Recipes

The Holiday Spritz

~ MaryG ~ 16 Comments

I am baking up a storm over here in the land of incredulous liberals who are (to a person, I believe) avoiding the news. (I did take a quick peek at Facebook earlier and saw that the incredible Randy Rainbow has just dropped a new video, which basically says it ALL.)

Back to baking…the holiday spritz is a tradition for my family. I received a fine Italian-made cookie press from my childhood friend Bethanne at my bridal shower 30+ years ago and have been making these cookies pretty much every year since. (My mother had a cookie press and she made them for years too.) They are strictly a holiday cookie. I’ve never made them at any other time of year.

I also received a cookie cookbook from Bethanne at my bridal shower (we had baked many batches of cookies together as girls), and I still use the recipe from that very same cookbook:

If you’re not familiar with how a cookie press works, you stuff a pump/barrel full of cookie dough and then squeeze it out through little silver discs, which form various decorative shapes. (There are about 12 shapes to choose from.)

Based on input from my son, the fleur-de-lis 🇫🇷 was added to the more seasonal snowflake and tree shaped cookies this year.
Voilá
And just for fun, here’s a photo of Bethanne (top right) and me (bottom right) with my mother and two other friends, circa 1977.

More white chocolate

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments

I know that nobody really cares about my baking besides me. But hey… it’s my blog and I like to have a record of stuff I’ve made, with a link to the recipe and photos.

In case you’ve been lying awake at night wondering what I did with the rest of those white chocolate chips after I made Sally’s White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, rest assured. I used them up in yet another holiday cookie recipe from Sally: Snickerdoodle Blondies.

Studded with white chocolate chips and ribboned with sweet cinnamon-sugar, they’re a bit like thick and chewy cinnamon-vanilla brownies. No dough chilling or individual cookie making required.

Recipe

I didn’t have a 9×9 pan, so I used an 8×8 pan and baked them at a lower temperature (325 degrees) for about 6 minutes longer than the recipe said – about 41 minutes.

Here’s how they looked before I cut them.
I got 16 square bars from my 8×8 pan.

Yum. Especially good with a glass of milk. I’m going to bed now and I’ve only had one. My self-control is off the charts tonight…but I’m pretty sure they’re going to make a delicious breakfast cookie.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments

I’ve posted about Sally’sBaking Addiction.com before. It’s a great website for free cookie recipes. I’ve tried many of Sally’s recipes over the years and they always come out great. It’s where I discovered my amazing real maple syrup cookie recipe, which people absolutely love!

Last night, I tried making her Soft White Chocolate Cranberry cookies. They looked so pretty for the holidays in her “Cookie Palooza” newsletter. And doesn’t the inclusion of dried fruit make them a tiny bit healthy?

Anyway, they came out great and they are delicious. My only comment is that the dough is pretty crumbly. I needed to use my hands to knead it like bread before refrigerating.

Here’s the recipe in photos, in case the link above doesn’t work:

Here’s how mine came out. I will definitely make them again.

Sweet Potato Pie and Sausage Stuffing

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments

Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?

We officially took over hosting Thanksgiving from my parents a few years ago, as they are now both 85+. The two things I make the day before Thanksgiving (today) are sweet potato pies and sausage stuffing.

Since my sweet potato pie recipe (with photos) is linked above, I’m going to write up my sausage stuffing recipe for posterity. It comes from my mother, who got it from her mother, who probably got it from her mother. Long live the matriarchy.

Mom’s Turkey Stuffing

Brown two 16oz roll packages of pork sausage (Jimmy Dean, Jones Farm, etc) with one large cut-up onion in a Dutch Oven.

This type of sausage is found in the frozen foods section. You need to thaw it in the fridge before you make the stuffing.

Break up into small pieces a stale-ish loaf of bread and combine it with the sausage mixture. (If the bread is too fresh, it doesn’t work well. You can leave your bread out the night before to dry it out a bit.)

