The proof of a delicious parfait is in the pudding. And the graham cracker crust. And the Irish cream enhanced whipped cream.

These little sweethearts are lovely for a party. Individually decorated pudding parfaits topped with a wee bit-o-cocoa powder.

PUDDING INGREDIENTS:

In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

Add milk, vanilla and egg yolks.

Whisk well to dissolve cornstarch and beat eggs. Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble forms and sputters.

Break chocolate bars into small pieces.

That’s about right.

It won’t be pretty at first, but the outcome will be delicious. I promise. Reduce heat to low; still whisking, cook about 1 minute or until chocolate is melted.

Stir butter into hot pudding.

Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding (to prevent skin from forming); chill a few hours. Before serving, whisk pudding until smooth.

To make pudding parfaits, process 1 package (about 9 whole graham crackers) until crumbly. Add 6 ounces of melted butter and process until butter is well combined.

Press graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of a serving dish and then add pudding.

To make whipped cream, whip 2 cups of heavy whipped cream in a mixer until soft peaks form. After soft peaks form, add 4 tablespoons of Irish cream (or for non-alcoholic version, add 1 teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract) and about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Using a large decorating tip, swirl whipped cream on top of pudding. For extra pretties, dust with cocoa powder.

Best when served in tiny cups with extra skinny, long silver spoons. As soon as possible.

Simply double graham cracker crust to make this recipe into a chocolate pie.

And then one day it dawned on her that she owned a bed & breakfast yet there was not a basic pancake or maple syrup recipe anywhere on her blog. And so she had pancakes to solve the problem.

But, you know, she only had one.

PANCAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Whisk pancake ingredients together until well combined and smooth.

Place your very best non-stick pan on a burner and preheat to low. It will be tempting to pour the batter upon the pan before it is hot, but do not give in to the temptation. When the time is right, pour 1/4 cup of better into the pan and spread in a circular motion just a wee bit to make about a four-inch pancake.

Wait until a few of the bubbles burst, then flip.

Yes. Yes, indeed, you can have a perfect first pancake.

In fact, you can have 11 perfect pancakes all in a row.

PANCAKE TROUBLESHOOTING

The outside is too dark and the inside is raw:

• Burner is too high – Turn down & allow to cool to new temperature. Trying to cook them faster will only result in pancakes that are raw in the middle.
• Too much sugar – Start batter over & follow measurements carefully. More sugar in pancakes is not better.

Batter is too thick or too thin:

• Check to see if you measured carefully.
• Consider measuring out 8 ounces of flour in weight instead of measuring cups as it is better to measure flour by ounces rather than cups depending on the humidity in the air where you live.

Pancake sticking to pan:

• Make sure you didn’t add to much sugar.
• Make sure your pan doesn’t have scratches or worn spots on the non-stick surface.

Pancakes fall apart while cooking:

• Make sure your burner is preheated.
• Make sure that you measured the flour correctly. You might need a little bit more.
• Only use large eggs. Smaller ones will not serve your purpose properly. If you only have small eggs on hand, use three instead of two large ones.

Pancakes are too flat:

• Make sure you measured the milk correctly.
• Make sure your baking powder has not expired.

MAPLE SYRUP INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• Dash of salt
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoons pure maple extract
  (or 1 tablespoon imitation maple flavor)

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt together well to prevent lumps.

Add liquid ingredients at room temperature or colder. Whisk together well before turning the heat on. Turn heat on to medium-high and stir occasionally. Watch for syrup to turn into a clear brown color and boil lightly until thickened.

You can also accomplish this without cornstarch by allowing the syrup to boil on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes from the point it begins to first boil. Some of the water will evaporate during this process which will thicken the syrup.

Delightfulistic.

And then she celebrated. And she had a second pancake.

This recipe is guest approved.

It is savory with a touch of sweetness. It is the Balsamic Red Onion and Sausage Tart… With Fresh Herbs and Le Gruyère Cheese Perfectly Melted On Top.

But, you know, I had to stop the name somewhere.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Pillsbury pie crust
• One 14 oz. package smoked beef sausage
• 1/2 large red onion
•  8 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon each finely chopped, fresh rosemary or basil, oregano, and thyme
• Salt & pepper
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350F. First spray a tart pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line pan with a pie crust. A Pillsbury pie crust rolled out a little bit will work just fine. (Pillsbury isn’t sweet like the off-brands).

