See?

This is one of those “Dear Lord what am I cooking tonight?” dishes. The refrigerator was skimpy and so was the pantry. I used to have a regular day for everything…Grocery shop on Monday,clean on Tuesday and Wednesday, day off on Thursday, paperwork and scheduling on Friday…

Please note the words “used to”. Now I get so busy I forget to shop and then we have the unique meals that would totally ruin any reputation as a foodie I have. I have not yet lowered myself to the point of making peanut butter ravioli with jelly sauce..but I am not saying it couldn’t happen…

This was made of a few scraps of Fontina, some left over pecans, a whisp of celery and a couple of spinach leaves that would have had to go to the chickens by the next day..

Yumm…sounds appetizing doesn’t it? Just remember; it isn’t you you start…it’s how you finish!

This makes a great luncheon dish, side dish, or vegetarian main course. There is lots of flavors and textures happening on the plate. If I make it again I am going to try adding some unpeeled, chopped apples just lightly sauteed. I wish I would have thought of it this time.

A friend of mine saw Maple Pepper on a trip to New Hampshire. She sent me a jar of it and…wowza! That stuff is potent. If you don’t have access to the maple pepper, add a tablespoon of maple syrup to the vegetables at the end of saute time, and add a finely chopped chipotle pepper in adobo as well.

Need a menu? Try this with:

Autumn Dinner

Autumn Pasta with Fontina and Pecans

Honey Glazed Roasted Parsnips and Carrots

Baguette or  Rosemary Cracked Pepper Bread

Apple Bundt Cake

This is my entry for Presto Pasta Night. PPN is the brain-child of Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and Abby of Eat th Right Stuff is the hostess for this week.

Autumn Pasta with Fontina and Pecans

• 1 lb  whole wheat penne, cooked a la dente
• 1/2 to 1 cup pecans, chopped and  toasted*
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach cut on a chiffonade**
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms of choice, sliced ( a mixture of several is nice here)
• 4 oz fontina, grated
• 1/2 tsp maple pepper
• salt to taste
• olive oil and butter combo for saute pan (about 2 tbs each)

*To toast pecans toss them in a heavy pan and stir over medium high heat watching that they don’t burn.

**To cut chiffonade: layer several spinach leaves on top of each other. Roll up tightly and then cut horizontally very thinly. You will end up with thin strips of spinach.

1. Saute onion, garlic, and celery in pan until just soft
2. Add mushrooms and saute until done
3. Add maple pepper and stir well
4. Put penne in a large serving bowl, spoon ingredients over the top
5. Add pecans, fontina, and spinach
6. Toss lightly and serve immediately with extra fontina

serves 4-6 (8-10 appetizer or side dish servings)

image:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Slow Cooker Red Cabbage and Sausage

• 1  head red cabbage, shredded
• 4 tart apples, cored and diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Chardonnay or Gewürztraminer
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 pound kielbasa sausage, cut into pieces

Toss it in the slow cooker and let it cook on low for 6- 8 hours. The house will smell great.

Serves 6-8

image:MaryeAudet

Post from: Baking Delights

I cheated on this dish, admittedly. I had Marc go out and pick up cheese ravioli rather than making it myself. The recipe would work well with tortellini,stuffed shells, or any filled pasta.

I finished it with a bit of freshly grated Parmagiana  Reggiano. The flavors were spectacular: earthy portobellos, sweet apple, succulent chicken sausage, and mild onion gave way to tender pasta and creamy ricotta. I am still having trouble swallowing solids but I tried my best with this, I promise!

It was just that good. Serve it with a baguette or try this Rosemary Cracked Pepper bread. Add an endive salad with maybe a cranberry balsamic vinaigrette, and an apple tart for dessert. If you are going to have wine make it something fruity and round to balance the full flavors of this dish.

This is quick. Less than thirty minutes from start to finish and seriously delicious.

Ravioli Normandy

• 2 lbs of ravioli
• 1 lb of organic chicken and apple sausage, sliced
• 3 cups portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of apple cider
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the ravioli until done. drain, toss in a little butter and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
3. Add the sausage, the onion, and the mushrooms. Saute, stirring often until mushrooms and onion are very tender.
4. Pour in the apple cider and simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced by about half.
5. Add the remaining butter.
6. Spoon over the hot ravioli and toss to coat.
7. Garnish with grated cheese and serve hot.

Serves 6-8

Post from: Baking Delights

I am having such a great time with the Artisan Bread book!  It has made things so much easier.  Last week I wanted to make the kids something quick…but what?  I had some of the baguette dough in the fridge, some leftover hot Italian sausage…

Calzones!

I swear, I got these calzones done in a matter of about an hour.  The calzones rested for 40 minutes before I put them in the oven and then baked for 20.  The dough was somewhat wetter than what I usually work with and so I tore it a few times, which made the filling run out during baking.

But the final product was so good!  The kids and Marc loved them and I get to be SuperMom again, for coming up with such a cool recipe…

I am giving the filling ingredients.  You can use the dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day or you can use your favorite pizza crust recipe.

