One of my favorite Christmas cookies, from my childhood, were the Candy Cane Cookies my Mom used to make. They are still one of my favorite cookies and my Mom still makes sure that I get some every Christmas whether I make it home or not. My wife has learned to make the also. Not that I’m not capable of making them, but they are a labor of love and can be a pain to make. Just another reason that my wife rocks!

So what is so difficult about making these Candy Cane Cookies? Well, first you need to make 2 batches of the dough. One you leave plain, while the other you tint red. You then allow the doughs to chill briefly. Once that’s done you then start rolling out 6-8″ long ropes of dough about 1/4″ in diameter. Taking 1 red rope and one white rope you twist the 2 together and form into a candy cane. These then get baked. And if this sounds like a pain, well it’s even more of pain than it sounds, but they make great looking cookies.

While I loved these cookies as a kid (and still do) I always thought it was strange that they looked like candy canes but they didn’t really taste like candy canes (except for the crushed candy canes that were sprinkled onto the hot cookies, as they came out of the oven. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned that the flavoring for these cookies was actually almond extract. Since I’ve been out on my own, I’ve tried replacing the almond extract with peppermint extract to make these cookies more “candy cane” like, but found that I didn’t care for them as much. I’m not sure if that is due to my bias for the cookies of my youth or if the almond extract really does work better. But I have to admit there is something wonderful in the play of flavors between the almond flavored cookie and the crushed candy canes on top.

Getting ready for the recent bake sale I was involved in, I knew that I wanted to do these cookies, but seeing as it was a bake sale and these cookies were going to be transported numerous times I wanted a cookie what wasn’t as fragile as the candy canes that we usually made. Keeping with the candy theme though I decided to roll the 2 colored doughs into a pinwheel, slice them and bake them with lollipop sticks to create cookie lollipops. And I have to admit I almost like them better than the traditional candy canes. I said almost, but not quite. Again though that is just a bias for the cookies of my youth. Either way you decide to make them they will turn out great. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do

Pinwheel Cookie Lollipops
makes approximately 30-34 cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup candy canes, crushed
1/4 cup granulated sugar

In a mixer beat together the butter and the sugar. Add the egg and extracts and mix to combine. Add the flour and salt and mix until a sticky dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic and allow to chill for 45-60 minutes. Meanwhile make another batch of the dough, tinting this one red. Chill this dough also. Once chilled place the white dough on a piece of wax paper and roll out to a rectangle about 15″ inches long and 11″ wide. Adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Do the same to the red dough but only rolling it out to 15″x10″. Center the red dough on top of the white dough and gently roll up pinwheel style along the longer edge, rolling as tightly as you can. Transfer roll to a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap the dough tightly, twisting in the ends a bit to tighten the dough and give you a uniform width throughout. Chill the dough overnight.

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Trim one end off of the cookie roll and start cutting slices about 1/4″ thick. Remove the plastic wrap from the individual slices (it’s easier to slice it with the plastic on it).

Use a thin bladed slicing knife and wipe it clean every couple of cuts for ease of cutting. Place slices on parchment on cookie sheets and add lollipop sticks (if using). Bake for 9 minutes. Meanwhile combine the crushed candy canes and granulated sugar. After 9 nine minutes remove cookies from oven and lightly sprinkle with the candy cane/sugar mixture. Return to the oven for 1 minute longer (no longer). Remove from oven and allow to cool, on the pans for about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

Tis the season to be baking. Fa La La La La… This past week both my wife and I got off our butts and did some holiday baking and candy making. I really didn’t have much of a choice as I had committed to providing some items for a Holiday Bake Sale benefiting “Cookies for Kid’s Cancer.” Not that I’m complaining. It got me off of my butt and hopefully helped to jump start our holiday baking.

BTW, if you find yourself in the Milwaukee area on Saturday, Dec. 10th (that’s tomorrow as I write this) anytime between 12pm and 4pm, stop by The Best Place at The Historic Pabst Brewery, at 901 W. Juneau Ave. There will be numerous treats from area bloggers, bakers and businesses. Coffee and tea will also be provided along with a Cookie Decorating table, for the kids. Stop by, treat yourself to some yummy snacks and help benefit a very worthy cause. mkefoodies hosted one of these benefits back in May and did quite well. We’re hoping that this one will do even better!!!

One of the items I am providing are these tasty little Pistachio Bonbons. I love these things, but you really have to like pistachios to enjoy these candies. The filling is an intense pistachio “marzipan” that seems to concentrate the pure essence of pistachio making these things little flavor bombs.

