Olla-Podrida

Mysterious Cinnamon Rolls

2012-03-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Today I am cooking from the books. What cookbook you ask? No cookbook at all, this recipe comes from a delicious mystery by Krista Davis called The Diva Cooks a Goose (A Domestic Diva Mystery). Her “Diva” series is a fun one, and, as an added bonus, each book comes with an assortment of recipes in the back of the book that were mentioned throughout the story. If you're anything like me your mouth will be watering the entire time you read this book!

A big fan of the bread machine, I decided to give Krista’s ABM Cinnamon Rolls a try. Here is the recipe right out of the book. There are many more, but you're just going to have to buy the book to get those!

I made these exactly as the recipe states -- with wonderful results, I might add -- but I turned mine into Butter Pecan Rolls by using a different topping (see recipe below) on mine instead of the cream cheese frosting. They are excellent either way, so try them both.

Topping:

In each of two 9-1/2” x 5” x 3” metal loaf pans (I used glass pans and melted everything in the microwave.) mix ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup butter and 1 tablespoon light corn syrup. Heat slowly, stirring frequently until blended. Remove from heat. Sprinkle 1/3 cup pecans in each pan.

Ready for the oven.

Hot from the oven. They must cool about 10 minutes before you invert them onto a cooling rack.

Buttery, sugary, pecan-y goodness!

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wild Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Themed Baker's Sunday

Smoky Crockpot Chili

2012-03-06T07:00:00.013-06:00

I based this recipe on one that I found here. I like peppers in my chili, so I added poblanos and green peppers. I also added a little bit of Penzey’s Beef Roast Seasoning to give it a greater depth of meaty flavor. It was delicious. The chili and all of the toppings that I told you about yesterday made for one hearty bowl of chili. I hope you'll give the recipe and toppings a try.

Smoky Crockpot Chili

4 tablespoons chili powder

2½ teaspoons ground coriander

2½ teaspoons ground cumin

1½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 ½ pounds ground chuck

1 tablespoon minced onion

½ cup minced poblano

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ teaspoon beef roast seasoning (Penzeys)

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans

Mix first 6 ingredients together to create the seasoning mix; store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

In a skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink; drain. Add onion and 3 tsp. of seasoning mix.

In Crock-Pot, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, one can of beans and two more teaspoons of seasoning mix.

Place the other can of beans in a blender and process until smooth. (I put the beans into a medium bowl and used an immersion blender.)

Add beans and meat to the crock pot. Stir together. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Cast Party Wednesday

Show Me What Ya Got

It's Chili Night!

2012-03-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I told you about the sectional tray that my husband bought and how it inspired a number of us in different ways. We used it for the first time during a Mizzou basketball game where I served chili, salad, crusty rolls, and used this tray for toppings. Everyone loved it. The choices were vast, giving many of the diners pause. It also yielded some wildly colorful and creative renditions of chili. The combinations are endless, and you can be as colorful as you like. Had I the room I'd have included chopped red peppers, black olives, and jalapenos.

Come back tomorrow for the recipe that I used to make a delicious Crockpot chili. I’ll bet this recipe contains one step that you’ve never tried before.

This post is linked to:

Mosaic Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Cast Party Wednesday

Show Me What Ya Got

What inspires you?

2012-03-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

If you’re anything like me, you love paging through all of the wonderful catalogs geared to foodies that come, seemingly daily, in the mail. Williams-Sonoma, Artisan Table, Sur la Table, Napa Style, Chefs…I could go on and on. My husband refers to these catalogs as having “stuff you almost want.” Despite this admonition, however, he often does find things he not only wants, but buys.

He surprised me a couple of weeks ago with this sectional tray. When it arrived I just looked at it. The first thing I thought of was how great it would be for Taco Night -- taco meat in the center, all of the add-ons in the sections along the side. “No,” my son said, “Make a mashed potato bar. Pile up mashed potatoes in the middle, and all of the toppings around the outside – cheese, bacon, chopped onions, sour cream, more bacon, more cheese.” Hmmm. Interesting.

Our dessert-loving friend, Lennie, had still another idea, “Use it for ice cream,” he said, although quickly added that “the center section isn’t big enough for all of the ice cream you’re going to need. Then put all of the toppings in the spaces: nuts, cherries, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, marshmallow sauce, bananas, strawberries…” The way he was going I thought we were going to need a few more sections.

It was interesting, I thought, just how many diverse ideas came out of this one dish. Interestingly enough, my husband bought it, or so he claimed, for the sole purpose of using it for chutneys and raita when we have Indian food.

Have we used it? Yes, we have, but for none of the purposes mentioned above. Want to know how? Come back tomorrow and see.

