The Charmed Kitchen

Pear Salad with Feta and Pecans

With the abundance of pears this time of year I find myself using them is everything. I love just eating them plain and of course baking with them. I also like pears added to salad. This salad hits all the right notes for me with pears, toasted pecans, bacon  and feta. If you are looking for something to do with pears you really might want to try this recipe. Simple but loaded with flavor.

Pear Salad with Feta and Pecans

8- 10 cups mixed salad greens, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces

3 ripe pears, cored and sliced thin

¾ c. crumbled feta cheese

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

½ c. toasted pecans, but other nuts can be used

5 T. cider vinegar

½ c. oil

Fresh chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

In large bowl place greens. Add pears, feta bacon and pecans. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Toss over greens and divide into serving dishes. Serves 6-8.

Classic Apple Cake

This is a recipe that has been around for a long time. My Mother got the recipe from my Aunt Josie when I was just a kid. Love it and make it every year when the apples are local and fresh. I hope you’ll try it. Moist, not too sweet and very easy to make. You don’t even have to get out the mixer- ingredients are mixed by hand and ready in no time.

Classic Apple Cake

1 c. oil

4 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/3 c. orange or lemon juice

Combine above ingredients and set aside.

Mix together the following dry ingredients. Make a well and stir in egg mixture to make a stiff batter

3 c. flour

2 c. sugar

3 t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

Mix ½ c. sugar and 2 t. cinnamon and set aside

Peel, core and slice 4 medium apples.

Grease a 9×13 inch pan or a Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Place ½ of batter in prepared pan. Arrange apple slices on batter and sprinkle on ½ of the cinnamon mixture. Pour on remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour in a 9×13 inch pan and about 1½ hours in a Bundt pan.

Fresh out of the oven

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I love a good oatmeal cookie. Heck I love cookies in general. It’s a classic and always popular. Like a lot of classics, though, it can be fun to change things up a little. Sometimes you create a new classic.  I had a request for oatmeal cookies but with something other than raisins.  I ended up using dried, sweetened cranberries and the result was quite nice. Moist cookies with just a touch of tartness from the cranberries. A new classic that I plan on making again.

Classic Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. water

1 t. vanilla

 3 c. rolled oats

1 c. flour

1 t. salt

1/2 t. soda

1 c. dried sweetened cranberries

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Beat together butter, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into butter mixture. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. I use a cookie scoop- it makes for uniform cookies and is faster than using a spoon. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen.

Apple Kolachy

With apples abundant this year I find myself using them every where. Yesterday I made a batch of kolachy using home made apple pie filling. Served them at a party last night and they were a big hit. Finish them off with a dusting of powdered sugar combined with a little cinnamon.

Kolachy

Dough

3 sticks butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 cups flour

Mix all together and chill well before using.

Filling:

assorted fruit pie fillings

powdered sugar

Roll out chilled dough into squares or circles. Spoon a little fruit filling into the center and pinch 2 ends or corners together. Bake in 350-degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden on edges. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Pecan Crusted Salmon

If you love salmon, like I do, this is a fun way to prepare it. The crunch from the nuts add a nice touch to the fish. Easy and makes a nice dish for company, too.

Alaska Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch Coating

 2 T. Dijon Mustard

2 T. melted butter

4 t. honey

1/4 c. fresh bread crumbs

1/4 c. finely chopped pecans or walnuts

2 t. chopped parsley

4 salmon fillets

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedges

Mix together mustard, butter and honey and set aside. Mix together bread crumbs, nuts and parsley and set aside. Season each fillet with salt and pepper. Place on lightly greased baking or broiling pan. Brush each fillet with mustard This was Font/Pitch 1,10 – Off.Note:  The change to pitch (10*) and font (1) must be converted manually.mixture. Divide crumb mixture among fillets, patting to hold. Bake in 450 degree oven for 10 minutes per inch thickness of fillets. Serve with lemon wedges. Serves 4.

Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes

If you only use parsnips in savory dishes (or maybe you never use parsnips at all) you might be surprised to see them used in a dessert. Truth is parsnips are similar in flavor to carrots and carrots are used in cake quite successfully.  While not exactly the same in flavor think of parsnips as white carrots. Combined in a spiced batter they make wonderful cupcakes. Good any time of the year, they seem especially nice for an Autumn dessert.

Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 T. ground ginger

1 T. cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. allspice

1 t. salt

1/2 t. cloves

3 eggs

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. milk or half and half

2 t. vanilla

2 c. packed peeled and shredded fresh parsnips, 2-3 large

1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional plus extra for topping, optional

1 recipe cream cheese frosting- see below

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake pans with paper liners- or grease lightly. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. In smaller bowl combine eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and mix well. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Stir in parsnips and nuts, if adding. Spoon batter into the prepared pans, filling half-full. Bake for 15 minutes – or until toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Cool and frost. Sprinkle with fine chopped nuts, if you like. Makes 24.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 0z. (1 stick) butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until fluffy. Frost cupcakes and chill until ready to eat.

