Georgie Girl’s Kitchen

11/21/2023

By request, here’s the recipe for the chocolate tart I brought to our Friendsgiving this year. Hope you enjoy this deceptively simple, yet elegant dessert.

Chocolate Crescent Moon Pie

This isn’t your sweet southern grandma’s chocolate pie, although I do love me some of that! This fancy but simple dessert is a gluten-free, “almost vegan” chocolate ganache tart. You can make it in a regular pie pan if you like, but I used a beautiful glass tart pan I received as a wedding gift many years ago. The crust is made using a combination of almond flour and a gluten-free flour blend.

Ingredients for the Crust
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour
1/4 cup fine granulated coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp very cold salted butter* cut into 1/2” cubes
1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Ganache
1 can full fat coconut milk
12 oz Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Chocolate

Optional
1/4 cup (or so) sliced almonds for decoration

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° with the rack in the center position. In the bowl of a food processor with the blade attached, combine the almond and gluten free flour with the sugar and salt. Scatter the cubed butter over the top and drizzle with the vanilla extract. Pulse the food processor until a dough forms moist clumps and the butter is fully incorporated. The dough should look crumbly but hold together when pressed between your fingers. Take care not to over-process as the butter will quickly get too warm. If your dough doesn’t hold together, add up to 1 tbsp more butter.

Dump 1/2 the dough into a tart pan, pressing evenly up the sides. Add the remaining crumbly dough and press into the bottom of the pan, keeping the sides intact. Take your time here, pressing and evening out the thickness until you have a pretty crust. Place tart pan onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and while still hot, press the sides and bottom firmly with the back of a spoon or a cup; this helps it hold together when cool.

Make the ganache. Break up the chocolate and place into a heat proof mixing bowl. Into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, spoon the creamy solid part of the coconut milk. Add enough of the liquid to measure 1 1/4 cup. Place in the microwave and heat for 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring in between repetitions until the milk is simmering hot. Pour over the chocolate in the bowl and let sit until chocolate begins to melt. Gently whisk until mixed well and glossy. Pour over the baked crust. If you’re decorating with sliced almonds, do so before the chocolate cools completely, so that they will “stick.”

Chill well in the refrigerator. Serves 12.

08/09/2023

08/07/2023

My Japanese take on an American classic, I’ll call it Sloppy Kenzō.

I browned a pound of lean ground beef and a finely chopped onion. Added 2 sliced carrots and 2 stalks of celery, also sliced, and continued to sauté until tender-crisp. If I had had some broccoli that would have been nice too, but I didn’t. Then I made a quick and easy teriyaki sauce with 1/4 c soy sauce, 3/4 c water, a splash of white wine, 1/8 c light brown sugar, 1 clove garlic, minced, and about the same amount of minced ginger. Stirred in a tbsp of cornstarch and poured it over the ground beef and veggies, and stirring until it bubbled and thickened. I poured in another splash of white wine and added a few red pepper flakes for some zing. Covered and simmered for just a few minutes, then served over gohan, which is cooked rice. Of course I used Japanese short grain rice! If you don’t have that, use what you have. Oishii! (That means delicious in Japanese.)

Maybe some day I’ll post the authentic Japanese method of rice-cooking.

08/04/2023

Café au Lait Cheesecake

I made this dessert reminiscent of the famous beverage. It’s a creamy version of a traditional New York Style cheesecake, with a nice hint of cinnamon and espresso. I hope you like it!

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups cinnamon graham crackers
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Cheesecake:
4 (8 oz) blocks full-fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
4 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp espresso (I used espresso powder, with a little water)

Ganache
4 oz Bittersweet chocolate
4 oz half & half

Directions

Several hours ahead of your prep time, remove cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare a 9” springform pan by lightly coating with non-stick spray and placing sheets of parchment paper around the inside wall. The sheets should just peek above the rim of the pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs (finely ground in a food processor), sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mixture should resemble wet sand. Firmly press into the bottom and up the sides of your springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool while you prepare the cheesecake.

Reduce the oven temp to 305° and place a large roasting pan or casserole dish on the very bottom rack. Bring a medium sized pot or kettle of water to a boil while you put together the cheesecake ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix together the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside. Using a stand mixture with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese on medium-low speed just until it’s smooth (about 30 seconds). Add sugar and cornstarch, and mix on low for about 30 seconds. Stop and let rest for a couple of minutes, them scrape down sides and bottom and mix again for another 30 seconds. This is to prevent too much air being incorporated into the batter. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add in the egg mixture in 3-4 pours, mixing well after each pour. Remove bowl, and move onto the counter. Gently fold in the sour cream.

