It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's that time again - holiday baking!

Between 4 kids, starting our own business and my University course, baking is done in bunches.  Today's collection is below.

Interestingly, I just discovered one of my old recipes is gluten-free and egg-free! 

The gluten and egg free oatmeal caramel squares are delicious!

 Got hungry so I made garlic cheese buttermilk biscuits while the crust for the pecan bars were baking.

 Not quite cooked here but when it cools, this ooey, gooey pecan bar will be amazing!  Shortbread type base with butter tart-like topping.

Plain salted caramels (Fleur de Sel) this time.  I may dip these in chocolate or drizzle with same.  Also great with graham cracker crumbs as a base.













And, from Sunday, brownies, cupcakes (iced in either mint, chocolate or chocolate with Kirsch) and butterscotch bars.

Tomorrow, I hope to work on lemon-cranberry biscotti and a few more cookies.  What are you baking this year?

Dinner is in the bag er...pot.

Life has been very busy these last few weeks.  I quit my full-time job to run my own business.  The grand opening is October 13, 2011.  www.simcoenorth.ca/GRANDopening.pdf  My daughter is in the hospital and my son has an ear infection.  Another child doesn't want to go to the school in the am and the 4th kid, well she is helping out a lot but is tired.  Thank you to my 13 yr old for helping keep the house together!

So, because I want to feed my family home-cooked goodness and we are crazy-busy, I pulled out the crockpot!

Using leftover steak from Sunday dinner and a bunch of rough cubed root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, squash and turnip), I started a yummy stew that will be ready by supper.  I prepared it the night before, refrigerated it and simply had to put the pot into the crockpot to cook before running out the door.

Recipe:

2 cups cut up beef (raw or leftover roast/steak)

4-5 large carrots

7-8 potatoes (I like more)

2 cups assorted chunks root veggies such as turnip or sweet potato or even squash (I lucked out with a precut pack on super clearance but in great condition at Shoppers Drug Mart)

Beef broth - I am trying the Knorr gelatine based broth this time - full package

1-2 tbls cajun spice

2 onions finely chopped

pepper, rosemary, parsely to taste (add salt later as the beef broth can be fairly salty).

water to barely cover veggies

I would also be tempted to throw in some Worcestershire sauce and/or a touch or brown sugar.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  You can thicken in final hour by adding a little corn starch mixed with water.

Thank goodness for Fro Dough!

Wonder if anyone else uses the term Fro Dough?  Well, in my case, I'm referring to the stash of ready to go cookie dough balls in my freezer.  Having been handed a note at 6pm asking for any type of goodies for a kinder grad tomorrow, I immediately thought of the ginger snap dough I had ready to go!  within minutes, fresh ginger snaps were baking in the oven, filling the house with the smell of molasses and spice.

I then whipped up another new cookie using an existing base recipe and adding dark chocolate, oatmeal, white chocolate and dried cranberries to create a yummy cookie fit for school!  My preferred combo with this dough is cranberry, pecan and lemon -- not school safe!

Well it's 10:19pm and still a ton of take home work to finish, not to mention household chores!  Better check the cookies and get to work!

Cupcakes galore!

In less than 1 month, I have baked over 12 dozen cupcakes - for only 2 events!

Most recently, it was for my daughter's 18th birthday.  She requested chocolate with mint frosting.

The batter was yummy and thick as I mixed it up (again in too small of bowl).  It seemed almost criminal to stir in 2 cups of boiling water to the mix however the result is always worth it!

Earlier in the month, I made 4 types for my grandmother's 90th birthday celebration - lemon, red velvet with cream cheese icing, chocolate and vanilla.  The lemon cupcakes were a smash hit among the retirement home crowd!

Scones for the Royal Wedding

In honour of the Royal Wedding, I decided that scones were in order - at 10:45 pm!  So easy to make, I was done cooking by 11:05pm.

Cranberry Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (frozen brick)
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup half and half cream with 1 tbsp lemon juice (let sit 2 minutes)
1 large egg

 Mix all powdered ingredients in bowl.

Using cheese grater, grate frozen butter into powdered ingredients. (Leave block whole to give you something to hold)  

Using a fork, mix butter into flour mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in cranberries.

Mix egg with cream until well mixed.

Using fork, mix liquid into flour/butter mix until mix forms dough (will be flaky and loosely formed.)

 Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Use hand to form dough into 2  3/4 inch thick rounds.  Slice like a pie into 6 pieces.  (If you want larger scones, make one round)  Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until scones start to brown at edges.

Best eaten while warm!

This was a double batch.

You may also wish to try raisins or other ingredients.  Dare to be creative!

Take it up a notch: Brining your Easter Turkey with herbs

Once you brine a turkey, it's hard to go back to the unbrined version.  It just doesn't have the flavour.

I use a herb brine.  Very simple but produces amazing taste!

16 cups vegetable broth (or 16 c. water and one can knorr veggie broth powder)
1 cup sea salt
1 tbsp each of rosemary, thyme, savory and sage

Boil together for 15 minutes stirring until salt is dissolved.

Add 16 cups ice water

Let cool then add turkey. A large enameled corn pot works well.
Put in fridge overnight.

Drain turkey and give a quick rinse to reduce saltiness.  Dress as usual.  (I prefer butter mixed with herbs, fresh cracked pepper and to place thin slices of garlic under the breast skin)

Cook as directed per lb but keep in mind brined turkeys cook faster so you may save 30 minutes or more off cooking time. (butterball.ca has great guideline for stuffed, unstuffed and cooking from frozen).

The juices from a brined turkey also make excellent gravy!

Earth hour and a pot of chili

March 26 was Earth Hour for 2011.  Thousands across Canada, my family included, participated by turning off all non-essential power for at least 1 hour.  Hopefully, we can all try to reduce energy in our everyday lives.

Now for the food!  Yesterday was a cool day, perfect for chili with fresh rosemary garlic buns.  Special ingredients include cinnamon and dark chocolate.  Top with grated cheese and green onion to make an extra tasty meal!

Chili Recipe:


1 lb ground beef
2 medium - large onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
Throw in pot and cook over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked.

Add 5 tbls chili powder, 1 tsp each of oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin and coriander  Mix into meet mixture and try and let it "toast" a bit.  heating the spices before adding more ingredients lets the flavours come out.

Add 1 large can diced plum tomatoes w. liquid, 1 can tomato paste, 4 cans beans (drained) (we like 2 red, 1 white and 1 black)  Stir in.

Add 1/8 to 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, 2 tblsp beef bouillion and 1 cup water (if too thick, you can add more).

Cook for about 2 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally.

For extra spice, add in chopped chilis, Habanero peppers (very hot!!) or even chili pepper flakes.  You can also add a small dash of cinnamon and dark chocolate to flavour (a tbsp of chocolate chips or a few squares from a dark chocolate bar - add a little at a time!)  Also, you can add more spice, sugar, salt to reflect your personal flavour preferences.

Happy cooking!

When you keep hearing about it...

You make it!

Today, I was to finish a school assignment and review the business books.  But, procrastination and a quick check of Twitter got the best of me.  Bring on the craving for caramels!  30 minutes later, a batch of Fleur de Sel caramels is ready.


MMMMM.

Now off to make dinner and perhaps a cheesecake!

Dreaming of Summer

The long, cold winter has left me dreaming of those warm summer days and cool (but much warmer than now) fall nights.  Most of all, I recall our Thanksgiving turkey spit.

I recently shared my herbed turkey brine recipe with a gentleman promoting East coast sage products at the CGTA.


Here are a few pics of the finished turkeys.

My mouth is watering!  Unfortunately, spit turkeys will have to wait for warmer days.

Creations of the Past Year

I forget to blog so here are some pictures:

Brie with Caramelized onion, Cranberry & Pecan

Costco had Brie on sale before Christmas.  I, of course, picked one up and asked hubby to pick up another when he was in.  Hubby came home with 2.  So what does one do with 3 huge rounds of Brie?

Tonight, I decided to make a baked Brie.  To snazzy it up, I covered the base dough with cranberry scotch bonnet jelly then added caramelized onions, pecans and cranberries.

Topped this mixture with thick wedges of Brie and then a layer of puff pastry.  As I used a wider sheet for the base layer, I cut slashes in the dough and then layered it across for a criss-cross effect (use an egg wash to get the dough to stick).

Bake this at 350-375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until top starts to turn golden.  If it look done, it is.

Make sure to let it set for a few minutes or your cheese will all flow out when cut.  (I was hungry so I rushed!)

Off to enjoy leftovers and a quiet evening with the family.