Heirloom Beans

We love beans. The South is full of cool beans you can't seem to find anywhere, pink eyes, lady peas, purple hull, crowder peas, the list goes on. When most people think of Southern, they think of black-eyed peas. When they think Southwestern, they thing black or pinto. Come on people lets add some variety!

But you might be thinking, "Cookbook Of The Day, where can I find such variety?" Try searching about your grocery store, we might say. (Several weeks ago, I wanted to make my favorite baked beans with figs and searched around my grocery store. The navy beans I bought were soaked 12 hours and cooked for about that long and were still HARD!!! This sometimes happens, so as a warning, if you find a dusty bag of beans on a back shelf and you think, "Hey, I've never seen these before. ", be forewarned that even dried beans can go -- bad. But I digress...).

Want to find lovely beans on the internet or in your more discerning grocery, look no further than Rancho Gordo. The folks at Rancho Gordo will send you out a package or great heirloom beans in no time. They have a flat shipping rate of $8, so buy several bags and experiment. They even have sampler sets for you to try.

They even have a cookbook, cleverly entitled, Heirloom Beans, written by Rancho Gordo's uber-seed-saver, Steve Sando, and Vanessa Barrinton. They offer up some unusual and usual bean dishes. Don't be alarmed, they give you a rather generic substitute if you have not received your heirlooms from Steve.

Here's a recipe using tepary beans.



They are sweet beans and look a bit like a pinto, which can be substitute in this recipe but, then it would just be plain old pinto bean dip and you would have failed in your mission to step outside you boring comfort zone.

Spicy Tepary Bean Dip

1 1/2 cups drained, cooked tepary beans
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 poblano chili, roasted
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
1 chipotle chile in adobo
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a food processor, combine beans, garlic, olive oil, poblano chile, cumin, chipotle chile, salt and pepper to taste. Process until smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. You will have about 2 cups. Serve at room temperature.

Please give it a try.

***Two things:

1. In checking to see if my link was working, I found that Rancho Gordo doesn't have tepary beans in stock right now.

2. Since the new blogging rules say we must have full disclosure, I just want to say I have received NOTHING for Rancho Gordo, not a book a bean or a T-shirt. I am truly sad about this!

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PEANUT BUTTER-OATMEAL-CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM OUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO YOURS!! This cookie recipe has something in it for everyone...peanut butter, oatmeal & mini-chocolate chips. It makes a flat, tender, crispy cookie that is delicious all by itself, or you can use them to make ice cream sandwiches, or you can put chocolate frosting in between two of the cookies. It is a very versatile cookie. I hope you all have a spooktacular (and safe) Halloween!!

¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup butter (room temperature)
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar (I like to use dark brown)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup mini-chocolate chips

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars, vanilla and egg together until smooth. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut, then roll the balls in granulated sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with the end of a cup or glass dipped in sugar.
Bake in preheated 350F oven for 10-12 minutes (mine took 12 minutes). Let these cookies cool on your cookie sheet for a minute or so before you remove them.

This recipe makes about 2½ dozen or so cookies, depending on how large you make them. The cookies are a little fragile when you take them out of the oven, but if you let them cool on the pan for just a minute or so, you won't have that problem.

These cookies make excellent ice cream sandwiches!!!

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Ghoulish Goodies

Sharon Bowers has a bit of Roald Dahl in her. The food gross, disgusting and surprisingly tasty. Lots of dismembered parts to construct, bones and eyes, wings and things. The eyes are a great riff on old-fashioned buckeyes; abandon the M & M pupils and make them anytime! My Dad loved making popcorn balls for Halloween.

Here's a colorful and creepy way to make them especially horrible for Halloween.

Orange Popcorn Balls

10-12 cups popcorn (from 1/2 cup kernels)
1 cup dry-roasted salted peanuts
1/2 cup gummy worms or bugs, optional
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for buttering your hands
1 (10-ounce) package marshmallows
red and yellow liquid food coloring or orange paste coloring

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Combine the popcorn with the peanuts, gummy worms, if using, in a large glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowl (plastic may stain); set aside.

2. Melt the butter and marshmallows in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and add 5 drops of each red and yellow liquid coloring or a dab of paste coloring to achieve your desired shade of orange. You can always add more if the marshmallows is not orange enough.

3. pour the marshmallow cream over the popcorn and mix thoroughly. Working quickly, lightly butter you hands and form balls about 4 inches in diameter. Set the popcorn balls on the baking sheet; allow to cool and firm. Cooled popcorn balls can be wrapped in plastic wrap or waxed paper and tied with black or orange ribbons. The balls are best eaten the day they are made.

