Strawberry Shortcake

I really love traditional Strawberry Shortcake. I don't think I ever had it this way until Becca made it for dessert one night when we had dinner with her and Shane. Growing up, Strawberry Shortcake was always made with Angel Food Cake, which is also good. However, I really love this recipe that comes from the Joy of Cooking.

BISCUITS

Pre-heat the oven to 450.

Sift together in a large bowl:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar

Cut in, using a pastry blender or 2 knives, until the size of small peas:
4-6 Tbsp chilled butter
(it needs to be really cold butter, I take a cube of butter out of the freezer and only leave it out a few minutes before using it. I also do this part in my food processor to make it easier).

Make a well in the center. Add all at once:
3/4 cup milk (For added riches, use half-and-half instead of milk)

Stir just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead gently and quickly, about 8 to 10 times, Roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin (or pat out with your hands) to 3/4" thickness. Cut into squares and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake until lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

Strawberry Filling:
Wash, pat dry and hull strawberries. Crush one-quarter of the berries in a bowl with a potato masher or fork. Slice the remainder. Combine the sliced and crushed berries and add sugar to taste.

To assemble, cut each biscuit in half horizontally. Place one half on a plate, spoon the berry mixture over, and top with the other half of the biscuit. Spoon a generous dollop of whipped cream (it must be real whipped cream!) on top and serve.

Something about food...

Good, wholesome food makes me incredibly happy. When I cut into a juicy watermelon, I am immediately taken back to childhood summers. Last week, I cut up some basil from by garden and was overwhelmed with the beautiful smell and the memories of summers past. Food is a part of my good memories. Food brings us together and makes us happy. I am passionate about good food. Because of this passion, I have to adhere to a basic rule - you must always cook and bake with the foods of the season. I can't bear to make something in the winter that calls for fresh strawberries or tomatoes. Strawberries remind me of spring, and I can't be eating them in the dead of winter -that would be like playing Christmas music in July. Tomatoes belong to late summer and into the autumn. Chocolate, citrus fruits, and nuts get my mind twirling with ideas of winter desserts. Juicy peaches and crisp apples are the best in autumn desserts. A raspberry tart would be perfect for a late summer dinner party outdoors. Although I have only been to Nantucket once and have never picked any berries there, I imagine picking blueberries in the middle of the summer and taking them back in a basket to my summer cottage. I have found that Europeans respect the foods of the seasons more than we do. I'm not sure why. Why is it that Europeans always have to out-shine us in the food catergory? That's okay - it just makes me love the different countries of Europe that much more. Oh, I love their love for food. And I'm grateful for all those of you out there who inspire me with your love of food. So here's to summer and all the fresh foods we can eat this season!

Green Salad with Almond Orange Dressing

I kind of forgot about how much I love this salad until I made it over the weekend to take to a friends house. It is very refreshing and one of those salads you can't get enough of. I'm happy to say that I have some leftover ingredients in the fridge and will be making this again tonight.

Green Salad with Almond Orange Dressing

1 lg. head of red leaf lettuce
1 bermuda onion (I couldn't find one, so used about half a small red onion instead)
2 oranges, peeled and sliced or 1 can mandarin oranges- especially good with fresh oranges
1 small jicama, cut in strips
4 oz. sliced almonds
3 Tbsp. sugar - heat sugar and glaze almonds

Dressing:
1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Good Seasons Dry Italian Dressing Mix

Combine the dressing ingredients and refrigerate several hours. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving.

Pasta Primavera

This is one of our favorite pasta dishes. The recipe is very versatile and you can add any fresh vegetables you like. Serve with a green salad and some crusty garlic bread and you've got yourself a great, tasty, vegetarian meal.

