Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

Bountiful Mushroom Bisque w/ Creme Fraiche

2026-01-01T21:03:00.001-05:00

A lovely mushroom soup worthy of Pennsylvania winters - you could even savor a bowl near a crackling fire while gazing out on a silvery gray landscape worthy of a Wyeth painting ... perhaps one of the gorgeous sycamore that overlooked the Gilpin house at Brandywine Battlefield when it was visited by General Lafayette and was still there in my teen years when I gave tourists tours of the house. RIP majestic tree.

into a large soup pot add a generous turn of olive oil or some beef tallow.

Add:

1 diced onion

a few stalks celery, diced

2 carrots diced

salt and cook until onions are translucent

Add 2 quarts of sliced white button mushrooms and a dash or two of worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook down a bit.

Add 3 quarts stock or bone broth and a cup of marsala wine or sherry. This time I had bone broth from Wyebrook Farm beef bones.

Add dried mushrooms for more variety, dried thyme, powdered rosemary and garlic powder.

Simmer ~30 minutes, then use immersion blender to puree well.

I then added fresh ground pepper, salt, and one more quart of mushrooms - baby creminis, washed and stemmed but not chopped. Simmer until mushrooms are cooked.

Garnish each bowl with one or more of the following:

creme fraiche

heavy cream

sherry

croutons

thinly sliced brie

shredded Swiss cheee

grated nutmeg

oh ... you think creme fraiche is too expensive? Make your own! Put heavy cream into a jar, stir in a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt, stir and let it sit overnight - the cultures will do their work and it will thicken. Then use frother or whisk to whip the cream - lovely in a mushroom soup or on top of chocolate mousse!

Peanut Sauce

2025-11-05T07:32:00.006-05:00

A slightly quicker version a Southeast Asian peanut sauce:

4 cubes of frozen minced garlic

2 T Gochujang sauce

1 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 C tamari (or soy sauce if you don't need GF)

1/4 cup brown sugar

combine in pot and gently heat, whisking until it forms a smooth thick sauce.

I served with shredded beef, white rice and lightly sautéed cabbage and it was quite the hit!

Ginger dressing

2025-04-12T18:39:00.007-04:00

1/4 cup mayo

~ 1 oz ginger past or finely grated ginger

2 tsp tamari

2 T orange juice

splash of sesame oil

2 T honey

Ricotta Almond Flour pancakes

2025-03-23T19:13:00.003-04:00

mix well:

2 cups ricotta

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

dash of almond extract

dash of vanilla extract

drop or two of orange oil

zest of 1 lemon

add:

4 cups almond flour

Heat griddle to medium heat, grease with butter. Scoop batter onto hot buttered griddle, smooshing down a big if necessary. Brown on both sides.

Aunt K's Pot Roast & Polenta Rounds

2025-01-15T08:25:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lb chuck roast

kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp powdered rosemary

2 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup dry red wine, cabernet or merlot

3 1/2 cups beef stock

6 thyme sprigs OR 1 tsp dried thyme

2 rosemary sprigs OR 1 tsp dried rosemary

Optional secret ingredient: 1 packet unflavored gelatin

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Cut roast into approximately 4 chunks along the fat veins. Liberally salt all sides with kosher salt. Sear all sides until well browned in dutch oven on stovetop, remove to plate.

Add minced vegetables and butter to dutch oven and let cook uncovered, scraping up browned beef residue. There should be a good bit of steam as the vegetables cook down slightly.

Mix wine, tomato paste, broth, and spices together, add to vegetables. Cook down slightly. Add browned roast chunks into the liquid, along with the rosemary and thyme.

Roast in oven, covered, for 2 hours, flipping beef chunks every 30-45 minutes or so. Cook uncovered for last 30 minutes.

Optional: When you remove from oven, stir gelatin into the liquid and let rest submerged approximately 30 more minutes until serving.

Store any leftovers submerged in liquid for optimal moistness.

-----

Polenta rounds

Preheat oven to 450

Slice polenta in chub form into 1/2 inch slices. Brush with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and arrange on baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake 10-15 minutes, flipping once, or until both sides are slightly brown and crispy. Serve rounds with beef and some braising liquid drizzled on top.

Pizelle

2024-12-21T21:50:00.001-05:00

2 sticks butter, melted and slightly cool

in blender:

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 T vanilla

1 t almond extract

dash orange oil

1 t salt

2 C flour

2 t baking powder

mix together dry ingredients, egg mixture & melted butter, whisk well. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat pizelle iron, brush with melted butter, bake 90 seconds each

Pesto Egg Bites

2024-05-10T13:49:00.000-04:00

Spray two silicone egg bite pans (7 bites each) with non-stick spray.

