Holidays and a Baking Business on the Side

Ok!  I know its been awhile since my last post but things have been crazy busy.  

We had a marvelous Thanksgiving celebrating with friends this year.  We were unable to travel to Tennessee to visit my family and Jeff's mom was working all weekend so we decided to have a Thanksgiving at our house with all the fixins' and some new twists on old favorites to accommodate the dairy allergies.  We ended up having two other families join us, one that we do things with fairly regularly and the other was the family of one of William's classmates.  We had such a fun time and the dining table was packed.

The friday after Thanksgiving, we decorated our house for Christmas.  Tyler had been waiting all week because he wanted to see his stocking.  The wait was over.  After a full day of decorating the house was finally finished.  I even wrapped our Christmas presents and got them under the tree.  This is the first year in a long time that I have everything ready this far in advance.

Soooo....I have decided (along with a dear friend) to do some Christmas baking.  I always love baking and although I still have mine to do I have decided to offer a baking service to those in the KC area or those visiting the KC area they may not have the time but would really like some homemade goodies.

Here is the list of things I will be baking and if you want we can even put them in your pie plates and you can take all the credit.  Email me if you are interested and feel free to share with your friends.

Click on the image to the left to see a larger version (easier to read or print).

Flank Steak...It's What's for Dinner

I know it has been awhile since I posted last and I apologize.  Today I decided to go for a meat and potatoes menu.  I have had several sweets lately so I thought it was time to change things up a bit.  I have to admit that this meal is a favorite of many who have gathered around our table and it is such an easy meal to pull together but is best if the meat can marinade overnight.

I love to cook with Bourbon.  I am not sure if it is because I was born in Kentucky or not but regardless there is nothing better than Derby Pie and Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak.  Here is my recipe for Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak and a favorite side of Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes

Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes from Cooking Light September '03

Steak:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup minced green onions

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 (2-pound) flank steak, trimmed

Potatoes:

3 pounds small red potatoes

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

To prepare steak, combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top bag; add steak.  Seal and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.  Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade.

Prepare Grill or broiler.  (I prefer the grill but do broil in the wintertime.

Place steak on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Cut diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Combine reserved marinade and 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

To prepare potatoes, place potatoes and garlic in a large pot, cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer 30 minutes or until tender.  Drain.

Return potatoes and garlic to pan.  Add sour cream, milk, butter, salt and pepper.  Mash potato mixture to desired consistency.  Stir in chopped chives.

Serve steak on potatoes and drizzle sauce over steak.

If I am creative I will take a picture tonight to post.  Hope you enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie or just Pumpkin in General

Nothing says fall more than pumpkins.  I am a sucker for pumpkin and until I have had my Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Spice donuts from Krispy Kreme and homemade pumpkin pie it just seems like something is missing.  So far I have had two of the 3 and will probably be visiting Krispy Kreme sometime in the near future.  However, for those in the Kansas City area, you really must go and get a Pumpkin Pie concrete at Sheridan's what is better than a piece of pie and vanilla frozen custard?  This probably should be added to my list of fall activities but I don't really want to admit how addicted to these items I can be.

This year I made my pumpkin pie a little earlier than Thanksgiving.  To be honest I never understood why we don't make it more often.  It is easy and delicious.  This time however I did mix things up a bit.  Instead of topping it with my normal whipped cream (it is homemade but that is a completely different story) I topped it with chocolate whipped cream.  It was wonderful.  The chocolate whipped cream had just a hint of cocoa in it but I have got to tell you pumpkin and chocolate are delicious together.

So here is my recipe for Pumpkin Pie...

Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk and pour in an unbaked pie shell.  Cook in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Turn oven down to 350 and cook and additional 40-50 minutes or until pie is set.  Cool on rack.  Top with whipped cream.

Chocolate Whipped Cream

Whip heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Add a couple of tablespoons confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon vanilla whip until combined.  Adjust sugar and cocoa powder to your tastes.  (This is also delicious on hot chocolate.)

Hope you enjoy and don't wait until Thanksgiving to try this yummy pie.