Pour 2/3 of the batter into the cooled crust. Mix 2 tbsp espresso powder with enough water to make it like a syrup and gently mix into the remaining batter. Pour that over the plain batter and using a frosting spatula or rounded knife, marble in the contrasting batters. Tap the pan a few times to bring any air to the surface, and then place on the middle rack of your 305° oven. Pour boiling water into the casserole dish below. Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes. Turn oven off and crack open to allow the cheesecake to cool slowly for 1 hour.

Remove and allow to cool completely uncovered in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Remove springform pan and place cheesecake on a plate. Remove the parchment paper. Make ganache by heating the chocolate and half & half in a double boiler, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over the cheesecake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

08/01/2023

Hmmm I think I’ll call this
Dilly Lemon and Caper Florentine
serves 2, recipe in photo captions

07/18/2023

We were just going to have leftovers tonight but an impromptu dinner happened when this guy and his gal blew through town visiting his mom. Meet my nephew and fellow black sheep of the family, Eric, all the way from Daytona. Homemade Chicken Pot Pie it is!

Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 4 generously

Ingredients for the pie:
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup chicken broth (Swanson or whatever)
1+ tbsp corn starch
2 stalks celery
4 carrots
1 medium yellow onion
1 cup frozen peas
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried dill

Ingredients for the crust:
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 + 2 tbsp Crisco
Ice water

Directions:
Heat oil of choice in a medium saucepan and brown chicken on both sides, seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. (I used “lite,” which means second press, olive oil for sautéing - not EVOO). Add about a 1/2-3/4 cup of water and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile chop fresh vegetables uniformly into 1/2” pieces. In a cast iron skillet, sauté in oil, until just tender crisp. Meanwhile, thaw the peas in a dish and remove chicken from saucepan, adding the cooked broth to the vegetables in the skillet. Cut up chicken into 1/2” pieces and add to the skillet as well. Add the tarragon, dill, and additional salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Mix 1 heaping tbsp cornstarch into the other chicken broth and add to the skillet over medium heat. Add the peas and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cover and turn off heat.
Now to make the crust - and don’t you dare use a store-bought crust on my chicken pot pie! Trust me, you CAN make crust! OK, place flour and salt into a medium-sized bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Add Crisco and blend with fork or pastry cutter until mixture has pea-sized lumps. Place a few ice cubes in a small glass and add water. Pour water, a few tablespoons at a time, into flour mixture and blend with a fork, until the dough comes together and can hold a shape without being too sticky to handle. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use, or go ahead and dust your work surface with flour. Preheat oven to 425°. Dust your hands and a rolling pin generously with flour as well, and turn out the dough onto your work surface. Roll into a circle the size of your skillet, patting and shaping as you go. Gently fold in half and in half again. Place over 1/4 of the skillet, unfolding to cover the entire pie. Using a sharp knife, cut slits across the dough to allow steam to escape. Place on a baking sheet and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake until crust is golden and pot pie ingredients are bubbly, 30 minutes or so. Serve with hot, crusty, Italian bread slathered with real butter, and a side dish of your choice. I made a nice tropical fruit salad. Hope you enjoy it! Eric had seconds so I think he approved 🥰

Edited for freakin’ typos

07/09/2023

I’ve never eaten kohlrabi before. Well, not until yesterday at the Farmers Market in Cookeville, where my friends Sandy and Randy Dodson from Waters Farm let me sample theirs. They taste mild but flavorful and are satisfyingly crunchy. I’m a fan! They had two varieties: green and purple. I picked the pretty purple. Sandy suggested different ways to eat it including a kohlrabi and apple slaw, and here’s what I came up with. Hope you like it!

