Welcome to the Blue Sky Cookbook. Here’s what’s cooking today:
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Yields: 8 cocktails
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2-3 Ruby Red grapefruit
1 lime
3 Tbsp sugar
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Cut the grapefruit in half. Slice one ½ inch thick ring from one of them and set aside to use as garnish. Squeeze the juice from the grapefruit on a juicer to yield about 1 ½ cups juice. Squeeze ½ lime into the juice. Reserve half of the lime as garnish. Add 3 Tbsp sugar and stir well.
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Cut the reserved grapefruit ring into 8 sections. Cut the half lime into 8 sections. You may place these on toothpicks or add them directly to the wine glasses.
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1 bottle of very cold sparkling white wine (I recommend Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut)
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Pour about an inch or so (1 jigger) of fruit juice into a medium size wine glass. Top with sparkling wine.
Cheers!
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Posted in Beverages - Cocktails | No Comments »
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Yields: 4-6 cocktails
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6 ounces frozen limeade concentrate (1/2 can)
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 ½ cups Tequila (100% agave)
¼ cup Cointreau liqueur
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Pour into the blender.
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Ice
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Add ice cubes to the blender up to the 5 cup mark. Blend well.
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Lime wedges
Kosher salt
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Place 2 Tbsp salt on a small plate. Run the lime around the lip of the glass and turn over into the salt to coat the edge. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Pour the margaritas into the glasses. Garnish with lime wedges.
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High quality tequila makes a big difference! Look for 100% agave tequila. Note that the popular Jose Cuervo is not 100% agave. We prefer the silver tequila which has minimal oak aging.
Posted in Beverages - Cocktails | No Comments »
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350 F
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1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
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Soften the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds on the lowest setting- do not melt. Beat together with sugar.
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4 eggs
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Separate the egg yolks. Reserve the whites in a small mixing bowl. Add the yolks to the batter.
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3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
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Sift together. Add and mix.
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1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
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Add and mix. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
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Egg whites (from above)
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In a seperate small bowl or glass measuring cup, beat the egg whites until stiff. Add to the batter and gently stir together until blended. Pour the batter into a tube cake pan or two round layer pans. Bake one hour at 350 F. Test for doneness with a toothpick. It may need another 5 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely and frost with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
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Granny Hehn made this cake for every birthday in the family. Her recipe card was titled “1,2,3,4 Cake”. Note the measurements on the ingredients and you will see why!
Posted in Cake, Dessert | 1 Comment »
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1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
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Soften the butter in the microwave 10 seconds on defrost mode. Don’t let it melt. Blend butter, cocoa and powdered sugar with a mixer until it forms a pebbly texture.
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2 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
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Add the vanilla and half of the cream. Blend well. Alternate adding powdered sugar and cream until all of the sugar is mixed in. Keep it on the dry side. If it gets shiny, add a little more powdered sugar.
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Check the consistency for spreading. If it is too soft, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar and beat well. If it is too stiff, add a teaspoon of cream and beat well.
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Posted in Cake, Chocolate, Dessert | No Comments »
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Serves: 8
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4 cups dry white navy beans
Water
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Boil and soak method for prepping the beans: Wash the beans and discard any floaters or debris. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2” of water. Bring the pot to a gentle boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature 6-20 hours.
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Fresh water
Optional:
2 cans (15 oz) Swansons chicken broth
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Drain the beans, rinse with fresh water and drain again. Add chicken broth or water to cover the beans with 1” of water. Bring just to a boil and cook on med-low for 2-3 hours until the beans are tender. Add additional water if the level falls below the top of the beans.
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1 medium sweet yellow onion
5 celery stalks with leaves
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Chop the onion and celery. Process in a food processor or blender until very fine.
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2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Italian or Provence herb mix
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
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Place the onion, celery, oil, butter and spices in a small skillet. Stir and sauté over medium heat for 15 minutes.
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2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
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Drain off and reserve some of the broth from the beans if the level is above the top of the beans. Add the onion mixture and the tomatoes to the bean pot. Mix well. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add back the broth or additional water to the desired consistency.
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I have found that the boil and soak method eliminates the digestive problems and gas which many people have with beans. Make sure the beans are done before adding tomatoes to the soup. The acid in tomatoes increases the cooking time of beans.
Posted in Soup, Vegetarian | No Comments »
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Oven 350 F
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1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
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Crumble the meat into a frying pan over medium heat. Add spices and cook till done. Drain excess fat.
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1 can (4 oz) chopped black olives
2 cans (4 oz) chopped green chilies
2 cans (16 oz) pinto beans or black beans
1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup Ranch Dressing
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Chop the beans and mash them a bit with the side of the knife, leaving some whole. Mix everything together with the meat.
Grease two shallow 9” casserole dishes or pie plates or one 9×13 pan. Spoon in the mixture and pat it down. Bake 30 minutes at 350 F. Serve with tortilla chips.
