For Goodness Sake

Giveaway Winner Announced

2012-01-09T06:39:00.000-06:00

Shelby announced the gift card winner for her blog anniversary giveaway as Peggy!

Thank you to all of you who commented and participated in Shelby's celebration!

Cheddar Sage Thumbprints with Pepper Jelly, AND a Giveaway!

2011-12-27T07:00:00.003-06:00

Today’s post honors The Lives and Loves of Grumpy’s HoneyBunch by Shelby, who is celebrating her four year blog anniversary. Shelby is a very sweet and generous person that I have known since before she started blogging, and I am so honored to be included in her celebration. Shelby’s blog reflects her love of family, food, and life. At the heart of her adventures is her husband, “Grumpy”, whose name hides a warm soul and a love and pride for his wife that shines through the grumpiness. My favorite posts are those that describe how Shelby has won Grumpy over with a recipe that he didn’t think he would like!

Shelby has inspired me many times - to keep blogging when I thought I wanted to quit, to focus on what I love instead of what I think others might love, to have fun, and to let kindness guide my thoughts when blogging. She is giving away a $50 Gift card to celebrate her four years in the blogging world! Here are the details on how to enter the giveaway, which is open to US & Canadian residents only:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post about the person who is your inspiration in life and what special part that person plays in your life.
2. Visit the additional blog links and leave a comment on their post. Each comment will count as one entry.
3. Giveaway will end on January 7th at 5 PM EST.
4. Winner will be announced on January 8th via blog post on The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch.
5. Winner will be chosen via random drawing - drawing to be done by none other than Grumpy himself.
6. Value of giftcard will be $50 and can be ONE of the choices listed below:
* Sears
* Kohls
* Amazon
* Target
* Wal-mart
* Chili's
* Uno's
* Marshalls/TJMax
* Bed, Bath & Beyond
* Macaroni Grill
* Olive Garden
* Starbucks
* Barnes & Noble

Shelby’s recipe archives are full of dishes that reflect her affinity for healthful and delicious food. She is very creative and recently became enamored with small bites, small plates, and appetizers, and her post today is for Brie Popover Bites. My offering for Shelby's cyber-party, flaky thumbprint "cookies" complemented by sweet, hot pepper jelly, may not be the healthiest snack around, but they are delicious. They are also very good "plain", pressed into disks, and sprinkled with a few grains of kosher salt, which is how my hubby loves them.

Cheddar Sage Thumbprints with Pepper Jelly
adapted from Thanksgiving 101

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
6 tbs salted butter, softened
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/3 cup pepper jelly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.

Thoroughly mix cheese, butter, flour, and sage to form cohesive dough. Pinching off dough, form into one inch balls and place on prepared pan, 2 inches apart. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and press indentation into dough, using end of wooden spoon. Fill with 1/4 teaspoon jelly and return to oven; bake additional 10 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Remove to wire rack and cool completely. May be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

I got about 30 "cookies" out of this recipe.

Click on the links below to see what others made for Shelby's party!

Caramel S'Mores Cookie Cups

2011-12-01T08:54:00.001-06:00

I made these yesterday for the youth group at my church. The youth help me serve every year at our annual church Thanksgiving dinner, and they are invaluable to me with their willing attitudes and sweet smiles. I was looking for a dessert that might appeal to them and happened across this recipe on the Betty Crocker website. I normally don't use packaged mixes for cookies, but they are so wonderfully convenient, so why not? I have recently begun to adopt less labor-intensive methods in my kitchen, and I am enjoying the benefits of non-scratch cooking.

One of my adaptations of the recipe was to use Hershey's Caramel Filled Kisses, which are one of my favorite seasonal products from Hershey's, instead of Hershey's Rolos. The oozy caramel center is surrounded by a nice thickness of magnificent Hershey's milk chocolate - so hard to resist!

Another change I made was to make the cookies in two 12-muffin tins, using cupcake paper liners, instead of the mini 36-muffin tin specified in the recipe. Although I did not sample the final product, they looked delicious, and I intend to make them for hubby and me this weekend. I would also like to try an almond-flavored sugar cookie dough with Hershey's Cherry Cordial Creme Filled Kisses - YUM!

Caramel S'mores Cookie Cups
adapted from Betty Crocker
Makes 2 or 3 dozen cookies

1 pouch Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1 egg
24 - 36 Hershey's Caramel Filled Kisses, unwrapped
mini marshmallows 3 or 4 per cookie
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 24 regular muffin or 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray, or use cupcake paper baking cups.

Make cookie dough as directed on package, using butter and egg. Shape dough into 24 or 36 balls and place 1 ball into each muffin cup or baking cup. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove from oven; firmly press 1 candy into center of each cookie. Top each with 3 or 4 marshmallows. Bake 2 to 4 minutes longer or until marshmallows are puffed. Cool 30 minutes. Remove cookies from muffin tins or baking cups and cool completely on wire rack.

Place chocolate chips in small resealable freezer plastic bag. Microwave on High about 1 minute or until softened. Gently squeeze bag until chocolate is smooth; cut off tiny corner of bag and squeeze to drizzle chocolate over marshmallows. Let stand until hardened, about 10 minutes.

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Bacon Mac and Cheese

2011-11-18T19:05:00.000-06:00

One of my very favorite blogs is Plain Chicken. Steph posts the most delicious looking recipes, many involving chicken or tailgating recipes. She refers to her husband as Chicken Legs, a title which never fails to make me laugh. Each Monday is a "wordless" post featuring photos of her three adorable cats. She unabashedly features recipes with convenience foods as ingredients as well as from-scratch recipes. I have bookmarked more recipes from her blog than from any other. I.Love.Her.Blog.

While browsing through her recipes, I recently found this creation of Chef Michael Symon. It is the easiest and perhaps the best macaroni and cheese I've made. The changes I made were minor and are reflected in my version below. I was too lazy to walk out to my garden to snip rosemary, so I used Tastefully Simple's Spinach and Herb Dip Mix, I subbed half and half for heavy cream, I added a mix of provolone, asiago, parmesan and romano because I forgot to buy Gruyère, and I topped it with freshly grated nutmeg. It was simple, creamy, and very satisfying.

Bacon Mac & Cheese
adapted from the blog of Plain Chicken

2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon dried herb mix or 2 tablespoons snipped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
3 slices crisp cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1-1/4 cups shredded cheese, preferably Gruyère or any savory melting cheese
light grating of fresh nutmeg, if desired

Place half and half in large saucepan with dried herb mix or rosemary. Add salt and pepper. Bring to boil; turn down heat and keep at simmer until reduced slightly (original recipe specifies reducing heavy cream to half, but my half and half was reduced by about 1/3, and it was perfect). Meanwhile, cook macaroni according to package directions and drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.

Mix hot pasta with reduced half and half and bacon; mix in cheese and 1 tablespoon pasta water. Stir until cheese is melted and mixture is thickened; add more pasta water if needed. Top with freshly grated nutmeg and serve.

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Sweet and Salty Popcorn Mixes

2011-11-15T07:40:00.002-06:00

I have recently become a fan of Tastefully Simple products. Sold by independent consultants such as Kourtney Aller, the young mother in my church who introduced me to their awesomeness, these direct-sale foods were developed by Jill Blashack Strahan and have a reputation for exceptional flavor. I considered joining their sales force, but I really have no interest in selling; I just want to buy and enjoy their products. Their Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce is my preferred condiment, and I use it on everything, from nachos (yes, really!) to sandwiches.

These popcorn mixes are a result of recipes from Tastefully Simple's website and my favorite go-to recipe spot, Allrecipes.com. The beauty of snack mix recipes is that you can be creative and incorporate items from your pantry. The Zesty Popcorn Mix is just that - it is spicy and crunchy and very addictive. The caramel corn recipe is my favorite, crispy and buttery, and I always add molasses which gives the caramel glaze a dark allure. Twisty Grahams, pretzel-shaped graham crackers, added a toffee-like crunch, and the addition of Goldfish and toasted, salted pecans was a nice contrast to the sweetness.

Zesty Popcorn Mix
adapted from Tastefully Simple Recipes

1-2 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Dip Mix or spicy seasoning salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce or a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce
12 oz box baked cheese crackers such as Cheez-Its
5 cups popped popcorn

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix crackers and popcorn on a large baking pan. Combine first 3 ingredients and slowly pour over mixture in pan; toss gently. Bake at 300° for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool and place in storage container or plastic Ziplocs.

Caramel Corn Snack Mix
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 cup salted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cups molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup Twisty Grahams or bite-sized graham crackers
1 cup toasted salted pecans
1 cup Goldfish or bite-sized cheese crackers such as Cheez-Its

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn, pecans, graham crackers, and Goldfish in a very large bowl or 2 large shallow baking pans. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in thin stream over popcorn mixture, stirring to coat. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for about an hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces. Place in storage container or plastic Ziplocs.

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Earthquakes In Oklahoma!

2011-11-06T07:32:00.000-06:00

Sometimes weather takes precedence over food. We had an earthquake here yesterday! Read about it on my blog about Oklahoma, Oklahoma Peach Fuzz.

Baked Chicken Penne with Lawhorn's Signature Seasoning

2011-09-20T16:05:00.003-05:00

It isn't often I see the name "Lawhorn", and never associated with a commercial product. Lawhorn is a very special name to me, as it was my maiden name. As proud as I was (and still am) of being a Lawhorn, it was a name I had to spell for every person that I met, and it was a relief to marry a man with a simple four-letter last name and not have to spell my name anymore. (I never understood why everyone wanted to pronounce and spell it L-o-n-g-h-o-r-n! Ugh!)

When I saw this seasoning mentioned on Steph's awesome blog, Plain Chicken, I was dumbstruck. "Lawhorn"? You've got to be kidding! I immediately researched and found their website and emailed the link to my relatives with "you won't believe this" in the subject line.

After emailing the company I received a prompt and friendly response as well as an offer to send me a sample of their seasoning. I responded with my address, and a few days later I received a beautifully packaged full bottle of seasoning along with a nice note and recipes. My nephew emailed and also received a free sample! The mixture has an intoxicating aroma, with a well-balanced, warm and peppery garlic scent. The flavor? Magnificent! I am proud of my Lawhorn "cousins"for this excellent product! (Are we related? Who knows, but the name "Lawhorn" is not a common one.)

I am currently in the midst of catering Wednesday night dinners at my church and decided to tweak a baked chicken penne dish to serve this week. To prepare the chicken, I simply tossed 3 boneless chicken breasts in olive oil and sprinkled them liberally with Lawhorn's seasoning. After baking them and tasting one bite, I wanted to eat the rest of it solo! The seasoning has just the right amount of garlic to onion ratio, and there is a pleasant, lingering warmth from the spices.

I foresee endless possibilities with this "family" seasoning and can't wait to try it with beef, fish, and other savory dishes.

Lawhorn Baked Chicken Penne
Based on and adapted from this recipe
Serves 6

Place three boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which have been tossed in olive oil and sprinkled liberally with Lawhorn's Signature Seasoning (or seasoning of your choice) in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (depending on thickness), or until juices run clear. Allow breasts to cool and give them a rough chop or shred into bite-sized pieces. Follow instructions below for remainder of recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups seasoned, baked, chopped chicken breast
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded Romano/Parmesan cheese blend, divided
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
12 oz cooked penne pasta
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons melted butter

Prepare 2-1/2 quart baking dish with baking spray (I used a 12 X 7-1/2 X 2 inch Corningware dish.) In skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and butter; add onion and red pepper and sauté until tender. Stir in garlic powder and chicken; cook 1 minute longer. Reduce heat and sprinkle flour over mixture and lightly stir; add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Add milk, sour cream, basil, and salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 of cheeses and heat through but do not boil. Combine sauce mixture with pasta; spoon into prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs mixed with 2 teaspoons melted butter; bake about 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

I served this with a tossed green salad and focaccia breadsticks. The chicken was tender and spiced up the lightly sauced pasta. Even though the recipe serves 6, the two of us had second helpings and had very little left over.

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9/11/2001 8:46 am

2011-09-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

2011-08-30T16:05:00.003-05:00

I seem to be stuck on banana bread (see Marbled Nutella Banana Bread and Boozy Banana Bread, but I do have ripening bananas in my kitchen on a weekly basis, and there are so many recipes for so many variations.

This is my adaptation of a recipe I found on Food.com, and it is everything I want banana bread to be. It is moist and sweet, with the right infusion of banana taste, and it has a bonus - the never-fail combo of peanut butter and chocolate. If you like these flavors, try this bread!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
slightly adapted from Food.com

3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
6 tablespoons white sugar
6 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed or whizzed in food-processor
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips tossed in 1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 9X5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray; add a strip of parchment paper to bottom of pan for easy removal.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. In another bowl or bowl of mixer, mix bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, egg, vanilla, and oil. Fold in flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain, then gently fold in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into loaf pan. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with few moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes; carefully remove from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack before slicing. I was unable to wait, and I'm not sorry.

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Linking to

Getting to Know Me and You

2011-08-22T10:48:00.006-05:00

I've recently become a fan of Kim at My Inner Chick, and her hilarious, poignant, and important voice in the blogging world. Her responses to some "Foodie Questions" that she found on the blog of Mandy at The Complete Cook Book prompted me to accept her invitation to share and get to know one other with the questions below. And be sure and check out Mandy's original post at The Complete Cookbook!

(Apologizing in advance for the fact that some of my responses have two answers - I'm a Gemini and can't help it.)

1. What 5 items are always in your fridge?Mayonnaise
Real butter
Green olives
Low fat milk
Diet Coke
(Think of the irony of the first 2 vs the last 2)

2. What 5 items are always in your pantry ?
(Sorry, but I have 6)

Coffee-Mate Vanilla Caramel powdered coffee creamer
Unbleached flour
Chocolate chips
Canned sour cherries
Flying Bee Honey
Penzey's spices

3. Do you write a grocery list or do you shop off the cuff?
I have a master list that includes Sam's, WalMart, and 2 local grocery stores. And while I'm at those stores I shop off the cuff.

4. What is the most used item/s in your kitchen?
My KitchenAid mixer

5. What do you have in your kitchen that may seem strange to other people?
A real popcorn popper

6. If you were to enter a Come Dine With Me challenge, what would you cook?

Starter:
Freshly picked lettuce and romaine with sliced heirloom tomatoes, homemade croutons, and homemade Ranch dressing

Mains:
Bacon-Wrapped Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Green Beans Caesar
Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

Dessert:
My Granny's Gooseberry Pie and Sour Cherry Pie
Freshly picked strawberries
Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with homemade hot fudge sauce

7. If you could invite any 4 living celebrities in the world to dinner, who would they be?
Mireille Enos
Cesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer)
Laura Bush
Alex Guarnaschelli

8. What is your favorite breakfast out?
It's always a toss-up between Sweet Potato Pancakes or Biscuit Debris at Jimmy's Egg in Oklahoma City.

