MJ's Moderation

Fairy Footstools

Happy New Year!
It's been quite a while since I've posted a new recipe, so here is one of our favorite holiday cookies that can be made all year round.  As you can see, I've got tiny holly leaves piped on this batch, but you can do red hearts, green clovers, white bunny faces, red/white/blue firecrackers, or orange pumpkins, etc...depending upon the season.

Surprisingly, the dough has no sugar, except on the outside. These flakey, crispy little rounds melt-in-your-mouth once paired with the lemony buttercream filling.

INGREDIENTS
Dough:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup soft butter
1/3 cup whipping cream
In a separate flat bowl or pie-plate: 1/2 cup granulated sugar.

Mix flour, butter and cream thoroughly until it forms a soft dough. Cover and chill for at least one hour.  (This dough freezes well.)  When ready to make cookies, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll 1/3 of the dough at a time to 1/8 inch thick on a flour covered pastry cloth (the thinner, the better.) Cut into small circles (1-1/2 inch diameter or so - or use any other small cookie-cutter shape.)

Transfer rounds with spatula to pie-plate filled with granulated sugar.  Press onto each side of cookie.  Place on ungreased baking sheet.  When sheet is filled, prick each cookie four times with the tines of a fork. 

Bake 6-8 minutes or until set.  Watch carefully as these brown very quickly, although a little golden color is good. Remove from sheet & cool on baking rack.  Put cookies together with creamy filling (below) and decorate if desired.

Lemon Buttercream filling:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1-1/2 cup sifted powdered/confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (more if needed)

Blend together with electric beater until smooth and creamy.  Add more lemon juice to thin, or more powdered sugar to thicken.  This frosting can be colored with food dye or left pale white.

To pipe design on top of cookie, use a pastry/piping bag with a thin writing tip.  Or, use a plastic baggie & fill with approximately 1/4 cup of colored icing, snip a tiny end off one of the corners and pipe design on cookie as desired.  [I actually find using a clean white paper envelope works best for me.  I seal it and then cut it in half -- fill one half with icing, roll the end closed, and then snip off a corner tip. If it gets too damp after use, then use the other half, if needed.]

The single cookies are VERY fragile, so use care when handling.  Once they are paired with the filling, they become alot sturdier. Best eaten within two or three days.  Store in a covered container.

Black-cap Berries & Breakfast

Black-caps are little black raspberries that grow wild in the woods by the side of the road in Wisconsin.  They ripen around the 4th of July and this year was no exception.  On a recent bike ride, I gathered several cups of them and used them in fruit salad - and as a topping (along with regular raspberries) on my peanut-butter english muffins. 

While technically not a recipe per se - it's still a completely awesome breakfast!  Certainly better than any commercially made sugary jam. Ya just can't get this at McDonald's - or any restaurant for that matter.

Tuna Salad Pizza

Rustic and easy to make, if not a little time-consuming, because of all the chopping involved. Convenient because you can use whatever veggies you have on-hand in the kitchen & you probably have a box of Bisquick knocking around your pantry, too. You can even make this the evening before and store covered in the fridge. 

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 cups Bisquick mix
1/3 cup boiling water
1 bunch (approx 5) thinly sliced green onions, stems removed
1 8 oz. package lite softened cream cheese
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried dillweed)
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
ground black pepper to taste.
1 can (6 oz.) water-packed white albacore tuna, drained
3 cups (approx.) fresh vegetables such as chopped celery, carrot shreds, sliced radishes, broccoli florets, red &/or green pepper strips, thinly sliced red onion, tomato bits, mushrooms, black olives, etc.
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine Bisquick, boiling water, and sliced green onions in a small bowl until combined into a soft dough.

Pat dough on a flour covered board until flattened, flipping several times to stretch into a large circle.  Transfer to an ungreased 12 or 14 inch pizza pan & finish rolling dough with hands to a large, thin round (small lumps and uneven edges are ok.)

Bake about 10 minutes, or until light brown. Cool at least 10 to 15 minutes before topping. Remove from pan to a large serving platter.

