Preschoolers Like Indian Pudding!

Happy Thanksgiving! The day for thanks and feasting has arrived. This year I get to enjoy the holiday with my fiancé, Michael, and his family. Then comes a drive to Missouri for another holiday feast tomorrow. For this foodie, these two days are a celebration of the traditional dishes that tend to show up only on Thanksgiving.  

Earlier this week, the preschoolers at Discovery Montessori School, where I teach part time, had their own holiday feast. Actually, it was more like a tasting. They got to try some of the foods that may have been served at the first Thanksgiving—wild turkey, venison meatloaf, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, popcorn, pumpkin pie, and cranberries (both the berry and Craisins—you should have seen the faces of those brave enough to bite into a raw cranberry!)

My contribution to the feast was Indian Pudding. This dish is a New England tradition. According to the Plimoth Plantation food blog, the recipe first shows up in cookbooks in 1796, but historians believe it was served for many years before.

My recipe comes from my friend, Kathy, in New Hampshire. She would serve it at our neighborhood Thanksgiving feast on Wyman Street in Hillsborough.

My preschoolers loved it! To tempt them to try it, I put a little whipped cream on top. I also had them smell it—the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg aroma was too alluring to pass up. (Kathy likes to serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. I like it that way, too!)

Here’s the recipe. It does take a long time to cook, so for a slow cooker version, check out the Plimoth Plantation’s food blog here.

Kathy’s Baked Indian Pudding

Serves 6 to 8

4 cups milk

5 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a sauce pan, bring 3 cups of the milk to a boil. Mix 1 cup of cold milk with the cornmeal and stir slowly into the hot milk. Cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Add butter, sugar and molasses. Remove from the heat and add salt and spices. Stir in eggs.

Pour into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours [mine only took 2 hours], stirring occasionally during the first hour. [I stirred it every 15 minutes.] After 1 hour, pour cream over the top and finish baking without stirring. Served warm topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Historic Thanksgiving Dinner

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, most of us are anticipating the roast turkey, family-recipe stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, sweet-tart cranberry sauce and cinnamon-spiced pumpkin pie that will adorn our dinner tables. Many of us also assume that these dishes are inspired by what the Pilgrims and Native Americans consumed when they first gathered centuries ago.

We’re wrong.

The first Thanksgiving feast was in 1621, and while there is no exact evidence of the actual date, it is thought to have taken place over the course of three days sometime between late September and early November.

A detailed description of the feast comes from a letter written by Edward Winslow to a friend in December, 1621. From his account, historians only know for certain that venison and fowl, which may have included wild turkey, were served at that first meal. However, they do have a good idea of what foods were available to the colonists at the time. These may have included:

·        Seafood: cod, eel, bass, clams, lobsters, mussels
·        Fowl: wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, eagles
·        Meat: venison
·        Grains: wheat flour, Indian corn, and barley
·        Vegetables: squashes (including pumpkin), peas, beans, onions, leeks, lettuce, radishes, carrots
·        Fruits: plums, grapes
·        Nuts: walnuts, chestnuts, acorns
·        Other: Olive oil (brought over with them), liverwort, watercress, sorrel, yarrow, maple syrup,  honey, and small amounts of butter, cheese and eggs

Some of our most popular Thanksgiving dishes would have never appeared on the 1621 table. Ham was probably off the menu; the Pilgrims did bring pigs over with them, but historians have found no evidence that any had been butchered.

Sweet potatoes and white potatoes were not a part of the meal since they were not yet common in New England. Also, scratch off cranberry sauce from the list. While the colonists did have cranberries, they didn’t have sugar.

What about that famous Thanksgiving dessert, pumpkin pie? Sorry. While the colonists did eat stewed pumpkin sweetened with syrup or honey, pumpkin pie was not a recipe that existed at the time.