What would you use a sectional dish such as this one for? Leave me a comment and let me know.

This post is linked to:

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple

Homemaker Mondays at11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven

Show Me What Ya Got Linky Party at Not Just A Housewife

Halfway Cookies

2012-03-03T07:00:00.008-06:00

I stumbled upon this delicious cookie on this site where there is a great tutorial on how to make them. I was looking for a recipe for a simple, but chocolaty cookie, and this one, topped with a brown sugar meringue was most intriguing. The high winds (for, what is it now, the tenth day in a row?) kept me inside, so I puttered around the kitchen putting these together. The pictures don’t do them justice. They are rich, chocolaty, chewy, with a crunchy, flavorful meringue topping. Neither one of us could wait until they fully cooled so we had our first bite when the chocolate was still partially melted and oozing invitingly from the cookie. They are a bit more work than the average bar cookie, but then these are far from average. I’ve included the recipe below for your convenience, but do check out the site mentioned above, and then make these cookies!

Halfway Cookies

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, separated
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Cut two pieces of aluminum foil and fold them to match the width of the pan. Press one piece into the pan lengthwise and the other into the pan crosswise with the ends hanging over the side. This makes it easy to lift the bars out of the pan once they're cooled. Spray the foil with nonstick coating.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and just 1/2 cup of the brown sugar until smooth and creamy, roughly 5 minutes at medium high.

Separate the eggs. Mix the yolks into the butter-sugar mixture one at a time until they are completely absorbed, then mix in the water and vanilla. With the mixer at a low speed, add the flour mixture and beat gently until all the flour has been absorbed. Do not overmix.

Press the cookie dough gently into the pan with your hands, making sure the surface is even.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough and use your palms to press them slightly into the dough. This will help keep them from moving when you add the meringue.

Using a stand or hand mixer with a clean bowl and a clean whisk attachment, start whisking the egg whites. Gradually increase your speed to medium-high. When the egg whites are very frothy, slowly add the remaining cup of brown sugar a little at a time. Continue increasing your speed to the highest setting. When all the sugar has been added, continue whipping the meringue until it holds a soft peak. It should look like glossy, soft-serve ice cream.

Scoop the meringue from the bowl and mound it down the middle of the pan. It will be very sticky! Use an offset spatula to gently spread the meringue from the middle to the edges.

Lightly press a piece of parchment or wax paper on the top of the meringue (this makes an even layer and protects the meringue from scorching). Bake for 20 minutes, remove the parchment, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes more, until the edges look toasted and are pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Wait until the pan is completely cool before lifting out the bars and cutting them into squares.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wild Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Themed Baker's Sunday

Monterey Mushroom Soup

2012-03-01T20:51:00.002-06:00

I wonder just how many of us pay any attention to the packaging when we open up a product. More often than not, there is a recipe on that packaging and, since the goal is to sell more of that particular product, the recipe is generally very good. I put this theory to the test this evening and made a bowl of mushroom soup using the recipe on the back of the Monterey dried mushroom package. After his second bowlful, my husband decreed that it was the best mushroom soup he’d ever eaten. I had to agree. It is earthy and delicious, with a complex taste uncommon to most mushroom soups. Give this recipe a try, and be sure to look carefully at the packaging on products that you buy before tossing it away, you may be in for a very pleasant surprise.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Cast Party Wednesday

Double Chocolate Bread Pudding

2012-02-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Not only does the Brioche bread that I made yesterday make excellent French toast, but it also makes a wonderful bread pudding. You can use it in a recipe of your own, but here is one that I find particularly tasty because it is sweet and chocolaty without being cloyingly so.

Double Chocolate Bread Pudding

1 3/4 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup white chocolate chips

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups cubed brioche bread

Preheat oven to 325°F. Bring cream, 1/2 cup sugar, and milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup white chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk egg and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture. Cool chocolate custard 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add bread cubes and remaining 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips to custard and toss to coat. Transfer to 1 1/2-quart-capacity shallow oval baking dish. (I used two au gratin dishes.) Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over mixture. Bake until custard thickens and center is just set, about 50 minutes. Serve warm with a drizzle of melted chocolate, cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Cast Party Wednesday

Show Me What Ya Got

ABM Brioche

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

I love a good brioche loaf, but they are hard to find in the immediate area, so when I get a taste for one (and French Toast and Bread Pudding), I whip one up in my bread machine. Yes, this is a bread machine recipe, and it’s easy, no fail, and absolutely delicious. The recipe is from One Hundred Bread Machine Recipes by Vicki Smallwood, a must for anyone who takes their bread machine as seriously as I do.

