Is it September 23rd yet?

In my blog Mars VS. Venus, I discussed how, in my opinion and by my observations, men & women strongly differ in their love of seasons, specifically summer and autumn.  In my home, while Kevin does not welcome the coming of fall, he does welcome some of the treats that have become staples for us when the weather turns chilly.

I also have a strong fondness for all things British.  I fulfilled an item on my bucket list before I even HAD a bucket list, and that was a trip to England the summer I graduated from college.  When I was introduced to this blog by my best friend (and travel partner to England) I fell in love instantly.  I don’t consider myself a vintage housekeeper, so to speak.  But Alison’s ideas are heavenly even to a “Yank” and I can’t wait to incorporate some of her ideas in the coming months.

So put some mulling spices on the stove to simmer, pour yourself a mug of tea or cider, and plan to follow Alison’s tips AND make my recipes…

When I read the recipe for these gorgonzola phyllo cups, I knew it would be perfect.  It contained all my favorites in one delicious little bite and happily announced “Fall is here.”  A few notes from my personal experience:

·       I did not specifically use Gorgonzola when I made this. “Regular” bleu cheese was just fine.

·       A 6 or 7 oz package of cheese crumbles would be sufficient, if you’re wondering what “1-1/3 cups of cheese” equates to.  Personally I found 1-1-/3 c. makes almost too much filling.

·       I toasted the walnuts at 400º for about five minutes before adding them to the mixture.  You don’t have to do this, I just prefer walnuts toasted.  Alternately you could toast them in a pan on the stovetop, watching closely so that they don’t scorch.

·       As stated in the recipe, they are great both warm AND at room temp, which in my opinion makes them a perfect appetizer.

I enjoy watching Ina Garten every chance I get.  Sadly that is not as frequent as I would like.  However, I managed to catch a fantastic episode one day and thought, “This recipe would be excellent for a thank-you luncheon for my best friend & her mom for all the ways they help me with my daughter.”  I was right.  I actually served two halves as a lunch portion for each of us, and had warm rolls on the side.  FABULOUS.  And by the way, you’ll already have the bleu cheese, walnuts, and dried cranberries on hand from making those amazing phyllo cups!

Since you’ll want a perfect Fall dessert, I can provide a recipe for that as well!  I always keep a couple cans of solid pack pumpkin in my pantry because there are so many delicious recipes that call for it.

I have mentioned that my favorite go-to baking book is Good Housekeeping’s “Baking.”  This is just one of many recipes that has been made time and again, as the sticky page will attest to.  My apologies for the format of the link but you get the recipe for Pumpkin-Spice Cake and I get to save myself the hassle of typing it out.

I will admit I have never made the glaze, although it sounds delicious.  I made this once as directed in the Bundt pan.  After that, I started making it as cupcakes.  Since it is a Bundt pan recipe, it does yield a lot of batter.  Be prepared!  It makes four dozen mini cakes plus 1½ dozen regular cakes.  (I think it would also be fun to make them in mini size Bundt pans, but I don’t own those.)  If making cupcakes, I highly recommend topping them with Glory’s (from Glorious Treats) cream cheese frosting.

I think fall is a wonderful beverage season.  In the morning you can warm yourself with a cup of tea.  From plain black tea to special blends, it’s a perfect sipper.  Spiced cider is a treat, and for the “over-21 and after-5:00 pm crowd” you can’t beat a shot of brandy or rum added in.  But really, what says “Fall fabulousness” better than a pumpkin martini?  I’ve seen a million recipes online but decided to create my own a couple years ago.  Kevin prefers a “clear” pumpkin martini to the “creamy” recipes out there that include using half and half and whipped cream.  You could rim your glass with a combo of sugar and graham cracker crumbs if you like.

Jennifer’s Soon-To-Be-Famous Pumpkin Martini is just the thing to top off a warm and comforting fall meal:

Pumpkin Martini

Serves 1

3 oz. Vanilla Vodka of your choice

2 oz. Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice liqueur

1 oz. Amaretto

Pour into an ice shaker to blend and chill.  Strain into a well-chilled martini glass and garnish as desired.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.  When you make them, please leave a comment and let me know how your family liked them!

Perfectly Pink Details - A Tea Party

I am not a professional party planner, baker, photographer, or writer.  (If you’ve read ANY of my blogs not only do you realize this, you understand why.)  But I would be remiss if I didn’t publish the recipes and photos from my tea party to celebrate the memory of Ava.

