Peanut Butter Dog Treats

When I first got my Kitchen Aid mixer a few days ago, I was so excited to think about all the sweet treats I could make in it.  What would be first?  Brownies?  Coconut cupcakes?  Scones?  Then I started thinking about the wedding dress I need to fit in for the fast approaching date of May 9!  I opted to make treats for our 2 weiner dogs instead.

I got this recipe from a fellow Knotties blog...her dog Vernon gave his "woof"of approval and so did Olive and Dexter last night!  I was going to get a bit concerned if even our dogs didn't eat my baking!

1 1/4 cup of milk

1 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 tablespoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine flours and baking powder in large bowl.
3. Mix milk and peanut butter in a large bowl until smooth (I used my mixer with the paddle attachment)
4. Gradually stir flour mixture into wet ingredients
5. Knead dough by hand, adding small amounts of milk if the dough is too dry.  (I used the dough hook attachment on my mixer)
6. Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface to about 1/8 - 1/4", and cut into shapes with desired  cookie cutters
7. Bake on cookie sheet for around 12-15 minutes (ours took around 13-14 minutes), the consistency when done is a cross between a cookie and a biscuit.

They do not rise a lot during baking, so you can place them fairly close together on the cookie sheet.

Some things are just meant to be...

So I have been obsessing over getting a Kitchen Aid mixer for some time. For those of you who follow my blog, I usually blame not having one for some recipes not working right and the one thing standing in the way of me becoming the next Barefoot Contessa. Or for anyone knows what I am most excited when it comes to the wedding is:

1. Marrying Steve...I am truly the luckiest girl in the world to have him as my fiance and soon to be husband :)
   
2. Changing my last name to a nice, 6 letter one, rather than 13 that no one can pronounce
3. Getting a Kitchen Aid mixer

I originally wanted the Grass Green color exclusive to Williams Sonoma. However, the more I thought about it, I would rather have someone use a 20% off coupon at BB&B if they wanted to buy it for us. So, I registered for the green apple color at BB&B back in August. For Christmas, my very generous parents gave us money as a gift. I asked Steve if I could get my Green Apple Kitchen Aid at BB&B, he said "yes", so we went on the 26th to go get it at the store. Well, as fate would have it, they don't have that color in the store, it would take 2 weeks to come in and to top it off, were on back order till who knows when. I left the store fairly bummed and we just thought, there had to be a reason that didn't work out.

Today at lunch, I had to run to the mall for a few things and I popped into Williams Sonoma to check out some gadgets I wanted to add to our registry. I am walking past the clearance tables and lo and behold, like a gift from god, sat the Green Grass Kitchen Aid I longed for back in August. I thought to myself, "Something has to be wrong with it, it doesn't have attachments or is scratched." It was on clearance for $199!!!! Even cheaper than with a coupon at BB&B!!! I didn't see a box for it and left the store. I texted Steve, and he responded, "Just buy it". And this is just another reason I am marrying him!!!

So, I went back and bought my glorious Green Grass Kitchen Aid mixer for a heck of a deal! It is perfect, came in the box with all the attachments. The clerk said they are discontinuing certain colors, so are marking them down...different colors nearly every day...so I suggest checking it out if you want one!

Oh, and if anyone has any recipes that are perfect for a Kitchen Aid mixer, feel free to pass them along! :)

Mini Beef Wellingtons

This is a delicious recipe we got at our cooking class. So yummy...I could eat these all the time! Slightly time-consuming, but you can make them ahead of time and leave them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. This was another "fan favorite" at our "Merry Little Cocktail" party!

1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into 2" cubes

1 cup mushroom cream sauce

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 package Boursin cheese (we used garlic and herb flavored)

oil for sauteing

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon of milk for egg wash

1. Pre-heat large saute pan over medium high heat.
2. Season beef with your favorite seasonings
3. Place 2 tablespoons of oil in the saute pan and swirl to coat
4. Place beef in the pan and sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side
5. Remove from pan and cool completely
6. Roll puff pastry out to about 1/8" of thickness and cut into 16 3-4" squares, depending on the size of beef; dough must be able to wrap completely around the meat and mushrooms
7. Place 1 teaspoon mushroom mix in the center of each square, then 1/2 tsp of the Boursin cheese, and top with a piece of seared beef.
8. Brush the edges of the square with egg wash, and fold around the beef, mushroom sauce and cheese. Seal the edges as best as you can.
9. Brush the bottom and the top with egg wash.
10. Place the Wellingtons seam side down on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
11. Refrigerate the Wellingtons for at least 15-30 minutes to allow the pastry to get cool.
12. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
13. Bake until golden brown and puffed, about 10-15 minutes
14. Let rest for 5 minutes, then serve warm

Madeira - Mushroom Cream Sauce

This is a great sauce we used in our mini beef Wellington's, but could be great as a sauce for chicken, pork or beef or even as a lasagna layer! I love mushrooms so I would love to just eat a bowl of this plain. :)

1 pound mixed sliced mushrooms (use any kind you like), brushed clean of dirt, minced

1/2 red onion, small dice (we used shallots)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Madeira or Marsala (Steve discovered dry Vermouth is an acceptable substitute, so we used that since we had it and Marsala is pricey)

1 cup heavy cream

Pinch each of nutmeg, cayenne pepper and white pepper

Salt to taste

Lemon juice to taste (just a few drops)

4-6 tablespoons whole unsalted butter, melted

1. Pre-heat a saute pan over high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until you cannot hold your hand within an inch of the pan surface for 5 seconds
2. Toss mushrooms and onion together with the butter in a large bowl
3. Add mushrooms to pan and shake pan only briefly to create an even layer; let mushrooms brown - DO NOT STIR THEM OR MOVE THEM AROUND for at least 1-2 minutes or until they are golden brown on the first side; then shake or stir with a wooden spoon to brown both sides.
4. Add wine and shake pan to distribute evenly; scrape bottom of pan to remove all brown bits and cook until the wine is cooked off; (at this point, continue cooking mushrooms until all liquid has evaporated; this may take quite a while if the mushrooms were high in moisture)
5. Add cream to pan and scrape again; bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes; season with salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg to taste, then add a few drops of lemon juice.
6. Finish with an additional splash of wine if desire

"Upgraded" Pigs in a Blanket

We learned how to make this in our Mirepoix Retro Cocktails and Appetizers class. I love the classic version, but this "upgraded" version is pretty phenomenal. We got rave reviews on them at our "Merry Little Cocktail" party, so I thought it would be blog-worthy. A little more labor-intensive than the little smokies, but well worth it!

6-8 good quality sausages (we used Aidell's Chicken sausage Portabella Mushroom and Roasted Garlic and Artichoke)
1 box puff pastry dough, thawed at room temperature

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons milk

1. Cut sausages in half length-wise, then half again so you have quartered sausages, length wise.
2. Next, cut each quarter into 3 pieces
3. If the sausage is raw, saute in a large saute pan over medium high heat, with just a little bit of oil, until almost cooked through; about 5-7 minutes. Cool completely.
4. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
5. Place a piece of parchment paper on a small sheet tray and put the Dijon mustard on the parchment (spread out, but not too thin); roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown; cool completely.
6. Spread out thawed puff pastry and cut into strips smaller than the piece of sausage and just long enough to wrap around the sausages once.
7. Thoroughly mix together the egg whites and mustard; mix the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of milk
8. Brush the inside of each piece of puff pastry dough with the mustard, place a piece of sausage inside and wrap it snugly
9. Brush the outside with the egg yolk mixture for all "pigs in a blanket"
10. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and puffed