Turkey Day Leftovers

Now that the festivities have commenced and the family and friends have gone home . . . what do you do with the fridge that's still full of food? Here's an idea: Turkey Pot Pie.

As the weather cools, this is a delicious, hearty, warm meal that provides a new taste for the holiday leftovers. We have a batch cooking in the over right now!

Ingredients
4 cups turkey
1 3/4 -2 cups chicken stock
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1/2 and 1/2 or light cream
lemon juice
salt and pepper
ground nutmeg
1 medium onion (chopped)
3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick)
2 small celery sticks (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
3/4 cup frozen peas (thawed)
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp beaten egg

For the biscuits:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2-5 tbsp cold unsalted butter but into pieces
3/8 cup milk

Directions:

~ Cut or shred turkey into bit size pieces.

~ Melt 4 tbsp butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 cup all purpose flour and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add 2 cups chicken stock and whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk(cream or 1/2 and 1/2). Increase heat to medium and bring mixture to simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from pan, scrape sides, whisk to break up all lumps. Bring back to simmer and cook one minute. Stir in cooked poultry and cook one minute. Remove from heat and add several drops lemon juice, salt and pepper and 2-3 pinches of nutmeg (all to taste).

Make biscuit dough:

~Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles course breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix with rubber spatula until most dry ingredients are moistened. With lightly floured hands kneed into a ball and against sides of bowl 5-10 times. Refrigerate until later.

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

~ Butter a 13x9 baking pan

~ Heat in large skillet over medium high heat 2 tbsp butter. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until barely tender (about 5 minutes). Stir vegetables into creamed turkey and add peas and parsley.

~Pour the chicken mixture into prepared pan. Roll out biscuit dough 1/2 inch thick and cut into 2 inch rounds. Arrange on top of chicken, overlapping if necessary.

~Brush top of biscuits with beaten egg.

~ Bake until chic is bubbly and topping is nicely browned (25-35 minutes).

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

I have two recipes for "pumpkin bread", one that I typically use to make bread loaves and one that I typically use to make cupcakes. I think both are equally good (so the better one is probably the one with less sugar) but for some reason I keep alternating between then. So here they are:


Pumpkin Bread
Prep: 20 min
Bake: 55 minutes
Oven: 350º
Makes: 2 or 3 loaves (or you can make into cupcakes/muffins)

3 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1. Grease the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch, three 8x4x2-inch, or four 7 ½ x3 ½ x2-inch loaf pans; set aside (you can also use muffin cups). In a very large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until it combines. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350º oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. 4. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Spicy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

(Makes 26-28 cupcakes)

4 eggs

1 (16 oz) can pumpkin

1 cup sugar

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil; beat well. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended.

Scoop better into paper-lines muffin tins and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(you can use this recipe or choose your favorite cream cheese frosting to top these cupcakes)
1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients except sugar in large bowl with a mixer on medium speed. Reduce speed to medium low and add in sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before using.

Pumpkin Cheesecake ala Cheryl

We enjoyed this delicious recipe a few weeks ago during a dinner get-together with the Gaters, and we've already had it a second time. I haven't been the one to make it, but from what I understand it's easy to make. I do know that it is delicious!

**We made it gluten free by using gluten free gingersnaps. An easy change to meet everyone's needs :-)**

Crust:

2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Cheesecake:

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease or spray 9-inch springform pan. Wrap outside of pan in heavy-duty foil. In bowl, mix crust ingredients. Press in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy; do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the mixture into pan; spread evenly. Add pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.

Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until edges are set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved. Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack. Without releasing side of pan, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again; carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on serving plate. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecake.

Prep time: 40 minutes

Start to finish: 9 hours 10 minutes

1 service: Calories 400 (Calories from fat 230); Total Fat 26g (Saturated fat 15g; Trans fat 1g); Cholesterol 125 mg; Sodium 300mg; Total Carbohydrate 34g (Dietary fiber 1g; Sugar 25g); Protein 7g

(from: Betty Crocker's Fall Baking Oct/Nov 2009 No.251)

BBQ, Coleslaw & Corn Bread

I'm behind . . . but blogging is on the back burner until the end of the semester. Here are a few recipes to hold you over. A few weekends ago we made the Siburt family BBQ recipe which I don't think I've shared here yet. It's a really easy recipe, can be made with either pork or beef, and seems to always please the guests :-). I also made coleslaw (my Mom's delicious and very simple recipe) and we attempted gluten-free corn bread which surprised us all. Here are the recipes for the whole meal. Great for a fall weekend with friends and football.


BBQ
Cook a roast in the crock pot until it easily flakes apart. (Beef and Pork both work, your choice) Take out and let cool on a plate until it's ok to handle. The size of the roast doesn't matter and depends on the number of people you're serving. You can change the amount of sauce you make accordingly. Once the meat has cooled shred it and put it in a 13x9 baking dish.



While you are waiting for the meat to cook make the sauce:
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 cup melted butter
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 tbsp pepper
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce



Mix all ingredients except ketchup and Worcestershire sauce together in saucepan. Bring to a bail and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.



Once the meat is shredded and in a baking dish pour sauce over cooked meat. Stir together so sauce covers all the meat and bake at 325 for 1 hour uncovered.



Coleslaw
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
salt and pepper

1 head cabbage
1/2 carrot ( more or less according to preference)
1/8 onion (according to taste preference)

OR

A bag of cole slaw from the salad section :-) It's a lot easier!

Gluten Free Corn Bread
3/4 cup corn meal
1 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can make it: combine 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg, well beaten
2 tbsp shortening

Mix and sift together dry ingredients. Add milk, egg, and shortening. Bake in shallow pan for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

** If you don't want to make the cornbread gluten free use:
- 1 cup self rising flour (instead of the gluten free flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (instead of the larger amount of baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt (instead of the larger amount of salt)
- don't use the baking powder

Paula Deen’s Braised Short Ribs

Mark cooking them at our house again a few weeks later for a football game

I can't take any credit for this recipe. When our floor was being replaced we stayed with our friends the Gaters and one weekend this is what we decided to have for dinner. The recipe is from Paula Deen, and it really has to be made as a weekend meal. It's a very easy and delicious recipe though! You can make it gluten-free by not dusting the meat with flour when you brown.

. . .it kinda looks like we made enough for the whole team!

Ingredients

• 3 pounds short ribs
• House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped, plus 2 more cloves chopped
• Water
• Beef Broth, plus more for roasting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• Cooked white rice, for serving
• Sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season ribs liberally, or to taste, with House Seasoning. Lightly dust with 2 tablespoons flour.

In a Dutch oven, place a small amount of oil. Add the 2 garlic cloves and cook until lightly browned. Add the ribs and brown on each side. Add half water and half beef broth to cover ribs. Bring to a boil. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and place in a casserole dish. Add the remaining garlic, salt and pepper, onions, and about 1 cup broth to the ribs. Roast ribs for 2 hours. Serve over buttered white rice. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Jumbo Pear Muffins

My Mom is an EXCELLENT cook (and baker). I grew up on nothing but amazing homemade and homegrown food. This recipe is from Mom and is easy and always delicious. The original recipe calls for jumbo muffins but you can make it into a coffee cake or regular muffins, whatever suits your needs.

Ingredients

1 16 ounce can pears OR 3 or 4 fresh ripe pears (diced) *I always use the fresh pears and you really can't put too many in!*

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ cup shortening or butter flavor shortening (oil)

1 8 ounce container light sour cream ( or non-fat plain yogurt)

2 large eggs

1/3 cup slices almonds

Streusel Topping

You can use any recipe for this you like, here's the one I usually use:

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp nuts

Combine flours, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter to make course meal. Mix in nuts. Sprinkle over muffins.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 6 10 ounce custard cups or 9 in round cake pan. Place cups in jelly-roll pan for easy handling
2. Prepare Streusel topping; set aside
3. Drain pears and pat dry with paper towels; coarsely chop. In large bowl, stir flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and cardamom until well mixed. With a pastry blender cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs.
4. In a medium bowl, with wire whish or fork, mix sour cream and eggs until well blended; stir in chopped pears. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture just until moistened. (do not over-mix!)
5. Spoon batter into custard cups; sprinkle with Streusel Topping; top with slices almonds. Bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cert of muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in cups on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from cups; cool completely on rack. Makes ~6 jumbo muffins.
   

ENJOY!

Tomatoes

Tomato sandwiches, tomato soup, stewed tomatoes, sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper, grilled tomatoes, tomato sauce . . . I feel like Bubba in Forrest Gump (except I love tomatoes as much as he loved shrimp). As we are in the heart of tomato season and I have gotten a few tomatoes off of my pitiful little plants I couldn't resist this post. Since we've been gone so much this summer my tomato plants have not recieved much tender love and care, but I planted one grape tomato and one yellow pear tomato plant which was a childhood favorite. What things do you like to make with tomatoes?