For the adult in you, after mixing the marshmallow and popcorn, just drop it in bite-sized bits on the tray. After it cools and dries a bit, dump it in a big bowl. After all, Halloween is on Saturday and this makes a ghoulish treat for those of you planning to watch football. For added fun, throw that hand full of gummy worms into the bowl with the orange popcorn bites.

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BASIC FOCACCIA BREAD

Today, when hubby asked what we were having for lunch, I told him turkey panini's. He got one of those proud grins on his face, that told me he was getting ready to make a wisecrack; then he told me he didn't know turkeys HAD panini's. He can be delightfully goofy.

Todays sandwiches were made with a no-frills basic focaccia bread. For those of you who are still getting familiar with yeast doughs, this would be an excellent recipe to try; it is a very easy one and the results are fantastic.

Turkey and Smoked Gouda Panini

 2¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1 cup warm milk

Mix the first six ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in warm milk and one tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (it only takes a few minutes). Cover with plastic and let it sit in a warm place for an hour. Push all of the air out of the dough and place it on a greased baking sheet. Pat the dough into a ½" thick rectangle and brush with the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil. Cover the rectangle very loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes (it will raise a little, but not a lot). After 30 minutes, make dents in the dough (with your fingertips) every few inches over the entire surface of the focaccia. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool the focaccia completely before slicing it horizontally to make sandwiches.

NOTE: This focaccia is basically a blank slate; you can add anything you like to the dough. If you want an herb focaccia, add 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano, dried thyme and dried basil to the first stage of the dough. If you want a cheesy focaccia, top the dough with a cup of shredded mozzarella and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan just before baking.

NOTE: I've been using my GF Grilling Machine to make panini's by setting a large heavy can of something on the closed grill top (to weight the sandwich down). It works very well.

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Halloween Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family

Here's another in the collection of Halloween cookbooks. Halloween Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family by Donata Maggipinto offers up the usual food, fun and frights. I have already told you what a wuss-I-was for Halloween. Frankly, I am not much better now. But I just might come out from behind the chair to grab up a handful of these treats. Again, not a drop of sugar.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds (from about a 4-pound pumpkin)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried basil

Rinse seeds well in cold water, being sure you have rinsed away any fibrous strings, and pat thoroughly dry.

Transfer to a large bowl and add oil, salt, rosemary and basil, stirring well to coat seeds with oil.

Spread seeds on baking sheet in single layer.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven until crisp and golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

Do not give them to children. They will simply spit them back at you or worse...


Here is my favorite version of Season of the Witch by Luna. It was on the I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack.

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TOFFEE CHIP CHEESECAKE BARS

I've been trying out potential sweets for my Christmas cookie boxes and I found a real winner last week. It's from a cookbook called "Brand Name Recipes". The bars have a cocoa based cookie bottom (I used the new Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa which is very tasty) and on top of that is a creamy cheesecake-toffee bit layer and it is all topped with more toffee bits. Need I say more?

 1¼ cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (I used dark chocolate cocoa)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup butter (cold)
(1) 8 ounce package cream cheese (room temperature)
(1) 14 ounce can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups English toffee bits (divided)

Combine the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa and baking soda in a medium bowl; cut in butter until it is crumbly (I did this step in my food processor). Press firmly on the bottom of an un-greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy then add the sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk), eggs and vanilla and beat until it is smooth. Stir in one cup of the English toffee bits. Pour this mixture over the hot crust. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until set and the very edges just start to turn golden. Cool 10 minutes and then sprinkle on the remaining one half cup of toffee bits. Cool completely, then refrigerate until the bars are cold. Store leftovers (covered) in the fridge.

NOTE: These bars are to be kept in the fridge, but we think they taste best after they had been out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

NOTE: Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk

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Halloween Fun: 101 Ideas To Get In The Spirit

Halloween is looming. I was one of those rare children who HATED Halloween. I loved getting ready for the holiday and my father loved it. He made carmel apples and had a huge table filled with individual sacks of candy for every child in the neighborhood. He decorated the house and was ready for any fright. The big fright came the first time the doorbell rang and I went screaming into another room and hid behind a chair, crying

My poor father never had a spooktacular time with his only daughter!

Here's hoping you have better luck. And here's a good recipe that does not contain a speck of sugar.

