Grandma's Kitchen Table

GFGF: Season of Blessings - Baked Feta Soup

      This week in the Good Friends Good Food theme of Season of Blessings, we all chose whatever we liked as a new dish for the Christmas Season this year.  I chose Baked Feta Soup. Here is the recipe I used for it if you would like to make it for yourself: click here.

       The ingredients:  cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, onion, crushed red pepper, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, thyme, garlic, basil, and orzo pasta. 

       Sometimes during the holidays you have so many choices and so many of them are maybe not that healthy…so it’s nice to put in a recipe that can pass for holiday excitement but maybe not leave you feeling like you are overwhelmed with rich food all season long. This recipe delivers all that and a ton of flavor.  It came together easily in a few steps, not speedily quick, but quick enough, especially if you have leftover feta and baked tomatoes to use.  I left out the orzo pasta, you can put it in if you like…you just make it and add it into the soup at the end.  I might do that at another time, but for this week, I was perfectly happy with the other ingredients being satisfying enough without the added pasta. The red pepper gives it a bit of a kick which is ever so nice, and if you have fresh basil, which I did not so I used dried, that would be even prettier and tastier.  As it was, the combination of feta and tomatoes is always a hit here and there wasn’t a drop left after lunch was served.

       If you are looking for a fast, easy, and pretty addition for a Christmas lunch, this is a winner.  I served it in a Christmas bowl and the colors all blended nicely to create one very delicious and pretty Christmas time lunch.

       To see what the others made with their Season of Blessings theme, you can click on the members’ blogs listed here:  Peggy, Margaret, Ulrike.

       Next up is the theme Season of Renewal (pick a recipe that sets your culinary hopes for the New Year), it can be absolutely anything you like, posting date on December 31st.  If you would like to join in, just leave a link to your post in any of the comment sections of the participants and we will come and see what you made.

 

Eating with Ellie: Mushroom Stroganoff

       The 96th recipe I made with the Eating with Ellie group is Mushroom Stroganoff Soup, and can be found in Ellie Krieger's book Whole in One, on page 25. 

      Ingredients list: olive oil, shallots, mushrooms, garlic, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, noodles, milk, sour cream, flour, and parsley.

      This is one of the One Pot recipes in the book and it comes together easily.  It’s helpful if you gather everything and cut, dice, measure, etc. before you start the process of assembling the soup.  None of it is difficult and it will satisfy both your love of just making a nice soup and your love of stroganoff.  It’s not Beef Stroganoff, of course, but it very much satisfies that craving in a healthier version.  Definitely going to be a repeat.   

       Eating with Ellie participants: Margaret at Tea and Scones, Peggy at Pantry Revisited, and Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen.  You can check the Eating with Ellie category in their blogs to see the recipes they have made and are making. (If you would like to join us, just leave a link at one of our blogs.)

      Note:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Ellie Krieger's books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes.  

 

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Roasted Pumpkin, Feta, and Quinoa Salad

       My 160th recipe with the Wednesday with Donna Hay group is Roasted Pumpkin, Feta, and Quinoa Salad. The recipe can be found online, click here.

       The ingredients list:  sweet potatoes, quinoa (I used salad greens), red onion, chickpeas (I used pomegranate seeds and pistachios), olive oil, sugar, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and cilantro (used parsley instead).

       My favorite lunch is always salad or soup. Any time, any season. Donna Hay is great for having all sorts of salad recipes for all seasons and this one was perfect for winter.  Perfectly delicious and nice to have a salad recipe that doesn’t include tomatoes and cucumbers in the off season here…nothing more depressing than having a tomato that tastes like nothing in the winter.

       When I set out to make this recipe, I thought I had a box of quinoa in the pantry but it turns out that I did not, so I just made this into a lettuce salad recipe rather than a grain salad recipe.  It’s more about the fact that it works in the winter time, that sweet potato ingredient just called to me as I never think about using roasted sweet potato in a salad like this. And about the chickpeas…we are not a fan so I just threw in all the pomegranate seeds and pistachios that I had leftover from another recipe.  So, while this was Donna Hay inspired, because of my substitutions, it’s more of a mashup of a couple of her recipes. Inspiration definitely from Donna Hay…I often combine a couple of her recipes together to come up with my vision of what I want that day. I love her unique take on mixing various ingredients to create something new. I’m going to be making this salad all winter…and next time I have quinoa, I am definitely putting it together as she has it (no chickpeas though).

       Participants: Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen, Margaret at Tea and Scones, and Peggy at Pantry Revisited.  You can check the Wednesday with Donna Hay category in their blogs to see the recipes they have made and are making.

       NOTE: In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Donna Hay’s books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes. There are also many of her recipes at her site here.  We know you will enjoy using Donna’s books again and again, as we all do, and that your money will be well spent.

TWD Dorie's Cookies: Mulled Wine Jammers

       The Dorie's Cookies group recipes for December are Mulled Wine Jammers (pages 362-364) and Hot-and-Spicy Togarashi Meringues (pages 400-402).  This week I chose to make the Mulled Wine Jammers, jury is still out whether I’m going to make the hot and spicy meringues as there are only two of us here, neither of which are excited about those, so unless I can get some interest from Matt when he is home over the holidays, I might just do a rewind that week.
        Ingredients list:  butter, sugar, powdered sugar, salt, egg yolks, vanilla, flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, fruity wine, honey, orange peel, dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, and cherry jam.

