Orzo Salad with Fresh Lemon and Chive Dressing

I love Orzo pasta salads. There are so many combination possibilities with Orzo.  In my latest Orzo creation, I chose veggies that I love and paired them with a fresh lemon and chive dressing to feature the flavors of Spring.
I'll be making this for our family Easter dinner next Sunday. Total time to make this salad, less than 30 minutes. If you're looking for something fresh, simple and a little out of the ordinary, it's staring you in the face.
Not me, the salad.




Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Tomatoes and Fresh Lemon-Chive Dressing
A Bountiful Kitchen
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for salad:
1 lb orzo
1 lb fresh asparagus
1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped chives, divided (half for dressing, half for garnish)
1 lemon rind, grated fine, using a microplane grater
sliced lemon, for garnish

for dressing:
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper


Cook the orzo according to package directions, set aside. This may be done up to three days before serving salad.
Wash and snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Cut into one inch pieces on the diagonal. Place about 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan. Put the asparagus in the pan, heat until water boils. Cover and cook for one minute. Remove from heat. Asparagus should be bright green. Drain off hot water and pour cool water into the pan. Drain again and place asparagus in the bowl with the cooked orzo. Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the bowl with the orzo and asparagus. Add one half cup of the chopped chives and the grated lemon rind.
In a large measuring cup, Mix all of the dressing ingredients with a whisk,  or place in a blender, or use an immersion blender and pulse until ingredients are blended well.
When ready to assemble, toss all of the salad ingredients. Pour about 3/4 cup of the dressing over the salad. Toss. Let the salad sit a bit before placing in serving bowl or platter.  Just before serving, toss with additional dressing if needed. Garnish with the remaining 1/2 cup of chives and lemon slices.
Serves 12 as a side dish

Tips:
-Try to assemble and serve the salad on the same day. The pasta may be cooked ahead, but the asparagus is best when tossed with the dressing on the same day.
-You will have leftover dressing. Don't be tempted to drown the salad in dressing. Use the leftover dressing on a green salad, or chopped avocado and tomatoes. This dressing would also make a great marinade for grilled chicken.

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Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Easter is just around the corner. In our home, we love to celebrate with a family gathering. No matter the time of day when the meal is served, we make brunch dishes, along with the traditional ham, rolls, salads and of course, desserts. 

I love this recipe for Blueberry Stuffed French Toast.  It can be made for two, or twenty. Most stuffed french toast recipes are made the night before, layered in a dish,  set in the fridge, and baked the following morning.  I wanted to create a dish that mimics an overnight french toast, but takes only a few minutes to create before serving. Most of the overnight stuffed french toast dishes serve 8-10, this one is perfect if it's just you and your sweetie, or great for a crowd as well. Everyone can join in and help assemble, and the bread can be cooked to order. I used blueberries, but strawberries, blackberries and/or raspberries would be delicious as well. 

Come back soon, I'll be posting dishes for Easter for the next several days! 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
A Bountiful Kitchen
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6 Thick Slices bread, preferably Texas Toast or French Bread about ¾ inch thick
4 large eggs
⅓ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

for filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons butter, for cooking

Mix the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl with whisk until smooth.

Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla in a bowl until mixed well. Pour into a shallow dish that will allow for dipping of bread completely ( a square pan works well).

Spread about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on one side of each piece of bread. Make sure to spread evenly and all the way to the edge of the bread. Sprinkle a few blueberries on top of the cream cheese mixture on three of the slices of bread. Make a sandwich with the bread slices. The “sandwich” should have the following:

one slice of bread with cream cheese mixture
one slice of bread with cream cheese mixture and a few blueberries sprinkled on top
Melt some butter in a pan, preferably a non-stick pan over medium high heat.
Dip the sandwich into the egg mixture.

Place the sandwich into the pan with the melted butter and fry for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden browned. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove and serve immediately or keep on plate in oven until all pieces are cooked and ready to serve.

Place on plates and sprinkle with additional remaining berries. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar and serve with jam or syrup. Serves 2-3

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Cutler's Famous Glazed Sugar Cookies (step by step)

If you live in Davis County, Utah, you know about Cutler's Cookies. We have lived in Bountiful for close to twenty years and have had the pleasure of being a Cutler's customer for as many years.

I'm honored to be the only blogger Curt and his wife Nancy have worked with in sharing recipes both in classes and online.  Every time I post one of their recipes, people from near and far away comment about craving one of their signature sugar cookies. Cutler's sugar cookies are soft, puffy, perfectly shaped and always frosted with either a generous amount of buttercream or topped with a glaze, flavored with a hint of almond.

topped with glaze

topped with buttercream frosting.

