Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
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Posted in Uncategorized, on May 14th, 2010.
We have these tall stalks growing on numerous shrubs in our yard. They’re called Pride of Madeira, and they bloom just once a year. From a distance of 15 feet they look brilliant purple, but up close they’re more lavender. In the purple hue, in any case. They’re really beautiful, although during the blooming season they do obstruct our view some. But not enough to get rid of them! We’ve been told that if you cut the blooming stalks the bush will die. So we don’t touch them. Just admire them.
Posted in Uncategorized, on May 13th, 2010.
A friend from a long time ago emailed me some photos the other day. We were friends in Washington, D.C., way back in 1963. Our then husbands were in a Navy Intelligence school there, and the four of us palled around together. We all were from California. And we craved Mexican food, which you simply couldn’t find in D.C. at that time. So we made our own sometimes. My friend’s name is also Carolyn. Her husband, Jim, decided to become a Bombardier/Navigator and fly. Then Vietnam exploded into our time line and Jim was sent there. He was shot down over North Vietnam, and Carolyn lived in an awful limbo time as an MIA wife for many, many years.
But that’s me, holding her daughter, Sharee in the photo above. Carolyn came to Denver (where my ex and I were living at the time) when Sharee was about 6 months old. This was just a few short months before my ex and I adopted a daughter. Jim’s remains were finally found (or the North Vietnamese finally released info) many years later. And Carolyn remarried – to Dick, a guy with a big family and several children. She still lives in Merced, where she was raised. And Sharee is probably 42. My daughter is 41.
Anyway, Carolyn and I lost touch for about 20 years, but now we’re “found” again. We’re catching up, filling in the gaps of that 20-year period. She was going through some photos the other day and came across this one. Taken back in 1967 or 1968, I think. Twelve years later when my ex and I split up he kept all of the family photos. So I have only a few of my daughter (or me) when she was little – ones that my mother or dad took of her and I found amongst their things after they died. I’m glad I have those! I’ll have to share a couple one of these days.
When I look at that photo I see – well, how much thinner I was back then. I see my entire collection of cookbooks over on the right, the curtains I sewed myself for that basement den I was sitting in – in the tri-level house we lived in, in Aurora, Colorado. And I see some of the miscellaneous Japanese brick-a-brack my ex brought home from his 1963 deployment on an aircraft carrier (the Japanese kimono doll in the case behind me) and a Phillipine wooden flower decoration behind my shoulder. I gave away those things years ago. AND, I look at my hair. I was using hot rollers then.
Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on May 12th, 2010.
My hubby, Dave, just adores beets. It used to be just the pickled canned type – before he met me, that is – and he’d open a can of beets and eat the whole thing in about 10 minutes. A bachelor’s diet, you know. He also ate pickled herring in sour cream, and almost always had a jar of it in his refrigerator with Ritz crackers in the pantry. He didn’t know how to cook much. His son was living with him (Powell was about 11 or 12 then and had moved in with Dave about 6 months before we met), so he did have to learn to cook just a few things. He could do hot dogs, dial-up pizza, and he did know how to grill a steak and chicken. And country-style ribs with a generic-brand BBQ sauce slathered on.
A few days after I met him (on a blind date on May 6th – we just celebrated the the 29th anniversary of the day we met) I invited him to my house for a brunch I was throwing for a group of friends. Afterwards he and I ended up spending the remainder of the day together, walking on the beach, taking in a “set” at a jazz restaurant that was popular in Newport Beach at that time. Then he asked if I’d like to come to his house and he’d cook dinner. I had a daughter at home, but my roommate (a gal friend) was watching her that evening so I was able to say yes.
