Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes

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.

I have company coming for dinner later. I had some parsnips, so I decided to make cupcakes for our 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

Shredded parsnips

Fresh out of the oven

Butternut Squash Saute

Butternut Squash Saute

Winter squash season is here, and I could not be happier. I love the variety of squash (and pumpkin) at the markets this time of year. They are both beautiful and tasty.

This dish is a combination of butternut squash with onions, garlic, carrots and finished off with black sesame seeds. It makes a great, seasonal side dish.

I used butternut squash, but you could use any number of hard squashes, or even pumpkin. If you are looking for a different way to cook some of those squash- try this dish. I think you might be surprised at just how good it is.

When cutting up hard squashes, you have to be careful not to cut yourself. A round, hard  squash, with a tough outer skin can be a recipe for disaster. I trim a small slice off one end of my squash, creating a flat side. Then I lay it down on that side, to make it more stable for cutting. With the butternut, once it was sliced on one side, I was able to cut in in half pretty easily.

To peel a hard squash, so you can cut it into cubes, and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. You will need to run the peeler over the skin a few times to get off all of it. Then cut into cubes.

Butternut Squash Sauté

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 cups cubed fresh butternut, acorn or Hubbard squash or pumpkin

1/2 cup grated carrot

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onions begin to brown. Stir in the squash, carrot, soy sauce, salt, and pepper; cook, covered, another 5 to 7 minutes, until squash is tender. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Rosemary Oatmeal Bread

Rosemary Oatmeal Bread

There is something about the smell of baking bread that always makes me remember my childhood, and going to the movies. I know that sounds odd, but there is an explanation. When I was a kid, there was a neighborhood movie theater. It was close and we would walk there to see movies. On the walk home, we passed a local bakery. Late at night they would be baking bread and other goodies for the next day. The air would be filled with the aroma of baking bread.

This oatmeal bread is one of my favorites. With the addition of rosemary and  molasses, the bread has an earthy sweetness that I just love. It is versatile. You can make 2 round loaves, or bake it in loaf pans, or even make dinner rolls out of it.

 Rosemary Oatmeal Bread

5-5 ½ c. flour

1 package active dry yeast                                                                                                    

3T.  fresh rosemary  or 1 T. dried, chopped

1 ½ t. salt

1 1/3 c. water

¼ c. milk

¼ c. molasses

¼ c. butter

1 egg

1 c. old fashioned oatmeal

In large bowl mix 1 cup of the flour with yeast and salt. In small pan heat together next 4 ingredients until warm. Pour into bowl with flour mixture and beat 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup additional flour and egg and beat 2 minutes longer. Stir in oatmeal and 1 cup more flour and stir, adding enough flour to form soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead, adding flour as needed until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough on a greased bowl, turning to grease top and cover, allowing to rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Grease a large baking sheet and set aside. Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a ball and place on prepared sheet. Cover with towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until done. Loaves are done when they sound hollow when tapped lightly. Makes 2 loaves.

This versatile dough can also be shaped into loaves and places in 8×4-inch greased loaf pans. Baking time will remain the same. Dough can also be divided into 24 equal pieces and shaped into dinner rolls. Bake rolls at 375 for 15 minutes.

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Pumpkin Chiffon

Pumpkin Chiffon

I fondly remember when my Mom used to make this dessert. I think of her whenever I make it. From a technical cooking standpoint, it’s not really a chiffon, but that is what my Mom called it, so I will leave it as  Pumpkin Chiffon.

It’s more like a pumpkin pie, without the crust. Super easy to make and quite tasty. I bake it in a casserole dish but you could also make it in individual  ramekins.  This recipe is always a big hit when I make it for friends.

You could use canned or fresh cooked pumpkin or winter squash, like butternut or Hubbard. I always cook up and freeze pumpkin and squash for later use, so frozen would work, too. Because there is no crust, it is also gluten-free.  I sometimes serve it with gingersnaps and whipped cream. It is a lovely Fall dessert.

Mom’s Pumpkin Chiffon

½ c. applesauce
1 c. cooked or canned pumpkin or squash
¾ c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
½ t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cloves
4 eggs, well beaten
1 c. half and half or evaporated milk
Stir together first seven ingredients. Beat in eggs and stir in milk. Place mixture in 1 ½ quart casserole and bake in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve alone or with cookies. Serves 6-8.

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

This pear-studded cake is perfect to have with that morning cup of coffee- or for dessert. The tender cake is topped with a lot of pears, cubes of cream cheese, cinnamon sugar and a vanilla glaze. The taste is amazing. I used Bartlett pears, but any ripe pear would work. The 4 pears weighed about 2 pounds.

I will say up front that this is not the most photogenic cake out there. It comes out of the oven kind of lumpy, from all those pears and the tiny cubes of cream cheese. Once you top it with the cinnamon sugar, and later the glaze, it looks a lot better. It is one of the tastiest, though, and isn’t that what’s important?