Add 1-2 teaspoons Bell’s poultry seasoning and salt & pepper to taste.

“Since 1867” (wow, that’s an old company)

Add water, if needed, to moisten the mixture.

Keep in the refrigerator overnight and stuff the bird in the morning.

Whatever doesn’t fit in the turkey, can be baked in a casserole dish until hot.

This is how the stuffing looks before I stick it in the fridge for the night.

Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁

Blueberry muffin recipe

~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

I have the best blueberry muffin recipe for you today. It’s pretty easy and the muffins come out really well—every single time. They are moist and delicious.

The recipe makes a dozen full-size muffins. I bake them for exactly 28 minutes in my oven. I use paper muffin cup liners.

Bonus photo of my double-jointed thumb

I got the recipe from my mother originally because everyone always loves her blueberry muffins. She may or may not have got it from The Boston Globe many years ago.

Anyway, it’s a keeper.

Don’t forget to sprinkle the sugar on before baking.

It says 2.5 cups of blueberries, but I always just use one dry pint (the way they come in the store). I’ve only ever made it with fresh blueberries, so I’m not sure how it would work with frozen ones.

Related: Blueberry Mug Cake

Revisiting Daily Prompts

~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments

For a couple of weeks now, I’ve been seeing “Answered” under the Daily Prompt. In other words, WordPress asked the exact same question a year ago and I responded. Believe it or not, I just now figured out how to find my original response to the prompt and “reblog” it (OK Boomer!)

I’m re-posting my original answer, mainly so that I can attach the recipes I mentioned. (The Silver Palate’s Chicken Marbella came out much better the second time.)

Chicken Marbella

Attached:

NYT Skillet Meatballs With Peaches, Basil and Lime RecipeDownload
The Silver Palate’s Chicken Marbella RecipeDownload

I don’t enjoy cooking much, or even really eating. I’m not a big foodie. I didn’t cook at all until I became a mother, and then it suddenly felt like…

Sweet tooth

Thankful Thursday

~ MaryG ~ 20 Comments

Homegrown or farmstand tomatoes are an August delight in New England—and maybe in other places too—but we wait all year for them here.

My Caprese salad recipe:

Put some extra virgin olive oil on a large plate

Top with heirloom tomato wedges and mozzarella chunks or slices

Sprinkle with Kosher salt, if desired

Drizzle with balsamic glaze

Top with fresh basil

Thankful for farmstands offering their own organic tomatoes in August

The definitive comfort food…

~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What’s your go-to comfort food?
View all responses

…is rice pudding. Baked with cinnamon on top, warm out of the oven, with just a bit of milk poured over the top to cool it off. It’s the single best thing to do with leftover rice. It’s also good cold for breakfast the next day. (It’s typically gone by 11am.)

Here is my Nana’s recipe. I believe she got it from her mother—my great grandmother Lottie (the German one).

Related:

The old recipe box

My two grandmothers

Heat wave luncheon

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

What foods would you like to make?

I made Grilled Chicken Salad for my dear book group friends yesterday. This was the second time I’ve made it and I can confirm that it’s a good and reliable recipe.

I found napkin folding demos on YouTube. That one is called “rose.”

Dessert was made by Whole Foods.

Unfortunately, it was too darn hot to eat on the porch, but later we had a lovely, strong thundershower.

The sound is very soothing.
grilled-chicken-salad-dinner-at-the-zoo.pdfDownload

Chicken salad #4

~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

As previously mentioned, I have been trying to distract myself from America’s fraught political situation by trying cold chicken salad recipes and moving stuff around in my house.

This salad recipe is a winner. And it’s not even from my usual source (NYT Cooking). I randomly found it on the internet. The dressing/marinade is excellent and the combo of vegetables and bacon/blue cheese/chicken is just right.

Six thumbs up from the current residents of my house 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Grilled Chicken Salad – Dinner at the ZooDownload