Ebelskivers aka Pancake Puffs

Who has not seen the infomercial for the Pancake Puffs? I doubt anyone, really. I bought the pan and I burned them! Yes, sad I know. The pan was not nonstick as they tell you and I could not flip them. It was not a good experience. I was not ready to give up on this endeavor. So, last year I saw this specialty pan at Williams and Sonoma and I just had to have it. Who doesn't love pancakes, especially ones you eat with your hands! This is one of my family's favorites. It is a bit time consuming, but worth the effort. We love to fill them with turkey breakfast sausage and dip them in cinnamon syrup. Umm hmm. You can fill them with anything you would like. We have filled them with blueberry preserves & cream cheese to chocolate chips and peanut butter. They are fabulous all on their own, but try a filling, you won't be disappointed.

Recipe:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour- (I prefer King Arthur Flours)

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Salt

4 Eggs, Separated

2 Cups Skim Milk

2 Tbps. Melted Butter- (You gotta have something, sometimes. We cut where we can but don't sacrifice flavor. A little bit is ok.)

Non Stick Spray of your choice, but not the ones with flour mixed in them.

Additional Items Needed:
Ebelskiver Pan from Williams and Sonoma

2 Wooden Skewers

In a bowl place the flour, baking powder, salt, egg yolks, and milk. Whisk gently, it will still be lumpy- You want that. I know it doesn't seem right, but trust me on this. You need lumps.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry peaks. You then fold your egg whites into the flour mixture. You are ready to start.

Heat your ebelskiver pan and spray the top evenly. Fill your wells about 3/4 full, add your filling and then top with a bit more batter just to cover the filling without overflowing the wells. When you see the tops start to bubble approximately 2-3 minutes, just like a regular pancake, you know you are ready to flip them. Use the wooden skewers to flip them gently and cook them for another 2-3 minutes. Be patient and practice turning them, it doesn't take long to learn.

Voila! Your family and friends will be impressed.

Valentine's Cookies

Thirteen years ago today, on our first Valentine's day as an engaged couple, Kris invited me over to his place for dinner. Yes, he actually made dinner! :) He made Chicken curry with rice, but the truly impressive part of the meal was dessert. He baked homemade fortune cookies with little love notes inside. Ok, so to our gentlemen readers...this recipe will most definately get you some high marks with your lady, guaranteed! Yesterday Kris and I had our valentine's "date" and made the fortune coookies again. It's been 13 years since the last time we had them. In this season of life, raising a young child, time seems to be what we would like more than flowers and fancy, expensive dates...although those are always nice! We had the best time hanging out in the kitchen, making witty remarks, laughing, and trying not to mess up the finicky cookies!

Fortune cookies:
These cookies can be tricky to make - it's important to make sure that the cookie batter is spread out evenly on the baking sheet. The best way to spead the batter is to gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth as needed. Wearing cotton gloves makes it easier to handle and shape the hot cookies. This fortune cookie recipe makes about 6-10 cookies...They are easier to shape if you make them a little larger.

Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons water

Preparation:
1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.

3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.

4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
Note: if you want to dye the fortune cookies, add the food coloring at this point, stirring it into the batter.

5. Place level tablespoons (we made ours with about three tablespoons of the batter each) of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.

6. Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (You kind of just have to watch them at about 8 minutes...ours took 11 minutes total and the original recipe says 14 - 15 minutes).

7. Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies. Let them cool and dry for a while before eating!

Affectionately Known as "Chelsie's Casserole Page 96"

Growing up I love, love, love sweet potatoes. It is one the foods I remember my Mom talking about the most with me and what I liked as a child. My Grandma Knight, a sweet Southern Woman from Thomasville, Alabama sent a cook book to my Mom, with an amazing sweet potatoe casserole recipe. We received this book, my best guess would be somewhere around 1982. Smack dab on the cover it says, "Chelise's casserole pg 96." Somehow, I hope in the excitement of this recipe, my sister misspelled my name writing this on the cover.

Thanksgiving this year was amazing! I was given the privilege of preparing not just any meal, but Thankgiving for some I had just met one time and for others I had never met before. It was truly a blessed day! I made this casserole for them and one gentleman, who stated he clearly did not like sweet potatoes, loved this and told his wife to get the recipe. The following recipe has been adapted from it's original as I have to put my healthier spin on recipes and make them my own. Here is a not-so guilty-sweet potatoe pleasure known affectionately as, "Chelise's Casserole pg 96." (Thank you ladies of Clark County Alabama for the original.)

Casserole:

4 Sweet potatoes- umm not in a can :-)

1/3 Skim Milk

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

Pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg- (I know, but it is worth it)

Topping:

1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

1/3 Cup Flour

3-4 Tbsps Melted Butter

1 Cup Pecans

Preheat the oven to 375. Roast the sweet potatoes until soft. Cool and peel the sweet potatoes. The skins will fall right off when they are done. Place sweet potaotes in a mixing bowl and with a fork, mash them to the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, mix well. Place in a 9x9 baking dish.

For the Topping:

Combine the brown sugar, flour and pecans until everything is coated well. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork to make a crumble topping. You can use more butter if you like it a bit wetter or less if you like it drier. Place the topping on the casserole and turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 30-40 until it is bubbly and gooey on top!

Voila!!

Serendipity!

