Groundhog Day

Most of my family was from Punxy and the small towns near Punxy. So to tell you about various aspects of the Groundhog Day holiday, and how we've been celebrating it in Punxsutawney since 1886.

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the holiday:

Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!

How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

No! Phil's forecasts are not made in advance by the Inner Circle. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2, he speaks to the Groundhog Club president in "Groundhogese"(a language only understood by the current president of the Inner Circle). His proclamation is then translated for the world.

The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."

Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887.

So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br'er Groundhog.
By the way if your ever in Punxy stop by the Library and you can see Phil and Phyllis (That's Phils girlfriend) they live in front of the Library and you can watch them sleep and eat two of there favorite pass times.
Enjoy!
Allison
http://allisonskitchen.blogspot.com

Grilled steak with Chimichurri sauce

Chimichurri is a sauce or marinade for meat typically attributed to Argentinian cuisine. but its consistency is really more like a pesto. The cool thing about chimichurri is that you can make it with almost anything once you get the idea. I’ve tried a few different recipes but I’ll share one with you here that my son gave me the other day. His wife is from Ecuador and instead of parsley he uses Cilantro

1 cup fresh cilantro (packed)
1 garlic clove
1/4 to 1/2 medium onion
Juice from 1 fresh lime
1/4 cup olive oil or more (You want a paste)
1/2 serrano pepper (optional, or use jalapeño)
Salt & pepper to taste

Put everything in your food processor and pulse (Except oil) then stream in the oil till smooth paste is formed rub onto your steaks ( My favorite is a Rib eye) let set till your ready to grill. I saved the leftover Chimichurri and used some the other day in my boiled potatoes like parsley potatoes but with a kick!
Enjoy!
Allison
http://allisonskitchen.blogspot.com

ROSEMARY BREAD

I think the deep freeze is over for us down here in Fl. It was almost 70 yesterday, but today is cool again but not freezing, I lost a lot of my plants even though I covered them.
When my mom first got here bread machine we had bread coming out of our ears! She was a great cook and loved to experiment a lot, This recipe for Rosemary bread is excellent. Sometimes I make it without the seasoning and just have plain white bread and it always turns out great.
When I make bread in my moms machine if I have the time I like to set it on dough only and I take it out to let rise in my loaf pan and bake it in the oven.

1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select white bread cycle and press Start.

Enjoy!
Allison
Allisonskitchen.blogspot.com

SNOW ? In FL!!!

Okay I give up, the joke is on us we are freezing are A--'s off down here. It's in the 20's at night and we've seen snow!!!! I've covered my plants but I don't think it will help, maybe for one or two days of cold weather but this has been going on way to long for us southerners.
It dipped below freezing last night but the worst is yet to come tonight. The cold assault on Florida continued Saturday night with reported lows of 21 in Lecanto, 22 in Weeki Wachee, 19 in New Port Richey, 26 in Wesley Chapel, 28 in Brandon, 33 near the Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg and 29 at Tampa International Airport. Just thought I'd share this bit of news with you all, I guess I should not complain to much when I talked to my dad in Indiana he said they have 12 inches of snow and its 10 below.
Well stay warm everyone if this keeps up I'm going to have to move further south. (Ha Ha).
Allison.
allisonskitchen.blogspot.com

SUPER-SIMPLE PUMPKIN TIRAMISU

Never heard of Tiramisu? Well lets see where do I start,Tiramisu - Pronounced tih-ruh-mee-SOO. Literally translated it means "pick me up" or "carry me up". It is an Italian dessert that is sometimes called an Italian trifle, although it has a much lighter texture than a regular trifle.

Tiramisu is composed of a sponge cake or ladyfingers soaked in a mixture of coffee (espresso) and brandy, then layered with a mixture of zabaglione and mascarpone.

Once assembled the Tiramisu is refrigerated for several hours so the flavors can mingle. Garnished with whipped cream, cocoa powder and sometimes cinnamon it makes a spectacular dessert.
Now finally, imagine that you have delicate white wings and are sitting on a fluffy cloud. You are experiencing the greatest dessert ecstasy of your life. You are in Heaven, and Heaven is in your mouth! Thats TIRAMISU!!

