South Dakota Magazine Recap

It is that time of year when things start to get a little cray-cray. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and then there is no stopping Christmas and all of the many holiday events. Throw in a little year-end business and a few bouts of bad weather, and before we know it 2014 will be done.

Before I get caught up in that whirlwind, maybe I should do another South Dakota Magazine Recap. I have shared several recipes (and a few stories) online with South Dakota Magazine since my last update in early April.

For Easter, I considered a new tradition of layering asparagus, ham, and pasta with cheese and a creamy sauce. Ham and Asparagus Lasagna is a perfectly elegant comfort food worthy of a Spring holiday table.

Cinco de Mayo was observed with simple Sausage and Feta Tacos. The day is a celebration of a Mexican military victory and more than just party with "2 for 1" margarita deals.

My husband was fearful that I would give up his prime asparagus hunting ground when I shared some of his wild asparagus secrets. If you are lucky enough to receive a bouquet of freshly cut wild asparagus, I recommend trying Asparagus Ravioli in Parmesan Broth.

I am happy to report that as summer dawned, the snakes in my backyard seemed to move on. Harvest of strawberries and rhubarb for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bars was uneventful...and the bars were delicious.

Nilla is still living in town with us, and before the snow, I noticed a new hole in my cleared-for-fall garden. She must still be digging for worms. I should have taken her fishing for some walleye to make Lemon Butter Fish.

Avocado Toast with Radish Salad pulls from produce both local, and not. Sourcing my food from whatever origins are available for the tastiest options is my "diet" plan.

I didn't get a great spinach harvest from the garden this year, but did manage enough for a few Spinach and Garlic Vinaigrette Salads.

Keeping cool was easy this summer with the Asian influenced Peanut and Cucumber Salad.

If I want to kiss my husband, I need keep my toothbrush handy whenever Bleu Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad is on the menu.

Scrambled Eggs with Pesto and White Beans is a powerhouse for breakfast and an excellent place to start while working toward those big dreams for the day.

In September, I guided Laura from the South Dakota Magazine offices through a south-central South Dakota adventure and made time for some Pho-ish Soup.

Homecoming revealed a little background of a long ago spontaneous pancake party in Colome, and I shared the story with the puffed pancake of a Dutch Baby with Caramel Sauce and Bananas.

As the winter allows Hubs more time at home in the evenings, I can't wait for movie night and Pomegranate and Popcorn.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup is a perfect fall bowl of comfort. Topping this rich, savory soup with crumbled queso and sliced green onions enhance the earthy flavors.

And, finally, I have the tart jewel of your Thanksgiving table: Homemade Cranberry Sauce, even though I kinda miss the nostalgia of those perfect rings on the log of sauce from the can.

Whew. What a list of amazing recipes! I hope you have had the opportunity to enjoy a few, and I can't wait to share more On My Plate and with South Dakota Magazine.

Friends (and A Giveaway!)

***GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED***CONTEST WINNERS DRAWN***

Back when I was in high school, a friend and I used to have a ritual for escaping from study hall. Open campus allowed us to hop in her car and hit the nearby grocery store for Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts and chocolate milk. We would "flip U's" --for those of you not into our small town lingo, that means cruise the main highway, from one end to the other, making U-turns in parking lots to turn around and do it again and again and again--, solve the world's problems, and stuff ourselves with those sweet treats. As mundane as that may sound, I have very fond memories of those aimless hours of driving around.

These days, that friend lives across the state, keeps up with her three daughters, volunteers in her community and church, wrangles her husband, and has her own very successful business. We stay in touch through Facebook, but I can't remember the last time we saw each other, much less shared a sweet treat. If we could both escape for a moment, I would make a platter of Bite-Sized Winter Fruit Tarts and some coffee. This would be my grown-up replacement for Pop-Tarts. Sweet cherries and raisins are balanced with tart, dried cranberries and earthy walnuts to fill tiny little tarts baked in a mini muffin tin. Perfect for sharing with a treasured friend over a cup of coffee...and even portable, if we had the urge to flip U's again.

However, my awesome friend has an even better treat to share with YOU, my friendly blog readers. That very successful business that I mentioned? She is a Pampered Chef consultant. For the past 14 years, this home-based business has provided a steady income for her and her family while offering flexibility for their hectic schedules. She has earned amazing trips and had fun while she worked. It truly has been a dream job for her, and she loves to share the impressive and useful products of Pampered Chef.

