I love surprises and I love surprising others.
A homemade sweet treat nestled into a fancy wooden hinged box that’s closed up tight is a lovely surprise for a friend.
First, I must tell you that the wooden box was loaned to me by a friend when I needed a carrying case for a fragile sweet treat that I had created. So, I guess this is a story of a recycled wooden box.
The little pots of fresh herbs that I had brought home from the greenhouse were waiting to be planted in their new home outdoors. Actually, they’re still waiting. I think warm weather may have finally arrived. Lemon thyme was among the group of forlorn little plants. Lemon thyme looks and grows like traditional thyme. But the fragrance of this thyme is definitely lemon and so is the flavor. It usually grows as a perennial and is quite hardy. Once you have added it to your garden, you will have a great time experimenting with it. I add lemon thyme to sugar cookies, pound cake, frosting, and marinade for chicken and fish.
With some of my favorite butter from Hope creamery in my refrigerator, I knew I had to make more shortbread.
A large square of buttery, melt-in-the-mouth shortbread that would just fit inside of the wooden box would be perfect. I started with the recipe for Lavender-Ginger Shortbread that I posted on this blog on May 4th. I replaced the lavender with some chopped lemon thyme leaves and added some freshly grated lemon zest along with some minced crystallized ginger.
I baked one half of the dough in a round cake pan. The other half of the dough I shaped into a square that would be just the right size to fit into the wooden box. I baked it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
After lining the box with parchment paper and a paper doily, the shortbread fit snugly into the wooden container.
The box, filled with freshly baked lemony shortbread went back to the friend who loaned it to me. She was surprised. I wonder where the box will go next.
But that’s not the end of the story. I still had 8 little wedges from the shortbread I baked in the round cake pan. I wrapped each one tightly in plastic wrap, tied a pretty pastel ribbon around each and gave them away as little surprise gifts.
Lemon Thyme-Ginger Shortbread can become wonderful sweet surprises and make many people happy.

Lemon Thyme-Ginger Shortbread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (8-inch) round cake pans
with parchment paper so that it comes up over the sides of the pans. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, place both flours,
powdered sugar, and salt. Stir to mix. Cut butter into
small cubes and add to dry ingredients in
bowl. Use hands to mix until crumbly. Add lemon thyme, lemon zest and ginger and continue
to mix with hands until mixture comes together. Gather dough together
and place on
a work surface. Divide dough in half.

Pat each half into prepared pans. Pull out of the pan by holding edge of parchment
paper. Place
on work surface. Flute the edge
of each
with your fingers. Prick each round all over with a fork, then score with
a sharp
knife into 8 wedges. Pick up each round with parchment and place back
into
baking pans. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar over dough in each pan.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or
until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle
remaining sugar over baked shortbread, 1 1/2 teaspoons on each. Cool on
wire rack. (The smell of warm butter, sugar, ginger and lemon will
be seductive and you’ll want to start eating the warm shortbread. But
don’t. The shortbread will taste best when it reaches room
temperature.) Remove shortbread from pans by pulling up on the
parchment paper. Use sharp knife to cut the shortbread where it was
scored, forming a total of 16 wedges.

Tip from the cook
I find India Tree sparkling sugar in my local grocery store. Sparkling sugar is also available in a 1-pound bag from King Arthur Flour.

