Winter Pumpkin Biscuits

Icy, short cut roads to office

Well, winter hit here with the ice, sleet and about 6" of snow.  That may not sound like much to our Northern neighbors but it is not something we Prairie folks look forward to.  There is a serious shortage of snowplows so our roads are constantly being over-sanded and salted on top of ice.  Why the city street engineers haven't figured out that the melting top layer only adds to the inch-thick ice to form an equally hazardous top layer of yet more ice seems to me it ain't rocket science, but what would I know.  Anyway, it's close enough to the holidays that for some people, this puts them into a jolly mood.  For others, sheer panic with the added 'winter storm warnings' (that's 'snizzle'/snow-ice drizzle and/or light, freezing 'sprinkleage'), and the sad yet comic rush at the grocery stores.  Snow Armageddon!  Not a loaf of bread or gallon of milk on the shelves and long lines at the checkout.  It is apparent that no one knows how to make bread anymore, much less do without milk for a couple of days.  The French figured this out as they have shelf-life, non-refrigerated milk, croissants and baguettes no matter the weather or revolution.  Mon dieu!

For me, I just put on my fuzzy houseshoes, fluffy robe and head straight to the kitchen after my cup of coffee.  I just bought several cans of pumpkin that were on sale (mostly for our dog to keep the other dog out of her...shall we say digested food droppings?) and pulled out one of my favorite, old standy cookbooks, A Taste of Georgia.  Does anyone ever have too many cookbooks?  I don't care how high-tech we may be or might become, I love my collection of cookbooks and it constantly grows.  It's just not the same staring at a screen on the tablet or PC when you can hold that book in your hands, turn the pages and see the pictures.  OK, back to the pumpkin.

The recipe I wasn't really looking for was actually for sweet potato biscuits but the pumpkin on hand was a perfect substitution and these are fast, warm and wonderful when you don't want to do anything but sit in your pj's and hibernate.  You probably have everything you need right in your pantry.  There's nothing fancy about these and you can make them plain or spicy/sweet.  Home bears need their nourishment when the days are dark and long.

Winter Pumpkin Biscuits
(makes 5-10 depending on how thick your roll your dough)

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Parchment line or Pam a baking sheet

Mix dry ingredients in bowl:
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
Optional: 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 TBSP sugar--I had planned on making these plain and drizzling with honey but didn't have any honey...bears must have found it.  So, the cinnamon/sugar gives a lovely aroma and slightly sweet flavor to the biscuits.

Cut in 4 TBSP cold butter
add:
1 c canned pumpkin (plain)
1/2 c milk
Blend lightly and turn out on a floured work area.  You want a workable dough--not too stiff but one that holds its shape.
Roll out to whatever thickness you like your biscuits--I made these about 1" thick so they would hurry and bake but you can make them fatter--just cook longer.
Cut with a biscuit cutter or small juice glass, place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until slightly browned on top.  Sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar and serve with big chunks of sweet butter.

It might be the only reason I can like being in the Tundra right now.  Doesn't stop me from dreaming about a beach somewhere, however.

Happy Shiloh Snow Trot

Oh well, the Big Dog is happy.

Bonne chance, rester chaud!

PG-13 Chex Mix

Rated PG-13 Chex Mix

--not for children.

There's no denying when the holidays are getting close, The Best Husband in the World adds stock value to the cereal and nut manufacturers by purchasing large volumes of food items to make the best Chex Mix anywhere.  This is a recipe handed down and tweaked to perfection.  You can up the heat factor but whatever you do, don't leave out the hot spices.  Heartburn is worth it in this case and it is addictive.  I don't think you can check yourself into a Betty Ford clinic but you can probably join Weight Watchers after sitting around watching football (BOOMER! SOONER!) and chowing on bowls of Mix.  It's definitely worth the extra calories.  A batch of this will make about 2-2 gallon ziplocs so there's plenty for your guests but just in case, you should probably Make A Lot.

