2017 Bake Off Winning Entry - Banana Puddin'

Christine's entry this year in the Maman's Annual Bake Off was this delicious Banana Puddin' recipe prepared in individual loaf pans, which is key.  This is how it is prepared at Lillie Q's in Destin, Florida, where Christine loves to vacation.  She said she prepared the meringue topping with a container of all egg whites, which is so much easier.  Christine won the grand prize trophy for the second consecutive year!  A great dessert maker and baker!  Well deserved!  



3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flour
2 cups scalded milk
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Small box Nilla Wafers
3 - 4 bananas

Mix sugar, salt and flour.  Add gradually to scalded milk.  Cook 15 minutes in a double boiler, stirring constantly until thick.  Stir in egg yolks and cook 2 minutes.  Add lemon juice and cool.

Line a small casserole dish with wafers. (This is there you use the mini loaf pans).  Pour custard over layers using a knife to help custard drain to the bottom.

Top with meringue (2 stiffly beaten egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar).

Bake in 325 degree oven for 20 minutes.  


Serve after it reaches room temperature.

Christine and Olive, the 2017 Maman's BakeOff Winners!  

Olive and cousin Madison won the kids division for their Emoji Poopie Brownies, recipe to follow.  

A fun time was had by all and the desserts were enjoyed by everyone!

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This weeks installment of Slow Cooker Sunday is a recipe for a thick and creamy soup that i adapted from the Little Spice Jar blog.  I think that the great flavor is because of the 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe's Seasoning Salute. I cooked it for 4 hours on high.  Serve with crusty bread.  

1 cup uncooked wild rice blend (I used Lundberg Wild Blend Rice found at my  
                                               local grocery store).  
1 - 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
8 cups chicken broth (I used Swanson's Organic Free Range Chicken Broth)
2 tablespoons Trader Joe's Seasoning Salute

Roux:
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half and half

salt and pepper, to taste*
     *I added 2 teaspoons and 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Rinse the rice (using a strainer) under running water.  

Place the uncooked rice, chicken breast, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, 
bay leaves, chicken broth, and the seasoning blend in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or on the low setting for 7-8 hours. 

Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Return chicken back to the slow cooker.

In the meantime, make the thickening roux by melting the butter in a saucepan.  
On low heat, add the flour and whisk until mixture is smooth.  Whisk in the half and half and continue to whisk allowing mixture to thicken and become creamy.

Add this creamy mixture to the slow cooker, stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Remove bay leaves before serving.

New England Creamy Clam Chowder

I found this recipe on the Food Network website courtesy of Dave Lieberman and it received all rave reviews.  We like a slightly thicker chowder so I modified the flour and also opted for only vegetable broth and clam juice along with fresh, not canned, clams.  I found these clams in the frozen seafood section of Whole Foods. The results are fantastic, perfect thickness and tender potatoes and clams.  A perfect chowder for a Sunday evening, 17 degree winter day!  

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/3 cup flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup clam juice (8 oz. bottle) plus juice from reserved clams
1 pt. (16 oz.) Raw Chopped Sea Clams, drained, reserving
     clam juice (I purchased these at Whole Foods)
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1 lb. (4 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into
     1/2 inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute until softened, mixing often.

Stir in the flour to distribute evenly.  Add the vegetable broth, clam juice and reserved juice from the clams, heavy cream, bay leaves and potatoes and stir to combine.  Add the fresh clams.  Season with salt (approximately 1 teaspoon) and freshly ground pepper (approximately 1/4 teaspoon).    

Bring to a very low simmer, stirring consistently (the mixture will thicken) and cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender.  Watch carefully, stir often, so mixture doesn't burn.  

Remove bay leaves before serving.  

Serve with oyster crackers.

Triple Berry Crisp

A new recipe that Kerry made yesterday for her family that she found on "The Baking Fairy Blog."  Her version, she doubled the crust as she does with almost all of her crisp recipes.  She used strawberries, blueberries, blackberry and raspberries and baked it in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  

From the last photo, it looks like it was a big hit with her family.

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:

1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberry
1 pound strawberries, diced
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an 9 inch pie dish or 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.  

In a large bowl, mix together the berries, sugar, flour and lemon juice.  Pour into the pie dish and set aside for now.

In a small nonstick saucepan, heat the butter over medium high heat until completely melted.  Turn the heat down to medium low and start whisking as the butter bubbles and fizzes.  As soon as it turns to medium to dark golden and starts to smell nutty, take it off the heat.  You don't want it to burn.

Whisk in the brown sugar and cinnamon, then add in the flour, pecans and oats. Mixture should be clumpy.

Sprinkle the streusel on top of the berry mixture and place in the oven.  Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Honey Salmon in Foil

A super easy weeknight meal that we served with steamed Haricots Verts from Trader Joe's.  Our variation is that we grilled it in a homemade foil baking sheet, sprayed with olive oil to keep the fish from sticking rather than baking it.  Grill on medium high heat for 10 minutes or until cooked through.  

1/4 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 pounds salmon fillets  (1 pound is enough for 2 people)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowls, whisk together honey, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.

Place salmon onto prepared baking sheet and fold up all four sides of the foil.  Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon.  Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.

