Author Archives: Patti

CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP

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Whenever I think of my grandmother, I think about dumplings. In many regards she was not a very good cook. But that woman could make chicken and dumplings fit for a God. Maybe it was because she started with a home grown chicken that had just been butchered. So of course the chicken stew part was amazing. But what she did to create light as a feather dumplings will forever remain a secret. Which is truly sad. But Betty Crocker, bless her heart, taught me how to make dumplings that are almost as delicious as my grandmothers. So today I am going to share with you this wonderful, decades-old recipe for dumplings that are not gut bombs. (If you like the kind of dumplings that resemble thick chewy pasta you aren’t going to like these dumplings. Sorry.)

Over the years I have messed with this recipe a bit, but only when it comes to adding a different herb or two to compliment whatever dish I am preparing. And since this soup calls for thyme and parsley, I thought the dumplings should also contain this lovely combination of flavors.

And why soup to begin with you might ask. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s cold outside. And when the weather turns chilly I immediately think comfort food. And if there is any dish more comforting than chicken soup, I’d be pleased to know your thoughts on the subject. But I had a problem to work out with this recipe.

I had never made a soup that was topped with dumplings. I had only topped stews with dumplings because you need a fairly thick broth to support the dumplings as they steam. So in working out this recipe, I thickened the chicken broth enough to allow the dumpling batter to remain on the surface.

So I hope you enjoy this tasty quint essential comfort food. It is absolutely perfect on a dark, cold, rainy day. And we in the Pacific Northwest get our fair share of days like that! So make soup. It’s a perfect defense against inclement weather. Plus it’s good for what ails you. (Whatever that means!) Enjoy

Soup:

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter  

2 lg. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 sm. onion, chopped  

4 celery stalks plus leaves, thinly sliced

2 lg. carrots, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. dry mustard

gently rounded ¼ tsp. dry thyme leaves   

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper  

8 c. (2 qt.) chicken stock

6 T. all-purpose flour

¼ c. chopped parsley

½ c. frozen petite peas

In a large covered pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and sauté until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add onion, celery, and carrots to the pan. Cook for 8–10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. (Don’t let the garlic get brown.)

Stir in the dry mustard, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Let cook for about a minute.   Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and simmer the stock for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

In a small bowl whisk the flour with a couple ladles of the broth making sure there are no lumps. Gently stir the slurry into the stock and allow to cook for several minutes or until thick and creamy. (It won’t be supper thick, just thick enough to support the dumpling batter.) Then stir in the parsley, peas, and cooked chicken. Adjust seasoning. Cook for about 3 minutes or until all the ingredients are hot and the soup is gently simmering.

Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, drop dumpling balls into the soup.  The dumplings will double in size while they cook, so make them as big or small as you wish.

Cook dumplings at a slow simmer for 10 minutes with pan uncovered. Then cover the pot and simmer for about 10 more minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. (Make sure you don’t peek while the dumplings are cooking for the second 10 minutes. They need to steam in order to be nice and fluffy and lifting the lid will release the steam.) To check if the dumplings are ready, use a toothpick to test if the dumplings are cooked through. Then serve the soup immediately.

Please note: If you are lucky enough to have left-over baked chicken or turkey, use it. Just add the cooked meat when called for in the recipe.   

Dumplings:

1 egg

¼ c. plus 2 T. whole milk

2 T. veggie oil

1 c. all-purpose flour

1½ tsp. baking powder   

½ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. dried thyme leaves  

1 T. finely chopped fresh parsley  

In a bowl whisk the egg, milk, and oil together. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley together. Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture just until combined. Do not over-mix.

OVEN BAKED BONELESS BEEF COUNTRY STYLE SHORT RIBS

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This is another one of those recipes that takes very little time to prepare and tastes like you have been slaving in the kitchen all day. (My favorite kind of recipe.) When in reality, combined with a baked russet or sweet potato and a simple steamed veggie, you are in and out of the kitchen before you can remember why you didn’t feel like cooking in the first place! (This is happening to me more and more as I grow older.)