I originally posted Curt's recipe for Sugar Cookies with Butter Cream Frosting here, and later added the glaze recipe to the post after numerous requests. Since there were so many requests about the glaze, how to make it, how it is applied, etc., I thought you might like to see the method Cutler's uses to glaze the cookies a whole pan at a time. Their secret is a stainless steel pan you'll find in the hardware store. It looks like this and costs just a few dollars- some call it a trowel pan or a spackle pan, I think it looks like a mini-trough.

mini-trough for glazing

Curt came over last week to show us step by step how the glaze is applied. We baked up some cookies he made in the Cutler's kitchen and also mixed up a batch in the Bountiful Kitchen.  Melanie (quality control specialist and bff), my daughter Corrine (who took most of the photos so I could get busy with the flour) and the cutest grand baby you've ever met, Anabelle, aka: Yanners, Yani, Yippers, The Yiplet (advocate for anything pink, sparkly and sugar filled) were on hand to join in the sugar fest. Cathy, cookie making expert  from Cutler's, also joined in the fun.

Yani, testing the finished product
she approved

Frosting or glazing the cookie is a matter of preference. Some are buttercream frosting fans (me). Some are glaze fans (me again).  If I have to choose just one, I'm going with buttercream every time. But after eating these glazed cookies fresh out of the spackle pan, I must say, I'm now a glaze lover too.

Here's a step by step from the Cookie King himself, Curt Cutler.
Step one. Get all of the ingredients together.

cookie making, Cutler style

when measuring flour, scrape after adding to measuring cup to insure an accurate measurement

line baking pans with parchment paper

roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick
make sure there is plenty of flour on the surface, or the dough will stick

cut out shapes with cookie cutter

remember that part about generously flouring surface?
if you don't flour the surface enough,
you may need to use a spatula to get the cookie shapes into the baking pan

cookies from the bakery, cut by machine

dough ready to set on pan and bake

After baking, remove from oven and let cool completely.
Ready for the glaze?
Make the glaze according to recipe and fill the mini trough with glaze. Double the glaze recipe if you are using the trough, so you will have enough glaze to cover all of the cookies.

line a baking pan with a clean sheet of parchment paper
set the cookies on top of a cooling rack that will fit into a baking pan

This is the method Curt uses to cover all of the cookies at one time.
Thanks Corrine, for making this Gif file, so we can watch it over and over and over.

isn't this a thing of beauty? 

say yes

If you don't want to purchase a spackle pan, you can simply mix up the glaze in a bowl, then dip the cookie and gently scrape the excess icing off before setting it on a pan to set up. The next few photos show us dipping the cookies in the glaze by hand.

dip the cookie into the glaze, let the excess glaze drip back into the container

using  a butter knife, scrape off any excess icing back into container

one beautiful glazed cookie

essential ingredients

hurry and throw on some sprinkles before the glaze dries!

That's it! Very simple, really. With or without the mini trough.
Of course, the easiest way to enjoy a Cutler's Cookie is to hop in the car and drive over to Cutler's and get your cookie fresh from their Bakery. Call them to place your order early (801) 298-2253. Valentine's Day is one of their busiest days of the year. Curt and crew sell about 300 dozen (3,600!)  heart shaped cookies the week of Valentine's, not counting the pink frosted or other cookies sold there. Baking frenzy on 500 South.
Hope your Valentines Day is filled with all things sweet!

Cutler's Famous Glazed Sugar Cookies

Cutler's Cookies, Bountiful Utah

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1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 cups cake flour
glaze ingredients (below)
sprinkles for topping cookies
parchment paper (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended well. Add dry ingredients and mix. To make dough easier to work with, chill before rolling.
Generously flour surface.

Roll dough on floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookies and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

Cookies are done when top is slightly cracked and no longer looks wet. Edges may be slightly browned.

Top the cookies with glaze. 

Makes about 2 1/2 to 3 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

Cutler's Glaze
Single recipe is fine if you are dipping the cookies. If you are pouring out of the trough, double this to insure you will have enough to pour out of pan and cover all cookies

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond emulsion* or almond extract

1/2 teaspoon meringue powder**

milk or water to thin (Curt prefers milk) about 1/2 cup
milk will make a thicker glaze, water a thinner glaze

Place powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add almond emulsion or almond extract to the powdered sugar, along with milk or water, a little at a time whisking to combine. Continue whisking until smooth. Add just enough water to make a smooth glaze that stays on a knife when the knife is dipped in the glaze.

Glaze the cookies by dipping the cookie into the glaze in a bowl and removing quickly when coated.

