baci's baking | Mini BLTs

These little bad boys are not only simple, but they are incredibly tasty - I whipped them up last minute this summer and have been enjoying them randomly ever since!!

Mini BLTs

Original Recipe from Baci Designer

{Printer-friendly Link}

Baguette Chips (You can make your own or buy some pre-made like these from Pillsbury)
Mayonnaise
Cooked Bacon
Romaine Lettuce
Cherry Tomatoes

1)  Lay the baguette chips out on a plate or platter and top with a thin layer of mayonnaise.
2)  Top with small pieces of cooked bacon, lettuce and slice of tomato - Done Already!  Enjoy!

baci's baking | Thanksgiving Dinner 2012

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving last week!!  Ours was fantastic and as usual, Ilario and I hosted his side of the family at our home.  While being 7.5 months pregnant was a bit of a challenge I was able to spread out the prep work enough to take lots of little breaks in between :)

Ilario and I - plus Baby C in belly! - getting ready to chow down!

A few years ago, I shared Our First Thanksgiving Dinner in this house - complete with grocery lists, prep sheets, lessons learned (though I still am learning!) and tips for entertaining large groups of guests. I still do things pretty much the same - with an Excel Spreadsheet and preparations beginning early. . . though this year our floors were being redone in our house the week before so I was out of town.  That made things a bit interesting, but with the help of Caitlin and my mother-in-law we were able to pull it off!  I even still make the Foolproof Mushrooms {Printer-friendly Recipe}, Spicy Praline Pecans {Printer-friendly Recipe} and Vegan Snickerdoodles {Printer-friendly Recipe} - everyone loves these recipes and rarely do we ever have any leftovers :o)


Spicy Praline Pecans right out of the oven - yum!!

I also made two pumpkin pies (my favorite thing to bake and eat!) - I make them from scratch using the Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe on the back of the Libby's Pumpkin can inside Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust. . . so simple, yet so perfectly  tasty!!  I also have been using Michael Symon's Juicy Turkey Cooked in Cheese Cloth Recipe for the past two years and it's amazing - I just remove the fennel because I really dislike it.  Other than that, I use as is - though a forewarning, be certain to cook your turkey according to how much it weighs and not his specific timing.  Trust me ;o)

I tried my hand at a few new things this time around as well!  First, my Grandma's Dressing - I was incredibly paranoid that I was going to screw it up. . . especially since we she gave me the recipe she told me I "needed to use my head", lol!  It turned out amazing though!!  My sister-in-law and I also rocked out at making homemade gravy - something that scared us both a bit :o)

The big surprise winner of the day was my Cranberry-Pomegranate Compote!  I had made Blueberry Compote before for a Baby Shower, so I took the recipe and tweaked it a bit for the seasonal fruits and it was amazing.  You'll definitely want to test out this recipe!

Cranberry-Pomegranate Compote

{Printer-friendly Recipe} 

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup cranberries

3 T. water

1/2 cup sugar

2 t. lemon juice

1)  Combine 1 cup of pomegranate seeds, water, 1/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan.

2)  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes - seeds will begin to pop.

2)  Add the cranberries and other 1/4 cup of sugar, continuing to cook for about 8 minutes more stirring frequently.

3)  Serve warm (on cornbread muffins is my preference!!).

I kept the tablescape relatively simple this year - being sure to leave plenty of room for the actual food, lol!  I laid two ivory table cloths as a base and then topped them with a fun printed wrapping paper (only a dollar from Target - Bonus!) - the modern colors and stripes were offset by the vintage place settings.  It's so much fun to gather things up from around the house and see how they work together!  The plates were a combination of flea market and Goodwill finds (some of which were used in our Chevron Shoot earlier this year!), the gold leaf glasses were given to us by my mother-in-law - true vintage with a matching bowl and pitcher - and the centerpiece was simply fruit and candles, the perfect edible arrangement :)

baci's baking | Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

This recipe is from Wilton Recipes and is the perfect combination of chocolate and original cheesecake flavor. It's absolutely perfect, please enjoy!

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

(Printer-friendly link)

Ingredients:

Crust
20 creme filled chocolate sandwich cookies (2 cups ground)
2 tablespoons Melted butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese , softened
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Easy-Add vanilla extract
3 squares (3 ounces) semi-sweet baking chocolate , melted

Makes:
Serves 16.

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 325º. Place a large shallow pan of water in bottom of oven. For crust, lightly grease 10-inch springform pan with vegetable pan spray. In food processor, grind cookies until fine. Combine cookie crumbs with melted butter and sugar; press into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake 8 minutes; cool completely.

2) Lower oven temperature to 250°F. In mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping often. Beat in sour cream, vanilla and cornstarch until mixture is smooth. Place 3 cups of the batter in a small bowl; stir in melted chocolate until well blended. Using large scoop, alternately scoop plain and chocolate batters over crust. Use a wooden pick to swirl together, forming a marble effect.

3) Bake 1 hour-1 1/4 hours or until filling is set but still jiggles slightly in center when pan is gently shaken. Turn oven off and with door closed allow cheesecake to remain in oven for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.