Don’t get me wrong, I still love to cook. But sometimes a quick and easy dinner is the solution to making life a little easier for me. And as it turns out, possibly easier for you as well.

First thing you should know. This is not a weeknight meal for working people. This dish takes time to bake in a slow oven. But as a weekend dish, it would be perfect. Put it in the oven while you tend to all the other chores you have to accomplish before Monday morning rolls around. (Believe me, I remember those days only too well!) And why does it go together so easily? Well first of all, there are no veggies to cut for the sauce. (I must admit that I was a little skeptical when I first read this recipe from Jenn Segal’s Once Upon a Chef site. (I did mess a bit with her recipe, but basically it’s another wonderful recipe from this gifted chef.) But then I considered the source, and went for it! And I’m so glad I did.

The meat was perfectly seasoned. The sauce was great. And I spent less time on this dish than I usually do just preparing salad dressing!

So if you too want to serve a quick and easy dish that your entire family will love, this is the recipe for you. I served it last evening with a baked sweet potato and steamed green beans. If I had been serving the ribs to children, I would have whipped up some mashed potatoes, because I never met a kid that didn’t like mashed potatoes. And for the veggie, I would probably have steamed some broccoli to crisp tender, then served it with “Secret Sauce” (recipe below). My kids would eat just about anything if it could be dolloped with a bit of this sauce. Works for Mr. C. too!

So next time you are too tired to cook, give this simple recipe a try. Put the ribs in to bake, prep whatever else you plan to serve, then sit down with a good book while your oven does its magic. Permission to relax and take it easy has just been granted.   

2 lbs. boneless beef country style short ribs

1 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

¾ c. ketchup

½ c. dark brown sugar

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. granulated garlic

½ tsp. onion powder

pinch cayenne pepper

Season the ribs all over with salt and pepper, then arrange closely together in an 8-inch baking dish.

Combine all of the ingredients for the BBQ sauce in a small sauce pan and stir until smooth.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the ribs. Using tongs, flip the ribs over and spoon another 1/3 of the sauce over top. Reserve the remaining BBQ sauce to spoon over the cooked ribs. Heat the remaining sauce just before serving.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a pre-heated 300 degree oven for 2½ hours. Remove the foil and remove about 2/3rds of the cooking liquid. Discard the liquid. Bake the ribs uncovered for 30 minutes more, or until the meat is tender and browned. Serve the ribs with remaining warm sauce.

Secret Sauce

3 parts low fat mayonnaise

1 part low sodium soy sauce, or more to taste

Stir together and serve with any veggie that your kids (or spouse) won’t eat all by itself.

ROMAINE LETTUCE, SHRIMP, AND PEA SALAD

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Pea salad and sautéed shrimp are two of our favorite dishes. And we also love romaine lettuce. So yesterday afternoon when I was thinking about what to fix for dinner (none of this pre-planning the week’s menu ahead of time for this gal, that would be way too efficient), I decided to combine our love of peas and shrimp into a salad with romaine lettuce.

Now sometimes my mash-ups work. Sometimes not-so-much! But this one was absolutely delicious. I simply prepared my usual pea salad recipe, sautéed some shrimp along with a few of the usual suspects, and chopped up a romaine heart. Then brought them all together. And thank God it only took about 35 minutes to prepare. Therein lies the tale.

As I advance in age it seems like my mind is regressing back to a time when we stayed home more and had a lot fewer commitments. And even though I knew Mr. C. had a rehearsal that evening and I usually start prepping for dinner around 4:00, yesterday late afternoon I was happily writing away when I looked up and it was 4:50. At about the same time Mr. C. reminded me that he had to be out of the house by 5:45. All I could think to say was sh–, sh–, SH–!!

So I quickly sent Mr. C. to the freezer for peas and shrimp while I started hacking and slashing (thanks Vicki for that term) the veggies for this recipe. Then I quickly set the shrimp to thaw in a bowl of water and ran tap water over the colander containing frozen peas.

From there everything got even more frenetic. All I remember is that between 4:50 when my potty mouth went into full gear and 5:25 when I set the salads on the table, life was a blur. I do remember Mr. C. handing me a martini, but I don’t really remember drinking it. But it was all gone when we sat down to dinner, so it must have been the martini that saved the day!

Now that I have told you all about my declining ability to juggle more than one ball at a time, please take my story to heart. This really is a very easy and quick recipe to prepare. And it truly is very tasty. But in all due respect for myself and my declining mental processes, I am going to take longer to prepare this dish next time! And I am going to be adamant that 4:00 means it’s time to prep dinner. No excuses! Even if we don’t actually eat dinner till 7:00 or 8:00 I want to be ready for any eventuality. Especially if that “eventuality” has been written in our calendar for weeks. And we had only discussed it a couple hours before!

1 T. unsalted butter

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

½ lb. large uncooked shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. caper brine

¼ c. light mayonnaise

1½ tsp. Dijon mustard

freshly ground black pepper

pinch dill weed

¼ tsp. seasoned salt

½ c. finely chopped celery

1 sm. shallot, finely minced

¼ c. thinly sliced green onion

1-1½ c. frozen petite peas, room temperature but not cooked

3-4 c. cut romaine lettuce

Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place shrimp in an even layer on the bottom of the pan and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; cook and stir until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 1 minute.   

Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and caper brine; cook until all the shrimp are pink and opaque, 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. When cool cut the shrimp in half. (I use my kitchen shears for this. I cut them right in the pan.)

Meanwhile, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, dill weed, and seasoned salt together in a salad bowl. Stir in the celery, shallot, and green onions.  Gently fold in the peas and romaine. Plate the salad and top with cooled shrimp including any butter/garlic residue in the bottom of the pan. Serve immediately. This is the perfect amount for 2 people.

 

BACON, SPINACH, MEXICAN SHREDDED CHEESE, AND GREEN ONION QUICHE

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This quiche recipe calls for a homemade crust. But I know what it’s like to be short on time (and energy) in the kitchen. So if you must – start with a crust you purchased at your favorite grocery store. Or use your own favorite crust recipe. It really makes no never-mind. But if you intend to make your own crust or want to try a new recipe for crust, the recipe below is about as easy as it gets. So much so, that I never plan to build another quiche with any other recipe. (You heard it here first folks!)

Anyway, what drives my choice of what to cook for dinner a lot of times is what’s in my fridge. And the other day what I had at my disposal was a half-pound of bacon, a big container of fresh spinach, a couple sad looking (starting to get kind of slimy) green onions, and part of a large bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese. OK Patti, you’re fairly smart (on a good day), so what to do with these prime ingredients?

To my astonishment, quiche popped into my mind. I consulted Mr. C. about my choice for our dinner that evening, and as usual he was receptive to my suggestion. No dummy Mr. C.! But, and here’s the interesting part, I didn’t have any Crisco for my pie crust. Horror of horrors. How could this have happened? So now what to do? Well – when times get tough, the tough get going. So I got on line and did me some research. And I found an abundance of recipes for pie crust that were made with a fat other than Crisco or lard. Imagine my delight! But do I dare make a pie crust not using the same recipe I’ve been making for 55 years? Would a bolt of lightning hit me? (We do live on Lightning Way after all!) Or would I have to turn in my Girl Scout baking badge? I even feared retribution from some unknown deity. (There could be a God of pastry. Well there could!!) But I decided to flaunt my desire for quiche in the face of whatever unknown force might take exception. And I’m proud to say, I came out the other side unscathed. And, this is the good part too, a lot wiser about pie crust in general.

Not that I am going to throw away my old recipe. Because in 55 years it has never failed me. Never! But, for something like a quiche, this new recipe is going to make it possible for us to enjoy quiche more often. It’s just that much less effort to prepare.

I guess I should mention that not only was the crust really tasty, the filling stood up to our demanding standards as well. So if you love quiche as much as we do, get thee to your kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. And remember, you don’t have to use all the same ingredients I used. Be bold. Use ham or smoked salmon, cooked breakfast or Italian sausage, or whatever you happen to have on hand. And vary the type of cheese you use. Swiss, Gruyère, or Emmenthaler cheese are absolutely perfect in quiche. And the true beauty of quiche is that it is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Pretty cool huh?

And if you are interested in preparing my No-Fail Pie Crust, I have printed it at the bottom of this post for your convenience. And yes I know it’s a strange recipe. You have only to consider the source and all will make perfect sense. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving.

8-inch pie crust (see recipe for No-Roll Pie Crust recipe below)

8 slices thick, meaty bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp

1½ c. chopped fresh baby spinach

1½ c. Mexican-blend shredded cheese

1/3 c. thinly sliced green onions

freshly ground black pepper

¾ tsp. dry mustard

1 1/3 c. milk (whole milk is best)

4 eggs

ground nutmeg

Scatter cooked bacon over pie crust. (If you are using the recipe below, remember it has to semi-bake before you add this filling.)

Layer spinach and cheese on top of bacon. Add sliced green onions. Whisk together the pepper, dry mustard, milk, and eggs. Hint: Place pepper and dry mustard in bowl and add just a tiny splash of the milk. Whisk until there are no mustard powder lumps. Then add the remaining milk and eggs; whisk all together. (If you add all the ingredients together at once, you often end up with mustard lumps that, trust me, are very hard to incorporate with the other ingredients.)

Pour liquid mixture over all. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until set, about 30-40 minutes.

NO-ROLL PIE CRUST

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour   

heaping ½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

scant ¼ tsp. baking powder

7 T. vegetable or canola oil

¼ c. cold water + 1 T. if the mixture seems dry

Whisk the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder together. Whisk the oil and 1/4 cup water together. Pour over the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened. Add additional tablespoon water if necessary.

Pat the dough across the bottom of the pie pan and up and a little over the sides. Crimp or mold the pie crust around the edge to make it pretty.

Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the filling for your quiche. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

For great “how to crimp piecrust” instructions visit www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-crimp-pie-crust-4123830

NO-FAIL PIE CRUST (makes a double crust)

¼ c. very cold water

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

heaping 2/3 c. Crisco

Step 1 – Pour cold water into a small bowl.

Step 2 – Measure flour and salt into a mixing bowl.

Step 3 – Take 1/3 cup of the flour back out of the mixing bowl and stir it into the water. Make a paste. Set aside.

Step 4 – Add the Crisco (heaping 2/3 cup) to the flour and salt mixture. Mix together. (I use my KitchenAid mixer.)

Step 5 – Add the water/flour paste to the flour/shortening bowl and mix just until blended. Do not over-mix. Roll out dough and place in pie plate. This recipe makes enough dough for a double crust 8-inch pie, or one large bottom crust with a little left over for pastry cookies or a free-form small tart.  

Helpful hint: Use a pastry cloth to roll out your pie crust. It really makes a difference. You can find pastry cloths in almost any kitchen wares shop. Well worth the $10 or so.

THE GIRL CAN LEARN! (MAYBE)

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Amazing as it may seem, I think I finally figured out how to add subscribers to my web site. If any of you want to know each time I post a new recipe, vacation post, or verbal rambling, go to the bottom of the right hand column at the very bottom past headings for Recent Posts, Recent Comments, Categories, and Meta where the heading reads Subscribe to Blog via Email. Enter your email address and hit the “subscribe” button. And then confirm your subscription when you receive an email confirmation message.

And thereafter until you’ve had enough, each time I get the strength to add something new, you will receive a short email from (I think this is how it will work) Chez Carr Cuisine with the title of the dish or whatever I am posting. Then you can go to my site and get the full meal deal. (So to speak!) Please note: this only took me 6 years to figure out how to do this. And truthfully, I don’t actually know if it will work. With my aptitude for all things webbish, displaying a link on my website may be a trick secretly devised by WordPress to make old people like me feel like we are actually in control. When in fact we are old enough to know that except for the rare exception, we have no control over anything! (They too will learn this in time!) But if this actually works I will be terribly pleased. So give it a whirl. If it works, you’ll know what I’m up to by just signing on to your email. If it doesn’t work, one less email to delete. As always – happy cooking!

