Norwegian Waffles

My mom gives the same thing to almost every bride-to-be: a Belgian waffle maker. I call it her signature, and I sometimes give her a hard time about it, but at the same time it's a fantastic gift. Who doesn't love homemade waffles? Of course I had to say almost every bride-to-be because she left one bride out of this pattern: me! And boy did I want one. I registered for it, but no one bought it. Then I didn't buy it for myself, either. And I did get a regular waffle maker (from mama, of course, at Christmas), but I still wanted that Belgian one. I never let her forget it, and last year I finally opened one on Christmas morning. And I've used it SO many times since.

You see, they're my favorite kind of waffles. Deep, crisp edges with enough heft to give them a chew. They are the best thing about breakfast, except bacon, of course. And although I haven't dipped my toe into true Belgian Waffle waters (they call for yeast! the beast!) I have tried several plain waffle recipes. There has been a tie between two of them: The Joy of Cooking's recipe, and this Norwegian Waffle recipe. Don't ask me about the Norwegian part because all I know is the author says it's been in her family for generations. I guess Norwegians make good waffles.

I agree.

Norwegian Waffles
Adapted from Allrecipes
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Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons shortening, melted
1 3/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
3.5 teaspoons baking powder

Directions
1. Preheat a waffle iron.
2. Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Pour in shortening, milk, salt and vanilla. and mix until well combined.
3. Sift flour and baking powder. Stir the flour into the liquid ingredients.
4. Spoon 2/3 cup of batter onto waffle iron. Close the lid and cook until steam no is no longer visible, and waffle is browned. Serve hot.

Breakfast recipes you may also enjoy: Blueberry Pancakes, Southern Grits Casserole

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Every Father's Day - every holiday for that matter - my dad says the same thing. "Don't get me anything." I understand why he says it, but what he doesn't seem to understand is that we want to give him gifts. He's given me - and my sisters - so very much that the least we can do is do something to bring a smile to his face. Not that this is an easy feat, mind you. Why are men so hard to buy for? I don't like to buy dust collectors, and T-shirts and ties are nice, but I think that's more my mom's territory. So I did what every daughter who loves to cook should do. I gave him food. And it made both of us happy.

I got to expand my DIY repertoire and scratch one cooking goal off my list: homemade barbecue sauce. (Add it to the list of buttermilk, baking powder, cake flour and pizza sauce, which I plan to share with you soon!) It was so easy to make, and I even tried two recipes - I wanted to try a traditional sauce and a sweet one. I also got to visit one of my favorite stores in town, The Fresh Market, where I bought him the perfect accompaniment to barbecue sauce: ribs.

So if you're looking for a fail-safe, multi-holiday gift for the man in your life give this a shot. Everybody likes food. And if you make it yourself - you know, put a little bit of love into it - your special someone will love it even more.



Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Sauce (Orange)
Adapted from epicurious
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, minced
2 cups ketchup
8-ounce jar of honey mustard
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions
1. Heat oil in large saucepan. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent.
2. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat and use immersion blender to process mixture into a smooth paste. (You can also use a blender, but make sure to blend the sauce in small batches because hot liquids expand, and you don't want to make the blender explode.)
4. Return pan to stove, and gently simmer sauce another five minutes.
5. Divide in half, and use one part to marinate meat and the other half to glaze the meat during grilling. Be sure to discard the sauce that you use to marinade the meat, but leftover sauce from the basting container can be used as dip at the table.

Classic Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from Everyday Food
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 28-ounce can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1.5 teaspoons ground pepper

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
2. Add tomato paste and mustard; cook, stirring constantly, until paste turns a brick red color, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups water, tomato sauce, molasses, Worcestershire, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.
3. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low and partially cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 2 hours (thin with water if sauce becomes too thick). Season to taste with vinegar, salt and pepper. Let cool completely before using. (To store, refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 4 months.)

Scalloped Tomatoes

It's finally, officially summer. There are grills on everybody's decks. There are inflatable pools going up in a lot of backyards. There are flowers wilting in my yard - because holy crap is it hot outside. Every year I say "If it's this hot in June what is July going to be like?" And every year I think "It shouldn't be this hot so early!" And every year I argue with my conscience about turning the A/C down just one more notch. You've probably noticed a trend by now: I keeping saying "every year." Why is it that I can't remember from one year to the next that I live in the South where it's hot every year, all summer, and most of spring. Growing up here you'd think I'd know by now.

I guess it's the heat frying my brain cells. Because if you haven't caught on by now - it's hot here.



But there are good things about the heat, too. Popsicles and homemade ice cream. Trips to the beach. Fourth of July picnics. A sweet little boy's first birthday. My birthday. (Wait, is that a good thing?) Summer reading lists. Big, fat slices of cold, red watermelon. Longer days and more time outside in the evening. Fireflies. Summer storms. And one of the best things? Tomatoes! Summer is the best time of year for tomatoes. And that time is almost here, friends.

But here's the rub. I don't really like raw tomatoes. I know! I'm grossed out by tomato sandwiches - not even adding vinegary cucumber slices will seal the deal for me. Chunks of tomato in my salad? Looks gorgeous and all, but please take it away before I gag. And that whole Southern thing of a fresh slice of tomato on my breakfast plate? Please, please don't go there. Just let me enjoy my bacon and eggs in peace.



But wait. Don't turn away from me yet. There are so many other ways to enjoy those gorgeous tomatoes out of the garden. Roast them! Sauce 'em up! Put 'em on pizza! If you do one of those things be sure to give me a call. I'm your girl, then. And even better? Serve 'em scalloped, like this. Surprise everyone with a fantastic, crisp, buttery, sweet and tangy dish. We like them with chicken, but feel free to serve them alongside anything you enjoy at your house. Even picky eaters will give this a go.

Ah, summer. It's so nice to see you again.



Scalloped Tomatoes
Adapted from The Great American Cookbook
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Ingredients:
1 pound juicy, ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I prefer grape or cherry tomatoes, halved)
3.5 ounces fresh bread, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (A white bread tastes best in my opinion)
4 scallions, finely chopped (I often leave this out, unless I have them)
1 T. tomato paste (optional - and I've never used it)
4 T. butter, diced (I use unsalted because it's the only kind I buy)
1/2 C. brown sugar (I have used Splenda brown sugar and it worked great)
Snipped chives or fresh parsley to garnish (I never do this)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400*. Put tomatoes, bread cubes and scallions in greased baking dish and gently toss together. If the tomatoes are not bright red, stir in the tomato paste.
2. Scatter the diced butter over the surface and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Give the tomatoes a good stir then bake another 15 minutes.
3. Increase the temperature to 425*. Give the tomatoes a final stir and bake another 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender and the bread cubes are caramelized. Sprinkle with chives and serve hot.

Other recipes you may enjoy: Roasted Tomato Pizzas, Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes, Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Roasted Tomato Pasta, Canning Tomato Sauce, Mark Bittman's Tomato-Onion Salsa

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

The great food search is a personal one, and the pot at the end of the rainbow is filled with something different for most of us: the perfect chocolate chip cookie, the perfect brownie, the perfect marinara or maybe the perfect homemade sandwich bread. For me it's the search for the perfect peanut butter cookie.

And I think I may have found it.



I am and always will be a peanut-butter junkie. A junkie to the point that I can't have it in the house or I consume it in a ridiculously quick period of time. My husband shares this affinity - PB&J sandwiches are one of his favorite snacks, and Cash is already attuned to this love. He will eat every piece of a peanut-butter sandwich if one is offered to him - something he doesn't do with every food he's given.

When I was a kid I loved to get cookies at the mall. Some kids want ice cream, and some kids want to hit the candy store, but I knew a good thing when I smelled it. Those cookies smelled fabulous, and I swear they piped that fresh-baked cookie smell into the floor of every store it was so consuming. (Come to think of it I think they still do this, though I have to admit my trips to the mall are much more few and far between as an adult than when I was a teenager.)

My perfect peanut-butter cookie is shatteringly crisp on the edges, with a slight give in the center when you bite into it. It doesn't have anything extra, like pieces of crushed peanuts (but perhaps a few miniature Reese's Pieces thrown in wouldn't exactly hurt it.) It has to be big enough to fill my hand, and thick enough that one or two will do at a time, but it shouldn't fall apart in my hand, and it shouldn't leave a slick feeling on my tongue. This recipe is everything it should be and nothing it shouldn't.

I've made these twice to rave reviews; the first time as little cookies for a party and the second time as big, snack-size, kid-approved cookies to keep at home. (I used my cookie-dough scoop to get a uniform shape. They were the perfect size.) You've gotta make these. You just gotta. They leave the mall cookies in. the. dust. You will not be disappointed.

I promise.



Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from AllRecipes
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Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat shortening, butter, sugars and peanut butter until smooth, about three minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture and mix well. Fold in oats, stirring until just combined.
4. Drop by teaspoon-fulls onto cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are just brown on the edges. Cool for a couple of minutes on sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Garlic Chicken with Orzo Noodles

It's not all sunshine and roses around here, folks. I don't say "This is the best thing I've ever made!" every time I try a new recipe. This dish is a perfect example of such. I wanted to like it, but there was something about it that tasted strange to me. I can't pick out a single ingredient from the list that could have turned me off, because separately I like them all. Sometimes foods just don't play well together, though, you know? Brad, however, enjoyed it and even ate some of the leftovers. Perhaps my tastebuds were just being uncooperative that day. It's obviously a healthful, colorful dish, but that just wasn't enough for me. On to the next challenge!

Garlic Chicken with Orzo Noodles at Allrecipes

A Week of Strawberries - Part IV - Strawberry Dumpling

The plan was to defrost some of my homemade frozen strawberries and make strawberry cupcakes with them. You see, my co-worker's birthday is coming up, and I had a plan. But we all know what happens when you make plans. I forgot there was a wedding on Sunday, and my co-worker would be out Monday because that's her actual birthday (and our employer is nice like that - we get our birthday off, with pay!)

So there won't be any strawberry cupcakes this weekend. But, you see, there were still thawed, sweetened strawberries in my fridge. I couldn't make coffee cake or muffins because I had no sour cream or buttermilk or fresh lemons. (I know, I know. And I call myself a food blogger!) Hmmm. A cobbler would be good - but strawberry cobbler? I don't see why not, but I've never actually eaten a strawberry cobbler. A quick scan of my recipe file and one dish jumps out: Strawberry Dumpling. Interesting method - a stovetop dessert - but wait, wait, wait. Isn't this more or less a ... cobbler?

Yes. Yes, I think it is. Almost. I missed the crunch on top that the oven brings to a true cobbler. But in a pinch? It worked. And Cash and I had a lovely, quick afternoon dessert following our sandwiches and grapes. Plus it was pretty. And we all like pretty, now don't we?



Strawberry Dumpling
Adapted from Epicurious
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Ingredients
1 quart strawberries, capped and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
2/3 cup whole milk

Directions
1. In a saucepan, stir together strawberries and sugar let stand, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two knives until butter is in pea-sized lumps. Stir in milk until just combined, then add to boiling berries and stir once or twice. Cover saucepan and lower heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until dumpling is dry on top, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, remove top, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
3. Epicurious suggests heavy cream as an accompaniment, but I say it screams for a big, ice-cold scoop of vanilla ice cream. Pick your poison.

About two years ago: Kentucky Bourbon Pie and Dorie Greenspan's Perfection Pound Cake

A Week of Strawberries - Part III

Strawberry season has just about come and gone, but I have these pictures to remember the time fondly.



Spring in North Carolina is a glorious thing - especially when you have fruits this gorgeous to look forward to every year.



Yes - they tasted as good as they looked. Several were consumed fresh from the farm (with a quick rinse, of course.) Cash had a few bites. I had several bites. And maybe a little sugar was involved, but a little sugar never hurt anybody, now did it?



Time consuming? Yes. Tasty? Oh yes. Beautiful? Goes without saying.



Martha came through for me as (almost) always. Her pate brisee is one of the best I've found, save for a bit of shrinking, which is where the lattice came in handy because it helped hold these little beauties together.



This is a repeat of last year's strawberry pie post - almost. I omitted the butter in the filling, and I used only 1/4 of a cup of sugar this time because I wanted the strawberry taste to shine. This dough is so rich - all of that butter! - that the tang of the strawberries really sets it off. Everyone who took a bite said they appreciated the pie being a bit less sweet and a bit more fresh-tasting.

Fresh strawberries. One of Earth's true delights. And another reason to look forward to spring!

Fresh Strawberry Pie (Printer-friendly version)

Pate Brisee (Pie Crust)
Adapted from Martha Stewart
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Makes 1 double-crust pie or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.

Ingredients
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions
1. In a large bowl combine flour, salt and sugar. Add butter, and using pastry blender or two knives, cut it into flour until butter is in pea-sized pieces.
2. Add one tablespoon of ice water, and stir with a fork until dough comes together in a ball. If you need more water, add it one tablespoon at a time. Try to handle the dough as little as possible; if you lose your bits of butter you'll reduce the flakiness of the crust.
3. Divide dough into two balls, flatten them, and wrap them in plastic. Chill in refrigerator at least an hour, or freeze dough up to a month.

Giant Chocolate-Toffee Cookies

When these cookies first came out of the oven I ate one. Well, as soon as I was sure I wouldn't destroy my tongue with a bite, that is. I was immediately disappointed because they weren't at all what I expected. It's not that they weren't good - they were - but it was like eating a brownie and that's not what I wanted. I wanted a chewy, crunchy cookie flavored with almonds. I was tempted to get rid of them; yes, you heard that right. I was going to throw them out! I know! What was I thinking? Throw out CHOCOLATE? I quickly calmed down and told myself, "For the love of all that is holy, Abby, chill." It worked.

You see I may have been afflicted with, um, an emotional disturbance that day. Luckily I needed chocolate like the desert needs rain so I packed up the cookies and let them rest on the counter. The next day I tried them again, and Ding, Ding, Ding! We had a winner. Letting them rest definitely made them better - to me, anyway. Needless to say they disappeared before I could take a picture of the finished product. Really - they went quickly. I made them large - larger than I should have, probably - but every bite hit the spot. They were sort of like eating candy, which is not a surprise considering the ingredients, but they weren't so sweet that I couldn't handle eating an entire one. Or two. Or three?

Giant Chocolate-Toffee Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Makes about 18 cookies
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Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
5 chocolate-covered toffee bars, chopped
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped

Directions
1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a double boiler, stir chocolate and butter until melted. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm temperature.
3. In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs, about five minutes. Mix in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture, then add toffee and almonds. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Remove batter from refrigerator. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared sheets, leaving 2.5 inches between cookies.
6. Bake about 15 minutes, or until tops are just dry and cracked but cookies are still soft. Cool completely on sheets. Store in airtight containers.

Cheddar Cheese Puffs

If you've been around these parts once or twice this will not come as news to you: I hate to bake bread. Well, I've never really said it in those terms before, but it's true. Yeast scares me. She doesn't play nicely, and I keep my distance from her at the playground. There are too many rules: foam, knead, rise, steam. Baking is something I love to do, but I'd rather deal with baking powder, egg whites and cake flour.

When I run across a recipe that ends up as bread but doesn't start out as yeast the beast I of course jump right on it. And if it involves cheese? As in bread and cheese omigod melty oozy come to mama, you sweet thing. Yeah. 'Nuff said. These puffs are from what I can tell a basic pate a choux recipe, with the addition of cheese. I can't say that all of mine were perfectly puffy because I'm not an expert piper, and I tried to cheat by using a snipped Ziplock bag. It was a perfectly fine method for making puffs on a Thursday night at home, but if I was making them for guests I'd definitely use a pastry bag.

And speaking of making them for guests - what an ideal appetizer with a glass of cold white wine. Stuffed, unstuffed, fresh out of the oven or served after staying warm in the kitchen they are perfection. They are bread that doesn't need to be kneaded. And they are this yeast-a-phobe's new best friend.



Cheddar Cheese Puffs
Adapted from The New York Times
Printer-friendly version
Makes about three dozen puffs.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
1.5 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1.5 cups shredded, sharp, cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup water, butter and salt, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until dough pulls away from sides and forms a lump. Set aside to let cool.
2. After about five minutes, add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Dough will look slippery and glossy with each egg, but make sure you stir until it comes together before adding the next egg. Stir in mustard, cayenne and cheese. Your dough will be very sticky.
3. Drop large teaspoons of dough onto prepared pans. Or use a pastry bag or plastic sandwich bag with one corner cut off to pipe small mounds. Leave half an inch between puffs.
4. Bake about 12 minutes, then rotate pan and bake another 12 minutes. Serve immediately, or keep hot in oven that has been turned off, and the door left open.