“Very Dairy Lemonberry” is a Winner!

While pudgie pies are our bread and butter, we decided to dabble off the pudgie path and enter the Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Championship Competition a few weeks ago.  We fancied-up a recipe from Pudgie Revolution called “Lemon Curd’s the Word” and, if we do say so ourselves, it is pretty dang delicious.

The judges thought so too because our grilled cheese incarnation, “Very Dairy Lemonberry,” won Best in Show.  Best in Show! We are still bursting with joy over this major award!

As always, we want to share the deliciousness far and wide, so here’s how you can make this award-winning, dessert grilled cheese:

First, you’ll need to bake an extra-large loaf of lemon poppy seed bread.  We tried baking bread from scratch and making different box mixes.  The winner was Betty Crocker’s Lemon Poppy Seed mix.  We followed the package instructions for 2 boxes, and poured the whole thing into 1 loaf pan.  We upped the baking time by about 20 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick until it came out clean.

Next, toast some pine nuts in a skillet on low heat for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.  Meanwhile, make some lemon-basil glaze by mixing lemon zest, minced basil, and confectioners sugar with fresh lemon juice.

The final item to prep is the Carr Valley Fresh Goat Chèvre Cheese.  Mix a tablespoon or two of lemon zest and minced basil in with this tangy, fresh cheese and then form it into a log using plastic wrap.  Now you’re all set for assembly!

To prepare the sandwich, slice bread about 1/2-inch thick and toast in melted butter over medium-low heat. Remove bread, add more butter to the pan, and top toasted sides with lemon curd and BelGioioso Mascarpone Cheese.  Return to pan once butter has melted.

Top mascarpone cheese with slices of MonteChevre Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese, toasted pine nuts, Carr Valley Fresh Goat Chèvre mixture, and K. Clark Blueberry Balsamic Jam.

 

Carefully combine sides once golden and drizzle with lemon-basil glaze.  Try to remember to take a photograph of the interior before you eat the whole thing!

Very Dairy Lemonberry

Ingredients

• extra large loaf lemon poppy seed bread, made from 2 boxes Better Crocker Lemon Poppy Seed bread mix
• Carr Valley Fresh Goat Chèvre
• BelGioioso Mascarpone Cheese
• MonteChevre Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese
• pine nuts, toasted
• lemon curd
• K. Clark Blueberry Balsamic Jam
• 1 lemon (for juice and zest)
• fresh basil, minced
• confectioners sugar, about 1/4 cup
• butter, about 4 tablespoons per sandwich, divided

Instructions

Bake bread, increasing bake-time until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool, and cut into 1/2-inch slices.   Toast pine nuts over medium-low heat until golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix confectioners sugar with lemon zest, minced basil and lemon juice until you have a glaze consistency. Mix fresh goat chèvre with basil and lemon zest to taste.  Melt butter in pan over medium-low heat and add bread to the pan until toasted.  Remove from pan and spread toasted sides with mascarpone cheese and lemon curd.  Melt additional butter and return bread to pan.  Top mascarpone cheese with sliced blueberry vanilla goat cheese, pine nuts, chèvre mixture, and blueberry balsamic jam.  Carefully combine when both sides are toasted and golden-brown.  Drizzle with lemon-basil glaze and serve immediately.  It’s a great way to have a Very Dairy Lemonberry day!

Top Tots: tater tot, prosciutto, and blue cheese pie iron waffle

There’s no waffling about it: This tater tot waffle with prosciutto and blue cheese tops our list of all-time favorite pudgie pies.  With just three ingredients, it packs a wallop of flavor and texture.

Crispy tater tots, salty prosciutto, and tangy blue cheese all converge in a perfectly pressed waffle pudgie pie.  If you haven’t added the Rome waffle iron to your collection, we highly recommend that you do.

To start, spray the iron with high-heat cooking spray.  Cut ten tots in half lengthwise, and place them cut-side up in one side of the iron.  They nestle perfectly amongst the bumps of the waffle iron–like it was made to cradle tater tots.  Top the tots with sliced prosciutto and crumbled blue cheese and then carefully arrange twenty more tater tot halves above.  Squeeze that iron shut and cook over hot coals until crispy and golden!

