The Dutch Baker's Daughter

Visiting Tomato Country.....Part II

2012-02-23T04:19:00.000-06:00

It's been nearly 3 weeks since my visit to the Red Gold Tomato facilities. I think it's about time that I finish the story, no? When we last spoke about my great adventure, the limousine had just dropped us off at the hotel after a terrific meal at Bonges Tavern....you can read about it here.

The seven Red Gold Bloggers were up bright and early on Saturday---we had a big day ahead of us. The first thing on the agenda, was a trip to Red Gold's Elwood facility where we were meeting for breakfast and a tour of the plant.

A quick lesson on tomatoes was an eye opener. Steve Smith, Director of Agriculture and Chuck Williamson, Elwood Plant Manager taught us some awesome facts about Red Gold tomatoes. Here are a few things:

Standards are high--only 53 farmers are considered "Red Gold" growers. Red Gold partners with these growers to determine field selection, soil fertility, staggered planting schedules, and variety selection.
Red Gold distributes tomato products to all 50 states and to 15 foreign countries.
Red Gold is the largest privately owned producer of ketchup in the country.
Red Gold produces enough tomatoes to reach the moon and back!

Tomato tour fashion. Check out the hairnets and the headphones. Chuck Williamson (the only male in the pic) gave us an awesome tour through the ketchup processing plant. I hear that his employees were waiting for him to break out into song and dance, what with that fancy headset and microphone. :)

While the facts are interesting, the actual tour was very telling. We were asked to remove jewelry, scrub our hands, and wear hairnets for our walk through the production area. The high standards were very evident---it was clean! Not that I expected it not to be clean, but everything was sterile. They even wash the walls! Just that morning, I had heard of another food recall (from my own state)--it was such a relief for me to see a company that had such high standards to ensure excellence.

Since it wasn't "tomato season" while we were there, we didn't get to see the actual tomato canning, but we did see some ketchup production. From the washing of the plastic bottles, to the big vats of steaming ketchup, to the filling of the little ketchup packets, we were given the grand tour. I was feeling pretty good about ketchup at that point.

It doesn't take long for a group of bloggers to whip out the cameras....

Later, we were able to compare Red Gold products with some other major brands and we met Project Development Manager, Emily Jones. Have you ever put different brands of tomato product side by side? My guess is no. This is where I was so surprised. Look at the picture above, with the two kinds of tomatoes next to each other. You can actually see how smooshed the other "major" brand is...plus it had the tough ends and tomato skin still hanging on it. The juice was watery and separated...ewww. This, more than anything, had me convinced of the Red Gold quality.

Next, we were treated to lunch at the new Red Gold headquarters. Can you believe they bought an old elementary school and converted it into offices? We were honored to have lunch in the new cafeteria...which was previously a basketball court!

Lunch was prepared by Linda aka "Red Gold Lady". Among other things, she treated us to a fruity, tomato salad and some tomato crescent pinwheels...it was very tasty!

After lunch, the limousine brought us back to the hotel for a little rest before the big night ahead of us...we were going to The Taste of the NFL!

Renee from The Great Foodini, me, and Lisa from Jersey Girl Cooks

Monica and Linda from Red Gold

The Taste of the NFL bills itself as the Party with a Purpose...the purpose being a huge fundraiser to raise money for food banks all over the country. This year, it was held at the Gleaner's Food Bank Warehouse in Indianapolis...a most apropos spot as the building houses food bank contributions. When I saw the huge section of Red Gold tomato cans, I realized that the bloggers weren't the only recipients of the Red Gold generosity....

Because this was a strolling food and wine event, we were given a wine glass and a plate when we entered the building. Each NFL team had a station set up with chefs that they felt best represented their home town. The food was amazing! I think my favorite was the Smoked and Slow Roasted Pork Belly over Michigan White Beans at the Detroit Lions station. Or maybe it was the "Beef On Weck" with Fresh Horseradish, from the Buffalo Bills, or the Lemon Gnocchi with Shrimp, Crab, and Asparagus from the Washington Redskins. I take it all back. It was the Purple Velvet Cupcake from the Franklin Street Bakery in Minneapolis...at the Vikings station. Delish!

While the food was great, the people watching was even better. Over 3,000 people attended this event.

Ted Allen

Cake Boss!

All in all, my Red Gold Blogger trip was fabulous. Not only did I glean some good tomato knowledge, I got to rub elbows with some wonderful people.

Please stop by and visit my new blogger buddies:

Renee from The Great Foodini
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet
Lisa from Jersey Girl Cooks
Deb from Just Short of Crazy
Sherry from Super Exhausted
Heather from Basilmomma

And let's not forget our wonderful Red Gold Tomato Hosts. You can find recipes and information on Red Gold's Facebook page, as well.

Disclaimer: My trip to Indiana to meet with the Red Gold company and to go to The Taste of the NFL was given to me as a prize by the Red Gold Tomato Company. As always, my opinions are my own.

Cookbook Cafe....publish your own cookbook!

2012-02-22T07:53:00.000-06:00

Many of you have heard me talk about Bakespace.com....it's a recipe website that doubles as a social networking site for foodies from every walk of life. Babette Papaj, the founder of Bakespace envisioned a place where people could meet, bond, and share recipes. She started Bakespace back in 2006, and since then it has evolved into one of the premier recipe sharing sites on the Internet, winning awards and accolades all along the way. Ok, so what's my point, right? Well, today Babette is launching a great new idea that I've been privy to for a few months and I'm so excited by it that I really want to share.

Have you ever toyed with the idea of publishing your own cookbook? Cookbook Cafe is a place where you can do it for free! Think about it--no trying to find a publisher and then shelling out big bucks to see your book in print. Cookbook Cafe is an app for iPad, but you don't need an iPad to access or use it. It is as easy as uploading recipes on to the Bakespace site (make them private if you want), create the cookbook, and publish. You can even charge money! Think about the possibilities. Fundraising? No publishing costs...just gather your recipes, make the cookbook, set the price, and promote your book. Are you a blogger? Gather your most popular recipes and offer your readers an easy spot to find them. But, you really want to publish a "real" cookbook, right? One you can wrap your hands around? Instead of waiting years to actually publish, why not test the waters with a quick virtual version? It may just give you the recognition you need to get your dream cookbook published! At any rate, it is worth a look, right?

If you have an iPad, just look for the free Cookbook Cafe app and download a few cookbooks. Let me know how it works, because I don't have an iPad, yet. :) If you're like me and haven't updated to all the fancy gadgetry, just pop over to Bakespace, login, browse and download some free cookbooks. You might even find mine.

Quick Breads, Muffins and Cakes...Oh My!

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Ginger-Maple Cream

2012-02-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time of the month for another Improv! If you're not familiar, each month Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker hosts a little party with a theme. This month the theme is Carrots and Ginger.

