On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander.
In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.
This is how my mother taught me to make Manicotti, she never used store bought noodles she made a crepe like batter and cooked them in a frying pan and then filled them and baked them smothered with mozzarella cheese on top.
Cooking them this way makes for a light and delicate noodle, with a very distinctive taste. I promise you this is a very easy recipe to follow, once you make manicotti this way you won't use a store bought noodle again.
Manicotti Shells:
1-1/4 cups water
5 large eggs
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon melted butter or margarine, cooled
Additional melted butter, margarine, or vegetable spray, as needed to make crepes
Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, with liquid
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2-1/4 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Filling:
2 pounds ricotta cheese, regular or low fat
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, diced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
To Make the shells:
Place the water, eggs, flour, salt, and melted butter in a blender or processor and process until smooth.
tip: You should use a teflon coated fry pan 7" or 8" n diameter, I use a ladle full of batter place it into the frying pan swirl to coat and using the tip/corner of a spatula ease up the edge of the shell and flip, They pretty much cook as soon as they're swirled around, so don't wait to flip. Once you do get it flipped just give it 2 seconds and it will be done, take it out and stack them with wax paper in between each shell.
Heat a 7" or 8" crepe pan over medium heat for a few minutes, then brush with a little melted butter or vegetable spray. Pour in just enough crepe batter to cover the bottom of the pan.
Cook the shell until it is "dry" on top and barely light brown on the bottom.
Turn the shell over and cook about 10 to 20 seconds.
Remove shell to a large plate and repeat the process until all the batter is used.
Add all the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered for an hour.
Make Filling and Assembly:
In a large bowl combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup parmesan cheeses (The rest is for topping). Add the parsley, salt and pepper, and mix well.
Pour some of the sauce into the bottom of a large shallow baking dish. Place about 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling in the center of each shell. Fold shell in thirds and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until all shells and filling is used. Cover the shells with the remaining sauce, and sprinkle on the remaining parmesan cheese.
The dish can be assembled in advance to this point and frozen or refrigerated until needed.
Bake the manicotti, uncovered, at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
If baking manicotti directly from the freezer, bake at 350°F for an hour or until thoroughly heated.
Poster's Notes:
This sauce can be used in any recipe calling for a marinara sauce, and it freezes well.
Crepes/Shells can be frozen in a stack, but a sheet of waxed paper must be placed in between each shell.
The shell transform this into a light, delicate main course. Can be made ahead and frozen. The tomato sauce can be made, frozen and used on any pasta, fish, or chicken.
For the dough 4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces (See Note below) 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces (See Note below) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the filling 2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade ((I used peach jam) 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds) 1/4 cup plump, moist dried currants ((I used raisins) 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
For the glaze 1 large egg 1 teaspoon cold water 2 tablespoons sugar, preferably coarse sugar
Method:
For the dough 1) Let the cream cheese and butter rest on counter for 10 minutes. It should be slightly softened but cool. 2) Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine for 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds. Do not work the dough too long that it forms a ball on the blade. (Note: I used a stand mixer and I find that it's easier to process by cutting the cream cheese and butter into cubes of 1-cm) 3) Remove the dough from the food processor, divide into half, shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to a day. (Wrap airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
To make the filling 1) Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or microwave until it liquefies. Mix sugar and cinnamon together. 2) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (Silicone baking mats are great for rugelach.)
To shape the cookies 1) Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin. 2) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11- to 12-inch circle. Spoon (or brush) a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar. 3) Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the chopped chocolate and half of the currants. Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch. 4) Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or trigangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut into quarters, then cut each quarters into 4 pieces.) 5) Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each triangle becomes a little crescent. 6) Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (The cookies can be refrigerate overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)
Getting ready to bake 1) Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
To glaze 1) Stir the egg and water together. Brush a bit of the glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar. 2) Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden. 3) Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
This recipe won #1 Cookie for 2008 in the Chicago Tribune Contest...it's wonderful!!
