Opa!

I know a lot of people are extremely proud of their heritages, and I am happy for them.  (i.e. Jersey Shore cast: extremely proud to be Italian ^{fist pump}) However, I have no idea who I am! In elementary school when doing a class project we were told to ask our parents that night where our ancestors were from originally.  I went home all excited and asked, “Mama, where are our people from?” (or I’m sure I said something along those lines)

“Go ask your daddy” says the mother.

Excited young Kirby runs down the hall, “Daddy, where are we from?”

Father responds, “America.”

                (This story may or may not have happened)

Well, there you have it folks. I’m American, and darn proud of it, too! But, for this example, we’ll pretend that I have a little Mediterranean flair in my blood somewhere.   Pondering on what I wanted to try to make this week, I knew I wanted to make something that I had never tried before, something that would pertain to the holidays, and something that might be a little tricky.  How about baklava?? I like to test myself…Can’t wait for my future breakdown… I have personally always been afraid of phyllo dough.  All the scary warnings on Food Network about it breaking or drying out- YIKES! I’ll stay away from that- no, thanks, uh-uh!

 Well somehow I talked myself into it, so let’s run with it.  It’s just food; if turns out a disaster I just won’t put that card in the recipe box! 

 Being a history major in college, I enjoyed reading about the origins of baklava.  There are different variations that come from different parts of the Eastern world.  It was considered a rich man’s food, and something one would only have on a special occasion. 

I have never even seen this stuff in person.  It sounds so yummy! (Not to mention that I have a lot of the ingredients on hand- score!) Why haven’t I ever had this? Let’s all pass around a little baklava this holiday season!  In honor of our main guest, the Everyday girls decided to host a little toga party!!

 I used Gretchen’s recipe here http://myweb.cableone.net/gob/Recipes/BAKLAVA.HTM

Ingredients:

1 lb Walnuts - Finely Chopped 1/2 C. Sugar 2 tsp Cinnamon 1.5 C. Butter (3 sticks), Melted 1 Package Frozen Phyllo/ Fillo Dough (16 oz) Thawed

1 C. Sugar 1 C. Water 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice 1 C. Honey (Net weight 12 oz.) 1/2 tsp Vanilla

<Being a girl from the south of course I have pecans on hand, so that is what I used.  Time for a personal lesson.  I am from the south, but I have never called it a pee-can.  My dad who is from South Georgia (he should know) says a pee-can is what goes under the bed at night.  So, I pronounce it pa-con.  Call it what you will, but I try to refrain from calling a food item something that one may go potty in. >





 





Gretchen says to make this at least 24 hours in advance, so I made mine the night before.  Also, be sure to set your phyllo dough in the frig to thaw at least 6 hours.  (FYI: you find phyllo dough in the frozen pie aisle- yeah, I didn’t know that either)

To start, I got together my ingredients, but I didn’t preheat my oven.  I knew it would take me longer than Gretchen to prepare this dish.  I would suggest chopping your nuts in a food processor to make them very fine, but I don’t have one so I banged them out a little with a rolling pin (this adds to your prep time).  Then, I mixed them with ½ c. of sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon and set aside.

Next step: I melted 3 sticks of margarine (I don’t use butter) on the stove top.

Now, open up your phyllo dough.  My one box came with two rolls; use only one.  There are more than plenty layers, so if one or two break, no biggie. 

• Take a 9X13 baking dish and brush with melted butter and add your first layer. 
• Brush that layer with butter and add another layer.
• Repeat the last step until there are 6 layers. 
• Add about a cup of your nut mixture. 
• Then, layer 8 sheets buttering in between each one. 
• Put a cup of your nut mixture. 
• Then, 8 more sheets buttering in between…
• add a cup of nut mixture. 

(Notice, I only did 2 layers of the nut mixture because I did not use a big enough pan) 

• Finally finish with as many layers as it takes to get to the top of your pan always buttering in between.  
• Pour the remainder of your butter on top. 

 

Gretchen has a fancy way of showing you how to cut your bak, but just partially cut through your phyllo dough in angled rows because it’ll be hard to cut once it’s cooked.

Cook in preheated oven (preheat when you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel- probably after you put your first layer of nut mixture) for 1 hour at 300 degrees.

About 15 minutes before your bak is ready, mix 1 c. sugar, 1 c. water, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice in a pan on the stove at medium heat.   Cook while stirring for about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add 1 c. honey and ½ tsp vanilla. Stir until well blended. 

Remove the bak from the oven and finish cutting through the angled rows.  Pour your syrup mixture over top and set aside.  Do not put in frig but do slightly cover. 

