Big Smiles and Bigger Hips

Cookbook Review-Loveless Cafe

2012-01-26T12:38:00.003-07:00

Should I be cursing the local library?

Every time they get a new cookbook for me to try out...I just must own it. I think Joel might take away my library card.
This is yet another book that I just wanted to scan through at the library. Well, it had to come home with me. And well...I had to purchase it. On looks alone it is a winner. The recipes seemed easy and yummy. The reviews on line raved, but you can't believe every thing online.

I have made 5 recipes from this book so far. All of them excellent. Best Snickerdoodles, EVER. There are 2 biscuit recipes that were good, 2 cookie recipes, and this cobbler. Only 1 cookie recipe was gross...but everyone but me loved it. It is a meringue thing-I hate anything even similar to meringue. The photos are wonderful and just bring happiness to my heart with the retro homey feel.
This recipe calls for left over biscuits! I just love biscuits and there are typically no leftovers. So I made a huge batch to make sure we had plenty and a half. The dessert is layered like a lasagna.

Ingredients in this cookbook are fresh. A lot of the recipes use Rose Water. This recipe used fresh orange juice between layers.

The top layer is biscuits rolled in melted butter..which gives the top a nice crunch. I added orange zest..waste not want not.

Now, mine is darker because I added blueberries also. And homemade vanilla ice cream.

Peach Biscuit Brown Betty adapted from The Loveless Cafe Dessert Book

Ingredients:
16 oz frozen sliced peaches-unsweetened
1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries Mix all together. Put half in baker.
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea nutmeg

2 cups crumbled biscuits Crumble half over fruit

1/3 cup fresh OJ Squeeze over biscuits in baker

2 TB melted butter Mix melted butter and remaining
biscuits and sprinkle on top

1 tea orange zest Sprinkle zest and sugar on top
2 TB cinnamon sugar

Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool 15 min before serving.

We had wonderful guests over who are visiting the KOA from Idaho. They brought us some great rocks for our collection.

Ezekiel 4:9 Bread

2012-01-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with Ezekiel bread. I picked up a loaf out of desperation when we were traveling. I wanted something "healthy" since we tend to live on fast food while we travel. This loaf was expensive..and not because it was large. In fact, it was quite small. This loaf was so delish.

I have tried to recreate it at home and although not exact..it came out pretty good.

Since we were spouting things...we creating some flats of grass. They are still growing in our living room (until I need my lasagna pan back).

My Grandmother's Wheat Bread

1 TB yeast
3 cup whole wheat flour (I grind mine fresh..nice and warm for the yeast)
2 3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup oil

1 TB salt
3 cup whole wheat flour

Things I added to my grandmothers recipe:

1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal
1/2 cup spouted wheat berries

Mix first 5 ingredients. Add salt, last flour, and whatever extras you are adding. Add enough flour that the mixture is still a tad sticky. If you put your finger on it a tad would stay on your finger. Mix for 10 minutes.
Rest for 10 minutes.
Shape into loaves.
Raise 45 min or until just over the top of the pan. Bake 30-40 min for small loaves until hollow sounding.

I use a small pan and put 12oz of dough in each pan. Sadly, my pans do not have measurements but they are smaller than 7x3.

It is a fairly quick and easy bread with big rewards!!

A Bug Birthday Party

2012-01-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Someone is 3 years old!! We had so much fun planning this party. I found an enormous amount of ideas for a bug party on line. We did what we could and pulled off a really fun memory. My husband really made this happen. I was idea committee, cake and food, and party favors. He did all the decorations and games. One of our favorite things to do together is throw a birthday party.

Homemade invitation for all the kids. Hand delivered by the party girl.

I used my rainbow cake recipe to make cupcakes but not layered.

Since we love books so much, we always have books available. As decoration but also if needed for a quick quiet-mellow things down time.

An army of party favors: we made lollipop spiders and butterflies with goldfish crackers.

I spouted real grass for our "Bug" cake to sit on.

Caterpillar decoration

This was the winning activity. The kids loved digging for plastic bugs that we had hid in the dirt. We also had a craft making antennae for everyone.

More balloon bugs!

The bumble bee!!

And my greatest piece of advice: Everyone is going to want the head of this cake. Make extra heads!! All my girls had a cupcake face and no one had to fight or be sad.

ABC Banana Chocolate Swirl Cake

2012-01-02T08:16:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year!! The Avid Baker's are baking from The Weekend Baker this year. I am really excited about this. The entire title is:

The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People

And who does that not apply to these days? Stress free baking. I love it!!

Now, talking about stress free...well I was a tad stressed. First recipe of the year. First recipe from the new book. I had everything room temp. except the bananas. I had those in the freezer. I keep a supply because we like so many baked goods with banana. I waited until I thought they were room temp. As soon as I spun the mixer the butter froze and made a huge mess! Then the chocolate froze when I added that!!! Lumpy mess..I thought for sure the cake would not work.

But it did. And it was great. I did not use nuts..so I really slathered the pan before hand. I have learned from making my pumpkin roll that it is the nuts that keep the cake from sticking. Not using nuts you need to compensate.

The other difference was that it called for 40 minutes of bake time. I pulled it out after 50 minutes and probably would have gone another 5 or 7 minutes.

The cake was beautiful to look at with a wonderful flavor. The texture was spongy..could be the frozen batter!

Oh fellow ABCers, I did make last months cake-eggnog pound cake. I just never blogged it. Maggie and Joel loved it. I was reminded that I do not like eggnog.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors rolling pin

2011-12-10T22:05:00.003-07:00

Pie day is when you and a friend get together and make an obscene amount of pie dough. My freezer is full of wonderful pie shells just screaming to be set free.

I did fall in love with my friend's rolling pin. It is a monster. Did I mention I LOVE it. She got it when the local high school stopped offering Home EC classes and no one wanted it!! Can you believe that? I told her about the muffin pan I got from a friend who went to a school cafeteria sale and bought me a 24 count muffin pan that is so very awesome.

We made dutch apple pies and used my new gadget that I found at a second hand store. It makes really cool shapes on the apples. We had a great day and are going to get together to make egg rolls and tamales next!

Sticky Toffee Pudding to kick off the season

2011-12-07T22:05:00.003-07:00

My very hip sister took me to McMullan's Irish Pub when I was in Vegas last month. We had the best dessert: Sticky pudding. I had never had it. Sung about it but never eaten it. It was amazing! While I was scouring my cookbooks for Thanksgiving dinner, I found a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding with Brandy Butterscotch Sauce.

I made it tonight and wow what a fun dessert. The recipe is in one of my favorite cookbooks that sadly I do not use a lot-shame on me!! The Pastry Queen Christmas is great. In it I have discovered and made some sensational food:

Earthquake Cake
Martha's Best Ever Rolls
Sweet Potatoe Casserole
Chocolate Cookie Crusted Eggnog Cheesecake (post to come soon)
Carlton's Chocolate Chewies
Wild Mushroom Quesadillas
Chicken Lasagna

You can find three of her recipes on the epicurious web site.

The Blessings of My Marathon Meal

2011-11-26T16:15:00.008-07:00

I think we should laugh more. I have been thinking about that a lot lately: How busy we are and how we enjoy life less than we should. I was also thinking about aspirations and what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be happy. It seems simple but at times it is the most challenging of goals. As is the Thanksgiving meal..to have all those menu items end at the same moment-hot! I liken it to the Boston Marathon of Meals. It is my Boston Marathon.

I start by getting all my favorite recipe books out and sorting recipes

Things that can be made ahead: Pie crusts. I made 4, just in case, and put them in the freezer. Just so you know, I only made 1 pie! And a eggnog chocolate crusted cheesecake.
Jello Salad-I call it Groot Salad now. I shared it with my good friend, one of the nicest people on the planet and now I think of her whenever I make it.

Groot Jello Salad (I have had this recipe for years and have no idea where it came from.)

Ingredients:

2 3 oz size cherry jello
1 16oz whole cranberry sauce
1 20oz crushed pineapple (keep 1/4 cup juice)
1 cup chopped nuts
1 8oz cream cheese
1 Tb mayo

Directions:

Dissolve jello in 2 cups water. Stir in berries and pineapple. Pour 1/2 in the fridge and set 1 hour. Set rest aside.
Mix cream cheese, nuts, 1/4 cup pineapple juice, and mayo together. Layer over chilled jello. Place in fridge for 10 minutes. Pour remaining jello over top. Frig until set.

I love stuffing but I am very picky. I grew up on my mom's stove top stuffing. My grandmother puts extra celery and onion to jazz it up. I love it because it is TRADITION. Now that I am creating traditions of my own, I like a really jazzed up kind of dressing!!

Awesome Sausage, Apple, and Dried Cranberry Stuffing (Allrecipes.com) The following recipe is close with some few tweaks of my own.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
1 pound sausage with sage
1 large chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 granny smith apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried craisens
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
3/4 cup stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Toast cubes in 350 degree oven. Toss in huge bowl.
Cook sausage and onions until browned. Add celery and spices-cook 2 minutes.
Add to bread with all remaining ingredients. Pour into a 13 x 9 pan and bake 30 min.

I vacillate between my grandmothers apple and yam casserole which is out of this world and a recipe that is in the most fantastic of cookbooks, The Pastry Queen Christmas. It has ginger in it which I love. My friend Amber doesn't care for ginger so I am adding both recipes!

Sweet Potatoes and Apples from Grandma McQuivey

Ingredients:

2 apples, sliced and peeled
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 17 oz can yams
1/4 cup margarine

Directions:

Toss together apples, pecans, sugar, cinnamon. Alternate layers of yams and apple mixture. Melt margarine and pour over top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until apples are tender. (sorry grandma, I had to loss the mini mellows on top-yuck.)