SAVORY WILD RICE, BROWN RICE, AND MUSHROOM PILAF

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It’s funny how much the types of food I eat and the recipes I prepare have evolved from when I was a child. I basically grew up on a chicken farm. My dad wasn’t a farmer, but my grandfather was. And my grandparent’s home and the chicken coupes were on the same piece of property as my parent’s home. My grandad raised the chickens for the eggs he sold to the local coop. So I ate eggs practically every day as a child and still do as a mature adult. (Mature in years that is!)

Also, my grandparents had the largest vegetable garden I have ever seen. They also had every type of berry imaginable, as well as apples, peaches, plums, grapes, rhubarb, and mint. They grew everything. And my grandmother canned every single vegetable and fruit she could get her hands on. In retrospect it was truly amazing.

And of course there were usually a couple of cows around both for the milk/cream (think home churned butter) and to keep the meat locker well stocked. And yes in those days, we rented a meat locker a few miles from our home. (Freezers in private homes came along in the 1940s. But they were usually very small and would never have accommodated a large amount of beef.) Grandpa would visit the locker about once a week to retrieve meat for grandma and mom to cook throughout the following week. Often in the summer I would ride along, and I can still remember the cold air and the unique smell (not bad) associated with opening the big exterior door that led to our own private cage of meat. Wonderful memory.

But what has all this to do with this recipe. Well as I was looking over the ingredients, I realized that my mother and grandmother wouldn’t have had the faintest notion what to do with 2/3rds of the ingredients listed in this recipe. The only ones they would have cooked with routinely would have been the onion, celery, salt, and pepper. I don’t even think they knew about sage unless they used poultry seasoning, which frankly I doubt! Of course, as we all grew older, more products were introduced and my mom especially would have used some of them. But I doubt she ever bought wild rice, brown rice, olive oil, fresh garlic, marjoram, or fresh parsley. She just was not that inventive a cook. For her cooking was a necessity rather than a pleasure.

Yet this is such a simple recipe. And it includes ingredients that are readily available in most of the grocery stores in America. So why am I telling you this. Well, not to overstate the obvious, but this recipe includes ingredients that are readily available in most of the grocery stores in America! Also this dish is easy to prepare and is really tasty. Pretty healthy too.

So even though my own mother would never have looked twice at this recipe from The Spruce Eats web site, I’m hoping you will give it a try. And who doesn’t need a healthy, delicious side dish recipe that everyone in the family will love. Just sayin’!

2¾ c. vegetable broth

½ c. wild rice

¾ c. brown rice

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

8-10 mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced  

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ tsp. dried sage

½ tsp. dried marjoram

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1/3 c. slivered or sliced almonds

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a large covered saucepan and add the wild rice. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir a couple of times while wild rice cooks. Add the brown rice. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for another 45 minutes or until the rice is tender. Again, give the rice a stir or two during the cooking process.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until it is very soft and just starting to brown, about 20-25 minutes. Add the celery and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the garlic, sage, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

When the rice is done, add the onion mixture along with the fresh parsley and almonds; stir well to combine. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or until all of the ingredients are just heated through. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning.

Set aside for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork just before serving.

DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP AND PEANUT BUTTER CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

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All of a sudden I have become a great fan of dark chocolate chips. And as for peanut butter chips, well I have been a devotee since they first appeared on grocery store shelves. And in combination, well there is no going back for this cookie lover. But sometimes dark chocolate chips can be hard to find. I use Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips that I can usually find at our local Bartell Drugs Store. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in the Puget Sound area, I would recommend going on line to find a supply of these little darlings and then always keep them at the ready in your freezer. They really are wonderful chocolate chips. And these cookies are fantastic. Not too hard, not too soft – just right! And easy to make too!

