Crusty Cranberry Nut No-Knead Bread

 3 cups + 2 Tablespoons (390g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

3/4 cup (95g) chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

3/4 cup (105g) dried cranberries*

1 Tablespoon honey

1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (about 95°F (35°C))

*No need to grease the bowl.* Stir the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water. The dough will be pretty sticky– don’t be tempted to add more flour– you want a sticky dough. Gently shape into a ball as best you can. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine!) and allow to rise for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and be covered in air bubbles.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using lightly floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. Doesn’t have to be perfect! Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper. (Large enough to fit inside your pot and one that is safe under such high heat. I use this parchment and it’s never been an issue.)

Using a very sharp knife, gently score an X into the top. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap and leave alone for 30 minutes.

During this 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C). (Yes, very hot!) Place your dutch oven (with the lid) or heavy duty pot inside for 30 minutes so that it’s extremely hot before the dough is placed inside. After 30 minutes, remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully place the dough inside by lifting it up with the parchment paper and sticking it all– the parchment paper included– inside the pot. Cover with the lid.

Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for 8-10 more minutes until the bread is golden brown. Remove pot from the oven, carefully remove the bread from the pot, and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before breaking/slicing/serving.

Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 week.

NOTES:

• Warm bread for brunch?  Yes, please!
• I messed up the oven settings but the heated dutch oven carried me through and I was able to save it.  It was great this time, and I'm sure will be even better if I follow the directions carefully.
• Go to Sally's site for similar recipes for olive bread and jalapeno cheddar.
• Source: Sally's Baking Addiction; the baking site that never disappoints

Creamy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

• 8 ounces cooked ham, cubed

• 8 ounces Swiss cheese, cubed

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup (such as Campbell's® Healthy Request)

• ½ cup 2% milk 

• ½ cup light sour cream

• 2 tablespoons butter

• ⅓ cup seasoned bread crumbs

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer noodles to the prepared casserole dish; top with chicken, ham, and Swiss cheese.

3. Mix cream of chicken soup, milk, and sour cream together in a bowl; spoon soup mixture over noodle mixture.

4. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in the melted butter until crumbs are coated with butter and cheese, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over casserole.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is bubbling and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Allow casserole to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

   
   

   Notes:

   A little salty so perhaps I’d try a low sodium can of soup next time. (I wonder if that’s even a thing?)

   I added a diced red pepper for color.

   Tasty and nice looking. Definitely worth making again.

   Source: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/231154/creamy-chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/?print

Mocha Madness Ice Cream

 

• 1 cup (227g) milk, cold, whole preferred
• 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons (11g) espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons (11g) unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
• 2 cups (454g) heavy cream or whipping cream, cold
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 8 (113g) chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into small pieces

1. Whisk or mix together the milk, sugar, espresso powder, and cocoa until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

2. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

3. Stir the cookie bits into the soft ice cream and serve immediately. Or freeze for longer storage.

   NOTES:

   less espresso powder would also be good.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

 

Ingredients

• 3 pickling cucumbers 4-4 1/2" long, but no longer
• 1/4 oz fresh dill a few sprigs per jar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic crushed with the side of a knife
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp whole mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns

Instructions

• Wash cucumbers and cut into spears or slices. Pack into a wide-mouth pint-sized canning jar, or any clean glass jar. Since these are refrigerator pickles a canning jar is not necessary. Tuck several sprigs of dill in between the cucumbers.
• In a non-reactive saucepan (see note), combine the vinegar, water, garlic cloves, salt, sugar, mustard seeds, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Pour liquid over cucumbers in the jar. Make sure to include all the mustard seeds, peppercorns, and garlic. (If making multiple jars, include two cloves of garlic per jar and divide the mustard seeds and peppercorns approximately evenly between jars.) If you are using a slightly larger jar and the liquid doesn't fully cover the pickles, fill the rest of the jar up with water.
• Close the jar and refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours but preferably 48 hours. Enjoy
  Note: I also added the recommended amount of pickle crisp. I think it was 1/8 tsp.

One Pot Rice and Beans

•  2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 ¼ cups)
• 1¾ cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can black or pinto beans

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, cover and bring to a boil.

Add the salt, rice and beans (including the liquid). Stir just to combine, then cover.

Turn the heat down as low as it will go, then let simmer, undisturbed, for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 4 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, then garnish with lime or cilantro as you wish.

Chokecherry jelly

 

Ingredients

• 4 cups chokecherry juice (See chokecherry syrup recipe for method to get juice.)
• ¼ cup lemon juice bottled
• 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
• 1.75 cups sugar (original recipe offers a range)
• 4 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder mixed with sweetener

Instructions

• Before you begin, prepare calcium water. 

