I am proud to tell you about the first food winner of the week:

CABBAGE RISOTTO

Each week, I will give you my opinion about one dish that my Mom made for dinner that I liked.  I will tell you why I liked the dinner and why you should make it for your family.

Four things I like about the cabbage  risotto

1. I like it because I like cabbage.
2. I like it because it is a fast meal.
3. I like it because rice and cabbage go well together.
4. Most of all my Mom is a great cook!

I will give you three things or four things about every dish I like every week.

And here is the recipe for Cabbage Risotto, courtesy of Barbara Kafka’s Microwave Gourmet. We first found the recipe after listening to an NPR story on Kafka.

Microwave Cabbage Risotto

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup onion, minced
• 1 cup Arborio rice (regular rice won’t do as well)
• 2 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

In a 9×13 glass dish (or other microwave safe material), melt the butter and olive oil on high for 2 minutes.

Remove dish, add the onions, return to oven and microwave 2 minutes more.

Remove dish, add rice, stir until well coated with butter/oil, return to oven and microwave 2 minutes more.

Remove dish, add broth, stir, return to oven and microwave 9 minutes more.

Remove dish, add cabbage and parsley, return to oven and microwave 9 minutes more.

Remove dish, add salt and pepper, and cheese (if using) and serve.

Lemonade stand

The basket of goodies included cups, napkins, straws, lemon dishtowel, three containers of lemonade mix, a plastic lemon pitcher and matching cups, and a money jar and chalkboard. A recipe for lemonade was also included, which I will share here – after our abundant winter crop of lemons, I have loads of frozen juice ready to go this summer. And this looks like a great recipe for the kids to tackle themselves, with help at the stove.

Perfect “Old Fashioned” Lemonade
originally posted on Simply Recipes*

• 1 cup superfine or baking sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice (about 4-6 lemons)
• 3 to 4 cups cold water

Combine sugar and 1 cup water in saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool.

In a large pitcher, mix sugar syrup and lemon juice. Add cold water to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with lemon slices and mint sprigs, if desired.

* Imagine my surprise when I went to search out other lemonade recipes and found that Elise’s recipe for Perfect Lemonade was the one provided with our Lemonade Stand! She has a series of “Perfect” recipes that I love including Perfect Popcorn, Perfect Pie Crust, and Perfect Hard-boiled Eggs.

A few years ago, I was introduced to the Danish treat of Aebleskiver, (also written as Ebleskiver) a round puffed-pancake. These pancakes are light and fluffy, similar to a popover, but made in a special pan (wahoo! Another kitchen tool!) on the stove. The pan allows the Aebleskiver to come out round, and traditional Aebleskiver have little nuggets of goodness inside the pancake. Apple is common (Aebleskiver means apple slices in Danish), but my family also enjoys brown berries (chocolate chips). Savory Aebleskiver can include ham and cheese, or any thing else your heart desires.

Aebleskiver pan

At Foodbuzz earlier this month, I met Chad Gillard, one of the founders of Aunt Else’s Aebleskiver, from Minnesota. We got to talking and Chad shared with me the reasons Aunt Else’s Aebleskiver pans are so great:

1. The cast iron pan is made in Minnesota
2. Their special mix is hand-mixed using organic Minnesota grown flour and organic buttermilk from Wisconsin
3. The nine-whole square pan allows the home chef to make enough for two (or three) hungry kids!

Chad also shared the Aunt Else’s YouTube video, which makes the process of cooking Aebleskiver so much clearer:

Following these instructions, my kids and I whipped up a batch this afternoon for snack. After a few false starts, and some less than puffy rounds, we got the hang of it and turned out some masterpieces. Heed the instructions about low-medium heat, that is important. And remember, powdered sugar is a perfect disguise for less than perfect pancakes!

Aebleskiver

If you are interested in an Aunt Else’s Aebleskiver pan of your own, Chad has extended a special offer to readers of Kitchen Gadget Girl! Mention “Kitchen Gadget Girl” in the “Add special instructions to the seller” during the checkout process, and receive 10% off your purchase. And if you follow Aunt Else’s on Twitter, Facebook or Foodbuzz you can also receive 10% off your order. Mention your follow in the same area during checkout. Plus, free shipping on orders over $50!