This recipe, submitted by Emily Dressel of River Forest, was handed down by her grandmother, Baba. During a kolacky-baking lesson, Baba offered this advice for making these tender cookies: "You have to just sense it, Emily. The dough will tell you what it needs."
1bag (10 ounces) dried apricots
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups flour (I added 1/2 tsp. of sugar to the flour)
Confectioners' sugar
1 Place apricots in medium saucepan; cover with water. Soak overnight. Heat the apricots and water to a boil in medium saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring often with fork to mash and adding water if needed, until smooth and thick, about 10 minutes. (If necessary, you can chop finely with a knife or process about 1 minute in a food processor or chopper.) Add the granulated sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Cool completely.
2 Blend together the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl; gradually blend in flour, using hands once the dough has begun to form, until it can be shaped into a ball (this may be more or less than 2 cups). Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
3 Heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough into thirds. Roll out each third on a floured board into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch squares with a pizza cutter. Place 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of the apricot filling in the middle of each square. Fold each corner into middle; pinch together. (Moisten fingers with cold water if dough does not stick.)
4 Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets; bake until golden, about 17 minutes per batch. Cool on wire rack; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
This cookie recipe is a versatile one, it can be anisette, vanilla, or lemon by simply adding the extract you desire into the icing. Be bold and use food coloring to make your cookies festive and sprinkle with decorations like sprinkles or colored nonpareils.
Ingredients
1/2 lb margarine 2 c sugar 1 lb ricotta cheese 2 eggs 2 tbs vanilla 4 c flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt
Icing 1/2 box confectioners sugar 2 tbs milk 1 tsp anisette extract, or ..one of your desire
Cream together margarine and sugar. Add cheese, eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift 4cups of flour and add the baking soda and salt and combine well. Slowly add flour mix to the butter and cheese mixture. Mix until it is mixed well, the batter should be soft.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets by teaspoonfuls. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 -15 minutes. Cool completely, Meanwhile make up your icings when the cookies are cooled ice them and sprinkle them, place them on a rack to drip of excess icing and let them dry before storing them in an airtight container. This recipe should yeild about 4 dozen cookies.
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix Water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on cake mix box 4 cups milk 4 teaspoons grated orange peel 2 boxes (4-serving size each) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix 1 cup chocolate-flavor syrup 2 cans (15 oz each) mandarin orange segments, drained 1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. 2. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. 3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix milk and orange peel. With wire whisk, beat pudding mix into milk mixture about 2 minutes or until blended. 4. Cut or tear cooled cake into 1-inch pieces. Arrange half of pieces in 3 1/2-quart glass serving bowl, cutting pieces to fit shape of bowl. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the chocolate syrup over cake; spread with 2 cups of the pudding. Reserve 1/2 cup orange segments for garnish; arrange remaining orange segments over pudding. Add remaining cake pieces. Top with remaining chocolate syrup, remaining pudding and the whipped topping. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. 5. Garnish dessert with reserved orange segments. Store covered in refrigerator up to 8 hours. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Make cake mix following high altitude directions on box for 13x9-inch pan.
Substitution Do you like the flavor of white chocolate? Use white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix instead of vanilla. Success If you don't have a bowl big enough to hold this crowd-size dessert, two smaller bowls will work just as well. Special Touch For an extra-special treat, decorate with chocolate-dipped orange segments. Dip half of each orange segment into melted chocolate and place on a waxed paper-covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes or until chocolate is set. Just before serving, arrange dipped oranges on top of dessert. Nutrition Information: 1 Serving: Calories 400 (Calories from Fat 130); Total Fat 14g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 45mg; Sodium 490mg; Total Carbohydrate 62g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 44g); Protein 6g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 15%; Calcium 10%; Iron 10% Exchanges: 2 Starch; 2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 4 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
As my own idea... my thought to make the nest easier -pipe the meringue using the star tip, You could get them taller making for a better presentation. Just make sure you patch any holes before you cook the nests. ~ Gia
Recipe & Photo by Sue Doeden
The meringue crust in this dessert, with its contrasting textures, melts on the tongue. It is filled with rich, fluffy whipped cream and fresh berries, bursting with flavor.
On her blog, Sue makes individual Pavlovas and fills them with Mascarpone Cream and Italian Peppered Strawberries Perfect Pavlovas For six years the Pavlova recipe was tucked into my “Summer Recipes” file. A cooking school classmate sent it to me with her penned comment beside the recipe, “This is a great one.” And I knew she was right. She made the delicate meringue shells and filled them with fruit when we were at Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco.
Pavlova is said to be invented by an Australian chef as a culinary expression of the light-as-a-feather dancing of Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. Many New Zealanders would dispute this, though, and the delightful dessert has become a treasure for both countries to boast about, each claiming it as their own.
The list of ingredients for Pavlova is short and straightforward. Egg whites, which are pure protein, are whipped with sugar to create a voluminous white cloud. Tiny amounts of vinegar and cornstarch are added right at the end.
The first step in preparing Pavlova is to separate the egg yolks from the whites, being very careful that not even one little speck of yolk gets into the egg whites. (Egg yolks contain fat, and fat interferes with the formation of firm and light whipped egg whites.) Separating eggs is easiest to do when the eggs are chilled, right out of the refrigerator. Store the yolks in a covered container in the refrigerator for another use. Hollandaise sauce, maybe? Allow the bowl of egg whites to sit at room temperature so that the protein strands in the egg whites will be able to easily stretch as they are beaten, resulting in a shiny, firm meringue.
The meringue is baked at a very low temperature, allowing a thin, crisp shell to form on the outside, leaving the inside just slightly chewy. Don’t be bothered by any cracks that may appear around the edges of the Pavlova or even in the middle as it cools. It just happens. The inside cracks will be hidden by whipped cream and berries. Those on the outside add endearing character.
You’ll have so much fun impressing everyone with this lovely light dessert that takes little effort to make. The meringue crust, with its contrasting textures, melts on the tongue. Rich, fluffy whipped cream with just a slight hint of sweetness and fresh berries, bursting with flavor. Working together, they make a perfect team.
The meringue crust of Pavlova is very versatile. Top it with any of your favorite seasonal fruit. Fill the meringue with lemon curd or ice cream. Add a touch of decadence with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce over each serving.
Ingredients
Pavlova with Berries and Whipped Cream
4 egg whites, room temperature 1 cup superfine sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sifted 1 teaspoon white vinegar 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream 2 teaspoons powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 pints fresh berries of your choice Extra powdered sugar for garnish Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet with no sides. Draw a 9- or 10-inch circle on the parchment, using a plate as your guide. Turn the paper over so the drawing is on the bottom. It will show through the parchment.
Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl. If you are using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites at low speed until they are very foamy. With the mixer on high speed, gradually add superfine sugar, beating until the sugar is dissolved after each addition. Beat the mixture 5 to 10 minutes, until it is very shiny and thick. Fold in cornstarch and vinegar.
Spread meringue mixture into the marked circle on parchment paper. Use the back of a spoon to shape evenly, spreading meringue to the sides and leaving a slight depression in the middle, similar to a nest. Run the flat side of a knife up the edge of meringue mixture, all the way around, making furrows. This strengthens the Pavlova and gives it a nice decorative finish.
Bake the meringue in preheated 250-degree oven for 1 hour. Turn off the oven. Leave Pavlova to cool in the oven with door slightly ajar. It will take at least 2 hours for the Pavlova to cool completely.
Use a wide metal spatula to carefully loosen the baked meringue shell from the parchment paper. Slide the meringue onto a cake platter.
An hour before serving, beat heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until firm.
Spoon sweetened whipped cream into the meringue shell and spread evenly. Spoon berries carefully over the whipped cream, leaving a border of cream and meringue. Sprinkle the Pavlova with powdered sugar just before serving. Serves 6 to 8.
Tips from the cook
--Avoid making Pavlova on a humid day. The meringues will become sticky and soft.
--The meringue shell can be made the day before serving. I bake the meringue the evening before I plan to serve it and just keep it in the turned-off oven overnight. An hour before serving time, I fill it with the whipped cream and berries and just let it sit until time to eat. You can also fill it at the last minute. The meringue will get soggy if it is filled long before eating.
--Be sure to use a glass or stainless steel bowl for whipping the eggs. Avoid a plastic bowl. Fat clings to plastic, and even though the bowl seems clean, there is a good chance that a bit of grease remains. Fat interferes with the formation of a fluffy meringue.
--Superfine sugar, sometimes called caster sugar, dissolves more quickly than regular granulated sugar. Granulated sugar can be used in this recipe, just be sure to beat the egg whites and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.
My all time favorite dessert is Tiramisu.. nothing compares to this in my opinion. There are quick recipes you can easily find on the net. Me? No way will I bother, It's the classic recipe or nothing. Tiramisu is pretty easy to make once you are familiar with it, and nothing can ever beat the traditional goodness that a "from scratch" recipe can give you, Not only in taste, the satisfaction that you did it, you made it and the proud smile you'll have ...when your friends and family tell you how good it is. I have included 2 videos and one classic recipe written by ~ Michael Chu.. Enjoy and play if you have any questions email me. As always share what you love -- I also wanted to ask you all if anyone is interested in a xmas cookie exchange of recipes for the holidays. It would be nice to get a jump start so that we can plan. Let me know your ideas. ~
This video is more traditional and might have some terms you are unfamiliar with "caster sugar is Super fine sugar"
It turns out it's pretty difficult to find a published recipe of tiramisu more than a decade old. The reason? Tiramisu was probably invented in the late 1960's or early 1970's at a restaurant called Le Beccherie in Treviso, Italy. Heavenly Tiramisu, Google's highest ranked site when doing a search on tiramisu, claims that Tiramisu has the same roots as zuppa inglese dating back to the 19th century. Unfortunately, like the reader that wrote into Heavenly Tiramisu, I have to object to this classification since the use of coffee or espresso is not traditional in zuppa inglese. If you add the espresso, then it is no longer zuppa inglese but tiramisu. This addition did not seem to happen in a regular manner or recorded recipe until Le Beccherie introduced it over thirty years ago.
Anna Maria Volpi has an article on the history of tiramisu that supports the Le Beccherie origin. Having determined the origins of tiramisu, I had to find the recipe. Unfortunately, I have only Anna Maria Volpi's classic tiramisu recipe (which she claims is the original Le Beccherie recipe) to go by. I was unable to determine if this is (or was) indeed the original recipe, but it's the only one that claims to be, so I shall proceed (for the moment) as if it was.
Most of the ingredients were readily available, but I was not looking forward to purchasing 1-1/2 cups of espresso from my local coffee shop. I asked how many ounces were in a shot of espresso and they told me it was one fluid ounce. I quickly did some mental math and realized that it would be over $15 in espresso alone for me to test this dessert. I explained what I was trying to do and they offered to "work something out". Because I was trying a tiramisu recipe, the coffee shop sold me 12 shots of espresso for $1.95. Amazing. I'm bringing those people some tiramisu tomorrow. Now that I've acquired my espresso, it's time to start preparing the tiramisu.
The Original Tiramisu (serves 12)
4 large egg yolks beat beat whisk over steam beat fold assemble sift refrigerate 4 hours
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 lb. mascarpone cheese beat
1 cup heavy cream whip to soft peaks
about 40 ladyfinger cookies soak 2 seconds
12 oz. espresso dissolve
2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa powder
I began by assembling four large egg yolks, 1/2 cup sweet marsala wine, 16 ounces mascarpone cheese, 12 ounces espresso, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and enough lady fingers to layer a 12x8 inch pan twice (40). I stirred two tablespoons of granulated sugar into the espresso and put it in the refrigerator to chill.
In a heatproof bowl, I whisked the egg yolks until they became a light and fluffy cream.
I poured in the sugar and wine and whisked briefly until it was well blended.
I poured some water into a saucepan and set it over high heat until it began to boil. Lowering the heat to medium (enough to keep the water boiling), I placed the heatproof bowl over the water (a convenient double boiler) and stirred as the mixture began to thicken and smooth out. I stopped when the mixture began to slowly bubble.
I removed the mixture, which has now become a custard, from the heat and put it on the side. This custard by itself is a great Italian dessert called zabaglione (sabayon in French cooking) and can be served as is or made into a more complicated dessert by mixed with fruit, serving with cookies, or made into tiramisu (and many more possibilities).
While the zabaglione cools a bit, I whipped (with my stand mixer to save time) the heavy cream until soft peaks. Soft peaks is when the whipped cream can almost stand on its own. Dip your whisk or finger into the cream and see if the spike that forms when you withdraw just curls over at the tip. If so, you've got soft peaks. If it stands up by itself, you've over beaten and produced stiff peaks. If the peak just sinks back into the cream, you don't have whipped cream yet. Keep beating.
Now, in a medium bowl, I beat the mascarpone cheese until smooth and creamy. I used alternated between beating with a whisk and mashing it with a spatula to make quick work of the cheese.
I poured the zabaglione onto the cheese and beat until smooth.
I then folded in the whipped cream. Folding prevent the whipped cream from continuing to progress on the path toward butter and separation (which is what happens when you over whip cream). To fold, simply use your spatula to cut into the mixture and scoop up mixture from below and "fold" it over the cream. Rotate and repeat. The final mixture should be have a fairly even distribution, but it's okay to still see some patches of yellow and white.
Now, I began to assemble the tiramisu. The recipe called for filling a 12x8 in. pan, but that's not a readily available size. I decided to try my luck with a 13x9 in. pan, so I prepared enough ladyfinger cookies to fill the pan twice (for two layers). Then I quickly dipped each ladyfinger into espresso. I poured about half the espresso into the bowl at a time, to make it easier to work with and ensure that the bottom layer didn't soak up all the espresso. No need to worry. There's so much espresso that the ladyfingers will fall apart before the espresso will run out. A gave the each ladyfinger cookie a one second soak on each side and then arranged it on the pan. Do each ladyfinger individually or you'll have ladyfingers falling apart.
After the first layer of ladyfingers are done, I used a spatula to spread half the cream mixture over it. Then, I smoothed it out in preparation for the next layer.
I covered the cream layer with another layer of soaked ladyfingers.
The rest of the cream was spread onto the top and cocoa powder sifted over the surface to cover the tiramisu.
The tiramisu was now complete and would require a four hour chill in the refrigerator.
The flavor of this "original" tiramisu is very similar to restaurant tiramisu incarnations, except that the espresso flavor is extremely strong. The soaked ladyfingers were so strong that eating a piece of that layer by itself produced a strong bitter taste. Not something I've experienced with restaurant tiramisu (since many use coffee to dilute the espresso). Also, most of the restaurant recipes have a very strong alcohol component (perhaps because it's served in the evening as dessert instead of in the afternoon as a "pick me up"). I felt that the alcohol flavor was very mild (although my wife felt the alcohol flavor was more than adequate). As a combination (and eaten as a whole), this tiramisu was delicious (but the caffeine kick is strong enough to have me writing this article at almost two in the morning). It's easy to see from this recipe why this dish became so popular so quickly.
I have personally tried this and It's amazing how it imparts such great flavor into meat such as Pork, Turkey and Chicken. Give it a whirl and Enjoy you will not be disappointed.
2 cups orange sherbet or sorbet 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 1/4 cup milk 1 sprig fresh spearmint (for garnish)
Put the sherbet, juice, and milk in a blender and blend for 15 seconds or just until the sherbet is smooth. You may have to stop the blender and, stir the sherbet up a bit to help it combine.
Pour the orange freeze into a tall, chlled glass. Place a sprig of spearmint on the top. Serve immediately.
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/8 teaspoon salt 5 to 7 tablespoons of ice water 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard 6 ounces of Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced 30 cherry tomatoes sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh or dried thyme Salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Garnish fresh thyme
Pulse flour, butter, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a food processor 12 times or until mixture is crumbly. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water; process just until dough begins to leave sides of bowl and forms a ball, gradually adding remaining 2 tablespoons water, if necessary, for dough to form ball.
Divide dough in half; shape each portion into a ball. Cover and chill 20 minutes.
Roll each portion of dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut pastry into 12 rounds, using a 4 1/2 inch cutter. Place rounds on 2 un-greased 15x10 inched jellyroll pans. Crimp edges with a fork, if desired.
Spread rounds evenly with Dijon mustard; top with cheese slices, tomato, thyme, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle rounds with shredded cheese; drizzle with oil. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately. Yield one dozen.
Ingredients 1 10oz box of frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed 1/3 cup pina colada mix 2 cups of ice 2 ripe bananas
Garnish Whipped cream 2 fresh strawberries
Use a blender to puree the entire contents of the thawed box of frozen strawberries. Add 1/3 cups pina colada mix and 2 cups of ice to the blender. Cut the end off the end of banana -- set these pieces aside to use later as a garnish--then put the bananas into the blender. Blend on high speed until the ice is crushed and the drink is smooth. Pour into two tall stemmed glasses, such as daiquiri glasses. Slice each strawberry halfway up thru the middle and add one to the rim of each glass. Cut each banana slice halfway through the middle and add one to the rim of each glass next to the strawberry. Top with whipped cream and serve with a straw. Makes 2 servings
This dish is absolutely amazing, we have come to enjoy it so much Christmas would not be Christmas without this on our family table. I hope you can all give this one a try you will not forget it.
Regency Beef Tenderloin
1 cup soy sauce 2/3 cup vegetable oil 3 Tblsp. brown sugar 2 Tblsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tblsp. white vinegar 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 green onion, chopped 1 5 to 6 lb. beef tenderloin, trimmed
Combine first 7 ingredients; stir well. Place tenderloin in Ziploc bag or shallow dish. Pour marinade over tenderloin; seal or cover. Marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours, turning occasionally.
Remove tenderloin from marinade, reserving marinade. Bring marinade to a boil in a small saucepan; set aside.
Place tenderloin on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes, or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part registers l45 degrees for med-rare, or 160 for medium. Baste occasionally with marinade.
Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with horseradish butter or Royal butter.
HORSERADISH BUTTER
1/2 cup butter, softened 1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup prepared horseradish, drained.
Combine all in a bowl & mix with an electric mixer until well blended.
Corn Maque Coux (Smothered Corn) A spicy Cajun dish of smothered corn and seasonings (pronounced mock shoo) 12 ears fresh corn 2 T vegetable oil 1 T butter 1 large onion, chopped fine 1 medium-sized green pepper, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1 T sugar 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp hot sauce 1/2 cup milk *********** Scrape off corn kernels into a bowl; scrape milk and remaining pulp from cob with a knife. Combine oil and butter in a large skillet; heat until butter melts. Add the corn, onion, and bell pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, hot sauce and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Lower the heat if the mixture begins to stick. Add the milk, stir, and remove from heat.
40 Chicken wing pieces 4 tablespoons Chines five spice powder 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper Kosher Salt Freshly ground black pepper
Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce - Recipe Follows
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. If you have whole wings.. cut them into 3 sections.. discard the wing tips, or keep for stock. Place the wings in a large bowl. Sprinkle them with the five spice powder & cayenne pepper add generous pinches of salt and pepper. Rub mixture into the wings coat them well until all of the loose rub is used up.
