Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

This recipe is an adaptation from a recipe at allrecipes.com, one of my favorite go-to sites. It is perfect for potlucks, family dinners and with a bit of tweaking (see below), is just right for large gatherings (2 pans). This is the perfect dish to prepare the night before and bake the following day. And yes, I had to taste it for "quality control" <koff koff>.

Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes (or 6 regular)
• 1/2 pound lean bacon (or Real Bacon Bits)
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 3/4 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
2. Poke a few holes into each potato using a toothpick.
3. Bake potatoes in the preheated oven until fully cooked, about 1 hour. Cool for about 15 minutes.
4. Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels and crumble.
5. Cut a thin slice from one side of each potato; carefully scoop out the flesh and transfer to a bowl. Discard skins. Mix 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, butter, chives, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder with potatoes. Spread potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish; top with 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until just bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
7. 
   

*Let the 'tweaking' begin. I baked 5 lbs of potatoes and, after letting them cool slightly, I scraped the contents into a big bowl and chopped them up with my spoon. I added a full bag (8 oz) of sharp cheddar, 1 1/2 c of sour cream, 2 tbsp of dried chives, half bag of Kroger 'real bacon bits', ground pepper and salt (didn't measure, just poured some on my hand and then into the bowl). I didn't use garlic salt because the chives provided sufficient seasoning). I used about a cup of milk and about 4 tbsp of butter. The potatoes were still hot enough to melt the butter when mixed in. I folded everything together, put it in one larger foil lasagna pan and one smaller, more shallow aluminum foil cake pan (about 8.5" by 12.5") for us. I used another half bag of shredded sharp cheddar to top the two pans and sprinkled liberally with dried chives and about half the pack of bacon bits. The casserole was moist, not wet, before baking and because I like my casseroles well cooked, the small one took about 25 minutes to warm through with bubbly cheese. I will probably cook the large one for about 30-40 minutes. Turned out tasty, slightly puffy and smelled delicious!*

Strawberry Santas

I got the cutest recipe in an email for an almost-healthy Christmas project for kids and kids-at-heart like me. A rep from Driscoll's Berries asked if I would like to post this recipe and would I ever! I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. I know I have the 'buns in the oven' - well, the dough is rising for cinni buns, mini walnut sticky rolls, orange buns, apple rolls and my favorite zweiback. You may just call this a creative-in-the-kitchen sort of day, which I love best of all! Consider this to be recipe #1 in this year's Christmas Countdown!

Here is the recipe from Driscoll's for the cutest little Strawberry Santas EVER!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
• 12 large, flat chocolate cookies such as Famous Chocolate Wafers
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 12 large Driscoll's Strawberries, hulled
• 12 small Driscoll's Strawberries, hulled
• 24 Driscoll's Blueberries
• 24 mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 24 mini white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small, wide, microwave-safe bowl on low setting until smooth. Place coconut in wide, shallow, small bowl. Place cookies in single layer on serving platter.
2. Combine cream cheese, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl and mix to create thick frosting (add more sugar as needed if too thin).
3. Place cream cheese frosting in sturdy, resealable plastic bag and snip one corner off bottom to create disposable decorating bag. Alternatively, use a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Refrigerate 10 - 15 minutes or until firm.
4. One by one, with strawberry tips pointing up and hulled base pointing down, pipe beard shape with cream cheese frosting at center of strawberry. Press strawberry into coconut beard-side down to adhere coconut to beard. Attach hulled end of strawberry to cookie base with a small dollop of melted chocolate.
5. Dip blueberries half-way into melted chocolate and affix two to each base of berry on cookie to form Santa's boots.
6. Pipe cream cheese frosting around strawberry tips to create heads. Use white mini chips for noses and semi-sweet mini chips for eyes.

Plum or Christmas Pudding

A tasty recipe for one of my favorites - Christmas, or Plum Pudding, aka Plum Duff. This comes from the BBC and they included the method of steaming a pudding, which I included.

Plum pudding (plum duff)

                                                    Also known as Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

110g/4oz self-rising flour
110g/4oz currants
110g/4oz golden raisins
110g/4oz breadcrumbs
110g/4oz dark brown sugar
110g/4oz shredded suet
½ tsp mixed spice powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
250g/9oz plums, stones removed, chopped
½ large apple, core removed, peeled and chopped
1 orange, juice and zest only
4 tablespoons dark rum
2 free-range (or large) eggs
225ml/8fl oz milk 

For the sauce

1 free-range egg (or one regular large egg)
300g/10½oz icing sugar
150g/5oz butter, melted
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out (2 tsp vanilla extract)
200ml/7 fl oz whipping cream, whipped until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed

Preparation method

1. Butter a 1 litre/2 pint pudding basin.
2. Mix the flour, currants, raisins, breadcrumbs, sugar, suet, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
3. Add the plums and apple pieces.
4. Add the orange zest and juice, the rum and the eggs and mix well.
   
