Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare

Mini Berry Cobblers

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There is nothing quite like walking into a home filled with the scents of something baking in the oven. These berry cobblers are quick and just made to serve individual desserts to put a wow factor to the ending of a delicious meal. Taken from last years Southern Living, they give the web site where you can buy the individual mini iron skillets for $10/each. I have so many individual dishes already that because cabinet space is so limited in these cute little “turn of the half century” condo’s, I  don’t want to have to head out to the garage to retrieve any thing else before baking, so will be using ramekins.

Serves 12

18 oz mixed fresh berries (4 cups)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teas salt

2/3 cup cold butter, cubed

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400. Toss together first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together the four and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut cold butter into flour mixture with pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 3-4 times. Pat into a 6×4″ (1″ thick) rectangle. Cut into 6 squares; cut squares diagonally into 12 triangles.

Arrange 12 (3 1/2″) lightly greased miniature cast-iron skillets on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Divide berry mixture among skillets (or ramekins). Place 1 dough triangle over berry mixture in each container.

Bake at 400 for 20-24 minutes or until fruit bubbles and crust is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temp.

(if you use the ramekins, you can use 1/2 of the triangles for bottom of ramekins and use the other 1/2 for the top, making 6 individual pies. You might not use all of the berry mixture if you do this.

Daily Thoughts

Styrofoam Plates Lead to Marriage Counseling

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It really is all my fault. I should never have ask poor Randy to take out the garbage. Really. Everything was going along splendidly all weekend until last night. We had worked together bringing home all our fall pumpkins and enjoyed a hamburger for lunch on Saturday.  We drove down to the coast for a wonderful seafood dinner and attended church, having lunch with some friends yesterday. But then….after emptying out several plastic containers of old books and making a huge stash to be thrown out, our romantic work weekend came to a halt.

As the sun began to set and we both decided it was time to eat, I told him that if he would take the garbage out, I would get dinner ready. That’s just what us wonderful wives do, we feed our men. We both had worked feverlshly all day carrying the huge containers up the stairs and I was now exhausted.  So I quickly got out two Styrofoam plates out of the cabinet and nuked our left over Mexican food we had not finished at lunch. Grabbing forks from the drawer, I set the foam plates down on the table as he was walking back in from playing garbage guy. I was so proud that I had managed to nuke two plates of food, filled two plastic glasses with tea and had them sitting on the table by the time he walked in the door. Yes, I did all that in 5 minutes and thought to myself, “what a gal”. We sat down, said the blessing and he began our table talk. “well, I noticed that our neighbors downstairs are having dinner by candlelight on their china AGAIN tonight. Isn’t that nice? Oh, look, here is our leftovers from lunch, combined with the half melted Styrofoam plates blended with the cheese enchiladas. But, it’s ok, at least we aren’t eating with plastic forks, AND…we have brewed tea. What more can a guy ask for.” OK, Mr. Wonderful, what is your point? Does he not know that the couple downstairs are still in the honeymoon stage? She is still trying to get him to put a ring on her finger. If that were still my goal, I would be using my fine china also. But we have passed through the fine china stage and am on to Styrofoam already. After all, I am so busy writing a cooking and hospitality blog that I just don’t have time to do all that fancy stuff. Does he remember that? I guess not. But, being the great little wife that I am, tonight, we will be eating our frozen TV dinners with a candle on the table. I might even get out the nice pottery, but I’m not going to go to storage to get the china. After all, the rings are already on my fingers and I don”t want our china broken if he makes any more remarks like the one last night. Besides the heavy pottery plates would make better impressions.

Soups · Vegetables

Green Vegetable Soup

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Don’t turn up your nose just yet. Think, environmentally  green and clean. We have green cleaning products, green energy and now, here is green soup. Not only will you feel clean, but hopefully energized.

Serves 4

3/4 cup uncooked orzo

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced leeks (about 2)

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock

1 cup water

3 thyme sprigs

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup green beans, cut into 1″ pieces

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups baby spinach leaves

2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. While pasta cooks, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 teas oil; swirl to coat. Add leeks, celery, 2 teas garlic and salt; sauté 5 minutes. Add stock, 1 cup water and thyme. Cover bring to a boil. Add peas and beans. Simmer, uncovered 4 minutes. Discard thyme. Stir in pasta and 1 cup spinach.

Place 1 cup spinach, basil, cheese, rind, juice 1 teas garlic and 2 teas oil in a food processor; process until smooth. Divide soup among 4 bowls; top with spinach-basil pesto.