And if you, like Alton Brown, are worried about the pan being a uni-tasker, check out these pictures for Japanese Takoyaki and a recipe, as well as this recipe for Sand Dollar Cakes with Pork or Shrimp (Vietnamese)! It is possible you could use your Aebleskiver pan to make these tasty treats as well!

And yes, Chad did send me an Aebleskiver pan for review. What does this mean for you? Well, if you live close enough, you are welcome any weekend we are making these delightful Danish pancakes.

Ableskiver Pan on Foodista

Hersheys Chocolate PB Cookies

Be sure to enter the Cuisipro and Vacu Vin Giveaway. A flour sifter would be a great kitchen gadget for this recipe!

I am sure you have seen this recipe, it has been in all my cooking magazines over the last 2 months. Today, we finally got around to making them and I have to say, they are definitely worth the effort.

We used Kirkland brand Organic Peanut Butter and Hershey’s Kisses Dark and the results are cookies that are crisp and light, not too sweet, with a good chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio. It is also an ideal recipe for kids to help with, as there are 60 chocolates to unwrap!

Hershey’s Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms
recipe provided by Hershey’s Kisses

• 48-60 Hershey’s Kisses Dark Chocolates
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Cream butter and peanut butter together in a large bowl. Add in granulated and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add in egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter, mix well.

Using your cookie scoop, form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove pans from oven. Immediately press one chocolate into the center of each cookie. Remove cookies to wire rack to cool. Makes 4-5 dozen.

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My son has been coming home from school “starving” and I worry that crackers and fruit are not cutting it. I want him to have a little protein, something nutritious that will hold him until dinner. And I wanted to find a recipe that my daughter could help with; she loves helping me in the kitchen! With a loaf of Nature’s Pride 12 Grain bread, I created these three fast snacks, based on my children’s favorite sandwich fixings.

Snicky Snacky After-School Crostini

• 3 slices Nature’s Pride or other natural, whole grain bread, toasted
• Sandwich toppings, including peanut butter, jam, cream cheese, sliced ham and turkey, strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips

Toast the bread and cut into triangles or other interesting shapes. Top with your favorite sandwich ideas and serve.

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Cream cheese with strawberries and honey

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Turkey Ham with Cornichons and mustard

Peanut butter and bananas with chocolate chips

Peanut butter and bananas with chocolate chips

Remember, all these are aimed at elementary and middle school aged kids. Don’t be afraid to try your own favorite toppings!

Disclosure: Nature’s Pride provided two loaves of bread to taste and test, through promotion with FoodBuzz and the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival.

Growing up, I remember cooking often with my Mom, but for some reason, this specific recipe really sticks in my mind. I was in elementary school, and a Girl Scout, and we had to do our cooking badge. I am not sure if my Mom took the afternoon off from work, or if we did our badge on a Saturday. All I really remember is that this is the recipe we made, and I was sure I never tasted anything better!

French Breakfast Puffs

• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups regular or cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 12 medium muffin cups or fill cups with paper liners.

Cream shortening with 1/2 cup sugar and egg. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 20-25 minutes.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Immediately after baking, roll muffins in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar. Serve hot.

Visit Joy of Desserts for more Vintage Thursday recipes!

What is a Spife you ask? Well, it is kinda a cross between a plastic knife and a little spoon perfectly designed to eat a kiwi, especially if you are a kid or you want to enjoy a kiwi on a picnic. And you could win some of your own!

Cynthia sent the Spifes to promote the Zespri Kiwifruit Lunch 2.0 Bloggers’ Recipe Contest. This contest seeks to encourage the use of Zespri Kiwifruits (which I find at my local Trader Joe’s) and create a kid-friendly lunch item. For the occasion, my daughter whipped up her very own entry and first recipe ever. Not bad for a 7 year old!

Kiwi, Strawberry and Honey Salad

• 2 Kiwifruits, chopped
• 10 strawberries, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons honey (from our bee hives in the garden)

Gently mix all together and serve with a sprig of mint.

To win your own Spife, leave a comment on this post with your favorite Kiwi Recipe from the Zespri Kiwifruit Site. I will choose 5 random winners and Cynthia will send you your own handful of Spifes!

And, if you have a great, original recipe in mind for the Kiwi for Lunch program, be sure to enter. Six semi-finalists will receive a copy of Food 2.0 and be advanced to the finals for a chance to win the $2,500 Grand Prize!

Here are our raw ingredients – sablefish filets, olive oil, lemon juice, S&P, carrot slices, green garlic and chopped red bell pepper. We could of used pretty much any other vegetables – sliced zucchini, chopped tomatoes, garlic, shallots, spinach, etc, as well as any sort of mild white fish. 

Then we each created our own little packets. This is my son’s, he was very organized about his layout and design. Season the fish filets with S&P, then lay veggies over the top. Drizzle with a little lemon juice and olive oil. Could also drizzle with white wine or vermouth, instead of lemon juice.

Bake 20 minutes at 350F.

Serve with rice and salad for a complete, kid-friendly dinner. Because my kids chose their own ingredients, they ate up every last bite!

Cream-filled Chocolate Sandwiches

In today’s cooking, we learned important skills such as even numbers, how many tablespoons of butter in a stick, and how to sift flour and cocoa together. We also learned the importance of sugaring your glass each time you flatten a cookie. Here is the recipe we followed:

Cream-Filled Chocolate Sandwiches

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder [kgg: I use Sharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder]
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 10 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• Vanilla Cream Filling (below)

Preheat oven to 375F. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, mix well. Gradually add flour and mix until well combined.

Using my favorite gadget, a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets. [kgg: on one sheet, I used my Silpat, and the cookies came out flat. On the other sheet, I used nothing, and the cookies came out puffier. I liked the puffier look] Dip the bottom of a glass in sugar and press to flatten cookies to 1/8 inch thick.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until firm. Cool completely on wire racks.

When cookies are cool, place the filling in a resealable bag and cut a small bit of one corner off. Use this to squish about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the flat side of half the cookies, and place the remaining cookies on top, squeezing gently to spread the filling to the edges. The recipe indicates these can be stored for 2 days in an airtight container. We usually don’t have cookies around that long!

Vanilla Cream Filling

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening [kgg: I used Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening, which is non-hydrogenated]
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbs vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

Banana-Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
(based on recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookies)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 TBS whole ground flaxseed meal
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed banana
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Whisk together flours, flaxseed, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, mix well. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture, mix until combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and pecans.

Using a 1 1/2 cookie scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets. Bake in a 375F oven 13-14 minutes, until golden brown and just set. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Now that our kids are older, they have some input into these activities. My son came up with the idea of having cupcakes of red, white and blue and have them spell out the name of our pool. Last night, I baked up 46 cupcakes (2 went to tasting) and this morning, with the help of my husband, the kids decorated them.

When I came home from shopping, what awaited me was nothing less than a masterpiece, especially if you are fond of masterpieces from a 6 and 7 year old viewpoint. Each cupcake had been frosted and decorated with a respectable amount of sprinkles (could not find red/white and blue M&Ms this year), and were arranged into a letters spelling the name of our pool.

We loaded the masterpiece into the car for the trip to the pool, however, a couple things barred us from an accident free trip – the heat was causing some of the frosting to melt and slide off the cupcakes, and on the way out of the car, several of the cupcakes slide off their cardboard tray and fell to the ground. By the time we actually entered the contest, we had only 36 or so cupcakes left arranged in a giant blob.

The winner of the contest was a family who created the Declaration of Independence on top of a 9×13 cake. Looked like they had handwritten the Declaration in frosting on top of a sheet of crispy cookie. The whole thing was quite impressive, and we were no match for its excellence.

Fortunately, my kids did not care. This was a project they were proud of, they worked with their dad, and at the end, they got to eat a ton of desserts. Everyone was pretty happy.

Sorry that I don’t have a picture of this wonder, you will just have to imagine it in your head. What wonderful creations have you made with your family (creations that might not be perfect for a Pillsbury Bakeoff)? Do share your experiences!