Aebleskivers...

Growing up, one of my favorite "special breakfasts" was Aebleskivers. They are Danish pancakes. They're kind of a cross between pancakes and popovers. This family tradition started with my Grandmother Humphries (she was very formal, so we had to call her Grandmother). She would make them for us for special occasions. My Grandmother and Grandpa Humphries

My mom carried on the tradition. I remember sitting in the kitchen anxiously awaiting to dip them in raspberry jam and powdered sugar. They were delicious! Shortly after I got married my mom gave me an Aebleskiver pan. Sadly, my pan sat untouched for quite a long time. A few years ago I made them for my uncle and aunt. Ah the memories it brought back. I don't make them as often as I like, but when I do I'm instantly carried away to my childhood. I hope to carry on the tradition of Aebleskivers for my family.

Aebleskivers require a special pan. Typically it is a cast iron pan with seven small wells. You can find them at most kitchen stores or online.

Aebleskivers

(Grandmother Humphries)

1 quart buttermilk

4 eggs, separated

1 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups flour

2 TBSP butter, melted

Mix buttermilk and egg yolk. Beat well. Add sugar, salt, baking soda and flour. Mix until thin-cake batter.

Whip remaining egg whites until fluffy. Fold egg whites into batter.

Spray Aebleskiver pan with Pam or brush with melted butter. Poor batter in pan, filling well about 2/3 full. Cook over medium-low heat. Turn when golden brown. Be careful not to burn. Make sure it is cooked all the way through.

Serve with jam, jelly, powdered sugar or syrup.

***This makes a lot of batter. Half the recipe for a small family!

***I also fill with fruit. Put half batter in, fruit filling, then remaining batter.

Although this is not my family recipe, it's one of my favorites!

Blueberry Filled Aebleskivers

1 ¾ cup flour

¾ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 ½ TBSP sugar

½ tsp salt

Zest of ½ lemon

3 egg yolks + 5 egg whites

1 1/3 cup buttermilk

¾ cup ricotta cheese

5 TBSP butter, melted

1 pint blueberries

In bowl, whisk: flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks. Whisk in buttermilk and ricotta. Whisk in flour mixture until well combined. (Mixture will be lumpy) In another bowl, whick egg whites until stiff. Gently fold into batter.

Put ½ tsp butter into wells of Aebleskiver pan. Place over medium heat. Pour 1 TBSP batter into well. Place four blueberries into center of batter. Top with 1 TBSP batter. Cook 3-5 minutes. Turn and cook about 3 more minutes. Dust with powdered sugar

Chicken with Pesto Mushroom Cream sauce...

We stopped in to Barnes and Noble (I have an addiction to this store and truth be told I don't really read. If I do read, I go to the library. So I'm not quite sure why I even go to Barnes and Noble). While we were oogling all the fun cook books, I came across this beauty. Every Saturday Ryan and I watch America's Test Kitchen. We are always mesmerized by their dishes. So it's no surprise that this is my new favorite cookbook (sorry Barefoot Contessa). We have tried 4-5 dishes, all of them have been winners. I will try to share more later, but in case I don't, you really should go buy this book!



Tonight's dinner was Chicken with Pesto Mushroom Cream sauce. I must admit, I didn't take this picture. In fact I didn't even type the recipe. Due to my laziness, I googled it. Luckily I came across the same recipe at What's Cookin, Chicago? So thank you to her for making it easier for me to share with you. In her recipe, she used Portobello mushrooms. I might try them next time for a nuttier deeper flavor. You should check out her blog, everything looks delicious!!

This dinner was so simple to make. It is a one skillet, thirty-minute meal. The sauce had a great flavor. I loved the hint of lemon. We served it over Thin Spaghetti (Whole Wheat of course).

Chicken with Pesto Mushroom Cream Sauce
ATK: The Best Simple Recipes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
salt & pepper to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 oz white mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup prepared basil pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Cooking chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.

Add remaining oil to skillet and cook mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, add cream, broth and chicken to skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil. Return skillet to high heat and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes, Off heat, stir in pesto and lemon juice and season with salt & pepper. Serve sauce on the side or over chicken.

Parker House Rolls (or, amazing, incredible, perfect for any Thanksgiving Day table rolls)

I have tried many many roll recipes over the past few years. I have been on a bit of a quest for the perfect dinner roll and have only found a few tried and true recipes. The Lion House rolls are always a hit with any meal, and I often make those whenever a roll is needed. But, when I saw this recipe in Food Network Magazine (I love this magazine, btw!) I just had to give it a shot, and I am sooo glad I did! It turned out amazing! Hot from the oven is best, but we served later with White Chicken Chili and the constrast of the slightly sweet dough with the spicy chili was amazing! And the salt sprinkled over the top just sets these rolls apart! Sorry, no pics, I made them a week ago and just thought to share the recipe, so you will have to use your imagination...or head over to the store and pick up a copy of the magazine for step by step instructions and photos! :)

Parker House Rolls

1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
1/2 c sugar
7 1/2 to 8 cups flour, plus more for dusting
12 tablespoons butter (unsalted), melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing
2 cups whole milk, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

Measure out 1/2 cup very warm water (110-120 degrees). Sprinkle the yeast into a large bowl, add the warm water and whisk in the sugar. Let sit 1 minute (it should bubble and froth slightly), then gently stir in 1 cup flour. Set aside near the stove while you prepare the dough.

