Mosaic Monday - Cookies!

Joining in with Mary from the Little Red House for another Mosaic Monday. Check out the Little Red House for lots more fun mosaics from some very talented people!

There's always a load of leftover bananas here and how many banana breads can you post about? So I googled and ended up with Banana Bread cookies that I found at Buns in my Oven, hers looked so good, I couldn't resist. They actually turned out great and I didn't burn a pot holder, a cookie or myself this time. This one's a keeper!






I pretty much followed the recipe, except I added walnuts and left out the cloves. Surprised myself that I could actually bake! Mr. Griller helped. He had the first taste!
























Banana Bread Cookies
Source: adapted from Buns in my Oven (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of your mixer cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon to the creamed mixture and mix well. Mix in the bananas, oats, walnuts and chocolate chips until well incorporated. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.



and last but not least...
Why are bananas never lonely?
Because they hang around in bunches.

Go ahead and groan!

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Flashback Friday - Cocktail Party

Flashback Friday! I'm joining Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet for another flashback! A while back I took a couple of cooking classes with some friends. Girls night out. So much fun. These were from the Cocktail Party class. Even better than a cooking class with cocktails is a cooking class with cocktails and a pregnant lady who can't drink so you can have her cocktail, too! I nodded out for dessert but these are so worth repeating...

Spicy Vanilla Pecans
source: Viking Cooking School - Cocktail Party 2006
Printable Recipe
Makes 1 pound

1 (4-inch) vanilla bean
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more!)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 quarts water
1 pound pecan halves
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil (grapeseed or canola)

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

For the seasoning mixture: Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into a small bowl. Add the salt, cayenne, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, stirring to combine. Set aside until needed.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the pecans and boil for 1 minute. Drain the nuts well; immediately place them in a bowl and toss with the sugar and oil. Let the sugar-coated nuts stand for 10 minutes.

Arrange the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, turning every 5 to 10 minutes until the nuts are light brown and very crisp. Remove from the oven.

While the pecans are still very hot, place them in a clean bowl and toss with the seasoning mixture. Spread in a single layer to cool.

Serving Suggestion: These nuts are delicious served by themselves as a snack or served over ice cream with caramel sauce. Great for gift-giving!

Make It Ahead: The pecans may be prepared up to one week in advance and stored in an airtight container.

Variation: Substitute walnut halves for the pecans.


Cobb Salad in Endive Spears
source: Viking Cooking School - Cocktail Party 2006
Printable Recipe

1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, cooled, and crumbled
2 ounces chicken or turkey breast, finely diced
1/2 small avocado, peeled and finely chopped
1 small ripe, red tomato, seeded and finely diced, divided
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 2 heads endive, separated into spears

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

For the Salad: In a medium mixing bowl, gently toss together the blue cheese, bacon, chicken, avocado, and half of the diced tomatoes. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream and mayonnaise.

Gently fold the mayonnaise mixture into the chicken mixture, then season to taste with salt and pepper; chill at least 1 hour before serving.

To Assemble: Arrange the endive spears on a platter. Spoon a small amount of salad into each spear, then sprinkle with the remaining tomatoes and the chopped parsley; serve immediately.

Note: Have your deli cut a thick, 2-ounce slice of turkey or chicken breast for you; when you are ready to make the recipe, simply dice that slice.


Pomegranate Martini
source: Viking Cooking School - Cocktail Party 2006
Printable Recipe
4-6 servings

1 wedge of lime, for moistening rims of glasses
sanding sugar for garnishing rims of the martini glasses
pomegranate seeds for garnish
2 cups cracked ice
8 ounces (1 cup) chilled vodka
4 ounces (1/2 cup) Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
3 ounces Pomegranate syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
orange twists, for garnish

Moisten the rim of each chilled glass with a wedge of lime; gently press the rim of the glass into the sanding sugar. Drop a few pomegranate seeds into the bottom of each glass.

Fill a metal cocktail shaker with cracked ice; place the top back on the shaker and shake for about 15 seconds. Add the vodka, Triple Sec, pomegranate syrup and lime juice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain the drink into the prepared glasses, garnish with an orange twist and serve immediately.

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Mosaic Monday! Mosaic of a mosaic?

