Black and Whites -- Cookbook #68

Sometimes I confuse the Handyman by having too many countdowns.  Besides counting down all the recipes made by my friends in the Friday Friend Cookbook,  I am also counting down my cookbook collection.
This recipe is from My Cookbook Collection-- cookbook #68:  The Neighborhood Bakeshop,  Reminiscences of America's Favorite Bakery Treats.
I don't want YOU to get confused too.  Keep it straight!  This is not rocket science.  

Okay fine---sometimes it's more confusing than rocket science (sigh).

Sorry.  I'm just like that.  Confusing.  Sometimes.  Don't leave me.

The inside of the book jacket says this:

Who doesn't have bakeshop memories - black-and-white cookies the size of flying saucers, napoleons constructed of flaky pastry filled with custard that oozed out the sides when you tried to put a fork to it, or far from-ordinary chocolate cake filled and frosted with dark chocolate pudding and topped with cake crumbs? The Neighborhood Bakeshop captures those memories and offers 125 recipes for America's favorite desserts from around the country.

I have to agree -- who doesn't have bakeshop memories?

This cookbook is full of all kinds of recipes for things that we loved as kids and still  long for as adults.

Yummy stuff!

Although, these cookies, Black and Whites are not a part of my bakeshop memories, I have always wanted to give them a try.

Black and Whites are classic two-tone frosted cookies that are a favorite on the Eastern seaboard.

While you can find these cookies  out here on the Western Seaboard (HA!  I've never heard that term before. I wonder why?) they are more like a shortbread cookie dipped in a glaze.  Hard and crunchy. Good, but not like this cake-like variety that is so popular in the East.

I am so glad I made them! 

It's a great cookie.

Soft and cake like--with a hint of lemon, not too sweet.

I will be making these again for sure.

East United States or West United States?

Are these cookies part of your memory bank?

Black and Whites

Cookies:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

6 Tbls unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Frostings:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

At least 3 Tbls boiling water

1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

At least 1 Tbls light corn syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease 2 cookie sheets

2. Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl until smoothly blended.  Mix in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Slowly add the flour mixture, blending into a soft dough.

4. Using a 2-ounce ( 1/4 cup) scoop, drop cookies 2 1/2 inches apart onto the prepared sheets.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until the tops feel firm to the touch.  Remove the cookies to wire racks and allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.

5. For the frostings, place the confectioners sugar in a bowl.  Add 3 Tbls boiling water and whisk to a thick, smooth, and spreadable consistency. Remove and reserve 1/3 cup of the frosting; use the remainder to frost half of each cookie.  If the frosting becomes too thick, add drops of boiling water until it is again spreadable.

6.  Melt the chocolate in a small bowl over simmering water or in a microwave oven at 50% power for  1-4 minutes, checking every 30 seconds. Stir in 1 Tbls corn syrup.  Add the reserved 1/3 cup white frosting and stir to a spreadable consistency.   Spread the bare half o each cookie with the chocolate frosting.  If it becomes too thick, thin the frosting with additional drops of corn syrup.  Set the cookies aside until the frostings set.

Yield:  10 cookies

Friday Friend Recipe #30 -- Mexican Roll-ups

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county).  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #30

My

Mexican Rollups

This is a good little appetizer.  One can hardly go wrong with anything wrapped in a tortilla.

By the way, there is nothing even slightly "Mexican" about these rollups.  Except maybe the diced green chilies.  Other than that....nope.  Nothing.

I feel as if I should change the name.

Mexican Rollups

by me/Debbie Stone

16oz cream cheese

2 4oz cans deviled ham

3 sm. cans chopped olives

1 sm jar pimentos

2 sm cans diced green chilies

2 sm cans diced jalapenos

2 pkg Ranch dressing mix

1 8oz pkg shredded cheddar

2 bunches chopped gr. onions

12 large flour tortillas

Combine the first 9 ingredients and mix well.  Divide mixture between 12 tortillas, spread, roll up and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill several hours or overnight. 

Slice and serve.

