GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CUPCAKES ~ BLOG 366.39

I have a friend with Celiac’s disease so I make quite a few things gluten free when she is involved. She always let’s not get crazy, just gluten free. šŸ˜€

GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CUPCAKES
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 LARGE eggs
1/3 cup avocado oil
1/3 cup QUALITY honey or 1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon PURE vanilla extract

  • Preheat oven to 350Ā°.
  • Line muffin tins with liners or grease well and then flour.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
  • In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, honey or nectar and vanilla extract.
  • Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a mixer until well blended and thoroughly combined.
  • Add 1/4 cup of batter to each muffin cup.
  • Bake 18-22 minutes until cooked through until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let cool in pan 1 hour before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup agave nectar

  • In a mixing bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form.
  • In a separate bowl, whip together the cream cheese and agave nectar until smooth.
  • Gently fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture with a spatula.

NOTE: Add 1/4 cup cocoa for a chocolate version.

“MOCK” KENTUCKY HOT BROWN SLIDERS ~ BLOG 366.37

This sandwich was created in 1926 in Louisville Kentucky by Fred Schmidt of the Brown hotel as an alternative to ham and egg sandwiches for late night diners. It became their second signature sandwich. Iā€™ve only ever heard it called as a Kentucky Hot Brown, but I have read that it is also known as a Louisville Hot Brown.

Traditionally this is served hot and open faced on a thick white bread toast and has turkey breast, bacon and creamy mornay sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Originally it was not served with the bacon, but added soon after. Variations can include ham, pimientos and tomatoes. It is then broiled a few minutes until the toast is crisp and sauce is bubbly and browning.

The Kentucky Hot Brown became a favorite choice of 95% of the Brown Hotelā€™s restaurant customers. It became a Louisville area specialty favorite sandwich and is popular throughout Kentucky as a whole long after the hotel shut its doors in 1971. The hotel reopened in 1985.

This sandwich was featured on a 2013 episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he actually lost, but barely. šŸ˜€ Bobby competed against Joe and John Castro, brother chefs at the Brown Hotel.

There are also a few ā€œoddballā€ variations out there. For a while there was a ā€œcold brownā€ that was either sliced chicken or turkey with hard boiled egg, lettuce and tomato served open face on rye bread covered in thousand island dressing.

There are 2 other versions one being the Prosperity sandwich with origins in St. Louis at the Mayfair hotel also in the 1920ā€™s and still served in the area today as well as the Turkey Devonshire served in the Pittsburg Pennsylvania area in the 1930ā€™s.

I started making Kentucky Hot Brown sandwiches about 20 years ago, but had no idea of the extensive history at that time. Now fast forward to a magazine I found recently trying to update this to a slider version using Kingā€™s Hawaiian rolls. I have to admit I wasnā€™t sure about this recipe, but decided to try it anyway.

The recipe I found was okay, but I have to agree to disagree on these being a version of the original Hot Brown because the recipe used the sweet brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and butter topping that just didnā€™t taste anywhere close to what this sandwich is about.

I have renamed this recipe AND adjusted the ingredients to try and keep them more traditional, ut yet an actual sandwich. The author used a ā€œslice of cheeseā€ to replace the Mornay sauce and there just isnā€™t any comparison to me.

ā€œMOCKā€ KENTUCKY HOT BROWN SLIDERS
1 tray Kingā€™s Hawaiian sweet rolls
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
6-8 slices thick sliced deli turkey
8 slices bacon, cooked crisp
2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
6-8 slices Gruyere or Baby Swiss cheese, optional
1/4 cup FINELY grated Parmesan cheese

  • Preheat oven to broil.
  • Slice entire package of rolls in half horizontally. Do not individually slice rolls.
  • Arrange bottom half in a baking dish LIGHTY sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Spread mayonnaise on roll bottoms.
  • Arrange turkey on top evenly.
  • Arrange bacon slices on top of the turkey evenly.
  • Arrange a single layer of thick cut tomatoes on top of the bacon.
  • Arrange cheese slices next OR a layer of Mornay sauce.
  • Broil 2-3 minutes until toasted and cheese is bubbly.
  • Top if desired with sweet roll tops and eat as a messy sandwich or eat as intended with a knife and fork.

MORNAY SAUCE
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 Ā½ cups WHOLE milk
pinch FRESH ground nutmeg
FRESH ground salt and black pepper, to taste
2 ounces of a hard cheese, grated (GruyĆØre, Swiss, Cheddar, Parmesan)

  • Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat.
  • Melt butter.
  • Whisk in flour until golden.
  • Slowly add the milk while constantly whisking.
  • Bring the sauce to a SLOW boil and immediately reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to let the sauce burn by whisking frequently.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and add the nutmeg, salt and pepper, stirring well. At this point you have a Bechamel sauce. Once you add the cheese it becomes your Mornay sauce.
  • Still off heat, add the grated cheese, whisking until all the cheese melts into the sauce making it thick and smooth.
  • Adjust seasoning to taste.

