My New Favorite Rice

As if the tremendous number of cookbooks I already own isn't enough, I have purchased yet another one. We will see in the weeks to come if the "new" Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook is in fact the ultimate.

Sadly though, this recipe comes from and old 1995 or '96 issue of Southern Living that I have moved 3 times and finally disposed of after removing any helpful information. This issue and many others were finally harvested a few weeks ago. This recipe is wonderful and wonderfully easy. You can make so many versions by changing one thing or another, but the basic recipe is GREAT. Try it. The rice doesn't even stick to the pan!!



Good Luck!

Catching up in the Kitchen

This past weekend, Mark took Sam, Sophie and Wilson to his nephew's wedding where they all had a part in the ceremony. While they were away, Claire and I spent some quiet time together. We also spent way too much time watching the Food Network. I have two recommendations after our initial efforts in the kitchen.

The first is from The Barefoot Contessa for Panzanella. This was a WONDERFUL salad that makes use of so many of the fresh veggies available in the summer garden. I did have to make two modifications: I used regular mustard since I just gave my jar of Dijon Mustard to my Mom, and I didn't add the capers. But it was delicious non-the-less.

The second recipe comes from this month's issue of Southern Living Magazine and is found on page 186, Mississippi Mudd Cookies. The cookies were slightly easier than traditional Mississippi Mudd to make, and I like to think maybe they weren't as bad for me. If you prefer the traditional Mississippi Mudd Cake, it's in the same article in the magazine. This issue of Southern Living proves better than most of their Idea House issues in the past. Typically, the Idea House issues pay inadequate attention to the recipe and food section of the magazine. This one was surprisingly good, despite the lesser number of recipes included. This recipe, and the others in this particular article, might even be worth purchasing your own copy of the magazine.

Happy Cooking!!

Baby must be near....

Well, we must be getting close to an arrival soon. While Mark had the children at the pool this afternoon, I took a two hour nap. WOW! Where did that come from. Then this evening I rearranged the freezer and made a coffee cake for in the morning. Hopefully, someone will get to eat it in the morning.

I used one of my favorite recipes for this coffee cake. I realized when putting it together that I haven't made it in over a year. Where has the time gone?? The recipe is from Southern Living Magazine; I think it was February 1998. It's an easy bake and tastes great!

Raspberry-Cheese Coffee Cake
1 (8 oz) package Crm Cheese (softened)
1/2 C butter or Marg (softened)
1 C Sugar
2 Lg Eggs
1/4 C Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 C Seedless Raspberry Preserves
3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

Beat first three ingredients at medium speed witha n electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

Combine flour and next three ingredients; add to cream cheese mixture, beating at low speed until well blended. Spread batter into a greased and floured 13x9-inch pan. Dollop with preserves, swirl wih a knife.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake begins to leave sides of pan. Cool slightly, and sprinkle with pwedered sugar. Cut into squares.

Yield: 12 to 15 servings

Cooking the Norwegian Way

This week's recipe comes from a library book Sam picked out at the local library. Why Norway? Who knows.



This is Sam making me a surprise. They would have been gingerbread cookies, but Sam doesn't like ginger. So, instead they were more spice cookie or molasses cookie. It was a boy project. Sam, Mark and Wilson made the cookies, rolled the dough and cut them out. We even had some left over dough so that we can make a few more this weekend. And, they made them wheat-free so that Sam could eat them as well. Sophie and I didn't have to do any work. We just got to taste the fruits of their efforts. They were delicious!

Easy Dessert

No picture this time. Somehow, we ate the pie before we could take a photo. All I have is a picture of me stirring. This is also actually last week's recipe - oops.

Greenville Chocolate Chess Pie
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 stick margarine melted
6 oz. Evaporated Milk
1 & 1/2 C sugar

I prebaked my pie shell for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees while you finish the recipe. Here it is: Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the pie shell. Bake one hour at 325 degrees. Make sure the pie is set before you take it out of the oven. Nothing's worse than a runny pie.

The guts of this recipe come from the CAROLINA COOKING pamphlet (64 pgs.) It can be found on page 52. I did alter a few things, but the majority of the recipe remains the same. You can have this ready to serve in time for dinner!! I did.

Banana Pudding Pie

This week's creation comes from the current issue of Southern Living Magazine. Currently on the shelves, you can probably find it at the local grocery. I don't know how I'll get through all the books on my shelves if I keep reading the magazines!!

Anyway, this is BANANA PUDDING PIE. It is featured on the cover and on page 118 inside the magazine. Although the recipe has a couple of distinct steps (crust preparation, pudding preparation, and pie assembly), I didn't find it too terribly difficult to navigate. In fact, you could easily make the pie crust a day or two a head of time. A word to the wise, if you are planning to eat the pie the same day, you'll need to be working on it mid to late-morning. After the pie is assembled, it cooks for abou 12 minutes, then cools for an hour, then chills for at least four hours. I found this information at the end and so Mark was VERY disappointed that he didn't get to eat it last night.

It's quite tasty. So, if you like banana pudding, this is right up your alley.

