LEMON ROSEMARY SCONES...PLUS EASTER 2021!

This is a Ree Drummond recipe--The Pioneer Woman of Food Network fame. They are actually more like a shortbread than a traditional Irish scone, but are fabulously delicious! I added one additional Tbsp. of rosemary than Ree calls for (2 in the scones and 1 in the glaze), but otherwise stayed quite true to the recipe.

LEMON ROSEMARY SCONES

Ingredients:

3 cups flour, plus more for rolling the dough

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup (that’s 2 sticks) very cold butter*

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg

2 lemons; the zest of 2 and juice of 1

3 Tbsp. finely chopped Rosemary for the scones

1 Tbsp. finely chopped Rosemary for the icing

4 cups powdered sugar**

½ cup half and half, plus more if needed for thinning

Pinch of salt for the icing

*I put my butter in the freezer for about ½ hour to get it very cold. I recommend grating the cold butter rather than cutting in with a pastry cutter. Much easier! Ree suggests cutting the butter in with either 2 knives or a pastry cutter, which works, too.

I grated the butter right on top
of the sifted dry ingredients.

**This will make more icing than you need for 24 scones, but if you have lots of Lemons it would be great on a Meyer Lemon Pound Cake or Lemon Bundt cake.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the flour, granulated white sugar, baking powder and salt into a sifter. Sift the mixture into a large bowl until it is well combined. Grate the butter into the flour and gently mix with a fork until the butter is cut into the flour. You may also cut the butter in with a pastry cutter, but grating makes it much easier to mix.

Measure the cream in a spouted measuring cup and crack in an egg. Zest one of the lemons and add the zest to the cream. Add 2 Tbsp. Rosemary to the mixture. Whisk together and then drizzle it into the flour-butter mixture, stirring gently with a fork until combined and a dough forms. The dough will be quite shaggy.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about ½-3/4 inch thick and 18 x 10 inches.

Use a knife to cut dough into 24 equal pieces. Ree Drummond suggests cutting into squares and then cutting again to form rectangles. My dough was not holding together well enough so I simply formed 24 small rounds from the squares I cut believing all of the butter would bring them together as they baked...and it did!

Unbaked, these scones are very shaggy,
but came together beautifully after baking. 

Bake until just barely golden brown, about 18 minutes, then allow to cool completely.

While the scones are cooling, make the icing. Combine the powder sugar and half and half in a large bowl. Add the juice of the lemon you zested to the bowl. Zest the second lemon and add the zest to the bowl. Add 1 Tbsp. Rosemary and whisk until combined. Add a little extra cream/milk/or water if it needs thinning. I also added a pinch of salt, which Ree does not call for, but it helped soften the sweetness of all that powdered sugar.

Once the scones are cooled coat the tops by gently dropping them into the icing. Allow the glaze to set completely before serving.

Easter, one of my favorite holidays, is this Sunday! This will be the second year in a row we are not having our big "hoo-doo" dinner, but we are having our good friends, Dorita and Rudy Pina over to share a meal. The theme this year is French. Here is my menu:

JOYEUSES PÂQUES

EASTER * APRIL 4, 2021

A VERY SPECIAL CELEBRATION WITH DEAR FRIENDS

AMUSE-BOUCHE

PaLmiers fait par Chef Dorita

MaRinated Shrimp with Champagne buerre blanc

Classique Olive Tapenade

 

PREMIERE

CHILLED PLUM SOUP WITH RoQuefort Panna Cotta

 

INTERMEZZO

Cucumber AND MINT Granita

 

PLAT PRINCIPAL

Butter Poached Maine Cod with French Tarragon Lobster Garnish served on Pea Puree

Gruyere Escalloped Pommes de Terres

Haricot Vert Almondine

 

LE DESSERT

Lemon Curd Cheesecake with Candied Lemon Slices

 

HAPPY EASTER!

CHAG PESACH SAMEACH!...HAPPY PASSOVER!

HAPPY SPRING!

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

 

SOME FOOD IS FOR THE BIRDS...OTHER FOOD HAS GONE TO THE DOGS!

