Patsy's Light Bread

As part of my preparations for being safer at home right now, I made certain I had yeast. I normally buy mine in a large package and knew that I had some in the fridge but I was definitely not going to walk by it in Costco and not throw a bag in my cart at a time when I might be able to spend baking at home. I am glad I did because like all of you right now, I need comfort more than anything and my grandmother's light bread recipe is one of the most comforting foods I make. The bread takes some time so make sure you read the recipe from beginning to end before starting; you will need to allow the starter to sit overnight.

I remember loving nothing more than walking in my mama's kitchen and seeing her loaves of bread cooling on the counter. Even when the arthritis in her hands was at its worst, she still managed to knead the bread and lift it out of the oven. Summertime was always the best season to have it because there were tomatoes from her garden to top the buttered bread with. A little salt and a little better on top was all it needed. Every time I make it, I close my eyes on my first bite and imagine sitting beside her at that kitchen table; each loaf feels sacred and as close to Communion at home as I have ever known.

Bread baker is a part of my identity that I claim and own. I am proud of my skills and always feel the deepest sense of accomplishment when I see the fruits of my labor; I hope my grandmother felt that way, too. For her, I am certain it was a necessity but I like to think she sometimes would stop and admire her work. The funny thing is, she didn't trust me at first with her bread recipes. She told me once that it was too hard and I would kill the yeast if I wasn't careful. Once I had proved myself in my own kitchen, she turned over her angel biscuit recipe to me and I knew I was in her club.

Over the past few weeks, I have found joy in seeing my friends' post their pictures of their own bread baking and even more in sharing yeast and recipes. In fact, I have a younger friend that I teach with who, like everything she does, has approached bread baking with full enthusiasm and is willing to take risks; I love it!

I have also loved receiving emails from my cousin Mary Alice who is the keeper of family stories and recipes. Mary Alice lives across the country from me but we are so connected when we are in our respective kitchens. Her own daughter Megan lives near her and they share many recipes. Seeing the pictures of Mary Alice cooking with her granddaughters (right now via Zoom!) also brings me joy. Mary Alice and I have gone back and forth several times via email about this particular recipe and every exchange feels sacred. These ties that bind are strong.

This recipe is not for the light-hearted (no pun intended!) as it takes patience and time but if ever there was a time to try it and you are fortunate enough to have yeast and flour, I hope that you might be able to look past the fear and anxiety that are the zeitgiest right now and find some comfort in watching this bread come to life in your own kitchen.

Patsy's Light Bread (click for printable recipe)

Potato Starter

 3 potatoes (about 3/4 lb)
4 Tablespoons sugar
About 1/2 cup cold water
1 1/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
1 pkg (or 2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast (sometimes called "instant" but NOT rapid rise) dissolved in 1 cup water

"Pare good sound potatoes" (directly from Mama's recipe! Just peel them). Cut into small dice and cook until very tender in boiling water. Mash potatoes in the water they were cooked in. Add sugar, salt, and enough cold water to make 3 1/4 cups of liquid. Add the yeast that has been dissolved in one cup of warm water to potato mixture. Allow to sit on counter overnight. (NOTE: I use my immersion blender to get it good and mixed up)

In the morning, the mixture should be light and frothy with bubbly action. If that is the case, it's ready to use. Stir it well.

Bread Recipe
(enough for one loaf.  I always double it and make 2 loaves since the starter is already made)

1 cup starter from night before
2 Tablespoons shortening (Crisco)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
3-4 cups flour, sifted

Put the starter in the a large mixing bowl. Scald milk and add the sugar, shortening, and salt to milk. When cool, add to starter. Stir in flour. turn dough onto lightly floured board. Knead for a few minutes, but not too much. Place dough in a greased bowl. Brush top with oil or melted shortening. 

Cover with cloth and let it sit where it is warm (my trick is in my laundry room while I do loads of laundry in hot water and run the dryer!) until it has doubled. This should take about 90 minutes or so.

Punch dough down and shape into round ball. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Shape dough into loaf and put in a greased loaf pan. Let rise until doubled and over the top of the pan. Bake in a hot oven, 400 degrees, for 30-35 minutes until it is browned on top. Brush melted butter on top. Remove from pan and let sit until cooled.

Mexican Street Corn Salad

It seems like every summer there is one "signature" dish that I make over and over again. This year I happened upon it at my local Publix supermarket with my friend Sundi. I have followed their Apron meals for years and love that the new stores have an entire fancy area dedicated to the featured specials and all the ingredients right there. When Sundi and I sampled the dish at Publix, we grabbed all the ingredients and made it as soon as we got home!

For years and years I have avoided any random corn dish but somewhere along the way decided to abandon that disdain and now I have found several corn salads and side dishes that I really love. This Mexican Street Corn Salad is definitely one of them! There is something so fresh and summery about it.  You can find the recipe on the Publix website. I am lucky enough to have great farmer's markets with Peaches and Cream corn to use in it but you can use any fresh corn that you have available.

I have enjoyed sharing the salad with friends and family and this evening was happy to take it to our church potluck where I shared the recipe with a friend. Pat is an all around amazing human being who makes the world brighter in so very many ways. Her home and her heart are both so warm and you leave being with her feeling a little lighter and definitely more loved. Through the years we have shared laughter, tears, prayers, stories, and of course, recipes! Pat is a vegetarian so I am always happy when I have a dish to share with her that she can eat. I promised her that I would share this recipe with her and decided that I had given it out so many times that it needed to go on my blog! It's just easier that way.

The key flavor in this dish is a McCormick spice mix called Grill Mates Chipotle and Garlic Seasoning. I found it at Publix on the spice aisle with all the other grilling seasonings. You might want to grab 2 bottles because it goes fast if you make the salad often. I also imagine it would be great on fajitas or any kind of Tex-Mex fare. For this recipe you will spray your shucked and silked corn with non-cooking spray (the Crisco kind is my favorite) and then liberally sprinkle the seasoning on it before roasting it in the oven. You also use the seasoning in the dressing mix.

The original recipe calls for using feta in the salad but that seemed odd to me given that the dish is Mexican so I replace the feta with cotija, a Mexican crumbling cheese that is readily found in the dairy aisle.

For your next potluck or even just for a family dinner, this recipe will definitely be a crowd pleaser!

Mexican Street Corn Salad (click for printable recipe)

4 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
non-stick spray (I like Crisco)
McCormick Grill Mates Chipotle and Garlic Seasoning
3 T. chopped cilantro (I used dried Penzy's cilantro leaf)
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
3 green onions, thinly sliced
juice of 3 limes
1 additional teaspoon McCormick Grill Mates Chipotle and Garlic Seasoning
3 T. mayonnaise (I always use Duke's. You could also use crema)
1 C. crumbled cotija cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray corn with nonstick spray, place in a glass baking dish and sprinkle seasoning on liberally. Roast corn for 15 minutes and allow to cool. Cut kernels from corn and scrape dull side of knife along the cobs for some of the juice.

Combine cilantro, mayonnaise, 1 t. seasoning, and lime juice in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add onions, corn, and cheese. Toss together. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Matchstick Fried Okra

The end of July means that summer is drawing to a close for our family. I start back at school on Monday and my girls will join me the following week. I find myself frantically trying to take care of all the chores I just knew I would tackle in the first few days of break but never did and also trying to hold on to all of my favorite parts of the season.

