Raindrops on roses...

On days when our house just can't seem to get warm I like to bake cookies. The oven is normally on for a few hours, and everybody, of course, is perfectly fine with the fact that the house is warm and there are fresh, homemade cookies to be found. I have tried a few different varieties, but cookies are one area that I don't really stray from the mainstays: chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar, refrigerator (at Christmas) and every once in a while I will do something different, like peanut butter thumbprints (I know that isn't really different), or I will add different types of chocolate chips or perhaps toffee chips (divine!). Now, perhaps you noticed a very common cookie that I didn't include in that list, namely, oatmeal raisin. There is a reason for that. I am not was not terribly fond of oatmeal raisin cookies, and I have a very valid reason for that. Have you noticed that the raisins get this burned taste? Maybe you like that, but raisins are not my favorite to begin with, so then when they taste burned I pretty much have no desire to eat them. I like the cookie part of oatmeal cookies, so I have often considered altering the recipe slightly, i.e. omitting the raisins, but I just haven't gotten around to doing it.
Lately, though, I have been purchasing my rolled oats in bulk from a large warehouse store (read: Costco). I use it for a myriad of things I cook, from meatballs to butternut squash muffins, and rolled oats are better for you than instant oatmeal, so I try to fix that for breakfast about twice a week. Anyway. I have a lot, I mean a lot of oatmeal laying around, so I decided to look in my no-fail recipe book and make some oatmeal cookies from that recipe.
I substituted dried cranberries for the raisins, and added semi-sweet chocolate chips, just because chocolate is good in everything. Well, almost. They were awesome! The cookie is so soft and chewy, with a very buttery flavor accented with just the right amount of sweetness. We couldn't stop eating them. My Dad named them his new favorite cookie.

The next time I made them I used white chocolate instead of the semi-sweet, and that was also wonderful. A little on the sweet side, but if you are a sugar fiend like my sister you will really enjoy that.
The variations are virtually limitless. We like dried cranberries a lot. If you like dried apricots, that would be delicious with the white chocolate chips also. Just about any dried fruit would be great and you could put white, semi-sweet, milk chocolate or dark chips. Coconut, walnuts, pecans or almonds would be absolutely incredible!
I recommend making a double batch and sharing with your friends or the elderly in your neighborhood or church-they will love you for it!

Oatmeal Cookies
makes about 48 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups rolled oats or quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 or more baking sheets with vegetable-oil cooking spray or line with parchment paper or silpat.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
Stir together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy and blended. Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture in two additions and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Reduce the speed to low, slowly add the dry ingredients, and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Stir in the oatmeal, cranberries and chocolate chips.
Drop rounded tablespoons of dough about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden and the centers are barely cooked, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.

Do-Ahead:
Bake half the cookie dough, then wrap the rest in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for later baking. The dough keeps for 1 week in the refrigerator and 1 month frozen.

Hush, puppies

Have you ever had hush puppies? Not Long John Silver's flavorless, cornmeal mass that sucks the moisture out of your mouth, although that is probably the hush puppy you are acquainted with. The only flavor there is oil tainted with something slightly fishy. Those were the items left in my paper bag after talking myself into giving their restaurant one more try.
After seeing a recipe in one of my cookbooks, I thought about how much better EVERYTHING tastes when you make it at home, and fish and chips is a fun weeknight dinner, so why not throw hush puppies in the mix? I searched for my favorite mix for beer batter (McCormicks-just add water) and finally found it on sale once again. I decided we were going to have a deep fried feast! Cod is a lovely fish to use (red snapper is nice, also, just make sure you despine) and homemade french fries are always a big hit.

So, I plugged in my deep fryer, loaded with vegetable oil and mixed together the hush puppies. Pretty basic ingredients, increasing the amounts of seasoning and adding some others and then, when the oil was ready, I dropped the mixture in. As they drifted to the top, I turned them, making sure both sides turned a nice, deep golden brown. I scooped them out and transferred them to a towel to drain, then piled them on one of my plates. As soon as the first little blurb came out that was too small to be a real hush puppy, I popped it in my mouth (to test the flavors) and wow! First, there was the gently crunchy exterior things get when they are fried at home. It almost melts in your mouth. Then, a soft, flavorful center with just the perfect texture was the next sensation to overwhelm me. Mmmmm....was all I could say.

My son ran into the kitchen, no doubt smelling something cooking and began rifling through the pantry. I offered him one (it is amazing how children can instantaneously know something is either deep fried or loaded with sugar) he devoured it and promptly demanded more. Son Number 2 then saw his brother was eating something, and decided he would also like to partake. It's a good thing this recipe made so many! I, of course, continued sampling about one from each batch I fried up (you don't want anything to be amiss...) and after the kids were done with their appetizer, there were still plenty for dinner, and plenty left over.

With the fish and chips it made a lovely dinner!

I read that these got their name because they were thrown to hunting dogs to keep them quiet. They also work in a similar fashion when thrown to your children...

Hush puppies

2 cups stone-ground cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 cup very finely minced onion
1 stick celery, very finely minced
1 large egg

Optional: 1/4 cup finely minced scallions
1/4 cup finely chopped bacon (in case you were worried the calorie content was not high enough)

Preheat oven to 200°F.

Heat 1 1/2 inches oil in a 4-quart wide heavy pot over medium heat until it registers 375°F.
Meanwhile, whisk together cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, onion, and egg in a small bowl. Slowly pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients, stirring until just incorporated.
Fry rounded tablespoons of batter (about 10 per batch), turning occasionally, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Return oil to 375°F between batches. Keep hush puppies warm in oven.

Morning or evening

There is something decidedly comforting about having breakfast for dinner. I don't believe the same can be said about having dinner for breakfast. I am one of those people that loves breakfast. If we go out any time before noon I want to eat breakfast out. I love places like the waffle shop where I can get potatoes, eggs, some sort of breakfast meat with biscuits and gravy. During my last pregnancy I absolutely craved eggs over easy with toast. Not something I usually eat, but it sure sounded good.
Whenever I read about a new recipe for breakfast food, I just have to try it. I have come across so many delicious recipes, I almost can't decide what to make at times.
The sad thing is, my husband doesn't share my affinity for breakfast. I love it all: scones, waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, casseroles, baked eggs in cream, eggs benedict, bagels, biscuits and gravy, stratas, frittatas, french toast, oatmeal, cold cereal, breakfast breads, muffins, cinnamon rolls, coffee, orange juice, omelettes, donuts, breakfast burritos, fried potatoes, bagel sandwiches, english muffins, etc. Really, the list could go on and on. My husband, on the other hand, doesn't really like eggs for breakfast. If it was up to him he wouldn't even eat breakfast. I have convinced him it is healthier for him to eat breakfast than to skip it, but he normally doesn't eat that much and he normally just wants carbs.

So, we end up eating a lot of things like pancakes, waffles, muffins and breakfast breads. I am always trying different pancake recipes, I have made pumpkin pancakes, sweet potato pancakes, oatmeal pancakes, buttermilk pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes...you get the picture (I just really can't stand making the same things. It's a curse.)
I made pumpkin pancakes with cider syrup, and they were awesome. Then, I got a magazine that had apple cinnamon pancakes with cider syrup and I thought, 'I made those before' (I hadn't...children put holes in your memory). So, anyway, the recipe said to use grated apple. As I thought about making these, grated apple didn't appeal to me. I have peeled and cut up apple and put it in pancakes, but envisioning grating an apple was doing strange things to my desire to make these pancakes. I thought about just peeling, coring, and dicing an apple, then running in the food processor until a little lightbulb in my head went on *ding*. I have applesauce in the fridge, how about just subbing that? So, with a few alterations, (changing a few of the spices and upping the amount of applesauce) these pancakes were born.
I have made them two more times since (that was last week...) and everybody loves them. My son asks for 'mancakes' and the kids squeal when they start coming off the griddle...the cider syrup really adds a delicious flavor. It tastes exactly the way you would expect. Now, if you don't have pancake mix on hand, just make your favorite pancakes, and add the applesauce (don't change your recipe) and cinnamon, and top with the cider syrup. Fantastic!
Now, if I could just get them to last long enough to take a picture...

When greasing the griddle, I like to spray it with a non stick cooking spray (read: PAM) then put about a teaspoon of butter in also, to give the pancakes a nice buttery taste, without relying on the butter to keep it from sticking.

Ingredients
2 cups complete pancake mix
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


CIDER SYRUP:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup apple cider or juice
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

In a small bowl, stir the pancake mix, water, apple and cinnamon just until moistened.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden brown.
Meanwhile, for syrup, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in cider until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Serve with pancakes. Yield: 12 pancakes (1-1/4 cups syrup)