Italian Sausage and Vegetable Calzone Filling

3 links hot Italian Sausage

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 green pepper

1 cup chopped kale

1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 can drained black olives, sliced

1 Jar Newman’s Own Sockarooni Spagetti Sauce

2 cups (or more) mozzarella cheese, shredded

Pizza dough or baguette dough

Break the sausage up and brown it in a little olive oil.  Add the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and kale.  Cook until the vegetables have softened. Stir in olives.  Set aside.

Take small scoops of the dough and pat it out into  rounds.  Place a spoonful of the filling on each, then a spoonful of the sauce, and about 1/4 cup of the cheese.  Fold over and seal.

Lay them on a baking sheet that has been dusted with coarse corn meal.  Allow to rest for 40 minutes.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly before eating.

Makes 6 or so.  If you have leftover filling it makes a great pasta sauce.

images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

When I was making the cake for Amanda’s graduation last week, I had  one layer crumble as I was moving it. Not just crack, mind you, but CRUMBLE with every ounce of determination it had to crumble.

You can’t just toss out cake.  Not here anyway. So I took the pieces and spread them in a 13x 9 dish and set them aside.

After things had calmed down I grabbed the dish and sprinkled the, by now slightly stale, cake with rosewater.  We don’t have alcohol here much, although some sherry sprinkled on the cake is very good.  Use what you have. Make a sugar syrup of green tea, or lemonade..whatever. Don’t get the cake wet, just sprinkle it.

Next layer fruit over it. I had picked up a couple of packages of very ripe, organic strawberries at the store so I used those. Raspberries are fantastic, blackberries are better…

For the custard:

3 c  fresh goat  milk (if you use regular milk use 1/2 c heavy cream in place of 1/2 c milk. Yes, there is that much difference. BUT DO NOT used goat milk from the stor. EWWW.)

1 c sugar

1/4 c flour

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp rose water

1/2 c butter (unsalted)

pinch salt

mix sugar, flour, milk and salt in a pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until thickened.  Add a little of the hot mixture to the egg yolks to temper and then add the yolks to the custard. Stir constantly for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat, add in the butter and the flavorings and let cool.

When the custard has cooled pour it over the fruit and cake.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for 2-3 hours.

When ready to serve whip 1 pt of heavy cream with a little sugar to taste and a few drops of the rosewater. Spread over custard. Serves 12

Image: Marye Audet 

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights 

Post from: Baking Delights

We were headed to a party the other night. It was the birthday party for some friends of my younger sons, but the whole family was invited.  I always feel badly for people that invite all of us because of the sheer amount that means.  We are 3-4 times the size of the average family.

We were asked to bring a snack, and so I decided to try a recipe that had been whirling around in my head for awhile..I get these awesome ideas that have to stay on the back burner until I have a chance, or a reason to make them!  I figured most kids wouldn’t like them, chai and all, but I knew my kids loved chai and that would at least keep them away from the other stuff and give other people a chance.

These are much like Mexican Wedding Cakes, in the way that they are made.  The dough is high in butter and fat, both from the butter and the ground nuts.  The taste is intensely chai because..well I ground up 2 tsp of strong chai tea leaves to add with the flour.  What a taste kick that provided!  I think that in doing it again, I would allow the dough to stand for awhile for the flavors to intensify.

Don’t overbake..they will get rock-like.  You want a crumbly, melt in your mouth texture.

Snowball Cookies 

2 cups flour
2 cups coarsely ground pecans or other nuts
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp chai tea ground with the nuts (I used 2 tea bags of Yogi,Indian Spice and just cut open the bags)

1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar for rolling in

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine all ingredients, except the last powdered sugar,  in large  bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls.

Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until very lightly browned.

Cool 5 minutes; roll in powdered sugar while still warm and then again when cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Images:Marye Audet

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights 

Post from: Baking Delights

There are a lot of different types of Easter baking I love to do.  Adorable duckling, chick, and lamb cookies…Easter Bonnet cakes, special breads and rolls, the list goes on and on.  But before I share those recipes with you this week I want to share this one, because it is the most special of all.

Resurrection cookies are a fun project for parents and kids to do together, and they help children understand the absolutely fabulous thing that happened on that First Easter Morning.  The cookies must be made exactly as written, and the Bible readings must be done at the same time for this dessert to b at it’s best.  I have included links to the various scriptures so that you can print them out to read as you do the recipe and the Bible doesn’t get all floury with your “white thumb”. LOL!

These must be started the night before Easter.

Resurrection Cookies

• 1 cup whole pecans
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• a pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• a zipper baggy
• 1 wooden spoon
• scotch tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300F.
Before you do anything else put the whole pecans in zip-loc and let your children beat them with a meat mallet, or hammers,  to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read: John 19:1-3

Allow each child to smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar
to drink. Read: John 19:28-30

Add the egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life
to give us life. Read: John 10:10-11

Put a little of the salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest
into the bowl. If you have a lot of kids like I do put the pinch of salt INTO the bowl and then allow them to taste a little of  salt or you will have too much salt in the recipe! Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers,
and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read:Luke 23:27

So far the ingredients would not make a very good dessert!  Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to
know and belong to Him. Read: Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins
have been cleansed by Jesus. Read: Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.
Read: Matthew 27:57-60

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read: Matthew 27:65-66

Now, go to bed.

