what do you want to eat?

meal planning

As you can tell from the title of this blog, we tend to wait til we're hungry, look at each other and say "What do you want to eat for (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack)?  And the answer was usually "I don't know" or "brinner!" or "lets order a pizza"!  And that was okay most nights, because I had actual time to throw together a meal at the last minute.  Dylan, at age 4, is pretty self-entertaining after school and that meant I had time too.  But now, we have 8 week old Sasha thrown into the mix.  And I've found with a new baby, and a 4 year old, it is rather difficult to cook dinner without some sort of plan.  Mainly because Sasha wakes up from her nap and is ready for her dinner about the time I'm ready to cook mine.  So, I've decided to go back to meal planning.

I've tried various systems for corralling my myriad of recipes torn from magazines and printed off the internet.  The latest "system" was a pile of printouts in a basket near my kitchen island and a stack of magazines I planned on going through.  This would never work if I intended to actually remember the recipes I saw that I liked and wanted to try.  So, I looked around a bit at what was available online in the meal planning organizational way.  I didn't like any of the organizational sheets that I found.  So, being a designer, I decided to make my own.  And I laminated them so that I can right on and wipe off and not waste so much paper.   (Note:  I am planning on making the days go across in rows instead of down like they are currently.)

If you look closely, you can see that under each days meal is a place to write the source of the recipe (binder, cookbook, ipad).

I made two recipe binders and bought some sheet protectors.  So, now, when I see a recipe I like, I rip it out and stick it directly in the binder.  I also made a sheet to write down recipes I find in cookbooks so that I can denote the page number and cookbook I found it in.  I can reference that when meal planning as well.  And I found some cool tabs at Target that I'm using to mark recipes in cookbooks as I find them. 

I got this cute binder at Target.


My ripped out recipes.

These are the cool tabs I found at Target. They are attached to paperclips so they stay on the pages nicely. And they are sturdier than a post-it note.

The other things I laminated (I love my laminator) are shopping lists for each store we frequent.  I customized the lists with the things we buy most often at each store.  Then, I clipped them to the door.  I have a plastic sleeve to put them in when I do go shopping so that I don't accidentally rub off anything.  I punched holes in the bottom (or top) and use a carbiner to clip them to the shopping card so I don't lose them.  I'm really loving this method a lot.

Along with shopping lists, I've done inventory sheets for leftovers in my fridge and one for each freezer.

Of course, the real trick to meal planning is to actually do it regularly.  Which I'm working on getting in the habit of doing.  This is week three and I have some meals already planned for the week. Yay me!

So, I've been considering doing a giveaway of my menu planning stuff, complete with customized shopping lists for whomever wins.  But, I'm not sure if I have enough readers for that, so if you think I should do a giveaway, leave a comment.  I'm also thinking of selling PDFs of my forms on Etsy and perhaps the laminated versions as well.  Let me know if you'd be interested in that too.  

seriously awesome french toast

I recently read the book "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg.  I forget where I first heard about the book, but checked it out from the library.  She shares lots of recipes and the stories to go along with them. It was a delicious read, so much so that when I found it at the used bookstore I went ahead and added it to my cookbook collection.  The first recipe I've tried is called "Burg's French Toast".  It's very similar to standard french toast recipes with one exception.  I've never seen a french toast recipe that calls for frying the toast in canola oil like this one.  And let me tell you, it is a really yummy way to cook it.  The toast comes out with beautifully crispy edges and a super creamy interior.  Really really good.

If you'd like to read the story behind this recipe, here's the link to her original blog post with the recipe.

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Burg’s French Toast
from "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg (my additions/changes in italics) 

1 cup whole milk (I used nonfat rice milk and it worked great) 
3 large eggs
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg 

Mild-tasting vegetable oil, such as canola
6-8 slices day-old bread (a bias-cut country French loaf, or challah, preferably), about ¾ to 1 inch thick (I used cinnamon chip bread from Great Harvest.  I think a loaf of Hawaiian Sweet Bread would also work well)
Pure maple syrup, for serving


Break the eggs into a wide, shallow bowl or an 8-in square Pyrex dish.  Whisk the eggs to break up the yolks.  Add the milk, sugar, fanilla, salt, and nutmeg and whisk to blend.