  To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.

  Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
• Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small saucepan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
• Prepare chokecherry juice.
• Measure juice into saucepan.
• Add calcium water and lemon juice and mix well.
• Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
• Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
• Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
  
  
  Credit: https://pomonapectin.com/chokecherry-jelly-2/

Chokecherry Syrup

 For the first year ever, we have a ton of chokecherries and beat the backyard creatures to them.

Ingredients

• 8 cups chokecherry juice (extracted from about 1 1/2 gallons of chokecherries)*
• 1 package pectin
• 10 cups sugar

Equipment:

• 7 pint jars
• 7 rings
• 7 lids
• canning equipment (funnel, pot, rack, jar grabber)

Instructions

1. To extract the juice, place the cleaned chokecherries in a large pot and add enough water to just barely cover them. Put them on the stove and allow to come to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  After about 30 minutes, the berries will have released their juice. The liquid in the pot will be opaque and a dark mauve color.

2. After the chokecherries are finished cooking, strain them and the juice through a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Gently press on the chokecherries in the sieve to get out any of the liquid, but be careful not to mash it too much. Give your pot a rinse and a quick scrub to remove any bits left. Measure the juice after it has been strained; you should have about eight cups. If you have less, you can half this recipe or you can cook more chokecherries to get the right amount of juice.

3. Sterilize 7 pint jars.

4. Place the juice back into the stockpot. It should still be a little warm. If, for some reason it’s not, warm it up, but don’t let it boil. Gently sprinkle the pectin into the juice while stirring, then allow to boil.  Add the sugar while you stir to help it dissolve. Keep stirring and allow the mixture to come to a boil again. Stir constantly and let it boil for one minute, then remove from heat and let it settle a bit. Skim off any foam and discard.

5. Pour the syrup into the pint jars, giving about an inch of headspace. Wipe the lip of the jars with a clean, damp towel (this removes any syrup that was spilled in the process) and place a lid on top. Seal it with the ring.

6. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

NOTES:

• Instead of a sieve or cheesecloth, I mashed the juice out using the food mill and medium disc.  
• Maybe because of this method, I ended up with 12 cups of juice instead of 8.  The rest is in a quart jar, maybe to be turned into jelly.
• I added about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice per another recipe.  (It actually called for lemon and orange juice to be added, but I didn't have any orange.)
• I also added about 1 tsp. of almond extract to this 8 cup recipe.  (I don't think Dad would add almond extract to his, but I thought I'd try it.)

 

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450g) strawberries, fresh or frozen (cleaned and hulled if fresh)
• 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
• 2 tbsp vodka or kirsch
• 1 cup (240g) sour cream
• 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• If you are using frozen berries, place them in a bowl and cover with the sugar and vodka. Let them sit until the sugar mostly dissolves, you’ll want to toss them a few times as they sit. By the time they thaw and the sugar dissolves the fruit will have released much of its juices.
• For fresh berries, slice them before you toss them with the sugar and vodka.
• David says to cook the berries and sugar, but I skipped this step because I used frozen berries. If you are using fresh strawberries it is a good idea to break them down a bit by cooking them for a few minutes. if you do, you’ll need to let it cool before proceeding.
• Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor with the sour cream. Pulse until they are combined and the strawberries are broken up, but not pureed, you want some small chunks left in the mix.
• Remove from the food processor and whisk in the cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Refrigerate the ice cream mixture for an hour before freezing.
• Follow your machine’s instructions for freezing the ice cream.
• It will be frozen, but still soft and not at all grainy, just beyond soft serve.

Delicious and easy.  I used an immersion blender in the kettle and it eliminated some of the mess.

From Zoebakes

Warm German Potato Salad

This was a huge hit with everyone in our family!

•  2 pounds red or gold potatoes
• 8 oz bacon
• 1/4 c chopped onion
• 1/3 c vinegar (original recipe called for apple cider vinegar; I used white)
• 1-3 T sugar (I used 2 and liked it)
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Cut large potatoes in half so all are the same size.  Place in large pot, cover with water, and boil until soft (15-20 minutes).  Drain and return potatoes to empty pot over hot (but turned-off) burner.  Leave the lid off and allow the potatoes to steam dry for a couple minutes.

In another pot, cut bacon into small pieces and cook.  While the bacon is cooking, cut the potatoes into 1/2" slices.  Once the bacon is done, remove it from the pan and cook the onion until soft.  Into the same pan, whisk the vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and whisk for a couple minutes.

Toss together the dressing, potatoes, and bacon.  Add parsley (if using).  Serve warm.

Seven Layer Cookies

Easier than they look, and very festive!  

