Cauliflower Soup

I love cream soups - cream of leek, cauliflower soup, cream of asparagus. It's a great way to get some vegetables in your diet, and they make for an enjoyable light dinner. This recipe was passed to me from my mom. I think she got it from our German friends who used to own a cafe, but I'm not positive. Here it is.

Cut off the base and greenery from your head of cauliflower. If it's too big for your pot, you can cut it in half. Cover with water and boil until the cauliflower is fork tender. Remove from heat and remove cauliflower to cool, but keep the water stock. Once the cauliflower is cool, cut it up to your desired size. My mom always kept the florets rather large. I mangle mine into bite-size pieces.

Then we make the base of the soup next. Mom's recipe only calls for about 2-3 Tbsp of butter and flour, but I used a whole lot more - probably 1/2 to 1 cup of butter. Melt it in the soup pot. Add enough flour to create a roux. Add some of the water stock, about a cup or two, and whisk until smooth, and then add enough of the stock to fill about half the pot.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat. If it's not thick enough, and it probably won't be, pull a cup or so of the liquid and put in a bowl or cup. Add flour until thick and then slowly add the mixture back to the soup pot. Whisk well to ensure a smooth consistency. Do this however many times you need until the soup begins to thicken to the consistency you want. Once complete, add the cauliflower, and be sure not to boil the soup again.

Right before serving the soup, mix one small container of heavy whipping cream and one egg yolk, and add to the soup and mix well. 

You will probably want to add some salt and pepper to the soup while it's still in the pot. It's only cauliflower, water, flour and butter, so it can be pretty bland by itself. I use Maggi seasoning in my bowl of soup and I love it. This soup really hits the spot, and it's pretty inexpensive to make.

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

I think I've mentioned that I love bread. I could subsist on a bread-only diet if it came down to it, and I love all kinds of bread. Buttered, toasted, garlic, rolls, dipped in marinara, and many many more ways. So, I've started making homemade bread, because, well, it's bread. It's warm and homey, and makes the kitchen smell amazing. I found this recipe for Rosemary Olive Oil Bread while searching for bread recipes to try. I've made this loaf of bread several times, and I'm finally getting comfortable with it. Absolutely amazing flavor. It doesn't make a huge loaf, which is nice for a small family.

1 cup warm water (100-110 F)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning (I used about 1/2 tsp -or pinch of each ground garlic, dried oregano, and dried basil)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour + extra for kneading
1 egg, whisked + 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash dried rosemary, for sprinkling

In a large bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes to proof.

Stir in the salt, rosemary, seasonings, olive oil, and whole wheat flour. Add the bread flour and stir until the dough forms a ball. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking, until smooth.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl; cover and let rise until double in size, about one hour.

Punch down the dough and form it into a round loaf. Place it on a cornmeal dusted parchment paper; cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven (and pizza stone) to 400 degrees. Once the dough has risen, gently brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with dried rosemary.

Bake on preheated stone for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Andes Mint Doodles

There are a few after dinner mints that really remind me of my childhood. The soft pastel after dinner mints - you know, they come in white, yellow, pink, and green and they're soft and just melt in your mouth - is one of the them, and the other is the Andes dinner mint - chocolate and minty goodness blended together in a treat that just melts in your mouth. So, when I saw a bag of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips in the baking aisle before Christmas, I just HAD to get them. That bag I used on top of a peppermint bark, and it turned out fabulous, so, I got another bag and went on a search for a recipe. I found two cookies recipes I planned to try, and here is one of them. I found this one on the Nashville Candy Buffet website. It just doesn't get much better than an Andes mint and a cocoa-based cookie... I'm hoping there's still enough left to take some to work tomorrow! lol


2 ¼ c. all-purpose flour, sifted
¾ c. cocoa, sifted
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ c. shortening
½ c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. (1 – 10 oz. package) Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips or 2 packages 4.67 oz. Andes Crème de Menthe Thins, chopped. (28 candies)
1 c. powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside.

With a hand held or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter until creamy. Add the sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. Fold in the Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips.

Roll the dough, by hand, into a 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar to fully cover ball. Flatten the balls gently into ½” thick disks and place about 2” apart, spacing them evenly on un-greased baking sheets. 

Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies set 1 minute on baking sheet. Remove from sheet and move to wire rack to cool completely.

Pound Cake

I am a firm believer that cake is just not cake unless it is covered in icing, and not that fake whipped crap, but a good, thick, sweet buttercream icing... Except for a perfectly cooked pound cake. I have one recipe for a Triple Chocolate Poundcake that is smothered in icing and is amazingly delicious, but for some reason, I'm perfectly happy with regular ol' pound cake without icing. I was searching the web for a good pound cake recipe several months ago, and I found several. This is the one I decided to try first, and it was so amazing that I didn't even bother trying any of the others. Here's the URL to give proper credit: http://cooksrecipes.com/cake/cold_oven_pound_cake_recipe.html. What I find cool about this recipe (pun intended) is that it is a cold oven cake. That means you put the cake in the oven, then turn it on. There's some scientific background to doing it this way that affects the texture and yadda, yadda. I looked it up, but I don't remember all the details. This is the only cake I have that cooks this way.

