A quiet Christmas week~

                                                  
This Christmas
will be a quiet one for Andy and me.  Beth, Mike, and Nate are going to visit Adam out west for a ski week during Christmas week.  As they get back Andy, Joe, Glenda and I leave for Florida for a little over a month.  Ahhh, the beach.  So I am free of cooking and planning and rushing.

I am doing some baking to take to David, JD, and Johnna in Florida.  They miss the Christmas hub-bub and sweet treats.

I will keep adding to this post as things progress, but for now it is short and sweet.  Merry Christmas.    


                                            

Christmas breakfast for Santa and all.

From La table de Nana


I'll likely never forget the first time I ate cream cheese brownies.  I taught school (for thirty years) and we had bake sales.  As I was searching the table one sale for something delicious I spotted cream cheese brownies--a half dozen of them which I ate on the way home from school while driving.

Cheesecake Brownies
One 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan

Adapted from Ready for Dessert (Ten Speed)

For those of you who like higher brownies, use an 8-inch pan.

• 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2/3 cup (130g) sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (70g) flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips
• 8 ounces (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 5 tablespoons (75g) sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180C).

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.

4. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

5. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

6. Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.

Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.

Storage: These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. They also freeze well, too.

From the blog of David Lebovitz

Things that keep us interested and thankful

                                                                             Only 14 days until......


Pretzel Turtles
 courtesy of Ree Drummond    
Making these today.  So easy.
k



                                                                                 

A river of cookies baked fresh with homemade vanilla.

It's a baking day so something simple, like beef stew that takes care of itself and a chocolate treat.

 oranges filled with bourbon pecan sweet potatoes~




Beach reading


Lovely roasting pans with lids on my to find list...
      

Winston, Posy and Bella

Adam

Answered prayers

Mike and Beth....so thankful                                            
The Lechlers,One  Thanksgiving, Hilton Head

                                                  soon                       

    French blue chairs waiting for us. Here we come: Joe, Glenda, Andy, Doris. Sigh.                                    

Rich Filled Cookies

This beautiful Meyer lemon tree was (where we stayed) at the Claiborne Mansion in New Orleans.  Cloe gave us a dozen Meyer lemons from this tree and they each are as large as an orange. (See the picture after the rich filled cookie recipe.)
                                                                                   

My recipe was printed in the Cook's Corner for the holiday cookie section which appears each November.

I was newly wed in 1959 and received this recipe from a Jersey Shore girl named Stephanie.

A group of us had moved into the new apartments off Olentangy River Road on Harley Drive, and we all became fast friends. The first time I tasted this cookie, I thought it was the best in the world. I have never given out the recipe until now.

I have more than 100 cookbooks and have yet to see this recipe.

RICH FILLED COOKIES

Makes 2 1/2 to 4 dozen

For the cookies: 5 cups sifted all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter 2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sour cream

For the filling: 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup honey 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon butter 2 to 3 cups shredded coconut

To make the cookies: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth; add eggs and vanilla mix until light.

Mix in sour cream; add flour a little bit at a time — do not over-mix, or the dough will get pucklike.

Refrigerate dough until it is easy to work with, at least 1 hour.

To make the filling: Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes; cool.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

On a floured surface, roll out dough. Using round cookie cutters, cut four dozen large bottoms and four dozen smaller caps.

Fill the large bottoms (center) with some coconut filling and top it with a cap. Cookie top and bottom will meld together in oven. Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until cookies are light golden brown.

Editor’s note: Our tester filled each cookie with 1 teaspoon of filling and had enough to make 30 filled cookies.

— Doris Lechler, Columbus

Meyer lemons from New Orleans and cheese plates from the grandchildren for my birthday with thanks.

Triple chocolate cream cake~

I am not a lover of chocolate, but I could not resist a slice of this cake and I need to get this recipe out there because it is so good as well as so easy to produce. This recipe creates two large loaves or it can be made in any vessel you choose.  It is so forgiving and so adaptable.  If I had a bakery or a food truck, this would be one of the every day items. I printed this recipe, so it must have been from the Internet but I can't find the web site or the person who offered it up.  I would like to know in case she or he has other fabulous recipes to try.  I'll keep tracking. (Recipe is from Mennonite Girls Can Cook's blog.) 

This cake can be baked in any sort of pan.  I selected loaf pans because I have paper liners to fit and because I have had disasters lately with my Nordic pans which I once loved but now they are the enemy. No matter how I grease the pan, something always sticks from the second use of the pan on.  First time, perfect, after that stick, stick, stick.

1 box devils food chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker's super moist cake mix with pudding in the mix even though the recipe calls for 1 box instant chocolate pudding mix.  Should I put the boxed mix in even though it already has pudding mix in the cake mix--yes?) I did it anyway with great success.)

1 box instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water (I didn't use water, I used 1/2 cup of cooled strong brewed coffee.)  You can't taste the coffee, but it enhances chocolate with some kind of magic.

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large room temperature eggs

Not in recipe: I threw in some chunk chocolate tiny squares but you could use chocolate chips as an enhancement too.

Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat together until well mixed.  The mix will be very thick.
Grease your pan of choice.  Pour in the mixture and bake at 350 for around 25-30 minutes depending on your oven and the pan.  I baked mine 40 minutes in two loaf pans.

