Turkey Tetrazzini - a Family Classic!

In the early days of our marriage, Alan and I lived with his parents while we refurbished the house we had purchased. This was about 6 weeks.  And it was ok, really it was.  The in-laws did everything they could to make me feel at home. The fact that I had not lived with parents for about 16 years made it a bit difficult for me, but we did fairly well.

One day, I decided to go through my mother in law's cook book and stumbled across a recipe that became a family staple.  I have made this recipe regularly ever since and my daughter asked for a copy of it, so it seemed the right thing to document this historic passing over of a new family classic!

Not only is this a super way to use leftover turkey (or chicken), it is also just good eating. Recently, we have begun to buy ready cooked chicken breasts and used them, or even cooking chicken breasts, maybe not quite as tasty, but really fast for a good meal.

I apologize for the lateness of this post.  It is the perfect way to use leftover turkey and one of the highlights of our Christmas week.  But there was never time to post it this week.  And I looked up the safest length of time to use up leftover turkey and the suggestion is no more than 3 - 4 days.

Being in a hurry, as always in the week between Christmas and New Year, Alan came in and helped cut up the veggies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I doubled the recipe, so this is more than the recipe actually calls for.

 

If you want the recipe without pictures, just scroll down and enjoy!

Turkey Tetrazzini

8 oz spaghetti

1 celery stick, chopped (I always use at least 3 sticks)

1 onion, chopped

1 can mushrooms (the original recipe calls for this, I have never used them)

3oz butter

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 (1/2 cup) milk

2oz cheddar cheese

2 Tbs sherry, optional (sherry?  no way!)

salt & pepper

8oz turkey, cooked and diced

Parmesan cheese

 

1.  Preheat oven to moderate, 350F, gas 4 or 180C

2.  Cook spaghetti, drain and keep hot

3.  Cook celery, onion and mushrooms (if using) in butter til tender.

4.  Add soup, milk, cheese and sherry (if using).

5.  Cook over low heat till cheese has melted.

     Add turkey and pour over spaghetti.

6.  Stir and place in casserole.

    Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (I never did this either) and bake in center

    of oven for 20 - 25 minutes.  Watch this because it might begin to get too brown before this time

    is up.

 

 Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Arthur.
Arthur who?
Arthur any leftovers?

Turkey Tetrazzini

8 oz spaghetti

1 celery stick, chopped (I always use at least 3 sticks)

1 onion, chopped

1 can mushrooms (the original recipe calls for this, I have never used them)

3oz butter

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 (1/2 cup) milk

2oz cheddar cheese

2 Tbs sherry, optional (sherry?  no way!)

salt & pepper

8oz turkey, cooked and diced

Parmesan cheese

 

1.  Preheat oven to moderate, 350F, gas 4 or 180C

2.  Cook spaghetti, drain and keep hot

3.  Cook celery, onion and mushrooms (if using) in butter til tender.

4.  Add soup, milk, cheese and sherry (if using).

5.  Cook over low heat till cheese has melted.

     Add turkey and pour over spaghetti.

6.  Stir and place in casserole.

    Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (I never did this either) and bake in center

    of oven for 20 - 25 minutes.  Watch this because it might begin to get too brown before this time

    is up.



Baking day with my daughter!

Growing up with a single parent, I spent a lot of quality time with my Mom, doing simple things like baking Christmas cookies.  For some reason, this tradition had not naturally happened with my daughter and me.  Looking back, we just had a different lifestyle, including a whole family and responsibilities, not just the two of us. The other main difference - Christmas cookies are not that big of a deal in Scotland! 

When Whitney was in about the third grade, she came home one October and asked when we were going to make our Christmas cake?  What!!!  I had never ever thought of making a Christmas cake!  However, I called a good friend and got a really simple recipe.  Whitney and I made this delicious cake and fed it regularly with Scotch up until the day we could eat it - Christmas. 

Did I say Scotch?  Yes....and we had a great bottle gifted to us on the day of Whitney's christening, just to give you an idea of how much Scotch we actually drink!  The only problem.....Whitney hated the cake, and of course she would!  So after a few years of only my mother in law and myself eating this cake - she had one piece at the Christmas meal and I had the rest, I decided that this was one tradition my daughter and I did not really need to keep!  Once that bottle was finished, I have never made another Christmas cake!


But this year, life has slowed a bit and we both have more time for each other, so this was the prize (for me anyway).

Having a lifetime collection of favourite Christmas cookies, we were spoiled by choice with what we would do on our baking day.  However, there was no discussion about the first batch......Snowballs!

Snowballs and I go way back, to our little house on Church Street.  Mom had this recipe (I can still picture the original recipe card now, but it was stuck in her Joy of Cooking and that didn't make the move over).  Luckily, I have a few copies of this recipe, including one in the cookbook my Home Ec class published. So it will never be in danger of being lost.  There was one problem though - when I first moved to Scotland and attempted to bake these, I had no idea how to convert sticks of butter to grams.  And you do not get sticks of butter over here.  So I guesstimated a few times and never got it right.  Years later.....I discovered an on-line butter conversion.  Suddenly, I have the freedom to bake any American recipe that calls for various sizes of sticks, tablespoons and cups of butter with confidence!

When I made this with Whitney, I had not planned on using it this year on my blog, but here it is, without any measurement conversions, sorry!

Snowballs

Preheat oven to 300F  150C
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs water
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups sifted cake flour  (I just use plain old normal flour!)
1 6oz (1 cup) chocolate chips, semi-sweet
1 cup pecans, finely chopped ( Optional)
Confectioners sugar (Icing Sugar)

Combine first 5 ingredients. 
Blend well.
Stir in flour and chocolate chips.
Form into 1 inch balls.
Roll in pecans.  (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't - I love them equally both ways!)
Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Roll in sugar while warm.

Yield:  approx 5 dozen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The older I get, the more I see

The power of that young woman, my mother.

 

 Sharon Olds quotes 

 

 

Early Morning Banana and Butterscotch Muffins

My husband has a job that causes him to get up a 3:45 some mornings. This is a zero hour contract and he expected not to work so many hours, maybe 8 hours a week. But just now, they are short staffed.......

Sounds bad doesn't it?  However, I am such an early riser, I wake up about 4am anyway. So I am enjoying the slow start to weekend mornings.  I just finished a book my friend in Edinburgh gave me called Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido. This is set in South Africa and took me awhile to get into, but it ended up being really good. Thankfully I didn't read the back of the book until this morning.  They compared it to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  It was nice to be surprised by how it all came together at the end!

So now I am going to enjoy my porridge and berries, with zero point no fat Greek Vanilla Yogurt. This is my standard Weightwatcher's breakfast, and I honestly look forward to it every morning!

And after breakfast - I have decided to use up my old bananas and some close to out of date Butterscotch chips to make Banana Muffins for my poor and probably tired husband when he gets home!

In my never ending quest to clear out my cookbook bookcase, I am attempting to be sensible and make good choices on what ones to keep. This morning, I have made the painful decision to give up 3 cookbooks I have either never used or completely forgotten about!  Now the question is, do I offer them to my daughter to teach her how to hoard a lifetime supply of never used cookbooks or do the right thing and give them to charity? 2 of these are brand new and "could" be used as gifts!  (not by me, I am the only person I know with such an obsession for them!)

This morning, I have used the Joy of Cooking that Mom bought me in 1971.  I also have a more recent one, but still bemoan the loss of Mom's Joy of Cooking that my Dad bought her when they were first married.  But nothing I can do about that....

The way the recipe is set out, it gives the appearance that the person should actually know the idiosyncrasies involved in making muffins.  This struck me as very odd, and also thankful that I had a good Home Ec teacher back in the day.  It was only after I managed to get all ingredients together that I realized there is a section on the previous page that gives the instructions!  So I will add these as I write out the basic recipe!

First of all this is the basic recipe and there are suggested things you can add.  I had already made my decision to add 2 very ripe bananas and a half cup of butterscotch chips!

Muffins  (scroll down to find recipe without pictures)

The recipe says about 2 dozen, although I only got 14.  I am wondering if even muffins are bigger than they were in the 70's?

Preheat oven to 400F  200C

Have all ingredients at room temperature.  Sift before measuring:
2 cups cake flour or 1 3/4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour  (340g)

Resift with:

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar  (76g)
2 teaspoons baking powder

Beat in a separate bowl:
2 eggs

Combine and add:

2 - 4 tablespoons melted butter (56g for 4 Tbs)
3/4 cup milk (225ml)

To mix:
Add the liquid ingredients to the sifted, dry ingredients with a few swift strokes.  The mixing is held to an absolute minimum, a light stirring of about 10 - 20 seconds, which will leave some lumps, ignore them.





