Homemade "Oreos" - Chocolate Wafer Cookies with Peppermint Filling

A friend of mine who I regularly trade baked goods with recently gave me four homemade "Oreo" cookies that she and her roommate had made.  She packed them up in a baggie for me, but only three made it out of her house, and two made it home just to end up in my husband's tummy shortly thereafter...

Needless to say I was inspired to try my hand at this homemade Oreo thing, as I desperately wanted more!  I usually stick to simple cookie recipes like my go-to Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies, but these were a worthy adversary.  They are a bit of work, but man are they rewarding! 

The awesome duo of chocolate invasion, semi-soft cookies and a smooth, creamy peppermint icing in the middle is irresistible, and also makes for a good gift or party treat.  I kept them in the fridge since I live in Texas and everything is hot no matter how much you crank the AC, and I think it honestly made them taste that much better.  

I got the majority of the cookie recipe from Martha Stewart's Desserts book, one of many cookbooks that my grandmother recently sent to me.  This one though, is a bit special...it was autographed by ol' Martha herself!  Who'da thunk it!  I called my grandma to let her know that I'll be passing that one down in the family.

FROSTING!

Anyhoo, these cookies are great with the classic glass of milk as a summertime delight.  You could easily make them part of your Memorial Day cooking!  You could also bake them at Christmas time and give them out as gifts!

On that note, I want to thank all of the wonderful men and women who have fought for our country and are protecting us and others around the world.  I will be praying for those who have family members abroad like we do, and that they return home safely.  Don't forget what this day is all about, and as you gather with your friends and families, remember those who have fallen while fighting for their loved ones and their country.  God bless you and have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Roasted Turkey Breast with Mustard-Sage Crumbs

GOOD MORNING!  Our house is a disaster, and this blog is my way of turning my back to it at the moment.  The dishes are piled up so badly that I can't see my counter tops, the laundry is spilling onto the floor and the only thing in the house that is relatively clean is the dog that got bathed yesterday...
Normally, this would upset me.  Today...don't care!  I bring you RECIPES!

picture by © Melanie Acevedo

This picture above is from Food&Wine Magazine because the meal that I made was cooked for friends.  We were all so hungry by the time we got around to cooking that I scarfed it down and didn't get very good photos.  So I thought I'd give you an idea of what this is supposed to actually look like.  And honestly, it does come out this fancy, with almost no effort on your part.  Maybe I'll update the pictures when I make this again.  It's a staple meal in this house.

I've served this feast a good six or seven times, and people are always impressed with it.  It's easy to make, looks great, tastes even better, and everyone leans back in their chair with a grin when they're finished.  I usually compliment the turkey with mashed potatoes or some kind of roasted squash and a leafy green salad.
This is typically what I'd call a fall meal, but it's been unusually chilly here in Texas and we call 50 degrees COLD so I'm posting it.

My only advice to you is that if you're using fresh breadcrumbs from stale bread ( I used some hardened rosemary sourdough), make sure that the crumbs really are DRY because if not, the crumbs soak up all the melted butter and end up soggy and not distributing correctly.  Okay I lied...one more thing: don't skimp on your Dijon quality either, it makes a huge difference.  Use one that you really like!

As a side note, I typically find two small turkey breasts at the store instead of a single two-pounder, so don't stress if you can't find exactly what this calls for.  This also (as usual) makes excellent leftovers with mac n' cheese and what have you.

For my beginner cooks, if you don't have fresh parsley on hand, use dried parsley but only HALF of what it calls for when it's fresh!  That's a pretty standard rule when it comes to fresh vs dried herbs.