Lamb Burgers

Recently, I was talking with Chris about recipes for this blog, and he mentioned lamb burgers. I had completely forgotten about lamb burgers, but instantly remembered when he mentioned them. So I asked Mom about the burgers to learn what she put in them, only to learn that she bought them pre-made from Riverside Foods. So, her secret was out. But, don't let that top you from making your own lamb burgers. These burgers are so delicious.

You can make lamb burgers in the exact same way that you make regular beef burgers. And, the nice thing about making your own burgers, you can make them whatever size you want. This time, I made really large burgers. Because I was making my own burgers, I decided to try some different seasoning. I used paprika, parsley, and garlic salt. Other flavors that would pair well with lamb include mint or rosemary.

Lamb Burgers 

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 egg, beaten
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• 1 tsp. paprika

In a mixing bowl, blend the lamb, egg, and seasonings. Shape into burgers. Place burgers on baking sheet lined with foil. Place under a broiler for about ten minutes per side, or until done. Serve on buns and with desired toppings. Enjoy!

King Cake

In 2013, MDS and I spent Super Bowl Week in New Orleans and had a great time. That year, the Super Bowl was just before Mardi Gras, so New Orleans was a great place to visit. And, Mardi Gras King Cake was everywhere in New Orleans. Traditionally, a bean or baby Jesus figurine is placed within the cake, and whoever finds it will have good luck or must buy the next cake. In Chicago, the paczki (a filled Polish donut) is the popular Mardi Gras treat and King Cake is not so easy to find, so I decided to make my own King Cake. This recipe is such a delicious treat, I might not wait until next Mardi Gras to make it again.

King Cake is a type of coffee cake that is more like a sweet bread than cake. This recipe uses a cinnamon filing, but other filings can be used and are readily found throughout New Orleans. Usually, it is topped with icing and then colored sugar. The New Orleans Mardi Gras colors are yellow, green, and purple. You can make colored sugar by adding food coloring to superfine sugar and spreading the color with the back of a spoon. But, I went a slightly easier route by using colored frosting and then sprinkling turbinado sugar on top of the frosting to give it that sugar crunch. So let the good times roll and give this recipe a try.

King Cake 

For the Dough:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter 
• 8 ounces sour cream 
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided into 4 tablespoons & 1 tablespoon 
• Pinch of salt 
• 1 package (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast 
• ¼ cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees) 
• 1 egg 
• 3 to 3½ cups all-purpose flour 

For the Filling:

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter 

For the Icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  
• 4 tablespoons water
• Food Coloring (optional)
• Sugar (optional) 

To Make the Dough: In a saucepan over medium heat, add butter, 4 tablespoons sugar, and salt; stir. Once the butter has melted, add the sour cream and heat to lukewarm, about 105 degrees. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, add ¼ cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar; stir. Allow the yeast to sit for about five minutes until it bubbles and becomes active. Once the yeast is active, whisk in the warm butter and sour cream mixture, egg, and 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Continue adding remaining flour until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough until elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour by the teaspoon if needed.  Form the dough into a ball and cover in oil. Place the dough into a large. Cover with a wet towel, then allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 18 inches long by 14 inches wide. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the outside of the dough. Roll the cake up jellyroll-style and pinch the seams shut. Carefully move the roll to a parchment-line baking sheet, seam-side down. Bring the ends together to form an oval and press the edges together to completely seal the cake into an oval. Cover the cake with a towel and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown. Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before icing the cake.

To make the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and water until smooth until desired consistency.  Add food coloring, if desired. Spread the icing in alternating colors. Immediately sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Hot Cocoa

When February rolls around and winter has set in, give this delicious hot cocoa recipe a try. MDS and I always prefer hot cocoa made with milk. It results in a richer and tastier treat. And this recipe adds cinnamon, which adds excellent flavor.

Mom's recipe calls for using hot cocoa mix, but you can easily use unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar. Also, you could use chocolate bars, instead, and just experiment with how much to use. You can modify the amount of sugar if you like your cocoa sweeter or less sweet. By making your own cocoa, rather than relying on a premixed package, you can make cocoa for your preferred taste.

Cinnamon Hot Cocoa

• 2 cups milk
• 4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat milk in a saucepan on the stovetop. Whisk in cocoa, sugar, and cinnamon. Heat until dissolved and the desired temperature. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a recipe that likely has its origins in the rise of canned pineapple from Hawaii about 100 years ago. With delicious pineapple available year-round throughout the country, it is no wonder it was put to use in delicious cakes like this one. It is an upside down cake because the pineapple that tops the cake is baked on the bottom of the pan.

I found three different recipe cards for Pineapple Upside Down Cake among Grandma's recipes. I am not sure if she ever used one more than the other, or any at all. But, I decided to give this cake a try. The recipe I have assembled below is somewhat a combination of the three recipes. For the pan, I used an eight-inch round pan, but a nine-inch round or square pan could work. I used brown sugar in the pan with the butter to give the cake a better caramel topping, but regular sugar would work. Next time I make this recipe, I will use more maraschino cherries.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake 

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• sliced pineapple
• maraschino cherries
• 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 1 egg,
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 Tbsp. pineapple juice
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup flour

Preheat over to 350. Prepare the batter by softening 4 tablespoons of butter in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, sugar, milk, and pineapple juice. Mix well. blend in the baking powder and flour.

Place 2 tablespoons of butter in an eight-inch round cake pan and melt the butter in the oven. Add the brown sugar to the pan and dissolve the sugar. Layer four pineapple slices in the pan and add maraschino cherries. Spoon the batter over the pineapple. Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes on a wire rack. Carefully invert onto a plate. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Our new neighborhood farmer's market is at the Park at Wrigley Field. Thursday nights in the summer (unless the Cubs have a home game), various vendors set up along the Clark Street side of Wrigley. This summer, MDS and I tried a Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie from one of the vendors. I loved the cookie and knew I could make my own. Then, I was looking through Mom's recipe box and came across this recipe. It was meant to be.

These cookies are just delicious. The version we had at the Wrigley farmer's market were so large, they required both hands to hold. But, I decided to go with the small cookie version in Mom's recipe. I made these to bring to Noah and Jen's fifteenth anniversary party. I used strawberry jelly because that was my favorite as a kid. Chris liked the cookies, but thought they would have been better with grape jelly. Mom said that we had both grape an strawberry jelly when we were kids, but I guess we each had our preference. One change to Mom's recipe is that I added the jelly before baking the cookies, but the recipe says to add the jelly after baking. I think the jelly sets a little better by baking it with the cookie, but it does require more time to cool.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies 

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Favorite Jelly

Stir together flour, butter, peanut butter, sugar, egg, and salt until smooth. For each cookie, roll one teaspoon of dough into a ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. With your finger (dip in water if it gets too sticky), make a dent in the center. Fill hollow with jelly. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Grandma Holmes's Toffee Bars

I found this recipe among MDS's Grandma Holmes's recipes. MDS does not specifically remember it, but when he tasted the resulting bars, he said that Grandma probably loved this recipe because it is so buttery. This recipe is very similar to a Toffee Squares recipe from Mom, only that Mom's recipe had the addition of a layer of chocolate on top.Whether you make the chocolate frosted version or not, you will love these delicious buttery treats.

When I made these bars to bring to Mom's for a Saturday night and celebration of Tim's 18th Birthday, I decided to use two smaller pans so I could make one version without nuts and one version with nuts. Both versions were delicious, but the version with nuts (I used sliced almonds) got stuck in the pan. It could have been because I used a ceramic pan instead of a metal pan. The almond toffee bars were delicious, but very messy and crumbly. So, I only brought the bars without nuts to Mom's house. They were also delicious and a hit with the Birthday Boy.

Toffee Bars 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 egg separated
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup finely chopped nuts

Cream together the sugar and butter. Add egg yolk, vanilla, and flour. Mix well. Pat dough evenly into a 15 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch cookie sheet. Beat egg white slightly and brush onto the top of the dough. Sprinkle with nuts and press slightly into the dough. Bake at 275 degrees for 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Immediately cut into squares. Allow to cool in the pan. Enjoy!

Maple Gingerbread

This recipe results in a delicious non-traditional gingerbread. Although it can be made any time of year, I made this for Christmas this year. I found this recipe in Mom's cookie recipe box. The recipe is a type of quick bread recipe, rather than cookie recipe. But when made in a large pan, it can be cut into cookie-sized pieces and included in a holiday cookie plate.

The recipe uses maple syrup instead of molasses or dark brown sugar, which gives traditional gingerbread its darker coloring. So, this gingerbread is lighter in color and does not appear to be gingerbread. But it is a delicious variation of gingerbread. Next time I make this gingerbread, I might try a cream cheese frosting. This time, I added chopped candied ginger, which added a nice extra zing to the gingerbread.

Maple Gingerbread 

• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 2 1/3 cup flour
• 1 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

Combine syrup, sour cream, butter, and egg; beat well. Gradually add in flour, baking soda, ginger, salt. Beat until smooth. Blend in the candied ginger. Turn into a greased 9X13 pan and press to even the dough. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!