• 1.5 cups melted clarified butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 40 leaves phillo dough
• 4 cups finely ground nuts – your preference
• cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, etc to taste
• 1.5 cups evaporated cane juice (sugar)
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp brown rice syrup or honey

Mix butter and oil.  Cut dough to the shape of the baking pan by laying the pan on top of the stacked dough and cutting off excess.

Combine the finely ground nuts with spices.

Butter the inside of the baking dish.  Gently place one leaf of dough into the pan, fitting it carefully along the bottom of the pan (the dough is very fragile, so fold them to pick up and unfold them into the pan).  Brush with butter and oil mixture.  Continue placing sheets of phillo one at a time, buttering each one, up to 10 sheets.

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp of nut mixture on the tenth leaf.  Open 2 more sheets of dough on top of nuts, buttering each.  Repeat with the nut mixture and two more sheets until all are used up.  As soon as the last 2 sheets are used, brush with butter and oil.

With a very sharp knife, lightly score the top of the pastry lengthwise into four then draw the knife across diagonally to make diamond-shapes.  Bake at 325F for 90 minutes.

Combine the lemon, syrup and sugar in a saucepan.  Cook until the sugar dissolves.  Boil for 5 minutes, or until a drop forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water.  Remove from heat and stir water into syrup.  Cool.

When the pastry is baked, remove from oven and pour the syrup over it.  Cool to room temp and serve.

Christmas is almost here, and it’s a snow day today to boot – which this week seems to equal a longer Christmas break!  What’s a house full of girls to do?

Bake cookies, of course!

Growing up we had a recipe for a short while that was simply labeled “Susan’s Sugar Cookies.”  However, I can personally attest to the fact that there was nothing simplistic about them.  They were sublime.  What was the secret?  I personally think it may have been the lemon extract, but I can’t guarantee that, as I added it to other recipes with less spectacular results.

I have been searching for that recipe (or one like it) for decades.  You see, we lost the recipe card somewhere along the way, and no one else seemed to have it either.

I think I may have found a worthy substitute today.

These cookies can be called sublime… delicious… moist, thick, wonderful sugar cookies.  With just a hint of lemon, of course

What is their secret?  Well, the hint of lemon helps, but I really think it’s the cream cheese.  It’s not much, but it added a certain tang and moistness that really makes them delish.

And I will now share the recipe with you, because they are just too good to keep to myself.  Seriously.

Lemon Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 cups evaporated cane sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• fresh zest of 1 lemon OR 1 tsp lemon extract*
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar and cream cheese in a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

Cover the bowl or wrap the dough in logs and chill for at least 3 hours.  Overnight is better.

Preheat oven to 390F.  Roll dough out on a floured surface or a pastry mat.  If you like a crisper cookie, roll it to 1/4 inch thick.  For moister cookies, roll to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into shapes and place onto a making sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Bake for 5-8 minutes. For more moist cookies, take them out just before they “look done.”  Like as soon as the timer goes off the first time.

Try to restrain yourself and let them cool… or not your choice.

If you feel so inclined, decorate them with icing.  Royal icing is the typical topping, but I think a cream cheese frosting would be a lovely addition.  You know, cream cheese & heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks and smeared all over the top of everything… err, these wonderful cookies.

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*yes, I highly recommend using fresh zest – get yourself a good microplane zester and use it often.  I hated lemon zest until I started using the microplane… and now, all I can say is wow!  The amazing flavor that can be added with zest!  If your zester is fine enough, you will never find yourself chewing the zest in the final product.  Go now & get one!

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No, admittedly I couldn’t restrain myself and had a cookies straight out of the oven.  I had to taste test them warm for you, right?  Of course I did.  And I can tell you from personal experience that they are delicious warm.  I’m sure they are good cold too… I have to go hold the girls back from gobbling them all up before they cool.  Or is that the other way around…

Lightly lemon-y, thick and moist.  Just the way a sugar cookie should be.

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One must give proper credit – that is an unwritten rule, is it not?  Following a series of links in my frantic searching today, I came upon a fabulous site that I will be sure to bookmark and visit often.  I invite you to also visit often, as I think this site is a winner.  Susan over at http://doughmesstic.blogspot.com/ is the author of these delicious cookies.  Thank you!  you have made me a very happy mommy today!

For the big party last weekend I made the meat sauce… but I also made a vegetarian sauce for those that don’t eat so much meat. As today is Tami’s birthday, and she requested the recipe, here it is!

• olive oil
• 1 med. sweet onion
• 5 cloves garlic – minced
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with basil OR garlic and onion
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 large-ish zucchini
• 4 mushrooms
• 8 carrots
• fresh basil & oregano – to taste

Put some water on to boil in a small saucepan. Set up a small bowl to one side of it with ice water in it.