Cheesy Spiders

1 pkg (8 oz), softened
black paste food coloring
1 pkg (16 oz) shredded four-cheese mixture
1 pkg (3.5 oz) round rice crunch crackers (or 24 of any round cracker)
1 cup chow mein noodles

1. Mix 2 Tbsp of the softened cream cheese with the food coloring to make black. Spoon into a ziptop bag; set aside.

2. Beat the remaining cream cheese with all but 1 cup of the shredded cheese until blended. shape mixture into 1 1/4-in. balls.

3. Place the remaining cheese in a shallow bowl. Roll the balls in cheese to coat. Place one ball on a cracker. Insert 8 chow mein noodles into each ball as the legs of the spider. Snip a very small corner from the bag with the black cream cheese. Pipe eyes on each spider.

4. Serve with stew. spiders can be made in advance. (Do not put on crackers until ready to serve.) Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Enjoy this recitation of All Hallows Eve by Witches in Bikinis

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SUPER SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES & A BABY MOOSE STORY

These little unassuming cookies are wonderful. They've been sitting on my counter all day and they are still so soft (almost cake like). The recipe makes five dozen velvety cookies that taste like pumpkin pie and have a rich brown sugar glaze on them. They would be an excellent holiday cookie and the recipe says they freeze well (unfrosted). They will never win a beauty contest, but man-o-man are they tasty. I think next time I make them (and hubby says there will be a next time) I'll put a couple drops of orange food coloring in the dough.

2 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(1) 15 ounce can of pumpkin
4 cups flour

In a large bowl, beat 2 cups of butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Beat until well combined, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat well, then beat in the pumpkin. Add as much flour as you can with the mixer, and if necessary, use a wooden spoon to add the rest of the flour (my stand mixer mixed it all just fine...but it IS a lot of dough).

Drop by heaping teaspoons on un-greased cookie sheet (2" apart). They don't spread much at all. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 10-12 minutes (I baked mine 11 minutes they don't change color much - just bake them until the tops are set). Cool on wire racks and frost. Brown Sugar Frosting: ½ cup of butter + ½ cup of brown sugar + ¼ cup of milk + 1 teaspoon vanilla. Heat those ingredients in a saucepan until the sugar is melted and smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add 2¾ cups of powdered sugar. Whisk smooth and frost cookies.

After the frosting has "set", you can store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for three days or freeze the unfrosted cookies for up to 3 months.

NOTE: These cookies are VERY soft, almost like a little mini-cake.

MY BABY MOOSE STORY
The leaves have been off of our trees for quite a while now and this morning we woke up to an inch of snow which melted quickly. However, in this color-less time of year, there is a hardy little plant that can withstand hard frosts and just keeps blooming and blooming for me. I have several of them right outside my front door just so I can enjoy them this time of year, they are called Cinquefoils.

Last night, about midnight, our dog, Chloe, started growling under her breath. The kind of growl that tells us she's too afraid to really bark. We went to the front window and low and behold there were THREE very small/young moose (probably triplets) standing on our sidewalk and munching away on my beloved cinquefoils!! Even here in Alaska, being less than a foot away from any moose is not an every day occurance...but triplet "moose-lets"? It was a real treat and I happily donated my Cinquefoils to these little babies. I got my camera and walked up to the window as quietly as possible, knowing that ANY noise would spook them away. It was very dark out and for some reason my porch light didn't come on when the moose walked up, so I knew I would have to use a flash. I placed the camera lense right on the glass hoping to reduce the flash reflection. I had only one chance for a photo (because they would be gone instantly when they saw the flash) but it was worth a shot. The photo is a terrible one, but I still wanted to share it with you. The little triplet moose were so cute. I'm sure their mother was near by, but I wasn't going to check. Getting between a mother moose and her babies is something that is extremely dangerous. As soon as the camera flashed, all three little guys were g-o-n-e! They acutally missed one Cinquefoil plant (the above photo), so I am hoping they will come back again tonight. They are also welcome to our pumpkin (moose love pumpkins).

Sorry for the poor photo

You can see this brave little moose, and the leg of her sibling on the left. The third moose is to her right; when we first saw them, all three were shoulder to shoulder on our front steps, if only it were daylight, I could have gotten a good shot. They were about the size of a Great Dane (as adults they will be over a thousand pounds).

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Cantaloup to Cabbage

Mrs. Philip Martineau is another writer we have featured before. Sometimes referred to as Alice Martineau, she was considered to be quite the hostess by those that knew her and after constantly being asked for simple recipes , she embarked on a series of cookbooks to explain her cooking. After her fist cookery book, Caviare to Candy, (The one Alice Martineau book I am missing. Torn up copies abound at a rather high price, but I am holding out for a copy with the J. Gower Parks jacket. He just loves, naked, cherubic cooks roaming around through the food, but I digress…) Mrs. Martineau concerned herself with the vegetable kingdom in her book Cantaloup to Cabbage. It is a cooking abecedary taking us from Alligator Pears to Watercress Soup.