Cut beef sausage into large, bite-sized pieces.

Yeah. Like that.

Thinly slice red onion and then cut slices in half.

Finely chop fresh herbs.

Whisk eggs, milk, freshly chopped herbs and salt & pepper together.

Pour most of eggs into tart pan.

Begin browning sausage pieces over medium high heat and then add onions.

Cook until onions are caramelized and then add balsamic vinegar. Allow to cook for a couple more minutes.

Place onions and sausage into tart pan with the eggs. Place tart pan into oven and then pour remaining eggs into tart pan. If pan is very full, place a half sheet baking pan underneath to prevent dripping. Grate cheese over the top.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a knife poked into the center of the tart comes out clean. Serves 4-5 people.

Le tart. Le sigh.

This recipe can also be made in a pie pan. Just add a couple more eggs to the recipe.

Because I will be making milkshakes soon. Because it is spring and because I am a Northwest girl through and through, I introduce you to a Pike Place inspired salad.

This week I had a first. This might be a good place to admit it only took me four plus decades to visit Alki Point in Seattle. < hangs head in shame >. Yes, I really did grow up here. And I’ve been to Seattle close a million times but I purposefully wandered my way to Alki while doing an errand in Seattle this week. Nothing was going to stop me. It’s so beautiful that it will not take me four decades to visit again.

See the Space Needle in all her glory? She is 50 this year so the city painted her orange just like when she was first built for the World’s Fair in 1962. I love Seattle and could talk about Washington and it’s beauty for hours but I will now introduce you to our beautiful food.

The Northwest Salmon Pear & Blackberry Salad. She is fresh. She is lovely and she is perfectly delicious for a dinner party or brunch.

While walking through Pike Place recently, I was handed some smoked salmon. I took two steps further and was handed a piece of perfectly ripened pear by another merchant. I knew right away that there was something amazing happening. As I enjoyed them both, my taste buds were dancing.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• A couple of big handfuls of spring lettuce mix
• 3/4 cup fresh blackberries
• 2 ounces smoked salmon (Think: Wild, Northwest and Copper River whenever possible) Never settle for “farm fed” salmon.
• 1/2 ripe pear, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

You could toss the salad together, but I prefer to create beautiful layers. Starting with the lettuce, sprinkle the other ingredients on top and enjoy the Northwest on a plate.

SALAD DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

• Juice from 1/2 fresh lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Simply shake the salad dressing ingredients together in a container with a lid & drizzle on your gorgeous salad. This recipe makes about a cup of dressing so you will have leftovers for another day. Just save in the fridge.

I’m digging way back in my archives today for a scrumptious take on cake squares. There was once a time when my pictures were tiny and my goal for blogging seemed to be to see how many exclamation points I could use to get my point across. But today is a better day.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake + Date Balls = Coconut Date Squares

Yes, that is correct – moist, delicious coconut date squares. Holy moly, they almost make me want to return to the days of exclamation points. Cakey and chewy.

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream

First make the sour cream coffee cake batter. Stare at it for just a moment or two.

COCONUT DATE TOPPING:

• 2 cups pitted and chopped dates
• 1 cup walnuts
• 16 graham cracker sheets (2 sections per sheet)
• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups grated, sweetened coconut

Process graham crackers, dates and walnuts in food processor until crumbly.

Split crumble in half. In the first half, stir in sweetened condensed milk.

Spread cake batter evenly into half sheet pan (I use parchment paper, but baking spray is sufficient). Gently spread sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cake.

Stir coconut into second half of crumble and somewhat press into the top layer.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until a fork poked into the center of the cake comes out clean.

FROSTING:

After the squares have cooled about 15 minutes or so, drizzle with a simple powdered sugar frosting (Stir together about 2 cups of powdered sugar & a couple of tablespoons of water until frosting is smooth and reaches the consistency you would like.)

!

What do pancakes, scones and frosting all have in common? Well, if you plan things very carefully, lemon coconut scones with cream cheese frosting…

Lemon Coconut Pancakes + Orange Scones + Cream Cheese Frosting = Lemon Coconut Scones With Cream Cheese Frosting

First make the scones from the blueberry citrus scone recipe. Replace the orange juice & zest with the juice and zest from two lemons. Replace the blueberries with a cup of coconut. Or you know, just add them both. After all, Y.O.L.O.

Form the scone dough into 2 discs (or 4 discs for 16 smaller scones). Use a little flour to help form if dough becomes sticky. Cut each disc into quarters.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until light golden and done in the middle.

Make the cream cheese frosting and add some extra lemon juice to thin it down a little.

Remove the lovelies from the oven. Could they even be more beautiful?

Why, yes. Yes, they could.

And a touch of toasted coconut takes them way over the top and back down again. Lemony. Coconuty. Cream cheesy. Most impressive planning.

Toasted coconut can be tossed over a medium high heat in a saucepan or baked on a cookie sheet until golden brown. And, yes, it is worth the trouble.

This week I’ll be sharing some mix and match recipes.  We’ll put together recipes I’ve posted before that can be combined to make new, amazing fiestas. See what I did there?

Today’s mix & match:

Pizza Crust + Fajita Chicken + Pico de Gallo = Cinco de Mayo Fresh Fajita Pizza

First, make a double batch of the pizza crust here. to fill a half sheet pan. I’ve used a round pizza pan that I bought at a garage sale in Montana about 10 years ago. One of those happy memories from when my kids were little. A fifty cent pizza pan can make one feel like one is winning the lottery. I bought two and won the lottery twice.

While the pizza dough is rising, you can prepare the fresh salsa. Stir and let it rest.  I replaced the cucumbers with tomatoes for this pizza.

You can find the fajita chicken here.

Bake the crust until light golden brown. I could just sit and eat this. By myself. While watching Celebrity Apprentice.

To prepare the “pizza sauce”, just add some salt & pepper to taste to about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of  Mexican crema.

Yeah. Like that.

To assemble the pizza layer as follows:

• Mexican crema
• Jack & white cheddar cheese, grated
• Fajita chicken
• Fresh pico de gallo (Give one last stir then use a draining spoon so that the excess juices can be discarded and won’t make your pizza soggy.)

Such a lovely and easy combination to start the week. Mucho delicioso.

Handy tip: When printing recipes, choose the “remove images” option to save on ink.

The Old Hen Bed & Breakfast will be featured on Evening Magazine tonight,  Thursday May 3rd at 7pm on channel 5. We don’t know when we will be on, so be sure to tune in a little before 7pm in case we are first. Tomorrow we will go back to our regularly scheduled recipes.

It all started with our window washer. We asked him… okay, we begged him to come clean our windows and he rearranged his schedule just for our top-secret shenanigans.

His payment may have involved freshly baked scones. After all, it was an emergency.

We decided we couldn’t be on a show that airs in a few states & parts of Canada without flowers in the yard so I went to the store and got some brilliantly colored and carefully chosen flowers.

The table was perfectly set.

But the kitchen still looked like this when I got the email at 10:30am that our host would be at the B&B not at 1pm but at noon.

I panicked.

So much so that I misplaced this little sippy cup that belongs to our little friend, Taye. I’m sure I’ll find it soon. I hope.

Just a few things to put away. That and, you know, get myself ready. I’m sorry, there will be no before pictures of me.

I interrupt this blog post to give a shout out to my husband who cleaned all the floors. Loverly.

We bought new goats just on time for this segment. We had taken a few months off from being goat owners after selling our mixed breeds and went back to these sweet pygmies. They are brothers. Their names are Ringo, George and Paul. John chose their names. Imagine.

Right after everything was ready, our host, Michael King and the camera man, Mike, showed up. Michael tried to catch our duck but she’s too sassy.

The chickens, however, played along well. We’ll see if this trick makes the segment.

After meeting all the hobby farm animals, John walked the guys down to the Snoqualmie River.

This is me. It’s been a couple of months since I’d had a mic up my shirt. As you can see, I’ve missed it.

It was time to finish up the pastries and such for the camera. Approximately half of this powdered sugar ended up on me and the floor. Or, the floor and I. Or, I was floored.

After he handed the mic over to me, Michael let the camera man Mike take over and I don’t remember anything I said after that. I may have muttered something about how everything tastes better with streusel. That, and I may have made a slightly inappropriate joke when the host asked me how to use the rain shower. But only slightly. Oh gosh, I hope it was only slightly.

After the host jumped on this bed, I realized that I had forgotten to straighten it up again before the next guests came. I’m hoping they happen to read this and consider it a wonderful memory. So, if you see something about a tousled bed on Trip Advisor, just know that this is the story behind the tousling.

