Melted Snowmen (Chocolate Chip Meringues)

One more quickie cookie recipe before Santa arrives ;)

Forgive me the hyperbole, but these are just about the easiest and fastest cookie you are going to find. Their actual name is *Forgotten Cookies*, because you leave them in the oven overnight, but the snowy-white egg whites with a random peeks of chocolate chip made me think of melted snowmen, and so, a new holiday-appropriate name was born. These are light, airy, and crisply sweet. And! Added bonus, they are gluten-free, so they can be enjoyed by those who may have to abstain from flour-based cookies. Yay! Cookies for everyone!

Melted Snowmen (Chocolate Chip Meringues)

-2 egg whites
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 cup chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350F
-Beat egg whites until stiff, adding sugar a little at a time and beating constantly
-Fold in chocolate chips
-Drop by spoonful onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet (you could also pipe them through a pastry bag or a plastic sandwich bag with one of the bottom corners cut off)
-Place cookies in oven and TURN OVEN OFF. Leave in oven for 6 hours or overnight. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR.
-Makes approximately 16 cookies

Note: Because these are meringues, they do not take humidity well, make them on a dry day and store them in a cool place in an airtight container)

(These cookies really are appropriate for any time of year, I've never tried this personally, but I'm sure you could switch out the chocolate chips for M&M's in any color of the rainbow :)

Serve these piled on a plate with a steaming mug of hot cocoa and Santa (or anyone else who tastes them!) will love you :)

Happy Christmas, My Dears!
xoxo
Lynnie

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

    I am as good as my word :) A seasonally appropriate breakfast/simple dessert item featuring both pumpkin and chocolate that is NOT pie. Not that there is anything wrong with pie, or eating pie for breakfast, which is what I assume many of us will be doing on Friday morning ;), but the Internet is swimming in awesome pie recipes right about now, and I wanted to feature something just a little different.

    This is a treasured recipe from some very dear friends of mine, and it's definitely one my favorite quick breads. From October to December, this bread is just perfect. Breakfast, snack, dessert, whatever, it is a divine Autumnal or Holiday nibble. This bread has a really nice balance of flavors, the pumpkin and chocolate are both very present, but you don't get bashed over the head with either one of them.  I love that this bread is made basically entirely of pantry staples, and couldn't be simpler in terms of prep. Monkey stir, monkey pour, monkey put in oven. I can handle that :)

   Oh! And for those interested, the pumpkin puree I used in this recipe was that homemade pumpkin puree I talked about in one of my most recent posts :) As you may recall, you are technically supposed to use the smaller sugar pumpkins for homemade pumpkin puree, but all I had on hand was a large, jack o' lantern type pumpkin. I'm happy to report that the puree worked beautifully, to no ill-effect in texture or taste. That, of course, doesn't necessarily mean that it would be a perfect sub in all cases, but there is cause for optimism :)

 

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
    -from the recipe files of Cheryl Lieberman

-3 cups flour
-2 cups sugar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-2-3 tsp. cinnamon
-3 cups pumpkin puree (NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling!!!)
-1 cup oil
-4 eggs
-1 bag chocolate chips (I used Toll House semi-sweet morsels, but use what you like)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Grease and flour (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) two loaf pans or one bundt pan.
-Combine dry ingredients (except for chocolate chips) in medium bowl and whisk briefly to aerate.
-Add wet ingredients to bowl and stir to combine (you could certainly use a mixer if you wanted to, I usually just use a big spoon).
-Once mixture is combined, stir in chocolate chips.
-Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake at 350F for approximately 1 hour or until inserted toothpick or knife comes out clean of batter (a few smears of melted chocolate are okay)
-let cool briefly in pan(s), then remove and let cool on a cooling rack.
-Eat for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning with softened butter while you watch the Macy's Parade and putting the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving Feast :)

*Bread will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days, and (again, well wrapped) in the freezer for several months*

Printable? Here ya go :)

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving :) I'm so grateful for you all!!!

Love
Lynniebee

Simple Unsweetened Applesauce

I promised you applesauce, did I not?

     DISCLAIMER: My camera has wandered away. It is either in one of our travel bags from when we went away a few weeks ago and never got unpacked, or it has been swallowed by the abyss of our spare room. So, the photos in my next few posts were shot on my iPhone, and I apologize in advance if the photos aren't great. I've never used photos taken on an iPhone in a blog post before, so I really have no idea of how the photos are going to look. Not gonna let loss of camera stop me!

    Anyway. Applesauce.