This recipe is a little more “advanced” and time consuming than many of my recipes, but then again serious candy making is often a multi step process and can often require attention to detail. The filling itself (the pistachio marzipan) is very simple, but to do the chocolate right can be a little tricky as we will be tempering it. If this is too much for then by all means you can do it the easy way. Once the filling is made just roll it into small balls and dip them into melted chocolate. Shake off any excess as you remove the enrobed marzipan and allow to cool on a tray covered in wax paper. The downside to doing it this way is that you will never get a truly hard, shiny coating like you would using tempered chocolate and it is best to store these in the fridge to keep them from getting soft. Tempering is not difficult, but you do need to pay attention to the details for it to come out right. It is not absolutely necessary though if you are just planning on dipping your candies. But, if you want to mold them then you must temper your chocolate or you will have difficulties in removing the candies from the molds. Give it a try, the worse that can happen is that your candies will develop white streaks as it dries. It doesn’t affect the taste at all and if you’re too embarrassed to give them away then you have a tasty treat, for yourself, for the next few days!!!

I guess I should mention what tempering is, in case there are some people out there unfamiliar with the term. You know when you buy a Hershey’s bar, how it is nice and shiny and has that satisfying snap when you break it, well that is tempered chocolate. Untempered chocolate usually has a dull look to it and always seems somewhat soft when you bite into it. Untempered chocolate can also develop a white “bloom” to it. While the chocolate is still fine to eat it may not look nearly as appetizing. Just so you know, once you melt “bloomed” chocolate that whiteness goes away. This is because chocolate contains a number of different fats that melt and solidify at different temperatures. Tempering gets those fats in line, so to speak, getting them all to to their thing at the same time. That’s a simplified explanation but pretty much sums it up.

Pistachio Bonbons
makes about 50-60 candies

2 cups Pistachios, shelled
1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
Water
Green Food Coloring (optional)
1 pound Dark Chocolate, cut into small pieces is not using chips or disks

In a medium sized pot bring to a boil 5 cups of water. Add the pistachios and boil for 8 minutes. Drain and lay out on a towel to dry. This step does 2 things it helps to remove some of the salt on the pistachios since in most parts of this country it is hard to find pistachios that are not salted and roasted, and it serves to loosen the skins. Once the pistachios are mostly dry gather up the edges of the towel and give the pistachios a good hard rub. This will loosen the skins even further. Remove the skins from the nuts. Don’t worry, they don’t need to be perfect. You just want to remove the majority of the skins. Place nuts in a food processor and process until finely ground, scraping down the sides of the processor occasionally. Add the powdered sugar and continue to process for a total time of approximately 8-10 minutes. The mixture should look dry at first glance but if you squeeze a bit together it should compact into a nice dense ball. If not add just a bit of water. It shouldn’t take more than a few drops to 1 tsp. max. At this point the mixture will probably be more brown than green. If you like the natural color then the “marzipan” is done, but people often assume that pistachio accented foods should be green so go ahead and add some green food coloring until you get the color you like. I added about 10-12 drops to the recipe myself. Roll into balls about the size of a garbanzo bean (about 2/3′s the size of a marble) and set aside.

Now to melt and temper our chocolate. Place a medium sized pan, filled with no more than 1-2″ of water, over medium heat and bring to a simmer (not a full boil). Wipe out the inside of a metal bowl ensuring that there is no moisture in it whatsoever. Place 2/3′s of the chocolate in the bowl and place the bowl over the simmering water. Stir continually to make sure the chocolate, along the sides doesn’t burn and try not to allow the chocolate to get hotter than 115°F. Once fully melted you need to cool the chocolate down to the low 80′s (between 81°-84°). Do this by adding the remaining chocolate to the melted stuff. As you stir the remaining chocolate will should melt completely. Once you reach this lower temperature you need to bring the chocolate back up to a temperature where it is easy to work with again. Bring it up to 90°F but do not let it get past 91°-92°F or it will go out of temper and you will need to bring back down to the lower 80′s again and back up. Once you have achieved temper, take a clean brush (I use paint brushes that I use only for pastry and/or candy work) and paint a thick layer of chocolate on the inside of your candy molds. Place in the fridge and all to cool for 10 minutes. While this is happening you will want to keep your tempered chocolate warm, at the right temperature. You can do this by placing the bowl on a heating pad set to the lowest temperature and stirring the chocolate often. Just watch that temperature. Keep it between 90°-91°F. Once chilled remove the molds from the fridge. Add the pistachio marzipan, gently pressing it into the molds. There should be a gap of about 1/8″ between the top of the filling and the top of the mold. Cover with a layer of chocolate, making sure it fills all the empty spaces in the mold and scrape it flush with the top of the mold ensuring a level bottom. Return to the fridge for another 10-12 minutes to set. If you have tempered the chocolate correctly at this time you should see some air space between the molds and the chocolate as properly tempered chocolate should shrink slightly, pulling away from the molds. A couple of light taps on the molds, as they are upside down should release the candies. They are ready to serve immediately or to box up as gifts. If molded properly and there are no air holes then the candy should easily last a few weeks, stored at room temperature.