Now here is how I kicked it up: 1 stick of butter in a pan on the stove, with 3/4 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup water...stir until dissolved and take it off the burner.  Pour in 1/2 cup of rum or I used Kahlua which is a rum based coffee liqueur.  See?  You can't hurt this cake.  The slices are down right silky.  I love it, I do. While the cakes are still in the pan (s) pour this slightly cooled mixture over the top of the cake (s) and let it soak in.  Remove from pan(s) and enjoy.

The recipe says to frost with seven minute frosting.  I would not do this, but it is up to you.

apple crisp

Although not too pretty, this is the best apple crisp I have ever made.  I just threw some things together that needed using and some that were meant to enhance, which they did, baked it for an hour and had a bowl with vanilla ice cream melting over the top of the crisp straight from the oven.  I can't wait for Andy to come home from class to try it out.  It will be his favorite.

A couple of special guys are coming from Cincinnati to Columbus for the OSU game Saturday.  Andy supplies the tickets as a treat for our favorite people.  I have made for guys, in the middle of the night, fabulous bean soup.  I was in bed.  At 2:30 in the morning all three dogs sat straight up and barked.  A signal to me there was trouble a-foot.  I let the dogs out to ravage the offenders, but alas, what ever it was was well gone. I had the beans soaking, so I simply put everything in the crock pot, set it on low and back upstairs we traipsed. This morning all I had to do was add the salt and pepper and there; that's done. The
guys will enjoy that before the game on Saturday.

Sweater weather...love my sweaters

How spaces come togerher~

                                      

                                                   

I sat in the 'sunny' chair brought into the house now that winter creeps forward.  I looked across the kitchen and wondered how the heck I got that nearly 8 foot tall French baker's rack home from Paris. I glanced to my left and there sat the warm pine table, it too being nearly 8 foot long, and suddenly I remembered how I got that home from England. (The Brits dined out on that story for weeks.) So, is that the draw that causes us to collect;  remembering where and how one obtained the objects blessing the house at every turn? Hung on the baker's rack are wire trays that I first saw in the early Martha Stewart books.  She was quite a collector and used her finds in wonderful ways that caught my interest and so the search was on. The French plate racks hold many collections of dinner plates, that I collected over the trips abroad and the shows here in America..  The French rack (above) was constructed in a convenient nook by my contractor, Ray Mayo. Everywhere I turn memories of trips, people, and funny stories restore my mood for the day. Near the bottom of this post (because I can't control the placement of these pictures and captions,) is one of the pair of hand painted pantries ...one on either side of the kitchen desk, floor to ceiling.  The cartoon postcard is from my driver in Europe.  He says this puts him in mind of how the Lechlers looked leaving Heathrow every time.  I have it framed on my kitchen desk...he was so right!
                                                              

                                                                     

                                                                          This old Quimper lamp graces my kitchen desk.                                                                

Add caption

                                                                            This is how my driver pictured my departure from England and France.  It was captured on a postcard that read 'welcome to England.' I have it framed in my kitchen.                                                                                

          This Quimper lamp graces my kitchen desk,,,the only one I saw during my trips.

Above is a postcard which I have framed from my driver while abroad. He said this is what the Lechlers looked like leaving Heathrow.
Below is a full sized closet beside the French plate rack that holds the unwieldy kitchen accouterments.                                                              
    Right beside the French plate rack above, is a convenient closet which houses all of the large pots, pans, crock pots, mixers etc. The rack on the door houses small appliances and implements.                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

This and that~

I just received (and started) Food Whore, a novel of dining and deceit by Jessica Tom.   I keep two or three different books going at the same time and started this one right out of the envelope in which it arrived.  I am half way through it and I have to say I really like it. It is like Ruth Reichl used to write before she became so sad.  I am also starting Breach of Promise by Perri O'Shaugnsessy. (This series is written by two sisters under one name as Perri O'Shaugnessy. I like their work.)

As I mentioned Brooks brought me a cookbook when he came home for a long week end from The Citadel.  Pat Conroy's Recipes and Stories of my Life.  This book is not a beauty but I am finding it very readable and it is providing some good kitchen hints to say nothing of the recipes.  It is not a coffee table looker, however.

Hints from the cookbooks I mentioned:

ints:se as little water as possible when cooking vegetables.  Avoid violent boiling. Always add hot water, not cold,  to vegetables to avoid toughness. (That's a surprise to me.)

A damp paper towel or terry cloth towel brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.  Yea.  I'm trying that one.

Catsup will flow out of the bottle evenly if you first insert a drinking straw, push it to the bottom of the bottle, then remove.

Store mushrooms and string beans in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator...not in plastic.



Now this looks like fall.  What a lovely picture from La table de Nana. I think it is the variety and size of the tomatoes with the touch of parsley. Anyone would love to settle down with the Sunday paper and one of these.

Have you tried Kale chips?   Easy and delicious over the top of a pizza before serving, on a sandwich before eating, on a salad at the last minute...crisp as chips.  Olive oil, kale, salt, pepper, oven about 20 minutes or until crisp.  (Beth eats this delight like potato chips with less guilt.)

What to do on a day like this~

A perfect day to start your holiday baking. Don't forget the week of the 20th Cook's Corner presents its cookie section and it is always a treat.  If you are not into baking here are a couple of books that I have finished and have enjoyed...also perfect activity for a day like this:

Lisa Gardner: Live to Tell;    Invasion of privacy by O'shaughnessy
Brooks came home for a long week end and brought me a new cookbook: Pat Conroy's  Cookbook.  I am enjoying reading it like a novel, as I do most cookbooks.

Then there are the games on my tablet; another lovely activity.  Enjoy the day.