Grandma Spencer's Strawberry Spinach Salad

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Yesterday was my dad, the "Big Man's", birthday.  In our family we don't go all out or anything for birthdays, but we did all head over to Mom and Dad's house to have a nice family dinner.  Mom had to work late yesterday and my offer of making dinner was turned down because it would've apparently taken too much time so we ended up ordering pizza for dinner.  As a nice little side to go along with our pizza I decided to make this strawberry spinach salad.

This salad is a family favorite.  When we were kids (well maybe not my brother who also wouldn't eat ketchup) we would always gobble it up even though it was full of spinach!  My Grandma Spencer used to always make it and it was a recipe that we made sure to get from our grandpa once she had passed away.  Now we make it for special dinners every once in a while or it's also great to take to pot lucks as well. 


And in case you were wondering, there was no cake for dessert, Dad is not a big cake person.  Instead we had brownies, his all time favorite.  My sister Avery made the brownies and added pecans to half of them because that's the way dad likes them.  (Well Dad would prefer the whole pan have nuts but some other people in the family are picky.)  
Ingredients

• 12 oz fresh baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cider or raspberry vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced

Directions

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, green onion, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or longer.)
2. Toast sesame seeds at 350 degrees for about ten minutes (150 for about 5 minutes in a toaster oven.)
3. Toss spinach, sesame seeds, dressing, and strawberries in a large bowl.  Enjoy!

it's all about chemistry

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As someone with pale, pale, bordering-on-albino porcelain skin, I'd like to believe that browner isn't always better...except when it comes to butter and a few other select edibles.*


*Just like with tanning, though, one can take it too far.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm a major chemistry nerd (it was my undergraduate major), so I know all about the reactions involved in the browning of things like bread, coffee beans, and caramel that lead to supreme flavor. Thank you, Monsieur Maillard, for spelling it all out for us. If you have a nose, though, you don't need some dead Frenchman telling you that browning certain foods makes them smell amazing. (However, if you want to borrow any of my many, many textbooks from college, they're currently boxed away in the depths of my basement and I'd be happy to dig them out for you...).


Folks, the browned butter aspect present in both the cupcakes and their frosting is simply incredible. It adds a completely different depth of flavor to the soft, moist cakes, making them taste almost nutty even though there are no nuts involved. While that's pretty awesome, the scene-stealer here is the frosting. It's rich like buttercream but not as sweet and with a truly unique taste. Nearly everyone who had a cupcake demanded to know what kind of frosting I had made and why it was so delicious, and that's neither a lie nor an exaggeration.


So what're you waiting for? Try it yourself! Just don't let the cow candy get too browned--there's quite a distinction between browned butter and burnt butter!

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat
Makes 15 regular cupcakes or about 4 dozen mini cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

Brown Butter Icing:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk, plus more if needed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper cups.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown. Skim foam from top, and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl to stop the cooking, leaving any burned sediment behind; let cool.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture.
Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
To make the frosting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally, until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour butter into bowl, leaving behind any burned sediment.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk to brown butter, stir until smooth. If necessary, add more milk (up to 2 tablespoons) a little at a time, just until icing is spreadable.* Use immediately.

*If you prefer, you can add more powdered sugar to reach a piping consistency, which is what I did.

all they're crackled up to be

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Christmas seems to be associated with cookies as much as Thanksgiving is synonymous with pies. I don't know why this is the case, but my best guess is that a platter of cookies is much easier to give as a gift than a smushable, refrigeration-required pie.


If you peruse as many blogs as I do, you've seen oodles upon oodles of posts featuring cookies over the past month or so. Go ahead and say it: I'm a conformist. In my defense, these cookies are really delicious.

For starters, they're so rich and fudgy that you might mistake them for deformed brownies, and that's not a bad thing. There are chocolate chips in them too, which adds a nice textural contrast and, hey, more chocolate! The coating of powdered sugar is a terrific touch, both aesthetically (how else would one highlight those crackles?!) and flavor-wise. The best part of all is the little pool of preserves in the middle. Depending on what you opt to use, you might get a really sweet jolt or a nice, tangy twang.


