Sandwich Spins

This is sandwich season. These quick lunches have found their way back into backpacks and brown bags. Yet they can get boring. what to do > Spin them a little to make them the kind of lunch kids will not want to trade.

It all starts with the bread. What is the best white bread? Obviously the home made kind.Make and bake it if you have the time on a Saturday or Sunday. everyone will appreciate the sweet home baked taste and it does elevate the fillings to the next level. However not to worry if you can't Lidl has excellent freshly made loaves daily. TRy their walnut loaf which is dense and perfect for such fillings as ham and roast beef. Pepperidge farms also has some good loaves that more or less taste like homemade slices. They also have excellent rye and pumpernickel loaves too. These last can spruce up any ordinary filling You can also vary  the breads by subbing in French baguettes  -  good with tuna salads or Italian loaves. This last is excellent for leftover meatballs.Individual rolls are also a great base for any sandwich. There's' a chewiness to them that  adds to the lunch experience. A lighter option  would be a wrap. You can put anything in it from cut veggies to chicken Caesar salad. Kids would love it before it;s held like a burrito.Pita pockets are another low calorie option . These can be stuffed with everything from traditional hummus to eggs salad.

FIllings can vary. There are some kids who swear on peanut butter and jelly year after year. This gets old fast.  You could swap out the jelly for bananas and chocolate chips. Sub in almond butter instead for a lighter flavor. Give this American classic a Gallic twist by serving it on a croissant ( think Lidl for these .They have the perfect ones, buttery , with a crackly crust) Sunday leftovers can also make for an excellent sandwich filling Sliced turkey or chicken breasts work well. Mix in some  tarragon laced mayo or butter to make them less dry. A roast beef sandwich is an excellent way to start off the school or even work week.Leftover ham can be had two ways. Sliced thick with mustard or mayo or ground in a food processor with mayo and celery seeds for more flavor.Of course tuna salad works but how about a Provencale one like the classic Provencale sandwich pain bagnat. This is a big chunk of French bread sliced and stuffed with hard boiled eggs, lettuce, tuna in oil and sliced tomatoes. Anchovies are added to the original recipe but leave them out if  the little ones aren't big fans of the briny fish. Use a dressing to moisten the ingredients.

Fun sandwiches are a great way to live up the lunch hour. Try any of these to put a different spin on the noon time meal. The kids will love these .

Halloween Cupcake Crazy

 Nothing is as fun as a Halloween cupcake. Home bakers can have a field day with creating all sorts of fun decorations  from witches hats to mummies. Yet you start out with the right icing and topping to create an Insta ready little cake (it big cake if you want ).It just takes patience and a flair for fun.

The first thing is do you use a store bought or homemade frosting (keep in mind that frosting and icing are interchangeable words but they are different. Frostings have some ki nd of fat, - whether butter, plant butter  cream cheese, whipped cream or eggs  in them while icings are just confectioners sugar , milk cream juice or egg whites. ) Store bought frosting is denser while homemade is lighter and airier thanks to it constantly being whipped. However you can lessen the density of the store bought kind just by whipping air into it. One important tool you will need is either wax or parchment paper. Tear off a good sized sheet (about six inches long ) and cut into squares. Use them when you have to flatten the puffs of icing into a workable canvas. A n icing spatula can also come in handy when smoothing a frosting's surface and sides. If you're planning on using sprinkles  make sure you have a bowl for them. This also makes it easier to roll the cupcakes in them for decorated edgea.

Decorating is the fun part once all the cupcakes or cakes are iced.Reese's mini peanut butter  cups can double as witches hats or as the bottom of a broom, once iced. Mini ice cream cones can also work well as a crone's hat too. Just thoroughly dip these in either dark or milk chocolate , let set and them place on the cupcakes. Use black gel icing for the band around the base of the cone part and add yellow or gold icing to create a belt. A broom us made by inserting a pretzel stick in the center of a mini peanut butter cup and then using brown or dark yellow icing draw lines up and down to simulate straw. YOu can also create either white, dark ro milk chocolate spider web ls by pouring chocolate in thin, concentric circles and then attaching them .Let dry and stick on the top of  the cakes, Spiders are made just by putting two blobs or black icing together and then drawing eight legs out from the body. Use candy eyes for the eyes. You may have to use tweezers for this. A spooky cupcake might have a tombstone on top. Use Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies for this. Write RIP on them and just stick into the icing. Add a gummy work or two for more creepiness.

Halloween cupcakes are always a nice addition to any holiday party. Go wild with decorating.It wil only add to the day.

Can You Rival A Great Baker?

One of the best aspects of The Great British Baking Show is that it introduces American home bakers to a plethora of British  and European treats. It would be the ultimate project to create an elaborate baked good. Can it be done?

