24-Hour Countdown Begins

Less than 24 hours to go until party time and I think I am on track. I’ve been roasting beef brisket (Gourmet Beef Brisket recipe previously posted) all day and it smells wonderful.

Since it was going to be hogging up the oven all day, I baked the crescent-dough crust for the Veggies squares and the Pecan-Crusted Tenderloin early this morning at the same time since they used the same oven temperature. I used Panko crumbs with the ground pecans on the pork tenderloin and the texture is better than plain breadcrumbs. These are chilling now so that they’ll be easier to slice thinly later for the Pecan-Crusted Tenderloin Crostini with Balsamic Strawberry Sauce.

I just finished stuffing 3 dozen deviled eggs and the refrigerator is beginning to get crowded.

I cut out little rounds of thin-sliced white bread and found that if I cut out a Mickey-ear pattern from each piece I can get 1/3 more sandwiches and less waste. Great! These are another favorite and there will be more to go around this year. The Roma tomatoes are also sliced and layered on paper towels to drain over night. Final assembly will be tomorrow morning. Next I’m going to work on dips and sauces so that they will be ready to go. Finally, the frozen shrimp are moved to the refrigerator to thaw. Here’s the new recipe I’ll be using. Now, it’s back to work!
Ree Drummond’s Shrimp Cocktail Bar

Alaska-Seattle-Inspired Thank-You Dinner

Tomorrow evening for dinner we are having three couples over for a thank-you dinner. These are former colleagues of Kevin’s and their spouses who gave him a retirement gift of shipboard credit for the cruise we took to Alaska in July. It was a very considerate gift as they know that one of his retirement dreams is to travel. We thought it would be fun to show our appreciation by throwing a dinner party featuring dishes inspired by culinary experiences on our recent travels. We flew to Seattle early in the morning the day before the cruise departure and took a gourmet walking tour of the city and the Pike Place Market. What a marvelous place for foodies!!
We had a tasting at each of the stops and got to sample delicious items at many well-known and loved establishments. Here’s the menu we chose with selected dishes that impressed us most:

We weren’t able to find all of the exact ingredients here locally, but we actually brought some non-perishable items home with us. They made the trip in our luggage up to Alaska and back! Some items we shipped from the market where we found them.

With Kevin as my new Sous-Chef we prepped the appetizer tonight and started the dessert course. We made a trip to the Global Market last night for a variety of mushrooms, fresh herbs, and some other staples. They had a nice assortment of mushrooms that will make a delicious ragout.

You may think “That’s a lot of mushrooms!”. You are correct, and we used every last one of them. I doubled the recipe to serve 8 and it took 12 cups of chopped mushrooms. You know, they do shrink a bit with cooking. While my Sous-Chef chopped them up, I stripped the fresh thyme and chopped the rosemary leaves.

Kevin found a recipe online using pastry shells to serve 4, but I am going to double the recipe and use puff pastry squares to duplicate the presentation on the ship. One rectangle served as a base, a generous spoonful of the simmered mushrooms was spread on it, and it was topped with another rectangle of browned puff pastry. I modified the recipe to use sherry instead of white wine because I think that mushrooms and sherry pair wonderfully. I cooked the filing tonight and will bake the pastry tomorrow close to serving time, reheat the filling, then assemble them just before we sit down to the table. This will be a leisurely dinner with lots of conversation.

Wild Mushroom Sherried Ragout in Puff Pastry

1 pkg. of 8 sheets 5 x 5″ Pastry Dough
6 tablespoons olive oil
12 cups assorted wild mushrooms (Portobello, Shiitake, Oyster, Button)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
4 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup of Sherry (not cooking Sherry, the real stuff)
1/2 cup dark Balsamic vinegar
2 10.5-ounce cans of Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Sauté until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the sherry and vinegar and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in the soup and milk and heat to a boil. If serving immediately, keep mushroom mixture warm and remove the puff pastry from the package, cut each square in half, place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake according to the package directions. To serve, spoon a generous portion of the heated mushroom mixture on the first piece then top with the second rectangle puff. Garnish with a sprig of thyme if desired. I am going to store the mushroom filling in a covered container in the refrigerator tonight and reheat on the stovetop tomorrow just before serving.

For dessert we are having what else? Baked Alaska, of course. On the ship we had sliced portions. I will be serving individual desserts. This recipe is in a Kitchen Aid cookbook and originally featured Coffee-flavored ice cream. We are serving Strawberry and vanilla bean layers molded in a 1/2 cup ramekin instead of a full cup serving. Here’s my modified recipe:

Individual Baked Alaska for 8

2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, softened
2 cups premium strawberry ice cream, softened

