Chipped Beef Cheeseball

Day 56

We’ve all enjoyed the ultimate comfort breakfast of cream chipped beef over toast or biscuits. Who doesn’t love that? My stepson, Nick, tells me that his grandmother makes the best he has ever eaten, hands-down. I might just have to pay this lady a visit in 2014, begging for a taste. I’ve certainly made it often over the years, and I can’t say that mine is particularly extraordinary since I just use a standard recipe of flour, cream, black pepper, and a glass jar of dried beef. I like to serve it as a makeshift Eggs Benedict, pouring it over an egg and cheese English muffin.

Photo by Maggie Kapustin

 At any rate, I am fond of using dried beef in other recipes too. For example, it’s delightful with smoked Gouda cheese, stuffed inside chicken breasts, to offer a twist to Chicken Cordon Bleu. Another fun way to serve dried beef is in a cheeseball—a deliciously salty appetizer with crackers and beer, and an excellent idea for the upcoming Super Bowl. My good friend, Lori, shared her family recipe for a variation of this cheeseball, and I liked it so much that I used it as a base to tweak the perfect combination of cheeses and flavors for my own version. Here’s my end result, and I think you’ll agree that these ingredients— in the amounts listed—are the perfect marriage of flavors. If you don’t like my version, try your own additions and make your own changes to see what you prefer. It’s really difficult to ruin a cheeseball by changing ingredients, as long as the amounts of each flavor are balanced. Have fun with this one!

You can find dried beef in the supermarket, usually near the canned meats and fish. In every grocery store I’ve visited, it is always on the very top shelf, so maybe we customers need to find more uses for it.

Try this cheeseball with your favorite crackers (I use salt-free croissant crackers to balance the saltiness of the dried beef) for your next appetizer event! 

Chipped Beef Cheeseball

Ingredients: 
2- 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1- 5 oz. jar dried beef, chopped coarsely in food processor (I use Hormel)
½ small Vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. hot sauce 
1- 8oz. bag shredded Pepper Jack cheese (or 2 cups shredded from block cheese)
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder

Pecans, chopped dried beef, or dried chives and paprika for garnish

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients by hand or in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment. Roll into ball and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and roll in ONE of the following mixtures: 1. chopped pecans and paprika, OR 2. chopped dried beef pieces and paprika, OR 3. dried chives and paprika. (I use the chives and paprika.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2+ hours until ready to serve. Serve with crackers. 

Deviled Eggs

Day 55

Happy 2014, and thanks for continuing to read my blog. Most of us spent at least a few minutes last night reflecting on the year that has passed and the year ahead, no doubt. We probably also made a New Year’s resolution or two, feeling optimistic and brave. One of my resolutions is to take the time to truly embrace the moment. Too often, I have my sights on the bigger picture

Copyright, Doug Kapustin Photography, 2013

ahead, thereby missing 
the small things that really are the essence of life. I don’t want to miss the small things anymore because they help me to be fully appreciative and present in the here and now. 

In keeping with that, as a gal who loves to cook and who really loves to eat (funny how those two pair so nicely), an important lesson in the kitchen is to spend a good bit of time focusing on the small details of a meal or dish. After all, creating a perfect plate or even a perfect bite requires more than the main character on the entrée stage. A prime example of how the small additions can truly make the plate is our Christmas morning breakfast. I prepared Virginia country ham biscuits with a grainy mustard remoulade and Ina Garten’s cinnamon buns. More on the buns later, I promise.  When deciding on the menu, I knew that the ham biscuits and cinnamon buns were must-haves, but alone, they didn’t finish the plate in the way I wanted. I wanted something small with big flavor; something creamy and hearty, sans bread, to create a balanced flavor for the plate. After a few minutes of pondering the options, I knew exactly what the meal needed.

Enter Deviled Eggs. They’re perfect, actually—bite-size, tangy and creamy, and definitely hearty. I began to sift through my favorite cooks’ websites and my own trusted cookbooks, but none of the interesting or nouveau deviled egg recipes I found were any more appealing for Christmas morning than the traditional recipe I’ve known my whole life. So that’s what I used. And they were delightful. 

When making a small plate for breakfast or any light meal, one of my rules is to keep it simple. I like to stick with the Rule of Three, actually. That is to say, three companionable items to enjoy are perfect. The plate is full but not crowded, the flavors don’t fight for the spotlight, and the palate isn’t over-whelmed. And, the very best part is that everyone remembers the distinct flavors and ingredients. The Rule of Three never fails. 

Our Christmas morning breakfast was delicious. We savored the saltiness of the ham and the sweetness of the cinnamon buns, tempered by the creaminess of the deviled eggs. Try these three together for your next company or family breakfast; you’ll be glad you did. 