If you love chocolate truffles, you will adore Divine Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake. The rich, creamy chocolate cheesecake begins to melt the second it hits the tongue, then glides down the throat like a stream of satin-like fudge sauce.
I’ve slightly adapted this prize-winning recipe that was submitted by Colorado resident, Clara Colman, to Divine Chocolate’s "Hungry to Change the World" contest. The only rule: Desserts had to incorporate Divine chocolate, which
comes in flavors ranging from 70-percent-cocoa dark chocolate to milk
chocolate with hazelnuts.
Divine Chocolate is the world’s first farmer-owned Fair Trade chocolate
brand, co-owned by the cocoa farmers cooperative Kuapa Kikoo in Ghana. Their stated mission is to improve the livelihood of small scale
cocoa farmers in Ghana and increase the benefits farmers receive from
the multi-billion dollar chocolate industry.
Divine’s type of fair trade, allowing farmers to be the investors in
their own company and receive a cut of profit for business and social community programs, on top of the regular fair trade price, is a great model.
Divine chocolate bars are wrapped with traditional West African
Adinkra symbols which appear on crafts and fabrics all over Ghana. Adaptability, inner strength, interdependency, humility, patience and harmony are just some of the qualities represented by these symbols.
I find Divine in my local natural food co-op, the tea shop in town and some grocery stores. If you can’t find the chocolate in the stores you frequent, check to see if the manager can get it for you. The
more shops that stock Divine chocolate, the more people can buy it and the bigger the
impact on the lives of thousands of cocoa farmers in Ghana. It’s as
simple (and delicious) as that!
I almost always turn a recipe for cheesecake into two smaller cakes. I keep one and give one away as a gift. It’s easy to do when you cover a cardboard round with heavy aluminum foil and then place it in the bottom of the springform pan. When the cheesecake is ready to take out of the pan, you can easily lift the cheesecake with it’s cardboard bottom from the base of the springform pan. This way, when you give the cheesecake as a gift, you don’t have to worry about losing the bottom of your springform pan. You keep the bottom as you give the cake away on its cardboard base. When I don’t have heavy cardboard around the house, I use a heavy-duty paper plate such as the Chinet brand. If you want to make just one cheesecake, bake it in one 9-inch springform pan.
Divine Chocolate makes a heavenly cheesecake. The chocolate wafer crust will not be as moist as you would normally expect when making a cookie crumb crust. But don’t worry, the recipe is correct and the crust will bake with the cheesecake to form a just-right crust. Mascarpone cheese, a vary rich Italian-style cream cheese, may be the secret ingredient that gives this cake it’s extra creamy consistency.
It’s decadent. It’s Divine.

Divine Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake

Believe it or not, it’s International Pickle Week.
I’ve always been a pickle fan. Whether they are sweet, sour or dilly, I can eat them as long as they’re crunchy. Years ago when I used to "diet" to lose a few pounds, I remember
learning that pickles are a great low-fat, low-calorie snack. Not only that, I also heard or read that when you have a craving for chocolate and you’re trying not to indulge, eat a pickle. Wow, no wonder we’re celebrating the pickle this week.
I’ve been pulling jars of Gedney’s, the Minnesota pickle, out of my
refrigerator to snack on. A quick dip of the fork into the vinegary
juice pulls out a crunchy Grandma’s Baby Baby Dill or a Zinger, a hot
and spicy dill pickle spear.
Pickles have been finding their way into my meals, too. On last night’s segment of Lakeland Cooks, I prepared Dilly Hot Dog Pizza Turnovers. They smell and taste just like the foot-longs loaded with toppings that I look forward to when I go to the Minnesota State Fair. You can find the recipe and watch the segment by clicking here.
Last night I made Cheeseburger Pie. This is a quick evening meal that the whole family will love. It doesn’t take long to make. With a salad and some fresh fruit, it’s a perfect weeknight meal.
Happy pickle crunching!

Cheeseburger Pie

• 1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated reduced-fat crescent rolls
• 1 – 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 – 4 tablespoons chopped dill pickle (I used Gedney’s Grandma’s Baby Baby Dills
• 2 – 4 tablespoons chopped Zingers (Gedney’s hot and spicy dill pickle spears)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons mustard (Dijon is good)
• 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice from the jar
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pat crescent roll dough into bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate, being sure that there are no cracks in the dough.
Brown ground beef in large skillet with onions. Drain any fat from the pan. Add garlic and cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Add remaining ingredients to ground beef mixture in pan. Mix well. Top the crescent roll dough with the ground beef mixture.
Bake in 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
While Cheeseburger is baking, make Sauce by mixing all ingredients together. Serve on the side. Makes 6 servings.

