Sesame Cookies (Benne Wafers)

 Another great and interesting cookie, this time from King Arthur Flour.  They're crispy and the sesame flavor comes through in a great way.

350 F
8-9 minutes

1 c butter

1 c (213 gr) light brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 c (120 gr) flour

1 c (128 gr) toasted sesame seeds (I used these and didn't toast them again)

Line pans with parchment.

Cream butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and egg.  Add the flour and mix until smooth.  Add sesame seeds.

Drop by tablespoons onto parchment. Bake 8-9 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool for a minute before transferring to cooling rack.

Orange Spice Cookies

 I made these for Christmas and they were a hit.  They aren't super sweet, have a very smooth texture and are easy to make.  I made the Chinese five spice mix myself rather than buying it.  

350 F

17-19 minutes

Dough

2 1/2 c (315 gr) flour

1 tsp five spice mix

1/2 t ground cardamom

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t salt (eliminate if using salted butter)

1 c (2 sticks) butter

1/2 c (100 gr) sugar

1 T zest from an orange (keep juice and remaining zest for glaze)

1 large egg

1/2 t vanilla

Glaze

2/3 c (80 gr) powdered sugar

2 T orange juice

2 t orange zest

Mix flour, spices, and salt well.

Cream butter, sugar and zest on medium speed until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix for about a minute, until it's well incorporated and no longer looks curdled.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until no streaks remain.  Don't overmix.  Form into a 6" square and wrap in plastic wrap.  Put in freezer for about 30 minutes, until firm but not frozen.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line pans with parchment.  Roll to about 1/4" thick on a lightly floured surface.  Using a pizza roller, cut into desired size - about 1" squares.  Bake 17-19" minutes, until edges are lightly browned.  Cool on pan for about 10 minutes and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Mix the powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth.  Brush the glaze on the cookies and sprinkle with orange zest.  Allow glaze to dry (it dries hard).

Chinese Five Spice mix

1 cinnamon stick (3")
2 T fennel seeds

1 T peppercorns (the recipe called for Sichuan but I didn't have them)

1 tsp whole cloves

5 star anise

Slowly roast all the spices in a small pan over low heat until fragrant.  Let cool.

Grind the cooled mix into a a fine powder.

Chicken Alfredo Casserole

Made this today and Sam really liked it! It's this recipe, modified slightly and a great way to use leftover chicken that doesn't seem like leftovers.

Ingredients:

12 oz pasta, cooked

2 c cooked diced chicken

1 green pepper, diced

1 1/c c frozen green peas
4 T butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 T flour

1 c chicken broth

2 c milk

1 tsp onion powder

1 T Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper (or a bit more)

1 c grated Parmesan cheese

3 c (8 oz) grated mozzarella cheese, split 2 c in sauce, 1 c for the top

Grease a 9"x13" pan and preheat over to 375 F,  Cook and drain the pasta.  

Make the sauce in a 12" saucepan.  Melt the butter and add the garlic, about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add the flour and cook for about two minutes.  Add the broth and milk slowly and stirring constantly, bring to a simmer.  Add all the spices and stir the mixture until it thickens (it won't be all that thick),  Add the Parmesan and 2 c mozzarella, stirring until melted.  Stir in the pasta, chicken, and vegetables and pour everything into the prepared pan.  Top with the remaining cup of mozzarella.

Bake 20-30 minutes, until hot throughout and the cheese is melted.

Shortbread Cookies

 I love shortbread but until now, haven't had a recipe that makes me happy.  This one does.  It's simple and tasty.  I found the recipe here and modified slightly.  

Scottish Shortbread

1 1/2 c flour (185 grams)

1/2 c white rice flour (80 grams)

1/2 c sugar (100 grams - can successfully decrease to 80 grams because this is pretty sweet)

2 sticks (8 oz) cold butter (add 1/4 tsp salt if it's unsalted butter) cut into pieces

Approximately 1/2 cup chopped chocolate (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a 8x8 pan with parchment - make sure sides are long enough to lift out the shortbread.

Put everything but the chocolate in the food processor.  Mix until it's loose and sandy but sticks together when pressed between your fingers.  Mix in the chocolate.  Press firmly and evenly into prepared pan (back of a spatula works well). 

Bake for 35 minutes, until set but not brown.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Cut into sticks -- I did 24 - eight rows of three.  Pierce with a fork, all the way down.  Carefully lift the shortbread out of the pan using the parchment and set it on a cookie sheet.  Spread out the shortbread (it can stay on the parchment).  

Place the shortbread back in the oven and turn the oven off.  Leave it in the residual heat for 30-45 minutes until it's to the desired color.  

Cool on a rack.  Store in an airtight container.

