An Autumn Affair at Applejack Lane

Last Sunday, seventeen friends attended An Autumn Affair at Applejack Lane.  It was a beautiful day for an afternoon party with the girls.  There was only one glitch.  I didn't take any pictures to amount to any thing!
Mr. Scarecrow Man made himself comfy on the dining room table...

 A sample of the goodies I made...

Pretty fall Caspari napkins...

 An Autumn Affair at Applejack Lane Menu

Chicken Salad Croissants with Cranberries and Pecans

Southern Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Savory Palmieres

Tomato-Mozzarella-Basil Appetizers

Fruit and Cream Mini Tarts
Cheese Straws
Raspberry Jam Thumbprints
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Cranberry-Pomegranate Spritzer
Wine
Southern Sweet Tea

Looking forward to An Autumn Affair 2013!

Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

We had our family reunion today, and I was asked to post my recipe for Marbled Cheesecake Brownies.  Here goes...

Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

1 package fudge brownie mix-family size for a 13 x 9 pan

6 oz. cream cheese

6 T. butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. flour

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Prepare the brownie mix according to the package.  I make the cake recipe with 3 eggs.

Spread 2 cups of brownie batter in a greased 13 x 9 pan.

In a second bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla together.  Add the eggs.  Spread mixture over the brownie batter.

Spread the reamining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer.  

Cut through the batter with a knife or spatula to swirl the layers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes.  

Cool.  Cut into squares.

Happy 4th of July!

A Happy 4th of July to all!  I'm in the midst of preparing for friends and family to celebrate with a backyard barbecue this afternoon at Applejack Lane!

 Bandana handkerchieves that we will use for dinner napkins...

A patriotic trifle for dessert...

 Yummy...

Happy July 4!

Best Chocolale Chip Cookies Ever!

Here at Applejack Lane, I've just finished baking the best chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe came from Pinterest via Apple A Day.  This is my new go-to recipe when I need a cookie fix.  They are puffy, soft, and absolutely scrumptious!  Plus, they are quick and easy.

I only had an opportunity to eat a few of this batch.  These went to church to help feed a luncheon...

Here is the recipe...

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

barely adapted from Anna Olson, Food Network Canada

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips-Applejack Lane uses Ghirandelli chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen.  Try not to eat them all.

Sunday Dessert

Good afternoon from Applejack Lane!  I had girlfriends over for a little brunch of bacon potato zucchini quiche,  tea biscuits with preserves and jam, and mimosas.  But, the dessert looked and tasted spectacular!
Fresh fruit with homemade lemon curd, puff pastry, and real whipped cream...

Scrumptious!

The Master's Tournament, Waynesboro County Club, and Pimento Cheese

On this Easter weekend, hubby and friends are recreating their own Master's Tournament at the Waynesboro Country Club. 

Each player drew a partner's name from the Master's roster after Round 2 was completed.

I understand that Pimento Cheese is a Master's tradition.  So in honor of the tradition, I've made my pimento cheese spread to entertain my lady friends...

1 8 oz. block* of extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 8 oz block* of sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/3 cups mayonnaise

1 4oz jar diced pimento

1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon grated onion

1/8 teaspoon red pepper

* Block cheese is a must.  Preshredded does not work nearly as well!

1.  In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pimento, Worchestershire sauce, grated onion, and red pepper.

2.  Grate the cheese using two graters-one with a  small shredding side and one with a large shredding side.

For instance, grate the extra sharp cheese using the small size and the sharp cheddar cheese on the large size.

3.  Add the grated cheeses to the mayo mixture.  Stir thoroughly and chill for several hours. (I use a hand mixer or food processor) 

4.  Enjoy!

This will make almost  4cups of pimento spread.. 

Happy Easter from Applejack Lane!

Valentine Pretzel Buttons

Hello from Applejack Lane.  If you have never been to Pinterest, you are missing out on a wealth of fun ideas.  Recently,  I found a Valentine treat called Valentine Pretzel Buttons from The g*rated Girls.  It was a quick, easy, and tasty treat. 

All I needed was small square pretzels, Hershey Hugs, and M and M's.  

Arrange pretzels on a cookie sheet.  Place a Hershey Hug on each pretzel and  bake in a 200 degree oven for about four minutes.  Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and immediately place a M and M in the center and push down.  Allow to cool until all the candies are set. 

This is so simple and good.  The saltiness of the pretzel balances the sweetness of the candies.  I packaged a dozen in snack-sized zip lock bags to hand out to my gym buddies on Tuesday.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Good Sunday morning from Applejack Lane!  This morning Cathy made  marmalade from oranges.  It only took about 30 minutes to do.

