Out of the Mouths of Babes......

Cameron has always been a good eater. There have been a few things here and there that he hasn't really enjoyed, but over all he will eat anything.
This morning I got to enjoy having breakfast with him, it was just him and me. Reagan and Daddy were sleeping in. Cameron requested cinnamon toast. I asked him if he would like a banana with it. He said sure!
I got ready to serve him his toast with a side of banana. Then he told me he would like it sliced on top. I thought, sure why not?
I was surprised on how delicious it was! Plus, it added some extra nutrition to the cinnamon toast!
So here is Cameron's recipe that we have named....Banana Deliciousness with Cinnamon Toast!

Toast your choice of bread. Spread some butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Then slice a half of banana and layer it on the bread. (This does make the bread quite heavy, so it is easier to eat if you cut it in half!) Enjoy!

Facing Past Failures

I have come to realize that part of my cooking/baking journey is facing past failures. When I think about my cooking catastrophe's I have to put Beef Stroganoff, Green Tomato Pie, Biscuits, Italian Meatball Meatloaf, and a casserole with apples, sausage and sweet potatoes in it.
Some of them I don't plan on revisiting, the memories are just too painful! However, I have conquered the Beef Stroganoff, and just recently tackled biscuits again.
Before when I have made biscuits they have turned out more like crackers then bread. I have tried all sorts of recipes and tricks, but recently discovered a recipe that worked really well, well enough that we actually ate the entire batch of them! The recipe wasn't in any fancy or secretive cookbook, but simply on the back of the baking powdered can!



2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup of milk
1 TBSP soft butter

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Using your hands (they called for a pastry cutter, but I have found that my hands work better), work in the shortening till mixture resembles course crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a for stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the bowl (dough will be sticky). On a floured surface lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or till nearly smooth. Lightly roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2 1/2 biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Place biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with soft butter. Bake in 475 degree oven for 11-15 minutes or till golden brown.

Baking with Beer.....YES PLEASE!!!!!

I have cooked with beer before. I love adding it to things like chili and beer, and one of my favorite soup recipes calls for 12 oz of beer. I had never thought of baking with it though.
Yesterday it was very cold and rainy and I really wanted some gingerbread. Not cookies, but gingerbread cake. So I began searching through the recipes on foodnetwork.com. I kept running into the problem that I didn't have any crystallized ginger in the house.
Then I found a recipe from Emeril. I read down the list of ingredients and was surprised to see a cup of Guiness. Now Guiness is one of my favorite beers and we have even paired it with chocolate icecream with wonderful results, so I decided to give it a try.
I did change the original recipe a little. I didn't have any raw sugar, so I substituted a 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. The cake came out moist and light and perfect with a nice hot cup of tea. I just sprinkled the top with a little powdered sugar. It would also taste really good paired with some cinnamon applesauce.

Ingredients

* 1 stick unsalted butter
* 1 cup turbinado sugar (1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar)
* 3 large eggs
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 cup molasses
* 1 cup Guinness, or other dark beer
* Spiced Creme Anglaise, recipe follows
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg. In a third bowl, combine the molasses and beer and stir to dissolve. Add the dry ingredients and beer mixture alternately to the egg mixture, beating after the addition of each.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle top with some powdered sugar before serving.

Spiced Creme Anglaise:

* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* 3 large egg yolks
* 1/4 cup sugar

Combine the cream, the zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of the hot cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to warm milk and stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm. (Or, to serve chilled, place in an ice bath to cool, then cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.)

Yield: 2 cups Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 6 minutes Inactive Prep Time: if chilled, 2 hours

Hamburgers Impossible

Last Monday I had burgers on our menu for dinner, and to be honest I wasn't too excited about it. We had been out of town for the weekend and eaten fast food, and the idea of another burger was just not appetizing. So I went on Food Network.com to look for inspiration.
I found it! Robert Irvine, chef on "Dinner Impossible", had posted a recipe for Llama burgers that sounded delish. Now Llama isn't something that I have in my kitchen, so I took a couple of liberties with the recipe. It turned out a burger that was very refreshing and light. It turned out so wonderful that I have a feeling we will be having them more often.

Burgers
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp minced thyme leaves
1 tsp minced rosemary leaves
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
a drizzle balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped onions
fresh raw spinach
burger buns

Blend the meat, the egg, bread crumbs, lemon juice, thyme, rosemary, feta, and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well and form into 8 equal round patties, no more than 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, allowing the ingredients and flavors to blend together.

Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

Add the burgers to the grill and cook until desired doneness is achieved, about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Remove and arrange place on buns with the onions,spinach and tomatoes drizzled with the vinegar.

(I am thinking that next time we will also top with a little bit of olive tapenade.)

Meatloaf....the center of contraversy!

I have come to realize lately that when it comes to meatloaf, people have very definite feelings on this dish. People either love it, or hate it.
In our family we love it. Now I have played with a couple of different recipes during the years and have found out that the simpler the better. (This was after the Italian meatloaf debacle)
However, recently I was inspired by the show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" to do a little revamping on my recipe, and it turned out wonderfully. Carrots, onions and mushrooms gave it some wonderful texture and added flavor.

Updated Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef (on a side note, if you can find a meatloaf mix of meat (pork, ground beef and veal, it is worth the extra money)
2 Tblsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
3 carrots
1 small onion
1/4 lb mushrooms
Ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put carrots, onion and mushroom through the food processor. Mix well. Add meat, Worcestershire, egg, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper. Form into a loaf or bake in a loaf pan. Drizzle top with ketchup, and bake for 45 minutes.

Now, you can't serve meatloaf without mashed potatoes, that would just be silly! I use sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese to mine.

Reviving an Old Favorite

As I have mentioned in my last post, I really love the fall. Last night I broke out one of my favorites, a potato soup recipe. I have changed a couple of things and switched it to a crock pot recipe. It turned out to be delicious! It does have a couple of steps, but the steps make it worth it!
Ingredients
10 potatoes (I just use the small ones that come in a bag)
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
2 onions
1 head of garlic
Shredded cheese, chives and bacon for toppings

Early in the day, cut up the onions into four pieces each. Place them in a baking dish along with the head of garlic cut in half. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes on 350 degrees.
Once they are cooled enough, chop up both the garlic and onions, place to the side.
Cut up the potatoes and place them in your slow cooker. Add chicken broth making sure that the broth just covers the potatoes. Add onions, garlic and corn.
Cook on high for four hours. After the four hours are done, add salt, pepper and whipping cream. Stir and continue cooking on low for additional two hours.
Right before serving stir in sour cream.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon cut and fried till crispy and chives. Enjoy!

My love affair with all things pumpkin

I absolutely love fall. When it comes down to it I really think it is my favorite season. I love the colors, the weather and the smells.
One of the smells that means it is fall to me is the smell of pumpkin. So you can imagine my dismay when I heard that there was going to be a canned pumpkin shortage this fall. Everytime I went to the store I looked in vain for the cans that would make my fall season complete. I was loosing faith that I would be able to have my fill of this wonderful vegetable.
Then on one of my recent trips I saw an entire display devoted to canned pumpkin. It took all of my will power not to buy the entire display!
To celebrate I made cheesecake filled pumpkin cupcakes. They were delicious. However, the recipe I am sharing today is a recipe for pumpkin cookies. I baked them last night and they are wonderful. They are a wonderfully cakey cookie, which I am thinking of turning into whoopie pies in the near future. I left off the glaze, because I was afraid of covering up the fall tastes that I love. My son and his friend helped me bake them, and I was surprised at how quickly they gobbled them up after they were done baking!

Wonderfully Cakey Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons milk
* 1 tablespoon melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.