If you're in cookie-making mode, add these to your list; you won't be sorry!

Crackled Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Adapted from The All-American Cookie Book
Makes 40-50 small cookies

Ingredients:

• 6-1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons preserves or jelly
• 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet morsels, chopped
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
• 1/2 cup preserves or jelly, for filling

Directions:
Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or on the stove-top. Do it in the gentlest way possible so as not to scorch the chocolate. Let cool to warm.
Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until well blended.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Stir in the vanilla.
Melt the preserves or jelly until fluid but not bubbly; add to mixture.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the dry ingredients, including the chocolate morsels.
Add this to the chocolate mixture and stir just until well blended.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease up some baking sheets.
Place half of the powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
Shape portions of the dough into 1-inch balls and drop them into the sugar and roll them around until they’re coated and no chocolate peeks through.
Shake off the excess sugar and put the balls on the baking sheets about 1-1/2 inches apart.
Replenish the powdered sugar as needed and continue until the dough is gone.
Using your thumb, knuckle, or some sort of utensil, press a deep well into the center of each ball.
Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of jelly or preserves into each well.
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The cookies are done when they’re just beginning to feel firm when pressed in the centers.
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cook completely.

hot stuff, comin' through

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Once upon a time, I made a fantastic batch of fudge. It was so good, I made it again and again and never tried any other recipe or budged from exactly what was written.


Now, four years later, I'm branching out. Instead of adding mint extract and crushed peppermint candies, I decided to satisfy my cinnamon cravings and toss in some red hots, or as they're known in more sophisticated circles, cinnamon imperials.

That's right--those little candies are good for more than just making terrific baked apples, applesauce, or apple pie. While they were tasty in this fudge, I made the mistake of adding them in their unbusted form. In doing this, they remained quite hard until the fats softened them up and also didn't impart much cinnamon flavor. The trick, as I discovered, is to crush them pretty finely; that way, your teeth don't get broken and your mouthful of fudge gives you a nice cinnamon kick.


If I'm being honest, the mint fudge is still my favorite, but this is a pretty awesome alternative.

Red Hots Fudge
Ingredients:

• 12 ounce package vanilla chips
• 16 ounce can vanilla frosting
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup red hots candy, crushed
• Red food coloring, optional

Directions:
Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper. Melt the vanilla chips and frosting in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract and chopped red hots. Spread the creamy goodness into the prepared pan. Drip the food coloring over the fudge and swirl decoratively with a knife, if desired. Chill until set.

white mint can't jump

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Get it? Fans of Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and/or the game of basketball know what I'm talkin' about.


White chocolate and mint is a pairing I've done often--it's one of my favorites. I've brought it back again, this time in the form of cheesecake. The mint flavoring is so bright and refreshing, it really does a lot to lighten up the rich, creamy decadence that is white chocolate cheesecake. The green swirl on top is just for fun.


In case you were wondering, my favorite thing about that movie other than all the awesome basketball being played was the attire. God bless the early 90s.

Mint White Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Crust:

• 7 whole graham crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 5-6 drops green food coloring, optional
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces white baking chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the crust: In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar. Then, stir in butter.
Press onto the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9- or 10-inch springform pan.
Bake 8 minutes, and then remove from the oven and cool completely.
Make the cheesecake: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until very well blended, about 5 minutes.
Beat in the flour and extracts until well blended.
Add eggs and yolks. Beat on low speed just until combined.
Stir in white chocolate and pour filling over crust.
Add drops of food coloring along the top of the batter and swirl with a toothpick, if desired.
Wrap pan in 3 layers of aluminum foil and place it inside another pan with high sides.
Put the pan in the oven, and then add water to the larger pan so that it reaches about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes (longer for 9-inch pan) or until center is just set.
Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside for another hour.
Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool 1 hour longer, and then refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before removing from pan.

