Welcome to My Kitchen

By Laura Estes

Quick and easy is the number one criteria for many cooks selecting holiday recipes these next few weeks—a bonus for young cooks who can safely make with limited supervision. For example, Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies are mixed on the stovetop and dropped onto prepared pans to cool and set. Then, add sprinkles for a festive addition to dessert tables.

Peanut Butter

No Bake Cookies

1.2 cup butter

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup cold milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Optional: Sprinkles

Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper and set aside.

Combine butter, sugar, and milk in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute.

Remove the pan from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. Use a soup spoon to scoop and drop the cookie mixture onto prepared baking sheets. Optional: add sprinkles while cookies are still warm, so they stick. Let cool completely and the cookies become firm. Store in airtight containers with waxed or parchment paper between layers.

Charlene Kagele brought Potato Skin Bites to a recent potluck meal. These savory potato slices will disappear quickly as hors d'oeuvres at any holiday gathering or bowl game buffet. This recipe skips the fuss of baking potatoes, scooping and mixing a potato filling. Instead, kids would have fun helping make these.

Potato Skin Bites

3 large russet potatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

6 slices bacon

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

4 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub potatoes and pat dry. Slice potatoes into coins about 1/2 inch thick. Don’t make them too thin, or they will crisp too much while baking.

Place potato coins in a large bowl and add olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne. Toss together until potato coins are evenly coated with oil and seasonings.

Place potato coins on baking sheets in a single layer. Coins can touch but not overlap. Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes, flipping coins halfway through baking.

While potatoes bake, chop bacon into small bits about the size of a grape. Place chopped bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

Once the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven, and top each with about a teaspoon of cheese and 3 or 4 pieces of bacon. Return to the oven for 2 minutes to melt the cheese.

Remove potatoes from the oven and transfer them to a serving tray or platter. Top each with 1/2 tsp sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced green onions. Serve immediately.

Yield: about 10 servings.

Note: chopped pepperoni and other varieties of cheese would be suitable substitutes in this recipe.

Jenny Jones brought a batch of Rosettes to the same potluck meal. Light as feathers, these delicate deep fried, melt-in-your-mouth treats are made by dipping rosette irons in a sweet batter and cooking quickly in hot oil. Rosette irons come in various shapes, with stars, snowflakes and circles being traditional to Scandinavian culinary history. Rosette irons of multiple forms are readily available online or in kitchen shops.

Rosette batter is essential, with only a few variations, mainly in the flavoring. Jenny prefers the following recipe, which is lightly lemon flavored.

Rosettes

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 cup sifted

all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp lemon extract

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Add sugar to the slightly beaten eggs, then add milk. Sift flour before measuring, then sift together with the salt. Stir into the egg mixture and beat until smooth (about the consistency of heavy cream). Add flavoring and stir gently.

Heat 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep fryer or heavy saucepan on the stove to 375 degrees. Securely attach desired rosette iron to the set handle and immerse in the hot oil until thoroughly heated. Lift the iron and shake off excess oil and dip in the prepared batter. Dip only to the depth of the form Dip form into the hot oil. When the oil foamy bubbling stops or the rosette is delicate brown, lift the iron from the oil. Allow excess oil to drip off and remove the

rosette from the iron. Tap firmly on the back of the iron with a wooden spoon to loosen the rosette if needed. Drain and cool, open side down on paper toweling. Allow iron to reheat in oil every few rosettes. If oil or iron is not the correct temperature, rosettes may stick to the iron, but with a bit of practice, you will get the right temperature and timing. If the batter gets too thick, dilute it with a small amount of milk.

Yield: about 4 dozen, but it varies with the size of the irons.

Note: substitute vanilla if you do not care for the lemon flavor. The recipe I have used is the same as Jenny’s, except it calls for 2 tsp vanilla extract.

Looking for some last-minute stocking stuffers for your favorite cook? New spatulas in various sizes, new box graters, new can openers, new vegetable peelers, new pancake turner/spatula, new wooden mixing spoons, new kitchen shears, new dish towels and washcloths, or new dry measure cup sets would be welcomed by most who have kitchen duty. These are items most kitchens have, but they wear out and need replacing from time to time. These are also good suggestions for the new homemaker.

Share your favorite holiday recipes with your fellow readers. January columns will feature recipes to use up those items in your pantry that you may have purchased but did not get used during the holidays. With the high cost of groceries, we want those dollars to be used wisely.

Send any recipes you would like to share to Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. When you are done with your fresh-cut Christmas evergreen trees, wreaths and swags, place them around rose bushes or other bare-branch shrubs in your garden for extra insulation throughout the remainder of the winter weather.