Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I have a book entitled, 'Simply Homemade Food Gifts', from the Meredith Press. It contains many very attractive recipes for gift-giving, and ways of packaging/presenting them. I thought these Viennese Coffee Ball cookies looked good, and quick to put together:

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/viennese-coffee-balls/

This time of year I begin craving more vegetables, and one veggie recipe that we never tire of is this Gratin of Eggplant, Tomatoes and Zucchini, from the Julia and Jacques 'Cooking at Home' series:

http://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/recipe-eggplant-and-zucchini-gratin/

The companion book to this series is especially good:

https://www.amazon.com/Julia-Jacques-Cooking-at-Home/dp/0375404317

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

That sounds like a no-bake turn on ‘Hello Dolly’ bars:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/05/hello-dolly-seven-layer-magic-cookie-bars.html

[Little Bill]

Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Betty Crocker Modified.

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 pint sour cream

Glaze

2 TBS powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
Grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan.
2. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, 3/4 cup butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and the eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream on low speed.

4. Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool 10 minutes.

5. Mix powered sugar and milk until smooth drizzle over top of cake.

I have made over a 100 of these over the last three years. Rave reviews from the Grand kiddies.

The original recipe calls for a walnut filling and topping, didn't go over well with my audience.

[SkyDancer]

I’ll eat licorice if my tummy is upset but other than that, yuk.

[SkyDancer]

Rum has the flavor. Not having bourbon, I don’t know.

[Jamestown1630]

With some sprinkles of green, purple and yellow sugar, that would make a great quick-bread version of King Cake!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I can attest that THAT is the Best. Coffee. Cake. Recipe. Ever. EVER!

Been making it since the 80’s!

[Trillian]

Sour cream is magical for cakes. I make a recipe similar to this with blueberries and it’s so good.

[Yaelle]

Every time I roast chicken I throw potatoes and veggies under the roasting rack. You HAVE TO. You cannot roast too many onions either. It is just too good. Roasted in the chicken drips..... heaven.

[Qiviut]

I got a bottle of bourbon from a friend as a present Christmas before last. As it turns out, it was the same brand of bourbon (”Four Roses”) that my dad & two of his buddies celebrated with when the end of WWII was announced. At the time, they were medical techs at an Army hospital in Hawaii (where hospital ships brought in Pacific Theater wounded) & they took a bottle up into the rocks/cactus behind the barracks to celebrate & got a bit snockered. Evidently, they weren’t the only ones .... not a lot of saluting going on that day, as he recalls.

So, the bottle was a gift in more than one way .... got my dad to recall a good end-of-the-war story. It also made for some really delicious bourbon balls. They were rather strong, but I like them that way. :-) Usually, I like rum better than bourbon, but I truly enjoyed this recipe with the bourbon.

[dunblak]

Here is another gratin for those who are seeking to complete their carb quotient for the week:
http://www.melissassouthernstylekitchen.com/smoky-bacon-macaroni-and-cheese-muffins/

[Aliska]

I'm sure you can make them with confidence. Only I would use vanilla wafers. And it is sometimes difficult to get enough coffee flavor to come through. I haven't found using instant always satisfactory, and if you use brewed coffee, it's never strong enough.

I need to get some fresh instant espresso which I keep in the freezer.

[NorthstarMom]

I have a child who is allergic to both eggs and wheat-it’s hard to find treats for him. Can’t wait to try your recipe. Thanks!

[Jamestown1630]

That’s a very nice story; thanks for sharing it with us. I’ll always remember that brand, now ;-)

[Jamestown1630]

Wow; that certainly looks worth saving up one’s carb grams for ;-)

[SkyDancer]

I like the flavored stuff. I've smelled the stuff my grandad drinks and don't like it. But if someone gives me a bourbon ball to try I'll try it but I'm not into making any.

I enjoy the war stories my dad, uncle, bro's, and gramps tell when they get 'in the mood' .... but your story was nice.

[Little Bill]

Just tossed one in the oven with a cranberry filling, Added extra sugar to offset the sour berries, see how this works out.

Used whole berries rather than the mushed stuff, cranberries are cheap up here so I though I would give it a try.

[Little Bill]

I am kind of funny about chicken, I like skin on. Roasting a chicken yields little meat and much bones, good for stock.

A few years ago, while herding my grand kiddies, I started making roast chicken breasts with dressing, stuffing for you foreigners.

Four people.

Two whole Breasts, skin on, split and boned, seasoned to taste.

One package Bells Dressing prepared to box. (size dependent on crowd.)
Three sticks of celery.
One large onion.

Grind vegies in blender and mix with dressing.

Put the dressing in pan and cover with cookie cooler, put chicken on the grid and roast, drippings will fall in to dressing.

I serve with Mashed and Squash and brown sugar, gravy of course.

[Aliska]

I looked for a picture of yours but can't find that exact recipe. They do have a couple sour cream coffee cakes that look good.

I don't think this is exactly a coffee cake, but this one is at the top of the stack to make tomorrow and, instead of milk, I could use the rest of my creme fraiche and some sour cream. My daughter has a couple apples to spare I need for it and which I am waiting for:

Your chicken and stuffing sound wonderful. I like to roast a whole chicken and use the drippings for gravy on my mashed potatoes. I never saw your brand of stuffing mix.

I don't have any at the moment, but when my bread starts getting too old (now they put stuff in it to preserve it longer unless you buy fresh-baked) I get my cookie racks out and dry the bread. Then it will keep for months, and I can use it for stuffing and other uses.

I'm leery of eating bread with so much preservatives in it. If it's too old, I don't want to eat it even though there are no signs of mold on it.

[Jamestown1630]

I actually bought a box of Bell’s Stuffing the other day - it was on the clearance rack at the grocery, and I had never seen it before. I like Bell’s poultry seasoning, so I thought I’d buy the stuffing and see what it’s like.

[Little Bill]

Try this, Pan de Mie, use a 13 inch Pullman pan, outstanding.

2/3 cup milk
1 cup lukewarm water
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) butter
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Baker’s Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
3 tablespoons potato flour or 3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
4 3/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 teaspoons instant yeast

Istructions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead — using your hands, a mixer, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle — to form a smooth, soft dough.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise until puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
3. Lightly grease a 13” pain de mie pan. Gently deflate the dough, transfer it to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a 13” log, and fit it into the pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it’s just below the lip of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen (it may rise even more slowly in a cool kitchen; don’t worry, this long rise will give it great flavor).
4. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
5. Remove the plastic, and place the cover on the pan. Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until it tests done; a digital thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F.
6. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.
7. Store, wrapped, at room temperature for 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.