Monthly Archives: December 2011

MeatLoaf

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Food Stylist: Melinda Hutchison

http://melindahutchison.com/

If you’re looking for some comfort meaty craving, I say go for a classic recipe. It could be that antidote for the winter blues. Well, there is nothing like a meatloaf, lots of meat and left overs.  This recipe with the cider, prunes and Worcestershire sauce adds a hint of sweetness. Baking the meatloaf without a loaf pan gives you lots of browned crusts. I also like the rawness of mixing the meat together with your hands, truly hand-made.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium celery rib, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 pound bacon (about 4 slices), chopped
  • 1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
  • 1/2 pound ground pork (not lean)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • RECIPE
  • Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
  • Soak bread crumbs in milk in a large bowl. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low, then cook until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Add to bread-crumb mixture.
  • Finely chop bacon and prunes in a food processor, then add to onion mixture along with beef, pork, eggs, and parsley and mix together with your hands.
  • Pack mixture into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a 13- by 9-inch shallow baking dish or pan.
  • Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf registers 155°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
    RECIPE BY IAN KNAUER

Chocolate Rum Balls

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I’ve been thinking about Rum Balls all year, after trying my first Rum Ball at a holiday party last winter. They were bakery bought Rum Balls and I wanted to keep popping those rum balls into my mouth. I made my first batch this season. There are lots of recipes to choose from but I was looking for the most chocolate and rum I could get. I tried this recipe, it’s like baking brownies. As opposed to most recipes that call for wafer cookies. Those did not seem like it would give the richness I am after. Next time I would like to try some of the 90 proof rum I saw at the store. And instead of rolling them in crystal sugar, which was just to sweet and crunchy, try some chocolate shavings.  I have to say the search is still on for a better recipe. Perhaps more of a truffle approach cuz there is still one more batch to make for the holiday party. The quest for rum balls continues.

second attempt at making this recipe, I baked the brownie mixture a little longer to dry it out more in an attempt to add more rum.  This seemed to help, and them added a few more tablespoons rum, which did make it a bit more gooey.  So I took what i had on hand and mixed in another 1/2 cup of Ghirardelli hot chocolate mix. I also used the ghirardelli hot chocolate mix to roll the rum balls in-this was a big improvement on the last batch of rum balls.

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil, cooking spray
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum
  • Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in chocolate mixture, then fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until top is shiny and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
  3. Break up brownie into small pieces; transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With machine on low speed, pour in rum, and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball.
  4. Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in sanding sugar to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold, about 2 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

RECIPE: Martha Stewart living

 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

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Whoopie Pies are soft cake like cookies with frosting filling sandwiched between the cookies. As you can tell the holidays gets me in the mood to bake and share with friends. So I’m not the only one slacking on the diet, no one likes to snack alone.  These cookies are very rich it is not just a cookie, it’s dessert. A good alternative to a pumpkin pie. Next time I will make them smaller more bite size portions. They should be stored in the refrigerator and best to eat and not let sit around too long. There are many versions of Whoopie Pies, I will need to explore more combinations. Perhaps a brownie with peanut butter filling…mmmm

Ingredients

  • For the Cream-Cheese Filling

    • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
    • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • For the Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
    • 1 tablespoon ground cloves
    • 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
    • 1 cup vegetable oil
    • 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
  3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
  4. Make the filling: Sift confectioner’ sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
  5. Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a zip lock bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.
RECIPE: Martha Stewart Living

Over Thanksgiving break we went to Chicago for a night and explored the Modern wing of The Art Institute. Great way to spend the rainy afternoon.

Pecan Pie

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Thanksgiving was last weekend, which means lots of baking and over eating. Everyone brings their homemade recipes to share. I have been known as the desert girl for many years. This year my mother in-law made this awesome Pecan Pie.  I got to watch and snap a few pictures.  The part I enjoyed the most about this pie was all the chopped up pecans in the pie filling. She demonstrated the crimping of the crust and the careful placement of the pecans on top. It was as tasty as it was pretty. I was doing pretty good, didn’t go for seconds. But when it came to desert that was all I had left in me. It was delicious.

A friend just sent me this link…. now I want some more pecan pie- love it

 

Pecan Pie Recipe

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour, for dusting
  • 1/2 recipe pie dough
  • 2 1/2 cups pecan halves
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup dark corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Place the pastry in a 9-inch pie plate that has been set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and press it into the bottom edges and along the sides. Trim the pastry using scissors or a sharp paring knife. Crimp or decorate the edges of the pastry, if desired. Transfer to freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
  2. Coarsely chop 1 1/4 cups pecans; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine eggs granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine. Add dark and light corn syrups, butter, bourbon, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until well combined. Add chopped pecans, and stir to combine. Pour into prepared crust.
  3. Arrange remaining 1 1/4 cups pecan halves decoratively over top of pie. Bake on a Silpat-lined baking sheet until crust is golden, filling is firm, and a cake tester inserted in center of pie comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream.

Pie Dough

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons ice water

Directions

  1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.
  2. Shape dough into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour to 2 days