Plain Old Chicken and Dumplings

Well, not so plain, really. This recipe comes out so jam-packed full of flavor that it is just an amazingly stellar recipe, all around. I cannot believe it has taken me this long to get around to posting it.

Chicken and Dumplings has been around forever, it seems. I originally got the recipe from an old cookbook (copyright 1969) by Gloria Ivens called "Glorious Stews." While I love the recipe, it does call for cooking a chicken first, with vegetables that will make a great stock, then discarding the veggies and starting over with fresh vegetables to make the dish itself. The recipe uses a good sized farm chicken, past its prime, in which case the chicken will be tougher than what is normally found in the supermarket and with a commensurately longer cooking time. 
 

Chicken & Dumplings

Making the dish these days, when farm fresh chickens are not available to just anyone, some revisions to the recipe are needed. I am all for excellent, full flavored stock, and I always do my utmost to accomplish that first.

Making a good stock is not time-consuming. Once it is made, it can be frozen. This means having some really well-flavored chicken stock on hand for any recipe that calls for chicken stock, and not the pitifully flavored "chicken stock" found in the supermarket. It is hard to imagine a more radical difference.

What Makes a Good Chicken Stock?

Bones, that's what. Without bones to give flavor, I would personally just say don't bother, because the results will be pallid by comparison. If you use a package of chicken wings for a party, first cut off all the wing tips and save them for stock. If ever you are using a whole chicken, or any chicken where there are leftover wing tips or backs, or even chunks of skin and fat, place these in a bag, well marked, and freeze them until you have a fair amount and then you can plan to make stock on some Saturday when you are hanging around the house doing other chores.

When you are ready to make your chicken stock, place the bones, and whatever other bits and pieces you have accumulated into a pot, cover them with water, adding in a whole carrot, stalk of celery, an onion with its outer skin left on for good color, a sprig of parsley and a few black peppercorns. Do not add salt! Salt can be added to the recipe when you are making something with the stock, but if salt is added to the stock at the start, you may end up with a stock that is far too salty to use without severely diluting it. In which case, you have just wasted all your efforts for a full flavored stock. No salt.

A chicken stock should simmer for at least three hours on very low, to extract as much flavor as possible from the bones. Once cooked, poured the stock through a very fine sieve to filter out any bits or parts. Cool and freeze in plastic containers of a size that will serve for a recipe, such as 2 cup or 4 cup containers.

Chicken & Dumplings

Old fashioned chicken and dumpling recipes would call for the chicken's component parts to be left in the pot just as they are, on their bones for final serving. I prefer to remove the fully cooked chicken from the pot and cool it enough to handle, then remove any bones, cartilage and skin, adding only the meat, in small sized chunks, back into the pot. It makes it easier to eat and makes a lovely presentation. The choice is up to you.

What Constitutes a Dumpling?

I guess the answer to that would depend on each individual, because there are many types of "dumpling," and not any two people will agree on what that means.  

Some dumplings are nothing more than a drop-biscuit dough (my Mom used Bisquick™). Depending on size, these can grow to entirely cover the surface of the soup or stew. Some are heavy and chewy and some are light and fluffy. Others are dry.

I cannot abide the biscuit type of dumpling, though if this is your preferred dumpling, please use them, because the dish will depend on liking the dumpling part of it. For me, I love best a very small type of dumpling, dropped judiciously onto the soup or stew. They will sort of blend into the soup or stew, becoming a part of the other myriad chunks in the stew already. I use the recipe for Butter Chive Dumplings, though without the chives, or sometimes the Butter & Egg Dumplings, below. They are small, and easily blend in with the other bits in the stew. These Butter & Egg Dumplings are thicker and slightly denser but still quite tender:

Butter & Egg Dumplings

Makes enough for one recipe of Chicken & Dumplings

½ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour3 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, not melted
¼ teaspoon salt
a Pinch white pepper

Place the butter into a bowl and beat until light, then adding in the eggs, one at a time, until each is well combined. Add in the flour, salt and pepper, stirring to make a batter.

These can be made ahead and then set onto the stew when it is ready to serve: heat a 3 to 4-quart pot of water to a simmer, adding in about 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water in the pot. Drop the batter into the slowly simmering water by teaspoon, allowing them to gently slide onto the water. They will sink, then start to rise to the surface once they are cooked, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the dumplings to a buttered plate or oven-proof casserole. Cover and keep warm until needed. 

If making the dumplings on top of the soup or stew: Once the soup or stew is finished cooking, drop the dumplings by teaspoon onto the surface of the soup. Cover the pot and allow to cook gently for about 7 to 8 minutes. 

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Chicken & Dumplings

Chicken & Dumplings

Serves about 6

2 quarts (8 cups) good chicken stock (see above)
1 whole chicken, cut up (freeze back and wingtips for another batch of stock)
6 carrots, peeled and sliced into coin shapes
3 large onions, chopped coarsely
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper (preferably white pepper)
Pinch saffron, crushed, optional

THICKENING:
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup cold water
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1 cup heavy cream, optional
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1 recipe Butter & Egg Dumplings, made ahead or on the stew, as preferred
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1 cup frozen peas

Place the chicken pieces into a wide stew pot or Dutch oven and cover with the chicken stock. Turn on heat and bring to boil, adding in the onion, carrot and garlic with the salt and pepper. Once boiling, skim off any foam that accumulates on top. Once foaming subsides, add in the saffron, lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken pieces from the pot to a plate to cool. Once cooled, remove the chicken from the bones, discarding bones, skin and cartilage. Add the meat back to the pot.

Briskly whisk together the flour and cold water. Pour into the pot through a sieve, then stir briskly to distribute evenly. Allow the stew to cook gently for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Pour in the heavy cream, if using, and add in the peas. If making the dumplings directly on top of the stew, do this now, then cover and allow them to simmer gently for 7 or 8 minutes.

If you have made the dumplings in a pot of salted water, add the cooked dumplings to the pot and stir slightly to coat with the stew. Serve the stew in a soup tureen with parsley sprigs for garnish on top.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Better Late than Never

Okay, apparently I got busy over the end of summer, because somehow, this recipe managed to slip through the cracks. I was so absolutely sure I had posted it, and was all ready to recommend it for holiday cheese trays. But, no. Alas. And now, it is probably way too late. Certainly up here in the cold north of the US, tomatoes are long, long, gone. 

Green Tomato Jam

Maybe, in the south, or in some countries where it never gets so cold (as when I lived in Guatemala), there are those with tomatoes still growing, but otherwise, you may have to wait until next season to try this amazingly good recipe for Green Tomato Jam.

As often happens with me, I had been thinking of all the green tomatoes on the plants outside back in October. I was in the process of making Chow Chow, which turned out to be a new favorite in the relish department. And as I was musing on the uses for green tomatoes, I wondered if Green Tomato Jam would be a viable idea. And, what flavors would I add to such a thing. So, as usual, I Googled it, and found, to my amazement, quite a few versions of Green Tomato Jam out there.  

Spiced Tomato Jam

I make a Spiced Tomato Jam (click on the link to my recipe) with red tomatoes, usually Romas as they have more meat to them, and it uses lemon juice and a nice blend of spices to make a marvelous jam for your breakfast toast. At least this is how I have always used that jam, and I had been making it for at least 40-some years now. My kids loved it, growing up, and some have wanted the recipe. 

Somehow, though, thinking about those flavors with green tomatoes just wasn't really doing the trick for me, when mentally "tasting" the combination. And so I perused all the recipes online I could find, looking at what was used for flavoring a Green Tomato Jam. I was having a harder time imagining the flavors, as using green tomatoes in jam was totally a new idea for me. 

Green Tomato Jam

By the time I got to this idea, I had almost no tomatoes left to use, and my Farmers' Market supplier was also at his end of tomato season, green or no. Given this scarce quantity of green tomatoes, my idea came a bit late in the season, though next year I will rectify this! 

In the end, I opted to flavor this jam with lime juice (a more "green" flavor) and zest, and then opted to use a star anise (because someone mentioned it as a possibility and I happen to have a bag of them), a cinnamon stick, some fresh ginger and just for the heck of it, a vanilla pod. I planned to just cook this jam down on my own rather than use pectin, and to ensure that it would set, I used a little bit of agar agar (a non-animal "gelatin") towards the end of cooking. It set absolutely perfectly, and when I tasted the result, I was amazed at how wonderful it was. 

