Tag: Germany

Good Morning Sunshine Bars




Germany’s climate is killing me… even though I technically ‘lived’ in Germany last year, I spent the summer in Upstate NY with my family while my Husband was deployed. I had a beautiful Summer full of lots of warm weather and sunshine. Well, was I in for a surprise this Summer when I actually decided to reside in Germany for the season.




It has been almost like Fall. I even find myself having to wear my little fleece ear band thing when I walk Scarlett to school sometimes. Yes, I own one of those. I’m that cool.

But last week there were 5 days were it was probably 90° out. It was so hot that on these mornings when I walked Scarlett to school (even though I was wearing as little clothing as decently possible), sweat was dripping off my chin like a faucet and my sunglasses wouldn’t even stay on my nose. That last part is probably a little gross to think about. I mean, my face most have been pretty slippery for my sunglasses to refuse to adhere to my nose…




Immediately after this 5 day period we had rain and a very upsetting thunderstorm (okay, so I’m a scare-dy cat). It’s been 60° and gray ever since.

Oh well, I guess it’s back to my fleece head band.




All weather conversation aside, my point is that on one of these gorgeous yet overwhelmingly hot days, I felt the need to make these fantastic “Sunshine” Bars. Appropriate, right?

They are almost identical to the 4 ingredient Peanut Butter Cornflake Balls I made last Summer. Except these are even better. Let me just tell you that when I made the cornflake balls I went on about how delicious they were to everybody I knew for about 2 weeks… I’ll probably talk about these bars the rest of the Summer. That’s how amazing they were.




Absolutely my favorite thing I have made so far this Summer for sure.

Sweet. Peanut Buttery. Salty. Caramelly. Crunchy.

I think they hit on every one of my taste buds accept for spicy. Oh and I guess the newly accepted and popularized flavor “umami” (savory)…




And they are SUPER easy to make! Always a plus in my book.

Good Morning Sunshine Bars
Author: Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
  • 6 cups crunchy, plain cereal (Rice Chex or something similar works best)
  • 1¼ cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 Tb pure vanilla extract
  • 1½ tsp kosher salt
  • 6 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, chopped
  1. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs the pan on two sides. Butter the parchment.
  2. Place the cereal and peanuts in a large bowl and use your hands to toss together until mixed well.
  3. In medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar and corn syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil for one full minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until the mixture is combined.
  4. Pour the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and use a spatula to toss until cereal is completely coated with the sugar mixture.
  5. Turn the mixture out onto prepared pan. Grease your hands and press the mixture into the bottom of the pan, being careful not to crush the cereal. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (if you wish to speed this process, you may place the entire pan in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.)
  6. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or double boiler. Use a spoon or piping bag to decorate the tops of the bars in a stripe or zig zag pattern. Allow the chocolate to set.
  7. Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang, cut them into 24 pieces.
  8. The bars can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. If the weather is hot and humid, you might want to keep them in the refrigerator instead.

 

Tagged as:
bars,
chocolate,
dessert,
nuts,
peanut butter,
peanuts

Homemade Mozzarella Sticks




We’re on our way to Belgium today! Yippee! I love when we get the chance to get out of the house and actually SEE Europe. I’ll be kicking myself in the butt the rest of my life if we don’t see as much as we possibly can while living in Germany. I can just see it now. Everybody asking, “Where did you go while you were over there?” And me responding, “Ummm, Germany and…. France.” That’s pretty much the only other country we’ve been to since we moved here. And we have lived here almost 2 years now. It’s pathetic.

I could make a thousand excuses, but all it really boils down to is that we hate planning vacations. Oh, that and my 6-month old son doesn’t have his passport yet. That’s kind of prohibiting as well. Once we get that we’ll be able to do more because we can fly, rather than having to choose places within a reasonable driving distance. We’re making it our goal to go to England and Ireland before the weather starts getting cold again. So hopefully by October we can add two more countries to our list!




Speaking of our living in Germany… I made these mozzarella sticks for my brother and his German girlfriend. My brother LOVES mozzarella sticks. When we would eat out with our family as kids he would always beg my parents for them. He really did have to beg too since it was already pretty expensive taking a family of 5 out to eat. My parents really didn’t want to buy appetizers as well.

So I really want to make them for his girlfriend so she would know what they were all about when he talked about them. They don’t fry mozzarella here in Germany. But! They do fry camembert. And I LOVE it! They serve two 3-inch diamater rounds with this tiny cup of some berry jam. Maybe lingonberry? Doesn’t matter. It’s amazing. The coating is the same texture as mozzarella sticks, but without any of the Italian seasonings. I’m not sure how my brothers’ girlfriend feels about the fried camembert, but she wasn’t a fan of the mozzarella sticks. It was funny because she told me so gently that she didn’t like them, because she was afraid to hurt my feelings. Which she didn’t. I don’t expect her to like all American-cuisine. She is from a totally different culture after all.

My brother on the other hand gobbled these right up! Like I said, he looooves himself some good ol’ fried mozzarella.

Be careful freezing and frying these though! For some reason a couple of my cheese-sticks didn’t cook all the way through and were kind of cold instead of melty on the inside.

Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
  • 12 mozzarella string cheese-sticks (or a block of mozzarella cut into 4-by-1/2-inch sticks)
  • 1½ cups panko-style breadcrumbs
  • 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon table salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • Canola oil for frying
  1. In a shallow pie plate (or something similar), mix together breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
  2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork.
  3. In a second pie plate, place the flour.
  4. BEGIN DREDGING: One at a time, dip cheese-sticks in flour. Shake off excess and dip the cheese into the eggs, then roll the cheese into the breadcrumbs. To make a thick breading, coat again with egg and breadcrumbs. Set aside on a rimmed baking sheet or plate. Freeze breadsticks, uncovered, until completely firm, at least 2 hours.
  5. FRY: Pour oil to a 2-inch depth in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Heat oil until it reaches a temperature of 350°F. A few at a time, fry the mozzarella sticks, being careful not to overburden the oil and cause the temperature to plummet. When done, cheese-sticks will be crispy and browned on the exterior, about 5 minutes. Drain on a double stack of paper towels. Allow temperature to return to 350°F between batches and fry remaining mozzarella.
  6. Serve while still warm!
You can keep the mozzarella sticks warm while you fry batches in a 200°F oven.

adapted from Food.People.Want.

Tagged as:
appetizer,
cheese,
fried,
mozzarella,
Savory,
snack

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