End of August Menu + Macadamia Rum Bars

Sending silent thanks to the universe that it’s almost September and we’re quickly approaching the absolute best time of year on the OBX. Finally! But, while it’s still August, let’s recap this week’s dinners:

dinners written out on a white board

*This post contains affiliate links to some of my favorite cookbooks. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

end of august dinners

What we made this week, with notes:

Saturday 8/20/22: Brothy fregola, broccoli rabe, and prosciutto with grilled cheese. Hot soup in August is totally fine by me and this one was fun. At first, my taste buds were like, “NO!” because the broth became pretty bitter, thanks to the broccoli rabe. But… I also could not stop eating it. I think the salty prosciutto, the parmesan, the tiny pasta, and the rich broth just made it all alright. I would not have liked it as much without the bitterness. It all works. This recipe came from Colu Henry’s book, “Colu Cooks“, from which everything I’ve cooked so far has been fab. Here’s a pic of this meal, which has me frustratedly sighing at how much better the picture would be had I put a couple of spoons in the dang bowls. Oh well.

bowls of soup and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches

Sunday 8/21/22: Frozen pizza and salad!

Monday 8/22/22: Giant Dinner Salad. A Serving Tonight staple. This time I made it with kale, brown rice, roasted carrots and chickpeas, smoked almonds, golden raisins, feta, and chicken. So goooood.

Tuesday 8/23/22: Scallion feta dip; corn, zucchini, and shrimp salad; steak and tuna with romesco sauce; roasted potatoes; and pistachio cake. Our good friends Tara and Jamie (of the lovely blog and YouTube channel Savory Saver) were in town and came for dinner! I barely remember how good the food was because it was so nice to see them and catch up (and there was more than one bottle of wine involved), but I know it was indeed good. My favorite part was the romesco sauce, which I need to document with a full recipe at a later date, but is roasted red pepps, smoked almonds, sherry vinegar, honey, and olive oil all blended in a food processor. Can literally eat it by the spoonful, all by itself. We had it with a seared sirloin steak (was very nervous about this cut being tough but Tara has a sixth sense for when to flip a piece of meat and she nailed it).

Wednesday 8/24/22: Trader Joe’s sweet corn, burrata, and basil ravioli with fresh tomato butter sauce and salad. The menu board said miso harissa noodles for this night but it wasn’t in the cards. This ravioli was in our freezer and felt much easier. The sauce was pretty much this Fresh Tomato Butter Sauce recipe, which I should make more often than I do.

Thursday 8/25/22: Grilled wings and salad. Should we talk about why we eat wings so often? Sure. It’s because we messed up our CrowdCow order twice in a row and now have enough wings to feed a football stadium. It’s fine, we’re fine. For this, we once again used the Buffalo Wild Wings thai curry sauce. It’s addictive!

Friday 8/26/22: Steak al limon with roasted potatoes and creamed kale. Big steakhouse vibes over here! This steak was interesting — the marinade/sauce was lemon juice, sugar, chiles, and fish sauce and I’m glad we tried it but not sure I’d make it again. The creamed kale on the other hand… holy cow. I used the Greatest Creamed Greens recipe from Alison Roman’s book “Nothing Fancy“. I want more RIGHT NOW.

plates of steak, potatoes, and greens with a glass of red wine

I mean… I’m pretty proud of this week of food. High fives. For the recipe this time around, I’m sharing the baked good that’s been most successful with the guests at the inn I bake for each week: Macadamia Rum Bars. It’s a version of my mother-in-law’s recipe and I believe she got it from a cookbook, sorry I don’t know which one. But these bars are foolproof and so sweet and gooey and crunchy, and just a little boozy. Love!

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Macadamia Rum Bars

macadamia rum bars stacked on a plate

A sweet cookie crust topped with a lightly boozy, gooey coconut and macadamia nut filling.

  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 16 squares 1x
  • Category: dessert, snack

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie crust:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1 C flour
  • pinch of kosher salt

filling:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 C light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 TBS flour
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 C flaked, unsweetened coconut
  • 1 C macadamia nuts, chopped
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 TBS rum

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 cake pan and line it with parchment (leave some parchment hanging over the edges for easy removal).
  2. Make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and flour and mix until thoroughly blended. Press the mixture evenly over the bottom of the cake pan (no need to wash out the bowl, you can reuse it for the filling). Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until beginning to brown.
  3. Make the filling: In the same bowl you used for the crust, combine all of the filling ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended. Spread this mixture evenly over the baked crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the filling is firm and golden brown on top.

