Scones for a Crowd

This is a recipe we make weekly at work, and they all go up to the hospital coffee shop. We alternate between blueberry one week and cranberry the next. This is a pretty good recipe, I have to say. It makes four big rounds that we cut into eight triangles.

Cream Scones

9 cups flour
4 tbsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups butter
8 eggs
3 cups cream or milk
egg wash & granulated sugar for topping
blueberries, cranberries - frozen - optional

Whisk together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until it's small pea-size. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet until combined. Add fruit at this point. It's always better to use frozen fruit so the juices don't saturate the batter with tons of colour. It's an aesthetic thing. Don't overwork the dough, but make sure you get a nice consistent dough. It will be sticky. Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and cut into four even pieces. Pat each piece into a circle about 1" thick. Place on greased baking sheet and cut into desired number of triangles. Glaze with egg wash & sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350F until golden brown and cooked through.

Enjoy!

Herb Muffins

The menu is changing at work because the seniors are getting bored and, quite frankly, so are us cooks. A whole bunch of new recipes are being tried out, and this one for herb muffins is one of them. Last night, I served these with beef stew, and judging by the lack of muffins coming back & getting chucked, it seemed like a success. Some seniors even wanted more, but I only had enough for one each. After sampling one myself, however, I don't think they are exactly my cup of tea. They were a bit too sweet. But that's just me. If anyone out there makes these, let me know what you think!

I made these pretty small, almost a mini muffin, and I got 39.

Herb Muffins

Dry Mixture:

4.5 cups flour
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
10.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp salt
6 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (3 tbsp dried)
6 tbsp fresh parsley (3 tbsp dried)

Wet Mixture:

3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups milk

You know the drill: mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl; combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Add wet to dry. Combine. Scoop.

Bake at 400F for 25 - 30 minutes, or until done.

Clam Chowder for a Crowd

Here is another work recipe that I have made a few times now. When I first looked at the recipe, I nearly had a heart attack! Bacon! Butter! Whipping cream! I thought, You want me to feed this to seniors? Seriously? I was a little shocked. But apparently, this is one of the most popular soups on the menu. And after I made it, I had a bowl myself, and it was sooooo gooooood. Sinfully good. No wonder it's popular!

Clam Chowder

8 slices of bacon, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, diced
4 potatoes, diced
3 cans baby clams, with nectar
1 lb butter
2 cups flour
1 liter water
2 tsp chicken base
2 liters whipping cream
2 tsp each basil, parsley, and ground pepper

Cook the first five ingredients in a large pot until veggies are just tender. In a separate, smaller pot, melt the butter. Add flour and make a smooth paste. Add this to the veggies and combine. Add liquids, and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a simmer to thicken. Serve.

OK, we don't use whipping cream where I work, but rather a mixture of 10% and milk. It works just fine and tastes great!

Ambrosia Salad for a Crowd

This is one of those dishes you find at church potlucks, in delis, and at my work! And, to be honest, I kinda like ambrosia. I mean, marshmallows, coconut, and mandarin oranges? That is a pretty delicious combination! This recipe makes a huge amount and will provide dessert for about 25 - 30 people, though I'm not sure this is an "authentic" ambrosia like you'd find at the deli, because mandarin segments in a can are pricier than fruit cocktail, but when I make it, I often just use the mandarin oranges anyway because I think it's better that way. But even with the fruit cocktail, it's good stuff, and the diabetics at work like it because they can have it, too.

Ambrosia for a Crowd

6 cups mixed fruit or fruit cocktail
3 cups mandarin orange slices
3 cups pineapple tidbits
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 bag coconut
4 1/2 cups sour cream (we use light)

It's as easy as this: drain all the fruit very well. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl, mixing lightly. Chill thoroughly. Serve.

Sperm Cake...Or Tadpole Cake...

Well, if that title doesn't increase my search engine hits, I don't know what will!

Anyway, yesterday I made a blueberry banana cake at work, and when I took it out of the oven, I noticed that this strange effect had occurred with the blueberries, due to my spreading of the batter...


What do you think???

Chocolate M&M Cookies

Just to let you all know, I was away all weekend and came home to over 400 unread items in my Google reader, and due to time & energy constraints, I have deleted them all. So, if I'm not up to date on all your blogs or haven't left any comments in the last few days, that's why!

All righty! Recently, there was a customer appreciation day at the coffee shop I bake for and I was asked to make some special cookies. My boss suggested something with M&Ms, so I came up with a riff on this cookie recipe we use all the time at work. Accidentally, when purchasing the M&Ms, the person who does the grocery shopping picked up peanut M&Ms, but those are my favourite so I thought they made the cookies extra special!

Chocolate M&M Cookies

1 lb butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups white sugar
4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 bags M&Ms (I can't remember what size they were...The ones you get in the candy aisle)

Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Melt the chocolate carefully in the microwave, and beat it into the butter/egg/sugar mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the M&Ms. Bake at 350F for 12 - 15 minutes. DON'T OVERBAKE!