3 sticks margarine (softened, 1 1/2 cups) 
3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs (at room temperature)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Confectioner sugar for topping

Grease and flour angel food tube pan, bundt pan, 9X13X2 inch baking pan, or two loaf pans. Cream margarine and sugar. Beat together thoroughly until it is really creamy and light colored. 

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt gradually to mixture. 

Add water and vanilla and mix well. Pour into pan, and place into cold oven. 

Turn on oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Again, my oven is so extremely hot, that at about the 35-45 minute mark, I have to begin turning down the temperature of the oven. When I'm done cooking, I've usually got the oven down to 250-275 degrees. Otherwise my crust gets very, very dark and overdone. Let cool 5-10 minutes, and then turn out onto rack or cake plate. Sift confectioner sugar onto pound cake.

Southern-style Cornbread

There is no better accompaniment to a steaming bowl of beans, then a perfectly cooked slice of cornbread. I know I'm quirky, but I don't put all the cornbread in my beans at one time. It makes the cornbread soggy, and that just grosses me out. I actually crumble small amounts at a time; eat it, then crumble some more. Doing it this way keeps the bread more bread-like and is much tastier to me. I know, I know... quirky. For years, I've been using Martha White cornmeal and the recipe on the back for Southern-style cornbread. It's a perfect consistency, and it always turns out right.

2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Turn on oven to 450 degrees. Add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to your cast iron skillet and set in oven to heat up. 

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and be sure to break up any clumps. Mix will be fairly runny at first, but thickens some as it stands. Once the oven and the skillet are hot, pour the cornmeal mix into the skillet. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes (my oven is so overhot, that I only cooked this batch for about 17 minutes). Cut up and eat how you like it!

Black Eyed Peas

There's just something about the smell of a pot of something - soup, stew, beans - cooking on the stove. Add to that a cold, rainy day, and the smell and warmth generated by a pot of warm goodness cooking is amazing. Today I decided to fix a pot of black eyed peas. Beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber; they are inexpensive; and they are very easy to make. No matter what type of beans I'm cooking, I normally bake up some cornbread to accompany them... I am after all a good Southern girl. :-) I keep my beans simple and straightforward.

1 bag of dried black eyed peas
1 med onion, diced
1 pack of bacon, cut up into small pieces
1 Tbsp Season all salt
1 1/2 tsp white pepper

First I rinse of the beans, and then drain that water off.

Then I add the bacon, onion, season all salt and white pepper. 

Fill the pot about half full of water. 

On high, bring the water to a boil, then reduced to med-low and simmer the beans for several hours until they are the firmness and consistency that you want. You will need to add water and possibly increase or reduce the heat as necessary to keep the beans at a simmer. Stir frequently to keep beans from sticking to the pot.

Crockpot Shredded Chicken

I mentioned in my last post that I love Mexican food. Even Americanized Mexican food. Any day of the week. So, I planned to fix a late birthday dinner for my sister, and she sent me a recipe for tacos and said she wanted chicken. Well, I can do chicken, but there were ingredients on the recipe that I didn't even know what they were, and was pretty sure Walmart wouldn't carry them. So, I went on a search to find a chicken taco recipe that we could both live with. I made them today, and by the verbal accounts and the amount of chicken left, I think I did okay! Here's the link to the original recipe I ended up sort of following: Crock Pot Chipotle Chicken. I did make quite a few adjustments to this recipe. I knew I wasn't going to use that much chicken, so everything is altered. Here is what I used:

1 lb (or so) of boneless, skinless chicken  (I bought a really think sliced breast that would cook faster)

1/2 can black beans

1/2 can corn kernels

1 cup chicken stock

1 medium jalapeño

1/4 (or so) diced onion

1/2 tsp lime juice

garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, paprika, black pepper

I began by rinsing off and cutting any fat chunks that remained on the chicken. I also rinsed off and drained the beans and the corn. Place the chicken pieces in your crock pot. Pour 1/2 a can of black beans and 1/2 can of corn over the chicken. Add the onion and jalapeños (I knock out some of the seeds to reduce the heat but keep the flavor). Measure out 1 cup of chicken stock, add the lime juice, and pour mixture over chicken, beans and corn. Now here's sort of the tricky part. I didn't actually measure any of the other spices. I used probably ABOUT 1/2-1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne and chipotle, 1/4 tsp paprika and black pepper. Listen carefully - about... I did not measure these, so tread lightly and adjust to your own taste. 

