Category Archives: CHRISTMAS RECIPES

SCALLOPED POTATOES

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Of all the side dishes that seem to be a favorite of everyone, scalloped potatoes must be near the top of the list. And really, what’s not to love? Thin slices of potatoes baked in a lovely cheese sauce. Well, I’ll tell you what’s not to love! The time it takes to bake most scalloped potato recipes. Holy cow, it’s holiday time and you already have several dishes that need anywhere from several hours in a slow oven to 45 minutes in a hotter oven to re-warm. So then comes along your big old lovely casserole of potatoes. How the heck are you going to make room for a dish that requires 1 ½ – 2 hours in a 350 degree oven? Well dear readers, I’m still slightly aghast that it took me until about 8 years ago before my internal incandescent light bulb, which I had always assumed had at least a wattage rating of 100, came on in my brain and shed some light, so to speak, on the subject. (Either my wattage is less than I originally believed it to be, or my wire filaments aren’t burning as hot as they should! And yes, I still have an internal incandescent light bulb. I was born way before there was an option to be hard wired with a CFL – Compact Fluorescent Lamp)! So if you are looking for a simple way to make an old favorite, give this recipe a try. There is no flavor lost when you partially cook the potatoes ahead of time. And the peace of mind from knowing that your potatoes won’t possibly be crunchy when you are ready to serve is worth more than you’ll save from switching from incandescent to CFL or LED (light-emitting diode) lighting!

  • 1 lb. Yukon Gold or russet potatoes
  • 1 T. butter
  • ½ tsp. paprika, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1 T. cornstarch
  • 1 c. whole milk
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 c. shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, aged Gouda, etc.)

Peel potatoes and cut in half. (And yes I peel my potatoes for this recipe, because boiled potato skins tend to become tough.) Then slice each half potato into 1/3-inch slices. Place in a covered pan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add a goodly amount of kosher salt, cover and cook until just about tender. (You don’t want mushy potatoes, so watch carefully). Drain. Meanwhile, brown butter in a medium sized saucepan. Add paprika and cornstarch and let burble in pan for about a minute. Gradually whisk in the milk and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly stir in the cheese. Adjust seasoning. (The sauce will be very thick.) Carefully add the cheese sauce to the potatoes. Scoop mixture into a lightly buttered casserole pan and sprinkle lightly with additional paprika. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until the top is starting to brown and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the casserole dish. Let sit a few minutes before serving. Note: Don’t be afraid to mix and match the cheeses for this recipe. This dish is a perfect way to use up those bits and pieces of cheese that aren’t aging gracefully! Also, this recipe doubles and triples beautifully.

WINTER FRUIT SALAD

I am not the biggest fruit lover in the world. I think it’s because sweet food has never been my favorite. But I know what you are thinking. Fruit is good for you and you need several servings a day. I know! I too read all the press about healthy eating. But I just can’t make myself wake up in the morning yearning for my first piece of fruit! Actually that’s not quite true. There is one fruit I always wake up thinking about, and that is the seed of the coffee plant. And yes, coffee seeds or pits (incorrectly named as beans because of their resemblance to the true beans that grow in long pods on certain leguminous plants) grow inside the round red or purple cherry fruit of tropical evergreen shrubs. So I guess if I were to press the point to the ridiculous, which is how I seem to be hard-wired to do anyway, each morning when I consume a cup of processed (to free the seeds from the cherry), roasted (to enhance the flavors locked inside) finely ground and brewed coffee, I am getting my first serving of fruit for the day! I can live with that. And another thing I can live with in the morning, or for lunch or dinner, is this fruit salad. I don’t know why, but fruit that has been cut up tastes better to me. And then when you add a simple dressing which further enhances the flavor of the fruit, even I become a devoted fan. There’s hope for the old gal yet! Speaking of hope, I hope you enjoy the new Easter recipes I will be posting the rest of this week and the ones that are already on my blog under Easter Dinner Recipes. I’m especially fond of the Deviled Eggs recipe. And really, after your children have hunt for and found the colored hard boiled eggs lovingly placed in your yard awaiting their discovery, what else are you going to do with them? Your kids are never going to want them all for themselves. After all, they’re children. And what child is going to choose a rabbit egg (that’s just wrong to begin with) over a chocolate egg or a marshmallow peep? (Now peeps are really sick and wrong, yet I know intelligent men like my dear friends Nich and Steve who actually horde them!) With your children’s permission of course, don’t delay turning those dyed eggs into Deviled Eggs. I say don’t delay, because you truly don’t want them to go bad hidden in the back of a child’s closet. (Trust me on this one. I have first-hand knowledge of organic items being hidden in a closet.)

