Goodbye, 2020

Louise Jacks Fudge Pie

We all know about the bad things that took over 2020. Some terrible things. It has been a year like no other. But we found some good things in 2020, too. It's been hard to see the good because we have been so focused on the virus that upended life as we know it. Covid even complicated the "regular" bad things that happened in peoples lives and made those "bad" things terrible.

But I'm looking back at the good things that happened this year...

• We had a new granddaughter born right after the calendar page flipped over. What a joy it has been to watch her grow!

• My cabinets and drawers may be the cleanest they have been in years. With so much time at home I've done deep cleaning out that was way overdue.

• I am exercising faithfully now. Every single day since March 15. I'm using Grow Young fitness online. It's designed for senior adults. (Forgive me, if I laughed at you chair exercisers years ago.) I started at the very beginning—15 minute sessions, all sitting down. Now I'm doing 40 minute sessions, all standing. This is not an advertisement. Just sharing what is working for me. (I asked my dermatologist once what was the best moisturizer I could use. She answered, "Which ever one you're willing to use daily." Kind of the same thing with exercising—find the one you'll stick with.)

• I have spent extra time at the piano figuring out songs by ear. And by golly, it's getting easier.

• I gave up coloring my hair and discovered I that I love the silver color that's been hiding under the blonde I've been paying for. It shouldn't have taken a pandemic for me to figure this out. But it did.

So I'm sitting here on New Year's Eve, planning to watch the ball drop on television. Like we always do. If we can stay awake, we will kiss and toast the new year. But before this year is completely in the rearview mirror I want to share a recipe that we enjoyed on Christmas Eve. One of the many joys of expanding a family is learning about the foods from the other family. This pie, a tradition in our son-in-law's family, was new to me. It was delicious. And so easy. You know me. I am a fan of easy recipes. Todd said I could share his grandmother's fudge pie recipe.

LOUISE JACK'S FUDGE PIE

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (we used refrigerated pie crust)

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 stick butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º.

Melt butter and chocolate. Add flour and sugar. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one until well mixed. Add vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Bake 20-25 minutes, until pie is just set. 

Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Jessica's version:  She opted for bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate.  Because the store was out of bittersweet. Since the chocolate was not unsweetened, she adjusted the sugar and used a scant cup. This also worked well.

The chocolate you use may depend on what's in your pantry. But a good quality chocolate is always a good choice.

Here's to a better 2021!

Party For Two, Anyone?

Toasted Maple Pecans

Just because you're not having a Christmas party this year doesn't mean you can't have party food. We decided yesterday that it would be fun to have just appetizer type foods for our supper. Then when I picked up my grocery order, there were several items out of stock. I checked out what I had here in the fridge and make a new plan. And it turned out just fine. 

And in another change of plans, Jessica and baby arrived right at dinner time—a day earlier than expected. She decided the smart thing to do was come the day before the predicted bad weather. So it turned out to almost be a party. A party for three. Right after she put the baby to bed, we used Christmas plates and helped ourselves to party foods. And settled in to watch some wonderful Christmas concerts on PBS.

Using what I already had here, I made the very quick and very delicious Baked Sausage Dip that we've made before. And in an effort to balance that heavy recipe with some healthy options, I added carrot and celery sticks and hummus and fresh fruit. It was a perfect combination. 

The other snack food I added to the tray was a little bowl of maple-flavored toasted pecans. I've toasted pecans for years but adding the maple syrup was new to me. It was so easy and it only made a little bowl full. Of course, you could easily make a huge batch but one cup of nuts was all we needed this time. These are not glazed and sugary like pecans sometimes are prepared. But there is enough maple syrup to give them a little extra umph!

TOASTED MAPLE PECANS

1 cup pecan halves

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt

Pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 375º. Line a sheet pan (I used a quarter sheet pan) with parchment paper. 

Pour maple syrup over nuts in a small bowl and stir to coat. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper if using.

Toast nuts for 10 minutes then stir. Toast for another 2 minutes and taste them. Toast for another 2 minutes if needed. (Mine took the whole 14 minutes.) Let them cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Toasting pecans is a judgement call—they need to come out of the oven just before they are crisp because they will crisp up as they cool. 

Having a party for two or three at home is simple. I arranged everything on a tray and just that one step made it look special. A local restauranteur years ago said, "I could sell peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at a premium price if I presented them well." He was speaking at a ladies club and told that group that half of success in the fine dining business was in the presentation. Yes. His food was also delicious, but the other half of his success was in creating the proper ambience and serving the food well. I heard many speakers in that club over the years. He is the only speaker I remember 30 years later.

I am taking a blog break for a few weeks. We, like many of you, are observing Christmas in new ways. Our celebration will be pared down to suit the times. We may discover that there are part of this scaling back that we like. And at the same time we will miss some of our traditions. But Christmas will come in its own fashion this year. And it will be one for the books. I imagine we will be talking about this particular Christmas for years. Be sure to make some good memories, too.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you all!

