Reclaiming the porch!

We're back on the screened in porch! What a treat after the winter to have a late breakfast al fresco! And what a gorgeous day!

I have some recipes for ya'll....some of you requested them. I'm finally getting around to writing them up. I don't know how to make a link to them, so I'll just put them here in their entirety.... ENJOY!

For An:

AUSTRIAN LINZER COOKIES

Note: most linzer cookies are a round cookie bottom with a top cookies with a hole cutout...then jam in between. I've been making this recipe for years and it's a bar cookie.....with a lattice top. You won't be disappointed. The ground almonds are a must!)

1 ½ c. flour
¼ c. sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon

Sift above together.

Stir in :

½ c. brown sugar

Cut in:

½ c. (1 stick) butter

Add:

1 slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup ground almonds

Mix well with hands.
Divide dough and use a bit more than ½ to pat into the bottom of an 8x8x2 inch pan.
Spread dough with ½ cup raspberry jam. (stir jam a bit to smooth out any lumps)

Roll remaining dough out on lightly floured surface. Cut into strips about ¼ inch wide.
Lay in a lattice pattern across surface of jam. Don’t be too fussy if they break…just patch them up. Baking will make them look fine.
Brush surface with 1 slightly beaten egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp. water.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Cool, cut and enjoy!!



Hot Cross Buns (See here for a photo) (Scroll down)

Scald 1 ¼ cup milk. Add ½ cup sugar, ½ tsp. salt, and ½ cup (1 stick) butter. Cool to lukewarm.

In large mixer bowl, mix 2 cups flour, ½ t. cinnamon, 1 pkg. yeast (about 2 tsp. if you don’t use the pre-measured pkts.)
Pour in the milk mixture and beat to combine. Beat in 2 eggs and then beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl as mixing.

Stir in 1 c. currants (you can use raisins, but I like currants) and ½ c. chopped candied fruit and 2 ¼ - 2 ½ cups additional flour to make a soft dough. Stir vigorously by hand.

Place in a greased bowl and turn to bring greased side to top. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled.

Shape into 18 buns and place in a 9 x 13 inch greased baking pan.

You could let them rise again now and then bake, but I lightly oil the tops of the buns and cover them with saran wrap and put them in the refrigerator. The next morning…tatke them out, uncover, place a clean dish towel over them and let them warm up a bit….
Then bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

When the buns are cool, make a confectioners sugar frosting and pipe a cross on the top of each bun.

the day before Easter

I'm turning this:

into this:
Usually I would have the butcher do this...but I got these baby lamb racks (3) at Trader Joe's yesterday. I did find that I needed to make some cuts between the ribs to make it go in a circle.

That's my part of Easter dinner....well and the Hot Cross Buns for morning coffee. I make mine today...they rise in the refrigerator and then just get baked in the early AM. An easy delicious recipe.

Big Cooking

I've been cooking since I got home from Mah Jongg at 5PM

First I made Chicken Pot Pie (from scratch...not the frozen Swanson kind!)

I did make the crust at lunch time and had it rolled out and in the shell...so I had a head start.

I sauteed onion, baby bella mushrooms in butter. Simmered carrots and celery in
rich stock (1 1/2 cups) from the roast chicken from last night. Added 1/4 c. flour to the saute in the skillet to make a roux. Added the simmered broth and vegetables. Then put in 1 c. of frozen peas and seasoned with salt and pepper. Cooked until pretty thick. Added about 1/2 c. half and half. Poured into the pie crust. Just laid the top piece on...didn't crimp the edges. (My top wasn't quite big enough.) Baked 50 minutes at 400 degrees.

Yummmm....

While that was baking I made a huge pot of turkey chili for dinner tomorrow night. We have an evening Mah Jongg game here and this was we can start early and eat here!

