Cooking for Seven

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: : Sweet Onion Dip : :

Skip the prefab dips in the market; this cooked Vidalia dip is beyond better. The onions are subdued to begin with; cooking them concentrates their sugars for extra sweetness.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Vidalia onions (1 pound total), finely chopped
• Sea salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped chives
• Potato chips, bagel chips, or crackers, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
2. In a medium bowl, combine onions, sour cream, cream cheese, vinegar, and chives; season with salt and pepper. Chill dip until slightly thickened, about 1 hour; or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Serve with your choice of potato chips, bagel chips, or crackers.

Makes about 2 cups

Tags: Dips & Spreads, Onion

I while ago I saw an article in Martha Stewart Living, February 2007 about English puddings. I immediately wanted to make some of the delicious-looking recipes. So we made Eve’s Pudding. I was quite pleased with the results, as was everyone else. Even Dad, the ultimate food critic in our family, said it was good. Keeping with the British tradition, we served our pudding with a vanilla sauce. It was the perfect dessert for a cool, wet fall evening!

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: : Eve’s Pudding : :

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Printable Page

Ingredients:

For the Pudding:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened, plus more for baking dish
• 1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• Salt
• 1 3/4 pounds baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 3/4 cup demerara, Sucanat, or rapadura
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup whole milk

For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Pudding:

1) Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9″ square baking dish; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2) Put apples, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl; toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over top; set aside.

3) Put butter and 6 tablespoons sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.

4) Spread batter over apples, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until batter is cooked through and juices are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, as the pudding is cooling, make the sauce:

1) Blend maple syrup, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Combine milk and egg yolks. Gradually stir into sugar mixture.

2) Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm over the pudding.

The original recipe is supposed to serve 8-10, but seven hungry people didn’t find it hard to lick the pan clean.

Tags: Apples, Foreign, Fruit, Pudding

Grilling season is just about over. But we like to eat barbecue sauce all through the year: barbecue pizza, in a chicken panini sandwich, or just slathered on pork roast. Here is a recipe that doesn’t require chopping vegetables and hours of cooking, just a few special ingredients.

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:: Smoky BBQ Sauce ::

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 0z.) can tomato paste
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Store in the refrigerator.

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Tags: Sauce

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:: Graham Crackers ::

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Adapted from King Arthur Flour

• 2 cups (8 ounces) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/4 cup Sucanat
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey
• 2 to 3 tablespoons (1 to 1 1/2 ounces) milk (approx.)
• additional milk for glaze
• cinnamon-sugar (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, sucanat, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat egg till light, then add butter, honey and 2 tablespoons milk. Stir into dry ingredients until you have a fairly stiff dough, adding additional milk if necessary. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill until firm, about 1 hour (or longer, if it’s more convenient).

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently until it holds together. Roll dough out till it’s about 1/16-inch thick; make sure rolling surface is well-floured, or you’ll have trouble transferring crackers to baking sheet. Alternately, you can use a pasta machine to roll out your crackers. This makes the whole process a lot easier.

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Cut dough into 3-inch squares, or use a cookie cutter to cut into any shape you please. Prick each square several times with a fork, and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Brush the tops with milk, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if you’re so inclined, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crackers are lightly browned. Remove crackers from oven, transfer to a wire cooling rack, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 2 dozen graham crackers.

Tags: Snacks, Whole Wheat

What a wonderful match of fall flavors! A while back Mom bought two lugs of pears, and we have been patiently waiting for them to ripen. Now they’re ready, and we have to deal with those two lugs of pears. NO problem! We froze some, dehydrated others, and turned them into jam. And I couldn’t help but put them into this scrumptious loaf!

: : Honey Pecan Pear Bread : :

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups (9.5 oz) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled pears
• 2/3 cups chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8 x 4 x 2-in. loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine honey and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom and cinnamon. Gently fold into the wet ingredients just into moist. Fold in the pears and pecans.

3. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 60-75 min or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with butter, cream cheese, pear jam, or a combination.

Tags: Fruit, Honey, Nuts, Pear, Quick Bread, Spice, Whole Wheat