Cake
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur

Meringue
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 6-ounce ramekins with plastic wrap. Place 1/4 cup of the softened vanilla ice cream in the bottom of the cup. Top with 1/4 cup of strawberry ice cream. Use an off-set spatula to smooth the top. Place in the freezer while preparing the cake. You do not have to wrap them at this point. For the cake, line a 13 x 9-inch cake pan with waxed paper. Beat the sugar and egg yolks in the medium bowl of a stand mixer on high for about 4 minutes until pale and thick. Scrape out into another bowl and set aside. Clean the bowl. Place egg whites in the mixer bowl and beat until stiff, but not dry peaks form. Sift the flour, cocoa and cornstarch into the yolk mixture. Stir until gently blended. Fold in the whipped egg whites. Carefully spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Be careful not to let the waxed paper fall on the surface of the cake like I did. Fortunately, I noticed before it was entirely baked and it had set just enough that I was able to peel the paper back off of the cake!
Bake the cake for 10 minutes or until it springs back lightly when touched. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut the cake into 3-inch rounds, or the diameter of the ramekins you are using, with a biscuit or cookie cutter. Place the cake rounds on top of the ice cream in ramekins. Brush the rounds with liqueur. Freeze until ready to top with meringue. For the meringue, preheat the oven to 525 degrees F. Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on high until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Remove the ice cream and cake from the ramekins using the plastic wrap to glide them out. Remove and discard the plastic wrap. Place the desserts, cake-side down on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Spread the meringue evenly over the eight individual desserts, working quickly so that the ice cream doesn’t melt. Bake for 2 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Place on dessert plates and serve immediately. I have prepared the ice cream molds up to the point of adding the cake layer. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll mix up the meringue, turn out the desserts and finish the meringue. They will not take long to prepare for serving. I can’t help but think that a pause between courses aids digestion. That’s all for tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll pick it up again and make the Asiago Cream Sauce, Court Bouillon poaching liquid for the salmon, pepita-topped wheat dinner rolls and clam chowder. I am really looking forward to this dinner!

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Surprise!

April was a really busy month for us and I must admit I have not been cooking very much. Our son was home on leave for about 20 days and embarrassingly, I only made a few home-cooked meals for him.
My husband is retiring from teaching at the end of May and I wanted to have a party for him with the family while Adam was home, but it is very difficult to keep anything a secret from him. He wanted everyone to attend a reception at school held before the last musical performance he co-directed and he said that would be enough. They were very supportive and turned out in full force on the night of the show. I mulled it over and came up with a plan to tell him we were having an open house for our son so that the family could come over and visit and share a meal. Everyone was in on the plan. He never suspected and he even helped clean and prepare for the party thinking he was doing it all for our son. On Sunday afternoon guests began arriving and he still did not have a clue. I was outside grilling and my daughter came out and told me to come inside because he still didn’t know what was going on. I pulled a copy of the invitation we’d sent to everyone out of my apron pocket and handed it to him. Then the light bulb went on. He said that he told me he didn’t want me to do anything. I said “I know, this is for you, today is for you”.

I chose recipes that I could make ahead of time. I marinated Chicken Souvlaki Saturday night and put together the make-ahead dishes the day before. I put a salad together Sunday morning and divided the ingredients in half so that I could make a second salad when we ran low. My daughter took care of picking up the cake and bringing it with her when she came. I tried a new dip recipe that I think may be a new favorite. It came out of the Helenic Cuisine Cookbook from the Ladies of St. Nicholas Church, St Louis. This was really, really good with Stacy’s Naked Pita Chips with Sea Salt (Sam’s Club purchase). It was also pretty and appetizing.

Mediterranean Eight-Layer Dip

2 cups hummus
1 1/2 cups olive tapenade
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup cucumber, seeded and chopped
3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
4 tsp. fresh mint, chopped
2 tsp. lemon juice
dash salt and pepper
2 cups shredded fresh spinach
4 ozs. feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sliced green onions (2 onions)
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
Pita bread, cut into wedges, or pita chips

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside. To assemble dip, spread hummus on a 12-inch serving platter, arrange spinach on top of the hummus layer, leaving a 1-inch border of hummus. Spoon tapenade over the spinach, leaving another 1-inch border of spinach. Drain the excess liquid from the tomato mixture; discard liquid. Spoon tomato mixture over the tapenade layer, leaving a 1-inch border of tapenade Sprinkle the feta cheese over the tomato mixture. Top with the green onion and olives. The dip may be made up to an hour before serving, then covered and chilled until you are ready to dig in.

I’ve posted the Souvlaki recipe before and you can find it in the archives. I did try a new salad that was delicious.

Greek Islands Spinach Salad

1 lb. raw baby spinach
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 medium tomato, cut into 6-8 wedges
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 of a medium cucumber, cut in half lengthwise then thinly sliced (remove seeds if desired)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
12 pitted Kalamata olives

Salad Dressing
6 tbsp, olive oil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Clean the spinach well and discard any brown or damaged leaves. Place in a large salad bowl. Add the eggs, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, feta cheese and olives. Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well until the dressing is emulsified. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well and serve immediately.

I made a favorite pasta salad that has been posted a few years ago, but here it is again.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

1 lb. shaped pasta, such as spirals, wagon wheels, or novelty shapes
8 ozs. Feta cheese crumbles
1 4-oz. Can sliced black olives
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 green pepper, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cucumber, seeded, cut in half, then sliced in crescent shapes
1 14-oz. Can Artichokes hearts, quartered
2- ozs. Hard salami, sliced in thin strips
1/2 small red onion, cut in half and sliced thinly
10-15 Kalamata olives, pitted

Dressing
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar, St. Julian, if you can get it
3 cloves minced garlic (the bottled kind works just fine)
3/4 teaspoon oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt

Pour the olive oil and red wine vinegar into a two-cup measuring cup, add the remaining dressing ingredients and whisk until the mixture emulsifies. Set aside. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Don’t over cook or the noodles will fall apart and turn to mush. Put the drained pasta in a large serving bowl and sprinkle with a teaspoon or two of red wine vinegar to keep the noodles from sticking to each other and tearing when you mix all the ingredients together. Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently to coat with the dressing. Refrigerate until serving. Chilled olive oil solidifies, so the texture is better if the salad is at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving. This salad also seems to improve in the refrigerator for a couple of days, if it lasts that long.

I wanted a hot side dish and found this dish in the St. Nicholas Adventures in Cooking cookbook.

Cretan Style Green Beans

3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. fresh green beans, washed and tips removed ( 1 used canned)
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 cup water

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and cook until golden. Add the remaining ingredients. The juices should just cover the beans in the pan. Cover and cook over low heat about 45 minutes if using the fresh beans. Reduce the time if using canned beans just until the vegetables are heated through. Serve immediately. I put the heated beans in a crockpot on low heat to keep warm while serving.

We were able to pull off a surprise after all and the rain held off so we were even able to go outdoors and dine on the patio!

Ringing in the New Year

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with good friends to ring in 2016. The theme was a “Kicked-up Retro New Year’s Eve”. Here’s the menu card I typed up to place on each dinner plate.

We started with a cocktail after everyone arrived. My daughter recently attended a cooking class and brought me copies of the recipes to try. She highly recommended this drink made with a ginger liqueur called The Big O . It’s available locally at Friar Tuck’s. Of course, the name piqued my interest. Here’s some background on this O-riginal spirit:

The Big O Liqueur

The cocktail is an homage to the author, Ernest Hemingway, who loved a good drink. A famous quote attributed to him is “I drink to make other people more interesting”.

Hemingway’s Birthday

Brut Champagne
Bourbon (we used Woodford Reserve)
Big O Ginger Liqueuer

Fill a tall champagne flute with champagne. Add a splash of bourbon and Big O Liqueuer. Serve immediately. Makes 1 serving.

With drinks in hand we moved to the dining room. For this special dinner we got out the vintage 1950’s Royal Jackson Margaret Rose china that was Kevin’s parents’ wedding china. The factory burned down years ago, but he’s been able to find serving pieces and additional place settings on eBay.

I’d assembled the appetizers earlier in the day and had poured on the bourbon and popped the half batch of stuffed mushrooms in the oven about 30 minutes before everyone was to arrive. A new Ikea store opened in St. Louis in September and when we went to check it out in November, I picked up some of their famous frozen Swedish meatballs and some packets of their gravy, Graddsas. That fit this menu perfectly. The meatballs only took a few minutes to heat in the microwave and I had the gravy sitting on the stove on the warmer burner, ready to go. The last of the trio of appetizers was a take on Bubba Hiers’ Crab Martini. I bought Uncle Bubba’s Savanna Seafood cookbook several years ago and had always wanted to make this fun appetizer because we found some miniature martini glasses on one of our weekend trips and they would be perfect for a small serving. Crabmeat is at a premium these days, so I cut it down to 1 lb. of lump crabmeat (Sam’s club carries it) and added about half of the mayonnaise, just to moisten the ingredients.

Maker’s Mark Stuffed Mushrooms

12 whole medium size baby Portobello mushrooms
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Maker’s Mark Bourbon
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a medium-size bowl in the microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds. Remove and chop the mushroom stems and add the to the bowl with the melted butter. Add the onions, garlic and parsley and mix well. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the top of this mixture, then add bread crumbs, sour cream, salt and pepper and stir until well blended. Arrange the mushroom caps, hollow side up, in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle a small amount of bourbon in each cap then fill each generously with the stuffing. Sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese. Add just enough Maker’s Mark to cover the bottom of the dish and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Uncle Bubba’s Crab Martini

12-15 fresh asparagus spears
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2-3 small tomatoes, diced
juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 lb. lump crabmeat, picked clean of shells
1 lb. claw crabmeat, picked clean of shells
lemon pepper and seasoned salt to taste
lemon wedges
Old Bay Seasoning, for garnish
Pimento stuffed olives, for garnish

This recipe makes 4 to 6 large martini glass portions or at least 8 smaller portions. Blanch the asparagus by placing the spears in boiling salted water for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove immediately to an ice water bath to halt cooking and preserve the fresh green color. Drain the asparagus and pat dry with paper towels. Trim the tough bottoms from the asparagus and discard. Trim the top 2 inches off and reserve for garnish. Finely chop the remaining asparagus. Combine the chopped asparagus with the mayonnaise, mustard, tomatoes, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Gently fold the crabmeat into the asparagus mixture and season to taste with the lemon pepper and seasoned salt. Place a tablespoon or two of the Old Bay Seasoning in a shallow dish. Run a lemon wedge around the rim of a martini glass and dip the rim into the Old Bay. Repeat with the remaining martini glasses. Divide the crab mixture evenly among the glasses.
I used a cocktail pick to spear a lemon wedge, sideways asparagus spear and an olive then laid it across the top of the crab mixture. I plan to have the remainder of the crab tomorrow evening when some friends who could not make it New Year’s Eve because they were out of town are coming over to help us eat the leftovers. I’ll try to remember to take a snapshot to post then. It’s visually appealing and equally tasty.