Into the bottom of each cup:

1 T chopped roasted red peppers

1 T shredded cheese

blend together:

5 eggs

1 C whole milk yogurt

4 oz cream cheese

2 T pesto

split egg mixture between egg bite holes

One at a time, steam the egg bite pans in instant pot - 1 C water in pot, trivet, then egg bite pan, tented with foil. Use "steam feature" for 8 minutes, then natural release a few minutes.

Mr. Tumnus Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2024-01-24T08:01:00.003-05:00

Do you want your tea to be just like Lucy's first visit into the wardrobe? An appropriate cake for a girl and a faun sharing a pot of tea.

Grease a 13 x 9 pan, preheat oven to 350

In mixer bowl stir together:

3 cups flour (or sub GF)

2 cups sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

freshly grated nutmeg

dash of mace

then mix in:

2 cups sour cream

4 eggs

Pour into 13 x 9 pan, then use mixer and beater:

swirl:

cream together

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cinnamon (I like to use some each of cassia and ceylon if you have two types on hand)

1 teaspoon cardamom

(any other warming spices you'd like)

put well creamed soft mixture into a zip-top bag, snip tiny corner of bag and swirl over the top of the cake. It will sink in during baking.

Bake ~40 minutes, until tester comes out clean.

If desired make a glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

3 T milk

(dash of vanilla extract, almond extract or orange oil)

Whisk well until liquid, then I use the whisk to drizzle lightly over warm cake.

Pimiento Cheese - Tavern Crock of Cheese

2023-11-01T18:08:00.005-04:00

Adapted from the Colonial Williamsburg Chowning Tavern recipe to feed less than a tavern full of people

mix together well:

1 quart mayo

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 T salt

1 T black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 oz horseradish

1 oz Worcestershire sauce

1 T hot sauce (like Texas Pete)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

couple tablespoons chopped shallots or finely chopped sweet onion

~ 1/2 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

stir in:

1.5 pounds shredded cheddar cheese - I prefer a mix of yellow and white extra sharp cheddar, maybe with a bit of smoked cheddar or dubliner as well

Serve with crackers and/or veggie slices. Could easily be converted into a cheeseball.

Browned Butter Shortbread

2023-10-24T06:37:00.001-04:00

Brown and then cool 5 sticks of butter

soften 4 sticks of butter

Preheat oven to 300

Cream combined butter with 3 C brown sugar

Once well creamed (color light), add 10 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time

Press into ungreased 1/2 sheet pan, as evenly as possible. use fork to pierce all over shortbread.

Bake approx 50 minutes. Cut immediately, but do not try to remove from pan until completely cool.

Brew a pot of tea and enjoy!

Soft citrus sugar cookies

2022-12-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

A very soft sugar cookie, no rolling!

Preheat oven to 350 (convection)

Mix together:

1 1/4 cups sugar
zest of one lemon, one grapefruit, one orange

Cream sugar mixture with:

2 sticks butter, room temp
3/4 cup canola oil (yes really!)
3/4 cup powdered sugar

With mixer whipping, sprinkle in:

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt

When that is WELL CREAMED (light color), add:

1/4 cup orange juice
1 T vanilla
dash of orange oil and/or bergamot oil, if you have it
3 large eggs

Mix very well, then add one cup at a time:

5 3/4 cups flour

This is a VERY wet fluffy dough. Drop using a 2 T scoop onto parchment on a baking sheet. They don't spread much. Spray the bottom of a small glass (or glass yogurt container) with oil, then into granulated sugar and flatten cookie. Repeat - dip in sugar - flatten a cookie - dip in sugar - flatten cookie ...

Bake 9-10 minutes until just before lightly browned edges to keep the cookies soft. Allow to cool on tray.

Add a buttercream frosting from creaming:

2 sticks butter

5 cups powdered sugar

citrus fruit zest

1 T sour cream

yellow or orange food coloring, if desired

orange juice to texture

Leah's Molasses Cookies

2022-12-12T10:54:00.000-05:00

3/4 c shortening

1 c sugar

1/4 c molasses

1 egg

2 tsp baking soda

2c flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

Sift dry ingredients from soda to salt in a big bowl. Melt shortening in the stove on low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and let cool a bit, then add sugar/molasses/egg (I add the sugar first to cool down so the egg doesn’t scramble). Add wet ingredients to dry and mix in the big bowl. Chill for at least 30min, then roll into 1” balls and roll in sugar. Place 2” apart on a well greased** cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10min.