National Ice Cream Day

Today is National Ice Cream Day, and July is National Ice Cream Month. If you know me, you know that I love ice cream! It is the one food that I can make room for no matter how full I am, and can eat at any time of the day! Favorite flavors are hard to pick but Mint Chocolate Chip is typically the "old stand by".

As I was doing some research about National Ice Cream Day I couldn't resist posting this info I encountered while searching Icecream.com. They have a section called "Ice Cream Flavorology" where they list 8 flavors and then describe what the flavor you pick explains about you. So, I asked Mark to pick a flavor, he chose Butter Pecan, and this is what it said:

Funny in many ways: the uniform is the same colors Mark wears to work, personality description is pretty accurate, and the compatibility is Mint Chocolate Chip! Then I looked at my choice, and although the description is not completely accurate the only way the picture could be more perfect is if the girl had a little curl in her hair.

Bailey even likes ice cream. Publix sells Frosty Paws Ice Cream for dogs and her favorite flavor is definitely peanut butter! I found this recipe online to make doggie ice cream; haven't tried it yet but thought I'd share. It's on my list and I'll be sure to post Bailey's comments once I make it.

Frosty Paws Dog Ice Cream Recipe

32 oz. plain yogurt
1 mashed banana
2 T p'nut butter
2 T honey

It’s true dairy products aren’t good for dogs, but yogurt contains much less lactase than regular milk and the live cultures are great for your dog’s digestive system. This dog ice cream recipe is delicious and good for your pet!

1. Mix all these ingredients in your blender, then dump into ice cube trays, paper cups, or even a kong toy to freeze and serve.

2. If you want to go all out for your mutt you can freeze these homemade frosty paws just like you would homemade ice cream. A salt-less automatic ice cream maker makes this as easy as using any other appliance in your home and the frosty paws will be ready to serve in 10 minutes.

For the ultimate treat, appropriate for desert at a doggy birthday party, follow steps one and two, then take the mostly frozen dog ice cream product of number two and spread it 1” to 1½” thick on wax paper. Freeze for five minutes and thenremove dog ice cream from freezer. Next, use a paw shaped cookie cutter to cut a paw shaped “frosty paws”, remove ice cream around edges, and return paw shapes to the freezer to freeze solid.

Leftover Tortillas

Since we had tacos on Tuesday, tonight we had the left overs, but there are still a few tortillas left . . . when I was a kid we did one of two things with the leftover tortillas:

1. Spread one with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, roll it up, and microwave for a few seconds to heat up. Yummy!

2. Sprinkle some of the left over shredded cheese on one, roll it up and microwave it to melt the cheese.

Those both still sound good to me, any other suggestions?

Homemade Tortillas

You might be thinking, why make the effort . . . but that's why I'm posting. My Mom's recipe for homemade tortillas is one of our favorites, so much that we never buy them at the store anymore! They are easy to make and much better than the store bought ones. Here's the recipe for taco night at our house:

Tortillas

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup warm water

Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the oil (I use olive oil), mixing with your fingers or a fork. Then slowly add the warm water until mixture forms a round ball of dough. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Split dough into small balls, we usually make 12 small tortillas with this recipe. Place a dry frying pan on the stove over medium to medium/high heat. Flour a cutting board and roll out the tortillas until very thin. Cooking them one a time in the frying pan. Tortillas only cook a few minutes on each side so watch them closely. They will bubble up in the pan and as soon as they the bottom side starts to brown flip them. Once cooked place in a tortilla warmer, or between two plates to keep them warm. Cook all tortillas and enjoy with your preferred taco fillings.

We use:

ground beef (for Mark)

black beans(for Hannah)

cheese

lettuce

tomato

corn

sour cream

Once you make them you'll never buy tortilla shells at the grocery store again!

Scandinavian Food

Since we're off to Scandinavia I thought it only appropriate to talk about what we might expect to eat there. This was the first recipe I encountered when searching for Iceland, yum! Other than that it looks like Iceland is known for it's wide variety of fish (caught in the unpolluted North Atlantic waters), and fresh vegetables.

Icelandic Pancakes (or Crepes) with Whipped Cream.
Batter: 3 cups flour, 4 eggs, 3 tbs. butter (melted), 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. vanilla essence, 2 ½ -3 cups milk.

Directions: Separate egg whites and beat until stiff. Mix together all other ingredients and add the egg whites last. Bake paper-thin on a hot cast-iron griddle (about 9 inches in diameter). Spread with preserves, jam or jelly, one tablespoon whipped cream. Fold into triangles. Serve with afternoon coffee or as dessert. (Traditional)

In Norway, fish will be in abundance as well but I also found this link to traditional Norwegian foods to try while we're there.