One of those favorites is going to a local farmer's market on Saturdays. After we moved here 13 years ago, I immediately fell in love with the Maryville market. My husband teaches at Maryville College and several of his colleagues told us how fabulous it was. It is a bit of a drive from our house on a weekend morning and getting there when it opens is imperative if you want the best goods so it's worth it to wake up early.

This morning was extra joyful because my mom joined me for the trip. I loved sharing the experience with her and introducing her to some of my favorite vendors! We both came home with a bounty of fresh produce, pimento and baguettes from Blackberry Farms, and a beautiful bouquet of zinnias. Among our treasures were boxes of okra that had some burgundy ones mixed in.

I was so excited to come home and make a new recipe for okra that my mom made recently. Mom and Dad moved to Knoxville in May and our family has so loved being able to share meals together more often. We linger over dinner and then move our conversation to their peaceful back porch to watch the birds in the woods behind their house and then the sunset. These evenings are sacred and I am so grateful for every meal we have shared together.

I am also grateful that my mom taught me how to make her matchstick fried okra! She tried some at an Indian restaurant and then luckily figured out how to duplicate it. I have never been a huge fan of okra but these little strings were so delicious and I couldn't stop eating them.

The trick to the recipe is to make sure that you cut the okra in thin little strips which requires a very sharp knife. Be sure to dry the okra very well after rinsing it off. You will want to cut the okra in half lengthwise and then lay the seed side of each half down on the cutting board. Then just slice very thin, long strips of the okra. You really want little shoestrings when you are done. Be sure your oil is very hot and that you have a plate close by for draining them. A little salt is all you need for seasoning them.

As you are soaking up the last of summer, be sure to put these okra on your list to try!

Matchstick Fried Okra (click here for printable recipe)
fresh okra, rinsed and dried
olive oil
flour
salt

Slice okra in half lengthwise. Turn each half seed side down on the cutting board and then slice very thin.

Sprinkle a very small amount of flour (less than a teaspoon) over the okra strings and toss to combine.

Heat around 1 1/2 - 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat to about 350 degrees (I stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and when it has little bubbles all around it, I know it's ready).

Fry okra in batches for about 6-8 minutes or until brown and crispy. Remove to paper towel lined plate and blot. Salt lightly.

Goblin Cheeseball

I love Halloween for so, so many reasons and not the least of which is that it means it's time for my friend Landon's famous goblin cheeseball! This year I finally managed to snap a picture of him before he lost an eye or an ear.

Every year I host a Spooky Treat Day in the back of our school library on Halloween. It's such a great way for our staff to share fun recipes or treats that they discover with one another. I look forward to this day so much just because we all get to be a little silly.

For several years now, Landon has contributed his clever little goblin guys and I have to say, they are always the highlight of the spread for me. Not only is it so fun to see him appear on his special little plate but it's also hearing how many people come by and rave about him that makes him such a treat. Not to mention, he's always really tasty even if it takes awhile for someone brave to finally cut off part of his face!

It's so very fitting that something that brings so much joy to so many people was created by Landon. Landon is simply one of those people that makes any room feel instantly better when he walks in. His smile is infectious and he manages to make everyone feel special. I see this gift not only in his interactions with me and my friends, but perhaps most importantly, with his students. It is obvious from day one of class that he is in their corner and that his relationships with them matter more than anything else to him. I am always so honored when he asks me to teach lessons with him and I treasure the moments I have spent with him and his students through the years. Every time we teach together, I come away having learned so much about how to love and affirm teenagers who often just don't get enough of that.

I am grateful that Landon shares his goblin with us every Halloween but even more so that he shares his big, loving heart with all of us every single day!

Goblin Cheeseball (click here for printable recipe)

2 8-ounce cartons of cream cheese ( Use Neufchatel if you'd like to reduce the fat content.)

1 carton of whipped cream cheese

1 8-ounce bag of shredded sharp cheddar (sometimes I use half Monterrey jack)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2-3 dashes of whatever good hot sauce you have on hand

1 cup of walnut chunks

about 5 drops of green food coloring (or whatever color suits your mood)

2 whole olives

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 carrot tip for the nose

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, shredded cheese, pepper, garlic powder, and hot sauce. Mix thoroughly with a hand mixer.  On your serving plate, fashion into a skull-shaped ball.  Mix whipped cream cheese and food coloring with a fork and coat the goblin's head with the colored mixture.  Slice off the side of a green bell pepper and cut in half for ears, and stick them into the side of the head.  Put olives in for eyes and a carrot tip for the nose. For the mouth, slice off 1" strips of the red bell pepper and use kitchen scissors to cut out lips and then place them over the goblin's mouth. When all the parts are in, sprinkle and press the walnut chunks to give him hair.  

Refrigerate until time to gobble the goblin and serve with your favorite crackers! Enjoy!

Deep South Shrimp Boil

What happens when you take two sisters from Panama City, Florida, one husband from Louisiana, one husband from Alabama and put them all together? In the case of our dear friends the Landrys and the Byrds, you end up with a family whose hospitality and joie de vivre are endless! You also end up with plenty of varying opinions on how to cook their native cuisine, especially when it comes to seafood. Luckily, though, few things about their shrimp boil recipe are up for debate!

I first met my friend Geri when our youngest girls were in kindergarten. By this point in my life I was feeling like I didn't have enough time to invest deeply in the friendships I already had and just didn't need new ones that would come along with my littlest's elementary career. Luckily for me, though, I was really, really wrong, and along came Geri. As her sister Gina tells the story, they decided to show me just how wrong I was! Fast forward a year and a half and I cannot imagine life without either of those sisters and their families. These are lifelong friends and I could not be more grateful for the bonds and memories we now share.

Anyone who knows the Landrys and the Byrds will tell you right off the bat how warm and friendly they all are and they will also tell you that these are people who like to have fun! We have enjoyed so many different kinds of gatherings at the Landry Farm and the Byrd Boat over the past couple of years and not once have we lacked for great food. I have gained so many great cooking tips and recipes that I was inspired to revisit my blog just so that I could share these with my readers. They all love to cook and have let me play in the kitchen alongside them.

Russell recently hosted his sisters and his niece for several days and invited us out to their boat to swim and to have a shrimp boil. Now, I need to confess that I generally steer clear of seafood but the Landry-Byrds have taught me to really enjoy shrimp. Even though I rarely order any food from the ocean, I love, love, love the culture related to all of it and enjoy learning all about tools and methods for procuring and eating seafood. Watching Russell prepare everything and helping him with some of it was so much fun and the end result was one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten (luckily for me, I didn't have to watch the shrimp heads come off, though!) so I decided that's what I needed to share here.

I love the picture above that was taken by Russell's daughter Sarah because it showcases the little Cajun pirogue that Russell serves his shrimp boil in. I learned that this fiberglass facsimile is based on wooden boats used to haul in nets of shrimp or crawdads. I also love that you can see Gina's hands are in the pirogue sorting out the various parts of the finished boil; I learned that this is an important part of doing a shrimp boil correctly!

