Dairy Fail...

I've had a dairy failure.  So sad.  Let's take a moment to mourn the loss of A WHOLE CUP OF HEAVY CREAM.  Such a sad day.
  
I tried to make sour cream.  The recipe that I found called for 1 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup white vinegar.  Mix together, set out at room temperature for 24 hours, then refrigerate.

I pulled a cup of invaluable, luscious, creamy, precious, perfect cream from my milk stores, and did the deed.  I felt fairly positive about the process.

After 24 hours, I placed the jar in the fridge.  It never set up.  I assumed that it would be less firm than store bought, but I still was expecting a bit of a firmer texture.  It was basically just vinegary cream.  So...sad.....  

I added it to a couple baking recipes that called for sour cream, but overall it was very sad.  Just sad.

In case you missed it, I was sad to lose my cream!!!

Now, as I research my failure, I know what the problem was.  Not living at home with endless internet!  Well, sort of.  When I went to make the sour cream, I was in our temporary internet black hole, and only looked at one recipe.  And it was BAD!  Normally when I make something new, I will look at 3 to 5 recipes for the end product, and verify that the ingredients are similar - because you can't trust the internet!  In this case I went against my normal policy, and the cream paid for it in the long run.

As it turns out, the amount of vinegar should be substantially less.  Most recipes are as follows:
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
3/4 tsp vinegar

I'll try again once I decide to sacrifice another cup of cream.  After my heart heals a little....  

Ah-maz-ing!

I am really loving living in casserole land.  Okay, I'd rather be in my oven-handicapped land, but YUM! CASSEROLES!  We've run this through the dinner schedule a few times already, and love on it.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

5 large potatoes, peeled & sliced into 1/4 inch slices (I've used both russet and/or yukon gold)
1 small onion, sliced into rings 
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb cubed ham
3 tablespoons butter 
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
2 cups milk 
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
salt and pepper to taste 


1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.
2) Saute onions and garlic in olive oil, set aside.
3) Place a layer of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. 
4) Alternate layers of onion mixture, ham, then potatoes.  Continue to layer until ingredients gone.
5) In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in salt & pepper, thyme and sage.  Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. 
6) Pour cheese mix over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
7) Bake ~60 minutes in the preheated oven.  Remove foil last 5 minutes of cooking.  

Riducu-cheese Baked Penne

Hi, my name is Shae and my current drug of choice is cheese.  Beautiful, glorious cheese. Cheese, cheese, cheese.  Cheese.  Now that it's out there, I have nothing to hide.  I used 5 different cheeses in this recipe.  It originally called for provolone & mozzarella, but all I had on hand was cheddars.  "Cheese, it's all good."  That should be the new cheese motto.  Here is how we roll in The Broken Badger household:

Riducu-cheese Baked Penne

1 lb. penne
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 C sour cream
1 C cottage cheese
1/2 C parmesan cheese
1 Tbs dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
~2 C shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar, mild cheddar & medium white cheddar)
~1/4 C parmesan cheese
(1) 26 oz spaghetti sauce

1)  Preheat oven to 370 degrees
2)  Cook pasta to a very al dente stage, set aside.
3)  Saute onion & garlic, cool.
4)  Mix onion, garlic, egg, sour cream, cottage cheese, 1/4 C parmesan, basil, oregano, parsley, salt & pepper in bowl.
5)  In a oiled 9x9 dish, LAYER: pasta sauce, pasta, cottage cheese mix, shredded cheese - then start over. Continue layering until ingredients gone (3 layers in my case.)  Top with last of parmesan cheese.
6) Bake covered with foil 45 minutes or until hot throughout.

This is one of those super convenient recipes that can take a lot of tweaking.  You can add a pound of meat, you can use various sauces, use whatever cheese you have on hand, use any kind of pasta, and add various vegetables.  Personalize it to whatever works for you!

Tangible Legacy

I miss my Granma.  She was such a kind, gentle soul and I have only sweet, happy memories about her.  I will always have those memories, but I am also coveting something quite tangible that I have from her.  Cookbooks.  And not just any cookbooks, but the Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery.  The whole set, all 12 volumes. 

Having an entire encyclopedia set on cooking and entertaining must have imbued her with a deep wealth of knowledge, truly making her an expert in all things domestic.  I look at the set on my cookbook shelf and think back to the days when she originally got them (I’m not really sure of the circumstances, but this is what I imagine in my head.)  A fairly young housewife, still trying to figure out how to balance everything, kids and toddlers in tow - cookbooks of the era (1966) must have held so much promise - to help keep it all together, keep mealtime interesting and how to maintain the appearance of domestic excellence.

 Not only does this set include a variety of recipes (casseroles, 3 pages of spaghetti, gumbo, poundcake), it includes cuisines from various countries and cultures (Jewish, Polynesian, Finnish), definitions (“Orangeade – Fresh, frozen, canned, or dehydrated orange juice mixed with sugar to taste…”), different types of cooking methods (canning, broiling, panfrying), information on how to entertain (what to cook for picnics, how to make garnishes, intimate luncheon for 6), and what should be prepared on holidays. 

Of all the wonderful things about this set, I have two favorite things. The first is finding handwritten notes or recipes from Granma.   Oh, what a treasure!  I know that my memories of her are most important, but seeing her words written down are like she’s sitting next to me, sharing her tips and knowledge. 

The second is the smell of the books (Is that weird?  Okay, I’m weird.)  There is just the slightest aroma of my Great Granma’s root cellar.  I just love the smell of a root cellar and the fact that it is G-Granma’s makes it even better.  (That makes me super weird, I know.  I’m just going to embrace it.)

I wish I had more time to go through these books more often, either looking for recipes, or just basking in their excellence. Who knew there were so many things to do with onions or frankfurters or aspic or toast!

Because everyone needs a Frankfurter Cookbook!

There was a totally different idea of what was healthy back in those days…some of the recipes we only use occasionally, due to the (yummy) fatty ingredients.  Here is an easy casserole from the Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery:

Crusty Beef, Cheese and Noodle Casserole:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 pounds ground beef

4 cans (10 ¼ ounces each) meatless mushroom sauce (for spaghetti)

1 tsp. salt

1 pound fine noodles, cooked and drained

1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, grated or shredded

Seasoning salt

Heat oil; add onion and cook until golden.  Add meat and cook until meat loses its red color, stirring.  Add mushroom sauce and salt, heat.  Arrange in casserole half of noodles, half of sauce and half of cheese; sprinkle with seasoning salt.  Make another layer of noodles; add sauce and top with cheese.  Bake in preheated moderate oven (325°F.) for 1 hour.  Top should be nicely browned.  Makes 8 – 10 generous servings.