Apron Strings and Tasty Things

Cranberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Grapes and Pine Nuts

2013-05-18T12:59:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago a friend served this salad at one of her dinner parties. This is now one of my all-time favorites. The vinaigrette is a simple lemon and olive oil blend which I find really compliments the fresh greens. The grapes and cranberries add some sweetness, the pine nuts some texture and the goat cheese smooths it all out. Mmmmmnnnn.....goat cheese....

I am not sure where the recipe originated from, but after searching online I have found many variations. Some have candied pecans instead of pine nuts, others pears instead of grapes, and still others add tomato and onion, and there are a variety of different vinaigrettes used. That's the beauty of creating in the kitchen...you get to use what you love and take pride in the results!

The ingredients are simple: mixed greens, dried cranberries, red or green grapes (halved), pine nuts and goat cheese. The vinaigrette is simply the juice of one lemon, some olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar. Toss it all together and enjoy! A printable recipe card follows.

Alfajores

2013-05-05T19:53:00.000-05:00

I first had Alfajores (pronounced "alfa-hoar-ays") a number of years ago at a workplace potluck and it was love at first bite. Not too sweet, this sandwich cookie originated in South America. The cookie itself is similar to a shortbread; as a matter of fact, until today I always used a regular shortbread cookie recipe. Today I decided to make the cookie the traditional way. Unlike regular shortbread, the traditional dough has egg yolks and brandy, and it uses more cornstarch than flour which makes it a very delicate, crumbly melt-in-your-mouth cookie. The filling is a delicious Dulce de Leche made with sweetened condensed milk (so easy to make it will knock your socks off!) and the edges are rolled in coconut...to die for! (A printable recipe card follows this post)

I really like the flavor and texture of this cookie, but I should mention that I found this dough a tad difficult to roll. The original recipe (from Canadian Living) said to shape the dough into a disk and refrigerate for an hour before rolling. I did exactly that and I found the dough too cold, in that it cracked and crumbled quite easily. I had to be patient, take small pieces of dough (enough for only a couple of cookies), warm it in my hands until it softened and then roll it out. It took me 45 minutes to roll out 4 dozen. I must say that the end result is well worth it, but I think that next time I will wrap the dough and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes, and then roll the dough (it will be quite soft), cut it and place the pieces on cookie sheets and THEN refrigerate them for a bit before baking. I'll let you know how that works out. You may have better luck with refrigerating this dough before rolling than I did, but if you don't want to spend too much time, either roll it without refrigerating it first or stick with a regular shortbread recipe. Either way, you won't be disappointed with this cookie. Everyone who has ever tried these have raved over them.

You can use store-bought Dulce de Leche for the filling, or you can very easily make it from scratch. All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk (I use Eagle Brand). There are a couple of different methods for making this sauce, but the easiest is to do it the day or evening before so it can cool overnight. Did I mention that it was easy?

Take a can (or two!) of sweetened condensed milk, immerse it in a pot full of water (cover the can by at least an inch). Yes, the whole can. No, don't open it first.

Bring it to a boil (no, it won't burst). Cover the pot and reduce the heat so that it maintains a low boil. Cook it like this for 2-4 hours (yes, 2-4 hours!) Check it every now and again just to make sure that the cans are completely covered in water. The longer you boil it, the richer and darker the Dulce de Leche will be. I cooked mine for 3 hours. Don't open the can right away! Let the can cool overnight on the counter. The next day....

....beautiful Dulce de Leche! Did I mention how easy it was?

Now you can make the dough. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Then add the egg yolks, brandy and vanilla and mix until smooth. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

It looks a bit crumbly. I gathered it all up with my hands and placed it onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape it into a disk and wrap.

Now the original recipe says to refrigerate for an hour, but I found it way to hard to roll out after. Next time I'll let it sit like this for a few minutes on the counter and then roll it out. Use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut it into 2" rounds.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown but the top is still pale. Cool on a rack. Once the cookies are cool, take one and put a couple of teaspoons of the Dulce de Leche on the flat side.

Yum. Now top it with another cookie (flat side down).

Using your fingertip, gently spread a little of the sauce around the edge of the cookie.

And roll the edge in coconut.

Top the cookies with some powdered sugar and...voila! A perfect tea time (or anytime) cookie. Enjoy! A printable recipe card follows this post.

Classic Deli-Style Reuben Sandwich

2013-04-15T19:10:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend I stopped by my local grocery store to pick up some essentials. You know...milk, eggs, cheese, bread. In the bakery section what did I find? Fresh baked and sliced pumpernickel loaves...they were still warm! I didn't hesitate to scoop up a couple - they smelled divine! I immediately thought of my favorite grilled sandwich - a classic Reuben on pumpernickel. Yum.

This sandwich just bursts with flavor. The combination of corned beef and sauerkraut is to die for. Add in some Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing and pumpernickel and you have Heaven on a plate. Ohhhh yeah. And it's super-easy to make!

I like to build these sandwiches right in the pan. Butter a slice of pumpernickel (you can use rye bread if you prefer but trust me....pumpernickel rocks) and place it buttered-side down in a frying pan. Put a slice of Swiss cheese on the bread and pile on some shaved corned beef. (I like to heat the corned beef in the microwave before building my sandwich). Drizzle a little Thousand Island dressing over the meat (some folks like their dressing on the side for dipping. I like to have the dressing right smack dab in the middle of the sandwich. And on the side for dipping, haha).

Now top this with some sauerkraut. Add as much as you like.

Place another slice of Swiss cheese on top of the sauerkraut:

And top it off with another slice of pumpernickel, buttered on top:

Grill the first side over medium-high heat until it is nicely toasted and the lower slice of cheese begins to melt. Flip 'er over and grill the other side until it is toasted. Remove the sandwich to a cutting board, slice it in half, slap a pickle on the plate and ...enjoy! A printable recipe card follows.

Recipe Re-Do's

2013-04-07T11:48:00.001-05:00

Over the past few weeks it seems that work, family gatherings, a new puppy and a bout with a bad cold has left me with minimal time to spend on my little blog! To those of you who follow regularly, I apologize. I have spent some time looking over past posts and decided I needed to do a little blog updating and maintenance. One of these days I'll get around to a whole redesign, but for now I have gone back and added printable recipe cards to some of my earlier posts (made before I discovered Key Ingredient recipe cards).

Today I am featuring four of my favorite earlier posts, and if you haven't tried them yet, now's the time to try one or two of them! Spinach and Wild Rice Salad has a fantastic flavor and texture combination and is an excellent way to use leftover rice. The Fan Buns are my most-loved dinner roll...tender melt-in-your mouth goodness and not as hard to make as they seem. Pan Fried Pickerel is a Manitoba favorite fish. Also known as Walleye, this fish is a delicate white-fleshed fish with a mild flavor. To top it off, the light and airy Lemon Chiffon cake is a perfect end to any meal....plus it's filled with lemon curd and cream...who could resist that?

So, if you happen to be looking for something new to make this weekend, click on one of the links above and have fun!

Stuffed Peppers

2013-03-24T14:15:00.001-05:00

Another delicious cool-weather meal! (Yes, it's still cold here in Manitoba...as a matter of fact, my deck still has over 2 feet of snow covering it!)

My husband and I love stuffed peppers. The kids - not so much, so I whipped these up one day when it was just the two of us. I made a batch of 6 peppers and since Don can eat two at a time, this meant we had enough left over for one more meal.

There are a kazillion different recipes for stuffed peppers out there, some use red or yellow peppers, some green. Some use an all-meat filling, others have no meat in the filling. I fill mine with the same thing my mother filled hers with - cabbage roll filling. Whenever Mom made cabbage rolls there was always leftover filling. Sometimes we'd eat it just like that, other times we'd stuff a couple of green peppers for a treat. I've never had a stuffed red or yellow pepper, and I'm sure they are very good, but I'm kind of attached to using green peppers for this recipe. Of course you can use whatever color of pepper you like!

(I apologize in advance for the fact that I am missing photos of some of the steps...I'm not sure where my head was at during this process but I did forget to snap pics of each step.)

The first thing I do when making stuffed peppers is cut the top off the pepper and set it aside. Next I hollow out the inside of the peppers. Then I pop them into a pot of boiling water to blanch them...simmer them for just a couple of minutes then remove them and let them drain and cool on a paper towel. I was having so much fun doing this part that I forgot to take photos...sorry!

To make the filling, fry up some bacon and onion, then add ground beef and cook until the beef is done.

Drain the mixture then return to the pan. Add cooked rice, canned diced tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Let this sit while you make the sauce.

If you're wondering why the rice grains are so long...it's because all I had in the cupboard was Basmati...normally I would use a regular long-grain white rice.

The sauce is super-easy: chop up the green part of those pepper tops into small pieces and add this to a pan with some chopped onion and a little olive oil.

Saute this until the onion is soft, add a can of plain tomato sauce (I use organic) and simmer for a couple of minutes. (one day I'll take a photo of this part...) Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce into a casserole dish or small roaster (...and this part). Now fill the peppers with the filling, being sure to fill 'em up good. Place the peppers into the sauce.

Cover and bake at 350 until the peppers are tender, about 45 minutes or so. Serve with sauce, and enjoy! A printable recipe card follows.

Hamburger Soup

2013-03-10T16:15:00.001-05:00

Winter will be around for another few weeks here in Manitoba; we still have about 2 feet of snow blanketing our yard. Oh, spring WILL come (eventually), and when it does there is no nicer place to be than right here on the prairie. Though the sun is shining brightly today there still is a chill in the air. A perfect day for a hot and hearty soup!

I have discovered that there are many different recipes for hamburger soup out there. This recipe has been passed down through my family for many years, and it is still our favorite. Easy to make and very flavorful, this soup "sticks to the ribs" and is comfort food at its finest. A must try!

Start by frying up some ground beef until nicely browned; you want to make sure you get some crispy browned bits - this will add lots of beefy flavor to the soup. Add in the chopped onions and cook just until the onions are soft. Put everything else into the pot except the potatoes: broth, diced tomatoes, tomato soup, carrots, celery, barley, bay leaves and seasoning. Bring the whole works to a simmer then cover it and let it cook for 2 hours (give it a stir once in a while!). Add in the diced potatoes and cook just until the potatoes are tender. Adjust the seasoning and enjoy! As with most soups, this one is even better the next day. Enjoy!

Creamed Potatoes

2013-02-18T18:55:00.000-06:00

These potatoes are a wonderful side dish for just about any meat. We love them made with baby potatoes fresh from the garden, but in winter I use baby "gourmet" potatoes available at the supermarket and dill that I have frozen from the summer harvest. This time I used a mix of both red and yellow potatoes but you can use any potato you like for this recipe. Since these are young potatoes, I peel only a couple of strips off each potato, leaving most of the skin on.

These potatoes are similar to scalloped potatoes but rather than sliced thin and baked in the oven these potatoes are cut into chunks and boiled until just tender, then simmered in a creamy onion and dill sauce. I start by gently cooking some yellow onion in butter just until the onion has softened.

Pour in a couple of cups of heavy cream:

Add some salt, pepper and dill and bring to a simmer:

Add the potatoes and simmer until the potatoes are hot and the sauce has thickened.

Enjoy! A printable recipe card follows this post.

Best Sugar Cookies

2013-02-03T13:48:00.003-06:00

Since we still have at least two feet of snow blanketing our yard I don't think it's too late to post these delicious snowflake sugar cookies. It's really never a bad time to make sugar cookies, and if it were spring perhaps a nice flower-shape will do:

That's the fun part about making these cookies- no matter what shape you choose to cut them in, they will be absolutely delicious! I've been using this recipe for ...well ever since I started making sugar cookies (which is a long time). I'm not positive but I think I may have got this recipe from my sister. In any event, it's a good one. A printable recipe card follows this post.

To make them, start by creaming the butter and sugar (ALWAYS use butter!) then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then- now this is the secret to any good cookie - STIR the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until just incorporated.

Cover the dough and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour (I leave mine overnight). Bring the dough out of the fridge, let it sit for a few minutes to soften up a little. Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll each ball to 1/4" to 1/2" thickness, depending on how you like your cookies. For the smaller snowflake cookies I roll my dough to 1/4-inch; for anything larger I roll my dough to 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick.

