A (not so) funny thing…

Posted on December 29, 2012 by bitsandbreadcrumbs

Gimme a hand!

…happened on the way out of town for Christmas. Yep. In a year already full of, shall we say, interesting events, I somehow managed to sprain my knuckle in a most peculiar way while winterizing our deck. Don’t ask me how exactly one can actually sprain or throw a knuckle out of joint by simply flicking a drop of water off of one’s finger while at the same time holding three empty tea candles and an empty plastic bag…but I did it!

All to say that both cooking and typing have slowed tremendously this week as I was finally forced to bandage my hand to keep from continuously popping the knuckle and so that it can have a chance to heal. As I am right handed, my left hand is really getting a workout trying to keep up.

So let this be a lesson to you all to stay in the relative safety and warmth of your kitchens with your sharp knives, lest you risk debilitating injury by traversing outdoors for but a moment. Thank goodness I’ll have just enough flexibility to hold a glass of champagne in a couple of days!

Have a safe and warm weekend. ~Betsy

*****

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night…

Posted on December 25, 2012 by bitsandbreadcrumbs

From our house to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas
and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

*****

Sharing More Cookies

Posted on December 20, 2012 by bitsandbreadcrumbs

I really am a cookie monster. From a food point of view, I consider myself to be much more of a savory person than a sweet one, but where cookies are concerned I become a little scary. This is why I only make them this time of year for the most part, because I plan to share them…you know, (ahem!) give them away as presents.

Brilliant! If only I could sing that well.

And since I only do this once a year, and as if all those cookies and goodies I mentioned in my last post Holiday Roundup weren’t enough, I just had to make a few more goodies this week.

First off were these Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies. I knew I had to try them the moment I saw Eva’s original recipe, and then Sawsan’s adaptation of Eva’s recipe that added some warm spices. I ended up making Sawsan’s version this time because I already had my biscotti, which have chocolate chips in them, and also because I was so curious about the addition of cardamom to the chocolate.

Result: Amazing! The texture of these cookies isn’t to be missed…very much like a brownie. And the taste, well, let’s just say they didn’t last long enough to be given to very many folks! I’ll make these again. In fact, I’ll be adding them to my cookie line-up, so do check out the recipes on both these blogs for a truly chocolatey wonder of a good cookie.

Now on to a recipe from my family that I’d like to share with you today. This is an old fashioned recipe for Drop Sugar Cookies that my mom and her mother (Mamaw) made for years, and they almost always make an appearance around Christmas time.

Dropped onto the cookie sheet by the spoonful and then flattened with a glass, these cookies are thin with just the right amount of crisp. They have a lovely, buttery and light texture, and are just perfect for a snack with tea, cocoa, or alongside eggnog. You absolutely must let them brown around the edges a bit to caramelize the sugars, or they just won’t taste as good. And while I normally do not use shortening in baking if I can help it, these really must have the shortening in order to obtain the correct light texture. I know this for a fact, because I’ve tried substituting all butter and ended up with a flattened mess, ruining a lot of good ingredients and ending my efforts with an epic fail. Do not try that at home!

I seem to remember decorating these with my mom as a child, though I don’t recall if my grandmother ever decorated her sugar cookies. If you’re not in a decorating mood or it’s the wrong time of year, these do have a lovely coating of granulated sugar on them after all, so they can certainly stand alone. I like to use a few sprinkles for fun and sparkle—just to make them pop up and say “Happy Holidays!”

Drop Sugar Cookies
Makes about 5 1/2 dozen

Have all ingredients at room temperature:

2 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
Additional granulated sugar for dipping

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Sift the flour, soda and salt together into a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, egg, sugar and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in the dry ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the milk. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I use a slipat). Flatten each teaspoon of dough with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped into the granulated sugar. (Can be decorated with sprinkles at this point if desired.) Bake for about 6-10 minutes, watching closely, until the edges are browned. These will keep for about 1 week stored in an airtight container.

Note: I use cane sugar, which is unbleached, so my cookies are a bit darker than the original. If you desire a more snowy-like appearance, use white granulated sugar in the cookie and for dipping the glass and pressing the cookies flat.