For the soup I made a recipe from the Pensacola Junior Service League’s cookbook, Some Like it South!

Tomato Bisque

2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes (may use 2 lbs. fresh tomatoes if you like)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp. butter
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsps. finely chopped fresh basil, or 1 tsp. dried basil
2 whole cloves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
chopped fresh chives or whole Italian parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

Sauté the onion in butter and add tomatoes (fresh or canned), bay leaf, sugar, basil, cloves, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are thoroughly cooked, about 25 minutes for fresh, less for canned. Remove bay leaf and cloves and transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree and strain (I skip the straining part because I like the fuller texture). Alternately, use an immersion blender to carefully puree the hot mixture until smooth. Add the cream and milk and heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with chopped chives or float a single large parsley leaf on top of the soup. Serve immediately. Makes about 6 servings.

For the salad we had a chopped iceberg and romaine mix topped with heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced hard-boiled eggs, cucumber slices and the homemade croutons. The dressings I made last night were served in a tri-bowl serving dish that we passed at the table. It was easy to sample one or all of the dressings.

The main course had been baking in the oven while we had the appetizer, soup and salad. I prepared the tomato relish earlier in the afternoon and we reheated it in the microwave just before plating the meatloaf. The tomato relish is awesome and really made the dish. I’ve never been a big meatloaf fan, but I definitely would make this again. It was moist and flavorful and very colorful. I could not believe that the grocery store was out of ground pork when we went shopping, but not to be deterred, I used my new meat grinder attachment and ground my own from a nice piece of pork butt. It yielded about two pounds and I only needed one so I made a pound of seasoned pork sausage using a spice blend I picked up at the Dutch Market on our trip in November in anticipation of receiving the grinder in the mail any day.

Tyler Florence’s Dad’s Ultimate Meatloaf

I have the Morton’s Steakhouse cookbook and knew that their Macaroni and Cheese would be the perfect side for the meatloaf. The cavatappi noodles are a elbow macaroni on steroids and add some whimsy to the usual standard pasta used for mac and cheese. The blend of cheeses is delectable and the bread crumbs result in a crunchy topping.
Morton’s Macaroni and Cheese
We needed a vibrant green period-authentic vegetable, so we went with creamed spinach. Here’s Robert Irvine’s recipe which was easy and very flavorful. Rather than steam the spinach, we pan sautéed it in batches, then pressed the excess liquid out in a colander before proceeding with the recipe. We actually refrigerated it in the covered serving bowl until I prepared the sauce then added it back in to reheat. This worked really well and saved some time as we prepared the courses at dinner time. I did not get a picture of the final plating but can recreate it tomorrow night when we do a repeat of this dinner.
Robert Irvine’s Creamed Spinach
I was disappointed with my rolls because I have a habit of preheating the oven to 170 degrees then turning it off then placing the shaped rolls in muffin tins in the oven to rise. I forgot to turn the oven off this time and the rolls dried out and deflated a bit, taking on a bit of a pruney appearance. They tasted just fine, but the texture and look was not up to my usual standard. I apologized but our guests had no concern for appearances and ate them all without hesitation. The bread basket was completely empty at the end of the meal. So much for appearances!

After dinner we paused a bit for conversation and after-dinner liqueurs then had some of the fabulous Junior’s cheesecake topped with some lightly sweetened sliced strawberries. I came out very pretty, even if I say so myself.

The Day After the Party – What’s for Breakfast?

The party has come and gone. It seems like the week flew by like a double-arrow fast forward on the remote control. We had a great crowd and opened the holiday season with friends, family and co-workers. Everyone seemed to have a good time and old friends mingled with the new. We put away the few leftovers that remained, did a little cleaning up and got to bed about midnight and did not set the alarm planning to wake up whenever we woke up. By 7:00 a.m. we are both awake. As hard as I tried to go back to sleep I just couldn’t. We were watching cooking shows and thought about just walking away from the cleanup and going out for breakfast, but then Kevin suggested bacon waffles with ham, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. That sounded great to me. I really like waffles, but just don’t make them very often. Here’s the recipe we used. It serves eight, so I cut the recipe in half. The half recipe made enough batter for our 4-waffle iron. One of our friends has chickens and very thoughtfully brought me a holiday basket of fresh eggs last night. You’ll see them sitting by the stove and we used them for our breakfast. Thanks Cindy!