Place into oven and bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Candied Cashews

Kerry made these today and sent me the recipe from the blog "Sweet As A Cookie."  She said she wanted to try a recipe with cashews after making the Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts which were made with pecans and almonds. After making them she said that "I need to make them for Dad."  So, that's what I will do this weekend as his favorite nuts are cashews and he will love the sweetness and crunch of them.  Kerry said they were "amazing."

1 large egg white
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups whole raw cashews (unsalted)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl beat egg white until stiff.

In another small bowl combine sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Add your cashews to the stiff egg whites and toss to coat.

Once coated, add in your sugar mixture and mix until evenly coated.

Spread out the cashews evenly onto the parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes and turn cashews over (to bake evenly).   Bake for another 15 minutes.

Let nuts cool on the pan.

Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki Bowls

Slow Cooker Sunday has returned for the first day of 2017.  I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs "Gimme Some Oven" and made it today.  I love a good Teriyaki Chicken over sticky rice (Wow Bao Chicago) and this is a perfect homemade recipe using a homemade teriyaki sauce. 

I made Jasmati rice and molded it to serve in an individual bowl topped with the 
teriyaki chicken. 

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped white onion (I used sweet)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
(Optional toppings:  sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds)

Add the chicken to the bottom of your slow cooker in a single layer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic, onion, honey, soy, rice wine vinegar, ginger and black pepper until combined.  Pour the mixture on top of the chicken breasts.

.

Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl and shred it using two forks.  Transfer the remaining teriyaki sauce from the slow cooker to a medium saucepan (I used my wok).  

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved and no longer lumpy.  Pour the cornstarch mixture into the teriyaki sauce mixture, and whisk to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, and let boil for about 1-2 minutes or until thickened.  

Remove from heat and add the shredded chicken to the teriyaki sauce.  Toss to combine.  Keep on very low heat.  Serve over rice.

Vanilla Glaze for Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Here is the glaze, or cookie icing, to decorate the Sugar Cookie Cutouts.  Use it as an icing or drizzle over cookie and bars.  You can see the bowls of icing right by Levi.  He had the best time and decorated so many cookies!

For multiple colors, divide the glaze into small bowls and add different colors to each bowl.  Give everyone a small basting brush or spoon for decorating.  Be sure to have crystals, sprinkles and any other cookie decorating items you can buy at the grocery store.  Because this can get messy, use paper plates to decorate your cookie and if plate gets messy with the icing, use a new one!  Makes it so much fun.

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food coloring

Place the powdered sugar in a bowl.  Add the cream and vanilla and stir for about 1 minute.  Divide the glaze into smaller bowls, add 1-2 drops of food coloring and stir until uniform in color. 

You will need to make multiple bowls for additional colors.  

Any Holiday Sugar Cookie Cutouts

I just realized I didn't post this recipe and should have in December for the holidays.  Valentine's Day is approaching and so is St. Patrick's Day, then Easter for making cutout cookies and decorating them.  Kerry hosted a Hanukkah Cookie decorating get together and she made 2 batches of these cookies along with the Vanilla Glaze recipe that follows. Everyone who came participated in decorating cookies.  This is my grandson Levi and his Grandpa Paul with their beautiful plates of decorated cookies  Levi was so proud of his work!  When my children were young we had the same Christmas Cookie decorating day, after the kids got bored Paul and I decorated the rest.  Great memories!  

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (Kerry left this out as she doesn't like the flavor).

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and granulated sugar beat until well blended about a minute.  Add the egg and vanilla and almond extracts and beat on low seed until the egg is blended in.  Scrape down the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.  

Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated.  

Divide the dough in half and press each piece into a 6" disk.  Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place 1 chilled dough disk on a floured work surface.  Using a floured rolling pin

roll out the disk to about 1/4 inch thick.  Using cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible.  Place on cookie sheet, 1" apart.  Repeat with remaining dough.  

Bake for 10-13 minutes**  Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

**I usually bake my cookies on the low side meaning 10 minutes, Kerry did this too they bake evenly and do not brown.  

Judy's Favorite Quiche

I have made this quiche for years, never tried any others because this is easy, takes little time to prep and always turns out perfectly.  I can't remember what cookbook I found this in but I remember it simply called "Any-Kind-Of-Quiche."  In winter I make it with ham and broccoli, in spring shrimp and asparagus, bacon for a true Quiche Lorraine, sometimes diced turkey and cheddar.**   Any combination works, even cheeses, although I prefer freshly grated Emmental cheese (Swiss).

 Crust:

3 ounces Philadelphia brand cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup flour

Mix all ingredients in a food processor (or mixer) until dough just forms a soft ball.  Press into a 10" quiche dish bringing dough up the sides.  Chill while preparing filing.

Filling:

1 cup cooked broccoli flowerets
1 cup diced ham 
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups Half and Half
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Spread the cooked broccoli evenly over the chilled crust.  Follow with the diced ham and cheese.

Beat together eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg, pour into crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes (45 is perfect) until set.  Test by inserting knife in center of quiche to see if it comes out clean.  

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  This allows the quiche to set and cut easily.

**Other ideas are spinach, italian sausage and mozzarella; 
                           zucchini, onion, diced tomatoes with monterey jack cheese. 

Serve with a simple salad with a simple vinaigrette dressing.