I’ve been meaning to do this recipe for quite some time, but a friend’s birthday lunch finally inspired me. While these swans look quite elegant and complicated, they really are quite simple to do. A little practice with a pastry bag is all that is required! For the swans: 6 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup flour 3 eggs For the filling: 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup lemon curd
Mom's Meatloaf-A family favorite for more than 50 years!
1 lb. ground beef or beef and pork mixture 2 slices bread, crusts removed and cut or torn into small pieces 1/2 cup milk 1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup diced onion 1/2 teaspoon each: pepper, dry mustard, celery salt and garlic salt 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Ketchup Combine milk, egg and seasonings in a small bowl, stir in onion and add bread cubes. Stir to combine. Add to meat and mix gently. Shape into loaf and transfer to a small roasting pan. If desired, make indentations and fill with ketchup. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Our Molly has the great good fortune to be taken care of by Dr. Tack at the Black River Veterinary Hospital in Chester. NJ. Dr. Tack and his entire staff provide friendly, professional, compassionate caring at a level I have rarely found. As part of his caring, Dr. Tack publishes a monthly newsletter with lots of information and tips for caring for our pets. Last month, he printed a recipe for peanut butter dog treats. They are now Molly's official favorite treat. Easy to make, with ingredients you probably have on hand, they are wonderful for treats or training rewards!
The French have a term for it: "mis en place". It means: "everything in its place". Like many cooks, it took me some time to learn that this is a huge timesaver when you are baking or cooking. There is nothing more frustrating to be in the middle of a recipe only to find you are out of that one ingredient or implement that is essential for the dish you are preparing. So here are some tips which I hope you will find helpful for both gearing up for holiday baking and your everyday cooking
.This video provides ten tips for streamlining the baking process. Happy baking!
Getting ready to bake Christmas cookies? Watch these videos for easy to make treats....all family favorites.
The first recipe I had for these wonderful cookies was called simply “Apricot Pastries”. It was a number of years later that I discovered they were actually Rugelach. By then, they were firmly ensconced in my Christmas cookie repertoire. In addition to the original apricot filling, I have added a raspberry, chocolate, coconut filling. I have to warn you - these are very addictive!
Apricot Pastries
Ingredients:
1 cup butter 2 cups flour 1 beaten egg yolk ½ cup sour cream ½ cup apricot preserves ½ cup flaked coconut ¼ cup finely chopped pecans granulated sugar
With pastry blender, cut butter into flour until crumbly. Combine egg yolk and sour cream and blend into flour mixture. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill several hours or overnight. Divide into 4 equal parts. Roll into 10" circle keeping remaining dough chilled.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves, 2 tablespoons coconut, 1 tablespoon pecans. Don't use too much jam - it will only leak out and make a mess! Divide into twelve sections (like a pie). Roll up each section starting with wide end and dip in sugar. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
Makes 4 dozen
Alternate filling:
4 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam ¼ cup finely flaked coconut ¼ cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces ½ cup finely chopped walnuts ¼ cup sugar 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (optional)
Here is one of our Christmas cookie platter favorites: Meringue Kisses
3 egg whites, at room temperature ½ teaspoon cream of tarter 1 cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon mint flavoring a few drops of green food coloring
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°.
Using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer (you may also use a hand
mixer - it will just take a little longer) start beating the egg
whites. When they become foamy, add the cream of tarter and continue
beating adding the sugar very gradually until the mixture is quite stiff
- it should hold a peak. Add the flavoring and coloring and transfer
the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Pipe out small stars onto the parchment - they won't spread so they
can be fairly close together. If you like, pipe out some sticks as
demonstrated.
Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool completely before dipping in tempered chocolate. (Instructions for tempering follow.)
It was our daughter, Lauren's, birthday a few weeks ago and we traveled up to Vermont to celebrate with her. Since she has been old enough to request a menu, her birthday dinner has been fried chicken and peach pie! So I'm happy to share my peach pie recipe with you.
For a 7" pie
1½ cups flour
Pinch of salt
½ cup cold butter, diced
About 4 tablespoons ice water
Combine flour and salt and toss in butter cubes. Using a pastry blender, start to cut butter into flour. When manageable, finish rubbing in butter with your fingers - forming “flakes”. Add the water and toss with a fork to blend. Turn out onto a sheet of wax paper and bring dough together. Form into a disc, wrap in the wax paper and refrigerate for an hour.
If you choose to make the pastry in a food processor, simply pulse the butter with the flour and salt until you see small lumps - about 6 10-second pulses - then add the water and pulse just until dough starts to come together.
Divide dough more or less in half and use the larger portion to form the bottom crust. Roll out between two sheets of wax paper as demonstrated, remove the paper and turn into pie pan. If the crust is too soft, place back in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.
Roll out second portion of dough and cut into strips with a pastry cutter or knife. Return to refrigerator.
Peach filling:
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
A few gratings of nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter,
Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour in a small bowl then add to peaches and toss with a spatula to combine.
Pour peaches into the prepared crust, dot with butter cut into small pieces, top with the pastry strips to form a lattice top, crimp sides and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350° and continue baking for about 30 minutes or until peaches are bubbling and crust is nicely browned.
Allow to cool before serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR SPECIAL CRUST AND FILLING TIPS;
As American as apple pie. We’ve all heard that many, many times. But apple pie is just as British as it is American - in fact, I’m sure the Brits were making it long before the Americans. In my opinion, Brownies are the All-American dessert. If you travel to Britain or France, you will see offerings of American Brownies but never American Apple Pie! So here is my recipe for what I immodestly call the Ultimate Brownie:
Ingredients:
6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (1½ sticks) ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1⅔ cups sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour ¼ pound good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate very coarsely chopped 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and butter the foil. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, add the cocoa. Whisk until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until blended. Add 1 egg and whisk until just blended.
Whisk in the vanilla and the second egg until just blended. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just blended. Add the chopped chocolate and nuts and stir until combined.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with small, gooey clumps of brownie sticking to it, 33 to 38 minutes. Don’t overbake or the brownies won’t be fudgy. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.
Lift foil and remove brownies from pan. Remove foil and, using a sharp knife, cut into four strips then cut each strip into four squares.
