kitchen beckworld

Meat Pockets

2008-03-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

This recipe is an original creation. It's similar to a calzone, but not centered around tomato sauce, cheese or italian seasonings. Assembly is fun.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough
About 3-4 cups of leftovers cut into small chunks

General procedure:

Begin with a recipe of pizza dough for one 12" pizza. My recipe (from King Arthur Flour) follows, if you don't have a favorite.

Divide dough into four balls. Roll each out into an approximate 6" circle, about 1/8" thick.

Top each circle with about a cup of chopped up leftovers. Sprinkle on cheese, if desired. Carefully fold the circle in half over the filling, and seal edges (very important to avoid a mess baking!).

Bake as for pizza, at about 425 F. I use a pizza stone and it's done in about 15 minutes.

My dough recipe (this is for two pizzas):

1 pack yeast
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Let yeast stand in water five minutes. Add half the flour. Add the olive oil. Add the rest of the flour. Knead 10 minutes (or 7-8 minutes with the dough hook on a mixer). Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size. Punch down and shape into two balls.

You can freeze dough for a pizza, rolled out into an approximate 12-13" circle and well-wrapped in plastic wrap.

Leftover tips:
I like to use chicken or beef, very well torn apart or in small chunks. Vegetables would stand alone well, also. I add vegetables. Leftover broccoli, cauliflower, cooked carrots, and potatoes are all good candidates. In order not to be dry, I make sure the leftover mix is juicy-moist. Generally there is juice enough with the leftovers, but I have used leftover cheese sauce before, with good success. I generally top the leftover filling with a sprinkle (maybe 2 tablespoons) of cheddar or mozzerella cheese.

Russian Tea Mix

2008-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

I am not a gourmet purist. I do like some foods that use plenty of refined sugars, artificial colors, and processed ingredients, I must admit. One drink that I put in this category is a childhood favorite: Russian Tea. Drinking it evokes memories of days out sledding and then coming in to warm up, dry off, and have tea.

2 cups Tang or similar drink mix
2 cups sugar (1 1/2 will do)
1 packet lemon flavored Kool-Aid or similar
1/2 cup instant tea
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients well. Store in an airtight container. Use about three teaspoons per mug of hot water.

Sweet 'n' Tender Cabbage Rolls

2008-02-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

These are from the February issue of Taste of Home magazine. As usual, I've made alterations, which I note. Very tasty!

1 large head cabbage
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cups milk
2 cups cooked long grain rice
2 jars (4 1/2 oz. each) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds lean ground beef (I used ground turkey.)

sauce:

2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

My sauce:

Saute garlic (about 3-4 cloves) in olive oil in saucepan. Add 32 oz. (2 pints) home-canned tomatoes (pureed in blender), 1 6-oz. can tomato paste, italian seasoning and extra oregano, to taste. Simmer until flavors are blended. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook cabbage in boiling water just until leaves fall off head. Set aside 14 large leaves for rolls. (Refridgerate remaining cabbage for another use.) Cut out the thick vein from the bottom of each reserved leaf, making a v-shaped cut.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, rice, mushrooms, onion and seasonings. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Place about 1/2 cupt on each cabbage leaf, overlap cut ends and fold in sides, beginning from the cut end. Roll up completely to enclose filling.

Place seven rolls, seam side down, in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine sauce ingredients, pour half over cabbage rolls. Top with remaining rolls and sauce. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 F. Yield: 7 servings

My cooking directions:
Bake in oven at about 375 F for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Test for doneness with meat thermometer, as above.

Soft Buttered Pretzels

2008-01-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from the back of a bag of Pillsbury "Best" Unbleached Flour. My notes and adaptations are in brackets [].

3 to 3 1/2 cups Pillsbury Best Flour, All Purpose or Unbleached
[I used one cup of whole wheat flour and bread flour for the rest.]
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 (1/4 oz.) package active dry yeast
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Crisco All Vegetable Shortening
[I used melted butter.]
6 cups water
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon water
Crisco No-Stick Spray [I used butter.]
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Pretzel salt, sesame seeds or poppy seeds

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a medium [electric mixer] bowl; blend well. Heat 1 cup water and shortening in a small saucepan to 100-110 F. [I learned if you use quick-rising yeast liquid should/can be as hot as 120-130.] Add liquid to flour mixture. Blend at low speed of electric mixer until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in by hand an additional 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups flour or until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl.