ABM Brioche

Ingredients

1 pinch saffron threads

1 tablespoon water, boiling

2 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons honey

2/3 cup hot water (100°F-105°F)

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

3 ½ cups white bread flour

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

To Finish

1 eggs, beaten for brushing over

Directions

In a small bowl, soak the saffron threads in the 1 tablespoon of boiling water for 10 minutes. In the meantime, place the beaten eggs, honey, hot water, and melted butter in a bowl. Mix well. Add the saffron threads with the soaking water, stir and pour the mixture into the baking pan of your bread machine. Mix the salt into the flour and add to the baking pan and spoon the yeast on top. Set the program to 'DOUGH.'

When the dough is ready (mine takes 90 minutes), transfer it to a lightly floured surface and knead it for 2-3 minutes. (The dough will feel quite soft and silky.). Shape the dough into a loaf, place into a greased loaf pan, brush with oil, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 425°F. When the dough has nearly doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and lightly brush the top of the loaf with the beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and leave it to cool before serving.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Wild Wednesday

Mongolian Beef

2012-02-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

I don’t mind grocery shopping, in fact, I rather like it. I doubt that many people who have not been out of the country realize just how amazing our options are here in the United States when it comes to the mundane task of buying groceries. After spending an extended amount of time in England one year when my husband had a Fellowship to the British Library, the first place I visited upon our return was the supermarket. I stood at one end and looked all of the way down to the other and said, “Wow.” Wow, indeed. The space, the options, the produce, the meats, dairy, bakery (!), salad bar, food bars, all conveniently located in one place. But despite the fact that I do enjoy it, my husband seems to enjoy it more, and does nearly all of our shopping. What’s that you say? I’m a very lucky woman. Well, yes…and no. He buys the food; I’m the one who has to figure out what to do with it. Sometimes that is not easy, particularly when he stumbles upon a sirloin steak sale and comes home with a half dozen of them. In mid-winter, outdoor grilling is not all that attractive, so I’m constantly on the lookout for quick, easy, and tasty ways to use sirloin.

Here is one recipe that deliciously fills the bill. Reminiscent of the dish offered at P.F. Chang this can pretty much go from fridge to table in 40-45 minutes.

Mongolian Beef

1 lb. sirloin, patted dry, thinly sliced across the grain

1 small onion, sliced

¼ cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce:

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

½ cup water

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

3 scallions, sliced diagonally into 2” pieces

In medium-sized bowl, toss steak slices with corn starch until well coated. Place coated meat into a sieve and shake off excess cornstarch. Set aside.

To make sauce, combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Heat large skillet or wok to medium-high heart, pour in sauce and heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour sauce back into bowl; set aside.

Increase heat in skillet or wok to high, add oil, and allow oil to heat. Add the beef and onion all at once and cook, stirring until the beef is browned and onion translucent. Pour the sauce into the skillet and simmer until all is heated through, reducing to desired thickness. Add the green onions and cook an additional minute, or use them to garnish the top. Serve with rice. Makes two ample servings.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Cast Party Wednesday

Show Me What Ya Got

TRADER JOE'S Chocolate Filled French Toast - Product Review

2012-02-19T22:43:00.000-06:00

Trader Joe’s knows what they’re doing. From their colorful eye-catching displays, to their equally colorful eye-catching employees, to their clever store ad dubbed Fearless Flyer, they know a little something about luring people into their establishment. Of course luring people is one thing, keeping them is another. I was recently lured in by a paragraph in their latest Flyer on a new-to-me product called Chocolate-Filled French Toast. Brioche dough, dark chocolate? I am there! Struggling to find it amongst the morning buns and pain au chocolat, I snagged a worker in a Magnum, PI shirt and pleaded for directions.

“Oh, honey!” he exclaimed, rolling his eyes, “Follow me!” He crooked his finger over his left shoulder motioning me to follow, and I did. In true Vanna White fashion, he spread out his arms at the spot in the dairy case where the product was located, winked at me and said, “You will love it.”

Having read a variety of reviews – not all of them favorable – I wondered. Frankly I couldn’t imagine how one could possibly go wrong with this combination, so I gave it a try. It was wonderful! (This is not a paid endorsement, by the way, I’m only too happy to spread the word when I stumble across deliciousness that is so easy to prepare.) Crispy on the outside, custard-y on the inside, with the perfect amount of melted chocolate made this a real winner. The secret here is to make certain that the product stays in the freezer until your oven has come up to the right temperature. I used a countertop convection oven that, conveniently, beeps at me when the temperature is correct. Pop it in directly from the freezer and then leave it in until it has puffed slightly. I found that an additional five minutes in the oven yielded perfect results.

Thumbs up on this one. I will definitely be back for more!

