A Snappy Cookie

I found this ginger snap cookie recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks called English Traditional Recipes - A Heritage of Food and Cooking and wanted to give them a try because they use one of my favorite ingredients called treacle. Treacle is a syrup that is similar to our corn syrup but it has a far greater depth of molasses flavor and it is wonderful in place of honey on toast or English muffins. I have used it in a number of recipes in the past in place of corn syrup and it adds a whole new dimension of flavor. I have never had any trouble finding treacle on my grocery store shelves, usually somewhere around the syrups. I'm sure it can also be ordered on line at multiple sites who sell English food products. It's a wonderful addition to my pantry. Ginger Snaps

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup treacle (corn syrup may substitute)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Gently heat the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Let cool slightly.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and ginger and stir in the the butter mixture to make a very soft dough. With a teaspoon, make balls of dough and place them on the baking sheet, well spaced apart. Flatten each ball slightly with a spatula. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes until just golden brown. Leave to cool on baking sheet 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and crisp up. Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Here is a wonderfully simple recipe for buttermilk biscuits. They go together super quick and I was so surprised at how truly flaky and light they were. Hopefully you can see by the photo the actual layers that defined themselves as they baked. The secret for success, as is with most quick breads, is not to overwork them. They are perfect with a little honey or jam as an accompaniment.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

8 Tbsp cold butter (divided)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt 4 Tbsp butter in an 8 or 9 inch baking pan. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in remaining 4 Tbsp. cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. make a well in the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk all at once. Stir only to moisten and until dough is free from sides of bowl.

Gently knead dough 10-12 times. Do not overknead the dough. Roll or pat out to at least 1 inch thick and cut biscuits with a 2 or 3 inch cutter. Place biscuits in the baking pan with the melted butter, turn biscuits over so both sides are coated. Place close together in pan and bake 12-15 minutes. Serve immediately.

A Chicken in Every Pot

On a cold, windy almost Spring day, nothing fits the bill like a steamy bowl of chicken noodle soup. As a child I adored Campbell's chicken noodle soup with it's overdone noodles and it's microscopic small bits of chicken and overly salty broth. My taste buds have matured (an understatement at best!) and I like to make my own chicken stock and then doctor it up with a variety of fresh vegetables and wonderful egg noodles. There are times when I make this soup when it is more of a bowl of veggies and chicken with a little moisture thrown in versus a soup. But however it turns out, it's always very satisfying and comforting.I am not going to write out a recipe for this as I don't really have one. I just make a light chicken stock, cut the chicken off the bone when cooked, simmer a variety of vegetables in the broth and in the end, put the chicken pieces back in along with pre-cooked egg noodles. I have found trying to cook the noodles in the broth doesn't always work and the noodles tend to be undercooked.

Another Award

Thanks so much to Debby at A Feast for The Eyes for this lovely award. What a wonderful community of food bloggers out there in cyperspace!

Butterscotch Pudding

Not to put down Jell-O, because I have always been a huge fan, but do you know how easy it is to make your own pudding? Well I'm here to tell you, it's very easy. I found this recipe in the February 2009 edition of Gourmet magazine and it just sounded so darn enticing, I'd thought I'd give it a whirl.

The pudding took a total of 10 minutes to make and then a couple hours to cool. I had all the simple ingredients available and it turned out amazingly creamy, rich and tasty. So, next time you're in the mood for pudding why don't you skip the cardboard box of powdery stuff and make it from scratch. You'll be glad you did!

Butterscotch Pudding

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extractWhisk together the sugar, salt and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the milk and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently then boil for 1 minute, whisking continuously. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter. Pour into a bowl and cover with buttered parchment or wax paper and cool completely. Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Makes 4 servings.

30 Minute Pasta

Pasta can be such a quick and easy way to make a luxurious dinner. This dish is one that can be put together in no time with just a little prep work and pre-planning to make sure you have the all the ingredients on hand. One thing needed is creme fraiche, which is an unctuous sour cream kind of sauce. This can be purchased at bigger grocery stores or you can make your own which I did. Chop and grate a few things, cook the pasta, saute the scallops, combine it all together and voila, dinner is ready.Fettuccine with Lemon, Parmesan and Scallops

1 lb. fresh fettuccine (dry can also be used)

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. lemon zest

1 cup creme fraiche, at room temperature (to make your own, combine 1 cup heavy cream with 1/3 cup sour cream and leave at room temperature up to 6 hours then refrigerate)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. medium scallops (16-20 per lb)

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Coat saute pan with 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and heat until very hot then add scallops and cook 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side. Take scallops out and put on a plate, drizzle with 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.Cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta well and return to the pot. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in the microwave and then add the lemon zest. Pour this over the pasta and toss to mix well. Add the creme fraiche, half of the Parmesan and half of the dill.

To serve, mound some pasta into 4 shallow bowls. Top each serving with 4-5 scallops and then sprinkle each bowl with remaining cheese and dill. Serves 4.

