Rowan's Journal

( another way to cook chicken )

I would serve this with scalloped potatoes and another green veggie...

It's a good day to stay in and bake, have a fire in the fire place and have a low stress day. It's been that kind of day and I've really enjoyed it, even though I HAVE gotten some good stuff done.

Yes, I'm Posty McPost the last couple days. Blame this particular one on dear band-mate, ladyniniane. I was raving told her about the cookies I just baked and she wanted the recipe. So here it is with the changes I made to it from the experience of using the recipe.

I told Bruce that I was making cookies today and asked if he would prefer chocolate chip or peanut butter. He replied, "Yes." Hey, I actually got an opinion out of him! *giggle*

I actually had in mind to make either oatmeal chocolate chip pecan cookies OR peanut butter cookies. But since he's requested it, I'll make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies instead.

And there's even recipes out there (what a surprise....not!)

This is the one I'm using with a few small changes.

( Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies )

I think I have a new favorite cookie.

EDIT: And because ar_wahan wants it, here's the lemon blueberry almond bread recipe.

( Lemon Blueberry Almond Bread )

How I love the "101 Cookbooks" web-site, such a source of inspiration to me. Here's a non-commercial version of Onion Dip that I'm SO going to try:

101 Cookbooks Logo
Caramelized Onion Dip Recipe

If you have a hard time finding onion powder (not the same as onion salt), feel free to use crushed dehydrated onion flakes. Just add to taste.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), finely chopped
3/4 cup sour cream (low-fat is fine if you like)
3/4 cup Greek yogurt (low-fat is fine if you like)
3 teaspoons dehydrated onion powder/granulates (salt-free, natural)
very scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat saute the chopped onions in the olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt. Stir occasionally with a wood or metal spatula and cook until the onions are deeply golden, brown, and caramelized - roughly 40 or 50 minutes (see photo). Set aside and let cool.

In the meantime, whisk together the sour cream, yogurt, onion powder, and salt. The important thing is to add whatever onion powder you are using to taste. Add a bit at a time until it tastes really good. Set aside until the caramelized onions have cooled to room temperature. Stir in 2/3 of the caramelized onions, scoop into a serving bowl, and top with the remaining onions. I think this dip is best at room temperature.

Makes about 2 cups.

101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/

FOUND!

Orange White Chocolate Chip Beltane Cookies

SUBMITTED BY: GYPSY-WITCH
"These get crispy when cool. I named them for May 1, the day I invented them. They taste bright and sunny, like the summer season Beltane is supposed to herald."



Original recipe yield 3 dozen


INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
* 1 1/3 cups white sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg, beaten
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 2 tablespoons orange zest
* 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

(a couple reviewers said they weren't oraneg-y enough and added orange extract)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
3. In a bowl of mixer, cream butter on medium speed, adding sugar gradually. Add vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture gradually, stopping frequently to push down from sides of bowl. When flour mixture is thoroughly combined, mix in chips.
4. Drop dough by scant spoonful onto baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart, flattening slightly with back of spoon. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 10 to 12 minutes or until beginning to brown. Allow to cool completely on cooling rack.

Please note that I'm not so much a precise "tsp of this, tbsp of that" sort of cook; I add things until it tastes right, ok?

( Apple Butter )

Making dinner from scratch really isn't hard at all!

Here I took Kraft's "shortcut" version and made it into a "real foods" version:

Shortcut Chicken Manicotti

Makes:
4 servings, 3 stuffed manicotti each
Italicizing the original ingredients that I replace)

(1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup)
Replace with:
3/4 cup finely chopped onion,
1 clove minced garlic and
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
Saute in 2 tbsp butter or olive oil until cooked translucent but not browned
Stir in 1/2 cup flour til well blended but not browned
Stir in 1 cup milk and cook for 3-4 minutes (this is also known as a blonde roux)

1-1/2 cups water (or milk or wine combo - I dislike using water in a recipe because it adds nothing!)
(1/4 lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
Replace with:
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese
2 cups frozen broccoli florets (I use fresh broccoli)
12 manicotti shells, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese


HEAT oven to 400ºF. Cook the broccoli til barely cooked. Make the blonde roux; when done, add the cheese and keep stirring, add just enough liquid to have good texture when the cheese is melted. Add broccoli, stir and cook for 2 more minutes; pour 1/3 of soup mixture into 13x9-inch baking dish. Set aside remaining mixture.

STUFF manicotti with chicken; place in baking dish. Top with remaining soup mixture and Parmesan; cover with foil.

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until manicotti is tender and chicken is done. (I would serve this with hot rolls!)

Here's a timely idea!

Leftover Halloween candy? Make a cake!

Posted Oct 31st 2006 7:54PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Dessert, Recipes, Candy, On the Blogs, Comfort Food

Halloween candyIf you're trick or treating with the kids tonight, chances are you're going to have either a.) your kids eating a ton of candy and getting sick or hyper, or b.) enough candy to last the next 38 days. Besides eating the candy bar by bar, piece by piece, what else can you do with it?