(and take a better photo.  ditch the onion right there on top)

And now---my picture and story of MYSELF---because, after all, I am the author/compiler of the Friday Friend Cookbook.  I can't leave myself out.

NOT to take anything away from my good friend Barbara Brown, who typed the whole cookbook up and printed it out.  If not for her, it never would have gotten done!

As you know, I love pictures of myself.  I take numerous selfies and post them every day.  I photo bomb almost every photo opportunity I see.  I post ME constantly.

And..... you all know sarcasm when you see it, right?

(it was actually hard to find a picture of myself.  A decent one anyway.  I'm always the one behind the camera.  I like it that way.)

A couple of years ago, I decided to get on the holiday photo card bandwagon and I decided I would put a photo of the Handyman and myself on our Christmas card.

I had our then 10-year old grandson take the photo.

We stood outside by our inflatable snowman.

I said, "Camron, be sure and get our heads."

He did.

Guess which one I sent in our Christmas cards?

The top one of course!

It had a better story!

Friday Friend Cookbook Recipe #29 -- Breakfast Casserole

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends.  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #29

Shelly Noble's

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Just to make certain that you know,

every recipe in the Friday Friend Cookbook, are recipes that we use.

All the time.

Tried and true.

That is why my friends submitted them--because they are simple and good.

Here is a great one for breakfast!

Thank you Shelly for contributing to the Friday Friend Cookbook.

To see all of Shelly's Recipes (so far---I'm not done yet)  click here.

And all the FF recipes to date: click here.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

from Shelly Noble

Winnemucca, NV

1 bag frozen tater tots

1 dozen eggs, slightly beaten

shredded cheese--lots

link sausage

Layer all uncooked ingredients in the order given.

Bake at  350 for 45 minutes.

(I wish I had cut the links apart--the little v's are bugging me. Next time I will)

My Shelly story?

Well,  this week she is having surgery on her foot--her Achilles's tendon.

She had the right one done last year and this year it will be her left one.

Now, I will meander .....

We are kind of 'theme' people, my friends and I.

We are in a rut and always do the same things over and over and over.

Like I always have a wiener-fest party in the summer and a soup supper in the winter.

Sally always has a waffle party in the winter

April always has movie night in the summer

Theresa always has a 4th of July BBQ

Shelly always has a Superbowl party.

We really need to get out of our rut.

Same things....again and again and again......

and we don't have any fun.

Take for instance, last year at Shelly's dance party.

(initially the husbands were not happy and said, 'whatever, we're NOT dancin'... but once they had a beer or two, they got into the 'dance theme')

Shelly was hurt, injured, sidelined by surgery...and yet, she went ahead and had her dance party.  (sigh)  It's an every other year tradition, you know.

In November.  Outside.

No. Fun. At. All.

we  need to get out of this habit  of doing the same thing.

This  pattern of behavior is dull. 

But ummm......

We did a good job at faking our way thru it!

Pat (not her husband)  decided that Shelly should dance!

No matter the surgery!

No matter that her leg is in a rolley thing!

No matter --- one must keep with the habit, and the dance party must go on!

I am sure no fun was had!!

Meanwhile,

back at the bonfire.....

One day I'll do a blog post about the dance parties.

I just might have to change the names. 

To protect the innocent. 

oh, and thanks Shelly!

Great recipe for a lazy morning!

Company morning or whomever you want to serve it too.

It's good.

Saturday Snapshot

A morning walk at one of my favorite places on earth.

Wallowa Lake, Oregon.

When we are there, we love to walk early in the morning.

As you can tell by the Handyman's (silly---i wish he would take that off) date on the photographs, we were there just last month!

I am linking with Saturday Snapshot!

Friday Friend Recipe #28 -- Macaroni Salad

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends.  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #28

Barbara Brown's

Macaroni Salad

I am adding  pasta salads in with the category of hard to take photos of.

It's hard to take a 'pretty' photo of macaroni salad.

But those of us who love macaroni salad can take satisfaction in knowing that it is GOOD!

Barb uses tuna in hers---gives it a little seafood edge.  (My mom would use shrimp sometimes--both are good.)

Tuna Macaroni Salad

FF Barbara Brown

in

Buckeye, AZ

2 cups seashell macaroni, boil and drain

1 small diced onion

1 1/2 cups diced celery

1/2 of a green pepper, diced

6 hard boiled eggs, diced

2 can tuna, drained

small can of chopped black olives

sweet pickles--to taste

mayo to taste & a small amount of mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all. Chill. Serve.

In all honesty, I am going to have to begin to do a "Barb" recipe every other FF countdown.  Since she was the typist and I was the compiler,  we added lots of recipes.

AND, I am just going to have to put one fact about her (and others) with each recipe now.  I don't think I can think up 300 stories about my Friday Friends  (sigh)

and there are just some I shouldn't tell....

....and right now, all I can think about is one I shouldn't tell.

Dang it!  

(and I'm wondering what the heck the Handyman is looking at!  Must be something on the floor)

We had a traveling cocktail party on this weekend. This photo was taken at the beer and hotdog cocktail cabin.

This photo below of Barb and  Friday Friends, Shelly and Mitzi, was also taken at my 52nd birthday weekend party.

The one where I invited people who didn't know each other to spend a weekend together.

This was on one of our early morning walks to the Water Fall at Wallow Lake.

I am a 6am walker and some of my friends joined me.

I have to be honest, MOST of them stayed in bed and joined us all later for brunch.

Barb, on the left, is a faster walker than me, and she's had 2 hip replacements!

I admire that about her---nothing can keep her down.

Mexican Chicken Soup

On Tuesday I saw this on my Facebook page, was having a bad day (just tired mostly) and thought:  I'm going to make this soup.  This looks like COMFORT FOOD!!

And I got to chop lots of vegetables.

Does that sound weird?

Chopping vegetables makes me happy.

I don't know what it is.

I think that's why I like to make soup---it has lots of vegetables that need chopping.

I chopped, put the soup on the stove, ran to the Library Bookclub, came home and the smell in my house?

Heavenly!

This is a great soup. Good for you too.

Just fresh veggies simmered in broth served over some homemade Spanish rice.

I loved it.

It made the grade to be on my menu when I open 

Ahhhh  Some Soups.

(one day...)

I love listening to the Splendid Table on NPR.

Stump the cook, always stumps me.

I cannot open my fridge and just make something.  

The Splendid Table's very own game show — a refrigerator/pantry game in which a call-in contestant challenges Lynne Rossetto Kasper to create a dish with five ingredients from their kitchen.

I need a recipe.

This is a great soup.

Mexican Chicken Soup

The Splendid Table

Ingredients

Spanish Rice:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Soup:

• 1 cup coarsely chopped onions
• 1 cup peeled, cubed carrots
• 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup cubed potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 whole boneless chicken breast, cubed
• 3 ears of corn, cut in half

Garnish:

• 3/4 cup fresh Salsa (recipe follows)
• 1 ripe avocado, cubed

Salsa:

• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves (about 1 bunch cilantro)
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup cubed red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions

To make the rice:Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot over low heat, add the onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, and sauté, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the spices, rice, stock, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

To make the soup: Put the onions, carrots, and celery in the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Cook over low heat until they become limp. Add the stock, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add the chicken. Cook for 15 more minutes and add the corn. Continue to cook for 5 more minutes.

Put 2 tablespoons of rice into each of 6 soup bowls. Ladle 1-1/2 cups of soup into each bowl along with ½ ear of corn. Garnish with 2 tablespoons of salsa and 1 tablespoon of avocado.

Salsa

To make the salsa: Hold the cilantro under running water, making sure that all the dirt pours off. Pinch the leaves off the stems and put them in a small bowl with the remaining salsa ingredients, mixing with a spoon until everything is thoroughly melded. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use.

I am going to link up with 

Souper Sundays

at

Kahakai Kitchen

There is always a great list of new ideas there for me 

for soups, sammies and salads!