Soup For The Non-Soup Lover

Mexican Cabbage Soup

During the holiday season—even this strange one—you might feel the need to take a food break. Not a "don't eat anything" break, but a break that calls for lighter foods. Even if the parties have been fewer, some holiday foods might have still made it to your table. (Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes, anyone? Your special homemade fudge?) We might need foods that are not so carb loaded. But we still want delicious. And I always want easy. My friend Missy told me last week that she had made this soup for her dinner. I quickly looked up the recipe. It fits the bill of not-so-carby while being simple to put together. It's also gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free and fits paleo and whole30 diets. What it is not, is flavor-free.

I have the same cookbook that Missy used. Both of my daughters cook from it frequently. (Mommy also recommends the Greek Lemon & Oregano Potato Soup.) When I looked up the recipe I realized I had all the ingredients here...if I made a couple of minor changes. I didn't have any beef broth here but I did have a jar of Better Than Bouillon roast beef flavor. I mixed up 6 cups of that. This bouillon base is handy to keep in your pantry, but know that it needs to be kept in the refrigerator after it's opened. And my fire roasted tomatoes were garlic flavored, so I adjusted the amount of garlic I added.

This was a perfect supper on a cold rainy night. And it was the perfect balance to the caramel cake we enjoyed that same evening. It's Daddy-O's birthday week. We had the soup again the following night for supper and Daddy-O said it was even better than the first time.

Starting to simmer.

Daddy-O is a well-known non-lover of soups. There are a couple of exceptions, but in general he does not like soup the way I do. But he declared this one "a keeper." (Could be all the meat in the soup.) That is high praise from him. 

To speed up the "making supper" process, I diced all the vegetables ahead of time. And I measured the spices into a small cup, ready to all to the pot. Then it was simple to make the soup. Here is my version. (Only minor changes from the original.) Don't let the unglamorous name throw you. It's good!

MEXICAN CABBAGE SOUP

    -makes about 3 quarts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb 93% lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion (about 1/2 of a medium onion)

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 cup diced green pepper

2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

6 cups low-sodium beef broth (I used Better Than Bouillon to make mine)

1/2 head of cabbage, cut in half & thinly sliced

1 (14.5 can) fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Pinch of cayenne (or to taste)

Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Add ground beef, onion, carrot, green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up ground beef, until beef is no longer pink. 

Mix in broth, cabbage, tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, until cabbage and vegetables are tender. Stir in lime juice and serve.

If you are looking for a cookbook to add to your collection, The Defined Dish--Healthy and Wholesome Weeknight Recipes is a really good choice. Both of my daughters have cooked many of these recipes, as has my friend Missy. All of them have used the same word when they tell about the recipes here—flavorful. We don't do Whole30, but the recipes here are just good ones. And it's good to mix in some "clean" recipes along with my regulars. 

The ingredient lists can look long, but it's often only because there are more spices/herbs to be measured. I find it helpful to measure all of those before I start cooking. It's the worst to have the main ingredients in the pan only to discover you are out of one of the spices. Plus, it seems to speed up the prep process. I often measure the spices earlier in the day—or even the day before. Less kitchen time required when it's close to dinner time.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

This year's odd Thanksgiving has come and gone. We were home alone but thankful for FaceTime and Zoom so that we could have a little visit with the family. While we certainly missed the big family gathering and the tables loaded with food, we didn't starve. Far from it. And I didn't have to cook for a couple of days. LOTS of leftovers. 

Since I was only cooking for us, it was a good time to try a new recipe. Our Thanksgiving table always includes a sweet potato casserole. I love it. It's topped with brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon. It's sweet enough and rich enough to be a dessert—even after I halved the amount of butter my mother used— but here in the south it totally qualifies as a vegetable. 

A plain baked sweet potato is pretty awesome. If they are really good potatoes, they are sweet enough as is. A sprinkle of cinnamon is all you need. But it was Thanksgiving. I wanted something "special." And I found the perfect recipe. Here is my version of the Food Network recipe from The Neelys. It was an easy make ahead dish that was much lighter on the add-ins than my usual. Adding this to my recipe list. 

TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATOES

3 medium sweet potatoes, similar in size & shape

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Salt & pepper

Cinnamon sugar (I keep some mixed up in a shaker bottle)

Preheat oven to 400º. Scrub potatoes well. Place on baking sheet and bake 1 hour, or until tender. 

While potatoes are baking, mix remaining ingredients, except for salt and pepper. 

Let potatoes cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes in half and scoop flesh into a mixing bowl. Mix in the butter/cream cheese mixture completely, adding salt & pepper to taste. (I only added a little.) Spoon potato filling back into potato shells. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar.

Place potatoes in a baking dish. If you are making the day ahead, cover and refrigerate. Before serving, bake at 350º for about 30 minutes. If you aren’t making them ahead, bake after stuffing the potatoes for about 15 minutes.

Serves 6

Today, after making these for our Thanksgiving, I actually watched the video of The Neelys making these. They did it slightly differently so that each person got a whole potato. For our meal which had many side dishes, a half potato was plenty big enough.