Polenta Cups

So, a tube of polenta walked into my kitchen the other day....

Ingredients:

1 (18 oz) tube of polenta at room temperature

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms, chopped

2 cups prepared marinara sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided

2 Tablespoons grated parmesan

Directions: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and mushrooms. Cook until the vegetables are softened and then add the marinara. Continue cooking on low for 10 minutes and then remove from heat. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a full size muffin tin (12 individual cups) with cooking spray. Slice the polenta into 1 inch thick slices and crumble one slice into each muffin cup (you may have some polenta leftover). Push the polenta into a cup shape using the back of a teaspoon. Spray the inside of the polenta cups with cooking spray and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and pack the polenta down again with the back of the spoon. Add a pinch (about 1 teaspoon) of mozzarella to the bottoms of the cups.  Add enough sauce to come close to the top of each cup and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes more. Let cool and remove each cup with a spoon.

Parmesan Crisps

(plain on the left, with bacon on the right)

Ingredients:

1 (4.25 oz) tub of shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with vegetable oil spray. Place mounds of about 2 teaspoons each of the cheese on the baking sheet  about 1 inch apart (think ‘making small cookies’). You may need to bake in two batches depending on the size of your baking sheet. Bake for 6-7 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown, but not dark because they will turn bitter if too dark. Cool and pile on a plate for easy snacking.

Get creative on me: You can go absolutely wild with seasonings here—you can put some freshly cracked black pepper on the top, some cayenne for heat, some garlic salt, whatever! Even better, add 2 slices of crisply cooked bacon, crumbled, to the cheese. Awesome.

Alpine Pizza

Why Alpine? The flavors of bacon, onion and Swiss cheese make me think of Switzerland or Alsace-Lorraine. You can make this vegetarian by omitting the bacon and sautéing the vegetables in olive oil.

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

¾ cup milk

½ cup shredded Swiss cheese

¼ cup shredded Gouda or Gruyere cheese

¼ cup grated or shredded parmesan

2 teaspoons corn starch

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 (16 oz) package of fresh pizza dough or your favorite pizza crust

Directions: In a large skillet, cook bacon slices on medium heat until cooked through, but not crisp-about 10-15 minutes (the bacon will cook more on top of the pizza).  Remove the bacon to a paper towel, and keep about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan. Toss in the onions, mushrooms and spinach. Cook over medium until all the vegetables are softened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat the milk on medium until bubbles start to form around the edges. Mix the cheeses together in a small bowl or on a sheet of waxed paper. Toss the cornstarch and the cheeses together. Add the cheeses one handful at a time to the milk, stirring to combine. Add the nutmeg and salt and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until the cheeses melt and the sauce holds together, about 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to low/simmer and whisk occasionally until you are ready to use it. It’s perfectly fine if the sauce is a little lumpy.  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place a pizza pan or pizza stone in the oven to heat (Mine is 14 inches across). Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Remove the pan from the oven and lay on the pizza crust. Cover with cheese sauce, but not to the very edges or it will drip into the bottom of your oven—trust me. Scatter on the sautéed veggies. Top with bacon (torn into 1 inch pieces) and bake for about 15-18 minutes until the pizza is lightly browned at the edges and the center is all bubbly and gooey.

Notes: If you don’t use all the cheese sauce, save it-it is great with toasted bread. Also, if you don’t feel like making a cheese sauce, just scatter the cheeses, mixed with the nutmeg and salt (omitting the cornstarch and milk) right on the pizza dough.

Carrot Cake

This is one of my dad’s favorites. Thank you, Poppy for everything you did and for everything you taught me.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 ½  cups flour

1 teaspoon baking  soda

Pinch salt                                                                                                          

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil, like canola or sunflower

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup canned, crushed pineapple

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Soak:

½ cup white granulated sugar

Pinch baking soda

¼ cup buttermilk

¼ cup butter

1 teaspoon corn syrup

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

½ cup butter (1 stick)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Carrot Curls: (optional for decoration)

1 large, chubby carrot, peeled

1 cup warm tap water

2 Tablespoons honey

½ cup granulated sugar plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray the parchment with cooking spray. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice into a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl (I use my stand mixer), mix together the eggs, butter milk, sugars and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in slowly and combine. Stir in the pineapple, carrots and nuts, if using. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean (it’s a moist cake, so it won’t be totally clean) and the cake is golden brown on top and doesn’t jiggle. While the cake is baking, heat the ‘soak’ ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium low heat until the butter is melted.  Bring to a boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent a boil over. Remove the soak from heat. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate and peel the parchment paper off, discarding it. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer or chopstick. Spoon the soak slowly over the cake while it is still warm. Make the frosting by combining all frosting ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Once the cake is cooled, cover with the cream cheese frosting and refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving, at which time you will want to bring the cake out and come to room temperature.

Carrot Curls:

In a small bowl, mix together the hot water and the honey until the honey dissolves. Spread the ½ cup sugar on a paper plate. Spray a cooling rack with cooking spray and place on top of a sheet of wax paper with a paper towel placed over the wax paper. Using a vegetable peeler, make long strands of carrot. Place the carrots in the honey water and stir to coat. Drain the carrots, discarding honey water. Toss the carrots lightly with the sugar and place on the cooling rack to dry for 1 hour. Sprinkle with the 2 Tablespoons of sugar and let dry  for one hour more.

Quick Aioli Dipping Sauce for Seafood

Quick, company’s coming and you need an appetizer stat! Thaw some frozen shrimp or crab and make this really quick, simple sauce for dipping.

Ingredients:

Juice of one lemon

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup prepared mayonnaise

½ to 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Stir the ingredients in a bowl and serve with frozen shrimp, crab, lobster, whatever. Great just with cut up veggies, too!

Four Cheese and Hot Sauce Dip

This is just my take on Buffalo Hot Wing Dip, but since I don’t use chicken in it, I couldn’t really use that term, could I? I like some crunch in this, so I added celery and water chestnuts.

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

¼ cup good blue cheese salad dressing

1/2 cup Frank’s ® Original Hot Sauce (or more, depends on your taste)

1 large stalk of celery, thinly sliced and diced

1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, diced

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese (optional, but what’s a little more cheese at this point?)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a shallow casserole dish (about 1.3 quarts) or a pie plate with cooking spray. In one small bowl, combine cream cheese, dressing and hot sauce. In another small bowl, mix the cheddar and jack cheese together. Add the celery and water chestnuts to the cream cheese mixture and add one half of the cheddar/jack mix to it. Spoon into the casserole and top with the rest of the cheddar/jack mix.  Scatter the crumbled blue cheese over the top. Place the casserole on a baking sheet to prevent spill over.  Bake for 45 minutes until bubbling and gooey (check at 30 minutes to make sure the cheese on top isn’t burning). Cool for a few minutes before serving (if you can). Serve with cut up veggies like celery, carrots and jicama and/or tortilla chips, crackers, whatever you have. PS-grapes are a great accompaniment  with this. They really balance the hot, spicy, creamy goodness with crisp, cold sweetness.

Get creative on me: Please, get creative here—I seriously toyed with adding chopped green onions and artichoke hearts, changing the cheeses to all cheddar or mozzarella. I went light on the hot sauce for friends who like a little spice, but not too much. You can always put a bottle of hot sauce out for those who want more.

Cider Brined Pork Roast

You’ll want to start this the day before so the roast can soak up the brine.

Ingredients:

Brine:

4 cups apple cider

2 cups water

½ cup salt

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 Tablespoon dried sage

Pork Roast:

1 (3 pound) pork loin roast (or 2 [1.5 pound]) roasts

Directions: To brine the pork roast (do this the night before you plan to serve): In a  large saucepan, add all brine ingredients and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce to medium heat and cook until the sugar and salt dissolve (just a few minutes). Let cool completely. Place the roast in a large zip top bag and pour the brine over. Refrigerate overnight or at least 5 hours, turning the bag over occasionally.

On the day of serving, remove the roast from the brine, discarding brine, and pat dry with paper towels. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place on a rack in a roasting pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Add about ½ inch of water to the bottom of the roasting pan and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. Place the roast on the serving plate, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve with any pan juices on the side.

Powerful Oatmeal

I like to make enough of this to last the whole week—please feel free to scale back the recipe if you want.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick cooking oatmeal

1 cup quinoa

¼ cup toasted wheat germ

¼ cup ground flax seed

7-8 cups water (all those grains really soak up the liquid and you want them to be able to bloom. Start with 7 and then see if it is the thickness that you like-if not, add the rest of the water—I used all 8 cups)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch allspice

3 Tablespoons maple syrup

Milk, berries and extra maple syrup to serve

Directions: In a large saucepan, stir together oatmeal, quinoa, wheat germ and flax seed. Stir in the water and spices.  Cook over medium high heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes. Add the maple syrup and combine. To serve, heap into bowls and add milk, berries and maple syrup to taste.

Improv Hot and Sour Soup

I’m feeling a bit under the weather and all I want is Hot and Sour Soup. I’m not leaving the house and I don’t even want to call out for delivery, so I decided to see what I could do with pantry items. This isn’t even close to authentic, but it certainly hit the spot.

Ingredients:

2 (10 ¾ ounce) cans condensed chicken noodle soup

2 ½ soup cans water plus 3 Tablespoons water, divided

1 (14 ounce) can chop suey vegetables, drained

½ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (use canned or jarred if that's what you have)

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 green onion, sliced

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Dash hot pepper sauce like siracha or more to taste

Directions: In a large saucepan, heat the soup and the 2 cans of water. Add the chop suey vegetables, mushrooms, soy sauce, and vinegars. Heat over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a cup, mix the 3 Tablespoons of water with the cornstarch and stir until blended. Bring the soup to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Reduce to a simmer and slowly add the egg, while stirring. Add the green onion, sesame oil and hot pepper sauce.  Cook for another three minutes and serve.

Potato, Onion and Bacon Cake

This isn’t a cake in the traditional sense, more like a big, wonderful potato pancake. This yields a nice, toothsome potato cake. If you like yours more crispy, you might want to turn the heat up for the last bit of baking.

Ingredients:

3 large baking potatoes, peeled

1 medium to large yellow onion, peeled

8 slices of bacon

3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme or marjoram

2 Tablespoons butter

Directions: Prepare a large mixing bowl by filling it with cold water. Very thinly slice the potatoes (a mandolin or the slicing blade of a food processor are great for this) and place the potato slices in the bowl of cold water. Very thinly slice the onion and set aside. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and thyme. In a large oven safe skillet, cook bacon until crisp and remove to a paper towel lined plate. Drain off the excess bacon fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan. Add the onion slices to the skillet and cook for five minutes at medium heat, until the onion is soft and starting to turn golden. Remove the onion slices to a bowl, leaving a thin layer of bacon fat in the bottom of the skillet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the potato slices and pat dry on paper towels. Remove the skillet from the heat and place 2 layers of potatoes, a little salt/pepper/thyme and one layer of onion. Crumble some bacon over the top. Repeat the layering process (tamping down with your palm every so often) until you reach about ½ inch from the top of the skillet or you run out of potato, onion or bacon. Try to end with a layer of potatoes on top. Sprinkle with just a bit more salt/pepper/thyme and dot the top with the butter. Spray a piece of foil with baking spray and place over the top of the skillet. Pat down firmly to compress the cake. Place the skillet with the foil cover in the oven for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and cook for another 25 minutes.  Loosen the edges with a knife.  Place a large plate over the top and (using oven mitts); turn the plate and skillet over so the cake is now on the place. Slice into wedges. Not in a flipping mood? Just slice and serve from the skillet.

Get creative on me: Sour cream is a great topping for this. Maybe a nice green salad.  Got any leftover potatoes, onion and/or bacon? Throw them in a skillet, brown; add a few lightly beaten eggs and some cheese. Instant frittata.

