Monthly Archives: November 2009

Guac, Guac here and Guac, Guac there

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‘Tis the season to be eating pomegranate. The season for fresh pomegranates is short. But for me, the red pomegranate has perfect timing. The ruby-colored seeds (or arils) are the perfect color to add holiday sparkle to so many beverages and dishes.

They are a natural when it comes to jazzing up a salad of fresh greens. Their sweet and tart flavor along with a little crunch in each seed make them irresistable.

I had some avocadoes in my kitchen, just waiting to be sliced and layered on sandwiches with some turkey that was leftover after Thanksgiving dinner. I decided to turn the avocadoes into guacamole instead. This way, I could eat the creamy dip with chips as well as spread it on my turkey sandwich.

I mixed up the guacamole similar to the way I always do — white onion, red onion, serrano chiles, garlic, lime juice….and usually, chopped tomatoes. But, it’s hard to find good tomatoes this time of year where I live. So, out came the bowl of pomegranate seeds from the refrigerator. They would add bright color to the guac, along with texture and bright flavor.

It worked. I like eating the Holiday Guacamole with chips. But on turkey sandwiches…delicious!

I know you may be a little leery of this pomegranate seeds in guacamole idea. But, give it a try. You’ll be surprised at how good it is. And, it’s holiday pretty.

I’m glad we’ve got plenty of sliced turkey in the refrigerator. And lucky me — my good friend brought over a loaf of her homemade whole-grain bread. It’s her grandma’s recipe. It makes the best turkey sandwiches.

So, you’ll have guac when your friends drop over for some holiday cheer and a beer. You’ll have guac for turkey sandwiches. Everywhere Guac, Guac.

If you like pomegranates, you may be interested in my recipe for Holiday Spinach Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette that I share in my newspaper column this week. Click here to get to the recipe.

Holiday Guacamole

  • 1/3 cup finely chopped white onion
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 4 serrano chiles, finely chopped (I remove the seeds from two of the serrano chiles and leave them in the other two. It just depends on how much heat you like in your guacamole.)
  • 1 chubby clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 4 large ripe avocadoes, removed from skin and coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, divided
  • Fresh-ground black pepper

Mix onions, serrano chiles, garlic and salt in a medium-sized glass bowl. Add the avocadoes and gently stir. Pour in the lime juice and toss. The mixture will become slightly creamy with some chunks of avocado. Fold in 1/4 cup of the pomegranate seeds. Season with some black pepper to taste. At serving time, sprinkle the guacamole with remaining pomegranate seeds.

Happy Turkey Day!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

I just mixed up the dough for the rolls that my son loves. The turkey is still in the refrigerator, slathered with salt. During a visit with my husband’s 86-year-old aunt on Saturday, who still makes a turkey each year for Thanksgiving, we discovered her secret to the best roasted turkey in the world. She cleans the turkey well on the night before Thanksgiving. She pours coarse salt into the cavity and packs salt all over the outside of the turkey and then stores the bird in the refrigerator overnight. On Thanksgiving Day, she washes all the salt from the turkey. Using loads of butter, she rubs under the skin and over the skin and inside the turkey and seasons it with her favorite herbs and spices. I like to stuff the turkey with apple and onion wedges, fresh lemon wedges, cloves of fresh garlic, a little celery and a few fresh sage leaves. That’s it. So, we’re giving Aunt Martha’s method a try this year.

Today our meal will be late in the afternoon, so I don’t feel rushed right now. I just wanted to thank all of you who are such loyal readers of my blog and my newspaper column. You make my work so rewarding.

And, I wanted to show you the cute ginger snap turkeys that will mark each person’s place at our table this year. I used those sweet sugared orange slices that you can get in small bags in the candy aisle of the grocery store to stick on the back of each turkey to help them stand up.

The ginger snap dough makes darling Christmas cut-outs, too. You can find the recipe in my newspaper column this week along with a couple of pictures of the same dough in holiday shapes. Just click here.

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Put a little sparkle in your punch

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It’s cider season. I’ve been picking up quarts of fresh organic cider at the co-op and Pepin Heights cider at the grocery store.

I’ve poured some of the cider into ice-pop molds, thinking my grandchildren would enjoy them when they are with us for Thanksgiving. I like to slurp them, too. I’ve been drinking it straight up and enjoying every last drop.

It might be the warmish days we’ve been having this month that’s making me shy away from hot mulled cider. It’s hard to get away from it though. Go to just about any holiday boutique or open house and you’ll be greeted with the welcoming fragrance of spiced cider. I drink it appreciatively when the temps drop below freezing and snow blankets the ground. But this has been a mild November.

