It's Time for Mulled Cider!

I love mulled cider. In trying to decide which recipe to use for this post, I was torn between recipes offered by 2 Food Network chefs that I love—Bobby Flay and Ina Garten. I went with Garten’s recipe because I love the flavor and scent of star anise. If you’ve never used this spice, you have got to try it! It smells like a holiday all by itself. I often put a few star anise and few whole cloves into a saucepan of simmering water and let the steam scent the air. It makes my house smell wonderful. Be careful not to let the water evaporate completely or you’ll end up with scorched spices. Now, on to the recipe.

Mulled Cider by Ina Garten of Food Network

Ingredients:

·       1 gallon fresh apple cider

·       4 cinnamon sticks

·       8 whole cloves

·       6 star anise

Directions:

1.         Combine all ingredients into a pot and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until all flavors are combined.
2.          Pour into mugs and serve hot.
3.          Makes 12 servings.

 

I’m celebrating fall with MOUNTAIN LAUREL, the very first book I wrote. This sweet romance won a finalist spot on what was then called The Unpublished RITA Contest (now known as The Golden Heart). Although the manuscript didn't win the contest, editor Tara Gavin of Harlequin bought and published the book. I was so happy and so proud!

 

Links to buy:

Kindle US 

Nook

Kobo

Apple iBooks

Paperback

If your store isn’t listed above, simply search for “Mountain Laurel Donna Fasano.”  Thank you!

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White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Now that the weather has grown chilly, I love to turn on my oven and BAKE! Here's a favorite in my household - White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies. Now, some bakers say white chocolate isn't chocolate; however, I disagree. Sort of. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, so I say it IS a form of chocolate. It doesn't contain cocoa solids which is the ingredient that darkens the chocolate. Try these cookies. You won't be sorry. 

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 11 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup macadamia nuts (see note)

(Note: coarsely chop 1 cup of the nuts and leave 1/2 cup whole)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Cream the sugars, butter, and shortening together. Once they’re fully incorporated, mix in the eggs and the vanilla.
2. Add flour, soda, salt. Stir to combine.
3. Add white chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (I use a cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I use non-stick baking mats). Bake until light brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.
5. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

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Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread #Recipe

This chocolate zucchini bread is dense, moist, and has a decadently rich chocolate flavor. I started out with this recipe and did a little fiddling. I scrapped the honey and increased the brown sugar. I used butter where they called for oil. And I doubled the amount of vanilla and espresso powder. If you don’t have espresso powder or instant coffee, leave it out, but the coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor. The loaf doesn’t taste a bit like coffee, I promise. 

 

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (also called black cocoa)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee granules
• 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis)
• 1 cup dark chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix together the melted butter and the brown sugar until smooth and glossy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir until fully incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and espresso powder. Add to the butter mixture and stir well. Batter will be very thick.
4. Using a sturdy spoon, mix the zucchini and chocolate chunks. Batter will be thick and stiff (think of the muscles you're developing!) 
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread batter into all corners of the pan. Use a silicone (or rubber) spatula to get every bit of batter from the bowl. Smooth the top, evenly. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. 

Enjoy! And Happy Autumn! 

1.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

 I’ve been dieting for just over a month. You could say I’m preparing for the upcoming holidays. :::grin::: I’ve taken off over 10 pounds using 2 methods – intermittent fasting and eating in a calorie deficit. This seems to be the formula that works for me, but, of course, everyone is different. However, the point of this blog is to let you know that I’ve come up with a salad dressing that is tasty, fat-free, and low in calories. I hope you’ll try it. Let me know in the comments if you like it.

 

Greek Yogurt Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Makes about 3/4 cup of dressing (6 servings)    

Serving size: 2 tablespoons

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Greek Fat-Free Yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Buttermilk Powder
• 1 teaspoon Granulated Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Granulated Onion Powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Fresh Lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest

• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Pinch of White Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Water (to thin)
• 1/2 teaspoon Honey (optional)

Directions:

1.    Add all ingredients to a glass jar and shake to combine. Store in the refrigerator. For best flavor, allow to sit for at least 4 hours. Shake before serving. Keeps for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

At just 20 calories for a generous 2 tablespoon serving, this dressing is good on green salads or grain salads. It’s also good drizzled on fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, zucchini, etc.). I also use this to make egg salad.

 

Nova Scotia Oatcakes #Recipe

After a recent trip to Nova Scotia, I couldn’t wait to get home and try my hand at making Oatcakes. These delicious, toasty-oat cookies are offered everywhere, in grocery stores and bakeries, restaurants and even chocolate shops. My husband and I loved them. As you can see in the picture below, I cut my Oatcakes into circles. But you could go the easy route and cut them into squares. I melted 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate baking chips and coated the bottoms of about half the cookies I made. This recipe makes about 10 to 12 nice size cookies, depending on how thin you roll out the dough.

Nova Scotia Oatcakes 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup oat flour (or all-purpose)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, add oats, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
3. Add butter and brown sugar and stir just until a stiff dough forms.
4. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out the circles of dough and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Re-roll any leftover dough and cut more cookies. (Or roll the dough into a rectangle and cut into squares.)
5. Bake for 12-18 minutes, or until set and edges are slightly golden. Allow to cool. Coat with chocolate, if desired. 

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Electric Skillet Bread #Recipe

 When I was a kid, my mother’s sister (Aunt Margie) made bread in her electric skillet. I asked everyone on my mother’s side of the family if anyone had the recipe, but I came up empty-handed. So, I worked on coming up with a recipe. It took some doing, several fails, but I think I finally have come up with a great recipe. The bread is crispy on the bottom and pillowy soft on top.

This bread is delicious plain, served with butter. Or you can read my Notes below and add flavorings of your choice. I’ve served this plain, or with Everything Bagel Seasonings sprinkled on top, and I’ve also added caramelized onions and roasted garlic. This is delicious, any way you decide to make it. 

Electric Skillet Bread

Ingredients: 

Batter in Cold Skillet

• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Baking spray (for skillet)
• Flavorings and/or toppings of your choice (*see notes) 

Directions:

1.    In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir to dissolve and set aside to allow yeast to bloom (about 10-15 minutes).

2.    In a large bowl, add the baking soda, the warm milk, and the other 1/2 cup warm water to the bowl. Stir to dissolve the baking soda. Add the bloomed yeast mixture.

3.    In separate bowl, add the flour, salt, and ginger. Stir to combine.

4.    Using a wire whisk, add 1 cup of flour mixture to the milk mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth and free of lumps. Switch to a wooden spoon and beat in remaining flour mixture. Batter should be thick, sticky.

5.    Prepare electric skillet with non-stick spray. Place batter into cold skillet and spread into an even layer. Cover with the lid. Let rise for one and a half hours or until doubled in size.

6.    Turn on skillet setting to 325 degrees F (162 degrees C). Cook for 30 minutes with the lid on.

7.    Remove lid and allow to cool for an hour before slicing into squares. 

Cooked Skillet Bread - Crispy on the bottom, soft on top

*Notes:

1.    Flavorings: Feel free to dress up your bread with added flavorings. Wet flavorings such as roasted garlic or caramelized onions (or both) should be added during #2 in the directions. Dry flavorings such as garlic powder, onion powder, dried rosemary or another of your favorite herbs can be added during #3 in the directions.

2.    Topping suggestions: Everything Bagel Seasoning, large flake salt, fresh cracked pepper, grated Parmesan cheese. Let your imagination go wild.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter #Recipe

I recently made butternut squash ravioli and I cheated. Rather than taking the time to make my own fresh pasta, I picked up a package of won ton wraps at the grocery story. These Ravioli were utterly delicious! I hope you’ll try this super quick method. No one will notice that you didn’t make your own pasta.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Makes about 48

1 butternut squash, about 2 1/2 lbs

1 tablespoon olive oil, for roasting the squash

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 12 ounce package of won ton wraps

Sage Brown Butter

1/4 cup butter

10 fresh sage leaves

Directions:

For the ravioli:

1.     Preheat oven to 400°. Carefully cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Discard seeds. Rub squash with olive oil and roast, cut side down, until soft when poked with a knife, about 35-45 minutes. Let cool and then scrape squash flesh out of the peel and place in a bowl. Discard peel.

2.     Mash the squash and add Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, sage, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir until thoroughly combined.

3.     Fill each wan ton wrap with a heaping teaspoon of squash filling. Moisten the edges of the wrap with water and fold into a triangle, sealing edges tightly. Continue until all wraps are filled. (Don’t be surprised if you run out of filling or if you have some filling left over. It all depends on how large the squash is.)

4.     To cook: Fill a pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add about a tablespoon of salt to boiling water, and then gently drop the ravioli into the water. Simmer for 4-5 minutes. The ravioli are done when they float to the surface. Don’t overcrowd the pot. Cook in batches. Drain with a slotted spoon and place on a warm platter. Serve with Sage Brown Butter.

5.  Optional serving suggestion: After ravioli have been simmered and drained, fry them in olive oil, 3 minutes on each side, to give them a crispy texture. Mmmm.

For the Sage Brown Butter:

1.     Place butter and sage leaves to a small sauce pan. Cook over medium low heat until the milk solids turn brown, about 10-15 minutes. Do not overcook. You want brown butter, not burned butter.

2.     Pour butter sauce over the ravioli and serve.

 time to make my own fresh pasta, I picked up a package of won ton wraps at the grocery story. These Ravioli were utterly delicious! I hope you’ll try this super quick method. No one will notice that you didn’t make your own pasta.