My Design Muse

2012-02-12T23:16:00.000-06:00

I love this picture. I spotted in it the window of Tuesday Morning years ago and had to have it. It spoke to me. I can’t say that about a lot of things, but this thing certainly did. I had no place to hang it, so hung it on an existing nail over my desk where I could see it every day. From there it made its way above the bed in our bedroom where I continued to love it, and now it will take its place over the fireplace in our new home. It is around this picture that I am designing an entire room. There is just something about it, something Old World, exotic, posing questions, tempting exploration, and urging travel that keeps me loving it even to this day.

I’ve never designed a room around a picture before, so it is presenting a bit of a challenge. Coming from a house where every room is bold in color, I’m ready to embrace the quietude of neutrals: rich chocolate, pale amber, serene green.

The paint will be Benjamin Moore’s Palm Desert Tan. I chose by color and not by name, but I find it quite fitting. It looks beautiful behind the picture, goes perfectly with the carpeting, and nicely compliments the sofa and few accessories that I have chosen thus far.

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In my old age I went for sturdy and practical in the sofa. I’ve recently been watching “Nate” who strongly suggests people buy sofas with no pattern. So true. Take it from one who bought floral furniture ten years ago that if you do, you will live to regret it, and grow to hate its limitations. Think of the many ways in which I can change up this sofa over time. It will go with pale blue, sage green, yellow, tan, turquoise, earth tones, sea tones, prairie tones, the combinations are endless.

This trunk will serve as the coffee table. It is 36” x 20” x 20.” It will store a plethora of goods and not be so room dominating as to have people doing the crab walk just to navigate around the thing. (Yes, yet another lesson learned.)

The rug that you all helped me to choose here has arrived (I did go with #2 and couldn’t be happier), is in place, and waiting patiently for the table and chairs. I’ll keep you posted.

This post is linked to:

Mosaic Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Browned Butter Crinkles

2012-02-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

I am a nut for a frosted cookie. My favorite cookie of all time is the unassuming holiday cut-out cookie with the frosting on top. So, while paging through Wendy Paul’s cookbook the other day, this recipe jumped off the page. A sugar cookie (another fave) topped with frosting, and not just any frosting, but one in which browned butter is used. This, I thought to myself, had to be a winner. It is! Alone the cookie is delicious, but when topped with this complex and delicious-tasting frosting, it is a work of art.

Browned Butter Crinkles

From 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone by Wendy Paul

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

3 egg yolks

1 ½ teaspoon soda

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups flour

Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolks and salt. Then add the soda and the extract. Fold in the flour. Stir until combined. Form balls the size of walnuts. Chill dough balls for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Dip the top in sugar. Press flat with the bottom of a glass and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° F for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and let the cookies stand for 1 minute on the cookie sheet. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Frost with browned butter frosting.

Browned Butter Frosting

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

½ cup heavy cream or more desired consistency

In a small skillet, brown butter over medium heat until golden brown flecks appear. Butter will become a little foamy. Stir now and then to make the butter cooks evenly. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cream. Beat on medium high until a creamy texture to your liking forms. Spread onto cooled butter crinkles.

Look at those delicious flecks of browned butter in the frosting.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Cast Party Wednesday

Show Me What Ya Got

Salmon Wellington

2012-02-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

It’s always a great day in St. Louis, when that doyen of cooking, Helen Fletcher, guests on the local CBS affiliate’s Great Day St. Louis morning program, one that has become a daily addiction. Her book The New Pastry Cook will make your mouth water with every turn of the page.

When I saw Helen make Salmon Wellington one morning, I knew this was a recipe custom-made for my husband, my live-in salmon chef (he is currently writing a book of salmon recipes of his own creation). According to Helen, “The recipe for the Salmon Wellington is based on one that Marlene Sorosky, a food writer I have long admired, developed long ago.” Like Helen, we too admire Sorosky and, also like Helen, we decided to change up her version a bit by using a leek and mushroom filling. Not that we don’t love artichokes, quite the contrary, but I am passionate about leeks, even going so far as to grow them in the garden every year.

Below is Helen’s recipe from her wonderful website called The Ardent Cook. Follow the link to see her very informative step-by-step pictorial on how to put this dish together. At the bottom of this page is the recipe for the leek filling that we used.

SALMON WELLINGTON

Mushroom Artichoke Filling

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
8 ounce can artichoke quarters, coarsely chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 pound mushrooms
2 tablespoons Maderia
Salt and Pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms by cutting or de-stemming. Slice the mushrooms. Then coarsely chop. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the saucepan. Sauté the onions and artichokes until slightly browned. Add the mushrooms and Madeira and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove to a bowl and chill. Can be made the day before assembly if desired.

