Valentine Breakfast in Bed Tray

Is there anything that says I love you more than a lovely Valentine tray set for breakfast in bed?  Okay, it's not diamond jewelry, but then it doesn't cost as much either. 

If you were clever, you put your scone ingredients together last night, so while your beloved is sipping the fresh orange juice that you squeezed this morning, you can be baking the scones.

The newspaper can divert attentions until they are ready, hot coffee or tea can be poured into the little glass hottle to be consumed when desired. 

If you don't have a sweetie at home, then do this for yourself. (Yesterday's scones, if baked ahead, can be heated for 5-8 minutes in the oven at 350 and taste as fresh as the day they were made.). 

Relax, have a peaceful breakfast, and enjoy your day. 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sundays

Tabletop Tuesday

Tablescape Thursday

Be Inspired Friday

Show and Tell Friday 

Flashback Friday

Tart Cherry and Almond Scones

If you are a scone lover like I am, always searching for the lightest, most delicate, deliciously flavorful recipe, your search has ended.  These scones are the best you’ll ever taste, and perfect for serving your family, sweetie, or special someone (even if that happens to be you!) for Valentine’s Day breakfast.  This is easily done because the dry ingredients need to be made a day ahead.  To give them their delicate crumb, be sure to use nothing other than cake flour.  To ensure that your cherries are fresh and moist, be sure to look for Melissa’s.

Tart Cherry and Almond Scones

2 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 3-ounce package Melissa’s dried tart cherries

1 medium egg

1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring

1/3 cup heavy cream

Sanding Sugar

Heavy Cream

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cherries.  Pour mixture into a Ziploc® bag and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Empty contents of bag into a large mixing bowl.  In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg, cream, and almond flavoring.  When thoroughly blended, pour it over the flour mixture in the large bowl and fold until it just comes together.  Add 1-3 more teaspoons of cream, if needed.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. With floured hands, press into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Cut out rounds with a 3” biscuit cutter and arrange 2 inches apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Gather scraps together and cut out additional scones.

Brush tops of scones with cream and sprinkle liberally with sanding sugar. Bake scones, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving.

Makes 6.

This post is linked to:

Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Show and Tell Friday 

Foodie Friday

Callier's Seasoned Beef Chili

This recipe, a specially requested recipe from a local establishment, in this case, Callier's Home Plate Deli in Ballwin, MO, appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a couple of weeks ago, and can be found here. It appealed to me on a number of levels. First of all, I love chili!  Secondly, I am always intrigued by recipes that contain unusual ingredients, and by unusual, I don't mean things like urchin or eel, but an item that usually isn't found in a particular dish. I find that I am always pleasantly surprised by the strange combination. Take for example Chicken with Blackberry-Mustard Cream Sauce. Delicious. (You're welcome, Emma.) Or Glazed Grape Meatloaf. (Glad that you enjoyed it, Bill). Or the exceptionally easy, always tasty, juicy, and delicious Root Beer Pulled Pork. So, somehow, I knew that this chili recipe with its double whammy of cocoa and cola would be good. It was. While it may just look like an ordinary bowl of chili, the depth of flavor that both cola and cocoa give to this dish is something that must be tried in order to be fully understood. What are you waiting for?!

Callier's Seasoned Beef Chili

From Callier’s Home Plate Deli

1½ pounds 80/20 ground beef

10 tablespoons finely chopped onion

7 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper

12 ounces cola

5 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

3½ teaspoons granulated garlic

3½ teaspoons ground cumin

3 ½ teaspoons salt

1¾ teaspoon chili powder

1¾ teaspoon coriander

1¾ teaspoon black pepper

Scant 1 teaspoon cayenne

9 ounces canned tomato paste

14½ ounces canned diced tomatoes

30 ounces canned dark kidney beans, liquid drained

3 2/3 cups water

Grated cheddar or chopped onions, optional

In a large, heavy pot, brown ground beef on medium-high heat, breaking it up as the meat browns. Add onion and green pepper, cook until softened.  Deglaze pot with cola, stirring to collect the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.  Stir in cocoa powder, garlic, cumin, salt, chili powder, coriander, black pepper, cayenne and tomato paste; bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, beans and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to maintain a simmer; let simmer for 45 minutes. Like many soups, this is best made a day or 2 ahead.

