Cheese Straws

Did you watch Trisha Yearwood's cooking show Saturday mornings on the Food Network? It's called Trisha's Southern Kitchen. Since I'm a fan of Trisha's voice, it's only natural that I buy her first cookbook, Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen, too. If you caught her Nissan Live Sets on TV or online a few years ago, I asked Trisha the question, "What is your family's favorite meal you cook for them?" Trisha answered--the girls like mashed potatoes and her husband is a meat and potatoes man. If you don't know her music, here's one of her earliest songs, She's In Love With the Boy--a favorite in our family.

These Cheese Straws are featured in Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen, and on her Food Network show. They remind me of those famous cheese cracker bits, so if you like those, you'll like Trisha's Cheese Straws. Trisha's Southern Kitchen has been picked up by the Food Network for the fall--I'm looking forward to watching Season 2!

Cheese Straws

from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen by Trisha Yearwood

Ingredients:

3 10 oz. bricks sharp Cheddar cheese, room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

dash of garlic powder

The recipe calls for putting the room temperature softened cheese into the mixer bowl with the butter, but I grated the cheese. 

I thought it might make the mixer work too hard to get to the consistency of whipped cream. It cut the mixing time by about half, to 15 minutes.

Gradually add 4 cups sifted all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper and a dash of garlic powder to the butter and cheese mixture.

The dough should be somewhat stiff, but still soft enough to push through the cookie press. If the dough is too soft, the straws will spread out too much and not keep their shape, so it needs to be stiff enough to be picked up in a clump as shown above.

I used my old Wearever Super Shooter with the star attachment and made long lines.

Bake at 325ºF for 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

At first I was cutting them when they were still warm, but later I left them long and just broke them into smaller pieces.

Itadakimasu!


***


Our family has grown!

Meet my first grandchild--a granddaughter, Rachel!

 Here, she is just hours old.

My friends have been telling me, for years, how wonderful it is to have a grandchild.

Everything they have said is so true. It is truly incredible to have a grandchild.

 

When my first child was born, I remember my mother gazing into my little one's face for hours. I found myself doing that, too. Gazing into that sweet face. I wonder what she's thinking about...

Visitors, clockwise from left: Sarah, Beeto and Colin, Greta and Katt. Colin and Beeto happened to be in the area for Colin's LMU baseball game against Santa Clara University, and luckily, Rachel arrived in time for them to meet her!

 

Katt asked Karen if there was anything she wanted--and Karen said, "A double-double!"

I think she's adorable.

That's my prerogative--I'm her Grandma.

My sister-in-law, Amy brought us this meal the day the family came home from the hospital. It was a HUGE help--I hadn't planned anything for dinner since we were busy getting settled in--we are so grateful to Amy for all her hard work and thoughtfulness! The meal was oh-so-delicious!

I stayed for a week to help my daughter, and was able to snap a few photos that I will be posting. 

This is one of my favorite photos of Rachel's first week.

Thanks for indulging me. 

I'm new to this Grandma thing.

***

Cheese Straws

from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen by Trisha Yearwood

Ingredients:

3 10 oz. bricks sharp Cheddar cheese, room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

dash of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Put the softened cheese and butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer. Using the heaviest mixer attachment, beat the cheese and butter until the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream, about 30 minutes.

On a sheet of waxed paper, sift 3 cups of the flour with the salt, black pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder. Gradually add the seasoned flour to the cheese mixture by large spoonfuls, beating well after each addition. Add the unseasoned flour until the dough is somewhat stiff but still soft enough to be pushed through a cookie press; you may not need to add all of the flour.

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Put a portion of the dough into a cookie press fitted with the star tube and press the dough onto the cookie sheet in long strips that run the length of the pan. (Note: If you don't have a cookie press, form the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten them with a fork.) 

Bake for 20 inutes. The cheese straws should be golden brown and crisp. With a sharp knife, but the long  strips into 3-inch lengths. Use a flat, then spatula or egg turner to remove the cheese straws from the pan. Allow them to cool on a wire rack. When they are completely cool, store in a tightly covered container.

Grandma Kimbro's 2 Layer Cheesecake

We have a Guest Blogger today!

My dear friend, Sue Godinez, is going to show us how to make her Grandma Kimbro's 2 Layer Cheesecake!


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Grandma Kimbro was the nicest lady I have had the pleasure of knowing.

She also had a great sense of humor...I'm convinced it's where I got mine.

Grandma and Grandpa lived above their hardware store in Rosemead.

I loved going to their house!

I was about 15 years old when Grandma taught me how to make her cheesecake.

We loved going to Grandma's house for Kimbro gatherings with all the Aunts, Uncles and Kimbro cousins.

My grandma passed away when I was a senior in high school.

I wish my kids could have met her, they would have loved her!

Hopefully, I can be the same kind of grandma to Payton, so she will bug her mommy and daddy to come see Grammy all the time like I used to do to my parents!

