2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium size red onion; finely chopped
2 cloves garlic; finely chopped
2 cup chicken stock
2 cup water
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 cup polenta or coarsely ground yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon black pepper; freshly ground
1/3 cup cotija cheese; freshly grated
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
olive oil; for brushing
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over mediumlow heat. Add the red onion and saute, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chicken stock, water, and salt and bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Reduce the heat and, when the liquid is simmering, gradually sprinkle the polenta over in a very slow, thin stream, whisking constantly in the same direction until all the grains have been incorporated and no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to very low. Switch to a wooden paddle and stir thoroughly every 1 or 2 minutes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and the grains of polenta have softened. Stir in the black pepper, cotija, and butter. The mixture will be quite thick. Rinse an 8 x 12inch roasting pan with water and shake dry. Mound the polenta into the pan and, using a rubber spatula repeatedly dipped in very hot water, spread the polenta evenly in the pan until it is just under 1/2 inch thick. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 1 hour at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, preheat a broiler to high heat. Brush the broiler pan with oil. Cut the polenta into 8 equal squares and brush them with olive oil. Transfer the squares to the broiler pan and grill for about 8 minutes on each side, or until deep golden brown. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 to 8 servings
These just sound really good.
Trim fat from pork, and cut crosswise into 16 slices.
Combine honey and next 4 ingredients in a shallow, nonmetal dish; add pork, turning to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Remove pork from the marinade, reserving marinade. Thread 4 pork slices onto each of 4 (8-inch) skewers. Thread 4 fig halves lengthwise onto each of another 4 (8-inch) skewers.
Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill over medium-hot coals. Place pork skewers on rack, and cook 4 minutes, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Turn pork skewers over, and place fig skewers, cut sides up, on rack; cook 4 minutes or until pork is done and figs are thoroughly heated, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork skewer and 1 fig skewer).
Veggie Kabobs
12 mushrooms
2 green bell peppers
1 red bell pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 onions -- * see note
1 eggplant
3 zucchinis
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
salt -- to taste
black pepper -- to taste
* Use a sweet onion such as Vidalia, Imperial Sweet or use an onion such as Bermuda.
Prepare vegetables. Clean mushrooms and remove stems, seed peppers and cut into bite-sized chunks, peel onions and cut into chunks, remove stems from cherry tomatoes, slice zucchini into thick slices, cut eggplant into chunks.
Use 6 metal skewers about 6-8 inches long. Thread vegetables onto skewers, alternating according to color for a nice presentation.
Brush with a marinade of the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Grill 4 inches from hot coals, turning and basting frequently. Cook for about 12-15 minutes.
German Sweet Chocolate Pie In Coconut Crust
7 oz baker's angel flake coconut; (2 2/3 cups)
1/3 cup butter or margarine melted
4 oz baker's german's sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup milk divided
4 oz philadelphia brand cream cheese softened
2 tablespoon sugar
8 oz cool whip whipped topping thawed
Mix coconut and butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Microwave chocolate and 2 Tbsp. of the milk in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through heating time. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
Beat in cream cheese, sugar and remaining milk with wire whisk until well blended. Refrigerate about 10 minutes to cool. Gently stir in whipped topping until smooth. Spoon into crust.
Freeze 4 hours or until firm. Garnish with additional whipped topping and toasted coconut and chocolate candies. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes or until pie can be cut easily. Store leftover pie in freezer.
Ginger Chocolate Biscotti
2 1/2 cup flour; unbleached, all purpose
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground
2 tablespoon cocoa; unsweetened, pref. dutch
2 tablespoon ginger, fresh; peeled, grated
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 eggs, large
1 1/4 cup almonds, whole; blanched toasted lightly
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the flour, the sugar, the baking soda, the salt, the cinnamon, the cloves and the cocoa powder until the mixture is combined well. In a small bowl, whisk together the gingerroot, the almond extract and the eggs, add the mixture to the flour mixture, beating until a dough is formed, and stir in the almonds. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead it several times and divide it into thirds. Working on a large buttered and floured baking sheet, with floured hands, form each piece of dough into a flattish log 10 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide and arrange the logs at least 3 inches apart on the sheet. Bake the logs in the middle of a preheated 350F oven for 25 minutes and let them cool on the baking sheet on the rack for 10 minutes. On a cutting board cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into 3/4 inch slices, arrange the biscotti, cut sides down, on the baking sheet, and bake them in the 350F oven for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the biscotti to racks to cool and store them in airtight containers.
Makes 36 Biscotti.
Banana Split Twist
2 firm-ripe bananas
1/4 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
Hot Chocolate Sauce:
1/4 lb good quality chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup half-and-half
Accompaniments:
good quality store bought vanilla ice cream
Preheat grill pan.