Artichoke, Leek and Mushroom Soup

If you are in the mood for a light soup, please try this one. I am a big fan of having all kinds of frozen veggies on hand, especially in the winter.

Ingredients:

Soup:

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 ½ cups chopped mushrooms (fresh or canned), roughly chopped

2 cups sliced leek (white and light green parts only)- I use frozen and thawed sliced leeks

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped (about 1 ½ cups)

4 cups vegetable stock (which is one 32 ounce carton)

Salt to taste (use shallot salt if you can get it)

Fresh cracked pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence or other herb mixture (optional)

Parmesan Toasts:

6 (1 inch thick) slices French bread

4 Tablespoons mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons grated parmesan

Directions: Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large saucepan, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and add mushrooms, leeks and artichoke hearts. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just softened and fragrant. Add the stock and seasonings and heat to boil. Reduce immediately to a simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes to let the vegetables flavor the soup.

While the soup is cooking, place the bread slices on a foil lined baking sheet and drizzle one side with the remaining olive oil. Turn the bread slices over. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and parmesan and spread a heaping spoonful onto each bread slice. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20  minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with parmesan toasts.

Get creative on me: Some fresh minced garlic would be great in here, as would some thinly sliced carrots. Use chicken stock instead of vegetable or just use water and herb seasoning. If you had some fresh parsley on hand, that would be fantastic if you put it in the soup right before serving.

Pumped Up Pumpkin Pancakes

I’d love to tell you that I made this up for the health factors: lots of vitamin E, folic acid, antioxidants, fiber and additional protein. Fact is, I just wanted all these flavors put together and to feel somewhat virtuous about eating pancakes for dinner.

  

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups baking mix (light is fine)

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

¼ cup wheat germ

1/8 cup flax meal

½ cup roasted, lightly crushed pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)- Optional

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 ¼`x   cups milk (lowfat is fine)

1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus a little additional to grease the griddle

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger powder

¼ teaspoon allspice

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

 Directions:

In medium bowl, stir all ingredients until well blended. Let rest for 10 minutes. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat.  Grease griddle with additional vegetable oil , using a balled up paper towel. You want just enough to coat, not too much.   For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle.

Cook until edges are dry. Turn; cook other sides until golden brown. Serve with Butter Pecan & Maple Spread with additional syrup as desired, or with butter and maple syrup. This made me 24 pancakes.
Note: these keep very well in a container with a tight fitting lid (in the fridge), with each layer separated by wax paper.

Get Creative on me: Spread a leftover pancake with Butter Pecan and Maple Spread and a little apple jelly—roll up for a quick snack! Note: My brothers and I often had pancakes rolled with peanut butter and jelly as dinner-life was darn good! Hey, peanut butter would be great on these pancakes, too.

Butter Pecan & Maple Spread

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened, divided

1 cup chopped pecans

Pinch of salt-to taste

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 TB maple syrup

Directions:

Melt 1 TB butter over low heat in a large, heavy skillet. When melted, add pecans and salt and toss well. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes or until turning golden and fragrant. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Mix well and allow to cool to room temperature.

While the pecans are toasting, place the remaining softened butter in a dish and stir in the maple syrup. When the pecans are at room temperature, stir those into the dish and mix well. Refrigerate for at least one hour to firm up.

Get Creative on me: This is wonderful with Pumped Up Pumpkin Pancakes, stuffed into celery (maybe with a little softened cream cheese and a few raisins?), tossed with warm, roasted butternut or acorn squash, or thinned with a little water and served as a dip with sweet potato chips or fries. Try this spread on fresh apple slices!  

 

Parmesan and "Bacon" Kale Chips

I am having way too much fun with “Bacon Dust”. These healthy little chips are just like eating savory puffs of air.