Once you have a portion of dough rolled, cut into shapes and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least an inch or so away from each other.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and let them sit for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. For my snowflake cookies, I just made a simple icing of confectioner's sugar and enough water to make a thin icing. I will often add a couple of drops of blue food coloring. Once my cookies are completely cool I just paint on the icing and using a pair of tweezers, immediately place a colorful dragee on each tip. Once the icing sets the cookies freeze beautifully.

(For the flower cookies shown above, I piped a very thin line of royal icing around the edge and used a paintbrush to make the effect shown by swiping the icing in 1/4 inch intervals toward the center of the cookie. Pipe another row of icing beneath the first and use the paintbrush to swipe toward the center. Repeat for as many rows you would like.) Enjoy!

Chicken Quesadillas

2013-01-22T20:09:00.000-06:00

Yum...this is definitely on my list of favorite quick, easy and tasty foods. I used to always order them when I went to restaurants. Until I made them at home for the first time, at which time I realized that there was no way I was ever going to pay a restaurant for something that is SO quick and easy to make at home...and for a fraction of the price! When I have the fixings on hand I like to make a bunch of these at once. They freeze beautifully and served with a side salad, make a great weeknight supper.

I love that you can fill a quesadilla with pretty much anything you have on hand. We like ours with chicken, and lots of cheese. This time around I scrounged the refrigerator and found some roasted red pepper and some scallions to add to the mix. Perfect!

Did I mention that these were super-easy to make? I use 8" flour tortillas, though of course you can use the 6" if you choose:

Put some shredded cheese (I used tex-mex pre-shredded cheese this time), chicken, roasted peppers and scallions on half of the tortilla:

Isn't that pretty? It needs more cheese:

**Make-ahead tip: To freeze, just fold it over and wrap the quesadillas individually in wax paper, stack them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and...freeze!

To cook, put the quesadillas in a medium-hot pan that has been sprayed with a little non-stick spray.

Flip it over when the first side has browned and continue to cook until the cheese is melted throughout and the filling is hot:

See? Super-easy! And trust me, super-delicious too. A printable recipe card follows. Enjoy!

Greek-Style Avocado and Feta Salad

2013-01-10T19:08:00.002-06:00

As I was preparing Sunday dinner this past week I came across the two beautiful avocados I had hidden last week and forgotten about. Why did I hide avocados? Because I had a plan to make some guacamole on the weekend....but I completely forgot. Don't you hate when that happens? I didn't want to leave these beauties another week so I figured I should incorporate them into the dinner menu somehow. Time to put my improvisation skills to work!

Hmmm...what else did I have in the fridge? Cucumber, red onion, a yellow pepper, some sweet grape tomatoes, a Meyer lemon, some feta and cilantro. What more could you ask for? The end result was a simple, fresh and super-tasty starter that I can't wait to make again. I love improvisation in the kitchen!

I chopped the onion, pepper, tomatoes and cucumber and set them aside. Then I crumbled the feta and chopped the cilantro. Then I cut the avocados in half and removed the flesh, reserving the shells. I chopped the avocado into bite-sized chunks and tossed them with some fresh lemon juice to keep them from browning. Then I dumped the other veggies into the bowl with the avocado.

I tossed it all together with some more fresh lemon juice, a wee bit of olive oil and some salt. I divided the salad between the avocado shells and topped it with the crumbled feta. Then I added an olive to each just for fun.

So pretty, and so simple...sometimes simple is best. This was fresh and tasty and the perfect starter. I will be making this again soon! A printable recipe card follows. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! And Top Picks for 2012!

2013-01-01T09:18:00.000-06:00

With the holidays, numerous family commitments and a bout with the flu, it's been a couple (ok, almost three) weeks since I last posted. Where to begin? Despite the fact that I haven't gotten around to blogging any new dishes, I have still managed to keep up with what's new with the other bloggers that I follow (one of the more enjoyable things to do when you are laid up and have a tablet in hand). This past few days has shown a common theme among food bloggers....out with the old, in with the new. Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

It has been almost a full year since my very first blog post, and I have not learned nearly enough about blogging....but I'm getting there. In 11 months and a bit, I have posted 72 recipes and have received 17,600 hits on my little blog (at the time of this writing) from all over the world. Not bad, since my initial intent was only to post some favorite recipes for my family and friends. To all my new and wonderful blog-savvy friends who have taken the time to give me some very helpful tips and pointers, and to my family and friends for their words of praise and encouragement- I thank each of you for your kindness and support! This past year has been a real learning curve. I have learned about Pinterest, FoodBuzz, King Arthur Flour, how to imbed codes into html, and food photography, to name just a few. I have also learned that though I would like to post a couple of times a week, while working full time there is not nearly enough free time during the week to truly do it justice.

Today I will follow in the footsteps of many a food blogger and post favorites of 2012. These are not necessarily most-viewed recipes, but rather MY favorite picks of 2012 for each category. You can see the top 10 most viewed recipes from my blog in the lower left margin under "Other Popular Posts". They are listed in order of popularity. Enjoy!

Appetizer/Starter:

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings. Yum.

Brunch Items:

Cranberry Buttermilk Scones. Absolutely my most favorite scone ever!! Not too sweet and oh so tender...if you haven't tried these yet, you MUST put this on your list of recipes to try. Do it!

Breads and Rolls:
Okay, I picked two for this category. I can't help it. It was a tie.

#1: Pita Bread. We love pita bread and making it from scratch is surprisingly easy.

#2: Lemon Buns. This is my Most-Viewed recipe of 2012! True story- I check the stats on my blog daily which tells me how many views my blog has had and from what part of the world. One morning I happened to open up my stats page only to find that there had been 400+ hits already, and it was only 10 am! Whaaaat?? And I was pretty sure there was a glitch in the system when a couple of hours later the hits were up to 700+. Guess what? After a little research I found that 600 of those hits were on these lemon buns. Why? Because some beautiful stranger (who has in the neighborhood of 8,000 followers on Pinterest) re-pinned this recipe onto her Pinterest page. THAT's what brought all the attention to these lemon buns. Plus the fact that they look awesome. These buns remain the most popular post daily. Thank you beautiful stranger. Thank you Pinterest.