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, dillweed, garlic powder, salt & pepper until smooth.  Stir in tuna pieces until well combined.  Spread evenly over cooled crust.  Top with chopped/sliced vegetables & then with shredded cheese.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Garnish with fresh dill if available.

Cut into mini-squares for appetizers, or serve wedges for a healthy lunch or dinner. Biff calls this one "Catfood Surprise."  The surprise?  All the veggies. :-)

Disturbing Yet Hypnotic

Sort of Tim Burton goes for Baroque: Animusic. (QuickTime)

Or - visit this link and scroll to #3 (Resonant Chamber).

I just saw this on our Public TV station (Ch. 36 WMVT) as a time filler between shows. Fascinating. So that's where our donation dollars go.

Tortellini Carbonara

This is the 2nd installment of my pasta phase. 

INGREDIENTS:
6 strips bacon - cooked, drained & crumbled
1 T. olive oil
1 T. minced fresh italian parsley
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 T. balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup whipping cream or half-n-half
1/2 cup grated (not shredded) Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup julienned red pepper or chopped roma tomato for color.
1 (9 ox.) package refrigerated cheese tortellini - or equal amount of prepared dried tortellini
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, fry the bacon until crisp.  Drain fat. Add olive oil to the pan and saute the garlic lightly - and add the red pepper and saute until tender.  Next add the crumbled bacon, cream, balsamic vinegar, grated cheese and and parsley.  Stir until sauce is hot and thickened.  Pour over pasta and toss to coat well. 

Garnish with fresh cracked black pepper,parmesan cheese, and parsley sprig.
Serves 3 to 4 people.

* I prefer to use the grated Parmesan cheese for the sauce because the shredded style tends to clump together. For the garnish, I prefer to use the shredded, but you can use whatever you have on hand. I've also made this using half-n-half instead of cream and I think it turns out better, not to mention fewer calories. 

Tuscan Chicken

Unlike my daughter (Hi, Kit!) I am not a huge pasta fan -- but of late, I have been craving it & actually had it twice in the last few weeks.  The most recent foray into this carb celebration is the following recipe.  Hmmm.....the photo looks suspiciously - uncannily! - like the same dish at the Olive Garden. INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 cup flour
5 T. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1-1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1T. flour
1-1/4 cup heavy cream
1 T. roasted, chopped garlic
1/2 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
1 red pepper - julienne sliced
1/2 lb. leaf spinach - chopped
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 lb. fettucine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix flour, salt, pepper, & Italian seasoning in a shallow dish or pie plate. Dredge chicken in the mixture.  Heat 3 T. of the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute chicken breasts - 2 at a time - over medium high heat until golden brown and crisp, approx. 3 min each side.  (Add more oil as needed for each batch.)

Transfer cooked chicken to a baking sheet and place in preheated oven.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until juices run clear when cut.  Slice each breast and keep warm while making pasta & sauce.

Prepare pasta according to directions on package.  Drain and set aside. 

Heat 2 T. olive oil in skillet.  Add chopped garlic and red pepper slices and cook over medium heat for approx. 2 minutes.  Stir in one T. of flour, chicken broth, spinach and cream and bring to a boil.   Sauce is done when thickened and spinach is wilted.  Stir in the parmesan cheese and until completely combined. 

Add pasta to skillet and coat thoroughly.  Place slices of chicken breasts on top of pasta.  Garnish with additional parmesan cheese and flat leaf (Italian) parsley.

Serves 4 to 6 people.

Banana Bread

This is for Lauren :-)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I use part butter and part butter-flavored Crisco)
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 - very ripe)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-3/4 cups of flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) optional

Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl and set aside.
Cream sugar, butter, and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat just until well mixed.  Fold in mashed bananas.  Mix in dry ingredients -- but do not overmix.  (You can add up to 1/4 c. more flour if batter seems thin.)  Finally, stir in nuts.

Pour evenly into 2 greased loaf pans for short slices, or use 1 loaf pan for taller slices -- & let set for 15 minutes before baking. 

Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 35-40 minutes. Toothpick inserted in center and pulled out clean indicates done-ness.  Cool slightly before removing from pans.

You can also bake in an 8x8 pan & frost with cream cheese icing, if desired. (See photo.)