Knead in an additional 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour.
[I used my electric mixer's dough hook, starting when adding in the "additional flour". Also, I found this recipe to be a little dry ~ even without this last flour addition. I had to pour in a little more warm water to make it hold together.]

Place dough in greased bowl; cover loosely with plastic wrap and kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place (80-85 F) until light and doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
[With quick-rising dough, this can be just a quick 15-minute "rest"!]

Spray cooky sheets with no-stick spray [or grease with butter]. Punch down dough; divide into 12 [I made 16] pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-inch rope; form into pretzel shape. Place on greased cooky sheets. Cover; let rise in warm place about 15-20 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to the TOP position. Heat oven to 400 F. Combine 6 cups water and baking soda in a shallow sided saucepan; bring to a gentle boil. Slowly drop pretzels into water, one at a time, cooking 5 seconds on each side. Remove from water with slotted spoon, return to greased cooky sheet. Sprinkle with pretzel salt, sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

Bake for 8 minutes; brush with melted butter. Bake 2 additional minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cooky sheet; brush generously with remaining butter serve warm.

To freeze pretzels to bake later:
I like the convenience of using frozen dough to make hot fresh pretzels ~ it's much quicker than making a whole recipe from the start, and requires very little effort.
To do this, I freeze pretzels just after shaping them, on greased aluminum foil, on a cooky sheet, well-covered with plastic wrap. When they are frozen, I tranfer them and their greased aluminum foil off of the cooky sheet, into a large freezer bag. It is fine if the foil crinkles. When you are ready to bake them, open the freezer bag, carefully smooth out the foil and frozen pretzels onto a baking sheet and let them thaw/rise in a warm place near the woodstove, if you use one, or in a warm sunny place, if you have one.
When they are risen, pick up with the regular baking instructions.

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

2007-11-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

As I've been giving out pie pumpkins from the garden, questions arise about how to use them, exactly. Here's what to to.

To cook the pumpkin meat, (these directions are for a 3-pounder):
Cut in half, remove the stringy/seedy stuff inside by scraping it out with a spoon. Clean and save the seeds for a toasted pumpkin seed snack (directions follow later). Pare the skin off the outside. Bake like baked potatoes, 400 degrees F for one hour is suggested. Alternatively, you can boil the pieces 25-30 minutes. The meat should be soft, like squash, when finished. Mash it up as smoothly as possible to use in pie recipe.

Here's a recipe for a 9" pie, using fresh pumpkin:

Pumpkin Pie (from the trusty "old" Betty Crocker cookbook, circa. 1961)

1 3/4 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin (or canned, same amount)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups milk
3 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/4 teaspoons cloves

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Beat all ingredients together with rotary beater (I'd say use an electric mixer). Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. (For extra crispness, have bottom pastry a little thicker than 1/8".) Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until a silver knife inserted 1" from side of filling comes out clean. The center may still look soft, but will set later. Serve slightly warm or cold.

How to use the pumpkin seeds:
After they are clean, boil in water 5-10 minutes. Drain well. For each cup of seeds, combine and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon margarine and 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce). Feel free to experiment freely with seasoning. Sprinkle with salt or seasoned salt. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until nearly dry.

Streamlined White Bread

2007-10-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

Betty Crocker's (1961) Picture Cookbook has this recipe for no-knead bread. It is made in an electric mixer, but ~ consider those of the day ~ you don't have to have a really fancy high-powered mixer to make this. Actually, it even gives the number of "vigorous strokes" required, if you don't have an electric mixer.

Betty says: Easiest bread ever...no kneading...mix dough on mixer. A crusty even-textured loaf. Extra moist so it keeps better.

1 1/4 cups warm water (not hot 110-115 F)
1 package active dry yeast (If desired, you can speed this up with fast-rising yeast.)
2 tablespoons shortening (I use butter.)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups flour *

Dissolve yeast in water in mixer bowl. Add shortening, salt, sugar and half the flour. Beat 2 minutes, medium speed or 300 vigorous strokes by hand. Scrape bowl frequently. Add remaining flour. Blend with spoon. Scrape batter from sides of bowl. Cover with (damp) cloth; let rise in warm place (85 F) until double, about 30 minutes.

