Holiday Bakeathon 2019

Our sixth holiday baking day together! We were all kind of tired but things still moved along nicely.

Left: marshmallow, right: cream cheese icing

Gingerbread cookies this year were conspicuously Untitled Goose Game themed.

*honk*

Left: gingerbread; Right: chocolate biscotti

We all have a fancy stand mixer now so we had to take the below video because we can. And for internet points.

*Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries plays*

RECIPES

• Spicy Gingerbread Cookies (Smitten Kitchen) -- our old standby. I never get tired of how they taste with cream cheese frosting, and we keep coming up with new and/or funny ways to decorate them.
• Chocolate Caramel Crackers (Smitten Kitchen) -- chosen because both Sarah and I were eyeing it for several years but hadn't made it yet. We used matzo and added sliced almonds on top. Pretty easy to make, makes a lot, and tastes great. I made a second batch for my work holiday party because I missed it after my portion was gone and we had enough leftover ingredients to make it again. Definitely keeping this recipe around. I'd love to try it with saltine crackers. *Update: I tried it with saltines and very slightly prefer the matzo crackers because they're less crumbly.
• Cream Cheese Frosting -- for the gingerbread.
• Cinnamon-Sugar Rugelach -- a perennial favorite. Made a second batch because my husband was sad when they were gone (they are his favorite cookie) and I'm glad I did because I got to introduce my sister to them.
• Double Chocolate Biscotti (MyRecipes) -- we added dried cherries and pistachios and I really liked them this way.
• Homemade Marshmallows (Alton Brown) -- another perennial favorite. I wanted to put peppermint in them but Sarah said no. :P
• Linzer Torte (Maida Heatter via Smitten Kitchen) -- my big error for the day was accidentally baking it on too high a temperature. The outside got very very dark, a shade before burnt, which is very sad when you spend all that time shaping dough into a lattice and making it look pretty. (This recipe takes two hours of active work to make by myself.) Make sure you turn your oven down for the final long bake. I made a small (5 inch) heart shaped one out of the leftover dough that I did not burn, and that one turned out really cute! If you decide to make it a non-standard shape, make sure you have a pan or mold to keep the bottom crust's shape while it bakes. The sides of my bottom crust started collapsing once it got warm in the oven, but an aluminum foil mold helped. Once the bottom crust was parbaked and solidified, it held its shape and I didn't need the foil barriers anymore. I redeemed myself by making a second batch that DID turn out really well, half for my parents (my dad liked it but my mom is seemingly impossible to impress) and half for Christmas Day dinner with my neighbor's family.

BAKEATHONS PAST

• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014

Winter Squash and Mushroom Goulash with Spaetzle

This recipe comes to me from Sophie, someone my husband and his band became acquainted with when they had a joint metal music and burlesque show in Vienna during their recent tour in Europe. She and her significant other put them up for the night and made them this really delicious dinner. I did not attend this particular show of theirs because I was not in Europe yet, but my husband raved about how good this meal was. She gave him a basic recipe, which did not include precise amounts for most things but she described the process in great detail so that I might be able to make something similar. It sounds like she makes this mostly by feel, which is a good sign. Sophie's recipe originally comes from her grandfather. :)

The below is what I have put together based on her description and looking at other goulash recipes.

Notes:

• The finished consistency should be like a cream soup. I ended up mixing about 1 tbsp all purpose flour with 1 tbsp water and then mixing that into the soup toward the end, letting it cook for about 5 minutes to cook away the flour taste.
• I recommend kabocha/buttercup squash because I like its flavor but you can also use butternut or red kuri squash.
• Hungarian hot paprika paste (Erős Pista) is a solidly medium-spicy red pepper paste. If you don't like spicy food, you can use Édes Anna (mild paprika paste) instead, or a mix of both. I used 1/2 tbsp of each because I had them both, and it was about as spicy as I would want it to be for my mild-end-of-medium spice tolerance.
• The spaetzle pictured above were the very first I ever made in my entire life and I realize now the "dough" should have been a little more like a batter (mine was thick enough to cut off individual distinct pieces). I have not personally tried the methods I write below but I plan to when I make spaetzle again.

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RECIPE:

Winter Squash and Mushroom Goulash with Spaetzle
adapted from Sophie and her grandfather, and methods from Frau Lutz and Food Wishes
Serves 4

Goulash
1.25 lb (575 g) kabocha or other winter squash (about 1/2 large squash, about 2 1/2 cups peeled and chopped)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped (about 6 oz/170 g)
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz (230 g) white button mushrooms, halved
1 bell pepper, any color you like, chopped
1 tbsp hot paprika paste (Erős Pista), or to taste
4 cups (1 L) vegetable stock
1 tbsp all-purpose flour mixed with 1 tbsp water (to thicken, if needed)
Sour cream, for serving

Spaetzle
250 g all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
50 ml water (or more as needed)

Prepare squash: Heat oven to 400°F. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Peel squash if desired and cut into 1-inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until well coated. Spread in a single layer onto a baking sheet lined with foil. Place in oven. Roast for about 25 minutes or until the pieces can easily be pierced with a fork and are beginning to brown. While squash is roasting, prepare goulash. When squash is done, remove from oven and set aside.

Make goulash: Heat butter in a saucepan or soup pot on medium heat. When butter melts and foams, add garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and bell peppers, and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms and peppers have softened, about 7-10 minutes. Add stock and hot paprika paste, and mix until paprika paste has been incorporated. Raise heat to high and let the pot come to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add squash cubes to the pot and mix gently to combine. Simmer for at least 30 minutes (more time will not hurt) uncovered over low to medium heat. While goulash simmers, prepare spaetzle. If needed, add flour mixed with water to thicken and let simmer for several minutes after adding.

Make spaetzle: Fill a wide pot with about 3 inches of water and place on the stove over high heat to boil. Put flour in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and add eggs and water. Mix with a whisk or fork until all the flour is incorporated and smooth. It will be a thick batter. If you have a spaetzle press and know what to do with it this would be a great time to use it, but if not you can use a cutting board and knife, or a grater with 1/4 inch holes and a large spoon. If you're using a board and knife, it should be able to pile and hold its shape for a short time. If you're using a grater, the batter should be thick enough to not drip through the holes until you push it through. Boil until the spaetzle float to the top, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon to drain off the water, and place in a dry bowl.

To serve: Place your desired amount of spaetzle into a soup bowl and ladle the goulash onto the top.

Apple Cider Caramels

I love me some apple cider in the fall, but the smallest size it comes in is often a half gallon, and because there are only two of us in the house and we have taken to drinking less juice in recent years, sometimes I end up with a large amount of cider that I need to use up before it spoils.

look how shiny it is!

Enter apple cider caramels. I saw these on Smitten Kitchen earlier this year and loved everything about them, and I just so happened to have a bunch of apple cider to use up so I gave them a try!

Notes:

• Definitely make sure to get apple cider (the cloudy kind with sediment on the bottom that must stay cold) and not apple juice. Mine was pasteurized and worked just fine, but I think the fresh-from-the-farm stuff would taste even better. If it has to stay refrigerated, that's a good sign.
• I reduced the apple cider a few days before I actually made the caramels because I started without having all the ingredients to make it (whoops). The reduced apple cider keeps great in the refrigerator. It's thicker when it's cold but it easily loosens once you put it back on the heat.
• My candy thermometer does not have exact temperature markings when it gets to the different ball stages range (weird) so I cooked it to what was marked on my thermometer as "firm ball" stage, which I think is technically just under the 252 degrees F that the recipe tells you to cook it to and it turned out fine. I would probably even make them a tiny bit softer next time.
• My 8x8" pan of caramel ended up about 3/8 in thick, for an idea of how much it makes. I cut them smaller than the 1x1 inch that the recipe suggests. I cut my pan into 6 rows (~1.25 in wide) and cut those into about 1/2 inch pieces (13-15 pieces per row), making about 78-90 pieces total.

Verdict: Way easier to eat than a caramel apple for sure. The cinnamon coated salt bits mixed throughout were better than I imagined they'd be. The cinnamon + salt are the flavors that I associate with the crust of an apple pie. They are apple pie in caramel form. I would definitely make these again.

On a related note, I tasted the reduced apple cider all by itself and it tastes like the best apple candy, sour and very distinctly natural apple. I have heard of people using it instead of maple syrup for pancakes and/or waffles and I am excited by this idea.

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RECIPE: Apple Cider Caramels

Mushrooms with Garlic and Sherry

I'm not the biggest fan of mushrooms but my husband is. I tried this recipe because I had a bunch of them I needed to use up quickly, and the one type of mushrooms I do kind of get excited about are the garlic mushrooms at the Renaissance faire. I wanted to make a fancier version of those. I liked these reasonably well but he LOVED them.

Notes:

• To make this dish vegetarian, you can use vegetable stock instead of beef stock. Mushroom stock would be particularly appropriate.
• I used about 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes and still found it a little too spicy for my liking, but I'm decidedly not a fan of spicy heat with my mushrooms. I will probably leave it out from future batches.
• If you don't have sherry, a dry white wine would also work.
• Someone in the original recipe's comments mentioned wanting to add thyme and I rather like that idea.

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RECIPE:

Mushrooms with Garlic and Sherry
adapted very slightly from Leite's Culinaria
Serves 4

2 tbsp (1 oz) butter
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb (~450 g) button or other mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp (30 ml) Fino, Amontillado, or Manzanilla sherry
3/4 cup (180 ml) beef or vegetable stock
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, for garnish

Place a skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add butter. When the butter is melted, add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then add mushrooms. Cook for approximately 7-10 minutes, or until they release their liquid and begin to brown. Add lemon juice, sherry, stock, and pepper flakes (if using) and stir briefly to mix. Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced significantly and become syrupy, about 10 minutes. Add salt and black pepper, and sprinkle parsley on top.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

One day a year in the early summer, my mom woke us up at the crack of dawn to drive to a farm and pick strawberries with her. It had to be early morning, before the fields got too crowded and the sun got too hot. She did give us the choice to stay home but I always went because even at 6 years old, the occasional getting up with the sun made me feel good. Everything is quiet and peaceful and golden, especially in the countryside. You feel like you're getting a head start on the day. I still remember the very first time I went. A couple of my mom's friends came too, and she gave me an ice cream pail with a handle and a hole cut in the top to put my strawberries in.

I didn't really like strawberries at first, but I did like to pick them. I used to roll them in sugar before eating them because I found them too sour. I didn't like jam either, though I did love the look of the bright red jam my mom made inside their little glass jars, much brighter colored than the store bought strawberry or grape jam. I was a little sad when she put it in the freezer because it never looked quite as clear and pretty after. I was a peanut butter sandwich girl for a long time. I cried when I received my siblings' peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by mistake. Sometimes I ate them anyway.

As I got a little older and started to eat strawberries without a hefty coating of sugar, one morning I was making peanut butter toast for breakfast and decided to try Mom's strawberry jam on a corner of the toast of my own free will.  It converted me, just like that. I couldn't believe it. It was exactly how I wanted strawberries to taste when I was little. It took me a while to get used to it mixed with peanut butter, but it is to this day my favorite jam in the entire world. I started paying attention to how she made it, and started making my own once I found myself as an adult with an abundance of strawberries. Since then I've graduated to making jam with other freshly picked fruit, especially raspberries (which my parents love!) and sour cherries when I can get them, but strawberries are particularly easy to prepare because you don't need to remove seeds or pits.

I love freezer jam for three major reasons:

• First, you barely cook the fruit, which means it tastes more like the fresh fruit you made it out of. I am grossed out by cooked strawberries in most applications, so this is a very good thing for me. You can also keep the fruit more whole (I like large pieces of fruit in my jam).
• Second, you can make it with less sugar than you'd find in a store bought jam, which I think also helps with making it taste more like the fresh fruit (most store bought jam is too sweet for me).
• Third, it tends to set softer than traditional jam so it is easier to spread and doesn't look as gelatinous. This was a huge sticking point for me as a kid because I don't like the texture of a gelatinous thing that has been vigorously mixed after setting. (Oddly specific, I know.)

Notes:

• This is the recipe from inside the box of reduced sugar pectin and I can confirm this is the one my mother also used.
• Use the freshest, highest quality fruit you can find. I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life, but I generally don't bother with making homemade jam unless I can get freshly picked in-season fruit that I grew myself, picked myself from a farm, or bought directly from the producer at a farm market.
• You can use frozen strawberries that have been thawed. Just make sure they aren't too watery and are not freezer burned.
• This recipe requires pectin specially prepared for use in reduced sugar recipes. It comes in a pink box.
• Accurate measurements are very important for this recipe.
• Make sure your jars are VERY CLEAN before putting the jam inside.
• *As long as the jam doesn't grow mold, it's safe to eat for longer than 3 weeks kept in the fridge (we regularly used to keep the same jar in the fridge for 2-3 months). I've also eaten it after it's been frozen for several years and though the quality degrades a little bit, it's still delicious.