If you would like to add some historic Thanksgiving dishes to this year’s meal, here are a few Colonial-inspired recipes courtesy of the Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts for you to try at home. The Stewed Pompion (the English word for squash), Onion Sauce for Roast Turkey, and Sobaheg (a Wampanoag stew great for leftover turkey) are modern versions of 1600s recipes. Each should bring the spirit of that first Thanksgiving to your own celebration.

Stewed Pompion

4 cups cooked (boiled, steamed or baked) squash, roughly mashed
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
     
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve hot.

Onion Sauce for Roast Turkey
6 medium onions, sliced thinly
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of coarsely ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (optional)
 
Follow your favorite recipe for roast turkey. Remove the turkey to a platter reserving the pan juices.
         
Place thinly sliced onions in a pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until the onions are tender but not mushy. A good deal of the water should have boiled away. Set aside for a moment.
           
Place the roasting pan over medium heat and stir to loosen any brown bits. Stir in the onion sauce, sugar, vinegar and breadcrumbs if desired. Add pepper to taste and adjust seasonings. To serve, pour over sliced turkey or serve alongside in a separate dish.

Sobaheg made with Turkey

1/2 pound dry beans (white, red, brown, or spotted kidney-shaped beans)
1/2 pound yellow samp or coarse grits
1 pound turkey meat (legs or breast, with bone and skin)
3 quarts cold water
1/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 pound winter squash, trimmed and cubed
1/2 cup raw sunflower seed meats, pounded to a coarse flour
          
Combine dried beans, corn, turkey, and water in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, turn down to a very low simmer, and cook for about 2 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally to be certain that the bottom is not sticking.
         
When dried beans are tender, but not mushy, break up turkey meat, removing skin and bones. Add green beans and squash, and simmer very gently until they are tender.
           
Add sunflower flour, stirring until thoroughly blended.

Please note: All photos are courtsey of the Plimoth Plantation.

Paula Deen’s Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

Paula Deen is this week’s selection on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in the food world that I and a number of fellow food bloggers are paying tribute to by posting a recipe from each on Fridays. I have to be honest—I’m not a fan of her show. I’ve watched it a number of times wanting to like it, but I’m afraid it just doesn’t capture my attention very often.  

However, I do admire Paula Deen the woman. The story of how she overcame a major downturn in her life—the death of her parents, divorce, and near homelessness with her two small sons—as well as battling agoraphobia (a panic disorder that made her afraid to leave her house) to start her first food business making bagged lunches delivered by her sons is inspiring. And now she is a food phenomenon. 

One of the recipes that did catch my eye on her show was for a slow cooker macaroni and cheese. It takes some preparation time, but the results are delicious. In fact, I took it to a gathering of my sweetheart’s family and everyone enjoyed it.

One note: the mac and cheese was very creamy for the first 2 hours of cooking, and then it became more coagulated in the final hour. If you want the recipe creamy, I suggest shortening the cooking time.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe by Paula Deen

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix the butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

 

Here are my fellow food bloggers. Be sure to check them out!

Val - More Than Burnt Toast

Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia -A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie -Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Nancy - Picadillo
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits

Turkey 101

Few things are more intimidating than preparing your first Thanksgiving turkey. Staring down a frozen block of bird can send the inexperienced cook straight to the nearest restaurant. Or perhaps you are an old hand at turkey roasting but your bird doesn’t always come out tasting the way you want. Here are a few helpful tips on preparing this holiday’s main attraction.

(Image from the National Turkey Federation)

Let’s start with the basics. When buying a turkey, choose one that allows for approximately one pound of bird per person. If this means purchasing one 24 pounds or larger, consider buying two smaller birds to cut down on the cooking time. It is also a good idea to check ahead of time to be sure a large bird will fit in your oven. Of course, if leftovers are important (and when are they not) buy a slightly larger bird than needed.