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/4 cup Lorna Doone Cookie Crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

Filling:

2 8 oz. packages softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2nd Layer:

2 cups sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sugar

Raspberry Sauce:

1 bag frozen sweetened raspberries

This is one of the changes I made to Grandma's original recipe.

I make a Lorna Doone cookie crust rather than a graham cracker crust.

There are two cellophane packages of cookies in each box.

I use 1 1/2 packages for a 9 inch cheesecake.

My grandma would just throw the cookies on a bread board and roll over them with her rolling pin until they were perfect crumbs for a crust.

I use a gallon sized zip lock bag for easy clean-up.

Grease the bottom of your springform pan so the finished product will slide onto a platter easily.

Add 1/4 cup melted butter to the cookie crumbs and mix well.

Press firmly into a 9 inch springform pan.

I found this 9 1/2 inch square pan at Home Goods.

Refrigerate the crust while mixing the ingredients for the first layer.

Make sure your cream cheese is softened before you begin.

Mix together 2-8 oz. packages of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and 3 eggs.

Don't mix too long, just until creamy.

Add 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Pour mixture over crust.

Place in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 20 minutes. 

While the bottom layer is baking, mix the top layer.

2 cups sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Take the cheesecake out of the oven after 20 minutes and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Wondering about the candle?

You can read about its meaning here.

After cooling, very carefully spoon the sour cream mixture over the first layer.

Spread evenly over the first layer and place back into the oven for 10 minutes.

While the top layer is baking, make the raspberry sauce.

Now for the sauce--pay close attention because here's where it may get a little tricky or complicated.

For the raspberry sauce, pour a bag of sweetened frozen raspberries into a blender.

Blend for about 30 seconds, and you're done!

Tricky or complicated?

NOT!

Pour the sauce into an adorable antique container with a raspberry on top.

I found this while antique shopping in Victorville, CA with my friend Margie.

Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, use a butter knife to separate the cheesecake from the edge of the pan.

I used a thin spatula to loosen the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan.

I did this hoping it would slide onto my platter.

And it did!

The finished product is so beautiful, you would never know how easy it was to make.

Cut a slice, top with fruit and drizzle raspberry sauce over the fruit or on the plate.

Yum!

Bon appetit!

***

Now it's back to me, Karolyn.

Thank you, Susie, for sharing your grandma's delicious cheesecake recipe!

Sue sent me this picture of Grandma Kimbro's 4 boys and the Kimbro cousins.

Sue's in the white sundress, sitting on her dad's lap.

She's looking for a photo of Grandma Kimbro to share.

Sue and I have known one another a long time, I first met her at her wedding. There's a little bit about us on her guest post, German Chocolate Cake.

Sue and her husband Rick began dating when Sue was 15, they were high school sweethearts.

Wow!

Rick came from Mexico with his family when he was 6 years old.

He's got 13 brothers and sisters.

When Rick was in junior high, he became friends with my brother-in-law Eugene.

Rick credits Eugene with his assimilation into American culture--from day 1, when they were in class together, Rick says Eugene took him under his wing and Rick is grateful to this day.

Up until then, Rick says he was not comfortable in school.

I love listening to him talk about Eugene with admiration, respect and gratitude.

Here's a photo of Rick and Eugene taken a couple of years ago.

A few years ago, Rick told Eugene how much he meant to him growing up--Eugene had no idea, and couldn't remember teaching Rick.

What Eugene did is lead by example--Rick followed his example.

That's how Rick leads his life, too, leading by example.

Rick's one of my favorite people.

He's a teacher and a coach, has been for years and years.

Whenever we go out together, former students approach him and want to shake his hand.

A former student happened to be driving by his house one day while Rick was outside in his front yard.

The student stopped to tell him how he had listened to the advice Rick gave him in high school--how it changed his life--he had to stop and express his gratitude.

Rick said he gave simple advice--stay out of trouble and get a college education.

Rick loves vintage bicycles.

His favorites are vintage Schwinns.

He finds parts and pieces at swap meets and garage sales, and enjoys restoring and rebuilding them.

Tonka trucks, too.

He likes the vintage metal ones from the 1950s and 1960s.

He painstakingly and lovingly restores them.

He had these toys in his yard sale.

I think he's perfectly happy if nobody buys them.

Most of the people that stop by are the ones that like toys too.

Toy talk.

Rick also likes anything vintage Coca Cola.

It's a lot of fun listening to Rick talk about his latest finds and restoration projects.

He gets so excited when he talks about his treasures--you should see his eyes light up when he talks about chrome!

The thing I admire most about both Rick and Sue is their generosity.

They're generous with their time, home, and hospitality.

I know that, because I am their friend, my family and friends are also welcome in their home and are treated to their hospitality.

On my daughter's wedding day, Rick and Sue hosted the groomsmen for a wonderful luncheon and opened their home so the boys could ready themselves for the wedding.

Rick and Sue are wonderful friends, I am grateful for their presence in our lives.

 I love them dearly.

***