Warm Up with Zuppa!

Zuppa Tuscano

1 Ib Ground Italian Sausage
1 ½ tsp. Crushed Red Peppers
1 Large diced White onion
4 tbl. Bacon pieces
2 tsp. Garlic puree
10 cups water
5 Cubes chicken bullion
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 Ib Sliced russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ Bunch of Kale

1.Sautee Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat. Refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2.In same pan Sautee bacon, onion and garlic for app. 15 minutes or until onions are soft.
3.Mix together chicken bullion and water, then add to onion, bacon and galic. Cook until boiling.
4.Add potatoes and cook until soft, about 30 minutes.
5.Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sausage and add kale just before serving.

Greg and I don’t like this too spicy so we either use Italian sausage and no red pepper, or use regular sausage and red pepper. Use a big Sautee pan.
This is so yummy and perfect for a cold day. Also good with garlic bread sticks (like Olive Garden).

Yellow Layer Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Best Yellow Layer Cake

Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers, and, in theory, 22 to 24 cupcakes, two 8-inch squares or a 9×13 single-layer cake

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Cooking note: Be sure that your sour cream is at room temperature before you make the frosting. Using cold sour cream will result in the chocolate seizing a little, leaving little bits (like chocolate chips!) throughout the frosting.

Makes 5 cups of frosting, or enough to frost and fill a two layer 9-inch cake

15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double-boiler or in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted. (Alternately, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave for 30 seconds, stirring well, and then heating in 15 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted.) Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together the sour cream, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Taste for sweetness, and if needed, add additional corn syrup in one tablespoon increments until desired level of sweetness is achieved.

Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. This should not take more than 30 minutes. Should the frosting become too thick or stiff, just leave it out until it softens again. However, I found that the frosting didn't seem to thicken up very well at all and was more runny than I expected.

Gullivers Corn

This is another MUST HAVE for my Thanksgiving and Christmas feast. A family favorite. If all you know of creamed corn is the gross canned kind, give this a try. It is AMAZING. I promise everyone will ask for it every holiday. Believe me. When I show up to a celebration people are looking at me to make sure I've got this in tow. ;)

20 ounces frozen corn
8 ounces whipping cream
4 ounces whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch of white pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT butter and flour in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn to low and simmer for 5 minutes. In another (small) pot, melt butter and add flour. Add butter/flour mixture to corn and mix well. Remove from heat and serve.

Grandma Paul's Yams

This is the most delicious recipe for doing your Thanksgiving Yams or Sweet Potatoes or whatever you prefer. Me? I prefer yams for their color...and I think that the color means that they are better for you. As for the way it tastes, you can't go wrong with either.

For this recipe there are two parts. There's the potato part which ultimately ends up with mashed potatoes. The second part is the candied pecan topping. This is what really makes the dish deliciousness.

I have to give the credit to my Grandma Paul for this one. She makes it every year and I can't celebrate a Thanksgiving or Christmas without it! I'm pretty sure my sisters feel the same! And since it's Thanksgiving I'd like to give my 'Thanks' to my handsome hubby and darling children. Everything else pales in comparison to them.

I ask that you read the entire recipe through before you begin. There are two parts here so you need to make sure you have ALL of the ingredients.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

The yam/sweet potato mixture:
2 lbs yams or sweet potatoes
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

The pecan topping:
8 ounces (1 cup) chopped pecans
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Peel sweet potatoes or yams and cut into 1 inch cubes. Put the sweet potatoes or yams in a stockpot of water until it comes to a boil. When it comes to a boil turn it to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain, mash and let stand for 15 minutes.

Combine yams/potatoes with the brown sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla until smooth. Spread into an 8 X 8 baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar flour and butter. Spread over the top of the yams/potatoes.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Cranberry Pudding Cake

1 c sugar
2 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 c evaporated milk
Pinch of salt
3 TBS melted butter or margarine

Mix & add 2 cups washed cranberries.
Place in 9x13 pan.
Cook @ 350’ until light brown.
Test w toothpick.
Remove from oven and cool.

Sauce:
1 c sugar
½ c evaporated milk
½ c butter
1 tsp vanilla
Place all ingredients in sauce pan, boil. Remove when it starts boiling.

Grandma's Brisket Recipe

Ingredients-
Brisket
Brown Sugar
2 PK Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix
2 Bottles Heinz Chili Sauce
1 onion, sliced

First rub a little brown sugar on the brisket.
Cover the brisket with 1 packet of onion soup mix.
Cover it with one bottle of chili sauce.
Layer on about half of the sliced onion.
Sprinkle the 2nd packet of onion soup mix over top.
Cover it with the 2nd bottle of chili sauce.
Layer on the sliced onions.
(you have 2 layers of the same stuff happening here)

Cook in a crock pot on low for approximately 6 hours. I believe you can also cook it in the oven around 300' for 6 hours, make sure it is covered but I really like making it in the crock pot. It never dries out that way.

Note: The sauce makes for excellent gravy!

Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

I've been on a bit of a squash kick lately... Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque, Stuffed Acorn Squash and Wild Rice, Zucchini Spuma, Parmesan Spaghetti Squash, and the list goes on. I guess that's just what happens as the leaves change colors and the weather starts turning colder.
Well during this spree, I have discovered what may well be my favorite new squash recipe, featuring the Italian squash.... Zucchini!

Now, this is not a dessert, so don't let the words "zucchini" and "cheesecake" in the title gross you out. This is seriously amazing! Ben and I made this recently with some friends, served with Sage Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions and a yummy salad and it was a big hit. I found the recipe on the 101 cookbooks website and, due to lack of ingredients when I decided to make it, improvised a little bit. I am, however, giving you the original recipe.
Bon Appetit!

Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

To shred the zucchini use a box grater - most micro planes are too fine, you want shredded zucchini, not mush. Feel free to play around with the "add-in" ingredients - for example, use whatever chopped herbs you like. I had dill on hand, and I like how it tastes with summer squash, so dill it was. I suspect anything from chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or chives, to spices, chopped spinach, or corn could work here. Also, when I have the time and inclination I'll drain the ricotta through cheesecloth to get even more moisture out of the cake, but to be honest, most times I won't bother. Lastly, I use a springform pan here, but you could use an equivalent baking dish or deep tart pan as well.

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
zest of one lemon
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 325F degrees, racks the middle. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.

In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for sixty minutes. If there is any moisture left on top of the cake at this point, carefully use a bit of paper towel to dab it off. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

At this point, if the cake is baked and set, but the top isn't quite golden, I'll zap it with the broiler (just about a minute) to get a bit more color on top. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

Serves 8.

Benihana's Salad Dressing

Yum, I love Benihana's Ginger salad dressing. So Greg’s been ordering Benihana's when he stays late at work, and I'm obsessed with the salad dressing its so good.
So I went online and found this recipe that claims to be from the restaurant, and well it’s pretty darn good. Let me know what you think.

Benihana’s ginger Salad

3/4 cup Chopped onion
3/4 cup Peanut oil
6 tablespoons Rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons Water
3 tablespoons Fresh chopped ginger root
3 tablespoons Chopped celery
3 tablespoons Soy sauce
4 1/2 teaspoon Tomato paste
4 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
4 teaspoons Lemon juice salt and pepper to taste


Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until very smooth. Makes enough to fill a tupperware squeeze bottle. Refridgerate. Note...I found the 3 Tablespoons of fresh ginger root to be a little hot, so you might try using the chopped ginger in a jar because it is a little milder than the fresh. Also, you can add a little more soy sauce if you would like! It has the best flavor after it has been refrigerated a day or two.

Artichoke Dip (for non-mayonnaisers)

I love artichoke dip, but the only food I hate in this world is mayonnaise (it is nasty but I must admit it can enhance things sometimes). I played with a few until I found the perfect dip with minimal mayo! Its not very scientific, but I've gotten excellent reviews from friends-- and actually it's even better the next day with some crusty bread, YUM!


I found this recipe on the Food Network but tweaked it a bit and included my adjustments first:

First I doubled the recipe. I used a jar of artichoke hearts and quartered them instead of frozen artichokes. Oh, and after I cooked the spinach I spent a while making sure it was COMPLETELY drained because otherwise I think it would make it kind of soupy and gross otherwise (other people in the reviews complained it was soupy and I think that is why). Also I skipped the red pepper flakes, and used fresh crushed garlic instead of the powder. I topped with Parmesan which I really liked to do-- the more cheese the better, right?Oh and then I baked it on 375 somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes, not exactly sure (keep an eye on it, but long enough for cheese to look all delicious).

Ingredients

• 1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach
• 11/2 cups thawed, chopped frozen artichoke hearts (you can chop, but the chunks are the best part!)
  
• 6 ounces good cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I probably used less, and only used it to cut the taste of the sour cream. I actually used low-fat too because I think its less offensive than the full fat stuff)
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan (I probably used like 3/4 c. instead, ha)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omitted)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (fresh crushed sub)
  

Directions

Boil spinach and artichokes in 1 cup of water until tender and drain. Discard liquid. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot.

Chicken Piccata (by the Barefoot Contessa)

In honor of my cute cousins coming to dinner tonight, I am making Chicken Piccata. Ambyr shared this recipe with me and it quickly became a favorite in our home. Enjoy.

Chicken Piccata

4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 extra large eggs
1 1/2 seasoned (or plain) dried breadcrumbs
good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
sliced lemon, for serving (I don't do this...)
chopped fresh parsley, for serving (I do do this;)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound it out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 tablespoon water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread-crumb mixtures.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the parchment paper covered sheet pan while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat more olive oil in the saute pan and cook the second 2 chicken breasts. Place them on the same sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5-10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, white wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves. Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon on the sauce, and serve with sliced lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Cooking/Baking tip

Read through your recipe once or twice before you begin to cook or bake. Sometimes recipes will say something like mix batter, making sure not to over mix. The cook or baker will stop at mix without reading on and then realize they may have over mixed.

A lesson in compromise

The other night, while trying to come up with yet another last minute dinner idea, Ben decided that he wanted waffles for dinner, but I was craving something more along the lines of a caramelized onion quiche. While flipping through my [many] cookbooks for the perfect waffle recipe, we both definitely found what we were looking for, albeit was somewhat unusual.

Husband's review: To review this recipe is like being asked to review what you thought about toilets and indoor plumbing when you were potty training; I was skeptical at first but I eventually came to love the wonder of seeing that water disappear to Neverland, or wherever it goes (just ask Luke, he knows what I'm talking about). I was hungry and I wanted my sweet, buttery, sugar filled waffles, and I wasn't going to hear it any other way. But, due to my kindness (and the fact that Allyson can beat me up), I allowed my wife a savory alternative. However, when she said onions and waffles in the same sentence, and kept a straight face, I thought I was going to bed hungry (Heather, stop laughing, sometimes I DON'T eat everything in sight). This being the case, you could imagine my surprise when she busts out with the most appetizing waffle I've ever seen without whipped cream, sugar or maple syrup af any kind. So, with that in mind, I challenge all of you to slap Aunt Jamima out of the way, cool your Canadian maple loving tendencies, and hold on to your butts as you try these savory grids of goodness. You're gonna like the way it tastes, I guarantee it. But you don't have to take my word for it, because now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Now you have a friend in the waffle business. (4 points if you can name all 4 of the sources of the quotes used)

I guess I should say that to me, cooking is more than a necessity or even a hobby. Cooking is a passion, I'm even tempted to say that to me, cooking is life. I think I scare Ben a little every once in a while, when I suggest something out of the ordinary. So, on top of my passion for cooking, I love cookbooks. Although I'm rather picky about which cookbooks I buy, I have cookbooks for anything and everything, from all over the world. Yes, in fact, I actually read them in my spare time. I'll attribute this recipe to possibly one of my favorite cookbooks, Michael Bauer's "The Secrets of Success Cookbook; Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San Francisco's Best Restaurants"

So without further ado, here's the long awaited recipe for caramelized onion waffles and lemon cream. The perfect combination of savory with a hint of tang and even the slightest kick. Something unexpected, but combines to create a perfect symphony of flavors.

Caramelized Onion Waffles and Lemon Cream
Waffles
3 Tbsp butter
2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c chopped fresh mixed herbs (such as parsley, thyme, chives, tarragon, and chervil) [I used 1 1/2 Tbsp mixed dried herbs - parsley, thyme, and tarragon]
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c milk
2 eggs at room temperature
1/3 c melted butter
Vegetable oil for greasing
**optional, 1/4 pound thinly sliced smoked salmon or gravlax

- Melt the 3 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until golden and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

- In a large bowl, combine the flour, herbs, baking powder, pepper, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the caramelized onions. The batter should be thick and slightly lumpy.

- Heat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions and brush the grill lightly with vegetable oil. Cook the waffles until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Brush the grill with oil between each waffle. Serve, topped with lemon cream.

**Optional: Place a waffle in the center of each plate and drape salmon on the waffles around the edges. Drizzle with lemon cream.

Lemon Cream
1 c sour cream
1/4 c whole milk
Zest of one lemon
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

- Wisk the sour cream, milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl to blend. Refrigerate until ready to use.