    This is really just a nice, basic, no-sugar applesauce that is great for baking, to feed to kids and babies, and for people who don't like really sugary or overly spiced applesauce. I found the recipe in the short-lived but awesome baby-food sub-blog over at Smitten Kitchen. The biggest change I made was that I did not peel the apples (okay, I peeled one, and then I realized how long it was going to take me to peel 4lbs worth of apples and I was working in a limited time-frame, so I skipped peeling the apples and everything was fine). This was a great way to use up apples that are just south of being good for eating. This whole thing went together quite quickly, and made my kitchen smell delicious :)

Unsweetened Applesauce
-Adapted only very slightly from Deb at Smitten Kitchen

- About 4lbs apples, cored and sliced (I used a mix of Honey Crisp and Macoun apples, but use whatever you like) Peeling is optional, do what you like.

-4 strips of lemon peel

-1 cinnamon stick (if you don't have a cinnamon stick, about 1/4tsp to 1/2tsp ground cinnamon would be fine)

-1/4 cup apple cider or unsweetened apple juice

-3/4 cup water

-Core and slice the apples (peel them if you are moved to and if you have more time than I did) and place them in a large pot.

-Add cinnamon stick, lemon peel, cider and water to the pot with the apples and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let the apples cook until they are soft, about 30-35 minutes.

-Once apples are soft, remove lemon peels and cinnamon stick and let applesauce cool a bit.

-Depending on the consistency you like, you can mash the apples down further with a potato masher or whisk. Or, for a smoother cosistency, use a food mill, blender or food processor (PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN PLACING WARM LQUIDS IN FOOD PROCESSOR OR BLENDER). I pureed mine in the food processor and it is sooo lovely and velvety ;)

UPDATE 11/11/13: IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE PEELING THE APPLES BUT DON'T WANT PEELS IN YOUR FINISHED SAUCE, YOU CAN RUN THE COOKED APPLESUACE THROUGH A FOOD MILL BEFORE PLACING IN CONTAINERS AND FREEZING :)

-The applesauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or two, and for months in the freezer :)

NOTES: As you can see, there is no sugar in this recipe, so if you're expecting a sweet sauce, you're in a for a surprise. The taste of this applesauce is very light and clear, with some really nice background notes from the lemon and cinnamon. The sauce tastes even better the next day after it has had a little chill time in the fridge :)

Next up? Mexican Rice :)

Hope this made your Monday a little brighter!

Love,
Lynn ;)

Flavored Butter

Okay Folks, I admit it, I can't resist a *handy dandy last-minute homemade gift* post ;)

Meet Flavored Butter:

Flavored Butter is our Friend! Why? Glad you asked :)

Because it's way easy, way cheap, and WAY DELICIOUS!!!

   I don't know a single person who is not busy around the holidays. On a personal note, this is the first holiday season in a very long time where I was working full-time, and the first holiday season where I have been engaged (yay!) and spending time with both my family and my fiance's family. I've been rehearsing for two plays, and, oh! Did I mention we're MOVING? (Not very far, still in CNY, and we're thrilled, but add packing onto the holiday rush and things get REALLY interesting). So yeah, not a lot of time, I know we've all been there.

  However, I love making homemade gifts, and the fact that you're reading this means that you probably do too :) The Cocoa I posted about earlier in December and these Flavored Butters are a dream come true for the DIYer in a time-crunch.

Anyone need a refresher on why butter is awesome? No? Good, didn't think so ;)

  And who better to provide the Flavored Butter recipes than the Queen of Comfort Food herself, Ms. Paula Deen? These recipes came from her Christmas Cookbook, and I couldn't more pleased with them :)

  Kids, I can't tell how how fast this butter came together. Minus the softening time (which wasn't labor intensive, I just left it out on the counter and did other stuff), this whole thing came together in about an hour, as in, I had it all blended, packaged and ready to be put it gift bags in an hour, and I multiplied each recipe by 6!!! SO. FAST. If you find yourself in need of a last minute gift, you cannot go wrong with this.

