Welcome to My Kitchen

December, Christmas shopping, seasonal programs and parties are rolling into full swing. Preparations for holiday meals and gift giving are foremost in the minds of most folks. Lecia Fink brought luscious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies to a recent community music event. This cake style cookie is filled with the goodness of pumpkin and spices as well as rich chocolate chips. Baking these cookies on parchment lined pans allows the cookie to bake more firmly than most cake style cookies with out burning.

Pumpkin

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

pinch ground ginger

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 can (15 ounces) solid pack pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugars together until creamy. Add pumpkin and vanilla, mixing well. Mix in egg. Gradually beat in dry ingredient mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by small spoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cooling racks. Yield 4-5 dozen depending on size. Layer in tins for gifts, separating layers with waxed paper.

Note: Lecia said she used more cinnamon than called for so I added 1/2 tsp more. I used 1 cup mini-chocolate chips and 1 cup finely chopped pecans because I really like pecans with pumpkin.

Speaking of gifts, there are sets of tiny measuring spoons available for measuring a dash and a pinch.

Managers Debbie and Jeff at Odessa Foods have been very gracious about trying to order in food items I request of them. If they can find it on their supplier order sheets they will get it in. My latest request, Acini Di Pepe, that tiny little pasta for frog eye salad, came in within a week of my inquiry.

Shelly Hauge’s Fruit Salad (Frog Eye) is my favorite of the numerous versions I have tried. It is just the right texture and uses the juices drained from the fruits so there is no waste. It can be made ahead and is a sweet/tart accompaniment to any meal.

Fruit (Frog Eye) Salad

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3 egg yolks

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits

1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges

1 3/4 cups Acini di Pepe pasta

16 ounces heavy whipping cream

Drain crushed and tidbit pineapple well, reserving juice. You should have 1 3/4 cup reserved juice, if not, add juice from the oranges. Combine sugar, salt, flour and egg yolks in a medium sauce pan until blended. Stir in reserved pineapple juice. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook stirring often until thickened.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a large kettle. Stir in pasta and return to boil. Adjust temperature to prevent boiling over while maintaining a rolling boil. Cook about 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well. Stir in sauce and chill over night. Refrigerate drained fruit as well.

Next day, fold in drained fruit. Beat whipping cream until thick but not stiff. Gently fold whipped cream into pasta mixture. Chill until serving time. Yield 12-15 servings.

Cookbooks make excellent gifts for the cooks on your gift giving list. The Odessa Memorial Hospital Auxiliary has their latest cookbook, Unser Tagelich Brot, The Staff of Life V, available at various locations in Odessa, and by mail. (See ad in this issue of The Odessa Record.) It features a vast collection of German recipes as well as current Odessa favorites.

Another culinary book, hot off the presses, is Rhulman’s Twenty, Twenty Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook’s Manifesto, by Michael Ruhlman, Chronicle Books. This book will be welcomed by all interested in learning or improving cooking skills. It is filled with descriptions, pictures and examples of the techniques.

One technique explained is sweating. This has nothing to do with physical activity, but is a method of cooking the moisture from ingredients with out browning. This method is most often used with onions, garlic and shallots, but may be used with any moist food item. I often use this method when pre-cooking ground beef for casseroles such as the Ham-Burger-Beans I brought to a recent potluck lunch.

Ham-Burger-Beans

2 Tbsp canola or olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 pound diced cooked ham

1 pound ground beef

1 can baked beans

1 can pork and beans

1 can small white beans

1 can great northern white beans

1 can pinto beans

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp prepared mustard

3 Tbsp brown sugar

In a large skillet with tight fitting lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and stir well, cover and cook slowly about 5 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile, drain white, great northern and pinto beans well. Reserve juice for future recipes if you like. Place all beans in a 3 quart casserole dish. Add onions.

Return skillet to heat and add ham, stirring often until just heated. Add ham to beans.

Return skillet to heat again and add ground beef, stirring well to break into very small pieces. Adjust heat so just barely bubbling, and cover. Stir often making sure to keep meat from browning, but cook until meat looses its pink completely. About 8-10 minutes. Drain well and stir into beans. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well.

Place beans in oven, covered tightly. Turn oven to 325 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Share your favorite recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159 or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Place bird feeders and water high, so skunks and raccoons can’t get at it.