Sugar Pies

Toffee Sandies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:02:00 +0000

A little shortbread, a little chocolate, a little toffee - who could ask for anything more? As I pondered whether my first Daring Baker Challenge will be an utter disaster (it's shaping up that way at the moment) I decided I needed to lighten my spirits with something I KNEW would turn out great and satisfy my sorely neglected sweet tooth.

So, I whipped up a batch of Toffee Sandies. These are super simple to do and are sure to please your cookie lovers. It starts with a simple shortbread to which is added chocolate and toffee bits. You can either use the pre-crushed kind from the grocery store or take Heath or Skor bars and crush them up by hand.

I used just a touch of orange peel in this batch for a little extra flavor depth, but it's not necessary if you prefer yours straight up. So, here we go with some Toffee Sandies.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (softened)
2/3 cup Confectioner's Sugar
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp. finely grated orange peel
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2-1/3 cup chocolate and toffee bits depending on your preference.

Preheat oven to 325° F. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Stir in flour a little at a time, until dough holds together. Fold in toffee bits and distribute evenly. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly until you form a nice disk. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour until it's workable. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut dough with sharp knife into squares or cut into circles using a cookie cutter or wineglass. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet (using a silicone mat or parchment paper is a good idea). Sprinkle each cookie with extra toffee and chocolate bits. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bottoms are just browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Makes about two dozen (depending on size).

Irish Soda Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:04:00 +0000

With St. Patrick's Day upon us, I thought it would be appropriate to make some Irish Soda Bread. This is a very easy quick bread recipe and looks great on the table.

If you've never had Soda Bread, you can think of it along the sames lines as cornbread. The texture is similar and even the taste is somewhat similar although a bit more bland than cornbread.

According to tradition the "X" on the bread represents the cross and scares off evil spirits. This recipe is one handed down from an aunt and is pretty identical to the ones found in the older versions of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. You can use raisins in this recipe if you wish. I opted not to since I'm not a huge raisin fan.

For this recipe, I also did our first video segment! It's a bit rough and I learned a few things while making it that should make future attempts a bit better. In the meantime, enjoy this one and please rate the video on YouTube!

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day or Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbls. butter, softened
2 tbls. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut butter into flour. Add sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt and blend with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. (If using raisins, add here.) Add just enough buttermilk so dough leaves sides of bowls and just comes together. Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Shape into round loaf about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on greased cookie sheet and cut "X" in center of loaf about 1/2 inch deep using a floured knife. Brush with beaten egg using pastry brush. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter or jam.

Old Fashioned Butter Finger Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:13:00 +0000

Here's an old recipe I came across recently. The original title is "Butter Fingers (Christmas Cookies)" and I suppose I can see where they might have gotten that title. However, I think they make a great little cookie for just about any occasion and particularly to go with coffee or tea.

The recipe is really very simple and the results are superb. The cookies are long, perfect for dipping in tea or coffee with a crisp texture. The addition of the ground almonds (or walnuts) gives them the slightest extra crunch and the butter provides the perfect buttery smooth counterpoint.

I chose to dip some of the cookies is melted chocolate and others I presented in the traditional way with a dusting of powdered sugar. These would also be fine with a little glaze.

If you are not familiar with blanching almonds, it's not hard to do. For almonds you want to start with raw almonds then boil some water in a pot or kettle. Place the almonds in a bowl deep enough to be covered. Pour the boiling water over them and leave them not a second more than one minute. That's really important! If you leave them longer they will get soggy and become useless for grinding into a meal. When one minute is up, drain them and rinse under cold water once or twice and drain fully. Once drained, slip the skins off the almonds then grind in a blender, spice grinder or food processor.

So, here's the recipe for the "Butter Fingers" and it's one I think will give you a lot of joy with your morning or afternoon coffee or tea!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar (or 9 tsp. powdered sugar)
1 cup walnuts or blanched almonds
2 tsp. cold water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt

Directions:

Cream sugar and butter and add vanilla. Add ground nuts to mixture and beat well. Add the water, flour and salt then knead thoroughly. Roll into small "finger sized" pieces. Place on parchment paper or silicone mat and bake at 300°: for about 30-35 minutes or until cookies are just brown. When cool dip one end in melted chocolate or dust with powdered sugar. It's best to make only one batch at a time in the oven to insure even baking. These can be stored in an airtight container for a long time and the flavor actually improves with age!

Gingerbread Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:48:00 +0000

This is a recipe that my mother received from her sister. Mama Noonie, as she was known to me (and don't ask why - it's a Southern thing) - anyway, Mama Noonie was considered something of a gourmet in our family. She enjoyed cooking things Mama considered "fancy." That meant they included such exotic ingredients as cooking sherry or cognac, neither of which Mama used in her more down home style cuisine. In fact, I think Mama would have considered it quite scandalous to be seen in a liquor store to purchase cognac.

Anyway, this recipe doesn't call for anything truly unusual. It's a scone recipe that is akin to a soft gingerbread cookie. I think it's the perfect complement to coffee or tea either in the morning or afternoon.

I prepared them the way Mama Noonie's recipe read with just an egg white wash on top to give them a bit of a sheen. However, if you like, these would lend themselves very nicely to a lemon or orange glaze or even whipped cream.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbls. brown sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of clove
1/2 cup butter (cold and cut into pieces)
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 egg separated
Powdered sugar to dust (optional)

Directions:

In large bowl combine dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In smaller bowl combine wet ingredients with egg yolk (reserve the white for the wash) and stir until smooth. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just wet. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 6 to 8 times. Separate dough into about 6-8 round balls. Roll or pat out each ball into a circle and cut into fourths. Place on greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush with egg white and bake for 8-12 minutes or until scones spring back when touched lightly in center. Dust with powdered sugar if desired or glaze with lemon or orange glaze.

Spice Coffee Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:37:00 +0000

Honestly, I had no idea that Saturday we were going from Spring back to Winter here in the desert! I'd decided to make a little coffee cake though because I wanted to do a cake but not something overly involved. I also had a taste from something with an interesting variety of flavors.

