Crock Pot Mushrooms

1 pound mushrooms
1/2 cup butter
1 envelope of ranch salad dressing mix

I stuff as many mushrooms as will fit into this little crockpot.
Melt the butter, add the dressing mix and pour over the mushrooms.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

MORE NOTES:

• As soon as the mushrooms start to get warm they'll reduce quite a bit.  Check after the first hour and stir in more mushrooms as space will allow.
• I like to buy my mushrooms at Costco.  The price is reasonable and the quality is better. (larger, more uniform sizes)
• I typically serve these as appetizers, but they would be pretty great with steak as well.

(Somebody's) Mom's Caramels

8 teaspoons (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter
4 cups (1 quart) half & half
2 cups (1 pint, 16 fluid ounces) light corn syrup*
4 cups granulated sugar
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
*See "tips," below.
coarse flake sea salt for topping, optional; for salty caramels

INSTRUCTIONS

• Butter two 8" x 8" or 10 1/2" x 6 1/2" pans. Measure the vanilla into a small container, and set it aside for later.
• Cut the butter into 1" chunks, to help it melt faster. Combine the cut-up butter, half & half, corn syrup, sugars, and salt in a heavy-bottom, 5- to 6-quart saucepan.
• Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until everything has melted, stirring constantly. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
• Cook slowly, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 248°F, or until a small amount dropped in cold water forms a firm ball. As the mixture boils it will become thicker and thicker and the frothy bubbles will give way to a more blurpy bubble that resembles thick lava. This happens gradually, but you'll notice it around 230°F and higher. This is when you really have to pay attention and watch the temperature carefully, as it tends to move more quickly from 230°F up. The whole process will take about 2 hours.
• Remove the pan from the heat, and carefully stir in the vanilla; the mixture will bubble and boil.
• Quickly pour the caramel into the prepared pans. Don't add any residue from the pot into the pans; instead, scrape it into a separate container. Baker's treat!
• Wait 30 minutes, then sprinkle with coarse-flake sea salt, if desired.
• Cover the candy securely, and refrigerate.
• Remove the candy from the pan by loosening its edges with a knife or offset spatula, and banging the pan on a cutting board until the slab releases from the pan. Allow the candy to warm up a bit if it's hard, or it'll shatter when you bang the pan.
• Cut the caramels into squares, and wrap in waxed paper. Store in the refrigerator for longest shelf life. Wrapped caramels can also be frozen.
• Yield: about 10 dozen 1" caramels.

NOTES:

• Delicious, but was quite a commitment, time-wise (see the photo).  I basically watched two episodes of something on Netflix (thanks, iPad) while stirring endlessly.
• Consider making a half batch next time.  Today is December 30 and even after 2 family parties and a couple weeks of munching, I have a bunch still around
• I poured a full batch into my oversized cake pan (roasting pan) sprayed with pam.
• Flaked sea salt is perfect for this application.
• I ordered these: http://www.clearcellobags.com/catalog/item/6501521/6344450.htm.  Well, actually it was the amazon equivalent, but Donna S sent me this cheaper link.  1000 should be enough for several years.

SOURCE: King Arthur Flour

Polish Sweet-Sour Red Cabbage (Czerwona Kapusta Zasmażana)

1 (3-pound) head red cabbage (washed, dried, cored, and shredded)
1 medium onion (shredded)
2 tablespoons butter (or canola oil)
1 cup water
4 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook cabbage and onion in butter or oil on medium heat until it collapses, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together water, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper, and salt until sugar is dissolved.
• Add to cabbage mixture, combining well.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover tightly.
• Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender but still a little al dente, about 15 minutes.
• Refrigerate overnight to improve flavor.

NOTES:

• I made this for Wigilia in 2018 and liked it's mild flavor
• MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME.  S/B SERVED COLD.
• I didn't have red wine vinegar but used some Trader Joe's pomegranate vinegar instead
• The recipe says to shred the cabbage and onion, but clearly that's not what is pictured.  I chopped the cabbage into roughly 1/2" sized pieces.
• I did try to shred the onion, but what a mess!  Just chop it into reasonably small pieces.

SOURCE:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/polish-braised-red-cabbage-recipe-1137527

(Says it can be frozen for 6 months.)

Citrus Sugar Gems

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1½ cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2½ cups flour
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp lime zest
• coarse sugar for rolling cookies in

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter and white sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and continue to beat for three more minutes.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and beat at medium speed for several minutes. Add zest and continue to beat for two more minutes.
4. Roll dough into 1½" balls. Coat with coarse sugar. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for eight to ten minutes. Remove from pan and cool on cooling rack.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

2 tsp. oil
1-1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion
1-1/2 Tbsp. sliced garlic
6 oz. baby spinach
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup milk
3 oz. provolone cheese, torn into pieces
1-1/2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 – 20 oz. butternut squash
1 cup ricotta cheese
1-1/2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

Yield: 1 - 8x8 glass baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic; sauté for 4 minutes.  Add spinach and sauté until wilted; remove from heat.

