Happy New Year! I hope your New Year's Eve was good. If you're like many people, you've come up with a few New Year's Resolutions (even if you didn't write them down). If you're like me (yes, I came up with a few), they involve improving your health (as much as you can possibly do), watching your diet, and exercising more. Am I close?
If one of the things you're planning to do in the new year is to become a vegetarian, or at least go vegetarian once a week, you've come to the right place. (Or, at least, one of many good places to check out.) Here are six yummy vegetarian recipes to start the new year off right, including Mini Apple Pies and Stir-Fried Tofu and Peppers. Enjoy!
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
This comes from Florence Fabricant in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This simple, creamy (but not cream-laden) butternut squash soup gets greater depth of flavor from sherry that is stirred in with the stock. If you’d rather not use sherry or don’t have it on hand, omit it and use an additional 1/2 cup of stock; your soup will be less complex, but it will still have that rich, sweet squash flavor.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
This was featured in “Adding to the Holiday Menu Without Risks” and can be viewed online here.
Note: The recipe originally called for “1 cup well-flavored chicken or vegetable stock”. I've omitted the chicken stock and left it at vegetable stock.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-1/2 cups peeled butternut squash in 2-inch cubes (about 2 squashes)
4-1/2 cups water
1 cup well-flavored vegetable stock
1/2 cup medium-dry sherry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Heat the oil in a heavy four-quart saucepan. Add the onions, reduce heat to low, and saute slowly until they are tender but not brown. Stir in the garlic.
Add the squash and water, cover and simmer until the squash is tender, about 40 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, then puree in two batches in a food processor. Up to this point the soup can be prepared in advance, even refrigerated or frozen.
Return the puree to the saucepan and add the stock and the sherry. Reheat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on each portion.
STIR-FRIED TOFU AND PEPPERS
This is from Martha Rose Shulman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “This attractive stir-fry is inspired by a traditional Chinese dish called rainbow beef. The vegetarian version works well, and it’s also easier to make. If you prefer a very firm tofu, take the extra time to weight it as directed in step 1. I am happy to skip this step and use firm tofu that hasn’t been weighted.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “Late Summer Stir-Fries”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1/2 pound firm tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut in 1-inch squares
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch squares
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 scallions, white and green parts, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths
Cooked rice or noodles for serving
Preparation
Optional step for firmer tofu: Blot the tofu dry, wrap in a clean kitchen towel and place a cutting board on top. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Whether weighted or not, slice the tofu about 1/2 inch thick into 1- x 2-inch dominoes.
Mix together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium bowl. Toss with the tofu, and stir to make sure all of the pieces are coated. Let sit for five to 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining soy sauce and sugar, hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates on contact. Add the oil, turn the heat to medium-high and add the peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until the peppers begin to soften, and add the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 20 seconds, until the garlic and ginger begin to smell fragrant, and add the tofu, dried red pepper flakes and green onions. Stir-fry two minutes, give the sauce a stir and add to the pan. Cover and cook for three minutes. Remove the lid, stir the ingredients in the pan, and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with rice or noodles.
Tip
Advance preparation: Everything can be prepped hours ahead. The cooking is last-minute. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
MAPLE ACORN SQUASH
One of the nice thing about fall food is the abundance of squash. This recipe, from Essential Eating, A Cookbook by Janie Quinn, from Publix’s GreenWise publication (December 2005) couldn’t be simpler. Serves 4. Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 acorn squash
4 Tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar, or to taste
2 tsp butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and cut squash in half crosswise. Remove seeds. If needed, slice a tiny piece off at the bottom of each half to prevent squash from rolling when placed on a flat surface. Fill a small baking pan with 1/4 inch water. Place halves in pan, cut side down. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until tender when pierced with tip of a sharp knife. Remove pan from oven and turn squash over. Place 2 Tbsp syrup or sugar and 1 tsp of butter in each squash half. All butter to melt. Serve.
Per serving: 225 calories; 2 g Protein; 49 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 4 g total fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 11 mg sodium; vitamins B1 (thiamin) B6, Manganese, A, B3 (niacin), C, Pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc
MINI APPLE PIES
This comes from a long-since-forgotten-emailing-list. Preparation time: 15 minutes; Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 ramekins (small glazed ceramic serving bowls)
2 large tart-sweet apples (I use ones that are half green half red)
2 Tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch or 1 Tablespoons flour
1-2 Tablespoons vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
apple pie spice
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons flour
raw sugar
The ingredient amounts are approximations, I just guess as I go!
Ingredients
Cut apples into 1/2 " dice and place into a bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons arrowroot, a few big shakes of pie spice & the liquid sweetener. Mix until evenly coated and pack down into ramekins leaving 1/2" from top.
In a bowl mix oats & margarine until combined add flour. Mixture should look like crumbly oats, if too dry add more margarine.
Distribute between ramekins, lightly packing on top, sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. The top will give when pressed, & you will see bubbling.
NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE BARS
This is from Samantha Seneviratne in The New York Times cooking newsletter. Samantha wrote, “Ethereal and ready to melt in your mouth, chocolate mousse bars are easy to make and even easier to eat. With so few ingredients, it’s important to use a chocolate you would be perfectly happy to snack out of hand. The instant espresso powder is optional but adds depth to this simple dessert. To cut beautiful, neat slices, use a long sharp knife warmed in hot water and wiped clean before each cut.”
Yield: 24 servings; Time: 30 minutes, plus chilling.
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019316-no-bake-chocolate-mousse-bars.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
18 whole graham crackers (about 9 1/2 ounces)
8 tablespoons (1 stick), melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Filling:
1 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 cups cold heavy cream, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Whipped cream (optional)
Preparation
Make the crust: Line a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. In a food processor, or in a resealable plastic bag, crush the graham crackers until you have fine crumbs (but stop before you have dust). You should have about 2 1/4 cups. Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl. Add the butter, sugar and salt and stir until evenly moistened. Tip the crumbs into the prepared pan and press them down into an even layer on the bottom. Transfer to the freezer while you prepare the filling.
Make the filling: Set the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup cream, espresso powder and salt until hot but not boiling. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and let it stand for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining 2 cups heavy cream until you have stiff peaks. Add the chocolate mixture and gently fold to combine. Pour the mixture over the prepared crust, and spread it out into an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. To serve, cut the two edges without parchment free with a sharp knife then use the parchment overhang to transfer the bar to a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.
Confessions of a Foodie
Showing posts with label KFC’s Coleslaw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KFC’s Coleslaw. Show all posts
Monday, January 1, 2024
Monday, January 1, 2018
Meatless Monday
Happy New Year! I hope your New Year's Eve was good. If you're like many people, you've come up with a few New Year's Resolutions (even if you didn't write them down). If you're like me (yes, I came up with a few), they involve improving your health (as much as you can possibly do), watching your diet, and exercising more. Am I close?
If one of the things you're planning to do in the new year is to become a vegetarian, or at least go vegetarian once a week, you've come to the right place. (Or, at least, one of many good places to check out.) Here are six yummy vegetarian recipes to start the new year off right, including Mini Apple Pies and Stir-Fried Tofu and Peppers. Enjoy!
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
This comes from Florence Fabricant in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This simple, creamy (but not cream-laden) butternut squash soup gets greater depth of flavor from sherry that is stirred in with the stock. If you’d rather not use sherry or don’t have it on hand, omit it and use an additional 1/2 cup of stock; your soup will be less complex, but it will still have that rich, sweet squash flavor.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
This was featured in “Adding to the Holiday Menu Without Risks” and can be viewed online here.
Note: The recipe originally called for “1 cup well-flavored chicken or vegetable stock”. I've omitted the chicken stock and left it at vegetable stock.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash in 2-inch cubes (about 2 squashes)
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup well-flavored vegetable stock
1/2 cup medium-dry sherry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Heat the oil in a heavy four-quart saucepan. Add the onions, reduce heat to low, and saute slowly until they are tender but not brown. Stir in the garlic.
Add the squash and water, cover and simmer until the squash is tender, about 40 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, then puree in two batches in a food processor. Up to this point the soup can be prepared in advance, even refrigerated or frozen.
Return the puree to the saucepan and add the stock and the sherry. Reheat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on each portion.
STIR-FRIED TOFU AND PEPPERS
This is from Martha Rose Shulman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “This attractive stir-fry is inspired by a traditional Chinese dish called rainbow beef. The vegetarian version works well, and it’s also easier to make. If you prefer a very firm tofu, take the extra time to weight it as directed in step 1. I am happy to skip this step and use firm tofu that hasn’t been weighted.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “Late Summer Stir-Fries”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1/2 pound firm tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut in 1-inch squares
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch squares
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 scallions, white and green parts, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths
Cooked rice or noodles for serving
Preparation
Optional step for firmer tofu: Blot the tofu dry, wrap in a clean kitchen towel and place a cutting board on top. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Whether weighted or not, slice the tofu about 1/2 inch thick into 1- x 2-inch dominoes.
