Today I had a wonderful experience. One of my dear friends emailed me and asked me to visit. She thought I might be missing Christmas cookies and baking because of my knee. She and her daughter baked and she wanted to share some with me. She dropped off a beautiful platter of eight different assorted cookie varieties. How nice. I never receive Christmas cookies. It was such a treat to look at the variety and sample a cookie. They are delicious. I said to Nancy the giver , "You have rugelach." "Oh you mean sour cream roll ups?", she asked. Isn't it funny that so often the things we see as the same are different or vice versa. But the enjoyment of tradition and flavors though different can evoke fond memories of tastes, smells and experience.
Today I offer another bar cookies. In the process of making over 1000 cookies you learn some efficiencies. Lots of bars, lots of slices created from rolls of refrigerated dough and drops. Spritz are individually shaped but by a cookie press which makes a pretty fast process. Little time for rolled cookies - plus they may be too fragile to travel.So yet again a bar cookie. I'll go a bit further and tell you it's a sleeper cookie. Sleeper because it looks pretty average. Crumbs adorn the top but it is a pretty plain undecorated cookies. Your eye wouldn't be drawn to it as you might an iced cut-out or a frosted drop or swirled marbleized cookies with sprinkles. But it is a mouthful of caramel and crumbs. It's an easy cookie because it's based is refrigerated cookie dough. I know that's kind of a trick from a cook who likes to make things from scratch but it is a delicious cookie none the less. The cookie is one of Miss Jen's favorite. She is a cookie lover and I thinks she loves the exotic name with the very simple caramel note of the cookie.
Dulce de Leche Bars
2 rolls refrigerator sugar cookie dough (18 oz each)
1 3/4 C. rolled oats
2/3 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tsp. vanilla
1 bag of caramels (14-15 oz.)
1/2 C. butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
3 T. caramel topping
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Break up 1 cookie roll into a large bowl. Add 3/4/C of the oats, 1/3 C brown sugar and 1 tsp. of the vanilla; mix well. With floured fingers press the dough mixture evenly into the bottom of ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan to form the crust.
Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown.
Meanwhile in the same bowl break up the second cookie dough roll. Add the remaining oats, 1/3 C brown sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla; mix well.
In a large heavy saucepan heat caramels, butter and condensed milk over medium low heat, stirring frequently until caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth.
Remove partially baked pan of cookies from the oven. Spread caramel mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining cookie mixture evenly over the top of the caramel.
Return to oven. Bake 18-22 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Run knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Cool completely - 2 hours. Using a small spoon drizzle the caramel topping over the top of the cookies. Cut into bars.
Here's to you Miss Jen. Enjoy the cookies.
Showing posts with label Jen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jen. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Three Women and a bowl of red
In our family, there are three women who were born in the month of March. My youngest sister Rebecca (Buck or Aunt Buck), Jen, my daughter and Becky, my niece. Family members have long thought that the March women in our family are a very special group. They have strong personalities, are very funny and pretty much a great time. They are also women of deep convictions about family, love and caring. All are also oriented to caring about the world and other people and make personal scarifices to make life better and help create a better world.
Rebecca is a professor at Michigan State in the medical school. She balances work, her daughter, her special guy and Mimi and Bobo in busy days, work travel with fishing, the arts and being Miss Carhardt on the farm. She chops wood and is devoted farm worker. She has an incredible heart and compassion. When she was in elementary school my Dad was worried about her ability to apply herself academically and would have some chats with her about it. Our favorite answer to his concerns was her reply that all of that really didn't matter because she was the funniest kid in the class.
Jen is the mom to Eli and Gabe and partner to the awesome Josh. Their family is waiting for child number 3 said to be a baby girl. I refer to the baby as the mermaid. Jen is a health educator and has a master's degree in student development. She is using her degree to rear her wonderful children and Elliott the little guy she cares for. Elliott's Mom and Dad are adding a new one to their family as well so Jen will care for the tribe of five this fall. Jen and Josh are extraordinary parents and community members. They are pursuing Landmark Education to create the possibility of a better world and life for everyone. Jen is one of the most intentional women I know. Jen is a warrior who fights for life and love. Bobo's nickname for Jen when she was little was Screech. This was a great name because she truly screeched. She told Bobo she didn't like that name at all. Dad told her that if she didn't want that name she needed to change her behavior - which she promptly did.