I decided that I would take them to a recent choral rehearsal we were involved in. Some of us who had sung together for many years were asked to sing at the Celebration of Life for one of our fellow singers. A 49 year old woman who was one of the kindest, most amazing, and talented woman we had ever had the pleasure of calling a friend. It was rough.

We had already shed many tears, but accompanying the singers (Andy) and singing (me) was really difficult. And I knew how tough it would be for all of my fellow singers as well. So I decided to do what I had always done when we were singing together as a group. I brought cookies to the rehearsal. I knew this simple gesture would help bring a little normalcy to this difficult but ultimately rewarding occasion. And it worked, especially for the guys. They dove into the cookies as if they were a life line.  

No one knows what the future will bring. At the end of the Celebration of Life I was a little uncomfortable when the pastor got up to deliver his ending remarks. I thought his words might be a bit too preachy for my taste. But I could have hugged the man after he finished his closing comments. He said, and I paraphrase, “in these trying times – love each other a little bit more, show everyone a little bit more kindness, go out of your way to do something special for someone in need, live goodness rather than hate, and be understanding and respectful of others who have a different point of view than yours”.

His words really resonated with me, especially the “be understanding and respectful of others who have a different point of view than yours”. In these difficult times, it is almost impossible for me to even be in the same room with someone who defends much less admires our current administration. I see it as a character flaw and find the whole thing incomprehensible. So I need to change my ways. Not so much for anyone else’s sake, but rather for my own sake. As a decent human being. So I hope I’m not too old to learn a lesson about kindness and even forgiveness.

And even though the Celebration of Life was difficult and we are going to miss Laurie with all our hearts, I’m so glad I was reminded by her minister of what it means to be a good citizen of the world. And I’m going to continue baking cookies. Giving cookies away may just be a simple gesture, but it’s one that can make a difference in how someone sees the world and their place in it. So happy baking dear friends. And love and peace to all.

  • 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
    1 c. brown sugar, packed
    ½ c. granulated sugar
    2 lg. eggs
    1 T. vanilla extract
    1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
    1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • 3 c. rolled oats (not instant or quick cook)
  • 1½ c. dark chocolate chips
    1½ c. peanut butter chips

Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until light and creamy, about 4 minutes in your stand mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a medium sized bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together, then stir in the rolled oats. Add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dark chocolate and peanut butter chips, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop cookies onto a lightly greased cookie sheet about 2-inches apart. 

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until edges and top are set. Don’t overbake.

Remove from oven and let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. (And don’t worry. The cookies will firm up as they cool.)  

Store in an airtight container. (And yes of course, you can easily halve this recipe, or double it for that matter!)

GINGER CAKE WITH BOURBON CARAMEL SAUCE AND BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM

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Sometimes I get nostalgic for no better reason than beautifully colored deciduous leaves in the fall. And every fall as the leaves start to turn color, I immediately want to hunker down in my kitchen and make soup. Or in the case of this past weekend, I wanted to re-create a classic fall and winter dessert I enjoyed as a child and made for my children when they were young. But I didn’t want the gingerbread of my youth, and not even the one I fed to my children. I wanted a modern take on this old standard that would appeal to more sophisticated palates.  

What I envisioned was a gingerbread that had the consistency and moistness I associate with a truly delicious cake. Plus I wanted to make my ginger cake include a background flavor that set it apart from others. And I think I found that special something. It’s called bourbon.

And yes I know, I use bourbon in a lot in my recipes. Bourbon just pairs so well with all kinds of dishes. But what it did for this dessert was beyond compare.

I used the basic recipe for gingerbread from one of my favorite bloggers – Jenn Segal (Once Upon a Chef). She is truly one of my favorites. Please visit her site, because she is the real deal!

I did however make one small change. I substituted a wee bit of bourbon for some of the boiling water in her recipe. (I just had to do it.) Then I went completely bourbon crazy, and created a bourbon caramel sauce, then went further off the deep end (it’s called gilding the lily) by adding a bit of bourbon to the whipped cream topping.

