This was a recipe we used at a restaurant I worked at while living in Minnesota. And it was their most requested recipe. The owner never gave the recipe away until she closed the restaurant and published a cookbook (so I'm not giving away any secrets!) We served this as a garnish with all of the sandwiches and most of the hors d'oeuvres.
It is so simple, so pretty, and so delicious! As a snack or a garnish. We used a crinkle cutter for a prettier presentation, but you can certainly simply use a knife. Whatever you use, just try it!
MARINATED VEGETABLES
Marinade:
3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup distilled vinegar
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
Vegetables:
4 carrots, julienned
2 green zucchini, julienned
2 red peppers, julienned
Optional:
Monterey Jack cheese, cut into thin strips
Green onion tops, cut into strips
To make the marinated vegetables:
Mix marinade vegetables in a plastic ziplock bag. Add vegetables, turn bag to coat. Refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally.
If you would like to make elegant vegetable bundles:
Put onion tops in boiling water for a second or two; remove and cut into strips. Select one of each vegetable strip, add a strip of Jack cheese; stack up and tie with an onion green.
French onion soup is one of my very favorite soups. And I don't make it often enough. And I don't think I've ever used the same recipe but have never, ever been disappointed.
This is one of the first recipes I ever tried, but when I originally made it I followed the recipe to make my own beef stock. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but took quite a while to make, not to mention difficult to find the bones to use given we now live in a society where meat markets are hard to find, unless you live in a large city like New York. So this time I settled on beef broth found in the soup aisle with a very respectable result.
Also, since this was kind of on the fly, I shredded the Swiss cheese I had in my cheese drawer instead of making a special trip to the store for Gruyere. Regardless, it's a lucious winter soup (winter????? no.....any time of the year) that pairs well with a simple green salad. Plan ahead.....you need to let the onions initially simmer for about an hour. In fact, you can make this ahead of time, the morning or day before serving, and then just reheat at serving time.
FRENCH ONION SOUP (4 servings)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4" into half circles
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp AP flour
1/3 cup dry sherry
3 cups beef broth
2 tsp fresh thyme
S&P to taste
1/2" slices baguette for the crouton
8 oz Gruyere or Swiss cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot on medium-low heat. Add onions. Spread them out in as thin a layer as possible. Spinkle with sugar and cook, stirring just as needed to keep onoins from sticking until soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize, about one hour.
Sprinkle flour over onions and stir to coat. Add sherry, stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer.
Cook, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to combine. Season with S&P to taste.
Meanwhile, lightly toast baguette slices under broiler; set aside. Ladle hot soup into four ovenproof bowls. Arrange bowls on a baking pan. Place 1-2 slices of bread on each soup bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated cheese over bread in each bowl, and place under broiler until cheese is melted and crusty brown around the edges. Watch carefully so the edges don't burn. Serve immediately.
Recipe Source: www.marthastewart.com/340253/french-onion-soup
Have you ever had a pizzelle? I just love these little cookies. They're not too sweet and you can vary the flavor. I tend to prefer the anise cookies, but I went with an almond recipe this time, I think it would appeal to more people.
Obviously, you do need special equipment to make these: a pizzelle maker. I think I bought mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they run around $40-50. It's like a little waffle iron and makes two cookies at a time. I love trying to eat around the design without breaking the pattern (those of you who separate their M&Ms into different colors and eat the ugly colors first know what I mean!)
I generally just make these during the holidays and package up for gifts, although they're a great year-around treat.
PIZZELLES (makes about 3 dozen)
1 3/4 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp almond extract
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 stick butter, melted
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
Beat the eggs, sugar, almond extract, and zest together in another medium-sized bowl.
Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Stir in the melted butter.
Preheat your pizzelle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Drop a scant Tablespoon of the batter onto each patterned cookie grid on the bottom plate of the iron. Close the iron and cook the pizzelles, 30-60 seconds depending on how crisp you like them.
Remove the cookies from the iron andp lace them on a rack to cool. When you're ready to serve, dust with the confectioners sugar, if desired.
Recipe Source: www.qvc.com/pizzelles.content.html
OK....we all have our favorite chili recipes. Or do we? I don't know about you, but I generally just kinda toss whatever I have in the frig into my chili. Maybe I should call this produce drawer chili.
I had some sweet peppers and onions that needed to find a home. I generally use about half ground turkey breast and half turkey Italian sausage. But when I went to the store the other day, I found something new: Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey. Hmmm.....two birds with one stone?
So I went ahead and picked up some Italian-style diced tomatoes. And then I used what I had on hand. And this is the result. A pretty darned good chili. The ingredients below are simply what I had on hand....use what you have/like. Chili is one of the most versatile winter dishes to have on hand, and it freezes great. So you'll always have a wonderful dinner or snack. I love it with cheese and sour cream. Use tortillas for a dip. Or the ever-wonderful Frito Chili Pie. Or........
Make ahead if you can. Chili is always better the second day.
ITALIAN-SEASONED TURKEY CHILI (makes about 6-8 servings)
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 pound Italian-seasoned ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
1 leek (white part), chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, light or dark, your preference
1 (15 oz) can Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup V8 juice
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp chili powder
crushed red pepper, to taste
S&P to taste
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Toppings (optional)
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced green onions
chopped sweet onions
corn chips
tortilla chips
hot sauce
cilantro
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. When hot, add onion, leek, garlic, and peppers. Cook until wilted, about 10 minutes. Add turkey. Cook until no longer pink, another 10 minutes or so.
Add tomatoes, V8, cocoa powder, and seasonings. Let simmer about 15 minutes. Add wine and cilantro, simmer another 10 minutes or so.
Top with any toppings you like.
OK, I posted this recipe a few years ago. And I kept making it with great results. Just like the English Toffee before it. And then, WHAMMMM!!!! Just like the English Toffee, it failed. Twice yesterday. Just as it reached temp, it separated. Both times. So a pound of butter, 2 cups of sugar, and a bunch of almonds....gone. What is going on???
Just by luck my friend and former neighbor, Pat, called. She thought maybe it could be that I was using store-brand butter instead of a name-brand or maybe unsalted instead of salted butter. Could that be?
I love to cook. But I don't care much for baking and candy-making is at the bottom of my like-to-do list. So when I had two failures in one day, I had just about given up. But today's grocery ads came out and..... voila!!!!.....Lake o' Lakes SALTED butter was on sale! Name-brand salted butter. It was an omen. I had to give it one more shot.
Guess what? It worked! Perfectly. So I don't know if it's the salt-edness or the brand-name-edness, but I'll never take another chance. So if you've had this disheartening problem, try this solution for fantastic results.
And thank you, Pat! You may have just helped more than one person.
ALMOND ROCA (makes one 16x12" jelly-roll pan)
1 cup salted, name-brand butter
1 cup sugar
6 oz slivered almonds
1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
3 oz sliced almonds
Kosher or sea salt, for sprinkling
Line a large rimmed packing sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray.
Place the slivered almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 300F for 5-6 minutes, checking often, until the almonds are golden brown and toasted. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and sugar and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula (I used a wooden spatula) until the butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved. Don't rush this step! It may take up to 5-6 minutes for the sugar to dissolve but you don't want the heat too high during this part of the process.
Once the sugar is dissolved and butter melted, turn the heat up to medium and stir gently as the mixture comes to a boil. Again, this may take a few minutes. Once it comes to a boil, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and continue stirring gently as it cooks. The mixture will gradually turn to darker shades of brown until it reaches the hard crack stage and should register 300F (hard crack) on your candy thermometer. As you stir during this process, don't scrape the sides of the pan, just gently stir in a figure-eight motion.
Immediately take the roca off the stove once it hits 300F and stir in the toasted, slivered almonds. Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet, taking care not to scrape the bottom of the pot as you pour it out. Using an offset spatula, quickly spread the toffee into an even layer on the baking sheet. It will cool quickly making it hard to spread.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot toffee and tent with foil. Let the chocolate melt for 2-3 minutes, remove the tented foil and spread the chocolate chips into an even layer. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the roca, sprinkle with salt and set the candy aside to let set and cool completely (place in your frig for quicker cooling/setting).
Once cool and the chocolate is set, break into pieces.
Let me preface this recipe by saying I would not make these potatoes again exactly as the recipe states. They instruct you to mash the potatoes with the water they have cooked in. I do prefer the creamier taste of mashing them with dairy. That being said, the rest of the recipe is fantastic!
I had never thought of adding mustard and horseradish to mashed potatoes but these tasted spot-on to me. But taste it as you add.....you may like a bit more punch to yours. There's not enough of either to overwhelm, but they add a wonderfully complex flavor, plus the little "snap" of the mustard seeds satisfies my texture compulsion!
So if you're looking for a variation on a basic mashed potatoes, give this a try. It will definitely be a new dish on our table.
AS GOOD AS MASHED POTATOES (6 servings)
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed (I think I used 3 white potatoes)
1 1/4 cups water
4 tsp minced garlic
4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 dashes hot pepper sauce, or to taste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yellow mustard, or to taste
2 tsp whole grain mustard, or to taste
2 tsp prepared horseradish, or to taste
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
Pare the potatoes or leave skin on, according to taste. Cut into 1" cubes and place in a heavy medium saucepan. Add water, garlic, parsley, hot pepper sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring and breaking up the potatoes with a fork, add more water if potatoes seem too dry.
Continue stirring and mashing the potatoes for about 5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the potatoes are soft and lumpy.
Remove from heat, stir in the mustards, horseradish, and sour cream.
Recipe Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press, 11-13-13, p. E4
I had some leftover white bread and some croissants from Thanksgiving and decided to use it in one of the few sweet treats I really enjoy....bread pudding. This recipe is about as basic as it gets, although I substituted pecans for raisins. You could also use craisins or walnuts. Or slightly saute some apple and add it to the mix. And use whatever kind of bread you have on hand...a mixture is always nice. Adjust amount of bread in the recipe to accomodate whichever bread you're using.
I prefer rum sauce with my pudding, but you can also easily find lemon sauce or vanilla sauce recipes for it.
BREAD PUDDING (4-8 servings, depending on size)
7-8 slices day-old bread
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins, optional
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk (any: skim, lo-fat, whole)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: light brown sugar, additional cinnamon, additional raisins or nuts to sprinkle on top
Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
Break bread into small pieces into an 8x8 baking pan. Drizzle melted butter over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well-mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
If using, sprinkle top of mixture with sugar, cinnamon, and raisins or nuts.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
RUM SAUCE
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp light or dark rum
Melt butter. Mix sugar and cornstarch, stir into butter. Pour in milk. Stir until it reaches a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in rum.
Recipe Source: adapted from www.allrecipes.com