Why is it that I keep thinking that I have these really cool original ideas, only to find that they've been done? Again, when I googled my idea, it was all over the place. Carrot Cake Pancakes, indeed. Thank goodness they are good enough to repeat. Plus--these have ginger!!

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Ginger-Maple Cream

Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups buttermilk, room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the griddle

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, well drained

1 cup finely shredded carrots

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Heat a griddle on medium-high. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.In another medium bowl, add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Mix in carrots, pineapple and ginger. Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

I found it easy to grate the ginger with a Microplane grater.

Mush the pineapple in a strainer with a spoon--then give the juice to someone you love.

Remember not to over mix. Small lumps are a good thing.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

You could just top them with some syrup at this point, but why not take it to a new level?

Ginger-Maple Cream Sauce (inspired by The Pioneer Woman)

1-1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Combine the cream, maple syrup, corn syrup, cinnamon, and ginger in a small, heavy saucepan. Heat on medium-low, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced and thickened. Serve warm over pancakes. Or add some bourbon and serve over bread pudding.

If it looks familiar, it's because I used this (minus the cinnamon and ginger) with some added whiskey to pour over my Green Apple Pie.

Be sure to click on some of the other links to see what everyone has been busy cooking!

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Visiting Tomato Country.....Part I

2012-02-10T23:05:00.000-06:00

A warm welcome from Monica set the tone for the weekend.

There was definitely an aura of celebration in the air as I stepped off of the plane in Indianapolis last Friday. It was Super Bowl Weekend, after all. The whole state of Indiana was abuzz. Greeters representing the state, stood at all points in the airport, just greeting visitors. A high school glee club was performing. At the bottom of the escalators, there were rows of people holding placards, awaiting their guests: NBC Sports, ESPN, M&M's--a boatload of corporate sponsors and media. That's where I saw Monica holding the Red Gold Tomato sign. She was for me! My tomato infused weekend had begun...

A local high school glee club entertains at the airport.

Before I start waxing poetic about Red Gold Tomatoes (and I will--they are fantastic), let me share with you the people behind the product. A happy company makes for a better product, don't you agree?

Our first contact with the Red Gold company was with Monica, who works in marketing. For lack of a better term, Monica was the "blogger wrangler" for the duration of our stay. She was with us from the airport until we all hugged goodbye. Monica was joined by Theresa, when we got to the hotel. The two of them made sure we had lunch, got to know one another, and each received a goodie bag full of Red Gold logo products. Two sweeter people can not be found.

Theresa and Monica--don't they look good in red?

Friday night, we were taken to Bonges Tavern, where we met the Reichart family, Brian and Selina and their son Colt. Red Gold began in 1942. Now, 4 members of the third generation Reichart family are involved in the day-to-day operations, and several of the fourth generation work there as well. Today, Red Gold is one the largest privately owned tomato processing companies in the country. I have to tell you, though, the Reichart family is as down to earth as can be. They made us all feel very welcome.

Here I am with 6 of my new blogger buddies.

Theresa, Monica, Colt Reichart, Selina and Brian Reichart and ---all the way at the end---is the Red Gold Home Economist, Linda (The Red Gold Lady).

Prime Rib Medallions with Grilled Shrimp

The food at Bonges Tavern was fantastic! The waitress rattled off a list of things for us to choose from--all of them sounded delicious. We shared some appetizers, including a crab cake that was to die for and for dessert we all had a taste of the house favorite, Sugar Cream Cake with Blueberries. Yes--I will hunt for the recipe!

As the night grew to a close, the weary bloggers climbed into their chariot...a big white limousine that was theirs for the weekend...and went back to the hotel for some shut eye. Saturday was going to be an even bigger day.

Stay tuned for Part II--The Tomato Tour......

Disclaimer: My trip to Indiana to meet with the Red Gold company and to go to The Taste of the NFL was given to me as a prize by the Red Gold Tomato Company. As always, my opinions are my own.

Valentine Cookies

2012-01-29T23:36:00.000-06:00

The holidays seemed crazy busy this year. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was because we had a software change at work...very intense stuff. At any rate, I didn't make near the amount of baked goods that I usually do. It was my family that suffered for it. They didn't get their cut-out cookies....

The good thing about cut-outs is that they can adapt to any time of the year. July? Make them red, white and blue. September? Some lovely autumn shaped cookies will do. Late-January? I think it's time for Valentine's Day cookies.

Awhile back, my good friend, Julie, asked me for a good oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. I happily obliged. She paid me back with her family recipe for Sour Cream Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting. It was a good trade. :)

Sour Cream Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting (Linsmeyer Family Recipe)

Printable Recipe

2c. Sugar
1c. Softened Butter
1c. Sour Cream
1tsp. Baking Soda
2 Eggs
4 1/2c. Flour
1/2tsp. Salt
2tsp. Baking Powder
1tsp. Vanilla

Dissolve baking soda in sour cream. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add sour cream/soda mixture. Mix well. Sift together 2 1/2 cups flour and the remaining dry ingredients. Stir into batter. Stir in remaining 2c. flour. Chill, Roll, Cut. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8oz. Softened Cream Cheese
1/2c. Softened Butter
1tsp. Vanilla
4c. Powdered Sugar

Combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy. Frost cooled, cut-out cookies.

You've probably noticed that I didn't use the cream cheese frosting on these. I love cream cheese frosting, but I was in a hurry and needed something that would dry fast. Besides, I was out of cream cheese. So, I simply blended 1 cup of powdered sugar with a tablespoon of milk and a tablespoon of corn syrup and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Then I divided it into two bowls and dropped a little food coloring in one of them. Since, I'm no artist, I drizzled and dripped my way along the tops of the cookies.

Great cookies! Now, I need to go buy some green food coloring and shamrock cutters. St. Paddy's day is right around the corner. :)

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Johnny Marzetti

2012-01-24T21:44:00.002-06:00

I admit it. I was a little leery of this dish. Johnny who? But, the hubby was insistent. Johnny Marzetti is a food from his childhood. Macaroni and ground beef. It sounded like Hotdish to me. I've also heard it called Goulash. Or Hash. Or American Chop Suey. I had to do a little research. Apparently, Johnny really did exist. You've heard of Marzetti salad dressings, no? Well, before the salad dressings, back in the 1920's, there was a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. The owner created this casserole and named it after his brother, Johnny.

A little more research revealed that there are many ways to make Johnny Marzetti. Some use tomato sauce; some, tomato soup. Some use macaroni; some, egg noodles. In the Panama Canal Zone, it's spelled Johnny Mazetti, and it been a popular dish since WWII...but they add green olives to their recipe. With all of these variations, I figured I could get away with just about anything....

Johnny Marzetti (my way)
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bag veggie crumbles (or 1 pound lean ground beef)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5) diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound rigatoni, cooked al dente

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.; grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Heat olive oil in a medium sized heavy saucepan. Add garlic, onions and green pepper and saute until softened, about 5 minutes (if using ground beef, omit the olive oil and brown the meat, with the onions and green peppers; drain).Add the veggie crumbles and cook until heated. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and seasonings. Cook until heated through. Mix in the rigatoni.

