The Charmed Kitchen

I am making Christmas cookies and a lot of other baked goods for sale this season. I have started taking orders and hope you’ll consider me for your holiday baking needs. Many of the items were big sellers at the farm markets this year and I have included them on the list.

Feel free to email me for the order form- then you can just email me your order and preferred pick-up day.  judi_strauss@att.net

Orders can be taken from now until 12/21/13. Most orders can be ready with 72 hour notice. Orders can be picked up at my house from Dec 20-23.

Other baked goods are available upon request including but not limited to: yeast breads, cupcakes, scones and dinner rolls.  

Judi Strauss 216 383 9511   Judi_strauss@att.net

Holiday Sugar Cookies

Always  classic I make these cookies in seasonal shapes all year long. This time of years it’s snowflakes, trees and snowmen.

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

3 T. milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling, if desired

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Beat in milk. Heat oven to 375-degrees. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/3- inch thickness. Cut out with lightly floured cutters and sprinkle with sugar or colored sugar if you like and if you are not going to frost them. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 3 minutes before placing on wire rack to cool completely. Frost when cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.

Decorating your cookies:

You can use tube of pre-made frosting or you can tint canned frosting, however the best way is to use royal icing. Because royal icing contains egg whites it gets hard. Cookies have a smooth appearance and can be stacked. When making royal icing ALWAYS USE PASTUERIZED EGG WHITES OR POWDERED EGGS WHITES TO PREVENT SAMONELLA.

You can also use colored sugar and sprinkles and mini chocolate chips for eyes.

Royal Icing

1 lb. powdered sugar

½ t. cream of tartar

5¼ t. egg white powder

6 T. water

½ t. vanilla, optional

Assorted food colorings

In large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add water and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Divide into small bowls and tint each batch as needed. Keep bowl covered with a damp towel while waiting to use so frosting will not dry out.

Snowflake Cookies

Snow People Cookies

These are one of my must do cookies every year for Christmas. They aren’t just cute but they are made with a rich cream cheese dough that is sure to be a hit.

Snow People

Dough:

4 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1 c. butter, softened

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

¼ t. almond extract

Decorations:

Mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms

Kisses or mini peanut butter cups, halved

Frosting:

2 c. powdered sugar

Few drops green food coloring

Milk

Extra powdered sugar for sprinkling

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and flavorings then stir in dry ingredients. Chill dough overnight. For each snow person rolls out 3 balls of dough, 1-inch, ¾-inch and ½-inch in diameter. Place balls in descending order on ungreased baking sheet. Press together lightly.  Use 2 mini chocolate chips for eyes in smallest ball and use either chips or mini M&Ms for buttons (2 on largest ball and 1 in medium). You can also add a tiny dot of frosting once they are cooled for the buttons, too. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 18 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute then remove to rack to finish cooling. Combine powdered sugar with green food coloring and just enough milk to make a frosting that can be piped. Use a little dab of frosting to attach either a chocolate kiss (unwrapped) or half of a peanut butter cup as a hat. Pipe a small amount of frosting to form a scarf. Dust cookies with a little extra powdered sugar for snow when finished decorating. Makes about 48 cookies

Peppermint Candy Tray

My friend Sue saw these being made on TV and asked if I would be willing to try making one.  We did and here are the results. The trays are just peppermint candies that are melted in the oven and cooled. Cool, huh? We also made a bowl. The process is pretty simple. Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Unwrap the candies and place them about 1/4 -1/2 – inch apart on the baking sheet. We set the timer for 5 minutes- but they actually took about 10 minutes to melt and come together in a flat “tray.” Remove from the oven and cool a few minutes- you can trim the edges once they have cooled a little- but before they are completely cool or they will have gotten hard and will shatter.  The first attempt was super easy. The second time we arranged them in a circle and melted them as the first batch. Took it out of the oven and placed it on top of a metal bowl to cool. The result is a bowl made from candy. Fun project to do with kids.

Place unwrapped candies on a baking sheet

Candies melting together

Trim while still warm

Arrange in a circle to make a bowl

While warm place over metal bowl to cool

Peppermint Candy Bowl

Bean and Barley Soup

Very cold, even by December standards. Seemed like a great day for a hot bowl of soup. I love this Bean and Barley soup. It takes a while to cook but that only helps to warm the house on a chilly day. This recipe makes a pretty big pot of soup. I make it when I have company, although it does freeze well.

