Herb Dinner Scones Memorial Weekend 2014 and a "Special" Birthday

My husband turns 65 on Tuesday, so we are having all of his favorite foods.  And of course he is the "Grill Master"!  Not pictured is a pot of baked beans made from scratch.

Beans are done...

I salted my grated cabbage to removed the excess water, this will stop your slaw from becoming watery.  Can you believe all this came from one medium sized cabbage?

 Creamy Coleslaw

 Deviled Potato Salad

 Butter and Herb Scones.

I made these with Fresh Lemon Thyme, Rosemary and 1/2 cup of Asiago Fresco cheese.

 Lemon Thyme

Rosemary

Herb Dinner Scones
Recipe from Tractor Supply

Submitted by Evvie Marshall, Helotes, Texas

Evvie is just 18, but she enjoys baking, and herb dinner scones are one of her favorites. "It has been requested for when we have company or we need a bread thing quickly," she writes.
Ingredients
3 cups of flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (optional)
2 or more Tbsp. dried or fresh herbs (any of your choice)
6-8 Tbsp. butter, to taste
1¼ to 1½ cup of buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream
Directions

In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and herbs. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or your hands. Mix in milk product of your choice, stirring until dough holds together. Transfer dough to a floured surface and flatten into a circle. Cut the dough into triangles, or use a cookie cutter. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place cut-out dough in a pan and freeze for 30 minutes (Note: you don’t have to freeze the dough, but it helps it to rise better). Take out of freezer and place them right into the oven. Bake 10-15 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies--Betty Crocker Recipe 1971

I have been using this recipe since I was a kid...trust me that is a VERY long time.  Husband asks for these babies!

Ingredients:

Yield:7 dozen
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter or 2/3 cup margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts
2 (6 ounce) packages semisweet chocolate pieces
Directions:

1  Heat oven to 375° degrees.
2  Mix thoroughly shortening, butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Blend in remaining ingredients. (For a softer, rounder cookie, add 1/2 cup flour.)
3 Drop dough by rounded teasponfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.
4  NOTE: If using self-rising flour, omit soda and salt.
5  For Salted Peanut Cookies: Substitute 2 cups salted peanuts for the chocolate pieces and chopped nuts. Before baking, flatten each cookie with bottom of glass that has been greased and dipped in sugar.
6  Betty's note: ( Red Spoon) To bake fresh cookies on short notice, keep a supply of cookie dough in the freezer. Wrap it in an airtight freezer container, aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Thaw it until just soft enough to spoon onto baking sheet. Both cookie dough and baked cookies can be frozen and stored from 9-12 months.

Chocolate Yeast Cake

A moist light chocolate cake topped with rich brown butter frosting.

Even though this is a yeast batter, it does not look or act like a bread dough.  It pours into the pan just like a regular batter cake.  I let mine "rise" for about 40 minutes before I started the baking.  Again, it does not rise like a bread dough.  The result is a very light, tender cake.

The cake came out of the pan very nicely.  I let it cool for 30 minutes.  The cake was still really warm.  I let it release on its own, did not try and force it out, so there wasn't any "breaking" of the cake.

With the 1 cup of shortening, the cake is very moist.

I cut the cake while it was still warm and very soft.  I didn't have any whipped cream for this recipe, but I think a lightly flavored espresso whipped cream would be a perfect compliment for this cake.

I did not have unsweetened chocolate, I used semi sweet and it was fine.

Red Star Yeast Recipe

THIS RECIPE MAKES ONE 13X9-INCH CAKE or One Bundt Cake
INGREDIENTS
3 cups             Flour                                          
2+1/4 tsp        Active Dry Yeast                        
1 cup              Brown sugar, firmly packed      
1 cup              Sugar                                        
1 tsp               Baking soda                                
1/2 tsp            Salt                                              
1+1/4 cups     Milk                                            
1/4 cup           Water                                        
1 cup              Shortening                                  
2 squares        Unsweetened chocolate, melted  
1 tsp               Vanilla                                        
3                     Eggs                                            
BROWN BUTTER FROSTING
 1/4 cup          Butter or margarine                      
2 cups             Powdered sugar                            
3 to 4 TBSP    Milk                                              
1/2 tsp            Vanilla                                          

DIRECTIONS
Recipe featured at Cake Duchess.
Preheat oven to 350°F
In large mixer bowl, combine flour, yeast, brown sugar, sugar, soda and salt; mix well. In saucepan, heat milk and water to 120-130°F; add to flour mixture. Add shortening, chocolate, vanilla and eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into Bundt pan or 13 x 9-inch pan which has been greased on the bottom only. Cover; let rise in warm place 30 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely. If baked in Bundt pan, remove cake from pan. Frost with Brown Butter Frosting.