Give a frozen turkey plenty of time to thaw. The best way is to place the bird in the back part of the refrigerator, allowing at least one day of thawing time for every four pounds of turkey. If time is short, a quicker method is to place the still-wrapped bird breast-side down into a sink or large container and cover with cold water. It will take about 30 minute per pound to thaw a whole bird, and you will need to change the water every 30 minutes to keep things cold.

Next, be sure to have all the kitchen tools you need to prepare the turkey:

• A roasting pan and rack large-enough to hold the bird. Disposable aluminum pans will work fine. Just be sure to set the pan on a cookie sheet to give it added stability. Also, in place of a rack, the bird can go on top of cut-up roasting vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, etc). This will keep the turkey elevated while also flavoring the pan drippings.
• Kitchen twine for trussing, which allows the bird to cook evenly and keeps it looking nice. Many cookbooks give instructions on trussing, which may seem a bit complicated. All that is really needed is to tie the legs together.
• An instant-read thermometer to take the guess work out of when the turkey is done.

To prepare the turkey for the oven, cover your work surface with plastic wrap or waxed paper to keep it free from contamination and for easy clean-up. Then rinse the bird inside and out, and pat it dry with paper towels to insure the seasoning sticks to the skin.
(My friend, Steve Barns, looks amazed at his turkey efforts years ago.)

Turkey is traditionally roasted at 325 degrees with the oven’s rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Coat the rinsed and dried bird with butter or oil to keep it moist and promote browning. Then sprinkle with salt, pepper and your favorite poultry seasoning. If you are not stuffing the bird, then place a quartered onion, celery and carrots inside the bird before trussing to help flavor the meat.

If you are worried about a dry turkey, cover just the breast with foil to keep the meat moist, and then remove 45 minutes before the turkey is scheduled to be done to allow the breast to brown. Another idea is to rub some softened butter mixed with your favorite herbs under the turkey’s skin. Just be careful not to tear the skin while separating it from the meat.

If you plan to stuff the turkey, it is important to do so just before roasting to prevent any harmful bacteria growth. Do not prepare the stuffing or stuff the bird the night before. Also, be sure the bird is completely thawed and do not tightly pack the stuffing into the turkey.

      

It takes approximately 20 minutes per pound to completely roast a turkey, a little longer if the bird is stuffed. Start checking for doneness 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled finish time. This is where an instant-read thermometer becomes essential.

(My friend, Aaron Burnham, was getting ready to deep fry this bird years ago.)
   
The turkey is done when the thermometer reaches 170 to 175 degrees in the thigh (away from the bone) and 165 degrees in the breast. Also, the juices should run clear. If the bird is stuffed, the center of the stuffing needs to be 160 degrees. After removing the turkey from the oven, allow it to rest covered with foil for 30 minutes before carving so the juices redistribute back into the meat.

When the meal is over, what about the leftovers? First, be sure to take the meat off the bone and remove any remaining stuffing within two hours of roasting.  Then wrap them separately and refrigerate to use within three days. Leftovers may also be frozen for up to two months. Just wrap the meat and stuffing in foil, place in zippered plastic bags, and freeze. That way you can enjoy a little bit of Thanksgiving whenever you like.

Ginger Tea and the Never-ending Virus

Have you ever had a virus that wouldn’t go away? One where you felt so bad for so long that it seemed like you would never get back to feeling normal?

I just spent the last three weeks feeling that way. I teach preschool part-time, so viruses are an occupational hazard. This one made its way through my classroom and home to parents and siblings. I passed it to my sweetheart and on to his son when we paid him a visit. As last week came to an end, I was beginning to believe I would always have a sore, scratchy throat, plus a stuffy nose and a cough to wake me up multiple times through the night.

Thank goodness for ginger tea. My friend and second cousin once removed (or something like that), Mark, told me about this concoction a couple of years ago. If I remember the story correctly, he got the recipe from a Chinese man who said it would help sooth the throat.

I forgot all about the recipe until week three of my cold. When a sales clerk at the local health food store recommended ginger, I remembered the recipe and immediately made up a batch.