Place a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over low to medium high heat, and pour in enough oil to completely coat the bottom of teh skillet.  Let the oil heat until you can feel warmth radiating from it when you hold your hand close over the pan.  To test the heat, dip the tip of a finger into the egg mixture (not the oil!) and flick a drop into the oil.  If it sizzles, its ready.

Meanwhile, when the oil is almost hot enough, put 2 to 3 slices of bread into the egg mixture, allowing them to rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side (I let mine soak a little longer). They should feel heavy and thoroughly saturated, but they should not be falling apart. Carefully place the slices into the skillet. They should sizzle upon contact, and the oil should bubble lightly around the edges. Watch carefully: with hot oil like this, the slices can burn more quickly than you would think. Cook until the underside of each slice is golden brown,1-2 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until the second side is golden, another 1-2 minutes. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel, and allow to sit for a minute or two before serving.  

Repeat with the remaining bread. If, at any point, the bread starts to burn before it has a chance to brown nicely, turn the heat back a little. You want to keep it nice and hot, but not smoking.

Serve hot with maple syrup.

Yield: 6-8 slices, serves 2 or 3.

HH6-April Challenge

Back in March I joined a cooking club called the HouseHold6 (HH6) Cooking Club.  We are a group of military spouse food bloggers hoping to bring some HOOAH/OORAH!! in our own chow hall by tackling monthly culinary themes and challenges.  Of course, I missed the first challenge because I was way busy being in my last trimester and birthing a baby.  :)

So, I'm going to join in the April Challenge:  Create a meal or a dish from a country you have been stationed in, lived in, visited, or would like to visit (America excluded). It can be a main dish, side dish, dessert, drink, or all of the above. Tell us the story of why you chose it and if it has any special meaning to you or your family.

I am going to cheat a little here and repost a dish I made a few years ago while we were still living in Japan (in the interest of time...I have a one month old and for those of you with children, I'm sure you know the ticking time bomb theory of baby's naptime).  This was pre-food blog and was originally posted on my family blog.  The hardest part is deciding which dish to share...although because it's springtime, that helps me narrow it down (a lot of my posts were about soups).  I'll post links to some of my other japan inspired dishes below the recipe.

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We were stationed in Japan for four years and absolutely loved it.  The people, the culture and of course, the delicious food.  The japanese people are perfectionists and take pride in everything they do.  Whether it's serving you burgers and fries at McDonald's (seriously, the best fries and the best customer service we've ever had at a Mc D's) or ringing you up at the grocery store.  We hardly ever encountered bad customer service (unless we were on base).  

I love the flavors of Japan and this dish uses one of my favorites:  ginger.  Here's the original post in it's entirety with some side notes in italics.

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ginger pork with stir fry veggies and brown rice

Last week I stumbled across a delicious looking recipe for gingered pork in my Japanese Home Cooking cookbook.  I haven't really cooked anything out of this book since I've had it (and I don't remember when I bought it) and am so glad I finally did.  The pork was delicious paired with the stir fried veggies and brown rice.  The only recipe I really stuck with was the one for the pork.  I improvised a bit on the veggies and served over brown rice instead of sushi rice. 

I started the brown rice first, as it takes awhile to cook.  I used 3 cups of rice (so I'd have leftovers for fried rice the next day), 3 cups of water, and 2 cups of chicken broth.  I then added a couple of whole cracked cloves of garlic and a few slices of ginger to add some flavor.

(My favorite way to cook brown rice comes from Alton Brown and is very hands off:  Baked Brown Rice.  I unfortunately can't find it on foodtv.com, so here's how you do it:  Bring 1t salt, 1T butter, and water and/or broth to a boil.  Pour over rice in a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 375º for one hour.  This makes a double batch and the rice freezes very nicely )

For the veggies, I found a stir fry recipe in the cookbook.  However, it called for bell peppers, cabbage and bean sprouts and I had snow peas, carrots and broccoli.  However, the sauce worked for me and would probably work with any combo of veggies you like.  The sauce is 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of instant dashi and 1 tablespoon of mirin.  I just added this after stir frying (and steaming) the veggies for a bit.  It really added a nice flavor.