Assembly

Line a perfectly flat plate with film with letting it extend on both sides. Place the salmon on the film. Salt and pepper the fillets. Divide the filling between the fillets. Place one portion of filling on top of one fillet, pressing somewhat to compact it and make it fit the entire top of the fillet. Wrap the film around the salmon and freeze at least overnight.

The puff pastry comes in sheets that are rolled. Roll the pastry out 18 inches long cut it into two 9” x 9” sheets.

Place one fillet, filling side down, on one piece of the pastry. If the puff pastry is too big, trim it so not more than 1 inch overlaps when both sides are folded. Fold one end over the salmon. Brush excess flour off pastry. Egg wash the edge of the opposite side. Fold it over to overlap the other. Brush excess flour off. Make two cuts in the shape of a triangle on the top piece of puff pastry and remove it so it won’t be so bulky (see the photo). Egg wash it so it will stick to the other piece. Fold it over.

Repeat with other side and fold over to enclose salmon. Turn the package over and with a very sharp knife, lightly score the top in a cross hatch design. Do not go through the pastry.

Glaze the top of the pastry with egg wash. After glazing all, go back and glaze again. Freeze overnight.

Baking

DO NOT THAW. It is important these be frozen hard so the salmon doesn’t overcook before the pastry gets done. Place on a baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

To make leek filling:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

4 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced

8-ounce package of mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

Pinch of Old Bay Seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup whipping cream

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks; sauté until tender, about 7 minutes. Set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet and sauté mushrooms until golden. Add leeks to mushroom mixture, slowly pour in cream and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Old Bay. (Creamed leeks can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Wild Wednesday

Cream Cheese Nut Bread

2012-02-07T22:54:00.002-06:00

It seems that lately I have had no time for baking or cooking. Fortunately, I live with a man who is adept at both, and who has kept me well fed while I keep busy with one of my seemingly endless number of projects. Today I had a hankering (I tend to hanker a lot) for a comforting quick bread for tomorrow’s breakfast. I pulled out a recipe for an old favorite, warming and deliciously scenting the kitchen in the going. This is an easy recipe to make, and you probably have all of the ingredients on hand. It does take up a number of bowls, but the end result is well worth it.

This moist, dense, nutty loaf, is made all the better with an almond-flavored ribbon of cream cheese running right through the center. This cream cheese filling can be used with almost any of your favorite quick bread recipes, so give this one a try and then experiment by adding it to other favorites. It makes an already delicious quick loaf all the better. As an added note, this bread gets better every day.

Cream Cheese Nut Bread

To make filling:

8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg, room temperature

Beat the above ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl on high speed until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

To make bread:

2 large eggs, room temperature

½ cup canola oil

½ cup 2% milk

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon rind

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pan with vegetable spray and dust thoroughly with granulated sugar (or, a cinnamon-sugar mixture, if you prefer). Set aside.

Beat eggs until frothy and lemon colored. Slowly add oil, milk, and lemon rind, mixing until well blended.

In separate bowl, stir together flour, sugars, soda, salt, and nuts. Add this dry mixture, all at once, to the wet mixture and mix until just moistened. Do not over mix. Spoon half of bread batter into loaf pan, smoothing as you go. Top with all of the cream cheese mixture, then spoon the remaining half of the dough on top, spreading to cover as well as you can. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Wild Wednesday

"Vintage" Crumb Cake

2012-01-30T00:04:00.000-06:00

I always enjoy it when Wednesdays roll around because this means “Let’s Eat,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s food section will accompany the morning paper. I’m like a kid in a candy store perusing all of the new recipes, reading the articles, and marveling at the new culinary items about to hit the market. This past Wednesday I found myself laughing out loud when I read a title that referred to “Vintage Crumb Cakes.” How old, I asked myself, would a crumb cake have to be to be considered vintage? Of course I knew they were talking about vintage recipes and not vintage crumb cakes, but it still gave me a laugh with my morning coffee.

Two recipes were contained in the article (a reprint is below), and you know how I like crumb cakes (Check out New York Style Crumb Cake, Starbuck's Crumb-Topped Coffee Cake, New Jersey Coffee Cake, and of course my own Forget the Cake Crumb Cake Cookies.), so I decided to go with the second recipe because of the addition of all of the spices. It turned out to be a good choice. It differed from almost every other crumb cake I've ever had in both texture and topping. The texture of the cake was dense and rich, the topping lightly crumbly, rather than the big mounds of crumbs that I personally prefer, but it was good, and a nice addition to my ever-growing collection of crumb cake recipes. If you’re a crumb cake aficionado like I am, you’ll want to give this recipe a try. I made mine in a 9” spring form pan because I wanted a round rather than square cake. I needed to extend the baking time by about 7-10 minutes.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Crock Pot Italian Beef

2012-01-28T00:17:00.002-06:00

I try to get the family involved in selecting photos for the blog. I sent both of these pictures to everyone and asked them to vote. Results were mixed. Some people liked this one with the entire plate in view, others liked the picture at the bottom of this post. My dad didn't like either saying that the huge glob of congealed fat in the middle of the sandwich was off-putting. "But, dad," I told him, "that's cheese!" He still thought it looked like fat. Ew! It's cheese, people! CHEESE!