Fall Weather calls for Hearty Soup

Last week I received a flyer from Honey Baked Ham advertising their hams for the holidays and some bean soups.  I have been waiting for just the right time and today was the day.  Instead of going to Honey Baked Ham and forking over a pretty penny for their ham bone I remembered last Christmas I wrapped my ham bone and threw it in the bottom of the abyss of our chest freezer.  I don't know why I did it because I hardly ever cook with them but Beth, my mother in law told me it would be great in soups, so I did it.  I have to say that tonight after finishing off my second bowl of soup I was extremely glad she told me to save the bone.  On a side note although I was cheap and used the ham bone from my freezer I did call my dad and told him he needed to make the soup so he will be at Honey Baked Ham in the next few days so they are receiving a benefit from sending me the flyer.  Well for those that want to make a delicious soup and a very economical meal (even if you go to Honey Baked Ham) here is my recipe.

Dinah's Bean Soup

1 pound dried navy beans (I do the quick soak method on the bag).

1/2 - 1 cup onion

olive oil

ham bone

1 quart chicken broth (I use Pacific Natural Foods free range chicken broth)

water

After soaking the beans rinse and drain them.  Then in your stock pot add some olive oil (1-2 tblsp.) and saute your onion.  When the onion is getting soft add your beans back to the pot and add you chicken broth, about 2 cups of water and your ham bone.  I didn't add any other seasoning but feel free to add for your taste.  Now all I did was simmer it for 4-5 hours.  Before serving take out the ham bone and shred any meat and add back into the soup.

We served this with corn muffins and it was delicious and filling.

Enjoy!

Second Catering Gig

Ok so last Thursday I cooked dinner for 50 people.  These 50 people were not just my closest friends but the Board of Trustees for Nazarene Theological Seminary.  I know my food is good but when you are cooking for your husband's bosses and the board you can get a little nervous.  Fortunately, everything turned out fine.  I actually got rave reviews and most people even went back for seconds.

So what did I cook?  Well here is the menu.

Pulled Pork

Dad's Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Southern Green Beans

Slaw

Cooked Apples

Carrot Cake

Texas Cookie Sheet Cake

Key Lime Pie

Everyone wanted to know how I do my pork so I am almost embarrassed to tell you but here is the recipe.  

Pork Loins seasoned liberally with salt and pepper.  Make sure you rub the salt and pepper in then stick it in a crock pot or covered roasting pan with 1 cup of water and cook all day on low.  You cook it until it falls apart.  It is delicious and I am not the only one who says this.

So all of this to say I am now contemplating doing lunches once a week for faculty members.  I am still playing around with the idea but it may be in the future.

If you want any of the other recipes from my catering please email me.  I will be happy to share.

First time blogging.

Ok so I was looking for some menu ideas of a dinner party I am catering next week and found a blog that I fell in love with.  It is a mom in Canada and I think we could have been twins separated at birth.  It has been so fun to read her blog so I thought I would start my own blog to share with my friends.  I love to share with friends what is going on and since my life has gotten busier with William being in school I thought this might be a fun avenue to stay in touch.  I would love your feedback.

My plan is just to share some fun stories of what is going on and also to share some new recipes that I am trying out.

So with Kansas City's unusually cool weather I have been feeling the need for some more hearty recipes and also the need to bake more.  I have a long list of new recipes to try and unfortunately some that I have tried have been awful but the baking must go on.

I will have to try some of the recipes again before I post them but I did want to share a recipe for the most amazing brownies that I made last night.  I don't want to talk about how many times I kept going back for another taste.

Hope you enjoy them as much as Jeff and I have.

Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies 

- recipe from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons finely ground instant espresso

2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper.  Butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.  Place the pan on a baking sheet.  (I just sprayed mine and they turned out fine.)

Whisk the flour, cinnamon, and salt together.

Put the butter in a medium saucepan and place the pan over low heat.  When the butter starts to melt, sift the cocoa over it and add the instant espresso.  Continue to cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and the cocoa and espresso are blended into it.  Remove from the heat and cool for about 3 minutes.

Using a whisk or rubber spatula, beat the eggs into the saucepan one at a time.  Next, stir in the sugar and vanilla (don't beat anything too-vigorously - you don't want to add air to the batter), followed by the dry ingredients, nuts, and chopped chocolate.  Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, at which point the brownies will still be gooey but the top will have a dry papery crust.  Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the paper and invert onto a cutting board.  Cool completely before cutting.

I did not wait until they were cool and I think they were delicious.  Hope you enjoy them.