Happy Spunky Old Broads Day!

I have a penchant for making cards. You might know that from past posts about my 2018 Christmas card, 2019 Christmas card (I am already working on my 2020 Christmas card), and my Chinese New Year card, the first in what I hope to be a continuing series of “anti-Valentine” cards, for those of us who are alone on Valentine’s Day.

This year, the holiday that I chose to celebrate in February in lieu of Valentine’s Day is Spunky Old Broads Day. Yes, it is a thing, and if you read the inside of my card via one of the pictures below, you will learn all about it. While the originator declares February to be Spunky Old Broads month, the official day is February 1. So to all of you sassy ladies of a certain age, happy Spunky Old Broads Day!

Celebrate the wonderment that is you!

Valerie Bertinelli’s Lemon Ice Box Cake

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I am a fan of Valerie Bertinelli and her recipes, because it is good home cooking, and who doesn’t like that? However, referring to this as a cake is a bit of a misnomer. What this really is, is a light and fluffy cloud of sweet/tart lemon deliciousness that you will not want to stop eating…ever. It is super easy to put together if you use store bought lemon curd. (I didn’t, I made my own because, to me, it is well worth the 15 minutes. My recipe is below if you feel the same.) So, if you’re longing for spring, fresh fruit, tall pitchers of ice-cold lemonade, this won’t bring it any closer, but it will make the wait much easier to bear.

Valerie Bertinelli’s Lemon Ice Box Cake

Serves 10

You will need:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1⁄3 cup powdered sugar
21/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 11-ounce package vanilla wafers
1 cup homemade lemon curd* or
1 11.5-ounce store-bought jar lemon curd

Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until blended and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cream, lemon zest, and vanilla; beat at medium-high speed just until stiff peaks form.

Arrange half of the cookies in a single layer on the bottom of a 13-× 9-inch baking dish**, fitting in as many as possible without overlapping.

Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture on top, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Dollop 1/2 cup of the lemon curd by spoonfuls about 2 inches apart over the cream cheese mixture.

Use a butter knife to swirl the curd into the cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cookies and remaining cream cheese mixture. Dollop and swirl remaining lemon curd over the cream mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the cookies soften, about 3 hours.

*Microwave Meyer Lemon Curd

Slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 5 Melissa’s Meyer lemons)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a large microwave-safe bowl (I used Duralex), whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth and thoroughly combined. Whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, and melted butter.

Cook in the microwave on full power for one-minute intervals, stirring after each minute. This process will take about 3-5 minutes depending upon the wattage of your microwave. (Three minutes worked for me.) The lemon curd is done when it coats the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the microwave, push through a fine, mesh sieve, and pour into sterile jars or a container.

Allow to cool to room temperature, and then cover it with a lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The curd will thicken as it cools.

**I used a 9” x 9” dish because I wanted mine thicker. It was perfect, as you can see.

J’s Pitaria House Salad

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I love salads, all kinds, from sweet to savory. I like simple chopped salads, I like lettuce-free vegetable salads. I also quite enjoy Greek and other Mediterranean-type salads, so when I spotted this one in a recent issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I had to make it. It is refreshing, crunchy, and loaded with flavor and nutrition. I served mine in a clear bowl so all of the pretty layers could be seen. I also emulsified my vinegar and oil in a Ninja personal blender, adding salt, pepper, and a smidge of prepared yellow mustard. If during these gray days of winter, like me, you’re dreaming of a getaway cruise down the Mediterranean, your face warmed by the sun, make this salad. Even though you’re not there visiting, at least you can savor the flavor.

J’s Pitaria House Salad

From J. Pitaria Mediterranean Restaurant

Yield: 1 large serving (2 smaller servings)

1 medium, ripe Roma tomato

½ large red bell pepper

1/3 of a 10- or 12-inch English cucumber

½ small red onion, 2-inches or less in diameter

¼ c. feta crumbles

1/3 c. fresh chopped parsley

2 to T. extra virgin olive oil

1/6 of a large lemon, seeded, cut lengthwise into a wedge

Wash and core, then cut the tomato into 3/8-inch cubed pieces. Place in the bottom of the serving bowl.

Cut the bell pepper in half lengthwise, remove seeds and ribs, and then dice into ½-inch square pieces. Cover the chopped tomatoes with pepper pieces.

Cut the English cucumber into quarters and then into 3/8-inch pieces. Spread evenly over the peppers.

 

Cut the red onion into chunky pieces, about 3/8-inch. Layer on top of the cucumbers. Scatter the feta cheese over all.

Trim the woody stems from the parsley bunch, then finely chop leaves and fine stems. Place a mound in the center of the salad.

 Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over all. Add the lemon wedge to the bowl and serve. 

  

Little Red Hen Book of Chicken Recipes

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If you are looking for a new way to share recipes, a clever wedding shower or hostess gift, or a project to simply do for your own organization and enjoyment, have I got an idea for you! Recently, I have become interested in bookmaking. No, I’m not playing the ponies, I am physically creating books. I hope, one day, to get very good at it, if for no other reason than to justify the purchase of all of the book making tools. In the meantime I have started out small. This is a project that you can do without having any experience or equipment at all.

This is what’s known as a cinch-bound Little Golden Book junk journal. I have a cinch binder, but you can do the same kind of thing by simply punching holes in the book cover and holding it together with binder rings. I have done that with my garden journal for this year because I want the opportunity to add more pages to it, and that can’t be done when a book is more permanently bound like this one.

My favorite book when I was a little girl was The Little Red Hen, so that was the Little Golden Book that I chose. I cut the binding off, but kept all of the pages intact, and the entire story is scattered throughout the book, now full of coffee and tea-dyed papers, scrapbook papers, lined paper, vintage ledger paper, recycled window envelopes and folders, dictionary pages, and more, each page of which is now waiting for further embellishment.

