Happy Valentine's Day!

Missy Tippens

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY from us at the Cafe!

This photo from one of our church choir birthday parties this past Wednesday. I loved the cute Valentine's table. It was also a bit of a Valentine's celebration!

Also, I tried another tea house and wanted to share! This time it was closer to home--only about 30 minutes away (and actually very close to where we lived previously).

My friend Beth and I visited Fergusson's on the Square in Hoschton, GA. (FYI, the town is pronounced Hoosh-tun, where Hoosh sounds like bush.)  :)

We enjoyed it! I thought I'd share some photos. I didn't take photos of china like I did last time when I was in Chattanooga. This time I focused on the food and pretty teapot.

We started with warm, freshly baked blueberry scones. YUM. Then we had a first course. I had chicken and wild rice soup. Beth had a spinach and strawberry salad.

Here's our tiered tray that came next. Desserts on top. Macarons, angel food cake with raspberry sauce, fruit bars (I think they were raspberry), and lemon bars.

In the next photo, you can see our scones. We had the house blend tea.

 Bottom tier (my favorite): chicken salad croissants, egg salad sandwiches, pimento cheese on toast, and sandwiches we thought were beef and provolone. Plus my favs, cucumber sandwiches.

A really nice lunch yesterday!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Please reach out and spend time with someone you love--friend, spouse, family, co-worker... And be sure to remember those who may be lonely today, or who may have experienced loss.

www.missytippens.com

Valentine's Day Treats

Clearly I was not thinking ahead or I would have saved last week's candy post for the day before Valentine's Day.

And then I was thinking ahead and I actually made a delicious chicken soup this weekend, but Mindy shared one of those yesterday.

SO.....

I was looking over our old posts. Apparently we like chocolate - like A LOT!

It took two photos to get them all in!

So, I thought I'd share some chocolate-dipped fruit for Valentine's Day.

First, if you want REALLY beautiful chocolate dipped strawberries, check out Ruthie's post here:

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Or if you want something even more decadent, you could try her chocolate dipped peanut butter stiffed graham crackers.

But my favorite chocolate dipped fruit was a surprise to me when someone gifted me with an Edible Arrangements bouquet - chocolate dipped pineapple. Oh.My.Word.

So, here you go, a sweet treat for your sweets for V-Day.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. I'll just add in that it was ridiculously easy. I used my wok on top of a big Le Creuset ceramic pot. You can see how quickly it melted the chocolate.

I'll admit, the pineapple was my favorite - that amazing taste combination of tart and bittersweet. But the orange was surprisingly tasty too. A friend gave me raves on the apple.

I'm inpired to try it with some dried fruits too - apricots maybe.  I did try it with organic, unsweetened coconut. Happiness.

So what do you think? I thought it might be a lot of work, but it was incredibly easy and fast.

One tip: you'll probably have to keep the chocolate warm because the cold fruit made it start to thicken while I was dipping it. The taste didn't change, but the later pieces weren't as smooth.

Grandma's Sugar Cookies for Valentine's Day

Happy Birthday to Abraham Lincoln!

And since it's Lincoln's Birthday, we all know that Valentine's Day is just around the corner. :-)

Jan here, with a special Valentine's Day cookie. I shared this post five years ago here at the Cafe, and in it I revealed the cover of my debut novel.

For you non-writerly types, a debut novel is just what it sounds like - This was my first book! Not only the first book that was published, but the first book that I wrote.

"The Prodigal Son Returns" was released in May 2013, and was re-released a few months ago in a two-book volume with Emma Miller's "Redeeming Grace."

You can order this book here!

And today, we're almost to the release day for my eighth book, "The Amish Nanny's Sweetheart."

You can order this book here!

But celebrating book anniversaries isn't why we're here - It's time to celebrate the loved ones in our lives!

So let's go back five years as I share the recipe for a very special cookie:

Grandma's Sugar Cookies


Introducing.....

 (drum roll, please!)

......the cover of my debut novel!

(Streamers! Confetti! Cheering! Dogs barking!)


Wait, wait, wait! Is that MY name on the cover of that book? I'm just too stinkin' tickled for words!

Yes, it's time for another shameless plug here at the cafe - not quite party time, since the release date for "The Prodigal Son Returns" is still a few months away - but still, we can still have fun with a cover reveal, can't we?

And in honor of all this fun stuff, I'm taking today's post to share the recipe for some cookies that play a part in the story.

These are known around our house as "Grandma's Sugar Cookies," although I know other people call these "Amish Sugar Cookies" or even "those soft cookies you can buy at Walmart."

But you and I know there's no way you can buy Grandma's Sugar Cookies at Walmart. Don't even look down that rabbit trail.

Oh no, because there's a secret ingredient in Grandma's Sugar Cookies...see if you can guess what it is.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
5 rounded teaspoons baking powder
7-8 cups flour to make a stiff batter
1 1/2 cups milk

note: notice there is no salt in this recipe - that isn't a typo. There is no salt.

Cream together the butter and sugar, and then add the vanilla and the eggs. Stir together the baking powder and FIVE cups of the flour (the rest is to add later, if needed). Add in the flour mixture and the milk, alternately - this part is important - beating after each addition.

While you're mixing in the flour and milk, keep telling yourself you're making cake, not cookies. With cookies you're trying to make a dough - with cake you're making a delicate batter.

Believe me, you want a batter for these cookies. Grandma told me "the softer the batter, the better." But at the same time, it needs to be a bit thicker than a regular cake batter. You can add more flour than the original five cups if you need to - the amount of flour depends on your air temperature, humidity, altitude, etc. When we lived in the humid lowlands, I used more flour than I do now in the semi-arid highlands.

Since it's almost Valentine's Day, I split the batter into two bowls, and colored one with pink food coloring. (Grandma never did that - it's my own invention).

Refrigerate the batter for a couple hours.



While we're waiting for the batter to chill, I'll tell you what part these cookies play in my story.

Ellie Miller is a widow with three children, and among the people in her life are her husband's elderly aunt and uncle, Miriam and Hezekiah Miller. They had provided a home for Ellie's husband from the time he was sixteen until he married, and they were the closest thing he had to parents after being orphaned as a young boy.

Every time Ellie takes her children to visit Grossmutti and Grossdawdi (Grandma and Grandpa), Grossmutti Miriam always has a container of these soft sugar cookies waiting for them. Sometimes four-year-old Susan is afraid Grossmutti will forget to make the cookies, but seven-year-old Johnny knows better. After all, what would Grossdawdi Hezekiah eat if there weren't any cookies?

But of course Miriam, just like my own Grandma, never forgot to have a fresh batch of these delicious cookies waiting whenever her grandchildren came to visit.



My Grandma always kept the cookies in a big round tin on top of her refrigerator, waiting for us. She never forgot to make them. When I was little, I was convinced she always had those cookies there for her and Grandpa to eat every day. But as I grew older I learned the truth - she made them just for us.

I worked for years to be able to make these cookies the right way. I knew I had done it when I took a batch to my brother one time. He took one bite and said "Now these are Grandma's cookies!"


Oh, and speaking of cookies!!! Has the dough been in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours? Then it's time to get that oven going!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 3/8" thick...or between 1/4" and 1/2" if you like to guesstimate :)

And be generous with the flour - remember that you made a cake batter, not a cookie dough. Treat the soft batter gently, and use plenty of flour while you're rolling.

Cut out round cookies, or whatever shape you like. I use my great-grandmother's biscuit cutter because...well...it just seems right to do it that way.

And of course, the pink dough is cut out in heart shapes!

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they're done. You can tell they're done by lightly touching the top of one of them with your finger. If the depression stays, the cookie needs another minute of baking. But if it springs back, it's done. And don't let the edges get brown - that means they're too well done.

If you find your cookies are browning before the spring test says they're done, lower the heat on your oven a bit.

Grandma and Grandpa
1962

Have you guessed the secret ingredient yet?

It's love.

My grandma had a hard time talking about love, but those cookies spoke for her.

Happy Valentine's Day!



What is your favorite Valentine to give to the ones you love?





Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

Romantic Dinner for Two! Lobster Tails in Lemon Butter

Missy Tippens 

This past Tuesday I cooked a special dinner for my husband for Valentine's Day. I was excited to surprise him with lobster tails! I had gone to my new favorite store, Sprouts, and found they had discounted the lobster tails for the holiday. Only $5 each! I decided to cook lobster for the first time in close to 30 years.

Last time--back before we had kids, I bought a live, fresh lobster. I was so excited to cook something so fancy! I went home and got out my big soup post. I put the water on to boil. Then... well, I realized I had to put that poor thing in the water. But I'd seen it done on cooking shows, so held my breath and dropped it in.

And those claws clacked against the sides of that pot.

As Ruthy would say... Oh. My. Stars.

I screamed, I cried! I nearly got sick. And when my husband came home, I told him the lobster was all his. I could not eat one single bite of it. LOL

I've eaten lobster a time or two at restaurants since then. When I saw these tails, I figured I could handle that. This method worked much better for me. :)

First, I found a recipe to use to get some idea of how to cook the meat. I found one from Giada De Laurentiis. Click here to see the original recipe, Lobster Tails with Clarified Butter on FoodNetwork.com.

Now here's my version...

