Christmas Eve Dinner

The (second) Open House saw many visitors who were not able to make it to the first one because of the inclement weather. Tuesday evening was mild, warmer and dry. Some who made it the first time came again since there was the opportunity to visit with our son, who arrived home on Monday evening. Most of the leftovers were consumed, and that was our hope.
The rest of the week flew by and now it’s Christmas Eve. I started working on a coffee cake last night because the dough needed to be refrigerated overnight. The recipe comes from the Junior League of Rockford. It used dried apricots, but I substituted mixed fruit instead. Here is the recipe with that substitution. This recipe makes 2 10-inch coffeecakes. We are going to have one on Christmas morning and freeze the second one (unglazed) for another day.

Christmas Coffeecake

Dough:
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk, heated to 110 degrees F.
2 pkgs. yeast
5 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt

Filling:
1-7 oz. pkg. dried mixed fruit (pears, prunes, apricots)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
melted butter, about 4 tbsps.
1 cup chopped pecans, more for garnish if desired.

Glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsps. hot milk

In a stand mixer using the dough hook, beat together melted butter, eggs and sour cream. Heat the milk to 110 degrees F. I used the probe on my microwave to heat the milk in a glass measuring cup to the correct temperature. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and add to the egg mixture. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl and blend in yeast mixture. Mix well. The dough will be sticky, but will be easier to handle when it’s chilled. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
To make filling, simmer the dried fruit with 1 cup sugar and water, for about 15 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool. When cooled, place in blender with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Spray two 10-inch pans with no-stick spray with flour and set aside.
Remove dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 2 balls. Roll each ball into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and spread with the filling mixture. An offset spatula works well. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Starting from the long edge, roll like a jelly roll into a cylinder. Coil into the prepared pan like a snail shell. Repeat with the second ball of dough. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes until browned. Remove from the pans and cool completely on wire racks. When cooled, combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle evenly over the two cakes. Sprinkle additional chopped pecans over the tops for garnish if desired. These freeze well.

The menu for tonight:

Lobster Bisque
Caesar Salad
Roasted Prime Rib
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli
Peas
Popovers
Eggnog Pie

I did the prep for the roast first and put it back in the refrigerator to chill. The recipe was posted by a friend on Facebook and it looks delicious so I thought I’d give it a try.

Prime Rib with Garlic Herb Butter
Serves 7-9

1 cup butter, softened
7 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
5-7 pounds boneless ribeye roast, trimmed
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef stock

1. Preheat oven to 500°F/260°C.
2. Mix together the butter, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl until evenly combined.
3. Rub the herb butter all over the rib roast, then place on a roasting tray with a rack.
4. Bake for 5 minutes per pound of meat — so a 5-pound roast would bake for 25 minutes and a 7-pound roast would bake for 35 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and let the rib roast sit in the oven for 2 hours, making sure you do not open the oven door or else the residual heat will escape.
6. Once the 2 hours are up, remove the roast from the pan and pour the pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat.
7. Add the flour, whisking until there are no lumps, then add the beef stock, stirring and bringing the sauce to a boil.
8. Remove from heat and strain the sauce into a gravy dish.
9. Carve the prime rib into ¾-inch slices, serve sauce on the side

I followed the directions and it’s so tempting to open the door, but i’m restraining myself. Here’s what it looked like before it went in the oven.

Early this morning I baked the Eggnog Pie. I love the custard and what can be more Christmasy than Eggnog?

Eggnog Custard Pie

Only half of us like peas, so we’re having two vegetables. The broccoli and peas are going to be simply prepared; the broccoli steamed and seasoned with salt, pepper and butter and the peas boiled and seasoned the same. I’m going to do basic mashed potatoes, but will add a couple of ounces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese and heavy cream to make them more rich to pair with the pan dripping gravy. I’ve posted the Caesar salad dressing and Lobster bisque before, but we are having popovers tonight instead of dinner rolls or other bread. We saw an episode of Nancy Fuller’s Farmhouse Rules where she prepared her family Christmas meal and added these because my husband thought they looked very appetizing. She used a muffing tin to bake hers, but I do have a popover pan so we’ll use it tonight.