2. Line the wing pieces on to a baking sheet ..making sure that the side facing up is the side of the wing which has the most skin. Roast wings until cooked through crispy, and browned about 30 mins. serve hot with creamy cilantro dipping sauce.
Creamy cilantro dipping Sauce 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup plain yogurt Juice of half a lemon or lime ..Ive used both. Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper Combine all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl. Whisk to incorporate fully and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa powder into a big bowl that you’ll use to mix the cake. Using a hand or table mixer, put in the milk. Mix. Add oil and mix. Add vinegar, vanilla and almond flavoring. Mix. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. Add and mix. Add the food coloring. Mix until the batter is even in color.
Grease and flour 3 cake pans – size 8 inches. Evenly pour the batter into the three pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the center tests done with a toothpick. Let the cake cool and then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
½ cup margarine (softened)
8 oz. cream cheese
½ tsp vanilla flavoring
1 box of confectioners sugar (1 pound)
1 cup pecans (may also want some extras to sprinkle on top)
Beat the margarine and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until light and creamy. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat well. Hand stir in pecans. Spread cream cheese icing between layers of the Red Velvet cake, up the sides and on top. If you have lots of pecans, then sprinkle some pieces on top.The pecans are especially good toasted a bit in the oven for this recipe.
1/2 cup nonfat powdered milk 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon shortening 1 cup hot water 1 envelope dry yeast 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/2 cup warm water 2 cups all purpose Flour, sifted Nonstick Cooking spray
Special equipment - Electric griddle, and 3 inch metal rings If you dont have 3 inch metal rings use a tuna can with both the top and bottoms removed remove label and wash.
1. In a bowl, combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved, let cool. 2. In a separate bowl, combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in the warm water and set aside until yeast has dissolved, about 10 minutes. Add this to the powdered milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes. 3. Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with cooking spray. Using a #20 ice cream scoop place 2 scant scoops of the mixture into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet, and cook for 5. or 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip the rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for anoher 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown. 4. Place finished muffing on a cooling rack, remove the rings, and let cool. Split with fork and serve.
Note.. Ice cream scoops are numbered by how many scoops per quart they dish out, so a #20 scoop gives you 20 scoops per quart.
Everyone has special family memories. I'll bet that at least half of them revolve around the holidays and the traditional foods your Mom made. Isn't it the food that brings you back to those warm memories? If any of you have lost loved ones over the years I'll bet your missing some of the old favorite dishes your family enjoyed over one holiday or another. Have any of you lost some of the treasured recipes that your elders made so well, and perhaps that are your all time favorites? I have had some of the best family recipes disappear for a number of years but, was able to get a hold of them, and I've promised myself to make sure that anyone in my family that asks shall get them, if I can pass it on. This topic came up recently and is the inspiration behind this blog. I just want to share in what has come to mean so much to my family, when I make my mothers cream puffs I of course hear how good they are but the second thing that comes up after that is the memories of my mother, we all sit and talk about how she made these for us year after year and its still amazes me how food, can do that. Have you ever had a meal that just amazed you in how good it was and then for the rest of time you compared that to every dish which was the same? Ribs, are my favorite all time meal, I went to this family owned restaurant called "TJ's a Place for Ribs" that place had the best ribs I'd ever tasted, and now many years later, I still compare every rib that's crossed my lips to TJ's Ribs. None have ever been better, but it doesnt stop me from looking for that recipe that will top TJ's ribs. So If your like me that just loves to try new things then come on in and print out some new recipes to try out. If you happened to surf in and enjoyed Our blog ask to be authored and I will add you.. this is for everyone and sharing is a must. Also, once you've tried a recipe please leave a comment and let us know how you liked it. We would love to hear the comments.-- Enjoy and Experiment