While I could certainly imagine tasting it on a piece of toast, what first jumped to mind was that it would be fantastic on cheese and crackers. I tested that theory out immediately, with a piece of aged white cheddar and OMG! Okay, new favorite on the cheese platter! So without further ado, here is what I did:

Green Tomato Jam

Makes 4½ cups

Green Tomato Jam

3 pounds green tomatoes, washed
3 cups granulated sugar
5 tablespoons lime juice
zest of one lime
1 vanilla pod
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick (about 3 - 4-inches)
1 walnut sized chunk fresh ginger, peeled & finely grated
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½ teaspoon agar agar
½ cup water

Cut the green tomatoes into approximately 1-inch and pulse them, in batches if necessary, in the food processor until broken down to a coarse texture. Place the tomato mixture into a wide pot and add in the sugar, lime juice and zest and stir. Set pan onto medium heat, stirring often until the sugar is all dissolved. 

While the sugar is dissolving, slice the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds and add to the pot, along with the pod, the star anise, cinnamon stick and ginger pulp. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce to a medium simmer and cook until the mixture reaches about 220 to 222 degrees, stirring occasionally. This will take approximately an hour.

Separately, have ready the agar agar mixed into the water. Once the temperature reaches 220, stir in this mixture and cook for a further 3 minutes. Pour the jam into sterile, one-cup jars, seal and cool, then store in the refrigerator. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Party Season is Here

Appetizers at Friday Party

Most people attend at least one party get-together over the end of year holidays, if not many of them. I made appetizers for a wine tasting last Friday evening, some of which were new and some of which were old standbys and some of which were sort of re-created.

This party was a wine tasting and pairing that was won at auction in April at the Winefest Renaissance, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club.

One of the appetizers, one that always is well received, is something I created quite a few years ago. It is quick and easy and delicious. I call them Andouille Coins.

Andouille is a spicy sausage known well in Louisiana. It is used in things like Gumbo, Jambalaya and Etoufee. Since I now live way up north in South Dakota, true Andouille is not available here, though a South Dakota company called Frohling's makes their own version of it. While it has no spicy heat, it does have a lovely spice mixture to it. I use these to accomplish the Andouille Coins, and have had rave reviews, so heartening, for such an easy appetizer. 

Andouille Coins

Andouille Coins

Makes 55 to 60

4 Andouille sausages
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 jar mango chutney, for serving

On a floured surface, roll out the thawed puff pastry sheet to the width that will accommodate two of the sausages lengthwise, and deep enough to be able to roll up two sausages with enough overlap to seal the roll shut, using a little water at the edge. Usually the depth will be nearly perfect as is.

Once the rolls are created, they can be wrapped in waxed paper and kept in a zip-top baggie for a couple of days, or they can be sliced and baked immediately.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Slice the rolls across, about ¼-inch thick, into "coin" shapes. Set the coins about an inch apart on the parchment lined sheets and bake them for about 20 minutes, or until the puff pastry has puffed significantly and turned golden. 

Making Andouille Coins

Serve these at room temperature with a small dollop of mango chutney (I use store bought "Major Grey's Mango Chutney").

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One of the appetizers I served was something I called Chicken and Mushroom Pâté. Maybe I should change the name? No one wanted to eat it. I grant you, it doesn't have the eye-appeal the other appetizers had, but the flavors were just tremendous. I used a recipe I had created some years ago, to pair with a Pinot Noir wine at the Winefest Renaissance. While the pairing was perfect, again, it wasn't all that well received. I did find out that the Malbec that was served that evening was a match made in heaven. The Pinot was perfect, but the Malbec really shone, alongside this Chicken & Mushroom "Spread."

Chicken & Mushroom Spread

My recipe contains no chicken liver, or any kind of liver. I went for chicken thigh meat and sauteed mushrooms as the base mixture, to create a nicely earthy pairing for the earthy Pinot Noir. This time, I used the base recipe, but ground the mixture more finely, and added in some extra things to jazz up the flavors. And the flavors are amazing. I've been eating the leftovers every day since!

I skipped the "Pepperless Piquancy" mixture and used black pepper. I fried 6 slices of bacon and then ground those fine, along with the cooked chicken thighs and well-sauteed mushrooms. I added all the bacon fat in the pan, also, as I wanted the nicest "mouthfeel" possible. I substituted a couple of large shallots for the onion. I substituted dry Vermouth for the dry white wine. I folded in at the end about three teaspoons of nonpareil capers and a half cup of sliced scallions. Nothing too huge for changes, but just enough. It was delicious. I served the spread with mixed olives and large caper berries, with an array of crackers, pita chips and bruschetta breads.

Chicken Mushroom Spread

Makes about 3 cups

CHICKEN PREP:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, well trimmed
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 - 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

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MUSHROOM MIXTURE:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large shallots (about 6 - 6 1/2 ounces, total), finely chopped
1 pound mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas), sliced
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black cardamom seeds, ground, optional
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
⅔ cup dry Vermouth or dry white wine

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6 slices bacon, cut in ¼-inch pieces

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more olive oil, for frying the chicken
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon nonpareil capers, drained

½ cup sliced scallions

3 ounces (1 cup grated) Pecorino Romano cheese

½ cup heavy cream, divided

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parsley leaves, for garnish

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Serve with: olives, large caper berries, crackers, bruschetta slices, pita chips

First, make sure the chicken is well trimmed of fat and cut into small pieces, none larger than 1-inch. Sprinkle on the pepper, salt and the minced garlic and mix together well. Set this aside while preparing the mushroom mixture.

Heat a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and add in the butter and tablespoon of olive oil. Once melted, add the minced onion and lower heat to medium low, cooking the onion very slowly, about 8 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the mushrooms to the onions in the pan and raise the heat to medium high. It will seem a lot at first, but they will cook down quickly. Add in the ½-teaspoon salt & black cardamom, if using. Cook, stirring for 15 to 18 minutes, until all the liquid that releases from the mushrooms is cooked out, and the mushrooms are golden brown. Add in the rosemary and the dry Vermouth and cook quickly, stirring, until all the wine has evaporated, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour this mixture into a large bowl to cool. 

Return the skillet to the heat and fry the bacon pieces until crisp. Pour the crisp bacon and all the fat left in the pan into the bowl with the mushrooms.

Return the skillet to the heat and add in a little more olive oil. Pour in the chicken mixture and cook on medium high, tossing continually to brown evenly and cook the meat through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Once meat is cooked through, add to the bowl with the mushrooms. Add in the 3 tablespoons of parsley, the capers and scallions. Stir well. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, add the Pecorino and mix. Using a food processor, process the mixture very finely in two or three batches. During this process, add in half the heavy cream to each batch being processed. Remove to a bowl and mix well. This can be made 1 or 2 days in advance. The mixture can also be frozen until needed. Thaw completely before using.

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Flank Steak Rolls with
Gorgonzola Walnut Filling

Some of the appetizers I did not change at all were the Flank Steak Rolls with Gorgonzola Walnut Spread (great with Malbec or with Cabernet Sauvignon), Rosemary Parmesan Wafers (great with either a Chardonnay or a Cabernet Sauvignon), and the Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon (the pepper crusting allowed these to pair well with Shiraz, Pinot Noir or Chardonnay). 

Rosemary Parmesan Wafers

Having served the Flank Steak Rolls on many occasions, with people clamoring for more, they are always a great party appetizer. If time is crazy short before your party, make the Gorgonzola Walnut Filling up to a week ahead, then use a little kitchen scale to weigh out 5 to 6 gram bits of the spread and roll into thin logs and stack in a container with lid, using waxed paper between layers of the cheese logs. Keep these refrigerated until the day before the party. Set the flank steak to marinate 3 days ahead, then broil the meat and slice it two days ahead, then keep it tightly sealed in the fridge. One day ahead, roll the slices of meat around the filling and skewer with toothpicks. Do not use toothpicks with the little cellophane bits on the ends (the cellophane unravels in the humidity inside of the storage container, then leaves little multi colored spots on the meat!), nor multi-colored toothpicks (these leave the meat and filling multi-colored - probably not the best).

Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon

The Rosemary Parmesan Wafers, not a sweet cookie, and definitely meant to serve with wine, can be mixed up, then wrapped in plastic film and refrigerated until the day before the party. Simply slice and bake. Store them in a well-sealed container.

The Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon must be marinated a day ahead and for best freshness, baked the day of the party, but they can be chilled before setting out, so they can be made ahead early in the day. It takes only about 3 minutes to bake them. It takes longer than that to heat the oven!

The last appetizer I served was a completely reworked, recreated recipe called Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Tarts with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam. If you have the time to get the tarts made and frozen, they need only be reheated for 12 minutes, and the Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam can be made at any point p to weeks ahead and kept tightly sealed in the fridge.  

I hope some of these ideas will help you plan one of your holiday parties, and make life easier for you.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Love of Whole Grain Bread

Over the years, I have come to love whole grain breads more and more. I am even beginning to get my husband to at least tolerate or like them. So, when we were recently in Las Vegas, we happened upon an Irish Pub called "Ri Ra" and they served us a soda bread that was just so good I could hardly credit its flavor or moistness. My husband was quite taken with the bread also, and I asked about the recipe. The server said the chef would not divulge the recipe, but he said he knew for sure that they used whole grain wheat, rolled oats, honey and eggs.
 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Soda Bread

I took this as a personal challenge.

As soon as I got home, I attempted a loaf. It came out quite well, but we both felt it needed to be just a little sweeter, and from the photos I took of the bread at the Pub, mine definitely needed more oats. Back to the drawing board. 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Soda Bread

My second attempt, only a couple of days after making the first (if the first loaf wasn't perfect, neither was it inedible 😉), came out quite a bit better. I may, or may not do any more tweaking of the recipe, because this second loaf was quite lovely and very, very good. 

You have to like whole grains, for sure, but I do feel this is a loaf worth trying, most particularly if you have the ability to grind your own wheat. I am not sure it would be remotely as good if you bought pre-ground "whole wheat" flour. I have repeatedly found what a difference it makes to be able to grind my own wheat (or rye, or Kamut, or buckwheat, or anything else), versus buying pre-ground "whole-grain" flours. I put those words in quotes, because I have read that factories grind wheat into white flour, separating out all bran and germ, then only add back in what they estimate is needed to recreate a "whole-grain" flour for commercial sale. That really gripes me. While grinding my own grains at home means I will have a more "grainy" (pardon the pun) loaf, then so be it, but the flavor factor goes up by miles. 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Soda Bread

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Soda Bread

Makes one loaf 

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (85 grams)
1½ cups buttermilk (350 ml) 
2¼ cups whole wheat flour (300 grams)*
¼ cup all-purpose flour (33 grams)
2 teaspoons baking soda (15 grams)
½ teaspoon salt (3 grams)
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons honey (60 grams)
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (42 grams)
1½ tablespoons flax seeds (18 g), optional
1½ tablespoons raw, hulled sunflower seeds (15 g), optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 2½-inch loaf pan.

Stir together the buttermilk and oats and set aside for about 15 minutes or so, while preparing the other ingredients. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Combine the melted butter and honey and add to the bowl, along with the buttermilk-oatmeal mixture and eggs. Stir until all dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake the loaf for approximately one hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees, using an instant-read thermometer. Set the pan to cool for 10 minutes before turning the loaf out onto a rack to cool completely before slicing.

*Note: If desired, substitute ⅔ cup (50 g) white rye or plain all-purpose flour for part of the whole wheat flour. This would make the amount of whole wheat flour to be 250 grams.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Try These Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

It has been a while since I have managed to get back to my blog. November was an exceedingly busy month, for me. And now we are into December, and it will get even busier, so before things really go crazy, I did want to post this recipe I started back in late October!
 

Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies with Marshmallow Creme

I had a lovely, Soft Pumpkin Cookie recipe I'd been using for years and finally got posted, but then I got thinking, "What about a Pumpkin Sandwich Cookie?" I couldn't recall ever seeing such a thing, so I started thinking about how could I make a slightly more crisp cookie, using a moist vegetable like squash? I did see a lot of recipes for "Pumpkin Spice Cookies," but these were nothing more than spice cookies, using the usual spices used when making a pumpkin pie. Beware, because there is no pumpkin or squash in those recipes at all. They are just spice cookies! 

Next, I went looking for other cookies I had made that would work as a sandwich. Then, comparing and reworking, to try and get the recipe to come out with a cookie at least crisp enough to hold shape when sandwiching. I didn't want domed cookies that would make the final sandwich look like a ball, because I did see some made that way online. They are probably delicious, but not at all what I wanted for my outcome. 

The amount of actual pumpkin/squash in the recipe would have to be fairly low, or else the cookies would be far too soft. Not enough pumpkin/squash and you have no flavor at all. A fine balancing act, to be sure.

And then of course: what to fill the cookies with? How would they stand up to being filled. When you bite, would all the filling just squeeze out? For my first attempt, I used a cream cheese frosting, flavored with pumpkin pie spice. The mixture was far too soft. It did literally flatten, on taking a bite, leaving all the filling falling out around the edges. Not at all good. And then I saw a suggestion somewhere for using Marshmallow Fluff. Hmmm. So then I went hunting for Marshmallow Fluff recipes, and it turned out to be not too difficult at all, so I compared a few recipes and went my own way, slightly on the low side of sweetness levels. The Marshmallow Creme recipe came together easily. The most difficult thing about the recipe was trying to put it into jars or containers once made! It can be made ahead of time, if needed.

Marshmallow Creme

Marshmallow Creme

Makes about 2 pints

3 large egg whites (4 fl.oz. / 114 grams)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar (0.05 oz./1 gram)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 oz./30 grams)
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⅔ cup granulated sugar (5.2 oz./148 grams)
⅓ cup water (3 fl.oz./88 grams)
¾ cup golden syrup (9.3 oz./265 grams)
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon caramel flavoring, optional

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until very foamy. Slowly add in the 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat to soft peaks.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the ⅔ cup granulated sugar, the water and the golden syrup (or substitute dark corn syrup, honey, or a combination of these two). Stir until the granulated sugar is dissolved, then bring to boil without stirring and using a candy thermometer, bring the syrup to 240 degrees F. 

Immediately remove from heat and re-start the whisking of the egg whites in the mixer bowl on medium high speed. Begin pouring the hot syrup carefully just down the side of the bowl, being very careful not to let the syrup hit the whisk attachment. Beat until all the syrup has been added, then continue to beat for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, until cooled. Beat in the flavorings. The marshmallow creme can be stored at room temperature for three days or in the fridge, well covered.

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Back to the Cookies. When I made this batch of cookies, it was my second batch, having first made them filled with a cream cheese icing, unsuccessfully. This time, I opted to cut them out with a fluted-edge cutter, and then I poked little holes in the centers using a two-tined pickle fork. Remember when making these, that they will be sandwiched, so there will ultimately be half the amount of finished cookies than the original amount of single wafers.

Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

Made 94 wafer cookies / 47 sandwich cookies 

Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies with Marshmallow Creme

1 cup butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice 
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add in the yolks and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and beat in. Combine the dry ingredients, then on very low speed, add to the creamed mixture, slowly, until all the flour is well mixed in. Flour a surface and roll out the dough rather thinly, about ⅛-inch thick. Cut out 2 or 2½-inch diameter cookies and bake them on ungreased cookie sheets for 14 to 16 minutes, or until set and just barely golden. Remove from cookie sheets immediately, to a rack or clean surface to cool completely before filling.  

Baked Cookies and Filling them

Set one cookie top side down and pipe or spoon on the filling, then top with another wafer right side up.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

You Cannot Beat a Great Lasagna

Lasagna, for all of my cooking skills, has been my Waterloo. For some inexplicable reason, it would come out too dry or too runny, lacking flavor or just ho-hum. We have eaten my attempts, but they were nothing to write about. The only ones that came out somewhat nicely (and which I did write about), were a Short Rib Lasagna and a Lamb and Mushroom Lasagna, but these are not your typical recipe. I have even had a Zucchini Lasagna come out well various times, where I used zucchini instead of lasagna noodles.

