Another One from my Late Summer Garden: Creamy Cucumbers

Cucumbers. YUMMY! I know I already did a recipe here for Cuke-A-Pickles, but I am a Polish girl, and us Poles love our cukes.

My "Burpless" cucumbers are coming in like crazy right now. I love eating them peeled and slightly salted, and also REALLY love this recipe I am about to share with you.

It is really terrific as a summer salad, but my favorite time of year to make this little dish is on Thanksgiving. The cool creamy cucumber flavor is a perfect accent to anything it "slides" next to on your Thanksgiving plate. I love dunking the turkey right into the sauce. As a little bonus, I am gonna post a Polish Cucumber Gravy recipe.

Love cukes? Put some in your water instead of lemon or lime....

This is another Grandma Barker recipe.... (you will see a lot of these down the road) but I will include Mama Jeannie and Just Me Stacey's variations on this one.

Grandma Barker's Creamy Cucumbers

 ¾ cup sour cream

2 Tbsp vinegar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp dillweed

2 Tbsp minced onion

2 large cucumbers, sliced thin

Combine and chill.

Variations:

My mom, Jeannie, uses Half and Half instead of the sour cream. She likes the sauce thinner. For the record, she also uses a mandolin to slice the cucumbers into paper thin wafers.

My Stacified version is to use non-fat plain yogurt in place of the sour cream. I also like to toss in a little fresh ground black pepper. And hey, stick this all into a blender and you can have a nice cold summer soup, or a low cal dressing. :)

and now for the bonus recipe.....

Polish Cucumber Gravy

3 cucumbers

1 onion

1 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsp lard

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 cup water

pinch sugar

pepper to taste

Peel and slice cucumbers very thin. Slice onion thinly also. Sprinkle salt over cucumber and onion and let stand for 3 hours. Squeeze cucumbers until they are about dry. Melt lard and stir in flour to form a thick paste, stirring until browned. Add vinegar and water and stir to form gravy. Let boil, then add cucumbers and onion, sugar and pepper. Bring to a boil again. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Blond Brownie Cookies

I have a few recipes that fall into my "lazy cookies" category. By the time I bring the butter to room temperature, have to use two different bowls, add eggs one at a time, not to mention having to watch the oven like a hawk... I get a little cranky sometimes. And don't even start me on sifting flour or "do I remove the cookies off the pan NOW and risk them falling apart, or let them hang out on the pan awhile and risk them being permanently glued to the pan.

Here is a recipe for easy chocolate chip cookies. They use the basic Blond Brownie recipe, thus having the shortcuts of needing to only use one pan (or bowl) and being able to hand stir versus hauling out the beaters. If you want even less work, press dough into a greased 9 inch square pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Blond Brownie Cookies

½ stick butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

¾ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

8 oz milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter over low heat, remove from heat (may also microwave, approximately 45 seconds on high.) Mix in brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Shape into small balls and put about 8 cookies to a lightly greased cookie sheet (these cookies spread out quite a bit, so don't overcrowd the pan.) Bake about 8 minutes, or until the tops start to look dry and crackly. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Nelly's 7 Layer Dip and Dad's Perfect Frozen Margarita

One night a few years back, I went to the home of Steve and Nelly Griesen. AWESOME people. Well Nelly knows her way around the kitchen, and makes some of the most delectable dishes I have ever tasted. This one, her 7 Layer Taco Dip is sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy and with a little kick!

If you've been gardening this summer, it's a perfect dish to use cilantro, green onions and fresh tomatoes.

It's been a hit at every event I have taken it to, rave reviews and an empty bowl. :)

Nelly’s Layered Taco Dip

1 can spicy refried beans

1 lb ground beef, browned and seasoned to taste

Mix together until smooth:

1 cup sour cream

3 large mashed avocados

1 cup mayo

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1 lb shredded cheese (1/2 lb cheddar, ½ lb Monterey jack)

1 diced tomato

sliced black olives (to taste)

red onions, sliced (about 1/2 cup)

green onions, chopped

First, spread beans all over bottom of large bowl or platter. Sprinkle in ground beef, covering beans as best as you can. Spread the sour cream mixture over the beef. Sprinkle on the cheeses, then the diced tomatoes. Layer on remaining ingredients. Garnish with dollops of sour cream and cilantro leaves. Refrigerate for a couple hours before serving. I highly recommend the dip be served with Mission Tortilla chips

(this recipe is great for an office party, a potluck, or even a family dinner. Also makes a great base for some heavenly taco salads. Smash chips on a plate, add shredded lettuce, and top with Dip.

(hey Mom! We haven't said grace yet!!!)

And my lovely Father is known far and wide for his tart and tangy Margaritas (that happen to go along very nicely with the taco dip...)

(just look at that smile!!)

Dad's Perfect Frozen Margarita

To 1 blender full of ice add:

6oz frozen limeade

12oz good tequila

3 oz Triple Sec (orange liqueur)

a few good splashes of cheap beer (the dryness conbimed with the effervescence give it a nice punch.)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until ice is thoroughly blended. Serve in some pretty glasses rimmed with salt and a twist.

Up for a second batch?? Throw some strawberry or raspberry jam in there! Or a little fresh fruit. Delish!!!!

Hello Apple Season!!!! Grandma's Apple Cobbler

2011 has certainly been an interesting year for weather in Minnesota. More snow days than usual, then the March Mushies seemed to last right into June when weeks of non-stop rain took over. Then the heat. Nothing like strings of days with 90 degree heat and 90% humidity. (sorry, I don't feel like a true Minnesotan unless I complain about the weather a little.)

According to a local reporter (love KSTP!) all that craziness led to a "bumper crop" of Good Apples.

