Brunch

Cinnamon Rolls (Old-Fashioned) and Egg-Cheese-Sausage Casserole for Brunch

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My children (and the rest of my family) know that if they come for Christmas, and only at Christmas, they’ll get old-fashioned cinnamon rolls baked fresh for Christmas breakfast.  Not the big sprawling gooey caramel-laden gobsters they sell at the mall; my rolls are white, light, and purely cinnamon in flavor.  A tiny drizzle of  light,  powdered sugar-milk glaze is all the topping they need.  My family also gets the standard egg-cheese-sausage casserole or strata–the same recipe my mother-in-law made (and still makes) for years.  I sometimes dream up a small variation (peppers or mushrooms on top) and one wild and wooly Christmas I made a different egg casserole all together.  Wow.  Outside the box for sure.  But what are holidays for if not for some sort of tradition (whatever kind) that seems to wear well from year to year?

To the side might be a fresh fruit salad, or even a big bowl of cuties to peel yourself.  To drink will be a gorgeous glass pitcher of kid-style–everyone likes it, though– cranberry punch (cranberry juice and 7-up with a splash orange juice and fresh oranges, lemons, and limes.) Adults can doctor their glass as they see fit. 

Before that, however, a big pot of coffee is ready and stockings are looked into.  Some cocoa with peppermint schnapps or brandy are possible additions or substitutions for non-coffee drinkers.  Gifts are for later, though children might be allowed to open one or two while the rolls rise.  Basically, sustenance first.

If you’re a food blogger, eventually (or even right away) your family and/or holiday traditions find their way onto the blog.  I’ve been meaning to get this up for years.  I’ve taken the pictures once or twice, but have never done the deed.  Despite this being way into January,  I’m posting it so it’ll be done.   If you’d like to make an easy (not really fast) brunch this winter, here you are!    Pictures first. Recipes last.  Enjoy…
Do we get any?

The Brunch:

  • Egg-Cheese-Sausage Casserole

  • Cinnamon Rolls (Old-Fashioned)

  • Cut-up Fruit or a Bowl of Cuties

  • Cranberry Punch (Leaded/Unleaded)

  • Coffee and/or Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps or Brandy

The Day Ahead:

Start both the roll dough and the egg casserole the day before you need them unless you eat a very late brunch indeed.  The dough rises twice, so you need 3 hours plus mixing and rolling time.  I often make the dough, let it rise the first time, divide it in half (half for cinnamon rolls and half for dinner rolls or two batches of cinnamon rolls if you need them), put it in plastic bags and refrigerate it overnight.  (In fact, it could be done two days ahead, but no more.) Then I only need roll it out, cut it, and let the rolls rise (second rise) in the pan and bake them.  While the rolls rise, I bake the egg casserole.  It needs to rest a little before cutting, and the rolls don’t bake too long, so things do sort of come out around the same time.

Cinnamon Rolls: 

See recipe and instructions below photographs. 

I make the dough now in a standing mixer (KitchenAid) and put it into a greased bread bowl to rise. But for many years I just did the whole thing by hand and so can you if you’ve got good strong hands.  (No big bowl?  Use a large pot and wrap it up in a bunch of towels.)  If it’s cold, and the house is cool, I heat the oven to 200 and place the covered bowl on or near the stove for the dough to rise.  You want no drafts around this dough or it will rise too slowly:

Let the dough rise and double in size after you’ve first mixed it.

 After the dough’s risen, I punch it down, divide it in half and place each half in a gallon plasic bag.
It goes in the refrigerator until the next day.  Leave a corner of the bag open to make sure the bag doesn’t burst.  The dough will rise more in the bag (even in the refrigerator.)

Next morning, when  you’re ready to bake the rolls, grease a 9x12x2 baking pan.

Take the dough out, punch it down to get the air out,  and firmly pat or roll it out into a rectangular shape using a rolling pin or wine bottle or can of PAM if you’re really desperate.

 It needn’t be perfect, but an approximate 11-inch by 15-inch rectangle is the goal.
Using your warm hands, spread about a tablespoon of soft butter over the dough.

 Sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar mixture. (1/4 cup white sugar to 2 teaspoon sugar)

 Using your thumbs, begin to tightly roll up the dough at the long side.  Your goal is a tight roll.

 Once the entire rectangle is rolled, pinch the end of the roll into the rest of the dough so that the entire roll is sealed except for the ends.

 Cut the roll in half, then in half again, repeating until you have 15-16 slices–

An end might be too small to cut again.

 Places the rolls, cut side down as possible, in the prepared pan, spreading them out as evenly as possible as they’ll expand when they rise.

These needn’t look perfect; they’ll all rise together and make a beautiful pan of rolls.

Let the rolls rise to fill the pan–30-60 minutes, depending on how warm your room is.  You can put them in a hot oven for a minute or two to “push” the rise, pull them out,  and then cover them while they sit on the stove.  That’ll save a bit of time.  However you do it, you want the rolls to rise in a warm spot, not a cold one.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the rolls about 15 minutes until just beginning to brown nicely.

See?

 While the rolls bake, mix up a glaze (see icing recipe below)…and…….

 Drizzle the rolls with a tiny bit of glaze while hot.

Serve with the Egg-Cheese-Sausage Casserole, of course.

Cinnamon Rolls–Courtesy early ’70’s Betty Crocker Sweet Roll Dough:
     use half of this dough for 1 pan of cinnamon rolls …  or all of it for two pans … or 1/2 for cinnamon rolls (15)
                    and 1/2 for 12-16 dinner rolls, depending on the style and size 

1/2 cup water warm to the touch (test it on your wrist–you want it warm like a baby’s bottle–any
           warmer and it’ll kill the yeast.)
2 packages dry yeast or 4 1/2 teaspoons
1/2 cup just barely warm milk
1/2 cup white, granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons butter, soft
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2-5 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour, divided

original directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in milk, sugar, butter, and eggs.  Mix well.  Beat in 2 1/2 cups flour and beat until smooth.  Mix in enough additional flour to make the dough easy to handle.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl; turn greased side up.  (At this point, dough can be refrigerated 3-4 days.)  Cover; let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.  (Dough is ready if impression remains when touched.)

Punch down dough.  Shape dough into desired rolls or coffee cakes.  Cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.   Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake as directed.

