Pumpkin Date Chiffon Pie

I’m all for tradition but once in a while it’s nice to shake things up. Especially in a new, creatively delicious way! So last Thanksgiving, I ended my family Thanksgiving meal not with the traditional pumpkin pie but with the Solo Pumpkin Date Chiffon Pie.

I covered it with whipped cream to deceive the family into thinking it was the usual pumpkin variety. But when I cut into it and they saw the deep brown stripe at the bottom of the piece, I could see the confused looks the family shot each other around the table. Finally, my not so shy son spoke the words on everyone’s mind: “What’s that?!” I told him it was a twist on an old favorite, and just like my tuna casserole from his youth, he should just be adventurous and give it a try! And once again mom was right. He loved it!

The real secret here is the Solo (or Baker) Date Filling. After you prepare a baked pie shell, you cover the bottom of the pie with the date filling. Its sweet, gooey fruit filling spreads easily and blends perfectly with the top pumpkin layer of the pie, which is a concoction of pumpkin, egg yolks, brown sugar, evaporated milk and unflavored gelatin mixed with separately prepared, beaten egg whites.

If you’ve never beaten egg whites into a meringue before, don’t fret. The key is to make sure your egg whites are at room temperature for maximum volume, and most importantly, make sure not even a speck of egg yolk falls into the egg whites. They do sell egg separating gadgets, but I just crack the egg in half and volley the yolk back and forth from one egg shell to the other, allowing the white to separate from the yolk and fall into my waiting cup or bowl. (It’s easier to do than it sounds!) Then, after you’ve beaten the egg whites and sugar into a stiff meringue, you must carefully fold it into the pumpkin mixture. Folding helps retain the volume of the meringue as it combines with the pumpkin. The gelatin inside the mixture coagulates the ingredients with just a couple hours of chilling.

So if you’re feeling the need to shake things up a little bit this Thanksgiving, give Solo’s Pumpkin Date Chiffon Pie a try. Who knows? You might just start a new tradition. Click here for the complete recipe.

Fudge with a Toasted Twist

Wow! Have you tried Solo’s new toasted marshmallow creme? I don’t know how they did it but Solo managed to capture the taste of golden brown, perfectly singed campfire marshmallows and infuse it into their marshmallow creme. It’s soft, smooth, spreadable and deliciously different!

When I first opened up the tub I was struck by the familiar, toasty color of the fluffy creme, and I remembered my own attempts at toasting marshmallows over the campfire. Many times they ended up scorched, blackened, and ultimately, discarded back into the campfire itself! Solo must know the trick, because the creme tastes like they toasted those marshmallows perfectly inside and out! The package also said you could use the toasted marshmallow creme in recipes calling for the original flavor, and it would add a little something special to the finished product. I couldn’t resist a challenge like that!

But where to start? I decided to be traditional and try my most popular use for marshmallow creme— recipe found on the back of the creme tub. The recipe requires a candy thermometer, and some cooking time to get the sugar, evaporated milk and butter to 233 degrees. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, know that 233 is in the “soft ball” stage of candy making, which means if you drop a teaspoonful of hot syrup into cold water it will readily form a “soft ball” when flattened between your fingers. Then you add the marshmallow creme, more butter and bring it all to a boil again.

The last step before pouring the fudge into a pan is to blend the hot syrup with chocolate chips and vanilla. For fun, I used the white chocolate chips so that I could see the new product in all its glory. The result was a beautiful, caramel-colored, fudge with the same creamy, melt-in-your mouth texture I’ve come to expect from Solo fudge.

Then I called over my toughest critics—the grandkids. They loved the “new” fudge (as they called it) and my granddaughter said the taste reminded her of brown sugar. Then they wanted to see and taste the “new” marshmallow creme on its own. What a treat to share that wonderful taste and not have to supervise them over a fire! Thanks, Solo!
Click here for complete recipe.

Popcorn Balls...Back From the Dead!

Whatever happened to popcorn balls? Once upon a time, they were a notorious sweet that people made every year to distribute to trick-or-treaters. Then we ushered in the era of Halloween caution. We were warned to inspect all Halloween candy and some places even offered to xray each child’s Halloween haul. We were to tell our children to go only to houses they know and eat only prepackaged treats. Goodbye popcorn balls.

