Foodie Friday -- 7-UP Biscuits

Today was a snow day and all the schools were out, so I decided to try this biscuit recipe I saw on Facebook.

Now, I will mention that numerous people would post recipes on FB, but they were encrypted and you had to 'share' the recipe to get it. Well, my friends, home girl here doesn't play that game, and I found a way around this trick. This technique is right up there with chain letters, "SHARE" unless you want to go to He%%, or other such crap that people come up with.

Oh, and I found a way to copy the recipe . . .

I will also mention that I've made biscuits about three times in my entire life. Usually, I buy a can from the store and pop it open for fresh biscuits, or even buy the little hockey pucks in the freezer section.

This is a simple recipe requiring only four items. You might need to tweak the oven temps depending on your oven.

Makes 20-24 biscuits depending on thickness.

7-UP Biscuits

4 cups of Bisquick

1 cup sour cream

1 cup 7-UP soda

1/2 cup melted butter

 

Melt butter in two 9 X 13 pans.

 

Mix Bisquick, sour cream, and 7-UP. It will be very soft and loose. Knead and fold dough on flat surface using Bisquick to keep it from sticking. Pat dough out and cut biscuits using round cutter. Slosh melted butter around pans and pour excess into bowl. Place biscuits in pan and brush with excess butter. Bake 400 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes.

 

Tips & Tricks:

• I used glass Pyrex pans
• I made these biscuits 2 1/2 inch in diameter and 1/2-3/4 inch deep
• I ended up with 22 biscuits using these measurements
• Don't over crowd the pans. 12 biscuits per pan ended up being a good amount.
• The original recipe called for the oven to be 425, but I thought it would brown too quickly . . .it did one of my batches. 

Enjoy!

Weighty Wednesday -- Tis the Season!

Stay strong, my friends!

The rough weight-loss season is still upon us: various parties, social gatherings, extra samples at the grocery story, food in the break room, and all sorts of temptations no matter where you go.

It's hard to resist.

I know.

But I also know that you can survive without that second Polar Bear Poop (recipe in link). One, I'll let you have, but you need to count it as 2 WW points, just saying. Take your time to enjoy the one candy, savor it, draw out the flavor, enjoy the delicate way it excites your senses.

Food will be all around you during the next few weeks, and there is no way to pre-calculate your points for the day. If you have enough will power simply walk away, but it doesn't mean you won't be malleable to suggestion the next day or the next.

And you can't avoid your co-workers forever . . . though you might want to.

So how do you approach the season?

I know I'm not one to talk since I work from home, BUT I do remember the days of sniffing out the goodies in the lab.

And I was good at it.

How would I approach the cornucopia of nummy goodies?

The best defense is a good offense--simply stay away from the goodies!

But as I said that doesn't always happen and it's impractical.

Here are a few tips & tricks:

• drink a glass of water before walking into the gauntlet of goodies
• peruse the table--what is the one thing you only get this time of year? Forget the dry sugar cookies or someone's poor attempt at fudge, or make your own fudge with Mag's Decedent fudge. Only choose items that are rarely eaten. Now is the time to be picky.
• Don't waste your WW points on something that doesn't even look good to you. Yes, if Sally from accounting is pressuring you to try her {insert _____ here} then by all means, take some. REMEMBER you don't have to actually EAT it!
• Eat a protein-laced snack prior to the high-sugar, high-carb, high-fat gathering: an ounce of almonds, or an ounce of cheese, or a hardboiled egg.

The key to surviving this season is not to give up.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
― Winston Churchill

 

You might stumble once or twice during this season, but never give up, because when you give up you will surely fail.

 

Later, Peeps! 

November is Over--Yay!

Wow, what a month!

I'm so glad that November is over! Its such a busy month and I always manage to get a bee up my butt to try and do NaNo . . . which I failed miserably at!

But there were a few successes:

• my daughter is now a beautiful teenager
• I saw Catching Fire with a bunch of giggling teens and survived. The movie was better than the first one, mainly because the 'world' was already defined
• Ate more cake than any person should eat
• My nephew and I managed to make FIVE desserts for Thanksgiving...see previous blog for the Cappuccino Torte recipe.
• The work on our house is almost finished. Two weeks of banging, pounding and sawing as now changed to the hiss of the exterior paint being applied, with the exception of the area around electrical box. The local Public Service guys have to take the box down and then replace it to inspect it for safety.
• Hubs managed to 'Q-tip' our HUGE crepe myrtles. We do it this time of year since we lost one many, many years ago to an ice storm. It's just easier to clean up.
• Even though we burned the majority of branches--outdoor fireplace, yanno--we still managed to fill over seven large bags of green waste.
• The Christmas tree is up, though there isn't anything on it. It's up and ready for lights.
• We managed to get all the Christmas boxes from the crawl space. And, every year, I'm amazed that we can manage to cram so much stuff in that tiny area--we are nothing else, if not efficient!
• The carboy filled with wine is finally OFF my kitchen counter! The bottles have been filled and corked.

Christmas will seem to come earlier this year since Thanksgiving was so late. We don't participate in the Black Friday madness, but we do utilize the Cyber Monday deals.

And though I will be cutting back on the amount of chocolate candy I'll be making, it doesn't mean that I won't make it. In fact, I just placed a new order for 20 lbs of chocolate--even my supplier is having a special on chocolate!

Today is errands, grocery shopping and put up Christmas stuff day. While tomorrow will be a few errands, I hope to organize my candy efforts and start on a few of them.

I need to work on my new stories. I think the way to do that is to set a number of words to write each day. Once I have a concrete goal, I'll manage to do it, but no goal = no result.

Maybe if I'm efficient with my errands, and there aren't very many crowds, I can sit down and immerse myself into one of the stories.

Here's hoping!

Later, Peeps!

And remember, there are only 23 more shopping days until Christmas!

Foodie Friday -- Cappuccino Torte

Many, many years ago, I made this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine. It turned out beautifully. I used chocolate covered coffee beans to decorate, but then ate the rest of the chocolate covered coffee beans and wasn't able to drink coffee for over six months. Yep, it burned my stomach up.

 The next time it was made was the year my daughter was born--2000. I managed to finish the nut crust and the fudge layer, but my daughter decided to make an early appearance. My wonderful sis-in-laws tried to finish the torte, but this is one of those recipes that it is important to have a standing mixer (due to the amount of time it must  beat) . . . my SIL only had a hand held one. It wasn't beaten long enough and the cappuccino buttercream went *flop*. It was still wonderfully tasty, but it didn't hold up.


This year I made this dessert. I thought, "Why not? I have all the ingredients. Let's give it a shot." I, too, had some issues with this recipe. My fudge layer wouldn't set. Six hours in the fridge and it still didn't set. It wasn't until I was making the cappuccino buttercream did I figure out what went wrong.

--I had forgotten to add the stick of butter to the fudge. Ack!

So what do you think I did?

I poured the fudge out of the pan, and scraped the crust free of fudge as much as possible. Microwaved the fudge just enough to warm it, AND THEN I beat the missing butter into the mixture. I could tell it would work this time, because it was starting to thicken as I was beating.

Now, I was fighting the clock on this one since I was in the process of making the cappuccino layer. So I put the fudge in the freezer to firm up. The buttercream went into the refrigerator until the fudge was firm enough to hold the weight. I whipped it one last time before spreading it on the fudge layer.

The key item to remember is -- who cares if you mess it up? It still tastes good and no one will know unless you post it on Facebook. ;-0.

Cappuccino Torte

Crust:

4 whole graham crackers

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (2 ounces)

1/2 cup slivered almonds (2 ounces)

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

5 Tbls. butter, melted and cooled

 

Fudge Layer:

2 cups whipping cream

1 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 Tbls. light corn syrup

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces, room temperature

 

Cappuccino Buttercream Layer:

2 1/2 cups golden brown sugar, firmly packed (about 1 1/4 pounds)

1/2 cup water

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 Tbls. instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tsp. hot water

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Bakers), chopped, melted, cooled

 

Coffee Whipped Cream:

1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream

2 tsp. instant espresso powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbls. powdered sugar

 

Optional:

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated

chocolate shavings

chocolate coffee bean candies

 

For crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 10-inch-springform pan with 2 3/4-inch high sides. Grind graham crackers to crumbs in processor. Add nuts, sugar and salt and chop coarsely using on/off turns. Add butter and process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumbs into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Cool.

 

For fudge layer: Bring cream to boil in heavy saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Mix in corn syrup. add butter 1 piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

 

Pour fudge into cooled crust. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

 

For cappuccino buttercream layer: Cook sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan over very low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and boil 2 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, beat yolks in heavy-duty mixer at high speed until thick and pale. With mixer running, gradually pour boiling syrup into yolks (do not scrape saucepan). Continue to beat until yolk mixture is cool, about 15 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium. Mix in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Add espresso mixture, then melted chocolate.

 

Spread buttercream over chilled fudge layer. Cover pan loosely with waxed paper. Refrigerate overnight.

