New Year? Yes, Please!

For some fun, and something different, I looked up traditions around the world and some food that is consumed on New Years Eve to bring good luck.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries, for luck in love.

Pork & Kraut, according to german superstition symbolizes wealth.

Greens, according to tradition symbolizes luck in finances.

Asian Noodles, slurping the noodles without breaking symbolizes long life. 

Grapes, Spaniards pop a grape for each stroke of midnight, representing the calendar ahead. If one is sour, watch out for that month.

Cornbread, the southern saying goes...peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.

Oranges, said to bring prosperity. 

Fish, believed to be lucky new years eve food because their scales resemble coins, they swim in schools which invokes the idea of abundance, and fish swim forward which symbolizes forward progress. 

Black Eyed Peas, symbolizes great luck and future blessings.

Dumplings, tradition says they bring financial luck.

Cake, symbolizes coming full circle.

Pigs, symbolizes good luck and prosperity in Germany. 

Some other traditions include having money in your pockets, jumping off a chair, having an onion on your front door,  opening your windows and doors, wearing colored undies, burning wishes written on paper, kissing...all of course at midnight.

Additionally make sure all your washing is done as to not carry your "dirty laundry" into the New Year!

Happy New Year, All! 

Savory Chicken Salad

 

Who doesn't love a good Chicken Salad sandwich?  I tend to enjoy a more savory Chicken Salad, as apposed to a salad with fruit, nuts, etc.  This recipe hits the palette just right with the combination of fresh herbs and lemon. 

 

Let's be honest...it would have been more delicious on a light and flaky croissant, but we just work with what we have on-hand in this house! 

 

This recipe is one I came across on the Food Network website when searching for a NEW recipe on-line to try to mix things up a bit!

 

Ingredients:

 

4 cups diced poached chicken, recipe follows

1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced or 1/4 cup sweet onion cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or fresh dill

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 cup prepared or homemade mayonnaise

2 teaspoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

POACHED CHICKEN FOR SALADS

 

10 sprigs parsley

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 small onion, halved

1 small carrot, halved

1 stalk celery, halved

3 pounds chicken breasts halves, on the bone and fat trimmed

5 to 6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

 

Directions:

 

In a mixing bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, scallions and herbs. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Add to the chicken and mix gently until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with sliced tomatoes, in half an avocado or in a chicken club sandwich made with artisanal bread, crispy smoked bacon, vine-ripened tomatoes and lettuce.

Put the parsley, thyme, onion, carrot, celery, and chicken breasts in a medium saucepan.

Cover with the broth, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and cover. Poach the chicken for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Remove the pan from the heat, uncover, cool the chicken in the liquid for 30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and reserve the liquid. Bone and skin the chicken and cut the meat into 1 inch cubes.

Discard the bones and skin.

Strain the broth and store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for later use.

Remove any fat from the surface of the broth before using.

Cheddar Dill Scones

 

 

After binge watching Ina Garten on the Food Network Channel a year or so ago, I felt compelled to try a similar recipe to what she had concocted on her cooking show; Cheddar Dill Scones.  I had been experimenting making scones from scratch on weekends, as the local café in my place of work makes and sells scones on a daily basis.  Let's just say they are addicting...and...expensive!  During the time of this scone experiment, I also had a good friend under the weather who was in desperate need of cheering up.  The first attempt turned out fantastic, but were they fantastic enough?  I only made them one additional time afterwards! 

 

Fast forward...

 

The past year or so I've had my mind fixated on this heavy-duty scone pan!  Being a lover of all kitchen gadgets, pans, etc...I thought I MUST HAVE THIS PAN!  For whatever reason, every time I'd come across the pan, it was either Christmas time, or I was in a hurry and never ended up purchasing the pan until this past weekend.  I decided to take an impromptu road trip to Galena, IL with my Mom and good friend previously mentioned.  On the downtown street of Galena there is this adorable, 2 story, kitchen shop!  A gadget lovers dream!  You'll never guess what I came across in that store (or maybe you will)... THE SCONE PAN!  The timing was perfect, and finally I now own this fantastic pan.  It seemed fitting that the first scone recipe used in my brand new pan was the Cheddar Dill Scone recipe!