Becky my niece is named for Aunt Buck. She is a teacher of children with special needs. Becky and Jen received their Master's degrees in the same year and of course we had a family celebration. Becky is smart, witty, fun, committed and lives with a wonderful outlook on life and what it means to be Becky. Becky is a person who loves with a great fire. I tell her she is a comet. Becky is a pretty woman and she was adorable as a little girl. She had brown hair in ringlets, blue eyes and freckles sprinkled across her nose. She and her Mom would run errands together. Once on the way home Becky burst into tears. Sue asked her what was wrong and she wailed, "No one told me I was pretty!"
You would be disappointed and think me remiss if I did not describe their culinary orientation. Rebecca long held a somewhat distant relationship with cooking. She was a meat and potatoes girl and pretty much survived childhood with peanut butter. She liked dishes made with fewer than four ingredients and made in 1 step. She called me years ago for a pork recipe. I gave her a delicious recipe for pulled pork that required boiling the pork in water and spices, baking the pork to tenderness and using some of the broth to create a baste that would be applied during the long roasting to further season the meat. I thought it was easy and I described the recipe and the process to her and she decided to make it. I received a call from her that her lovely David terms a "buckburst". Basically she was extremely miffed that I would subject her to this. Love can do wonderous things and she and David are wonderful cooks and entertainers. Beck's skills have really advanced. One of the few recipes I have from this sister was a recipe for Moo Shu Pork with home made Mandarin Pancakes. This is a recipe from the same time period as the pulled pork buckburst. Go figure!
Jen grew up in a house that was food oriented and she loves to cook and enjoy times with friends and family around food as the lubricant for a special time. Like me she creates community around food. She and Josh are adventurous eaters and cooks. They participate in a CSA, she goes to many different grocery stores depending on the items to be purchased and they shop the farmers market. They love ethnic foods and search out the little hole in the wall places that are so good and so fun.
I am not sure about Becky's cooking skills but she is a devoted appreciator of food and is a great partner in the kitchen for family vacation meals. Being single there isn't much reason to acquire lots of skills in cooking. She is a person who is a lover of life and friends and lots of fun is related to music and those same friends. If she has a culinary spcialty it would be potatoes. She has a great potato casserole recipe and at Thanksgiving directed her mother in making sweet potatoes that were slowly cooked and carmelized in a bath of butter, brown sugar and spices. It was a long process with awesome results.
One of Aunt Buck's primo recipes is a chili recipe. Coming from a family of chili lovers we've all configured our own take on this beloved dish. Rebecca called hers Michigan Meltdown. She took this recipe to a chili cookoff at her department of the university. If memory serves me correctly it was a winner. So in honor of lingering snows in Washington and Colorado and iffy Michigan weather here is the last winter recipe as we wait for spring.
Michigan Meltdown (I write this in the style of Buck as she gave it to me)
Simmer 8 ounces pinto beans cooked with 2 16 ounce cans of tomatoes for 5 minutes
Saute 4 chopped green peppers in oil for 5 minutes. Add 3 large chopped onions and cook until tender. Add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 1/2 C. chopped parsley.
Saute 2 1/2 lbs ground beef and 1 lb lean ground pork for 15 minutes.
Combine with the onion mixture and 1/3 C. chili powder, simmer 10 minutes.
Add beans with 2 T. salt, 1 1/2 t. pepper, 1 1/2 t. ground cumin, 1 t. oregano, 3 cloves and 1 bayleaf.
Simmer covered 1 hour, uncovered 30 minutes. Skim off fat.
Happy Birthday to three incredible women we are blessed to have in our family.
Rebecca is a professor at Michigan State in the medical school. She balances work, her daughter, her special guy and Mimi and Bobo in busy days, work travel with fishing, the arts and being Miss Carhardt on the farm. She chops wood and is devoted farm worker. She has an incredible heart and compassion. When she was in elementary school my Dad was worried about her ability to apply herself academically and would have some chats with her about it. Our favorite answer to his concerns was her reply that all of that really didn't matter because she was the funniest kid in the class.
Jen is the mom to Eli and Gabe and partner to the awesome Josh. Their family is waiting for child number 3 said to be a baby girl. I refer to the baby as the mermaid. Jen is a health educator and has a master's degree in student development. She is using her degree to rear her wonderful children and Elliott the little guy she cares for. Elliott's Mom and Dad are adding a new one to their family as well so Jen will care for the tribe of five this fall. Jen and Josh are extraordinary parents and community members. They are pursuing Landmark Education to create the possibility of a better world and life for everyone. Jen is one of the most intentional women I know. Jen is a warrior who fights for life and love. Bobo's nickname for Jen when she was little was Screech. This was a great name because she truly screeched. She told Bobo she didn't like that name at all. Dad told her that if she didn't want that name she needed to change her behavior - which she promptly did.
Becky my niece is named for Aunt Buck. She is a teacher of children with special needs. Becky and Jen received their Master's degrees in the same year and of course we had a family celebration. Becky is smart, witty, fun, committed and lives with a wonderful outlook on life and what it means to be Becky. Becky is a person who loves with a great fire. I tell her she is a comet. Becky is a pretty woman and she was adorable as a little girl. She had brown hair in ringlets, blue eyes and freckles sprinkled across her nose. She and her Mom would run errands together. Once on the way home Becky burst into tears. Sue asked her what was wrong and she wailed, "No one told me I was pretty!"
You would be disappointed and think me remiss if I did not describe their culinary orientation. Rebecca long held a somewhat distant relationship with cooking. She was a meat and potatoes girl and pretty much survived childhood with peanut butter. She liked dishes made with fewer than four ingredients and made in 1 step. She called me years ago for a pork recipe. I gave her a delicious recipe for pulled pork that required boiling the pork in water and spices, baking the pork to tenderness and using some of the broth to create a baste that would be applied during the long roasting to further season the meat. I thought it was easy and I described the recipe and the process to her and she decided to make it. I received a call from her that her lovely David terms a "buckburst". Basically she was extremely miffed that I would subject her to this. Love can do wonderous things and she and David are wonderful cooks and entertainers. Beck's skills have really advanced. One of the few recipes I have from this sister was a recipe for Moo Shu Pork with home made Mandarin Pancakes. This is a recipe from the same time period as the pulled pork buckburst. Go figure!
Jen grew up in a house that was food oriented and she loves to cook and enjoy times with friends and family around food as the lubricant for a special time. Like me she creates community around food. She and Josh are adventurous eaters and cooks. They participate in a CSA, she goes to many different grocery stores depending on the items to be purchased and they shop the farmers market. They love ethnic foods and search out the little hole in the wall places that are so good and so fun.
I am not sure about Becky's cooking skills but she is a devoted appreciator of food and is a great partner in the kitchen for family vacation meals. Being single there isn't much reason to acquire lots of skills in cooking. She is a person who is a lover of life and friends and lots of fun is related to music and those same friends. If she has a culinary spcialty it would be potatoes. She has a great potato casserole recipe and at Thanksgiving directed her mother in making sweet potatoes that were slowly cooked and carmelized in a bath of butter, brown sugar and spices. It was a long process with awesome results.
One of Aunt Buck's primo recipes is a chili recipe. Coming from a family of chili lovers we've all configured our own take on this beloved dish. Rebecca called hers Michigan Meltdown. She took this recipe to a chili cookoff at her department of the university. If memory serves me correctly it was a winner. So in honor of lingering snows in Washington and Colorado and iffy Michigan weather here is the last winter recipe as we wait for spring.
Michigan Meltdown (I write this in the style of Buck as she gave it to me)
Simmer 8 ounces pinto beans cooked with 2 16 ounce cans of tomatoes for 5 minutes
Saute 4 chopped green peppers in oil for 5 minutes. Add 3 large chopped onions and cook until tender. Add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 1/2 C. chopped parsley.
Saute 2 1/2 lbs ground beef and 1 lb lean ground pork for 15 minutes.
Combine with the onion mixture and 1/3 C. chili powder, simmer 10 minutes.
Add beans with 2 T. salt, 1 1/2 t. pepper, 1 1/2 t. ground cumin, 1 t. oregano, 3 cloves and 1 bayleaf.
Simmer covered 1 hour, uncovered 30 minutes. Skim off fat.
Happy Birthday to three incredible women we are blessed to have in our family.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Superbowl again....
