Acorn Cookies

This is a recipe I got from my sister Joy. While I suppose I ought to save it for the fall (It's a great Thanksgiving treat), I thought the blog was due for a good cookie recipe and this is one of my favorites.

Acorn Cookies

Makes about 45 cookies 1 cup Butter, melted

3/4 cup Brown sugar, firmly packed

1¾ cups Pecans, chopped fine

1 teaspoon vanilla

2½ cups All-purpose flour, sifted

½ teaspoon Baking powder

2 cups Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375(F.

In a large bowl, stir together butter, brown sugar, 3/4 cup chopped pecans and vanilla until well blended. Add flour and baking powder and mix well.

Shape dough into slightly elongated 1-inch balls. Stand the cookies on ungreased cookie sheets; pinch the tops into a point to resemble acorns.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375(F. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

In top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; keep double boiler over water. Dip large ends of cooled cookies into melted chocolate, then roll in chopped pecans. Chill to set chocolate.

Enjoy!

Recipe from www.yumyum.com

Continental Vegetables

This recipe is probably the single-most requested dish that our friends ask for when they have dinner at my dad's house. It's a great way to get kids to eat their veggies, too. all the chopping can be a bit time-consuming, so lately, I've begun making a really big pot, up to the point when the sour cream is mixed in, then I freeze in meal-size portions for cooking another day. Just defrost, top with bread-crumbs, and bake.



This stuff goes so fast I had to get in there quick to get a photo before it was all gone!



Continental Vegetables

2 cups Zucchini, sliced thinly     

1 Green Pepper, diced  

1 cup carrots, shredded

¼ cup sliced shallots (or 1 chopped green onion and 1 clove garlic)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying

salt and pepper to taste

¾ cup sour cream or yogurt

½ cup grated parmesan cheese 

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

½ teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350o.  In large skillet, sauté vegetables in oil for 5 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Mix sour cream or yogurt with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, parsley, and thyme.  Stir into vegetables and spoon into buttered casserole.  Sprinkle top with bread crumbs and  2 tablespoons parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Serves 4. 

From the Zucchini Cookbook, discovered by Dad.

Bon Bon Chicken

Over the last few years, we have become a Sunday Roast kind of family. My father is English, so you would think that it would just be in the blood, but no, up until recently I couldn't cook a roast to save my life. Enter my digital meat thermometer as a wedding present, and life changed. This is one of the recipes I like to make with leftover chicken. It's a family classic from my childhood, and as a kid, we often made Bon Bon Turkey the day after Thanksgiving.

Bon Bon Chicken

1¼ pounds skinned, boned chicken or leftover cooked chicken, shredded

1 cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon salt

2 oz bean noodles or other type of noodles (sometimes I use spaghetti, sometimes rice noodles)

3 cups hot water

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon Szechwan pepper

½ teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root

Seasoning sauce:

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chili Oil

4 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

4 1/2 teaspoons sesame paste or peanut butter

 

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in large saucepan; reduce heat to medium. Add chicken.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Remove chicken and let cool, reserving broth in saucepan. 

Sprinkle cucumber slices with salt and let stand about 15 minutes.  Squeeze slices to remove water.  Arrange on a platter. 

If using bean noodles or rice noodles, soak noodles in 3 cups hot water for 5 minutes to soften.  Bring chicken broth to a boil. Dip noodles in boiling broth 3 to 5 seconds; drain well and arrange on top of cucumbers. If using pasta, boil pasta according to instructions.

Remove bones from chicken and chop into 2" shreds.  Place chicken shreds on top of noodles.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger root. 

Combine ingredients for seasoning sauce in a small bowl; mix well.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Serve at room temperature.  Toss at the table just before serving.

Recipe from:  Chinese Cookery, a very old cookbook of my father's 

 



Buttermilk pancakes

Remember what I said about breakfast in my house? We love it. In fact, I think three of the five foods my son will actually eat on a regular basis are bacon, omelettes, and pancakes. He loves pancakes so much that I have to much extras on the weekends so that we can pop them in the toaster for him for weekday breakfasts (they keep surprisingly well for this purpose).

I have to give credit to my sister Joy's mother-in-law for this recipe. Until Frances taught Joy how to make these pancakes, we were all really waffle fans, and just tolerated pancakes. Now I eat pancakes almost every weekend.

I think it goes without saying, but these are best with real maple syrup...

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs (3 if they are medium-sized ones)
2 cups cultured nonfat buttermilk, plus some extra
2 tablespoons melted butter

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Stir together eggs and buttermilk. Mix butter into liquid slowly, then pour liquids into flour mixture. (I usually skip this step and just dump the eggs and buttermilk into the flour at the same time, then use the pan that I'm going to cook the pancakes in to melt the butter, then I whisk that into the batter just before cooking.) Stir well.