9. What one condiment could you not be without?
Mayonnaise and mustard (honey or Dijon)

10. Some people seemed to have a problem eating leftovers or reheated food, do you?
Leftover meatloaf heated in a skillet and put between two slices of bread with mayonnaise makes the best sandwich in the world, so no, I don't have a problem.

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Light Brioche Revisited

2011-08-20T23:20:00.005-05:00

In June I discovered a wonderful bread recipe on the blog of Lucie Madeleine and made these hamburger buns. I have made the recipe several times since, to the delight of my family, and most recently for a luncheon for church. This time I made petite rolls, and I was very pleased with the results.

Between rubbing butter and flour together with your fingers and being careful not to add too much flour, this dough is not the easiest to handle; but the reward of following the instructions is a deliciously light and tender roll.

Light Brioche Rolls
(Recipe yielded 48 petite rolls)

2 cups warm water
6 tablespoons warm milk
1-1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
6 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
6-2/3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

In bowl, combine water, milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Beat eggs. In large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between fingers, making crumbs. Dump flour mixture onto well-floured counter or Silpat and make a well in center. Add eggs to center. Using dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten eggs until dough forms, scooping dough up and kneading it with a very light hand, and adding small amounts of flour as needed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into ball and place in greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, cut dough into 4 parts and shape each part into 12 equal pieces. Gently form each piece into ball and arrange about an inch apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let rise in warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool. Brush with more melted butter, if desired.

Linked to

Kim's A Well Seasoned Life's Sweet Indulgences Sunday

Katie's These Chicks Cooked Link Party

Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday

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Lesley's German Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-08-12T12:27:00.009-05:00

I found the recipe for these delicious German Chocolate Chip Cookies on the blog of Lesley's Eats. The story she wrote about having lunch with her Mom and sharing one of these cookies, then recreating the recipe with her made me lonesome for my daughter, who moved away to Dallas last summer, and my Mom, who shared many restaurant desserts with me.

I decided on the spot to make them, and needing a chocolate fix to cheer me up, off to the kitchen I went to soften the butter. About an hour later I was eating my first cookie.

I had semi-sweet instead of milk chocolate chips on hand, and they were still amazing, but I would like to try them with milk chocolate chips. The rich dough produced a tender, uber-chocolate cookie with a delicate brownie-like crust, with coconut lending a nice chewy quality and pecans providing a toasty crunch. I have to agree with Lesley that these cookies are at their best warm and gooey, straight out of the oven, but they were darned good two hours later when I shared them with my husband.

German Chocolate Chip Cookies
slightly adapted from the blog of Lesley’s Eats
3-4 dozen

1-3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Prepare cookie sheet for baking and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed about 1 minute. Fold in flour mixture and mix on low speed just long enough to fully incorporate. Fold in chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut. Drop or scoop onto prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool in pan until set, then remove to wire rack.

Of course I served these in one of Mom's old candy dishes!

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Linked to:

Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday

La Belle Vita's Fresh Food Friday

A Well Seasoned Life's Sweet Indulgences Sunday

Emily's Tasty Tuesday Party at Nap-Time Creations

AND

Katie's These Chicks Cooked Link Party

Marbled Nutella Banana Bread

2011-08-03T13:04:00.007-05:00

I have been a follower of Emily, aka Sugar Plum, since she made a comment on my blog about Oklahoma in 2008. Emily creates original recipes, and she is Food Network-famous. She is cute and funny, her blog is a fun read with gorgeous photos, and she is gifted in the kitchen - I just love her to pieces!

I had never tried Nutella and didn't quite "get" what all the fuss was about. When Emily posted a recipe for Marbled Nutella Banana Bread, I finally decided to buy a jar and try it out. I'm glad I did - it's delicious! Her recipe makes a perfectly moist, not-too-sweet bread, and the addition of Nutella to half of the batter adds just the right amount of chocolate to enhance the banana flavor and not overwhelm it. I could have eaten the entire loaf, but fortunately I was giving it away.

I've never had good luck "marbling" things, because I usually get too enthusiastic swirling a knife through the batters, so this time I decided I would be more cautious, in order to create the beautiful effect that Emily achieved. But noooooo, (sound of penalty buzzer) my loaf has big blobs of un-marbled batter. I should call it Blobs of Nutella Banana Bread or Lava Lamp Banana Bread.

Marbled Nutella Banana Bread
Original recipe and beautiful photos here
Makes 1 loaf

2-1/3 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/4 cups mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup salted butter, softened (Emily's recipe is 6 tablespoons unsalted butter)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup Nutella

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Add a strip of parchment paper to the bottom and spray it to aid in removal.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda and set aside. Beat banana, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy and well combined - about 2 minutes with mixer. Beat in eggs until well combined - about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and in flour mixture until just mixed. Combine half of batter with Nutella.

Alternate spoonfuls of batter into loaf pan then swirl carefully with knife. Bake 1 hour or until well risen, deep golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into bread comes out with moist crumbs attached.

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Linking up with These Chick Cooked Link Party

AND

Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday

Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies

2011-07-23T12:23:00.005-05:00

Last week my son and DIL went out of town for a much-needed break, and while they were gone I was lucky enough to be invited to stay with my grand-kids, aged 12, 10, and 8. In between trips to Hobby Lobby and the grocery store, swimming, belly-laughing, and generally having a great time, I made them Brown Sugar Cookies from the blog of Baking Bites. These were a big hit - we all loved them! When my son and DIL came home starving after their 3-hour flight, they couldn't stop eating them.

When I got home, I decided to try them with some toasted pecans and oats, since my guy likes oatmeal cookies with pecans. They were delicious too! Even though I personally prefer Baking Bites "plain" version, I'm so glad to have this great basic cookie recipe in my arsenal. I adapted Baking Bite's recipe by subbing 1/2 oats for 1/2 cup flour, reducing the salt, reducing the vanilla and adding milk, and adding pecans. My next version will be with chocolate chips.

Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies
Adapted from original recipe at Baking Bites
3 dozen

2-1/2 cups flour (I subbed 1/2 cup instant oats for 1/2 cup flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (butter-flavor Crisco sticks are also good)
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
3 tablespoons sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla and milk. Gradually blend in flour mixture until dough comes together and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar before placing on baking sheet. Alternately, drop by generous teaspoonful and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Allow about 2-inches between cookies to allow for spread.

Bake for 11-14 minutes, until cookies are set and very lightly browned around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

I can't say enough about how perfect this cookie was for me - tender, chewy, crisp on the edges, and I couldn't believe how wonderful it smells--even the raw dough! The brown sugar gives it a butterscotch-y, warm aroma that made the house smell like Grandma's house. Oh wait, I am Grandma.

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Linking to:

Red, White, and Chocolate

2011-07-03T11:14:00.009-05:00

Here is my offering for a Fourth of July dessert - an all-American chocolate cake with cherries, whipped cream, and chocolate buttercream. The cake alone would be perfect with just a dusting of powdered sugar, but dressed up for the holiday it is a perfect collaboration of moist cake, sweet chocolate, tart cherries, and fluffy whipped cream.

The cake is a recipe I found for The Famous Chocolate Cake on the blog of Let Them Eat Cake! (and Ice Cream). LuLu's version, with its uncomplicated instructions, is a beauty made with espresso, a classic in all its chocolate-y glory. In her post she offers suggestions for customization, which is what led me to my version with cherries. My adaptation of LuLu's uniquely mixed recipe includes the use of a little more flour (and I used self-rising because I was out of all-purpose), almond extract instead of espresso in the cake and in the buttercream, and layers split and filled with whipped cream and cherry pie filling. After a chill in the refrigerator, this cake offers a cool and delicious way to beat the Oklahoma heat!

Chocolate Cherry Cream Cake
Adapted from The Famous Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour (I used self-rising and left out the leavening and salt)
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup stick margarine, room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 oz bittersweet chocolate chips, melted & cooled
1-1/4 cups water
3 eggs
Cooking spray
Parchment paper circles

Preheat oven to 350°F. In large bowl combine all ingredients except eggs and mix on medium speed two minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, add eggs, and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Use a timer and do not skip timing.

Spray two 8" cake pans with cooking spray, cut out 2 8-inch parchment circles and place in bottom of each pan, then lightly spray parchment (this trick helps me remove layers easily). Divide batter equally between pans and thump on counter to remove air pockets.

Bake 28-35 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Start testing cakes about 5 minutes before you think they should be done and every couple of minutes after that.

Let cool in pans 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight prior to frosting. I split mine and filled with cherry pie filling and whipped cream, then frosted with this buttercream:

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream
1 stick salted butter
1/4 cup cocoa
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons almond extract
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup half and half

Cream butter and add remaining ingredients gradually, beating to mix thoroughly. Add more sugar or half and half to desired consistency.

Come and join the linky fun at A Well-Seasoned Life Sweet Indulgences Sunday #12

Lemon Herb Rice

2011-06-27T14:07:00.002-05:00

For a side dish for my husband's birthday dinner, I served him Lemon Dill Rice from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. My version included Minute Rice, fresh-from-my-garden oregano, and both lemon zest and lemon juice. It was so good! Next time I'll add even more herbs and lemon.
Lemon Herb Rice
adapted from the original recipe at Mennonite Girls Can Cook

2 cups uncooked Minute rice
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp fresh herbs, chopped fine
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice

Bring water and chicken broth to boil; add rice, stir, remove from heat, and cover.
Before serving stir in herbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

I served this with Chicken Katsu from Allrecipes.com and whole cranberry sauce mixed with a little orange juice and zest.

Fruit Shake

2011-06-19T05:00:00.002-05:00

In the 1980s I purchased a book called Fit for Life and followed the nutrition plan outlined in it, which was eating healthful food in proper combinations. Although I no longer adhere to the plan (and I really should - I felt fantastic while on it), I still use some of the recipes from the book. One of the recipes is for a fruit smoothie, and I love it because it is a frequent quick and healthy lunch for me and does not contain the yogurt found in most smoothie recipes. Although I love yogurt, I do not want it in my smoothie.

Adjust the amounts of juice and fruit to get the thickness you prefer, but I like mine the consistency of a malt or shake, hence the name "Fruit Shake". The density is achieved by using frozen fruit with fresh fruit juice. I never throw away bananas - I just freeze them for fruit shakes; and I do the same for many other fruits such as mangoes and peaches. For the shake pictured, I used orange juice, frozen banana, frozen strawberries, and frozen peach/mango puree.

Fruit Shake
adapted from Fit for Life Fruit Smoothie

1 cup orange juice or other fruit juice (freshly squeezed is best, but Simply Orange is good)
1 frozen banana, chunked
1 cup frozen strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, peaches (can use fresh)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place juice in blender with fruit for about 15-20 seconds or until smooth. May add more frozen fruit or fruit juice to achieve the thickness you prefer.

Boozy Banana Bread

2011-06-17T12:35:00.003-05:00

I recently purchased Eva's Kitchen by Eva Longoria, and I've read it cover to cover. Usually when I get a cookbook I mainly look at the pictures, read the recipes that look appealing to me, bookmark a few to try, and give a cursory glance at the others. This cookbook captured my attention, because I like the way Eva writes, and I want to try nearly every recipe. She includes the stories and traditional recipes of her family, what is was like growing up on a Texas ranch, and some of the recipes she has developed from her travels as well as from her restaurant, Beso. Her cookbook is not pretentious in any way and is written as you might imagine she is talking to you while you watch her cook. Her recipes are simple with uncomplicated directions, emphasizing fresh, local, and in-season ingredients.

Since I had bananas nearing the overripe stage, I decided to try the simply titled "Banana Bread". This recipe came from her co-star on Desperate Housewives, Teri Hatcher, who loves using "booze" in her bread. With a fourth cup each of rum and brandy, Eva likens it to using bananas Foster to make the bread. Even though I did mention that her recipes are uncomplicated, this one does involve more steps than most banana bread recipes.

This bread is moist with that nice sugary crunch on top, and with the intoxicating aromas and flavors of rum and brandy, it is one of the best banana breads I've ever tasted. But if you don't like booze in your bread, you might want to substitute another liquid for the liquors. My husband did not care for the "strong" taste, but I found it delicious. If you like bananas Foster, then this bread is for you.

Banana Bread
adapted from Eva's Kitchen

11 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup Cognac
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1-1/2 cups unbleached and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry)
1 teaspoon salt (I used 3/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (my addition)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, well beaten
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

In large skillet over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter; add brown sugar. Stir often until sugar melts completely and syrup forms, about 10 minutes, being careful not to let it brown too quickly. Stir in bananas, rum, and Cognac; syrup will harden and become sticky. Cook 10-12 minutes until sugar has melted and mixtures is well blended. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 X 5 loaf pan with cooking spray or shortening. (I find it helpful to put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the loaf pan in addition to greasing the pan to help release the bread after baking.)

In bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, if using; set aside. With mixer, beat remaining 8 tablespoons butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs; mix until well blended. Add flour mixture and mix just until blended. Add sour cream and reserved cooled banana mixture and mix just until blended. Fold in nuts, if using. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake until well browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Place pan on wire rack and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Unmold and let cool completely.

Light Brioche Buns

2011-06-06T08:39:00.014-05:00

After a cooking friend supplied a link to Lucie Madeleine's blog, I found a recipe for these homemade brioche buns and tried them for our turkey burgers this past weekend. They were deliciously light with just enough sweet to complement the burgers. I will be making more of these for a family get-together this coming weekend!

The recipe includes instructions to rub the butter into the flour by hand, a method also used to make pâte brisée, and it made for a light, almost croissant-like crust. The ingredients list two eggs, one for batter and one for egg wash. I mistakenly added both eggs to the dough; however it turned out fine. Visit Lucie Madeleine's blog for the original recipe which includes the technique of slapping the dough instead of kneading it.
Light Brioche Hamburger Buns - My Version
(Recipe yielded 8 buns)

1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons warm milk
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed

In small bowl, combine water, milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Beat eggs. In large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between fingers, making crumbs. Dump flour mixture onto well-floured counter and make a well in center. Add eggs to center. Using dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten eggs until dough forms, scooping dough up and kneading it with a very light hand, and adding small amounts of flour as needed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into ball and place in greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently form each piece into ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Press each ball down lightly. Cover loosely with piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.