 

Holiday Fare · Meats

Slow-Cooker Cranberry-Orange Pork Roast

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2 Tablespoons oil

1 flat boneless pork loin roast (about 4 pounds)

1 can (14 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce

1/2 cup Kraft Classic Catalina Dressing

1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon zest and 1/4 cup juice from 1 orange

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat and cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides. Transfer meat to slow cooker.

Mix cranberry sauce, dressing and soy sauce; pour over meat. Cover with lid. Cook on low 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from cooker, reserving liquid in the slow cooker. Whisk remaining ingredients in small bowl until blended. Stir into liquid. Cook covered on high 10 minutes or until thickened.

Slice meat and place on serving platter. Drizzle with some of the sauce. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

*For best results do not cook meat on “high” setting in crock pot.

Makes 12-14 servings

Daily Thoughts

Prelude to Fall

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It is so easy for me to tell when fall has arrived, even though the temps are still in the 90’s. The minute I begin to diligently sit all evening trying to find new recipes for the holidays is the first clue. The second clue is when I simply cannot stay out of my kitchen. Even when I know a new Hobby Lobby is opening about 45 minutes away, I just cannot keep my head out of the oven, oops, I mean the kitchen.  While I am waiting for the carrot cake to cool before frosting, I will post a new recipe that I know my sister-in-law will rave about. It has two of her favorite ingredients, cranberries and pork roast. Perfect for the Thanksgiving and Christmas family dinners. While writing this, I was just thinking about how different foods define different parts of the year and specific holidays.

January is black-eyed pea month

February is chocolate month (actually every month is chocolate month in this household)

March is when we start thinking about coconut cakes and Irish coffee

April is ham and deviled eggs (making use of the Easter eggs)

May is picnic baskets, filled with your favorite Memorial Day fried chicken

June is, well, I couldn’t think of what food is associated with June, so I went to Google and it just told me that June is Natl Candy Month. Who knew? So June is right up there at the top of my favorite months. I was getting ready to say that, since nothing came to mind when I thought of June, that would be my month to loose weight before the picnic month and the ice cream month, but never mind, now that I know it is candy month. Diet will have to wait till some other time.

July 4th, hot dogs, potato salad and flag cakes

August is National Ice Cream month (my hubby’s fav month)

September is Labor Day patio barbeques

October is pumpkin breads, pumpkin cookies, peanut-chocolate cakes decorated with candy corn

When you see the word November anywhere, your mind immediately sees a stuffed turkey

December is visions of sugar plums, every type of cookie known to man, pork roast or standing rib roast, all dancing around in our heads.
Why did I get carried away with this? All I know is that from this day forward my focus will be food. Cobbles and cinnamon, pies and popovers, cakes and cookies, stews and soups. What an adventure lies ahead this fall as we begin to “gather around the table” giving thanks for the scents and smells of this fabulous season. While you’re at it, give thanks for the gift of smell. It is one of those gifts that we take for granted. Wouldn’t we miss being able to just walk through the door with wonderful aromas to welcome us out of sometimes a very hectic and hurried world.

Since this ended up being a rather drawn out “daily thought” I will post the pork roast recipe separately.

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare

Apple-Spice Cake

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My precious little hubby came home from the Nutritionist yesterday upset because he hadn’t lost the weight he had hoped. We finished dinner and found our way to our matching recliners (they are disguised as wing backs so people just walking in the living room won’t know we are old), when he proceeded to ask me what we were having for dessert. I looked at him and reminded him that he was just complaining an hour ago about not losing weight. He reminded me that that was an hour ago and he was wanting dessert. I hated to tell him that the dessert that I had made was long gone. It had been delivered to some friends and it was too late to make anything last night. He rummaged around our pantry until he found cookies.  This morning I promised him I would have dessert awaiting his arrival today. I found this recipe on the back of the Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix box and have it in the oven as we speak (actually as I post). Am adding my own frosting as I still just cannot do canned frosting. It has a can of apple pie filling in it and I did add a half teaspoon of ground ginger to the batter. The house smells divine right now and cannot wait to  try it.

1 Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1/2 teas ground ginger

1 (18 oz) can apple pie filling (not just the canned apples, but the “pie filling” apples

Frosting  of your choice (but please don’t tell me if you use the canned, I don’t want to know that)! ha

Combine eggs, cake mix, oil and mix for 2 minutes. Add can of apples.