  • 2 T. fresh lime juice (don’t even think about using that stuff that comes in a cute little plastic lime look-alike container)
  • 2 T. honey
  • ¼ c. vanilla yogurt
  • ¼ tsp. poppy seeds
  • 1 tart apple, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 oranges, peeled and sections cut in two
  • 2 c. red or green seedless grapes
  • 2 kiwi peeled, cut in half and each half cut into half-moon shaped pieces
  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh mint, opt.

Combine lime juice, honey, vanilla yogurt, and poppy seeds in the bottom of a pretty bowl. (Glass is nice if you have one.) Add the fruit and stir gently. Garnish with sprigs of mint. Serve immediately. Note: the dressing can be made ahead or time, but don’t add the fruit until you are ready to serve. You can use any combination of fruit you like. With the amount of dressing this recipe makes, about 7-8 cups of fruit is just about right. You don’t want a soggy salad. Also, I use no more than 5 different kinds of fruit when I make fruit salad.  I think if the salad contains more than five varieties your mouth can’t fully appreciate the unique qualities of each.

 

 

MAPLE SYRUP GLAZED SPIRAL HAM

So, I never intended this blog to be holiday specific, but things sometimes take on a life of their own. And my blog seems to be doing just that. It thinks that since Easter is just about here, I ought to offer up some of my favorite Easter recipes. Well, who am I to argue with my blog when it is so obviously correct! So for the next few days, I am going to post a few of our family’s favorite Easter recipes. And the obvious first choice for me is the star of most of our Easter dinners – baked ham. Now I believe I have alluded to the fact that I love almost all things pork! (I do draw the line at pickled pig’s feet and pork rinds, but most other piggy products are high on my beloved foods list.) And for the most bang for the buck and ease of preparation, spiral ham is a really good choice. I just slap it in the oven, prepare a simple glaze, slap that on just before I’m ready to serve, and call it good. Actually, what I really should be calling “good” is this recipe! I found this Dave Lieberman (I really like his recipes, by the way) masterpiece on-line when I wanted a new way to prepare baked ham to serve in addition to turkey last Christmas. I immediately knew that this was now going to be my favorite way to prepare ham. I absolutely loved the flavor of the glaze as did all the rest of my family. And the ham sandwiches the next day were just over the top wonderful. You know, ham is really versatile. You can serve it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Which makes me wonder why I don’t buy it more often? So I decided to do a little research on ham. It turns out that most lean ham is about 5% fat, 2% of which is saturated. Not too bad. But the killer, so to speak, is the sodium content. For an average 3-oz. portion, there is roughly 1170 mg of sodium. Yikes, that’s more than I should eat for the whole day! And only 3 ounces? I could no more stick to a 3-oz. portion than I could recite the Gettysburg address from heart!  So, although I love ham and will continue to serve it for holidays, I’m going to have to personally leave it at that. Oh well, life is a game of choice. And because I want to continue eating an occasional piece of bacon, I am going to choose not to research the fat and salt content in bacon. I can only take so much bad news on any given day! So if you will excuse me, I’m going to go start practicing my reciting skills. Fourscore and seven years ago……

  • 1 (9 lb.) partial bone-in spiral cut ham (I use Hemplers spiral hams, butt end (more meat)
  • 3/4 c. water
  • 1/2 c. real maple syrup
  • 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
  • 2 T. whole-grain Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Place ham in a roasting pan and pour water into the pan bottom. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a pre-heated 300 degree oven for about 90 minutes or until heated through. Meanwhile whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard, and spices in a saucepan until smooth and heat until simmering. Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside. When ham is heated through, remove the aluminum foil, and pour or brush the glaze over the top to cover completely. Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Return the ham to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until glaze is caramelized and bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing pieces off bone.