Sweet Success

2011-02-21T13:50:00.007-06:00

For years I have baked sugar cookies that tasted good but did have the visual effect I wanted to achieve: an even, consistent height and straight sides. I would like to thank Paula at Salad in a Jar for showing me the light. Her method is based on tips from Baking: From My Home to Yours. Although I have that cookbook, I had not tried the method prior to seeing Valentine's cookies on Paula's blog.

The recipe for the cookies is one from Rebecca Rather's The Pastry Queen cookbook. Again, I have the cookbook but had not tried this recipe, and I'm so glad I did. The cookies are delicious and have exactly "the look" I desired. Dipping the cookie into a thin icing provides a nice surface on which to pipe whatever design I choose, and I prefer it to the thicker icings found on some sugar cookies.

I served these cookies and the cookies shown above at a church reception, and so many people sought me out to comment on how good they tasted.

Shortbread Cookies
adapted from The Pastry Queen

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (my addition)
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (my addition)

Measure flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into a bowl and whisk together; set aside. In another bowl, beat butter till fluffy, add sugar and mix thoroughly. Add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Slowly add flour mixture, beating on low speed just until mixed.

Divide dough into two equal portions and transfer each into gallon-sized ziplock bags. Place bag on flat surface, leave top open, and roll dough to edges of bag, turning and lifting occasionally to prevent creases. Seal bag, pressing out air bubbles. Place on cookie sheet and chill at least two hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and prepare cookie sheets, using your preferred method (I like parchment paper). Place one bag on counter, carefully open three sides of bag, exposing dough, and cut dough with cookie cutters. Carefully peel cutouts off plastic and place on baking sheet. (My cutout dough remained inside the cutter, so I gently pushed the dough onto the parchment.) Refrigerate scraps for a few minutes and place back inside plastic; roll to quarter-inch thickness and cut out as before.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown around edges. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then remove with spatula to wire rack to cool completely.

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt (my addition)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Food gel or coloring, as desired

Whisk sugar, salt, milk, and extract till smooth. Add food coloring, if desired, and mix until evenly distributed. Take cooled cookie and dip, facedown, into icing. Place cookies, icing side up, back on wire rack and let icing harden before further decorating.

Yield depends on size of cookie cutter - I got about 40 cookies from two sizes of cutters

Cookies may be stored in airtight container up to one week.

Valentine Red Velvet Cake Truffles

2011-02-13T17:48:00.012-06:00

I made red velvet cupcakes for a church dinner (a future post!) and decided to make cake truffles with some of them. I've never had much luck dipping chocolate, but I read tips from several blogs then purchased some decent chocolate and followed the package directions for melting it. I was pleased with the results, and these truffles will go to my husband's staff for Valentine's Day.

Red Velvet Cake Truffles
3 cups red velvet cake crumbs
1/2 cup cream cheese frosting
Baker’s Premium White Chocolate Baking squares

Make crumbs with food processor. Mix thoroughly with frosting till crumbs are completely moist and hold together well. Form as many 1 inch balls as possible – I got about three dozen. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm – I did mine overnight.

Melt chocolate according to package directions; dip balls into melted chocolate, gently shake off excess, and carefully place on waxed paper. Let set until firm. I garnished with alternating drizzles of melted dark and white chocolate. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

2011-01-25T21:00:00.004-06:00

I like to think of these cookies as good for me because of the amount of carrots they contain. . They are delicious on their own with no filling, but these were going to church with me, so they got the whoopie pie treatment. They are crispy on the edges and soft and moist inside, and the flavor is certainly carrot cake-like.

I love the photos of these on Sarah's blog. In fact I decided to make them because of the photos, and because they are different than the usual whoopie pies. I added more flour and a bit of baking powder to my version, because I have issues with spreading dough in my oven. These baked up very nicely for me, but you might want to try Sarah's version with less flour, unsalted butter, and candied ginger.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
adapted from In Praise of Leftovers, originally from Epicurious
Makes 2 dozen

Cookies:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots (approximately 4 medium)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots & nuts at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop dough by rounded 1-1/2 tablespoon 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until cookies are lightly browned and springy to touch, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets on wire rack for a few minutes, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend filling ingredients until smooth. After cookies are completely cooled, sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.

Flour's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

2011-01-24T16:20:00.003-06:00

For those of us who grew up on pineapple upside-down cake made with Duncan Hines cake mix and canned pineapple rings with a maraschino cherry in the middle, Joanne Chang's Flour Bakery version represents everything good about adapting a 1960s recipe to today's trends. The combination of fresh pineapple and "real" caramel with a rustic butter cake simply changed my mind forever about pineapple upside-down cake.

This was my first attempt at caramel, and the richness and flavor it imparted to the cake was amazing. The cake baked into the caramel/pineapple mixture, creating wonderful caramelized bites of buttery goodness--I know that sounds hokey, but it's the best description I have.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

For the caramel and caramelized pineapple:
fresh pineapple chunks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons salted butter (Ms. Chang uses unsalted)

For the cake:
1 cup flour (I used unbleached bread flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (my addition)
pinch kosher salt
2 eggs, room temperature
3 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup salted butter, melted and cooled

Mix sugar and water in saucepan and bring to rolling boil over medium high heat. Lower heat and continue to boil till sugar syrup begins to caramelize, about 3 to 4 minutes. (I had to adjust my electric stove to lower than the high heat specified in the cookbook.) Swirl mixture gently over heat until caramel is medium golden brown. Turn heat to low and carefully add 6 tablespoons butter. Mix in pineapple and stir until mixed well and liquified. Bring to boil over medium high heat, then turn to low and simmer 8 to 12 minutes, or until pineapple is golden brown. Remove pineapple and boil remaining liquid on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until syrupy.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Use baking spray or butter a 9-inch cake pan (the recipe specifies 9 inch but I will use an 8 inch next time.) Mix pineapple back into caramel syrup and pour into cake pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and pinch of salt. In mixing bowl whisk eggs and egg yolks, then slowly whisk in sugar, vanilla, and melted butter. Fold flour mixture into egg mixture just until well combined. Pour batter over pineapple mixture.

Bake 30 minutes (the recipe specifies 50-60 minutes, but mine would have been burned--you may adjust your baking time according to your oven) or until golden brown and springs back when pressed in middle. Let cool in pan on wire rack 20-30 minutes, then carefully invert over serving plate, scraping any caramel mixture that sticks back onto the cake. Let cool at least 30 minutes and serve.

I highly recommend this cookbook. There are so many recipes I want to make. Each recipe has a little story with it, and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. I bought it for myself before Christmas. In the busy-ness of the holidays, I put it on a shelf and forgot about it until a cooking friend reminded me of it when she bought it for herself. Her enraptured descriptions of the cookbook sent me racing through the house to find my copy!

Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip

2011-01-03T09:00:00.003-06:00

While looking for appetizer recipes for my Appetizers and Desserts Buffet Christmas Party, I happened upon this recipe on the Daisy Brand sour cream website and loved the name of it! What is not to love about a dip with bacon and the words "warm and creamy"? Although I used other recipes for my party, I decided to try this one on New Year's Eve.

Hubby declared it good, but both of us thought it would be better cold. We tried it with a variety of chips and French bread slices, but it was best with Fritos!

Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
2 cups sour cream (and I did use Daisy Brand--it's my favorite)
3 ounces bacon bits
2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup green onion, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Place the mixture in a 1-quart baking dish. Cover. Heat the dip for 25-30 minutes or until hot. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables, crackers and/or chips.

*Serving option: Dip may also be placed in hollowed round sourdough loaf, wrapped in foil and heated in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Cranberry Applesauce

2010-12-29T11:40:00.002-06:00

What to do with apples that are going soft in the fruit bowl? I have had this apple crisp from Eating, Etc. blog in my "Must Make" bookmarks, but I knew I would probably eat too much of it! I was craving something with cranberries, so I looked online for an applesauce recipe that incorporated cranberries and found the perfect one at Elise's Simply Recipes. I served this as a side for our dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and garlic bread. It was everything I hoped it would be--tart with just the right amount of sweetness!

You may view the original recipe link above, but here is my version:
Cranberry Applesauce
10 peeled, cored, roughly chopped medium apples - I used Pink Lady
1 heaping cup frozen cranberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place first 8 ingredients in a large (5-quart) pot. Bring to boil; lower heat to simmer and cover. Cook at least 30 minutes, or until the apples can easily be mashed--I kept mine simmering about 45 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add honey and vanilla. Mash apples and cranberries with potato masher to consistency desired.

My recipe made about 3 cups. Elise says that this can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or in the freezer for up to a year. Mine is destined to be eaten in only a few days.

Cheeseburger Chowder

2010-10-12T15:45:00.010-05:00

Last night's dinner was a surprisingly simple and delicious change of pace for my husband and me. Cheeseburger Chowder was recommended by a friend on a cooking forum, and it is originally from Andrea at this week's menu.

You may see the original recipe here by scrolling down to Cheeseburger Chowder. I subbed ground turkey for lean ground beef and used russet potatoes instead of the recommended red-skinned potatoes. I misread "two red skinned potatoes" and used 2 cups of potatoes, but I liked it that way! Instead of making a white sauce, I thickened the soup with leftover mashed potatoes, and I loved the earthy texture they imparted. A combo of cheddar and Manchego cheeses did not overwhelm the savory flavors of vegetables and tender ground turkey. The vegetables retained their shape with the short cooking time and contributed to the wholesome yummy-ness of the soup. Try it--you will not be disappointed!

Here is my adaptation of the recipe:

Cheeseburger Chowder
4 servings

1 lb ground turkey
2 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup diced red and green bell peppers
1 teaspoon Tone's beef base
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cooked corn
2-1/2 cups 1% milk
3/4 cup mashed potatoes (or can use mashed potato flakes to thicken)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Manchego cheese

In a soup pot or pan, brown ground turkey and drain off any fat. Stir in potatoes, celery, bell pepper, beef base, water and salt. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add corn.

Slowly add milk and mashed potatoes to meat mixture and cook until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese and stir till it melts.

Apple Pecan Bundt Cake

2010-10-11T19:30:00.004-05:00

This recipe is from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook, which has some great recipes and is one of my most frequently used dessert cookbooks. The ingredients include apple brandy, which I did not have. I substituted Pumpkin Spice liqueur, and it was delish! The Magnolia bakers made this cake into a two-layer affair complete with yummy-sounding Caramel Cream Cheese Icing made with homemade caramel. I made a Bundt cake and left off the icing, and the cake can definitely stand on its own!

Please pardon the iPhone photo, but I forgot to take a photo of the cake when it was "intact"; I sent the remainder of the cake to my husband's office this morning, and the sun was not yet up when I took the photo!

The recipe below is my adaptation of Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Icing, and I have included the original ingredients in italics.

Apple Pecan Bundt Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (WW flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 Pink Lady apples, shredded (3 cups Golden Delicious apples, cut in 1" pieces)
3 tablespoons Pumpkin Spice liqueur (apple-flavored brandy)
1/2 cup cinnamon chips (my addition)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (walnuts)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

I greased and floured a 10-inch Bundt pan, or you can grease and lightly flour two 9x2 inch round cakes pans, then line bottoms with waxed paper.

Cake:
In large bowl mix together flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In large bowl, on medium speed, beat oil with sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat until light, about 1-2 minutes. Add dry ingredients in thirds, beating after each addition until smooth. Batter will be extremely thick and doughlike. With spoon, stir in \apples, nuts and liqueur or Brandy until just blended. Pour batter into Bundt pan and (depending on your oven) bake for 55-60 minutes, or divide \batter between two cake pans and bake for 45-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans onto wire rack.

Icing (optional):
In medium bowl on medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Gradually add in caramel and beat until well incorporated.

When cake has cooled, ice between layers, then ice top and sides of cake. Drizzle remaining caramel over top of cake, and using small knife, swirl caramel into icing, forming decorative pattern. Garnish with nuts.

My Beautiful Mother - 1912 - 2010

2010-09-26T22:04:00.014-05:00

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.
~Abraham Lincoln

This older post is a reminder to me of my Mother's kitchen--the wonderful kitchen of my childhood.

~ What a brave soul she was, still trying to make each day count in the face of a debilitating illness.
~ What a magnificent life she led.
~ What a great amount of love she bestowed.
~ What a privilege to be loved by her.

Tuna Orzo Salad

2010-08-19T13:00:00.005-05:00

I finally tried Elise's tuna salad, which has been highly recommended on my food forum for ages. I even used tuna in oil, which is something I haven't purchased in years, and I do believe it made all the difference. I may not buy water-packed tuna again!

Because I was making a cool summer menu for the office staff at church, I decided to make a different version as a pasta salad, so I added cooked orzo, about a cup, chopped hard-boiled egg, and diced cucumber instead of celery. Served fresh, it is simple and tangy and delicious--the lemon juice sets it all off so nicely. After it had sat in my refrigerator, it did dry out a bit, so I would recommend serving it soon after composing it.

Elise's Tuna Salad
adapted from Simply Recipes
1 (6 ounce) can tuna (if packed in water, drain it, and add a teaspoon of good quality olive oil)
1/3 cup cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons mayonaise
1/4 red onion, chopped finely
1 cucumber, chopped finely (I used Satsuki Madori, from my garden!)
1 hard-boiled egg, cooled and chopped
1 Tablespoon capers
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh dill, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup cooked orzo

Mix together lightly and serve.

I have already bought more tuna in oil to make it without the orzo!

Honey Oat Rolls - My New Favorite!

2010-08-17T14:30:00.002-05:00

I recently became a fan of the blog Salad in a Jar and have been tempted by many of the recipes I've found there. One in particular caught my eye, Honey Oatmeal Dinner Rolls, and I decided they would be perfect for a church dinner for sixty this past Sunday. I upped the ingredients to accommodate the larger quantity, and I only made one substitution, (based on my fondness for these Soft Yogurt Rolls from the blog of What A Dish!) and that was yogurt for the liquid.

The aroma of these rolls is intoxicating, the crust has just a light crunch, the interior is pillow soft and perfect for a pat of butter, and the flavor is slightly sweet with the satisfying taste of oats. I think they are my new favorite! Please look at Paula's beautiful photos of the rolls, as she sprinkled oatmeal on the tops of hers, which makes for a gorgeous presentation, and she fashioned them into much more attractive shapes!

