Happy Hygge

Winter arrived early this year. It will be a week tomorrow. A week of shoveling, shoveling again, and shoveling some more. Heavy, wet, icy, and unyielding until you scoop it up and it slides back down onto the sidewalk. The lake path is compromised. There are paths that will not be cleared again until the spring. It feels like late January, early February without the warm memories of the holiday behind us and the hope of spring ahead of us. We decided to confront it full on and have a hygge gathering with the neighbor clan. The invite went like this:

Hello everyone - welcome to winter.  It kind of sucks already, so we are having a Hygge festival on Saturday around 5:30 or 6:00.  What is Hygge?  It's basically the Danish concept of "cozy."  Please read this Jim Walsh article:

 http://www.minnpost.com/arts-culture/2013/12/our-hygge-moment-how-danish-cultural-concept-can-help-cut-through-dark-minnesot Candles, soup, drinks, tunes, neighbors.  That is all you need.   Please let us know if you can make it - all are welcome in from the cold and dark! We will make different kinds of soups.  Feel free to bring any side dishes, wine, beer etc.  I will have some brewski's on hand too.

The best response came from across the alley, "I did not know you can grill soup."

We served recipes that have shown up here before, beef barley soup, and pumpkin cookies and a few that are in rotation in my kitchen but previously unpublished. Read on for my recipe for Chicken and Potatoes Curry soup, and links to Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple and Red Lentil Soup and my pursuit of the Cossetta's maple vinaigrette.

Chicken curry soup with potatoes

This is a collection of three recipes blending into one. Substitutions abound but here is how I go about making it.

The Chicken

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces

1 yellow onion chopped into large chunks

2-3 stalks of celery chopped into large chunks

2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning mix, recipe below

Taco Seasoning mix

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine chicken thighs, carrots, celery, onion and taco seasoning mix in a large bowl. Place on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 for 1 hour. Reserve juices, discard vegetables and coarsely chop chicken. The chicken can also be prepared in a crock pot on high for 3 hours or low for 5.

Indian Potatoes

5 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

Indian spice mix, recipe below

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a 12-14 inch skillet until hot and shimmering, add spice mixture and saute in oil for 30 seconds, add potatoes and stir to coat.  Add 1/3 cup of water, cover and reduce to a simmer. Check potatoes after 12 minutes. If they are tender remove from the heat otherwise cook for another two minutes. Additional water can be added at this time if necessary.

Curry Sauce

Purchase a jar of Thai Kitchen brand Red Curry Paste. Follow the directions on the back of the jar. It will ask you to add a can of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar,  1 to tablespoons of fish sauce and 1/4 cup of Thai basil. I always add the fish sauce. Add the reserved liquid from the chicken and additional chicken or vegetable broth/stock depending on how soupy or stew like I would like the final product to be. Stir in the prepared chicken and potatoes and allow flavors to blend on low heat for at least 30 minutes.

Serve with Sriracha sauce.

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple and Red Lentil Soup

Maple Vinaigrette

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.

Spring Comes to Como Park

To celebrate the blooming of the lilacs, lily of the valley and the crabapple trees I had few people over for lunch the other day.

A huge thank you to my man, the King of Keratoconus, for all of the unsolicited help with the dishes and for forgiving me when I got crabby when he changed my playlist whilst I was having my last minute shower. I do not deserve his amiable nature most of the time, but he is very well fed.

Here are a few of the recipes I served.

First off credit where credit is due, and he will call me on it if I don't. My brother introduced me to this Barefoot Contessa recipe last summer at the cabin. It was the favorite main dish of the day. The runners up were Wild Rice Salad, which I made with half wild rice and half wheat berries and a crustless quiche, the recipe came from Cooking Light, enough said.

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo


Kosher salt
Good olive oil
3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds (16 to 18 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
3/4 pound good feta cheese, large diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.

Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Don't overcook!

Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back to room temperature before serving.

All three desserts were winners but two have been previously unpublished here. This Rhubarb cake recipe comes from an old church cookbook of my mother's.

Rhubarb Cake

½ cup butter at room temperature, the original calls for shortening but I only use shortening in cookies and pie crusts
1 ½ cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk (soured or buttermilk)
2 cups rhubarb (cut fine)

Topping
½ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
The original topping calls for 3/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or spray a 9x13 pan. Cream butter, add sugar, egg and vanilla. Blend flour, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. Milk in alternately with milk. Use low speed on mixer. Fold in rhubarb. Pour into pan. Sprinkle topping mixture evenly over the top of the cake. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream.