He’d explained that his son was coming home from a weekend away and he needed to be there to fix dinner anyway. So he stopped at a meat market, bought steaks, stopped at a market and bought Idaho potatoes, sour cream, and makings for a salad. At his home he started working in the kitchen. I was so impressed (having no clue at that point that I was going to see the complete extent of his cooking repertoire within the next couple of weeks). I thought he was adept in the kitchen. I sat on a bar stool and watched as he put the potatoes in the oven, as he cut up some greens and veggies for a salad. I sat there, thinking that a man in his own kitchen probably should be left alone. Little cupids were telling me it would be so much fun to cook with this man – together in a kitchen. So, he grilled the steak (a good one, delicious) and we had meat, potato and salad with a bottled dressing that he was crazy about – Catalina dressing. It’s no longer made.
We enjoyed the dinner, I talked with his son quite a bit, and then Dave made a pot of coffee which we shared. We talked more. And talked. And talked. And found that we had more and more in common. Well, it goes on from there, and we’ve been married for 27 years.
Meanwhile, back to beets. I finally got Dave to give up canned pickled beets. I mean, he’s a Type 1 diabetic – he should never be eating pickled (sugar sweetened) beets except in very small quantities. He looks for beets at salad bars, and would probably love it if I kept a can or two in the pantry. But I’m not enamored with canned beets like he is. So he loves it when I make them for him from scratch. The other day I saw some nice young red beets at the market. And I found a recipe I thought I could adapt. Yes, I had an orange in the kitchen. Yes, I had fresh herbs. I had most of the ingredients.
So, I made this recipe. And it was good. Very good. Dave nearly licked the plate, of course. He got the few leftovers the next night, and nearly licked the refrigerator container they were in. It made me feel guilty that I don’t make them for him more often. I mean, I learned on that first dinner date that he was in love with beets. A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Therefore, is it a way to keep your man’s heart if you make beets? You know the drill! But I forget. After 29 years of dating and 27 years of marriage you’d think I’d remember a real basic fact: my husband adores beets!
So zipping back to those early weeks of our relationship in 1981, he cooked dinner for me several times – he made country ribs. And baked potatoes. He made grilled chicken. And baked potatoes. He made steak. And baked potatoes. Again. And he made one other chicken one-pot meal with zucchini and other vegetables (that he later told me he’s just learned to make a week or so before we met). It was delicious, by the way. It’s a darned good thing that by then I’d fallen head over heels in love with him. Because that was IT. That was his entire cooking rotation. And I soon found out he really didn’t know a thing about being in the kitchen. No question he enjoyed eating – we found lots of commonality when we discussed food and ate out at good restaurants – but he knew next to nothing about how to cook. In the ensuing years, very little about that has changed (and it’s okay). He still can’t cook. Doesn’t want to cook (unless it’s as a grill-meister). And it’s worked out just fine.
Moral of the story: cook more beets (insert words for your significant other’s favorite food)!
printer-friendly PDF
Serving Size: 10
NOTES: Don’t overdo the orange zest – it could add a bitter aftertaste. You just want enough to decorate the tops of the beets.
2 1/2 pounds beets — red or gold, tops trimmed
8 fluid ounces chicken stock
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons sugar — or half as much honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar — fruit type (sweeter, thicker)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt — or more if needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper — ground
1 teaspoon orange zest — grated
3 tablespoons fresh mint — julienned
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut off beet tops so there is about an inch of tops. Wash beets and place them in a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (use double layer if using thinner type). Seal tightly and place in oven for about an hour, until the beets are barely cooked through.
3. Allow to cool; cut off the top and bottom, then remove skin (either with your hands or using a potato peeler). Slice the beets into 1/8 inch slices and set aside.
4. In a saute pan heat the stock, orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes and it’s reduced by about half. Add balsamic vinegar and butter. Add the beets and bring back up to a simmer. Spoon the glaze over the beets so they have all been doused with the fluid. Cover and simmer for about 4-8 minutes, until the beets are cooked through and most of the glaze has evaporated. If there is still too much liquid, leave lid off and simmer until there is very little liquid left in the pan. Continue to bathe the beet slices in the glaze if there is enough to do so. Ideally, turn the beets over once during this cooking time (and watch that they don’t splatter juice). Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. When ready to serve carefully move the beet slices to a plain plate and garnish with fresh mint and orange zest.
