Buttercream Frosting

Homemade frosting makes all the difference in a cake. I rarely use canned frosting now that I've made this.

Vanilla Buttercream
2 sticks butter, softened
1 pound powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
4-6 Tbs cream<br>
1 tsp vanilla

Beat sugar into butter one cup at a time. Add 4 tablespoons cream and the vanilla. If too stiff. Add more cream one tablespoon at a time until spreadable.

Chocolate Buttercream
For chocolate buttercream, substitute 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup cocoa powder and omit the vanilla.

Three Salad Components - Glazed Pecans, Homemade Croutons, and Vinaigrette

Ok, I have no picture of the salad I made for Christmas dinner because I didn't think about it until dinner was over, and by then, there wasn't much left to photograph. It was a simple salad of baby spring greens, glazed pecans, feta, dried cranberries, cucumbers and croutons with a vinaigrette. I made the glazed pecans, croutons and vinaigrette. So without further ado, here are the recipes.

The pecans are an adaptation from the Pillsbury recipe.

Glazed Pecans
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook until bubbling. Add pecans and cook 2-3 minutes until pecans are well coated.

Spread on cookie sheet and bake 6-8 minutes until caramelized, but not burned. Let cool at least 30 minutes. Store in refrigerator or freezer.


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This recipe was tweaked from a Neely recipe on foodnetwork.com. There were no measurements, so these are an estimation.

Homemade Croutons
1 loaf French Bread
3-4 Tbs Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread into a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until browned.

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A great friend, Judy, gave me the recipe for this vinaigrette. When I first made it, I didn't have some of the ingredients, so I improvised and came up with this. I still have yet to find a dressing I like better.

Vinaigrette
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Dash of hot sauce

Whisk all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.

My olive oil is a little fruity, so I add an extra splash of apple cider vinegar. Add a little more hot sauce to give it a bit of kick.

Creme Brulee

Creme brulee is one of those intimidating desserts. But once you actually make it, it's really easy. All you need are 4 small ramekins and square baking dish to make perfect creme brulee. This recipe is adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe. Ina Garten makes some amazing food. This is no exception.

Creme Brulee
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for the top
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
Boiling water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat together the egg, egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until combined. Split the vanilla bean, and scrape out the vanilla. Add vanilla and the pod to a sauce pan with the cream. If you do not have a vanilla bean, you can use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Scald the cream and vanilla until hot, but not boiling. Slowly and gradually mix hot cream into egg and sugar mixture. You want to do this slowly so as not to cook the egg yet.

Place the ramekins in a baking dish and divide the custard mixture between the ramekins. Pour boiling water in the baking dish until it is half way up the sides of the ramekins.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until the custard is set. Let come to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to use.

before serving. Sprinkle with a very thin layer of sugar and use a torch to carmelize. Or place under broiler until carmelized.

Enjoy!

Crepes

Crepes. The thin little pancake was something I grew up on. My mom would make them and we'd fill them with ice cream and top them with chocolate sauce. Now I prefer fruit in the middle and a sprinkling of sugar on top. Or plain. I'm perfectly fine just rolling one up and eating it completely unadorned.

Crepes may seem a little daunting, but there really isn't much to them. You don't need any fancy crepe pan or one of those stick things they use to evenly spread the batter on the hot surface. Just a regular old nonstick saute pan will do the trick. And there's no need to use a spreading tool. Swirl the pan and gravity will take care of the rest.

Crepes
1 1/2 + 1/3 cups flour
2 eggs
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk

Blend all ingredients in a blender until combined. Let stand in refrigerator for one hour.

Heat 8" nonstick saute pan on low heat. Add 1/4 batter to pan and swirl to distribute batter evenly. once edges are dry and the batter is set, lift edge with a toothpick and remove from pan. the bottom should still be yellow with slight tanning. If too brown, lower heat and repeat.

This recipe makes a million crepes. I usually feel like the batter is multiplying while I'm cooking the other crepes. to make bigger and fewer crepes, you can use a 10" pan and increase batter amount to 1/3 cup.

Snickerdoodles

This recipe is an adaptation from a Food Network Kitchens recipe. They are incredibly easy, and don't require cream of tartar like most snickerdoodle recipes, so you likely already have all the ingredients on hand. In a week I will be in full finals mode and really needed the pick-me-up. These do it every time.

Snickerdoodles
2-3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups + 3 Tbs sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbs cinnamon

Cream together butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is mixed in completely before adding the next.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt and blend until smooth.

Mix together remaining 3 Tbs sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon in a bowl. Roll dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place evenly on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.


They certainly made law school more bearable tonight.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I don't know anyone that doesn't like pancakes. They are the quintessential breakfast food. My husband grew up having pancakes most Sunday mornings. Most people are familiar with the pancakes from a box. And while that still works, this recipe is just as easy to me and makes the best pancakes. It's slightly (and I mean slightly) adapted from Alton Brown's recipe for buttermilk pancakes from his book I'm Just Here for More Food. You just mix together the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and cook. It's basically the same as from a box, but with a few more measurements. The original recipe only calls for 2 cups of buttermilk, but the batter comes out more the consistency of muffins. I prefer a more runny batter, so I increased the buttermilk by half a cup.

Buttermilk Pancakes
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs sugar
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbs butter, melted and cooled

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Beat eggs with buttermilk and butter. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just blended. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Heat griddle on medium-low heat. If using an electric griddle, heat to 350 degrees. Grease pan and cook in 1/4 cup portions. Flip when bubbles appear and bottom is golden brown; approximately 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until bottom is golden brown.