  

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh kale

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup ‘bacon dust’

For ‘bacon dust’:

Put 1 cup imitation bacon bits in the food processor and whir for 1-2 minutes, or until a fine powder.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with foil. Wash kale, dry, and remove stems. Tear kale into large pieces and place on baking sheets. Drizzle kale with 1 Tb. Olive oil to each sheet. Toss. Dust with parmesan cheese and then bacon dust. Toss lightly and sprinkle the remaining cheese and bacon dust over the top. Bake for 10 minutes and then toss the chips with tongs and rotate baking sheets. Bake for another 7-8 minutes or until they are brown and feel dry when you pick one up with tongs. If they are still damp, leave them in the oven another minute or two.

Get creative on me: You may need less cheese and/or bacon dust. Try it out and see what amounts you like. Me, I like to scrape up the little bits of cheese and bacon and put them right on top of the chips. Some folks might need more seasoning-go ahead and add salt, pepper, garlic salt, chipotle powder, whatever your little heart desires.

Wedding Cakes/Teacakes/Snowballs

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, chilled

½ cup powdered sugar, plus another 1 ½ cups for rolling the baked cookies in

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup finely chopped pecans

2 ¼ cup flour

Directions: Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and ½ cup powdered sugar together, then add vanilla and salt. Mix well. Add the flour and pecans and combine thoroughly. Roll into 1 inch balls and place one inch apart on two foiled and greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are JUST starting to turn golden. Place 1 cup powdered sugar in a wide, shallow bowl and reserve. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. This is where you want to be careful. The cookies need to be warm in order for the powdered sugar to stick, but if they are too hot, they will crumble in your hand. I always do a ‘test cookie’ after they cool for five minutes. Hey, any cookie that crumbles is mine! If they start to crumble, let them rest another few minutes. Carefully roll each baked cookie in powdered sugar and remove to wax paper or a wire rack to cool completely.Re-roll in powdered sugar before storing in tightly sealed container.

Orange Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box (12 oz) vanilla wafers, ground in food processor

1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar

½ cup chopped nuts (dealer’s choice-pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, whatever)

1 (6 oz) container frozen orange juice, thawed (orange/pineapple would be great, too), about 1 cup

¼ cup butter, melted

1 ½ cups sweetened flake coconut

Directions: In a large bowl, combine wafers, sugar and nuts. Stir in orange juice and melted butter. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in coconut. Place on a baking sheet and chill, uncovered for an hour or so to firm up.  Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

¾ granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins that have been soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and then drained

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until light. Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Mix thoroughly and then stir in the oats and raisins until combined. Drop by teaspoons onto baking sheets that have been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Cook for 12-14 minutes, or until they are golden brown all over and the edges are slightly darker golden, turning pans halfway through baking. Remove to rack to cool.

Oatmeal-Almond Lace Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cups butter, melted

1 ½ cups rolled oats

½ cup finely chopped almonds

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, sugars, flour and salt. Add the melted butter and stir again. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls (no larger, please. These spread like wildfire, which makes them lacy) onto the prepared baking sheets at least two inches apart (I only get 9 cookies on each tray)and bake for 13-15 minutes until golden and slightly brown at the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before removing them to a baking sheet. Repeat baking with remaining dough. Store at room temp in a tightly sealed container.

Lemon Coolers

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 egg

2 Tablespoons  lemon juice (I used the juice from ½ a large lemon)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons lemon zest, divided (I used the zest from two large lemons)

2 cups powdered sugar, divided

2 cups all purpose flour

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large, shallow bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoons lemon zest (it helps to rub the zest right into the sugar with your clean fingertips). Set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then beat in lemon juice, vanilla,  1 tablespoon lemon zest,  ½ cup powdered sugar and all the flour.  Stir until fully incorporated. Chill dough for 30 minutes. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 1 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Slightly flatten the balls into disks with your fingers or the bottom of a glass that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 16-18 minutes, turning pans around halfway through,  until bottoms start to turn golden. Let cool for 5 minutes and then roll balls in the powdered sugar/lemon zest combo. Let rest another 10 minutes and then roll in sugar/zest again and store in an airtight container.

Honey-Walnut Fudge (AKA “Beige”)

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing pans

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup cream or half and half

1/3 cup milk

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon orange or tangerine zest

½ cup walnuts, lightly toasted

Directions: Line an 8 x 8 cake pan with foil, going up and over the sides to form ‘handles’ for removing the fudge. Generously butter the foil and the inside of a large saucepan. Place the saucepan on the stove and add in the sugars, cream, milk and honey. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Clip a candy thermometer to the side and reduce heat to medium low. Cook until the candy reaches  236 degrees F, stirring often. Remove the pan from heat. Add in the butter, vanilla and orange zest—DO NOT STIR. Cool until thermometer registers 110 degrees F. Beat candy with a wooden spoon until thick then add in walnuts. Continue beating until candy is very thick and loses some of its gloss. Turn into prepared pan and score into squares while still warm. Let cool until firm, then remove from pan using foil ‘handles’, cut into your scored squares and store in a tightly sealed container.

Note: I’ve always beaten this by hand, which gets very tiring. This year I decided to use my handy and sturdy stand mixer. I let the candy cool to 110, then poured it into the mixing bowl and beat with the whisk attachment for about 6 minutes until the candy lost its gloss. I then add the walnuts, stirred them in and poured into the pan. Worked like a charm and I can still feel my hand!

Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:

¾ cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup molasses

1 egg

2 ¼ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½-1 teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Directions: Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray very generously with cooking spray. Mix shortening, brown sugar, molassess and egg together with electric mixer. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bown and then add to shortening mixture. Stir well and roll into 1 inch size balls. Roll the balls in granulated sugar and then place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Tear off a sheet of wax paper large enough to cover all the cookies on your baking sheet and spray one size generously with cooking spray. Press down firmly on each cookie with a meat mallet (I call it a ‘meat smoosher’) or the bottom of a glass. Lift off the wax paper and sprinkle again with granulated sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until dark golden brown around the edges. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Ginger & Vanilla Liqueur

Try adding a little of this to hot tea, warm apple cider, coffee or whiskey. Straight up is beautiful, too. This makes a great gift. Yields four large bottles.

  

Ingredients:

6 cups water

3 cups sugar

1 cup honey

2 whole vanilla beans, sliced open

½ cup peeled, roughly chopped fresh ginger

Peels from two clementines, torn into ½ inch pieces

8 cups brandy

4 pieces of ginger candy, chopped (optional)

Directions: In a large saucepan, combine water, sugar, honey, vanilla beans, ginger and clementine peels. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for ½ hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour the cooled mixture (do not strain) into a non-reactive container large enough to hold it and the brandy.  Glass containers are the way to go here. Cover with the lid to the container or plastic wrap and let steep for 2 days. After two days, strain the liquor through a fine mesh strainer, discarding solids. Strain again through the fine mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter. Place 1 chopped piece of ginger candy in each bottle, if using. Pour ¼ of the liquor into each of four sterilized liquor bottles with stoppers.  Funnels are your friends. Let sit in a cool, dark place for another 2 days and enjoy.

Fudge for Sister Terrie

Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee

1 Tablespoon butter

1 cup evaporated milk (keep a few extra tablespoons on hand in case your chocolate seizes)

1 package (12 oz) milk chocolate chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup marshmallow cream

Directions: Line an 8x8 inch pan with foil, extending the foil over the sides to create ‘handles’. Butter or spray the bottom and sides of the foil generously and set the pan aside. Place the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat sugar, salt, espresso powder, butter and evaporated milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter melts. Bring to a boil and boil for six minutes (or until a candy thermometer reaches 236 degrees F) stirring frequently. Slowly pour this mixture over the chocolate chips, whisking in a little at a time. Whisk  well to combine.  Note: if your chocolate seizes up, add a little more evaporated milk until it is smooth and creamy. Whisk in the marshmallow cream and vanilla and whisk or stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan and score into 1 inch squares while still warm. Let rest either at room temperature or chilled until firm. Cut into squares and store in a tightly sealed container.