Yorkshire Pudding Popovers

The roast has less than hour left standing in the oven so it’s time to start making the bisque. My husband set the dining room with the Christmas china while I’ve been cooking today. The table is ready for this special meal to be served with our family celebrating together for the first time since 2012..

Merry Christmas Eve to all!

Scrumptious Scones

This week I am in a three-day classroom seminar with a small team at work. Each day someone has brought in snacks or a treat. Tomorrow is the last day, so I think it’s my turn to bring something. I am going with scones. I have a basic recipe that I use that I keep modifying with different ingredients. At Christmas time I used Egg Nog in place of cream. Tonight I went back to cream for the liquid, but also added some butterscotch chips and chopped pecans.

Scrumptious Scones

4 tbsp. cold butter
2 cups King Arthur Bread Flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/4 tsps. baking powder
3/4 cup heavy cream + 2 tbsp., divided use
1/4 cup mini butterscotch chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup or more of Demerara sugar
flour for dusting

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut butter into the flour with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add the sugar and baking powder and cut into the butter flour mixture until combined. Add the 3/4 cup of cream and stir with a spoon. The mixture will be crumbly. Add the butterscotch chips and pecans. Stir to incorporate. It may be difficult to get them mixed in well with a spoon as the dough will be stiff. With your hand, knead the dough while still in the bowl and press against the sides and bottom to pull in the recalcitrant bits. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand until everything sticks together. Pat the dough into a circle, the same size as an 8-scone divided non-stick pan. I have a Nordic ware pan and it works very well. I inverted the pan and pressed it into the dough to score it for portioning. Next use a pastry bench knife and cut the circle in eighths. Spray the pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray then gently place the triangles in each compartment. With a pastry brush, paint the tops of the scones with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream then sprinkle with each with some Demerara sugar. This is pretty and gives the scone a nice crunch.
Place on the center rack in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes then gently lift out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. These are great for breakfast or a snack! If you don’t eat them right away, store in an airtight container.

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A Lesson in Substitution

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break. All week long my husband has been bringing Christmas cookies and treats for his Secret Santa, but the supply has dwindled and tonight I needed to bake something up fresh. I was contemplating what to make when our son dialed up Facetime. That’s a call we’ll always take. So we talked and talked. His time zone is 9 hours ahead of us and he had already been to see Star Wars – The Force Awakens on base. I have to admit I was jealous, but to his credit he did not give up any spoilers and would only say that “he liked it”. After we said good night, I pulled out a recipe for Northwestern Scones from the St. Louis Days/St. Louis Nights Junior League cookbook. There were only 6 ingredients and scones are quick and easy to mix up and bake. Unfortunately, as I started pulling out ingredients, I found I was out of butter, cream and orange zest. That is half of the ingredients! How could I possibly have run out of butter???!!!!
It’s too late to go out to the grocery store. What to do? Substitute, of course. For the butter I used shortening. For the cream I used some Southern Comfort Traditional Egg Nog that was in the refrigerator. For the orange zest, I shifted gears and went with vanilla instead. Here is my reworked recipe.

Egg Nog Scones

Special equipment: non-stick scone pan

1/4 cup sugar
2 cups King Arthur Bread Flour
3 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons shortening (butter flavored, if you have it)
3/4 cup Southern Comfort Egg Nog + 2 tablespoons for brushing the scones (or your favorite store-bought Egg Nog)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

You could mix this all by hand, but I used my stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Put the sugar, flour, baking powder and nutmeg in the mixing bowl and mix on low speed for a minute or two to combine the dry ingredients. Add the shortening and mix until crumbly, scraping down the sides occasionally. Add the Egg Nog and vanilla and mix on low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides and balls up. Remove the dough to a lightly floured countertop and pat the dough into a 9-inch circle, about an inch thick. I have a Nordic Ware non-stick divided scone pan and I actually used the bottom of the pan to shape and press the dough to the right size. It also left indents along the dividing lines that I used to cut the dough into even portions. Spray the pan with non-stick spray and place each of the eight pieces of dough in a compartment. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of each scone with the remaining egg nog and generously sprinkle with the Demerara sugar. Be careful to only sugar the tops so that the sugar doesn’t burn in the bottom of the pan while the scones bake. This sugar sparkles after baking and gives baked goods a festive holiday gleam. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. You can insert a toothpick to test for doneness. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes then gently lift the scones out and transfer to a baking rack to cool. These are great right out of the oven! The texture is not as dense as other scones I’ve eaten. Kevin and I shared one to quality check it and we could really taste the eg nog. Tomorrow is the big reveal, so I hope his Secret Santa enjoys them!

Fall is Back – Time for Trivia and Baking

Here it is. October is back again already. That means the air has turned brisk, the kitchen is cooler for baking and Trivia season has begun. Once again we’ll join our team tonight to compete in the Casey Ann Hohman Memorial Association Trivia Night . This event generates funding to provide apartments for families of patients who undergo heart transplant surgery. For more information:
Heart Transplant Association
Our table always has an abundance of delicious food from savory snacks to sweet treats. I am making a Pumpkin Caramel Pull Apart Loaf and Pesto Chicken Sliders for the event. I got the Pumpkin bread recipe idea from a post by my friend Cindy, who is now living in Colorado. When I saw it I knew it would be perfect for Trivia Night. The original recipe was a video so I’ve transcribed it for you here.

Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread

3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just pumpkin)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 13.8-oz. tube ready-to-bake pizza crust
caramel Ice Cream topping or caramel
flour for dusting

In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, chopped nuts and cinnamon. Mix well. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Roll the pizza dough out into a rectangle. I bought Schnuck’s brand because it was a few cents cheaper. Next time I will spend a few more pennies to buy Pillsbury! The dough stuck to the liner of the tube and didn’t come out in one solid piece! I had to patch it back together to get a sloppy rectangle Use about 1/2 of the melted butter to brush a 8 x 5″ loaf pan and brush the remaining butter evenly over the pizza dough rectangle. Using a spatula, pour the pumpkin mixture onto the pizza dough. Spread the pumpkin mixture evenly over the dough with the scraper spatula or use an offset spatula. Drizzle the top with caramel sauce or syrup. Using a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into about 18 even pieces. Turn the loaf pan onto one short side with the opening facing you. Put one piece of the dough, pumpkin side up on the short edge of the pan, continue stacking the pieces, dough side to pumpkin side, until you use all of the pieces up, putting the last piece pumpkin face to pumpkin face. You may need to tip the pan backwards slightly to keep the pieces from sliding out of the pan. Gently lay the pan flat on its long side. Reposition the layers to even them out a bit, if you have a little dead space left over. I only have a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, so I had a LOT of deadspace. That did not seem to be a problem. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pizza dough has a browned crust. Remove from the oven and carefully flip out onto a serving plate. I’m sure it is best when eaten immediately, hot from the oven, but ours will cool and be covered for transportation later this evening.

This recipe idea comes from Pinterest. The photos were enticing and it looked like just the right size of a sandwich when we will have so much food to share at our table with three other couples who are also bringing delicious food. I made a few changes to the recipe and here’s how I put it together.

Chicken Pesto Sliders

4 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
1/2 cup prepared pesto sauce
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
baby spinach leaves
12 to 16 whole wheat dinner rolls
12 to 16 slices of provolone cheese

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken breast, pesto sauce, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Mix until the meat is well coated with the sauce and seasonings. Stir in the toasted pine nuts. To assemble the sandwiches, slice each dinner roll in half, places 4 to 6 spinach leaves on the bottom half, add a layer of the chicken mixture, add a slice of cheese (may need to tear it in half and stagger the halves for it to fit under the bun), top with the other half of the bun and skewer with a frilled toothpick. Repeat until all of the ingredients are used. Depending on how generously you distribute the chicken, you should end up with 12 to 16 sandwiches. These can be served immediately or stored covered and refrigerated until serving time. The filling would also be good served warm. The combination of the salty pesto and the crunchy pine nuts is great and the spinach and whole wheat buns add a nice texture. We’re about ready to leave now.

Wish us luck!

