Super Easy Scalloped Potatoes — Um, Um, GOOD!

    Some of my mom’s favorite recipes use canned soup as an ingredient.  This is one of those from her collection. 

She’s made these scalloped potatoes for years so perhaps the recipe heralds from the 1950s when soup companies offered an array of quick-fix recipes.

    For those of a certain age, you may remember that the Sunday night episodes of Lassie were sponsored by the Campbell’s soup company. Initially filmed in black and white (starting in 1954), the television show transitioned to color during the1965 season. Campbell’s was the sole sponsor during the show’s 19-year reign. In light of that, I guess you could say that this is an “Um, Um, GOOD!” recipe.

 

Super Easy Scalloped Potatoes    4 to 6 servings

1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

Dash of pepper

4 cups thinly sliced and peeled potatoes

1 tablespoon butter

Dash ground paprika

1.     Blend soup, milk, and pepper in a mixing bowl to create a sauce. 

2.     Arrange potatoes and sauce in in 1½-quart casserole.  Dot top with butter; sprinkle with paprika. 

3.     Cover; bake in a 375° oven 1 hour.  Uncover, bake 15 minutes more.

Fresh Corn Risotto

   The latest issue of Midwest Living (July/August 2011) arrived at the end of last week and Barry earmarked the Fresh Corn Risotto page. Last night he prepared his version of the recipe to accompany the Shrimp Scampi he prepared for dinner. A great way to use fresh corn.

    Here's a link to the original recipe . . .Fresh Corn Risotto with Wild Rice and Pancetta -- "Summer's Gold" is the name of the article that features this recipe and lots of other out-of-the-ordinary uses for corn.

And, here's Barry's version of Fresh Corn Risotto

Makes 6 main-dish or 12 side-dish servings

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 to 3 pieces of bacon, chopped

1 large  onion, finely chopped (1 cup)

1¼ cups uncooked arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine 

¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth

1½ cups fresh corn kernels or frozen whole kernel corn, thawed, or canned corn, drained

1 cup  cooked wild rice*

½ cup (2 oz.) freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

About 3 tablespoons of roasted red peppers, chopped (this was Barry’s extra addition)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

1. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 tablespoons butter and the oil over medium-high heat. Add bacon; cook and stir until nicely browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to reserved drippings; cook and stir until onion is tender.
2. Add Arborio rice to onion mixture in saucepan; cook and stir over medium heat about 3 minutes or until rice begins to brown. Stir in half of the cooked pancetta. Carefully add wine and crushed red pepper.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring broth to boiling; reduce heat and simmer. Slowly add 1 cup of the broth to the rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Add another ½ cup of the broth to the rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Add remaining broth mixture, ½ cup at a time, cooking and stirring constantly just until rice is tender and the broth has been absorbed. (This should take about 20 minutes total.)
4. Stir in corn, cooked wild rice, the ½ cup cheese, the 2 tablespoons butter pieces, black pepper and roasted red pepper. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Divide risotto among six shallow pasta dishes or bowls. Sprinkle risotto with the remaining cooked bacon, grated cheese and parsley. 
To cook wild rice for this recipe — rinse ½ cup wild rice, lifting the rice with your fingers to clean thoroughly; drain. In a small saucepan, combine wild rice and 1 cup water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 40 minutes, without stirring, or until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. If needed, drain. Makes about 1¼ cups. Click on Wild Rice for more info on wild rice.

French Press Coffee: Step-by-Step Guide to Handcrafted Coffee | Wise Bread

French Press Coffee: Step-by-Step Guide to Handcrafted Coffee | Wise Bread

Uncle Barry & Erin enjoy a cup of French Press Coffee as they wait for the Elephant Ears to come out of the oven.
French Press is good with lots of milk and sugar, too!

We love our French Press -- the coffee actually tastes as good as it smells.
The instructions at the blog listed above (click on French Press Coffee: Step-by-Step Guide to Handcrafted Coffee | Wise Bread) is a great guide for using the press. However, I have summarized their instructions and adjusted them for quick reference.

How we  use our French Press — Step-by-Step:

1.   Prepare the Water. Bring water to a boil in a kettle on in a pan on the stovetop, then wait a minute or two. Or cool the boiling water with a shot of cool or cold water.

Note: Use fresh water that has not been boiled before for the best taste. The reason is because the water we drink (from the tap or bottle) has been aerated and has dissolved gases that make the water taste better. Boiling removes the gases and leaves a "flat" taste.

Tip: Put a bit of hot water in the empty French press to warm it up – this results in a hotter final cup.