Mix together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium bowl. Toss with the tofu, and stir to make sure all of the pieces are coated. Let sit for five to 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining soy sauce and sugar, hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates on contact. Add the oil, turn the heat to medium-high and add the peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until the peppers begin to soften, and add the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 20 seconds, until the garlic and ginger begin to smell fragrant, and add the tofu, dried red pepper flakes and green onions. Stir-fry two minutes, give the sauce a stir and add to the pan. Cover and cook for three minutes. Remove the lid, stir the ingredients in the pan, and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with rice or noodles.
Tip
Advance preparation: Everything can be prepped hours ahead. The cooking is last-minute. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
MAPLE ACORN SQUASH
One of the nice thing about fall food is the abundance of squash. This recipe, from Essential Eating, A Cookbook by Janie Quinn, from Publix’s GreenWise publication (December 2005) couldn’t be simpler. Serves 4. Prep Time: 10 minutes
1 acorn squash
4 Tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar, or to taste
2 tsp butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and cut squash in half crosswise. Remove seeds. If needed, slice a tiny piece off at the bottom of each half to prevent squash from rolling when placed on a flat surface. Fill a small baking pan with 1/4 inch water. Place halves in pan, cut side down. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until tender when pierced with tip of a sharp knife. Remove pan from oven and turn squash over. Place 2 Tbsp syrup or sugar and 1 tsp of butter in each squash half. All butter to melt. Serve.
Per serving: 225 calories; 2 g Protein; 49 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 4 g total fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 11 mg sodium; vitamins B1 (thiamin) B6, Manganese, A, B3 (niacin), C, Pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc
UPSIDE-DOWN CHERRY COBBLER
This comes from Carroll Pellegrinelli, About.com's Desserts/Baking expert. Carroll wrote, “Enjoy this recipe for Upside-Down Cherry Cobbler. It's made with canned cherries or with a cherry pie filling option.” Serves 6 – 8.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted, melted
1/2 cup milk
15 ounce can pitted cherries
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 8x8 square or equivalent pan. In medium bowl with a wire whisk, stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder & salt. Stir in 2 teaspoons melted butter & milk. Combine completely. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Drain canned cherries reserving juice. Add cherries to bowl. Stir in sugar. Heat, not to boiling, 1/2 cherry juice either using microwave or stove. Mix hot juice & 1 teaspoon butter with cherry mixture. Pour mixture over batter in pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cobbler crust will rise up through cherry mixture.
Serve with whipped or ice cream.
Note: *Replace canned cherries and 1 cup sugar with 21 ounce can of cherry or other fruit pie filling.
MINI APPLE PIES
This comes from a long-since-forgotten-emailing-list. Preparation time: 15 minutes; Serves: 4
4 ramekins (small glazed ceramic serving bowls)
2 large tart-sweet apples (I use ones that are half green half red)
2 Tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch or 1 Tablespoons flour
1-2 Tablespoons vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
apple pie spice
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons flour
raw sugar
The ingredient amounts are approximations, I just guess as I go!
Cut apples into 1/2 " dice and place into a bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons arrowroot, a few big shakes of pie spice & the liquid sweetener. Mix until evenly coated and pack down into ramekins leaving 1/2" from top.
In a bowl mix oats & margarine until combined add flour. Mixture should look like crumbly oats, if too dry add more margarine.
Distribute between ramekins, lightly packing on top, sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. The top will give when pressed, & you will see bubbling.
If one of the things you're planning to do in the new year is to become a vegetarian, or at least go vegetarian once a week, you've come to the right place. (Or, at least, one of many good places to check out.) Here are six yummy vegetarian recipes to start the new year off right, including Mini Apple Pies and Stir-Fried Tofu and Peppers. Enjoy!
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
This comes from Florence Fabricant in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This simple, creamy (but not cream-laden) butternut squash soup gets greater depth of flavor from sherry that is stirred in with the stock. If you’d rather not use sherry or don’t have it on hand, omit it and use an additional 1/2 cup of stock; your soup will be less complex, but it will still have that rich, sweet squash flavor.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
This was featured in “Adding to the Holiday Menu Without Risks” and can be viewed online here.
Note: The recipe originally called for “1 cup well-flavored chicken or vegetable stock”. I've omitted the chicken stock and left it at vegetable stock.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash in 2-inch cubes (about 2 squashes)
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup well-flavored vegetable stock
1/2 cup medium-dry sherry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Heat the oil in a heavy four-quart saucepan. Add the onions, reduce heat to low, and saute slowly until they are tender but not brown. Stir in the garlic.
Add the squash and water, cover and simmer until the squash is tender, about 40 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, then puree in two batches in a food processor. Up to this point the soup can be prepared in advance, even refrigerated or frozen.
Return the puree to the saucepan and add the stock and the sherry. Reheat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on each portion.
STIR-FRIED TOFU AND PEPPERS
This is from Martha Rose Shulman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “This attractive stir-fry is inspired by a traditional Chinese dish called rainbow beef. The vegetarian version works well, and it’s also easier to make. If you prefer a very firm tofu, take the extra time to weight it as directed in step 1. I am happy to skip this step and use firm tofu that hasn’t been weighted.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “Late Summer Stir-Fries”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1/2 pound firm tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut in 1-inch squares
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch squares
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 scallions, white and green parts, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths
Cooked rice or noodles for serving
Preparation
Optional step for firmer tofu: Blot the tofu dry, wrap in a clean kitchen towel and place a cutting board on top. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Whether weighted or not, slice the tofu about 1/2 inch thick into 1- x 2-inch dominoes.
Mix together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium bowl. Toss with the tofu, and stir to make sure all of the pieces are coated. Let sit for five to 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining soy sauce and sugar, hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates on contact. Add the oil, turn the heat to medium-high and add the peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until the peppers begin to soften, and add the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 20 seconds, until the garlic and ginger begin to smell fragrant, and add the tofu, dried red pepper flakes and green onions. Stir-fry two minutes, give the sauce a stir and add to the pan. Cover and cook for three minutes. Remove the lid, stir the ingredients in the pan, and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with rice or noodles.
Tip
Advance preparation: Everything can be prepped hours ahead. The cooking is last-minute. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
MAPLE ACORN SQUASH
One of the nice thing about fall food is the abundance of squash. This recipe, from Essential Eating, A Cookbook by Janie Quinn, from Publix’s GreenWise publication (December 2005) couldn’t be simpler. Serves 4. Prep Time: 10 minutes
1 acorn squash
4 Tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar, or to taste
2 tsp butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and cut squash in half crosswise. Remove seeds. If needed, slice a tiny piece off at the bottom of each half to prevent squash from rolling when placed on a flat surface. Fill a small baking pan with 1/4 inch water. Place halves in pan, cut side down. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until tender when pierced with tip of a sharp knife. Remove pan from oven and turn squash over. Place 2 Tbsp syrup or sugar and 1 tsp of butter in each squash half. All butter to melt. Serve.
Per serving: 225 calories; 2 g Protein; 49 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 4 g total fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 11 mg sodium; vitamins B1 (thiamin) B6, Manganese, A, B3 (niacin), C, Pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc
UPSIDE-DOWN CHERRY COBBLER
This comes from Carroll Pellegrinelli, About.com's Desserts/Baking expert. Carroll wrote, “Enjoy this recipe for Upside-Down Cherry Cobbler. It's made with canned cherries or with a cherry pie filling option.” Serves 6 – 8.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted, melted
1/2 cup milk
15 ounce can pitted cherries
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 8x8 square or equivalent pan. In medium bowl with a wire whisk, stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder & salt. Stir in 2 teaspoons melted butter & milk. Combine completely. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Drain canned cherries reserving juice. Add cherries to bowl. Stir in sugar. Heat, not to boiling, 1/2 cherry juice either using microwave or stove. Mix hot juice & 1 teaspoon butter with cherry mixture. Pour mixture over batter in pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cobbler crust will rise up through cherry mixture.
Serve with whipped or ice cream.
Note: *Replace canned cherries and 1 cup sugar with 21 ounce can of cherry or other fruit pie filling.
MINI APPLE PIES
This comes from a long-since-forgotten-emailing-list. Preparation time: 15 minutes; Serves: 4
4 ramekins (small glazed ceramic serving bowls)
2 large tart-sweet apples (I use ones that are half green half red)
2 Tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch or 1 Tablespoons flour
1-2 Tablespoons vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
apple pie spice
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons flour
raw sugar
The ingredient amounts are approximations, I just guess as I go!
Cut apples into 1/2 " dice and place into a bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons arrowroot, a few big shakes of pie spice & the liquid sweetener. Mix until evenly coated and pack down into ramekins leaving 1/2" from top.
