I went to one of my favorite baking websites: Joy Of Baking. Sure enough, they had one with raspberries and chocolate. Mmm, I thought, that should make the perfect treat for an afternoon break.

They were easy to make – and eat. Normally with biscuits, I cut mine in half and spread a dab of butter on each side. That’s what I did with my first scone. I didn’t think it needed the butter, so my second scone I ate plain. It was yummy. My third scone I ate the next day with a salad for lunch. It was a bit drier the second day, but still delicious. Here’s the recipe:  (Those are not my scones. See below for photo credit.)

Raspberry Chocolate Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (75 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 2 ounces dark chocolate chunks or chips (about 1/2 cup) (50 grams)
• 3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chunks (chips) and raspberries. In a small measuring cup whisk together the yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut the dough into eight triangles. Place the scones on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

My Notes:

This recipe made 8 good sized scones. It was very similar to biscuits. I’ve made lots of biscuits in my cooking career so I handled these the same way. That means handling it as little as possible. As soon as the ingredients came together, I put it on a floured surface. Then I kneaded it only a few times – maybe six or seven times turned over. Working biscuits and scones too much makes them chewy.

Photo Credit: I forgot to take a picture of my scones so I borrowed a picture from Betty Crocker for her Cherry Chocolate Scones. They look very similar to mine. That recipe, by the way, looks pretty good. It’s HERE.

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This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

This post is also linked to Whip Up Something New at Gnoe’s Grassland.

The hometown of Guy Fieri, the host of the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, is Santa Rosa, California. Since we are not too far away we decided to try one of the featured restaurants in that town. We chose Willie Bird’s on Santa Rosa Avenue.

What is unique about Willie Bird’s is that they specialize in turkey. Since I love turkey I chose the Willie Bird’s Special. The special includes thick slices of turkey breast, their own stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, salad and a roll.

It was way too much food. And, I should have asked for the gravy on the side. But – it was delicious. The turkey was moist, the potatoes were real, and the stuffing was almost as good as mine.  (I really like mine.) I only ate a fourth of the turkey and took the rest of it home. It made a great turkey pot pie.

They do offer some other dishes besides turkey. Jay had the special of the day – pot roast. As you can see to the right, his meal included the beef roast, chunks of potato and carrots cooked with celery. He was also served a salad and roll.

Pot Roast is one of Jay’s favorites. He said this one was nice and moist, however it wasn’t the normal cut of meat we usually use in a pot roast. We usually use one more marbled with fat which adds to the flavor. This one could have used more flavor.

Overall, we would give Willie Bird’s Restaurant a B- or a C+. It’s comfort food but not really better than what we do at home. It didn’t have that Wow!! factor that I expect from a restaurant that has been featured on national television. The thing that saved the experience for us was the waitress. She was friendly,  patient, helpful and didn’t hover. She allowed us plenty of time to enjoy our meals.

We probably won’t visit Willie Bird’s again but that’s okay. There are hundreds more to try from those two books.

Talking about food is a regular feature on my blog and on other blogs as well. Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.

500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them

by Jane and Michael Stern

Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt Publishers, 2009

My Rating: A+

The Sterns wrote this book in order to look back over their long career in food tasting and rank the best foods that are unique to America.

The book is divided into sections of the country. The first double-page of each section has a map and a list of each state. Under the state is a list of each eatery and the town. As you turn the pages within each section you find short discussions about special foods in that area.

There are paragraphs about the places to eat a specific food, including address, phone number and websites, if available. Each section has numerous lists of the best places to find the unique foods. The book is loaded with pictures of food and the food establishments. It’s a very colorful book.

Let me give you a little sample of each section of the book and some of the lists you will find.

New England

• 5 Best Boiled Dinners
• Top 9 Chowders
• 16 Great New England Ice Cream Parlors
• 9 Best Lobster Rolls

Mid Atlantic

• Six Best Beef on Wecks
• 5 Top Crab Feasts
• New Jersey’s Finest Deep-Fried Dogs
• Nondenominational Jewish Apple Cakes

South

• Top Banana Puddings
• The Magnificent 7 Best Biscuits
• Exemplary Sweet Tea
• Must-Eat New Orleans Sandwiches
• Exemplary Red-Velvet Cake

Midwest

• Ultimate Fried Chicken Dinner
• Butteriest Butter Burgers
• Chicago’s Best Chicken Vesuvios
• Top 4 Cinnamon Rolls
• 4 Essential Cincinnati Chili Parlors

