My love of eggplant began when I was a young child. My mother would peel and slice the eggplant, sprinkle with salt, and let rest on paper towels for 30-45 minutes to remove the bitterness. She would then flour, salt and pepper the eggplant, and brown the eggplant slices in hot oil. The hot eggplant slices were then put on a slice of bread and eaten as a sandwich. I STILL love eggplant this way but have searched for healthier ways to cook eggplant.
This spread is a new favorite. Rumor has it that the original recipe came from the Barefoot Contessa.
It is difficult for me to resist eating the cubed eggplant straight from the roasting pan but the majority usually makes it to the food processor. I often eat this as a side dish as well as a spread. Either way…you can’t beat the wonderful flavor of eggplant. YUM!
ROASTED EGGPLANT SPREAD
2 medium eggplant, peeled
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red (or sweet) onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1 inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Spread on greased baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing one time during the roasting process. Cool slightly.
Place the vegetables in a food processor. Add the tomato paste and pulse to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Optional: serve with crumbled feta cheese on crackers, bread or pita chips.
Posole (puh-SO-lay) is a dried hominy stew that I first experienced when I lived in Arizona in the late ’80s. Having Iowa roots and a true affection to anything corn, I was drawn to this wonderful, comforting Mexican stew. It’s not that much different from the hominy my Mother served in her Iowa farm kitchen. Posole is known to bring good luck for the New Year, or anytime you need a little luck (or just plain comfort food) in your life.
Bring in the New Year with a little luck and Posole. Your tummy will thank you!
Dried Posole (hominy)
POSOLE
2 cups dried posole
6 cups water (more as needed)
1 pound lean pork, cubed
1 teaspoon chile caribe
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
1 clove garlic
dash oregano
1 teaspoon saffron (optional and I do not use)
avocado slices for garnish
Brown pork cubes in a small amount of olive oil until starting to brown.
Browning Pork Cubes for Posole
Add water and add dried posole, chili caribe, onion, garlic, oregano.
Cover and cook over low heat until done (4+ hours). Check often and add water as needed. Add salt immediately before serving. Garnish with avocado slice. Serve with guacamole and chips, hot sauce or any other Mexican favorite sides.
Casseroles are a wonderful invention! My earliest recollection of casseroles revolves around potluck dinners at the church or school. When I was working and raising children, casseroles and the slow cooker saved me. I would mix up the casseroles the night before and refrigerate until I got home from work the following night. Throw the casserole in the oven and dinner is on its way.
The kids always liked this recipe (less the lettuce and salsa on their servings). What’s for dinner tonight…Taco Casserole coming up!
TACO CASSEROLE
1 pound group beef, booked and drained
1 can-15 oz. chili beans in sauce, undrained
1 can-8 oz. tomato sauce
2 tablespoons salsa
2 to 4 tsp chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups coarsely broken tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream
8 medium green onions sliced (1/2 cup)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
shredded lettuce and additional salsa if desired
Taco casserole ingredients
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
After browning/draining ground beef, stir in beans, tomato sauce, salsa, chili powder and garlic powder. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
Place tortilla chips in ungreased 2-quart casserole. Top with beef mixture. Spread with sour cream. Sprinkle with onions, tomato and cheese.
Taco Casserole ready for the oven
Bake uncovered 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Arrange additional tortilla chips around edge of casserole if desired. Serve with lettuce and additional salsa.
This recipe has become a favorite of my gal-pals and friends for appetizers and potlucks. Olive Tapenade would be a great appetizer for your New Year’s Gatherings. It is so easy, especially using my favorite dicing tool, the Vidalia Chop Wizard, to make easy work of the dicing, resulting in uniform pieces.
BLACK OLIVE TAPENADE
1 can pitted black (or kalmata) olives, drained 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 3 tablespoons capers, drained chopped red bell pepper 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 2 cloves garlic, minced assorted crackers, sliced French baguette
Finely chopped the black olives, walnuts and red peppers. Add olive oil, capers, rosemary, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic; stir together.
Spoon into serving dish. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig or sprinkle of diced red pepper.
Optional: spread crackers with goat cheese and top with tapenade.
Kolaches originated in the Slovak countries and our Smaha family brought this Bohemian tradition to America when they immigrated to Iowa in the late 1800s. This tradition has been passed down in our family for many generations. Kolaches are wonderful any time of the year but especially wonderful at Christmas. My family tradition is to have them Christmas morning while we are opening gifts and sipping coffee or hot chocolate.
Christmas Morning and Kolaches 1987
This picture was taken in Christmas morning 1987 with my Mother, Mother-In-Law, and oldest daughter, Megan. Let the Kolache feast begin!
My all-time favorite Kolache is cherry. This season I was fortunate to buy a large container of fresh frozen tart cherries that I’ve been saving for Kolache filling this Christmas. Other years, I have used canned cherry pie filling. I have made Kolaches from old-fashioned sweet dough recipes but a new favorite is the sweet dough recipe for the bread machine. In a pinch, I have used frozen bread dough, even though not sweet, is very good.
Traditional Kolache come in many flavors including the timeless Bohemian prune or poppy-seed fillings. My Mother’s Kolaches were fabulous and we waited with excitement while they baked, poised to snatch one as soon as they came out of the oven.
Everyone’s Kolaches are a tad different. My Mother didn’t add the crumb topping to her Kolaches but a wonderful farm neighbor, Nellie, made Prune Kolaches with crumb topping in her old wood stove. You haven’t lived until you’ve had Kolaches from a wood cooking stove. My Aunt Lora, baked Kolaches that she pinched closed at the top and sprinkled with sugar. Equally wonderful.
Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas and many cherished family traditions.
SWEET BREAD DOUGH (FOR BREAD MACHINE)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup less 1 T. water
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Add the ingredients in the order listed above.
Run the machine through the dough cycle. Remove and work on floured board to desired loaf, rolls, etc.
CHERRY FILLING
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup juice from cherries
3 cups pitted tart red cherries (water pack)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring
Combine 3/4 cup sugar with cornstarch. Stir in cherry juice.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, till mixture thickens and bubbles; cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining sugar, cherries, butter and food coloring and cook until thickened. Mixture will be very thick. Let stand while preparing bread dough for Kolaches.
PREPARING THE KOLACHES:
Pinch a piece of dough about the size of a walnut (or ping pong ball) and place on a greased baking pan. Cover with wax paper then a towel and let rise until double in size. When risen, push centers of balls down and fill with cherry filling (or filling of choice). Let rise again and bake at 400 degrees.
KOLACHE CRUMB TOPPING (Optional)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using margarine)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together (use a pastry blender) until crumbly and use as a topping for Kolaches or coffee cakes.
I first tasted Rum Cake in 1978 and have made it every year since then. I was living in St. Joseph, MO and picked up a recipe card at my local grocery/liquor store. That very worn but loved recipe card is still in my recipe box.
Original Bacardi Rum Cake Recipe Card
Original Bacardi Rum Cake Recipe
Rum Cake
My Oldest daughter, Megan, advises that she’s making two this year; one to have at home for her husband and guests and one to take to the in-laws for Christmas Eve. I’ll make one for our family to enjoy on Christmas Day, too. I may have to sneak a piece of rum cake for breakfast with a piping hot cup of coffee. And visions of Rum Cake dance in my head…
RUM CAKE
1 cup chopped pecans
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum
GLAZE:
1 stick margarine
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10″ tube or bundt pan.
Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan.
Mix first seven ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts.
Rum Cake Batter ready for the oven
Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert onto serving plate. Prick top of cake.
Make glaze by melting butter, then stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup rum.
Drizzle and smooth glaze evenly over top and sides of cake. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is all gone.
Fruit Bread conjures up visions of old-fashioned fruit cake that is hard as a rock and entire communities have contests to see how far they can chuck the cake. NOT the case with this Fruit Bread recipe. In fact, it is really a banana bread with chocolate chips and chopped cherries. It makes a festive bread to give or to serve during the holidays.
This recipe originated with my Aunt Joyce. When I was younger, she made it every Christmas and it quickly became a family, and personal tradition. Each year I make several batches and give to family and friends. I hope that you’ll try the bread and it will become one of your traditions!
