Pre-Christmas Confession

So, confession is supposed to be good for the soul, right? What if I don't feel guilty? Do I still need to confess? Well, I will anyway.

Every morning on the way to my classroom, I pass a bin for used book donations. These books go to our annual school used book sale sponsored by the Parents Association. I love this book sale. I walk away with bags full of books. Books for me, books for Mama Mildred, books for friends, books for my classroom. And now there will be books for the Adorable Grandbaby. A couple of mornings ago, I glanced into the bin and spotted the book above. There was no way I was leaving that book for someone who would not appreciate it as much as I will. So, yes, I snatched it up. Actually, I very casually picked it up, started flipping through it and sauntered into my classroom still perusing cookie porn. I love King Arthur Flour and use no other when baking. 496 pages of recipes, photos, hints and advice when making cookies. Soften up the butter and preheat the oven!

And I promise to make a donation to the book sale in April. Baker's honor.

Here is the first recipe I am trying (stay tuned- I promise photos, the dough is in the refrigerator chilling as I type)--

King Arthur's Special Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, 2004

Often sugar cookies are fat and soft, the cumulus clouds of cookiedom. But when you roll out the dough, rather than drop it from a spoon, you reach the other extreme: thin and snapping-crisp. Make them just a bit thicker, and you've got crunchy. These golden cookies, with their comforting vanilla flavor, pair nicely with ice cream or fresh fruit. The dough is also sturdy enough to be cut into fanciful shapes and decorated. (Cookie porn, I warned you)

Yields: 42 cookies (depending on size, of course)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional (I added another 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Add half the cream, all of the cornstarch, and half the flour; beat well. Add the remaining cream and flour, mixing just until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Divide the dough in half, flatten into rounds, and wrap well in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more, to facilitate rolling.
• Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper- my preferred method) two baking sheets.
• Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured surface and place a piece of plastic wrap over it while you roll it out to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin. Roll the dough to 1/8-1/4-inch thick. Cut it into the shapes of your choice and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until they're set but not browned. Remove them from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely. 

  Bon appétit and happy baking. Warm cookies make people feel loved. I am sure of that. And that's the best part of baking, in my humble opinion.

Summer to-do list

I am sort of a list maker.  Not that I always can find the list.  Or that I take it out and look at it. Or that I actually cross off everything more than two items. But I feel as if I have accomplished something just by writing the to-dos on a notepad. Mary Kay consultants are encouraged to make a Six Most Important Things list every day.  Maybe six is a manageable number?

(photo: https://www.pinterest.com/thepinkbubbleco/)

What’s on my to-do list for tomorrow?

1. Wake up early.
2. Go to Responsive Classroom workshop.
3. Read.
4. Go to bed.

That’s all I know for sure. What’s on my hope-to-do list?

1. See my granddaughter. (Maybe read her a story- she loves this now!)
2. Have dinner with a couple of friends.
3. Write.

Wow.  That’s seven things! Go me.

I guess I should think about my summer to-do list. In no particular order:

1. Read my school summer reading book,  Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
2. Go to the dentist (appointment made).
3. Hit at least 10,000 steps on the Fitbit at least four days a week (maybe five?). This means lacing up the shoes and walking in the morning.
4. Spend a week at the beach with my family.
5. Take an on-line writing course.
6. Try not to worry so much.
7. Visit Chatham Hill Winery.  (I worked here part-time before The Sabbatical. I wrote an article about NC wines and Chatham Hill for the Durham Herald newspaper.)
8. Try some new recipes.
9. Go to the Durham Farmers’ Market at Central Park regularly.
10. Blog as often as possible, but at least twice a week (should I make a schedule?).
11. Work on my curriculum for the 2017-18 school year. Read the book I was given on curriculum design. (I think it is currently upstairs? Yep. Found it.) Keys to Curriculum Mapping: Strategies and Tools to Make it Work by Susan Udelhofen. We will be working on our curriculum map next year at school. Hello, Rubicon.
12. Have lunch with friends at restaurants around town I haven’t tried yet.
13. Read some books I want to read. (Stay tuned for an update on my reading list soon.)
14. Write to my nephew once a week.  Send him some books.
15. Eat as healthy as possible.

