Macaroon Polka Dots

MACAROON POLKA DOTS

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! This is my favorite holiday -- I hope you're doing something fun today! If you need a last-minute party treat, this recipe will definitely be a crowd-pleaser!

I absolutely love coconut (even though my husband hates it), so when I wanted dessert, I turned to the 15^th Annual Bake-Off cookbook for macaroons!

Macaroon Polka Dots

1/3 C butter

½ C well-packed brown sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 C flour

1 tbsp sugar

¾ C sweetened condensed milk

½ C chocolate chips

2 C grated coconut

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add 2 egg yolks, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Blend in flour. Spread in a greased 11x7 or 9x9 pan. Bake at 325^oF for 15 minutes.

Beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in milk, chocolate chips, and coconut. Spread over base in pan. Bake at 325^oF for 25 to 30 minutes until light browning occurs. Cool and cut into bars.

I know macaroons may not seem like anything special, but these were so tasty! I loved them, and several of my husband’s coworkers (and his boss) loved them! I will definitely make these again!

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Cocoa Almond Frosting

COCOA ALMOND FROSTING

When I decided to make the Chocolate Marble Cake, I needed to have something with which to frost it. Turning to the back of the cake book, I discovered several chocolate frosting recipes, but this one caught my eye.

Cocoa Almond Frosting

6 tbsp butter

3 ½ C confectioner’s sugar

½ C cocoa

1/3 C cream

½ tsp almond extract

Cream butter. Sift sugar and cocoa together. Alternate adding sugar mixture and cream to butter. Beat until fluffy and thick enough to spread. Add flavoring.

Simple, right? While this frosting was a little thick, and therefore difficult to spread, it was still very tasty. I would recommend changing the amount of cream to ½ C to make the frosting more spreadable, and I added 1 tsp of extract instead of ½ because I like the almond flavor.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Chocolate Marble Cake

CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE

Dessert! I love dessert! And even though I’m not normally a cake person, I decided I would dive into 250 Classic Cake Recipes. I asked my husband what kind of cake he would like, and we wound up picking this one because chocolate is yummy and marbling is fun!

Chocolate Marble Cake

Part 1

2 ½ C flour

2 ¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ C shortening

1 C sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

¾ C milk

Part 2

2 ½ oz chocolate, melted

½ tsp baking soda

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp shortening

¼ tsp salt

¼ C hot water

Sift dry ingredients from Part 1 together. Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Combine egg and egg yolks, beat well, and add to creamed mixture with vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk in small amounts.

Combine ingredients for Part 2 in order listed, blending thoroughly. Divide batter from Part 1 into two: leave 1/3 of the batter white, while adding the mixture from Part 2 to the remaining 2/3 of the batter.

Drop batter by tablespoons into greased pan, alternating white and chocolate. You will notice, as I did, that this is a primarily chocolate cake (hence the name), so the alternating will not be even – instead, you should wind up with little veins of vanilla running through a mostly chocolate cake.

Bake at 350^oF for 1 hour. Allow to cool completely, then frost as desired.

This was a tasty chocolate cake, to be sure. While a little dry, the Cocoa Almond Frosting I put on it added a nice touch. The marbling inside the cake turned out very pretty. This cake is one that I would use as a fancy showpiece for a special event – doesn’t it look nice?

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Lemon Twist Treat

LEMON TWIST TREAT

I love baking, so baking breakfast items is a good excuse for me to do what I like (plus, this way I don’t have to just eat boring cereal). From the 18^th Annual Bake-Off cookbook comes this tasty but dense breakfast bread.

Lemon Twist Treat

2 pkgs yeast OR 4 ½ tsp yeast

½ C warm water

1 pkg dry lemon frosting mix OR 1 pkg lemon frosting

1/3 C butter, softened

½ tsp salt

2 eggs

3 ½ C flour

3 oz cream cheese

½ tsp grated lemon peel

1 C chopped dates OR golden raisins

2 tsp milk

Before we begin, a word on the frosting: I didn’t know where I was supposed to find dry frosting mix, so I used a can of regular lemon frosting instead. This made the bread a little dense, but it was still delicious, so I don’t think it was a problem.

Soften yeast in water in a large mixer bowl. Add 1 C frosting mix, butter, eggs, salt, and 1 C flour. Blend well; beat 3 minutes on medium speed. By hand, gradually add in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Set aside ½ C frosting mix. Combine remaining frosting with lemon peel and cream cheese. Cut in enough flour to create coarse crumbs.

Knead dough on floured surface until no longer sticky. Roll out dough, one half at a time, into 12x10 in rectangles. Sprinkle each rectangle with half of the crumb mixture, and sprinkle dates or raisins in a line down the center.

Starting with the 12 in side, roll up jelly roll fashion and seal edges. Flatten slightly on greased cookie sheet. Using scissors or a knife, make diagonal cuts 1 in apart along the 12 in side to within ½ in of the edge.

Fold alternating slices right and left, turning each slice on its side, cut-side up. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350^oF for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets immediately. Combine reserved frosting with milk to create glaze and drizzle over cooled coffee cakes.

Like I said, these are very dense breads, but they are also very tasty. The cutting and folding created a very pretty pattern, and they are just sweet enough without feeling like dessert. I would definitely recommend baking these for a sweet and filling breakfast treat.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Gewürzte Schweinsrippchen

GEWÜRZTE SCHWEINSRIPPCHEN

Braised Spicy Spareribs

I absolutely love ribs, so when we decided to host a game night for some of my husband’s coworkers, I turned to this recipe from The German and Viennese Cookbook.

Gewürzte Schweinsrippchen/Braised Spicy Spareribs

4 lbs spareribs, cracked through center and cut into serving-sized pieces

1/3 C flour

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

3 tbsp fat (I used reserved bacon fat)

1 ½ C meat broth (water + bouillon cube)

¼ C ketchup

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp vinegar

½ tsp celery salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 whole cloves

3 whole allspice

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

Mix together flour, salt, and pepper. Toss meat in flour to coat evenly. Melt fat in skillet and brown meat slowly on both sides.

Mix remaining ingredients to create marinade. Place meat in roasting pan one layer deep. Pour broth mixture over meat. Cover and roast at 350oF for 1 ½ hours, or until ribs are tender. I started the ribs at the time written in the recipe, but I would recommend cooking for closer to 2 or 3 hours so all of the fat gets broken down for extra deliciousness.

Remove meat from roasting pan to a warm serving platter. Set aside while preparing sauce.

Strain cooking liquid into a small saucepan. Put ¼ C cold water and 2 tbsp flour into a screw-top jar. Cover tightly and shake until mixture is well blended. Bring liquid in saucepan to boiling. While stirring, pour in flour mixture. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce is of desired thickness.

First of all, let me say that this was my first time ever making ribs, and that they were pretty delicious! That being said, this recipe claims to make “spicy” ribs, but they weren’t that spicy – at least, not according to 2014 standards – maybe they were spicy back in 1956. So, if you crave a spicier sauce, more like barbeque, feel free to add more or different spices to the cooking liquid. All-in-all, though, these were quite satisfactory, and I would definitely make them again.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Honey Chocolate (Cup)Cake

HONEY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Tamara picked this recipe from 250 Classic Cake Recipes as her prize for being the first person to comment on this blog! Besides, who doesn’t love cupcakes?

Honey Chocolate Cake

2 ½ C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ C shortening

½ C sugar

¾ C honey

1 egg, separated

2 oz melted chocolate

¼ C water

½ sour milk (see the Quick Chocolate Cake recipe for instructions on sour milk)

1 tsp vanilla

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Cream shortening with sugar and honey until fluffy.

Add egg yolk and chocolate and beat thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and liquids alternately in small amounts, beating well after each addition.

Beat egg white stiffly, then fold into batter. Pour into greased pan (or cupcake papers). Bake at 350^oF for 40 to 45 minutes.

This recipe made very delicious chocolate cupcakes with a very light honey background flavor. My only complaint is that this cake came out a little dry and crumbly. However, with the Cream Filling and a combination of Chocolate Cream Frosting and the Brown Butter Frosting, these were very satisfying.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Fiskekroketer

FISKEKROKETER

Fish Balls

Okay, get it all out of your system... Feel better? Okay, good. As I said before, I am always a little nervous when I crack open The Scandinavian Cookbook because I’m wary of weird ways of cooking fish. However, these fish balls are more or less like crab cakes, so no big deal.

Fiskekroketer/Fish Balls

Fry Oil

2 tbsp butter

¼ C flour

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 C cream

3 C flaked cooked fish

1 egg yolk, beaten

2 eggs, beaten

1 C dry breadcrumbs

Lemon pepper

Old Bay seasoning

Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Heat until mixture bubbles. Gradually add cream. Cook rapidly, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Blend in fish and egg yolk.