If adding extras such as bananas, chips, nuts, etc, have these ready and mix them in gently to avoid over mixing the batter.

To bake, either use cupcake papers (I think with the extras I put in, it cause the muffins to be really sticky.  Doing this again, I would not use the papers.)  or grease the tins.  Fill about 2/3 full.  If there is not enough dough to fill every muffin cup, put a few tablespoons of water in the empty forms, both to protect the pans and to keep the rest of the muffins moist. 

Bake at once in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes (I needed all 25)

"Life is too short," she panicked, "I want more." He nodded slowly, "Wake up earlier." ~Dr. SunWolf,

Muffins

About 2 dozen, although I only got 14.  I am wondering if even muffins are bigger than they were in the 70's?

Preheat oven to 400F  200C

Have all ingredients at room temperature.  Sift before measuring:
2 cups cake flour or 1 3/4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour  (340g)

Resift with:
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar  (76g)
2 teaspoons baking powder

Beat in a separate bowl:
2 eggs

Combine and add:
2 - 4 tablespoons melted butter (56g for 4 Tbs)
3/4 cup milk (225ml)

To mix:
Add the liquid ingredients to the sifted, dry ingredients with a few swift strokes.  The mixing is held to an absolute minimum, a light stirring of about 10 - 20 seconds, which will leave some lumps, ignore them. 

If adding extras such as bananas, chips, nuts, etc, have these ready and mix them in gently to avoid over mixing the batter.

To bake, either use cupcake papers (I think with the extras I put in, it cause the muffins to be really sticky.  Doing this again, I would not use the papers.)  or grease the tins.  Fill about 2/3 full.  If there is not enough dough to fill every muffin cup, put a few tablespoons of water in the empty forms, both to protect the pans and to keep the rest of the muffins moist. 

Bake at once in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes (I needed all 25)

Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013 - Crunchy Frostbite Cookies

Last year was the first time I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and it was so much fun, I was really looking forward to doing it again!  This is a world wide cookie swap with all participants giving a donation to Cookies for Kids with Cancer.

First of all, anyone interested in participating has to meet certain criteria, such as being a food blogger and having published so many posts in a definite time frame.  Once accepted, then there are deadlines to meet!  One of these was to post your cookies no later than 2 December. Which was not  a problem for me, being a Monday and all!  And Whitney and I had spent Saturday baking cookies,  although the ones I did for the Cookie Swap I did on my own!  I did these before Whitney came over because they were a complete new recipe for me and I needed to be sure they would be tasty enough to share and sturdy enough to survive the journey to other people's houses with the Royal Mail!

(If they did not meet my standards, I had an old and very favourite stand by to bake, but maybe that will be next year's swap!) 

There is an air of secrecy and expectation about giving and receiving these cookies.  Once registered, we are each given 3 others to share our cookies with. But this is like a Secret Santa, so all the energy and thoughts about this exchange goes silent for a few weeks!  Then - suddenly, there it is - the first package!   I always work to a deadline so I was very surprised when I received my first batch of cookies days before I had even purchased the ingredients for mine!



These were delicious Bailey's and Chocolate Chip Cookies from Quips and Dip.  These were Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Not only did they taste wonderful, but Emma also packaged them beautifully.

The next package came on 4 December - from Come Con Ella.  These were amazing Brownie Roll Out Cookies.  Mehrunnisia says she got her inspiration from Smitten Kitchen and I cannot wait to try this recipe.  The cookies tasted like real brownies, but must be so much less in calories.  My Weightwatcher group has asked me to point these once I get the recipe!  I think they will end up being a wonderful snack!

Brownie Roll Out Cookies and Bailey's Choc Chips

The last package had difficulty getting to me.  The Postman attempted to deliver it on Thursday 5 December, but uncharacteristically, no one was home. Friday was the same. So I did not get them until Saturday.  These were from Katiesprog.  I have been unable to contact her to let her know her Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies arrived!  I think the contact given is only a Twitter account, but I have struggled to get connected. So I do apologize that I have not been able to acknowledge arrival and thank her for these cookies.


