Wine Wednesday - Tarantas Cava Brut

This is a great organic sparkling wine from Spain. It is made using the traditional "champenoise method" which means that it goes through two fermentations - like sparkling wines that come from the Champagne region of France. The most widely noted aromas/tastes from critics are apple and spice. It is said to have soft and clean finish. This Cava goes well with light dishes and is recommended for toasts or cocktail hours. I visited an organic vineyard when I was in France a few years ago. I loved the wines there and brought back a few bottles. This operation is pretty large - the largest producers of "quality" organic Cava in Spain, actually.

Kent and I bought our first bottle about six months ago at Whole Foods. I usually like sweeter sparkling wines while Kent prefers drier ones. This one is great because it isn't very sweet, but it's also not tart or too sharp. We both loved it and have kept one on hand ever since. It usually sells for around $13, and Whole Foods occasionally has them on sale.

Gran's Cheese Straws

Even though I love my grandmother's oatmeal cookies (see previous post), her most famous recipe is her Cheese Straw Recipe. She made these for more weddings, showers, and parties than I could ever count! She always made them when we were coming to visit. And my mom would make them whenever my brother or I got sick - they always made us feel better! In college, I started making them for my friends and taking them to the Grove. It is such a wonderful southern recipe - great for wedding/baby showers and tailgating!

Gran's Cheese Straws
Ingredients:
3 sticks of Parkay
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (Craft Gold - Cracker Barrel)
Pinch of salt
4 cups of sifted flour

Method:
Finely grate the cheese (my family uses a wheel grater because it grates the cheese so finely and makes it soft enough to combine with the butter. Using a mixer (preferably a stand mixer, I burned out the motor in my hand-held mixer because the dough gets so tough) combine the grated cheese and butter completely. Add the salt and begin adding the flour very slowly - in very small amounts. Once everything is incorporated, spoon the mixture into a cookie press. Using the disc that has a ridge on top and is flat on the bottom, squeeze the mixture through the cookie press in long lines on a cookie sheet. Then bake for about 10 minutes (or until golden brown) at 400 degrees. Once they cool, use a spatula with a sharp edge to cut them into large pieces and serve!

Miss Lenoree's Oatmeal Cookies

This is my very favorite cookie recipe! My grandmother created the recipe and made them for years. The recipe has appeared in several cookbooks throughout Alabama, usually as "Miss Lenoree's Oatmeal Cookies". You may need to cut the recipe in half as it yields about 8 dozen cookies!

Ingredients:

1½ cups white sugar

1½ cups brown sugar (packed)

4 eggs

2 cups oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp water

3 cups of plain flour

2 tsp of salt

2 tsp of baking soda

4 cups of oatmeal

1 bag Heath bits

Optional: cup raisins, chopped walnuts, or chocolate chips

Method:

Use a large bowl. Beat sugars and 4 eggs well with electric mixer. Add oil, vanilla, and water. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Then add by hand oatmeal and Heath bits. Then, if desired, add one or two of the optional ingredients. Mixture will be very stiff. Roll into balls and drop on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until done.

Texas Caviar

It's football season which means it's time for tailgating food! Texas Caviar is one of the easiest dips to make for a large group of people. I always made it for the Grove! And it works well for family gatherings as well.

Texas Caviar

Ingredients:

2 cans of black-eyed peas

2 can of black beans

1 can of yellow corn

1 can of shoepeg corn

2 cans petite diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes)

1 green (or red or yellow) bell pepper (chopped)

1 red onion (chopped)

1 bunch of green onion (chopped)

1 jalepeno pepper (chopped and seeded)

1/2 bunch of cilantro (chopped)

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1 lime

salt/pepper

1 bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing

Method:

Drain all canned items. In a very large container, mix all canned and chopped ingredients listed above the line. Then squeeze a lime over the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then pour about half of the bottle of dressing over the mixture. Stir everything together well. It tastes best if you refrigerate it for a few hours before serving. Then serve with tortilla chips!

One of the best things about this recipe is that you can leave out any ingredients that you don't like and add in almost anything! You can also alter the amounts of any of the ingredients to get specific flavor combinations. Leftovers taste great over grilled chicken.

Wine Wednesday - Whole Foods 365

I tried to do some research to find out more information about Whole Foods 365 wines. As part of their "everyday value" line, they offer different seasonal wines. It seems that they only carry a few types of wine at a time. I believe they buy wine from different vineyards and display a joint label that advertises the vineyard and Whole Foods. They sell them at low prices - usually around $6.00. This summer I was able to buy Burgundy with a certain label. Now they have Merlot and Chardonnay - but they are from a different vineyard.

All of this is to say, that the ones I have tasted so far have not been my favorites for drinking. But, they are great for cooking! Paula Dean says that you should never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink. But, I find it hard to pour a cup or two of my favorite wines into the crock pot. So far I've used the Burgundy for pot roasts - it adds great flavor and smells so good! And I've used the Chardonnay with chicken and couscous. I haven't tried the Merlot - but I'm sure it will work well with meat also. These wines don't seem to be too sweet like many other inexpensive wines. Let me know if you have any suggestions for great wines for cooking!

Thumb Print Cookies

This is such a great southern cookie. I've probably made this recipe more than any other dessert. They look so professional - just like ones from a bakery - so you can serve them at any event! I've died the icing red or blue for tailgating, pink for showers, and different pastels for Easter.

Thumb Print Cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. Crisco
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. finely chopped nuts (optional, I usually leave these out)

Method:
Heat oven to 350. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Work in flour and salt until dough holds together. Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into 1-inch balls.

Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts (I usually dash them with sprinkles instead - but this can get very messy!) Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. (They tend to stick to the pan so I've started using parchment paper on top of my pans so that I don't have to break any of the cookies or scrape the pans too long.) Press thumb deeply into center of each but do not break through the bottom. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from baking sheet. Cool. Fill thumbprints with jelly or Confectioners Sugar Icing. (Makes about 1 dozen.)

Confectioners Sugar Icing:
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 T. milk
a few drops of peppermint extract
tint with a few drops of food coloring.
(Mix until smooth. Do not make the icing until you are ready to begin filling the cookies. It will start to harden. But, it takes several hours to harden completely. I usually make and ice the cookies the day before so they have plenty of time to set up.)

Cookbook recommendation: A Cookbook for My Southern Daughter/by: Patsy Smith
This recipe is adapted from Patsy Smith's cookbook. My mom gave it to me when I was in Junior High School, and I have been using it ever since. I've made tons of the recipes in this book, and they are always great! The books are only available in certain stores, but you can buy them on-line.
http://www.southerndaughtercookbooks.com/index.html

Spinach and Cheese Squares

Kent and I have made these as appetizers for church events, and they are a big hit! Finger foods are always great appetizers because then guests can pick up the food and move around instead of hovering over the table. These squares taste like quiche but are easier to make.

Spinach and Cheese Squares
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese

Method:
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-by-9-inch baking pan.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine the milk, butter, eggs, shallot, flour, and baking powder - mix well. Add the spinach and cheese and stir to mix. Spread into the pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a golden brown. Cool set on a wire rack and cut into small squares for serving.

(From 1001 Snacks by Gregg R. Gillespie)