 I love all animals...dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, insects, flying things, wild animals and more! During this last year of much more time at home, my husband, Jerry and I have spent a lot of time watching the birds. My old friend Diana Makes, knowing I love bird-watching, sent me a recipe that sounded like a winner for our feathered friends. 

BIRD FEEDER WREATH

This wreath was very easy to make and the birds loved it! They devoured the whole thing in just under 3 days! Here's how to put it together...

Ingredients:

4 cups of bird seed. I used the seed with fruit and nuts.

About 1 cup of fresh cranberries or enough to cover bottom of Bundt pan.

2 packets unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup warm water

1/3 cup cornstarch

3 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Thick ribbon for hanging the wreath

Nonstick cooking spray

Bundt pan

Preparation:

Spray Bundt pan with cooking spray. Place the cranberries in bottom of pan. Measure out the seed. In a medium sized sauce pan on medium heat, whisk together the packets of unflavored gelatin and warm water. Whisk until dissolved. Add in the corn starch and light corn syrup. Whisk until there are no lumps left.

The mixture starts to form a thick paste very quickly. The paste should be smooth and thick. Once the paste is formed, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the 4 cups of bird seed. Add the combined mixture to the Bundt pan.

Using your fingers, pack it down firmly. Evenly distribute the mixture so the wreath will be balanced when hung. Place in the fridge overnight to harden the wreath. After the wreath is hardened, gently remove from the pan by flipping it upside down. It comes out very easily.

Attach the ribbon and hang where the birds will find it. It didn't take them long!

GOING TO THE DOGS...

I made dog biscuits with my brother a couple years ago for his 2 beautiful cocker spaniels, but the biscuits were a little dry and too thick so I did some research, combined a bunch of different recipes and came up with these doggie treats. These biscuits were a big hit among my dog friends.

Doggie Treats!

Bailey Sykes is so well behaved, he is waiting to say 'Ok to EAT'!

And now, Mom Karen gives the go-ahead.

Goldie Prim with her Mom, Joyce.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour. I used white, but you could also use whole wheat.

1/3 cup Old Fashioned Oats; not the instant kind

1 large egg

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp. baking powder

3/4 cup non-fat dry milk

3 Tbsp. bacon fat

3 strips crispy cooked bacon, chopped

La Quinta Ungerecht checking out her treat. 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, gently mix peanut butter, powdered milk, and egg together. Add the flour and baking powder. Mix in the oats, bacon fat and bacon. The dough is quite stiff so you may need to pour it onto a floured surface to fully mix together by kneading. 

Using a floured rolling pin, roll to about a little more than 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters or a knife. Arrange on the baking sheets.

Bake for 20 minutes or until very lightly browned on the bottom. Remove from the oven and flip the biscuits to the other side and bake for an additional 12 minutes more. Allow to cool completely before serving to your pup.

Cover and store at room temp for up to 1 week or in the fridge for a couple weeks. They also freeze well for up to 2 months. 

Augie Fahey and her Mom, Kathy sniffing out a potential treat.

Here's Bailey Prim, new addition to the family, biting into his snack.

I love the Itule dogs! Pablo is taking his biscuit from his Mother, Lori.

Zoey Manspeaker seems to be enjoying her treat, too!

Sammy Ungerecht taking a careful bite!

The Itule dogs, Butters on the left and Pablo
on the right having a free-for-all.
And even Heidi was licking up some crumbs!

TURNS OUT I LOVE COOKING 

FOR ANIMALS AS MUCH AS 

I DO FOR PEOPLE. 

I HAD SO MUCH FUN 

PRESENTING THESE TREATS 

TO MY HUMAN AND ANIMAL FRIENDS!

MY HEART IS HAPPY!

UNTIL NEXT TIME, 

KEEP ON LOVING 

IN YOUR OWN KITCHENS!

 

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

PORK CASSOULET--THE FRENCH WAY!

I made this rustic, but elegant dish in my Slow Cooker. I'm wondering when Crock Pots became known as Slow Cookers? Possibly the marketing geniuses thought Crock Pot was not fancy enough. It is true if you change just one letter, it becomes a "Crack Pot".  Also if someone is telling you something less than truthful, you might say that it is a "Crock of S**t". Possibly too many potential negative connotations. Anyway, this was the perfect way to cook this iconic French classic. By calling this a "Cassoulet" instead of "Casserole", which it really is, the dish takes on a whole new identity.

Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked casserole containing meat, white beans, herbs and veg. Originating in southern France, it is named after its traditional cooking vessel, the casserole, a deep, round, earthenware pot with slanting sides, kind of like my slow cooker.  

As with so many dishes, ingredients vary, but this Cassoulet is always slow cooked, and generally contains pork, often in the form of pork sausage, although duck or lamb may be added or used in place of the pork, as well. White beans are a must and I used the Cannellini Beans from Lesley Sykes Primary Beans Co. (www.primarybeans.com).

Although herbs vary, thyme is the most traditional for Pork Cassoulet.  Here's what I came up with...

SLOW COOKER PORK CASSOULET

Ingredients:

1 pound Cannellini beans, or Great Northern's or other white beans

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces and cooked until crispy

2 lbs. Country Style Pork Ribs (preferably bone-in)

4 large Pork neck bones (I used these because I could only find boneless Pork Ribs and the bones are necessary to bring about the correct depth of flavors. I was very lucky to find Pork Neck in my local super market. It's quite delicious!)

3 cups rich Chicken Stock (preferably home-made)

1 cup white wine (I used Brancott Estate New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.)

1 1/2 cups diced carrots

1 cup diced white onion

4 cloves garlic, about 2 Tbsp. roughly chopped

14 oz. canned San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper

3 tsp. salt, plus more for seasoning the pork

2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, not ground thyme

3 bay leaves

I used half of this 1 lb. can of San Marzano's.

For the Breadcrumb topping:

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (When I cut off crusts of bread or just have a piece or two left in a loaf, I grind them and keep in the freezer. If you don't have fresh breadcrumbs use half Italian and half Panko.)

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

4 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

Preparation:

I soaked the Cannellini beans for about 6 hours. Because these beans are dried, but not ancient they do not require overnight soaking. 

Cook the bacon until crisp in a very hot, heavy bottomed skillet. I like to use cast iron. Set the bacon aside and pour off all but about 2 Tbsp. of the bacon fat. 

Very liberally salt all sides of the Pork Neck and Pork Ribs. Sear the Pork Neck bones (if using) on all sides until nicely browned.

Pork Neck just going in the pan to brown.

Once browned on all 4 sides, remove from the pan, and brown the pork ribs in the same pan.

Add the ribs, neck, cooked bacon, chicken broth, tomatoes, wine, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme to the slow cooker. Stir. Cover. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 3 hours.  Add the beans and cooking on low, cook for an additional 5 to 6 hours. Check every hour for seasoning and to make sure all ingredients are covered with broth. Add more chicken broth if necessary. When the pork is drop dead tender, remove from the slow cooker and with 2 forks shred the pork off the neck bones and shred the pork ribs. Add the meat back into the slow cooker and stir. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl mix the breadcrumb topping over medium high heat until well combined and slightly browned. 

Pat the mixture gently over the top of the Cassoulet and remove the slow cooker insert and place in the oven to heat for about 10 minutes or until the topping is browned. Most modern slow cookers, aka crock pots, are oven safe up to 400 degrees. The breadcrumb topping gives a little extra thickness to the Cassoulet and also adds the perfect finish to the dish.

Serve with crusty French bread and a bright green salad for a perfect, comforting, rich and satisfying meal! I know you will enjoy this old-world French classic!

ALL FOR TODAY!

I HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT NEXT TIME 

FOR OUR FEATHERED AND FURRY FRIENDS!

UNTIL THEN...

KEEP LOVING, STAY SAFE, COOK YOUR HEARTS OUT, 

AND ENJOY EACH AND EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM