Enjoying Fall

Summer days are finally past, and it has been cool enough to get outside and do a little outdoor cooking.

We really enjoy trying new Dutch oven recipes when we get a chance.

This particular night we tried an onion dip, Cowboy Cornbread, and Hornet's Nest Cake (pictured above).  The cake taste a lot like pecan pie.  I posted the recipe below.  I found it on Every Day Dutch Oven blog.  

On this night we made Skillet Apple Pie,  meatloaf,  baked potatoes, turnip greens and cornbread.  

We plan to cook most of our Thanksgiving meal outside this year. Here's the mister and Thumper giving a turkey a trial run.  It was delish!

All of this outdoor cooking may have been inspired by my husband's cast iron collection. 

If you have a Dutch Oven give this recipe a try.  It's really easy and is probably different than your usual DO dessert.  If you have any unique Dutch oven recipes, by all means, leave one in the comments!

Dutch Oven Hornet's Nest Cake

Note:  (I would recommend only using 3/4 to 1/2 of the package of butterscotch chips. It was a little too sweet for me with the whole package in there. )

INGREDIENTS

• • 1 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 18 oz package plain yellow cake mix
  • 1 11 oz package butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

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INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Lightly oil or spray 12 inch dutch oven; line with parchment paper.
  2. Mix pudding and milk in large bowl according to package directions.
  3. Add cake mix, stir until well combined, there will be a few lumps in the batter.
  4. Pour batter into prepared dutch oven, smooth evenly with spatula.
  5. Sprinkle batter completely with butterscotch chips.
  6. Sprinkle chips with chopped pecans.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until tester in center comes out clean.
  8. Cool in dutch oven for 30 minutes before lifting out with parchment paper.
  9. Cut into small pieces, cake is very rich.

Tomato Love

One of my very favorite things about summer is REAL tomatoes.  I don't like those tasteless things that masqurade as tomatoes in the off season.  Nope, give me a real homegrown, preferably heirloom tomato with lots of acid, you know the kind that makes your mouth breakout.  Now that's a tomato! I love them just about any way, straight up out of the garden with a little salt and pepper, made into a fresh salsa, tomato pie, canned alone, or in salsa, or spaghetti sauce, but my favorite way is a plain old tomato sandwich on white bread with mayo, salt and pepper.  That's just hard to beat...that is until recently.

I had some gorgeous tomatoes and wouldn't you know, it no white bread.  We really don't eat white bread much anymore.  That tomato was just calling my name.  I looked through the cabinets and found a french roll and thought, "that'll do".  I opened the fridge to get the mayo and saw some fresh mozzarella, so I figured why not.  This wasn't going to be my typical sandwich anyway, why not change it all up.  I happened to have just brought in some basil and oregano from the herb garden, so I chopped them up and layered bread, tomato, herbs, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and mozzarella and popped it into the toaster oven, with no mayo at all.

 Umm, when those herbs started getting warm the aroma filled my kitchen and spilled over into the other rooms.  I had to fight myself so I wouldn't eat it while it was so hot it would have pulled the roof of my mouth off.  Anyway, I have eaten one of these for lunch for the last several days and a few times for supper as well.  I haven't gotten tired of them yet.  I hope your summer is full of fresh, ripe, yummy, REAL tomatoes.  If so, you have got to give this sandwich a try.

Grapefruit Frenzy and a Recipe

I've been on a grapefruit kick this week. Not the good for you kind of kick either, although I need a swift kick in the pants to start me in that direction. Instead of eating them as is I decided to see what I could make with them. I've never cooked with grapefruit before other than having one broiled occasionally. So I went on a Google search and then to Pinterest and found a few things that sounded tasty.

First, I found marmalade that looked rather laborious, but I was in the mood so I tried two different recipes. Then I moved

on to curd and gave that a try, my kids had both given me fresh eggs from their chickens which added a beautiful rich color to the curd, and it tasted wonderful, at least that is what my husband said after a midnight raid of the refrigerator. Finally, I found scone recipes. I've never made scones before, and to be honest I wasn't sure I would like them, but I decided to give it a go.

There was a wide variety of recipes online, and after scouring them for much too long I decided to take what I had read and try my own mixture. I had a general idea from all the recipes I read the basic ingredients and measurements.

Oh, my! I'm not so sure this was a good idea. They are soo good! I've made two batches, and no, I did not eat them all myself, although I could have.

The recipe is below in case you want to give it a try. If you happen to have a grapefruit recipe you don't mind sharing let me know. I think I have about 5 grapefruit left.

