Molly's Recipes

Sour Cream Apple Pie

2012-02-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

An apple orchard with Mount Hood
in the background.

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This is an old time Oregon recipe.

1 pie shell, unbaked

3 cups apple slices
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar
1 dash of salt
2 Tbls flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine and place into the pie shell.
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.
Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until the apples are partially cooked.

Then combine:

1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Pour over the partially cooked apple pie.
Reduce heat to 325 and bake until set.

French Pastry Cookies

2012-02-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Two Sisters, or on the Terrace, 1881

by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I don't know where this recipe came from, but it was in my recipe box and was hand written by someone other than me. It looks very tasty.

Dough:

2 cups flour
1 cup sour cream
1 cup butter, softened

Mix up the dough, divide into two balls, wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Roll out each dough into a circle and sprinkle with filling.
Cut into wedges and roll up like crescent rolls.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Rice Beef Stroganov

2012-02-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

Portrait of Count Pavel Stroganov

Another old recipe. The card was written by Riley, and he put five stars at the top, so it must be good.

9 ounces of lean round steak, sliced thin and tossed in some flour.

Brown the meat, and then add:

2 cups water
1 package of onion soup mix
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 cup sherry
4 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup rice

Cover and cook until the rice is done, about 20 minutes.

Eggplant Italiano

2012-02-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't made this in years. Found the recipe in an old recipe box. It was one of my favorites in the past. I got the recipe from Elli Patella, who was married to Denny. Elli is Jewish and Denny is Italian, so I imagine she got the recipe from someone like her mother-in-law.

Marinera Sauce:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 pint of stewed tomatoes, mashed
salt, pepper, oregano, and sweet basil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 eggplant, sliced
1 pound of mozzarella, sliced
Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil as lightly as possible.
Arrange the slices in a single layer in a large baking dish.
Bake in the oven while making the Marinera sauce.
When sauce is ready, pour it over the eggplant, they layer the cheese on top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

note: if making for children, you can peel the eggplant. Well you can peel it even if not making for children, if you like.

Gramma’s Special Rolled Cookies

2011-12-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

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This recipe was originally a winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off some time in the late 50s or early 60s. I’m not sure what exactly the first recipe was like, but then my Mom is not known for tweeking recipes.

These are just about my favourite cookies. The only cookies that might beat it out for first are the macaroons at Ladurree in Paris. But what could compete with that?

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (new addition to the recipe)

glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup strong coffee
1/4 cup honey

ground almonds

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the zest and orange juice. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture. Divide the dough into about 3 blobs and wrap each with plastic wrap and form into flattened discs and chill for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make the glaze by heating all the ingredients in a small sauce pan until the sugar melts. Roll out the dough to about 1/6 inch and cut with a cookie cutter. A crescent or moon is a very nice choice. Bake for about 7 minutes, until just golden brown. While the cookies are still warm, brush on the glaze and then liberally sprinkle on the almonds. Let the cookies cool and set.

You need to keep an eye on the baking cookies, as they can burn quickly, being so thin. Also, to apply the almonds I often just take the glazed cookie and turn it upside down on the dish of almonds to get a nice coating. Once the cookies are glazed, almonded, and cooled, they are sturdier.

Chocolate Roulade

2011-12-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

my Christmas cake

I got this recipe from a friend in Hong Kong, Chris Duggan. Her family went to our church, St. Andrews, and we went to a Bible study at their house. Brian, her husband, was an engineering professor at the University of Hong Kong. They were from Birmingham England. She is an excellent British cook. This recipe is not like any other chocolate roulade I've seen. I've made it as our buche to Noel for years. I once made one five feet long for a co-workers 50th birthday, which of course is nothing compared to the one pictured below.
Cake:
6 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 ounces cocoa

Filling:
4 ounces chocolate, like chocolate chips or bar
2 tablespoons liquid, like brandy

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Find a jelly roll pan, they seem to come in all sizes.
Grease the pan a little, then put in a piece of parchment paper that comes up over the edges of the pan.
Grease the paper lightly.

Beat the egg yolks and the sugar and vanilla until very light yellow.
Add the vanilla and the cocoa. This will make a rather stiff mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff, but not too stiff.
Dump the egg whites into the bowl with the yolks and fold the two together.

Spread the batter into the pan, and bake for about 20 minutes. Because pans differ, time differs.
Not long after taking the cake out of the oven, lift up the cake by the paper onto a cooling rack. When the cake is sufficiently cooled sprinkle granulated sugar onto the cake (not too much) and then place a tea towel over the cake and carefully flip the cake over. The gently peel off the parchment paper. The cake can rest for a while like this.

Assembling the cake

Whip the cream and the sugar until nice and stiff, but not so stiff it's almost butter.
Put the chocolate and the liquid into a glass dish and put into the microwave for a little while, not long. You can sneak up on it. Don't get the chocolate too hot as it can solidify. Stir up the chocolate mixture until smooth and using the back of the spoon, spread the melted chocolate over the cake.
Using a frosting spatula spread some, but not all, of the cream over the chocolate. Then, using the tea towel as a help, roll up the cake and carefully get it onto a platter. Don't worry about any cracks, as the whipped cream will cover them. Put on the rest of the cream. I like to reserve some of the cream so that I can pipe it on the cake, like around the ends and along the sides.

For a special decoration I like to add chocolate leaves on the top. You melt up a handful of chocolate chips with a dab of shortening. Then get come camellia leaves, wash and dry them, and gently apply some chocolate to the bottom of the leaf, using the back of a small spoon. Place the leaves on a small plate and put into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Then carefully remove the leaves and place on the cake. Be as artistic as you like.

pumpkin pie

2011-11-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

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1 unbaked pie crust

3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
15 ounces pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups half & half (light cream)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all the filling ingredients.
Pour filling into the crust and carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes. The pie is done when a thin knit inserted near the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

2011-11-23T17:38:00.000-08:00

Pie Crust:
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 tsp salt
3/4 stick butter, cold and cut into small chunks

1 Tbl shortening (this helps keep the crust consistent)
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Crust: combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and shortening and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle on the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Use your hand to press the whole thing together when done. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten to a disc, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Cover the disc of dough with flour and roll out on a piece of waxed paper into a circle. It will be a little bigger that the waxed paper. Using the waxed paper, flip the dough over and into a 9-inch pie plate. Carefully press the dough into the plate so it fits tightly and tuck under the excess dough and crimp the edges.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Filling: melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, remove from heat and let cool. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until frothy and then blend in the sugar. Stir in the corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, salt, and the melted butter mixture until well blended.

Arrange the pecans on the pie crust and carefully pour the egg mixture over them. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set and rather puffy. Cool the pie completely.

Apple Pie

2011-11-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

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I love a good apple pie. But I’ve found that most are too sweet for my taste. And I absolutely abhor apple pie made with canned apples. So if you like a sweet sweet apple pie, this isn’t it.

2 pie crust discs, unbaked
2 pounds of green apples, like Granny Smiths or Newtons
peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
2-3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cream or milk
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prep the apples and have them in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon, flour and mix well
Toss this mixture all over the apples and gently stir to mix well.
Put into the unbaked pie crust, and dot with butter.
Add the second crust, crimp, and trim. Add a few air vents by slitting the top.
Using a pastry brush or wadded up piece of plastic wrap, gently cover the top crust with some milk or cream.
Sprinkle sugar lightly over the top.
Bake for about 50-55 minutes.

Homemade Applesauce

2011-10-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

"Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings."

Psalm 17:8

I've been making applesauce each year for I don't know how long. Where I live there are plenty of apples every fall. Just about any kind you could want. I always mix apples for my applesauce because they each have their own quality. Now some apples I never use, like red or yellow delicious, or Rome apples. It's not that I have anything against them, they just seem more like eating apples than cooking apples. I have an absolute passion for a good yellow delicious with cheese, and they make a nice tart tatin also. But anyway, I always include either gravenstiens, or newtons, or granny smiths. The rest that I include are usually very red, because those add sweetness and color.

Obviously one doesn't need a real recipe for making applesauce, and it's all about taste. But for what it's worth here's the ratio I used.

25 pounds of apples, about 5 pounds each of 5 different kinds, some green, some red

2-3 cups of white sugar, you can use brown sugar if you like
1 tablespoon cinnamon, whatever kind you have
5 cups of good natural apple cider

equipment needed:

good paring knife
a large bowl, I use a McCoy bowl

two large pots with lids and a heavy bottom, like a brazier or a rondeau - if you use a pot with a thin bottom you will likely burn some apples

a large slotted spoon, or just a large spoon
a food mill

a smaller sturdy bowl for setting the food mill over, I use a smaller McCoy with a spout and a handle

a large roasting oven - they've been making the same thing for decades, mine holds 20 quarts and I can use it just like any oven.

20 pint size jars, preferably wide mouth, with matching rings and lids

clean tea towels for wiping off the rings and lids and jar rims, and for setting the jars on
a large ladle for scooping the hot applesauce into the jars
a large pot with water to put on the stove with the lids and rings in it to sterilize them
a canning funnel

a canning pot, filled with water

a jar lifter - essential for getting the jars out of the boiling water

twongs or a magnetic stick for getting the lids and rings out of the boiling water

Now you must admit that's an awful lot of things, just to can up some applesauce. But that's the way it is.

Day One:

The first thing to do is get the apples all cooked up.
Fill the sink with cold water and put in a load of apples.

Taking the paring knife and the apples one at a time, quarter the apple, and for each quarter remove the stemy bits and the seeds, and cut it in half the long ways. So what you have is that each apple is cut into eight wedges. When you've got that batch cut and trimmed, put into a big pot, add a cup of apple cider, put on the lid and cook on medium to low heat until the apples are all nice a mushy. While the first batch is cooking, cut and trim the next patch. If the first batch is done cooking (check every so often) before you are ready to cook the second batch, just turn the heat off and leave for a bit.

Then, when you have the second batch cooking, start to process the first cooked batch in the food mill. Place the food mill over the smaller McCoy bowl, then fill the mill with mooshed apples and grind away, putting the applesauce into the roasting oven when the bowl fills. When you are done mooshing the whole batch, clean the food mill so it's ready for the next batch.

Notice the different colors of sauce from the different apples?

Continue like this until all the apples are cooked. Then add the sugar and the cinnamon. Give the mixture a good stir to get everything intermingled, and turn on the roasting oven. Cook at about 300 degrees, until all the applesauce is nice and hot, and the sugar is clearly melted. Taste it and see how you like it. You can add more sugar or more cinnamon if you like. But remember, these things can be added later when you are serving the applesauce, as long as you heat it up a bit to melt the sugar.

At this point I turn off the roaster, put on the lid, and leave over night. This is because I am a bit weary and need a break. The applesauce will be just fine like this. Just don't leave it for days.

Next Day:

Heat the applesauce back up to a nice heat, but be careful not to over cook and scorch the applesauce. At the same time, put all the jars and rings into the dishwasher and run it. Then, when the sauce is nice and hot, and the jars are washed, prepare to put the sauce in jars and can it.

First, it's good to tie some twine onto the jar holder handles in the canner. This is so you can lift it out of the water without a major disaster. Get the canner about 2/3rds full of water and place on the stove and bring to a boil.

Put the jar lids and rings in a large pot (large enough to hold the rings and lids), cover with water and heat up on the stove to sterilize. Leave them in the water and just pull out as needed, so they stay sterilized.

Then set a folded in half tea towel near the roaster, place the jars on the tea towel. Get the funnel and set on to a jar. Using the big ladle, scoop applesauce into the jar. Now hopefully your applesauce is nice and hot, so don't hold on to the jar, as it will heat right up. When the applesauce is to a 1/2 to a 1/4 inch from the top, remove the funnel and carefully place it on the next empty jar. The reason for carefulness is so that you don't get applesauce on the rim of the jar. This is why the wide mouth jars, they're easier to avoid hitting the rim (as well as easier for kids to scoop out applesauce later). Then take the clean tea towel, dip the tip of the edge into the very hot water, then touch the wet edge to a dry spot to make sure it's not dripping, and then use this hot wet edge to wipe around the edge of the filled jar to make sure that there is nothing on it. Then remove a lid from the water, carefully dry it off, and place on the filled jar. Next, remove a ring from the water, carefully dry it off, and screw onto the jar, and make sure it's on tight. This is tricky, as the jar is hot. Move onto the next jar, until all the jars are filled, or all the applesauce is canned up.

Then, when the water in the big canning pot is very very hot, and you have at least seven jars done, put the jars into the canner, lower them into the water. Make sure that the "not too long"

pieces of twine tied to the handles on the jar holding rack are sticking out of the pot. If there is not enough water to cover the jars, add water to about 1 inch above the jars. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil the jars for 12 to 15 minutes. The point is to get everything in the jars very very hot. When the time is up, using the twine, firmly grabbed onto, lift up the jars. Using the jar holder, remove the jars to a tea towel. Leave them there until they are cool.

Now the final thing is to be sure that the jars are sealed. The lids will make a click sound when they shrink into place. This can take a while, as it happens as the jars cool a bit. But the ultimate test to see that the lids have sunk down is to you tap your finger on the top of the jar. It should make a dull thud sound, and there is no movement of the lid.

There you have it - a whole years supply of applesauce.

My husband wants me to tell you that the applesauce warm on ice cream is very delicious. We also just eat it, or put it on toast, or pancakes, or French toast, or waffles, or crepes, or yogurt, or pork chops, or sausages, or ..... bon appétit.

p.s. At the rate my family is eating up the applesauce I think maybe it's maybe 9 months supply of applesauce, and I actually ended up canning 60 pounds of apples.

"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness."

Jane Austen

Fruit Cocktail Pie

2011-06-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Another recipe from way back in the past. I think my mother used to make this, but I bet if I ask her she'll say "I don't know". But anyway, I think it is really yummy! Though perhaps a bit sweet for this day and age.