Place half of the pasta mixture in the casserole dish. Top with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

I interrupt this blog post to bring an important announcement: I was recently one of 7 bloggers chosen by Red Gold Tomatoes to attend The Taste of the NFL in Indianapolis! The Taste of the NFL is "an annual strolling food and wine event that brings chefs and NFL players representing each NFL team for a night of food, football and fun with proceeds benefiting food banks in NFL cities nationwide...".......Not only that--I'll get to tour the Red Gold facilities and learn about tomatoes from the ground up! I'm beyond excited to be joining 6 other fabulous bloggers...how cool to be able to meet these talented women. Many, many thanks to Red Gold Tomatoes. I'll be sure to take pictures and notes, so that I can share with all of you.

As you can see, I used the Basil, Garlic and Oregano flavored tomatoes for the sauce, this time around. Feel free to experiment and try the other flavors. I'll bet using the spicy green chile version would be good, too.

Don't be shy with the cheese...pile it on!

Doesn't look vegetarian, does it? To be honest, I can't tell the difference between the ground beef and the veggie crumbles....

In the end, the hubby loved my version. He said it tasted just like he remembered it. For me, it was successful, because it didn't taste like I remembered it. :D How do you make yours? And just what do you call it?

Braided Lemon-Sour Cream Bread

2012-01-19T06:02:00.000-06:00

Once again, it's time for a monthly Improv challenge, hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. If you haven't had a chance to visit Kristen, you should take the time to do so.....not only does she post some great recipes, she has some great stories to tell.

This month our ingredients are Lemon and Sour Cream. As it happens, I was looking longingly at a Braided Lemon Bread recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. After making a few adjustments, I had my January Improv Challenge in the bag! The best part is that while there are a few steps, it's easier to make than it looks.

This recipe starts out by making a sponge--think of it as a big kick-start to your yeast. As King Arthur describes it, this dough is so rich that it needs a little help to get it to rise quicker. The dough is certainly rich, filled with butter, sugar, eggs, and (here's where I made my sub), sour cream. The recipe also calls for 2 teaspoons of vanilla or Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor and I have to tell you, that Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor is the bomb! My friend DeeDee recommended it to me, so I had to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. It made the dough taste like it came from a bakery.

Let me just share a couple of hints when working with this dough (with any dough, really). First, if you measure your flour in measuring cups, spoon it lightly into the cup and level it off. Start with the minimum amount called for in the recipe...you can always add more. If you do add more, add it a tablespoon at a time until the dough is the consistency that you want. This time you are looking for a soft dough, so if it's a bit sticky, no worries.

Often, when you read a dough recipe, it calls for you to "punch it" down after it has risen. I'm guilty of using those words, myself. These directions call for you to "gently deflate" the dough, which really makes much more sense. Why rip into those delicate cells of yeast? Gentle is the way to go.

While the dough is rising, go ahead and get your filling together. First is a layer of cream cheese filling (a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and flour), and then there is a layer of lemon curd. You can buy a jar of lemon curd, but I prefer to make my own (printable recipe here) because I don't like it too be too sour.

Add the zest of one lemon to 3/4 cup sugar. Cream this mixture with 1/4 cup softened butter. Add 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, one at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/3 cup lemon juice and a dash of salt.

Place the lemon mixture in a medium-sized heavy saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just comes to a simmer and starts to thicken (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, cover and chill until needed.

You'll have more lemon curd than you'll need for the recipe...just keep it refrigerated and use it on toast, or waffles, or pancakes, or crackers, a spoon.....

Now you're ready to make your braid.

What we're making here is called a "faux braid". Although, it looks fancy when it's done, it's really quite a simple procedure. Just roll out the dough into a 10"x16" rectangle. The recipe suggests doing this on parchment paper, but I just love my silicone mat for this. The dough was easy to roll without even adding any additional flour.

Now just lightly press two lines down each side of the dough (making three equal divisions). You'll then spread the cream cheese mixture down the middle and top that with lemon curd. Cut strips on each side of the filling (making sure you have the same amount on both sides). Starting from the left, bring one strip of the dough over the filling diagonally. Repeat on the other side, so that the strips overlap and continue down the entire braid until you have your formed loaf.

It looks a little like a mummy at this point, no? The nice part about using the silicone mat is that you can just transfer the whole thing over to a baking sheet and bake. Just brush a little egg wash over the top, and sprinkle with some pearl sugar.

The sour cream was a great addition to the dough--it was very soft, and it stayed that way for a couple of days.

You can see what I did with my extra curd. :)

I was so happy with the results of this recipe that I'm going to be making it with different fillings. Cherries? Blueberries? Apples? Yes, yes and yes! I also am thinking that, with a few changes, I can make this into a savory braid. What kind of filling would you like to see?

Again, this recipe is from the King Arthur Flour website The only change I made was to swap out the yogurt for the sour cream. You can find a printable recipe here: Braided Lemon Bread

Minnesota Blue Cheese

2012-01-15T19:28:00.001-06:00

I'm Dutch and I'm from Wisconsin. This pretty much guarantees that cheese is part of my DNA. To say that I love cheese is an understatement. I will admit, however, that I am fairly unsophisticated when it comes to cheese. So, when my friend, Jennifer, brought a wedge of blue cheese to me, I was a little confused. It turns out that Jen works with Joe Sherman, who happens to be an artisan cheesemaker with Northern Lights Artisan Cheese....

......and he gave Jen a sample of his famous Blue Cheese to pass on to me. Well, I was flattered, to say the least. I haven't had much of a chance to review many true Minnesotan foods, so I really wanted to do a good job. Frankly, I was nervous. Would my unsophisticated palate be able to distinguish a good blue cheese from the grocery store variety? Or would it be like beer to me, where it all tastes the same? I needn't have worried--this cheese is amazing!

Northern Lights was founded in 2005, but Joe has been making cheese since he was 19 years old in the early 80's. Although, the company makes other varieties of cheese, it's the Blue Cheese that is Joe's crown jewel. Produced in small batches and aged 4 months, it really is the cream of the crop!

Originally, I had planned on incorportating the cheese into a recipe, Blue Cheese crackers, perhaps? But, it really seemed a shame not to just enjoy it in it's pure form....and it is tasty. Blue Cheese can be a little overwhelming, but this was smooth and buttery.

Of course if you want to incorporate it into other things, how about a nice Blue Cheese Butter? Melted on a beautiful steak, burger, or even melted on vegetables or pasta, Blue Cheese Butter is ever so versatile.

Just combine 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, with 2 tablespoons of Blue Cheese crumbles, roll it into a log and refrigerate until ready to use.

I guess I could have rolled it a little more evenly. :)

Mmmm...melty, buttery Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions....

Jen had a chance to sample several of Joe's cheeses.