This dough could the be made into cinnamon rolls, frosted orange rolls, chocolate cinnamon rolls, butterfly rolls, cheese diamonds,  balloon buns, or various coffee cakes.

For cinnamon rolls:

  • 1/2 recipe dough
  • 2 tablespoons soft butter
  • 1/4 cup (white granulated) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing:

Mix 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla together until smooth. 

Directions:

  1. Roll out dough into rectangle, 15×9 inches, spread with butter.  Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over rectangle.  Roll up, beginning at wide side.  Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well.  Stretch roll to make even.
  2. Cut roll into 15 slices.  Place slightly apart in greased baking pan, 13x9x2 inches or in greased muffin cups.  Let rise until double.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  (I find this is too long; I like my rolls less crispy.) While warm, frost rolls with icing.

For crescent dinner rolls, using the other half of the dough:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Take the other half of the dough and roll it into a large circle, about 12″ in diameter.  Spread with soft butter.  Cut into 16 wedges.  Roll up, beginning at rounded edge.  Place rolls, with point underneath (or pinch points into body of roll), on greased baking sheet.  Brush with butter.  Bake 15 minutes or until golden.

egg–cheese-sausage casserole
6-8 servings

  • 2 cups milk
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 slices bread, cubed
  • 1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage cooked and drained
  • 2 cups grated cheddar (or other) cheese   

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Beat together milk, eggs, mustard, and salt.  Stir in bread, sausage and cheese.  Pour into 2 quart rectangular casserole. Cover and refrigerate overnight if possible.  Remove from refrigerator.   Bake 45 minutes or until firm, golden, and crispy at the edges.  Remove and let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Variation:  After preparing casserole and before baking, top with 1/4 cup each chopped onions, mushrooms, and red bell peppers.  Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper.
You can also use ham or cooked, chopped bacon instead of sausage.  Other options are to stir in 2-3 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a clove or two of chopped garlic that you have lightly sauteed beforehand.  I have also added chopped green chiles once or twice!

Sing a new song,
Alyce

50 Women Game-Changers Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, #32 – Sullivan’s Island Shrimp Bog

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 Big bunch of bacon. (This is good.  I’m married to someone who eats anything with bacon.)  Next:  tons of onions.  Rice. Lots of shrimp, ahhh.  All cooked together in one lovely mess called a bog.  For those of us with no real connection to the south-eastern coastal states, a bog brings to mind cranberries in Maine or Wisconsin, even.  Or being stuck at work, as in:  “I’m all bogged down writing that article.”  But this bog, this “Sullivan’s Island Shrimp Bog,” is just what it sounds like:  mounds of steamed shrimp mixed up on top of a velvety oh-so-thick tomatoed, oniony, spicy rice–perfect for brunch or a lunch bunch.  If the words “comfort food” weren’t so over-used and so inappropriate (comfort food being food you had a gazillion times as a kid…), I’d call this comfort food extraordinaire.  Comfort food x100.

Just for fun, here’s the wikipedia definition of a bog:   A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens.

Food for thought, I’d say.  Read on:

From Gourmet Live’s 50 Women Food-Changers, #32 Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian (of the Edible Communities magazines fame) comes this jambalaya or sopa seca-like dish that will be one of your go-tos for days like Super Bowl or Book Club Supper.  Or make it just for you; halved it was a beautiful supper for two with lovely lunch leftovers.

Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian published the book Edible, A Celebration of Local Foods in 2010 after a long and successful career designing, writing, and publishing locavore food magazines…. (as well as lots of other impressive things)  Local peeps are familiar with the free edible TWIN CITIES.

In Tracey’s own words….

Then, in 2002, we decided to launch our first magazine, Edible Ojai, which was very well received. From 2002 to 2004, we worked on a plan to expand and have multiple magazines, calling it Edible Communities. In the early stages of that plan, we thought we would do the additional magazines ourselves, perhaps up and down the California coast. Then, in January of 2004, Saveur magazine included Edible Ojai in their “Top 100” for the year and within a week of that issue hitting newsstands, we had calls from over 400 people asking us for an Edible magazine in their community. That is when we decided it would be better to change the model so that each magazine could be locally owned and operated by people in the communities we published in.
Edible Communities officially started in May 2004, with the launch of Edible Cape Cod. (courtesy dailygreen.com — Read more) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hence the eventual cookbook and hence our sweet bog recipe. Buy the stuff; make it soon!

by the way:  sullivan’s island is near charleston, south carolina

                          sullivan’s island shrimp bog : 6 servings        

   Cooks’s Note:   I halved this and made it in a 3.5 qt cast iron, lidded pot:  we couldn’t stop eating it.  There was plenty for two of us and probably enough left for tomorrow’s lunch if Dave doesn’t get up in the middle of the night and eat it.  fyi  I exactly halved the spices (as well as all else) and we found them perfect–a bit spicy without being too hot.  This is perky, bright and addictive.  Drink beer with this unless  you have a great off-dry riesling.

ingredients: 

  • 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
  • 1/2 pound sliced bacon, finely chopped
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more if needed
  • 2 1/4 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 pounds medium shrimp (40 count), shelled and deveined I used cooked shrimp in shells
  • 1/4 cup very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
procedures
  1. In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice well under cold running water. Drain well; set aside.
2.In a large heavy Dutch oven or stockpot, cook the bacon over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined dish; set aside. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat remaining in the pot. Add the onions to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the drained rice, salt, nutmeg, black pepper, and cayenne and stir for 1 minute.
3.      Stir in the broth, tomatoes with liquid, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon and the shrimp and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp is cooked through, adding more broth if the rice seems to be drying out, about 10 minutes. Stir the bog with a fork. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Sprinkle with parsley, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve immediately.

Check out how the other bloggers are honoring the 50 Women Game-Changers:
                                                     *******************


Sue – The View from Great Island   
Taryn – Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan – The Spice Garden              
Heather – girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney 
 Mary – One Perfect Bite
Barbara – Movable Feasts              
Jeanette – Healthy Living
Linda – Ciao Chow Linda              
Linda A – There and Back Again
Martha – Lines from Linderhof       
Mireya – My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica – My Catholic Kitchen     
Annie – Lovely Things
Nancy – Picadillo                        
Claudia – Journey of an Italian Cook

Val – More Than Burnt Toast       
Joanne – Eats Well With Others
                                                   ***************************
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Jambalaya 

Risotto

Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood return next post,friends.  But while the pups are off, listen to a great young singer I’m listening to tonight… Jeremy Anderson.  His new album is out (click on his name)  and he does all the tracks himself.  Sometimes 12!! He’s got some music on itunes, too.

