Granola

It has been a few days of cooking.  Beginning with homemade pizza on Friday and then Sweet Cabbage on Saturday and Grilled Clams Casino, Steak au Poivre and the granola on Sunday.  All recipes worked as planned; all wonderful.  There was one miss on Saturday; we attempted to make homemade Ricotta from a recipe found in a magazine a few months ago.  We followed the recipe right down to the cheesecloth strainer but to our surprise the milk never formed a curd.  I guess we will give it another try in the near future.

Back to the granola.  Usually you make something like this and it is okay but not worthy of the effort; as it is pretty much the same as the store bought stuff.  Not with this recipe.  We were surprised by the crunchy, delicious, not too sweet results.  This is definitely a keeper.  The only problem turned out to be that you have to put it away as soon as it cools or it seems to disappear from the cookie sheet each time you pass it on the counter.  I suggest a double batch.  You can freeze it; that’s if you hide it fast enough.

Peanut Brittle

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Hazelnut Toffee and homemade Holiday gifts.  I went a little overboard this year and made about 6 different candies to package in special tins to distribute to our neighbors and friends.  I gave you the recipe for the toffee but neglected to provide the easy recipe for this Microwave Peanut Brittle.  Weather you make the toffee or the brittle or any one of the other great and easy recipes found on our website, emealsforyou.com, the important thing is to begin a family tradition that harkens back to when homemade treats provided a sense of community.

Think beyond the typical fudge recipes. This recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make and the gift recipients will remember it long after the tin is empty.

Microwave Peanut Brittle

CAUTION: This recipe is very hot and extreme caution should be used to avoid burns!
Combine the corn syrup and sugar in a 1 ½ quart microwave proof baking dish. Stir until blended. Microwave 4 minutes. Stir in the nuts, Microwave for 4 minutes until light brown. Stir in butter and vanilla. Microwave 2 minutes. Quickly pour onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Allow to cool and break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
Makes about 1 pound.

Get the gift idea recipes at emealsforyou.com

Ed's Breakfast Pizza

With the holidays coming one struggle is to find new and different dishes to serve.  On a recent trip to NJ we made a side stop at a cousin’s house for a much needed relaxing brunch.  Pat and Ed served this wonderful breakfast pizza.  Beyond the great presentation, this pizza is overflowing with flavor.

The next time you are looking for something a little outside of the box to serve give this special pizza a try.

Ed’s Breakfast Pizza

Thinly slice the onions, zucchini and tomatoes. Cut the bacon in 1/2 inch pieces, lightly brown, set aside. Heat oil in a pan, reserving 1 Tb, add the onions and zucchini, saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Spread the tomatoes, zucchini and onions evenly over the pre-baked pizza crust, leaving 1/2 inch border. Top with the mozzarella, spread the bacon evenly on top. Make 4 pockets in the toppings, break eggs into the pockets. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tb of oil, bake at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes until the eggs are done. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Great addition to a brunch.

More breakfast ideas at emealsforyou.com.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Thanksgiving is over.  Time to turn our thoughts to Christmas. This wonderful coffee cake recipe comes by way of our neighbor, Mark.  Mark is from New England and has some really great recipes for baked goods.  Most, like this one are easy to put together and use a minimum of ingredients.  We made this to fill in at our breakfasts during the holiday and most certainly will make it again for our guests at Christmas.

With or without coffee this cake is special.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Have the butter at room temperature. Cream the sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla together. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. With the mixer on slow, alternately add the sour cream and the dry mixture to the wet mixture until smooth. Mix the second brown sugar and cinnamon together. Spoon half the batter into a greased bundtl cake pan. Spoon half the cinnamon mixture on top and then put the remaining cake batter on top, followed by the remaining cinnamon mixture.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 -55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Try Mark”s blueberry muffins at emealsforyou.com.

Artisan Rye Bread

Fall is right around the corner and my food thoughts turn to soups, stews, roasted meats and of course great bread.  This past weekend we were walking around Findlay Market and noticed an increase in the number of artisan bread bakers presenting their fine breads for purchase.  We decided to try a rather large baguette and a loaf of half rye and half pumpernickel ( they called it marbled) from one of the new vendors.