 We served this for dessert at our Toga Party along with pizza and hummus.  The baklava was delicious and all enjoyed!

Now, want me to be honest?  It’s not my favorite.  It tasted like a pa-con pie to me, so why not just make a 'pa-con' pie?? I guess that's why you might want to use walnuts.  My mom absolutely loved it though.  So, will I make this again? I’m not sure- it took me a good two hours, but it was easy. You try it for yourself, you might love it.  I may make it for my mom again one day, but probably not soon.  However, I was very proud of myself for overcoming phyllo dough!  It definitely wasn't as scary as I thought!

OPA!

*Please note: I use the word butter, but I always mean margarine unless noted.



Winner

We apologize our site has been 'under the weather' lately!  We think we finally have all the quirks worked out!!  Our new web address is

 www.everydayre-creations.com

Now, that that’s taken care of we want to announce the winner of the 6 Layer Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake and Willow House Adair Upside-Down Cake Stand! Drum roll please……….

LEANNE NEWTON!!! 

Congratulations, Leanne!  Please contact us at everydayrecreations@gmail.com to claim your prize! 

A BIG THANKS to all who entered our contest.  Stay tuned to see what our next give away is!!

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Standing Ovation

Tired of turkey? After Thanksgiving, most of us are all turkey-ed out. Last Christmas, my mom suggested we do a standing rib roast instead of turkey.  It was a nice change to the traditional Christmas meal. One small problem, her roast turned out to be a little over cooked. I think I have found a recipe that will solve this problem, because the last thing you want is to overcook such a pricey cut of meat. She has enlisted the help of us at Everyday Re-Creations to try to locate a recipe to produce a no-fail delicious prime rib.

Most standing roasts will cost you about $7.99-$8.99/lb. I know it may seem like a lot, but consider this: If you order the Prime Rib dinner at Outback, you’re look at $20.00 per person. By cooking it at home, you are saving over half the cost of eating out. Plus, it’s Christmas, so splurge a little.

Sounds good to me! But, what is a standing rib roast? A whole standing rib roast is also known as a prime rib roast. ‘Standing’ means the bones are included in the roast, and can stand by itself. The bones lend a lot of flavor when cooking anything, so keep that in mind when you are tempted to reach for a roast sans bone. Nervous? Me too!

After reading all the different ways to cook a standing roast; Tied? Untied? Salted? Unsalted? I’m starting to think I’m in over my head. Then, like the North Star guiding me home, I come across a recipe on http://whatscookingamerica.net. It recommends tying the roast, no salt, and only buttering the cut ends of the roast. (I did not have kitchen twine available, so I did not tie the roast.) Sounds easy enough, so I’m in!

This site also contains lots of helpful tips including what size roast to buy depending on the crowd, letting the roast come to room temperature before cooking (who knew that?), how to carve the roast, and even how to make gravy from the pan drippings. The recipes from this site are the exact recipes I used, so let’s get started…

First, be sure to let your roast come to room temperature for a couple of hours. This helps for even cooking. While your oven is preheating, smear about 1 tablespoon of butter or margarine on the cut ends of the roast.

NOTE: Do not, I repeat, do NOT attempt to cook a roast this size in a disposable aluminum pan! Approximately 3 minutes into cooking time, I could hear a sizzle coming from the oven. I thought it was just the butter melting off the roast. To my surprise, there was a small hole in the pan, and the juices were dripping into the bottom on the oven. Panic sets in!! After the smoke cleared, and I transferred the roast to a large roasting pan, the cooking could continue.

Place your roast in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, uncovered.  This helps to sear the meat. After searing, turn the oven down to 325 for the remainder of the cooking time, basting the ends of the roast with pan drippings every 30 minutes.  This will vary depending on what size roast you have.  For my particular roast, total cooking time was about 2 hrs and 15min. You generally are looking for a true ‘rare’ when cooking prime rib. This falls between 120-135 degrees, so begin checking internal temp about 45 minutes before estimated end time.

Once you have reached your desired internal temperature, remove roast from oven. I transferred mine to a cutting board so I could go ahead and make the au jus.  Cover with foil and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute into the meat, leaving you with a juicy roast.  The meat will also continue to cook while it is resting.  The internal temperature will rise approximately another 10 degrees, so be sure to keep that in mind.

To make the au jus, you will need:

2 Tbsp pan drippings, try to scrape out any bits stuck on the bottom.

2 cups Beef Broth

Splash Red Wine

Whisk all together, bring to a boil and reduce for about 5 minutes. You can add more or less of any of these 3 ingredients, depending on your taste.

To carve the roast, I enlisted the help of my dad. We decided to carve with the bone still in the roast. The website I used for this recipe gives you a step by step on how to remove the bone before carving.  A sharp knife is also a must for carving.

Let’s Eat!!

Another well known sauce to accompany prime rib is a creamy horseradish sauce. This includes:

¼ cup prepared horseradish

1 cup sour cream

1 Tsbp Lemon Juice

Dash of salt

Mix together and serve along with the au jus.

NOTE: Although, prime rib is best when served rare/medium rare, individual slices can be placed under the broiler for a few minutes to cook a little more, if desired.

The standing rib roast was served with a side salad and a yummy broccoli & cheese casserole. You can find the casserole recipe under our ‘recipes’ tab.

I am very pleased with the way the Standing Rib Roast turned out. Just like most recipes, the more you cook it, the easier it becomes. Don’t be afraid to try something new. It just may become your family’s Christmas tradition.

Anna

Sop It Up with a Biscuit

Picture this. I'm in my early twenties and out with some friends when I'm approached not with a simple 'hello' but with this: "Girl, you look so sweet I wanna take you home and sop you up with a biscuit." I kid you not. He said that. Did I run away?  yes! Not immediately, and you know why? Because there's something kind of endearing and flattering about being considered as delectable as the queen of all comfort foods: a biscuit.

I mean, really...What says 'Southern' like a good ol' fresh biscuit?  Biscuits ARE the ultimate Southern comfort food.  After I found an Alton Brown recipe for Southern biscuits that received rave reviews on the Food Network's website, I couldn't get biscuits off my mind!  And if it's food and it's gonna be on my mind...it might as well be in my tummy, too!  That's when I made the decision that making biscuits would be my next cooking disaster adventure. It seems fairly simple.  It can't be that hard, right????  So, for all you health-conscious folks out there, I'd like to ask you a HUGE favor.  Just for a moment, throw your diet du jour out the window, grab your rolling pin, put on your fat pants, and embrace your Southern heritage!

Honestly, before this experience I've never cooked a biscuit that didn't come in a can.  I agree they are convenient and delish, but I can't shake the thought that being able to cook a made-from-scratch biscuit is the essence of being a true Southern woh-man.  Bebe would be so proud (I REALLY wish I could convey my Southun' drawl in my writing!).  

For my first try, I actually decided to combine two recipes I found--and still did my own thing a little bit, too.  I used Alton's biscuit recipe, but I used a co-worker's tip to roll out the biscuits with my hands, and finally (phew!) a different recipe for the cooking directions.  Confused yet?

There are several reasons I decided to bypass the rolling pin. 1). I thought it would be quicker to roll them with your hands, 2). I thought the mess would be reduced by not having dough and flour all over my counter, and the main reason: 3). I only own two cutters--both technically cookie cutters--one of which is in the shape of a male body part, which I'm pretty sure is not quite suitable for a family style dinner where small children and proper adults will be in attendance. What?  I know. I know.  It sounds strange, but in my defense I purchased that particular cookie cutter for a bachelorette party several years ago and used it to make ham sandwiches.  Yummy! I DO love a theme!!   

Anyway, back to the point: my goal is to discover the easiest way to create the best Southern biscuits.  Rather than make an extra trip to the store to buy a cutter, I ended up taking a co-worker's advice for rolling out biscuits.  She said once you make your dough pinch off a half-dollar size ball roll in hands, set on cookie sheet (or iron skillet) and gently mash the top.  This brings up another point:  almost every.single.recipe. I've found for biscuits holds the disclaimer: "Don't overwork your biscuit dough!"  My question is how do you know if you've overworked it?  I'm having a really hard time finding an answer to this question.  It's not like the dough is going to jump out of the bowl, join a union and go on strike if you work it too much! 

I decided to ask my grandmother, Bebe--a biscuit-making machine—how you know if your dough is overworked.  Her response to my question: "Way-ull...the dough get's hawrd,       Ay-un-deh."  What's that, you say?  Let me interpret for you: "Well, the dough gets hard, Andie." So, it's that simple?    Guess so.  Basically, you just work as little as possible to mix ingredients and roll out your dough.  The more you work it, the tougher it becomes.  And...make sure you keep your hands good and floured so the dough doesn't stick to your fingers.  I learned the hard way, see??

My first attempt tasted pretty darn good, but to be honest, they were U-G-L-Y.  So...I took round two of my biscuit-making saga on the road to Bebe's house. Her recipe for dough was very similar, but MUCH easier.  Instead of using all-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder, you can just use self-rising flour.  She did roll her dough--which really took less time than rolling them in my hands--onto a piece of wax paper to minimize mess, and cut them with a cutter.  Since I don't have a cutter, when I made these by myself I used a kitchen glass as a cutter.  Worked like a charm as long as there was plenty of flour on it to keep it from sticking --THANK YOU, DEAR LORD JESUS IN HEAVEN I THINK I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!!! 

Bebe's mad dough-mixing skillz.

Here are some pictures I took at Bebe's house while the biscuits were cooking for your viewing pleasure.  Starting at the top: An old pic of my sisters and moi in our dancing get-ups; pork n' beans???; Bebe's refrigerator of pics (she loves to brag on folks--too bad I have NO idea who most of those people are!!!); and lastly, various used twist ties--because one can never have too many.  Enjoy :)

In the words of the great Michael Jackson, ♫“Have you seen my childhoooood?” ♫♫ Ok. Now, grab a tissue, dry up those eyes, and let’s get cooking!   Through this whole process, I have learned that there is an art to creating a biscuit that is both tasty AND attractive.  It takes practice.  I, myself, have made biscuits 47,000 many times in the past week trying to perfect it.  Don't stress so much about the beauty of them. To me, the real beauty lies in the taste.  Besides, I prefer to think that imperfections are what make them look home-made--it adds character.  I’ll keep telling myself that!

Here's the exact recipe I used. 

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour

2 T. shortening (AKA Crisco for those of you who are clueless like me and didn’t know what shortening is!)

2 T. butter

1 cup buttermilk, chilled  (+ 1 T. if you want to brush the tops of your biscuits with buttermilk)  

Step-by-step dummy-proof directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Grease your pan with shortening (or Pam J).  I opted to use my iron skillet instead.  To prepare it, drop a large tablespoon of Crisco in the skillet and pop it in the oven while it’s heating. 

3.  Before your hands get messy, go ahead and get out your bowl for mixing, wax paper for rolling out your dough, a rolling pin, your biscuit cutter, and throw a little flour on your wax paper so you’re ready to go when your dough’s ready—I learned the hard way that it’s not easy to get all this stuff out when your hands are covered with sticky dough.  Learn from my mistakes. You’re welcome!

3. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour.  Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until the mixture looks like crumbs.

4.  Make a well in the center and pour in chilled buttermilk.



Pouring the buttermilk in the well.

5. Stir with hands just until dough comes together.  It will be very sticky—don’t panic.

6.  Turn dough onto your floured wax paper (or whatever surface you choose).  Very lightly dust the top with flour and fold over 5 or 6 times.

7.  Roll out dough with rolling pin until it’s about one-inch thick. 

8.  Cut out biscuits with your cutter of choice, and place biscuits on baking sheet.  (If you chose to use your iron skillet, this is the point you pull it out of the oven—in case you didn’t figure that out! J)You can place the biscuits very close together; they don’t spread out—just UP. Reform scrap dough and continue cutting until you use up all your dough.

Cutting the biscuits with my "cutter."  Pay no attention to the
dough I rolled onto the table.  Hey, I'm new at this!

9.  Brush tops of biscuits with buttermilk.  I tried making these biscuits with and without the buttermilk.  The buttermilk way is WAY better.  It makes the biscuits nice and brown on top.

10.  Bake until biscuits are tall and golden on top, about 15 minutes.

So, if you're looking to add an element of nostalgia to your boring dinner menu, whip up a batch of these Southern biscuits--you'll LURVE them!  CAUTION:  Make sure your mama's not standing nearby when you taste them, because you'll definitely get the urge to slap her they're so good :)  

If you have any questions feel free to send us a message or email us!  Happy baking!! 

 --Andie

Contest Update!

We are so excited about all the commotion around our cake!  We’re as anxious as you are to see who wins, but until then we have exciting news! Our sweet friend, Amy Burton, has decided to donate a Willow House ‘Adair Upside-Down Cake Stand’ with our 6-Layer Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake.  Now our lucky winner receives two prizes!! This cake stand is so neat; it can be used as a cake stand or a serving tray with a vase.  HUGE thanks to Amy!! Go check out her website for all Willow House products including this cool cake stand valued at $49.96!

 http://amyburton.willowhouse.com

Ways to enter:

1.       Leave a comment on this post telling us why you want to win this cake

2.       Become a follower of Everyday Re-Creations

3.       Give us a shout-out on your Facebook page, Twitter account, or on your personal blog including our link and then leave us a comment telling us you did so

Don’t forget you have until December 12^th at 8:00 PM (ET) to enter!