Cookbook Library Haul (Nov 30)

1. Taste of Home: Beef, Chicken and Pork

Overnight Apple French Toast

 

Ingredients 

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 large tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-in. slices
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 slices day-old French bread (3/4 inch thick)

SYRUP

1 jar (10 ounces) apple jelly
1 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
 

Directions 

1.  In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and syrup. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Pour into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Arrange apples over top.
 

2.  In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla. Dip bread slices into the egg mixture 1 minute; place over apples. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3.  Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients; heat through. Serve with French toast.

Tart Cranberry Cake

 

Ingredients 

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
2/3 cup chopped pecans
Whipped cream, optional

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Add butter and extract; beat 2 minutes. Gradually stir in flour just until combined. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Spread in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish.

2.  Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Cookbook Mail (Nov 24)

The ever-popular queen of desserts takes center stage in Food Network star Addie Gundry's cake cookbook, from trendy poke cakes to old-fashioned icebox cakes to swoon-worthy layered cakes.

From birthdays to holidays to Tuesdays, there’s always room for cake. Family and friends marvel at impressive tiered cakes while adorable individual mug cakes satisfy late-night cravings. This cookbook features recipes for coffee cakes like Cinnamon Apple Crumb Cake to timeless classics reinvented like Carrot Cake Poke Cake to quick and easy favorites like Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake. Each recipe is paired with a four-color, full-bleed photo.

Slow-Cooked Apple Cranberry Cider

 

Ingredients 

3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches), broken
1 teaspoon whole cloves
2 quarts apple cider or juice
3 cups cranberry juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1.  Place cinnamon sticks and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag.

2.  In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the cider, cranberry juice and brown sugar add spice bag. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or until cider reaches desired temperature. Discard spice bag.

Cookbook Library Haul (Nov 16)

1. Taste of Home: Beef, Chicken and Pork

Tea Mail (Nov 10)

Cappuccino Cake Brownies

 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons boiling water
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large Nellie’s Free Range Eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions 

1.  In a small bowl, dissolve coffee in water; set aside. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, melted chocolate and coffee mixture. Combine flour and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture until blended.
 

2.  Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Doughnut Muffins

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 large Nellie’s Free Range Eggs
1-1/4 cups 2% milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

COATING

1 cup coarse sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in milk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture; stir just until moistened.

2.  Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

3.  Meanwhile, for coating, combine coarse sugar and cinnamon. Dip tops of warm muffins in butter, then coat in cinnamon-sugar.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups

 

Ingredients 

1 milk chocolate candy bar (7 ounces)
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon shortening
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions 

1.  In a microwave, melt chocolate, butter and shortening; stir until smooth. Place foil or paper miniature baking cups in a miniature muffin tin. Place 1 tablespoon of chocolate mixture in each cup.

2.  In a microwave, melt peanut butter; stir until smooth. Spoon into cups. Top with remaining chocolate mixture. Remelt chocolate mixture if necessary. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

Calabaza en tacha (Candied Pumpkin)

 

Ingredients

1 4-5 lb pumpkin
8 cinnamon sticks
Juice of 1 Orange
4 cups water
2 lbs brown sugar or raw sugar

Directions

1.  Cut the pumpkin into 3" squares. Remove seeds and strings. With a sharp knife make diamond designs over the pulp.

2.  Put the sugar in a pan with the cinnamon, orange juice, and water. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

3.  Place the first layer of pumpkin pieces skin side up in the pan. Place the second layer pulp side up. Repeat as necessary. Cover and simmer. The pumpkin pieces are done when they look golden brown and the pulp is soft.

4.  Let cool and serve with the syrup. You can also add cream if you prefer.

Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead)

 

Ingredients

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (half a stick) margarine or butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions

1.  Bring milk to boil and remove from heat. Stir in margarine or butter, 1/4 cup sugar and salt.

2.  In large bowl, mix yeast with warm water until dissolved and let stand 5 minutes. Add the milk mixture.

3.  Separate the yolk and white of one egg. Add the yolk to the yeast mixture, but save the white for later. Now add flour to the yeast and egg. Blend well until dough ball is formed.

4.  Flour a pastry board or work surface very well and place the dough in center. Knead until smooth. Return to large bowl and cover with dish towel. Let rise in warm place for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5.  Knead dough again on floured surface. Now divide the dough into fourths and set one fourth aside. Roll the remaining 3 pieces into "ropes."

6.  On greased baking sheet, pinch 3 rope ends together and braid. Finish by pinching ends together on opposite side. Divide the remaining dough in half and form 2 "bones." Cross and lay them atop braided loaf.

7.  Cover bread with dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix anise seed, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar together. In another bowl, beat egg white lightly.

8.  When 30 minutes are up, brush top of bread with egg white and sprinkle with sugar mixture, except on cross bones. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Day of the Dead

 

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos in Anglophone countries, a back-translation of its original name, Día de Muertos. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31, November 1, and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christianity triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using calaveras, aztec marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed into other deep traditions in honor of the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "All Saints' Day" associated with the Catholic Church.

Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.

The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other societies' observances of a time to honor the dead. The Spanish tradition, for instance, includes festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of families at cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.

Observance in Mexico 

Origins

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico developed from ancient traditions among its pre-Columbian cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. The festival that developed into the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern La Calavera Catrina.

By the late 20th century in most regions of Mexico, practices had developed to honor dead children and infants on November 1, and to honor deceased adults on November 2. November 1 is generally referred to as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels"); November 2 is referred to as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").

Food

During Day of the Dead festivities, food is both eaten by living people and given to the spirits of their departed ancestors as ofrendas ("offerings"). Tamales are one of the most common dishes prepared for this day for both purposes.

Pan de muerto and calaveras are associated specifically with Day of the Dead. Pan de muerto is a type of sweet roll shaped like a bun, topped with sugar, and often decorated with bone-shaped phalanges pieces.. Calaveras, or sugar skulls, display colorful designs to represent the vitality and individual personality of the departed.

In addition to food, drink is also important to the tradition of Day of the Dead. Historically, the main alcoholic drink was pulque while today families will commonly drink the favorite beverage of their deceased ancestors. Other drinks associated with the holiday are atole and champurrado, warm, thick, non-alcoholic masa drinks.

Jamaica iced tea is a popular herbal tea made of the flowers and leaves of the Jamaican hibiscus plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa), known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico. It is served cold and quite sweet with a lot of ice. The ruby-red beverage is called hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries and called agua de Jamaica (water of Jamaica) in Spanish.