Pots and Pins

Cheese-Filled Puff Pastries with Fresh Herbs...

I know no one in their right mind would even consider turning on their ovens in 95 degree heat but that's exactly what I did because I wanted something delicious to nibble while the mercury soared.  Cheese, herbs and toasted pine nuts, surrounded by puff pastry...worth heating up the kitchen.  Worth the calories.  Worth tiny beads of sweat on my brow.  Just worth it all.

 

Edges of pastry sealed with melted butter and then a bit more butter is brushed on top, because what's a little more butter during a heat wave?  You could use phyllo dough instead of puff pastry, and I considered it but decided I wanted these to be a bit more substantial; phyllo dough would make these more compact, not enough pastry for me.

Our Sunday feast had a Spanish theme (Paella was our main course) so these cheese-filled puffs fit right in.  These are called borek, but are also known as empanadas, pittas, pastillas, boregi, briouats, briks - small turnovers from the countries surrounding the Mediterranean.  The recipe comes from a cookbook that was gifted to me (thank you Lisa Sharp!) From Tapas to Meze, it's filled delicious recipes for "small plates from the Mediterranean."  I learned that borek is a generic term for a whole range of Turkish pastries and they are very adaptable, so use whatever herbs and/or cheese filling you want!  These make great appetizers or serve with soup and salad for lunch or dinner and they make a darn fine late night snack as well!

I personally love the flavors of this - chives, dill, parsley and mint, real tastes of summer and then there are the pine nuts, well, who doesn't love them?  The recipe called for kefalotyri cheese but suggested Parmigiano as a good substitute so that's what I used.

Cheese-Filled Puff Pastries with Fresh Herbs - Adapted from the cookbook From Tapas to Meze by Joanne Weir

6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 package (2 pieces included) puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

6 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the filling:  mash together the feta, Parmesan, nutmeg, chives, dill, mint, parsley, and pine nuts.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.  Unwrap thawed puff pastry and roll out one piece to be 12-inches square.  Cut into three strips and cut those strips into 3 pieces, so you'll have 9 squares.  

Preheat over to 375 degrees.   Scoop a shy tablespoon of the cheese mixture onto each square of puff pastry.  Using your finger, dip it into the melted butter and run it along two sides of the pasty so when you fold the pastry over, the butter will help seal the edges.  Fold the pastry over, opposite corner to corner, seal with finger and or fold edges up and over each other.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining pastry sheet, making a total of 18 pieces, 9 from each sheet.  With remaining butter, lightly brush the tops of the pastries before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve hot from the oven, warm or at room temperature.  Makes 18, serves 6 to 9.

 

 

Strawberry-Arugula Salad...

In an attempt to keep things normal, I'm doing what I usually do two weeks before Easter - reading recipes for our Easter feast!  I'm not sure who will be attending our feast this year, maybe it will be just the two of us and if so, that's okay, the feast must go on.

Strawberries are a sure sign of spring and their sweetness adds the perfect balance to the slight bitterness of the arugula.  Of course, candied almonds help with that, too.  This salad is very adaptable, if you don't want to use strawberries, use chopped apples.  If you don't want to use feta cheese, use crumbled blue cheese.  If you don't want to use candied almonds use candied pecans - but whatever you do, don't mess with the dressing, it's divine.

The dressing could not be easier to make and it's deliciousness will coat every piece of yummy goodness in this festive spring salad, making it the perfect salad for our Easter feast.  Sure we'll have ham and scalloped potatoes and asparagus - those are part of our tradition - but we also need to balance out the heavy food with something bright and tasty and this salad is it!

I've decided this Easter we will stick with the favorites mentioned above along with hot cross buns, wouldn't be Easter without them.   You can check out all of my Easter recipes by scrolling down to Easter in the categories on the right - you might even find something else that your feast needs.

Strawberry-Arugula Salad - Southern Living Magazine

 1 small sweet onion, chopped, divided

1/2 cup light olive oil

3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar 

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste

1 (10 oz.) package fresh arugula 

1 lb. fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved (about 2 to 2 1/2 cups)

4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

1 cup chopped candied slivered almonds

In a food processor or blender, process half of the onion, oil, vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper until creamy.  Arrange arugula, strawberries,  remaining onion, feta cheese and slivered almonds on a large platter.  Drizzle with dressing and serve.  Serves 8 to 10.  

 

There's one last thing I want to tell you about and that's the serving tongs I love and use for salads.  I've had these tongs for about 10 years and they still look brand new because they are stainless steal and they don't tarnish.  You can find them on Amazon, click here for the link.  I have 3 of these Oneida 11-1/2 tongs, a gal can never have too many!

