filling:
4 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs flour

To make the pie:

Combine all topping ingredients in a mixer on medium speed until looking crumbly (see pic).  Set aside.  

On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll out the cold pie crust until it is very thin and a few inches bigger than the pie plate (so it drapes about 2 " over the edges on all sides).  Sprinkle flour on the rolling pin and on the dough as you roll it out so it doesn't get sticky.  When ready to transfer to the pie plate, put the pie plate turned upside down over the rolled-out crust, and then flip the pie plate WITH the parchment paper/crust ALL TOGETHER.  Peel off the parchment paper and let the crust sink into the pie plate carefully.  No need to trim the edges because you will fold the uneven edges all over the blueberries and then cover with crumbs so no need to be neat here.  Prick all over the dough with a fork. 

Rinse blueberries in water and drain.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Add the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and flour; toss until all blueberries are evenly coated and then fill the pie shell with this mixture.  

Fold the edges of the uneven crust inwards towards center of pie, and then dump crumb topping mixture in center of the pie plate on top of the blueberries and slightly on top of the crust near the edges of the pie plate.  The crumbs can cover the pie crust a little, but keep the crumb topping mostly in the center over the blueberries (see pic).  

Bake at 350' for about an hour until you can see blueberries bubbling thru the top and the crumb top is lightly browned.  Let cool before cutting and you will get pretty clean pieces of pie (see pic).  This pie will stay together once it's at room temp.  Suggest to serve with vanilla or Salted Caramel Ice Cream.   

I love a refreshing summer cocktail, but I tend to not like cocktails that are super sweet (unless I am having it for dessert).  I looked up a bunch of raspberry mojito recipes before coming up with what I think is the best combo of ingredients.  It is light and refreshing, slightly sweetened, and has a delicious bite of lime.  

Have you ever been raspberry picking?  I have had two experiences, the first was awesome...a sunny warm day in Michigan and my mom was visiting.  We laughed and ate as we picked, we took pictures and just enjoyed the company and the beautiful day.  We picked so many raspberries, we went home and made 2 dozen jars of jam!  

You will need:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup mint leaves, loosely packed, plus a couple leaves to garnish each glass
White Rum (1-2 shots per drink)
Raspberries (a small handful per drink)
Lime juice (1/2 shot per drink)
Club Soda (to top off each drink)

First, bring your sugar and water to a boil.  Once boiling and sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and add your mint leaves.  Stir and and then cover and let steep for 1 hour.  

After your mint water steeps, strain out the mint leaves and you are left with mint infused simple syrup.

To make your cocktails, fill a tumbler glass with ice.  Add 1 shot of rum, 1 shot of simple syrup, a small bunch of raspberries, a couple fresh mint leaves, 1/2 shot of lime juice.  Top off the glass with just enough club soda to fill the cup and serve....or sip...or gulp!

In the hot summer weather, sometimes you just need to eat salad for dinner.  It's too hot to eat a big plate of hot food.  But, it's also dinnertime, and we want something more substantial than just salad.  So... here's a different way (other than adding chicken) to make that salad feel like a meal.   

Makes 4 servings.

You'll Need:

4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vinegar
8 strips of thick cut smoked applewood bacon (I got this from the deli at Freshdirect; but you can use regular bacon if that's all you can find)
5 oz pkg of Spring Mix mesclun lettuce (or whatever lettuce you like)
1 large tomato chopped or 1 1/2 cups cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in halves
1/2 English cucumber chopped in small pcs (the kind without seeds)
1/4 of a red onion, sliced very thin (or as much as you like on salad)
1/2 cup canned Garbanzo beans (chick peas; rinsed with water and drained)
1 1/2 cups of croutons (you can use store-bought or make your own with this link)

Dressing:
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice. 

To Make:

Begin cooking bacon til crispy.  Dry/cool on paper towels and set aside.  

Meanwhile fill a large bowl with all salad ingredients:  lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, beans.  In small separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.   