Russell's method came from another Cajun transplant to Knoxville who is a good friend of both the Byrds and the Landrys, Kevin LeBlanc. Kevin is another incredible cook and I love both watching him prepare food and listening to his accent!  

As Russell and Chris, Geri's husband, talked me through the recipe, several things jumped out at me that make it work so well. First of all, they use the littlest potatoes they can find so that you don't have to cut them. I have always just quartered larger red potatoes and have always been disappointed in the results. I will definitely use little ones from now on! They also use a big basket in the pot for lifting everything out as opposed to pouring it all out in a colander which is what I have always done. They also use mushrooms, brussel sprouts, onions, and garlic. Now, there are tricks to the onion and garlic. The tops of the garlic bulbs are cut off and then wrapped in foil which is then poked with holes with a fork as are the whole onions (separately, though) before they go in the pot. The type of sausage can vary depending on your taste so Andouille works great or you can even use Kielbasa. The Landrys love Connecuh brand sausage which I can find at Ingles locally. As for the shrimp, their trick for serving it is spot on! Once all the other items in the boil come out, the shrimp go in separately and have their own section in the pirogue (just use whatever serving platter you have) and are iced down to keep them from continuing to cook. The result is perfectly cooked shrimp! 

My two favorite pieces of advice from Russell are to first judge the amount of spices you use in the boil by sticking your head over the pot to see if you can still breathe. He says that if it takes your breath away but you can keep your head over it, you are good to go! He also advised me to always serve it with the remoulade that Gina or Geri whip up (mix mayo, sweet pickle relish, catsup, and hot sauce to taste) to dip your shrimp in.

I hope that you will find a time in the remaining days of summer to gather your friends and family together to try this shrimp boil! In the spirit of the Byrds and the Landrys, keep it fun and casual, work side by side to prepare it, and more than anything, just enjoy being with one another as you feast!

Deep South Shrimp Boil (click for printable recipe)

(Amounts of ingredients other than for the boiling water will vary depending on how large of a crowd you are serving so I am not going to include them)

3 lemons, halved
8 oz Zatarain's liquid crab boil or 3 bags of Zatarain's packets (leave spices in packets)
1/4 cup salt
1 bottle of beer (your choice of brand)
small potatoes (red or white), washed (if they have been in the fridge they will need extra time to boil) and left whole
mushrooms, washed and left whole
garlic bulbs, tops cut off, wrapped tightly in foil with holes poked in foil
onions peeled, wrapped tightly in foil with holes poked in foil
brussel sprouts, washed and left whole
celery, washed and cut in big pieces
Andouille or other sausage of your choice, cut in large pieces
fresh corn, shucked, silked, and broken in half
shrimp
remoulade recipe of your choice

Begin with 15 gallons of water in a large pot with a basket insert. Squeeze lemons and drop in pot. Add liquid crab boil or packets, salt, and beer. Bring to a rolling boil.

Add potatoes in whole. Bring back to a full boil.

Add mushrooms, garlic, onions, brussel sprouts, celery, and sausage. Bring back to a full boil.

Add corn. Bring back to a boil and only allow to boil for 1-3 minutes.

Lift basket and add all ingredients to serving dish. Leave an empty space for the shrimp.

Bring water back to a full boil with nothing in the pot. Add shrimp and cook for no longer than 3 minutes.

Lift basket out of water and add shrimp to the serving dish. Immediately pour ice over the shrimp to stop them from cooking.

Black Raspberry Mini Pies

Berries are on the list of foods that no matter how much you try to convince me of it, I will never believe that they have real nutritional value because they just taste too good to! I love berries of every kind and I get so excited when they start appearing at my local farmer's markets. I also love picking my own berries and am trying my hand at growing a few this summer.

Yesterday on a trip to visit my parents in Virginia, my mom and I found ourselves with a little time on our hands and since neither of us sit at home readily, we set off on a drive in the country with my littlest daughter. There was a beautiful road I remembered driving on many, many years ago and I still treasure the memory of that autumn day so we headed there again. I am so glad we did because we found ourselves at a farm where we thought we could pick blueberries. It turns out the blueberries weren't ready yet but the black raspberries were! Black raspberries! We felt like we had stumbled on a magnificent treasure. The woman who runs the farm said we made it at the perfect time because apparently the harvest is quite short for the berries and only lasts about 15 days. We arrived on day 6 which is peak picking time.

 The berries were not my only treasure, though. The time I spent with Mom and Emory was so special and Mom and I talked about how much we both adore little adventures. We are both always eager to head out on paths we have never been on which is likely due to my dad's military career; it made us wanderlust!

The briars and slightly steep hills did not deter us and we picked until we both had about a pound and a half. Our fingers were stained a gorgeous shade of purple by the time we left which didn't bother either of us a bit. As we pulled off the farm, we were both trying to figure out exactly what we wanted to do with our beautiful berries and agreed that whatever it was, it needed to be special. No quick cobblers for these babies!

On our drive home to Tennessee today, Mom texted me the recipe she had decided on: black raspberry ice cream. I think I knew all along that mine were destined for pies.

I recently bought a pack of mini pie tins from Amazon and have loved using them this summer for my tomato pies. Here is a link to the tins. They come in a pack of 50 disposable tins and are a great value for around $10. The main thing I love about them is that the pies cook so much faster, not to mention they are super adorable. I knew that my raspberry pies would be perfect in these.

I started with my basic pie crust recipe for two pies and used one to cut the crusts out in round pieces to fit in the bottom. You could also roll them out individually but I feel like that might take a little longer. You could also use roll out store bought crusts, of course, but for something as special as black raspberries, I just couldn't do it. With the second half of my double crust recipe I just cut out the tops and then crimped them before cutting slits in the top. You could easily make one big pie with this recipe but would need to double the berry filling and definitely increase the baking time.

If you find yourself lucky enough to have stumbled upon a black raspberry patch, I really think this is the best use of your berries!

Black Raspberry Mini Pies (click for printable recipe)

1 double pie crust recipe (here is my favorite)
4 cups of berries, rinsed, drained, and dried on towels
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 cup flour
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
1 egg white
1 tablespoon of water
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a heavy baking sheet with foil (I use Reynolds release foil)

Mix together sugars, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Add berries and stir very, very gently so as to not squish the berries. Set aside.

Cut half of a chilled pie crust recipe into four circles slightly larger than than the pie tins. Press into pie tins. Place in freezer. Cut other half of pie crust recipe into circles.

Divide filling between the four pie crusts. Cover with second set of crusts and crimp the edges of the pies. Cut four small slits in the tops of each pie. Sparkling sugar or sugar in the raw works best for sprinkling on the top of the pies but regular white sugar can be used. Sprinkle before baking.

Whisk egg white with water and brush on tops of pies. Sprinkle with sugar. Sparkling sugar or sugar in the raw works best for sprinkling on the top of the pies but regular white sugar can be used.

Place pies on prepared baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the pies are brown and bubbling.

Steak Veggies

Is there a more perfect night to grill than the longest day of year? I am always hard pressed to nail down my very favorite season (although deep down I think it really is fall) but I never find it a challenge to list hundreds of things I love about each season. Grilling out and eating on the deck are high on my count of what I adore about summer!