 

SAVORY CHEESE SPREAD

I am always looking for ways to save grocery dollars. Maybe it’s a throw back to my parents’ era, (the great depression that is), or maybe because I helped raise 4 kids on a tight budget, or maybe I’m just frugal. Call it what you may, but if I can prepare a homemade version of an expensive item that I love, well I’m all over making it at home. Another consideration, that is fast becoming even more important to me than cost, is the list of ingredients that aren’t in the dish I prepare at home. Do I really need all those preservatives in my system? I mean really, they aren’t helping with the whole wrinkle thing that’s rampantly happening on my face, so of what value are they to me personally? (Now please understand, if I could see any cosmetic benefit from massive doses of Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) or Sodium Benzoate, I would stuff my face with products containing these additives. I’m frankly getting a little scared seeing my mother look back at me from my mirror!) But all kidding aside, I really dislike all the chemicals contained in processed food. So if I can prepare a recipe like this one for a mock Boursin Cheese which contains fewer chemicals than the real stuff, then I feel better and not coincidentally richer for the substitution. Of course, once you look at the ingredient list for this spread you are going to take me to task for the butter and cream cheese. I can just hear you saying, I mean really Patti, there may not be as many chemicals in your version, but all that fat? Well, the real stuff ain’t any better!  And besides, I only make it for parties and everyone knows there aren’t as many calories if you eat standing up. So party food, no problem! Just don’t sit down with a bowl of this in front of you. That would be my health tip for the day!

  • ½ c. butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 garlic clove, very finely minced
  • 2 T. finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ tsp. dried dill weed
  • ¼ tsp. dried marjoram
  • ¼ tsp. dried basil
  • ¼ tsp. dried chives
  • 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 T. finely minced fresh parsley

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Return to room temperature before serving stuffed in cherry tomatoes or as a spread for soft butter crackers. This spread is best when prepared and allowed to mellow for at least 2 days before serving.

 

 

 

ROASTED MUSHROOM CREAM SOUP

I found this recipe in Bon Appetite years ago and it has been my favorite creamy mushroom soup ever since. (Of course I made a couple of tweaks, but that’s what I do!) The first time I made this delicious soup was for Mr. C. and the other members of the “Tangoheart” orchestra. It was for one of the many rehearsals we held at our Bellevue home. (You’ve heard the term “starving musicians”. Well this group could have been the poster children for starving musicians everywhere!) I usually served soup for these rehearsals because it could remain happily simmering on the stove until the group was ready to take a food break. Soup is also quick and easy to eat, so the group never had to take too much time away from rehearsing. Along with a nice chewy loaf of bread, a glass of wine, and a brownie perhaps (no, not the kind that is now legal in Washington state), soup was always the perfect way to provide a simple meal for our musician friends. This soup is also lovely when served as the first course at a dinner party. It is ever so rich, and a cup or so is just perfect. So next time you plan a dinner party, consider serving a lovely rich soup like this, just after the appetizers and before the main course. Your guests will love everything about this soup. It is creamy, a little chunky, and tastes like heaven in a bowl. It’s also meatless. That’s especially nice when planning a dinner party for associates or new friends. Even if one of your guests happens to be a vegetarian, and unable to partake of the meat portion of the entree, they can always have more of this wonderful soup. Your guests may not be musicians when they arrive at your home for dinner, but serve them this soup and they will be singing your praise by the time they leave!

  • 1 lb. Portobello mushroom, stemmed, dark gills removed, caps cut into ¾-inch pieces
  • ½ lb. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps cut into ¾-inch pieces
  • 3 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ T. butter
  • ½ medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 T. Madeira
  • 3 T. flour
  • 6 c. vegetable broth
  • 1 c. heavy cream
  • 1 ½ tsp. chopped fresh thyme
  • chopped fresh parsley, opt.

Place cut mushrooms on a large short sided baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15-30 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender but still moist. Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy large pot. Add onion and garlic and gently sauté until the onion is very soft. (Do not cook too quickly. The onion and garlic should not be allowed to brown.) Add Madeira and simmer until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add flour; stir for 2 minutes. Add 4 cups of the broth, cream, and thyme. Remove from heat. When the mushrooms have finished baking, puree half of them with the remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth. Chop the remaining mushrooms into small pieces and add them, along with the mushroom puree to the pot. Return pot to heat and simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Ladle into serving bowls/cups and garnish with a light sprinkle of chopped parsley.

 

 

