Apple Sauce Holiday Spice Cake

Ingredients: 

2 cups of all-purpose flour or cake flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of apple sauce
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp of ground ginger
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of all spice
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 large eggs
confectioners sugar for sprinkling

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch cake pan.

In a bowl combine flour, baking soda, and the spices.  In a saucepan melt the butter.
Once heated, remove the pan of butter and whisk in the sugar and one egg at a time.  Add the vanilla.

Combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture.

Bake until there is a clean center, about 35 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack.

Southern Comfort Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. butter 
2 slices rustic bread


3 thick slices high-quality pre-cooked bacon


3 thin slices Granny Smith apple

2 Tbsp. Duke's mayonnaise (optional)

2 oz. Swiss cheese or Gouda, thinly sliced

Directions
:

 

Take your cheese out of the refrigerator an hour ahead of time -- it will melt more evenly that way. And use butter at room temperature. 

Preheat the oven to 350.

Preheat an iron skillet over medium heat.

Assemble the sandwich on a plate. Butter the outside of the bread and place the non-cheese ingredients between 2 slices of cheese to keep the bread from sliding off.

Add 1/3 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet and cook to brown. 

Lay the sandwich in the pan. Look for a really crusty dark brown on this first side. This usually takes 1 1/2 minutes.

Flip, then cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds. 

Spread the remaining butter on the just-browned side, transfer the sandwich to a baking sheet, and place in the oven for a few minutes-how long you keep it in depends on how melty you like your cheese. 

Pull out your masterpiece and let it sit for a minute before devouring. 

Honey Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients:

4-½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
½ cups Honey
4 Tablespoons Butter
2-¼ cups Water
1 Tablespoon Salt
2-¾ cups All-purpose Flour
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1 whole Egg

Directions:

In a medium bowl (or in a saucepan), heat the butter and honey until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and add the water; the mixture should be warm (110-120 degrees). Stir in the yeast and let sit until bubbly, about 10 minutes (this is called making a sponge).

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine salt, yeast mixture, 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour. With mixer on low, gradually blend liquid into dry ingredients until just blended. Increase the speed to medium, beat for two minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Gradually beat in the egg and one cup of whole wheat flour to make a thick batter. Continue beating for two minutes. Stir in oats, 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour. Knead till smooth and elastic. Use more flour if dough is too sticky (I usually add about 2/3 cup more).

Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; cover with the bowl and let rise for 15 minutes. Shape into two loaves and let rise for 1 hour in greased 9 x 5 loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 35 to 40 minutes.

Crushed Purple Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs round purple potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
freshly chopped parlsey, about 3 tablespoons

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place potatoes on cookie sheet. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast potatoes at 450 degrees until fork tender, about 30 – 40 minutes, depending on size.

When potatoes are done, remove from oven and crush with a fork or a potato masher. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve.

Bacon Cheddar Soup

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
8 tablespoons butter
5 cups diced peeled potatoes
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth
12 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 pint whipping cream
2 cups water
3 ounces bacon bits 
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried parsley
seasoned croutons, for garnish

Directions:

Chop onions and celery, if using a food processor don’t chop these too fine.  In a large saucepan, sauté onion and celery in 4 ounces of butter until tender.  Add potatoes and broth, bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes till potatoes are tender.

In a small skillet, melt remaining 4 ounces of butter, add flour to make roux, cook roux over low heat until yellow blond in color and set aside.  To cooked potato and broth mixture, add water, cream and roux stirring continuously until mixture thickens.

Stir in the cheese, bacon bits, parsley, pepper and paprika.

Cook over low heat until the cheese is melted, stir continuously and remove from heat when cheese is melted.

Garnish with croutons, if desired.

Corn Chowder with Bacon and Cheddar

 Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon
1 1/2 quart chicken broth
10 baby yellow potatoes, quartered
5 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
Two 10 ounce bags of frozen corn
1 1/2 cup extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a medium-sized skilled over medium-low heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes (turn the pieces over about 4 or 5 minutes in). Once cooked, set aside on a paper towel-lined plate. 

Add the chicken broth, potatoes, and thyme to a large stock pot over medium heat. Bring the broth to a simmer and cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until fork-tender. Next, remove the thyme sprigs, and add in all of the corn from 1 bag, as well as the grated cheese.

Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. Once it has achieved the desired texture, mix in the corn from the remaining bag, and cook for another 5 minutes. Crumble the cooked bacon you've set aside and mix it into the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with thyme.

Lemon Banana Bread

 

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (~3 bananas)
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

For the glaze:

1/2 cup sifted dark brown sugar
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F, and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan, or equivalent.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate pieces and combine well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. You want to get that beautiful color on the cake, but at the same time you don't want to bake all the moisture out of it. So the minute you're in that zone, pull it. Erring on the side of under-baking versus over.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the sugars and the lemon juice until smooth. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze on top of the cake, spreading with a spatula to cover.

Spaghetti with Tuna, Lemon, and Breadcrumbs

 

Ingredients:

Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 pound spaghetti
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons slivered Kalamata olives
2 cans (6 ounces each) chunk light tuna in water, drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse bread and 1 teaspoon oil until coarse crumbs form. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden, tossing occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes.

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot. Add lemon zest and juice, parsley, olives, and 1 tablespoon oil; toss, adding enough pasta water to coat. Add tuna; toss gently. Serve sprinkled with breadcrumbs.