Good Ol' Chicken N Dumplings

Nothing like comfort food to soothe the soul. Try this soup and soothed you'll be! This recipe calls for dry sherry. NOT cooking sherry. There is a difference! You can find dry sherry in the liquor dept. of your local super market. It's worth getting as it affordable and lasts forever in your cupboard.

Chicken and Dumplings
Serve 6 to 8

Stew:
5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (I used half breasts and half thighs)
salt and ground black pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 ribs celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion, minced
6 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Dumplings:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons reserved chicken fat (or unsalted butter)

For the Stew:
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin. Pour off the chicken fat and reserve. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken. Pour off and reserve any chicken fat.

Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.

For the Dumplings:
Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and fat in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.

Return the stew to a simmer, stir in the peas and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

Drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

Really Good Peanut Butter Cookies

I received this recipe from my MIL who got it from her MIL. It probably came from the back of a peanut butter jar or something. Who knows. All I can say is they are great! I double the recipe, bake at 325 degrees F. for about 17 minutes and use about 2 oz. of dough per cookie to get 20 nice large crisp yet chewy cookies. I'm posting the original recipe as is and will let you play with it as you wish. Enjoy!

Vel's Peanut Butter Cookies©

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream together peanut butter and butter. Gradually add sugars. Mix well. Add egg, mix well. Sift together flour salt and baking soda. Add in two additions to creamed mixture. Beat well. Drop teaspoon size and flatten with fork. ( I roll them into balls first and then flatten them.) Bake at 350° F. for 8-10 minutes. Makes 4 1/2 dozen.

Coconut Layer Cake

I love this recipe! This cake was so good and the frosting is pretty tasty as well. The cake is dense yet moist. It tastes a lot like a wedding cake to me. You can definitely taste the coconut in this recipe but it's subtle. You can find cream of coconut usually in the drink/mix aisle in your local grocery store. (it's used in pina coladas) The cream of coconut separates in the can so be sure to stir well before using. Enjoy!

Coconut Layer Cake

Makes one 9-inch, 2 layer cake

Serves: 8-10

Cake:

1 whole large egg, room temperature

5 large egg whites, room temperature

3/4 cup cream of coconut

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces), sifted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 12 pieces, softened

2 cups packed sweetened shredded coconut (about 8 ounces), toasted

Coconut Frosting:

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1 tsp. coconut extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

16 Tbsp. unsalted butter (2 sticks) unsalted

1/4 cup cream of coconut

3 cups confectioners' sugar

For the Cake:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil two 9-inch round cake pans with vegetable spray, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2. Whisk egg whites, cream of coconut, water, whole egg, and extracts together in a large bowl until combined and set aside.

3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on lowest speed to combine, about 30 seconds. With mixer still running on lowest speed, add butter 1 piece at a time, then beat until mixture resembles coarse meal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

4. Add 1 cup of the egg mixture, increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. With mixer still running, add remaining egg mixture in a steady stream and continue to beat until batter is combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl and beaters as needed (Batter will be very thick.)

5. Divide batter between cake pans and smooth tops with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few crumbs attatched, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Keep oven on so you can toast your coconut.

6. Cool in pans on wire racks about 10 minutes, then loosen cakes from sides of pans with paring knife, invert cakes onto racks, remove parchment paper and then re-invert; and let cool completely before frosting, about an hour.

7. Spread shredded coconut on rimmed baking sheet; toast in a 325 degree F. oven until shreds are a mix of golden brown and white, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. Cool to room temperature.

For the Frosting:

8. Stir the cream, extracts and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter and cream of coconut together in a large bowl with a mixer at medium high speed until smooth. Reduce speed to medium low, slowly adding confectioners' sugar, and beat until smooth, 2 to 5 minutes. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, 4 to 8 minutes.

9. Frost cake. Press toasted coconut into sides of cake and sprinkle it over the top.

Rich and Tender Dinner Rolls

Aaah... nothing like homemade rolls. This dough is nice to work with and makes a rich and tender roll. It makes 24 so unless you plan on having company I would freeze some after baking.

Rich and Tender Dinner Rolls
Makes: 24 rolls

1-1/4 cups whole milk, warm
10 Tbsp. (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
2 Tbsp. sugar or honey
2-1/4 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1-1/2 tsp. salt

1. Whisk the milk, 8 Tbsp. of the butter, and the egg together in a medium bowl. Mix 4 cups of the flour, the sugar, yeast, and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. With mixer on low speed, add milk mixture and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute.

2. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If after 5 minutes, more flour is needed, add remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until dough clears the side of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom.)

3. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

4. Divide dough into 2 even pieces. Then divide each piece into 12 even pieces (making 24 pieces total) and cover with plastic wrap so dough does not dry out. Working with one piece of dough at a time, round them into small balls. Space the balls evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and wrap loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap (I spray with vegetable spray). Let rise in a warm place until the rolls have doubled in size and the dough springs back slowly when indented with a finger. 30 to 60 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the rolls with the remaining 2 Tbsp. melted butter and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rolls cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Herbed Polenta

This was adapted from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and oh so good! I served it with Chicken Piccata, steamed broccoli and sour dough rolls.

Herbed Polenta
Yield: 6 servings

6 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups polenta
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesano Reggiano
3/4 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often with a wisk, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese, milk, butter, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and pepper, and stir until the butter and cheese melt. Transfer the polenta to a bowl and serve.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

This recipe for red velvet cake is sooo good. It's light and moist. I made mine into cupcakes and got about 32 and baked about 18 minutes. I also substituted cake flour for the all purpose flour. If you use cake flour adjust accordingly...1 cup all purpose flour= 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour.

Enjoy!

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Cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
2 tablespoons red food coloring
12 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Frosting:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
16 ounces cream cheese , cut into 8 pieces, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch salt

For the cake:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs in large measuring cup. Mix cocoa with food coloring in small bowl until a smooth paste forms.

With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add one-third of flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add half of buttermilk mixture and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl as necessary and repeat with half of remaining flour mixture, remaining buttermilk mixture, and finally remaining flour mixture. Scrape down bowl, add cocoa mixture, and beat on medium speed until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, give batter final stir.
Scrape into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

For the frosting:

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in vanilla and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
When cakes are cooled, spread about 2 cups frosting on one cake layer. Top with second cake layer and spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.

It's a cupcake thing...

Aaah cupcakes...... Who doesn't like them? I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that don't. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. Matter of fact I like anything that isn't good for you and has lots of chocolate in it. So I searched and searched for a really good chocolate cupcake recipe all claiming to be "the best". This one had great reviews and well it was so darn easy to make! (With all the whisking it works on that turkey flap on the back of your arms as well) This is the first I tried of the many recipes I have and I must say I can't imagine any of the others being any better. It's moist, chocolatey has a nice crumb and kind of tastes like a brownie. The frosting is tasty too (and Toto too?) and very easy to make. It's great for piping.

Oh, by the way...If your on a diet???...You might want to skip this one for a cheat day.

So without further adieu I present to you......

Chocolatey Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes 24
(recipe can easily be halved)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa (I used regular unsweetened and it worked fine)
1-1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
No Cook Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (below)

1. Combine butter, bittersweet chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Microwave, whisking often until melted and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
2. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line your muffin pans with cupcake liners.
4. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
5. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in another large bowl. Slowly whisk in sugar until combined. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.
6. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate batter and whisk until combined; whisk in all of sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until completely incorporated. Hang in there! The batter will be thick.
5. Fill muffin pan cups about 2/3 full. (I use a 2 oz. scoop) . Do not fill more than that as these rise on up and you will have mushrooms! I actually filled mine a little less. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from the pans and let cool completely on racks before frosting. Frost with buttercream then sprinkle with your favorite candies. Enjoy!

No Cook Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla (or add your favorite flavoring)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Stir cream, vanilla and salt together in a small bowl. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium high until smooth. About 1 minute. Lower speed to medium low and slowly add powdered sugar and beat until smooth, 2 to 5 minutes. Beat in cream mixture then increase speed again to medium high and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so.
Makes 3 cups

Bundt Butter Cake

This is such and easy and deliciously moist cake with a nice buttery taste. You can serve with a dollop of whip cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side if your heart so desires.


PREP TIME 30 Min
COOK TIME 1 Hr
READY IN 2 Hrs

Bundt Butter Cake

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, 2 cups sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Blend in the 1 cup of butter then add buttermilk, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 4 eggs. Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

While your cake is baking you can make your butter sauce: In a saucepan combine the remaining 3/4 cups sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and the water. Cook over medium heat, until fully melted and combined, but do not boil.

As soon as you pull your cake out of the oven prick holes in the still warm cake. (I use either a chop stick or sometimes a large fork) Slowly pour sauce over cake making sure to get sides and center of cake. Let cake cool completely before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

Marinated Chicken Wings, Baked or Grilled

Heres' a tasty one that I've been making for years. You can either bake them or grill them.

Marinated Chicken Wings, Baked or Grilled
3 lbs. chicken wings
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. molho sauce or chili sauce
4 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. hot sauce (like Tobasco)

Put the chicken wings in a ziplock bag (or a bowl with a tight seal). Mix remaining ingredients and pour over wings. Marinate about 8 hours or over night.

Place wings in large baking pan, reserving the marinade. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes, then turn wings and paint liberally with reserved marinade. Bake 20-30 minutes longer, removing the wings from the oven before they begin to char.
Serve hot, warm, or cold. Serves: 4

To grill:
Place wings about 6 inches above glowing coals and follow the same procedure above except that it's better to paint them several times with the marinade instead of putting it all on at once.
Enjoy!