Soups:

Beet Borscht. This was my very first post so of course it has a special place in my heart. I only know one Ukrainian who doesn't like Borscht. She doesn't like head cheese either. She must be adopted.

Salads:

Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons. Mmmmnnn...garlic. So good.

Main Dishes:
Another tie.

#1: Prime Rib. A no-fail recipe for a moist and perfectly medium-rare roast.

#2: Moist and Delicious Roast Turkey. This is my 2nd most viewed recipe and was featured on FoodBuzz's top 9 in November. See also my video instruction on how to de-bone a turkey.

Side Dishes:

Lemon Potatoes. My hand's-down choice for a side dish. Lemon and garlic, Greek-style.

Dessert:

New York Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis. Oh yeah. Easily the best cheesecake I ever made.

I wish you all a very Happy, Health and Prosperous 2013! Happy cooking!

~Brenda

Perfect Gingerbread (for Cookies and Houses)

2012-12-13T19:52:00.001-06:00

When I was growing up my Aunt would make a gingerbread house for each of her nieces and nephews...that was a huge undertaking since there were quite a few of us kids! Every year we all anxiously awaited delivery of our beautifully decorated gingerbread houses. I was not allowed to touch mine until New Year's...a test of discipline for sure! And trust me, by New Year's Eve every perfect icicle that had hung from the roof eaves had mysteriously disappeared. And maybe a small candy or two. Growing up, my family didn't have much, so we learned to appreciate all the gifts and gestures we received. The New Year's Day tradition of breaking apart my gingerbread house is one memory that I will always cherish. I started making gingerbread houses for my own kids early on, and I know for a fact that a cousin or two has also carried on this tradition. It's the little things in life that are often the most memorable! I have a lot of fun building these every year and I hope you have fun with it too.

Printable recipes cards for both the gingerbread and royal icing follows this post. This recipe is excellent both for gingerbread men and and other cookie cut-outs as well as for constructing houses. This year I made a couple of the standard Chalet pattern:

and I also tried a new pattern one of my beautiful cousins shared with me:

I really like the slanted gables in this pattern, though I admit it was a little more challenging to assemble than the first. I was convinced it was going to come crashing down in the middle of decorating but my Royal icing did it's job and cemented things pretty good! (If you would like either of these patterns, message me with your email address and I'll be happy to send you a copy). A printable recipe card follows this post.

Making the gingerbread is easy; start by creaming the butter and sugar:

Add in the molasses and water:

Then stir in the flour mixture:

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. This dough is quite soft, so I roll it out right onto a piece of parchment on my baking sheet to 1/4-inch thickness and then I cut the shapes and remove the excess dough from the sheet:

I first wrap my pattern pieces in foil, then place them right on top of the rolled-out dough and cut around them:

Bake for 11 to 18 minutes (depending on size and thickness) and then let sit for a few minutes before removing the pieces to a cooling rack. Gingerbread men and other cookie cut-outs can be decorated as soon as they are cool, but if you are building a gingerbread house, it is best to let your pieces sit for a few days to dry before assembling (just leave them uncovered on a tray in a safe place). I have in the past assembled my pieces the same day as I baked them but they are much more fragile. So if you can, try to let it dry. This year my pieces sat for two weeks before I got around to assembling them.

I use a 13" square cake board (3/4-inch thickness) to build my houses on, and I start by first spreading some royal icing over the cake board to resemble a snowy base.

Once that dries I begin attaching my pieces and cementing them together:

This is one of the chalet gables. If you are attempting a gingerbread house for the first time, I strongly recommend starting with a chalet pattern. It has fewer pieces to work with and it goes together fairly easily.

I attach the house pieces, one by one, using the royal icing as the glue. Royal icing is impressive stuff, let me tell you. I am always amazed at how solidly built the finished product is. Here is a photo of a chalet and a Valentine house assembled:

The valentine house actually has a cardboard roof covered in foil which I iced after attaching so it looks snow covered. Because I like to completely cover the roofs with candy I find that for the larger houses the roof gets too heavy if I use gingerbread. This is just a personal preference- you can certainly use gingerbread entirely.

Now the fun begins! Decorating is my favorite part:

I discovered these neat chocolate rocks at my handy-dandy-candy store...aren't they cool? They make wonderful chimney stone.

Fun! And I must say, a room sure smells good with one of these in it...plus the wide smiles from the little ones receiving it makes the effort worthwhile!

White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Bark

2012-12-02T19:40:00.001-06:00

Continuing with the theme of Christmas baking, this is another one of my personal favorites. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me a number of years ago and it immediately secured a spot on my "must make" list for the holidays.

I love this recipe because not only is it an instant hit with whoever you share it with, but it is super-easy to make and can easily be popped into little ribbon tied cellophane bags for give-away treats.

If I could give only one word of advice when making this, it would be to use quality chocolate. Sure, you can make it with any white baking chocolate but there is a definite difference in taste. Good chocolate costs a little more but is well worth it in the end!

Start by melting a pound of white chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave on 80% power for 2 minutes. The chocolate will still have some chunks in it:

Give it a stir and put it back in the microwave at 80% power for another 30 seconds. If there are still a few small chunks in it that's ok, these should melt as you stir. If not, microwave for another 15 seconds.

When the chocolate is smooth, add in the dried cranberries, toasted almonds and coconut.

Spread the mixture onto a foil-lined cookie sheet (not too thin, it should fill about three quarters of the cookie sheet).

Melt one ounce of semi-sweet chocolate with a half-teaspoon of butter.

Use a fork to drizzle the melted semi-sweet chocolate over the white chocolate mixture.

Chill until set then break into chunks. Enjoy! A printable recipe card follows.

Fruit and Nut Refrigerator Cookies

2012-11-28T18:18:00.001-06:00

With December fast approaching I dedicated this past weekend to the start of my Christmas baking. These fruit and nut cookies have a nice texture and are loaded with dried fruit, pecans and almonds with just a hint of cinnamon and cloves. They are my personal favorite and thus, first on my list for baking.

Last winter I discovered some wonderful things on the King Arthur Flour website, one of which is their dried fruit blend:

Perfect for these cookies, and I love that this mixture has dates and pineapple. You can certainly use regular dried fruit or glace fruit for this recipe if you don't have any King Arthur handy, but you need to get some of this blend for future use- it's awesome on cereal too.

This recipe begins like most all cookies recipes do, by creaming the sugar and butter...except in this case I used half butter and half shortening (Crisco).

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat this up nicely:

Then stir in the flour mixture (I repeat...stir! Mixing in the flour causes the cookie to be tougher) and once the flour is incorporated, stir in the fruit and nuts:

Roll the batter into a couple of logs about an inch and a half in diameter:

Wrap them and refrigerate overnight. The next day slice and bake!

Delicious! A printable recipe card follows.

African Peanut Soup

2012-11-13T19:19:00.002-06:00

Adapted from Wives with Knives and the Winnipeg Free Press

A couple of weeks ago Kathy from one of my favorite blogs, Wives with Knives, posted a recipe for an African Peanut Soup which reminded me that I had a recipe for a peanut soup tucked away that I had clipped from our local newspaper years ago and had never got around to making .

I dug out my clipping and compared it with Kathy's recipe...very similar in terms of spices but the recipe I had was meatless and did not include ingredients like coconut milk or sesame oil. It also had rice, which Kathy's recipe did not. I have tried a few of Kathy's recipes and have never been disappointed, but I also wanted to give my clipped recipe a try as I had originally intended to. My indecision prompted me to combine both recipes and see what I ended up with.

I used all of Kathy's ingredients, just tweaking the quantities a bit and added rice, ginger and coriander. Holy Moly....my house smelled absolutely amazing while this was cooking! The flavor of this soup....well, any description I come up with won't do it justice. Suffice it to say that this is now my most favorite soup EVER. Even my husband, who has always sworn that his absolute favorite soup will always be my Cream of Carrot with Ginger and Rosemary, said that this one may have topped it. If you are wary of the idea of peanuts in soup, I assure you that the peanut flavor is quite subtle. If you like savory with a little bit of heat, this soup is a must-try! A printable recipe card follows this post.

The cast of characters:

I started by gently sauteing the onion in the sesame and olive oils. Once the onions had begun to soften I added the garlic, and then the spices and rice. I cooked this for a couple of minutes to bring out the flavors then added the cooked chicken, broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste.

I cooked at a low boil until the rice was just tender. Then I stirred in the peanut butter, crushed peanuts and coconut milk. 10 minutes of simmering and it was done! Very quick and super-easy...give it a try- and let me know how you like it!

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2012-11-10T19:45:00.002-06:00

Of all the cookie flavors out there, nothing says "comfort" more than a good oatmeal raisin cookie, don't you think? I went through quite a few different recipes for these cookies over the years. When I finally found and tried this recipe (adapted from Cuisine magazine) I knew that this was the one. Once you try it, this will be the only oatmeal raisin cookie recipe you will ever need. These cookies stay moist for ...well I don't know exactly how long they will stay moist, because a full recipe only lasts my family a few days. Suffice it to say that they will remain moist and chewy for a few, if not many, days. And of course they freeze wonderfully. This recipe calls for regular, not instant, oats and is loaded with raisins. The original recipe did not include cinnamon, so I added a teaspoon to the mix because in my opinion, raisins are lonely without cinnamon. One teaspoon is just enough cinnamon to give a hint of flavor so if you like, go ahead and add a bit more.

I almost always soak my raisins for a little while before making cookies-I like them to be nice and plump! Just put them into a small bowl, cover with water and let them soak for about 15 minutes. If your raisins have been around for a while and are on the dry side, let them soak for a little longer. Now these are plump raisins:

Start the recipe by sifting the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Once this is done, put your beaters away- you need to stir the rest by hand so as not to overwork the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture just until the flour is incorporated, do not over mix. Now, stir in the oats and raisins.

Spray your cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment. Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet about 2-inches apart (I prefer to use a cookie scoop for evenly-sized cookies).

Bake on the center rack in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until just golden. The cookie should still be a bit soft in the center. Let sit for a couple of minutes before removing the cookies to a cooling rack. Enjoy! A printable recipe follows this post.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Honey-Balsamic Pan Gravy

2012-10-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday was my birthday. I turned 35. Again. As I have every year for the past....few years. Anyway, as is the rule in our home, if it's your birthday week you get to choose whatever your heart desires for Sunday dinner. My family is very predictable when it comes to birthday dinners....meatloaf, steak, chicken souvlaki with fresh pita bread, salmon and lemon potatoes are standard birthday fare. I almost always choose lamb of some sort. Last year I made braised lamb shanks for my birthday dinner. This year I decided on a roast. I've roasted quite a few lamb legs in my time (lamb is my absolute favorite meat) and this year I decided to do it a little differently.

I surfed the net looking at various recipes and was intrigued by a marinade I found for a roast leg of lamb that had honey, garlic, rosemary and lemon juice. Garlic, rosemary and lemon juice are a given when I make lamb but I've never used honey in a marinade before but it sure sounded good. Another marinade that sounded tasty was one that included Balsamic vinegar. Yum....I love Balsamic vinegar. All of these flavors go very nicely together so, what the heck, I decided to go ahead and combine these two recipes.

Now I did REALLY mess up by overcooking the roast - in my multi-tasking frenzy I lost track of time (note to self: the oven has a timer for a reason). I almost panicked when the instant-read thermometer read 150 degrees when I took the roast out of the oven! By the time it sat long enough for the juices to settle it was medium-well. I usually try to take it out of the oven at around 140 degrees and once it settles it is between medium rare and medium, which is, in my opinion, perfect for lamb leg. Disappointed and, I admit, angry at myself for this blunder, I began the meal by apologizing to my family for overcooking the roast. They didn't hear me. They were too busy devouring what had turned out to be one of the most tender and flavorful pieces of meat I had ever prepared. Seriously. The sauce that resulted from roasting the lamb with the marinade was rich and savory and really brought out the flavor of the meat nicely. I can see myself using this same marinade for pork tenderloin...soooo good!

I started with a boneless leg of lamb which was about 5 pounds or so. I cut off the twine that bound it and butterflied the roast by slicing down the center part way:

I spread some of the marinade on the inside:

Then I rolled it back up and tied it in a couple of places to keep it snug. Cover it with the rest of the marinade then refrigerate at least overnight or up to 2 days.

Put the meat on a rack in a roasting pan and bake at 400 degrees F uncovered for about 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, add a cup and a half of beef or chicken broth to the bottom of the pan and cover it. Bake, basting every 20 minutes or so, until the internal temperature (don't do like me - pay attention for heaven's sake!) reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Take the roast out of the oven and remove it to a platter. Let it sit, loosely tented with foil, for about 30 minutes.

(Now I have to apologize for the lack of photos here...at this point in the process I was pretty sure this roast was a lost cause after having overcooked it, and I honestly didn't think I would be blogging about it. It was only after we had sat down to eat and I realized how good it was that I thought to grab the camera and snap a photo of the finished product. Next time I make this recipe (ohhhh and there WILL be a next time soon!) I will be sure to take a few more photos and update this post.)

While the roast is resting, put your roaster with all the pan juices on the stovetop and turn on the heat. Bring the pan juices to a boil, add 1/2 cup of red wine and cook until the sauce has reduced by about a third. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you like, you can thicken the sauce by adding a paste made from a bit of cornstarch and water. Slice the roast and garnish with fresh rosemary. Serve with the pan gravy, stuffed potatoes and matchstick vegetables. Yum! A printable recipe card follows this post.

Matchstick Vegetables

2012-10-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite vegetable dishes is a simple combination of celery, carrots and rutabaga. I love rutabaga, but when my kids were young two of the three wouldn't eat it, at least not on its own. So I had to be crafty...sometimes I would sneak it into stew which worked most of the time, but I discovered that if I chopped it finely and combined it with other vegetables my kids loved it. Go figure.

The term "matchstick" in cooking refers to the slicing method. Matchstick vegetables are sliced thinly and then julienned. I like to julienne them quite finely; this way they fit onto a fork nicely and you are able to get all the flavors together in one bite. You can chop most vegetables into matchstick, parsnips, peppers, snow peas, zucchini, beets, potatoes...you name it!

Chopping into matchstick is easy- just chop the vegetables into workable chunks, then slice into thin slices and chop the slices into "matchstick" pieces.

Super-easy! Then just steam and season them to your liking. I prefer to cook mine in a little chicken broth until just fork-tender, drain then toss in a little butter, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Avocado and Tomato Salad with Bocconcini

2012-10-21T14:03:00.002-05:00

During my recent grocery trip I spied a couple of gorgeous avocados which I decided I just had to have, so into the cart they went. A little further into the produce section was the most perfect head of butter lettuce I had ever seen. On to the deli section I find sliced Bocconcini on sale...the hamster upstairs began to turn the wheel. We were having friends over for dinner and I began to envision a lovely starter ahead of the baked salmon I had planned for the main course.

How to put this all together? I decided to just keep it simple, and I'm glad I did. The resulting salad was beautifully balanced and simply delicious.

I lay the butter lettuce leaves at the bottom of a serving platter, topped it with a layer of fresh sliced Roma tomatoes, a few slices of English cucumber, a layer of chopped avocado which had been tossed in a little lime juice, some sliced Bocconcini**, a wee bit of red onion and a little fresh cilantro. I dressed it lightly with a balsamic vinaigrette which I sweetened with some honey. Perfect!
**If you can't find Bocconcini, 1/2 cup crumbled feta would work nicely.

Moist and Delicious Roast Turkey

2012-10-14T11:05:00.002-05:00

(featured in FoodBuzz's Today's Top 9! (November 16, 2012)

Of all the items I prepare regularly, none have had as many requests for recipe and instruction as my roast turkey. It's taken me this long to blog about it because it's one of those things I cook that I just don't have a recipe for...I just kind of "do" it without ever having thought too much about the process in a step-by-step manner.

A few years ago I took a one-evening class designed for the home cook on how to de-bone a turkey. I won't say that the class was a life-changer but I will say that I have been de-boning my turkeys ever since. The method that I was taught ends with 4 pieces of turkey- two breast "roasts" and two dark meat "roasts". Though it takes a little more time at the start, there are advantages to preparing your turkey this way- it roasts much faster (less than half the time of a whole turkey), easy slicing and beautiful presentation, no carcass to deal with at the end of a busy day and no waste. You may think that the process of de-boning a turkey is difficult- trust me, it really isn't that bad! If you think you might like to give this a try, there is a link at the end of this post to my videos (parts 1 and 2), which is an easy-to-follow demonstration on how to de-bone your turkey (a big thank-you to my son for filming and editing). If you are not feeling up to the task this time around, no worries, just carry on with your whole turkey.

For food safety, I do not stuff my birds before cooking. Besides, by the time you are assured that your stuffing has reached a safe temperature the rest of your bird is overcooked. I have found a delicious stuffing recipe that is done in the crockpot- you can find it here.

The "secret" to a moist and flavorful turkey is, in my opinion, brining. I don't get fancy with this process- I use a simple salt-water brine which does the trick nicely without adding other flavors (some brines call for herbs, sugar and spices). To prepare the brine, simply dissolve a cup of salt into enough cold water to cover your turkey. Refrigerate the turkey in the brine overnight. In the morning, remove the turkey from the brine, give it a quick rinse inside and out, pat it dry and place it on a rack in a pan and put the turkey back in the fridge (uncovered) until you are ready to prepare it for the oven. If you plan to de-bone your turkey, do this before brining.

To make it easier, I will split the rest of the instructions for the whole turkey and the de-boned turkey. I will assume that your turkey is 12-14 pounds.

Whole Turkey

When you are ready to roast your turkey, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Season the inside of your turkey generously with salt and pepper. Season the skin side generously with salt, pepper and paprika and rub all over with a little olive oil. Place your turkey breast side down on a v-rack in an open roasting pan. When you roast your turkey breast-side up, the lean breast cooks faster than the dark meat and can dry out before the rest of the turkey is cooked. By starting the turkey breast side down, the dark meat bastes the white meat as it cooks, keeping it moist. Roast breast side down for 1 1/2 hours, then using a clean towel carefully turn the bird breast-side up (try not to rub the seasoning off!). Continue roasting your turkey until the temperature of the inside of the thigh registers 175 degrees F. The whole process should take about 20 minutes/pound or so. Remove the turkey from the oven and tent loosely with foil. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes before carving.

Gravy

If possible, roast the turkey neck and wing tips separately in a hot (400 F) oven until very dark with a clove of garlic, a roughly chopped carrot, stick of celery and onion. Place into a pot and add enough water to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Strain. Add drippings from roasted turkey to this stock and return to a simmer. Make a roux of equal parts melted butter and flour and whisk enough of this into the stock to create the gravy consistency you like. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Note: if you can't roast the neck and wing tips first, just use the drippings from the roasted turkey. Add enough water to make the amount of gravy you need and enough bouillon to give it flavor).

De-boned Turkey

Once your turkey has been de-boned, place the pieces into the brine and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, give the turkey pieces a quick rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Lay the dark meat skin-side down on a cutting board and season the flesh side with salt and pepper. Roll tightly starting at the long side. Tie in 3 places and place on a rack in a roasting pan. Place the breast pieces on the rack (do not season them yet- only season the inside of the rolled pieces). Refrigerate until you are ready to roast.

When you are ready to roast the turkey, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Season the flesh side of the breasts with salt and pepper. Season the skin side of all 4 pieces with salt, pepper and paprika and rub all over with a little olive oil. Roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove from oven, tent and let sit for at least 20 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

Gravy

As you de-bone the turkey, place the bones in a large roasting pan. Add a couple of coarsely chopped carrots and celery sticks, a chopped onion (skin and all) and a few cloves of garlic. Place this into a hot (400 degree) oven and roast until the bones are very dark (an hour or more).

Remove the roasted bones to a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour. Strain the stock and set enough aside in a separate pot for the gravy; you can freeze the rest or use it for soup. Make a roux of equal parts melted butter and flour (for 4 cups of gravy I would use about 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour). Bring the gravy stock to a boil and whisk in enough roux to create the gravy consistency you like. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

This photo is the whole turkey, de-boned, roasted and sliced. On the left and right sides are the dark meat and the breasts are in the center. The wing tips lay on top.

View my instruction videos here:

How to De-bone a Turkey, Part 1 and

How to De-bone a Turkey, Part 2

Easy Cherry Sheet Cake

2012-10-10T19:23:00.002-05:00

I have had several variations of this delicious cake...it's actually a slice since it's done in a shallow sheet pan and can technically be sliced into a million pieces but I still like to call it a cake - and I like to eat it like a cake too....and maybe even with some ice cream. However you choose to serve it, this dessert is quick and easy and goes a long way. This recipe calls for cherry pie filling but you can use apple, blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb- just about anything goes.

The recipe I have used for years (I'm not sure from where it originated) calls for both vanilla and almond extracts. This time around, I discovered I didn't have any almond extract so I decided to give this a try:

It's called Fiori Di Sicilia and it's made by King Arthur Flour. It is a blend of citrus, vanilla and alcohol. My friend and mentor Debby from the wonderful food blog A Feast for the Eyes introduced me to this product (she is also a huge King Arthur Flour fan). I wasn't too sure about this, so I only used a quarter of a teaspoon in this recipe and let me tell you....the end result was AMAZING! That small little bit gave this cake a beautiful citrus flavor and aroma...it was wonderful. So if you are so inclined, get yourself some of this- you won't be disappointed.

This cake starts out like any other cake, by creaming the butter, sugar and eggs, then adding the vanilla and almond extracts (or the Fiori Di Sicilia).

Add the dry ingredients, beat until smooth and spread 2/3 of the batter on a buttered sheet pan.

Top with a can of pie filling and drop the remaining batter by spoonfuls on top:

Bake for 30-35 minutes, let cool slightly then drizzle with a loose glaze of icing sugar, vanilla and milk.

Enjoy! A printable recipe card follows.

Perfect Grilled Rib-Eye Steak

2012-09-23T15:20:00.001-05:00

With the weather cooling down and fall well underway, I am trying to take advantage of our grill as often as I can...Prairie winters don't often allow for comfortable outdoor grilling! To me there is nothing quite as delicious as a well-seasoned grilled steak.

My favorite cut for steak is most definitely the rib-eye, with it's beautiful marbling of fat assuring me of a moist and flavorful piece of meat. Saturday was "date night" for hubby and I, which really means dinner at home for just the two of us with a nice bottle of wine followed by a movie or, in this case, a football game (love my CFL!). We do go out once in a while, but with it being harvest season, we are both so tired by the end of the day that we'd really rather just stay in. So I made a quick trip to my local meat shop and found these:

Beautiful, aren't they? These are perfect rib-eyes if I ever saw them! I seasoned them with some salt, pepper and a bit of Montreal Steak Spice.

These steaks were pretty thick, at least 1 1/2 inches, so I made sure to season the sides too:

I covered them loosely with plastic wrap and let them sit on the counter while I peeled the potatoes and got them boiling for garlic-mashed (yum). Then I got a very important element ready for the steaks:

Some olive oil, crushed garlic, chopped fresh rosemary and a bit of coarse salt. This is for basting the steaks with during the very last minute of grilling.

Then I heated the grill to medium-high heat, oiled the grate with a bit of olive oil and put the steaks on. We like our steak medium-rare and I found this took close to 6 minutes per side because of the thickness of these beauties. My rule of thumb for cooking a medium-rare steak is to watch it closely- when I see the blood and juices just beginning to come to the surface of the top of the steak, that's my cue to flip it. Only flip your steaks once during the grilling process to ensure even cooking. When I see blood and juices coming to the surface of the second side, that's my cue to baste the steaks- brush the olive oil mixture over the top of the steak, flip it over and quickly brush the other side then flip it back. Wait about 10 seconds and remove the steaks to a plate. Cover loosely with foil and let them sit for at least 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle. (I apologize for not having any photos of this process- I was multi-tasking with the potatoes, mushrooms and grilled asparagus at the same time).

Now THIS is a perfect steak!

Is your mouth watering yet? Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed them! A printable recipe follows this post.

Note to my American friends: In Canada, this is considered medium-rare. I realize that in the U.S. this would be more like a medium steak rather than medium rare.

Roasted Tomato Soup

2012-09-16T19:15:00.001-05:00

Adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence

I continue to look for different ways to use up all the tomatoes from our garden! Today I decided to try a new soup recipe, and I found this one online. After a couple of very minor variations I am really pleased with the the way this soup turned out- very rich with a smooth texture, you can really taste the freshness of the tomatoes, and the caramelized goodness of the roasted garlic and onions really adds to the depth of flavor.

The original recipe called for fresh basil but I thought that the flavor might be too predictable so I decided to shake things up a bit and use Herbes de Provence instead. It turned out beautifully...this recipe is a must-try for sure! Roasting the tomatoes changes the flavor profile enough to take your regular tomato soup to the next level and beyond-- you will not be disappointed. You will find a printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Here's how you make the soup: Start with about 3 pounds of fresh tomatoes:

Core the tomatoes and slice them into halves. Spread them on a baking sheet along with some fresh garlic cloves and sliced onion. Drizzle some olive oil over the mixture and top with some salt.

and some fresh ground pepper:

Pop that into a hot oven and roast for about 30 minutes, until it all starts to caramelize:

Transfer it all to a stock pot and add chicken broth, butter and bay leaves.

Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add a couple of pinches of Herbes de Provence (or fresh basil) and simmer for a few more minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Stir in a bit of cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Voila! Enjoy!

Garlic and Herb Focaccia Bread

2012-09-09T19:37:00.001-05:00

Adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence.

Finally....a few minutes to myself! It has been crazy-busy in my little corner of the world these days. With our garden exploding in waves of fresh deliciousness just begging for processing, a full-time job, family commitments and keeping a house make for seemingly never-ending demands on my time. Oh, and did I mention it's also football season? My favorite time of year! I've been wondering how I ever managed a few years ago with three small kids at home at one time, plus the garden, the job, etc, etc. Us wives and mothers who work outside the home sure take multitasking to the next level! We rock.

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted and I have just uploaded a hundred or so photos of food I have prepared this last little while; trying to decide what to post is tough. I've decided to go with my most recent culinary adventure- Monday's focaccia bread. I've never made focaccia but do really enjoy it. We were recently out at an Italian restaurant with friends and of course the fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping (which I haven't had in AGES) inspired me to give this bread a try. I found a recipe on the trusty Food Network website, and this recipe was developed by Tyler Florence, so I figured it must be good!

I did make a few adjustments to the recipe (as usual); for the topping, Tyler's recipe calls for chopped Kalamata olives and caramelized onions, and though I love both of those items I just didn't feel like using them this day. Instead, I opted to go with Tyler's other suggestions: minced garlic, rosemary, coarse salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh Parmesan. I decided to use not just any Parmesan, I went for the good stuff, check it out:

Ooooohh yeah...Parmigiano Reggiano from my trusty Italian marketplace. Soooo good. Yum. Oh, AND I recently bought some lovely Herbes de Provence from King Arthur Flour which I thought would be marvelous on this bread (and it was, trust me).

Other than my few changes to the toppings, I followed the dough recipe exactly and I must say that there are a few things I will do differently in future. In my recipe below, I will write the instructions the way I will do it next time. If you want to try Tyler's original recipe, you can find it here. I used the course salt as suggested for the topping and I can tell you that it was really salty. Too salty for my taste, and I did notice my family quietly picking off some of the salt granules. So I'll definitely cut back next time. As for the dough, the original recipe calls for course salt dissolved in a bit of water....well, the salt didn't completely dissolve and I ended up with crunchy sparkly granules in my dough...I'm not sure if it affected the way the dough turned out or not but I don't think the salt was meant to be visible. Also, the original recipe calls for 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour; I found I didn't need quite that much. Other than those couple of things, I was happy with the way it turned out- it had a nice texture and the topping was loaded with flavor. I will make this recipe again, with just those few adjustments. Give it a try!

Garlic and Herb Focaccia Bread

Dough:

2 teaspoons rapid-rising yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/4 - 3 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon regular salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Cornmeal, for dusting

Topping:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
2 tsp. coarse salt granules (more or less to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped Rosemary
1 Tbsp. Herbes de Provence (or use another tablespoon of fresh Rosemary)

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with the warm water and sugar; stir gently to dissolve. Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold over itself a few times. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and corn meal. (I used my clay pan and did not grease it but did put a generous sprinkle of cornmeal down). Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick. Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips. Brush the surface with more olive oil and then garlic, Parmesan, salt, pepper, rosemary and Herbes de Provence, if using. Bake on the bottom rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with a side dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. Enjoy!

Apple Pancake (Dutch Baby)

2012-08-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

In the insanity that is my life right now, there is nothing better than Sunday mornings with a good cup of coffee and the remnants of Saturday's paper. With that out of the way, I move on to thoughts of breakfast. I try to make a hot breakfast for the family on Sunday mornings (it's the only breakfast they get out of me all week) and today I had a craving for an apple pancake. And I just happen to have a couple of hundred fresh tart apples packed in boxes right now just waiting for me to do something with them. Unfortunately it was just Hubby and I for breakfast this morning; everyone else had somewhere else to be....too bad so sad. Hubby and I were forced to eat the whole thing ourselves.

I am really not much of a pancake person; I made them for my kids all the time and seldom served myself any; I just find them too short on flavor on their own and too cloyingly sweet with syrup. Enter the Apple Pancake...more 'eggy' than 'pancake-y', this Dutch Baby with fresh tart apple, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg is Heaven on a plate. Seriously. And easy to make. You need to make one. Or two.

I can't remember where or from whom I got this recipe (I've been using the same recipe for years), but a quick perusal of various recipes online for apple pancakes show that they are all very similar. Melt some butter in an oven-proof pan, add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, top with apples and cook for a couple of minutes. Then pour the batter on top, pop the whole works in the oven and in about 30 minutes you too will have Heaven on a plate! Enjoy!

Apple Pancake (Dutch Baby)

4 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 pinch salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup white sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 large tart apple - peeled, cored and sliced

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Let batter stand for at least 30 minutes (you can also refrigerate it and let it stand overnight).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Melt butter in a 10-inch oven proof skillet, brushing butter up on the sides of the pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over the butter. Line the pan with apple slices. Sprinkle remaining sugar over apples. Place pan over medium-high heat until the mixture bubbles, then gently pour the batter over the apples, being careful not to stir the apples up too much in the process.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until center of pancake is set and doesn't jiggle. Slide pancake onto serving platter and cut into wedges. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!