Sugar Delight

As dictated to me by Chef Millie, here's the recipe for her stunning Sugar Delight. (The top picture is after melting in the microwave, but before stirring; the bottom picture is before melting and stirring).

Use your own culinary sense in determining amounts and adding order. If I may offer one suggestion, go easy on the sugar and heavy on the delight.

brown sugar (I saw how much she added. It was about 1/2 cup!)
cinnamon sugar
crisp rice cereal
peanut butter
honey
raisins
semisweet chocolate chips
marshmallows
a "tad" of salt
a tad of water
milk

You stir it and heat it in the microwave until melty. Then stir it again after heating it in the microwave. Whoever makes this could make their own-- 'specially the children-- their own recipe.

For 3+. [Ages three and up. I assume she means the preparers can be three and up, as two year-olds can easily eat this...not that they should).

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzerella

When John came home with portobello mushrooms (which I've never bought before) along with exotic ancho chili powder, asparagus, fresh lemons, fresh basil, and mozzerella, I just about fainted. As much as I loved him for taking the task of supper-making almost entirely off my hands, I knew that we'd move to the poorhouse if this was going to be our typical fare. Well, the other recipes from that particular supper have since passed, but after he made this portobello recipe for the third (THIRD!) time, I gently suggested that we should put our tax refund into a locked savings account before we ate it up in portobello form.

If there's no choice but to eat one's tax refund, though, this surely is the best way to do it.

Even if you don't like mushrooms, make the tomato salad and eat it plain. The flavor is simple and fresh and tastes like a spoonful of summertime. Also, use your judgment with the olive oil application.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing grill pan
4 large portobello mushrooms (about 5 inches in diameter), stemmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 small to medium sized vine ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella, drained, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leavesPrepare the barbecue (medium-high heat).
Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on grill pan to prevent mushrooms from sticking. Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil and garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Add the tomatoes, cheese, and basil and toss to coat. Season the tomato salad, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Place 1 hot grilled mushroom gill side up on each of 4 plates. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Spoon the tomato salad atop the mushrooms, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to finish, about 1 tablespoon and serve.

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Garlic

I've never eaten asparagus before, or, if I have, I have no memory of doing so. I now have John, our personal chef, to thank for my first (and second and third) helping. This was a yummy introduction to them, and the girls even gobbled them. It may have helped that John took Annie's cue and called them green beans...



My only change if we made this again would be to add more garlic and lemon zest. Their flavor was delicious and present, but I wanted even more of it!

1 pound asparagus
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Trim asparagus. In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic, zest and paprika and stir with a fork. Lay asparagus side by side and pierce on 2 wooden skewers to form a raft. Place rafts on the grill and brush with oil mixture. Cook to desired tenderness and season with salt and pepper.

Seasoned Grilled Potatoes

Sometimes I think our family has eaten potatoes just about every possible way, but this was a new incarnation, thanks to the unique taste of the ancho chili powder that seasons them. Smoky, flavorful, and just plain good. Oh, humble potato. We love you.

Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay. Potatoes for supper courtesy of my husband.

3 pounds Idaho potatoes
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tsp. ground cumin.

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a large saucepan and cook until almost tender. Drain and dry the potatoes. Cut each potato lengthwise into quarters. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and brush both sides of the potatoes with oil. Combine the chili powder, salt, and cumin in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the potatoes. Grill the potato wedges for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Thank you again, Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, for helping us pad our bellies. You should add "Better Bellies" to your title. This is a muffin recipe that's fast and easy and nice to pull out on mornings when oatmeal, eggs, or cold cereal just doesn't cut it.



They're topped with a cinnamon-sugar crumb topping and have a streusel layer of the same in the middle of each muffin.



What? You want the recipe? Alright, here it is.

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
3 tbsp. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup; let sit for about five minutes before adding to other ingredients)

Grease 12 muffin cups; set aside

For the topping, stir together the 3 tbsp. flour, brown sugar, and the 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in the 2 tablespoons butter or margarine till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts and pecans; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the 1 and 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and the 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter or margarine till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another mixing bowl, combine the egg and buttermilk or sour milk. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 1/3 full. Top with half of the topping, the remaining batter, and the remaining topping. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or till golden. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin cups and serve warm.

