Penelope's 4th Birthday

A blog post 4 months in the making! Not really, but that is how far behind I have fallen. 

I was super excited to post about this months ago and then life got in the way. A strew of hospital stays, vacation, and other family emergencies put blogging on the back burner. But things have leveled, and now I'm ready to present to you: Penny's Frozen Birthday. 

I'm not one to throw lavish and extravagant birthday parties. I don't judge those that do, I attend enough of them to know how fantastic they are and appreciate how much work is involved. I just prefer low key celebrations. Particularly because Penny's birthday falls a week after New Years, and everyone is usually a little tapped out, socially, mentally, and financially. 

I'm also not one for making things simple on myself. I still like to make things look terrific, taste great, and be memorable. The disposable table wear was from my favorite party goods maker, Meri Meri. I created a full half balloon garland and hung snowflakes from the chandeliers. I also baked the Elsa "inspired" cake modeled after those popular unicorn cakes you see all over the place. 

My favorite moment was blowing out the candles and shooting off confetti. Everyone thinks I'm nuts but it is those tiny details, those temporary messes, that make such beautiful memories. 

But I did vacuum up confetti for like 3 weeks. 

So here is my big girls birthday from January. She's already planning her 5th.

American Recipe Collection: Blueberry Butter

My kids are blueberry freaks, they look like Violet in Willy Wonka. So whenever they are on sale, I buy them buy the pint. But sometimes we find ourselves not finishing them fast enough, so I'm happily forced into making blueberry things to use them up.

My Penny always starts her day with a waffle, or toast, so a fancy butter seemed like a perfect fit. Plus, I get to eliminate the need for that sickly sweet breakfast syrup and replace it with this still sweet, but fresh and slightly healthier butter. This is SO easy too. I encourage you to try it with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, or a combination of all of them!

Blueberry Butter

American Recipe Collection, ©Melissa Teixeira 2018

1/2 Cup Fresh Blueberries, washed and dried
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Water
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, softened (I love THIS one)
Pinch of fine salt (optional)

In a small saucepan, place blueberries, water, and sugar. Mash the blueberries with fork or potato masher and cook over high heat, until it comes to a rapid boil. Reduce to low-medium heat and cook for 10 minutes. Do not stir. 

Remove the pan from heat, add the vanilla and lemon, and stir well. Sauce should be sticky and runny. Allow to cool for a few moments before pouring your sauce through a sieve, fine strainer, or like I did, a potato ricer. This removes most of the blueberry skins, however I like to add a bit of the pulp back to the sauce. Continue to cool to room temperature. 

Once sauce is cooled and butter is softened, combine the two by whipping either with a hand or stand mixer. At this point I grind the tiniest bit of salt into it, but feel free to leave as is. The consistency will almost resemble cake frosting!

You can store it in a container with a lid, or you can get fancy and mold it into shapes. If you have silicone molds, they work great. Another option is a good old fashioned cupcake pan! The butter is freshest within 2 weeks, but I bet it wont be around that long!

American Recipe Collection: Pancakes

Pancakes. Is there anything better? Everyone around the world has there version of a fried cake, but the American version has always been noticeably denser and sweeter. In fact, similar pancakes date back as far as 1796 in American cooking. Those were similar, but made with cornmeal. Think "cornbread pancakes" and you got yourself Hoe Cakes, or Johnny Cakes. Today's traditional pancakes lost the corn meal, and added leavening agents, to create a lighter, less grainy option.

I struggled for years to find a fluffy, not dense, good tasting pancake. And I think I've finally perfected it. No fancy ingredients, special equipment. Just pantry staples and a frying pan.

I make these so frequently I almost don't need the recipe. Even my European born husband (who usually prefers non-sweet breakfast) requests these. Enjoy!

American Recipe Collection: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

American cuisine has become sort of the "Cousin Eddie" of the food world--loud, over the top, and usually overstays it's welcome. But it hasn't always been that way. 

Living in New Jersey, we are so lucky to live in the proverbial melting pot- I've grown accustomed to enjoying foods from far off lands and places I've never been to. And marrying into a first generation family, we eat Portuguese pretty frequently. But I've never been any good at cooking it. What I am good at, is cooking American.

So what is American food? It's more than hamburgers and peanut butter and jelly (although I love both of those with my kindergarten heart). What our young country may lack in history it makes up for in rich local culture. From the tippy top of Maine to the Big Island, and everywhere in between, there is good, original, fresh, and delicious American cuisine. And let's not forget the foods of the Native Americans, too. There has been so much influence on our way of life from the people who have come here, and it's a beautiful thing the way our palates have blended.

That is my mission. No donuts inside of milkshakes or bacon stuffed heart attacks. Real tasty food right from the land in which we live. Let's show the world that we are more than a fast food nation.

First up: something sweet.

Oatmeal Cookies

American Recipe Collection, Foods of the USA ©Melissa Teixeira 2018

Maybe it's the Scottish in me-but I love me some oatmeal. Mix it with heaps of butter and sugar and bake it? I'm so there. The first recorded oatmeal raisin cookie recipe was written by Fannie Merritt Farmer in 1896. And we can thank the good people at Quaker Oats for putting in on their can and bringing it to American homes everywhere.

This is such a straight forward recipe. Instead of raisins (my personal fav) you can substitute it with chocolate chips or chunks, dried fruits, or even nuts. Whats your favorite cookie add in?

2 Sticks of unsalted butter

1 Cup of dark brown sugar

3/4 Cup white sugar

2 Eggs

2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 Teaspoon baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon fine salt

1 1/2 Cups of all purpose flour

3 Cups of rolled oats (regular or instant)

1 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1 Cup of raisins (or other whatever you like!)

In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer, blend the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, being careful to not over beat. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Now Add the dry ingredients into your butter mixture until thoroughly mixed. At this point, you may slowly add your oats, and finally, the vanilla. 

Scrape all of the dough mixture out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and roll, or in a covered bowl. Then let chill in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. Not kidding. The longer it sits, the better. This allows for the flour to completely accept the flavors, making a better texture and taste. But 30 hours should do it!

After those pesky 24-36 hours have passed, preheat your oven to 350º. At this point you can use a large spoon to scoop your dough into rounds on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper; alternatively (and what I do) is line a 1/4 sheet pan with parchment paper, and spread the dough out (must sit at room temperature for a bit for this method though!). If you are baking individual cookies, bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes; If using the sheet pan method, 25-30 minutes. 

Pro tip: sprinkle a little but of cinnamon sugar on top just before baking. It leaves a crispy caramelized outside and a soft and chewy inside. Perfect!