You'll want to go check out your spice pantry.  If you've never heard of 'Fines Herbs' we couldn't find it here until we went to a specialy store but you usually can find it at your grocer in the rest of the inhabited USA.  Fines Herbs is a combination of parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil, marjoram, cress, cicely and lemon balm.  It is not pungent but it is a key ingredient so don't leave it out.  You also might want to grab the wine, beer or your hot chocolate because unlike some 'Mix' recipes, this is a slow agonizing process.  I'm sure you could speed it up by eliminating some of the intervals but that's up to you.  I always start stealing handfuls as soon as it gets hot and the kitchen is filled with all the spicy goodness that puts me under its spell and makes me start sneaking bowls bites when hubby isn't looking.

Spice It Up Chex Mix

200 degree oven

5 c EACH: Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Corn Chex (and you can definitely use a store brand)
4 c Stick Pretzels - the twist pretzels get too hard so use sticks
4 c Mixed Nuts - keep your eyes out for sales and coupons!

1 c Canola or Vegetable Oil
2 TBSP Worchstershire Sauce
2 tsp EACH: Tobasco, Liquid Smoke

Spices:
2 tsp EACH: Garlic Salt, Chili Powder
1 tsp EACH: Onion Salt, Fines Herbs
1/2-1.5 tsp Cayenne (you decide how hot you want your mouth and belly to burn)

3 large aluminum disposable turkey-size pans (buy them at the dollar store)

Mix cereal, pretzels and nuts in one pan.  Blend together oil, W Sauce and Liquid Smoke in small bowl and pour half over cereal mix.  Stir to coat.  Mix spices in smal bowl and sprinkle over oiled mix.  Blend well, pour remaining oil mixture over cereals and stir until coated.  Divide mix into two pans.  Place in oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, dump one pan into empty pan, stir gently and repeat with other pan.  You are going to be doing this for the next two hours--every 15 minutes.  Yes, two hours!  Patience is a virgin virtue and that is exactly why I don't cook this.  Hubby has the patience of grass growing so he gets all the credit, I get to eat the Mix and blame him for my holiday thighs.

Bon Caliente!

Autumn Almond Apples-Gluten Free and Vegetarian

This past weekend was most likely the last, gorgeous, warm one we'll have this fall until next spring.  With so many apples and a wonderfully, simple dish idea originating from Manger (one of my favorite visual food/fantasy life blogs www.mimithorisson.com), a beautiful breakfast/dessert from the Medoc region of France was born.  If there was ever a place and lifestyle we could aspire to live, Bordeaux would be it, bien sur.

This is super easy and fast and a great-tasting use for almond flour*--Gluten-Free, vegetarian and organic, if you choose to make it so.  Better than apple dumplings and definitely not going to kill any diet you might be on or thinking about.  Aren't we always?

Autumn Almond Apples

Preheat over to 350

1 TBSP honey
1/3 c almond flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg yolk
1.5 TBSP butter
2 apples--choose flavorful types such as Jonagold, Fuji, Pink Lady
small handful of chopped pecans

Rinse and dry apples.  Cut the top 'hat' off of the apples and set aside.  Core apples which in my case require a corer, knife and spoon and managing to not cut off a finger.  Put apples in baking dish.  If they fall over, level the bottom of the apples with that sharp knife.

In a small bowl, mix almond flour with cinnamon, egg yolk, honey and 1 TBSP butter.  Fill cored apples with flour mixture, top with chopped pecans and apple hat.  Dot with remaining butter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until apples are tender.  Serve hot.

I should have made twice as many so be warned.  They are that good.

Bon pomme!

*A special note about where I buy
Almond Flour:  www.pureformulas.com is a wonderful website, free shipping and great prices on everything they sell, including coconut oil, vitamins and almond flour.

Cider Smoked Sausage

Grilled, smoked sausages simmered with pears in a rich sauce on a chilly fall night will put some much needed heat in your belly especially if you add some chipotle or jalapeno peppers--completely optional.   

Lately, doesn't there always seem to be something missing, wrong, disgusting or plain silly in some of the ideas today's so-called chefs/cooks come up with?  Everybody that gets their face on TV or in a magazine tries their best to complicate things.  Sometimes you don't have to add anchovies or macadamia nuts to come up with a great-tasting dish.  And to add to my media misery, if you live in the country, on a farm or just discovered organic vegetables, you're an expert with a 30-minute show on the Food Network.  Do we really need another cooking show?  On the ridiculous end of the gamut, you can watch 'chefs' running around in a grocery store like out-of-control kids racing grocery carts and then cooking in a makeshift kitchen next to a checkout lane.  Seriously?  That's almost worse than the ladies at the 'club' stores giving out free samples where I'm too embarrassed for all y'all standing in lines to taste a thimble-sized sample of Cheeze Whiz or chicken nuggets to get in line behind you.  Now if this bassakwards state ever passes laws to give out wine samples, I might push you out of the way, however.