* I always double the streusel mixture, and I usually only make 9 muffins out of the batter instead of 12.
**We almost never have pecans or walnuts in the house unless it's near Christmas, so I omitted those.

Cardamom Fruit Dip

Sorry. I have no picture of this easy, yummy dip. We used it on apple slices when we had company over, and it disappeared pretty fast. Next time, perhaps...

4 tbsp. cream cheese, softened
liberal dashes of ground cardamom, to taste (1/2 tsp.?)
lemon or vanilla extract, or both, to taste
granulated sugar, to taste
sour cream, about 8-12 oz.

Blend together the softened cream cheese and the sour cream. Stir in the sugar until incorporated, and then add flavorings, to taste. We've only used this on apple slices, but I think it would be equally good on grapes and bananas.

Chocolate and Berry Cream Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Sauce

Alas, I have no picture of this, either. This is due to the fact that, again, with company, it disappeared pretty fast, plus I undercooked it and the middle was sloppy, which makes for unappealing pictures. Oh, vanity!

This was its test run, though, and I jotted down the amounts I used so I could make it again, whenever I've got a good enough excuse with company coming. It has a chocolate crumb crust, a layer of vanilla cheesecake laced with grated chocolate on the bottom, and a layer of vanilla cheesecake laced with strawberry jam on the top, drizzled with mixed berry sauce before serving.

Crust:
About 3 cups crushed chocolate crumbs (out of thriftiness, I use generic oreos from Aldi, but chocolate graham cracker crumbs might work better, and, if you aren't stingy, add some finely chopped almonds, too.)

If using generic oreos, stir in about 1/3 cup melted butter, enough to help the mixture stick together. If using chocolate graham cracker crumbs, stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup melted butter.

Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for five minutes in a 350 degree oven and cool completely on a wire rack.


Filling:
4 packages cream cheese, softened
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup strawberry or raspberry jam (I doled out some of my mom's wild strawberry jam for the occasion. I know. Lucky me.)
@ 1/3 cup grated semisweet chocolate

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in flour. Add eggs one at a time, and beat on low speed just until combined. Do not overbeat. Beat in vanilla just until blended. Divide the cheesecake filling into two bowls. Fold the grated chocolate into one bowl and the strawberry jam into the other.

Pour the filling with grated chocolate into the crust, and then gently pour and smooth the strawberry filling on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 55 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust. Cool for one more hour and then refrigerate overnight to let the flavors ripen.

Before serving, prepare a mixed berry sauce with about 1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of berries, sugar (to taste, about 1/2 cup), a few tablespoons of cornstarch, and 1/2 cup water. I used a blend of frozen blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. In a small saucepan, mix the water, cornstarch, and sugar and heat through until dissolved. Add berries and gently stir over medium heat until sufficiently thickened. Pour over each slice of cheesecake before serving.

Tips:
Place foil or a cookie sheet under the cheesecake because many springform pans leak, and a houseful of burnt butter's smell and sting isn't pleasant.

Dip a knife in warm water before cutting the cheesecake, and wipe and dip again in warm water before making each cut in order to make clean cuts.

Lemon Meringue Pie

I love lemon meringue pies and, this time, I slightly adapted Martha's Mile High Lemon Pie recipe for the filling, though I just used a standard meringue topping instead of the one that she includes in her recipe. Her filling is unlike other lemon meringue pie recipes I've made as it includes butter in the filling; I reduced the butter a bit, and the filling was still a smooth balance of tart and sweet without being overly rich.

Prepare your favorite single-crust pie dough recipe and pre-bake the crust, lined with aluminum foil and filled with baking stones or beans, or pricked all over with a fork and lined with aluminum foil to avoid shrinkage. Let cool. Prepare filling.