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RECIPE:

Strawberry Freezer Jam

from Sure-Jell

Makes about 7 cups

2 lb or 2 quarts fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries, enough to make 4 cups crushed fruit
1 box (1.75 oz, 49g) Sure Jell Less or No Sugar Recipes Fruit Pectin (pink box)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water

Make sure your jars or other containers are clean and dry before beginning.

Prepare fruit: If using fresh: Rinse strawberries in cool water, then drain. Remove stem, leaves, and hull from each berry and cut in half. For fresh or frozen: Place berries in a clean mixing bowl. Mash berries with a potato masher, leaving some large pieces. You should end up with 4 cups; measure with a dry measuring cup to be sure, and if you have any extra, reserve it for another use.

Make jam: Place exactly 3 cups of sugar and entire packet of pectin in a saucepan and stir gently until thoroughly combined. Add 1 cup water. Place on stove over medium-high heat and whisk until thoroughly mixed and sugar is dissolved. Continue to stir constantly while letting it come to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Working quickly, stir in crushed strawberries until thoroughly incorporated. Ladle the jam into clean canning jars, leaving at least 1/2 inch space at the top. Let stand with lids off to cool to room temperature, then put the lids on and let stand at room temperature for another 24 hours. The jam can be eaten immediately, stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks*, or in the freezer for up to 1 year*.

Scotcheroos

This is one thing I always loved but my family didn't make. I think I first had one at my dad's company picnic. I was in love with the sweet-salty, crispy bottom and chocolate frosting with some delicious extra flavor I couldn't identify. They popped up occasionally throughout my childhood but they were always at large events with lots of people where I didn't know who brought them so I couldn't ask about what they were.

Fast forward to college after I'd met my husband. I went over to his house once and he had come back from visiting his grandma with a big plate of these. I got really excited. Finally, I could ask someone! Scotcheroos, they were called. I looked up a recipe. They're like Rice Krispies treats but with peanut butter mixed in and a butterscotch-chocolate frosted top. The mystery flavor was butterscotch. I had watched my mom make Rice Krispies treats so I knew they'd be easy to make for myself. Oddly it took me quite some time after that before I ended up making them myself, maybe because he started bringing me to his family reunions shortly thereafter and I knew I'd get my fill of these at least once a year.

The family reunions have stopped now that Grandma C is no longer with us, but thanks to her I can make my own now.

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RECIPE:

Scotcheroos
from Rice Krispies
Makes 1 9x13 inch pan; serves 24

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies or other unsweetened puffed rice cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Place corn syrup and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat on the stove. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved and mixture has come to a boil. Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter until well mixed. Stir in cereal until well coated, then turn out the mixture into a greased 9x13 inch rectangular pan. Working quickly, press into an even layer. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, place the semisweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a medium microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring well after each heat time, until melted. Spread evenly over the cereal mixture in the pan and let stand until set. Cut into bars when completely cooled. Store covered at room temperature.

Crab Cakes

 

Given that I live in the upper Midwest, I don't have a lot of experience with seafood that is not breaded and deep fried, and especially not when it comes to cooking seafood. However, when life hands you a can of crabmeat from dear friends who are moving across the country and don't want to move the contents of their pantry, and tricks your husband into buying a whole bunch of imitation crab sticks when you meant to get another kind of Asian fish cake, you get to experiment and try something new. I opted to try making crab cakes since the crab meat I had was the right texture and I heard they were good. I'm not sure about other parts of the US but crab cakes are considered fancy here, and I'm all about being fancy, or at least pretending to be fancy.

Notes:

• I used a mix of canned crab meat (4.5 oz) and imitation crab sticks (about 8.5 oz). The crab sticks were made of a finely shredded textured fish cake so when I cut the sticks into ~3/4 inch long pieces, they fell apart into skinny threads.
• I opted to pan fry them and was pleased with the result. They are admittedly a little hard to shape and they feel like they'll fall apart in the pan but they seem to solidify a bit as they cook and if you push any small bits that escape back onto the edge of one, they tend to stay there. You do have to handle them somewhat carefully when you flip them.
• I used a little less sriracha than the recipe calls for (maybe ~1/2 tsp) because I thought it might be too spicy. They had a slight kick to them that I could taste but there was no lingering burn.
• You might want to reduce the salt, particularly if you use imitation crab. I think I could have left out the added salt completely.
• This recipe made 10 patties around 2.5-3 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch thick.
• I served these with roasted potatoes but I think a simple green salad would also taste good with them.

RECIPE: Easy Crab Cakes

Lavender Apple Mint Syrup

When I was in Germany earlier this month, I went to the Frankfurt Kleinmarkthalle, an indoor marketplace selling both freshly prepared food and lots of hard-to-find, high quality cooking ingredients from around the world. I wish I'd gotten there sooner -- I was there right before it closed for the day and had just eaten so basically the worst time I could go. Of note were these really delicious looking deli sandwiches, a couple of stalls selling fancy coffee drinks, a chocolate shop where I bought acorn-shaped Belgian pralines, and a bunch of stalls on the upper floor that resembled an Italian butcher shop and deli. Again, I was kind of sad that I had eaten right before I went there.

One of the things I saw for sale while wandering the aisles was a bottle of lavender apple mint syrup. I didn't buy it because I wasn't sure I'd be allowed to bring it home in my carry-on luggage but the combination of those flavors sounded so good to me that I had to try making it for myself. Never mind that I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I could not find a recipe for it, so the below is based on my experiences developing a recipe for ginger syrup (mainly that an ingredient is going to impart a much stronger flavor if pureed rather than chopped) plus a couple of recipes that already existed for lavender mint syrup (without apple). I am pleased with my first crack at it and think I've got a good start here but I would make a couple of changes next time to make it even better.

Notes:

• I made this with a Honeycrisp apple but I think a sour apple (like Granny Smith) would taste even better.
• I am considering adding more lavender next time, maybe 1 1/2 tbsp instead of 1, because I could taste it but I wanted it to be a little more prominent. A sour apple might bring it out more.
• My syrup turned out a bit darker in color than the one at the Kleinmarkthalle (theirs was the color of apple flesh, a pale yellow, and a little bit cloudy) and I think this is due to the kind of apple used, and maybe because I left the skin on. Lavender can darken the mixture too, in my experience.
• My favorite way to enjoy this syrup so far is to mix it with plain sparkling water or green tea. I had the tea hot, but  think it would be even better iced. I tried it mixed with sparkling water and gin but I didn't like it. I am sure there's a way to make a good cocktail with it and I just haven't discovered it.

