While we leave most of them for the birds, we enjoy tasting the light, slightly sweet crunchiness of these amazing fruits!
Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
Eggs are not just for breakfast ~
June 3rd, 2012 by pattiebell
Lately I have been enjoying the virtue of a fried egg or two on top of, well, just about anything. Pasta, a corn tortilla slightly crisped with some melted cheese, and salads. This one takes its inspiration from Salade Lyonnaise, with some ingredients I had on hand. Arugula, red onion, smoked salmon, roasted potatoes, and eggs over easy. Poached eggs are the French tradition, and once I had a marvelous version with a poached egg that had been lightly battered and fried somehow. I love the combination of cold crisp greens and warm runny yoke together. For the greens I simply drizzled some good EVOO and a squeeze of lemon, my go-to salad dressing these days. A nice summer supper, good and good for you!
Peppermint Kisses
December 20th, 2011 by pattiebell
These little delights are on the cover of December’s Bon Appetit magazine. I thought I’d give them a try.
Light, minty meringues, with their cheerful red swirls…what’s not to like?!
I just followed the recipe. Here’s the link. Lots of other good cookie offerings there as well.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/12/peppermint-meringues
Mexican Wedding Cakes
September 6th, 2011 by pattiebell
This is one of my favorite simple traditional cookies recipes!
1 C. butter, room temperature
1/2 C. powdered sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
2 C. unbleached flour
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
1 and 1/2 C. finely chopped toasted pecans
1 and 1/2 C. powdered sugar for rolling and dusting
Cream butter and 1/2 C. powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Sift together flour, cinnamon and salt. Beat into butter mixture until just blended. Add the nuts and mix until evenly distributed. Press dough into a ball, flatten and chill 45-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Form dough into 1 inch balls and place an inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 16-18 minutes until set and golden brown on the bottom. Allow to rest on baking sheet for just 5 minutes. (If cookies cool too much put back in the oven for a couple of minutes to reheat.) Roll while warm to coat in powdered sugar and cool on wire racks. When cooled dust again with powdered sugar.
Makes about 3 dozen. Enjoy!
Simply Sublime Shortbread
August 2nd, 2011 by pattiebell
Sometimes simple is simply the best! I have added everything from sesame oil and seeds to fresh rosemary and orange zest to this shortbread, but sometimes this unadorned basic recipe is all you need!
Cream 2 sticks room temperature butter with 1/2 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Gradually blend in about 2 cups unbleached flour until dough pulls together and is soft and smooth and no longer sticky. Form into a ball and cut in half. Pat each half into a buttered 9 inch pie pan until flat and even. With the tines of a fork score the edges all around. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until golden. As soon as you remove the pans from the oven, cut each into 12 wedges and poke the decorative holes with fork tines. Allow to cool. Can be stored in pans tightly wrapped for a few days at room temperature.
You can experiment with adding different extracts, zests, spices and nuts for a variety of flavors and textures. Or not. Either way, enjoy the buttery crunchiness of this lovely traditional shortbread!
Fresh Berries with Yogurt in Filo Cups
June 6th, 2011 by pattiebell
To make the Filo Cups simply stack 4 to 6 squares filo dough, buttered and sprinkled with sugar, and press into muffin tin cups. Bake at 375 degrees until crisp and golden.
COCOA CHILE COINS
July 5th, 2010 by pattiebell
THIS COOKIE RECIPE CAME TOGETHER AS I WAS TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO INCORPORATE MESQUITE FLOUR INTO SOME OF MY BAKING.
SIFT TOGETHER: 1 C FLOUR, ½ C MESQUITE FLOUR, ¾ C UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER, ¼ t SALT, ½ t CAYENNE POWDER, 2 t CINNAMON, ¼ t CLOVES
CREAM TOGETHER UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY (3 MIN. IN ELECTRIC MIXER): 1 C SUGAR, ¾ C BUTTER
MIX IN: 1 LARGE EGG, 1 ½ t VANILLA
ADD FLOUR MIXTURE. MIX UNTIL JUST COMBINED. TURN OUT DOUGH ONTO PARCHMENT PAPER AND ROLL INTO LOG 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER. ROLL LOG IN THE PARCHMENT PAPER. REFRIGERATE AT LEAST 1 HOUR OR OVERNIGHT.
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350. REOMVE LOG FROM PARCHMENT. LET SOFTEN ABOUT 5 MIN. ROLL LOG IN RAW OR SANDING SUGAR, PRESSING DOWN TO ADHERE TO DOUGH. TRANSFER LOG TO CUTTING BOARD. SLICE INTO ¼ INCH ROUNDSNN. PLACE 1 INCH APART ON PARCHMENT LINED COOKIE SHEETS.
BAKE 12 MINUTES AT 350, UNTIL SET AND RICH BROWN. COOL COMPLETELY ON WIRE RACKS. MAKES ABOUT 4 DOZEN.
NOTES: IF YOU DO NOT HAVE MESQUITE FLOUR YOU CAN USE ALL REGULAR FLOUR. TRY USING OTHER KINDS OF CHILE, LIKE CHIPOTLE, WHICH HAS A NICE SMOKY FLAVOR, OR MILDER CHILE COLORADOS.
Molasses Oat Cookies
July 5th, 2010 by pattiebell
These simple crunchy cookies are packed with flavor and super easy to prepare! I felt they could handle the addition of whole wheat flour, but you can use all white flour if you wish.
3/4 C white flour, 3/4 C whole wheat flour, 1 C sugar, 1 t baking soda, ½ t salt, 1 t ground ginger, ½ t ground cloves
½ C melted butter, 1 large egg, ¼ C molasses
¾ C oats
¼ C sugar for rolling
Heat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Sift first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add next 3 wet ingredients. Mix well. Add oats and stir to incorporate.
Scoop dough into balls using 1 oz. scoop. Roll balls in sugar and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on racks. Makes about 18 cookies.
Biscochitos
May 18th, 2010 by pattiebell
After tasting these great cookies in Taos, NM, where they are the official 
state cookie, I set out to find a recipe and prepare them for my guests here at the Ranch House. Traditionally they are made with lard, but I found a good approach using butter instead. This recipe is a redux of a few I considered, combining the best elements: plenty of anise seed, orange zest, layering the dough a bit, and dusting with cinnamon sugar.
Pulse in food processor until mixed: 2 C. flour, 3/4 C. sugar, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/8 t. salt, and 1 T. ground anise seed. Add 12 T. cold butter cut into bits and pulse until mixture resembles course meal. Add 1 large egg, 1 t. vanilla, 2 T. ice water, the zest of 1 orange and pulse until ball starts to form. Remove to floured surface and knead a few times. Roll dough out with rolling pin, folding over and lightly re-rolling a few times. Form into disc, wrap in film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Roll out on floured surface to 1/4 in. thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets, sprinkle tops of cookies with 1/2 t. cinnamon mixed with 2 T. sugar and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes until set, slightly colored on edges but not brown. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
I love that New Mexico has a State Cookie. That is a state with it’s priorities straight!
