Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!

While making tonight's dinner, I realized just how much I use my hands when cooking.  Then I remembered my mother & how she taught me to measure things like a pinch, a dab, a handful, & so forth.  She always said you could tell how good the biscuits were going to be by the way the dough felt.

As a child, I thought it was so cool the way mom 'played' with her food.  As an adult, I thought she was nuts.  You never see Emeril or Rachel play with their food.

As years have gone by, I've learned just how right she was.  Now, when my daughter asks why I put my hands in the mix, I tell her I'm just adding an extra ingredient...Love.

Happy New Year!

Tonight is going to be a special one at The Rodriguez residence.  We're throwing our annual New Year's Eve party!  Last night, Jay prepared Chicken & Beef Shish-Kabobs while I put together Jello Shooters & Rum Balls.

Today, I'll be mixing up some of Giada's amazing Stuffed Mushrooms!  I've never made them before but they sound really easy (PS I had a photo for you but Blogger isn't cooperating this morning)...

Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.

Cinnamon Monkey Muffins

Cinnamon Monkey Bread Muffins
from the kitchen of Multiply Delicious

1 can Pillsbury Honey Wheat Reduce Fat Grand Biscuits
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons milk




Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard size muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and ground cinnamon.

Take the biscuits out of container and cut each biscuit into quarters. Then take the quarters and roll into a ball.

Dip ball into the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture coating the ball. Place ball into one of the muffin tin cups. Continue with the remaining balls. You should fit 3 balls in each cup to make a muffin.

Bake muffins for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Allow muffins cool an additional 10 minutes before drizzling icing on muffin tops.

To make icing:
Add milk a teaspoon at a time to the confectioners' sugar until it comes to a drizzling consistancy.

Makes 11 muffins

Ginger-Pomegranate Sparkling Punch

16 oz. orange vodka
8 oz. Canton ginger liqueur or ginger coffee-flavoring syrup
8 oz. unsweetened pomegranate juice
750 ml sparkling wine, preferably Spanish Cava, chilled
Orange slices
Pomegranate seeds

1. Combine vodka, ginger liqueur and pomegranate juice in large pitcher; refrigerate until chilled.

2. To serve, fill pitcher with ice cubes; stir to combine. Pour mixture into chilled punch bowl. Top with sparkling wine; stir gently. Add more ice, if desired. Garnish with orange slices and pomegranate seeds.

14 (1/2-cup) servings

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna

This recipe sounds amazing!  I'll definitely being trying this in the very near future :)

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna

Sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 (7-oz.) container sun-dried tomato pesto

Filling
2 eggs
2 (15-oz.) containers ricotta cheese (whole milk preferred)
1 (14- to 16-oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 (8-oz.) pkg. shredded Italian cheese blend, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 oven-ready lasagna noodles

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Cook onion 3 to 4 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes; crush with back of spoon or potato masher, keeping sauce chunky. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in pesto; remove from heat. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

2. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in ricotta cheese, spinach, half of the Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese and salt.

3. Spread about 1 1/2 cups sauce in bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Layer 4 noodles in dish. Spread with half the ricotta mixture; top with 1 cup sauce. Repeat with 4 noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and 1 cup sauce. Top with remaining 4 noodles, sauce and Italian cheese blend.

4. Cover pan loosely with foil sprayed with cooking spray. (If desired, place baking sheet on rack below lasagna to catch any juices that overflow.) Bake 50 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is browned and sauce is bubbling. Let stand at least 10 minutes, or cover loosely with foil and let stand up to 30 minutes.

8 servings

It's that time of year. You know what time I'm talking about. It's Fruit Cake time!!! Now, if you're anything like me, that means nothing more than if it were Asparagus Time or Brussel Sprout Time. However, for some people, it's the one dessert/snack they look forward to most this time of year.

With that said, I think I've come across a couple of the most perfect Fruit Cake recipes ever! The first is a recipe that my mother has used for as long as I remember. The second is the recipe my daughter swears by. I'm sure, no matter which one you choose to make, you will put a smile on the faces on, both, the fruit lovers & the fruit cake haters in your family. Enjoy!