Trust me, these are study, well-made, they look nice if you're using china and crystal or paper plates and plastic.  I get nothing from recommending these but the satisfaction of knowing your Easter guests will be able to scoop up a portion of salad without dropping anything in their laps.  I've lost track of what day of coronavirus quarantine this is - I just know that my daily routine consists of these choices:  Netflix, laundry, walking the dog, sewing or baking.   But if I keep choosing to bake then I'll be dealing with the quarantine 15 (pounds) that I'm sure is in my future! Stay safe and keep washing your hands.

The Candy Cane Hunt...

A candy cane hunt is just like an Easter egg hunt, except it's done with candy canes, in the winter, in the forest, where little ones needs to be on the lookout for reindeer, elves and Sasquatch. In the Northwest it's best to hold the hunt on a day when it's not raining, but since candy canes come individually wrapped in plastic, the rain won't hurt them...but the hunters might not have as much fun.  We scheduled our hunt on what turned out to be the 5th rainiest day in Seattle, ever.  So we rescheduled, because rain is one thing, a monsoon is another. 

Elsa made our signs last year (we saved them by covering in plastic wrap so the rain didn't ruin them) and we had 350 candy canes, plus some large plastic ones to mark the trail.  All of the candy cane hunters were given a Santa hat to wear - so as not to be mistaken for a baby Squatch - and a bucket to hold their candy canes.

Max decided he was too old to do the actual hunting so he opted to help hide the candy canes.  It was great having a helper and just so you know, it takes a bit longer to hide candy canes than you would expect.  You can't just toss them into plants or on the ground like you do Easter eggs...oh I suppose you could...but it's much more interesting to hang them from branches and trees so the kids have to really look for them.  And if you happen to have a fence in your forest, candy canes look great on them!

Oh how I love this boy!  He took his job very seriously as we stapled signs and red and white striped bows on trees, so our hunters would know where to go - plus it made the forest look very festive!  Max may have a future in the candy cane hanging industry, he was that good!

Our group of hunters - the cutest I've ever seen!  They were excited even though I'm not sure they really knew what they were going to do.  But they were ready to go and came prepared to walk into the deep, dark woods...

You can see how deep into the forest we went...the neighborhood trail was perfect for candy cane hunting.  Our hunt lasted a good 20 minutes or so - it was a long walk for the kids, stopping and grabbing canes along the way took time.  The older kids ran ahead, which is why I have no pictures of them, and bless their hearts, they actually left candy canes for the little ones to find!

After the hunt, we went back to the house for treats - the hunters had worked up an appetite!  Hot cocoa and cookies were waiting for them, thanks to the boy who stayed behind to get everything ready.

Those snowmen cupcakes kill me!  I did try, really hard, but they all kind of look creepy...oh well, the kids liked them!  (I also tried really hard to get each kid a melting snowman from Trader Joe's.  They were all the rage this year and Trader Joe's ended up rationing them, so each person could only buy 3 at a time!  Every time I went in they were sold out...so next year I'll be on the lookout for them the day after Halloween!!) 

 

Each candy cane hunter had a peppermint spoon, to stir their cocoa, and a small knife which was needed for them to spread their own frosting on their own cookies.  They also had sprinkles to go on top.  Of course, there were already decorated cookies for them to eat while they decorated their cookies!

Cookies and cocoa would have been just fine and dandy but the kids really liked decorating their own cookies - and eating them.  We had prizes for the kids, too.  I bought 3 packages of  "indoor snowballs" at Target (they are great fun and the kids loved them!) and we wrapped those up (pictured behind Elsa on the right, with the red ribbon) and gave them to the kid with the most candy canes, the least candy canes, and I can't remember what the other one was for.  (Max, Elsa and I had a snowball fight in their house a few weeks back and it was hilarious!  Being pelted with fluffy, soft balls was so fun, of course, doing the pelting was even more fun...and their dog Roxy got in on the act, too.  She grabbed every ball she could and proceeded to shred them!  Not one lamp, window, bric-a-brac was broken and not one tear was shed...indoor snowballs are a good thing.)

There is something wonderful about seeing little kids faces when they walk into a room filled with sweets...their eyes just light up and smiles go from ear to ear!  That's my reward for doing parties like this...that and seeing my own grandkids have fun.  If you have a candy cane hunt, and I hope you do, make it as simple or as extravagant you want.  Serving hot cocoa out of a thermos in the forest would have been a perfect ending, kids don't care really, they just love the fun of it and as long as there is a little bit of Christmas magic involved, everyone wins!  

Happy 11th day of Christmas!






 

The Grinch Party...

