Good Morning.
It has been ridiculously frigid with sub-zero temps over the past week and I am tired of it. Therefore the menu today will feature only warm items. I'm not even interested in a salad and certainly not a dish of ice cream. I sit in my living room
that is trying to keep up with the cold; I wear slacks and a knit shirt topped with a flannel shirt and then a sweater. I have a wool blanket over me along with a velvet throw pulled up to my chin. My hand emerges from my cocoon only to lift my coffee cup or change the channel. I am watching people who are buying a second home in the Caribbean. I have never wanted to live in the tropics because I don't like crawly things, but I may change my mind.
I begin today's dinner for four with Chutney, Cheese, and Bacon Puffs. This would be something I would make in the event that I leave my nest which I will not for the time being. I plead with the dog to make a quick trip when she needs to exit the house. This task is accomplished by standing in the doorway and letting her out on a twenty-foot leash. "If you hurry," I tell her, "I will give you an extra cookie." She laughs at me and rolls in the snow while I stand in the door bundled up in my layers of clothing and the blankie thrown over my shoulders.
Here are the puffs:
1/2 pound grated sharp cheddar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. curry
2 eggs
8 strips of bacon, fried crisp, drained, and crumbled
2 tbsp. mango chutney
12 slices white bread
Separate the eggs into two bowls. Remove the crusts from the bread and toast the slices lightly in your toaster. Lightly. Cut them into quarters. In a bowl, combine the cheddar, baking powder, curry, and egg yolks and set aside. Beat the egg whites
until you have stiff peaks, then gently fold them into the cheese mixture. In a third bowl, combine the crumbled bacon and chutney. Spread the cheese mixture on the toasted bread quarters and spoon a bit of the bacon-chutney into the center of each one. Place the puffs on a cookie sheet and broil 4 inches from heat until, well, puffy.
These little morsels are scrumptious and unfortunately cannot be made ahead. Serve them with a Rum Simmer.
1 32 oz. bottle of cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 of a 46 oz. can unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cloves
Light rum
Cinnamon sticks
Combine the juices, brown sugar, and clove in a large pot on the stove over low heat. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. To serve,
place a shot of rum in a large coffee mug, fill to the top with the juice mixture and garnish with a cinnamon stick. Just as good without the rum for the kiddies or those who made a New Year's resolution that will last for a week, give or take.
No salad, remember, so we move on to Pork Chops in White Wine, easy as pie which is not that easy in my view so I don't
know why people say that.
4 one-inch thick pork chops
2 white onions, rough chopped
Butter
Flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup white wine
1 tsp. soy sauce
Melt half a stick of butter in a large skillet and saute the onions until golden. Scoop up the onions and set them aside on a plate or something. Add a little more butter and saute the chops on both sides until browned. Transfer to an oblong baking dish. Sprinkle with a little flour, salt, and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the white wine with the soy sauce. Place the onions on top of the chops and pour the wine-soy over everything. Cover the dish very tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 325 degree oven for an hour and a half.
Serve the chops with Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes.
4 medium sweet potatoes
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup butter, softened
Dash of kosher salt
Dash of nutmeg
Orange juice
Place the potatoes in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or more until tender. Remove from pan and cool slightly. Slice off the top of each potato and scoop out the pulp. Place in a bowl, add the preserves, softened butter, and just
a dash of kosher salt and nutmeg. Mix well with a mixer. Add just enough orange juice to moisten and mix again. Stuff the
potato shells with this mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. To bake with the chops that are cooking at 325, add
10 minutes to the cooking time. If you made them ahead and just pulled them from the fridge, add another 5.
Add a green vegetable for color if desired, otherwise continue with your brownish orange meal and have ginger cookies with
coffee for dessert. Dunking is recommended.
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Dash of kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Crisco or other shortening
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg
More sugar
Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Set this mixture aside. In another bowl, beat the sugar and Crisco with an electric mixer. Add the molasses and egg, and then beat in the flour fixture. Make 1 inch balls with your hands, roll them in sugar on a plate, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake them in a 375 degree oven for for about 9 minutes until the tops are sort of cracked. Cool for a minute then scoop them with a spatula onto a wire rack to cool completely. You should have about 40 cookies which means everyone can have 2 at dinner and your guests can have maybe 10 more to take home in a baggie if your spirits have warmed considerably.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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