1 can of fruit cocktail, drained
1 cup flour
1/2 - 1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and butter a pie plate.
Combine the non-topping ingredients and put the mixture into the buttered pie plate.
Mix the brown sugar and nuts and sprinkle on top.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
Cool.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Fruit Cocktail Cookies

2011-06-18T09:48:00.001-07:00

This is a very unusual recipe from out of my past.

1/2 cup buter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 can fruit cocktail, drained (probably a 16 oz can)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs.
Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.
Stir in the pecans and then drained fruit cocktail.
Put dollops onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.

Spritzferdunkinginyournognwasail or Christmans Spritz

2011-06-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

This is a cookie Riley and I came up with, I think I did the recipe and he did the name

2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

1 Tbl vanilla
1 tsp almond extract

2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sale
4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.

These, of course, go into the spritz machine, which doesn't always work as well as one would like. Maybe chilling the dough might help, maybe not. Do the best you can.

Bake the cookies until done, but not browned at all. This is about 7 minutes.
Can make about 8 dozen cookies.

Morning Cake

2011-06-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

I used to make this all the time when my girls were little. It's funny how one stops making things. This is a picture of me and my young girls on our front steps.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup milk

topping:
2 Tbls butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.
Cream the butter and sugar and eggs.
Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients alternately to the creamed mixture with the milk.
Spoon into the pan, sprinkle the topping on, and bake for 30 minutes.

Toffee Shortbread

2011-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

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I believe this recipe came to me inside a Christmas card. Well I've altered it some what, as I am always wont to do.

2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar or organic raw sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla.
Then add the flour.
Spread on a parchment lined jelly roll pan or 9x13 baking pan.
The reason for the parchment is so you can easily lift out the cooked bar to place on a cutting board to cut into squares.

As a second method I would put all the ingredients into a food processor and give it some good blitzes, until the mixture looked like a homogenous mixture and then spread out evenly in the jelly roll pan and press evenly in the pan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes. The reason for the big range of time is because of the big range in the size of pans people might choose. Not all jelly roll pans are the same size. Don't over-bake. When mostly done take from oven and sprinkle with 4-6 ounces of chocolate chips and put back into the oven for a minute to melt the chips. Gently spread the melted chocolate around, then sprinkle about a 1/2 cup of chopped nuts - walnuts or pecans or filberts, whatever you like.

When cool, lift out onto a cutting board and cut up however you like.

Sarah's Black Bean Salsa

2011-06-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

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This is made by my daughter Sarah, and there's no exact quantities, but any good approximation is really really yummy. I can eat this until someone puts it away.

1 - 2 can of black beans
frozen corn
diced tomatoes, at least 2 big tomatoes
red onion, finely diced
avocado, diced
jalapeno, finely diced, 1 should do
cilantro, chopped up
lime juice, 1 or 2 limes
olive oil, just a little bit

Put the black beans and the frozen corn into a strainer and run warm water over them. This is to rinse the beans and help thaw the corn. Put into an appropriate sized bowl and add the remaining ingredients and mix gently. You've noticed that there are almost no quantities given. Sarah doesn't have any. She just puts these things together and there you have it. Serve just as it is, or with chips of any kind.

This type of recipe is very popular on the Food Network. Paula Deen, Emeril Legasse, and Rachael Ray all have a good looking recipe for this. And I saw a recipe that used mango, and that sounded pretty darn good also.

Tapioca Pudding

2011-05-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

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This has always been a huge favorite with my family. And it was one of my favorites when I was a child. We're not talking here about that thick gloppy stuff you get commercially. Real tapioca pudding is light and fluffy, kind of like a cloud. The measurements are not written in stone. You can alter things somewhat as you please. I often made this later in the evening, when everyone thought having a bit of dessert would be nice.

1/2 cup tapioca
1 cup water

3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar (a little more if you like sweet)
3 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

In a saucepan put the tapioca and the water and let it sit a bit, while you do other things.
Measure out the milk in a bowl or measuring pitcher. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks into the milk and the whites into an electric mixing bowl, like a KitchenAid mixer.

Add half the sugar to the egg whites and if you have a stand mixer start the egg whites beating, letting it go until they're nice and fluffy. I do this while putting the milk and yolks and tapioca on the stove to cook. If you don't have a stand mixer, then get the egg whites beaten before starting to cook the rest.

Beat up the milk and yolks and remaining sugar and add to the saucepan with the tapioca and water.
Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil, stirring with a whisk fairly constantly.
When it has come to a boil, remove from the stove and stir in the vanilla and pinch of salt.

Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg whites, whisking constantly.
Let cool for a while before serving. This can be made shortly before dinner, and it will still be warm by dessert time. It is really nice eaten warm. I dish it into Chinese soup bowls, or other little bowls. Seconds are always okay.

Sarah's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-05-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

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This is most assuredly the very first original recipe by my youngest daughter, Sarah. She's surely made many more since. Based on the book I wrote this down in, she was likely not quite 6 years old at the time.

2 sticks of butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp black walnut extract
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
8 oz chocolate chips
2 oz walnuts, chopped up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar and eggs.
Mix in the extracts.
Combine the dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.
Stir in the chocolate chips and the nuts.
Put daubs of dough onto cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes.
Cool on a baking wrack.

Morning Glory Muffins à la Molly

2011-05-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

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This is probably my take on a classic old muffin recipe from the 70s.

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup golden raisins, plumped in a bit of brandy
1 large apple, peeled and shredded
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat to 370 degrees.
Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the coconut, raisins, apple, carrots, and nuts, and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil and vanilla.
Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well.
Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with muffin papers.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
These taste even better the next day.

Crème Pâtissière - pastry cream

2011-05-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

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This is really yummy stuff. I use it for princess cake or stuffing cream puffs or put as the base of a fruit tart or ...

5 oz milk - see note
1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk

1-2 tablespoons butter (optional, used for richness)

note: the 5 oz milk plus the 2 tablespoons milk = 3/4 cup milk. So just measure out the 3/4 cup, remove the 2 tablespoons to a small dish, and you're good to go.

Scald the 5 oz of milk in a saucepan.
Combine the 2 tablespoons milk, cornflour, salt, sugar, egg yolk.
With the milk on medium low heat slowly wisk in the other ingredients and cook until the right consistency.
At this point you may add a flavoring of your choice if you like - vanilla, almond, orange, etc.
Stir in butter, if desired, and chill.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

2011-05-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

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This is an awesome decadent dessert for a dinner party. It's easy and impressive and people really like it. It can easily be made as the second dessert, as two desserts are better than one à mon avis.

8 oz chocolate, semi-sweet or dark - your choice
2 oz butter (or 2 1/2)
1 Tbl flour
1 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl brandy
2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tbl sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Grease the bottom of a 5 1/2 - 6 inch loose bottom pan.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler,
or a glass bowl placed over steaming water.
Add the flour, sugar, and brandy and blend well.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not brittle.
Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites.
Turn into the pan and bake for 15 minutes.
The cake will look a bit undone.
Let cool and chill.

When ready to serve, whip the cream and sugar and vanilla until fairly stiff, but not butter, and place on top.
The cake will likely have sunk in the middle, and placing the whipped cream on top fills in the sunken area beautifully.

If you double the recipe use an 8 inch pan and cook for a bit longer, say 20 minutes.

White Mountain Frosting

2011-05-25T23:34:00.000-07:00

My children always loved this frosting. But I have to tell you right up front, it's a bit tricky.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 Tbls water
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan.
Cover and heat over medium heat, till it comes to a good boil.
Uncover and heat to 242 degrees.
While heating the sugar, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, but not brittle.
When the sugar is hot enough, with the egg whites still being beaten, slowly pour the hot sugar mixture over the whites in a very thin stream. When thoroughly incorporated, add the vanilla. Beat on high speed until nice and stiff.

Quiche

2011-05-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to find that I had never posted quiche. I make it fairly often, but probably never the same quiche twice. So this will just be a general instructions kind of recipe. Quiche Lorraine is of course the most common, a great starting off point. This is a picture of Maria Teresa of Habsburg Lorraine. I believe Marie Antoinette had the same title, maybe the two are the same person. I'll have to look into that.

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 stick cold butter, diced up
2 Tbls shortening (to keep the crust in line)
2 - 3 Tbls iced water

Filling:
this is the whatever you like and have on hand
for example:
- onion
- leeks
- zucchini
- cherry tomatoes
- yellow squash
- mushrooms
- ham
- bacon
- shrimp
- whatever

plus cheese - whatever kind is in the regrigerator
- my favorites are Gruyère or Swiss or Cheddar or Monteray Jack
- or you name it.

Then you need the custard:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk, whole milk is good, or you can make part of this cream (the less fat, the more likely the quiche will curdle just a bit, this is okay, but not the most desirable)
pinch of salt
some nutmeg if you like
some herbs in you like, not too much

Begin by making the dough for the crust. See Pie Crust for instructions.
Put the wrapped dough into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Start organizing what you want to put into the quiche.
You will want to fry up the onions or leeks and of course the bacon if you have selected it.
The veggies need to be cooked just a wee bit.
Shred the cheese or cheeses that you have chosen, maybe about a cup.
I put the prepared ingredients into separate places, but then that's just me.

Then roll out the pie crust and put into a quiche dish, pushing the sides down gently to make sure that the crust will not shrink unnecessarily. Then cut off the excess using the rolling pin - just roll it over the dish.
Dot the base of the shell with a fork and put the empty shell in the oven while you mix up the custard.
When all the ingredients are ready take out the shell and start adding the ingredients. I begin with the onions, then the veggies and meat or fish, then I sprinkle on the cheese.
Then carefully pour the custard all over everything. If you like you may add a sprinkling of Parmesan or something like that.
Put into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Check it every once in a while. When done it wants to be golden and not all jiggly, Let cool for just a bit before serving. I like to serve this with a green salad or yummy green vegetable and French bread.

You can make quiches in all kinds of sizes you like. My quiches (or tart) dishes go from 5 inches to 11 inches. You just have to adjust the cooking time.

Tarragon Chicken for two

2011-05-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Cooking for two is a bit of a challenge for me. I began life cooking for 10.

1 chicken breast, in two halves
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
a good pinch of sea salt, or any salt you have
some freshly ground black pepper
fresh tarragon, or in my case I used several dashes of a Parisian seasoning mix which contained tarragon (Parisien Bonnes Herbes from Penzeys)

Turn the oven to 375 degrees.
Fry the chicken pieces in the butter and olive oil for about five minutes.
Place the pieces into a small baking dish and put into the oven for 15 minutes.
Keep the pan just as it is still on the stove, waiting for later use.

When the chicken is done, take out of oven and pour the liquids in the dish into the pan that you had fried the chicken in. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until reduced to about half. Pour the sauce over the chicken to serve.

Cherry Coconut Pudding

2011-04-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

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Annie and I were having Shepherd's Pie for dinner and were going to watch the new Upstairs Downstairs while eating it, and it seemed to me that a British sort of dessert would be nice to go with it. To me the quintessential British dessert is pudding. This is not from a cookbook or anything, but I don't think British women need official recipes for their puddings.

2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
3 Tbs melted butter
1/2 cup coconut (I used Baker's, not desiccated)
1/3 tsp vanilla
handful of dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Generously butter an 7 inch souffle dish, or something of that nature.
Start putting the ingredients (except for the cherries) into a mixing bowl, stirring with a fork with each addition.
Pour into the buttered dish, and then gently drop the cherries one at a time over the top.
Bake for about 50 minutes.
Eat while still warm, as it's really tasty then. But it's very good later also.

Shredded Brussel Sprouts

2011-01-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt like you were the last person in the world to discover something. Well that's what it feels like with shredded Brussel sprouts. In early December I was visiting with friends in Seattle, and Lynn told me about sauteing shredded Brussel sprouts. I listen, but not so well as to memorize the recipe. Then for Christmas dinner I bought a bunch of Brussel sprouts, thinking I'll try to remember what Lynn said. What I did turned out to be a really big hit. This is among absolute die-hard Brussel spout haters! I've since discovered that you can add all kinds of things with shredded Brussel sprouts.

Brussel sprouts

butter or olive oil, or a combination of the two.

pancetta or ham or bacon, diced up

some minced onion

salt and pepper

a bit of sugar (optional)

maybe some balsamic vinegar, or maybe some other kind (optional)

nuts of your choice (optional)

You can shred the Brussel sprouts in the food processor, or do it by hand. I prefer the hand method. Saute the onions, then add the meat and saute to cook. Then add the Brussel sprouts. They don't take long to cook. Stir them a bunch. Add the seasons you like and cook just a bit and taste to see what you think. Actually, everything but the Brussel sprouts is optional. Well you need butter or oil too.

Chocolate Armagnac Pecan Pie

2010-11-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

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Pie Crust:
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 tsp salt
3/4 stick butter, cold and cut into small chunks

1 Tbl shortening (this helps keep the crust consistent)
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
chopped up

3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Armagnac
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Crust: combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and shortening and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle on the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Use your hand to press the whole thing together when done. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten to a disc, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Cover the disc of dough with flour and roll out on a piece of waxed paper into a circle. It will be a little bigger that the waxed paper. Using the waxed paper, flip the dough over and into a 9-inch pie plate. Carefully press the dough into the plate so it fits tightly and tuck under the excess dough and crimp the edges.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Filling: melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, remove from heat and let cool. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until frothy and then blend in the sugar. Stir in the corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, salt, and the melted butter mixture until well blended.

Arrange the pecans on the pie crust and carefully pour the egg mixture over them.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set and rather puffy.

Cool the pie completely.

Serve with whipped cream:

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

a splash of vanilla

Combine and whip with an electric mixer until firm, but not butter.

Rum Raisin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2010-11-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 Tbls rum

1 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup organic raw sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbls wheat germ (or a little more if you like)

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup chocolate chips (more if you like)

Put the raisins to soak in the rum.

Preheat oven to 370 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar

Mix in the egg and vanilla.