 

For coffee whipped cream: Combine 1 Tbls of whipping cream, espresso powder and vanilla in small bowl; stir until powder dissolves. Beat remaining cream in large bowl until beginning to thicken. Mix in coffee mixture and powdered sugar. Beat whipping cream mixture to firm peaks.

 

Run small sharp knife around sides of springform pan to loosen torte. Carefully release pan sides. Spread most of Coffee Whipped Cream neatly over tops and sides of torte. Press grated chocolate around sides. Transfer torte to serving platter. Transfer remaining cram to pastry pag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe cream in rosettes around top edge of torte. Garnish with chocolate shavings and coffee bean candies, if desired. Can prepare 6-8 hours ahead; refrigerate). Let stand 1 hour at room temperature and serve.

 

Tips &Tricks:

• Though this recipe says it serves 12-14 people. This is a very rich, very dense torte. Each piece will be pretty small, so plan on serving a crowd.
• If your nuts for the crust seem overly oily, use less butter. BUT if you happen to have a rimmed cheesecake pan all the better to catch the excess oils exuded from the baking process. If you don't have a rimmed pan, then place a piece of foil under the pan when you bake the crust.
• Watch the cream when you make the fudge layer. If you put it on the stove and walk away, it will boil over.
• I don't finely chop my chocolate, but the larger chunks take longer to completely melt, which equals more stirring.
• When you add the soft butter to the fudge layer, it will start to thicken up. . . your clue that you DID remember to add the butter . . . Yeah, even the best cooks get sidetracked!
• Use a standing mixer . . . unless you want to build up your arms by holding a hand mixer for over 25 minutes total while the cappuccino buttercream is beaten.
• Start mixing the egg yolks when you heat the sugar. By the time the sugar is ready the egg yolks have thickened and turned a lighter yellow.  
• Many times recipes will tell you NOT to scrap the sides of the pan while boiling sugar. BUT if you constantly scrape the sides, the sugar is immediately dissolves into solution, which decreases the chance for sugar grains to reform when the solution cools.
• I DO NOT scrap the pan when I'm adding the sugar solution to the egg yolks simply because it's too awkward with my mixer.  
• DO let the cappuccino buttercream mix for 15 minutes to cool prior to adding the softened butter.
• The cappuccino buttercream layer will become the texture of icing when it is close to being finished.
• I walked away from the whipping cream (oops!), and it had whipped just a couple of seconds too long, going from stiff peaks to chunks, BUT it seemed to spread quite nicely AND hold its shape. So it isn't the end of the world
• Do not whip cream for too much longer than this or you will make a coffee butter. Just saying.
• When you cut into this dessert--it has a knockout impact. But you can really make it a feast for the eyes when you decorate it. If you do use grated chocolate on the sides, make sure your hands are ice cold, or you use pastry gloves, or the chocolate will melt all over them and make a mess.  
• Chocolate covered coffee beans are usually found in candy stores. These are very addictive (caffeine AND chocolate), so only buy as many as you think you'll need.

That's it for now! Enjoy!

If you plan to make this, or any other of my recipes, and I haven't covered your question in my tips or tricks, then feel free to ask your question in the comments section or email me at: Margaret (dot) golla @ gmail.com {remove spaces and make (dot) a .}

Later, Peeps!





A Line-Up of Lists

Most of the time, I'm a list maker. Not so much the other times of year, but especially during the holidays. I don't know if it's because I'm a Virgo, or it's just me.

But if I don't have lists, I'll just run around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

Not a good visual at 6 AM, is it?

Think about it. Do you make a list when you pack for vacation? Go to the grocery store? Errands you have to do?

I don't just list the items on a grocery list, but I also group them into sections.

When I have errands to run, I list them in the most efficient manner, from farthest away from home to closest, with the grocery store being last . . . AND with as few left turns as possible.

Don't get me on the left turn thing, because my hubby constantly pokes at me about it. 

Here's my take on it.

Let's just say that left turns aren't as efficient. They tend to take longer to make. And if you can only go on the green arrow, and yet you just missed the green arrow, you're stuck through the whole light.

This doesn't mean I don't take left turns, but if I can minimize them, I will.

Let's return to the topic of lists . . .

Back in the day when my sis-in-law and I took care of the desserts and appetizers, we tended to go big. For one, I have a big family. And when only some of us get together it could easily end up being 30+ people. I think the our largest amount of desserts we made was about eight, along with about the same amount of appetizers. Now, this wasn't just making pumpkin and pecan pie, oh, no, this was experimenting with new recipes, many of them from Bon Appetit. But I did draw the line to desserts that have instructions resulting in more than three columns or a full page.

