*Memorial Day Weekend & Our 35th Anniversary*

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Whatever the reason for the holiday it's also Vickie & My Wedding Anniversary.  This year is our 35th and we spent it with family & friends.

*Food & Family*

Cookie & Candy Recipes

*COOKIES & CANDY*

A little cookie history: The first cookies were created by accident.  Cooks used a small amount of cake batter to test their oven temperature before baking a large cake. These little test cakes were called "koekje". meaning "little cake" in Dutch.  In addition, the Dutch first popularized cookies in the United States.  The British took a liking to them in the 19th century, incorporating them into their daily tea service and calling them biscuits or sweet buns, as they do in Scotland.

No matter how or why cookies were invented, they have got to be one of my favorite things to snack on.  I hope you enjoy and, even, try some of these recipes...

*Linzer Cookies*

Sometime in the 1930's, so the legend goes, a Massachusetts innkeeper ran out of nuts while baking cookies.  Therefore, she substituted a bar of baking chocolate, breaking it into pieces and added them to the flour, butter and brown sugar dough.  The Toll House Cookie, so named after the inn in which it was served, was a hit.  Historians credit the innkeeper, Ruth Wakefield, with inventing what has become an American classic - the chocolate chip cookie.

*The Original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie*

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1-12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl.  Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate & nuts. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

3.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for 2 minutes and transfer to wire racks to complete cooling.

Here's a yummy variation on the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

*Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie*

*Sugar Cookies*

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup butter

1 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

4 1/4 cups AP flour

1. Cream sugars, butter and eggs.  Stir in oil and vanilla.

2. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.  Refrigerate until dough is firm.

3. Use a small ice cream scoop and place on baking sheet.  Flatten with fork.  Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 35o degrees until golden brown.

Everyone loves candy, but if you ask people, how many of them actually know the history of candy?  Probably not very many people could answer the question.  I can because I looked it up but I won't put you to sleep with a lengthy "Candy" history lesson.  It's not that interesting so it's on to some candy recipes...

*Peppermint Bark*

*Peanut Butter Cups*

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy

2 tbs unsalted butter, room temp

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate. coarsely chopped

9 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 tbs shortening

1. Line 36 mini-muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Place peanut butter, butter, and salt in a microwaveable bowl and heat in microwave until just soft, not melted.  Stir in confectioners sugar.

3. Melt chocolates and shortening in a double boiler.

4. Drop a teaspoon of the melted chocolate into each muffin cup. Top with a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture.  Then top with another teaspoon of the melted chocolate,  Refrigerate until set.

*Candy Sushi*

*Note* If you're a Diabetic, like me, you can substitute "Splenda" for the sugar in your recipes. The measurements are the same!

 

*THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PIES*

The history of pie is rich in flavor. Pies have been around for thousands of years, we know this, since the ancients Egyptians kept records of their practices and pie is included.  The Egyptians would fill their pies with ingredients such as honey, fruits, and nuts.

As pie has moved along through the years, it has been adapted to fit into every culture it has touched.  We enjoy pie today made of many different ingredients, such as meats of cattle, fowl and fish, vegetables, berries, fruits and nuts as well as cheese, custards and creams of many flavors.  The smell of a pie baking can bring back fond memories of family and friends as well as build new ones.  In homes around the world, someone will be baking a pie, while someone is savoring the wonderful aroma that makes home so sweet.  So let's take a look at the wonderful world of pies.

*The History  of Pie*

                                      

What's more American than apple pie?  For me, the answer is Pecan Pie!  Europeans were making apple pastries long before there was an America but pecans are native to North America and Americans were the first to make this delicious pie.

I like my Pecan Pie heavy on the pecans and topped with homemade whipped cream.

* Maple Pecan Pie*

INGREDIENTS

9" pie shell

2 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup pecan pieces

1/2 cup pecan halves

Whipped Cream for serving

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Combine eggs, corn syrup, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and dash of salt in bowl & mix well

3. Put pecan pieces on bottom of pie shell.  Pour filling over then arrange pecan halves decoratively on top

4. Place pie on baking sheet and bake in center of oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temp to 350 degrees and bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes.

5. Let cool to room temp and serve with a dollop of whipped cream

*note* Store shelled pecans in airtight containers up to 9 months in refrigerator and up to 2 years in your freezer.

*Lemon Chess Pie*

There are a number of stories about how chess pie, a simple pie long associated with the South, got it's name.  Some people believe it's a variation on cheese pie, although it contains no cheese...the filling is, however, curd-like.  The best chess pie I have ever eaten is made by my sister in-law, Shay.

INGREDIENTS

1 9" pie shell, pre-baked

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 tbs unsalted butter, room temp

3 tbs cornstarch

2 tbs fresh grated lemon zest

4 large eggs

1/2 cup lemon juice

Whipped cream for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Using an electric mixer on med-speed, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy.  Beat in cornstarch and lemon zest.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Spoon mixture into pre-baked pie shell

3. Bake pie for 40 to 45 minutes until filling is set and top is golden.  Cool to room temp

4. Serve w/ dollop of whipped cream

The key to dating Shepherd's Pie is the introduction of potatoes in England.  They were first introduced to the English in the 18th century and Shepherd's Pie was probably invented by a frugal peasant housewife looking for a way to serve leftover meat to her family.  The actual phrase "Shepherd's Pie" dates back to the 1870's when mincing machines made the shredding of meat easy and popular.

My mom was born and raised in England so I was introduced to Shepherd's Pie at an early age and it is still one of my favorites...

*Shepherd's Pie*

(Man...I can't believe they cut my hair like that!)

When I was growing up, Grandma(I didn't grow up in the South so there was no "Mee-Maw or "Maw-Maw" or any of that)Schierbecker made delicious pies all the time.  It didn't matter what kind of pie she made...I just couldn't wait for her to cut me a slice (or two).  One of my favorites was Rhubarb Pie.  Unfortunately most of her recipes have been lost, but this one is as close to hers as I have had...

*Rhubarb Pie*

INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped

1 1/3 cup sugar

6 tbs AP flour

1 tbs unsalted butter

*Your favorite pastry recipe for 9-inch double crust pie*

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2. Combine sugar and flour.  Sprinkle 1/4 over pie shell.  Heap rhubarb over this mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining sugar & flour.  Dot with pieces of butter.  Cover with top crust and make a couple slits in top to vent steam

3. Bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 40-45 minutes.

4. Serve warm or cold

*Sweet Potato Pie*

Another Southern Classic...

Finally one more nod to Grandma Schierbecker and her magnificent pies.  After rhubarb my other favorite pie of hers was Cherry.  Here's to you G'Ma...

*Cherry Pie*

                                          
                                                

Fill your house with the beautiful aroma of a pie in the oven.  Your family will be glad...and so you you!

Keep Cooking at Home!!!