Sweet Potato Casserole

This side dish is a great accompaniment–no matter what your main dish is for the Christmas Holiday.  This is another Gluten-Free recipe contributed by John Piscatello.  Again, thank you John for your contribution.

Sweet Potato Casserole

6 to 8 Cups of mashed sweet potatoes (5 to 6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced thick and boiled until tender. Drain and mash with a potato masher. Canned Sweet Potatoes can be substituted.)
3/4 Cup of Butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted or very soft
2/3 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of milk
4 eggs well beaten
2 tsp of vanilla

Put all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix by hand with a wooden spoon. Mixture will have a liquid consistency. Pour into a 9 X 13 casserole dish.

Topping
1 Cup pecans
1/2 Cup Gluten-Free rice flour
2/3 Cup brown sugar
5 TBLS Melted butter

Put all of the above topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole.

Cover with foil and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the topping browns slightly.

I have to warn you, this dish is highly addictive. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as the Butcher and I do.

Until next time…From our Butcher Block to your Table.

Best Darn Brownies

What a great week I had last week.  Thanks to all of you for the Birthday wishes–  another one is in the books.  I made these brownies and took them into the store to celebrate my birthday with my faithful customers.  I am sharing the recipes because I know this is a dessert I am going to make again and again.

Best Darn Brownies
1 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Cocoa
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
4 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Mix all the ingredients until blended. Pour into a 9 X 13 inch pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Check after 20 minutes. My brownies took 25 minutes to bake.

Icing
1/4 Cup Softened Butter
1/4 Cup canned milk (regular milk works fine)
1/4 Cup Cocoa
3 Cups Powdered Sugar

Mix all together and frost as desired. Cool brownies for at least 1 hour before icing.

Today is going to be a gorgeous day. Get out and enjoy it. It won’t be long before, well, you know the rest.

Until next week…From our Butcher Block to your Table.

Gluten Free Cookies

Have you ever looked at Facebook when you started to go up to bed?  I did the other night.  I was captivated by a recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies.  It caught my attention because I know so many people who have Gluten free diets.  When I looked at the recipe and saw that there were only 4 ingredients I was hooked.  I had to make the recipe.  The Butcher was asleep on the couch when I started assembling the cookies.  I made a double batch.  Finally about 11:30 p.m. I woke the Butcher up and we went up to bed.  He was a little cranky.  He doesn’t like to fall asleep on the couch.  He didn’t understand why I had to stay up so late making cookies.  I took the cookies in to the store the next day.  The Butcher tried one.  He gave it the thumbs up.  He even forgave me for staying up late to bake them.  He said he is not really a “cookie” kind of guy but  he would take these anytime.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

2 Cups of Natural Peanut Butter (If using another kind–decrease sugar to 1 3/4 cups)
2 Cups of Sugar
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix the Peanut Butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork (crisscross pattern). I put my fork in powdered sugar to make more distinct patterns.  Sprinkle the cookies with the coarse grain salt.

Cook for 12 minutes until the edges of the cookies are browned. After 10 minutes remove from the cookie sheets and place on wire racks to cool.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did. Please make a batch for a family member or friend who would enjoy these, especially if they can’t eat flour.

Until the next time, From our Butcher Block to your Table.

Biscotti for the Butcher’s Wife

Last week the Butcher’s wife was a little under the weather. I did yard work on Monday, and paid for it dearly the rest of the week. I had itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, and then no voice. It was not a fun week last week. There was one really bright spot. My neighbors, Dr. Mike Jack (orthodontist extraordinaire in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) and his lovely wife Cindy, made home-made biscotti for me. It was really Cindy that did the baking; However, I know Dr. Jack cheered her on.  Cindy dropped off the home-made biscotti. I was so excited when I saw it. I had been drinking tea with honey all week.  After all, you can only drink so much tea before you get “burned” out. Pardon the pun. (I haven’t been around human beings a lot lately.)  I don’t think Cindy was out of the driveway before the Butcher and I were attacking the biscotti. It was really good. They had vanilla chips and craisins in them. I had two right off the bat. When you are sick, calories don’t count.  Besides, the Butcher had two and I had to keep up with him.

Today, I was feeling a little better. I went for a walk and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. I stopped by the Jack’s home. Cindy was there. I told her how much I enjoyed the biscotti. Actually she got the abbreviated version. I didn’t want to embarrass myself–she is just starting to know me. I did tell her I would love to have the recipe if she would share it. She said she could give me a copy. She brought back a copy of an e-mail with the recipe on it. The sender was Debbie Kaludy. I told Cindy that Debbie Kaludy was my cousin. Her husband,  Michael, and my husband, the Butcher, are first cousins. I told her, “Cindy, this might actually be an old family recipe that I am getting by way of you”. I thought this was way too much of a coincidence and I felt I needed to share this on my blog.

Fortunately, the Butcher and I were able to restrain ourselves, so that there were still some biscotti left to photograph. I can’t wait to try this recipe. In the meantime I am enjoying Cindy’s labor of love.

Chocolate Chunk Biscotti
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon baking  powder
2 cups flour
1 cup each of vanilla chips and chocolate chips
1 cup chopped and toasted hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add remaining ingredients. Divide in half and shape into two rectangular logs on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes (until slightly firm to the touch in the middle). Cool for 10 minutes. Cut across in approximately 1″ wide cookies. Place upright on cookie Sheet and bake for another 1 minutes.

Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon shortening. Drizzle over biscotti. Refrigerate to firm icing.

Until next time…From my Neighbor’s home to our Home!

Honey Baked Ham

Are any of you in denial out there? I can’t believe Easter is only 4 days away. We are sorting pigs, hams and lambs. It is a very busy and exciting time at Sherman Provision.  I have to be honest, I haven’t even really thought about the menu for Easter Dinner.  I hope the kids aren’t reading this.  I don’t want them to get a complex.  I know everything will come together.  I do believe I have a half of a ham secured for Easter Dinner.  At least that is what the Butcher is telling me.  I will be sure to give you a full report after Easter when I give you some recipes to use up the leftover ham.

My friend, Karen Miller (Miller & Miller Automotive, Hametown Rd., Norton, Ohio) was in today to pick up her Easter Ham.  She told me she was going to duplicate the “Honey Baked Ham” experience. One of the priests at her church gave her the recipe. I asked her to e-mail it to me so I could get the recipe out for anyone else that might want to attempt this. Sure enough, she forwarded the recipe, and I am sharing it with all of you.

It really seems simple enough.  My biggest challenge would be finding space in my refrigerator to set the bowl with the soaking ham.  The rest is easy.  Just what I will need after this week.

If you have a whole ham, it will weigh about 25 pounds.  If you increase the recipe for the glaze on the ham by 50% you should have plenty to cover the outside of the ham.  I think 2 cups of sugar in water would be sufficient even for a 25 pound bone-in ham.

Share your results if you use this method for your Easter ham.

Have a blessed and safe Easter Holiday.  Until next time…From our Butcher Block to your Table.