She loves to share these great kitchen products so much that she has sponsored this FIRST EVER (wow!) BLOG GIVEAWAY for On My Plate. Rhonda has provided a $50 Pampered Chef Gift Certificate to share with one of my lucky readers. Awesome, right?!? But, wait! There is more!

That great act of friendship inspired me. I have been wanting to do a giveaway here On My Plate f.o.r.e.v.e.r., but haven't been organized enough to get it done. I have decided to add my own $50 Pampered Chef Gift Certificate. This one will be available to "friends" on Facebook.

Yep. You read that correctly. In the next week, you have 2 different options/chances to win $50 from Pampered Chef. What will you buy with your gift certificate? A mini muffin pan to bake Bite-Sized Winter Fruit Tarts? Those great stackable cooling racks from A Few of My Favorite Things? Stoneware or a batter bowl? What would you love to own? Tell me, and it could be yours.

Here are the two ways to win a $50 Pampered Chef Gift Certificate:

1. Comment here, on THIS blog post, and share with me which Pampered Chef product you dream of owning and what you would use it to make. BONUS: Name gets thrown in the hat an extra time if you plan to try a recipe from On My Plate.
2. Head over to Facebook and "like" On My Plate (https://www.facebook.com/OnMyPlate) AND comment on the post there for THIS blog post. Again, tell me which Pampered Chef product you can't wait to own and how you want to use it. And again, BONUS  entry for checking out a recipe shared On My Plate.

Each comment will be entered for drawings on January 10, 2012. One drawing will be held for the blog comments, and one drawing will be held for the Facebook comments. Awesome? Awesome.

BTW--because of a little spam/troll issue, I do moderate comments. Don't panic if it doesn't appear immediately, I will check frequently and authorize all entries for the gift certificates. ALSO--If you choose to comment anonymously (and not register with Blogger), please be sure to include your first name or nickname in the comment so that I can identify when you win. Thanks!

Disclaimer or whatever: This blog post is sponsored by my incredible friend, Rhonda. While Rhonda is a Pampered Chef consultant, Pampered Chef is not sponsoring this giveaway. It is a personal venture in the name of friendship from myself and my friend. Opinions stated are purely my own. 

***GIVEAWAY NOW ENDED***CONTEST WINNERS DRAWN***

 

Bite-Sized Winter Fruit Tarts

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 pastry for double-crust pie (homemade or ready-made refrigerated)
2 tablespoons sugar

 
Combine cherry pie filling, cranberries, raisins and nuts in a medium bowl; set aside.
Roll pie crust on a lightly floured surface.
Cut 48 1 and 1/2 inch circles from pie crust with a biscuit cutter or glass.
Place tiny rounds of crust into mini-muffin pans.
Fill each crust with 1 teaspoon of filling mixture.
Cut 48 small stars (or other shape) from remaining pie crust (re-roll dough as necessary).
Place one small star on each tiny tart.
Sprinkle each tart with sugar.
Bake at 350F for 15 to 18 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.
Store loosely covered. (48 mini tarts)

Check back here On My Plate or on my Facebook page for the announcement of the winners on January 10, 2012. Good luck, and go love your friends! 

***GIVEAWAY NOW ENDED***CONTEST WINNERS DRAWN***

Thankfulness

It is Thanksgiving Eve, and I am busy with baking. The turkey is brining, and the cranberry sauce is made. It is time to get those pies in the oven for tomorrow's feast of thankfulness.

I have so much for which to be thankful. To use a phrase that often seems trite to me, I have been blessed. Life is rich and full and good. I am happy.

I am also thankful and happy to share with you that today, I debuted as an online contributor with South Dakota Magazine. It is a simple, little post featuring an idea for some of that leftover turkey we will soon be facing. I hope you hop over and read it and spend some time enjoying their site. They do a wonderful job of promoting and informing us about the great state of South Dakota. I am very thankful for this opportunity to join them.

Gobble, Gobble: Turkey and Apple Sandwiches
at South Dakota Magazine

Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you!

I.Am.Not.A.Baker.

I am not a baker. If you have read much of this blog, you have seem me lament several times about how I really don't have the patience for the precision that baking usually requires. I don't like to measure...and quite honestly, seldom do when I am making any non-baking recipe. Eyeballing ingredient amounts with shakes, pinches, splashes, and palm fulls works perfectly well for making soups, side dishes, and sauces. Who wants to dirty a measuring cup or spoon if you don't have to? Certainly not me. I don't like to wash dishes any more than...well, I guess any more than I like to bake. Therefore, I was quite shocked to read in my father-in-law's Christmas letter about how I have been spoiling the guys at the farm with desserts. Spoiling? Really? Me? I. Don't. Bake....Unless I have to.

