[ Karen's Warm Potato Salad with Roast Corn + Bacon ]

NOT MY PHOTO.

Karen made this for us up at Tulameen.  I could've eaten the whole thing.  And the next morning, she heated it up and served it as an accompaniment for breakfast.  SO GOOD.

OVEN READY IN 45 minutes

SERVE Warm or cold

INGREDIENTS

3-4 lb baby potatoes

2 cups corn. frozen, canned or fresh

1/2 red onion, medium dice

3-5 garlic cloves, lightly smashed

1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 -1/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon horseradish

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon dill

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Dice the potatoes into salad-size pieces and arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
3. Spread the corn and diced onion evenly over the potatoes. Distribute the lightly smashed garlic cloves throughout.
4. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
5. Roast until the potatoes are cooked through and crisp. The original recipe does not give a specific roasting time.
6. Cook and crumble the bacon; set aside.
7. Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, dill, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Season carefully because the bacon and potatoes are already salty.
8. Remove the roasted garlic cloves from the potato mixture. Mash them into a paste and stir the paste into the dressing.
9. Toss the roasted potatoes and corn with the bacon and dressing. Serve warm; leftovers are also delicious cold.

Source: Food.com • Earl's Warm Potato Salad With Roast Corn and Bacon

[ Karen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies ]

Not my photo.

Karen made this for us at Tulameen.  Kev + I ate too many of them lol. Soft, chewy oatmeal cookies with plenty of chocolate chips.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed (light brown sugar also works)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 cups old-fashioned oats (not quick oats)

1+1/2 cups all-purpose four. spooned and levelled

1+1/2 cups milk chocolate chips, divided

Flaky sea salt, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter (not melted or softened), brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. 
2. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
3. Add the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and oats; beat to combine. 
4. Once combined, add the flour and mix just until combined - DO NOT overbeat. 
5. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup.
6. Cover and chill the sticky dough for 1 hour; the oats will absorb moisture and the dough will thicken. If chilled longer than a few hours, let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before shaping.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
8. Shape dough into balls (about 1.7 oz each), making them taller rather than wider. Bake for 8-11 minutes. For soft, chewy cookies, slightly underbake; the centres may look a little wet but will firm as they cool.
9. Let cookies stand on the pan for a few minutes. Press the reserved chocolate chips into the tops. If desired, finish with a tiny sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

NOTES & STORAGE

Storage: Keep baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. To freeze, cool completely. freeze on a sheet pan, then transfer to freezer bags with parchment between layers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from

trozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bakina time

[ Cinnamon Apple Muffins ]

 

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe

19yr old Siah needs work lunches ... and I need to still do mom stuff lol.  So I added this to my roster.  It's never too late, apparently lol.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour for coating apples
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for coating apples
• 2 cups diced apples
• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ½ cup milk

Topping:

• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup  ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375º F. Spray muffin tins with bakers spray or coat well with shortening or butter and flour, making sure to discard any excess flour from the tins after coating.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside. 
• Mix flour with ground cinnamon used to coat the apples. Toss diced apples with the flour/cinnamon mixture to coat apples in a separate bowl. Set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugar until lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Add an egg, one at a time, taking care to fully incorporate before adding the other. Mix in vanilla.
• Gently fold in flour mixture, alternating with milk. Stir until just combined. Fold in diced apples and scoop mixture into prepared muffin tins, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes.
• Prepare topping for muffins while the muffins are baking by melting the butter and allowing to cool slightly. Pour butter into a separate bowl sized easy for dipping tops of muffins. Mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside.
• Once muffins have baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the muffin tin. Then, remove each muffin and brush the butter on with a pastry brush (or dip into the melted butter) and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place onto a plate to finish cooling.

Updated Cinnamon Sugar Topping:The original recipe called for a 1 to 1 mixture of sugar and cinnamon. If you prefer a less cinnamon flavor in your topping, reduce the mixture to 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. 

[ Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon ]

Am DYING to try this ... 

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:

• 6 slices bacon, cut into lardons
• 3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 pounds stewing beef, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 large carrot, sliced 
• 1 large white onion, sliced
• 1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups red wine
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves smashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 crumbled bay leaf
• 18 - 24 small pearl onions
• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 herb bouquet (4 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf)
• 1 pound fresh white mushrooms, quartered

Directions:

• Remove rind from the bacon and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.]
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
• Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef. 
• Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon. 
• In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat. 
• Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the meat lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in the middle position of the preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to the oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn the oven down to 325 degrees. 
• Stir in the wine and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in the lower third of the preheated oven. Regulate heat, so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. 
• While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed. 
• When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. 
• Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. The recipe may be completed in advance to this point.
• For immediate serving: Covet the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley. 
• For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

[ Julia Child's Creme Brulee ]

Is this the perfect one? I don't know yet ... 

Julia Child's Creme Brulee 

PREP TIME
30 minutes
COOK TIME
35 minutes
ADDITIONAL TIME
1 day
TOTAL TIME
1 day 1 hour 5 minutes


Ingredients

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar, I process refined sugar until powdered

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Pour the cream into a stir in the vanilla bean and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and let steep for 30 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the mixing bowl until the yolks are thick, pale yellow, and form a fat, slowly dissolving ribbon when dropped from the whisk back into the bowl.

• Remove the vanilla bean from the hot cream.

• Temper the yolks, by slowly stirring the warm milk into the yolks, until all the cream has been added and the mixture is well mixed.  Skim off any bubbles from the surface of the custard.

• Arrange ramekins in a baking pan and ladle the custard into each, leaving 1/4 inch at the top for the glaze.

• Set the baking pan in the oven and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the ramekins.

• Bake the custards for 30 - 35 minutes, until the tops are set but the custard in the center is still soft to the touch.

• Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven, and lift the ramekins from the hot water.

• Let them cool briefly, and then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, overnight.
• Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of the powdered sugar over each custard and smooth it gently with the back of a spoon, forming an even layer of sugar that completely covers the surface.

• Using a cooking torch, melt the sugar until it starts to caramelize.
• Serve.
• Eat.

[TIk Tok Gummy Bears]

 Gummy Bears

3 cups strawberries (or other fruit, apple, blueberries etc)

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp elderberry syrup

1 tbsp of Agar powder for every cup of mixture

Directions:

1.  Blend strawberries, honey, water and elderberry syrup

2. over med/high heat, add one cup of mixture with 1tbsp of Agar powder

3.  cook for 2minutes, then lower the heat.

4.  cook for another 2 minutes

5.  use syringe to put in molds.

6. set overnight.

[Tacofino Chocolate Diablo Cookies]

Haven't tried these yet ...  

Tacofino Chocolate Diablo Cookies 

This recipe yields about 12 large (fist-sized) or around 56 smaller cookies. 

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to desired heat level)
• 1 cup chocolate chips or chunks
• Coarse sea salt and granulated sugar for sprinkling 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp fresh-grated ginger root or ginger juice 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients: In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cayenne, and cinnamon. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.
3. Combine wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in both the brown and white sugars, canola oil, fresh ginger, and vanilla extract until well combined.
4. Mix the dough: Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined into a dough. The dough may seem a bit dry at first, but it will become moist.
5. Portion and bake: Scoop the dough into balls (about the size of a golf ball or a generous tablespoon) and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten them slightly with the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers. Sprinkle the tops generously with coarse sea salt and granulated sugar.
6. Bake one pan at a time in the center of the oven for approximately 11 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops begin to crack.
7. Cool: The cookies should still be fudgy in the middle when removed from the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.