It worked wonders—better than any cold medicine I’d tried! I felt better right away and the cold was gone within a couple of days.

Here’s how to make it:

Peal and cut up a couple of good-sized pieces of fresh ginger into cubes—about 1 cup. Place in a pan of water (about 4 to 6 cups, I would guess) and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and then remove from the heat. Allow the ginger to steep in the water for 5 minutes or so. Strain into your favorite cup and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of honey. Drink up, and save the rest in the refrigerator to heat up when needed.

It’s a cup of Heaven! The warmth from the ginger and the smooth sweetness of the honey cut through the throat scratchiness and lessened my cough. And the drink just gives you a sense of wellness and comfort. Plus, ginger also offers relief to an upset stomach.

If you give it a try, you won’t be sorry! Let me know what you think.

 

P.S. I bought the mug years ago from a craftsman at the Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire. It always makes me smile when I'm feeling low.

Amanda Hesser: She Never Said Yes

As an inexperienced and naive food writer, I dreamed of having an article published in The New York Times Magazine. Amanda Hesser was the food editor and, from time to time, I would send her a story idea. She would graciously turn me down. I never made it into the magazine, but all of the other publications that said “yes” to my ideas helped ease the pain.

And now, here I am, writing about her. Amanda Hesser is this week’s selection on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in the food world that I and a number of fellow food bloggers are paying tribute to by posting a recipe from each on Fridays. She is no longer with the NYT magazine. Instead she is one of the founders of Food52, a blog community for food lovers. (Check out the section where you can ask for advice on food-related topic.)

I’ve wanted to make an apple cake all autumn, so I was glad to see this recipe on the Epicurious website. It’s from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, which Hesser authored. She said that icing isn’t necessary, and the cake works well as either dessert or for breakfast. This was one of the most popular reader recipes, and she never discovered the identity of Teddie.

With such healthy ingredients as apples, walnuts, and raisins. I decided to switch out one of the cups of all-purpose flour for whole wheat. The batter looked almost like caramel as I poured it into the pan. The finished cake is very moist—in fact, it was a bit too oily for my taste—and very sweet. A little too sweet for breakfast, so I would save this cake for dessert. And even though the toothpick came out clean when I tested the cake, next time I would let it bake a few minutes longer. However, it was delicious!

Teddie’s Apple Cake

From The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser

3 cups all-purpose flour [2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour]

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups peanut, vegetable, or corn oil [I used canola oil]
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced apples [I used golden delicious]
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan. [I used non-stick spray instead.] sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Beat the oil and sugar together in a mixer with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla, apples, walnuts, and raisins and stir until combined. [I stirred in the apples, walnuts, and raisins by hand.]

Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out.

Here are my fellow food bloggers. Be sure to check them out!

Val - More Than Burnt Toast

Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia -A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie -Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Nancy - Picadillo
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits

Ghoulish Halloween Treats

A few years ago—2005, to be exact—a neighbor in New Hampshire asked me to make a couple of Halloween-themed treats for her daughter’s birthday party. I came up with these two recipes.

The Litter Box Cake looks gross, which is probably why the kids loved it! And don’t let the looks fool you. It tastes wonderful!

The Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting have a more appetizing appearance, and the kids devoured them, too.

Two treats to tame the most ghoulish of appetites.

Also, here’s a little added Halloween trivia:

Jack-o-Lantern History
The carving of jack-o-lanterns comes from a centuries-old Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack. He was such an unsavory character that, when he died, God wouldn’t let him into Heaven and the Devil, whom he had tricked one too many times, wouldn’t let him into Hell. So, Stingy Jack was doomed to wander the Earth with only a burning coal in a carved-out turnip lantern to light his way. Jack of the Lantern soon became known as just Jack O’Lantern and people began to carve scary faces in turnips or potatoes to frighten away both Stingy Jack and other evil spirits. Immigrants to the United States made their scary lanterns from our native pumpkins, a tradition that continues today.

