We (and by “We”, I mean my son and I), are trying to create some new traditions, and make new memories.  It’s been hard after the divorce to not be saddened by what /was/, and instead, be happy with with /is/.  And so I decided to do some new things this year, one of which is to make some different foods.  This recipe, though I have made it in the past on occasion,  is not something I would normally make.  First, I don’t often use refrigerator rolls, and second, it’s rather too much for the two of us.  But it is Christmas, and I did want new/different foods.

This version of Monkey Bread, aka Pully Bread, Pull Apart Bread, Picky Bread, Pinch Me Cake – whatever you may know it by, (and in the end, whatever it is you choose to call it), is ridiculously silly easy.  With the plethora of names this recipe is known by, there are 1000x that many versions of this recipe.  I bring nothing new to the recipe whatsoever.  It just happens to be what I decided to make, and to share here. Listed below the recipe are a few other versions.

With supervision (the caramel/syrup is just  too hot for little ones), this version of the recipe can be made by kids, and takes only about 10 minutes..maybe 15 minutes from start of prep to entry into the oven.

Quick and Easy Monkey Bread with Pecans

3 12-ounce tubes refrigerator biscuits, or rolls (like the Pillsbury type) (or a double recipe of your favorite yeast bread)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (up to 1 cup, if you like, and I do!!)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins, dried currants, or dried cranberries (or similar)

Open the tubes and remove the ready-to-bake rolls or biscuits.  The object is to cut each piece into 4 pieces.  I try and remove the rolls from the package all in one full roll, slice longways in half twice, making 4 long pieces, and then pull them apart into the quarter section.

The traditional pan to use is a “bundt pan”.  I don’t happen to have one, so I used a disposable aluminum pan – a double long bread pan

size. (as shown here). Spray well with ‘Pam’, or oil well with vegetable oil and set aside.  You don’t want to use a regular bread pan size as it is too small for this recipe – it needs to be double long.

In a ziplock bag, pour in the 1 cup of sugar, and the 3 tablespoons cinnamon.  Zip it closed and shake it to mix.  Put 1/2 of the cut up biscuits/rolls into the bag, zip to close, and shake until all the pieces are well covered. Put these pieces into the pan.  Get the remaining pieces ready to go, by putting them into the ziplock bag.  Shake them, and leave them in the bag for now.

Meanwhile, put the butter and brown sugar into a saucepan.  Stir often, and then, once the butter and sugar start to melt, stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Boil for about 1 minute.

Once this has boiled, pour 1/2 over the pieces in the pan.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the pecans, and half of the remaining cinnamon.  Cover this with the remaining pieces from the ziplock bag, and pour the remaining half of the butter/brownsugar syrup overtop.  Cover with the rest of the nuts and cinnamon.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes.  Once this is done, remove from the oven and allow to set at least 10 minutes.  Turn out onto a serving dish or platter.  This will be VERY hot, so be careful.

Notes:

• Use walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts — whatever suits your fancy
• I like this with a lot of cinnamon — it just makes it taste so nice — I sprinkle a bit extra over everything ;)
• I’ve doubled this fine, but used a large, deep double cake pan.
• This is good leftover, heated in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes.

Other Monkey Bread recipes of interest:

• Alton Brown’s version, Overnight Monkey Bread
• Various versions of Monkey Bread — with lots of variations, from savory, to sweet
• Cooks.com – lots of different versions and ways to make Monkey Bread

Copper Cookie Press

I remember so vividly making spritz cookies (spritzgebäck.) at Christmas every year.  I loved making the tree shaped ones, as well as the stars.  We always made trees, stars, wreaths, and camels.  And always used food coloring — red, green, yellow, and sprinkled them with sugar or decoration. What I especially remember was eating the trees — one little tree ‘section’ at a time, until all that was left was the very tip, where there was a shiny candy “ornament”.