I love that Paula is not afraid to use shortening in her recipes. There are many bloggers out there that have Fear of Shortening, and although I understand their health concerns, I feel that shortening has received quite the bad rap! I prefer shortening in my pie crusts; I have tried substituting butter, and when I do my crust lacks flakiness and lightness. Although I love the rich aroma and deep flavor that butter imparts, I occasionally combine it with shortening in cake recipes for the fluffiness (how's that for a technical term?) and moistness that shortening brings to the final product. And I recently used margarine combined with shortening (I can hear your collective gasps of horror) for a cake, because it was an old recipe from my childhood, and I wanted that old-fashioned taste. I received more compliments on that cake than any I've made in months!

(Climbing down from my soapbox) feel free to substitute butter for the one tablespoon of shortening in the following recipe.

Honey Oat Rolls
Adapted from Salad in a Jar
Makes 16

1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup yogurt, room temperature
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon shortening
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup quick oats

Melt together butter and shortening, set aside to cool slightly. Place warm water and honey in bowl of stand mixer; add yeast and let sit for a few minutes. Add room temperature yogurt and melted butter/shortening mixture. While mixing on low speed, add egg. Whisk together salt, flour, and oats; add to mixture in bowl and mix until well blended. Using dough hook, knead mixture for about 3-5 minutes, only adding flour if mixture looks too wet. Place in greased bowl and let rise until doubled.

Turn dough out onto floured surface and divide evenly into preferred roll shapes. (I had to generously flour my hands, because the dough was slightly wet. Let rise until nearly double.) Preheat oven to 350 (I baked at 375) and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Test Kitchen - White Chocolate Fruit Tarts

2010-06-29T17:47:00.000-05:00

I've had this recipe saved in my bookmarks for a long time, and when I wanted to make a light, summery dessert involving fresh fruit for a church dinner I was catering, I decided to give it a try. It is from the blog of What A Dish!, and her rapt description of the "melt in your mouth" crust persuaded me to try it instead of a regular pie crust. I made mini tarts and topped with fresh blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi.

The crust recipe, originally intended to make a 12 inch crust, made 12 tart shells and 8 cupcake sized shells for me. They were easy, looked enticing, and tasted delicious--a real winner in my book! The recipe below is with my adaptations, and the original may be found here.

White Chocolate Fruit Tarts
by What A Dish! originally from Recipezaar.com

3/4 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 (6 ounce) package white chocolate squares, chunked
1/4 cup whole milk
1 (8 ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted fruit

Heat oven to 300°F. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in flour. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of mini tart pans or cupcake pans (I used both). Prick bottoms a few times to prevent crust from puffing up. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just lightly brown. Cool completely.

Carefully melt white chocolate bars and milk in microwave. Cool slightly. Beat cheese and vanilla, then gradually add white chocolate. When crust is cool, pour melted chocolate/cheese mixture into shells, dividing evenly about 2/3 full. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve--at least 3 hours. Place fruit on top and serve.

Test Kitchen: Crabcakes

2010-06-06T11:51:00.003-05:00

At my house, there is an ongoing friendly battle between testing new recipes for my catering business and making the old favorite standbys for my family. My daughter is a great cook and willing participant in trying new things, so after debating various menus yesterday, we decided to go to Sam's to purchase fresh shrimp to make shrimp cakes as a variation of crabcakes, which are one of my husband's favorite dishes. Sam's had only frozen shrimp, so we decided to substitute lump blue crab meat instead and make crabcakes.

We found an interesting version called Green Chile Crabcakes with Tomatillo Salsa in one of my favorite cookbooks, Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. We adapted it to the palates of the whole family by leaving out the jalapeno and green chiles and served it with homemade tartar sauce. They were delicious!--light and crispy with tender bites of sweet crab. We decided that next time we will go ahead and add the jalapeno for a bit more spiciness.

Crabcakes
Adapted from Pastry Queen's Green Chile Crabcakes with Tomatillo Salsa

1 pound lump crabmeat, cleaned
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine crabmeat, bell pepper, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, eggs, 2 cups of breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Mix lightly with hands and form into eight 3-inch patties. Chill for one hour.

Pour remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs into shallow bowl or paper towel. Coat patties in crumbs. Melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add crab cakes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until surface is golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately.

I made a couple of mini crabcakes and placed them on my salad--YUM!

Test Kitchen: Fish Taco Salad

2010-04-22T22:49:00.009-05:00

After seeing LadyJayPee's beautiful photo of Mango Salsa and her referenced recipe from Sugar, I purchased a mango just for the purpose of making that mouth-watering concoction. The minute I finished mixing the ingredients, I sampled the salsa on a Tostito, and it was everything I hoped it would be--tangy with lime juice, sweet from the mango and a nice, crisp punch of flavor from the cilantro and jalapenos.

I sauteed tilapia filets seasoned with Penzey's Smoky 4/S Salt to experiment with a salad in development for my catering menu.

I added diced red peppers and a dash of my favorite "lite" bottled dressing.

This made a delicious salad, but it became magnificent when I spooned it into a corn tortilla.

I could happily eat this every day of my life!

Here is the recipe with my minor adaptations:

Fish Taco Salad with Mango Salsa
adapted from Eating, Etc.
and Everything Nice by Sugar and Spice

1 peeled and diced ripe mango, with juices
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
juice of one lime
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos

Mix together & set aside. Assemble your favorite green salad and add grilled, sauteed, or fried fish. Spoon on mango salsa and shredded cheese, and dress lightly with your choice of salad dressing. Toss and serve immediately. Heaven!

Test Kitchen

2010-04-11T11:20:00.005-05:00

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my business is testing new recipes. In developing menus for catering, much of my inspiration comes from other bloggers' recipes. The finished product must not only be delicious and addictive but also be visually appealing and sound irresistible in its description on my menu. I like new twists on old favorites, and so I tested three appetizer recipes this weekend, with my family serving as the "Chopped" judging panel.

Shelby from The Lives and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch has featured recipes from Blogchef, and since my daughter was craving avocados this week, Blogchef's Guacamole Bruschetta was the perfect experiment.

Adding the fresh taste of cilantro to the usual guacamole ingredients and the twist of serving it on crispy french bread made this a definite addition to my catering menu. One avocado-hating panelist abstained from trying this one, but the other two liked it, and I thought it was a winner. My daughter felt it was a touch too tart, so I might adjust the ingredient proportions a bit. I loved it "as is" and finished it off for breakfast this morning (a really good sign!)

My family loves deviled eggs, and when I saw Deviled Egg Spread on The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, I decided to try it in hollowed out new potatoes. This is a good recipe, but there were major deviled egg purists on the Chopped panel. Reaction varied from "I prefer deviled eggs" to another eating it with a spoon. This one might make it onto my menu but with some tweaks to make it more attractive and piquant.

The final recipe presented to the panel was a very simple, easy-to-prepare recipe from The Food Addicts called Man Dip. With the addition of cream cheese as an alternative to the usual Velveeta, this finished product was deemed "OK" by the panel and sadly will not become a part of the catering menu.

My thanks to the Chopped panel--my husband, my Mom, and my daughter--for patiently trying new recipes when they honestly like the old ones much better.

Old Cookbooks and New Brownies

2010-03-14T16:42:00.021-05:00

When I was a bride back in the early 1970s, cookbooks from my hometown were my main sources of inspiration and knowledge in the kitchen. Since I discovered online recipes in 2003, I have used the world wide web almost exclusively as a cyber-cookbook, although to this day I covet, collect, and cherish real cookbooks.

One recipe that is found in almost every hometown cookbook is a no-bake cookie made with cocoa, butter (or margarine), sugar, oats, and peanut butter. This concoction was boiled and dropped on waxed paper to create a kind of drop fudge.

Today while I was perusing some of my favorite blogs, I happened upon a recipe for Baked "No-Bakes" by Donalyn, the creator of DessertStalking, (which is, in my opinion, superior to Tastespotting), and writer of the blog dlyn. The taste of the brownies, which is absolutely reminiscent of the old-fashioned no-bake cookies, prompted their name.

Once I started thinking about the chocolatey addictive quality of those no-bakes (also called "Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies" in some of my old cookbooks), I could not wait to make this recipe, and I have to say the flavor is spot-on in similarity to the old recipe. I am powerless to stop eating slivers of these brownies, which are moist, not too dense and not too sweet, with the oats lending a wholesome, chewy component to the mix.

Although you may visit Donalyn's site for the original recipe, I am posting it here with my italicized minor changes. Donalyn states that natural peanut butter is excellent in this recipe, but since I only had Jif Extra Crunchy, and I was dying to make these TODAY, that is what I used. I left out the chopped peanuts, and I used salted butter.

Baked "No-Bakes"
by dlyn

1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I used Jif Extra Crunchy)
1/2 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped, roasted, salted peanuts (I left these out since I used Jif Extra Crunchy)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8 x 8 pan (I used an 11 x 7 pan). In medium bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, peanut butter and cocoa. Beat in eggs, one at a time, along with vanilla. Measure remaning ingredients into same bowl and mix to combine completely. Spread evenly in pan, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan, and cut into squares.

Couples' Shower and A Dessert Bar

2010-03-07T09:45:00.003-06:00

This week's events included goodies for a couples' shower and a catered church dinner with three "bars"--potato bar, salad bar, and a dessert bar.

The couples' shower hostess requested intertwined hearts made of Vanilla Bean Cream cake and Vanilla Bean Cream frosting.

A square Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake and a 6-inch Strawberry Bliss Cake along with Butter Crumb Lemon Bars completed the order, and I included complimentary Chocolate Guinness Sweet Bites adapted from recipes by Nigella and Annie's Eats.

I love Nigella's description of the cake:

This cake is magnificent in its damp blackness. I can’t say that you can absolutely taste the stout in it, but there is certainly a resonant, ferrous tang which I happen to love.

And Annie's Irish buttercream is amazing.

For the dessert bar at the church dinner, I baked jumbo Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are based on Alton Brown's recipe, Strawberry Bliss and Chocolate Guinness cupcakes, and Brown Sugar Peach Cobbler.

A Church Affair

2010-02-20T09:25:00.004-06:00

On Valentine's Day, my church offered a reaffirmation of vows ceremony for married couples and asked me to create a "wedding reception" for the event. I made 9-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch Vanilla Bean Cream layer cakes filled and frosted with Vanilla Bean Buttercream, as well as a "groom's cake" that was an 8-inch square Chocolate Fudge cake filled and frosted with Chocolate Fudge Buttercream.

To create a tiered effect, I placed the cakes on cake pedestals of varying heights.

I scattered tiny pearlized hearts and silk rose petals on the tables, and placed candles in crystal candlesticks to create a romantic glow. Since families were invited, faux champagne and plastic flutes made the reception kid-friendly.

A Tale of Two Cookies

2010-01-21T13:45:00.004-06:00

These cookies rounded out the menu for an Ice Cream Sundae Dessert Bar at a church dinner I catered. For variety, I decided to provide both sugar cookies and chocolate cookies, so I used a recipe for Favorite Drop Sugar Cookies by What A Dish! and Chocolate Mint Cookies from Allrecipes.com. Both recipes are spectacular, but the sugar cookies were the first to disappear!

For the sugar cookies, I added one tablespoon of milk and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, subbed unbleached flour for the whole wheat pastry flour (I did not have it or I would have used it!), and I sprinkled sugar on top before I baked them. I used a large ice cream scoop and made giant cookies, which were tender and chewy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. They lent a wonderfully fragrant, sugary smell to the kitchen while they were baking!

For the chocolate mint cookies, I added a teaspoon of vanilla to the batter, and I mixed in a package of Nestle's Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels instead of placing a mint on top after they baked. These cookies are richly chocolate with the perfect touch of mint. My attempt to show the wonderfully fudgy, brownie-like interior is inadequate. For the dessert bar, I named them Brown Sugar Chocolate Mint cookies. ;)

Haiti: How to Help

2010-01-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

American Red Cross

United Methodist Committee on Relief

Salvation Army

United Nations Foundation

United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)

Fried Apples

2010-01-04T20:50:00.005-06:00

Thanks to a mail order Christmas gift, we had apples begging to be used. A pie would be my first choice, but after nearly non-stop eating over the holidays, I settled for something like pie without the crust--fried apples. It was the perfect accompaniment to our meal of chicken and rice, green beans, and buttermilk biscuit. I'll spoon it over vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Fried Apples
5 or 6 apples, peeled and cut into thick slices
2 tablespoons salted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon caramel cream liqueur

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, melt butter just till it begins to brown; add apples and let them simmer for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over apples, toss to coat, cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Uncover and add vanilla and liqueur and mix thoroughly--let bubble until liquid thickens a bit.

Sooner Caviar or Black-Eyed Pea Dip

2009-12-31T14:17:00.011-06:00

Other versions of this recipe are named Cowboy Caviar and Texas Caviar; instead of following a recipe, I used what I had in the pantry to incorporate the traditional New Year's Eve "good-luck" ingredient - black-eyed peas. Perfect for watching the OU Sooners/Stanford Sun Bowl game this afternoon!

Here are the ingredients with rough guesses as to the measurements:

1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 jar Clint's medium salsa
1 cup cooked corn
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 green onions, diced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Mix everything together, add garlic powder or salt to taste. Serve with Tostitos Scoops or Fritos.

I served the dip in a Pfaltzgraff Winterberry dip ramekin that I selfishly bought myself for Christmas.

Pumpkin Pecan Fudge

2009-11-11T22:42:00.005-06:00

Pumpkin is such a versatile ingredient, adaptable to both savory and sweet dishes, and is not only one of my favorite foods but also plentiful during my favorite season of the year--Fall.

Pumpkin fudge is a creamy, ambrosial concoction made with canned pumpkin. My version uses cinnamon chips and toasted pecans.

Pumpkin Pecan Fudge

2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup salted butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with baking spray.

Combine sugars, evaporated milk, pumpkin, and butter in medium, heavy-duty sauce pan. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees F to 240 F (soft-ball stage).

Stir in chips, marshmallow creme, pecans, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously, making sure chips are melted, until mixture thickens slightly. Pour into prepared pan. Place on wire rack until cool. Cover and refrigerate. Cut into pieces. Makes about 3 pounds.

Happy 34th Birthday, Little Girl!

2009-10-24T08:10:00.001-05:00

At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 24, 1975, I was awakened by a clap of thunder and the unmistakable feel of my water breaking.

Since October 23 is our anniversary, my husband and I had celebrated the day before with pan-fried steaks, baked potatoes, salads, and hot fudge sundaes for dessert. Was that a smart thing to do? Probably not.

After realizing I was in labor, I promptly got up, took a shower, got dressed, and straightened up the house (I was manic!), only sitting down when contractions forced me to stop. At 9:00 a.m. we went to the hospital, and three hours later we had a beautiful 6 pound, 14 ounce baby girl who promptly became the apple of our eyes.