Spinach .... yum

This week's recipe didn't actually come from one of my books on hand - shocking! I had a chance to sit down on Monday evening and caught a little bit of Emeril Live. Emeril had a few really good looking items on the table that night, including a delicious looking 48 oz. Bone-In Ribeye. So, for Valentine's Day, I decided to try the Cremed Spinach recipe.

I started with a large bag of fresh spinach. This really cooks down, so it's hard to get too much. Instead of boiling or steaming the spinach, I sauted it in a couple tablespoons of Olive Oil and a dash of salt. It only took a couple of minutes. While the spinach is cooking, take 2 Tbsp of corn starch and dissolve it in about a cup of half-n-half. Then place cream mixture in a pan over low heat. As the mixture heats, it will thicken rapidly. When thickened, quickly add 1/4 cup shredded cheddar and a 1/2 cup parmesean cheese. Toss cooked spinach in the cheese sauce and place in a casserole dish. Top with a little extra shredded cheese and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so. Yum!!

Note, if the cheese sauce is too thick for you, add a little extra milk while over a low heat and thin the sauce to your desired thickness. Then proceed to add the spinach and go from there. Good Luck!!

Muffin Madness

Southern Living
1995 Annual Recipes
Granola Muffins
Page 78

This week's Recipe Challenge choice comes from an old standby. I used my aunt's homemade Golden Raisin Granola in the recipe and tried the new silicon muffin cups from my sister-in-law. These muffins were incredibly tasty and the muffin cups worked great, as long as we let them cool enough first. The only change I made in the recipe had to do with the baking mix they recommended. The recipe calls for "reduced fat" baking mix, and I just had regular. So, regular fat-filled granola muffins is what we ate!

1 1/2 C reduced fat biscuit and baking mix
1 C firmly packed brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1 C oat granola
1/2 C raisins (I used golden.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup skim milk
1 T vegetable oil
vegetable cooking spray (or silicon baking cups)

Combine first three ingredients in bowl; stir in cereal and raisins. Set aside.

Combine egg, milk, and oil; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Makes a thin batter.

Coat muffin cups with cooking spray( do not spray silicon cups); spoon batter into cups, filling 3/4 full.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Yields about 16 muffins.

Great Greens

Well, I'm a little late with last week's recipe trial. That's understandable considering all the activity we've had around here with two birthdays and a house full of visitors. Last week's recipe started in America's Best Recipes (A 1990 Hometown Collection) published by Oxmoor House. It's called Herbed Buttermilk Dressing, and was quickly adapted due to necessity. The original recipe called for one spice we didn't have on hand, as well as blue cheese crumbles. So, leaving both of those items out I created a new Herbed Buttermilk Dressing. Try it out.

1 C Buttermilk
2T instant minced onion
2T chopped parsley
1/4t dried basil
1/4t dried whole rosemary
1/4t dried whole oregano
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 C Mayo
1/2 C Salad Dressing
Salt-n-Pepper to taste

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well and let stand for 5 minutes. Add Mayo and Salad Dressing; stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill thoroughly. Serve over your favorite salad greens. Add tomatoes to the greens for extra color and taste. Yield about 2 2/3 cups.

Let me know what you think!

And we're off...

So ... last night was the first official night of weekly recipe testing. It appears to have been a success. This baby I'm having seems to have a craving for Chinese food. Last night's fare consisted of Sweet and Sour Chicken served over brown rice, and Pork Fried Rice. Wilson wasn't too keen on the pineapple in the chicken dish, but once he removed those offending items he cleaned his plate. Sophie liked it all. And of course, Sam preferred the chicken alone and a huge pile of rice. Mark was pleased and gave consent for me to continue this little experiment. Overall, I'd have to give the meal an 8.5 out of 10. Bear in mind, it takes a lot to score a 10 around here.

Sweet & Sour Chicken in the FIX IT AND FORGET IT COOKBOOK
pg. 177
NOTE: To have a more traditional sauce, drain the pineapple before adding it to the sauce. Also, in Step 1, liberally apply the 2Tbsp of quick-cooking tapioca. Maybe even add 2 1/2 or 3 Tbsp instead.

Fried Rice, modified from the SOUTHERN LIVING COOKBOOK
Egg Fried Rice recipe, pg. 344
NOTE: I marinated about 1/2 lb. lean pork in 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger and 1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce. I cooked the pork in the oil prior to adding the veggies called for in the recipe. I finished up as called for in the book.

Now I'll be looking for some likely recipe candidates for next week!

What's for Dinner?

This is just the tip of the ice berg. On three other shelves in another room, there must be twenty Southern Living Annual Cookbooks, in addition to all the other Christmas cookbooks, books by Martha Stewart, clippings from newspapers and magazines, cook books from church organizations and Junior Leagues all over the United States. I've lost count. I've read them for entertainment and used many of them. I do have some I favor more than others. The original Southern Living Cookbook, which was a wedding gift, has been a long time favorite. So, what to do with them all?

This year I've decided to try a new recipe each week. I've done this before, but I'm adding a twist. I'm going to try to make at least one recipe from each book I have. This could prove to be quite a challenge since we're expecting our fouth child, and the three we have don't all like the same things - of course. Anyway, it should be a fun endeavor. I'll try to keep up with posting the best and the worst of the experiment. Happy Cooking!