Comfort Food: Grandma Carol's Scalloped Potatoes

Do you all make this all the time? I do. It's one of my favorite dishes to bring to new moms. Everyone can die of a heart attack of not surprise that I've added cream where Grandma used canned milk. Whatever. :)

(I came across this random photo of Grandma and Grandpa. Don't they look delighted about those homemade pillows? Grandma was such a classy dresser.)

4 to 5 Yukon Gold potatoes (of course you can use russets or even red ones or white ones - Yukon Gold are my faves)

1 small onion, sliced

1 10-oz. can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. milk

3/4 c. cream

Cheddar cheese

Salt

Pepper

Butter a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Slice potatoes as thinly as you can and make one layer of them in the casserole dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the layer and add a few onion slices. Repeat the layers (adding the salt, pepper, and onion on top of the potato slices each time).

Mix soup, milk, and cream (add more or less cream depending on how juicy you like it) and pour over layered potatoes. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Uncover and top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 more minutes. (Why must all comfort food take so long to cook?)

Apple Cider Doughnuts

I was so excited to find this recipe! Hearing Jen talk about the cider doughnuts on Vermont apple farms always made me drool. I didn't have a doughnut cutter so I used a biscuit cutter. I also fried the scraps, which reminded me of Mom's homemade scones in Oakley. Where's that recipe, eh?


2 red apples such as Cortland or McIntosh
2 1/2 cups apple cider
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 TBS vegetable shortening
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Core and coarsely chop the apples (do not peel). Combine with 1 1/2 cups cider in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cover and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the apples are tender and the cider is almost completely reduced, about 5 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor or a Magic Bullet until smooth. Measure the sauce; you should have 1 cup. (Boil to reduce further, if necessary.) Let cool slightly.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
3. Beat 2/3 cup granulated sugar and the shortening in another bowl with a mixer on medium speed until sandy. Beat in the egg and yolk, then gradually mix in the applesauce, scraping the bowl. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk and vanilla, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix to make a sticky dough; do not overmix!
4. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and pat into a 7-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. Meanwhile, make the glaze; Simmer the remaining 1 cup cider in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Whisk the powdered sugar until smooth and glossy, then set aside. Mix the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a shallow bowl; set aside for the topping.
6. Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Cut the chilled dough into 12 rounds, using a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter. Slip 2-3 doughnuts at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 1-2 minutes on each side, adjusting the heat as needed. Transfer to the paper towels to drain.
7. Dip one side of each doughnut in the cider glaze, letting the excess drip off; dip just the glazed side in the cinnamon-sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Chocolate-Spot Cookies

This recipe comes from a Martha Stewart Halloween magazine from 2004. I love, love, love these! I have made them every Halloween and Christmas since I got the magazine. Other brownie-like cookies with M&M's have tried and failed! These are just delicious. Sometimes I make a batch and save about 1cup of the dough in a small container in the fridge, then every once in a while I'll get a spoon and eat a bite of it. That lasts a few days. And yes, I know it's wrong, but I still do it. Neener, neener.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
12 TBS (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups Halloween-colored M&M's

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a large bowl.
2. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup candies.
3. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press remaining 1/4 cup candies into tops of cookies.
4. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes.

Corn Bread Actually

This corn bread is actually bread- not the crumbly cake thing that calls itself cornbread. This is light and delicious and perfect for toast and sandwiches. A most exciting find from an artisan bread cookbook:

1 1/2 c unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1/4 c. lukewarm water

Combine flour and yeast in a large bowl, then beat in the water. This will be a gloppy batter. Cover tightly and ferment until it is very bubbly and well risen- up to two hours.

2/3 c. lukewarm water
2 1/2 c. unbleached bread flour
1 c. plus 2 Tb cornmeal
3/4 c. fresh corn kernels (about 1 large ear)
2 large eggs plus 1 for glaze)
2 Tb honey
1 1/2 Tb vegetable or olive oil
1 Tb salt

Add the water to the yeast mixture. Then add the flour, cornmeal, corn, 2 eggs, honey, and oil. Knead about five minutes with dough hooks in a bread mixer. Add the salt and knead 3 more minutes.
This is a soft, sticky dough.
Don't be afraid of the corn kernels! They will completely blend into the dough and you will never see them. And if you do, be happy.

Let dough rise for up to 2 hours.

Grease to bread pans. Shape two loaves. Cover and rise again for up to 2 hours.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat remaining egg until blended and brush the tops of the loaves with it. Bake breads on the bottom rack of your oven for 30 minutes, rotate and cook 30 minutes more. Remove the breads from the pans right out of the oven and cool on a rack.

Apple Crisp

They were handing out samples of this with the recipe all typed up for you at Macy's. I heart Macy's so much. It's the best grocery store I've ever been to. I'm sure we all have apple crisp recipes, but it's always fun to try another, I guess. Also, David says I don't post enough recipes, so here it is.
Mix together:
10 cups of apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 cup of white sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix separately:
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup melted butter.

Crumble oat mixture evenly over apple mixture in a 9 x 13 dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Pumpkin Dip

Doesn't that sound gross? And yet, it's delicious. My friend, Megan, brought this to Quilt Night and I'm in love. It's like eating a bite of pumpkin pie, only there is dipping involved. DIPPING! And how else are you going to eat gingersnaps? Plain?! Remember Grandma Carol always had gingersnaps and Nilla wafers? I never ever chose the gingersnaps.

So, add this to your holiday dip repertoire. The flower-shaped gingersnaps come in a package of 2500 at Costco, but you might be able to find plainer ones elsewhere. (Also, Mom, this is a recipe from Penny C.)

12 oz. Cool Whip
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. powdered sugar
8 oz. pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves

Put everything but Cool Whip in a bowl and mix it together well. Fold in Cool Whip. Chill for a few hours. Serve with gingersnaps.

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

This is one of the three soups we tried out at Girl's Night (during the Priesthood Session of Conference). I forgot the tomatoes even though there was a box of tomatoes in my kitchen. Whatever - it was still the most delicious, cheesy, chicken-y bowl I've had in a long long time. Sigh. (The mini corn muffins are courtesy of the Marie Callender's Corn Bread Mix. Just do what Sister Callender says and everything will turn out fine.)

1 1/2 lb. chicken breasts

1 1/2 c. chopped onion

1-2 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp. minced)

3 T. butter

2 chicken bullion cubes

1 c. hot water

1 tsp. cumin

2 c. half-and-half

2 c. shredded Monterey-jack cheese

1 can creamed corn

1 can (4 oz.) green chiles, drained

1 med. tomato, chopped

Cut and cube chicken. Brown with onion, garlic, and butter.

In a separate pan, dissolve bullion cubes in hot water. Add cumin, bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

In 3 qt. pan, add bullion mixture, chicken, and rest of ingredients (except tomatoes) Add shredded cheese after all mixed together. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add tomatoes.