Place yogurt, milk, and provolone in a blend, blend for 20 seconds.  Add flour, salt and eggs; blend 1 minute.

Peel the neck of the squash.  Cut the neck from the bulb; and slice the neck into 24 long slices 1/8 inch thick.  Place squash slices in the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 4 minutes or until almost tender.

Remove the squash from the baking dish.  Coat the dish with cooking spray; spread ½ cup of the yogurt mixture in the bottom of the pan.

Shingle 1/3 of the squash over the yogurt mixture.  Top with 1/3 of the ricotta, 1/3 of the spinach mixture, and 1/3 of the remaining yogurt mixture.  Repeat twice ending with the yogurt mixture.

Sprinkle lasagna with Gruyere.  Cover dish with foil and bake for 60 minutes.  Remove foil and broil until lightly browned.  Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Notes:
A double recipe will fit in a 9x13 pan.
You could certainly add some cooked italian sausage.

Reverse Seared Steak

Steaks, preferably around an inch thick
Salt
Oil or butter

Pat the steaks dry and rub about a tsp of salt on each. Let them sit uncovered in the fridge overnight. Let come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat oven to 200, and put steaks on a baking rack on a baking sheet covered in foil. Let the steaks cook until they reach an internal temperature of 120 (45-75 minutes depending on the thickness of the steaks.)

Let the steaks rest for 5-10 minutes, tented in foil, while a cast iron pan gets as hot as you can get it on the stove. Brush both sides of the steaks in butter or oil (preferably something with a high smoke point), then sear both sides for 60-90 seconds. Let rest for 5 minutes, then serve. The steaks should be around 130-135 degrees.

Kremówka Papieska

Try this for Wigilia
https://www.thespruceeats.com/polish-papal-cream-cake-recipe-1136954

This Polish cream cake dessert was renamed papal cream cake or kremówka papieska (kreh-MOOF-kah pah-PYESS-kah) when it was learned St. Pope John Paul II loved it.

Karol Hagenhuber attended Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, Poland (Wadowice is in southern Poland, about 50 km from Krakow), with none other than Karol Wojtyła, who later became the cardinal of Kraków and then Pope John Paul II and now St. Pope John Paul II. As school chums, they would often stop at Hagenhuber's father's bakery where the future pope would invariably purchase one or two cream cakes and a love affair with the dessert began.

If push came to shove, you could say that kremówka is similar to a French napoléon only in the latter case, the dessert is cut into rectangles, not squares.

A very similar Polish dessert is karpatka or Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cakewhose uneven top layer dusted with confectioners' sugar looks like the rugged mountainous terrain of the Polish Highlands.

Two Eastern European desserts similar to kremówka are Serbian krempita and sampita which, in the latter case, is filled with meringue.

Use the leftover egg whites in another recipe like a meringue torte.

• 2 sheets puff pastry dough (1.1 pound package, thawed)
• For the Pastry Cream:
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 large egg yolks (beaten)
• Garnish: confectioners' sugar

Steps to Make It

1. Heat oven to 400 F.

Bake the Puff Pastry

1. Roll out each piece of puff pastry slightly to blend the seam lines, keeping it 1/4-inch thick (try not to warp the shape when rolling).
2. Without cutting all the way through, lightly score each pastry sheet into 9 even sections. This is just a guide to be used when cutting and serving.
3. Sandwich each puff pastry sheet between two pieces of parchment paper and two cooling racks. This will keep the pastry flat but still flaky. If you want to bake both pastry sheets at the same time, you will need four cooling racks. Otherwise, bake them separately, using two cooling racks.
4. Bake 15 minutes, remove top rack and top sheet of parchment paper.
5. Replace rack and continue to bake until golden and crispy throughout, about 15 more minutes. Cool completely.

Make the Pastry Cream

1. While the puff pastry is baking, make the pastry cream. If you like a thick layer of filling, make a double batch.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, cornstarch, and egg yolks to a boil, stirring constantly with a wire whisk.
3. Reduce heat slightly and continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to get in the corners.
4. Take the pan off the heat and plunge it into an ice-water bath or, if you have lumps, strain it through a sieve into a pan or heatproof bowl set in ice water.
5. Do not chill the pastry cream. It will be poured hot over the baked puff pastry.

Assemble the Kremówka

1. Using a 13x9-inch pan as a mold, place one layer of cooked puff pastry in the bottom of the pan.
2. Pour hot pastry cream over it, and place the second layer of cooked puff pastry with the cutting-guide marks on top.
3. Refrigerate until set. When ready to serve, using the prescored marks as guides, cut into 9 pieces. Dust each piece with confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate the leftovers.