This cake fit the bill admirably. It's based on an old coffee cake recipe and as such is slightly more crumbly than I usually prefer. However, I believe that can be overcome by switching around how it is assembled. The original recipe calls for all the ingredients to be beat together. However, doing it in a more classic "cake" manner would probably help: cream the butter and sugar then add the egg, sift together the dry ingredients, and then add to batter alternating with milk. I'd also suggest sifting the dry ingredients which the old recipe does not.

The original coffee cake recipe calls for raisins and nuts. I'm not a fan of raisins (sorry) so opted to leave that out. I thought about including nuts but I've been using nuts in so much lately, decided it would be nice to have something more plain. If you're inclined to nuts and raisins you can add 1/2 cup of raisins to the batter just before pouring into the pan and 1/2 cup of chopped nuts to the Streusel.

I also used my Garam Masala spice mix instead of Allspice in this. However, you can use Allspice in the same amounts if you prefer.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. garam masala spices (or allspice)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of clove
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Great an 8x8x2 square pan. Beat all ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Spread half of batter in pan and then sprinkle with Streusel (below). Top with remaining batter. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean - about 40-45 minutes.

If you wish, top with a simple glaze of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla and 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk whipped together until smooth.

Streusel

Ingredients:

1/2 cup firm butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cut butter into flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until crumbly.

Coconut Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Good ol' Charleston Receipts comes through again with a wonderful brownie recipe. This is more of a blondie brownie but chock full of coconut and nuts. The original recipe calls for pecans (of course) but I decided to use some walnuts I had left over in their place. I think either works fine for this. I also reduced the nuts from 1 full cup to 1/2 cup since I'm not a huge fan of brownies with more nuts than brownie.

This is baked in two stages with a cookie/cake crust on the bottom. Be sure when you do this one that you make sure your crust is nicely browned before you add your other ingredients. The "topping" is very wet and if the crust isn't done it will soak through and be a bit mushy on the bottom. I found this out the hard way.

This has an intense caramel flavor balanced by the chewiness of the coconut and the nutty flavor of the walnuts (or pecans).

The original recipe is by Mrs. A Franz Witte, Jr. (Lula Thomas Jenkins) in case you're interested.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
4 tbls. brown sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans)
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Mix butter, flour, 4 tbls. brown sugar together. Press into 9" square pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients in order listed and spread on top of first mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:17:00 +0000

"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" Remember that old song from kindergarten or pre-school? For some reason that little tune is tied up in my mind with those lemon sandwich cookies that come in huge packages in the grocery store. I can remember at "Little Folks Kindergarten" back in Newberry, SC that Mrs. Folk would pass them out to us as a snack. I also remember singing that song just before snack time. I assume that is where the link originated.

Anyway, I've always loved those little cookies even if the cookies themselves sometimes taste a little bland or the lemon has a faint chemical taste. But, wouldn't it be great to have a little lemon sandwich cookie that was actually good enough to serve not only to kids but adults?

Behold, an old lemon sandwich cookie recipe I found in a very old copy of a Betty Crocker cookbook. It's easy to do and the results are very good. The cookie has a nice texture and buttery taste while the filling has a true lemon tartness that really zings!

This is a great one for afternoon snacks for the kids or even an afternoon tea. Of course, if you're like me, they also go great with a lemon Coke and the TV!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
1 tbls. water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tbls. plus 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Mix sugar, butter, water, vanilla and egg yolks. Stir in flour, salt, and baking soda. Divide dough into halves. Shape each half into roll about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 7 inches long. (I found this is easiest to do using a piece of wax paper as the dough is rather sticky.) Wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Heat oven to 400°. Cut into 1/8 inch slices and place about 1 inch apart on ungreased or silicone baking mat covered cookie sheet. OPTIONAL: Beat 2 egg whites slightly and stir in 2/3 cup of finely chopped nuts. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of nut mixture onto top of half the cookie slices. Bake until edges are just browned, about 6-8 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool.

Prepare lemon filling by beating 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tsp. soft butter, 1 tsp. lemon peel, and lemon juice.

Put cookies together with filling in between. If using nuts, make sure nut side is on top of cookie.

Indian Spice Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:11:00 +0000

As we were preparing our Indian dinner the other evening, Sandy and I were discussing the fabulous smell and taste of the Garam Masala spice mix. I thought it would make an excellent ingredient for a spice cake or spice cookie with its interesting blend of familiar notes like cinnamon and ginger as well as more exotic sensations like cardamom and cumin.

So, I decided to whip up a batch of cookies using the Garam Masala as the major taste contribution. They turned out better than I'd even hoped for at the outset. They have a nice soft and chewy texture and the flavor is complex and alluring with the tiniest bite on the finish that warms the mouth.

When I make these again I may continue the Indian theme and dip one end in a lemon or mango (maybe even banana) frosting and then roll in crushed pistachios. The flavors would be amazing and the presentation would be beautiful and a nice compliment to the already great flavor.

I think you'll enjoy these interesting little cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/4 tsp. Garam Masala
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix in two eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Mix in remaining ingredients. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment or silicone mat. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then remove with spatula to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container to retain softness.

John Suter's Chicken Tetrazzini

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:51:00 +0000

Sometime you fear something special has been lost. This was my fear since I hadn't seen this recipe in quite a long time. This was a recipe written down by my husband's teacher, mentor and friend, John Suter. John was one of those people you always wish you could have met. He was of that generation of artists who lived well, laughed much, and seemed to know everyone.

This recipe typed on his stationery has been one of Michael's treasured memories of John. We've only made this dish once since we've been together and it was for a small dinner party at our home in South Carolina when we hosted my brother and his partner as well as his partner's stepmother and father. It was a lovely evening made even more so by this wonderful dish.

Be prepared, this makes quite a lot so either have lots of people invited or be prepared for leftovers for quite some time!

By the way, do you know the story of Chicken Tetrazzini? The story goes that it is named for Luisa Tetrazzini who was an Italian coloratura soprano in the early 20th Century. The dish Chicken Tetrazzini originated in San Francisco where she resided for a long time and was quite popular with the patrons of the San Francisco Opera House. The fable goes that she loved the dish so much that she would eat hardly anything else.