Pasta Primavera
12 oz. Rotini Pasta (I really like the Barilla Plus Multigrain Pasta)
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves- crushed with press
2 Cups Broccoli Florets, Asparagus or fresh Green Beans (We used asparagus this time)
1 ½ Cups Shredded Carrots
½ - 1 Pint cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
½-1 Cup Heavy Cream
½ tsp Salt

Cook pasta. Meanwhile heat oil in 12" skillet or wok. Add garlic and broccoli and cook 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook 4 minutes or until veggies are tender crisp. Stir in tomatoes, cook 1 minute. Add parmesan, cream and salt. Heat to boiling. Remove from heat. Drain pasta (reserve ½ cup cooking water). Toss veggies with pasta and reserved water. Serve with Parmesan on top.

...

Sorry, I posted the wrong recipe in the last post. Here is the right one http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonMeringueTart.html
The other one is a whipped cream topping and looks very good.

Lemon Meringue Tart

When My sister-in-law came to visit over the holidays from Tucson, I was telling her how much I love having lemons around in my kitchen for baking and cooking. A couple of months later, I opened up my door on my birthday and found a big unexpected box on my front porch. I opened the box and found a dozen or more lovely large lemons. They were so fragrant and beautiful. Apparently, her neighbor has a big lemon tree in her yard and she went over and picked a bunch just for me. I put a few in a pretty glass bowl on my table and then went to work finding lemon recipes so they wouldn't go to waste. I found a recipe for a lemon meringue tart and made it last Sunday. It was so refreshing and fun to have in the winter time. It kept well too and last night Rob polished off the last four pieces (I think he liked it!). Here is the link for the recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonTart.html.

p.s. to avoid lemon waste, juice the lemon and then freeze. Just thaw the juice for use in later recipes!

Orange-Buttermilk Pancakes

In honor of National Pancake Day, we had pancakes for dinner. My mother in law made these pancakes for us over the holidays and my baby loved them. We loved them, too. Here are some facts I gathered about National Pancake Day:

Known also as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day dates back several centuries to when the English prepped for fasting during Lent. Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products…hence the name Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday.

Orange Buttermilk Pancakes

Combine Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
3 Tb sugar
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine wet ingredients:
2 tsp. orange zest
1 cup orange juice
1 Cup buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 Tb. oil

Combine wet and dry ingredients together. Cook on a griddle.

Star French Toast

This french toast is delicious. It tastes similar to some mascarpone stuffed french toast that I had at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas last year.

Star French Toast

8 slices french bread cut into 1 inch slices

4 eggs

1 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk so I could feel a little better about it)

¼ cup honey (heated in the microwave until runny)

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup butter

Directions:
Cut bread into one inch slices. In a medium bowl, beat together, eggs, cream, honey, salt, cinnamon, orange zest and vanilla extract.

On a griddle melt butter over medium high heat. Dip both sides of bread in the mixture, transfer to the hot griddle. Brown on both sides and transfer to a warm plate. Serve with whipping cream, fresh raspberries, and chopped pecans.

P.S. These taste great with the buttermilk syrup that Heidi has posted on this site.

Beef Pot Roast in Red Wine

This gravy sauce is so savory and yummy. I think we all just wanted to drink it. It was so great over mashed potatoes and roast. Seriously, you're going to love this...
1 3 1/2 to 4 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast
3 Tlbs olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup hearty red wine
2 cups beef broth
28 ounce can Italian peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 Tlbs snipped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
1. Trim excess fat from meat. In a 4-6 quart Dutch oven,brown roast on all sides in hot oil. Remove meat from pan; season with salt and pepper.
2. Pour off most of fat, reserving 2 Tlbs of drippings. Add pancetta, onion and garlic to drippings. Cook and stir about five minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat; let stand for about 1 min. Carefully add the wine. Return to heat; bring to boiling. Boil gently, uncovered, about 10 min or until most of liquid evaporates.
3. Return meat to dutch oven. Add beef broth, tomoato, carrot, celery, and parsley. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender. Uncover and simmer until sauce is desired consistency. (I added some corn starch here). Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with a parsley sprig, and serve over mashed potatoes or polenta. YUM!