Add a little more buttermilk if necessary to get to a smooth, not-too-thick but not-too-thin texture. For me, the texture is right when the batter spreads evenly in the pan, but still needs just the slightest spreading with the back of a ladle.

Heat a frying pan to just below-medium temperature. Melt just a little butter in the pan to coat the bottom. Pour some batter in the pan and smooth out a little with the spoon so that it isn’t too thick. When large bubbles appear on the surface, it is ready to be turned over (don't wait too long!). Serve hot!

Nutrition info:

For one 6-inch pancake: 130 calories, 3.3g fat (1.7g saturated fat), 20.1g carbs (4.1g sugars), 4.6g protein

Contributed by Gwyneth

Ham and potato casserole

While it hasn't been particularly cold this winter here in Dublin, who can resist a good casserole on a gray, drizzly day? This dish is pretty versatile, and we often use whatever leftover meat we have on hand, although I do think ham is best, (but smoked sausage is also delicious). I have been known to replace the onions with leeks (very tasty) or sometimes I will also throw in a bit of cauliflower or brocolli. But it's also delicious prepared exactly as described; this is total comfort food at its best.

Ham and Potato Casserole

½ pound cooked ham, cut into medium-small cubes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds potatoes, medium dice, boiled
bread crumbs, mixed with a little melted butter

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup cooking water from potatoes)
8 oz cheddar cheese (could also use gruyere or swiss, or a combination of cheeses)

Heat oven to 350°. Toss ham with mustard in a medium sized casserole dish. Let sit while you cook the onion in 2 tbsp butter and a bit of salt and pepper until translucent. Mix onions in with ham, then gently fold in cooked potatoes.

Make sauce: Melt butter over medium-low heat, add flour, then add the milk (to lighten the dish up a bit, you can also make the sauce using the water that you used to cook the potato in), whisking quickly to avoid lumps). Let thicken a bit, then add cheese. Cook until sauce has thickened, 2 or 3 minutes.

Pour sauce over ham mixture, and stir very gently just until combined. Top with buttered breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 minutes.

Recipe from Gwyneth, from a potato cookbook I found years ago

Pecan Caramel Tart

This recipe really should be called, "Oh my goodness, this is so good!" because that is usually the comment I get when I make it. I once brought it to a party to which my dad had invited me. The host told me that I would not be invited back if I ever brought this dessert with me again. He was concerned that he was going to eat the entire thing himself!
While this looks like a fairly complicated recipe, it's really quite simple. The trick to making this successfully is the caramel portion. You want to add the cream and butter when it is still a light golden color so that it has some room to cook a bit more. The finished product should be the color of caramel.

Sweet Pastry Tart Crust:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
4 Tablespoons butter, cold and cut up
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening, chilled

In a food processor, process flour with sugar to combine. Add butter and shortening. Turn processor on and off in short spurts 6 times. With machine on, add 2 to 2 1/2 tbs cold water through feed tube, just until dough forms a ball. Press dough into bottom and up the sides of a 9 1/2 x 1-inch fluted metal tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate.

Filling:

1 cup sugar
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
1 cup semisweet choc. chips (6 oz.)
7 Tbs. Butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, heated

In a deep, heavy 10” skillet, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil syrup without stirring, shaking pan back and forth occasionally, until pale golden in color, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 6 tbs. butter. Return to medium-high heat and stir to combine most of butter. Before completely melted, gradually stir in 1 cup warm cream; be careful as it will bubble up. Whisk vigorously until smooth. Continue to boil, stirring often, until golden tan colored and thickened, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Set aside 1/2 hour to cool.

Preheat oven to 425F. Pour filling over chilled crust. Bake 15 minutes, or until crust is light golden. Cool thoroughly.

In a 2-cup glass measure combine chocolate chips and remaining 1/3 cup cream. Heat in microwave 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in remaining 1 tbs. butter and vanilla. Let chocolate topping cool to room temperature, then spread evenly over tart.

Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

Paprika Chicken

Paprika Chicken is just plain comfort food. It's simple to make, but tastes oh, so good. The recipe makes plenty of sauce so it's one of those recipes that really needs to be served over rice. I think it's mandatory to go back for a second serving of rice with a bit of sauce poured over it.

Makes 4 servings.

2-3 pounds chicken thighs
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons oil
14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 onion,chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt and white pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons sweet paprika

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, brown on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; pour off all but 1 tablespoon pan drippings. Add onions and garlic to skillet; sauté until browned. Stir in paprika, broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Return browned chicken to pan. Cover and simmer 15 minutes then uncover and cook 15-20 minutes more, until sauce is thick and rich and chicken is tender. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and white pepper.