Lemon Sugar Cookies

I've been asked to post some recipes I'm cooking tonight.  All of them come from the Betty Crocker 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook from 1991.  This recipe is on page 121, called "Sugar Cookies".  I've made some substitutions, putting in lemon extract instead of almond extract, and decreasing the vanilla, while increasing the lemon extract.

Lemon Sugar Cookies:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1 Cup butter, softened
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon extract (When I made my cookies today they weren't as lemony as I wanted.  I had used 1 tsp of lemon extract.  Next time I'll use 2 tsp instead because the cookies only had a light lemon taste with just 1 teaspoon and I really wanted the lemon flavor to be more promenent.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or self-rising flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Granulated sugar (to roll dough in)

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract and egg.  Stir in remaining ingredients except the granulated sugar.  Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Greese cookie sheet lightly.  Roll dough into little balls.  Roll the balls in sugar and place on the cookie sheets.  Smash the balls down with the palm of your hand, or with a decorative cookie press.  Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are ligh brown.  Cook.  Makes about 5 dozen cookies.  65 calories per cookie.

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda and cream of tartar.

Clam Chowder

I've been asked to post the recipes of the food I am making for dinner tonight.  This recipe is a combination of the "New England Clam Chowder" and the "Manhattan Clam Chowders" as well as adding my own variations, from the Betty Crocker's 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook from 1991.  These recipes are found on pages 340 and 341.

Esther's Clam Chowder:
1/4 Cup finely chopped bacon
1 small onion, finely chopped, about 1/4 cup, or 1/2 a leek finely chopped (I prefer the leek)
1 pint shucked fresh clams with liquor (or 2 cans canned clams with juice)
2 cups corsely chopped potatoes
1/3 cup chopped celery
1, 12 ounce can chicken stock, or 1 cup water

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (today I'm substituting Rosemary for parsley because that's what I have)
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit salt if using chicken stock)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (I'm using fresh sage today instead of thyme because I have it growing in my garden).
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 Cups milk, half & half, or heavy cream, reserve 1/4 cup of the milk and mix it with 1/4 cup flour.

Cook bacon and onion in pot, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp and onion is tender.  Today I'm substituting precooked crumbled bacon because it's on hand.  Stir clams and clam liquor, potatoes, celery, and water (or chicken broth) into bacon and onion (leeks).  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in remaining ingredients, except milk.  Mix the 1/4 cup milk with 1/4 cup flour to make a rouix to thicken the soup.  Stir in the milk and the rouix mixture.  Bring to a boil. Serve.  Makes 5 servings, about 1 1/4 cups each.

Herb & Parmesan Cheese Bread

I've been asked to post the recipes for my dinner tonight.  So here they are:

Herb & Parmesan Cheese Bread

5 TO 6 1/2 Cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons shortening
2 packages, or 4 1/2 tsp regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
2 Tablespoons each of sage, basil, rosemary, and chives (all finely chopped).
4 to 5 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast in large bowl.  Add warm water.  Beat on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.  For herb bread, at this point add the finely chopped herbs.

Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make the dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up.  Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or longer, until double.  Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Grease 2 loaf pans, 9 x 5 x 3 or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches.  Punch down dough and divide in half.  Flatten dough for each loaf with hands or rolling pin into a rectangle, 19 x 9 inches.  Fold crosswise into thirds, overlapping the two sides.  Flatten or roll into a square, 9 x 9 inches.  At this point grate some Parmesan cheese onto the dough.  Roll dough tightly, beginning at one of the open (unfolded) ends, to form a loaf.  Press with thumbs to seal after each turn.  Pinch edge firmly to seal.  press each end with side of hand to seal.  Fold ends under loaf.  Place seam-side down in the pan.  Brush loaves lightly with butter.  Cover and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes, or until double.  Grate more Parmesan cheese on top of loaf after rising. 

Place oven rack in low position so that the tops of the pans will be in the center of the oven.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from pans.  Brush loaves with butter if desired.  Cool on wire rack.

* This recipe is found in the Betty Crocker's 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook from 1991. The recipe is a variation of the white bread recipe.

Day 10: A Favorite Recipe

Okay.  I'm sorry.  I know I haven't blogged in a week and a half, and more than 10 days have gone by since I should have written day 10 but I admit, this one stumped me. 

Not because I don't cook, but quite the opposite.  I LOVE to cook.  But my three absolutely favorite recipes: Clam Chowder, Sweet & Sour Chicken, and Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn & Avacado Salsa. . . well, I've already blogged about them and posted the recipes on here.  So I needed to think of something new to share.  And I admit.  I was stumped. 