Place cookies on rack or cookie sheet until glaze sets.

Tips:

-*almond emulsion is sold at specialty cooking stores (Orson Gygi's in Salt Lake City) or stores where cake decorating supplies are sold. You may also use almond extract. 

-** Meringue powder is also sold at specialty cooking stores. Cutler's uses meringue powder to create a shiny effect on their glaze. It is optional when making the glaze. Or you may use the same amount of cream of tartar in place of the meringue powder to create the shiny effect. I have noticed the shiniest effect seems to come when using the combo of water and meringue powder in the glaze.

-If the glaze starts to get too stiff, add a small amount of water and whisk in until desired consistency. I mixed up the glaze, then poured it into a pie plate so we could easily dip the cookies that are covered in white glaze in the photos above. 

-The hot pink color is achieved through using a food coloring purchased through Michaels or (in Utah) at Orson Gygi.
-Make sure to use a clean sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan used to glaze the cookies. if you are using the trough method. After you are finished pouring the glaze over the cookies, you may scrape the excess glaze back into a container and use the icing for a future batch of cookies. Refrigerate any leftover glaze. 

clean up crew

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Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Bruschetta

Do you love baked artichoke dip?  This is similar, but also incorporates sun dried tomatoes. It's rich, creamy and a little tangy. It's a one bowl- mix, spread and bake process.  If you've got five minutes,  you have time to whip up this recipe.  You'll have an appetizer guaranteed to please everyone from cowboys to food snobs.
Perfect for ringing in
2
0
1
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See you next year :)

Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Bruschetta
A Bountiful Kitchen
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1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3-4 oz  marinated artichokes, drained, chopped in half (approx. 1/2 cup before chopping)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish (optional, but really adds color to dish)
1/3 cup mayonaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
1 french baguette, cut into 3/4 inch slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack on top third of oven.
Gently mix together sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and mayo. Season with garlic salt and pepper.
Spoon mixture onto baguette slices and place on baking sheet.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes.  The topping should puff up slightly and turn bit golden on top.
Remove from oven. Place on plate and serve immediately, sprinkle with additional chopped parsley if desired.
Makes about 12-15 slices.

Tips:
-You may substitute regular canned artichokes (in water)  for  marinated artichokes. If using regular canned artichokes, add one teaspoon of lemon juice to the recipe.
-To "drain" the sun dried tomatoes, I  use a fork to remove the tomatoes from the jar. No need to use a strainer.
-Brush the baguette slices with olive oil and toast them under the broiler if you like the bread more crunchy. Top with the spread and bake as directed.
-To serve as a dip, simply mix up the artichoke and tomato mixture and spoon into a small oven proof dish. Bake for 15 minutes as directed. Serve with veggie slices, chips, crackers, pita slices or bread.

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Chocolate Pecan Pie

A few years ago one of my favorite people in the entire world (yes, the entire world) made this pie and brought it over to our house the night before Thanksgiving. Her name is Melanie. And she's the best.

That's my friend on the left. Always helping in the kitchen.
And my Brookie on the right. 

I have no idea why it took me three years to get around to making this recipe. It's now one of my favorites. Whenever someone asks me  "what is the easiest pie to make if I'm a beginner in the kitchen?" I always say pecan pie. It's one bowl- mix, dump and bake type of recipe.
If you have an assignment to make pies for Christmas, and you need to impress your new in-laws, this is your lucky day. Here's the scoop on this recipe:
1. super simple
2. tastes great
3. super simple
4. tastes great

Think chocolate, caramel, pecan in a pie crust. Best combo ever.























Chocolate Pecan Pie
adapted from Keep Your Fork-There's Pie!
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Prepare crust for a single crust pie. Pie crust recipe found here

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cups toasted pecans
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Place rack on bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Prepare crust as directed roll out and fill a single 9 inch pie plate.
Mix butter, brown sugar, salt, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth.
Fold in  pecans.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over bottom of pie crust. Pour filling on top of chocolate chips.
Place filled pie in pre heated oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
After ten minutes, reduce heat to 375. Do not open oven door. Bake for an additional 45 minutes.
Remove from oven. Let cool for at least three hours before serving.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Tips:
-Do not use larger than a 9 inch pie plate.
-Take out all of the ingredients ahead of time and pre measure. This will insure you have the amounts right.  Last night a friend told me about a three time attempt at making a cream pie filling. First time, forgot the sugar, second time, doubled the milk, third time, no idea why but it didn't set up. If the ingredients would have been pre measured, she might have avoided the first two failed attempts. Lesson here, if you are forgetful (like me) or just starting out, pre measuring and placing all ingredients on counter will help you to avoid pitfalls such as realizing you don't have a key ingredient on hand or leaving a key ingredient out of a recipe :)
-Do not open the oven after you place the pie inside. If you bake the pie on the bottom third (usually the second rack from bottom) your crust should not over brown.
-When making a bottom crust for pecan pie, do not roll it too thin. The filling will caramelize and if it seeps through the bottom crust, it will stick and make the pie difficult to remove from the pie plate.