 Sing a new song, make this shrimp and listen to Jeremy,
Alyce

Ricotta, Chive, and Prosciutto Omelette-Donna Hay-50 Women Game-Changers in Food-#31

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 Lydia Walshin (The Perfect Pantry) often has great recipe links on fb.  One day, she linked to a recipe for Stir-Fried Rice with Mushrooms from Jeanette’s Healthy Living.  Jeanette’s recipe came from the famous Chinese cook and cookbook author, Barbara Tropp, of whom I’m very fond.  The post title indicated the recipe was part of the 50 Women Game-Changers in Food blogging effort.  Each week, bloggers from all over the country feature the recipes of one of the 50 Women Game-Changers from the Gourmet Live List published last May.  I had to get in on this thing and here I am the very next week, blogging down-under Donna Hay’s recipe for Ricotta, Chive, and Prosciutto Omelettes.  Thanks, fellow food bloggers, for the warm welcome.  I’m thrilled to be participating!
 

Donna Hay is Australia’s premier food editor and cookbook writer who began at the young age of 19 as a writer and food stylist.   By 25, she was the food editor for marie claire.  Since then, she’s published 18 award-winning cookbooks and now is the editor of the bi-monthly donna hay magazine with a circulation of nearly 400,000.  Donna also has a popular weekly food column in the Sunday editions of News Limited newspapers around Australia and The New Zealand Herald, reaching over seven million people each week. She is a regular contributor to UK’s leading lifestyle magazine, Living etc.  Click here for a list of Donna’s recipes and menus and here for the magazine’s ipad app.

Before I began this blogging adventure, I had downloaded the magazine app for my ipad, which I keep in the kitchen unless I’m traveling.  The easy-to-use format of this beautiful app sold me as much as did the pictures that told such clear stories.  While looking at food photos, the reader can click and choose between reading the recipe (including photo, ingredients list, and story/directions) and cook mode, which with just a push of the finger takes you from the first bit of instructions to the last, page by page.  Right now, from what I can see, there are just a couple of issues available free.  Keep an eye out for more.

My ipad with the donna hay mag at center. Screensaver: Colorado kitchen!
While not a great photo, you get the idea of how fun this is to use.

Let’s cook… 

In the pan with the egg ring.  Watch carefully to avoid burning.

This very quick, light meal consists of a souffle omelet (one in which the eggs are separated and the whites are whipped to peaks before the yolks are gently folded back in) with a tiny taste of salad –the spinach–and a bit of salty Italian ham for garnish and kick.  Two eggs truly make two servings here. If you’re on South Beach, this will cook with just a bit of adjustment.

 ricotta, chive, and prosciutto omelettes by donna hay

Just add Chardonnay.

                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next up: #32  Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian

The gorgeous, intelligent locavores of the magazine world, Ryder and Topalian’s Edible series now numbers 60 editions, from Allegheny to WOW (southeast Michigan). And, despite the handicap of being free print mags, they actually make money!  (courtesy Gourmet Live)

Check out how the other bloggers are honoring the 50 Women Game-Changers:


Sue – The View from Great Island   
Taryn – Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan – The Spice Garden              
Heather – girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney 
 Mary – One Perfect Bite
Barbara – Movable Feasts              
Jeanette – Healthy Living
Linda – Ciao Chow Linda              
Linda A – There and Back Again
Martha – Lines from Linderhof       
Mireya – My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica – My Catholic Kitchen     
Annie – Lovely Things
Nancy – Picadillo                        
Claudia – Journey of an Italian Cook

Val – More Than Burnt Toast       
Joanne – Eats Well With Others

If you liked this recipe, you might like:

Herb-Spinach Egg White Omelet on the Dinner Place blog

 

How to make an omelet

Sing a new song, cook a new recipe….

Alyce  
All photos  by Alyce Morgan, copyright 2012-unless otherwise noted or obvious.
Donna Hay photo courtesy donna hay magazine.

Pumpkin-Ginger Bread–or Alyce Tweaks the Pumpkin Bread One More Time

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Muffin version in front of my winter herb window

PREVIEW:  DROP IN AND DECORATE IS MONDAY, DECEMBER 20 4-8PM

COME BY ALYCE’S TO DECORATE A FEW COOKIES, SHARE A MEAL OF SOUP AND BREAD, OR TO JUST ENJOY THE SEASON.  COOKIES WILL BE HAND-DELIVERED TO THE BRIDGE, ASSISTED LIVING CENTER THE FOLLOWING DAY.  PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR.  SEE YOU THEN!!!! 

One or two things I make during the holiday season go from September-January.  Pumpkin bread is one of them.  If you know me well, you’ve eaten my pumpkin bread.  I have several versions and every one is different and unique and yummy and… special.  I kind of work of it from year to year.  My choirs eat it; my husband lathers cream cheese on it.  I make it into muffins; my friends husbands say to their wives, “Why don’t you make anything like this?”  (Mostly because they’re eating cake at dinner.) 

This year, I had sweet ideas. Whoa:  Candied ginger.  Black pepper.  Cayenne.  Pumpkin seeds.  I tried it out.  Twice. Increased the ginger the second time.  Passed it around at home and elsewhere.  I took some to St. Paul, where we visited for Thanksgiving, froze our butts off, made it through a job interview (me-whewgladitzovah), 13 houses,  and came home drop-in-bed sick from.  We ate it there for breakfast.  Every day. Ah.  Thanksgiving time!  So I’m keeping this version.  It seemed to go over well, even with Sue’s friend Gladys, a top-notch cook and baker at 91.  She did say, however,

“WHAT is in this?  I don’t like eating stuff when I don’t know what’s in it.” 

I think it was the candied ginger and the cranberries.  Of course the black pepper might have done it, too.  Or the cayenne.  Well.   I like pepper in bread; sue me.  And I’m gonna go right on making it. Like that. It does make super gifts and can be made as tiny loaves, muffins or big loaves.  Maybe even T-tiny muffins for a buffet.  Try it; you’ll like it.  Everyone else did.  Better make a bunch.  (Provenance:  I think the original recipe for this came from THE FANNY FARMER BAKING BOOK.)  Freezes well.  (No longer than 2-3 weeks, though)

Pumpkin seeds.  Use some in the bread.  Eat the rest.  Good for you.  Great in bread!

Alyce’s Newest Pumpkin Bread Featuring Candied Ginger and Black Pepper.  OH, and Cayenne, too.

  • 1/2 c dried cranberries
  • 1 c boiling water
  • 2/3 c butter, soft (to cut fat, use half apple-sauce–no more than that)
  • 2 c pumpkin ( a can is 15 oz now; add applesauce to complete the  2 c)
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 1/4 c sugar
  • 1/3 c candied ginger, minced
  • 2/3 c evaporated milk, low-fat or fat-free  (can use regular milk instead)
  • 3 1/3 c unbleached white flour
  • 2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1 1/2 t salt  (sorry, left out of original post–corrected  11/18/11)
  • 2t Chinese or Vietnamese cinnamon
  • 1/2 t freshly-ground nutmeg
  • 1 t ground cloves
  • 1/2 t black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/4-1/3 c salted or unsalted pumpkin seeds (I like salted)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F for bread or 400 for muffins. Grease and flour pans.  For muffins pans, grease only.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together cranberries and boiling water.  Set aside.
  3. With hand-held electric or standing electric mixer, beat together in a large bowl butter, pumpkin, applesauce, eggs, sugar and candied ginger until light and fluffy.  Beat in milk until well-mixed.
  4. On top of the wet ingredients, measure dry ingredients:  flour, soda, baking powder, spices.  Carefully mix just the dry ingredients with a spoon or rubber spatula, trying to avoid mixing the dry ingredients into the wet.  Using electric mixer, beat wet and dry ingredients together until just incorporated.  Don’t over beat.  Drain cranberries well and stir into batter gently.
  5. If desired, sprinkle pumpkin seeds into bottom of prepared pans (9×5) or baby loaf pans (3×5 or similar) or muffin tins.  Use ice cream scoop for muffins. 
  6. For loaves or baby loaf pans, bake at 350 for about an hour or half-hour, respectively.  Test for doneness with a toothpick or skewer; it will come out almost clean when the bread is done.  Leave in pans 5 minutes.  Bang bottoms of pans on board, floor or counter before turning out on to racks carefully to cool completely.   If sticking, use thin, sharp knife to go around edges.  When absolutely cool, wrap well in foil.  Store on counter 1-2 days, in frig for 2-3 days, and in freezer up to 2-3 weeks.
  7. If in muffin tins, bake at 400 F for maybe 15 minutes or until nicely browned and firm to the touch.  Turn out immediately onto metal cooling racks.  Follow storage instructions above, though muffins store well in large plastic containers that are freezer safe.

This is a great pumpkin bread pan loaf.  Pan available at Williams-Sonoma.  (Design changes year to year.)

Just thought you’d like to see the options….

Bake now while it’s quiet one night.  Wrap up your treasures carefully in shiny foil. You can even put ribbons on them before you put them in the freezer.  Be ready as you move through Advent into Christmas.  Or as you hit the second day of Hanukkah.  Breathe and study.  Live and love.  Don’t get crazy over what you’re supposed to do.   Or as you live through another day…
Don’t let the light go out (see and hear song, LIGHT ONE CANDLE)  and, while you’re at it, pray that I see the the path where God is undoubtedly shining it if I just could only be aware enough…
 
Alyce

Cooking with Music-French-Session II

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If you haven’t been here before, I occasionally teach cooking classes at home.  Each class teaches a whole menu and each menu is focused upon a culture, country or culinary form.  This is the second session of Cooking with Music-French and there were two students–mom and four-year-old daughter. 

While August isn’t, perhaps, the very best time to learn how to bake quiche, it IS the very best time to learn how to make a great salad.  And is anytime a bad time to learn how to make a pie crust?  And, hey,  the quiche tastes wonderfully for lunch.  Chocolate mousse?  Whenever.  Here’s today’s bunch:

Chocolate Mousse = First, of course
Life is short
This is a no-egg chocolate mousse as eggs are bad boys right now:
Just melt 3/4 c chocolate chips with 3T butter and let that cool.
Whip up 1 cup of whipping cream and add 1T sugar at the end.
Fold a tiny bit of whipping cream into the chocolate to lighten it up a bit and
then fold into the chocolate the rest of the cream in three or four batches.  Spoon into pretty glasses or ramekins and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours.
Garnish with a dollop of whipping cream, some berries or grated chocolate
Et voila!  Mousse au chocolat!
Moving on from mousse to pate brisee, the super easy crust for the quiche.
“Hey, I can make a pie crust; who knew?”

Getting dirty…but eating fresh!  Like two minutes old.
Talk about organic food.  Making Jamie Olivers’s chopped salad. (click here to see the video)
Pixie dusting the salad with kosher salt and the pepper she ground.
FINALLY getting to eat dessert.  Took long enough.
We did it.
We not only cooked, we cooked together.
What a day.
We can now make–for ANYONE!!–the following menu:
Menu
Salade Printemps (spring salad w/ fresh herbs)
Quiche avec jambon et fromage (Ham and Cheese quiche)
Mousse au chocolat  (Chocolate mousse)
Fromages (cheese)
Baguette (long, thin loaf of bread) avec buerre (with butter)
Vin: (wine)
Bourgogne (blanc) (2007)-Laboure-Roi, Meursault, Cote d’Or, France
Beaujolais (2008)- Pierre Chermette, Saint Verand, France
Next Cooking with Music is
ITALIAN
Pizza as an appetizer
Two main course soups (one vegetarian)
Apple crostada (free form pie)
Offered Saturday, September 18, 2010
12:30-?
We’ll cook and eat together.
Students may invite one guest for dinner each- approximately 5:30pm
Includes wine
Cost:  $50 per student
I have one opening for this class at present, but am happy to repeat it if I have requests.
This is a meal wonderful to learn for a dinner party because everything but the pizza (and it’s nearly ready) can be done in advance so that you can be…
NOT NERVOUS
HAVE TIME TO BATHE AND DRESS
ENJOY YOUR OWN PARTY
————————————————————————–
 
Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood or Kitchen:
Grilling Colorado peaches for a peach salsa or dessert…a blog to come!
There’s the grilled peach salsa–perfect for bbq grilled pork chops, shrimp tacos or salmon.
Skippy Jon Jones–visiting Aunt Alyce and Uncle Dave again
And they called it “puppy love.”
A few things you might do around the kitchen this week:
Buy a bunch of green beans, trim them and blanch them (2-3 min in boiling water) and throw them in freezer bags into the freezer for the winter.  I got mine for 88cents a pound.
Ditto zucchini or summer squash.
Ditto corn on the cob.  Cook it, let it cool, cut it off the cob and put it in freezer bags.
Buy a dozen red, green, yellow peppers and cut them up and freeze them in small quantities.
Go to the nursery or wherever and buy some herbs to pot and take indoors for the fall.
Stake out your apple-picking spot.  Plan a picking date.
Clean out your freezer and defrost it while it’s still warm so you’ll be ready to cook, bake and freeze this fall.
There’s still time to make peach freezer jam while the peaches are very inexpensive.  I saw some Colorado peaches for 99 cents a pound at King Soopers’.
Eat lots of salad with lots of fresh herbs and great tomatoes.
Try a home-made Cobb or a Greek Salad with grilled chicken.
Make gazpacho.
Make caprese salad.
Consider making and freezing tomato sauce.
Blueberries from Canada are still available if you want to freeze some.  Just throw them in the bag unwashed.  (Rinse them when you use them.)
Sing a new song,
Alyce

Cooking with Music

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(Chocolate Mousse the easy way!)

Today was the first summer session of Cooking with Music at my house, which is a group of lessons or classes that combine food, culture, and music from specific countries or cultures.  French was first up–

MENU CHEZ MORGAN

Hors-d’oeuvres (appetizers):   Fromage avec pain  — Cheese with Bread
Entree  (First Course)  Salad Printemps avec vinaigrette dijonnaise-  Spring Salad with mustard vinaigrette or….Everyday Chopped Salad (from Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food–we used the on-line video)
Plat principal  (Main Course)  Quiche  -Cooking with Music Quiche (Lesson on Pate Brisee; quiche w/ bacon and pruscuitto)
Dessert (Dessert)  Mousse au Chocolat -Chocolate Mousse with Whipped Cream and Strawberries

Beginning French Lesson was a great online video from Alain Le Lait

We began with

Bonjour!
Comment ca va?
Bien!  Tres Bien!  Et vous?
Pas mal.

And so on.

(Alain:  They loved Josette!)

I passed out notebooks and each student had a different color and their photo on the front.  Inside were maps of the world, Europe, info on the country of France, links to all of the sites we used in the lessons, all of the recipes and notes, and some coloring pages for the younger ones.

We went over the geography of France first.  Where was it?   While we did that, we listened to French folk songs…  But soon, if we wanted to eat before supper time, we needed to begin.  We made the mousse first and got it in the frig.   Next, we learned to make pastry dough ( Pate Brisee) and quiche filling.  That went in the oven while we watched a video on how to make chopped salad and made the salad.  Table set.  A little cheese.  Lunch was served.   It began to look like a piano lesson was going to have to be another day.

Merci! Merci!  to Jacque, Joel and Ellen.  Good cooks all!!!!
What are you cooking for Father’s Day?

Here are a few highlights.

Working on liquid measuring technique

Using Le Creuset cookware on a gas stove…

Hot stuff in a Krups blender….
I get the taste test!
I want to see.
We all work together.
How to fill a quiche without spilling the filling.
Maybe.
Ok, How did Jamie chop cress?
Should we watch the video again?   Watch those fingers!
Oh, yeah.  That’s a chopped salad.
Hey, I made that quiche!
At the table…finally!
Oh, by the way, you need to put a grace to music.  Here are the words:
Come, Lord.  Teach us to care, share and be grateful.  And most of all, teach us to love you and all you love.
We got a tune we’re workin’ on.
We did it!
Et voila! Mousse au chocolat:)  Another French food convert.
We’ll have the piano lesson with French music another day!  Phew.
A bientot!

Prune Quick Bread or Something Different for Mother’s Day Brunch

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Before the quick bread post, click on the link below to send a Mother’s Day Card that will work toward ending hunger…  from THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME–BLOGGERS AGAINST HUNGER.  HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, FRIENDS…
http://gifts.wfp.org/
                                                NOW ON TO THE BREAD!!
My husband loves this bread.
But, when I mentioned to him (before he tasted it)  that I was working on a recipe for prune bread, he made a face, rolled his eyes and laughed.  Sometimes, we never escape third-grade humor.
I don’t cook a lot with prunes, but have remembered a couple of great recipes  lately…one was from THE SILVER PALATE.  I want to say it was Chicken Marabella and it was famous.  The other is a pork roast with prunes that’s to exhale repeatedly over. French recipe. OOOOh.  It’s lovely. So different.  So smooth.   So company friendly.  Reheats like a champ over the weekend after a Friday night dinner party.

Back to the bread.  I made this bread when I was working on an article called, “Quick Bread 101,”  in which I attempted to work out a basic quick bread recipe that let you add whatever you had on hand …say bananas, apples, blueberries, etc.  I think I got it right, but this variation is my absolute favorite.  It would be a sweet Mother’s Day gift, a great addition to brunch. 

