Category: Cooking

Scones

2c flour
1/ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbs sugar
5 tbs cold butter (cut into small pieces)
1 egg
½ to ¾ heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450°
Pulse flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and sugar in the food processor until the mixture resembles cornmeal
Add egg and enough cream to make the dough slightly sticky
Turn dough on floured surface and knead once or twice, then press into ¾ in thick.
Use cookie cutter or cut wedges
Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper, brush with cream, and sprinkle with sugar.

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Bread Pudding

Equipment:
9×13 Baking dish, buttered and floured
Mixing bowl

Ingredients:
1 loaf bread
1 quart milk
½ cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 T vanilla
≈1 cup butterscotch sauce (separate ingredients)
1 can pumpkin (28 oz?)

1 cup brown sugar
¼ – ½ cup butter

For the butterscotch sauce, melt the butter in a skillet. Slowly pour in the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, and stir. Once each tablespoon melts and combines with the butter, continue pouring the sugar.
Let it reduce to about one cup and do not let it burn. Continually stir as it reduces, and it should have a flavor slightly reminiscent of molasses.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Crumble the bread and place it on the baking dish.
Put everything that is not in the baking dish in a bowl and stir. It should end up about as thick as porridge.
Bake for about an hour, or until close to set.

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Roasted Potatoes

Equipment:
1 baking sheet lined with parchment
1 culinary brush

Ingredients:
3 lb. small white potatoes, each should be about the same size
1-2 T butter
1 T Olive oil
1 T thyme
1 T rosemary
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Cut each potato widthwise with a paring knife about ⅛ inches apart across the whole potato. Ensure that the knife doesn’t go all the way through the potato so that it does not split into pieces.
Put the potatoes onto the baking sheet. Melt the butter with the oil, and brush onto the potatoes. Let some fall in between the knife cuts in the potatoes. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top of the potatoes, and follow with thyme and rosemary. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.
Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on the bottoms.
Once golden brown, flip and place back in the oven until tender. Once at that stage, a knife should easily cut through the potatoes.
Gather leftover oil from the baking tray and drizzle over the potatoes. Season once again, then serve immediately.

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Hot Chocolate w/ Whipped Cream

Equipment:
1 small saucepan
Electric mixer

Ingredients:
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
½-2 T sugar, to taste
2 finger pinch of salt (to bring out the flavor)
1 cup milk (could make thicker with some cream)
⅛ t. Vanilla extract

1 cup cream
¼ cup sugar
1 T vanilla

Over low to medium-low heat, whisk the first three ingredients in the saucepan along with about ⅛  of the milk until the mixture is uniform and the sugar is dissolved. Slowly pour in the remaining milk and whisk while turning the heat to medium. The milk should reach somewhere between 140-150˚F so that it doesn’t burn. When it is at your desired temperature, serve immediately.

For the whipped cream, put the cream in an electric mixer. Whip on medium for about a minute, then slowly pour in the sugar, then the vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form, then spoon over mugs of hot chocolate.

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Potato Leek Soup

Equipment:
Large saucepan or dutch oven
Medium size skillet
Stick blender

Ingredients
6 cups chicken stock (2 jars of mine)
3-4 large potatoes
2 leeks
Butter (for sweating the leeks)
1-2 cups heavy cream (depends on how creamy you want it)
Cut the potatoes in a large dice. Slice the leeks lengthwise, flip onto the flat edge, and slice lengthwise again. Chop pieces about ¾ inch wide.
Simmer the broth, then add the potatoes. Allow to remain at a simmer until the potatoes become tender, about 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, sweat the leeks until they become tender, and then add them to the potatoes. Use the stick blender to puree the potatoes and leeks, and drizzle in the cream as that happens. Let the soup come to the temperature you want for serving, then serve immediately.

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Meringues

Time: > 2 hrs.
Equipment:
Stand Mixer
2-3 Cookie Sheets w/Baking parchment
Ziploc bag for piping

Ingredients
4 egg whites
¼ tsp. Cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 215˚F. Put a piece of parchment on each cookie sheet.
Put egg whites and cream of tartar in stand mixer and whip on medium speed, gradually increasing to high speed. When the mixture is thick and airy, slowly drizzle in the sugar, until the mixture has stiff peaks and is close to opaque.
Pour the mixture into a ziploc bag with a hole cut in the corner. Slowly let the meringue fall onto the parchment in whatever shape you desire.
Bake the meringue until the outside is somewhat hard and not moist, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. If you cut into one, the inside should look slightly chewy.

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Chocolate Pies

Time: >= 15 minutes
Equipment:
Mixing Bowl
Food Processor
Stand Mixer
Fork
Spoon
12 Cupcake Molds

Ingredients:
½ c. Flour
6 T Butter
¼ c. Cocoa powder or more, to taste
2 c. cream
1 ¼ c. powdered sugar
½ c. chocolate chips
Directions:
Soften 4T butter in microwave, about 15 seconds. Mash into flour with fork, and put in about 1c sugar, or to taste. Once smooth and consistent, spoon into cupcake molds and push toward sides and bottom. Set aside.
Using paddle attachment, cream butter and turn down. Add powdered sugar and put on stir. Once the consistency of rich frosting, set aside.
Put cream in food processor and turn on until it has the consistency of whipped cream. Mix in pumpkin and powdered sugar to taste. Mix in buttercream frosting. Spoon into cupcake molds and garnish with chocolate chips. Serve the day it’s made.