Ummmmm Thursday

Greetings and welcome to another class inspired edition of At the Table with the Cantankerous Connoisseur.  This week we look at Charms.  This month's assignment has all of us creeping around the castle hiding in niches and observing those cute little firsties.  Tracing, if you will, their pre-Hogwarts spellwork.  Don't pretend you didn't engage in a little unauthorized underage magic, its all there in the trace you know.

One of the most important things when stalking a first year is to be sure you are well rested and equipped with snack food to get you through the long hours of crouching in the shadows.  To that end I give you this recipe. 

Stalkarific Granola Bars

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups rolled oats


1 cup all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking soda


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


2/3 cup butter, softened


1/2 cup honey


1/3 cup packed brown sugar


2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips


Directions


1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.


2.In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter or margarine, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups assorted chocolate chips, raisins, nuts etc.


3.Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.



Ummmmm Thursday

Good morning House Cuppers, as Thealexklein has been called away on a top secret mission for the headmistress, something about horcruxes, I will do my best to fill in today. 

Potions class this month is all about brewing an invigorating draught.  Years ago I did an exchange term at the Italian Institute of Witchcraft and Pastamaking.  During this stint we learned a very important invigorating draught - Tiramisu - the translation of which means "pick me up".  It is sort of like a sweet lasagna.  Perhaps it is the coffee and booze in the desert or just the fact that nothing is sexier than a man who makes deserts that gives it the name.  In any case if you are trying to clear needle-hook-and-spindle block try this recipe for inspiration.  Maybe after a heaping dish you can knit a pastry cozy.

Tiramisu

Ingredients:

6 egg yolks

3 tablespoons sugar
1 pound mascarpone cheese (you can use cream cheese, but it will not be as good) 
1 1/2 cups strong espresso, cooled
2 teaspoons Vin Santo or dark rum
24 packaged ladyfingers
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish


Directions:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of espresso and mix until thoroughly combined.

In a small shallow dish, add remaining espresso and rum. Dip each ladyfinger into espresso for only 5 seconds. Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart. Place the soaked ladyfinger on the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish, breaking them in half if necessary in order to fit the bottom.

Spread evenly 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture.

Cover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

Finally swing by the dungeon for a glass of grappa to finish off the evening.



Visiting the Kitchens with YarnVista!

One of the cool things going on in Hufflepuff this term is that they have a House Elf Liaison, Yarnvista, who makes trips to the kitchens and brings back yummy recipes for the Hufflepuffs to try! This is a regular feature in the Hufflepuff Common Room this term, and I'm going to be picking some of my favorite ones to share here with the whole school. If you'd like to see them all, they can be found here. If you're a Hufflepuff and you have a recipe you'd like to share, PM Yarnvista!

Using my favorite copy/paste spell, I have conjured this recipe here from the Hufflepuff Common Room where it was featured as a special Mothers Day edition. Sounds yummy!

**************

The House Elves wanted to wish every ‘Puff mom a Happy Mother’s Day! They had a little meet and greet with StitchingMagic and they came up with this fabulous looking Apple cake - yum! StitchingMagic’s special touches are noted in parenthesis, the original was from cooks.com.

Silver P.’s Apple cake

□ 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil (1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled)

□ 2 c. all-purpose flour

□ 1/4 tsp. ground cloves (leave out all 3 spices and put in 2 tsp. gr.)

□ 1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon ( cardamom )

□ 1/4 tsp. ground mace

□ 1 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped (I prefer pecans or blanched almonds)

□ 3 tbsp. Calvados

(or the flavored brandy to match, or Poires Guillaume for pears, kirsch for cherries)

□ 2 c. sugar

□ 3 eggs

□ 3/4 tsp. salt

□ 1 tsp. baking soda

□ 1 c. whole wheat flour, sifted

□ 3 1/4 c. coarse chunks of peeled and cored apples

(or pears, or peaches, or cherries)



Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat vegetable oil (or butter) and sugar until thick and opaque. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together all-purpose flour, cloves, cinnamon, mace, (or cardamom) baking soda, and salt, then stir in whole wheat flour. Add to oil mixture and blend. Stir in nuts, fruit, and brandy or liqueur. Stir to distribute pieces evenly. Pour into a greased 10 inch round cake pan (This is not big enough. I use a large spring form pan place on a baking tray.) Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake rest for 10 minutes, then unmold and pour glaze over warm cake or cut cake and pour glaze over slices.



APPLE CIDER GLAZE FOR SILVER PALATE’S APPLE cake :



Melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 6 tablespoons granulated sugar. Add 3 tablespoons Calvados, or brandy, or liqueur, 1/4 cup sweet cider, or juice of your choice, 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly, and cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour while still warm over warm cake .

Butter Beer Bread

SFCorgi kindly sent along this recipe for (Butter) Beer Bread, which is quick and easy to make.

You'll need:

3 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. sugar (or 1 tsp. honey)
1 tsp. salt
12 oz. bottle of beer (Better beer makes better bread.)
1/4 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine first 4 ingredients in mixing bowl. Add beer and stir until combined. Dough will be sticky. Place dough in a greased loaf pan. Pour melted butter over the top of dough. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned.

Variations: Try adding fresh herbs, sauteed onions and/or grated cheese to the dough.

Happy birthday, mid-Septembers!

Happy belated birthday to:
Volkat (13 Sept), silverarrowknits (14 Sept), and Vivianedulac (16 Sept)

Happy happy birthday to knicknacks, whose birthday is today September the 18th;

And happy early birthday to:
XScars (21 Sept), minsue (22 Sept), Caitirin (23 Sept), TNTknits (24 Sept), and silmiriel (25 Sept)

To make the cake pictured above, visit Cake Journal for the recipe.