My husband and I planned a Mexican-themed dinner to celebrate Mother’s day with his Mom.  We served all of our favorites:  margaritas, chips and corn salsa, tequila-lime chicken fajitas with grilled vegetables and calabacitas.

Margarita cupcakes are usually my go-to dessert for a celebration like this, but this time I wanted something light and summery.  A quick search on AllRecipes.com yielded this Margarita Pie.  The original recipe did not contain any alcohol, so I added tequila and triple sec to give it a true margarita flavor.

The margarita pie was a hit!  Everyone, including the guest of honor loved it!  The pie was cool and smooth with just the right combination of sweet and tangy flavors.  Using crushed pretzels for the crust added contrasting texture and the saltiness enhanced the margarita flavor – I for one love salt with my margarita!  I only allowed the pie to chill for three hours, so it was still a bit soft when I served it.  In the future I’d give it more time, but that certainly did not detract from the flavor.

Given the rave reviews and the ease with which this dessert came together, I’ll be adding it to my list of go-to summer desserts!

Margarita Pie

1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced
1/4 cup orange juice
4 tsp tequila
1 tsp triple sec
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
(8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels, melted butter, and sugar. Press mixture into a pie pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, orange juice, tequila, triple sec and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in whipped topping.
3. Spoon filling into pretzel crust. Place in refrigerator and allow to set for at least 4 hours.  (6+ hours or overnight is better)

During the torrential rainstorm today, I drove 3 hrs each way to a job interview.  Consequentially I spent most of the day looking like a drowned rat in a business suit.  When I got home (aside from changing into my PJs and drying my hair) all I wanted was some comfort food and a nap.  We had lots of leftover chicken on hand and some leeks, so I decided to make a chicken pot pie.  This recipe caught my eye because it appeared fairly straightforward.  I made a few modifications, mostly because I didn’t have tarragon or grainy mustard (and as I was in my PJs, could not really go out to procure tarragon or grainy mustard…) and I also used skim milk because we didn’t have whole milk in the house.  It was a great way to end a very long and damp day.

Ingredients:

12 oz cooked chicken (I used a combination of boneless skinless chicken breast and thighs)

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, sliced lengthwise and then into 1/2 inch strips

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon mustard (I used dijon)

1/4 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon reserved skim milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

Salt & pepper to taste

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg

Directions:

Melt the butter in a deep skillet over medium heat.  Saute the leek and onion until the onion becomes translucent – about 4-5 mins.  Add the mustard and the flour.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes stirring constantly.  Add the chicken broth, 3/4 cup skim milk and cream.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add the chicken and spices to the skillet and mix well.  Let the mixture cool.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place into a deep pie dish.  Roll the pastry out to a size able to cover the pie dish and press it over top, sealing it to the dish.  I used the extra bits of pastry dough to decorate the top.  Beat the egg and tablespoon of milk together and brush over top of the pastry crust before baking.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown and puffy.

So we’re actually no longer snowed in – thankfully the 23.2 inches of snow we had here have now melted…but despite the fact that we can now leave the house I’m still in a baking mood, so here are a few more cookie recipes I tried out that weekend. The other two kinds of cookies I made that fabulous snowy weekend include Chocolate Meringues and Chocolate White Chip cookies.

Batch #3 – Chocolate Meringues

As I’ve mentioned before, my mother has celiac disease so whenever I bake cookies I try to include a gluten-free option. I hadn’t made chocolate meringues before, so I decided to give these a go and they were amazing. The outside was crisp and light and inside the filling stayed ever so slightly chewy, which was tasty and delicious. An added benefit to making meringue cookies is the low-fat healthy nature of these cookies – as they are made with only egg whites, no cholesterol too! One piece of advice – sift the cocoa! Mine have little bubbles in them, where the cocoa powder got stuck together…still tasted fabulous, but maybe not quite as pretty!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Place the egg whites and vanilla into a bowl – beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is foamy. Beat in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture becomes glossy appearing and stiff peaks form. Add about half of the cocoa and fold in gently until well incorporated. Add the rest of the cocoa in the same manner. Spoon the meringue mixture into a pastry bag (I used a frosting gun instead) with a large star tip and squeeze dallops onto the parchment-coated cookie sheet. You can place these fairly close together as they do not expand very much while baking. Bake for 30 minutes or until they appear dry, then cool completely on a cooling rack. Store in the fridge.

Batch #4:

I had lots of white chocolate chips on hand during this storm, so in the name of pantry space I decided to make a cookie that involved white chocolate chips. My favorite kind is the ones that have tasty white morsels in a traditional chocolate cookie dough, so I searched for a recipe until I found this one. The cookies came out amazingly tender and moist – we were all huge fans in my household. Especially wonderful with a glass of nice cold milk.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 12 oz package of white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour, cocoa, bakin soda, and salt. Beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients and add the chocolate chips in. Drop by the teaspoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for approximately 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Usually my husband and I purchase our Pizza dough at the grocery store, because it seems like a big project to make it ourselves. This week, however, I really really wanted grilled pizza and found us sadly out of dough. So, I decided to take the leap and try making dough myself. I used my go-to cookbook, “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman for a recipe, and set to it!

It turns out it’s actually not nearly as hard as I thought it would be; I used my trusty stand-mixer and the dough nearly made itself. I added some fresh herbs to the dough; this time I chose oregano because I have a small oregano forest growing in our container garden and don’t know what else to do with it. I hear it’s great with rosemary as well!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

3 cups (or 14 ounces by weight) of all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1-1 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano

Instructions:

1) Combine the yeast, half of the flour, oregano, salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 cup water. Blend together until smooth.

2) Gradually mix in the remaining flour a little at a time until the dough is a sticky ball that pulls away from the sides. Knead the dough (either by hand or using the dough-hook for a stand mixer) adding as little extra flour as possible.

3) Place the dough in a bowl greased with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil, cover loosely, and let rise in a warm area for 1-2 hrs. Then top with your favorite toppings, and proceed with baking or grilling!