Tart-Sweet Apple Crisp

When the air gets crisp, so does dessert. This has always been my favorite apple crisp recipe. It's my mom's...maybe that's why? It's the one I grew up on. The best part for me though...other than the fact that it doesn't involve oats, not that I have anything against oats, I just don't like them on my crisps and cobblers...is that the topping is sweet and the filling is just tart and cinnamon-y. There is no sugar in the filling so it's just the perfect complement to the topping...and the most perfect experience for your tastebuds.



Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter slightly softened
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2  cups sugar
• 5 lbs (before peeling and coring) baking apples. I like to use a couple different varieties to enhance the flavor and texture.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°     
2. generously butter bottom and sides of 9x13 pan.
3. In a medium bowl, cut together flour, butter, and sugar using a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Set aside.
4. core peel and slice apples 
5. put the apples evenly into the buttered pan
6. sprinkle with salt and cinnamon toss with hands to coat evenly
7. pour the water over the apples in the pan
8. spread butter-flour-sugar mixture evenly over the apples.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden and apples are fully cooked and bubbling.

Cool slightly but serve warm on pretty plates with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Fresh Orange Cake with Walnut Buttercream Frosting

I'm not afraid to admit that I'm obsessed with cake. It is my weakness er...[one of] my weakness[es]. That said, this is my most favorite cake of all.  I found the recipe in my favorite cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens Best Loved Community Recipes. The cookbook was a gift to me from Quenton when we were dating "just because" he knew I loved to cook. It is one of those well used and well loved cookbooks that is now completely falling apart and has food splattered on all of my favorite pages. 

Happy 35th Birthday to me!

I made my favorite cake for myself when we were living in Krakow, Poland in 2009.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1 tablespoon or more of grated rind of 1 orange 
• 3/4 cup milk 
• 1/4 cup juice of the orange 
• 2 eggs

Ingredients: 

Filling and Frosting:

• 1 cup milk 
• 5 tablespoons sifted cake flour 
• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1/2 cup butter softened 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts 
• 1/2 to 1 cup sifted powdered sugar 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch round baking pans. Set aside.
2. To make the cake: Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening and the grated orange rind.
3. Add the milk and the orange juice to the dry ingredients and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add the eggs; beat for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake in the 350 oven about 25 minutes or until the cake tests done with a wooden toothpick.
5. Cool 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pans (may stick on bottom). Cool the layers on racks.
6. To make the filling and frosting: Blend the milk and cake flour in a saucepan. Cook over meduum-low heat to a very thick paste, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm about 40 minutes (tip: if I'm in a hurry I scrape it out onto a plate and spread it out a bit so it cools faster).
7. Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, cream the shortening and butter with the 1 cup granulated sugar and salt.
8. Add the lukewarm paste to the shortening mixture and beat with electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.
9. Stir in vanilla. *Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture. Fold the nuts into the remaining mixture. **Spread 1 1/2 cups of the mixture between the cake layers.
10. Add the powdered sugar to the remaining mixture and beat vigorously with a spoon to desired consistency. Frost top and sides of cake.

* Use the reserved 3/4 cup of frosting to seal in the crumbs. First, brush off as many crumbs as you can by hand. Then, spread the sides of the cake with a thin smooth coat of frosting. This layer will help seal in any stray crumbs. Finally, spread a thicker layer of frosting over the thin layer, swirling the frosting decoratively.

** If the filling and frosting is a little soft, add some sifted powdered sugar until it is just the right spreading consistency.

Dawnie's Cornbread (ahem...cake)

A much fluffier, tastier version of the dry, dense, crumbly stuff that comes to mind. Trust me, it's the best!

Ingredients:

• 3 c. bisquik
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cornmeal
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 3/4 c milk
• 3 eggs slightly beaten
• 1 c. butter melted

mix dry ingredients. add milk eggs and butter and mix together. pour into 9x13 bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes

Beer Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour (sifted before measured)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 - 1 tsp salt
• 12 oz. beer (Miller Highlife is my fave for this recipe)
• ¼ cup butter melted
• rosemary and garlic salt to taste 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Be sure to sift the flour before you measure the three cups.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl

4. Make a well in the center and pour the beer in. Mix, but DON’T OVER-MIX! 

5. Put dough into a greased loaf pan. 

6. Pour the melted butter over and sprinkle with the rosemary and garlic salt

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

8. *Remove from pan immediately.

9. Cool for 15 minutes minimum before slicing

The bread will be crunchy and crusty on the outside and soft and yummy on the inside!

*if you leave it in the pan to cool it will get all soggy and chewy!

B's Chili (Traditional)

This is my own chili recipe. After years and years of makin' chili and lovin' it and quite frankly, wingin' it... I was going to teach it at my cooking class in Poland.  I realized I didn't have anything really written down so I needed to gather my thoughts and decide once and for all "if I were going to make [and teach] the perfect pot of chili... what would I want in it? and what would the measurements be? What am I gonna tell these people?!!" ...and this is what I came up with...and they loved it! ...and now I don't have to 'wing it' anymore.