And finally, in Sweden there are many internationally renown chefs and restaurants so I don't think we'll have any difficulty finding something delicious to try. This Ice Bar/Restaurant has been recommended and is on our list of possibilities.

We'll try to take plenty of pictures to share when we return.

Beef Bordelaise

Here's an easy weeknight dinner that's one of our favorites. Served with a side salad or some steamed vegetables we can divide it into at least 2 nights of dinner. I used to make this for the Ayares (a family I babysit for in high school and college) which makes me enjoy making it even more now because it reminds me of them! :-)

BEEF BORDELAISE

1 1/2 lbs stew beef

1 tablespoon margarine

1 clove garlic

1 medium onion chopped (~1/2 cup)

Salt & pepper

1 can tomato soup

3/4 cup red wine

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup ketchup

Cut meat into bite size pieces and brown in pan. In a sauce pan combine all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Add meat to sauce and cook for about 15 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

Grilled Meats and Vegetables with Saffron Orzo

Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to make a dish we don't have often. Partially because it takes some planning, but mostly because it feeds more than 2 people! Since it was a long weekend we decided it was the perfect time to pull out this recipe and share it with friends. Here's the recipe (courtesy of Food Network):

GRILLED MEATS AND VEGETABLES OVER SAFFRON ORZO

Marinade:

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 5 lemons

2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons smoked salt, or kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

For grill:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/2 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 ears corn, husked and cut into thirds

1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean

1 red bell pepper, halved and cored

1 yellow bell pepper, halved and cored

1 orange bell pepper, halved and cored

*NOTE* You can use any meat or vegetables you choose, we used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, flank steak and shrimp. Since we had so many meats and vegetables this time we put them on skewers which made turning on the grill much easier.

Saffron Orzo:

4 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1 pound dried orzo

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a medium bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. In a large bowl, combine half the marinade with the chicken breasts, chicken thighs, and shrimp. Toss to combine. Cover and let marinate for at least 1 hour. If marinating for longer than 1 hour, make sure to refrigerate. Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the corn with reserved unused marinade and wrap in foil. Toss the mushrooms with 1/4 cup of the reserved unused marinade. Grill the chicken breasts and thighs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 7 minutes a side. Grill the corn for about 5 minutes a side. Grill the peppers for about 5 minutes a side. Grill the shrimp and the mushrooms, about 2 minutes a side. Brush the grilled peppers with the last of the reserved unused marinade. Slice the peppers and mushrooms before serving, if desired. While grilling meat and vegetables, begin cooking orzo. In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, bringing the stock to a simmer. Add the saffron, stir, and allow the saffron to bloom, about 5 minutes. Return the heat to medium and the stock to a boil, then add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain orzo and transfer to a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Toss to combine. Arrange grilled meats and vegetables over the saffron orzo on a large platter and serve immediately.

Dessert disaster that I've had recipe requests for . . .

(Lovely berry picture c/o my friend: Google Images)

Yes, you read it right. I decided to make a super simple Berry Galette from the Joy of Cooking Pie & Tart Cookbook my Mom gave us and completely messed it up! The cookbook provides a variety of pie and pastry crust recipes at the beginning and then gives a suggestion of which to use with each recipe in the book. For this particular recipe they suggest substituting cornmeal for some of the flour in the pastry dough. Since that already cut down on the amount of "regular" flour I was using I decided I'd use rice flour for the rest so it was gluten free. This is always an experiment with new recipes so I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. The fatal error came when I somehow mis-read 1/3 cup water for 3/4 cup water and ended up with REALLY moist dough! After adding a lot more flour, powdered sugar and cornmeal I created a somewhat workable consistency and threw it in the fridge to harden up. The extra moist dough did not make it easy to roll and transfer to the baking sheet but after piecing it together we finally cooked and had a finished product. I wanted to throw it away but Mark insisted on finishing and serving it; now I've just finished baking a second one (with the left over dough) and have recipe requests. I'm sure when the directions are followed appropriately it is a very easy and delicious summertime dessert!

So, here's the recipe:

"Half-Covered Berry Galette"

Pastry Dough:

Using a large rubber spatula mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

**they suggest increasing the powdered sugar to 1/6 cup and substituting 3/8 cup cornmeal for 3/8 cup flour***

Quickly(to prevent softening) cut 1 stick of cold, unsalted butter into small pieces. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut with a pastry blender (or 2 knives) until the butter is in pea sized pieces.

