Birthday Wellington!

   I had big plans for my birthday luncheon this year. I wanted to take the opportunity to make something special. Having come across some really nice cuts of deer back strap, I decided to attempt my first Wellington. 

  To learn the process I watched America's Test Kitchen Beef Wellington video, Chef Jon's video, Gordon Ramsay's video, a few shorts, Fallow's Beef Wellington Guide, and Chris Young's video, just to name a few. I will add my references at the end. 

  I took most of my inspiration from Chef Jon. He advised to keep realistic expectations. The meat is going to exude juices all over once you cut into the roast. The pastry is going to get a little soggy. Accept that. His tip is to bake extra pieces of puff pastry to serve with the Wellington, that way you still can have plenty of crispy, flaky pastry to go with the meat. He also prefers a more simplistic method and avoids the use of crepes or prosciutto. 

  I started by making the duxelles ahead of time. I knew that school would be back in session at the time of my birthday and it would be difficult to pull off the extra steps if I waited until the week that I needed the components.

  I minced 2 ½ pounds of mushrooms by hand. I substituted onions for shallots and used a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar in place of wine. I seasoned the mushrooms with salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme. I didn't have any truffle infused pāté that Chef Jon recommended but I had some homemade liver pāté so I mixed in a spoonful of that once the mushrooms had finished cooking down.

  Three days ahead I pulled the meat out of the freezer to thaw. I had two small pieces of deer back strap in one bag. I would make two small Wellingtons. I thought it would be the perfect amount for my family and I would be able to cook them effectively in my toaster oven.

  Once the meat was thawed I patted it dry and salted the surface. Then I wrapped each piece tightly in plastic wrap to form them into nicely shaped logs.

  I started the Puff Pastry two days ahead of time. You may remember that I learned how to make Puff Pastry last year in order to make an Egyptian dessert.

For the Wellingtons I made 1 ½ recipes of that puff pastry in one batch. It turned out to be the perfect amount for what I needed.

To assemble the Venison Wellington I rolled out a section of puff pastry, brushed it with a whole egg egg wash, and let that dry for a minute. While the egg wash was drying I spread Dijon mustard on the meat.

Next I spread the duxelles onto the pastry, and rolled the piece of meat up in the pastry like a fat sausage in a blanket. I brushed it with egg wash.

I really wanted to add a lattice ornament to my pastry. I had no lattice cutter but when I was little my mom let us play with hers when we had playdough. I remembered how it cut the dough and I tried to replicate the pattern on a section of puff pastry using a ruler and knife.

Voilà! I was so happy with these lattices! They were perfect! (Perfect enough for me.) Everything got another coat of egg wash.

I baked the Wellingtons at 450° F. for 27 minutes. The internal temperature reached 122° F. I removed them from the pan to a cutting board. After resting 5 minutes the temperature had risen to 150°F. The meat was perfectly cooked. It was between medium/rare and medium. What a relief. One of my main concerns was getting the meat cooked right without over cooking it. I opted not to sear the roast because I just knew I would over cook it, if I attempted a sear. American's Test Kitchen left out the searing in their recipe, too, so I was in good company.

My meal was delicious! I wanted a restaurant quality meal at home and that is exactly what I ended up with. 

Menu:

Marinated Cucumber Salad

Mashed Potatoes 

Venison Stock Gravy

Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots 

Venison Wellington 

Coconut Cream Pineapple Drink

Reference material:

The Kitchn mushroom duxelles 

The Kitchn Individual Wellington 

The Kitchn Puff Pastry

"Chicken Broth, Stat!"

Here is a quick idea that someone of my readership may also find handy.

I was out of chicken broth and needed some to make tomato soup the other day. I had this idea to use some partially thawed chicken leg quarters to make chicken broth in the soup while I cooked the soup.

I took the skin off a chicken leg quarter and cut it into a few pieces.

After I sweat the onions I added some celery seed to stand in for celery flavor that would have been in chicken broth and a little poultry herb blend.

Then the chicken pieces went in and simmered a couple hours with the soup.

