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  • Apple Cake – Cupcakes with Toasted Almonds

    Apple Cake – Cupcakes with Toasted Almonds

    At one of my cooking classes with Chef Tim McGrath at “Let’s get cooking” in Westlake, we made this cake. It was wonderful, and so I made it into cupcakes for my office.

    Roast Apples
    8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered
    Juice of 1 lemon
    2/3 cup sugar
    3 T Butter

    The Cake
    1/4 cup slivered almonds (toast in oven for 5 minutes at 375)
    1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
    2 tsp ground cinnamon
    2 tsp cardamom
    1 tsp baking soda
    pinch of salt
    1/2 cup butter at room temperature
    1 cup sugar
    3 large eggs
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
    1/4 cup sparkling cider

    For large cake- decorate the bottom of a springform 9 or 10 inch pan. Sprinkle bottom with almonds and 1/2 of the apple mixture, the rest go into the cake mix. Make it pretty, this side will show when you turn it over on the plate. For cupcakes, mix in the apples and sprinkle the almonds on top of the cupcakes. Makes for a pretty presentation. Bake at 375 for 70-80 minutes unitl nicely golden brown.
    Cupcakes take about 15-20 minutes.Serve with Bailey’s whipped cream – 1 cup of chilled heavy whipping cream and 4 tablespoons of bailey’s irish cream. Serve with Cake.

    Almonds on the top for Cupcakes and bake them golden brown.

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    Roast the apples: Preheat oven to 375. Butter large casserole dish. Cut the apple quarters into 2-3 wedges each and place in prepared dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar and dot with butter.
    Bake turning frequently until apples are tneder when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, drain the juices, and set aside the apples to cool. Keep the oven on, ready for the cake.
    (If you are going to make cupcakes, you can dice the apples smaller.)

  • 14 Carrot Braised Pork Shoulder with Apple Gravy and Pulled BBQ Pork

    14 Carrot Braised Pork Shoulder with Apple Gravy and Pulled BBQ Pork

    Two Amazing Dinners with minimal effort.

    2 Pork Shoulders, the package from Costco is perfect.

    Pork Roast Apples, Onions and Carrots

    2 Onions sliced

    1 Celery Stock

    14 Carrots

     Potatoes cut in quarters (Optional)

     Turnips (Optional)

     1 cup Apple Juice

     1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

     4 cups of water

     Rinse the meat and fit in a large braising pan. Add the vegetables along the sides.  Add the liquids.  Put the top on your pan. Bake in the oven for 6 hours at 350 degrees. I put this in the oven before leaving for work and have my hubby shut off the oven during his lunch.  Careful, he may just have an early snack!  You want to keep liquid in the pot for proper braising.  Yes, you can do this in a crockpot, but I like the flavor better from the oven. Who would have thunk it.

    Braised Pork Shoulder

    When you remove from the oven, set aside the meat under a piece of foil to keep warm.  In a frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil and add 1/4 cup of flour and brown the flour.  Ladle the braising liquid over the golden brown flour, add salt and pepper to taste.  You may want to strain the gavy f you want it to look polished. Otherwise, if you are okay with the rustic coutry look, go with it.  Plate by floating the gravy on the dish, add a sliced piece of pork, alongside add the potatoes, carrots and carmelized onions.

     If you are a mashed pototoes kinda person, you can go with that as well. 

     So very yummy.

     With the remaining pork roast or left overs, pull the pork with a fork and it will shred apart.  Add your favorite BBQ sauce, go easy. No too much, just enough to flavor the meat.

    Pulled Pork Anyone?

    Serve with Coleslaw and toasted buns.  Excellent.

  • Garlic Confit

    Garlic Confit

    One of the items in my pantry I cannot live without.  If you want to put good food on the table, you must get a kick start by making a few items and having them on hand. 

    Garlic Confit is used to make garlic bread, as a spread on a roast beef sandwich, and this makes everyone think you have been cooking for hours!  I will always have this in my pantry. I love it. The taste is roasted garlic. Sweet.

    Doing it the hard way. Peel the garlic yourself. I used to do this until
    I found the large peeled fresh garlic at Costco.

    Garlic – like it!But from time to time, I do have heads ofgarlic that need to be used. So, peel garlic easily like little onions and other fruits like peaches. For garlic and onions, cut off the root end, then drop into boiling water. Leave for 1 minute, purge into ice coldwater. When cool pop them from their wraps.         Place the peeled cloves in a pan, cover with olive oil. Low simmer until they aretender. This simmer is so low, you should barely see little air bubbles rising to the surface. They should stay white. When you put the garlic in the jar, oil needs to cover the garlic to keep it preserved.Place in a jar and keep in refrigerator. I am going to try to process them in a water bath for longer term storage.Yes, this is make a lot, but I usually give a couple of jars away. My friends love me!