Almond Blackberry thumbprints

2021-12-20T07:10:00.005-05:00

preheat oven to 375

Cream together:

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

add:

6 egg yolks

2 T vanilla

2 teaspoon almond extract

when well combined add:

2 C almond flour

3 C flour

make cookie dough in 2 T size balls, roll in a half/half mixture of almond flour and granulated sugar. Use back of round 1/2 teaspoon to press an indent into top of cookie. Add tiny bit (1/2 tsp?) blackberry jam into each indent. Bake 11 minutes, until edges lightly brown.

Variation: make balls, but flatten with back of a glass, no indent, no jam. Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies - the ugliest cookie you'll ever love

2020-12-14T12:28:00.000-05:00

First prep 12 oz of Buttersworth original hard candies. Unwrap, put them in a gallon ziploc bag, put bag into an old pillowcase or fold into a dishcloth, and pound with a mallet or the bottom of a heavy sauce pan:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

Then add:

2 eggs

1 T vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

When well combined add in:

2 cups flour

1 cup rolled oats

Then add:

12 ounces hard butterscotch candies (prepared as described)

Drop by the tablespoon onto parchment lined sheet pans, 3" apart. Small balls, socially distanced. These cookies seriously spread, y'all.

Bake ~10 minutes. If your oven is uneven, turn the pans halfway.

Let the cookies cool on their tray, undisturbed. Then store cooled cookies between layers of parchment.

Honey yeast rolls

2019-10-14T07:16:00.003-04:00

Mix in bottom of stand mixer bow:

1 cup warm tap water
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons yeast

Let proof (get big and frothy) for a few minutes

beat together:

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

add egg, salt and butter in with yeast mixture, mix

2 tablespoon softened butter

Start adding bread flour, 1 cup at a time. You want a dough that is not sticky.

3 to 4 cups bread flour

Let stand mixer knead for about 10 minutes. Let stand for a couple minutes, then turn on for a few seconds to beat down.

Meanwhile grease the bottom of two 8" square pans (or one 13 x 9 or two pie plates).     Divide dough into 18 balls, 9 per pan.     Preheat oven to 400.   Cover with a warm towel and allow to proof for 20-30 minutes.

Brush top of each roll with a bit of cream mixed with honey.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until lightly brown on top.

Serve with bean and bacon soup (or any other yummy, warm dinner!)

Deepest Darkest Chocolate Pudding

2019-02-13T16:09:00.001-05:00

When only the chocolatiest will do ..

First prep 12 ounces of dark chocolate - break into small pieces or coarsely chop.    I used 85% dark from Aldi.

Lightly whisk together in a large pot (I use my 7 qt dutch oven):

3 cups white sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup corn starch

Mix in:

12 egg yolks
1/2 gallon (8 cups) whole milk

Slowly heat on stove, stirring almost constantly until it starts to thicken.   This will take 12-15 minutes.     When it starts to thicken turn off the heat, still stirring.

Add:

2 Tablespoons vanilla
prepared 12 ounces of dark chocolate

Mix chocolate into pudding mixture and let it sit a minute, then whisk until combined.

Add in:

1 stick butter, cut into 8-10 pieces.     Whisk until smooth and shiny.

Scoop pudding into cups - I ended up with 38 servings.    This also works well as a pie filling for chocolate pie.

Serve garnished with whipped cream and a raspberry if you wanna get fancy!

Brown Butter Half Sheet Blondies

2018-11-16T20:05:00.002-05:00

Grease or spray a half sheet pan. Preheat oven to 350.

1 stick butter, browned

2 sticks butter, melted

Mix together dry ingredients in an extra large bowl:

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Combine browned and melted butter, stir in:

3 cups brown sugar

then:
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
4 eggs

Gently mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then stir in:

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (I accomplish this by putting nuts into a gallon ziploc bag and taking out my frustration with the bottom of a heavy saucepan!)

Spread on prepared half-sheet pan. Bake approximately 25 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Cold Oven Pound Cake

2018-05-28T09:18:00.002-04:00

A beautiful, buttery, understated pound cake. Elegant with an afternoon cup of Earl Grey. Perfect with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

cream together:

3 sticks butter, softened
3 cups white sugar

meanwhile mix together:
6 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
(dash of orange or other citrus oil, optional)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup milk

mix liquid into creamed butter/sugar.

mix in 3 cups flour until just combined.