Combine the flour and salt and baking soda and add to the creamed mixture.

Add the raisins and the rum, then the chips and nuts, and finally the oatmeal.

Mix well.

Bake for about 8 minutes. Your oven will influence the baking time.

They want to be lightly golden brown.

Cool and a baking rack, and store.

Moist and yummy chocolate cake

2010-09-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is really a yummy moist cake, and it's great for when you need a cake but don't want to spend too much time making it because you have other things to do. It stays moist for days if covered. And it can be eaten by just holding a piece in your hand.

2 cups flour (9 ounces)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (preferably Drost or Hershey's Special Dark)
1 tsp baking soda
1/s tsp salt

1/3 cup cooking oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cups cold water
1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350.
Grease and flour a bundt pan, not too big will do, but bigger is okay.
Combine the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
Add the wet ingredients and stir well, but don't stir to death or the baking soda will be spent.
Pour into the prepared pan. It should not fill more than 3/4 of the pan. If it does you will have cake overflowing its pan.
Bake until the cake springs back to the touch and a pick comes out clean.

This cake is very moist so you must make sure it is done enough.
I'd start the timer at about 50 minutes. This is probably not long enough, but you need to sneak up on it. Let cool for maybe 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate.

German Chocolate Cake

2010-08-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter has asked for a German chocolate cake for her birthday - she'll be thirty. I am quite excited for the opportunity to make one, as I've never made one before. So here's a recipe I've found, and I'm going for it.

Prepare three 9" cake tins lined with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350.

4 oz German's Sweet Chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water

8 oz butter
15 oz of superfine sugar

4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla

10 oz cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Melt the chocolate gently in boiling water.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add egg yolks, vanilla, and chocolate.
Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, then fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour into the three 9" pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Frost only the tops of the layers with the traditional German chocolate cake coconut pecan frosting, leaving the sides unfrosted.

coconut pecan filling and frosting:

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecan nuts

Combine all ingredients except coconut and pecans in a saucepan.
Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 12 minutes. When the mixture thickens, remove from heat.
Stir in the coconut and pecans.
Cool until the mixture is spreadable.

Or should I use this classic old recipe from the inside of the chocolate package.

GERMAN Sweet Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 tsp. Baking soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1-1/3 cups Sugar
3 Eggs, separated
3/4 tsp. Vanilla
3/4 cup Buttermilk

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting

4 Egg yolks
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1-1/2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
1 pkg. (7 oz.) BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (about 2-2/3 cups)
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

BEAT egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
ADD coconut and pecans; mix well. Cool to room temperature and of desired spreading consistency.
USE to frost your favorite cake or cupcake recipe.

Creamy Fetta Vinaigrette

2010-08-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

1/4 olive oil

1/4 rice wine vinegar

1/4 water

juice of 1/2 lime

heaping Tbl sugar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

pinch salt

dash pepper

some Sunny Paris (Penzeys) , if you have some, or some herbe de Provence

1 clove garlic

a little piece of red onion or a piece of green onion

about an inch square hunk of fetta

Put it all in the blender and process on liquify until liquified.

Sunny Paris: shallots, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil and bay leaf

Tyler Florence's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Cointreau Carrots

2010-08-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is not exactly Tyler's recipe. I like the cake, but his cream cheese frosting was more cream cheese than I can handle. The only reason I make carrot cakes is because my mother really likes them. And I actually don't like cream cheese frosting. But for those who would like to know what Tyler's cake is like, here's the link. I'm making this for my mother's 90th birthday cake.

1 1/2 cups finely minced carrots (7 ounces)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (3 ounces)
2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, (12 ounces)

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
A pinch of kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup molasses
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a jelly roll pan and line with parchment. Set aside.
Take the carrots and chop into large pieces, then mince in a food processor until you have a fine texture. Drain pineapple and finely chop walnuts. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl add flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices together. In a separate bowl mix buttermilk, molasses, eggs, vegetable oil and dark brown sugar together.
Now combine wet and dry ingredients together to make a batter then fold in the carrots, pineapple and walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until cake is set and springs back when gently pressed in the middle. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool on a rack while you prepare the frosting and cointreau carrots (recipes below). Once the cake has cooled, cut into three rectangles by cutting the cake lengthwise twice. Stack the cake up into three tiers with cream cheese frosting in between each layer. Frost the outside of the entire finished cake - smoothing off the edges and corners (an offset spatula works well). Top with Cointreau carrot rounds and drizzle a little of the syrup on top as well.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Using a kitchen mixer, combine cream cheese and butter until blended and you have a smooth, light texture. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and powdered sugar and beat until combined. Continue to beat until smooth and glossy - about 7 minutes.

Cointreau Carrots:

1 medium carrot
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Cointreau
pinch of salt

Slice carrot up into rounds. Add carrot, butter, sugar, cointreau and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce until syrupy - about 5 minutes.

Now when it came time to make the cake for the birthday I found I needed more than expected, and so I decided to go with making three bundt cakes. So this batter went very nicely into a large bundt pan, and I made the cream cheese icing, and this is what I got.

Note to self: Don't grease a bundt pan with olive oil, use shortening!

Molly's Egg Cream

2010-07-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

For years I have wondered what an egg cream was. I first heard about egg creams on Sesame Street. It was made at Mr Hooper's Store. But for the longest time the recipe had eluded me. Then just the other day daughter #2 was reading a Jewish Deli cookbook and low and behold there was the recipe. Well it turns out that I have been making "egg creams" for years. The thing is, I called it my Italian soda.

a nice big glass, half-filled with crushed ice

1 - 2 tablespoon chocolate syrup, like Monin or Torani or Da Vinci (or any flavor you like, I like chocolate!)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Pellegrino or Perrier or soda water

Put the ice into the glass. Add the chocolate syrup (or any flavor of syrup you like, there's a whole passel of them). Then add the milk and give it a good stir. Finally add the soda water and give it a gentle stir. Add a straw and you're good to go.

Chantilly Chocolate Tart

2010-06-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is a really yummy tart, and when I make it everyone eats it right up and I hardly get any. I think I should also make a little one and hide it, just for myself.

crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbls butter
1 1/2 Tbls shortening
2 Tbls iced water

In a sturdy mixing bowl or in a food processor combine the flour and salt.
Cut in the butter and shortening until it looks like coarse cornmeal,
Blend in the ice water thuroughly but not to the point of looking doughy. It should still look like flour.
If using the food processor, dump the mixture into a bowl.
Smush the dough to for a solid mass.
Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, flatten to a disc, and chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out the dough and place in a 8 or 9 inch tart dish.
Tuck in the extra bits, leaving a bit sticking up above the dish, and crimp.
The reason for leaving the dough a bit above the dish is because when you blind bake the shell it will shrink a bit.
Bake for about 13-15 minutes, till gently browned.
Let cool.

Filling:
50 grams of bittersweet chocolate (this is not an exact science, a little more or a little less is okay)
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornflour
pinch of salt
1 2/3 cups milk, any kind you like (rich milk is nice)
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan (copper is great) combine the sugar, cornflour, and salt and give it a good stir to combine.
Chop up the chocolate and add to pan.
Stir in the milk and cook on medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring all the while, as you don't want the milk to be stuck on the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat and use a bit of the mixture to temper the egg yolks.
Return to heat and quickly stir in the yolks and bring back to a boil. This should take no time at all.
Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and pour into the prebaked tart shell.

Instead of vanilla one could stir in a bit of brandy or cointreau or ......
Let cool down a bit, and then chill in fridge. You can cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper if you like.

To serve:

Whip up 1 cup whipping cream and 1 Tbls sugar until a lovely stiffness, but not butter.
Stir in a little vanilla, and then spread cream over the cooled tart.

Lemon Lime Tart

2010-05-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

I came up with this one for Riley's birthday, and it has been a really big hit. It is so so easy to make.

1 disc of pastry, about 6 ounces
7 inch (18 cm) tart pan, or whatever you have that will work, as this is not a large tart. I have these wonderful British fluted loose bottomed metal tart pans that I think are made by a company called Master Class.

2 eggs
2/3 sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tbl cream
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 lime, zested and juiced

1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbls sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out the pastry thinly on waxed paper, and place carefully into the tart pan.
Combine eggs, sugar, cream, juices, and zests, mixing well, and pour into the shell.
Bake for about 22 minutes.
Cool.

Mix the cream and sugar and whip with electric mixer until stiff. Add the vanilla.
Put the whipped cream onto the cooled lemon tart.
The whipped cream is optional. Instead you could leave plain or dust with icing sugar.

I made two for Easter dinner, and when dinner was over I was able to perfectly combine the left-overs. The one with whipped cream was the most popular.

Shrimp Dip

2010-02-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Riley LOVES shrimp dip. Today I made him some for the Super Bowl Party we had at Heidi's house with Christian. It really turned out pretty darn good, so I making note of it.

8 ounces cream cheese, sort of room temperature
6 ounces of baby shrimp, fresh not canned
2 Tbls milk
1 tsp Sunny Paris (a herb mix from Penzeys consisting of shallots, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil and bay leaf), if you can't get this, improvise.
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Tabasco green pepper sauce, or more if you like
juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the cream cheese into a medium mixing bowl, and whip with electric mixer until well mixed.
Add the milk and beat it in.
Add the shrimp and beat until smooth. At first you think they won't break down, but they do.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Serve with anything you like to dip into it.

Austrian Bangers and Mash

2010-01-31T13:20:00.001-08:00

This is traditionally an English meal. But I learned to make it from my first husband, who was 100% German in his ancestry. The differences are slight, but key. But then, my Germanic heritage is Austrian, so I'll go with that.

sausages, like banger or bratwurst, or any fat sausage you like that does need to be cooked.
mashed potatoes
corn
sauerkraut
good mustards
butter

Preheat oven to about 350 degrees.
To cook the sausages I put a big piece of tin foil into a baking dish big enough to hold the sausages into. Put in the sausages and add about a 1/2 cup of water and seal up the tin foil gently and put in oven. After about 15 or 20 minutes check on the sausages and maybe turn them. At this point you probably don't need to seal them back up again, as you want them to brown. The reason for the tin foil is to prevent the dish from becoming very hard to clean. The sausages should cook for maybe 25-30 minutes. I confess, I've never given the time any thought. You just want cooked sausages.

In the mean time, peel and boil your potatoes. I like to use one medium potato per sausage. I'm assuming most people know how to boil potatoes. When they're done and ready to mash, you want them to be a nice smooth mashed potato. Add butter and hot milk and salt and pepper as desired.

Right towards the end, maybe just before mashing the potatoes, cook up the corn.
Serve it all with the good mustards (I always put on at least two kinds), sauerkraut, and butter. Actually, put a nice dollop of butter onto the corn in it's serving dish.

It's the corn and sauerkraut, and possibly German mustard that makes this a German meal. The English would serve it with peas.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

2010-01-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

These are really yummy. My daughter Sarah first came up with them. I'm sure you can use other 'chips' if you want. And of course, you don't have to use cinnamon, any other spice or no spice. What you want to keep is the ratio of butter/flour/oats/eggs to remain the same.

6 oz butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour, 6 ounces

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats, uncooked

1 3/4 cups Butterscotch Chips, that's about 11 oz.

1/2 cup chopped nuts, (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips; mix well.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

I use a scoop to ensure that I have even cookies and cooking.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

About 4 dozen cookies.

Oatmeal Raisin Buns

2009-11-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

1 Tbls yeast
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water

12 oz unbleached white flour
6 oz whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls sugar

1 1/4 cup milk
2 oz butter
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup oatmeal
2-4 Tbls sugar

extra water to get dough just right

Put the yeast and sugar into a small bowl, add the lukewarm water, and let sit for about 10 minutes to gat all bubbly. If it doesn't bubble up, you need new yeast.

In a Kitchenaid bowl put the flours and salt and sugar.
In a saucepan put the milk, butter, oatmeal, and raisins and put over medium heat until it starts to bubble just a bit. Turn off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes, stirring to make sure the butter melts. Pour into the flour bowl and give it a good stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the yeast mixture. Put about 1/2 cup of lukewarm water into the yeast bowl to be used for adding to the dough to get it just the right consistency.

Put the Kitchenaid bowl into the mixer. Put in the dough hook, and start mixing. Add water or flour as needed, to get the mixture to be well mix and moist, but not gooey and sticking to the bowl. Just sticking a little bit to the bowl. Mix it for maybe five minutes. Then put a big handful of flour onto the bread board (or counter, if you don't have a big bread board). Spread the flour around somewhat and dump the dough onto the flour. Knead for just a bit, to get the dough into a nice ball. rinse out the Kitchenaid bowl and the put the ball of dough into the bowl, cover with a damp towel and let sit for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto the bread board, knead just a little bit, then cut the dough into about 16 pieces. Form each piece of dough into a ball, and place the balls of dough onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Cover with the damp towel and let sit for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 370 degrees, and bake the rolls for about 15 minutes. Now since all ovens are different, keep an eye on the rolls. They want to be golden brown, not dark brown. They will be nice and soft because of the milk and butter. Let cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before eating.

4th of July Organic Brownies

2009-07-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

9 ounces of organic semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 ounces of organic butter - 1 stick

3/4 cup organic sugar

2 ounces organic white flour

a pinch of salt

scant 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 organic free-range eggs

scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

3 tablespoons brandy

4 ounces of organic walnuts, well chopped

Preheat oven to 367 degrees.

Grease a 9x9 baking pan, and put into a big piece of parchment paper.

Put the chocolate chips and butter into a porcelain dish and zap for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir go mix well, making sure the chips are reasonably melted.

Stir in the sugar.

Then stir in the flour.

Then stir in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the vanilla and brandy.

Add walnuts.

Pour into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Spring Onion Vinaigrette

2009-04-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

This came about one day while making vinaigrette and realizing I had a bunch of spring onions in need of being used.