Almond scented Grapefruit-Poppyseed Scones

2 cups self rising flour

4 Tbsp butter, cold

Up to 3/4 cup cream

3 Tbsp grapefruit zest mixed with 1/4 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp almond extract

2 Tbsp honey

1 grapefruit segmented, membranes removed

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 egg

2 Tbs grapefruit juice

Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Up to 2 Tbsp grapefruit juice

a few drops Almond extract

Cut butter into flour as you would for making biscuits.

Mix grapefruit zest with sugar pushing together with the back of spoon to infuse the grapefruit oils into the sugar.

Stir poppy seeds and 2 tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture into flour mixture.

In a 1 cup measuring cup stir egg, honey, and vanilla.

Add grapefruit juice to wet mixture and then fill with cream to the 1 cup mark.

Cut segments of grapefruit each into 3-4 pieces and add to flour mixture.

Gently stir liquids into flour and turn onto a large, flat, iron skillet or large pie pan, top with remaining sugar-zest mixture, and pat down gently.

With a large knife cut the dough into 8 wedges. Bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For glaze, mix almond extract and juice into sugar a few drops at a time until the glaze reaches a glaze like consistency. Drizzle over warm scones.

This is before the glaze was added.

Valentine's Almond Cherry Pound Cake

If you are looking for a pretty, pink, homemade treat for Valentine's Day look no further. This is a simple homemade pound cake that is sure to hit the spot with your Valentine. The frosting is very rich so I choose to warm just a little in a cup and drizzle it instead of frosting the whole cake with it, but you decide which way you like it best. If you are making it for a shower or a birthday frosting it might make the decorating a little more versatile.

This cake pairs very nicely with vanilla or cherry vanilla ice cream and homemade hot fudge!

Almond Cherry Pound Cake:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

1 (6-ounce) jar red maraschino cherries, drained and chopped (save 4 tbl. cherry juice to add to cake batter)

1 tsp. almond extract

3 3/4 cup cake flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup half and half

Cherry cream cheese glaze/frosting

Beat butter and shortening at med. speed with an electric mixer about 2 min. or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at med. speed 5 to 7 min. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Stir in cherries, cherry juice and flavoring. Combine flour and salt; add to the butter mixture alternately with half-n-half, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 45 min. to 2 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 min. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack. Frost top and sides of cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 tbls. chopped cherries, with juice

4-ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp. almond extract

Combine cream cheese and butter, beating until creamy. Add sugar and almond; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in cherries and juice. Yield: 1 1/2 cups. You may use this as a frosting (you might want to double it if you like a lot of frosting.) I heat this a little in the microwave and drizzle over the cake instead.

Satsuma Marmalade

Satsumas are one of my favorite fruits. If you haven't experienced this fabulous citrus fruit, I can't possibly explain the essence of all you are missing out on. They are easy to peel, with the perfect balance of tart and sweet. They are in abundance around here this time of year, and usually we simply eat them as they are until they are all gone.

Last year we juiced some and

froze the juice. This year my daughter decided to make marmalade out of them. I had been planning on making kumquat marmalade, but had honestly never thought of using satsumas for it. She called to say how great it turned out, and since a local farmer had just invited my husband and son to come and pick the rest of his crop before they froze I just happened to have plenty on hand, so I decided to try my hand at it.

My daughter came over and we decided to work together. It was a lot of fun. The whole process took quite a while. We worked on it practically half of the day, and we only got 8 half-pints, that's only 4 half-pints a piece. We really didn't mind that much. It was a new experience and we enjoyed doing it together.

I've never eaten a lot of marmalade, I mainly use it to baste grilled chicken, but after smelling it I had to have a sample on some toast. I don't know if it was all of the time put into it that made me biased or not, but I think it turned out really tasty!

While working with my daughter, we used her electric juicer. Angel Eyes, came in and asked why we didn't use the juicer on my Hoosier cabinet. It was a vintage model I picked up at a flea market, thinking it would go nicely on the antique cabinet. I had never planned to use it. She asked if she could try it out. I washed it up and let her have at it, and to tell the truth I liked using it better than the electric one.

Angel Eyes, fixed herself a couple of cups of juice, and offered to squeeze some for anyone else who wanted it.

The next day I decided to do another batch and used the old juicer for the entire recipe. It worked great. If you would like to try making a batch yourself, I'm including a link to the recipe here, at Pots and Pins, a food and quilting blog that I plan to peruse more closely after the holidays.

Tasty Treat

One of my favorite cookies is a rosette. I used to make them when I first got married many, many moons ago. I haven't thought about them in years, and then the other day as I was cleaning out a cabinet I found my rosette iron. It's not a fancy contraption just a star or snowflake on the end of a metal stick. You dip the end into the batter and then into hot oil and presto you have a beautiful cookie. These lovely goodies taste like a cross between a potato chip and a funnel cake. I know, that sounds kinda weird and not very appetizing, but it really is good! Trust me!! Here is the recipe straight out of Betty Crocker's cookbook, the one I received as a wedding gift way back when.

Rosettes

Vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup water or milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Heat oil (2-3 inches) in small deep saucepan to 400 degrees. Beat egg, sugar and salt in small deep bowl. Beat in 1 tablespoon oil, the water and flour until smooth. Heat rosette iron by placing in hot oil 1 minute. Tap excess oil from iron on paper towels; dip hot iron into batter just to top edge (don't go over top). Fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Immediately remove rosette; invert on paper towel to cool. (If rosette is not crisp stir in a small amount of water or milk.)

Heat iron in hot oil and tap on paper towels before making each rosette. (If iron is not hot enough batter will not stick.) Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

18 rosettes

These make such a festive cookie.

Obsolete Confections

Have you ever had an addiction to a certain sweet that is no longer on the market? It has happened to me several times. The first was my favorite candy bar for years, the Marathon Bar, caramel and chocolate yumminess. After that there was a wonderful cookie that was only available at Christmas, and I think it was put out by Winn-Dixie grocery. It was a Christmas cookie with a slight licorice taste and red and green striped icing. I don''t even know what this cookie was called, but I looked forward to them all year. (Can you tell I have a severe sweet tooth?) There was the Nabisco Brown Edged Wafer, which was my husband''s favorite for years, and I can almost replicate by making thin cookies with pound cake batter. The latest is the Lemon Cooler, a powdered sugar covered lemon flavored cookie, tart, sweet, and very tasty. I've had a hankering for a Lemon Cooler lately, and decided today since someone gave us a surplus of limes to try to make some. I found a recipe at Allrecipes.com that comes pretty close.

How about you? Do you crave something that's no longer available?

Key Lime Cookies 1 (Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg, and egg yolk until smooth. Stir in lime juice and lime zest. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; blend into the creamed mixture. Form dough into 1/2 inch balls, and arrange on the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies while still warm.

Momma's Summer Goulash

This recipe is not Hungarian nor is it a stew, but rather a wonderful mixture of vegetables lightly dusted with cornmeal and fried. (yeah, I'm from the south) It is the perfect thing to make when your garden just starts producing, and you don't have enough of any on individual thing to cook by itself.

My mom has made this for as far back as I can remember, and it is one of the things my family looks forward to every summer. The vegetables can be changed up according to what you have, for the batch I made I used squash, okra, potatoes, banana pepper, and onion, but I have also used eggplant, zucchini, jalapeno, green tomato, etc. The possibilities are endless.

To make it I just chop my vegetables in large hunks, roughly the same size. I toss them in cornmeal. Heat some oil in an iron skillet. Pour in the veggies, placing a lid on the pan for a little while letting them brown on that side. Gently flip them over, and let them brown on the other side still with the lid so they will cook all the way through. You have to be careful not to stir them too much or they will turn to mush. When they're done salt them well, and serve them hot. Then let me know what you think.

Sweet/ Hot

A quick picture of the girls before they went to ride horses.

Now no one has accused me of being the brightest crayon in the box, why would that be?  Maybe it is because I do foolish things like make peanut brittle after a dental emergency, while my dentist is still out of town, and while I'm supposed to be on a diet.  Humm, maybe...  but really, there was a reason, of sorts.  You see our jalapenos  are still producing, but the tomatoes are not keeping the pace, and the cilantro is no more.  I've been looking for jalapeno recipes when I suddenly remembered this awesome gift basket we received from friends in Texas.  It had the most amazing jalapeno peanut brittle so I decided I would find a recipe and try it.  The first recipe I tried only called for 1/2 cup of peanuts.  The brittle was good, but not very hot.  I decided to take my regular peanut brittle recipe and add the peppers to it.  Yummy!  but still not enough fire.  The last batch I decided to use pecans and triple the peppers.  It took a very long time even in the microwave.  I think the liquid that cooked out of the peppers juiced it up and made it take longer to get to the right temperature.  It had the fire and the pecans were really good, but next time I will stick with the second recipe and throw in a few seeds for heat.  My kitchen still smells of pepper so strongly that I am thrown into a fit of coughing and sneezing every time I go in there.  Here is the recipe for the second batch:

Jalapeno Peanut Brittle

1 1/2 cups of raw peanuts

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon butter

1 tsp almond flavoring

1/2 cup jalapenos chopped

tsp baking soda

Mix nuts, sugar, syrup and salt together in a microwave-safe casserole dish

Cook in microwave on high for 4 minutes 

Add jalapenos; stir well; then cook on high for  4 more minutes

Add butter and vanilla cook 2 more minutes

Stir in baking soda and stir until light and foamy 

Pour into a buttered cookie sheet; spread till thin

Let cool and break into pieces

Enjoy