Notes

*The cooking times and nutritional info noted in this recipe are approximate.

A stand mixer is not necessary — you can make this recipe stirring by hand or using a hand mixer.

In the photo, I cut these into smaller-than-usual squares because I was making them for a group that requests bite-sized servings.

Keywords: macadamia recipe, macadamia rum cookie bars, coconut recipe

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Bread

There is certainly no lack of banana-based recipes on the interwebs and it’s safe to say a zillion of them probably contain peanut butter and chocolate chips. But, at the risk of overburdening Google with yet another banana recipe search result, I’m still posting this Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Bread for you to add to your arsenal of ways to use up overripe bananas. This recipe is really a cross between banana bread, a peanut butter cake, and just a really good excuse to eat chocolate chips. But today, for all intents and purposes, we’re calling it bread.

peanut butter banana bread on parchment paper
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Squash and Country Ham Hand Pies

Listen up, friends – it’s fall! Ok, it’s been fall ever since this epically delicious mac and cheese found its way into our mouths and hearts. But in this moment, fall means cozy, savory hand pies stuffed with an earthy butternut squash and salty country ham filling. And did I mention the pastry is loaded with toasted pecans? Yup. Fully channeling autumnal North Carolina goodness here.

hand reaching for one Squash and Country Ham Hand Pie
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Brown Butter Gingersnap Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie Treats are back on this blog again… for many reasons. First, they are a no-bake dessert (read: perfect for lazy people, like me). Second, they are undeniably good. And third, they are an excellent vehicle for other yummy things, like brown butter and gingersnapssssss! Yuh. Oh, and I’ve thrown a big scoop of white chocolate chips in the mix, too, because, why not?

Brown Butter Gingersnap Rice Krispie Treats
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Sweet Potato Collard Green Fritters

I want to say I pulled this recipe out today because I was just trying to use up some last bits of veg in my house. But, the truth is, I have a long-standing, undying love for vegetable fritters. Sometimes, a fizzy batter and a shallow fry in a skillet is the best treatment you can give a vegetable. That’s the case today with these sweet potatoes and collard greens.

Batter for Sweet Potato Collard Green Fritters on a wire rack with lemon wedges
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Rosemary Onion Donuts

Well friends, this is a very special day! It’s donut day! But not sugary sweet, cake-like donuts. Nope, these are savory, herby Rosemary Onion Donuts that you dip in a salty, chivey butter and then you close your eyes and are like, “Wow, where have savory donuts been all my life?” That’s right – this is the 21st century and donuts do not always have to be sweet! Besides, a Rosemary Onion Donut with Chive Butter is kind of an ideal appetizer. It’s like bread and butter, only a bazillion times better. And, hello – party food? 100 percent.

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Golden Oreo Rice Krispie Treats with Salted Tahini Drizzle

Typing this with marshmallowy fingers and I don’t care! Big, chunky, Rice Krispie treats speckled with little vanilla-y pops of Golden Oreos and the occasional hit of salty tahini. Where have you been all my life😱 !

Dessert is a once-a-week endeavor for me and we have been snacking on these little monsters ever since I made them last Sunday. I remember Rice Krispie treats back in the day used to become cement blocks after the first day, right? I’m not sure if things have actually changed or if it’s the slick little trick this recipe includes that makes them still completely chewy and tasty a week later. Either way, they last as long as you can resist eating them.

Golden Oreo Rice Krispie Treats with Salted Tahini Drizzle sliced and arranged on a wooden board
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What to do with cauliflower stems and leaves!

We’re diving into the root-to-stem thing again today with cauliflower leaves and stems! This is a super simple and completely delicious way to use up those parts you might normally toss in the compost. Next time you chop up a head of cauliflower, save the leaves, the core, and the stem and chop it all into 1” pieces. Toss them in oil, salt, and pepper and pop them in the oven!

Chopped leaves and stems from one cauliflower spread out on a baking sheet
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What to do with radishes and their greens

I don’t want to bury the lead here – this recipe for Roasted Radish Pesto Crostini is the best thing I’ve made all year. I wish we were further along in 2020 so that statement could have more impact but seriously – it’s so good. Two things that make me very happy about this recipe: 1. A humble, inexpensive ingredient being a total superstar. 2. No waste. After making this, I wanted to greet people by saying, “Hi, I’m Megan. I made a thing with radishes and didn’t have to throw the greens away.”

So, if you’ve found yourself stuck with a bunch of radishes and a mass of leafy green radish stems, like these, I can help you.

A bunch of radishes on a cutting board
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