As American as...

Cherry Pie. I really like cherry pie...well I really just like pie in general.

This is a really good Cherry Pie filling...as I have mentioned before I don't make pie crust I buy if frozen :)


a 9 inch double crust pie
1 (20 ounce) can pitted sour cherries
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp red food coloring (optional)
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup liquid. In a saucepan combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in cherry liquid and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Mixture will thicken. When mixture is thickened, add butter, almond extract, food coloring and cherries. Cover and refrigerate.

On lightly covered surface, roll out half of the pastry into an 11 inch circle. Put into 9 inch pie dish. Roll other half of pastry into another 11 inch circle. With a knife or pastry wheel, cut eight 1/2 inch strips.

Pour cooled cherry filling into pie dish. Place pastry strips horizontally, then vertically, across the top of the pie and lightly brush with egg yolk. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, and cool before serving.

For original recipe go here.

As American as ...

With the 4th of July coming up this week I thought what would be better than some American food classics?

So here is a great recipe for Southern Fried Chicken

3 cups flour
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 eggs
4 cups buttermilk
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp steak sauce
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
2 cups oil for frying

In a large shallow dish, mix together flour, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then whisk in buttermilk, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and steak sauce. Dredge chicken in milk mixture, then in seasoned flour, alternating in each at least twice. Heat oil in a large, deep-sided skillet to 375 degrees. Fry chicken in hot oil until golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes each side.

For footnotes, nutritional info, and tips see the original recipe here, at allrecipes.com

For some classic sides:

I generally don't like homemade biscuits, BUT I tried the bisquick heartsmart box and the recipe for regular biscuits on the back of that...yum.

Potato or Macaroni or Fruit salad. Check our allrecipes.com for a million ideas.

Peace of Cake

another Rent inspired creation...

I was at the "EMP:Experience Music Project" museum at the Seattle Center today and saw this cake pan...just had to have it, and I thought to myself, "this is a great example of that quote from rent I blogged about the other day." So here you go...Peace cake.

Even better here is the link to the fabulous company that makes these things...LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.

Really Fred and Friends has some brilliant kitchen creations and they also have lots of other stuff too.

To here about Day #6 of my trip to Seattle, click here.

Pizza inspired by the Rock.

So while this pizza pie won't be as awesome* as the one at the Rock in Washington... These are good toppings nevertheless.

* If you know how to toss pizza crust and have a 500-900 degree wood fire oven with Almond wood burning, then it is a possibility :)

So the toppings are:

sweet Italian sausage --Large precooked pieces
pepperoni-- the bigger the better
tomato sauce
mozzarella
ricotta cheese--dallups of ricotta cheese on top throughout


Garlic Mozz Bread:

brushed dough with crushed garlic, extra virgin olive oil, pecorino romano and topped with mozzarella.

SO SO GOOD. I am not even going to include a recipe for crust becasue I wouldn't even know how to find one that was close to how good their crust is...but these are some fun ideas for pizza toppings.

To read about my day #5 in Seattle, go here.

Creation

In Rent there is a line at the end of La Vie Boheme that says...

"The opposite of war isn't peace, it's creation."

So for today's Seattle trip inspired recipe I am having a creation challenge. Create whatever you want and love. No day but today right?

What I would create if I had skills too would be a scarf like Marks'.

It is stripped white and Navy...I would like it to say "No Day But Today" on the bottom below the fringe.

Alyssa, you should make it for me, lol.

To read about my RENT experience while in Seattle, go here.

Maple Leaf Cookies

Today was all things Canada... so what is more appropriate then Maple Leaf Cookies!?!

Maple Leaf Cookies

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup maple syrup -pure real grade a is better!

Directions per Martha:
Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl. Beat butter and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add yolk, then 1/2 cup maple syrup, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out 1 disk of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a sheet of lightly floured parchment. Place parchment with dough on baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray. Cut out cookies from frozen dough using a 3 1/2-inch maple-leaf-shaped cutter, and space 1 inch apart on sheets. Roll and cut scraps once. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies until edges begin to turn golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks, and let cool for 5 minutes. Brush cookies with 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and sprinkle with 1/2 the sanding sugar. Let cool. Repeat with remaining dough, maple syrup, and sugar. (Cookies will keep for up to 2 days.)

To read about my adventures in Canada and getting searched at the border, go here.