Per Serving: 65 Calories; 2g Fat (33.0% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 6mg Cholesterol; 382mg Sodium.
A year ago: Skirt Steak Salad with Tomatoes & Croutons
Two years ago: Green Salad with Chevre Dressing
Three years ago: Cauliflower, Bacon & Mushrooms
Posted in Veggies/sides, on May 11th, 2010.
With a half a head of cabbage in the refrigerator I searched for something to do with it besides more cole slaw. I’d made a cole slaw last week (from another blogger’s recipe) and was so disappointed in it. I followed the recipe faithfully, but it just didn’t float my boat, so most of it was thrown out. So I found another recipe using cabbage (the one I adapted actually called for Savoy cabbage, which I didn’t have, of course), but I took big tangents with the flavors. I found several variations on this theme on several websites. Some people eat this as a main course. It could be vegetarian except for the bacon. But for me it made a nice side dish.
I wouldn’t rate this recipe as anything like over the top, but it was good. Something different to do with cabbage. And it made a nice, hearty side dish to go with grilled meat. I liked the combination of textures – the cabbage that still had just a little bit of crispiness to it, and the soft, succulent white beans. It’s both a vegetable and a carb, which makes for an easy side dish. I kept tasting it as I went along, adding things, and more things to it. The chili flakes add a nice zippy afterthought too if you’re agreeable to the heat. This could be served on top of thin spaghetti too, I’d suppose. I may use the leftovers (of which there was a LOT, and I made only half of the below recipe) in a soup, with some pork, perhaps. Or, this would be very nice with some chicken or Italian sausages too.
Anyway, this is a kind of stir-fry dish. It helps to have most of the ingredients all ready once you start cooking the bacon. If so, it comes together in nothing flat. If you want more flavor, add more bacon. The bacon I used was almost all meat, so I had very little drippings in the pan – hardly enough to sauté the leeks, but I managed. Use some minced dried apricots if you don’t have raisins. I used more sage and not enough chives (my poor chives in my garden are looking pretty tired), but you can vary the proportions to suit your taste or your garden.
printer-friendly PDF
Serving Size: 8
4 slices bacon — (preferably applewood-smoked) minced
2 large garlic cloves — minced
4 small leeks — thinly sliced (split, & rinsed)
1 large cabbage — thinly sliced (core removed)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups cooked white beans — rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh sage — finely julienned
3 tablespoons chives — minced (or use green onions)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil — optional
1/2 cup golden raisins
Salt and pepper to taste (it needs an ample amount of salt)
1. Cook bacon in 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 3 minutes. Use slotted spoon to set bacon on paper towels. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat.
2. Add leeks to skillet. Allow to cook about 5 minutes until they’re starting to turn translucent. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
3. Add cabbage, chicken stock, golden raisins, wine, sage, chives, sugar and beans. Gently toss to combine.
4. Simmer until cabbage has mostly wilted, about 5-10 minutes. Add salt (ample) and pepper plus the olive oil (if using – it adds flavor).
5. Crumble bacon into mixture along with the dried thyme, and stir well to combine. Adjust seasonings and serve hot.
Per Serving: 155 Calories; 4g Fat (25.2% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 130mg Sodium.
A year ago: Black Bean Layered Dip
Two years ago: Lemon Rice Pilaf
Three years ago: Cold Cream of Pea Soup (green peas, not split peas)
Posted in Beef, on May 10th, 2010.