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Simple Coconut Cookies

Coconut cookies. You are either a lover or a hater. I'm a lover. This is one simple and delicious little nugget of coconutty deliciousness. It is moist and chewy. Full of coconut flavor.

Jack wants you to know he loves coconut.

You probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry to make these little gems. It will take you 5 minutes to mix up the dough.  Bake for 30 minutes while you clean up the mess and powder your nose. You don't powder your nose? Neither do I. 

Anyway. You're going to love these. 

Less than a week before Christmas. 

Get Baking. 

Simple Coconut Cookie

Indigo's Sugar Spectrum, adapted from Martha Stewart

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1 package (14 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut (5 1/3 cups)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
splash of milk if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Set aside 2 loosely packed cups of coconut on a plate. 

Place remaining coconut in a food processor along with sugar, salt, and baking powder; process until finely ground. Add butter, and process just until no lumps remain. Add egg and vanilla; process just until smooth. Add flour; pulse until a crumbly dough begins to form, scraping sides of bowl as needed (do not over mix). If the dough is a bit dry, add a splash of milk until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.
Forming 5 or 6 at a time, scoop level tablespoons of dough, and place in reserved coconut. Roll into balls, coating with coconut.
Arrange balls, about 2 inches apart, on baking sheets.  Do not flatten the balls of dough.

Bake until lightly golden, 23 to 25 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If desired, sprinkle with a bit more coconut while hot.

This recipe yields about 15-18 cookies if using a 2 1/2 inch cookie scoop. The cookies are very rich, and can be made using a smaller scoop or spoon. 

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Linzer Cookies

I first tasted Linzer cookies while on a trip to Austria back in the late 90's. Linzer-type cookies are sold all over Europe.  I'm in love with the combination of butter cookie and jam filling. The recipe for Linzertorte is rumored to come from an Austrian Abbey in 1653. The Linzer cookie is a cousin to the famous Linzertorte, which is made with a buttery dough (often same as the cookie recipe), filled with jam, then topped with a lattice crust.

I love my friend, Jolene's recipe for Linzer cookies. It's the best I've tasted. Trust me, I know a good Linzer cookie when I meet it.  This one has ground almonds in the dough along with a bit of cinnamon, and almond extract. It's remarkably easy to mix up and although they look complicated, they are fairly straightforward and the dough is easy to handle. 

Every Christmas cookie tray needs a jam cookie. I know you'll love these on your holiday table. 

Frohliche Wehnachten.

Linzer Cookies
Jolene Jardine
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*You will need a cookie cutter that is round or round with scalloped edge, also a small cutout (circle, heart, or any other small shape) for the center of the cookies.

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract

3 cups flour
1 cup almond flour (or ground almonds)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon


Filling:
1 cup raspberry jam
2 teaspoons lemon peel (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
In a large bowl, or bowl of a food processor, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and extracts, beat until light and fluffy.
Add dry ingredients all at once, mix just until all of the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated, do not over mix.
On a floured surface, turn the dough a few times until coated with flour. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out with round cookie cutter. Continue rolling out dough with a bit of flour until all of the dough is cut and placed on cookie sheets. Cut small shape (circle, heart, etc) in the center of half of the cookies.
Bake in 300-325 degrees oven until golden brown on bottom of cookie. Let cool completely.
In a small bowl combine jam and lemon peel.
Take the top of the cookies and press lightly into powdered sugar. Set aside.
Spread a little jam filling onto the center of each of the cookies that do not have a cutout shape. Do not spread the filling to the edge of the cookie, it will eventually spread to the edge after the cookie is topped. Place the cutout cookie on top of the jam topped cookie.
yields about 6 dozen single cookies, or 3 dozen finished Linzer cookies.

Tips:
-If you want the cookies to be soft, place in an airtight container. If you prefer the cookies to be crisp, instead of soft, store in a single layer until ready to eat.
-I placed all of the scraps in a pile and then re-rolled those a couple of times to prevent re-rolling the dough too many times. I also baked the cut-out center pieces and served those dipped in powdered sugar along with the filled cookies. Also spread a bit of jam on those and made mini-Linzers.

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