From a Vintage Christmas :: Noel Fruit Bars

These entirely vintage bars are cake-y and light.  Studded with candied cherries and citron, they taste a little elegant and a lot delicious.  Smear the top with frosting for a decadent (and delicious) treat!

Noel Fruit Bars

2 eggs

1 cup sifted confectioners sugar

¼ cup melted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup candied cherries, chopped + ½ cup unchopped

½ cup candied citron, chopped

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Blend together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl – set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla.  Slowly add flour to stand mixer, mixing until just combined.  With a wooden spoon, mix in fruits and nuts.  Spread batter into a greased 9x9 pan and bake 30-35 minutes.  Remove from pan and cut while still warm. 

Let cool before dotting the top of each bar with frosting and a half of a candied cherry.

Frosting

½ cup softened butter

3 cups confectioners sugar

Whip together butter and one cup of sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer.  Continue adding sugar until frosting becomes light and fluffy.

Inspired by Better Homes and Garden’s Entertaining at Home 1969

Halloween Candy Solution #2 :: Rice Krispie Chocolate Treats

More "extra" candy?   The chocolate variety?  Dump that business into a batch of rice krispie treats.  I have found there are some chocolate candies that just don't get eaten on their own - the "Cookies and Cream Hersey Bars" to be exact.  But those are awesome in these treats.  As are really anything with a chocolate coating.  Don't try to get exotic with taffy or fruit flavors.  It's not good.

:: Ratio ::
6 cups rice krispies
40 regular sized marshmallows
2 cups chopped up candy (maximum - you can use less)
4 tablespoons butter

:: Instructions ::
Melt together butter and marshmallows over medium heat.  When fully melted, remove from heat and stir in rice krispies.  When cereal is mostly coated, add candy and stir quickly.  Spread into a buttered 8x8 pan and let cool at least an hour.  Cut and eat.

Halloween Candy Solution #1 :: Lemon Head Vodka

I don't know about you, but the term "extra candy" is a lot like the term "extra money."  It just can't be done.  We never end up with "extra" but we always end up with lots.  I have some solutions for using up that "extra" candy in some fun ways.

Lemon Heads are a fabulous way to create quick and dirty Lemon Drop Martinis.  Simply dump the candy in vodka and shake.  Let sit 24 hours then strain out candy.  Shake over ice or serve on ice with soda water.  Cheers!

:: Ratio ::
16 mini lemon head candies to one cup of vodka
4 regular sized candies to one cup of vodka

Pumpkin Popcorn Balls

Can you believe it's almost time for Halloween?  It's definitely time to start planning any Halloween parties and costumes. These popcorn balls are really easy to make and are perfect for class parties or for your own trick-or-treat snacks!

Pumpkin Popcorn Balls

½ cup unpopped popcorn

½ cup light corn syrup

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butterscotch chips

orange gel food coloring

butter

Air pop popcorn in an air popper or on the stove.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.  In a medium saucepan combine corn syrup and brown sugar over medium heat until mixture begins to boil.  Add several drops of food coloring until mixture looks dark orange (about 4 drops). 

Pour candy mixture over popcorn and sprinkle in butterscotch chips.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  Butter your hands and – working quickly – form popcorn into balls.  Place balls on a piece of waxed paper and let cool. 

To form stems, bake your favorite sugar cookie dough in a flat sheet.   Cut dough while still warm and form into stems. 

Cook it :: Granola Bars

Lars is allergic to nuts.  Which means we can't buy any granola bars that are sold on grocery shelves - not only because most of them contain nuts but the ones that don't have nuts in them are 'made in a factory with nuts.'  Granola bars are a healthy, simple way to bulk up any lunch, car snack, or handbag.  I packed these granola bars with me to New York.

It sounds challenging to say you "made your own granola bars."  But it isn't hard.  If you've made cookies of any kind {ever} then you are over-qualified to make these.

Granola Bars

Makes 8 bars

2 cups quick oats

1 cup rice krispie cereal

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup raisins

½ cup toasted coconut

3 tablespoons flax seed

¼ cup wheat germ

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of an 8x8 baking pan.  Cut parchment paper to fit inside with two ends hanging over. Set aside.

Mix all dry ingredients together with your hands until all brown sugar is broken up and mixture is well combined.  Add oil, honey, and vanilla and continue to combine gently with your hands until the entire mixture is moist. 

Press into prepared pan.  Use the bottom of a glass to ensure mixture is well packed in the baking dish. 

Bake 20-22 minutes until golden brown.  When done baking, remove immediately from the oven and let sit at room temperature 24 hours.  Remove from pan and cut with a sharp knife into 2” x 4” bars.  Wrap individual bars with wax paper and keep in an airtight container up to one week.

P.S. :: I'm working on a variation that is "tropical" with dried coconut, mango, and a lot more coconut!  Stay tuned!