Pastry Queen's Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

4-6 sweet potatoes
1/3 heaping granulated sugar
4 Tb melted butter
2 large eggs
1/4 tea vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
dash of cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:
Roast sweet potatoes in a 425 degree oven after poking with fork-1 hour. Rest for 15 minutes before removing skin.
While cooking potatoes, mix sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add potatoes and combine. Add to 13 x 9 buttered pan.
Combine topping ingredients and add to top. Bake for 30 minutes.

My pumpkin pie cracked but thanks to my eldest having a great decorating idea from family fun magazine...you can't tell. Don't Cry over a Cracked Pie! That is my new motto.

Ideas for desserts:
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Easy Pie Crust
Nut Crusted Pumpkin Pie

Or this year I tried a recipe from the Lion House Pies Cookbook

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

1 9 inch pie shell
1 8oz package cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tea salt
1 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea nutmeg
1/2 tea ground cloves
1/2 tea ground ginger
2 eggs
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 tea vanilla

Directions:
With mixer mix, cream cheese, sugar and all spices until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Pour into shell. Bake 350 degrees for 55 minutes-use knife test. Cool then chill in fridg for 3-4 hours.

I tried something new this year after receiving many suggestions on facebook to do so. Brining my turkey. The recipe below is from the Good Eats Food Network Recipe Collection.

Turkey

Ingredients:

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions:

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Thaw turkey in the refrigerator.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature.

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

My favorite roll recipe is a potato roll. I tried a new recipe but could not just make one recipe. We compared the two and found that my old stand by is great. It was a request of my eldest that we have rolls. Being a very picky eater she loves bread at every meal.

Potatoe Rolls- source unknown
Ingredients:

1 pkg yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup hot mashed potatoes
1/4 cup melted shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup warmed milk
1 1/2 tea salt
1 egg
4-4 1/2 cup flour

Directions:
Mix all adding only 2 cups of flour at first. Add all flour until tacky dough.
Place in greased bowl. Cover, rise 1 hour.
Punch down. Rest 10 minutes
Shape into rolls. Place on greased sheets. Rise 1 hour.
400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
Makes 2 dozen

We had a quick lesson about utensils. The girls had never seen the butter knife and wondered why we had 2 forks. We need to eat on china more often!

Relishing the relish!! I have not found a favorite recipe yet! Any ideas would be great. After dinner Joel said I was done and had crossed the finish line. I reminded him that I was just sprinting towards the end now-deboning the turkey and cleaning the kitchen!

My least favorite part but a final stretch of the meal.

This, dessert, is the final finishing line moment. Where your kitchen is clean and you get to savor the pie. The final moments of pure joy and peace.

And as I was eating, I see on our "Thankful Board" that someone else is thankful for pie too!! Other items that we are thankful for:

Family
Utensils
Scriptures
Happiness
Talents
Friends
Giving Love
Bushes
Pottery
Each other
Christmas Dinner (I didn't say that!!)

Baked Explorations Grasshopper Bars

2011-10-05T21:58:00.001-07:00

This cookbook is very fun..listen to this section:

"The impulse to make it came from a cookbook my mom has stashed away, and ancient tome with an emphasis on Midwestern cuisine. Unfortunately, the only thing it seemed to have going for it was page after page of hideous gelatin-infused recipes, each more gruesome than the one before. Still, something about the grasshopper pie was intriguing."

The recipe was fun and beautiful!!!

Tasty too!

ABC Frangipane Ripple Chocolate Pound Cake

2011-10-04T21:50:00.005-07:00

The mystery of the Frangipane. How is it that I could put something near the bottom and have it sink to the top??

I put most of the batter on the bottom (soon to be top).

I then added my almond mixture.

I spread it nicely out and made it flat.

I covered with almost the remaining batter thus creating a large layer of batter between the two white almond layers.

I added the last thin layer of almonds with my fingers because it was easier than using the spatula.

I covered it with a small amount of batter. So that my last layer or bottom layer would be small.

I got this amazing smelling and wonderful looking cake outside!

Inside...couldn't even distinguish the two layers and the layers were not near the bottom but had sunk to the top.

Why is that????

Very Perplexing.

Anyone?

Where's the ripple?

I can't wait to see how the other bakers fair.

Must Purchase The Fearless Baker

2011-10-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

I got a cookbook at the Mohave County Library. I had read reviews and it talked about how it was a very beginner cookbook and not for those who know how to bake. I passed by it after reading that on-line. At the library I thought it looked fun. The layout is great and clever. The recipes are doable and fun. I have made the chocolate pudding and the key lime pie. Both were excellent.
How clever to make a crust with these yummy cookies! Really fun ideas. Some day soon I will buy this cookbook, The Fearless Baker.

A Biscuit Success!!!

2011-09-28T08:50:00.001-07:00

Finally!!! Something turns out in biscuit form. I have shed many tears over my flat and tough biscuits. Or worse my flour pocketed biscuits that I made because I didn't want to over mix them!
I recently purchased Southern Biscuits and made the easy no fail biscuit...which failed! It is so frustrating because I love biscuits. That failure made me cry extra hard.

I returned to a cookbook that I have not used in a while, River Run Cookbook and made the Really Big Buttermilk Biscuits. They were fantastic.

Really Big Buttermilk Biscuits River Run cookbook

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tea baking powder
1/2 tea soda
1/2 tea salt
6 Tb cold butter
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Oven 450 on greased sheet.
Use food processor
Add buttermilk and mix briefly
Knead briefly...gently fold
Pat into 1 1/2 or 2 inches..cut
Sides touching
Bake 15-20 min. Allow to cool

Tupelo Honey Cafe Chicken Review

2011-09-25T20:32:00.005-07:00

From this cookbook, I have made: Coconut Sweet Potato Bisque, Cremini sweet onion gravy, smashed sweet potatoes, Appalachian ChowChow, Reubens, Grateful Dead Black Bean Burgers, Cilanto lime dressing, and Southern Fried Chicken.

Everything has been AMAZING.

I made a Demi-Glace that I keep in the freezer. When I need it I have it. I have used it in gravy and on pasta.

This is a photo of the fried chicken which was fantastic. We had a new couple over for dinner and they loved it too.

These are the fresh wonderful ingredients for the Grateful Dead Burgers.

They were good..not my favorite but I am a meat lover. The Cilanto Lime Mayo was delish.

Tupelo Honey Cafe Reuben Review

2011-09-09T03:54:00.000-07:00

Imagine the seen: I am ecstatic to get my new cookbooks. I take this new one with me to the girls gymnastic lesson so that I can skim through it. I am sitting on the hard concrete floor because there are no seats for parents who like to stay and support their children. I occasionally look up to watch the girls and read while the other class mates take their turns. It is perfect!!
And I am really enjoying my book! The stories, the recipes, the ingredients!! I am telling you this book is GOOD! Then, I feel like someone is staring at me...like eyes boring into my skin. Sure enough I look up and see this lady staring from the one seat in the gym at me. I just smiled and went back to my book.
"Are you reading a...cook...book?" she asks with a disgusted tone.
"Yes!" I said excitedly
She glared, rolled eyes, and shook her head.
Lucky, for me that was the end of the conversation because I didn't want to have to chit chat and miss out on my chance to read!!!

I don't know if I can rave enough about how great my new cookbook is!!!

I purchased this after reading great reviews and after feeling very homesick for Virginia. This restaurant is in one of my favorite cities, Ashville. Joel and I went to Ashville and visited the Biltmore. We went on a spur of the moment family adventure with the whole fam...that included Ashville, Pigeon Forge, the Smoky Mountains, and lots of fun family memories (like touring the 25o room chateau while 9 months pregnant!!)
I want to make almost every recipe in the book. I started with a peach butter spread that was excellent, yesterday for lunch I made the Reuben, and tomorrow I am going to make the coconut sweet potatoe bisque!!!

The Reuben has homemade thousand island dressing and a "Traditional Appalachian Chow Chow". The Chow Chow goes in between the slices of corned beef to be heated.

Layered on rye bread: dressing, corned beef, chow chow, and I used Havarti because I am not a fan of Swiss.

Grilled to perfection!!

Joel and I just sat and stared at each other when we bit into these. Mouthwatering doesn't begin to explain how wonderful they were. Joel said it was even better than his favorite sandwich at Macado's.

This cookbook is a must have for your kitchen!!
Tupelo Honey Cafe - check it out

ABC Cheese Blintzes

2011-09-05T13:37:00.004-07:00

Another recipe out of our Baking for All Occasions. The crepes recipe is a go to recipe. Quick, easy and tasty. I made in the blender and put in the fridge..and poured from there. I love saving dishing and time.
Creating the crepes..they make up easily and beautifully.

Brown nicely and slide right off the pan.

Adding the cheese mixture. I saw on food geek that you can use ricotta or cream cheese in place of Farmer's cheese.

I was thinking of egg rolls when I was rolling these blintzes...same rolling technique.

I didn't have 1 crepe break.

The recipe made 18 crepes for me.

We tried them with powdered sugar but our favorite was with....

Lemon Curd!!! Fresh lemon curd made them so wonderful. Would have been great with fresh berries. The filling recipe makes a ton. I think too much...but I couldn't see how to half the recipe.

Year Late Tres Leche Cake

2011-08-05T22:59:00.001-07:00

When we moved to Arizona, I met a great man. A key maker by trade, he is friendly and always helpful. He is from Mexico and we talk about Mexican cuisine and local restaurants. We both love food!! He asked long ago if I made Tres leches and I said I had. He said I should make one. I said I would. After that whenever I would see him or needed a key made, he would ask me about his Tres leches cake. I said I would make it in January. Always festering on the back burner of my mind, months passed by. Well, here it is in July!! The cake is made and it was wonderful.

I used Alton Brown's recipe with the addition of lime zest.

Tres Leche Cake for Jorge

For the cake:

6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 small limes

Mix dry ingredients and set aside

4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar

Beat butter until fluffy. After fluffy, slowly and gradually add the sugar, scraping sides as necessary.

5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat eggs in one at a time mixing thoroughly. Add vanilla. Add flour in 3 batches, mixing just till combined. Pour into 13 x 9 greased pan. Bake 20-30 minutes until internal temp is 200 degrees.

Remove and cool for 30 minutes. Poke holes all over surface of cake and cool completely.

For the soak: (see below)

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half

Mix all milks. Pour over cake slowly and evenly. Refrigerate overnight.

For the topping:

2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using whisk, whisk together on low until stiff peaks. Change to medium speed and whisk until very thick. Spread on cake and serve. Keep in fridge.

Things I have discovered about Tres leches:

It is very sweet!
It also is best at room temperature..that is when it oozes the milk.
It makes this wonderful pool of yumminess on your plate. I use to think of this as Gross but I have matured.
I don't make it often because it takes a couple days and I am impatient.
Many people don't like the idea of a seeping cake..those people are missing out!
There is a better soak for this cake:

One can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk- pour contents into a 9inch pie tin. Bake at 450 degrees covered with foil like a custard (in roasting pan with boiling water surrounding). Bake until thick and caramel 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Refill roasting pan as needed with water. Cool completely. I made mine a month in advance!

In saucepan mix: sweetened condensed milk mixture, 4 Tb heavy cream, 4 Tb milk and 1/4 tea salt. Stir until smooth and warm. Remove from heat and add: 1 1/2 cups + 2 Tb whipping cream and 1 1/2 cups milk and 2-4 tea rum. Mix well. Slowly pour over cake.

This Dulce De Leche Sauce was found in Flo Braker's Baking for All Occasions.

ABC Congo Brownies

2011-08-01T22:05:00.001-07:00

I am a nut lover...as you know. Never getting nuts due to children with nut allergies, I thought I would attempt to split the pan of Congo brownies.

My advice: Don't do it!!!
Nuts or Not!!

I used Green and Black's chocolate..which I have decided is my favorite to bake with. It has a wonderful intense chocolate flavor. To bad this was my last bar from Virginia...and it was still great. Where will I get chocolate now??

I was ever so careful with the two halves. Going so far as really making the pan into thirds-the nuts, no nuts, and the middle section which may have been contaminated by nuts.

In the end, my middle child was having a meal of Benydryl and getting free Botax looks with balloon lips after eating what I thought was a nut free brownie. They got all mixed up on the plate!!! Luckily, she knows the moment a nut touches her tongue and spat it out!!
In the end, I am an all or nothing nut person!! No risks for the love of a nut....

These brownies were sublime!! Rich and super flavorful, fantastic to look at. This cookbook, Baking for All Occasions, is full of winners! Here is yet another.

Post Script: As with all fish tales and some baking tales the events in this tale are true but may have been exaggerated for flare. No children were injured or even hospitalized for the making of these baked goods.

150 Best- Steak with Cilantro Relish

2011-07-29T20:20:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make one of my favorite things..cilantro relish. To my surprise I never posted the recipe. This post will have Virginia and Arizona photos!!!

I am also still experimenting with mini pies. I made cherry and chocolate creme mini pies for the girls sleepover tonight. After the kids ate, Joel and I had steak, artichokes, and hollandaise. It was a much needed adult meal. No one complaining.."why do we have to eat this" or more often "Yuck..why are your trying to starve us to death".

This recipe is another hit from The 150 Best American Recipes.

Marinade:
1/3 cup rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb sugar

Marinade in fridge-2 hours
Grill, rest, and serve.

Relish:
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup veggie oil
2 Tb fresh lime juice
1 Tb fish sauce
1 chili, diced
1 tea sugar
pepper

Lemon Tarts in Poppy Seed Shells

2011-07-23T17:56:00.003-07:00

I have already begun planning for CT's 3.14 party. As you know you are only 3.14 once in a lifetime-so huge celebrations and huge amounts of PIE are needed! I usually have tons of large pies but I thought, "Why not have individual sized pie!" So I wanted to practice...

I also wanted to test out my Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts cookbook...which I love the layout and pictures. So far, I have made the lemon curd, tart shells, and candied lemons. We loved the candied lemons!!

And these little tarts were magical!! Yummy. Everyone loved them. My only change would be less poppy seeds. They made the shell taste a tad of dirt.

The lemon curd recipe puts the butter in last. I prefer my other recipe that you add everything at the beginning and heat till thickened-never to a boil!

Lemon Curd (3 large lemons make magic!)

3 tea lemon zest
7 large egg yolks-room temp
1 cup plus 2 TBS sugar
6 TBS butter
1/2 cup plus 1 TB lemon juice
pinch of salt

Cook all but zest over med-low heat and stir constantly. Cook till thick but still pourable. Pour through a fine mesh strainer. Add zest and stir. Allow to cool 30 minutes-keep in fridge. Great on toast!!

ABC Lemon Pullapart Coffee Cake

2011-07-05T04:30:00.001-07:00

I started today with a taste for an omelet with hollandaise sauce and some Fourth of July strawberries. As I was preparing for my baking of Butterscotch Coffee Cake...I just couldn't get excited for it. I had been reading the recipe for our Avid Bakers Challenge for this month and just couldn't do it. I do not like butterscotch.
I usually do what we are doing but this time I just had to do something else from our book: Baking for All Occasions. I missed the Lemon Pull Apart Coffee Cake last year..so here it is.

Putting lots of zest in some sugar...and waiting for it to be our middle layers.

Starting to create our layers.

5 stacks of sweet dough and a wonderful zest flavored sugar.

Layering into bread pan.

Now that it has raised.

I candied some lemon slices to go with my pull apart bread.

At 190 degrees I took it out of the oven and it was perfect. It took 15 minutes longer than the recipe book said.

When I took it out of the pan, I had to prop it up because it wanted to fall down. I should have waited longer than 10 minutes in the pan.

The finished bread was fantastic. My error was putting on all of the glaze..it said not to. But I was so excited. So it was very sweet.

We all loved this!!! Wonderful texture and flavor. Plus it looked really cool.

Happy Independence Day 2011!!

2011-07-03T22:17:00.006-07:00

I was a bit disheartened when I read a friends email telling me of the wonderful food she was planning for the Fourth celebration. I have not been placing a high priority on my passion for baking lately and had not even thought about the holiday.
But!! with a new pie cookbook and an apple pie children's story book that have been speaking to me, I used this chance to make an All American Apple Pie.

We got this book for the "Bug". It has wonderful illustrations and is a great story about the whole process of an apple pie...from the apple tree, the sun, and the animals on a farm. We got it about a month ago and I have wanted to make an apple pie since then.

I was excited to get this new pie cookbook, Lion House Pies, that came with a how to video. I saw an amazing trick of baking the pie on the outside of the pan and then putting it in the pan correctly when it had cooled. It is a trick that is used when making cream pies. And how can you not love a cookbook that says, "If your oven is large enough, bake 4 to 8 pies at a time..:!!!

The technique I love to use when making an apple pie is a technique I learned on the Cook's Illustrated website. You make the filling and put it in your fully cooked shell. Then top with your crumb topping and bake only 10 minutes to brown.

Make a syrup with the apple drippings and whipping cream.

This is one of my favorite pies!

Happy Holidays Friends!

ABC Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

2011-05-03T21:58:00.004-07:00

Can I blame the KOA for failed cinnamon rolls? Well...probably not. I did plan to pop them right in the oven at the correct time: however, 2 hours later, I returned and didn't know what to do with my over sized and over-raised rolls. I cooked them and the smell was wonderful but the texture was that of over-raised ruined rolls.

Which was really sad because I was trying an experiment-2 pans: 1 pressed flat after rolling and the other left as is. I once heard that smashing them flat before the second raise was the secret to great rolls. Now, I will have to try this recipe again.

I will try again. I love the idea of overnight anything.

Easy Pie Crust and Pumpkin Pie- A Story of Passion

2011-04-07T19:00:00.001-07:00

When I moved from Utah to Virginia, I boxed a lot of my belongings into boxes and then packed them away into a storage unit: not knowing they would be there for over 5 years. When I moved to Arizona, I was excited to open all of my boxes marked Cookbooks! There were many. I rediscovered old friends whom I had not seen and sadly had forgotten.

One such cookbook, All Recipes Cookbook, I got when I lived in Hanbury Manor in Logan, Utah. I was part of a dinner swap. I cooked dinner one night a week for three families and took two days off...and had a homemade dinner delivered to me!!! It was fantastic food and super fun. My friend Whitney and I found great recipes online and ended up buying the online hardback cookbook. This is the cookbook I am now rediscovering and LOVING.

I have been on a quest for quite some time. A pie crust journey. I found a pie crust in this cookbook that I really love! The recipe can be found at AllRecipes.com but I will add it here as well. Just look at those flakes! It was so tender and flaky and simple. Now it wasn't a thing of beauty or of exquisite taste but oh to have perfect texture. Tender yet able to hold up to a strong filling. And biting into something that just melts in your mouth and turns your lips upward..now that it happiness. Peace in a slice of pie...serenity now.

This pie has rejuvenated my love of baking...or maybe it is just the timing of turning over a new leaf and taking better control over the chaos that is my life.

Grandma's Secret Pie Crust- Felicia Bass

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tea salt
1 1/4 cups shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 Tb white vinegar
1/4 cup water
smidgen of sugar-It doesn't call for it but I am going to add it next time.

Preheat oven 425 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. Whirl in food processor to mix. Add shortening and pulse a couple times. Mix egg, vinegar, and water together in measuring cup. Add to processor and pulse till combined.
Divide into two pieces and roll out. Put in pie plate. Bake 12 min.

ABC Zebra Cookies

2011-04-04T20:00:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Vanilla Swirl cookies that are so breathtakingly beautiful! I would like to try the flavor variation that Flo added at the end of the recipe. My only complaint was the lack of flavor for such a fantastic looking cookie! It needs some flavor POW to go with the grand looks.

It always amazes me when a dough looks like it is just now going to work and then Wham-there it is...the perfect dough!

Two flavors of an amazing textured dough.

I rolled it out in the exact shape of my pan so that I would not have to trim or shape later.

Then I just plopped it in the pan and pressed it down.

The layers were great...but I wish I would have rolled it a tad more because I did have a couple places that had gaps.
Cutting with my new Christmas present from my in-laws. What great in-laws I have!!

Not having an apothecary jar like Flo saw these cookies in..I used my pub cup that I use for jello! They look fun.

After trying the cookies plain, I decided to try a mixture of:
1 tea sugar
1/8 tea pepper
1/8 tea chili powder
1/4 tea cinnamon

I mixed it up and brushed it on the cookies before baking. They were great!! I think on the side would be enough to spice it up but I didn't have the patience for that. They made a lot and the dough stayed well in the fridge. Would be a perfect recipe to keep on hand and throw in oven when guests arrived.

Joel said he expected a layered taste extravaganza and was disappointed by the bland taste of the Zebra cookie

Happy St. Patricks Day

2011-03-17T20:29:00.002-07:00

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

The homey meal of green rice and colcannon with beer bread. I love the simplicity!! Hope you all had a great holiday.

"Back of the Package" BoP Challenge

2011-03-07T19:41:00.003-07:00

Okay, this was fun!!! I love a back of the package challenge. This one was okay for a pie...interesting texture and wonderful flavor. I could not get past the "interesting texture". Can't wait to try another Back of the Package Challenge. Thanks PCU!!!

Quick Truffles

2011-02-26T18:21:00.005-07:00

Let me tell you how wonderful these two ingredients are...together! Pulverize all cookies except the 5 or 6 you had to eat. (its okay if you eat 7, I did). Then add the cream cheese in 4 slices.

Process till mixed together.

Roll into balls. Place in fridge for 1 hour. Some people may dunk them in melted semi sweet chocolate but I can't be hassled-and they are so good as is.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Delicious.

I am a sucker for a diner

2011-02-22T23:10:00.002-07:00

Had to eat a Daisy's Diner while in Disneyland!! In fact, I was one of the first customers of the day. The pizza was excellent! Thanks Daisy.

Not your Average Lemon Bar

2011-02-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

I got a new cookbook for Christmas! In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite. So far I am loving it. The stories are fun to read and the recipes have been great and unique. Sometimes, I just need something different! I have made the brown butter corn bread, coconut hot chocolate, and now the Lemon Curd Squares with Rosemary. I love a hint of rosemary especially with lemon! I couldn't wait to take pictures...so mine are still warm and gooey.

The bottom layer is a wonderful shortbread with rosemary and the top is a baked lemon curd. The recipe reminded me how much I love lemon curd on toast and how easy it is to make. So I included a recipe for curd as well.

Lemon Curd Squares with Rosemary

(recipe found online at serious eats)

Bottom Shortbread Layer

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the Shortbread: combine flour, butter, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar, rosemary, and lemon zest in food processor. Pulse until crumbly dough forms, about eight to ten 1-second pulses. Press dough into prepared pan and bake until shortbread is golden around edges, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and set on wire cooling rack. Increase oven temperature to 350°F.

Lemon Curd Topping

6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
Pinch kosher salt

While the shortbread is baking, prepare the lemon curd: In large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice, flour, lemon zest, and salt.

Carefully pour lemon curd onto shortbread base and return pan to oven. Bake until topping is set and toothpick inserted into center come out clean, about 20 minutes. Return to wire cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into squares. Cover and refrigerate bars up to 3 days. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Lemon Curd
(as found on Food Network)

Ingredients (a slightly different variation from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

3 lemons (3 tea zest)
1 1/2 cups sugar (1 cup plus 2 TB)
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature (6 TB)
4 extra-large eggs (7 large yolks)
1/2 cup lemon juice (1/2 cup plus 1 TB)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)

Directions

Remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Pulse sugar and zest in food processor until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.

Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Cook in saucepan over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F. Don't let it boil or it will curdle. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

Cook all ingredients but zest in sauce pan until thick. Do not boil. Raise off heat as needed to prevent curdling/steaming. Press through stainer into bowl with zest. Cool 30 min. Store airtight in fridge.

Preacher's Coming...get the cookies

2011-02-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

More than the recipe, the story behind the name of this cookie, is our favorite. We called these "no bakes" in the west. When we moved to Virginia everyone called them "Preacher Cookies". Finally my professor at RU told me the story of this cookie. Supposedly, these cookies are so fast that if you see the preacher coming up the road you can make a batch to serve up before he gets to your house.

Isn't that delightful?

Recipe for no bakes can be found everywhere on line. Some have nuts, oatmeal, peanut butter...everything but the kitchen sink kind of cookies.

Preacher Cookies

1 3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Boil for 1 1/2 minutes from the time it starts a rolling boil. Add rest of ingredients.

1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cup quick oats
1 tea vanilla

Ode to Pie - ABC Chocolate Caramel Cream Pie

2011-02-01T14:37:00.007-07:00

I have been on a quest for pie crust for years. I have many recipes. Those that add vinegar or buttermilk. Those that use lard, shortening, and/or butter. I have used the food processor and by hand. What I know from many years of the pie crust journey:

Even a bad homemade crust is better than a store bought crust

I have a fall back recipe that is my mother in laws. It is fantastic. It never fails to be a nice crust. I just wish it had more flavor. So, I continue on my quest...until now. I have found a crust that I love!

Do you see the huge pieces of butter in that crust?..that is flavor and flakiness right there.

She suggests using coffee filters that I pull out of the craft closet..do you know they make great butterflies?

And I bake with beans. I found that this works better and is easier than my pie chain which is sometimes to heavy for my delicate crust.

This pie has 4 components: crust, caramel sauce, chocolate and whipped cream. How could this not be great?

I think I undercooked the crust a tad...so it wasn't as strong as it should be. This gives me an excuse to try it again. My only gripe was that the filling was lumpy-so I just pulled out the lumps.

Joel said, "This is the best pie ever!"

But I ask you, Joel, do you and your taste buds remember these???

Coconut Key Lime Pie
(Martha Stewart)

Homemade Cherry Pie

Rhubarb-Cherry-Raspberry Crumb Pie
(Baking for All Occasions)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie on a bed of Gingersnaps

(Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook)

Dutch Apple made on the Stovetop
(Cook's Illustrated Recipe)

Pumpkin Cream Pie

(Martha Stewart Recipe)

Sour Cream Lemon Pie
(Junior League Cookbook)

Cherry Pie Pops

(Internet Recipe)

Oven Baked Dutch Apple

(King Arthur Flour Baking Companion)

Blue Moon Lemon Pie

(Internet Recipe)

Meatball Pie

(Aunt Dawn's Recipe)

Chocolate Cream Pie
(Diner Dessert Recipe)

Not to mention those not pictured: Coconut Cream Pie, Banana Cream Pie, Cranberry Fudge Pie, Peanut Butter Pie and Cloud Nine Lime Pie

Are you sure it is your favorite pie???

ABC Evie Lieb's Processor Challah

2011-01-04T21:56:00.006-07:00

Another success from Flo Braker's Baking for All Occasions. And another late night...pulled this out of the oven at midnight. Was it ever worth the late night and sleepy next day!
My children are not fond of seeds so I did not use poppy or sesame seeds...those would have looked fantastic. In fact if you would like to see more wonderful loaves, check out the Avid Baker's Challenge for this month.

The dough was funky. I thought perhaps lumpy and not mixed thoroughly, but after kneading by hand it was beautiful.

Very easy and wonderful bread. Great straight from the oven.

To make it mouthwatering, I pulled off chunks for a midnight snack and smeared Arizona Red Lime Marmalade. Words can not explain how outstanding this was.
Now for my question..Flo, why do you suggest wrapping in tin foil and not plastic wrap? I have always wrapped my beds in plastic bread bags.

Merry Christmas Eggnog Cookies

2010-12-17T16:11:00.003-07:00

I bet you think there will be eggnog in the batter..so did I, but they don't. They do taste and smell exactly like eggnog! Boy, are they delish. Merry Christmas friends and a Happy Hanukkah to Mendy and your cute family.

Eggnog Snickerdoodles (from an unknown website..sorry I look at so many)

The Cookie Party Cookbook

2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tea salt
2 tea cream of tartar
1 tea baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks butter, room temp
1/2 tea rum extract
1/2 tea brandy extract (I used vanilla)
2 large eggs

Rolling Mixture

1 tea nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Line pans with silpat.

Whisk dry ingredients.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Add extracts.
Gradually blend dry with wet. Shape in balls and roll in nutmeg sugar.
Bake 8-10 minutes.

ABC Maple Pecan Medjool Date Rugelach

2010-12-07T21:56:00.008-07:00

King Arthur Flour has an excellent description and step by step process of making Rugelach. Thanks to Hanna for sharing. I also scoured all my cookbooks that had recipes for Rugelach because I have been meaning to make this for some time now.

Confession: I spent an hour leafing through my indexes to find the "1" I wanted. I had a perfect picture in my head of the recipe...it was not in the index under R! but for C... chocolate chip.

Finally, with Baking for All Occasions and my Bon Appetit Christmas Cookbook in hand I started the Avid Bakers Challenge.
Should I mention that it was past midnight. My mother use to say, "Nothing good happens after midnight." I think for once, I may have proven her wrong. Although, I was having doubts when my dough was not big chunks like the King Arthur description. And I did worry that it would not ball up...after a lot of time pulsing.

Finally: the dough!

Refrigerated over night.

Rolled out to 8 inches.

Pure maple syrup.

Cinnamon and brown sugar.

I do not care for dates. I did want to make this exactly but when I went to buy dates they were so big and...well squishy slimy looking. I am feeling sick just thinking of it!!! So I bought sugar coated date bits.

Rolled. The dough is very easy to handle and tasty. I couldn't help myself from sampling little bits.
For my none nut family members...cherry preserves, cherries, and mini chocolate chips.