In a bowl mix oats & margarine until combined add flour. Mixture should look like crumbly oats, if too dry add more margarine.
Distribute between ramekins, lightly packing on top, sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. The top will give when pressed, & you will see bubbling.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Friday Recipes for New Year's Eve
It's the last Friday of 2017. Here are six recipes you can make if you're having anyone over for New Year's Eve (or any time at all), including New England Roast Turkey and Pumpkin Spice Scones. Enjoy!
SWEENEY POTATOES
This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This is a variation of a dish sometimes called ‘company potatoes,’ popular in the postwar kitchens of the 1950s, made with canned condensed soups and frozen hash browns. Maura Passanisi, of Alameda, Calif., shared it with The Times as a tribute to her grandmother, Florence Sweeney, who originally served it as a Thanksgiving side dish. Ms. Passanisi uses fresh russet potatoes and no condensed soup, but plenty of cream cheese, sour cream, butter and cheese. ‘Legendary,’ she calls the dish. And so it is. Small portions are best. It's rich. And feeds a crowd.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “The American Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more butter for the pan
1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put potatoes in a large heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Set on stove over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow potatoes to simmer until they have just started to soften, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Combine cream cheese, melted butter and sour cream in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add enough milk so that the mixture is creamy but not soupy. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add potatoes to bowl and stir gently to combine.
Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Tip half the potatoes into the dish and spread to the edges, then scatter half the grated cheese over the top. Add remaining potatoes and spread to the edges, then top with remaining cheese.
Bake until casserole is bubbling at the edges and cheese has melted across the top, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving, if you'd like.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY SAUCE
Many of us get by with store bought cranberry sauce. But after seeing this guide by Melissa Clark, I may just start making my own cranberry sauce.
While I’m not posting any particular recipe on making cranberry sauce, you can click here to find out how to make great cranberry sauce.
CRANBERRY PIE
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking, which is for sale on Amazon.com. (To buy a copy of it for your Kindle or tablet, click here.) My dad sent this recipe in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.”

2 T cornstarch
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T butter
2 C cranberries
Pie crust
Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)
VARIATION
2 Tbls cornstarch
3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T margarine
1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)
Pie crust
Make as above.
NEW ENGLAND ROAST TURKEY
This also comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This adaptation of an old Yankee Magazine recipe for classic New England roast turkey is solid and unfancy, the sort that has adorned tables from Portsmouth north for generations. Old-line New Englanders may be tempted to soak an old cotton button-down dress shirt in butter and drape it over the bird for the first two hours. But this is not necessary.” Yield: 12 or more servings; Time: 4 1/2 hours, plus bringing.
This was featured in “The United States of Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 12- to 14-pound turkey
2 1/4 cups kosher salt, more as needed
1 cup white sugar
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked, more as needed
3 sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Preparation
Rinse turkey under cold water and place on a rack in its roasting pan while you make the brine.
For the brine, combine salt, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and herbs with 2 1/2 gallons water in a pot or cooler large enough to hold turkey comfortably. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Put turkey in brine and refrigerate or ice overnight, at least 12 hours.
When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove bird from brine, drain well and pat very dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Set turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set into a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, then fill the cavity with onion, celery and carrots. Fold wings under the bird and tie its legs together with butcher’s twine. Roast for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast approximately 3 hours more, basting bird every 30 minutes with drippings and tenting it with foil if skin is turning too dark, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
Is there anything more comforting than mashed potatoes? This comes from Florence Fabricant, also from the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Florence writes, “These are classic mashed potatoes, brightened up with a substantial amount of garlic. Feel free to adjust the garlic to taste, and to deepen the flavor, try roasting the cloves before mixing them in with the potatoes. (For everything you need to know to make perfect potatoes, visit our potato guide.)” Time: 40 minutes; makes 6 servings.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4288-garlic-mashed-potatoes.
Ingredients
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup hot milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation
Cut the potatoes into uniform two-inch chunks and place in a heavy saucepan along with the garlic. Cover with water, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and garlic and mash the potatoes and garlic together. Stir in the hot milk, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the butter (less if desired) or oil. Serve at once.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES
This absolute yumminess comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend doing so, along with subscribing to it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Imagine the sound of me tapping my foot….) Did you ? Great, if you did. If you didn’t, check it out sometime.
Okay, Audra starts off by writing, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and a scone, what do you say? It’s been a long day, and right now I just want something delicious and a warm cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And, since pumpkin season seems to be at it’s peak, how about these tender, melt-in-your-mouth, Pumpkin Spice Scones? Oh these were so good. Everything you want in a scone really. Nothing dense or tough about these babies- just fall baked good perfection.” At the end of the recipe, Audra, added, “This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 scones. Yum!
To view this online at Audra’s blog, click here.
Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
3 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
1 large egg
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a sil-pat. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Add the butter, and use a pastry blender or your hands to break down the butter chunks until they are no bigger than the size of a pea. (I like to use my hands and work them in.)
Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the pumpkin and creamer. Stir gently until dough just comes together. (It may seem dry)
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough has moistened and is a cohesive ball.
Shape into a 6-7 inch circle, about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges, and arrange on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until scones are just golden on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly while you make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, creamer, and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy warm or room temperature.
SWEENEY POTATOES
This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This is a variation of a dish sometimes called ‘company potatoes,’ popular in the postwar kitchens of the 1950s, made with canned condensed soups and frozen hash browns. Maura Passanisi, of Alameda, Calif., shared it with The Times as a tribute to her grandmother, Florence Sweeney, who originally served it as a Thanksgiving side dish. Ms. Passanisi uses fresh russet potatoes and no condensed soup, but plenty of cream cheese, sour cream, butter and cheese. ‘Legendary,’ she calls the dish. And so it is. Small portions are best. It's rich. And feeds a crowd.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “The American Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more butter for the pan
1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put potatoes in a large heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Set on stove over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow potatoes to simmer until they have just started to soften, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Combine cream cheese, melted butter and sour cream in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add enough milk so that the mixture is creamy but not soupy. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add potatoes to bowl and stir gently to combine.
Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Tip half the potatoes into the dish and spread to the edges, then scatter half the grated cheese over the top. Add remaining potatoes and spread to the edges, then top with remaining cheese.
Bake until casserole is bubbling at the edges and cheese has melted across the top, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving, if you'd like.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY SAUCE
Many of us get by with store bought cranberry sauce. But after seeing this guide by Melissa Clark, I may just start making my own cranberry sauce.
While I’m not posting any particular recipe on making cranberry sauce, you can click here to find out how to make great cranberry sauce.
CRANBERRY PIE
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking, which is for sale on Amazon.com. (To buy a copy of it for your Kindle or tablet, click here.) My dad sent this recipe in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.”

2 T cornstarch
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T butter
2 C cranberries
Pie crust
Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)
VARIATION
2 Tbls cornstarch
3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T margarine
1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)
Pie crust
Make as above.
NEW ENGLAND ROAST TURKEY
This also comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This adaptation of an old Yankee Magazine recipe for classic New England roast turkey is solid and unfancy, the sort that has adorned tables from Portsmouth north for generations. Old-line New Englanders may be tempted to soak an old cotton button-down dress shirt in butter and drape it over the bird for the first two hours. But this is not necessary.” Yield: 12 or more servings; Time: 4 1/2 hours, plus bringing.
This was featured in “The United States of Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 12- to 14-pound turkey
2 1/4 cups kosher salt, more as needed
1 cup white sugar
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked, more as needed
3 sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Preparation
Rinse turkey under cold water and place on a rack in its roasting pan while you make the brine.
For the brine, combine salt, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and herbs with 2 1/2 gallons water in a pot or cooler large enough to hold turkey comfortably. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Put turkey in brine and refrigerate or ice overnight, at least 12 hours.
When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove bird from brine, drain well and pat very dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Set turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set into a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, then fill the cavity with onion, celery and carrots. Fold wings under the bird and tie its legs together with butcher’s twine. Roast for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast approximately 3 hours more, basting bird every 30 minutes with drippings and tenting it with foil if skin is turning too dark, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
Is there anything more comforting than mashed potatoes? This comes from Florence Fabricant, also from the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Florence writes, “These are classic mashed potatoes, brightened up with a substantial amount of garlic. Feel free to adjust the garlic to taste, and to deepen the flavor, try roasting the cloves before mixing them in with the potatoes. (For everything you need to know to make perfect potatoes, visit our potato guide.)” Time: 40 minutes; makes 6 servings.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4288-garlic-mashed-potatoes.
Ingredients
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup hot milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation
Cut the potatoes into uniform two-inch chunks and place in a heavy saucepan along with the garlic. Cover with water, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and garlic and mash the potatoes and garlic together. Stir in the hot milk, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the butter (less if desired) or oil. Serve at once.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES
This absolute yumminess comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend doing so, along with subscribing to it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Imagine the sound of me tapping my foot….) Did you ? Great, if you did. If you didn’t, check it out sometime.