Kohlrabi and Apple Slaw

Ingredients for the slaw
1 kohlrabi, peeled and julienned
1 Honeycrisp apple, cored and julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned

Ingredients for the dressing
3/4 c mayonnaise
2 tbsp apple,cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp (or to taste) sugar
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
Squeeze a lemon into a medium sized bowl and add a cup or so of water. As you prepare your slaw, place the julienned ingredients into the lemon water to prevent browning. Place the dressing ingredients into a jar and shake well. Drain your slaw and toss with the dressing. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

p.s. Do you ever get tired of chopping vegetables and just start eating them to get done? Asking for a friend 😂

07/01/2023

Georgie Girl’s Chopped Salad

Today, in 2015, I launched the first version of this page. I can’t remember when I took it down, but I’m glad it’s running again. Here’s a yummy dinner we had the other night, my version of Panzanella, an Italian salad made with stale bread. My bread was fresh, so I didn’t soak it in water and squeeze it dry, as in the traditional recipe.

I made the filling for our Chopped Sandwich, but decided to instead serve it deconstructed - and less messy to eat in front of the tv while we watch our shows 😂

Ingredients:
A quality steak, seasoned liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and seared to desired doneness. I like medium rare, and I have to admit it was a fluke that ours came out perfectly done. I mean, just look at it! 🤤 Chop that bad boy into 1/4-1/2” pieces.

Salad fixins, chopped. I chose romaine lettuce, a tomato, mini sweet peppers, cucumber, celery, red onion, and shredded carrot.

Crusty, chewy, bread. You know the kind. The outside is a bit crunchy and flakey and crumbly, and so satisfying to bite into. Oh, and the inside releasing that full, ye**ty aroma, is tender, yet chewy. Like those hard rolls from the Publix bakery. I love bread.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, assemble your chopped salad with the steak and toss it in mayo; season with salt and pepper. I also mixed in some Gulden’s spicy mustard. Refrigerate until mealtime, and just before serving, cut or tear up your bread into bite-sized pieces. Toss the bread well with your salad, and serve in a big bowl with buttered butt ends. Ermahgerd it’s goooood!

*If you want a chopped sandwich instead, which is also insanely delicious, keep your bread intact. Slice it like you would for a meatball sub - not quite all the way through. Fill it with the chopped salad and eat it at the table, for goodness sakes! It’s a bit messy!

06/20/2023

It’s taco Monday up in here up in here 🙌🏼

06/05/2023

Lemon Blueberry Shortcut Scones

Ingredients:
Self-rising flour
Sugar
Heavy cream
Fresh grated lemon rind
Fresh blueberries
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°. Wait, there aren’t any measurements on the ingredients list! No worries, this is a super simple throw-it-together recipe. The amounts are approximate and the recipe is based off an old timey shortcut for biscuits. The results are just as good as scones from scratch!
Place about 2 cups self-rising flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl. Gently stir in heavy cream until the consistency is that of drop biscuits - a little wetter than a dough you’d knead and roll out. Grate lemon peel onto dough and add washed and drained blueberries, folding into dough only until combined. Scoop about 1/4 - 1/3 cup into your hands, forming 1/2” tall circles. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Prepare glaze by combining the juice of 1/2 a lemon and confectioners sugar until it is thick enough to drizzle. Remove scones from oven and place on a wire rack. When cooled slightly, drizzle with glaze. Enjoy!

05/28/2023

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Here’s my version of a potluck classic, made with real, fresh whipped cream instead of the well-known trademark whipped topping (Cool Whip ugh). It’s so good!

Crust:
2 c crushed pretzels (about 8 oz)
3/4 c butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar
Filling:
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp sugar
1 pkg (8 oz)cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
Topping:
2 pkg 3 oz ea) strawberry gelatin
2 c boiling water
1 qt fresh strawberries, washed, cored, and chopped (save out the prettiest few for garnish)
2 tbsp sugar

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the pretzels, butter, and 3 tbsp sugar. Press into an ungreased 13x9” baking dish. Bake at 3:50 for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.  in the bowl of a mixer beat whipped cream, adding 3 tablespoons sugar gradually as the cream thickens. Beat until soft peaks form removed to a separate bowl. In the mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, and the 1 cup of sugar until creamy. Fold into the whipped cream gently until mixture is well combined and smooth. Spread over the pretzel crust. Refrigerate until chilled. For topping, sweeten the chopped berries with 2 tbsp sugar; set aside. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a large bowl. Refrigerate until partially set and then stir in sweetened strawberries; carefully spoon over filling and chill until firm 4 to 6 hours. Garnish with whole strawberries, sliced partially through and fanned. Cut into squares and serve with additional whipped topping, if desired.