So its been awhile since I last posted, but, at least, this time I have an excuse. I was off at a family reunion for the past week, and since I don’t own a laptop computer I didn’t have any way of posting from the house we rented. But even if I did, I have to admit I probably wouldn’t have posted. I wanted a week away from the computer (at least as much as possible) and that included updating the blog.

It’s not that I didn’t have stuff to post. My family (on my Dad’s side) is full of great cooks and since we all shared the cooking we were never in want of a good meal. In fact, if any of us left that reunion less than 5-10 pounds heavier it would be a miracle!

One tradition, that had stopped a few years back, was re-instituted this year-making home-made ice cream. When my Grandfather was around it just wasn’t a summertime family get together without homemade ice cream. Luckily, this past Christmas both my brother and I received old fashioned, hand cranked ice cream makers from our Dad so the decision to start up the tradition again was an easy one.

Of course, I don’t think the youngest generation was all that thrilled. There were numerous looks of, “You mean I have crank it to get ice cream?!” But in the end I think everyone enjoyed gathering around the ice cream machines and taking a turn either cranking on sitting on top of the maker to help steady it as the ice cream got harder and got tougher to crank. I also don’t think many of them knew what to make of the icy treat that was produced. Let’s face it, home cranked ice cream can be kind of icy. It certainly isn’t as smooth and creamy as that $5.00 a half gallon stuff you buy at the store. But for those of us who have grown up making ice cream occasionally, it was a treat that brought back many childhood memories.

But let’s face it, what really makes homemade ice cream great is all the homemade sauces that accompany it. So we also had a strawberry sauce, a rhubarb sauce and homemade hot fudge to pour over top. Or use your own favorite homemade sauces.

The recipe for this ice cream comes from the booklet included with the White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer. The recipe is for 2 quarts of ice cream but it can easily be scaled up. We ended up making 10 quarts to feed our large group (with just a little left over!).

Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream
makes 2 quarts

2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 cup half and half
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream

Scald milk (cook just until bubbles start to form around the edges. Remove from heat and add sugar and salt. Stir until full dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and chill for, at least 30 minutes, before placing in the ice cream freezer. Freeze following the manufacturer’s directions for your ice cream freezer. The ice cream will then probably need to be packed with ice or placed in a regular freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour to harden a bit. Scoop and serve with your favorite toppings!

The other day my wife took our daughter to see one of my wife’s clients, who she had become good friends with. Her friend has a small farm and my wife took Genevieve to ride the horses. Genevieve (aka Gigi) is 4 1/2 years old and just recently told us that she wants her own horse. This has created no end of amusment for my wife because ever since Gigi was born I have been writing letters to Santa that Gigi has “dictated” to me. Most of them revolve around the idea that she wants a horse by the time she is five, so needless to say when she exclaimed that she wanted a horse my wife considered it cosmic justice.

So Gigi got to ride a horse, learn a little about horsemanship and help brush her. As an added bonus, Kate sent Wanda home with 2 dozen eggs, from the hens she owns. They varied in size from a standard large egg to ones about the quarter of that size and in colors from off white to various shades of brown and even to a pale green (yes that picture above is color corrected-it’s not your monitor). I was thrilled and set about coming up with an idea to really showcase the eggs. While simply poaching them or hard boiling them might showcase the eggs in all their simple glory I wanted to do something a little more adventurous and seasonal. Our rhubarb is growing quickly and I knew I wanted to incorporate that into something so I decided to make custards and top them with a rhubarb compote. I was also keen to use up some of the tarragon I grow and thought about infusing the custard with tarragon. While not often used in desserts, tarragon’s anisy, licorice flavor lends itself well to many dessert presentations. The only concern is not to overpower the other flavors with tarragon, which can quickly take over if used with too heavy a hand. The flavor combination, at first, might sound a little strange, but trust me it works well, with the tarragon adding a nice subtle flavor to the custard and complementing the simple rhubarb compote.