Well, I’m not going to let the tradition die. I found a Halloween popcorn ball recipe that is not only delicious but a lot of fun to make too. On a rainy October day when I was watching my grandkids, they had a lot of fun with me popping corn the old fashioned way (quite the novelty for their generation of microwave poppers) and measuring out the right amount for the recipe. They were also very helpful in the next important step—making sure there were no unpopped kernels hiding in our measured popcorn! Nothing ruins a good popcorn ball more than biting into a seed. Yow!

Then we mixed the festive orange syrup with the popcorn. The mixture features Solo marshmallow creme which provides the delicious stickiness to hold the popcorn ball together. The orange color is provided by the gelatin dessert and the candy corn adds a festive finishing touch to make these popcorn balls a Halloween favorite.

The grandkids loved buttering up their hands, scooping the sweet, sticky, delicious popcorn up and patting it firmly into balls, knowing that after a few hours in the refrigerator they could sink their teeth into them. And this is exactly what they ended up doing, while giving the popcorn balls rave reviews between bites.

Now I have a bowl of them on my kitchen counter. Who knows? I may even throw Halloween caution to the wind, wrap them up and give them to trick-or-treaters this year. Wouldn’t that be scary? Click here for complete recipe.

Good to the Bone

How do you describe barbecued ribs? For some, they’re sweet, meaty goodness luxuriously dripping sauce onto your fingers and chin; for others they are dangerously spicy, “good for a dare” fun fare; or tangy, sticky creations to pucker up and enjoy. Ribs are usually served “wet” (with a barbecue sauce) or “dry” (encrusted with a spice rub). As for me, I like them oozing with sauce and plenty of napkins on the side!

Cooking ribs well is an art form which explains why there are so many rib competitions out there. Winning ribs provide a tasty, chew on the outside with soft, tender meat that is literally falling off the bone inside. “Slow and low” is the expert rib cooker’s motto, meaning a long cooking process at a low temperature. The extra effort is well worth it. I accomplish my own version by first baking the ribs in the oven for 4-6 hours on 250 degrees to seal in the juices and cook the meat through. When the meat is soft, but still on the bone, I put them on the grill for 10-15 minutes over indirect heat, then slather them in the barbecue sauce of my choice and finish the cooking.

If my family gave out a blue ribbon for the best ribs I’m confident it would go to me! They love my ribs, especially when I use my Sweet and Spicy Sauce recipe featuring Chun’s Sweet and Sour Sauce. It’s a sweet sauce with a nice tang to it. Add more hot sauce if you like it spicier. I simply brush the sauce onto the meat during the last fifteen minutes of grilling. Be careful not to put the sauce on too early because it can burn (unless like my husband, you like that charred taste!).

Now you are all ready to channel your inner rib chef, right? “Competition worthy” ribs are just a recipe away. And don’t forget the napkins! Click here for complete recipe.

Goin’ Kebab’in

Summer time is grilling time. Whether it’s a last minute dinner for me and my husband or a casual gathering with friends, there’s something about cooking in the open air, and anointing your meat and vegetables with those tasty grill lines that make the meal special.

Once in a while I like a good shish kebab. Not only is it fun to say, but it’s fun to prepare too. Some people believe ancient Turkish horsemen were the first to make a “shish kabob” by threading vegetables and chunks of newly hunted game onto their swords and cooking them over a fire. The word shish kabob also has origins in the Turkish language with “sis” meaning “skewer” or “spit” and “kebap” meaning “roast meat”. The Armenians, who also were early aficionados of skewered meat and vegetables, gave us the pronunciation “shish kabab”.

If you make kebabs you join the world in one of the most popular forms of grilling. The Greeks and other middle eastern countries favored lamb as their favorite shish kabob meat. But today you will find a specific version of shish kabob throughout the culinary world. Southeast Asian restaurants offer satays, grilled beef or chicken often marinated or adorned with a peanut sauce. Japan offers yakitori, skewered and grilled fowl served with salt and lemon juice or soy-based sauce. French restaurants serve meats “en brochette” which means grilled on a skewer and sometimes accompanied by chunks of bread as well.

My grandkids, who think the grill was invented for hot dogs, were intrigued with these tempting, glistening kebabs when they came over for dinner last Sunday. They feature Chun’s Sweet and Sour Sauce, which not only adds bountiful flavor to the polish sausage and vegetables, but glazes the kebabs to highlight the wonderful colors of the food. For the grandkids, kabobs were “finger food” which they could “de-skewer” with their hands and then dip the meat and vegetables in more Chun’s which I served on the side.