After all of this my favorite version is the casserole version I adapted from Damaris Phillips a few years ago.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY & MENUS ~ week 6 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.36

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

I guess there is a reason they call it “predictions” when it comes to the weather. The snow never made an appearance, but the rain, cold and wind did! I have had to continually break my rule of not leaving the house before it’s 40 degrees. If I didn’t I’d be like a bear and hibernating all winter! Well, guess what this next week is supposed to be the same – lows in the 30’s and maybe highs in the forties with lots of wet stuff. So, Levis and layers of warmth with my favorite UGGs.

When I worked full time it was a 60 hour week between the actual work and the commute time. Lately I feel like I’m working more with my volunteer hours than I did when I actually worked! I’m thinking I need to be streamlining some of what I do and trying to decide exactly what needs to be adjusted.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m taking today to regroup and get caught up on cleaning and ironing in particular.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Wednesday will be the BIG shopping day for the events at the Eagles next weekend. I’m doing the charity dinner for the Eagles on Friday night and co-chairing the Valentine event for Saturday night and handling the dessert table and then to top it off we’re doing the Super Bowl party on Sunday – so that’s A LOT of food to buy.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I have a few things to catch up on over the next week or so… we are NOT working on the estate house this week, but hit the ground running for a BIG finish over President’s day weekend.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING the week is planned, but that’s about it. I’m hoping after next weekend’s events I’ll have more time.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • We’ve been watching GRIMM of an evening followed by CHEERS before going to sleep. I’m also staying on top of the Kid’s Baking Championship and looking forward to some regular shows beginning again soon.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt šŸ˜€
2/5 MONDAY
2/6 TUESDAY
2/7 WEDNESDAY
2/8 THURSDAY
2/9 FRIDAY
2/10 SATURDAY
2/11 SUNDAY
DINNER
Ā CHICKEN FLORENTINE and ARANCINI
HOT CHICKEN SALAD
Ā WHISKEY PINEAPPLE CHICKEN & BUTTERMILK MASHED POTATOES
Ā TOMATILLO CHICKEN
BBQ CHICKEN, CREAMY MAC & CHEESE, 3 BEAN SALAD cooking at the Eagles
Ā GRILLED RIB EYE and CHEESY TOMATO BASIL ORZO
 SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL SOUP
DESSERT
Ā 
CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES
CHERRY PUDDING BUNDT CAKE
OATMEAL CREAM PIES

I’m getting another round of blooms on my Christmas Cactus. This time I have MANY MULTIPLE double blooms!

FARM APPLE aka DANISH SLAB PIE ~ BLOG 366.32

FARM APPLE aka DANISH SLAB PIE
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup COLD butter, cut into cubes
1 LARGE egg, separated
2/3 cup COLD water
1 cup cornflakes
8 LARGE apples, peeled cored and sliced (10 cups) (see note)
Juice of 1 LARGE lemon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons QUALITY cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon FRESH ground nutmeg

  • Preheat oven to 375Ā°.
  • Stir together flour and salt in a large bowl.
  • With a pastry blender cut butter into flour until coarse crumbs.
  • Beat egg white in a small bowl until frothy. Set aside.
  • Beat egg yolk in another small bowl. Add water whisking to blend.
  • Gradually add egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until dough can be packed into a ball.
  • Divide ball into halves.
  • On a lightly floured surface roll half the dough into a 10-14 rectangle.
  • Transfer dough to a shallow 9×13 baking sheet, pressing into shape.
  • Sprinkle cornflakes evenly over crust.
  • Toss apples with lemon juice and then drain well.
  • Toss apples with sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • Scatter apples evenly over cornflakes.
  • Roll remaining dough into a similar rectangle and lay over top of apples, tucking in the edges to seal.
  • Brush top with beaten egg white.
  • Bake 1 hour until golden brown and apples are tender.

GLAZE
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon WHOLE milk
1/2 teaspoon PURE vanilla or almond extract

  • Whisk ingredients together until smooth.
  • Brush over warm crust.
  • Cool COMPLETELY in pan on wire rack before cutting into pieces.

NOTE:

  • If using frozen apples, thaw and drain well. Toss with 4 tablespoons of flour before adding the cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • You can easily substitute quick cooking oats for the cornflakes.
  • You can heat each slice for a few seconds in the microwave and add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for a treat.

WALNUT SNICKERDOODLES ~ BLOG 366.30

WALNUT SNICKERDOODLES
1 1/2 cups roasted walnuts, divided in half
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon WHOLE milk
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla
1 teaspoon QUALITY cinnamon
1 1/2 cups AP flour

  • Process 3/4 cup of walnuts in food processor until JUST FINELY ground. Set aside.
  • Beat butter until creamy in a large bowl.
  • Add powdered sugar, beating until incorporated.
  • Add milk, vanilla and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, mixing to combine.
  • Add flour and combine well.
  • Fold in ALL the nuts until well combined.
  • Roll and wrap dough in waxed paper.
  • Chill 1 hour.

1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon QUALITY cinnamon

  • Preheat oven to 325Ā°.
  • Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
  • Shape dough into 2 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mix.
  • Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Flatten balls slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.
  • Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the cookies.
  • Bake 12-15 minutes until bottoms are slightly brown.
  • Cool 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

NOTE:

  • BE SURE AND ROAST THE WALNUTS! Toasting the nuts deepens their flavor. The same is true of all nuts and coconut too.
  • For the espresso version I added espresso chocolate chips.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY & MENU PLANS with RECIPE LINKS week 5 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.29

Oh my, can you believe we are already at the end of January? I find it mind boggling! Seems like we were just preparing for Christmas and now we’re about to start February.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

We are certainly having a cold and wet winter here in the Pacific North West. This is one of those winters where it doesn’t really matter where you are in the country, there’s something rearing its ugly head! Everyone stay dry and warm wherever you are. As for us, out temperatures are heading back down and the snow predictions are back in the mix for later this week. Right now I’d take the snow over the rain as we have the same roof leak this year on the new (only a couple years old) roof that appears to be coming from a flashing problem and comes down via the exhaust fan in the laundry room. I change the towel on the floor daily so it’s manageable which is the good news. The bad news is that the roofer can’t seem to get to us as everyone else is having worse problems – you can just tell when you talk to him that staying friendly will move you up the list faster than angry – oh the woes of warranty work.

Like the rest of the country we have a bit of a warming trend through today here, but then we drop back down into the 30’s and 40’s with that threat of snow for the weekend. I’m working at the Pond house this week several days, today being one of them and it’s still a bit of a grungy clean out so I have on OLD Levis, my least favorite hoodie and my oldest UGGs.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m still in the midst of a deep sort and clean. These estate sales really drive me to get better organized. I also always find things I want, but my new rule is that for everything I get, I get rid of two things I already have. I also have a pile of mending and ironing to do.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have to do some grocery shopping for an elderly friend today and then I have a pedicure tomorrow when I’ll do my own grocery shopping. Hubby and I will be taking off Thursday to go check out a new (to us) salvage house and have a late lunch/dinner at the OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY on Thursday which is the anniversary of my cancer surgery and ultimately remission date.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m still working at cleaning up my desk area, which of course is a never ending battle šŸ˜€
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I FINALLY made it ALL the way through my pile of scraps of paper notes and magazine cut out recipes, tossing many of them, and am in the process of organizing them. TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Last night at dinner my girlfriend brought me some cookbooks from her mom – like I said, it’s a never ending battle šŸ˜€

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • I’ve been so busy that TV has been almost non-existent around here except for some late night sit-coms and Kid’s Baking Championship. Some of the network shows are starting back and we need to check out the DVR. We started re-watching GRIMM on Saturday night. And of course football yesterday! Congratulations Jean to the Chiefs win! Personally, I was rooting for the Lions to up against them, but maybe next year. šŸ˜€

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt šŸ˜€
1/29 MONDAY
1/30 TUESDAY
1/31 WEDNESDAY
2/1 THURSDAY
2/2 FRIDAY
2/3 SATURDAY
2/4 SUNDAY
DINNER
Ā CIDER BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS & ROOT VEGGIES
Ā HOT CHICKEN SALAD
Ā WHISKEY PINEAPPLE CHICKEN with BUTTERMILK MASHED POTATOES
Ā OUT at OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY
Ā LEMON GLAZED MEATBALLS with CREAMY MAC & CHEESE
Ā SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL SOUP with PARMESAN PAN ROLLS
 TOMATILLO CHICKEN with CILANTRO CHILE RICE
DESSERT
Ā 
Ā PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
Ā 

This has been a VERY wet winter. This normally docile river can’t even be seen under this bridge and is barely flowing, but right now it’s a raging river and has turned VERY brown from all the mud being washed into it.

We have a fun local chain in the Pacific Northwest of restaurants that we seek out as we travel. They are called McMenamins. Each location has some historic value like having been an old train station or an Elk’s temple or Catholic school or a family farm or roadside inn… Many have lodging, breweries and their own distilleries. They remodel them and their themes are ALWAYS quite unique and eclectic, but specific to each location staying true to its origins. These pictures are of some finials on an inside fence at our local “train station”. The ceiling is also full of unique and mismatched chandeliers.