Piroshkys

I ate my first Piroshky (Russian Pastry) at the "Piroshky Piroshky Bakery" at Pikes Marketplace today. Mmmm, so this is today's recipe:

Dough:

1 cup warm water
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ lb. butter
4 cups flour
1 Tbsp yeast

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water. Heat 1 cup milk to melt butter or oleo. Beat egg yolks and add sugar and salt. Add milk and oleo to the egg mixture, now add yeast and stir. Sift flour and add just enough to hold dough together so it can be rolled. Put dough in a war place to rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Now roll dough and cut into 4-inch rounds or squares, add a tablespoonful or more of filling* to center of pieces of dough, roll up and pinch edges together. Bake or deep fry until Golden Brown.

*So what about the filling? That can be whatever you want. Mine was melted cheese and spinach with chunks of ham. Toni had beef and onion (a common Piroshky is Beef, onion, and a chopped hard boiled egg), another combo is wildrice, and chopped rosemary chicken.

To read about what else happened at Pike's Marketplace on day #2 of my trip to Seattle, go here.

Coconut Shrimp

I am in Seattle and have eaten shrimp TWICE today (I love it a lot) and since this week I am going to post about something that has inspired me from Seattle here is a recipe:

Coconut Shrimp

1 cup Flake Coconut
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 lb. cleaned shrimp, Jumbo is easier!
1 egg, slightly beaten
oil for frying

Mix coconut, flour, salt and pepper. Dip shrimp in egg; roll in coconut mixture. Heat the oil in large deep skillet to a medium heat. Add shrimp; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon wedges or a sauce, if desired.

Original recipe at Kraft Foods.

To read about my first day in Seattle and me eating lots of shrimp, go here.

Snickers Salad

Snickers Salad

Mix together:
3 Chopped apples (I used a mix of Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji)
2 sliced bananas
some sliced strawberries
1 container Cool Whip
broken pretzel pieces ( I used 1 cup, and add this just prior to serving)
chopped up Snickers (I used ten fun sized snickers, each cut into 4 pieces)

I made this ultra easy absolutely delicious salad for a get together with some old friends. It was a hit!

Today on Studio 5

Today I actually woke up early enough to watch Studio 5 and Good Things Utah.  Okay I know 10a.m.-12p.m. isn't that early, but it is for me working night shifts.  Anyway they had some delicious looking food on Studio 5 as well as sweet crafts I'll blog about later on both shows.

Link to the original recipe here.

Chicken Burger

2 ½ pounds Ground Chicken Breast 

(Ask for some chicken breast to be ground at local deli... be aware that ground chicken is super sticky!!)

Freshly Ground Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Olive Oil

2-3 Granny Smith Apples (sliced into thin slices)

8 oz. brie, thinly sliced

Leaf Lettuce

Honey Mustard

6 French Rolls, lightly toasted

Divide chicken into 6 equal portions and shape into patties.  Brush with Olive Oil on both sides; season with salt and pepper.  Place on wax paper and chill until ready to grill.  Spray grill with non-stick spray.  Place chicken on hot grill and remove wax paper.  Grill until chicken is cooked through—about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Toast bread lightly on grill.  Place burger on the French roll, top with Brie slices, apples, honey mustard and lettuce.  Makes 6 burgers.

Why I scrapbook.

So 2 exciting things in my scrapbook world...

1. A bunch of the wonderful people who were a part of Simple Scrapbook Magazine started a new website called "Write.Click.Scrapbook." So excited to be inspired by these ladies. The June layout is about remembering why you scrapbook in the first place. Here is my layout to represent the reason I scrapbook.

Most of the product is from the "Girl Friday" collection by Cosmo Cricket. My Journaling says, "Why do I scrapbook? Because someone* once said, 'Life comes at you fast. If you don't stop and look around once inawhile you might miss it.' That's why I scrapbook. It's a way to stop, look, and remember. A visual cue to moments and feelings--ones that have shaped who you are today. The picture of Toni and I represents a lot of good things I'll always remember...I scrap!!" *Ferris Bueller

2. The Scrap Review is a lovely website that reviews a whole bunch of scrap product et techniques. I like the website because I can get a good opinion on certain tools I may or may not want and the have tons of give-a-ways. So this week they are having a raffle and yesterday I won not just once but twice!!!! how's that for getting lucky!