Super-Easy Apricot Chicken

 Everybody needs a recipe that's easy, fast, and relatively inexpensive. Oh, and that even toddlers enjoy eating. You really do not want to hear "I don't yike dis" from a toddler. That means the show is over, they won't eat anything unless you have French fries on hand. The secret in this excellent recipe is: caramelization. That's what happens when you cook sugar long enough. And there's a lot of sugar in apricot jam.

Ingredients:

1 C Apricot preserves

1 C bottled French Dressing

12 chicken thighs, or 4 lg. chicken breasts, or 12 drumsticks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together apricot preserves and French dressing in a medium bowl. Place chicken in a greased 9X13-inch baking dish. Bake in preheated oven 50-60 minutes, until no longer pink when cut into. 

Holy Brisket, Batman!

Brisket is a fond favorite in Texas. All the best BBQ restaurants in Austin have tasty brisket. However, a lot of home cooks come very close. You know, everything is bigger in Texas, and Brisket is no different. It can come in very large sizes, easily serving a herd of people at a relatively low cost. I found this recipe online at "All Recipes". Then I altered it a bit. So, is it mine? Probably not. However, I did rename it, "Holy Brisket, Batman!" because it is truly shout-out-loud good.

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized onion

1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut in chunks.

6 lg. cloves garlic

1 c. ketchup

1/2 C red wine

1/4 C cider vinegar

1/4 C soy sauce

1/4 C honey

1 T pepper

1/4 t cloves

1 1/2 C cola

1/2 C olive oil

1 Brisket cut of beef (any size that will fit in your roasting pan)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl and let stand 30 minutes. Put brisket into a large roasting pan that has been greased. Add sauce, cover tightly and bake until fork tender. After brisket is done, remove from pan and set aside.  If sauce is too thin, boil it down to desired thickness in the pan on top of a stove burner. Then return meat to the pan and slice it thinly to serve warm with a spoonful of sauce after it "rests" 20 minutes.

Just Wright Pumpkin Pie

 It is Thanksgiving Eve, and I am about to make pumpkin tartlets. Keith and Merry Wright introduced me to this amazing recipe for pumpkin pie last week, and I have to say it is the best I have ever tasted. Sometimes a regular "Libby" pumpkin pie filling is pretty bland, almost tasting like squash. But this filling packs in more flavor with extra spice and brown sugar instead of white. It does have a brown color instead of orange, but who cares, as long as it tastes WONDEFUL! Just pipe on some whipping cream to make it look pretty...Happy Thanksgiving All!

Ingredients:

3 C solid-packed pumpkin

1/2 C packed brown sugar

3 T flour

4 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t allspice

1/4 t cloves

1/4 t nutmeg

4 eggs, beaten

1/4 t salt

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1 evaporated milk can filled with 1% milk

2 pre-made pie crusts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat all ingredients except regular and evaporated milk. Beat lightly with a fork until just combined. Gradually add milks and mix well. Place the pre-made pie crust on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet and carefully pour in filling until smooth. To prevent overbrowning, you may wish to cover the pe with foil. Bake pies until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean--1 to 1 3/4 hour. Cool then refrigerate for 2 hours until serving. Do put a large spoonful of real whupped cream on every slice!

Cheesy Taters

It has been a long time since I've posted a new recipe, but here is one I really like. It's easy and delicious.  Something even your moody teenagers and picky eaters will love. I got the idea for it from eating something similar at Whiskey Cake restaurant in Round Rock, TX. This makes a full sheet pan, 11X17", of Cheesy Taters. That will feed around 12 hungry people as a side dish.

Ingredients: 

4lbs. Frozen Tater Tots (I used Great Value Taters from Walmart)

3 1/2 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

3 T chopped green onion tops

3 T canned chopped mild green chilis

1/2 cup real bacon bits (store-bought is fine, but I make my own)

Salt to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 4lbs of frozen tater tots on an 11x17" baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They should be pretty crowded on the sheet.  Sprinkle with a little salt--not a lot. Bake 24-26 minutes until crispy, turning with a spatula halfway through cooking time. 

Take pan out of oven and lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. About 15 minutes before serving, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of cooked taters. Then sprinkle chopped onions and bacon bits (by hand) evenly over the cheese. Do the same with the mild chilis (they should be pretty sparse). Cover all with an even layer of mozzarella cheese. Put in the oven for 15 minutes and serve with a spatula for people to help themselves to their own portions. It should be pretty gooey, and the taters should stick together. 

Almost Whiskey Cake

 This is a superb dessert. It is very much like the cake that's served at "Whiskey Cake Restaurant" in Austin and other locations in Texas. I think it's just as good--but it takes about 2 hours to make. Save this one for special occasions!

Cake:

1 8-oz pkg dried pitted dates, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

2 t baking soda

3/4 C boiling water

1 stick unsalted butter (I tried it with salted butter--complete failure)

1 C plus 2 T sugar

3 Jumbo (or very Large) eggs, at room temperature

1 3/4 C self-rising flour

3 T. Turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place dates, baking soda and boiling water in a medium-sized bowl. All to sit for 15-20 minutes until dates are softened. Place the date mixture in a food processor for 2 minutes to form a paste.