I'm lucky to have a lot of nieces and nephews, none live close to me but I get to see most of them on a regular basis when I go to SLC.  Three of my nieces are Grinch fiends...they love the movie, The Grinch, (of course they love the book, too) and everything about Who-ville.  After years of talking about it, my nieces Gabby, Callie and Gracie decided it was time they had their own Whobilation...they asked if I wanted to help...duh!  

Callie truly is Martha May Whovia and Gabby is a lot like Betty Lou Who, so they played their parts brilliantly!  Of course, no Whobilation would be complete without the very precious Cindy Lou Who...and little 4 year old Rylee was cast perfectly.  Rylee was so excited for the party - kept asking all day if it was time and she could barely contain herself when we finally said it was! 

Baby Who-Rhett oversaw everything from the safety of his Who-seat and he was so good - not a peep out of him.  Can't say that about Mayor Augustus May Who - although he did kick the party into high hear when he showed up!    

Yours truly was crowned Cheermiester, awarded a goblet, lighted necklace, a tinsel-y-pointer-thingy and a beautiful Christmas sweater that I was forced thrilled to put on.  My sister Carolynn is trying to hide behind me in the picture - but we see you!  

If I look a little tired, and I do, it's because I was!  The morning of the party my sister Carolynn and I decided we would dip chocolates...probably not the best decision but time was short.  We spent about 5 hours dipping 350 chocolates and then packaging them for gifts.  By the time we were finished we were covered in chocolate, and so was every surface in the kitchen.  We spent a good bit of time cleaning up, with the clock ticking down to the Whobilation...a nap would have been nice but there wasn't any time for that!  

My sister Joni let us trash her kitchen, she does have the perfect space for dipping chocolates...huge counter that we could completely cover with chocolate.  Carolynn is a master at packaging and each box was beautifully wrapped with darling tags.  I made the apron for my sister Joni several years ago and I used it so I wouldn't be chocolated...when she came home and saw it she thought it was ruined forever...but it washed up beautifully.  It was probably the first time it's been used...

By now I'm sure you're wondering what does one do at a Whobilation besides dress up?  Well, for starters we dined on green food...

 

We had everything from Grinch Juice, (it was actually really good - recipe can be found here) to roast-beast - sort of - and tons of sugary things...too many to mention - tons is the correct word as that's what I felt like I had gained by the time I flew home!    

We had SO much food!  (Only half of what we had is pictured above!)  I had to get a picture of my brother-in-law's homemade bread...he's now a breadmaker...Who knew???  The list of what we wanted to make shrunk considerably because of our time constraints - probably a good thing.  But our Whobilation wasn't just about dressing up and eating...oh no...we had an actual purpose!

 I love parties where there is something to do...standing around eating is boring, and besides, it's what I do all day long anyway...so when Gracie and Gabby were talking about this I asked them what the point was...I mean, besides fun, and I told them we needed to do something.  They didn't quite get it - standing around eating is not something they do all day so they were looking forward to that...but when I suggested we paint something, they were on board!  I prepped the canvasses before I flew to Salt Lake and took all of the paints, brushes and other supplies with me...my luggage was awarded the "overweight" sticker.  I'm just glad they didn't put it on me!  Everyone was given a canvas, paint, brush and a stencil of the Grinch's hand to use if they wanted - and we all painted the same picture.

  There were plenty of real Grinch's at our party who wanted nothing to do with painting...note to self:  don't have a party when everyone's favorite football team is playing on TV.  I was so proud of my little Who-Monets...they took their painting very seriously - as they should!  Painting the Grinch's hand, creating their own masterpiece...their own family heirloom, well, that's a very serious thing!

 

Can you tell which painting is little Rylee's?  Don't you just love it??  She was NOT going to be told what to paint or what colors to use but she does have the Grinch's hand in there!  I love them all so much - we had our very own Grinch Art Gallery.  We decided that next year - because this must be an annual event - these paintings need to be on display and hopefully they will all have been properly framed!

 

The best part of the entire thing was spending time with my family.  I SO wish we all lived closer to each other - I love it when I'm with them and miss them when I'm not.  We had such a good time and I hated it to end...but alas, all good things do have to end...if not we would have all grown three sizes that day!

 

Merry Grinchmas and Happy Who Year!

First Annual Turkey Bowl...

If I said the highlight of our Thanksgiving week was the feast or the pies, I would be lying...the highlight was our first ever (and now to be an annual event) turkey bowl!  I was introduced to turkey bowling by our bishop last year when he suggested we have the church youth group do it.  I thought he was nuts, but the kids LOVED it and so did I!  Elsa and Max were on board from the minute I told them about it.  We invited the neighbor kids over - at first they weren't too excited until we told them the bowling ball would be a frozen turkey.  That was all it took - they showed up on Thanksgiving morning at 11:00 ready to bowl!  

