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Homemade Butter

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Homemade Butter

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Okay so all of you have probably realized that I totally dig doing everything from scratch (well as much as possible…if I could milk my own cows or goats and have some chickens, that would be ideal but the HOA might not be too happy!).

Anyway, I got a bug under my skin to start making my own homemade butter. Now, you can do this modern day, modern way in about 1/8 of the time with a kitchen aide or hand mixer BUT that isn’t how I roll….just not as much fun for me….call me crazy or sick or both but I just love the “old ways”.

So I bought a vintage butter churn, well my sister did for me cuz she rocks at picking antiques, and I located some local heavy cream and off my venture began.

Honestly, I thought (silly me) that it would take about 10 minutes of whipping and churning to crank this out so, enthusiastically I began vigorously turning the crank. After about 5 minutes I had to switch hands and then the back and forth happened…left than right then left……30 minutes later (and some good arm muscle development) we had the butter separated from the milk! Whoop Whoop!!!! I swear, doing things in the original way makes me realize that we really don’t need cross fit workouts….just churn some butter, put up some jam, and weed your garden each day and your are fit! Damn! Who knew?

This entire ranting aside, I seriously LOVED churning the butter, time and all; it makes everything better, the taste, the experience, and the appreciation; it’s all about mindful living and taking the time to put some “muscle love” into your food or just plain love and care. This is what I stand for and firmly believe in…it’s healing, it’s real, and it’s just seriously fun…..and it’s butter, homemade style.

Homemade Butter
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Condiments
Ingredients
  • 3 pints of heavy whipping cream, local and organic, if possible
  • 1 tsp salt, if desired
  • bowl of cold ice water
Instructions
  1. In a butter churn, (or kitchen aide bowl or glass bowl) add cream.
  2. Add salt, if desired. I like to do it at this point so it fully mixes in but can be done at end.
  3. Turn or beat for a LONG time (probably about 10 minutes with electric devices and 30-40 with butter churn) until the butter (it will look like curds) is separated from the milk (hence, buttermilk).
  4. Drain out liquid and reserve for pancakes, biscuits, or whatever strikes your fancy to use it for and then submerge the solids into the cold water.
  5. Gently "squeeze" and form a ball. Repeat 2 more times with clean water to get all the buttermilk taste out of the butter.
  6. Store in container or your choice or fold in herbs, roasted garlic, or spices and ENJOY!!!!

Homemade Butter

English Plum Pudding with Southern Comfort Bourbon Sauce

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Who knows traditional plum pudding? Unless you have some connection to England either in heritage or destination, it is quite possible this Christmas treat may have passed you up. While it is dense and oooey gooey (and somewhat resembles a fruit cake), I PROMISE if you give it a try with some magical southern comfort bourbon sauce it just might make it into your recipe collection!

For me, this was tradition and as a little girl I wouldn’t confess to liking it but if my mom would have ventured to NOT make it, Christmas wouldn’t have been quite the same. It didn’t come from her heritage but my Dad’s. He grew up on plum pudding and to this day, I really make it not only to keep tradition passed on but also to see the smile on his face and hear the stories of by gone days. After all, this is what it is all about and I really do love it.

When I was young, this dessert was a family affair as it took a couple of days to prepare between macerating the dried fruit and then combining all the ingredients to “meld” together for a day before the “steaming” of the final product. Where we created the family tradition, this is true in England as well, is when my mom combined everything together, we would all take a turn at stirring it together and making a Christmas wish. It was so special and for many years I was sure this “locked in” the assurance that I would receive EVERY present on my list!

So next year or maybe just a snowy winters day, venture out and make this dessert and start a tradition. It’s not hard, just needs some time to rest, a good example for all of us to follow.  Decorate it with the greens of your choice, topping it with the magic of every season.

English Plum Pudding with Southern Comfort Bourbon Sauce
 
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I have to thank my grandmother and mom for this recipe! Although mine has some "additions" the taste is all the same!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: English
Serves: 20 servings
Ingredients
  • For Plum Pudding:
  • ½ Cup golden raisins
  • ½ Cup Dark raisins
  • ½ Cup Dried plums
  • ½ Cup Dried currants
  • ½ Cup Dried cherries
  • 2 oz Candied orange or candied lemon
  • 4 Tbsp brandy
  • 1½ Cups Ground suet
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Cup dark molasses
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 Cup Flour
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 Cup Breadcrumbs
  • ½ tsp Ground cloves
  • ½ tsp Nutmeg
  • ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Allspice
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 Raw apple, diced
  • 1 Cup sliced almonds
  • orange, zested
  • lemon, zested
  • 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • For Bourbon Sauce:
  • 1 Stick butter
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • ⅓ cup southern comfort
  • 4 Tbsp Heavy cream
Instructions
  1. Two days before steaming pudding: Take all dried fruit (raisins, plums, currants, cherries, and candied orange or lemon) and put in a bowl. Pour brandy over and mix. Cover with Saran Wrap and let macerate
  2. Day before steaming pudding: Sift four and baking powder In a large mixing bowl, add suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs, spices, salt, and sugar. Mix thoroughly.
  3. Then add macerated dried fruit, nuts, apple, and grated orange and lemon zest. Mix well.
  4. Lastly, add molasses, eggs, and milk and mix well. Cover with Saran Wrap and put in fridge
  5. Day of steaming Take a tin pudding basin and lightly grease. Pour in mixture and spread evenly, it will be very thick.
  6. On the stove, get a stock pot which holds the tin and fill with water and put in tin. Water should come up the sides but not as high as the lid, about ¾ of the way.
  7. Get water boiling and turn down to light boil and cover with lid. Steam for 5½ hours or until done. Refill water to keep it at ¾ full.
  8. Remove from heat and let rest for 15 minutes
  9. Get a serving plate and take off lid from tin and invert onto plate. Pudding should remove easily
  10. Southern comfort bourbon sauce: In saucepan over medium heat, add sugar and butter until melted and combined. Stir in whip cream and stir. Add southern comfort and stir, cook for a few minutes to cook off alcohol. Add more whip cream, if needed.
  11. Decorate with fresh holly. Slice and serve with southern comfort bourbon sauce.

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Brown Butter Sage Walnut Bread

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Everyone on my Christmas list this year got a loaf of this bread with our homemade apple butter. To me, there is nothing better than giving and receiving homemade gifts during the holidays or anytime for that matter. It takes time and love to create gifts and I completely appreciate the heartfelt effort.

Anyone who knows me realizes that I like treats that aren’t over the top sweet and this savory bread is SO good!  I didn’t want to bake traditional banana bread or cranberry bread but instead I wanted to kick things up a notch and get creative. My inspiration came from my LOVE of brown butter, I adore it with mash potatoes, over sweet potato ravioli, or sautéed with squash so I decided to try it in a bread and since sage is one of my all time favorite herbs, especially this time of year, I couldn’t imagine a better combination. It is such a surprise when you bite into a piece and taste the nutty flavor from the brown butter and the earthiness with the sage. There is just enough sugar to enhance the combinations and then add a great cappuccino to the menu and you have PERFECTION!!! So comfy food yum!

The list is endless with what you can add, bananas, pears, apples or dried figs….OMG can you imagine brown butter and bananas? Add some liquor and you can indulge in bananas foster breakfast style! Awesome!

So as I cranked out the loaves for Christmas gifts, I made some extras to freeze. After all winter is just starting and come those cold January mornings when you just want to lie in bed, I can grab a couple of slices of this, slather on my apple butter and curl up for hours.

Have fun experimenting, leave some comments, and let me know how your creative genius came out!

'Brown Butter Sage Walnut Bread
 
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This is a really wonderful savory bread that can be served with apple butter or peach butter! If you want, add pears, apples, or bananas for a wonderful addition
Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Serves: 1 large loaf
Ingredients
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 4 tablespoons sliced fresh sage leaves
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • 2½ cups flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
  • Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 350.
  2. Grease and flour (or spray) a standard loaf pan.
  3. Toast the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat, then set them aside.
  4. Add the butter and sage to the skillet and cook until the butter browns - follow your nose, it should smell nutty and sagey and not at all scorched. Turn off the heat.
  5. In a mixer whisk the eggs and brown sugar together.
  6. Add in the oil and whisk that.
  7. Mix in the flour, soda, powder and salt.
  8. Stir in the browned butter, then fold walnuts. Its thick so don't worry.
  9. Scrape and spread into the loaf pan, sprinkle with the turbindo sugar, and into the oven for 35 minutes. Test for doneness, then cool a bit before you flip it out of the pan. Slice and eat!!!

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Marsala Wine Taralli Cookies

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Every Christmas we had a plethora of cookies to completely OD on! We baked the traditional American ones, gingerbread, ice box with gobs of frosting, and peanut butter kisses, to name a few, but my ALL time favorites were our traditional Italian cookies or biscotti. They just brought me a sense of home in a soul-filled way. They aren’t as sweet and typically are meant to “dunk” and since I am a coffee/dessert wine kinda girl, these fit perfectly into my world! Round these off with some cheese and you have created heaven after a meal. I’m simple, what can I say…well sorta…..

We always had 2-3 kinds of biscotti, drizzled with white, milk, or dark chocolate and dotted with various dried fruit and nut mixtures and to accompany the variety of those were my other favorite, the taralli. These cute little “donut” shaped rings are simply divine! After all 1/2 cup of marsala wine mixed with flour and sugar, what isn’t to love about that? After baking, they are dipped into a lemon glaze and into my mouth, one by one. I like to dunk them while warm so the lemon icing “seeps” into the cookie but if you want to have the glaze be more apparent, wait until they are cool and then dip. They look like mini frosted donuts, so cute.

So after a night of caroling or wrapping, we always sat down to our buffet of cookies, a drink of choice, and great conversation….now that’s is the magic of Christmas.

Marsala Wine Taralli Cookies
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 2½ dozen
Ingredients
  • FOR THE COOKIES
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup Marsala wine
  • FOR THE ICING
  • 2 tablespoons milk, more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a separate larger bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg until well combined. Stir in the olive oil and wine. Slowly add the flour mixture until well combined, kneading slightly until the dough is easy to handle and medium-soft.
  4. On a clean surface, use your hands and roll the dough into ½-inch-thick, cigarlike rolls. Cut each cigar into 6-inch pieces, folding each piece into a loop-shape. Press the dough with fingers to seal together. Place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.
  6. If you wish to ice them, whisk 2 tablespoons of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 cup confectioners' sugar. It should be the consistency of thick whipping cream. Dip one side of the cookie in the glaze and let dry.

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