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September Family Dinner

9/13/2012

Once upon a long time ago our friends and some family had a tradition of family dinners. It was a wonderful tradition with lots of good food, good wine, and lots and lots of laughing. I decided as we are entering into autumn that I needed to bring this tradition back so that I could make new memories of warm kitchens full of friends.
So last night was the reincarnation of the family dinner. After a little debating on the theme and what was in season right now, I decided on Red and Round. Everyone brought their own take on a dish that included either apples or tomatoes.

I have to say that I really get sick of my own cooking and the flavors that I familiar with. This is a great way to try some other flavors and other people's creative uses of the same ingredient. We ended up with chicken parmesan, a beautiful green salad, caprese salad, barley salad, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, fantastic cocktails, and a homemade apple pie a-la-mode. Let me just say that I was impressed with evereyone! Unfortunately I didn't grab pictures of everything.

My husband and I decided to make Chicken parmesan. I had never made this before, and was expecting it to be very difficult, but since my husband did most of the cooking, it was easy for me! You toast your own breadcrumbs, season them just to your liking, and bread your own chicken. Bake, add sauce and cheese, and bake again.

My adorable sister got very creative! She mimics one of our favorite cocktails from Red Rabbit downtown. It includes vodka, ginger beer, apple cider, and fresh apple slice as a cap, and freshly ground cinnamon sprinkled on top. She found all these fun creative ginger beers and Nugget and was off and running! After Whitney and Dana adjusting a few of the trials they were just right!

So if you want to have everyone over, but you don't want to cook for everyone, this is the way to do it! I have no doubt that the October dinner will be even more festive with pumpkins and fall foods everywhere. Start your own family dinner and send over the pics!

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Persimmon Cookies

12/4/2011

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My grandmother, Edith, always makes Persimmon Cookies this time of year. And even though they are messy, we love having our Persimmon tree in our backyard.
With persimmons ripening and weather getting chilly - this is a great Fall recipe to warm any home! My sister Dana and I decided to pick some persimmons and actually make use of the slimy delicious fruit. With a little less sugar and a lot more spice, this recipe yields cake-like cookies with a bite!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Gloves
1/2 Teaspoon All Spice
1/2 Teaspoon Table Salt
3/4 Cup Room Temperature Salted Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
4 Ripe Persimmons (Pulped - No Skins)
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2/3 Cup Pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Sift together the flour, spices and salt and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Mix in the egg.
Mix in the pulp of all 4 persimmons into your electric mixer bowl. If you are using using a hand beater, any mixing bowl will do.
Add the baking soda and mix thoroughly.
Mix in your dry ingredients.
Roughly chop the pecan and mix into the dough.
Spoon the dough onto a cookie sheet (preferable with a silicone liner) and bake for 17-20 minutes (or until the top are browned).

Enjoy!

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If I only had a brain...

11/17/2011

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This little Fall Fellow was actually something that my sister and I created last year - but I thought it was appropriate for the season! It would be a fun dessert for the "Kids Table" at your Thanksgiving Feast! Of course...we made it for adults ;)

We got the idea from this adorable book: What's New, Cupcake? I suggest a carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting - but really your favorite recipe will do! We used Graham Crackers for hat, Reese's Pieces for buttons and eyes, Frosted Mini Wheats for hay, Oreo Cookies for crows, Pretzel rods for the stake, and finally, Starbursts for the trim. We slightly melted the Starbursts and twisted them into the adorable trim and patchwork.

Most importantly, it was really fun finding different candies and sweets to create with. Go crazy, have fun! (and if you attempt, comment and I'll share your picture!)

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Orange Pomegranate Scones

11/12/2011

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One of my favorite things about fall is the changing of the foods. We have a pomegranate tree and they produce gorgeous, juicy pomegranates. Take advantage of those antioxidants and get cooking! Here is my own recipe for orange pomegranate scones. I made them for my staff at work and they were a hit! This recipe makes about 2 dozen scones. If you are going to cut it in half I would recommend using two eggs.

4 Cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 Cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 sticks cold butter
1 Cup orange juice
2 Teaspoons vanilla
2 Cups pomegranate seeds (or about 2 poms. worth)
-To get the pomegranate seeds out I would recommend this technique. Wear an apron! Score the skin of the pomegranate into quarters. Don't cut all the way through it. If you do you will have juice splashing everywhere. Pull the quarters apart and the rind breaks in natural spots. Pull away the rind so that the seeds are exposed. Then push them sideways so they fall, or pop out. Keep breaking chunks apart until all the seeds are out.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Slice butter into tablespoon sized pieces and add it to the dry ingredients. Then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter. Continue until the chunks of butter are about the size of a pea.
4. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Only mix the batter until it forms a wet ball. Do not over mix!
5. Fold in the pomegranate seeds. Save a few to put on top.
6. Spoon onto a baking sheet. Put a few seeds on top for decoration. You can also sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on top for some texture.
7. Bake 15-17 minutes until the top is brown and a bit crunchy.

The seeds inside the pomegranate will give the scones a slightly nutty flavor. Serve them hot and enjoy!

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September Family Dinner

Persimmon Cookies

If I only had a brain...

Orange Pomegranate Scones

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