Baklava

 Way back when, in 1991 when I lived in Connecticut, I went to a Greek festival at one of the local churches.  There were all sorts goodies on sale, including a cookbook of recipes from church members.  There are three different recipes for baklava in that book, each of them somewhat different.  I, of course, modified it further to give my own spin on the recipe.

Baklava isn't difficult so long as you buy the filo dough (and who wouldn't) and are fine with the mess.  It's also looks great when it's plated, especially if you fuss a little to make it into a star.

Base:

1 lb filo dough
1 lb unsalted butter 
1 lb chopped walnuts
5 T sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Syrup:

1 1/2 c sugar
Juice of one lemon and then add water to bring liquid to 3/4 cups total

Mix the nuts, sugar, and cinnamon for the base.  Melt the butter. Clarify it for best results or don't if you're feeling lazy - no one is really going to complain.  Put some of the butter in a 13 x 9 pan and build the base of layers of filo brushed with butter.  After about five or six large sheets (10-12 layers), sprinkle about half the nut mixture on the layers.  Continue to layer sheets and do a second nut layer.  Layer the rest of the sheets.  Cut the baklava into strips and then the traditional diamond shapes.  Heat up any remaining butter and pour the hot butter evenly over the surface.  Bake at 350 for approximately 30-40 minutes.

While it's baking, make the syrup.  Mix the syrup ingredients in a pan and heat to boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Allow to cool.  

Pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava as soon as it is removed from the oven.

Some thoughts:

Throw the lemon peel into the syrup for additional lemon flavor if you're so inclined.  If you like lots of cinnamon, add a cinnamon stick.  Clove?  Toss a couple of those in.  Want to make it with honey? Look up a recipe that uses honey instead of sugar.

One of the recipes has a baking option that can drive out even more moisture.  After the first 30 minutes of baking, drop the temperature to 200 and continue to bake for about an hour.  

Leg of Lamb

 This may be a first, using a twitter recipe.  It's here, from Tom Nichols.

I had a smaller boneless leg of lamb, about 2.25 lbs, and shortened the cook time by about an hour.  Didn't end up doing the 30 minutes uncovered because I was afraid I'd overcooked it. I had the last of the potatoes from the garden, a mix of fingerlings, some type of yellow potato, and a red potato.  I cut them into slices about an inch thick and added them with an hour left.

Sam had thirds.

It's one of those recipes where the smell is suddenly overwhelmingly wonderful.  There is broth left I'm going to use for a soup.

Here's the recipe as written in the tweet.

I'll be making my Famous Lamb Recipe That Everyone Thinks is Wrong But That You Definitely Shouldn't Change, next week for New Year's Day, as is the custom in our home.  Here's the recipe.

The Lamb Recipe

1.  Get a large boneless leg of lamb, 4-5 lbs.  Put it in a nice blue stoneware pan. (That doesn't affect anything, it's just what grandma used.)

2.  Make five or six deep incisions in the lamb with a sharp knife, about 3/4 inch wide and an inch or so deep.

3.  THIS IS IMPORTANT:  Fill those incisions with Garlic POWDER, not real garlic or you will stink out your house for all time.

4.  Drizzle olive oil (yes, PAM Olive Oil spray is fine) on the whole piece.

5.  Crust it with garlic salt (Really.)

6.  Now cover it with oregano - yes, dried oregano, not fresh -- until it's furry with oregano (No. Really.)

7.  Cook for at least three hours, covered, then uncover for 30 minutes.

(OPTIONAL:  If you have a big piece of lamb, over 5 lbs, you can drain it now or else you'll get a lot of water in there.  But leave a half an inch of liquid so it does not dry out.  And you can use some of the runoff to baste it, but let it cook uncovered at the end.  And if you make potatoes in the same pot as I do, leave some liquid for cooking the potatoes with the lamb.)

That's it.

Remember, all this garlic and oregano will either melt or run off. Do not listen to your foodie instincts about "real garlic" or "too much" oregano.  Just do it the way my grandmother did.

 

Simple Macaroni and Cheese    

From Smitten Kitchen

2 T butter (one to butter the dish, one for topping)

1 c sour cream

2 c milk

1 t mustard

Pinch cayenne

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 lb grated sharp cheddar cheese (hold back about 1/2 c of grated cheese for topping)

1/2 lb uncooked elbow macaroni

Preheat the oven to 375.  Generously butter a 10" or so casserole dish with 1 T of butter.  Mix the sour cream and spices, add milk, then the cheese and macaroni.  Mix well.  Dump into the casserole dish, cover, and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove cover, stir, sprinkle with remaining cheese, dot with remaining butter, bake for another 30 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven and let sit 15 minutes.