Dough Day

Yesterday was dough day I mixed up 5 recipes of cookie dough, mostly half recipes.  I don't make nearly as many varieties of cookies as I used to because I'm the only one who eats some of them and I don't need to do that.  I will bake at my leisure or the next time the wind blows strong out of the northwest.  Maybe tomorrow I will make biscotti.  --Ann--

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I have a collection of miniatures this little turkey is less than 2 inches tall and is very old; it was my Grandmas along with the black pots, 2 squirrels and  plaster turkeys. 

On the menu for tomorrow:

Brie Cheese With Hot Pepper Raspberry Preserves on Pretzel Chips

Small Smoked Wild  Hen Turkey Shot by Son

Domestic Backup Turkey

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Wild Rice Dressing

Asparagus

Spinach Salad

Cranberry Chutney with Ginger and Onion

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

Relishes

Homemade Dinner Rolls with butter

Apple Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pecan Tassies

Coffee

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving--Ann--

Yesterday when I stayed home all day it turned into dough day I mixed up 9 different kinds of cookies, mostly half recipes. I used 3 pounds of butter now I can bake at my leisure. College girl comes home today so she can help me bake. --Ann--

I get to stay home today! I spent a delightful day shopping in Sioux Falls, lunch with a girlfriend from high school and we haven't changed a bit we are both still fabulous and neither one of us is lying. Then Christmas shopping and still time to check out the new larger Bernina sewing machine but it won't fit in my sewing table so I looked at the Sweet 16 table machine which suits my needs best so a little more research before I buy one. I also spent two days substitute teaching at the Hutterite colony which  is just  like going back to country school for me. They played Thumbs Up Seven Up and one little boy tapped his friend then squatted down to see if he was peeking, I couldn't help but laugh. Then a little girl told the other teacher she was a witch because she was wearing her witch shoes--black shoes with a good heel and a nice click when she walked.  My quilt friends came over one day last week, it was marvelous to catch up with each other. I served warm gingerbread: 1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. sugar cream together add 1 large egg and 1/2 c. light molasses beat some more, sift together 1 1/2 c. flour, 3/4 t. salt, 3/4 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. ginger, 1/2 t. cinnamon add alternately  with 1/2 c. boiling water, beat after each addition. Bake in a 8x8 pan 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. I used a nine inch quiche pan. I served with whipped cream and a peppermint square. Then we reminisced about our mother's and grandmother's lemon sauce and  buttered rum sauce on gingerbread. What's your favorite topping for gingerbread?  ~~Ann~~

Super Simple Roasted Tomatoes

Oven roasted Roma tomatoes Super Super Simple
1. preheat oven to 450 degrees F  2. wash tomatoes,  3. slice in half lengthwise,  4. lay cut side down on baking sheet with sides,  5. stick in oven for 20 minutes  6. remove from oven,  7. lift skins from tomatoes,  8. use in sauce or freeze.   These 2 pans made 3 pints of thick sauce.  No kettles of boiling water. No pruney fingers from blanching and ice water bath to remove the skins.    30 minutes and I was done!!! --Ann--

Baking day

Done baking today

thumbprints in vanilla and chocolate with raspberry, orange marmalade, or chocolate filling, peanut butter kisses, and cinnamon spritz

.

I like a high chocolate to cookie ratio so I made my second pan of peanut butter kisses with the 1/4 ounce scoop.

Merry Christmas,
Ann

Half Baked

Half my cookie dough is baked. Half recipes and still a lot of cookies.

       acorns,                                spice cookies with cayenne pepper,                      sugar stamp,
                  spice cookies w/ almonds,                                     snowballs,                        and shortbread

All these cookies were made from my mother's recipes with the exception of the spice cookies with cayenne pepper. She was of Swedish decent and I would tease her after I married and learned my way through the kitchen and spice rack that a Swedes idea of spicing up the food was to add more butter, more cream or more sugar and maybe a little cinnamon or nutmeg. I only make a fraction of what she made. I think she started baking  Christmas cookies the first of November and didn't quit until the first week of December.  One year she rolled the edge of the shortbread cookies in colored sugar, they were so pretty, white cookies with a red edge and white cookies with a green edge. I tried to do that one year and had colored sugar all over the cookies.  Maybe that is why she only did them that way once.
I finally gave up and dipped the whole cookie in sugar.  I wish I could ask her how she sugared them so nice.

Remembering and celebrating traditions,
Ann

Dough Day

Today was dough day, 9 kinds of cookie dough 1 clean up!!!
I start with the lightest, whitest dough and work my way through the nut and spice cookies and finish the day with chocolate. Nine doughs, 1 mixing bowl, one clean up, all recipes were cut in half, right down to splitting an egg.  That sounds like something from biology class, my way is easier and no test. Break an egg into a measuring cup, beat briskly, one large egg is very close to 1/4 cup, so spoon out 2 short tablespoons of egg into your mixing bowl. Half an egg for half a recipe.

Happy Baking,
Ann

Crisp Fall Days

Crisp Fall Days
Crisp Leaves

Crisp Apples 

I was looking through a "microwaving for one or two" cookbook and found a recipe for single serving of apple crisp and I thought why measure every time why not make a full recipe of topping and store it in the refrigerator and have it ready for an emergency dessert?  If I make individual servings for hubby and me I won't feel obligated to eat the rest of the 9 x 9 pan one bite at a time every time I walk past it.

Apple Crisp

1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup butter  cut together using a pastry cutter
Store in airtight container in refrigerator

 cut apple into an individual ramekin peeled or not peeled sprinkle with cinnamon

 top with 1/3 to 1/2 cup crumb topping pat lightly

 another sprinkle of cinnamon 

Bake in microwave 2-4 minutes on high depending on power of microwave
Serve warm with ice cream

My favorite fruit......................whatever is in season. This crisp topping is wonderful on blueberries(much less time in the microwave, they explode) peaches, pears, or rhubarb.

Happy Fall,  Ann