Football fan or not, you can’t deny the fun that surrounds Super Bowl. I absolutely love having a Super Bowl party because I enjoy making all of the food. This delicious, spicy, and deliciously easy beef sandwich can be made the day ahead.

Crock Pot Italian Beef

3- 4 lb. chuck, trimmed of fat
1 package Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing mix
1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, to taste

1/2 (16 oz.) jar pepperoncini peppers, including juice

1 can beef broth, or more if needed

Ground pepper, garlic powder, etc., optional

Favorite cheese

Sautéed mushrooms, optional

Kaiser buns

Mix all ingredients together in a Crockpot. Cook for 6-8 hours on low setting. When meat is done, remove pieces of fat, shred, and return to juices. Serve on toasted Kaiser rolls, topped with provolone and sautéed mushrooms. Warm in the microwave if the cheese needs to be melted. These can also be topped with sautéed onions or green peppers, if desired.

NOTE: This is a very forgiving recipe. If roast is large add another pkg. of Italian salad dressing mix and more beef broth. Using more broth will leave you with more juices in which to dip your sandwich. You can use fewer pepperoncinis to make it a bit less spicy. Experiment and have fun. A friend of mine uses a packet of dry Lipton onion soup mix and water instead of the dressing mix and beef broth. It’s good both ways.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Seasonal Sunday

Help me Choose a Rug!

2012-01-26T13:20:00.001-06:00

I consider Olla-Podrida to be a Lifestyle blog, but do realize that, for the most part, it is all about food. So, this is going to be a blog post of a different feather, as I’m in the very early stages of decorating and, since decision-making is not my strong suit, I turn to the wise and wonderful of blogland for thoughts and advice. I’ll take you on a step-by-step photographic journey once each week as things get seriously into motion, but for now, I’m shopping, and one of the first things I’m going to need is a rug for beneath the dining table.

Here are two that I’m considering. I’m not going for a particular theme per se, but am trying to evoke the feeling of Hemingway, travel, exotic, with a dash of Old Hollywood…get the picture? (Pun intended.)

To give you a better idea of the logistics of things, here is the Floor Plan for the area in question. The dining area to the extreme left is where the rug will go, on top of a hardwood floor. The table on top of it will have black legs and apron, with a light-medium pine wood top and four black Windsor chairs. The sofa in chocolate brown will be on a pale neutral carpeted area to the left of the fireplace and perpendicular to the back wall.

Here is a picture of Rug #2 against the fabric of the sofa. It's not a good one, as I couldn't manage to capture the depth or richness of the colors, and the background is black not the navy blue it would appear to be here. But, trust me when I tell you that the brown in the rug is an exact match for the brown fabric of the sofa.

Okay, now see these lamps and side tables? I have them as well. No, this is not my sofa, nor does the rest of the furniture visible in this picture belong to me. These were the decorator's pieces, I just liked the look of the lamps and tables and had them made part of the deal. (I am nothing if not resourceful!) I’ll be swapping out the existing shades with these Calligraphy lamp shades from Pottery Barn.

Now, all things considered, which rug should I choose: Rug #1 with the black background and fan-shaped palm fronds, or Rug #2, with the variety of leaves in green, browns, and gold?

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday
Mosaic Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Koi Fish Shortbread Cookies

2012-01-22T10:49:00.002-06:00

Happy Chinese New Year! While 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, I hope you won’t mind if I make use of my Chinese Fish Moon Cookie Mold to celebrate the day. Yes, it’s more cookie fun at the O-P abode, and again, with great results.

There is nothing easier than working with these wonderful little wooden cookie molds. They are amazingly inexpensive, and if you spritz each one with cooking spray before filling, press the dough evenly into the mold, trim off the top, and give it a few good raps on a hard surface, a beautifully detailed, molded cookie will pop right out. I used a favorite shortbread recipe from the Barefoot Contessa to make these cookies and, for the sake of convenience, have reprinted the recipe below. I did not, however, find that I needed quite as much time to bake these as the recipe indicates. Watch these cookies carefully. They need to set rather than brown. If you let them go too long you have cute little buttery-tasting fish rocks!