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.
Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read: John 16:20,22

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked
surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow!

On the first Easter Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read:Matthew 28:1-9

This may be the most important recipe that you make this Easter. 

Post from: Baking Delights

One of our neighbors blessed us with an entire box of peppers last week, in red, orange, yellow, and green. I love the colors in peppers but they are usually so expensive at the store that I don’t get them. This was a special blessing to me!

Stuffed peppers are a great Once A Month Cooking dish because they do freeze well, and don’t seem to lose flavor in the freezer. You just need to remember that if you are making them ahead of time you will want to under cook them so they don’t totally disintegrate when you heat them up! I don’t blanch them at all before I stuff them. Just place the filling in the raw peppers, stand them up in a pan of water or tomato juice and bake until they are almost done. If you want to flash freeze them for individual meals then you can stand them up in muffin pans and place in the freezer. Once frozen, take them out, wrap individually with plastic wrap, pulling it tightly around them. Place the individual stuffed peppers in a ziploc bag and toss in the freezer. Just microwave them to heat and eat.

These peppers are a nod to the Tex Mex food that I am surrounded with. There is a spicy-exotic mole sauce rather than the traditional tomato sauce, and using the fire roasted tomatoes makes a huge flavor difference.

Stuffed Peppers

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup uncooked organic brown rice
• 3 cups v-8 juice or water
• 12 green bell peppers
• 4 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 can Muir Glen Organic fire roasted tomatoes diced (try not to substitute)
• 2 4 oz cans of chiles, diced
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 1 onion chopped
• 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbs cocoa
• 1 tsp cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the rice and V-8 in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, garlic, onion, and chiles until done.

Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. You may need to slice a little from the bottoms so they will stand upright.
In a bowl, mix the cooked beef mixture, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, tomatoes,cilantro, salt, and pepper. Spoon the mixture into each pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce, cocoa, cumin, and chili powder in a bowl. Pour over the stuffed peppers.
Bake 30 minutes, basting with sauce every 15 minutes or so.

Cool to room temperature and flash freeze.

Makes 12

To serve:

Thaw peppers overnight in the fridge. Microwave until heated through, or bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with french bread, salad, and cookie dough brownies.

All content on this page (c)2008 marye audet for Baking Delights, http:// baking delights.com. Using with out permission is stealing.

Post from: Baking Delights

Being a homeschooler I have many opportunities to witness when something “clicks” with one of my kids and becomes something the understand rather than something they are learning. I love watching that light go on in their heads!

Shiloh has a knack for cooking. Somewhere I have a picture of her holding the first tray of cookies she ever baked on her own, at age FIVE! Many times I will just ask her to make some cookies, and within a short period of time the whole house smells great.

Baking has clicked with her. She now adapts recipes easily and without much though, measures by the feel of it in her hand, the weight, and the texture and look of what she is baking. Because of that she enjoys it. And she is good at it.

These are her recipe, totally. She adapted another recipe, changing both ingredients and actual structure of the cookie. I thought the addition of the pecan half on top was brilliant. The cookies are rich and peanut butter-y, and the bittersweet chocolate ganache gives them a sophisticated touch. They were completely gone in a matter of minutes.

This recipe is (c) Marye Audet at Baking Delights (http://bakingdelights.com) If you find it on another website..please visit the original and comment to let me know..thanks.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ganache Sandwich Cookies

1/2 c unsalted butter

1/2 c peanut butter, preferably freshly ground homemade

1/2 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar, packed

1 Tbs honey

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 c finely chopped pecans

1 tsp salt if the peanut butter is homemade

In a large bowl cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla. Beat in the egg.

Combine the dry ingredients, and pecans, and mix into the creamed mixture.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto a silpat covered baking sheet. Bake at 350 until golden brown. Cool.

Ganache

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

Bring cream just to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Cool in refrigerator until the consistency is thick and spreadable (about like peanut butter)

Sandwich two cookies together with a tablespoon or so of the ganache. Place a dab of ganache on the top of the sandwich cookie and affix a pecan half. Makes about 2 -3 dozen, depending on size.

Post from: Baking Delights

Eggnog Christmas Bread with Buttered Rum Glaze
Makes: 1 loaf

2 eggs
1 cups sugar
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
1 1/2 teaspoons rum extract
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Buttered Rum Glaze
Make this after bread comes out of the oven:

1/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c unsalted butter
1 teaspoon rum extract

Melt butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan until smooth and sugar looses it’s graininess.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9×5x3 bread pans.

Beat eggs, add sugar, eggnog, butter,
rum and vanilla until blended.

In a bowl mix together flour, baking powder and nutmeg. Add to the egg mixture and stir until just moistened. Don’t over stir.

Pour into greased pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out
clean

Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Glaze with frosting while still warm.

Cool bread completely before slicing.

Post from: Baking Delights