Pancake Day!!!

Today is Shrove Tuesday (also known as Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday, which signifies the beginning of the Lenten season.  Shrove Tuesday can take place anywhere between February 3^rd and March 9^th (it’s actual date each year is dependent on the lunar calendar) but it is always 47 days before Easter. Because Lent is a time of sacrifice, which in the past included giving up meat, fat, eggs, and dairy, the idea behind Shrove Tuesday is to have a big feast.

Want to learn more about Shrove Tuesday? Check out my post over here:  http://cynsreality.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/shrove-tuesday/

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour

3 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 T. sugar

1 ¼ cups chocolate milk (note: if making regular pancakes simply use regular white milk and omit the chocolate chips)

1 egg

3 T. butter, melted

chocolate chips (quantity to your preferences)

Instructions: Sift together the dry ingredients – yes it is important to sift in this recipe if you want lovely fluffy pancakes. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the remaining ingredients. Mix this together until smooth. Use about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake and cook them in a greased skillet or on a griddle over medium high heat. My mom always taught me to watch for little bubbles to form on the tops of the pancakes – when they were pretty much covered with little bubbles it was time to flip them over to brown the second side. (Why is it that almost everyone I know says that the first pancake they make out of any batch is always ruined? It’s like you need to get a “practice” one out of the way so you can get down to business!)

Want to make other variations? Use the plain milk and then add about a cup of fresh berries, chopped apples, or diced peaches or pineapple. You can also use about ¾ cup cooked crumbled bacon, ¼ cup chopped nuts, or a large banana, chopped. I have heard of more adventurous types even adding things like grated carrots or zucchini to them.  I’ve even heard of some adding flaked crab meat to them!

Cranberry Pecan Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup dry milk powder

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup chopped toasted pecans

1/4 cup rolled oats

5 T. butter

3 eggs. beaten

1 1/2 cups water

Instructions:  Mix all dry ingredients together. Melt the butter and beat the eggs.  Stir the water and butter into the beaten eggs.  Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well with a fork (don’t beat).  Cook 1/4 cup portions over medium heat in a buttered skillet about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Check out my recipe for Red Velvet pancakes over here:  http://cynchronicity.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/tasty-tuesday-pancake-day/

Meatless Monday: Cheesy Strata

Ingredients:

4 T. butter plus a bit more for lightly greasing the pan

2 T. Dijon mustard (I really like a grainy one)

12 thick slices of bread,  – Challah or brioche are really lovely here

1 1/2 cups shredded old Cheddar (or another cheese of your choice)

1 cup grated Parmesan

6 eggs

3 cups milk

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. paprika if desired

Instructions:  Blend together 4 T butter with 2 T Dijon mustard and use as a spread on slices of bread.  Cut each piece of bread into quarters.  Start layering as follows into the greased 9 by 13 pan:  16 quarters of bread, then 1/2 cup shredded old Cheddar, 1/3 cup Parmesan.  Repeat this so that you have made three layers in total.  Mix together eggs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour this egg mixture over the layers in the pan.  Sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp of paprika if desired.  You can bake this as soon as all of the liquid is absorbed by the bread layers (I find an hour is the minimum you can get away with) but it’s also a great make ahead dish.   In fact, I like it best of all when it’s been chilled and allowed to soak in overnight!  Bake for one hour in a 350 degree oven (uncovered).  You want a knife to come clean when you stick it into the strata. 

There are TONS of variations you can make with this recipe.  I’ve personally tried adding leftover veggies like asparagus, spinach, caramelized onions, and broccoli;  instead of using all Cheddar, I’ve used 4 cheese blends (a great way of using up last little bits of leftover cheeses);  and of course, if you’re not going meatless, this is a great way to use some leftover bits of meat like ham.  Without any of the spices and by cutting back on the mustard, I made this dish for my daughter when she was a baby.  It’s soft and was easy for her to eat and she LOVED it.

Frugal Friday: Free Recipe Books

From Smuckers:  http://www.simplyfrugal.ca/2012/01/free-printable-recipe-booklets-from-smuckers/

Vegan holiday recipes: http://www.simplyfrugal.ca/2011/12/free-vegan-holiday-recipe-book-download/

Holiday Treats

Cranberry Praline Mascarpone Spread

Ingredients:

1/3 cup finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts

1/4 cup sugar

1 T. butter

1/4 tsp. vanilla

8 oz. mascarpone

1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel

1 T. Grand Marnier (can substitute orange juice if preferred)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 T. milk (if needed)

Instructions:  Line a baking sheet with foil and butter it.  To make the praline mixture, mix together the nuts, sugar, butter, and vanilla in a skillet.  Cook over medium heat without stirring until the sugar starts melting.  Shake the skillet every so often.  Turn the heat to low and keep cooking until the sugar has turned a golden colour.  Stir often, using a wooden spoon.  Spread coated nuts onto the prepared baking sheet – break up and chop finely.  Beat together the mascarpone, orange peel, and Grand Marnier.  Stir in the cranberries.  Just prior to serving, stir in the praline mixture (and the milk if you feel the need to thin down the spread a bit).  This is delicious served with cookies and/or fresh fruit.

Overnight Eggnog Bread Pudding with Cherry Bourbon Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. loaf of French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

4 eggs

1 qt. eggnog

2 T. sugar

1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

2 T. Bourbon (can substitute orange juice)

Instructions:  Spray 9 by 13 inch baking dish (glass) with cooking spray.  Fill with cubes of bread.  In a bowl, combine the 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg.  Add the eggs, whisking well.  Stir in the eggnog.  Pour this mixture over the bread and toss gently to coat.  Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (and up to 12 hours).  Remove from fridge and sprinkle with the 2 T. sugar.  Put the glass dish into a larger baking pan – place into a 350 degree F oven.  Pour 1/2 inch of water into the larger pan to create a water bath.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until lightly browned and when an inserted knife comes clean.  In a pan, mix together the pie filling and butter and cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes, until the butter is melted.  Remove from heat and mix in the bourbon.  Serve slices of bread pudding warm with the cherry sauce.

Virtual Cookie Swap

Have you added your recipes to our virtual cookie swap right here on this blog?  Still plenty of time as it goes right until Christmas!    Follow this link to the cookie swap post and check the recipes we have so far.  I’d love for you to add some of your own as well! http://islandtearoom.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/virtual-holiday-cookie-swap/

And go download this free PDF Cookie Swap Recipe Booklet from Cityline TV:  http://site.citytv.com/cityline/cookieswap/2011/cookieswap2011.pdf

Tip Tuesday: Food Safety for your Holiday Buffet

Here are a few safety tips for your holiday buffet to help keep yourself and your guests healthy:

1)  It’s vital that you keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.  Allowing food to sit out at room temperature can create a breeding ground for bacteria.  Use items such as warming trays, slow cookers, and chafing dishes to keep hot foods at a safe temperature of at least 140 degrees F.  Pack cold foods in crushed ice to maintain a temperature of 40 degrees F.  If you must keep food out at room temperature, keep track of how long it’s been sitting out.  After 2 hours, it needs to be thrown out because at that point, the amount of bacteria in the food can begin doubling every 15 minutes.

2)  Remember you don’t have to put out ALL the food that you’re serving at the very beginning.  If possible, keep some in the refrigerator or on the stove/in the oven until you need to replenish the buffet.  This will help place a limit on how long food is being left at room temperature.

3)  Make sure you put out plenty of serving utensils – forks, spoons, ladles, tongs.  There should be at least one per dish and a few extras are generally a good idea.  And yes, you should put them out even for the finger foods (or use toothpicks) and for things like chips and candies.  More people touching the food means more chances to introduce bacteria into it.  Unfortunately, most people have really poor hand washing habits!

Holiday Entertaining Guide E-book

Erin Chase, $5 Dollar Dinner Mom, has a fabulous e-book all about budget friendly Holiday Entertaining  and it’s on sale this weekend only for the crazy budget friendly price of only 49 cents!  I downloaded it to my Kindle and in all honesty, for only 49 cents, I really only expected to maybe get a recipe or two that would interest me.  After all, I’m a foodie and love to cook and entertain and often when I see a book of this sort, I look through it thinking, “yeah yeah, I’ve seen all of this before”.  Plus, we have our favourite recipes, our holiday traditions and it takes something pretty amazing to make me veer away from those.  I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  For one thing, it’s not just recipes.  There are ideas for table decorations, place cards, and even conversation starters.  With your purchase, you get access to free holiday printables to help you plan your menu, grocery shopping list, table decor and more.  There’s even a bonus 10 holiday dessert recipes! 

As for the recipes, my “to try” list is already filled with such yummy sounding delights as cider glazed turkey, pumpkin eggnog, and roasted sweet potato salad…all in all, I’ve already picked out 15 recipes that I want to try out this holiday season!  The recipes are not only economical but look easy to make and sound so delicious! I should have known this book would be a hit after the number of times I have used her original $5 Dollar Dinner Mom Cookbook (which, by the way, I saw advertised at Amazon.com for under $6 – what a bargain!).  In case you haven’t guessed already, I highly recommend this Holiday Entertaining Guide e-book and suggest you snatch it right up while it’s on sale for the ridiculously low price of only 49 cents! By the way, you don’t have to own a Kindle or other electronic reading device to get this book – it can be downloaded to your computer or iPad as well. 

Check out this link for more information and a coupon code for ordering:

http://www.5dollardinners.com/2011/12/holiday-entertaining-guide-ebook-49-sale.html

Eggnog Fudge

Ingredients:

3/4 cup eggnog

2 T. light corn syrup

2 T. butter

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:  Butter and 8 by 8 inch pan.  Also lightly butter the inside of a heavy, medium sized saucepan.  Put eggnog, corn syrup, butter, and sugar in the saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and this mixture has come to a boil.  Use a pastry brush dipped in hot water to wipe down the sides of the pan to get rid of sugar crystals.  Put in candy thermometer.  Keep cooking until this mixture reaches the soft ball stage (238 degrees F).  Pour into a large bowl.  Allow to cool until lukewarm (about 110 degrees F).  Add the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until thickened.  Spread in 8 by 8 pan.  Use a knife to score into squares.  Place in refrigerator until firm. 

Virtual Holiday Cookie Swap

It’s time!!! Start linking up your favourite cookie recipes and join the Little Red Apple Tearoom’s virtual cookie swap.  Please click on the linkie below and link up the permanent link to your actual cookie recipe, not to your home page.   You can link up as many cookie recipes as you’d like.

Reminder: Cookie Swap Begins Tomorrow

This is a reminder that our virtual holiday cookie swap begins tomorrow.  To take part, all you have to do is share one or more of your favourite cookie recipes.  There will be a linky  for you to link up your blog posts  here on the blog tomorrow.  Can’t wait to see what great  cookie recipes everyone shares!