Southwest

• Carne Adovada Hot List
• Texas Chicken-Fried Steak At It’s Best
• Southwest’s Top Chili
• New Mexico’s Best Sopapillas
• Best Migas

West

• Fish Tacos of So. California
• Top Sources of Huckleberry Sweets
• Top 8 Oregon Chowders
• Best Sourdough Bread
• 9 Sensational West Coast Doughnuts

Within the book you will also find pages devoted to the “Best Of” on a national basis. The Sterns rank pizza, barbecue ribs, french fries, hamburgers, and pancakes. In addition to all this great information, there are recipes dotted here and there throughout the book.

Anytime someone recommends a good place to eat, a little part of me is suspicious. It’s not until I try it for myself that I know whether I agree with the recommendation. As I read this book I looked for the various places we have eaten. I was very pleased that I could agree with the Sterns on places I knew were superb. For instance, they named Stroud’s in Kansas City as the best place to eat fried chicken. They are absolutely right about that! Now I know I can trust their recommendations.

As you can see, this is part travelogue, part cookbook, a list of lists and lots of commentary. It’s food-writing at it’s best. This is a book you’ll want to take along on your next road trip or just set out for an adventure in your own neighborhood.

I found this book at the library but my plan is to buy a copy and keep it in our vehicle. It is available at Amazon.

Talking about food is a regular feature on my blog and on other blogs as well. Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.

When the grandchildren started arriving (late 1960′s or early 1970′s) my mom bought this second cookie jar. Humpty Dumpty still sat on the counter but now he had a partner. Although no one told my mom, all the children loved the second cookie jar the best. Why?

Humpty Dumpty was just too noisy. Every time you went to get a cookie, you had to lift off the entire ceramic top. It made a lot of noise. Putting it back down was even worse. All that noise announced to Mom/Grandma that someone was in the cookie jar.

As you can see, the second cookie jar is a plain white ceramic jar. The beauty is in the wooden lid. You can lift that wooden lid, pull out your cookies, put the lid back down, and there is absolute silence. The second jar never tattles. All the grandkids and now great-grandkids love Grandma’s plain cookie jar.

Just in case the nutrition police are reading this post, I’d like to point out that childhoods of the past are considerably different from those of today. In the “olden days” little bodies were on the move from the time they got out of bed. Except for reading books, there were few sedentary pleasures. (We had no TV or game-boys.)  No one worried about childhood obesity. Eating a couple of cookies a day was not considered the sin that it is today. So, please, don’t turn my family in for food abuse.

Out of all the cookies my mom made, we tried to figure out which cookie filled the cookie jar most often. The first two decades it was a spicy molasses cookie. The last five decades it’s been a bar cookie we call Congo Bars. No one remembers where the recipe came from or how it got it’s name. It’s Mom’s most requested cookie. I’ll share it with you one of these days.

My mom has been re-living the memories of her cookie baking days. Since she now has dementia, those memories are very vivid at times. She’s very curious about what kinds of cookies and cookie jars you remember from your childhood, or perhaps as a parent for your children.  Share your memories in the comment section and I’ll pass them on to Mom.

Talking about food is a regular feature on my blog and others as well. Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.

Meyer lemons are a cross between oranges and lemons. They make for a bright yellow exterior and I find the interior very juicy. The juice is also a bit sweeter than other lemons. They grow very well here in Northern California. If you can find them and you love lemons, give them a try.

Genevieve’s biggest project was to experiment with jelly. She’d never made jelly before but had a great resource in the book Stocking Up: How To Preserve the Foods You Grow Naturally by Carol Happing Stoner.

This perfect recipe called for only three ingredients: lemon juice, honey and liquid pectin. Here’s how we made it:

• Wash and dry the lemons. Using a grater, remove the rind and set aside.
• Put the lemons in the juicer and extract and sieve the juice until you have 3/4 of a cup.
• Combine the juice with 2 1/2 cups of honey in a saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil. (That means you can’t stir it down.)
• Add 1/2 cup of liquid pectin. (Available at most grocery stores in the jello/gelatin section. Be sure to get liquid.)
• Continue boiling and vigorously stirring for two more minutes.
• Pour the jelly mixture into hot, sterilized glass jars. Cover with paraffin.