Herb Pot de Creme
makes 6 servings

3 cups half and half
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1/ tsp. vanilla extract
3-5 sprigs fresh tarragon (feel free to try other herbs also such as thyme, mint, lemon balm, even rosemary)

Pre heat the oven to 350°F. Bring the half and half to a simmer. Add 3 sprigs of tarragon and allow to steep for 10 minutes, off of the heat. Taste the mixture. The herb flavor should be just a little stronger than you want it to be in the final product as this will be diluted with other ingredients. If it isn’t strong enough add a few more sprigs, return to a simmer, remove from heat and steep a few minutes longer. Remember, it’s easier to add more flavor than take it away so don’t go over board in the beginning. As the herbs are steeping combine the egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla, stirring until most of the sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 a cup of the hot half and half to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Add another 1/2 cup and stir. Now that the eggs are tempered you can add the remaining half and half. Stir until well combined then strain. Skim off any foam on top of the mixture and pour 3/4 cup into 6 ramekins. Place ramekins into a large baking dish and add hot water to come about 1/2 way up the ramekins. Cover with foil, adding 4 or 5 small vent holes and carefully place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and check for doneness. The custards are done when the center still slightly jiggles like jello. If not done yet, replace cover and bake 5-7 minutes longer and check again. Continue doing this until custards are done. Don’t overcook or your custards will “souffle” and instead of a silky, smooth texture it will more closely resemble scrambled eggs. Still tasty but not quite as appetizing. These will take anywhere from 25-50 minutes depending on the size and depth of your ramekins. When done carefully remove from the oven then remove from the water bath. Cool on a rack until room temperature then chill. Serve topped with a couple tablespoons of Rhubarb Compote (recipe below).

Rhubarb Compote
makes about 1 /2 cups

3 cups rhubarb, diced
2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup water

Add all ingredients to a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, at a hard boil, for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Test for doneness on a chilled plate. Allow a small spoonful to chill on the cold plate. It is done if it holds together like a softly set jam with just a bit of liquid separating out. Once done chill for 2 hours to allow time for the compote to set up.

I had meant to post this recipe a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve kind of been off my game a little the last few months, as witnessed by the fact that I have been posting rather sporadically. Sorry, I’ll try and do better. Yeah, I know I’ve said that before, but this time I mean it!!!!

If you have followed this blog, or taken a look through the recipe indexes you will notice that I love rhubarb. While technically not a fruit-we use the stem of the plant-people most often refer to it as such since it is mostly used in the same context as fruits-meaning it is most often used in making desserts.

Here in Wisconsin, rhubarb is on of the first edibles to break ground in spring and by mid May it is ready to start harvesting. Because it is ready so early we often associate it with spring and early summer, often pairing it with other early summer fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. But, rhubarb can be harvested all summer long and into early autumn.

While pairing rhubarb with peaches is far from new, ground breaking work it’s not a pairing that you see regularly, so I thought I would whip up a Peach and Rhubarb pie to make use of our rhubarb patch one last time before it was done for the season. While this recipe comes a little late, I still see plenty of peaches in the markets and if you have a rhubarb patch you probably still have a couple of weeks left before the hard frosts kill it all off, so hurry up and make yourself one of these. You won’t be sorry!

Peach and Rhubarb Pie

3 cups peaches, sliced, with or without skins-your choice. I left them on.
3 cups rhubarb, sliced
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Your favorite pie crust for a two crust pie.
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ deep dish pie tin with one pie crust. Combine the peaches and rhubarb with the flour, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, tossing to coat well. Pour into the pie tin and top with the remaining crust. Pinch the edges of the crusts together, fluting the edges for a decorative look. Cut 4-5 steam holes in the top of the crust and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes then sprinkle the top with the remaining sugar and continue to bake another 15-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. I like to wait an hour or more to make sure the pie has set up properly.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, yet again. Sorry, but between work and the hot, humid weather we haven’t been doing a whole lot of cooking recently. I promise to change that here really soon!

Local peaches have been showing up for the last 2 weeks or so. I made my first trip to the Little Farmer, one of my favorite places here in Wisconsin, and they start their season the beginning of August with early season apples and peaches that they get from a farmer over in Michigan. The peaches were superb and I had to pick up a bunch, both for eating and for cooking. I really like this year’s crop, sweet and super juicy, yet they seem to have a nice tart kick to them, even when fully ripe.