 

Ingredients:

 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

4 ounces (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold, cut into chunks

1/2 cup half and half

2 eggs; slightly beaten

 

Directions:

 

Combine all ingredients except butter, half & half and eggs in bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in half & half and eggs just until moistened.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 1 minute or until smooth.

Divide dough in half; roll each half into 8-inch circle. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. 

Place wedges in the well greased scone pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

 

 

Authentic Mardi Gras King Cake

 

Just in time for Fat Tuesday!  What could be better than a nice warm slice of Authentic, Homemade, Mardi Gras King Cake!!  Well lets be clear, this was made on Saturday, and it practically took me the entire day, but the end result was SO worth it...even if I'm not the worlds biggest fan of nutmeg.  

 

 

Ingredients: 

 

2 packages of dry active yeast

1/2 cup sugar

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

5 egg yolks

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)

4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Vegetable oil

8 ounces cream cheese

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons milk

Purple, green, and gold sugar sprinkles

Plastic baby toy

 

Directions:

 

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

 

2.) Combine the yeast, sugar, butter, and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook.

 

3.) Add the milk.

 

4.) With the mixer on low speed, beat the mixture for about 4 minutes to dissolve the yeast.  If the yeast mixture doesn't begin to foam after a few minutes, it means it's not active and will have to be replaced.

 

5.) In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest.

 

6.) Add this mixture to the yeast mixture.  Mix on low speed until it lightly comes together, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and climbs slightly up the dough hook. 

 

7.) Remove the dough from bowl.  Coat the dough with vegetable oil.  Return the dough to the bowl and turn it to oil all sides.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours (can take longer). 

 

8.) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.  Mix well.

 

9.) In another small bowl, combine the remaining powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk.  Mix well and set aside.

 

10.) Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.  Roll the dough out 30 inches long and 6 inches in diameter. 

 

11.) Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. 

 

12.) Bring the two long edges together and seal all sides completely. 

 

13.) Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam side down.  Shape the dough into a ring.  Place a well-greased 2 pound coffee can or shortening can in the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking.

 

14.) Press the plastic baby toy into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

 

15.) Cover the ring with a flour sack towel and place in a warm, draft-free place.  Let dough rise for about 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size. 

 

16.) With a sharp knife, make several slits around the top of the ring.

 

17.) Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. 

 

18.) After baking remove the coffee can immediately.  Allow the cake to cool.

 

19.) Drizzle the cake with the sugar glaze.  Sprinkle the cake with sprinkles, alternating colors.

 

20.) Cut the cake into individual pieces and serve.

 

Grandma's Homemade Biscuits

Is there anything better than homemade bread?  The aroma, the taste, the flavor? These classic pull-apart 'biscuits' will warm your heart as well as fill your tummy. 

 

I have many fond memories of my dad's mother making these on a regular basis.  Our family loves them so much, that I made it my mission to take the time and spend a day with Grandma to learn her recipe (or lack there of) and how to make them myself.

 

By lack of recipe, its not that she really doesn't have one -- it's more that she makes them from memory, so there's really not a hard and fast written recipe to follow.  After a few HUGE mistakes (making them on my own), as well as several successes -- I finally found a combination of literally throwing things together and guessing, that matches Grandma's finished product.

 

Here's the recipe my family knows and loves:

 

12 cups of whole milk (3/4 gallon)

2 - 5 pound bags of flour + approximately 2 cups

1/3 cup of lard + 2-3 tablespoons

2 1/2 cups of sugar + 1 tablespoon

3 packets of quick rise yeast

1 cup of warm water

1/8 - 1/4 cup of salt

 