BAKED RED POTATOES WITH ROASTED GARLIC SAUCE

Although I have served my husband quite a few potato dishes over the years, and you should know potatoes are not really his favorite starch, he seems to actually enjoy them when they are fixed this way. I found this recipe in my current favorite food magazine – Cooking Light. And while I am on the subject of food magazines, I might as well tell you how I feel about most of them. Although there is still something wonderfully cozy about sitting down with a nice cup of coffee and reading the latest issues of my favorite magazines, Cooking Light is the only magazine I am currently receiving. I used to subscribe to several cooking magazines that I’m sure if I were to name them, you would know them well. But a few years ago I realized that I really didn’t care if there was a particularly amazing new restaurant in Phoenix that served Cuban food. Or a fabulous new way of combining radicchio and peanut butter. All I truly wanted from my favorite magazines were great recipes for fantastic dishes that I could prepare at home with confidence. For a couple of years before I actually got up the nerve to cancel several of my decades long subscriptions (we had been partners in the kitchen for so long, it was like getting a divorce), I was truly beginning to wonder if any of the magazine staff had actually prepared or tasted the recipes they were publishing! The ingredient lists were beginning to look so outrageous, I seriously had my doubts. Plus I was beginning to question who the editors and writers considered to be their reader base? Certainly their offerings were no longer directed toward an audience filled with the likes of me! I simply was not sophisticated enough nor was my palate refined enough to adequately appreciate the recipes these publications now had to offer. It took me awhile, but I finally came to the conclusion that I was better off reading informative blogs and getting ideas and down to earth recipes off the Internet. But enough diatribe about the current state of most cooking magazines (as I see it) and back to these potatoes. (When I get started, sometimes I just can’t stop until I tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how I feel on a given subject! Sorry about that!) So knowing that I can get terribly passionate about a subject, I’m going to tell you that these potatoes are absolutely marvelous. The roasted garlic sauce simply lifts the humble potato from ordinary to extraordinary. Thanks again Cooking Light.

  • 8 medium sized red potatoes, wash, dried, and cut in quarters
  • 4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 3 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T. minced fresh chives, or 1 T. dried
  • 1 T. white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Place the quartered potatoes on a rimmed baking dish just large enough that the potato pieces don’t touch. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves, 2 tsp. of the olive oil, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and tender. Stir the potatoes once during the baking time. Remove from the oven and prepare the sauce. Squeeze garlic cloves (be careful they are hot!) to extract pulp into a small bowl and mush with a fork. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, a little pepper, chives, vinegar, and mustard; whisk until well blended. Pour over the how potatoes, toss to coat, and serve immediately.

 

BREAD PUDDING WITH SPICED RUM SAUCE

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There are few desserts as delicious as bread pudding. But it has to be good bread pudding. For decades I shied away from this incredible dessert because of my grandmother. Please allow me to explain. I think I’ve already told you that both my mother and maternal grandmother were not good cooks. My grandmother however, was excellent at homemade bread and pies. So you would think, since bread pudding is made from bread, she should have been able to make at least a passable bread pudding. Absolutely not the case. And since I never watched her put one together, I actually don’t know how hers was prepared. (Even from the ripe old age of 4 or so, I knew instinctively when to say no thank you to food that I had once tasted and knew was of poor quality. Why then would I even want to know how it was prepared? I was no dummy, even as a kid!) But, to the best of my recollection, grandma’s bread pudding starred plain old bread, soaked in a combination of milk, eggs, and a pinch of cinnamon and liberally laced with raisins. Now I like raisins, but not when they are burnt. And that was my grandmother’s forte. She could burn a raisin better than anyone I have ever known. And even if there had been some kind of warm sauce to serve with the pudding, it sure as heck didn’t contain liquor. (Not that I would have even known about cooking with liquor when I was a child. My parents weren’t teetotalers, but by any stretch of the imagination, they weren’t drinkers either. So spring forward several decades to when I left my bad memories behind and became a true devotee of bread saturated with milk, cream, and eggs and studded with little golden jewels of flavor. New Orleans. Marti Gras. Good friends (Dick, Eloise, son John and daughter-in-law Carol), fun parades, great music, and amazing food. So you know the old saying, when in Rome, well when in New Orleans you eat anything placed in front of you because it is bound to be delicious. So in order not to appear a prig (yes, I spelled it right) I went along with the crowd and ordered bread pudding for dessert one evening. Any resemblance to what I had experienced as a child was merely coincidental!  I had discovered heaven in a bowl. As soon as we got home after our 10 day adventure in Louisiana, I went to work finding the perfect recipe for bread pudding. I finally ended up with the recipe below, an amalgam of several recipes I found in cookbooks. I hope you enjoy this lovely dessert as much as we do. This bread pudding has actually made believers of others like me who, until they tried really good bread pudding, just couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. But I get it now. This recipe could make a bread pudding believer out of you too. Give it a try.