It tasted great on the morning pancakes!

Planting 240 in the "Back Forty"!

The farmers next door to Applejack Lane were plowing the fields in mass this morning because the weatherman called for a lot of rain the next few days.  That meant we needed to get on the stick and do our own farming on our "back forty".  So, we got to it and completed a new garlic bed just in time before  frost comes to the Valley.  This has been somewhat of an undertaking.  Cathy has wanted a garlic bed since she met a garlic grower at the local Farmers' Market this summer.   After some research and reading Paula's blog at Sweet Pea, we made a plan.  First, Cathy brought home a load of leaf mulch that was pure black gold to put over our soil on the existing garden.  We added some chopped leaves, and hubby tilled that under.  After tilling, more turning, and raking,  we were ready to plant this morning.

This summer, Cathy picked up eight different garlic varieties from the Farmers' Market for planting. All garlic is not equal.  Garlic varies in taste, color, and size.

 Red Tosh-one of Cathy's favorites

 Oregon Blue

 Russian

 Chinese

 Kettle River

 Bavarian

 Italian

 Musik-very large cloves-can't wait for this one!

Next we peeled and separated each bulb into individual cloves and picked the largest 30 of that variety to plant.  The outer cloves were usually the best. Yes, with eight varieties and 30 plants each, we are going to have a lot of garlic if each one matures properly.

 I labeled a a baggy to keep each variety separate.  Some varieties had more cloves than others, and the cloves in varied in size.

 I had to improvise garden labels by using plastic spoons for the time being.

I made a cardboard template to dig the holes.  I wanted relatively even rows that had plants every 5 inches apart.

Ten the digging and planting began.  A clove has a definite top and bottom so you want to make sure you put the right side down. 

I lightly raked the top soil to cover the holes. The next time hubby mows, we will put a layer of leaf mulch on the top.  Voila!  We are done!  Now, we wait through the winter until June to see if the majority of our 240 garlic plants grow!

Does anyone know if squirrels like garlic?

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Blueberries were on sale this week at the local Martin's.  This Sunday morning was the perfect time to try a Paula Deen recipe for Blueberry Gems.

Blueberry Gems

2 cups of self rising flour (I had regular flour so I added 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt to the mixture.)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk ( I used 2%.)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 18 muffin tin cups with paper liners.
2.  Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, oil, and milk.  Whisk together until well combined.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  Pour in the liquid.  Mix with a spoon until flour is moistened.  Gently fold in the blueberries.
3.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling about half to two-thirds full.
4.  Bake for 23-25 minutes until browned and puffed.

End of the Garden Soup

The garden at Applejack Lane has come to a screeching halt.  With cabbage heads, peppers, and tomatoes finally gathered, I had a dilemma as to what to do with all the remaining bounty.  The cool, damp weather helped to decide the answer to this problem.  I concocted  an End of the Garden Soup this afternoon.

End of the Garden Soup

1 head of red cabbage, chopped

1 large onion, diced

16-28 ounces of tomatoes, chopped (I used a variety of ripened tomatoes that I had on hand.)

2 green peppers, diced

4 carrots, sliced

1 package of dry onion soup

1 14 ounce can of chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

various herbs-rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, parsley to taste

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

4 cups of water

Combine all ingredient and bring to a rolling boil.  Let simmer for about an hour until all vegetables are tender.

Yes, I Can!

It's been a while since I have posted from Applejack Lane.  I've been a little busy.  Our little garden (12' by 12') has been rendering a lot of produce for us. I have been spending some time doing a little canning so as to save our bounty as best as possible.  I have not canned in years.  In fact, I had given away most of my good canning jars to the church yard sale. but I hung on to a few basic implements.  So far, the pantry  now contains 13 quarts of tomatoes, 4 pints of salsa, 4 pints of peach halves, and this morning I made 5 pints peach salsa.  I just had to take a picture of my beautiful peach salsa!  And it is g-o-o-d!

Peach Salsa

2/3 cup cider vinegar

6 cups of peaches, diced*

1 cup red onions, diced

4 jalapeno peppers, finely diced

1 1/3 cup other peppers, diced

6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 cloves of  garlic, minced

4 t. lime juice

1 1/2-2 t. cumin

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

4 t. honey (or less)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and simmer for 15 minutes.  Cool for 15minutes.  Pour into pint jars and seal.  Process in a water bath for 15 minutes.  Makes about 5 pints.

