The Charmed Kitchen

Easy Fruit Cobbler

This is one of those “go to” recipes. I generally have fruit around that I can use and it makes a great dessert in no time at all. Also, since its full of fruit, it is actually pretty healthy as desserts go.

Easy Fruit Cobbler

4 c. peeled and sliced peaches, nectarines or apples

½ c. sugar

1 T. plus 2/3 c. baking mix (Like Bisquick or Jiffy Mix or even homemade)

½ t. cinnamon

2 T. packed brown sugar

¼ c. butter or margarine

2 T. milk

In 1-quart shallow casserole, combine fruit, sugar, 1 tablespoon of the biscuit mix and cinnamon. In medium bowl combine remaining biscuit mix with sugar. Cut in butter or margarine to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in milk to make a soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls over fruit mixture. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into dough comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Cheesy Onion Garlic Bead

Made these in a class the other night. These are really tasty. Substantial enough to make a meal if served with a salad.   

Cheesy Onion Garlic Bread

2 French baguettes, cut into 3/4 inch diagonal slices

1 large minced onion

8 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup butter

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

Preheat the broiler. Slice the French baguettes diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Combine the onions and garlic in the skillet. Cook and stir until tender. Set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and mayonnaise. On a cookie sheet, arrange the French bread slices in a single layer. Spread the onion and garlic mixture on the bread slices. Spread the cheese and mayonnaise mixture over the onion and garlic mixture on the bread slices. Broil about 5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Serve immediately.

Strawberry- Lavender Ice Cream

If you are looking for a slightly different ice cream for summer you might think about spicing it up. I added lavender blossoms to my strawberry ice cream but you can get creative and add other seasonings to make it special. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, basil, lemon peel can all add interest to your frozen desserts. Open your mind up to experimenting and see what you can come up with. I made this the other day and wanted to share the recipe with you.  Can’t wait to make it again.

Strawberry Lavender Ice Cream

2 c. chopped strawberries

1 c. sugar

1 T. lavender blossoms

1 T. vanilla

2 c. cream or  half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.

Additional sugar to taste

Place strawberries, lavender, vanilla  and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen the ice cream will not taste as sweet so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an sir- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.

Here are the recipes I did for New Day Cleveland.

 Chicken and Asparagus with Fresh Herbs

1 lb. chicken, sliced into thin strips

2 T. sherry

2 T.oil

2 c. chopped fresh asparagus

¼-½ c. fresh chopped herbs, I used chives, parsley and lovage

Salt and pepper to taste

Place sliced chicken in a bowl and stir in the sherry. Cover and refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Heat oil in skillet. Sauté asparagus for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often until no pink is visible on the chicken, about 4 minutes. Add the herbs and seasonings and cook, stirring often for another 2-3 minutes. Spoon chicken over lilac salad. Serves 3-4.

Lilac Salad

4-6 cups mixed salad greens, washed and spun dry

Olive oil

Lilac vinegar*

Salt and pepper to taste

Edible flowers, optional

Place greens in a salad bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss until leaves look glossy. Drizzle with a little lilac vinegar and toss. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Add flowers, if desired and place in serving bowls.

* To make lilac vinegar take clean, organic lilac blossoms and place them in a jar. Pour in red wine vinegar to cover flowers completely. Place lid on jar and store at room temp, out of direct sunlight for at least a few days. The longer the blossoms steep in the vinegar the stronger the flavor you will get. You can use any vinegar you like as long as it is 5% acidity. Before using, strain out the blossoms and discard. Strain vinegar through a coffee filter to get out any sediment. Can be stored at room temp but holds it color longer if stored in the fridge.