Stir down batter by beating about 25 strokes. Spread batter evenly in greased loaf pan. Batter will be sticky. Smooth out top of loaf by flouring hand and patting into place.

Again let rise until batter reaches 1" from top of loaf pan, about 40 minutes.

Bake 45-50 minutes in a 375 F oven, or until brown. To test loaf, tap the top crust; it should sound hollow. Immediately remove from pan to cooling rack (away from drafts). Brush top with melted butter. Cool before cutting (the hardest part for me!). Slice with a sawing motion rather than pressing down, making slices slightly thicker than usual (due to the coarser texture). Makes one loaf.

* If you wish to use whole wheat or other non-white flour, use a ratio of no more than half other flour to half white flour, to maintain the bread's light texture.

Baked Custard

2007-10-06T06:31:00.001-07:00

The old (1961) Betty Crocker cookbook suggests using brown sugar instead of white sugar, for a darker, more golden custard.

2 eggs (or 4 egg yolks)
1/3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 F (or, get your pressure cooker handy: put some water and a rack in it). Beat eggs, sugar and salt slightly to mix. Stir in scalded milk. Add vanilla. Pour into (6) custard cups and

either:

Bake in hot water bath 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted 1" from center comes out clean (or nearly so -- also keep in mind the middle can be quivery). Remove from oven.

or (my method):

Place custard cup on rack in pressure cooker. Water should already be hot and heating toward boiling. Put on lid. Time one minute at five pounds pressure. Remove from heat. Allow pressue to drop before attempting to open the cooker! Due to size considerations of the pressure cooker, you might have to cook these one or two at a time ~ it's still a time savings!

Serve cool, in cups or unmolded.

Old Betty suggests passing grape or other fruit juice to pour over, if desired. I bet that'd be great!

Chocolate Pots de Creme

2007-10-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

This is from the 1997 edition Joy of Cooking. It describes itself as "something like a very rich chocolate cornstarch pudding". It's richer than American style custard, as it uses only egg yolks.

Heat oven to 325 F.

Whisk gently to blend:

6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cocoa

Heat gently, stirring to simmer:

2 cups whole milk (not necessary, I used 2% lactose-free) or half and half
2 oz. finely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture, then strain it through a fine mesh strainer (don't skip this tedious step!). Skim off any foam.

Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour the mixture into (6) individual cups and seal with aluminum foil (to prevent a skin forming). Bake in a hot water bath until set but still quivery in the middle when shaken, about 40 to 60 minutes. Let custards cool out of the bath 30 minutes, then in refridgerator at least two hours.

Mahogany Chiffon Cake

2007-09-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

From Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook 1961, General Mills, Inc., McGraw-Hill Book Company ~ Directions are paraphrased a bit by me.

I find that for making stiff peaks, it's easiest to separate the eggs while they are still cold from the refridgerator, but let the whites come to room temperature before beating and they will loft up more nicely.

3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
7 unbeaten egg yolks (medium)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup egg whites (7 or 8)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Heat oven to 325F. Combine boiling water and cocoa, set aside to cool. Sift and measure flour. Mix flour, sugar, soda and salt in bowl. Make a well and add oil, egg yolks, vanilla and cocoa mixture. Beat until smooth. Measure eggswhites and cream of tartar into large mixing bowl and beat until very stiff. Pour egg yolk mixture in thin stream over entire surface of egg whites, gently cutting and folding in with fubber spatula until completely blended. Pour into ungreased 10" tube cake pan. Bake 55 minutes at 325F, then at 350F for 10-12 more minutes. Invert. Let hang until cold.

The cookcook suggests a chocolate icing, but I prefer some kind of fresh fruit topping and whipped cream, or just enjoying slices plain and unadorned.

Wheat Bread

2007-06-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

From Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook
1961, General Mills, Inc., McGraw-Hill Book Company

Instructions paraphrased by myself.

1 1/4 cups warm water (not hot ~ 110 to 115 degrees F)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 tablespoons soft shortening (I used melted butter.)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons honey, brown sugar or light molasses (I used molasses.)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour (I used bread flour.)