To serve Callier’s Home Plate Deli-style, serve in bowls with oyster crackers and grated cheddar and/or chopped onions on top.

Notes: For less heat while still retaining the chili’s rich spices, reduce the black pepper and cayenne.

Yield: 11 (1-cup) servings

Recipe adapted for home kitchens by the Post-Dispatch.

CALLIER’S HOME PLATE DELI

14787 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO

636-394-2080

 This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sundays

Marvelous Mondays

Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Wow Us Wednesday
What’s In The Kitchen 
Work It Wednesday
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

Glazed Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

These snowy winter days are really bringing me down.  What’s worse, they are bringing Mr. O-P, man-in-knee-surgery-waiting, down as well.  I can handle my own moments of melancholy, but living with a melancholy man…well, it is NOT fun.

So it’s time to inject a little cheer into these frosty mornings with a crackling fire in the fireplace, the newspaper, some Irish coffee, and a basket of fresh-from-the-oven almond muffins.  We are both big fans of almond, so this was an easy choice.  They employ the use of two mixing bowls, so no need to drag out the heavy stand mixer.  Another plus is that you probably have everything needed in your pantry already, so stay right at home, there is just no need to scrape the ice off the windshield AGAIN.

Try these the next time you’re feeling blue from all of the white.  You’ll feel better.

Glazed Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

2 extra-large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

½ of a 13-oz. can evaporated milk (6.5 ounces)

2 Tablespoons whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 Tablespoons poppy seeds

Glaze

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 Tablespoon milk

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°F

Spray two 6-cup jumbo muffin pans with Pam; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, evaporated milk, whole milk, oil, and extracts until thoroughly blended.  In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, whisking until well combined.  Fold in poppy seeds, just until incorporated.  Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling each well 2/3 full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until nicely crowned and the edges are browned.

Meanwhile prepare glaze: Stir ingredients together until blended.  Add more sugar if too runny.

 

Remove from oven and invert over a baking rack.  Drizzle with glaze while still warm.

Makes 12

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Show and Tell Friday 

Tasty Beef and Pickle Dip

Are you a pickle person?  I am REALLY a pickle person.  So much so, that sometimes, when I go to Jimmy John’s, I don’t order a sandwich, I just get one of their big pickles.  It can be embarrassing.  Sometimes I’ll pull a hat down over my eyes and use the drive-thru.

Pickle person that I am, this dip, a take-off on the old ham/cream cheese/pickle rolls-ups from the seventies, was a welcome addition to my repertoire of dip recipes.  It is very easy, must be made a day ahead, and besides being a great dip, it is also tasty in the morning when spread on a toasted bagel.

Tasty Beef and Pickle Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 2-ounce packages of Buddig dried beef, chopped
4 dill pickle spears, drained, finely chopped (I use Claussen)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

2 tablespoons sour cream

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Spoon into serving dish, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.

Serve chilled or at room temperature with the cracker of your choice.

This post is linked to:

The Scoop

Wow Us Wednesdays

Create It or Bake It

Full Plate Thursday

Cinnamon Maple Wonton Crisps

If you made the Won Ton Soup from yesterday (and even if you didn’t) you’re going to want to try these delicious little nibbles using the remaining won ton wrappers.  This recipe comes from Melinda and Bob Blanchard’s wonderful A Trip to the Beach Cookbook.  They serve them as a garnish for ice cream and sorbet.  I think they are perfect for tea time or brunch.  Mr. O-P thinks they’re great any old time.

They go together in a flash and require REAL maple syrup (don’t even think about using Mrs. Butterworth), and need to be baked until the edges brown and curl.

Cinnamon Maple Wonton Crisps

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup sugar

18 thin wonton wrappers

Sifted confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Mix together the butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and sugar.  Arrange the wonton wrappers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and brush* them with the butter mixture.  Bake until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

*I found the mixture didn’t spread too well with a brush, so I just spooned about 2 teaspoons of mixture on each wonton wrapper, and spread it to the edges with the back of a spoon. 

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays