Molasses Cookies

The cookie jar is empty! Time to get with it and find a good, durable cookie. Can't think of one better than old fashioned molasses cookies. They're easy to make, they keep well, and they're just plain good.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is heating, stir together 2 1/4 c. flour, 2 t. baking soda, 1 t. ground ginger, 1 t. cinnamon, and 1/2 t. ground cloves and 1/2 t. salt.  Now toss in 1 c. of dark brown sugar, 3/4 c. Crisco, 1/4 c. molasses, and 1 egg and beat all the ingredients together.

Roll into little balls, roll lightly in sugar, and put onto a baking sheet, baking each batch for 10 minutes. This recipe will make 48 small cookies.

Enjoy!

Pita Bread

The other day I had a craving of sorts for homemade bread, but I didn't want anything heavy or cake-like. I looked in the pantry, found some whole-wheat flour and when decided upon pita bread. There's a really good recipe for it in the cookbook I received in 1984...one of my first "real" cookbooks, The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Page 75.

To make the bread, you combine 1 pg. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. from a jar) with 1 1/4 c. warm (110-115 degree) water in the mixing bowl.  Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/4 c. Crisco, and 1 1/2 t. salt. Blend this on low speed for 30 seconds, and then switch to high speed to beat the mixture for 3 minutes. Once this is done, then mix in another cup of white flour with a spoon into the mixture. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5 good minutes kneading in a bit more flour (around 1/4 to 1/2 c.) to make it nice and pliable and smooth (It makes a very pretty dough.) Then let it rest in a warm place covered for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 separate portions, and roll each gently into a smooth ball. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Next, gently flatten each into a disk with the fingertips. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place for 10 more minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Take the disks out, one at a time, and roll them into  a flatter disk, about 4-5 inched across. Use a good floured board to do this to prevent sticking. Two by two, bake the pitas for about 3 minutes on each side in the 450 degree oven. Be sure to keep the unbaked portions covered with the damp cloth until you're using them. Once the pitas are done and cooled, when you use one, slice in half and then carefully slice into the pita (life filleting a fish.) Enjoy!

Provencal Vegetable Soup

When the temperature dipped and we saw rain for the first time in a long time, my thoughts went to make a good comfortable pot of soup.

My first trip was to the crisper; I came up with carrots, cabbage, leeks, celery, and a bit of spinach.  In the freezer I found peas. In the pantry I found a couple of potatoes, an onion, a can of diced tomatoes, 4 small cans of chicken broth, a pint of green beans.

In a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the soup pot, I sauteed diced onion, thinly sliced leeks, diced  celery, a bit of salt, and some garlic powder until they were soft. I then added the four small cans of chicken broth, the can of diced tomatoes, the peeled and diced potatoes, and the peas. To this I added two big bay leaves and around a teaspoon of herbes de Provence. Then it was time to simmer and simmer. The great thing about soup is the aroma that greets a person at the door and drifts through the house...true comfort.

This is a soup that gets better over the next couple of days as the flavors continue to blend. Enjoy!

Lovely Custard with Brown Eggs

A very nice lady where Tom works had an abundance of little brown eggs the other day. In addition to their being pretty to look at, they also had lovely yellow yolks. I took one look and immediately thought custard.

The recipe is very simple; to make four ramekin servings, heat 2 c. milk and 1 t. vanilla to a simmer. Once it's had a chance to simmer a bit, remove it from the heat and then add the combination of  8 whisked egg yolks and 1/4 c. sugar. The heat will cook the eggs without curdling them. Pour into the ramekins and put into the fridge until they set up to the consistency you like. Enjoy!

Apple Soup

Okay...I know this doesn't sound like the "normal" soup, but since we're welcoming the fall season, it seems that apples in all forms are appropriate. And, when you pair this soup with the mushroom tart on this blog, the slightly sweet taste of the former lends well to the huge savory flavor of the later.

To make this interesting soup, I chopped 1/2 onion and cooked it in a couple of tablespoons of butter along with two peeled, cored, and chopped apples (I had honey crisp on hand), and three small stalks of finely chopped celery. I tapped in a bit of garlic powder (1/8 t. would be plenty). Let all this cook a bit until it's all softened, and then add a can of chicken broth and turn down the heat to a low simmer. Once everything is to the point of being somewhat mushy, let this cool a bit. Then, right before serving, add 1/4 c. of half and half and bring slowly back up to the desired temperature. Taste for additional needed salt and pepper.

Odd ingredients...yes; good...yes!

Mushroom/Cheese/Bacon Tart

Here in the states when we hear the word "tart" (when speaking of food of course) we think something dessert-oriented. In Europe the word tart can be a savory meal as well. If you're looking for something filling, easy to fix, and full of flavor, try this particular tart.

To make, first either use a prepared pie crust or make one. I use the frozen Pillsbury pie crusts and find them quite flaky and tender.
In a saute' pan add one chopped onion, 8 ounces of chopped mushrooms, 2 T. butter, 1/8 t. of each of the following herbs--basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, savory, pepper, and sage. Add to this crumbled up fried bacon slices (as much as you like). You can either fry the bacon or use the pre-packaged bacon crumbles. While these vegetables and herbs are cooking, beat 3 eggs in a separate bowl. Once everything is softened through the saute', pour the vegetable mix into the pastry shell that is lining a pie pan. Pour the beaten eggs in on top and let it mix a bit. Then add  enough finely grated Dubliner (or the cheese of your choice) to the mix. You can find Dubliner at local grocery stores and its tangy flavor lends very nicely to the savory mix of vegetables.
I baked this for about 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven and then turned it back to 275 degrees for about 20 more minutes. This will allow the pastry shell to bake through and through while not drying out the cheese on top.

 Enjoy!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Red Pepper Sauce

I checked with a neat website on http://www.irishabroad.com/culture/kitchen/Recipe.asp?RcpID=207
 for an Irish chicken dish. I found one of Margaret Johnson's sure winners. I made a few alterations, but her idea is great and very tasty.

I halved 2 red peppers, brushed them with some olive oil and placed them under a broiler until they were roasted enough to peel when cooled. Once the skin was removed, I diced them and added them to a small sauce pan with 1/2 c. white wine, 2 T. white vinegar and let this simmer until it was reduced by 1/2. Then I turned down the heat and added a bit of chicken bouillon, 1 t. sugar, and 1c. heavy cream. I let this cook slowly to allow the pepper flavor to be absorbed by the cream.

In the meantime, I took four boneless, skinless chicken breasts and split them lengthwise. I then combined 1/4 c. goat cheese, 1 T. cream cheese, 1 T. lemon juice, some salt, pepper, and 3 T. of chives and basil mixed. I mixed these ingredient up and then added the mixture to the split chicken breast. While I was doing this, I heated some vegetable oil in a skillet and quick seared the chicken breasts with the mixture added to them. I then brushed the chicken breasts with some garlic butter. Into a 375 degree oven they go for about 35 minutes (or until done).


Once everything was done, I plated the chicken breasts and ladled on the pepper sauce.