Thursday, November 15, 2007
Welcome, Lisa!
I am honored to announce that this blog now has TWO authors! The lovelye Lisa will be joining me in posting her favorite recipes for your viewing and cooking enjoyment. I can't wait to get my hands on some of Lisa's recipes...and you should be excited too! :)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Apple Crisp
I love apple crisp because it's the lazy baker's apple pie. Although I guess that with the advent of refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust apple pie has become pretty lazy too. Anyway, the thing that I love about apple crisp is the delicious salty-sweet crumbled topping. I have a tough time not eating a bunch of it before it's even baked actually...surprise surprise!
When I was a kid, my mom used to make this quite a bit during the fall. She'd make it in the afternoon, so I'd have some when I came home from school, and then we'd all eat some for dessert after dinner. If she put it into a 9x13 pan, there would usually be about half left. By the next afternoon, though, it would almost always be gone...mom couldn't stay away from it! Mom thinks that her mom, my Grandma Hill, cut this recipe out of a newspaper about 60 years ago. Well believe me...what was good 60 years ago is still good now.
APPLE CRISP
from Grandma Hill
Ingredients:
6 medium peeled and sliced apples (peeled is important...I forgot that once and this didn't turn out so well)
1/3-1/2 C sugar (to taste really)
1 t cinnamon
1 C water
6 T shortening (you can do 3 T butter, 3 T shortening if shortening totally disgusts you)
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
smidge salt
Directions:
Simmer the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and water for 7-10 minutes. Mix the shortening, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt until crumbly. Pour apples into deep baking dish (I've used several different sizes...just as a rule, though, the smaller the dish the deeper it needs to be) and cover with crumbled mixture. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until the apples are soft and the mixture underneath the crust is brown.
When I was a kid, my mom used to make this quite a bit during the fall. She'd make it in the afternoon, so I'd have some when I came home from school, and then we'd all eat some for dessert after dinner. If she put it into a 9x13 pan, there would usually be about half left. By the next afternoon, though, it would almost always be gone...mom couldn't stay away from it! Mom thinks that her mom, my Grandma Hill, cut this recipe out of a newspaper about 60 years ago. Well believe me...what was good 60 years ago is still good now.
APPLE CRISP
from Grandma Hill
Ingredients:
6 medium peeled and sliced apples (peeled is important...I forgot that once and this didn't turn out so well)
1/3-1/2 C sugar (to taste really)
1 t cinnamon
1 C water
6 T shortening (you can do 3 T butter, 3 T shortening if shortening totally disgusts you)
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
smidge salt
Directions:
Simmer the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and water for 7-10 minutes. Mix the shortening, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt until crumbly. Pour apples into deep baking dish (I've used several different sizes...just as a rule, though, the smaller the dish the deeper it needs to be) and cover with crumbled mixture. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until the apples are soft and the mixture underneath the crust is brown.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Quickest Chicken Stock
Ryan was so crushed when MCL didn't have Chicken and Noodles this afternoon that I said I'd make them for dinner. It's actually a lot more work than it sounds - luckily, though, most of the work is just sitting around and waiting. I thought I'd try Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything for a chicken stock recipe and I found this one for "quick" chicken stock. It's not as quick as pouring it out of a carton or anything, but I guess it's quicker than it could be. He does have a recipe for chicken stock that takes 3+ hours. Anyway, I gave this chicken stock a try and it's delicious.
QUICKEST CHICKEN STOCK
From How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman
Ingredients:
1 whole (3-4 pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
1 C roughly chopped onion (don't bother to peel it)
1 C chopped carrot
1/2 C roughly chopped celery
1 sprig fresh thyme or pinch dried thyme
1/2 bay leaf
Several sprigs fresh parsley
1 t salt, plus more if necessary
About 3 1/2 quarts (14 cups) water
Directions:
1. Cut up chicken if you like; it will speed cooking.
2. Combine all ingredients except water in a stockpot; add the water
3. Bring just about to a boil, then partially cover and adjust the heat so the mixture sends up a few bubbles at a time. Cook just until the chicken is done, 30-60 minutes.
4. Strain, pressing on the vegetables and meat to extract as much juice as possible. Taste and add salt if necessary.
5. Refrigerate, then skim any hardened fat from the surface. Refrigerate for 4-5 days (longer if you boil it every 3rd day, which will prevent spoiling) or freeze.
QUICKEST CHICKEN STOCK
From How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman
Ingredients:
1 whole (3-4 pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
1 C roughly chopped onion (don't bother to peel it)
1 C chopped carrot
1/2 C roughly chopped celery
1 sprig fresh thyme or pinch dried thyme
1/2 bay leaf
Several sprigs fresh parsley
1 t salt, plus more if necessary
About 3 1/2 quarts (14 cups) water
Directions:
1. Cut up chicken if you like; it will speed cooking.
2. Combine all ingredients except water in a stockpot; add the water
3. Bring just about to a boil, then partially cover and adjust the heat so the mixture sends up a few bubbles at a time. Cook just until the chicken is done, 30-60 minutes.
4. Strain, pressing on the vegetables and meat to extract as much juice as possible. Taste and add salt if necessary.
5. Refrigerate, then skim any hardened fat from the surface. Refrigerate for 4-5 days (longer if you boil it every 3rd day, which will prevent spoiling) or freeze.
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