    Use the garlic oil for sauted spinach or salad dressing or ,
    garlic bread, anything you want garlic for.
    I used them also as condiment for sandwiches. Just spread onto
    your bread then add your mayo. Excellent.

    Another great use, you can add them into the center of your meatballs or a thick steak you bbq. Remember, it has been cooked, so the flavor is sweet.

    FYI: 1 T is about 3 cloves of garlic.

    Yes, this is make a lot, but I usually give a couple of jars away. My friends love me!
  • Coffee Cake – Coconut Blueberry or Blueberry Raspberry or Walnut Coconut

    Coffee Cake – Coconut Blueberry or Blueberry Raspberry or Walnut Coconut

    Want some?
    Combine
    2 cups AP flour
    1 tsp baking powder
    1 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp salt
    In mixer, add
    1/2 cup crisco or soft butter
    1 1/2 cups sugar
    2 eggs
    1 cup sour cream or yogurt
    1 tsp vanilla
    1 tsp almond extract

    Top with
    1/2 cup blueberries and 1/4 cup coconut
    or 1/4 cup blueberries and 1/4 cup raspberries
    or 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and coconut
    or apricots or peaches…. You get the idea.

    Spray Pam in two 9 inch square or round baking dishes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
    Divide and spread the batter between the two pans. Top with fruit.

    After baking, top with glaze:
    1 cup powdered sugar
    1 tsp almond extract
    3 T milk

    Want some?
  • French Onion Soup. Come over and I’ll make you some!

    French Onion Soup. Come over and I’ll make you some!

    Oh my, this is so good. Comfort food at its best!  One of my gifts from my mother, she taught me to make soup.

    Onion Soup – One of my favorites.

    6-8 Yellow Onions or you can use white, but I like yellow
    4 Cups Broth – Beef or Chicken

    seasoning for Chicken Broth
    2 Cups Wine – White. I like Chardonnay, so I use it.
    1 tsp White Pepper
    Salt to taste.

    Seasoning if you are using Beef Broth

    2 T Canadian Rub for Steaks

    2 Cups Teriyaki Sauce

    1 Cup Brewed Coffee (Great base note for this soup)

    Optional: Beef or Pork cubes
    Optional: Arugula or Kale or Flat Parsley
    Optional: 1 tsp Herbs de Provence

    Hot, steamy soup. Onion with browned cubed pork or beef. Hmmm. 1 tsp Herbs de Provence.

    Chop yellow onions. Slice them in half from top  to bottom and then slice top to bottom, not like making rings. This slice is so much nicer for this soup.

    in 4 Tablespoons of stock to cook the onions in and let it cook off.
    (Onions will not carmelize until all broth has cooked off).  You want to get your onions nice and carmelized for the flavor and color. 

    In a separate pot, add the rest of the stock and wine and reduce by 1/3 while you are carmelizing the onions.

    After onions have carmelized a nice rich color, add 2-3 tablespoons of flour. This will thicken with the onions, then add the reduction of broth and wine. Simmer until the broth
    thickens. Add your seasonings.
    Salt and white pepper for purists, or 1 tsp of Herbs de Provence.

    To serve –

    Place crouton on bottom of serving bowl
    Top with onions
    Add broth
    Add cheese – asiago, parmesan, 1 tsp of blue cheese

    broiler oven for 5 minutes.

    OR

    I love this soup, and sometimes I want to take it to serve my office. (They ate it all!) We don’t have an oven. So instead of adding the crouton and broiling, make cheddar cheese spread and serve with fresh bread alongside the onion soup.

    Variation: If you have leftover roast beef or pork, cut into cubes, brown and add to the soup.

    Don’t be afraid to add some arugala or kale to the soup an hour before you serve it. I like the green peppery kick.

  • Vegetable Beef Soup

    Vegetable Beef Soup

    Vegetable Beef Stew

    Came home on Saturday night from a long day trip and in the kitchen within the crockpot my husband Dennis had browned some sirloin cubes and concocted the following broth:

    2 C Teriyaki Sauce
    1 C brewed coffee
    6 C Water
    2 T Steak Seasoning Rub
    After searing the sirloin strips, he added all parts in the crockpot and let it cook on high (He only uses high settings for everything he does), put the top on and left it alone.
    When I arrived home, wow…the meat was tender and the teriyaki broth was sensational.

    We could have easily served as is with rice.

    Sunday morning, I gathered the meat out of the broth and added chopped carrots, onions and potatoes to the mix.

    6 carrots chopped

    6 potatoes diced

    1 onion diced

    Turned the slow cooker back on, added 6 cups of water and let it stew.
    Perfect soup 4 hours later. Perfection. Boy, this guy can cook.

    I also saved some of this broth and made the base for french onion soup. 2 soups from one both. Excellent.