I always enjoyed making spritz cookies, because of the many different shapes that were possible – mostly because I really dislike making rolled out cookies — they take way too long and you are never finished when they come out of the oven — you have to decorate every single one.  Spritz cookies, on the other hand, are yummy tasty, shaped nicely, and handled minimally.  A bonus for Christmas time, imo.

There are quite a lot of cookie presses on the market — everything from electric and battery operated, to hand crank, press, gun, and screw extruders.  I’m most familiar with the type shown here to the left.   The bottom twists off so you can change the shapes easily, and fill quickly.  It’s easy to clean, doesn’t have a ton of moving parts, and if the one I have is indication of the length of time these last, mine is just about 50 years old (my Gram gave it to me about 12 years ago).  Take a look in your mother/aunt/grandmothers cabinets, and you may find one similar to this.  I’ve collected about 40 different shaped disks over the years, so you may find a fun assortment.

Using a old press such as this is simple, but needs a good bit of wrist movement.  Choose the shape you’d like to make, and then fill the cookie press 2/3′rds full, packing the dough.  Insert the screw and tighten.  Place the press on the cookie sheet, and twist one full twist around, and then slightly backwards.  Lift, and then repeat until you’ve filled the cookie sheet.  If the dough is too soft (warm), it will stick.  Put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes (20 or so), and then start again, (careful -  if the dough is too cold, it won’t extrude.)  Press the cookies onto a cool cookie sheet, not one just out of the oven.

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies (Spritzgeback)

1 cup butter, softened
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg (yolk only)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Oven should be set to 350F

Mix butter and cream cheese together well.  Add sugar, and mix until fluffy.  Add egg yolks, vanilla and lemon peel.  Mix well and then gradually add in the flour and salt.

Using a cookie press, press the cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned.  If you don’t use parchment, just use an ungreased cookie sheet.

Allow to cool about 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet, and then remove and cool completely.  These will keep fine in a tightly sealed container or bag, and freeze wonderfully.

This recipe is a perfect and easy solution.  Perfect for leftovers from Thanksgiving, or that roast you made on Saturday. It’s a quick put together for a weeknight meal, or with a breakfast of eggs on a Sunday morning.

I’m really trying to practice the frugality that I’ve learned over the years, and this recipe is great on the pocketbook.  Use leftover mashed potatoes – the remainder of the ingredients are usual pantry staples, with the cheese being about the only thing you might not have on hand.

Enjoy!

Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter

Mix together potatoes, egg, salt & pepper, flour and cheese. You can either make patties, by hand, or drop spoonfulls onto a hot pan, and then flatten with a spatula.  They should be about 1/2 inch thick, and around 3 inches diameter.

Melt the butter on a non-stick pan.   Cook anywhere from 5-8 minutes per side, until golden brown.  I prefer about 8 minutes, as they get nicely crispy.

Notes:

There are a lot of additions that can be made to these:

• green onions or scallions
• chives
• minced onion
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• minced bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green)
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• diced ham
• bacon bits
• Parmesan

I first made these one year when we had “leftover” Thanksgiving guests — they stayed for the weekend.  I needed something simple, because I was literally all cooked out from the day before.  I didn’t have flatbread, and instead used tortillas, but these were a big hit with everyone.

The recipe is a fluid one — it can be changed easily, depending upon what you have left from the big meal.  The last time I made this, I used leftover salad – lettuce, diced carrots, onions, tomatoes, black olives – in place of the spinach, tomato, onion that is in the recipe below.  It was one less thing to have to prep.

The recipe for flatbread is included below — literally, and I’m not kidding – 5-7 minutes prep, 6-10 minutes cooking, and these are ready.  They are quick, and so simple.  And once you make them, you really will be amazed at how often you will add them into your recipes, replacing sliced bread, or tortillas.

Oh, I can’t wait for this!!!

Enjoy!

Turkey, Avocado, Spinach and Bleu Cheese Flatbread Sandwiches

2 cups cooked turkey
2 green onions, chopped
1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/3 red onion, minced
1/3 vinaigrette
4-6 pieces of flatbread (recipe below), or tortillas
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup Gorgonzola, crumbled * see note

Gently mix the turkey, onion, tomato, onion and avocado – you don’t want the avocado to become mush.  Add in the vinaigrette and stir gently.  To serve, put the turkey mixture into a flatbread or tortilla and top with the spinach and blue cheese.  Roll and serve.

Notes:

• Replace the Gorgonzola with any type of bleu cheese you might like
• Replace the Gorgonzola bleu cheese with gouda cheese, or, for that matter, almost any other kind of cheese that you may prefer
• Use tortillas in place of the Flatbread.

Quick Flatbread

3 cups flour
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all the ingredients, cutting in the shortening, and mix until combined and doughy.

Now, there are a couple of ways to do this:

• Cut the dough into 5 equal pieces, and roll each piece into 6-8 inch circles

Or

• Roll out the whole batch into a large rectangle.  Make a slice directly across the middle, so you have a top and bottom piece, and then cut those in 3rds, so you end up with 6 smaller squares.

Once you’ve gotten these rolled out and sized, prick the pieces with a fork — at least 7-8 times on each piece.

To cook, lightly oil a non-stick pan (Spray with Pam very lightly).  Cook over medium-high heat, and turn once.  These cook fast, so watch them carefully.  Be fully prepared to ruin the first ;)

There are tons of uses for these – just think this:

1. A leafy vegetable
2. A tomato of some kind
3. A protein of some kind
4. Cheese of some kind
5. Put on a flatbread, and eat!!

LOL — But really, flatbread is really incredibly versatile.  You’ll find all sorts of good uses for it.

Quick Flatbread

3 cups flour
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all the ingredients, cutting in the shortening, and mix until combined and doughy.

Now, there are a couple of ways to do this:

• Cut the dough into 5 equal pieces, and roll each piece into 6-8 inch circles

Or

• Roll out the whole batch into a large rectangle.  Make a slice directly across the middle, so you have a top and bottom piece, and then cut those in 3rds, so you end up with 6 smaller squares.

Once you’ve gotten these rolled out and sized, prick the pieces with a fork — at least 7-8 times on each piece.

To cook, lightly oil a non-stick pan (Spray with Pam very lightly).  Cook over medium-high heat, and turn once.  These cook fast, so watch them carefully.  Be fully prepared to ruin the first ;)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

Everything you can think of was served — all sorts of pickles – sweet, and extra sour; 10-15 different types of olives; all sorts of hard aged meats, and cheeses; breads; and all sorts of savory dips.. you name it, and it was on the table.

One thing that everyone always seemed to like was a basic cream cheese based clam dip – simple and easy to put together.  You can make this up to 2 days ahead without a problem.

Doxsee Minced Clams - 6.5oz can

There are several different types of minced clams on the market, and depending upon where you live, the availability will differ.  I tend to use the brand pictured on the right – Doxsee Minced Clams, from the The Doxsee Sea Clam Co., but use what you have around.

Creamy Chilled Clam Dip

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 cans (6-1/2 ounces each) minced clams, drained
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoon chili sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese until smooth.  Add in all the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate for 4-6 hours before serving, though it tastes even better if allowed to refrigerate at least overnight.  You can, if necessary serve this right away.

Serve with crackers, or small, thin sliced breads.

This recipe is a slight adaptation from a recipe that’s been going around for years.  The traditional recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, but I always felt that was lacking something.  So, one year, I tried it with toasted pecans, and wahhlaaalaaa – it was great.  If you don’t want to use the pecan crust, try a Gingersnap or Graham cracker crust instead.

Enjoy!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust

Pecan Pie Crust (recipe below)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoons water
1 16-ounce can pumpkin

Combine the milk, egg, spices and salt.  Set aside.

In a sauce pan, sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the water and let stand for 1 minute, then begin stiring over low heat, until the gelatin is totally dissolved – about 2-3 minutes.

Keeping the heat on low, and using a whisk, blend in the milk/spice mixture into the gelatine.  Stir until the mix is slightly thick, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat, stir in the pumpkin, mixing well.  Pour into the pecan crust and chill at least 6 hours, but overnight is best.

Garnish with extra pecans, if you haven’t eaten them all ;)

Toasted Pecan Pie Crust

2 Cups toasted pecans
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon water

Lay the pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for about 2-3 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Watch them carefully

Remove and place the pecans in a food processor and grind until fine.  Add the remaining ingredients and continue to process until the mix starts forming a ball and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

Press into a 9 inch pie pan, pressing the mix evenly across the bottom and up the sides.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

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Dessert on Thanksgivng!!

The traditional thing is Pumpkin Pie, and I’m all for that (there’ll be an upcoming recipe for it, too), but one thing that I think always hits the spot after Thanksgiving dinner is a nice cool dessert.  The house has been heated up all day, your tummy is full of hot turkey, potatoes, yams, stuffing, and corn — and to round out dinner, a chilled dessert always seems to fit the best.  Last year I made Roosamanna Semolina Pudding, and this year it will be Cranberry Cream Pie.

You can use canned whole cranberries if that is your preference, though I usually use a homemade cranberry sauce (as is linked below).  Use what you like, and what you have though.

Enjoy!

Frozen Cranberry Cream Pie

Graham Cracker Crust (see below) (No need to bake, just refrigerate before filling)
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup Orange Cranberry Sauce (Or one can of whole berry cranberry sauce)

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.

In a second bowl, combine the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla.  Whip until thick, but not stiff peaks.  Gradually add in the cream cheese, beat until smooth and creamy.  Fold in the cranberry sauce. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the cranberry sauce for garnish.  Spoon the mixture into the graham cracker crust and freeze at least 4 hours.  Overnight is best.

To serve, remove from the freezer about 10 minutes before hand.  Top with the remaining cranberry sauce and any left over whipped cream.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until well-combined. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate or tin. For baked pies, preheat oven to 350 F and pre-bake crust for 7 to 9 minutes. Cool before filling. For no-bake refrigerator or freezer pies, no baking is necessary.

I have my notes from the day here beside me now – the only thing that is “exact” measurement was the sausage – everything else was an estimate.  I later made this recipe again, being much more careful about measurements, and the note taking. 

One thing I will say about this recipe —  it goes fast, and I do mean that.  Super fast.  Make extra if you want leftovers.  This recipe should serve 6-8 easily.

Sausage, Mushroom & Sage Dressing

1/2 pound Italian sausage
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 pound mushrooms – sliced
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 medium onion – chopped
salt and pepper to taste
6-7 cups dry bread, cubed
1/2 teaspoon dried sage or 1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced fine
2 1/2 –3 cups chicken stock
drippings from the turkey

In a frying pan, brown the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.  Once the sausage has cooked, remove the sausage and set aside. Drain away the grease from the frying pan, leaving a bit left in the pan.  Add the butter, and melt it.  Add in the onion, celery and mushrooms and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is clear. Add in the sage, and then salt and pepper.  Add the sausage back in, add the cubed bread, and enough of the stock to moisten the bread. 

Place in a greased baking dish.  2 quart casserole dish is best, but a 9×13 cake pan will work fine, too. Cover and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.  Add in a few teaspoons of drippings from the turkey once or twice, just to give that extra depth of flavor.  Uncover and bake about 10 more minutes.

Notes:

• If the Italian sausage you get is in casings, just remove it and break it up as much as possible.  Well.. cut it into tiny pieces, as it is impossible to actually “break” up.
• Mix up the sausage – use sage sausage, or your favorite sausage
• I don’t really like poultry seasoning, which is why you see drippings from the turkey added into this recipe, but if you do, add in about 1 teaspoon when you mix in the sausage to the onion-mushroom-celery mixture.
• Try other additions:  raisins, currents, any kind of good fresh mushrooms, water chestnuts
• One final note – you can easily double the amount of sausage in this recipe, and it’ll be just as fantastic (if not better – but then again, you all know I love sausage!! :D )