Ham, Cheddar And Herb Scones

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Janet

I’m feeding my inner Brit today…and my inner Scot… and my inner whatever other ethnicity likes scones. The thing is, in real life, I have not a drop of Brit or Scot in me as far as I know. Lots of German, some French, a touch or two of Irish (I think it’s the good at bull**** part of me), some Native American and some African American. I am the quintessential mutt.

I like pretending I’m Scottish though. There is little more fun than going into a store and loudly talking in a Scottish accent. People gawk big time. One would think they had never seen a Scot walking around Wal-mart before. Ok, so maybe they haven’t. An Indian accent is fun too since I’m light haired and extremely light skinned and don’t fit the genetic mold of what one would expect from a person speaking with a thick Indian accent.

Most fun however is Russian. My husband is fluent or close to it in a few languages and we have a habit of going shopping and somewhere, ineveitably, he will begin speaking Russian, usually very loudly and usually pretending to be irate over something silly done by Americans.

I, not knowing a lick of Russian, end up as his straight man, using a thick Russian accent to tell him that he is in America now and to speak English and not act like he just came over from the old country. We are American now and he needs to speak the language! Again, the looks are priceless hehehe.

We don’t have very exciting lives.

And I am fairly sure we need to be institutionalized

But before that happens, I want to share this scone recipe (do you say scone rhyming with cones or scones rhyming with cons? I’m a cones person myself) with you. As much as I love sweet scones, savory ones have a larger portion of my heart ~~and my waistline~~. This one is chock full of cheddar cheese, diced ham, some garlic, some green onions and some dried dill. These smell amazing as they cook and they taste even better than they smell. There is nothing like a fresh, warm scone drowning in butter… unless it’s a fresh warm scone drowning in butter, served with a cup of tea. My idea of Heaven involves both those things. It also involves ice cream, whipped cream and Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris hand feeding me peeled grapes but that’s another story.

Ham, Cheddar And Herb Scones

3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup diced ham
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese plus more for sprinkling on top
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Grease the bottom of a nine or ten inch round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350.
Stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, dill weed and garlic powder.
Make a well in the center and pour in the ham, cheddar cheese and green onions. Mix lightly.
Pour in the cream and using a wooden spoon, stir the dough just until evenly moistened and you have no dry flour left in the bottom of the bowl.
Pat the dough down evenly into the prepared cake pan.
Score them almost all the way through into 8 to ten wedges
Bake at 350 degrees until the top is a nice golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean. When done, turn the oven off and sprinkle a little bit (or a lot) more cheese on the top of the scones. Put back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.
Turn out of pan onto a wire rack and let cool at least ten minutes before cutting. Cut the scones into wedges using the score marks as your guide.
Serve warm with butter. These can be reheated by nuking for about 20 seconds.

Caramel Apple Snack Cake

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Janet

…Or dessert cake, or breakfast cake, or eat this when the kids aren’t looking cake, or late night snack cake or..well, you get the idea. I mean it has apples in it so it can be for ANY meal, right? So what if the apples are really a can of pie filling and they are surrounded by ooey gooey bits of caramel!

I know I’ve mentioned before that I have never been one to cook by the seasons. If I want Pumpkin Bread in July, I’m having pumpkin bread. If I want to grill out in January, I grill out. Hey, I never claimed sanity. So when I decided to make something appley (what? Appley is a word… honest it is!) for my husband because he loves apple desserts, I didn’t give a darn that according to blogger standards, the time for apple desserts is in the Autumn. I’m a rebel! A rebel I say!!! Or something like that.

Right away, I knew what I wanted to do. I have a recipe from Food.com that I use often for Chocolate Covered Cherry bars that my husband loves. So I played around with it and changed it to apple. I then added a healthy ~~disgustingly large~~ dose of caramel and a bag of cinnamon chips. I have to admit, this is really good. Not fancy by any means but so darn yummy! It’s moist, filled with apples and caramel and cinnamon chips. The edges are slightly crispy and sticky from the caramel and you never get the same bite twice. this one has apples, this one caramel, this one both and so on. This is a great family dessert and one I know I’ll be making again…probably tomorrow 😀

Caramel Apple Snack Cake

3/4 cups butter, room temp
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 can apple pie filling
1 bag cinnamon chips
1 bag caramels, cut into quarters

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and then line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper well.
In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs. beat well
Combine the flour & baking soda in a small bowl. Combine with the butter mixture.
Fold in the apple pie filling, cinnamon chips and caramel pieces.
Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for about 35 to 40 minutes or until top is nicely golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
This is good warm, served with ice cream or room temp..or cold..or frozen stiff..or boiling hot..or…or..or..

Homey? Decadent? Homey? Decadent?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Janet

Maple Buttermilk Pudding Cake

Usually those two words don’t go together. You have your decadent foods, which can be tasty and other times can be what some restaurants consider tasty but is actuality just snobby and the only thing decadent is the price. There are the truly decadent foods however that deserve the title and the love they get. Think Creme Brulee, Lobster and drawn butter, a thick porterhouse steak (ribeye in my case… would be on the menu for my last meal along with roasted brussel sprouts and seasoned potato wedges) All of those qualify as decadent in their way.

Then you have your homey comfort foods; the casseroles made with cream of emu soup that your mother made, the mac and cheese made with 14 pounds of velveeta and not a drop of real cheese in sight, the pot roast that your family had every Sunday, the fried chicken that gramma made that you still can’t seem to duplicate no matter how many times you try. All oh so bad for you, half the time made with more sodium and fat than you need in a week, but sooo tasty, so comforting and simply reeking of hominess.

So I’m not sure what to call the dessert I made today. The same dessert btw, that I ate an entire serving of after photographing and that has made me now have absolutely no interest in eating dinner. Ummm…oops? Moving on though… I’m not sure what heading this one qualifies for. It’s a pudding cake, which is the very definition of a homey dessert. Yet it uses a butt ton of real maple syrup, which is decadent both in taste and price. And the flavor is both homey and comforting at the same time that it is rich and decadent.

I’m so confused!!! My taste buds don’t know what to think!!

So I’m just gonna give you the recipe and let you decide. But be warned. This is one awesome dessert. I know, I know, all us bloggers say that. But this really is. I told my husband that this is now going on my list of favorite desserts. It is very rich… I mean, the bottom of this is literally just maple syrup and butter. And pretty? No; not so much. But there is something downright decadent AND homey about it and that’s not a mix you come across often with foods. The edges get all cripsy with caramelized syrup and the bottom is almost like a pancake drenched in syrup while the top is a light cake. I will be making this again…and again…and again.

This recipe originally came from Food and Wine. I barely changed it but did make a couple of very small alterations.

Maple Buttermilk Pudding Cake

1 1/3 cups maple syrup (the real stuff, not Mrs. Butterworths and preferably Grade B as it’s darker and more mapley <yes, mapley is now a word; I said so.> )
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and 8×8 pan then line it with parchment paper, then butter again.
In a medium saucepan, boil the syrup until it is reduced down to about a cup. And no, you can’t just start with a cup of syrup and skip the reducing. You get a more condensed flavor plus, when making pudding cakes, the textural differences are helped by having a hot layer mixed with a cold layer. When reduced, whisk in the 3 tablespoons butter and pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
In ANOTHER (I know, I know but it’s worth the dishwashing later) bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, buttermilk and vanilla.
In another bowl (shush… just go get a bowl) beat the 1/2 cup butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy.
At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with the liquid in two batches.
Dollop spoonfuls of the batter over the syrup. bake the pudding for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown with syrup all bubbly at the sides and a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let stand for a few minutes before serving then scoop portions into a bowl and serve with a puddle of heavy cream or some creme fraiche.

Too Much Chocolate? You’re Kidding, Right?

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Janet

Fudge truffle Pie With Mascarpone Cream

Is there such a thing as too much chocolate? My husband has joked (ok, half joked) that it’s different for a man, that women are hormonally wired to want chocolate more than males do. I’m not sure that’s true, no matter how many jokes/pins/whatever there are combining women, PMS and chocolate. But I think of it this way. If HE thinks that women have this strange NEED for chocolate, who am I to argue? With that mindset,a ll he does is roll his eyes as I grab the Reeses Cup package from the check out lane or smiles when I talk about how he just must, absolutely must, get me some Fanny May chocolates. I mean… I NEED them, right? Why fight that line of thought? Heh.

This recipe however, come perilously close to too much. When you make it (and you must make it. If you’re female, tell anyone who asks that my husband, who is a medical professional, says that you need this pie. If you’re male, say you’re making it for your wife or sister or mother. Then eat it all yourself.

This pie is like a truffle in a crust. It’s rich, thick, smooth, supremely chocolatey and any other adjectives one can think of that mean “OMG, hand over this pie now and no one will get hurt!”. The mascarpone cream I added to it just adds to the decadence. Yet at the same time it cuts the richness a bit making it easier to fit in 4 or 5 more bites of pie. See? I’m always thinking of your needs here. I’m a pal that way.

No matter how much you love chocolate though, I suggest small slices. This pie can easily serve 12 people. Not to mention, I would guesstimate that a small slice of this has about 12,000 calories. Add some of the Mascarpone Cream and you’ve upped it to about 15,000 calories, give or take a thousand 😀

Fudge Truffle Pie With Mascarpone Cream Topping

6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole (or 2%) milk
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
4 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract
1 large premade graham cracker crust (feel free to use a deep dish pastry crust, but plan on leftover filling, which you can then eat warm with a spoon; not a bad predicament to be in)
Mascarpone Cream-
8 ounces mascarpone
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Separate your eggs, putting the whites into a sealable container in the fridge. Save them for meringue cookies or a couple of egg white omelets. After eating this pie, you’ll want to watch your calories for a bit anyway hehe.
Place the yolks in a small bowl or measuring cup. Beat lightly then set aside.
For the filling, in a large nonstick pot, combine the sugar and the cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk, then stir in the chocolate.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until it is thick and bubbly. At first it will look like the chocolate just isn’t melting into it but keep going; it all comes together. Just don’t stop stirring or it will stick and burn and burned pudding smells and tastes disgusting and it makes baby kittens whimper..
When it thickens, reduce the heat and cook for a couple of minutes more.
Gradually stir about a cup of the filling mixture into the egg yolks, stirring the whole time you’re combining them. You have to temper your yolks. If you just dump them into the hot mixture, you’ll have chocolate filling with scrambled eggs mixed in. Yum??
Stir the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for another 2 minutes, again stirring constantly.
Take off the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Pour the filling into the crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 4 hours.
About ten minutes (or up to a day; no more though) before you’re ready to serve, make your topping.
In a medium bowl, whip the mascarpone until light. Pour in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy and combined. Fold in the sour cream with a rubber spatula. Add in the heavy cream and beat at low speed until the mixture is light, fluffy and looks like a soft custard. If not using right away, eat a spoonful ~~or six~~ then put in a covered bowl in the fridge.
When ready to serve, cut the pie (this slices quite nicely. It’s a firm filling) into small slices and serve either with a dollop of topping on each slice or with the topping in a bowl so everyone can put on how much they’d like.

What I REALLY Think Of Valentines Day

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Janet

Brandied Cherry, Toasted Coconut & Dark Chocolate Brownies

I’m not a big Valentines Day person. Don’t get me wrong… I enjoy any holiday where you can go to the store and see an aisle set up just for special candy. What’s not to like? But otherwise? Not so much. I think it’s a day where a lot of men (and women somewhat) feel pressured to “be romantic”, “make this a day she’ll never forget”, “buy this, spend more, get diamonds, MAKE HER LOVE YOU!!!!”. And then what happens? You go out, you wait in an outrageously long line for an hour to get a dinner that was haphazardly prepared and served because 99% of restaurant staff absolutely hates working on Valentines Day. Trust me.. they do. By the end of the evening, you’re tired, you’re frustrated and you’re feeling anything but loving towards ANYONE. You get flowers and candy from a man who felt like crap cause he forgot what day it was (“Hello… February 14th, dude… that day meant for lovers world wide to suck up to atone for their sins the other 364 days of the year. Now go buy some dying roses at the grocery store!” hehe) and three days later you have dead flowers and an increasing waistline.

Yeah, yeah, I know. “Cynical much, Janet?” And honestly, it’s not that really. I am a sappy fool. I just don’t want to be EXPECTED to be sappy. Nor do I expect my husband to be sappy because someone, somewhere decided that it was a good day for it. Nope; ain’t happ’nin. So how am I sappy? How is my husband sappy?