Elsa painted this banner for us to hang up over the garage.  She suggested we get it laminated so we can use it again...that little twinkle-of-my-eye is always thinking!  So of course, after T-day I did!

It was SO cold!!!  We waited until 11:00 am because I was hoping for the sun to come out, which it did, but it was still 35 degrees!  We used a 9.5 lb. frozen turkey breast for our ball...it was just heavy enough so the kids had to heave it down the drive but not too heavy that they couldn't lift it.

It was great fun!  Parents came to watch because who throws a frozen turkey on their driveway?!?  The kids loved it - and if it hadn't been so cold we would have played for hours!  There were 13 kids so we only got in two full rounds before hypothermia threatened to set in.

The mister was the pin-miester - he set up the 2-liter bottles of soda, which were our bowling pins, after each throw.  We put the 6-foot table on it's side in front of the garage to protect the garage door - having a frozen turkey hitting they door would not have been good!  The mister whined and winched about the turkey bowl from the minute I told him about it...what a waste of turkey (it wasn't wasted...it was still frozen and the packaging wasn't torn, and while it might have a bruise or two, 90% of it is perfectly good so it will be cooked and eaten all in good time!)  The mister also complained about how stupid it was...as in what was the point...the point, my dear sir, was  F*U*N !!!  Something he is not familiar with...but...like the Grinch who's heart grew 3 sizes...the mister was seen smiling and at one point he even clapped his hands!!! He had fun!!!  Just a wee bit,  but seeing those kids light up as that turkey flew through the air was enough to make even the mister laugh!

Katie kept score for us - after two rounds it was time to declare the winner.  Elsa looked on, hoping her team was in the lead.  Most of the kids threw "gutter balls" or as we called them, "butter balls."  We moved our starting line up and back depending on the age of the kid - we tried to give the little ones a bit of an advantage but throwing almost ten pounds was a struggle for some.  It was all good, clean fun...everyone was a good sport, laughed, ate cookies, drank cider and had fun...which was the point!  Also, it got the kids out of the house so the moms could put the finishing touches on their feasts!  Not pictured was my mom, who came out on the driveway all bundled up to watch the festivities.  She thought it was crazy but after seeing the kids faces, she was a believer!

We divided the kids into teams...much better than doing it individually.  The winning team members each got to take home a bowling pin/bottle of soda, as their trophy.  I regret not having a real trophy for them - rookie mistake...next year I'll make sure they go home with something more than soda and frozen fingers!  

Since I usually just use my phone as a phone and am horrible with taking pictures/videos, this was the best video I managed to get...not one video of the kids actually bowling...I thought I was taking videos but I was just taking pictures of my feet!  This one at least captures the kids and some of their excitement!  Hope your T-Day was as fun as ours!

 

 

Friendsgiving 2019...

November wouldn't be the same without at least one Friendsgiving!  This year, the older girls I'm lucky enough to teach (and I use that term loosely) at church were thrilled to come to a Friendsgiving - most had never been to one before!  Unlike some Friendsgivings, where guests show up with a dish to share and sit down to a fancy feast, our Friendsgiving required a bit more from the guests...they had to prepare their feast!  They were all very good sports and went about making their food like it was the best thing in the world to do...tiny miracle right there!  

Just look at all of those beautiful faces!  These girls are the best of the best and it was so fun to have them in our home.  I showed this picture to a friend and she said, "I can't believe you used paper plates, I didn't even think you knew they existed!"  Everyone's a comedian!  But she's got a point...I can't believe it either!  Anyway, these gals kicked off a fabulous Thanksgiving week for me and I'm so thankful for them - each young lady is beautiful inside and out and I learn SO much from THEM!  Thanks for coming Zoe, Ashley, Rachel, Jada, Kaylin, Elleny, Ashley, Marisa, and Amber!  Happy Friendsgiving to you!

Dog Biscuits...Dog Swim...Dog's Rule...

Every once in a blue moon I have a great idea.  An idea who's time has come...an idea so genius I wonder why no one has ever thought of it before!  Then, in my delirium, thinking it is the greatest idea of all time, I over-look a few key points.  The day of my great idea I thought all of my cylinders were firing so I didn't notice the crack in the carb, so to speak.  (I don't know if a carburetor can crack, it's my one and only car metaphor, thought it seemed like a good idea to use it now.)  What am I talking about?  A doggie swim party.  Dozens of dogs paddling around in the neighborhood pool to the delight of the dozens and dozens of humans who stand around to watch them.  Every summer day I walked Rosie Ann Marie around our neighborhood park and every day we would walk by the pool.  Rosie loves water, will jump into the bath tub when it's bath time and I really wanted to let her go swimming in the heated pool but, alas, dogs aren't allowed.  And then my idea hit!  I managed to convince the neighborhood board of directors that a dog swim party would be the best end of summer event EVER.  The pool would close to humans and the next day the dogs could swim in the still warm water and the dog owners could stand around and laugh and pat each other on the back for having such great dogs.  That was my thought.  Just didn't think this one all the way through...as in, what can go wrong when dozens of dogs are turned loose into a small area?

