The Official "One on One" Sugar Love Cookie

Twenty-some years ago my mom gathered my sister and me in the kitchen on a cold, wintery, pre-Valentine's Day afternoon, to brighten up the dark month by baking super sweet sugar cookies decorated with sweetheart candies. Some things are just timeless. Each year now, I make the same cookies, filled with same unhealthy triple dose of sugar - scoops of sugar, coated with powdered sugar and topped with candied sugar. I'm normally a very healthy cook for the most part - but there are some comfort traditions that never change. This is my birthday present every year to my lil sis, who turns 28 this year.

So, I'm making this sugar cookie "One on One" the official cookies of Holl & Goats - as for those of you who are also Hall & Oates fans - you'll know that "One on One" could arguably be their best single. Thoughts? 

I suggest making these cookies for those who you love, adding a splash of pink to the dreary winter days. 

Soft Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the mixture. Roll cookies in balls - and flatten once on the cookie sheet.
3. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wax paper.

Frosting: 

Scoops of powdered sugar, a few drops of water until you get the consistency you want. Then add just a drip of red food coloring to your desired shade of pink. 

Goats Get a Job

Just another reason why goats rule -
listen to this podcast about how to clear out unwanted brush - the natural way!

http://fyi.uwex.edu/news/2011/09/16/goats-for-brush-control/

Beetomania

"The beet is the melancholy vegetable, the one most willing to suffer. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip... 

The beet is the murderer returned to the scene of the crime. The beet is what happens when the cherry finishes with the carrot. The beet is the ancient ancestor of the autumn moon, bearded, buried, all but fossilized; the dark green sails of the grounded moon-boat stitched with veins of primordial plasma; the kite string that once connected the moon to the Earth now a muddy whisker drilling desperately for rubies. 



The beet was Rasputin's favorite vegetable. You could see it in his eyes."      - Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume


That said, beets are not only a miraculous dinosaur of the garden, but amazingly good for you - rich in everything, if a vegetable is bright it means it is good for you. The natural nearly florescent nature of the beet makes it wonderful for you. 


I'm always looking for a new way to cook beets, but I seem to have my same-old favorites. Either time-tested (pickled over many winters' moons) or freshly roasted on a September day. 


Here's my fresh, late summertime favorite:


Ingredients: 


A bunch of beets
Garlic
Olive Oil
Fresh thyme
Sea Salt
Goat cheese
Dijon mustard 
Red wine vinegar


Clean beets, if needed, scrub them. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Place in an aluminum-foiled lined baking dish and cover with more foil. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until you can roughly pierce a fork through them. 


Once done, let rest for 20 minutes, then rinse and peel skins. Chop up in either slices or small pieces (depending if your crowd is beet friendly...they need a slow introduction sometimes).  Make a vinaigrette  with the mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic. Drizzle beets with mixture, add plenty of fresh thyme and sea salt and top with goat cheese. Dish can be served cold or warm (newbies seem to like warm beets opposed to cold beets). Enjoy this farm fresh bloody, fossiled gem from the garden! 


Do you have favorite beet recipes to share? Please do! We all need our intake of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Help our hearts and other muscles with beets!

Penne with Cognac

Who doesn't love bacon? Just admit it.

This recipe belongs to wine visionary Tony Terlato  - a true food lover, this is one of his favorite eccentric pastas - the secret touch is the bacon of course!













Penne with Cognac

4  slices thick-cut hardwood smoked bacon, diagonally sliced, divided
3  tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1  medium onion, chopped
Pinch of red pepper
Bay leaf
1/2  cup good-quality Cognac
1 pound penne pasta
Hot sauce, to taste
1 cup aged white Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (room temperature)

In a large sauté pan, sauté remaining bacon with onion for about four minutes (do not burn onion). Add pinch of red pepper. Remove stems and core of tomatoes; quarter and add to pan. Sea- son with salt, pepper and the bay leaf. Cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, for about 25 minutes.

When sauce is cooked, remove the bay leaf and pass through a food mill. Add the Cognac, return to the sauté pan and bring to a simmer.

In a pasta pot, cook the penne pasta according to directions on the box, drain and return to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta in the pot. Add the hot sauce and half the Cheddar cheese, and toss until well mixed. Add the cream and toss again. The sauce should not drown the pasta.

Serve in pasta bowls dusting with the remaining Cheddar cheese and garnished with bacon.
Serves 8

Suggested wine: Olvena “Cuatro 4,”  or Chimney Rock Elevage

Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

One of my favorite summertime appetizers, this simple recipe warms up appetites and the grill. Simply start with 2 ingredients, embellish as wanted.

Ingredients:
Jalapenos
Cream Cheese
Optional:
Garlic pepper spice
Bacon (because everything is better wrapped in bacon).

Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise, de-seed, and soak in water for 10 minutes to lessen the heat if desired. Fill with cream cheese and fixins', grill for 10 minutes on medium heat until the sides are charred a bit - this will also lessen the spice heat of the jalapenos.

And there you have, a beautiful start to your grilling night.

Wine/Beer Pairing:
A cold beer of your choice.

#1 Herb Drying Tip

Bushels of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and bee balm stand tall in my garden. A little tip: When drying herbs to save for winter months, it is best to pick early (cut quite a bit) rather than later in the season. The reason why is the herbs have a more potent flavor right now, that will enrich your dried herbs.
Other Steps for Drying:
- Dry in a airy place (the standard, Italian-themed kitchen sink works perfectly).
- Tie a piece of twine or string, let hang for roughly a week, or until dry. 
- When dry, place in jars, date and save for winter.

It can be a lengthy process, harvesting, rinsing, drying and crushing - but sprinkling homegrown, organic thyme on your wintertime dishes is like a touch of sun in the middle of winter. 

Also, my new favorite herb this year: pineapple sage - not sure what to cook it with but it smells amazing. Perhaps pineapple sage smudge sticks?

When Life Gives You Lemons...Make Limoncello

I'm entertaining the idea of entertaining for an all-out garden-esque dinner party later this summer when Wisconsin's fruits and ripe and ready to devour. In prep for the picnic table party, I decided to make my own twist on an after-dinner drink: Limoncello.

Limoncello is commonly served in Italy as a digestive (deee-gesteeve they would say). I fell in love with the citrus concoction while studying there. Turns out - quite simple to make.

What you need:
Lemons
Sugar
High Proof Alcohol (Everclear is best, Vodka will do)
Jars with lids
Twine

I made my batch with Vodka, but realized that Everclear would be better because the high alcohol content soaks up more flavor. The cool-looking way to make this stuff is: use 1.5 lemons per jar. First, grate 1/2 of lemon peel and mix with the alcohol. Then, develop a contraption to hang another quartered lemon above alcohol, then sealing the lid (twine). Do not let the lemon touch the alcohol - just dangle above. Let sit on counter, wait a month for science to work its wonders!

Updates coming...in a month.

Cheers,
Holly