I had decided to bake Crunchy Frostbite Cookies found on the myrecipes.com website, based on a Southern Living magazine recipe. Why I couldn't use one of my many cookbooks is beyond me, but I saw these and wanted to try them.  And I must admit they are a hit with my grandson, who   has told him Mum he wants to bake these for Santa. So she is waiting for me to publish this recipe too!

Here goes!

If you want this recipe photo free, just scroll down!

 An action shot of me! Taken by my daughter.

Crunchy Frostbite Cookies  

adapted from a Southern Living recipe found on myrecipes.com.

Just a reminder that this is an American recipe and I have tried to measure everything so anyone can do this.  However, my weights and measures might not be exactly accurate and I apologize for any errors!

2 cups (295g)  all purpose (plain) flour

2 teaspoons baking soda  (bicarbonate of soda)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar  (226g)

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (235g)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups (164g) uncooked regular oats

1 1/2 cups (58g) cornflakes cereal

12 ounces (340g) white chocolate baking squares, chopped* 

3 tablespoons shortening**

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

*I have never seen baking squares in any UK grocery stores I have been in, and have only thought to buy chocolate squares when I go home. So I just used the weight amount called for in White Chocolate bars.  Seemed to do the trick!

**For many years, I substituted butter or margarine for shortening.  But I usually ask visitors from the States to bring this to me.....personally?  I don't really think it matters which one you use!

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer - mix 1 cup of shortening with sugars, added slowly, until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well each time and then add vanilla.  After this is all mixed, add the flour mixture, gradually.  Following this, add the oats and cornflakes.

On a lightly greased cookie sheet, drop cookie dough by heaped teaspoonfuls, leaving space for them to spread.  Using a fork, flatten each one a bit.  

Bake at 325F/160C for 10 - 14 minutes.  Mine is a fairly slow oven so it was the full 14 minutes for me.

 Allow to cool before eating!

For the chocolate coating, carefully microwave the white chocolate along wth 3 tablespoons of the shortening.  Using a lower setting protected the chocolate even if it seems to take a bit longer. Stir as little as possible, but at least once.  Add the peppermint extract and mix that in well.
Dip what I would consider the bottom of the cookie into the chocolate mixture and place these on parchment paper, chocolate side down.  Let stand until chocolate is set.

I got about 40 cookies!

before the white chocolate dip!

“











And here is one set of cookies getting ready to find a new home!





In looking at my contribution from last year - another Southern Living cookie recipe, dipped in white chocolate!  I wonder what next year will bring?

Many thanks to Lindsay and Julie for taking on this huge worldwide charity challenge and making it so much fun! 

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand



Crunchy Frostbite Cookies 

2 cups (295g)  all purpose (plain) flour

2 teaspoons baking soda  (bicarbonate of soda)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar  (226g)

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (235g)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups (164g) uncooked regular oats

1 1/2 cups (58g) cornflakes cereal

12 ounces (340g) white chocolate baking squares, chopped* 

3 tablespoons shortening**

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

*I have never seen baking squares in any UK grocery stores I have been in, and have only thought to buy chocolate squares when I go home. So I just used the amount called for in White Chocolate bars.  Seemed to do the trick!

**For many years, I substituted butter or margarine for shortening.  But I usually ask visitors from the States to bring this to me.....personally?  I don't really think it matters which one you use!

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer - mix 1 cup of shortening with sugars, added slowly, until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well each time and then add vanilla.  After this is all mixed, add the flour mixture, gradually.  Following this, add the oats and cornflakes.

On a lightly greased cookie sheet, drop cookie dough by heaped teaspoonfuls, leaving space for them to spread.  Using a fork, flatten each one a bit.  

Bake at 325F/160C for 10 - 14 minutes.  Mine is a fairly slow oven so it was the full 14 minutes for me.

For the chocolate coating, carefully microwave the white chocolate along wth 3 tablespoons of the shortening.  Using a lower setting protected the chocolate even if it seems to take a bit longer. Stir as little as possible, but at least once.  Add the peppermint extract and mix that in well.
Dip what I would consider the bottom of the cookie into the chocolate mixture and place these on parchment paper, chocolate side down.  Let stand until chocolate is set.

I got about 40 cookies!