Bacon Waffles

I always have a package or two of Knorr Hollandaise Sauce mix in the pantry because it’s inexpensive, quick and easy. I mixed and heated it up while the eggs poached. We had some Sweet Glazed Ham leftover from the party so we layered it on top of the waffles, added the 3-minute poached eggs and topped it off with the Hollandaise. Between sweet and savory waffles, I will choose the savory option every time. This was very good!

Now that the third load of dishes is running in the dishwasher, I wanted to try to add some of the recipes that I didn’t post due to lack of time the past couple of days. I did a new baked brie this year. I was in the checkout lane at the grocery store and there was a display of fig jam at the end of the conveyor belt. The lady behind me started up a conversation and said she’d tried it and that it was very good. I’m really not a fig fan, but I picked up a jar on her recommendation. I browsed through some cookbooks and in Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible I found the perfect recipe to use the jam. Paula’s recipe only used a single sheet of puff pastry, but my 2-lb. Brie round was very flat so I used both sheets. With the excess I cut holly leaves out of the corners and rolled some berry-shaped rounds to decorate the top. The instructions are as I prepared it.

Baked Brie with Fig Jam

All-purpose flour for dusting
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
1 wheel (2 to 2 1/4 lbs.) Brie
1 15.9-ounce jar Fig fruit spread
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 large egg, slightly beaten
crackers or crusty bread, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet. Open the puff pastry and place the first sheet on the parchment paper and open it out flat. press any cracks to seal the dough. Unwrap the Brie and place it in the center of the pastry dough. Gently spread the fig jam over the top of the Brie, all the way to the edges. Use enough to coat the entire surface in a thick even layer, at least a 1/2 cup or more. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts evenly over the jam. Open the second sheet of puff pastry out and gently lay it on top of the walnut and jam topping. If you have small decorative cookie cutters, cut out shapes from the corners of the bottom sheet of pastry. You can also make free form shapes with the excess dough to decorate the top. Put these aside and gently press and seal the pastry top and bottom together, completely sealing the cheese in the dough. If you leave any openings or cracks, you may have the melted cheese leave the building and make a huge mess. Brush the pastry on all exposed sides with the beaten egg. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Carefully transfer the cheese to a heat-proof rimmed serving platter and serve immediately while it’s warm with crackers or crusty bread. Since this Brie was about 10 inches across, it was a little bit of a challenge to transfer it without breaking it open. I ended up using two large pancake turners to very gingerly lift and move it onto the serving dish. My only regret is that I did not take a picture of it before it was gone! would definitely make this again. I would consider using smaller Bries to serve smaller groups and also would probably substitute crescent dough for the puff pastry. I’ll check for other recipes that were new this year an post them over the next couple of days. I’ll close for now because it’s time to unload the dishwasher and fill it back up again. We’ve been using luncheon plates from the 1950’s for years. I can fit about 30 plates in at a time. At this rate, I have about two more loads until all of the plates are clean again. Thank God for dishwashers!

Holiday Haze

Well, the end of the week went by in a whirl. Thursday my niece, Chelsea, and my daughter, Amanda, came over and we worked on things that could be made closer to the party. One of Chelsea’s favorite buffet items has been Cream Cheese Penguins. This year she and Amanda put them together.

Cream Cheese Penguins

18 jumbo olives from a 15 3/4 oz. can
18 small ripe olives
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 carrot, at least 6 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, cut in 1/4″ slices
18 frilled toothpicks

Carefully cut a slit in each jumbo olive from top to bottom on one side only.
Insert about 1 teaspoon cream cheese into the olive to fill cavity. Cut small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Press cutout carrot notch piece into center of small olive to form beak. If necessary, pierce small olive with small paring knife or toothpick to make a hole. Using a frilled toothpicks stack small olive (head), stuffed jumbo olive (head), and carrot slice (foot), adjusting so that beak, cream cheese breast and notch in carrot slice line up. The penguin will stand better if slices are stacked with the larger holes facing downward. These are too cute !

We also made Tortellini Skewers, Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped with Prosciutto and Spiritos Salami Bites (previously posted), lots of them. The cousins cleaned all of the vegetables for the veggie tray and cut crustless rounds out of two loaves of thin sandwich bread for mini tomato sandwiches. They also assembled the Chocolate Cannoli sandwich cookies, which were a new recipe this year. This one comes from Ted Allen. We broke a couple of them by accident (maybe) and had to taste them! Mine were thinner than the photos of the recipes, but they tasted wonderful!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-cannoli-sandwich-cookies-recipe.html

Later that evening I made the Hidden Valley Ranch Dip and made Corn Pancakes for Salmon and Corn Pancakes. I also sliced Roma Tomatoes and put them on half sheet pans on paper towels to drain the juices overnight. I turned in to rest up for party day.

Patio Party Appetizers and Salad

While our guests were arriving for the End of Summer Party we wanted to have some finger food appetizers for them to nibble on with their Martini Bar cocktails. We chose Hummus and Pita Chips, Tomato-Basil Bruschetta and Crudités with flavored Cream Cheese. The hummus recipe came right off of the can of garbanzo beans. I couldn’t find a large bag of pita chips, so I decided to make may own. You could also just buy pita chips, but we found the home made version to be a lot tastier and really not all that much effort for the results.

Home Made Pita Chips

1 pkg. Original Pita Bread (usually 5 whole or 10 half pitas)
Olive oil for brushing

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully pull the layers of the pita pockets apart. Brush each half with olive oil. Using a kitchen scissors, cut the pita bread into wedges – small or large as you desire. Try to make them about the same size so that they will brown evenly. Place the pita on large rimmed sheet pans – you may need 2 to 3 pans. Place in the oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely then store in a sealed container. They may keep up to a week if you don’t eat them all.

Hummus
1 29-ounce can chick peas (Garbanzo beans)
2/3 cup Tahini paste
juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons paprika (optional)
salt to taste
6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional garnish)
Pita chips

Drain the can of chick peas and place in a food processor. Add all ingredients except for the garnish. Process on high speed for 30 seconds. If too thick, add small amount of warm water,about a tablespoon at a time, until you reach a smooth consistency. Place the hummus on a serving dish and garnish with paprika, olive oil and/or parsley. Serve with pita chips. Refrigerate any unused portion.

Tomato-Basil Bruschetta

6 to 8 ripe Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh basil, cut in small chiffonade
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Dark Balsamic vinegar to taste
1 loaf Italian or French Bread (I like to use Jimmy John’s day-old bread)
olive oil for brushing the bread

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the bread about 3/8″ thick, on the diagonal if you want more surface area. Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and place on rimmed baking sheets. Bake about 8 minutes, flip the slices over and bake about 4 to 5 more minutes to toast the bread. Cool completely and store in airtight container or Ziplock bags if not serving immediately. Next make the bruschetta. Chop the tomatoes in small equal dice and place in a medium bowl. Add the 1/4 cup of olive oil and the basil,
then season with salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar to your taste. Let the tomato mixture stand at room temperature until ready to serve. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until about an hour before serving. When ready to serve, place some of the tomato mixture in a bowl, center it on a serving platter and surround with the toasts. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Here’s a link to Martha Stewart’s Recipe for Simple Piped Crudites with Piped Cream cheese.
Martha Stewart’s Piped Crudites with Flavored Cream Cheeses

I made the Dill Cream Cheese, Beet Cream Cheese and the Carrot-Cardamom Cream Cheese. The favorite of the group seemed to be the dill flavored cream cheese. We went to the Goshen Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and picked up some nice fresh vegetables. We found an Armenian cucumber that resembled a strange snake with watermelon skin. The striped skin lends itself well to make a colorful appetizer. There were also some “chocolate” cherry tomatoes and purple peppers. The variety of unusual colors made an appealing appetizer platter.

To do some of the preparations ahead of time we put salads in mason jars the night before and chilled them in the refrigerator until just before serving time. Everyone enjoyed a personal salad. The trick to keeping these fresh was putting the dressing in the bottom of the jar, layering the vegetables in the dressing, adding the lettuce layer next, then finally topping with Feta cheese before sealing the lids.

Greek Salads in Mason Jars
Serves 4 to 6

1 lb. Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, or other small tomatoes
2 to 3 Kalamata olives per person
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion, sliced very thin
1 green pepper, chopped in small pieces (optional)
1/2 cup Feta cheese, or more to your taste

Oregano Red Wine Vinaigrette

6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place 4 to mason jars with lids and rings removed in a cake pan. Ladle enough salad dressing in each jar to cover the bottom. Add the tomatoes, olives, cucumber, red onion and green pepper on top of the dressing. Add lettuce to fill up to about 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Sprinkle each salad with Feta cheese. Place lids and rings on each jar and seal tightly. Store in refrigerator until just before serving. Guests can eat the salads out of the jars, or provide small salad plates (small paper plates if you like) for guests to shake their salads then dump them on the plate. These are a lot of fun and you can really adapt many different layered salad recipes to use in the mason jars. These also travel very well for events away from home.

Greek Appetizer

Dinner is at 5:00 p.m. tonight so I’ve been working on the first courses this morning. First up was Spanokopita, or spinach pie. This requires filo dough which can be made from scratch, but I prefer to buy the ready-made variety. It save a WHOLE lot of time. Even at that, it took me about an hour to make the filling and assemble this dish, but it is well worth the time.

Spanokopita

3 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup large curd cottage cheese
salt and white pepper to taste
6 eggs
3 sticks butter, melted
1/2 lb. filo dough (or more, if preferred)

Place a colander in the sink, line with a flat weave kitchen towel (like a tea towel) and place the spinach in the towel. Pull the ends of the towel together and twist the bundle until you have squeezed as much liquid out of it as possible. Transfer the spinach to a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a small non-stick frying pan, melt the butter and sauté the green onions until softened. Add the sautéed green onion, the feta and cottage cheeses and the salt and pepper and mix well. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Fold the beaten eggs into the spinach mixture. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. One at a time, brushing each one with melted butter, layer the sheets. Use about 10 sheets altogether. Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the pastry sheets without mashing it down. Top with about 10 more individually -buttered filo sheets, making sure to thoroughly butter the top sheet. Refrigerate the pan for about two hours (or more). This solidifies the butter and makes it easier to cut. Remove from the refrigerator after chilling then score into squares with the tip of a very sharp knife, but take care not to cut all the way through to the bottom. Bake the pita in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about an hour or until a light golden brown. After baking, place on a wire rack to cool and finish cutting through the scored sections before serving. Do not cover the pita while it is cooling or it will get soggy. The goal is to have flaky, crispy layers sandwiching the spinach filling Here are the assembly photos. You’ll have to wait to see the finished product after it’s baked this afternoon!

A Taste from the Hill – Italian Dinner

Tonight we had a special dinner for my sister and her husband, who recently celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. They and their two children and my niece’s fiancee were our guests. We had talked about several themes for dinner and they chose an Italian Dinner, a taste of The Hill. We are fortunate to have The Hill neighborhood nearby in St. Louis where there are several grocery stores and bakeries that carry imported and domestic Italian foods. Yesterday we made a trip to The Hill and picked up the items we’d need to prepare the dinner. We went to DiGregorio’s to get the meat. There you take a number and the counter staff fills your order. There wasn’t a very long line and I didn’t get much time to peruse the cases before our number was called. I asked first for 1/2 pound of ground pork. The man helping me went around the L-shaped counter and disappeared. Several minutes went by and it seemed like it was taking a long time. I kept browsing the cases and when I went around the side cases, he was grinding the pork to order. It doesn’t get much fresher than that! Here’s tonight’s menu:

Bellini Cocktail
Antipasto Platter
Italian Wedding Soup
Caesar Salad
Sicilian Meat Roll
Baked Gnocchi
Sicilian Carrots
Easy-to-Do Tiramisu
Peach Panna Cotta

Moscato, Coffee, and Ice Tea

The cocktail recipe was taken from one of the Frugal Gourmet’s cookbooks. He was one of the early public television TV Chefs. In fact, I think I have all of his cookbooks. The cookbook is the Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian. I also used his recipe for Italian Wedding Soup. The cocktail recipe is for a single serving.

Bellini Cocktail

2 ounces peach nectar – I used Kern’s
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 ounce peach schnapps or peach liqueur
3 ounces Prosecco, dry Champagne, or Asti Spumante, chilled

In a tall fluted Champagne glass, add the peach nectar, lemon juice and peach schnaps/liqueur. Top off with the bubbly. Enjoy!

The Antipasto platter was made of purchased meats and cheeses. We picked up Volpi Genova Salami, mild cappacola, Asiago Cheese, marinated artichokes, marinated olives, hard-boiled eggs and marinated boconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls).

After the appetizers, we sat at the dining room table which we’d set with Royal Jackson China.

The soup was the next course. I used the Frugal Gourmet’s recipe, but I make the meatballs smaller, teaspoon-size instead of tablespoon-size and I add Acini Di Pepe pasta.

Italian Wedding Soup</strong>

For the meatballs:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and white pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1-pound head of escarole, washed and coarsely chopped
12 cups Chicken Stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Acini di Pepe pasta
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Mix the milk and bread crumbs together in a small bowl and allow to soak for 5 minutes. Combine the remaining ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl along with the soaked bread crumbs. Mix together thoroughly with your hands. Line a cookie sheet or cake pan with a piece of parchment paper. Using a small scoop, form teaspoon-size meatballs, rolling with your hands to round the shape. Refrigerate the meatballs while making the soup. Heat a 4- to 6-quart stock pot and add the tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced garlic. Sauté quickly, only about 30 seconds, so as not to burn the garlic. Add the escarole and sauté for 5 minutes, or until it wilts, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let it burn. Add the chicken stock and simmer gently, covered for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the Acini di Pepe pasta and bring to a boil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer. When barely bubbling, carefully drop the meatballs into the soup, but do not stir After about a minutes, when the meatballs have firmed up, carefully stir the meatballs. Poach for 6 to 7 minutes but do not bring back to a full boil to avoid breaking the meatballs. Serve in shallow bowls with Parmesan cheese as garnish.

Salad followed the soup. the Caesar salad is actually a Mexican recipe, not Italian, but it is frequently served with Italian food.

Caesar Salad

1 tsp. minced garlic
1 stick of celery, cut in chunks
1/2 of a medium onion, cut in chunks
1 2-ounce can flat anchovies, with their oil
3 whole eggs
several turns of fresh black pepper, about 1 teaspoon
2 cups canola oil
1 tablespoon Accent
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
croutons
additional Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on salads

This recipe uses raw eggs and should the dressing should not be consumed by pregnant women or others who might be at risk eating uncooked eggs.
The recipes makes 3 to 4 cups of dressing and should be refrigerated promptly. Any portion not used within 24 to 48 hours should be discarded.
In a blender, add garlic, celery, onion, anchovies, pepper, Accent, sugar, mustard and lemon juice. Pulse until the mixture is blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and blend. Remove the center of the blender lid and slowly pour the canola oil into the mixture. Add the Parmesan cheese and blend for another 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer the dressing to a sealed container. Place the lettuce in a serving bowl and pour dressing on to desired consistency. Add croutons at the last minutes to keep them from getting soggy. I tossed the salad tonight then put it on individual chilled salad plates.

The main course took some time to assemble. The recipe came from a cookbook published by the parish I attended as a child in St. Louis. Some Sicilian Meat Roll recipes use cuts of steak, but this one is a little easier and uses hamburger. I made two rolls because I wasn’t sure one would be enough. The recipe is for a single roll.

Sicilian Meat Roll

1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
3 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 slices cooked ham, thinly sliced
2 cups (8-ounces) shredded Mozzarella cheese

Mix the ground beef with the above ingredients except for the ham and cheese and knead until well blended. Spray a half-sheet pan or jelly roll pan lightly with non-stick spray. I took a sheet of parchment paper and drew a 10 x 16 inch rectangle on it so that I could get the correct size and thickness for the roll. Pat the mixture onto the parchment paper, making it as even as possible. Arrange the ham slices on top of the meat, overlapping the pieces and leaving a border about an inch wide on all sides. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the ham. Roll the meat like a jelly roll, lifting the parchment to help in the process. Roll the meat onto the prepared baking pan, seam side down, tucking in the ends to keep the cheese from leaking out as it melts during baking. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. allow the meat load to set for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into 1/2 to 1 1/2-inch slices.

I used Rachel Ray’s recipe for Sicilian carrots, but doubled it. Here is her single-batch recipe. There were exceptionally good!

Sicilian Carrots</strong>

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal about 1-inch thick
3 oil-packed anchovies, mashed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven at 425 degrees F. Place the carrots on a large baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt, until evenly coated. Roast in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Toss with the anchovy sauce and parsley and serve immediately.

Giada diLaurentis has the recipe for Baked Gnocchi in her Everyday Pasta cookbook:

<strong>Baked Gnocchi</strong>

2 17-ounce packages potato gnocchi
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 ounces baby spinach
3 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the gnocchi in a 9 x 13-inch pan lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, chicken broth, and flour over medium heat. Continue whisking until the sauce is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and stir to combine. Add the spinach and toss to coat in the cream. Pour the cream and spinach mixture evenly over the gnocchi and gently spread the spinach out to cover. Crumble the goat cheese over the spinach. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden in places, about 30 minutes.

We had a trio of desserts. We were at Vitale’s Bakery yesterday and picked out some Italian cookies. I did not have time to bake several different varieties, so we picked some up. I did make Paula Deen’s Peach Panna Cotta and Easy-to-Do Tiramisu from the Better Homes and Garden’s Specialty Magazine. This made a pretty plate and a sweet finish to a good meal.

Easy-to-Do Tiramisu

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup hot strong coffee
2 tablespoons Amaretto
2 tablespoons Hazelnut Liqueur (Frangelico)
2 8-ounce cartons mascarpone cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3 3-ounce packaged ladyfingers
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
fresh raspberries
chocolate-covered espresso beans, for garnish

For the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup sugar and the water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in coffee, amaretto and hazelnut liqueur.
For the filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the mascarpone cheese, the 1/3 cup sugar and the vanilla. In a chilled mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. fold 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. To assemble: Arrange half of the ladyfingers in a 9 x 9-inch square baking dish. Brush with half of the syrup. Spread with half of the filling. Arrange the remaining ladyfingers on to of layers in the pan. Brush with the remaining syrup. Spread with the remaining filling. Sprinkle with the cocoa powder. I keep some in a metal shaker for dusting. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours before serving. Garnish each serving with the raspberries and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Makes about 16 servings. This is very rich so consider serving in small squares.

Paula Deen’s Peach Panna Cotta

Hawaiian-Themed Trivia Night

Tonight we are going to a Trivia Night with friends. We reserved a table for eight and there is a contest for best-decorated table. We chose a Hawaiian theme and a quick internet search helped me to put together a menu of food to go with it. We’re bringing Spam Sushi Rolls, King’s Hawaiian Roll Sandwiches, Fruit Skewers and Coconut Cupcakes. Some people hate Spam or think it’s a food you only eat out of economic necessity for a good source of protein. I don’t consider it to be much different than eating hot dogs. Hawaiians have a love of Spam that originated around the time of World War II. For anyone who’s afraid of sushi because of the raw factor, this might be a good introduction to non-raw sushi rolls. It may look difficult to make a sushi roll, but with a little patience, you can put one together relatively easily. The secret to the rice is to make sure it’s cold and to sprinkle it with rice wine vinegar right after it’s cooked to keep the grains separated. Here are the links to the recipes and some photos of the finished products.

Spam Sushi Maki Rolls

King’s Hawaiian Roll Baked Sandwiches

Ina Garten’s Coconut Cupcakes

Fruit Skewers
Assorted Fruit, cut in cubes. I used cantaloupe, honeydew melon, Crimson seedless Grapes and fresh pineapple chunks Cut the fruit in similar-sized cubes, and wash the grapes. Using 4-inch wooden skewers, place one piece of each fruit on each stick to make as many skewers as you desire. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

We go to the trivia games for fun and occasionally we win. Tonight we know we’ll at least have some good food to enjoy while we play.

Wish us luck!