So I continue to muse on the Superbowl. I'm back to the Paminti Brothers and their gi-normous sandwiches. I am not rethinking huge slabs of bread or french fries in the middle of the sandwich. I am thinking panini. Panini - Paminti sounds close don't you think?
Several years ago, Josh gave Jen a panini press for Christmas. That started a panini fest that went on and on. The permutations and combinations evolved and they became a frequent player in what Jen and Josh called Diamond Dinners. Every other week, they invited friends to their home for a potluck. Jen and Josh would create the central dish and folks were invited to bring their contribution. I think it was panini potluck because they offered breads, meats, cheeses a variety of condiments and people could express their culinary creativity. Sometimes there was just another family. At other times about 26 or more. Picture cozy home, welcoming couple, happy little boys and greetings for anyone who wanted to come. Kids playing upstairs and parents creeping up the stairs to check when the noise level from above dropped to nothing. Lots of laughter and warmth and creating a family from people whose families were often far away. Delicious and fun, combining conversation, laughter and cooking.
Lee and I aren't having a potluck but I've been investigating some worthy options. I have some prosciutto and home roasted chicken. I have olives and garlic to make a tapenade. Perhaps some roasted peppers or roasted eggplant with a quick tomato sauce. I'll pick up some cheese - fontina, or gruyere - and some special bread at Dorothy Lane Market's Artisan bakery. I don't have a panini press but I do have a grill pan and after I place the panini on the grill pan I'll take a small skillet and place it on top of the panini with a large can in the skillet to weight it down. The panini trick is to grill the sandwich slowly at a lower temperature to build a nice crust on each side and long enough to allow the cheese to melt in the panini. I think about 8-9 minutes on each side.
I'll forego chips but will make a slaw with brocolli slaw, green onions, shaved fennel and some dried cherries. To dress the slaw I'll make a rice wine vinegar dressing that is simply rice wine vinegar with a bit of sugar or honey, a touch of garlic and a little salt and pepper. I can make the slaw after breakfast and let it marinate in the fridge until we eat. I'll make the Oh Henry Bars Saturday so all we'll have to do is figure out the paninis, assemble them, spread a light coat of unsalted butter on the bread and toast on my home made panini press. I will sprinkle some toasted sunflower seeds over the slaw just before serving.
We're ready to celebrate!
Several years ago, Josh gave Jen a panini press for Christmas. That started a panini fest that went on and on. The permutations and combinations evolved and they became a frequent player in what Jen and Josh called Diamond Dinners. Every other week, they invited friends to their home for a potluck. Jen and Josh would create the central dish and folks were invited to bring their contribution. I think it was panini potluck because they offered breads, meats, cheeses a variety of condiments and people could express their culinary creativity. Sometimes there was just another family. At other times about 26 or more. Picture cozy home, welcoming couple, happy little boys and greetings for anyone who wanted to come. Kids playing upstairs and parents creeping up the stairs to check when the noise level from above dropped to nothing. Lots of laughter and warmth and creating a family from people whose families were often far away. Delicious and fun, combining conversation, laughter and cooking.
Lee and I aren't having a potluck but I've been investigating some worthy options. I have some prosciutto and home roasted chicken. I have olives and garlic to make a tapenade. Perhaps some roasted peppers or roasted eggplant with a quick tomato sauce. I'll pick up some cheese - fontina, or gruyere - and some special bread at Dorothy Lane Market's Artisan bakery. I don't have a panini press but I do have a grill pan and after I place the panini on the grill pan I'll take a small skillet and place it on top of the panini with a large can in the skillet to weight it down. The panini trick is to grill the sandwich slowly at a lower temperature to build a nice crust on each side and long enough to allow the cheese to melt in the panini. I think about 8-9 minutes on each side.
I'll forego chips but will make a slaw with brocolli slaw, green onions, shaved fennel and some dried cherries. To dress the slaw I'll make a rice wine vinegar dressing that is simply rice wine vinegar with a bit of sugar or honey, a touch of garlic and a little salt and pepper. I can make the slaw after breakfast and let it marinate in the fridge until we eat. I'll make the Oh Henry Bars Saturday so all we'll have to do is figure out the paninis, assemble them, spread a light coat of unsalted butter on the bread and toast on my home made panini press. I will sprinkle some toasted sunflower seeds over the slaw just before serving.
We're ready to celebrate!
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