Serendipity by definitiion is the act of finding something valuable or delightful when you are not looking for it. Well without looking for it I certainly found a wonderfully valuable friend and sister in Chelsie! And we were able to share together along with two more friends in a great expedition to New York City this weekend. For both of us it was our first time seeing the big apple with our own eyes. We had quite the adventures and at the top of our list was visiting the famous and renowned Serendipity 3 on the Upper East Side. So we ordered a round of Frrrrozen Hot Chocolates! Yum, yum, yummy! What a wonderful and memorable treat... but more than the chocolate, more than the eclectic decor, and more than the wonder at all the famous people who have sat in my chair, the moment was made so much more remarkable by the ladies I shared it with!

The Steak Trial......

So, we decided that we wanted steak for dinner when we went to see Jeremy Camp at the Hylton Memorial Chapel and Outback Steakhouse is right there. Of course dinner was fantastic, but how do we make steak that good at home? I decided I would search for what the seasonings are that they use to make them so scrumptous. Upon looking at the "interweb", I found a recipe for the mystery seasoning. I was very skeptical, but I had to try it. It was so good, my kids were begging me for more.. Now you know it's good when they beg for more and it isn't a dessert.

Here it is: Your New go-to Steak Seasoning Recipe:
New York Strip Steaks
One Package Taco Seasoning- powder
One Pakage Italian Dressing Mix- powder
Approx. 2 teaspoons Olive Oil

Place your steaks out for 30 minutes to take the chill off
While waiting, open the packets and mix them together in a bag or shaker
Rub the steaks lightly with olive oil, top & bottom
Sprinkle generously the seasonings on your steaks, top and bottom
Use the back of a fork to rub in the seasoning
Grill to perfection

Voila!!!

Now That You Explain It Like That....

Well, hmmm...now when Chelsie explains the "pink socks" situation in such a wonderfully descriptive and heartfelt way, I find myself, shall we say, softening toward the pink socks. I'm all for team comradery and I am definately all for girlie, so it stands to reason that I should be all for pink socks right? I am not yet 100 percent there, but maybe with a little time I will come around!

Two weeks ago Chelsie sent a pumkin-cream cheese muffin home with me. AND? Well I had the same muffin just the day before from Starbucks, a rare indulgence on my part. So I was in the perfect place to make a comparison, although I already knew who the winner would be! Chelsie's was so riculously moist and fresh-er tasting. I could really taste the pumpkin in it That was the first flavor that registered, unlike the Starbucks muffin in which the first flavor to register was sugar. (For the record, I have nothing against Starbucks.) And knowing Chelsie, I'm sure it was a much healthier option in comparison. So I am placing my vote that Chelsie post the recipe asap! :)

Speaking of salads now. I humbly admit that I have become pretty adept at creating a ...creative salad. On the average day I eat at least one salad a day as a meal, and usually another one as a side with a meal. So after all these years of salads, I've had to get more creative. Now when I say salad I mean a fresh vegetable, and fruit assembly of ingriedients, and not a mixture of any sort slathered with mayo and oil and whatever! I just personally cannot consider that a salad. Although by definition: SALAD: food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing; usually consisting of or including greens...I guess a salad could be anything really! I love organic, fresh, preservative-free foods, and salads fit the bill. So here is our favorite from this summer!


Heirloom Tomato Salad w/Garlic infused Olive Oil(serves 4)

4 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes* (any combination), halved or quartered
1/4 C. Chives cut into 1 inch peices
1/4 C. fresh basil, leaves torn if large
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat oil and garlic in a small saute pan over medium-low heat. Cook until garlic is golden (about 6 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

2. Arrange tomatoes on a serving plate, and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the garlic oil, and sprinkl with chives and basil just before serving.
* I try to get an assortment of heirloom tomato varieties with bright colors and interesting shapes, it makes for great presentation and it is always a favorite at the events we've taken it to!

To Continue...The Story of the Pink Socks

Melissa is an inspiration to me as well. She has a vey special gift of letting you know how much you mean to her by crafting these every so thoughtful hand made cards, that words cannot describe. They find you with tears streaming and feeling very loved. Her way of always making me laugh, is incredible. But, let's boast a moment about Melissa and her amazing God given talent for making the most amazing salads! You might think leaves, dressing, ehhh it is all the same...No! Her salads are out of this world crazy good. She puts together things you would never think of and it works! Umm, and I am still waiting on the strawberry salad...

How did the pink socks come about? Well, let me give you some background... I was one of the girls who watched and cheered on the guys as we stood around hoping the P.E. teacher did not make us play. Now, I play on our church softball team. How did that happen? Last year I was minding my business keeping score for the team, when I was hit straight to the back of the head by a foul ball. After that I figured I might as well play if I can get hit just sitting here and how bad could it be? Primarily this is a guy's sport in my opinion, so I had to girlie it up. Keri and I were talking about needing a distraction since we were not very versed in the ways of softball. She talked about striped softball pants, and well pink socks just came to me. I wanted to support the ladies that were playing and help figure out what our distraction should be and well pink socks became the way to do that. The pink socks have become an entity of their own in our softball team. Men, yes men ask me about them all the time and say they would wear them. Melissa...on the other hand...does not care for my pink socks. I am working on her, I will wear her down...She will come to love the pink socks too.