This is Kind of . . . Funny

Go do a Google search. Type in: foods that start with U.
No, really. Do it—see if you get what I got.

Tonight I was looking through the newly revised index of my very cool, newly revised cookbook. And as I looked it seemed as if I actually had a recipe listed under every letter of the alphabet.
I was so impressed with myself! I had J, and Z, and Y, and even Q recipes! So I decided to look through the whole index to admire my alphabetical thoroughness and coolness. But, alas! I have no recipes listed under "U" or "X." Awww. What a bummer!

I thought, I'll have to do something about that. So I started to type in a Google search for "foods that start with . . ."

I got that far before Google's autocomplete filled in the rest, and here's what it said: "foods that start with U or X."

Huh! Really! Well I guess it's not just that I have a deficient cookbook, then.

The search didn't turn up much. So, do you know of any good foods or recipes that start with U or X? If you do, tell me about them. And if it's a great recipe—or even if it's a creative name for a great recipe— I can propel your U or X recipe to culinary fame by entering it into my cookbook. ;-)

Nibble, Nibble, Like a Mouse . . .

The other day Michael told me you could tell that Hansel and Gretel were children, because who else would see a whole house made of gingerbread and candy and decide to eat it?

Um, yeah; he's right.



Yesterday we finally finished this year's gingerbread house. It is so cool! Really, you should come see it before my girls eat all the candy off of it. I've told them they can't eat any of it until everything is way too stale to be desirable—at least a week. We'll see . . . The snow (cotton candy) is already melting today, and the snowmen are tipping over; I don't know how long it will really last.

This is our biggest gingerbread house ever. And it took the longest to make—more than a week, from mixing a triple recipe of dough, to cooking the candy windows, to putting the finishing touches on. But it looks awesome!

If you feel the urge to make a gingerbread house, click here for a recipe. (Or just use the recipe to make gingerbread men.) If you don't want to make a big ole' house, you can just admire our pictures:

putting the candy in the windows

under construction

putting on the candy decor


And, all finished:

left wing

front door and wreath

back of house

Merry Christmas!

A Lovely Evening

Well, the Relief Society Birthday Social turned out great! :-)

I worked on desserts all day Monday, getting the ice-cream roulade, the double chocolate cheesecake, the strawberry candies, and the raspberry trifle all made that day. (Is your mouth watering yet?) My kids were out of school Monday and Tuesday, and every time I started on a new dessert, one of them would ask, "Who is that for?" or, "Is that for us?" I felt a little guilty saying that none of the goodies were for my family, but I promised to bring them back anything that was left over.


Yesterday I spent the entire day cooking as well. I started in the morning with a lemon-meringue pie, then the chocolate mousse pie. Yesterday afternoon was a jumble of making the garlic chicken, the rolls, the salad dressings, dipping strawberries in chocolate and arranging the strawberry bouquet (which looked absolutely spectacular!). I was whipping cream and garnishing the pies by 5:00 and made it to the church by 5:20—just in time to reheat the chicken before the social started. We got the dessert bar and salad bar set up and then the ladies began to arrive.

Some men from the ward served the main course to us at our tables. Everyone liked the meal and they raved about the desserts. The only bummer was that almost no one ate the strawberry candies—I think they thought they were those styrofoam, glittery fake-fruit-things you can buy. (One of my good friends actually said that she thought the bouquet was really roses; she had forgetten her glasses.) But after I took a candy and ate it, they all got the idea.

Dessert Bar

About 45 women—and the bishop—showed up for the party, and we had a great time visiting during dinner. Then there was a short, but very nice program. It was a lovely evening.


And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: I will post the recipes on my cookbook blog. So check it out every now and then, over the next little while. Enjoy!

p.s. Unfortunately for my children, there weren't enough desserts left over for them to all try some. Fortunately for them, I am a nice mom and promised to make them their choice of dessert this weekend.

A New Recipe!

At last! At last! For those of you who have been wringing your hands in breathless anticipation, your patience has finally paid off. This morning I added a new recipe to my cookbook blog. It's a good one, and super-easy to make.
Enjoy!

The Unrepentant Sinner

Last Christmas Bruce got me a copy of Cooks Illustrated Magazine, and it was full of wonderful recipes and tips. But the one that intrigued me most was "Almost No-Knead Bread" which promised the fabulous flavor and texture of the best bakery breads but with much less work. The big problem was that the recipe called for 1/4 cup of beer (not a full-bodied beer, but a nice, "light American lager"--like I'd even know the difference). So every day for about three weeks I'd look at the recipe and consider whether I was nervy enough to actually go and buy a beer. I even looked around at the stores when I went grocery shopping--only to find that it mostly comes in six-packs or even bigger packages. So then I thought maybe I'd go borrow a can from my neighbor. But which is worse, buying a beer myself or asking the neighbor for one?

I finally decided I'd just go buy one myself. So I went to Smiths--to buy brownie mix. There was almost nobody in the store; certainly no one who knew me. But I just couldn't do it. I picked up the brownie mix and started to leave. But halfway to the checkout I started debating with myself; and finally I went down the refrigerated beverage aisle and spent a lot of time looking for a single beer. I discovered that if you want a single can you can only get a GIANT one! So I went away without the loot, only to spend more time debating whether or not I should actually buy it. After three more trips through that aisle I snatched a can and hid it between the brownie mix and my purse. Fortunately I didn't run into anyone on my way to the checkout lane (the store really was dead that night).

I made it all the way to the cash register and then the cashier asked me how I was doing. Now, this 20-year-old kid doesn't know me and couldn't care less whether I bought out a whole liquor store. But here I go, babbling on about how I don't drink beer, I feel like a criminal buying one, it's for a bread recipe, etc. etc. etc. He was very helpful and said that the alcohol should all cook out anyway; he even suggested that maybe I could buy some cooking wine instead. [I don't think so!]

Well, I got out pretty much intact, but now I had to go home and sneak a HUGE can of beer past my kids. Since they were all involved in a movie I did manage to do that fairly well. Of course I had to start my bread after all the kids went to bed (it's an over-night recipe, so that's OK). And since I only needed 1/4 cup of lager I figured I could save the rest for later, also saving myself some future trauma.

Here's what I learned: You can pour beer into another container and put it in the freezer but it never loses its fizz, so it leaks all over the place. Jason saw it in the freezer and thought I'd frozen apple juice or pineapple juice (and wanted some), so I had to explain the whole thing to him. He was a little surprised.

However we all came out OK. The bread was fabulous; and in a few days the whole thing seemed like a big joke (although when I told my in-laws the story some of them seemed to totally disapprove). Still, I don't think I'll be buying any more beer any time soon. I found a recipe for a sourdough bread starter that uses grapes instead of yeast--you mix the grapes with flour and water and let them ferment. So I've started brewing my own. ;-)

p.s. The sourdough is really fantastic too!
p.p.s. I found out later that you can use non-alcoholic beer in this bread. Should've read the recipe more carefully.
p.p.p.s. I'll post the recipe on my other blog. Buy the non-alcoholic beer.

Loralee's Cookbook

Over there, on the right, I now have a list of links; and my new blog, Loralee's Cookbook, is also on that list! Really it's just a website for my recipes; I figured it made more sense to give recipes their own spot, rather than posting them in my blog. So, I'll post a recipe or two each week, and you can check it out. If you make the recipe and like it--leave me a comment! [If you hate it, I don't really need to hear about it.]

Enjoy!

Soft Caramel Corn

This one is for Ann, Bruce's aunt, who is old enough to be my sister.
So nobody else can use this recipe!

SOFT CARAMEL CORN

lots of popped popcorn (I popped about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup corn syrup

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

salt (optional)

Combine butter, corn syrup and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Add sweetened condensed milk and simmer, stirring constantly, until it reaches the "soft ball" stage (about 240 degrees). Add vanilla. Pour over popcorn and mix well. If you want, shake a little salt over the top of it and then mix it well again. Makes yummy popcorn balls too!

Wanna try something yummy?

Everyone's doing it!

A couple weeks ago my cousin, Wendy, told me that a friend of hers asked for my chicken salad recipe. In fact, lots of people ask for my chicken salad recipe. See, a long, long time ago--before I was even married--I made up this recipe trying to copy a chicken salad that I had at a restaurant once. I don't even remember exactly what that salad was like now; but this one sure is popular! I've had more requests for this recipe than any other I've made. Well, it is very good!

LORALEE'S CHICKEN SALAD

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 2-3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 hard-boiled egg, crumbled
• 2-4 Tbsp. finely diced cheddar cheese
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup raw almonds
• about 1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip (salad dressing)
• real mayonnaise*
• lemon pepper

* You can use light mayonnaise, but don't use fat-free mayo--it's icky!

Steam or microwave the chicken until fully cooked, but not dried out. Place chicken on a plate, cover with foil or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to cool. While the chicken is cooling you can chop the veggies. Toss the celery, onion, cucumber, carrot, egg and cheese together in a medium bowl. Slice the almonds in half lengthwise and toss with the veggies. Remove chicken from fridge; bone it and tear into bite-size shreds. Toss the chicken with the veggies. Add the Miracle Whip and enough mayonnaise to give the salad a good texture. Mix in a dash or two of lemon pepper. Garnish with some whole almonds, if desired [parsley would look nice too].

This is really good all by itself, but I like it best in sandwiches. For nice hors d' ouvres you can use it as a filling in little cream puff shells.

Yummy!