Maybe I have recently chained myself to the oven baked more, but it still holds no charm for me. I bake because dessert is expected after a meal at the farm. I guess it is one of my small contributions to our livelihood (which is what the farm is: our business; our livelihood). After my mother-in-law's passing, I was preparing casseroles and other food each night to be served at the farm the following day for lunch. But casseroles just aren't one of my Hubs favorite things. He likes to cook, and it was determined that he would prepare fresh lunches at the farm each day (with a few casseroles supplementing the busy times). I mean, really, who could blame him? Who wants warmed up tater-tot crap hotdish when you could have fresh smoked chicken with fried potatoes and gravy? And, as Hubs brandishes his cooking skills for lunch, I make dessert. I bake. *sigh*

So...there was a bowl of apples on my kitchen counter begging to be used before they withered and rotted into messy little nothings. And...I baked. Cranberry-Apple Bars will go to the farm, and I held off sampling them until I dug in for a photo, but it was difficult. I may not like to bake, but I *do* like to eat...especially desserts. The Granny Smith apples were crisp and delicious. Combined with the tartness of homemade cranberry sauce, the filling balances well with the subtly sweet pastry. Knowing the sweet-tooth of the guys at the farm, I added a drizzle of powdered sugar icing over the bars. I guess maybe baking isn't so bad if I can have a sample of Cranberry-Apple Bars On My Plate.

Cranberry-Apple Bars

(adapted from TasteSpotting - the blog)

Cranberry Sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 - 3/4 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio, but Reisling or White Zin might be good, too.)

1½ cups cranberries
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Apple Filling

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
5 cups sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples

Sweet Pastry

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk (or cream)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To prepare cranberry sauce, dissolve sugar in wine in a small saucepan. 
Add fresh cranberries and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and let simmer together until sauce starts to thicken.
Add dried cranberries and continue cooking until jam-like in consistency. 
Set aside. (Can do this a day in advance, if you like...I did...in that case don't preheat oven right away...LOL.)
To prepare apple-cranberry filling, peel apples and slice thinly. 
Combine with the flour, sugar, cinnamon. 
Stir until well-coated.
Add the cooled cranberry sauce. 
Set aside while preparing crust.
To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. 
Cut in butter to form pea-sized crumbles. (Use a pastry blender, or be lazy like me and use the stand mixer.)
Gently mix in beaten egg.
Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. 
Spread cranberry-apple mixture out on prepared crust. 
Crumble pieces of reserved crust mixture over the top (as for a cobbler).
Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees or until crust is slightly golden on top.
Allow to cool.
While bars are cooling, prepared the icing by combining powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of the milk or cream. 
Whisk in extra milk as needed to achieve the proper drizzling consistency. 
Drizzle icing over the bars.
(Best served slightly warmed.)

Fridge Friday, Episode 13: Black Friday

It is Fridge Friday on the day after Thanksgiving. Oh boy, are you in for a treat.

My fridge is stuffed with leftovers. I don't think another Gladware container could fit inside. Yesterday, we had a full dinner of turkey (I brined with a recipe from Martha Stewart and roasted with a recipe from The Angry Chef), Herbed Sausage Dressing, Spinach Whipped Mashed Potatoes, Giblet Gravy, Roasted Butternut Squash with Shallots, Green Beans tossed with Bacon and Caramelized Red Onion, Potato Rolls, and since I was the only one at the table that really likes cranberries, a can of jellied Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce (I secretly...or maybe not so secretly...LOVE this stuff.). Gobble. Gobble.

But, it isn't those leftovers that I am going to focus on for this special Black Friday Fridge Friday. I am going to give you a two-for-one post and share recipes for the 2 pies that are precariously balanced above the other goodies on the shelves. The star desserts on the table for our Thanksgiving feast were a Browned Butter Butterscotch Pie and an Apple-Cranberry Pie. (The Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake was not far behind in the ratings...I am just saving it for another blog post.) As different as night and day, one dessert is creamy and rich and almost has the heavenly flavor of homemade caramels; the other is tart and crisp and begs for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Gobble. Gobble.