Is that Minnesota Hot Colby I see? Yes, please!

Interested in ordering some? Just visit Northern Lights and send Joe a message.

Disclaimer: I received a sample of cheese to review. As always, all opinions are my own and I received no monetary compensation.

Cheesy Cauliflower

2012-01-10T22:57:00.001-06:00

Many of you are aware of the fact that my husband and my daughter are vegetarians. As a result, I've been eating less meat myself. It's a good thing I'm a fan of veggies, no? My biggest worry for the two of them, is that they get enough nutrients in their diet. My daughter is on her own these days, so I will have to trust that she's eating sensibly. And my husband? Well, he's subscribed to Vegetarian Times Magazine. Now I'm getting suggestions as what to try. How cool is that?

The first issue of Vegetarian Times came just the other day with a glorious looking cauliflower casserole, Mac-And-Cheese Style Cauliflower, gracing the cover. Hubby and I were both drooling over it. I had to make it.

The hardest part was getting the cauliflower into pieces.

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup nutritional yeast. What? Yeast? I had to look it up. Apparently, the yeast is there to provide nutrition--it's different than the yeast you use to make bread. Here's a link to some info on it: Nutritional Yeast. After a little searching, I found it at Whole Foods in the bulk food area. I will say that if the smell of yeast is offensive to you, you can skip this addition (maybe use a little less of the liquid that is called for in the recipe), but I found that the smell totally bakes out and if it adds some nutrition, why not?

The recipe also calls for homemade bread crumbs. While you can sub some Panko crumbs, the homemade ones are really easy. I like to keep a bag in the freezer---whenever I have a day-old baguette, I just swirl the dried out leftovers in my food processor and add it to the bag.

Just spray the bread crumbs with a little cooking spray. I like the olive oil spray. Is it just me or do those fake butter sprays smell funny?

Bake it until it's nicely browned and bubbly.

A couple of observations: to prevent the moisture from the cooked cauliflower from making the sauce too watery, just keep it in the pan after you drain it, and put it back over the heat for a few minutes to dry it out. Thanks to Chris DeNicolo, for that sage advice. I'm also going to saute some chopped onions with the butter the next time I make it. Other than that, the recipe is perfect. It will be made again.

Kettle Corn Cookies

2012-01-09T00:37:00.001-06:00

Who puts popcorn in their cookies? Apparently, Trader Joe's does, because I saw a box of Kettle Corn Cookies when I was rushing through the store just the other day. I didn't have time to stop and look at them, but I was intrigued. Sweet and salty? The combo has to be good. So, I made my own version.

Kettle Corn Cookies
Printable Recipe

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups Kettle Corn
1/2 cup salted peanuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugars. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla. Gradually, add the flour mixture, beating well. Stir in the Kettle Corn and the peanuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoons (I used a cookie scoop) onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Verdict? I like them. Hubby likes them. I'm bringing them all to work tomorrow, so we don't eat them.

Pretzel Buns

2012-01-01T19:55:00.002-06:00

Have you discovered Pinterest? Oh boy---is it addicting or what? I keep pinning pictures of great looking food to my boards. Besides my own stuff, though, I hadn't made any of the things that I fully intended to. Until today. Today, I made the Pretzel Rolls.

I've been eyeing these little devils for weeks, all the while buying pretzel buns at Trader Joe's. Want to see how I made them? Here you go:

Pretzel Rolls (adapted from [Une Bonne Vie])

Printable Recipe

1 3/4 cups milk, warmed to 110 degrees F. (bathwater warm)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3-3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

Coarse salt for sprinkling

Water Bath

7-8 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons baking soda

Place the warmed milk in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the olive oil and the yeast. Let this mixture stand for about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam (this way you know the yeast is working). Add three cups of the flour and the salt.

Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour, if needed. The dough should nearly clean the sides of the bowl, but still be a little tacky. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, by hand, for about a minute until the dough is smooth and elastic.

When measuring the flour, lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. If you have to add flour, add it a tablespoon at a time.

Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and turn it over so that both sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rise in a draft-free area until it's doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.; Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Punch the dough down and plop it on a floured surface ( I prefer my Silpat), then divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece of dough into a ball, slightly flattened. Place the dough balls on the lined baking pan, cover and allow to rise for an additional 20 minutes.

While the buns are rising, prepare the water bath. In a large pot, combine the water, salt, and baking soda; bring to a rolling boil. Gently drop the dough buns into the boiling water, two at a time, and let them "poach" for about 30 seconds on each side. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them back on the lined baking pan. Using a serrated knife, cut 2-3 lines across each bun and sprinkle with course salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the buns are a deep brown. Transfer to a rack to cool.

I found the dough balls to be a little sticky when I was putting them into the boiling water, so I dipped my fingers in a little flour first. The water does foam up, so make sure your pot is large enough. A crinkly appearance is normal--this disappears during baking.

As you can see, I was a little stingy with the salt--I usually scrape salt off of my pretzels, but I found that I did like a little on these.

If you aren't going to use all of these right away, go ahead and pop some in the freezer. They thaw quickly and stay fresh much longer if frozen.

I may never buy another hamburger bun again.

Grilled Cheese Sliders

2011-12-29T00:32:00.000-06:00

Grilled cheese sandwiches are just about my favorite food (next to pizza...and cinnamon rolls...oh, and pie), so it's no surprise that I like to mess with them. I will eat them any which way....even with American Cheese on them (generally not my favorite food).

Not only do I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but I'm one of those people who like food in miniature. Small food, if you will. Mini pastries, tiny tarts, desserts in shot glasses, bite sized mac 'n cheese....and, of course, sliders. You probably think sliders are so two years ago. Indeed, I've seen many, many recipes for various sliders, mostly little burgers. And they are good. Very good. I got to thinking, though, that I hadn't seen any grilled cheese sliders. Wouldn't they be tasty? I even figured out how I was going to make them. Then, I googled. They've been done. The best I saw were from Panini Kathy. Sigh. Will I ever have an original thought again? Oh, well--my method is different. :)

I found a rye baguette at the store---love it!

So, these are really easy. Just buy yourself one of those really good baguettes....most grocery stores carry them. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then slice the baguette up into 1/2" slices and put them on a baking pan lined with parchment or a silpat. Now take a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (use a flavored one, if you want) and brush it on each piece of bread, then turn over every other piece so that half of the pieces have the oil on the bottom. Open up a bag of your favorite shredded cheese (or shred your own if you are so inclined--you could even chop up some brie) and put about a tablespoon on top of the halves of bread that you turned over. Don't worry if it spills over--that's why we have the silpat. Now top each cheese covered piece of bread with the other piece of bread (leave the oiled side on top). Bake the sliders for 10 minutes, turn them over, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

This time, I decided to fancy up my cheese. I mixed together 4 oz of softened cream cheese with a couple tablespoons of minced onion, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a dash each of garlic salt and cayenne pepper, and a cup of shredded cheese.

