Donna Walsifer
time to focus
I started this post by making sure I had remembered all the items I prepared last week, but I got sidetracked by looking through my Instagram feed. Sometimes, I need to bury my phone so I can focus on the task at hand.
Many years ago, when I was an aide for a first-grade teacher, a young girl gifted me some delicious sugar cookies. They were so good, I asked for the recipe. Now you would think I would have made them immediately, but 27 years later, I finally made them. I’ve made Neapolitan Cookies from “The Vanilla Bean” blog, however, my cookies were coming out too flat. After several tries, I pulled out my former student’s recipe to adapt to a Neapolitan cookie.
Many years ago, when I was an aide for a first-grade teacher, a young girl gifted me some delicious sugar cookies. They were so good, I asked for the recipe. Now you would think I would have made them immediately, but 27 years later, I finally made them. I’ve made Neapolitan Cookies from “The Vanilla Bean” blog, however, my cookies were coming out too flat. After several tries, I pulled out my former student’s recipe to adapt to a Neapolitan cookie.
For the recipe you’ll need butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, eggs, neutral oil, flour and baking soda. What I found unusual with this recipe, was the addition of oil. I did some internet sleuthing and found this may be based on an Amish sugar cookie recipe where they use both butter and oil. The oil will keep the cookies soft and moist. While this recipe doesn’t call for it, some may include cream of tartar, which will jumpstart the baking soda making the cookies rise and lighten in taste.
The recipe was very easy to prepare; it’s done in one bowl and is broken down into three steps. The butter and sugars are creamed, the wet ingredients are added next and followed by the dry ingredients. The dough is rolled into balls and flattened with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped into sugar. As I was adding flavorings, I weighed the total amount of dough I made and divided as equally as possible before adding the cocoa and strawberry powders. I pulled off a piece of dough of each flavor and pressed them together. I didn’t bother flattening and coating with sugar.
The cookies puffed up nicely and were slightly golden on the bottom. The texture was soft and not overly sweet. The only downside was when eating the cookie, each flavor would break apart. Other than that, the cookie had the appearance I was after as well as the taste. Next time, I may just use my cookie scoop and grab a bit of each flavor thereby making a more cohesive dough ball.
In a recent Dreyer Farms CSA box, I had some lovely, large leaf spinach and a spring onion. I debated making creamed spinach, which I’ve done before, but I opted for Quiche with Red Peppers and Spinach. I found Martha Rose Shulman’s recipe on The New York Times/NYT Cooking webpage. For the recipe you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, yellow or spring onion, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, red bell peppers, fresh thyme leaves, spinach, eggs and egg yolks, pie crust, milk, Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses.
While the recipe calls for a whole wheat pâte brisée pie crust, I chose to use a pie crust dough that I had in my freeze from a recipe from the Stella Parks.
The quiche begins by sautéing the onion until tender. Next, the garlic, peppers and thyme are added along with a hearty pinch of salt. When everything is tender, spinach is added in batches by handfuls and stirred until wilted. It’s removed from the pan to a bowl. In a separate bowl, eggs and milk are added along with salt and pepper and whisked.
The spinach mixture is spread in an even layer on the pie crust, the cheeses are tossed together before being spread over the spinach. Lastly, the egg mixture is poured on top. Don’t overfill the pie crust as you don’t want the custard to overflow onto your oven bottom. I used a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish and my custard fit perfectly. The quiche bakes in a 350° oven for approximately 30-35 minutes.
What a wonderful quiche. I served it as a light supper one evening along with a salad. The quiche was creamy and the combination of sweet red peppers with the spinach made for a very flavorful filling.
The last recipe I made was Skillet Pork Chops with Caramelized Pears. This recipe is from the October 2024 issue of “Southern Living Magazine.” While pork with apples is a wonderful combination, pears with pork sounded interesting. For the recipe you’ll need bone-in center cut pork chops, kosher salt, black pepper, ground fennel seeds, olive oil, Anjou pears, chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, stone-ground mustard and fresh thyme leaves. Instead of an Anjou pear, I had a French butter pear left from another recipe, that was a tad overripe.
The pork chops are seasoned with salt, pepper and ground fennel seeds and must sit for 30 minutes before cooking. They are then sautéed in olive oil until browned on both sides then removed. In the same pan, pear wedges are added and cooked until caramelized. Chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and thyme sprigs are added to the pan along with the pork chops.
This meal was delicious. The sauce was both sweet and tart and complimented the pork nicely along with the pears. Overall, a delightful supper.
By the way, while typing this blog, I again found my attention diverted. While checking some food information, I peaked at social media…FOMO got the better of me!
