Recipe Winners Announced: Applause Please!
Good food depends almost entirely on good ingredients.
—Alice Waters, Chef and Owner of Chez Panisse
Congratulations to the first three weekly winners of our joint Oregon Chai-Satellite Sisters recipe contest!
We asked you to fill us in on how you chai, and did you ever. We received dozens of recipes and choosing the winner was not easy. But hey -- it’s a delicious job and someone has to do it.
With the help of Julie, Liz, Sheila, Monica, and Lian Dolan, we tested recipes and decided on these three for the first round of winners:
Dark chocolate + chai = winning recipe! Chef Natasha in Houston is a winner for her yummy Chai-Chocolate Biscotti.
We absolutely loved the Overnight Coffee Cake from Zanna in Leominster, MA, made with a buttery batter so refined it has to chill for at least eight hours before baking. Mmm...
For Debbie in Bethseda, Maryland, Nirvana includes a mug of morning chai and Debbie’s Scramble—a breakfast mash-up with Canadian bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. Looks like her Westie, Einstein Squared, wishes he could have some ;-)
Natasha, Debbie and Zanna will receive freebie Oregon Chai products. Keep sending those recipes! The Grand Prize Winner will receive an Oregon Chai/Satellite Sisters gift basket. Check out all the winning recipes here.
Tea Party In the Park
Every cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage.
—Catherine Douzel
It’s the most perfect summer day today here in my little corner of the world. There seems to be a beautiful view, a blooming flower, or a twittering songbird everywhere I look this morning, so I’ve decided to make the most of it! I’ve unearthed my favorite wicker picnic hamper—a great vintage “prop” left over from my magazine days—and the girls and I are going to spend the afternoon soaking up the sun and each other’s company. We’re going to have a tea party in the park—an all-girls afternoon!
I’m packing real dishes—mismatched vintage plates, linens, and flatware that I’ve collected over the years for just such occasions. I’m adding a teapot, of course, plus orphan teacups and saucers. For food, I think I’ll keep it simple: just a few crust-free, kid-friendly finger sandwiches, plus a trio of sweets I have on hand—cookies, macarons, and doughnut holes dusted with cinnamon-sugar. Extra teacups stacked between dessert-sized plates will make a wonderful three-tiered “tray” for proper serving, and a salt shaker sans screw-on lid or a glass tumbler will make a perfect, easily packable bud vase for a freshly picked flowers, and a too-easy special touch.
Rather than fussing with hot water, tea bags, cream, sugar, and lemon, I’m making a thermosful of Oregon Chai with lots of milk. It’s an all-in-one convenience, the girls love the taste, and I love the fact that they make a caffeine-free version that we can all enjoy! In honor of the occasion, I’m also making my super-duper pimiento cheese spread for our sandwiches. Here’s my secret recipe!
Cheers,
OregonChaiMama
Super-Duper Pimiento Cheese
Makes about 3 cups
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
½ cup mayonnaise
2-3 drops hot sauce
Salt, pepper to taste
1 (4-ounce) jar pimientos, undrained
1 (8-ounce) block extra-sharp Cheddar, shredded
½ cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
½ cup shredded white Cheddar
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, hot sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, stir in pimientos and shredded cheeses until well blended. Keep covered in fridge until ready to serve.
She-Scribes Unite!
One written word is worth a thousand pieces of gold.
—Japanese Proverb
As a writer who is no longer surrounded by a hub of colleagues, I miss not only the daily camaraderie of co-workers buzzing about me, but also having fellow editors to bounce ideas off of. That kind of back and forth is not only exhilarating—it’s imperative to the creative process! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve queried a fellow writer for his or her opinion about a word, a title, a paragraph—all in the name of sharpening my own skills and, hopefully, creating something beautiful for many to enjoy.
So, I’ve taken matters in hand. I’ve started a dinner club of fellow female writers and aestheates—an amazing group of six women who have something to say. Our pens are on fire with ideas and we have our first meeting tonight at my home. Our itinerary is loose—sit down for a little din-din, then share our work with each other with glasses of Chard all around. But our mutual goal is solid. The idea is to offer (constructive) criticism, feedback, and support to each other on a once-a-month basis. How wonderful does that sound?
Tonight’s dinner menu is exotic—a little spice to fuel our imaginations: Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon, saffron rice, and salad. For dessert? More spice of course: Chocolate Chai Cobbler.
I found the chicken recipe, if you want to take a peek, and the cobbler recipe I’m testing is below. What do you think? Sound good?
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Chocolate Chai Cobbler
Makes 6 servings
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup self-rising flour
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Oregon Chai The Original Chai Latte Mix (powdered)
1 ½ cups boiling water
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Melt butter in an 8x8-inch Pyrex dish as the oven preheats. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, and cocoa powder. Stir in milk and vanilla until smooth. Remove Pyrex dish from the oven. Spoon mixture over the melted butter. In a small bowl, stir together chai mix and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Sprinkle over the batter. Slowly pour boiling water over the top of the mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until set. Serve warm with Vanilla Bean ice cream.
Cheers,
OregonChaiMama