I make his coffee at night so all he has to do in the morning when he’s half asleep is press a button. I make baked goods that I know he likes, even if I don’t like them. I give him my last chicken McNugget even though I’m still hungry. I kiss him when he has morning breath. I cuddle at night when sometimes what I really want to do is roll over and read a book, I watch Holmes on Homes when I’d prefer to watch an old episode of Roseanne.

Him? He makes me tea every single morning. Tonight, he is making me grilled cheese and tomato soup because my mouth still hurts from dental surgery. He doesn’t gripe at me when I spend too much at Trader Joes. He rubs my back when it hurts and doesn’t expect it to be anything but a back rub. He gets up with our son (his stepson really; mine biologically) at 6:30 every school day so that I can sleep because I don’t sleep well. He supports, financially and otherwise, my two teen boys even though it’s not his job. he loves my kids as his own to the point that he is not bitching about my daughter and her kids moving back in for 6 months while her husband is in Boot Camp. He was there to hold my hand and help me walk down the stairs when I had my stroke and he still does that when I’m having a bad day physically.

These are my Valentines Day Gifts. I get them every day of the year. I don’t need the calendar and some cheap flowers bought on the fly to know that he loves me. He doesn’t need me in a slinky nighty with a rose between my teeth (though I’m sure he wouldn’t argue) willing to try every position in the Kama Sutra for him to know I love him. We do our damndest to prove it to each other each and every day, in small ways and in big. We talk out our problems, we hold hands in public, we make love when we’d rather sleep, we sleep when we’d rather make love. We share, we love, we STAY… even when it’s not easy. Not just on February 14th.

This recipe makes a large 13×9 pan. Feel free to cut it in half and do it in an 8×8 pan if you’d like. Also, unless you make the glaze alcohol free, this is NOT kid friendly.

Brandied Cherry & Toasted Coconut Dark Chocolate Brownies

6 ounces dried tart cherries
1/4 cup brandy (can sub 1/4 cup juice and 1/2 teaspoon brandy flavoring)
1 1/2 cups dried coconut flakes (sweetened or not; your choice. I used unsweetened)
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 stick (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
2 teaspoons dry instant coffee (optional- helps deepen the chocolate flavor but don’t run out and buy it if you’ll never use it again)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped good quality dark chocolate (I used a Trader Joes Dark Chocolate bar, chopped)
GLAZE-
Reserved brandy from the cherries
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil and then line a 13×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray Sprinkle your coconut in another baking pan and toast at 350 until lightly browned. Don’t forget it in the oven and make charcoal. Don’t ask me why I advise this….ahem.
Meanwhile, put your brandy and cherries in a shallow bowl. Stir to mix and then let sit while you make the brownies.
Melt the unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave, using 45 second increments and watching carefully. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add the extracts, coffee is using and again mix well.
Beat in the melted chocolate.
In a large bowl, mix your flour, salt, baking soda and coconut. Drain your cherries, reserving he liquid to use in the glaze.
Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Mix just until combined then fold in the chocolate and drained cherries.
Spread mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 until a skewer or toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean, with maybe a few moist crumbs on it.
Let cool in pan on rack until cool. For glaze- mix powdered sugar with the reserved brandy (that has now been wonderfully flavored with cherries). If desired, add a bit of red gel food coloring to make this pink…pink is always good. Drizzle glaze over cooled brownies 😀 Lift brownies out by the parchment paper then cut into SMALL pieces. Trust me; these are rich.

(Mine and my husbands song)

The Most Important Meal Of The Day

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Janet

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

I always thought that was either dessert or cocktail time, but according to those in the know (who btw are the same ones we refer to when we say “they say”. Who ARE “they” anyway?! Should I be frightened? Wearing a tin foil hat? Anticipating uncomfortable probes and personal questions about my junk food habits?)

Sorry… had a “Ooo, shiny thing” moment there. Erhmmm, where was I? Oh yeah. According to those in the know, dessert really isn’t the most important meal of the day. Would you believe it’s not even considered a MEAL!? Obviously, “they” have never been in a room full of food bloggers. Supposedly, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Fuels you for the rest of the day, stops you from eating too much later, blah blah blah. I still want chocolate cake. I don’t LIKE breakfast. When I get up, I just want a cup of strong tea and Pachebels Canon In D to wake me up soothingly. Otherwise, it’s not pretty.