Litter Box Cake

To make it look real, use a new plastic cat litter box and pooper scooper for serving. Also, you can make both cakes for the recipe from scratch, but I used boxed cake mixes to save time.
 
1 chocolate cake mix
1 white cake mix
2 large packaged vanilla instant pudding mix, prepared according to directions
1 box vanilla wafers
green food coloring
12 small Tootsie rolls

Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions. (I made them both in 9 x 13 inch pans.)

Grind up vanilla wafers in small batches in a food processor. Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 14 cup, add a few drops of green food coloring and mix until completely colored.

When the cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the vanilla wafer crumbs and the chilled pudding. Important: Mix in just enough of the pudding to moisten it. You don’t want it soggy. Combine gently.
 
Put the cake/pudding/cookie mixture into the litter box.

Put three unwrapped Tootsie Rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Sahpe ends so they are no longer blunt, curing slightly. Repet with thee more Tootsie Rolls. Burry them into the mixture. Sprinkle the other half of the wafer crumbs over the top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly on top of everything.

Microwave the remaining Tootsie Rolls, shape, and place on tope of the cake, rolling them slightly in the cookie crumbs.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes

For cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree

For frosting:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with cupcake cups.

In a medium bowl or on waxed paper, sift together the flour baking powder and spices. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oil and sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla.

Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add the pumpkin and stir until just combined.

Divide the batter between the cupcake cups. (They will be fairly full.) Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, and then remove them onto a rack to finish cooling.

To make the frosting, place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth. Use 10 drops of yellow food coloring and 2 drop of red to make the frosting orange. Frost cooled cupcakes.

The Pioneer Woman

A woman returns to her roots after years of living in one of the United State’s major regions. She meets the man of her dreams, falls in love, and lives a life that is both unexpected and full of joy. Then she decides to blog about it.

It happened to Ree Drummond, too.

I discovered The Pioneer Woman about the time I made my move from almost two decades in New England back to the Midwest. I identified with her transition from a metropolitan life in Los Angeles to her family home in Oklahoma. Her love story of how she met her husband, a rancher she calls The Marlboro Man, and her new life among the cattle gave me hope that my new life would bring happiness, adventure, and, perhaps, love.

It did. (Does that make me The Prairie Woman?)

So I was excited when Ree’s turn came on Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in the food world that I and a number of fellow food bloggers are paying tribute to by posting a recipe from each on Fridays. My sweetheart, Michael, and I enjoy a number of her recipes. Like her Marlboro Man, my love likes simple, straight-forward food that isn’t fussy or exotic. We are fans of her chicken fried steak, and her pot roast recipe is a Sunday staple.

For this week’s post, I decided to try one of her sweet recipes—Citrus Butter Cookies. I changed it a little. First, I was short on the zest—I ran out of fruit! My grater didn’t seem to get as much zest from each lemon, lime and orange as I expected. (A microplane is on my Christmas list.) That meant I didn’t sprinkle any zest on the top. And I didn’t use the egg white in the glaze frosting. I forgot. It happens. I was having one of “those days.”

The cookies taste wonderful—dense, moist, and buttery, with just a hint of citrus flavor. I think these will be this year’s Christmas cookie-of-choice, perhaps topped with red and green sugar crystals.

Another Pioneer Woman recipe to add to my list of favorites!

Citrus Butter Cookies

From Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

2 cups (4 sticks) salted butter, softened

1-1/2 cup sugar
2 whole large eggs, separated
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons orange, lemon, and lime zest (approx 1 tablespoon each)
2 tablespoons orange, lemon, and/or lime juice (2 tablespoons total)

Icing 
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons orange, lemon, and lime zest
Juice of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Dash of salt
Extra zest, for decorating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar until combined. Add egg yolks and mix until combined (set whites aside for the icing.) Add the zest and the flour and mix until just combined, then add juice and mix until combined.

