The Best Potato Salad

We were watching American test kitchen  and they made their favorite potato salad.  And it is now our favorite salad.

The best potato salad 

Ingredients 

3 pounds russet potatoes, about 6

3 Tbsp. white vinegar, divided

2 Tbsp. mustard

1/2 cup sliced cornichons, about 20

 salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 cups mayonnaise

1 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup finely chopped scallion, about 3

Directions

Peel potatoes. Slice lengthwise into 1-inch-thick planks. Lay flat and slice again into 1-inch-thick strips. Stack strips together and cut crosswise into even cubes.

In a large pot, cover potatoes with at least 2 inches of water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high and continue boiling until potatoes are tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, 8 to 9 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

 Meanwhile, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar. Stir in celery, cornichons, and scallions. Gently fold mayonnaise mixture into cooked potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Serve, or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 day (bring to room temperature before serving, about 30 minutes).

 

New York-Style Cheesecake

New York Style Cheesecake

My son really likes cheesecake and searched and found this recipe Here.  I am not a real lover of cheesecake that is baked.  But, I have to say this recipe is so good.  I will make it again.

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 12 whole crackers

5 tbsp. butter, melted

2 tbsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

For the Filling

4 8oz. blocks cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 tbsp. all purpose flour

4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. packed lemon juice

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice 

1/4 tsp. salt

6 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

you will need a 9 - 10 inch spring form pan 

 1 can cherry pie fill

Directions 

Preheat oven to 375F.  Set rack in lower middle position.

Wrap the springform pan with aluminum foil.

Spray the inside of the pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Make the Crust

In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt. Stir well and press into the bottom of the springform pan.  

Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until set.  Remove the pan from oven and set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven to 325F.  Boil a kettle of water.

Make the batter

In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour together on medium speed until smooth, scrape the bowl to insure mixture is well combined.

Add vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. beat on low speed until just combined.

Add eggs, one at a time on low speed until well mixed, scrape bowl as needed.

Mix sour cream in, do not over mix.

 Pour mixture into the springform pan.

Place the cheesecake into the roasting pan and pour the boiling water around the cheesecake about 1" up the side.

Bake cake until it is just set, about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.  The cake will still wobble when it is taken out.

Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack, cool in the water bath until the water is just warm, about 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from roasting pan and remove the foil.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan to insure it is not sticking to sides.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Serve on plate, with pie filling on top with whip cream.

The best Carrot Cake

I work with a lady that is a very person.  She was talking on day about making a carrot cake from a box.  I decided to make her one from scratch.  I gave it to her on June 15th.  She was very excited that I had done that for her.
So in looking for the best 8 X 8" carrot cake recipe this is the one this is the one I picked.

The Best Carrot Cake

Ingredients

 

Carrot Cake:

¾ c. sugar

 

1 ½ c. all purpose flour

 

1 tsp. baking powder

 

1 tsp. baking soda

 

½ tsp salt

 

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

 

 ⅔ c. vegetable oil

 

2 large eggs

 

2 c. carrots, shredded

 

½ c. pineapple with syrup, crushed

 

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

 

1 cup raisins (I added this) 

 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

 

2 c. confectioner's sugar

 

1 tbsp. butter, softened

 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. milk 

 

 Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients: sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
In seperate mixer bowl, combine vegetable oil, eggs, carrots, crushed pineapple with syrup and vanilla and the raisins if you wish to add them.
Mix with a hand mixer at medium speed until all ingredients are combined (about 2 minutes).
Gradually add dry mixture to wet ingredients; mix well after each addition.
 Grease a 9x9-inch or 11x7.5- inch pan (anything larger will come out too thin) and pour batter into the pan.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

To make cream cheese frosting: combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.
Let cake cool and top with frosting.

 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

Found this recipe on this blog.  It made up pretty quick easy to follow. It tasted great I will make this again.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

Ingredients

 4 slices bacon, diced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix, or more, to taste 

8 ounces rotini

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

For the alfredo sauce

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream, or more, to taste 

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

 

Directions

 1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×9 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. 

 

2.  To make the alfredo sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in heavy cream. Cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more heavy cream as needed; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

 

3.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; reserving 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

 

4.  In a gallon size Ziploc bag, add chicken, 1 tablespoon olive oil and Ranch Seasoning, shaking to coat thoroughly. Add chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side; set aside.

5.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

 

6.  Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and layer with chicken and alfredo sauce; sprinkle with cheeses and bacon. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 15-20 minutes. 

 

7.  Serve immediately.  Make a salad or a side veggie dish,

 

 

 

 

 

New things I have made

Over the last few weeks I have been doing some sewing for my friends grandchildren.

 This bear is Charity bear super easy to make love the pattern

The Pattern can be found here: Charity Bear

 This pattern is a Joe Carter.  The pattern is not to bad to make. I think I will make it 20% larger the next time.

The Pattern can be found in:  Simply Sewing issue 38

 This is a great pattern to make.  I have made two from this pattern now.

The pattern can be found here: Short set pattern

 This is the same pattern as above just longer shorts.  These were made February 2018.

This Dog is so cool.  I have not made another one but I need to. The pattern is called puppy love.

It is in the Pretty Patches November 2016: Puppy Love

 This is the Charity bear pattern again. Love this pattern

Same link as above.

This is made with cardboard.  It was pretty easy to make will make another one or two for sure.  The bedding I just measured and made no pattern. 

The pattern for the bed: cardboard bed

Rhubarb Custard Pie

This recipe came from Aunt Margaret.  So it is about 50 years old.

Rhubarb Custard Pie 

Preheat oven 375F

2 cups rhubarb in an unbaked pie shell;  mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon minute tapioca.  Sprinkle this mixture over the rhubarb that is in the pie shell.  In a mixing bowl mix 3/4 cups sugar, 1  tablespoon flour and 2 eggs, beat until fluffy.  Pour this over pie and bake for 1 hour.

Pie Crust
 

Ingredients 

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions 

1.  In a food processor, briefly pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not over mix.

2. Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over dough; press to shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days)

 3. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll dough to a 14-inch round with a floured rolling pin. Wrap dough around rolling pin, discarding paper; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate (opposite). Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate (do not stretch dough)

  4.  Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. Fold under itself to form a rim, and press to seal. Using thumb and forefinger, crimp rim of crust. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.

 

Easy No Bake Cookies

brown eyed baker

I found this recipe on facebook from Brown Eyed Baker

I decided to add coconut and raisins and nutella and peanut butter to this recipe.

Easy No Bake Cookies

Ingredients  

1/2 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 tablepsoons cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup nutella

1/4 cup coconut

1/4 cup large raisins

2 1/2 cups  quick cooking oatmeal

Directions  

1. In saucepan boil butter, white sugar, salt and cocoa powder for 2 minutes.

2. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in the peanut butter, nutella, coconut, raisins and vanilla extract until smooth, then stir in the oats.

4. Use cookie scoop and drop onto wax paper to cool.  Once cool store in air tight container.

 

Deep Dish Pecan Pie

I made a deep dish pecan pie.  The recipe came from the Genius Kitchen https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/utterly-deadly-southern-pecan-pie-101954

This recipe turned out really well.  The pastry recipe came from Martha Stewart https://www.marthastewart.com/316160/basic-pie-crust

It was the first time I used the food processor to make the crust.  I was very pleased how it turned out.

Deep Dish Pecan Pie

 Pie Crust

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions 

1.  In a food processor, briefly pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not over mix.

2. Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over dough; press to shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days)

 3. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll dough to a 14-inch round with a floured rolling pin. Wrap dough around rolling pin, discarding paper; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate (opposite). Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate (do not stretch dough)

  4.  Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. Fold under itself to form a rim, and press to seal. Using thumb and forefinger, crimp rim of crust. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.

Pecan Filling

 Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 1//2 cup corn syrup

4 eggs

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups halved pecans

Directions 

 In saucepan boil sugar and corn syrup together for 2 to 3 minutes; set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl beat eggs lightly and very slowly pour the cooled syrup mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly.

Pour this mixture through a fine strainer to ensure no lumps.

Stir in butter, vanilla and pecans into egg mixture and pour into prepared pie pan.

Bake at 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes or until set.

 

some of the Halloween things I have made

Some more toys I have made for Granddaughter

 This is a free pattern for Monty Moose: http://rikkelyngholm.com/2017/07/10/crochet-moose/

 This bunny is from Simply Sewing a Joe Carter pattern: http://www.lovepatchworkandquilting.com/quilt-tutorials/sew-a-softie-bunny-toys-tutorial

these guys were fun to make: https://www.sewmamasew.com/2016/03/spring-chick-bunny-tutorial-pattern/

My granddaughter's toys I have made

 Nellie the dragon from a pattern on line: https://www.sewmag.co.uk/free-sewing-patterns/nigel-the-dragon-toy

 I have to find this fox in a matchbox again.  When I do I will post the link.

I made these from a the internet, they are so cute.  It is Old McDonald Farm set.