Cookbook Book Club

Several weeks ago I hosted my cookbook book club. Since it was just a week before the Fourth of July that's what I chose as my theme. As hostess I chose the book from which we cooked also. It had just come out the month before so I thought there would be a great deal of enthusiasm about cooking from this book.

I was right, everyone enjoyed cooking from this book and I must add that each and every recipe cooked from this book was outstanding. I would cook any one of them for my own family. Now we probably should have thought through all the cheese that was in each recipe, there was cheese in each and every one of them with only one exception. They were all delicious just the same.

I used a vintage floral jacquard tablecloth that I had gotten some time ago from William Sonoma with my blue and white dinnerware in mind.



I used my blue Spode Italian, hotel silver, cobalt blue wine glasses and water glasses and at each place setting I had a small African violet in a wee blue and white container. A "take home" for each guest.

 

I love using birds on most all my tables and these napkin rings I picked up a long time ago and each one are different. I even used my little bird salt and pepper cellars.

 

I used in my arrangement blue hydrangeas, whitish pink roses, and added in the flags for a more patriotic theme. 

 

I prepared the main dish which was what Joanna called, Dedication Casserole. It basically was a chicken and wild rice casserole but the BEST one I have ever prepared. One thing I thought was super terrific was that it called for your favorite rotisserie chicken which that's a no brainer, Costco's is the absolute best. It also called for a jar of marinated artichokes and you add in the liquid from those artichokes and for creaminess it called for cream cheese. Not using cream of mushroom soup which I liked that much better. It called for 4 cups of cheddar cheese but if I were to prepare this dish again I would definitely use much less. Since it was for my cookbook group I like to prepare the dish as it reads. It was excellent and I think everyone else thought so as well. It could feed an army there was so much of it but most of the time my friends take home enough to feed their husbands that evening as they should.

Not sure why I can't get this pic to straighten but I can't.

I also made an appetizer since I had made a rather stout Sangria. I didn't want them sipping on the Sangria without something going in their tummy's while everyone was arriving. It was a great excuse to try this recipe as well and it is excellent.

Joanna calls it Last-Minute Party Dip, the ingredients most people would have in their pantry and everyone just raved over it. It was quite good and one I will make again.

Last-Minute Party Dip

Two 8-ounce blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
One 7.5-ounce jar marinated quartered artichokes, drained and chopped
1 cup minced green onions (light and dark green parts)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
Bagel crisps or crackers, for serving

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, green onions, garlic powder and kosher salt until well combined.

Transfer half of the dip to a small serving bowl and top with half of the pepper. Store the remaining dip in the refrigerator and refill the bowl as necessary, topping with additional pepper before serving. Serve with bagel crisps or crackers.

Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Makes about 4 cups
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One of my favorite dishes brought was the Peach Caprese Salad. This was a delightful different take on the traditional Caprese Salad especially since peaches are in season right now. It was light, refreshing and pared well with the fresh mozzarella.

Other dishes that were brought were,

Three Cheese Quiche
 

Stuffed Broccoli Casserole
 

Creamy Squash Casserole





 Dutch Oven Cabbage and Bacon

 

There were two desserts brought and both were excellent. 

 Blueberry Buttermilk Puff
 

Aunt Opal's Banana Pudding

 

This was such a different take on most Banana puddings in that it used creamed cheese and sweetened condensed milk. It's not something I would make every week but I must say it had WOW factor.

 

I think it is fair to say that a fun time was had by all and the book we cooked from was a winner.

 

I will be sharing this post on Susan's Tablescape Thursday. To see others shared post just click HERE.

 

 

 



Blueberry Season

Blueberry season is upon us and we are fortunate to have several blueberry bushes at our farm in N GA.

This year we have an abundance of blueberries with more coming. I have already spent a morning there getting all I can manage at one time. The unfortunate thing is that it is so darn hot in our area when blueberries come into season so it's a MUST to pick in the early hours of the day.

I have lots of recipes using blueberries but one of my favorite is a Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake. It is rich, buttery, and I love any kind of cake that has the tang of buttermilk.
It's important to begin by gathering all of your ingredients.

This little cake goes together very quickly.



Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Serves 7-8

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons lemon zest or more (zest of one lemon)
7/8 cup* plus 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup buttermilk

*7/8 cup = 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
*this 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350*. Cream butter with the lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or coat with a non-stick baking spray. Spread the batter into the pan, the batter will be thick. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Note: 2 cups of blueberries sounds like a lot but you will be happy you used the full amount.
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As you can see, it only becomes lightly browned and while this is called a breakfast cake it can also be served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream for a delightful dessert as I did. This did not last long at my house. This was all that was left for breakfast the next morning.

Every morsel was eaten though, delicious. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing other favorite blueberry recipes. Do you have a favorite to share?



 

 

 

 



Strawberry Champagne Punch

I recently hosted my YaYa Lunch group and as everyone was arriving I served this punch along with some Stilton Walnut Crackers. This punch was quite the "HIT". It goes down real easy and packs a punch so beware. I will serve this over and over again.

Strawberry Champagne Punch

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus lemon slices for garnish (optional)
1 cup superfine sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, plus orange slices for garnish (optional)
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
1/2 cup Triple Sec
1/2 cup Cognac
2 750 ml bottles dry Champagne or sparkling wine, chilled
20-ounce frozen strawberries. thawed

Thaw the strawberries, place them in a blender and blend them until completely smashed. Place in the bottom of a punch bowl.

Combine lemon juice, sugar, orange juice, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, and Cognac in a nonreactive bowl or pitcher and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to a decorative punch bowl with strawberries and mix thoroughly, add chilled Champagne when ready to serve, and stir to combine. Garnish with citrus slices and fresh strawberries if you like. Serve immediately in Champagne flutes, wine glasses or punch cups.

Note: The punch can be made up to an hour ahead with the exception of the champagne. Store covered tightly with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Garnish with fruit just before serving. I used Prosecco and it worked beautifully and served it over ice. If using champagne flutes you'll need to pour it from a pitcher. I used small Waterford old fashions, the opening was perfect serving from a punch bowl and easier to hold but punch cups would work just as well.

The superfine sugar is so important because it will dissolve easier in the liquors. It is worth the effort to try to find it. Otherwise you could make a simple syrup by melting the sugar in a sauce pan stirring constantly with equal parts of water and sugar. If you should do this I would add the simple syrup a little at a time to your likeness.

This would be excellent for a brunch, lunch or even for cocktails. I enjoyed the leftovers the next afternoon, YUM.

It is sooooooooo delicious and refreshing sitting in a relaxing spot.

If you try it I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and apparently my YaYa group too. Thanks for stopping by and please do come again.

Carolyn

Post Valentine Luncheon

A few years ago I began our YaYa Dinner group an all girls dinner group. Well after several years we decided to do it as a luncheon and since it was my idea, of course, I hosted the first one. We had several dilemma's concerning switching from a dinner party to a lunch affair but one we carefully considered was when we had our dinner group our husbands would also get together at a local restaurant. They enjoyed it so much, we have all been such good friends as for so many years as couples. We would on occasion include them but for the most part was an all girls dinner group. We decided they could just as easily make the time to get together for lunch especially since the majority of them are retired anyway.

Wellllllll, our first luncheon as the YaYa's was a success and I had so much fun planning and preparing for it.

The truth is I really wanted an excuse to buy this tablecloth online at William Sonoma and it was at a really good sale price. I couldn't help myself.

It is a Jacquard tablecloth and I can use it for many occasions but will most often use it for Christmas and Valentines. This was after all a post Valentine's luncheon.





Goes perfectly with the red dining room as well.

My menu for this event,

 

 

Strawberry Champagne Punch

with Stilton Walnut Crackers

 

Dilled Cucumber Soup

Chicken Salad

Copper Pennies

Banana Bread

 

and for dessert

Ina Garten's Coeur a la Crème served with Raspberry Sauce

 

We began our event with the Strawberry Champagne Punch and crackers as everyone was gathering.  I must say it was such a "HIT". I found myself reminding everyone that it was a little on the stout side. I will be sharing the recipe at a later date but I have to say, "It was amazingly delicious."



I am still enjoying them this very moment.

We started with the Dilled Cucumber Soup which is also an Ina Garten recipe. I don't think I have ever prepared an Ina recipe that I wasn't pleased with.

I also used some of my collection of my sterling silver napkin rings. This one to the left of this place setting is from Czarist Russia. It is sterling with a gold overlay, red enameled and on the top and bottom of the enameling are tiny little seed pearls which go completely around the napkin ring.

I have enjoyed this collection and each are different. After removing the soup bowls which are clear glass depression glass, another collection but were the perfect size, we then started with our luncheon. The chicken salad was a very different chicken salad, cooked with fresh herbs, thyme and rosemary which I grow but then submerged in an Italian dressing while still hot and marinated overnight. It also has cooked bacon and red grapes, what's not to like?

 

Copper Pennies, a very old recipe but one I dearly love.

 

The Banana Bread had to go on the side board and yes I did do my own flower arrangement. Flower arranging to me is therapy, from choosing what flowers to use to actually putting them together. The wine glasses may not have been the right ones to use with the wine I was serving with lunch but they were RED. They are hocks made by Waterford.

