College Football Kickoff Sugar Cookies

Football season is upon us. Yippee! For me and my husband that means providing tailgate food for about 6-10 people every weekend there is a home game for the Clemson Tigers! With my new mission to expand my cooking horizons in full force, I have decided to use my fellow tailgaters as guinea pigs...er...um…I mean a taste testers for my some of my first attempt recipes. Muahahaha! This past weekend I made rolled sugar cookies for the first time (royal icing and all). What a pain in the tushy! It was way too time consuming of a task for my schedule last week and before it was over…wait…what am I talking about!? It’s not over! I still have 2 dozen un-iced football shaped sugar cookies in Tupperware on my counter Beware, this recipe makes a lot of cookies folks! (About 3-5 dozen depending on the size of your cookie cutter). I am not sure what to do with them. I’ll probably procrastinate doing anything with them until they’re stale and have to be thrown away. Anyway, I ended up taking a few short cuts with the icing on the 20 or so that I did ice that made the cookies look less than perfect, but I do think they tasted pretty good. So with out further ado, here is the recipe:

Rolled Sugar Cookies
From Jill Saunders

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Royal Icing
From: Martha Stewart Living 2006

Ingredients:

• 1 lb box of confectioners sugar
• 5tbsp meringue powder or 2 pasteurized egg whites (I used meringue powder because we had a pregnant lady attending the tailgate)

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle. Use gel food colors to create the desired color for your icing

I was quite surprised at how hard it was to get the cut cookie from the counter to the pan. As you can see these cookies did not all turn out the same size. I was thinking next time I might will try to roll the dough out on parchment paper and remove the excess dough from around the shapes so they don’t have to be picked up and moved. The whole parchment paper could just be moved to the pan. I am not sure how it would effect the baking of the cookies though. We’ll try one day!

So after these cookies are completely cool you must ice them. The cookies themselves are not very sweet and the icing really makes the cookie. You are supposed to use a piping bag to pipe around the out line of your shape and then when the out line dries you are supposed to then thin your icing and fill the middle. This is where I started to cheat. It was about 11:00pm at night when I started this process (like I said busy week) and I do not have a steady hand. So not wanting to completely destroy the cookies beyond recognition by attempting fine decorating techniques I’ve never tried in the last hour of the day, I used a short cut suggested to me by my mother-in-law (Thanks Colleen!). I made my icing according the recipe above, colored it to as close to football brown as I could get them and then dipped the cookies top side down straight in the bowl of icing to coat them. The icing really smoothes itself out evenly over the cookie on its own while it dries. I let them dry on sheets of wax paper overnight and then woke up at 4:00 am to finish them the day of the game (I told you I was cramming this project in to my already busy week). First I had to take a paring knife to cut the cookies loose from the wax paper. Due the unorthodox way I iced these cookies, there was a lot of excess icing dripping over the edges. However once cut free, most of the cookies looked pretty good. Then I had to make another batch of the icing with no color in it for the laces. It was at this time that I discovered I did not have enough powdered sugar to make even half a batch of the icing. Luckily it was 4:00 am so I didn’t care anymore. I made what I icing I could (which turned out to me too thin) and gave laces to as many football cookies as the small batch would allow. The icing came out too thin and the laces did not hold their shape at all. The laces looked more like amoebas. Oh well. I served them at a football game so I figured if people didn’t know what I intended them to be it wasn’t me who would be the dummy. I will try these again, but I’m going to take a break for a while. These are a lot of work and not a good idea to make when you’re in a rush.

Everything Salmon Burgers

My husband and I love everything bagels and when I saw this Recipe I knew I had to make it! It fit perfectly with my efforts to incorporate more fish in to our diets too!

Everything Salmon Burgers with Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets, cut into large chunks
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning, (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick)
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 1/2 cup softened Neufchatel cream cheese
• 3 scallions, whites and greens, chopped
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Green leaf lettuce, for topping
• Sliced beefsteak or vine ripe tomato, for topping
• Sliced red onion, for topping
• Crusty kaiser rolls, split and toasted

Directions:

Preheat outdoor grill if using to medium high. Prepare hot grill with cooking spray. Indoors, use a large skillet rather than a grill pan and preheat with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to medium-high heat.

Place salmon in food processor and pulse to coarse grind meat to form burgers. Transfer fish to a mixing bowl and season with grill seasoning, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and dill. Mix and form 4 patties. Drizzle the burgers with extra-virgin olive oil.

Cook burgers 3 minutes on each side for a pink center, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for fully cooked fish.

While burgers cook, combine in a bowl the cream cheese and the scallions and fold in sour cream and lemon juice.

Top the burgers with lettuce, tomato, onion and sauce on crusty, toasted buns.