1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 green onion, chopped up a bit
1 clove garlic, cut in half

Put everything into the blender, and put on full wack until everything is liquid.
Put into a small pitcher with a ladle, and Bob's you uncle.
I might have added a pinch of Italian herbs, but I'm not sure.

L'Opera

2009-04-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Adapted from Dalloyau from Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops by Dorie Greenspan (Broadway Books, 2002). Copyright © 2002 by Dorie Greenspan.

This is the recipe I use for making l'opera, and I think it is fabulous, and I would recommend Dorie's book for any one. It's not only for cooking, it's a good read, and fun to look at. I first bought the book because I thought it was soo cute. The following words are from Dorie's book. No point in messing with what really works. I found the words on the Splendid Table site. But the above picture is of a cake made by me.

It is hard to say exactly who invented the Opera Cake. Some sources claim there was a type of Opera Cake sold in Paris as long ago as 1890, and some think the Parisian specialty was created closer to 1950. But the point about which there is no controversy is the only important point: The greatest Opera Cake is made at Dalloyau. There, executive pastry chef Pascal Niau makes a cake as sleek and smooth as an opera stage and as gloriously delicious as La Boheme is affectingly beautiful.

The classic Opera Cake is a work in six acts. There are three thin layers of almond cake, each soaked in a potent coffee syrup; a layer of espresso-flavored buttercream; one layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache; and a topping of chocolate glaze. Traditionally, the cake is decorated with its name written in glaze across the top and finished with a piece of shimmering gold leaf. It is obviously a rich cake, but it is surprisingly not a filling cake, and I'm convinced this is because Maestro Niau has orchestrated the cake's elements so perfectly.

A note on size: This recipe makes a square Opera Cake that is a festive - and impressive - 10 inches (25 cm) on a side. If this is more cake than you need, don't cut down the recipe - you won't be successful with some of the cake's components, particularly the buttercream, if you reduce the quantities. Instead, make the full cake, cut it into smaller size cakes and stock them in your freezer.

Makes about 20 servings

The cake:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
1/2 cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled briefly
The coffee syrup:

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (7 grams) instant espresso or coffee

The coffee buttercream:

2 tablespoons (10 grams) instant espresso or coffee
2 tablespoons (15 grams) boiling water
1 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/4 cup (30 grams) water
Pulp of 1/4 vanilla bean
1 large whole egg
1 large egg yolk
1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The chocolate ganache:

8 ounces (240 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 grams) whole milk
1/4 cup (30 grams) heavy cream
4 tablespoons (2 ounces; 60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The chocolate glaze:

5 ounces (150 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick (115 grams) unsalted butter

1. To make the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line two 12 1/2-x15 1/2-inch (31-x-39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter. (This is in addition to the quantity in the ingredient list.)

2. Working in a clean dry mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the whites into another bowl.

3. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almonds, confectioners' sugar and whole eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and beat on low speed only until it disappears. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

4. Bake the cakes for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. Put the pans on a heatproof counter, cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the cakes over and unmold. Carefully peel away the parchment, turn the parchment over and use it to cover the exposed sides of the cakes. Let the cakes come to room temperature between the parchment or wax paper sheets. (The cakes can be made up to 1 day ahead, wrapped and kept at room temperature.)

5. To make the syrup: Stir everything together in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cool. (The syrup can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

6. To make the buttercream: Make a coffee extract by dissolving the instant espresso in the boiling water; set aside.

7. Bring the sugar, water and vanilla bean pulp to a boil in a small saucepan; stir just until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 255 degrees F (124 degrees C), as measured on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Pull the pan from the heat.

8. While the sugar is heating, put the egg and the yolk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the eggs are pale and foamy. When the sugar is at temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly pour in the syrup. Inevitably, some syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl - don't try to stir the spatters into the eggs. Raise the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the eggs are thick, satiny and room temperature, about 5 minutes.

9. Working with a rubber spatula, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy but not oily. With the mixer on medium speed, steadily add the butter in 2-tablespoon (30-gram) chunks. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thickened and satiny. Beat in the coffee extract. Chill the buttercream, stirring frequently, until it is firm enough to be spread and stay where it is spread when topped with a layer of cake, about 20 minutes. (The buttercream can be packed airtight and refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 1 month; before using, bring it to room temperature, then beat to smooth it.)

10. To make the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and keep it close at hand. Bring the milk and cream to a full boil, pour it over the chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir gently until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

11. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then stir it into the ganache in 2 to 3 additions. Refrigerate the ganache, stirring every 5 minutes, until it thickens and is spreadable, about 20 minutes. (The ganache can be packed airtight and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month; bring to room temperature before using.)

12. To assemble the cake: Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Working with one sheet of cake at a time, trim the cake so that you have two pieces: one 10-x-10-inches (25-x-25-cm) square and one 10-x-5-inches (25-x-12.5-cm) rectangle. Place one square of cake on the parchment and moisten the layer with coffee syrup. Spread about three-quarters of the coffee buttercream evenly over the cake. (If the buttercream is soft, put the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes before proceeding.) Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square; moisten with syrup. Spread the ganache over the surface, top with the last cake layer, moisten, then chill the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Cover the top of the cake with a thin layer of coffee buttercream. (This is to smooth the top and ready it for the glaze - so go easy.) Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour or for up to 6 hours; it should be cold when you pour over the glaze. If you're in a hurry, pop the cake into the freezer for about 20 minutes, then continue.

13. To glaze the cake: Bring the butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and clarify the butter by spooning off the top foam and pouring the clear yellow butter into a small bowl; discard the milky residue. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over—not touching—simmering water, then stir in the clarified butter. Lift the chilled cake off the parchment-lined pan and place it on a rack. Put the rack over the parchment-lined pan and pour over the glaze, using a long offset spatula to help smooth it evenly across the top. Slide the cake into the refrigerator to set the glaze and chill the cake, which should be served slightly chilled. At serving time, use a long thin knife, dipped in hot water and wiped dry, to carefully trim the sides of the cake so that the drips of glaze are removed and the layers revealed.

Keeping: Each element of the cake can be made ahead, as can the assembled cake. The cake can be kept in the refrigerator, away from foods with strong odors, for 1 day, or you can freeze the cake, wrap it airtight once it is frozen, and keep it frozen for 1 month; defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

An American in Paris: I rarely play around with this classic, but when I do, it's to add a little crunch to the mix by pressing toasted sliced almonds onto both the buttercream and the ganache.

For more details on how I made this cake look here and here.

ELEPHANT TOMATO ORANGE SOUP

2009-04-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore this soup. Ever since I've been so sick this winter, this has been one of the few things that always tastes so good. Who knows, maybe when I totally get back my senses of taste and smell this might not be as good, but I don't think so.

It comes from Elephants Deli down town on the same block as Banana Republic, and right next to the Fox theatre.

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) (less could be good, maybe)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

In a saucepan, melt butter; add onion and saute until translucent. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Puree in a food processor or blender; strain through a sieve or food mill. Return to saucepan and stir in orange juice. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

At serving time, add the whipping cream if wanted and heat gently, stirring constantly, bringing to a simmer and adjust seasonings if necessary. Extra cream maybe drizzled on top of the soup immediately before serving for decorative effect.

Scalloped Potatoes

2009-04-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

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This is a recipe for a large dinner party. We had 12 for dinner, actually 15 with late comers, and almost all was eaten.

5 pounds of yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced rather thinly,

about 1/8th inch thick.
1 stick of butter, diced up into little bits
salt and pepper
3 - 4 cups of half and half
cheese, like Gruyère or Ementhal or Jarlsberg

Preheat the oven to 330 degrees (my oven will not go to 325).
Get a big baking dish, I got mine at IKEA, and butter the dish.
When the potatoes are done being sliced, after each potato, place the slices into cold water.
Then when all sliced, drain off as much of the water you can and pat them dry a bit.
Don't get too carried away with the drying, I actually put mine in the salad spinner a bit at a time.
Then as you've got some dried start working on arranging the potatoes artistically in the dish, in concentric circles. After each layer, put some dabs of butter over the potatoes, and some salt and pepper.
It used my micro-plane to shred a little cheese over the potatoes between layers. This was not a lot of cheese, just some.

Don't put cheese on the top of the last layer of potatoes, leave that for later.
When all the potatoes are in the dish, pour in the cream, and place in the oven for 70 minutes.
Then, turn the heat up to about 375 and cook for another 15 minutes or so, adding some cheese to the top layer. You do want to check the potatoes for doneness. This is not an exact science.
Serve immediately.

Saint Patrick's Day Bundt Cake

2009-03-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

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This is not my normal kind of cake, as I almost never use a cake mix. But I first tasted something like this at a family get-together, and I asked for the recipe. This is a modification, in honor of St Patrick's Day, and I only make it on St. Patrick's Day.

1 box yellow cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)
4 large eggs
1 small box instant pistachio pudding
some freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup cream sherry

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour one large or two small bundt pan(s), or tube pan(s). As with most cakes it will cook in any kind of pan you like, you just have to watch the time.
Combine the cake mix and the pudding mix in a large bowl, and give it a good stir. Add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl and beat until nicely combined, but don't over beat. Pour into the pan(s) and bake about 50 minutes for the large bundt pan, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool a bit on a rack, and then turn out of the pan before it's completely cool. If you let it cool completely it becomes rather difficult to remove.

French Chocolate Cake

2009-03-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

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I first made this cake because Emily had tried to help me with bringing in the groceries, and she chose help carry the eggs. Five eggs were broken by the time I got to her. They were cracked, rather than smashed, so I put the broken ones in a bowl.

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

8 ounces of flour (scant 2 cups)
2 ounces of cocoa (1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Grease and flour 1 large, or 2 small bundt pans.
If you like, you can also use either 2 8" or 2 9" or 3 7" pans. When using the flat pans, you'll want to paper the bottoms of the pans.

Cream the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla.
Combine the dry ingredients, and put them through a sieve or strainer to make sure all the lumps are out.
On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream.
Spoon the batter into the pans, and gently level it out.
Bake until a tooth pick comes out clean. It will look rather moist, but that's okay.

I served this with ice cream.

Smashed Potatoes

2009-03-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

These were a really big hit.

5 pounds of russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon corse salt

2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 + cup of cream
2 green onions, finely diced
fleur de sel
pepper

Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with cold water, add the corse salt, and bring to a boil and boil until the potatoes are done. I check by sticking a pointy knife into a potato. If the knife goes in easily then the potatoes are done.

Using a large slotted ladle, lift the potatoes out and place into a large flat-bottomed dish that you want to serve the potatoes in. Now understandably you might not have such a dish. So maybe then you can put them into a large pot. The reason for the flat-bottom is to make it easy to smash the potatoes.

Put in the butter first, and using a potato masher, smash a bit to start the butter melting. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently smash until nicely mixed. You do not want to make "creamed" potatoes, they need to still have a bit of texture. Taste for salt and pepper, adjusting as necessary.

Chocolate Pear Tarte

2009-02-15T16:25:00.001-08:00

Note: This is a completely unfinished recipe. I know what it should be, and I'll be getting around to it one of these days.

This recipe came about on accident, but it really turned out nicely. I was making cookies invented by Pierre Herme, my favorite dessert chef. But I was making the cookies with Emily under my left arm, as she was being so much trouble, and was into absolutely everything - dragging chairs about, sticking her hands into whatever she could get her hands on. It was for a Tuesday with Dorie project. I got the dough made, and the rolled it into two rolls like I was supposed to, and put it into the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours. Well eventually, not necessarily that day, I got one of the rolls out to slice up and cook. All the dough would do was crumple. I eventually cooked up a few very crumbled up bits, but I was quite discouraged, and left the rest of the dough sitting on the cutting board. Eventually daughter #1 and her son Christian showed up and they made light work of that remaining dough. Well the next day while thinking about the cookie dough problem it struck me that I better look at the recipe. Well sure enough I had omited 1/3 of the needed butter. At that I didn't give the dough any more thought.

On the following Wednesday Riley had requested that I arrange to have a small dessert soiree for our house group. It was all a bit overwhealming to me, but I began by making up the batter for a chocolate cake, putting part into mini cupcakes, and the rest into a five inch springform pan. Next I thought maybe I would make a pear tart, and I went to the refrigerator to find the needed ingredients. There, on top of the egg carton, was the remaining chocolate cookie dough, and immediately I decided to use it for the crust of the pear tart. I turned on the oven, selected a tart dish, and the put the dough into the cuisanart, and processed it into a crumbly mixture and poured it into the tart dish, smoothed it out, patted it down, and put it into the oven for about 12 minutes.

Wednesday Brownies

2009-01-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

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This recipe came about as I was in a big hurry to get a dessert made before our church group came in just over an hour. So of course when you are in a hurry mistakes happen. But you just keep going, adjusting the mistakes.

1 stick of butter

8 ounces of dark chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 Tbls dark chocolate cocoa

2 eggs

2 Tbls brandy

1 tsp vanilla

a pinch of salt

as many chopped pecans as you'd like

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put a piece of parchment paper into an 8 inch square pan, with the paper sticking up above the edges.

Put the butter chips and sugar into a microwave proof bowl, and process for about 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave. Remove from the microwave and give it a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon.

Mix the flour, cocoa, and salt and stir into the mixture.

Stir in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the brandy and vanilla.

Finally, stir in the pecans.

Pour the batter into the pan, spread around to level.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

I cut this into 36 pieces, but that makes for 1 1/4 square pieces.

Russian Peas and Carrots

2009-01-06T21:42:00.001-08:00

8 oz carrots, in 2 inch long julienned strips
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons sugar
water to barely cover the carrots
a pinch of salt

6 oz frozen peas in a microwavable dish
some water in the dish, not to cover

1 tbl flour
salt and pepper to taste

Put the carrots into a frying pan with a lid.
Add the next 4 ingredients and cover and cook on medium heat until the carrots are just au dent.
Meanwhile, put the peas in the microwave and heat about 2 minutes.
Strain the liquid off the carrots into a small saucepan.
Strain the liquid from the peas into a small dish to reserve and put the peas in with the carrots.
Heat the carrot liquid and stir in the flour, adding enough of the peas liquid to make a nice sauce.
Pour the sauce over the vegies, and keep warm until time to serve. Covering the pan will probably suffice.

I went to get a picture of this, from the left-overs, but I was too late. A daughter had put all the leftovers together in a dish, and the peas and carrots were at the bottom. I'll have to get a picture later.

Annie's Saint Lucia Buns

2008-12-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

Annie made these Lucia Buns for us on Saint Lucia Day - that's today. But she did have to start them yesterday. They were really delicious. One of the details I came up with in the end to take care of a little hitch in the kit-along. Annie started making these at about 11:45 at night. I know this because while I was rather soundly sleeping I began hearing the sound of someone slowly approaching the third floor, and then slowing approaching the bed. Now because I know Annie, I suspected that it was her in search of some ingredient she couldn't find. Luckily Riley did not panic, because he can really come flying out of bed when he's asleep and thinks someone is threatening him. She couldn't find the saffron. So I told her where I thought it was, and that was the last we heard of her. I would highly recommend starting the buns earlier than midnight.

So early in the evening of the day before you want the buns in the morning get started. Then, after the dough has risen once, form the buns, cover them with a dampish tea towel, and leave to rise over night. This works well in our house in the winter, as it gets very cold at night - a bit like a refrigerator.

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
4 crushed cardamon pods

Put into a glass dish for about 50 seconds. Then let sit to melt the butter. Remove the cardamon pods and add:

1 tablespoon yeast
2 teaspoons sugar

Stir just a bit, and leave for about 5 minutes to proof.
Mix the yeast mixture and the milk mixture with:

1 scant pound of flour

Knead until it is not sticky, and then leave to rise for about an hour or so.

Mix mix together:

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp ground cardamon

Then add this mixture to the risen dough.
At this point you can form the dough into the lucia buns.
There are many shapes that you can chose from.
Put them on parchment paper on trays, cover with damp tea towels and leave to rise over-night.

In the morning heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Make an egg wash with 1 egg yolk and a dab of water, and brush onto the risen buns.
Sprinkle with some perl sugar if you like, and if you have some.
And if you like put on some raisins. Annie mistook dried cherries for raisins, and that was tasty.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. It all depends on how big your buns are.

frosting:

1 egg white
1/4 cup sugar

Beat with an electric mixer until very white and foamy.
Brush onto the buns as desired.

Sweet Peppery Carrots

2008-11-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

As a child my mother always served carrots that she called pennies. They were cut like fat pennies, maybe 1/3 in in thickness. Then my mother cooked them to a soft stage. I ate them, but I didn't like them. They were carrots at their worst in my opinion. I've never for any reason cut a carrot to look like a penny, and for years I only served carrots raw or in soup.

But then one year I got the idea to cook julienned carrots and saute them in butter, brown sugar and pepper. It was a big hit with the family, and has been part of our thanksgiving tradition ever since. This recipe is not about certain quantities, but about the end result.

carrots, peeled and cut into about 2 - 3 inch julienned strips
salt
butter
brown sugar
coarse pepper

After the carrots are cut up I steam them with a steamer device or you can cook them in a small amount of lightly salted water in a saute pan. This is not about boiling the carrots, but about just enough cooking to get them to the au dent stage. Keep a close watch on the carrots. They do not want to come to the soft stage. If they're a little too au dent that's okay, because they will be cooked a bit more later. As soon as the carrots are cooked, run cold water over them to stop the cooking.

If I'm making these for Thanksgiving I do it the day before, get the carrots cooked and then put them in a bowl a cover them and put them in the refrigerator. But refrigerating or not, it is important to get the carrots well drained, as you don't want to add water to the butter and sugar mix, it will be too thin to stick to the carrots.

When shortly before time to serve this dish, put a nice big nob of butter in a saute pan, add also a punch of coarse pepper and a bunch of brown sugar. This is all about how peppery and how sweet you want the carrots. Get it all melted and then toss in the carrots. At this point you can adjust things as you like. It's kind of like making candied sweet potatoes. You just play it by ear. Cook until the carrots are a nice degree of warmth to serve for dinner.

Gugelhopf Bread Pudding

2008-11-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

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After making the kugelhopf for Tuesday with Dorie, we had half left the next day. It does get stale, but it seemed perfect for a bread pudding.

1/2 a kugelhopf that was made with 1/2 pound of flour
some raisins, or any dried fruit you like
some almonds

5 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk - whole if you have it
scant 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
scant 1/2 cup sugar

Get a nice little baking dish, about 6 cups in size.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Break up the kugelhopf into the dish, and sprinkle on raisins and almonds.
In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients with a whisk, and pour slowly over the bread.
Push the sticking up bits down into the egg mixture.
Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar if you like.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pies

2008-11-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

makes about 8

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 14 ounce can of chicken stock
3 cups (about) of homemade chicken stock that has been reduced and defatted *
3 cups (about) of diced left-over chicken*
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced rather small
6 white mushrooms, sliced up rather thin
1/2 cup frozen peas
French herb mix, about 1 teaspoon
salt and pepper
1 package puff pastry, cut into 8 squares big enough to top the chosen baking dishes
1 egg + 1 tsp water for egg wash

8 8-10 ounce ramekins or other appropriately sized dishes that can go into the oven

* The chicken and chicken stock

The other day I made roast chicken for dinner. I had stuffed it with chopped carrots and onion. The vegies didn't cook, but after dinner, I pulled all the left-over meat off the chicken, then I put the carcus and vegies into a pot and added a bunch of water, not enough to quite cover the chicken. I put on the lid and cooked for a while. Then I took off the lid and smushed down the chicken into the water, and cooked the whole lot for a while more. When it all looked quite cooked, with the bones all falling apart, I put the whole thing through a strainer - the cone shaped kind. I put the strained liquid back into the pot and cooked it a while longer to reduce it. Then I put it into a bowl and then into the refrigerator. When it was all cooled down the chicken fat was nice and solid on the top, and I scooped it off - saving it, as it was lovely rendered chicken fat. It was this remainder that I used in the pot pies - it was probably about 3 cups, but I didn't measure it.

making the filling

So for the filling for the pies I got a large saucier, melted the stick of butter and added the onions. I cooked those for a while, until the onions seemed tender, and then I added the flour, and cooked that for about 2 minutes. Then I quickly whisked in the chicken broths, stirring vigorously to make sure there were no lumps. I then added the carrots. With hind sight, I think that I would have put the carrots in a bowl with a bit of water, cover them with plastic wrap, and cooked them for a couple minutes in the microwave, as it took them a while before they were cooked. So when the carrots seemed well on their way to being cooked, I added the potatoes. These I then cooked for about 10 minutes. then I added the chicken, mushrooms and peas and simmer the whole thing for about 5 minutes.

assembly

I had preheated my gas oven to 400 degrees. The filling that I made would probably fill 8 pies, but I only made 4. I used 10 oz. soufflé dishes. These are big enough for a dinner for a man. I did not eat all of mine, and I think maybe a 6 oz dish would have been enough. But anyway, I filled the dishes. Got my puff pastry squares cut to size and brushed then with egg wash, and press them down onto the dishes. Then I baked them for 20 minutes.

For more on this recipe, go to Molly Loves Paris.

spicy cole slaw

2008-11-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

I love cole slaw the way I make it, but I'm not so fond a many of the commercial kinds that are so heavy on the sauce. I've never actually measured anything for cole slaw, but here's the list of ingredients.

1/2 cabbage, sliced thin, but not paper thin, and cut to manageable getting into your mouth length
mayonnaise, maybe three tablespoons
buttermilk or sour cream - about 2 tablespoons
sugar, about 1 tablespoon
salsa - maybe 1 tablespoon - I use medium or hot Emerald Valley salsa
salt and pepper
rice wine vinegar - maybe 2 tablespoons
1 green onion, sliced and diced - make the bits small
1 or 2 ripe, but firm avocado(s), diced up.

I make the sauce in the bowl that the salad will be served in before I add the cabbage.
First put in a nice big dollop of mayonnaise and thin a bit with buttermilk or sour cream.
The buttermilk is to add something that has less calories than mayonnaise,
and to make it so that the dressing doesn't glomp onto the cabbage.
Then stir in the sugar and salsa and salt and pepper.
Finally stir in some rice wine vinegar, maybe using a small whisk.
Taste and adjust to your taste.
When the dressing tastes right, I stir in the green onion.
Then stir in the cabbage. It takes a lot of tossing to get it well coated.
If you find that you have more dressing than needed, then slice up some more cabbage if you have it and stir in.
Or put the cabbage into a big seive, and let the excess dressing drain off.
This is not a soup, but I know that excess can happen.
Then finally, stir in the avocado.

note: I know that just about everyone in the whole world who makes cole slaw adds carrots. I don't.

And ... if you'd like you can make up the dressing in a different bowl or pitcher, and pour on as needed.

Almond Carrot Cake

2008-11-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

I love almonds, but I've not been so fond of carrot cake. This is because it's heavy and rich. I especially dislike cream cheese frosting. But this cake is quite different.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a pan of your choice. I put mine into two small bundt pans. Since it was such a good fit, I would say that you can also use one large bundt pan, or tube pan, or maybe a loaf pan.

1/2 pound of carrots - this is two or three, or 225 grams, there's no exact science here, peeled and cut into chunks

50 grams of blanched almonds, about 1/2 cup

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extact

2 cups flour - 9 ounces

1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Put the carrots and the almonds into the food processor and process until nice and fine.

You can also throw in some dried cherries or raisins if you like.

In a mixing bowl cream the sugar, butter, and eggs. Add the extracts.

Mix in the carrots and almonds.

Combine the dry ingredients and mix in.

Put the mixture into the desired conveyances and cook until done. In the small bundt pans this should be about 35 minutes. And in a large bundt I would guess about 45 minutes. Make sure that the cake springs back when gently prodded.

Let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

apple pie applesauce

2008-10-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Obviously one doesn't need a real recipe for making applesauce, and it's all about taste. But for what it's worth here's the ratio I used.

25 pounds of apples, about 5 pounds each of 5 different kinds, some green, some red

3 cups of white sugar

1 tbls Ceylon cinnamon, or whatever kind you have

5 cups of good nature apple cider

For the cooking and canning details on the recipe see my other blog here.

Emily's Chocolate Baby Cake with cherries and pecans

2008-10-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

I got a pan for Emily at Williams and Sonoma, 7" round by 2". Stuck to the pan was a recipe just the right size for the pan. We modified the recipe a bit, and it turned out to be a really nice cake.

5 ounces flour (140 gr)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup Dutch cocoa (30 gr)

1 stick butter
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup pecans
1 Tbl flour

or instead of cherries and pecans add 2 ounces of finely ground almonds and a bit of vanilla essence.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour the pan.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the first 4 ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar, then add in the egg and vanilla.
Combing the wet and dry ingredients alternately with the water.

Mix well, but don't beat to death or you will expend the baking soda.
On a chopping board stir together the cherries, nuts, and 2 Tbls flour and chop up with a big knife. Add to the cake batter, and pour into the cake pan.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Cool for a bit and turn out onto a cooling rack.

Icing:

1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 stick of butter - 2 ounces, room temperature
2 teaspoons kirsch or brandy or any thing you like
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
milk, needed only if the icing is not spreadable enough.

Put the icing sugar and butter and brandy and vanilla into a smallish mixing bowl and beat for about 2-3 minutes with a hand mixer, add the milk to get the consistency you want - spreadable.

Assembly: Cut the cooled cake in half. Place the bottom half on a cake plate and cover with icing. Put on the top layer and cover it with icing. Do not ice the sides. Save any left-over icing for graham crackers.

This cake has been entered into the "Not Quite Nigella"

Ultimate Chocolate Cake Contest.

To find out about it just click here.

This is not my only ultimate chocolate cake, but I could only enter one. There is also "the perfect chocolate cake" and "chocolate roulade", and "orange chocolate gateau", to name some.

Oven French Fries

2008-10-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

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These were a really big hit. I did them for my grandson's birthday. Riley was out of town, and I was running out of energy, and getting out the deep fryer just seemed overwhelming. But I think these turned out as good as deep fried, with much less fuss and bother.

Turn the oven up to as high as it will go. Mine went to 530 degrees. It needs a while to get up to temperature.

potatoes

oil - I used a light olive oil

salt and pepper

Get a large bowl or pot and fill it with cold water. Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips about a centimeter square on the ends. As you cut the potatoes, put the strips into the cold water.

Get a large flat pan, I used a tray that comes with my Meile oven. Put oil on the tray, then take the potatoes out of the water in little batches, put them on a tea towel and pat the batch dry, them put them on the tray and push them around a bit to get oil all over them. Continue this until the tray is full, or you've come to the end of the potatoes.

If you have more potatoes than will fit on your tray, then I bet a second tray can be done. I didn't need to do that, but If you periodically switch the trays during cooking I think it will work.

Put the potatoes into the oven for about 15 minutes. Then take the tray out of the oven and carefully turn over all of the fries. Then put back into the oven for about 15 more minutes. You be the judge of doneness. Keep you eyes on the fries.

When you take them out, this is the time to salt and pepper them. The reason for not salting the fries during cooking is to not pull the moisture out of the potatoes and make things soggy.

Riley's Famous Barbecued Chateaubriand

2008-10-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

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I don't remember when Riley started making this steak, but it has been a huge hit ever since. It's what I like to have on my birthday, and what Christian likes. Because we have the barbecuer on the front porch out of the rain, we can have this anytime.

I hunk of Chateaubriand steak, about 2 - 2.5 pounds, at room temperature
Adolph's tenderizer
coarse pepper
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
garlic salt

About 45 minutes before you want to barbecue the steak, put the goals to heat - however you do that. When you do finally spread the coals about, put two thirds on one side and one third on the other - this is so you have a hotter spot and a not so hot spot.

