Apricot Cheese Coffee Cake
Also known as "David's Cake" – named after my 5-year-old nephew who said,
"This is the best cake I've ever eaten in my whole life!"

DIRECTIONS:
Cream together butter and sugar with lemon rind. Add eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Beat. Add salt, baking powder, and flour. Beat together and spread into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan (greased). Place apricots skin side down on top of cake batter. In same mixing bowl (don’t bother to wash) beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream, vanilla, and egg. Continue to beat. Pour on top of cake spreading over the apricots. Bake in 350 degrees (F) oven until top is completely set and begins to brown.

Baked Pears

DIRECTIONS:
In a stainless steel baking pan, combine brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place cored pears upright in pan. Put 3 or 4 teaspoons of butter in different places around the pears.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour, or until pears are soft.

If syrup is not thick when pears are done, remove pears to serving dishes and place pan on top of stove, boiling syrup to reduce until thickened. Spoon syrup over pears and serve.

NOTE: This is sometimes the winter fruit course at breakfast. Apples can be substituted happily but will take a little longer to cook completely. I often use Sierra Beauty or Granny Smith apples grown in nearby Anderson Valley. Pippin apples also work well.

Black Bean Chili

DIRECTIONS:
Chop onion coarsely; slice celery (thinly); sauté in olive oil until onions caramelize. Add herbs and seeds, continuing to sauté to bring out flavor of herbs. Add tomatoes, beans, corn, cumin, garlic and pepper. Cook for a while. Eat.

Blackberry or Boysenberry Scone Cake

DIRECTIONS, Filling:
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda.

Cut into it the butter and cream cheese using a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture resembles very coarse meal.

Combine the egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture. This will make a sticky dough. Put into a greased 9" springform pan and pat to shape so that sides come up above bottom about one inch to form a shallow well for the topping to fill (this keeps the berries from touching the sides of the pan where they would burn and stick).

DIRECTIONS, Topping:
Combine flour, sugar and lemon rind. Cut in butter or crumble with your fingers until incorporated but still in crumb form.

Mix gently with berries, then pour into unbaked dough.

Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately one hour

Boysenberry or Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons oil or melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or grated rind of one lemon
16 oz. package of frozen whole, unsweetened boysenberries
(or 2 cups fresh berries)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add wet mixture into dry mixture using as few light strokes as possible. Do not overbeat. Overbeating can cause muffins to toughen and to have air holes. Grease muffin tins liberally with butter. Fill each tin 2/3 full with batter, then poke 4 large berries into each muffin.

Bake at 350 degrees (F) for about 30 to 40 minutes until muffins are golden brown on top. Remove from oven immediately and dust warm muffin tops generously with powdered sugar. Yields 8 standard size muffins.

Optional filling: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, or cut-up peeled peaches.

Lemon Chess Pie

INGREDIENTS
10" pie crust partially baked (about 15 minutes at 375 degrees F)

6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon (scant) salt
4 Tablespoons buttermilk
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
8 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons cornmeal
a very thinly sliced lemon

DIRECTIONS:
Reduce oven to 325 degrees F

Beat eggs and sugar together until very thick. Add rest of ingredients except lemon slices. Pour into pie shell. Place lemon slices on top of pie. Bake about one hour, or until completely set and slightly browned on top.

Corn Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups good quality stoneground cornmeal
1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg
1/4 cup corn oil
1 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:
Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix together wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine both wet and dry mixtures using as few strokes as possible - mix until just blended. Bake in greased muffin tin (I use butter to grease the tin) at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until tops of muffins are golden brown, approximately 45 minutes.

Cranberry Eggnog Pancakes
Makes enough for 2 or 3 people

I think eggnog has a wonderful flavor - and it is more versatile than people realize. I use it as a substitute liquid in several recipes I have created for the holidays. Here is one of my two recipes which combines the tartness of cranberries with the sweet richness of eggnog. For the other recipe, the Cranberry Pecan Eggnog Muffins, visit this link.