This is Everett. I served Everett his plate four times before he got to eat. This part turned out nicely. It was in a sneak peek of our segment last night and I don’t mean to brag, my service after the fourth time was excellent. Practice makes perfect.

Breakfast was served at 2:00 in the afternoon to our fake guests. Well, they were real but, you know, fake. All of them have stayed with us before. They were real at that time. Oh dear. I’m not sure if they’re ever going to come back again.

I may or may not have fallen on this couch when the filming was done.

And one last confession…

I may or may not have found these in the back of my car the next morning. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

We send huge thank you to our host Michael, camera guy Mike and real guests Everett, Rhonda and Tyler. Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We can’t wait to see you at the B&B again soon and appreciate you taking the time to vote. We know it is a lot for you to stop everything going on in your lives to vote and we cannot begin to thank you enough! 

Evening Magazine Visits The Old Hen

When you think of Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, what is the first thing you think of?

Yeah, me too but then I ate my way through the history of Pike place Market on the Seattle Bites Food Tour. I’m a Northwest girl, but I learned things I’d never known about Pike Place, and the very first Starbucks and the founder of this particular fish store.

Today’s tour was with Jim Dever. And his camera man from King 5′s Evening Magazine. I took more pictures of them but when I got home to share them with you they were missing. Sigh.

This is our amazing tour host, Seattle Bites Food Tours owner, Jan Marie Johnson. You would never know it, but trapped inside her entertaining, perfectly friendly, beautiful inside-and-out self is a history enthusiast.

Our tour involved an incredible amount of all things delicious. You know, like fresh whipped cream.

And asparagus to balance things out. You won’t believe how fresh and lovely and unique the flavors of this local produce are. This may or may not have been my first time eating raw asparagus. What can I say? I’m adventurous. Or at least I tell myself I am.

As you walk through the tour, you meet store owners and hear their stories. This award winning chowder story is a must hear.

To broaden our horizons, we enjoyed ethnic food from India…

and Germany. There was a sandwich from New York and some other deliciousness too but I devoured some bites before I remembered to take a picture.

And in case you were worried, more whipped cream. I may have finished this bite before anyone else did. Okay, I did. And I stand by my poor decision to be an overachiever.

Best flatbread. Ever. And did I mention there was a sandwich from New York?

Our final landing-place? A northwest winery. It was perfect. And northwesty. And delicious. And will all be on television tonight. I should warn you though, I could feel the camera zooming in on me several times and I pretty much had one of those embarrassing food dropping moments every single time it was aimed at me.

Thank you, Seattle Bites Food Tours. I love you.

Evening Magazine on channel 5 at 7pm tonight.

Blueberry season opens in 72 days, 9 hours, 54 minutes and 28 seconds here in the Northwest. You know, either that, or in about 2 1/2 months. I do believe, however, it is imperative to have a perfect blueberry muffin recipe for any day of the year.

Preheat oven to 350F.

BLUEBERRY MUFFIN INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter (or 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg (bottled is fine if you don’t have fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups blueberries

Cream softened butter and sugar together.

Line up your blueberries in a perfectly polka dot bowl (fresh or frozen – both are lovely).

Stir in remaining ingredients, then gently fold in blueberries.

For large muffins (my favorite), place two ice cream scoops of batter in each muffin liner. This will make 12 muffins.

If using a regular size muffin pan, use one ice cream scoop of batter per muffin liner. This will make 24 muffins.

I you’d like to get really crazy, you can use a decorating bag (or a Ziploc with a corner cut off) to squirt this cream cheese filling into each muffin.

CREAM CHEESE FILLING INGREDIENTS:

(optional deliciousness)

• 1 eight ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
• About 1 tablespoon of the juice of a lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar

Cream cheese filling leftovers can be stored in fridge and added to many delicious treats.

I like to finish the filling off with a little swirl on top.

And if you are completely out of control, you can sprinkle homemade streusel over each muffin.

STREUSEL INGREDIENTS:

(never optional)

• 1/2 stick butter (cut into small pieces)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 small egg

To make streusel, place ingredients into food processor and pulse until they are well combined but don’t let the crumbles get bigger than about the size of peas. Watch closely. If you have leftovers, you can store them in a Ziploc in the freezer for next time.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Serve warm with a little butter or simply plain. Because, well, we wouldn’t want to get too carried away. Now there are only 72 days, 9 hours, 52 minutes and 37 seconds until blueberry season opens.  Let’s have a muffin to celebrate.