The book is filled with tips of the day, perhaps not as helpful as they were deemed to be at the time.

"All vegetables should be drained immediately after cooking and not allowed to stand in the saucepan a moment."

"Looking back to one’s own childhood, it is surprising to see the amount of vegetables thought necessary for a child today. Not only the pressed juice of cooked spinach, but the juice of certain uncooked tender vegetables, as well as orange juice and tomato juice."

I am rather fond of her section on artichokes. Here are two examples:

Artichokes (Jerusalem)

The original name for these was Girasole, of which Jerusalem is a corruption. They are most nutritious and tasty and are much neglected. Peel the tubers and blanch them in cold water. Boil in salted milk and water (to keep the colour white) and never let them stand in the saucepan. They should take about twenty minutes of fast boiling to cook and must not be squashy. Drain quickly and serve with Béchamel sauce or cream sauce flavored with mace, or with curry sauce and a boarder of rice, or with brown sauce and grated cheese, with a cheese sauce or au gratin, like celery, and in many such ways.

Mrs. Martineau is ADAMANT that those vegetables never sit in a saucepan.

Artichokes, Roast

Peel, and roast them under the meat as you would a potato.

Simple enough. And you can feed them to those children who seem to need vegetables these days. Check out her other book, More Caviare to Candy featuring Parks' naked cherubs riding the fish entrée.

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MINI-BRIOCHE ROLLS

I make these rolls about twice a month and freeze them (fully baked) in a high quality freezer container. A frozen baked roll takes about 4-5 minutes (at 350) to reheat. They are also very handy for the holidays because they are more festive than standard dinner rolls and since they are already fully baked, you can just pop them all in the oven five minutes before dinner.

3½ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons dry active yeast
½ cup warm milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 eggs at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups of flour, sugar, yeast, zest and salt. In a saucepan (or microwave) heat the butter and milk to 120 to 130 degrees. Add the warmed liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients (stirring quickly with wooden spoon). Add the room temperature eggs and mix well; add one more cup of flour and beat until smooth. Stir in the rest of the flour, but do no knead the dough. Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover and let it raise in a warm place for about an hour. After an hour, push all of the air out of the dough and cover and refrigerate it overnight. (see note about rising times)

The next day, push any air out of the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured counter; let it rest for 30 minutes (with inverted bowl over it).

If you want the traditional brioche shape, divide the dough so that you have 1/6th (for the little top knots) and divide the rest of the dough into 12 pieces. Roll the larger pieces into a ball and place in individual brioche pans (or cupcake pans) and make a dent in each one. Roll smaller balls (from the 1/6th portion) and set them on the indentation. Lightly spray the rolls with cooking spray (very lightly) and cover with plastic wrap. Let these raise in a warm place for one to two hours or until they are double in size. Gently brush the rolls with egg wash and bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until golden. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven while the brioche bake.

NOTE: I don't make the traditional brioche shape. I roll 12" "snakes" and then tie them in knots, tucking in the loose ends.
NOTE: I don't use an egg wash on mine because they get too crusty when I reheat them. I bake them without the egg wash and just brush them with a little butter when they come out of the oven the first time.
NOTE: Keep in mind that if you have granite counter tops, it is going to take longer for your dough to raise because they are so cool.

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A Surprise in Every Dinner

Sometimes when I pull a cookbook, I find that I end up looking several cookbooks by the author. I drag them out and then they end up still sitting on my desk some time later. A short time ago, I featured Edwardian Glamour Cooking Without Tears by Oswell Blakeston and got to do a post featuring the poet H.D., which doesn’t always happen in cookbook blurbs. I will spare you the modernist poetry this time, but I did want to share this recipe from Blakeston’s, A Surprise in Every Dinner.

In this book, Blakeston is not really concerned with cooking times or amounts of ingredients. (He’s my kind of cook!) He states:

“In the old days cooks would weigh out materials as carefully as chemists and then time the cooking to the fraction of an ounce. Today one cannot expect such time-consuming precision.”

His favorite time saver is the modern butcher who should be able to allay any fears you have when cooking pork chops or lamb. He will sell you the proper joint and give you the time it takes to cook prepare it properly. (This book is from the 1960’s; good luck finding that butcher, today.)