Ina Garten’s Shortbread Cookies

3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges barely begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

This post is linked to:
Seasonal Sunday
Mosaic Monday
Metamorphosis Monday
Sunday's Best Party
Foodie Friday
Sweets for a Saturday

Themed Baker's Sunday

"Homemade" Cookies

2012-01-21T00:40:00.006-06:00

I consider myself to be more of a cook than a baker, but when I do bake something I want the world to know about it. What better way to strut your stuff than with this fantastic Homemade Cookie Stamper.

As you may recall, being a rubber-stamper, I had a keen interest in trying to stamp an image onto a cookie with not so great results, that I bravely shared with you here. Today, however, I had fantastic results thanks to this fun little cookie stamp. A recipe is included, but since I had been dying to try the sugar cookie recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone. What fun, and so easy. Stamping into flour before pressing the image into each cookie guarantees success. I also pressed images into the rolled out dough, and then cut them out with a two-inch round biscuit cutter.

Hummingbird Bakery’s Sugar Cookies

1 stick + 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (14 Tablespoons total)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well, scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour, salt and cream of tartar and mix well, but don’t over mix. It’ll go from crumbs to large clumps. Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and press the dough together and roll out. Cut out shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. Place on the prepared baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes, checking regularly to make sure they aren’t burning. They are done when they are very light golden on the outer edges and paler in the center. Remove from the wire rack and cool completely.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wild Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Themed Baker's Sunday

Toffee Bars

2012-01-15T15:43:00.003-06:00

As do many people who enjoy food, I collect a lot of recipes. We have a three-inch, three-ring binder that we refer to as our “Agenda Book” full of these recipes. Yesterday I decided that it was time to actually try one, and as I hadn’t made cookies in a while, chose to give the Toffee Bar recipe that I found on the Chef's Catalog website a try. These were easy to make, and since I was watching “Team Tebow” lose in dramatic fashion – sigh -, I appreciated that it could be made in stages, and then enjoyed at the end of the game.

A shortbread base, topped with gooey toffee that is easy to make, and then crowned with melted chocolate makes these a real crowd pleaser.

Toffee Bars

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

To Make the Shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9-inch square pan with a thin layer of butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar. Add the flour and stir until well mixed. Press the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Set aside to cool.

To Make the Toffee:
In a small, heavy-bottom sauce pan, melt the 1/2 cup of butter. Add the brown sugar, condensed milk, and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring continually. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour toffee mixture over the cooled shortbread.

To Make the Topping:
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Pour over the cooled toffee and sprinkle toasted almonds across the top. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Makes approximately 16 squares.

I love the layer of gooey toffee deliciousness.

Topped with chocolate and toasted almonds makes these cookie bars a real winner!

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

& Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Sweets for a Saturday

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

2012-01-11T22:27:00.000-06:00

It’s National Soup Month, and I’m doing my part by making a big pot of soup as often as I can. A sale on mushrooms at the local market came just at the right time, giving me an opportunity to try a recipe for Hungarian Mushroom Soup, just one of the many luscious recipes in The Moosewood Cookbook. It gets its rich color and smoky taste from a good dousing of Hungarian paprika, something that we should all try to increase in our diets as it is high in antioxidants and contains more vitamin C by weight than lemon juice.

This soup is rich and hearty, so a little goes a long way. It does warm up both body and soul, something much needed during the month of January.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

12 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2 cups onions, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons fresh dill weed

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups stock (I used homemade chicken stock)

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup sour cream (optional – I skipped it)

Sauté onions in 2 Tbsp. stock until transparent; salt lightly. Add mushrooms, 1 tsp. dill, 1/2 cup stock or water, soy sauce, and paprika. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Melt butter in large saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk and cook, stirring frequently, over low heat until thickened, 5-8 minutes. Stir in mushroom mixture and remaining stock. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Just before serving, add salt, pepper, lemon juice, sour cream, and, if desired, extra dill (1 tsp.). Serve garnished with parsley.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

& Foodie Friday

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pancakes

2012-01-09T17:48:00.001-06:00

I love pancakes, but the mister is a pancake purist. When he sees me pull more than one bowl out of the cupboard and move the box of Bisquick aside in favor of a variety of ingredients, he starts to panic. I assured him this morning that plain pancakes would be his if he just indulged me momentarily while I tried a revised version of a recipe that I spotted in the December issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. He eyeballed the ingredients, shrugged and said that he’d try what I was having. As it turned out, he was very glad he did.