Apparently, they were a hit!

Texas Brownies

I made these at work last week for the residents' dessert. It's a really easy, really delicious recipe that makes quite a large batch. The recipe calls for a 17.5x11" jelly roll pan, but at work, I use a pan that holds about twice the amount a 9x13" pan does. This time, there were leftovers, so I actually got to try one of my own desserts for once! These were moist & lovely, and the icing was, although very sweet, had a nice texture.

Texas Brownies

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 unsifted icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour & sugar.

2. In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, coffee, and cocoa. Stir & bring to boil.

3. Pour boiling mixture over the flour & sugar in the bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.

4. Mix well and pour into a well-greased 17.5x11" jelly roll pan. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until done in centre.

5. Meanwhile, as the brownies bake, make the frosting. In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring. Mix in the powdered sugar & vanilla until very smooth.

6. Pour warm frosting over brownies as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool. Makes 48 bars.

Sexy Marbling

I made a ton of cookies at work the other day, chocolate chip and Dad's. For some strange reason, the Dad's cookies spread a lot; this happens from time to time and it's a real mystery to me and the other staff who make them. Everyone has had a similar experience. We make the exact same recipe, yet sometimes they spread a lot. Such is the life of a baker.















I also made a marble cake. I haven't done a lot of marbled cakes in my life, but it's kind of fun!When I took it out of the oven, Cook said, "Wow, that's sexy!""Sexy?" I've never had anyone say that about anything I've made! I was really happy.

Alas, the cake required icing...

Ah well. The picture is all I need.

Beef Stew & Biscuits, Commercial Style

Here are some shots I took at work the other week, when beef stew & biscuits were on the menu. I'm not a fan of beef stew, but this looked really good & smelled just great. My shift ends before dinner, so I didn't get to sample it, but the residents, I heard were happy. The biscuits, which I made, turned out great! Dessert was provided by one of the residents, who spent the morning making homemade apple pie for everyone.

First, the cook started off using the grill to brown about half a cow's worth of stewing meat.

Meanwhile, potatoes & turnips get par-cooked.

The cook chopped up onions, celery, & carrots, then added them, along with the potatoes & turnips, to a big pan with the beef.

Some gravy (Bisto) gets going...

The gravy gets added to everything in the pan...

And we get this...

...And this...Then the whole thing gets covered with foil and put in the oven at 250F for 4 or so hours...And here are my biscuits (recipe here, minus the dill & cheddar):
And here are the gorgeous apple pies that resident made for dessert!

A great meal!

Peach Upsidedown Cake

I'm happy to report that my Pear & Apple Crisp went over very well with the residents where I work. Last week, once again, I came on shift & was confronted with a large quantity of fruit that needed transformation: this time, locally-picked peaches.

I didn't have a lot of time to get creative with these because there was a lot of hospital baking to do for the day, and that is my priority. I had to opt for something quick & easy, so I decided to make a Peach Upsidedown Cake using cake mixes my work always has on hand for when they are in a pinch.

Luckily, peaches are much easier to peel than your typical apple or pear, and the stone in the middle just needs popping out so there is no coring to do - excellent time-savers!

I mixed the sliced peaches with sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I put this in the bottom of a chafing dish. Then I made two French vanilla cake mixes and poured the the mixture over the peaches. Into the oven, and voila!Just under an hour later, this is what we got. I was a little nervous about this because of the fruit on the bottom. I was worried the cake wouldn't cook properly and it would be raw around where the fruit & fruit juice was. We'll see. It certainly smelled excellent!

Pear & Apple Crisp for a Crowd

My lastest work project on the dessert front included a huge bag of locally grown pears, picked by the folks at the residents.

The cook and I mulled over the possibilities we had within our bugetary limitations, and decided simple was best: pear crisp. Who doesn't love a good crisp? And my strawberry rhubarb one from a couple of weeks ago was a hit, so we thought it would be a good bet. (Incidentally, the chocolate strawberry shortcakes were also a HUGE hit!)

What I hadn't anticipated was the nuisance of peeling all the pears, and I had some time restrictions to work around. After I'd made my daily muffin quota, I had to peel like a maniac to get enough pears for a crisp that had to feed about 35 people. The cook helped me peel, but I knew it wasn't going to work. Luckily, there was a whole bucket of apple pie filling in the fridge, so I decided to make this a pear & apple crisp.

I gave myself 35 minutes to peel as many pears as I could. To this I added 1 cup of brown sugar, 4 tbsp cornstarch, and some cinnamon & nutmeg.

Then I scooped in a whole pile of apple pie filling. This stuff is so good I could just eat it by the spoonful!

I then mixed the pear & apple fillings together in the pan.

Onto the topping: 4 cups oats, 1 cup flour, 1 cup packed brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg, and about 1 1/4 cups cold margarine (no butter at this place, but I make do).

It smelled great as it cooked, let me tell you! Alas, my shift ended before it came out of the oven, so I'll have to wait for my next shift to get any feedback. I'm pretty confident that they liked this, though!