We decided to dig out a steak for dinner last night and make something special. The original recipe came from an old Bon Appétit article. But then, I changed it around some. . . I had most of the ingredients and then some. Here’s what’s involved:
First you make a rub using Hungarian sweet paprika, chipotle chili powder (I actually used my Mercken powder [pictured right] which is similar, but spicy hot like chipotle is), bay leaves and cumin seeds. These ingredients get whizzed up in a spice blender (a cheapo electric coffee grinder that I made a spice grinder) and it’s rubbed onto the steaks. Chill the steaks for awhile (about an hour). Grill them in our normal method – searing them over direct heat for 3-4 minutes, then turning off the grill underneath, using a meat thermometer to monitor the temp, it continues to cook with indirect heat until it reaches 123.
Off it comes and is tented with foil. Then you take two pieces of ciabatta bread to the grill – the soft side was briefly grilled – return them to your kitchen and slather the bread with Cambazola cheese (it’s a triple cream cheese like Brie, but mixed with Gorgonzola). Back it goes to the grill just long enough to melt the cheese.
The steak was sliced into nice thick pieces and placed on top of the bread and sprinkled with some fresh thyme from my garden. Serve immediately to raves.
printer-friendly PDF
Recipe By: Adapted from a recipe from Bon Appetit
Serving Size: 4
NOTES: Cambazola cheese is a triple cream cheese combined with Gorgonzola – it tastes mostly like Brie, but with a blue cheese hint. Don’t over cook the toast slices as they’ll be very difficult to cut – just enough to lightly brown them and melt the cheese. Because you slice the grilled meat, you’ll only need about 4-6 ounces of steak per person.
4 1/2 whole bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle pepper — dry, ground
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 pounds ribeye steaks
4 slices ciabatta bread — 5×3-inch slices
1 cup Cambazola cheese — or Gorgonzola
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Finely grind bay leaves, paprika, chipotle, and cumin seeds in spice grinder. Reserve 1 teaspoon mixture. Transfer remaining mixture to plate.
2. Sprinkle steaks generously with salt and pepper. Press both sides of steaks into spice mixture on plate and rub to spread evenly. Grill steaks to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
3. Grill bread slices, cut side down, until slightly charred, about 1 minute. Spread Cambazola or Gorgonzola onto grilled side of each bread slice. Sprinkle cheese with ground black pepper and reserved spice mixture. Return bread to grill, cheese side up. Grill until cheese begins to melt and bottom of bread is slightly charred, about 1 minute. Sprinkle bread with thyme; place 2 slices on each of 4 plates. Serve steaks with bread.
Per Serving: 635 Calories; 41g Fat (58.2% calories from fat); 37g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 131mg Cholesterol; 575mg Sodium.
A year ago: Strawberry Mango Margarita
Two years ago: Crumbled Asparagus (a huge favorite)
Three years ago: Carrot Spice Muffins
Posted in Cookies, on May 6th, 2010.
In the last week I’d read on two independently-written blogs about Cinnamon Toast. And like many people, I think I did the same “oh yea, sure, you sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on buttered toast . . . what’s the big deal.” Well, let me tell you right off the top. This is NOT your typical cinnamon toast.
Can I just tell you right now – you gotta make this stuff. It’s absolutely delicious. Easy. Fun. Different, and oh, so gosh darned good! This would also be a great project for you and your children. It took about 20 minutes, I’d guess, to make these, then 25 minutes to bake. But then, you’ve got to seal them up and let them sit for 24 hours (that’s really hard). In that 24 hours they go from being crispy cinnamon toast to something more like shortbread with cinnamon and sugar. A cookie. Naturally, I tasted them when they cooled, but the butter is still almost a liquid at that point. Hence you want it to sit so the bread soaks it up. At least I guess that’s the chemistry.
If you go over to Orangette to read the story, you’ll learn that this is a recipe that Molly found in her grandmother’s recipe box, her dear, beloved grandmother who died recently. But Molly got her recipe box when the family divvied up her grandmother’s things. I just love stories like this, but then Molly is a good story-teller of the first order! She’s written a book about recipes and her life called A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table
So here’s what’s involved with making this simple treat/cookie. You mix up some cinnamon and sugar, you melt some unsalted butter, brush trimmed sandwich sized white bread triangles with the melted butter, sprinkle it with the cinnamon-sugar, place on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. That’s it. Told ya it was easy!