I pass up the hot cider and seek out something cool and refreshing. Spiced and Sparkling Cider Punch does the trick. It still holds all the festive and comforting flavors that we associate with the winter holiday season. But, it’s cool and carbonated.

I’ve been serving versions of this punch at my cooking classes this month. It works as a great non-alcoholic drink with appetizers. Alcohol can definitely be added if you like. Brandy or rum works well.

Spiced and Sparkling Cider Punch is perfect for sipping with Christmas cookies. If you’re hosting a holiday cookie exchange, this is a punch to consider serving.

Maybe it’s the ginger in the punch that makes it such a good match with the foods we traditionally serve on Thanksgiving — squash, sweet potatoes, turkey, cranberries.

You can use any of your favorite mulling spices. I stash them all into a tea ball, making it easy to pull them right out of the pot of hot cider.

 Ginger ale adds a bit of sparkle to the punch. Sometimes I serve the punch with chunks of crystallized ginger jabbed with a cinnamon stick. It makes a cute swizzle.

Sometimes bubbly and cold is the only kind of drink that will satisfy my thirst. I’ll enjoy it now because soon the temps will drop way below freezing and a thick layer of snow will make an appearance. Then I will let the snow sparkle and I will turn to hot mulled cider. But for now, the sparkle will come from Spiced and Sparkling Cider Punch.

Spiced and Sparkling Cider Punch

  • 2 quarts apple cider
  • 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
  • 12 whole cloves
  • 3 coriander seeds
  • 3 whole allspice
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 chunk of crystallized ginger
  • 1 (3-inch) strip orange zest
  • 2 cups pineapple juice
  • 6 cups orange juice
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 quarts ginger ale, chilled

Pour cider into a Dutch oven. Break up cinnamon sticks and place in a tea ball along with remaining spices and orange zest. Add to the pot of cider. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove tea ball of spices. Allow cider to cool to room temperature. Mix cider with remaining juices. Refrigerate.

At serving time, combine cider mixture and ginger ale in a punch bowl. Makes 6 quarts.

If you don’t have a tea ball, you can use cheesecloth to wrap up all the spices. Or, just put them all in the pot and strain the cider before refrigerating.

 

Bake chicken once for two to eat twice

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Have you ever had one of those busy buzz-by days when you suddenly realize it’s time to start preparing dinner and you have no idea what that will be? I was having one of those days. I went to the freezer, thinking some digging around through the meat shelf might give me some ideas. I found a freezer bag holding four big bone-in chicken breasts. Okay, those would become supper.

I didn’t have a lot of time to think about how I’d prepare them. While the chicken was thawing in a bowl of cold water, it gave time to think of some options. I figured a little seasoning and some time in the oven would do the trick. I thought about using a technique my mom often turned to. When I was about 11 years old, I remember her instructing me to place cleaned and trimmed chicken pieces in a foil-lined baking dish, dot the chicken with little knobs of butter, sprinkle everything with salt, pepper and paprika and put it in the oven to bake. Easy. Quick.

I didn’t have much time for meal preparation, but I wanted a little more than buttered baked chicken. I went to one of my favorite old church cookbooks and found inspiration.

I sliced a small onion and scattered them in a small baking dish, making a bed for a couple of the chicken breasts. I decided to store the remaining two chicken breasts in the refrigerator for another meal within the next couple of days. Parmesan cheese, cream and seasonings and fresh garlic are all it took to get the meat ready for the oven.

As the chicken neared the end of its baking time, I heated up some leftover Layered Autumn Vegetable Crisp from the refrigerator. A salad of fresh greens or some sliced fruit rounds out the meal.

This chicken dish is just right when you’re cooking for two. The chicken breasts I used were so large, my husband and I split one breast and saved the other for slicing up to use on sandwiches or salad.

Using bone-in chicken breasts delivers great flavor and moist, juicy texture. I did remove the skin from the breasts before baking. Heavy cream poured over the top of the breasts helps seal in the moisture. I always use an instant-read digital thermometer to test the doneness of the meat.

This chicken was so good, I wound up using the two uncooked breasts in the refrigerator to prepare this recipe again a couple of days later.

Prepare this quick and easy baked chicken for two. You’ll bake once and eat at least twice.

This will be a recipe I’ll be using often during busy days leading up to the holidays. I’ll have a stash of bone-in chicken breasts in the freezer and cream in the refrigerator.

Breast of Chicken (For Two to Eat Twice)

  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 bone-in chicken breast havles
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • Paprika
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (or more if you like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a shallow baking dish that will hold the two chicken breast halves. Place the onion slices in the baking dish in an even layer. Place grated cheese on waxed paper. Coat chicken on all sides with cheese. Lay chicken on top of onion slices. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Slowly pour heavy whipping cream over chicken. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and paprika. Push smashed garlic cloves into the top of chicen breasts. Slide the chicken into the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until meat is cooked through.