Carmelized Panettone Bread Pudding

This is seriously good bread pudding. The original recipe comes from a book called Classic Home Desserts (my favorite). However, I have changed it a bit because the carmel part just wasn't working out for me. Panettone is a traditional Italian Christmas bread - it includes raisins and candied orange peel. I used challah (pronounced halla) bread because I don't like raisins in my dessert. I served this at a Christmas dinner and everyone loved it. I think it's going to be a new tradition for Christmas Eve dinnner.

3-4 cups cubed (1 inch), day old pannettone, challah, brioche or other egg bread, crusts left on.s
2 1/4 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 Tlbs pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

for the caramel:
1 cup heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Butter six to eight ramekins, custard cups, or disposable foil baking cups. Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan.

Fit a heavy bottomed pan w/ a candy thermometer ( I don't have one, but you probably need one if you're not familiar with making candy, or you can just guess and hope it's right.) Over high heat cook 3/4 cup of the cream, corn syrup, butter, and sugar to 280 degrees (firm ball); at this point the syrup will be golden. Remove from the heat and carefully swirl in the remaining 1/4 cup cream and the vanilla.

Carefully pour about 1/4 inch hot caramel into each ramekin. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes with 1 cup of the milk. Set aside, stirring occasionally, until needed. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, *scald the remaining 1 1/4 cups milk with the cream or milk and vanilla bean ( if using vanilla extract, do not add it now). Cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, with a rack in the center. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, the remaining 3 Tlbs sugar and the scalded cream mixture until smooth. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod into the custard (or add the vanilla extract now). Strain this mixture ove the soaked bread mixture and stir gently to combine.

Ladle the pudding mixture into the ramekins, filling them nearly full. Place the roasting pan in the oven. Pour in enough hot tap water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Lay a sheet of buttered foil, buttered side down, directly over the puddings.

The original recipe says to bake for 30 minutes, but mine took almost an hour to be done. The guy that wrote this recipe probably has a super efficient and super expensive oven. Anyway, when the custards are just set and a toothpick comes out clean, then they are done.

Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes then transfer to the fridge and chill for at least two hours ( this is nice because you can bake them a day ahead).

Right before serving, place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven until the caramel bubbles around the edge (10-15 minutes).

* to scald means basically to burn the milk or bring it almost to a boil. They used to do this before milk was pasteurized,so we really don't do it anymore except when you are using it in bread pudding - something about the proteins binding to the bread and such.

Holiday Feasting

I never appreciated how much good holiday food I've eaten in my life until I had to make it myself. Of course, Thanksgiving means that the turkey and all the fixin's make it to the [beautifully decorated] table. Christmas means another huge feast, not to mention, special breakfast, cookies, neighbor treats, gingerbread for the gingerbread houses, and oranges and nuts finding their way to the bottom of our stockings. Somehow, all these years, the tasty food has always made it to the table, and the only considerations I made were how I could fit both the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes on that little space still available on my plate.

This being my first Christmas as the mom, it was enlightening to create the holiday food traditions. In some ways, it was fun to bring old classic dishes from my home and new recipes that call for such a festive occasion. In other ways, I missed sitting in my childhood kitchen, doing something small like peeling potatoes or making the salad while chatting with my mom, who was probably making five dishes simultaneously, pots on all burners, gently simmering away. But, after all, I felt a kinship with my mom and her mom and all the mothers who came before, because our tradition of cooking holiday meals transforms any old December 25th into Christmas Day, the day of the Savior's birth! What a good reason to celebrate!

This was our Christmas Eve feast:

Honey-Orange Ham

This recipe came from an old Martha Stewart Christmas issues--maybe 2004? Anyway, it actually features the family of an old mission buddy of my husband's--Matt H., if you are our there, thank your mom for her great ham recipe! Your Christmas in Midway was picture perfect!

1 whole smoked ham (14 to 18 pounds), bone in and rind on

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 large onion, cut into 6 wedges

1 large orange, cut into 6 wedges

4 sprigs rosemary

1/2 cup cider vinegar

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Rinse ham with cool water; dry with paper towels. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature 1 hour. Meanwhile, whisk together honey, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, and mustard; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in lower third. FIt a roasting pan with a rack and place ham, with the thicker rind on top, on rack. Scatter onion and orange wedges and rosemary around ham on rack. Transfer to oven and cook 1 hour.

3. Remove pan from oven and let ham cool slightly. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Trim fat all over the ham to a layer of about 1/4 inch (it does not need to be perfectly even; the bottom will have less fat and more skin). Turn ham, bottom side down. Score fat on top of ham in a diamond pattern, each 1 to 2 inches, cutting about 1/4 to 1/2 inch through the fat and into the meat. Baste with honey mixture. Add enough water to roasting pan to fill the bottom by about 1/4 inch.

4. Return ham to oven, and cook 1 hour more, basting often with remaining marinade (do not baste with pan juices). If necessary, add water to pan to keep juices from burning. Remove from oven; transfer ham to a serving platter; discard orange, onion, and rosemary. Let stand 30 minutes before carving ham.

5. Meanwhile, make gravy: Strain liquid from roasting pan into a liquid measuring cup or bowl, and skim off fat from surface with a large spoon. Place roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add cider vinegar, and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Return defatted juices to pan along with 2 cups stock. Bring to a boil, and let simmer.

6. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 1/2 cups stock and the flour; whisk into sauce. Continue simmering until liquid is reduced by half and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with ham.

Green Bean, Watercress, and Crispy Shallot Salad
Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper
1 Pound Green Beans, trimmed
1 cup vegetable oil, such as safflower
3 Shallots, thinly sliced crosswise into rings
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from one lemon)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch watercress, tough stems removed

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. [they say to have a big bowl of ice water ready to go to dunk the beans, but I just scoop up the green beans with my seive and rinse the beans in cold water from the faucet. Less messy and a lot less work.] Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Cook green beans in boiling water until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Cool green beans completely, then transfer to lined baking sheet and pat dry.

2. In a small saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium-low. In a small bowl, toss shallots with flour. Working in three batches, fry shallots in oil until golden and crispy, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer shallots to paper towels and season generously with salt.

3. In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, mustard, and olive oil to combine; season dressing with salt and pepper. Place watercress on a serving platter and drizzle with half the dressing. Toss with green beans and remaining dressing. Serve sprinkled with shallots. [not being a huge fan of fried things, I couldn't get over how much I loved these shallots!! They seem like a sophisticated indulgence, even though they are glorified onion rings.]

And, for something sweet, I made another apple pie and a chocolate pistachio torte . Love that death by chocolate.

I chickened out of making rolls, even after a good pep-talk and fabulous recipe from my friend and roll mentor, Kristy. Instead, I delegated the rolls, along with a few other dishes to our gracious dinner guests. Kristy, I will make dinner rolls successfully and give the full report. That's a new year's resolution.

For Christmas morning, however, I attempted baking with yeast, for better or for worse. I was equipped with an acclaimed orange roll recipe, tried and true among good friends, and can you imagine the perfect Christmas picture of opening presents, while the aroma of orange rolls waft through the house from the kitchen?! I know!

I attempted Tiffany's famous recipe:

Out of this World Rolls

2 packages dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water
3 eggs, well beaten
4 ½ cups flour
1 cup warm water
½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Butter

Soften yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Combine dissolved yeast, eggs, 2 ½ cups flour, 1 cup warm water, shortening, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Beat until smooth. Add remaining flour to make a soft dough. Cover. Let rise until double in bulk (about 1 hour.) Punch down and refrigerate overnight. Three hours before baking, roll out as desired. For dinner rolls, divide dough in half. Roll each half into a ½” thick rectangle. Spread with butter. Starting with the long side, roll up jelly-roll style. Cut in 1” slices. Place in greased muffin tins, cut side down. Cover. Let rise 3 hours. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until slightly brown. YIELD: 2 ½ dozen rolls.

VARIATION: ORANGE ROLLS
1/3 cup butter
½ cup sugar
Rind of 1 orange, grated

Combine ingredients. After rolling dough into two ½” thick rectangles, divide above mixture and spread on ½ of each rectangle. Fold rectangles in half. Cut each into 12 strips with a pizza cutter. Pick up each strip and gently stretch, then tie into a knot. Place on greased baking sheet with edges, making sure the ends of the dough are tucked underneath roll. Let rise 3 hours. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until slightly brown. Make sure they are baked through so they are not doughy. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing while warm. (Powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, dash of salt.)

Mine were good for the most part, except I think I made them maybe 3 times the size that they were intended. My yield was maybe 12, instead of the recipe's suggested 2 1/2 dozen....so...when I pulled them out, they were pretty doughy in some spots. I cut out the dough, and we enjoyed them thoroughly.

To round things out, I made some yogurt parfaits. I loved it, even though I suspect that the boys thought they were too girly somehow. Sorry, guys, no egg casserole today! Let's keep things a little lighter, shall we?

Pretty Pink Parfaits

2 cups strawberry yogurt

granola

frozen berries, thawed

1 banana

sweetened whipped cream

Layer in a parfait glass: yogurt, granola, berries, banana. Repeat until parfait reaches the top of the glass and top with whipped cream and a tad more granola.

a giveaway...

on my family blog that includes food that is divine.


click HERE to read up.....

Christmas Guacamole

Who am I kidding? I'll pretty much eat this guac year-round as long as I can find pomegranates. It is especially festive for Christmas with the green avocado and red tomatoes and pomegranate seeds. I know it sounds different, but give it a try. It's delicious!

Christmas Guacamole
Seeds of 1 ripe pomegranate
1 avocado, chopped
1 tomato, chopped,
2 Tbsp. red onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. Lemon or Lime juice
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients together and serve with tortilla chips. I love the "hint of lime" tortilla chips served with dips that have avocado in them. Click HERE for a great tutorial on de-seeding a pomegranate that won't leave your clothes, fingers and sink stained red. Also, did you see Jane's (of This Week for Dinner) tip about how to select good, ripe avocados? If not, click HERE.

Wassail

This is my new favorite wassail recipe. I have traditionally used the Lion House Cookbook recipe, but this will be my new go-to recipe. My sister gave this to me a couple weeks ago after attending a cookie exchange. She said it best: "it tastes like you want wassail to taste." And, guess what else? It's easy!

Wassail:
4 Cups Apple Juice
2 Cups Cranberry Juice
1 Cup Orange Juice
1 can (12 oz.) Apricot Nectar
1 Cup Sugar
2 cinnamon sticks

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Apricot Nectar is kind of a unique ingredient. It is typically sold by the 12 oz. can in the juice aisle at the grocery store. Some brands I am familiar with are Kerns and Goya. At my grocery store I could only find a six-pack of small 5.5 oz cans.

party dip

this comes from my ever wonderful anut ann. she was a big influence on my love of food from childhood. we did a lot with her family growing up and i could ALWAYS, ALWAYS count on something good from her kitchen. she brought this to a family get together last christmas and i have never been the same. i have made this to death. i used fresh corn this summer when it was in abundance and it was marvelous! this is a great party dip, i highly recommend it coming to your parties......

FIESTA CORN DIP

3 cans mexicorn – drained
1 jalapeno pepper chopped (or use canned jalapeno’s to
taste)
3 green onions chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 can diced green chilies – drained
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper

Blend ingredients and chill before serving (minimum
2-3 hours).
Serve with Fritos Scoops.
This recipe makes a large amount . . . ingredients can
be easily adjusted to make 1/3 of the recipe.

thanks aunt ann. fab. really fabulous...