05/28/2023

Kira’s Potato Salad

If I were to come up with a signature dish my mom made this would definitely be at the top of the list of choices. I think the simplicity of a few classic ingredients like she combined always made a family favorite into everyone’s. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
8 or so medium potatoes
6 eggs
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
6 green onions, trimmed, washed, and finely sliced
2 tsp or so dried dill
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 c Hellman’s mayonnaise

Directions:
Wash and place potatoes in a large pot and fill with water to 2” above potatoes. Boil until almost tender and then gently add eggs to the boiling pot. cook for 12 minutes. Remove eggs to a bowl and let cool. Check doneness of potatoes and continue to cook, if needed, until tender through. Cool completely, or refrigerate with eggs overnight.
Peel and chop potatoes into small chunks and place in a large bowl along with chopped celery and green onions. Add dill, salt, and pepper; toss gently. Cut eggs in half and place yolks in a small bowl. Chop whites and add to the potatoes. Using a fork, mash the egg yolks and mix in the mustard and mayonnaise. Blend until smooth. Add to potato mixture and toss well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

05/13/2023

Scalloped potatoes… My reputation precedes me. Just ask anyone in my family. I have been trying to live it down for decades, and have finally succeeded. Oh, who am I kidding? As long as there are living members who recall my first attempt back in the day, the infamy will live on. Anyways, here’s the recipe I’ll share. It’s decadently good! Really, it is!

Scalloped Potatoes alá Georgie Girl
serves 4.

Peel and slice 5 medium sized potatoes and place in salted water while you prepare the other ingredients. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt 1/4 lb cubed VELVEETA cheese, 1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar, and 1/2 cup shredded Jack with 1/2 c milk. Add a little black pepper, and a dash of cayenne for just a hint of flavor. You wouldn’t want to distract from that whole wanton cheesy experience, just enhance it a bit. Dice about 3-4 oz ham, and mince 1 clove of garlic. Add to the melting pot. Drain and layer potatoes in a casserole dish, pouring half the cheese sauce over one layer, and again over the top. Cover and bake at 350° until done, about 45 minutes. In a small bowl, melt 2 tbsp butter and mix in about 1/2 c panko. Sprinkle over the top of that bubbling casserole of potato heaven and return to oven to crisp up. Serve with your choice of protein. I made crispy oven-fried wings. A salad would be great as well, but I didn’t plan ahead for that. Bon appétite! Or in my case, bonne chance! 😂 Not really! It was only that ONE time!!!

05/08/2023

Hershey’s Original Brownie Recipe

I felt like baking some brownies today. Ok, truth be told, I felt like eating some! While searching online for their recipe, I discovered that Hershey’s ain’t Hershey’s no mo’. Maybe that’s old news but it’s news to me! And I couldn’t find my tried and true recipe online. Fortunately, I was able to dig out mine, circa 1980’s. So here it is, if you ever feel like making from-scratch brownies. Yum yum!

05/07/2023

Kathleen and I joined efforts for this Cowboy Caviar and Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Casserole - both a hit and easy for a busy night. We used a shortcut for the casserole. Recipes in comments 👩🏻‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳

04/29/2023

Todays offering, Monster Cookies. They’re monstrously delicious! See comments for recipe 😋

04/27/2023

I started cutting strawberries for today’s recipe but the dang things kept falling into my mouth! See comments for how I made some yumm-ohhh Strawberry Scones 🍓

04/25/2023

I’ve been cooking a lot, but alas, not posting. Here’s what I’m having for breakfast today: avocado toast with h**p hearts and my own sprouts. Served on the finest generic paper plate! And hey, check out my handy dandy sprout farm! In less than a week I go from seeds to super nutritious greens that are tasty and great in salads, sandwiches, or on my favorite, avocado toast. You don’t need anything fancy to sprout your own greens! Just grab a jar, a nice seed mix like the one pictured (available on Amazon), and follow these simple instructions. In the morning or early afternoon, pour a tablespoonful or two of seeds into your jar, rinse, drain, and fill with water. Soak overnight. Next morning, drain and cover with a paper towel secured with a rubber band. Twice a day, rinse, drain, and re-cover. Place on the kitchen counter, out of direct sunlight. The sprouts will be ready in just a few days. When they have sprouted and leaves are growing, dump into a colander placed in a large bowl. Rinse well, removing husks as you swish the sprouts around in the water. Place the rinsed sprouts on paper towels to absorb excess moisture, and then transfer to a clean container with a lid. Store in the fridge. Use within a few days.