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RECIPE:

Lavender Apple Mint Syrup
by The Matcha Chronicles
Makes about 2 cups

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 large tart apple
1 tbsp dried culinary lavender buds
1/4 oz (7 g) fresh mint leaves (no stems)

Core and dice the apple, leaving skin on. Place sugar and water in a small saucepan and set on the stove. Add diced apple to the saucepan. Set heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer contents to a blender. Blend on medium-high speed for about 20 seconds or until apple has broken down significantly. Return syrup mixture to the saucepan. Stir in dried lavender. Clap the mint leaves between your hands, then add to the pan and stir to combine. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain with a tea strainer and let cool. Transfer to a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

This recipe is a common Southern breakfast dish and comes to me through my sister's boyfriend, Sam, who is not Southern but genuinely likes cooking. He cooks things on his own from scratch, not just when she invites him to cook together! Yay.

My mom came to visit this weekend and stay overnight at my house. We normally cook breakfast together when we see each other, so we all convened in my kitchen to cook breakfast in the morning. My sister and Sam brought ingredients for biscuits and gravy, and I was excited when I heard Sam had made this recipe before. I tried biscuits and gravy one time and thought it was fine, but it is not something I grew up eating, and I was unmotivated to make it for myself because I didn't like it enough to go through the process of trying recipes until I found one I liked, and it seems like biscuits and gravy is something for which there would be a lot of dubious recipes.

I love biscuits as a food and have tried to make them from scratch at least 3 or 4 times, but I was never satisfied with the end result. Each time I was disappointed they didn't taste like the canned ones. They were all bitter and metallic tasting so I didn't try for a long time. Today was different. He handed me the recipe for the biscuits, and my sister and I worked on them while he made the gravy. They were pretty easy to make since I was familiar with the process. I got them out of the oven and they actually. tasted. good. Not bitter at all. I can make biscuits I like now!

Notes:

• The photos in this entry depict a doubled batch. We served it to 5 people and had a little less than half left over.
• Use aluminum free baking powder! The biscuits are less likely to be bitter that way.
• Sam sometimes makes these as drop biscuits, either as 8-10 small biscuits like the recipe calls for or 4 larger ones (you may need to bake them longer). I shaped the dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle and cut it into 12 pieces (for a single batch, cut into 6) with a chef's knife.
• Sam liked the flaky and layered texture of my batch. I attribute this to not overhandling the dough and cutting in the shortening with a pastry blender rather than a fork -- this keeps the fat in larger chunks.
• I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper instead of greasing it and it worked great.
• I baked the 12 biscuits for 13 minutes and it was perfect -- they were golden brown on top while being fully cooked but not dry in the middle.
• I'm considering making the biscuits with another fat sometime (butter in particular) and seeing how they go because I'm not a fan of shortening.
• If you end up with extra biscuits, they taste great warm with butter and/or jam.
• Sam usually uses Italian sausage for the gravy but I think breakfast sausage might also taste good.
• The leftover gravy can be refrigerated and reheated. It thickens more as it cools, so you will likely need additional milk or water to thin it out.

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RECIPE:

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

from Baker's Corner Baking Powder (biscuits), Betty Crocker (gravy)

Serves 4, up to 6 with additional meal items

Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Crisco or other shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted (for brushing)

Sausage gravy
1/2 lb pork sausage meat (breakfast sausage or mild Italian sausage)
1 tbsp butter or canola oil
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk (we used 1%)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Prepare biscuits: Preheat oven to 475°F. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the texture of coarse crumbs (around 1/8 inch / 3 mm pieces). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk into the well. Stir with a fork until milk is just incorporated and dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured cutting board or other flat work surface and knead for approximately 30 seconds, or until the dough just comes together, taking care not to overwork it. Pat into a rectangle about 7 inches long, 4 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick, then cut into 6 pieces (3x2). Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the top of each piece with melted butter. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown. If there's any melted butter left over, brush the baked biscuits with it after removing them from the oven. Serve warm with gravy.

Prepare gravy: Heat a skillet or deep frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add sausage to the pan and fry until well browned. Remove browned meat from pan into a medium bowl, keeping the drippings in the pan, and set aside. Return pan to the heat and add butter or oil. When the butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir to combine, being sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until mixture bubbles and has turned light brown. Whisk or stir in milk a little at a time, making sure mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until mixture boils and thickens slightly. If it gets too thick, stir in more milk, a little at a time, to thin it to the desired consistency. Stir in salt and pepper, then add cooked sausage back in, stirring gently to combine. Serve hot over biscuits.

No Bake Cookies

These were one of my favorite cookies as a kid, and easy for me to make too since they did not require the use of an oven so it was one of the first things I learned to make when I started cooking. This recipe comes from one of my mom's church cookbooks. They have chocolate, peanut butter, and oats in them.

Notes:

• Be sure to use old fashioned oats; if you use the instant kind they may dry out the mixture too much.

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RECIPE:

No Bake Cookies
Makes about 48

½ cup (4 oz) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups old fashioned oats

Place first four ingredients in a saucepan, and heat on medium heat until they melt and begin to boil. Boil the mixture for one minute, then remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and peanut butter until well blended, and mix in oats last. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or press into a 9x13” pan, and let cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Puppy Chow

A friend of my mom's introduced my family to this treat when I was about 6 or 7 years old by having us help her make it. It gets its name from looking sort of like dog kibble. You may know it by another name, such as People Chow or Muddy Buddies. This is another thing that you only ever used to be able to get by making it yourself, but I have seen it fully prepared and for sale in some grocery stores. I have very recently found friends who also know what this is from their childhood and absolutely love it. If you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter and you also like sweets, you'll probably love it too.

If you want to be extra (gross), you can put it in a bowl, pour milk over it and eat it like cereal, like I did very occasionally when I was a kid. Yikes! Seriously, it tastes better all by itself.

Notes:

• Instead of shaking it in a bag to coat it with powdered sugar, my mom used to leave the cereal in the bowl, sift the powdered sugar over the chocolate coated cereal, and mix until it was coated. This way tends to coat the pieces less evenly but might potentially be less messy and involve fewer containers.