FRUIT BREAD
Double or triple the recipe to make several loaves.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour (plus 2 T. if baking at high altitude)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup maraschino cherries
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs & beat well. Sift baking soda & flour; add to egg mixture alternatively with mashed bananas. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
When I was a little girl, my Mother and I would visit our elderly Norwegian friends, the Butlers, and feast on amazing home-baked goods. Anna would make Norwegian Kringla (pictured above), Lefse (potato flatbread), and other delights. I loved everything, but my favorite was Kringla. My Mother learned to make it and the recipe below is well over 100 years old. It quickly became a Christmas tradition and I’ve made it for my family. This year is no different. The slightly sweet dough with the slight anise taste is truly a delight. Kringla paired with a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate is heavenly.
Think I’ll head to the kitchen for a hot chocolate and a Kringla….YUM!
KRINGLA
I usually double the recipe and freeze several to enjoy long after the holidays are gone.
1 egg 1 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon Anise Extract 2 tablespoons melted butter 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 cups flour
Beat egg and sugar together. Add anise extract, melted butter, buttermilk and 1/2 of sour cream.
Kringla Step 1 ingredients blended together
Mix 1/2 teaspoon baking soda with remainder of sour cream and let sit for about 5 minutes.
Sour cream and baking soda after 5 minutes
Mix together flour, baking powder and remaining 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
Mix together flour mixture alternately adding egg mixture and sour cream mixture.
Dough will be very stiff and you will need to finish mixing with your hands.
Kringla dough
Chill dough overnight. Remove 1-2 cups of dough at a time so the dough remains chilled. Take a small piece of dough (size of a small walnut) and roll into a ball and then into a pencil shape. Shape the dough into a pretzel shape and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Kringla Rolled into BallDough rolled into pencil shapeKringla shaped and ready for the oven
Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven and then on top rack of oven for 2-3 minutes. Bottom of Kringla should be golden brown–tops may not be brown. (I have found that every oven is different. Mine tends to run hot so I decrease the amount of time on the bottom shelf to 3 minutes.)
Cool and store in airtight container. Great warm with butter and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.
Cinnamon hard candy is a holiday tradition that began in my household about 12 years ago. Daughter, Megan, received a bag of candy from a friend and we were instantly in love with it. We’ve made several batches every year to give to family and friends. The sumptuous smell of cinnamon lingers in your home for the day. The candy keeps for a long time, especially in the dry Colorado climate. It’s pretty to wrap up in festive bags for gifts.
Cinnamon Candy Gift Bag
CINNAMON HARD CANDY
1 cup white sugar
1 cup karo syrup
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon oil (usually behind the prescription counter at your grocery store)
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring powdered sugar
Ingredients for Cinnamon Hard Candy
Combine sugar, syrup and water in a sauce pan.
Boil without stirring, over medium-high heat until it reaches hard crack stage (300-310 degrees).
Once the candy starts to thicken and turn golden brown, watch carefully or it can scorch.
When done, remove from heat and quickly add cinnamon oil and food coloring
Pour into a metal pan that has been lined with about 1/4 to 1/3″ powdered sugar.
Cinnamon Hard Candy Mixture poured into pan with powdered sugar
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of candy immediately. Let cool until the edges start to firm up and then immediately begin to score the pieces from around the edges and keep cutting inward, in squares, as the candy hardens. This makes it easier to break into more uniform pieces once the candy has hardened.
Recently I discovered this recipe on the bag of mini peppers I bought at Costco. I’ve experimented with the recipe and love a variation of this recipe, combining goat cheese with the Savory Seasoning of Tarragon Shallot Citrus. The sweetness of the red peppers combined with the goat cheese and citrus blend is scrumptious. When the peppers come out of the oven, you can also top with half of pecan (or walnut). A very simple appetizer for your holiday parties.
Mini Red Peppers stuffed with herbed goat cheese
Mini Red Peppers
Softened goat cheese (or cream cheese)
1/4 cup snipped fresh herbs (chives, parsley, thyme, basil) or Savory Seasoning Tarragon Shallot Citrus Seasoning
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse red peppers and cut a slit down the side of the pepper. Remove seeds.
Combine softened cheese and herbs. Place a heaping teaspoon of the goat cheese mixture in each pepper. Bake for 20 minutes until peppers are soft-crisp and goat cheese is hot.
Optional: Serve with pecan or walnut half (or basil leaf) on each pepper.
Fork Lore 