Mrs. Butland's Potatoes

Mrs. Butland was a good friend of my parents' while I was growing up and, in addition to be an incredibly interesting woman, she was a wonderful cook.

I don't know how often she made these potatoes. For all I know she made them once for Mom when she was a guest at the Butlands' farm. Regardless, for all of my life they've been known as Mrs. Butland's potatoes and Mrs. Butland's potatoes they shall remain.

They're a special dish and Mom always made them on Christmas Eve after all the hustle and bustle of present wrapping and baking was done. My stepdad, mom, brother and I would sit down to a peaceful dinner with soothing Christmas carols softly playing in the background, the kitchen's Christmas tree's white lights softly glowing and a plate of delicious food that, as far as I can remember, always included these potatoes.

Since marrying and missing out on that evening's tradition at Mom's house I've begun making them for my husband and kids on Christmas Eve. And now that Mom is gone, tomorrow I will make the potatoes for the same crew that she once made the potatoes for, along with my husband and kids, my dad, stepmom (BadgerCook) and sister (Bakerbabe), and my stepdad's girlfriend and her daughter.

Mrs. Butland's Potatoes

6-7 large potatoes, peeled and grated*
2 large onions, finely grated*
heavy cream (about 16 ounces)
butter (about half a stick, plus more for greasing pan)
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take a shallow baking dish-- I usually use a large glass pie pan-- and butter it very generously. Spread onions into pie pan. Add potatoes to the grated onions in the pie dish and stir them so that the mixture is evenly distributed.

Add a generous amount of salt and pepper and stir in.

Pour cream until entire mixture is barely covered. Place dollops of butter all over the top. Bake until liquid is nice and thick and the potatoes are starting to brown. This usually takes about 30 minutes, possibly 45 depending on the oven.

*Mom swore up and down that you should NOT use a food processor for the grating. I do and haven't noticed that it affects the potatoes adversely.

A Christmas Morning Tradition

These are a great treat and delicious way to start Christmas morning. I have always served them with fresh fruit and coffee (milk or juice for the children, of course).

Cinammon Rolls
(The Kuyper Family Christmas Morning Tradition)


Dough:

3/8th cup of milk
3/8th cup water
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in bread pan of bread maker and process on dough setting. After processing, turn dough out onto a floured surface.

Glaze:

5 Tbs. melted butter
½ cup brown sugar

Filling:

1 Tbs. melted butter
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
2 Tbs. brown sugar
½ cup raisins (optional)

Pour melted butter for the glaze into one 9x13 inch pan or two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans; sprinkle with brown sugar.

With a rolling pin, roll dough into a 9 x 18 inch rectangle.

For the filling, brush the melted butter over the rolled out dough. In a small bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins (optional). Sprinkle over the dough. Starting at the long edge, roll up dough. Pinch seams to seal. With a knife, lightly mark roll into 1.5 inch sections. Slide a 12 inch long piece of dental floss or heavy thread underneath. By bringing the ends of the floss up and crisscrossing them at the top of each mark you can cut through the roll by pulling the strings in the opposite directions. Place rolls cut side up in prepared pan(s), flattening them slightly. (At this point you can cover the rolls with foil, put in refrigerator and bake them in the morning). Before baking let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes in a warm oven.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately invert rolls onto large platter or dish. Optional: Drizzle with icing before serving.

Icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons of milk or cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine and drizzle over rolls.

Yield: 12 rolls.

Candy Cane Cookie, II

Well apparently if you create a post, save it as a draft and post it awhile later it will post the date to that particular blog post to the date you created the post.

Bad news for me today since my intention was to have it post today's date (when I finished and posted it). Sure would be since to have the choice (hint, hint, Blogger!).

So, here's today's post.

Eat. Drink. Save Money!

After being reminded by SuperMom of the article about Milwaukee restaurants, if you want to try a new restaurant in the Milwaukee area (or anywhere) go to www.restaurant.com. It's a website that allows you to purchase savings certificates for member restaurants, and the best part is once you register you will get e-mails offering certificates for 50 to 60 percent off the normal price! (For example - a $25 certificate that normally sells for $10 is available for $5). It is a great way to try a new restaurant AND save money. That is how I found Barossa, the restaurant just outside of the Third Ward that we went to for our anniversary. Each restaurant has certain restrictions but for the most part they are liberal in their rules about using the certificates. I have also purchased certificates at half price for Taste of Italy in Silver Lake!