The other recipe (that I didn’t make) is over at Pioneer Woman. Hers is different – soft butter spread on bread then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and broiled. More a breakfast food or maybe a fun snack.
So, please go out and buy some of that we-won’t-tell-white sandwich bread and give yourself a real treat! Trust me!
printer-friendly PDF
Recipe By: Orangette blog (from her grandmother’s recipe box)
Serving Size: 12
1 stick unsalted butter — (4 oz.) cubed
6 slices sandwich bread — thin white, or more slices if needed
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. If you want, line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil. It makes cleanup easier.
2. Put the butter into a pie plate or similar baking dish. Slide the dish into the oven, and keep an eye on it. You’re looking for the butter to melt completely.
3. Stack the slices of bread, (cut off the edges if you’d prefer – I did) and then cut them diagonally into quarters. You should have 24 triangles.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon. Turn the cinnamon sugar out onto a dinner plate, or another pie plate.
5. When the butter is melted, remove it from the oven, and brush it onto both sides of a triangle of bread. Don’t be shy: apply the butter generously, so no spot is left uncoated. The bread should feel a little heavy in your hand. Dip the bread into the cinnamon sugar, (or hold each piece in your hand and use a spoon to cover both sides well) taking care to coat both sides. Lay it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pieces of bread.
6. Bake the toasts for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to a rack. The toasts will crisp as they cool. When cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Note: These taste best with a little age. Per Serving: 125 Calories; 8g Fat (54.7% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 53mg Sodium.
A year ago: Mushroom Risotto (made in a pressure cooker)
Two years ago: Brownie-Bottom Pudding Pie
Three years ago: Mexican Chopped Salad (a favorite)
Posted in Appetizers, on May 5th, 2010.
So, I made this appetizer. To somewhat mixed reviews, including my own. I liked the components – the savory cheesecake layer, and the spiced apple layer, and the bacon sandwiched in between – but when you eat it. . . well, it’s good, but I wouldn’t call it outstanding. It’s best with a cracker or some kind of neutral palette to put it on; otherwise it’s too rich. And if you eat just the cheesecake alone – no. Didn’t like it. Adding the apple really makes a different, but then when you put it on a water cracker, it was very good. But it’s very unusual. Made for a nice addition to a buffet-type potluck event we went to. Would I make it again? Uhm. Maybe, maybe not. But not because it’s not good. I’d want to do something different to it. But I can’t figure out what. I’d for sure add less bacon, and I’d crumble it up really finely. And I’d probably not use the Irish porter ale cheddar that I did. I’d use ordinary sharp cheddar cheese. The porter ale cheese just got lost in the dish; maybe it even flavored the dish in an unpleasant way somehow. And it gave the cheesecake layer a speckled, or freckled look. Some guests, I noticed, just picked off the apples on top. They didn’t know what was underneath and didn’t want to try it. (Aren’t people funny sometimes?
This recipe comes from Diane Phillips’ cookbook, Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead: A Year of Feasts to Celebrate with Family and Friends
The making of it wasn’t difficult, although there are several steps to it. The most time consuming was peeling, coring and slicing the apples. They’re mixed with some butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (and a little tiny nip of lemon juice) and placed into the bottom of a prepared springform pan. I used parchment paper, but learned a valuable lesson – with a mixture as liquidy as the butter/sugar mixture from the apples, it oozed right out of the springform pan before I could get it in the oven. So you need to line the springform with a single piece of foil or parchment (I think foil would be easier to mold around the sides, but it’s got to be from one of those wider-width boxes of foil) that molds partway up the sides. It’s not necessary to go ALL the way up as it’s only the apple liquid that is in danger of leaking out. And it only fills the pan about 3/4 of an inch or so.