My mom gave me a love for Haralson apples. She loved them so much she had my dad plant two Haralson trees in the backyard when I was a kid. They are extremely tart, very crunchy and super awesome dunked in caramel sauce.

Last weekend my friends and I went to Jim's Apple Orchard in Jordan, MN and I came away with a 5 lb bag of  Haralson numminess. For a few days now, I have been eating 2-3 a day just because they are so darn good (even without the caramel, peanut butter, or marshmallow creme...)

Realizing I needed a little more creativity and soon (lest I have a sack of rotten apples), I remembered my grandma's cobbler recipe. This recipe has been in the family for years, as my mom remembers HER grandmother making it as well. It is really easy, and isn't super sweet (until you pile on the ice cream and caramel sauce.)

Feel free to experiment. Throw in some fresh berries, or substitute sliced peaches for the apples. It isn't bad for breakfast either!

Grandma Barker’s Apple Cobbler

Place 6 medium-sized cut up apples in a buttered 11x7 baking dish

Mix together until dough is formed:

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

¾ tsp salt

1/3 cup melted butter

dash cinnamon

dash nutmeg

Toss dough evenly over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with cream.

(or like I do, with ice-cream and caramel sauce!)

(features Market Pantry Vanilla Bean ice cream, and Abdallah Caramel Dip)

Happy Apples!

In the Mood for Double Chocolate M&M Cookies?

...then you will need to try a Patton Dodd.

I created these cookies several years ago for a friend of mine. Not only is he just a great guy all around, but he was a fabulous mentor to me. When I was job hunting a few years back, he wrote a fabulous recommendation letter for me, so I developed this recipe as a gift to him, inspired by his love of chocolate. Mix and match flavors of M&Ms, too!

Patton Dodds

24 oz semisweet chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli)

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

½ lb milk chocolate chips (Ghirardelli rocks)

½ lb plain M&M’s

½ lb peanut butter M&M’s

½ lb peanut M&M’s

Preheat oven to 375. Melt the 24 oz of semisweet chips in a double boiler. Let cool. Combine the flour, soda, and salt. Cream together the butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add eggs, beat until fluffy. Blend in flour mixture. Gently toss in milk chocolate chips and M&M’s. 

Grab a fistful of dough and shape into a ball, and pat it down to about 1 inch thick. (These cookies are best HUGE, so only bake 2 to a sheet)

Bake for about 8 minutes. They are best when slightly underdone. Let cool a few minutes before removing from sheet.

A Big Bowl of Cold Tuna Salad on a Hot August Day

My mom is the queen of comfort foods. Whether it was coming home after school and the house being filled with the aroma of chili and freshly baked bread, or coming home after swimming lessons and tasting one of her fantastic summer salads. My kids and I still go over there with our requests.

The other day I had the WORST craving for her tuna noodle salad. It has the perfect blend of sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy. I like a little more "kick" than my mom puts in hers, so I sprinkle a little cayenne in for fun.

Two things I highly recommend: 1) use good tuna. Water-packed solid white Albacore is my favorite. Save the can of mushy stuff for something else. 2) Try Barilla Plus pasta. It is whole grain, has extra fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. And it tastes GREAT! I am not a fan of whole wheat pasta cuz it tastes too healthy. The Barilla Plus is just plain nummy.

so, here we go!

Mom's Tuna Noodle Salad (with a twist of Stacey)

1 pkg Barilla Plus Farfalle pasta (cook as directed, rinse, and cool)

2 cans solid white Albacore tuna

1 small can of young peas

2 ribs of celery, chopped fine

1 Tbsp onion, chopped fine

1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise

splash of dill pickle juice

1 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp beau monde seasoning

handful of sugar (more may be added to taste)

few pinches of cayenne

salt and pepper to taste

paprika for garnish

Toss all ingredients together, taste... add more mayo if it's too dry, and add spices to your taste. Garnish with paprika. Refrigerate. Keeps for about 5 days.

(Bringing the salad somewhere, but the bowl is messy on the sides from stirring??? Simply edge the bowl with lettuce leaves. No need to switch bowls, and the salad on the edges help the lettuce hold.)

sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name....

A few years ago, my now 19 year old daughter would go and hang out with a few of her friends and sing karaoke. I wanted to go and hear her and hang out with her so I went with them. It was at the Eden Prairie Applebees.

I had so much fun that pretty soon it was a given that Wednesday nights would be spent listening to Kate and Co. singing their song list. Pretty soon, "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey became their signature song.

...and whether we knew it at the time or not, we had slowly become "regulars" at our neighborhood restaurant.

 (my daughters singing karaoke at the EP Applebees)

The staff at the Eden Prairie Applebees is incredible. They are well-trained to know the menu upside down, and aren't afraid to recommend their favorite food items, or steer you clear of the "not as good" entrees.

Brent Thompson, one of the servers there, told me about grilled chicken wings that aren't even on the menu (yet.) They are mild buffalo wings that essentially get dry seasoned on the grill. They are so delicious, that I buy extra when I am in a large group for everyone to try and  am known for passing a drummy over to someone who is having trouble deciding what to order. Brent said they are called "yahdi" wings, but won't swear to the spelling. I just know they are awesome.

(Brent holding an order of Yahdi wings)

The one room design of this Applebees (located less than a mile from the Eden Prairie Center) feels like a big family room, especially on nights when they offer karaoke, Bingo, etc. I am a little partial to Monday "Burger Nights" as any burger on the menu is $5. The Cowboy Burger is my winner, with bacon, cheese, a nice smokey sauce and frizzled onions.

(birthday dessert: hot fudge sundae)

I love this place, and am going to miss it when I make my big move in two weeks. If you haven't been to an Applebees in awhile, stop in and try the Yahdi wings. For added incentive, they are half-price 2-5 and 9 til close, 7 days a week. 

Cheers!