Cook this, serve it up with a baked or mashed potato and whatever else you want and you'll have an easy, delicious hearty meal.  We splurge on the weekends and indulge ourselves with carby potatoes and hot bread. We're crazy like that.

Cider Smoked Sausage

optional--1 chopped chipotle or jalapeno pepper

2 pears of your choice, cored, sliced and chunked
3/4 c apple cider
1 TBSP stone ground mustard
12-16 oz smoked pork sausages or brats
2 TBSP butter

In a skillet, saute pears in 1 TBSP butter for 2-3 minutes, stir the mustard into the cider and pour over pears.  Add peppers if you desire the fire.  Cook about 10-15 minutes over high heat until sauce has reduced and thickened.

While pears are cooking, heat grill and cook sausages.  When sausages are done, add them to pears in skillet, cover and cook another 5 minutes.  Just before serving, stir in remaining butter.

You could also use pork chops in place of sausage.

Now, butter those potatoes, throw on a chunk of bread and stay warm.

Bon Petits Cochons!

Apple Cider Crumble

 

 

How y'all been doin'?  You're probably thinking I fell off the face of the earth.  No, I didn't (obviously), or stopped cooking or ran off to Paris never to be heard from again, mais non!  (we can wish).  I've just been busy as a cat in a birdcage these past few months.  With vacations, baby showers and Halloween, there's hardly been time to do anything even though I thought about a lot of stuff I should have been doing...just didn't do it.  

A trip to Florida with The Best Husband in the World just made us want to stay there and that alone is not conducive to doing anything except sitting by the pool with a tiny, little beverage to while away the days soaking up sun and listening to the water.
 
With the upcoming granddaughter's arrival in January, we threw one heckuva Halloween-themed baby shower and that alone took weeks of preparation.  We don't do 'small' around here so our efforts were much impressed by those in attendance.  I made a fondant baby mummy cake (and unless you make your own fondant, it is hideous and gross-tasting but so pleased with my first effort even though we threw it away later!)  Decided before hubby tossed those faded pink flamingos, I should find the artist in me and make Skelingos and if I do say so, the Salvador Dali transformation was worth the effort.

We have just put away numerous crates of scary decor just in time to start pulling out yet even more numerous crates of holiday decor--a truly big ordeal in this gorgeous, old house.  So, bear with me while I get back in the saddle and start messing in the kitchen and doing those domestic holiday things we do around here.

When the last days of fall are quickly disappearing, it's time to put away the charcoal grill, swimsuit cover-ups and pool floats so we can focus on apples.  Forget about pumpkins--they're just too much trouble for me to bother with so we'll just skip the pumpkin pie recipes and move right on to apples.  The ones that crowd the shelves every day of the year just don't have the flavor like a good, crisp, fall apple that's been shipped from the north and somehow not turned to mush by the time it arrives in buffalo country.   I'm sure there are folks out here who have their own apple trees, but we aren't one of them.  Who am I kidding?  We couldn't get a darned cucumber or cantaloupe to grow this summer so fruit trees are out of the question.   I'm still picking tomatoes, however midgetious and scrawny.  Well, there I go again...drifting onto a whole 'nother topic of angst and disappointment. 

Now, if you don't normally put apples on the top of your fruit list as a favorite, well, me either. However, this easy, mostly kinda sorta low(er) calorie breakfast or dessert dish must be tried--and when I say lower calorie, you decide if a small portion will sit on your rear end or if you can get by with a bowlful of indulgence.   When I started making this, I was just going to make applesauce with the four apples sitting on the counter.  But, it seemed only natural to cook them in apple cider with some spices and just a teeny smidgeon of sugar and Stevia (because I always feel less guilty about adding sugar if I cut it with a natural sweetener).  When these started to cook down, I simply could not smoosh them into applesauce and decided some oats, brown sugar and butter with chopped pecans would be so much better.  I was right, of course.  The cider gave a whole new flavor to the apples.  It's done in half an hour and I'm betting you have everything you need right in your cabinets.  Ok, so we don't usually have apple cider sitting around either but it's easy to get your hands on this time of year.