Scoop out heaping teaspoons of dough, then roll them into balls between your hands. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep on the cookie sheet for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan with a spatula and allow to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, combine 1 egg white with the rest of the icing ingredients. Whisk thoroughly until combined, adding either more powdered sugar or more juice until it reaches a pourable but still thick consistency.

Drizzle the icing across the cookies in several lines, then do it again in the other direction. Sprinkle with extra zest before the icing sets.

Posted by Ree on October 9 2011

Here are my fellow food bloggers. Be sure to check them out!

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Nancy - Picadillo
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits

Mamaw’s Recipe Box #3: Apple Crisp

I hate being sick! Especially when the illness is caused by an annoying cold virus that hangs on and on and on…zapping all my energy and creating coughing spasms in the middle of the night. For more than a week now I have done only the minimum amount required to make it through the day. Thank goodness I have a sweet and loving fiancé who watches out for me and makes sure I rest even when I try to force myself not to. (Thank you, Michael. I love you!)

Yesterday I finally felt like heading into the kitchen to cook something more than a pot of tea or a heated-up can of soup. I was in the mood for something simple and comforting, so I turned to my grandmother’s recipe box once again.

 
This apple crisp recipe is one I remember both Mamaw and Mom making throughout my childhood. It does not contain some of the ingredients most people associate with a crisp, such as brown sugar and/or oatmeal in the topping. Instead it has just the basics—apples, butter, white sugar, cinnamon and flour. That’s it!

Mamaw’s directions included “bake slowly, uncovered, until apples are tender.” No oven temperature and no time limit! I looked up some other crisp recipes and settled on 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.

The crisp is warm and bubbly. I like it with vanilla ice cream, but I remember my dad eating it with a splash of milk on top. Cream (both whipped and un-whipped) would be nice, too. (Note: If the apples you are using are very sweet, you might want to decrease the amount of sugar in the topping by 1/4 cup so the whole crisp isn’t too sweet.)

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced apples

7 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup flour

Cut apples into 1/4-inch slices. Butter a baking dish, put in apples and pour over the water and cinnamon.

Work together the sugar, flour and butter until crumbly and spread over the apples.

Bake slowly, uncovered, until apples are tender. [350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.] Serve while warm with whipped cream [or ice cream, milk, or un-whipped cream.]

How to Be a Foodie

I so wanted to create a recipe from this week’s selection from the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in the food world that I and a number of fellow food bloggers are paying tribute to by posting a recipe from each on Fridays. Today’s spotlight is on Pim Techamuanvivit, author of The Foodie Handbook and her blog, Chez Pim.


Unfortunately article deadlines and a virus I caught from the preschoolers I teach in my non-writing life got in the way.

I did read Pim’s book. I almost didn’t. In the first chapter, How to Eat Like a Foodie, she comes across as a food snob by slamming fast food, and then making it sound like three-star restaurants are the only ones worth trying. (She gives tips on how to not be intimidated when you go into one.)

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a food snob about a lot of things, too. I think every foodie is in one way or another. We love exceptional food! I will only eat real maple syrup that actually came out of a sugar maple tree, and I will only drink coffee from bags, not cans—fair trade and organic, if possible. I believe that local food is better than stuff shipped from across the country, and organic produce and dairy are better than conventional.

But, on the flip side, I do enjoy fast food. I prefer buying it from a local restaurant, but I will eat a McDonald’s quarter pounder or a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich when the craving strikes. Perhaps it’s because I’m old enough to remember when going to a fast food restaurant was a treat and adventure instead of an everyday event. A trip to McDonald’s was a special occasion, which made my little cheeseburger and bag of fries taste gourmet. And this was in the days before the Happy Meal hit the market. And while I enjoy three-star restauants, I think local diners and cafes are just as wonderful.