There’s something about rounds of sliced onions coated with crisp, crunchy goodness and dusted with salt that I just can’t resist.
My first remembrance of onion rings is a box of frozen Mrs. Paul’s that I would dump out on one of my mom’s cookie sheets and bake as an after-school snack to share with friends who would come over after a long day of high school classes.
Over the years I’ve become much more select with the onion rings I eat. I never, never eat the kind from the freezer case at the grocery store. And I never order them at a restaurant unless I know for sure they are made in-house.
When I was in New Orleans last month for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) annual conference, I had the opportunity to stop in to Mandina’s Restaurant. A neighborhood establishment that opened in 1932, locals and tourists alike appreciate the great food and friendly, casual atmosphere that is still carried on by fourth-generation Cindy Mandina. My visit to Mandina’s was not prompted by a hungry tummy. I was there as a food writer working on a project about gumbo with photographer Rick Browne. You may know him from "Barbecue America," the National Public Television show that he hosts or from one of the four cookbooks he’s written. Several small teams of writers, food stylists and food photographers were on a mission that day to collect information about gumbo from all kinds of places in and around New Orleans. The photos and stories that come from that day of exploring will provide the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFAB) in New Orleans with visual and written content to exhibit. An accompanying book with pictures and stories about the cradle of gumbo will be published. This will not only help the museum, but also the local community, by bringing publicity and attention to the region’s small agricultural producers and restaurants. All proceeds from the book will be split between The Culinary Trust and the SoFAB Museum.
Mandina’s was just one of the places on our adventure that day. As Rick and I visited with Cindy Mandina and her Executive Chef, I noticed several platters going by piled high with onion rings that looked light and crispy. I had to have some before I left that warm, cozy place. Oh, they were so good. Each bite brought a bit of tender sweet onion coated with lightly seasoned crunch with no strings of onion attached. Just a nice clean bite every time. They are an onion ring-lovers dream.
That was the end of onion rings for me for a little while, just until my good friends and neighbors brought some large sweet Texas onions back for me from their winter stay in Pfarr, Texas. I knew exactly what I would do with some of them. I would try to recreate those Mandina onion rings.
When I visited with the onion ring-maker in the kitchen at Mandina’s, I’m pretty sure I remember him saying that he dipped rings of onions in buttermilk and eggs and then a seasoned flour mixture. I did a search on the internet and found a recipe that sounded like it could be similar to the rings I shared with Rick at Mandina’s.
The recipe I used comes from RecipeZaar. To get to the recipe, click here.
The recipe calls for panko, bread crumbs that are coarser than the traditional crumbs usually found in cans in the grocery store. Panko is flaky and light and creates a very crisp coating on the onions. I find it in all the grocery stores these days, sometimes by the traditional bread crumbs and sometimes in the international aisle with the Asian products.
I found that placing the flour mixture in a 9-x13-inch baking pan and tossing the buttermilk coated onions in this pan worked very well. I used peanut oil for frying.
They really are delicious and go so well with the turkey burgers that I have in my All About Food column this week.
Next time you get to New Orleans, put Mandina’s Restaurant on your "must go to" list. And be sure to order a platter of onion rings.

I was at a friend’s house the other day for lunch. She served Seafood Lasagna, a recipe she had picked up when she was living in Norway several years ago. It was full of shrimp and crab, cheeses and butter. And it was white — except for the cheddar cheese that was melted over the top. Norwegians have a reputation for eating all things white. Lefse, potatoes, rommegrot, rice pudding, krumkake, lutefisk — all white.

The recipe makes a large dish of richness. We sipped some white wine with our Norwegian-style lunch and had fresh fruit on the side. And the fruit added a bit of color to the white, white plate.

I may try using some other kinds of fish and seafood when I make it myself. But, the shrimp and crab were very delicious.

And, just in case you’d like to add a Norwegian dessert, how about some quick-to-make rommegrot? This same friend gave me a recipe for rommegrot that you can prepare in just five minutes with the help of the microwave. It was quite good, but how could it not be good? Lots of melted butter, sugar and cinnamon tops this creamy porridge. You can watch me prepare the rommegrot on a recent Lakeland Cooks segment by clicking here.

Make, eat and celebrate Syttende Mai. If you’re not Norwegian, celebrate May 17th for any reason you’d like with this food that’s white.

