thankful + a giveaway

so... when we bought our house, i didn't mention that we live about a 5 minute walk away from st. joe's hospital.... and that's if you walk slooooowly. it's the hospital that you want to go to if given a chance. also, the only hospital in town with a helicopter pad. i tell you this so i can tell this story.



this year has been a strange year for me and my family. i knew in my bones that 2009 was going to be a rough year... buying a house, my kids changing schools was going to be disruptive but i didn't know 2009 was going to knock me upside of my head and persistently mock me and my family. i could give you a laundry list of crap that has happened...

-serious talks of layoffs, for rich, my dad and step mom

-car problems, from a tree dropping branches on both of my cars, causing an amount of damage that makes me blush, to dead batteries and flat tires... and rich fastidiously maintains our cars... so you imagine how frustrated he is.

-a trip to the er

-health scare for me

-pneumonia twice for my little itty bitty nephew

-cancer (not me)

-school: to long term subs for my kids, plus no books or schedules for about the first week of school

-and let's not even get into plumbing and what a racket that is

-soccer equipment stolen, please explain to me who needs a backpack, a uniform, soccer ball, warm ups all embroidered in with nancy's initials and/or name

-a death of 2 beloved uncles

and that's only a taste of what has been going on this year...



so with all this crap going on lately i just try to get through the day with my head down. hoping that something doesn't break, explode, die... you get the picture. i mean wouldn't you do that too? it's that ostrich head in the sand deal.



then about a month after we moved in i started noticing the helicopters coming and going at st. joe's. they literally swoop in making that thump thump thump noise. it's kinda cool watching it from the second story of our house.

then the helicopter at three in the morning happened...

when a helicopter wakes you up at three in the morning it gives you pause, especially when it's landing at a hospital. nothing good happens at a hospital at three a.m. something really bad has happened if a helicopter has to come to take you somewhere else for medical care. i realized not even five minutes from my house someone's life has been put on hold. someone is getting bad news... someone doesn't care about my water heater, car problems, talk of layoffs. they are dealing with something far worse and suddenly my problems seem fairly easy to fix... that night and every time since then when i see a medical helicopter, i stop what i am doing and send good thoughts their way because compared to what they are going through my problems are small potatoes.



so i'm thankful... it took something as drastic as a medical helicopter to take notice but that's me.

tell me what you are thankful for... and on monday i'll announce a winner and send you a copy of pioneer woman's cookbook.

cranberry streusel shortbread bars

**** this post is going to take a little imagination on your part****



First, imagine William Shatner there on the bottom. I know Chris Pine is a fine piece of eye candy but he's just not mockable enough. So you need to hum the Star Trek theme with the dulcet voice over of The Original Captain Kirk...



Stardate: I think it's November 22, 2009. I have been stranded in ECM's kitchen for an awful long time. Let's call it a shortbread ecstasy trip.

Space the final frontier...

scratch that... rewind...

Baking the final frontier...

DAMN IT!!! That's not right either...

Shortbread the final frontier...

ah much better.

Well, anyways, spacelog... The shortbread has eluded me long enough. I have searched high and low (well, through space anyways) for a great shortbread recipe. But with no luck. The Enterprise happened upon a small dwelling on my home planet, the 3rd rock from the sun, EARTH.

The queen of this little dwelling went by the name Evil Chef Mom. Considering her name she was a benevolent ruler and she was kind enough to share her recipe with me in exchange for the new Scotty.



Who knew she had such a crush on a goofy looking Scotsman? Oh well, The Enterprise will run a little slower but well worth it for a good piece of shortbread.

cranberry streusel shortbread bars: fine cooking sweet cakes



































for the crust and streusel:

10-1/2 oz. (1 cup plus 5 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. table salt
2 large egg yolks
14-1/4 oz. (3 cups plus 3 Tbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour

for the cranberry topping:

12-oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over, rinsed, and drained
1 cup granulated sugar

optional: 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
juice and zest of one orange

make the crust:

Line a straight-sided 13x9-inch metal baking pan with foil, letting the ends create an overhanging edge for easy removal. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a stiff dough. Transfer about 2 cups of the dough to the prepared pan, and press the mixture evenly into the bottom. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes (or freeze for 5 to 7 minutes), until the dough is firm.

Meanwhile, position a rack near the center of the oven and another near the top. Heat the oven to 325°F.

Bake the dough until the crust begins to set but does not brown at all on the edges (the center will not be firm yet), about 20 minutes. While the crust bakes, prepare the streusel and the topping.

make the streusel:

With your fingers, combine the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar with the reserved dough until crumbly. The mixture should hold together when pressed, but readily break into smaller pieces.

make the cranberry topping:

In a medium saucepan, bring the cranberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water (and optional ingredients) to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool 5 to 10 minutes—the syrup will continue to thicken as the mixture cools.

making the bars:

Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the hot crust. Scatter the streusel over the cranberries (don’t crumble the streusel too much or the texture will be sandy). Increase the oven temperature to 350°F and bake the bars near the top of the oven until the streusel is golden and set, about 25 minutes. (Baking these bars at the top of the oven helps the streusel brown faster without overbrowning the crust.)

Place the pan on a metal rack to cool until the crust is completely firm, at least 1 hour. (For faster cooling, put the bars in the fridge once the pan is no longer piping hot, or even outside in winter.)

When the bottom of the pan is cool, carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil sides and transfer them to a cutting board. Separate the foil from the bars by sliding a spatula between them. Cut the bars into 1-3/4-inch squares.

caramelized onion tart

no funny stories here today... sorry.

it's been one of those weekends and it seems i have been having more and more of them lately and unfortunately it's starting to really wear on me. while none of the problems are huge in scope, it tends to grind you down and you wonder if some higher being is just toying with you because they have a twisted sense of humor. sometimes i think someone up there who is suppose to be in charge is into torture or a little bdsm just for shits and giggles. {if you don't know what bdsm is, google it, just don't click on any pictures... you were warned}

anyways... before i decided to really screw up a post and start talking a little theology and torture {apparently, a nice way to spend your monday afternoon...also a good way to make friends and not alienate readers, score one for krysta!} i saw this recipe in real simple this weekend and it was one of those things where it was NOT going to go away until i made it.



caramelized onion tart with fennel and apples: adapted from real simple magazine dec. 2009

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
2 granny smith apples, cut into thin slices
kosher salt and black pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1/2 cup sour cream or even better!!!! thin slices of a mild cheese like fontina or havarti

Heat oven to 400º F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the apples, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until just tender, 2 minutes.

Place each sheet of pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Spread with the sour cream or place cheese onto puff pastry, leaving a ½-inch border. Top with the onion mixture and bake until the pastry is crisp and browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into pieces before serving.

tasting notes: sweet, savory, flaky crust... a good excuse to ingest high amounts of puff pastry. good, cold or hot. i liked the one with cheese better. katie liked the one with sour cream better. good for a light simple dinner served with salad. real simple has it listed under hors d'oeuvres. either way... it's good.