Cooking Archives

September 22, 2019 - It’s Apple Butter Season!

Today’s accomplishment–17 half-pints of apple butter. And I’m just getting started. It’s apple butter season! I have an order for 30 half-pints of apple butter to get out in a couple of weeks, so I’m working on that, plus I need to up my stock before the holidays when it’s a popular item in my...
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August 13, 2019 - Cranberry Orange Pecan Muffins

These are hands-down my favorite muffins–the flavor combination is spectacular, though if you don’t want to use pecans, you can leave them out. If you must. Before making these, be sure to check out My Top 10 Muffin Hacks and also see How to Zest the Best Lemon (or orange!). In my Muffin Hacks post,...
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July 21, 2019 - My Top 10 Muffin Hacks

Muffins are a deceptively simple thing to bake. Child’s play. One of the early recipes kids learn to make, along with cookies and cupcakes. And yet, like many things that appear simple, a truly excellent muffin takes–not more effort–but more know-how to achieve. No matter your favorite recipe, any batch of muffins can be taken...
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July 8, 2019 - How to Zest the Best Lemon

I do a lot of zesting. Lemons, oranges, even limes. I think it’s fair to say that I zest more than the average person! This is, of course, due to all the experience I get with Etsy orders for popular items like cranberry orange pecan scones. And blueberry lemon oatmeal cookies. And all sorts of...
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July 5, 2019 - Spicy Bacon Squash Puppies

Got too much squash? It’s that time of year! Squash puppies are a fun way to use up a little of that extra yellow stuff–but hey, you can substitute zucchini also! How to make Spicy Bacon Squash Puppies: 2 bacon slices, cooked, diced, reserve bacon grease 1 medium yellow squash, diced 2 jalapeno peppers, diced...
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November 19, 2018 - The Pepperoni Roll Rush

Pepperoni rolls, West Virginia food of the gods. I’ve written much about pepperoni rolls on this website. I’ve held many workshops in which I taught people how to make pepperoni rolls. I sell my own homemade pepperoni rolls at my Etsy shop. Pepperoni rolls are very popular and are one of my best selling items,...
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May 18, 2018 - Pre-Fermented Doughs, and Mark’s Question

I’ve been experimenting with a lot of pre-fermented doughs lately. Here is a beautiful, bubbly poolish waiting to turn into an awesome loaf of bread. With my head in endless bowls of pre-fermentation, the answer to a question posed to me several years ago by my cousin Mark suddenly sprang into my mind, and I...
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April 2, 2018 - Ramp-Infused Olive Oil

Indisputable evidence that it is, indeed, April. You know it’s springtime in Appalachia when they’re selling ramps on the side of the road. If you don’t know what ramps are, they’re wild leeks native to the Appalachian Mountain region. West Virginia is the ramps capitol of the world. People dig them up in the rich,...
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March 24, 2018 - Jam People

I was talking to a friend the other day about carrot canning recipes. She’d just inherited (for lack of a better term) 10 pounds of carrots from a relative’s house. They’d been moved to a nursing home and had been in possession of a large stash of carrots at the time. Since she cans, everyone...
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March 16, 2018 - Easy Puff Pastry

Like puff pastry–except easy! It’s easy because we’re going to use self-rising flour (or your favorite baking mix). The salt is already in the self-rising flour, along with baking powder, which gives a slightly different result than if you started with all-purpose flour. Flaky layers, with a bit of rise. The texture with self-rising flour...
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March 9, 2018 - Irish Soda Bread

To be a purist or not to be a purist, that is the question–let’s examine it! Yes, Irish Soda Bread is actually a controversial topic. What is true Irish Soda Bread, and what is not? Soda bread, a traditional product of Ireland (St. Patrick’s Day, anyone?) has a similar history in its most basic concept...
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October 27, 2017 - Pressed Mozzarella

This is the best mozzarella. EVER. Here is the traditional way to make quick mozzarella, which is my most favorite cheese in the world. It’s a popular cheese for beginner and experienced cheesemakers alike because it is quick, can be prepared at the last minute if you decide to make pizza or lasagna or just...
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June 9, 2017 - Pizza Margherita Flatbread

I had to do one more test on this recipe to make sure it was perfect, and I think it is now, so it’s ready to share! It’s delicious. The idea originally came from my friend Kat (who brought me my little dog Precious). She kept talking about this “pizza bread” she was making for...
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March 10, 2017 - How to Make Croissants from Scratch

The best, truest French croissants, according to Julia Child, are made by the classic method with a risen yeast and milk dough, slathered in butter, folded in threes, rolled and refolded and rolled and refolded repeatedly to create the tender, flaky, buttery, puffy croissants of your dreams. And as Julia says, “Why go to all...
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February 20, 2017 - Vanilla Toffee Cookies

Those look good, don’t they? There was this time, years ago, that I made fun of Alton Brown for weighing cake batter (to make perfectly even cake layers). Yeah. So I admit that I weigh cake batter, cookie dough, bread dough, all kinds of things now. But I have an excuse! It’s because I started...
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December 30, 2016 - The Difference Between Scones and Biscuits

I love biscuits. Seriously. I love Southern-style biscuits made with butter and soft self-rising flour. I love Northern-style biscuits, the type of biscuits my mother with her English roots taught me to make when I was 9 years old. And I love scones, which are not biscuits, though they are often confused as an English-style...
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November 28, 2016 - Three Flours You Need Right Now

The biggest baking season of the year is fast approaching now with Thanksgiving behind us. Whether you’re an experienced baker or a newbie, and whether you love baking all year round or mostly only do it around the holidays, Christmastime can either be a joy or a time of pressure and fear of failure. No...
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October 14, 2016 - Blue Gouda & Cracked Black Pepper!

Putting my Blue Gouda to good use. (You know, other than stuffing my face with it.) Blue Gouda & Cracked Black Pepper Bread! This bread came to me in a vision–a vision, I tell you!–when I cut into my Blue Gouda cheese. The dough is packed with crumbled Blue Gouda and a sprinkle of coarse...
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September 23, 2016 - Maple-Bacon Corn Muffins

I’m particularly excited about cornmeal lately after acquiring a new stash of the freshly stone-ground gold from my cousin Mark. He runs the cornmeal grinding exhibit at the Mountain State Art and Craft fair in Ripley every year, and I was there helping out at the sales table last weekend. He grinds the corn fresh...
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September 8, 2016 - Homemade Ranch Style Beans

The kids were home for the long Labor Day weekend and I knew that Morgan had been longing for a certain something that is hard to find around here and yet a staple in every grocery store back in Texas (where she spent her early childhood and still visits). Ranch Style Beans. This is a...
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August 1, 2016 - Peanut Butter Apple Cookies

I’m a big fan of cookies (who isn’t?) and I make batches almost every week for workshops. I made these peanut butter apple cookies for this past weekend and they were a big hit. Peanut butter and apples are a natural combination–think of dipping a slice of apple into a jar of peanut butter! And...
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June 15, 2016 - The Breaking Point with Bread

Bread, beautiful bread. Back in medieval times, there was one person in the village who had an oven. This was the baker. (Baker, and incidentally, Baxter, are occupational surnames that come from this practice.) But, something more comes out of this history, and that’s the slashing of bread. You know, those pretty slash marks that...
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June 9, 2016 - The Price of Milk

Back in the day, nearly everyone had a family cow. Even in town. They kept old Bessie back behind the house with the chickens. These days, even in the country, it’s not very common. Family cows have gone the way of vinyl records–quaint, interesting, over-sized, and cumbersome to keep not to mention too much trouble....
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June 2, 2016 - Cow Vs Goat

That’s cow’s milk Gouda on the right, goat’s milk Gouda on the left. As I often tell people at workshops, cow milk is not goat milk, and goat milk is not cow milk. They’re the same but different. People who are lactose intolerant can often consume goat milk because it’s lower in lactose than cow’s...
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April 1, 2016 - Maple French Toast Bread

On store shelves recently, I noticed that Thomas’ English Muffins has a “limited edition” Maple French Toast English muffin. This sounded incredibly delicious to me, so I figured I’d go home and make some maple French toast bread on my own. Not an English muffin bread, just a regular bread, with maple French toast flavorings....
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February 15, 2016 - Spiced Apple Cupcakes

Want one? I was in a cupcakes mood this weekend. I had some fresh apples. That means spices, and lots of them. And brown sugar. And some sweet, creamy frosting on top. Here’s what I came up with. How to make Spiced Apple Cupcakes: 1/4 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon...
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