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta

A couple of weekends ago, we had our friends Heidi and Rich visiting, and Heidi makes lasagna that Rich approves of, and he is Italian. I know she made it for us once a few years ago, but I cannot recall precisely how that one was. I just do not recall. This time, I asked Heidi if she would make her lasagna, and I would watch to see what she did. How did she manage the mixture not being too wet? Or too dry? The one thing I stipulated, as my contribution, was that I would make the lasagna noodles in my pasta machine.

Heidi had never used fresh pasta before, and was very impressed with how easy they were to make (the machine does the work) and how easy to use (they don't need to be cooked beforehand). Aside from that, she said she just made the pasta and meat sauce with both hamburger and Italian sausage, and not too much liquid-y ingredients. 

It came out crazy delicious. However, my husband and I both tend to retain water when we eat something processed with too much salt. She had used three 8-ounce packages of mozzarella slices. She used the better part of a pint of cottage cheese. We added no salt to the sauce (or anything else), which used a 24 ounce sized jar of  Prego brand spaghetti sauce and some tomato sauce and tomato paste. The Prego is something I use often with no particular water retention problem, so I figured it wasn't that. But the cheese? Oh, yes.

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta just out of oven

So, her lasagna was fantastic in the sense that it cut well and held together, was neither too wet or too dry. I wanted to repeat the effort on my own. I went looking at the cheeses, comparing sodium levels. I wanted to use ricotta instead of cottage cheese. The ricotta had nearly half the sodium per same-size serving of cottage cheese. I used only two 8-ounce packages of mozzarella, but I used shredded mozzarella instead of the slices, which had much more sodium than the shredded kind. I chose to add spinach to my lasagna, just because I love how pretty it looks. I have nothing at all against spinach, but you truly do not taste it in lasagna, so it is more for esthetics, to me. 

Sadly, my husband and I both retained water after eating this lasagna, even with more careful eye on the sodium - though not quite as dramatically.

As for the pasta, again I made my own. I used half whole grain Kamut flour, freshly ground, and half semolina flour, with egg and water. I love the great al dente "tooth" of this pasta, which cooks just perfectly in the sauce once all assembled and baked. If making the pasta by hand, you can use all-purpose, 500 grams worth, by weight.

So without further ado, here is my recipe:

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta

Makes one very full 9 x 13-inch casserole

MEAT SAUCE:
1 pound very lean hamburger meat
1 pound Italian sausage meat
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, minced
1 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 (24-ounce) jar Prego traditional spaghetti sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
--------------------------------
LASAGNA PASTA:
280 grams Kamut Khorasan whole grain flour
220 grams semolina flour
2 large eggs + enough water to make 190 grams
-----------------------------------
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 (8-ounce) packages shredded mozzarella
2 cups / 1 pint ricotta cheese
Parmesan, for sprinkling

MEAT SAUCE: Heat a large pot or Dutch oven and add in the olive oil. Add the hamburger and sausage meat and cook, breaking up into very small pieces, until no longer pink. Add in the onion, garlic, bell pepper & fresh herbs, stirring until vegetables are softened. Add and stir in the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, cover and allow to cook gently for at least a half hour, more if there is time. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

PASTA: Mix the ingredients until they come together into a mass, turn out and knead for 5 to 7 minutes, then pass through a pasta roller to the thickness desired for the lasagna. Cut to the proper size needed and use just as they are.

ASSEMBLY: Have all the ingredients at hand, ready to use. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a large, full-sized 9 x 13-inch pan. Mine is a Wilton pan, with absolutely squared sides. If your pan is sloped, or smaller, all the ingredients will not fit. The picture at right shows the order of the layers as they go in the pan.