Nut Cracker Fruit Cake (Mom's Version)

1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
½ lb butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs

Sift an additional 1/3 cup flour into 1 ½ lbs glace pineapple chunks, 1 ½ lbs whole glace cherries, and 5 cups pecans.
Beat eggs well with mixer. Cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs and mix well. Sift flour with baking powder and blend with mixture. Add flavorings, then add the floured fruit and nuts. Mix well again and then pour into small loaf pans (small foil ones are fine) which have been well greased and then the bottoms lined with wax paper. Place in cold oven and bake at 275 degrees until lightly browned and a toothpick put in center of cake comes out clean. Approximately 2 hours. Store in refrigerator for thin, beautiful slices.

Nut Cracker Fruit Cake
(from the kitchen of Veronica Miller: her take on fruit cake)

1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp napalm
¾ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
½ lb butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs

Sift an additional 1/3 cup flour into 10 lbs skittles, 1 kitchen sink and 5 cups pecans.

Beat eggs until they feel no more pain. Cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs and mix well. Sift flour with baking powder and blend with mixture. Add flavorings, then add the floured skittles and nuts. Mix well again and then pour into small loaf pans (small foil ones are fine) which have been well greased and then the bottoms lined with treasure map. Place in cold oven and bake at 275 degrees until it forms a brick and a toothpick put in center of cake comes out screaming “Mercy!”. Approximately 2 hours. Store in refrigerator forever.

Delivery With Style

Momma is delivering muffins with style!  Okay, maybe the 2001 Buick Century was more practical but it wasn't nearly as fun (or eye catching) as my new wheels.  Maybe I should change the name of my business to Penelope Pitstop's Muffins...

Fruit in the Winter

I love browsing the internet for recipes.  Just by Googling a specific ingredient, I come up with hundreds, even thousands, of unique recipes.  Some are immediately copied & saved to my recipe book.  Others are bookmarked, with the intention of coming back to the later.  Then there are those that scare me just reading them.

I've stored this recipe in the 'copied & saved to my recipe book' file.  Who can possibly say no to mango & pomegranate...no matter what time of the year it is?

Chicken Salad With Mango And Pomegranate

by Peggy Bourjaily

Makes 2 servings

1 whole, bone-in chicken breast, roasted

2 cups arugula
2 slices Vidalia onion, or any sweet onion
1/2 mango cut into thin slices
Seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate

6 to 10 cilantro leaves

6 to 10 large shavings of parmesan cheese (use a vegetable peeler), or another salty, hard cheese

Dressing

1/4 cup pomegranate juice from half a pomegranate*
1/8 cup champagne vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

* To squeeze, cut the pomegranate in half and squeeze like a lemon over the measuring cup. Be careful — pomegranate juice stains.

Combine the pomegranate juice, vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper in a sealed container. Shake vigorously until well combined.

Make an even bed of arugula on a platter. Top here and there with chicken slices. Follow with a ring of Vidalia onions atop the chicken slices. Next scatter the mango. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds all over, and follow with a leaf of cilantro every few inches. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing over the salad and finish it off with parmesan shavings.

Those dreadful leftovers!

My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the leftover turkey sandwich that I enjoy around 8:00pm while crashed on the couch watching Jim Carrey movies.  After that, I'm stuck with all these leftovers, staring at me each time I open the refrigerator door!  To avoid throwing them out, I start digging through my recipe books looking for exciting new ways to make good use of them.

When I was growing up, my mom always made a huge pot pie the day after Thanksgiving, using everything except the mashed potatoes & dressing.  That left me wondering why the dressing couldn't be used in place of the biscuits as a topping. 

So, I went searching and found this yummy recipe that uses pretty much everything from the Thanksgiving dining table!  Enjoy!

Turkey & Dressing Pot PiePrep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hr


2 cups diced leftover cooked turkey
2 cups leftover turkey gravy
2 (16 ounce) bags frozen mixed vegetables (canned or already cooked works well too)
2 cups leftover prepared stuffing (more if desired)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt


Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees (176 celsius).
2 Cook vegetable mix according to package instructions; drain well.
3 Mix together turkey, vegetables, garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
4 Spoon vegetable and turkey mixture into a 9 x 13 rectangular cake pan.
5 Pour gravy over the vegetable/turkey mixture.
6 Top with stuffing, spreading evenly over all.
7 Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and the stuffing crust is brown and crispy.

Change it up a bit by using mashed potatoes as the base of a 3 quart casserole dish.
For the filling, use 3 cups turkey, 1 can sweet peas, one can kernel corn, 2 lumps of mashed sweet potatoes, and a little over 2 cups of gravy. Continue with step 6.  Enjoy!

Still baking...

Pecan Pie...my favorite!!!

Smells Like Thanksgiving

Momma's kitchen is smelling a lot like Thanksgiving...

White Chocolate Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Craisins.  Those yummy little dried cranberries that come in a bag. I can't seem to get enough of them.  They add the perfect touch to chicken salad, a little zing to your morning cereal, & a bit of zip to these amazing cookies.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Craisin Cookies


⅔ c. butter or margarine, softened
⅔ c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 6-oz pkg (1-1/2 c.) Craisins Dried Cranberries
⅔ c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine & sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light & fluffy. Add egg, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda & salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in Craisins & white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

Tradition tells us to serve...

According to Associated Content, the most popular pie for Thanksgiving is Pumpkin, coming in at #2 on the Most Popular Thanksgiving Foods list.  Apple pie is #9 & Pecan is a sad, #10.

Growing up, we always had a pumpkin & a pecan pie on our table.  Actually, we usually had 2 of each.  Mom's pies looked like something out of a movie.  Perfect crust.  Creamy pumpkin & golden pecans.  I've tried to make my pies as perfect as hers over the years but I don't think that will ever happen.  After all, her maiden name was Cook.

Thoughts about holiday cooking...

You've spent all day cleaning house, making sure you have all the ingredients for tomorrow's big meal, & then it dons on you..."I have to plan breakfast for my guests!!!"  Just then, you realize that you will be cooking, not one, but two big meals in one day! 

You could throw some frozen waffles in the toaster or, perhaps, make a run to the local donut shop & hope they have something other than glazed to choose from. 

OR...

You could contact Momma's Muffins right now, while the thought is in your head, & place an order for some tasty Morning Glory Muffins or Sunday Morning Maple Muffins.  Heck!  Why not get a couple of Thanksgiving pies while you're at it?  It would definitely cut down on your kitchen time, leaving you more time to spend with family & friends.

Naan Bread

While hanging out in my favorite, local diner this morning, chatting with fellow coffee drinker, our conversation fell upon the topic of Indian Food.  We discussed the difference in curries & the amazing taste of black rice (something I will definitely have to try).  He then asked if I had ever eaten naan bread, a yeast-raised East Indian flat bread with a delicious chewy texture.  When I asked what it was, he immediately whipped out his iPhone & pulled up a website full of mouth watering photos.  This, of course, peaked my interest & I immediately made a note to find the recipes when I got home.

After checking out a few different websites & recipes, I found one that I think would be perfect to start with (since it's so new to me).  Tonight, my kitchen will have the smell of East India lurking in the air.  Just hope it goes well with tonight's dinner menu...tuna salad.



Naan Bread

"A yeast-raised East Indian flat bread with a delicious chewy texture."


Ingredients

2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm milk

1/4 cup plain yogurt, room temperature

4 tablespoons melted butter

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds


Directions


1.Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it foams.


2.Blend in the warm milk, yogurt and melted margarine. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Pour in the yeast/milk mixture all at once and work it into the flour, using your hands. Continue mixing, adding flour or water as needed, until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl.


3.Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 4 hours or until doubled in volume.


4.Preheat oven to 550 degrees F (285 degrees C) or your oven's highest setting and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Place a large pizza pan or iron griddle on the rack and preheat. Also preheat the broiler.


5.Punch the dough down and knead briefly. Divide into six pieces and shape them into balls. Place them on an oiled plate and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let balls rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Roll out and stretch each ball until it is about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide. Remove the pizza pan from the oven, brush with oil and place one of pieces of bread on it.


6.Bake at 550 degrees F (285 degrees C) for about 4 to 5 minutes until bread is puffed and has brown spots, then transfer to a wire rack, returning pizza pan to oven to keep hot. Place bread under broiler until 'charcoal' dots appear on the surface. Wrap finished bread in a towel while baking the remaining loaves. (If your pizza pan is big enough, try baking two loaves at the time.)

Lemon Lavender Loaf

Lavender Lemon Cake


I found this recipe while searching for photos of a lemon-lavender pound cake. Thank you to YummyMummyKitchen for sharing it on her blog.






Ingredients:


For the cake:


8 sprigs pesticide-free fresh lavender flowers, or 1 tsp. finely chopped,
pesticide-free fresh lavender leaves, plus flowers for decorating
(optional)


1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Pinch of fine sea salt

4 eggs

1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups ground blanched almonds

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
 For the icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Juice of 1/2 large lemon, or as needed


Directions:


Preheat an oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
 To make the cake, strip the flowers from the lavender sprigs. Place in a food processor and add the superfine sugar, butter, lemon zest and salt. Process until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, alternating with one-fourth of the flour, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Gently stir in the ground almonds and the lemon juice.
 Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn the cake out onto the rack. Place right side up and let cool.
 Meanwhile, make the icing: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the lemon juice, a few drops at a time. The icing should be thick but spreadable. If it is too stiff, add a little more lemon juice.
 Using a knife and dipping it in hot water if it becomes too sticky, spread the icing over the cooled cake, making sure that it drips down the sides. Let stand until the icing is set, about 1 hour. Decorate the cake with fresh lavender flowers. The cake will keep, stored in an airtight container without the flower garnish, for up to 3 days. Serves 8 to 10.

Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

Before my mother passed away this summer, we were faithful veiwers of the Food Network.  Some of her favorite cooks were Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, & Giada...just to name a few.  Last winter, while watching an episode of "Giada at Home", our mouths began to water as she put together a luscious beef stew.  Her secret was butternut squash.  That evening, I doned my apron & put together the most amazing pot of stew I've ever made, thanks to Giada. 

Now that winter is coming back around, my taste buds are ready for another pot of this delicious stew...

Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

Ingredients

3 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Marsala wine
1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 to 4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
Crusty bread, for serving


Directions


In a large soup pot heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.

Add the onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and saute until the onions are tender, about 2 minutes.

Toss the beef cubes in salt and pepper and flour. Turn up the heat to med-high and add the beef to the pot. Cook until the beef is browned and golden around the edges, about 5 minutes.

Add the Marsala wine. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add the butternut squash and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine.

Add enough beef broth to just cover the beef and squash. Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

Season the stew with additional salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Serve with crusty bread alongside.

Where have all the pictures gone?

I signed on today & found that all my pictures are gone!

Who took them?  Where did the run away to?

This mystery must be solved!

Sad Blog

My blog seems sad.  I'm not a very good blogger.  I tend to create a bunch of them all over the web then forget about them.  Not a good thing.  No.

I just need to make a commitment & stay faithful to one blog.  It's not fair to them all if I just keep playing with them.  So, I'm going to make a vow to this, my Kitchen Witch blog, to be faithful & true, letting go of the others. 

Pumpkin & Feta Muffins

Pumpkin and Feta Muffins

1 Tbl unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 c. cubed pumpkin or butternut squash, 1/2-inch cubes

salt & pepper to taste

1 large handful of baby spinach, chopped

2 Tbl chopped parsley or cilantro

3 Tbl sunflower seeds kernels

3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 c. cubed feta
2 tsp whole-grain mustard
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 c. flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine-grain sea salt


Preheat oven to 405F, with rack in the top third. Use the butter to grease a 12-hole muffin pan and set aside.


Sprinkle the olive oil and some salt and pepper over the squash. Toss well and turn onto a baking sheet or roasting pan. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 15 - 25 minutes or until cooked through entirely. Set aside to cool.


Transfer two-thirds of the squash to a large mixing bowl along with the spinach, parsley, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, two-thirds of the feta, and all of the mustard. Gently fold together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk together and add to the squash mix. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the squash mix, top with the salt and a generous dose of freshly ground black pepper and fold together just until the batter comes together, be careful not to over mix.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full, top each muffin with a bit of the remaining squash and feta.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. I like these muffins cooled a bit, served just warmer than room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins.