It's no secret that I love linguistics and have a fascination with words and their origins. Words from the English language have intrigued me for years, and now that I've begun learning German, it seems I'm moving into an obsession with its etymology.
I mean, words like Pustblume (dandelion), Teufelsbraten (rascal), and Eichhörnchen (squirrel) really just roll off the tongue, am I right? The best word that I've learned so far is Schwangerschaftverhütungsmittel, which means contraceptive. That's a mouthful, but boy is it a great (and important!) word.
One other thing that's fun about the German language is the pf- combination. Are there any words in English that use it? I couldn't think of any, other than compound words. Two of my favorite German words make use of it--Pferd (horse) and Pfeffernüsse (literally pepper nuts).
Yes, we've finally come to the point of my ramblings--Pfeffernüsse! Have you tried these delightful cookies? I really only see them around the holidays, but they deserve to be served year-round. All KINDS of spices (the more freshly-ground, the better!) are included in these beauts, from black pepper to cardamom. Plus, they get a coating of powdered sugar AND a glaze--double whammy!
Don't wait til next Christmas to try these--get a few about ten practice runs in first. By the way, these things last for weeks, and the longer they age, the more the spices mingle and become pronounced. Hurra!
Pfeffernüsse
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Sift together flour, spices, salt, and baking soda.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses and water.
Add the sifted dry ingredients to this mixture and combine well; stir in the nuts.
Cover dough and refrigerate for one hour.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place the balls onto a greased cookie sheet (you may flatten them slightly if you wish). Bake for 12 to 13 minutes.
Cool the cookies for a couple of minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Place the cookies in an airtight bowl, cover tightly, and allow to ripen for about 2 weeks.
When ready to consume, prepare the glaze: Gradually add 1 tablespoon of milk to 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Flavor with vanilla or anise extract. Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze then into powdered sugar and place on a rack. Decorate with colored sprinkles and let sit until the glaze has set.
If you'd rather skip the glaze, just roll the cookies in powdered sugar before serving.
5 Şubat 2013 Salı
gesundheit!
the circle of life
Remember how I mentioned that my brother had decided to raise chickens? And how I foolishly decided to name them? I think Myrtle just ended up in my crockpot.
Yes, my brother dispatched of his first and second rounds of broilers and gave me one for Christmas. It was a 5.6-pounder, and if I didn't have a big crockpot, it wouldn't have fit! 
Serendipitously, I had just received four (four!) cookbooks in the mail from Southern Living, and one had a recipe for slow-cooked barbecue chicken that sounded delicious. Southern Living Fix It & Freeze It/Heat It & Eat It: A quick-cook guide to over 200 make-ahead dishes
I found an equally-appealing recipe for cole slaw (for what is chicken barbecue without cole slaw?!) in another of those cookbooks--Southern Living What's for Supper.
Get these cookbooks, get some chickens, and get fed!
Slow-Cooked Barbecue Chicken
Reprinted with permission from Southern Living Fix It & Freeze It/Heat It & Eat It: A quick-cook guide to over 200 make-ahead dishes
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 (3 to 3-1/2 pounds) cut-up whole chicken
- 2/3 cup cola soft drink
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 lemon, sliced
1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over chicken. Place chicken in a single layer in a lightly greased 6-qt. slow cooker.
2. Whisk together cola soft drink and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Slowly pour mixture between chicken pieces (to avoid removing spices from chicken). Place lemon slices in a single layer on top of chicken.
3. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours (or on LOW 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 hours) or until done.
4. Transfer chicken pieces (removing bones, if needed) to a serving platter; discard lemon slices. Skim fat from pan juices in slow cooker. Pour pan juices over chicken; serve immediately.
TO FREEZE IT:
Cool chicken completely. Freeze in a labeled airtight container up to 3 months. To serve, thaw in the fridge overnight.
Onion-and-Herb Coleslaw
Reprinted with permission from Southern Living What's for Supper
Whisk together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt-free onion-and-herb seasoning blend, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper until well blended. Pour mayonnaise mixture over 1 (16-oz.) package shredded coleslaw mix;
toss well. Chill until ready to serve.
dern it. fudge me to dern.
As with screeching children and headache pain, I can tolerate Will Ferrell in moderation. I really enjoyed some of his SNL characters (Craig the Spartan cheerleader comes to mind), but I've found that it's quite the challenge to sit through one of his movies in its entirety.
One thing to his credit, though, is that the man commits to his characters, as evinced in the skit containing the quote above. Even when those around him are breaking and laughing uncontrollably, he keeps it together. I can appreciate that, even though often the most amusing sketches are the ones in which the cast members lose it.
FUDGE. This is a post about fudge. More specifically, fudge frosting laced with bourbon and pecans. It's rich, folks. It'll make you smack your lips and pine for a glass of cold milk. If you're on a mission to impress a chocolate lover, a bourbon aficionado, a fan of both bourbon and chocolate, or a human being, this frosting should do the trick. Moist and fluffy chocolate cake in the middle ain't too shabby either.
Methinks Ron Burgundy would approve (especially if you use scotch instead of bourbon). (That's a shout-out to you, Little Brother.)
Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Pecan Fudge Frosting
Ingredients:
Chocolate cake:
Bourbon pecan fudge frosting:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
To make the frosting, melt together the butter and chocolate. Let cool a bit, then beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and bourbon and mix well, then beat in the remaining 6 cups of powdered sugar and the pecans. If the frosting is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, but don't go crazy--it thickens as it sets up!
I cut both cake layers in half horizontally so there were four layers of cake. You don't have to do this, but if you don't, you'll probably wind up with extra frosting...which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
streuselized
I would never be drawn to a plain raspberry muffin. Even if it was the most domed, moist-looking muffin ever made, I simply can't support the use of that fruit in that capacity. It's not that I don't like their flavor, I do--I can eat homemade raspberry ice cream with the best of 'em. The difference, friends, is that the ice cream is strained of all seed evidence.
As far as I know, there are only two things more apt than raspberry seeds to get stuck in one's teeth, and those are popcorn kernels and poppy seeds. Am I wrong to take such issue with raspberries, so much that I avoid them when they're not strained? Probably. Meh, I yam what I yam.
The redeeming factor in these muffins and the reason I eat them is the glorious streusel topping. It's properly buttery and crunchy and sugary and makes the muffin top far, far superior to the muffin stump.
If you like getting the seeds of raspberries stuck in your teeth, you'd be an immediate fan of these even if the streusel wasn't outstanding. They're moist and fluffy and actually kind of diet-friendly.
So to summarize this short post in one sentence: Raspberries can and should be tolerated when streusel is involved. It's all about compromise, folks.
Streuselized Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients:
Streusel:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Line or spray 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in raspberries. Divide evenly among the cups.
To make the streusel, combine the sugars and flour, then cut in the butter until a coarse meal is formed. Sprinkle on top of muffin batter in the pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
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| Oui oui. |
downside up
Why do we say upside-down instead of downside-up? They're both true--the top becomes the bottom and the bottom becomes the top, yet downside-up is pretty much never used. These are the questions that keep me up at night.
I won't beat around the bush: This is one of the easiest, most lovely and delicious cakes I've made in a long time. It takes about 20 minutes of active work, which is well worth the spectacular finished product. Heck, I might even be willing to put in a full half-hour for this one. The cranberries are beautifully vibrant and, it's important to note, consistently come off the pan perfectly (knock on wood).
On top of the attractive downside that came up, the cake is so tasty. Buttermilk in the batter makes the cake part very moist, and it has a great crumb too. The deal-sealer is the topping. The cranberries are tart, but that makes them a perfect balance to the sweet, buttery glaze that forms atop the cranberries and in their nooks and crannies. (Cranberry crannies.) The walnuts might seem superfluous, but they're not--their crunch and nuttiness is important too!
Lest you be misled by my title, there is no downside to this downside-up cake. It's simple, scrumptious, and stunning. I can't promote this cake enough--make it now and be dazzled!
Cranberry Walnut Downside-Up Cake
Adapted slightly from Epicurious
Ingredients:
For topping:
For cake:
Directions:
Make topping:
Melt butter in a 9-inch skillet or sturdy cake pan* over moderate heat, then swirl to coat bottom and side of skillet and stir in brown sugar. Simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes, then sprinkle cranberries and walnuts evenly over butter mixture and remove from heat.
*I boldly used a regular 9-inch aluminum cake pan over a gas-lit eye on my stove-top, and it didn't scorch or anything. Your mileage may vary.
Make cake:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture alternately in batches with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.
Bake cake:
Heat topping in skillet over moderately high heat until it starts to bubble, then gently spoon batter over topping and spread evenly. Quickly transfer to oven; bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around inside edge of pan, then invert a serving plate over pan and invert cake onto plate. Cool completely on plate on rack, 1 hour. Serve cake at room temperature.
3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe
Nutella Cream Tart
Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
- 25-30 chocolate wafers, crushed
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of salt
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1 cup nutella
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces)cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- dark chocolate shavings, for garnish
To make the filling; combine the nutella, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk in your standing mixture. Mix until combined but don't over-mix. Take out a medium bowl, and add in 3/4 cup of the heavy cream. Then using an electric hand mixer beat until the heavy cream forms soft peaks. Gently, fold in the whipped cream into the nutella mixture until it's well combined. Take out your tart from the freezer, and gently spoon the nutella mixture over the crust. Whip the remaining cup of heavy cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently, spread this on top of the nutella mixture. Refrigerate for a couple hours, or overnight.
Grandma Spencer's Strawberry Spinach Salad
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
- Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, green onion, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or longer.)
- Toast sesame seeds at 350 degrees for about ten minutes (150 for about 5 minutes in a toaster oven.)
- Toss spinach, sesame seeds, dressing, and strawberries in a large bowl. Enjoy!