Ginger Pork
(buta no shogayaki)
From Japanese Home Cooking by Shunsuke Fukushima

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
2 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1 lb pork fillet, trimmed of sinew, cut into slices 1/2 inch thick (I used a pork tenderloin, sliced)
1/2 cup peeled and finely grated ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 scallions (shallots/spring onions), thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, for garnish

In a small saucepan over medium-high-heat, combine sugar, soy sauce, mirin and stock or water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.

Dip both sides of each pork slice into grated ginger. Reserve any leftover ginger. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pork and fry, turning once until pork is no longer pink, 3-4 minutes. Add sauce to pan with any remaining grated ginger and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. Remove pork from pan and divide among 4 warmed plates. Spoon any remaining sauce from pan over slices. Garnish with sliced scallions and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.  (serves 4)

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And here is some of my other japan-inspired food:

Sanshoku-dan (tri-colored rice bowl)

Kinako Chicken Stir Fry (similar to peanut chicken)

Chicken and Leek Soup (really a chinese food inspired dish..but from a restaurant in Japan)

Kobucha Houtou (a fall squash soup)

Kinchin-jiru (soup), Sesame coated fish, and Cold Sesame Noodles

chocolate-orange cookies

My friend, client and cookie baking queen Amanda recently posted on her Sweet Bella Bakery blog a recipe for Chocolate-Orange Sugar Cookies that I just had to try. I'd volunteered to make Valentine's treats for Dylan's preschool class, and decided we'd make these for Dylan to take to school. I made a few changes to the recipe (noted in italics below) and they turned out delicious. I didn't have orange extract, so I used orange zest and a little orange juice. They didn't have a strong orange flavor at all, so I'll have to pick up some extract for next time I make these. I also decorated with buttercream frosting that I had in my freezer instead of making the royal icing.

These are delicious cookies with a rich, deep chocolate flavor.  Mine came out a bit crunchy, but after being stored for a day they are now soft.  And did I mention yummy?  Oh yeah, I did.  Maybe I should go have another one just to be sure.  :)

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Chocolate-Orange Sugar Cookies from Amanda Lassiter, Sweet Bella Bakery
adapted from Southern Living's Chocolate Fleur-de-Lis cookies

3 sticks butter
2.5 cups sifter powdered sugar (I'll admit, I didn't sift my powdered sugar, the fine mesh strainer I use for sifting was buried in my sink.  And my cookies turned out fine...just so you know)
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure orange extract (I used the zest of 1 orange and about a tablespoon of juice)
3 cups All Purpose Flour (I used 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of AP flour)
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Soften butter at room temperature and beat until smooth in an electric mixer. Add sifted powder slowly until blended. Beat eggs and orange extract in a small bowl until combined, add to butter mixture.

Combine flour, cocoa, & salt and slowly add to the butter mixture. Beat for 2 minutes until blended. Divide dough in half and place on wax paper sprinkled with a small amount of flour/cocoa mixture. Roll each portion out to 3/8"-1/2" thickness and chill.

When dough is chilled, cut out shapes with cookie cutter or card stock design. Bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookie. Decorate with Royal Icing (I already mentioned that I used leftover buttercream frosting from my freezer, but I'm including Amanda's Royal Icing recipe anyway). 

Royal Icing
16 ounces powdered sugar
30 grams meringue powder
1/2 tsp. light corn syrup
less than 1/2 cup water

Sift powdered sugar & meringue powder into the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment on low. Stream in water and speed up to medium high. Drizzle in corn syrup and mix for 5-6 minutes. For Outline Icing, place in decorator bags with #3 tip. For Flood Icing, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until mixture is the consistency of thick syrup and place in decorator bottles.

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Dylan making a big mess of the flour and cocoa mixture. I clean the counter really well before we start so I can brush all that spilled flour back into the bowl.


Dylan loves to squish out the dough, but not as much as he likes to eat it ("want to eat it" gets said a lot when we are making cookies).


After the squishing, it's time to roll the dough thinner. He hasn't quite mastered the squish and roll needed with the rolling pin yet.


I let Dylan pick out the shapes for the cookies. I couldn't quite believe I didn't have a heart in my vast collection of cookie cutters. I'll have to remedy that sometime soon. Dylan really enjoys squishing down the cookie cutters and making the shapes. Here he is putting the shapes on the cookie sheet.