Guess we will see how many I accomplish! At our closing faculty meeting, some silly person commented that we had 72 days until school starts back.  And we now working on week 2. But I will not worry about that.  See, I am trying. I will look at photos like these of my Darling Granddaughter:

She can now roll over.  In the night, she was babbling and when her parents got up to check on her, this is what they found. Photo 1:  “Oops. They caught me.”  Photo 2: It’s okay. I’m cute and how can they possibly be mad? I’ve learned a new trick.” Adorable, right?

I found a recipe for Tomato Pie and gave it a try over the weekend.  Not perfect, but pretty darned good.  Especially the second night. I put pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, grated more cheese on them, warmed them in a 375˚F oven for 10 minutes, then under the broiler set to high for about 4 minutes. It’s better when it looks as if it has almost baked too long.

Biscuit Crust (recipe from King Arthur Flour website)

To make the pie “crust” skip step 4 and go to 5. Do not cut.  Pat the dough into a rectangle on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Do not pre-bake.  Set aside.

• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 to 4 tablespoons sugar, to taste* (I used only 1 tablespoon)
• 4 to 6 tablespoons butter or shortening (I used 6)
• 1 cup milk, buttermilk, or water (I used about 1-1/4 cups buttermilk)

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients. With two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingertips, cut or rub the butter or shortening in until the mixture looks like bread crumbs.
3. Add the liquid all at once, mixing quickly and gently for about 20 seconds until you have a soft dough.
4. To make drop biscuits: Drop the dough by the spoonful onto a lightly floured baking sheet; or for tidier shapes, fill the cups of a greased muffin tin about two-thirds full.
5. To make cut biscuits: Pat the dough into a rectangle about 3/4″ thick. Fold it into thirds like a letter and roll gently with a floured rolling pin until the dough is 3/4″ thick again.
6. Cut into circles with a biscuit cutter for traditional round biscuits. Or, to avoid leftover dough scraps, cut the dough into squares or diamonds with a bench knife or bowl scraper.
7. Bake the biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’re lightly browned. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm.

Pie filling: adapted from South Carolina Living: 7 recipes every S.C. cook should know 

Hattie Mae’s Tomato Pie

To avoid soggy tomato pie, use every bit of the salt the recipe calls for, says Heidi Trull. “It gets all the moisture out of the tomatoes. You’re not going to be eating that salt, because you rinse it off.”  (Note: I did not rinse the tomatoes as well as I should have. So, after tasting them, I did not add any additional salt.)

Hattie Mae’s tomato pie

SERVES 8

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced

¼ cup salt

1 cup grated hoop cheese (I had to google this… sad but true. I used Vermont sharp cheddar cheese, a mixture of white and traditional)

1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise (there is no substitute for this in the south! I also added about 1/4 cup of half and half- my mixture was not pourable, but spreadable anyway)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (totally forgot to add but I did sprinkle in some herbes de Provence)

1 medium onion, diced (decided to leave off)

Salt and pepper to taste

8 mini piecrusts (or one large) – used the biscuit crust instead

Slice tomatoes, and cover with ¼ cup salt. Let sit for 1 hour. Rinse well in colander, and pat dry with paper towel. Place piecrusts in pan(s), and lay tomato slices in pie shells. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour over tomatoes. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes.  (Mine needed to bake for about 35 minutes- the biscuit crust is different than a traditional pie crust.)

After it cooled for about 10 minutes, I cut it with a pizza cutter.  Kitchen scissors would work also. I cut it into 10 rectangles. You can cut the pieces as large or small as you wish. This would make a great appetizer. The Ex-Ex called it tomato pizza. He liked it and he usually doesn’t like “hot tomatoes.”

Day 2

Bon appétit!  Whether you are a list-maker or not, I hope you are having a great June.  It isn’t officially summer yet… Schedule in some fun.  And try to worry less. Wherever you go there you are.

Weekend baking

I am a creature of habit.  I have morning routines.  Even on Saturdays and Sundays.  Even during summer vacation. I like to get up, make the coffee, feed and water the cat, and bake.  The house is quiet.  It’s just Callie Cat and me, although she isn’t always quiet.  I think she really misses Rusty, her brother, who died a month or so ago.  She meows a lot more now.  Muffins are my favorite to bake because they are quick and the Ex-Ex likes to eat them for breakfast.  Scones are fun, too.  So is banana bread, but it takes a lot longer to bake, therefore I usually do that at night.

