Come Saturday Morning...

I really love Saturday mornings, especially when the sun is shining and the air is warm.  This morning I slept until 9 a.m.(in reaction, no doubt, to getting up at 6:05 a.m. during the work week!).  It's almost noon and already I've watched Henry play with his new water table.  Blueberry muffins have been pulled from the oven and cinnamon raisin  mini-scones are baking right now.  The afternoon is wide open, and I might take a ride with Katie and Henry to check out some antique shops.  She's looking for something very specific and it'll be like a scavenger hunt.

It's not often that I face a day with little to do.  I've become so accostomed to "the work day" that I'm always looking for the next thing to check off my to-do list, wherever I am.  Gotta shake that off, especially on the weekend.  Even at my age, it's never too late to learn to relax and go with the flow!

Photo credit: The Sandpipers record album, Come Saturday Morning, Soundtrack to the 1969 coming-of-age movie The Sterile Cukoo starring Liza Minelli (loved it!)...
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FWvcvYNXq0ad6Cc2MJfpblHjB9jwXkQ-NUps7o3bWKIMzGAh4O8ni6DVTkYPr5jOZ4SPoCrIQQDRCdkOoZaSDiQbsbfT-N-Rskj3unSpu92Sm0uzEPC2ulT9Vc903a_WZ91rj0DK9O8/s1600/come+saturday+morning.jpg

Thursday Night Dinner and a CreamyTortellini Salad

Last night's dinner seemed more like a relaxed weekend meal.  Katie and Bill had some friends over and were cooking out on the grill.  I walked in and said "yes" before they even invited me!  They were grilling marinated chicken breasts (spiedie-style) and chicken sausage, and Katie was making a tortellini pasta salad.  Feeling a little guilty for crashing their dinner, I contributed my own (chicken) breasts (!), more frozen tri-colored tortellini, and a loaf of Italian bread.  (This reminds me of my own otherwise-proper yet funny mother, who used to say her breasts were thawing on the kitchen counter!)...  OK, enough with the juvenile anatomy references, except to say that I smile any time something my mother said comes out of my mouth!

Along with the grilled goods and pasta salad, Katie served bright and fresh broccoli.  Rounding out the meal was a platter of lemon cupcakes topped with a swirl of blackberry (just a hint) buttercream frosting, each sporting one blackberry - a little surprise for Henry's actual birthday today since his big bash was last weekend. His cupcake had a candle in it, and he's getting really good at blowing them out!  He got it with the first shot and no help!

 I loved the pasta salad, which was served cold, and here's the recipe as far as I can decipher:

CREAMY TORTELLINI SALAD

2 bags frozen tri-color tortellini, cooked and drained, then rinsed in cold water
Mayo/ranch dressing (equal parts of both), enough to coat
crumbled bacon
Freshly ground pepper, a little salt

I thought it would be great to add some crisp broccoli florets, broken up, or peas, and maybe just a little bit of  finely diced red onion. 

Photo credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEyceOBV-OqP0YUAPWDtQFtMaV_MGcBoDRKars5G4IOIZIAS5zVSpxu_udRJ3y7NrxSWiEPuhP5m9VuDWUF3h1XZ62tUVGkJ4Ja_ofOGn8ENHgDwqi6NkoLsXVo1cUiUDUYbBQto_EnCV/s400/pasta+saleboreo+001.JPG

Lemon Drop Cookies

I'm in love with classic lemon drop cookies, also known as Italian lemon cookies, or Anginetti.  One place to find them locally is in Saratoga Springs, at Roma's, on Washington Street. Roma's is the place to pick up a great Italian sub, custom made while you wait (with pickles or those big fat olives).  Roma's also sells all kinds of imported goodies. My friend Sue stops there often to get that long spaghetti with the hole down the center.  It's her husband's favorite.  While she's there, she always picks up a tub of Jordan Almonds and shares them with her friends!  One item that always catches my eye is the pretty little package of Italian lemon drop cookies.  My daughter Meghan used to work at The Jonesville Store and that's where I first had one of Mama Rao's Lemon Drop cookies.  The story is that they are baked fresh in Brooklyn, every day, and shipped right out.

They are wonderful!  With all this talk of lemons, my mouth is watering.  I'm providing here a recipe from Recipezaar.com, so you can make your own lemon drop cookies.  Hope you love them as much as I do!
(Photo credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChUYCuBAIA_ICZcg31h3BNrFZQ-SaTAXRPoYr18fLr7ekq4-eGwGrEQLMI9GL4srlqHBRP83fpz-69qnm3zcuaskaMp985dTYRYVl7Gz0lOOKst8CUR2z6XUWhcUEmeNCC2CaIO-f952l/s400/italianlemoncookies.jpg )

LEMON DROP COOKIES from Recipezaar.com

COOKIE

• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening 
• 3 large eggs 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
• 2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 

FROSTING

• 3 cups confectioner's sugar 
• 1/4 cup water 
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. For cookies, cream together sugar and shortening.
3. Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well.
4. Add flour, baking powder and salt; Mix well.
5. The dough should be soft and sticky.
6. With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a slightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
7. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.
8. Remove cookies from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
9. For frosting, combine confectioners' sugar, water and lemon extract and mix until smooth.
10. Frost the tops of each cookie with a metal spatula.
11. Allow cookies to dry before stacking.
12. Store in an airtight container.
13. ~NOTE~If you want to freeze the cookies, freeze unfrosted and frost once thawed.

Hostess Cupcakes, Home Style!

If you have fond childhood memories (or even more recent!) of Hostess Cupcakes, you can make your own version at home without all the additives and preservatives.  There are a lot of copycat recipes on-line, and many use the same recipe from what original source, I don't know.  So, instead of recycling the same recipe, I'm giving you my own take on how to make a homemade Hostess-style cupcake.

For the cupcake batter, use the Hershey recipe I gave you for the Ultimate Birthday Cake.  When they are cooled, pipe filling into the middle.  Top with a chocolate ganache-type frosting, and then pipe little ringlets of the filling mixture over the top to mimic the Hostess signature look.

Cake (Hershey's recipe)

HERSHEY'S PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup Hershey Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 9" round pans.
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on med. speed 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). 

Carefully fill paper-lined cupcake pans with batter, each cup half full.  Bake for 20-22 minutes or until center springs back when pressed.

Cool completely on wire rack, at least an hour.

Make filling:

Cream together: 
1/2 bar butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk, a tablespoon at a time (or enough to make it a smooth and creamy consistency) 
(Reserve about 1/2 cup of filling to pipe on top of frosted cupcakes.)

Fill piping bag with filling.  Use a tip with a large opening (star or writing).  Make a slit in center of cooled cupcakes with a very small knife, about half way down.  Poke tip of pastry bag into slit and gently put pressure on pastry bag until about a tablespoon of filling has been added (filling just begins to pop up at surface).  If the cupcake cracks a bit, it's OK.  You'll cover that with the chocolate frosting. 

For the Ganache Frosting:

12 ounces chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat cream and butter in small saucepan until it just begins to bubble around edges and is hot.  Pour over chocolate chips in medium-sized bowl.  Let sit until chocolate starts to melt, and stir in vanilla.  Stir well to blend and let cool until it is of spreading consistency.   Ice cupcakes.  Using a writing tip, pipe little ringlets across each.

Photo credit: http://art.newcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/hostess-cupcakes.jpg

THE ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY CAKE: Chocolate on Chocolate

April 27th is my son Joe's birthday, and I've baked what my family considers the ultimate birthday cake:  chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  My kids come from a long line of chocolate lovin' ancestors on their father's side, though the O'Farrell/McGeehan maternal influence highly favors the cocoa bean as well!  This obsession with chocolate is not always understood by others.  Why not lemon cake, or carrot, or even yellow?   Those flavors are wonderful, but in most cases are passed over for the richer, darker attraction of THE CHOCOLATE CAKE!   For me, it's insurance:  I know I can't go wrong if there's chocolate, somewhere, in a birthday cake!

For Joe's birthday, I've baked a deep, dark fudge cake and frosted it with my version of Hershey's cocoa frosting.  The standard recipe for the cake and the frosting can be found on the back of the Hershey Cocoa can.  I'm posting it here, with my frosting adaptations,  for you.  I'm sure it will be a big hit.  The trick tonight is to see if the cake can actually last until the morning, for Joe's actual birthday!

HERSHEY'S PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup Hershey Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 9" round pans.
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on med. speed 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).  Pour into pans. 
Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire cooling racks.  Cool completely. 

HERSHEY'S PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2/3 cup Hershey Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk (more if needed - I always need a couple extra tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on med. speed to spreading consistency.  Add more milk, a little at a time, if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Homemade Granola Bars from Ina Garten

My lovely student assistant Anne Kenealy was the fortunate recipient last week of a "care package" from her mom. It contained, among other things, a box of individually wrapped, homemade granola bars. They were beautiful rectangles of nutritional chewy goodness, and she shared one with me. Now I can't wait to make my own. The great thing about granola bars is that they can be customized to your own tastes. Like nuts? Add those. More fruit? Do that. Craving chocolate? Throw in some semi-sweet chips. Anne sent me the recipe her mother uses, with the following notation:

"Here's my mom's granola bar recipe, which she said she got from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics Cookbook. She said, 'I usually only add apricots and sour cherries (from Trader Joes) instead of dates and cranberries. I've also made them with golden raisins if I'm out of apricots and sour cherries.'"

Thanks to Anne, and to Anne's mom, and once again to my favorite cook, Ina Garten.

Homemade Granola Bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt ina small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Photo credit: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2972411557_0a8e6889c9.jpg

Henry's 2nd Birthday Party

The big day has come and gone, and Henry had quite a happy 2nd birthday party.  He was excited to wake up from his nap and find balloons all over the house.  That made his day.  Everything else was icing on the cake. This was pretty simple as parties go, with friends, relatives, good food and my contribution: cake.  Luckily it was a beautiful day so kids enjoyed playing outside much of the time.  Katie  had a nice platter of cold-cuts and rolls, a home-made mac-n-cheese that she whipped up and kept warm in a crock pot, and lots of fresh fruit.  She made a nice cranberry lemonade.  Most of Henry's gifts were toys for outside, and he was thrilled with them.  There were trucks, tractors, sand toys, a t-ball set, and such.  Lots of fun.  My gift was the Anchors Away water table I wrote about yesterday. 

This morning I took Henry for a walk while Katie assembled the table, and when we came back it was outside and ready to go!  Henry completely immersed himself in play (and water) and was heart-broken when I carried his saturated and shivering little self into the house to dry off. 

I'd say it was a successful choice!