So if you want to enjoy one of my favorite Autumn fruits in a new way- try making this simple, tasty pear coffee cake. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

1 stick (½ cup) butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 c. half and half

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

½ t. salt

2 lbs. pears, about 4 large, cored, peeled and sliced *

8 oz. cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Topping

3 T. cinnamon sugar

Glaze:

½ c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk

½ t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, half and half, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla  and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir. Drain pears well. Add the pears, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over fruit. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. When you remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Set cake aside to cool.  Make glaze by combining glaze ingredients. Add just enough milk for a nice consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over cooled cake. Store leftovers in fridge. Serves 12.

* To keep pears from discoloring place in a bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

This pear-studded cake is perfect to have with that morning cup of coffee- or for dessert. The tender cake is topped with chopped pears, cubes of cream cheese, cinnamon sugar and a vanilla glaze. The taste is amazing.

I used Bartlett pears, but any ripe pear would work.

Why should apples get all the attention- right?  Don’t get me wrong, I love apples. It’s just that I love pears, too. I think they don’t get used in baking as much as they should.

I will say up front, that this is not the prettiest cake out there. It comes out of the oven kind of lumpy, from all those pears and the tiny cubes of cream cheese. Once you top it with the cinnamon sugar, and later the glaze, it looks a lot better. It is one of the tastiest cakes, though, and isn’t that what’s important?

So if you want to enjoy one of my favorite Autumn fruits in a new way- try making this simple, tasty pear coffee cake. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

1 stick (½ cup) butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 c. half and half

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

½ t. salt

2 lbs. pears, about 4 large, cored, peeled and sliced *

8 oz. cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Topping

3 T. cinnamon sugar

Glaze:

½ c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk

½ t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, half and half, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir. Drain pears well. Add the pears, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over fruit. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. When you remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Set cake aside to cool.  Make glaze by combining glaze ingredients. Add just enough milk for a nice consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over cooled cake. Store leftovers in fridge. Serves 12.

* To keep pears from discoloring place in a bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

This pear-studded cake is perfect to have with that morning cup of coffee- or for dessert. The tender cake is topped with a lot of pears, cubes of cream cheese, cinnamon sugar and a vanilla glaze. The taste is amazing. I used Bartlett pears, but any ripe pear would work. The 4 pears weighed about 2 pounds.

I will say up front, that this is not the prettiest cake out there. It comes out of the oven kind of lumpy, from all those pears and the tiny cubes of cream cheese. Once you top it with the cinnamon sugar, and later the glaze, it looks a lot better. It is one of the tastiest, though, and isn’t that what’s important?

So if you want to enjoy one of my favorite Autumn fruits in a new way- try making this simple, tasty pear coffee cake. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Cinnamon Pear Coffee Cake

1 stick (½ cup) butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 c. half and half

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

½ t. salt

2 lbs. pears, about 4 large, cored, peeled and sliced *

8 oz. cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Topping

3 T. cinnamon sugar

Glaze:

½ c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk

½ t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, half and half, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir. Drain pears well. Add the pears, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over fruit. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. When you remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Set cake aside to cool.  Make glaze by combining glaze ingredients. Add just enough milk for a nice consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over cooled cake. Store leftovers in fridge. Serves 12.

* To keep pears from discoloring place in a bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Classic Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten Dinner

Sauerbraten is not a dish that you throw together on the spur of the moment. The first time I had sauerbraten was at my sister Cindy’s home. I was instantly in love with it. The flavors were so complex. I could not get enough of that wonderful gravy.

The secret to sauerbraten is the long marinading process. A beef roast marinades in a mix of vinegar, wine, veggies and spices for 3-5 days. In that time, the meat becomes very tender and it picks up all those flavors. It’s almost like pickling the meat.

When ready to cook, the meat is dredged in flour, browned, then simmered in water until tender. All those ingredients in the marinade flavor the cooking water, creating a broth. The broth is tart. To offset the sourness of the vinegar, a gravy is made with the broth that contains cookies. Yes, cookies. Gingersnaps, to be exact.

It sounds odd, but it really is wonderful. The ginger, cinnamon and cloves in the cookies add such a wonderful flavor to the gravy. I made my own gingersnaps, but you can use store bought. I posted the recipe for gingersnaps earlier in the week.

Sauerbraten

Marinade:

1 c. red wine vinegar

½ c. cider vinegar

½ c. red wine

1 large onion, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

top from 1 bunch celery

few sprigs of fresh parsley or 1 T. dried

1 bay leaf

4 whole cloves

3 whole allspice

½ t. whole peppercorns

1 t. salt

4- 6 lb.  lean boneless chuck roast – I actually used a bottom round roast

additional flour for dredging

⅓ c. oil

2 c. warm water

¼ c. flour

I T. sugar

1 c. crushed gingersnaps – or a few more

water

salt and pepper to taste

Combine marinade ingredients in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add meat and cover.  Refrigerate 3-5 days. Tum meat at least once a day. Remove meat from marinade and pat dry. Discard marinade. Dredge in flour. Heat oil in Dutch oven and brown meat in pan. Add warm water and simmer, covered, for 1- 2 hours or until fork tender. Start testing meat  for doneness after the first hour. Remove meat to platter and keep warm while sauce is being prepared.