Back On The Housekeeping Horse

No, I don't have a horse that I ride around my house when I clean. Come on people!

I have been a slack on my commitment to learn a new routine to make cleaning part of my everyday. This is a brief statement of intent to declare I am re-committing myself to the process. It's hard to get up so early and be immediately productive, but I really do feel it is important.

I will report back with any new and interesting discoveries I encounter along the way.

Now if I can just get my husband to help...hmmmm.

Stinky Trash Can No More!!

I have struggled with my trash can stinking for so long. The odor had basically absorbed into the plastic and would NOT go away. I had tried EVERYTHING. Bleach, Lysol products, air fresheners, etc. None of this worked.

This weekend, as a last stitch effort, I gave a "green" cleaner a try. I have had very little faith in green cleaning methods (for no good reason) until now. I mixed baking soda and white distilled vinegar in that stinky old trash can, gave it a scrub, then let it soak for a bit. Voila! My trash can smells like plastic. Not stinky garbage, not vinegar (which I was concerned about)...clean plastic!

I was blown away. Maybe there is something to these homemade cleaning products. It has seriously peaked my interest and I may be looking further into this whole green cleaning thing very soon.

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

I saw this made on the TV show "Just Cook This with Sam the Cooking Guy" on Fit TV. It looked so delicious I HAD to try it. I had one small hiccup though. I had never eaten eggeplant (I know, I know...what planet do I live on right?). Come to find out I may not be the biggest fan of this vegetable, however...I think eggplant lovers would love this, so I am sharing. Let me know! The picture was taken with my phone, so I apologize if it's fuzzy.

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
adapted from Sam the Cooking Guy

• 1 large globe eggplant - or 2 smaller ones
• 3 large tomatoes
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese
• 4 crusty Italian type rolls, split in half
• 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Fresh Ground Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Italian seasonings

Directions:

Cut eggplant & tomatoes to get eight 1/4 inch slices of each. Brush eggplant and bread with olive oil. Season eggplant and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some garlic powder and Italian seasoning on inside of bread.

Grill eggplant on both sides until soft and marked with grill lines. Do the same with tomatoes, but for about half the eggplant time. Toast the bread on the grill as well.

Heat broiler. Assemble sandwiches in this order...
2 slices of eggplant, 2 slices of tomato, 3 large basil leaves, mozzarella cheese and finally about 2 tablespoons of parmesan.

Place open-face under broiler to melt cheese and brown the top - but don't go far you don't want them to burn. Place tops on and slice in half.

La Bete Noir - Flourless Chocolate cake

La Bete Noir means "the dark (or night) beast". This flourless chocolate cake is so rich and delicious, one slice should do you in. My husband has requested this cake for his birthday dinner this weekend. I made it last night and it turned out the best it ever has for me. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, diced
• 18 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 6 large eggs

Ganache

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Lightly sweetened whipped cream for topping

Preparation

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment round; butter parchment. Wrap 3 layers of heavy-duty foil around outside of pan, bringing foil to top of rim. Combine 1 cup water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; cool slightly. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.
Bake cake until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove from water bath; transfer to rack. Cool completely in pan.

For ganache:
Bring whipping cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cake still in pan. Gently shake pan to distribute ganache evenly over top of cake. Refrigerate cake in pan until ganache is set, about 2 hours.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake; release sides. Cut cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Creamy Ham Casserole

I am always interested in a good freezable meal. This casserole is not only yummy, but it is lower in fat than your typical casserole. My friend Erika made it for our bible study the other night and no one could believe it was reduced fat. I just had to share!

Creamy Ham Casserole

from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients:

• 4 ½ cups uncooked medium egg noodles (I use no-yolks)
• 2 quarts boiling water
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 (10 ¾ ounce) can condensed, reduced fat, reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 2 cups (8 oz.) reduced fat shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 (6 oz.) tub light cream cheese with chives and onion, softened
• 2 cups chopped lean ham
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• cooking spray
• 1 cup fat free herb flavored croutons, crushed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook noodles in 2 quarts boiling water for 2 minutes.
3. Add broccoli and cook 3 minutes. Drain
4. Combine milk, soup, 1 cup Cheddar cheese, and cream cheese in a large bowl and stir well with a whisk.
5. Add noodles mixture, ham, and carrot and stir well.
6. Divide noodle mixture evenly between 2, 8 inch, square baking dishes coated with cooking spray.
7. Combine remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese and crouton crumbs; toss well.
8. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over casseroles.
9. Wrap unbaked casseroles with heavy- duty foil.
10. Place frozen casseroles on a baking sheet.
11. Bake, covered at 350 for 1 hour.
12. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.

*You can freeze up to 3 months!