Since these were Valentine's cookies, I stuck with pink icing (which looks nice with the chocolate don't you think?) and used hearts where I could. (Also, I didn't have a whole lot of time for decorating, another reason for the one color choice...probably the real reason =)

red beet brioche (and french toast too)

For Valentine's Day dinner, I had the great idea of having breakfast for dinner.  I didn't get my bread baked in time, so instead we had pizza last night and made this Red Beet Brioche French Toast for breakfast today instead.  

My inspiration for Red Beet Brioche came from my Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook and the artisanbreadinfive.com blog.  On the blog, they posted about a lovely heart shaped beet bread loaf using the Red Beet Rolls recipe in the book.  This stuck with me and I bought beets so I could do it.  Then the though of red french toast popped in my head.  The problem was that the Red Beet Roll recipe is a savory recipe with onions in it.  So, I decided to adapt it to a brioche recipe and see what happened.  I used the Pumpkin Pie Brioche recipe and substituted beet pureé for the pumpkin and left out all the spices. I had great success and the bread has such a lovely color.  

Red Beet Brioche
adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

3 cups white whole wheat flour
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
handful or two of flaxseed
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (use the reserved beet water)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup neutral flavored oil, or unsalted butter, melted (I used olive oil and it worked great)
4-5 red beets, peeled, chopped, boiled and puréed.

 

First, boil the beets until soft. Pureé the beets and then reserve the red tinted water to use in the dough.

Then, mix the flours, flaxseed, yeast and salt in a large bowl or dough bin.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the beet pureé, eggs, water, honey and oil.

Then mix it all together until all the flour is integrated.  Put the top on the dough bucket loosely (or cover the bowl with plastic wrap) and put it in a warm place to let it rise for 2 hours (or until it doubles in size).  At this point, you can pop this in your fridge for up to 5 days.

When you are ready to use the dough, pull off about a grapefruit sized chunk of dough and shape it for your pan of choice.  I used a small bread pan like this:

This photo shows the bread after the second rise.  I used the dough before refrigeration, so it only need about 30 minutes to crest above the top of the pan.  If you are using the dough refrigerated, then let it rise for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, covered loosely with plastic wrap.

Then bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes depending on the size of the loaf.  The loaf is done when it is medium brown and firm.  Remove the loaf from the pan and allow it to cool on a cooling rack.

Now, the french toast part.  I mixed together 2 eggs, about 3/4 cup of milk (I don't usually measure), and a generous splash of vanilla.  Mix it in a flat dish and then put in slices of bread to soak.  Melt butter in a skillet and fry on both sides until golden.

You'll end up with lovely pink and brown french toast.  Which we promptly topped with butter, blueberries and syrup.  Yum!

Enjoy!!

strawberry jam

We ran out of jam and jelly this week.  I made a ton with fresh fruit this past summer and canned it all.  After going through a lot of it ourselves and giving some away as Christmas gifts, we finally ran out.  So, I whipped up a batch of strawberry jam using a large bag of frozen strawberries.  It's not quite as good as the fresh-made jam, but still turned out delicious.  I'm also thinking I will use this jam in my Valentine's Day pancakes.  I'll do a trial this weekend and let you know how they turn out.  

I don't have a recipe that I use for this, I tend to wing it.  And here's what I do.

First, put the frozen strawberries in a large pot.  I had a big bag from Costco and my pot was almost not big enough.

Once the strawberries start to defrost a bit, then sprinkle on the sugar.  I started with 1 cup of sugar (which was not enough) and ended up adding about 3 1/2 cups total.  I suggest you start with the minimum amount of sugar and after the next step, taste your concoction and add more sugar as needed until its to your liking.

Also, at this point, I cut and scraped 3 vanilla beans and added the scrapings to the pot.  Then I tied the beans into a bundle and stuck them in as well.  You could also choose to add a hint of citrus instead of the vanilla and add lemon zest and a little lemon juice.

As the strawberries cook, you will see some foam start to form on top...scrape off what you can (I didn't scrape off too much because that's where a lot of my little vanilla beans were floating).