I like to make things from scratch.  I kind of hate to admit that I have become a mix snob, but I have.  Baking mixes were all the rage when I was growing up.  New and exciting.  And a lot of unpronounceable stuff added in, as we all now know.  I succumb once in a while, but I read labels now.  A chef friend of mine swears that high fructose corn syrup is the devil’s elixir, so I avoid that like the plague.  I use King Arthur‘s all-purpose flour.  I have fallen in love with that company.  It’s 100% employee owned and their motto is “Try it once, trust it always.”  Check out their recipes and company story and you will, too, I bet.

I am an amateur and I have been baking for as long as I can remember.  Cookies, pound cakes, pies, cupcakes, biscuits, bread. I’ve taken a few baking classes. Macaron-making with Amy Tornquist of Watts Grocery and Hummingbird Bakery here in Durham (my city is an eating destination these days- I don’t really like the word foodie, so I don’t use it, but google Durham, NC and see what you get).  I taught Amy’s daughter and she helped her mom with the class which made it twice as much fun.

I took a macaron-making class in Paris this past March with my students at L’Atelier des Gâteaux.  Several of the kiddies wanted to do this and, well, truth be told, they did not have to twist my arm.

My most recent baking class actually turned out to be two classes (the ovens weren’t working properly the first time so we were invited back to try again) taught at Sur la Table at Southpoint Mall.  Judy C suggested learning how to make croissants and I took her up on the invitation.  I love croissants.  Is there anything better than starting the day with a warm croissant, preferably eaten in France, with a cup of hot café au lait, people watching?

Non. Well, unless it’s a pain aux raisins…

I digress.

Back to the croissant-making.  It’s not as hard as I thought.  Time-consuming, oui.  You must plan ahead.  Jane Bobroff, a professional baker, was our teacher for Croissants from Scratch.  A woman who loves butter as much as I do.  Maybe even more.  King Arthur is one of Sur la Table’s sponsors, so I was quite happy.  Some of the baking vocabulary was in French since these little darlings are iconically as français as Maurice Chevalier.  Détrempe and beurrage. The dough block and the butter block.  Lessons in activating yeast, incorporating the beurrage, folding properly- letter and book folds, proofing the dough, egg wash, baking for longer than you think you should.  The class was a bit backwards since it takes a while to get the dough from yeast to oven.  We started with dough already prepared for us,

made our croissants,

set them to rise,

and while we were waiting for them to double in size, we prepared dough for the next class.  We made Classic Croissants, Pain au chocolat, and Parisian Ham and Gruyère Croissants.

Chef Jane also uses this dough for Morning Buns, croissant dough rolled with cinnamon and sugar and baked in muffin tins.

I will try this at home, now that I have taken the class twice, but I advise you to find a class or, if you follow directions well and are patient, to devote a Saturday morning to the process.  Planning backwards is a good idea.  Figure out when you want thesepâtisseries to come out of the oven and work back from there.

For a much quicker breakfast treat, I will share my favorite, foolproof muffin recipe.  I have made many variations of this recipe since finding it in Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Special Edition (in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation).  It is the 12th edition of this well-known and well-loved American bible of cooking, originally published in 1930.  This edition was published in 2003.  The muffin recipe page came loose long ago and is held in place with a paperclip.

Muffins

Prep: 10 minutes.  Bake: 15-18 minutes.  Oven: 400˚F.  Makes: 12 medium-sized muffins

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. granulated sugar (or sometimes I use turbinado sugar)

2 tsp. baking powder (preferably aluminum free)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg, beaten

3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. cooking oil

1 recipe Streusel Topping (optional- I rarely make it)

1. Grease twelve medium muffin cups (2-1/2 in.) or line with paper baking cups.  Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk and oil.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened.  Do not overmix- batter should be lumpy.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.  If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping over batter in cups.  Bake in a 400˚F preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Remove muffins from pan.

Streusel Topping

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. cold butter

2 Tbsp. chopped nuts, if desired

Combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumb.  Stir in nuts, if using.

Add-ins I’ve tried-  don’t be afraid to be creative here

Note:  Gently fold in fruit and peels at the end.  Extracts or flavorings should be added to the egg-milk mixture.  Spices, such as cinnamon, should be added to the flour mixture.