Hot 'n Spicy Crock Pot Chili

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I said it before...and I'll say it again: I love my crock pots! (I say "crock pots" plural, because I have seven of them, in varying sizes. I use them all, often multiple crock pots for one meal. The main entree might go in a large 6 1/2- or 7-quart crock pot, and then I may have several side dishes cooking in the smaller or medium-sized crock pots. If I've got a large crowd coming over, I might have both of my two 7-quart crock pots cooking the same main entree such as roast beef.)

Cooking in a crock pot is an easy and stree-free way to entertain. You start the food cooking in the morning (You can even do all your advance food prep the night before and put the filled crock pot in the fridge until cooking time), and have very little, if any, food prep to do before your guests arrive (which means you can be relaxing beforehand!). And if it's a chilly day outside, you have the added plus of taking in all those wonderful smells coming from the kitchen all day.

I took advantage of my crock pot this past weekend. As I mentioned in previous posts, we had a Super Bowl party this past Sunday. We also had overnight, out-of-town guests coming over Saturday evening. I already had a lot to do Saturday night, with getting ready for the Super Bowl party. There wasn't going to be a lot of "free" time Saturday evening for fixing a big dinner. So my crock pot came to the rescue....again! I used my large crock pot, and made crock pot chili...which was enough for about 12 people. On the side we served sour cream, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, diced onions, and Fritoes. Our guests brought corn bread and tossed salad. It was a very yummy...and filling meal. I made up the chili the day before--on Friday--and kept it in the fridge until Saturday morning. It cooked all day Saturday, and about 6 pm when our guests arrived, dinner was ready!

The recipe I use for chili is one that I adapted and tweaked from the small recipe booklet that came with my West Bend crockery cooker. Here it is:

3 lbs. lean ground beef
2 ½ cups chopped yellow onions (3-4 large onions)
2 ½ cups chopped green bell pepper (3-4 large bell peppers)
3 tsp. crushed garlic
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained
4 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes (undrained), cut up
2 (15 oz.) cans dark red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 oz.) cans light red kidney beans, drained
4 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper and garlic in large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess grease. Transfer mixture to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients; stir to blend. Cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Enjoy!

~Becky

it's all about chemistry

To contact us Click HERE

As someone with pale, pale, bordering-on-albino porcelain skin, I'd like to believe that browner isn't always better...except when it comes to butter and a few other select edibles.*


*Just like with tanning, though, one can take it too far.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm a major chemistry nerd (it was my undergraduate major), so I know all about the reactions involved in the browning of things like bread, coffee beans, and caramel that lead to supreme flavor. Thank you, Monsieur Maillard, for spelling it all out for us. If you have a nose, though, you don't need some dead Frenchman telling you that browning certain foods makes them smell amazing. (However, if you want to borrow any of my many, many textbooks from college, they're currently boxed away in the depths of my basement and I'd be happy to dig them out for you...).


Folks, the browned butter aspect present in both the cupcakes and their frosting is simply incredible. It adds a completely different depth of flavor to the soft, moist cakes, making them taste almost nutty even though there are no nuts involved. While that's pretty awesome, the scene-stealer here is the frosting. It's rich like buttercream but not as sweet and with a truly unique taste. Nearly everyone who had a cupcake demanded to know what kind of frosting I had made and why it was so delicious, and that's neither a lie nor an exaggeration.


So what're you waiting for? Try it yourself! Just don't let the cow candy get too browned--there's quite a distinction between browned butter and burnt butter!

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat
Makes 15 regular cupcakes or about 4 dozen mini cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

Brown Butter Icing:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk, plus more if needed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper cups.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown. Skim foam from top, and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl to stop the cooking, leaving any burned sediment behind; let cool.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture.
Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
To make the frosting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally, until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour butter into bowl, leaving behind any burned sediment.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk to brown butter, stir until smooth. If necessary, add more milk (up to 2 tablespoons) a little at a time, just until icing is spreadable.* Use immediately.

*If you prefer, you can add more powdered sugar to reach a piping consistency, which is what I did.