Santa Has A New Elfa

Sometimes it is a wine sort of night. Other times one might like a martini. And for dessert, a Velvet Hammer (see "Grown Folks Milkshake" from September 2012). And then there is the Banana Sheet Cake from The Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook which is enhanced with a little banana liqueur. Suffice it to say, we enjoy quite a wide assortment of spirits at our house. A recent trip to the Container Store was in order to address the organization dilemma. 

Problem: 1) too many bottles but can't part with any of them, 2) inventory check very difficult, 3) trying to reach something in the very back not easy, and 4) since these items have rather long shelf lives, the bottles don't disappear very quickly. 

Solution: Santa's Elfa! At the suggestion of "Tammy" at the Container Store, I removed the liqueurs and mixers from this cabinet to reduce the volume of bottles. Two Elfa pullouts took care of the rest of the bottles. Tammy suggested that the liqueurs be moved to another Elfa unit for the inside of my pantry door. I designated one basket-shelf for mixers. I installed the pantry door unit all by myself! No drill involved nor any extra tools. The allen wrench needed is included in the installment kit. With a couple of the basket-shelves still empty, it will be a pleasure decluttering some other to-be-determined area. 

There might be a Christmas Elfa lurking around the corner to help you. Jot down your measurements and set a goal to straighten up a cabinet in the New Year. Perhaps a little giftcard from The Container Store in your stocking? Merry Christmas, faithful readers!

A Honey Hint For The SOS

When a family grows like mine has, some Stuffers Of Stockings (SOS) eliminate the adult stockings and just do the little people. Other SOS eliminate the stockings altogether. But since I enjoy every single part of Christmas, this SOS is preparing 15 stockings again this year, including my husband's mother and my brother. The biggest issue for me is keeping inventory of what is to go in each one. The endless written lists of groceries and gifts works for awhile, but the stocking items seem harder to track. Stuffing stockings for ages 6 months to nearly 83 years makes for an impossible mental inventory for this brain. So, I am offering my solution to you: liquor boxes, specifically 6-slot like the LARGE bottles of wine come in. I reuse the boxes every year so that I don't have to rewrite names. Then I can peer down in each slot to see whose stocking is lacking. No putting all items on my bed on Christmas Eve to stuff and discover that somebody is WAAAAYYY short. Merry Christmas to all SOS readers!

Stewing A Turkey Carcass

You know the soup must have been good if the grandson finishes off his bowl by drinking the last of it through a straw. If you are a blog follower of mine, you may remember last year's November blog on "The Turkey That Doesn't Quit." Stew your turkey carcass in a quart or two of water for 20-30 minutes, then pour all through a colander, defat the broth again, pour broth back into stewing pot. Once the turkey bones are cooled enough to handle, pull off any meat and chop it fine. This will be added last to your soup. As well as my husband carves a turkey, I still had ample meat for the soup. Bring broth back to a boil, adding any leftover gravy from your Thanksgiving Day feast and the demi-glace to the broth. The demi-glace is the goo in the bottom of the roasting pan which you may have thrown away. No worries, just remember next time to cool the demi-glace, defat it, and freeze it in a labeled baggie for soup. It is truly the essence of the herb-roasted turkey... all of the delicious herbs and flavor minus the fat. Also add leftover chicken broth and water to make 3-4 qts. of liquid. Once boiling, stir in 1.5 cups of regular rice (not the instant), cover pot, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 15 minutes, then return heat to high and add a couple of pkgs. of frozen mixed vegetables. I also threw in leftover lady peas here. Reduce heat to simmer again and let her rip for 15 more minutes or so. Check broth for seasonings. The rice will absorb much of your liquid. Thin with more water/chicken broth to your preference. Remove from heat and add chopped turkey. Serve with iron skillet cornbread for sopping up the broth... or expect a request for a straw.

Foolproof Gravy

The Barefoot Contessa helped me out with this never-fail gravy. I have done mine ahead except for the addition of the brandy, wine, and cream. All will go from the skillet shown here into my large batter bowl with a lid (Pampered Chef), and it will be reheated on reduced power in the microwave. One less thing on the stovetop, and all of the prep tools are washed and put away. Once gravy is hot enough, add the brandy, wine, and cream, then serve. If it needs thinning, just add more chicken broth.

Homemade Gravy

1/4 # (1 stick) unsalted butter           1 Tbsp. Cognac or brandy                                   

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (2 onions)  1 Tbsp. white wine, opt.

1/4 c. flour                                      1 Tbsp. heavy cream, opt.

1 tsp. kosher salt, pepper

defatted turkey drippings + chicken stock to make 2 cups, heated

1. In lg. saute pan (12"), cook butter & onions over med-high heat 12-15 min. until onions lightly browned. Don't rush this step; it makes a difference when onions are well-cooked.

2. Sprinkle flour into pan, whisk in, then salt & pepper. Cook 3 min. Add hot chicken stock mixture & Cognac & cook uncovered 4-5 min. until thickened. Add wine & cream, if desired. Season to taste. Makes 3 cups gravy. 