Ingredients and Directions:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 6-8 cloves garlic

1. heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.

2. add garlic and onions. cook until tender.

3. add ground beef and cook until meat is no longer pink 

• 2 large(28 oz each) cans diced/or crushed tomatoes (do not drain)
• 2-3 cans spicy chili beans in chili sauce
• 2 cans kidney beans drained
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 jalapenos seeded and chopped (or more to taste)
• 2 + cups tomato juice(like V8 or Campbell's)if you like your chili nice and spicy this is another ingredient you can use to heat it up by getting the hot and spicy tomato juice 

4. Reduce heat. Stir in tomatoes, chili beans, and kidney beans.
5. Season with salt, sugar, chili powder, pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir and simmer.

6. Add chili peppers and tomato juice(more or less depending on how thick or thin you like your chili). Simmer for 1 ½ hours stirring often. Be sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Serve with:

• shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• chopped green onions
• beer bread or Dawnie's cornbread, and
• tortilla chips or Fritos scoops for dipping

Fireside Garlic with Rosemary

This is one of my most favorite Hor D'oeuvres. My father-in-law first made this for a special family dinner when we were all living in Ukraine and it instantly became a family favorite. Quenton and I love to make this for date-night-in and eat it while we watch a movie. I guess when you've been married as long as we have, garlic and romance CAN go together.

Ingredients:

• 6 large whole heads garlic
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 6 slices
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1½ cups chicken broth, divided
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 8 oz Roquefort cheese, crumbled
• French baguette slices

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut ½ inch off top end (opposite root end) of each garlic head, exposing cloves. Remove any loose papery outer skin.
3. Place garlic, cut side up, in non-metal baking pan.
4. Top with butter and olive oil.
5. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth and wine to pan.
6. Sprinkle chopped rosemary over garlic and place rosemary sprigs in broth mixture. (May be prepared 8 hours in advance, cover and chill.)
7. Bake uncovered, about 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with pan juices.
8. Add remaining chicken broth, if necessary. Garlic cloves should be very tender when pierced with fork. Sprinkle with Roquefort cheese, if desired, and continue baking until cheese is almost melted, about 10 minutes. Discard cooked rosemary sprigs and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs
9. Serve with bread for dipping into cooking juices and spreading with garlic and melted cheese.

just before it goes in the oven

Sloppy Joes

I got the basis for this recipe from my friend Sue. Who will never admit it, but she's an AMAZING cook.

When I realized I usually made this for parties and large groups, I just decided to two-and-a-half it on the recipe so it would be easier. This will make 25 -30 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large onions chopped fine (I like to use the food processer for this step)
• 6-8 cloves garlic minced
• 5 lbs ground beef or pork or a combination of the two 
• 1 44 oz. bottle of Heinz ketchup
• 1/4 cup mustard (I like to use spicy mustard)
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

In a large pot, heat a little bit of vegetable oil over medium high , add the onions and garlic and cook until tender. Add the ground beef. Drain any liquid from the pan if there is any. Add remaining ingredients and cook for at least 1-2 hours before serving. You can transfer this to a crock pot for the party!

• Buns

Serve on round buns like sesame seed hamburger buns*

I love to serve this with my homemade coleslaw and kettle cooked salt and vinegar potato chips

*I originally used this recipe to teach to my cooking class for adults when we were living in Poland. I loved teaching them these all-American types of foods and I think they loved learning them even more. They would often ask me to teach a recipe for foods that they saw on "Friends" or a Hollywood movie and they were curious about it. I loved this little instruction on the buns (something so obvious to us Americans). It reminds me of all the friends we made doing that class in Krakow.

Autumn Salad

Ingredients for Salad:

• lettuce (a tender leafy mix)...or whatever's in the fridge
• glazed pecans
• dried cranberries
• finely chopped (or very thin rings) red onion to taste
• granny smith apples diced with skins on

Directions:

To glaze the pecans: Heat a skillet over med-hi heat and put about ¾ cup sugar in the pan. When the sugar liquefies add the pecans and stir quickly to coat them. As soon as they are coated work quickly and remove to wax paper on a plate. Be sure to soak the pan immediately or the sugar will harden and be so much more work to clean off. Allow them to cool completely and then break apart or chop and put into the bowl with the other salad ingredients. I like to assemble this salad on individual plates for special dinner parties to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Ingredients for Dressing:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 heaping teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• small yellow or red onion coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup oil

Directions: 

combine first 7 ingredients in blender, then slowly add oil. Pour over salad and toss immediately before serving. Or pass the dressing in a pretty bottle or small pitcher to serve to individual plates.

The Highest Form of Flattery

My bff had this brilliant idea...

two years ago my friend Dawnie and I were going to compile a cookbook of all of our recipes...long story short I didn't get around to my part...so she started a blog instead and now I'm starting a blog...great idea, Dawnie. Isn't there a saying about this?