Introducing IceMilk Aprons Children’s Collection.

The art of entertaining, made-from-scratch cooking and the passing down of traditions is not a thing of the past after-all.  I am so thrilled to share with you the new IceMilk Aprons classic Children’s Collection of aprons – just in time for the holiday season!

The holidays are a time for giving, sharing, and entertaining when family and friends come together and dust off those family recipes that make the holidays, the holidays. My sister and I were in the kitchen at such a young age with both my mother & grandmother, learning the basics of cooking and baking from scratch. I believe everyone can relate to that.

The concept for a children’s line has always been a part of the plan for us, and we have received a lot of customer feedback of people wanting to have an apron for their little ones to cook in as well. It plays right into the notion of traditions we are hoping to inspire. Children are in the kitchen cooking at an early age and want an apron just like mom to complete the memorable experience.

The Children’s Collection compliments the look of the existing adult line, with the addition of sweet stitch detailing and pockets, perfect for busy little hands! In neutral blends of linen and cotton, the children’s aprons are rooted from classically inspired designs to be passed down for generations. With names like  “cozy cupped cocoa,” “sugar cone scoops,” and “bowls of batter,” each apron was inspired by a favorite childhood memory from my childhood. And, not to worry – stories of each are to come, so stay tuned! They even come packaged in preserves jars as well, just tiny versions of the adult collection. I love the Mother + Daughter gift package for that reason – they are so sweet when paired together, and so special.

I’d love to know your thoughts on the new Children’s Collection and greatly appreciate your support in helping to spread the word.

Heirloom Recipe Series with Winnie Abramson.

In this week’s Heirloom Recipe Series, we are so excited to feature a recipe from the collection of Winnie Abramson.  The daughter of a chef and restaurant owner, Winnie’s love of cooking began from an early age.  She decided to incorporate her passions for cooking, green living, nutrition and photography to produce the wonderful and informative blog Healthy Green Kitchen.  You’ll find everything you need to know from making homemade mozzarella cheese and nutella hazelnut spread to a yummy homemade throat remedy and how to start composting.  Oh and it’s super organized and easy to navigate too!

The recipe Winnie shares with you today could not be more interesting, creative and delicious sounding.  Here at IceMilk Aprons, we cannot wait to get in the kitchen with this recipe and we have a feeling you’ll feel the same way too!

Enjoy!

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My grandma Bessie was a lot like me: feeding people made her happy. When she died a few years back, I inherited her recipes.

I keep her recipes in a box, and every now and then, I go through the contents piece by piece. Her greatest hits are all here – Jewish favorites like her brisket and her bundt kuchen- these are the recipes that she made often. But there are also many recipes in the box that while written out on cards in her perfect script, weren’t part of her regular rotation (or at least the rotation I knew as a child).

I always wonder about the story behind these recipes. Are they recipes she actually cooked? Or did they simply intrigue her, so she wrote them down and kept them, but never actually got around to making them?

This recipe for Pickled Crab Apples is one of the handwritten recipes in Grandma Bessie’s collection. I honestly have no way of knowing whether or not this is something she ever made. But she saved it for a reason- it meant something to her- and making the recipes she lovingly preserved is how I stay connected to her.

Recipe for Pickled Crab Apples

Makes 3-4 quarts

How this recipe ended up in my grandmother’s collection is a bit of a mystery to me. A bit of internet research tells me that pickled crabapples (also called spiced crabapples) are traditionally made in the South (where she never lived), but I also found reference to the fact that these might have been served at Jewish holiday meals. Note that as is typical for me when I follow pretty much any recipe, I made some changes. You’ll find my adaptations at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients:

*6 pounds crab apples

*5 cups sugar

*1 1/4 cups cider vinegar

*1 stick cinnamon

*a few whole cloves

*1/2 teaspoon cinnamon drop candy

Directions:

1. Wash apples. Do not remove stems.

2. Bring sugar, vinegar, cinnamon stick and cloves to a quick boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add cinnamon drops.

3. Add crab apples and cook over moderate heat for an hour- 75 minutes until apples are tender.

4. Lift apples with slotted spoon into jars.

5. Cook syrup 10 minutes after filling jars with fruit. Pour syrup over apples in jar and seal.

I halved the recipe and because I didn’t have access to crab apples, I substituted the smallest, crunchiest apples I could find, and I cored and sliced them. I used organic brown sugar instead of white sugar, omitted the cinnamon candy and added an extra cinnamon stick. The result was a chunky applesauce heavy on the spice and tang, and really quite delicious.

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Be sure to connect with Winnie on Twitter, Facebook, on her Healthy Green Living blog, and take a peek at her gorgeous food styling & photography talents online here.

Part of our Heirloom Recipe Series, featuring foodies, chefs, artisans, Southerners & fabulous folks willing to share their stories, recipes and photos in an effort to help preserve and share these family recipes for generations to come.

Heirloom Recipe Series with Cathy Barrow of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen.

I am so excited to have the absolutely queen of preserves with us this week for the Heirloom Recipe Series – Mrs. Cathy Barrow of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen. Now you all know how much I adore preserves, and Cathy has been recognized by NPR and The Today Show and will soon be featured in the food52 cookbook! I hope you’ll take a moment to get just a glimpse inside of Cathy’s kitchen!