Okay, Audra starts off by writing, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and a scone, what do you say? It’s been a long day, and right now I just want something delicious and a warm cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And, since pumpkin season seems to be at it’s peak, how about these tender, melt-in-your-mouth, Pumpkin Spice Scones? Oh these were so good. Everything you want in a scone really. Nothing dense or tough about these babies- just fall baked good perfection.” At the end of the recipe, Audra, added, “This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 scones. Yum!
To view this online at Audra’s blog, click here.
Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
3 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
1 large egg
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a sil-pat. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Add the butter, and use a pastry blender or your hands to break down the butter chunks until they are no bigger than the size of a pea. (I like to use my hands and work them in.)
Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the pumpkin and creamer. Stir gently until dough just comes together. (It may seem dry)
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough has moistened and is a cohesive ball.
Shape into a 6-7 inch circle, about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges, and arrange on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until scones are just golden on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly while you make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, creamer, and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy warm or room temperature.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Meatless Monday
It's Meatless Monday. Here are today's six vegetarian recipes to help you through the rest of the day, including Victoria Sponge Cake and Ginger Pumpkin Pie. Enjoy!
GINGER PUMPKIN PIE
Kathy Kingsley is one of About.com's American Food experts. She writes, “Flavored with fresh ginger and honey, this pumpkin pie is sure to become one of your go-to holiday recipes.” Prep Time: 35 minutes; Cook Time: 50 minutes; Total Time: 85 minutes; Yield: Serves 8
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
Pastry
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons ice water
Pumpkin Filling
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 16-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Honey Whipped Cream
3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream, chilled
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Make the pastry dough: Combine the flour, sugar, vegetable shortening, and butter in a food processor and pulse on/off until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. With the motor running, add the ice water through the feed tube, and process just until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
Press the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disc, about 1-inch thick.
On a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Turn the edges under, and crimp or flute the crust. Set the pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Brush about teaspoon of the egg around the edge of the crust.
Add the pumpkin, milk, honey, sugar, ginger, pumpkin pie spice and salt to the eggs, and mix until well blended. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is set. If the edges become too dark during baking, carefully cover them with foil strips (see Recipe Notes). Set the pie on a wire rack to cool. If not serving right away, cover and chill.
When ready to serve, make the honey whipped cream. Put the cream into a medium bowl. Add the honey and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Serve the pie topped with the whipped cream.
Recipe Notes
• To make a foil collar to prevent edges of pie from browning too much, fold a 12-inch-long piece of foil into a strip with 3-inch-high sides. Stand the strip on the oven rack around the pie dish. Secure the overhang with a paper clip. The collar doesn't have to touch or cover the crust to protect it.
GARLICKY TOFU WITH SPINACH OVER PASTA
This comes from the October 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “A nonstick skillet is a must for this recipe—it makes the garlic cling to the tofu and form a sort of crust.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.
To view this online, click here.
10 oz. whole wheat linguine
1 1/2 cups prepared pasta sauce
12 oz. baked tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz. baby spinach, washed
Cook linguine according to package directions; drain.
Warm pasta sauce in pot over medium-low heat.
Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat. Add tofu, and cook 5 minutes, or until crisp and browned, turning often. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute more, or until tofu is coated with browned garlic. Transfer to plate, and cover to keep warm.
Add spinach to same skillet. (Add spinach in batches, if necessary, stirring to wilt so remainder will fit.) Cover, and cook 2 minutes, or until tender.
Divide cooked pasta among 4 individual plates. Top each with equal amounts of spinach then garlic tofu. Spoon sauce on top, and serve.
nutritional informatio Per SERVING: Calories: 506; Protein: 28 g; Total Fat: 15 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 70 g; Sodium: 847 mg; Fiber: 18 g; Sugar: 8 g; Vegan
MARCELLA HAZAN’S TOMATO SAUCE
This is also from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, and begins, “This is perhaps the most famous recipe created by Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed how Americans cook Italian food. It also may be her easiest. Use your favorite canned tomatoes for this and don’t be scared off by the butter. It gives the sauce an unparalleled velvety richness.” Time: 1 hour.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015178-marcella-hazans-tomato-sauce.
Ingredients
2 cups tomatoes, in addition to their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes)
5 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt
Preparation
Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt.
Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.
Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta. This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
MARCELLA HAZAN’S BOLOGNESE SAUCE
This is also from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, and begins, “After the death in 2013 of Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed the way Americans cook Italian food, The Times asked readers which of her recipes had become staples in their kitchens. Many people answered with one word: "Bolognese." So here it is: Ms. Hazan's classic, go-to Bolognese sauce, which one reader called "the gold standard." Try it and see for yourself.” Time: at least 4 hours; makes 2 heaping cups, for about 6 servings and 1 1/2 pounds pasta.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015181-marcella-hazans-bolognese-sauce.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 cup whole milk
Whole nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Preparation
Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This traditional British layer cake is made up of two buttery, tender spongecake rounds that sandwich a thick layer of jam and, often, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. It’s a simple, homey confection that works as well with a cup of afternoon tea as it does for dessert. Feel free to substitute other flavors of tart jam for the raspberry. Apricot and blackberry work particularly well.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
This was featured in “‘The Great British Bake Off’ Changes the Way the British Bake” and can be viewed online at here.
Ingredients
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened, more for greasing pan
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup raspberry jam, more to taste
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared cake pans, smoothing the top.
Bake cakes until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then unmold them onto a wire rack to cool completely, flat side down.
Transfer one cake (the less attractive one) to a serving platter, and spread jam evenly on top. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla just until it holds stiff peaks. Dollop about half the cream on top of jam, then top with remaining cake. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately, with the extra whipped cream on the side.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
GINGER PUMPKIN PIE
Kathy Kingsley is one of About.com's American Food experts. She writes, “Flavored with fresh ginger and honey, this pumpkin pie is sure to become one of your go-to holiday recipes.” Prep Time: 35 minutes; Cook Time: 50 minutes; Total Time: 85 minutes; Yield: Serves 8
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
Pastry
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons ice water
Pumpkin Filling
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 16-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Honey Whipped Cream
3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream, chilled
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Make the pastry dough: Combine the flour, sugar, vegetable shortening, and butter in a food processor and pulse on/off until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. With the motor running, add the ice water through the feed tube, and process just until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
Press the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disc, about 1-inch thick.
On a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Turn the edges under, and crimp or flute the crust. Set the pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Brush about teaspoon of the egg around the edge of the crust.
Add the pumpkin, milk, honey, sugar, ginger, pumpkin pie spice and salt to the eggs, and mix until well blended. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is set. If the edges become too dark during baking, carefully cover them with foil strips (see Recipe Notes). Set the pie on a wire rack to cool. If not serving right away, cover and chill.
When ready to serve, make the honey whipped cream. Put the cream into a medium bowl. Add the honey and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Serve the pie topped with the whipped cream.
Recipe Notes
• To make a foil collar to prevent edges of pie from browning too much, fold a 12-inch-long piece of foil into a strip with 3-inch-high sides. Stand the strip on the oven rack around the pie dish. Secure the overhang with a paper clip. The collar doesn't have to touch or cover the crust to protect it.
GARLICKY TOFU WITH SPINACH OVER PASTA
This comes from the October 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “A nonstick skillet is a must for this recipe—it makes the garlic cling to the tofu and form a sort of crust.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.
To view this online, click here.
10 oz. whole wheat linguine
1 1/2 cups prepared pasta sauce
12 oz. baked tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz. baby spinach, washed
Cook linguine according to package directions; drain.
Warm pasta sauce in pot over medium-low heat.
Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat. Add tofu, and cook 5 minutes, or until crisp and browned, turning often. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute more, or until tofu is coated with browned garlic. Transfer to plate, and cover to keep warm.
Add spinach to same skillet. (Add spinach in batches, if necessary, stirring to wilt so remainder will fit.) Cover, and cook 2 minutes, or until tender.
Divide cooked pasta among 4 individual plates. Top each with equal amounts of spinach then garlic tofu. Spoon sauce on top, and serve.
nutritional informatio Per SERVING: Calories: 506; Protein: 28 g; Total Fat: 15 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 70 g; Sodium: 847 mg; Fiber: 18 g; Sugar: 8 g; Vegan
MARCELLA HAZAN’S TOMATO SAUCE
This is also from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, and begins, “This is perhaps the most famous recipe created by Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed how Americans cook Italian food. It also may be her easiest. Use your favorite canned tomatoes for this and don’t be scared off by the butter. It gives the sauce an unparalleled velvety richness.” Time: 1 hour.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015178-marcella-hazans-tomato-sauce.
Ingredients
2 cups tomatoes, in addition to their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes)
5 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt
Preparation
Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt.
Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.
Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta. This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
MARCELLA HAZAN’S BOLOGNESE SAUCE
This is also from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, and begins, “After the death in 2013 of Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed the way Americans cook Italian food, The Times asked readers which of her recipes had become staples in their kitchens. Many people answered with one word: "Bolognese." So here it is: Ms. Hazan's classic, go-to Bolognese sauce, which one reader called "the gold standard." Try it and see for yourself.” Time: at least 4 hours; makes 2 heaping cups, for about 6 servings and 1 1/2 pounds pasta.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015181-marcella-hazans-bolognese-sauce.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 cup whole milk
Whole nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Preparation
Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This traditional British layer cake is made up of two buttery, tender spongecake rounds that sandwich a thick layer of jam and, often, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. It’s a simple, homey confection that works as well with a cup of afternoon tea as it does for dessert. Feel free to substitute other flavors of tart jam for the raspberry. Apricot and blackberry work particularly well.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
This was featured in “‘The Great British Bake Off’ Changes the Way the British Bake” and can be viewed online at here.
Ingredients
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened, more for greasing pan
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup raspberry jam, more to taste
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared cake pans, smoothing the top.
Bake cakes until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then unmold them onto a wire rack to cool completely, flat side down.
Transfer one cake (the less attractive one) to a serving platter, and spread jam evenly on top. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla just until it holds stiff peaks. Dollop about half the cream on top of jam, then top with remaining cake. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately, with the extra whipped cream on the side.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Friday Recipes
It's Friday of a three-day weekend. (Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.) And while many people have the day off, I'll be posting here.
By the way, next week there'll be a slight change in this blog. Mondays will still be Meatless Monday, and I'll still be posting diabetic recipes on Thursdays. But on Tuesdays...I'll be posting Taco Tuesday recipes. It's been fairly well received on my vegetarian blog, so I figured I'd try it here. We'll see how well it goes.
And now, for today's six recipes to help you through the weekend. Enjoy!
LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE
This yummy cake is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking email. Melissa wrote, “This light and moist lemon poundcake has a crunchy sugar glaze that crystallizes on top, giving a contrasting texture to the soft crumb underneath. It’s an easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing cake that’s excellent on its own but takes well to embellishments. A scoop of ice cream or sorbet, fruit compote and-or lemon curd are all wonderful alongside.” Yield: 24 servings; Time: 45 minutes, plus cooling.
This was featured in “’The Great British Bake Off’ Changes the Way the British Bake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened, more for greasing pan
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 1/2 lemons
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9-by-12-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and half of the sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary (mixture will look curdled, and that’s O.K.). Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared baking pan, smoothing the top.
Bake until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then use the paper overhang to lift the cake out of the pan; transfer to wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and carefully remove paper.
While cake bakes, in a small bowl mix together remaining half of the sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) and enough lemon juice to make a runny mixture. While cake is still warm, spoon the sugar mixture evenly over the top. (The cake has to be cooled slightly to prevent topping from melting, but warm enough that it soaks into the cake, leaving a crunchy sugar coat on top.) Let cool, then cut into squares.
WILD MUSHROOM QUESADILLAS
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always been a little leery about going out picking wild mushrooms. I wasn’t wild about mushrooms as a kid, but I’ve grown to just about like them. But wild mushrooms? Nah-ah, no thanks. I’ve heard too many horror stories…
That said, this comes from Kim Severson, also in The New York Times cooking email. Kim wrote, “You don't have to use wild mushrooms, of course, but if you can get chanterelles — oh man. It takes a bit of time at the stove, but when the quesadilla is done, you have a great handheld food that is, among other things, very kid friendly.” Phew! Thank you, Kim, for adding that disclaimer about not having to use wild mushrooms!!!
This recipe yields 8 servings (Time: 30 minutes) and was featured in “THE CHEF: TRACI DES JARDINS; Tortillas Let a Cook Come Home Again”. It can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound chanterelles, black trumpet or other wild mushrooms (or substitute oyster, crimini or clamshell mushrooms; do not use shiitake), roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
4 ounces grated Oaxaca or domestic Muenster cheese
4 ounces grated panela or aged mozzarella cheese
4 ounces grated cotija or Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of ground coriander
8 8-inch flour or corn tortillas, preferably homemade (recipe follows)
Preparation
Place a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. When oil shimmers, add mushrooms and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until mushrooms release their liquid, liquid evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add onions. Sauté, adjusting heat as necessary, until onions are soft and entire mixture is golden brown but not burned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Using a food processor or a knife, finely chop mushroom-onion mixture, then transfer to a large bowl. Add grated cheeses, cilantro, oregano and coriander. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place a large nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium heat, and add remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. While pan heats, place a large spoonful of mushroom-cheese mixture into center of a tortilla, and fold tortilla in half to make a half-moon. Place filled tortilla in preheated skillet and cook, turning once, until tortilla is nicely browned on both sides and cheese is melted. Repeat to make 8 filled tortillas. Serve immediately.
GRANDMA SALAZAR’S TORTILLAS
This also comes from Kim Severson in The New York Times cooking email. Kim wrote, “This recipe for flour tortillas came to The Times in 2005 from Traci Des Jardins, a San Francisco chef whose heritage is Cajun on one side and Mexican on the other, via her maternal grandmother, Angela Salazar. You’ll see ‘bacon drippings’ in the ingredients. These make for really delicious tortillas.” Makes 12 8-inch tortillas.
This was featured in “THE CHEF: TRACI DES JARDINS; Tortillas Let a Cook Come Home Again” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons bacon drippings, lard or vegetable shortening
Preparation
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add bacon drippings and mix by hand or with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Slowly mix in 1 cup cold water. Add just enough additional water (about 1/3 cup) to make a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
Divide dough into 12 balls of equal size. Place on a board or baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel; allow to rest for at least 20 minutes or up to an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll tortillas into 8-inch rounds. Place between sheets of waxed paper. At this point dough may be covered and refrigerated until cooking time, or used immediately.
Heat a griddle over medium heat. Remove tortillas from waxed paper and cook one at a time until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 seconds a side. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until serving.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
WEIGHT WATCHERS SLOW-COOKER SOUP
This came in a Weight Watchers’ email several years ago, with a points value of 0. I have no idea what the points value would be now, nor do I have a link to it.
10 oz baby spinach leaves
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium celery ribs, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
4 C vegetable broth
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
Place all ingredients in slow cooker; cover & cook on high for 5 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir, & serve. Yields about 1 C/serving.
Note: If you need the soup fast, simply add prepped ingredients in a large pot on stovetop. Bring to boil & then reduce heat to low; simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.
GULLA SUPPER SOUP
This comes from the Margaret Holmes Tomatoes, Okra & Corn cans.
Years ago, my better-half had changed pharmacies to one in a local Publix. At the time, the Publix we normally went to didn't have a pharmacy (it does now), so we went to another one that had a pharmacy. Of course, since it was laid out a little differently, so we had to look around to find what we'd planned to buy.
It was while exploring this new (to us) Publix that I stumbled across cans of Margaret Holmes Tomatoes, Okra & Corn. I wasn't familiar with the Margaret Holmes brand, but the word “okra” jumped out at me. My better-half had spent most of his life in the south (as he liked to tell people, “It took me six months to crawl from Detroit to Florida.”), and absolutely loved okra, as well as many other southern foods that I'd never really tried.
So, of course, I had to pick up a couple of cans of this, as well as the other ingredients to make this. It soon became an absolute favorite in our house. We tended to double the recipe. Give this a try – if you're like us, you won't regret it!
2 cans Margaret Holmes Tomatoes, Okra and Corn
1/2 stick butter
1 medium onion, peeled & chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 C green cabbage, chopped
1/2 C green pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Big pinch fresh thyme
Big pinch chopped parsley
1/2 C cooked rice
Melt butter in medium saucepan, add onions, celery, cabbage & green pep-per. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium high heat until vegetables are softened. Add tomatoes & juice; cook for about 10 more minutes.
Stir in seasonings & cooked rice. Bring back to simmer & cook for 5 more minutes. Serve hot.
By the way, next week there'll be a slight change in this blog. Mondays will still be Meatless Monday, and I'll still be posting diabetic recipes on Thursdays. But on Tuesdays...I'll be posting Taco Tuesday recipes. It's been fairly well received on my vegetarian blog, so I figured I'd try it here. We'll see how well it goes.
And now, for today's six recipes to help you through the weekend. Enjoy!
LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE
This yummy cake is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking email. Melissa wrote, “This light and moist lemon poundcake has a crunchy sugar glaze that crystallizes on top, giving a contrasting texture to the soft crumb underneath. It’s an easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing cake that’s excellent on its own but takes well to embellishments. A scoop of ice cream or sorbet, fruit compote and-or lemon curd are all wonderful alongside.” Yield: 24 servings; Time: 45 minutes, plus cooling.