The King Arthur cookbook suggested leaving the ends and middle free of filling so they closed when rolled better.

I always keep my nut things very separate!!! I rarely use nuts, due to the girl's allergies, but I think that Rugelach is something that screams NUTS.

MMM beautiful. I served these after a simple dinner of roast chicken, fresh cranberry relish, roasted garlic root veggies, corn, and spinach salad.
I really didn't think I would like the maple and date combo. In fact I was determined not to like it. I have a thing against maple...but they were my favorite. The chocolate in the other was too sweet.
Baking for All Occasions has provided an excellent and easy to follow road map to perfection on this recipe.

And now to really make you want to "Eat your heart out"...the message my husband made and left for me today.

Breadsticks Glorious Breadsticks

2010-11-20T11:29:00.007-07:00

I usually dump everything in the mixer and mix. Dump, Roll, Spread, and cut! I love the ease of these and that they do not have to raise. In 30 minutes I can be having fresh wonderful bread sticks. People ask for this recipe...and I was so surprised that I did not have a post for it. Now, we can all enjoy the glorious bread stick. And selfishly, I can have access to the recipe anywhere on the planet. Breadsticks anyone?

Maughan Family Breadsticks-

shared by Stacey Maughan in the 2003 family cookbook

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TB yeast
2 TB sugar
1/2 tea salt (I use 3/4)
3 cups flour (I use bread flour)

Mix all ingredients until soft dough. Roll out on pan. Spread with butter and spices. Cut. Separate. Bake 375 for 12-15 minutes.

1 cube melted butter
Fresh Parmesan
Garlic salt
Parsley

Roll out...not too thin.

Pour melted butter on your dough.

Add garlic salt with parsley. I like this because I can see how much garlic salt I am adding because of the flakes of parsley.

Add fresh Parmesan cheese.

Cut. I do mine softly on my silpat. I have ruined one pat from cutting too deep..so be careful! I wonder now why I even use my silpat?? You do not need to...there is plenty of butter and they never stick.

If you are feeling groovy you can make twists..I can never wait that long before popping them in the oven.

Bake until golden on bottom. I like mine soft and light in color. I do usually half the batch because we end up eating the entire thing. These pictures are a half batch!

A Beginning Review....Clinton St. Baking Company

2010-11-14T20:13:00.005-07:00

For my birthday my husband got me a cookbook. I married him because he is smart that way! This cookbook is from a New York Restaurant that serves breakfast, brunch, and beyond. It is called Clinton St. Baking Company. I have only made 5 recipes so far (biscuits, pancakes, maple butter, chocolate sauce and pumpkin cheese cake) but have had wonderful results.

The pumpkin cheesecake has the most wonderful flavor!! And days later tastes fresh...I will have to make this again soon..Thanksgiving, because I undercooked it and need to give it another chance at stardom. I also will be trying the biscuits again because in an effort to not over-mix, I under-mixed them! Biscuits are my nemesis!
Luckily, we loved the flops and are all excited for a second go. I did follow up the biscuits with a flaky biscuit recipe from Cook's Illustrated online and was wowed by the flavor, texture, and ease..I may have found my bridge to success with that recipe.

I have been in a slump today..so this evening after everyone was in bed, I whipped up some cinnamon chili chocolate sauce and dumped it on my left over "Neil's" pancakes. Wonderful! And it made an enormous amount, so I plan to have ice cream with chocolate sauce as my bedtime snack.

Nothing like chocolate to perk a person up.

Special thanks to:
Kathy Taylor- for the wonderful chocolate buttons
Joel Winegar- for loaning me his camera to take pictures
Joel Taylor- for The Great Cookbook!
Miss Amanda- for being my food guinea pig during your stay

Feeding the Gumpathon

2010-11-01T21:51:00.004-07:00

The Gumpathon:

"On 10 September 2010 six runners will set out from New York with the intention of reaching LA by 11 November. In a unique challenge which stretches 3,530 miles, six brave guys will be running to raise a substantial amount of money for injured service men and women returning from current conflict.

Each runner will cover 16-22 miles per day in relay formation, completing up to 88 miles a day and the equivalent of 34 marathons each over the two month period. The team will run continuously for a 63 day period covering 4 time zones, 3 deserts and 10 mountain ranges."

I had the honor of giving the chef, Danny, a break and making them breakfast. I made chili casserole, scrambled eggs with hollandaise, bacon, fruit and well....I picked up some fantastic donuts from a local shop.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2010-10-16T23:45:00.003-07:00

For JT's birthday we had breakfast all day long. It is his favorite meal...and I made enough grits for congress. ST made his favorite baked oatmeal, we had mini pecan muffins (thanks Elizabeth!), and bacon and eggs.

Mmmm creamy grits:

6 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups stone ground grits..possibly Mabry Mill Grits..which is what I used
1 tea salt

Simmer over low heat for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally

1 cup half and half
5 TB butter

Slowly add remaining ingredients and cook till absorbed.

I made the creamy grits from my "A Real American Breakfast" cookbook. Which I have yet to make anything that has not been fantastic from this book. Later for dinner, I made eggs on creamy grits with creole sauce. WOW..very yummy and different. Look at those grits on the bottom-Beautiful. We had to add buttermilk pancakes for the girls.

Joel always mentions the coincidences in my life..well here I am writing in my food blog about a wonderful food day and listening to a church leader and I hear: "I want to speak about God's happiness and how each one of us can taste of it in spite of the burdens that beset us." How great is that...he is speaking my language!!!

150 Best- Zucchini with cilantro and cream

2010-10-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Another stellar recipe out of The 150 Best American Recipes. Simplicity at its finest. I wanted my friends to know that I am back in the kitchen! Still cooking my way through this amazing cookbook.

Zucchini with Cilantro and Cream (original source: Bon Appetit)

Melt and cook:

2 Tb butter
2 garlic cloves

Add and cook till tender:

3 med zucchini, 1/3 inch slices
2 Tb chopped cilantro

Add and simmer till thick:

1/3 cup whipping cream
2 Tb chopped cilantro
Salt and Pepper

Orange Chiffon Tweed Cake-The Back Side

2010-10-10T21:04:00.006-07:00

How can you go wrong with all these wonderful ingredients..oranges, sugar, chocolate!! Well, let me tell you how...
This recipe is wonderful. I was excited to make it because I have had success with a tweed cake in the past. While the cake cooks my house smelled a fantastic, really indescribable smell. My mouth was watering before it even came out. mmm freshly made orange sugar....delectable.
I was lucky enough to have full flavor juicy oranges. I also used my food processor more than the recipe suggested. I wanted to get all the tasty oranges bits so I whirled the dry ingredients in the processor and chopped my chocolate in there as well.
Again...the smell while making this cake was marvelous.
The description of steps for this recipe are excellent. Flo Braker is an excellent cookbook writer. Very clear to follow. I haven't made many of the recipes but..so far I like Baking for All Occasions
Folding in the egg whites..I was nervous about over-mixing, so I think I ended up under-mixing because when I cut the cake I had egg white pockets.
In addition to under-mixing, add over cooking and you have a cake that pops out of the pan..and does not sit on the bottle I had placed out for the cake to cool. My dilemma then became to let it cool in the pan right side up or to let it cool upside down on a rack and get rack marks...what to do?
I opted after a suggestion from a fellow baker, Barb, to leave it on the rack and cover up that side when serving it.
It isn't often you get to see the back side of a cake!!!
The reviews...

Great flavor
Dry--my fault for over cooking it..and then falling asleep before putting it away, where it sat out all night long during my slumber.
Fun to make
The whipped cream added a wonderful contrast. I had wanted to add my remaining orange sugar to the whipped cream..but the desert air turned it to stone. That never happens in VA!! Mental note: Must never leave sugar out overnight in Kingman.

150 Best- Oven Roasted Asparagus with Capers

2010-10-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

I love asparagus! And to be daring I used a recipe with Capers..in honor of my CA friend Vicky. She said she likes them so here I go trying something new. This is another recipe from my favorite cookbook, 150 Best American Recipes.

While taking this photo I see some leaves of three! Is it poison ivy? It has the red veins...

When in doubt don't touch it, that's my motto. (mmm this looks a lot like VA to me!!..oh it is!)

Bake

Fry

Toss together

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh asparagus
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
1/4 cup large capers, drained
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Bake asparagus in a 500 degrees-9 min
Fry capers on high heat 1 min
Toss together

The Desert Welcomes...Cactus Jelly

2010-09-27T13:27:00.004-07:00

Well, I have a confession. I have fallen deeply in love with something here. A deep passion that doesn't really make sense. It started with a fascination to look at these amazing plants. And then I just had to go over and take a closer look. And then I found myself engulfed in the cactus plant and taking a prickly pear. I had seen them in the grocery store and had wondered where they came from. Now I know.
Guess what else I know...they have prickers! There is a reason they are called "Prickly Pears".

Now, I knew to stay clear of those!! I mean look at those sharp beauties.

But the purple beauties called to me. I didn't even see the spines..but let me tell you..I felt them!

Wounded I took one home and hid it..sadly, not well enough. ST and CT found it and both went to bed in tears. And this is what we learned about cactus:

1. You won't always be able to see the spines
2. You can get the spines out of skin with duct tape!
3. Spines go through denim
4. If you hold your hand to the sun you can see all the invisible spines coming from your skin
5. Move over Mrs. Butterworth we all love Prickly Pear Jam

7 easy steps to breakfast

2010-09-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

1. Add ham to greased ramekin
2. Slice of tomato
3. Crack an egg
4. Salt and Pepper to taste
4. Crumble cheese...I like Feta
6. Bake in toaster oven 15 minutes (more of less depending on how you like your eggs)
7. Enjoy (and don't forget to invite friends over!)

New Spice Rack!

2010-09-18T22:55:00.002-07:00

Thanks Joel for my wonderful new spice rack!!! Now, I can cook.

