Nannie Embrey's Pizzelles

Christmas wasn't Christmas without Nannie's pizzelles when we got together with the extended family.  When we were married almost 40 years ago, Nannie, my mother-in-law, gifted me with a new pizzelle iron and gave me her recipe which I've been making every year.  These pizzelles are super thin and fragile and I find that storing them stacked in a tin that is a little wider than they are is the best way to store them.

We were faced with a dilemma a few years ago when Gloria joined our family.  Gloria, a 30 year old Amazon parrot, caused me to have to rethink much of what I do in the kitchen because the fumes from non stick cookware can kill a parrot in short order.  The pizzelle iron had a nonstick coating.  What to do!  I thought that if it wasn't TOO cold, I could make them out on the deck but I really didn't want to be standing in 40 degree weather trying to do that.  A little research led me to the original Cucina Pro pizzelle iron which is made out of aluminum.  Problem solved.  Now pizzelle making may resume on schedule with the nonstick appliance being passed to my son. You will need to follow the instructions on your own pizzelle maker.  I find that  usually have to throw away the first two as they are the test ones!  I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Nannie Embrey’s Pizzelles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup butter, melted

¾ - 1 cup flour

1 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp. Anise extract

1 tsp. Vanilla 

Add and beat ingredients together in order listed--using the smaller 

amount of flour for thinner pizzelle.  Batter should be thick but flow 

from a spoon. Place about one tablespoon of batter in the center of 

both section of preheated pizzelle iron.  Close lid. Allow to cook 

until steaming stops -- about 30 - 60 seconds. Remove with fork.  

Allow to cool on wire rack or towels.  While hot, they may be rolled 

into a cylinder or shaped into cones.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar.  

Store in airtight container.  

Makes 2 dozen

Lemon variation:  Omit vanilla and anise extract.  

Add 1 teaspoon lemon extract and 1 tablespoon 

grated lemon peel to batter.

Note:   It will take a couple of tries to get the cooking time right.  My most recent batch took 40 seconds each time.  Also-- a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop makes easy work of scooping the batter onto the pizzelle baker.  With my Cuchina machine, you place the batter just a little toward the back of center.  Experiment to find what works with you. I place paper towels on a cooling rack and place the hot pizzelles there before stacking them in a tin.  Having your confectioners' sugar in a shaker or sifter gives a nice even coat.

Spiced Party Nuts

One of our favorite gifts to give.  These are extremely addicting and your house will smell like the spice mixture for days after!

Spiced Party Nuts

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julie Russo and Sheila Lukins

Printable Recipe

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups shelled pecan halves

1 Tablespoon coarse (kosher) salt (optional)

Garlic salt (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix the cumin, chili powder, curry powder , garlic salt, cayenne, ginger, and
cinnamon in a bowl.  Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over low heat.  

    Add the spice mixture and stir well.  

    Simmer to mellow the flavors, 3 or 4 minutes.

4. Place the nuts in a mixing bowl, add the spice mixture, and toss well.  

    Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet (I use a jelly roll pan).  

    Bake for 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice.

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and using a rubber spatula, 

    toss the nuts with any spices and oil that have accumulated on the 

    bottom of the pan.  

    Sprinkle with the coarse salt, and a bit more garlic salt if desired.  

    Let rest for 2 hours in a cool place.  Store in airtight jars.

Yield:  2 cups

Parmesan Rice Squares

This is the tine of year when we make snacks for gifts  These were a favorite that my mom made when I was growing up.  I made them for my kids too.  Easy and tasty!  What's not to like?

Parmesan Rice Squares

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups Rice Chex or rice squares cereal

3 Tbl. melted butter

¼  cup grated Parmesan Cheese (the kind in the can)

In a shallow pan, toss rice squares in butter until coated.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Toast in slow oven at 300 degrees about 15 minutes,

stirring occasionally.

Cool.

Enjoy!

New Year's Day Bean Soup

This has been a family tradition forever.  I came across this recipe in 1980 at a holiday craft fair at a local armory.  Someone was selling 1 pound packs of 12 - 16 bean blend in cute calico bags with this recipe attached on a card.  I've seen other versions that include a tiny bottle of tabasco tied to the beans as well.  Through the years, we've given this or gifts and even had the cub scouts make this for their moms by layering the different beans in 1 pint mason jars and tying the recipe cards to the jar.  It turns out that a 1 pint jar holds 1 pound of beans.  As I'm gotten older, I just buy the 16 bean mix at the local grocery store and put them in the soup pot to soak before I go to bed New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year!  Enjoy!

New Year’s Day Bean Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 bag of Mixed Beans (Butter beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, great

northern beans, navy beans, blackeyed peas, split peas etc.

1 ham hock, ham bone, smoked ham piece's, or 1 - 2 pounds beef shank
1 - 28 oz can chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 small onion (chopped)
1 lemon
red pepper (to taste, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp.)
1 1/2 tbsp.salt (less if preferred)
pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

Wash beans thoroughly. Place in large kettle & cover with water. Add 1 1/2 tbsp. salt & soak overnight.

In morning drain. Add 2 quarts water, and ham hock, smoked ham or beef shanks. Simmer slowly 2 1/2 - 3 hrs.  Remove any bones and shred or chop meat. Add onion, tomatoes, red pepper, juice of lemon, salt & pepper to taste. Simmer at least 30 minutes longer. Enjoy with crackers & green salad.

Cranberry Pear Salsa

This has been one of our favorite holiday appetizers for 20 years.  I first had it when a friend brought it to work.  I like to serve it with sweet potato tortilla chips but really any kind of chip will do.  It's also good on turkey sandwiches!

Cranberry-Pear Salsa

Printable Recipe

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, Dec 1996/Jan 1997

Delicious with tortilla chips, this salsa is even better on turkey

sandwiches.

Yields 4 1/2 cups.

12 oz. Fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pears (about 2 medium pears)

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup sugar

1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 tsp. Minced orange zest

2 Tbs. Fresh orange juice

1 Tbs. Canola oil

Pinch salt

Chop the cranberries, or pulse them in a food processor until coarse.  

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently.  

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Sesame Green Bean Salad

This is one of those recipes that everyone asks for.  It came from a vegetable garden cookbook that a friend of mine gave me in the early 1980's.  My kids loved it.  We grew green beans throughout the summer as I had rotating harvests of them so I always had a dish of these in the fridge for the kids to snack on.  Emily used to love taking them in a zip loc as her healthy snack in kindergarten.  Apparently, even though the parents were advised to send healthy snacks, most of the kids brought junk food and she was the only one with vegetables.  LOL.  I tried the asparagus version, which I just came up with on my own, for a DAR luncheon as a side dish to the Chinese Chicken Salad which is also on this blog. 

Enjoy!

Sesame Green Bean Salad

(Adapted from an out of print vegetable cookbook ca. 1985)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb. snap beans

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. sesame oil

3 Tbl. soy sauce

Cut clove of garlic

toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Keep beans whole.  Boil 5 minutes. Run under cold water.

Toss remaining ingredients with beans.  Marinate 1 hour in a

bowl that has been rubbed with garlic.  Serve slightly chilled

or at room temperature.

Notes:

Young skinny beans work best for this.  If I don’t have fresh

ones from my garden, I find that the little skinny bagged ones

at Trader Joe’s are perfect!

This recipe works well with asparagus as well.  Lightly peel

asparagus and steam until fork tender.  Run under cold water

then mix with remaining ingredients.

Top with sesame seeds before serving.

Red Pepper Relish

It's the beginning of September when the harvest is really coming in.  This is one of our family favorites.  I used to serve it over a block of cream cheese with Triscuits for a snack or as an appetizer at family gatherings.  One year, I gifted small jelly jars of this with homemade cheddar cheese crackers as teacher gifts.  Enjoy!

Red Pepper Relish

printable recipe

Ingredients:

7 cups finely chopped sweet red peppers (14 - 16 medium)

6 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons salt

1 quart vinegar

Combine peppers and salt; let stand 3 to 4 hours.  Add sugar

and vinegar; cook, stirring frequently, until thick, about

45 minutes.  Pour hot into hot half-pint jars leaving ¼ inch

head space. Adjust caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.  

Yield: about 6 half-pints

Helpful tips:

Processing:  Wash jars and place in canning pot while bringing

water to a boil.  Allow jars to boil about 5 minutes to sterilize them.

Remove jars, wipe rims dry and fill with hot relish.  Place disks on

jars and tighten lids. Place in rack in canning pot and time them

once water comes back to a boil.  Remove and set on a towel when processing is finished. Let cool overnight then check seals. Loosen

the rings on the jars for storage.

Preparation: Peppers can be chopped by hand, in food processor

or in a meat grinder.   If you would like a spicy version, you can add

some crushed red peppers flakes or mince some fresh red jalapeño

in with the bell pepper.