Our girls have been gone for close to two weeks as they have each spent time with their two sets of grandparents. My husband and I have missed them deeply but also know that we need to take full advantage of the opportunity for extended date nights and to relish cooking whatever we want to.

Tonight was our last date night and the summer solstice night so we opted for grilling steaks and opening a bottle of red wine we have been saving for a while. It was most definitely the right choice!

I knew I wanted grilled veggies with our steaks and kabobs came to mind right away while I was shopping this morning. I have to admit, though, that while I love the idea of kabobs, they just never really turn out right for us. Somehow the vegetables never end up being done at the same time and I am always left disappointed. Add to that the fact that they are a little more troublesome and I was going for easy breezy tonight. So I went back to the drawing board.

The other night I made Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions from a recipe I just saw in Cook's Country. The sandwiches were delicious and the method for cooking the onions and peppers was perfect so I used this as the inspiration for our veggies tonight. Starting the peppers, onions, and mushrooms in the microwave cuts down on the cooking time outside and it also helps to ensure that they are cooked evenly. It was definitely the right choice and both my husband and I agreed that we would return to this plan next time we grill steaks. These veggies would also be great with chicken. We had a few left so I stuck them in the fridge with the plan to add them to a pasta dish. I also am going to try adding some fresh chopped rosemary to the recipe next time.

These veggies take very little prep time and for the most part the grilling is hands off with no worries of overcooking them. Be sure to purchase a disposable foil pan ahead of time if you decide to try these although I didn't dispose of mine at all. I just washed it and will use it again really soon for this recipe!

Steak Veggies (click for printable recipe)

2 onions (I prefer sweet ones like Vidalias), cut in half and then sliced in slices about 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, cut in half, seeds removed and then sliced about 1/4" thick
1 8 oz. package button mushrooms, wiped clean with a wet paper towel (I like the teeniest, tiniest ones I can find)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
9X13 disposable aluminum pan

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Transfer to a glass dish and cover. Microwave for six minutes. Transfer mixture to disposable aluminum pan.

Preheat grill on medium high. Place pan on top of the hottest part of the grill.

Cook for 25 -30 minutes stirring a few times. Remove from grill and serve with steak.

Deconstructed Corned Beef Dinner

Yay! It's St. Patrick's Day! Yay! Yay! You know, that holiday where every single year I get so excited about preparing a traditional Irish boiled dinner with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and onions? Except that every year when I look at all of those various foods that have been swimming all day in brisket grease, I just feel sad and disappointed and let me be really honest, a bit empty inside.

Well, this year I solved the problem and now I would be thrilled to fix (and eat!) this dinner again tomorrow night! The answer? Deconstructing the whole meal while preparing it and then serving it all together.

This year I served our St. Patrick's dinner a night early and had two of my dearest friends and their families over to celebrate with us. My friend Janet made the kids really happy by bringing a traditional Irish Chick-fil-a nugget tray and Angela brought homemade kid friendly cupcakes with green sprinkles that did not have the Bailey's Irish Cream in them that our grown-up dessert did. The night was a success and we all agreed that the new dinner method was far superior to my old efforts.

I started my prep early in the day by putting the corned beef brisket in the slow cooker, fat side up, with traditional corned beef spices and enough water to cover it. I figured the slow cooker was a great way to ensure that the meat did not overcook. I started it on high for 2 hours and then turned it to low for about 5 more which made the meat really tender.

My house smelled so good all day from the spices! It is really important to note that I did not use the tiny spice packet that came with the brisket like I usually do but instead I put the entire contents from a 1/4 cup jar of Penzey's Corned Beef Spices in with the meat. Please, please, please tell me that you have heard of Penzey's Spices??? If you have not, then you need to stop reading right, right now and go to the Penzey's website. Then, if you are anything like me, order enough spices to get free shipping and start planning your trip to the store closest to you. My Aunt Donna introduced this company to me and I will be the first to admit that I have a SERIOUS addiction to Penzey's! Serious as in I had to rearrange my entire lazy Susan and order special containers to contain all of my Penzey's spices. Serious as in I spent close to two hours in the store in Raleigh. All of their spices are so fresh and of the highest quality. They also have incredible blends and multiple salt-free options. I also love that you can purchase small quantities so that you can decide which ones you like. Feel free to contact me for suggestions if you get overwhelmed by the choices and I can share some of my favorites with you. In fact, after dinner tonight, just because I know how to party like a rockstar, I opened all the jars and had Janet and Angela smell all of them. It felt a little like a pyramid scheme or perhaps a cult experience now that I reflect back upon it . . . If you don't have a Penzey's near you, though, just use the spice packet  that comes with the brisket. Next year I suggest you plan ahead so that you have a little jar of Penzey's to use for St. Patrick's Day. Once the brisket finished cooking, I sliced off the fat layer and then seared both sides of the brisket in a hot pan with olive oil. I did salt and pepper my corned beef before searing it because I bought the low-sodium kind and felt like it needed a little more flavor.

In an effort to avoid soggy vegetables, I decided to roast all of them separately and it worked great! I did all of them in an oven heated to 375 degrees. I peeled and cut carrots on a bias so that they were in fairly big pieces of about 1 1/2" and then tossed them in olive oil and salt. I poured those on a rimmed baking sheet. After I cut the bottom of a head of cabbage off, I sliced the cabbage into thick slices and put it in a large glass baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle Penzey's Bavarian Style Seasoning. You could certainly skip the Penzey's spice but I thought it made the cabbage extra special! I also wanted to give brussels sprouts a chance to I roasted a few of those tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper and it turns out I like them!

For the potatoes I used teeny tiny little Melissa's baby dutch yellow potatoes and cooked them on their own baking sheet. I seasoned them with olive oil, salt, Penzey's pepper blend, Penzey's smoked paprika, Penzey's sweet paprika, and Penzey's toasted granulated onion. Again, you can use regular spices from the grocery store if that's what you have on hand, but trust me, you are really going to want the Penzey's kind!

My method for the onions was to slice them in fairly thick slices and to caramelize them by sauteeing them in about 2 tablespoons of butter and a drizzle of olive oil. I cooked them over medium-low heat and added salt and pepper. They took about 20 minutes to become nice and golden brown.

Once everything was cooked, I put the brisket in a serving dish and layered everything around it. It looked so much more appealing than my usual St. Patrick's Day dinner and it tasted much better, too! We topped it with a balsamic reduction which made it even more flavorful. Even though there were more pans to clean, the effort was well worth it!

Deconstructed Corned Beef Dinner (click for printable recipe)

1 corned beef brisket, drained (I prefer a low-sodium one)
whole carrots, peeled and cut on a bias about 11/2" thick
1 head of cabbage
2 onions, cut in half and sliced about 1/2" thick
bag of small, whole golden potatoes
salt
pepper
paprika
onion powder
olive oil
balsamic vinegar, reduced

Drain corned beef brisket and place in slow cooker. Sprinkle spices from spice packet on top. Pour water to cover. Cook on high for 2 hours and low for 5-6 more. Remove brisket from slow cooker and cut off layer of fat. Heat a skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil and quickly sear brisket on both sides just before serving.

About an hour before the brisket finishes, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss peeled, sliced carrots in olive oil and salt. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until carrots are tender. Be sure to shake the pan frequently.