I do wish we had some hard cider...the kind the Europeans and English have with a little kick and the 'Surprise!...you fell off your stool' kind of cider.  However, this recipe is stone, sober so feel free to serve it to your kids, grandmothers and any other non-imbibing acquaintances.

APPLE CIDER CRUMBLE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4-5 apples for 3-4 small servings--any type apple except Delicious--they are sooo boring
cut apples in quarters, remove seeds and cut into chunks
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp Stevia or whatever measurement your natural sweetener calls for (honey would also work)
1.5-2 c Apple Cider
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp apple pie spice mix (or more cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger if you have some)

Mix all in medium saucepan, cook over medium heat covered for about 10 minutes, then remove cover and continue cooking until cider has reduced about half and apples are fork tender.  Set aside.

Mix 1/2 c steel cut or old-fashioned oats with
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c melted butter
Add 3/4 c chopped pecans

Put apples in 9" square (or approximate) glass or metal pan with a small amount of juice.  Save the remaining cider for a hot, toddy cup of yum.
Top apples with oat mixture, place in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes until top browns.

I'm bettin' Johnny Appleseed never had apples like these--delish.

Bon appletit'

Bonita Beach, Naples FL

Better Than a NYC Bakery - Profiteroles (Cream Puffs)

Summer is a time for doing nothin' except what you have to.  Meals on the grill, swimming off the sweat and sipping nice, cool ones on the deck keep you hoping summer lasts forever. If life isn't just about perfect when you can eat sweet, buttery corn-on-the-cob, smell fresh-mowed grass and  hear the rumble of afternoon thunderstorms coming in, then I don't know what is.  Heading to the lake is nice but real paradise to me is lying on the beach, listening to the waves and dreaming of days gone by when all of us wore bikinis and cut-offs showing our midriffs with abandon.
.
Now cooking steaks, grilling corn and making homemade ice cream are how the weekends go around here.  But occasionally, I just have to do something completely not summery and get back to the kitchen and cook. I do have compulsions incentives for some of the crazy things I do. 

Paris Patisserie

But first I have a confession.  I am an addict.  Not the Lindsey Lohan kind that needs to go to rehab or a 10-step program but I am an addict just the same.  I am addicted to all things sweet. There, I said it.  I love anything with chocolate, sugar and/or carb-packing, floury doughs. This is a bit of a problem because when you are a carb addict, you cannot eat even the tiniest bit or you will want the whole thing including platefuls of whatever puffy, gooey, nauseatingly sweet thing is in front of you or in the pantry or hidden deep within the frozen confines of the freezer so you will at least have to dig for it and wait for it to thaw. This also lends to heavy thighs, midwestern derrières, muffin tops and cover-ups at the pool.

If you are not a dessert lover, I truly dislike you. You are thin and probably extremly healthy. I hope you hide in your closet eating bags of Cheetos and drinking beer to make up for your healthy-whats-wrong-with-you lifestyle.  I predict someday, you will no longer be athletic and disciplined and you will have large thighs.  I will hope so.

Recently, the Best Husband in the World's brother and his wife (my family now, too), returned from an anniversary trip to Paris, France. I would have happily gone as their guide extraordinaire but had to take a raincheck.  You know, too busy picking up dog poo, running errands and such.  Upon their return and several photo postings eating macarons (not coconut macaroons we Americans think are French), airy, buttery cream puffs and much reget that not enough of them were eaten while in Paris (oh, we do feel so sorry for you), coupled with the fact that undoubtedly, not a single bakery in NYC or NJ would come close to how c'est magnifique the Paris macarons were, I just had to take on The Challenge for cream puffs.  Macarons will have to wait until the dead of winter when a blizzard is raging and I need a half day project to keep from pulling my hair out when stuck in 'les cabin avec fevre'.  I shall make Profiteroles--Cream Puffs--Pâte à Choux desserts during our upcoming reunion in Florida! Merci.