My few notes:

• Emily has an easy homemade almond paste recipe
• These would be great tea cakes (especially in theme colors)
• It's January 21 and I still have some in the freezer (an uncut slab) and they're still perfect.

Recipe and notes from Smitten Kitchen:

I have so many extra hints/notes on these, I’ve moved them to the bottom. Read on!

Makes about 5 dozen cookies (or more, if you cut them as small as I did)

Time: These take at least 11 hours from beginning to end, most of it inactive, but make sure you have a good 2 to 3 hour window

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 (8-ounce or 225-gram) can almond paste
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces, 285 grams, or 2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) almond extract
• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 25 drops red food coloring
• 25 drops green food coloring
• 1 (12-ounce or 340-gram) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
• 7 ounces (200 grams) bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan and line bottom with wax paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 ends, then butter paper.

Beat whites in mixer fitted with whisk attachment at medium-high speed until they just hold stiff peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating at high speed until whites hold stiff, slightly glossy peaks. Transfer to another bowl.

Switch to paddle attachment, then beat together almond paste and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add butter and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and almond extract and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and salt and mix until just combined.

Fold half of egg white mixture into almond mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter among 3 bowls. Stir red food coloring into one and green food coloring into another, leaving the third batch plain. Set white batter aside. Chill green batter, covered. Pour red batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with offset spatula (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick).

Bake red layer 8 to 10 minutes, until just set. (It is important to undercook. They’ll look like they’re not done, but a tester does come out clean.)

Using paper overhang, transfer layer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Clean pan, then line with parchment or wax paper and butter paper in same manner as above. Bake white layer in prepared pan until just set. As white layer bakes, bring green batter to room temperature. Transfer white layer to a rack. Prepare pan as above, then bake green layer in same manner as before. Transfer to a rack to cool.

When all layers are cool, invert green onto a parchment or wax-paper-lined large baking sheet. Discard paper from layer and spread with half of preserves. Invert white on top of green layer, discarding paper. Spread with remaining preserves. Invert red layer on top of white layer and discard wax or parchment paper.

Cover with plastic wrap and weight with a large baking pan. Chill at least 8 hours.

Remove weight and plastic wrap. Bring layers to room temperature. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Keep chocolate over water. (Alternately, you can do what I did: melt the chocolate 3.5 ounces at a time just to make sure it doesn’t seize up between steps, though that shouldn’t be a problem if you only let it set for 15.)

Trim edges of assembled layers with a long serrated knife. Quickly spread half of chocolate in a thin layer on top of cake. Chill, uncovered, until chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and place another baking sheet on top, then invert cake onto sheet and remove paper. Quickly spread with remaining chocolate. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Cut lengthwise into 4 strips (I cut them into more, because I wanted them 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide, as I remember them). Cut strips crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide cookies.

Do ahead: Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks. They’ll keep even longer in the freezer.

Three important notes:

I struggled with three things in this recipe (the first two were mistakes, and both came back to bite me in the tuchus) so you won’t have to:

1. Don’t stack cooled cakes: Once my first two cake layers were cool (and still on their parchment liners) and I needed to make room on the cooling rack for the third one, I went ahead and stacked them, their liners between them. DON’T DO THIS. Not because they crush each other (they won’t) or because they’ll stick (they don’t) but because that paper liner is greased on both sides from baking and the chocolate shell never quite stuck right to the pink cake because of the grease accidentally left on it. I can’t tell you how many cookies were rejected because their chocolate fell off. It is too sad to discuss.

2. Be careful dividing your jam: I mindlessly divided the jam wrong/unevenly and ended up with too much between one layer and too little between another. Too little was no biggie, but where there was too much it oozed out and was particularly difficult to keep stacked when sawing through with a serrated knife. So, if you’re using a scale to make two six-ounce divisions of jam, remember that you’ve probably strained out a good ounce or so of jam solids, or in other words DUH. Your divided amounts will be less than six ounces each.

3. They’re easier to cut when frozen: Nevertheless, they tasted amazingly and I was all ready to do a victory lap around my wee kitchen counter, however, when I got to cutting them up and then it all went south. People, these were trying to cut. The problem lies within the differing textures of the layers — the top hard chocolate shell more benefits from a sharp serrated knife (a regular, even very sharp knife will crack the edges when you press down on it), the same serrated knife that gets gummed with jam and tries to pull the soft cake layers in between apart. It was exasperating. It didn’t go well. I packed up some for a party and stuffed the rest in the freezer, only to discover the next day that these cut fantastically when frozen. Seriously. Trust me. I have the gummy floor and gray hairs to prove it.