Bread Pudding Ingredients:

  • ¼ c. spiced rum
  • 1 c. golden raisins
  • 8 lg. eggs, room temperature
  • 3 ½ c. whole milk
  • 1 ½ c. heavy cream
  • 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 (1-lb.) loaf Challah or other dense egg bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

Spiced Rum Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 c. packed brown sugar
  • ½ c. butter
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • 2 T. spiced rum
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon

Whipped Cream Topping Ingredients:

  • 1 c. heavy cream
  • 2 T. powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. spiced rum

Bread Pudding: Combine spiced rum and golden raisins in a small heavy pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until all liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and cool. Meanwhile combine eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Gently stir in bread cubes and cooled raisins. Pour mixture into a buttered 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Bake uncovered in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 75 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. (Watch carefully the last 30 minutes or so. If the pudding starts to get too brown before it is set, gently tent with aluminum foil.) Serve warm with Spiced Rum Sauce and a dollop of Whipped Cream Topping.

Spiced Rum Sauce: Combine brown sugar and butter in a medium sized heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until butter completely melted and mixture is smooth. Add heavy cream, spiced rum, and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until mixture thickens and is reduced to about 1 ½ cups. Serve warm over pudding. Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring to a simmer again before serving.

Whipped Cream Topping:  Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks; add powdered sugar and spiced rum. Serve dolloped over top of Spiced Rum Sauce.

 

CHALLAH

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You might be wondering why I am including a recipe for a type of bread that few people besides the Jewish faithful eat routinely. (Challah is a yeast-risen egg bread that is traditionally eaten by Jewish people on Shabbat (Friday – the Jewish day of rest), on ceremonial occasions and during festival holidays.) Well my dear readers, I am including this recipe for two very good reasons. 1) Challah (pronounced correctly sounds like a soft “k” before halla.) is lovely. Like Brioche, Challah is slightly sweet and quite rich from both eggs and fat. Where Brioche uses butter instead of oil, and more of it, Challah uses more eggs. Both are quite decadent and absolutely delicious. 2) The second reason I decided to include this recipe is because I am going to post my Bread Pudding with Spiced Rum Sauce recipe next.  And my bread pudding uses cubed Challah. So I wanted you to know how easy and affordable it is to build before I posted the bread pudding recipe. (Also, Challah can be a little spendy to purchase, not to mention difficult to find.) Remember, I am on your side. If I can help you cut cost while you prepare delicious food at home, I feel I will have justly deserved the very large income I receive for writing this blog!

  • 1 pkg. dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
  • 3 ¾ c. bread flour, divided
  • ¾ c. warm water
  • 3 lg. eggs, room temperature, divided
  • ½ c. vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • poppy or sesame seeds, opt.

Combine the yeast, 3/4 cup of the bread flour, and the warm water in a large mixing bowl. (I use the bowl of my Kitchen aid mixer.) Let the yeast slurry stand uncovered for 10-20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly. Add 2 eggs, oil, salt, and sugar into the puffed yeast slurry and beat until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add the remaining 3 cups flour all at once. Knead the dough until smooth and soft. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. (The dough can be refrigerated before it has been allowed to rise, but it will take an additional 30 to 60 minutes to rise after you take it out of the refrigerator.) After the dough has doubled, punch it down and divide into 2 pieces. Shape into 2 elongated loaves and place on a lightly buttered baking sheet or parchment paper. (Alternatively, the dough can be divided into three-six  equal balls, rolled into skinny strands, and braided for a more traditional appearance.) Beat the remaining egg with a few drops of water and brush the loaves/loaf. Allow the loaves/loaf to rise until doubled. Brush again with any remaining egg wash. Unless you are using the Challah for bread pudding or French toast, sprinkle the braided loaf with seeds before baking in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until the loaves/loaf sound hollow when gently tapped. If the Challah is browning too fast, gently tent with aluminum foil. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Note: Challah bread makes incredible French toast. Just dip thick slices of bread in a mixture of eggs, milk, a wee drop of vanilla, and a dash of cinnamon; fry in butter. Serve with warm maple or fruit syrup topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

 

PEACH KUCHEN

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There are few recipes with which I can impress people regarding my ultimate command of all things gluten as much as when I serve these amazing bar cookies/dessert. I really should not be sharing this recipe with you because my expertise in the kitchen is going to suffer a mighty hit when you realize how easy Peach Kuchen is to prepare. But because I hold you in such high regard and want you also to be known as kitchen geniuses, I am going to make the supreme sacrifice. (Nobility obviously runs in my family. It runs alright, as fast and as far away as possible!) But back to the recipe. I found this recipe probably 25 years ago, and as with many of the recipes I am going to share with you, couldn’t name the author even if someone threatened to take away my KitchenAid mixer! So for what it’s worth, take my advice and prepare Peach Kuchen next time you need a quick and easy cookie/dessert. You are simply not going to believe how good these few pantry and refrigerator staples can taste when combined for this dessert. And yes, of course, butter, eggs, and sour cream are staples in my home! If I even run low on butter and sour cream, I break out in hives. As far as white cake mix, coconut, and sliced peaches, they too are standard ingredients I always try to have on hand. (And no, I don’t break out in hives if a white cake mix doesn’t happen to be in residence in my pantry. I lose sleep of course until I can get to the store and purchase one, but I don’t break out in hives. That would be ridiculous!)