Have your cake and eat it, too — morning, noon and night

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The inspiration for this cake started at the Scandia Cafe in Scandia, Minnesota. It began the moment I stepped inside. There, right in front of me, was a glass bakery case. There were desserts in the case, including two specials of the day: Pear, Ginger and Candied Apple Upside-Down Cake and Pear Dumplings.

I was on a long weekend road trip with friends. One of the great things about traveling with a few others is that it’s easy to order two desserts (or anything on a menu that sounds tempting) and split them allowing tastes of several menu items in one visit. That’s why I never travel with people who don’t like to eat.

We had planned to eat lunch at the Scandia Cafe and then tour the Gammelgården Museum.

Before we even ordered our lunch, we had decided on both desserts with four plates and four forks, please. First, though, came a huge, dinner-on-a-plate salad. That was the healthiest part of the meal. Fresh spinach with bacon, onions, peppers, eggs, cooked potato chunks, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, pickled beets, celery, chicken and cheese (phew, I’m out of breath) drizzled with bacon vinaigrette. And, I had to try a cup of the soup of the day — very thick Squash Soup. I ate the soup and salad all by myself. No sharing.

And then came dessert. Do you see the four plates and four forks at the ready for four dessert-hungry women?

The Pear, Ginger and Candied Apple Upside-Down Cake was light and tender, just as I remember my mom’s pineapple upside-down cake. I’d never had this combination of topping ingredients, though. The spicy cake hit the spot on a cool autumn day.

The cake at Scandia Cafe prompted me to come home and create my own version of Pear, Ginger and Candied Apple Upside-Down Cake. My version is heavier and hearty with oatmeal in the batter. That’s why it makes a perfect coffee cake for breakfast or brunch. And, after a roast beef and mashed potato dinner, it’s a satisfying dessert. This cake goes both ways. And I never have to share — I can have my own big piece.

Maybe later I’ll try making pear dumplings. Or, maybe just go back to the Scandia Cafe and see what’s for dessert.

Pear, Ginger and Spiced Apple Upside-Down Cake

  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 to 2 juicy pears, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) jar spiced apple rings
  • ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Whipped cream, minced crystallized ginger and walnut halves for garnish, optional

Combine buttermilk and oats in a bowl and mix well. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together and set aside.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch skillet with an ovenproof handle, preferably nonstick, (I use cast iron) over medium heat. Swirl the butter in the skillet until it turns nut-brown, then immediately pour it into a medium mixing bowl – an 8-cup glass measure works well. Without wiping out the skillet, sprinkle ½ cup dark brown sugar evenly over the bottom. Top with sliced pears and spiced apple rings, arranging them decoratively in an even layer.
Add the ¼ cup light brown sugar, granulated sugar and honey to the browned butter and whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the oats and buttermilk mixture. Add sifted dry ingredients all at once and stir just until thoroughly combined.
Dollop the batter over the fruit in skillet and spread evenly. Slide the skillet into the preheated oven and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and springy to the touch at the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Invert a plate over the skillet, then holding plate and skillet firmly together with oven mitts or pot holders, invert the two in one swift movement. Remove the skillet and the cake is ready to serve. For dessert, garnish with whipped cream, minced crystallized ginger and walnut halves. Or just whipped cream with a chunk of spiced apple ring is nice, too. Makes 8 servings.

  • If you don’t have a 10-inch skillet, use a 9-inch round cake pan. Just brown the butter in a skillet, pour it into the round cake pan and give it a swirl to coat the pan. Then pour the butter into your mixing bowl. When using a 9-inch round cake pan, baking time may be a little longer.
  • Sometimes I use a few tablespoons of Calvados (apple brandy) rather than the vanilla extract. Pear brandy would be good, too.

 

Pecans and Pumpkin with Waffles. Perfect.

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It was a very special Saturday morning at my house. You see, when golf season has ended and the weather becomes a little too cool for a Saturday morning bike ride, it means my husband and I are both at home on weekend mornings. Finally, we can enjoy leisurely weekend breakfasts together. Today was the first Saturday moring of no golf for him, no biking for me, both home for breakfast.

Waffles are a favorite of mine. This morning we celebrated fall and our first Saturday breakfast together in a long time with waffles. Not just plain old, everyday waffles. These beauties were studded with chopped pecans, and topped with a big chunk of butter and warm Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce.

A small amount of cornstarch is added to the waffle batter. This helps the waffles stay crisp on the outside, yet perfectly light and airy on the inside. One beaten egg white folded into the batter also contributes to the light texture of the waffles. When the cooked waffles are ready to come out of the waffle iron, I carefully transfer them to a warm oven, placing the waffles directly on the oven rack. Piling hot waffles on a platter causes them to get soft and leathery. I prefer crispy.