Regardless, it seems an entirely appropriate recipe for a piano teacher and coach to write down and pass on to his friend and student who not only studied piano but was an accomplished operatic tenor as well.

So, here we go, Chicken Tetrazzini transcribed directly from John Suter's recipe. The recipe calls for spaghetti but if I remember correctly, we substituted linguine. I think either would work fine.

(I promise to be back to sweets shortly!)

1 6-lb. chicken boiled until tender

In a large heavy kettle melt one stick of butter.
In the butter saute one large-bell-pepper-finely chopped.

ADD:
3 small cans sliced or chopped mushrooms, drained.
4 teaspoons pimento pepper
Salt and pepper - to taste.
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcester powder - I use sauce.
3 tablespoons pre-sifted flour.
1/2 cup sherry wine
2 10 1/2 ounce cans cream of mushroom soup - heated
2 cups milk at room temperature
Whisper of garlic powder
4 cups shredded American cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb. spaghetti - cooked in the chicken broth.
4 to 6 cups cooked chicken cut bite size

Pour the mixed ingredients into a large baking dish. Top with slivered almonds and button mushrooms. Bake in oven preheated to 250 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Indian Dinner with Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:31:00 +0000

As our New Year's Resolution, Sandy and I made a pact that we would get together at least once a month for a couples night. This month we decided to do a homecooked Indian dinner since Michael bought a new Indian food cookbook for me. It's Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking.

Sandy and I decided on a menu based on chicken with a few other favorite ingredients deciding the side dishes. You'll notice an ingredient in the list called "garam masala." This is a wonderful spice blend used in many dishes and can be found at international specialty stores or Indian grocers. If you don't have any nearby you can get it online at Amazon.com .

We'd originally planned to do a Banana Halva for dessert, but by the time we'd finished up everything else everyone wanted to start eating. Of course, we'd all been snacking on my peanut butter buckeyes while cooking, so the sweet tooth had been satiated anyway.

And yes, that is a Christmas plate you see in the photo. By the time we'd finished cooking everyone was in such a hurry to eat that Michael just grabbed plates from the cabinet and that's the one that I happened to get a photo of before the food was devoured!

The menu consisted of:

Silken Chicken (Reshmi Murgh)
Indian Mashed Potatoes (Mash Aloo)
Spinach with Ginger and Green Chilies (Saag Bhaji)
Rice with Peas and Dill (Matar aur Sooay ka Pullao)
Naan
Garlic Padmum
Pale Orange Mango Lassi (Aam ki Lassi)

We were really pleased with the results and it turned into a real group effort with everyone pitching in on the prep work and cooking. Sandy and I spent the afternoon shopping for ingredients and enjoyed visiting a very small but friendly Indian grocery store, India Dukaan. The proprietor was very friendly and she helped us find the items on our list and also gave us some tips for preparing things.

Here are the recipes for our Indian Dinner with Friends:

Pale Orange Mango Lassi

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1 cup chopped ripe mango
3 tbls. sugar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom seeds
8 ice cubes

Directions:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. (Makes 2-3 glasses).

Rice with Peas and Dill:

Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati rice
3 tbls. vegetable oil
3 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods
1 small onion (peeled and cut into half rings)
1-2 tsp. salt
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
2 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 cup shelled fresh or frozen peas (if using frozen cook for 2 minutes first)

Directions:

Put rice in bowl and wash well several times. Drain and leave in a strainer set over a bowl.
Put oil in a heavy saucepan and set over medium-high heat. When hot add cloves and cardamom pods. Stir for a few seconds. Add onion and stir until brown. Add rice and 1 tsp. salt, garam masala, and dill. Stir for about a minute. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce heat to low setting. Cook for 20 minutes. Add peas and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. Stir gently before serving.

Spinach with Ginger and Green Chilies

Ingredients:

1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger (grated)
3 tbls. vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds trimmed and washed fresh spinach
2-3 hot green chilies finely chopped (do not remove seeds)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cut ginger crosswise into thin slices and then into very fine slivers. Put oil in large wide pan or wok and set over high heat. When oil is very hot add the ginger. Stir until ginger starts to brown. Add the spinach and chilies. Stir and cook until spinach has completely wilted. Add salt, garam masala, sugar and cayenne. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Indian Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1/4 cup milk (heated)
4-6 tbls. butter cut into pieces
1 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1 fresh hot green chile, finely chopped (do not remove seeds)
1 tsp. garam masala
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbls. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Boil the potatoes with enough water to cover. When tender (about 15-20 minutes) drain and mash them. Add hot milk and butter and beat with whisk or fork adding 1 or 2 more tablespoons of milk if necessary for needed consistency. Add all other ingredients and mix well.

Silken Chicken:

Ingredients:

4 boned, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbls. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground roasted cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 clove garlic (peeled and crushed)
1/2 tsp. peeled and finely grated ginger

For Sprinkling over chicken:
Salt as needed
Fresh ground black pepper as needed
Garam Masala
Ground roasted cumin seed
Cayenne pepper
1 tsp. mint (finely chopped or dried flakes)
Generous squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to highest temperature and arrange rack in upper third. Cut 3 diagonal slits across top of each piece of chicken being careful not to slice completely through. Prick chicken pieces with tip of sharp knife. Place in single layer in baking dish and rub both sides with lemon juice and salt. Leave for 5 minutes. Combine cream, garam masala, cayenne, cumin seeds, paprika, garlic and ginger in bowl and stir well with whisk. Pour over the chicken and rub into the meat. Leave for 10 minutes. Lift chicken from dish (most of the marinade should stick to chicken) and place down in single layer in shallow baking dish lined with foil. On top of each piece sprinkle the dry ingredients. Squeeze lemon juice over pieces and put into oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is just white all the way through. Serve immediately with mint side up.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:16:00 +0000

I'd been wanting to try this little confection for quite awhile but just hadn't gotten around to it. Finally, during one of my middle of the night bursts of creativity, I pulled out the ingredients and got started.

I'm a peanut butter fiend, so love just about anything that incorporates peanut butter. I've seen a fair number of variations of this candy over the years. This particular one is based on a recipe by Paula Deen and I chose it for it's fairly simple and straightforward approach.