Jockey Club Cheesecake

This is the first cheesecake that I remember having during the cheesecake extravaganza that swept America in the early 80’s. My sister has adapted it to avoid the unsweetened chocolate from seizing. The ingredient amounts are suspicious. We suspect that it should read ¾ cup of sour cream but neither of us is willing to take a chance with the familiar.


Crust
1 ½ cups crushed Graeme cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Filling
2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
¾ tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate melted

Topping
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 9 inch spring form pan. Surround the outside of the pan with aluminum foil in the event that the pan leaks excess butter.

Cream the cream cheese, mix in the sugar gradually and add the eggs one at a time. Blend in the orange juice, sour cream and vanilla. Pour cream cheese batter into the pan. Pour the melted chocolate evenly over the top of the cake and cut through the batter with a knife several times for a marbled effect. Bake for 45 minutes or until set.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool slightly. Combine the topping ingredients together in a separate bowl and spread evenly over the top of the cake. Bake 15 minutes longer. Allow the cake cool completely before refrigerating. Raspberry Coulis is a great accompaniment to this cheesecake.

A New Fan Favorite:Tri-Colore Orzo

My friend Chris is like my friend and neighbor Sherry. She has a really good eye for recipes. It was she who first made the My Crock Pot is a Wonderland Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken recipe we received in the same recipe exchange. Thank you again Kelly Hogenca for bringing that recipe into our world. In July Chris sent me this recipe Tri-Colore Orzo adding that it is a great, light, mayo free pasta salad. I did not get around to making it until late summer and now I cannot stop making it. I love it because it is a great, light, mayo free pasta salad and I am just trying not to let that pricey box of organic arugula become part of my already very expensive compost pile.

Bob and Moe don't try this at home yet as I plan on serving it to you next week.

Tri-Colore Orzo

1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
2 cups fresh arugula (about 3 ounces)
3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese (or feta cheese, I use feta)
1/2 cup dried cherries (I cut mine in half and then plump them)
12 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (toasting nuts is one of my weakest links)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and put the pasta on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle the pasta with 3 tablespoons olive oil, toss, spread out, and set aside to cool.

Once the orzo is cool, transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine. Serve.



Everyday Italian on Food NetworkEpisode#: EI1011

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.

Faux Steak Salad

I traveled for work for the first time in eight years this month. It was fun. My material was fresh to everyone. My caffiene intake was way down so I was much more functional and I got to eat out everyday for lunch and dinner. Breakfast was Mega M&M's and a Nutrigrain bar on the way to the Columbus, Ohio Convention Center, lunch was at the amazing North Market , and dinner was at various spots within walking distance of the hotel ,including the Flat Iron Grill,thanks to Mary Lou's investigating our options via Chowhound.

At the Flat Iron the four of us all ordered the same thing, the steak salad. Mixed greens, grilled steak, carmelized onions, tomatoes, blue cheese and a light dressing. It was amazing. I did my best to recreate it this weekend substituting the steak with this grilled mushroom recipe, another recipe brought to my attention by neighbor Sherry. I made a simple dijon, red wine vinegar, black pepper and olive oil dressing, carmelized onions a la The Barefoot Contessa and added a handful of walnuts for good measure. It was very good.

Worcestershire Glazed Portobello Mushrooms

1/2 cup butter
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 pound portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices

Melt 1/2 cup butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Stir in mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt. Remove from heat.

Grill mushrooms until soft and beginning to release juices, about 3 minutes per side. Divide mushrooms among the salad and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Bon Appétit July 2004

Can I ask you to make the salad dressing?

Growing up if you walked through the kitchen at 5:00 there was a very good chance of my mother saying, “Can I ask you to make the salad dressing?” Which meant make the salad dressing. I always hated being asked. I don’t know why. It was probably a teen entitlement thing. I was entitled to enjoy a good salad but never participate in the process. Anyway, this is a great, simple, I have most of the ingredients on hand, vinaigrette. I made it last night to accompany our weekly serving of Papa Murphy's and Two Buck for Three Bucks Chuck.

This recipe comes from a late 70’s or early 80’s edition of Be Milwaukee’s Guest a Junior League cookbook. Which if you are ever perusing cookbooks at a thrift store, which is a great place to find them, and see a Junior League cookbook, grab it. I have always had great luck with them, and by great luck I mean two go-to recipes. I know that there should be more than two to warrant shelf space, especially since I have the go-to recipes typed up on the computer, but it is a family trait to hang on to things forever. The 1987 Gatherings from the Junior League of Milwaukee and their more recent, An Occasion to Gather,2004 are also very good.

Italian Salad Dressing

1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or a pinch of oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

Combine dry ingredients with vinegar. Whisk in oil slowly.