1.  In a large stock pot - pour in your 3/4 gallon of milk and scald.
2.  Once milk is scalded, remove from heat.  Dump in sugar, and 1/3 cup of lard. 
3.  Mix until lard, and sugar have dissolved.
4. While sugar and lard are dissolving, mix your 3 packets of yeast and 1 cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in a bowl, mix together, and proof your yeast.
5. When stock pot of scalded milk as become luke warm, and sugar and lard have dissolved.  Add 1 - 5 pound bag of flour and mix until well combined.
6. Add in your proofed yeast mixture to the milk mixture in stock pot.  Stir till well combined.
7. Add the second 5 pound bag of flour, and stir until well combined.  This will be hard to stir, and the dough should really be starting to thicken up.  
8. Once you have the flour mixture well combined, dump out the stock pot of dough onto a well floured surface.
9. Knead the dough (8-10 minutes) or until it becomes elastic.
10. Form into a huge round disk, and place into a very large well greased pan.  Spread a layer of butter or lard over the top surface of the dough in bowl.  Cover with a flour sack towel, and let rise in a warm place until double it's size.
11. Once double it size, punch down the dough, re-spread more butter over the top surface of dough, re-cover with flour sack towel, and let rise again.
12. Once dough has risen for the 2nd time, punch it down, and form your biscuits.  To form your rolls, you will need a knife, and you'll pull a small bunch of dough, a little less than half a palm sized, and roll into 2-2.5 inch long rolls.  These should be placed in a 9x13 well greased pan, 3 rolls wide, by 8 rolls long. (24 rolls per pan).  This recipe will take about 5 - 9x13 pans.
13. Once all of your dough has been formed into rolls, you'll need to let these rise again, until they are double their size.
14. Once the rolls have raised, you'll cook in a 375 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes.  To ensure the rolls are done when you pull them out of the oven, give the cooked rolls a wrap on top with your knuckles.  It should sound some-what hollow.
15. When you pull the rolls out of the oven, you'll want to butter the tops.  When tops are buttered, dump out of pan onto a flour sack towel, and spread some butter over the bottom and sides of rolls.  This will help to keep them soft and moist. 
16. Keep rolls covered with flour sack towels until cool.  When cool, bag up in plastic freezer bags.  These freeze exceptionally well, and if you're not going to eat them immediately I would recommend keeping them in the refrigerator, or freezing them -- as without preservatives, these will mold a little more quickly than something you buy in a store.  

 

Townie Charm

Who doesn't love some genuine, old-school, old town charm?  The City Meat Market & Grocery located in New Albin, Iowa completely fits the bill. 

 

This quaint and charming shop located in the center of the town fixes up some of the most amazing meats you'll ever find.  My husband and I are especially fond of the Smoked Sweet Pork (as mentioned in a previous post to this blog). You really can't beat the taste and flavor. 

 

After being introduced to this place by friends, we find ourselves craving their products more and more.  It's a place you can't help but fall in love with -- and feel compelled to spread the word. 

 

It's so wonderful to see 'the little man' so successful in towns such as New Albin.  Support your local, and small businesses -- you wont be disappointed with the results.   Let's do our part to keep Small-Town America alive!

 

Operation Smoked Sweet Pork

 

As the days start to warm up, the itch to be outdoors grows.  The craving for grilled and smoked food grows as well. 

 

Since being introduced to Smoked Sweet Pork, my husband and I have been on the never ending mission to find a recipe that matches a version we tasted in a charming little town called New Albin, Iowa. 

 

The recipe we've found, comes pretty close to replicating the amazing flavors and product New Albin's City Meat Market has to offer -- but it really isn't quite the same.  Don't get me wrong, it is quite amazing itself -- its just not exact.

 

The recipe we use is as follows:

 

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup white sugar 

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ground white pepper

2 tablespoons onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon ground cumin

6-10 pounds of pork tenderloin

1 cup apple juice

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sweet baby ray's original BBQ sauce

 

1. If you grabbed a huge and long pork loin (which is what we do) you'll want to cut it into 3 sections and butterfly each of them open so that it is an even thickness.
2. Stir together the salt, white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, black pepper, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and cumin in a small bowl to make the dry rub. Rub the spice mixture into the pork loin on all sides. Wrap the loins well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
3. Place the loins onto the wire racks of the smoker. It is ok if the meat is touching, but to not stack.
4. Place the racks into a smoker, fill the smoker pan with apple, grape, pear, or cherry chips, and bring the smoker to 270 degrees F (130 degrees C). Smoke for 1 hour.
5. Stir together the apple juice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and the barbeque sauce. Brush the loins with the sauce every 30 to 45 minutes after the first hour. Cook the loins in the smoker until the meat is no longer pink and begins to "shrink"-- 6 to 10 hours. Brush the sauce onto the loins one last time 30 minutes before the loins are ready to be taken out of the smoker.
6. Once the loins are done, wrap them tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest 10 to 15 minutes. This will allow the juices to reabsorb into the meat and make the loins moist.