This was featured in “’The Great British Bake Off’ Changes the Way the British Bake” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened, more for greasing pan
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 1/2 lemons
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9-by-12-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and half of the sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary (mixture will look curdled, and that’s O.K.). Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared baking pan, smoothing the top.
Bake until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then use the paper overhang to lift the cake out of the pan; transfer to wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and carefully remove paper.
While cake bakes, in a small bowl mix together remaining half of the sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) and enough lemon juice to make a runny mixture. While cake is still warm, spoon the sugar mixture evenly over the top. (The cake has to be cooled slightly to prevent topping from melting, but warm enough that it soaks into the cake, leaving a crunchy sugar coat on top.) Let cool, then cut into squares.
WILD MUSHROOM QUESADILLAS
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always been a little leery about going out picking wild mushrooms. I wasn’t wild about mushrooms as a kid, but I’ve grown to just about like them. But wild mushrooms? Nah-ah, no thanks. I’ve heard too many horror stories…
That said, this comes from Kim Severson, also in The New York Times cooking email. Kim wrote, “You don't have to use wild mushrooms, of course, but if you can get chanterelles — oh man. It takes a bit of time at the stove, but when the quesadilla is done, you have a great handheld food that is, among other things, very kid friendly.” Phew! Thank you, Kim, for adding that disclaimer about not having to use wild mushrooms!!!
This recipe yields 8 servings (Time: 30 minutes) and was featured in “THE CHEF: TRACI DES JARDINS; Tortillas Let a Cook Come Home Again”. It can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound chanterelles, black trumpet or other wild mushrooms (or substitute oyster, crimini or clamshell mushrooms; do not use shiitake), roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
4 ounces grated Oaxaca or domestic Muenster cheese
4 ounces grated panela or aged mozzarella cheese
4 ounces grated cotija or Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of ground coriander
8 8-inch flour or corn tortillas, preferably homemade (recipe follows)
Preparation
Place a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. When oil shimmers, add mushrooms and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until mushrooms release their liquid, liquid evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add onions. Sauté, adjusting heat as necessary, until onions are soft and entire mixture is golden brown but not burned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Using a food processor or a knife, finely chop mushroom-onion mixture, then transfer to a large bowl. Add grated cheeses, cilantro, oregano and coriander. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place a large nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium heat, and add remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. While pan heats, place a large spoonful of mushroom-cheese mixture into center of a tortilla, and fold tortilla in half to make a half-moon. Place filled tortilla in preheated skillet and cook, turning once, until tortilla is nicely browned on both sides and cheese is melted. Repeat to make 8 filled tortillas. Serve immediately.
GRANDMA SALAZAR’S TORTILLAS
This also comes from Kim Severson in The New York Times cooking email. Kim wrote, “This recipe for flour tortillas came to The Times in 2005 from Traci Des Jardins, a San Francisco chef whose heritage is Cajun on one side and Mexican on the other, via her maternal grandmother, Angela Salazar. You’ll see ‘bacon drippings’ in the ingredients. These make for really delicious tortillas.” Makes 12 8-inch tortillas.
This was featured in “THE CHEF: TRACI DES JARDINS; Tortillas Let a Cook Come Home Again” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons bacon drippings, lard or vegetable shortening
Preparation
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add bacon drippings and mix by hand or with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Slowly mix in 1 cup cold water. Add just enough additional water (about 1/3 cup) to make a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
Divide dough into 12 balls of equal size. Place on a board or baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel; allow to rest for at least 20 minutes or up to an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll tortillas into 8-inch rounds. Place between sheets of waxed paper. At this point dough may be covered and refrigerated until cooking time, or used immediately.
Heat a griddle over medium heat. Remove tortillas from waxed paper and cook one at a time until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 seconds a side. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until serving.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
WEIGHT WATCHERS SLOW-COOKER SOUP
This came in a Weight Watchers’ email several years ago, with a points value of 0. I have no idea what the points value would be now, nor do I have a link to it.
10 oz baby spinach leaves
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium celery ribs, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
4 C vegetable broth
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
Place all ingredients in slow cooker; cover & cook on high for 5 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir, & serve. Yields about 1 C/serving.
Note: If you need the soup fast, simply add prepped ingredients in a large pot on stovetop. Bring to boil & then reduce heat to low; simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.
GULLA SUPPER SOUP
This comes from the Margaret Holmes Tomatoes, Okra & Corn cans.
Years ago, my better-half had changed pharmacies to one in a local Publix. At the time, the Publix we normally went to didn't have a pharmacy (it does now), so we went to another one that had a pharmacy. Of course, since it was laid out a little differently, so we had to look around to find what we'd planned to buy.
It was while exploring this new (to us) Publix that I stumbled across cans of Margaret Holmes Tomatoes, Okra & Corn. I wasn't familiar with the Margaret Holmes brand, but the word “okra” jumped out at me. My better-half had spent most of his life in the south (as he liked to tell people, “It took me six months to crawl from Detroit to Florida.”), and absolutely loved okra, as well as many other southern foods that I'd never really tried.
So, of course, I had to pick up a couple of cans of this, as well as the other ingredients to make this. It soon became an absolute favorite in our house. We tended to double the recipe. Give this a try – if you're like us, you won't regret it!
2 cans Margaret Holmes Tomatoes, Okra and Corn
1/2 stick butter
1 medium onion, peeled & chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 C green cabbage, chopped
1/2 C green pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Big pinch fresh thyme
Big pinch chopped parsley
1/2 C cooked rice
Melt butter in medium saucepan, add onions, celery, cabbage & green pep-per. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium high heat until vegetables are softened. Add tomatoes & juice; cook for about 10 more minutes.
Stir in seasonings & cooked rice. Bring back to simmer & cook for 5 more minutes. Serve hot.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Wednesday Recipes
We're well into our first week of the New Year. Have you made any New Year's resolutions? If you're like me - heck, if you're like many - the list includes exercise of some sort, eating right (which means healthy, but also yummy - who wants boring?!?! Not us!), and getting as healthy as possible.
The only thing I can help you with is the food aspect of it. That said, here are six recipes to get you started. Enjoy!
ORIGINAL PLUM TORTE
This is from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. It begins, “The Times published Marian Burros’s recipe for Plum Torte every September from 1983 until 1989, when the editors determined that enough was enough. The recipe was to be printed for the last time that year. “To counter anticipated protests,” Ms. Burros wrote a few years later, “the recipe was printed in larger type than usual with a broken-line border around it to encourage clipping.” It didn’t help. The paper was flooded with angry letters. “The appearance of the recipe, like the torte itself, is bittersweet,” wrote a reader in Tarrytown, N.Y. “Summer is leaving, fall is coming. That's what your annual recipe is all about. Don't be grumpy about it.” We are not! And we pledge that every year, as summer gives way to fall, we will make sure that the recipe is easily available to one and all. The original 1983 recipe called for 1 cup sugar; the 1989 version reduced that to 3/4 cup. We give both options below. Here are five ways to adapt the torte.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
This was featured in “Eating Well” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 eggs
24 halves pitted purple plums
Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping
Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)
Tip
To freeze, double-wrap the torte in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.
CHICKEN PAILLARDS WTIH CORN SALAD
This comes from Florence Fabricant, in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This recipe brings together leafy herbs, the whisper of sweetness in fresh corn and summer squash, a ripe tomato, and a splash of lemon, creating a salad with farm-stand allure. It is served it with chicken paillards, and the meal would go great with a bottle of dry German riesling.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “A Salad With Farm-Stand Allure”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds, pounded thin
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 ears corn, kernels stripped
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 medium-size yellow summer squash, diced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 medium yellow tomato, diced
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
Preparation
Mix mustard and 1/4 cup lemon juice in a shallow dish. Cut each chicken breast in half (lengthwise, so you have two thin filets) and place in the mustard mixture. Turn to coat both sides and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet, add onion and sauté on low a few minutes, until softened. Add corn, chile and squash and continue to cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, fold in tomato, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and set aside.
Remove chicken from marinade, dust with flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan on medium-high heat and sear chicken, turning once, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes a side. Arrange on a serving platter. Add cooking oil to salad, fold in cilantro and spoon over and around chicken.
MULLED APPLE-CRANBERRY CIDER
This comes from Weight Watchers. Unfortunately, it was sent to me a number of years ago (try 2006) and while I tried to find the link for it on the WW site, I couldn’t locate it. If anyone reading this can shed light on this, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know.
POINTS® Value: 2; Servings: 6; Preparation Time: 5 min; Cooking Time: 15 min; Level of Difficulty: Easy
This begins, “This hot drink is perfect for chilly autumn nights. Curl up with a good book and indulge.”
Ingredients
3 cup apple cider
3 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1 Tbsp unpacked brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp orange zest
3 average cinnamon stick
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes and then strain into mugs. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES
This absolute yumminess comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend doing so, along with subscribing to it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Imagine the sound of me tapping my foot….) Did you ? Great, if you did. If you didn’t, check it out sometime.