These are very simple and quick to make (especially if you use my shortcut) and make a great homemade candy treat. I could certainly see this being presented in a little box for Valentine's Day.

Ingredients:

1 12oz. jar of creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 16oz. box or bag of confectioner's sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
1 to 2 containers of dipping chocolate (often found near fresh fruit in grocery stores) OR 8 oz. milk chocolate chips and 1 bar of paraffin

Directions:

Mix together peanut butter, sugar, and butter. Chill in refrigerator until firm then roll into small balls. If using dipping chocolate, follow directions on container to melt then dip balls into chocolate using a toothpick. Make sure you leave a small area at the top uncovered to give the "buckeye" appearance. If using the chocolate chips and paraffin, melt in double boiler and allow to cool just slightly. Dip peanut butter balls as before. Chill before serving for best presentation.

Lemon Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:34:00 +0000

I used to have a friend and co-worker who made the most amazing lemon bars. We demanded them for every occasion at the office and it was always the choice in lieu of cake for birthdays. Unfortunately, I don't have her recipe but this one is a pretty close second!

As you know if you read this blog even rarely, I love all things lemon. In fact, I was discussing with my doctor this week my love of lemon going back to childhood when I was known to suck on a cut lemon as a snack. Yes, I am warped. But, I must also attest to the healing powers of citrus.

A few months ago during my physical I was found to have a one centimeter stone in my right kidney. That helped explain some of the intense lower back pain I'd been having. Since there were some other pressing concerns about osteoporosis we put off doing much about the stone for a couple months. In the meantime, I decided to keep extra hydrated with lots of lemon. I drank water with lemon juice and organic lemonade made from real lemons constantly. Long story short, we got around to doing an ultrasound in preparation for a urology consult a couple weeks ago. By that time, I'd noticed the pain was gone and sure enough there was no stone on the ultrasound! Yes, the lemon juice and water had helped dissolve it and allow my body to reabsorb the stone. So, I heartily recommend lemon.

So, here we go with some great lemon bars that will have your mouth watering and help (maybe) keep the urologist away!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel (optional)
2 tbls. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon extract (if you like a lot of lemon flavor - but optional)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar together and press into 8x8x2 pan (or 9x9x2 pan) making sure to build up edges to about 1/2 inch. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Mix remaining ingredients together until creamy and light (about 3-4 minutes). Pour over hot crust and return to oven for about 25 minutes or until center of bars do not leave an indention when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Dust with a bit of powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Iced Georgia Squares

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:57:00 +0000

A cross between shortbread and a cake. That's about the best I can describe these little cookie/cake squares from a recipe by Paula Deen. I liked them but Michael thought they were too "powdery".

At any rate the recipe given in her book was about half of what is actually needed for the size pan she uses. I've doubled the recipe here so that it should fit nicely in a 9x13x2 pan.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
couple pinches of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13x2 inch pan and set aside. Cream together butter, sugar, and egg. Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to wet. Pour batter into pan and bake for 12-14 minutes. Cool and ice.

Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
8 tbls. butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
Small amount of milk

Combine sugar and butter and add vanilla. Add just enough milk to reach desired consistency. Pour onto baked batter. Cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:15:00 +0000

Here's another Paula Deen adaptation for you. I love anything with Peanut Butter and this simple bar cookie looked delicious. It's a fairly quick and easy recipe to do and the taste is outstanding. I could definitely see this working with some chocolate, either as a drizzled icing or even frosted or layered. I may experiment with this recipe some in the future and see what types of variations with chocolate and peanut butter I can come up with.

As it is, you'll find the peanut butter alone quite wonderful and rich. A note of caution when making this, though. For those of you unused to working with hot ingredients and eggs, remember to let this cool before adding the eggs or make sure you temper your eggs before adding to the hot peanut butter and melted butter. Otherwise you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your peanut butter and somehow I don't see that becoming as popular as Reese's!

So, here we go, Peanut Butter Bars a la Paula Deen...

Ingredients:

8 tblsp. butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Melt butter and peanut butter together in bowl over hot water. Add remaining ingredients and stir well until blended. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Paula Deen's Blonde Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:18:00 +0000

One of my favorite gifts this year was a copy of Paula Deen's very first cookbook from the Lady & Sons Restaurant in Savannah. My friends Sandy & Jeff presented it to me this past week during our "After Christmas Dinner" at Firebird's here in Tucson.

I decided to try one of Paula's early recipes titled "Aunt Glennis's Blonde Brownies" this morning. The result was a wonderful rich and chewy blondie chock full of pecans and chocolate chips. This would be great served slightly warm with a scoop of ice cream and perhaps a nice maple butter sauce (a la Applebee's). The two cups of chopped pecans were a bit more than I normally like in my brownies so in future I will probably scale it back a bit or use much smaller pieces. I substituted milk chocolate chips in the recipe since I didn't have semi-sweet in the pantry after the Christmas cooking. I don't think either would be bad in this one. I'd also like to try some butterscotch chips in this recipe too.

I think you'll enjoy this one since it's fairly easy to do and turned out great.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
8 tblsp. butter
16 oz. brown sugar
2 cups self rising flour
1 tblsp. vanilla
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
6 oz. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs and butter together and add sugar. Gradually add flour and mix well. Stir in vanilla. Fold in nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips. Bake in greased and floured 9x13 pan for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool, cut and serve.

Adapted from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:21:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a very happy New Year! We spent the holidays with Michael's family in Prescott Valley, AZ and it was the first time in 12 years together I'd had a chance to meet all his brothers and sisters! We had a marvelous time and ended the holiday with a trip to the Grand Canyon.

I'm looking forward to a couple weeks off from cooking and then I'll be back with some new recipes including some experiments with selections from Julia Child's classic cookbook that I received as a Christmas present from Michael.

In the meantime, enjoy some photos from our Grand Canyon trip!

Spice Drop Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:41:00 +0000

This afternoon I decided to crack open Charleston Receipts and see what I could find for cookies that didn't require granulated sugar or powdered sugar. I'd run out of both and wanted to do a bit more baking before Michael got home with my resupply.