I’ve been gone a few days to a funeral, so thought it was a good time to bring out the prune bread recipe and share it on the blog.  If you tried it from examiner, sorry.  I have re-written the recipe specifically for prunes.  It makes stuperous muffins!!  (stuperous is my word for something between stupendous and super)
Alyce’s mom and nephew Michael…..
Prune Nut Bread        
makes 1 9x5x3  loaf
                                                         
1 c prunes, chopped
1 1/2 c orange juice 
     Simmer chopped prunes in orange juice for about five minutes.   Let cool slightly.
4T melted butter, cooled, or canola oil 
1 egg (you might want to use 2 at altitude)
     Mix cooled butter/oil and egg and add to orange juice and prunes. 
     Set aside.
21/2 c unbleached flour
1 c sugar
3 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 c chopped nuts
     In a large bowl, mix well all dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and stir just until well-mixed.
Spoon into greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan.  Bake about 50 minutes until bread is firm to the touch, is pulling away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out with just a few moist crumbs.  Let cool in pan 5 min.   Bang pan on counter or board and turn out onto rack to cool completely before slicing.  Keep well-wrapped on counter for 1-2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Can be made into muffins.  Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 400F 15 min.  Turn out on to rack to cool.
TWO-DOG KITCHEN AND AROUND THE ‘HOOD
  As I write, Friar Tuck is over at Dr. Bill’s getting a little nip and tuck done to raise his voice.  Yes, Tucker’s getting neutered, but, you know, it had to happen.   I apologized ahead of time because he’ll be a little groggy afterward.
          ….              …..                …..                         …….
(Below:   Later this afternoon……Poor baby)
.)
Our sour-cherry tree in bloom.  Pie cherries will be ready about the fourth of July.  Come pick before the birds get them all.  If we get up early to bake before the heat comes, we can have pie for the holiday.
Sing a new song; bake a new bread;
Happy Mother’s Day!
Alyce
—–
In Memorium…Carol Curtiss..The Quintessential Lutheran Party Girl..
God, Love Her!

Easter Brunch or Howling Wind Precedes Mimosas

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Green Bean Mustard Rosemary Salad..

Note:  This blog was begun late in Holy Week and has been added to throughout.  The last entry will be on Easter Monday  when I will hopefully have time to pull the whole shebang together.  Until then, sing a new song, friends.
.
Earlier in the week:

The wind is blowing, oh, about 50 miles an hour–no joke.  It kept me up half the night.

Hippity, hoppity, Easter’s on its way…………….

Perhaps in the south, way in the south, the weather is conducive to and making like Easter.  Maybe in Mississippi or Alabama, the grass is way green and the tulips are waving their pretty little heads, showing off their Easter bonnets.   Maybe in Mexico.

But here, up on the Mesa near the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, winter must howl its way out of existence.  There is no ushering in like a lamb.  Out here, it’s all lion.   While the air has warmed up enough to turn off the heat for one or two days (and to give up baking), every few days there is still a snow or wind storm and we’re reminded that we are not in charge here.  Snow and Easter lilies; these are my favorite sorts of (and the typical Colorado spring) combinations.  So, it’s really like this:

Baby, it’s cold outside….

There is one hopeful, tiny row of daffodils in an extremely sunny spot down the street.  Huh.

And once more, the seasons of Lent and Advent mix and murk-up life.  I once had a friend who said, “It isn’t Christmas unless you find a piece of Easter grass under the sofa when you’re cleaning.”   As I dig through the junk drawer, looking for a little Easter bauble for the table, I come across Christmas ornaments that didn’t make it into the box in the attic.  Or I see a snowman I missed at the top of a bookshelf.  Just when I think I am ready to believe grace is mine, it seems I’m thinking about waiting for the messiah to be born in my heart.  Ah, gee.

No only that, but in my faith, huge, magnificent, screaming winds are not for Easter.  The are for Pentecost, the birth of the church.  I dunno.

And, by golly, I blogged unleavened bread last week.  Ok, I’m confused for sure.  But, if you’re celebrating Passover, check out our Chinese meal and  fix the green onion pancakes, which are not really pancakes, but tasty chewy flatbreads cooked on top of the stove in a skillet.  Rolling the eyes and taking a big breath here.

Meantime, I’m believing Easter will come.  The winds will die down.  I’ll make it through Maudy Thursday and Good Friday services.  I’ll cook through the Saturday vigil.  And, like the rest of the world, I’ll wait to be saved.  Or free.  Or sinless.  Guiltless.  Clean.  Loved.  New slate.  Ready, set, go.

Again.

This year, our brunch is capital “S” Simple.  Friends are coming and bringing part of the meal.  I won’t be putting the whole thing together until Sunday after church, but will do a trial run of a quiche for grins, giggles and fotos.  I’ll gear up the table (which will be filled with grass, eggs, chocolate, etc.) a bit and get it all together for you, but will try to get more complete photos as I work on the meal over the weekend.  Perhaps I’ll be better with the camera than I was on a regular writing/photography gig today.  When I arrived at Patsy’s Candies to take pictures for an article, my battery was dead in the camera.  This from a woman who spent the $50 to have a BACKUP BATTERY and left it at home.

You see how it is this week.  This blog will be a work-in-progress.  Like all of us at Easter.

 Or anytime.

Ok-The bread- Columba de Pasqua- is first.  I couldn’t get it to work in the shape of a dove, the traditional shape.  Instead, I have a braid.  I guess we’ll eat it.  Made on Thursday afternoon-evening, I’ll freeze it and unthaw it Sun.

  Ok, it’s Saturday afternoon, April 3-Happy Birthday, Emily- (and I promised this would be a work in progress.) and next up are two of the quiches.  There were three.  One was in an old tart pan that gave way in the oven and leaked.   (Like a lot of old … oh, for goodness sake, I’m not going there, but you get the drift. ) The custard baked in the bottom of my big oven.  I’ll include a pic of that, too.  So, oven cleaning was part of the mix…  Anyway.  One quiche is bacon, ham and swiss and the other is a green chile quiche that is called “Betty White’s Mexican Quiche” and I’ve had the recipe for 30 years from Sue.  Fun.

Above:  Bacon and Ham Quiche  outdoors on the deck table. It’s now 65.
               (Read all about making quiche in my Quiche 101 article.)

Above:  Betty White’s Mexican Quiche
Above:  This is how a quiche that wants to bake on the bottom of an oven looks.
The oven was so dirty anyway that it was a blessing that this thing happened.  Right.

Above:  Lidia’s Limoncello Tiramisu.  Good thing I made it before the oven disaster because I might have stopped cooking at that point if tiramisu was still ahead.  This stuff is limonsinful.  Recipe at epicurious.com.

I still have to do the table.  No, it isn’t done yet..  Sunday morning I’ll do the beans and Sunday at 12:00 noon, I’ll put the last quiche in the oven.  The shell is chilling and the filling is cooked and in the frig.
Sunday promises to be 60 and sunny.  Thanks, God.