Apple-Cranberry Pie

(adapted from Bake at 350)

pastry for a double-crust pie (use your favorite recipe or *gasp* Pillsbury)

4-6 Granny Smith apples (I actually used 4 Granny Smith and 2 Honeycrisp)

2 cups fresh cranberries

zest of one orange (I forgot to buy oranges & used grapefruit zest...really good.)

1 egg white, beaten

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 425.
Line the bottom of a pie plate with the bottom crust.
Brush lightly with beaten egg white.
Peel, slice, and core the apples.
Toss apples with the cranberries.
Combine the sugar, flour, salt, and citrus zest and toss with the fruit.
Pile the fruit mixture into the bottom crust.
Cover with top crust, crimp, and vent as you wish. (I went for a lattice crust to show off the pretty red of the cranberries.)
Brush top crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with a dusting of sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350.
Bake for additional 40-50 minutes.
(I had to foil my crimped edges after about 30 minutes to keep from over-browning.)
Serve with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Browned Butter Butterscotch Pie

(adapted from The Kitchn) 

pastry for a single-crust pie, baked (again, use your favorite recipe or Pillsbury, if that is what rocks your boat) 

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk.)
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon bourbon whiskey (Although the flavor isn't prominent in the pie, chose something you would sip.)

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. 
Cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, approximately 10 minutes. 
Add brown sugar to butter and cook until sugar is completely melted into a paste.
Combine milks and pour into the sugar mixture. 
Bring to a simmer and stir until smooth and sugar is completely dissolved.
In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, and salt. 
Ladle 1/ 2 cup of the milk/butter/sugar mixture into the cornstarch mixture and whisk until smooth. 
Pour the smooth cornstarch mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly. 
Cook for approximately one minute, until just thickened.
Ladle 1/2 cup hot milk/butter/sugar mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly.
Combine with mixture back in the saucepan. 
Cook for approximately 30 seconds to one minute, and then remove from heat. 
Stir in whiskey. 
Pour into baked pie crust.
Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding in order to prevent a skin from forming. 
Chill overnight, or until firm. 
Serve topped with whipped cream (homemade is best).

Oh...To Be 25 Again!

Yesterday, I purchased a new OPI nail color from their 25th Anniversary Collection. OPI is known for the catchy names of their polishes and my new color is no exception. "Oh...To Be 25 Again!" is a deep chocolatey brown shade that seems perfect for fall.

This spurs the question of if I would want to be 25 again. When I was 25, I hadn't yet discovered real cooking. I made dinner every night, and we certainly didn't starve, but my obsession with food hadn't yet hit. Simple meals of pot roast, spaghetti, tacos, or hamburger helper were most often thrown together with sides of frozen corn or peas, or canned green beans. Fresh veggies were for salads. Dinner out often meant an order of chicken strips. I was a lot fussier about what I was willing to eat or try. I hadn't yet discovered the true joys of food.

I did however bake a little. It is ironic that now that I am in the kitchen a lot, I don't really care to bake. I do desserts for holidays and get-togethers with friends, but I would rather try a new savory recipe than a sweet one. But, back then, I had discovered those little Pillsbury cookbooks that are at the checkout stands of the grocery stores. The photos lured me in, and the simple recipes allowed me to make some great desserts. Cranberry Dessert Cake with Warm Butter Sauce is a find from one of those pamphlets. I was only 18 (not 25) when this recipe jumped at me from the pages of a Fall Baking Cookbook. It is a fabulous blend of dense cake and tart berries with a smooth, sweet sauce. I have made this repeatedly for many different occasions and never had so much as a morsel left on the plates. I don't know that I would ever want to go back to 25 (or even 18) again, but I will gladly bring this dessert along to enjoy for the rest of my years. :~)

Cranberry Dessert Cake with Warm Butter Sauce

2 ¾ cups flour
2 ¼ cups sugar (divided)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream
½ cup milk
¼ cup oil
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
3 ½ cups fresh cranberries
½ cup butter
½ cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375F.
Grease and flour bottom only of 9x13 pan.
Combine flour, 1 3/4 cups sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
Mix well.
In medium bowl, beat sour cream, milk, oil, almond extract and eggs.
Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture.
Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Gently fold in cranberries.
Spoon into prepared pan.
Bake at 375F for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
BUTTER SAUCE: In small saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, butter and whipping cream.
Bring to a boil.
Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
Serve warm sauce over cake. (20 servings)