Cut the bottom of the cabbage off and slice cabbage into thick slices. Place in a glass casserole dish and drizzle olive oil on cabbage. Top with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until tender.

Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Be sure to shake the pan frequently.

Place brisket on a serving dish and pile onions, carrots, and cabbage all around. Serve potatoes on the side.

Serve with balsamic reduction and whole-grain mustard if desired.

M&M Cookies

Let the official holiday baking season begin!

My oldest daughter is a cellist in our local youth symphony (I love saying she's a cellist rather than she plays the cello!) and has the first holiday event on our calendar tomorrow night with a party immediately following practice so I was excited about baking something for her. She was content with brownies from a box but I wasn't so I turned to the bag of holiday M&Ms in the pantry. I started a tradition this year of sending cookies in pretty little bags to the girls' teachers every Monday so I figured cookies with cheerful M&Ms would be perfect for this time of year.

I have no idea where I found this recipe; it just lives in my tried and true treasure box of recipes. It is written in my 19 year-old handwriting so it must have landed there when I was in college. I can't say that there is anything particularly unique about this cookie recipe; I just know it works so it's the one I use. It is such a fun recipe to make with kids!

The recipe calls for shortening as opposed to butter, but I will always, always choose fat with flavor when it comes to cookies. Sometimes I will use half Crisco and half butter, but for this, I prefer all butter. Feel free to use shortening if you want fluffier cookies. The dough is a little bit sticky so I do recommend sticking it in the fridge for half an hour or so if you have time. I didn't and my cookies turned out just fine.

I make these year round but particularly love using holiday candies!

M&M Cookies (click for printable version)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter (or shortening)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag of M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into a bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Cream until fluffy.

With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour. Fold in M&Ms.

Drop by teaspoon onto parchment lined sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned. Do not overbake these cookies.

Lavonne's Cranberry Fluff

Yesterday was my birthday and I received a very unexpected gift; I ran into my friend Lavonne while I was out running errands! I was grateful not only for the two hugs she gave me but also for the chance to tell her in person how much we enjoyed her cranberry fluff on Thanksgiving. When she sent me the recipe, Lavonne had it titled Cranberry Salad (Fluff). Given the joy it brings me to name recipes on my blog after the people who share them, I quickly named it Lavonne's Cranberry Fluff!

Lavonne and I have been friends for many years but since she retired as front office secretary (one of the very hardest jobs in any school!) two years ago, I don't often get the chance to see her. I used to love going into the front office to swap recipes with Lavonne and I truly miss her being at our school! A few years ago, Lavonne brought her version of cranberry salad for a school potluck and I fell in love with it. I decided this year that I would love to add it to our Thanksgiving table and we were all glad that I did!

My grandmother used to make a dish she called 24 Hour Salad that was very similar to this one and while I love that one at Christmas, this is perfect for Thanksgiving. The whole berry cranberry sauce gives it just the right tartness.

Knowing how much I love the stories behind recipes, Lavonne shared with me where she got this one. It was passed down to her by her mother-in-law Elizabeth who has since passed away. She began working in her local school cafeteria in Pulaski, TN when her daughter started school and retired from Bridgeforth Middle School. She loved cooking for the kids and for her own family. I feel certain Lavonne must have plenty of treasured recipes from her mother-in-law as many of our own family recipes came from my great aunt who also cooked in a school cafeteria. I also imagine that Lavonne's mother-in-law was delighted that her son married such a great cook!

When Lavonne sent me the recipe, she said that she makes her fluff a little nuttier than the recipe calls for and since my life is always a little nutty, I opted for Lavonne's variation! I am just putting the amount I used in the recipe below. She also said that the marshmallows are optional but they just weren't for me; in they went!

I made this a day ahead of when I served it and it gave it just enough time to set up well. Be sure to purchase the whole berry sauce as opposed to the jellied kind.

May you love the fluff as we do and may you always unexpectedly run across a friend as good as Lavonne on your birthday!

Lavonne's Cranberry Fluff (click for printable recipe)

1 16 oz. can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1  20 oz. can of crushed pineapple, drained well
1 16 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 8 oz container of Cool Whip, thawed
2 cups of small marshmallows

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Beef Bourguignon with Parmesan Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Beef bourguignon. Julia Child. The two go hand in hand and so, consequently, for most of my adult life I have been too intimidated to try what I thought would be a quite difficult French classic. Thank goodness my chef friend John helped me move past that fear by sharing this recipe that is anything but complicated! My hope is that you, too, will be seduced by the simplicity of it and will give it a try yourself.

John is a highly trained (think Johnson Wales) chef whom I have had the privilege of teaching with for close to nine years now. He also happens to be a phenomenal teacher! I love sharing recipes with John and learning many of his inside tricks when it comes to cooking and baking. A few years ago John invited me to dinner and game night at his house and he served this recipe. When he opened the door to welcome me into his home, the smell was heavenly and I knew dinner was going to be superb. John was kind enough to share his mom's recipe with me and I made plans to make the dish the following weekend.

True story: my own family cheers when they find out this dish is on the menu and my 11-year-old even eats the mushrooms. I love making it for us on a Sunday because once I get it in the oven, my work is done for several hours and I can just relax.

The traditional recipe calls for Burgundy wine and while that will definitely work, my friend Angela suggested trying Pinot Noir in it so that is generally what I use.

Be sure to buy high quality stew beef and to brown it in very small batches. If you don't, the meat will turn gray but won't brown and that browning is a key part of the flavor. Also, make sure you add beef broth and wine in equal portions if you find it needs more liquid when you add the mushrooms and onions. I almost always end up adding more of both at this point as I am worried about the stew drying out. If you get too much liquid, you can always take the lid off and bake it a little longer to thicken up.

John served the beef bourguignon over Parmesan roasted garlic mashed potatoes and there was no way I would do anything but the same! His recipe came from Publix and it was perfect. As most of my regular readers know, I always reach for Sartori cheesed (found in the fine cheeses section of the grocery store) for cooking and I definitely recommend their Parmesan for this recipe. You can either shred your own or use one of their shredded blends. Sartori has an incredible MontAmore that I may try next time I make this dish. If you have not tried any of their cheeses, go to the store now to get some. Now. You will thank me.

You will need roasted garlic for the mashed potatoes and while there are plenty of recipes for roasting garlic available online, John's technique is way simpler so I suggest trying it. He advised me to just buy the pre-peeled cloves of garlic from the produce section and then place them in the middle of a square of aluminum foil, drizzle olive oil over the cloves, and then pull the corners of the foil up to twist the top like a clove. Brilliant! You then just pop the packet in the oven at 350 degrees for about half an hour or until they are soft and fragrant. I usually double wrap it just to be sure the oil does not leak out. You can bake this right along with the beef bourguignon.

The last important part of this recipe is to be sure to invite friends or family over so that you can completely convince them that you have mastered a Julia Child recipe!

Beef Bourguignon (click for printable recipe)

1/4 cup olive oil
3 lbs. stew beef
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup beef broth
1 cup dry red wine
8 oz fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 bag of frozen pearl onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Brown meat in three separate batches to avoid overcrowding and underbrowning. Add more olive oil if necessary as you brown. Return all meat to the pan and sprinkle with flour. Stir. Slowly add broth and wine being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cover the pot and place in oven for 2 hours.

