Carrots with Shallots, Sage and Thyme / Thanksgiving 2013

I'm not sure where this recipe comes from. I found it among my many notes that I take when researching and creating new recipes.
I didn't plan on serving carrots this Thanksgiving and after I found this recipe I wanted to make it.
I went to a town just north of Dallas today and visited one of my favorite shops. They are quite eclectic. They sell European Antiques. They also have Organic Produce, Meat and Cheese, all from local Farmers. They have a deli counter where you can order lunch and either sit inside on mismatched chairs at vintage iron tables or outside at iron tables with antique wood slat benches. The shop is on the square of the old courthouse.
It's been a favorite stop for me since 1989.
Today I was in town with a friend, hanging out and shopping for Christmas. We decided to have lunch from the deli and enjoyed it outside. The weather was cool, sunny and perfect for eating outside.
I bought 2 bunches of their organic heirloom carrots for this recipe. They are purple, orange and yellow. I added some other carrots from my local grocer to complete the quantity for the recipe.

3 pounds of carrots, a variety of colors, if available.
1 C vegetarian chicken broth
1/2 pound shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 stick (1C), butter
1/4 C chopped fresh sage
1 TBS finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Cut carrots into 3"X 1 1/2"sticks

Bring broth to a boil with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, in a large skillet.
Add carrots, simmer covered for about 15 minutes. They should be slightly tender.

Remove cover and reduce liquid, about 5 minutes.

Transfer them to a bowl, clean the skillet and begin the next step.

Cook shallots in butter with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper on medium heat about 6 minutes, just until golden brown.

Add sage, thyme and nutmeg, cook just 1 - 2 minutes.

Remove from heat, return the carrots to the skillet.
Toss to coat well.
Serve hot or refrigerate and re heat when ready to serve.



Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Fruitcake Dessert

Here's one more recipe from Aunt Faye's files.
This is interesting.
In the original recipe it calls for a 7 1/2" X 12 " baking pan. I researched pans and it looks like today's pans are 7" X 11". I added a photograph of my pan at the end of this recipe.

On the recipe it says:
"tastes like fruitcake, but it doesn't have to age".

1 1/2 C raisins
1 1/2 C chopped dates
2 C sugar
2 C boiling water
1/3 C shortening
3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 C chopped walnuts
2 1/2 C chopped candied fruit ( orange, lemon, pineapple, cherries, citron)

Combine raisins, dates, sugar, water, shortening.
Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
Cool completely
Transfer to a large bowl.
Add sifted dry ingredients.
Add nuts and fruit.

Bake in a greased  ( sprayed with a vegetable cooking spray) 7" X 11" pan at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
Cool completely and cut into squares to serve.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Nutty Cereal Bars

Nutty Cereal Bars

Here's another example of a vintage American Recipe. You can tell by 2 of the ingredients. Team flakes are no longer made and Oleo was so popular as a substitute for butter.

I'll substitute another cereal for the Team Flakes and use Butter instead of Oleo.
This was sent to me by my sister in law and she was going through more of my mother in law's recipes.
The name on this is my wife. She said she used to make these when she was teaching in the early 70's. This recipe was done on a mimeograph machine..... who remembers those?
She has a collection of these recipes that they shared when she was teaching.

I love recipes like this that could tell a story if they could talk!

1C light corn syrup
1C sugar
1C chunky peanut butter
1/4 C (1/2stick) butter

Combine syrup and sugar in a saucepan on low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the next two ingredients and stir until smooth.

Add mixture to the following, in a large bowl:

2 C Rice Krispies
4 C Team Flakes ( today I would use Kellogg's Product 19  or any other 4 grain flake cereal, corn, oats, rice wheat).
1 C salted peanuts

Pat into a greased jelly roll pan.
Chill until set and cut into squares.

Enjoy!
Peace in the kitchen!

Apple Cake in a 9"X13" baking dish

I bought some Mutsu Apples from a market in Kansas. It has an Apple Orchard and grows this variety of Apple. I was not familiar with it .

It was introduced in Japan in 1930.

It's a versatile dual-purpose apple, sharp but still sweet enough to eat fresh.

It holds it's shape while cooking.

It's green-yellow in color.

This is an original recipe adapted from many other Apple Cake recipes that I have in my collection.

I like apple recipes that are easy and fairly quick to create, this one is.

To make this cake you need a stand mixer with a paddle attachment .

1 - 9"X13" baking dish

Pan Release Mix to grease the dish, it can be found on my blog under Tips, Hints and More. ( you could use butter, but I highly recommend that you keep a jar of Pan Release in the refrigerator if you bake often. It keeps for many months.