Until tonight.  Brace yourselves people for what I prepared for dinner tonight!:

Sweet & Sour Shrimp Stirfry!  I used the vegetables I received from my Bountiful Basket order.  If you haven't heard of Bountiful Baskets you simply must join.  Go to http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ for more information.

So without further interruption (other than this cute picture of Walter and me. . .well, he looks cute, but I look kinda tired)  Here is the recipe for Sweet & Sour Shrimp Stirfry

Sweet & Sour Shrimp Stirfry:

1 onion, diced

3 celery stalks, chopped,

10 small mushrooms, cut in half

30 green beans, cut in half

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 stalks broccoli, broken into little pieces, flower part only

1/3 head of cauliflower, broken in to pieces, flower only

15 sweet peas in pod

1/2 package fresh asparagus, chopped

1/2 of a fresh pineapple, cut into cubes

1 small package uncooked jumbo shrimp

Olive oil

2 cups rice, cook as directed on the package 

Step one: Start boiling the rice.

Step two: When the rice is about halfway cooked start the stirfry.  In a very large skillet add olive oil to coat the pan, then put all veggies in pan, coat with olive oil.  Stir as needed. 

Step three: The last five minutes of the rice cooking add the shrimp to the stirfry.  Let it pink up.  It will go from grey to pink.  Do not over cook.  When all the shrimp is pink they are cooked.

Step four: Add the sweet and sour sauce. 

Step five:  Heat sauce through and serve on rice.

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

1/2 Cup Ketchup

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Worcester Sauce

1/4 Cup Honey

1/8 Cup Soy Sauce

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp (or more if you want it hotter) cayanne pepper

1/2 Cup Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Sauce (purchased at Costco)

Pouched Salmon (That's right. I said Pouched, not poached)

I was watching one of my new favorite shows on t.v. yesterday as I was walking/running on the treadmill at the gym. I love the show "Good Eats" on the Food Network channel. The guy on there, Alton Brown, is one of the announcers on "Iron Chef America". At first I was reluctant to watch this show because he can be so cheesy, but once I got into I realized This is no ordinary cooking show! Alton tells you everything you ever wanted to know about food and more. He teaches how to cook, pickle things, choose spices, pair food together and why it works together, and pick out fresh fish and other meats, and tells you what to look for for freshness and quality.

He also tells you why you have to cook things a specific way and why you add ingredients in a certain way. He tells you in a simple way the chemistry behind cooking. I've found my cooking is improving just from watching this show, even when I don't cook what he is making on the show because he is teaching why and how things cook, which is applicable to other things I'm cooking.

So yesterday I was watching the show and the episode was about how to cook when you are in a hurry. I thought for sure the episode would be about crock pot cooking, but instead it was about cooking whole meals in a "pouch" of either tin foil or parchement paper.

Essentially, the idea is to make a pocket for the food and seal all the sides and let it steam cook. I was planning to make some Salmon anyways for dinner and thought I would cook it the "Pouch" style.

Here is my recipe. Josh told me it was the best Salmon he had ever had:

Basil Salmon with Pesto Sauce

• 2 Filets of Salmon (raw so far)


• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil


• 1/2 Cup Julianed Carrots


• 1/2 Cup Julianed Celery


• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped


• 1/4 Cup white or red onions, sliced


• 1/4 Cup green onions


• 2 TBSP Lemon Juice


• 1 TBSP Honey


• Salt and Pepper

• Place the fish on a pan, on top of a very long piece of parchment paper. The paper should be twice as long as the pan the fish will be cooked in.


• Salt and pepper both sides of the salmon.


• In this order, place on top of the fish: Fresh basil, carrots, celery, onion, green onion, garlic, lemon juice, and honey.


• Fold parchment paper over the top and fold the sides all around 1/4 inch all the way around. Staple the edges on the fold every inch, to inch-and-a-half.


• I used tin foil because I didn't have parchment paper available and just folded the sides 1/4 inch all the way around, but on the show Alton said if you use an acidic ingredient (such as lemon) you shouldn't use tin foil because it affects the acid in the lemon. He also said if you use tin foil you should leave one side kind of open for the steam to be able to escape.


• Bake at 400 degrees ferenheit for 30 minutes.

Pesto Sauce:

• 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts


• 1/3 Cup freshly grated parmesean cheese


• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil


• 1 Garlic clove


• 1/2 Cup Basil


• salt and pepper to taste

In electric mixer chop all ingredients together for two minutes. Serve fresh on the finished salmon (you can also use it on bread, sandwhiches, pasta, with eggs, whatever. I love, love, love pesto!)

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS:

• 8 for the Salmon (6 ounce fillet) (5 points if you are using the new system where you eat as much as you need to feel satisfied)
• 2 points for the Pesto sauce for 1/2 Tablespoon or two teaspoons