4 Sep 2014

Snickerdoodles with Spiced Pumpkin Buttercream

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Snickerdoodles with Spiced Pumpkin Buttercream

Bring on the Fall!  The weather hasn’t changed that much from last week, but the feel in my kitchen certainly has.  Earlier this week I made some of these: some friends and some little misters in our home devoured these.

They are all gone.

Snickerdoodles

I had never made a snickerdoodle until I lived with one of the girls I discipled (while she was in college).  She loved snickerdoodles.  And the fun thing is – that as I read the directions, I read them wrong, and it turned out I like it better and now this recipe is my tried and true snickerdoodle.  Snickerdoodles are so easy and if done right they are perfectly soft and chewy for days.  We just had the last of these at lunch and they were still chewy. Success!

Fall Snickerdoodle Lineup

And seriously – one of the things that can make any bad day better for me is buttercream.  I love it – a true Hero! 🙂 But, it is also a bear to get perfect.  If you get your butter too soft – forget it.  I think I added too much pumpkin to mine trying to achieve the perfect pumpkin flavor – but below I’ve changed the recipe some.  I hope yours turns out better than mine.

These were a perfect way to start off Fall baking season!  And my favorite buttercream frosting is this one

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Snickerdoodles with Spiced Pumpkin Buttercream
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Soft chewy snickerdoodles sandwiched with a soft and spiced pumpkin buttercream
Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup plus 2 T sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 1 /4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 T sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • My favorite buttercream recipe (for this recipe, don't use as much vanilla) - see link above
  • 1 T pumpkin puree
  • ½ tsp cinnamon, allspice, and pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375
  2. Cream butter and sugar, egg, then add vanilla.
  3. Add dry ingredients.
  4. Roll in one inch balls and then roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture.
  5. Let bake - mine took 11 minutes to come out perfect. 10-12 depending on your oven.
  6. Let cool.
  7. Follow directions on buttercream, adding in the pumpkin and spices to your taste!
  8. Sandwich and eat!
 

 

1 Sep 2014

Green Eggs & Ham Quiche

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 1

Green Eggs and Ham Quiche

Having children in the house, I have a love relationship with Dr. Seuss.  The whimsical poet author master who is unlock any other.  We have the books and there is a clock in our younger sons room with the Oh the Places You’ll Go Theme.  Now, the theme has entered my kitchen.

White Daisies

We had some of Eric’s family stop by for a visit on Friday afternoon and I wanted to make something low-key but delicious and filling, because who wants to send away house guests with an empty stomach – about the brave ATL Labor Day Wknd traffic and the ATL airport.  Not me!

Quiche

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Green Eggs & Ham Quiche
Author: 
Recipe type: Brunch
Cuisine: Eggs
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Colorful and savory quiche
Ingredients
  • 2 T evoo
  • 1 onion, chopped,
  • 1 cup chopped broccoli
  • 1 cup quartered zucchini
  • ¼ lb chopped black forest ham
  • 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1½ cup whole milk
  • 7 eggs
  • 1 deep dish pie crust
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Bake the pie crust for about 15 minutes in the oven. Set aside to cool.
  3. Saute the onion, ham, and vegetables for about 5 minutes in the evoo.
  4. Add seasonings.
  5. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and cheese.
  6. Combine with vegetable mixture.
  7. Pour in pie crust. You'll have extra and with that I make mini frittatas (and bake for 35 minutes)
  8. Bake quiche for about 45-50 minutes or until middle of quiche is set.
  9. Enjoy.
 

1 Sep 2014

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen, Uncategorized | 1

Street Corn

I love a new month!  Bring on September, new menus, new pictures, new reading challenges, new weight challenges, new friends, new adventures.  Prime word is NEW!

This month we are going on vacation to a place we both vacationed as children with our families of origin and now we get to introduce our boys to the joy of Vogel State Park.  Our older boy turns two so get ready for birthday blogs.  Its fun!  So, let’s get going!

Having a freezer meal party (pictures forthcoming) and am bringing chicken rice broccoli cheese casserole.  Recipe forthcoming

Snickerdoodle Cookie Sandwiches with Spiced Pumpkin Buttercream – recipe forthcoming

These white beans.  Talk about comfort food.

Homemade Baguette – we will see about this.

Chicken Raspberry Mozzerella Salad

Street Corn Quiche – I can’t leave summer altogether – Recipe Forthcoming

Going Indian and making Tikka Masala and some Naan bread

Asian Pear salad with a cranberry and pear balsamic – and goat cheese of course!

What are you cooking this week?

28 Aug 2014

Vanilla Lime Watermelon Salad

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen, vegan, vegetarian | 0

Vanilla Lime Watermelon Salad

And summer is slowly coming to an end.  Zoo Atlanta is less crowded during the day.  More school buses are always on the streets around town.  Malls are less jam packed with kids.