Judy’s Seafood Lasagna from Norway

• 8 lasagna noodles
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 (10-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 8 ounces crab sticks, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 pound cooked shrimp
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according package directions. Place four noodles in a greased 9-x13-inch baking dish.

Cook onions in 2 tablespoons butter. Add cream cheese, cottage cheese, egg, basil, salt and pepper. Spread half of mixture over noodles.

Combine soup, milk, wine. Stir in crab and shrimp. Spoon half of mixture over cheese mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheddar over the soup mixture. Repeat all layers. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top. Bake in 350-degree oven for 1 hour.

Let stand 15 minutes before cutting to serve.

Rommegrot in the Microwave

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, divided
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups half-and-half, heated
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Melt 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of the butter in 4-cup glass measure in the microwave. Add the flour and stir until mixture is smooth. Gradually add the half-and-half and whisk until smooth. Microwave the mixture on high power for 4 minutes, stirring after each minute. Remove from microwave and stir in sugar and salt. Pour into glass casserole dish or individual custard cups.

Mix 2 tablespoons granulated sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Pour butter over rommegrot and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

My mom taught me how to cook. I was lucky she was the kind of mom who encouraged me to be in the kitchen. She would often turn her favorite room over to me, making me feel as though I was a scientist working in my own private laboratory. I would pretend I was testing recipes in the Pillsbury kitchens.
My mom did have one rule, though, that she insisted I learn and practice. When dirty bowls and pots and spoons and measuring cups started to pile up on the kitchen counter, she’d quickly remind me of the rule: "Susie, clean up as you go."
Mom believed that as long as you stayed on top of the mess, you’d have a pleasant experience in the kitchen. And everything would turn out much better. I’m pretty sure she was right about that.
I was thinking about my mom as I prepared her favorite chicken salad. And I could almost hear her reminding me to clean up after each step.
It’s a recipe that has evolved over the years. I often add new ingredients and sometimes take out the old standby ingredients. Mom thought it was a real treat when I would sandwich the chicken salad in a split luncheon-size croissant. That serving style came to an end, though, sometime in the 1980′s when I attended a lecture by New York Times health columnist, Jane Brody. She said that eating a croissant was like eating one stick of butter. I haven’t enjoyed a croissant since. I’ve eaten a few — but I haven’t enjoyed them. Thanks a lot, Jane Brody.
Anyway, when I could no longer serve my mom her favorite chicken salad on a stick of butter, I began scooping the salad onto a wedge of sweet, juicy cantaloupe for her. Much more healthful, but not quite the same as chicken salad on a croissant.
At some point, I discovered the chicken salad was quite delicious when wrapped up in a whole grain tortilla. Sometimes I add fresh baby spinach leaves to the wrap.
The chicken salad starts with chopped cooked chicken, of course. You can use leftover grilled chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken from the deli or prepare some chicken using your favorite method. I like to roast some seasoned chicken breasts and then chop them up for the salad. I share directions for the roasting procedure below.
I recently discovered Spectrum organic olive oil mayonnaise. It’s rich and creamy with a bit of a nutty flavor from the extra-virgin olive oil. It’s a delicious new twist to my chicken salad.
As you prepare this chicken salad, remember to clean up as you go. And go ahead — eat it on a croissant if you want to. But I’ll bet you won’t stop thinking about the butter. I’d make it a wrap.

Chicken Salad Wrap
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 teaspoons orange juice
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2/3 cup olive oil mayonnaise
3 to 4 slices bacon, chopped, fried until crisp

Stir chopped chicken in a mixing bowl with orange juice, vinegar and salt. Add water chestnuts, shredded carrots and green onions. Mix well. Blend in the mayonnaise. Add bacon just before serving. If added too soon, the bacon will get soggy.

To roast chicken breasts:
2 large organic chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (should weigh about 2 pounds total)
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs or 1 teaspoon of your favorite dried seasoning (I used Penzey’s salt-free Sunny Paris seasoning)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil to drizzle

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Measure salt and herbs onto cutting board. Add garlic and mince all together.
Loosen skin on chicken breasts. Spread garlic mixture under the skin of each breast, using all of it. Tuck 2 slices of lemon under the skin of each breast.
Place chicken breasts on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with freshly ground pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and the chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes. When chicken has cooled off, remove meat from bones and chop.