Our beautiful little hazel-eyed, button-nosed brunette is still the apple of our eyes, and we are so proud of her. She is strong, kind, incredibly smart, and funny. She is a wonderful daughter, her brother’s favorite little sister, her grandmother’s “Dollbaby”, her nephew and nieces’ loving Aunt Jenni, a delight to her friends, and the best kitty-mommy in the world. She has a big heart, a gentle soul, and is a joy to know and love. She is fashionable, has impeccable taste, is a decorating guru, a gifted artist, and a very creative cook.

My birthday wish for you is that you enjoy life to the fullest and find the joy that you so richly deserve.

EatSmart Kitchen Scales - Update!

2009-09-04T10:52:00.005-05:00

After several uses, some things I love about my new FREE EatSmart Kitchen Scales are the tare feature, the accuracy, and the ease of cleaning.

When I make muffins for the coffeeshop, in order for them to be a consistent size, I need to weigh the batter. I can press "tare", and it subtracts out the minute weight of the muffin cup.

Even one cranberry can make a difference as I try to make each muffin 6.55 oz; the scales are very accurate.

I can spill blobs of batter on the scales and not worry, because clean up is easy. I just wipe it off and dry it to a nice shine!

EatSmart Kitchen Scales

2009-08-12T22:41:00.013-05:00

Sometimes it really pays to visit other people's blogs. This was the case a few days ago when I commented on a post made by Julia at Dozen Flours. It was the last day of her giveaway, but I wanted to comment anyway on her Upside Down Sweet Cherry Cake, because I am insanely attracted to cherry desserts. She was also giving away the cookbook that contains the recipe, Rustic Fruit Desserts, and kitchen scales from EatSmart Products. So I commented and promptly forgot about it. The next day she notified me that I had won the kitchen scales!

Later I was contacted by EatSmart's Vice President, William Geronimo, who congratulated me and asked me which color I wanted! So not only did I win, but I also got to choose the color--and naturally I chose red to go with my other kitchen appliances.

I bookmarked EatSmart's website, which features high quality digital kitchen and bathroom scales and a digital food and nutrient calculator with a database of the nutrional values of over 1000 foods! EatSmart is very high on customer service, and that always gets my attention.

In my business it is important to bake products that are consistent in size and weight. To accomplish this I weigh cupcakes and muffins prior to baking them. I had been weighing my jumbo muffins on our postal scale, and this involved lugging it out of the drawer, plugging it in, and having it take up space on my counter.

My new red kitchen scales arrived yesterday by priority mail, and batteries were included! YAY! I used them right away, since I was baking muffins. It was so convenient and so precise that adding or subtracting a blueberry made a difference! The scales were easy to clean of the dabs of batter I dropped, and even though I forgot to turn them off, the scales went off after 3 minutes.

These scales are the perfect size to leave on my countertop, are easy to use, featuring measurement modes of grams, kilograms, ounces, and pounds, and will weigh up to 11 pounds. And besides all that, they are pretty!

Thank you Julia and EatSmart!

More Birthday Cupcakes!

2009-08-02T23:05:00.004-05:00

When a friend asked me to make cupcakes for her beautiful step-daughter, Laurel, I was inspired by a forum friend, Emily, and by Annie of Annie's Eats to try butterfly cupcakes as part of the order. Annie has an excellent step-by-step, and although my efforts did not match either Emily's or Annie's, I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

The flavors requested were filled strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla. For the chocolate I made Chocolate Bliss cupcakes with Sour Cream Fudge Buttercream and vanilla mascarpone filling.

Some of the chocolate cupcakes were topped with a molded pink candy rose.

The Vanilla Bean Cream cupcakes were made using my favorite Magnolia Bakery recipe, filled with vanilla mascarpone filling, and topped with Vanilla Bean Buttercream.

Strawberry Bliss cupcakes (Candace Nelson's recipe) were filled with Strawberry Cream filling and topped with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream.

A few of the strawberry cupcakes were adorned with butterflies.

Happy Birthday, Laurel!

Blueberry Streusel Jumbo Muffins

2009-07-06T12:48:00.011-05:00

So far this year it has been my pleasure to bake 65 dozen jumbo muffins. The coffeeshop for which I provide baked goods most often requests blueberry, cranberry orange, and banana pecan. Finding the perfect recipe was a trial and error process, with the kind coffeeshop owner patiently providing feedback after each batch. The first time I tried this recipe, I knew I had a winner. With some minor adjustments to the ingredients, this is the base recipe I use for nearly all muffin requests.

Jumbo Muffins
2-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
5-1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place muffin liners in a 12-cup large muffin pan.

In a large bowl, blend sugar with oil and vanilla. Lightly whisk eggs, then add sour cream and buttermilk and mix together. Add to sugar/oil mixture.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add frozen blueberries and toss until berries are coated. Add all at once to liquid mixture. Fold and blend very lightly, until most of liquid is incorporated but flour is still showing.

With a large ice cream scoop, fill muffin liners with batter, distributing evenly and mounding up. Sprinkle generously with your favorite streusel recipe.

Bake for 10 minutes at 425; lower oven to 400 degrees for 5 minutes; then lower oven to 350 degrees and bake until golden brown or cake tester comes out clean, approximately 15 more minutes, depending on oven. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove to wire rack.

Peach Mango Cupcakes

2009-07-02T20:15:00.009-05:00

Although I still hope to find fresh Oklahoma peaches for an Oklahoma Fresh Peach Pie for the Fourth, I did manage to locate out-of-state peaches that were fragrant and not hard as rocks to use in Fresh Peach Streusel Muffins for a customer. I had a couple of peaches left over, so I decided to try peach puree in place of the strawberry puree in these strawberry cupcakes. I added a ripe mango and ended up with about a cup of puree. The resulting cupcakes were not overly peach-flavored, but they were moist and luscious even without frosting.

But the frosting was wonderful!

I used one stick of softened salted butter, about 3/4 cup of yogurt cheese from Oklahoma's Wagon Creek Creamery, one-fourth to one-third cup of the peach-mango puree, and 5 to 6 cups of powdered sugar. The result was creamy, tangy, and tasted delicately of peach and mango. The consistency was a bit soft to pipe, so I just spread it with a knife.

I found some Fourth of July-themed cupcake liners at Hobby Lobby.

Mom and I shared one; she ate her half with a fork because it was so falling-apart good.

Scouting Out the Competition - Sprinkles

2009-07-01T07:32:00.014-05:00

It is always fun to visit a cupcake bakery and especially one of such celebrity as the Beverly Hills-based Sprinkles Cupcakes. When we were in Dallas recently, we made the trek to the The Plaza at Preston Center, an upscale shopping center where the gourmet cupcake bakery, with its sparse, modern decor, has been in place since 2007.

Candace Nelson, owner of Sprinkles, shared her recipe for strawberry cupcakes with the world on Martha Stewart's show and website. Once I tried the recipe, I was hooked on the moist texture and natural taste--no strawberry jello or cake mix--and with a minor tweak or two this has become my Strawberry Bliss Cupcake, second in popularity to my Vanilla Bean Cream Cupcake. One of my purposes in visiting the bakery was to compare the actual store cupcake to my cupcake.

For Goodness Sake Strawberry Bliss Cupcake
We arrived at mid-afternoon, and there were at least 20 fashionably attired ladies crowded inside the tiny store. My husband stood at a safe distance while I carefully chose my cupcakes. As I started taking pictures of the famed cupcake display, the cool young woman behind the counter said, "I'm sorry, no pictures allowed in here." Huh? But, I replied brilliantly in my best whining tone, I've seen pictures of Sprinkles' displays on blogs. "Sorry, company policy." Not quite the welcoming atmosphere I would strive for in my future bakery!

After choosing four flavors and paying $13.00, I waited impatiently until we reached our hotel before taste-testing. In my haste to sample, I forgot to take pictures of my cupcakes.

My review, in order of preference:
Strawberry - every bit as moist and tasty as mine, naturally colored and fragrant with real strawberries; the frosting was equally luscious.
Red Velvet - tender and moist with a hint of cocoa; especially delicious paired with the Cream Cheese frosting.
Lemon Blueberry - a bit dense with a dominant taste of lemon extract; the blueberries were juicy and flavorful; the Lemon Cream Cheese frosting had the same lemon extract flavor.
Chocolate Marshmallow - least favorite--the chocolate cake was unexceptionally flavored; the chocolate ganache was quite bitter, and it is indeed advertised as bittersweet; the marshmallow was a tiny dollop for which I had to search.
The creamy frosting, with no gritty feel of powdered sugar, is worthy of eating alone.

Sprinkles Cupcakes = very good; Sprinkles Bakery = a bit pretentious

Whole Grains Bread

2009-06-29T23:00:00.017-05:00

I recently purchased Pompanoosuc Porridge Mix, a wonderful concoction of organic steel cut oats, white whole wheat bulgur, and flax seed, from King Arthur Flour. The hot cereal is delicious (and I feel so healthy eating it), but the bonus is the bread recipe on the back of the package. The cooked grains in the dough yield a tender, moist, chewy, crisp-crusted bread.

Although this bread could be titled Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread, I decided to simply call it Whole Grains Bread.

Whole Grains Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour's Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread recipe
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1-1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 cup cooked Pompanoosuc Porridge (could substitute cooked steel cut oats or other cooked cereal)
1 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Mix all ingredients until a smooth, soft dough is formed. Knead a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Let rise in a lightly oiled bowl until doubled, approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down, place on a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly. Form into desired shapes (I made a small dinner loaf and a few sandwich rolls) and let rise for one hour, or until slightly less than doubled. Slash top of loaf and bake in preheated 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes for one large loaf. (I elected to raise the temperature to 400 degrees for 30 minutes for my smaller loaf and sandwich rolls). Remove and cool on wire rack.

Good-Bye to My Big Bud

2009-06-20T07:17:00.004-05:00

My beloved brother, Dan - 1939 - 2009

POM Wonderful Yogurt Rolls

2009-06-14T23:15:00.006-05:00

Do those rolls look just a tiny bit purple? There is a reason for that.

Recently I was offered a case of 100% pomegranate juice from Janny at POM Wonderful. Finding a case of those cute little bottles on my doorstep was a little like Christmas for me!

POM juice can stand alone as a nutritious and attractive drink, nothing added or needed, with an amazing number of health benefits.

Of all the creative uses for POM juice--savory marinades, rich glazes, refreshing drinks--my preoccupation with carbs led me to try the juice in one of my favorite roll recipes.
I adapted the recipe for Soft Yogurt Rolls from Baking Bites. My changes were to substitute 1/4 cup POM juice for part of the warm water, add an egg white instead of the oil, use 3 cups of flour, use 1/2 cup of yogurt instead of a full cup, and add about a teaspoon of minced rosemary. After baking, I lightly brushed the tops with garlic butter.

Besides the funky purple hue, the POM juice added a nice earthy element to the flavor and paired perfectly with the rosemary.

Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls

2009-06-02T10:40:00.003-05:00

All of my baking life, I have tried to emulate my Grandmother's cinnamon rolls. Even though she died when I was 9, long before I was smart enough to ask her for the recipe, the look, smell, and taste of those rolls is still a vivid memory. After many, many pans of roll attempts (and pounds of weight), I have arrived at a method that comes close to Granny's perfection. These old-fashioned cinnamon rolls are my most requested rolls, and I bake them jumbo-style for the coffeeshop on a weekly basis.

My favorite sweet roll recipe, and one I love for tenderness and texture, is one I adapted from Allrecipes. Although I have made the recipe as orange rolls many times (and highly recommend it), I substitute a brown sugar/cinnamon filling and vanilla glaze for cinnamon rolls.

Roll the dough on a floured Silpat to about a 24 inch by 18 inch, 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Spread with melted butter, and sprinkle sugar/cinnamon to within about an inch of the edge.

Carefully roll, jelly-roll style, into a tube and pinch the edge to seal.

Cut the dough into 2 inch slices, using a baker's bench knife.

Place the rolls in a 12 by 17 inch parchment-lined pan.

Let rise until light and nearly doubled in bulk.

Bake rolls at 375-400 degrees (depending on your oven) until brown, usually about 25-30 minutes. Immediately drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.

Birthday Cupcakes!

2009-05-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

These Vanilla Bean Cream Cupcakes were requested by a customer for her friend's birthday.

Last year I made these for her, complete with coordinating window box, ribbon, and candles. Same favorite Vanilla Bean Cream, different design.

For this year's design I used a touch of Wilton's Rose Petal Pink and a 2D tip for the ruffles, Violet and a #16 tip for the ruffled trim, and Willow Green and #22 tip for the "poof".

Mother's Day Treats for Special Mothers

2009-05-09T22:37:00.008-05:00

For Mother's Day, I made Sweet Bites Citrus Streusel Cakes for my mother and Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes for my mother-in-law.

The Sweet Bites are tangy with yogurt from a local creamery and fresh lemon and orange juice, and are drizzled with lemon-orange glaze. The cupcakes are moist and rich with pureed sweet cherries and chopped bittersweet chocolate. Piped chocolate ganache surrounds the neon pink buttercream, which is naturally tinted with some of the pureed cherries.

Happy Mother's Day!

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

2009-05-05T06:30:00.001-05:00

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes!

My version is to substitute lime juice for part of the liquid in Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcake recipe, top with fresh strawberry buttercream enhanced with a splash of Cointreau, and add sparkling sugar around the edges. Tequila may also be added to the cake batter.

Salud! Es muy delicioso!

Lemony Yogurt Cake and Lemon Curd

2009-03-18T13:05:00.011-05:00

Although I am not one of the blogroll members of Tuesdays with Dorie, I do follow their adventures for inspiration. I am also influenced by the blogs of my cooking friends--their quest for the best is infectious. This week my incentive for baking was sparked by TWD's French Yogurt Cake, as featured by HoneyB, and LadyJayPee's Meyer Lemon Curd.

HoneyB gave the French Yogurt Cake an "eh", but her hubby, Grumpy, liked it. In spite of my respect for HoneyB's assessment, I know she does not have the carbo-sweet tooth that I do, and if Grumpy likes it, it must be good.

The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours, and I located the recipe using Amazon's Click-to-Look-Inside feature. My only change was to reduce the oil to 1/3 cup. I loved the instruction to "rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and aromatic" and would highly recommend incorporating this step into any recipe with sugar and zest. The aroma is heavenly.

The cake baked for the full amount of time, and the only flaw was a very slightly deflated center--probably due to my opening the oven door too often to check on it!

HoneyB found the cake to be a bit too sweet (is there such a thing?) with her special icing, and I did not have lemon marmalade to make the glaze specified by the recipe, so I decided to brush on Tart Lemon Glaze, recipe found on the Sunkist website. The glaze is wonderful, but the cake is perfect unadorned.