I clarified butter by cooking on the stovetop until it bubbled and separated. Then I skimmed off some of the foam. Then I poured it into a glass measuring cup and let it sit for a few minutes. The milk solids settled to the bottom.

I skimmed off some more foam, then poured the clarified butter away from the solids.

Ta da! It worked pretty well! I impressed myself. :) I added a squeeze of lemon juice to this butter and set it aside for dipping later.

Then I took more butter, melted it on the stovetop, and added a squeeze of lemon juice as well as a dash of garlic salt. This butter would be for cooking the lobster.

Like Giada said to do, I took my kitchen scissors and cut along the back of the shell. I placed each tail on a sheet of foil. Then I brushed butter on the whole tail, as well as into the cut shell, coating as much of the meat as I could. I poured the rest of the butter over them and then wrapped the foil tightly. I nearly had a fail, though, because while trying to hold the shell open for the butter, the edges cut the foil. Butter started running onto the counter.

So I folded the packets into another layer of foil. In Giada's recipe, she cooked in a fire pit on the beach. I used my stove top grill pan and cooked on medium heat for 10 minutes. These were small, 4 ounce tails (wish I had bought two for each of us!), so they cooked quickly.

Once done, I served with the clarified butter. An amazing dinner!! I'll definitely do it again sometime.

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Homemade Valentine's Treats for Your Sweet

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hubby and I celebrated early with a little time at the ranch before I go under the knife later this week to correct a torn rotator cuff.

I relaxed on the dock with my favorite canine friend.

Hubby and I walked in the woods.

And God gave a beautiful moonrise over the campfire.

But now, the big day is here. The day we celebrate love. The day flower, chocolate and greeting card sales go through the roof.

I remember hubby's and my first Valentine's Day. It was a fiasco.

"Sure we'll go to dinner," he said.

"Have you made reservations?" His realistic wife lifted a brow.

"We don't need reservations," he responded. "It's only Valentine's Day. It's not the big a deal."

Well, after visiting three restaurants with nothing shorter than an hour wait (he does not like to wait), I told him to just run by the grocery store and we could pick up a couple of those surf and turf packages they had on sale and I'd fix dinner at home.

Yeah, you guessed it. They were sold out.

That was the year my husband learned that Valentine's really is a big deal to lots and lots of people. It was also the year I determined we would never attempt to go out again on that day. Instead, I would make something special at home.

I mean, why run to the store when you can show your loved one(s) how special they are by making them some delectable homemade treats, filled with love?

I make these Pretzel Turtles at Christmas, but they are perfect for any time you want a special chocolate treat. And yes, they are easy.

Here's what you'll need:

• Pretzel Squares (if you can't find the squares, you can use the mini twists)
• Pecan halves
• Individually wrapped soft caramels, unwrapped (the only soft caramels I could find were Werther's)
• Chocolate for melting (I've used the milk chocolate chips here, but I've also used the 60% cocoa chips in the past and they're just as yummy)

I'm sure you noticed that I didn't give amounts on anything. That's because you can make as many or as few as you like, just be sure you have equal amounts of pretzels, pecan halves and caramels.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly toast your pecan halves either in a skillet on the stove or in the oven. Roughly 4-6 minutes, but be sure to toss them a time or two and watch them so they don't burn.

Set aside to cool.

On a lined baking sheet (I used a silicone mat, but you can also use parchment paper), lay out your pretzels and top each with a caramel.

Bake 3-5 minutes, until caramel is soft, but not oozing.

Immediately press a pecan half into each melted caramel.

While those are cooling, melt your chocolate. I put mine in a measuring cup then microwave it in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until smooth. You can also melt them on the stove top with a double boiler or nonstick pan over low heat.

Okay, now that the pecan-topped caramels are cool, remove them from the pan. Spoon a 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the silicone/parchment then carefully drop a pecan-topped pretzel into the middle like so.

Continue until all pretzels are nestled in chocolate.

Cool completely before serving.

These really are to-die-for. They're sweet, they're salty, they're chocolately, crispy and gooey.

Perfection.

You could place a few in a cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon or simply serve them on a pretty plate. Trust me, your loved one(s) won't care once they bite into these delicious treats.

Now it's your turn.

Do you have a crazy Valentine's story?

Do you even celebrate Valentine's or simply think of it as another day?

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and kids. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com.

Valentine's Day: Chocolate Chip Black Forest Cake

I'm doing a re-do of this Blodgett/Herne favorite... Chocolate and fruit are hugely popular here, and I bet they inspire that reaction in a lot of places! This delicious dessert is marvelous, it's a crowd-pleaser (and if you use a mix cake instead of making the scratch recipe, the world won't end! I recommend the Duncan Hines white mix... it's my favorite white mix cake.)

The reason I'm doing a re-do is two-fold: I haven't cooked anything new this whole week! We had scalloped potatoes and ham on Sunday... RECIPE HERE!!!!

And apple crisp:  RECIPE HERE!!!!

And ol' Dave went down to the village for fish fry dinners on Friday. Every other night has been burgers or sandwiches because I'm having so much fun writing books. But that makes my cooking L-A-M-E! But this recipe isn't lame, it's marvelous!

CHOCOLATE CHIP/STRAWBERRY/OOPS!!!/BLACK CHERRY CAKE!!!

Ruthy here, the Yank, bringing you my little baking buds as we prepare for an awesome Valentine's Day celebration! Do not ask me how the day meant for lovers became a holiday for munchkins, but here you have my tiny peeps helping make chocolate chip cake.... from scratch. And note the Softasilk flour that my buddy Jan turned me onto!!! 

The cake recipe is from the reprint of my mother's 1950 edition Betty Crocker cookbook. This is the book that I taught myself from as a child, and when they did a reprint of it I grabbed it! And I love it.... And their newer editions, too, because there are great ideas in both!

I think I should rename this cake, though... I think "Black Forest Chocolate Chip Cake" would be more appropriate and you can blame the garlic for that.

You'll see. I promise....

So here's the recipe to use for 2 - 9" greased and floured pans:

Sift together:

2 7/8 cups sifted Softasilk flour
17/8 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Add in with mixer:

2/3 cup shortening

Pour in a little over half of this mix:

1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons flavoring (I used vanilla)

Beat 2 minutes.  Then add in the remaining milk mix and 5 egg whites, unwhipped.

Mix two more minutes. Cake can be baked as is for "Silver White Cake" or you can add in 3/4 to 1 cup of chocolate chips to batter. That's what I did for today's cake and this is called "New Chocolate Chip Cake" on page 149 of the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1950 edition... 

RUTHY NEW NOTE: Now I use Ghirardelli barista chips I found on Amazon, these are amazing for recipes because they "suspend" in batter, instead of sinking!

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or a toothpick inserted in cake has just a few happy and moist crumbs clinging to it.

Okay, here's the dark chocolate filling I found on the same page, which I cannot believe I've never tried:


1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 square (chopped) dark baking chocolate
1 tablespoon butter

Mix egg yolk and cream in small, sturdy saucepan. Add sugar, chopped chocolate and butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until mixture just starts to boil around the outer edges... (I did this twice, stirred it down and then brought it to a beginning boil again)

This is what the chocolate looked like, chopped.

Remove from heat. Chill. Use as filling.

Now here's the faux pas of the day..... Clearly Washingtonian!!!! You'll see why.

I made a delightful strawberry filling for the center of the layers. Strawberry and chocolate are a match made in heaven, right? And I love heaven, so it sounded good.

I made it. It came out great... then I tasted it.

Garlic.

It tasted like garlic.

I used my cast aluminum pan and it must have had an essence of garlic in it from SOMETHING which does not speak well of my dishwashing skills.... So we THREW THAT OUT.... sighed a little, and went to fetch a bag of frozen dark cherries.... In a stainless steel pan this time I put about three cups of the frozen cherries and 3/4 cup of water.

Heat until you can mash the cherries somewhat.

ADD:  2/3 cup sugar mixed with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Heat to boiling. Add 1 tablespoon of butter,stir until smooth, remove from heat and chill.

Now, the fun part!!! Let's build this bad boy!!!!

First, slice a layer in half making two thiiiiiin cakes:

Fill first layer with cherry filling and the place the second half of this first layer over the cherries. Spread chocolate filling on top. Put bottom half of next layer on chocolate. Spread more cherry filling on that layer...

Okay, this is looking amazing.... I'm dying to have some... And the cake is divine, great recipe!

Okay now put final cake layer on top. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. This helps the cake to keep from being "slippery" with so many fillings. Chilled fillings slip less.

Remove from fridge when you're ready to frost:

Whipped Cream Frosting:

2 to 3 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip at high speed until cream forms firm peaks. Frost top, then sides of cake.

 I do the top first because it's easy to plop down a ton of whipped cream in the middle and work it to the sides without messing up the cake....

Then I frost the sides.

Then if I have enough whipped cream I pipe a border around the top and bottom, but I didn't this time so I scootched the whipped cream on top into a slightly higher outside edge making a whipped cream "hill" around the edge. Then I used the last cup or so of the dark cherry filling to "fill" the lake I made by hilling the whipped cream.

And here it is:

I think I'll dust the outer edge with baking chocolate powder... or a drizzled chocolate would be nice, too. Or chocolate curls... But without any of those, this is one amazing cake!  And here's a picture of it sliced....



And yes, it tasted just as good as it looked! Happy Valentine's Day!

Ruthy