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Monthly Archives: November 2011

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Avatar of Hanna Trafford

by Hanna Trafford

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting Recipe

November 10, 2011 in Recipes by Hanna Trafford

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Remember that adding raisins will add to the wonderful taste of this cake!

I don’t know if it is the spices or the delicious Honey Frosting, that make this cake:” oh soooo good!” – but I do know that it is worth the effort in your kitchen. Hope you enjoy the recipe and remember – your comments, suggestions and experiences are always welcomed and very much appreciated!

 

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup of unsalted butter, melted (plus a bit more for the pan)
  • 2-1/2 cups of flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice or 1-1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon of ginger, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon of allspice and 1/8 teaspoon of cloves)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1-1/2 cups of sugar
  • 1 can – 15 oz. Of pumpkin puree

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Butter 9 inch square cake pan
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour with baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice
  4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, butter and pumpkin puree until combined
  5. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix gently until smooth
  6. Turn batter into prepared pan and smooth top
  7. Bake until toothpick inserted into the centre of cake comes out clean – 45-50 minutes
  8. Cook cake 10 minutes in pan, then turn out of pan and cool completely, right side up on a rack
  9. Spread top of cake with Honey Frosting and cut into squares to serve

To make Honey Frosting:

In a medium bowl, whisk ½ cup of very soft unsalted butter, 8 oz, of cream cheese and 1/4 cup of honey until smooth

 

Enjoy!

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Avatar of Hanna Trafford

by Hanna Trafford

Roast Turkey with Sage and Mushroom Stuffing Recipe

November 9, 2011 in Recipes by Hanna Trafford

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There is something very special about sage – for me anyway. Probably because that is the spice my grandma used for stuffing just about anything – chicken, pork, duck, goose…. It brings back memories of family dinners and good time. Try this recipe and maybe it will become a tradition for you:

Roast Turkey with Sage

Ingredients:

1 whole turkey - about 12 lbs

Mushroom stuffing (recipe below)

  • 4 large carrots, halved crosswise
  • 2 large onions, cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 bunches of fresh sage – leaves separated from stems, stems saved
  • 2 tablespoons of butter, softened
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in lowest position
  2. Prepare and stuff the turkey
  3. If you have the turkey neck, cut it into pieces and combine in large roasting pan with carrots, onions and saved sage stems
  4. Set rack in pan, over vegetables and place turkey on rack, breast side up
  5. Rub turkey with butter and generously season with salt and pepper
  6. Pour 6 cups of water in bottom of pan, tent pan with foil
  7. Place in the oven
  8. Roast, basting every 30 minutes with pan liquids, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of tigh (avoiding bone) reaches 125F – that should take about 3-1/2 hours
  9. Remove foil, raise heat to 400F
  10. Continue roasting, basting occasionally, until thermometer reaches 170F – about 45 – 60 minutes
  11. Tent with foil again, if the turkey is browning too quickly and add more water if pan becomes dry
  12. Transfer turkey to a serving dish and cover with foil again

Mushroom Stuffing

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 large onions, diced into ¾ inch pieces
  • 6 celery stalks, sliced crosswise, ¼ inch thick
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1-1/2 lbs. of assorted mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
  •  2 loaves of Italian bread (1 lb. Total) cut into 1 inch cubes and dried
  • 1 can – 14 oz. of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup of coarsely chopped parsley
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. Butter 8 inch square pan for extra stuffing
  3. Heat butter in large skillet over medium heat, add onions, celery, 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper
  4. Cook, tossing often until beginning to brown – 12-15 minutes

Hope you enjoy this recipe – please send me your comments, suggestions adn experiences, your input is welcomed and very much appreciated!

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by Hanna Trafford

German Potato Salad Recipe

November 1, 2011 in Cooking with Beer, Recipes by Hanna Trafford

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The great thing about this salad is that not only does it taste really good, you can serve it cold, room temperature or warm it up. I made it for Sunday dinner and served it with Garlic Pork Loin Roast – easy and very good dinner!

Ingredients:

  • About 2 lbs. of small red or gold potatoes, unpeeled
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1/2 cup of finely chopped red onion
  • 4 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of beer (lager)
  • 2 tablespoons of vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons (or more if you like bacon) of bacon bits
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Getting all my ingredients ready is something I do most of the time - I find that it saves time and it prevents me from missing something.

I used Brick Brewery Laker Lager – the light colour and taste was just right to enhance the flavour of this salad

  1. Cover potatoes with water by about 2 inches in a large pot.

    You can use either red or gold potatoes for this salad - boil them just enough to be able to cut them up and leave the skin on

  2. Add salt and bring to a boil
  3. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until they can be easily pierced with a knife
  4. Drain and let cool until you can handle them
  5. Do not peel
  6. Cut potatoes into about 1 inch pieces and add onion

    When your potatoes cooled down enough to be handles, cut them up into about 1 inch pieces and leave the skin on - it will add to the taste!

  7. While waiting for potatoes to cool. combine oil, beer, vinegar and mustard.

    Whisking the dressing together only take a minute - the combination of oil vinegar, Dijon mustard and beer really makes for a great dressing

  8. Pour the dressing over potatoes
  9. Add bacon nits, salt and pepper and gently stir to mix

    And this is what the finished German Potato Salad looks like - as you can see - we love bacon, so I added quite a bit of it. And make sure you make your own, fresh bacon bits, it just wouldn't be the same if you used anything else!

  10. Serve warm, room temperature or cold

 

Hope you will enjoy making and eating this wonderful side dish! Please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

 

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