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and you’ve got a top-notch tater tot treat.

Top Tots Recipe

Ingredients

• high-heat cooking spray
• 20 thawed frozen tater tots, cut lengthwise
• 1 slice prosciutto, cut into pieces
• blue cheese, crumbled
• sour cream, for dipping

Directions

Spray waffle pie iron with high-heat cooking spray.  Cut ten tater tots in half and place cut-side up in iron.  Top with prosciutto, blue cheese, and remaining tater tot halves.  Squeeze iron shut and cook over hot coals, about 5 minutes per side, until golden and crispy.  Serve with sour cream for dipping.

 

Pudgies in Season: Green Tomatoes!

Got green tomatoes? There’s an app for that!  Don’t fritter away the summer without plucking a few green goodies for this tasty pie iron treat.

Fried Green Tomato Fritter

Ingredients

• cornmeal
• panko
• cayenne
• salt & pepper
• green tomatoes, 1″ cubes
• egg, beaten

Directions

Coat pie iron with high heat cooking spray.  Mix equal parts panko and cornmeal and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Dip green tomatoes in egg and then dredge in dry mixture.  Pile into prepared iron and cook over a fire or grill until crisp, about 4 minutes per side.  Serve with Sriracha mayo!

I’m Stuffed

Try this tasty twist on a classic flavor combination: string cheese and pepperoni wrapped in breadstick dough!

This 4-ingredient pudgie pie is simple and so delicious.  Give it a whirl!

Slice a piece of sting cheese length-wise, leaving a little bit intact.  Slide in 5 pepperonis and wrap with 2 breadsticks making sure the cheese is completely encased.  They look like little mummies…little yummy-mummies!

Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and place in a double-wide pie iron that has been coated with high-heat spray.  Cook over a fire until golden and enjoy!

I’m Stuffed

Ingredients

• refrigerated breadstick dough
• string cheese
• pepperoni
• Italian seasoning

Directions

Coat a double-wide pie iron with high-heat cooking spray.  Slice string cheese in half length-wise leaving it attached at one end.  Slide in 5 pepperonis.  Stretch and wrap 2 breadsticks around string cheese and pepperoni so that it is completely encased in dough.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and place in pie iron.  Cook over a grill or campfire until golden.  That’s a wrap!

Pudgies in Season: Kale!

Kale, yeah!  It’s time to come kale away, Come Kale Away, COME KALE AWAY with meeeee!  Everyone’s favorite leafy green is in full-swing and just like everything else, it’s even better in the form of a pudgie pie!

Come Kale Away

Ingredients

• flatbread
• roasted butternut squash
• apple chicken sausage, sliced
• Muenster cheese, sliced
• cranberry sauce
• kale, chopped

Directions

Cut flatbread to fit in iron so it is slightly overhanging the edges and spread margarine on one side of each slice.  Place margarine-side down in pie iron and spread butternut squash on top–buy it or make your own ahead of time.  Next, layer in chicken sausage, 1 slice of Muenster cheese, cranberry sauce, and chopped kale.  Top with other slice of flatbread and carefully close pie iron.  Toast over a fire or grill for 4-6 minutes per side or until it reaches golden perfection.  Let cool 5 minutes before eating–just enough time for a rousing rendition of Come Kale Away!

Go Nuts for Donuts

There’s a hole lot to love about this maple-bacon-donut pudgie pie!

Here’s what you need to make the magic happen:

Split 1 cake donut and butter the cut sides.  Place buttered sides down in your pie iron pans and fill the holes with pieces from the other donut:

Pile in the rest of the ingredients, close your iron and cook over a fire or grill until golden.

Go Nuts for Donuts

Ingredients

• 2 cake donuts, 1 split plus pieces for hole-filling
• margarine
• sweetened condensed milk
• pecans or other nut, chopped
• 2 slices cooked bacon, chopped
• maple syrup
• salt, just a pinch

Directions

Split 1 cake donut and spread margarine on the cut side.  Place cut side down in each pie iron pan.  Press donut halves into iron and fill gaps with donut pieces.  Drizzle in sweetened condensed milk and maple syrup and top with bacon, nuts, and salt.  Add another drizzle of sweetened condensed milk and close iron.  Cook over a fire or grill until golden, about 5 minutes per side.  Let cool before scarfing.