        This is a long list of ingredients for sure…can’t think there were many things in my baking pantry that I did not pull out and use.  The cookie takes awhile to make.  I did it in two days actually.  I made the cookie dough, the streusel, and the jam one day…two of them needed time to cool off in the frig anyway.  The next day I cut out the dough, filled it with the jam, topped it with the streusel, and baked them. The dough, streusel, and jam were all easy to make, came together as she said, and the only thing I noticed a difference in was the amount of time it took for me to reduce the jam (probably a difference in pans and the amount of heat on the simmer). It was fun assembling them, they look very cute all lined up with the jam peeking out of the streusel topping.  

        Delicious…I couldn't resist, I had one straight out of the oven.  Mark liked them as well and we both agreed on two things:  first, the jam was wonderful with a little hint of wine in the fruit and second, that most of these (recipe makes 24 cookies) need to go into the freezer to be brought out at Christmas when there are many others to help eat them all.  Definitely worth all the work, definitely worthy of a repeat, definitely Christmas-forward with that Wassail-like filling. 

        The Tuesdays with Dorie group is baking from Dorie Greenspan's book, Dorie's Cookies.  The posts are the first and third Tuesdays of the month and can be linked at the main Tuesdays with Dorie website here.  You can also find the information on joining in and/or see the posts from those in the group baking along at this location.  I don’t publish copyrighted recipes, so if you’d like to bake along, buy the book, it’s well worth it. 

GFGF: Season of Advent - Christmas Brie

       This week in the Good Friends Good Food theme of Season of Advent, we all chose whatever we liked as a new dish for Advent Season this year.  I chose Christmas Brie. Here is the recipe I used for it if you would like to make it for yourself: click here.

       The ingredients:  Brie cheese, rosemary, pomegranate arils, and pistachios.  She suggests serving it with crackers or toasted baguette slices. 

       Trying to find easy and beautiful recipes for the holidays is always enjoyable.  I stumbled upon this one and knew it would be perfect.  You can bake the brie or serve it at room temperature. In her post she gives instructions for getting the arils out of the pomegranate in a non-messy and delightfully easy way…I am never doing it any other way again.  Whenever I see those little cartons in the supermarket of pomegranate arils, I always wonder whose job it is to get those little seeds out of the fruit and in such vast numbers…I figured there had to be a better way than cutting it open and whacking the seeds out with a spanking as everything flies everywhere and the red juice makes it all look like some sort of ancient sacrificial rite…I am not a fan.  A visit to her site (link above) will tell you about how she does it, there’s even a video, but really, you will see that it’s so simple you’ll wonder why you didn’t know this before now. 

       If you are looking for a fast, easy, and pretty addition to your holiday tables, this is a winner.  It is definitely going in my keeper files to be pulled out again and again. Christmas Brie also makes a wonderful contribution if you need to take something to share anytime during the season.

       To see what the others made with their Season of Advent theme, you can click on the members’ blogs listed here:  Peggy, Margaret, Ulrike.

       Next up is the theme Season’s Blessings (pick a new recipe for the holiday celebrations, it can be absolutely anything you like), posting date on December 17th.  If you would like to join in, just leave a link to your post in any of the comment sections of the participants and we will come and see what you made.

 

Eating with Ellie: Greek-Style Chicken With Potatoes, Peppers, Olives, and Feta

      The 95th recipe I made with the Eating with Ellie group is Greek-Style Chicken With Potatoes, Peppers, Olives, and Feta, and can be found in Ellie Krieger's book Whole in One, on page 150. 

      Ingredient list: lemon, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, chicken, baby new potatoes, red bell pepper, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese.

      This is one of the Sheet Pan Dinners in the book and it comes together quickly, easily, and is very time-friendly on busy days.  I did have the little potatoes pre-cooked as I wanted to be sure they were nice and tender and I wasn’t sure if 20 minutes would do that otherwise. That worked out perfectly. About those little baby potatoes…each week we buy a little bitty bag of them and I boil them up and place them in a container in the refrigerator for the week.  Throughout the week, I morph them into various recipes so they are ready to go when I need them.  This is a very good way to provide a potato option for Mark as he thinks dinner should usually, if not always, include some sort of potato option.  A couple of these little guys does the trick. 

       The whole meal was delicious with that Greek lemon-olive oil-garlic-oregano-olive-feta kind of vibe which we happen to love. Definitely going to be a repeat.

       Eating with Ellie participants: Margaret at Tea and Scones, Peggy at Pantry Revisited, and Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen.  You can check the Eating with Ellie category in their blogs to see the recipes they have made and are making. (If you would like to join us, just leave a link at one of our blogs.)

      Note:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Ellie Krieger's books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes.  

 

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Chocolate Almond Crackle

        My 159th recipe with the Wednesday with Donna Hay group is Chocolate Almond Crackle.  The recipe can be found in Donna Hay’s book No Time to Cook (page 185).

       The ingredients list:  almonds, sugar, chocolate

       Tis the beginning of the season and all for looking for recipes to make that would be a nice addition to Christmas Cookie Trays or just to have around for people to snack on during the season when people expect there will be treats around to snack on.  I wanted to try this recipe as it seemed easy with only three ingredients.  How many recipes do you have that just have three ingredients? It was very easy.  Husband-approved for the Christmas Season and beyond. He said it tasted better than a Heath Bar and he really loves a Heath Bar, so that's high praise. This recipe lives up to the No Time to Cook title of this book…it took hardly any time at all and really, it was such fun to make it and crack it up into the smaller pieces. Definitely a repeat.

       Participants: Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen, Margaret at Tea and Scones, and Peggy at Pantry Revisited.  You can check the Wednesday with Donna Hay category in their blogs to see the recipes they have made and are making.

       NOTE: In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Donna Hay’s books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes. There are also many of her recipes at her site here.  We know you will enjoy using Donna’s books again and again, as we all do, and that your money will be well spent.