I would recommend eating this cake the day after baking. The first day it was a bit dry, and the predominant taste was of baking powder. However, today is another matter. Overnight, the baking powder flavor mellowed out, moistness has spread throughout, and it has become, as my Daddy used to say, "good cake". The texture is a mix of sponge cake, pound cake, and quickbread, with a medium crumb that will be perfect for strawberries and whipped cream. The sweetness is subtle, and the loaf-shape makes it entirely too easy to keep cutting small pieces to snack on.

To add another lemony dimension to my day, I made lemon curd from the Eating, Etc blog. I juiced a lemon and a lime to compensate for not finding Meyer lemons in my area, and I used Plugra butter. I followed Lady JayPee's instructions to the letter, even pulling out my Mom's old double boiler.

The curd came together perfectly, and after cooling it for a total of 30 seconds I tasted it--it was eyes-rolling-back good! After cooling, it thickened beautifully and became perfect for filling or eating with a spoon. It is delicious on the Yogurt Cake.

Here is the recipe for the cake, with my modifications:

French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze
1-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup lemon marmalade, strained
1 teaspoon water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter 8-1/2 X 4-1/2 inch loaf pan and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Put sugar and zest in mixing bowl; rub zest into the sugar till sugar is moist and aromatic. Add yogurt, eggs and vanilla and whisk vigorously till mixture is very well blended. Still whisking, add dry ingredients; fold in oil with spatula, blending very well until oil is incorporated. Batter will be thick and smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cake begins to come away from sides of pan—should be golden brown and cake tester inserted will come out clean. Transfer pan to rack and cool for 5 minutes, then remove. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, right side up.

Lemon Marmalade Glaze:
Put marmalade in small saucepan and stir in teaspoon of water. Heat till jelly is hot and liquefied. Using pastry brush, brush cake with glaze.

Crumb Cake Scones

2009-03-09T16:45:00.008-05:00

In spite of my love of cookbooks and my collecting addiction, I had not found a true favorite in several years until I purchased A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman.

One of the many things I love about this cookbook is the fact that her mouth-watering pictures are not sterile, crumb-free renditions of her recipes but instead reveal all the nooks and crannies and non-perfect edges that "normal" bakers achieve. Her photos scream "freshly made" with drips of icing and those moist-looking crumbs that you like to mash with your thumb and eat. She also includes photos of step-by-step techniques for her easy to follow recipe instructions. The introductory "Baking Secrets" is a great read--I felt an immediate affinity with her unpretentious modus operandi.

Each month, I bake variations of one of her scone recipes for a customer, and this past week I dreamed up crumb cake scones.

Here is the recipe with my modifications:

Crumb Cake Scones

Basic Scones
3 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks), cut into small cubes

2 large eggs, slightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup flour

In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Blend with fork or pastry blender to cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Whisk eggs slightly, add vanilla and cream. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Add flour, sugar, salt and baking powder to a food processor and process briefly. Add butter and pulse till mixture has little lumps the size of peas. Put mixture into large bowl and make a well in the center. Mix together whisked eggs, vanilla & cream and add to flour mixture; mix lightly, adding cream if necessary, to make a soft but firm dough, (I use my hands for this). Knead lightly and briefly. Dough will be like a nice cookie dough.

Divide dough into 2 parts. Place one part on floured board & pat into rectangle approximately 12 inches long by 5 inches wide. Sprinkle on half of crumb topping, pressing lightly into dough. On another floured surface, pat remaining half of dough into same size rectangle. Carefully lift with floured hands and floured spatula or baker’s bench knife and place on top of crumb-topped half. Lightly pinch edges to seal. Sprinkle on remaining crumb topping and very lightly press into dough.

To form scones, cut dough in half (I measure and use a baker’s bench knife). Divide each half into thirds and cut each third diagonally to make 12 scones. Carefully lift each scone with floured spatula or bench knife and place 6 scones on each baking sheet, making sure edges are together.

Bake till lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes, switching pans from top to bottom halfway during baking time.

Carefully remove scones to wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then finish with a glaze made from powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, or use this recipe.

Bread Stalker

2009-03-01T20:13:00.010-06:00

A few months ago, I became a follower of The Spiced Life. Laura shares stories of her life as a backdrop to some very appealing recipes. She has many recipes that tempt me including this one for brownies that I adapted slightly and renamed But it is her bread recipes that I stalk, and I've tried two of them with great success.

When I first bit into Maple Oatmeal Bread it immediately became one of the finest breads on the planet. The dough rises cooperatively high. The texture is tender, plumped with whole oats. The taste is slightly sweet and the fragrance hints of syrup--it makes my kitchen smell like pancakes. The recipe lists maple syrup as the signature ingredient, but maple syrup is more expensive than gold here in Oklahoma, so I substitute Griffin's Waffle Syrup. I would like to try this recipe with real maple syrup to see how it affects the flavor.

Buttermilk Cheddar Bread is the bread I made yesterday, and it was perfect for roast beef sandwiches. With one and one-half cups of cheese and one and one-fourth cups of buttermilk, the tanginess is what makes this bread special. The flecks of cheese in the dough baked into an attractive dark brown crust that is irresistibly cheddary.

My subsitutions were honey for the sugar and a three-cheese blend instead of sharp cheddar. I used King Arthur Flour's SAF Gold Instant Yeast for the first time. The yeast, designed to give a "long, strong, steady rise", did just that, yielding a nicely textured loaf, which sliced easily and held up well to sandwich ingredients.

This is a delicious, savory bread, but I could easily make my meal out of the dark cheesy crust.

For Goodness Sake Cupcakes

2009-02-22T00:02:00.004-06:00

Here are some of the cupcakes I made for customers this week.

These are Sweet Bites Cupcakes in Vanilla Bean Cream and Chocolate Fudge, for a baby shower. The colors were blue, brown and white.

These are for a "pink cowgirl"-themed shower. My customer sent a jpg of the shower invitation so I could see the colors of pink and brown.

I decorated Vanilla Bean Cream cupcakes to match the wrapped present.

Chocolate Fudge represented a brown skirt with pink dots and denim lace.

Scouting Out the Competition - Kupcakz

2009-02-01T09:29:00.022-06:00

Yesterday I was in Tulsa, OK, which in spite of being about 15 miles from my hometown remains one of my very favorite places to visit. Wherever I am, I love to check out my "competition" in bakeries to glean tips for my own bakery and to learn from their best practices. This time I chose a relatively new cupcake bakery on the east side of Tulsa, Kupcakz.I spoke at length to the very friendly young woman behind the counter as she enthusiastically shared information about the bakery. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bakery that prescribes to my own baking ethics: bake with only the freshest and most natural ingredients. Kupcakz are baked fresh daily, are never refrigerated or frozen, and are baked with real butter, imported Valrhona chocolate, and from-scratch ingredients. From-scratch? Yes, that includes roasting peanuts to make their own peanut butter, making pastry cream for fillings, making candied pecans, sweetening and toasting coconut. No wonder they are baking cupcakes at 1:30 a.m.

Cupcakes are $2.50 each, $14.50 for a six pack; and $28 for a dozen. I purchased one dozen, for research and development purposes, of course.

I was more than impressed with Kupcakz. With my first bite of Cheeky Monkey, my eyes rolled back in an Oh-my-god moment. It is composed of not-to-sweet yellow cake with real bits of banana, very creamy, non-grainy buttercream, a drizzle of homemade caramel, and whole, crunchy, candied pecans atop the buttercream. The pecans were so good I got goosebumps.

You may find a list of Kupcakz's flavors on this page of their website. I purchased My Peanut Buttercup (the frosting tastes exactly like a peanut butter cup), Lemon Drop, Cheeky Monkey, Boston Dreamer, Sooner than Later (red velvet), Peppermint Maddy, Pretty in Pink, Not a Carrot in the World, Tropical Bliss, and January's Flavor of the Month--Bring on the Heath, which was milk chocolate cake filled with caramel, topped with milk chocolate ganache and homemade toffee, and drizzled with caramel. My husband, who claims to not like cupcakes, ate that one in about 5 bites, declaring it "very good".

Among the lessons I learned from my visit to Kupcakz: using the finest, freshest and from-scratch ingredients is well worth the indulgence, both in customer and personal satisfaction. Although I would offer my Strawberry Bliss, Sweet Pumpkin Bliss, Chocolate Dip Bliss, and Vanilla Bean Cream cupcakes in a throwdown with Kupcakz, I am quite happy that Kupcakz is 100 miles away from For Goodness Sake bakery!

Super Bowl Sunday--It's All About the Food

2009-01-24T11:15:00.010-06:00

Although my favorite football season is now over and my team lost, there is still an upcoming sports event which will again capture my undivided attention. And even though I have little interest in the teams that are playing, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl! Because, you see, it's all about the food on Super Bowl Sunday!

I have been scouring the internet and blogsites (I love cookbooks, but they have sadly taken a back seat to internet and blog recipes) for menu ideas. Here are just a few of the recipes I am considering for our little party.

Beverages
White Wine Citrus Sangria

Noble Pig's Peach Margaritas

Hot Chocolate Martini

Pomegranate Margarita (make mine frozen!)

and for gluten-free cooks, recommendations for gluten-free beers

Savory
Absolute givens: My daughter's Gameday Cajun Chicken Nachos and her Yummy Taco Soup, which I would dip with Tostitos; and my husbands' Pimento Cheese Dip, which is a simple concoction of low-fat, small curd cottage cheese mixed with Price's Pimento Cheese Spread, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and served with Fritos.

Apricot Glazed Meatballs

Hot Sweet Onion Dip and spread on toasted Country French Bread

Holiday (And Any Other Day) Cheeseball

Salsa and Guacamole

Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas

More Natural Chile con Queso

Sausage Cheese Balls

A gluten-free Chili

Crockpot Italian Beef Sammies

Boneless Buffalo Chicken Wings...Sort Of

Mini Burgers

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes

an array of yummy salads

Sweets
White Chocolate Fruit Tart

Lower Fat Vegan Brownies

Ultimate Chocolate Cookies

And a kicked-up version of Rice Krispies treats from David Lebovitz

My biggest dilemma is narrowing the list; but I could make all of them in the name of research and development.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

2009-01-16T07:54:00.049-06:00

A few months ago I blogged about a brownie recipe that contained (gasp!) a full pound of chocolate. Although those decadent brownies were excellent, when a recent customer requested birthday brownies for her husband, I decided to find a different recipe. With brownies currently in the blogging spotlight, it was a fun search.

I found Peanut Butter Cup Brownies. Bittersweet Brownies, mint brownies, even bacon brownies, and a special brownie pan.

The recipe I chose was one featured in The Spiced Life blog. With a few minor tweaks from me, this is the renamed recipe:

Triple Chocolate Brownies

1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
11 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 9 X 13 pan with nonstick spray; line with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso and set aside.

In a large bowl, melt butter in microwave, then add chocolate chips and whisk until smooth. Add sugars and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add 3 eggs into chocolate mixture and very gently whisk until smooth. Add remaining 2 eggs and gently whisk again. Add flour mixture and gently fold with spatula, until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and level batter with spatula.

Bake in center of preheated oven, rotating pan halfway through. Baking time depends on your oven--the recipe states 30 minutes; mine took almost 45. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely before cutting.

Although these brownies are stand-alone delicious, in order to make a nice presentation I sprinkled semisweet chocolate chips over the brownies after they had cooled a few minutes. When the brownies were completely cooled, I drizzled them with white chocolate. After the white chocolate had firmed, I cut into a dozen squares. I had to trim one of the edges ~~so I could try a bite~~ to even it up.

Sweet Dreams

2009-01-03T10:00:00.042-06:00

Strawberry Bliss
By my estimate I baked approximately 1000 cupcakes in 2008--and what fun it was! If I wasn't baking, decorating, or eating cupcakes, I was dreaming up the next new flavor.

Shower Cupcakes and Sweet Pumpkin Bliss

When I started For Goodness Sake Bakery last year, my dream was to eventually open a cupcake bakery. I envisioned people lined up outside my shop, waiting to buy one of my cupcakes, à la Magnolia Bakery, and Martha Stewart calling me to appear on her show, just like Sprinkles owner Candace Nelson.

Scarlet Velveteen and Lemon Cream

The reality is that I am no closer to a cupcake bakery in 2009 than I was in 2008.

The reality is that I was privileged to bake approximately 140 dozen jumbo muffins, 115 dozen jumbo cinnamon rolls, as well as dozens of scones, cobblers, and pies, for a local Java Dave's.

The reality is that For Goodness Sake Bakery became For Goodness Sake Bakery and Catering as I expanded my menu to cater 12 events ranging from sack lunches to brunches to wedding cakes to full menu dinners.

Mississippi Mud and Vanilla Bean Cream

Hot Fudge Sundae and White Velvet

What have I learned from my first year in business? To listen to my family and to my gut. That I am way too hard on myself. That giving 110% is a good thing. That I need better work shoes. That too much sampling leads to weight gain. That discouragement is OK because tomorrow is another day. That creativity with new recipes takes a back seat to customer favorites. And that catering, which initially held little interest for me, is surprisingly satisfying.

Chocolate Dip Bliss and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Sweet Bites

A slightly different direction for my baking passion is anticipated for 2009, as I focus on the catering side of For Goodness Sake and experiment with gluten-free baking. My enthusiasm is building as I research recipes and prepare menus.

Sweet Bites Cupcakes and Pink Blackberry Pearl Sweet Bites

Is the cupcake bakery an unrealistic dream? Perhaps. But as long as the excitement remains, the dream is alive!

Chocolate Fudge

Christmas Gifts Bread

2009-01-02T23:05:00.007-06:00

What to do with Christmas food gifts--a welcome dilemma I face every year.

Pecans are an annual gift, this year from Holdenville, Oklahoma--small, crisp, delicately sweet--those that aren't popped into my mouth go into pies and cookies.

My mother always orders my perennial favorite: Harry & David pears, with a texture so buttery a knife literally slides through a slice--impossibly juicy, ambrosially sweet--and those that aren't eaten out of hand (over the sink, with juice running down to my elbow) go into breads or cakes.

This year, an unusual gift of artisanal Maytag blue cheese--creamy, pungent, exquisitely marbled with blue veins--I savored a small bite as soon as I received it in the mail--sharp on the tongue but mellowing to moist, velvety, tangy goodness.

With a recipe for pear bread in hand, I properly paired the cheese, pears, and pecans to create a fragrant, moist bread; baking transformed the diced pears into little pockets of melted sweetness and the cheese from sharp-flavored to mild.