Layered Chocolate Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting

 Chocolate and caramel... is there a better combination in the cooking world? A festive option from the pumpkin pies and pecan pies, this cake satisfies my inner craving for dense, old-fashioned southern cake. The presentation is so pretty. A cookfriend shared this recipe and idea with me along with the recommendation to use the easy icing from The Cake Mix Doctor. The cake is baked in 2-half bundt pans with the one recipe of cake batter. The half bundt pans are nice to have when baking a full cake for a smaller family is too much cake. Have a cake at home and a cake to give away. In this case, however, both small bundts will be used. The bottom layer is placed on the platter with curved side down. Slice across cake a bit to level surface for layering. (Enjoy this cake remnant with coffee). Pour frosting on this flat part, place other bundt on top with the curved side up. Frost all with caramel icing. Garnish with a crumbled & twisted piece of brown paper for the stem. Hope I can wait another day to slice a piece.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Cream thoroughly: 3 sticks butter, 3 cups sugar

Add: 6 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla

Sift together: 3 cups flour, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ cup cocoa, ½ tsp. salt

Add sifted ingredients alternately with 1 ¼ cups milk to creamed mixture.

Bake 350 for an hour. Try not to overbake… if anything, slightly underbake, if possible!

Frost with Quick Caramel Frosting from The Cake Mix Doctor (tinted with orange food color, opt.). Garnish with pecan halves.            


Quick Caramel Icing
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place butter and brown sugar in medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stori and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add the milk, stir, and bring mixture back to boil, then remove pan from heat. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with wooden spoon or electric mixer to make it especially smooth. Use immediately (while still warm) to frost cake, or else it will harden. If it does harden while you are frosting cake, simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the frosting softens up.

Keeping Christ in Christmas

"Come and sit with Me for awhile. I want you to think about who I really am. I am the only Son of God. I was born completely human and yet I am completely God--all at the same time. This is a mystery that is beyond your understanding. Rather than trying to figure it out, do as the wise men did. They followed a spectacular star, and then they fell down in humble worship when they found me." from Jesus Calling, 365 Devotions For Kids

A cookfriend told me about this Fisher-Price nativity set some years ago. I immediately purchased one for my first grandchild. Now another of my children has a child old enough to begin the dialogue of wonderment of the Baby who came to save us and die for us. I purchased mine through Amazon Prime, and it was here in 2 days. Now it comes with music and lights! This little fellow was quite taken with his gift when he was here for a visit recently. Don't wait until Christmas to order yours for the wee people in your life. Get it now and put it in their little hands so that they can begin to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ who is the Reason for the Season.

Rolls For Royalty

"Bread is the king of the table, and all else is merely the court that surrounds the king. The countries are the soup, the meat, the vegetables, the salad... but bread is king." -- Louis Bromfield

The hardest concept about roll making is that it does take a bit of time, and we are busy people. However, the older I have gotten and the more I have deprived myself of "bread at dinner," I have come to the conclusion that when I am going to eat bread, I want it to be really worth it. So, it is worth it to me to put the time and effort into this delicacy. I will do shortcuts & timesavers in other parts of my meal whenever I can. This recipe was shared with me many years ago from a cookfriend, and the particular "loveknot" shape is from another cookfriend whose own rolls were the prettiest I have ever seen in my life. Ingredient check: leftover mashed potatoes work very well. You can premeasure any leftover mashed potatoes in 1 cup mounds, placing them on a cookie sheet and freezing until solid. Then place potato mounds in gallon zip bag. Make that freezer work! There, one step done. Secondly, don't use cheap honey. I buy local honey at the Farmers' Market. The national stuff is really just colored corn syrup. Not going in my rolls. Procedure check: if you want to do fresh rolls for your event, refrigerate dough after the kneading step covered with plastic wrap and a towel. Can sit here several days. Several hours before your serving time, set out dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour or so. Then proceed with shaping rolls and allowing to rise again as stated below. 
I am ROLLING out the red carpet for my precious family who is my royalty. Plenty of rolls for Thanksgiving. Start planning now to try these for your Christmas dinner. 

Potato Rolls

2 med. potatoes, peeled & quartered   ½ cup butter, melted           2 eggs, beaten           

2 pkgs. dry yeast                              1/4 cup shortening, melted   2 tsp. salt                       

1 tsp. sugar                                      ½ cup GOOD honey           about 6 ½ cups flour

                                                             

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover 15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup water; set potatoes aside. Cool water to 105°-115°. Stir yeast & sugar into water; let stand 5 min.

2.Mash enough potatoes to measure 1  cup; place in large mixing bowl.  Add butter, shortening, honey, eggs, salt, yeast mixture, & 2 ½ cups flour. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes.Change beater to dough hook, then gradually add remaining flour.

3.With dough hook in place, allow mixer to knead batter 8-10 min. Place in well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover & let rise in warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour until doubled in bulk.

4.Punch down dough. Divide into thirds. Shape each third into 15 balls. Place in 3 greased 9” round cakepans. Cover & let rise in warm place, free from drafts, 40-50 min. or until doubled. Bake 400° for 20-25 min. Yield: 45 rolls.

Note: Potato Rolls may be wrapped in alum. foil, then placed in freezer bag, & frozen for up to 2 months. To reheat, let thaw almost to room temperature, place in cakepans, cover with foil, & bake 400° for 10 min. or until thoroughly heated.

To make Libby's Loveknots:  divide dough in half, get 16 pieces (about pingpong ball size) out of each half. Roll out each piece like a skinny hot dog & tie into knot. One roll recipe will yield 32 nice-size rolls. Brush generously with melted butter when removing from oven. To freeze, place 4 cooled rolls on foil and wrap it well to cover. Freeze in gallon zip bags. All foil and bags can be reused.