Mile High Lemon Pie (filling) from marthastewart.com

• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sifted cake flour (I used regular, but a hair less)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted this b/c I used salted butter)
  
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I'm lame and used bottled)
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon rind
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (I used 3 tablespoons and think even less could be used without harm)

1. To make filling, combine cornstarch, cake flour, salt, and sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 2 cups cold water. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from heat. Temper egg yolks by beating a small amount of hot mixture into the yolks before adding them to pan. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from heat, and whisk in the lemon juice and rind. Add the butter one piece at a time. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and let cool.
4. Pour the filling into the cooled shell and refrigerate, covered with aluminum foil, until firm, about 1 hour.

Standard Meringue Topping (Non-stovetop)

5 egg whites, allowed to sit until at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form. Continue beating and gradually add the sugar, beating until glossy, stiff peaks form. (Don't be in a hurry like me and only reach stiffly soft peaks...) Spread the meringue over the cooled pie, taking care to spread all the way to the crust's edge to avoid weeping. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden-brown. Cool completely and serve. Lemon meringue pies are best the day they're made, otherwise the crust becomes soggy and meringue may fall.

(This picture, though, was taken the next day, and the pie was still finger-lickin' good.)

Sticky Caramel Rolls

Millie wanted to try sticky rolls for Easter morning, so I made these- sans pecans that we didn't have-- and they're yummy. But then, I imagine it's hard for a food that is mostly sweet dough, cinnamon-sugar, and caramel to be anything but yummy.


After being inverted onto a plate, in wan, electric light, they look like this.



A trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook was the source for this recipe.

Rolls4 to 4 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 and 1/4 tsp.)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, softened (I used a bit more)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I increase the cinnamon-sugar mixture by at least a third, and I use brown sugar rather than white for a richer flavor.)

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, the 1/3 cup sugar, the 1/3 cup butter, and salt just till warm (120 -130 degrees) and the butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed three minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double in size.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. cover and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the caramel below and spread in the pans.

Roll each portion of the dough into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Spread the softened 3 tablespoons (or more) butter over dough, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from a long side. Seal the seam and slice each roll into 12 equal pieces. Pl;ace in prepared pans and let rise in a warm place till nearly double.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Do not overbake. Immediately inverted baked rolls from the pan. Eat. (I believe these are best eaten fresh.)

***These may be prepared the night before, as I did. Simply cover shaped rolls loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for them to rise. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, uncover them and let them stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.

Caramel
(I usually increase this to 1 and 1/2 of a batch)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
2/3 cup chopped pecans, opt.

Heat and stir over medium heat until combined. Divide between two 9 1/2-inch round baking pans. Sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped pecans in each pan, if desired; set aside until rolls are shaped.

Streusel-topped Cheesy Broccoli

I really liked this broccoli, and it's my new favorite way to eat little trees. It's much more flavorful than the typical cheesy broccoli casserole, due mostly to the savory streusel topping seasoned with garlic, onion, spicy mustard, and parmesan.



1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of broccoli florets

Streusel Topping
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 -1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
@ three slices of fresh bread (I used oat) broken into smallish crumbs
Parmesan cheese, salt, and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Cheese Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
@ 2 cups milk
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
salt, freshly ground pepper, ground cayenne, and ground nutmeg, to taste

Cook broccoli in boiling water for about 3 minutes until slightly cooked but still firm. Drain and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium-low heat until onion is translucent. Add the mustards and the bread crumbs. Fry until crumbs begin to turn golden and then season with salt, pepper, and parmesan. Set aside.

For the sauce, prepare a basic white sauce by melting the butter in a pan and then stirring in the flour. Whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens, whisking constantly. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and add the grated cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and is incorporated completely, forming a smooth sauce.

Layer the broccoli in the bottom of a baking dish and spread the cheese sauce on top before sprinkling the bread crumb topping over it all. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the topping is nicely browned and toasted.



I added more mustard, garlic, etc., to taste as I made this, and the cheese sauce is just a guide. I usually just wing cheese sauces, so I'm not entire sure how much milk I added. It wasn't as thick a sauce as I'd normally make, but since it had additional baking in the oven, it turned out to be a perfect consistency.