Where the soup called for chicken broth I just added water and it turned into chicken broth while the soup cooked.

The gelatin that comes from the chicken adds a very comforting viscosity and mouth feel that makes for an exceptionally delicious tomato soup.

This turned out to be a great hack and the chicken we removed to eat later had a very good flavor.

Onion Galette Recipe!

Here I am again reveling in the qualities of caramelized onions!

Several years ago I was talking to my mom on the phone and she told me about this dish that my sister had made called an Onion Galette. She said it was delicious. Ever since then I have wanted to try making one.

My time has come to try Onion Galette. I followed THIS RECIPE FROM Justine Doiron blog. It was very good. I would definitely like to make this again.

I made some minor changes to the recipe to customize it for myself. Like using a larger portion of pie pastry and using dried herbs.

The pie crust I used was one with less fat than my normal pie crust.

Pie Crust for Galette:

4 cups flour

1 cup butter

1 tsp. salt

2 TBS. vinegar

1 egg 

1 cup water 

In a large bowl mix the flour and salt.

Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.

In a liquid measuring cup blend the vinegar, egg and water.

Quickly stir the liquids into the flour mixture. 

Form 3 discs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Onion Galette 

3 large onions thinly sliced (1 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 TBS. butter

1 tsp. salt

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp. Dried Thyme or 1 TBS. Fresh Thyme

1 tsp. Dried Rosemary or 1 TBS. Fresh Rosemary 

2/3 cup sour cream

1 egg for egg wash

In a large sauté pan heat oil and butter. 

Once butter has melted add the onions and salt to the pan and toss to coat the onions in oil. 

Cook on low for 45- 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Roll out the pie crust to about 14 inches round. Place the crust on a sheet pan and refrigerate until the onions are ready.

When the onions are almost done cooking add the garlic and herbs and cook a few more minutes just until the garlic is no longer raw.

Start preheating the oven to 375° F.

Remove the onions from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Scrape the onions onto the center of the pastry crust and spread out into a 10-11 inch area.

Fold the edges of the pastry over the border of the onions.

Place back in the refrigerator until the oven is preheated.

Beat the egg and use a basting brush to apply the egg wash to the crust.

Bake 45-50 minutes until the crust is golden.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Onions

 I learned that caramelized onions are a delicious addition to grilled cheese sandwiches from an Ethan Chlebowski cooking deep dive video on YouTube. I learned a lot of onion information from that video. I will embed it for you here:

Caramelizing onions takes a while. It has to be done low and slow, meaning low heat and slow cooking. I am talking 40 minutes.

They don't look pretty, but Oh! They are so good! Sweet and savory. Warm and nutty.

 If you have never had caramelized onions on your grilled cheese sandwiches, I highly recommend you give it a try. Or, maybe you already have tried this. Did you like it? 

Gingerbread Houses 2026

We held a gingerbread house decorating party on New Year's Eve this year. This is the second year we made gingerbread houses on New Year's Eve.

 This year it was a big party with many cousins. I baked enough gingerbread house pieces for every child and adult to have their own house.

We had so much fun!

I made a short video to show all the houses and creativity displayed this year.

Happy New Year everyone! The grace of God be with you, in you, and around you in 2026!

Link: Blog post with 2024 gingerbread houses.

Link: Blog post with 2025 gingerbread houses and recipe.

Molasses Cookies | Recipe

 

Molasses Cookies

3/4 c. Butter, Softened

1 c. Brown Sugar 

1 Egg

1/4 c. Molasses 

2 c. Flour

2 t. Baking Soda 

1/4 t. Salt

1 t. Ground Cinnamon 

2 t. Ground Ginger

1/3 c. Sugar for Coating 

Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in the egg. Add the molasses. 

In a separate bowl stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. 

Combine the two mixtures. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.

Shape the dough into small balls. Roll the balls in the sugar for coating.

Place the sugar coated cookie balls on a baking sheet. 

Bake in a preheated 375°F. oven for 8-10 minutes.

Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes and then remove cookies to a wire rack. 

Store in a airtight container...........if there are any left. ;)

Nutmeg Documentary

 

I really enjoyed this documentary about nutmeg. I learned many things about the tree and fruit but also about the history of European trade and conquest in the Spice Islands.

The second time that watched this documentary my children joined me and I considered it part of homeschooling (even though we watched it on the weekend.) I even drew these coloring pages and made copies for my children to color.

Nutmeg is native to the Banda Islands, which was a closely guarded secret by spice traders for many many years. When the European companies and governments finally figured out where nutmeg was coming from each power tried securing a monopoly on nutmeg. In the end England ceded their Banda Island to Holland as a trade for what Holland called New Amsterdam in America. New Amsterdam's name was changed and today we know it as Manhattan Island of New York!

If you would like to print my coloring pages you should be able to use the links below to access my scanned drawings and print them.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11gy7ypraOyYkr99KzdZ7S6RfD9orzyu0/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11WghLsYNdG-ul3Si-kqs--vmNHripS5P/view?usp=drivesdk

My son had this idea for a funny cartoon depicting the British leaving the Banda Islands to the Dutch saying, "Enjoy your monopoly on nutmeg!" all the while having hundreds of nutmeg seedlings to take and grow elsewhere.

I thought it was such a good idea so I drew it like this:

Beef Liver Pâté

 

I like this liver spread on toast. I feel good about eating this because I know it's a food with a lot of nutritional value. The flavor is an acquired taste I would say. It is a very adult food. 

Liver Pâté

1 onion diced

1 carrot shredded

2 T. fat or oil

1 1/2 tsp. ground thyme 

Dash of cayenne pepper 

1 lb. Beef Liver 

3/4 cup broth

1 T. lemon juice 

1 T. Worcester sauce 

1 T. Salt

1/2 T. Pepper

1 stick of butter

Saute the carrots and onion in the fat or oil. Sprinkle in the ground thyme. Cut the liver into chunks. Add the liver to the skillet with the onions and carrots. Add the broth and cook gently until the liver pieces are no longer pink.

Add the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. 

Pour everything into a blender. Add salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and cooled down a bit. Add butter a few tablespoons at a time. 

Chill for one day to meld flavors. 

Demonstrating How I Flute A Pie Crust

I roll my pie pastry out. 

I want it to over hang the pie pan by an inch or two.

For a double crust: wet the top edge of the bottom crust.

I dip my fingers in the water and rub them on the crust before adding the top crust.

I trim the pie crust with scissors.

I hold up the overhanging pastry with my left finger tips.

I rest my scissor blade on my middle finger at the first knuckle. That is how I measure the overhang and trim it to the right length.

I push my pointer finger against the edge of the crust.

With the same motion of pushing the edge, I sweep the edge up and fold it under.

This is how it folds:

I go along the pie crust pushing with my left hand pointer finger and cradling the inside of the crust with my right hand pointer and thumb shaped into a chicken beak.

And that is it. Just practice a lot and you should be able to perfect your technique!

Tiny Cakes

 

I made tiny versions of these recipes to go with the tiny cake pans that my daughter got for her birthday.

The cake pans are so cute! There are even two tiny spring-form cheese cake pans.

I divided some regular cake recipes down several times to make them the right size for these pans.

We made a Lemon Cake, a Chocolate Cake, two Cheese Cakes, and three heart shaped Carrot Cakes. Here are our recipes:

Lemon Fiesta Cake

1 TBS. Butter, Softened

2 1/2 TBS. Sugar

1 TBS. Egg

1/4 tsp. Lemon Zest

4 drops Lemon Extract 

1/4 cup Flour

Pinch Salt

Pinch Baking Soda

1/8 tsp. scant Baking Powder

1 1/2 TBS. Buttermilk

Glaze:

1 1/2 tsp. Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Butter

1/2 tsp. Water

1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice 

Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, lemon zest, and lemon extract.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda.

Alternately, add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter mixture.

Scrape batter into a greased tiny Bundt cake pan.