Add mushrooms and onions. Stir. Add more wine and broth in equal parts if mixture seems dry. Be sure to add enough to allow mushrooms and onions to absorb liquid.

Cover and return to oven for 1 1/2 hours. If it is not thick enough for your tastes, remove the lid and return to the oven for 10 -15 more minutes.

Serve over Parmesan Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Parmesan Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (click for printable recipe)

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed well but not peeled and quartered
3 Tablespoons salted butter
3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
6 cloves of roasted garlic
1/2 cup shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Boil potatoes until they can be pierced with a fork. Drain. Return to pot and mash with a hand masher over low heat so that liquid will steam off.

While potatoes are boiling, heat cream and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Add slowly to mashed potatoes.

If potatoes need it, add a little more cream or milk.

Stir in cheese, garlic, salt, and better.

Parmesan Chicken and Wild Rice Bake

If you are anything like me, you are always in need of a great go-to recipe for your family or to share with someone who needs a meal! My own repertoire was seeming overused to me but this addition to my collection was a success with my own family and with friends I have shared it with.

Earlier this fall my mom, sister, and I went out to visit family in Washington state where my aunt and uncle prepared an incredible meal of chicken, wild rice, and broccoli. Turns out that wild rice is a side dish I never realized I needed in my life!

I immediately started thinking about a way to use it in a casserole and remembered several I have tried over the years. I knew most of them had water chestnuts and since I am not a huge fan of those, I started looking for one that was a little different. After a pretty extensive search, I landed on one from Better Homes and Gardens.

The basic recipe sounded quite good to me but I knew I wanted to change it up a little bit. I didn't want all of the other flavors from a boxed wild rice mix, so instead I bought a jar of wild rice mix that only had the rice in it and substituted that for the one called for in the original recipe.

You could certainly use the boxed kind if you wanted to but I found the results with this to be perfect. I bought this one in the rice section of Kroger and while it was a little pricey (about $7 for the jar) I know I can get at least three casseroles out of it. You could also just use any other wild rice you find. I just know that this one worked great and that it only took about 20 minutes to cook the rice.

Aside from the lack of water chestnuts in this recipe, I was also drawn to the Parmesan cheese it calls for as most other recipes do not use this ingredient. I am a HUGE fan of Sartori cheeses (as you can tell from other blog posts!) so of course that was my go to for this part. You can find the grated Sartori in the fine cheese section of your grocery store. The bag lasts for quite a while and is a much better alternative to other "shakey cheeses" as we call grated parmesan in our house!

I also love the depth that the white wine adds to this recipe. It only calls for about 1/3 of a cup but it adds so much flavor overall. My preference for white wine in recipes is Sauvignon Blanc but any dry white wine would work fine. I would avoid cooking wine as it often makes recipes too salty for my tastes.

The original recipe calls for a can of cream of chicken soup which you could certainly use for convenience, but I really and truly believe my homemade "cream of" soup makes any casserole recipe a hundred times better. It doesn't take that long and the recipe makes enough for two casseroles which means one can go in the freezer for another meal. I do suggest thinning the frozen one out a little with a tablespoon or two of milk.

I wanted a little crunch to the casserole so the addition of about 1/2 a cup of chopped pecans the top accomplished this.

If you have access to fresh basil, by all means, include it to the recipe for even more flavor!

Parmesan Chicken and Wild Rice Bake (Click for printable recipe)

2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie works great!)
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 a recipe of homemade "cream of" soup (see below) or 1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (always Sartori brand for me)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a two quart baking dish.

Prepare rice, chicken, and "cream of" soup if using homemade.

In a small skillet over medium low heat, sauté onions and celery until softened.

Mix together onions, celery, soup, sour cream, white wine, salt, pepper, and basil. Combine chicken and wild rice in a large bowl. Stir together with soup mixture.

Pour mixture into casserole dish and top with parmesan and chopped pecans.

Bake uncovered for 25 - 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Homemade "Cream Of" Soup

1/3 C. finely chopped celery
1/3 C. finely chopped onion
1/3 C. butter
1/3 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. celery seed
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
1 3/4 C. chicken broth
2/3 C. milk

In a large pot or skillet, sautee onions, celery, and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until soft.  Add flour and seasonings.  Stir and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly stir in broth and milk.  Whisk over medium low heat until mixture has thickened.

Marinated Chickpea Salad

If you are anything like me, by this point in the school year you need a few more recipes up your sleeve to pack in lunches! I have one for you that is fabulously healthy and delicious.

In the midst of a fairly busy life, one dot on my calendar that I always look forward to is the monthly meeting of our Mother Daughter Book Club. I am not sure those words should all be capitalized according to the rules of standard grammar but in my head, they need to be capitalized because this group is that important to me.

Close to two years ago my oldest daughter, Kitely, read a book called The Mother Daughter Book Club and asked me if we could form one of our own. I loved the idea and helped her arrange the first meeting but honestly figured this would be something that would be fun for a bit but as a skeptical adult didn’t think our group would have the same staying power that the fictional girls in the novel had. I am so very happy to report that I was way wrong about this!

The girls decided together that they wanted to keep the club small so there are only four daughters and four mothers in it. We meet once a month and whoever is hosting the meeting chooses the book. We all read the book and the girls bring questions that drive our discussion. It is so much fun to see what we learn about each girls’ personality from her choices. Often when the girls are talking about the books the space seems so sacred and I find myself eternally grateful that my daughter chooses this activity for a Friday night. I love imagining where these girls will be a couple of years from now and what they will choose to read. I cannot even fathom what a hole there will be in my life once these girls leave home and we no longer meet so I usually quickly reign my thoughts in and focus on just how lovely this feels in the moment.

In addition to choosing the book, the hostess (with lots of help from the moms!) provide the meal for the club so consequently, I have collected plenty of good recipes over the past couple of years! The last time we met, my sweet friend Daphne made a chickpea salad for our main dish and everybody, including the eleven and twelve-year-olds, loved it. In fact, when I told Kitely I was making it for our lunches she squealed. Squealed. Over chickpeas. That should tell you how good this recipe is!

Daphne found this recipe in a Martha Stewart cookbook and said she has been making it for quite awhile. I snapped a picture of it to remember the basic recipe and then made a few changes to it to make it my own. One of the things I did to save time was to use canned chickpeas as opposed to cooking my own. I was worried about them being mushy but I solved that problem by using Bush’s chickpeas. Bush’s is always my go-to for canned beans and they never disappoint! Feel free to cook your own chickpeas according to the directions on a bag of dried ones. For another time saver I switched out the fresh herbs for dried Greek seasoning. You could use any brand here, but I love, love, love the kind from Zoe’s Kitchen!

I hope you enjoy it as much as our Mother Daughter Book Club does!

Marinated Chickpea Salad (click for printable recipe)

1 garlic clove, minced (I use the kind that you squeeze from a bottle)

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

¾ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (I love the kind I buy at Zoe’s Kitchen)

2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed well and drained

1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced finely

½ green bell pepper, diced finely

1 cup carrots, julienned (I buy the kind shredded in a bag to save time)

2 shallots, diced finely

grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered (I don’t add these until right before serving)

Whisk first seven ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Combine all remaining ingredients except for tomatoes in a bowl and top with dressing mixture. Allow to refrigerate overnight and add tomatoes just before serving.

