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.
These blondies are very gooey! To have enough structure to hold all their caramel and candy goodness these bars are twice the thickness of a typical bar. I think you’ll agree… they are very decadent! Gooey Caramel Blondies 3 cups … Continue reading
Using carrots with the greenery intact improves your chances of getting great carrot flavor. If you want a foolproof method with superb results, cook and glaze the carrots in carrot juice. The added bonus, increased nutritional value! Carrot Juice Glazed … Continue reading
My cousin, Whitney, and her son, Patrick, were making their annual Christmas list this week. She’s an innovative mother and takes pictures of the toys Patrick wants with her cell phone then emails them to the North Pole! Patrick loves LEGOs and wants sets that cost between $50.00 and $100.00. She was taking pictures of numerous LEGO sets as they were going down the toy aisle. This was their conversation.
Whitney: “Patrick, I need you to tell me what your favorite LEGOs sets are because Santa won’t bring all of them.”
Patrick gives her a puzzled look and says, “Why Not? He’s Santa!”
Whitney: “I give Santa a budget every year. He can only spend the budgeted amount of money.”
Patrick: “Wow mom, you have Santa on a tight leash!”
Here’s hoping Santa isn’t on too tight a leash at your house this year! Merry Christmas!
It has been my pleasure to create recipes for you this year. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my posts. I am grateful for all the kind words and encouragement.
Published in The News and Neighbor on December 24, 2014
Turkey Brine Recipe
1 cup Kosher Salt
½ cup Brown Sugar
2 Oranges, quartered
1/8 cup peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
4 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
6 sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 gallon water plus 1 gallon of ice water
The day before you roast the turkey make the brine. Bring 1 gallon (16 cups) water, Kosher Salt and Brown Sugar to a boil. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Get out 2 tall kitchen unscented trash bags. (Note the unscented part- turkey that tastes like dryer sheets isn’t what we are trying to achieve!) Put one bag inside the other. Add cooled 1 gallon of brine (the salt, sugar, water mixture), 1 gallon ice water, squeezed orange quarters and rind, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, rosemary, thyme and turkey. Press air out of both trash bags. Secure with twist tie or knot bags.
Line cooler with a large 30 gallon black trash bag, (the kind you use for yard work). Place Ice in bottom of cooler inside trash bag. Put turkey and brine sealed kitchen trash bags on top of ice in cooler and add more ice on top. Soak turkey in brine for at least 8 hours, but no more than 24, turning the turkey once, half way through brining adding more ice if needed.
Pumpkin Pie Praline Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing and Caramel Glaze Praline Layer 3/4 cup light brown sugar 1/3 cup unsalted butter 3 tablespoons whipping cream 3/4 cup chopped pecans toasted in a 350 F oven for 3 … Continue reading
I like a little variation of flavors in my roasted sweet potatoes. Instead of the typical butter, brown sugar and cinnamon on a baked sweet potato I prefer the savory flavors of olive oil and red onion. A sprinkling of … Continue reading
After a long winter of squirrels eating our birdseed and scaring off the birds, I think Doc finally solved the problem. For years he purchased a variety of bird feeders with different gimmicks that the squirrels all figured out. He … Continue reading
Several weeks ago our woods had two unlikely visitors. A male and female red tailed hawk. It caused quite a stir in our 5 acres of woods. All the squirrels disappeared for days. The cause? The hawks were dining on … Continue reading
Volunteerism. Home town. Johnson City. Good books. Random thoughts.
Bartlett TN Family & Children Photographer
Mary Duke Cooks! 