1 cup chopped nuts (opt) can be added if you like

Pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan and bake until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool and Frost

Browned Butter Frosting

1 cup butter

1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk (might need a little more, but add by tables as needed)

1 teas vanilla

Cook butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6-8 min or until butter begins to turn a golden brown. Remove pan from heat immediately and pour butter into a small bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour and butter begins to solidify. Beat butter at medium speed with mixer until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with sugar. Beat mixture at low speed until well blended. Add vanilla. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired.

Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare

Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding

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Peter Pumpkin told me that I can’t make anymore lemon desserts for awhile. He says that it is beginning to “sour” my attitude. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my “sour” attitude is coming from being woke up at night a million times due to “sleep noises” coming from his side of the bed. He assures me that he doesn’t snore, so maybe it is the lemon desserts. Just in case, I am switching over to heavy sugery items that will most assuredly sweeten my mood. So here is the first of the fall desserts that I will keep in my file for Thanksgiving. I love bread pudding, any flavor, so when I saw this recipe that combined apples and caramel, it immediately needed to be posted.

1 table butter

3 small Gala Apples, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)

25 Kraft Caramels

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk, divided

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs

1 teas vanilla

1/2 teas ground cinnamon

3/4 lb unsliced white bread, cut into 1″ cubes (about 8 cups)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup whipped cream (sweetened with about 2 tables sugar while whipping for topping)

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add apples and cook 5 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat.

Place caramels in microwave bowl. Add 2 tables evaporated milk; set aside. Pour remaining evaporated milk into large bowl. Add sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon; whisk until blended. Add bread and stir until liquid is absorbed. Stir in apples and cranberries. Pour into buttered 2 qt. baking dish. Place in water bath. (this is simply pouring boiling water to about 1/2 way up sides of baking dish, which you have placed in a pan with sides.

Bake 1 hour and 10 min or until knife inserted in center of pudding comes out clean.

Microwave caramels in microwave bowl on high 1 min or until completely melted. Stir every 30 sec. Drizzle over pudding and top with whipped cream.

Serves 12-14

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Lemon Custard Cakes

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The lemon pudding was so good that I am now craving lemon desserts. This appeared on Two Chums Blog today and I knew I would be making them this weekend.
Lemon Custard Cakes
(Modified from a Martha Stewart recipe)

Soft, room temperature butter, for custard cups

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Grated lemon zest from 1 lemon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup whole milk (you can also use almond milk or coconut milk)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set a kettle of water to boil. Butter six 6-ounce custard cups (Pyrex works well). Place a dish towel in the bottom of a baking dish covering the bottom..

Separate egg yolks from the whites.
In a large bowl, whisk yolks with sugar till light. Then whisk in lemon juice,zest and milk.
Mix and beat whites until soft peaks form. (remember that room temp whites always beat up better and lighter)
Fold the beaten egg whites to lemon batter, gently with the whisk. Batter will be quite liquidy. Divide batter between 6 custard cups and place on top of the towel lined baking dish. Place on rack in oven but before closing door, pour the boiling water till water reaches 1/2 way up sides of custard cups. Bake 20-25 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned. Cool for a few minutes and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Uncategorized

Lemon Creme In A Glass

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Lemon Creme In A Glass

Two days ago, I posted the recipe for Lemon Crème Pie. Today I am having a friend over for lunch and didn’t want to make a pie crust, so after cooling the lemon crème, I spooned it in a martini glass, topped it with sweetened whipping cream, sprinkled shortbread cookie crumbs and a raspberry! A very pretty presentation and great for individual desserts. The recipe would make 6 of these if using martini glasses.

Starches

Quick Pasta Carbonara

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Using the new Philadelphia Cooking Crème, this pasta dish is really quick and really great for those nights when you are wanting comfort food without taking lots of time, but want great flavor.

Cook 1 lb of pasta (your choice) as directed on package, omitting the salt. Meanwhile, cut 8 slices of Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon into 1/2″ pieces; cook in a large skillet until crisp.

Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, but reserving 3 tables drippings in the skillet. Add 4 minced garlic cloves to drippings; cook 1 minute. Add bacon, 1/2 teas pepper and 1 1/3 tubs (10 oz ea) Philadelphia Italian Herb Cooking Crème; cook and stir 3 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup cooking water. Gradually stir reserved water into sauce. Add pasta an 1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan Cheese; toss to coat. Transfer to bowl; top with additional 1/4 cup parmesan and 2 tables chopped fresh parsley. Makes 8 servings.