Now back to those cinnamon buns, courtesy of Ina Garten. It’s no secret that I love each and every one of her recipes, all trustworthy and “foolproof”, for sure. Her cinnamon bun recipe uses puff pastry (!!), making every single bite just like that perfect center part of your favorite cinnamon bun. They are easy to prepare and even easier to eat. Check out the recipe at the link below. Thank me—or curse me if you become addicted—later. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-sticky-buns-recipe/index.html

Happy New Year to you and yours! 

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients: 
15 extra large eggs, hard-boiled, cooled, and peeled
½ cup plus 1 tbs. good mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s)
3 tbs. dill pickle relish (sweet relish works too) 
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
¼ cup finely diced white onion
Salt and white pepper to taste
Chives and paprika for garnish

Directions:
Halve 15 eggs lengthwise, and carefully remove yolks into mixing bowl. Place empty egg whites on a plate for filling. 

Mash yolks with a fork, stirring in mayonnaise, relish, Dijon mustard, and onion. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Place a generous dollop of yolk mixture into each egg white cup. 

Arrange deviled eggs on a serving platter, then sprinkle with chives and paprika. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, covered until ready to serve. 

Holiday Berry Trifle

Day 54

I love Christmas for all of the obvious reasons, of course, but not only for those reasons. I love this time of year for the way it warms my heart, for the way it makes me see the world in a gentler light, and for the way it causes me even more nostalgia than usual. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that there’s a certain feeling at Christmas time that cannot be duplicated; I suppose it’s best described as an intoxicating mélange of peace, contentment, and anticipation. Naturally, it should come as no surprise that such a spiritually meaningful time of the year as the celebration of Jesus’ birth evokes similarly deep and positive emotions. Even still, I am sometimes surprised by their intensity and by the deluge of memories that consume my mind and heart in December.

Copyright, Doug Kapustin Photography, 2013

 One such memory is that of my childhood Christmas Eve celebrations. Until I was 17 years old, my father’s side of the family spent Christmas Eve in my grandmother’s log cabin—a quaint house, built in the Scandinavian-style by my grandfather in the early 1940s. I remember many things about Christmas Eve at Grandma’s; too many to enumerate here, certainly. For example, she always invited two of her best friends, Mrs. Clement and Ms. Stutz, along with their families or guests. My cousins—Hunter, Cassye, and Rose—would be there too, with their parents. And Maggie, our youngest cousin who wasn’t born until I was 16, joined us years later, much to our delight. 

The evening was spent listening to stories, usually told by my father who was and still is an impressive storyteller. There was homemade green sherbet punch, finger-foods in the 1950s housewife-style presentation, and delightful company. Because our household of three was not usually very festive—my parents’ tending to be mostly quiet and introspective, even during the holidays—I anticipated this evening with my entire being. I was giddy with excitement every year on the day before Christmas Eve and even more on the day itself. 

I remember that my mother and I would go early to Grandma’s house to help her with some of the food preparations. My job was to cut-away the edges from the white loaf bread, then to make mini-pieces of bread from each slice, some triangular, some round, and some square. For the round ones, I was given a mini-biscuit cutter; those were my favorite to make because of all of the leftover bread I could bag for Grandma to use the next week to make her bread pudding with damson preserves and cream glaze. I’ll have to share that recipe in a future blog, for sure. 

My mother would spread some of my grandmother’s famous chicken salad on each piece of square bread and pimento cheese on the triangles to make finger sandwiches. I was positively delighted whenever one would be less than perfect so that I could eat the mistake. In addition, Grandma mixed cream cheese with a small bit of mayonnaise and chives, then dropped red or green food coloring, alternately, into the mixture to make festive round cream cheese finger sandwiches. These little holiday wonders were my favorite, and I clearly remember finding far more “mistake sandwiches” than there really were. 

Even as a child, I loved standing back and surveying a perfectly presented table for company. Once finished, Grandma’s labor of love had resulted in spinach dip in a sweetbread bowl, round cream cheese and chive finger sandwiches, square chicken-salad finger sandwiches, triangular pimento-cheese finger sandwiches, mini-country ham biscuits, fudge, peanut butter balls, butter mints, carrots and celery with dip, port-wine cheese with German-style sliced meats, spicy sausage balls, and homemade lime punch. She filled the table with so much food that there was barely room for plates and napkins. It was heavenly, and the absolute best part of Christmas for me. Honestly, I looked forward to this table more than any gift I ever received as a child. 

One year, I clearly remember Mrs. Clement bringing her favorite English berry trifle to add to the feast. As a student of history and a lover of British culture, she never failed to impress me with some interesting addition to Grandma’s table each year. I always felt so continental and sophisticated when I ate whatever she brought since it was very different from the traditional fare we usually enjoyed. Another bonus was the interesting cultural story Mrs. Clement would share each year about whatever she brought. The idea that a world of different foods and cultures was out there for the taking was so incredible to me. Not much has changed; I’m still enchanted by the customs of different places.