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RECIPE:

Puppy Chow
Makes about 8 cups, serves 8-12 as a snack

6 cups Crispix cereal (about 1 12 oz box)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup (4 oz, 1 stick) butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Place cereal in large mixing bowl and set aside. Melt together chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on stove or in the microwave on high power in 30 second increments, and mix until fully combined. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and stir gently until coated. Place 1 cup powdered sugar in a large, clean paper or plastic bag; add half of the cereal, close the bag and shake until coated. Repeat with second cup of powdered sugar and other half of cereal mixture. Store in an airtight container.

Turtle Cheesecake

My family was asked to make two desserts for my brother's wedding, and my new sister-in-law requested a turtle cheesecake. Neither my mom nor I had made a cheesecake before and we settled on this recipe because it looked relatively simple compared to others we found.

NOTES

• We used regular vanilla extract instead of clear imitation vanilla. (The clear stuff is only for looks, so that your cream cheese filling stays as white as possible.)
• Be sure your cookie crumbs are ground very finely and evenly. It will help the crust stay together. Definitely use a blender or food processor, and not just a rolling pin.
• We skipped the hot fudge sauce and used chocolate pieces to decorate the top instead.
• Our cake got a big crack in the top but we just filled it with caramel sauce since we were flooding the top of the cake.
• I think a from-scratch caramel sauce would really bring this to another level for just a small bit of extra effort. If you've never made your own, there is something incredible about how much flavor can result from something as simple as browning sugar. You could make it while the cheesecake bakes. I recommend this one, with or without the bourbon!

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RECIPE: Turtle Cheesecake

Pistachio Dessert

My family has always touted this as a very special treat fit for the likes of winter holidays. I think it's because of the bright green pistachio pudding layer and lots of nuts. Pistachio pudding was one of my favorite desserts growing up so I always enjoyed eating this very fancy version when it appeared in our house.

For my brother's wedding today, he requested that we make this and bring it to the dinner celebration, a perfectly reasonable feat given that the entire party was less than 20 people. I learned later that his wife's family also made this very same pistachio dessert for holidays growing up (a huge surprise to me since I had never met anyone else before who knew of it), so it was an especially fitting dessert to celebrate their marriage.

Notes:

• My mom prefers to make this with walnuts but you can also use pecans or even pistachios. Toast the nuts before using them if you can to deepen their flavor.
• If you are skeeved out by Cool Whip and want a more natural alternative, you would likely be able to use an equivalent volume of sweetened stabilized whipped cream (about 6 cups whipped, from 3 cups liquid heavy cream) instead. Most stabilized whipped cream recipes seem to involve gelatin but you can also use cornstarch or cream of tartar. Please note that I have not yet personally tried this substitution so I am not sure how well it will work.
• My mom most recently made this with 3 packages of pudding mix and 3 3/4 cups milk and she liked the larger volume of pudding in the dessert.
• Do not use non-dairy milk; the pudding will not set.
• You can also make this in individual servings in plastic wine cups as we did for the wedding, or glasses or jars (for "jarfaits" as a friend termed them once) if you want the containers to be reusable. My mom was making them big enough to fill the cups to the top so we ended up with 13, but I feel like that serving size was just a little too large. I would aim for 16 servings. If serving them in 8 oz/1 cup jars you could probably make 18-20. Bake the crust in the pan and then break it into crumbles after it has cooled, then layer the ingredients in the smaller containers as described.

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RECIPE:

Pistachio Dessert
Makes 1 9x13 pan; serves 16-20

4 oz (1/2 cup, 1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup finely ground walnuts or pistachios
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
16 oz (1 large package) Cool Whip, divided
2 small packages (3.4 oz each) instant pistachio pudding mix
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pistachios

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl combine butter, flour, granulated sugar, and 3/4 cup ground nuts until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2 in rectangular pan and bake for 10 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together until well blended, then incorporate half of the Cool Whip in several additions until creamy. Spread over the cooled crust and place in the refrigerator to stay chilled. In a third medium bowl, beat the dry pudding mix and milk on low speed or stir with a whisk until thickened and well blended, about 3-5 minutes. Spread the pudding mixture evenly over the cream cheese layer in the pan. Spread the remaining Cool Whip evenly over the pistachio pudding layer and garnish with 1/4 cup chopped nuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until all layers are well chilled, then it is ready to serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Basil Vinaigrette

I first had basil vinaigrette at a college dining hall, of all places. I couldn't quite figure out why I liked the dressing on their green salad so much but I was so impressed with it I had to ask the staff what it was because the menu didn't say. Basil vinaigrette, they told me. I should have known. I love basil.

I immediately went looking for a recipe and found this one. I don't normally have this much basil on hand, but went to the farmer's market to get some. The other time I unexpectedly had a lot left in my garden box at the end of the summer and picked it all to make this.

Notes:

• I like putting this on spring mix + cherry tomatoes + small fresh mozzarella balls for a caprese-inspired type of salad but it's great on just greens, too.
• Make sure to pick as much of the stem off the leaves as possible because it can give the dressing an unpleasantly bitter flavor.
• I have made this twice now and have used a slightly smaller amount of red onion instead of shallot in a pinch.
• It starts to oxidize after a bit so make sure to eat it within 3-5 days before it turns brown and gross.

Verdict: This turned out a bit thicker and more tart than the basil vinaigrette I was trying to recreate but it's still quite good. Debating adding more olive oil to it to make it a little looser, maybe decreasing the vinegar a little too.

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RECIPE: Basil Vinaigrette

Spiced Poached Plums

 

Pumpkin spice who? It's all about spiced plums for me this fall.

I was looking for a quick way to use up some prune plums to clean out the refrigerator, and while this recipe calls for the more readily available red or black plums, it looked like it would work with smaller fruit so I gave it a try. Despite the fact that the recipe calls them "stewed" you don't really have to cook them long at all, maybe 10 minutes at most (even less for prune plums since they are smaller) because you want them to stay mostly whole rather than turn into a mush. It's warm and comforting like applesauce but much easier because you don't have to peel or chop the fruit.

I ate them with sweetened whipped cream with just a bit of almond extract mixed in since almond and stone fruit tend to pair nicely. I also ate them with plain Greek yogurt for breakfast. Both were lovely. I loved their delicious sweet-tart flavor and definitely want to make this again as we head into fall and the temperatures start to dip.

Notes:

• I love these with a minimum of sugar, lemon, and cinnamon so as to let the fruit's flavor shine. The levels in the recipe were quite good but next time I may try just a tiny bit less sugar and lemon than it calls for. Edit: a tiny bit less sugar is fine but I'd definitely stick to the amount in the recipe for the best flavor.
• Because it's such a simple recipe, fresh squeezed lemon juice really elevates this. Definitely go to the trouble of getting a fresh lemon.
• If you don't have a cinnamon stick, about 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon should be enough. You don't want to put in too much because its flavor gets slightly stronger as it stands.