My cheese concoction made it a little less messy--the cheese didn't spill over the sides. The only downside was that I didn't have the crunchy cheese that gets left on the pan--love that stuff! Oh, and it didn't run down the side of the sandwich. Cheese encrusted sandwiches have a certain eye appeal, no?

I cut these slices a little too thick, but it all worked out in the end.

I don't think there is any better way to enjoy these than by floating them on some tomato soup.

What kind of cheese do you like on your grilled cheese sandwich?

Green Apple Pie with Whiskey Maple Cream

2011-12-26T23:00:00.000-06:00

At 3:20 p.m. on Christmas Eve, my husband and I pulled in to the local grocery store to shop for our holiday dinner. Of course, I was totally oblivious to the fact that all of the the grocery stores were closing up at 4:00 p.m. Luckily, I had a partial list of what I needed with me, so I quickly went through the store, tossing things into the basket. I was pretty confident that I had it all under control. Then, as we neared the checkout, the hubby looks at me and asks "What kind of pie are you making?". EEK. Can you believe that I had totally forgotten about dessert? How unlike me. We quickly decided on an apple pie, but since I swore that I wasn't going to take on too much, I threw a package of Pillsbury pie crust in the cart along with some apples.

Generally, I use several different varieties of apple when I make a pie. This time, mainly because I wrongly assumed I still had some Honeycrisps at home, I only used two: Golden Delicious and Granny Smith. So, now I was making a Green Apple Pie. This is important, since I have to differentiate between this pie and the one I posted last month.....

.....ok, so last month I actually made a Apple-Praline Pie, but it seems that the husband doesn't like the fancy stuff on top of his pie. Silly man. I did have to spruce up my store-bought crust just a bit, though....

.....so I spread a little melted butter and some ground walnuts mixed with cinnamon sugar over the top of the pie before it went into the oven.

Now, while the pie was baking, I was perusing the Internet and ran across a recipe on The Pioneer Woman's site for Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce. Say what? "Drop what you are doing and make this right now!" she says. Or at least that's what I heard when I saw the picture. I had to make it. But I didn't have enough cream. The PDQ had cream, though. So the husband pulled a jacket over his sweats and bought some cream for me. Yay!

Can you tell I'm experimenting with my picture editing feature on Picasa? Which style do you prefer? I suppose I shouldn't mix the different styles on the same post......

Now, to be completely honest, the homemade crust is better. You know what, though? It didn't matter one bit, because thanks to The Pioneer Woman, the Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce made it all taste wonderful. Oh, and just in case you need another apple pie recipe, you can find it here:

Apple-Praline Pie

(if you really want the Green Apple Pie, just swap out the apples, use a Pillsbury crust, and sprinkle some ground walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon on top--just be sure to top it with Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce)

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Root Beer Pulled Pork on Cheesy Biscuits....in 30 minutes

2011-12-21T01:17:00.001-06:00

It seems like everyone I know is crunched for time, lately. The holidays, work, kids, pets....aack! But you still need to eat, right? And if you're anything like me, you like to have at least a smidgen of homemade in whatever you make. Deride Sandra Lee all you want, she is successful for a reason---what she makes is easy, fast, tasty, and semi-homemade. :)

I cook like most home cooks. Once in awhile, I take a shortcut. Or two. But when I take those shortcuts, I put my touch on them. Biscuits from a can get a cheesy, crunchy coating and one of those refrigerated pork entrees gets all shredded up and doused with a quick, homemade barbecue sauce (using up my sample of Red Gold Tomato Sauce). Take a look-see.

Quick and Easy Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Printable Recipe

1 (8oz) can Tomato Sauce (or use 1 cup of the 15 oz can)

1/2 cup Root Beer

1/4 cup Orange Juice

1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Molasses

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized heavy saucepan; stir until combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 25-35 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced and starts to thicken.

While your sauce is simmering, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Now, combine 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese, 2 tablespoons Panko Bread Crumbs, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. Break open a can of biscuits...get the 8 ct. big, flaky kind. Lightly spray each side of the biscuits with cooking spray. Coat each biscuit in the cheese/breadcrumb mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkling any extra over the tops of the biscuits. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden.

The cheese and the breadcrumbs make for a crunchy biscuit and the two kinds of pepper add a little spice. If you prefer, mix in some Italian seasoning instead of the pepper.

My husband always has to eat one hot off of the pan.

I was a little leary of these microwavable meat entrees, but it turns out they are pretty tasty. If you are going to use the barbeque sauce, be sure to get the pork au jus and not the pork in gravy.

Now just nuke your entree for about 4 minutes (follow the package directions), dispose of the "au jus" (I save it to mix in with the dogs' food), shred the meat, and mix in the barbeque sauce.

This time, I topped it with pickles, but sometimes I like coleslaw on my sandwich.

There you have it...a semi-homemade meal in less than 30 minutes....and it all starts with a can of Tomato Sauce.

Disclaimer: I was given a sample of Red Gold Tomato products in order to give a review. All opinions, however, are my own.

Eggnog Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

2011-12-18T12:02:00.001-06:00

Do you know that I’ve never been a fan of eggnog? Hard to believe when you see me posting not one, but two eggnog recipes in one week and (hold on to your hat), a third one is in the works. It seems that something happened when I added eggnog to my cinnamon roll recipe. I guess the flavor is just a little more subtle, but I really, really liked it. So much so, that I couldn’t wait to try it in my pancakes. That’s right. Pancakes. I had the crazy idea of just subbing out the buttermilk in my favorite pancakes. And it was a good decision. Yes, it was. Of course, just like with the Eggnog and Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls, I wasn’t the first one to think of this combination. About 5 minutes after I licked the last morsel off of my plate, one of my Facebook foodie friends was posting her version of eggnog pancakes. At least my cranberry syrup is different. But then, who knows? I didn’t google it. J

Eggnog Pancakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups eggnog

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for griddle

Directions

Heat griddle on medium high. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs, eggnog, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

It's really important not to over-mix. Those lumps should be there.

They need just a little something....

Cranberry-Maple Syrup

Printable Recipe

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup real maple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the berries are softened and the syrup is reduced. Add additional syrup if too thick. Serve warm.

I ended up adding more syrup to this...it was good, but a little thick.

Can we say "Plate Lickable" ?

And now on to other eggnog delights. How does an Eggnog Cheesecake sound?

Fiery Tomato Chile Cheese Buns

2011-12-16T23:07:00.000-06:00

Let's take a little break (at least 10 minutes) from all of the sugary holiday treats. Remember those cans of tomatoes I got from Red Gold Tomatoes? Of course you do. Just scroll on down and look at the Cincinnati Chili Pizza I made from the can of sauce. Well, on the same day that I made the pizza, I experimented a bit with the other half of my pizza dough. I couldn't wait to try out these spicy diced tomatoes with green chilies, so I tossed some on top of my pizza slice...they were pretty tasty (since the tomatoes are canned fresh off the fields, I imagine they taste fresher that some of those mealy ones you find in the stores this time of year). Oh ya, where was I? The pizza dough. Sometimes, the quickest ideas are the best. Just look at what I made with the rest of my dough.

