Bonnie Shortbread

There are many, many recipes for shortbread, but this one -- a Scottish shortbread recipe -- is one of the simplest and, as is often the case with simple recipes, one of the best. Give it a try for melt-in-your-mouth buttery goodness.



SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Ingredients

• 1 c. (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 6 T. cornstarch
• 2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
  

Method

Drop everything into the food processor, give it some short pulses until the ingredients start to blend, then let it whir until the dough begins to gather up a bit.

Press onto a non-stick cookie sheet: you can do 2 circles (8-9" each), or about an 8x10" rectangle. (You can also use a regular baking sheet with parchment paper). I ran the rolling pin lightly over the top to smooth it but that's not necessary. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until top is firm when pressed and edges are very light golden. Remove from oven. If desired, sprinkle top lightly with a little more sugar. Carefully cut into wedges or squares by pressing down with a knife or spatula edge (do not draw knife across cookie, simply press down to cut), then let cookies cool on baking sheet.

Grab a bowl of fresh summer fruit and a piece of shortbread, and sink into buttery heaven!


Notes

Warning: these are very rich -- a little goes a long way!

Although the recipe doesn't call for flavoring, this might be really good with a little lemon zest and some lemon extract... or almond...

Whatever you might try, always cook, eat, dance, love!

The Perfect Pancake

I know a title like that is just itchin' for a fight, but the title isn't mine -- it's the title of the magazine article where I first found the recipe -- and anyway, while this recipe may not be your idea of perfection, it's been my favorite pancake recipe for over 20 years, so I'll stand by the title. It's certainly perfect to me.

I found the recipe back when I subscribed to Country Journal magazine, tried it almost immediately, and made it for overnight company many times, with frequent requests for the recipe. Quite simply, I love it, and others seemed to like it as well.

So of course I was very unhappy when I was looking for it one day about 5 years ago and couldn't find it.

I no longer had the magazine because I'd written the recipe on a card. I immediately searched through my entire card file and then began leafing through my cookbooks, thinking I might have stuck it in one as a bookmark.

No luck.

I tried to remember exactly who might have the recipe from my sharing it.

No luck.

I searched the Internet.

No luck.

Finally, I began looking at pancake recipes with a similar ingredient list, mainly looking at recipes that had cornmeal, oats, and whole wheat flour. I remembered that much so I figured I could come up with something close, either with another recipe, or by experimenting a little.

But it's bothered me that I didn't have the recipe, I was never quite satisfied with "substitutes," and today, thinking of pancakes, I decided to try another Internet search. Things get posted all the time, so it was certainly possible that it had been posted since I last looked. Hope springs eternal, and all that.

Googled "Country Journal pancake recipe."

And there it was.

Someone else had been looking for it and submitted a request to the Hartford Courant's recipe request column. And someone else saw the request and replied.

Thank you, reader who requested it. Thank you, reader who saw the request and replied (others replied with the same recipe, so I'm obviously not the only one who thought this was a keeper!). Thank you, Hartford Courant, for publishing all of it. Thank you, Country Journal, for printing the original recipe in January 1987. And thank you, woman who shared the recipe with Country Journal and started all this. I wish I could remember her name to give her credit. Maybe someone will see this and share it with me.

I know what I'm having for dinner tonight. But before I head to the kitchen...


OATMEAL-WALNUT GRIDDLE CAKES

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (cooled) or oil

Method

Combine dry ingredients, including walnuts, in a large bowl and mix. In separate bowl, beat eggs, lightly, then blend in remaining liquids.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add liquids all at once. Blend with a few deft strokes. Let sit 10 minutes, then cook on a hot griddle. Makes about 15, 5-inch cakes.


Notes

Letting the batter sit 10 minutes or so really is important. The flour absorbs some liquid and makes the batter thicker.

Adjust the liquids or flour to your liking for thinner or thicker pancakes.

This recipe is perfect as is, but over time I tried different versions... the biggest change being that I omitted the walnuts. Really great with them, but if you don't have them, substitute other nuts (toasted pecans... yum!) or leave them out. Since they don't absorb liquid, the omission never affected the batter.

One of the reasons I like this recipe is that it calls for milk rather than buttermilk. I rarely have buttermilk on hand and appreciate not having to sour milk. And, for those who can't have milk at all, I found the recipe worked just as well with soy milk or even water, with no noticeable change in flavor or texture.

I also got to where I left the honey out. After all, you're probably putting maple syrup on them anyway, so they really don't need the sweetener. And the whole grain flour makes them slightly sweet. But you can use the honey, or molasses, or even brown or some other sugar. You may have to make slight (very slight) adjustments to the fluid content of the recipe but pancake batter is fairly forgiving.

I generally used 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (regular or pastry, both work) and left out the unbleached flour.

You can also add whatever fruit you like to the batter. A good fall apple, peeled, chopped, and tossed in, is perfect with what is already perfection.

Don't forget the 100% pure, warm maple syrup.

And don't forget to cook, eat, dance, love!

Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Dressing

Simple, easy, and a nice complex of sweet and tart flavors...


SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH MAPLE DRESSING

Ingredients:

Dressing

• 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 T. pure maple syrup
• 2 T. orange juice concentrate (not diluted)
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 2 t. minced peeled fresh ginger
• dash ground cinnamon
• pinch ground nutmeg

Salad

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1/4 c. diced red onion
• 1/4 c. pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. golden raisins

Method:

Cut sweet potatoes into large chunks and cook in boiling water just until tender. This step is important -- don't overcook the potatoes. They should be barely tender when you pierce them with a knife.

While potatoes are cooking, whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.

When done, drain potatoes in colander and cool under cold running water until you can handle chunks to peel. Slip skins off. Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces.

Place potatoes in bowl; add remaining salad ingredients, then toss all lightly with the dressing.

Serve immediately or later -- either way, a nice twist on sweet potatoes!

Notes:

Excellent served as a salad alone or on lettuce leaves; as a light meal on top of cold cooked brown rice; or as a side dish with a grain-based dish such as rice balls with mushroom gravy.

And always, cook, eat, dance, love!

Mangia Italiano!

A dear and close friend of mine is of Italian heritage. While on a trip to her family's home area in Italy last fall, she had the warm, comfort-food pleasure of a hearty dish of kale, potatoes, and white beans. This is her recreation of that dish.




IL TEMPLARI BOWL... MONT SANT'ANGELO

Ingredients:

• 1 qt good flavored vegetable broth
• 4-6 redskin potatoes, cubed
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 2-3 c chopped lacinato kale
• red pepper flakes
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1/2 t. sage
• 1 t. rosemary
• olive oil
• ½ c. chopped onion
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 c. parsley
• 2-4 T. basil
• hard crusted bread, toasted, buttered and cubed

Method:

In oil, saute onion, garlic, parsley, and basil. Add broth, bring to a simmer, and add potato cubes. Cook until almost tender. Add beans, kale and remaining ingredients. Cook approximately 8-10 minutes to finish potatoes and kale. Mixture should be thicker than a soup.

Place toasted, cubed bread in bottom of bowls, ladle soup over bread, and serve.

Mangia Italiano!


Notes:

I didn't have all the ingredients, so I made a few very small changes...

• I used curly kale rather than lacinato because that's what I had.
• I didn't have parsley so I left it out.
• I used Yukon Gold potatoes, because, again, it's what I had. I know, redskins hold up better with this kind of cooking, but I was using what I had.
• I cubed some challah bread and used it without toasting and buttering. I would love good crusty Italian bread with this but it's not to be had where I live at the moment.

I'm sure you could use other white beans but the cannellini beans are readily available so I used them. It was my first time trying them and all I can say is, yum! They're really tasty, slightly nutty in flavor, and are now very high on my comfort-food list.

The soup is excellent reheated.

The soft bread (and I'm sure the toasted, buttered bread) was a small extravagance but was less bread than I'd eat if I had a slice on the side (I used about 1/2 slice in the bowl) and definitely added to the comfort-food appeal of the dish. The flavorful broth soaked up in the bread and was delicious. The bread could be omitted, or you could brush the toasted bread with olive oil instead of butter if you like.

Also, this dish reminded me a bit of my mother's Southern roots, and I tried it with sweet potatoes instead of white, and cornbread on the side -- wonderful, flavorful variation that uses the much-more healthful sweet potato.

No matter how you serve it, it's a delicious, hearty cold-weather dish that satisfies and comforts.

As they say in Italy (unless my free on-line translator is wrong!), il cuoco, mangia, balla, ama!

Eggplant Lasagna

Ah. Here I am again! I'm having camera difficulties so there won't always be photos, but I decided to at least post recipes. Because good food is good food, photo or not!

Here's one that will be familiar to many...

Probably anyone who likes eggplant has tried some version of eggplant lasagna, and truthfully, it's hard to imagine a bad one. I made this one and although it wasn't perfect it was quite good, so I'm posting it along with my notes about what I think would make it even better.


EGGPLANT LASAGNA

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 c. ricotta
• apx. 8 oz. smoked Fontina cheese
  
• 1 T. rosemary, fresh, chopped
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1-1 1/2 c. pomodoro sauce

Method:

Peel eggplant (optional) and slice into 1/4" thick slices. Place the rounds on a greased baking sheet and brush very lightly with oil. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes, turn, and bake about 5 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

In bottom of greased 9" square baking dish, put a thin layer of sauce, half the eggplant, some rosemary, half the ricotta, one third of the fontina, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, then spread a thin layer of sauce across the top, followed by a bit of grated fontina and some parmesan.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes:

As I said, the flavor was quite good. However, the dish was a bit soupy, even after letting it sit for 10 minutes, and it had no substance -- the eggplant softened up quite a bit so the whole thing was more like a sauce than a lasgana. If made this way again, I'd definitely serve it over pasta (angel hair pasta would be good). Or maybe thickening the sauce would help, or using less sauce. Clearly room for experimentation!

However, next time I'll most likely make it with lasagna noodles, two or three layers, in between the sauce and the eggplant. For purchased pasta, I like Barilla's uncooked lasagna noodles because they're thin and flat (not thick and starchy like some commercial brands) but my favorite will always be homemade.

When I try it again, I'll post any comments here. And if you try it before I do, please let me know how it turns out.

And don't forget to cook, eat, dance, love!