Now the only reason I know about Profiteroles (proh/feet/rohl) besides eating them in Paris, goes back to when my daughter was taking French classes in high school, and given an assignment to make cream-filled pâte à choux(s)(es)(ies)? Anyway, at that time in my life, the last thing I could imagine making assisting her with was some French dessert that looked impossibly difficult and time consuming and cramming Julia Child in between football practice, cheerleading and school projects was out of the question. Did I say this was a school project? Did I make them instead of daughter? Pretty sure she stirred the dough once or twice while making fun of my attempts at French. The amazing part was how great they turned out and how easy they were to make. So do not think for one minute you cannot make these. You can and should. I did not make them again until the recent Paris-trip-I-did-not-go-on Challenge.

I pulled out my trusty Mastering the Art of French Cooking and promptly simplified some techniques. First, if you have mastered the use of a pastry bag, feel free to use it. I don't like you anymore if you're that capable and you should be writing your own cooking blog. I find that every time I try to use one, I end up with more of the dough or icing on me and the kitchen than on the dessert. This makes for very happy dogs.  Fortunately, these can be made with two teaspoons and honestly, the results are so comparable, I doubt anyone will know you did not use a pastry bag and you'll thank me for it in the long run. Secondly, if you want to make a cream custard from Julia's extensive repertoire, see bottom of page, but again, only you have to know you used the shortcut filling. It is divine and easy. Tell anyone that asks it's a secret and none of their beeswax. Your guests will think you graduated from a cooking school when you serve these.  Would a sugar junky lie?

Profiteroles/Cream Puffs

 

Butter a cookie sheet, Preheat oven to 425


Pâte à Choux/dough:
1/2 c flour (or 4 oz) all purpose or better for bread
4 eggs for dough
1 egg beaten in small dish for glazing

Filling:
1- 3.4 oz Jello Instant French Vanilla Pudding mix
1/2 vanilla bean scraped or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c heavy whipping cream, 3/4 c milk

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil:
3/4 c (or 1 pint water)
1 tsp sugar
3/4 stick (or 3 oz) butter cut in pieces
When butter has melted, remove from heat and dump flour into mixture stirring rapidly until blended with wooden spoon. Place back on heat for 1-2 minutes until mixture pulls away from sides of pan.

Again, remove from heat, make a well in center of dough and add one egg, beating until thoroughly mixed in. Continue with each egg--one at a time--until all eggs have been beaten into a smooth, glossy dough.





With two teaspoons, scoop dough and scrape into small mounds onto buttered cookie sheet about 2" apart.  Lightly dip pastry brush in beaten egg and gently press down onto top of dough but do not drip egg onto baking sheet or down sides of dough.

Place in preheated oven and bake approximately 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and puncture sides with sharp knife to allow steam to escape and keep middles from getting soggy. Turn off oven and place back into oven with door open for about 10 minutes. Remove and place on cooling rack.


While cooling, make filling by dumping jello mix, cream, milk and vanilla in bowl.  (Or do the whole Julia thing and make her Creme Patisserie--see below*).  Whip until smooth and starting to thicken--about 2 minutes and place in freezer for another 10 minutes to speed thickening.  Remove filling from freezer, stir gently.  With sharp knife, slice half way through edge of puffs, gently lift top and fill with about 1 tsp filling.  Dust with powdered sugar and/or melt and drizzle gourmet chocolate on tops.  Serve immediately.

Bon appétit,  grosses  filles




Buy bigger pants and enjoy the last weeks of summer--wherever you are.







***********************************************************
Creme Patisserie (recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking) 1 cup granulated sugar, 5 egg yolks, 1/2 cup flour, 2 cups boiling milk, 1 tbsp. butter,
1 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms "the ribbon". Beat in the flour. Beating the yolk mixture, gradually pour on the boiling milk in a thin stream of droplets.

Pour into saucepan and set over moderately high heat. Stir with a wire whip, reaching all over bottom of the pan. As sauce comes to a boil it will get lumpy, but will smooth out as you beat it. When boil is reached, beat over moderately low heat for 2 to 3 minutes to cook the flour. Be careful custard does not scorch in bottom of pan.
Remove from heat and beat in the butter, then vanilla extract. If the custard is not used immediately, clean it off the sides of the pan, and dot top of custard with softened butter to prevent a skin from forming over the surface. Creme Patisserie will keep for a week under refrigeration, or may be frozen.