Okay, Audra starts off by writing, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and a scone, what do you say? It’s been a long day, and right now I just want something delicious and a warm cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And, since pumpkin season seems to be at it’s peak, how about these tender, melt-in-your-mouth, Pumpkin Spice Scones? Oh these were so good. Everything you want in a scone really. Nothing dense or tough about these babies- just fall baked good perfection.” At the end of the recipe, Audra, added, “This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 scones. Yum!
To view this online at Audra’s blog, click here.
Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
3 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
1 large egg
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a sil-pat. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Add the butter, and use a pastry blender or your hands to break down the butter chunks until they are no bigger than the size of a pea. (I like to use my hands and work them in.)
Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the pumpkin and creamer. Stir gently until dough just comes together. (It may seem dry)
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough has moistened and is a cohesive ball.
Shape into a 6-7 inch circle, about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges, and arrange on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until scones are just golden on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly while you make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, creamer, and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy warm or room temperature.
ROASTED CHICKEN SALAD WITH NAPA CABBAGE
Serving size is 4 oz. chicken, 1 cup cabbage, and 1/4 cup snow peas.
Yield: 4 servings
Source: Express Lane Diabetic Cooking
Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/860.shtml
Ingredients
1 pound roasted white-meat deli chicken (either pulled from a whole chicken and skinned or from sliced chicken), cubed or shredded
1 cup fresh snow pea pods, halved
1/2 cup julienne baby carrot strips
1/2 cup low-fat Oriental salad dressing or low-fat vinaigrette
4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
Directions
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the chicken, snow pea pods, carrots, and garlic. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in dressing. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and chicken mixture; toss together until mixed.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 285; Protein: 34 g; Fat: 13 g; Sodium: 416 mg; Cholesterol: 100 mg; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugars: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 7 g; Exchanges: 1/2 Carbohydrate, 4 Lean Meat, 1/2 Fat
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
The only thing I can help you with is the food aspect of it. That said, here are six recipes to get you started. Enjoy!
ORIGINAL PLUM TORTE
This is from The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. It begins, “The Times published Marian Burros’s recipe for Plum Torte every September from 1983 until 1989, when the editors determined that enough was enough. The recipe was to be printed for the last time that year. “To counter anticipated protests,” Ms. Burros wrote a few years later, “the recipe was printed in larger type than usual with a broken-line border around it to encourage clipping.” It didn’t help. The paper was flooded with angry letters. “The appearance of the recipe, like the torte itself, is bittersweet,” wrote a reader in Tarrytown, N.Y. “Summer is leaving, fall is coming. That's what your annual recipe is all about. Don't be grumpy about it.” We are not! And we pledge that every year, as summer gives way to fall, we will make sure that the recipe is easily available to one and all. The original 1983 recipe called for 1 cup sugar; the 1989 version reduced that to 3/4 cup. We give both options below. Here are five ways to adapt the torte.” Yield: 8 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
This was featured in “Eating Well” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 eggs
24 halves pitted purple plums
Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping
Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)
Tip
To freeze, double-wrap the torte in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.
CHICKEN PAILLARDS WTIH CORN SALAD
This comes from Florence Fabricant, in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This recipe brings together leafy herbs, the whisper of sweetness in fresh corn and summer squash, a ripe tomato, and a splash of lemon, creating a salad with farm-stand allure. It is served it with chicken paillards, and the meal would go great with a bottle of dry German riesling.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.
This was featured in “A Salad With Farm-Stand Allure”, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds, pounded thin
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 ears corn, kernels stripped
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 medium-size yellow summer squash, diced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 medium yellow tomato, diced
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
Preparation
Mix mustard and 1/4 cup lemon juice in a shallow dish. Cut each chicken breast in half (lengthwise, so you have two thin filets) and place in the mustard mixture. Turn to coat both sides and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet, add onion and sauté on low a few minutes, until softened. Add corn, chile and squash and continue to cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, fold in tomato, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and set aside.
Remove chicken from marinade, dust with flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan on medium-high heat and sear chicken, turning once, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes a side. Arrange on a serving platter. Add cooking oil to salad, fold in cilantro and spoon over and around chicken.
MULLED APPLE-CRANBERRY CIDER
This comes from Weight Watchers. Unfortunately, it was sent to me a number of years ago (try 2006) and while I tried to find the link for it on the WW site, I couldn’t locate it. If anyone reading this can shed light on this, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know.
POINTS® Value: 2; Servings: 6; Preparation Time: 5 min; Cooking Time: 15 min; Level of Difficulty: Easy
This begins, “This hot drink is perfect for chilly autumn nights. Curl up with a good book and indulge.”
Ingredients
3 cup apple cider
3 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1 Tbsp unpacked brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp orange zest
3 average cinnamon stick
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes and then strain into mugs. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES
This absolute yumminess comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend doing so, along with subscribing to it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Imagine the sound of me tapping my foot….) Did you ? Great, if you did. If you didn’t, check it out sometime.
Okay, Audra starts off by writing, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and a scone, what do you say? It’s been a long day, and right now I just want something delicious and a warm cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And, since pumpkin season seems to be at it’s peak, how about these tender, melt-in-your-mouth, Pumpkin Spice Scones? Oh these were so good. Everything you want in a scone really. Nothing dense or tough about these babies- just fall baked good perfection.” At the end of the recipe, Audra, added, “This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 scones. Yum!
To view this online at Audra’s blog, click here.
Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
3 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
1 large egg
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a sil-pat. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Add the butter, and use a pastry blender or your hands to break down the butter chunks until they are no bigger than the size of a pea. (I like to use my hands and work them in.)
Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the pumpkin and creamer. Stir gently until dough just comes together. (It may seem dry)
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough has moistened and is a cohesive ball.
Shape into a 6-7 inch circle, about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges, and arrange on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until scones are just golden on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly while you make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, creamer, and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy warm or room temperature.
ROASTED CHICKEN SALAD WITH NAPA CABBAGE
Serving size is 4 oz. chicken, 1 cup cabbage, and 1/4 cup snow peas.
Yield: 4 servings
Source: Express Lane Diabetic Cooking
Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/860.shtml
Ingredients
1 pound roasted white-meat deli chicken (either pulled from a whole chicken and skinned or from sliced chicken), cubed or shredded
1 cup fresh snow pea pods, halved
1/2 cup julienne baby carrot strips
1/2 cup low-fat Oriental salad dressing or low-fat vinaigrette
4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
Directions
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the chicken, snow pea pods, carrots, and garlic. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in dressing. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and chicken mixture; toss together until mixed.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 285; Protein: 34 g; Fat: 13 g; Sodium: 416 mg; Cholesterol: 100 mg; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugars: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 7 g; Exchanges: 1/2 Carbohydrate, 4 Lean Meat, 1/2 Fat
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
New Year's Eve
I know, I've posted here the past couple of weekends - something I seldom do. This will probably be the last weekend post, for a while, anyway.
Here are six recipes you can make if you're having anyone over for New Year's Eve - or if it's just you and family. Of course, you could fix these any time at all. Enjoy!
SWEENEY POTATOES
This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This is a variation of a dish sometimes called ‘company potatoes,’ popular in the postwar kitchens of the 1950s, made with canned condensed soups and frozen hash browns. Maura Passanisi, of Alameda, Calif., shared it with The Times as a tribute to her grandmother, Florence Sweeney, who originally served it as a Thanksgiving side dish. Ms. Passanisi uses fresh russet potatoes and no condensed soup, but plenty of cream cheese, sour cream, butter and cheese. ‘Legendary,’ she calls the dish. And so it is. Small portions are best. It's rich. And feeds a crowd.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “The American Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more butter for the pan
1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put potatoes in a large heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Set on stove over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow potatoes to simmer until they have just started to soften, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Combine cream cheese, melted butter and sour cream in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add enough milk so that the mixture is creamy but not soupy. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add potatoes to bowl and stir gently to combine.
Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Tip half the potatoes into the dish and spread to the edges, then scatter half the grated cheese over the top. Add remaining potatoes and spread to the edges, then top with remaining cheese.
Bake until casserole is bubbling at the edges and cheese has melted across the top, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving, if you'd like.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY SAUCE
Many of us get by with store bought cranberry sauce. But after seeing this guide by Melissa Clark, I may just start making my own cranberry sauce.
While I’m not posting any particular recipe on making cranberry sauce, you can click here to find out how to make great cranberry sauce.
CRANBERRY PIE
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking, which is for sale on Amazon.com. (To buy a copy of it for your Kindle or tablet, click here.) My dad sent this recipe in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.”

2 T cornstarch
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T butter
2 C cranberries
Pie crust
Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)
VARIATION
2 Tbls cornstarch
3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T margarine
1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)
Pie crust
Make as above.
