My Vintage Kitchen

A Summer Craving Fix

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Between my need for fresh herbs and one of our readers "The Divine Ms. MMM's" craving for green grapes that are now a whopping $9...for grapes...that's right...$9 FOR GRAPES! (It's not like they are already pressed, fermented, and bottled! Or like they are figs or something...now I would pay $9 just to get a fig...I NEVER SEE THEM! GRRRR. ) Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. What were we talking about? Oh yes, summer cravings. Well, thank heavens that the Florida Strawberries made an appearance at my local grocery last night. I mean lets face it...it's winter, we are down to a very small variety of apples ( can I get a Fuji?), and my favorite citrus (the Clementine) has for the most part come and gone with Christmas. But I always look forward to the winter strawberries from Florida. They taste almost as good as the Indiana summer berries. They are small and packed with strawberry punch. I enjoyed them on my cereal this morning and on my strawberry short cake last night. I adore shortcake. The hint of salty flavor in the bread with the sugary juice of the strawberries is perfect.

-Shelly

Shortcake/bread Recipe

You can make these in a biscuit or in a loaf...I used a loaf pan for this particular one. Also, this is really good if you drop it in biscuit form on top of peach pie filling in a small casserole for a quick cobbler.

1C flour

2 T. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3 T shortening

1/2 cup milk

Mix it up and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 mins....you may need to go longer if you do it in a loaf pan...check the center with a toothpick till it's done.

Great Moments in American Cinema

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Here we are with our second installment of "Great Moments in American Cinema". If you would like to see our first installment here it is. Today it's a tribute to the man who can make giant pancakes, John Candy, otherwise known as "Moley Russell's Wart" or "Uncle Buck".

There are so many wonderful things about the following scene.

A. Who does not love Tone-Locs "Wild Thing"?

B. Who does not love large men trying to pee in tiny urinals?

C. Who does not love a "Melanoma Head"?

Ah yes, truly a great moment in American Cinema. In honor of Uncle Buck, here is a recipe for one of my favorite holiday treats. Buckeyes.

-Shelly

Buckeyes

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

6 ounces dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet

2 tablespoons shortening

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners sugar till a smooth stiff dough forms. Shape into balls using a tablespoon of dough for each buckeye. Place on prepared pan and refrigerate. Melt shortening and chocolate together in a double boiler. Once chocolate and shortening are melted and smooth remove the refrigerated dough and insert a wooden toothpick and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Crazy for Cutlery

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I must say.....you know every time I say "I must say" I think of Ed Grimly. ANYWAY...I must say I am completely in love with our little cutlery set....how cute is that face and the little bun on this chickies hair? We try not to really plug the stuff we sell to much as really the main focus of this blog is cooking, but I just had to show you all how cute this little sweet pea is. Her partner is pretty charming too. Anyway, they are back in stock as is the very popular Penguin Thermos ( if you're still looking for last minute gifts.) 

Check back with us tomorrow as I will be posting the BEST Etouffee I have ever had in my entire life! You know it's good when the recipe calls for a whole stick of butter....lord have mercy on our arteries!

-Shelly

It is Your Turn to Entertain Us

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Well, it's stranger fudge time of year again. The holidays are upon us and we are busier than ever. Instead of me boring you with yet another attempt to be witty, I would love to hear your great stories of the holiday's and the bizarre and funny things that have happened. If you have a delicious recipe to accompany your story throw it our way as we continue to search for the best of the best! Here is a little something we cooked up to hold you over.

Our Great Grandmothers Pumpkin Pie

This is a dark rich pie that is absolute heaven.

1 cup pumpkin

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp  ground cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

butter ( the size of a walnut)  sorry there is not exact measurement but this is what Grandma wrote down.

Cook in a double boiler the first 7 ingredients till thick. Remove from fire and let stand a few minutes. Then Add eggs & butter to mix. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake in a hot oven until shiny.  Sorry again grandma did not put specifics and this recipe was handwritten in the front of her cookbook. I cooked it for 10 minutes at 450 then down to 350 for about 25 more minutes.

Also, this made enough to fill some very small tart pans ( nice if your stuffed and just want a bite or two)

So I'm a Snob...It's Just Because I'm Better Than You

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When I was in college I had moments when I could have been a little nicer. This of course, rides on the idea that I could always be a little nicer, but why? Three doors down in my dorm, there were two girls. One of the girls we nicknamed W.T. for her one time stone washed jeans which were now yellow and the very strong possibility that her home had wheels. Her roommate "dresser" was so named for her boxy build.  Dresser and WT lived happily in their own filth as we "clean" girls held our noses and walked past their open door while simultaneously avoiding the grasp of our pervert janitor, which is another story all-together (whoopsidoodle, I didn't realize you were changing. I didn't grab you there, I didn't realize the towel over the curtain and the water running meant you were naked in the shower....you get the picture). Sometimes when I think back I picture what their lives must be like now...10 years later. Has W.T. lived up to the name? Has Dresser blossomed into a fine young armoire? These are things that I would like to get to the bottom of, and now that My Vintage Kitchen is on myspace ( where we found this gem of a photo-pure culinary delight) I'm pretty sure I will!

Check us out at http://www.myspace.com/myvintagekitchen

Either way I have a feeling their wedding cake looked like this.

   

It's Contest Time Again!

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You know, sometimes when I wake up I realize I really don't need to wash my hair in Perrier. I also know that sometimes it could be viewed as self indulgent when I kick the maid. She is such a bitch though and I think she is stealing from me. I even think that some people may judge me on the way I use my old Mercedes to politely move pedestrians out of the way so that others can pass. Don't worry, it's the old Mercedes, not the new one. Anyways, I have decided to simplify today. Here is a little throw back to a holiday favorite amongst the kids in our family. Oh, and a shout out to aunt Cindy for the recipe and J-Lo for keeping it real.

-Robin

Easy Chocolate-Eclair Dessert

2/3 box graham crackers
2 small boxes instant french vanilla pudding
4 cups milk
2 (8-ounce) packages Cool Whip
1 container chocolate fudge frosting

Place a layer of graham crackers in a 9-by-13 inch pan. Make pudding following instructions on box using milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add Cool Whip,, fold in till completely mixed. Spread 1/2 the mixture on crackers. Place another layer of graham crackers on, followed by the rest of the pudding mixture. Open frosting and heat in microwave on high for about 25 seconds. Place on top of pudding by dropping balls of it all over and then carefully spreading it out. My pudding and chocolate combined a little so I ran a knife up and down the dessert to create a pattern.

CONTEST: ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

Simply be the first to shoot us an email at [email protected] telling us what is "missing" in this post and you will win 2 of our Cocktail Kitchen Towels! You have till Friday at Midnight Eastern.

Give it a shot, it took us over 24 hours to get the correct answer for the last contest! Remember, don't give it away in the comments! Good Luck!

A Halloween Therapy Session

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Well, I guess my food obsession all started with Halloween. We used to carve all of the guts out of our pumpkins and then our mother would come through with a large spoon and knife and thin its walls out. This extra thinning of the walls would become pumpkin pie along with a side of roasted pumpkin seeds. As for the jackolantern.....well, I don't recall. But, the pie was delicious. One Halloween came very quickly after a move. The house was full of boxes and my parents didn't have time for halloween costumes what with getting food on the table, our new private school, Shelly's new Gloria Vanderbelt jeans....you get the picture...this was the year we did without...sigh. I grabbed some boxes, a little glue, and the pink paint leftovers from our kitchen and morphed into an ice cream truck. Not just any ice cream truck, a HAUNTED ice cream truck. You put the candy in the trunk! That's right. I had a bag by my butt that you put candy into. My poor sister under the same dilemma grabbed some funky bathrobe/feather boa combination and attempted to be a movie star. I sometimes laugh when I think of the next door lady asking her if she was supposed to be Dolly Parton. Hey Shell, do you remember that? Ahhhh, your pre-teen over-developed angst....heh heh. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

-Robin

Butter Cookies

1 cup soft butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3 tsp flavoring ( vanilla, almond, lemon, etc.)

3 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix butter, sugar, and egg. Stir in flavoring. In a seperate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Stir in butter mixture till it is all incorporated. Chill dough 1 hour. Roll out to desired thickness...these make great thin or thick cookies...whatever you prefer. We like them thick but it's up to you. Cut in desired shapes.

Bake for 5-7 mins at 425 degrees.

After they have completely cooled decorate with your favorite icing. The canned stuff works great...if you use the stuff in the can, let them sit out overnight so that the next day you can stack them as the icing will harden.   

 

In the Beginning God created Apple Pie

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Issac Asimov said "In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

Well Issac, lucky for us Al Gore invented the Internet and all I had to do was pay a visit to Cream Puffs in Venice. I must say this was a very tasty pie...the only thing I changed was adding a hit of nutmeg. It's a sick compulsion...I can't make anything containing apples and not add nutmeg.

Thanks Ivonne!

-Shelly

I picked up these gorgeous Swiss Gourmet apples at The Apple Works Orchard. If you're ever in the Midwest, this is a great place to take the kids...and it's fun for the adults too.

CONTEST: One of these things is NOT like the other in this post. If you happen to be the first to  catch what it is you will win our "Apple Pie & Cherry Cobbler" floursack dishtowels!

RULES: Simply shoot us an email at [email protected] with your answer. BE SURE NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS! The first person with the correct answer wins!

Good luck! You have till Monday night at Midnight Eastern Time.

Great Moments in American Cinema

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Here at My Vintage Kitchen we thought we would start running a little series called "Great Moments in American Cinema". This is our version of Dinner & a Movie.

OK, it's not exactly dinner, but we will give you a little recipe and a little movie clip. Now we must warn you that Robin and I have the maturity of a 14 year old boy. So you may not want to watch our "clip". Also, Mother did not approve of this clip...but being the heathens that we are...we'll let you be the judge.

Oh  yeah, and you should totally make these cookies and rent the movie Parenthood! They are both splendid!

-Shelly

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cup quick oats

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips ( you could do rasins)

1/2 cup nuts

Combine dry ingredients. Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and milk. Combine all ingredients. Add raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Don't Do It!

I have pretty much resigned to the fact that there is no such thing as a good brownie that is made with cocoa. It must be chocolate. I found this little number on line and it was truly the worst brownie ever. But here is the picture. Looks good…no?

Just in case your looking for some sort of self sabotage like ….I don’t know, cutting yourself, going out and partying with Britney Spears, or going on a date with Mike Tyson. I would recommend making these in stead…but those are the ONLY circumstances I would ever recommend making these.

Worst brownies ever recipe.

-Shelly