I went meatless with this recipe, however. You will need a good florist instead of a good butcher. It is that tie of year when mums are everywhere, and here is a recipe that incorporates them into you dinner meal instead of simply in your decorating scheme.

Chrysanthemum Soup

chrysanthemums, 4 blooms
milk, 1 pint
butter, 1 tablespoon
salt
pepper
cornflour, 2 tablespoons

Soak the chrysanthemums in boiling water for two minutes. Take them out and pull off the petals. Chop the petals. Warm up the milk, and dissolve the butter in it. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cornflour, and stir till the milk thickens. Add the chopped petals, and cook for two minutes.

Here is the COOKING WITH FLOWERS caveat: Know where your flowers come from. Your yard is the best location. What you don’t want is soup of boiling pesticide, so ask questions before you cook.


In the meantime, now when see pot after pot of chrysanthemums you can think: "Maybe I’ll have those for dinner."

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DULCE de LECHE (Made in the crockpot!!)

Yes, you heard me right, dulce de leche made in the crockpot!! The first time I tried it, I was very skeptical, but it works like a charm and couldn't be easier.

Fill crockpot with COLD water. Put an UNOPENED can (with paper label removed) of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) into the cold water, making sure that the water is 2" taller than the can. If you are doing more than one can, make sure there is at least 2" of space BETWEEN each can as well. 

Put the lid on the crockpot and let it "cook" on LOW for EIGHT HOURS. Take the cans out of the crockpot and dry them off and label them. If you are going to use them right away, let them cool down a couple hours before you try to open the can. Cooled and unopened cans can be kept in the pantry like you would any other canned item.

DISCLAIMER: people that make Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk never anticipated people heating their product in an unopened can. As a matter of fact, I'm sure they would disapprove, so please, if you try this method, use (common sense) caution....but it has worked VERY WELL for me and for many other people I know. 

 Crockpot Dulce de Leche

Right after opening the can; it is unbelievably delicious!!

 

NOTE: One friend that had a white crockpot, said that the can left a permanent "ring" on the bottom of her crockpot; I didn't have that problem (my crockpot is black). If you are concerned, put a layer of paper towels under the can/cans before you add the cold water.

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GUILTLESS BANANA MILK SHAKE

This banana milk shake is my latest addiction, and for once, it is guiltless!! Toss some frozen bananas, fat free banana yogurt and some 2% milk in the food processor (or blender) and in 10 seconds you will have the thickest, creamiest milk shake ever!! It is absolutely delicous and totally satisfies that "whats to snack on?" moment in the middle of the day. I hope you try it.

In advance, slice some bananas into ½" slices and freeze them, in a single layer, on some waxed paper. When they are frozen, put them all in a Zip Loc freezer bag and keep frozen. When it comes time to make your milk shake, place 16 slices of frozen banana into the food processor (I don't have a blender). Sixteen slices equals the same amount as a medium size (8") banana.

Add a 6 ounce container of fat free banana yogurt and one cup of 2% milk. Run the food processor about 10 seconds. You will end up with about 2½ cups of thick milk shake. This next photo is not a very good one, but I wanted to show you that the final product is thick enough to support a spoon!!

NOTE: I keep a bag of frozen banana slices just so I can make this treat in a hurry. It is also a great use for those bananas that have a few too many brown spots on them.

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CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD BARS

This week, I have been trying out some new "goodie" recipes with the holidays in mind; I like to add a few new items to my standard cookie boxes every year. Today I made some cranberry shortbread bars that I found in a holiday issue of Fine Cooking and they are definitely going to make the "big list". The bars have an ultra-buttery shortbread crust topped with cooked cranberries and then a shortbread-type streusel topping. They are baked in a 9 x 13 pan that is lined with foil for easy removal. The bars are very sweet, buttery, tender and cut nicely...perfect for gift giving.

Wash and sort a 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries. Put them in a heavy saucepan with ¼ cup of water and one cup of white sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and boil until the sauce is like a thick syrup - 5 to 8 minutes (mine took 6 minutes). Set aside to cool (it will thicken even more as it cools).

SHORTBREAD CRUST

21 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled to room temp.

This seems like a lot of butter, but it makes an upper and lower crust

¾ cup of white sugar

2 large egg yolks

3 cups + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

No need to use an electric mixer, I did it all with a wooden spoon. Mix the sugar into the melted butter and whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a very stiff dough. Remove two cups of this dough and pat evenly into a foil lined 9 x 13 pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or put in freezer for 7 minutes). Set the rest of the dough aside.
With the remaining dough, run a fork back and forth in the dough to loosen it up into crumbles Add ¼ cup of white sugar to these crumbles and work the fork back and for a little more to break up any large clumps. Do not chill these crumbles.