Bake at 325° F. for 20-25 minutes. While cake is baking make the glaze by melting together the glaze ingredients.

Remove cake from oven. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn cake out of pan. 

Poke holes all over the cake. Pour over the glaze while it is still warm.

My Mother's Chocolate Cake

1 TBS. Cocoa

2 1/2 TBS. Butter, Melted

1 1/2 TBS. Boiling Water

1 TBS. scant Egg

1 TBS. + 2 tsp. Sugar

1/4 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

1/4 cup Flour

1/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Baking Soda

1/8 tsp. Salt

1 1/2 TBS. Hot Coffee or Hot Water

In a small bowl combine cocoa, butter, and boiling water.

In another small bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat egg, sugar, and vanilla. Add cocoa mixture and blend. Add flour mixture and blend. Add the hot coffee last and blend.

Pour into greased tiny Bundt cake pan. Bake at 350°F. for 20 minutes.

Paisley Print Cheese Cake

1 pkg. (8oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 c. Sugar

2 TBS. + 2 tsp. Sour Cream

1 tsp. (Scant) Vanilla Flavoring

1 TBS. Flour

1 Egg

1 TBS. + 1 tsp. Cocoa Powder

1 tsp. Butter, melted

2-3tsp. Hot Water 

1 TBS. Sugar

1/8 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

Prepare two tiny graham cracker crusts.

Beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, and vanilla. Add the flour and egg. 

Bloom the cocoa by mixing the cocoa powder, butter and hot water.

Take out 1/2 cup of cheese cake batter and combine it with the cocoa mixture remaining sugar and vanilla.

Into the prepared pans dollop the cheese cake batter, alternating between the chocolate and vanilla batters. Use a skewer to swirl the colors into paisley patterns.

Bake 4 minutes @ 450° F. Reduce oven temperature to 250° F. For 15 minutes.

Graham Cracker Crust

1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 TBS. sugar

2 TBS. melted butter

Mix and press onto the bottom of two tiny spring-form pans and 1/4" up the sides.

Bake 8-10 minutes at 350°F.

Carrot Cake

1 small carrot finely grated

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of ginger

dust cloves

1/8 tsp. salt

2 TBS. egg

2 1/2 TBS. oil

3 1/2 TBS. sugar

2 TBS. buttermilk

1/2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Sift together the dry ingredients. 

Mix the wet ingredients.

Combine both mixtures.

Add carrot.

Divide between three tiny heart pans that have been greased.

Bake at 350° F. for 20-25 minutes.

Frost with cream cheese frosting once the cakes have cooled.

Peanut Butter Treats

 

I love peanut butter! These treats are fast and easy to make and don't require an oven.

Peanut Butter Treats
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 cups peanut butter
10 oz. Corn Flake Cereal

In a pan over medium heat dissolve sugar in corn syrup.

Blend in the peanut butter until creamy. 

Turn off the heat and pour over corn flakes in a large bowl.

Mix thoroughly.

Spoon out scoops and press with hands to form balls.

Cool on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Enjoy!

Bruschetta French Toast, Really?!

 

I know it sounds crazy, but it is delicious!

1 large loaf of Asiago Cheese Bread

3 Eggs, beaten

3/4 cup Milk

8 oz. Mozzarella, shredded 

2 Roma Tomatoes

1/4 c. fresh Basil Leaves

1 clove Garlic

Cut the loaf of bread into 9 slices.

In a bowl beat together eggs and milk.

Dip the bread into the milk mixture quickly passing it through to coat, but not soak.

In a hot greased skillet cook the "French toast," turning when brown. Sprink cheese on the toast after it is cooked on one side.

Make the bruschetta by dicing the tomatoes, mincing the garlic and basil, and mixing all together.

Top each "French toast" with bruschetta mixture and serve.

Enjoy!

This was so tasty! The Asiago cheese bread really makes this recipe pop. I'm not even sure where you buy this type of bread. I have been given a few loaves. They are large, round loaves with a strong cheese flavor.