This is just wrong.

Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys:  "Restaurant-inspired cat food"??

Tempting florentines, delightful souffles, sumptuous shredded fare.  I'm sorry, but none of my personal restaurant inspirations have ever been shredded...except maybe that Bar-B-Que down in North Carolina, but that was the antithesis of elegant.

You know the world is going to hell in a handbasket when a single can of catfood is more expensive than a can of regular tuna.  Not to mention that it probably offers more nutritional value and is safer than much of the food residents in any third-world country have available on a daily basis. (Notwithstanding the recent pet food recall of tainted wheat product fillers in many canned petfoods.  Fortunately this recall did not include Phoebe's beloved Fancy Feast fodder.)

It all started when she was a kitten. We began buying her the standard canned 9-Lives to mix in her meds.  After awhile, we began to add a little dollop to her daily dose of Purina One dry cat-crunchies.  She naturally loved it.

But 9-Lives turned out to be the gateway substance leading to the more powerful draw of Fancy Feast. F2 is the least stinky brand that we've found of canned cat food, but stinky enough to evoke excitement to her mealtime. [One dramatic can of tuna/salmon blend actually offered up what appeared to be an eyeball. HELL-O!] The problem was that near the end of the can, even covered with foil in the fridge, it began to dry out and lose it's appeal. She would either refuse to eat it - or eat it and 20 minutes later hork up a big gullet-track. [aka Dog Snack!]

As an experiment we tried the pricier F2 "Elegant Medley" and found the contents stayed fresher and moister longer, hence we could use the whole can.  However, now she has begun to turn her nose up a the regular F2.  She's spoiled.  Or as Cesar Millan would say, WE have spoiled her. Whatever.

Anyhoo -- I've started to feel guilty for buying it when so many people in this world go hungry. To assuage my guilt, I've been buying extra PEOPLE food to put in the local food pantry collection barrel at our grocery store each week.  It's may not solve the problem, but every little bit helps.

Corned Beef & Cabbage

"...Always after me Lucky Charms!" -- We're not Irish, but knowing the Vikings pillaged the Emerald Isle centuries ago, I'm sure there's a bit of mixed blood flowing through our veins.  (Or so our family's red hair and freckles would lead us to believe.)

This recipe is meant for a slow-cooker or crock pot.  If you don't have one, a large soup kettle kept on low heat for the better part of a day could also work, if watched and stirred occasionally.

INGREDIENTS:
6 medium peeled carrots, cut into pieces
1 3- to 4-pound corned beef brisket
1 large yellow or white onion
1/2 head cabbage, cut into wedges
1-1/4 cup water
Seasonings: 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp. carraway seed, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 2 bay leaves.

Put all ingredients in slow cooker in order listed above. (We used Boar's Head Corned Beef.) Cover and set on high for 4 hours, push cabbage wedges down, and then turn to low for remaining 2 hours.  -- or follow your own cooker directions. 

Drain beef when done and slice.  Transfer onions, carrots, and cabbage into a separate bowl, making sure bay leaves are removed. Serve with boiled red potatoes and rye bread and yellow mustard.

Thai-Turkey Lettuce Wraps

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1/3 cup Asian-Sesame dressing (I use "Ken's" brand)
sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 clove minced garlic

Saute turkey in covered skillet until juice runs clear. Drain any excess fat and add the dressing, pepper flakes, and the garlic. Heat through and keep warm.

Arrange the following on a serving platter:
1 cup carrot shreds
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 large red pepper, julienned
1 medium red onion, halved & thinly sliced
1 large or 2 small heads of Boston (butter-head) lettuce - full leaves separated, washed & dried.
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 lime - cut into wedges

In small bowls, set out a variety of dipping sauces:

• Additional asian-sesame dressing
• Soy sauce/rice vinegar mixture (1/4 cup soy, 2 T. rice vinegar)
• Thai-peanut sauce. (Sold in the Asian food section of most grocery stores.)

Using the lettuce leaves as wrappers, fill with available ingredients. Squeeze a little lime juice over the top & drizzle with desired sauce. Top with chopped peanuts; roll-up & eat! Serves 4.