Add 1/8 cup shortening, cutting it into the mixture as you did the butter. Do not let the mixture soften and begin to clump.

Drizzle 1/6 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon ice water over the mixture and cut with the blade of the rubber spatula until it looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls. Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula and if the balls of dough stick together you have enough water. (If they don't add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon additional ice water). The dough should look rough. Press the dough into a flat disk, wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

(picture c/o: Cheryl Gater)

Half-Covered Berry Galette:

-Position a rack on the lower 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 400 F.

-Roll dough into a 13-inch round on a well floured surface. Carefully slide onto a cookie sheet(rimless sheet makes things easiest, I used a pizza pan).

- Arrange 1 1/2 to 2 cups berries in the center of the dough (leaving a 2-3 inch border of dough).

-Scatter 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (cut into small pieces) over the top of the berries.

-Fold the border of the dough over the fruit, forming a pleated half cover (leaving the fruit exposed in the center). Lightly brush the dough with milk and sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons sugar.

-Bake until golden brown, 25-35 minutes.

-Let cool on rack.

-Serve warm or at room temperature.

And as always, enjoy! :-)

An additional note about hard boiled eggs

Straight from the chef himself:

Bring the eggs up to room temperature before dropping in boiling water to help prevent as much thermal cracking :-) -Michael

Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs you say? Yes! I doubt I'm the only one who has hard boiled eggs before and gotten so frustrated peeling them as chunk after chunk of egg stays on the shell, that I end up taking brownies instead of deviled eggs to the cookout they were for.

Well, this post is a tribute to my brother-in-law Michael who gets all the credit for making my life of hard boiling eggs a lot easier!!! So here's the trick . . .

In a large pot bring water to a boil. Gently add eggs. Boil eggs for 12 minutes (cooking time may very slightly depending on how many eggs you have, I usually cook 6). While the eggs are cooking make an "ice bath" in a large bowl (simply fill a large bowl with ice and water). After 12 minutes, drain the water and rinse the eggs twice with cold tap water. Then place them all gently into the ice bath and let them sit until cooled. Once cooled take out of ice bath and peel. You will have perfectly cooked, easy to peel hard boiled eggs . . . and will be much more willing to volunteer bringing deviled eggs to your upcoming holiday cookout!



On a side note, we recently began getting farm yummy fresh eggs from a guy Mark works with and no longer have to buy them at the grocery store! :-) As much as I couldn't stand our chickens growing up I never imagined being so happy to not have to buy eggs from the store.

Banana Bread French Toast

While I was in San Diego I went (more than once) to a little restaurant recommended to me by a friend called Cafe 222. They only serve breakfast and lunch and have amazing muffins along with this . . . Banana Bread French Toast. So this is a tribute to the amazing breakfast at Cafe 222. If you're ever in San Diego it's highly recommended!


Maybe this will inspire me to try making it myself. . . .

Goodies from the last month

We've been cooking . . . and baking . . .just not blogging. Here's a picture preview of what we've made and the recipes to come:

Mark's Amazing Cookies!!!!!


Carrot Cake in a bunny cake pan for Easter


and Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread (that Mom makes much better than we do!)

Sourdough

While we were home for Christmas, Mom gave us some of her sourdough starter. Recently Mark made some amazing sourdough bread. A plain loaf and the a cinnamon swirl loaf, yum yum! It's really easy and so flexible. We have to "feed" it (with water and flour) every other week, and then during the off week we get to make something. We haven't branched out yet from our usual bread and cinnamon rolls but hopefully we'll have some new recipes to share soon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've had a cupcake recipe I've been waiting for the right occasion to make and this seemed like an appropriate holiday. They're from a "Cupcake-A-Day" calendar from 2009 and called "Strawberries n' Cream" Cupcakes.


The Recipe:

Ingredients

Cupcakes
1 cup( 2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups sliced strawberries(smaller berries are better)
4 tbsp. strawberry jell-o
2-4 tbsp. water

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Combine cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale (2-3 minutes).

Spoon better into cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cook in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on racks.

For the topping whip cram, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in small bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon onto cupcakes and arrange sliced strawberries on top. In a small saucepan heat jell-o and water until melted. Brush mixture on top of strawberries. Chill until ready to serve.

Comments:
They reminded both of us of "personal pan sized" strawberry shortcakes. Easy to make, colorful and not too sweet. They were a good choice for a Valentine's treat.