Sunday night:  Well, the brunch went on for 4 or 5 hours, depending on who you were.  We had four more people show up than I thought were coming.  Good thing I always cook for a crowd.  I made one more quiche (no pic–maybe tomorrow of the leftovers) that was turkey Italian sausage and veg from http://www.perfectpantry.com/ (go Lidia).  There was more than we needed and here we are at Sunday night and I’m just reading MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather for my book club.  That’s all.  More later!
—————-

 Pftzz:  Here’s my current plan.  For food, that is. (Written Wed or Thurs? Alyce plans; God laughs.)

Menu
Starters:  Smoked salmon/ lemon, capers,  minced red onions
                 Deviled eggs (Dave will make- out of my dyed eggs.)
                 Mimosas
                Mains:   Quiches:  Lorraine, Italian sausage/veg, and seafood
                Manicotti (Jeanne brings)
               Fresh Green bean salad (blogged last year)
               Fresh Fruit Salad (Sara brings)
               Polish Easter bread (Jeanne brings)
               Alsatian Riesling or Australian Rose (Carlei)
Dessert: Limoncello Tiramisu (a Lidia recipe!)
              Colomba di Pasqua (Italian E. bread shaped like a dove) (left in freezer after all-next week?)
              Coffee
How I’ll accomplish it:
  • I planned the menu a couple of weeks in advance and located my recipes.
  • I did some of the dry-goods grocery shopping last week.
  • I went to the candy store, liquor store and grocery store today, leaving only produce for Sat.
  • Thursday I’ll make the bread and the quiche pastry.  Into the freezer they go.
  • Thursday I’ll dye eggs. 
  • Friday I’ll clean a little house, make sure my clothes are ready, teach a lesson and go to 3 hours of worship.
  • Friday night, we’ll listen to a few requiems.  Verdi is my favorite, but Mozart, Faure and Brahms will show up, as well.
  • Saturday, I’ll send Dave to the store for the produce (I won’t go near a grocery the day before Easter) and I’ll set up the buffet and drinks station and set the tables.  I’ll make the green bean salad and the dressing, only dressing it a little that day. (More dressing on Sunday.) I’ll make the Limoncello tiramisu and refrigerate it.. Oh, and I will chill sparkling wine for the mimosas.
  • Dave will make the deviled eggs, taking care not to over-salt them.  Old recipes are very salty.  One time, we couldn’t eat them.  Agh.
  • We will not cook or sit at the table Saturday night.  I don’t know what we’ll do; maybe we’ll go out or maybe we’ll eat on trays watching a movie.  Waiting, watching.
  • Sunday morning I’ll take the bread and quiche pastry out of the freezer to unthaw.  I’ll make the quiche fillings before we go to church.   When we come home, I’ll fill the quiche pans and bake them.  Hot, warm or room temp–it’s all good for quiche.  I like it cold.  I’ll set up the coffeemaker and put out cups, cream and sugar.  Maybe a little something to nip up the coffee a bit.  Bailey’s?
  • I’ll give the bathrooms a last lick and a promise.  I’ll light the candles gratefully.
  • I’ll grab a basket of eggs and hide them.
  • I will probably shovel and sweep snow.
  • I’ll be wiped clean myself…ready to begin again.
  • And try not to eat so much chocolate.  (Though, if you read my examiner articles, you’ll know it’s ok now to eat some every day!!)
  • I’ll welcome our guests, “He is risen!” (I didn’t do this….how could I have forgotten???!)

Are you glad Lent is over?

New Year’s Day Brunch for Eight

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Do you want to just sleep away New Year’s Day?

Maybe you want coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee… and maybe a football game later. Much later.

But if you’d like a touching, warm beginning for the New Year (and, honey, it really is 2010), this sweet and savory meal is for you. You might not need anything else the rest of the day.. especially if you don’t make it until 3pm. Smile.

I’m praying your Christmas and Hanukkah were great… This is just the eighth day of Christmas; did I do the math right?

8 maids a milking……………… Whoa. Just the thought makes my hands hurt.

Our tree stays up for the 12 days of Christmas. When the wise men arrive on January 6 is when I’m comfortable beginning to take down an ornament or two. Why not give it it’s full due?

Epiphany is an incredible season of its own. I love the word

EPIPHANY

Look it up and read the definitions. You need an epiphany; I know. I do, too.

Meantime, the menu.

Pomegranate Sparkler
Fresh Fruit Salad
Balsamic Fried Tomatoes
Sweet Potato and Black Forest Ham Frittata
Whole wheat toast/butter and jam
Stollen (an easy one)
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

Recipes are in the order in which you should make them………
–
COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE
Make your coffee just how you like it. Make lots.

POMEGRANATE SPARKLER

Into each of eight flutes, pour equal amounts of pomegranate juice and champagne or cava (an inexpensive and super Spanish sparkler) or prosecco. No New Year’s Resolutions needed.
A few frozen raspberries or cranberries in the bottom of the glasses add a dash of seasonal red.

STOLLEN
2 loaves. Each serves 8-10.
–
Great to make ahead and freeze. This recipe makes two. Keep one for later or take one to a friend. This is an easy stollen… not to worry about a thing. If you can make banana bread, this is just a T-tiny step above. No yeast. The original recipe that I’ve changed over a couple of years and bakings at sea level and at altitude came from Susan Westmoreland @ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, linked here.
.

2 c ricotta cheese
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
2 c dried tart cherries (other dried fruit works)
1 c toasted walnuts, chopped roughly
2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
4 lrg eggs (use extra large at altitude)

4 2/3 c unbleached white flour
1 c white, granulated sugar
3 t baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
–
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease two large, rimmed cookie sheets or baking pans.
Mix together ricotta, cherries, nuts, vanilla, lemon peel and eggs. Set aside.
In food processor, mix (using steel blade) flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut in cold butter and process until meal-like. Pour flour mixture into a large bowl. Mix in ricotta mixture by hand until the dough hangs together.
–
Do try this at home…………….or ask kids to help. They aren’t afraid of bread!
You’ll have a lovely dough by now and you need to turn it out onto a floured board or counter and divide it in half. With floured hands, gently knead each piece of dough about three times. With floured rolling pin, roll one piece of dough into 10” by 8” oval. Fold oval lengthwise, bringing top half over or that the bottom of dough extends by one inch. Repeat for second
piece of dough.

Pat /roll out; roll over…….Place each stollen on a prepared baking sheet. Bake about an hour until lightly browned and toothpick placed in center of bread comes out clean. Transfer bread to wire racks and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar. Slice as desired. 1 1/2 inches is good serving.
Wrap extra stollen in double layer of foil and freeze or deliver to friend.

FRUIT SALAD

Cut up 2 cups each of four of your favorite winter fruits and mix well in large bowl. If desired, mix in 1/2 c sour cream and top with shredded coconut.

Suggestions: Apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, pineapples…….Whatever’s good at your market!

BALSAMIC FRIED TOMATOES

Slice two large tomatoes and saute them in a little oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add 2 T top-quality balsamic vinegar and cook 1-2 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and serve with frittata.
SWEET POTATO-BLACK FOREST HAM FRITTATA

2T olive oil
2 small red potatoes, chopped roughly
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2# asparagus, chopped (remove bottom couple of inches)
1/4# Black Forest ham, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 eggs, well beaten
1 c Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large (12-14″) skillet, measure oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add both kinds of potatoes and onions. Saute until tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add asparagus and ham and saute until the crisp has just worn off the asparagus. Add beaten eggs and cook, stirring, for five minutes or so, stirring often. When the eggs are about half-cooked, add Gruyere cheese and place in oven. Bake until crispy and the eggs are set to your liking. Turn pan over onto large cutting board and shower with Parmesan. Cut into 8 pieces and let your friends or family serve themselves. (While frittata bakes, make your toast.)

Share with someone you love!
Happy New Year, friends………….as you sing any new or “auld” song,

Alyce–Could there be anything better leftover? Add a little butter.

Pumpkin Bread-Fall Storm

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I don’t know where you live. In the foothills of Colorado, fall and spring bring the worst (best?) weather. Right now, we’re getting ready for Halloween

just like the rest of the country. But we’re also in the middle of a snow storm. Luckily, I live up on this beautiful mesa just west of downtown Colorado Springs and, usually, we are somehow protected from the very worst (and deepest) of the snows. We’ve lived somewhat north of here in two different woman-killer houses (when we needed 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms– you see what could kill the woman about that) and the snows have been DEEEEEp. Here, the winds do other things and just about blow Gabby and I away some dark nights. (She barked for HOURS last night. Of course, we have a bear, too… daily clean-ups of that mess.)

Never mind, it’s still time for pumpkin bread and… all things pumpkin. More on that later. I have a soup to share that has some pumpkin. Maybe closer to Thanksgiving would be a good time for that. Meantime, check out the pumpkin cookies made from Ina Garten’s “Shortbread Cookies…” that originally came from Eli Zabar:

I made these for Halloween Night dinner, when my six-year-old grandson was coming to trick-or-treat in the ‘hood. Right now, he needs your prayers because he’s not coming for Halloween; he’s home with H1N1. (Boo-hoo)

Freezing cookies and chili for when he CAN come!

Is there anyone who doesn’t like pumpkin bread? Usually people say, “Oh, I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuv pumpkin bread.” I can’t remember a time when I didn’t make it, but, surely that time existed. I will tell you one thing:
–
Just use canned pumpkin.
–
Don’t kill a pumpkin to make this bread because the bread is no better and you might as well carve the pumpkin.
Same is true for pumpkin soup.
Same is true for pumpkin pie.
I hate to take you away from all that cutting and hand-sliming opportunity, but I tell you the truth. I’ve done it both ways and I know.
–
There are people whose incomes depend on canning pumpkin. Let them do it.

 –

Now, this year (2009), you just might have to do something really weird in order to get your canned pumpkin. I got mine early and I paid a fortune for it at Whole Foods because there was no pumpkin on the shelves anywhere else. My husband happens to have someone who works for him somewhere (it could be anywhere in North or South America) who also owns an organic pumpkin farm, so I had the heads-up early on. If you didn’t, you could still be sliming that big squash pretty soon despite my advice against it.
Is a pumpkin a squash or a gourd? I seem to remember it might be a berry? Anyway, you might be getting your hands into something deep. (Sorry.)Whatever you have to do, get the pumpkin and make this bread.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Coffee Cup Muffins–same recipe

 Lots of folks like it with cream cheese. I like it with butter… or plain. You choose. I’ve tweaked it over the years from THE FANNY FARMER BAKING BOOK, which is one of my very favorite baking books of all time. Might be out of print (I think it is), but you can probably get a copy from Amazon.com used. If so, get it. Original recipe calls for dates and walnuts; I still do that, too. Have some in the freezer like that right now.

–
Alyce’s Pumpkin Bread
makes 2 9×5″ loaves
–
Preheat oven to 350 F.
–
In a bowl, mix
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c raisins
1 c hot water (You’ll drain them in a minute.)
Set aside.
–
In another bowl, mix 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 t all-purpose flour; Set aside.
–
Grease and flour your pans. In electric mixer, or in large bowl using hand mixer, beat together
–
2/3 c butter, softened
2 c canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c milk (I like low-fat evaporated)
Drain and add the 1/2 c ea cranberries and raisins (see above)
Stir in: 1/2 c chopped walnuts
–
On top of liquid ingredients add:
3 1/3 c flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
3/4 ground cloves
–
Mix the dry ingredients together on top of the wet and then gently mix together until flour is just barely incorporated.
Add floured chocolate chips (from the start of the recipe) and mix well.
Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake about 60 minutes (test at 50).
Test by inserting skewer or toothpick into middle of bread. Bread is done when skewer comes out almost clean. Let sit on rack in pans five minutes before turning out onto rack to cool completely. When very cool, wrap well in aluminum foil. Store in frig up to one week and in freezer for up to two months.
–
Makes nice muffins, too. Bake at 400 in greased tins for 15-17 min.
Great for Thanksgiving on the cheese tray before dinner.
Nice holiday gift in small pans. Bake 20-30 min. 350 F.

Happy Halloween, my friends. It’s wonderful whatever the weather.
This blog is dedicated to my friend, ‘Lena, who adores this bread.
I LOVE FALL—————————————————————–
Sing a new song–pull out the Peanuts Pumpkin Carols…great Halloween lyrics to traditional Christmas tunes.
Alyce
p.s. I’ve included a video of some of today’s weather and it’s sideways. I’ll try and upload it again and see if it rights itself. You’ll get the idea anyway!

  photos added 9/2012