So next time you feel like grilling, forget the hot dogs. Grab your Chun’s Sweet and Sour Sauce, your knife and your skewers and start kabob’in. You’ll be glad you did. Click here for complete recipe.

Solo Fudgy Brownies: Big on Taste, Low on Fat

Kids are so smart these days. Whenever my grandkids visit, they always tell me something I don’t know, or at least something I never knew about when I was their age. I just smile patronizingly and offer them one of my homemade fudgy brownies that they love so much. They may be smart, but they still haven’t figured out the secret ingredient!

The answer is Simon Fischer Prune Plum Lekvar Filling, or in my case, Solo brand Prune Plum filling. The recipe uses it as a fat substitute, which results in a very chewy, fudge-like bar. Now you’re probably wondering, “will the brownies look or taste “fat free”? My grandkids certainly don’t think so, or they wouldn’t continually request them! I can assure you, you’ll be surprised how the flavor of the fruit is completely engulfed by the chocolate and the deep, dark color blends perfectly into the batter.

Most brownie recipes use at least one stick of butter, at 11 grams of fat per tablespoon. You’re looking at a savings of 88 fat grams by using the fruit instead! Solo further lightens the recipe by replacing whole eggs with fat free egg whites, expelling another 15 fat grams from your brownies. Actually, the only fat additive in the recipe is the unsweetened chocolate, giving the final product a modest 2 grams of fat compared to the 17 found in the traditional brownie. Not bad for a slice of chewy, chocolatey goodness!


Making them couldn’t be easier. Start by melting the chocolate. (I always use the microwave.) Then blend all the ingredients except the flour and walnuts together in the bowl and pour the batter into the plan. Sprinkle the walnuts on top for a pretty presentation. I bake these a little longer than it says on the recipe to firm up the top a little bit. I still end up with very moist, chewy bars that retain their texture several days later.

I love that behind the decadent exterior of each chocolate square lies a little nutrition, because the fruit filling itself is quite healthy. It adds half a gram of fiber to each brownie and a little vitamin A and iron as well. Finally, a nutritional cure to a chocolate craving!

So now you know my secret for “brownie success” and staying a step ahead of my grandkids. I suppose they’re smart enough to find this blog someday and then I’ll have to come clean. But in the meantime, I’ll have a pan of brownies waiting for them next time they come over!

Click here for the complete recipe.

Irish Eyes will Smile: Créme de Menthe Pie

Since I jump at any excuse to give a party, I host a St. Patrick’s Day bash each year. After all, I married an Irish man and that makes me Irish enough to throw a party in mid March!

I always bring out this quick, festive recipe for a light, minty ending to our corn beef and cabbage dinner. This pie features crème de menthe, a sweet, mint-flavored liqueur derived from the Corsican mint plant. Corsican mint is found on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia and on mainland Italy.

Crème de menthe is a well known ingredient for cocktails like the Grasshopper, where it is paired with crème de cocoa, and the Stinger, where it is paired with Brandy. The liqueur is also used as a flavoring to create mint chocolate, and is available in a clear or “white” crème de menthe. The green or white crème de menthes taste similar and can be interchanged in most recipes. However, for our purposes, you must “go green!”

Start with a chocolate pie crust. Sometimes I make mine from scratch using chocolate flavored graham crackers, but for his event, I usually get a prepackaged one so I have time to boil the potatoes for the party. In a bowl, mix together the Solo Marshmallow Crème and the crème de menthe. All you need is a whisk for this because the smooth texture of Solo’s marshmallow crème combines quite easily with the liqueur. Then add pieces of chopped chocolate mint layered candies. Chop your own, or look in the grocery section near the chocolate chips for prepackaged chopped candies.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream in another bowl until stiff. (For best flavor, no substitutes!) Then fold it into the mixture until no streaks of green remain. Pile it high into the pie shell and garnish. Use candy shavings as I have done here, or consider cutting triangles from your remaining mint candies and arranging them in a perpendicular fashion on the pie. If you prefer, sprinkle with holiday green and white sprinkles or nonpareils. Want more chocolate? Drizzle some chocolate syrup on top just before serving.

Freeze the pie for at least two hours and remove from freezer five or ten minutes before serving. Heating your knife will allow it to slice the pie more easily. It’s very rich, so serve small slices.

And there you have it, a pie so easy, no “luck of the Irish” is required for it to turn out perfect. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

See complete recipe here.