The December issue of Rachael’s magazine featured a rather unique variety of pancakes. Trying to get more whole grains into my diet, the oatmeal pancake caught my eye. It was an altered version of the recipe in the magazine for “Classic Pancakes” (pictured below), that I further altered with excellent results.

Their recipe, simply called Oatmeal Raisin pancakes (also pictured below), I turned into Oatmeal Raisin Cookie pancakes, by adding a sprinkling of chopped pecans and a pinch of cinnamon (two ingredients that are musts in my oatmeal cookies). These two ingredients made all the difference.

They really did taste like oatmeal raisin cookies. Your kids (if not your husband) will love them!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, St. Louis Style

2012-01-07T13:02:00.000-06:00

That's one of my Homemade Dill Pickles on the side. Yummy!

If you've read this blog with any regularity then you know that one of my favorite foods is the cheeseburger. Yes, I do love lobster, shrimp, scallops, and steak, and all sorts of wondrous, time-consuming meals, but when push comes to shove, a cheeseburger is my go-to meal. I always find the sign of a good restaurant is one that knows how to make a truly good burger. Juicy, perfectly seasoned and cooked, that tastes like steak, is served on toasted buns and uses REAL cheese (cheese food does have its place, in queso, say, but NOT on a burger).

I also have a bit of a fondness for sloppy joes, something I've enjoyed since my Nancy Drew-reading youth. This recipe combines the yumminess of a sloppy joe, with the deliciousness of a Philly cheese steak, made even better by a dash of St. Louis style in the use of Provel Cheese (rather than the traditional and readily available Provolone).

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, St. Louis Style

1 lb. ground chuck

1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. A-1 steak sauce
1 c. beef stock (Made with LB Jamison Soup Base)
1/2 green pepper, seeded and diced
1 8-ounce package button mushrooms, sliced
Provel Cheese, sliced (or in ropes), Provolone works if you’re not in St. Louis

Steak Seasoning mixture, to taste

Pinch of dried oregano

Pinch of garlic powder

Kaiser Rolls

Preheat broiler. In large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground chuck, breaking it up as you cook, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper, and mushrooms, and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the steak sauce, beef stock, steak seasoning, oregano and garlic powder, and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the moisture has absorbed. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Split open rolls and toast under broiler. Place a scoopful of the meat on the bottom half of the roll, top immediately wth cheese, allow it to melt down into the meat mixture and then drizzle with additional steak sauce, if desired. Put top half on roll in place, serve with a dill pickle spear.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

& Foodie Friday

Fortune Cookies

2012-01-04T12:27:00.001-06:00

I’m still in the recovery stage from last month’s holiday when another is in the offing. No, I’m not talking St. Valentine’s Day -- I haven’t even begun to think about that -- I’m talking Chinese New Year. Don’t celebrate? Well, honestly, neither do I, but I’m all for any excuse to eat Chinese food, even when it’s more American than Chinese.

I’m talking about the dessert aspect of the meal, specifically the fortune cookie. I turned to Martha Stewart for this recipe featured in Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share (Martha Stewart Living Magazine).

If you have this book (and if you don’t, buy it!), a word of warning about the recipe -- the taste was wonderful (even though I used light instead of heavy cream), and the batter is very easy to work with, BUT the directions were not good at all.

Martha suggests folding the cookie in half, pinching it closed, and then putting your two index fingers into either end and sliding your thumbs toward the middle. What?! No! That is a lot of work for nothing, and time is of the essence here, you only have 10 seconds before the cookie hardens. The best way to make a fortune cookie is to indeed fold it in half, but then just bend it over a glass. You can see how beautifully mine came out in doing so.

Also, she suggested greasing a cookie sheet. Again, no. Use a Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Baking Liner, 11.75-Inch by 8.25-Inch, it is much easier to get the cookie off of it than a greased sheet. I tried the greased sheet, parchment paper, and a Silpat, and the later worked the best, the parchment second best, and the greased sheet not well at all.

She also doesn't mention something that will definitely determine a pretty cookie and that is that when you take the cookie off of the sheet and put it onto your clean kitchen towel, flip it over. With her instructions, the rough bottom of the cookie becomes the exterior; with my suggestion the smooth side becomes the exterior.

The cooking time is also wrong. Her suggestion of 8 minutes (turning the pan at four) yields a dark, overdone cookie. I found that 6 minutes worked out perfectly. You need to test this with your own oven, but this worked best for me.

Making these small changes will help in making these fun cookies. It takes practice, so plan on trashing the first three or so, but after that you'll be a whiz, will have fun doing it, and will dazzle your friends!

Awk! The first one. Obviously something went SERIOUSLY wrong.

My second try. Not as horribly awful as the first one, but still not what it should be.

Martha's recipe.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

& Foodie Friday