Trust us, you donut want to miss this pudgie pie!

Pudgies in Season: Rhubarb!

Do yourself a flavor and use that backyard rhubarb bounty to make this tempting little tartlet.  If you miss this opportunity, you’ll surely rue the day!

When we were developing this recipe for our pudgie pie cookbook, Pudgie Revolution, we found that raw rhubarb cooks perfectly in a pudgie pie.  Since rhubarb contains significant liquid, we needed to find a way to keep this pie from being a soggy mess.  The solution?  We nestled a few pie crust scraps inside to soak up the excess moisture.  It works perfectly and tastes exactly like the best rhubarb pie you’ve ever had!

We Love You, Pie Iron Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Everyone knows the quickest way to a person’s heart is through a pudgie pie.  Quicker yet might just be a heart-shaped pudgie pie. Since we have yet to find a heart-shaped pie iron (hint-hint Rome Industries), we attempted the next-best thing.  While it was a labor of love to create, the Pie Iron Pineapple Upside-Down Cake we devised is pretty golden.

We’ve been experimenting with cake batter lately, and it turns out that it works great in a pie iron.  If you don’t want to make an entire cake mix (can’t imagine why) you can just divide it by the number of eggs called for and divide the rest of the ingredients accordingly.  We found a pineapple cake mix calling for 3 eggs, so we just made 1/3 of it by adding 1 egg and 1/3 of the oil and water called for.  1/3 box of cake mix is the perfect amount for 2 pudgie cakes.

At first, we didn’t succeed.  The first 2 attempts at this pudgie tasted great, but our pineapple mysteriously disappeared from the outside both times.  First we tried filling the pie iron with batter and laying the pineapple and cherry on top, and then we tried putting the pineapple and cherry on the bottom and covering it with batter.  Each time the pineapple moved into the middle.

So, we tried, tried again. While it is a bit arduous, the key is to cook the batter in the iron for a few minutes to firm it up and then add the pineapple and cherry on top.  Oh, the things we’ll do for the love of pudgies.

Pie Iron Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

• 1/3 box pineapple cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 scant cup water
• 5 T vegetable oil
• 1 ring canned pineapple, heart shape optional
• 1 maraschino cherry
• high heat cooking spray

Directions:

Liberally spray pie iron pans with cooking spray.  Mix cake batter according to box directions. Fill one side of pie iron to the brim with cake batter.  Carefully close and place over heat source keeping iron extremely level.  Don’t be alarmed if a little oozing occurs.  After about 3 minutes, open iron and top batter with pineapple slice and cherry.  Close and continue cooking, about 5 minutes total on each side or until cake is golden brown.  Use a knife to gently release any stuck edges.  Let cool and share with the one you love!

 

 

 

 

Use Your Noggin!

Take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle and put that leftover egg nog from the office party to good use with this tantalizing yuletide pudgie treat.  You can relax knowing that Pudgie Revolution! is offering a FREE SHIPPING UPGRADE to Priority Mail until 12/18, so there’s still plenty of time to order those last-minute gifts for your pudgie lovin’ pals. You’re sure to be a holiday hero!

Ingredients 

• 4-5 fat slices of french bread, preferably a day or two old
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog
• 1 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• cinnamon and nutmeg
• bourbon, brandy, vanilla extract, or the like

Directions

Butter your bread on one side and slice into cubes, placing cubes in an appropriately sized bowl or dish. Combine eggs, yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium dish and beat vigorously until bubbly.  Whisk in eggnog and milk (preferably warm), along with a healthy splash of the spirits of your choosing.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour egg mixture over bread cubes and set aside for and hour or two, or overnight. Relax and enjoy some down time.  You deserve it!

Once your bread cubes are thoroughly sodden, prep your pie iron by spraying generously with cooking spray.  Pile bread mixture into pie iron and cook over a medium flame for 5-7 minutes per side.  This pudgie will ooze, so don’t be alarmed.  You know it’s coming along once it starts hissing at you.  That’s a good sign!  When both sides are toasty golden brown and the inside is firm, turn pudgie out onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.  Let cool for a few minutes before drizzling with real maple syrup and devouring joyously.  Happy holidays!