Cook it :: Raspberry Upside-down Cake

After picking barrels and barrels of raspberries and blueberries last week I thought that an upside down cake featuring raspberries would be awesome.  Something like the skillet cake I made with loganberries, but fresher and lighter.  

It took a lot of rounds before we got there.  

{round 2 :: too cake-y + too many berries}
{round 3 :: way too gooey}


And finally, round 4 :: lovely

Raspberry Upside-down Cake

8 ounces raspberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter + additional for greasing the pan

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Generously grease the bottom of a nine inch round pan. Measure out raspberries in the pan and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together 1/2 cup butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour.  

Pour batter over berries and bake 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool then invert pan on a serving plate.  Slice and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Cook it :: Loganberry Skillet Cake

This past weekend there were fresh loganberries at the farmers market - so we came home with a half of a flat.  Loganberries are somewhat like a blackberry and they are quite tart.  Loganberries make an excellent jam because they remain a bit tart.  

As soon as we brought them home we began scheming ways to cook them up for dessert and I remembered the latest Everyday Food Magazine had a section on blackberries.  Since the berries are so similar, I knew the recipes would transfer over - especially in the skillet cake.  

When I make this cake again (and I will - it was delicious) I will use a smaller skillet and add more berries.  The recipe called for a 10" cast iron skillet.  I would use an 8" next time.  The recipe called for three cups of berries.  Next time, I'll use 4 or 4 1/2.  Because the berries cook on the bottom of the pan they don't impede the baking of the cake part.  And more berries is always better.

Click here for the recipe on Martha's site.

Goofing with {meat} Glue

Tune in this morning to Q13 Fox News to see Kaci and me messing around with meat glue.

Are you a little grossed out?  When Kaci first asked me if I would help her out with this segment I was pretty grossed out - and I thought 'chemicals have no place in the home kitchen.'  I dove head first into research so I would be able to speak about this knowledgeably.  I watched a ton of videos online of reporters who had no idea what they were doing talking to chefs who had never used the product.  It seemed extremely irresponsible.

I'll link the segment here when it's available online so you can watch it - but here's what I learned

- Transglutaminase is a naturally occurring enzyme.  Much like you would use pineapple to marinate meat in because the enzymes in pineapple breakdown meat, this enzyme joins together meat protein strands.

- Transglutaminase is not very accommodating to the home chef.  It should not be inhaled, it needs to be kept in a completely airtight container, for total 'adhesion' the meat should have all air sucked out - most homes don't have a vacuum sealer.

- Transglutaminase is being used by restaurants - mostly in benign ways.  Molecular Gastronomists like Wylie DuFresne and Nils Noren are using the product to create amazing dishes that would otherwise not be possible.  Many restaurants use the 'glue' to adhere bacon to the outside of a steak or to eliminate casing in sausage making

- The rumor that restaurants are using the 'glue' to turn scraps of meat into a full steak seems to be just that - a rumor.  For a restaurant to do that would be technically illegal, time consuming, and reputation ruining.  If you are eating at a restaurant where you think this would ever actually happen, get up immediately.  Leave the table.  If you aren't aware of where the restaurant is sourcing their meat, you should move on or eat the pasta.

I'll use this time to get on my locally raised, responsibly produced soapbox.  You can ask a restaurant where their meat came from - it should say on the menu.  Good restaurants will put the name of the supplier on the menu or put the meat "credentials" on the menu (organic, grass fed, etc.)  You should know what you are eating!  If you are eating at wd-50 or Alinea then you are pretty well aware that some unique cooking techniques and ingredients were used in cooking.  But they are all still top of the line.

Want to know more about transglutaminase?  Click here.  Or here.  You can order this for home cooking, and if you are an experimental cook who likes to play around in the kitchen, you will find this interesting.  Be sure you have plenty of time to dedicate to experimenting.

Cook it :: Magically Delicious Rice Krispie Treats

I'm really excited for St. Patrick's Day this year.  I don't know why.  I'm not Irish.  I don't look particularly good in green.  But I have so many ideas for this year!  And I still keep looking for more.  When I was on Pinterest yesterday I kept seeing Lucky Charms and I had an epiphany.  How cool would it be to put them in Rice Krispie Treats?  

A little experimenting revealed that we did not want Rice Krispie Treats made entirely with Lucky Charms cereal.  It's too clunky.  There's a reason you use Rice Krispies.  And the ratio of marshmallow bits to cereal needs a bit of adjustment to make these truly spectacular.  They are magically delicious.


(You have no idea how many times I said that while making them.  I made a four year old crazy.  Who knew that was possible??)