Flo Braker and Plumbing

2010-09-11T22:32:00.009-07:00

Where to begin my saga of the chocolate cake?? I awaited with great anticipation for the arrival of my new cookbook, "Baking for all Occasions" by Flo Braker. As a new member of the Avid Bakers group I wanted to do something AMAZING!!! And the recipe for All-American Chocolate Cake with Divinity Frosting and Milk Chocolate Paint was just the recipe to propel me into greatness. That is how the story begins....
I received my cookbook with a week to make my first cake. Plenty of time!! As the days quickly passed I found myself running out of time to even glance at my new book let alone crack it open. I found myself in a world of plumbing. Water line after water line broke at the KOA this week. The largest required a professional plumber and backhoe. I have learned how to fix pipe, dig holes, write enormously huge checks, and make the people at Home Depot laugh at a grown woman. Sadly, I have not learned how to make divinity frosting.

After a 16 hour day I was determined to make my cake...so what if I was one day LATE. Better late than never, I always say. So, I go to my fridge and the sour cream practically grabs hold of me! I guess it will wait until after a shopping trip.
Well, tomorrow....another water line break finds me out at 11:30 at night crawling into bed, too tired to remove the mud off my body. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who wipes my knees off as I fell asleep.
So, a week later I make the chocolate cake...with my old stand by frosting, a half batch because I am out of powdered sugar! And here it is 11pm on a Saturday night - my cake, a glass of milk and my computer. MMMMM chocolate cake!

Recipe Review: The cake is wonderful. The cookbook is written just like I would write a cookbook. I love the layout of the recipe. I did wonder when I was suppose to add the chocolate..and found myself too tired to read the recipe for a third time to see where I missed the addition of chocolate.

My Old Stand-by Frosting Recipe
I have no idea where I got this recipe but have been using it for years

1 stick melted butter
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Whisk until smooth

3 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1/3 cup sour cream

Add alternatively, blending for 2 minutes

1 tsp vanilla

Add and beat until light and fluffy

Makes 3 cups or enough for 30 cupcakes or a 2 layer cake

Rolls travel to my parents house

2010-08-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't there something magical about fresh homemade rolls? I just love them.

I was lucky enough to marry into a family of food lovers and great bakers. My mother in law can bake!! The whole Maughan family can cook and have made a family cookbook. It contains some of my favorite recipes. And did I mention that my talented husband drew the picture on the cover and it looks just like his grandparents!!

I like to make these rolls but sometimes do not have success...it is tricky for me. Rolls...

These rolls are traveling to my parents house in Virginia. And I have just discovered after having moved to Arizona that my parents are moving to MINNESOTA!!!

Will people still let us call Virginia home and come visit? I hope so.

Must make rolls soon!

Peace, Love, and Carrot Cake

2010-08-06T01:36:00.005-07:00

One of the very first things I do when entering a restaurant is check out the desserts. Instantly, I saw this mammoth piece of carrot cake. I adore carrot cake but find I can be picky about finding pineapple in my cake. I do not like that.
I feel that pineapple has other places to shine.

It is hard to tell just how huge this piece is. The frosting is made with cream cheese and walnuts.

The most wonderful thing about this dessert is the shirt that came with it! My brother has for years said, "Peace, Love, Happiness" when leaving our house. My husband sometimes chimes in at the end and completes the phrase. It is something I REALLY miss about Radford..my brother coming over to visit and leaving us with warm fuzzy happy feelings.
How could I walk away from the shirt that states, "Piece, Love and Carrot Cake" not only does it remind me of my brother but it is so TRUE.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Seligman Diner Challenge

2010-08-03T22:00:00.002-07:00

In Seligman Arizona there are two diners right across the street from one another. I was told by a KOA guest that one was the "best breakfast" she had ever had. Wanting to find out for myself which diner was best we traveled through Seligman to and from Jerome. Providing us with the dinner opportunity of trying them both out.

On Friday night we stopped at the Road Kill Cafe. This was a riot of a place. The menu was the most entertaining thing possible.

How can you pass up something called "The Chicken that Almost Crossed the Road"?

The food was okay: not great but edible and with laughter making names. The onion towers were amazing to look at and fun to dunk in BBQ sauce and ranch.

On Saturday night we ate at Westside Lilo's. The place of breakfast fame...

So 1 of us had to get breakfast. My disappointment was that "breakfast served all day" on the menu...had a small excluding note: Excluding pancakes, waffles, french toast, heavos rancheros, and oatmeal. Well....those are all my breakfast items that I wanted to try. So we had the beef tips over noodles.

Flavorful. Joel and I split a meal so that we could have dessert! (Worthy of its very own post)

The girls wanted me to take a picture of the amazing butter shapes. And the challenge winner....is.....
When you are in Seligman you simply must eat at Lilo's! (After reading the menu across the street.)

The Haunted Hamburger

2010-08-01T22:57:00.005-07:00

As we left Kingman we saw the most breathtaking rainbow. The entire rainbow!! from end to end and then it was a double rainbow. The amazing thing was how it was light in the middle and then dark on the outside. We had to stop and just take it all in.

This was the sunset after the storm. Isn't it amazing?

The road into Jerome was very curvy!! But beautiful all along the way.

Here is the hotel we stayed at. Supposedly it is haunted. Do you think we saw a ghost?

Having lunch at the Haunted Hamburger.

Haunted Hamburger....so tasty!! Guacamole, green chilies, sauteed onions and mushrooms, lots of bacon.

The tower cake was well a "tower". It was wonderful, even better at room temp later.

We didn't plan on seeing any ghosts so we brought our own!!

This is our return home into Kingman!! This desert living is mind blowing.

Spider Salad???

2010-07-15T21:05:00.005-07:00

Welcome to Arizona!! Home to such lovely things as Mohave Green Rattlers, Tarantulas, and Vinegaroons. All to be found right in our backyard.
Here is a Vinegaroon. They are fast and jump. They bite and if you are unfortunate enough to be bitten you will be tasting vinegar for 3 weeks! Everything you put in your mouth will taste of vinegar.
Which of course gave me an idea to make a vinegar salad out of my new cookbook- 1959 Edition of the General Foods Cookbook!!! Thanks Amber.

Start with potatoes. Wash and cook till tender. Peel and slice 1/4 inch thick.

Dice your Grand Canyon onions.

Fresh fruit as a side dish.

Brown your bacon and crumble..set aside.

Cook onion in bacon fat.

Mix oil, vinegar and spices together and add to onions. Add flour, sugar, salt, and celery seed. Simmer until thick.

Add potatoes.

Add crumbled bacon and a dash of parsely.

Ingredients

2 pounds spuds
1/3 cup oil
3-4 TB vinegar
1 TB garlic salt
4-6 slices bacon
3/4 cup onions
1 TB flour
1 TB sugar
1 tea celery seed
1/2 tea salt
1 TB parsley

Perfect summer meal.

Watch out for those spiders!!!

Wild Mushroom and Cheese Quesadillas Farewell

2010-07-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

This was one of my last packing meals in Radford. I had put my books away and was living on paper and plastic when I just had to indulge and make something extraordinary. Wow did I find a great recipe.

This is a wonderful cookbook with some of my favorite recipes: Earthquake Cake and Gingered Sweet Potatoes.

Whirl your vinegar, olive oil, sugar, mustard, orange zest, OJ, salt and pepper.

Add cranberries, shallots, and jalapeno and pulse.

Add pecan just before serving.

In large pan melt butter and cook onions and mushrooms. Add worcestershire, garlic, and salt. Lastly add white wine and pepper.

Heat your tortillas.
Layer 1: Cheese

Layer 2: Mushroom Mixture

Layer 3: Feta

Fold

Enjoy

Even on paper plates and as a left over these were great. The flavors together really made your mouth sing.

Did I mention that I really really like this cookbook.

White Bread Challenge

2010-07-10T15:50:00.004-07:00

I have found a fellow baker here in Kingman. Someone who makes bread from scratch, everyday! We decided to have a bread bake off....having guests and residents be the blind judges.

I made two batches of bread because I thought the first batch did not have enough flour. In the end that is the loaf I decided to use.

Turned out looking great.

Here is our offering. Breads Left and Right. More judges liked the left contestant!!!! That would be my bread.

In a winning ceremony, I received the opponents bread slicer. He offered it to the winner and then said that he would never lose it. He later said I "slaughtered" him...hence our funny photo. What a fun thing to do!

The Parmesan Cheese Tree

2010-07-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

Something about this tree makes me hungry!!

oh yes..it reminds me of Parmesan cheese!

My new wonderful kitchen tool..thanks fairy godmother.

Isn't this tree the best!! Now, where is the meatball tree?

There are definitely things I miss about Virginia..wallow wallow wallow.

Taylor Tracker Arizona First Meal

2010-07-06T23:13:00.001-07:00

My first visit to the grocery store produced heavy cream, sour cream, and toast butter. It looks like a well rounded fridge to me..chocolate of various sorts and the makings of Alfredo.

Much to my surprise I have gas appliances!!!

We are all very hungry..as you can see CT cannot even wait for the food to arrive.

My version of Puck Alfredo Sauce:

2 Tb olive oil
2 Tb butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 block cream cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tea fresh ground pepper

Heat olive oil and butter. Add cream and broth. Bring to boil. Whisk in cream cheese till melted. Serve over hot pasta and top with Parmesan cheese and ground pepper.

I wanted to make cookies and realized that I did not buy real butter only toast butter!! Oh no..luckily my church ladies came for a get to know you visit and brought with them a jar of butter. How lucky is that? And did you know you could can butter? I didn't but I would love to learn.

I chopped up some of my wonderful Lindt bars...coconut yumminess.

And made cookies...my very first baked item in Arizona.

And of course we had to deliver some to our new neighbors.

(friends, I found this in my edit pages list-a month later! Sorry for my absent mindedness lately.)