I DO however like breakfast for dinner. Back in the day, when I was a waitress at Shoneys (many many moons ago) I used to love their breakfast buffet. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 10pm, down went the salad bar and up went the breakfast bar. Sausage, eggs, bacon, pancakes, those sliced strawberries in that neon red probably carcinogenic glaze…ahhh, fatty heaven on a plate.

So every once in a great while, I make my family Breakfast For Dinner (yes, you must capitalize those words. It’s the law. THAT’S how big a deal it is). It involves copious amounts of greasy meat, enough syrup to put an elephant into a diabetic coma, eggs, biscuits and pancakes. Gotta. Have.Pancakes. Also the law. Honest.

But today I didn’t want regular pancakes. So I looked around and found one for Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes in my King Arthur Whole grains Cookbook. But… it required whole wheat pastry flour. Not something I keep around and not something I was willing to buy just for this. So I looked around online and what I have here is an amalgamation of about 3 recipes. These are light and fluffy but with a slightly different texture due to the cornmeal and also with a nice blueberry tang as well as a touch of zip from the lemon zest. Add in a touch of cinnamon and some vanilla and the result was some darn yummy pancakes. So g’wan… get out the syrup.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal (NOT cornmeal mix, just plain cornmeal)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
3 eggs, separated
zest from one lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less to taste)
2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 6 ounce container fresh blueberries, rinsed and gently patted dry

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
Beat the egg yolks until well mixed then add the buttermilk to them. Add the melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.
Beat the egg whites until stiff then fold into the flour mixture.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Cook the pancakes until they are golden brown on both sides on a hot griddle that you ~~liberally~~ greased with butter.

Playing Favorites

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Janet

Almond Pecan Praline Bread

You know how your parents always said that they didn’t have any favorites among their kids and they loved you all equally? They lied. We ALL play favorites. Not intentionally, not maliciously, but we do it anyway. It’s human nature. With people (your kids or whoever), you can love them all just as MUCH, but there are always people you click with differently..better..on a deeper level somehow. That’s the same reason you end up with a spouse or partner. You…just…click.

It’s no different with foods. Everyone has favorites. Foods or flavors that just click with you. Most of us (the normal ones anyway) love chocolate and will use any excuse to eat it. Others love vanilla anything. Put something with lemon or other citrus in front of yet another person and they will devour it. What’s one of mine? Other than all of the above lol?

Almond. Not so much the actual nut To me, they tend to be rather flavorless and I don’t like the texture, though slivered or sliced and toasted is a whole different story. but no, I mean things flavored with almonds. be it almond extract, almond paste, almond filling, marzipan, whatever, I absolutely love anything with almond flavoring. And I add it to as many things as I can think of that it will go with.

One of almonds favorite places to call home is ~~in my stomach~~ in baked goods. Cookies, yeast breads, coffee cakes, muffins and on and on. It’s yummy in all of them. My favorite way is in a quick bread. We love quick breads here anyway (keep my husband away from my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or nobody else will get any.) so making one with almond flavoring in it was a natural for me. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone and added some praline pecans to this one.

This is just a basic quick bread. The fun comes from the almond flavoring and the pecans. They totally make this bread. Spread this bread, still slightly warm from the oven, with raspberry, cherry or apricot jam and you will be in heaven. Those fruits are so complementary to almond. This is great for dessert, breakfast, a snack or just cause you’re darn cute and deserve a slice ~~or twelve~~.

Almond Pecan Praline Bread With An Almond Glaze

3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 14 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable (or canola) oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ounces praline pecans
GLAZE-
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons milk (more or less as needed to make drizzling consistency)

Grease and flour 5 mini loaf pans. You can also use cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients, except for the pecans
In another bowl or a large measuring cup, combine your wet ingredients.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and dump in the wet ones.
Mix JUST until combined. As I’ve said before, don’t overbeat quick breads and muffins. You will end up with tough tunneled bread.
Fold in the pecans, then spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake at 350 until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Let cool in pans on wire rack for about ten minutes if you plan on then turning them out or just leave them in the pan on the rack until completely cool if giving them away… though I’m not sure why you’d do that.
To make the glaze, just combine everything in a small bowl. Drizzle it over the cooled breads.
Eat. Say Yum!