Bean and Barley Soup

8 oz. dry pinto beans, rinsed

1 T. oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots chopped fine

2 ribs celery, chopped fine

1 lb. Spare ribs or 1 lb. turkey drumstick or thigh

1 lb. ham hock or 1 lb. smoked  turkey drumstick or wing

1 qt. chicken stock

2 qts. Vegetable stock or water

1 c. barley

½ lb. green beans, cut

salt and pepper to taste

1 T. parsley

Place beans in saucepan with water and boil 5 minutes. Set aside to soak 1 hour. Drain. Meanwhile cook vegetables and garlic in oil in large kettle. Add meats and stocks and bring to a boil.  Stir in pinto beans. Cover and simmer on top of the stove for 1 hour. Or, if pan is ovenproof place in 350-degree oven and cook 1 hour. Stir in barley and beans and cook 1 hour more. Remove from heat and remove meat. Remove any meat from bones, shred and return meat to soup, discard bones. Stir in parsley and adjust seasonings. Serves 8-10.

Pineapple-Ginger Preserves

Since my schedule did not permit me to do a couple of shows I normally do I have decided to do an Open House at my home this year. It is a chance for you to pick up some last minute gifts, have a visit and have some food.

I’ll have my books, herb packets, beer bread mixes, bean soup mixes, herb vinegars and jams and jellies for sale. I only have a few jars of the pineapple ginger preserves left so if you want one of those be sure to let me know asap.

I will also have baked goods for tasting. I will have order forms for cookies and other baked goods which I am also doing this year.

Hope you can make it. Bring a friend.

Open House

Hours 11-7

Saturday, Dec. 14

18007 East Park Dr.

44119

Sweet Potatoes with Apples

I was looking for an easy side dish to have with duck. I ended up making a quick saute of sweet potatoes with onions and apples.  I loved it with the duck but would certainly serve it with other foods. I thought it would pair nicely with pork, too.  Here is what I did.

Sweet Potato and Apple Saute

2 T. oil or butter

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about an inch thick

1/2 c. water or stock

2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 T. honey

2 T. cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

dash of hot sauce

Heat oil or butter in skillet and add the onion. Cook until golden. Add sweet potatoes and water or stock and cook until sweet potatoes are almost tender. Add apples and cook until apples are heated through. Add honey and vinegar and cook until most of the liquid disappears. Season to taste and serve.

Roast Duck

There is something about duck that just appeals to me. The richness and sweetness of the meat make duck a favorite of mine no matter how it is prepared. I grew up eating Czarnina (Polish Duck Soup) that was mostly prepared for holidays. That made the soup even more special. As a kid I only ate duck that had cooked in the soup all day. It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I had it prepared any other way. I still remember my mother cooking the duck with orange glaze. It was wonderful.

I recently got 3 fresh ducks from Plumcreek Farm. I put 2 in the freezer for later but had to enjoy one of them right away.  Fresh duck is a real treat. I had ordered the ducks several weeks ago and had thought about how I wanted to cook them. Various sauces went through my mind. Rhubarb perhaps or maybe a plum sauce. Red wine or something citrus based, perhaps. In the end I decided to go minimal with this first duck. No fancy sauces or even marinades. I wanted to leave the duck as close to “natural” as I could. I salted it inside and out and gave it a good sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper. I also cut up an apple and onion and placed them in the cavity. That was it. Placed the duck on a rack and roasted it in a hot oven to crisp and render the skin as much as possible. Baked it at 425 for about an hour and a half. Served it with a saute of sweet potatoes, onions and apples that suited the duck. I would not have changed a thing.

My first fresh duck

Crispy perfection

Lemon Meltaways

It is cookie season so I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes with you. I’ll be posting more cookie pics and recipes in the coming weeks. This cookie is delicate and not too sweet with the lovely taste of lemon. Pretty and easy to make.

Lemon Meltaways

Dough:

1 ¼ c. flour

¾ c. butter, softened

½ c. cornstarch

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1 T. lemon juice

1 t. grated lemon peel

Frosting:

¾ c. powdered sugar

¼ c. butter, softened

1 t. lemon juice

1 t. grated lemon peel

In large bowl combine all dough ingredients and mix well. Divide dough in half and roll each half into an 8- inch roll.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, 1-2 hours. Slice chilled dough into ¼ inch slices and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-12 minutes, or until cookies are set, but not brown. Cool completely on a rack. Combine frosting ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. Frost cooled cookies. Makes 4 dozen.

Spinach Frittata

Since I love spinach it is one of my go to greens. I decided to make breakfast just a little healthier with the addition of spinach to the morning eggs. I started with a pound of baby spinach that I steamed. I got the skillet hot and added butter. I put the spinach in the pan and heated it through. Then I beat together 3 eggs and added salt and fresh ground pepper. I added the eggs to the pan and used a spatula to lift the eggs and let the uncooked eggs  get to the bottom of the pan. When the eggs were set I sprinkled the frittata with shredded cheddar cheese and turned down the heat. I put a lid on the skillet to  allow the cheese time to melt. Full of spinach and cheesy goodness this breakfast was quite a hit.