Normally, if I am going to pair peaches with any fruit it is usually raspberries, but since we are between raspberry crops, here in Wisconsin, I went with the next best thing and paired them with blackberries this time.

Cobblers come in various different forms. Some use a cake like batter poured over the top for a smooth topping, some people make a more biscuit like batter, and others use biscuit like dough and some even pour the batter in first, place the fruit on top and allow the batter to rise through the fruit as it cooks. It all depends on what part of the country you are from. I like them all and have recipes for numerous types of cobblers. This time I went with the more traditional biscuit like dough that I cut out and placed on top of the fruit.

Some people are intimidated by having to peel peaches. It really is quite easy if you know the trick. It is just like peeling tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut a shallow “X” in the bottom of the peach and place in the boiling water for about 15 seconds. Remove and quickly dunk in an ice bath. The peels will then easily slip off.

Blackberry Peach Cobbler

4-5 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 cup blackberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar + more for sprinkling on top
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter, diced and chilled
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss together peaches and blackberries in a large bowl.

In another bowl combine the sugars and the cornstarch. Sprinkle over the peach mixture and toss to combine. Transfer to a 9×9 baking pan or deep dish pie pan and set aside. To make the top, combine the salt, flour, sugar and baking powder. Add the butter.

Using a pastry cutter or a couple of knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and stir just to bring the dough together. Do not over stir. Pour out onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice to bring it all together. Pat out, into a circle about 1/2″ thick. Cut out into 2″ rounds. You might have gather up the dough and pat it out again. You should end up with 9-10 rounds. Place evenly on top of fruit mixture.

Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Allow to cool and set up for about 10 minutes before serving.

On Sunday the family headed a few miles south to Kelley’s Country Creamery, a new ice cream place in the area. We were originally drawn to it because they sell hard pack ice cream, a novelty in this part of Wisconsin where frozen custard reigns supreme. This was our second trip even though the place hasn’t been open for a month yet, and I see many more trips there before the season is over. While we were drawn by the promise of hard pack ice cream, we have been hooked by the excellent quality, and the farm to table approach they take. You see, the Kelley’s also own the farm that produces the milk they use in their ice cream. It is my understanding that they send their milk to a local dairy producer who pasteurizes it and turns it into an ice cream base that the Kelley’s then flavor and churn. Supposedly, they have 61 flavors that they produce, on a rotating basis. While I haven’t seen, or tasted all of them, I have been impressed with the quality of the ice creams I have tried and inspired by their creativity. Of course they offer up the standards of chocolate, vanilla (which looks and tastes like homemade), and strawberry, but they also offer up more interesting flavors such as Purple Cow (grape), Root Beer, Orange-Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate-Raspberry, and Moo Luau (banana split ice cream-banana with swirls of chocolate, strawberry and pineapple). They are located just south of Fond du Lac, WI on County Rd. B (exit off of Hwy. 41 and drive east a few miles). Their website is here. Check it out, and if you find yourself in the area, definitely stop by for a scoop or two.

In the meantime, you can use this Hot Fudge Sauce to make your own Sundaes. This recipe has a great, old fashion flavor and is the perfect foil to a dish of vanilla ice cream. On try of this simple recipe and you’ll never buy store bought again!

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
3oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine cocoa powder, sugar and 3/4 cup of cream in a sauce pot and stir to combine. Add corn syrup, butter and chocolate. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once at a boil stop stirring and cook until mixture reaches 236°F. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes then add remaining cream and vanilla extract. Store, covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. To serve, gently heat over a double boiler or in a microwave at half power.

Here is wishing everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July!! I hope your day is full of fun and great food! Unfortunately, I have to work so I won’t be able to participate in any of the festivities. The joys of working a job that is 365 days a year. I can’t complain too much though as I do get most holidays off.

Here’s a simple little recipe that I thought I’d share with you all, especially if you have kids. Kids love popsicles, but younger kids often seem to wear almost as much as they eat, at least that is the case with my daughter. This recipe, I pulled off of the internet ages ago (can’t remember where) solves this problem. Using jello in the mix keeps these popsicles from melting all over little hands. Enjoy!

Dripless Popsicles

1 package Jello, fruit flavored, small package
1 package Koolaid
2/3 cup Water, boiling
2 cups Water, cold
1 cup Sugar

Combine jello, koolaid, sugar and hot water and mix until dissolved. Add cold water and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze overnight.

It’s the middle of May and that means that the rhubarb I’ve been watching grow for the last 6-7 weeks is finally ready to start harvesting. That may not mean a whole lot to many people, but I get all excited just thinking about it. Yes, I know I need to get out more! But seriously, I love the tart flavor of rhubarb. Paired with strawberries, it becomes the ultimate late spring/early summer food pairing, at least in my book.