Then put the steak into a baking dish that is just big enough to hold the meat. Poke the meat on both sides with a fork, maybe ten times a side. Put tenderizer liberally on both sides of the meat. Do the same with the the garlic salt and pepper, patting the steaks to make the stuff stick. Then douse some Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce to both sides. Now just let the meat sit in this marinade for about 30 minutes or so, turning the meat over in the middle of the time. You can marinate anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours.

To cook the steak place the steak on the hot side of the grill at an angle to the grill for about 3 minutes, then turn the steak ninety degrees, and leave for another three minutes. Then do the same on the other side. Then transfer to the meat to the not so hot side and cook on both sides for a bit longer, until the desired amount of doneness has been reached. I like mine RARE.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

2008-09-26T13:13:00.001-07:00

I got this recipe from a cookbook that my grandmother gave me when I was 16.

1 baked pie shell

filling:
1 cup sugar
4-5 tablespoons cornflour
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped up
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

Prepare and bake the pie shell and let it cool.

Making the filling:
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cornflour, chocolate, and salt (if desired). Slowly stir in the milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. When it comes to a boil, remove from the heat and stir in some of the hot liquid into the egg yolks to temper them. Then add the yolks to the hot liquid, stirring as you add them. Put back onto the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. This should take very little time. Remove from the heat and stir in the extracts. Pour immediately into the pie shell.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Making the meringue:
Put the egg whites and cream of tartar into a large mixing bowl - I use my kitchenaid. Start mixing on high, gradually adding the sugar. Continue to beat until you have a nice thick meringue. You can't really over beat this because of the sugar. When done, put onto the pie filling by big dollops-full. Make sure to smooth around to completely cover the filling. Bake for about 7 to 11 minutes, until you have a nicely browned surface.

Cool completely on a rack before serving.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

Make the pie omitting the meringue. In it's place top the pie with a half-pint of whipping cream beat until thick with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

haricots verts d'ail

2008-09-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

As a child I was never fed fresh green beans. My mother used to buy canned green beans by the case. So I grew up hating green beans. Actually, to this day I hate canned green beans. I was at a dinner party once where they were served, and not wanting to be rude I served myself some. But one bite and I knew I couldn't eat them, and I was so relieved to realize that I could hide them under my baked potato skin. But fresh green beans, cooked al dente can be wonderful. I've been known to eat just that for dinner.

fresh green beans, thinner rather than fat
butter
garlic, very finely minced, or garlic salt, or garlic powder
sel gris or fleur de sel (optional)

Wash the green beans and remove the little ends.
Put them into a pan with a lid, add about a half cup of water and a good pinch of salt.
Put on the stove on medium heat and cover and cook just long enough to have them barely cooked, and definitely al dente.
This will be something probably under 5 minutes. Test by taking a bean out and having a bit.
When done, quickly pour off the hot water to prevent any more cooking, and run cold water over the bean to cool them down just a bit. Pour off the water, but leave the beans in the pan. The goal is to make sure you do not over cook the beans. They want to be green green green.
At this point you can set the beans aside until just ready to serve.
When ready to serve, put the beans back on the stove on medium heat and add a good dollop of butter. How much depends on how many beans you have. Add the garlic, whatever form you have, and cook just until heated. This should be very quick. If not using a salt product, add some nice salt. I like sel gris. Put into a nice serving dish and serve immediately.

Orange Chocolate Gâteau

2008-08-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

Cake:

3/4 cup dark cocoa, best quality (60 gr)
1 1/2 cups boiling water

8 ounces flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 sticks butter
a scant 2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Orange Butter Cream:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
4 teaspoons orange liqueur
or 1 teaspoon orange essence (Penzey) plus 1 tablespoon brandy
5 oz dark chocolate, copped up (I like to use Trader Joe's Pound Plus)

2 cups icing sugar (8 oz), sifted to remove any lumps

Whipped Cream Frosting:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar

Make the cake first: preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and paper and grease two 8 inch cake pans with at least a 1 1/2 inch side.
Combine the cocoa and the boiling water and stir to dissolve the cocoa and leave to cool somewhat.
Cream the butter and sugar, and then mix in the eggs, beating until rather light.
Mix the dry ingredients and add them to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture.
Make sure all is mixed well, but don't over-beat.
Pour the batter into the pans and tap the pans on the counter to flatten and remove any bubbles.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until done. While the cakes are cooking make the ganache.
Remove from oven and place onto a cooling rack. After about ten minutes run a knife carefully around the edges of the cakes, then turn the pans over on the rack and leave to let the cakes fall out.

While the cake baking put all the ingredients for the butter cream except the icing sugar into a microwavable dish and heat in the microwave just enough to melt the butter and the chocolate. Remove from the microwave and give a good stir to make all smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat with a hand mixer to make all smooth. Eject the beaters and leave them in the chocolate mixture, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until very hard. This will take at least two hours.

When the butter cream is good and hard, take from the refrigerator, remove the beaters and place them in the machine, and starting on a slow speed, and increasing as you go, beat the butter cream until nice and smooth and spreadable. As you beat it it will warm up a bit and become spreadable. You want it to be soft enough to spread on the delicate cake. Then get the plate for the cake (put a doily on it if you like). Cut the layers in half. Put the first half layer on the plate, cover with about 1/4 of the butter cream, and so on. When you put on the last layer, do not cover it with the butter cream, but instead, use the remaining butter cream to fill in the chinks on the side of the cake, so that the edge of the cake is all even and smooth. Then put the cake into the refrigerator to chill thoroughly.

When ready to finish the cake, put the whipping cream into a bowl and place in the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes to chill. Then place the sugar and vanilla into the bowl with the cream and beat until nice and thick for spreading on the cake. If you like you can reserve a bit of the whipped cream for piping on the cake. Cover the cake with the whipped cream.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

2008-08-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

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I made this for the baby shower/tea for Sarah, and it was a really big hit.

2 sticks butter (1 cup or 8 ounces)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pound flour
a pinch of salt

1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk or sour cream)

Several handfuls of blueberries, washed and dried

juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, and using a wooden spoon, cream the butter, sugar and eggs.

Stir in the vanilla and the lemon zest

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding them in three additions each.

Spoon 1/3 of the batter into the bundt pan.

Carefully place blueberries on top of the batter.

Carefully spoon on another 1/3 of the batter, and then carefully add more blueberries.

Add the remaining batter.

Bake for about 60 minutes, making sure a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool for about ten minutes, and then invert to remove the cake, and place on a wire rack to cool.

When cool, mix the lemon juice and sugar, and heat a bit in the microwave to melt the sugar.

Place the cake on a serving plate, and carefully poke little holes in the cake in a symetrical pattern. Then slowly spoon the lemon syrup over all of the cake until it's all spooned on.

Madeleines

2008-08-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

 4 eggs 
2 cups sugar 
2 cups flour 
1 1/2 cups butter, melted
Vanilla extract or lemond rind

Preheat the oven to 50 degrees.
Butter and flour the madeleine molds and place in the freezer.
 Place the eggs and sugar in a kitchenaide mixing bowl and place over simmering water and stir until creamy and lukewarm. Remove from the heat and put into the mixer and beat until cold.
Add the flour gradually, mixing with a wooden spoon, then the butter and the flavoring.
Get the molds and fill them 2/3 full.
Bake until done - I will record this time later.
You want the madeleines to puff up in the middle.
Place on a rack to cool.

Yields 24 to 30 small Madeleines.

Brandy Pecan Brownies

2008-08-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is not a sturdy brownie, but a lovely delicate and rich brownie, a bit on the soft side, like a truffle.

12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 ounces of butter - 1 1/2 stick
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2-3 ounces flour
a pinch of salt
6-8 ounces of pecans, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Preheat the oven to 367 degrees.
Grease and flour an 8 x 11 or 8 1/2 x 12 baking pan or dish. I have a fluted pan with a removable bottom.
Put the chocolate and butter and brandy into a big microwavable dish and microwave to melt the chocolate.
Give it a good stir. Stir in the sugar, then stir in the eggs, one at a time. Then stir in the flour and salt.
Finally, stir in the pecans.
Pour into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting.
If it's not cooled it will crack.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

2008-08-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

This pie is a great addition to the Thanksgiving line-up of pies. It's definitely one of my favorites.

1 unbakes pie shell in a 10 inch pie plate

3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped up.
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla or 1 tablespoon brandy
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted just a bit

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Put the nuts into the pie shell in an artistic fashion.
Put the chocolate and butter into a fairly large microwavable glass bowl and gently melt in the microwave, and stir well to combine. When melting chocolate it is always good to sneak up on it, using the microwave but doing so at shorter intervals than might seem needed.
Stir in the sugar and the corn syrup. And then stir in the vanilla or brandy.
Then stir in the eggs, one at a time.
Cool slightly, then carefully pour the filling over the nuts so as not to disturb the artistic arrangement.
Bake for 30 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 275 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes more.
Cool for 2 hours before eating.

Fruity Nutty Carrot Cake

2008-08-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

10 ounces of flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup light olive oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in 3 tablespoons of sherry

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened

3 cups shredded carrots

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and flour a 10 inch flat tube pan, see picture.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix the sugar and the oil.

Stir in the eggs, one at a time.

Stir in the dry ingredients.

Stir in the raisins and sherry.

Stir in the pecans and coconut.

Lastly, add the carrots.

Spoon into the pan, and bake for 65 minutes.

Let cool for about 10 minutes, then loosen the ring, and carefully turn the cake out onto a proper sized cake plate.

If you like, you can serve this with a cream cheese frosting on the side.

Let people who are eating the cake cut a piece and then they can spread on the icing like jam on a piece of bread.

Brandy Cream Cheese Icing

8 ounces cream cheese, full fat
3 tablespoons softened butter
12 ounces icing sugar
1 + tablespoon brandy

Put into a not too big bowl, and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
If you want it thicker, add more icing sugar

Cherry Rhubarb Galette

2008-08-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

This particular dessert was declared by my family to be absolutely fabulous. I made it using a very shallow pie plate instead of placing it on a baking sheet, as I didn't want to have stuff run all over the place.

With this recipe you can make either 1 large, or 2 small galettes. If making one, it will be placed onto a baking sheet. If making 2, they can either be placed into shallow pie plates, or on a baking sheet

Crust:

7 ounces of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced up in small bits
2 tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup iced water

In a sturdy bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
Add the butter and shortening, and mix them in using a pastry blender, or your fingers if you like.
You want it the consistency of rough cornmeal.
Using a fork, stir in the iced water, then finish mixing using your hands.
You want everything to adhere.
Then form into a ball or two, depending on how many you are making, wrap in plastic wrap, squish into a disc or discs, and refrigerate for about an hour.

Filling:

1-2 tablespoons jam
12 ounces of sweet cherries, pitted, and left as whole as possible
9 ounces of rhubarb, diced fairly small
1-2 tablespoons sugar to sweeten the rhubarb
2 graham cracker squares, crushed completely

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
If you are making one galette, take the disc of pastry, thoroughly flour it, and roll out on a piece of parchment paper to about 13 inches in diameter. This figure is not a precise one. Just roll it out to a thickness that you like. If making two, you'll need two squares of parchment, and roll out to about 10 inches in diameter.
Place the pastries on whatever you are going to cook them in or on.
Smear some jam on the center half of the disc(s).
Sprinkle with the graham cracker crumbs.
Put on the rhubarb, and sprinkle with the sugar.
Place the cherries on top, then fold up the sides of the pastry around the fruit.
Place into the oven for about 22-28 minutes.

While the galette(s) are cooking, make a custard mixture.

3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1/3 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

In a cereal bowl size dish, melt the butter in the microwave, just until melted
Add the sugar and stir.
Then add the egg and stir quickly.
Then stir in the vanilla.

When the galette has finished its first phase of cooking, take it out of the oven and carefully spoon in as much of the custard mixture as it will hold, and put back into the oven to cook for another 12-18 minutes. You be the judge for when you think the custard has finished cooking. It should look fairly firm.

Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

2008-07-22T22:54:00.001-07:00

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1 pound dark sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1 pound rhubarb, diced fairly small, about 5 stalks

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 tablespoon cornflour

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 stick of butter, finely diced
2/3 cup milk, any kind you like

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Select the baking dish you want. In area an 8 inch square dish equals a 9 inch round dish.
Put the fruit into the dish.
Combine the 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour.
Spread over the fruit and stir in gently.
Put the fruit into the oven to start cooking while you make the topping.

In a fairly large sturdy bowl combine the toppings dry ingredients.
Cut in the diced butter to a rough cornmeal consistency.
Using a fork, stir in the milk.
Get the fruit out of the oven and using two soupspoons put dollops of the topping all over the fruit.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes.
Cool a bit and enjoy!

Molly's Cornbread

2008-07-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

The is a really nice basic recipe for cornbread. Great with a soup dinner, or chilli. My family likes it with butter and honey or syrup or jam.

2 cups flour
2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups milk, or sour milk, or buttermilk
1 stick of butter, melted.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Butter a 9 x 13 inch bake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
In another bowl or pitcher, combine the egg and milk.
Pour into the bowl with the the dry ingredients and mix.
Add in the melted butter.
Pour into the pan and bake for about 25 minutes.

This batter can of course be made into muffins if you like, or mini loaves, or whatever you like. Just adjust the cooking time.

If you want to make a smaller batch of cornbread:

1 cups flour
1 cups cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 eggs
1 cups milk + 2 tbls, or sour milk, or buttermilk
1/2 stick of butter, melted.

Put into an 8 inch square pan and bake for maybe 18-20 minutes.
Stick a toothpick into it to make sure it's done.

Streusel Pound Cake

2008-07-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

The is a really nice cake, especially if you need to travel with it.

1/2 cup nuts + 2 tablespoons sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground up in a food processor

2 sticks butter (8 ounces)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup sour cream or yogurt or buttermilk or sour milk

Amply butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs
Mix the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients and the liquid to the creamed mixture.
Put half of the streusel mix into the pan, spreading it around as much as possible.
Put half of the batter into the pan.
Put in the other half of the streusel.
Put in the rest of the batter.
Bake for about 50-60 minutes.

Cool for about 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a rack.

Egg Nog Pie

2008-07-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is a big family favorite in my family I grew up in. It's not particularly spectacular, but we all liked it. Maybe it was because our Mom put so much rum in it.

1 pre-baked pie shell

1-2 teaspoons knox gelatin, soaked in 1 tablespoon cold water
1 cup milk, scalded in the microwave
2 tablespoons cornflour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 2 to 3 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Mix the sugar and cornflour and salt together and put into a saucepan. Stir in the scalded milk and cook over medium heat until thick. A a big to the hot liquid to the egg yolks, then add the egg yolks to the hot liquid and bring to a boil. remove from the heat and add the flavoring, butter, and gelatin. Cool.

When nice and cool, whip the cream and fold in the egg mixture. Pour into the pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Lemon & Lime Meringue Pie

2008-07-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

1 pre-baked pie shell

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornflour
1 1/2 cups water

3 egg yolks, beaten

juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime
3 tablespoons butter

3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the 1 cup of sugar and cornflour and put into a saucepan and add the water. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir a bit of the hot mixture into the egg yolks to temper, the mix the egg yolks in with the hot mixture. Return to the heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime and lemon juice and zest and the butter. Let sit for a little while to cool.

I think that this pie could be good with a graham cracker crust, but I haven't tried it yet. And when you make the curst you can reserve some of the crust for sprinkling on top of the meringue.

Make the meringue by beating the egg whites until nice and foamy, slowly add in the sugar. Beat until nice and thick and glossy, Then spoon onto the filling by dollops and even up nice and artistically. Make sure that the filling is not exposed. Put into the oven for maybe ten minutes or so to brown the top.

Cool completely before serving. This will take at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. More is better if you don't like surprises when you cut into the pie and thinking that maybe a bowl would be better than a plate.

Variation: I think that this pie could be very nice with a graham cracker crust - homemade of course. And when you make the crust set a little bit aside for sprinkling onto the meringue before baking.

For a really stupendous looking recipe like this one, but grander, see Peabody's lemon-lime tart.

Oriental Cabbage Salad with Chicken

2008-07-11T16:01:00.001-07:00

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This is a huge family favorite. I made it for the weddings of two daughters. I actually make it in huge bowls to try and insure left-overs, but there's rarely very much left. We do have a family dispute about which raman mix to use. I really like using spicy Thai, while other's prefer just plain chicken.

The measurements here are sometimes appoximates, and can be changed by the maker, The dressing itself is not approximate, except for the optional addition of sesame oil. This is a salad that can be made by several people at one time. Person #1 cut s the vegies. Person #2 roasts the nuts and crushes up the noodles and pours boiling water over them. Person #3 makes the dressing. Person #4 poaches and cuts up the chicken.

10 cups shredded cabbage
3 green onions, chopped as you like
1/4 sesame seeds, toasted
4-5 ounces slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
2 pkgs chicken flavored oriental noodles, crushed (or any flavor you like)
4 halves of chicken breasts, poached and chopped (3-4 cups)

dressing:
the seasoning packets from the noodles
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oils
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Get a great big bowl for the salad.
Get the chicken poaching, remembering to salt the water.
When it's done, let cool for a while, as it's too hot to touch at first.
Cut up the cabbage, as for cole slaw, and slice up the spring onions. Put it all in the bowl.
Take the seasoning packets out of the noodle soup packages to be used in the dressing.
Crush up the noodles (this can be done even before the package is opened), and put the noodles into a sieve and pour boiling water over the noodles. The point it to soften the noodles, but not to make the all limp and cooked as for soup. When sufficiently drained, put into the bowl with the cabbage.
Toast the nuts and seeds, being very careful not to burn them. One way to do this is to put them into a frying pan and stir while heating up. Another more risky method is to put them in a pan in the oven. I have burned them several times this way.
When they are toasted, add to the salad.
Finally, pour on the dressing, giving it a really good stir before putting it on. Toss well.

Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-07-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

These cookies are so decadent that they can only be made for a special occasion. They're definitely one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, and they're flat and chewey.

4 sticks butter, softened (1 pound)
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 pound unbleached flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

9-12 ounces real chocolate chips, I like dark chocolate
1/2-1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter, sugars, and eggs.
Add in the vanilla.
Combine the dry ingredients and stir into the creamed mixture.
Add the nuts and chocolate chips.
Put onto the cookie sheet in 2 tablespoon blobs. I like to use a scoop. Make sure they are rather far apart, because they will spread. Bake for about 8 minutes.

If you'd like to hang them on the Christmas tree, use a chop stick to poke a hole near the edge. Then when cold insert a ribbon for hanging.

French Breakfast Puffs

2008-07-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

topping:

2 - 4 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Either grease a muffin tin, or get the papers into the muffin cups.

I like to make 24 mini muffins, but this recipe is perfect for 12 regular muffins.

Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs, either by hand or with a hand-held mixer.

Combine the dry ingredients and add them to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake until golden brown, 20 - 25 minutes for the regular muffins, less for the smaller ones.

While still hot either dip the top of the muffin in the melted butter, or brush on the melted butter, then dip the muffin into the mix of cinnamon and sugar.

note: the painting is by Therese Albert.

Lemon Pound Cake

2008-07-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know where this recipe came from, but it is great to use when you have a crowd to feed and you need several cakes.

2 sticks butter (1 cup or 8 ounces)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk or sour cream)
1 pound flour
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan, or a large bundt pan.
Cream the butter sugar and eggs.
Mix the dry ingredients and lemon zest.
Add the milk and the dry ingredients alternately.
Stir in the extract.
Put into the pan and bake for about 55-60 minutes.
When done, cool about ten minutes and then turn out onto a rack.
Put the lemon juice and equal amount of sugar into a glass dish and heat in the microwave to melt the sugar.
Spoon the lemon sugar mixture very carefully over the cake so that it is absorbed. Sometimes I poke holes in the cake so that the juice sinks in.

Strawberry Meringue Torte

2008-07-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I got from a friend. We had at for dinner at his house, and I haven't yet made it myself. I can't remember if he got the recipe from his mother or grandmother, or great aunt.

cake layer:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour (about 5 ounces regular flour, sifted)

Meringue:

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter

filling and topping:

berries for the middle of the cake, lightly sweetened
1/2 cup slivered almonds, for the top

Preheat the oven for 325 degrees.
Grease, paper, and grease two cake pans.
Cream the butter, sugar, and egg yolks.
Mix the dry ingredients, and add to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk.
Put into the pans.

Make the meringue by mixing the egg whites, and cream of tartar and beating until foamy, then gradually add the sugar and beat until nice and stiff.
Spoon the meringue onto the batter, sprinkle with the almonds, and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Cool a bit, them remove from pans and cool on a wrack.

When cool, find a lovely serving plate and place the first layer on the plate with the meringue side down. Then spoon on the sweetened berries, and place on to the second layer, with the meringue side up.

Lemon Sugar Tea Biscuits

2008-07-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore these cookies, which is a very good reason for my not making them very often. Last time I made them I think I used a little less sugar, but I forgot how much little. And maybe I used all organic sugar and no brown sugar. I just about ate the whole batch all by myself. Well not really, but I was excessive.

15 ounces flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 small lemon

2 sticks butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
some raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the first 4 ingredients.
Cream the butter, sugars, and eggs.
Add the lemon juice and then the dry ingredients.
Put some sugar in a bowl and drop scoops of the cookie dough in the sugar and roll into balls.

I like to use my littlest scoop because then when I eat one it isn't too big.
Place on the cookie sheet and put a raisin in the center of each cookie ball.
Spritz water on the cookies, or not, as you wish.
Dip a cookie press or a small glass in sugar and press on the top of each cookie.
Bake from 8 to 11 minutes, depending on the size of the scoops.
Cool on a rack.

Rustic Blackberry Pie

2008-07-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

To begin with, I love blackberries. They are totally worth the effort it takes to pick them. It's just so hard to find them. Though it's my belief that if for some reason Oregon was completely abandoned by the people, then it wouldn't be long before it was overrun by blackberries.

crust:

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, chilled and diced
1 1/3 cup flour (about 6 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons iced water

Mix in the usual pie-crust way, place onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a disc, and put into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. In the mean time prep the filling.

filling:

4 cups blackberries
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons butter for dotting the berries

Blend the sugar and flour thoroughly.
Gently mix the berries with the flour and sugar mixture.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
When the crust is chilled, dip it in flour to coat thoroughly, then roll out on a piece of waxed paper to as big as you can and them lay the rolled out crust over a pie plate. Mix the flour and sugar and gently mix with the blackberries. Pour berry mixture into the crust, dot with butter, and then lift the excess crust up over the berries. Using a wadded up piece of plastic wrap, or a pastry brush, daub a little cream or milk over the crust and then sprinkle with sugar. I like to use fat sugar.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until done. If you are worried about the crust burning in your oven, you can turn the temperature down to 350 after 15 minutes, and then cook for just a bit longer. The pie should be bubbly when done.

Beef Stroganoff

2008-06-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

When I was a child, the dinner I wanted for my birthday was often beef stroganoff. And oddly enough, it was often my husband's choice for his birthday dinner. My mother was given a recipe for beef stroganoff from one of the actual Stroganovs, and her recipe was an inexpensive version because after the fall of the Romanovs the Stoganovs also fell on hard times. There seems to be no true original recipe. This recipe is just another approximation.

1 1/2 pound beef sirloin, sliced into thin strips
salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/2 large onion, diced or sliced or how ever you like the onions
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup dry sherry (optional)
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worchestire sauce
1/2 pound mushrooms
1 cup sour cream

to be continued

Sorry about the delay in getting back to this one.
The one important thing is to not add the sour cream until the very end, as it will curdle is cooked.

Laurel's Corn Bread

2008-06-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

This probably came from Laurel's Kitchen.

2 cups of cornmeal
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk or sour milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Mix the liquid ingredients
Combine everything gently and pour into the pan.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Blueberry Sour Cream Cake

2008-06-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

I think I got this recipe from a Gourmet Magazine some time in the 70s. It's very easy and very very tasty.

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

7 ounces flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups of blueberries

2 cups sour cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

a 9 or 10 inch springform pan

Preheat the oven 350 degrees.

Butter and flour the springform pan.

Cream the butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 egg.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt, and mix in with the creamed mixture. Add the vanilla and put into the springform pan.

Spread the blueberries over the dough.

Combine the sour cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla and pour over the blueberries.

Bake for about 1 hours, until the edges of the custard are lightly browned.

note: I see that listed in the ingredients with the sour cream is 2 eggs. Then further on it refers to egg yolks. I don't think it's critical what you use here, put note discrepancy. I wish I could find the magazine. I know it was before 1987, but that doesn't help much.

Sweet Yellow Rice

2008-06-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

At our house we like to serve a barbecued turkey on Thanksgiving. But you can't serve mashed potatoes and gravy with a barbecued turkey, as there is no gravy. So we serve sweet yellow rice instead, which goes very very well with the flavor of the turkey. And by the way, my husband makes the best barbecued turkey in the world.

This is my version of a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey, which you can see here. I've adapted her recipe to my way of cooking rice. I've never actually cooked it her way.

1/2 tsp saffron (optional)

2 tablespoons warm milk (optional)

1 cup basmati rice

1/4 cup ghee, or just plain butter

4 whole cardamon pods

1 stick of cinnamon

1 tash of tumeric (this is what really makes it yellow)

about 2 cups of water

3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

2 tablespoons golden raisins

The saffron is optional, but if you are using it you need to remember that it should be dealt with about 3 hours before you start the rice cooking. Fry the saffron in a dry pan until it turns a shade darker. Soak the saffron threads in the milk for about 3 hours.

Forty-five minutes before you want to cook the rice, rinse the rice well and then put it to soak for thirty minutes. Then drain well in a strainer for fifteen minutes.

Heat the ghee or butter in a heavy saucepan, adding the cardamon and cinnamon stick, and fry for a minute. Add the rice and saute for about 3 minutes, until the rices start to turn white. Add enough water so that when you stick you index finger into the water to just barely touch the rice the water will come just to the first joint on your finger. Stir in the turmeric and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, stir once to loosen any rices that are stuck to the bottom of the pan, then adjust the heat to medium high and leave to cook uncovered until the water is level with the top of the rice.

At this point stir in the sugar and almonds and raisins and saffron and milk. Turn the heat to low and cook until there is not water. It will make a little ticking sound, and when you look down on the rice you can see through the holes to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit until dinner time.

As you might suspect, the cardamon and cinnamon should be removed before serving, but I don't do that. I just warm people. It's so amusing when they accidently bite into the cardamon. It's all part of the experience. I don't add salt to my rice, but you can add a 1/2 teaspoon if you like.

Apple Rhubarb Pie

2008-06-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

This came about because after making two rhubarb pies I had a large stick of rhubarb left which was in need of being used.

2 discs of pastry

5 or 6 green apples (not large), peeled, cored, and sliced

1 large stalk of rhubarb, trimmed and diced

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

a good grating of nutmeg

1 to 2 tablespoons butter, for dotting the fruit

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients, and then mix in with the fruit.

Roll out the first disc of pastry and place into a 9 inch pie plate.

Put in the fruit mixture and dot with butter.

Roll out the second disc and put on the top.

Tuck the excess pastry into the pie plate, and crimp the edge.

Dob the top of the pie with just a bit of milk and then sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes. Cool before serving.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2008-06-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

This is a classic, and my son-in-law Zac is very fond of it. My daughters would rather have the rhubarb custard pie, but that is not a dis on this one.

