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Category: recipes

Saturday morning in December

Saturday morning in December

This, plus reading Luke 3 and the weekend edition of NPR, has been my morning so far. Oh – I made some fudge, too. It was a good and cozy way to spend my snowy morning.

** evening update **


So, I put up my feet for a while and then got antsy, so I made pumpkin banana nut muffins and the dough for soft and spicy gingerbread cookies. And worked on the dishes that had piled up. :) After all of which my wonderful husband came home (to an apartment that smelled like heaven) and told me I needed to put my feet up again while he, tired though he was, got something together for dinner. I love that man.

BEST cinnamon roll recipe

BEST cinnamon roll recipe

Really. I have never tasted a cinnamon roll recipe like this. And I have made quite a few different recipes, too! The rolls are huge – one is plenty adequate – and super moist. The centers, according to John, are still the best part: all gooey and dripping with filling. Before this recipe I had never used cream cheese in my glaze. I don’t think I will ever make roll glaze without cream cheese again. It is SOOOO good!

Ultimate Cinnamon Buns
from Cook’s Country – Dec./Jan. 2009

dough:
3/4 cup milk, heated to 110*
2 heaping tsp yeast
3 eggs, room temp.
4 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (3/4 cup) butter, cut into chunks and softened

filling:
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, softened

glaze:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. for the dough: adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 200*. When oven reaches 200*, shut off. Line a 9″x13″ pan with foil, allowing excess to hang over pan edges. Grease foil and a medium bowl.

2. whisk milk and yeast in liquid measuring cup until yeast dissolves, then whisk in eggs. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook [or by hand], mix flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt until combined. With mixer on low, add warm milk mixture in steady stream and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time, until incorporated. Continue to mix [or knead by hand] until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto smooth surface and knead to form a smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm oven. Let rise until double in size, about 2 hours.

3. for the filling: Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 18″ square, spread with butter and sprinkle evenly with filling. Starting with the edge nearest you, roll the dough into tight cylinder, pinch lightly to seal seam, and cut into 8 pieces. Transfer pieces, cut side up, to prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. for the glaze and to bake: Heat oven to 350*. Whisk cream cheese, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Discard plastic wrap and bake buns until deep golden brown and filling melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and top buns with 1/2 cup glaze; cool 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift buns from pan and top with remaining glaze. Serve.

Maple Leaf Cookies

Maple Leaf Cookies



Maple Leaf Cookies from Martha Stewart Living, Nov. ’08
makes about 8 dozen

3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup maple syrup (not imitation)
1/3 cup sanding sugar

Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugars until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add egg yolk, then 1/2 cup maple syrup, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).

Roll out 1 disk of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a sheet of lightly floured parchment. Place parchment with dough on baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Coat baking sheets with cooking spray, line with parchment, and coat parchment. Cut out cookies from frozen dough using a 3 1/2-inch maple-leaf-shaped cutter and space 1 inch apart on sheets. Roll and cut scraps. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies in a pre-heated 325* oven until edges begin to turn golden, about 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks, and let cool for 5 minutes. Brush cookies with 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and sprinkle with 1/2 of the sanding sugar. Let cool. Repeat with remaining dough, syrup and sugar. (Cookies will keep for up to 2 days)

These are very delicious, and taste somewhere in between sugar cookies and maple sugar candy. And they smell incredibly good, too!It makes me wish that I could add a smell feature to the blog …. Perfect with a morning cup of coffee, or an afternoon cup of tea.

chicken pot pie ……..

chicken pot pie ……..

Mmmmm … fall goodness.

The other day I called John at work and asked what he thought of having a pot pie for dinner. He was quite enthusiastic about the idea, and could hardly wait to get home.
It was one of those “fall is here, kind-of-sort-of” days, and I felt like making some comfort food. Chicken pot pie is high on my list of comfort food, along with Sour Patch Kids, gummi bears, hot chocolate, goulash, sour cream mashed potatoes with green peas, BBQ tri-tip done medium rare, coffee …
I grabbed one of my copies of Joy of Cooking (the one that sits on the microwave) and thumbed through it looking for a recipe. To my dismay, the only one it had called for a chicken hash-like filling. No veggies. To be comfort food, my pot pies must have veggies. And lots of peas. So I pulled out my box of cookbooks, and continued looking.
Betty Crocker helped, but she asked for a puff pastry crust, and I was unwilling to take the three+ hours to make puff pastry. I knew what crust I wanted to use, but I needed some guidelines for baking times, etc. for a double crust (another essential element) pot pie.
So, after about 10 more minutes on Cooks.com, I came up with a mish-mash of recipes and set to work, hoping it would turn out like the ones in my memory.