Now something you should know. There isn’t enough money to get me to drink bourbon straight. I don’t like the taste of any whiskey, so why would I want to sip on something that makes me scrunch up my face? (Mother Nature is already having her way with my face. I don’t need any more help in that arena thank you very much!) But, as a subtle (or in some cases not-so-subtle) background flavor, bourbon is a perfect ingredient. For many, the flavor of bourbon hints of vanilla, caramel, honey, butterscotch, apple, pear, figs, raisins, dates, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. So when you analyze the flavors associated with bourbon, really what’s not to like? (I still can’t get straight bourbon past my lips!) But what bourbon does for ginger cake is nothing short of miraculous.

So if you too haven’t enjoyed or even thought about gingerbread for years, now is the time. And as a dessert to serve for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, I think it would be absolutely perfect.

To find other recipes on this site that use bourbon as an ingredient, just type “bourbon” in the search box – hit search, and a new world of boozy recipes will appear on the screen. Some of the recipes are even for delicious adult beverages. Imagine that!

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour  

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

4 T. unsalted butter, melted

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

2/3 c. molasses (not Robust or Blackstrap)

2/3 c. boiling water minus 4 tsp. (I’ve replaced 4 tsp. of boiling water with bourbon)

4 tsp. bourbon

1 lg. egg, beaten

chopped candied ginger, opt. garnish

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, and boiling water. When the mixture is room temperature, whisk in the bourbon and the egg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased and floured 9-inch square pan (glass preferably). Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (or 350 degree oven if using a metal pan) for about 25 minutes, or until the edges look dark and the middle feels firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Or allow to cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve with a bit of warm Bourbon Caramel Sauce, dolloped with Bourbon Whipped Cream, and garnished with a tiny bit of chopped candied ginger. Ginger cake is wonderful served at room temperature, warm out of the oven, or reheated.

The cake can be baked up to 3 days ahead. Cover and store at room temperature. If you prefer, warm before serving.  

To warm cake: Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

BOURBON CARAMEL SAUCE

1 c. packed brown sugar

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

pinch sea salt

½ c. heavy cream

¼ c. bourbon

Whisk butter, brown sugar, and salt together over medium heat in a small heavy saucepan until brown sugar has dissolved completely. (This happens after the mixture comes to a boil and is allowed to burble for a couple of minutes or until it turns kind of shiny. Continue whisking the whole time the mixture is on the heat.) Remove from heat and gently whisk in the heavy cream and bourbon. Serve warm over this ginger cake, bread pudding, ice cream, or any old thing you want! (Great in coffee too!)

Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Best to warm slightly before serving.

BOURBAN WHIPPED CREAM

2 c. heavy cream

¼ c. powdered sugar

2 T. bourbon

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream until stiff peaks form. Beat in the powdered sugar, bourbon, and vanilla until well blended. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

LOWFAT INDIAN CURRY SAUCE

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Usually when I make an Indian curry sauce it contains a lot of delectable fat. But we are trying to eat healthier, so I came up with this low-fat version. And it not only tastes wonderful, it’s just as satisfying as my old standard. Well – almost. (My mouth still loves the richness of butter and sour cream. But I’m sure my heart is happier with a bit of veggie oil and fat free yogurt. As of course is my jubilant conscience whenever I make a more “advantageous to my body” decision!)

Anyway, I worked out this recipe mainly to take along with us on our most recent trailer trip. Therefore, I wanted a curry sauce that would freeze well, work well with an assortment of meats or seafood, of course be delicious, and able to assuage our possibly devastating hunger while parked in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies. (I mean seriously. You can get mighty hungry after a long day of looking at beautiful scenery or staying around camp and reading a good book!)

So one evening we feasted in style with this sauce combined with diced and sautéed chicken, ladled over cooked brown rice, then topped with the condiments listed below. A simple salad on the side and life was just about as good as it gets.