For sauce, strain the pan juices and discard solids. Skim off any fat. Return the juices to the Dutch oven and keep hot. In small bowl combine the ¼ c. flour, sugar, and gingersnaps. Stir in cold water until smooth paste is formed. Whisk this paste into the  hot liquid in the pan and simmer, stirring until thickened. If it’s not thick enough, make a little more paste with flour and water. Serve meat sliced thin, with sauce on the side, and hot cooked noodles, potatoes, potato dumplings, or spaetzle.

Serves 8 – 12.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I have to thank my friend, Vicky Singleton, for the inspiration of this recipe. She asked if I had ever made chicken pot pie soup. I hadn’t. I told her I hadn’t ever heard of it. She explained to me what it was.

So what exactly is Chicken Pot Pie Soup? Imagine the ingredients of a pot pie, only in a soup. Then imagine using baked pie crust like croutons on the soup. A classic casserole, presented in soup form.

You want this soup to be creamy, like a pot pie filling. How “thickened” is really up to you. I didn’t want my soup to be as thick as a pot pie, but I wanted it thickened, so I played around with the amount of flour I added to it. Half a cup of flour worked perfectly for me, but you can add 1/4 cup more flour if you want a thicker soup.

The vegetable selection has some wiggle room, too. I think green beans would be a nice addition, I just didn’t have any. That is the fun part of making your own version. I think I might add mushrooms to the next batch.

I could see making this soup with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.

I made my own pie crust, but feel free to use store bought. The recipe for the crust is at the bottom of this post. I used cookie cutters, but you could cut the crust out free-hand into little squares or triangles.

So here is the version of Chicken Pot Pie Soup I came up with. I hope you’ll give it a try. You can thank Vicky.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Dough for 2 pie crusts – recipe follows

3 T. oil or butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin

1 c. sliced celery

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 c. fresh or frozen corn

3 c. cooked chicken, diced

8 c. chicken stock

1 c. peas, fresh or frozen

½ c. flour

¼ c. fresh chopped parsley- or 1 T. dried

Salt and pepper to taste

The pie dough makes the croutons for the top of the soup. You can use homemade pie crust or store bought. Roll out the crust to about 1/8-inch thick and cut out in pretty shapes to top your soup. Re roll scraps and place all the cut out dough pieces on an ungreased baking sheet. It will take two sheets for all the dough.  Bake in a 350 degree until golden, about 7-10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack.

In a soup pot, heat up the butter or oil and add the onions, cooking until onions are tender. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, corn and 7 cups of the stock. Set the remaining cup of stock aside for now. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Place the reserved stock in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Add the flour, close jar tightly and shake until the mixture is smooth. Add the flour/stock mixture to the soup along with the peas and parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered 5 minutes- or a little longer. Adjust seasonings.

Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some the pie crust croutons. Serves 6-8.

Flaky Pie Crust

2 c. flour
1 t. salt
3/4 c. butter, chilled – you could also use chilled coconut oil, lard or shortening
1 T. cider vinegar
4-5 T. cold water

Combine flour and salt and cut in butter. Toss in vinegar and water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough holds together. Use a fork to toss the ingredients together and as soon as the mixture holds together stop adding water. Makes 2. Chill well before using.

Halloween Candy Mini Cheesecakes

Halloween Candy Mini Cheesecakes

I am posting this as a public service to those of you with leftover Halloween candy.

Sometimes you end up with leftover Halloween candy. It was cold and rainy here last night, so there were not as many kids out as usual. I am sure some of you have leftover candy, too.

You could just eat the candy- or you can transform it into a dessert.

The idea I came up with was mini cheesecakes. I’ve made them before, so I used my recipe, and just folded in crushed candy bars. Once the cheesecakes cool they deflate a little, so I also added some crushed candy bars to the top to make them look nice.

Only change from the original recipe was a slight decrease in sugar, to compensate for the extra sweetness of the candy. I used what I had, but I am sure a lot of different candy bars would work. I used a small food processor to really crush up the candy bars. I made 2 batches, one with cookies and cream candy bars and the other with Kit Kat bars.

Since the candy will keep, you could use the candy in a Thanksgiving dessert. Of course, the candy might not last until Thanksgiving.

Halloween Candy Mini Cheesecakes

12 vanilla wafers
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs

2/3 c. crushed candy bars plus 1/4 c. crushed candy bar, for topping

Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 wafer in each. Beat together remaining ingredients (except candy)  for 1 minute with electric mixer. Fold in candy. Divide this mixture in the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool and decorate with extra crushed candy. Makes 12. These can be frozen.

Leftovers

Leftovers

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