As luck would have it, I ran across a recipe for "Sugarless Drop Cookies" that looked pretty interesting. Although I don't like using light corn syrup in my baking (except for candies and some icings as a binder), I decided to try out this one that used light corn syrup and honey as the sweeteners. I played around with the recipe just a bit and since I had some pecan pieces left from other projects, decided to add them too.

The result was pretty good. This turned out almost like a mock ginger snap. It has a little bite to it thanks to the spices and isn't overly sweet. I've adjusted the baking temperature a bit because, as an older recipe, the temp was pretty high for a cookie. The first batch were crisper than I really liked so dropping the temp kept them crisp but also a bit chewy in the centers.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
7/8 cup light corn syrup
2 tblsp. honey
1 beaten egg
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together dry ingredients in bowl. In mixing bowl cream shortening until light and fluffy. Add egg, honey, corn syrup and vanilla and beat well. Mix in dry ingredients in thirds mixing well after each addition. Drop by teaspoon onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned. Remove to cooling rack.

Butterscotch Blondie Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:39:00 +0000

The holiday baking continues with a nice recipe for a Butterscotch Blondie Cookie. This is, for the most part, a sugar cookie with butterscotch chips. Still, they're surprisingly different with the butterscotch taste. They're also pretty simple to make and this recipe makes a generous 50 cookies or so.

I found that rolling them in sugar before baking gives them a nice "Christmasy" look. This is a great cookie for those holiday gift baskets, trays, and tins since the are tasty, easy, and inexpensive to make. I'm one of those people who abhors the cliche of the Christmas tree sugar cookie and while I love gingerbread, I prefer a real soft gingerbread to the cardboard that passes for gingerbread men and women this time of year. So, something that is quick and easy but also a little different fits my requirements when I'm baking in volume for presents.

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar (plus a bit extra for rolling)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups butterscotch chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.Cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and and eggs. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Stir in butterscotch chips. Chill dough for about 30 minutes. Measure dough by tablespoons and form into balls. Roll in extra sugar and drop onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes and remove to wire racks to cool.

Apologies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:19:00 +0000

My apologies for the construction on the blog at the moment. It seems that December is the month from Hell for all things computer. I've been using a template designed by someone in exchange for links to their site. Unfortunately, they did not keep up their end of the bargain and allowed their hosting of background images and other elements to expire. So, I'm having to redo the theme for this blog. as if I don't have enough to do.

Pecan Clusters

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:08:00 +0000

The things you see when your laptop dies and you get bored and watch TV instead of reading newsfeeds or wasting time on Facebook. In this case it was a recipe by Paula Deen for Pecan Clusters.

Yes, I was getting my "back home" fix and watching Paula's show on Christmas Cookies and she whipped up a batch of this quick but delicious chocolate candy with pecans. In some ways it's similar to divinity but without the use of egg white and beating forever. It's also chocolate which is always a plus.

You can make this in less than 20 minutes total and have it chilling and setting up in the fridge, perfect for holiday trays or tins. In fact, this was the first candy in the rebirth of Mama's Christmas gift tins tradition. I actually got enough out of this recipe for two tins of candy with about half a dozen left over to enjoy! The recipe says it makes about 6 dozen but, of course, I make them a bigger than most of these recipe people because - I like to know I'm eating something!

Hope you enjoy these lovely and easy candies!

Pecan Clusters
from a recipe by Paula Deen

Ingredients:

1 7 ounce jar of marshmallow creme
3/4 pound chocolate morsels (I used milk chocolate)
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 oz. evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
2 cups pecan halves

Directions:

Place marshmallow creme and chocolate morsels in large bowl. In a saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter and bring to a boil. Continue cooking on medium-low heat for 8 minutes. Pour over marshmallow and chocolate and stir until melted and blended. Stir in pecans and drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper. (Note: I use tablespoons.)

Review: Martha’s Noel Nut Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:51:00 +0000

Really? Noel Nut Balls? Martha, we’ve got to do better on names. Unfortunately, the title of this recipe puts me in mind of Alec Baldwin’s classic SNL sketch “Pete Scweddy’s Balls.”
Anyway, I ran across this while bored and watching Martha Stewart via cable On-Demand service. I was intrigued because the recipe seemed quite similar to Mama’s own Russian Tea Cakes as well as one of my favorite store-bought Christmas Cookies, “Cashew Nougats” by Archway. Actually, comparing my Mama’s recipe and Martha’s recipe they are nearly identical except for the use of the bourbon and honey.
This evening I undertook what I believe is my first Martha Stewart recipe. To be honest, I think most of her stuff is, well, over the top. I did have fun reading the comments on the site, though. Martha has quite the following and not all of them are quite up to speed on those cooking skills. One woman was complaining that she thought because these had bourbon that they were bourbon balls. She was upset they turned out to be a cookie! Of course, a cursory glance at the ingredients is going to tell you these are going to be a cookie texture!
The results were quite good. I was pleased and sure enough the texture was pretty close to my favorite “Cashew Nougat” cookies although just a touch more dense. However, that was not a detraction.

Rather than the bourbon Martha calls for I used a rum extract and little lemon extract. I didn’t have any bourbon on hand and wasn’t going out to buy a bottle for one recipe, so I made do. I actually liked the result. You still get that hint of alcohol flavor that is hard to pin down and the lemon provides a nice crispness to counter the nuttiness of the pecans.
A tip she mentioned on her show when doing this recipe that I found quite handy was to form the dough into a square before refrigerating. Then when ready to make the cookies you cut the dough into squares and roll the squares in your hands to form the balls. It worked very well. I actually made the cookies slightly larger than she calls for because the 2 teaspoon size seemed a little skimpy to me. Hey, I like to know when I’m eating something!
I think this one will become a regular part of my cookie routine as it’s pretty easy to do, fairly quick and the results were consistent with what I expected looking at the ingredients and directions. The next time I do it, I will substitute cashews for the pecans!
So, you’ll find the full recipe here. In place of the bourbon I substituted 1/4 tsp. Rum Extract and 1/4 tsp. Lemon Extract. You can use orange, too, and get a similar result.

Mardi Gras Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:00:00 +0000

I had originally planned to post this for Mardi Gras, but thanks to a local storytelling group, I was asked to tell this story for their "Kitchen Confidential" series tonight.