And the recipe will follow in a few days, cuz John and I are heading up to Indy to spend the weekend celebrating Sarah and Teri’s birthdays.
So you’ll have to wait!

mmm … muffins

mmm … muffins

This afternoon, because John will be home alone this weekend and I will be flying in airplanes that no longer provide filling “snacks”, I made carrot muffins. Actually it was a carrot cake recipe that I adapted.
I baked them for about 15 minutes a pan, and they turned out great – still moist, but not too moist. Just perfect for a little bit of butter.
I was going to use whole wheat flour to make them a little more nutritious, but I forgot (forgetting is getting more frequent – related to being pregnant maybe?). I did remember to add about 3/4 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of pecans, though. Yummy additions!
The muffins are already disappearing. I had not realized what a great snack they are!

Yummy-ness

Yummy-ness

My great aunt and uncle sent us a gift subscription to Cook’s Country (it’s in the same magazine family as Cook’s Illustrated: edited by Christopher Kimball), and the first issue came yesterday.
Last night we made the Crispy Chicken Salad Wraps, and since it serves 4 and there are only two of us, we ended up with extra chicken salad.
The wraps were really yummy, but having the chicken salad in the fridge to munch on for lunch today is even better. It is cold with the perfect amount of “after burn”, light and creamy, and just a tad crunchy with a great flavor. Yum.
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup chopped cilantro [I doubled this]
3 scallions, sliced thin [I used about 1/3 cup of minced white onion]
2 celery ribs, chopped fine
2 Tbs sour cream [tripled this]
2 tps hot sauce
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups) [I used 3 chicken breasts w/ rib meat, cooked on med-low with a bit of chili powder and cayenne]
salt and pepper
yesterday

yesterday

The herbs that John bought for me in the beginning of May were starting to crowd the tomato, so I split them up.

And because we were just about out of bread, and I really didn’t feel like asking John to go out again, I made some. Rosemary Raisin.

6 to 6 1/2 cups flour
2 pkg. (1 1/2 tbsp) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter (I used olive oil)
2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups dark or golden raisins
4 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1 egg white
1 tbsp milk

In a large mixing bowl combine 3 cups of flour and the yeast; set aside.
In a medium saucepan heat and stir together the 2 1/2 cups milk, the sugar, butter, and salt until warm and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to the flour mixture, stir. Add egg yolk, stir until combined.
Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl. Beat on high for 3 minutes more. Sprinkle with raisins and rosemary. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Punch down the dough. Divide dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly grease two loaf pans; shape each half of the dough into a ball and place in prepared pans. Cover and let rise until nearly double, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375. For the glaze, combine the egg white with the remaining milk; brush lightly over the surface of the dough.
Bake about 40 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning during the last ten minutes of baking, if necessary. Remove from pans immediately.

For dinner John barbecued some steak which he had marinated with a bit of balsamic vinegar and a shake of seasoned salt (one of the best simple marinades we’ve done yet), and I defrosted some peas in the microwave and topped them with blu cheese. A simple, yet extremely delicious and satisfying meal.

mmm ….. meatloaf

mmm ….. meatloaf

A rainy day, and I have been craving beef and comfort food. Solution? Meatloaf. With an Italian flavor. Lots of fresh herbs. And ketchup.
The recipe is from Joy of Cooking, and it was wonderful.

dinner guests

dinner guests

Evan, Sarah, Leah, Elizabeth and Esther stopped by for the evening yesterday. It was awesome to have people over!
We took them to church with us (we went last night because John had to work today) and stopped to pick up groceries on the way home. John BBQed some burgers and hot dogs (he is really starting to enjoy the charcoal grill!), and I made up some guacamole. John and I decided that we really enjoy having our family over. Mhmm.
The girls gave us a housewarming gift!

Oh, as they were about to leave I remembered that I had a cheesecake in the refrigerator that I had made up the day before (just because I felt like it). So they decided to stay a moment longer to partake. The recipe looked rather mundane, and the cheesecake itself rather resembled a wheel of Brie cheese, but once you bit into it (with some blueberry coulis on top), it was heavenly!
Sour Cream Cheesecake
Joy of Cooking
Crush or grind fine:
1 1/2 cups graham crackers
Stir into the crumbs until well blended:
1/4 to 1/2 cups powdered sugar (if substituting granulated, use 1/4 cup)
6 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Pat into a 9″ springform pan. Chill.
Mix well, then pour into the crust:
2 well beaten eggs
3/4 lb. soft cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla)
1/2 tsp salt
Bake about 20 minutes in a preheated 375 oven. Remove from oven and dust the top with cinnamon.
Let cool to room temperature.
Mix well and pour over the cake:
1 1/2 cups thick cultured sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Bake about 5 minutes in a 425 oven to glaze the cheesecake. Let it cool, then refrigerate from 6 to 12 hours before serving.
Blueberry Coulis
Cook’s Illustrated, May/June 2003
12 oz fresh or frozen thawed blueberries
5 (scant) tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
In a medium saucepan, bring berries, 1/4 cup water, sugar, cinnamon and salt to bare simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally; cook until sugar has dissolved and berries are heated through, about 1 minute longer.
(I skipped this next step) Transfer mixture to blender or food prcessor; puree until smooth, about 20 seconds. Strain through a very fine-mesh strainer , pressing and stirring to extract as mush seedless puree as possible.
Stir in lemon juice.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, as least 1 hour.