Cook in the crock pot for about 4 hours. I started mine shortly before 8 a.m., and by 11:30 a.m., most of the juice was cooked out and the chicken was beginning to shred. By 12:15-30 when we ate, it was dang near perfect. To help with the shredding, take two forks and pull the chicken apart. Let me know if you try it and what you do different!

French Breakfast Muffins

I'm always on the lookout for something new to try, and muffins to change up breakfast definitely sounds like a good idea to me. So, when I found this pin on Pinterest, I knew I was going to have to give it try. Here's the link to the original post: Velvet Lava Cafe French Breakfast Muffins. These muffins have a great texture and flavor, with just that hint of nutmeg, and when is butter, sugar and cinnamon EVER a bad combination??? I tried something a little different from how the recipe is listed, and although the end result is pretty decent, it makes one heck of a mess. lol I may eventually try them word-for-word as the directions list.

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I use a heaping 1/4 tsp)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 egg (at room temperature)

Topping
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Scoop batter into muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray (I used Baker's Joy). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mix cinnamon and sugar in one bowl, and put melted butter in a second. Dip the warm muffins into the butter, then dip/roll the muffin in the sugar mixture. This is where I differed. I created a crumbly top with the butter, sugar and cinnamon, but let me tell you, it takes much more than 1/2 cup of sugar to get a crumbly mixture out of 1/2 cup melted butter. I kept adding sugar until I got the right consistency. Then I spread it around on the muffins BEFORE I cooked them. Not sure I recommend this path - as I said, it is very, very messy as the topping melts, but much of it does stick to the muffin. Play and decide what works best for you.

Empanadas

I love Mexican food. It is a staple of my diet. And it is definitely one of my comfort foods. This is a recipe I started making several years back when I lived in South Carolina. I found it in a hand-me-down cookbook from my mom. I completely hijacked it and changed it, because I tend to like simpler recipes, and I am very picky on what goes in my food. I'm fairly certain that most anyone of Mexican descent would be horrified at my calling these empanada Mexican food, but it works for my family. They are tasty and reheat very well (can we say lunch?).

1 lb ground beef
1-3 jalapeños, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 packet of taco seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 can refried beans
cumin, cayenne pepper, season all salt

Brown the ground beef, with season all salt added, over medium-high heat and break into small pieces. Just before the ground beef is completely cooked, add the jalapeños and garlic. Add the taco seasoning, and any of the other spices that you'd like depending on how spicy you want it. Add the water and stir occasionally until it cooks down over medium heat. Add a can of refried beans and stir until well mixed. Turn off heat.

Shells
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter or margarine
8 Tbsp crisco
12-16 Tbsp water

Use a pastry cutter to blend the butter and crisco into the flour and salt until you have a crumbly mixture and you can't see any chunks. You can test it by pinching the mixture between your fingers and if it hold the shape, it's ready. Add the tablespoons of water and with a fork toss dough until it pulls away from the side and all of the dough is incorporated.

Take a small piece of the dough, about the size of a golf ball, and cover in flour. Place in a tortilla press and flatten.

Get a small bowl of water, and gather your pressed dough and mixture close together. Take a circle of dough, dip your finger in water and lightly wet 1/4 of the edge of the dough. Fold dough in half and seal the half that is wet. With a small spoon, scoop mixture into the dough pocket packing it as much as you can while leaving sufficient room to finish sealing the empanadas. Wet your fingertip again and wet one side of the other half of the dough and seal completely. Once they are all filled and sealed, take a fork and poke three holes on each side.

Add oil to your skillet. Cook on both sides until a light golden brown color. I usually have to stand them up for a minute in the oil to ensure that the bottom gets cooked well. As with most of my recipes, this one is not very difficult, it just takes time, but they are so worth it! When my daughter got home today, she walked in and said, "Mmmmm. Empanadas???" That's why I do this. :-)

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

My chocolate chip cookies are a staple I have been making since I was about 4 years old and baking with my dad. I remember trying to stir the dough as he added the flour and not being able to stir and having to hand the bowl and spoon over. I use the recipe pretty much exactly as on the package, except for that I slightly overflow my vanilla. Always have. 

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter or margarine (I use Country Crock, and be sure to allow plenty of time for it to soften)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (room temperature)
12 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup nuts (optional - I usually use pecans when I add them)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well. 

Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until completely blended.

Add chocolate chips and nuts. 

Place by rounded spoonful on to baking sheet, bake for about 9-11 minutes. 

The key to soft chocolate chip cookies is to NOT overcook them. These in the photo were baked for about 9:10 to 9:20. Always set the timer for less - you can always add baking time. So if you are not sure how your oven responds, set the timer for 8 minutes and add additional time. That will give you a starting point for your next batch. Just remember that the oven gets hotter the longer it is on, so you will likely need to reduce your baking time with each additional batch by about 10-20 seconds.