Squash Soup with Goat Cheese and Smoked Paprika

Hearty winter soup with a hint of smoky sweet paprika and creamy goat cheese.

Recipe:

2 pounds squash, cubed

1 large onion

chicken stock - enough to cover squash

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is beginning to brown.  Add oregano and saute another few minutes, add squash and enough stock to barely cover it.  Simmer until squash is tender.  

Puree it until it is mostly smooth but has a few chunks of squash left.  Serve with goat cheese and smoked paprika on top, and a hearty bread on the side.

Almond Snowflakes

Almond Sugar cookies cut to look like snowflakes. 

Cookies:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl .  In a separate bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add in egg and extracts.  Beat well.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in thirds until it is a soft dough.  It may be sticky.  Divide dough in half and flatted each bit.  Wrap the two discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate  for 2-3 hours.

Oven at 350 degrees.  Roll out dough, if it is too hard and cracks let it soften for a few minutes.   Cut out your snowflakes with cutters or by hand.

Bake on a cookie sheet, it does not need to be greased.  They should be done in around ten minutes, depending on how thick and wide they are.  When they are done, let them cool completely before icing.

Icing:
1 tbsp meringue powder
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp warm water

Mix in a stand mixer on medium speed for about ten minutes.  I colored mine very slightly so it looked a brighter white, I used a mix of violet and aqua, in paste colors.  About the tip of a toothpick of each. Very little...

You can then pipe the icing onto your cookies in any way you'd like!  Also, use any other decorations. I brushed luster dust onto mine when they were done so they were shiny!

Lemon Curd

Tart, sweet and creamy lemon curd is good on just about anything!

Recipe:
2 eggs + 2 yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice/zest of the lemons
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
pinch of cardamon
salt

Whisk eggs and yolks in a sauce pan until well blended.  Add the rest of the ingredients, and whisk over low heat until it coats the back of a spoon.  Pour into a jar or dish and refrigerate until chilled.

Enjoy on anything you'd like, or eat by the spoonful!

Black Peppercorn Ice Cream with Vodka Cranberry Sauce

Slightly spiced ice cream, with an almost floral flavor, goes wonderfully with tart-sweet cranberries.

Ice cream:
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
3/4 tbsp ground black peppercorn
1/2 tbsp bruised/almost cracked black peppercorns
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks

Heat the milk, sugar, ground pepper, peppercorns, vanilla bean seeds and bean, salt and 1 cup cream in a sauce pan, when it is hot remove from heat and let sit for half hour or so.

When it has steeped, heat it back up.  Whisk egg yolks together while it it heating.  When it is hot, very slowly pour the pepper mixture into the egg yolks while whisking.  Put the whole bit back in the saucepan.

Set a fine strainer on top of a large bowl, in the bowl put the remaining cup of cream

Return to heat, and stir/scrape constantly until it thickens and coats the back of the spatula.   Then pour through strainer into bowl with cream, throw away peppercorns/bean left in strainer. Stir the mixture together over an ice bath until cool.  Refrigerate until chilled.

Freeze in your ice cream maker.

Cranberry Sauce:
4 cups cranberries (fresh are best)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vodka
1 tsp pectin

Heat cranberries, sugar, water, and half of vodka in a sauce pan, cook and stir until cranberries are bursting.  Add pectin, continue heating/stirring until it is pretty thick.  It will thicken as it cools though.  When it is thick enough and most all cranberries have burst, remove from heat.  Let cool for a few minutes, then stir in remaining vodka.

Serve over the ice cream!

Currant and White Peppercorn Scones

Well-loved at every tea party I've ever had.  Good with earthy teas.

Recipe:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper (more or less to taste)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 - 3/4 cup milk

1/2 - 3/4 cup dried currants

Oven at 400 degrees.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Cut in the butter (I do this with my hands - makes it easier) until it is coarse.  Add the milk until it is doughy, add as much as you need.  Add dried fruit, knead three or four times and roll out.  Cut into whatever shape you'd like, I just use a knife and make triangles.   Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes or so, until golden, time depending on the size of your scones.   Enjoy with tea!  And lemon curd...recipe coming soon...

Braided Bread

Airy yet satisfying white bread braided and sprinkled with poppy-seeds.

Recipe:
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
5 - 5 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 egg
poppy-seeds

Add yeast to warm water.  Measure in sugar, and mix until dissolved.  Add 2 cups of flour, mix well, and let proof for ten minutes.  If the bubbles appear, then stir in the salt.  Then add flour 1 cup at a time until it is the right consistency.  Knead for five to ten minutes.  Place in greased bowl, and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, it should double in size.

Punch the dough down, knead a little, and then divide in half.  Divide each half into thirds.  Roll out the thirds into long snakes, about 1 inch thick or so.  Braid the thirds, pinch and tuck ends under.  You should have two braided loaves now.  Cover and let rise for about thirty minutes.

Oven at 400 degrees.  Whisk egg and 1 tbsp water together. Brush dough with egg wash.  Sprinkle with poppy-seeds.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy hot with topping of your choice.  Also makes good toast and sandwiches!

Linguine with Clams

Fresh linguine in a creamy clam sauce with parmesan cheese and a hint of lemon.

Recipe:
1 pound linguine
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup clam juice
1 (15 oz) can baby clams
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup cream
1/2 cup shaved or shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon
salt/pepper

Start cooking the pasta until it is a little chewy-crunchy-er than al dente.  Reserve some of the pasta water.

In a large pot heat the oil, saute the onion and anchovies until the onion is getting clear/golden and the anchovies are dissolved.  Add garlic, red pepper, oregano, and thyme.  Cook until garlic is fragrant and beginning to color.  Stir in wine and clam juice, cook until reduced by about a third.  Add clams, cook a few more minutes.

Add the pasta and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water.  Cook the pasta in the sauce, adding more pasta water as needed until the pasta is perfectly cooked.  Add the cream, cook until coated but not at all dry.  Stir in butter in small pieces, and stir in cheese.  Stir just until it is a creamy cheesy sauce that coats the pasta, but not dry!   Add salt/pepper as needed.  Stir in parsley.  Serve sprinkled with a little lemon juice and red pepper flakes.  Enjoy!!!