Anyway, the parchment or foil gets fizzed with nonstick spray. Then you very carefully arrange the apple slices in a pattern (like a spoke). I did that for the bottom ( the bottom that became the top once this was unmolded), then just poured in the remaining apples and the liquid. Then the bacon was sprinkled on top of the apples. Meanwhile I’d made the cheesecake mixture – cream cheese, two eggs, a dash of hot sauce and the shredded cheese. That combination was thicker than something you could pour, so I spooned it on top of the apples and carefully spread it in an even layer. It was at that point I discovered the brown sugar and butter sauce had oozed out of the bottom of the springform pan and all over my kitchen counter. Darn! I just hoped there was enough still inside that it didn’t ruin the appetizer. (There was, but it would have been nicer if it had ALL been there, of course. I did save some of it from the foil wrapped around the springform pan and poured it on top after it was baked and removed from the pan.)
So, back to the baking – I put the springform in a rimmed baking sheet, just in case more juice escaped. It baked for 45 minutes, at which point you stick a toothpick in the center to make sure it’s done (it was). Then it cools IN the oven for another 30 minutes with the door ajar (helps prevent cracks in the cheesecake). Once removed from the oven it needs to cool completely before you turn it over onto a platter. I did have a bit of trouble with this step – because the cheesecake was only about 1 1/2 inches high inside the springform pan, when it was turned over to unmold most of it came up, but because I’d not made a continuous piece of parchment, part of it stuck in the bottom of the pan. Sigh. But it didn’t matter – once the cheesecake cooled enough I was able to piece the top back together. See picture below.
The cheese came from Costco. It has a very dark look from the porter ale used, obviously. It has a really delicious nutty kind of taste. The white part is the cheese; the dark part is the ale they’ve somehow made it so it firms up like cheese. Do note – on the far right of the middle picture at the bottom you can see a small chunk of the cheese. Unusual, huh?
The bottom right picture shows the two layers – the cheesecake part and the apple layer on top. Made for a very attractive platter. We’d been invited to a Kentucky Derby party, and were asked to bring an appetizer. Sometimes brown-ish food doesn’t look all that appealing. I did hear a couple people whisper to the next person – what’s that, do you think? I should have made a little sign. Yet, the cheesecake part with the bacon was kind of hard to distinguish what it was. It needs to be eaten together – on a cracker or bread. Definitely. Maybe more would have tried it had I not used the porter ale cheese, which gave it a very unusual look. They ate about 2/3 of it, so now I need to figure out what to do with the leftovers. Any ideas?
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Recipe By: From Diane Phillips’ cookbook Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead
Serving Size: 16
NOTES: It’s important that the parchment or foil completely cover the bottom and partway up the sides in one continuous piece (without any patched pieces or edges) as the liquid from the apples will ooze right out of the springform pan. Although this is an appetizer, it can also be served as a sit-down starter for a light dinner. You can use different kinds of cheddar cheese (I used an imported one that contained porter ale, which gave the cheesecake a freckled look), but it does need to be a sharp cheese.
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 medium Granny Smith apples — peeled, cored, sliced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
6 pieces bacon — cooked and crumbled
16 ounces cream cheese — softened
2 large eggs
2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese — grated
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan or a cake pan with 3-inch tall sides with a continuous piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat melt the butter, then add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the sliced apples and stir to coat them with the sauce. Add the lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue stirring a few times for 4-5 minutes. The apples will retain their crispness but should have absorbed some of the sauce. Pour the apples and sauce into the prepared pan and arrange in a decorative pattern, if desired. Sprinkle the bacon evenly on top of the apples.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°.
4. In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in the cheddar cheese and hot sauce. Gently pour or spoon the mixture over the apples and bacon in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.
5. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cheesecake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar for another 30 minutes (to help prevent cracks from developing).
6. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let cool on a rack for another 30-45 minutes.
7. Place a large serving plate over the pan, invert, and remove the pan from the cheesecake. Peel away the parchment or foil. At this point you can let the cheesecake cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temp before serving. Serve at room temp with crackers or bread.
Per Serving: 180 Calories; 15g Fat (71.6% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 67mg Cholesterol; 141mg Sodium.
A year ago: Orange Coconut Sour Cream Cookies
Two years ago: White Chicken Chili
Three years ago: Stacked Enchilada
Posted in Appetizers, on May 4th, 2010.
I had this all ready to post right around Easter, then promptly forgot it was in my “draft” queue. So, it’s a bit late, but . . . I didn’t want to look at it in my drafts until next Easter!
Ever watched the youtube video about how to peel hard boiled eggs? It was on somebody else’s blog a year or so ago and I couldn’t believe it. I watched it, but doubted it.
I don’t know about you, but periodically I have difficulty peeling hard boiled eggs. I did all the tricks – and my most common technique was to tap the wider end – after boiling – until it was cracked moderately, then I soaked them in ice water for half an hour or so. Supposedly the water seeps behind the membrane and loosens it. And most of the time that works. But not always.
Of course, you know the part about never hard-boiling newly purchased eggs. The chemistry is that air has to permeate the eggshell – to slightly dry out that membrane – to allow a minuscule air pocket around the egg. That just takes time – a week or so while the eggs rest and dry out in your refrigerator. Once you boil them, it supposedly makes for easier peeling. But sometimes, no matter how hard I try – no matter how many days I wait, the shell just doesn’t peel easily.
SO . . . I tried this new trick from the video – adding baking soda to the water. I used 2 teaspoons of soda to boil about 16 eggs (I was making a lot of them). Our grandson Logan tried. He was “grossed out” about putting his mouth on the shell. He managed to get 2 of the 4 or 5 he tried, to pop out. But, gosh, it took a whole lot of huffing and puffing. I tried 3 and was successful with one, but it wasn’t worth it. So I stood at the kitchen counter and reverted to my usual method of letting the eggs soak in ice water for at least 30 minutes and peeling them the old way. We had problems with about 4 eggs out of 3 1/2 dozen. Not bad. But I probably won’t try the blowing trick again. We tried smaller holes, blowing from different ends, only blowing the ones that were perfectly intact (no cracks other than the mashed-in ends). None of that worked well. The one I was successful doing I blew from the large end. But the next one I tried – nope.
Surely every cook reading my blog has made hard boiled eggs, so I won’t belabor this. Except to tell you a few things:
(1) Simmer the eggs; don’t boil them.
(2) Rinse in cold water, then add ice cubes to the pan/bowl and let them soak for 30 minutes to an hour. Lightly crack the larger ends so some of the water can permeate. Then peel them . . .
(3) Trim a tiny little flat spot at each END of the eggs (i.e., don’t cut them in half lengthwise), then cut them in half, across. Each egg half will stand up perfectly. You can probably see this in the photo up top.
Then make up the filling. My deviled eggs aren’t all that different, really. But I often revert to a recipe my former business partner, Audré, used to make. She added curry powder. I loved them, and still do. Here’s what goes in my eggs:
Taste it to see if it needs more salt, or pepper. Or curry powder. Sometimes I make half regular and half with curry powder. Not everybody likes curry. I took 3 dozen deviled eggs to church on Easter morning. We folks who sing in the choir had to sing lots of music on this celebration day, at 3 services (8, 9:30 and 11). During the 2nd service, after we sing, we leave the sanctuary and we eat breakfast, potluck. I’d signed up for eggs. I didn’t use curry for those because I wasn’t sure our choir friends were all that adventurous. I made more for Easter dinner, and in those I added the curry. Yum.
A year ago: Italian Crumb-Crusted Chicken
Two years ago: Mango Strawberry Salsa
Three years ago: Lemon Velvet Gelato/Ice Cream (a real favorite!)