Stir together the warm water and yeast in electric mixer bowl and let stand until dissolved. Mix well. Add shortening, salt and molasses and half the flour. Mix well (recipe says 2 minutes at medium speed). Add the rest of the flour and mix until smooth.

Spread into well-buttered bread loaf pan and bake 50-55 minutes at 375 degrees F. Remove immediately from pan onto rack to cool. Butter top.

Strawberry-Cocoa Whipped Cream Roll

2007-05-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

From the old Betty Crocker cookbook [1961, General Mills, Inc., McGraw-Hill Book Company] comes this recipe for jelly roll dough. I paired the recipe (with chocolate chips instead of nuts) and a filling of cocoa whipped cream and finely chopped strawberries.

Strawberry-Cocoa Whipped Cream Roll

Components:

Jelly roll -- baked and rolled up in a towel. See recipe below.

Filling -- 1 cup of whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks, with several tablespoons each of sifted cocoa and powdered sugar added

Strawberries -- 3/4 - 1 cup of finely diced strawberries, sprinkled with sugar and allowed to sit at least 1/2 hour

Assembly:

Make jelly roll, according to directions below. Unroll and spread with whipped cream filling. Cover filling with about 3/4 - 1 cup finely diced strawberries. Roll up, as tightly, neatly and carefully as possible. Roll in aluminum foil. With the "seam" of the roll facing down, place dessert in the freezer for one hour before removing to refridgerator, or keep in freezer as a frozen dessert (the beck's recommendation).

Jelly Roll

Use large jelly roll pan. Prepare a heavy, non-stick pan by just heavily greasing it. Prepare a regular pan with: wax paper, greased "heavy paper" (like brown paper bag) or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375.

Beat until light: 4 egg yolks

Sift 3/4 cup sugar and add gradually (important) to egg yolks. Beat until creamy.

Add: 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Sift before measuring (important) cake flour. Resift with 3/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add gradually (important) to egg yolk mixture.

Whip until smooth, but not dry: 4 egg whites

Fold egg whites into the batter along with 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I substituted chocolate chips).

Bake for about 13 minutes. Turn cake out onto a cloth sprinkled generously with powdered sugar. Roll up the cake along with the towel, jelly-roll style, and allow the cake to fully cool this way before unrolling to fill.

Apple Galette

2006-10-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

from the "new" Joy of Cooking cookbook, this is described as being "...a bit like a pizza, with thinly sliced apples on a buttery crust". This recipe is loosely interpreted from the Joy recipe, not an exact quotation, and uses my own personal crust recipe. Joy recommends using their Deluxe Flaky Butter Pastry Dough. Mine is also a flaky butter pastry crust.

Crust (in food processor, or in bowl with pastry blender):

Blend 6 T. butter with 1 1/2 cups flour. Add 1/4 cup cold water until it forms a dough. Handle sparingly. Roll into a thin 11-12" circle and place on aluminum foil on baking sheet.

Ingredients:

Crust
3 T. melted butter
1 T. sugar
2 large apples
Cinnamon Sugar (2 T. sugar + 1/8 t. ground sugar)

Brush some of the melted butter onto the prepared circle of pastry and sprinkle with 1 T. sugar. Carefully lay the apples, peeled and sliced 1/8" thick in slightly overlapping concentric circles. Brush or drizzle almost all the rest of the butter over the apples, reserving about 2 teaspoons. Sprinkle the apples with the Cinnamon Sugar. Fold the crust up, about an inch, over the apples.

Bake at 425 for aboaut 15-20 minutes, until the pastry "begins to color", then reduce the temperature to 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until the pastry "is golden brown and sounds crisp when poked with a skewer". Remove from oven and brush apples with remaining 2 teaspoons butter. Allow to cool on rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Best eaten the same day it is baked!!

Hershey's Cocoa Brownies

2006-09-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

With all due credit to the genies at Hershey kitchens, here's my preferred brownie recipe.

I also use it in a half sized version (better for two persons), which fits in a 9"x9" pan or divides evenly into two loaf pans (yielding more chewy edges).

This is a real treat ~ baked from scratch with basic ingredients ~ the real thing. It's so simple, there's no need to buy a mix!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Frost if desired. Cut into bars. About 36 brownies.

