| | Published June 20th, 2012
| How Sweet it Is!
| | By Susie Iventosch | | |
I was chatting with our publisher, Andy Scheck, and he informed me he now has a honey bee hive in his garden! Wow, I thought, that could be scary. But he said it is actually really great, because he will have plenty of honey for his family (and perhaps all of his friends) when beekeeper Mike Vigo comes to collect the harvest from the hive. These types of hives are harvested twice a year, and each harvest will produce up to 25 pounds of honey! (See article)
"What will I ever do with 50 pounds of honey?" Andy wondered.
That is a great question! I was thinking perhaps holiday gifts and maybe even a small jar for yours truly ...
This windfall of "homegrown" honey, which will be ready sometime in September in the Scheck garden, prompted Andy to come up with recipes using honey, and this adaptation of his mom's German cookie recipe is one of them. I made these cookies and it was as if they vanished into thin air right along with the honey bees. Delicious! Thank you, Anneliese and Andy!
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Anneliese and Andy's Chocolate-Almond-Raisin Cookies
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| Photo Susie Iventosch
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INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter
3/4 cup honey
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a cookie sheet. (Andy uses a mini muffin tin and says it works very well.)
Cream butter until soft. Add honey and mix well. Stir in egg until well integrated. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, and add to batter. Stir in raisins, nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonful onto baking sheet or into muffin tins, and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until beginning to turn golden brown at the edges.
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Game Hens with Honey Caramelized Onions
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| By Susie Iventosch |
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| Game hens with honey-caramelized pearl onions Photos Susie Iventosch
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(Serves 6)
When Andy Scheck told me he was looking for recipes using honey, I thought back to this fabulous recipe I found in Bon Appetit way back in May of 1991! It was one of my "go to" party dishes back in the day, but I had not made it in at least 15 years. So, I resuscitated the recipe, made it for the family last Friday and remembered why it was one of my favorites.
Though the recipe calls for Sauternes, I did not have any in the wine cellar, so we used a Riesling instead. I also think it would be excellent using a Pinot Noir in place of the sweet white, but have yet to try that. The honey will still make the sauce very sweet, but the sauce would have a nice reddish color and a rich flavor.
Game Hens
3 game hens, split in half
Season hens with salt and pepper and place in roasting dish, skin side up. Bake in 425F oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until juices from thigh run clear.
Honey Sauternes Sauce
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cups wine (Sauternes, Riesling, or a Pinot Noir)
1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Heat honey in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until honey darkens and becomes fragrant, swirling pan occasionally. This takes about 3 minutes or so.
Add, thyme, wine and chicken stock and boil until mixture is reduced to about 1 cup.
Add soy sauce and boil for just a minute or two longer.
Can be prepared ahead of time and reheated just prior to serving.
Caramelized Onions
2-3 cups of pearl onions (I used all three colors, brown, white and red)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
Fill a medium sized pot about 2/3 to the top with water. Bring to a boil. Add pearl onions and boil for about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse onions under cold water to cool. When cool, use a sharp knife to trim off the root and peel the onions.
Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden brown and tender. Add honey and continue to cook until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally.
To Serve
Place game hen on plate with a mixed rice pilaf. Distribute pearl onions evenly among plates. Spoon sauce over rice, onions and hens.
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| Honey caramelized pearl onions
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA