Something to Crow About!

This past Monday, we had the opportunity to celebrate our dear friend Bonnie's being 90 YEARS YOUNG! Bonnie is a role-model for all who know her, and who also aspire to being as lively and as active as she is, should we be blessed to reach that age. Bonnie has many dear friends and it would have been nice to include them all but, that said, I feel strongly that when a meal is served (especially one including soup!), each guest needs a place to sit at a table while eating. And preferably, close enough to the main table that she can see the guest of honor. In our home, that meant 17 (without expanding onto the deck, sunroom, or downstairs). It was a nice group, particularly in light of the fact that several generous friends offered to help with the food: Eileen brought some nutritious Wheat-Apple Muffins; Janet made a colorful salad of Mixed Spring Greens with Craisins, Blueberries, Mandarin Oranges and Pecans with a Poppy Seed Dressing; and Rosa brought a yummy Lemon Cake to go along with the Tunnel of Fudge Cake that I made (options are good, yes?!). I also made Chicken Tortilla Soup, and several requested the recipe, so I will include that in this post.
I think fresh flowers make any occasion "special," but for this occasion, I branched out a little. Okay, A LOT! I used artificial sunflowers and added fresh asparagus and kale. Yup, you read that right. I did something similar a few years ago for a fall event for which I used the same theme, and had so much fun I thought I'd reproduce it. As waaay out as that sounds, it gets worse (or better, depending upon your perspective). I later roasted the asparagas and served it with Wild Alaskan Salmon with a Dilly Remoulade; a fresh Spinach, shaved Parmesano-Reggiano, and Toasted Pinenuts Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette, and loved having the kale to use in Olive Garden-style Zuppa Toscano. Yum-O!

I've been making my own version of Chicken Tortilla Soup for a number of years now, since I first tasted it on a trip to Dallas, TX. I used to saute the fresh veggies (onion, garlic, celery, tomatoes, jalapenos, etc.) myself, but sometimes it took time I didn't have, and it finally occurred to me that those same veggies were already in salsa, so I tweaked my own recipe and now just use the salsa (lots of it!). I needed soup for 20 for the luncheon, and wanted plenty left for my family to enjoy for a meal or two, so following are the amounts I used for a crowd that size. NANCY'S CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP (FOR A CROWD)
4 quarts chicken broth
12 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (Do not dilute.)
2 large jars salsa (or to taste)(can use mild, medium, or hot, depending on your personal taste; I recommend using mild to medium for a group, however, as some do not like it hot)
2 cans corn (can use frozen, and in the summer, I've been known to use fresh)
2 cans black beans
2 rotisserie chickens, deboned and shredded (about 12 cups meat)
Pour broth into a very large kettle (I use a canner because it's thick and the soup won't scorch). Add condensed Cream of Chicken soup and stir to blend. Bring to a boil. Add salsa (If you're not sure how much, add some, and add some again at the end to taste.) Stir in the corn and black beans and then add shredded chicken. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer on low until ready to serve. Or cool, refrigerate, and reheat. Freezes well.
If you want to make a few cupsful for a small family, start with 3 cans of broth and 2 cans of condensed soup. NOTE: You can click the photo to see how I served this but I like to added shredded cheddar, a dollop of both sour cream and guacamole (you can pass them separately, if you like), some thin strips of multi-colored tortilla chips, and a sprig of Cilantro or flat-leaf parsley. ENJOY!

If you love chocolate and nuts, as I do, you can click to enlarge the following photo and drool (as I do) over this Tunnel of Fudge Cake. Bonnie loves chocolate and nuts so I just HAD to make this special (and decadent; she can afford the calories) cake for her birthday. It will really date me when I admit that I first tasted this fabulous cake when a coworker brought it to work at the University of Utah in the late 60's/early 70's. I have loved it since but make it rarely (I last made it when I hosted a baby shower for my young friend Kathy, and her twins are getting ready to turn seven!), and it's been a day or two. If you have a special occasion just around the corner, and simply can't resist, here's the recipe:

TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
________________________________________
Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups margarine or butter, softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chopped walnuts*
Glaze (NOTE: I omitted the glaze and served it with a drizzle of homemade hot fudge sauce, a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping, fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 to 6 teaspoons milk
DIRECTIONS:
________________________________________
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch tube pan. In large bowl, combine sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well. By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan; spread evenly.
2. Bake at 350°F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan.** Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 1/2 hours. Invert onto serving plate; cool at least 2 hours.
3. In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) Increase flour to 2 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons. Bake as directed above.
Bonnie informed us that she doesn't plan to be around for #100, but if she is, I'd be honored to do this again. Maybe we just need to have a party for her each year from now on . . .