Pour into two loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Place in oven and turn oven to 325. It took mine about 90 minutes, but start checking at 75 minutes - see if a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Harvest Rice

2017-10-19T19:17:00.002-04:00

3 1/3 cups jasmine rice
6 cups chicken stock
1 12oz bag frozen chopped butternut squash
large handful (about 1/2 cup) of craisins / dried cranberries
1/2 an apple sliced
dash of salt (depending on the salt level of your stock/broth)

First, you must get up at 6:30and slice about ten apples for the homeschool group. Make sure you save about half an apple from the kids lunch, then bring it home, let it age on the counter for about two hours, and then chop finely for the rice. (or you could just chop an apple, skin on, but what fun is that??)

Throw ingredients into Instantpot, stir exactly four times (ok, it doesn't matter) and hit "rice" button.

Pumpkin gingerbread cake

2017-09-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

A variation on the Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin cake - more spices, added blackstrap molasses, doubled the recipe for two 13 x 9 (two potlucks same weekend), and adjusted to use one large can of pumpkin:

- preheat oven to 350, prep two 13 x 9 pans - grease or spray them with cooking spray

- fill and start tea kettle

- Melt 1 pound of butter

stir in:

1 29oz can pumpkin puree

add:
2 Tbs blackstrap molasses
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tbs ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp vanilla
some freshly ground nutmeg
(would have added the cardamon if I found it quick)

stir in:

1 3/4 C boiling water

meanwhile whisk together in a big bowl:
4 cups flour
4 cups sugar
4 tsp baking soda

and in a small bowl mix:
1 cup plain kefir (or milk with a bit of sour cream or plain yogurt equaling 1 cup)
4 eggs

Fold it all together the give up and get out your hand mixer until blended (this is cake! not too much mixing!).

Divide batter between the two pans, bake for about 35 minutes.

Mushroom Risotto

2017-09-05T18:18:00.001-04:00

(at the moment this is just notes for me ... I'll try to expand soon)

Per 1 lb box of risotto:

olive oil & butter, add risotto

3/4 cup white wine
dash of Worcestershire sauce
bit of saffron

1 small or 1/2 large onion, sauteed
4 portabello mushrooms, chopped and sauteed

4 cups broth (chicken and mushroom if possible)

7 min manual, wait 5+ min before you release

1.5 cups/Parmesan

Banana Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

2017-09-04T09:30:00.000-04:00

As we dive into a new school year, quick breakfasts are a big help for busy mornings. I made a BIG batch and wrapped most individually for the freezer!

3 sticks butter, softened

4 cups sugar (I did 2 white, 2 brown)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

3 T ginger (yes tablespooon)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 eggs
1 Tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder

10 super ripe bananas, smooshed

2 carrots, grated

1 1/2 cups plain kefir*

* or buttermilk, or milk and a little sour cream or a mix of milk and plain yogurt or even just milk ...

2 cups rolled (old fashioned) oats
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cream together butter, sugar, spices and baking soda/powder.     Add eggs, then bananas, then kefir.    Mix in grated carrots.

Then mix in flour and oats WITH A LIGHT HAND. Scoop into muffin papers - these are "medium" tulip papers, and my overflowing scoop was probably 3 oz.    Sprinkle with raw sugar if you can find yours ...

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then about 25 minutes at 350.    The hot oven start helps give them better lift and a slightly crunchy top.

40 yummy muffins for my freezer and busy mornings!

When life gives you lemons ... or prematurely thawed blueberries: Blueberry Muffins

2017-08-20T13:43:00.001-04:00

Life with three kids gets interesting.    Someone, probably someone with the same last name, left the freezer open a little bit ... enough that the ice bucket had chilled water and most of the food thawed.     Including a whole quart of New Jersey blueberries frozen for a winter pie. I also had three ready-for-baking overripe bananas. So I decided the only course of action (besides tossing thawed meat and cleaning the freezer) was to make muffins - a LOT of muffins:

Melt (or better yet brown!) a two sticks of butter. Stir in three mushed overripe bananas. Cool a little bit then stir in 1 1/2 cups of milk and a cup of sour cream, then 5 eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla and if you have it on hand a dash of orange oil.     Then add one cup of brown sugar and one cup of white sugar.

In a separate bowl measure 7 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 Tablespoons of Baking powder (YES TABLESPOONS) and mix together

Stir liquids and dry ingredients together in whichever bowl is very large.

I was using these new muffin papers, which allow me to make taller muffins in standard muffin tins.   Scoop about 3oz of batter into each muffin paper.    Sprinkle each LIBERALLY with sparkling sugar or raw sugar for a bit of a crispy top. This made 31 large muffins.   (Most of which I wrapped individually in foil once cool - and into the freezer they hopped!)

Bake at 425 for about ten minutes (so they rise and get a nice crispy crust), then lower temp to 350 until cooked through.

Chicken Salad w/ golden raisins in a mustard vinaigrette dressing

2017-03-02T17:04:00.000-05:00

A most excellent addition to a late Winter or Spring Brunch menu.    It's a lighter chicken salad - no mayo or dairy in the dressing - so pairs well with a buttery croissant.     Serve a scoop in the center of a strawberry and pecan salad or just with some saltines for a quick lunch.

1st:   roast two chickens (or grab a rotisserie from Wegmans or Costco or your favorite place)

2nd:   make the dressing:

1 Tablespoon roasted garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon rosemary powder or some chopped FRESH rosemary. (if you only have dried needles skip them)
1 tsp dried chives
1 tsp dried savory
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt


1/4 C toasted dry onion pieces OR one large sweet onion, chopped and caramelized

Add enough water to reconstitute the dried herbs (and onions if applicable)

add:
1 cup whole grain dijon mustard
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Pick the meat off the chicken. (Save the skin and bone for stock if you'd like!)

Place whatever is left after the 11 month gets her fill while you're picking into your stand mixer:

whirl for 2-3 minutes until shredded.

With a spoon, mix in 1 pound of golden raisins. Stir in dressing.

What the Yankee girl learned attempting biscuits

2017-02-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

So Philadelphia, the home of my youth and my home again now, has a rich culinary heritage.       Pies and chicken and veggies from the Pennsylvania Dutch influence.    Breads and salamis and cheeses from the multiple European influences. Soft Pretzels from German immigrants. And of course spectacular pizza, pasta, hoagies and cheesteaks on every block, normally by 2nd or 3rd generation of family ownership with a Greek or Italian surname.    What you don't find too often here ... BISCUITS.    But I married a man of Southern heritage, South Carolina to be precise, and I decided 2017 would be the year of the biscuit.

A few things I've learned:

1) Self rising flour expires.    Of course in most cases if flour is in a Tupperware canister it doesn't really go BAD ... so I didn't worry about how old mine might be. (only later I realized it was probably bought for my mother in law's visit when she made us her spectacular fried chicken ... before my first 1st grader WAS BORN).   But that's a lot of words to say that the self rising flour or baking powder should be younger than kindergarten eligible.

Attempt number 1 had pretty good flavor but didn't rise AT ALL.    Hockey puck, anyone??

2) When biscuit recipes say to "roll" the dough with a rolling pin they don't mean as thin as gingerbread dough.    And yes, it took me TWO pans baked before I realized WHY they weren't tall enough: I was rolling the dough WAY too thin.    My husband remembered the dough being TALLER than the biscuit cutter back when his mom made homemade biscuits ... AH HA!

Attempt 2.1: flaky, some rise, too short.

So I still had half the dough and made it much much taller when I rolled it.   These ones were good!

3) hexagon biscuit cutters are great!

4) a heavy duty lasagna/cheesesteak type spatula is PERFECT for cutting the cold butter:

<<< slice longwise down the stick, rotate 90 degrees, and slice again

<<< see how the hexagon cutters leave no waste between biscuits?

5) it's highly annoying to get your hands clean enough to take pictures in the middle of making biscuits

6) when in doubt, for any food picture, add a small jar with some jam ;)

recipe:

into bowl of food processor:

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 T baking powder
1 T kosher salt
1 T sugar
... pulse a couple times

Add:
4 sticks COLD (1 pound) butter, cut into small bits (next time I do half lard)

... pulse 3 quick pulses.   DO NOT OVERMIX

mix in a 2 cup measure or small bowl:
1 1/2 cup plain kefir (my yankee sub for buttermilk)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs

Mix into flour/butter mixture, again a few quick pulses.    Let dough sit covered in a cool kitchen (my back section is in the 50s during winter) or in fridge for about 1/2 hour.    Set oven to 400 degrees.

Liberally sprinkle a clean dry counter (cool stone is great for this), then sprinkle top with flour and flour your hands and flour your rolling pin and flour the floor (ok, that part is optional, but I always do!).     Gently/quickly/barely roll out the dough - but this isn't cookies, so it should still be quite thick!     Use a straight sided drinking glass or biscuit cutter to cut biscuits, place them on pan an ungreased sheet pan.     Bake 12-14 minutes.