American bakers - including myself - have a tendency to rely on boxed mixes. These can be varied to create new cakes and desserts yet there's limited creativity. True bakers will nix the Pilsbury and Duncan Hines (as if we lesser ones  would) and use flour and baking soda, eggs and butter along with milk and molasses.The Great British Baking Show and its' American spin offs have challenges that require old fashioned ingredients and creative thinking. Anyone can recreate the recipes.There's an entire franchise of "Great British Baking Show" cookbooks out there along with recipe books from former judge Mary Berry and current Paul Hollywood. There are even specialized ones that focuses only on breads, sweet buns and trifles in separate books. These are perfect for home bakers wanting to break the mold. These are more labor intensive than some of our ones. Spices have to be ground. Sometimes there's proofing  in a low temperature oven. Elaborate cookies require handmade molds.It's not for the faint hearted.

There is a sense of exhilaration and triumph however when a bake is done. Imagine creating Series 7 winner  Candice Brown's Tudor showstopper, a marzipan peacock.It was an elaborately decorated cake , with the surprise of fresh blueberries in the middle. Or creating Mary 's technical challenge of a Victoria sponge , a lovely end to a Sunday brunch. How much more fun would the holidays be with Paul's Tudor technical challenge of  elaborately knotted Jumbles , zinged up with freshly ground mace and aniseed, along with caraway seeds. If these may be too much start off with some of the contestant's recipes. These are still complicated, but a bit easier to make. There is a tasty pina Colada rolled cake, which is laden with coconut mascarpone ,pineapples and coconut rum. For a savory spin, and perfect weekend lunch , try baking the croque Monsieur kites. This is intense, because the puff pastry has to be hand made (no Pepperidge Farm here) and stuffed with  cheeses such as Gruyere and Emmenthal as well as pancetta and mushrooms.It's also creating your own porcini powder with  grinding the mushroom .it also requires a dough mixer with a hook and creating a scratch Bechamel sauce.

The Great British Bake Show is an entertaining foray into intense  baking. American home bakers can break free of their cookie cutter bakes and try some of the elaborate sweet and savory recipes. It'll expand the repertoire along with filling the kitchen with yummy treats.

Easy Meals For The Pre Holidays

The pre-holiday time can be crazy. It's a time of non-stop shopping or house cleaning. It's when  you're too tired to even chew, let alone cook. What to do?

I'll be honest I head to Acme or Stop and Shop.It's just easier. Look at what I got at my local Acme today.

It's their brand of gravy which tastes exactly like homemade.I paired it with their fresh from the bird slices of turkey

The meat was tender and juicy ,with a nice salty, crisp skin attached ,  tasting as if it came out of my new oven itself. I paired the two over slices of Pepperidge Farm sandwich bread.Yummmy!!!

Saturday Night Specials

Saturday is usually the one night of the week when the family can sit down and have dinner together. The problem is that it's the same foods week after week,  The solution is adding some zing to make these family meals  special. Don't worry  They're nothing elaborate. It's just tweaking  recipes up a notch or two for  tasty and memorable meals.

One of the easiest meals to assemble is the BLT. It's a quick throw together of bacon, lettuce and tomato, on toast.Tweak it by changing the bread. King's Hawaiian Rolls are perfect for creating mini sandwiches or you can try the new Sandwich Thins by Pepperidge Farm.One roll  may be only  one hundred calories but it's also great for creating the perfect sandwich .The filling will stand out  because the slices are almost wafer thin yet sturdy I like these for my BLTs. As for the tomatoes, get the vine ripes. These are a deeper red and richer in flavor. Ditch the iceberg lettuce and switch to Romaine. Again this type of lettuce amps up the sandwich and melds well with the tomato and bacon. Also a dab of ranch dressing zings up the whole combo, rather than just plain mayo , Heroes are another much eaten Saturday night meal. Give them  a Gallic twist by using a baguette  and slathering on a homemade garlicky aioli,  This is a simple blend of garlic and mayo. Add some sliced hard boiled eggs and tuna for a Provencale vibe, along with capers  and a variety of veggies. You could also just have a typical Italian hero, but add pancetta, and mortadella with a balsamic vinegar based dressing.

Dinner means a hot meal too. A family favorite is baked mac and cheese. Liven it up with adding different cheeses as opposed to using just cheddar.Use fontina and Gruyere along with fontina for bite. Bacon or ham are another great way to give the classic casserole some zing. Add layers of  either  along using them as a crunchy topping. Bacon and ham can also make a homemade pizza more interesting too. Since Saturdays are usually pizza night, Try your hand at a homemade one.Please everyone by using their favorites as toppings, from steak slices to even crab meat. This is great if there's adults but you'll need to create a special kind of pie  to grab the kids' attentions. Try mini deep dish ones baked in a muffin tin. The dough can be a homemade one or one made with Biscuit. You can also use Pilsbury  crescent rolls. too. The filling is pizza sauce, of course, but you can also throw in pepperoni or olives for a nice surprise. Baked fried chicken that's been spiced up with cayenne is another fun meal. Serve with homemade cheddar biscuits and ranch slaw.This last is just simply mixing shredded cabbage with ranch dressing. (you can use any salad  dressing here).

Amp up that Saturday night meal. Give those much used recipes a well needed twist with new ingredients or products/ The result is a memorable dinner that the whole family will enjoy,