However, I’m glad I kept reading Pim’s book, because there is a lot in it with which I agree. Especially in her section where she lists 50 things every foodie should do or try once in their lifetime: Find your signature dish. Learn to make perfect pie crust (stay tuned for a future blog on that topic.) Eat a perfect peach. Try stinky cheese. Go native (food, that is!) Spend a week in New Orleans (a dream of mine.) Learn how to cook your mom’s or dad’s best dish. And on and on. The list was both inspiring and brought back some lovely memories.

So I changed my mind about Pim and her Foodie Handbook, and I’m looking forward to giving her recipes a try sometime. Read her book and decided for yourself. In the meantime, here is a list of my fellow food bloggers so you can check out their experiences with Pim’s recipes.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Nancy - Picadillo

Before I got sick, I did post a cookbook review and a terrific pumpkin muffin recipe on my food-travel blog, Midwest Life and Cuisine. You can check it out here.

Because It's Sunday

Because it’s Sunday…

And because my sweetheart and I never eat bananas fast enough…

I made Banana Nut muffins.

Joy of Cooking Banana Nut Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a standard 12-muffin pan or line with paper liners.
Whisk together thoroughly:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour or wheat bran

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Stir in:

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 large egg
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add the flour mixture and fold just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter shouldn't be smooth. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack. Serve preferably the day they are baked.

Clotilde Dusoulier's Honey Spice Loaf

In the beginning, there was Clotilde Dusoulier.

The beginning of food blogging, that is. And no, she was not the first, but she’s considered one of the best. Her blog, Chocolate & Zucchini, has been around since 2003, and since then she has authored a number of cookbooks, including one named after her blog.

I first heard about Clotilde a number of years ago, but I never got around to investigating her blog. What a mistake! Thank goodness she was this week's selection from the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in the food world that I and a number of fellow food bloggers are paying tribute to by posting a recipe from each on Fridays. (See the list below.) I enjoyed getting to know this young Parisian who discovered her love of food while living in the San Francisco Bay area for two years after college. She returned to France and continued to pursue her food passion. And then she started to share it with all of us.

The recipe I chose for this week was Clotilde’s Pain D’Epice—Honey Spice Loaf. It is a cake common to the honey producing areas of France that is full of warm spices. It reminds me a lot of gingerbread, but with a delicate sweetness and very moist crumb from the honey. Some friends who tried the cake thought it would taste even better with some fruit included—apple or raisins. Clotilde suggests candied ginger or orange peel. I liked it just the way it is, but I do think raisins would be nice. (As you can see, it got a little too dark on top--I'm off to buy an oven thermometer this weekend!)

Since honey takes center stage in this recipe, it is important to use a good one. This is not the time for the one in the plastic bear-shaped squirt bottle. I used a local honey I purchased at last Saturday’s farmer’s market.

Clotilde recommends making the cake a day ahead to give the honey and spices “time to bloom.” She also says the taste varies depending on how thin or thick you slice the cake. Test it out to discover your favorite slice. She likes to eat it toasted alongside a pear, but she said many people eat it with butter. I enjoyed it all by itself as well as toasted with butter.

Pain D’Epice
(Honey Spice Loaf)

Serves 10

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to grease the pan
1 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup mild-flavored dark molasses
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons French four-spice mix (or 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger)
Optional: 1/4 cup finely diced candied ginger or 1/4 cup finely diced candied orange peel, or a mix of the two.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with oil, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine the milk, honey and molasses in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and heat the mixture without boiling, stirring with a spatula until dissolved. Set aside and let cool as you go on with the recipe.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a small bowl, combine the ginger and/or orange peel, if using, with 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture and set aside.

Form a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the milk mixture slowly and whisk in a circular motion, starting from the center, until all the flour has been incorporated—the batter will be thin. Fold in the ginger and/or orange peel, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the surface is brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Transfer to a rack to cook for 20 minutes. Run a knife along the sides of the pan to loosen the loaf, and unmold. Let cool completely, wrap in foil, and let rest at room temperature until the next day.

Here are my fellow food bloggers. Be sure to check them out!

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Nancy - Picadillo