Drizzle olive oil in a large saucepan. Finely dice the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until the onions begin to caramelize.

When the water begins to boil, add the tomatoes, one at a time. Blanche them until the skin begins to crack. Move them from the boiling water to the ice water, and transfer them into another bowl or your cutting board. The skins should peel right off.

Dice the tomatoes and add them to the onions and garlic. Let them cook down for about 3 minutes and then add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the crushed tomatoes.

Peel and chop the carrots and add them to the pot. Quarter the zucchini and add it to the sauce as well. Chop the mushrooms and add them in.

Roll the oregano and basil up like a cigar and slice the roll thinly. Add these to the pot.

I usually crash some black pepper in as well, and a pinch of salt.

Serve over pasta al dente!

**if you leave out the crushed tomatoes, this will almost work as a ratatouille dish, or serve it on top of sliced baguettes for a new spin on bruschetta!

I grew up making spaghetti sauce in a large pot. You make a big batch, because that’s how you can get all of the good stuff in. Then you freeze the excess. My husband calls my sauce “Spaghetti for 40 people” because I make such a big batch. But he can’t deny that it is good!

So, if you are having a large group of people over and need something to feed them all, or you are planning ahead and want to have a yummy, meaty sauce on hand for busy school nights, this is a recipe for you.

Give yourself plenty of time too. This sauce needs to be made a day in advance so all of the flavors can have a party together and really mix it up. I usually pull the sausage links and ribs out to serve either as a side dish or for a completely separate meal.

And yes, it is FILLED with meat and veggies! The way it should be.

• olive oil
• 2 medium onions – diced
• 1 medium bulb garlic – minced
• flour
• 1 package stew meat
• 1 package mild Italian sausage links
• 1 package ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 small package ground turkey
• pork ribs

• red wine
• balsamic vinegar

• 12 roma tomatoes
• 4 – 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes (with basil is a bonus!)
• 2 small cans of tomato paste
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic, onion and basil
• 10 mushrooms – sliced
• 8 medium carrots – chopped
• 2 medium zucchini – halved and chopped

Herbs – to taste

• oregano
• basil
• savory
• white pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• rosemary

Yes, there are LOTS of ingredients in here.

I generally use a large saute pan at this stage, and pour everything into the large stock pot as it is browned.

Drizzle enough olive oil in your stock pot to just cover the bottom when warm. Put it on low heat.

In a large saute pan, drizzle olive oil and saute onions until translucent. Add the minced garlic and caramelize the garlic and onions. Deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar or red wine. Pour this into the stock pot.

Add 1 can of crushed tomatoes to keep the onions from further browning. Fill the can with warm water and use a spatula to make sure that you get all of the tomato off of the sides. Pour this into the stock pot as well. Do this with each can you use.

Add a little more olive oil to the saute pan. Fill it with sausage links. While those are browning, dredge the stew meat in the flour to coat it. I generally cut the sausage links in half at least once they are browned. It depends on if you are planning to pull them out or not. If you are leaving them in, cut them into coins (approx. 1/2-inch wide slices) and brown the insides. When they are browned, pour them into the stock pot.

Deglaze the pan again.

In a medium saucepan, bring some water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and set it aside.

Add some more olive oil and brown the stew meat. When all sides have been browned, add them to the stock pot.

Your water should be boiling now. Dip your roma tomatoes into the boiling water for about 30-60 seconds, or until the skin begins to split. Dunk them immediatly into the ice water. Move them to an empty bowl – the skins should slip right off. Discard the skins.

Brown the ribs, keeping them on the bone. These will be pulled out later and used as a separate dish. Trust me, it’s good. Toss them, bone and all, into the stock pot. Deglaze the pan.

While the ribs are cooking, dice the tomatoes and add them to the stock pot with 2 more cans of crushed tomatoes.

Combine the Italian sausage and ground turkey together in the saute pan, and brown them. Remove the excess grease and add them to the sauce. Deglaze the pan one more time to get all of those good browned bits off of the bottom.

Add the rest of the tomatoes, taking care to mix the tomato paste in well, and wash the sides of the cans, adding the tomato-y water to the sauce.

Add the chopped carrots and mushrooms to the pot and stir them down in. You may need more or less, depending on your preference.

Toss in the bay leaves. Using the palms of your hands, crush the oregano, basil and savory into the sauce. Cover the top of the sauce with a thin layer of pepper. Stir them all down in. I like to add a small sprig of fresh rosemary to the sauce, and pull it out with the bay leaves just before serving.