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake for a Crowd

On Monday at work, I got to make dessert again for the residents. I knew I would be doing this the week before, when I made the strawberry-rhubarb crumble (which was a HIT with the residents, BTW!) and I came across a 2.5kg bag of frozen strawberries languishing in the freezer. I told the cook I'd think about it for a week and come up with some way to use the berries on Monday. I turned over various ideas in my mind, but eventually came up with something simple and within budgetary requirements: chocolate strawberry shortcakes.

I made the biscuit recipe before, here, and knew it to be a reliable, good recipe, as are most that come from Canadian Living. I needed 29 desserts, not of huge size, and so I doubled the recipe and got what I needed from it.

A word about cocoa powder: not all cocoa powders are created equally! Since the organization I work for is non-profit, there is a strict ingredients budget to work around, so the priority is not high quality cocoa powder. The cocoa I used in this particular dessert was the Wally World el cheapo brand, and it has a greyish hue. Hence the biscuits are not terribly chocolatey-looking or -tasting. But they were OK for this crowd.

For the filling, I used the entire bag of strawberries, thawing them out first and slicing them in half. In a large pot, I mixed the berries, their juices, some lemon juice, nutmeg, and about 2 cups sugar. I brought the whole thing to a boil and simmered for a little while...

...When the berries had cooked down a bit, I skimmed out some of the juices and made a slurry with a few TBSP of cornstarch. After the filling had thickened, I took it off the stove to cool.

The final result - fabulous!

The staff, including bosses, were really happy, so I hope the residents are, too. I tried this one and it was really, really good.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Crumble - Commercial Style

Because we were missing muffin ingredients at work the other day, I got to make dessert for the residents instead of baking for the hospital. While I was looking for blueberries for blueberry muffins - only to find we were out, and I had the batter all ready to go...that'll teach me to make sure I have all my ingredients before starting a recipe - I came across huge amounts of frozen rhubarb & strawberries at the very bottom of the freezer. These were left over from when we made the Fruit Full muffins, which we're no longer doing because they weren't selling well. Since the cook didn't have a dessert planned for the evening's dinner yet, I offered to make a crumble. Off I went!

There are about 36 people to cook for at this place, but the portions tend to be smaller because they're all seniors. I didn't measure anything in this recipe except for the sugar and I suspect I used about 12 - 14 cups of frozen rhubarb and strawberries.
Into the fruit I put cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, the sugar, and a whole bunch of cornstarch. Like I said, I didn't measure.

I made the crumble in a large roasting pan...
I think I made way too much crumble. In the crumble mixture, I put oats, flour, brown sugar, the same spices as in the fruit, and about 1.5 cups of butter. It made a lot. I hope the seniors like their crumble!As a safeguard, I baked the crumble on a baking sheet, which is always a good idea in case your filling bubbles over and you get a mess on the bottom of your oven. As the filling bubbled up, I stuck a spoon in and tasted some of the boiling juice and it was...really good. The cook was happy, I was happy, I hope the seniors are happy. It was my only taste as my shift ended before the crumble came out of the oven, but I'm confident it'll go over well. I'll find out next time I go in!

Cake Mix Cookies - In the Commercial Kitchen

Sometimes at work I get to make dessert for the residents of the home, and I always enjoy doing that because it's something different than what I normally bake for the hospital. The cook left me in charge yesterday, and since there were a plethora of cake mixes available in the pantry, I decided to make cake mix cookies. It was also handy that the recipe is simple and was easily retrieved from my scatterbrained head.

So, cherry chip cookies with sprinkles and chocolate cookies with sprinkles.

Here, once more, is the recipe:

1 box cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten

Combine well, scoop, bake. It doesn't get simpler than this!

And here are the results.

For some reason, the cookies in this pan all migrated towards the middle of the pan, smooshing them all. Weird.
Pretty, eh? Once again, thanks to Girlichef for getting me on to cake mix cookies!

Hawaiian Rice

So, the place where I work provides dinner for the residents, and dinner always includes a dessert. The menu rotates over 8 weeks, and last Monday happened to be Hawaiian Rice night. I've never been around for Hawaiian Rice night.

The relief cook hadn't been around for Hawaiian Rice night, either, because when he looked at the recipe, he was really skeptical. He thought it looked weird and was asking if I'd ever seen the regular cook make it before, and if I'd ever tasted it, etc. I said no, it was a first for me, too.

It does look strange - kind of like a combination of ambrosia salad and rice pudding. Here is the recipe.

Hawaiian Rice (makes 6 servings)

1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup mini marshmallows
3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained
- combine these ingredients and chill for 3 hours

Add: 1 cup cool whip or whipped cream and 3 tbsp sugar. Fold into rice mixture. Chill again. Sprinkle with coconut. Serve.

Here is step one...

Here it is just before step two...

My shift ended before the dessert was finished so I have no idea how this turned out. But I will see the cook again soon and ask him how it went.

What do you think? Does this appeal to you or not?