Parsnips

Combine dry ingredients

Shredded parsnips

Fresh out of the oven

Creole Jambalaya

There are so many variations for Jambalaya. This recipe is a slightly tweaked version I got from a boss of mine a long time ago. I must say every time I make this for friends it gets rave reviews. 

                                                                Creole Jambalaya

1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 c. chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 c. oil

2 c. cubed uncooked chicken

3 c. chicken stock

1 1/2 c. uncooked rice

1 16 oz. can tomatoes

2-3 t. paprika

Cayenne pepper to taste

Black pepper to taste

1/4 t. ground turmeric

1 lb. medium shrimps, peeled and deveined, uncooked

1 1/2 c. frozen peas

1/2 c. chopped red pepper

1-2 lb. mussels, optional

In Dutch oven cook sausage, onion and garlic in oil until onion is tender. Add remaining ingredients, except shrimp, peas, sweet red peppers and mussels. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cook 20 minutes. Stir in shrimp, and peppers, cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in peas and stick in mussels, if desired. Cover and cook 5 more minutes. Discard any mussels which have not opened in 5 minutes. Serves 8.

Mussels in White Wine

I love mussels. Just steamed and dipped in butter is good for me. If you want to make them a little special try steaming them this way.  Simple and packed with flavor.

Mussels in White Wine

2 lbs. mussels

2 T. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. dry white wine

1/4 c. packed fresh basil, chopped

1/4 c. packed parsley, chopped

Scrub and rinse mussels. In large skillet melt butter or margarine. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add mussels and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, covered. Simmer 4-5 minutes, tossing skillet a couple of times until shells open. Discard any mussels that do not open. You can serve with the broth, or you can remove the mussels, keeping them warm and boil the broth to reduce it by a third to make it more intense. Consider have some crusty bread along with the mussels to dip in the sauce. Serves 4.

Salmon Quiche

I like canned salmon. There I said it. I know it sometimes gets a bad rap but I find it very convenient to have around. If you didn’t already know this- canned salmon is made from wild caught salmon and has all the nutritional benefits of fresh.  If you are looking for something different to do with canned salmon you might want to try this recipe. Simple and really tasty. If you wanted to you could use fresh salmon. Use about 12 oz. of cooked salmon, flaked. The crust is a breeze to make, too. It’s pressed into the pie pan rather than being rolled out and is made with whole wheat flour and cheddar cheese. Yum. Did I mention it also freezes well?

Salmon Quiche

 1 c. whole wheat flour

2/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 c. chopped almonds

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. paprika

6 T. oil

1 15 oz. can salmon, flaked, drained, liquid reserved, bones and skin removed

3 eggs, beaten

1 c. sour cream

1/4 c. mayo or salad dressing

1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 T. grated onion

1/2 t. dillweed

3 drops Tabasco

 For crust, combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add oil and mix well. Press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove pie crust from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Meanwhile, begin filling. If needed, add water to reserved salmon juice to measure 1/2 cup. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl, including reserved liquid. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes or until set in the center. Makes 6 servings.

Crust ingredients- freshly mixed.

Crust pressed into pie pan

House Fly Control

A friend told me about a common household product that kills house flies. It was there all the time but I didn’t know it. You probably have some in your house, too.

I have been plagued at times this summer with house flies. Even one in the house makes me crazy but to have several at a time is a real pain. I found a few screens that might have been letting them in- and of course every time the dog goes in and out.

I didn’t want to spray nasty stuff in the house. I found a poison free control at a local store made from mint oil. It worked but the smell was awful and it is oil based so I had to be careful where I spray and the odor lingered. I also tried an “earth friendly” product that also smelled. My dear friend, Jonathan, had listened to me whine about it more than a few times. He is very patient.

One day he asked me why I didn’t use alcohol? I told him drinking was not the solution. He said not for me to drink but to use 91% rubbing alcohol to kill the flies. I was skeptical but to humor him I got a spray bottle and filled it with rubbing alcohol. Then I waited…..and waited. It was like all the flies had left town just when I was ready for them. Finally one day there it was… a lone fly circling in my kitchen. I got the bottle of alcohol and sprayed it. It dropped right to the floor. It wasn’t dead but once on the floor it was easy to finish him off with my shoe. A few days later there was another fly. This one took a couple of sprays but like the first, he dropped to the floor. I have been told by Jonathan that it takes a little while for them to die. I’m OK with that. Just getting them down with a simple jet of alcohol is good enough. Simple, not oily  and no lingering smell.  It certainly is something I am less afraid to spray in the kitchen than other stuff.

Be sure to mark “alcohol” on the bottle and keep it out the reach of kids. Also be careful not to spray it on surfaces that might be damaged by alcohol.

Well, that is the simple solution I now use when a fly comes around. Hope it is helpful for you. Let me know how alcohol works when you want to get rid of house flies.