But today we are not going to make ordinary Tiramisu, no today we will make Pumpkin Tiramisu. Think of pumpkin mousse kissed with spiced rum, no scratch that lets think lighter. Imagine this very light almost-like-pumpkin-flavored-whipped-cream concoction on lady finger pastry soaked (no, more like "kissed") by Captain Morgan himself. Got that? Light, creamy, smooth lady fingers, the rich aroma of Captain Morgan spiced Rum? Okay now that I have your attention lets lets make this super simple pumpkin TIRAMISU.

THIS NEEDS TO SET UP OVERNIGHT, SO START ONE DAY AHEAD.

Beat 1 and 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream and 3/4 cup sugar until peaks form.

Add one 8 oz container mascarpone cheese, one 15 ounce can pure pumpkin, and 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, beat just until filling is smooth.
Line bottom of 9 inch diameter springform pan with 2 3/4 inch high sides with one 3 ounce package of ladyfingers, overlapping and crowding to fit. Sprinkle generously with spiced rum spread half of filling over ladyfingers.
Repeat with one 3 ounce package of halved ladyfingers and more rum be generous the lady fingers will soak it up!
And top with remaining filling. Smooth. Wrap tightly in plastic, then foil. Chill overnight. To unmold run knife around inside edge of pan. Release pan sides and sprinkle with 2 ounces crushed amaretti cookies.
If you have a hard time finding mascarpone cheese
as a substitute combine 1 package 8 0z cream cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons whipping cream, mix until blended and fluffy.
Enjoy
Allison
allisonskitchen.blogspot.com

ALMOND CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

My husband and son love biscotti, I've never made it before so I thought I would give it a try. I found a recipe for almond biscotti in a old Womans Day magazine and I added a few of my own touches. If I would have known how easy this was I would have made it along time ago. This is definitely a keeper.

2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 T almond extract
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup crasins
Decoration confectioner's sugar

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2. Vigorously whisk eggs,sugar,oil, and extract in a large bowl until blended. stir in baking powder, then flour until combined. Stir in almonds and crasins

3. Spoon a third of the dough onto a prepared baking sheet. With floured hands (dough will be soft and sticky) I found a large spoon worked better. form dough into an 11x2 in-strip. Repeat with remaining dough, making 2 more strips Place about 1 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet( Don't panic if the dough starts spreading together just push them apart with your spoon.)

4. Bake 20 to 23 min or until firm and bottoms are golden. Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack 5 min. then transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice strips diagonally into 1/2 in. thick slices. Lay slices flat on baking sheet.

5. Bake 12 to 15 min. turning biscotti over halfway through baking, until lightly toasted. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. if desired, dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Store airtight at cool room temperature up to two weeks or freeze up to two months.
These freeze beautifully so you may want to double the recipe.
Enjoy with tea or coffee.
Enjoy!
Allison
allisonskitchen.blogspot.com

3.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

I was watching the Food Network the other evening and I saw Giada make Sweet Potato Gnocchi so I wrote the recipe down and today I thought I would check online to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I was reading the reviews and it sure sounded great but the reviews weren't so hot..I was planing to make this for Thanksgiving this year.So I decided to come up with my own recipe for gnocchi and try it out before Thanksgiving.
I never made gnocchi before but this turned out real good. and the brown butter sage sauce was great.
1 large Sweet Pot cooked and mashed to make 1 cup
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of olive oil
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup flour to start then keep adding flour as needed to make a soft dough.
Serves 2

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of Chicken stock to boil; Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
To Make Sauce:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 Tab chopped fresh sage
about 1/8 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper and cinnamon.
pour gnocchi into pretty bowl pour butter over and enjoy! if you made gnocchi earlier lightly saute with a little butter to warm up then toss with brown sage butter.
Enjoy!
Allison
Allisonskitchen.blogspot.com
Sorry about that first picture I had to take it with my phone, I need to charge my camera.