Lavender Shortbread

1 c. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 c. butter

4 c. flour

2-3 T. lavender blossoms

Cream together the one-cup of sugar and butter. Stir in the flour and lavender blossoms. Press mixture in to a greased 9×13 inch-baking dish. Cut or score into small squares, or on the diagonal for diamond shapes. Sprinkle with extra sugar and bake in a preheated 300-degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Re-cut the squares as soon as you remove the shortbread from the oven. Cool before removing from pan. Make about 100 small squares

I did my cooking demo on New Day Cleveland this morning. All the cast and crew were great to work with. Thanks to Carl Skalak from Blue Pike Farm for the purple asparagus. It worked out perfectly with the chicken and herbs. Carl tells me he still has some for sale. Here is the link so you can watch the show.

http://fox8.com/2013/05/09/may-9-2013-2/

Lilacs in vinegar

Since the lilacs are in bloom I decided to preserve some of them and make lilac vinegar. As long as they are grown where chemicals haven’t been sprayed lilacs blossoms are edible. I just place clean blossoms in a jar and cover with red wine vinegar.* Put a lid on the jar and store in a cupboard for 10 days or longer. When ready to use, strain out the blossoms and discard them. Pour the vinegar through a coffee filter to get out any remaining plant material. Use in salad dressings and marinades. You can transfer the lilac vinegar to a decorative bottle. It can be stored at room temperature but will hold its color longer if kept cool, even refrigerated.

* always use vinegar that is 5% acidity. You can use white wine vinegar, cider vinegar or whatever vinegar you like.

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake

This is one of the cheesecakes we will be having in my cheesecake class in Mentor tonight. No baking so a great dessert choice for summer.

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake

1 ¼ c. chocolate cookie crumbs

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. butter or margarine, softened

8 oz. cream cheese

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 c. chocolate syrup

2 T. instant coffee crystals

1 t. hot water

1 c. whipping cream, whipped

Combine crumbs, sugar and butter and press into 9-inch springform pan. Chill. Beat cheese until fluffy and beat in milk. Stir in syrup and dissolve coffee in water. Add to cheese mixture and fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared crust and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours. Garnish with additional cookie crumbs if you like or with shaved chocolate. Keep leftovers frozen and use within a week for best flavor.

On Thursday, May 9^th I’ll be doing a cooking demonstration on New Day Cleveland. It’s on channel 8 (Fox)  and airs from 10-11 am. Still working on the recipe I will be making that day.

Cornbread Salad

If you are looking for a fun and easy salad recipe for dinner here is one I really like. It is a cornbread salad. Tasty and easy to make it has another perk- it is a way to use up day old cornbread that may be a little too dry to just eat.

Cornbread Salad

4 c. crumbled cornbread or corn muffins

1 c. shredded mild cheese

1 sweet red pepper seeded and diced

1 c. diced celery

½ c. diced green onion

4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped

¼ c. chopped parsley

1-1 ½ c. mayonnaise or salad dressing, sometimes I use potato salad dressing or even slaw dressing 

2 c. diced fresh tomatoes

1 c. toasted pecans

paprika for sprinkling on the top, optional

Place cornbread and next 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in dressing until desired moistness is achieved. Chill and stir in tomato and nut just before serving. Sprinkle with paprika if you like. Serves 6.

Note: You can add whole kernel corn also if you like.

Free is good, right? I will be at the Blue Pike Farm Open House tomorrow (May 4) and I will be giving away pink Lily of the Valley. That’s right- free. Wanted to thin them out and thought this might be a way of finding them new homes and to say “thank you” to those who attend. It will be held from 10-2 at Blue Pike Farm which is located at 900 E. 72 street.  I’ll also have some free food samples.  For sale will be my books including the new edition of The Charmed Garden (perfect for Mothers’ Day), herb seasoning packets, some jellies and baked goods. Baked goods will include chocolate beet cake (big hit last year), zucchini bread, Swedish Limpa Bread (rye) and Whole Wheat Herb Braids. Depending on the time crunch I also plan to have the pumpkin scones everyone seemed to like last season. I will also have ramps. Carl will have plants and trees for sale along with honey, honeycomb, eggs and more.There will also be some new faces this year. So stop on by and say hello and don’t forget to get your free plant!!