Lemon Pecan Dream Cups

Every Friday, I fix lunch for my two daughters.  I leave lunch on the kitchen table for my oldest daughter (who lives with me and works at home) and pack a picnic basket with lunch for my youngest daughter and myself to take to her home.

I make four servings so she can have something extra to squirrel away for later.  Lunch is always simple – a main dish salad or casserole plus a light dessert.  I came up with this dessert today, using what I had on hand and basing it loosely on one of our favorites, The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford.  The crust is so good in this dessert and the lemon filling is light and tangy.  We all loved it.

• Servings: 4
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Crust:

• ¼ cup all -purpose flour
• 2 Tblsp. butter, cut in small cubes
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:

• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup frozen topping, thawed
• 3.4 oz pkg lemon instant pudding (4 servings)
• ¾ cup milk
• 1-½ tsp. lemon juice to enhance flavor (optional)

Topping:

• ½ cup frozen topping, thawed (divided)
• 4 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Have four oven-safe custard cups at hand
To prepare the crust:

Place the flour and butter cubes in a small bowl.

Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips.  Stir in chopped pecans.

Divide this mixture between the four custard cups and press mixture down in the bottoms of the cups.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Place cups on a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling:

Place cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl.

Stir until smooth.  Stir in ½ cup frozen topping until blended.  Spread this mixture on top of cooled crust in custard cups.

In the same medium bowl, place instant pudding mix and milk.

Beat until pudding starts to thicken – about one minute.   Stir in lemon juice.  Spoon the pudding mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture in the cups.

Swirl 2 Tblsp. of  topping on each cup and place one pecan half in the center.

Cover and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.

4 servings 

Mom’s Bourbon Pecan Fudge

My youngest daughter loved the bourbon fudge she had ordered online and I put together this recipe to try to duplicate it.  It’s not exactly the same, but very good and very easy to make.  This is an adult candy but the bourbon flavor is not too strong.  It just adds a nice mellow taste to a creamy, rich fudge.

• Servings: Depends on size of squares
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4 cups Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips (two 11.5 oz. packages)*
14-oz can Eagle Brand condensed milk
Dash of salt
¼ cup bourbon
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

* You could use any kind of chocolate chips – our family is partial to both milk chocolate and Ghirardelli chips.

• Line an 8-inch pan with foil and butter the foil.
• In a large heavy saucepan, place chocolate chips, condensed milk and salt.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until chips are melted.
• Remove from heat.  Stir in bourbon gradually, stirring until smooth.  Stir in chopped pecans.

• Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate for 4-5 hours until fudge is set and completely cool – the top should feel solid.

• Remove candy from pan by lifting foil.  Peel foil from bottom of fudge and place on a cutting board.  Score the fudge into the size pieces you prefer.  The eight-inch pan will hold fudge that is about one-inch thick.  Cut the fudge into squares.**

Store in a tightly covered container.  Once the fudge is set, refrigeration is not needed – store at room temperature.

**Makes 16 two-inch squares of fudge.  Note that these are BIG pieces of fudge.  You could also use a nine-inch pan and cut the candy into smaller squares.

A Salad Buffet

My youngest son and his family (including their dog) come to visit every summer around the end of July.  He graduated from college, married his fiancee, moved to St. Louis and began his engineering career all within a month’s time in 1982.  This is my favorite picture of them taken quite a few years ago.  The girls have both graduated from college by now….

…and the dog, Brandy, passed away and has been replaced by Maggie.

Each year, there’s the decision of what to cook, particularly for the big family meal when everyone gets together.  It’s always blistering hot, of course, and I don’t want to spend all of my time in the kitchen.  This year, I decided to serve corn-on-the-cob from my local farm market and a Salad Buffet.  All but one of the salads have been posted previously on my blog and are old favorites:

• Broccoli-Bacon-Pecan Salad.  All of the women in the family especially like this salad.

• Chicken and Fruit Orzo Salad.  Another favorite of the women with chicken, orzo, pineapple, grapes, banana and almonds.

• Vegetable Pasta Salad.  This is an adaptation of the Tuna and Veggie Salad posted previously.  I omitted the tuna so I could have one plain pasta salad.

• Thai-Inspired Chicken and Noodle Salad.  This is a new salad this year and we all like it very much.  It’s good either room temperature or chilled.

THAI-INSPIRED CHICKEN AND NOODLE SALAD

• Servings: 6-8
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• 8 oz. ( 4 cups) LoMein noodles (or thin spaghetti)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 3 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• few gratings of black pepper
• 2 chicken breast halves, baked and shredded
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions.  Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.  Transfer pasta to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine canola oil, Teriyaki sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, peanut butter, ginger and pepper.   Mix well until smooth.  Pour dressing over pasta and toss to coat evenly.  Gently mix in chicken, cilantro and toasted sunflower seeds.

This makes a big bowl of salad – 6 to 8 servings.

For dessert we had a sundae bar and then went out on the patio to work off the calories.  My daughter-in-law brought water balloons and small fireworks and the visit ended with a flourish.

Already, I’m wondering – what can I cook next year?

Summer Lunch for the Ladies

My two daughters were here for lunch before going swimming in my neighborhood pool.  I wanted to have something summery and light and decided to have corn-on-the-cob, Pecan Spinach Toss Salad, and Pineapple Cups.