Apple Cake:

3 eggs

3 C sugar

1 1/2 C vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

3 C flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 large apples, peeled and chopped.

1 C whole pecans

Grease the pan with Pan Release Mix

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment:

Beat:

eggs

sugar

vegetable oil

Mix well until creamy smooth

Add vanilla and just mix to combine.

Add remaining ingredients and mix just until well combined. ( I pre-mixed the dry ingredients in a large bowl and added to the mixture.

I added the pecans last.

Mixed just until combined.

The batter will be thick.

Spread the batter evenly in the dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Thanksgiving in America !

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens", to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. As a federal and public holiday in the U.S., Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays of the year. Together with Christmas and New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the broader Holiday Season.

The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in 1621. This feast lasted three days, and was attended by about 53 Pilgrims and 90 American Indians

Thanksgiving is approaching.  We remember the first Thanksgiving Day prepared by the Pilgrims as they settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Preparing for the day means hours of cooking ahead of time and that morning. I'm not sure if I'll have time to post new recipes, unless I think of something while I'm getting ready for Thanksgiving. For Americans it's a time to give thanks for all that we have and reap the benefits of the harvest this time of year. That involves a menu that is full of traditional recipes and the addition of new ones. We spend the day with family, we invite those that are less fortunate than we are and may not have family near ,we prepare a feast, we eat and give thanks to God for all that we have in our lives.
We rest, watch football, play games, nap and ............ eat again!

I wish all of my friends a very Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy the day with family and friends.

And don't forget to:
Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Thanksgiving Dressing

This is a basic recipe that my Aunt Faye and my Grandmother always made.
The fresh herbs were used because they always had them available in the garden. We do too.

2 sticks of butter
10 C white bread cubed and set out for a day to dry
3 C diced onion
2 C diced celery
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
2 TBS fresh chopped sage
2 TBS fresh chopped rosemary
2 TBS fresh chopped thyme
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 C Chicken broth ( I use a vegetarian Chicken broth)
2 eggs , beaten

Butter a 9"X13" baking dish ( you can never use too much butter)
Melt butter in a skillet and saute onion and celery for 10 minutes
Add to bread cubes that have been placed in a large stock pot or large crock bowl ( we have my wife's mother's crock bowl that we always make it in)
Mix well ( they used their hands, I do too)
Mix in herbs, salt, pepper
Pour broth over the bread
Add eggs and mix well ( still using hands)
Place dressing in the dish and bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 45 minutes,
Remove foil and continue to bake for 15 minutes more ( keep an eye on it, it should begin to brown)

My wife bakes it in muffin tins for individual portions and then freezes left overs.
We often double this recipe if we're expecting a crowd. Just divide it into 2 pans and bake at the same time.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Spinach and Artichoke Breakfast Bake

This would be great to serve for Christmas Breakfast.

Vegetable Mixture

Brush the Baking Dish with Vegetable Oil.
Add Croutons.

Spread Vegetables evenly over the Breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan Cheese.

Mix the Wet Ingredients and Spices.

Pour Liquid Mixture over the Vegetables and Parmesan Cheese.

Sprinkle again with additional Parmesan Cheese.
Cover with Foil and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Spinach and Artichoke Breakfast Bake.
Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1 - 9" X 13" Baking Pan sprayed with a Vegetable Cooking Spray.
Foil to cover the Pan.

2 tsp Vegetable Oil
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 medium Onion, diced
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 1/2 C chopped Artichoke Hearts. (1- 14oz. can)
1 Box of frozen Spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and drained.
8 C Croutons ( flavored if you like)
2 C shredded Swiss Cheese
6 Eggs, beaten
2 1/2 C Whole Milk
1/2 tsp Adobo Seasoning or Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chile Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 C grated Parmesan Cheese, divided.

In a Skillet on Medium High Heat:
Oil, until Hot.

Add:
Bell Pepper
Onion
Garlic
Cook 5 minutes, until tender.

Add:
Artichokes
Spinach
Blend well and set aside.

Pour croutons into the dish
Spread Vegetables evenly over Croutons.
Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 C Parmesan Cheese.

In a Medium Mixing Bowl:
Eggs
Milk
Adobo Seasoning
Red Chile Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper
Swiss Cheese
Whisk well
Pour evenly into the Dish
Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 C Parmesan Cheese.

Cover with Foil
Refrigerate for 3 Hours

Bake Covered for 30 Minutes
Uncover and Bake an Additional 25-30 minutes.
Serve Warm

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!