Thursday, November 29, 2007

Sacred Christmas Music Concert

November 29, 2007

I hope you enjoyed our program this morning. What a great way to start your day and hopefully get you in the Christmas spirit. We were entertained by the Regents quartet, a gospel group from North Alabama that has been singing together since 1968. They are one of four major entertainers that will be performing at the Sacred Christmas Music Concert Friday the 30th at the Von Braun Civic Center Concert Hall. Here's the particulars:

Third Annual Festival of Sacred Christmas Music
Friday - Nov 30 - VBC Concert Hall
Matinee 2 p.m. Evening 7 p.m.
Preshows 1:30 & 6:30 Tickets $10 - $25
800-277-1700 TicketMaster
Lifeway & Family Christian Bookstores
Discounts available (only at VBC Box Office)
to groups of 10 or more OR to individuals
with a church bulletin.

Here's the website for " Keep Christmas Alive" for more info.www.KeepChristmasAlive.org

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Southern Living Test Kitchen

November 26, 2007

I hope you enjoyed our look at the Southern Living Test Kitchens and especially the preparation of the two cakes. We took two recipes from the Holiday issue of Southern Living and I have included those recipes here on my blog...I have to tell you, they are really good!
Here you are and I hope you enjoy them.

Cream Cheese-Coconut-Pecan Pound Cake
Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 35 min. The bourbon gives this pound cake a wonderful aroma and flavor, but you may substitute an equal amount of milk, if desired.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 3 cups sugar 6 large eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup bourbon 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted 1/2 cup shredded coconut Powdered Sugar Glaze (optional) Sugared Rosemary (optional) Sugared Cranberries (optional)
Preparation
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow yolk disappears.
Sift together flour and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with bourbon, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat batter at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Pour batter into a greased and floured 12-cup tube pan.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 35 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
Yield
Makes 10 to 12 servings
Note: This was the cover of our December 2004 issue. Don’t miss the cover of the December 2007 issue for the latest ‘white cake’ cover.

Powdered Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
Preparation
Stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth, adding another 1 tablespoon milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.
Yield
Makes about 1 cup
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2004

Sugared Rosemary
Ingredients
1/2 cup corn syrup 12 rosemary sprigs granulated sugar
Preparation
Microwave 1/2 cup corn syrup at HIGH for 10 seconds or until warm. Brush 10 to 12 rosemary sprigs lightly with corn syrup; sprinkle evenly with granulated sugar. Arrange in a single layer on wax paper. Use immediately, or let stand at room temperature, uncovered, for up to 24 hours.
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2004

Sugared Cranberries
Ingredients
Preparation
Bring 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1 cup fresh cranberries to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring often, over medium-high heat. (Do not overcook; cranberries should swell and just begin to pop.) Remove from heat, and drain, reserving liquid for another use. Toss cranberries with 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and arrange in a single layer on wax paper. Use immediately, or let stand at room temperature, uncovered, for up to 24 hours.
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2004

Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cakes
Prep: 30 min., Bake: 50 min.Fluted brioche molds, traditionally used to bake the rich and buttery French yeast bread known as brioche, are also perfect for baking fanciful cakes. Sold in a variety of sizes, we chose the 8-inch brioche molds for our cakes. Because we used nonstick molds with a dark outer surface, we covered them with aluminum foil. The shiny side of the foil reflects the heat away from the sides of the mold for a lighter, bright red crust. They're available in kitchen shops (such as Williams-Sonoma, 1-800-541-2233 or www.williams-sonoma.com), in discount department stores (such as Target), through mail-order catalogs, and on Web sites (such as amazon.com and cooking.com). You'll find baking instructions included on the packaging with most pans.
Ingredients
1 Chocolate-Red Velvet Cake Batter 1 Vanilla Glaze Garnishes: fresh mint sprigs, raspberry candies
Preparation
Spoon Chocolate-Red Velvet Cake Batter evenly into 3 greased and floured 8-inch brioche pans.
Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Spoon Vanilla Glaze evenly over top of cakes. Garnish, if desired.
Yield
Makes 3 cakes
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2005

Vanilla Glaze
Prep: 5 min.
This recipe goes with Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cakes
Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar 5 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons vanilla
Preparation
Stir together 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, 5 tablespoons milk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract just until powdered sugar is moistened and mixture is smooth. Add an additional tablespoon of milk, if needed. Use immediately.
Note: We kept this glaze very thick so that it wouldn't drip all the way down the sides of the Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cakes, but feel free to make it a little thinner if you'd like to drizzle it over other cakes.
Yield
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2005

Friday, November 23, 2007

LEFT-OVER TURKEY RECIPES

November 23, 2007

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and remembered to give thanks for all the things we have been blessed with. I alos hope you saw our show from Market Street Cafe this morning.
Wow, Chef Chris McDonald has some great recipes and in fact, I am sharing some of them with you. With these, you don't need to worry about getting rid of that left-over turkey and dressing and such.

Here's one we made this morning:Pulled Turkey Quesadilla

5 oz Pulled Turkey
1 flour tortilla “12 inch”
3 ounces cheddar/jack cheese (grated)
2 ounces of sautéed onions and peppers
2 ounces of sour cream
1 or 2 sprigs of cilantro
2 ounces of your favorite salsa

Place Flour tortilla in a lightly oiled large sauté pan over medium heat. Top with cheese, the mixed peppers and onions. Spread the pulled turkey out evenly and fold in half to look like a half moon. Cook lightly until well melted and heated in the center. Cut into 3 pieces and serve with sour cream and salsa. Garnish with sprig of cilantro and enjoy.

Recipe #2:Turkey Dinner Club

3 slices white bread
1 ½ oz Mayonnaise
5 oz pulled turkey
3 oz dressing ( aka Stuffing)
2 oz cranberry sauce
3 slices of cooked bacon
2 pieces of leaf lettuce
3 slices of tomato.

Toast the bread and spread each slice with mayo.(this will help to hold the sandwich together) Make a BLT with the first 2 slices of toasted bread. Next place the Turkey, dressing and cranberry on top and cover with last slice of toast. Serve cut on the Diagonal with a tooth pick or skewer holding the sandwich together.

Recipe #3:Turkey Pot Pie
(The Day after Thanksgiving )
5 ounces of pulled turkey
4 ounces leftover turkey gravy
4 ounces Peas and carrots
2 ounces of pearl onions
6 cooked button mushrooms
1 small can of cream of celery soup
1 small can of cream of chicken soup
1 puff pastry circle.

Combine all of the ingredients and place in an ovenproof dish or small crock. Cover with puff pastry sheet and bake at 325 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. You can also double or triple the recipe and serve a larger Pot Pie Family style.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did and don't forget to drop by and check out Market Street Cafe or Grille 29. They are located side by side on Providence Main Street.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Charity Deer Hunt

November 10, 2007

CHARITY DEER HUNT TO HELP BUILD HOMES FOR ABUSED, ORPHANED & NEGLECTED CHILDREN
Gander Mountain and Suzuki of Huntsville are sponsoring the Fourth Annual North Alabama Deer Hunting Classic to benefit Quinn’s Ranch, a Christ-centered professional care organization for abused, neglected, orphaned, abandoned and homeless children between the ages of 6-18.

Event Information
Date: November 17, 2007Tickets: $50.00 each. Tickets are available at Gander Mountain or any Suzuki of Huntsville location. All tickets must be purchased by 7:00 PM on November 16, 2007. All proceeds from ticket sales go to Quinn’s Ranch.Weigh-in at Gander Mountain parking lot from 7:00 AM till 8:30 PM. Complete rules,
regulations and scoring information are available at Gander Mountain or any Suzuki of Huntsville location.

Monday, November 5, 2007

New Hand Blown Glass Studio & Gallery





November 5, 2007

Did you see our show this morning? I hope so, because if you didn't, you missed some really neat stuff. We visited Susan Knecht's Studio & Gallery in the historic Lowe Mill. Wow, this lady is super talented! Not only did she actually build or re-build most of her equipment, she makes all of the art there. I mean jewelry, hand blown glass, lighting and accessories. Talk about great gifts for any occassion, you can get custom-made blown glass or jewelry there at the studio. Susan is planning on offering classes on glass blowing and also jewelry making so if you are interested in learning the art or you just want to see her studio you can contact her by phone or e-mail. here's her e-mail address: info@susanknecht.com and her phone number is (256) 226-0169.