Vacation Baking!

I am on vacation in Washington visiting my friend that just moved down here. (In my mind Washington is "down" because my brain in based in Alaska.) :-) Can't find time to post much at home, but on vacation - why not?! 

When you're at someone else's house  and you want to bake or cook sometimes you have to improvise. No mixing bowl, hmmm . . . search around . . . what to mix in . . . can't use a plastic bowl to whip egg whites . . . I know! Someone just bought a new crockpot - let's see if we can use the crock insert as a mixing bowl. Success!! No food processor? Relax your brain and finely chop the walnuts. I so enjoyed this extra step. At home I just whirl them up in the food processor. Chopping them by hand was so relaxing working my way through the nuts section by section. I think I'll switch to hand chopping all the time.

This recipe was passed down from my mother-in-law and it's one of our favorites. I usually make them during the holidays. They are really easy to make and go together quickly but the cookies are a little fussy and delicate so they doesn't freeze well, and if you take them somewhere to share be careful during transport. And then be prepared to be asked repeatedly for the recipe!

I should also add that name comes from the fact that the recipe was provided by First Lady Nancy Reagan in the 80's as President Ronald Reagan's favorite cookie. At least that is the story. I did some internet sleuthing and found the original name of the cookie is Vienna Chocolate bars, but we always call them President Cookies. Hope you enjoy!

President Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups flour
10 oz. seedless red raspberry or red currant preserves
1 cup chocolate chips
4 large egg whites
2 cups finely chopped walnuts or almonds

In large bowl, combine butter or margarine and 1/2 cup of sugar. Work mixture together until creamy. Beat in salt and egg yolks. Add flour gradually; when mixture becomes too stiff, knead with fingers to make a smooth dough. Pat dough evenly in jelly roll pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Cool slightly and spread evenly with preserves then sprinkle chocolate chips evenly; set aside.

In deep bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold in nuts and remaining cup of sugar. Gently spread mixture on top of preserves, spreading to the edge of the pan. Return pan to oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until evenly browned. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack 15 minutes. While still warm, cut into bars or sqaures.  Cut into squares or triangles (they're very rich - triangles are my favorite).

Menu Plan Monday #3

This week looks like it's going to continue to be cool, cloudy and rainy, so I'm thinking lots of comfort food.

Monday: Quinoa pilaf (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Aarti's Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce (IF I can find pureed mango) and Apple Lime Slaw

Wednesday: Spaghetti (Jan's "secret" recipe) :) & large green salad

Thursday: Football at a friend's house (I'm hoping to take along a dessert)

Friday: Leftovers or Out

Saturday: Halibut or Salmon

Sunday: Pork Tenderloion with balsamic reduction, roasted peanut potatoes, stuffed zucchini

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Hoe Cakes

Tonight I made hoe cakes for the first time. My husband has been asking me to make them for the (in August) 13 years we've been married. The recipe came from his great grandmother in Philippi, WV. You serve the hoe cakes under roast or stew with gravy (didn't get a picture of that part).

Hoe Cakes
1 cup + 2 Tbsp yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup a.p. Flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp each of baking powder, baking soda, & salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4-5 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp oil

Mix together dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of he dry ingredients and pour in liquids. Stir to form smooth batter. Drop scan 1/4 cup batter onto hot greased griddle. Flip after bubbles appear and brown other side. Serve under roast or stew with gravy.

Can also be served for breakfast with butter & syrup.

Cooked cakes can be frozen.

Spicy Spring Spiral

This week I completed another of the Spicy Spiral table runners. This one is for an "Ugly Duckling Challenge" that I'm participating in with the Country Roads Quilt Guild in West Virginia. (the guild there voted last summer at their annual picnic and chose "the ugliest fabric" for this challenge. It's the lime green with orange dots fabric in my project - and I love it!) Nope, I'm not in WV, but my gracious mother-in-law has offered to submit it for me at the May meeting. This one is different from the blue & green table runner I made because I used only 4 fabrics and repeated them, rather than using 8 different fabrics.

Down the center I've placed dimensional appliquéd flowers that I made using the flowers from the outer fabric print and stuck them together with double-sided iron-on adhesive (the ladies here in AK affectionately call it "lick & stick" although there isn't any licking involved). After the flowers are stuck together you simply cut around whatever shape you have (for me it was flowers) and then tack them down somehow. You want the edges to curl up on their own a bit.

This is also the first project that I have done any free motion quilting. Luckily I'm not including an up-close photo so you can't see the variations in the stitch lengths. I will definitely need to practice with a steady foot and steady hands on the free motion quilting.

Valentine's Day Cookies

My friend Melissa and I have been decorating cookies together since the first year we met (2002). When we started it was just us girls, and since has grown to include her 3 kids in the event. The boys are big enough now to decorate their cookies without much help. Next year her daughter will be ready to jump in and frost too!

We don't do every holiday, but usually at least 1 holiday a year. This year it's Valentine's cookies! YUM! Thanks to my MIL for sharing the awesome cut out cookie recipe handed down from my husbands great great grandmother.