  And taste? *SWOON* So incredibly delicious :) I mean, come on, it's BUTTER mixed with marmalade, or cinnamon and honey!!! How could it possibly NOT be delicious??? After this recipe, I don't expect to see a naked piece of toast, pancake, waffle or muffin in my house for loooong time :)

  NOTE: These recipes are proportioned for 1 stick of flavored butter (as they appear in the book). To make this in bulk, multiply the recipe by the number of sticks of butter you'll be using. For example, I used 6 sticks of butter for the Cinnamon Honey Butter, and 6 sticks for the Orange Butter, so I multiplied each recipe by 6. This makes a very generous amount of flavored butter, depending on what size containers you're using, (if any), you'll most likely have leftovers :)

Orange Butter
-based on a recipe from Christmas with Paula Deen
- 1 stick (or 1/2 cup) butter, softened
- 3 tbsp. orange marmalade


-Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl (I used a hand mixer on low, it gave the butter a nice whipped consistency)

Cinnamon Honey Butter
(based on a recipe from Christmas with Paula Deen)
-1 stick (or 1/2 cup) butter, softened
-2 tbsp. honey
-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
-salt, to taste ( the salt is optional, I tasted my butter and it needed it, but yours may not, taste and see :)


- Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl (again, I used a hand mixer on low speed)

- FOR EACH RECIPE: Pack into small crock or jar (I used 4-oz canning/jelly jars) with tight fitting lid. Or, roll in waxed paper into a log shape and twist at the ends. Chill thoroughly. If rolling in wax paper, wrap the wax paper in colorful paper.

  As I'm sure you all have guessed by now, the possibilities for Flavored Butter are virtually endless, Maple, Garlic, Lemon, Herb, Fruit; the sky's the limit!!! Have Fun!!!


Happy Holidays to You All :) You are all part of what makes life so sweet for me :) Even if we haven't met in person, I love you :)

Buona Festa!!!

Lynn :)

Homemade Hot Cocoa

   It may or may not interest you to know that my absolute favorite breakfast happens to be Italian bread toast with real butter and homemade hot cocoa :)

   Let's talk about Hot Cocoa for second, shall we?

     Subtly different from hot chocolate, nothing takes me back to my childhood like a cup of Cocoa. When I was a kid, my Nana watched my brothers and I while my parents were at work. Every morning, I always wanted the same thing for breakfast, the aforementioned toast and cocoa. My Nana would perch me on the counter next to the stove so she should keep an eye on me while she cooked.This was a spot I frequently occupied, and it was on this counter, looking down into whatever she was cooking that my lifelong love affair with food began :) I would watch her mix the cocoa powder and sugar in the pan and then watch it bubble and carmelize into a paste (side note: Whenever the coca/sugar mixture started to bubble, my grandmother would always say "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble*, so maybe my Nana's kitchen is where my love of Shakespeare began too? ;) and then she would slowly pour in the milk, whisk it all together, pour it into my cup, and my morning joy would be complete :)

   So, in a nutshell: Cocoa, to me, in addition to being delicious and festive, is also supremely comforting and nostalgic. Drinking cocoa literally makes me feel like a kid again, cared for, safe, and innocent. All this in a cup of Cocoa? Yes. In my world, YES.

   This year, because of it's aforementioned qualities, I wanted to add homemade hot cocoa mix to my repertoire of homemade Holiday Gifts. I looked around online, and through some of my cookbooks, and was rather disappointed to see that most of the recipes I came across were, like, 3 parts sugar to 1 part cocoa powder. I know I've said this before, but I honestly don't enjoy the taste of heavily sugared foods and drinks. I rarely drink soda, pixie sticks make me gag, etc. And, not to point out the obvious, but the drink is called *Hot Cocoa* not *Hot Sugar* (that sounds vaguely naughty, doesn't it ? ;). So I continued to look until I could find a recipe that was at least equal parts sugar and cocoa powder.

  As it turns out, I already had such a recipe in my arsenal :) This recipe (tweaked slightly by yours truly) came from a beautifully illustrated cooking and craft book by Susan Branch.
Susan Branch's books are an absolute pleasure to read. They are sort of like peeking through a friend's illustrated recipe journal. Her books have such a familiar, conversational tone and the recipes are no-fail :) What's not to like?

 I am absolutely thrilled with the way this cocoa turned out, it is exactly what I wanted it to be :) Rich but not heavy, chocolatey but not overly sweet, wicked short ingredient list, no weird chemicals or additives, and so incredibly yummy that I'm having trouble coming up with the right words to describe it, I must have used up all my poetic words up there in the first few paragraphs ;) I cannot wait to give this Hot Coca mix to my family and friends :)

Hot Coca Mix
(original recipe, adapted slightly by me, taken from Autumn from the Heart of the Home by Susan Branch)

NOTE: Since I was making this batch for holiday gifts, I multiplied this recipe by FIVE, which made ten 8oz jars of Cocoa Mix. Here, I am listing the recipe for a single batch as it appears in the book. Since I scaled it up by five and it made ten 8oz jars, I'm guessing this single batch recipe would make about two 8oz jars or one 16oz jar worth of Cocoa Mix.