School may have started, but summer fruits are still thriving.  This past weekend I went over to Alabama to visit with some family and I got treated to two farm-grown watermelons.  One had yellow flesh and one had the typical red flesh.  Both were beautiful and sweet.

So, I paired them both with some balsamic and olive oil!  What?  That doesn’t go with watermelon.  It does if you have some specialty balsamic and olive oil from Oli & Ve in Roswell.  I paired this for a tasting there and knew that I would be purchasing both.  That tasted amazing together.

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Vanilla Lime Watermelon Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Fruit Salad
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Fresh summer fruit that is simply dressed - perfect.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup yellow flesh watermelon, cubed and seeded
  • 1 cup red flesh watermelon, cubed and seeded
  • 2 tsp vanilla balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp persian lime olive oil
  • salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Put watermelon in a bowl. Combine the oil and vinegar together. Drizzle over top of the fruit. Season with salt and pepper. Eat!
  2. I like this served room temperature. Would be a great side dish to a pork or tacos or fish
 

25 Aug 2014

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

by | posted in: The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Sugar

Budget living is not fun, but it is wise.  I could spend so much on groceries.  Even though when we lived in Little Rock, there was a grocery tax, the cost of food here in ATL is still more.  So, we are examining our budget and our needs – especially as our two littles go through growth spurts and eat a lot!

So, we get a little creative – or maybe a little boring when we get to the last week of the month, especially one with 5 full weekends and 31 days!  And this week also brings with it a date night to the Braves game – can’t wait to try some stadium food – any suggestions?

Vegetable Slow-Cooker Lasagna (this is cooking right now and will get the recipe up to y’all soon)

Grown-up Green Eggs and Ham (recipe coming later this week as well)

Trader Joe’s Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage

Zucchini and carrot muffins (combined, not separate)

Something savory and something sweet with some watermelon I’m getting today – haven’t decided what

My friend Tasya took the above photo and I got the idea for labels from my friend Shannon.

 

24 Aug 2014

Vanilla Lime Pound Cake

by | posted in: food, Sundays in the South, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Vanilla Lime Pound Cake

For this week’s edition of Sundays in the South, I am featuring I recipe I finished up this morning.

I am definitely from the South.  And if there is any dessert that is commonplace in the South, especially the Deep South, it is pound cake.  Unfortunately, pound cake might rank right up there in my just-never-asked-for-desserts.  Unless you are this one particular pound cake found at a tiny bakery in a tiny town off I-40 in North Carolina.

Ketchie Creek Bakery serves an amazing Five Flavor Pound Cake with a rich and smooth buttercream which I would take over most any dessert in the world.  You get a huge piece and need to split it with about 4 friends, but man, it just melts in your mouth.

But, this pound cake features two of those flavors…lime and vanilla.  I made it today for our family reunion and my Dad’s comment “Its dense and moist.”  Exactly what a pound cake should be.

I tweaked How Sweet Eats recipe of this – I thought it was too lime-y, so the recipe you see below makes that adjustment.  Also, I didn’t have a vanilla bean, so I upped the amount of vanilla.  The end result was still tangy and smooth.

 

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Vanilla Lime Pound Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Pound Cake
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8-10
 
Tart and warm...a Southern vanilla lime pound cake
Ingredients
  • 1½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • 1½ sticks unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 T whole milk
  • 1½ T REAL vanilla extract or paste (don't use imitation as this is a huge taste of your pound cake)
  • 1 T lime zest
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • For the glaze:
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 T heavy whipping cream
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • juice of two limes
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Put parchment paper in a loaf pan and spray with cooking spray.
  3. Mix dry ingredients. Sugar in this recipe is a dry ingredient. Reminds me to always read directions before starting a new dish.
  4. Mix wet ingredients and combine with dry.
  5. Bake for about 60 minutes or until done.
  6. Let the cake cool.
  7. Mix the glaze, adjusting the sugar and lime juice to your consistency liking. Drizzle on top of the cake.
  8. Slixe, share, and enjoy.
 

 

22 Aug 2014

Asparagus, Ham, and Mozzerella Quiche

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 1

Asparagus and Ham Quiche

Quiche – the brunch delight I once thought was only reserved for the dainty tea-drinker types – how wrong I was.  Quiche is so good and healthy (proteins and vegetables galore) and so versatile!  I make a new one regularly and my whole family (including the two toddlers) enjoy them.  You can serve by itself, or have a side salad, fruit, and/or bread with it to round out the meal.  This is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Brunch and Linner.  Brunch or Brinner.  Whatever you wanna call it – its delicious.

I love asparagus.  When spring hits and I see those tall skinny luscious green stalks all bound together – I can’t wait to get home and roast them simply with sea salt and lemon zest.  That’s what made me think of this quiche.

Frittata Tartlets

Hope y’all enjoy!

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Asparagus, Ham, and Mozzerella Quiche
Author: 
Recipe type: Quiche
Cuisine: Brunch
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
A hearty quiche with asparagus, ham, and mozzerella!
Ingredients
  • 1 frozen deep dish pie crust, thawed
  • 1 lb asparagus, end removed, and chopped in 1 inch pieces
  • ¾ cup diced ham (aim for low sodium regular ham)
  • 8 oz shredded mozzerella cheese
  • 1½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • ¾ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp Holly & Flora's Yard Blend (blend of chopped dried herbs)
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • zest of one lemon
  • 7 eggs
  • 2 T evoo
  • 2 T unsalted butter
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400. Bake pie shell for about 15 minutes.
  2. Saute the onions, ham, and asparagus in the evoo and butter in a cast iron skillet for about 3-5 minutes. Add spices.
  3. Mix the eggs and whipping cream.
  4. Add onion mixture, cheese, and egg mixture together.
  5. Pour into pie pan until full. You won't use all of it. I had little tartlet pans and made 6 frittatas with the remaining quiche mixture.
  6. Bake on 375 for about 45 minutes or until middle of the quiche is set.
  7. Enjoy!
Quiche

 

 

21 Aug 2014

Patchwork Butternut Squash, Kale, & Chicken Pot Pie

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Pot PIe

Bring on the Fall.  This week seems to be one of the hottest in the whole summer – just when I’m thinking of pumpkin lattes and vanilla and sweet potatoes.

I look forward to evenings when I can snuggle on the couch under a blanket with my hubs – watching a movie – after the boys go to bed – knowing that it is getting cool outside!

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Patchwork Butternut Squash, Kale, & Chicken Pot Pie
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Southern
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
A fall flavored pot pie with chicken, butternut squash, and kale
Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 2 T evoo
  • 1¼ cup diced butternut squash
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • 1½ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 massive handfuls of chopped kale
  • ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 pie crust, torn in pieces
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 350.
  2. In cast iron skillet, heat oil and butter. Add in onion and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minutes
  4. Add squash and cook for about 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from pan.
  6. Cook the chicken in same pan until done.
  7. Combine the vegetables, chicken, spices, and cheese.
  8. Pour into a deep dish pie pan. Cut strips of pie crust and make a lattice or patchwork pattern out of them. Layer on top of pot pie.
  9. Cook for about 45-50 minutes or until top crust is golden brown.
I’d never made a pot pie until I moved back to Raleigh in 2010.  My boss’s wife – and friend – made a delicious one and said it was so easy – well, this one is too and has wonderful Fall flavors!

 

 

 

 

18 Aug 2014

Blueberry Italian Cheese Tart

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen, Uncategorized | 2

Blueberry Italian Cheese Tart

The longer you are married to your spouse, the more you begin to think like him (or her) and what the other person likes or dislikes becomes you.  That is probably how the old adage got started by saying the longer a couple is married they look more and more like each other.

My Mister and I have only been married for (almost) 3 years.  One of the blessings of those three years is having someone to cook (and bake) for all the time.  Some women find that daunting.  I find it challenging in a good way – but I also need to eat out sometimes, even if it is Chick-fil-A.

Blueberries and Crystal

One of the things that my Mister loves is fruit desserts.  So, I wanted to create a sweet fruit recipe that he could enjoy.  Two of the unmistakable tastes of summer to me are lemons and bluberries.  I remember picking buckets of blueberries at Huber’s Family Farm up in southern Indiana when I lived in Louisville.  I could eat a lot just standing there picking in – never filling up my bucket.  (To anyone from Huber’s reading this – I really didn’t, I may have snuck one or two (berries, not buckets).

Blueberry Tart

So, with Italian cheeses on hand and some blueberries and lemons, I set out to create this tart.  Enjoy the final days of summer!

Blueberry Tart

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Blueberry Italian Cheese Tart
Author: 
Recipe type: dessert
Cuisine: Tart/Fruit
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10
 
A creamy, cheesy sweet tart with blueberries and lemon
Ingredients
  • For the crust:
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • ¾ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ⅛ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 stick butter, unsalted, melted
  • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • For the filling:
  • 8 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 8 oz mascarpone cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ⅓ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp real maple syrup
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • For the fruit topping:
  • Whole blueberries
  • zest of one lemon
Instructions
  1. For the crust:
  2. Mix everything together and press into a removable bottom 9.5 inch tart pan. Put in freezer for about 20 minutes. Poke holes with a fork in bottom of crust. Bake covered with foil for 15 minutes (at 350). Remove foil and bake for another 15. Let cool to room temperature.
  3. For the filling:
  4. Mix everything and combine until no more lumps. Pour filling into cooled crust and bake at 350 for another 40-45 minutes or until filling is set. Let cool slightly
  5. For the topping:
  6. Mix the blueberries with the lemon zest. Scatter on top of tart.
  7. Set in fridge until cold. Serve with cool whip or homemade whipped cream and a sprig of mint - and preferably some decaf!