I opened this to use some on my pizza....

....and got the bright idea to make it into rolls.

Roll out the dough into a 9X12 square, just like for cinnamon rolls. Then sprinkle some olive oil and garlic powder over the dough, along with some well-drained diced tomatoes with green chilies.

Sprinkle about a cup of shredded cheese over the tomatoes, roll up the dough from the long side, and slice it into 12 slices. Put them in a buttered a 9X13 inch baking pan and let them rise for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.; bake for 25-30 minutes.

And, behold a tasty treat!

Next time, I'll try some crumbled sausage, pepperoni, or bacon in these, too. Don't you just love an easy snack? What would you roll up in these?

Disclaimer: I did receive some free product from Red Gold Tomatoes for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Eggnog and Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

2011-12-15T06:03:00.000-06:00

I'm trying something a little different with this post. My friend Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker is offering up a monthly "Improv" challenge. There are different themes each month and should we decide to participate, we simply conjure up a recipe with the two specified ingredients for that month. This month we have eggnog and cranberries. Since I've made nearly every flavor combination there is of my cinnamon rolls, I figured I might as well go ahead and add eggnog and cranberry to the mix. They were fabulous, if I do say so myself. :) Now, let's see if I remembered how I made them...

Eggnog and Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

Printable Recipe

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup butter

1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten

3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups flour (I use bread flour, but you can use all purpose)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries

Heat the eggnog and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Let cool until temperature is about 110 degrees F (like bathwater warm).

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggnog mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour and the salt; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Alternately, just use the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for about five minutes)

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean damp towel. Allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour. In the mean time, in a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll out the dough into a 12X9 inch rectangle (I like to do this on my Silpat). Spread the dough with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with chopped cranberries. Roll up the dough from the long side and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces and place into a greased 9X13 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Bake rolls at 375 ° for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and frost with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting while warm.

I went a little overboard on the frosting by adding too much eggnog, so I merely added more powdered sugar to compensate. Hint: Leftover frosting is really good spread on graham crackers--it wasn't such a bad mistake.

Of course, I went a little nuts on the theme and made some eggnog pancakes, too. That recipe will be up in a few days...much plate licking went on with those...

Next month the theme will be lemons and sour cream. The brain is ticking already.

Cincinnati Chili Pizza

2011-12-07T21:20:00.001-06:00

I'm thinking you can put just about anything on pizza crust....

I'm on a canned tomato kick of sorts this week (thanks to the Red Gold peeps who sent me that six-pack of tomato goodness).

As someone who is struggling to come up with vegetarian meals, this stuff is a godsend. Not only did I throw together that Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Soup on Sunday, but I also made a quick pizza with a can of the tomato sauce. You are probably thinking that I added some spices to make a pizza sauce (not that that's a bad idea), but if you are, you are very mistaken. You see, the Red Gold Tomato Sauce made a very quick, but lovely Cincinnati Chili Sauce that was awesome on a pizza!

I totally admit to making a shortcut version of Cincinnati Chili. It works, but this tastes even better the next day.

Just spread it on your favorite pizza dough, top with cheese (I left off the beans this time) and you are good to go!

I opened up the can of Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies to use in another recipe and used some on top of the pizza with some more cheese and some diced onions.

Cincinnati Chili Pizza

Printable Recipe

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 clove crushed garlic

1 pound ground chuck*

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

½ cup water

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 bay leaf

2 lbs pizza dough (make your own or buy premade)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat pizza stone in oven to 450 degrees F.

Cook the onion, garlic, and ground chuck in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat until the beef is browned and the onion is soft. Drain the grease. Add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Set aside to cool slightly.

Divide the dough in half. Spread one half of the dough into a 10-12 inch circle. Put a generous handful of cornmeal on a pizza peel and place the dough on top of the cornmeal. Spread about 1 cup of the chili on top of the dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese evenly over the top of the chili. Slide the pizza onto the pre-heated stone and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden.

*Sub the ground chuck for 1 (12 oz) package of veggie crumbles, if desired. If using the crumbles, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, saute the onions for 5 minutes and then add the crumbles and the garlic.

Disclaimer: I was provided with free products from Red Gold Tomatoes in order to write a review. As always, all opinions are my own.

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Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Soup

2011-12-04T21:32:00.001-06:00

Look at what I got in the mail:

A six pack!

Of tomatoes!

Red Gold Tomatoes sent me such a cute little sampler of their tomato products to try that I wasn’t quite sure what to make with them first, but a quick glance out the window helped me to decide.

Soup! It’s downright wintery out there! Unbeknownst to the Red Gold peeps, I actually had a can of their tasty tomatoes in my cupboard, so I’m saving the sampler pack for some other quick tomato meals. Stay tuned for those. In the mean time, let’s cook some soup.

I am not a fan of most canned soup, I’ll have you know. Frankly, I’m not quite sure of what’s in it. Usually, there’s too much salt. Sometimes, there’s stuff like corn syrup and fillers. And if your argument to me is that canned soup is convenient, then I will counter that with the fact that making your own soup is almost as easy. Check it out—I did this on the fly, with some things I had in the cupboard (and the freezer).

Tomato, Black Bean, and Corn Soup
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ large, sweet onion, chopped

2 cups frozen corn (fire-roasted, if available)

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, chopped, with liquid

1 (15-19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, onions and corn. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans vegetable stock, chili powder and Italian seasoning. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer soup for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve the soup hot; garnish with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese, if desired.

I chose to use some fire-roasted frozen corn that I had in the freezer. It added just a hint of smokey flavor.

Canned tomatoes make easy work out of soup—of this I am a great fan. Good, fresh tomatoes are hard to find this time of year (not to mention, pricey), so canned tomatoes are a must. The thing is, they work in so many things. Besides soup, you can sub canned tomatoes for fresh in spaghetti sauce, on pizzas, and in casseroles. My mother-in-law likes to take a can of stewed tomatoes and use them as gravy over mashed potatoes.

So why Red Gold brand tomatoes? It really wasn't a fluke that that was the brand in my cupboard. The Red Gold company is a third generation family owned company out of Indiana. They started in 1942 and all they do are tomatoes. They know their stuff! Red Gold is located right in the middle of tomato country and I've found all of their tomato products to be of stellar quality. But, I digress. Let's get back to my soup.

This was tasty just the way it was, but I felt it needed just a little something.

How about using all of those crushed tortilla chips at the bottom of the bag? It's a shame to waste them, even if they aren't so good at scooping anymore.

Now, just add some shredded cheese and you are good to go.

See? Wasn't that easy? And now that all of my soup is gone, I've got some ideas for the rest of those cans. Next up on the menu: Cincinnati Chili Pizza.