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Posted in Appetizers, Mexican Style | No Comments »
This is my favorite way to turn one soup into three different meals.
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Serves 4-5 people for 3 days
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| Day 1: Chicken Soup |
Prepare the basic chicken soup recipe below. Don’t overcook- just until the potatoes are tender. I suggest serving it the first day without pasta. Refrigerate the left-over soup immediately in an airtight plastic or glass container.
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| Day 2: Minestrone
1 or more cans (4 oz) tomato paste
1 can (12 oz) V-8 or tomato juice
1 or more cans (15 oz) kidney or white beans
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Small pasta such as penne, bowties or spirals
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Reheat the chicken soup over low heat. Don’t overcook. Add 1 can of tomato paste, juice and 1 can of beans. Add additional tomato paste and beans depending on how much left over soup you are using.
Prepare the pasta separately. Serve the soup over the pasta. Refrigerate the left-over soup(without the pasta) immediately in an airtight plastic or glass container.
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| Day 3: Chicken Chili
1 or more cans (15 oz) pinto or black beans
1 or more cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes
2 cans (4 oz) diced green chilies
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp pepper
Or substitute 1 pkg Taco Seasoning for the spices
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Reheat the minestrone soup over low heat. Don’t overcook. Start with one can of beans, tomatoes, chilies and the spices. Add additional tomatoes and beans depending on how much left over soup you are using.
If the chili is too thin, add 2 Tbsp or more tomato paste. If it is too thick, add canned chicken broth.
If the chili is too wimpy, add additional chili powder or cayenne pepper as desired.
No more left-overs!
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Posted in Chicken, Main Dishes, Soup | No Comments »
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Serves 8
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1 large sweet onion
6 stalks celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Provence or Italian Herb mix
¼ cup olive oil
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Chop the onion and celery into ½” bits. Add to a large pot with the herbs and oil. Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Move most of the mixture into a small bowl and set aside, leaving ½ cup of the onion mixture in the pan.
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4 half chicken breasts with bone and skin
3 cups water
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Add the chicken and water to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down to med-low and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool. Save the broth in the pot.
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2 cans (14 oz) Swansons chicken broth
2 cups chopped carrots
4 medium potatoes
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Optional:
Any fresh or frozen veggies such as chopped green beans, broccoli, corn, peas
Barley option:
Cook separately one cup of pearl barley and three cups of water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to low and cook uncovered for 30-40 minutes until tender. Add to the soup just before serving.
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Peel and chop the carrots and potatoes. Add canned broth and the veggies to the pot. Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Turn down to low heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the skin and bones from the cooked chicken. Cut the chicken into 1” chunks. Add the chicken to the pot.
Add the onion & celery mixture from above. Salt and pepper.
At this point, you could refrigerate the soup overnight if you are making a day ahead.
Bring to a boil. Turn down to low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes just until the potatoes & veggies are tender. Don’t overcook.
Serve the soup as is, or over noodles or pasta. Don’t add pasta to the pot because it does not hold up well for left-overs.
Use the left-overs to make Three Day Soup!
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Our traditional Christmas eve dinner features this simple soup over Spaetzle.
Posted in Chicken, Christmas, Main Dishes, Soup | No Comments »
<< Spaetzle Maker
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Yields about 5 cups Spaetzle
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2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
½ cup warm water
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Combine all ingredients and beat with a spoon to form a thick batter.
Place at least 2 quarts of water in a large pot and bring to a hard boil. Lay the spaetzle maker horizontally over the pan, resting on the edges. Fill the well half full with batter and move it back and forth. Work quickly to run small batches of dough through the spaetzle maker directly into the boiling water. Stir the boiling noodles with a wooden spoon. Boil hard for about 5 minutes until done. To test for doneness, remove a large noodle and taste it. It should be almost dryish on the inside. Immediately drain the noodles into a colander and rinse with a little cold water. Pour the drained noodles back into the warm pot and serve immediately.
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While living in southern Germany, the Swabian “national noodle”, spaetzle fast became our favorite local dish. Our German language tutor taught me the traditional way to scrape the noodles off a cutting board directly into the boiling water. Now, I usually use a spaetzle maker, which forces the soft dough through holes, forming noodles as it hits the water.
Posted in Christmas, German Style, Sides, Soup | No Comments »
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Oven 350 F
Yields 4 dozen cookies
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1 cup (2 sticks) butter
¾ cup sugar
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Beat well until fluffy.
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2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
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Add and beat well.
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3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
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Sift together. Mix in gently by hand.
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2 cups finely chopped walnuts
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Mix in the walnuts. Roll into 1 “ balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. If you like, flatten the cookies with the bottomof a drinking glass. Bake 7 to 8 minutes until they start to turn golden.
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1 cup powdered sugar
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Pour the sugar into a plastic bag. Turn the hot cookies into the powdered sugar to coat and remove to a wire rack to cool.
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Posted in Christmas, Cookies | No Comments »