My love of cooking began with Silver Palate Cookbook and Abby Mandel’s Cuisinart Classroom.

I’ve cooked for years, but the two cookbooks that really started whatever creativity in the kitchen that I have, began in the 1978 when hubby bought me my DLC-7 Cuisinart, the same workhorse that still sits in my kitchen to this day and has inspired me to make many wonderful dishes.

My first really great cookbook was Abby Mandel’s Cuisinart Classroom.  Oh, my, the woman was a wonder.  She introduced me to spices and herbs and food combinations I had never heard of, her recipes were phenomenal.  She’s gone now, but her recipes will live on forever.  You can find her cookbooks on eBay, they are wonderful for anyone who loves to cook.

And then came The Silver Palate, and I was off to the races.  I subsequently bought every cookbook that Julie Rosso and Sheila Lukins published, but none compared to the first.  The recipes are delightful, they never fail, and I still use that cookbook to this day. Some of our families favorite recipes came from the pages of The Silver Palate.   It’s battered and scarred, the pages are grease stained and torn, and I love it.

A few years ago, Ryan bought the same cookbook, and then had me go through it and note in his everything that I wrote in mine.

So regardless of all the wonderful cookbooks that came later, these will always be the most special.  Such good memories…. ~ Jan

This is a great twist on an old favorite.  My friend, Barb, gave me this recipe this summer, and it’s a keeper.  I normally peel the cucumbers, but I used English cucumbers in the photo above, so I left the peeling on.  This is such a good recipe, the herbs give it a fresh taste.  I think you will all enjoy it.

~ Jan

1 cup vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp ground mustard

Close lid on small bowl and shake until well mixed.

Pour over 6 cucumbers peeled and diced and 1 medium onion sliced

1 9 inch pie shell, baked

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder (Carnation)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Combine dry milk, sugar and water with butter in blender jar.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in lemon juice and chill.

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries or leave them whole if you prefer.
1 Tablespoon sugar, optional

Spread chilled mixture over bottom of prepared pie shell.  Arrange strawberries on top.  Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tablespoon sugar, optional

Beat cream until almost stiff.  Gradually add sugar.  Beat until stiff.  Spread over fruit filling.

Fresh mint leaves"
Fresh strawberries

Garnish each serving with a mint leaf and a strawberry.

Source:  The Elsah Landing Restaurant

ingredients

• Pastry for a double-crust pie
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups fresh blackberries
• 2 cups sliced, peeled apples
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut up

directions

1. Prepare pastry and divide in half. Form each half into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll one ball of the pastry into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the rolled-out pastry to a 9-inch pie plate.
2. In large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, tapioca, and cinnamon. Add the blackberries and apple slices. Toss gently until coated. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Spoon filling into pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Trim pastry even with the edge of the pie plate. Moisten the edge of the pastry with water.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining pastry into a 12-inch circle. Cut slits in the pastry to let steam escape. Place pastry on the filling. Trim the top crust to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry and crimp edge. Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning.
5. Bake in a 375 degree F. oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes more or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 8 servings.

nutrition facts

Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 3, Calories (kcal) 419, Sodium (mg) 165, Carbohydrate (gm) 57, Protein (gm) 3, Cholesterol (mg) 8, Fat, total (gm) 21

Source:  Midwest Living Magazine

You can find lots of Ree’s Recipes on Land O’ Lakes Site

This is Midwestern fare at it’s finest.  The kind of recipe you would eat at a potluck dinner or a church social, it’s just wonderful and so easy.  This is a keeper, a recipe you will make again and again.

2 heads of raw broccoli
1 onion, diced
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese (I grate my own from a block, it’s fresher tasting)
1/2 lb. cooked, crispy diced bacon (I use more, sometimes a pound of cooked bacon)

Dressing:

1 cup Mayonnaise
scant 1/2 cup Splenda
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Cut the broccoli into florets, using only a little bit of the stem, you don’t want the woody stalk.  I separate mine into small, bite size pieces.  Then stir in the onion, cheese and cooled, cooked bacon.
Whisk the mayonnaise, Splenda and vinegar until smooth and pour over the salad ingredients.  The salad softens as it marinades, this is plenty of dressing.  Don’t add salt or pepper, it doesn’t need it, the bacon gives it the salty flavor.

Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, overnight if possible.  You will love this recipe, it’s so good.

~ Jan

 

It was fast, easy to prepare and so yummy.  I use a Bullet Blender to blend my eggs and milk, I think it makes the eggs fluffier.

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees

I sauteed the potato separately, as I’m eating low carb, and hubby isn’t, so I prepared his potato and only put it on half of the frittata.  Worked for us ;o)

I sliced a large potato thinly, added a bit of salt and pepper and sauteed it in a 12” iron skillet in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until tender.  I put on a lid, it took about 10-12 minutes.

Then I removed the potato and and to the skillet I added a bit more olive oil. a small diced onion, half of a chopped green pepper, half of a zucchini cut into small dice, a handful of sliced fresh mushrooms, and a slice of ham, diced.

I sauteed this until veggies were tender, added a clove of minced garlic (I always add garlic at the end of cooking time as it burns easily), let that cook for a minute, then I added a large handful of fresh spinach, put on the lid, took it off the heat and let it sit for the spinach to wilt.

Meanwhile, I cracked 9 eggs into my bullet blender, added salt and pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of half and half and blended it.

Then to the skillet with the wilted veggies, I sprinkled on a cup of sharp cheddar cheese, then I poured on the egg mixture, and finally I put the sliced potatoes on hubby’s half of the frittita.

Into the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes.  Just open the oven door and jiggle the skillet handle, and when the mixture quits jiggling, it’s set and ready to eat.

This is good leftover, also good at room temperature.  You can vary the fillings, add cooked bacon or sausage, green chiles, fresh asparagus or a diced tomato, it’s so versatile and so easy, just add fruit and/or salad for a quick summer meal.  Cooking it in the oven makes it simple, too.

And it’s fluffy, the Bullet Blender, remember.  Awesome little machine!  Sorry about the picture quality, I’m an amateur, not a professional.  Sometimes I take good pictures, sometimes not, this was one of the nots.  ;o)

If Pioneer Woman approves of it, I’m on it!

Hope they are paying her the big bucks for the commercials, too.  Go Ree!!!

And here are some of her recipes…

This recipe is from Williams Sonoma, but I tweaked it by adding a lemon glaze and more lemon to the batter.  You will love these muffins, they’re light, lemony, and yummy!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg – I omitted this
2 eggs
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup milk
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
I added the juice of a lemon to the batter, as well as the zest
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions:
Prepare the muffin pan
Preheat an oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. (I didn’t have liners, I just sprayed the muffin tins with Pam, it worked fine

Mix the batter
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until blended. Whisk in the milk, butter and lemon zest. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir until just evenly moistened. Gently fold in the raspberries until just evenly distributed.

Bake the muffins
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them three-fourths full. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then turn the muffins out onto the rack. Let cool briefly and serve. Makes 12 muffins.

Note:  I filled the muffin tins almost full, and used 12 tins.  It worked great filling the tins completely, they crowned nicely and didn’t run over the edges.

Lemon Glaze

1 cup of sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Lemon zest from the rind
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 Tablespoon milk

Put all ingredients in food processor and process until thin consistency.  You want to spoon this on the muffins while they are warm, and let it run down the sides.  You may have to adjust, adding a bit more milk if your glaze is too thick.

I put the muffins on a cookie drying rack that sits on paper towel, so that the excess just runs off.

These are such good muffins, perfect for a summer breakfast with fresh fruit.

We made this for July 4th, and it was absolutely yummy.  Let it sit overnight, the flavors mellow, it’s totally light, refreshing and really simple to make.

3 bottles of Pinot Grigio
6 ounces of frozen lemonade concentrate, undiluted
6 ounces of frozen orange juice, undiluted
Orange Slices
Strawberries, Sliced
Peaches Sliced

That’s it, how easy is this?  Just stir together in a large container, refrigerate overnight and enjoy.

And since everybody likes a different sweetness to their drinks, this was tart, so we just added a packet of two of Splenda to our glasses instead of adding sugar to the entire batch.

It was just perfect….

~ jan