Mix the melted butter and milk in a stand mixer with the hook attachment on low speed. Add the eggs and mix until blended. Scrape in the yeast mixture and mix until incorporated. Add 6 1/2 cups flour and 1 T. salt; mix until the dough forms a ball, 2-3 minutes, adding up to 1/2 c more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky.

Brush a large bowl with softened butter (or spray with Pam). Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 2-2 1/2 hours. THe dough should double in volume.

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust a clean flat surface with flour and turn the dough onto it. Flour your hands; gently press the dough into a 16x8 inch rectangle, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (do not use a rolling pin).

With the short side in front of you, cut the dough in half lengthwise with a floured knife. Then slice crosswise into 12 strips. One at a time, fold each strip of dough into thirds. Place seam side down on the prepared baking sheet in 3 tightly packed rows. (Leave an inch or so between columns and have the sides almost touching so the rolls rise together in the oven and create a "pull apart" style of roll.)

Bake until the rolls are bursting at the seams and golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with softened butter. Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve immediately.

If you would like, you can make in advance and freeze them before baking. After you have placed dough on the prepared pan, wrap the whole baking sheet tightly in plastic wrap and freeze up to 3 weeks. When you want to bake them, bake frozen rolls at 325 for 25 minutes, then 10 minutes more at 375.

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes...

My co-worker brought in the yummiest pumpkin cupcakes. She said they were easy to make. That said, right after work I was off to buy the ingredients at the store. I was so excited to make these for family night. There I was, batter all mixed up and cream cheese mixture ready to go. Small problem, I ran out of cupcake liners. At this point I lost my motivation to run back to the store. So instead of cupcakes, I made it as a cake. I poured the cake batter in a 9 x 13 pan. Poured the cream cheese filling on top and swirled it with the cake batter. Baked it a little longer and Viala! Pumpkin Cream cake. Almost just as good - not as much cream cheese filling, but we still managed to scarf it down!

photo curtesy of kraftrecipes.com

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes

1 pkg. (2-layer size) spice cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package. Add dry pudding mix and pumpkin; mix well. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in sugar and egg; spoon over batter.

BAKE 18 to 21 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

Kraft Kitchens Tips: Stir 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg into 1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping; spread over cooled cupcakes. Keep refrigerated.

apple dumplings...

We've eaten really good this week! I've been trying new recipes and revisting lost favorites. One recipe we revisited was apple dumplings. Awhile back, we had our good friends over for dinner. Kristy was in charge of dessert. Because this is a desert you eat right out of the oven, she prepared it at my house. I was a little skeptical watching her make it, but I figured with two sticks of butter how could it go wrong! It was so good!

Fast forward to last night...going through my recipe binder I came across the recipe. Without any hesitation I ran to the store grabbed the ingredients. We enjoyed our fabulous treat (and then again for breakfast this morning). Hope you enjoy it as we do!

I only made half the recipe.

Apple Dumplings

Kristy Mayes

2 granny smith apples

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

2 sticks butter

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon

1 can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut into 8 slices each. Roll each slice into crescent roll dough. Place in 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter. Add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla. Pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around edges of pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350˚ for 40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan over the top

Greek Salsa Chicken

We made the best dinner last night. It's become one of our favorites. It's easy and quick. Ryan even said " You could put this on a bumper and it would taste good!" I'm sure he stole the line from Emeril, but I was still thankful for the compliment. Sorry there's not a picture. I was so hungry I just dug in, completely forgetting my camera.

Cook 4-6 chicken breasts. Top with Greek Salsa. Serve with couscous on the side. I mix my salsa in with the couscous. De.Lish!

Greek Salsa

4 oz feta cheese
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup pitted Kalmata olives
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients. Serve.

***I've also used 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained. I also add 1/4 cup finely diced red onion.

Jumbalaya...

As you can see from the date on the last post - It's been a long time! Summer always seems to throw me off schedule. I haven't even thought about the blog, until my sister had a question on one of the recipes she found on here. So I've decided to start up again. My goal is to try and make one to two new recipes each week. Hopefully they'll turn out and I'll share.

This week's new recipe is a combination of two recipes. Everyday Food and Cuisine at Home both had jambalaya recipes. They were both very similar, so I just combined them. I don't know that I would call it jambalaya, but it was still tasty.

Jambalaya

1 8-oz smoked sausage, sliced (we use turkey sausage)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, medium dice
1 bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cup cooked rice

In a large skillet, saute sausage in olive oil. Cook about 5 minutes.

Add in onion, pepper and celery. Cook until veggies are tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Add garlic, cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes. Scrap bottom of pan! Cook 3 minutes, until it thickens up. Stir in rice. Cook until heated. Serve.

***I added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce with the tomatoes to spice it up. I also put the Tabasco on the table for anyone who wants it spicier. We served with black beans.

***You can also add one pound raw shrimp with the garlic. Cook until shrimp is cooked through before adding tomatoes.