So, rather than wait, I'll go ahead and let you hear it too. Just in case you weren't around Hotel Congress in Tucson tonight. Bon chance, cher!

In 1988 I found myself on a trip to New Orleans with Mama. I was lucky to be the star student in my nursing program at Piedmont Technical College in South Carolina and was chosen to attend a medical seminar down there.

My brother, who was a travel agent had arranged a rental car for us to make the trip because Mama still drove a 1977 Mercury station wagon barely up to driving to the mailbox much less Louisiana. He'd also arranged for us to stay at a 5 star hotel in the French Quarter. This was no small affair because we spent most of our childhood staying in motels, if we were lucky and almost never chain ones. Many times our family vacation would consist of driving to Myrtle Beach about 4 in the morning, changing into swimsuits in the back of the car with the windows blocked by blankets and coming home when it got dark. In fact, before this trip a hotel with inside hallways was a very rare event in Mama's life.

I was trying desperately to be cool about the trip. After all, I was on a nice career track and looking forward to employment at a major hospital in South Carolina. I'd spent my summers flitting around California with my brother and staying at fancy hotels thanks to his job. But Mama was having none of this “fancy hotel” stuff! When she got ready to pack she hauled out her one circa 1960 suitcase and her array of plastic trash bags. After all, who needs luggage when your idea of luxury is an efficiency at the beach – meaning it has a couple beds and a kitchenette so you don't have to go out to a restaurant to eat!

When I saw the collection of bags I made a panicked phone call to my brother. “Eddie, she's got trash bags with her clothes in them! We can't show up looking like a bunch of gypsies!”

He quickly got her a new set of luggage, as a “late birthday present” that wouldn't be mistaken for the morning garbage pickup. So, packed and looking somewhat presentable we set off on a Friday morning for New Orleans.

Mama had always wanted to see New Orleans. To her it was an exotic place filled with people who spoke French and talked like Justin Wilson on The Cajun Cook TV show on PBS. She loved that show, as much for the silly stories as the recipes.

When we arrived at the hotel I pulled up in front and immediately a doorman and bellman approached the car as we got out. I popped the trunk and they began to unload our bags onto a cart. “What are they doing?” Mama tried to whisper.

“They're getting the luggage so they can take it to the room when we check in.” I replied.

Mama immediately stepped to the back of the car and informed the two older gentlemen: “He can get those! Just leave them there. We'll get them.”

I could feel my face go red. “Mama, it's their job to get our bags for us.”

“Well, there's no reason we can't take them to the room. They can leave that little cart.”

After a few tense moments I was able to convince her to leave the men to do their job and getting her to go with me to the check in desk in the lobby. Of course, I made the mistake of handing the car keys to the valet.

“Why are you giving him the keys? He can come get you if he needs the car moved! We don't even own that car!”

“Mama, he's the valet. He'll go park the car in the garage for us.”

“Is he going to bring the keys to the room or do you have to go get them from him?”

“He'll keep the keys and when we need the car we call the valet and he brings it to the front for us.”

I could tell Mama was dubious about this stranger and a “borrowed” car, but amazingly she let it drop.

Inside, I learned that my brother had outdone himself. We were assigned a very nice suite with a nice view. On the way up in the elevator Mama began to question the bellhop about New Orleans.

“Are you from around here?” She quizzed.

“Yes Ma'am. Born and raised right here in New Orleans.” He replied in that distinctive New Orleans drawl that is 2 parts Southern and 1 part Brooklyn.

“Well, you don't sound like you're from New Orleans.” She harrumphed.

“Mama, what is somebody from New Orleans supposed to sound like?” I butted in.

“Well, he sounds like he's from New York. I thought people in New Orleans sounded French? Do you speak French?”

“No Ma'am.” He replied.

Luckily, at that point we reached our floor and this uncomfortable exchange was interrupted as Mama got off the elevator. I caught the Bellman's eye and gave him a pained “I'm sorry.” look.

When we got to the room Mama was breathless. It had two bedrooms and a sitting area. The bathroom was as big as her living room and a balcony overlooked the street. She wandered around looking at everything while I concluded business with the bellman and tipped him. That tip did not go unnoticed.

“How much did you give him?”

“Mama, don't worry about it.”

“Well, for Heaven's sakes we were perfectly capable of pushing that little cart up to the room. I don't know why you had to pay someone to do that for us!”

“Mama, I didn't pay him. It was a tip. Just a thank you for helping us out.”

“Well, I help people out in the shoe store all day long and nobody tips me and I have sit there and try to stuff their feet in shoes three sizes too small because they're too vain to buy the right size! Not to mention those women that come in and don't even bother to put on hose before they go sticking their nasty feet in shoes they know they aren't going to buy!”

“Oh God” I thought. “Here we go with the “tipping is a waste of money rant.”

It wasn't that Mama was cheap. She was just careful with money. Tipping was something she didn't believe in because she thought people shouldn't expect extra money for doing their jobs. If a tip was to be given it was to be given to people who did things out of the kindness of their heart who didn't expect to get something in return.

Finally, we managed to settle in for the night. Well, with a minor kerfluffle over a coffeemaker on the bathroom counter. That was deemed quite odd. Why have coffee in the bathroom? Wouldn't it make more sense to put the coffeemaker on the dresser or that little table by the window?

The next morning I had to be up at the crack of dawn to get to the seminar. As I was getting ready I called down to the concierge and had them send up some brochures of things I thought Mama might enjoy doing since I would be gone the entire day. After all, we were in the heart of the French Quarter and everything was in walking distance.

“Well, I don't want to wander around a strange city all by myself. I don't know where anything is!”

“Mama, there's a man at a desk downstairs. He's called the concierge and his job is to help you with whatever you need. Stop at his desk and ask him how to get anywhere and he can tell you. He can call you a cab if you don't feel like walking...”

“I'm not paying money for a cab!”

“OK, fine. There's plenty to do right around the hotel. Look, see that big church out the window? That's St. Louis Cathedral. You can go in there and look around. It's supposed to be very beautiful.”

“What kind of church is it?”

“Oh God!” my brain screamed! “It's a Catholic church.”

“Well, I can't go. I'm a Methodist.”