Once the strawberries are cooked and mushy, I used a hand blender to blend them together with the juices.  Be sure if you put vanilla beans in the pot to fish them out before blending.  You could also just mash them with a potato masher or transfer them to a regular blender or food processor.  Mashed with the potato masher leaves a bit more texture to the jam.

Now, taste the jam and see if it needs more sugar.  Mine tasted watery, even after I added sugar to the right sweetness.  Don't worry about this, because once it is cooled and refrigerated that watery taste will go away and the jam will thicken.

Cool the jam and put it in jars.  I didn't can this batch, I used jars I'd been saving....like peanut butter jars and old jam jars.  Then, I stuck my jars in the freezer.  And the container I used for my fridge?  A recycled ketchup bottle.....cause squeezy jam is fun.  :)

easy quiche

In the middle of winter is probably not the time to be posting about quiche.  But a friend of mine of Facebook had a friend ask her about quiche, and I remembered I'd taken photos of the last quiche I made back in September specifically for this blog (phew, that was quite a sentence).   I didn't get around to blogging about it.  So, now that I've remembered, I will tell you all about it. 

This particular recipe comes from an old cookbook of mine entitled "The Starving Students Cookbook" (I should note the version I have was published way back in 1994 and was given to me by my friend Lisa in 1995...if you are reading this...Thanks Lisa!).  The quiche recipe is the only recipe I still use regularly from this cookbook, mainly because its very versatile and as I said in the title of this post, easy.  

This cookbook has seen a lot of use over the years.

The original recipe is entitled "Quiche in a Blender".  I've kicked it up a few notches over the many years I've made it, and use whatever veggies I have on hand.  And I add bacon, cause bacon kicks everything up a few notches.

Here's the basic recipe straight from the book (which will be followed by my altered recipe):

Quiche in a Blender
from The Starving Students Cookbook 

1 cup milk
1/2 cup Packaged Pancake Mix (e.g., Bisquick)
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup grated jack, white, chedder or swiss cheese
1/2 cup frozen cut-up broccoli

Preheat oven to 350º

STEP 1:  Combine all ingredients, except broccoli, in blender container.  Blend on low speed 1 minute.

STEP 2: Thaw broccoli in cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towel.

STEP 3: Spread a bit of butter around inside the pie pan.  Lan broccoli in bottom of pie pan. Pour blender mixture over broccoli (being careful not to spill over the sides). Bake in 350º oven 40 minutes or till quiche is puffy and golden and doesn't jiggle when you move it.

footnote: You might want to try this with spinach for a terrific spinach quiche. 

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My version follows the above directions down to the "frozen broccoli".  I add a lot more stuff to my quiches than just broccoli (although, I'm sure just broccoli would be fine as well).  So, here's what I did last time I made this recipe.

Quiche in a Blender, Jen's Version

1 cup milk
1/2 cup Package Pancake Mix 
OR  1/2 cup whole wheat flour
      3/4 tsp baking powder
      1/4 tsp salt
      1/2 T shortening
2 eggs
2 Tablepoons real butter
3/4 cup of grated cheese (your choice) + extra for the top of the quiche 
Fresh herbs, finely chopped
2-3 slices of bacon, cut into smaller pieces (lardons)
Your choice of vegetables

And now, here's how I put it together.  You can either go ahead and blend the milk, flour, bp, salt, shortening, eggs, butter and grated cheese before sautéing or if you like to multitask like me, do it while you are sautéing your veggies.  

Start by sautéing the bacon until crispy.

Remove the bacon from the skillet and add in your roughly chopped vegetables.  This time around, I used kohlrabi and peter pan squash from my garden.  Season with salt and pepper.

Once your veggies are in and starting to cook a bit, then add in your chopped herbs.  I used chives, rosemary, basil, and a mystery herb from my garden.

Sprinkle on the herbs and keep tossing everything around.

Til it look something like this and you get some nice browned bits on your veggies.

Remove the veggies and add in some chopped greens.  I used swiss chard.  Kale or collards or spinach would be lovely as well.  Saute your greens until softened.

Butter the pie pan.  Here is another way I differ.  I like to layer my quiche.  So, put about 1/3 of the bacon, veggies and greens in the pan.  Pour about 1/3 of the blended mixture on top.  Then repeat until everything is used up.  Try to end with a layer of the blended mixture.

Then, sprinkle on some more cheese for the topping.  I usually add a bit of parmesan on top too.

Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes or until it looks like this.  

It's really yummy and  you don't miss the pie crust at all.  Enjoy!!

my morning cup

Mmmmm....ever since Denny's sister and I purchased a new espresso/cappucino machine for Denny for Christmas, we've been enjoying lattes at home and saving money by not going to Starbucks all the time. I'm glad I spent a little extra on the Cuisinart machine. I got a great deal at Kohl's and the coffeepot hasn't been used since (and is put away in a cabinet somewhere). :) So, above, is what my morning latte looks like. I am preggers, so I can't have a ton of caffeine. I tend to fill my cup about 1/3 full (using just 1 scoop of espresso ground beans) and fill the rest of the cup with lovely steamed foamy milk. See those little specks of loveliness? Those are my secret ingredient.


My favorite mug was given to me two years ago by my hubby. He wrote all of the funny things Dylan was saying and doing at the time on the mug. Unfortunately, the writing wore off (even though it wasn't supposed to). It's definitely seen better days.


My mug as it used to look on the day it was given to me.

Instead of buying syrup with artificial stuff in it, I had an epiphany. I first attempted my own simple syrup..which turned out delicious, but when I refrigerated it (as the instructions in the recipe said), it crystallized and hardened. Hrumpf. Then, I remembered that I'd purchased some Vanilla Flavored Agave Nectar. I used the rest of that up, and then thought, why not flavor my own Agave Nectar? So, I scraped some vanilla beans into the bottle, threw in the whole beans I had scraped and poured in some plain old Agave Nectar. And voila! I have my own vanilla bean syrup. It works very well in my coffee. And I just keep refilling my bottle as it gets low (I get my Agave Nectar in bulk at Costco). (And for those of you who think I'm a wuss for needing syrup in my coffee...get over yourselves.  ;)  Remember, I'm a southern girl who was raised on sweet tea.  Can't give up my sugar that easily)

There's vanilla beans in my agave nectar!

Groundhog Day Cookies

I never got around to posting about Groundhog Day Cookies last year, although I did take some photos.  So, this year, before I've even made a batch, I thought I would go ahead and post for those of you who may want to make these on Wednesday for Groundhog Day.

First, a little background.  My dad was from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home of the groundhog.  Not only is my Dad from Punxsy, but we can trace the Shermer family living in Punxsy back in 1848 where my great-great grandfather owned a shoe store. When I was a kid my mom made these cookies for us and we even had Groundhog Day parties some years.  I still have the old napkins that my mom saved.  I remember where they used to live in the dining room china cabinet and pulling them out every year.  I love that I still have her cookie cutters and can carry on this tradition with my kids.  If you'd like to order your own cookie cutter, click here.

I went to Punxsy a few times growing up.  And we visited Punxsy Phil, the groundhog.  He lives in the library and you can view him through a window from the outside.  My last trip to Punxsy was Labor Day weekend 2009.  We were living in Ohio and some of my cousins who I hadn't seen in many, many, MANY years were getting together for a reunion.  Since this is the first time I've ever lived within decent driving distance, we made the trip.  It was nice to see everyone again and revisit the Punxsy Camp, site of the last reunion I had attended around 18 years ago.  

So in honor of my Punxsutawney heritage, I give you Groundhog Day cookies.  :)

Cutting out the cookies.


Here are the little critters before heading into the oven.

 

Groundhog Cookies
from www.groundhogday.org 

2 cups sifted flour (I did half whole wheat and half all-purpose, and threw in some flaxseed)
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 teaspoon ground cloves 
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 
1/2 cup soft butter 
1 cup sugar 
1/2 cup molasses 
1 egg yolk
1 egg, slightly beaten 
Currants or raisins

Sift together first seven ingredients. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Blend in molasses and yolk. Stir in flour mixture and mix well. Form into a ball.

Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill overnight, several nights or freeze. (I more than likely made this the same day I baked, so just chill for 1/2 and hour to an hour then proceed)

Place small amounts of dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, and cover with plastic wrap. Roll 1/8 inch thick. Cut out cookies with lightly floured cutter.

Place cookies on greased baking sheet. Brush with slightly beaten egg. Decorate with currants or raisin eyes. Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 72 or more medium-sized groundhogs.

Baked Banana Pudding

I do love Alton Brown's show Good Eats.  And watching his show generally makes me want to try whatever it is he's cooking.  A few weeks ago he did a show all about banana pudding (entitled "Yes We Have No Banana Pudding"...which then made me start singing Louis Prima in my head).  And of course, being pregnant and highly susceptible to wanting yummy things I see on TV, it made me really want banana pudding.  This week, the stars aligned, I had 3 ripe bananas and an afternoon to put it together.  And, oh my, the yumminess.  It took me back to those church potlucks when I was a kid.  I hadn't had this southern-style baked banana pudding in quite a long time.  And his recipe is easy to make and delicious.  Especially if you make the homemade vanilla wafers ahead of time.  Although, I'm sure store bought would be just fine if you are short on time.

I didn't take any photos of the 'nilla wafers.  They turned out yummy, but they didn't look very pretty.  

My little guy helped me cut up the bananas with a butter knife.  He did a great job and was too funny because he wouldn't touch the cut bananas with his fingers (too sticky).  He would cut a slice off and then balance it on the knife and put it in the bowl.

Making the pudding part was easier than I thought it might be.  I didn't have the half 'n' half that Alton Brown called for, so I used 2% milk, and it thickened nicely and tasted really good.  The trick is to use a thermometer if you have one.  I used my digital meat thermometer and held it on the side of my pot with a binder clip.  It worked great.  I stirred the pudding while Dylan cut up the bananas.

Then it was time to layer it in.  Alton Brown calls for a glass mixing bowl to layer it all in.  Which is nice, and looks pretty because you can see the layers.  However, I prefer to use a flatter, even dish so you get the yummy meringue topping in every serving.  With a deep bowl you'd lose that.  

And without further ado, here's the recipe.  :)

Vanilla Wafers
Recipe by Alton Brown, 2010

 7 ounces all-purpose flour (I split this in half and did half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose)
3/4 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
3 1/2 ounces vanilla sugar (You can use regular sugar here, or do what I did and put the sugar in a food processor with the scrapings from the inside of a vanilla bean or two)
1 large egg
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whole milk (I used 2%)

Position 1 oven rack in the top third of the oven and another in the bottom third. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and vanilla sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl after 1 minute. Add the egg and incorporate on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl. Add the vanilla extract and milk and blend on low speed for 15 seconds. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just to incorporate. Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before scooping.

Scoop the batter in teaspoon-sized balls and arrange them on 2 parchment paper-lined half sheet pans, approximately 35 cookies per pan. Use the heel of your hand to slightly flatten each ball. Bake, 2 pans at a time, rotating the pans halfway through the baking, until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans to a cooling rack to cool completely before removing the cookies from the pan.  

(Alton Brown's recipe says it makes 70 cookies, we didn't get that many...I think we had 50, which was still plenty for the pudding recipe).

Baked Banana Pudding
Recipe by Alton Brown, 2010

 3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups half-and-half (I used 2% milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
45 vanilla wafers (I didn't count mine and probably didn't layer them as thickly so I don't think I used this many)
1 pinch cream of tartar

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the banana slices and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. (I skipped this step, so my bananas turned brown by the next day.)

Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar, the flour and salt in a 3-quart saucier. Add the egg yolks and whisk to combine. Add the half-and-half and carefully whisk to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 172 to 180 degrees F, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken and bubble around the edges. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.

Spread a small amount of the pudding in the bottom of an oven-safe 1 1/2-quart glass mixing bowl (as you can see from my photos, I used a flatter corning ware dish instead.  I imagine a square glass pyrex would work too). Cover with a layer of vanilla wafers, followed by a layer of banana slices. Pour 1/3 of the remaining pudding on top of the bananas and repeat, ending with a layer of pudding.

Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (I used my whisk attachment on my immersion blender...it whips up egg whites in no time). Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form. Spoon the meringue over the warm pudding, being sure to cover the edges. Bake until the meringue is evenly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pudding from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving. Cool completely before refrigerating. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

ENJOY!  Really, I mean it.  Be sure to eat some while its warm....that's the best :)