Well for starters they act like dogs.  They chase each other and bark and nip and run at break-neck speeds around the legs of humans - so fast the humans are almost knocked into the pool!  And like in most large groups, there was one who just couldn't play nice.  Rudy.  Rudy the labra-doodle.  He's my Rosie's best friend and we love him to pieces but all that excitement was just a bit too much for Rudy and he tried to bite Elmer!  People screamed! Dogs growled!  One person was frothing at the mouth yelling that all dogs needed to be on leashes!  So Rudy had to be led away in shackles, it was all very sad.  The other dogs took note and seemed to behave a bit better after the first fracas.  

That's Maggie and Riley, our star swimmers.  They couldn't have cared less that the little dogs were still playing chase.  The terriers, the boxers, the beagles, the dachshunds, they didn't even notice the water!  One little dog showed up in a life jacket but I don't think she even got one paw wet. 

Maggie went from the big pool to the kid pool - here she is (above) trying to convince her friends the water is fiiiiiiiiiine.  They weren't having it.  And speaking of not having it, little Rosie was so traumatized by all of the chaos that she also had to be taken home!  I was so sad - she wanted nothing to do with the water!  She was shaking so much and that as the mister was holding her he began to shake!  If only I had thought to have her come at the end of the party, when no one was there...like the blind dog who showed up to swim and had the place to himself...

Lesson learned...next year (if I can convince them it should be an annual thing) Rosie will come at the end of the party and maybe I'll even get in the pool with her!  Which brings me to another point...a few naysayers who are not even dog owners were worried there would be canine fecal matter in the pool.  I politely asked them about the fecal matter from the little humans...all summer long...swim diapers don't actually work now do they?!?  I did my homework and checked with the vet - dogs don't go potty in the pool.  In any water actually.  So file that away in case you meet a neanderthal who tells you otherwise.  Also, dog hair/fur/fleas/whatever, is not damaging to the pool heater, filters, drains...not nearly as much human hair/fur/fleas/whatever!

You know I can't do anything without food...so dog treats (recipe below) and human treats were made.  Each dog went home with a bandana and we also provided water bowls, fresh water and poop bags, just in case all that swimming/running caused an emergency.  

Even with a few hiccups, it was great fun - my face hurt from smiling.  The dogs who came loved it - the ones who actually got in the water loved it the most.  Except for maybe one little girl who told me several times, it was THE BEST DAY EVER!  

I wish I would have gotten pictures of all the dogs - in my mind I was hoping for a group shot!  Hahaha...dogs don't pose in groups!  I was so busy trying to stay vertical I hardly had time to get the pics I did!  I made two kinds of dog biscuits - one that Rosie loves, the peanut butter biscuits and an oat biscuit.  The peanut butter biscuits are super easy, smell great, taste okay (if they had a little salt they would be great human treats) but Rosie didn't care for the oat biscuits and frankly, neither did I.  I had great help making the dog treats and the human treats...the best help ever!

Elsa rolled out the paw print cookies.  They were yummy.  We also had dog biscuit-shaped cookies and dog-shaped cookies - they were a little tricky to decorate and at one point I thought they'd all gone to the dogs but in the end they turned out great.  Now about the dog biscuits...if you have a dog and a half hour - you need to make these - your dog will love them, I promise!

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits - Pots and Pins

Through trial and error - making a few other recipes for peanut butter dog biscuits only to have Rosie turn her nose up at them - I hit upon this simple version that Rosie actually likes. 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

10 oz. unsalted natural peanut butter

1 cup milk 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment and set aside.  Stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and milk.  Stir in the flour mixture until well-blended.  Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.  Roll out to 1-inch thickness and cut into shapes using cookie cutters.  Place 2-inches apart on prepared baking trays.  Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned and crisp on the outside.  Remove from cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool.  Cool completely before giving to Fido.  Makes about 36 - I doubled the recipe.  

These dog biscuits also make a great gift to give to someone who loves their dog.  Thanks to all of my neighbors who brought their dogs to the party - I do live in a GREAT neighborhood and thanks to the board of directors who said YES!  And thanks to Matt Astle for pulling many dogs out of the pool and catching many humans who were on their way in!   Dogs Rule!

  

Easter Egg Hunt, Roll and Throw...