The Wonderful Edible Egg

2010-07-06T14:28:00.002-07:00

Last stop in Pulaski country, VA was a quick trip to the "Barn".

To get...well

Eggs everywhere...but they only sell "what they see drop"

So are fresh really better than store bought?

We couldn't tell a huge difference. The fresh had more flavor but nothing too significant.

Who doesn't love eggs?

Crockpot Apricot Jam

2010-06-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

There are some blogs that are masterpieces. One Perfect Bite is one such website..Mary is a master author. I love reading her entries and end up drooling while reading. Everything I have made from her website is delish. The recipe for this jam can be found at One Perfect Bite. Thanks again, Mary, for a delightful new recipe.

It amazes me that such simple ingredients can make something so wonderful.

1-1/4 pound dried apricots
2 cups sugar
3-1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

And then with minimal stirring 4 1/2 hours later you have a masterpiece. (Add salt and juice after 2 1/2 hours)

mmm and the versatility of being able to store in fridge or freezer...

And this is one of the reason TOAST is my favorite thing for breakfast.

Henry In Love Blueberry Muffins

2010-06-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

A children's story of friendship and sharing. I loved it.

Before I made blueberry muffins I had to make my favorite blueberry lemon bread. It is the best bread ever. This time the blueberries sunk to the bottom..I don't know why.

Recipe for Bread
I was lucky enough to stumble on this recipe years ago.

Attending the last of our Radford library events...we went to a Nancy Drew party. I had to check out this cookbook and found...BLUEBERRY muffins while reading Henry in Love!!! I did want to accidentally pack this book and take it with me....but I turned it in. This was a very fun cookbook. Clues to good cooking indeed!

This was a very child friendly recipe and made a small batch that whipped up quickly.

Muffins really can make all the difference!

Taylor Tracker Day 5...FINALLY

2010-06-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

Day 5
After a week on the road...we have the packing from the hotel thing down to a science!! Everyone works together after a wonderful continental breakfast. Actually, it was wonderful...the first 2 days. I don't think I ever want to see another bagel or waffle for a long time.

mmmm local New Mexico Rock Candy!!

This was at our hotel in Gallup, NM.

We are getting closer!!!

Lunch in Flagstaff AZ at Brandy's Bakery which was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. I will just add that this restaurant was added by my most excellent co-planner and father-in-law, DST.

Joel's sandwich...which we decided was not as good as the one in Arkansas.

The fries were the best..especially the sweet potato fries. A new fav of mine.

I sneaked into the boys restroom to snag a photo of this! Why not have on in the ladies room?

The famous cook with ST.

We took home cookies and breakfast food for the next day....mmmm. JT thought they were too big.

I didn't mind the size.

Our new home of Kingman, AZ.
Can you see it in the background?

More to come from the dessert (or desert....) queen.

Computer Void

2010-06-11T11:16:00.001-07:00

Friends...since arriving in Kingman I have had no computer access and limited cell phone coverage! I am feeling so out of touch but will be back soon!!! I have great photos and the "rest of the story" on our travels.

Taylor Tracker Day 4

2010-06-03T19:30:00.001-07:00

Day 4
Breakfast in Texas
Lunch in Albuquerque, NM at the 66diner.
Dinner in Gallup, NM

Can you tell we are still in Texas?

This steak place was packed so we did not go..

Winning lunch was the kids frito pie with tutti frutti shake.

Just so Amber knows, we are only using clean restrooms along the way!!

Diner 66 is a tourist trap and worth the stop!! I loved it. Awesome Awesome Awesome. Love it Love it Love it.

I actually left the shop and then came back for pie...how could I leave with out getting diner pie? I got cherry. It was excellent.

My lunch was the 66 burger...the green chilies had mated with jalapenos!!

Awesome chocolate shakes. I was temped to get the Elvis (chocolate and banana)

Walking in Texas towards the Cadillac ranch. (oops this was before our diner lunch!)

Off in the distance you will see the Cadillacs.

This was an awesome stop!! We all had cans of spray paint and left our mark.

An unplanned stop...how could I pass by "world famous" fudge? My aunts is better...Gaye, I need a lesson in fudge.

Sleeping in New Mexico...sweet dreams.

Taylor Tracker Day 3

2010-06-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Day 3
We are in Oklahoma!!
Jiggs Smoke House...need I say more? Well, if so check out this review on roadfood.com. Their summary: Worth traveling from anywhere!
Hard to find but well worth the effort but let me back up to the beginning....

breakfast at La Quinta...yum. The highlight for the kids-Pool and water spouting lion.

Right after breakfast in AK we arrive in OK!

I sure am drinking a "lotawatah" on this trip and this sign made me thirsty.

Virginia ave. in Texas?

A quick stop at the Cherokee Trading Post...which consisted of things made manly in Taiwan and China..very disappointing. And the very sad and lonely living buffalo that was in a cage on display. Sad, sad part of day..How is this a tribute to a once great nation?

All along our way! Beautiful.

Freshly made jerky.

The decor at Jiggs.

60 pounds of marinated beef.

Going into the closet smoker.

The best beans!! So good and flavorful.

BBQ beef sandwich with Jigg's sauce.

Pig sickle with three types of meat.

My lunch on my "plate"..a piece of paper towel and wax paper.

So which jerky would be better...Jigg's or...

Walmart...

Side by Side taste test..

Jigg's all the way!!!! So great.

And now we sleep in TEXAS!!

Taylor Tracker Day 2

2010-06-01T20:01:00.002-07:00

Day 2
Before we left Virginia I wrote the following:
"I am most excited about this day! We are having the "Best pie" according to Southern Living. We are stopping at Charlotte's Eats and Sweets in Arkansas. They are known for their coconut cream pie..my favorite. I called ahead before we planned our trip..the trick here is that it is off our path by 30 minutes and the hours are from 11-2 ONLY. Tricky!"
The trickiest thing turned out to be getting there at ALL!!

I wanted to stop and take a picture of the family at each state...this will have to do because we are running late for PIE!!

Our day starts off as planned and everything is on course..continental breakfast at the hotel.

Waffles and fruit for some.

Biscuits and gravy for me!! I am still in Tennessee, am I not? My cell phone is not working so we stopped in at the Verizon store to see what was going on...an hour later we realized that we are not going to make the pie place...Have you seen a grown woman cry over pie? Well, be impressed because I didn't shed a tear although I was heartbroken.

While we traveled to our next state I was feeling dejected that things were not going smoothly..no pie and the air conditioning stopped working! Sweltering in the car, I saw this car speed by...WITHGOD. Well I though, with God all things are possible!!

Happy Day the OPEN sign is there!!! And we have 20 minutes before closing..

Wonderful and friendly people greeted us as we rushed in..looking like the cat had played with us and then dragged us in. Delightful little tables lined an old fashioned malt counter. Tea pots were everywhere...183 to be exact..MT counted everyone.
Hostess: We only have three slices of pie left
Myself: We want them all

Coconut cream, egg custard, and chocolate cream pie.

Main street KEO, Arkansas at 2 on a Tuesday.

Across the street from the cafe.

My lunch..KEO special. So wonderful. JT had the Charlotte's special and said it was the best thing ever. The bread was crusted in Parmesan cheese.

Charlotte herself came to say hello and thanks for stopping by from Virginia! (I was so excited that I forgot that I had no makeup on and that I had spent the last three hours in an oven on wheels!!!) It was a good thing I didn't have a pie cookbook, I would have embarrassed myself and asked her to sign it.

My wonderful pie...wish you could have all joined me. Which was my favorite..surprise!!! The German Chocolate Cake that my father in law had was the best thing I have ever had, far better than the pies although they were great. And to top it off he suggested we eat dessert first! And we did!!

Taylor Tracker Day 1

2010-05-31T21:10:00.001-07:00

I had this crazy idea that while we traveled from Virginia to Arizona we could post where we were by what we ate. A foodie travel log if you will. It was Dominoes pizza tracker that gave me the idea. I love to see where my pizza is and follow it right to my door!

Now, being naive about traveling across the country with 6 humans, a cat, hedgehog, and our entire house in a truck with us I am thinking that I could post along our trip! Because when we arrive at the hotel I will be full of energy and life and wanting to spend time on the computer!
Day 1
Lunch in Knoxville TN at a diner called Litton's voted East Tennessee's Best Burgers and Award Winning Bakery...check out their dessert menu.
Sadly, they were closed for the holiday!! So we ate there anyway...just outside while charging my phone and downloading pictures.

There happened to be a beautiful park across the street so we went and feed the ducks.

Fun sites along the way:
I wish someone would have told me that I could have been baking all along the way!!!

Dinner in Jackson TN at a place called The Old County Store. What a riot!!! This was a sudden change because our planned place was so busy for the holiday that they ran out of food and closed early. This place was so fun. It had an enormous candy store, tee shirts to make you laugh, and aprons o'plenty. Thanks Char for the find...it is a great place to visit.

Tables made from sewing machine stands!! Got to love this place.

Sample plate...round 1 at the buffet..Southern Food at its finest.
Collard Greens
Sweet Potatoes
Black Eyed Peas
Mac and Cheese
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Okra
Fried Apples
Hominy
Cornbread with Cracklin

The Taylors sing for their supper..actually for a free banana split.

All in all a great day..fun adventures, beautiful scenery, great company, and only one negative...bleach on my favorite chef shirt (black)!
Don't you think that justifies a new fun cooking shirt????

I am holding my eyes open with toothpicks and am laying on my keyboard....
Goodnight Tennessee

Peanutty Noodles for Christine

2010-05-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

I love Christine Brame. She is a great example to me of true friendship. She is also an example of endurance and having a positive attitude. She keeps me organized and in a positive place...even when there is chaos all around.
I will miss our yearly celebration of Chinese New Year and Chinese class. But, the great thing about having such a good friend is that distance will not keep us apart.