  • Grilled Fish of the Day and Rosemario Cream Sauce over Pasta and Vegetables

    Grilled Fish of the Day and Rosemario Cream Sauce over Pasta and Vegetables

    On vacation in Puerta Vallarta looking for some classic Mexican food, and within walking distance from the Paradise hotel.

    I ordered the fish of the day over Rosemario Alfredo. Oh my, the Alfredo was light with wonder butter infused zucchini and califlower. 
    I don’t know about you, but when I dine out, I taste everyone’s food.  My plate was the best of all.  The winner of the evening. Even the way you say it,” Rosemario” sounds so sexy.
    Although I loved it, I had ran out of Rosemario at home, so I used basil.  It is wonderful.   This is my present to you from Mexico – Rosemario Alfredo.
    Choose one herb to highlight this dish:  Rosemary, Basil, or Tarragon
    1)Preheat grill to high.

    2)Rinse “fish of the day” under cold water, drain and blot dry. Brush fish on both sides with the oil. season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

    3)Combine rosemary (rosemario), wine and garlic in a blender and process until a smooth puree forms. transfer to a small heavy saucepan and stir in cream. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, be careful because the cream can boil over very rapidly. Reduce by half, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in butter and lemon juice, when the butter is incorporated into the cream mixture remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. cover and keep warm.

    4)Grill your fish filets to desired temperature, when fish just starts to fully flake is about right. Remove from heat.

    5) Spoon sauce over pasta, add steamed buttered vegetables to plate, top with grilled fish of the day and serve.

    You can also substitute any fresh fish of the day. My favorites are: Tuna, Thresher Shark, Swordfish, Sea Bass, Talipia, Striped Bass but go ahead and use your favorite. 

    Serve on a bed of fetticini, linguini, or penne pasta.

  • Butter Poached Lobster

    Butter Poached Lobster

    Ingredients

    • One 8-oz. lobster tail, cut in half

    • 1 lb. butter, clarified
    1 clove garlic
    Lemon or Lime Wedge

    Directions

    Submerge lobster in a pot with clarified butter with garlic. Cook on low heat approximately 10 minutes until butter begins to boil and tails are cooked through. Remove from butter and chop into large bite size pieces. Serve in shot glasses.

    Drizzle each shot with a bit of butter, a squeeze of lemon or lime. Serve warm. Enjoy!

  • Coconut Macaroons

    Coconut Macaroons

    I have tried about 12 batches of macaroons and this is by far my favorite. It is not too sweet, it is light and airy, it tastes of coconut and not just sugar. Give it a dip in semi-sweet chocolate, and it is over the moon. I am so proud.

    "Everything is better with coconut!"

    While most recipes use Sweetened Condensed Milk, I don’t like the taste of it. So, use Sweetened cream of coconut, often used to make pina coladas and other cocktails, can usually be found in most supermarkets by the booze, canned and under the brand name Coco Lopez. Finding the sweetened coconut is no problem in the baking aisle, but for the unsweetened coconut, you may have to check the Asian foods aisle or a natural foods store or you can buy it online on Amazon. You want the finely shredded, baker’s coconut. No excused. Find the right coconut. It helps with the texture and the lightness of the macaroon.

    Dipped in Chocolate. I’m in heaven.

    Makes 2 dozen
    1 cup cream of coconut
    2 tablespoons light corn syrup or Agave syrup
    4 large egg whites
    2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or almond
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
    3 cups sweetened shredded or flaked coconut
    1/4 cup all purpose flour

    10 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate chips (I like Guittard semisweet)
    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
    In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of coconut, corn syrup or Agave Syrup, egg whites, vanilla and salt until well-blended. In another large bowl, using your fingertips, toss together the flour and shredded coconuts. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a rubber spatula until evenly moistened.


    Drop the mixture by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Form the cookies into loose haystacks with your fingertips (moistening your fingers with water will prevent sticking). Bake until the cookies are softly set and golden in spots on top and bottoms are deeply browned (everyone loves that crunch), about 15-17 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes. Melt the Guittard chocolate on high power in 30 second intervals, stopping to stir after each interval until melted. Dip your cool macaroons into the chocolate and then place them back on the parchment to set up. Yummy good.

  • Rhubarb Relish

    Cleaning out my dad’s house, I found an old cookbook from the local church. Recipe was shared by Donnie Ebbers.  She says she had a large rhubarb patch n Canada and used to sell this stuff and couldn’t keep up with demand.  Oh yes! 

    1 qt rhubarb, cut in small pieces

    1 pt onions, cut in samll pieces

    1 pt apple cider vinegar, weaken with 1 cup of water

    1 1/2 pounds lightborwn sugar

    1 tsp cinnamon

    1 tsp salt

    1 tsp allspice

    1/2 tsp ground cloves

    Put all ingredients in a large kettle. Cook over lwo heat stirring often as it blends and thickens. Pout into hot steriliezed jars and seal.

    Very good with meat – pork or lamb.  Makes about 5 pints.