Is there something special you make with canned tomatoes?

Disclaimer: I received free product from Red Gold Tomatoes in order to do this review. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

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Sweet Apricot Fregola Kugel with Spiced Cornflake Streusel

2011-11-28T23:19:00.001-06:00

Recently, I was invited to participate in a Marx Foods Blogger Challenge. The Marx Foods site, in case you aren't familiar, is full of quality, bulk food products--some of it pretty hard to find, some of it exotic (kangaroo?), and all of it top grade. They sell organic fruits and vegetables, free-range meats, truffles, desserts---you name it. This particular challenge sounded like a lot of fun, so I was pretty excited when my package of goodies arrived. My mission was to create an original dessert recipe using Fregola Sarda and at least one of the other ingredients: Vanilla Beans, Star Anise and Saffron Threads.

Almost like being on an episode of Chopped, right? Except the time limit is a lot longer. :)

Fregola, what? Don't feel bad. I didn't know what the heck it was either. Fregola Sarda is an Italian couscous. But it's not really just couscous--it's couscous on steroids. And it's toasted. Sarda refers to the part of Italy (Sardinia) where the Fregola is a staple. So, now we know what we are dealing with--a pasta, so to speak.

Isn't it beautiful? The rough exterior of the Fregola allows sauces to cling to it, and the toasting process gives it a nice nutty flavor.

I knew right away that I wanted to make a custard or a pudding of some sort. One of the first things that came to mind was a classic noodle pudding--a sweet kugel, if you will. The obvious other ingredient to add to that would be the vanilla bean, of course, but one whiff of the licorice-y Star Anise, and I knew that I wanted to incorporate that in my dessert, as well. So, without further ado, here is my creation:

Sweet Apricot Fregola Kugel with Spiced Cornflake Streusel

1 cup Fregola Sarda

2 cups Whole Milk

1 Vanilla Bean

3 Eggs, lightly beaten

¾ cup Ricotta Cheese

½ cup Apricot Preserves

1/3 cup Granulated Sugar

½ cup Golden Raisins

Streusel

2 cups Corn Flakes, slightly crushed

½ cup Butter, softened

¼ cup Granulated Sugar

1 Star Anise, ground*

¼ teaspoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 ° F; butter a 1 ½ quart baking dish.

Combine the Fregola and milk in a small, heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and add all of it (seeds and bean) to the milk. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the Fregola is al dente, and the mixture is thickened and creamy. Take out and discard the vanilla bean and set the Fregola aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta cheese, apricot preserves, sugar and raisins. Fold in the Fregola mixture, stirring until well combined. Spread into the buttered casserole dish.

For the topping, place the corn flakes and the butter in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar, star anise and cinnamon together and add to the cornflakes and butter. Use a fork to blend the ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the kugel.

Bake the kugel in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

*For tips on how to grind whole spices, visit the marxfoods.com site: How to Grind Whole Spices (I used a spice grinder for the Star Anise)

I have to tell you--I loved this stuff! The Fregola had just the right texture, you could see the bits of the vanilla bean, and the topping was buttery, crunchy, and had just a hint of licorice-y Star Anise.

I was tempted to use the last ingredient, the saffron, in a whipped cream topping, but something told me to leave well enough alone. Sometimes less is more--the kugel was perfect by itself.

On December 5th, you'll be able to see who my competition is in this challenge. Marx Foods will be posting all of the recipes and they will be put to a vote. There will be two winners--one by vote, and one by judges. How fair is that? The two winners will each receive $100 worth of baking goods. Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: Marx Foods sent me samples of their products in order to participate in this contest. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

2011-11-27T21:28:00.001-06:00

A little messy, but so good...

I don't know where I got the recipe for pumpkin cookies, or even when I first made them. It's been years, and there are about a million versions out there. Some have chocolate chips, some have nuts. Some have cream cheese frosting, some have none. In the end, I just made them the way I like them. No nuts, no chocolate chips, and topped with a very delicious penuche frosting (that I use on a bunch of other stuff). These are my husband's favorite cookies.

Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

Printable Recipe

½ cup shortening

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup light cream

2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 ° F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening, butter and sugars until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add the egg and continue to beat for another 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spice, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and beat until just blended.

Using a cookie scoop, drop the batter, two inches apart, on cookie sheets. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Using a cookie scoop makes it easy to have the cookies turn out the same size.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 3 tablespoons butter and ½ cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the cream, and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in 2 cups powdered sugar until frosting has reached desired consistency. Spread on cooled cookies.

I like to keep the frosting on warm heat and drizzle them on the cookies--then they harden up a little like candy. Alternately, you can add more powdered sugar and frost them the usual way.

Put a parchment lined pan underneath to catch the drips.

They're like little soft cakes with candy on top.

Hot Fruit Compote

2011-11-25T08:30:00.001-06:00

Wow...another Thanksgiving is over. Weren't we just sharing Minnesota State Fair pics? This year, I had to deal with two vegetarians, a mother-in-law who was looking forward to tradition, and an onion hater. Seriously, how can you do a proper meal with no onions? That was worse than dealing with no meat. I did manage to pull it off, however. A huge thanks to convenience foods is in order....and to Boston Market, for being open on Thanksgiving, so my MIL could have turkey. :)

While I am a day late with the Thanksgiving meal post, I would like to share a quick alternative to cranberries (in our case, it is in addition to cranberries). Every year, without fail, I make a hot fruit compote to go with the meal. Usually, there is so much food that I have most of it leftover. This is a good thing since hot fruit compote turns into delicious cold fruit compote. Or warmed up fruit compote. At any rate, you can put this easy recipe in your pocket for Christmas.

Hot Fruit Compote

Printable Recipe

1 (8oz) package assorted dried fruit, cut up*
1-1 1/2 cups white or zinfandel wine
1 (20 oz) can chunk pineapple
1 (20 oz) can cherry pie filling

*I like to add 5 or 6 additional prunes since there never enough in the bag.

Place cut up dried fruit in a 2 QT casserole dish; pour enough wine over the fruit to just cover it. Refrigerate the fruit for several hours or overnight.

I leave mine in the fridge overnight. The fruit plumps up really nice from the wine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

I don't think there is any other time of year when I use canned products as much as on Thanksgiving. There is so much to do, the convenience is so welcome.

Pour the can of pineapple (with juice) over the fruit; spread the cherry pie filling over the pineapple. Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes.

Be careful! This is lava hot when it comes out of the oven. Just stir it up and let it sit for a few minutes before digging in.

My favorite is to have it with leftovers the next day.

It's especially good on Dutch Pancakes.

So, what other convenience foods helped me out on Thanksgiving?

Good old Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. Everyone loves these.

How about you? Was everything from scratch, or did you open a can and/or a tube?