There was some lovely fresh, wild-caught halibut at Costco the other day. No question I’d buy some of that. The $16+ piece of fish was cut into 4 pieces and 2 went into the freezer for later. The recipe I adapted came from a 2009 issue of Gourmet. It was for mahi-mahi, but I assumed halibut would work just as well. And yes, it did. Their recipe called for a tomato side salad, and also included fresh dill in the topping. I didn’t have dill, so just used fresh mint.
This recipe is SO easy. I kid you not. Place the fish on oiled parchment (I just put it on my Silpat Non-Stick Mat
No need to make tartar sauce or prepare anything else to go on the fish. The mayo/Feta mixture not only moistened the fish, but it’s a perfect addition to each bite of fish. We didn’t eat the lemon slices, but you probably could if you like it! I’ll be making this again and again.
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Recipe By: Adapted from Gourmet, June 2009
Serving Size: 4
24 ounces halibut fillets — cut into 4 strips
Salt and pepper to taste (easy on the salt because Feta contains salt)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Feta cheese — crumbled
3 tablespoons fresh mint — chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
8 slices lemon — cut extra thin
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Line a broiler pan or small 4-sided sheet pan with foil or parchment paper and lightly oil surface. Put fish on pan and season with salt and pepper.
3. Whisk together mayonnaise, feta, mint and lemon juice and spread over top of fish. Put 2 or 3 lemon slices (slightly overlapping) on center of each fillet. Drizzle lemon slices with olive oil.
4. Broil fish 8 inches from heat until just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness of fish. If lemon slices brown before fish is cooked, turn off the broiler, loosely cover fish with foil and continue to bake until fish flakes easily with a fork. There will be ample heat in the oven to continue cooking the fish.
Per Serving: 377 Calories; 23g Fat (50.3% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 67mg Cholesterol; 279mg Sodium.
A year ago: Jackalope Ranch (a restaurant in Indio, CA)
Two years ago: Broccoli with Mayo Mustard
Three years ago: Mock Caesar Dressing (one of my old standbys)
The other night was our son’s birthday, and I took a good part of the dinner to their house. Karen made a lovely roast chicken and I made Brussels sprouts with orange brandy and dried cranberries, a green salad with some of the Rose’s Vinaigrette from a week ago, and dessert.
Last weekend we were in No. California and at a winery tasting room I bought a bottle of Earth & Vine’s Black Raspberry Elixir. It’s a bottled fruit concentrate (see photo below right) you can use mostly for beverages, I’d suppose. Although you could probably add it to fresh fruit, or on top of yogurt. The recipes on the bottle are all beverages, some with liquor, some without. The elixir has no alcohol in it – it’s just the straight fruit (both black and red raspberry purees), sugar and lemon juice.
There was no recipe for a float on the label, but it just sounded like something you could do with this, so I made it up in my head. I bought some Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream, brought along some Chambord and chilled club soda. That’s all there was in it. I looked up a few recipes for root beer floats and then just winged it. For each drink I used about a tablespoon of Chambord, about 2 tablespoons of the black raspberry elixir, about 6 ounces of club soda, then plopped in a nice rounded scoop of the ice cream. A straw was all that was needed. Do make sure the ice cream is really solidly frozen, though. Ours was a bit on the melting side so it oozed into the drink faster than we liked. Still mighty tasty, though. You might have to hunt for the elixirs (there are other flavors, but you can read all about them online at Earth & Vine). Then make up your own combination.
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Recipe By: My own concoction.
Serving Size: 1
1 tablespoon Chambord liqueur
2 tablespoons Earth & Vine black raspberry elixir
6 ounces club soda
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1. Into a tall glass (chilled if you have time and space) pour the Chambord, then the elixir.
2. Pour in 6 ounces of club soda, stir to combine, then add the scoop of well-frozen ice cream. Add a straw and serve immediately.0
One Year Ago: A photo of a riddling rack made into an herb garden
Two years ago: Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
Three years ago: Caramelized Carnitas Tacos
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