Roasted Pears with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Another day, another salad! I’ve been wanting to make this recipe since pears were in season last fall. Oh well – our global food distribution system allows me to have fall fruits year-round, which is convenient for me, but maddening to Michael Pollan.

I love the combination of warm blue cheese, crunchy walnuts and sweet fruit. This recipe roasts the pears with that confetti-colored filling, basting in a mixture of apple juice and white wine. You then make a sweet salad dressing out of the basting liquid to serve with the pears on their bed of arugula.

Adapted from Ina Garten.

Roasted Pears with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 3 ripe but firm pears
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
• 3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup apple juice (or cider)
• 3 tablespoons white wine (or port)
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 6 ounces baby arugula
• Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a melon baller and knife, remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.

Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.

In the same small bowl, combine the apple juice, wine, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature.

Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and drizzle with salad dressing. Top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.

These weren’t so good as leftovers, so I recommend just making enough for you and your dining companions. Reheating the pears makes them mushy and the sauce loses something. A wonderful first-course or part of a healthy soup-salad dinner for these cool spring evenings.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Chicken Caesar Salad, Deconstructed

Who hasn’t ordered the chicken Caesar salad at The Olive Garden? Or pretty  much any other restaurant, regardless of cuisine, over the years? Typically, it consists of romaine lettuce dripping with creamy “Caesar” dressing, with cold chicken on top, along with more Parmesan cheese and stale croutons.

This is my new spin on chicken Caesar salad, inspired by a recent Bon Appetit recipe. But instead of piling everything high on a smudged plate, the diner gets a unique salad-eating experience with a deconstructed restaurant staple.

The panko-Parmesan-crusted chicken is lovely along with the seared romaine flecked with garlic and minced anchovies. I love the whole seared-lettuce thing. Really changes the flavors.

I highly recommend adding this dish to your summer menu – a wonderful entree for dining al fresco, if you can.

Deconstructed Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 7-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped, divided
• 2 large hearts of romaine, halved lengthwise
• 4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained, minced
• 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

Preheat oven to 450°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place on prepared sheet. Combine cheese, panko, 2 Tbsp. oil, parsley, and 1 garlic clove in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Pat panko mixture onto breasts. Roast chicken until crumbs begin to turn golden, about 10 minutes.

Drizzle romaine with 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with remaining 1 chopped garlic clove and anchovies. Season with salt and pepper. Remove sheet from oven; place romaine around chicken.

Roast until chicken is cooked through and lettuce is browned at edges, about 5 minutes (mine was even less).

Divide among plates. Garnish with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Doesn’t that look yummy? Also good as sack-lunch leftovers – just reheat the chicken and serve with the cold romaine and squeeze a lemon wedge over.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Crock Pot Beef Short Ribs with Ancho Chiles and Polenta

In the past, the best beef short ribs I made involved searing the ribs, then slowly braising them in the oven, in a bath of red wine, beef stock and spices. The result was tender, falling-apart meat with a rich broth. The new me recreated the same delicious tastes with my Crock Pot – no searing or browning necessary.

I dusted the beef short ribs (these cost about $2.50 per package!) with salt, pepper and ancho chile powder, then threw them into the Crock Pot with some onion, garlic, leftover coffee, a few leftover diced tomatoes, dried chiles and beef stock. You really can use whatever you have leftover in the kitchen – carrots? Potatoes? Celery? Parsnips? Mushrooms? Add them!

I started making this meal with a published recipe, then realized I was changing so many thing that it was nothing like the original creation. So I suppose I can call this all my own.

Crock Pot Beef Short Ribs with Ancho Chiles

Ingredients:

• 2 whole dried ancho chiles, or other chile
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 T pure maple syrup
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 or 1/2 can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1/2 c. brewed coffee
• 6 lb. beef short ribs
• 2 T ancho chile powder (I got mine at Fresh Market)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 c. beef broth (chicken broth would be fine)

Sprinkle short ribs with salt and pepper, then dust with ancho chile powder on all sides. Place in slow cooker. Follow with onion, garlic, maple syrup, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, coffee and beef broth. Nestle dried chiles into the mixture. Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 8 to 8 1/2 hours.