Shape mixture into balls. Dip balls in eggs and roll in breadcrumbs. I mixed some lemon pepper and Old Bay seasoning into the breadcrumbs to give the fish some spice. Deep fry the fish balls in fry oil (350^oF or 185^oC) until golden brown. Drain, salt, and serve.

I paired the fish balls with some fried green tomatoes and fried green beans, plus a quick sauce I made out of some butter, white wine, and seasonings. Tasty!

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Fudge Nougats

FUDGE NOUGATS

Jamie picked these out as her prize for being the first person to share my blog with friends! They’re listed in the 15^th Annual Bake-Off cookbook as the grand prizewinner for cookies, but they seem very much like fudge.

Fudge Nougats

2 C sugar

½ C butter

1 C evaporated milk

1 C chocolate chips

¾ C flour

1 C crushed graham crackers

¾ C chopped walnuts

1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in remaining ingredients until incorporated. Spread in a well-greased 12x8 or 9x9 pan. Chill candy in refrigerator until set. Cut into squares.

These were very fudgy, but also very tasty! I don't usually like nuts in cookies or candies, but the ratio of nuts to fudge in this was not overwhelming, so I enjoyed them.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Broiled Lamb Chops

BROILED LAMB CHOPS

Until this point, I had only had lamb once in my entire life (my family members are primarily chicken-eaters). So, I figured that this recipe from The CreoleCookbook would count as being adventurous. In retrospect, I’m not sure that broiling is really the way to go with so fatty a piece of meat, but this was one of the few recipes so far in this project that both of us said was amazing, and my husband said, “The only thing that’s bad about this, is that there isn’t more…”

Broiled Lamb Chops

Lamb Chops (I found shoulder chops at the store, but you can use whatever chop you prefer)

Salt

Pepper

MSG

Basic Spice Mix (See my note below)

Wipe chops clean with a damp cloth. Rub each side of chops with mixture of salt, pepper, MSG, and spices.

Let’s be clear: this recipe only called to season the chops with a tiny amount of salt, pepper, and MSG. While I love following these recipes, I felt the need to stretch my seasoning wings on this one, especially because so many of these recipes have been under-seasoned as written. My Basic Spice Mix, that I used for this recipe, is just Garlic Powder, Celery Salt, Coriander, Paprika, and Tumeric in amounts that “look right.” I use this as the base for seasoning a lot of my cooking – these spices just add a good “oomph” and a strong background flavor. Feel free to experiment with the seasoning for this and the other recipes as you see tasty!

Arrange chops on broiler rack 2 in from heat source. Broil about 5 to 7 minutes per side. Once cooked to desired doneness, top with small dollop butter and serve. The recipe calls for mint jelly to be served with the chops, but I A) didn’t have any, and B) didn’t think it needed it – these were delicious on their own!

I served these accompanied by French Fried Onions, and the dinner was a big hit! Like I said, we have never cooked lamb together, but we were both impressed by the flavor. The texture left a tiny bit to be desired – like I said, with fattier meat, low and slow cooking works better because the fat breaks down, but the broiling in this recipe gave the chops a nice crispy brown.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

French Fried Onions

Before we get to the food, I have a great announcement:

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FRENCH FRIED ONIONS

In the Vegetables section of The Creole Cookbook, I found this yummy recipe to serve alongside the Broiled Lamb Chops. These are basically just onion rings, but the batter turned out really delicious!

French Fried Onions

Fry oil

3 Onions

1 tbsp Butter

1 ¼ C flour

Salt

Pepper

MSG

Basic Spice Mix (See note below)

2 Eggs

¾ C Milk

Worcestershire sauce

Clean onions and cut into slices ¼ in thick. Separate slices into rings and set aside.

Let’s be clear: this recipe only called to season the flour with a tiny amount of salt, pepper, and MSG. While I love following these recipes, I felt the need to stretch my seasoning wings on this one, especially because so many of these recipes have been under-seasoned as written. My Basic Spice Mix, that I used for this recipe, is just Garlic Powder, Celery Salt, Coriander, Paprika, and Tumeric in amounts that “look right.” I use this as the base for seasoning a lot of my cooking – these spices just add a good “oomph” and a strong background flavor. Feel free to experiment with the seasoning for this and the other recipes as you see tasty!

Sift together flour and spices. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until fluffy, then add milk and W sauce. Melt butter, allow to cool, then blend into egg mixture. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add liquid all at once and blend until smooth.

Dip onion rings into batter and coat evenly. Deep-fry (remember, oil at 350oF or 185oC!) 2 to 3 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown (remember to turn them so both sides brown!). Drain and salt.

Again, my husband would NOT leave me alone while I was frying these, so I almost didn’t have enough to serve on our plates with the lamb chops! They were tasty, crispy, and very satisfying. I would recommend letting them brown just past what you think is a good color, because as fried things cool, they tend to lose a little of the crispness, and you don’t want to wind up with soggy onion rings. Another success story!

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Pollo alla Vesuviana

POLLO ALLA VESUVIANA

Chicken Vesuvio

As I flipped through The Italian Cookbook looking for new recipes to try, the name of this dish caught my eye. Apparently, while this chicken dish doesn’t have spices or hot sauce (which I would normally associate with volcanoes), the final structure in the serving dish is supposed to look like a volcano… That intention is debatable, but still, this was pretty delicious.

Pollo alla Vesuviana/Chicken Vesuvio

1 Frying chicken, 2-3lbs

½ C Flour

Salt

Pepper

MSG

Oregano (I added this ingredient to make it feel more Italian)

2 Eggs, well beaten

¼ C Milk

1 tbsp Parsley, chopped

½ C grated Parmesan

1 Clove garlic, sliced

2 tbsp Marsala wine

½ tsp Parsley, chopped

In my local grocery store, I could find parts of chickens already broken down, or whole chickens weighing 4lbs or more (society has caused chickens to be bred much larger than they were in the 50s!). Trying to stick to the 2-3lbs, I instead bought 2 Rock Cornish Hens – in retrospect, buying some legs and wings already separated from the original bird is a lot faster and easier than breaking down a chicken (or 2 smaller birds).

                                                In my head I named them "Tom & Jerry"

Disjoint chicken and cut into serving-sized pieces. Rinse and pat dry. Coat chicken in a mixture of flour and spices. Combine eggs, milk, and parsley. Dip each piece of chicken into egg mixture, then roll in Parmesan. The base recipe used here is what the book calls Fried Chicken, Italian Style, and this can be found on the same page as the Vesuvio recipe.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Starting with bone-in pieces of chicken, place them skin-side down in the skillet. Add non-boned pieces as the others brown. Brown all sides, then place chicken one layer deep in baking dish and set aside.

Heat olive oil and garlic in a saucepan until lightly browned. Stir in wine and parsley and heat through. Pour mixture over chicken in baking dish. While this gave it an interesting flavor, pouring a red wine sauce over fried chicken completely soaked the breading and made it gooey, plus it was this strange purple-grey color at the end, which was slightly unappetizing. I would recommend creating this sauce after the chicken has finished baking, allow it to thicken, and use it as a sauce rather than as baking liquid.

Bake at 325^oF about 45 minutes, turning once, or until thickest pieces of chicken are tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, prepare Deep-Fried Potatoes and place in the oven to keep warm. To serve, place potatoes around rim of baking dish to form “volcano.”

I don’t know if my chicken looks like it’s erupting out of a volcano, but it was pretty tasty. That  being said, there are still lots of things we decided we would change about this, first being the sauce issue I mentioned above. My husband also wished that this were spicier. I think we could achieve this by baking some peppers along with the chicken, or adding some red pepper flakes or other spices to the breading. I keep forgetting how cooks in the 50s were so unfamiliar with many of the spices that we all have in our pantries today.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Deep-Fried Potatoes

DEEP-FRIED POTATOES

I made this recipe from The Italian Cookbook as the accompaniment to the Chicken Vesuvio, but these were tasty all on their own (my husband couldn’t keep his fingers off while I was frying!).

Deep-Fried Potatoes

2lbs Potatoes

Fry Oil (I like to use peanut oil for savory frying, but you can use any frying oil)

Wash and clean potatoes. Trim off sides and ends to form large blocks. Cut lengthwise into pieces 3/8 in wide. Pat dry. Fry about 1 C at a time in hot fat (remember, 350^oF or 185^oC) until potatoes are tender and golden brown. Drain and sprinkle with salt

Like I said, super simple and tasty (they’re really just French fries, I guess).

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Golden Gate Snack Bread

GOLDEN GATE SNACK BREAD

This recipe was the Grand Prize Winner in the 17^th Annual Bake-Off recipe book, so I figured it would be good, and I was not disappointed!

Golden Gate Snack Bread

2 pkgs yeast

1 C warm water

4 to 4 ½ C flour, divided

1 C cheese spread (I used a nice Vermont cheddar)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp butter, softened

Salt

1/3 C butter, softened OR ½ C butter, softened

1 pkt onion soup mix

Soften yeast in water in large mixer bowl. Add 2 C flour, cheese, sugar, butter, and salt, beating on medium speed 2 minutes until incorporated. Gradually add remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. Blend butter and onion soup mix together and set aside. When I went to spread this mixture over the bread, it seemed like too little mix to cover the whole bread well. I recommend upping the butter to ½ C so that the mix spreads more evenly.

Roll out dough on floured surface into a 20x14 in rectangle. Spread entire surface with filling, leaving small border on edges clear.

Starting with the 14 in side, roll up dough in jelly-roll fashion. Seal all edges and ends.

Using a knife or scissors, make a lengthwise cut down the center to form 2 loaves. Place each loaf, cut-side up, on a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise until light and fluffy, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350^oF for 25 to 30 minutes.

This recipe was awesome, if for no other reason than the unique shape it forms after rolling and cutting! Luckily for us, though, it was also delicious! The onion soup filling and the cheese in the bread give it a nice tanginess and saltiness. I enjoyed this bread solo, with the leftover Ham Sauce, with soup, and with bruschetta (2 loaves is a lot for just 2 people to enjoy).

I decided that this seems like a really good base recipe that could receive a lot of other treatments, like a nice savory Italian cheese in the dough and pesto for the filling, or a sweet cheese in the dough and a fruit jam for the filling!

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!

Kringle

Happy October!!!

KRINGLE

Filled Coffee Cake

I looked in our pantry (really a pre-fab closet standing in the walking space between our kitchen and front living room) only to discover that we are decidedly out of cereal. To The Scandinavian Cookbook!

Kringle                                                                                                         Filling

¼ C flour                                                                                                  1 ½ C water

¾ C butter                                                                                                1 ½ C golden raisins

1 pkg yeast OR 2 ¼ tsp yeast                                                                  ¼ C butter

¼ C warm water                                                                                      1 tsp cardamom

1 egg                                                                                                        2 C confectioners’ sugar

¾ C milk                                                                                                  2-3 tbsp cream

3 tbsp sugar                                                                                   

1 tsp salt                                                                                                  1/3 C almonds

3 C flour, divided                                                                                     1/3 C sugar

Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender. Shape mixture into a ball and place on wax paper. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and roll into a 10x4 rectangle. Chill.

Soften yeast in water. Beat egg and stir in milk, sugar, and salt. Blend in 1 C flour, then add yeast. Add enough remaining flour until dough forms a smooth ball. Roll into a 12 in. square. Remove chilled butter mixture from wax paper and place in the middle of the rolled out dough. Fold dough over butter mixture. Turn dough ¼ way around and roll into a 12 in. square. Fold and roll out, turning ¼ way around each time, twice more. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill for 1 hr.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. Bring water to boiling and add raisins. Drain raisins and set aside. Cream together butter and cardamom. Add confectioners’ sugar gradually, then blend in cream until mixture is of a spreadable consistency. Mix in the raisins and set aside.

Remove chilled dough from wax paper and roll into a 24x12 rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 2 strips. Spread each strip with one-half of the filling.

Starting with one long side of the dough, roll up each strip tightly and pinch to seal. Carefully stretch rolls to 30 in. long. Transfer each roll to a greased baking sheet and shape into a pretzel. Gently flatten dough. Brush each pretzel with egg wash and sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and almonds. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 375oF for 25 to 30 minutes.

I can’t say this enough: THIS IS AMAZING! Kringle is my new favorite breakfast (or dessert, or snack). It’s light, flaky, sweet (but not too sweet), and the cardamom adds a neat spicy background flavor.

As for the raisins, my husband’s not big on cooked fruit (the only apple pie he will eat is of his own creation, hates fruit in cookies and cakes and pies, you get the picture). When I cut him his piece of Kringle, I anticipated a criticism of the raisins. Instead, “Wow, this is great. This is cooked fruit I would actually eat! This would even be good with peaches!”

Well, if this recipe needed any more of a recommendation, that was it. It’s delicious, good days later re-warmed, and the fruit can be changed out for whatever strikes your fancy. I think you should definitely try making a Kringle the next time you’re out of cereal.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!