Fresh Radishes with Dill Butter and Sea Salt
Sometimes the simplest of foods are the most satisfying. These fresh Radishes with Dill Butter and Sea Salt are the perfect example. Delicious and peppery radishes straight from the farmer’s market combined with a homemade compound butter and a coarse salt…so easy, yet so tasty. What more is there to say?
Radishes with Dill Butter and Sea Salt Recipe Continue reading
I kick off this new topic of my website by sharing one of my favorite interests (call it a hobby or maybe even an obsession)…Genealogy. Years ago, I became simply entranced by the idea of getting to know my ancestors. Growing up, my immediate family was, and still is, very close. Outside of my nuclear family there seem to be differing degrees of closeness. As a child, I spent time with my mother’s family but distance kept us apart. Unfortunately, I spent only a few years with my father’s parents before my grandmother and grandfather passed away. My sisters spent almost no time with their paternal grandparents. As an adult, I became more interested in getting to know my grandparents and their ancestors, and gradually I became my small family’s “historian”.
Notice I mentioned above that my family is small? With my perception that I could count my known family on my fingers and toes, I was convinced that my family search would be quick and painless. Boy was I wrong! So far I have researched (quite thoroughly I might add) and found almost 1,000 ancestors and living family members. I have talked with family I never knew existed! I have pieced together my ancestor’s lives through pictures, census records, family stories, newspaper archives, and historical publications. I have discovered that I am really good at research (a big plus for researching your family history) and that my family wanted to be remembered.
My Fourth Great Grandfather, Joseph J. Klinker's Resting Place; b. 1799, d. 1851, Buried in the beautifully quaint Mayfield Cemetery, Ohio
One way to learn more about my family is to educate myself on the lives they led. I can do this by learning about the events of their time…historical happenings and major events. However, I also want to learn about them through food, an obvious connection to my love for cooking. My family has recipes that have been passed down through the generations. I want to share those. There are also recipes that were specific to certain geographic locations, cultures, and historical timeframes. I want to share those too. What about your family’s recipes and memories? I would love to share them as well! Email me here to give voice to your family’s favorite meals and in remembrance of your family history.
Watch out for my first family recipe this week. I can’t wait to kick off this new and exciting way of cooking for the family!
Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Phyllo Tarts
Need a quick and easy yet elegant appetizer this December? These Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlets are your answer! A few ingredients and some help from pre-made phyllo tarts make these bite size appetizers speedy, simple, and scrumptious.
I was planning my contributions to a big family dinner recently and decided that I was tired of the pre-dinner starvation ritual that we all go through. You know it…about four hours before the big dinner, people start hovering in the kitchen, begging for something to hold them over. Everyone was “smart” and decided to forego lunch in preparation for the gluttony to come for dinner. No one thought about how hungry they would be while they waited on the big meal. My response at this meal? Here…have a Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlet. They were a big success but were gone way too quickly!
Note: If you are feeling ambitious, make your own phyllo tarts with phyllo sheets, butter and a mini muffin tin. Just cut small squares of phyllo, layer two or three decoratively in the mini muffin tins with butter brushed on each in between. Bake until golden brown. Done.
Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlet Recipe Continue reading
Grilled Maple and Mustard Glazed Ham Steak
Do you ever crave a big home cooked meal but you have no big family meal planned for weeks? Sometimes I want a turkey, roast beef or ham dinner but the extended family is nowhere to be seen. A single ham steak is a perfect way to solve this little problem.
When I think of a thick slice of perfectly cooked ham, I automatically think of a sweet and slightly tangy glaze. For this particular meal, I wanted maple syrup as my sweet so I decided to combine it with dijon mustard and a grill. The glaze is a perfect complement to the smoky flavor of the grilled ham and fed my home cooked meal craving without all of the big meal fuss. Perfect! And the leftover sandwiches make this feel so homey!
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Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
So, I have been recovering from an unexpected surgery for the last two weeks. I won’t bore you with the details but I will say that soup has been a frequent staple in my house of late. Ramen noodle soup, split pea soup, french onion soup, soup, soup, soup. I have soup coming out of my pores!
One soup that is worth the effort every single time is a homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. And when I say homemade, it must be 100% completely from scratch. No canned or boxed broth or stock here (althouth it is a reasonable substitute every once in a while). This Chicken Noodle Soup starts with a homemade chicken broth, a whole chicken, and lots of soupy type (my technical jargon) veggies. You are absolutely going to love this soup whether you are nursing an illness or just craving some truly comforting winter food!