So if you too love Indian curry, give this recipe a try. It’s really tasty and a lot healthier than more traditional recipes that call for butter and sour cream.

But if you should happen to want a creamy, old fashioned curry sauce recipe, you should consider preparing my Curry Sauce for Chicken, Shrimp, Beef, or Lamb on this site. It’s amazingly good and I’ve been making it for decades. In fact, it was one of my children’s favorite foods. It even includes cream of mushroom soup. And if that doesn’t make you want to rush into your kitchen and prepare it this instant, I don’t know what would?

And if you have never eaten Indian curry, you are missing out on one of life’s culinary pleasures. Indian food is delicious. So try some soon. Remember – today, tomorrow and all the future days of your life are not dress rehearsal days. This is it! And it’s SHOW TIME! So try a new recipe. Or make an old favorite that you haven’t prepared in a long time. Or learn to play the ukulele if that has always been your dream. Just don’t prepare a recipe while playing a ukulele. Makes for a horrendous mess! Hugs to all.

1 T. vegetable oil

½ yellow onion, finely chopped

½ carrot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 T. minced fresh ginger

2 tsp. curry powder, or more to taste

2 tsp. dried parsley

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1 can (15-oz.) crushed or petite diced tomatoes (Italian preferably)

1 c. fat free plain yogurt

In a large heavy pan, heat the veggie oil. Add the onion and carrot; cook until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the curry powder, dried parsley, and salt.

Add the canned tomatoes and yogurt; bring to a simmer and let burble for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add whatever cooked meat or seafood takes your fancy. Adjust seasoning. Or before adding meat or seafood, allow the sauce to cool and store in your freezer. Then when you are ready to use, heat over medium heat and add your meat, seafood or veggies of choice. Great for camping trips.

Condiments:

chopped cashew nuts

thinly sliced green onion

mango chutney

         

WHITE CHOCOLATE, MACADAMIA NUT, AND COCONUT BAR COOKIES

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This recipe is from the Brown Eyed Baker site. (Great site BTW!) And boy oh boy are these bar cookies good. No wait. Good isn’t good enough. These are GREAT bar cookies. And ever so easy to make. You don’t even need a mixer. And I always say hurray to that. One less thing to bring out of my pantry.

So I made this recipe last week for Mr. C. and the other members of Seabreeze (a 7 piece jazz band) who rehearse once a week. And when it’s our turn to host the rehearsal, I make sure the guys get a homemade goodie for their break. (I’d actually go so far as to cook lunch for the guys if that’s what it took to bring them from Bellingham and surrounding areas to our home to practice. Because I absolutely love listening to them play. And because they are all really wonderful guys. But please don’t tell them I’d fix them lunch. I’m trying to reduce my commitments, not add to them. So for now I’m going to stick with serving them a homemade treat.) But enough about why I made these bar cookies.

As far as I’m concerned, bar cookies are the greatest time saving invention ever to hit my kitchen. And as I’ve already stated, these cookies are a snap to prepare. Just mix all the ingredients together, slap the batter into a greased pan, and throw the whole mess in the oven. 30 or so minutes later, take the pan out of the oven, place it on a cooling rack, and cut into whatever size pieces you want when cooled. Could not be easier.

So next time you bake a treat for your family or friends, give this recipe a try. These cookies are truly delightful. In fact they were recently awarded “the jazz musician’s seal of approval”. So you don’t have to take my word for how great these cookies taste. You now have verification from true experts. Thank you gentlemen!

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1½ c. light brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1½ tsp. vanilla extract  

1½ c. unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

1 c. roughly chopped macadamia nuts

1 c. white chocolate chips

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and light brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until well combined. Using a rubber spatula, add the dry ingredients to the bowl and gently fold them into the egg mixture until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the toasted coconut, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate chips. Scoop the batter into a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking pan (glass preferably); smooth the batter into an even layer.

Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (350 degrees if the pan is metal) until the top is shiny and cracked and feels firm to the touch, 30 – 33 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars as needed.

The bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.