Pecan Pie Muffins and Pecan Pie Bars

The All American Iconic Pecan Pie!

Here are two more Holiday Best of the Best recipes:
Alternatives to the All American Iconic Pecan Pie and just as Yummy!

These are truly two of our favorite recipes!
You may want to make a few batches of the muffins.

If you need to make something to take to a Thanksgiving dinner or to share with
coworkers, this is it!
They are easy and they taste incredible!

The Bars are equally impressive.
Just two variations on the Iconic All American Pecan Pie!


Pecan Pie Muffins:

1C chopped pecans
1C packed brown sugar
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 C melted butter

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.
Make a well in the center

In a separate bowl:
Beat eggs.
Stir in the melted butter and add this mixture to the dry ingredients.
Stir until moist.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, filling 2/3 full.
 (I brush the cups with my Pan Release Mix, equal parts of Crisco, Vegetable Oil and Flour. I start with 1C of each and keep it refrigerated in a jar. I always have it available for all of my baking needs.)

Bake  at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.
Remove to a Rack and immediately top each Muffin with a Pecan Half.
Cool Completely.


Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!


Pecan Pie Bars:

Here's what you'll need:
1 - 9" X 13" baking pan, brushed well with my Pan Release Mix. ( Equal parts of Crisco, Vegetable Shortening and Flour.) I start with 1C of each and keep it in a jar in the refrigerator for all of my baking needs.

1 1/2C Flour
1/2 C (1stick) Butter, softened.
1/4 C Brown Sugar

Filling:
3 large Eggs
3/4 C Corn Syrup
3/4 C Sugar
2 TBS Butter, melted
1 tsp Vanilla
2 C Chocolate Chips
2 C chopped Pecans

To make the Crust:

In a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer:
Flour
Butter
Brown Sugar
Mix until it forms a crumble.
Press evenly into the pan. I use the bottom of a stainless steel measuring cup.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.

Remove from oven to a cooling rack and prepare the filling.

To make the Filling:

In a large mixing bowl:
Eggs
Corn Syrup
Sugar
Butter
Vanilla
Whisk well by hand.
Fold in Chocolate Chips and Pecans by hand.
Pour evenly over the baked Crust.
Bake an additional 25 - 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Cut into squares to serve.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Cast Iron

I cook in Cast Iron often. I set up my fireplace in the winter so I can cook in it. Here are some photos of my collection of cast iron.
Some of the other photos include our Enameled Cast Iron Stove that we use as a kitchen island, a Model T wheel from my father in law that we use to hang cooking utensils for cooking outdoors ( I had a local Blacksmith make hooks to hang everything). Food seems to taste better when cooked in cast iron!

When you first get a piece wash it in very hot soapy water. Dry it with a cotton towel, put it on a Medium High heat burner for a couple of minutes to allow it to dry completely. Use a paper towel, still on the heat and rub it thoroughly with a small coating of Vegetable Oil. NEVER SEASON IT WITH OLIVE OIL!  NEVER COOK WITH OLIVE OIL. My motto is EAT OLIVE OIL, COOK WITH VEGETABLE OIL. Drizzle Olive Oil on prepared Pasta, in Salad Dressings, of Garlic Toast and Croutons.....etc. Oil used to re season Cast Iron will get rancid during non use. If you cook something, only use Vegetable Oil. If anything crusty stays in the skillet I clean it with Sea Salt and a bit of Vegetable Oil. I place it back on the heat with  a small layer of water and boil it to loosen particles, scraping with a Metal Spatula,  and repeat the salt and oil process. All of my pieces are virtually non stick. I don't let anyone else clean them. I have been able to completely restore damaged pieces too. I may have to sand some rust spots on vintage pieces and then re season them.

Provence

Anne and I have very good friends, Irene and Jean, that live in Provence, France. We also spend time with their children in Valensole and Paris.  We have visited them many times since 1996. I actually met the family for the first time in 1988. They have also traveled to Texas to stay with us. We eat well when we are with them in France. The French are passionate about their cooking and Irene is an excellent cook. I just spoke to her today, to get permission to publish some of her recipes that we have enjoyed over the years. I will certainly let everyone know when I am talking about her recipes. Thank you Irene for creating some of the best meals that we have ever experienced in France.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Soufflé Aux Pommes de Terre

The first recipe I chose from my Aunt's collection is :
Soufflé Aux Pommes de Terre

I was surprised to find a French Recipe in my Aunt's collection.
I knew she cooked for a fairly wealthy family and now I see that
they ate quite well.
I speak French, I began traveling to France in 1970.
We have returned to France many, many times, it's our vacation destination,
and we have friends throughout France.
It's possible that the connection between my love of cooking and my
love of France may very well have been influenced by Aunt Faye.