Peel bananas and halve lengthwise. In a shallow baking pan large enough to hold bananas in one layer stir together butter and brown sugar and add bananas, tossing gently to coat. Transfer bananas with a metal spatula to an oiled grill pan and grill until browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. ( If bananas are difficult to handle you may grill them on 1 side only.)
In a heavy saucepan chopped chocolate, cinnamon and half and half over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted.
Serve bananas like a banana split with ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Note: You can coat banana with butter or oil and do on a prepared grill, make sure it is really hot. You can also place foil on grill grates.
Yield: 2 servings
Orange Cheesecake with Strawberries
Crust:
1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafers
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon egg white
vegetable oil cooking spray
Cheesecake:
16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
8 oz light cream cheese (neufchatel), at; room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind (colored part only)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large navel orange, sectioned, membranes; removed
1 pint strawberries, sliced thinly
Heat the oven to 350°F. Combine the vanilla wafers and cinnamon in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy and blend it into the crumbs with a fork.
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Press the crumbs in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sugar, flour, orange juice, orange rind and vanilla extract in the bowl of a food processor until very smooth. Spoon into the prepared crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake until set in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan. Refrigerate until cold. Loosen the sides of the cake with a small spatula and remove the pan rim.
Combine the orange sections and strawberries. Cut the cheesecake into thin wedges and spoon some fruit on each serving.
Strawberries Cardinal
1 pkg (4 serving size) strawberry flavored gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
2 pint strawberries, washed
1 pkg 10 oz frozen raspberries, thawed
2 tablespoon raspberry-flavor liqueur
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a saucepan over low heat; stirring constantly. Chill until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Dip strawberries in gelatin to coat, while holding stem. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet; chill until gelatin is firm.
Place raspberries and liqueur in a blender or food processor; puree. Spoon about 1/4 cup sauce on 6 dessert plates. Top with strawberries. Makes 6 servings.
Sweet Carrot Dessert
1 lb carrots
1 quart milk
1 cup cream
8 oz jagresugar (or raw sugar from sugar cane)
4 oz sugar
4 tablespoon ghee (or clarified butter)
7 oz ground almonds
10 cardamom seed capsules, seeds of
4 tablespoon pistachios (unsalted)
4 tablespoon almond pins
Put carrots, milk and cream into a big pot (should contain 5 to 6 l); bring to boil with big heat and stir very well. Reduce heat and let simmer for one hour (stir sometimes) until the mixture is reduced to the half and heavy. Meanwhile roast the pistachios. Put both sugars into the mixture let simmer another 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low heat and add the ground almonds and the ghee; stir for 10 min until the halva pulls togehter to a solid mixture. Take from the oven. Stir in the cardamom seeds. Put onto plates and garnish with the pistachios and the almond pins. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Garlic And Rosemary Green Beans
1/4 oz to 1/2 oz turkey bacon, chopped *
1 clove garlic, to 2, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp; dried rosemary
1 lb green beans, slender, ends remove
salt, to taste
fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish
pepper, to taste
*Note: Original recipe used sliced prosciutto or regular bacon, chopped
In a 10 - 12" nonstick frying pan or 14" wok, stir-fry bacon over med-high heat until cooked thru, about 1 min or so. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
Add garlic, chopped rosemary, and 2 T water to pan. Stir-fry just until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds; do not scorch. Add beans and 1/3 C water, and sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook just until beans are tender to bite, about 3 minutes. Uncover and stir-fry until liquid has evaporated.
Arrange beans on a platter, sprinkle with turkey bacon (or prosciutto or reg bacon), and garnish with rosemary sprigs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cranberry Bread
1 tablespoon yeast
3 cup bread flour
1/3 cup cranberries, dried
2 tablespoon dry milk
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 1/4 cup cranberry juice
Bring all ingredients to room temperature and pour into bakery, in order. Set "baking control" at 10 o'clock. Select "white bread" and push Start.
This is supposed to be great for Turkey Sandwiches. If using on delayed cycle make sure the berries are placed where they will not absorb all the moisture.
Spinach Salad with Dressing
1 1/2 lb fresh spinach
8 oz fresh bean sprouts
8 1/2 oz can water chestnuts, drained
and sliced
5 slice bacon, fried, drained and
crumbled
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Tangy Spinach Dressing:
2/3 cup salad oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup catsup
1/2 cup white or red wine vinegar
1/3 cup green onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
Trim and discard tough spinach stems. Rinse leaves and pat dry. Tear into bite-sized pieces. Layer the sprouts, water chestnuts and spinach into your salad bowl (in that order, so that the spinach leaves won't get sorry from being underneath the water chestnuts.) On top of the spinach leaves, add the crumbled bacon and the chopped egg. Cover and refrigerate.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar or bowl. Shake, or blend well with a wire whip.
Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad and toss well. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds and toss again.
Note: To toast sesame seeds, place in a small, heavy, ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. Toast until you hear the seeds begin to pop, shaking the pan to keep the seeds from scorching.