To poach your eggs: Boil water in a small pot with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 cup vinegar added to the water.  While waiting for water to boil, get a small bowl of ice-water ready in the sink.  Carefully crack the eggs into a ladle or small dish, then place the ladle or dish just over the boiling water and turn the bowl so they slide into the water very carefully instead of plopping in and making a splash.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Immediately remove eggs from the boiling water with a plastic slotted spoon, and carefully place the eggs in the ice-water for 30 seconds to stop them from cooking.  The middles will be runny but the outside will be cooked delicately.  Set aside in a bowl.  

When you are just about ready to eat, add croutons and dressing to the bowl of salad ingredients, and toss to coat all the veggies and croutons.  You don't have to use all the dressing, you can set some aside on the table for those who want to add more to their salad.  Then transfer salad to large plates for individual servings, top each plate with 2 strips of crumbled bacon, and 1 of the poached eggs.  Sprinkle salad with some fresh ground pepper and serve!  

I am really in love with mango...well, mango flavored anything (the texture of mango is not my fave).  But mango drinks, sauces, salsas, sorbets....I love them all!  I messed with a few recipes to get this Mango Sorbet pretty darn perfect.  It's smooth and creamy and not too sweet, I hope you like it!  

You will need:
2 heaping cups of peeled and diced ripe mango (I have made this with semi-ripe and really ripe, and the really ripe is way better)
1/2-3/4 cup granulated sugar (your call, I tend to go less on the sugar)
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
1/4 cup of sweetened flaked coconut, toasted* 

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.  If you have an ice cream maker, follow the instructions from here out, using this as your batter.  If you don't, simply freeze this batter for a few hours or over night and voila!  I find using an ice cream maker makes for a fluffier sorbet where simply freezing it from the blender make it a little more compact.  

Top your sorbet with toasted coconut and enjoy!

*I toast the coconut in the oven.  I preheat the oven to 350 and spread a single layer of the flakes on a baking sheet and cook until they are just lightly golden brown.  It only takes a few minutes and you have to keep an eye on it because it burns easily, and burnt coconut is not tasty...trust me, I have tried to salvage a neglected batch!  Depending on your oven, you may need to turn/toss the coconut halfway thru cooking it (my oven cooks the edges of the pan before the center).

Note: I have tried subbing the mango for other fruits and while it is still tasty, it is not the same consistency as with mango.  I think mango freezes differently and makes for a creamier sorbet, where other fruits, like strawberries, make it more Italian-ice-like.  

WOW.  I cannot believe it's been a year since we first started posted our recipes!  I mean can you believe it?  I can hardly believe it (say that like an old man from Long Island and then tell me what movie that line is from!).

For our 1st anniversary we thought it would be fun to have a virtual progressive dinner at each of our houses, since we wish we could actually do that in real life!   So we are  going to start with drinks and apps at my house in Michigan (Rachel), then move to dinner at Emily's in New Jersey, and finally finish the night with dessert with Mandy in New Hampshire.  We hope you enjoy having dinner with us!

For these fresh and sweet treats you will need:
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3 Tbs granulated sugar (plus more for sugaring the rims of your glasses)
3 cups of cubed watermelon (I like to freeze the watermelon first so your drink is automatically cold when you blend it!)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup tequila
Club Soda (enough to fill each glass 1/3 of the way)
Strawberries and limes for garnish

Run a lime wedge around the edge or your glass and then dip into a plate or bowl of sugar to sugar the rim.  Cut a strawberry and a lime and garnish on the edge of your glass.

Put all ingredients EXCEPT CLUB SODA into the blender.  If your watermelon is not frozen, add a couple ice cubes and leave out the water.  Blend until creamy.

Fill your glass 1/3 of the way full with club soda, then top off with your blended mix.  Give a little stir and enjoy!

This bruschetta is so delicious...I served it with thinly sliced french bread (I know, I should have used Italian since it's Italian food - but French is smaller and more sturdy!).  I also served marinated fresh slices of mozzarella cheese (marinated in olive oil, basil, oregano and S&P).

For the bruschetta you will need:
6-8 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped small (I did this in my food processor)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar 
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper (or to taste)
1/2-1 cup fresh parmesan, shredded
1/2 red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 lemon wedge
1 French baguette, cut in 1/2 inch slices

The prep is super easy - just chop it all up nice and tidy and then squeeze the juice from the lemon wedge over the top (just a spritz otherwise it will taste lemony!) and then serve with the baguette slices.  Thanks for coming over to my house!!

For the scallops you will need:
20 jumbo scallops or about 40 regular sized
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced fresh oregano
1 tsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Using a paper towel, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates so the fish doesn't stick when grilling.  Preheat grill to high.  

Rinse and pat dry scallops with a paper towel.  In a small bowl, combine garlic with lemon zest and juice.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk for 1 minute.  Stir in oregano.  Set this aside to spoon atop grilled scallops.

Brush scallops on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill about 2 minutes on each side.  Arrange on serving platter and spoon sauce on top, then top with fresh parsley garnish.

For the tuna you will need:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs fresh sushi-grade tuna
1 Tbs fresh ground pepper (this is important for a really peppery taste)
1 Tbs sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon cut into small pcs to serve with tuna

Same as for scallops; using a paper towel, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates so the fish doesn't stick when grilling.  Preheat grill to high.  

Grind your fresh pepper  (you can grind whole peppercorns in a coffee grinder or mini cuisenart, or just use a table pepper grinder and try to measure out a Tablespoon before your arm falls off).  

In a bowl, combine ground pepper, salt and paprika.  Rinse and pat dry tuna with paper towels.  Cut tuna into long thick strips, 1 or 1 1/2" thick.  Roll each pc in the pepper mixture and set on a plate.  Drizzle tuna with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and grill tuna about 1 minute on each of the 4 sides - just until seared.  (see below ***) Set on a plate for a few minutes before checking.  Then cut tuna into equal sized cubes.  Drizzle with remaining olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.

***4 minutes of total grill time should give you medium rare tuna, but cook to your liking. Mine is cooked through in the pics but ideally you want pink centers. 

Now don't eat too much, otherwise you will fall asleep on the ride to Mandy's house like they little cuties...

Our dad is a huge fan of strawberry rhubarb anything.  A few years ago I wanted to make him a delicious dessert but couldnt find a recipe anywhere for what i was picturing, so I came up with this.  I make it multiple times every summer now and have even made it with different fruit combinations.  

For the shortbread crust you will need:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) room temp.
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup flour

For the fruit middle you will need:
1 1/2 cup rhubarb stalks chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch

For the crumb topping you will need:
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp baking soda 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 8x8 inch baking pan (or a pie plate works).  Combine crust butter and conf. sugar in mixer until smooth.  Add crust flour until JUST BARELY combined- overmixing it makes it difficult to spread in pan.  Mixture should still look pretty floury.  Press dough evenly into bottom of pan and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat rhubarb and strawberries in saucepan over medium heat, mashing and stirring it so it gets juicy and doesnt burn on bottom, until tender and juicy.  Stir in the 1/2 cup sugar.  Whisk cornstarch and lemon juice together until smooth and then add to the fruit and boil 1 minute until it thickens slightly.  Set aside. 

Mix all topping ingredients except butter in a bowl.  Then pour melted butter over that and toss with a fork until combined and crumbly.  When shortbread bottom is done, pour fruit over bottom crust.  Pour crumbly topping evenly over fruit.  Bake in oven for approx 25-30 minutes more or until topping is slightly browned and fruit is bubbling.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.  You may make a drizzle for the top with 1/2 cup conf. sugar mixed with 1-2 Tbsp milk if you want (makes a glaze icing).

We really hope you have enjoyed our progressive dinner as much as Remy (above) is enjoying her berry crumble!  It's been a really fun and busy year of creating and cooking and sharing...thanks for visiting and trying our concoction out!  

And a special thanks to my sisters Emily and Mandy for doing this with me - I love you both so much and have had so much fun!  I cannot WAIT to see you both next week!

That reminds me, next week is our family reunion at our parents cabin, so even though we probably won't be posting anything new while we are there, we will be sure to come back with some pictures and new recipes to share after! 

Enjoy your day, week or however long it is until we post again!