Let this cook down a bit before adding the zucchini. I usually leave in on low overnight to give the flavors the best chance to combine.

Add the chopped zucchini about 2 hours before you plan to serve it. If you have picky eaters, you can shred the zucchini to add the flavor, but no one will complain about it being in their sauce.

Taste it to see if you need to add any more salt, pepper, etc.

Before you serve it, make sure you pull out the ribs. If you plan to leave the meat in, remove it from the ribs now and add the meat back in. Make sure you get ALL of the bones out. Take out the bay leaves and rosemary sprig as well.

I usually serve the sausage links – cut into thirds – in a bowl at the side for those that may want them.

Boil your noodles of choice – penne, radiatori, farfalle, etc. – and serve with shredded cheese!

A meat lover’s dream sauce. Just don’t tell them that there are also veggies in it!

I received an email feed from Smitten Kitchen the other day with something utterly delectable… a photo of food that instantaneously caused your mouth to salivate in anticipation of taking a bite of something that is on the other side of the country. Cruelty, plain and simple.

What was this photograph? Bourbon Peach Hand Pies. Oh. Yes.

Here is my take on the hunger inducing recipe…

For the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cream top vanilla yogurt – mixed
1/3 cup ice water

For the filling:
4 cups blackberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. sugar

The rest of this recipe is basically taken from the Smitten Kitchen blog… and I hate stealing someone else’s words!

The 2 differences I made are as follows:

I was a little short on the sour cream, so I substituted some yogurt and cut back on the water. It still worked out to be very tasty!

I was short on peaches… but the blackberry thicket on the hill is full – FULL – of sweet, ripe berries. So, we used those instead. And since they were berries, I cooked them down a bit before putting together the pies.

Other than that, it’s pretty much the same deal. Oh, except for one little thing..

…the glaze

For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup milk

Whisk powdered sugar and tablespoons milk to blend. Make this up to 3 hours ahead.

Set up the cooling racks on top of some aluminum foil to catch the drips. Yes, there will be yummy drips.

When the pies come out of the oven, move them to the cooling racks and drizzle the glaze over them immediately. Cover them well.

Once they have had about 20 minutes to cool, you can enjoy them! Yes, you do need to wait a few minutes so you don’t burn your mouth!

Another great thing – if you just can’t wait – is to eat them with a scoop of ice cream… after all, it is pie!

Enjoy!

I came across a dilemma today. I picked up a large green tomato at the CSA farm today, and I had no idea what to do with it. Yes, there are the traditional fried green tomatoes, but after the breakfast we had today, that just didn’t seem like the best idea. So, to google I went!

And what I found was amazing…

Over at Seeds Of Knowledge there was a post on green tomatoes, and they had the following recipe – and no, my picture doesn’t do it justice!

Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

Here’s an elegant side dish that puts all those extra green tomatoes you have to use. Greek style feta or French style chevres (both goat cheeses) work equally well here.
4 medium green tomatoes
a tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
1 cup crumbled goat cheese (feta or chevre)
4 teaspoons olive oil
salt and coarsely ground fresh ground black pepper

Serves 4

Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat a shallow baking dish with oil. Place tomato slices, in a single, overlapping layer, in the bottom of the baking dish.

Sprinkle tomatoes with vinegar and scatter minced oregano over tomatoes. Top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Broil 5-8 inches below a preheated broiler and broil until tomatoes are hot and cheese is just starting to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

My Tweaks:
we served them up with some Turkish olive paste, and added some fresh basil in with the oregano (my oregano is spicy too… not greek!)

And as someone who doesn’t like tomatoes much, I have to admit that I ate almost HALF OF THE PAN!!!

And since we were having a Mediterranean appetizer/side dish, I needed to have something else to go with it. And I had lots of kale laying around. Lots. So, I made zuppa toscano. Oh yeah. Sausage, potatoes & leafy greens… yum!

Here is the recipe I found over at allrecipes.com and it is a good one!

INGREDIENTS
12 links spicy pork sausage, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced onion
1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chicken broth
4 cups water
2 potatoes, halved and sliced
2 cups sliced kale
1/3 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place sausage links on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent; add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth, water and potatoes; simmer 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add sausage, kale and cream; simmer until heated through and serve.

My Tweaks
I added another cup of water, another potato, a bit more cream, 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes, and I used 1 small red onion & 1 small onion. And I used ground sausage instead of links… we just fried it in the pan. Yum!

We had a salad on the side, but I’m the only one who ate any… everyone else had lots of tomatoes & 2nds (or 4ths) on the soup.

Thank you google… you have saved another dinner!