Sour Cherry Sauce for Ham

This is a most excellent fruit sauce for ham. My mom's been serving it to us every holiday ham dinner since I can remember, and the tart sweetness of the sauce combined with the salty sweetness of the ham is heavenly. I'd love to give you her exact recipe, but I can't, because she doesn't have one. Here's the basic idea, though, thanks again to the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

A jar of sour cherries, canned by Mopsy, pitted and drained (Okay, I guess the cherries don't have to come from my mom)
3 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash of ground cloves
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
a few drops of red food coloring, opt.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in apple juice, vinegar, and, if desired, food coloring. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Stir in as many of the drained cherries as looks right (the cookbook recommends 16 oz.). Heat through. Serve warm spooned over ham. Makes 2 and 1/4 cups sauce.

Spiced Honey Glaze for Ham

The glaze I used for the ham this year couldn't be simpler, and it's yummy, to boot. Any amount of brown sugar, honey, butter, and cloves could be used, depending on which flavor you want to be most pronounced, and a bit of ground mustard could also be added.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp. cloves, plus more to taste
a few smidges of ground mustard
dash nutmeg

Increase these amounts depending on the size of your ham, and before placing ham into the oven, stud it all over with whole cloves.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, while stirring, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

Baste the ham with the glaze before placing in the oven and continue to baste about every fifteen minutes until the ham is done. (I wasn't home to do this, so I just basted it once at the beginning and then liberally slapped more on when I got home for the last 1/2 hour of cooking.) The heat may be turned up for the last ten minutes or so of cooking time if the glaze hasn't caramelized sufficiently.

Cream-Filled Crepes with Blueberry Sauce

Sundays aren't included in the forty days of Lent, so I've been using blueberries frozen and hoarded from last summer to make special breakfasts. Even I think I erred on the side of sweet this past Sunday. We ate these for breakfast, but in the future, I think I'll reserve this recipe for guests, fancy brunches, or dessert. (Ha! Like I've EVER hosted a fancy brunch...)

Growing up, I always made, and still make, what we Johnsons called "Swedish Pancakes" for breakfast. We'd drown them in syrup or spread them with jam and eat them all rolled up in a coil. It turns out that our "Swedish Pancakes" were essentially other people's crepes, which are used for breakfast dishes and-- you guessed it-- desserts.

So, here's a sweet-lover's breakfast meal or a sourpuss's dessert. Either way, it's pretty decadent.

Cream Filling

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used light)
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (almond or lemon could be substituted)

Blend well and set aside.



And here's the Johnson recipe for Swedish Pancakes, or, if you're fancy, crepes. I doubled this amount to make about 8-10 pancakes of medium thickness.

3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Whisk eggs and milk together. Sift dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Whisk until well-blended. Alter the amount of flour or milk depending on your desired consistency. Heat a lightly greased pan and add batter. The amount of batter you add depends on how thin you want your crepes/pancakes. For very thin pancakes, use 2 tablespoons batter for an 8-inch pan. I usually use more because they're easier to flip and handle for impatient people like me when they're a bit thicker, but don't make them so thick that they turn into rubbery regular pancakes. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat the bottom with batter. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer for thin pancakes. Keep warm in a slightly heated oven.

When the pan-crepes are finished, spread a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center and fold from each side until the folded pan-crepe is rectangular in shape. If not serving immediately, place seam side down in a lightly greased baking pan and return to the warm oven, otherwise place on a plate and serve immediately with blueberry sauce spooned on top.

* A few alterations I may make next time:
The filling was quite rich and sweet. Don't misunderstand me; it was good, and we smacked our lips through breakfast, but next time, I might substitute half of the cream cheese with cottage cheese to lighten it up.

* I also might use less sugar in the berry sauce, to taste, but by then my sweet tooth could have adjusted in response.

Blueberry Sauce

Clarence Scrivner of Hartsburg, Missouri sent this recipe into a cookbook and called it Blueberry Sauce Supreme. Thanks, Clarence. It has a hint of orange due to the concentrate, and it works well over the crepes. Reduce the sugar if you desire, perhaps to 1/4 cup.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

In a saucepan, combine sugar, orange juice concentrate, and cornstarch; stir until smooth. Add blueberries and bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes, stirring constantly. Spoon over crepes and serve.

