The Little House Cooking Club - Cornbread and Soup

 

It all starts with a good cornbread recipe. Corn ... the staple of farmers for their animals and for their families. Corn ! Fresh and dried, soaked in lye to make hominy, pounded in various gritty grindings to make flour, grits, and coarse polenta. Boiled and buttered when its fresh off the stalk, grilled and cut from the cob to add to salads and custards. It's such a versatile grain !

As I embark with dozens of other fans of The Little House on the Prairie books and television series on this journey with The Little House Cooking Club, our first cooking challenge is to make a cornbread in homage to Ma Ingalls. I took my recipe from Melissa Gilbert's cookbook that honored her days on the series. 'Half pint' has grown up and moved on, but she still credits the series with giving her a firm foundation in home cooking and she's gathered some fine recipes together to honor the series and farm cooking.

Decadent Raspberry Cheesecake

 

Oh, the decadence of this gorgeous cheesecake was just overwhelming ! It was birthday week here at the Grey Cottage. Our lovely daughter-in-law had a birthday on Monday and Silent Bob had his birthday on Saturday. Bookend celebrations ! We opted to choose Friday evening to celebrate over a dinner here, so I was tasked with creating a super duper cake. Since traditional birthday cake is not Brianne's fave, I opted for this special cheesecake. Super rich filling that has Grand Marnier added to it, a crust that is graham cracker and ground pecans, and perfect fresh raspberries over top a thick raspberry jelly smear. It was picture perfect with a final dusting of confectioner's sugar ! 

Roasted Chicken with Arugula Cream

This dish is such a dinnertime lifesaver. It's a meal for a busy day. It's a meal for a time when you want a solid meat and potatoes experience. It's got a killer dipping sauce that is so addictive that you'll be thinking of other meat dishes to make that will incorporate the arugula cream. It comes straight from food writer and 'cooking goddess', Diana Henry. 

Maple Pecan Scones for Two

 

Scones tend to dry out and become heavy if you don't knosh them fresh from the oven. Am I right ? This batch gets eaten in one sitting, as the entire batch is four regular sized scones! 

Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie

 

What started off as a nimble way using up small bunches of ingredients in the fridge turned into a real revelation.  Meet Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie ! Slide these out of their pie pans and right onto the plate. They hold their shape beautifully ! Side them with baked sweet potatoes.  Have small bowls of sour cream and spicy hot salsa for dolloping on bites of the pie and you have a really delicious meal !

Avocado Toast - Easy Lunch or Breakfast

An easy and healthy lunch here in The Spice Garden today ! You're probably saying, " Really ?! Why is she posting such an easy recipe ? Aren't we all 'over' the Avocado Toast scene ?" 

Traditional Frikadeller ... Danish Comfort Food !

 So ... this is a recipe that I have had for several years. This summer, I was hot to use it while cooking over the fire on one of our RV jaunts and it was stellar ! Last evening, I had the right combo of ground pork and ground beef to do it again, albeit on the stove at The Grey Cottage and NOT over open fire. It was still really delish !

Grammy Lindquist's Blueberry Cake with White Vinegar Sweet Sauce

 

It's blueberry season on Gap Mountain and the first batch came down from the blueberry patch yesterday afternoon. Every year, SB tends the bushes by cutting away brush to encourage the sun and rain to tend the berries ... and not the weedy brush. The pay off is great when nature provides the right amount of sun and rain, no late frosts arrive to freeze the blossoms, and no dry spells settle in to wither the tiny berries.

This years promises to be a bumper crop year! Huzzah !