Recipe: Dutch Baby

RECIPE:  DUTCH BABY

3 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Put the butter into a heavy oven-ready skillet or 9-inch pie or cake pan.  When the oven is heated, put the pan with the butter into the oven to heat and melt.

Meanwhile, mix the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and flour with a whisk just until combined.  You don't want to develop the gluten in the flour any more than you have to.  When the butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven, pour in the batter, and return to the oven.

Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown.  Serve hot with jam/preserves or powdered sugar.  Note:  It will deflate a bit once it is out of the oven.

Recipe: Easy Cranberry Sauce

RECIPE:  EASY CRANBERRY SAUCE

It doesn't get much easier than this.

1 bag (12-16 oz) fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water or apple, orange, or grape juice

Put everything into a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Lower the heat to medium-low and allow to boil 10-15 minutes until thickened.  Skim any foam that rises to the top (and there may be quite a bit).


After it has thickened, remove from the heat, and put into a serving dish.  Serve at room temperature or cooled.

The thing that makes this great to make with kids -- apart from the fact that it's simple -- is that cranberries have a little bubble of air inside them naturally.  As they cook, the air expands, and the cranberries will "pop."

Recipe: Bacony Shepherd's Pie

RECIPE:  BACONY SHEPHERD'S PIE

2 slices bacon
1 lb potatoes (2-3 large spuds)
1 bag (12-16 oz) frozen corn or 3 ears fresh
1 -- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F and put a large pot of water (1 gallon or so) on to boil.  If using frozen corn, remove from the bag into a bowl and microwave to thaw (or heat on a small pot on the stove).  Drain the corn well.

Chop the bacon into medium (1/4 -- 1/2 inch) pieces.  Put into a skillet over medium-low heat and allow to cook slowly, rendering out as much fat as possible.

While the bacon is cooking, chop the potatoes into chunks and add to the water to boil.

When the bacon has browned and is crispy, remove from the skillet, leaving the drippings.  Add the ground beef to the pan with the drippings and brown.

When the potatoes are pierced easily with a shark knife, drain.  Add the cooked bacon, onion and garlic powder, butter, and milk or cream.  Whip the potatoes with a whisk.  These will likely be "looser" than mashed potatoes that you'd have as a side dish, but this is o.k.  You want a slightly looser consistency.

When the meat is thoroughly browned, drain it well and then add half of the cheese, stirring.  Put the meat into a medium casserole dish.  Top with the rest of the cheese.  Layer the corn on top of the beef, and then add the potatoes, spreading evenly.

Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the top has started to brown.  Allow to cool slightly (5 minutes or so) before serving.