Strawberry Honey Butter...

Through Marshall Farms, I found The Unintentional Urban Farmer. On their Facebook page is a recipe for Strawberry Honey Butter.

If you have been following my blog for a few months, you know I like to make butter from scratch and flavor it. So I could not resist trying this recipe! If you follow the link, you will be taken to my blog entry on how to make butter from scratch. http://ohthatisyummy.blogspot.com/2012/10/make-it-from-scratch-monday.html

If you prefer not to spend the time making butter, the recipe is written using stick butter. Please make sure you use butter and not margarine.

When I contacted The Unintentional Urban Farmer for permission to use the recipe, they told me "however much we would love to claim it as ours, the recipe is  not ours." They told me where they had found the recipe and were unable to find the source. I also was unable to find source, but if you get a chance, go check out The Unintentional Urban Farmer. http://theunintentionalurbanfarmer.com

I do not see why, you could not make this recipe with blueberries or blackberries. The biggest and most difficult task in making this butter would be getting the berries through the sieve. The blackberries would be the most difficult, because of their seeds.

If you like Honeyed Strawberries, I am also including a recipe for those. These are great alone or over vanilla ice cream!

Click Here For The Recipes!

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich…

One of my favorite nights of the week is leftovers/feed yourself. There are two reasons I like this night, A. I don’t have to cook and plan a meal and B. this gives the kids a chance to be creative.

Usually though on feed yourself nights there are two givens. 1. The daughter will make a baked potato topped with Ranch Style Beans. 2. Someone always make something better than what you have… usually me. I don’t know how many times, I have given up a creation to one of the kids (usually my daughter!)

This sandwich is a gooey, spicy combination that has become a favorite in our house. You can try any combination of cheese you prefer. We like the cool creaminess of the American cheese in contrast to the hot sauce. For those who like tangy bite of Blue Cheese, try mixing it with the American cheese.

When I make buffalo chicken sauce, I use two sticks of butter or margarine (1 cup) to one bottle of Franks Red Hot Sauce. Melt the butter in a pan then add the Frank’s Red Hot, stir on low heat until they are combined. Remove from heat, set aside until cool. You can store in the fridge for a week, before spoiling.

To make two sandwiches you will need the following ingredients:

Click Here For The Full Recipe!

Vidalia Onion Casserole…

My brother-in-law loves onions; he has sliced onions with every almost every meal. When we were house hunting and living with them, I was in charge of the cooking.  I wanted to find a way to cook the onions, to entice the kids to eat them too. I found this recipe from Sandra Lee, of Semi-homemade. The casserole wasn’t a big hit with the kids, the adults loved it.

The onions were sweet, cheesy and the Ritz crackers are the ingredient to pull it all together. If you can’t find Vidalia onions, try a similar sweet or yellow onion.

Ingredients:

6 Vidalia onions (peeled and sliced very thinly)

½  cup butter

30 Ritz Crackers (one sleeve, coarsely crushed)

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

Over medium heat, melt butter in a saucepan

Sauté onions until they start to turn golden brown

Butter or spray a 2 qt baking dish, then layer half the onions, Ritz crackers and cheese

Repeat layering topping with cheese.

Bake uncovered for approximately 25 minutes, or the cheese on top is slightly brown.

1.      Set

2.      7

Repeat

Dutch Baby...

After yesterday of eating traditional foods, I have to crow over the fact I was able to get my husband to eat sauerkraut, collards, and black-eyed peas all in one day.

 My German background traditional says on New Year’s we eat Kielbasa and sauerkraut. My husband’s Southern roots state collards, black-eyed peas and corn bread. Both are eaten for luck and prosperity and this year, I was not taking any chances and made both!

The kids return to school and the husband returns to work today, this means life can get back to a normal routine.

I thought I would share with you something a little different: Dutch Baby

Dutch baby is also known as pop-up pancakes or Germany pancakes. They are light but filling warm goodness, that sort resembles a fallen soufflé.  These are baked in a hot skillet and rise a bit when cooking. When taken out of the oven the pancake will collapse into itself. I like to sprinkle mine with powdered sugar and my canned black berries. The traditional way is to squeeze lemon juice on them; the kids like to use maple syrup.

This recipe will make one large pancake, which can be cut into fourths using a 12-inch cast iron pan skillet. I have used other non-stick skillets; you just have to make sure they are oven safe for the high temperatures. For a change or if you are feeding several people you can muffins pans. Grease and fill the cups, without heating the pan up.

Please take note that you have to use butter, you cannot use a cooking spray.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

6 eggs

1/4 cup butter

dash salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° F, place 1 Tablespoon portions of butter into 12 inch skillet

Place skillet into preheated oven,

Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients with a mixer, until smooth and completely blended

 Remove hot skillet from oven; make sure inside of skillet is completely coated with butter.

Pour all the batter in the skillet and return skillet to oven.

Bake until puffed and lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

 Remove promptly and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Fried Apples…

I love fried apples, but do not make them every often. This way it keeps a special food, like at the holidays. I was unable to locate my grandmother’s exact recipe, and with the help of my aunt, I winged it. This comes close to what I remember.

 With fried apples, you can eat them alone, a side dish or even use them to top crêpes, blintz, oatmeal or pancakes.

Yes, you can make these in a Crock-Pot or slow cooker! See below...

If you wanted to make these like a true Southern cook,  replace the butter for bacon grease. I think this is actually how Grandma made hers. I would suggest if you use the bacon grease omit the salt.

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 dash of nutmeg

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt butter. Arrange apples evenly over skillet bottom. Add brown sugar, then salt. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes until apples are tender. You do not want mushy apples, tender but not mushy. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Crock pot method:

Arrange apples in bottom of cooker, add sugar and spices. Place a pat of butter one top of each apple slice. Cook on low for 3 hours sitr gently, cook another 2 - 3 hours until soft but still tender.

Mashed Potatoes…

It seems everyone has a version of doctored mashed potatoes. My sister makes garlic mashed potatoes to die for but won’t part with the recipe… bad sister.

The British have a dish called Bubble and Squeak. They will use leftover mashed potatoes from Sunday dinner; mix it cabbage for lunch on Mondays. I have yet to make this dish; I am still looking for a recipe… If anyone has one please email it to me or message it to me on Facebook.

The recipe below would be wonderful with steak, prime rib or even lamb.

Chives Horseradish Mashed Potatoes with Thyme Butter

3 cups of prepared mashed potatoes

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 springs fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon horseradish, prepared

3 Tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

Directions:

In small saucepan heat thyme sprigs and 2 Tablespoons of butter, to simmer. Removed from heat

In small bowl, combine remaining butter, chives, sour cream, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Whip horseradish and sour cream mixture into the mashed potatoes. Do not over mix.

Remove thyme sprigs from butter in pan

Transfer potatoes to serving dish and top with the thyme butter

Those Special Treats…

What is about Christmas that makes us want to consume sweet treats, we would not normally eat? Is it because taking the time making the special foods is just as much a gift, as being able to unwrap one?

At Christmas, my mother would buy Pickled Watermelon Rind. I asked her once why she only bought it at Christmas, she said because it was too expensive, thus making it a special treat.  So why don’t we buy it for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day or Mother’s Day? I think we do this, because it helps build the jolliness of the season and the spirit of Christmas.

My grandmother would make candied citrus peels; my Mother-in-Law, Paddy makes fudge and the fruitcake cookies I gave you earlier. My mother would make Mexican Wedding cookies among other treats.

I have on the carried tradition of cookies and sweets. Every year the kids and I sit down and make out a list. Most of the time there are more on list than we can make. The favorites though, are always at the top; we make those first. Those include Snickerdoodles for my daughter, the candied citrus peels for my son and white chocolate macadamia cookies for my husband.