2 7-9 ounce discs of pastry (I like my crusts to be minimal, and so does my family)

10 ounces of strawberries, washed, hulled, and quartered (halved if they're small)

10 ounces of prepped rhubarb, cut into smallish pieces

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

butter, for dotting the pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Get the first pastry disc rolled out and into a 9 inch pie plate.

Gently turn the excess pastry under, into the plate, leaving a reasonably tall edge.

Combine the sugar and flour, then gently stir in the rhubarb and strawberries.

Pour the fruit into the prepared pie shell and dot with butter.

Roll out the second pastry disc in a fairly rectangular fashion.

Cut the pastry into 10 or 12 strips, and lay on the pie in a lattice.

Make sure that you have something under the pie plate to catch the drips. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to about 360 degrees and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes. The filling takes longer to cook than you think. Place on a cooling rack, and serve at room temperature.

Self-rising Flour - Two Thumbs Down

2008-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is just a brief post so that I can vent a frustration. I think that self-rising flour is a travesty for the world of baking. It has entirely too much salt and leavening in it, and I can almost always taste it. The British are really big on using this product, but perhaps Americans and Australians are also. There's been a lot said of late about how good the British cooking is getting, but I think that as long as they keep using self-rising flour in their baking they have not yet refined their taste buds enough to really appreciate good cooking. Even Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson use the stuff.

So this is just to say that I would like to see absolutely everyone out there avoiding the use of self-rising flour. I've even seen it used in recipes that wouldn't call for any leavening anyway. So what's the point? Maybe they just like the taste of baking powder and salt - or is it baking soda? When they tell how to make it if you don't have any, they tell you to add 1 1/2 tsps baking powder plus a pinch of salt to a cup of flour. And I should also imagine that most self-rising flours are using bleached flour, which doesn't taste nearly as good as unbleached flour. So all in all you would get a flat slightly chemical taste from using self-rising flour.

Also - I am totally against using Bisquick. For a review of this product go here.

But now for the real problem - what to do when a recipe you are interested in calls for self-rising flour. Certainly adding as much leavening and salt as is in the self-rising flour is not the answer, otherwise one would just use self-rising flour. Well unfortunately I do not immediately have a preferred answer, but I am looking into this problem and well get back to this post with an answer some time soon.

Greek Salad for two

2008-06-11T08:42:00.001-07:00

1 tomato, cut into small wedges
1/3 cucumber, in large dices
1/4 red pepper, in medium dices
1/4 green pepper, in medium dices
about 3 tablespoons worth of cut up red onion, big enough to be able to spear with a fork
2 to 4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
4 to 8 kalamata olives, cut in half
a good sprinkling of Country French Vinaigrette, or dried oregano
salt and pepper (sea salt is good)
about 1 to 2 tablespoons of good olive oil

I put all these things into a large soup plate, and then I carefully toss it with two soup spoons.

Macaroni and Cheese with Corn and Ham

2008-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of recipe that can be made in any dimensions. I'm giving it here for 4 hungry adults. For hungry adults you use 2 ounces of macaroni per person, but there will probably be left-overs, which isn't a bad thing. If you don't want to add ham, add an amount of cheese equal to the amount of macaroni. In this version that would be 8 ounces.

8 ounces of macaroni

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of cayenne if you like

1 heaping tablespoon flour

1 1/2 cups milk, heated up a bit can help, but not necessary

note: if you want the dish saucier increase the milk and flour proportionally. For example: 1 is to 1 1/2 as 1 1/2 is to 2 1/4.

6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, American, English, or Irish - or more if you like and are feeling cheesey

4 ounces ham, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the macaroni on to boil, adding the salt. Cook until au dent.

When done, turn off the heat and put the corn into the water with the macaroni. This step is especially important if using frozen corn, because if you don't heat up the corn it will slow down you cooking time in the oven. Let sit a minute or two to thaw the corn, then drain and put into a 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish, or whatever size dish looks like it will accommodate your mac.

While the macaroni is cooking, fry the onion in the olive oil and butter until nice and cooked.

Add the flour, stir about, and heat a minute or two. Slowly stir in the milk, and cook until a nice sauce forms. Add the ham, and then slowly add and stir in the cheese. Pour over the macaroni and corn in the baking dish. Stir in thoroughly, and if you like sprinkle with parmesan cheese to taste. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Swedish Cream

2008-05-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is also sometimes called Russian Cream, but I first knew and loved it as Swedish Cream. There used to be this fabulous restaurant in my neighborhood that was loved by almost everyone. It was hugely popular, and they served wonderful food. One of my favorite dishes was Swedish Cream, which I used to get to go. You put a $1 deposit on the dish. I kept most of them, which was okay. But then alas, it suddenly went out of business. It seemed that the owner had over extended himself. So I determined that I would figure out how to make the dish myself.

1 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream or half & half
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla or any other flavoring you'd like

Combine sugar and gelatin in a medium sized saucepan.
Stir in the cream and heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Stir in sour cream. Add flavoring.
Pour into pudding cups and refrigerate until set (about 3 hours).
You can use any vessel thats 1/2 cup or less. I use little ramekins, or French yogurt pots, or little Chinese tea cups, ...

When ready to serve, spoon on a berry coulis.

Berry Coulis

There is not specific recipe for berry coulis. You simply take your berries, wash and dry them, puree them, strain them, add a little bit of sugar to taste, and if not tart enough add a bit of lemon juice. If, for some reason the coulis seems a bit too thick, stir in a bit of water. You may also add a liquor of your choice if desired.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Chocolate chip Frosted Mini-Wheat Crumbs Cookies

2008-05-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

For a long time it has bothered me to throw out the crumbs at the bottom of the frosted mini-wheats bag. So finally today I did something about it.

1 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

9 ounces flour (just about 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4+ teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, especially if using cinnamon mini-wheats)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional, but always good)

About 1 to 2 cups of the crumbs from the bottom of the frosted mini-wheats
2 to 3 handfuls of chocolate chips

Cream the first group of ingredients
Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.
Finally, stir in the crumbs and the chocolate chips.
Heat oven to 370 degrees.
Put onto the cookie sheet in 1 tablespoon balls.
Bake for 11 minutes.

Lemony Apple Tart

2008-05-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

crust:

1 1/3 cup flour (about 6 ounces)
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick of cold butter, diced up
2 tablespoons sugar
zest of a meyer lemon, or some small lemon
3 tablespoons ice water

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and zest.
Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like cornmeal. You can do this by hand or in a food processor.
Quickly and shortly stir in the ice water.
Then if you are using a food processor put the mixture into a bowl.
Using your hands munch the dough into a ball.
Put the ball into a piece of plastic wrap, form into a flat disc, and put into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill.
Then I take the disc and coat it with flour on both sides and roll it out on a piece of waxed paper to be about as big as is reasonable.

filling:

5 small green apples
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
juice of a small lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Melt the butter and sugar in a large frying pan. Peel core and cut the apples into 1/8ths and add to the pan.
Cook a bit on low.
Add the lemon juice and cinnamon.
Gently stir well. Spoon into the dish, then gently fold the excess crust up over the apples. Brush the crust with cream and sprinkle all with demerrera sugar.
Bake about 45 minuter, until done.

Crème Anglaise - poured custard

2008-05-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

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This custard is extremely popular at my house. You can spoon it over whatever you like. This is richer than average, and maybe a bit thicker. And if you want to be really poncy you can use a vanilla bean.

1 cup cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoons vanilla (more if you like, or use a vanilla bean)

Place the cream and milk into a large saucepan.
Combine the sugar and cornflour and whisk into the liquids.
Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring often.
Remove from the heat and stir some of the hot liquid into the beaten egg yolks to temper them.
Then stir the yolk mixture into the saucepan mixture.
Bring back to a boil - this will take no time at all.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
Put into a large cream pitcher and add a ladle for serving.

note: you can use two cups of milk, preferably whole milk, instead of cream and milk. And, if you use the vanilla bean you need to put it into the heating milk. For a more sophisticated recipe by Alice Walters go here.

chicken adobo

2008-05-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

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When we lived in Hong Kong we had a Filipino amah named Lita. Her name was actually Lolita, but to me it was not a good name, so I asked if I could call her Lita. Anyway, not long after she started working for us I asked if she would cook something Filipino for us for dinner. Her response was that she did not think we would like Filipino food, except that we would probably like chicken adobo. She was quite right. She always cooked her dinner after she cooked ours and sometimes I would go see what she was having and it always look unappetizing. But the chicken adobo was wonderful. Our children liked it so much that for many years they simply thought that that was how you cooked chicken. It was kind of like "what benefit would there be in alteration?" Needless to say I got Lita to teach me how to make chicken adobo.

1 kilo chicken pieces, legs and or thighs (about 15 pieces)
1 medium onions, coarsely diced
2 tablespoons oil
5 cloves of garlic, crushed (more if you like)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 small can of coconut milk (optional)
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/4 cup cold water

Skin the chicken.
In a large saute pan put the oil and onion and cook until soft.
Add the chicken and brown just a bit.
Add the garlic and pepper and brown sugar, then pour over the chicken the soy sauce, vinegar, and water.
Cover and cook until done, about 40-45 minutes. Using a twongs, turn the chicken once during cooking.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the pan to a serving bowl.
Add the coconut milk if desired. It's a pleasant addition.
Mix the cornflour and water and stir into the sauce in the pan.
Cook just until the sauce is nicely thickened. Taste the sauce and adjust if needed, anyway you like.
Pour the sauce over the chicken. If you like you can pour it through a strainer for a smooth sauce. I did this for the kids because a picky eater doesn't like "bits".
Serve with rice.

This dish can also be made with pork. They often combine pork and chicken. I use pork steaks, a cheap but yummy cut. Then it's called chicken and pork adobo.

Orzo with Brown Butter and Parsley

2008-05-14T16:40:00.001-07:00

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This is a big family favorite, but oddly enough we don't have is very often. We usually have it on Thanksgiving with barbecued turkey. That's because you don't get gravy with a barbecued turkey. Sarah is the daughter who usually makes this recipe.

orzo - a variety of pasta shaped like grains of barley or rice
It literally means barley in Italian.

2 cans chicken broth + 1/2 cup water
1 cup orzo
1/3 stick butter
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the broth and water to a boil.
Add the orzo slowly stirring as you go.
Boil for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, stir over medium-high heat until the butter is golden brown. Remove from heat and add the garlic and the parsley.
Pour into the orzo and stir well.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Orange Almond Angel Food Cake

2008-05-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

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285 grams egg whites (about 10 egg whites)
125 grams sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
115 grams of cake flour
1/2 tsp orange essence
1/4 tsp almond essence

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar until the whites are foamy. Then gradually add the sugar while the mixer is beating. Beat until the whites are stiff but not brittle. Then shortly beat in the orange and almond essence. Then sift the flour slowly over the egg whites a bit at a time and fold in.
Put into an ungreased 20 cm tube pan.
Bake for about 40 minutes. Then turn upside down to cool.

Easy Peasy Meatloaf

2008-05-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

This recipe is practically a cheat, and you'd think most people know about it. But on the other hand, maybe they don't.

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1 packet of onion soup mix

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs made by putting 2 or 3 slices of torn-up bread into the food processor

1/3 cup milk

a big squeeze of catsup, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine everything, using your hands. Do not over-mix, as that makes for a tough meatloaf.

Put into a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Bake for about an hour.

You can make gravy from this, but strain the liquids first, and skim off excess fat.

It is very good served with mashed potatoes and peas. Or pair it with roasted vegetables - potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, etc.

German Bangers and Mash

2008-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

I first was introduced to this meal by my German husband. (Just for the record, I have not been married to him for over 30 years now.) So the German influence on this dinner is probably very obvious. It's like the British dinner, but it's just up a notch.

1 - 2 sausages per person
1 potato per person
frozen corn for how many people you have
sauerkraut
mustards - a variety of authentic mustards is nice

Turn the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking dish with foil and put the sausages into it and put into the oven.
Peel the potatoes, cut them up, add salt, and boil until just cooked.
Check on the sausages from time to time, turning as needed. They will take a while to get all cooked. Of course it all depends on the sausages that you have chosen.
When the potatoes are done, drain them and put it butter, hot milk, and salt and pepper and smash with a potato smasher. I know that people all differ on how they like their mashed potatoes. I like mine well smashed, but not turned into a thick smooth soupy consistency. You want some substance there. Keep warm - a warming cupboard works well here.

When the potatoes and sausages are done, heat the corn in the microwave and top it with a nice big dab of butter
I like the sauerkraut cold, but I suppose one could heat it.

Enjoy! - I'm hungry already

Orange Flan

2008-05-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

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I have a really good recipe for this in a handwritten book, but can I find it!!?? But I told the girls that I would bring orange flan to their cinco de maio celebration this evening, so I had to come up with something. It turned out to be absolutely fabulous.

* * * * *

5 egg yolks
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 cups half and half
some orange zest

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbls water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Get a 1 1/2 quart tart dish and a metal baking pan that the dish will fit into.
Put the milk and orange zest into a pan and place over medium low heat.
Put the egg yolks, eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, and the almond extract into a large bowl and whip thoroughly.

Put 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water into a sauce pan and heat up slowly. Don't stir with a spoon, but you can gently swirl the pan as needed. Keep a keen eye on this sugar. You want it to turn brown, but to not burn. There is a fine degree of difference between the two. As soon as the sugar turns a medium brown, pour into the dish and carefully swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides of the dish. This will become hard very fast.

While wisking, pour the hot milk mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Stir to blend thoroughly. Then pour this mixture into another bowl through a strainer. And finally, set the dish into the pan you're going to use for the water bath, and pour the mixture into the dish. Place the dish and pan into the oven, then carefully add hot water up to at least halfway up the sides. Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes. I forgot to time it, so I can only approximate.

Chill thoroughly. Then turn out onto a plate by putting the plate on top and quickly flipping it over.