I’m using up the last couple of bags of big, beautiful pecan halves that I bought last year at this time from the Soroptimists in Fargo. I was a member when I lived in Fargo and still support their largest fundraiser of the year by ordering several bags of the fresh pecans. I’m so spoiled by these huge, flavorful pecans that I have to be sure to order enough bags each November to get me through to pecan-sale time the following year. The small, dark-colored pecans that are typically found in the grocery store just don’t measure up for me anymore.

Since I’m making room in the freezer for my next big order of fresh pecans, I needed to use up the last couple of bags stashed in the upright. I added a generous amount of pecans to the waffle batter after toasting them in a 350-degree oven for about 8 minutes, just until fragrant. I love the rich flavor and crunchy goodness toasted pecans add to waffles and pancakes.

Fall is all about pumpkins and squash, so a sweet Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce was just the perfect topping for Pecan Waffles. I still use butter, letting it melt into the waffle before I spread Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce over the top. The sauce fills in each little square indentation on the waffle.

Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce isn’t just for waffles. Try it on pancakes and French toast, too. Stir it into vanilla ice cream. Wow!

Pecan Waffles with Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce — can’t think of a better way to use up the last pecans in my freezer. And can’t imagine a better breakfast to celebrate fall and the start of Saturday morning breakfasts with my favorite guy.

Oh, if you love the combination of pumpkin and pecans, you might want to try the Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Maple-Pecan Topping that I’ll be making for Thanksgiving dessert this year. You can go to the recipe by clicking here.

Pecan Waffles with Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup pecans, toasted
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 6 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 large egg, separated
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Preheat waffle iron.

Combine flour, pecans, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl and stir to mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, milk and egg yolk. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the egg white in a medium bowl until it forms soft peaks. Add the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, then beat in the vanilla. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together just until incorporated. Gently fold in the egg white.

Pour a generous 1/2 cup of batter (more or less depending on the size of your waffle iron) onto the preheated waffle iron. Close the waffle iron and cook until waffle is well browned and cooked through. As each waffle is cooked, set it directly on the oven rack to keep warm while cooking the rest of the waffles. Do not stack the waffles or they will be soft rather than crispy. Once all the waffles are cooked, serve immediately with Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce. Makes about 5 waffles.

Pecan-Pumpkin Sauce

  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup half-and-half
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin

Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add pecans and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until toasted. Stir in syrup and remaining ingredients. Simmer mixture for 4 minutes, stir occasionally. Serve warm over waffles. Store sauce in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes 4 cups.

 

 

 

 

Measure makes perfect (soft pretzels)

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I had to giggle a little when my son, Andy, asked me if I had a ruler or a tape measure in the kitchen. He wasn’t measuring a wall to determine where to hang a picture. He wasn’t measuring for window blinds. He was measuring strips of dough.

He and his family was spending the weekend with us. Andy was in the mood for cooking and baking. Following a recipe from the book, “Hungry Monkey,” by Matthew Amster-Burton, he had mixed up some yeast dough using my stand mixer with the dough hook. After the dough had rested for a short time, he was ready to form strips that would be shaped into pretzels. The long snakes of dough were to be 18 inches long. That’s when the tape measure was needed.

In fact, I do keep a tape measure and a ruler in my kitchen drawer. When I was in high school, my mom and dad gave me the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book for my birthday. The first time I made the recipe for cinnamon rolls from the book, my dad thought it was quite funny that I dug out a ruler to measure the size of the piece of dough I was rolling out. I’m not good at estimating. I need to know exactly.

I handed Andy the tape measure. He measured the first snake to be sure it was 18 inches.

The remaining dough was pulled and rolled until there were six snakes.

A twist here and a twist there — pretzels!

As the recipe directed, Andy plopped the pretzels into a pot of boiling water. When they rose to the top, he transferred them to a baking sheet and slid them into the oven.

We had them for snack that afternoon. They were good. Chewy and warm and just the right amount of salt. We all enjoyed the homemade pretzels. But the one who enjoyed them the most was Andy’s own little 13-month-old hungry monkey. She’s my little monkey, too.

As I was searching the internet for a copy of the Hungry Monkey Pretzel recipe, I came upon Jess Thomson’s blog, hogwash. She has such a nice entry about how the book got her cooking. She made the pretzels and has the recipe printed with permission from the author, Matthew Amster-Burton.

You can go right to the recipe for soft Pretzels by clicking here.

I don’t think Andy used the tape measure in the kitchen again that weekend, but he kept right on cooking — overnight waffles, the pretzels, homemade wonton skins filled with seasoned ground chicken and then fried, and chocolate chip cookies. I wish he’d come more often.