Bake the 9 x 13 chilled pan of dough, on the middle rack of your oven, for 20 minutes at 325. After 20 minutes, the dough will still be very pale in color and will not have any golden color on the edges. Remove it from the oven and spread the cooled cranberry filling evenly over it.

Spread the loose crumbles over the cranberry filling

Bake on the TOP rack of a 350 oven for 25 minutes (mine took 32 minutes). Watch the crumbles towards the end of the baking time. You want to see a little golden color on the top of the crumbles, like this:

Cool baked bars on a wire rack for at least an hour or until completely firm. You can speed set them in the fridge. When the bottom of the pan is completely cool, lift the bars out of the pan by pulling on the flap ends of the foil. Cut into 2" bars. These will keep at room temperature for a week.

NOTE: The butter measurement of 21 tablespoons is not a typing error

NOTE: Bake the bars in a metal 9 x 13 pan so they don't over bake. Line it with foil and leave the ends of the foil a little long, so you can use them as handles to lift the cooled bars out of the pan.
NOTE: Pay attention to baking temperatures. The first crust pre-bake is on the middle rack at 325. The final bake is on the TOP rack at 350. The recipe says it is baked on the top rack so that the bottom of the crust doesn't get too dark.

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CROCKPOT MAPLE PORK TENDERLOIN

This recipe gets five stars for two reasons...it is totally delicious AND super simple. As a matter of fact, it is one of the best crockpot recipes that I've tried in a long time. You can not get much simpler than this: brown the pork loin, cover it with sauce and 8 hours later (my crockpot only took 6 hours) and you have fork-tender, delicious pork loin and a gravy that is amazing.

 2½ pound boneless pork loin
1 cup real maple syrup (DON'T USE PANCAKE SYRUP)
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2½ tablespoons cider vinegar
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper

I bought my pork loin, vacuum packed from Walmart (2½ pounds seems to be a standard size). When you open the package, there will be two long loin pieces. I cut each one into three pieces, then salted and peppered them and browned them in a little olive oil. Place the browned pieces in a wide crockpot for even cooking (as opposed to the tall ones).

In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup (do not use pancake syrup, it is way too sweet and will ruin your pork, trust me), Dijon mustard, cider vinegar and soy sauce together. Pour over browned pork loin pieces. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (my crockpot took only six hours). If you use a different cut of pork, you may have to use the full 8 hours. It isn't absolutely necessary, but try and turn the meat over a couple of times during the cooking process. When it is time to eat, thicken the gravy. I served this with rice and coleslaw. It also made delicious sandwiches the next day.

NOTE: If you are concerned about the maple flavor being overpowering...don't be. As a matter of fact, it is almost a background flavor, but it IS there and the meat was extremely tender and slightly sweet. This is a fantastic recipe for any special occasion.

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RASPBERRY FILLING

This recipe for raspberry filling can be used a dozen different ways. You can use it in puff pastry turnovers like the photo below, or between cake layers, inside cupcakes or donuts, on french toast, on ice cream, on cheesecake and on and on. It is a great basic recipe that only takes a few minutes to put together and can easily be doubled.

(1) 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries (not in syrup)
½ cup + 3 tablespoons of water
¾ cup white sugar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup cold water

Gently simmer the raspberries, water, sugar and lemon juice for 15 minutes, in a small heavy bottomed pan. After 15 minutes, you can push the berries through a sieve if want a seedless filling (I leave the seeds in).

Bring the strained berries back to a full simmer. Dissolve the cornstarch in the ¼ cup of water and whisk it into the simmering berries. Bring it back to a boil, and simmer for another five minutes. Cool/chill completely. It will thicken as it cools.

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For the above raspberry turnovers, I just thawed a sheet of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry dough for 45 minutes and then floured my board a little. I unfolded the dough and rolled it out flat (about 2" bigger than right out of the box). I cut the sheet into 6 pieces and put a dollop of raspberry filling into the center and folded the dough over (wetting the edges) and crimping them. I cut small vent holes in the top of the turnovers and baked them on an ungreased sheet at 400 for 15-18 minutes (or until they were golden).

You can drizzle a glaze on them if you want, or just dust them with powdered sugar. Hubby likes them "unadorned". They are light as air, crisp and flaky, just right for breakfast or an instant dessert.

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ITALIAN VEGGIE BAKE

This is one of my favorite things to eat on the nights that hubby has opted to be carnivorous. It is a recipe big on flavor, veggies and cheese; my favorites are mushrooms, red peppers, onions, zucchini, beans, carrots, pasta, ricotta and Monterrey Jack cheese. It makes the BEST lunch on day two!!

Not the best photo, but trust me, it's excellent !!

½ cup onion chopped
½ cup celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped red pepper
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup black beans
1 clove garlic minced
(1) 12 ounce can tomato paste
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry sweet basil1 teaspoon fennel seed (don't leave out)
scant ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes2 teaspoons brown sugar2 cups small pasta cooked
ricotta cheese2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese (grated)
2 tablespoon butter

 

In a large, deep pan, saute the onion, celery and garlic (in the butter) until the are sweet, then scoot them to one side of the pan. In the same pan, saute the rest of the raw veggies until they start to wilt. Add everything else (except the pasta and cheeses) and simmer slowly, for about an hour (without a lid so the sauce will thicken up). After an hour, stir in the cooked pasta and 1 cup of cheese.

To assemble this dish, pour half of the veggie mixture into a greased baking dish and top with small dollops of ricotta cheese (randomly over the mixture...but not a solid layer). Top with the other half of the veggie mixture and cover with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

NOTE: You can use any combination of veggies that your family likes in this dish.

NOTE: Any small pasta will work, just make sure that when it is cooked, it is bite size or the same size as the chopped veggies.

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CHIFFON CAKE

A chiffon cake is sort of like an angel food cake, except better (in my opinion). It is an egg white based (like an angel food cake) but it also has a lot of whipped egg yolks in the recipe, so it has just a little more "body" than an angel food cake and isn't quite as prone to "falling" when you bake it. It sort of reminds me of those little round yellow strawberry shortcake sponge cakes sold in cello-six-packs in the store (except this cake is a million percent tastier and more moist than those).

1 cup of egg whites (about 8 eggs room temperature)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups white sugar (divided)
5 egg yolks
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract

Heat oven to 325. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large (non plastic) mixing bowl on medium speed until foamy. Beat in 1 cup of the sugar (on high speed) 1 tablespoon at a time (continue beating until stiff and glossy). Be careful not to under-beat. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks in a small mixing bowl until very thick and lemon colored (about 5 minutes). Beat in reserved ½ cup of sugar gradually (after 5 minutes, this mixture will look like lemon colored whipped cream at soft peak stage).

Add the flour to the egg yolk mixture, alternately with water and extracts on low speed. Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into whipped egg white mixture with a non-plastic utensil.

Spread in UNgreased 10" x 4" tube pan. Cut gently back through the cake batter with a metal spatula to break any large air pockets.

Bake in a 325 oven (bottom rack of oven) for 60 to 65 minutes or until the top springs back when touched lightly (my oven took 65 minutes). Remove from oven and turn pan upside down like you would for an angel food cake. Cool completely.

Run a long serrated knife, in a short sawing motion, around the perimeter of the cake (I use a thin bread knife) to release it from the pan.
NOTE: Don't peek (open the oven door) while this cake is baking. It is not good to jar your oven or cool off your oven while baking a cake.

NOTE: It is extremely important not to use any plastic bowls or utensils when preparing this batter. Also do not use silicone baking pans or ANYTHING that might have a trace of oil or grease on it. Grease or oil is "death" to egg meringues.

NOTE: You can also bake this cake in an oblong pan or jelly roll pan as long as you use parchment paper on the bottom and do not grease the sides of the pan. Baking time depends on the shape of the pan, but you can tell the cake is done when a toothpick, inserted in the center of the cake, comes out clean.

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FOOL-PROOF BUTTERHORNS - A BAKING CHALLENGE!!

Katy, over at Food for A Hungry Soul has offered to help Ingrid from Baseball Baking and Books get over her fear of yeast dough. Enjoying a challenge, I have offered to put in my two cents worth. Katy and I will be posting a few "how to" yeast recipes with hopes of convincing you ALL to give yeast a try.

Ingrid is not alone in this yeast-phobia. A number of you have expressed the same fears, so I am challenging you to try this no-knead Butterhorn recipe. It is the perfect yeast dough starter recipe since it is pretty much goof-proof!! The look on your families faces, when you serve these delicious Butterhorns, will convince you that yeast dough is worth every effort!!!

I found this recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook It produces a dozen sweet and "light as air" pastries that your family will love.

OK, BLOGGERS, YOU HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED (that means you too Ingrid!!) I hope everyone will post their end result photos!!