Joining in on Mosaic Monday with Mary at The Little Red House. Check out the Little Red House for many more fun mosaics!



This time I came up with a mosaic of a mosaic. Many mosaics actually!

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Frickin' Chicken or Chicken Fricassee with Mini Meatballs!

I make this one every year for the Jewish holidays! It's one of those comfort dishes, doesn't look pretty but it tastes out of this world. A nice huge slice of Challah to soak up the sauce. It was on my grandma's table for every holiday. Chicken Fricassee, Potted Chicken and Meatballs, or as my friend Woodie called it when I once posted the recipe on a forum, Frickin Chicken! Whatever you call it, it has to be on our table every holiday. I couldn't find my grandmother's recipe, probably because she never wrote that one down, so when she passed away, I sat in my friend's mother's kitchen one afternoon, she also never wrote it down, and I watched her. and I wrote, and I watched and I wrote, and I pretty much got it. My grandma used bay leaves and a load of garlic and spice, Syd did not. I have a neighbor who makes teeny, tiny matzoh balls in hers, makes it a little like dumplings, I guess! This is the kind of recipe you make your own! I got this recipe from my friend Cindy's mother, trying to duplicate my grandmother's. Only now I made it mine.

Chicken Fricassee with Meatballs
Source: originally from Syd, Cindy's mother
Printable Recipe

This another recipe using approximates. I usually use a large package of wings, with about 20 wings in a pack. Use more or less of whatever you want, it's to taste.

giblets (liver, gizzards, neck) You can omit if you want but it adds great flavor!
chicken wings (cut at joints, chuck out the tip part or save it to make in a soup) or drumettes
2 pounds chopped meat
2 onions, chopped
2 eggs
pepper
salt (optional)
1/3 cup matzoh meal (you can use bread crumbs if you want to)
garlic powder
ketchup
paprika

Brown the giblets and wings with onions in a big pot with a little bit of oil, add some salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped meat, eggs, matzoh meal, some ketchup, a little water, a little garlic powder and pepper. Make little teeny, tiny meatballs. Add them to the pot on top of the browned wings, one layer at a time, so they don't get squished. Add some ketchup, some paprika and garlic powder to sauce. Simmer for a few hours. Check the sauce to see if it needs more ketchup, garlic, pepper or salt.

My notes: It’s all approximate. I use a regular package of chopped meat, probably about a 1/3 to a 1/2 bottle of ketchup. We like Heinz. The regular size bottle, not the humongous size. Probably a couple teaspoons of garlic powder, about a teaspoon or two of paprika, I throw some salt in, but not too much, plenty of pepper. Use as many or as little wings as you want. You can use chicken parts, too, just cut in small pieces. My grandmother used to add bay leaves. If you want, throw in about two bay leaves.

This one I just knew how to make from watching my grandma in the kitchen. Even my mother the non-cook can make chicken soup. and with the boiled chicken you can add some shredded pieces of the chicken to the soup, along with some egg noodles, or you can get a nice, crusty roll, brown up some onions, slop on some ketchup on the roll and make a boiled chicken sandwich. and there's always chicken salad!


Chicken Soup
Printable Recipe

2 kosher chicken pullets
water to cover
8-10 carrots -- sliced thin
2 leeks -- white part only
1 large onion
2 turnip
2 parsnip
kosher salt and pepper -- to taste
3 celery ribs
2 shallots
bunch of fresh Italian parsley
bunch of fresh dill

Peel and wash the vegetables. Rinse and clean the chickens. Put the chickens in a stock pot with the vegetables, and add enough cold water to cover it all. Bring to a boil. Skim the foam off the top. Lower the heat to medium. Keep it on medium for about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer soup for three hours or more on low heat. The longer it simmers, the better the flavor. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the soup. Keep the carrots and chicken meat. Discard the other vegetables. Pour the soup through a fine mesh strainer. Put the carrots and chicken in a separate container. Skim the fat when it cools. When it's cooled in the frig and it resembles loose jello, then you did great! Doesn't always end up jiggly though. Chicken soup freezes well!

To serve, heat the soup with the carrots and add egg noodles or matzo balls.

The easiest way I have found to make matzoh balls is to have someone else do it! I have a friend, she makes a double recipe for me, and I freeze them for when I need them. Hers are sinkers though. Like lead. but so good. Floaters are good, too. Mine come out a little like both, pieces that float and pieces that sink, never a solid round ball. It's always good to have a nice friend who will make them! Also find a friend who makes great chopped liver as well :) I did! and that's what holiday dinners are all about at our house...
Food, family and friends! Happy and a healthy New Year.

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Mosaic Monday: Jammin'

I'm joining Mary at Little Red House for another fun Mosaic Monday. Please stop by Mary's house for some really fabulous mosaics!


I haven't made homemade preserves in some time but it's definitely time to start again. One of my favorites is Bing Cherry Jam. Almost hot cereal weather here and my favorite is a bowl of steaming Irish Oatmeal with a tablespoon or two of Bing Cherry Jam!







I've never used pectin or sure-jell, I prefer just the fruit. I cook it down a little longer and it usually gels and when it doesn't, it becomes a sauce! The vanilla extract is really easy to make and if you keep topping it off you have it for some time. I have mine a few years already and I just keep adding vodka and vanilla beans. You can use the beans as well, they don't dry out this way!


Cherry Jam
adapted from a SURE-Jell recipe
Printable Recipe

Yields about 6 (1-cup) jars

4 cups prepared fruit (about 3 lb. fully ripe sweet cherries)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.

Stem and pit the cherries. Or do what I do and use pitted frozen ones! Finely chop or grind fruit. Measure 4 cups of the prepared cherries into 6- or 8-qt. pot. Stir in the lemon juice.

Bring to a boil, cook, uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 221F, stirring often. Skim off foam with metal spoon. Remove from heat, stir in almond extract.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)


Raspberry, Peach and Frangelico Jam
Source: Annie and LPinkmountain @ Harvest Forum, CF
Printable Recipe

2 cups raspberries (original recipe had blueberries)
1 cup sugar
2 peaches, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons Frangelico

Put all ingredients in a pan except Frangelico. Cook on high until it boils, then simmer 25 minutes or until thick. Add Frangelico, cook 5 more minutes, ladle into jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace in jars. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes to seal.


Homemade Vanilla Extract
source: Martha Stewart.com
Printable Recipe

Makes 1 cup

2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
1 cup unflavored vodka

Place vanilla beans in a clean jar with lid. Pour vodka over beans, and place lid on jar. Allow to sit in a cool dark place for 3 to 5 months, shaking jar occasionally. Keep topping off the jar with more vodka and add more beans to have a continued supply.

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Better late than never flashback...

Missed Flashback Friday with Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet yesterday, but that's ok, she did, too, LOL! but this one is such a good one I'll post the flashback anyway. Definitely worth repeating, especially if you like bread puddings. This one is from Food & Wine magazine. I made it a while ago and I definitely have this one on the list to make again. It was good, I wouldn't change a thing, maybe a little less heavy on the filling.

Jam and Bread Pudding
source: Food & Wine magazine, recipe by Grace Parisi
Printable Recipe

One 1-pound loaf challah bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons strawberry jam or preserves
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon whole milk or half-and-half
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange half of the challah in the dish; tear the slices to fit. Spread 3/4 cup of the jam on top; cover with the remaining challah.

Whisk the eggs, sugar, 2 1/2 cups of the milk and the vanilla and pour over the challah; press to soak and brush with 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cover with foil and bake for 24 minutes, removing the foil halfway through, until the pudding is set; remove from the oven.

Preheat the broiler. Blend the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk with the confectioners' sugar. Add the remaining butter and jam and stir until the glaze is smooth. Spread all but 1/4 cup of the glaze over the pudding and broil until the glaze is golden. Drizzle the bread pudding with the remaining glaze and serve.

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Topsy-Turvy Coffee Cake

So by now you already know I can't bake too well. but I keep trying. Makes the house smell good, if nothing else! Had a lot of banana's left over again, no one here eats them ripe, and how many banana breads can I make? For some reason that comes out well for me, even when I over bake it, or whatever surprise I throw in, like rum or coconut or chips, still good. Go figure. So I googled. Found a Banana Streusel Coffee Cake from epicurious. Looked easy enough. All's well!

I followed everything. Except sifting. I skipped that. Tell the baking police. I didn't notice a difference and I was happy enough not to forget an important ingredient! I had everything on hand to make this cake. With three briskets in the oven for the holidays coming up, I wasn't leaving the house. Flour. Check. Baking Soda. Check. Brown Sugar. Check. Expired Baking Powder. Check. EXPIRED????? ah, too late everything was in the mixer! It was only off by what, three months?

The recipe called for a square metal baking pan. So of course I used a bundt pan I had for years and never used! Dope I am, I didn't realize it would be baked upside down. It was an obvious thing, but I never pay attention to these things. So all the nice streusel would end up on the bottom of the cake. It did until I turned it over, upside-down. So it looked a little weird being wider on top, but it's not about the looks and it tasted great! Even with expired baking powder. A little sweet, I think less sugar in the cake and the streusel.

I used powdered buttermilk, worked fine. but what do I know? LOL! Baking not much. The family loved it though! and practice makes perfect! It will also make us fatter!

Banana Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel
source: Bon Appétit. January 2003
recipe by Jennifer Martin, Portland, OR
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (about 8 ounces)
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 large)
3 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Stir chocolate chips, brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon in small bowl until well blended; set streusel aside. Sift all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, room temperature butter, and egg in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in mashed bananas and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients and blend well.

Spread half of batter (about 2 cups) in prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with half of streusel. Repeat with remaining batter and streusel. Bake coffee cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool coffee cake in pan on rack.

This is TOPSY...













and this must be TURVY...








See the bottom is the top? or the top is the bottom?

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Roasted Tomato Soup

I have an abundance of tomatoes. No, not from the garden, the 12 I managed to grow this summer are all gone. I had such high hopes, too. Black Krim, Thessaloniki, Supersonic, Carolina Gold, Lemon Boy. All hearty tomatoes? They haven't met me. It was not a good tomato season here in NY. At least for me! So I turned to Trader Joe's and got the baby Roma's, yellow tomatoes and the cherry heirlooms. and I turned to Tyler Florence! His Roasted Tomato Soup is the perfect thing to bring out the taste of really good summer tomatoes. Even from the grocery store. and you can freeze it for those cold winter days, perfect with grilled cheese! Thanks, Maggie, who found it first, way back when and totally raved about it!


Roasted Tomato Soup
Source: Tyler Florence, Food Network

I made some changes to the recipe, more tomatoes, a little more stock. You can add cream at the end, but I found it doesn't need it at all!
Printable Recipe

3 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of any kind you like, heirlooms are great, cherry, baby Roma, yellow, whatever!)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 or 2 onions, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 - 60 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion (and the juices) from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside some roasted cherry tomatoes for later if you want). Add the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry basil leaves, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Pour the soup through a strainer to get rid of the tomato skins if you prefer a smoother, creamier soup. Return soup to low heat, add cream if you're using it. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with roasted cherry tomatoes, croutons, basil chiffonade, whatever you like.

I have another week of vacation and after mostly take-out all summer, I'm on a cooking frenzy this week! Tonight in the never-ending quest of widening my family's horizon's I made fish taco's. and to further irritate them, I made it somewhat healthy and grilled instead of fried. Three out of four LOVED the fish tacos. Miss Picky, well, she had the backup plan. Grilled skirt steak. She did have TWO bowls of the soup.

No picture, too busy getting everything on the table. I used Sole because that's what I had gotten this morning to broil, before I had the brilliant idea for taco's. and I used a foil pan on the grill. We'll be having this again. Very soon!

Grilled-Fish Tacos
Source: Gourmet - September 2007, epicurious.com
original recipe by Melissa Roberts and Maggie Ruggiero
adapted dishesdone
Printable Recipe

1 medium red onion
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup simple syrup (see recipe below)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pound (1-inch-thick) skinless mahi mahi fillet or tuna steak, cut into 12 pieces (I used sole)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
12 (6-inch) corn or flour tortillas
2 firm-ripe avocados
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno powder
4 cups shredded green cabbage (you can use cole slaw mix bag)

Very thinly slice onion crosswise into rings with a mandoline slicer. Put into a container and add 1/2 cup rice vinegar and 1/4 cup of simple syrup. Cover and shake the container to combine, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir 1/4 cup lime juice together with cilantro, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add fish and toss to coat, then marinate at room temperature 15 minutes.

Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, jalapeno powder and 1/4 cup lime juice to make sauce.

Preheat a gas grill with burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-high.

Thread each piece of fish onto a skewer (discard marinade). Wrap exposed part of each skewer in heavy-duty foil to protect it from charring. or just put it in a foil pan on the grill. If grilling directly, oil the grill rack and grill fish, turning once until cooked through for mahi mahi and just pink for tuna. Sole I grilled until it was opaque and flaky.

Wrap tortillas in foil and warm on grill for a minute or two.

Slice the avocado's into 1/2-inch slices. Drain onions.

Serve fish with tortillas, sour cream sauce, onions, and avocado's and any other toppings you like.

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. The syrup can be refrigerated in a glass jar for up to 1 month. Also good for sweetening drinks!

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An egg-siting Mosaic Monday?

Joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Please stop by Mary's house for some really fabulous mosaics!


I'm doing an eggs mosaic today, since it Sunday and we had a really good breakfast! Cheese Omelettes.


Did you hear the joke about the egg?
It's not all it's "cracked" up to be!

Took a few times but I did get ONE really nice looking omelette. The others tasted great but you know, looks aren't everything!


Not so nice...












and somewhat nice...














There's a good basic recipe at Epicurious for a Classic Omelette. I don't add milk or water to the eggs. Sometimes I add a few little dots of butter into the eggs mixture. I filled mine with Cheddar cheese. I grated it so it would melt evenly. Sprinkled fresh chives on top!

Classic Omelette
source: Self Magazine, epicurious.com
adapted somewhat, it's a basic recipe!
Printable Recipe

Yield: 1 omelette

1/4 filling, maybe more
1 teaspoon butter
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

herbs (optional)

Prepare the filling. If you're using vegetables, sauté them first in a little bit of butter. If you are making a cheese omelette, slice the cheese very thin or grate it and put aside to prepare the eggs.

Crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl. Stir gently with a fork or a whisk until well-beaten. Add the salt and pepper, and any herbs and stir them with the eggs.

Heat an 8-inch omelette pan over medium-high heat and then add the butter, making sure it coats the bottom of the pan. As soon as the butter stops bubbling and sizzling (and before it starts to brown), slowly pour in the egg mixture. You can use high heat but I tend to burn things so I go slow, using medium-high. I like a thinner omelette, too, so I used a 10-inch skillet.

Tilt the pan to spread the egg mixture evenly. Let eggs firm up a little, and after about ten seconds shake the pan a bit and use a spatula to gently direct the mixture away from the sides and into the middle. Allow the remaining liquid to then flow into the space left at the sides of the pan.

Continue to cook for another minute or so until the egg mixture holds together. While the middle is still a little runny, add the filling. Put in sautéed vegetables or fruit first, near the center, then sprinkle any cheese on top.

Tilt the pan to one side and use the spatula to fold approximately one third of the omelette over the middle. Shake the pan gently to slide the omelette to the edge of the pan.

Holding the pan above the serving plate, tip it so the omelette rolls off, folding itself onto the plate. The two edges will be tucked underneath.

and because I couldn't resist just one more...

Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Omelette.
Omelette who?
Omelette smarter than I look!

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Flashback Friday - Peach Jam, Cold Mornings

Joining Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet for another fun Flashback Friday! Check out the flashbacks at Suzy's! It's been a busy summer and it sure has flown by quickly. It's already starting to get cooler in the mornings here. Even with hot flashes, so maybe this should be called a "hotflashback," but I can definitely tell it's going to be Autumn soon enough! I love the cooler weather! and I love sweet-hot jams.

So this time I'm flashing back to when I learned how to can fruit. and a perfect preserve for the cooler weather. Peach Jam for a Cold Morning. Only I cheated and used frozen fruit. Of course I never did anything as written and with canning the first time I was a little nervous that I could not only make someone sick, I could kill them. Well, not with fruit according to my canning guru from the Cooking Forum, Michigan Annie (not Woodie Annie, I think she buys hers!) it seems all the sugar is a good thing in this case. Not botulism, maybe some mold, and that you can see, so I couldn't possibly poison anyone.