-3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-3/4 cup sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (do not leave the cinnamon out! You can't really taste it, but it adds a very important note of warmth in the background. The cocoa will taste flat without it)
-1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy (optional, for experimentation's sake, I made half of the jars plain and half of the jars with the peppermint candy added) (I used a box of one-dozen average sized candy canes, but, again, I quintupled the recipe. If you're only making a single batch, you'll have a bunch of candy left over, but it can always be sprinkled over your favorite dessert or hot drink :) 
-1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste 

- If starting with candy canes, place them in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until crushed. Alternatively, you could put them in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin or heavy pot.

-Mix all ingredients together in appropriately sized bowl, depending on what size batch you are making.

-TASTE TASTE TASTE!!! Not that it's not important all the time, but with this recipe in particular, I cannot emphasize enough how important tasting is. This is just a base cocoa recipe, you are going to want to alter it to your preferences. The best way to do this is to wet your finger or dip the edge of a wet spoon into the coca mix and taste and adjust accordingly (or, pour yourself a test cup of cocoa, you know, for quality control ;). As I was working on this batch, I added more cinnamon and more salt, and I upped the peppermint candy ratio a little bit too. Play with the ingredient proportions until it tastes right to you. Yes, the milk will dilute it, but you still want the right balance of flavor notes.

-Store in airtight container and you're done. Dang short recipe, no? If you're keeping this mix for yourself and don't feel like getting fancy, any airtight container (i.e. tupperware, etc) will do. But, since I was giving these as holiday gifts, I fancied it up a little :)

  -With the aid of a measuring cup and a funnel, pour the hot cocoa mix into decorative glass canning jars:)    (Warning: Even with the funnel, this can get a little messy, be prepared for some cocoa dust.)

-Place lids on jars and label as necessary :)

(Yes, that is my cat in the background :)



Wrap up these lovely jars up all pretty-like and give them to your loved ones, and be sure to include this recipe note (maybe as a gift tag?)

TO MAKE THE HOT COCOA:
-Add two tablespoons (or to taste) cocoa mix to 8oz (1 cup) hot milk and stir until dissolved. Garnish as desired :)

As you can see, Santa is neck deep in a hot tub of Cocoa, and he looks like a Happy Man to me :)

Note: I had a twinge of the mix left over, so that evening my family and I tried it out. Everyone loved it, and only one of my taste testers added some sugar to their cup. A winner, to be sure :) Also, VERY BUDGET FRIENDLY :) I curled up in front of my Christmas Tree with a cup of this Cocoa and all was right with the world :)

How's it going out there my all my fellow foodies and homemade gifters? Tell me of your adventures! I'm all ears :)
Love,
Lynn






















  

Broken Oven Strawberry Pie

  Life Happens.....
     Our oven is broken. Or, to be more specific, the touch pad that controls our oven is broken. A replacement part has been ordered, but it will take 7-10 days to arrive, so we remain oven-less until that time. Thankfully though, since it is the touch pad and not any of the heating elements, our stove still works :) Last weekend we had a cookout for Father's Day and my parent's wedding anniversary, which happened to fall on the same day this year. The strawberries are in full swing, *insert Lynn's happy dance of summer berry glee here*, and our original plan was to either make strawberry shortcake or take a crack at this luscious looking strawberry cake, but our sans-oven status pretty-much negated that. Perusing my Mom's cookbook shelves I came across a small, paperback cookbook from the late 1970's that was published by the Pulaski, NY, ABE Program (basically an Adult Continuing Education program). Seeing that I had taken it out, my Mom flipped through the book also and noticed this Strawberry Pie recipe. It called for a graham cracker crust, and she happened to have a pre-made crust on hand. It looked quite easy, didn't call for the oven since we already had the crust, and we had just gotten a flat of strawberries at the Farmer's Market. It was meant to be :)

   This pie is sweet and simple. Strawberries, Cream Cheese, Sugar, Cornstarch, Water. Yup, that looks a lot like just FIVE ingredients to me!  Okay, five ingredients not counting the pre-made crust that we already had. There are certainly some decent pre-made pie crusts out there, choose your favorite brand or label read until you find one that doesn't have a lot of junk in it. Or, heck, if you have one on hand that YOU made, so much the better :)

Broken Oven Strawberry Pie
- taken from the *Pulaski ABE Recipes* Book, 1979 edition. Inspired by "Glazed Strawberry Pie", submitted by Maureen Labrake of Oswego, NY.

- Pre-baked 9 inch graham cracker pie crust (a regular pie shell would be fine too)
- 1qt drained, hulled strawberries (fresh, local, in season strawberries will be best, but out of season strawberries will do in a pinch)
- One 3oz package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup of sugar (or to taste, depending on sweetness of berries)
- 3 tbsp. cornstarch

- Spread softened cream cheese over the bottom the pie shell and cover with half the berries (use the choicest and most attractive berries for this)

- Mash the remaining berries and add a little water to them if necessary until you have about 1& 1/2 cups. Transfer the berries to a saucepan, bring to a boil and stir in sugar and cornstarch. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture returns to a boil. Boil one minute.

- Allow mixture to cool slightly. Pour mixture over berries in pie shell. Chill pie for at least two hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream :) Enjoy the berries while they last :)

Idiot Proof Pot Roast

Hello Hello and Happy New Year!!!

    With my various performances closing or on a break and the holidays completed, I'm absolutely thrilled to come back to my Food Blog! As I stated on my other Blog, (<-- I  FINALLY  figured out how to  insert text links, yay!!!!) one of my goals for 2011 is to write in each of my blogs at least once a week. Obviously, I'm going to aim for more than that, but I think that shooting for once a week is a good place to start. I would have blogged earlier in the week than this, but I had a nasty sinus infection, and I am just in the last few days feeling better, thank goodness. I've missed this so much, and I can't wait to get started again :)

  For my first offering of the New Year, I turn once again to what is becoming one of my favorite *Idiot Proof* cooking tools, the Crock Pot :) I believe I sang its praises a few entries back when I made lasagna in the Crock Pot (OMG YUM). Seriously, this is another one of those recipes where (unless you care to brown the meat first) you literally just pile everything in the Crock Pot, turn it on, and then walk away from it for 6-8 hours, and the days is yours; work, shop, read a book, do absolutely nothing, or, in my case, make a few pies, but that's another blog post :)

  This is also useful in a *clean out the crisper* kind of way, I put in the veggies that I like with my Pot Roast but, really, if you like different ones, throw them in too/instead. I actually made this for the first time several years ago for a friend's birthday party, and was brought back to it a few days ago when making a low-stress holiday dinner for some dear friends :) This is pretty high up on the *Winter Comfort Food* List. Gather some friends around your table and Enjoy :)

                                      
Idiot Proof Pot Roast

- Chuck Roast ( for 4-6 people, use about 2lbs, scale up or down for number of people and their appetites:)
- a few carrots, cleaned and rough chopped
- a few stalks of celery, cleaned and rough chopped
- a few onions (or 1 large, it depends on how much onion flavor you like)
- 1 jar of tomato sauce, or one can of tomato paste, tomato puree, etc. Really, what you're looking for here is anything that will add a tomato base flavor. Yes, ketchup will work in a pinch, but you'll basically never see me willingly use ketchup in a recipe.
- An equivalent amount of water to the tomato (i.e. if you used one jar of tomato sauce, fill the same jar up with water)
- whatever other flavors you like in your pot roast, Wine ( my personal fave), Worcestershire Sauce, Steak Sauce, some people swear by Cream of Mushroom Soup (though I've never tried it myself), whatever you like :)
- whatever seasonings you like, I used salt and pepper (a given), a little bit of parsley and some French Thyme.

-  (If browning the meat, brown in a large saute pan ,cut into smaller pieces if necessary, add to Crock Pot with rest of ingredients)
- Add meat, veggies, tomato, water, flavorings and seasonings to Crock Pot (order doesn't really matter)
- Turn Crock Pot to High and let cook for 6-8 hours
- Tranfer meat and veggies to a serving platter. The cooking liquid can be served on the side as au jus. This is what I usually do, if you like you can turn the Crock Pot to Low and just leave the au jus in the and serve it with a ladle. Or you can thicken it into a gravy with a little flour and a little butter. Serve.

- This would be lovely with mashed potatoes, but we actually served it with roasted potatoes. We quartered potatoes, coated them with canola oil, salt, pepper and Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (which is good on everything, not just pasta) and roasted them at 475 degrees for about 50 minutes until golden.
- NOM :)

Love,
Lynn

Oh! P.S. What do you think of the template? It's one of the stock background options that Blogger offers. I though the paint splatters went with the whole *Kitchen as Canvas* idea, but I don't want it to look too busy. Anyone feel like teaching me how to custom design my own template? Later Gators :)