Original Mom Fenske's German Christmas Cookies

From Guest Blogger Rich Fenske:
These cookies were passed on by mom. I hope you enjoy them as much as her kids and grandkids did each Christmas.

LEBKUCHEN

INGREDIENTS:

Cloves 1 tsp.

Nutmeg 1 tsp.

Cinnamon 1 tsp.

Allspice 1 tsp.

Brown sugar ¾ cup

Eggs 1

Lemon juice 1 tbsp.

Lemon rind 1 tsp.

Sifted flour 2-3/4 cups

Baking Soda ½ tsp.

Citron 1/3 cup

Almonds 1/3 cup

Recipe:

Mix together and bring to boil ½ cup of honey & ½ cup molasses: …..COOL THOROUGHLY

Stir in: brown sugar, egg, lemon juice, lemon rind.

Sift together and stir in: flour, baking soda, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg.

Stir in chopped nuts and citron.

Chill dough overnight

Roll out a small amount at a time keeping  the rest chilled.

Use a rolling mat and make sure it is well floured to avoid sticking.

Roll ¼ inch thick and cut into 1-1/2” X 2-1/2” rectangles then place on parchment paper or a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10~12 minutes.  No imprint should remain when lightly touched.

Immediately after removing from oven brush with glazing/icing (see below).

Cool and store for some time to allow the cookie to mellow. (if you can)

GLAZINING/ICING

Boil together ½ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar until the water starts to thread. Continue to boil and slowly add and mix spoonfuls of powdered sugar in until consistency is bubbly. This takes about 5~7 minutes total. If you need more icing add water and sugar in equal amounts then add a little powdered sugar. Keep the mixture hot and if it does start to cool and harden put it back on the stove.

NURNBERGER Round light colored HONEYCAKES from the famed old “CITY OF TOYS”

INGREDIENTS:

Cloves ¼ tsp.

Allspice ½ tsp.

Nutmeg ½ tsp.

Cinnamon 1 tsp.

Brown sugar ¾ cup

Eggs 1

Lemon juice 1 tbsp.

Lemon rind 1 tsp.

Sifted flour 2-3/4 cups

Baking Soda ½ tsp.

Citron 1/3 cup chopped

Pecans 1/3 cup chopped (almonds okay to use)

Almonds halves blanched and skinned as needed (around 90 halves)

Recipe:

Mix together and bring to boil 1 cup of honey: …..COOL THOROUGHLY

Stir in: brown sugar, egg, lemon juice, lemon rind.

Sift together and stir in: flour, baking soda, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg

Stir in chopped nuts and citron.

Chill dough overnight

Roll out a small amount at a time keeping the rest chilled.

Use a rolling mat and make sure it is well floured to avoid sticking.

Roll ¼ inch thick and cut into 2-1/2 rounds then place on parchment paper or a greased baking sheet.

With your fingers, round up the cookie toward the center till they are approximately 2” in diameter.

Place a round piece of citron in the center and press 3 blanched almond halves around like a flower.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10~12 minutes. No imprint should remain when lightly touched.

Immediately after removing from oven brush with glazing/icing ( see below).

Cool and store for some time to allow the cookie to mellow. (if you can)

GLAZINING/ICING

Boil together ½ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar until the water starts to thread. Continue to boil and slowly add and mix spoonfuls of powdered sugar in until consistency is bubbly. This takes about 5~7 minutes total. If you need more icing add water and sugar in equal amounts then add a little powdered sugar. Keep the mixture hot and if it does start to cool and harden put it back on the stove.

Roasted Root Vegetables-DON'T SAY YUCK!

The kitchen has been open but the internet has not. For whatever reason, Lima Township..home of cornfields and cows, is the place that modern technology has forgotten.  Couldn't surf so I cooked.
Enjoy!

This was only the second time I can remember eating brussels sprouts. ( used to hate them!) I had never cooked with or eaten a parsnip and only once had a turnip. Give them a try! Once baked, they are sweet and salty and wonderful. They make a pretty dish.  And better yet, these veggies are inexpensive and if you don't really like them you can feed them to the neighbors dog or your own, guilt free. ( Sorry you live so far away, Butch)

Roasted Root Vegetables

Toss in a bowl with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper:

2 Carrots

Several Halved Brussels Sprouts

2 Turnips

2 Parsnips

Line a cookie sheet with non-stick foil.  Arrange the veggies on the foil so they do not touch.

Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Turn them and continue to bake for another 20 minutes, or until they are nice and brown.  I like the brussels sprouts almost charred, but not mushy. Check out the picture below of the finished product.

Put them in a pretty bowl and enjoy. I served them with pasta, but they would make a great side with just about any meal.

Guest Blogger - Baked Potato Soup

Hi there!  I'm Hungry Pea's daughter, Katie.  Since my mom lives in the boonies and gets intermittent internet connection, we decided that I would make a guest blogging appearance and share with you my baked potato soup.  If you like what you read here, I'd love for you to check me out on my own blog: www.girlgonenorth.com.

Here in Alaska, the switch from summer to winter is subtle, yet alarming.  It was never that warm over the summer, but the rapidly approaching winter season seems far too abrupt for even the most hardened sourdough.  Before I had a chance to kiss my flip-flops goodbye, the leaves were turning colors and promptly plummeting to the ground.  Fall is a season that nearly doesn’t exist here in the great north. 

The cold weather isn't all bad though, especially here.  The snow brings a whole slew of new activities, and even though every opportunity of skiing culminates in me landing on my ass, I still really look forward to the winter.  One of the best parts of winter doesn't involve any instances of hurtling down the mountain.  It revolves around something that is a bit safer, at least for most people: cooking soups.

I should preface this cooking experience and recipe with a clear warning that I am nothing like my mother in the kitchen.  I am not patient and my only creativity results in concoctions no human would want to eat (I specify human here because my dear dog will eat any shit that comes his way).  I often catch things on fire and regularly drop full bowls of food.  It’s a wonder that anything that makes its way out of my kitchen is edible, but much to my wonder, sometimes I make something that tastes so damn good I wouldn’t believe it was crafted by me if it weren’t for the leftover dishes in the sink and the noxious trash. 

So here, Hungry Pea followers, is what happens when the stars align and I cook an spectacular soup:

First, I’ll give you the recipe.  This is not my usual recipe source, but it was the only one that used the ingredients already in my kitchen, so I went with it.  

Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup

Yield: 8 servings.


3 pounds all-purpose potatoes, scrubbed and pierced in several places


1 tablespoon stick butter or margarine


1 1/2 cup finely chopped onions


2 tablespoons minced garlic


1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth


3 cups milk


1 teaspoons salt


1/4 teaspoons pepper


TOPPINGS: shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon & chopped scallions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes 1 hour or until tender when pierced. Peel when cool enough to handle. Melt butter in a 4 to 6 quart pot over medium low heat. Stir in onions and garlic, cover and cook 10 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add 2/3 of the potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add broth, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Season to taste before serving. Cut remaining potatoes in small cubes. Add to soup and stir gently to reheat. Sprinkle each serving with toppings.

Seems easy enough, right?  Well, things started to go awry right away when I realized that I had no clue how much three pounds of potatoes amounted to.  I’m lucky that my gardening skills are slightly better than my cooking skills, so I had a mass of healthy, home grown potatoes to choose from, but the realization that I had no idea how to weigh them hit me hard, as I had just attempted to convince my fiancé that we needed a food scale.  He insisted that it was a totally useless item and so there I was: weightless.  Or something like that.  I’m not one to let these types of things get me down though, so after some thoughtful consideration, I decided the best way to deduce the weight of my potatoes would be to take them upstairs to the bathroom and stand on the scale, without potatoes and then with potatoes in hand.  DONE.  (note: a food scale has subsequently added to our wedding registry).

I made my way through the ingredient list, pleased that I had all of the ingredients in my fridge/pantry, which is nearly a miracle considering how little I choose to enter a grocery store.  So off I go, cooking away.  Let me tell you right now: it smelled SO good.  And in case you’re getting nervous and you’re starting to wonder why you’re reading this, it tasted really good, too.  I was immediately pleased that the recipe includes an entire stick of butter.  In case you’re new to cooking, anything that involves an entire stick of butter will taste good, no matter what you do to it.  You just need to be ready to look like Paula Deen.  Things continued smoothly until it came time to mash the potatoes.  Of course I don’t have a potato masher.   This was easily solved.  Any kitchen item can take the place of a potato masher, so mash on, as I did with an assortment of large spoons (note: a potato masher has since been added to the wedding registry, as well).

The soup was almost finished when things turned ugly.  I was sure I had a rather large amount of vegetable broth.  Positive.  I actually am still convinced it’s somewhere in the back of that lazy susan taunting me as I write this.  Nonetheless, it was nowhere to be found.  I was caught at a crossroads.  I could peel out of my pajamas after a long day at work, while sick and without a voice, and venture to the store, or I could improvise.  After a few serious minutes of studying the pantry, I made a decision: the other soups would just have to make a few donations.  I pulled out a couple cans of Annie’s No Chicken Noodle Soup and started draining the broth out into a bowl.  It may have not been one of my best moments, but secretly I was pretty damn proud of myself.  That’s some real dedication to cooking.  I’m sure someday, when my meatloaf is moments away from spontaneously catching on fire, the cooking gods will remember my tenacity and cut me just a little slack. 

And so, in the end, I may have used too many or two few potatoes, which may have been a little chunky, and I may have been a little short on broth, but it tasted fantastic and did wonders for my cold weather blues.  Even better, it slightly renewed my faith in my ability to cook and it allowed me to share it all with you! 

Thanks for reading :)

www.girlgonenorth.com

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Instead of cooking, it was a day of feeding The Hungry Pea. In addition to an array of sushi, we had a delicious meal.  A homemade udon noodle dish, quinoa salad and kabobs.

Thank you so much to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law for everything.

Had the best day with my kids, parents and my sweet little nephews.

Since I have not shared a good recipe in a while, I figured I would share a picture of my birthday fun.

A whole table of sushi..( a great idea from Rich )  ..and ....THE LeCreuset.

No Take-out Here

This homemade stir-fry is so much better than the stuff you take home in a box from your local Chinese place.  The sauce was just like what you get at a restaurant, but by making it at home, you know what's in it!

Szechuan Tofu, Broccoli and Mushrooms

Ingredient List

Serves 4

    Sauce

• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 Tbs. chili paste with garlic
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1 tsp. sugar

    -

• 1 lb. extra-firm tofu, drained
• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
• 5 to 6 cups tiny broccoli florets (from 1 bunch broccoli)
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced diagonally

Directions

1. Make sauce: In small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water and stir until smooth. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients. Set aside. 
2. Cut tofu into 1/2 slices and pat very dry. Then cut into 1/2-inch cubes and pat dry again. In large nonstick wok or skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add tofu and stir-fry until deeply golden all over, about 2 minutes. Transfer tofu to plate. 
3. Add mushrooms to wok and stir-fry until they begin to release juices, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and carrots, and pour in 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook until broccoli is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. 
4. Return tofu to wok and toss to mix. Stir sauce once and quickly add to wok. Stir until sauce thickens, about 15 seconds. Serve right away over hot rice.

Made in Chelsea....

This salad was inspired by the Chelsea Farmer's Market.  Saturday the variety of produce available was amazing.

Peach and Goat Cheese Salad

Here's what I put in it:

Baby lettuces
Candied walnuts
Goat cheese, crumbled
Onion, sliced thin
Peaches, cut in wedges
A little salt and pepper
Homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Toss the greens and onion in the dressing.
Arrange on the plate. Top with goat cheese, walnuts, onion and peaches. Add Salt and pepper to taste.
YUM.

Candied Walnuts
Place walnuts and sugar in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves into a light brown liquid and coats the walnuts. Remove walnuts from skillet, and spread them out on a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.


Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons water
• 
  
•      1. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey and garlic.

       2. Drizzle in olive oil in a slow, steady steam, while continuing to whisk. 

       3. When blended stir in water.

       4.Toss greens with just enough vinaigrette to moisten them.
  
  

Gazpacho by a Guest Chef !

Truly a mid-summer favorite, gazpacho is back !
Rich makes this every year about this time,  it is always fresh, cool and wonderful.
Everything that went into his gazpacho was grown locally.  It really makes a difference when you use vegetables that are fresh picked. Even the garlic was grown by a Chelsea farmer.
Take care to get the seeds out of the tomato and cucumber.

Some gazpacho recipes say to use a blender for some of the tomatoes, giving it a smoother, sauce-like texture.  After trying many different kinds, we both find this recipe the best.  It is adapted from " The Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book".  Rich has made some changes and made it his own!

Rich likes his with a dollop of sour cream on top and I prefer mine straight up.

We served this with sourdough bread, olive oil for dipping and fresh avocado wedges.

We enjoyed the meal with a Beringer 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Gazpacho

4 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes ( 4 large )
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup vegetable broth ( you may also use beef broth )
1/2 cup chopped and seeded cucumber
1/4 cup finely chopped green sweet pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
Chopped avacado
Sour cream

In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, tomato juice, broth, cucumber, sweet pepper, onion, basil, lemon juice, cumin, hot pepper sauce, and garlic. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours.  To serve, ladle soup into chilled bowls or mugs. Serve with sour cream and /or avocado wedges.