Unfortunately I failed to take a pic of the Coeur a la Crème but it too was yummy. I think a good time was had by all and we have definitely decided to go to a luncheon format.



I will be sharing this blog post at Susan's blog party, Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. You can click HERE to see other wonderful blog posts shared, for great tips and ideas. Joining too Amaze Me Monday at Dwelling, The Heart of Your Home, click HERE.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog and please do come again.

 

Carolyn













Janruary Cookbook Book Club

My Cookbook Book Club had our monthly luncheon on Tuesday, Jan 23. Our hostess decided we would cook from a blog instead of a book this time. The blog, Damn Delicious hosted by Chungah Ree. Her goal as she expresses on her blog is to "prepare simple, fresh ingredients, transforming them into sophisticated and elegant meals for the everyday home cook". I think she has reached her goal considering that each and every recipe brought to our luncheon was outstanding. She has also recently published her first book which is in book stores now. It's one I would buy for myself and probably will since I am a collector of cookbooks.

Our hostess chose a Valentine theme when setting her table and it was beautiful.

 

Utilizing some of her gorgeous Camellia's as our centerpiece. That was a challenge since in our area we had recently had temperatures go down into the 20's but she was able to get a few of her lovely heritage Camilla's. We enjoyed them even more.

Our group toasting our hostess sitting at the end. We were treated as we were arriving to a wonderful cocktail, a Salty Dog. A new cocktail to me and she had used freshly squeezed grapefruit juice from her own grapefruit trees from her garden. How special is that and quite simply delicious.

Friend Martha started our luncheon with a yummy Roasted Cauliflower Soup. You really couldn't tell that it was a Cauliflower soup but was creamy deliciousness. Everyone just loved it.

 This is a recipe that I will make at home, it was outstanding. This pic also shows the lovely china our hostess used, exquisite. We all felt so special that our hostess had set such a beautiful table.



Now this was the ultimate entrée, Lemon Dill Salmon in foil. Absolutely exceptional, moist, delicious and not over done. The best part was that I was told it was so very simple and it made it's own delightful sauce. Lemony, buttery goodness.

Here are a few of the other recipes shared. We were stuffed when we went home and you can certainly see why when you see what we had eaten.

I had trouble with this pic. Couldn't get it to turn right when uploading but friend Sharon started our luncheon off with these delicious Garlic Shrimp and Avocado Crostini. The perfect pairing with our Fresh Salty Dogs that our hostess served us.

A Brussels Sprout Gratin that was wonderful.



 Ham and Peas Pasta with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce, a quick and creamy pasta dish. The garlic, oregano and thyme gave this pasta dish an excellent flavor.

Teriyaki Chicken Zucchini Noodles, a quick and easy dish, a ten minute dish, healthy and low carb. What's not to love about that?

Another uploading problem, Oooops. This was a Slow Cooker Four Cheese Mac and Cheese, who doesn't love a good mac and cheese and in a slow cooker makes it a great recipe.

Again another uploading foul up and this was an outstanding dish. Creamy Broccoli Salad, the absolute BEST broccoli salad I have ever eaten. Whats not to like, it had cheese, cashews, red onion, cranberries and of course, broccoli in it. Outstanding!!!!! And one I'll make over and over again.



Cinnamon Pecan Roasted Butternut Squash, an under used veggie in my opinion. This was delicious as well and another recipe that I will make.

I brought dessert, a Banana Pecan Nutella Snack Cake. What on earth is not to like about anything with Nutella swirled in it. A moist cake using buttermilk.

Banana Pecan Nutella Snack Cake

150g unsalted butter, softened (5½ oz.)

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup plain flour

1 cup whole wheat plain flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup buttermilk

3 large, ripe bananas, roughly mashed

½ cup Nutella (8 tablespoons)

½ cup pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350* F. Using a 9 X 13 baking pan spray it with a good baking spray.

 

Beat the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, beating well after each addition.

 

In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, both flours, the baking powder, soda and salt.

 

Alternately, add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter mixture stirring until just combined between each addition. Mix in the bananas. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Drop tablespoons of Nutella around the cake randomly and swirl in roughly with a knife, so there is a bit of Nutella everywhere. Scatter the pecans over the cake, pressing some in and leaving some on top.

 

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until a deep golden brown until  a skewer inserted comes out clean.

 

Allow to cool slightly before cutting. Makes 20 squares.

 

 

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Luncheon was served buffet style.

A good time was had by all. The decision to cook from this blog, Damn Delicious  was an excellent one and it is definitely a blog anyone seeing this post should take a look at. Simple recipes but yet delicious. My cookbook group will meet again in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to another fabulous culinary experience. Us

Southern girls do know how to have fun.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog and please do come again. I will be sharing this post at Between Naps on the Porch.

 

Carolyn