Blue Cheese Pecan Pear Bread

3 cups flour
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 stick butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
2 very ripe pears, peeled, cored, and finely diced (approximately 2 cups)
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Prepare two 9 inch X 5 inch loaf pans, either with baking spray, oil, shortening, or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs;, add oil, butter, vanilla, and lemon peel. Add to flour/sugar mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in pears, cheese, and pecans. Evenly spoon batter into prepared pans, lightly smoothing out top. Bake 55-60 minutes or until cake tester inserted into middle of bread comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool.

Helen's Danish Kringle

2008-12-29T08:01:00.004-06:00

During the Christmas seasons of my youth, neighbors that lived on our country road brought the best Christmas gifts to us--delicious home-baked cakes, cookies, and candies on foil-lined box lids or doily-covered paper plates. My home economics teacher, Helen, was one of our neighbors, and every year we looked forward to her unique Christmas offering, a slightly sweet yeast dough baked around a brown sugar and nut filling that she called Danish Kringle.

When Helen stopped by, although we enjoyed her company, we waited in keen anticipation for her to leave, politely making small talk while trying not to drool from the enticing yeasty aroma emanating from the kringle. Her car would barely leave the driveway before we tore into the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the still-warm pastry.

After I got married, I tried in vain to duplicate her recipe. Finally I wrote her asking (begging) for the recipe, and she graciously sent it to me. From that handwritten recipe, I have recreated that warm culinary Christmas memory every year.

Helen's Danish Kringle
2 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soft shortening (part butter or margarine)
1/2 cup milk, scalded
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 F)
1 pkg active dry yeast

Measure flour, sugar, salt and shortening/butter into bowl; blend well. Cool milk slightly, then stir in egg yolk. Pour into bowl with first ingredients. Add yeast to warm water and let stand a few minutes. Add to all other ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Scrape down dough from sides of bowl (it will be very soft). Cover tightly and chill 2 to not more than 48 hrs in refrigerator.

Prepare fillings before shaping kringles. Divide dough in two parts. Take out one and return other half to refrigerator. Beat egg white. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 6 inch X 18 inch rectangle. Spread 3" center stripe with half of beaten egg white, then carefully spread with filling. Fold over one side of dough and then the other with 1-1/2 inch lap to cover filling. Pinch dough to close the fold.

Pick up kringle carefully and arrange, seam-side down, on baking sheet (I use parchment paper on the baking sheets) in oval or horseshoe shape, pinching ends for the latter. Shape second kringle as first. Cover and let rise in warm place 30-45 min, or until dent remains when finger is pressed gently on side of dough and dough is no longer cold.

Bake in moderately hot oven (400 F) for 20-30 min or until golden brown.

Spread with powdered sugar icing while hot. Cut in wedges to serve. Makes about 2 dozen servings or 2 kringles.

Fillings:
Pecan
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup finely chopped or ground nuts
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then sprinkle with nuts.

Apple Pecan
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup finely chopped apples
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Sprinkle sugar, then apples and pecans

PizzaBons

2008-11-25T08:16:00.004-06:00

If you find yourself facing turkey glut on the weekend after Thanksgiving, try PizzaBons. Similar to those huge mall cinnamon rolls, these have cheese and pepperoni instead of sugar and cinnamon.

Simply roll out your favorite bread dough, or you may use frozen dough, add pepperoni and cheese and whatever other pizza ingredients you prefer, roll it up, slice and bake.

I used this bread recipe:

4 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp honey
1 cup water, warm (100-110F)
1 cup yogurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, yeast, honey and warm water. Beat on low speed of electric mixer, using paddle attachment (may also be done manually). Add yogurt, vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of remaining flour; beat until smooth. Change to dough hook and gradually stir in more flour until you have a soft dough that sticks together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, or about 5 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and place on lightly floured surface. Using rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Mine was about 24 inches by 16 inches; size will vary.

Add to rolled out dough:
Spread 1/4 cup melted butter (optional)
Sliced pepperoni
Any combination of shredded or grated cheeses
Sprinkle of Italian seasoning and/or garlic powder
Your favorite pizza toppings, such as fresh or sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes
Grated parmesan cheese

Lightly press ingredients into the dough, then roll up dough, jelly-roll style, pinching edges to seal. Cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch slices, then place cut-side up onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 to 400 degree oven (depending on the calibration of your oven) until golden brown.

Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing or marinara sauce as dipping sauce.

Cream Sherry Pumpkin Bread

2008-11-24T08:16:00.006-06:00

Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible is one of those books that inspires me to use an entire box of Post-It flags. Each turn of the page brings a new recipe to challenge or an old recipe with a different twist.

One such recipe is her version of pumpkin bread made with cream sherry. There are so many recipes for pumpkin bread that I usually skip past one listed in a cookbook. But the words Cream and Sherry made this one sound decadent, and I knew I must make it. For research purposes. For my bakery. OK, for myself!

I had to sub dry sherry, but the resulting bread was so good that I ran out and bought a bottle of cream sherry so I can try the recipe with the correct liquid ingredient. I actually stood in the liquor store calculating how many loaves I could make with a 1.5L bottle.

Just as sherry enhances the flavor of savory foods, the sweet earthiness of the pumpkin was intensified so that it was more than just a "pumpkin plus sugar" bread. I selfishly changed up the spices, which include cinnamon, cloves, and coriander, to suit my own palate. I dusted the loaf pan with granulated sugar to make a sugar-crunchy crust.

Although the recipe is copyrighted, you can find a list of the ingredients here on RecipeZaar.

Comfort Food is Fattening

2008-08-21T21:25:00.004-05:00

There is just no denying it--most of the foods I love are fattening. This Hash Brown Casserole is no exception. It is great for breakfast or brunch mixed with browned, crumbled sausage or bacon, and it makes a nice side dish for a beef or pork entree.

The cornflakes crisp up into a light crunchy topping and the tater tots break down into little pieces of tender potato surrounded by a melted queso-like cheese sauce. Tonight we enjoyed it as written with teriyaki greens beans and homemade bread. It is also nicely complemented with either a fruit salad or homemade cranberry sauce.

Hash Brown Casserole
adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) package frozen tater tots, thawed
1/4 cup melted butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded Velveeta cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Topping:
2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients (except topping) in a large bowl. Scoop into a 9 X 13 inch glass pan that has been sprayed with baking spray. Mix crushed cornflakes with melted butter and sprinkle evenly over top of casserole. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbling and center is cooked through.

Big Buns, Part 2

2008-07-24T22:48:00.003-05:00

Since I first wrote about my love of big buns, a cooking friend blogged about a recipe I like even better, Soft Yogurt Sandwich Rolls, from the blogspot of Baking Bites. One tablespoon of oil makes it lower in fat than the other recipe, and the yogurt adds a hint of sourdough without all the work. The dough is supple, easy to handle, and rises high. The result is a tender interior with a soft, slightly chewy crust. The flavor is a little tangy with a touch of sweetness from the honey. I've made it three times in the last month. It is my new favorite roll recipe!

Recently I used the recipe to make rolls for sandwiches. Because I was craving more texture, I added milled flax seeds, ground pecans, and shredded cheddar cheese to the batter.

The resulting bun was no longer low in fat, but it was wholesome and made a sturdy vehicle for juicy tomato slices--pecans added a hearty crumb, and the cheddar made nice little browned crunchy bits on the crust.

Lawsa Mercy

2008-07-18T00:25:00.008-05:00

My Granny Mitchell had a quaint way of expressing shock by declaring in a horrified tone, "Lawsa mercy." I loved to tease her and think up some scandalous tale to astonish her just to hear her reaction. If she wasn't sufficiently shocked, she would just shake her head and say "Laws". To express regret or disgust, "Law, Law" or simply "Mercy" fit the bill.

My "lawsa mercy" moment came yesterday when I made brownies and the recipe specified one pound of chocolate.

The result was a deliciously rich chocolatey brownie that almost had a baked-fudge quality. I made them for a customer and they were difficult to cut into those perfect squares with no squish-marks, so I think they would benefit from an overnight rest before cutting.

Brownies Recipe
from "Tartine" by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson

Kitchen Notes: You can't use a cake tester or toothpick to judge doneness. Because the batter has a high percentage of chocolate, the tester comes out wet even if the brownies are done.

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping (optional) 2 cups nuts such as walnut or pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13 inch glass baking dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. If the heat from the butter does not fully melt the chocolate, put the pan back over the heat for 10 seconds and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color and falls from the beater in a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves on the surface, 4 to 5 minutes.

Alternatively, use a mixing bowl and a whisk to beat the ingredients until the mixture falls from the whisk in a wide ribbon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour and fold it in quickly but gently with the rubber spatula so that you don't deflate the air that's been incorporated into the eggs.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top with the spatula.

If you are using nuts, evenly distribute them across the batter. Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares. The brownies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

Scouting Out the Competition - 1 Smart Cookie

2008-07-18T00:15:00.007-05:00

One of the more pleasurable aspects of starting my own bakery is what I like to call "research". Here's how it works: I search online to find bakeries either locally or in the vicinity of my travel destination. I visit them to view their shops and equipment and to see how their products are displayed. And I taste-test by purchasing one of each item that is comparable to what I sell--cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, brownies, cookies, etc.

It's one of America's dirtiest jobs, but I am compelled to do it.

Ever since I read this newspaper article about 1 Smart Cookie, a local bakery, I knew I had to go check it out. I went at absolutely the wrong time of the day, 4:30 p.m., not the prime hour for a bakery. But in spite of the sparse inventory, I found a good mix of baked goods to sample. The cookies were reasonably priced for a gourmet bakery, and the young man serving me was pleasant and helpful. I happily made my choices, waited as long as I could (till I got back in my car), then consumed an entire sugar cookie before I reached the end of the block.

This is one of 1 Smart Cookie's featured extra-thick sugar cookie cutouts. The star is one of hundreds of shapes available. I like the funkiness of the irregular shape.

The next photo shows the texture, which is slightly chewy, not crumbly like a shortbread; it is soft enough to bite into easily but still substantial--a surprising consistency for such a thick cookie; the taste is not overly sweet and no detectable spices; and it has none of the shortening aftertaste I associate with most commercial cookies. The icing is real icing--very tasty with a slight almond flavor. And the all-important sugar cookie aroma is present, not buttery but an indefinable sweet dough scent.

Below is the array of goodies I purchased--snickerdoodle, chocolate-chocolate chip, lemon sugar, oatmeal, and a lemon bar with a nice streusel-ish topping--all tasted just as good as they appear in the photo:

Based on previous samplings of local bakeries, 1 Smart Cookie wins hands-down. In spite of being purchased late in the day, the cookies still had a fresh taste. And they didn't have that chalky taste present in many bakery products. They tasted homemade, thereby achieving my golden rule of baking: bake for others as you would have them bake for you.

I appreciate good competition--it motivates me to stay on my toes (and to wear stretch pants.)

Recipe Rustlers

2008-05-28T10:57:00.005-05:00

When I lived in Texas, I became fascinated with the Texas rose rustlers, who find and "rescue" roses that have thrived for many years, with little or no attention, in a forgotten place such as an old cemetery or outside an abandoned house or along an fence. One of my favorite rose catalogs comes from this nursery, The Antique Rose Emporium, which was founded with rustled roses.

Many of these roses are antiques, old roses from the past that have survived in spite of neglect. The idea of propagating these roses--bringing these survivors out of the past and into the 21st century, thus preserving the variety--is honorable, in contradiction to the negative connotation of "rustling". But what a great name--The Rose Rustlers.

Some of us have become recipe rustlers. We find an old recipe in a forgotten cookbook, recognize its value, and bring it into our contemporary kitchens, where it again becomes a treasure to share with others.

One such recipe is from one of my oldest cookbooks, Better Homes & Gardens Cakes and Pies, which I received as a wedding gift in 1969.

Recently I spotted my old treasure at the top of my bookshelves and started thumbing through the browned, familiar pages. Several pages are stained with use, evidence of happy hours spent poring over and trying the recipes as a young bride.

Unlike many of today's recipes, I found that most of the cake recipes specified shortening and/or shortening and butter. Although I love using butter in my baking, shortening does provide a tender crumb that is not always present with the use of butter alone.

The recipe I chose to rustle was one for Buttermilk Cake, and the result was such good old-fashioned flavor and texture. The instructions are different from the usual "add dry ingredients to wet" and employ the use of an electric mixer rather than the KitchenAid. And with 6 egg whites, it was a mile-high cake!

Buttermilk Cake

3¾ cup flour
2¼ cup sugar
1½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon soda
1½ teaspoon baking powder
3/8 cup butter
3/8 cup shortening
2¼ teaspoon vanilla
1½ cup buttermilk
6 egg whites

Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl. Add butter, shortening, vanilla, and 3/4 cup buttermilk; beat 2 minutes at medium speed on electric mixer. Add remaining buttermilk and egg whites (I whipped until soft peaks formed then folded into the batter.); beat 2 minutes longer. Bake in 2 greased and lightly floured 8 X 1-1/2 inch round pans in 350F (177C) for 30-35 minutes. Cool and frost.

Spring Peas, Spudnuts, and my Beautiful Mother

2008-05-10T23:43:00.005-05:00

My mother will be 96 years old in July. She lives with my husband and me and is still incredibly young. She is a petite beauty who reads large-print books, writes letters, walks around the house for exercise, goes to the hair salon every week, and amazes her doctors. She is my hero.

One of my favorite culinary memories is watching my Mom shell peas on our porch steps one spring evening when I was 11. My Daddy worked until 9:00 at night in our small town pharmacy, my oldest brother was married, and my teenage brother was probably on a date. Consequently Mom & I were alone many evenings.

She had planted a tiny garden and had a nice little "mess" of spring peas gathered in a bowl. As we sat outside in the growing dusk, she showed me how to shell peas and we quietly talked. When the peas were all ready, we went inside and I watched while she made creamed peas. I'll never forget the taste of those peas--little bursts of sweet starchiness in buttery, creamy sauce. On that spring evening, between the shared sunset, the shared task of shelling, and the shared plate of fresh, simple food, a cherished memory was born.

Another culinary memory is one of her making Spudnuts, which are doughnuts made with potatoes or potato flour; Spudnuts were the Krispy Kremes of the 1960s. My brother was home from college one weekend and requested that Mom make doughnuts, specifically Spudnuts. Although Mom didn't have internet access and had very few cookbooks in her kitchen, she somehow managed to come up with a "copy-cat" recipe made with mashed potato-infused sweet yeast dough. She rolled the dough on her tiny countertop, used a little red doughnut cutter (wish I still had it!) to cut doughnuts, and let them rise on top of the oven. Then she fried them one by one in melted shortening in a deep saucepan and immediately dipped them in powdered sugar glaze. Those doughnuts were better than any we had ever had or that I have had since--I still remember biting into that light, crisp, sweet tenderness with the still-warm icing.