My family likes fudge, I have never made it even though Paddy gave me the recipe 17 years ago. I decided to try making it yesterday. I followed the directions and still was apprehensive about how it would turn out. Four hours after pouring the candy into the pan, it looked like under cooked brownies…

My first thought was "3 cups of sugar down the drain," until my husband said we should mix it into in ice cream, ooohhhh yummy! That thought rolled around in my head all through dinner.

After a quick run to the store for vanilla ice cream, we got ready to scoop out the fudge only to find it finally harden. We still had ice cream, but the thrill of having gooey chocolate with it was gone. Oh, don’t fear, I broke up pieces of the fudge in the ice cream. It was not gooey but still spectacular!

So just a note to all of you if you have not made fudge before, it might take four to six hours for it “set up.”

I think the next time I make this I am going to experiment a bit, by adding peanut butter or marshmallows. I thought it might be fun to make both chocolate and peanut butter fudge, and then layer them. I can’t stand peanut butter, so I will have to have taste testers… does anyone want to volunteer?

Paddy’s Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups of white sugar

¾ cup Hershey’s coco powder

1 ½ cups of milk (I used 1%)

½ cup of light Karo Syrup

1 stick of butter, halved

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of pecans, chopped (or nuts of your choice)

Directions:

In a large saucepan mix sugar, milk, Karo, ½ cup of butter and coco powder. Do not get worried if the coco powder just sits on top of the liquids, it will eventually mix in.

Bring mixture to a rapid boil until you form a soft ball in cold water ***I would suggest using a candy thermometer; it will make it easier to determine if the candy is done***

Remove from heat and add the additional butter, vanilla and nuts.

Beat until nearly cool, pour into a buttered platter. Cut when cool into desired size.

I used a glass Pyrex 9”X13” pan, and then cut into one-inch square pieces.

Funny looking white carrot…

I decide the other night to try making parsnips. The parsnip is a root, that looks like a white carrot, and smells like a combination of carrots and either ginger or cardamom. 

Health wise, parsnips are a wonderful source of fiber. A half-cup serving will provide 13 grams of soluble fiber.  Soluble fibers are need for maintaining blood sugar levels and help reduce high cholesterol. A startling benefit of consuming parsnips is folic acid. Folic Acid is the vitamin B family and can help with certain types anemia. Please do not run out and take Folic Acid without consulting your doctor first.

Preparing parsnips is similar to carrots. After washing, use your vegetable or potato peeler and remove a thin layer. Trim both ends, and then slice in half-length wise. Unlike the carrot, the center of parsnips can be tough or woody. To me it was similar to chewing on sugar cane.

The recipe, I used said that parsnips can be woody and to remove that part. So you will not make the same mistake I did, I would suggest you core the parsnip. Slice each half again, and remove the center of the root. If you are using larger parsnips, the middle woody section will pull away on their own. Cut the remaining pieces into to 1 to 2 inch lengths.

Place your cut pieces into a medium pot of water; bring to a boil, until just soft. Drain water from pot and add ¼ cup of butter. Replace pot on low heat and cook about five minutes. You do not want brown or mushy parsnips. Salt and pepper to taste.

If I would have understood the woody term and how to fix it, I think the family would have enjoyed these. Instead… not such good reviews for the poor parsnip. This is what cooking is all about though, being creative, making mistakes and trying new things. Good Luck!

Historical Snickerdoodle Cookie

Top: Recipe as written. Bottom: Adjusted recipe

Originally, cookies were little round sweet cakes. Over the years, these have evolved into the cookies we know today.

On June 14, 1898 if you were, reading the Boston Daily Globe newspaper you would've come across this recipe for Snickerdoodles.

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

two eggs

¾ cup butter

2 teaspoons tartar

teaspoon soda

3 cups flour

I decided to make this recipe.Instead of using three quarters a cup of butter, I used half a cup of butter in a quarter cup of Crisco. The first batch, produced beautiful buttery yellow, thin snickerdoodle cakes.