York-like Peppermint Patties

If you, like me, love York Peppermint Patties, then you'll love these candies. If you don't, then you won't, pure and simple.

Speaking of simple, this recipe is as simple a one for candy as they come, and soooo good (for those of you who love York Peppermint Patties, that is).

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon peppermint extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar
Additional confectioners' sugar
1 - 12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips (I always use more than this, at least 18 oz, more often 24 oz to be safe)

1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

In large mixer bowl, combine sweetened, condensed milk and extract. Add 6 cups sugar; beat on low speed until smooth and well blended. Mixture will be very stiff, and I often knead mine a bit with my (sticky) hands to incorporate all the sugar. Turn mixture onto surface sprinkled with confectioners sugar. Knead lightly to form smooth ball. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place
2 inches apart on wax paper-lined baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a flat-bottomed glass into a roughly 1 ½-inch patty.

Let dry 1 hour or longer; turn over and let dry at least 1 hour. Melt the
chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave until halfway melted. Stir halfway
through the heating time. Do not overheat or chocolate will scorch. If you want to take the time to properly temper the chocolate (which will prevent chocolate from "blooming," developing streaks, or losing its sheen), omit the shortening and melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over low heat. [Follow online instructions for tempering chocolate, because I'm too tired to type them out at this late hour, and, to be honest, I'm usually too tired to temper the chocolate, too.] With fork, dip each patty into warm chocolate (draw fork lightly across rim of bowl to remove excess coating). Invert onto wax paper lined baking sheets; let stand until firm. Store covered at room temperature or in refrigerator. Makes at least 4 dozen.

Buckeyes

Here's another simple candy recipe, only this time the flavor favors lovers of peanut butter. If you like peanut butter, you'll love this candy; if you don't....you get the idea, right?




1/2 cup butter, softened
1 and 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
confectioner's sugar (one pound, though I use less)
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (as with the mint patties, I melt more-- 1 and 1/2 to 2 bags, to make sure I've got enough)

Cream butter, p.b., and vanilla. Add enough confectioner's sugar until a good consistency is reached. Whatever you do, don't add sugar until you think the dough will be easiest to handle, because these candies are best when the filling is still soft enough to fool you into thinking it melts in your mouth. Add only enough sugar to make it possible to roll the dough into balls that will hold their spherical shape.

Roll into one-inch balls and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Melt the chips and shortening in an identical manner as in the peppermint patty recipe above, or be crazy, omit the shortening, and temper the chocolate like Martha would never fail to do. Dip the balls into chocolate and cover them about 3/4 of the way, either by using a toothpick poked into the top (which will leave a funny little hole) or by dipping them using a fork (which may leave some of the bottoms unevenly covered, unless you have a bonafide candy dipping fork, which I don't). Who needs a candy fork. These are yummy with or without even chocolate coverings, so go and make some. Now. And then give me some.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

These are worthy of multiple breakfasts and taste like a dessert when served plain-- you'd never know they're full of wheat germ-- but when covered with plain yogurt that's been flavored with vanilla and sweetened with sugar, they're even better. Top THAT with sliced bananas, and you've got yourself something that you might start finding excuses to make more than once a week.



I lifted this recipe from a Bon Appetit reader named Kelsey. I can't give her more credit because I ripped it out of the magazine and left her full name behind. Thank you, Ms. Kelsey, or Kelsey Somebody-or-Other, whatever the name may be. (And for those of you who think I vandalized a magazine, it was my own magazine from the subscription sent me by a mysterious [mom-in-law] elf.)

I'm really happy to have discovered these pancakes for two reasons.
One- they are, quite simply, yummy, and could stand in for dessert
Two- they are, quite simply, healthy, and could stand in for, oh, I don't know, something healthy



They are not a fluffy pancake, mind you, and perhaps the title Griddle Cake would be more suitable, though they're made in a pan and not a griddle. I'm making no sense, I know, but it's very late...

Without further ado, here's the recipe.