NEW ENGLAND ROAST TURKEY
This also comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This adaptation of an old Yankee Magazine recipe for classic New England roast turkey is solid and unfancy, the sort that has adorned tables from Portsmouth north for generations. Old-line New Englanders may be tempted to soak an old cotton button-down dress shirt in butter and drape it over the bird for the first two hours. But this is not necessary.” Yield: 12 or more servings; Time: 4 1/2 hours, plus bringing.
This was featured in “The United States of Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 12- to 14-pound turkey
2 1/4 cups kosher salt, more as needed
1 cup white sugar
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked, more as needed
3 sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Preparation
Rinse turkey under cold water and place on a rack in its roasting pan while you make the brine.
For the brine, combine salt, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and herbs with 2 1/2 gallons water in a pot or cooler large enough to hold turkey comfortably. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Put turkey in brine and refrigerate or ice overnight, at least 12 hours.
When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove bird from brine, drain well and pat very dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Set turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set into a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, then fill the cavity with onion, celery and carrots. Fold wings under the bird and tie its legs together with butcher’s twine. Roast for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast approximately 3 hours more, basting bird every 30 minutes with drippings and tenting it with foil if skin is turning too dark, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
Is there anything more comforting than mashed potatoes? This comes from Florence Fabricant, also from the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Florence writes, “These are classic mashed potatoes, brightened up with a substantial amount of garlic. Feel free to adjust the garlic to taste, and to deepen the flavor, try roasting the cloves before mixing them in with the potatoes. (For everything you need to know to make perfect potatoes, visit our potato guide.)” Time: 40 minutes; makes 6 servings.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4288-garlic-mashed-potatoes.
Ingredients
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup hot milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation
Cut the potatoes into uniform two-inch chunks and place in a heavy saucepan along with the garlic. Cover with water, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and garlic and mash the potatoes and garlic together. Stir in the hot milk, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the butter (less if desired) or oil. Serve at once.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES
This absolute yumminess comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend doing so, along with subscribing to it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Imagine the sound of me tapping my foot….) Did you ? Great, if you did. If you didn’t, check it out sometime.
Okay, Audra starts off by writing, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and a scone, what do you say? It’s been a long day, and right now I just want something delicious and a warm cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And, since pumpkin season seems to be at it’s peak, how about these tender, melt-in-your-mouth, Pumpkin Spice Scones? Oh these were so good. Everything you want in a scone really. Nothing dense or tough about these babies- just fall baked good perfection.” At the end of the recipe, Audra, added, “This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 scones. Yum!
To view this online at Audra’s blog, click here.
Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
3 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
1 large egg
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a sil-pat. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Add the butter, and use a pastry blender or your hands to break down the butter chunks until they are no bigger than the size of a pea. (I like to use my hands and work them in.)
Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the pumpkin and creamer. Stir gently until dough just comes together. (It may seem dry)
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough has moistened and is a cohesive ball.
Shape into a 6-7 inch circle, about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges, and arrange on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until scones are just golden on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly while you make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, creamer, and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy warm or room temperature.
Here are six recipes you can make if you're having anyone over for New Year's Eve - or if it's just you and family. Of course, you could fix these any time at all. Enjoy!
SWEENEY POTATOES
This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This is a variation of a dish sometimes called ‘company potatoes,’ popular in the postwar kitchens of the 1950s, made with canned condensed soups and frozen hash browns. Maura Passanisi, of Alameda, Calif., shared it with The Times as a tribute to her grandmother, Florence Sweeney, who originally served it as a Thanksgiving side dish. Ms. Passanisi uses fresh russet potatoes and no condensed soup, but plenty of cream cheese, sour cream, butter and cheese. ‘Legendary,’ she calls the dish. And so it is. Small portions are best. It's rich. And feeds a crowd.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “The American Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more butter for the pan
1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put potatoes in a large heavy-bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Set on stove over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow potatoes to simmer until they have just started to soften, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Combine cream cheese, melted butter and sour cream in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add enough milk so that the mixture is creamy but not soupy. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add potatoes to bowl and stir gently to combine.
Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Tip half the potatoes into the dish and spread to the edges, then scatter half the grated cheese over the top. Add remaining potatoes and spread to the edges, then top with remaining cheese.
Bake until casserole is bubbling at the edges and cheese has melted across the top, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving, if you'd like.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY SAUCE
Many of us get by with store bought cranberry sauce. But after seeing this guide by Melissa Clark, I may just start making my own cranberry sauce.
While I’m not posting any particular recipe on making cranberry sauce, you can click here to find out how to make great cranberry sauce.
CRANBERRY PIE
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking, which is for sale on Amazon.com. (To buy a copy of it for your Kindle or tablet, click here.) My dad sent this recipe in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.”

2 T cornstarch
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T butter
2 C cranberries
Pie crust
Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)
VARIATION
2 Tbls cornstarch
3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C hot water
1 C raisins
1 T margarine
1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)
Pie crust
Make as above.
NEW ENGLAND ROAST TURKEY
This also comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “This adaptation of an old Yankee Magazine recipe for classic New England roast turkey is solid and unfancy, the sort that has adorned tables from Portsmouth north for generations. Old-line New Englanders may be tempted to soak an old cotton button-down dress shirt in butter and drape it over the bird for the first two hours. But this is not necessary.” Yield: 12 or more servings; Time: 4 1/2 hours, plus bringing.
This was featured in “The United States of Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
1 12- to 14-pound turkey
2 1/4 cups kosher salt, more as needed
1 cup white sugar
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked, more as needed
3 sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Preparation
Rinse turkey under cold water and place on a rack in its roasting pan while you make the brine.
For the brine, combine salt, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and herbs with 2 1/2 gallons water in a pot or cooler large enough to hold turkey comfortably. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Put turkey in brine and refrigerate or ice overnight, at least 12 hours.
When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove bird from brine, drain well and pat very dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Set turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set into a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, then fill the cavity with onion, celery and carrots. Fold wings under the bird and tie its legs together with butcher’s twine. Roast for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast approximately 3 hours more, basting bird every 30 minutes with drippings and tenting it with foil if skin is turning too dark, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
Is there anything more comforting than mashed potatoes? This comes from Florence Fabricant, also from the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Florence writes, “These are classic mashed potatoes, brightened up with a substantial amount of garlic. Feel free to adjust the garlic to taste, and to deepen the flavor, try roasting the cloves before mixing them in with the potatoes. (For everything you need to know to make perfect potatoes, visit our potato guide.)” Time: 40 minutes; makes 6 servings.
To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4288-garlic-mashed-potatoes.
Ingredients
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup hot milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation
Cut the potatoes into uniform two-inch chunks and place in a heavy saucepan along with the garlic. Cover with water, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and garlic and mash the potatoes and garlic together. Stir in the hot milk, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the butter (less if desired) or oil. Serve at once.
KFC’S COLESLAW
Okay, I admit it: I love KFC’s Coleslaw. When I drove cab for a living, I used to pick up some of their coleslaw probably once a week.
This copycat recipe comes from Recipe Lion; it was one of the recipes in their e-cookbook, titled “24 New Top Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes.” The site has quite a few free e-cookbooks to check out. Please feel free to do so!
This recipe begins, “KFC copycat recipes are always delicious, and this one is an all-time favorite. When you're preparing for your next picnic or potluck with friends, consider this easy coleslaw recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser any time it's served and it couldn't be any easier to make.”
Ingredients
8 1/8 cups cabbage
1/3 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Core the cabbage, then shred using the slicing disk for the shredder attachment to the food processor.
Shred the carrot the same way or use pre-shredded carrots.
Mix together cabbage, carrot and onion.
In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice with a whisk until well combined.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the sugar to the sauce until well mixed in.
Add the sauce to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Mix well and allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly before serving.
PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES
This absolute yumminess comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend doing so, along with subscribing to it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Imagine the sound of me tapping my foot….) Did you ? Great, if you did. If you didn’t, check it out sometime.
Okay, Audra starts off by writing, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and a scone, what do you say? It’s been a long day, and right now I just want something delicious and a warm cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And, since pumpkin season seems to be at it’s peak, how about these tender, melt-in-your-mouth, Pumpkin Spice Scones? Oh these were so good. Everything you want in a scone really. Nothing dense or tough about these babies- just fall baked good perfection.” At the end of the recipe, Audra, added, “This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 scones. Yum!
To view this online at Audra’s blog, click here.
Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
3 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
1 large egg
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a sil-pat. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Add the butter, and use a pastry blender or your hands to break down the butter chunks until they are no bigger than the size of a pea. (I like to use my hands and work them in.)
Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the pumpkin and creamer. Stir gently until dough just comes together. (It may seem dry)
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough has moistened and is a cohesive ball.
Shape into a 6-7 inch circle, about 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges, and arrange on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until scones are just golden on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly while you make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, creamer, and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy warm or room temperature.
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