Then I soaked the raisins for what's touted as the Best Oatmeal Cookie recipe. I've had a real hankering for oatmeal cookies...and I've not been satisfied with the ones I make. We'll see.
These will accompany ice cream tomorrow night!

Now I won't want to cook for days!

testing recipes part 2

After my soap testing earlier today, I decided to test a recipe from Martha Stewart Living
In the Feb. 2009 issue: Champvallone

As Martha says: Lamb + Potato Gratin = Champvallone


I used my mandoline to slice about 3 russet potatoes. Potatoes are tossed with a bit of olive oil.

Lamb cubes (from a pastured lamb steak I had in the freezer) browned in olive oil with onions, garlic and rosemary. Then simmered with some chicken stock. 1/2 of the potatoes layered in the bottom of the dish. Then topped with simmered lamb, then remaining potatoes. Into a 400 degree oven for about 1 hour and:

Voila!

It was crusty, savory and delicious!

FYI: when i googled Champvallone all of the recipes called for using browned rib lamb chops instead of the cubed lamb. I think this was easier to make and serve.

Snow Day!

Church is cancelled. We're snowed in again! I haven't been out of the house since Thurs. AM
Today's a day to read by the fire...or make soap. NOT soup...I'm done with soup for awhile.

I'm thinking about a new SOAP instead. Something springy.....lime and spearmint maybe.





So, it became a pancake morning. Blueberry pancakes to be exact...made with barley flour and buttermilk. My own recipe...I've used for years. I'll share if anyone is interested.

On the table in my mother's pancake server, one of my favorite heirlooms....and served with real maple syrup that Pentti's dad made in Canada. Is maple syrup like honey from the pyramids? Because my father-in-law has been gone for more than 10 years...but his syrup lives on!


And on top of it all...I got a book in the mail yesterday that I ordered from half.com.

Octavia Butler's Fledgling. I loved Kindred. (Her book about time travel and slavery.)
This one is about Vampires.......a favorite topic of mine.

and for my next soup....

When it looks like this outside....












and you have an overabundance of celery....
it's time for more soup.













I started with this recipe from Epicurious...and adapted. I added a large parsnip and a yukon gold potato. (I had no celery root)

Ground some celery seed and tellicherry pepper together for spice. And I don't puree....I like a chunky soup. Sometimes I mash it a bit with my potato masher.

Oh, and when I finish it, I won't be using heavy cream...maybe a bit of half and half.

A new soup....

I've been craving a new soup. Something different from the old standbys I make.
When I saw this on Last Night's Dinner, I had a starting place.

Here's what I did.
Drained a 28 oz. can of dice, organic, fire roasted tomatoes. Saved the juice and poured the tomatoes into a large glass baking dish. Studded the tomatoes with 4 large garlic cloves and drizzled with olive oil. Roasted at 450 for about 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile I sautéed 3 minced shallots in a little olive oil and added some dried basil. Then added 1/2 cup rinsed barley and a large carton of organic chicken broth. When the tomatoes are done, add them to the pot. Simmer until barley is done. You might need to thin with a bit more chicken broth. ( I did have 2 chicken sausages that were defrosted, so I cut those in small cubes and added them, too, but they weren't necessary.)

This was hearty and so good...almost buttery tasting. And what better to serve it with than a grilled cheese sandwich!

Corn

I've been enamored with fresh corn this season. I'm afraid I won't get enough of it before it's over. So I've been buying ears by the dozen from the best farm stand in the area, The Meadows Farm in Yorktown Heights. Some of it is going into the freezer for reclaiming during the dead of winter.

Tonight I cooked up a batch, cut it off the cob and made Cheddar Corn Fritters.
I found the recipe on a blog called: Taste and Tell. I added a few finely chopped jalepenos that I had left from making salsa.














They fried up beautifully in olive oil. Had to turn carefully with a pancake turner and a fork to avoid splatter. I didn't have any sour cream, so I mixed some Greek yogurt with chopped cilantro for a topper.....Yummmm.