Oh my neighbor kids and parents all have the swine flu, croup and/or ear infections! Poor mama! Yesterday while I baked off cookies for the holidays I thru together some chicken soup for them.

I gathered together celery, onions, carrots, garlic and ginger in the food processor and chopped it all pretty fine in case there is any throwing up going on!

Then I sauted the veggies until pretty soft add a couple cartons of chicken stock and a can of petite diced tomatoes a bit of salt & pepper and marjoram. Since I had ginger in there I also added a bit of soy sauce and Mirin.

I think little kids have got to have noodles in their soup so I broke up about a cup of hollow macaroni sticks into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. I cooked the macaroni in a separate pot then added it to the soup. Took the whole pot over and plopped it on their stove. Feel better soon!

mm mm good!

especially with Grammy’s Chocolate Waffies!
Makes about 60.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat Oven 350
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Form dough into tablespoon sized balls – inch and a half apart on silpats or parchment paper bake 8 minutes – turning at 4 minutes, just until shine just starts to go away – cool on sheet a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks –

I made my dough a week ahead and refrigerated it in a bowl with plastic wrap pressed to the dough and a lid on the bowl – worked great to let it sit on the counter to soften a bit while I prepared the veggies for the soup!

Speaking of cookies . . . I just love this Merry Memories arrangement we are featuring this year – the container could be a great cookie jar kinda gift container next year! So a great gift for that baker friend of yours!

Speaking of cookies . . . Our Italian Cookies offering from our baker friends on the hill are selling like hotcakes this year! We also have their pies! The Cherry Pie is as good as my own!

Here are a couple recipes I came up with to use some of the green and red tomatoes I have since cutting down my plants!

Arrabiatta Sauce or Soup

2 tbl butter
1 large fresh clove garlic, thinly sliced (I used Japanese garlic – kinda hot)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ small onion, diced fine
4 fresh poblano peppers – seeded & cut into 1 inch chunks
½ large fresh red pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 small fresh cayenne pepper, sliced thinly
5 to 6 cups quartered fresh red tomatoes (I used mix of Big Boy & Roma)
½ tsp pure orange extract (or some grated orange rind)
1 tbl sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pinch habanero chile powder
3 stems with leaves fresh basil
Drizzle of olive oil
1 28 oz can crushed, peeled tomatoes

Melt butter in large skillet, add all the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until the fresh peppers are tender – about 20 minutes.

Add the can of tomatoes and cook 10 minutes longer.

Always, always have a can of these crushed tomatoes in the cupboard.

Ready for the blender

Puree in batches in blender then put through sieve.

This crazy sieve thingy was Grandma's

Cook ribbed penne pasta to al dente and add to sauce and cook for a minute or so longer to give the pasta a chance to absorb the sauce and serve with freshly grated Parmegiano Reggiano. Delish

Alternately you could add a little cream to this sauce and heat through and eat as the best tomato soup you ever tasted – serve with some salty crackers.

Soup sprinkied with a bit of basil chiffonade

And here is a great green tomato recipe!

Green Tomato Chocolate Walnut Cake

¾ cup butter (room temp)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs

2 cups finely diced green tomatoes (drained)
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (measure after chopping)
2 tsp pure orange extract
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups flour
½ cup dark cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp espresso powder
2-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans or a 10” tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth, add eggs then stir in drained tomatoes, walnuts, and extracts.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients with a whisk. Alternately add to the wet mixture with the milk. Divide evenly into the prepared loaf pans and bake approx 50 to 60 minutes rotating pans halfway thru cooking time. Cool in the pans for 1 hour, then turn out onto cooling rack.

Slice and eat with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream or add frosting if you like. Me? I’m not so fond of frosting – but I sure like sweetened whipped cream! Especially on this not-too-sweet cake.

Ratatouille

What a great use of end of the summer tomatoes and zucchini!

Ratatouille
8 servings

6 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 cups cubed)
2 zucchini squash, cut into 1/2 slices (about 2 cups)
2 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices (about 2 cups)
1 large onion, diced
1 red or orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced (poblanos work nicely too!)
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
½ to 1 cup dried wild mushrooms, soaked and sliced
2 or 3 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
1 tied bundle of fresh herbs: 1 rosemary stem, 6 thyme stems, 3 sage leaves, 1 lavender stem, 10 basil leaves, 3 marjoram stems (Optional, use a total of 3 teaspoons herbes de province if you don’t have fresh herbs)
3 or 4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 or 2 8-oz cans of tomato sauce
4 oz. white wine
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano

The Herbes de Provence are essential in this dish. If you can get your hands on fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, lavender, basil and marjoram use them – if not, increase the amount of Herbes de Provence to 3 teaspoons.