Since they were so thin and spread so much I decided to add about half a cup of flour into the dough. Adding the additional flour produced a drop cookie, we are accustomed to today. However, in doing so, I lost the pretty, yellow color. The cookies stayed well formed, they were light, moist, cakey type cookie. I can understand why the combination of cookies and milk became popular.

Every time I have made snickerdoodle cookies, my recipe says to form dough into a ball then roll ball in cinnamon sugar. This cookie is a drop cookie. This means you drop spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet. Before you place in the oven, sprinkle each cookie with cinnamon sugar. My family really enjoyed the taste of these snickerdoodles. I had to hide what was left, which was half the batch.

Historical Snickerdoodle Cookie:

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup milk

2 eggs

½ cup butter

¼ cup Crisco

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 ½ cups flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F

Combine butter sugar eggs and milk, in food processor until well blended.

 In separate bowl, stir flour baking soda and flour together.

Slowly add flour mixture to food processor until completely blended.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop 1 serving tablespoon of cookie dough onto cookie sheet.

With a heavy hand, cover cookie with cinnamon and sugar.

Cook for 8 to 10 min. or until the edges are slightly brown.

*Did you know: if you're out of eggs, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of cornstarch per egg*

Make it From Scratch Monday

Not a good day in the kitchen today, my hands just do not want to work. I have tried two times to make a knock-off recipe of Screaming Yellow Zonkers and I burnt the candy. Let me tell you, if you have never smelt burnt sugar, you are very lucky.

Since my right hand will not close enough to grasp a pot, a change of plans today. I have pulled out my headset to use my Dragon Speak Program, I was given for Christmas two years ago. This is a lifesaver on days like this. I can control my entire computer through voice commands. 

I thought I would show you how to make butter from scratch and flavor it. Those of us who were in scouts are probably saying, “I made that when I was _______ and it took forever!” I make mine in my Cuisinart Food Processor; if you do not have a food processor, you can try a blender.

Ingredients for butter:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

¼ teaspoon of table salt

Directions:

Place cream and salt into bowl of food processor, with the metal chopping in place. I have used the dough blade but it is smaller and the butter does not set up.

Secure lid and turn machine on. This will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to go from cream to butter.

*Note it is best to keep the machine running. I have stopped and taken pictures for you at each stage of making the butter.*



After the first few minutes, you will have whipped cream.





After a few more minutes you will see the whipped cream start to break down




Before turning into butter the cream will appear to start folding in


















We have butter!

 After the butter has formed it will have a cottage cheese look to it. Remove the butter from the bowl, leave the butter milk behind. I suggest placing the butter in a zipper bag or plastic container.

After butter is removed, you have to squeeze the liquid out of it. As suggested above a zipper bag works well. Close all but one corner of the bag and slowly start working the butter from the bottom.I find it is best to roll the bag like you would a tube of toothpaste. Remember you want to keep the butter in the bag, so you may have to unroll the bag and start over a few times.If you do not get the butter milk out, the butter will be liquidity. 

Now for the fun part!

 I split the butter into two containers so we can try two different flavors, garlic and honey.

If you made your own garlic oil and saved the garlic cloves here is where you can use them. For this batch I am going to use about six cloves, you can use more if you prefer.

I use a fork to mash the cloves into the butter. You can use a blender or food processor, but I like to have the garlic a bit chunky.

Blended and ready to use on a nice crusty bread!

For honey butter, choose a honey with a nice taste to it. I prefer to use Burleson's honey from Texas. I was really happy, when I was able to find it in Harris Teeter grocery stores here in North Carolina.



Start off with a half tablespoon of honey and mix into your butter. You can always add more if you would like it sweeter. Our family likes to use the honey butter on cornbread.

Other variations of butter you can try: cinnamon,  or crushed red pepper. If you are going to try adding flavors start small on your additives. I would suggest a teaspoon at a time. 

I have been thinking about trying to make a sun dried tomato and basil butter for a mock-burschetta. I think if you spread that on a baguette then top with a slice of fresh mozzarella and broil for a few minutes might be really good.