UPDATE 10/8/19: About a week ago I had something like this served in a glass at a hotel in Germany with freshly whipped cream and raspberry sauce on top. I am not entirely sure what the plums were flavored with, but it was SO GOOD. My guess is nutmeg, and I plan to put nutmeg in my next batch to see if it comes anywhere close to the German plum dessert I had.

UPDATE 10/15/19:  Since coming home from Europe I have made two more batches of this (hi yes I am obsessed) with President plums, which look like prune plums but are bigger (still smaller than the standard black and red plums in US grocery stores though) because it seems prune plum season is done here. I tried them both halved and in quarters and found the quarters easier to eat, though for really small ones halves are fine. The President plums tasted good but I think the prune plums tasted better. I tried one batch with just nutmeg and while it tasted fine and I do like the combination of plums and nutmeg, I decided I greatly prefer it with at least some cinnamon. I wonder if the dessert I had in Germany might have contained a different type of cinnamon than I usually use. Maybe I'll try cardamom next? Or just leave well enough alone since I'd need to taste the German dessert again to know for sure what I was missing.

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RECIPE: Stewed Plums

White Bean and Chicken Chili

My mom started making this after I left for college, but it reminds me strongly of her. I had it once during a visit home and couldn't get enough of it so I had to get her recipe.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 1 tsp ground white pepper but I found that a little too much for my tastes. 1/2 tsp is good for my mild-end-of-medium preference.
• If you can find canned Hatch chiles, they are particularly good in this! I accidentally bought the spicy/hot ones rather than mild ones but found that they're not terribly spicy and I was able to handle them.

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RECIPE:

White Bean and Chicken Chili
Adapted slightly from the recipe from the Appleton Post-Crescent, early 2000s
Serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2-3 breast halves)
1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion
1 tbsp bottled minced garlic
15 oz Great Northern white beans
19 oz cannellini beans
4.5 oz chopped green chilies
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp pepper, preferably white (use less)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
14.5 oz chicken broth
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional, for topping)
Sour cream (optional, for topping)

Partially defrost chicken. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop onion, adding to the pot as you chop. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks, add to the pot and stir occasionally. Add garlic and continue to cook. While the chicken cooks, rinse and drain both types of beans and drain the chilies. Add the chilies to the pot along with the cumin, white pepper and cayenne pepper. Raise the heat to high and add the broth and drained beans. Cover the pot and bring the chili to a boil. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and water in a small container that has a lid. Shake well to remove any lumps. When the chili boils, the chicken should be cooked through. Add the cornstarch mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to boil until the chili reaches the desired thickness. Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting

I am unsure of the provenance of this recipe, but thank Sarah forever for bringing it into my life. We have frosted our holiday gingerbread cookies with it for a good long time and I have also used it to frost cakes. It has a nice tang to it that makes it taste a little less sugary sweet than regular buttercream.

Notes

• As listed, the recipe is enough to frost and pipe decorations onto a large batch of the gingerbread cookies with some left over depending on how you decorate, and I believe enough to frost an 8 or 9 inch round cake. Halve the recipe if you are making a 6 inch round cake.
• Update 9/22/22: Half a recipe will generously frost a 6 inch cake with 2 layers, and would probably be a perfect amount for a 3 or even 4 layer cake. However, it's pretty rich in large quantities so it may be too heavy if the cake is also quite sweet. Structure wise it is really nice and sets up firm in the fridge (probably thanks to all the butter).
  
• This pipes well but gets pretty loose when it's warm; if it gets too soft and won't hold its shape, place the bag in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to firm up.

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RECIPE:

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

8 oz (1 cup, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
16 oz (2 bricks) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 lb powdered sugar (about 1 bag)
Milk, to thin if needed
Food coloring (optional, to tint the frosting)
Sprinkles (optional, to put on top of the frosting)

Cream butter and cream cheese together in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Mix in powdered sugar in several additions, mixing well after each one, until completely combined.

Persian Love Cake

 

After hearing about and seeing the combination of rose + pistachio + cardamom several times (hi Great British Baking Show!) I decided I really wanted to try it for myself, and settled on this cake while looking for recipes because it seemed relatively simple to make. I already know I like cardamom and I'm still trying to figure out how to use rose flavor in cooking and baking, and I thought this would be a low-risk way to try it out.

I am so pleased with how it turned out. The almond flour gives it this lovely plush texture. The contrast of sweet glaze + salted pistachios was really great. It was sweet but not too sweet, you could taste the rose but were not overwhelmed by it. It was my favorite thing at the tea party I served it at and I will definitely be making it again.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for an 8-inch round pan. I made it in an 8-inch square pan and cut it into 16 2x2 inch squares for a tea party. The cake squares surprisingly did not dry out much at all despite being cut and uncovered for ~6 hours before serving.
• I couldn't find the rose water brand that was recommended, but I did find Ziyad brand rose water at the Asian grocery store and it worked well. Amazon reviews suggest it is low quality though so if you can find better you should probably use that instead.
• The glaze hardens quickly so you want to work fast if you want it to be smooth, and you may need to push the rose petals and pistachios in a little bit to get them to stick.
• You might like to make additional glaze if you're cutting the cake into small pieces like I did, especially if you want to cover the entire top of each piece. It didn't look like enough to me but it tasted like just enough. It thickened pretty quickly while I was pouring it so you may need to microwave it a few times.
• I omitted the candied ginger because I'm not a big fan of it, and I didn't miss it.
• I got the dried edible rose petals from a health food/alternative medicine type store that sells dried herbs by weight.

RECIPE: Persian Love Cake

Tea Parties Vol. 4: The Prosecco Party

It had been nearly 2 years since my last tea party and I sorely needed to change that. For this party I went for an English high tea structure to the meal but with some fancy twists. Cucumber sandwiches, but Korean inspired. Chickpea salad instead of chicken or egg (bonus: vegetarians can eat it). Smoked salmon with lots of fresh vegetables. Plain scones, something of a rarity in America. Tiny desserts that taste as great as they look.

This was my first time having the party on Saturday instead of Sunday, and I normally work weekdays, so that meant preparing most of the food Friday evening after a full day of work plus Saturday morning. I am hashtag blessed to have awesome friends who came to help at both times. I significantly underestimated the amount of work this would involve, and I could not have gotten all this food made in time alone. Previously I asked people to arrive at noon but I quickly discovered I'm never actually ready to start then. Starting the party an hour later made a LOT of difference.