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Egg in the Hole

2011-11-20T18:36:00.001-06:00

I thought I was being so clever the first time I made this. Use a biscuit cutter to cut a perfect circle in a slice of bread and then fry an egg in it. Ha--as it turns out, people have been doing this forever. Of course, it's called different things, depending on what area of the world you're in. Egg in the Hole, Toad in the Hole---I don't know what else. It's so simple, I actually felt a little weird about posting it, until I saw that The Pioneer Woman posted it and had over 1400 comments. People like stuff like this. Reminds them of their youth, I think.

Today, I had some eggs to try. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received coupons for some free Land O Lakes® Eggs. With the holidays at hand, those coupons came at a great time.

First, I had to find the eggs. They looked a little fancy to me, what with the packaging and the Omega 3 claims, so I was looking at the high-end grocery stores at first. As it happens, I found them at my usual grocery store. I would have known this if I had used their store locator. Duh.

Of course, I knew that Land O Lakes® had a quality product. I use their butter all of the time and I love it, not only for the superior flavor, but for the packaging. Each butter quarter is wrapped in a flavor sealed wrapper, so the butter doesn't absorb all of those other smells in your fridge. Really, who wants onion flavored butter? The egg packaging was interesting--the plastic outer cover (and inner cover) certainly protected the eggs, but I wondered about all of the plastic on a "natural" product. No worries, however. Land O Lakes® is all over it ---beginning in January 2012, all Land O Lakes® eggs will be packaged in a new pulp carton made from 100% recycled material.

The Omega 3 claim confused me at first, but it simply means that the hens are fed a natural, vegetarian diet that includes flax seed. This means that these eggs have an additional 160 mg of ALA omega-3 fatty acids per egg. You can read all about it on the Land O Lakes® website. You can also choose to buy the eggs in the Natural, Cage Free, or Organic varieties.

Back to our recipe:

I chose a Tuscan bread...just make sure your slices are big enough for your biscuit cutter.

Put plenty of butter in your skillet. You want the bread to absorb it and get nice and toasty brown. Don't forget to fry your "circles". They make good dippers.

Oops. I fried the first two a little too long. The yolks weren't runny enough. I gave these to my husband. :)

Much better. I love me a runny yolk.

Disclaimer: While I was given free product in order to make a review, all opinions are my own.

Apple-Praline Pie

2011-11-16T20:16:00.001-06:00

Every year about this time my husband starts talking about what kind of ~~food~~ pie we're having for Thanksgiving. The thing is, there really is no discussion. There will be a pumpkin pie because....well, just because. Who doesn't have pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving? And, this year we will have a cherry pie, because it is his favorite pie (and I'm just that kind of wife). My daughter's favorite is the Chocolate Angel Pie, so I may have to make one of those, too. I have many favorite pies, but I think that a fresh, homemade apple pie might just be my ultimate favorite. The thing is, there will only be five of us this year. Four pies would be pushing the boundaries just a bit, no? We don't want gluttony. Actually, while I can handle a bit of gluttony, what I don't want is waste. So, I made my apple pie a week early and I shared it with my co-workers. I may be re-thinking that cherry pie.

My mother-in-law is famous for her apple pies. In fact, until now, I didn't dare try to make one...why compete with perfection? Unfortunately, her pie making days are over--she is officially retired from the kitchen. Rather than try to replicate one of her pies, I thought I'd make one of my own. So, I searched around and found the best of several different kinds of pie. This is what I came up with:

Apple Praline Pie
Printable Recipe

Pastry for a two-crust 9” pie*

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cardamom

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6-7 cups peeled and thinly sliced tart baking apples (I used a mixture of Granny Smith, McIntosh, and Honey Crisp)

3 tablespoons butter, cut up

Topping:

¼ cup butter

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 ° F.

Fit one piecrust into a 9-inch deep pie plate.

Stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples, and then stir the apples into the cinnamon/sugar mixture; spoon mixture into crust and dot with butter. Top with remaining piecrust; fold edges under, and crimp. Cut several slits in top.

Bake pie at 425 ° F for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 ° F and continue to bake for another 35-45 minutes, shielding with aluminum foil, if needed, to prevent excessive browning. Remove from oven.

Melt ¼ cup butter in a small saucepan; stir in brown sugar and pecans. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; cook 1 minute, and remove from heat. Stir in cream and vanilla. Slowly, pour mixture over pie; bake for an additional 3- 5 minutes or until topping is bubbling.

*I was on a mission to find the perfect pie crust this year. I had heard from a reliable source that replacing the liquid with vodka was the way to go (thank you Danny Klecko). I googled and found a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that worked perfectly.

I actually found cake flavored vodka...I did use it, but next time I'll just use regular vodka. I couldn't really taste the cake flavor in the finished crust, but sometimes less is more when it comes to flavors.

A friend had given me one of those extra-deep ceramic pie plates. I ended up using 10 large apples and increasing the brown sugar to 1 cup. This was one heavy pie.

While nothing will compare to my mother-in-law's legendary pie, to me this recipe was a success. Did it pass her critical palate? The verdict is still out on that one. The piece I left for her was completely devoured...except for the pecans, which she carefully picked off. I'm beginning to understand why I have a 15 pound Chihuahua.

Just for fun, here is a link to some great pie recipes from my friends...Pie Blogger List.

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Ultimate Tuna Casserole...Hot Dish at its finest.

2011-11-12T22:44:00.001-06:00

Here's just a quick post for a quick recipe. I live in the land of 10,000 ~~casseroles~~ lakes, and it is beautiful. Winter can be harsh, however, so when the weather starts to cool, Minnesota starts to smell like comfort food. Casseroles are called "Hot Dish" here. Trying to spiff them up by adding truffle oil and calling it "Haute Dish" doesn't really work for me. It is what it is....simple, comforting food. The varieties are endless, but most of these hot dishes are filled with carbs, a bit of protein, and a creamy sauce to bind it all together. And they are always topped with something good and crunchy....crushed potato chips (Old Dutch, please), buttered bread crumbs, Tater Tots, and (my favorite) canned French-fried onions.

This recipe came from my sister. For years, I wouldn't even try it. Tuna Casserole? It sounds like school cafeteria food. I was the fool, however, for this is truly a hot, bubbling, dish of comfort food...and it's topped with lots of crunchy canned French-fried onions. Yum.

Ultimate Tuna Casserole
Printable Recipe

1 (7 oz) package macaroni, cooked per package directions
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 (7.06 oz) pouch albacore tuna in water
1/2 cup milk
1 (9 oz) package creamed spinach, or 1 (12 0z) package spinach soufflé, thawed
1 1/2 cups french-fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 ° F.

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In large bowl, combine macaroni, soup, sour cream, tuna and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon half of macaroni mixture into casserole dish. Spread with creamed spinach, and then top with remaining macaroni.

Cover and bake for 55 minutes or until casserole is bubbling.

Take from oven, remove cover, and top with French-fried onions. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.

If I don't have a package of creamed spinach, I make my own. Remember to set aside extra onions--if you reheat any leftovers, put some fresh onions on the top.

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