Making great bread at home is really easy.  This bread practically makes itself.  Allowed to raise on the counter overnight it is ready to go into the oven the next morning providing not only a great fresh treat but also making the house smell incredible.  Completing our late morning shopping we stopped at our favorite butcher shop for great ground chuck.  We decided to try a bowl of their vegetable soup, sit in the sunshine and enjoy the people watching.  They offered us some crackers for the soup but we had a fresh, warm baguette calling us.

Easy Rye Bread

Combine flour, caraway seeds, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, beer and vinegar and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 14 to 18 hours. Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 -15 times. Line a round pan or basket with parchment paper. Spray parchment with PAM and place the dough on the parchment, spray the dough with the PAM. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise to double in size, about 2 hours. Pre-heat a Dutch oven in the oven at 500 degrees for ½ hour (with lid on). Remove lid and carefully, using the parchment under the dough , lower the dough into the Dutch oven, parchment and all, put lid on and lower oven temperature to 425. Bake for 30 minutes, remove lid and back an additional 10 minutes until the bread is nicely browned.
Recipe adapted from American’s Test Kitchen.

Try some of our really tasty Fall recipes at emealsforyou.com.

Date & Nut Bread

Driving to NJ this week to pick up my mother-in-law and bring here back to Cincy for a visit.  As I plan the meals I decided that one of the breakfasts would be a variety of breads and muffins; served on the deck in the morning sunshine.    There is something relaxing about idling over a second cup of strong coffee and enjoying sweet breads adorned with a bit of butter or some creamy cream cheese.

The good news is I can make these ahead and simply pop them into a plastic baggie and then into the freezer to be rapidly thawed and served almost warm later in the week.  I bake them in 4 inch springform pans so that I can take just the right amount out of the freezer and keep the rest for a later time.  I think I will make some banana muffins, blue berry muffins and maybe a few palmiers just for grins.

Date & Nut Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 81/2 X 41/2 X 3 inch loaf pan.

Put dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt, karo syrup and butter in a bowl. Heat water to the boil and pour on top of date mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flours and stir. Add in the date mixture and stir until well blended. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 40 -50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slide a knife around pan and invert over a serving plate. May be frozen.

Find the recipes for the muffins, the palmiers and more at emealsforyou.com.

Here you are: Mint Julep

Phyllis' Fabulous Potato Casserole

The stars were aligned and Easter fell on the same day as our granddaughter’s birthday.  Not really needing a reason to party we had our usual group of 13 over for a brunch.  This is where Phylis’ Fabulous Potato Casserole comes in.  Whenever you have a large group to feed this potato casserole is just the right choice.  Hardy, cheesy and filling this goes well with a Spiral Ham or roasted chicken.  You can put it together in a matter of minutes, bake it in advance and serve up the smiles.

P.S. – Better make 2 if you want leftovers; and trust me you will want leftovers of this casserole.

Oven-dried Tomatoes

I am a little tardy in writing this post; we are on vacation in NJ and I have been very busy in the kitchen.  I have been making some of our old favorites and some new ones that I wanted to try.  Feasting on Bouillabaisse, short ribs and pan-roasted salmon one night and then Watermelon Gazpacho and Shrimp Bisque the next.  Desserts were Tiramisu, Carrot Cake and a double chocolate cake.

So now to the reason for this post.  My mother-in-law still buys for 5 although she is the only one still here.  Searching for a few tomatoes in the frig I came up with about 12 rather large NJ tomatoes.  As it is harvest time in many regions everyone will probably be overloaded with tomatoes.  The attached recipe is for plum tomatoes but any type will work.  Additional, the house smells great when the tomatoes are in the oven.

Oven-dried Tomatoes

Cut tomatoes in thirds lengthwise, place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper, garlic and thyme. Sprinkle with a drop or two of olive oil. Bake at 250- degrees for 2 1/2 hours.

Note: may be re-heated prior to serving.

More recipes at emealsforyou.com

Our friends and old neighbors were here this weekend.  It was great to catch up, great conversations over good food and wine.  One thing stood out; after our week-long trip to New Jersey last week and their visit this week I found myself saying over and over again, “it’s on the site.”  I provide free recipes here on the blog but I have hundreds of recipes and meal plans on my website: emealsforyou.com. If you like what you see here you should go over to the website and give it a try.  The goal is to get you and your family and friends sitting down to good food and great conversations.

Here is a really good recipe for margaritas provided by our friend Laura from her father.  These are smooth, delicious and deadly.  Thanks Rick!