To make it a wrap:
Spread some chicken salad over a whole grain tortilla. Add fresh greens if you like. Roll up tightly. Cut in half. Eat. Enjoy. Guilt-free.

About a month ago, I shared a recipe for buttery shortbread on this blog. In a cooking class I taught recently at my local natural foods co-op, we made the same shortbread, only rather than using 1/2 cup cake flour as my original recipe instructed, we used brown rice flour. It gave the shortbread a much creamier, more tender consistency. It was delicious. I thought it couldn’t get any better. Until today.
I crushed some dried lavender buds, minced up some crystallized ginger and worked them into the rich dough. A sprinkling of Mrs. Kelly’s Lavender Rose Sugar was the icing on the cake, or the cookie, I guess.
I first discovered dried lavender buds when a friend of mine from Pennsylvania, who also teaches cooking classes, shared a recipe for an appetizer of lavender infused honey over goat cheese. At that time, I wasn’t able to find the culinary-grade dried lavender locally. Eventually, I bought a jar from Wayzata Bay Spice Co. I had so much fun experimenting with the lavender. It’s delicious mixed with anything lemon. I developed a recipe for a lemon-curd type filling that I added lavender to and then baked it in a shortbread crust. It’s been a favorite in my springtime cooking classes. These days dried lavender buds are much easier to find. In fact, McCormick’s has added it to their Gourmet Collection. I received a bottle of it at the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference that I recently attended in New Orleans. Food-grade dried lavender buds can also be purchased from places like The Spice House and Penzey’s.
Lavender can be added to sugar cookies, pound cake, sauces. Add it just a little at a time, though. A little goes a long way.
Crystallized ginger is available in most grocery stores. Chunks of ginger root are simmered in a sugar syrup and then dried, leaving a coating of sugar on chewy, candy-like ginger. It adds bright, fresh flavor to this shortbread and marries nicely with the unique flavor and fragrance of the lavender.
You may be familiar with Mrs. Kelly’s Teas. But, you might not know about the unique sugar blends that she has available on her web site. Her Lavender Rose Sugar is a blend of raw sugar, ground rose petals and ground lavender. It adds wonderful flavor to sugar cookies. And try stirring it into a cup of tea. If you make your own ice cream, use this delicious sugar for half of the sugar in your favorite vanilla ice cream recipe. That vanilla ice cream will become very gourmet.
Shortbread is not difficult to make. I like this recipe because it makes 16 triangle-shaped cookies. For a Mother’s Day gift, wrap each individual wedge of shortbread in plastic wrap. Pack them into a pretty tin. Put the tin in a basket along with some tea — Earl Grey is nice. Add a handwritten note. Watch mom smile.

Lavender-Ginger Shortbread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (8-inch) round cake pans
with parchment paper so that it comes up over the sides of the pans. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, place both flours, powdered sugar, salt and crushed lavender. Stir to mix. Cut butter into small cubes and add to dry ingredients in
bowl. Use hands to mix until crumbly. Add ginger and continue
to mix with hands until mixture comes together. Gather dough together and place on
a work surface. Divide dough in half.

Pat each half into prepared pans. Flute the edge of each
with your fingers. Pull out of the pan by holding edge of parchment paper. Place
on work surface. Prick each round all over with a fork, then score with a sharp
knife into 8 wedges. Pick up each round with parchment and place back into
baking pans. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar over dough in each pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or
until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle remaining sugar over baked shortbread, 1 1/2 teaspoons on each. Cool on wire rack. (The smell of warm butter, sugar, ginger and lavender will be seductive and you’ll want to start eating the warm shortbread. But don’t. The shortbread will taste best when it reaches room temperature.) Remove shortbread from pans by pulling up on the parchment paper. Use sharp knife to cut the shortbread where it was scored, forming a total of 16 wedges.