   
   Watch technique1:02 mins
5. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until the mixture will drop from the spoon when pulled from the bowl (dropping consistency).
6. Place the plum mixture into the pudding basin and cover with greaseproof paper or a pudding cloth. Secure the paper or cloth with kitchen string.
7. Using a pan with a lid large enough to comfortably contain the pudding basin, half-fill the pan with boiling water. Add the pudding basin and cover with the lid. Steam the pudding for three hours. Replenish the water level if necessary. How to Steam A Pudding
   
   
   Watch technique0:31 mins
8. Remove the basin from the pan and allow to cool slightly.
9. For the sauce, whisk the egg for five minutes until light and foaming.
10. Add the sugar, butter and vanilla seeds and whisk well.
11. Carefully fold in the whipped cream until well combined.
    
    
    Watch technique0:35 mins
12. To serve, spoon out the plum pudding onto plates and spoon the sauce alongside

Turkey Pot Pie

Got turkey? We got a bit turkey happy at Thanksgiving (those "buy one, get one free" offers at the supermarket are great!) so I froze a bunch to serve later. And later came after Christmas, when we were all "hammed out!" Here is a full-size, simple turkey pot pie with all the traditional touches and home-made deliciousness (while using a commercial crust - true confession).

Turkey Pot Pie

Can you taste it now?

Ingredients:

• 2 c chopped cooked turkey
• 1/2 med. sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1/2-3/4 c)
• 4 medium carrots, washed, pared and finely sliced
• 1/2 c frozen peas
• 2 large russet or 4 red potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 to 1 1/2c left-over turkey gravy (I had frozen some) PLUS 1/4 to 1/2 c water
• 1 tsp of salt and a dash of pepper
• 1 pkg of 2 commercial pie crusts (in refrigerated section of store)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. Prepare vegetables and turkey as directed.
2. Place in a large saucepan or 10" frying pan with margarine (or butter) and saute on medium heat until vegetables are slightly softened and flavors are blended (approximately 5-8 min.). Add gravy, water, salt and pepper and stir into mixture, simmering for another 5 minutes. Use enough water to thin the gravy a bit and make the mixture 'sauce-y' but not runny.
3. Place bottom pie crust in 9" pie plate. Pour turkey mixture over, spreading evenly. Top with the other pie crust and make roughly symmetrical 2" slits from the inside to the outside with a sharp knife to let steam escape (you can also prick with a fork, but I like slits in my pot pies :) See photo for ideas.
4. Place in oven and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes before reducing heat to 375 degrees for an additional 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on the outside, with the gravy bubbling through the slits. If your crust gets too brown, cover with a bit of foil around the edges. 
5. Let cool about 10 minutes before devouring. You don't want to burn your mouth

Note: Commercial gravy may be used in this recipe; I just prefer home-made.

Cinnamon apple buns (made with zwieback dough)

Here is a recipe that uses a classic zwieback dough to make the most delectable apple buns with a cinnamon sugar topping ever! Well, at least in my experience :)

Cinnamon Apple Buns

Little bits of deliciousness waiting to go into the oven

1. Using the left-over risen zwieback dough, fold a pinched off piece (about the size of a large egg) around a chunk of peeled and cored apple. 
2. Roll into buns using cupped hand method. Dip in milk, then in melted butter or margarine and roll in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. This recipe is easier if you shape all the buns before dipping and rolling in toppings. 
3. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour). 
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for approximate 20-25 minutes, until the bottom is golden and the top has a bit of a crust. You should be able to smell the baked apple. 
5. Let stand on cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before gently removing (using a lifter) to a covered surface (I reuse the tea towel that I used to cover the bowl while the dough rises). Let cool slightly before devouring.

Ta da! I can taste them now...  no, really!

Zwieback (double buns)

These little buns have been a tradition in my family for several generations. It just wouldn't be Christmas without them. I remember my mom, all hot and bothered, fussing with these and making Schoenekuchen (nice cookies - a very soft cut-out sugar type cookie) as they rose. Mine are never as pretty and even as hers were - she is a perfectionist - but they still bring up those Christmas memories!

Zwieback

Zwieback

Beware: these make a lot of buns, so be prepared to use a large cookie sheet and small 24-cup muffin tin like I did, with enough left over for the next recipe - apple buns or a fruit square (platz).

The farm method:

• Prepare 1 pkg fast-rising yeast or 1 tbsp dry yeast as directed on package.
• Stir risen yeast and pour into a large bowl. Add 3 c warm water and enough flour for a sponge (puffy soft starter dough) - about 3-4 c flour for this amount of liquid - and beat well. Let stand, covered in warm spot.
• Place in medium saucepan: 2 c warm milk, 3 sticks (1 1/2c) butter or margarine (or half and half shortening and butter), 1/2 c white sugar, 1/4 c salt. Warm on medium heat just until the margarine starts to melt and the sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly.
• Stir together in bowl containing the 'sponge,' mixing well and adding 4-6 more cups of flour to make a medium-soft smooth elastic dough. Knead flour in on floured surface once you can no longer mix it in with a wooden spoon.
• Grease the bowl and top of dough and let rise til doubled, about 2 hours or so, covered with a tea towel.
• When dough is ready, turn out on to floured surface and let rest, covered with a tea towel for about 10 minutes. Then pinch off (or cut with serrated knife) pieces of dough that you can roll into balls which are about the size of a small egg (equal to the size of 2 walnuts). Use a cupped hand to roll the dough against the palm of your other hand or a floured surface to make smooth balls. When you make enough base pieces, make balls about half that size for the top buns. Press gently together (don't worry if they fall to the side when rising - mine always do).