Magically Delicious Treats
40 standard marshmallows
1/4 cup butter
2 cups Lucky Charm cereal, marshmallows removed
4 cups Rice Krispie cereal
2 cups Lucky Charms marshmallows

In a large saucepan, melt marshmallows and butter together.  Stir often to prevent sticking or burning.  When melted add both cereals and stir to combine.  Add lucky marshmallows and incorporate quickly, stirring as little as possible.  They break easily.

Pour mixture into a buttered 9 x 9 inch pan and press into the corners.  Let rest 30 minutes to one hour. Slice into cubes.

Cook it :: Raw Brussel Sprout Salad

Today I am at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show at 3:45 on the DIY Stage.  I'd love to have you join me for a little cooking and a little crafting, if you're in the area.  It's going to be fun + you can buy my book AND have me sign it right there.  Could you ask for anything more??

What's that?  You could ask for more?  Well, then, here's a recipe from my seminar today.  My seminar is called "Plant Now, Eat Later."  I did the same topic last year and it was a huge hit.  This year I updated the ingredients to be really fun things to grow.  Have you ever grown Brussel Sprouts?  They are really pretty easy.  And by pretty easy I mean they were planted when I was six months pregnant and left virtually unattended (except for some minor weeding and thinning) until just recently when they were harvested.

I had heard you should not plant the seed in the ground directly - but at six months pregnant I didn't see myself transplanting them - ever - so I stuck those seeds straight in the ground and figured if they didn't come up it wasn't that big of a deal.

But they came up.  And they taste amazing.  And if you aren't a huge fan of them, I think this may change your mind.  The salad uses the sprouts raw which gives a really nice texture and spicy flavor to the salad.  It also eliminates any chance that you could over cook them and enter the dreaded mushy cabbage zone.

Ingredients

1 pound brussel sprouts

3 strips bacon

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 medium apple, sliced thin

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions & Notes

Cook bacon over low heat until crispy.  Remove from pan and set on paper towels to let cool.  Reserve bacon fat.

 

Thinly slice brussel sprouts in a food processor or very carefully by hand.  Transfer to a medium sized bowl and toss in apples.  Crumble bacon and add to bowl.  

 

In a mason jar (with a tight fitting lid) pour in apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons reserved bacon fat, mustard, and olive oil.  Shake vigorously until well combined.  Toss dressing over brussel sprout mix a little at a time until properly dressed.  You may have extra dressing.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cook it :: Slow Smoky Beef Tacos

I made these last week and they are awesome.  We're planning when we can make them again...  The secret is the can of El Pato.  We call it duck sauce because the English side of the can has a picture of a Mallard Duck.  We use it for all kinds of sauces but this may be the best use yet!

Slow Smoky Beef Tacos

1 7.75ounce can El Pato  Salsa de Chile Fresco
1/2 cup ketchup
8 whole cloves garlic
1 tablespoon oregano
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

corn tortillas
fresh chopped cilantro
sour cream
salsa
shredded cheese
guacamole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a heavy cast iron pot with ketchup, El Pato, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine all ingredients.  Chop meat into 8 even sized pieces and place in the pot.  Bring to a boil over medium heat rotating pieces of meat to coat completely in sauce.

Cover pot and place in preheated oven.  Bake 3 hours.

Remove from oven and shred beef with two forks.  Serve along side toppings and warmed tortillas.


Serves 4

Super Bowl :: What to eat

Can you believe the Super Bowl is right around the corner?  If I were throwing a party... here's what I would serve.  

 White Chicken Chili

Rainy Day Chili 

Start with Pizza Rolls - a crowd favorite for kids and adults.  They look fancy too!

End with Peanut Butter Bars - no bake!

What are you planning?  Are you planning something?  Even if you aren't into football, this is a great time to gather, drink a beer, and hang with your friends.  

Cook it :: Eggnog Ice Cream

Do you still have Eggnog in the fridge?  Are you looking to get rid of it?  Or are you still craving a little bit of the holidays and want something lovely and decadent to ring in 2012?  I made this just before Christmas and we took it to my in-laws for Christmas Eve dessert - it's really good.  And I'm not just saying that.  Really good.  If you're out of eggnog, go grab some before it's out of stores and make up a batch.

Eggnog Ice Cream
makes 2 pints


2 cups eggnog
1 1/2 cups cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon flake salt

In a small bowl whisk together egg yolks and salt and set aside.  In a 3 quart saucepan, combine eggnog, cream, sugar, nutmeg, and corn syrup.  Bring to a low boil and boil four minutes.  When milk mixture has boiled, scoop out 1/4 cup and whisk quickly into egg mixture.  Repeat with two more scoops of milk mixture until everything is hot.  Pour all remaining milk mixture into eggs and combine.

Place plastic wrap directly on top of the milk mixture and let cool.  Refrigerate at least one hour.  Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions (should take about 25 minutes).

Serve immediately or freeze and keep up to two weeks.