Blog, Interrupted

It has been too many weeks since I made a delightful punch or even attempted to write an entry.  My first thought was just to give it up and not finish my intention to blog through the end of the year 2012 with punch recipes and other culinary treats.

I too easily let my life be determined by interruptions instead of my keeping true to commitments that in the scheme of things don’t matter that much. 

This past April Andy (my husband) made a decision that has greatly impacted my time since then.  He decided that our ministry needed to end our affiliation with an umbrella ministry for ministries like ours.  That in and of itself didn’t involve much of my time except for assisting him in some of the communication.

As time wore on, I become more involved.  There were several other ministries that also left over the same issues that we did.  So, these ministries banded together to start a new work.  Andy started getting involved in that early summer, so I got involved in that early summer.  Also, we need to stop working with Andy’s Avatar (my name for the person who posts Andy’s blog, maintains Facebook, etc.  We found a new avatar but I also become involved in that.

By July, I was spending 3-4 hours a day on these new things as well as my job and the demands of life. Hence, no blogging.

My lovely daughter through marriage
 (to Greg) Christina


 

But, though I know that my “readers” are few and mainly related by blood or marriage, I still felt the need to continue writing.  So, I am back at it. [Sidenote - I have some great pictures that I took over the last few months that have nothing to do with my blog so I will post them in my next few entries.]

I had a great dinner party last night that was a good way to welcome in autumn.  No punch, but a good meal. We had a grilled cheese sandwich bar, homemade creamy tomato soup, autumn spinach salad and a really easy apple cake (thanks Bon Appetit for the idea and Betty Crocker for the cake recipe!)

Grilled Cheese Bar:

• 2 loaves bread – 1 whole wheat, 1 Italian sliced into ¼” slices. I made 12 slices of each loaf for 6 sandwiches of each bread – freeze the remaining bread to use for croutons or bread crumbs
• 2 lbs cheese – 8 oz. each – Fontina, Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella - grated
• 8 oz. chevre
• 16 thin slices prosciutto
• ½ lb. pound each thinly sliced turkey, roast beef
• Fig jam – a must, the hit of the evening
• Sauerkraut
• Whole Grain Mustard
• Salt and Pepper

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Set a wire rack inside each of 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Butter 1 side of each bread slice with about 1/2 Tbsp. butter.

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat until very hot, at least 2 minutes. Melt 1/2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add 2 slices of bread, buttered side down; cook, pressing down often with a spatula to ensure even toasting and rotating pan frequently, until bread is evenly golden brown, 3–4 minutes. (Do not rush or increase heat, or your bread will burn before it can evenly toast.)
2. Transfer bread slices, toasted side down, to prepared wire racks (this will help keep bread crunchy). Repeat with remaining bread and butter, wiping out skillet between batches. (If all of the bread doesn't fit on the racks, you may need to bake sandwiches in two batches.) DO AHEAD Bread can be toasted 1 hour ahead; let stand at room temperature.
3. Garnish untoasted side of each slice of bread with fixings, then top each slice with a small handful of cheese (about 1 1/2 oz.), scattering evenly. Season with salt and pepper (do not skip this step; it really elevates the flavors in the sandwich).
4. Bake bread slices, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until cheese is thoroughly melted, 10–12 minutes (begin checking after 8 minutes; some cheeses melt faster than others). Working in batches, firmly press 2 cheese-topped sides of sandwiches together. Let rest for 1–2 minutes. Slice in half or into quarters. Serve hot or warm.

 Creamy Tomato Soup – I wasn’t crazy about the recipe I used, but any good recipe for tomato creamy soup will do just fine.

Apple-Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® spice cake mix
• 1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan.

2. In large bowl, beat dry cake mix, pie filling and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 2 minutes. Batter will be thick. Spread half of the batter in pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half of the mixture over batter in pan. Spread remaining batter in pan; sprinkle with remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture.

3. Bake 32 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; cool completely. Serve with whipped topping. Store loosely covered

Easy Brown Sugar Frosting
The cake is good without the frosting but it takes it up a couple of notches

INGREDIENTS

•1/2 cup butter

•1 cup brown sugar, packed

•1/4 cup milk

•2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, more or less

•hot water, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter.
2. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
4. Cool to lukewarm.
5. Gradually add sifted confectioners' sugar.
6. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water.

Frosts top and sides of a 2-layer cake or a 13x9-inch cake

The entire dinner was great – it is an easy way to have a group of people over for dinner.  Though I didn’t make punch having everyone assemble their own sandwich around a table served the same “communal” purpose as the punch bowl.  It is also a dinner that would be could for all ages and most diet types.

Good dining!