The schedule stars finally aligned for my sister to make it to one of these parties, and she let me dress her up! I have the same dress in two different colors and I put together matching outfits for us that didn't require a ton of hair/makeup preparation. It made me extra happy and I think she had fun.

We had 9 people this time, our largest group ever. Despite my best intentions, no actual tea was served (!) We started with sparkling wine and just never switched. Therefore, it was a prosecco party and not a tea party. We went through wayyy more than I thought we would but all the people I asked to bring sparkling wine did, and even some that I didn't ask! ha.

My husband threw on a city pop livestream neither of us had heard before, and it ended up being an incredible gem! It's good background music for frantic cooking working and we decided to just keep it on for the party too. Have a listen if you're into jazz, funk, disco, pop, and reggae from the 70s and 80s! He also took some fun photos to remember the afternoon.

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RECIPES

• SAVORIES
• Focaccia Sandwiches for a Crowd (Smitten Kitchen) -- I used this as the bread for all the sandwiches because I really, really wanted to try it ever since I found it several months ago. It was pretty easy to make and tasted quite good too! I did the quickest rising option, and it took a little more than 25 minutes to bake in my oven. I'd definitely consider making it again if I need to make a large amount of sandwiches where I also want to make my own bread and have enough advance time to make it.
• Korean Style Cucumber Sandwiches with Gochujang Mayo (Gather and Dine) -- we made a chicken version and vegetarian version with dry fried tofu (marinated after dry frying), and I think I like the tofu one a little better since it stayed together better and was a little more salty. The gochujang mayo was really tasty but some found it a little too spicy, so maybe I will dial it back next time. They fall apart easily so maybe keeping the chicken in larger pieces would work better if I made them again.
• Smoked Salmon Sandwiches -- Sarah made these completely differently from how I would have but they did taste pretty good. She blended the cream cheese and salmon and dill with some lemon juice, spread it on a big piece of the focaccia, cut it into squares and then we garnished each with a slice of radish and cucumber.
• Curried Chickpea Salad (She Likes Food) -- Paula made this so I don't have any notes other than that I might have chopped the celery and apple a little smaller than she did, but it significantly exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to making it again! It's a good balance of curry flavor, creaminess, and sweetness, and it stays together nicely if you mash some of the beans really thoroughly but keep others in large pieces. A keeper for sure.
• Smoky Eggy Deviled Eggs -- for something without bread. This is my personal recipe, so of course I love it. Andrea and Paula prepared the eggs and filling the night before. Caroline stuffed the eggs in the morning and arranged them beautifully with some butter lettuce and sweet peppers from my work colleague's farm share.
• SCONES
• English Style Scones -- Sarah made these the morning of the tea party while I was asleep. She was not impressed with the recipe, and she makes a lot of scones, but I personally liked them. I served them with clotted cream (the Whole Foods in my city sells it), homemade strawberry freezer jam (pick yourself some strawberries and follow the recipe in the Sure-Jell Reduced Sugar Pectin box), and homemade lemon curd (from a frozen batch I made a couple of years ago so I don't remember which recipe I used). Oddly I feel like they tasted better (less bitter) the next day. I'd love to try making them myself.
• SWEETS
• Persian Love Cake (Broma Bakery) -- HOLY CRAP this was delicious. I have a separate entry on it since I did 95% of the preparation and have a lot of (happy) thoughts on it. I absolutely want to make this again.
• Chocolate Ganache Mini Tarts (Bon Appetit) -- I decorated them with edible gold glitter and fresh raspberries instead of the halvah and sesame salt. I will look for a different ganache recipe next time. My ganache did not fully set even after being refrigerated for many hours. The tart shells rolled out and baked nicely but tasted kind of bitter, though they did taste better the next day. I think if they were a little sweeter they'd have been perfect. It made 21 tart shells.
• Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies -- a favorite of mine but with a new challenge: we rolled out the dough and cut them into large (2.5-3 inch) hearts, and were sparing with the filling so they wouldn't slide apart. It made about 4.5 dozen (54) hearts, enough for 27 sandwiches, with extra filling left over. I put about 1 cup more powdered sugar in the filling than the recipe called for and I think between that and the small amount of filling inside the cookies it actually set somewhat after being chilled in the refrigerator. I like these better as small, thick cookies with more filling. If I do make them heart shaped again, I will get a smaller cutter. I also think a firmer filling is the way to go and will continue to work on adjusting the recipe so it is firm but still has enough bright, fresh lemon flavor.

Other things we served that were not made from scratch:

• Sparkling wine (mostly prosecco, some rose)

THE TEA PARTIES

• Vol. 3: An End of Summer Feast
• Vol. 2: Spring Up Speed Up
• Vol. 1: A Birthday Party, and Being Unapologetically Yourself

Italian Manhattan

Look at this beautiful drink from my friends' wedding. It is bourbon, amaretto, and cherry juice. The glass is apparently supposed to have a bunch of ice in it too but we forgot that part. Oops. That pick with a gummy heart on it is an adorable touch! The bride's father claimed he made up this recipe himself, but knowing him, I'm taking that with a truckload sized grain of salt.

I loved this drink, and ever since the wedding two years ago I have been wanting to try to make it at home. We had scheduled a dinner date with these friends just after their anniversary, and I thought that would be the perfect excuse to try. They may live on the other side of the world and it was evening here and morning there, but through the wonders of modern technology, we cooked dinner and they cooked brunch, made these to drink after the meal, and we chatted for a good long time. We even set up our computer on the other side of the table so it was almost like they were actually there.

It still needs a bit of tweaking to get it to look and taste as good as the one in the photo, but I think we're off to a great start with the below.

Notes:

• I tried the liquid that maraschino cherries are packed in and 100% pure cherry juice, and neither was really the right flavor or sweet enough. (I only tried maraschino cherry liquid in the original ratios and not 1/1/1.) I will try cherry juice cocktail the next time.
• The original drink calls for different ingredient ratios, but I found it most pleasant with a 1/1/1 ratio, especially with 100% cherry juice.
• A friend suggested higher quality amaretto would make a difference (I went for a middle of the road brand).

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RECIPE:

Italian Manhattan
adapted from The Intoxicologist
Serves 1

1 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 1/2 oz amaretto liqueur
1 1/2 oz cherry juice cocktail
Maraschino cherry (optional)

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry if desired. Serve immediately.