Cookies in the (Kimball) Parlor

I had the opportunity this past Sunday to teach a lesson in the women's organization (the Relief Society) of my Church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). In fact, the lesson was on the organization of the Relief Society in 1842. The initial meeting of the women was held "in the parlor" of Sarah Granger Kimball's home. Inasmuch as history tells us that Sarah Kimball had a seamstress, I think it's fair to assume that her home was perhaps a bit "grander" than some of the early families could afford. Is it also fair to assume, as I pointed out to the women in my class on Sunday, that there would have been TREATS at that meeting? I think so; therefore, I asked the women to pretend we were in the parlor at the Kimball home, and I served them treats (cookies). Many asked for the recipes so I will include them here. I did not have time or foresight to photograph all the cookies while arranged on the fall platters, so I borrowed a couple of each kind from the few I kept to put in my granddaughter's lunch box this week. The first cookie--the Gingersnap--is a long-time favorite and comes from Betty Crocker herself.


GINGERSNAPS (BETTY CROCKER’S COOKBOOK)
A pungent gingersnap—crispy on the edges but soft in the center.
¾ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 ¼ cups Gold Medal Flour*
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar
Mix thoroughly shortening, brown sugar, egg and
molasses. Blend in remaining ingredients except
granulated sugar. Cover; chill 1 hour.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough by rounded
teaspoonfuls into balls. Dip tops in granulated sugar.
Place balls sugared side up 3 inches apart on
lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes
or just until set. Immediately remove from baking sheet.
4 DOZEN COOKIES.
*If using Self-Rising Flour, decrease soda to 1 teaspoon and
omit salt.

The second is a Gooey-Butter Cookie. Our family has loved Gooey Butter Cake for as long as I can remember. So when several asked for the recipe and I said it was similar to Gooey Butter Cake, and they were not familiar with it, I was surprised. For that reason, I decided to go ahead and include all the variations, from vanilla to chocolate and inbetween. I knew I'd find them on Paula Deen's site (FoodTV) because she's an avid fan of these. And wallah!
I'll provide the recipe for the Gooey Butter Cookies first, and then the Cakes. You can alter the cookie recipe in the same manner as the cake recipe to make any flavor of Gooey Butter Cookie you choose:
CHOCOLATE GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
1 (18 ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1 stick of butter, room temperature
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner’s sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and gooey. Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Servings: 2 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Difficulty: Easy

GOOEY BUTTER CAKES
From: The Lady & Sons Just Desserts by Paula H. Deen
"Butter Gooey Cakes. Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes. Ooey Booey Gooey Cakes. These are just a few of the names I've heard our guests at The Lady & Sons call 'em. But to quote Shakespeare:
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
This is exactly how I feel about our Gooey Butter Cakes. No matter what you call them, they're like that sweet rose that Shakespeare wrote about. These delectable cakes were an instant hit the first day they showed up in The Bag Lady basket and they immediately became one of my most requested items. These little sweeties actually resemble a bar-type dessert instead of what we know as a traditional cake. Over the years, I have made every flavor imaginable, using this basic recipe. I'll give you some of my recommendations but by all means experiment and have fun creating your very own version of our signature Gooey Butter Cakes.
Cake
• 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow (or your choice) cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• Filling
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
3. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.
4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

Pumpkin Gooey: This variation has to be at the top of my list, especially around Thanksgiving. For the cake part, I sometimes use a spice cake mix. I have even used a chocolate cake mix, but I think my favorite is the basic yellow cake mix. Follow the original recipe, adding a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and top each square with a pecan half. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I promise you'll never want pumpkin pie again!

Pineapple Gooey: Add a 20-ounce can of drained crushed pineapple and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Lemon Gooey: Use a lemon cake mix in place of the yellow cake. Add the juice (approximately 1/4 cup) and zest of 2 lemons to the cream cheese filling. Proceed: as directed above.

Carrot Cake Gooey: Use a spice cake mix, and add 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Peanut Butter Gooey: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter and an extra egg to cream cheese filling. You can sprinkle the top of batter with 1 cup chopped peanuts if you like. Proceed as directed above.

Chocolate Chip Gooey: Use either yellow or chocolate cake mix. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts on top of filling. Proceed as directed above.

Banana Gooey: Use a yellow cake mix. Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas and an extra egg. Proceed as directed above.

Nutty Gooey: Use a yellow cake mix, and add 1 cup chopped nuts to the cake mixture. Proceed as directed above.

Chippy Gooey: Stir 1 cup white chocolate chips, peanut butter chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, Heath Almond Toffee Bits or Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits into filling. Proceed as directed above."
(end of Paula's comments)

Nancy again:
I love the Relief Society organization, a charitable Society, which allows women to act according to their natures and feelings of charity and benevolence. I particularly like the following quote, which is advice given to those first women who desired to have such an organization, by Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet Joseph Smith's mother:

"We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together."

What a wonderful promise this is to look forward to. I invite you to enjoy both the hope of that promise, and the recipes!

Aloha!

"Aloha! [ah loh' hah !]
May there be friendship or love between us!
Greetings to you and me!"


My friend Linda and I traveled to Hawaii in January of 2008 to celebrate our joint birthday and my having retired after 30 years at MO State University. Things to love about "The Islands" are too many to innumerate but one of the things I loved most was the sincere way in which we were greeted and made to feel welcome. This was true even when we attended church; we were greeted by beautiful young children who gave us leis. Surprisingly, they were not made of flowers (as many there are); rather; these were made of yarn. Our Sunday School teacher greeted us with Aloha! And everyone in attendance responded with Aloha! back to her. I enjoyed this greeting so much that as I have greeted classes and taught lessons since returning from Hawaii, I, too, have told attendees I like to welcome them with Aloha! and hear them welcome me in return.

What I have not told my class members is that the woman who taught the Sunday School class in Hawaii also passed homemade cookies around the room while the lesson was being taught. I remember that they were full of the traditional Macadamia Nuts, and were yummy!

Since I'm teaching a class this weekend on CHARITY: THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST, and since I've been out of state a lot lately and have been missed the women in my class, I decided this was a good time to go the extra mile and add the second part of the greeting (the cookies). So I spent the afternoon trying out two new cookies recipes and will share them on Sunday during my lesson on charity. I've always liked Almond Roca candy, but had never tried an Almond Roca cookie, so was intrigued by this recipe, which I found on FoodTV. Steve and I liked the result so I thought I would share the recipe.

Blue Ribbon Almond Roca Cookies
Recipe courtesy Lynn Scully, Rancho Santa Fe, California
Cook Time: 22 min (I used my convection oven and baked for 20 minutes)
Makes approx. 4 dozen cookies (if you make approx. 1" dough balls)
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 package toffee bits
• 1 cup coarsely ground almonds
• 4 ounces milk chocolate
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend sugars together on medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Add eggs and vanilla and mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. At low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and then the toffee bits. Mix until just blended; do not over-mix.
Place ground nuts in a small bowl. Using hands, roll balls of dough into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll in the ground nuts. Place on cookie sheets several inches apart. Bake approximately 22 minutes and then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Melt the chocolate with the vegetable oil in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Drizzle melted chocolate over cooled cookies. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and place in freezer or refrigerator until chocolate is firmly set.
The second recipe is for Chocolate Chip Ranger Cookies. I've made Ranger Cookies for years, and they are one of my personal favorites, but I had never made them chocolate chips. I also had never formed them in balls and rolled them in powdered sugar, as this recipe called for. Here's the recipe in case you'd like to give them a try:
Chocolate Chip Ranger Cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 cup butter or shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 cups corn flakes
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• confectioners' sugar as needed
Preparation:
Cream together the butter and both sugars. Blend in the eggs. Into a separate container, sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder then add to the creamed mixture, blending well. Mix in the vanilla; stir in the rolled oats, corn flakes, coconut, chocolate chips and pecans. Form mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Roll in powdered sugar. Press down with a fork on greased baking sheets. Bake in a 350° oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes about 4-5 dozen chocolate chip ranger cookies, depending on how large you make the dough balls, of course.
As much as we enjoy cookies as "food for our bodies," there's an even better kind of nourishment to be had. Using one of the quotes that I like best from this lesson on CHARITY, THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST , I made little labels for the cookie bags. (If you maximize the photo by clicking on it, you should be able to read the quote.)

I hope that the combination of the words I share and the cookies will help those in my class to feel as well fed and welcome as Linda and I felt while visiting in Hawaii.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I just signed up for a FREE six-month class on Photoshop. If you're interested, check out the following site: http://creativetechs.com/freephotoshopcourse

My "Baby" Turns the Big 4-0!

I guess my blogging style could best be described as "Feast or Famine;" I go for several days/weeks without blogging, and then can't stand it any longer, so I take time out and blog several things that have been on my mind. Today is the "Feast" side of blogging, depending, I suppose, on whether or not you enjoy reading them (I do enjoy thinking about the events that shape our lives, and recording them for the benefit of our children, grandchildren, and beyond who, hopefully, are or will be interested).

Our older son recently celebrated his Big 4-0; amazing, when one considers that I'm simply not old enough to be his mother. Regardless, we had Gary, Sara and Reed for dinner last evening to celebrate Gary's birthday. We usually have an all-family dinner, but the kids' current work schedules make it next to impossible to have them all at once. Later this week, we will have Jon's family to celebrate Brittany's recent birthday.

Ever since Gary became an avid golf enthusiast, it has been our custom to include golf balls as part of his Christmas and/or birthday gifts. I told Gary last evening that his Dad and I decided we must be too busy or getting old (Nah!) because this is the first time we have not come up with some extraordinary way of disguising the golf balls. We have done everything from wrapping 100 of them individually and putting them in a large box of styrofoam peanuts (time-consuming!), to frosting the boxes in order to make them look like a cake (disappointing to 4-year-old Reed who was looking forward to eating it)(2008 picture below), and the very best, according to the kids, having the balls be the "innerds" of a very long snake that Steve designed and I sewed (2007 picture below). We had toyed with the idea of a scavenger hunt this year, but we simply didn't have the time or inclination to get it together, so this year's gift was boringly wrapped with paper and ribbon (but the wrapping did have both black and yellow labs on it; or as Reed put it, "Caesar and Samson!").

Kyra was here as I making preparations for yesterday's dinner and I noticed the name "Haricot Verts" on the thin, French green beans I was pleased to find at Sam's Club. I told her I used to read cook books like other people read novels, and especially liked the ones that included the stories of how the recipes came to be, or what they meant to that person or family. An example would be the Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, wherein I learned that the original bread recipe was developed by a loving mother who was desperate to find something her ailing child could eat, and later shared with other young patients referred to her by her son's pediatrician. These loaves were often wrapped in paper and carried to the city by her husband, who rode public transportation to work.

So, I told Kyra that the first time I ever saw the term Haricot Verts in a recipe, I had no idea what it meant (and it wasn't explained), and I couldn't find it in a dictionary at the time. I think I called the local extension service and talked with the Home Economist (it was in a recipe, afterall). Another term I had to look up in a later recipe was Merliton (vegetable pear). The steamed Haricot Verts (with carmelized Vidalia onions and bacon) turned out well last evening; I have never prepared a Merliton. :) One day, I hope to write (if even just for my family) my own narrative-style cookbook of faves.

It is fun to watch one's children grow into adults and become parents themselves, as in Gary's and Jon's cases. The greatest satisfaction for me is realizing that they finally have some idea just how very much we love THEM!

My personal version of Cinnamon Rolls is Gary's favorite "birthday cake," so I made those again this year.