Pardon me here for my long-winded lead to the point of today’s blog entry, but my trip down memory lane was begging to be shared, and it’s because of the memory that I chose to make today’s Holiday Berry Trifle, in honor of my favorite woman, my dearly- departed grandmother, Dorothy, and her outstanding food, her loving heart, and her interesting friend who made it first for me. Alas, thank you Grandma, for being such a positive role model in every way, for giving me a love of attractive food presentations, and for making me strive to follow in your culinary footsteps. I wish you were here to spend Christmas with us; it’s simply not the same without you. 

Holiday Berry Trifle
Ingredients: 
2 pints of strawberries, cut in bite-size chunks
1 pint of blueberries
1 9x5 loaf pound cake*, cut in cubes
1/3 cup sweet Sherry
½ pint heavy whipping cream
3 tbs. powdered sugar
2 pkgs. (3.5 oz. each) Cook and Serve vanilla custard
½ of 8 oz. container Cool Whip, thawed
Cinnamon sugar

Directions: 
Cook custard according to package directions. Set aside to cool completely. 

In a trifle dish, place ½ of pound cake sprinkled with all of Sherry. Sprinkle all of blueberries on cake. 

Combine Cool Whip with cooled custard by folding it in gently until completely incorporated. Spread ½ of custard mixture over berries and pound cake. Add a layer of most of strawberries, then a layer of remaining custard, and finally another pound cake layer without Sherry, saving a few pieces of pound cake and strawberries for garnish as you layer. 

Whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Beat in powdered sugar until stiff. Spread over strawberries. Garnish with additional crumbled pound cake, sprinkled cinnamon sugar, and remaining strawberries.**

* Note 1: I usually make my own pound cake (see recipe for Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Day 3 of my blog, using loaf pans instead of Bundt) but store-bought pound cake works fine too. 

** Note 2: the layering order is really up to you, as long as you start with Sherry-soaked pound cake and end with heavy whipped cream and garnish. 

Toffee Brownie Trifle

Day 53

Merry Christmas! Here’s a decadent dessert to serve during the holiday that I found in the Taste of Home magazine. It is perfect for taking to a get-together, and its preparation is very fast and stress-free. Served in an elegant trifle dish, this heavenly dessert will appear more time-consuming than it actually was. Throw some flour on your face and clothes to give the illusion of hours and hours slaving away in the kitchen. I won’t tell.

Copyright, Doug Kapustin Photography, 2013

 In all seriousness, an added plus is, of course, that people will be instantly delighted by the textures and flavors, no matter how easy the trifle was to make. 

Enjoy!

Toffee Brownie Trifle  

Ingredients:
1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
2-1/2 cups cold (whole) milk
2 packages (3.4 ounces) instant white chocolate pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
5-6 Heath candy bars, chopped (or bag of Heath toffee bits) 

Directions:
Prepare and bake brownies according to package directions for
cake-like brownies, using a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Cool
completely.

In a large bowl, beat milk and pudding mixes on low speed for 2
minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped
topping. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Cut the brownies into 1-in. cubes; place half in a 3-qt. glass trifle
bowl or serving dish. Cover with 1/3 of toffee pieces and half of the pudding. Repeat layers.
Finish with chopped candy bars. Refrigerate leftovers. 

*Original recipe from Taste of Home magazine.

 Link: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/toffee-brownie-trifle

White Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Day 52

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to try a new cookie recipe. For me, it’s the holiday when I begin to think about and to look forward to making some Christmas goodies too. While I focus primarily on main dishes and sides for Thanksgiving, I tend to lean more toward sweets throughout the month of December. 

Thus, today’s cookie recipe, and I think you’ll love it!

Photo by Maggie Kapustin

Since my Christmas cookie and bread baking officially begins this weekend, I ventured to try something new. Ginger cookies are usually an old stand-by for fall, which made me want to start with a basic ginger cookie base. Finding the perfect ginger cookie recipe is a chore, but I happened upon one by Ina Garten and I’m hooked. This time, to her recipe, I decided to add white chocolate. At first, the combination sounded odd, but the results were phenomenal. 

You’ll choose to add these cookies to your holiday baking collection, with or without the white chocolate chips, I’m sure. It’s important to note that one additional  modification I tried for today’s batch was not to dip the cookie dough in sugar before baking. You choose for your batch! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

White Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Ingredients: 
2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoons ground cloves 

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

¼ cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 extra-large egg, at room temperature

1 ¼ cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces) 
1 cup mini- white chocolate chips or chunks

Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. 

Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and white chocolate chips, and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1¾-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. 

*Optional: Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. 

Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a minute or two, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

(Modification of orginial recipe by Ina Garten, link http://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=341&S=0 )

Tourtière de Québec (French Canadian Meat Pie)

Day 51

The idea of dinner pies has always been comforting—Shepherd’s Pie, quiche, Ricotta Pie, and now a Canadian Tourtière. This recipe is packed with flavor, and will most likely become a hearty favorite on your winter dinner rotations. 

Although not pictured, I sometimes make the dish more company-ready or “presentation pretty” by making a Parmesan sauce to drizzle on each slice. To make this, simply heat 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 clove minced garlic,

Copyright, Doug Kapustin  Photography, 2013

and ½ stick of butter on medium low until hot. Then, add a block of cream cheese, cubed. Stir constantly until cream cheese is melted. Add ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until fully incorporated. Serve immediately. 

Tourtière de Québec (French Canadian Meat Pie)

Ingredients: 
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
¾ cup chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 carrot, sliced finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup beef broth
½ cup chopped Italian parsley
½ tsp. dried, crushed rosemary
½ tsp. sage
½ tsp. dried thyme
5 cups cooked, diced potatoes or shredded hashbrowns, browned in olive oil 
16 oz. Muenster cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic pepper seasoning
4 pie crusts for 2 pies

Directions: 
Brown ground beef and ground pork in a large pot or stove-top Dutch oven.  Remove from pan and drain in colander or on paper towels. In same pot, sauté onion, celery, and carrots until tender. Add garlic, beef broth, pork and beef, cooked potatoes, parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme. 

Combine and heat together for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. 

Place bottom pie crusts in two 9-inch pie pans and fill each with half of the meat mixture. Cover with top crust. Cut slits in tops of both pies and seal edges by pinching or by using a fork to press the two crusts together. Brush with one beaten egg OR butter. Sprinkle top of crusts with garlic pepper seasoning.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. 

Blackberry Wine Cake

Day 50 

The first professional job of my teaching career was a Godsend. I worked in a small private school with a kind, generous, and helpful group of people who taught me so much that I still use on a daily basis, 16 years later. One lady with whom I worked was quite a bit older when we were colleagues, but we had a very special past connection because she had also been my first and fifth grade teacher. As a teacher, Mrs. Cooper was of that older, no-nonsense generation of instruction that was strict and demanding. As students, we respected her and worked hard to meet her academic demands.

Copyright 2013, Doug Kapustin Photography

She was the best kind of teacher, truth be told. This remarkable lady was also a gentle spirit who truly cared about her students. Mrs. Cooper was the sort of teacher and colleague that made everyone more confident and ready to face any challenge. Just knowing her made all of us—co-workers and students alike— feel empowered. Although she has passed on now, I have many fond memories of her. 

Once, for a potluck meal at work years ago, Mrs. Cooper made a blackberry wine cake that was sinfully rich and delicious. She shared the recipe with anyone who wanted it, and I made it right away. Over the years, the recipe somehow made it to the back of my recipe collection, and I had almost forgotten about it.  What a mistake that was!

I received a letter from my aunt Sarah recently, who shared the recipe again with me, after she had tried it for her weekly dessert. So many memories came rushing back when I saw Ms. Cooper’s potluck contribution, and I simply had to make it again.  It was tremendous; even better than I remembered, I’m happy to report. The fruity, tangy flavor of fermented blackberries and vanilla are pleasantly overwhelming to the senses. They present an explosion of flavor. 

I hope you’ll try this one. The fact that it uses a cake mix and jello powder makes it easier to make for a last minute function or family dessert. If you tend to prefer from-scratch cakes, I’d venture to say that you would be happy to take a preference detour for this one.  I recommend some vanilla ice cream and fresh sugared blackberries to make a berry shortcake, but even plain, it’s delicious. You can use any blackberry wine that you like, but Manischewitz is a really good choice for this one. 

Here’s to you, Ms. Cooper, for sharing this cake with your friends and colleagues all those years ago, and for being a truly admirable lady. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we truly miss you. 

And, what better time to dedicate a recipe than on my 50^th entry! Bon appétit! 

Blackberry Wine Cake
Ingredients: 

1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix
1 box blackberry flavored jello
4 eggs, beaten
¾ cup canola oil 
1 cup blackberry wine (Manischewitz works nicely)
1 tsp. vanilla

For glaze: 
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup blackberry wine
2 tsp. melted butter
1-3 tsp. milk, as needed 

Directions:
In a mixer, blend the eggs, oil, and wine. Add jello, vanilla, and cake mix. Mix well. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until knife in center comes out clean. 

Cool on wire rack. 

To make glaze, mix butter, wine, and sugar until glaze forms. Add milk one teaspoon at a time, and ONLY if you need it to make the glaze thinner. The glaze should be able to pour but should be thick. You might not need any milk at all.