The first thing you want to do is get all of your ingredients cut up and at hand near the stove.

Heat a large skillet until very hot, add some olive oil and toss in the garlic – cooking until light brown remove the garlic to a large Dutch oven or stock pot. Next, saute the eggplant until lightly browned,

This eggplant is just about ready for the Dutch oven.

Remove the eggplant to the Dutch oven, then brown the squash in batches

Add the squash to the Dutch oven when browned, then saute the red pepper and onions until lightly browned, add more olive oil to the pan as needed for the browning.

I used a mix of orange peppers, poblano peppers and threw in a red cayenne pepper as well. See that Dutch oven in the background? I had to move it all into my big stock pot.

Remove the peppers to the Dutch oven. Saute the fresh and wild mushrooms until lightly browned,

add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Pour in the white wine and sprinkle in the dried herbs, let simmer for 5 minutes.

Finally, the last of the veggies are in the pan

(If you use fresh herbs, tie them together and bury them in the mix in the dutch oven)

Bundled Herbs

Combine all ingredients in the dutch oven and simmer on medium heat until vegetables are tender, about approximately 20 minutes.

The big stock pot gives a bit more stirring room

If after 10 minutes the mix seems dry, add some more tomato sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan to serve.

Excellent with grilled pork tenderloin or toss with pasta or wait, do both!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Alone, the Ratatouille is a nice light supper and a perfect precursor to a cheesecake for desert! Visit wkf.com and check out our new NY style cheesecakes from our bakery friends on The Hill!

Happy Birthday

But, unfortunately my dyslexia took over – Rick is obviously not a day over 46!

Rick by the way was our host this past weekend for the Acardia Valley Bluegrass Music Festival down in Ironton, MO. See the Walter Knoll Florist Director’s Chair! That was a Christmas gift company-wide last year. Comes in very handy!

And finally, I wanted to share a family recipe I received from our customer and my blog pen-pal Sheri Vandermolen in India – another use for cherry pie filling that I can’t wait to try.

DENVER CRUNCH

CRUST
2 c. flour
1 c. pecan pieces
1 c. butter
1/2 c. light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soften butter slightly, letting it warm up some (I usually just set my wrapped sticks on the stovetop for a couple of minutes), and then use a mixer to combine it with the brown sugar and flour until crumbly. (It won’t be as smooth as cookie batter, since there are no eggs.) After it is blended, stir in pecans by hand. Press mixture into an ungreased 9X13-inch pan and bake approximately 15+ minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes, and then crumble the dough with a fork, setting aside about 1 c. to use as topping. Press the rest into an 8X8-inch Tupperware container, to form the crust (a 9-inch round casserole dish or a combination of smaller dishes works too).

If using the same mixing bowl for the crust and filling preparation, wash it thoroughly in between, so the residue doesn’t interfere with the rising action of the Dream Whip.

FILLING
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
2 pkgs. prepared Dream Whip (+ milk and vanilla, see package)
1 can sweet cherry pie filling (or any sweet filling of your choice)

Prepare the Dream Whip according to the directions on the packages (using 2 packets Dream Whip + milk and vanilla), beating it with a mixer for several minutes, until fluffy After finishing the Dream Whip, add the powdered sugar and cream cheese to it (in chunks/spoonfuls) and mix until relatively smooth.

After pressing the crust into the desired container, spread half of the cream-cheese mixture over the crust. Then spoon all of the pie filling over that. Spread the remaining cream-cheese mixture over the cherries. With your hand, finely crumble the cup of pecan crust held in reserve and sprinkle it on as a topping. (Layers = crust / cream-cheese mix / pie filling / cream-cheese mix / crumb topping)

Cover and chill immediately. It tends to taste best after it’s been in the refrigerator at least overnight (so I’ve been told).

Thanks Sheri!

So, as easy as Sheri’s Denver Crunch sounds, if you just don’t have the time or inclination and need something sweet for a celebration or hostess gift – might I suggest something from Mimi’s family’s bakery on the Hill like Italian Cookies, Peach, Apple or Cherry Pie, or our fresh baked cookies or chocolate covered fruits – or perhaps a fancy cake or cheesecake!

I was watching PBS and America’s Test Kitchen a couple Saturdays ago and was intrigued by a Blueberry Pie recipe that had a crust made with vodka. This weekend I made it and am sharing my pics and the recipe with you. This vodka crust will be my standard crust from now on, it is delicious, was so easy to work with, puffed up a bit in the oven and had the ultimate flakyness! So Here We Go!