Swapping Dinner for Dishes

This weekend my sister texted me a picture and asked “Hey, my sister! Are these like your plates?”

Indeed it was identical to the over 100 luncheon plates that we have collected over the years, all the same pattern. We use every last one of them on the same day annually when we have our Holiday Open House in December. We do use them for other occasions, too, but in much smaller quantities. She found eight for $2 at their parish Kirchenfest sale and picked them up for me to add to the collection. I offered to swap her dinner for her family in exchange for the dishes. Tonight was a good evening for them so I fixed supper and they came over, bringing the plates along neatly wrapped and boxed. The menu included Caesar Salad (recipe previously posted), Maple and Mustard Glazed Salmon, Butter & Herbs French Beans, Roasted Potatoes and for dessert, Mini Monkey Bread Muffins, recipe courtesy of Trisha Yearwood. I did a lot of prep work last night so the dinner would be ready quicker this evening. I made the salad dressing last night, assembled the glaze ingredients, diced the potatoes and put them in a gallon-size storage bag with the olive oil and herbs.

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

20 small Yukon Gold potatoes or 4 medium diced in about 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsps. minced garlic
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the potatoes with all of the ingredients on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour until the potatoes are golden and slightly crispy. Serve immediately.

Tonight I got the oven going and put the potatoes in as soon as I got home from work. Next I started the green beans using the recipe on the package. This recipe serves 4 people.

Butter & Herbs French Beans

1 lbs. fresh French Beans (I used Los Angeles Salad Company brand)
1/2 of a red onion, diced
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the corner of the bag of French beans and microwave for 2 minutes. Open the bag and plunge beans in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain the water and pat the beans dry. Melt butter over medium high heat in a large skillet. Cook the onions for about 3 minutes, until they become translucent. Toss in the beans and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Incorporate all chopped herbs, salt and pepper and stir to assure the beans are evenly coated, Cook until beans are tender and serve immediatetly.

We ate the salad while the salmon was roasting and I finished the green beans on the stovetop while it roasted. I baked the salmon filet whole in the oven, but it probably would have been better if it had been grilled, as the original recipe instructed. I forgot to take a picture and all that is left is one small portion!

Maple and Mustard Glazed Salmon

While we ate the main course, I popped the Mini Monkey bread into the oven to bake so that we could eat them hot. I used Trisha Yearwood’s original recipe, but I had a 10-count can of biscuits and must have been heavy-handed when I dredged the biscuit pieces. I ended up making another half batch of both the liquid dipping mixture and the sugar-cinnamon-pecan coating. Here’s Trisha’s recipe. I used my mini cocottes instead of muffin tins or cast-iron pans. They worked just as well, although I did spray them lightly with no-stick spray before layering the biscuit dough in the baking dishes.

Mini Monkey Bread Muffins

I’ve made sweet and savory monkey bread recipes. This one is a little different because maple syrup is added to the butter the buscuits pieces are dipped in. They are very tasty! These would be good for brunch, too.

Thanks for the dishes Diane!

Weeknight Dinner with Friends

We are having some friends over for dinner tonight so I planned a menu that would be ready to heat and eat after I got home from work. Italian is always a quick go-to meal and that’s what I prepared last night. Kevin is out of school for the Summer so he went to the Italian market nearby and picked up some Italian lunch meats, olive salad, bread, and their house-made cheese spread. I made some hard salami flowers with the market’s specialty cream cheese filling and arranged the meats on an oblong platter. I boiled some eggs and put them on a deviled egg plate and filled the center with the olive salad. I made a quick marinade with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, fresh basil leaves from my herb garden cut in chiffonade, and a pinch of salt and let some heirloom cherry tomatoes and mini fresh mozzarella balls marinate overnight. In general I do two parts oil to one part of vinegar. The proportions were very loose and you could mix this combination of ingredients up to suit your taste.

I made Caesar Dressing last night (recipe previously posted) and assembled the one-dish spaghetti casserole. I used the Deen Brothers recipe for the make-ahead casserole:

Mama’s Spaghetti Casserole with Baked Garlic Herb Bread

Casserole
Salt for pasta water
1 pound uncooked spaghetti noodles
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch crushed red pepper flakes ( I omitted this)
1 26-ounce jar spaghetti sauce (I used a 33-ounce jar of Rigazzi’s Sauce)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 8-ounce (2 cups) package mozzarella cheese, shredded

Garlic Herb Bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt
2 16-inch loaves of Italian bread sliced in half lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions; drain and set aside. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook about 5 minutes, or until brown, breaking the meat up as it cooks. Add the salt, oregano, black pepper and red pepper flakes (if desired). Stir in the spaghetti sauce, Parmesan cheese and the cooked spaghetti noodles. Transfer to a baking dish. Top evenly with the mozzarella. May cover and refrigerate at this point until ready to bake. If not baked immediatly, allow to come to room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes prior to baking. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

For the garlic bread, while the casserole bakes, whisk together the melted butter, parsley, garlic, and salt. Place two of the opened loaves of bread on a piece of heavy aluminum foil for each. Spoon or brush the butter mixture over the cut sides of each loaf. Put the loaves back together again and wrap with the aluminum foil. I also did this the night before. Bake the loaves alongside the casserole for the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking time, or until heated through. Serve immediately.

Last night I assembled the Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwich Cake and froze it solid. The last step tonight was to top it with chocolate hard shell that set up instantly and froze it again until serving. I’ve posted it before, but it’s so good that it should be posted again. There is a little bit of work to it, but it makes a very pretty presentation and it tastes great. You could mix and match any of your favorite ice cream flavors that come in pint size. I’d post a picture, but what we didn’t eat I sent home with our guests!

Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Dinner for Guests We’ve Never Met

A few weeks ago Kevin was contacted by a out-of-state distant relative who found his name in an old newspaper obituary of his aunt. She has researched the genealogy on his paternal Grandma’s side of the family and wanted to share what she’s found and learn what we know of the family that settled in this area. She and her husband were going to be in St. Louis this week so we invited them over to dinner. I started out baking dessert and bread. ironically, I found a recipe in an Italian cookbook for French bread that looked quick and easy (for homemade bread). I made the dough in the bread machine then shaped the loaf and put it in the oven to rise.

Bread Machine Best Classic Bread
Credited to John Bianchi – in his words it’s “outstanding”.

In this order, for a two-pound loaf, add to the bucket of your bread machine:

1 1/4 cups water
3 1/2 cups bread flour -use King Arthur if you can get it in your area
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. active dry yeast

Pour water into the bread machine pan. Add ingredients in the order listed with the yeast being last. Select the setting on your bread machine and set for 2-lb. loaf. Start machine or set delayed timer. This recipe works well on delayed timer. As another option, use the dough cycle. When complete, oil a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with 1 or 2 tablespoons of coarse cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface, shape into a long loaf and transfer to the baking sheet. Slash several times at an angle with a baker’s lame knife or a very sharp knife. Cover with a clean cotton towel and let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when thumped. Serve warm with butter or olive oil and dipping spices.

This bread is awesome! It was so easy, too. The texture is light and the crust is not too rustic. It was good with a little butter with our meal and I think it will also make great sandwiches.

I made a small antipasto platter, Caesar Salad, and a Sicilian Meat Roll (recipes all available in the archives). For dessert I made a Cannoli Cake from the Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook. Here’s a link to the recipe:

Cake Mix Doctor Cannoli Cake

I found a pretty cake plate and started layering. It seemed like there was way to much filling, but in the end I used it all. I put wide strips of wax paper just under the bottom layer of the cake to keep the plate clean and pulled them out before I refrigerated the cake.

The ganache sounds very French, elegant and difficult, but in fact it’s really simple and tastes great. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 1/4 cups) instead of chocolate chunks. These also melt very easily. I poured the hot cream over the chips and went from this:

To this, in just a couple of minutes of whisking:

I poured it on the top layer of the cake and used a gravy ladle to swirl, beginning at the center and moving in a clockwise circle, gently moving the warm ganache to the edges where it slowly oozed like molten lava and proceeded to slide down the sides. I used an offset spatula to fill in the cracks and smooth the surface. The finished product looked nearly professional:

Everyone enjoyed the meal, accompanied by a good glass of wine. We talked late into the evening and will be keeping in touch.

Cold Weather Cooking

Cold. Snow. Colder. More snow. A little warmer. Rain. Cold again.
We’re having a carry in at work tomorrow and the theme, befitting the weather, is soups. I decided on making a hearty beef and vegetable soup. Last night I slow simmered the beef with sliced and chopped onions and seasonings for two hours to make the broth. I let it rest overnight in the refrigerator to blend the flavors. Most soups improve with a day or two of aging. Tonight I’ve added the remaining ingredients and the soup is simmering away on the stove. I took a favorite recipe and made some modifications using ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe called for a chuck roast, but I substituted stew meat. Here’s my version of a soup that will stick to your ribs when the wind is howling outside.

Hearty Beef Vegetable and Barley Soup

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes
2 tbps. olive oil
8 cups of water
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced lengthwise
celery leaves from about 6 stalks of celery
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. Lawry’s seasoned salt
2 large potatoes, cut in 3/4-inch dice
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 small onion, chopped in small dice
2 10-oz. packages frozen mixed vegetables
48 ozs. tomato juice
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup pearled barley

In a large stockpot, on high heat, heat the oil until shimmering then add the beef. Stir frequently to brown all sides. Add the water, sliced onion, celery leaves, salt, black pepper and Lawry’s seasoned salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer covered for about 2 hours until the meat is cooked through and tender. Transfer the stock and meat to a covered container, cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. You can omit this step if you want, but the overnight resting period will enhance the flavor. The next day return the beef and stock to a large stockpot. Add all of the ingredients except the barley. Start on hight heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After the first hour add the barley and cook for another hour, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately with thick slices of home baked bread or cool and refrigerate until ready to reheat and serve.

I put the ingredients in my Zojirushi bread machine right after I got home from work because the cycle runs for 3 hours 40 minutes. I want to slice and package it to take along with the soup tomorrow. I picked the Italian Wheat Bread for a dense bread to go with the soup. The recipe is from the manufacturer’s manual.

We had a quick sandwich out while running errands this evening and as we left Penn Station Subs I could see the yearning on Kevin’s face as we passed the huge poster advertising cookies, “home baked if you lived here”. I thought about throwing a batch of brownies together and grabbed a random cookbook off the shelf to search for a recipe. The book was published by Eden United Church of Christ in Edwardsville in 1988. I ran across Swedish Brownies submitted by Sally McLauchlan. The ingredients did not include any chocolate. You may ask, what makes them Swedish? Why, because they’re blonde. Of course.
It’s a very simple recipe that took no more than 5 minutes to put together and throw in the oven. The instructions say to sprinkle with sugar and top with chopped nuts if desired. I used some Cajun Power Sweet Treat Cinnamon Vanilla sugar that we picked up on a trip to New Orleans to top it off. If you don’t happen to have any of this wonderful stuff, use cinnamon sugar, coarse Demerara sugar, or even just plain granulated sugar. I chose slivered almonds instead of the pecans or walnuts

Swedish Brownies

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 cup flour
walnuts or pecans (optional)
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs, add sugar. Fold in flour, salt, melted butter, and almond flavoring. Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch pan. Sprinkle with sugar and chopped nuts on top of brownies. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool and then cut into 16 small or 9 large brownies. Some might consider this to be just one LARGE brownie.

Spartan Storm Breakfast

March roared in like a lion with winter storm Sparta. A thick blanket of snow fell from mid-afternoon yesterday into the early morning hours. This table is not at all inviting today.

Hibernation sounds like a good option at this point. We slept in and had a late breakfast/brunch. Last night, I anticipated we might have that plan in mind and I made a coffeecake. I had a can of apple pie filling that was at its best-by date and needed to do something with it. I found a base recipe and proceeded to alter it to incorporate the canned pie filling.

Apple Coffeecake

Topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
1 1lb.5 oz.-can Apple Pie Filling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the 1/2 cup sugar, nuts and ground cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well blended. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding the dry mixture and the sour cream and mix until well combined. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. spread half of the batter in the bottom of the pan – an offset spatula works well. Evenly top with the apple pie filling. Sprinkle half of the topping mix over the apples. Spread the remaining batter over the top of the filling then sprinkle the top evenly with the topping mixture. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm immediately or cover until ready to serve. I reheated a slice in the microwave for about 45 seconds on high and it was close to as if it had just come out of the oven. This was an exceptionally good coffeecake, if I say so myself. The texture is very light and moist and there’s a good balance of filling to cake. The nut topping gives it a little crunch and added sweetness that melts in your mouth. It’s also pretty with the ribbon of filling creating an appealing visual presentation.

To go along with the coffeecake I made some oven-baked bacon and scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms, wilted spinach and Swiss cheese.
I had some end cuts of Burger’s Smokehouse bacon that were pretty irregular in size and shape so I used Martha Stewart’s trick. Place the desired amount of bacon on a baking sheet then cover with another baking sheet, bottom side on top of the bacon. Weigh down with a cast iron skillet and bake in a 375 degree F. for 20 minutes or until done. Using tongs, remove the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain excess grease.

Scrambled Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms, Wilted Spinach and Swiss Cheese
Serves 2

4 medium baby Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. butter
1 5-oz. bag fresh baby spinach
4 large eggs
1/8 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

Melt the butter in a medium non-stick skillet and sauté mushrooms until lightly browned. Remove to a plate. In the same skillet, add the spinach and sauté until wilted. Remove to the plate with the mushrooms. Remove skillet from the heat. Whisk the eggs together with the half and half, salt and pepper. Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter then add the beaten eggs to the pan. Using a spatula move the eggs to the center of the pan as they cook. While the eggs are still liquid, add the reserved mushrooms and spinach. Continue to move the mixture around the pan to avoid scorching the eggs. When the eggs are just still moist, remove from the heat. Divide the eggs between two microwaveable plates and sprinkle half of the Swiss cheese over the top of the eggs on each plate. Place a slice of coffeecake on each plate and microwave each for about 45 seconds. Add bacon slices to each plate and serve immediately. Enjoy your breakfast, take a deep sigh, and wait for Spring to come!

Dinner Before the Show

We invited some friends over for dinner before we all go to see The Book of Mormon at the Peabody tonight. I baked a Cream Cheese Pound Cake yesterday. I’ve posted the recipe previously under Heart-Shaped Bundt Cake that I make for Valentine’s Day. This time I baked it in the traditional NordicWare Anniversary Edition pan. I plan to serve slices topped with some fresh thin- sliced, lightly sugared strawberries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

We’re going to have Corn Pancakes with Smoked Salmon for an appetizer. That recipe is available on the Christmas Open House posting. It felt funny making only a single batch when I usually make six times as many. We’ll have a simple red leaf lettuce salad with Mandarin oranges, walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette – this is my favorite go-to vinaigrette using a different flavor vinegar.

The main course will be Shrimp and Grits topped with a sunny-side up egg from a recipe we found on Epicurious:
Shrimp and Grits

I love Red Lobster biscuits and found a really close recipe in the Food Network Magazine:

Almost Famous Cheddar Biscuits

The recipe recommends portioning 1/4-cup drop biscuits. I used my 1/4 cup measuring cup to give them a more uniform shape. I mixed the garlic butter ahead of time and will re-melt it in the microwave just as the biscuits come out of the oven and brush them with the flavored butter when they are piping hot . They are resting in the refrigerator on parchment paper until we’re ready to put them in the oven.

Our friends are on their way and I have the slow-cooking yellow stone ground grits on the stove. I had three cups of water and whisked in the 1 cup of grits and thought it would never be enough for four people. The recipe instructs you to add water if it gets too thick. This pot of grits is like Audrey in The Little Shop of Horrors. It keeps growing and I can almost hear it saying “Feed me!” when it needs more water.

We set the table…..

Our guests were detained so by the time we got to the main course, I didn’t want to delay the meal taking photos. I’m sorry there are no pictures, but the Shrimp and Grits recipe is a keeper. The slow cooked grits really are better than quick cook or instant. We had a quick dessert and then got on the road to make it to the theatre on time.