Verdant Cobb Salad

     I am going to just admit right up front that the title of this recipe is pretentious. I should also admit that I am not entirely positive that I used the word "verdant" correctly. All I know is that the salad I made tonight was comprised almost entirely of green produce so verdant just seemed right to me. If it doesn't to you, I am okay with it. I will just keep calling it verdant in my head!

    After many, many, many days of indulgent meals and snacks over the holidays, all I was craving tonight was a fresh, crisp salad with minimally processed ingredients. I have always loved the design of cobb salads and often play around with the ingredients that I neatly line up in rows so that's the direction I went with tonight. I also used the salad as a means of teaching my ten-year-old daughter how to chop fruits and vegetables and how to line them up nicely on the platter. It is never too early to teach about the aesthetics of food preparation!

    I always start with a nice crisp green lettuce so tonight I layered a platter with chopped romaine lettuce. Our Costco has artisanal romaine hearts in a pack of five for only $3 so I usually grab a pack every week. One heart makes a perfect sized salad for our family.

    For our toppings we used a Granny Smith apple, an English cucumber, an avocado, pistachio nuts (shelled by my four-year-old!), feta cheese, and shredded chicken. For the chicken, rotisserie works great but we have found that our local BBQ restaurant, Archer's, has great smoked and pulled chicken. If you have a good BBQ restaurant close to you, I suggest purchasing your chicken from them. If you live in the Knoxville area and haven't tried Archer's, go now! They have fantastic meats!

    You could certainly use any bottled vinaigrette dressing to save time, but those of you who follow my blog know how much I love a good homemade salad dressing! In fact, we are down to one lone bottle of ranch dressing for Emory, my four-year-old, in the fridge since I have found that I always end up making fresh ones despite the number of open dressing we have. For this salad, I opted to use a variation from a salad I love on http://allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9237/winter-fruit-salad-with-lemon-poppyseed-dressing/). I used olive oil as opposed to the vegetable oil the recipe calls for and switched out half the lemon juice for lime. I also used dried "shaky" onions (as my friend Angela calls dehydrated minced onion) to save time. I almost always blend my salad dressings with my immersion blender or food processor. I really think the flavors just meld together better so I do advise doing this.

    My daughter, Kitely, suggested we garnish with raspberries but I happened to have some pomegranate arils left from a recent batch of my Winter Guacamole so I scattered a few around the top.

    If you are also feeling the need for something verdant, this salad might be just what you need!

Verdant Cobb Salad (click for printable version)

1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 cucumber, diced (I like the peel left on for this salad)
1 avocado, diced
feta cheese
pistachio nuts, shelled

Lemon Lime Poppyseed Dressing:

1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon dried, minced onion
1 teaspoon whole-grain or Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Layer romaine lettuce on a large platter. Make a strip of apple on top of lettuce. Continue with strips of cucumber, avocado, chicken, feta, and pistachio nuts. Garnish with pomegranate arils if desired.

For dressing, combine all ingredients and either blend together or shake vigorously. Allow to sit for at least half an hour for onion to soften and flavors to combine.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

     My guess is that many of you already possess a copy of some version of Peanut Butter Blossoms. These delightful cookies have been around for ages and almost always make an appearance at cookie swaps and holiday parties. I happen to think, though, that the specific recipe I inherited from my grandmother is the best version to be found which is why I am sharing it with you!

    Peanut Butter Blossoms have always been my mom's favorite Christmas cookie and I treasure the memories I have of her sneaking down to my grandmother's basement to retrieve some from the lid on the deep freezer in the "canning room." My grandparents never canned in the room but they did store all the jars of food they had put up from their garden. My grandmother also had deep chest freezers in the room which is where the stacks and stacks of Tupperware that held a dazzling array of Christmas cookies and candies could be found. I would give anything for a piece of her Peanut Butter Fluff during the holidays. I tried once to make it but failed miserably. It might be time, though, to try again!

    I did try years ago, however, to attempt making the Peanut Butter Blossoms and by now I think I have them pretty near perfected! My family and I made a batch tonight and had so much fun working together to get them done. My four-year-old loves to unwrap the Kisses which cuts my work down quite a bit. Seeing that my recipe card was growing quite faded, my ten-year-old offered to recopy it for me and so now I have a copy in her sweet handwriting. What a treasure! She even added her own line to the end: "Let cool and enjoy!"

   If you haven't finished your holiday baking this year and are looking for one more item to add to your own storehouse, I would encourage you to make a batch of these cookies! One thing to note, though, is that White Lily flour truly works best in these cookies. I would also caution you against overbaking them even by a minute as they are best when they are soft.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (click for printable version)

1 3/4 cups flour (White Lily is best)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

sugar for rolling

Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Cream butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until well blended. Add egg and vanilla and beat until creamy.

Turn mixer to low and gradually add sifted flour mixture, beating just until blended.

Shape into walnut sized balls using a cookie scoop if available. Roll gently in sugar and place at least 1" apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake for 5 minutes. Remove pans from oven and place one unwrapped Hershey Kiss in the middle of each cookie and press lightly just until cookies crack slightly. Be careful not to press too hard as cookies will fall apart if you do.

Return cookies to oven to bake for 2 minutes more.

Let cool and enjoy!

Ginger Snaps

     This past week I received a very thoughtful gift from my sweet friend Monica. Knowing how much I love regional cooking and the stories behind recipes, Monica gathered three Junior League cookbooks from her home state of Louisiana, specifically Lafayette. In my family we read cookbooks the way other people read novels so I couldn't wait to get home and start in on them! I am already in love and haven't made it past the cocktail section of Mardi Gras yet. The cookbooks date back to 1969 and I am devouring all of the extra comments found in the directions. My favorite thus far refers to the yield of the recipe depending upon whether the hostess is serving "four lusty drinkers," "eight bon vivants," or "sixteen party drinkers." I have spent all day wondering which category I fit in!

    Along with the cookbooks, Monica also gave me two smaller gifts and a glorious name and story for them. Apparently, coming from the Creole tradition when you give someone an extra little gift it is called a lagniappe or "a little extra." The term heralded from the days when merchants would add a little extra in the nap or the seam of the sack. The lagniappes Monica shared with me were a box of red beans and rice seasoning and a bag of her homemade ginger snaps.

   You are lucky readers for Monica has shared her recipe for the ginger snaps with me and has graciously allowed me to share it with you! She did, however, make me promise to tell you that she herself received the recipe from a friend. I already made a batch today so that I, too, could add lagniappes to some gifts I am delivering tomorrow. My kitchen smelled like the holidays when I opened the oven door to take them out!

    I am generally tempted to replace Crisco with butter in all my recipes, however, this time I made the cookies exactly as the recipe indicated I should since Monica's were so good and I advise you to do the same.  Monica also suggests doubling the recipe and I agree, especially if you plan to give some away.

  So if you find yourself wanting to add a lagniappe to a gift you are delivering, these cookies are the perfect choice!

Ginger Snaps (click for printable version)

3/4 cup Crisco
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
1 egg

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon (my favorite is King Arthur Vietnamese)
1/2 teaspoon cloves
 1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk dry ingredients together and set aside.

Cream Crisco, molasses, and sugar together. Add egg and mix thoroughly.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture just until combined.

Chill dough briefly (30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a cookie scoop, shape dough into balls and then roll into sugar.  Place on cookie sheets at least one inch apart.

Bake for 8 -10 minutes depending on size of cookie. Take care not to overbake these as they are best served soft.

Party Snack

At our house you know we are getting serious about celebrating the holidays when the boxes of Chex cereal come home from the grocery store! Party snack, as my family has called it since before I was born, is definitely one of my favorite treats to have around this time of year and I love sharing it with friends. A friend of mine has a slightly different version that her family has always called Buttons and Bows which I think is a delightful name for it!

My grandmother was the master Party Snack maker in our family and for as long as I can remember would spend a day in early December making a huge batch. She would store it on top of one of her many deep freezers in the basement along with stacks of Tupperware containers filled with holiday cookies and candies. Looking back, I have no idea how she managed to get everything made. I just know that it was important to her that she always had these things to share with the numerous friends and family members who stopped by during the holidays. We all made many, many trips to the basement to retrieve the goodies!

The Christmas after my grandmother died, I decided I would try making Party Snack. When I started asking for the recipe, though, no one in my family could find it. I was devastated to think that one of her treasured recipes was gone. I thought, however, that I could surely find her version online since there was no way it could be that different. I searched on the internet for quite awhile but to no avail. Sure, I found plenty of recipes for Chex Mix, but none of them seemed to have the right ingredients. Almost all of them called for butter which I really don't care for in this recipe. Just as I was about to give up, I looked in my own recipe box and discovered that years ago I must have copied my grandmother's recipe! I was so excited to find it and have made it every year since. Hopefully by putting it on my blog, I won't lose it again!

The only change I made to my grandmother's technique was to use the blender to combine the oil mixture. I feel like this helps distribute the seasonings better and that you get an overall better flavor. I also make a little more of the seasoned oil mixture than her recipe calls for, but I am pretty sure she might have done that, too.

While the recipe is in no way complicated, do make sure you allow for the full 2 hours it needs to bake and be sure you have lots of containers ready for storage as it makes a huge quantity! I always line my dining room table with newspapers and cover them with paper towels so that I can spread it out to cool. This helps keep the mix from getting soggy.

Party Snack (click for printable link)

12 oz. can of mixed nuts
12 oz. can of salted peanuts
1 box Cheerios
1 box Rice Chex
1 box Corn Chex
1 box Wheat Chex
1 pkg. small pretzel sticks

Seasoning:
2 1/2 cups of vegetable oil (original recipe calls for Wesson so that is what I use)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Evenly distribute the nuts, cereals, and pretzels between two large roasting pans. Toss gently to combine.

Blend or stir by hand the seasoning ingredients. Pour evenly over the cereal and stir to thoroughly coat.

Bake uncovered for 2 hours, stirring gently every 15 minutes. Be sure to stir from the bottom to evenly coat all pieces.

Spread out on paper towels to cool completely.

Rudolph Pretzels

'Tis a gift to be simple. I love this Shaker tune and, in fact, both of our mothers came down to the aisle at our wedding to a hammered dulcimer version of it. I love the sentiment of this single phrase. In my every day life I often struggle hard to live this way.

Lately, though, our family has slowed down considerably during this holiday season thanks to the generosity of our village. My father-in-law passed away last week and we have been so humbled by the number of individuals who have taken care of us and who are planning on providing dinners for us over the next couple of weeks. The week leading up to his death left our family on the road most days and feeling very scattered, so the gift of time together in the evenings has been such a blessing to us all. Not having to cook dinner has freed us up for quiet, simple activities that we rarely make time for. What a gift our friends have given us!

One of these activities was to make some very simple treats that my youngest daughter, Emory, is quite good at helping with. I know many of my recipes may seem more complicated than some of my readers want to tackle but I promise that this one is not! It really only requires three simple ingredients and the hardest step is unwrapping the Hershey Kisses, a job that is GREAT for little hands!

 After placing the Kisses on the pretzels, they only have to go into the oven for 6 minutes before you are ready to put the M&Ms on the top. Emory is great about making sure that all of the Ms are facing down! Work quickly and just be careful to place the M&Ms gently on the top of the slightly melted Kiss and press lightly down.

Once we finished making these tonight, Emory asked her sister if she wanted a Rudolph pretzel or "all the other reindeer kind" meaning the green ones!

Rudolph Pretzels (click for printable version)

1 bag of small pretzel twists
1 bag of milk chocolate Hershey kisses
red and green M&Ms (I use one of the plastic candy cane shaped tubes for this)

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place pretzels on baking sheet and top with one kiss per pretzel.

Bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly press one M&M in the center of each kiss.

Cool completely, refrigerating until firm if necessary.

Cranberry Mules

Happy Thanksgiving! Time for a cocktail!

As with nearly everything hip, I arrived at the Moscow Mule party more than fashionably late this summer. No matter. I arrived and that is all that is important! I immediately planted some mint, bought my husband a set of mugs (and a cute little mug for the shot of vodka!) for Father's Day, and started serving these magical concoctions up to any and all adult guests who walked through my door.  I even took the mugs along with all the supplies for the drinks for girls' weekend with four of my dearest friends from college where we celebrated our 40th birthdays. The mugs were also perfect for thanking my sweet friend Angela for painting my bathroom one evening! I love passing along the joy of a Moscow Mule now. In addition to tasting great, they are so simple to mix up making them the most perfect cocktails I have ever served.

I am not a huge fan of ginger beer, which is the traditional ingredient in Moscow Mules, so I mainly use ginger ale and top of the mug with ginger beer. Cock and Bull is my very favorite ginger beer and is easy to find in grocery stores. We have also tried several different craft ginger beers and have enjoyed those, too. Be sure to use non-alcholic ginger beer for the cocktails. You can also just use ginger ale and skip topping it off with the ginger beer if it seems easier.

Recent colder temperatures wreaked havoc on my mint plant as did my inability to remember to ever water it, so I sadly put our beautiful mugs away for the season. Luckily for me, my husband came home with some Canada Dry cranberry ginger ale and I was struck with inspiration to mix up a holiday version of my favorite new drink.

These are so easy to make and I know you are going to love serving them during the holidays! Grab a bottle of Cranberry Vodka (preferably Deep Eddy), some cranberry ginger ale, a lime, and a mug, and start mixing!

While the copper mugs really do add to the magic of the cocktail, I have also served these up in mason jars, so don't let a lack of mugs stop you from trying these!

Cranberry Mule (click for printable version)

ice
juice of one lime wedge
1 t. Rosie's sweetened lime juice (optional)
1 1/2 oz. cranberry vodka (or plain vodka)
cranberry ginger ale
non-alcoholic ginger beer (Cock and Bull is preferable)
cranberries

Fill a copper mug or glass with ice. Squeeze one lime wedge over the ice and add sweetened lime juice if you are using it. Pour vodka over the ice. Fill most of the rest of the mug with cranberry ginger ale and top with ginger beer if you choose to use it. Stir. Garnish with a toothpick skewer of cranberries.