To have a really great Easter egg hunt, one the kids will talk about for at least a day, you need to do some planning.  Start with a lot of baskets and candy-filled eggs.

Of course you can always ask the kids to bring their own baskets...but don't ask them to bring their own eggs!  Fill the plastic eggs with candy (we had 150 candy-filled eggs) and if you want your hunt to be more exciting, fill one larger egg with more candy and/or cash.  (You can find large plastic gold-colored eggs for the special egg or you can just write on one of the eggs with a Sharpie to set it apart from the others - finding the special egg is always exciting!)

Before your egg-hunters arrive, set out real (hard-boiled) eggs for them to decorate (these will be used for the egg roll).  It's always nice to give your egg-hunters a few treats...bunny ears, a chocolate bunny and a story about why we really celebrate Easter...also for the egg roll the kids will need a stick so I gave everyone a large colored stick.  You've all seen the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House on TV, right?  The president, first lady and the Easter bunny all greet the kids and they smile and wave as the kids use sticks to roll their eggs down a gentle, well-manicured sloped lawn.  We didn't have the president or the first lady or the Easter bunny and we didn't have a gently sloped well-manicured lawn...but other than that it was egg-actly the same!

The girls wrote their names on the eggs and decorated them beautifully - this took about 15 minutes.  Instead of dying the eggs, use Sharpies, it's much easier and less messy.  Next it was time for the egg hunt!  The kids were given their baskets and they put their real hard-boiled and decorated eggs in the baskets and we headed outside.

Each girl was allowed to find a dozen eggs.  Since we had different aged girls, when the older girl's baskets were full they helped the younger ones find eggs.  It's important to have a defined area for the search - mainly so the girls don't run off and get lost!  Egg hunts go fast - and there is much excitement, especially when the kids realize there is candy inside those eggs!  After our egg hunt we had the girls line up for the egg roll...and for this you really need a bit of a hill...

This is where those colored sticks come in...the eggs need a bit of a push to get them going down the hill (well you don 't really need the sticks, they can use their hands, but it's much more fun to have an egg stick!)   Once the kids got the eggs going with a little push, they started to roll...if they got stuck on a pinecone or twig or some other debris, they gave them another push and eventually all of the eggs took off rolling down the hill!  The object is to be the first one to get the egg down the hill without it being broken...and some actually made it!  Since each girl decorated 3 eggs, we did this 3 times...and each time those eggs took off rolling faster than we thought - most of them cracked at the bottom of the hill - which only made it more fun because the faces the girls drew on the eggs now looked entirely different!

We didn't tell the girls we were going to do an egg throw...when the hunt and the rolls were over, they thought they were done...when we pulled out a basket of real uncooked eggs and told them they were going to throw them at a tree, some of the girls actually started jumping up and down!  You can see some of the eggs that hit the tree - which the squirrels enjoyed later on that day.  We gave each girl two real eggs and told them to heave-ho!  About half of the eggs missed the tree and landed far past it - going splat when they hit the ground to much laughter and squeals of delight!  When an egg hit the tree the girls all cheered - it was very, very fun and I think they'll remember the egg throw for at least a week!

 

Easter egg hunts, rolls and throws bring a lot of happiness to kids - and eggs are cheap so I hope you'll have one for your little ones - even if you have to "import" some like I did!  You can also have a egg hunt indoors - just make sure you find all of the eggs so your house doesn't smell a week later!  You can do an egg roll indoors, too...on carpet, using the special egg sticks, you can set up an egg course with cups or tunnels (made from shoe boxes) - get creative!  And lastly, you can still do an egg throw indoors...if you're crazy!  Have kids toss the eggs into a bucket or throw them into the fireplace or take the kids into the bathroom and have them throw the eggs in to the shower stall...or not...crazy is as crazy does!  Whatever you do, I hope you have a very happy Easter!  

For a list of the very best Easter recipes, the ones we use every year, check out this post:  The Best of Pots and Pins Easter Recipes.

 

Spotted Dick...With Creme Anglaise...

Just the name alone brings a smile to my face!  I will try to keep things above-board and will do my best to keep my snickering to a minimum...but really, Spotted Dick is just sooooooo funny!  At least for us Americans with a bent sense of humor...the British just consider Spotted Dick to be a dessert and a very delicious one at that and I don't believe saying Spotted Dick anywhere in the Queen's realm would elicit a laugh, unless there was a yank in the hedgerow!  So for my sake, and so I can stay off the slippery slope into crude-ville, let's just call Spotted Dick what it really is, a pudding.  

