More ale than you need for this soup!

Someone was asking about my Cheddar Ale Soup last week and I commented that the recipe was on my blog. Turns out it was still sitting in my drafts.

Well, that is embarrassing – especially since I just picked up my 19 year old at the airport. Alas….here is the posting that never was….!

My 17 year old has been asking for more vegetarian meals lately so I perked up when I came across a recipe for Cheddar Ale Soup in a Williams Sonoma catalogue. I simply made a few edits and came up with this fabulous soup! It tastes a lot richer than it is. (There is no cream in this soup!)

Oh and I’ve heard you can cook with stainless steel and plastic measuring spoons and cups, but I’m sure that everything tastes better when ingredients are measured with Crosby & Taylor Pewter Measuring Spoons and Pewter Measuring Cups! (I know I know I’m shameless!)

Anyway, if you are looking for a wonderful easy-to-make winter soup, this is a great choice.

(I would like to thank the writers of this lovely blog: A Good Appetite, for the photo. I can never seem to remember to grab my camera before we devour our dinner.)

Cheddar Ale Soup

Cheddar Ale Soup

• 2 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup pale ale
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Toasted croutons for garnish

Saute the onion, carrots and celery in the olive oil and butter in a covered pot, opening occasionally to stir. After the vegetables are softened (about 20 minutes) add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ale and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, milk and broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the soup in a blender until smooth.

Return soup to pot over medium-low heat and add the cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly. Do not allow the soup to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with croutons. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Last week I put up a recipe for  – what I considered to be – a fabulous Chopped Salad. Here is another – more simpler – summer salad. It makes an awesome side dish for your grilled chicken or steak.

Thank you to REAL SIMPLE for the recipe!

Haricots Verts with Hazlenuts and Onions

Haricots Verts with Hazelnuts and Onions

1/2 white onion – peeled and sliced into thin half-moons

1/4 cup cider vinegar

salt and pepper

2 lbs. green beans

1 T. whole-grain Dijon mustard

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup skinned toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

*Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Mix onions and vinegar in a small bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

*Boil beans 3 minutes for crunchy beans or 5 minutes if you would like them more tender. Drain, plunge into a bowl of ice water.

*Drain vinegar from onions into another small bowl and whisk in mustard, 1/3 cup oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

*Toss beans with 2/3 of onions, 2/3 of hazelnuts, and vinaigrette to taste. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts and onions.

*Enjoy!

I do believe that this salad will be best if all of the ingredients are measured with Crosby & Taylor Measuring Spoons and Cups – ha! But who says I’m biased?

Our Measuring Spoons and Cups get used constantly in our home for baking. But this summer they are working over-time as we measure out all kinds of ingredients for summer salads.

Here is a fun one that we made last week – lots of scooping and measuring! I highly recommend it – both for its beauty and its taste!

Summer Chopped Salad

Chopped Salad with Chicken, Couscous, and Vegetables

(Thank you to Bon Appetit magazine and the Cowboy Ciao restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ.)

Dressing:

• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves  – cut in small pieces
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 shallot, halved
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice

Blend basil leaves, mayonnaise, and shallot in processor until smooth.

Gradually blend in buttermilk and lemon juice.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

• 1/3 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 1/3 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

Mix these 3 ingredients in a medium bowl.

• 1 10-ounce pkg. plain couscous (cooked according to package instructions) – about 5 cups
• 3 cups coarsely chopped lettuce
• 1 pound tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 grilled chicken breast halves, diced
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears)

Instead of mixing all the ingredients together, lay them out in rows on a platter – thinking about which colors will look good next to each other. The presentation is as yummy as the final salad!

Enjoy your summer! Enjoy your salad!

We recently celebrated Carl’s birthday. Carl has the honor of being the – hmmm….how do I say this in a fun and creative way?….I’m drawing a blank….well, let’s just say that Carl was born before the rest of us at the shop.

This was kind of a big birthday for him because he earned the right to be on Medicare! Carl is totally young at heart and has more good energy and humor than most people 1/4th his age. Only good things should come to Carl because he is one really nice guy!

He is our potter and he brings the best energy to the shop. We can’t believe he used to work all by himself in his little studio. I mean, this guy loves people -

he just really enjoys humanity!

Here is the party we had the day he joined our company nearly  three years ago.

Welcome Carl party!

But back to his birthday…..

Nancy, my fabulous manager, made him the BEST chocolate cake. AND I learned that it’s also really simple to make. This is a good thing because Nancy has a 5 year old and a 1 year old. Easy cakes are perfect for young moms like Nancy – and for the rest of us who are sometimes pinched for time and need to whip up something amazing in a short amount of time.

I like my chocolate desserts to be REALLY chocolatey so, in all honesty, I was curious to see what I would think of this cake….BUT I was impressed! And the combination of the perfect frosting…well, let me just say, that you should give it a try!

Happy Medicare Carl!

Nancy’s Best Chocolate Cake

made with Crosby & Taylor Bamboo Measuring Spoons and Cups (http://www.crosbyandtaylor.com/bamboo-measuring-cups-retail) but it’s possible that the cake might be almost as good if measured with another set – ha!

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions

1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13 X 9 X 2 inch glass baking dish.

2 Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3 Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

VARIATIONS:

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes

Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!) Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer  at medium speed.

Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.

Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Frost your cake and enjoy! Thank you Nancy and thank you Carl!

Sometimes it seems kind of perfect that I sell Measuring Spoons and Cups for a living when you consider that I am obsessed with brownies! As I have mentioned before, I collect brownie recipes – I actually have a spread sheet about Brownies (hand-written, of course, before I even knew that Excel existed…).

My latest and best recipe is for Triple Chocolate Brownies so I must share! Here it goes:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate – chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate – chopped

1 1 /2 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

-Melt both chocolates and butter in a saucepan over low heat – stirring until the mixture is smooth and melted.

-Remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and eggs – 1 at a time – stirring briskly. (I’m always worried that I will get

scrambled eggs in my brownies so I stir like a mad woman!)

-Stir in the salt and the flour.

-Stir in the chocolate chips.

-Pour into a well-buttered and floured 13 X 9 inch baking pan and smooth the top.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes.

-Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Then cut into squares.

If you don’t think these are amazing, then I hope you will send me a recipe that tops these!

Ciambella {Chocolate Ring Cake} on bella alimento

Italian cuisine, known for its use of simple, quality ingredients combined with love, is meant to be shared with family & friends! -bell’alimento

I am proud to say that our Vineyard Measuring Spoons with Pewter Display Post were featured in the very lovely food site: bella’limento.  Its author, Paula (who happens to be a freelance writer for that other famous Paula!), fell in love with Italy in her youth and now shares her passion for Italian culture and food with her readers. The site features simple, seasonal and satisfying Italian dishes.

Paula’s philosophy is “beautiful food doesn’t have to be complicated”. Lucky for us, Paula has a “THING” for pewter (we had no idea) and took us up on our offer to do a Vineyard Measuring Spoons giveaway on her blog. Sadly, the deadline has passed to enter….but there is a silver lining:

She leaves us the gift of Ciambella (Chocolate Ring Cake) that you simply must try (pictured on the right). Visit her site for this recipe and enjoy her many other lovely Italian dishes featured throughout this gorgeous site.

Thank you, Paula, for featuring us and we are glad you enjoy your spoons!

Follow her on Twitter @bellalimento and Facebook

Elaine modeling her Birthday Dessert

Our 18 year old daughter, Rosella, loves to cook and bake! So she was pretty excited when she heard I needed a dessert for Elaine’s birthday party. She is always looking for an excuse to get into the kitchen. (I hope there will be a kitchen in her freshman dorm in the fall!)

Elaine is our wonderful accountant who moves into my office twice a month and tidies up our books, writes our paychecks, and basically handles nearly everything that involves money. She is truly a joy and we all look forward to our Elaine Tuesdays.

So, when I realized that this birthday was one of those BIG ones (you know, like 29 and 39 – ha!) I knew we had to throw her a little party. Carl, our amazing potter, threw some burgers on the grill, Rosella made a delicious pasta salad AND Fresh Raspberry Bars – thanks to Paula Deen, of course.

Elaine was quite happy to model the tasting of the Bars.

They were really yummy. You might say to yourself – well if you combine raspberries and cream cheese and Paula’s genius….how could they not be?? HOWEVER, I am a chocolate lover and I rarely – ever so rarely – waste any of my precious daily caloric intake on anything sweet that is not made of, covered with, sprinkled with, and/or drowning in CHOCOLATE. So, take my word here. These bars are really something special because I went back for seconds and thirds and …..well, there are a few left, I think.

Here is the recipe – thank you, Paula! Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars

Paula Deen’s Fresh Raspberry Bars

For the crust:

Directions

Happy Birthday Elaine - you're the best!

Here’s what 55,000 miles and $50 got me last week – a quick trip to Geneva, Switzerland for my oldest grandson’s 5th birthday! Thank goodness my oldest daughter has one of our Bird Super Post sets with our Measuring Spoons and Cups so that we could make Pirate Cupcakes for the big day.

My grandson and I preparing for the Big Pirate Party!

We found an incredible recipe online but when we didn’t have any sour cream, we found we had to improvise. This improvisation was so successful that I must share the recipe! They were the BEST cupcakes ever!

Now, admittedly, we were using European butter which is pretty much to die for but I’m sure they will still be yummy with our American butter – ha!

Amazing Yellow Cupcakes

• Beat at medium speed: 1 1/3 cups butter
• Add and beat well:2 cups sugar
• Add and beat well: 2 large eggs PLUS 4 large egg yolks 3 tsp. vanilla
• Add and beat well: 1/2 cup Mascarpone 1 container hazlenut yogurt (This was where we improvised. You could use any kind of appropriately-flavored yogurt…like vanilla or nut, etc.)

Mix dry ingredients together and then add to batter:

• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Just for fun – since it was a kid’s party, after all, we mixed in some colorful star shaped sprinkles.

Drop 1/4 batter into each muffin liner. Bake at 350 degrees for 18- 25 minutes.  Makes 24 cupcakes.

Then, here is where we improvised again:

As soon as the cupcakes came out, I dropped in a chunk of Swiss semi-sweet chocolate. If I may say so myself, this was brilliant! Again, you don’t need Swiss – just use your most amazing, richest block chocolate. (The crazy thing is that, although everything in Switzerland is crazy expensive, this was regular old cooking chocolate – the equivalent of just one dollar!)

Swiss chocolate

Cupcake - yum!

Cupcake with gooey chocolate center - amazing!

We then frosted them with :

-1/2 cup mascarpone to which we had added 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Pirate Cupcake on the Pirate Hat - perfect!

We are making great progress on our new Collection of Measuring Spoons and Cups especially for Mothers. But I needed a little break last night. What to do? Head into the kitchen and bake, of course! When you make Measuring Spoons and Cups for a living, it’s kind of what you do, I guess!

Working on Spoons and Cups for Mothers!

Lea (our German exchange student) and I decided to make Triple Chocolate Cookies. Now this is a bit of a departure for me. When I want chocolate, I mostly just make brownies.

In fact, I am pretty much obsessed with brownies. I collect brownie recipes. I have dozens and dozens of them. I study them – compare the amounts of sugar and butter – the kinds of chocolate, etc.

But these cookies are – say what?! – as good as brownies. They are really amazing.

(Don’t worry that the batter seems thin – not at all like drop cookie dough – because it works. Don’t overcook!)

Triple Chocolate Cookies (thank you to Bon Appetit July 2005 for the recipe!)

10 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate,

• 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir chopped chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth; remove from over water. Cool melted chocolate 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in another medium bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture is light, pale, and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add lukewarm melted chocolate and vanilla and beat just until blended. Fold in dry ingredients, then chocolate chips.
• Drop chocolate cookie batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, until tops are evenly cracked but cookies are not yet firm to touch, about 12 minutes. Cool cookies completely on baking sheets.

Carolyn's Peppermint-Filled Brownies with Chocolate Mint Ganache

Oh my goodness! We are on a roll. I have discovered another dreaming blogger! Earlier in the week, I discovered The Confused Homemaker, who was dreaming about our Measuring Spoons and baking with them.

And on Tuesday, I came across All Day I Dream About Food; a site managed by Carolyn, a health conscious mom and food lover who has lots of great low carb recipes and tips to share.  Carolyn has recently become diabetic and many of her posts are about converting traditional recipes to healthier versions with an occasional indulgence (like  the Peppermint-Filled Brownies with Chocolate Mint Ganache screaming my name!)

Carolyn entered the December 2010 Dine And Dish Giveaway and won a set of our Pewter Measuring Spoons- and was kind enough to give us a “shout-out” on her blog!   I would say she had a pretty good month;  she also won prizes from other giveaways including The Enchanted Cook and Claire Cooks.

Kudos to Carolyn for sharing her passion for good food and good health. We wish you well and look forward to hearing about your amazing creations you will make with your new measuring spoons!  Congrats!