These pictures reflect what I have done thus far. As I create new pages, I will share those with you, so you can get an idea as to how to make one of your own. Because of the title, I decided to use this as a book that holds all of my favorite chicken recipes. Cute, no?

More to come!

Rigatoni and Meatball Soup

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Remember my friend, Kathy? The one who talked me into buying the Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan, and making the Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake? She seems to get me into a lot of trouble. The other day on Facebook, she tagged me in a recipe for rigatoni and meatball soup. Italian food is one of her favorite things, and she thought the soup looked wonderful. Naturally, I had to make it for her. I adapted it to suit my own tastes and favorite ingredients (like I do), and took some over to her. She proclaimed it “Fabulous! The best soup [she] has ever eaten.” I can’t argue with that. Take it from Kathy, this soup recipe is a good one!

Rigatoni and Meatball Soup

Adapted from The Cozy Apron

Meatball Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chuck
½ c. Italian breadcrumbs
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried parsley
1 T. dried minced onion
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
½ T. Melissa’s minced garlic
2 T. whole milk
2 T. olive oil, for sautéing

Soup Ingredients:

Olive oil (about 2 T.)
1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s shallots, chopped
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried parsley
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 T. tomato paste
¼ c. dry red wine
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
6 c. chicken stock
1 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley
8 oz. uncooked rigatoni, cooked 2 mins. less than package instructions
2 c. grated mozzarella cheese (¼ c. per serving)

Preparation:

Crumble ground chuck into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; gently mix together just until combined. Using a tablespoon, scoop up portions of the mixture, and roll between your palms to form meatballs.

Place a large soup pot over medium-high heat and drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Once the pot is hot, add meatballs, and brown on all sides. When the meatballs are browned, transfer to a plate or bowl to hold; drizzle in a touch more olive oil (if needed), and add the shallots.

Sauté the shallots, scraping up the good bits from the meatballs as much as possible; add dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, a pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes; stir for a couple minutes until things soften.

Add garlic and stir until it becomes aromatic (about 1 minute), add tomato paste, and stir to incorporate, about 30 seconds or so; add the red wine to deglaze, and after about 20 seconds, add tomatoes, chicken stock, and flat leaf parsley.

Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes; then, using a blender or a hand-held immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.

Add the reserved meatballs, and bring to a gentle simmer; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes more until the meatballs are tender.

To serve, place ½ cup of the cooked rigatoni into a bowl, and ladle in some of the soup (about 1½ cups) along with 4 meatballs; top with ¼ cup grated mozzarella cheese, and either enjoy immediately, or place under the broiler for a minute to melt and slightly brown the cheese.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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When a friend of mine tagged me in a Williams-Sonoma Facebook post featuring a Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt pan she had no idea what she had set in motion. For the first time ever I own a Bundt pan that is not only beautiful, but actually releases the cake with its lovely, swirled design. After the great success I had with the Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake, I was eager to try another one. When I stumbled upon this recipe I had to give it a try. The original actually calls for a tube pan, but I used this anyway, and, as you can see, it worked just perfectly. I also, as I am wont to do when making a chocolate cake of any kind, added some espresso powder to boost the flavor. This is a wonderful, dense, and chocolaty pound cake. I drizzled ganache over the top, but I think it would be equally good with a dusting of powdered sugar and a scoop of ice cream.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Yield: 16 servings

For the cake:
1 lb. unsalted butter, softened
3 c. sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
3 c. flour
½ c. dark cocoa powder
½ t. salt
1 t. baking powder

½ t. espresso powder
½ c. whole milk, warm
1 t. vanilla extract

For the ganache:
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. heavy cream

For the cake: Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter, cream cheese, and eggs should be at room temperature. Cream together butter, sugar, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and espresso powder. Add alternately with milk to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in vanilla. Pour into greased and Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cover with foil until completely cool.

To make ganache:

Place chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl, and heat on high at 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is melted and cream is incorporated. Drizzle immediately over the cake.

Easy Baked Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

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It used to make me giggle when my grandmother could predict the weather on the basis of whether or whether or not her “rheumatism was acting up.” Well, I’m not laughing now. Our fluctuating temperatures and barometric pressure has both my sinuses and arthritis giving me grief, so the last thing I want to do is cook. But, a girl’s gotta eat, and this girl wanted comfort food. Thank goodness the freezer is full of individual containers of my homemade chicken noodle soup. That, a buttery crusty roll, and a heaping scoop of rice pudding may not have made me feel better physically, but it soothed my soul.

If you like rice pudding like I do, but don’t want to have to stand over the stove and stir endlessly, then I think you will enjoy this baked version. It goes together in a snap, all you have to do is allow it to bake, and then reap the reward of creamy deliciousness. If you don’t like raisins, leave them out, but I encourage you to include the rum no matter what.

Easy Baked Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

 
1/3 c. basmati rice
¼ c. granulated sugar
½ c. golden raisins
2 T. dark rum
2 c. heavy cream
2 c. whole milk
½ T. butter, plus more for greasing pan
Few gratings fresh nutmeg
1 T. vanilla extract
1/8 T. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 1 1/2-quart, deep baking dish with butter.  Sprinkle rice, sugar, raisins, rum, cream, and milk, into the bottom of the prepared dish and stir to combine. Bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up, remove from oven, and add vanilla and cinnamon, stirring to combine.  Return to the oven to bake for an additional 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, remove from the oven and stir. If the pudding is still soupy, bake an additional 5-15 minutes until it becomes thick and creamy. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving. This is good both warm and cold, so refrigerate any leftovers to enjoy the next day. Serves six people amply.