“Yes, Mama you can go in. It's open to the public.”

“But don't you have to wear a hat or something? I don't know what to do with all that stuff they have. Don't you have to drink some water or wash your hands or something? What if they're giving out communion? They use real wine don't they? ”

“No Mama. The holy water font is for Catholics to dip their fingers in to bless themselves with the sign of the cross when they go in and you won't be forced to drink wine or take communion.”

“Well, it'd be rude of me not to do it and I don't believe in all that stuff they do.”

“Fine! Just take a walk. There's lots of things to look at!”

Finally, exasperated, I left Mama sitting with a cup of bathroom coffee and reading brochures. I had at least extracted a promise she would leave the hotel.

Off I went to my seminar and a quiet and relaxing breakfast at an upscale restaurant in the hotel where it was being held. Those pancakes with powdered sugar, beignets and cafe au lait never tasted so good as I was able to regain something of my self-created status as a erudite traveler.

Almost twelve hours later I found myself wandering through the French Quarter back to the hotel. I glanced around from time to time wondering if I'd see Mama coming out of shop or walking down the street. I should have known better.

Riding up in the elevator I hoped I'd find a note from her saying she'd decided to go out. Opening the door though, I saw Mama sitting with her feet up at the little table by the window. She had on her “housecoat” which is Southern for a thin cotton nightgown that buttons up the front. Her feet, clad in her favorite slippers were propped up on another chair. Packages of cheese crackers were scattered among sheets of paper on the table and she was drinking what I assumed was yet more bathroom coffee.

Much to my surprise though was the woman sitting across the table from her. She was an elderly African-American woman dressed in the uniform of the hotel maids. She too was drinking bathroom coffee and her shoes kicked off and her feet propped in a chair.

You know something? When your eyes roll completely into the back of your head it really hurts. The eye roll I gave was epic.

“Mama, what have you been doing all day?” I asked as I walked into the room.

“Oh, hey baby. I've been having the best time. This is Martha. She's works for the hotel and she came by earlier to clean but I told her we didn't have anything dirty so she said she'd come back later. When she came back we got to talking and since she'd finished up her other work I invited her for some coffee and we got to talking about family and all. You know, her family has lived her for, what did you say? 200 years? But they weren't slaves like the folks back home.”

At that I could feel the blood drain from my face and that woozy lightheaded feeling you get right before you faint. “Oh, dear God, if you are merciful God you will strike me dead at this moment and allow the earth to open up and swallow me whole.” I prayed.

Taking a deep breath I sighed and said, “Pleased to meet you Martha. I hope Mama hasn't wasted too much of your time or gotten you into trouble.”

“Heaven's no, honey. We've been having a good time sitting here and sharing recipes. I can't wait to try out this recipe your mama gave me for a pound cake.”

“Oh, yes, you'll love that one. I got it from another lady that my other son used to work with. Well, it was actually her mama's recipe. But, it's the best pound cake you'll ever make.”

Walking to the table I looked down at the stack of papers. Each was a recipe written on hotel stationery and there were at least a dozen or more in each of the women's piles.

Resigned to my fate, I settled in an armchair and waited for the recipe swap to conclude. After finishing the ones they were working on, Martha got up and put on her shoes. She thanked Mama for the visit and told me how pleased it was to meet me. Then she left.

“So, that's what you did all day? You sat in a five star hotel swapping recipes with the hotel maid? There's a whole beautiful city outside and you sat here swapping recipes? I guess I should at least be grateful you wandered downstairs to buy some cheese crackers!”

“Oh, no, I had those in my pocket book in case they didn't have vending machines in this fancy hotel.”

“Mama” I said in my “I've about had it with this homespun routine” voice.

“Baby, it wouldn't have been fun to see things without you. So, when Martha walked in and we started talking about how much we loved to cook we just got along so good. I had a lot of fun.”

The weird thing is, I have no doubt she preferred swapping recipes with the maid than seeing the beauty of St. Louis Cathedral. To her joy was something you shared. If she was going to enjoy New Orleans she was going to do it with someone she loved or she wasn't going to do it all.

So, the next day we enjoyed New Orleans. Well, at least as much as we could in a really bad rainstorm that turned out to be the leading edge of a hurricane. Note to self: Pay more attention to the weather when pretending to be an erudite traveler.

When we got home, Mama added Martha's recipes to her file. One of those recipes I have today. It's for a Mardi Gras Cake and I can't make it without thinking of Mama, Martha, New Orleans and bathroom coffee.

The weird thing is, as I got older I began to realize something about Mama. Those qualities of thriftiness, self reliance, and curiosity (even when slightly inappropriate) are the same qualities I treasure in myself. It wasn't that Mama was a hick although she loved to joke about herself as “Country come to town.” but rather that her working class manners dictated that she not ask others to do what she could do for herself. Whether it was cleaning up after herself in a hotel or carrying her own luggage. Even the “tipping rant” when I finally figured it out was disgust that people in service jobs were not paid enough to live without tips by customers of their bosses to make ends meet.

About three years ago, I got very sick and was in need of a liver transplant. My sister and I went to Charleston, SC for a week long bout of tests to determine if I could withstand the surgery. We stayed at one of my favorite hotels in the city. While not 5 star, they do have a bellhop. When we pulled up in a rainstorm my sister helped me out of the car. I stood tottering on a cane in the foyer and the bellhop quickly approached to help me inside. As he seated me in a chair in the lobby, I thanked him for his kindness. Then he said he would go out and help my sister with the bags. Before I thought about it I said, “Oh no, that's OK, she can get them.”

In that moment I flashed back to Mama, who'd passed away a few years before, ironically from liver failure, and realized I was my mother's child. Those Southern working class manners were a part of me and despite my years of trying to cultivate the air of a world weary traveler I would always feel a little odd having someone do things for me... even in this case when I obviously couldn't do them for myself. That's really not a bad thing. Although, I can honestly say that I have never used a plastic trash bag for luggage in my adult life. Thrift has its limits.