Honey-Lavender Scones

I was inspired to make these by a gathering I recently went to for my alternative fashion club. It was a small afternoon tea at a pink Victorian house, and the host had made scones with honey and lavender. I inadvertently bought some of the ingredients several days later and then when I went looking for recipes I realized I had everything I needed to make them. I settled on this one from Better Homes and Gardens, mainly because it was the only one I saw with reviews, and the ones that are not on their site are the same recipe anyway.

Notes:

• These are less sweet than many American style scones (there are only 2 tablespoons of honey in the entire batch) but this is OK because they are meant to be eaten with sweetened whipped cream and/or clotted cream and/or jam. Lemon curd is also really tasty on these.
• The dough was still quite sticky even after stirring everything together and kneading. I used a buttered knife to cut them, and a metal spatula to scrape them off the kneading surface and transfer them to a cookie sheet and this worked well.
• Despite having an entire tablespoon of dried lavender in them, the lavender flavor and scent is pretty subtle. If you like lavender a lot you could probably add more.
• My scones ended up measuring about 3x2 inches after baking.
• I froze some of these after baking them to eat later, and I thought the lavender flavor tasted stronger after freezing, which was interesting.

Verdict: Pretty good but could be improved a little. I want to make them slightly sweeter to match the ones I had, maybe with one more tablespoon of honey or sugar or if I had coarse sugar I would have sprinkled it on top of them after brushing with the extra cream (I believe the ones at the afternoon tea had crunchy sugar on top that had melted a bit). I would love to try these again with some tweaks.

RECIPE: Lavender-Honey Scones

Beef Marinade

My family has made this for holidays and special occasions for as long as I can remember. Filet mignon is not really something that needs this kind of preparation to taste good, but it definitely tastes good this way to me.

My dad told me about the reaction this got the first time my grandma made it. I'm not sure where my grandma got the recipe. It was for some sort of family party. He helped her prepare a large amount of venison (something like 10 pounds) and mix the marinade, and then ended up needing to go somewhere for a few hours. He came back to find that it was all gone. All of the meat had been cooked and eaten before my dad could have some. Maybe this is why he always makes so much of it, so that he and we will always have as much as we care to eat.

Part of me thinks he'd be upset with me for sharing it here because he's told me not to share it before (I don't know how serious he was) but honestly, what is the point of secret recipes? Who are we keeping it a secret from and why? I sort of get why they were a thing before the internet but not anymore. It's not like we run a restaurant where we stand to gain financially from a proprietary recipe, or have friends that only like us for our delicious food that would stop coming to see us if they could make it themselves. Personally, I love sharing good recipes because then more people can enjoy the delicious things we make.

Notes:

• I realize some things could probably be executed better, but this is how you get it to taste like family nostalgia. If you like doing things a little differently, absolutely go ahead and improve upon it.
• This would probably work well with other cuts of beef and other kinds of meat. My grandma first made this with venison.
• Grilling is by far the best way to cook this. If you can't grill it, broil it.

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RECIPE:

Beef Marinade

from my grandma

Serves 4-6

1 lb beef tenderloin

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp molasses

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

Cut beef tenderloin into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Stir remaining ingredients together in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add beef and marinate for 6-18 hours. Grill over medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

Mexican Spice Blend

I first came upon this while trying to recreate food from Chipotle. I'm not normally into fast food type restaurants but theirs has vegetables and beans and stuff that tastes like actual food. However, I now live kind of far away from one and don't always want to make the trip there.

I usually put this on chicken for taco seasoning/Mexican style meals but have also used it on pork, ground beef, ground turkey, and even sauteed summer squash for vegetarians/vegans. I bet it would taste good on sweet potatoes too.

Notes:

• I have a huge stash of Korean red pepper flakes and that's usually what I use here because the standard red pepper flakes in the US are too spicy for me in this large an amount.
• I have used both chili powder that is meant for use in the soup (such as Mexene) and one that is just a straight roasted and ground pepper like ancho chile powder. Both are good.
• Sometimes I use kosher salt to make it a little less salty. You could also omit the salt.
• If using as a dry rub, the flavors are stronger if you let it stand for a couple of hours after rubbing it on the food of choice.

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RECIPE:

Mexican Spice Blend
Makes about 1/3 cup (40 g)

1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp mild chili flakes
2 tsp Mexican oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl or shake together in a glass jar with a lid.

Salted Chocolate Halvah (Sesame Fudge)

My first experience with halvah was several years ago when I bought Joyva chocolate covered halvah from the international food aisle on a whim. I knew that some Asian countries use sesame in desserts, but I had not heard of this before. It is a common dessert item in the Middle East and is also enjoyed by Jewish people.

I loved it. It reminds me a little of Butterfinger candy bars, but not quite as sickly sweet and also easier to bite into. Why are Butterfinger candy bars so hard?

Anyway. Fast forward to last week when I knew I was going to an afternoon tea potluck, and the hosts had dairy and gluten allergies. I had been wanting to try to make halvah for the last couple of months and also wanted to bring something both of the hosts could actually eat, and this fit the bill!

Notes:

• If you use tahini from a jar, make sure you stir it very well so there are no lumps. Very small ones will melt when you mix in the hot sugar syrup but larger ones will stay in pockets and mess up the texture.
• I made this vegan by using dairy free chocolate.
• Upon researching recipes for halvah I noticed that different ones tell you different final temperatures for the sugar syrup, ranging from 240 (soft ball) to 248 (hard ball). Some said you want the texture to be crumbly, others said it should be chewy like caramel. I don't know if the differing texture is a regional difference based on what country it's made in, personal preference of the person writing the recipe, or not making it correctly.
• It is important that the sugar syrup does not crystallize or it will be especially crumbly and may not form a solid mass. I got most of it mixed in just fine but then made the mistake of scraping the sides of the pan and I think that set off the crystallization. This is also probably why the finished brick of candy was more fragile than in the original recipe's video and broke into two large pieces when I transferred it to the rack to put chocolate on it. It did still taste good, though, which is ultimately my most important metric.
• I did not use the vegetable oil spray and was fine. I used a nonstick coated pan and only the parchment paper, and had no trouble releasing it from the pan.

Verdict: I love how it tastes and despite it being something people in my area probably haven't heard of, the people that tried it at the potluck seemed to like it. I'd definitely like to try making it again and avoid the pitfalls that made the execution of this batch less than stellar. I also need a new candy thermometer that A) fits under my microwave range hood thing and B) goes down low enough in the pan to sit in the candy syrup.

RECIPE: Salted Chocolate Halva (it includes a really helpful video!)