1 and 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
5 tablespoons butter (I used only three tablespoons, and perhaps even less could be used)
1 and 1/3 cups flour (I used nearly 1 cup flour and substituted quick oats for the rest)
2/3 cup toasted wheat germ (I used raw wheat germ)
1 cup brown sugar (I used 3/4 of a cup)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 (generous) tsp. salt
1/4 (generous) tsp. nutmeg

1 and 1/2 cups diced fruit, optional, to mix into the batter (I just added fruit to the top of the cooked pancakes instead)

Stir water, oats , and butter, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook until mixture is very thick, stirring constantly, about five minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let sit 15 minutes or until cooled. Stir in flour (and quick oats, if substituting), sugar, wheat germ,. eggs, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Batter will be very thick. Mix in fruit, if desired.

Heat pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Melt a bit of butter in pan and drop batter onto griddle in 1/3 to 1/2 cup amounts (this will vary according the cook). Spread batter into rounds and cook until brown and cooked through, flipping halfway through.

Spicy Shrimp and Rice

I blame this dish on both John and Sarah. Last May, she served our family a yummy meal that had shrimp in it and casually mentioned that she'd bought the shrimp at Aldi. Now, I've eaten shrimp maybe four times in my life, and, though I think it's yummy, it's not something I browse through at grocery stores. I don't browse through grocery stores at all; I arrive with an agenda, fight my way through the hordes to reach what's on my list, and arrive back at the van, usually unharmed.

Last week, however, I saved money in other areas, and Saturday found me insecurely browsing through the shrimp in an Aldi freezer case, wondering if the least expensive shrimp were less healthy or tasty than the plump ones. Three cheers for stingy Ebenezer!

John's to blame, too, because after his employer sent him to a conference at a fancy hotel and paid for meals eaten at the restaurant of his choice, he's been mumbling about spicy shrimp in his sleep. So, thanks to Sarah's knowledge of all things seafood and John's nighttime murmurs, I trawled the internet recipe archives, made spicy shrimp and rice, and I even enjoyed it.

Below, I give the rough amounts of the spices I used, but after I adjusted spices to what I thought was the perfect amount, I shoveled in loads more cayenne and black pepper, because I knew that John would beam at me for it. He did, and that beam was worth the burn. If you or someone you love is like John, add even more cayenne, to taste. If you don't like things that spicy, reduce the amounts below accordingly.

a bag of cheap, foreign shrimp, the kind that's fully cooked and frozen (I think it was 10 or 12 oz of the teensy 70-90/lb shrimp )
1 tsp. cayenne, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
3/4 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
@ 6-8 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced or pressed
@ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup butter

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Saute the minced garlic in butter for 30 seconds to a minute. Add the rest of the spices, and stir in the thawed shrimp (remove their tails before you dump them in if you want to avoid removing them during supper). Cook until heated through and serve alongside the rice below.

4 and 1/2 cups cooked rice
After cooking, flavor the rice with at least one tablespoon lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne, salt, and butter, to taste. Add enough lemon juice to cut through the spice and to balance out the crazy-hot shrimp that are about to join it.

Eat while saying, "Ow! Good! OW! Too spicy! GOOD!" at your beaming husband.

Chiles Rellenos

*Edit: We've since made this using hot peppers AND regular ol' green garden peppers, which pleases the younger set of the family enormously. It's a yummy way to use up a bounty of peppers and is received better than the more common and infamous "stuffed peppers."


Not only does John think my chiles rellenos are better than those of the fancy-schmancy Mexican restaurant in the city, but this is one of his most favorite meals now. The humdinger is that I found myself surprised by the fact that it is now also one of my favorites. I've been craving it, and if we had hot peppers hiding in our snow-shrouded garden and if I was excited about gaining 20 more pounds in the next two months, I'd eat this meal a few times a week.

These really are delicious, and the sauce is so good, I could happily eat it plain. The batter around the peppers is an unusual one for me, made only of eggs. It is light and airy, with an almost spongy consistency, rather than the thicker coating that one usual finds in fried foods. The sauce is a heavenly mixture of spicy and sweet. (I'm hungry just thinking about it.) And the rice? Well...it's rice!