Quinoa is an ancient grain that is making a huge comeback! It has a nutty flavor and is full of protein! Just make sure that you rinse it 5-6 times in a bowl of water before you cook it, as it has a naturally occurring coating that repels bugs and makes it a bit bitter.

1 cup quinoa
1 cup water

1 small heirloom or roma tomato
1 small zucchini – sliced
1/3 cup broccoli florets
1/3 cup sliced cucumber
1/8 cup sliced hot Asian radish
1/4 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs*
~ mexican oregano, chives, rosemary, basil, sage, savory…

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (white or dark)

1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
3/4 cup leftover roasted chicken – cut up

Rinse the quinoa 5-6 times, or until the water is clear. In a small pot with headroom, boil the quinoa as you would rice and allow to cool.

When the quinoa is cooled, add in the vegetables and herbs. Combine the oil, vinegar and crushed red pepper and pour over the quinoa and stir.

I generally make this the day before, so that the flavors have time to blend. If you are serving it the same day, add in the cheese and chicken, otherwise save them to add in about 30 minutes before serving. For a vegan salad, leave them out.

This is a great salad for hot weather, as the vinegar and veggies have a wonderfully cool flavor! It is great for picnics.

*to chop the herbs, roll them up like a cigar and slice across the roll.

Ingredients:

3 corn cobs
1 can black beans
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 cup cubed mango
1/2 cup zucchini wedges

3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
dash garlic powder
dash salt
dash pepper

Combine veggies in a bowl. I cut the zucchini in quarters lengthwise and then sliced it to make wedges.

In a measuring cup, combine juice, vinegar, oil and spices. Whisk together and pour over the veggies. Toss lightly and serve!

This is one of our favorite summertime beverages – it’s cool and refreshing and tastes great! This recipe makes a concentrate – it’s a bit too much straight. Just add it to a half glass of ice water to make a delicious, cool Summer treat. Check out the add-ins at the bottom for some great alternatives. It also makes great frozen popsicles…

Lavender Lemonade

ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
20 sprigs fresh lavender – either blooming, or just before the flowers open
4-6 lemons (depending on your tartness preference)
water

In a small saucepan, heat 2 cups of water and sugar to make a simple syrup. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat and place the lavender sprigs in the pan while the syrup cools down. Set aside to cool.

When the syrup is cool, remove the lavender sprigs and pour it into a 2 qt. pitcher.

Juice the lemons and add to the pitcher. Stir. Fill the pitcher up with water.

When you pour the lemonade into a glass, first fill the glass halfway with water and ice, then pour in the lemonade concentrate.

Garnish with a small sprig of lavender, lemon slices or mint leaves.

Enjoy!

Add ins:

- use the juice of limes instead or a mixture of lemons and limes
- add some strawberries to the simple syrup while it is cooling and strain the syrup when cool – crushing the strawberries to get all of the goodies out
- add some mint leaves with the lavender and use limes to make a non-alcoholic mojito – or mix it with your favorite rum for the real thing (obviously not for kids)
- add some grenadine to give it a cherry flavor and a lovely pink color

We recently reviewed some great seasonings that are perfect for Summer BBQ’s, back-to-school get togethers, fall parties, family gatherings… just about anything!

After Nine Gourmet is a new company that offers seasoning blends and soup mixes, and I have to tell you that they are wonderful! Everything that they sell is hand mixed by them using fresh ingredients when you order it. What does that mean for you? It means that you are getting the freshest herbs and spices to use when you are cooking – whether it’s for your family or friends.

We tried out the Ranch, Garden Dill, Garlic & Onion, and Harvest Herb flavors, and used them in a variety of ways.
- The Garden Dill is fabulous to use on salmon – just drizzle the fillets with olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning on them before you grill or bake it to add a lot of flavor.
- Are you looking for a yummy “green goddess” type of dressing? Try the Harvest Herb or Garden Dill mixed with some buttermilk and mayo for a delicious salad dressing!
- Do you like garlic? No, I mean really like garlic? We made a dip with the Garlic & Onion seasoning and some sour cream. It was delicious, however I would recommend using only half of a seasoning packet! And I should have followed the directions to add in some mayo! It was a very thick, very garlic-y dip that worked perfect for blue cheese hamburgers and rosemary fries.
_ the Ranch makes a tasty salad dressing or dip, and it would make a great seasoning for oven fries or chicken.

If you are looking for a good source of fresh, hand blended seasonings or soup mixes, I recommend After Nine Gourmet!

Did I mention that it is a mom-owned company? Your purchase will support a small business and help a Mom be able to be at home with her kids!

After Nine Gourmet