In the summer when cucumbers are bountiful try this recipe for quick pickles. I used English cucumbers because they don’t have as many seeds as other cucumber varieties but feel free to use whatever type of cucumber you like. These … Continue reading
Sometimes Doc and I will cook a pound of bacon on the weekends and make these juicy Bacon Cheddar Burgers. We refrigerate any leftover bacon and use it later for bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Bacon Cheddar Burgers– makes 4 … Continue reading
Doc and I enjoy roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Onions at least once a week for dinner. Once you cut up the potatoes and onions and add the olive oil and rosemary; the dish roasts in the oven. If you haven’t … Continue reading
This is a gorgeous cake! It makes just enough to eat after dinner. The strawberries and rhubarb have just the right amount of sweetness and sauce. The cake is the perfect thickness to get equal amounts of topping and cake … Continue reading
I’m always on the lookout for a new recipe for all you working moms whose kids are busy with after school activities and sports. Sometimes after a busy day, it is easier to eat at home than go out to … Continue reading
It is my favorite time of year when strawberries are in season. In East Tenessee our locally grown favorite, Scott’s strawberries, are now available. This salad is just bursting with flavor. Spring Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette– Makes 4 salads … Continue reading
This cake has all the elements of a mounds candy bar. Rich chocolate cake layers with creamy coconut filling, coconut buttercream icing and topped with dark chocolate truffle ganache. Who could ask for more? Chocolate Mounds Bar Cake Cake: 1 … Continue reading
This recipe for Piggy Chicken comes from one of my friends, Susan Higginbotham. She is a fabulous cook and I am delighted she shared this recipe!
This recipe makes it’s own gravy. Serve with plenty of rice or noodles
Piggy Chicken
2.5 ounce jar dried beef, rinsed, dried, and chopped
4 chicken breasts, halved and skin removed
8 slices bacon
10 ½ ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 to 1 ½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Line 9″x 13″ baking dish with chopped dried beef. Pound chicken breast halves between plastic wrap or waxed paper until ¼ inch to ½ inch thick. Wrap each piece of chicken with 2 slices of uncooked bacon. If desired, fasten bacon to chicken with toothpicks.
Place bacon wrapped chicken on top of chopped beef in baking dish. Mix soup, sour cream and mushrooms together and pour over chicken. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 3 hours. Uncover the last 45 minutes of baking time.
Serve with rice or noodles. Enjoy!
Published in The News and Neighbor on October 19, 2016
This is a New Orleans style remoulade. It is the perfect accompaniment for fried green tomatoes, fried crab cakes, fried pickles, fried okra and fried fish. I think there is a theme here; remoulade is great on almost anything fried! … Continue reading
There is an art to making cut out sugar cookies. Most recipes call for using flour to roll them out but if you use too much flour the cookies become hard and dry. I skip the flour entirely and roll the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. That way the dough doesn’t stick to the counter and after they are cut you can peel the cut cookie dough off the plastic wrap. Parchment paper works 100% better than spraying the cookie sheet with non-stick spray. No matter how much spray I use it seems the cookies always stick. Inevitably, I tear them while prying them off the pan. The cookies will not stick to parchment paper. They just slide off!
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar. Beat 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture changes color and becomes pale yellow. Add egg and vanilla. Mix briefly. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to butter mixture gradually with a mixer. Remove dough from bowl (it may still be sticky but will firm up in the refrigerator). Cover dough in plastic wrap, press into a disc and refrigerate one to two hours or until dough is cold and stiff.
Remove dough from refrigerator. Remove plastic wrap. Roll dough in between 2 new sheets of plastic wrap to 1/8-inch thickness. (If the dough curls while you are rolling it remove the top layer of plastic wrap and place it back on the dough.) Peel off top layer of plastic wrap. Cut the cookies with decorative cookie cutters that have been dipped in flour. Place cut out dough on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 5 to 8 minutes. Do not let cookies become brown (not even around the edges). Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Frost cookies. Enjoy!
Icing
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 tablespoons milk
Sift powdered sugar then measure. Add remaining ingredients. Ice cookies. Tip: For added visual interest: color icing with gel colors. Ice then sprinkle with colored or sparkling sugars before icing dries.
Published in The News and Neighbor on December 19, 2015.
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Mary Duke Cooks! 