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Heirloom Recipe Series with Cathy Barrow.

My mother’s been gone five years now, but each Thanksgiving she sits on my shoulder and guides me through the rituals.

So many of the foods on my table were foods she made year after year. We didn’t ask for a change in the menu – no one wanted anything to change at all. We looked forward to the appetizers – chopped liver on celery stalks (“There will be plenty of bread later.”)

The table was piled high with creamed onions, green beans with almonds, sausage and apple stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce and of course, that big beautiful bronzed bird.

Desserts were plentiful, but always included pies: apple for my brother, pumpkin for my Dad, and mincemeat for Mom and me.

Since there were only four of us, and food enough for ten, we were thrilled to start a new tradition when Mom and Dad bought a little weekend house in the Berkshires. By that time, my brother David was married with two kids. I was a career girl, working in Pittsburgh. We would gather in Hartford for Thanksgiving dinner then caravan to the country the next day.

Like us, many of the neighbors had spent their Thanksgivings at home and driven up to the mountains for the weekend. The neighbors – Gail and Dusty – also had plenty of leftovers to share, but were curious to see what others were eating for the holiday. Everyone had leftovers. And that’s how The Dead Poultry Society was born.

Every year, the Friday after Thanksgiving, for years and years, we gathered with a dozen or more neighbors to sample their family’s Thanksgiving favorites. There was an amazing pear relish from Gail. Another had scalloped potatoes that I still dream about, studded with truffles.

But rising above all these treats was the day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich my mother concocted. I’ll be making it again this year, because there’s just nothing like the sweet, salty, savory goodness of this sandwich. It’s definitely a little naughty – highly caloric – but just this one day? It’s a necessity.

Day-After-Thanksgiving Sandwich

Roast turkey
Cranberry Sauce
Chopped liver
Leftover stuffing
Mayonaisse
Challah

YUM.

And this really isn’t possible without classic chopped liver, just the way my grandmother used to make it.

Chopped Chicken Liver

6 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 lb. yellow skinned onions, minced fine
3 oz chicken fat (schmaltz) or unsalted butter
1 T grapeseed oil
1/2 lb. livers from pastured free range chickens
2 T cognac

Chop the eggs very fine using an mezzaluna or food processor. They should be fluffy. Put in a large bowl and set aside.
In a large heavy saute pan, heat half the butter with the oil. Add the onions and saute slowly until richly browned but not burned.
Salt and pepper generously while they cook.
In the meantime, rinse and clean the livers well, removing connective sinew.
When the onions have finished cooking, put them in the bowl with the eggs.
Heat 3 oz of schmaltz or butter in the onion pan and saute the livers until no pink remains. Do not brown or crisp. Salt and pepper generously.
Remove the livers from the pan and deglaze with the cognac.
Put the livers in your food processor or a bowl.
Pour the deglazing liquid and goodies from the bottom of the pan into the egg/onion mixture.
Chop the livers with a mezzaluna. If you use your food processor, pulse off and on to chop, not liquify.
Gently fold the livers into the onion/egg mixture.
Test and correct for seasoning. The flavor blooms after chilling, so make this in advance and season carefully.
Pack in ramekins or other serving dishes. Keep dishes small – about 4 oz. and make sure to freeze whatever will not be used within two days.

All images courtesy of Cathy Barrow

Be sure to also connect with Cathy Barrow over on her website, Twitter (@mrswheelbarrow) and on her Facebook Page!

 

 

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Part of our Heirloom Recipes Series, featuring foodies, chefs, artisans, Southerners & fabulous folks willing to share their stories, recipes and photos in an effort to help preserve and share these family recipes for generations to come.

IceMilk Aprons: December Recipe Contest!

Thanks to everyone who entered the November “Sharing of Recipes” contest!  We have selected our winner, Maggie from Duluth – and she will receive an IceMilk Apron, just in time for holiday cooking!  Click here to view her winning recipe & read her wonderful story.

December’s “Sharing of Recipes” Contest has begun! Enter to win an IceMilk Apron today!

Share a meaningful family recipe with us and be entered in our drawing this month to win an IceMilk Apron, as well as having your recipe featured on our blog!

Enter now, it’s easy:
Comment on this blog entry with the name of your family recipe, along with a short story or memory on why that recipe is meaningful to you. Email me at ashley@icemilkaprons.com to submit your handwritten recipe card, only handwritten cards will be considered.

We’d love for YOU to share your recipes with us!

The Passing Down of Heirlooms: The Basics.

Generally, an heirloom is defined as a family possession that is passed down from generation to generation. But, as I blog about “The Passing Down of Heirlooms,” I will speak to “heirlooms” not only as family possessions, but also as skills, knowledge, or stories that have been passed down.

Today, I want to highlight a way that you can partake in one of these non-traditional heirloom moments!  Williams-Sonoma has brought us a wonderful on-going calendar of culinary events – where we can learn (or brush up) on the basics of cooking.

Everything from “Blender Basics” to “The Secret to a Successful Sauce” and more!  Pass down the basic skills of cooking, click here to view the remaining classes for September and visit a nearby store to enjoy.