How about a Leftover Candy Cake? This recipe from CDKitchen takes all of your leftover candy, whether it's chocolate or hard candies and makes it into a bundt cake. Check out the ingredients and the instructions after the jump.

2 cups coarsely chopped candy
2 3/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a bundt pan and dust with fine bread crumbs (wait...I don't even see bread crumbs on the ingredients list...hmmm). Shake out excess. In another bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, cream butter until soft, then alternate adding dry ingredients with sour cream. Place 1 1/2 cups of this mixture into pan. Add candies to the rest of the batter (folding in). Pour over plain batter. Bake for about an hour. Cool for 15 minutes. Cover pan with rack, flip over, and remove cake. Let it cool a little while longer. You can then add confectioner's sugar on top if you want.

Note: I bought WAAAY too much candy; I'm still accustomed to the number of houlligans, er kids, that I had come trick or treating in KC.

...now that I'd planted some tomatoes!

Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe (from 101 Recipes)

( Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe )

BTW, I've fallen in love again. Right here at home. *nods* And it's not what you think. I was perusing ads at the "101 Recipes" site; nifty place it is too, and I saw a book title and image that rang a bell. It was "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. "Wait a minute," I thought to myself, "I think I have this book!" So I got up from the 'puter and went into the laundry room where I keep my cook books in a cabinet above the dryer. I have a LOT of cookbooks; it's one of my addictions hobbies to collect.

But this gem has been sitting there, nearly unopened, definitely unopened in the four years that I've lived in Oklahoma. Not any more. Anyone who wants a good BASIC "how to cook with simple ingredients at home"...this is the one you want. He has a clear, concise, down-to-earth writing style and is a joy to read. He covers basic ingredients, what you need for kitchenware, how to stock a kitchen, how to buy the right pans and what all the pans mean and are used for, etc. And he does it in an informative and non-condescending manner.

I consider myself to be a pretty decent cook, but I intend (in my copious spare time, of course) to read this thing cover to cover. More on this later, I'm sure...

Because I said I would...

"Scrapple is a finely ground pork cooked with cornmeal and seasonings, then poured into loaf pans and cooled and refrigerated for several days. Cut into slices, it should be fried on a grill or in a skillet and served crispy on the outside. It is usually served for breakfast, along with fried potatoes and over-easy eggs but some folk have it for supper, spread with apple butter or maple syrup."

My dad used to make Scrapple and then when I grew up I looked for and asked for our family recipe and nobody could find it. While I was married to Richard, I was in Borders looking through the sale books (like ya do) and found this book on Pennsylvania Dutch cooking; I was SO excited. So that Christmas, I made it and froze it and presented it to my Dad; it was one of our things that we shared 'cause my Mom and sister didn't care for it. I don't think I ever made or gave him a present he enjoyed as much as that one.

Next time I make it, I'll probably cry into it a bit, remembering such good times with my Dad. I haven't yet written down any of the stories about him and I should. I've posted a lot about my mother, but my dad was also an entirely nifty fella and such a wonderful example of what a non-sexist, fun, open-minded man could be like back in the 50's and 60's before it became a fad or a relationship necessity to be a 'sensitive man.' Anyway, back to the recipe.

SCRAPPLE
from Becky Groff's Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook, adapted for the seasoning I recall.
(yes, ladyniniane I just noticed the name similarity...how funny!)


16 cups water
3-4 lbs pork rib rack, loin or bone-in chops (can also use pork sausage but I don't like it as well)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp ground thyme
pinch of dried basil
3-1/2 cups cornmeal

In a large 6-quart stockpot, combine the water, pork salt, pepper and herbs. Bring to a boil, skim, cover and simmer over medium, heat for 3 hours or until meat falls off the bones. Remove the meat and strain the broth through a double thickness of cheesecloth. Debone and remove all the fat, gristle and skin. Chop or grind the meat in a food processor grinder; you need 3 cups of ground meat for this recipe.

Skim the fat from the broth, making sure you have 12 cups of broth. If not, add enough water to make 12 cups. Place the broth and meat in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly add the cornmeal, continually stirring with a whisk to prevent lumping. Simmer over low heat for a hour, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. The mixture should be thick like mush. Remove from the heat and pour into three well-greased (do NOT use Pam, use lard or Crisco) 8-1/2x4-1/2" loaf pans. Cool and refrigerate, covered with wax paper overnight, minimum (so the herbs mix into the loaf.) You can freeze the loaves (this book says not to, but I've done that for years but make sure it is air-tight.) for gifting or later use.

To serve, slice 1/3" thick, Combine flour with a bit of each; sage, thyme & pepper. Dust with flour mixture, then fry on in a skillet greased with vegetable oil over medium heat until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes on each side. (Can also be grilled but I've never done it that way.)

Makes three loaf pans.


Yes, it's a bit of labor but OH SO good! And once you've made it, you have breakfast goodies for weeks to come, depending on how many you're feeding for breakfast. SO not a vegetarian dish!

Making these for this weekend:
( cut for baking porn... )