ANSWERING QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of yeast do I use? ANY dry active yeast will work!! You will find it in the baking isle in a two or three little envelope strip (or you can buy a 4 ounce jar of it). You can also buy it by the pound vacuum bag at Costco, but stick with the little envelope strips until you start to bake a LOT. I keep my yeast in the fridge. Check the expiration date before you use it. I like the Red Star brand of yeast, but I've accidentally bought bread machine yeast before and it worked great. ANY yeast that is called dry active yeast will do the trick!! Yes, "fast acting" yeast is perfectly fine...anything but "wet cake yeast from the refrigerated section".

2. Will these Butterhorns freeze well? Yes they do. I frost mine, then let them "set" until the frosting has dried to the touch, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and put a bunch of them in a large freezer bag.

3. My unbaked butterhorns look flat, what did I do wrong? In this particular case, the dough needed a little more flour. If a dough does not have enough flour, it can not "support" itself as it rises.

4. Do I use the dough hook? For tranditional yeast doughs yes, but this is not a traditional yeast dough, so I would use a regular beater or a paddle beater and not the dough hook for the butterhorns.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions, I'll post your answers right here, so check back.

1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg (room temperature)
2 cups all purpose flour
1½ tablespoons white sugar
½ teaspoon salt (do not leave out)
½ cup of butter (no substitutions)

Measure 2 cups flour (spoon into cup and level off), 1½ tablespoons of sugar and the salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender until you have very small pieces of butter when you are done, it should look like oatmeal. (I did this step in the food processor and just pulsed it a few times, it looked like this)



In a small dish, mix the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar; stir in ¼ cup of warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes so that the yeast can start to bubble or activate. OK, this is where most novice bakers get freaked out (the temperature of the water). Too hot and it will kill the yeast, too cold and it will slow the yeast down (but it won't hurt it). I always think of the correct temperature as "baby bottle warm". For those of you who have children, you'll know what temperature this is. You are aiming for a temperature that you could safely feed a bottle fed baby.

After the yeast mixture has been sitting for 10 minutes, it should look like the next photo. If it doesn't, don't despair, just throw it out and try this step again. This is called proofing the yeast (I always think of it as "proving the yeast is good"). It's done this way so you don't have to throw a whole batch of dough away if the yeast isn't any good. Tip: make sure your yeast is fresh, check the expiration date. I keep mine (I buy it by the jar) in the fridge.

Click on this photo so you can see it better, those little dots in the bowl are bubbles

This is what you want your yeast to look like after 10 minutes, nice and foamy.

Warm the milk until the chill is off (I used my microwave) and then add the slightly beaten egg. In a large bowl, add the (milk-egg mixture) and the (yeast-water mixture) to the dry ingredients. Stir well until it is all blended together. It will be a very soft dough (not a kneadable dough). I used my heavy duty electric mixer to mix everything together. It will look like this:


Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight (I chilled it overnight). The next day, sprinkle your counter with some flour and turn the dough out onto the counter. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour and roll the dough around until all sides are coated with a little flour so its not so sticky anymore. Roll (or pat) the dough out to ½" thick rectangle. The dough will be sticky during this stage, but don't give up, just keep lightly flouring your counter and rolling pin.

Cut the rectangle in to ¾" strips. Pick up a strip and dust the excess flour off of it. Twist the strips a bunch of times and then place one end on the counter and wind the twisted strip (in a single layer) around and around (tuck a tiny piece of the "tail" under the pastry) Sorry I forgot to photograph this step.
Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet. Very lightly, spritz the tops of the rolls with vegetable spray so the plastic doesn't stick to them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them raise for an hour (or until they are doubled in size SEE NOTE BELOW). Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (my oven took 15 minutes).
Frost the Butterhorns with a simple glaze made out of 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract and enough milk to make the glaze the right consistency.
NOTE: I put a tablespoon of raspberry pie filling in the center of my butterhorns before I baked them, but it isn't necessary. You can just frost them or frost them and sprinkle with toasted nuts.

NOTE: Dry active yeast requires water, sugar and warmth to "do its thing" in a bread recipe. When a recipe tells you to "let the dough raise for an hour" keep the warmth of you kitchen in mind. If your kitchen is on the cool side, it will take longer than the recommended time for your dough to raise. If your kitchen is hot, it will raise quicker than the recommended time. When dealing with a dough that is chilled (like the Butterhorns) the recommended raising time is an hour, however, I found that my dough took just short of TWO hours to double in size. If you bake the recipe before the dough has completely raised, it will turn out dense and heavy.

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