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, 1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel

1 c. coarsely chopped cranberries and 2 Tbsp. additional sugar

Reduce flour to 1-1/3 c. and add 3/4 c. rolled oats to flour mixture (mini-chocolate chips maybe?)

Increase sugar to 1/2 c. and add 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds to flour mixture.

Reduce milk to 1/2 c. and stir in 3/4 c. mashed banana and 1/2 c. chopped nuts into the flour mixture along with the egg mixture. (best not to use paper cups for this one- they really stick to the paper)

1 c. Craisins ( any flavor)

1 medium-sized apple, peeled, cored and diced (Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp work well) plus 1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup of chopped, pitted cherries, fresh or frozen, plus 1 tsp. almond extract

Bon appétit and happy baking!  Your eaters will love you and your kitchen will smell heavenly.  Sip your coffee while they bake, as I do, and read Sean Dietrich‘s daily posts about life in the South.  I follow him on Facebook and he is always amazing.  We are yet-to-meet-in-person best friends.  His wife, Jamie, is a killer cook.  I beg her for recipes.  I have no shame.  Check out what I’ve written about them here and here. 

Comfort food

Here in the South (I have only lived in the South and in France, so I cannot speak for other regions), when there is a tragedy, we cook.  I made dozens and dozens of cookies when three of our basketball team members were injured in a car crash a month or so ago.  Many of my family memories revolve around food after a death.  Southerners bring casseroles, fried chicken, pies, cakes, biscuits, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and any number of other specialities.  Church families arrange dinners for the bereaved.  It is what we do when we don't know what else to do to help out.  We cook.  And we cook comfort food.  By the time I left my mom's house on Saturday, the food had started arriving.  My cousin made a delicious beef stew (and told me that her secret ingredient is dry onion soup mix), the mom of one of my brother's friends made a chicken casserole and a chocolate pie.  The funeral home sent over a tray of sandwiches.  My grand nephew, who is learning his way around the kitchen (I hope that he goes to culinary school one of these days), made chicken salad while waiting for us to come home after my brother died.  My sister and his mom, my favorite niece, fussed at him for messing up the kitchen, but it was only half-hearted fussing.  I shared with him that I clean up as I go along and then, after dinner, there isn't much to do.  One of my very good friends called today to ask if she could bring food over.  I told her that she and I can go out for dinner later in the week while her husband and the Ex-Ex are out of town.  No dishes to wash that way.  We both stay at school late anyway, so we can have a nice quiet evening after a not so quiet day with middle schoolers.

So what is in that beautiful blue pot?  A recipe I found on the King Arthur Flour website.  It screamed comfort food so I decided to make it for our dinner tonight.  The Ex-Ex ate two servings.  I think he liked it.

Turkey and Dumplings
8 servings

I made it all in my blue pot.  The recipe says to cook it in one pot, then transfer it to a baking dish.  My blue pot is ovenproof so I didn't see the need to dirty another dish!

dumplings

• 1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (chives, parsley), or 2 tablespoons dried (optional)--I used herbes de Provence

• 3/4 cup buttermilk

• 1 large egg

pot pie filling

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

• 1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

• 3 cups turkey stock, or a combination of stock and leftover gravy -- I used chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon dry thyme-- herbes de Provence again here

• 1 bay leaf

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 4 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken-- I stopped off at Harris Teeter and bought a rotisserie chicken to use

• 2 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables-- I bought a mixture of frozen peas, carrots, and green beans

1. For the dumplings: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in the herbs, if using. Cover and refrigerate this mixture while you're making the pot pie filling.

2. For the pot pie filling: Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, whisking it into the roux to prevent lumps. When all the stock and/or gravy is added, season with the thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, then stir in the meat and vegetables.

4. Return the filling to a simmer, and transfer to a 4-quart baking dish with a lid. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. To assemble: Once the hot filling is in the dish, whisk the buttermilk and egg together, and add, all at once, to the dry mixture.

6. Stir together until evenly moistened.

7. Scoop the batter on top of the simmering liquid, leaving space between the dumplings (they'll almost double as the cook). Put the lid on top, and bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes.  At least 30 minutes in order for the biscuits/dumplings to be cooked completely.

Bon appétit to my family and to all my very caring friends. I love you all.