Simple Chicken Marinade

2006-08-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite easy, savory chicken marinade for grilling ~ reminiscent of barbeque bought on corners on summer Saturdays. I suggest caution with the optional ingredients. Use a light hand ~ there's so much flavor in the balsamic vinegar other strong seasoning should be coordinated with care.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I think any vinegar would suffice, but I like balsamic vinegar especially)
1/2 cup canola oil
approx. 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

options:
approx. 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
approx. 1 teaspoon rosemary (for a citrusy smell/taste)

Marinate chicken in a gallon-sized zip-lock bag or other closed container for at least an hour for best flavor before grilling.

Oil and Vinegar Cucumber Salad

2006-07-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

This recipe, or some variation thereof, is a personal preference as a savory, cold and crunchy summer side dish. It's from Extending the Table, A World Community Cookbook, by Joetta Handrich Schlabach, published in 1991 by Herald Press.

This recipe comes from Indonesia (interestingly, it's originally from another cookbook actually ~ reprinted with permission in mine!), but, if you ask me, there seem to be as many cultural variations on this theme as there are cultures who eat cucumbers!

Mix together:

2 small cucumbers, cubed
1/2 medium onion, sliced (red onions are pretty)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I leave this out)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
slices of hot chili pepper to taste (optional ~ I have never added this)

Marinate at least 30 minutes. Chill and serve.

Adding fresh dill, to taste, is a wonderful seasonal touch.

Cool 'n' Dreamy Cucumber Salad

2006-06-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Creamy-tasting with a little sour cream, but still very light, this cooling summer salad comes from the old More-with-Less cookbook, by Doris Jantzen Longacre, published by the Herald Press in 1975.

1 large cucumber, sliced thinly
1-2 T. finely cut fresh dill (use feathery leaves, not flowery heads)

Combine in a small bowl:

2 T. sour cream (or, the recipe says, mayonnaise)
1 T. vinegar
1 T. oil
1 t. salt
dash pepper

Mix and pour over cucumber slices. Chill and serve.

~ I add onions, at a rate of about one onion per cucumber, if they are mild and fewer if they are sharp. They really add a nice crunch and a complimentary flavor to the salad.

~ I suggest making a much larger batch than this (X 4 is my suggestion). When the craving for cucumber salad hits for a serious food lover, this is less than one serving!

Violet-Mint Jelly

2006-05-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

This recipe is not original, but I'm not sure of the source. I've had it on a scrap of tattered paper in my recipe binder for several years. I enjoy making it and starting off a new season of fresh foods to preserve! This makes an incredibly nice gift. It's a pretty rosy-violet color, and good with lamb.

Makes about 1 quart.

1/2 cup violet flowers (about 1 oz.)
1 cup packed mint leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 cups sugar
1 3-oz. pouch liquid pectin (Certo)

Place flowers and mint with 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Steep 20 minutes. Strain. To this liquid, add vinegar, and sugar in large saucepan. Boil to a full rolling boil (about 10 minutes). Add pectin. Return to full boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. Skim foam. Put in jars.

When picking the violets, you don't need anything more than just the flowers, stems are not necessary.

Scotch Pancakes

2006-04-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

from The Book of Afternoon Tea by Lesley Mackley, Salamander Books, 1992.

2 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
5 teaspoons sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk

Slowly heat a greased griddle or heavy-bottomed skillet. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto hot pan and cook about 3 minutes, until bubbles burst on surface and underside is golden. Turn pancakes over with a spatula and cook 1 minute longer, until golden on second side. Wrap in a cloth to keep warm until all pancakes are cooked. Serve with Orange Butter.

Orange Butter:

3/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
shredded zest of 1/2 orange

Also delicious served with honey butter, or with cinnamon butter and maple syrup.

Mary's Sugar Cookies

2006-04-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

From the old Betty Crocker cookbook
1961, General Mills, Inc., McGraw-Hill Book Company

For Paintbrush Cooky variation, paint designs on cookies before baking with Egg Yolk Paint.

1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream sugar and butter. Mix in egg and flavorings. Blend dry ingredients. Stir in. Refrigerate 2 to 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half and roll out on lightly floured pastry cloth to 3/16" thick. Cut into shapes. Sprinkle with sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 7 - 8 minutes or until delicately golden.
Makes 5 dozen 2 - 2 1/2" cookies.

Egg Yolk Paint:
Blend 1 egg yolk and 1/4 tsp. water. Divide among several small custard cups, depending on how many different colors you wish to use. Add food coloring to each dcup for desired color. Paint designs on cookies with small paintbrushes. Use a separate brush for each color.

Richer Sweet dough

2006-03-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

From the old Betty Crocker cookbook [1961, General Mills, Inc., McGraw-Hill Book Company] comes this traditional roll and sweet bread recipe.
It has a "richer" version and a less rich version. This is the richer one.
To make less rich dough, use 1 1/2 cups milk, 2 tsp. salt, and 7 - 7 1/2 cups flour.
This richer dough recipe makes less dough than the regular, less rich recipe does.
The regular, less rich recipe makes two batches of cinnamon rolls or two swedish tea rings.

1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup soft shortening (I always use butter)
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour (I used 2 cups of whole wheat mixed with unbleached white flour)

Dissolve yeast in water. Meanwhile, pre-measure flour. Also, separately mix together milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening. Add this mixture to the yeast. Add half the flour. Mix well. Add the rest of the flour until you can handle the dough easily. Turn dough out and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Let rise in warm place til double.
Punch down dough. Shape, let rise and bake as directed by specific recipes.

For dinner rolls:
Shape, let rise until double, then bake 12-15 minutes at 400.
Brush with water immediately prior to baking for a crisp crust. Brush with butter immediately after removing from the oven, for a buttery crust. I actually do both!

For cinnamon rolls:
Roll dough into a 15" x 9" rectangle and spread with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar mixed with 2 tsp. cinnamon. Roll up tightly, beginning at the wide side and seal carefully by pinching dough together. Cut roll into 1" slices. Place in greased 13" x 9" pan. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes. Frost with Quick White Icing.

For swedish tea ring:
Follow the cinnamon roll directions until you have made a roll. Place roll, sealed side down, on a lightly greased cooky sheet. Pinch ends together, making it into a circle shape. With a knife or scissors, at 1" intervals, carefully cut slices 2/3 of the way through the roll all around the edge of the ring. Turn each section on its side. Let rise until double. Bake as for cinnamon rolls. Frost with Quick White Frosting.

Quick White Frosting:
Sift a little confectioners' sugar into bowl...moisten with cream or milk to spreading consistency. Add flavoring (I use vanilla). Spread over slightly warm breads.

Fouteen-in-One (Lemon Butter Cookie Variation)

2006-01-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

This recipe from the new (1997) "Joy" proves itself often by its versatility. This recipe can be used for a molded cookie or a rolled cookie. At Christmas, I rolled it for my sugar cookies. Recently I made three fun valentine-themed cookies from this dough:

"Jelly Tots" (phrase gleaned from the old Joy, which gave these techniques) are formed from balls of dough, rolled in sugar. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove. Use a thimble or something small to create indentations in the tops of cookies. Drop in a tiny bit of jelly. Return to oven for up to 8 minutes, til almost browning on edges.

"Strawberry Tart Cookies" look like cute little baby tarts!
Use a simple cookie shape like a circle or a heart and for each cookie, cut two pieces alike. With a knife, cut out the interior portion of the second piece, so what remains is a cookie-shaped frame. Place a small amount of jelly or jam on the cookie piece, on the part not to be covered by a "frame". Smear it around evenly. Now, place the "frame" piece over bottom piece. Bake as for the rolled version of this recipe, for about 6-8 minutes. When cooling, sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or drizzle with melted chocolate (2 1/2 oz. chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 tablespoon water makes a nice mix).

"Sandwich Cookies" are just that...two similarly shaped cookies sandwiched together with a thin (just enough to make it stick -- more is not better) layer of jam. I used heart shapes and strawberry jam. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or drizzle with melted chocolate, as above. I did both!

Ready for the recipe, yet?! This is the simple part.

Have all ingredients close to 68-70 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat on medium speed until very fluffly and well blended:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, processed in a food processor or blender for 30 seconds, or superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Add and beat until well blended:
1 large egg yolk

Add and beat until well combined:
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

Reduce the speed to low and beat in just until combined:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Divide dough and wrap in plastic. Refridgerate until firm, at least an hour. [This dough can be refridgerated for two days and frozen for up to one month.]

Bake at 375 F 6-8 minutes.

For molded cookies:
Scoop out dough and roll into 1-tablespoon balls. Use parchment paper or slightly grease the baking sheet and space 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a smooth, flour-coated glass, flatten each dough ball to about 1/8 thick. Bake 6-8 minutes.

For rolled cookies:
Lightly flour the work surface. Roll dough to about 1/8 thick. Sprinkly lightly with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut dough into desired shapes. Place at least 1/2 inch apart on slightly greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper). Do not roll dough out more than twice...it gets tough...if you have some twice-rolled dough, it is still okay for molded cookies though. Bake 6-8 minutes.

Maple Curls

2006-01-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

These did not make the cut into the new (1997) edition of "Joy of Cooking". They are earthy, yet ethereal, like tea fare for woodland fairies. I feel that eating crispy maple curls, filled with a cinnamon whipped cream, could possibly lift people up in some really meaningful way, but then I'm starting to realize I'm what some call a "foodie". If you're another, maybe you will agree. Either way, try the recipe!

I made these straight over the recipe from the old Joy (p. 668 in my 1964 Bobs-Merrill Plume paperback edition -- for anyone of you who prefer to simply consult your own copy).

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring to a hard boil for about 30 seconds:
1/2 cup maple syrup or maple syrup blend
1/4 cup butter

Remove from heat and add:
1/2 cup sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Stir this in well. When blended, drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet, 1 tablespoon at a time, 3 inches apart. Bake from 9 - 12 minutes or until the cookie colors to the shade of maple sugar. Remove pan from oven. When slightly cool, remove cookies with a spatula, roll as shown on page 666*, and cool on a rack.

* My note:
While the cookies are hot, quickly and carefully wrap cookies, one at a time, around the handle of a woodle spoon, to form a tube. If they cool too much, they will become too stiff to wrap. Cool tubes on a cake rack. Fortunately, because they baked with 3" of space between them on the cookie sheets (which they really do need), there are only a few at a time to deal with!
Don't burn your fingers handling the hot cookies!

The cookbook suggests filling cookie tubes with a flavored whipped cream filling, a cake filling, or a buttercream filling, and dipping the ends in chocolate "shot" or ground pistachios.

Chocolate Marble Cake

2006-01-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

I consider this a truly classic food. Recently, I satisfied a serious craving with this particular recipe, chosen after some deliberation, from a book titled "The Book of Afternoon Tea" by Lesley Mackley. My favorite compliment has been Mark's comment that it is "like a giant petit four". Like a petit four, it is moist, not overly sweet, and has lovely hard frosting.

2 oz. semisweet chocolate (semisweet chocolate chips will do)
1 tablespoon strong coffee
2 cups self-rising flour (or regular with 1 tsp. salt and 1 T. baking powder added)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup margarine, softened (I recommend butter instead)
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ground blanched almonds (I used Red Mill brand almond meal/flour)
2 tablespoons milk
FROSTING:
4 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a ring mold (I used an angel food cake pan) with a 7 1/2 cup capacity. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, break chocolate and add coffee. Heat until melted. Let cool. Into a bowl, sift flour and baking powder. Add margarine, sugar, eggs, ground almonds and milk. Beat well until smooth. Spoon half the batter evenly into prepared pan. Stir cooled, soft chocolate into the remaining batter, then spoon into pan. Draw a knife through batter in a spiral. Smooth the surface.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out cake an dtransfer to a wire rack to cool completely. To make frosting, into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, put chocolate, butter and water; heat until melted. Stir frosting and pour over cake on a rack, working quickly to coat top and sides. Let set before serving.

Makes 10 to 12 slices.

Chicken, Apple and Potato Hash

2006-01-06T08:43:00.001-08:00

I found this recipe in a back issue of Cooking Light. I promptly lost it, after having made it actually, according to the recipe once. Here is my remembered approximation.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
2 apples, diced
2 potatoes, diced
1 onion (optional), chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sage
crushed red pepper and black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet, add potatoes and saute. Add chicken pieces, apples and potatoes. Sprinkle in seasoning. Serve when some of the food is turning a pretty golden, and all is cooked.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

2005-12-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Homemade Peppermint Patties
brought by Linda Matheny to my party 12/17/05.

Mix together well:
1 lb. xx sugar
3 TBS butter
1/2 tsp. peppermint OIL
1/2 tsp. vanilla
about 3 TBS water.

Mix up into a smooth ball.
Make little same-size balls, 1 tsp. or 1 TBS.
Refrigerate balls a little while, not very long
Smoosh balls into patties with the bottom of a glass. If they are too hard, warm the ball in your hand and hand-smoosh. Smooth out the edges if they crack (crack less if not too chilled).
Chill again, about 20 minutes.
Melt any kind of chocolate that you like (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips) in a double boiler over hot water. Dip the patties in the chocolate and set aside to harden.

Heavenly Baked Apples

2005-12-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Heavenly Baked Apples

2 apples (Rome are my preference)
1/4 c. raisins (optional)
1/3 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
cinnamon to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Peel, half and core the apples. I use a melon baller to neatly core apples.

Lay apples in a shallow baking casserole, preferably one with a cover.

If desired, drop 3-4 raisins, and pinch of chopped nuts into each apple's hole.

Sprinkle each apple with about 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (or even less) and cinnamon, to taste.

Cover casserole and bake 20-30, til apples are cooked but not mushy.

Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate chips

2005-12-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate chips

1 large can pumpkin
3 cups sugar (or I have been known to substitute 2 1/4 cup honey)
1 cup Crisco (I prefer to substitute butter)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
6 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 large bag of chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup nuts

Cream sugar and Crisco. Add eggs to pumpkin. Sift together all dry ingredients. Mix all together. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Grease lightly the pans. Makes 65 cookies, dropped by tablespoon.

-- a specialty of Rose Robinson, mama to Walnutt

Maple-Balsamic Chicken

2005-12-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Maple-Balsamic Chicken

This recipe's prime virtues are tastiness, speed, and ease!

4 skinned, boneless breasts, cut into "chicken tender" style strips
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 (14/5 oz.) can chicken broth
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Preheat a large non-stick frying pan and add chicken. Sprinkle with approx. half the salt, paprika and thyme. Cook til golden brown, several minutes. Turn, sprinkle and brown the second side. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer on low 20 minutes.

-- adapted from a recipe in Southern Living Magazine (unknown issue 2004 or 2005, probably) article "Fast Chicken and Rice" contributed by Jim Pleasants--Williamsburg, VA

"Ol' Fashion" Chicken Noodle (or Rice) Soup

2005-12-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

"Ol' Fashion" Chicken Noodle (or Rice) Soup

This is my trusty chicken soup recipe.
The soup's latest claim to fame?

Walnut Grove Band played SpaghettiFest in October 2005 and some friends and I brought extra, extra, extra food along with us to sell, including this soup recipe. SpaghettiFest is a warm-spirited, albeit chilly and rainy early fall music camping festival. The music was great, and we made sure the food tent was well situated -- on high ground with a view of the stage! We made a lot of friends, worked hard, and had a lot of fun that weekend! SpaghettiFest ('04) pix.

1 whole chicken
1-2 stalks celery, with leaves (whole or partially chopped)
2 carrots (whole or partially chopped)
1onion (cut in quarters)
bay leaf
2 tablespoons vinegar (this helps get the nutritional goodness out of the chicken bones)

Before you do anything else, make sure you have removed the giblets from inside the chicken and save them for another recipe. Place the ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer til chicken is well cooked and bones are breaking apart. Strain and separate chicken and vegetables from broth. Discard the veggies. Let chicken cool a bit so you can pull it off the bones with your fingers. Be careful to get out all the bones!!

Place chicken and broth back in stock pot and return to heat. Add:

1 thinly sliced onion
3-4 cloves garlic (or even more if you like it, to keep you well!)
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
dash of ground red pepper
a few (3-4) peeled, diced potatoes are a nice option here, although they weren't in the festival recipe

Simmer until vegetables are done. Soup is ready. Boil 8 oz. medium wide egg noodles or rice. Add noodles to each bowl as soup is served. If you use rice, add it individually to servings, as well.

If one is a purist, one will wish to make one's own noodles from scratch or adorn the soup with dumplings. Bless your heart! Invite me to supper! However, personally, I find these treats to be unappreciated by many, so I generally use either the store-bought egg noodle option or rice.