@ 6 Poblano and 4 Anaheim peppers (or the equivalent amount of others), roasted and seeds and skin removed
6-8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese (we just use part of an 8 oz. block from Aldi), cut into sticks nearly the length of the peppers
6 eggs, separated
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
canola oil, for frying

Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and roast before removing the skins. Mix the flour and salt in a small bowl. (Meanwhile, prepare rice and sauce. I usually cook up 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups dry rice.) Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold in yolks. Heat canola oil in fryer or in deep pot on the stove, to a two-inch minimum depth. When oil sizzles when a pinch of flour is dropped into it, it is hot enough. Wrap peppers around cheese, roll in the flour mixture, and carefully coat with the egg batter. Drop in the oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels and then set aside on a wire cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven to remain hot until all peppers are done.

Serve over rice and top with sauce. Eat immediately, and then scoop out seconds.

* The first time I made this, I used jalepenos from our garden. Too hot! The last two times our garden was barren, and we bought Poblano and Anaheim peppers. Some were too mild, perhaps the Anaheim. For ease of preparation, Poblanos are best, because they are the biggest and easier to wrap completely around the cheese.

* I find the easiest way to roast peppers is to simply broil them close the the heat until the skin is charred and bubbly. Turn them for even roasting, and then the skin is easy to remove. (There are internet tutorials with pictures somewhere, too; I'm just not good enough to provide them!)

* When working with hot peppers, one should use gloves, as the acid from them can burn fingers and hands. I know from experience that this is no old wive's tale...



Red Sauce

About 20 small romas, peeled and seeded (The first time, I used our garden goods, but the last two times, I used the equivalent of home-canned tomatoes-- perhaps a quart and a half-- with excellent results. I left in some of the liquid so that I could simmer the sauce down and let the flavors meld.)
one onion, chopped
8 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
olive oil
1 tsp. salt.
@ 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I've noticed the last several times, I've added more than this, to taste)
several shakes ground cloves
ground cayenne, to taste
a few shakes of garlic powder, to taste

Saute onion in a bit of olive oil until tender. Add garlic and spices and saute for about 30 seconds to a minute. Add tomatoes, break them down with a spoon, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced to your liking.

* If using fresh tomatoes- ah, summer!- then pop the tomatoes in boiling water for about one minute before slipping them out of their skins. I don't bother with the seeding for either fresh or canned tomatoes. Just dump 'em in; no one will notice except Martha, and I doubt she's eating at any of our places on a regular basis.

Chicken Mole

I post this in response to your request, Mateo. Me gusta pollo con mole! Millie actually likes this better than any of us, and since the time I made it a month and a half ago, she's requested it about a dozen times. Go figure. Many thanks to Paula Deen, whose Quick Chicken Mole recipe I used as a base to which I added and subtracted ingredients. 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped at least 6 cloves fresh garlic, chopped or put through garlic press @ 1 and 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. sea salt @ 2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest ground cayenne pepper, to taste 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (I used home-canned tomatoes, to taste, about a pint?) 2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped (I used about 1/3 cup poblano chiles, roughly chopped, because we had some leftover from making chiles rellenos) 1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth (Boil the chicken carcass to make the broth!!!) 2 tablespoons peanut butter 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces Sesame seeds and queso blanco, for garnish Corn tortillas or white rice, for serving Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and briefly saute to develop flavor (don't overcook the garlic, however). Add diced tomatoes, chipotles, broth, spices, orange zest, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree until smooth. I went so far as to find a recipe for homemade corn tortillas before I came to my senses and served it with white rice. We also had no sesame seeds, and our queso blanco was highest quality monterey jack block cheese from Aldi. :) A few suggestions: if serving with corn tortillas, the amount of sauce is sufficient; if serving with rice, double the sauce. You'll need it. Second: add more cayenne if your hot peppers, like ours, were simply not hot enough. Third: Add or subtract to your liking! This dish is quite similar to the one we had in New York City, but as that's my only experience with chicken mole, I don't have any other standard to compare this to. De nada!