Mardi Gras Cake

3/4 Cup Nestle Butterscotch Morsels
1/4 Cup water
2 1/4 All Purpose Flour (sifted)
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup shortening (may use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup shortening)
3 eggs (unbeaten)
1 cup Buttermilk

Directions:

Melt butterscotch morsels in water in saucepan and let cool slightly. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and set aside. Combine sugar and shortening. Blend in eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Blend in butterscotch. Mix well. Add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix well on low speed. Pour batter into two 9-inch greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Let cool and spread filling (see below) between layers and on top to within 1 inch of edges. Frost with Sea Foam icing (see below).

Butterscotch Filling

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1/2 cup Evaporated Milk
1 Beaten Egg Yolk
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Tbsp. Chopped Pecans
1/2 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Nestle's Butterscotch Morsels

Directions:

Combine sugar and cornstarch in 2 qt. saucepan. Stir in evaporated milk and water along with butterscotch morsels and beaten egg yolk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Add butter coconut, chopped pecans and stir until blended. Set aside and let cool. Then spread between layers and on top of cake to within about 1" of edge.

Sea Foam Icing

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Sugar
1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
1 Egg White
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar

Directions:

Combine sugar, brown sugar, water and corn syrup in saucepan. Cook on medium heat until mixture forms a soft ball. Remove from heat. Beat egg white with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add syrup mixture to egg mixture in slow steady stream, beating constantly until thick enough to spread on cake. allow to cool until just warm and spread on cake. This will set up with about the consistency of Divinity fudge!

Note: You can enhance the vibrancy of the colors by using a touch of green food coloring for the Sea Foam Icing and a touch of yellow or blue and red (to make purple) for the cake layers.

New Cookie Cutters

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:33:00 +0000

Recently, I was browsing blogs and came across a review of some cookie cutters from Ann Clark, Ltd. The information on the company made me want to try their product since they are located in Vermont (one of my favorite places), are a small business, and still handcraft their cookie cutters rather than mass producing them in sweatshops in China.
So, I ordered four designs since free shipping was offered on orders of four or more. The designs I chose were a Saguaro cactus (because I live in Tucson), a snowflake, a butterfly, and a dog bone (because I’m making doggie treats for canine friends for Christmas).
My cookie cutters arrived in just a few days. I noticed at once that they were sharper than most you find in retail stores. They also come with a card with a recipe attached with a bow.
I couldn’t wait to try them, so decided to use the recipe for Sugar Cookies that came on the card.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Chill dough in refrigerator 3-4 hours before rolling out. Roll out to 1/4” thickness and cut. Bake for 8-10 minutes in 350°F oven until just done. Cool on wire racks.

I was very pleased with the result. The cutters sliced through the dough cleanly and with no crushing of the edges. The designs are also well done so that the cookies are not overly fragile.
Since this was more or less a test of the cookie cutters and not a recipe trial, I decided to ice these fairly plainly. I didn’t pull out an icing bag and do any fancy piping. Instead, I whipped up a quick batch of a simple icing (the card on the cookie cutters also has a recipe but I used one I already had used before) and used it on the cookies. I chose a green color for the cacti, a soft blue for the snowflakes and for our butterflies I swirled in a bit of red into the blue to create a marbled effect (on the first one) and then a lavender color for the other one. The marble effect was done by simply swirling the two colors together and placing the cookie face-down into the icing and removing it straight up, allowing excess to drip off.
I heartily recommend these cookie cutters from Ann Clark and will be getting more soon.

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar sifted
1-2 tablespoons low fat milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp. Almond (or lemon) Extract
Beat sugar and milk together until smooth. Add corn syrup and extracts and beat well. Separate into bowls if you are going to color the icing. Spread icing on cookies using a brush or by dipping cookies into icing facedown. Allow to dry completely on wax paper. This sets up fairly quickly, so cover icing with wet cloth while you work with different colors.

Note: I received NO compensation for this review… not even a free cookie cutter. :(

Getting Ready for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:51:00 +0000

Posting has slowed down recently and there are a couple reasons for that. The main reason is one I’ve mentioned in passing before: back trouble.
Back trouble, that sounds so like my grandmother. Unfortunately, this is not her Rheumatism so often afflicting her in the Winter. Over the past year I’ve dealt on and off with some pretty severe pain. When I went in for my annual physical in October I made a point of discussing the pain and how it was getting worse with my doctor. He ordered a few X-rays and off I went.
Fast forward to Monday when I went for my next visit. He pulled out the results and consulted them. Three, count ‘em three, fractures in my Thoracic vertebra. A number of nodes in my Lumber vertebra indicating a degenerative process. Decreased intervertebral spaces (read compressed disks) as well. Not a great report but at least we know why I hurt so bad.

So, next step, lots of other tests to figure out why I suddenly have the spine of a 90 year old dune buggy driver. At least I have something for pain now besides OTC Tylenol. Unfortunately, while I feel much better, I want to sleep a LOT when I take it.
With appointments with specialists and other testing over the next couple weeks, I probably won’t be baking much obviously.
However, not to fear, I am still planning to resurrect Mama’s holiday tradition of creating homemade treats for friends, family and, yes, doctors offices. I have a partial list put together of what will go onto the trays or into the tins. As I begin the baking, probably around December 1, I will post photos and recipes here.
In the meantime, please be patient and keep your fingers crossed we can figure out what is going on with my spine and arrest any further degeneration!

White Chocolate Pecan Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Buck) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Yes, I’ve been very remiss in my posting and baking the past couple weeks. But, I have good excuses that I won’t go into here. Let’s just say that this afternoon I decided I wanted something with white chocolate.
I decided to do a cookie that combined white chocolate, some cocoa flavors and pecans. This cookie baked up fairly crisp and I was hoping for a more soft and cakey texture so I’ll keep working on this one. But, I think you’ll enjoy the result especially if you like a more crisp texture to your cookies. The pecans I used were salted and toasted so they give a neat counterpoint to the white chocolate! For presentation, I melted two squares of white chocolate in the microwave and just drizzled the cookies with it.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tblsp. cocoa powder
1 c. white chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Cream butter until light. Gradually add sugar, creaming well until blended. Beat in vanilla and egg. Sift together flour, salt and soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, blending well. Blend in cocoa powder until well incorporated. Stir in white chocolate and pecans. Drop by level tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 12 minutes until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.