So I tried it. and I didn't make anyone sick. By the time I was done with my canning addiction, they may have been sick of preserves, but not sick to their stomachs! At least no one admitted it to me. There is a definitely a HUGE difference here between homemade and store-bought. HUGE! And if you have no patience to cook it down until it gels, which believe me can be excruciatingly long sometimes, well, you can always use it for a sauce for ice cream or pancakes!

These are two of my favorites.


Peach Preserves for Cold Mornings
source: Doris (Ruddmd) - Cooking Forum
Printable recipe

3 pounds ripe peaches, peeled and quartered
l/2 medium-size orange, quartered and seeded
2 habaneros, (seeds and all)
4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup honey (the lightest, mildest you can find)

Combine peaches, sugar, and honey in a Dutch oven; stir well. Cover and let stand 45 minutes. Place knife blade attachment in food processor bowl; add orange quarters and habanero chiles. Process until finely chopped, stopping once to scrape down sides.

Place orange, habanero chiles, and an equal amount of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until orange rind is tender.

Bring peach mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook, uncovered, 15 minutes, stirring often. Add orange mixture. Bring to a boil; cook, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes or until candy thermometer registers 221, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in almond extract. Skim off foam with a metal spoon.
Quickly pour hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process jars in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

Yield: 6 half-pints.


It's just perfect on a toasted bagel on a nice, brisk autumn morning!













and this one from epicurious. Meyer Lemon season will be here before you know it...

Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Source: Gourmet- December 1999
Printable recipe

6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 lb)
4 cups water
4 cups sugar
Cheesecloth
Kitchen string
6 (1/2-pint) Mason-type jars, sterilized

Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.

Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes.

Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4-inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.

Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.

Cooks' note:
• Marmalade keeps, stored in a cool, dark place, up to 1 year.

Makes 6 (1/2-pint) jars

So you must know me by now, I didn't EXACTLY follow the directions. I didn't leave it overnight a few times, and I didn't use a cheesecloth at all. I picked the seeds out before I poured into the jars. hey, works for me!

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White Bread for Dessert?

White Bread Blintzes? Sounds interesting. Somewhat? They are. Really!

During the summer I work in a day camp as a baking counselor, kind of funny since I'm not exactly great at baking, I prefer cooking. Could be the lack of focus on my part, no patience to be exact and I have this little problem of being distracted and things burn. The smoke alarm is my friend. Anyway, for one of the projects this summer we made mock blintzes with the groups.


It was a big hit, the kids had fun making them and loved eating them. We made them even better by microwaving a container of vanilla frosting until it was melted and poured the goo all over the blintzes! Over the top good! So I decided my kids would love them and I made a batch for dessert tonight. I forgot all about the frosting. Next time!

I served them on a very pretty dish, my friend Cynthia had surprised us this summer with a "just because" gift! A fused glass Peggy Karr plate with Morning Glories. Thank you Cynthia, I love it! and it makes this dessert that much sweeter :)


To make mock blintzes, start out with some slices of white bread, even light white is fine, and roll it really flat. If you're a perfectionist you can cut off the crusts. I'm not picky but it does look nicer crustless. but I am lazy, so guess what? I left the crusts on!










Once you get them really flat spread a thin layer of cream cheese, could be fat free, low fat, whipped, whatever! Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll them up tightly and dip in melted butter and then more cinnamon sugar.










Fry them up in a skillet with some butter (you can also bake them in the oven at 350 degrees F until they brown, but pan frying them gets them good and gooey on top! In camp we also tried filling it with apple butter. Awesome! Raspberry jam. Apricot jam, possibilities galore.









Mock Cheese Blintzes
Printable Recipe

1 loaf white bread (not the ends!)
8 oz. cream cheese (you can use any kind you like, low fat, whipped, whatever!)
2 sticks butter or margarine, melted
Cinnamon and sugar mixture (1 1/2 cups of sugar mixed with 3-4 tablespoons ground cinnamon)


Remove crusts from the bread. Flatten the bread with a rolling pin. Spread cream cheese on the flattened bread in a thin layer, sprinkle a little cinnamon-sugar on top and roll up. Dip the rolls into melted butter and then into more cinnamon-sugar. Pan fry in a skillet with butter until golden brown, or bake in the oven at about 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve warm.

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