PECAN SPINACH TOSS SALAD

• Servings: 6 generous servings
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• 2 cups orzo pasta
• 3 cups boiling, lightly salted water
• 5 cups fresh baby spinach (about 5 oz.)
• 5 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup toasted pecans
• 3 Tblsp. olive oil
• 1 Tblsp. lemon zest
• 3 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Grinding of black pepper

Add orzo to the boiling water, bring to a boil again and cook for 6 minutes.  Rinse in cold water and drain.

Put spinach, cheese and pecans in a very large bowl or pot and add orzo.

In a small jar, mix together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper – put a lid on the jar and shake well.  Pour this dressing over the salad and toss well.  I let the salad set for about 30 minutes and served at room temperature, although cold leftovers were also good.

WARNING:  This makes a lot of salad – it would be good to take to a potluck or family gathering.  We three each had a big serving for lunch and each one had another large serving to save for supper.

This recipe is adapted from one in Susan Branch’s AUTUMN cookbook.

I’ve been organizing my huge collection of cookbooks and this dessert recipe jumped out at me from a 1939 Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.  There are a lot of recipes in the cookbook, but my favorites are always the Round Table Recipes from readers which were clipped from the magazine and inserted in the cookbook binder.  This one is from someone in Connecticut in November, 1940.  Her comment, “Double surprise!  Comes cake, then custard hiding pineapple!”, which describes the dish exactly. This is a nice, tasty, light dessert – just right for lunch or supper.

PINEAPPLE CUPS

• Servings: 3
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• 8 oz can pineapple tidbits, drained (reserve juice)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• 1/3 cup juice drained from an 8 oz. can of pineapple tidbits
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tblsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 Tblsp. butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp. milk
• 2 egg whites, beaten stiff

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Have 3 small ungreased individual baking dishes at hand.  Boil water to pour into a flat pan with a lip that will hold the 3 dishes.

Drain juice from pineapple can into a cup – should measure approximately 1/3 cup.  Set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour and salt.  Add the lemon juice, lemon peel, cooled melted butter and milk, whisking until smooth.

Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Place tidbits in the bottom of three individual casseroles.  Divide batter among the three dishes and pour over the pineapple.  Place the dishes in a pan with a lip containing an inch of hot water.

Bake @ 325 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Pineapple cups are best served warm or at room temperature.

The buttered corn-on-the cob, the Pecan Spinach Toss Salad and this Pineapple Cup dessert made the perfect ladies’ summertime meal.

Strawberry Pecan Kuchen

In the early 1990s, I studied German to help with my job and my most lasting benefit was being able to translate German recipes.  This is an adaptation of one of them.

• Servings: 4-6
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Strawberry topping:

• 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. water
• 2 drops almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Kuchen

• 3 Tblsp. canola oil
• 3 Tblsp. sour cream
• 3 Tblsp. milk
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup plus 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tblsp. chopped toasted pecans for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Spray or oil an 8″ baking pan

To make strawberry topping: In a medium saucepan, place strawberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch and water.  Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until sauce is thickened and strawberries are soft.  Remove from heat – stir in almond extract and vanilla.   Set aside.

To make kuchen: In a medium bowl, place the oil, sour cream, milk, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Whisk until blended.  Stir in flour just until mixed well.  Batter will be thick – spread batter in prepared 8″ pan, using fingertips dampened with water to push the batter in place.

Spread the reserved strawberry mixture on top of the batter and sprinkle with pecans.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes until cake is browned on edges and beginning to brown on top.

Serve warm.  Yield:  4-6 servings

Lemon Pecan Coffeecake

I like to make something a little special for weekend breakfasts with my oldest daughter.  I adapted this from a recipe I saw on Allrecipes.com

• Servings: 4-6
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• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg plus 2 Tblsp. water
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• dash of salt

Topping:

• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees F

Grease a 9×9 baking pan

In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and water, beat well.

In a separate small bowl, mix the sour cream and extracts.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Spread half of the batter in the prepared 9×9 pan.  Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle half over the batter in the pan.  Carefully spread the remaining batter on top, using moistened fingertips to push the batter in place.  Sprinkle with remaining topping.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until cake tests done when a toothpick is inserted in the center.

Allow to cool slightly and serve warm.  Delicious with a Saturday morning cup of coffee.

Apple Pecan Kuchen

Before I retired in 1994, I worked for 30 years for a manufacturers’ rep.  In the late 1980s, he began dealing with German firms and I took German lessons to help in translating correspondence and in writing reasonably clear German letters.  My boss’ wife jumped at the opportunity to have me translate German recipes she had collected and this is an adaptation of one of them.  It makes a thin, not-too-rich treat for breakfast.

• Servings: 4-6
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• 1 Tblsp. butter
• 2 cups thinly sliced tart apple (about 1-1/2 medium apples)
• 3 Tblsp. sour cream
• 3 Tblsp. milk
• 3 Tblsp. vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 cups plus 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup plus 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons pecans
• Cinnamon Topping:  1 tsp. cinnamon mixed with 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Spray or oil an 8″ baking pan

In a small skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add the sliced apples.  Saute, turning occasionally, for about 5-7 minutes, until apples are softening but not browned.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl mix together the sour cream, milk, oil and sugar.  Whisk in the lemon peel, salt, and baking powder.  Stir in the flour – the batter will be thick.  Spread the batter in the prepared 8″ pan, using fingertips dampened with water to push the batter in place.  Spread the sauteed apples on top of the batter and sprinkle on the pecans.

Bake for 25 minutes @ 350 degrees F.  Remove pan from oven, sprinkle cinnamon topping on the apples and return cake to the oven to bake for 5 minutes more.

Place on a wire rack to cool slightly – best when still warm.

Enjoy a serving of American-style kuchen.