Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 (2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cups chicken stock, or chicken broth

Nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.

Notes:

Looked too basic to be good. Don't be fooled. It's AMAZING! Very delicious. :)

Servings:

a very generous 6

Source:

Food Network

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup walnuts, very finely chopped

whipped egg white

Directions:

Cream shortening and butter together. Add egg yolk, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir in flour and salt. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in egg white, then nuts. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 375 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and press thumb into each cookie. Return to oven and bake 8 minutes more.

Frost centers with butter cream frosting, tinted green or red.

Yields:

A baker's dozen.

Notes:

Very unique cookie recipe, very delicious. Great for parties and display. Grandma recommends pushing the dough into the nuts a bit, so they stick well--a good idea. My thumbs sometimes get burnt if I press them into the hot cookie, so instead, I try to use something similar-sized, like a small measuring spoon.

Source:

Grandma Jean

Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar, plus additional sugar for rolling dough

3/4 cup butter

1 egg

1/4 cup light molasses

2 cups flour (sometimes more, if dough is very sticky)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon dry ginger

Directions:

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and molasses, and blend well. Sift together dry ingredients and add to the sugar and butter mixture. Form dough into small balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

Notes:

The one and only ginger snap recipe for me. Thanks, Grandma Jean! I love her cookie recipes because they aren't massive. This makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on how big you roll them out.

I often add extra flour if the dough is really sticky. Just enough so it is no longer wet, but still very soft. I find that my cookies come out nice and plump, not flat, if the dough is not so wet. This applies to all cookies. Also, I like my cookies soft and chewy, so I remove them just before they start to get the golden color on the edges, and allow them to sit on the hot cookie sheet a minute after baking.

Source:

Grandma Jean

Candela's Rustic Bread

Ingredients:

4 cups of flour (all-purpose flour, but you can do half and half with wheat or other flours)

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons of sugar or honey

2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast

1 3/4 cups of warm water

*1 tablespoon wheat germ (you can add more)

*1 tablespoon flax seed meal (you can add more)

*1 tablespoon lecithin (helps the bread stay moist and elastic for longer)

*optional ingredients

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in kitchen aid for about 8 min at level 2 speed. Then oil the same bowl and move the dough around so it's all well coated and stays moist.

Let it rise for about an hour in a warm place free of draft.

Either shape into one big, round, free form bread loaf, or divide dough into two smaller loaves. Let rise for another hour or hour and a half (until double).

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375, and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes (longer, if necessary). Using a spray bottle, spray clean water onto bread just before putting it into the oven, and once every three minutes at the beginning of the baking period. This helps the loaves stay tall for longer and develops and nice crust.

Remove from oven and pans, and enjoy!

Notes:

This recipe got me started on flax seed meal and wheat germ. Now I'm trying to add them to everything I bake! Thanks, Candela. :) I love the idea of spraying the bread with water, it makes the crust awesome! Because this is such a long bread recipe, I use rapid rise yeast, and follow the instructions on the jar, heating my water to 120 degrees and letting the dough rest for 10 minutes to replace the first rise.

Start to finish:

About 3 hours

Source:

Candela Rice