Using a mixer, cream butter on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add the sugar and continue to cream for 3 minutes longer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, about 1/2 C at a time, mixing just until flour is incorporated. Gently fold in the date paste using a rubber spatula. 

Spray a 9X13" baking pan with nonstick spray. Sprinkle bottom and sides of pan with 3 T Turbinado sugar. Pour in the cake batter and bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Vanilla Bourbon Anglaise Sauce:

2 C heavy cream

1/2 C granulated sugar, divided in half

1 vanilla bean (optional)

4 Jumbo egg yolks (extra large eggs work, or use 5 large egg yolks instead)

1 t vanilla extract

2 T bourbon (or more)

Bring heavy cream, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla bean to simmer in a small or medium saucepan. Turn heat to low.  In a bowl, mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/4 sugar until frothy. Slowly add 1/2 cream mixture to the eggs, stirring gently. Then add the egg mixture to the rest of the cream mixture in the saucepan until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon. Remove from heat, and strain into a bowl with a fine mesh strainer. Add vanilla extract and bourbon to sauce and whisk. Chill in refrigerator. If too thick to use as a sauce, add more bourbon. Warm before serving.

Toffee Sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 lb. brown sugar

2 C heavy cream

2 T bourbon

1 T vanilla

Place butter in heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add brown sugar and continue to cook for about eight minutes, stirring occasionally. Add heavy cream and cook another 6-7 minutes. stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon and vanilla. Use sauce immediately, or store in refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at 10 second intervals until thin and lukewarm before serving.

Whipped Cream:

2 C heavy cream

1/4 C sugar

1 t vanilla

Using an electric mixer, begin at low speed and and increase speed until cream forms soft peaks. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until slightly stiff peaks form.

Assemble the Dessert:

Cut the date cake into 12 equal pieces. Poke several holes in the top of each piece with skewers or a fork. Arrange the cake pieces on a baking sheet covered with foil sprayed with Pam, or non-stick foil.

Heat the oven to 475 degrees. Pour 1/4 C warm Toffee Sauce over each piece of cake on baking sheet. Bake for 4-5 minutes in oven until cake is warmed throughout and toffee sauce is bubbling. 

Place each piece of cake on a dessert plate and spoon a bit more Toffee Sauce on top. Spoon a teaspoon of Vanilla Bourbon Creme Anglaise on top of each piece, then add a dollop of whipped cream. The original recipe has chopped candied pecans on top, but I don't think it's necessary. A few chopped nuts as a garnish look nice if you have them.

 

Potato-- Fennel Gratin

 This recipe is one of the finest that I have tried by the amazing cookbook author, Ina Garten. I made it last Christmas to go with my "Chutney Glazed Ham ", and it was a big hit! I did alter the recipe by increasing the salt by a teaspoon, but other than that it is the same. To get the best result, I would advise three things: 1) be sure and buy the best cheese you can afford. It's worth it. 2) Cook it until it almost looks a little too brown on top. 3) Make it a day ahead. It reheats really well. 

Ingredients:

2 small fennel bulbs

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 T good olive oil

1 T unsalted butter

2 lbs. russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)

2 C plus 2 T heavy cream

2 1/2 C grated Gruyere or good quality Swiss cheese

2 t kosher salt

1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the inside of a 10X15X2--inch (10 cup) baking dish (I use 2 10X8--inch casserole dishes). Remove the stalks of the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise.  Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 C of sliced fennel. Sauté the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.

Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandolin. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 C of cream, 2 C of Gruyere (or any other good Swiss Cheese), salt and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onions and mix well.

Pour the potatoes into the baking dish(s). Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 T of cream and 1/2 C of Gruyere and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender, and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve. 

 

Christmas Sugar Cookies

 

Cookies have always been a valued part of our family tradition both in the Whitson and the Smith families. My sisters and I have always made cookies for Christmas. This started when I was about 8, Sarah was 6 and Laura was about 14. We used to sing in the kitchen together while mixing and rolling out sugar cookies. I think we ate more dough than we actually baked! This is my new favorite sugar cookie recipe--I used one from "Southern Living", but the buttery sweet frosting is one I made up many years ago by mixing a little butter into some Royal Icing.

 Ingredients: 

 1 1/2 C powdered sugar: 

 1 C butter, softened 

 1 egg

 2 1/2 C flour (plus more for work surface) 

 1 t baking soda

 1 t cream of tartar

 1/2 t cream of tartar

 1 t vanilla 

 Directions: Cream butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts until combined. Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add to egg and butter mixture, beating on low speed until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl at intervals. Divide dough into two large balls and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. 

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out cookie dough on floured surface for 7-12 minutes. Do not overbake--they should not be brown on the edges!

 

Frost with the following: Jenn's Buttery Royal Frosting: 1 box sifted powdered sugar 1/2 t vanilla 1/2 t melted butter 3 egg whites.  Mix ingredients together, divide and color with various food colors. Spread or pipe on cookies. Note: Try using a LOT of food coloring for darker colors in order to make a really vibrant Christmas cookie. Save the pastels For Easter or a Baby Shower (check out how Martha Stewart uses frosting online).