A Holiday Round-Up: Some Sweet, Petite and Neat

Posted on December 11, 2012 by bitsandbreadcrumbs

Fourteen days and counting! Are you ready yet?

We all have our favorite traditional holiday treats and gifts that we like to make each year. And as each holiday approaches, I see so many more things I want to try my hand at making, but usually end up falling short of getting to them in addition to my usual baking…and before I run out of time and energy. This will be one of those years I imagine. However, I will be posting some items for you next week that are new in this year’s baking line-up.

Meanwhile, let me share a round-up of food and drink that I think you might enjoy this holiday season—the sweet, the savory and the in-between. Below are some of my very favorite traditional holiday baking, entertaining and gift-giving recipes from this blog, many of which can be made ahead, frozen or are just plain quick and easy. Cheers!

Chocolate Hazelnut and Ginger Biscotti are perhaps the most addictive cookies ever known to man or woman. These truly decadent biscotti have the perfect dry texture combined with savory hazelnuts, spicy candied ginger and melty semi-sweet chocolate surprises in every bite. If I don’t make these for my husband every Christmas, I might as well find another place to live.
I’m not kidding.

Old Fashioned Ice Box Cookies are so easy to make ahead and wonderful to freeze, then have on hand to slice, bake and decorate a few whenever you need or want them. Prettily packaged, they make a sweet gift as well.

Glazed Red Pepper and Fennel Almonds are a hit with everyone and won’t last long at a party…or in your home in general. They’re a most welcome gift for a cocktail nibble or appetizer, and a few sprinkled atop a green salad with some fruit are a lovely way to enjoy them, too. You’ll also find these savory Provençal Olives in this post. They keep well for about a month or so, and make a great hostess gift. These two together as appetizers or tapas are a dynamic duo.

Sweet Cider Glazed Apple, Walnut and Oatmeal Cookies have festive flavors and aren’t quite as heavy as some cookies…so you can eat more than one, not that I can only eat one anyway!

Cranberry Liqueur is the perfect gift and keeps at room temperature for a year. There’s still time to get a batch made for holiday giving or New Year’s tippling. Be sure to make some while fresh cranberries are still available.

Ma’amool is a Middle Eastern treat in the form of a fruit or nut stuffed semolina cookie that is molded into beautiful shapes. They taste as good as they look, too! No mold? No worries. You can seal them and decorate with the tines of a fork.

This Walnut Thyme Honey is just amazing drizzled over cheese for a quick and impressive appetizer. Needless to say, it makes a lovely gift.

My Retro Cheese and Olive Bites make a “can’t believe how good these are” do-ahead-and-freeze appetizer to bake when needed, then serve or give away. They are truly addictive, so be sure to make enough for yourself and some to share. Also in this same post are the equally fabulous make-ahead-and-freeze Bacon Wrapped Dates with Pistachios and Apricots.

Two more lively appetizers for entertaining are found in another post: Mini Crab Cakes with Lemon Chive Aioli and Goat Cheese and Fresh Basil Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes. While the crab cakes take a little work, they can be made ahead and frozen, then rewarmed when needed. And the stuffed tomatoes are just too darn easy and good to be ignored. Seasonal colors, too.

Need something for a holiday brunch? Our all-time favorite dish for Christmas Eve or morning is this absolutely divine Ham, Fontina and Spinach Bread Pudding. You can make it the night before and bake it when you need it. It reheats well and will become your fave, too, I guarantee it.

What’s that? Want something a bit lighter and healthier, or dare I say vegetarian, before the big holiday bash? This savory Butternut Squash, Kale and Parmesan Bread Pudding is just the ticket. All the festive flavor and a lot less of the fat.

And to wash it all down, you’ve got to have a sparkling drink! For those holiday toasts, this Champagne Cocktail would do quite nicely. And if you’ve make the Cranberry Liqueur listed above, try out these Festive Holiday Cocktails for a Happy New Year.

Herbed and Veggied Turkey Meatloaf

Posted on December 5, 2012 by bitsandbreadcrumbs

This meatloaf is anything BUT dry and boring…and so not Meh!

Meatloaf = Meh.

I know. As they say in these parts, “them’s fightin’ words!” But for the longest time, meatloaf did equal “meh” to me. A big mass of meat, usually dry and covered with ketchup. Naturally that wasn’t really what was going on with the meatloaf presented to me, but that’s how I felt about it…like I’d really so much rather have a burger!

Then a few years ago I tasted an amazing turkey meatloaf at a local restaurant. It was moist and flavorful, had lots of veggies, oats and sun-dried tomatoes in it, and was served with a mushroom gravy and mashed redskin potatoes. How could you NOT like that? But the main thing was, it turned my head around about the potential of a meatloaf. I decided then and there that I should revisit my thoughts on meatloaf and give it a fair shake. Since then, I’ve had some fabulous sandwiches and plates—and some equally not-so-fabulous ones. I’ve experimented making meatloaf at home, too, such as the beef and pork variety, the all-beef and the all-turkey…with varying degrees of success, like and love. But my most recent fave is this Herbed and Veggied Turkey Meatloaf that I’m very enthusiastic about for a number of reasons.

Look at the steam rising off that puppy!

You can see the steam rising off that puppy.

First and second…this turkey meatloaf tastes great and it’s healthy. While I’m a true fan of making food healthy whenever possible, I’m not interested if it doesn’t taste really good, and therefore I won’t use a non-fat product that was intended to have some fat in it and is consequently sub par in taste and texture. As a result, you’ll find throughout this blog recipes that are a good mix of the healthy, and a healthy dose of the decadent. This turkey meatloaf falls mostly into the former category, but dips just a teensy little bit into the latter one, too, simply from the richness of taste. And here are five more reasons I really love it:

It’s moist and flavorful.
It’s full-bodied and dense.
It’s practically a meal unto itself.
It makes a mean meatloaf sandwich.
It’s actually as delicious cold as it is hot, and it gets two thumbs up from my meatloaf-loving husband! (Okay, that’s six reasons.)

BAM’s bashed potatoes!

This recipe was adapted from one I saw in the magazine Southern Living and I just fell in love with it. We enjoyed this with some of BAM’s Kitchen’s bashed potatoes, which are pretty awesome and you need to check those out in her flank steak, spinach and potato post right here. Because I was having a turkey meatloaf, I decided to forego the bacon in BAM’s recipe just this once, and I substituted olive oil with a touch of butter instead, along with more onion and some rosemary for my herbs. All I can say is…these two dishes were made for each other!

So now I’m a bona fide meatloaf convert, and one who is really looking forward to tonight’s meatloaf sandwich! I’ll make mine the traditional way with marinara, mozzarella and good bread, but you can see a delicious-sounding gourmet version for some inspiration at Karen’s Backroad Journal blog right here.

‘Tis the season for meatloaf, and I do hope you’ll give this one a try!

Herbed and Veggied Turkey Meatloaf
(Adapted from Southern Living Magazine)
Serves 8

1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 Tablespoon of olive oil, divided
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 cup of your favorite herbed pasta or marinara sauce, divided (homemade is even better!)
2 lbs. ground turkey breast
12 ounces of fresh spinach, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 Tablespoon each of fresh parsley, thyme and oregano, chopped
2 teaspoons of Italian pasta seasoning (I use Trader Joe’s)
1 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Optional additional pasta or marinara sauce for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet, then dab a tiny bit of it onto a clean paper towel to grease an 8 x 11 inch casserole dish and set the dish aside. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat and add in the raw spinach. Cook the spinach until it is well wilted and just tender. Drain the spinach in a colander, pressing to release the liquid and set aside. Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and the garlic and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots to the mixture and saute an additional 3 or 4 minutes until the onion is tender. Set aside and cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine the onion mixture, the spinach, 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce, the turkey, oats, chopped herbs, Italian pasta seasoning, salt, pepper and egg. Mix well with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated evenly. Shape the mixture into a 5 x 10 inch loaf and place it into the greased casserole dish. Bake the loaf for 45 minutes. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of pasta or marinara sauce over the top of the loaf and bake another 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and cover it loosely with aluminum foil, and let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice into 8 portions and serve, passing additional pasta sauce if desired. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3 days.