You can't have a Harry Potter/Muggle feast without certain desserts - it would just be rude...so I made sure I had plenty of all things Harry.  Chocolate Flies, Shock-o-Chocolate, Fizzing Whizbees, Chocolate Frogs, Dark Treacle Tart, Aunt Petunia's English Strawberry Trifle, Hagrid's Rock Cakes and Spotted Dick with Creme Anglaise.  Coma Central.

Only those truly versed in Harry Potter were invited.  It was quite the grand affair!  Our menu included more than just desserts, we also had Chiddingly Hot Pot, Sausage Rolls, Potato and Onion Pasties, Mulligatawny Soup, Vol-au-Vents, Golden Snitch Cheeseballs and we washed it all down with Pumpkin Juice and Frozen Butter Beer.  

Before the tattoos were applied to each forehead and the glasses were placed in the proper position on the bridge of the nose, my guests had to help prepare the food...a Harry Potter cooking class of sorts.  Things went well, only one band-aid was needed and nothing was broken!  The feast was enjoyed by all, finished with complaints of being too full...yet they all had room for dessert!

  

Spotted Dick is served with a Creme Anglaise sauce over top - a vanilla cream sauce that goes perfectly with the lightly lemon scented steamed pudding, which is exactly what Spotted Dick is...a steamed pudding.  I only served very small slices because we did have four desserts!!  Spotted Dick is very light though, not at all heavy and so much better than I expected it to be - no wonder it's one of Harry's favorites!

Spotted Dick is steamed for about 2 hours - you only have to check on it once or twice, just to make sure there is plenty of water in the pan, so you're not tied to the stove and can go and sit and watch The Prisoner of Azkaban or something.  The spots can be either raisins or currants - I used raisins because that's what I had.  I also used an American-ized version of Spotted Dick and used butter instead of suet, as I was fresh out of suet!  This would be a lovely dessert to serve for Easter or any holiday for that matter - it's one of England's favorites for a reason!

Spotted Dick - Adapted from Martha Stewart

You will need a pan to steam the pudding in, either a coffee can or a pudding steamer like I used or even an oven-proof bowl.

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more softened for pudding steamer and parchment

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup dried currants or raisins

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup whole milk

Creme Anglaise for serving, recipe follows

Set a round wire rack in bottom of a large stockpot (so the pudding container is not sitting directly on the bottom of the pan.  Wadded up aluminum foil will work in place of a rack.)  Set a 5-cup pudding basin or oven-proof bowl (or two 3-cups basins) on rack.  Fill pot with enough water to come about 3/4 quarters of the way up sides of basin.  Remove basin; dry, and butter inside.  Set aside.  Cover pot and bring to a boil.

If you don't have a pudding steamer with a lid, butter a 10-inch round of parchment paper; set aside.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in butter until pieces are no larger than small peas.  Stir in sugar, lemon zest, and currants.  Stir in lemon juice, then eggs and milk; stir until combined.  Transfer batter to prepared basin.  If using a pudding steamer with a lid, put batter in steamer container and put on lid.  If using a bowl, put batter into bowl and place parchment round, buttered side down, over basin.  Make a pleat in center of parchment.  Cover with an 11-inch round of foil.  Make a pleat in center of foil to allow room for pudding to expand.  Cut a piece of kitchen twine about 7 feet long.  Wrap twine twice around basin over foil, just below lip.  Knot to secure.  Carefully lower pudding into boiling water, and cover pot.  Return to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and steam until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pudding registers 180 degrees, about 2 hours, adding boiling water occasionally to maintain level.  (If the pudding is steamed too long it will become dry.  I think mine was a bit over-done but it still tasted great!)

Transfer pudding to a wire rack.  Let cool 10 minutes.  Run a knife around edge of bowl to loosen; invert pudding onto serving plate.  Serve warm, with Creme Anglaise, if desired.  Whipped cream would also be good for serving.  Serves 8 to 10.

Creme Anglaise:

4 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups whole milk

3/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.  Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until combined; set aside.  Put milk, cream, vanilla bean, and seeds into a medium saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low.  Pour half of hot-milk mister into reserved yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  Pour mixture back into pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon.  Pour through a fine sieve into a metal bowl set in ice-water bath; discard solids.  Let stand; stirring occasionally, until cold, about 20 minutes.  

Thanks to the Harry Potter freaks who dined with me...Nia, Azita, Sana, Kate, Julia and Kate!

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts,

Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

or young with scabby knees.

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff.

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

 

 

 

 

Donuts...Party...Halloween...

I know the count down to T-day has started but I want to take a bit of a breather from recipe reading to tell you about our donut party.  We went big and then we went home...as in our first and last donut party!  350 donuts.  1 giant vat of glaze.  2 gallons of oil.  Our first Halloween donut party was a great success and a lot of fun AND the donuts were Ahhhhhhmazing.  Really, they were THE best donuts I've ever tasted, and I'm not over them in my dreams!  A donut party is not a one-gal-operation...nope, it requires a team!!  And luckily I know donut people and they came and made it all look so easy!  So humor me while I show you a few pictures from our big donut event! 