Mom doesn't think she was an inspiration to me in the kitchen. She refers to my grandmothers as the cooks in the family and talks about their incredible cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, and pies. And although replicating their recipes has been my goal for many years, watching Mom in the kitchen is what I remember; by observing her, I learned basic skills, good habits, and the desire to please. Now I remember those days with longing and a touch of sadness, wishing I had paid more attention to what she was doing, wishing I had offered to help her (or even to wash the dishes), and wishing I had told her what a great cook and a wonderful Mother she was.

So on this Mother's Day 2008, I honor my little Mommy, Ruby, and thank her for being my inspiration and for encouraging my passion for baking and my joy in the kitchen. I love you, Mom.

What Do Bakers Do On Their Day Off?

2008-05-06T11:51:00.008-05:00

They watch their garden grow.

They beg their roses to bloom.

They make homemade ice cream.

Then they eat it.

They read other people's blogs!
Here's an interview with the delightful Julia
from A Slice of Cherry Pie

And they wish they could be Molly
of the beautifully written Orangette.

They search for recipes. As if they didn't have enough already.
They read books! OK, they read cookbooks.

And unbelievably, THEY BAKE!

A good vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work. ~Morris Fishbein

It's nice to have a day off. But I know I love baking when, even on my days off, I can't stay out of the kitchen.

Panic-citement

2008-04-20T07:57:00.006-05:00

One of the things that has surprised me the most about building a business is that baking for profit is even more satisfying than baking for "pleasure". In fact, the pleasure is magnified. It is magnified because of the panic that accompanies it (somewhat like the panic/pleasure of a roller-coaster ride). Some days the panic becomes sheer terror.

On those days, my head spins with "will it bake right"--"will I finish on time"--"will it look right"--"will they like it". I hover anxiously near the oven to make sure my cupcakes are rising or the muffins aren't burning, or the juice hasn't bubbled over on the cobbler crust.

The cobbler always bubbles over.
More often than I'd like, the cupcakes fall.
But I haven't burned a muffin. Yet.

Another cause for panic is the customer request: "Can you make...?" to which my answer is always "Certainly, no problem!" Confidence on the outside, fear and trembling inside the apron. But always with the panic is the excitement of the challenge, the creative process of inspiration, planning, and implementation, and the anticipation (and anxiety) of the presentation.

Sometimes I wonder if panic and angst will always be part of my baking ventures. But the utter joy and satisfaction I find in the process (and yes, even the terror) is worth every nail-biting moment. And the worry keeps me from gaining too much weight from sampling the goods.

I Like Big Buns and I Cannot Lie

2008-03-22T07:00:00.004-05:00

Only in a grocery store can one make the statement "I want bigger buns" and make perfect sense. Packaged hamburger buns are tiny; although I didn't whip out my measuring tape, I would estimate they are about 4 inches in diameter. Even the ones labeled "giant" are only a half an inch wider. My hubby makes huge patties for the grill, so the buns must accommodate. The solution? Homemade buns.

The best recipe I've found for homemade hamburger buns is by Marg on RecipeZaar and can be found here. With one bite of a juicy charcoaled ground beef patty wrapped in that BIG, tender bread, fragrant with yeast, the mixing and rising time becomes a distant memory.

This recipe is very adaptable to additions such as whole wheat pastry flour, herbs, sesame seeds or poppy seeds. The last time I made them I added chopped fresh rosemary to the dough.

Try it. You'll never want small buns again.

Happy Mistakes

2008-02-19T09:50:00.006-06:00

I started to call this post "Happy Accidents", but I'm afraid it wasn't like that. It was a full-blown mistake.

My order from the coffee shop was for German Chocolate Cupcakes. Oh sure, that's easy--"no problem" was, I believe, my response. But do you realize how many recipes there are for German Chocolate Cake? I finally settled on Magnolia Bakery's recipe for the cake, and The Domestic Goddess' recipe for the filling, which can be found here.

I first made the filling, which specifies condensed milk along with the traditional ingredients of egg yolks, coconut and pecans. But I got a little bit distracted and added the German Sweet Chocolate into the pan with the rest of the ingredients! It had already melted into yummy, buttery, chocolatey gooey-ness before I noticed my mistake. It was delicious.

Magnolia's recipe is a little bit tender for cupcakes, and some of the cupcakes fell a bit in the middle, but the result is moist, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

After the cupcakes cooled, I dipped them in a nice chocolate glaze, which I found on Allrecipes here and added a generous dollop of the goofed-up chocolate filling on top.

Chocolate overload? Yes; but I sent some of the fallen rejects to the office where my husband works, and in the words of one of the staff, it was "better than sex". You be the judge.

Twice-Baked Cherry Pie

2008-01-26T12:09:00.008-06:00

When I was a kid (not a kid-at-heart, but a real kid) Mom used to make birthday cakes for her friends. Between laundry & ironing and making three meals a day and taking care of the house, she didn’t have a lot of time to bake. A cake mix saved the day for her, and she usually made a yellow cake or a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Nearly every time she made a cake (for someone besides our family), she would have trouble with it sticking to the pan and it would inevitably come out in pieces. She would do her best to artfully cover the cake with icing, while bitterly railing about the fact that “every time I make a cake for someone else it has to stick!” and how it always came out perfect if it was staying at our house. I would philosophically tell her that no one really cared as long as it tasted good and secretly wonder why it upset her so.

I suspect that Mom’s time constraints took their toll on her extra-curricular baking by causing her to hurry. Hurrying is a deal breaker in the kitchen.

Since starting a baking business last year, I have had ample reason to recall those early memories. An excellent example is a recent order for a cherry pie.

I consider cherry pie to be my trump card in the world of baking. I found a recipe many years ago that produces a near-perfect replica of my Granny Mitchell’s cherry pie—tart cherries in a sweet almond-scented filling, all encased in a golden flaky crust. I’ve never had a failure in a cherry pie. That is, until yesterday.

I planned to bake the pie and deliver it, warm and fragrant, to the restaurant. Everything went fine—I even took a picture of the pre-baked pie as well as the finished product, visualizing a triumphant blog post anchored by pictures of a magnificent pie.

Here is the pie waiting to be baked into glorious perfection.

What proved to be my undoing was the same problem that faced my mother so long ago—I got in a hurry. Baking is an art that should never be sandwiched in between appointments, and that’s what I tried to do. Poor scheduling caused me to pull that exquisite pie out of the oven before the juice, sugar, and flour had a chance to bubble into the ideal gel that encompasses and complements the tart cherries.

Here, the pie looks done, but the deceptive façade masks the watery filling beneath.

Yes, I said watery. Hours after I delivered the pie to the restaurant, I returned to deliver some other goods, and I happened to look at my pie displayed inside a glass dome. Where one would normally see a glistening ooze of lovely pie gel, there was a pool of reddish-pink water. Ewwwww. I snatched up the pie to take it home, telling the astonished but tolerant owners that I would bring them another one in the morning.

When I got home, Mom, bless her heart, took one look at the pie and said, “You just need to bake it a little longer, it’ll be fine.” So that’s what I did, and 20 minutes later the pie was fine and tasted quite delicious in fact. So we kept that one and ate it. I made the restaurant another cherry pie--took my time and baked it properly.

Lesson learned? Don't hurry--a good thing to remember about many things.

Bakery is still burgeoning.

Gimme Some of That Eggnog!

2007-12-19T11:18:00.005-06:00

This is actually about Christmas spirit--no, not the liquor kind of spirit. Although I did find some REALLY good pomegranate liqueur the other day; but I digress.

This is about the Christmas spirit I didn't have this holiday season. You know, the kind that is precipitated by warm childhood memories, the Clydesdale horse commercial, It's a Wonderful Life reruns, and the rich, nutmeg-y smell of eggnog. I didn't have the Christmas spirit that I expect every Christmas season, and it was beginning to bother me.

Even the normal kitchen activities--baking those great cranberry-dotted breads, big thick, soft sugar cookies, melting chocolate for candies--enjoyable as they were, didn't bring it on. In fact, all my warm fuzzy memories of Christmases past were making me downright melancholy.

What finally coaxed my lazy spirit into being was not hearing Bing sing "White Christmas" or the ambrosial steam from a glass of wassail or placing the old quilt as a blanket under the Christmas tree. It was a comment from an acquaintance about some discouragement she was experiencing. With my heartfelt "buck up--it'll get better", my elusive Christmas spirit came bouncing back, as comfortable and familiar as my favorite pair of musical Christmas socks. My gift to her was encouragement, and with that humble gift, my spirit was gifted in return.

Not finding my Christmas spirit in nostalgic expectations led to something infinitely more lasting for me.

And getting back to the eggnog...although I don't bake with cake mixes as much as I used to, this is a nice recipe for Eggnog Pound Cake that I found on Allrecipes.com.

Eggnog Pound Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup eggnog
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, combine ingredients and beat on low until moistened, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack.

I drizzled an icing of powdered sugar, butter, eggnog, and butterscotch schnappes (now that's Christmas spirit!)

"Pumpking" Pie

2007-12-09T17:17:00.006-06:00

Yes I know it's misspelled. Every time I type "pumpkin" it just seems natural to add a "g". I actually saw it misspelled the same way on another website just last week.

My opportunities to misspell pumpkin were numerous before Thanksgiving because I made a list of all the pumpkin possibilities I wanted to try for Thanksgiving dinner. My choices ranged from Pumpkin Cheesecake to Pumpkin Streusel pie to pumpkin pudding, just to name a few. Oh, and pumpkin cupcakes.

I think I gave myself too many pumpkin choices, because along with Honey Crunch Pecan Pie, Apple Crumble Pie, Sugar Cookie Cutouts, and Sweet Pumpkin Cupcakes, I ended up making a plain and simple Libby's pumpkin pie. With the other, more interesting desserts on the table, just a few pieces were eaten, including the sliver I got (just to make sure it was OK, mind you). After dinner, I put it in one of the refrigerator drawers, then forgot about it until three days later. By that time, I was worried that it was past its prime, so I furtively threw it into the trash (I had to be furtive because Hubby was looking for it.)

Because Hubby had asked so plaintively for his pumpkin (I just typed pumpking again) pie, I decided to make another pumpkin pie on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I wanted to try something different, because now I had the time to start testing those other pumpkin recipes that I had eyed so avidly while planning the Thanksgiving menu. I chose a pumpkin pie recipe that listed honey as the sweetener. It baked up beautifully and I proudly served it up. Hubby always has his pie top-heavy with Cool Whip, and as long as it tastes like pumpkin, he is happy. (After all, this is the man that, on a distant past Thanksgiving when I was so sick I forgot add sugar to the pumpkin pie, did not notice because most of his mouthfuls were filled with airy bites of faux whipped cream.) I had two pieces of the honey pumpkin pie, because I was pumpkin hungry, and it was good.

Now here is the sad truth: I missed my Libby's pie. That pie--the one I threw away--was really good. It was the old tried and true recipe, with the good, earthy mouth-feel of pumpkin, just the right amount of sugar, and the familiar--and perfect--blend of spices.

So next year, with the possible exception of a pumpkin cheesecake, I think I will stick with Libby's "Pump-King" Pie--why mess with perfection?

The Bread Whisperer

2007-11-08T12:37:00.011-06:00

Coaxing bread to rise...somewhat like making a pie crust, it mocks the confidence of the most experienced baker. While reaching around to pat myself on the back, I will state that I find it easy and enjoyable. My secret? I think there are 3 elements to successful bread-making:

- Proofing the yeast
- Creating the atmosphere
- Relaxing in the moment

I used to buy Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast, and I still think it is a good product. Now that I consider myself a fancy professional and think I need more exclusive (expensive) elements in my kitchen, I order the good stuff--SAF Gold Instant Yeast--from King Arthur Flour. It is available in a one pound package and doesn't last long in my kitchen, so I buy two packages at a time. My very favorite yeast is Fermipan, but it is hard to find.

The whole proofing process is just so darned easy, I almost hate to reveal it. Simply get a cup of warm water from the tap, add a teaspoon of sugar, and add the yeast. Mix it well, and let it sit. Within 10 minutes a bubbling, fragrant mass rises above the water and is ready to add to the remainder of the recipe ingredients. Proofing the yeast used to be essential to ensure that the yeast was still alive. I know that with my mega-yeast, this step is really unnecessary. But it is part of the Bread Whisperer's routine.

The atmosphere in which bread can rise is one that Goldilocks would approve--it is neither too hot nor too cold. Bread dough seems to like my cold oven with the oven light on--the light provides just enough warmth. Sometimes I simply place the dough beneath my under-counter light, and that also works well. Make your dough comfy, and it will thank you.

Making bread is my glass of wine. How satisfying it is to whisper yeast and flour into dough that I can play with, loll about the kitchen while it rises, breathe its ambrosial scent while it bakes, and then butter a slice straight from the oven...really, I shouldn't get paid for this.

Put Some Clothes on that Candy!

2007-11-08T07:57:00.008-06:00

"Sexy" doesn’t just describe an attractive person anymore—it seems to be the new slang word for anything that is new and exciting—from cars to wines to ad campaigns. Sexy is the new “innovative”. So I guess I wasn’t surprised to find this title for a recipe in a church cookbook:

Sam’s Sensual Spice Cookies

Now most church cookbooks will have recipes like “Sinful Fudge” and the ubiquitous “Better Than Sex Cake”, but sensual?

With that in mind I attempted to photographPecan Praline Fudge as both “sexy” and “wholesome”. Here are the results:

Sexy

Wholesome

So food is now “sexy”. I wonder what my Granny Mitchell would think about that...

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

2007-11-06T13:52:00.006-06:00

Is there anything wrong with getting your acceptance speech ready? I daydreamed today about building my dream house. The funds for the house will be supplied by my baking business, which is still in development. Somewhat like an actor at an awards show, I'm already planning to win.

Baking is my joy. Now that I'm trying to make a business of it, I find that the aspects of creating the business are way too much fun. Composing pricelists, photographing my creations, designing a website to advertise and a blog to journal--these enterprises are enjoyable and time consuming. One activity often leads to another idea, another path, another development--and more time consumed.

Visualizing success is something I do well; so well, in fact, that by now I should be fabulously successful. My challenge lies somewhere between planning the success and celebrating the success--in the myriad of details that are such a pleasurable diversion from the completion of just one project.

In the meantime, baking continues to be my joy. I just hope I have enough time for it...