Get a head start on holiday goodies

Today we draw on many years of recipe files from area residents who have shared their favorites with Country Chef Valle Novak and the community. They contain cookies and other delights, which we will present throughout the holiday season.

In all the world is there a more welcome and compelling fragrance than bread baking in the oven? Not to me, there isn’t, and today the Country Chef brings the first of some great breads in upcoming columns from the Fleischmann’s Yeast folks. We’ll also look at some savory autumn veggies.

First, hearty oat and walnut bread provides the mild crunch and woody flavor of walnuts in this easy-to-make loaf.

Oat Walnut Bread

3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats, toasted at 350 degrees in shallow baking pan until light golden-brown, stirred often

1/4 cup firm-packed brown sugar

1 envelope rapid-rise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (same as oats, or in iron frypan on top of stove)

In large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, oats, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt. Heat water and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees).

Gradually add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in walnuts and enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Knead on lightly greased surface until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Cover, let rest 10 minutes.

Roll dough to a 12x8-inch rectangle. Beginning at short end, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Place, seam-side down in greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Cover, let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Bake at 375 degrees 35-40 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.

Fall veggies still take the spotlight.

Here’s a great stir-fry type dish to complement most any entree.

Broccoli/Cauliflower with Garlic Slices

2 tablespoons cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced very thin

2 cups each small broccoli and cauliflower flowerets, blanched 3 minutes, drained

1 cup vegetable stock

2 teaspoons cornstarch (or other thickener) mixed with 2 teaspoons cold water

Heat oil in uncovered wok or large frypan at 350 degrees.

Add garlic, stir-fry quickly - only 30 seconds (do not allow to burn).

Add blanched broccoli and cauliflower, stir-fry 2 minutes longer. Add stock, cover; cook 2 minutes or until veggies are tender/crisp.

Stir cornstarch mixture and add to wok; stir-fry until sauce thickens slightly. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: Add a small jar of pimientos or 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper for a color spark to this delicious dish. Makes a great accompaniment for baked halibut.

Let’s continue with Andrea Lyman’s offering.

Molasses Butterball Cookies

1 cup butter

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

2 cups very finely chopped walnuts

Powdered sugar

Set oven to 325 degrees.

In mixer bowl, beat butter at medium speed 30 seconds. Add molasses and beat until fluffy. Add flour, beat until well blended. Stir in nuts. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 18-20 minutes. When completely cool, roll in powdered sugar to coat.

Molasses stars again in my old pal’s recipe (my favorite in the whole world)!

Ginger Curtis’s Coconut, Nut, Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup grated coconut

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Set oven to 375 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugar; add egg, then molasses, coconut and chopped nuts. In separate bowl, mix flour, soda and salt together, then mix with creamed mixture. Drop on greased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

Dear departed friend Bernice Spade, gave me this simple recipe years ago, perfect for embellishing myriad ways.

Vanilla Cookies

2 eggs

2/3 cup cooking oil

2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

In small bowl, beat eggs with a fork, then stir in the oil, vanilla and sugar. In larger bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix all together and drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet, flattening slightly with a fork.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on rack.

I would be remiss not to include my own old favorite. Naturally, you use real butter for these.

Poppyseed Thumbprints

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons poppyseed

Currant or strawberry jelly

Powdered sugar

Cream butter in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and poppyseeds to creamed mixture.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 hours for ease in handling.

Heat oven to 375. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on unbuttered cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart; press center of each cookie with thumb for indentation. Bake 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from cookie sheets; cool on wire racks, pressing indentation again while cookie is still warm. When nearly cooled, fill with jelly and sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Serve, or store at room temperature in airtight containers in cool, dry place.

Tip: For a delectable change of flavor, use almond extract instead of vanilla. Delicious!

Over the holidays, fruited breads are part of the seasonal delights. Here’s a yeast bread from the Fleischmann’s Yeast people, baked as a braided ring (but you can make it into loaves if you wish) that is rich and sweet with a lovely mild citrus tang. It’s great for breakfast, brunch, the cocktail table, or served with the holiday dinner.

Braided Orange Ring

5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour

3 envelopes quick-rise yeast

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup real butter

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups raisins

Egg glaze: 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water, combined, stirred to blend Orange glaze: 1 cup sifted powdered sugar; 1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice; 1 teaspoon grated orange peel.

Combine in medium bowl, stir until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, undissolved yeast, salt and orange peel. Heat water, milk, honey and butter until very warm (123-130 degrees).

Gradually add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high. Stir in raisins and enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Cover, let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece to 24-inch rope; braid ropes. Place in heavily greased 10-inch tube pan, bringing ends together to seal.

Cover, let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Brush braid with egg glaze. Bake at 350 degrees 40-45 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Drizzle with orange glaze. Slice to serve.

Next, our herbal soufflé serves as a rich but light counterpoint to more assertive dishes, such as baked salmon with hollandaise or roasted root vegetables. (Put the souffle into the oven with the roasting veggies when they’ve got about 20 minutes to go). The original recipe calls for chives, but you can use small green onions with tops, using more green than onion.

Scallion/Parsley Souffle

1 1/2 cups milk

Handful of parsley and chives (or scallion tops) tied into a bouquet

2 ounces butter

1 1/2 ounces flour

5 egg whites

4 egg yolks

!/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon snipped chives or

1 minced green onion

3 tablespoons minced parsley

Salt, pepper to taste Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put milk into a pan with herb bouquet, bring just to a boil and set aside to infuse.

Butter a quart-size shallow baking dish. Put remaining butter into a pan, melt and stir in flour to make a roux. Discard herb bouquet from milk and whisk milk slowly into the roux, whisking constantly over a simmer until slightly thickened and smooth. Leave to cool.

Separate eggs, putting whites into a large clean bowl. Stir 3/4 of the Parmesan, the egg yolks and mustard into the warm sauce, mixing well.

Add herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk egg whites to a firm peak and fold in gently but thoroughly. Turn into prepared dish, top with remaining cheese and bake 15-20 minutes, without opening oven door. Wobble the dish a bit, and if too loose, return to oven for another 5 minutes.

Tip: Try this instead of spuds for Christmas dinner!

(Editor’s note: For many years, Valle Novak has written gardening and cooking columns for the Daily Bee. “Weekend Gardener” and “Country Chef” became renowned for their humor, information and common sense advice on how to do everything from planting to cooking. While she recently retired, she has shared a number of columns to delight her many fans. This is a compilation of such columns which ran in late October and early November 2007.)