A donut party also requires a really great donut recipe...which you will find below...and as many trays as you can find!  And a big table to let them await their demise upon...and a garage, and 4 tents...if your garage is big enough and clean enough you can skip the tents but since ours was neither, we covered our driveway with them.  You might be wondering why we did this outside or even did it at all (I'm now wondering that!)  For years and years Tami Bean and her family hosted donut parties in their garage on Halloween night and it was a highlight for our community!  Hundreds of people would go; they feasted on her delicious donuts and left with happy faces smeared with glaze and the hopes of donuts again the next year.  Tami and her family moved away over the summer and I just felt like her donut tradition must continue!!!  Something so great as donut night just could not die!  So I tried to make Tami proud, I sent out Evites, put up decorations and I channeled her and used her recipe and she helped me by texting me tips and encouragement and while I might not have achieved Donut Master status, I do think our little party turned out okay, mainly because her donuts are just dang good.  5 dangs good!!  Thank you Tami!! 

Extra treats are certainly not necessary at a donut party...but I suffer from FOROOF, fear of running out of food, so I made a few things just in case...chocolate dipped pretzel rods, Rice-Krispies treat eyeballs, spider chocolate chip cookies, severed fingers, frosted sugar cookies, bowls of candy corn and gallons of apple cider to wash it all down.  More is more!  

Also not necessary are scary Halloween decorations but the boy insisted...so I insisted that he pose for a picture with me...I barely recognize him as he doesn't have black hair or a mustache...he was supposed to be Gomez Addams...close but no cigar!

Megan and Deb, two of the best donut makers this side of the Mississippi, were primed with Diet Coke and ready to work.  I think they might have had more fun IN the kitchen than outside!  Both of them are in costume...yes, they really are, can you guess who they are supposed to be??!

Joni and Deb kept watch over the vat of donut glaze...butter, vanilla, butter, powdered sugar, butter, cream, butter...that's why it was SO dang good!  I didn't think Joni came in costume, but she was wearing flip-flops on a rainy cold night, so maybe she was partially costumed??

The fry-master, otherwise known as Mr. T or Allan.  He brought his camp stove and Dutch ovens and fried all 350 donuts to perfection...I don't think there was a burnt one in the batch!  Behind Deb and Megan is Patty, who worked a miracle in my kitchen with her non-stop dish-washing!  It took a village people!  And on top of the village donut people, we had Trick or Treaters who stopped by and several of their parents jumped in to help!

This is the only shot of the reason for the season...hot, glazed donuts.  Oh my gosh, so dang good.  I think I had 5 of them!!!  FIVE!!!  I wish I'd been better about taking pictures - before, during and after - but I kept getting side-tracked (that's what it's called when I'm busy stuffing my face with donuts and licking my fingers.)

Best Homemade Donut Recipe - Adapted Slightly From Tami Bean, the Donut Master

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

2 packages instant yeast (Note!!!  Only use instant/quick rise yest if you plan to make the donuts within an hour or so...otherwise use regular yeast.  You can make the dough 8 to 10 hours ahead if you use regular yeast and let it rise slowly in the refrigerator.  Let it rest and come to room temperature before rolling out, about 30 minutes.)

1/3 cup warm water (95 to 105 degrees F)

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of cinnamon

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface

peanut or vegetable oil for frying (I used vegetable oil)

Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt shortening.  Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over.  Set aside. 

In a small bowl sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.  Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and half of the flour.  Using the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.  Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, then increase the speed to medium and beat well.  Change to the dough hook and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.  If the dough doesn't pull away from the bowl, add flour, a little at a time until it does.  Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, and if you plan to use the dough soon, cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

(Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough overnight so that it’s ready to make in the morning -- reread note above - do not use quick rise yeast if you don't plan to use the dough soon.  After mixing the dough, transfer to a well-oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.  Punch down the down as needed during this time - but you really shouldn't need to.  When ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before rolling.)

On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch thick.  Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch donut cutter.  Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F.  Gently place the donuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time.  Cook for 1 minute per side.  Transfer to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet.  Cool slightly, drop donuts one at a time into a bowl of glaze, turn over then remove and set out onto another rack with a baking sheet underneath to catch the glaze drips.  Makes approximately 40 donuts.

Creamy Glaze

1/3 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 to 6 tablespoons milk

Heat butter until melted, remove from heat.  Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. 

 Thank you Tami for being my Donut Guru!!  We miss you!  C'mon on back now!