Peanutty Noodles (source: cooking light)

A quick and easy meal with everyday staples. I like it best with snow peas and carrots. Beware of using regular soy sauce-it is very salty.

1 lb spaghetti noodles

Boil as directed

1 tea oil
1 tea minced fresh ginger
2 tea minced fresh garlic

Saute for 30 seconds.

1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 Tb rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

Add to above and whisk well. Simmer 7 minutes stirring often.

Mix noodles and sauce with any of the following:

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 carrots, peeled and shaved into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 box frozen snow peas, cooked
1/2 lb bean sprouts, washed

Hungry? Quick Lemon Pasta

2010-05-25T05:53:00.001-07:00

How can something so simple be so mouthwatering?

I had to make this today for lunch after my friend Sarah sent it to me. It is brilliant!
While you cook your pasta, saute fresh garlic..I used 4 cloves in olive oil (I used garlic and basil infused olive oil). Take off heat and add the zest and juice of one fresh lemon. Add cooked and drained pasta to pan. Add S&P to taste and top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Hospitality and Hot Dogs Southern Style

2010-05-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder if you had a twin separated at birth?

A missing piece...a "twin less ness"? I never had but I have found my twin..obviously separated at birth!! We are the same in so many ways. How wild is it that we both have children the exact same age!! Both love food and photography. Love chick flicks and all night chat fests. It is because of my twin that my youngest had a crib and for that matter clothes! Generosity does not begin to describe my twin: possibly heaven sent?
She arrived with dinner the other day. My favorite of her recipes is her Dr. Pepper Chili! It arrived for our dinning pleasure.

Hot dog bun

Hot dog

Dr. Pepper Chili

smear with coleslaw

smear with coleslaw

top with cheese

We learned the joys of the southern style hot dog from JT's aunt from North Carolina. I now love my hot dogs this way all the time.

150 Best- Spaghetti with Tuna Sauce

2010-05-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

Outstanding!!

I often find recipes that I want to make simply because they sound gross. So wild or ridiculous that I just have to find out what the buzz is about. I have found 2 of my favorite recipes this way: peanutty noodles and this one, spaghetti with tuna sauce. Now the reason I say gross to this particular recipe is because I am not a fan of fish..anchovies...or capers-all included.

Spaghetti with Tuna Sauce

source: The 150 Best American Recipes

Ingredients:

1 Tb salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tb pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 anchovy fillets
1 tea capers
1 tea red pepper flakes
28 oz diced tomatoes
4 vine ripened tomatoes
6-8 oz tuna (Italian in oil)
1/4 golden raisens
1 lb spaghetti
1/4 chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Bring salted water to boil for noodles. Cook noodles while preparing the sauce.
Heat oil. Cook pinenuts until light brown
Add garlic, anchovies, capers, and red pepper flakes. Cook 2 minutes breaking everything up.
Add tomatoes and bring to boil. Simmer 30 minutes.
Add tuna and raisins. Heat and break up tuna.
Add cooked and drained pasta to sauce.
Add parsley and pepper to taste.

The Librarian Baked Alaska Challenge

2010-05-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have read my Humble Samoan Chicken post. Wondering about the line between pride and humility. Excitement and showing off. Well, here I was in my favorite place in Radford...the library.
Being excited about something I had just made and sharing that excitement with the children's librarian..when my prideful side said,
"If you ever want me to make anything."
Like I could make "anything"!
Well lightening didn't strike but she did give me a challenge. Baked Alaska!!
I said, "Baked Alaska!"
I had to take a chair and stop my brain which kept saying, "I can't do that, I can't do that".
Once the fear was under control...I began my study of Baked Alaska..and found some great websites to share with you.
Check out a Video
A recipe
The History of the dessert

The hardest direction was the following:

Place a board at least 1 1/2 inches thick between 2 pieces of corrugated paper; cover top with waxed paper.

I thought it must need it for insulation of the ice cream! Luckily we are moving and had plenty of cardboard!! And the men could do this part..right? Wrong...see below.

I used already prepared sponge cake because I wanted to do individual sizes for our "spur of the moment" guests. We had friends bring us dinner..we tied them up so they would stay and dine with us!

I had everything ready to go before baking so that we could serve it immediately.

4 egg whites
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat until stiff.
Top your ice cream with the egg white mixture. Any ice cream will do..I thought strawberry would be a nice contrasting color to the cake.

Top with egg whites. I found that crazy was best..I tried to be creative and perfect with the spirals but that didn't look as good and was too time consuming. Just make sure that your ice cream is COMPLETELY covered or they say it will ooze..yuck.

The video said to use a 500 degree oven but the recipe I used said 450...so 475 it was!

Baked, warm and ice cold on the inside!! You must like meringue to enjoy these..Bon Appetit!

Oh, I had asked the men to help..you know cardboard and wood. But, they played with salt clay instead.

Strawberry Muffins for Amber

2010-05-16T05:02:00.001-07:00

I have wanted to have my friend over for months to try these muffins! They live in a cookbook called "the good enough to eat Breakfast Cookbook" by Carrie Levin. Other favorite recipes in this cookbook are Orange Date Muffins, Norwegian Waffles, Fundamental French Toast, and Corned Beef Hash. Not to mention the best hash browns you have ever had!!

I invited my friend over to pamper her and she came bearing gifts for me!!

New Aprons for my wall...hands off they are vintage and I will not be wearing them.

The greatest 1959 cookbook that has a recipe for a lime jello encrusted ham that I must make someday. Perhaps a new Thanksgiving tradition?

All I made her was a muffin!
Toss berries with lemon juice.

Mix egg yolks with vanilla.
Whip whites with cream of tarter.
I like to have everything ready to just dump it in the sugar and butter after they are fluffy:
Add to sugar in this order:

Yolks with vanilla
half dry ingredients
buttermilk
rest of dry ingredients
berries with lemon juice
Coconut
Whites with cream of tarter

Cut ingredients together. It is very thick. Be gentle.

I load the cups up. Bake 325 degrees approx 25-30 minutes.

Strawberry Coconut Muffins (source)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated
2 cup flour
1/4 tea baking soda
1 tea baking powder
1/4 tea salt
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tea lemon juice
1 tea vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick butter, room temp
1/4 tea cream of tarter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup coconut

My Fairy Godmother and the Tri-Lemon Pie Contest

2010-05-14T05:02:00.002-07:00

Oh the wonders of a pie contest!! Any contest is a good contest..but lemon pie is the best kind of contest. I love my sour cream lemon pie recipe...but will it be able to compete?

I have a fairy godmother. I just can't believe how I have been blessed in my life! She is my neighbor, friend, adopted younger sister, and taste tester baker companion. She is always giving me the most wonderful gifts. In fact, my favorite kitchen tools have come from her. Some fairy godmothers give shoes and dresses..NOT MINE. She has given me a super duper double boiler, super zester, pineapple corer, and the most beautiful vintage table cloth. Where other women need fancy hair she knew I needed a kitchen pick me up. She has even kidnapped me and taken me to two fantastic gourmet food shops and then out to lunch at the most yummy restaurant!!

It is with my fairy godmother that we had the contest.

Blue Moon Lemon Supreme Pie

Fairy Godmother Lemon Cloud

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

And the cutting and feasting begins....

I wish you could have all been judges....

I used a new pie recipe from the pioneer woman. I love it because it is so easy!! I added the recipe but you really need to see her post...she has beautiful photos and step by step directions.

Ingredients:

1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Blue Moon Lemon Supreme Pie
I saw this first pie on the Food for Thought website that I participate in. The pictures are breathtaking. The review is a book called The Illustrated Olive Farm. I just had to make this pie because of the pictures.

Making the bottom layer.

Spread in the pan.

Top with lemon and put in fridge.

Lemon Supreme Pie (source)

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep-dish pastry shell

LEMON FILLING:

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped topping
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.
In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; add remaining sugar. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter, lemon peel and food coloring if desired. Gently stir in lemon juice (do not over mix). Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Do not stir.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and lemon juice. Refrigerate 1/2 cup for garnish. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture into shell; top with lemon filling. Chill overnight.
Place reserved cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag with a #21 star tip; pipe stars onto pie. Store in the refrigerator.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

Whisk dry ingredients.

Add milk.

Whisk while boiling.

You want it very thick.

Add sour cream.

Fill shell and cover with wrap before putting in fridge.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie (Recipe)

I wish you all could have a fairy godmother like mine. She is beyond the description of words in my vocabulary or ability to write. If you were here she would invite you to sit and most definitely she would feed you something wonderful. Maybe her wonderful lemon cloud pie...if you were lucky.

Cincinnati Style Chili in Virginia

2010-05-12T05:02:00.002-07:00

Cincinnati Style Chili is not what I consider chili. To be chili a dish must have beans! That is my simple and narrow minded definition. This is what I would call spaghetti sauce...whatever the name..it is fantastic.
This recipe traveled from Cincinnati via a LDS missionary to Logan, Utah. I was lucky enough to be roommates with that wonderful return missionary after finishing school at Utah State University. I now remember her every time I make it. This recipe will travel from Ohio to Utah to Virginia and on its way to Arizona!!

Add all ingredients but beef and onions to the crockpot.

Saute meat and onions till brown.

Add meat to sauce.

Turn to low and cook 4-5 hours. Serve on bed of spaghetti with grated cheese on top.

I found a fun person on the web, Debbie. She has a crockpot Wednesday post. This is my favorite crockpot recipe. Being computer challenged I still haven't been able to add her link button to my side bar. But, I will join in her fun on occasion with my crockpot journeys.

Cincinnati Style Chili
personal recipe of Kim Turner Shaw

1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 large onion
29 oz tomato sauce
14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes
1/2 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea allspice
1 tea salt
1 1/2 tea chili powder
1 Tb vinegar
1 glove garlic (I like more)
3 bay leaves

Brown meat and onions. Add all to crockpot. Cook 4-5 hours on low. Serve on spaghetti noodles and grated cheese.