Homemade Chicken Broth and Chicken Noodle Soup Recipes Continue reading
Bacon Country Gravy
Biscuits and gravy is one of my favorite breakfasts. Every weekend, I wake up wondering what I can make and biscuits smothered with a country white gravy always comes to mind. If you aren’t up for making your own biscuits, you can keep some frozen biscuits in your freezer at all times. Although, I have to tell you that biscuits are so easy to make…see my homemade biscuits recipe here.
Back to Bacon Country Gravy. I don’t always keep sausage in the house but I usually have bacon in the fridge or freezer. So one day I woke up and I was craving biscuits and gravy and found bacon. I imagined what the gravy would taste like cooked in the same pan as the bacon and voila…YUMMY! Give this delicious Bacon Country Gravy a try this coming weekend!
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Pumpkin Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Today is the final day of Pumpkin Week! And today I highlight my favorite recipe of all – Pumpkin Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. I have to tell you, these cupcakes are quite delicious. They are mild in pumpkin flavor with some great orange background. They are moist and addictive! But then you add the cream cheese frosting and they become heavenly.
I made one batch in the regular sized muffin tin. When I frosted these cupcakes, I pushed the frosting tip down into the middle of the cupcake and stuffed the cupcake with the frosting. One word…WOW! Then I made the rest in a mini-muffin tin.The mini-cupcakes were so easy to scarf down…just walk through the kitchen and grab a mini. When a cupcake is that small, it has no calories…right?
Pumpkin Orange Cupcake stuffed with Cream Cheese Frosting
I hope you enjoyed Pumpkin Week! My goal was to create recipes that rose above the familiar pumpkin pie (nothing wrong with a pumpkin pie…I just wanted more out of a pumpkin). I found pumpkin was perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then of course dessert. I hope you enjoy every pumpkin recipe we explored this week. I would love to hear how you use pumpkin! What unique pumpkin recipes would you recommend?
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Pumpkin Apple Pancakes
It is day four of Pumpkin Week and still no pumpkin pie! Today I am focusing on breakfast. Pumpkin makes such a great addition to pancakes and waffles. I was craving that homey feel of a delicious pancake breakfast and that is exactly what I got. Mixing the pumpkin with some apple juice and apple sauce gives the pancakes a real autumn feel as well. Add some real maple syrup and you have the perfect weekend breakfast. It’s Thursday so pick up the ingredients and prepare yourself for a big breakfast this weekend!
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Goat Cheese and Pomegranate Seed Green Salad with Roasted Pumpkin Croutons and Honey Pomegranate Dressing
Day three of pumpkin week is devoted to the savory side of pumpkin. Let’s be real…many of us never venture past the sweet pumpkin desserts to the delicious savory dishes that can be so unique and tasty. This dish is just that…unique and tasty. The Honey Pomegranate Dressing is tart but turns sweet when you combine it with the goat cheese. The pomegranate seeds are so colorful and beautiful to look at, then you get the tart taste and satisfying crunch when you bite into them.
Then there are the pumpkin croutons. At first I was going to just top the salad with roasted pumpkin. This would have been perfectly delicious. But I decided that the salad needed an extra punch. Cooking the roasted pumpkin a second time gave them that crouton like feel and really gave the salad a wow factor. Tossing the pumpkin in brown sugar right after they come out of the hot oil…only one word will suffice…YUM!
Give this salad a try before pumpkins are gone from the supermarket shelves again!
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Pumpkin Whoopee Pies with Maple Cream Filling
It is day two of my pumpkin exploration! My one and only objective is…No Pumpkin Pie! Today’s dessert not only gives me a new way to use pumpkin, but it also gives me an excuse to eat a creamy filling. It could be whipped cream, mousse, or in this case a Maple Cream Filling, but if it’s creamy I am all over it. My brain tells me to run the other way in an effort to protect my naturally curvy (such a nice way to say it!) hips while my heart and taste buds beat down my brain in a fight club style epic event. My brain rarely wins.
These Pumpkin Whoopee Pies with Maple Cream Filling have all of the aspects of a delicious dessert without any fuss. There is a cake-like cookie, the pumpkin taste that is so seasonal and comforting, and then the creamy, maple filling. Enjoy!
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