When the short ribs are nearly done, use a spoon to skim off some of the fat. Taste for seasoning.

I made mine with quick-cooking polenta, which was delicious.

To serve, scoop polenta on plates, then top with short ribs, spooning juices over the top. Add parsley for color.

Hearty, deep with flavor and completely satisfying.

Appetizer Spanikopita

I made this spanikopita for a party on St. Patrick’s Day – the spinach is green, so y’know…

While I’ve made “dinner spanikopita” before, this is a different sort of deal because it’s basically a strudel. Rolling sheets of buttered phyllo dough around a filling of spinach, green onions and feta, then baking and slicing into pieces. Sort of like my curried chicken strudel – also from Ina Garten. Because she’s the queen of entertaining, I knew I should use her recipes.

This was very popular at the party and I loved having leftovers for lunch – the recipe used almost all of the phyllo from the box. It’s also pretty easy, aside from the whole dealing-with-phyllo thing. The trick is to just be gentle, and don’t use too much butter.

Adapted from Ina Garten…

Appetizer Spanikopita

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch chopped scallions, white and green parts
• 2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 40 sheets (1 box) frozen phyllo dough, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the scallions. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the scallions (with oil), eggs, feta, salt, and pepper and mix together.

Keep the phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel. Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet lightly with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs until 10 sheets have been used. Spoon 3/4 cup of the spinach mixture into a sausage shape along one edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and score the roll into 1-inch rounds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (if making ahead, just cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate). Place it on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Repeat until all the pastry and filling have been used (mine made three “loaves”).

Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Then slice all the way through…

Grant liked this with a little extra cracked pepper and coarse salt sprinkled on top – not a bad addition, if you ask me. I love the flaky phyllo with the creamy feta and spinach inside.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Baked Potato Soup

A rough Southern storm rolled in today. One that started with an abnormally warm and humid morning: still air that seems to hang in suspense. Then, by afternoon, you see the wall coming from miles away – blue-gray sky covering a dwindling daylight. A breeze stirs, the birds quiet and a few drops warn.

Next, the white light tears the sky while a steady current of rain pours down.

And you open all your windows and doors to let in the smell – wet earth and electricity.

Storms give you a chance to cook comfort foods that make you feel good about keeping dry and safe in a warmly lit home. Baked potato soup is comforting for all sorts of reasons – the sensation of baked potatoes, plus crispy bacon and melting cheese with a creamy broth bubbling away with other aromatics.

My version is an adaptation from Cooking Light – the one biggest difference is the cream. The recipe called for 1% – I only had skim and heavy cream. So naturally I added the heavy cream! With some skim milk and chicken stock (homemade) to thin it out. However, I still think this would be fabulous with healthier creams – the flavors are there, it’s more of a consistency thing.

I also substituted Yukon gold potatoes for most of the baking potatoes. Of course! They are buttery and wonderful – and I happened to have some that I needed to use up.

Finally, I played with avocado and sour cream as a topping – do try it.

Baked Potato and Bacon Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
• 7 bacon slices, chopped
• 4 1/2 c. chopped yellow onion (about 3 large)
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 3 c. skim milk
• 2 c. chicken stock (add more if you want it thinner)
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Sour cream for garnish
• Avocado slices, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400. Prick surface of baking potatoes and place in hot oven. Bake 45 min to 1 hour, until you can squeeze them a little. Remove to cool. Roughly run your knife through them.

Meanwhile, peel and cut Yukon golds into large chunks and boil until soft enough to mash. Drain.

Combine baking and Yukon gold potatoes in a pot and lightly mash with a potato masher – set aside.

Heat Dutch oven over medium and cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels, leaving fat in the pan. Add onion to dripping and saute 5 min. Add salt, garlic, bay leaf and saute another 2 min. Add potatoes, milk, cream, stock and pepper. Add extra stock, if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 10 min. Stir in parsley.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with reserved bacon, cheese and green onions.

The potatoes keep this soup very hot, temperature wise, so the sour cream cools it nicely. And who doesn’t love avocado? Like putting pats of butter on top, only better…

Both Grant and I were surprised how good this recipe turned out – sometimes you can’t trust Cooking Light. We froze a bunch to bring up to the cabin, so we will be prepared for more dark and stormy nights.

Enjoy, friends! oxox

Shrimp Fried Brown Rice

My goodness I love fried rice. Breakfast, lunch and dinner I could eat it. And I have. It’s hard, though, to pull off that wok-seared flavor in your own humble kitchen, where you’re not working over a massive black pan on direct heat.

But there are a few tricks you can employ to make your at-home fried rice as tasty (or close to) that which you buy from the restaurant. I, of course, turned to my favorite Jaden at Steamy Kitchen. Her first “watch out” is to always use day-old rice – otherwise it will be too wet to fry up. Second, she has you let the rice get a bit toasted and crunchy (don’t stir it TOO much), which adds a nice texture. Finally, tossing the shrimp in cornstarch before cooking keeps it from getting rubbery.

I added my few own touches to this recipe, notably using brown Basmati rice instead of white rice. I’m so glad I did – it added an extra bit of texture.

Definitely check out Steamy Kitchen, if you haven’t yet!

Shrimp Fried Brown Rice

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces medium uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (divided)
• 3 eggs, beaten in a small bowl
• 4 stalks green onion, minced
• 4 cups previously cooked leftover brown rice, grains separated well
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let the shrimp marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, add only 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.

Now add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the pan so that they are not overlapping. Let the shrimp fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Turn the heat to medium and let the pan heat up again. Pour in the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the frying pan onto the same plate as the cooked shrimp.

Use a paper towel to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean (no need to wash) and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok or pan.

Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! (I love Jaden’s writing here!) Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed, same with the sesame oil.

I finish mine with Sriracha hot sauce, naturally.

Yum! I’m so glad I made this and I can’t wait to make it again – vegetarian or with other meats. Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Seared Scallops with Wine-Wilted Leeks

If I were to start another blog, it would be called The Cooking Cabin. Because every time we visit this dream mountain home, I end up crafting way more gourmet foods than we ever bother with at home.

Sometimes the simplest and most gourmet dishes are the best, no? Like a beautiful scallop sitting on a pillow of soft leeks steaming with wine.

You don’t need a recipe for this meal, but I did one just because.

Grant declared that this is one of the top two meals I’ve made. That still shocks me, but it really is elegant in its simplicity. The butter forms to a nice buttery brown around the scallop, and the leeks become soft and mellow after steaming in the  white wine.

Seared Scallops with Wine-Wilted Leeks

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 6 large scallops, patted dry
• 3 leeks, sliced into half-moons and well-cleaned
• 2 T unsalted butter, divided
• 2 T EVOO, divided
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• Salt and Pepper

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 T butter and 2 T oil. When butter foams, add chopped leeks and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir until leeks begin to wilt, 5-7 min. Add wine and turn heat down to medium until leeks are soft, another 5 min.

Meanwhile, heat another large skillet over high heat, adding remaining 2 Ts butter and oil. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. When butter is foaming, add the scallops and sear to a brown crust on each side (middle will be rare).

To serve, spoon leeks on a plate and top with scallops, spooning cooking juices over them.

Crusty bread and a glass of wine doesn’t hurt, either…

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Parmesan Shortbread with Black Pepper, Fennel and Sea Salt

This is a cookie so unique that I think tasters are perplexed into thinking they are in love with it. Here is the experience …

First, the smell – Parmesan, nutty and warm. Second, you get the sea salt, crunchy and ripe with minerals. Then, the butter, as the shortbread begins to melt in your mouth. Next, your first bite breaks apart the fennel seeds, releasing a soft anise flavor. After swallowing, the black pepper blooms with heat down your throat.

I just love savory cookies. I’ve made blue-cheese shortbread crackers and had all sorts of cheese coins since living in The South, and these little darlings make me think I’m on to something.

So delicious, especially in the afternoon, with a nice cup of tea. I prefer Earl Gray.

Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine…

Parmesan Shortbread with Black Pepper, Fennel Seed and Sea Salt

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed or pounded with mortar and pestle
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used fleur de sel)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a medium bowl on low speed until smooth, 1–2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, pepper, and kosher salt. Reduce speed to medium and beat, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy, 4–5 minutes. Add flour and cheese. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat mixture just until dough comes together.
Wrap dough in plastic or parchment paper and shape into a long cube. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled. 