2.   Grind the Coffee. Grind your own coffee beans for the best flavor. Normally a coarse grind is preferred so the grinds don't slip through the mesh filter. But the grind shouldn't be so large that you can't extract most of the goodness, making for weak, bland coffee. Adjust the strength of your brew by adjusting your grind size. (For stronger coffee, use a slightly finer grind.)

3.   Add the Coffee to the Beaker. Add ground coffee to the bottom of the glass beaker. Use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 1 cup of water. You can add more or less, depending on how strong you like your coffee.`(For strong, use 2½ to 3 tablespoons per cup of water

4.   Add Water and Pour.  Add water — the rule of thumb is for each 8 oz. (1 cup) water, add 2 tablespoons coffee. Pour water evenly over grounds and stir to make sure the hot water gets to every bit. 

5.   Stir.  Stir to make sure all the grounds are immersed in the water and to help extract t flavorful oils and compounds. A chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon is great for stirring. (Try to avoid using a metal spoon as it may cause minuscule cracks in the glass of the French press thus increasing the chance it will shatter.)

6.   Cover. When covering the French press for steeping, don't let the filter touch the brew as this will cause the coffee to begin to cool.

7.   Steep. Standard steep is 4 minutes. For the small 3-4 cup (12-16 oz.) French presses, you can get away with 2 minutes of steeping.

Extra dark: steep 10 minutes.

Short steep: steep for 30-60 seconds.

No steep: plunge immediately after stirring (for  a less bitter cup of coffee)

8.   Plunge. Press down on the plunger evenly and slowly. Keep the plunger straight vertically so grounds can’t slip through the sides of the filter. Press down slowly — just using the weight of your hand and arm for pressure; this also minimize stirring up the dust from the grinds, or forcing tiny grinds through the mesh filter.

9.   Pour and enjoy! If you are not going to drink all the coffee at once, transfer it to a carafe to keep it piping hot. 

Elephant Ears

     Some call these large, flat, crisp and cinnamony pastries Elephant Ears; others call them Crispies. Recipes vary – some start out with pie crust or puff pastry; ours begin with yeast dough. Even the final preparation can vary – from fried to baked (ours is baked). We like to eat them plain but they can be topped with fruit and ice cream, or even partially dipped in chocolate.

    And finally — are they a pastry or a cookie? References refer to them as either but we just call them “darn good”.  

    Came across this recipe years ago in a newspaper. Made them once when my parents were visiting and my mom said that she remembered eating them as a young girl. So, Erin and I decided to make a batch . . . without the dates (Barry, Mom and I like them but the rest of the family is not wild about dates).

    They went fast! We liked them SO much that we plan to make another batch.

Elephant Ears   Makes 1 dozen

2 to 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour – divided use

1 cup granulated sugar – divided use

½ teaspoon salt

1 (¼ oz.) pkg. active dry yeast or 1 scant tablespoon

½ cup water

¼ cup butter + 2 tablespoons, softened

1 egg, at room temperature

1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup finely chopped pecans

¾ cup chopped dates, optional

Pan spray or vegetable oil

1.  In large bowl, thoroughly mix ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup sugar, salt and undissolved yeast.

2.  Heat water and ¼ cup butter until  warm, 120° - butter does not need to melt.

3.  Gradually add liquid to dry ingredients; beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and ¼ cup flour; beat at high speed 2 minutes; scraping bowl occasionally.

4.  With spoon, stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes.

5.  Place dough in bowl that has been coated with cooking spray or vegetable oil, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

6.  In small bowl, combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon; reserve.

7.  Punch dough down; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll dough to 12” square (sometimes I roll to a 12x14" rectangle to make 14 Crispies). Brush with 2 tablespoons softened butter, covering the entire surface area. Sprinkle dough with a liberal amount of the sugar-cinnamon mixture saving some for rolling and sprinkling over top of Crispies. Sprinkle with pecans and dates if using. Roll up tightly, as for jelly roll; seal edges and cut into 1” slices.

8.  With a rolling pin, roll each slice to about a 4 ½” to 6” oblong shape, using remaining sugar mixture in place of flour on board; turn slices during rolling to coat both top and bottom with cinnamon-sugar mixture. 

9.  Place “ears” on baking sheets that have been coated with pan spray or brushed lightly with oil. 

10. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown Cool pastries (cookies) on baking sheets 5 minutes; then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Optional: Prepare a thin powdered sugar icing to use as a dipping sauce.

Powdered Sugar Icing

For each cup of powdered sugar, stir in  about 1 teaspoon soft butter and about 1 tablespoon milk (add more milk or powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency.

Click on Yeast Bread Baking Tips and AboutYeast  for links to additional information available on our blog.

Caribbean Delight -- Grilled Pineapple Sundae YUM!

     Uncle Barry was planning to prepare tilapia for dinner so Erin and I created “Caribbean Delight” using the fresh pineapple we had on hand. Our dessert was yummy!

Caribbean Delight

1 ripe pineapple

Brown sugar

Ground cinnamon

Dark rum

Vanilla ice cream

Sliced bananas

Toasted coconut

Chocolate sauce, optional

1.     Cut, core and slice pineapple into thick slices. (see how to tips @http://www.howtocutapineapple.com/)

2.     Place the pineapple in a dish. Light sprinkle each slice with brown sugar and cinnamon; drizzle each with a splash of dark rum (the alcohol cooks out during grilling, leaving just the flavor). Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

3.     Grill pineapple on preheated stovetop grill over medium-hot coals -- just long enough to lightly caramelize and create grill marks.

4.     To assemble sundae: top pineapple with ice cream, sliced bananas and toasted coconut. Pass the chocolate sauce.

Grandma Newell's Meat Balls

     Niece Erin in here for her annual summer visit . . . and we are cooking. One of the things on the menu is Grandma's meat balls. They are definitely one of Erin's favorites and so this summer she is taking over meat ball duty.
     Grandma (Phyllis Newell) has made this easy recipe for years. They went to the harvest field and were a frequent dinner or super entrée. Typically she served them with baked potatoes and a green vegetable or salad.


Grandma Newell's Meat Balls

1 1/2 to 2 lb. lean ground beef (80 to 85% lean)

About 1/2 cup Minute Rice or as much as you like (regular

    rice can also be used)

Salt & pepper to taste — about 1/2 teaspoon of each

1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed tomato soup

Chopped onions and green peppers (about 1/2 cup of each), if desired

1.     Preheat oven to 350°.

2.     In a mixing bowl, combine and mix the raw beef, rice, and salt & pepper.

3.     Use your hands to shape the meat mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.

4.     Arrange one layer of meatballs in a large casserole dish or baking pan (that has been sprayed with cooking spray).

5.     Mix tomato soup with 1/2 cup of water in a mixing bowl. Add chopped onions and green peppers to this sauce, if desired.

6.     Pour sauce over meatballs. 

7.     Cover baking dish or pan with foil or lid.

8.     Bake for 45 minutes and then remove foil or lid; continue to bake another 15 to 20 minutes until meatballs are nicely browned and sauce is thickened and bubbly.

Cranberry Crunch Coffee Cake

Cranberry Crunch Coffee Cake is just one of the delicious pastries that Deb Sanders prepares for guests at The Windmill Inn Bed and Breakfast.                   In the summer of 1997, I was involved in a State Department of Education Intern Program. One of the places I interned was at the Sander’s rural B&B, located south of Chapman. While there I had the opportunity to assist Deb and Tim with several catering projects and also in the preparation of a few breakfasts. That summer I learned so many things that were then incorporated into the foods classes I taught at Abilene High School. Deb and Tim were fun to work with and Deb was not only willing to share her skills but her recipes as well.

Cranberry Crunch Coffee Cake

Topping:  

Windmill Inn
1787 Rain Road
Chapman, Kansas 67431
1-785-263-8755

3/4 cup chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Batter: 

8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½  teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sour cream

1 (16 oz.) can whole-berry cranberry sauce

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 10" tube pan and spread the combined topping ingredients on the bottom. Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. 

3.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well.

4.  Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. 

5.  Stir the almond extract into the sour cream. Mix the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately into the butter mixture. 

6.  Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Carefully spread cranberry sauce over batter. Put the remaining batter over the cranberry sauce. 

7.     Bake 55 minutes.

8.     Invert pan and cool for 5 mintues before de-panning.

Click on Yeast Bread Baking Tips and AboutYeast  for links to additional information available on our blog.

Recipe without photos . . .

Cranberry Crunch Coffee Cake

Topping:  

3/4 cup chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Batter: 

8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½  teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sour cream

1 (16 oz.) can whole-berry cranberry sauce

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 10" tube pan and spread the combined topping ingredients on the bottom. Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. 

3.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well.

4.  Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. 

5.  Stir the almond extract into the sour cream. Mix the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately into the butter mixture. 

6.  Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Carefully spread cranberry sauce over batter. Put the remaining batter over the cranberry sauce. 

7.     Bake 55 minutes.

8.     Invert pan and cool for 5 mintues before de-panning.