DIRECTIONS:
Combine wet and dry ingredients. If batter is too thick, add more buttermilk or eggnog. Spoon into pre-heated griddle (or in frying pan). Dot with fresh or frozen cranberries. Turn over when a few bubbles appear in surface. Enjoy hot with maple syrup.

Cranberry Pecan Eggnog Muffins

I think eggnog has a wonderful flavor - and it is more versatile than people realize. I use it as a substitute liquid in several recipes I have created for the holidays. Here is one of my two recipes which combines the tartness of cranberries with the sweet richness of eggnog. For the other recipe, the Cranberry Eggnog Pancakes, visit this link.

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients using as few strokes as possible. Do not overbeat (overbeating can cause muffins to toughen and have air tunnels). Grease muffin tins liberally with softened butter. Fill 2/3 full. Bake 375 degrees F until toothpick comes out clean (should be slightly golden brown on top).

Gingerbread Cake

Although gingerbread is associated with the winter holidays, I serve it at the inn all year round. My recipe makes two small or one very large cake.

DIRECTIONS:
Mix dry ingredients; mix wet ingredients. Combine. Add more buttermilk if too thick. Bake in a greased Bundt style pan 350 degrees F until toothpick comes out clean. Turn out of pan immediately. Pour glaze over.

Mushroom Sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 6 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
3 Tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup sherry
1 Tablespoon tamari
black pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream
2 – 3 Tablespoons Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:
Chop Saute onion in butter. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid evaporates. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms, then add chicken stock, sherry, tamari, and pepper; cook and stir. Add sour cream and Parmesan cheese. If mixture is too thick, use chicken stock to thin; if too thin, continue cooking until sauce has reduced to desired consistency.

Serve with scrambled eggs. I usually prepare three eggs per person. The mushroom sauce is spooned along one side of the eggs, and I like the separate the yellow eggs and brown mushroom sauce with a border of finely sliced green onion tops. I serve this scrambled egg dish with steamed asparagus or sugar snap peas (edible pea pods).

Oatmeal Raisin Cranberry Muffins

DIRECTIONS:
Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Bake in buttered muffin tins at 375 degrees (F) until toothpick comes out clean.

Walnut Shortbread

INGREDIENTS
1 cup flour
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup granulated sugar*
1 cup shelled chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:
Put the flour, butter (cut in pieces) and sugar in a food processor and pulse just to mix. Add the nuts and pulse until coarsely chopped, then mix to medium coarse (the butter and flour should be mixed almost to a coarse meal, but the butter should still be visible). Pat mixture firmly into a 9-inch springform pan and bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Immediately release and remove the sides of the pan and cut the shortbread into sixteen wedges, leaving it on the bottom of the pan until cold (or it will fall apart).

*I always keep vanilla beans in my sugar so that in a recipe that has no liquid such as this one, the flavor of vanilla comes through.

Remoulade Sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Best Foods or Hellman's mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard such as Grey Poupon
1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together, adjusting the seasonings to taste.

Remoulade stores well in a glass jar. Keeps in the refrigerator for three weeks.

This sauce is excellent served with poached salmon, any other fish, home-fried potatoes, asparagus, and artichokes.

Sour Cream Orange Coffee Cake
 

DIRECTIONS, Filling:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In second bowl combine sour cream, baking soda, vanilla and orange extract. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and grated orange rind. Add sugar gradually. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour and sour cream mixtures alternately to batter. Pour half of batter into a greased and floured 9" springform pan (or an 8" x 8" pan).

DIRECTIONS, Topping:
Combine nuts, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of this mixture over batter. Add the rest of batter, spreading gently (a flat metal icing spatula or a metal pie server works well for spreading batter). Top with remaining nut mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cake is done when toothpick comes out clean.

*2 teaspoons Spice Island brand bottled grated orange rind may be substituted for freshly grated rind.