Jam Cakes

Sometimes it's so nice to have an individual cake just for one. I think that is why the cupcake is all the rage right now. I came across this recipe for individual jam cakes and they are just delightful. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is versatile. Instead of orange zest, lemon would work fine. As well, the variety of jams or jellies one could use are endless. I opted for blackberry jelly and it was a wonderful compliment to the ever so slight orange flavor given by the zest in the cake and the juice in the glaze. Jam Cakes

1 stick butter at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp finely grated citrus zest (orange, lemon or lime)

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

6 Tbsp jam or preserves

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed citrus juice (orange, lemon or lime)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard 6 cup muffin tin and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and zest until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time until creamy, set aside. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture and milk in alternating batches to butter mixture and set aside.In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; fold into batter. Divide half the batter into six muffin tins. Make an indentation in the middle of each; fill with 1 Tbsp of jam. Top each with remaining batter and smooth tops down. Bake until cake tester inserted in top cake layer comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Unmold cakes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar and juice. Place rack over wax paper and drizzle cakes with glaze. Makes 6 individual cakes.

Hail Caesar

While having lunch out with a friend last week I was appalled at the price we paid for a Caesar Salad. My salad which consisted of romaine lettuce and an oil based vinegar dressing on a dinner plate with a roll on the side was $8.95. My dining companion opted for grilled chicken on his and it came with 4 slices of chicken breast at the astonishing price of $12.95. Can you believe it?? Prices like that for lunch!!

This experience got me thinking about our current horrible economic status in this country and the fact that if some people just understood how much cheaper it is to cook meals from scratch instead of going out to restaurants or take out delis, they would save so much money. I know time is a big issue for folks with kids at home but I work full time and I manage. You just need to put a bit of effort into planning your menus and making sure you have well stocked pantry with the basics.

I decided to make my own Caesar Salad this weekend to go along with our Fettucini Alfredo pasta and it probably only cost me $3.00 for a huge salad bowl full. Granted I already had some stale french bread in the house to make the croutons but still and all.....a mere pittance the cost of restaurant food. Okay, I'm going to get off my soap box now and give you my recipe. This was a new recipe I tried out for the dressing and it was delicious. Very lemony and flavorful with the touch of anchovies and Parmesan cheese. I also liked this recipe because it doesn't have the traditional raw egg in it which tends to make me a bit nervous when cooking with raw eggs. I was lazy this weekend though and didn't put out the ingredients to photograph as I normally do.

Caesar Salad

Croutons

Cubed stale french bread (approximately 1/2 loaf)

1-2 minced garlic cloves

1 heaping tsp. lemon zest

2 heaping Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Put the garlic, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a large bowl and stir together. Add the bread cubes and pour over enough olive oil to lightly coat the bread and mix all the ingredients together until the bread is well coated. Bake the bread in a single layer for 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes until they are light golden brown. Put aside to cool.Caesar Salad Dressing

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2-3 medium anchovy fillets or 2-3 squirts of anchovy paste

1-2 medium cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor mix together cheese, lemon zest, mustard, anchovies, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice until well combined. With machine going, slowly pour olive oil in and process until creamy and blended. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble salad, tear up a large romaine lettuce into 1 inch pieces into a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss until all the leaves are well coated. Top with the croutons and some shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Seattle's Pike Place Market

We just got home from a lovely vacation in Seattle and we had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at one of my very favorite places, the Pike Place Market. Unfortunately it was a holiday and packed with people but still fun to wander the rows of wonderful produce, fish and flowers and recall when this use to be where I did a lot of my regular shopping. I don't know if I would have it in me anymore to hike up and down the hill from my apartment as I use to do, lugging sacks of groceries but it is always fun to go back and reminisce. No recipe with this entry, just a couple photos that I took on the beautiful sunny Seattle day at the Market.

Improvisational Cooking

The Husband and I were discussing jazz over dinner last night. In particular, Miles Davis and the 50 year anniversary of his groundbreaking album Kind of Blue. One of the things it is best know for is it's amazing improvisation from all of the artists who contributed to the album.

This conversation made me think about certain dishes I make where I don't have a recipe and the final product never turns out the same but with improvisation, I always enjoy the cooking process and the end result. Spaghetti sauce is one of those dishes for me as is macaroni and cheese. I start with a basic premise and then forage the cupboards and fridge and come up with something usually wonderful, though not always!

Another improvisational dish for me is stew. I never know which vegetables will end up in it or which herbs or spices, but what I always know is that there will be a hearty, meaty pot of stew to enjoy for our supper.

Beef Stew

2 lbs. stew meat (I cut up my own using chuck roast)

4 medium russet potatoes, diced into cubes

4 medium carrots, sliced

2 celery stacks, sliced

1 parsnip, sliced

1/2 bag of frozen pearl onions

1/2 bag of frozen peas
1/2 bag of frozen corn

1 small can of diced tomatoes with juices

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leave

1 Tbsp. Worcesteshire sauce

1/2 cup red wine

32 oz. beef broth

Coat beef cubes in a seasoned flour (salt, pepper) and saute until beef is browned on all sides. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down to a gentle simmer and let cook for 2 hours or until vegetables are soft and beef is tender. Adjust seasonings to taste. Makes a generous pot of stew to serve 6-8.