Brown Butter Frosting: Melt butter or margarine until golden brown. Add to powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix until of spreading consistency.

Watercress Anyone? Grilled Filet Mignon with Herb Butter & Texas Toast

Now that I am retired I am able to take the time to go and do things that I haven't had the time to do in years.

My mother in laws farm has two running springs on it.  One has managed to stay running through the droughts we've had the last couple years.  I haven't been down there in many, many years, but I knew there used to be watercress growing at one of the springs.  So yesterday's adventure was going to the spring.  Here is what is found.

This recipe was taken from http://www.watercress.com/recipe.aspx

Grilled Filet Mignon with Herb Butter & Texas Toast

Servings: 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon whipped butter, slightly softened
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped
3 teaspoons minced fresh marjoram, divided
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest, divided
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, 1 minced and 1 peeled and halved
1 pound filet mignon, about 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed and cut into 4 portions
4 slices whole grain bread
4 cups watercress, trimmed and chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to high. Mash butter in a small bowl with the back of a spoon until soft and creamy. Stir in 2 teaspoons oil until combined. Add chives, capers, 1 teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and place in the freezer to chill.

2. Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, 2 teaspoons marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, rosemary and minced garlic in a small bowl. Rub on both sides of steak. Rub both sides of bread with the halved garlic clove; discard the garlic.

3. Grill the steak 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Grill the bread until toasted, 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Divide watercress among 4 plates. Place 1 toast on each serving of watercress and top with steak. Spread the herb butter on top of the steaks and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Per Serving: 303 calories; 14 grams fat; 80 milligrams cholesterol; 15 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 5 grams fiber; 438 milligrams sodium

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I decided that I need yet another cake pan.  This is what I decided on.

A cream cheese pound cake recipe with butter and vanilla.
Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups granulated sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Prepare Pan with solid oil and flower.

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening. With electric hand-held mixer on medium speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in cream cheese. 

Add flour, alternating with the eggs, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan or Bundt cake pan. Bake at 325° for about 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Cover with your favorite glaze.

This recipe had just a little too much dough for my pan.  If this happens to you, I would fill muffin tins with the excess dough.

Vanilla Pudding Baked Donuts with Vanilla Frosting

Makes 12 to 15

Ingredients

For the Donuts:
2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1- 4 oz box vanilla pudding mix (I used the cook and serve)
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter, melted

For the Glaze:
1/3 cup heavy cream add more for thinner glaze.
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Don't forget to spray your donut pans.  Do not overfill you tins.  Batter will spread over the top as it rises.

Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all donut ingredients until well blended.

Fill a donut pan 1/2 full with batter. I like to put my batter in a large ziploc bag and snip off the corner. Makes filling the donut pan much easier (and cleaner). 

Bake donuts in a 325 degree oven for about 12-14 minutes. 

Remove. 

Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely before glazing.

While donuts are baking, mix cream and vanilla and slowly whisk in powdered sugar. 

To glaze donuts, either dip donut tops into glaze and immediately add sprinkles. Or, using a large spatula, spread glaze on top of donuts and add sprinkles, if desired. 

Allow to set, about 5-10 minutes.

LEMON THYME SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Bonnie Plants Recipe for Shortbread Cookies

Picture is from the Bonnie Plant Website.  No photo credits were mentioned.

Servings: 2 dozen
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Combine flour, thyme leaves, and salt in a small bowl, and set aside.

Process butter and sugar in a food processor until smooth and well combined, stopping to scrape down sides. Add vanilla; process 15 seconds.

Add flour mixture; pulse 10 to 12 times until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and forms a ball.

Divide dough in half. Roll each half to ¼-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Cut with a 2-inch cookie cutter, and place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets in freezer for 20 minutes or until cookies are firm to the touch.

Bake at 275 for 30 minutes or just until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.