Could this podcast generate new leads?

 

APB Cold Case audio podcast is now on YouTube! Also available on all major podcast platforms or go to apbcoldcase.com. Listen now to - On the Trail of a Killer: The Murder of Megan McDonald

Our Family Table

I'm so excited about the family cookbook!  Mom and I have been talking about doing this (2nd Edition) for years.  The first family cookbook was created by my Mom in 1995. The family has grown so much since then and many of my cousins and 2nd cousins didn't have copies of that original book.  So we took many of the beloved recipes from the first addition and added to them.  We worked on the cookbook for almost a year.  We really wanted it to be a family heirloom, so we included old family stories and photos.  We had no idea what the finished product would look like, but now that it is done, we are so pleased.  I have already started working on the next one!

Here is a recipe that is in both books.  My Grandfather loved making this bread.  I remember making it with my Mom and my husband made it this past Thanksgiving.  It smells divine while baking and it tastes Heavenly!

Dilly Bread

A Hoffman favorite!

1 pkg. dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 cup small curd cottage cheese, heated to lukewarm

2 T sugar

1 T instant minced onion

1 T butter, melted

2 tsp dill seed

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

1 egg slightly beaten

2 ¼ to 2 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Soften yeast in warm water.  Combine in bowl with cottage cheese and remaining ingredients except flour.

Gradually add flour until stiff dough forms.

Let rise until double about 45 minutes.

Stir down with wooden spoon and turn into loaf pan, casserole or oven proof bowl.

Bake at 350 F for 45–50 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

The Happiest Day of my Life! 12/27/13

I know that I intended this blog to be a place to share recipes, but this post is a little different as it is a recipe for the happiest day of my Life.

Ingredients:

1 amazing Groom
1 lucky Bride
1 handful of beloved family and friends

Directions:

Mix all ingredients with love and happiness.  Sprinkle with California sunshine and live Happily Ever After!

All I Wanted Me Was a Little Gluten Free Cornbread!

Mark and I have several favorite films, but one film that we watch over and over again is The Green Mile with Tom Hanks.  One of our favorite scenes is where William 'Wild Bill' Wharton (played by Sam Rockwell) after being put in solitary confinement, says "All I wanted me was a little cornbread, motherf*#@!ers! All I wanted me was a little cornbread!"

Here is a GF culinary nod to The Green Mile.

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten-free cornmeal
• ½ cup rice flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 T baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup unsweetened Silk almond milk 
• ⅓ cup canola oil
• Egg replacer to equal 2 large eggs (prepared according to package directions)  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Grease an 8x8-inch square glass baking dish & place in heating oven
3. In a bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.
4. Add almond milk, oil, and egg replacer and corn; stir until batter is smooth.
5. Carefully remove hot pan from oven and pour the batter into the hot pan (this ensures a crisp edge on your cornbread).
6. Return the pan to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cornbread is golden brown on top.
7. Serve warm on its own or drizzled with honey.

A Taste of New York

Aunt Mary's Marinade for Chicken

Mark brought this recipe from New York and we're not sure who Aunt Mary is, but this chicken is delicious!  We love you Aunt Mary!!!

1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp Bell's poultry seasoning

Combine all ingredients and marinade chicken for a minimum of 3 hours.  Drain chicken and bbq until done.  It tastes like Summer!

Happy New Year French Onion Soup

Mark and I decided to start a new "New Year" tradition, French onion soup!  It is such a simple recipe with simple ingredients, but it yields such complex flavors.

Ingredients
2T olive oil
3lbs yellow onions
1 pinch of sugar
1T scant all purpose flour
3/4 cup good quality dry vermouth or dry white wine
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
7 cups beef stock
Salt & pepper
Toast rounds
Shredded gruyere cheese

Peel onions, cut off root end and slice thinly on a mandoline.  Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of a large French oven over medium/ low heat.  Place sliced onions in the pot and sprinkle with pinch of sugar.  Saute slowly for 30-45 minutes or until carmelized.  Sprinkle the onions with flour and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the dry vermouth and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add the worcestershire & beef broth and simmer for another 35 minutes to let the flavors meld.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Spoon soup into bowls, top with toast rounds, sprinkle with shredded gruyere and place bowls under broiler until cheese is bubbly.  Serve immediately.

Happy New Year!

Japanese Sweet Potato Potage

Japanese sweet potatoes have a dark red or purple skin and a sweet white flesh.  They are similar to American yams, but taste sweeter.  They were the Chef's featured ingredient at a Sonoma restaurant that Mark and I went to.  We tried the soup which I re-created below and we loved it so much, we went back the next night for the Japanese sweet potato ravioli.  Here in the United States they are a fleeting Fall crop, so get them while you can.

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

1 T rendered bacon fat

1 lg sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced

4 Japanese sweet potatoes peeled & chopped

4 C chicken stock

1 envelope Trader Joe's chicken soup base

1 tsp dried oregano

Maldon sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

2 T good quality sherry

Place oils in a 5 qt French Oven.  Add onions and saute until onions are soft and golden.  Add sweet potatoes, stock, soup base & oregano.  Brin to a boil and then turn down and simmer for 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft.  Cool slightly, then puree in batches in a blender.  Return to pot. Season with salt, pepper and sherry.  Serve.