Stir together fennel and sea salt. Set aside.

Arrange a rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove plastic wrap from dough. Cut dough into cookies 1/4 inch thick.

Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush cookies generously with oil, then sprinkle with fennel salt.

Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until cookies are golden brown (flecks of cheese will be slightly darker), 20–24 minutes.

Let cool on sheets for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room tem-perature. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Pasta

Experimenting with sweet spices is an interesting way to stretch your culinary repertoire into more exotic places. For instance, would I ever have thought of adding 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to a pasta dish? Of course not – but luckily, I subscribe to The Splendid Table’s newsletter, and this one happened along.

I changed the recipe up a bit – most notably with the pasta. I couldn’t find hollow pasta at my regular grocery store and I’m so over dealing with Whole Foods and it’s crowded parking lots and aisles. So I made due with linguine. I also didn’t break my pasta off into pieces, like pasta-roni. Instead, I left it long, so I could curl it around my fork. It’s one of my favorite things about pasta – the fork-twirling.

This truly is one of those hearty all-in-one meals – you have your vegetables, meat (chopped rotisserie chicken) and pasta all in one. The tomato sauce is spicy and enhanced with white wine and that warmth that comes from ground cinnamon. I also sprinkled feta cheese over mine, which added a nice, cold flavor contrast (but you won’t see the cheese in any of the pictures).

Very good, if you can get past the weirdness of all that cinnamon.

Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

• Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 tighty-packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste (put your leftover in ice cube trays to freeze and use next time – that’s what I do!)
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 c. diced tomatoes in their juices
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups diced cooked chicken (good way to use leftover chicken; optional)
• 1 pound linguine
• 1/2 c. feta cheese (or goat cheese)

Bring the salted water to a boil and while that works, work on the following:

Generously fill the bottom of a 12-inch sauté pan with olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, parsley, and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper. Sauté the onions to golden brown. Then stir in the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, and pepper flakes. Turn the heat down to medium and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, raise the heat to medium-high and cook the sauce for 8 minutes, or until thick. Taste for seasoning, remove the pan from the heat, and if using the chicken, stir it in.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Boil, stirring often, for 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender but still has a little bite. As the pasta cooks, reheat the sauce over medium-high heat. Once the pasta is done, drain it in a colander and add it to the sauce. Toss over the heat for a minute or more to help the sauce permeate the noodles.

To serve, pile pasta on plates with generous spoonfuls of the chicken and tomato mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese (not pictured below).

As an end to this post, here is a picture of our little bonsai tree. I can’t remember who gave it to us, but soon this baby appeared on it. I think the baby came from a Mardi Gras King’s Cake. We keep them on the kitchen window. Grant moves him around the plant as if he wants a different view every now and then…

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Chewy Pecan Bars

I joked to a friend of mine when I was planning on making these. “Guess how many sticks of butter?” I asked.

She knew it was Ina Garten, who is like the Paula Dean of East Hampton.

But she wasn’t prepared for, “Five sticks!!!”

And I wasn’t prepared for when I realized that I read the recipe wrong, and tromped back out to the store, for this called for not five, but NINE sticks of butter in total.

It’s fun to think about, when your heart starts beating again.

People loved these bars. Oscar Party attendees, family, friends, coworkers. They taste like pecan pie on top of your favorite shortbread cookie. Hints of orange and lemon zest make the pecan filling a bit different, but the pecan flavor is still the hero. I, however, will never make these again. Ever. For many reasons.

One reason is that they literally caught my oven on fire. The sugary pecan filling readily spilled over the sides of the baking sheet and onto the oven bottom, where it caught fire. I’ve had smoke in the oven before, but not fire. And then the sugary substance that caused the fire became so sticky that the bars were impossible to remove from the pan, even with all that butter! Talk about a labor of love.

I think my problem was that my baking sheet was too small. Bakers beware!

Chewy Pecan Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 cup good honey
• 3 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomedsaucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

Grant sprinkled a little extra coarse salt on his, which is always a nice thing.

Go on, friends, indulge! xoxo