You can  use a greased cookie sheet:

Little buns - not perfect but sweet all the same

Or greased miniature muffin tins (or both):

A bevy of finished zwieback baked in mini muffin tins

• Let rise for approximately an hour and bake in 350-375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until a light golden brown.
• Cool on a covered surface (I usually reuse the tea towels) and then pull apart the top from the bottom and enjoy with a bit of butter and/or jam.

Next recipe: apple buns.

Not-So-Decadent Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

I adapted recipes for this pie, coming up with a version to suit my love for cheesecake and my husband's ambivalence toward it ("I am not eating anything with cheese and cake in the same title!") Guess what - he did and he liked it too! This pie is 'not so decadent' because it's made with no-fat cream cheese, and a mixture of evaporated milk and water rather than whole milk. I made my own pumpkin mixture by scraping and baking a pumpkin - which was an experience all its own - so that cut out the extras that you get in packaged pumpkin. It allowed me to use MY amount of sugar and spices, and definitely allowed me to control the amount of fat in the pie. I like that, too and boy is this ever tasty!.

Not-So-Decadent Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients

• 1 graham wafer crust
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 - 2 tsp ground ginger
• 8 ounces no or low fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs (you may substitute Egg Beaters if you want less calories)
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk and water mixed half and half
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-ounces can) or *you can make your own*

Preparation

1. Make graham wafer crumb crust according to package directions, or use purchased crust.
2. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
3. Using a blender, mix sugar and ginger until smooth. Add eggs, milk, flour, nutmeg, and salt and blend until just combined.
4. Reserve 2/3 cup cream cheese mixture in a glass measuring cup. Whisk together remaining 1 1/3 cups cream cheese mixture and pumpkin in a large bowl until combined.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture into graham wafer crumb crust. Stir reserved cream cheese mixture (in glass measure) and drizzle decoratively over top of pumpkin mixture, then, if desired, swirl with back of a spoon.
6. Put pie on a baking sheet and bake until center is just set, 35 to 45 minutes. Test for dullness poking knife into center of pie, baking until it comes out clean. 
7. Transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. IF DESIRED, lightly drizzle with caramel and chocolate topping to create a swirl then chill, loosely covered with foil or disposable plastic lid from commercial pie crust, at least 4 hours. If chilled overnight the caramel and chocolate will slightly soak into the pie, giving it more flavor. If necessary, very gently blot any moisture from surface with paper towels before drizzling with toppings.

* To make your own pumpkin mash, wash and dry pumpkin and cut in half, removing stem and cleaning out seeds and strings. Scrape well. Cut pumpkin into squares. Place shell-side-down in baking dish with a bit of water and bake at 350 degrees F until pumpkin is soft (about half an hour). Let cool slightly before scraping the flesh from the shell. Mash and use as canned pumpkin.

Countdown to Christmas Recipe 1: Snowman Cupcakes

I am on a quest to find the cutest and most tasty Holiday treats for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Today's sweet Snowman cupcakes comes from allyou.com, and I absolutely love them! 

Snowman Cupcakes from allyou.com

Ingredients:

• 12 cupcakes, baked in colored foil liners, cooled
• 1/4 cup each red and green decorating sugar
• 24 mini vanilla wafers
• 1 can (16 oz.) vanilla frosting
• 4 orange fruit slices
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate frosting
• 1 cup white decorating sugar
• 6 each red and green licorice twists
• 24 pink large sprinkles
• 24 mini brown M&M’s

Directions:

1. Place the red and green sugars in separate shallow bowls. Spread a thin layer of vanilla frosting on top of the mini vanilla wafers to cover. Press the top of 12 wafers into the red sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining 12 wafers and press into the green sugar. Set aside.

2. Cut 12 1-inch triangles from the orange slices to make the noses. Spoon the dark chocolate frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Spoon 1/4 cup of the vanilla frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Place the white decorating sugar in a shallow bowl. Spread the remaining frosting on top of cupcakes and make a smooth mound. Roll the tops of the frosted cupcakes into the white sugar to cover completely.

3. Add the cut orange candy as the nose in the center of the cupcake. Add the chocolate candies as the eyes. Snip a very small corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting and pipe a mouth. Add the pink sprinkles as cheeks.

4. Cut the licorice twists into 12 6-inch lengths for the bands of the earmuffs. Insert the 2 cut ends into either side of the cupcake for the headband. Snip a small corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting on either side where the licorice enters the cupcake. Add the like colored vanilla wafers as the muffs. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.