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie (adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

Foolproof Pie Dough Makes one 9-inch 2-crust pie
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus more for work surface ( always use King Arthur Flour)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup vegetable shortening , cold, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold (imparts no flavor)
1/4 cup cold water
Blueberry Filling
6 cups fresh blueberries (about 30 ounces) (if using frozen, increase tapioca to 3 tbl)
1 Granny Smith apple , peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca , ground, use spice grinder or mini processor (if using frozen berries, use 2-1/2 tbl tapioca)
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large egg , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

For The Pie Dough: Process 1-1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no un-coated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 45 minutes

Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.

For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes (if using frozen berries, reduce to 1-1/4 cups, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Increase cooking time to 12-15 minutes if using frozen berries

Gathering everything will make assembly much more organized

Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.

Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.

Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.

I chilled mine out on the back porch - I think you can see above that I don't have a lot of room in the fridge today

Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

Hey! Who cut into the pie? It's only rested 1 hour! #*%%)_$*!

Really good with some Hagan Das Creme Brulee Ice Cream!

Notes from the Test Kitchen recipe: This recipe was developed using fresh blueberries, but unthawed frozen blueberries (our favorite brands are Wyman’s and Cascadian Farm) will work as well. In step 4, cook half the frozen berries over medium-high heat, without mashing, until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Grind the tapioca to a powder in a spice grinder or mini food processor. If using pearl tapioca, reduce the amount to 5 teaspoons. Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor; do not substitute.

Look at this flaky crust!

Notice that tab sticking out on the above pic? It’s a handy little gizmo you put in the pie pan before the bottom crust goes in – makes for clean removal of the first piece! An old friend who turned out to not be such a good friend gave me that thing – I use it all the time and just hate thinking about her! ah ha ha

Don’t waste that left over dough!

Make some cinnamon pie crust cookies!

Just gather what is left over and roll it out into a disk, slather it with soft butter and cinnamon and sugar

Roll the dough very thin if you can

Cut it into wedges with a pizza cutter, roll the wedges into crescents

These are so good

and bake about 20 minutes along with the pie at the 450 F temp.
Not a lot of dough left, with this recipe, but mm mm good!

Does all this look like too much work to you? Walter Knoll Florist has pies – from the Missouri Baking Company on the Hill – Local delivery only and they are as good as any pie I have ever made! Several fruit pies to choose from here or try the Italian Cookie Mix!

Three Little Pigs

What could be better than salty buttery puff pastry wrapped around a little sausage or hot dog? These are easy to make, there will be very few left over and if there are leftovers, they reheat well.

Ingredients:
1 package Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets (thawed)
2 1-pound packages of mini hot dogs or cocktail sausages (Hillshire)
Grainy Mustard
Egg Wash (egg mixed with water to seal edges and paint tops

Drain the wieners well in a colander and dry them well with paper towels. As you are dying them, poke each one just enough to pierce the skin with a fork or several times with the point of a sharp knife.

Unfold and smooth out a sheet of thawed puff pastry on a lightly flowered surface (do not roll the dough thin or manipulate it much or it won’t puff as much as it should – keep second sheet wrapped until ready to use)

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough

Divide the dough into 3 long strips then make 7 rectangles of each strip (use pizza cutter) and then cut the rectangles on an angle to form triangles.

Put a little grainy mustard in the center of each triangle then roll it around a dry weenie, sealing the point to the base of the triangle with a tiny brushing of egg wash.

Space about an inch apart - they will puff up

Space and inch or so apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, then lightly brush the tops lightly with egg wash.

Bake in preheated 400F oven for 20-22 minutes or until as brown as you like them. Remove from sheet pan to a paper towel laid over a cooling rack.

Serve hot with more mustard for dipping.

These reheat well at 325F for 8 or 10 minutes.

Hey! Who Stole A Weenie?

One package of two sheets of pastry makes about 100 – or 2 pounds of mini weenies.

A great party snack, they are good hot or at room temperature.

Speaking of Party! Are you ready for your New Year’s Festivities? 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of a telescope! So drink a toast to Galileo and the skies this December 31!

Galileo Galilei (surely a big fan of Pigs in Blankets!) Painting by Giusto Sustermans

Don’t forget to take or send ahead some flowers to your New Year’s Eve Party!

This tree is in the Lobby of the Metropolitan Square building in downtown St Louis (Located at 1 Metropolitan Square).  This year the tree has been transformed to tell the story of the history of St Louis. Included in the ornaments are 32 large, custom luminaries that were hand crafted by Walter Knoll Florist.  These luminaries show a pictorial history of St Louis.  The luminaries are made from Lexan, a clear polycarbonate that has been cast into tubes that then have historical images from St Louis’ past displayed with back-lit illumination.  Images featured include Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson,  Lewis and Clark, The 1904 Worlds Fair, Charles Lindbergh & the Spirit of St Louis,  the construction of the St Louis Arch and many other Saint Louis historic moments.

Standing at over 45 feet tall, this is the largest Indoor holiday tree in the St Louis area.

The Christmas tree in the lobby of the Metropolitan Square Building

This year we added a podium and a book with copies of the images and a description of each photo.

The Podium and Picture Book feature LED lighting

Some Close Ups of the Luminaries

Many of the images came from the Missouri History Museum and  several from the personal collection of Mark Allen from Anmar Photography.

If you are out looking at holiday decorations this season, it is worth your time to go by and see the biggest and best tree in St Louis. The Metropolitan Square Building tree is a great backdrop for a holiday photo.

This tree was assembled and decorated by Walter Knoll Florist and we manufactured many of the decorations as well.

If you would like to ask Walter Sr a question about the decorations click here.

Fields of Poinsettias

The Garden Center is a riot of color right now!  So many poinsettias!  If you are in the city, plan to make a trip to Florist Row and the Walter Knoll Florist Garden Center -

Red Pink Red

Close Up

Friendly Staff - ALWAYS!

Many Sizes

Traditional

RED RED RED

Pinks and Greens

Pink and White

Feathery Pinks!

Red and White

Beautiful Pinks

Green!

with Santa!

You can read about Pointsettia care and feeding or visit our web site wkf.com for more of our holiday selections

I ate part of an apple for a snack on Saturday and Saturday night the uneaten half was still sitting on the counter next to Friday’s left over baguette – hmm, I thought, maybe I should prepare some French toast for in the morning!

I got out a pan, broke in three eggs and about 1/4th cup of milk and half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a fresh grind of nutmeg – I whisked it really well and let it sit while I made 1/8 inch slices of apple then cut the slices into fine dice and whisked it into the eggs – I cut my stale baguette into 1-1/4 inch slices and plunked them into the egg mixture – left them on the counter a few minutes then gave each piece of bread a turn, covered the dish with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge over night.

See those tiny apple bits!

In the morning I melted a couple tablespoons of butter and cooked up some of the best French toast I’ve ever had!

Two Pigs Farm Maple Syrup in the background!

It was so good with my Two Pigs Farms Maple Syrup – Chris Kimball’s syrup! When Cook’s Country or America’s Test Kitchen emailed me they had Chris’ first year of maple syrup for sale I jumped on it – and glad I did – wonderful wonderful maple syrup. My only regret? Wish I’d made an entire baguette of it instead of just half – And I’m thinking next time I might grate the apple!

So Good!

You like fahita meat?  I LOVE fahita meat – crazy for that chewy texture!  My local grocery had some for a change last weekend so I decided to give the Country Bob’s sauce a try out in a steak salad.  Not bad, actually quite good.  Looks good, doesn’t it?  So very pretty in my giant vintage McCoy pottery bowl!

Skirt Steak Salad

First thing to do is get some salad dressing made – here’s what I used

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tbl red wine vinegar

2 tbl freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)

1 clove of garlic, minced (of course I used my home grown!)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbl Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce ( I used “spicy” – I like it hot, more about that later in this post)

Wisk all the above ingredients together – and refrigerate until ready to use.

Now to fix up the meat:

Rub a teaspoon of salad dressing onto each side of your skirt steak (1-1/2 lbs) and liberally pepper it, let it sit at room temperature while your coals heat up.

Once those coals are hot, grab your man and give him the tongs and tell him to git to it! (Those are my poblano and habanero peppers growing over on the right)

My Q-King

The skirt steak won’t take long (my Q-King added a couple cube steaks when I wasn’t looking) 4 or 5 minutes on each side – put it on when the coals are really hot, get a nice sear and color to the meat.  Then let the meat rest for about 15 minutes under a foil tent.  While the meat is resting you can make a salad – use crispy lettuces, arugula, whatever veggies you like in a salad. I cut a pear up into mine as well as tossed on some feta cheese (I would have used blue cheese if it was on hand though).  Cut the skirt steak against the grain into bite sized pieces and add to the salad – finally toss with the dressing.  This amount of dressing and meat was a good amount for a large head of romaine and 1-1/2 lb skirt steak – serves 3 or 4.

Now about that hot stuff. You know I grew some peppers this year, and even though it is October 8 today, I am still picking peppers!  I have been grinding them in my handy dandy little Cuisinart mini processor and freezing the peppers in plastic bags – I make a narrow log that I can easily break when it is frozen – I just snap some off for my chili or soup or enchiladas or whatever – tastes great, still as hot as ever and tastes fresh picked!  Wear gloves though when you are messing with those little orange habaneros – I lost a couple layers of skin on part of my left hand last time I did some grinding!

Freezing Ground Peppers