Crazy Kitchens

I spotted this article in Milwaukee Magazine today and it provides a peek into the kitchens of some of my favorite Milwaukee restaurants. It's long, but fun if you're into the Milwaukee restaurant scene.

A huge transformation is also happening at the Wyndham Hotel — a redesign that brought restaurateur Marc Bianchini on board. His consulting business, On the Marc Restaurant Group, created the menu for the new Wyndham restaurant kil@wat. A native New Yorker, Bianchini moved to Milwaukee to open Osteria del Mondo in the mid-1990s. Two children and another restaurant, Cubanitas (operated by his wife, Marta), followed.

Joe and I haven't eaten at kil@wat yet but the newly designed lobby is a great place to go and have a drink. It's comfortable and quiet and accommodates a large group.

Also, if you haven't tried Cubanitas yet, you really should. It's pretty inexpensive but the food is really interesting and yummy.

New to blogging!

Thanks SuperMom for starting this blog - now I can get my feet wet in this new endeavor (it took me acouple of times to figure out even how to become a part of this blog!!!) The beef stew recipe looks fabulous. Badgerboy says it is delicious (apparently you made this for a recent Badgerboy visit).

For anyone visiting this blog, I am SuperMom's stepmom. We both LOVE to cook and enjoy fresh, delicious food. We also like simple recipes! We even enjoy shopping for food now that we have access to stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Speaking of Trader Joe's, they have the MOST delicious fresh green beans. This is a great way to prepare them:

Roasted Green Beans

(An aluminum foil liner prevents burning on dark nonstick baking sheets.) When using baking sheets with a light finish, foil is not required, but I recommend it for easy cleanup. Serves 4

1 pound green beans , stem ends snapped off
1 tablespoon olive oil

Table salt and ground black pepper


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; spread beans on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil; using hands, toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, toss to coat, and distribute in even layer. Roast 10 minutes.
2. Remove baking sheet from oven. Using tongs, redistribute beans. Continue roasting until beans are dark golden brown in spots and have started to shrivel, 10 to 12 minutes longer.
3. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, transfer to serving bowl, and serve.

Candy Cane Cookie

Certainly you'll remember these, BadgerCook, right? I don't know quite what the appeal is but I always adored these as a child.

The kids and I whipped up a batch last week and they still hold the same appeal.

The recipe entered our family in the winter of 1972 when my mom's cousin sent her the recipe on an index card. Both the letter accompanying the recipe and the recipe still exist, both in the original author's hand.

They're not overly peppermint-y (an important fact in our house) and the assembly is very kid-friendly.

Candy Cane Cookies

sift together:
3 1/4 c. flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

beat together:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/4 c. milk (stir in alternately with flour mixture)

Spoon half into small bowl. Color half of dough pink with red food coloring. Pinch off about a teaspoon of dough; roll into pencil thin strips 5" long. Twist strips together, pinching ends.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet shaping like candy canes. Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until firm. Cool slightly and remove to wire rack.

Beef Stew

Perfect for a chilly Wisconsin fall or winter evening. Fantastically easy, lingers in the oven for tardy company with ease and tastes delicious.

3 pounds beef stew meat (or beef chuck cut into stew size chunks)
1/3 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound (about 2) medium onions, cut into small chunks
1 pound (about 6) small new red potatoes, halved if necessary
1 pound carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. In 5-quart Dutch oven combine beef, tomato paste, vinegar, flour and salt and pepper. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and 3 cups water. Bring to boil. Cover, transfer to oven and cook until meat is tender (at least 2 hours). Remove bay leaves and adjust salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serves six.

I usually serve a tossed green salad and fresh bread alongside the stew.

First Post

We live in Wisconsin, love to cook and enjoy sharing recipes. This blog is mostly for our benefit (i.e. ease of sharing interesting food tips, recipes and restaurant suggestions) but anyone interested is welcome to peruse and comment.

There are three of us: Diana, Caithness (me) and Cloence. Diana is my stepmom and Cloe is my sister. I have a blog that has no real specific purpose that you can check out here, if you wish.

Thanks for reading and now, let's cook!