Last year, I wrote about rhubarb a couple of times and you can expect the same again this year. I’ve got 3 huge plants in my backyard; enough to keep my family constantly in rhubarb desserts for the next 2 months and still have enough to give away to friends not blessed with their own plants, and, depending on how rhubarb crazy we get this year, enough to freeze so that we can have rhubarb pie later in the year, when the craving hits.

While my favorite way to eat rhubarb is in pie, we try to find other ways to use it to keep things fresh and lively. This recipe is a great way to showcase shortcake early in the season, when many of us have to still rely on strawberries shipped in from California, instead the the more flavorful sun ripened strawberries that can be picked closer to home.

The recipe calls for sweet vermouth in which the rhubarb is poached. I like the added subtle flavor this adds, but if you don’t have sweet vermouth and don’t want to buy any, the fruit will still be plenty flavorful if you substitute water.

Poached Rhubarb with Strawberries

12 oz. rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
2 Tbsp. grenadine
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

Combine sugar, vermouth and grenadine in a nonreactive saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the rhubarb, bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes. The rhubarb should still be slightly undercooked when you remove it from the heat, or it will overcook and turn to mush. Leave out on the counter and allow to cool to room temperature. The rhubarb will finish cooking and sweeten up as it cools. Once cool, add the strawberries, stir and refrigerate. This can be made a couple of hours ahead.

Shortcake
I used this recipe originally for this dessert.

2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/4 cup Sugar, granulated
1 pinch Salt
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 each Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Half and Half
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
6 Tbsp. Butter, chilled and diced

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. In another bowl combine the egg, half and half, and vanilla. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in using a pastry blender or 2 knives. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs when done. Add the wet ingredients stirring only to bring the dough together. Don’t over mix the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead 4 to 5 times. Pat into a cirlce about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter 3 inches in diameter, cut out 6 rounds. Place on a sheet tray that has either been greased or lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with an egg wash made of 1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. of either water or half and half. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar then bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool.

To Assemble

Split 4 of the shortcakes in half and place bottoms in a bowl. Top with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and equally divide the poached rhubarb and strawberries over top. Cover with top half of shortcakes and serve.

I know I’ve said it before, on this blog, but I’ll say it again, “My wife rocks!!!!” I woke up this morning to the smell of cinnamon rolls baking, and there is no better smell in the world! I love the fact that my wife can cook so well, which, in this day and age, is saying something. I am constantly amazed by the number of people I meet that “can’t cook.” I know I’ve said it here before, but it never ceases to amaze me. Luckily, I think we are starting to see that trend change. Just look at all the good food blogs out there today. It seems that people have finally awakened and have come to realize that cooking doesn’t have to be a chore, but something that we do out of love and passion. It is sad that so many of my generation have to learn this lesson later in life, but I am glad that they are learning it.

So this morning, my wife woke up really early and couldn’t get back to sleep so she decided to make cinnamon rolls (I’ve already established how much I think this rocks!). Being overwhelmed by my ever expanding cookbook collection she headed to the internet in search of a good recipe. Like me, she just can’t leave well enough alone. She found Paula Deen’s Cinnamon Roll, like the dough recipe, found the icing recipe from Todd Wilbur’s “More Top Secret Recipes,” and kind of just winged it with the filling. Whatever she did, they came out great. Try them out and surprise someone you love with a little cinnamon love in the morning!!!

Cinnamon Rolls
makes 12

1/4 oz package yeast
1/2 cup water, warm
1/2 cup milk, warm
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 1/2 – 4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon, ground
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup raisins

8 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temp.
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt

In a bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit 5 minutes to activate. Add the milk, sugar, butter, salt and egg. Mix well and add 2 cups of flour. Mix and add another 1 1/2 cups flour. Mix and add the remaining flour only if needed. Knead for 7-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough and roll out, on a lightly floured surface, to a rectangle approximately 9″x15″. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, mixing well. Gently spread the softened butter over the dough then sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture, using it all. Starting on the long side, roll the dough up, pinwheel style, pinching the seam together. Cut into 12 slices. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan generously with butter then add the cinnamon rolls. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. While the rolls are baking prepare the icing by combining the butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar, vanilla and salt and beat until light and fluffy. When cinnamon rolls are done, remove from oven, allow to rest for 10 minutes then generously ice the tops. Serve warm!