The recipe was very easy to prepare; it’s done in one bowl and is broken down into three steps. The butter and sugars are creamed, the wet ingredients are added next and followed by the dry ingredients. The dough is rolled into balls and flattened with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped into sugar. As I was adding flavorings, I weighed the total amount of dough I made and divided as equally as possible before adding the cocoa and strawberry powders. I pulled off a piece of dough of each flavor and pressed them together. I didn’t bother flattening and coating with sugar.
The cookies puffed up nicely and were slightly golden on the bottom. The texture was soft and not overly sweet. The only downside was when eating the cookie, each flavor would break apart. Other than that, the cookie had the appearance I was after as well as the taste. Next time, I may just use my cookie scoop and grab a bit of each flavor thereby making a more cohesive dough ball.
In a recent Dreyer Farms CSA box, I had some lovely, large leaf spinach and a spring onion. I debated making creamed spinach, which I’ve done before, but I opted for Quiche with Red Peppers and Spinach. I found Martha Rose Shulman’s recipe on The New York Times/NYT Cooking webpage. For the recipe you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, yellow or spring onion, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, red bell peppers, fresh thyme leaves, spinach, eggs and egg yolks, pie crust, milk, Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses.
While the recipe calls for a whole wheat pâte brisée pie crust, I chose to use a pie crust dough that I had in my freeze from a recipe from the Stella Parks.
The quiche begins by sautéing the onion until tender. Next, the garlic, peppers and thyme are added along with a hearty pinch of salt. When everything is tender, spinach is added in batches by handfuls and stirred until wilted. It’s removed from the pan to a bowl. In a separate bowl, eggs and milk are added along with salt and pepper and whisked.
The spinach mixture is spread in an even layer on the pie crust, the cheeses are tossed together before being spread over the spinach. Lastly, the egg mixture is poured on top. Don’t overfill the pie crust as you don’t want the custard to overflow onto your oven bottom. I used a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish and my custard fit perfectly. The quiche bakes in a 350° oven for approximately 30-35 minutes.
What a wonderful quiche. I served it as a light supper one evening along with a salad. The quiche was creamy and the combination of sweet red peppers with the spinach made for a very flavorful filling.
The last recipe I made was Skillet Pork Chops with Caramelized Pears. This recipe is from the October 2024 issue of “Southern Living Magazine.” While pork with apples is a wonderful combination, pears with pork sounded interesting. For the recipe you’ll need bone-in center cut pork chops, kosher salt, black pepper, ground fennel seeds, olive oil, Anjou pears, chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, stone-ground mustard and fresh thyme leaves. Instead of an Anjou pear, I had a French butter pear left from another recipe, that was a tad overripe.
The pork chops are seasoned with salt, pepper and ground fennel seeds and must sit for 30 minutes before cooking. They are then sautéed in olive oil until browned on both sides then removed. In the same pan, pear wedges are added and cooked until caramelized. Chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and thyme sprigs are added to the pan along with the pork chops.
This meal was delicious. The sauce was both sweet and tart and complimented the pork nicely along with the pears. Overall, a delightful supper.
By the way, while typing this blog, I again found my attention diverted. While checking some food information, I peaked at social media…FOMO got the better of me!
Sugar Cookies
From Megan Boyle
Ingredients
½ pound unsalted butter )
1 cup white sugar ) Cream together
1 cup powdered sugar )
1 teaspoon vanilla )
2 eggs ) Add to above
1 cup oil )
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour )
1 teaspoon baking powder ) Add to above
Preparation
Roll into balls. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°.
From Megan Boyle
Ingredients
½ pound unsalted butter )
1 cup white sugar ) Cream together
1 cup powdered sugar )
1 teaspoon vanilla )
2 eggs ) Add to above
1 cup oil )
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour )
1 teaspoon baking powder ) Add to above
Preparation
Roll into balls. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°.
Quiche with Red Peppers and Spinach
“Quiche Meets Whole Wheat,” By Martha Rose Shulman
The New York Times, April 25, 2014
Total Time: about 1-1/2 hours (including prebaking tart shell and baking the quiche)
Yield: 6 generous servings
Note: I used a pie crust recipe by Stella Parks, Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1medium-size onion (yellow or spring onion), chopped
2 large garlic cloves, or 1 small bulb green garlic, peeled and minced
Salt to taste
2 large red bell peppers (about ¾ pound), seeded and cut in thin 1-inch strips
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 generous bunch spinach, stemmed, washed in 2 changes of water, and coarsely chopped
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1(9-inch) whole wheat pâte brisée pie crust, fully baked and cooled
Freshly ground pepper
⅔ cup milk
2 ounces Gruyère, grated (½ cup)
1 ounce Parmesan, grated (¼ cup
Preparation
Whole Wheat Pie Dough
“Quiche Meets Whole Wheat,” By Martha Rose Shulman
The New York Times, April 25, 2014
By Marth Rose Shulman
Total Time: about 1 hour, plus chill time
Yield: 2 9-inch pastry shells, 6 to 8 servings each
Ingredients
222 grams French-style butter such as Plugrá (8 ounces, 1 cup), at room temperature
175 grams whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (approximately 1½ cups less 1 tablespoon)
175 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately 1½ cups less 1 tablespoon)
7 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
92 grams water (6 tablespoons)
Special Equipment: Pie weights
Note: You may want to line your quiche shell with parchment or foil and add pie weights before baking to prevent the crust from shrinking.