Spray the pan with non-stick spray. Place one ladle full of meat sauce into the pan (#1) and spread to somewhat cover the bottom. Layer on three lasagna noodles (#2). Cover the noodles with a layer of meat sauce and then half the spinach over top (#3). Dot on about ⅓ of the ricotta, in small dollops (#4). Sprinkle all over with ⅓ the total amount of mozzarella shreds, and top with another layer of lasagna noodles (#5). Cover this layer with meat sauce (#6), then the remaining spinach (#7). Top with the remaining third of ricotta, in small dollops, and part of the remaining mozzarella shreds. Reserve the rest of the mozzarella aside for the top, later. If there are any remaining noodles, place them on top and coat with a scant layer of meat sauce so the pasta on top will not dry out in the oven.

Sequence of assembly

Once that last bit of meat sauce is on, spritz a piece of foil or a silicone, oven-proof cover with a little non-stick spray and cover the lasagna. Bake it covered for about 40 minutes, until very bubbly. Remove the covering and sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes more. Remove and let set for about 15 minutes to firm up before slicing and serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Something Simpler for a Change

After a series of blogs that have mostly been real sticklers for detail work, I want to change pace here, and assure that while I love testing out these detail oriented dishes, I also love simple ones.

I feel truly bad when I have a friend say that they wouldn't want me to come to their house for a meal because my expectations are likely too high!

What!?!?!? 

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

Yes, I do a lot of things many people would never try. I understand that. It's just what I do. I get a bee in my bonnet about a new thing and just have to give it a try. But, my decision to go the route of finickiness in a recipe does not in any way mean I cannot appreciate something other, even if simpler. 

When I go to a restaurant, I have had friends say the same, that I must be less than satisfied with the meal. That couldn't be farther from the truth. When I am at someone's house, or at a restaurant, I am able to sit down. I am being served by someone else. That I do not have to do the work, the cleanup, the timing of a meal and all the detail that goes into it, means I am exceedingly pleased and grateful, and patient (including at a restaurant), because I know the amount of work it takes. Even for something much less complicated than a puff pastry dough or pan de campagne.

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

I am of an age that I do not have little ones running around the house or a busy schedule (most of the time). I don't work outside of maintaining a large house and a husband with some health issues. I have the time, now and again, to indulge my curiosity about a recipe. And my interests in food are far reaching. 

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting a woman at the local Farmers' Market, selling pork (pork in many forms, including smoked sausage and pork fat for rendering) and chickens and some turkeys for Thanksgiving. Her name is Amy, and her meats are from Bumpy Road Ranch. While all her meats are home farm raised and delicious, the items that really struck me were her smoked ring sausage and smoked brats. I have never been fond of sausage, though if I was going to eat it, it would be smoked. But this woman's sausage is so delicious I went back multiple times to get more and more. I have looked for more ways to use it, it's just that delicious. 

When I tested the recipe for this "Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal," I used store bought smoked brats. I did this because if it didn't come out tasting as good as I wanted, I didn't want to have used up a package of Bumpy Road Ranch Smoked Brats! I will make it again, now that I know how good this is,  with the good brats! But whether you have access to wonderful local smoked brats, or whether you buy them at the grocery, this recipe doesn't take very long, and it is so wonderfully tasty. 

Also, continuing with my determination to get something healthy into the mix, I added grated cauliflower (in addition to my usual onion, garlic, celery, carrot and green pepper) and used a brown rice mix instead of white rice. It takes an extra step when using brown rice, as it needs to be half-cooked before adding to the pot (meaning, technically, that it's not a "one"-pot meal). Plain white rice could be added instead, at the point where the half-cooked rice is added. 

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

Serves 4 to 6

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

1½ cups brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water-----------------
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
2 cups grated cauliflower
1 carrot, grated
4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, stems discarded
1 bay leaf
1 package smoked brats or other smoked sausage, sliced
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, well rinsed

Set the rice, salt and water in a saucepan, bring to boil, lower temperature to a simmer and time for 30 minutes.

Left all ingredients added and Right all cooked through

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add in the chopped onion, sauté until softened, then add in the garlic and the remaining vegetables as they are prepared, stirring occasionally to soften. Add in the thyme leaves and the bay leaf, smoked sausage, kidney beans and tomato sauce. Pour in the partially cooked rice, along with its remaining water and cook for at least another 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked through. Mixture may be slightly saucy.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.