Award Winning Chili....

The Tradition Continues....

Our oldest son / chef Brady's chili took 1st place in the Grand Canyon "Annual Chili Cook Off". Cash and prizes were duly awarded. It was really good, but if we shared the secret recipe, then would be winners.

He even made the papers... 

GRAND CANYON NEWS

"TBHD" - Oatmeal Cream Pies with Ginger Cream

      As we come to the close of a very heartfelt somber day, filled with moments of silent prayers and reflections of who and where we were 14 years ago today, I can't help but get a small chuckle out of the recipe pairing of the day.

       Oatmeal Cream Pies have got to be one of our family's all time favorite. If we don't have time to make them from scratch then you can always find a box of Little Dibbie's in someone's stash and if you are a fan of Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies then you will love these.

         The cookie part of the recipe is a very simple and tradional style recipe, but the ginger cream brings about a whole new flavor. Some of us liked it and some of us didn't... You will just have to make them to decide for your self. Please post a comment and let us know.

TWD: "Baking Chez Moi" - Jam Filled Sandwich Cookies

These little gems are not new to the pantry and I love them with just about anything you want to fill them with. My favorite is sour cream raisin filled, but my family like boysenberry jam from Knott's Berry Farm.

There is an art to getting them sealed so that all the jam doesn't leak out while baking. My grandmother use to dip her finger in a little bit of cream and rub it around the edge of the bottom cookie before placing the other one on top.

If you would like to bake a long with our group.... Check us out at Tuesday's At Dorie.

"TBHD" - Pancake Cake with Maple Cream Frosting

Fall is in the air here in the Canyon and after dealing with some technical issues with our Friday Dessert Challenges from our current cookbook "The Beekman's 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook" I am pleased and excited to announce we are back on track and would like to kick off the fall festivities with "Pancake Cake with Maple Cream Frosting", page 186.

This dessert was surprisingly rich and very tasty. It is a great, quick, yummy treat that you can make using leftover pancakes. Several of the kids suggested making the traditional buttermilk pancakes and then adding fresh strawberries and cream in the layers. For others they thought bananas and Nutella would be yummy, as for me I think warms apples and caramel sauce would be good. 

We added...

1/2 teaspoon of dried ginger to the pancake mix and grated some milk chocolate over the top for decorative garnish. 

Wild Rice and Cheddar Dumplings

Thrifty Thursday....

Fall is in the air here in the Canyon and with that comes our need for thick, rich, saucy, comfort style foods. So, we would like to kick-off September with a hearty, yummy soup. We really like this soup because it is made with leftovers and can be put together a couple of days ahead and added too as you gain the leftovers. The dumplings can either be added to the soup or baked as biscuits.

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 2 cups diced carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups Beef Stock
• 3 cups cubed cooked roast beef
• 2 cups cooked wild rice
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups half & half
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh chopped basil
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• DUMPLINGS:
• 2 cups biscuit/baking mix
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup half & half

Directions

• 1. Place the first seven ingredients in a stockpot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add beef and rice.
• 2. In a small bowl, combine flour and milk until smooth. Stir into the soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the butter and seasonings.
• 3. Combine the baking mix, cheese and milk. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean (do not lift the cover while simmering). Yield: 14 servings (about 5 quarts). 

"TBHD" - Fall Line-Up & Group Information

Now that we have been able to work out a few small details:
(WE can only choose a few recipes and share our thoughts and feelings about them.)

We have 25 Fall Recipes and only 13 Friday's during our Fall Quarter, some of the recipes we have already completed in the past and some are very similar, so do to the new agreed upon agenda.

Here is our Fall Line-up...

Sept. 4 - Pancake Cake with Maple Cream Frosting
Sept. 11 - Oatmeal Cream Pies with Ginger Cream
Sept. 18 - Choose Indian Pudding or Buttermilk Corn Pudding
Sept. 25 - Buttermilk Pie with Pecan Crust or Cranberry-Apple Custard Pie

Oct. 2 - Steamed Persimmon Pudding
Oct. 9 - Choose Honey Burbon Cake or Walnut Cake
Oct. 16 - Blackberry Betty
Oct. 23 - Roasted Caramel Pears
Oct. 30 - Sour Cream Cutout And Cowboy Cookies for Halloween

Nov. 6 - Maple Granola
Nov. 13 - Puff Pastry Apple Strudel with Carmel Apples on the side
Nov. 20 - Pumpkin Jelly Roll
Nov. 27 - Thanksgving Pies (Choose any Pie from the Fall Line-up)

TWD: "Baking with Julia" - Brioche Tart with White Secret Sauce

 I have been intrigued with the art of making a good Brioche for a couple of years now and today's challenge gave me the little shove I needed....

We decided to make them into individual size for better serving and presentation for a larger group of people. We also choose to add wet walnuts as the topping. Even though they were a little time consuming, they were fantastic and we will be making these again.

Our little brioche loaf at the end was very tasty, it had great crumb and texture. This recipe is one of those that Julia also baked with Nancy Silverton and the video can be seen on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=er5uqAfZpLg.