  • ¾ c. cold butter
  • 1 box white cake mix
  • ½ c. coconut
  • 1 can (29-oz.) sliced peaches
  • 1 T. cinnamon (yes, 1 tablespoon!)
  • ½ c. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c. sour cream

Cut butter into cake mix until crumbly. Add coconut. Pat mixture into an ungreased 12×17-inch medium sized jelly roll pan (a 10×16-inch pan can be used in a pinch if you don’t own a 12×17); bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Meanwhile, drain the peaches and chop into pea sized pieces. When crust is cool, arrange peach pieces evenly over the surface. Mix cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle evenly over the peaches. Combine egg and sour cream and slather evenly over the top of the cinnamon and sugar. Bake another 25 minutes or until sour cream mixture is set. (Thin cracks will start to appear on the surface when the sour cream is set.)  Cool and cut into small squares.

Note: I have never served this cookie/dessert without someone asking me for the recipe. These are simply heaven on earth good.

 

 

PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED PORK TENDERLOIN

It isn’t very often that I get to prepare a braised meat dish where the first step isn’t to dredge the meat in seasoned flour and fry said meat until brown all over in hot vegetable or olive oil. Or pat the meat all over until it is very dry, season it with salt and pepper and fry it in a small amount of oil or butter over fairly high heat. So when I find a recipe for braised meat without this step, I am naturally suspicious! After all, how in the name of all things caramelized or browned is my meat going to have any taste? Then of course, what about the sauce? How is my sauce going to have any depth of flavor without all those wonderful little browned bits in the bottom of the pan? (And really, isn’t a braised meat recipe all about the sauce?) Well fret not. This recipe is living (well not really living anymore) proof that browning and caramelizing meat is not the only way to assure extraordinary flavor in braised dishes. I can’t truly begin to describe how tender and flavorful pork is when it has been prepared this way. And the sauce, oh, it is truly out of this world. So next time you want an easy recipe for pork tenderloin that does not require marinating the meat for hours or browning it before adding the other ingredients, give this dish a try. It is quick and easy enough to prepare even on a weeknight. I know that for a fact. (I wasn’t always a retired lady of leisure you know. I too know what it is like to come home from a long day of work to a cold empty kitchen and a hungry family.) I wish I had some words of wisdom to offer you at this point which would miraculously make your life easier when it came to fixing supper after a long day. But unfortunately I paid good money to have my memories of the first hour at home after work blocked, so you will just have to figure it out for yourself. However, I have retained a couple of little hints that I can share with you. Make your dinners fairly simple, packed full of good nutrition and made with love. Love is actually the best ingredient you can ever add to any dish.

  • 1 T. Dijon mustard
  • ¾ tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pork tenderloin
  • 6-8 slices prosciutto
  • 1 T. vegetable oil
  • ¾ c. dry Riesling
  • ½ c. half & half
  • 2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combine mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Remove all silver skin, connective tissue, and fat from tenderloins. Dry completely with paper towels. Lay 3-4 pieces of prosciutto next to each other (long sides together) on a flat surface. Slather about a fourth of the mustard mixture on one side of a pork tenderloin. Place it mustard side down on the prosciutto. Slather another fourth of the mustard on the top and wrap the prosciutto around the pork. Repeat the process with the second tenderloin. Pour the vegetable oil in an oven proof baking pan (about the right size for the two tenderloins) and lay the tenderloins, seam side down in the pan. Pour the wine over the meat and bake uncovered in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees (35-45 minutes). Remove meat from pan and cover with aluminum foil for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile add half & half to remaining meat juices and simmer while meat is resting. The sauce should thicken a bit as it is simmering, so watch carefully. After the meat has rested, slice to desired thickness and place on serving platter. Spoon sauce on meat and sprinkle with parsley. Hint: An electric knife works best when slicing the tenderloins.

Side Dish Suggestions:  baked sweet potatoes and a green veggie or green salad

Wine Pairing: chilled Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc