Meredith’s Shower ™

The last of the Hendricks children, Meredith,  is getting married in March. This weekend friends and family gathered to celebrate our bride-to-be and I put forth an offering to my patron saint of extended family, and the official patron Saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew. I thought that it was fitting that Meredith’s Shower™  should fall on the same week that Scotland had a referendum regarding independence . The Scots voted to stay with Britain just as I would always vote to stay with Clan Hendricks.

The following is the menu that was served. There are links where the recipe has already been shared online.

 I must give credit where credit is due. Moe vetted out and prepared the Farro Salad and Meghan brought the amazing Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars. 

My Spinach Feta triangles really have no specific recipe. I combine two boxes of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well squeezed out with 14 ounces of good greek feta and then I just follow the directions on the back of the phyllo box.

 The spinach salad is inspired by the Spinach Cranberry salad from Cossetta in Saint Paul. If you have not been to Cossetta since their recent expansion you need to treat yourself to a field trip. As I have yet to successfully recreate at home their Maple Rice Wine vinaigrette I  buy it there. I substitute diced Swiss cheese for the cost prohibitive imported parrano Italian cheese, throw in some dried cranberries and the Maple Glazed Pecans from the Tartine cookbook. I think the pecans may be my 2014 teacher gift. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Tartine cookbook. It is the source of my croissant recipe, fruit gallette crust and the lemon bars.

The Menu

Spinach Feta Triangles

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Glazed Pecans, Swiss cheese and Maple Vinaigrette

Roasted Shrimp Salad with Dill, Cucumber and LemonPepper Vinaigrette

Farro Salad with Roasted Corn, Red Pepper and Red Onion

Quinoa Salad with Apple, Fennel and Arugula

Lemon Bars

Apricot Crumble Bar

Brownies

Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The Recipes

Fruit Preserve Crumble Bars

Adapted from Ina Garten's Raspberry Crumble Bars

2  sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/3  cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10-12 ounces fruit preserves, I like raspberry or apricot
Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until combined. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla.

Sift the flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture, mixing until it al comes together in large crubles. Turn the dough out on a board. Lightly pat two-thirds of the dough evenly on the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan, or my favorite the 7 x 11 inch pan, and about 1/4-inch up the sides. Spread with the jam, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Evenly distribute the remaining crumbles of dough on top of the jam, covering most of the surface. Bake the bars for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool completely and cut into bars. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup of butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin or squash

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

¼ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ cup milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease 2 cookies sheets

To make cookies: In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add egg.  Beat until blended. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating just until blended.

To bake cookies: Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the tops feel firm: These cookies are cake-like and require a little longer baking time than most cookies.) Repeat with remaining dough. Immediately transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.

To make frosting: Place butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 to 40 seconds, or until melted. Stir in brown sugar and salt. Microwave  on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Transfer to mixture bowl. Beat in milk on medium-low until blended. Continue beating and slowly add enough powdered sugar to make a smooth and creamy frosting that is the right consistency for spreading.

In Search of the Rustica Bittersweet Cookie: Round 2

We are definitely getting closer. If you want to replicate your favorite cookie recruit Neighbor Sherry to help you. She found this version in The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook recently and we each gave it a go. I chose to go with bittersweet chocolate from Trader Joe's for melting and Ghirardelli bittersweet chips. The trouble with this cookie is that it easily trips my rich trigger, which is becoming more sensitive with each week.

Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 (12 ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and instant coffee together until the coffee is dissolved.

Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in the melted chocolate, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chips until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoop-able and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, scoop the dough into balls, dip the top in granulated sugar and lay on three parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are still soft and underdone (peek through the cracks to check the centers), 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

The Dietian's Referral-Italian Meatloaf

My sister the dietitian/nutritionist/diabetes educator is a much more experimental cook than I. She is constantly making something new or more complicated for her family while we tend to have the same few things. This week she suggested Italian Meatloaf which she found on foodnetwork.com. Her family loved it Tuesday night, my family loved it Wednesday night. I made a batch and half and substituted ground turkey and ground pork for the beef. With all of the filler that is added I probably could have gotten away with just the basic batch as I foresee myself having Italian meatloaf for lunch the next several days.

Maggie has also been having luck with the recipes in the We Energies (the Wisconsin Electric of my Milwaukee youth) 2007 Cookie Book which our mother gave both of us last Christmas. She is wildly addicted to the Buried Cherry Cookies that I have yet to try but. With that in mind I tried the Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies to use down the Costco sized bag of Craisins I bought before the hike in Scotland. They were very good and I think I will be adding Craisins to my Costco shopping list as I will be baking Hootycreek's (bad name) with them often.

Italian Meatloaf


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red pepper, seeded, small diced
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
1 pound ground beef
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a plate and cool.

When the peppers and onions are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together except for the marinara. Pack the meat mixture into an oiled loaf pan, if you do not have a loaf pan, form the meat mixture into a loaf shape on an oiled oven tray or baking dish. Top with the marinara making sure to spread evenly over the top.

Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the middle of the meatloaf. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipes from Michael Chiarello of Food Network

Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies

I think the white chocolate chips actually make the cookie too sweet, what can I say, I am 41 now and I suddenly have a rich trigger. The next time I make them I think I will just drizzle the white chocolate on top. I also think that the order in which they have you mix in the ingredients together if off but perhaps that is just the way things are done in the Fossil Operations department at We Energies. One last thing we don't drop anything in teaspoonfuls around here except for the F's Zyrtec so I made mine in tablespoonfuls and that made about 1 1/2 dozen.

October 29th Update: I made these cookies again and I did it in my preferred order. Cream the butter and sugars, add the egg and vanilla, mix in dry ingredients etc and you know what? It did make a difference in the finished product and not in a good a way. The cookies were taller and more dense. When I followed the recipe as written the first time the cookie was flatter and crispier and tasted more buttery. So my advice do it the Fossil Operations way.

½ butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup uncooked oats (old-fashioned or quick)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter; beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt and sugars; gradually blend into butter mixture. Stir in cranberries, chips and pecans. Drop into heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Drizzle (optional):
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
Microwave white chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave for 30 to 40 seconds more; stir until smooth. Pour into zip-top bag; snip off small corner of bag. Drizzle on cookies; let harden before storing.

Contributed by John K, Fossil Operations
We Energies 2007 Cookie Book

Reunited

Last night the usual Monday night crew at the yarn shop was together again after a long hiatus. To mark the occassion I brought this for dinner. Sarah was even able to choke down some plumped dried cherries. My husband once made the mistake of telling me these cookies were the best ones I make. I was offended because they are the least homemade cookies I make.

Wild Rice Salad


6 cups prepared wild rice
2 cups smoked turkey breast, such as Jennie-O, cut into ½ inch cubes,
1 cup diced or julienne sun dried tomatoes in oil (reserve oil for dressing), optional
¾ cup dried cherries, plumped in hot water for 5 minutes
6 scallions, white and light green parts, diced
1 avocado cubed
1-3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Dressing:

1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (use oil from sun-dried tomatoes for a portion of dressing)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoonssalt
Coarse ground pepper


Prepare wild rice as per the instructions on the package. Allow to cool. Stir in turkey breast, sun dried tomatoes, the drained, plumped cherries and scallions. Reserve ¼ cup of dressing. Toss rice mixture with the remaining dressing. Gently stir in avocados. Garnish with parsley. Season to taste with pepper and reserved dressing.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Cake Mix Cookies

Add 1/2 cup of oil plus two eggs to one box of cake mix (German Chocolate works best). Add a handful of chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Monster Mash

Here is a tale of two Monster recipes that for some reason I make in the fall. The first is from my friend Erika of Shanghai. They are amazing but being the math phobic that I am downsizing the recipe to a feasible size is hard. The second my son brought home from school two years ago and they have been in heavy rotation at my house this season.

Monster Cookies

12 eggs
2 pounds brown sugar
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon white corn syrup
8 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound butter
3 pounds peanut butter
18 cups oatmeal
1 pound M&M’s
1 pound chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients together. Bake 12 minutes at 350. Do not overbake.

Monster Bars

3 eggs
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup butter
1/1/4 cup peanut butter
4 ½ cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup M&Ms
Mix exactly in order listed. Heat oven to 350. Spread in a 13x9 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is my signature recipe. This is not a secret recipe. I feel strongly against the hording of recipes but there is so much history with this recipe that there was no way I could summarize it in an introductory paragraph. So here is the recipe first and the saga of my life with this recipe afterwards if you care to read it.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2/3 cup Crisco Vegetable Shortening
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or 1 ½ cups M&M’s

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix shortening and butter, add sugars, mix until combined, then the eggs and vanilla, mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture in two additions, just until flour is combined. Mix in chocolate chips or M&M’s. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.

Makes as many as are left after eating ample amounts of cookie dough.

Adapted from Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cookbook

This is the first thing I ever made by myself from start to finish. I was in third grade and on a Sunday afternoon in late winter I asked my mother to bake some cookies. She was always very accommodating with such a request but on this particular Sunday she was in bed reading a book, a very rare occasion for a mother of four children ages 9, 8, 5 and 4 at the time. She told me that if I could read, and I was an avid reader, I could make the cookies myself.

I was not so sure. I do not remember possessing any self-confidence whatsoever until college. I ran up the stairs several times to ask a question about the recipe, to ask if my neighbor Susannah, who was at the back door could help me, to ask what to do about dropping all of the cookie dough on the floor. The recipe was patiently explained, I was told I needed to do this on my own and that I should put the dough back in the bowl and proceed. The cookies were terrible. Burned black on the bottom and as hard as doorknobs. My brothers for years called my cookies doorknob cookies. My second batch, which was prepared at my grandparent’s house a few weeks later was not much better. I had used all butter instead of the half margarine-half Crisco combination my mother adhered to and the cookies spread across the pan. With months of practice the cookies improved.

In college my friends and I trekked to the grocery store to buy the ingredients and prepared them in the kitchen off the lobby of our dorm attracting any number of willing taste testers. When I moved off campus my junior year I bought a hand mixer and would routinely leave my books at the library to go back to my apartment, make a batch of cookies and return to the library with cookies for my friends. They were still warm. A guy once came up to my roommate and I at a bar and said. “You live in the cookie house don’t you? I deliver for Rocky’s and we fight over who gets to deliver to your address because you always tip us with a bag of cookies.”

Cookies were a great flirtation device. I once made a batch to put in a care package for a scope who lived out of state. Several of my roommates, you have to love off-campus living, 6 girls, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, asked for one and I said they could have the factory rejects. I cast a discerning eye over the cooling batch and declared them all perfect. K slammed her fist into the closest one and said, “That ones not perfect.” She and I even had a cookie bake-off one afternoon. The judges were afraid to vote. When I went to Scotland for a semester my roommates lost five pounds. My grandparents gave me a Kitchen Aid mixer when I finally graduated from college after five scenic years on the mighty Chip.

In Scotland I substituted Crisco for Cook-keen with marginal results. When I returned to Scotland for a year long position the cookies were renamed Body Purification Cookies because we always made a batch the night before the next big diet began.

I make these cookies often for my family. One of my favorite memories from growing up is walking through the door after school and smelling these cookies baking. My children are being raised on the same experience.