“Quiche Meets Whole Wheat,” By Martha Rose Shulman
The New York Times, April 25, 2014
Total Time: about 1-1/2 hours (including prebaking tart shell and baking the quiche)
Yield: 6 generous servings
Note: I used a pie crust recipe by Stella Parks, Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1medium-size onion (yellow or spring onion), chopped
2 large garlic cloves, or 1 small bulb green garlic, peeled and minced
Salt to taste
2 large red bell peppers (about ¾ pound), seeded and cut in thin 1-inch strips
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 generous bunch spinach, stemmed, washed in 2 changes of water, and coarsely chopped
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1(9-inch) whole wheat pâte brisée pie crust, fully baked and cooled
Freshly ground pepper
⅔ cup milk
2 ounces Gruyère, grated (½ cup)
1 ounce Parmesan, grated (¼ cup
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add a generous pinch of salt, the garlic, peppers and thyme. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, then turn the heat to medium low and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes more, until peppers are very tender and sweet.
- Turn up heat to medium-high and, a handful at a time, add spinach and stir until each handful wilts. If there is liquid remaining in the pan turn up the heat and stir while you let it cool off. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. If you are making filling a day ahead, refrigerate uncovered.
- Beat together egg yolks and eggs in a medium bowl. Set tart pan on a baking sheet for easy handling. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush bottom of the crust with some of the beaten egg and place in oven for 5 minutes.
- Add salt (I use ½ teaspoon), pepper, and milk to the remaining eggs and whisk together.
- Spread pepper and spinach mixture in an even layer in the crust. Stir together cheeses and sprinkle in an even layer on top. Very slowly pour in the egg custard over the filling. If your tart pan has low edges, you may not need all of it to fill the shell, and you want to avoid the custard spilling over. Place quiche, on baking sheet, in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and just beginning to color on the top. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.
Whole Wheat Pie Dough
“Quiche Meets Whole Wheat,” By Martha Rose Shulman
The New York Times, April 25, 2014
By Marth Rose Shulman
Total Time: about 1 hour, plus chill time
Yield: 2 9-inch pastry shells, 6 to 8 servings each
Ingredients
222 grams French-style butter such as Plugrá (8 ounces, 1 cup), at room temperature
175 grams whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (approximately 1½ cups less 1 tablespoon)
175 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately 1½ cups less 1 tablespoon)
7 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
92 grams water (6 tablespoons)
Special Equipment: Pie weights
Note: You may want to line your quiche shell with parchment or foil and add pie weights before baking to prevent the crust from shrinking.
Skillet Pork chops with Caramelized Pears
“Southern Living Magazine,” October 2024
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 (1-1/4-inch thick) bone-in center cut pork chops
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cups (1-inch thick) pear wedges (from 3 medium-size green Anjou pears
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. stone-ground mustard
4 thyme sprigs
Preparation
Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt, pepper and ground fennel. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil in 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add pork; cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. (Do not wipe skillet clean).
Add pear wedges to skillet. Reduce heat to medium cook, turning occasionally, until pears are caramelized, about 6 minutes.
Stir in chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and thyme sprigs. Nestle pork chops into skillet; simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of meat registers 140°F, 2 to 4 minutes.
Transfer pork to clean plate. Cook until sauce slightly thickened and pears are just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Return pork to skillet and spoon sauce over pork. Season with additional salt to taste; garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
“Southern Living Magazine,” October 2024
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 (1-1/4-inch thick) bone-in center cut pork chops
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cups (1-inch thick) pear wedges (from 3 medium-size green Anjou pears
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. stone-ground mustard
4 thyme sprigs
Preparation
Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt, pepper and ground fennel. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil in 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add pork; cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. (Do not wipe skillet clean).
Add pear wedges to skillet. Reduce heat to medium cook, turning occasionally, until pears are caramelized, about 6 minutes.
Stir in chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and thyme sprigs. Nestle pork chops into skillet; simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of meat registers 140°F, 2 to 4 minutes.
Transfer pork to clean plate. Cook until sauce slightly thickened and pears are just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Return pork to skillet and spoon sauce over pork. Season with additional salt to taste; garnish with fresh thyme leaves.