Genevieve made two changes to this recipe. First she added the grated rind to the jelly just before pouring it into the jars. It made it similar to a marmalade. Second change: instead of covering the jelly with paraffin she covered the jars with lids and processed them in a water-bath canner for 30 minutes. Happily, they all popped (sealed) at the end.

Jelly really is that quick and easy to do. Genevieve bought cute little canning jars. Then she wrapped them up and gave jelly out to all the neighbors, relatives and friends at Christmas. They also make nice hostess or thank-you gifts. Genevieve did a good job of fulfilling the sort-of old adage, “When you are given lemons, make lemon jelly .”

Talking about food is a regular feature on my blog and on other blogs as well. Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.

Ever wonder who made that first pot of soup? It has to have been several thousands of years ago, somewhere around the time man was able to develop the first leak-proof, fire-proof container. I can just imagine how excited the cooks in that time must have been. Probably as excited as we were in the 1960′s when the crockpot first came out, or the microwave came on the market.

My soup making has evolved over the years. As a new cook I followed instructions from my mom or carefully read cookbook recipes. As I got more confident, I began trying my own combination of flavors. Today my plan is to take a look at what food I have on hand and see how they might go together.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for today’s soup: It has to feature potatoes. We have a ten-pound bag and they are going to go bad if we don’t get going on them. I have one onion, some limp celery, peas, a little bit of red cabbage left over from an Asian slaw, a little bit of ham and half a package of white corn in the freezer. I’m a little iffy on the red cabbage, but hey, it’s worth a try.

Our favorite soup starts with a base of oxtails or other beef “soup bones”. I can remember when oxtails would cost something like 25 cents and occasionally a butcher would give away soup bones – free. Now oxtails are a gourmet item. The last time I got some I paid somewhere around $4 a pound!

Oxtails do make a wonderful broth or soup base. Old-time cooks, and I hope a few today, use whatever bones are left over from other meals. I also like buying whole chickens with the intention of using the backs and wings for soup. Once the meat is off the breast, those bones can also go into the soup bone bag.

Soup broth is easy to make. You cover the bones with water, bring to a boil, and then simmer until everything is soft. To make the broth more fragrant (and healthier) I usually add a cut up onion, those leaves and stems from celery, a cut up carrot and a glove of garlic. When everything is done, strain out the bones and anything else you don’t want in there. Broth making is also a good chore for the crockpot.

Well, today’s soup turned out quite well.. I left out the red cabbage – we both wrinkled our noses at it. It turned out similar to my old-fashioned potato soup recipe I posted a year ago. I hope you’ll give homemade soup a try if you don’t already. They are frugal (unless you use those $4 oxtails), healthy, send a great aroma throughout the house, and serve as one of the best of comfort foods.

*In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that the picture at the top of this post is not of my own soup pot. It is one I am coveting at Sur La Table. (I love that store.)

Talking about food is a regular feature on my blog and others as well. Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.

I know John Steinbeck wasn’t a big foodie, but his opinion (in Travels With Charley) on the subject, is one I can agree with. In his cross-country road trip he believed the flavor of the food he tasted was bland. He felt that the restaurant business was relying too heavily on machines to prepare food. He noticed that small town diners where cooks still used their hands for food preparation had the tastiest food.

There are some foods I prepare that have a unique flavor, I believe, because I do make them with my hands. Any kind of bread is one of them. I have used a Kitchen Aid to do all the mixing and kneading but, seriously, it tastes different (better) when I do the kneading myself. Above is a picture of my oldest daughter, Candice, using her hands to making one of her special pizzas.

Meatloaf is another one of those ‘use-your-hands’ foods. Of course, it’s messy. I line up the pan and paper towels before I start. A few weeks ago, I told you about my first meal served to my in-laws  which included meatloaf (read it here). I have improved that recipe over the intervening years. Many of you asked me for my recipe so, here it is.

• 1 pound of mixed ground meat (I use half the mix of ground beef and the other half is ground pork/turkey/sausage)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Put everything together in a large bowl. Stick your clean hands in and squish together until it’s completely mixed. Put into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees.

Alternatives: 1.) Mold and bake on a rack that is set inside a baking pan. 2.) Bake in a crockpot. Crumble aluminum foil for the bottom, set the meatloaf on top which will serve as a rack for the grease.

This recipe is easily doubled or tripled. I usually double it and make some meatballs at the same time. Two or three meals at the same time? I think I’m smart. Maybe just lazy.

I hope you’ll let me know if you try my meatloaf. Or, tell me about your own favorite meatloaf. Do you prepare food with your hands? For more talk about food, visit Beth Fish Reads for  Weekend Cooking.

I’ve been trying to find a muffin that would be a good “breakfast-on-the-go.” Here are my requirements. I want a muffin that is:

• nutritious
• provides early morning energy
• not sugary sweet
• be chewy and crunchy
• moist but not gooey
• last, but not least, it has to taste good

I’ve been experimenting with this for quite some time, trying to get just the right combination. It’s not perfect yet  but I’m to the point of sharing the recipe. When a friend gave me a jar of her homemade, home-canned, organic applesauce I decided to name it after her little three acre farm. Thus, here is the recipe for Golden Nectar Muffins.

Put these dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1 cup while all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoons ground ginger

In a separate bowl, stir together:

• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup chunky unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add:

• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped dates
• 1 apple peeled, cored and chopped

Stir only until everything is mixed. Don’t over stir it. Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

To test to make sure they are done, stick a toothpick in the center. If it’s clean, it’s done. When they are done, cool on a rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove from the muffin tins and continue to cool on the rack or serve warm. It made 16 medium sized muffins.

I can’t promise I won’t keep tinkering with this recipe. It’s actually kind of fun to see what I can come up with each time I make a change. If you try this, let me know what you think.

For more food talk visit Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads.

Once the stocking stuffers were examined, the children were always eager to move on to those mysterious packages under the tree. But first – breakfast -

I don’t know what you do for breakfast on this special day. I’d love to hear your ideas. I have tried all sorts of foods from the grand farm/country breakfast to breakfast casseroles (everyone hated my sausage and egg strata) to something simple. Generally something simple and fast was the best way for us.

You can’t get any faster than muffins and quick breads. These can be done days, even weeks ahead of time. Wrapped carefully, they freeze well and keep for weeks. They can be taken out of the freezer the night before or quickly warmed in the oven.

Mad About Muffins by Dot Vartan is my go-to choice when it comes to making muffins. This book has so much variety among it’s 117 recipes that I have yet to make them all. Here is a sample of choices from this book that are just right for Christmas morning:

• Cherry Lemon – with dried cherries and fresh lemons
• Orange Pineapple – with orange juice, crushed pineapple and a marmalade glaze
• Cranberry Hazelnut – with fresh cranberries, golden raisins and a tiny bit of brandy
• Oatmeal Applesauce - with chunky applesauce, rolled oats and chopped walnuts
• Ham and Cheese – with diced ham and shredded Swiss cheese
• Banana Peanut Butter – exactly what it sounds like – perfect for the little people

I stumbled on several other good muffin books at the library this week. So, if this idea of muffins for Christmas suits you, you still have plenty of time to get to the library and put together some tasty treats for Christmas morning.

Whatever you serve this holiday season, I trust it will be a happy and tasty day for you.

For more discussions of good food, visit Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads.

[Source: I purchased this book a decade ago.]
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My daughter Cerrin reminded me how much I loved the shrimp dip at O’Charley’s Restaurants. She did an internet search and found what I believe is the exact recipe used by O’Charleys. How can they do that? It seems like that should be a proprietary right of O’Charleys.

I decided to see how easy it is to get a “secret” recipe. Was I surprised! It was super easy. I typed in O’Charley’s Three Cheese Shrimp Dip on my Google search line and – boom – I had 12,900 results. Some of those results led nowhere but quite a few gave me the same recipe Cerrin passed on to me. I was impressed. Now I’m thinking about all those other dishes I like at various restaurants.

I may be the last one to know about Google’s ability to find secret recipes but I’m sharing it with you just in case you didn’t know either. You may want to try this too. Here’s a tip: Be sure to have the exact title of the recipe. It took me a while to figure that out.

And now, just in case you need one more shrimp dip recipe, here’s the “secret” recipe for:

O’Charley’s Three Cheese Shrimp Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 can small shrimp
• 6 ounces shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 6 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 8 ounces cream cheese-softened
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes -chopped
• 1/2 cup Romano, asiago, and parmesan cheese (in shaker can)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together. Spread them in a casserole dish and bake at 325 degrees until bubbly. Watch closely, the cheese on the edges will burn before the middle is hot.

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