I wanted touches of pink everywhere for obvious reasons.  I learned of the annual tea party celebration too late to plan anything elaborate so I made things easy for myself.  I chose two strawberry desserts because both Little Misses like strawberries and it was natural for the pink theme. 

Once again, Glory from Glorious Treats provided an excellent recipe for cupcakes and frosting.  I followed her recipe exactly, but I made MINI cupcakes in 2-inch liners.  The recipe produced 48 minis AND four “regular” size cupcakes that served as take-home treats.  I baked the minis for 15 minutes and they were perfect.  I topped them with strawberry cream cheese frosting.  I used Smucker’s spreadable fruit rather than preserves because I wanted a totally seedless experience.  I found that 3 tablespoons of fruit provided the perfect amount of strawberry flavor but it did make the frosting slightly softer than the “pure” recipe.  Placed in the fridge for a few minutes, the frosting still piped perfectly however.  I did add some paste color for the pink tint and topped them with pink sparkle sugar.

The recipe for the strawberry tarts was literally stumbled upon through a search for another appetizer.  But I tucked it away in my “someday this sounds good” file.  I was right.  They were really tasty and incredibly easy to make.  I found the following hints will make an even better experience next time:

• The berries get VERY juicy.  Cook at a higher temp or for a longer time so that the liquid reduces substantially.
• Beat the cream cheese very well before adding the berry mixture.  Otherwise it takes a long time to incorporate and the cheese remains lumpy.
• Since the shells are so small, trim the berry pieces to fill nicely in the bottom.  The quarters to TOP the shells can stay the full piece.
• The cream cheese mix makes far more than what fills one box of shells.  It would easily fill two boxes to yield 30 tartlets.
• These can’t be made too far in advance or the shells will get soggy.

I served Earl Grey tea with traditional accompaniments of cream, sugar, and lemon slices.  This was clearly not my most detailed soiree but it was simple to put together and relaxed, and that's what an afternoon tea should be.

Forgotten, or Never Learned?

I have a couple of “go to” cookbooks when I need inspiration and new ideas and a foolproof recipe.  You can easily identify my favorite baking book by its broken spine and stuck-together pages.  I’ve made notes beside recipes to mark which ones are successes and which ones are failures.  ***Note to the editors of Good Housekeeping:  I’m sure the failures were due to “user error” not due to anything in your cookbook:

While I consider these books invaluable in creating tasty treats for friends and family, I do NOT consider them fascinating reading.  They have straightforward recipes, nice photos, and if I’m lucky a helpful hint or two.  I guess that’s what a cookbook should be.

I am currently in the process of devouring Darina Allen’s “Forgotten Skills of Cooking.”  Devouring is the key word here.  Part cookbook, part memoir, Darina takes me to places I’ve never been (Ireland) and helps me envision things I’ve never done (kill a chicken with my bare hands.)  While the former is on my Bucket List, the latter can pretty much stay not a forgotten skill for me, but one never learned.  That kind of poultry prep is a little TOO free range for me, thank you.

I will admit this is the first cookbook I’ve read that has this narrative style so perhaps there are many more out there that I am missing.  But it is a lovely read and I can only try to understand why she misses the “old days.”  I never HAD those kinds of “old days” but I do appreciate how she brings them to life for her readers.  I think it is wonderful that she is teaching Ireland’s younger generation how to raise farm animals, how to use what you have and not waste, and how to look at her country’s history through food & cooking.

There are several things this book will NOT inspire me to do, such as preparing stuffed beef heart.  (Not to mention the fact that my local Sendik’s doesn’t have a meat counter filled with bovine organs.)  But the rustic and charming ideas of making my own butter, my own bread and growing some simple vegetables, now THAT appeals to me.

In the following weeks I hope to begin a culinary endeavor guided by Ms. Allen.  You will read about my triumphs as well as my attempts that end up with a notation “Don’t make this again.”  Hopefully the next series you read won’t be my attempts to lose weight from all this great cooking!

Don't Waste It On Bagels!

I usually don’t keep two bricks of cream cheese on hand.  However there they were, in my fridge, calling my name…  “Use me… use me… and not on bagels!”  Needless to say a Google search for cheesecake bars yields about a thousand recipes.  I didn’t have a “go to” recipe for cheesecake bars that I could pull out.  I DO NOW!

If you are an authentic baked cheesecake purist you’ll probably wince at the thought of making cheesecake BARS, not in a springform pan and water bath.  If you are pressed for time and just love a good cheesecake “anything” you’ll jump for joy when you make this recipe.

I followed the directions and ingredients exactly.  Oh wait, no I didn’t.  I used two teaspoons of *GASP* bottled lemon juice because that’s what I had, not fresh.  The three sweet freaks in our house didn’t seem to notice a difference.

This is the first recipe ever that I have made from this blog.  But I guarantee it won’t be the last.  I can’t wait to peruse other recipe categories and find more winners!  Oh wait… it gets better…  She’s from WISCONSIN!  So you know the girl knows a good dairy anything recipe.

Let me know what you think of this recipe when you make them.  Cuz you know you’re running out right now to get cream cheese, if it’s not already beckoning to you.

 ENJOY!

A Loaf Of Bread, A Jug Of Wine

I love wine.  So much so I have a Christine Alexander top that states, “Wines Constantly.”

And I love bread.  However I do not, and do not plan to, own a top that states, “Full of Sugar and Doubles in Size.”

I’ll leave grapes & fashion to combine and, well, I’ll just eat the bread.  Occasionally I think I can actually BAKE bread.  I feel so pioneer-like and domestic when I get the urge to create a loaf.  The ingredients are simple, of course, as is the concept.  Flour, sugar, yeast & liquid; mixed together and allowed to rest; eventually turned out & kneaded; baked & enjoyed.  Yet somehow the whole kneading thing intimidates me so I shy away from regular bread baking.

However, I have found two fantastically delicious and incredibly easy recipes that I feel confident AND happy with the results every time.  The first recipe is from the Summer 2010 issue of Sendik’s Real Food Magazine.  The link is not available for the entire magazine, so I have retyped the entire recipe to follow.

 

Smoked Cheddar Cheese Bread

Makes 1 Large Loaf

Cubes of smoked Cheddar cheese form pockets of melted cheese and a crisp browned cheese crust all around this loaf.  Try this bread toasted or use it to make the best grilled-cheese Panini you have ever tasted.

Cubes of other cheese work well, too.  Smoked mozzarella, sharp Cheddar or Swiss cheese make good choices. 

This recipe uses instant yeast for a faster rise.

1 c. whole milk

2¾ c. AP flour

1 tbsp granulated sugar

½ tsp salt

2¼ instant (fast-rise) yeast (one 7-gram packet)

1 large egg

8 ounces smoked Cheddar cheese, cut in to ½-to-¾-inch pieces

1 tbsp butter, melted, plus more for pan

1.        Butter a 9X5X3 loaf pan or a loaf pan with a capacity of 8 cups.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

2.        In a saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until the mixture is hot and measures about 130ºF on a food thermometer.

3.        In the large bowl of an electric mixer on low speed, mix together 1 cup of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Mix in the hot milk to combine the ingredients smoothly.  Add the egg and continue beating for 2 minutes.  Add the remaining flour and continue mixing for 5 minutes.  The dough will be soft, but will come away from the sides of the bowl.

4.        Scrap the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with the cheese pieces.  Push and fold the dough over itself several times to distribute the cheese.  Some pieces of cheese will poke out of the dough.  The dough will firm slightly as the cheese is worked into it.

5.        Use your hands to pat the dough into a loaf and fit it into the pan.  The loaf will not completely fill the pan.  Brush the top with one tablespoon melted butter.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise to within an inch of the top of the pan, about 45 minutes.

6.        When the dough has risen for 25 minutes, preheat the oven to 375ºF.

7.        Bake until the top feels firm and is lightly browned, about 45 minutes.  Cook pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use a sharp knife to loosen the bread from the pan.  Turn out onto the wire rack to cool thoroughly.

8.        The bread can be stored in a plastic bag at room temperature for up to three days.

The next recipe is from one of my favorite sites, Real Mom Kitchen.  I love her recipes because they don’t require graduation from Le Cordon Bleu or a hundred ingredients that you’ll never use again but for that one recipe.  The bread recipe follows her foccacia sandwich recipe.  This bread lasted about a day and a half in our house, and I also discovered it is delish lightly toasted.  Enjoy!