Soufflé Aux Pommes de Terre:
Add 1/2 C Cream to 2 C Mashed Potatoes -
Salt & Nutmeg.
Cook over low heat until very hot.
Remove from heat - add 2 TBS grated Parmesan or Swiss
Cheese.
Add 3 beaten Egg Yolks - one at a time beating well after each addition.
Cool - then fold in 4 well beaten Egg Whites.
Fill Buttered Baking Dish to 3/4 full and bake 375 degrees for 30 - 35 min.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Family Photos

These are a few of the items that I received from relatives. It's just a sample of the recipes that my aunt collected. I included some family photographs just for the heck of it. The picture of the woman with the Collie puppy is Aunt Faye! When she wasn't in the kitchen, she was raising some amazing show Collies. The picture of the covered bridge and Faye at the table is a memory of visiting them on the farm for the Holidays and the elegant table that she set. I threw in the family photograph of myself with my sister and our parents, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. My other obsession is Christmas!

Today, I received the second package of information about my aunt that I spoke of previously. I'll begin posting pictures and recipes soon. In the meantime, keep cooking and enjoy , Peace in the Kitchen!

I wanted to share some of my pieces of enameled cast iron cookware. I follow a cast iron cookware page on Face Book and we all share pictures of our cookware and what we're cooking in cast iron.

I hope to begin posting recipes this weekend. Let the cooking begin!

Remembering Aunt Faye

When I was a child, I had an Aunt that wasn't really an Aunt. You know what I'm talking about? I had a relative that always seemed quite old to me and I was always told that she was our Aunt. My sister and I called her Aunt Faye. Well, I always loved visiting her on the farm that she and Uncle Johnny lived in. I learned later in life that Aunt Faye was a private chef for a fairly wealthy family in Michigan, very near to where I was raised. She became an excellent chef and it's in her memory that I've created this cooking blog. Aunt Faye must have, some how, influenced my life without me ever knowing it and maybe that's why I came to love cooking as much as I have. I've recently discovered that Aunt Faye is really a cousin, once removed. She was my mother's first cousin.

I called my sister over the weekend to let her know that I've started a cooking blog. I asked if she had any of Aunt Faye's recipes. My sister is sending me a book with a collection of recipes that belonged to our aunt. 

I am also receiving pictures of Aunt Faye and additional recipes from my mother's cousin in Austin, Texas. I'm writing this story because I wanted my first recipe to be one of my aunt's. As soon as I receive all of the information about my aunt, I will post photographs and recipes in honor of her, and then I'll begin sharing my extensive collection of what I refer to as "the best of the best" recipes that I have ever made. My collection began in 1974 and I am passionate about collecting, cooking and sharing recipes.

While I was talking to my sister, I mentioned that I believe I became interested in cooking because I didn't think our mother was a very proficient cook. There was a pause in the conversation and my sister said, "I think mother was an average cook". "I always liked the things she cooked". 

I said "mother could cook the life out of a green bean, she would boil them so long that they became grey and mushy". My sister laughed and said that's the way she eats her green beans to this day. I laughed so hard, and realized that my sister had been influenced by mother's cooking.

My mother felt that the only way to efficiently cook anything was to turn the burner on high!

Maybe mother wasn't such a bad cook after all! She just had a different philosophy about it.

So, here I am with a cooking blog, trying to figure out ....... why?  Here's to the memory of my mother and Aunt Faye!

I Love Cast Iron!

I love Cast Iron and I cook in it as much as I can. So...... instead of posting a recipe, because I can't decide which one should be the first, I thought I would show some of my Cast Iron Cookware. And I decided to include our Cast Iron Enamel Stove just for the heck of it  because it's pretty cool,( we don't use it to cook, however, someday we may) so until then it serves it's purpose as an island in the kitchen. Under that enamel top is a very cool cooktop with burners and a griddle surface. It's wood burning so behind the doors are places to fire up the wood and an oven for baking and a bin for the ashes. I also re-purpose my fireplace so that we can cook in it during the winter months.

I need to clarify that I am not Vegan. My recipes will include dairy. I do not eat meat, fowl or seafood and all of my recipes will reflect that. In many of the recipes I will indicate a vegetarian ingredient that may very well be translated into a meat product for those that prefer to add meat. Basically, I don't eat animals, but I don't have an issue with bi-products such as milk and eggs. Some recipes are original and I will make a note of that when they are published.

Today is day 1 of this blog. I'm looking forward to creating and sharing some of the "Best of the Best" recipes that I've collected over the years. I'm always in pursuit of discovering, cooking and tasting recipes that I believe are the best I've ever had.