*When preparing the peaches, dip peaches in boiling water; then submerge in cold water to peel the skin and seed.  Place peaches in absorbic acid to prevent browning until ready to use.

Grilled Corn

Good evening from Applejack Lane.  My hairdresser, Norman, persuaded me to grill corn this evening for dinner.  It was great!  Since there was only two of us, I just fixed three ears.
First of all, the corn must be young and fresh-an absolute must.  Corn that is too old is just hard and tasteless!  I always sneak a peak in the market to see if it meets the standards that my dad and mom taught me to look for.  And this time of the year, country markets get the best if you don't have your own garden!

Here is what I did.
1.  Peel back the husk, but don't tear away..
2.  Remove the silk.
3.  For 3 ears, I used about 1/4 stick of BUTTER! ( Does this sound like Paula Deen?)
4.  Sprinkle with parsley.  I have my own supply dried from my herb garden.
5.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and a little salt.
6.  Rewrap the green husk over the corn.
7.  Tie with a string to keep husk around the ear.
8.  Soak corn in a deep pan of water for about 20 minutes.
9.  Grill corn for about 20-25 minutes, turning several times.  The husks will get dry but should not catch on fire.  I put the ears on a second grilling ledge so it does not get too close to the flame.
10.  Remove ears from the grill and discard the husks.  The corn is buttered and seasoned, ready to eat.
11.  Enjoy!

Yummy!

Spicey Grilled Shrimp

 What's cooking on Applejack Lane?  This week we had Spicey Grilled Shrimp along with wild rice and fresh cucumbers out of the garden.  This is a simple and tasty way to fix shrimp on a hot summer day.

1 clove garlic finely minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 pounds of peeled and deveined cooked shrimp

Combine all the ingredients to form a marinade.  Pour over shrimp and stir until shrimp is well covered.  Let sit in the refrigerator for several hours.  Place shrimp on skewers.  Grill on each side for 2 minutes.  Enjoy!

I am joining  Foodie Friday with Designs By Gollum.

Easy Summer Salsa

Along with gardening comes the choices of what to do with the produce. Here is an easy, peasy basic salsa recipe.  You can double or triple the recipe as needed.

5 large tomatoes diced or two 15 oz cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 finely chopped onion
2-3 hot peppers finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
cilantro

Mix all ingredients together.  Let sit several hours or overnight.
Serve with your favorite chips.  We like the Mission strips.  You can put a lot of salsa on just one!

Bay Scallops In Aglio Sauce Over Pasta

Good afternoon from Applejack Lane.  Today I will share my recipe for Bay Scallops In Aglio Sauce Over Pasta.  Enjoy!

1 pound bay scallops (thawed)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 tablespoon dry basil
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
favorite pasta-I used linguine

 In a large saute pan, add two tablespoons of live oil and heat until hot.
Add bay scallops, lightly salt and pepper to taste, and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Once the scallops are cooked through, strain, and set aside.
Place remaining olive oil in saute pan and continue to heat.
Add garlic and cook until tender.
Add mushroom, diced tomatoes, and capers.
Continue to cook and stir for approximately 3 minutes.
Pour in chicken broth.
Add spices, slat and pepper to taste.
Simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
Add bay scallops and lightly toss to reheat.
Serve on top of your favorite pasta.
Add grated cheese if desired.
Makes 4 servings.
Thanks for stopping in at Applejack Lane!

Tuesday Night Supper Club

Foodie Friday

It's A Gingerbread World

Good morning from Applejack Lane. It's starting to snow!  So come on inside to my gingerbread world.

 

Um-um good- gingerbread spice herbal tea...    

My extra large gingerbread man and woman stand in an old picnic basket...

 A gingerbread mantel...

 Gingerbread cookies and cutters...

 This Gingerbread  Man has his bells on...

 And speaking of bells...

  A Ginger Head from Brenda at The Rusty Thimble...

 And Gingerbread scones...

Gingerbread Scones from A Taste of Home

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1.2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, separated
sugar

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.  In a small bowl, combine the molasses, milk, and egg yolk until smooth; stir into the flour mixture just until moistened.  Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 6-8 times.   Pat into a 8 inch circle.  Cut into 12 wedges and place 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet*. Beat egg white until frothy; brush over scones.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes our until golden brown.  Serve warm.

*  I like a more petite scone.  I divide the dough into two equal parts and form smaller circles about 5 inches in diameter.  Then I cut the circle into 6 wedges.  I bake these for about 11-12 minutes.


Thanks for stopping by Applejack Lane.