Now the numbers have dwindled. My sis-in-law hasn't come for Thanksgiving in a few years, so my nephew Matt and I bake the desserts. Last year, he made all the desserts. I told him what to do, but he did all the hard work.

That, my friends, is how you learn, by doing not watching.

So many people are overwhelmed by the thought of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I know I've never cooked the entire meal, but the following technique works for all or part of the meal.

PLANNING

Don't wait until the day before to figure out what you need to buy at the store or what you want to make. Especially if you have to get the turkey. Those things take over 24 hours to thaw. It's past time to get started!

I'm going stick with desserts. Yesterday, I combed through my files to look for desserts from the four food groups: fruit, chocolate, nuts, and pumpkin . . . sometimes cheesecake and caramel are on the food group list. And if I can find something to combine the groups, the better: chocolate, caramel nut pie or pumpkin cheesecake for example. I have a few oldies, but goodies, but I try to have a couple of new recipes to try.

I have six recipes currently on my table, which I'll have to narrow down, but you get the picture. Before I even think about a grocery list, I need to see what ingredients I already have on hand to figure out what I need to buy.

So I start a list that looks something like this:

Sugar: 1/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1tsp, 1/4
Flour: 1 1/4, 1 1/4,
cream: 1
butter: 1/4, 1/4
eggs: 3, 1, 3, 4
And then add ingredients when I start to see I'll need other items
lt brown sugar: 1/2, 1/2
dk brown sugar: 1/2,
corn syrup: 3/4,
Dark corn syrup: 1/2,
whole milk: 1
pure maple syrup: 1/2
Pecans: 1/2,1 1/2, 1

This is where it comes in handy having another person help you. They read off the ingredients and you can put them in the proper place.

This is just three recipes and I only showed you a portion of what I do. Then I add up the amounts to compare to what I have on hand and what I need to buy. This is a good time to check your spices if like me, you don't use nutmeg but once a year.

Once you know what you need, make a grocery list. Since I make candy, I tend to know where I can find the cheapest cream. This is important because heavy cream is expensive and if you need a lot of it, it adds up. And when I say cheapest, I don't mean off brand, I mean the same brand--Land O Lakes--for the cheapest price. A couple weeks ago, I found some at a local grocer for almost $8 a quart, but I can find the same product at Sam's Club for about half that amount.

Guess where I'm going for an extra trip. Yep, Sam's Club. It's worth NOT paying that extra $4! Plus, I can get the other items that I'll need in bulk.

Then the grocery store for the odd stuff: gingersnaps, raisin bread, vanilla, green apples, etc.

. . .then I have to find room in my refrigerator for all this stuff .  . .

Now the fun starts-- you have to figure out what order you need to make the desserts. Remember, it's not one at a time. You will be making pieces of each dessert before you combine them into the final product. Many times pie crusts need to be made and refrigerated prior to rolling out and baking.

READ the instructions on ALL the recipes to plan your day accordingly. Sometimes you will have to bake a fruit pie for over an hour and your oven will be occupied, or at a different temperature than your cheesecake, or whatever.

**IF you are making a cheesecake, put the eggs and cream cheese out at room temperature the night before you make it!

Make the cheesecake first thing in the morning to allow it time to cool and chill before Thanksgiving.

If you need chopped nuts for two of the three recipes, chop them all at once and separate them into different piles. My best friend during this time is plastic wrap and sharpies. I write on EVERYTHING, because when you have three crusts chilling in the fridge it's nice to know which one goes with which recipe!

About halfway through the process, you'll realize you forgot to eat lunch. And then comes wine-thirty. And then you forget so many other things. Or your crusts look like the cat gnawed on it (mine do), or your cheesecake has a huge crack down the middle, and you don't really care as long as it tastes good. . .

It's okay.

Either find someway of covering it up . . . or don't bother. Once you ring the dessert bell no one will care what it looks like as long as they get some.

And more than anything else--enjoy this time with your family. That's really what this holiday is all about, not turkey, stuffing, desserts, football, or even Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

This is the time to be thankful for your family, because no matter what stupid stuff you do they will always be there for you . . . unless you keep doing it over and over again, but that's your problem not theirs . . .

Later, Peeps, I have some lists to make!

Dreary Monday, Monday

YAY!!

We survived the weekend!

Eight teen- or tween-agers is exhausting! Thank goodness there was no sleepover. I doubt if any of them would have slept.

I had everything planned down to the minute, so of course, it didn't work out like I'd planned! :-)

We had a couple of people get lost on the way to our house. . . even though I posted the address AND a Google map link. They made the mistake of turning too soon, which would take them into a totally different subdivision.

Erm, it's really, really easy to find our house.

We split the girls between two cars and got them to the movie, Catching Fire with enough time to get them settled with three big tubs of popcorn and various beverages.

The movie was really good, though the ending was . . . typical. So many movies end with a 'non-ending', which means you have to watch the next installment. But the girls confirmed that this movie followed the book almost perfectly.

I thought the first movie Hunger Games was really slow, but it had to fill the viewer in to much of the backstory before getting into the 'real' story. Catching Fire started eight months after the first one ended and it drew me in immediately.

Instead of going to Hideaway for dinner (as I originally planned), we picked it up about an hour after we got home since the girls were full of popcorn (unplanned).

Prezzies, pizza, and eventually cake were interspersed with bouts of screaming, yelling, running, doors slamming, and bursts of maniacal giggling and laughter.

Everyone left by 8:30 and we were all in bed by 9 PM.

Sunday was quiet.

Monday I took the kidlet to school--we'd had freezing rain, but the roads were slick in places. I had no problem. . . until I went on my Walkies.

I discovered the bridge was icy.

 

 I did the flailing tango dance to save myself from falling, but managed to break my sunglasses instead of my leg/arm/head or insert various body part.

And then my phone died because I left Singing Monsters playing which along with Map My Walk managed to drain my battery and couldn't take a picture of my glasses until I got home to recharge my phone.

I wanted to do a selfie pouty face, but let's just say a woman of my advanced years without make-up on has no business taking a selfie.

Now, onward to plan Thanksgiving desserts and get a grocery list started.

Later, Peeps!

Foodie Friday -- Heart Attacks

When my hubby and I were in Canada this last September, we ran across these monster candies they called Murtles. I'm guessing that they are basically a Mongo Turtle . . . with salted peanuts. Those things were at least six inches in diameter . . . yes, we shared.

Final version

The bottom layer was milk chocolate, with a layer of salted peanuts, a layer of caramel and then topped off with a dollop of chocolate.

So I decided to make them myself.

Here's a picture of my first batch. These measured about 3 inches in diameter.

 

And I didn't name them, my daughter did.

She loves them! How can you not love chocolate, caramel and peanuts?  Well, unless you have a peanut allergy, then these should be called Anaphylactic Shock.

 

A couple of things I would do differently for my next batch:

1. I used a cookie scoop to measure and spread my first layer of chocolate. I would spread them out a little bit more to give them a thinner base. Once these things set, they became very hard. I used Merken's chocolate wafers, but you could use any kind of pre-tempered chocolate.
2. I bought a huge container of salted peanuts from Sam's club for $8 and used a coffee scoop to try to get the same amount of peanuts on each chocolate layer. I still have a lot of peanuts and I hope they don't go bad. I may weigh and freeze them in one pound batches for use later.  
3. More caramel. I skimped a little on the caramel because I wanted the peanuts to show. I used a cookie scoop for this layer too. I would just add a little more. Yes, I made my own caramel--recipe to follow. I froze the left overcaramel, but will just heat it up on the stove to melt it enough to make it liquid.
4. I'd make the top layer of chocolate a little larger.  

Try making some of your own. It's easy.

 

Okay, I promised a caramel recipe. This recipe was originally a Land O Lakes butter caramel recipe that I made last year. Since I tend to use heavy cream, the mixture was too oily when I used the full amount of butter. It was also too bland. The original recipe didn't have salt in it, so I added Kosher salt.

 

Everyone will tell you that salt is salt, well, it isn't. I find regular iodized table salt to be too harsh for some caramel recipes, so I use the Kosher flake salt. It's milder and blends nicely.  

 

This is also a 'soft' caramel, which means it doesn't cook as long or to a higher temperature, which would firmly set the caramel to make it easy for dipping. Many people will cut this caramel up and wrap it in waxed paper to give away to friends and family.

 

Soft Caramels

2 cups sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup (3 sticks) butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Prepare a 9 X 9 pan (line with parchment and spray with Pam), set aside.

Combine all ingredients in heavy 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly. Increase heat slightly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until mixture reaches 244 degrees on candy thermometer, about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.

---I cooled this mixture slightly before I ladled it over my peanuts. I wanted it warm enough to flow when it hit the colder peanuts, but not so hot it melted the chocolate on the bottom.

Let the caramel set. Either wrap it, dip it or freeze it until needed. . . . yes, you can just scoop and eat, too!

Enjoy!

Later, Peeps!