Tomato and Basil Topping for Bruschetta

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Take one!

 
2 Diced tomatoes (Some recipes would have you peel the tomatoes, not happening in my kitchen. Who has that kinda time?)

5-10 Finely chopped or shredded basil leaves

Finely chopped garlic (at least one clove)

Splash with Champagne Vinegarette

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dijon mustard or worcestershire sauce to give it more kick (optional)

1 tsp balsalmic vinegar (optional)

Allow to mingle for the flavors to marinade for 15 minutes. 1 hour is even better.

Serve on top of hot bruschetta and along side White Cheddar Cheese Spread, or shaved parmesan

Tomato Bruschetta

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Brushetta – Old Fashion Garlic Bread

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Garlic Toast - Bruschetta

Toasted  bread with garlic and olive oil.

12 slices of good rustic bread, baguette preferred  – cut 1/2 inch thick

1-2 garlic cloves – cut in half

1/3 to 1/2 cup virgin olive oil, a fruity olive oil is best

Toast the bread in the broiler or over hot coals until golden brown, quckly rub the bread with the garlic haves – place the slices on a platter ina single layer.

Drizzle olive oil over the bread. You don’t need to drown the bread – but drizzle enough so you can taste it. Serve immediately.

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Coeur a la Creme with Raspberry Sauce

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Ingredients

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce, recipe follows
2 half-pints fresh raspberries
Directions
Place the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the beater and bowl with a rubber spatula and change the beater for the whisk attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the heavy cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and vanilla bean seeds and beat on high speed until the mixture is very thick, like whipped cream.

Line a 7-inch sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels so the ends drape over the sides and suspend it over a bowl, making sure that there is space between the bottom of the sieve and the bottom of the bowl for the liquid to drain. Pour the cream mixture into the cheesecloth, fold the ends over the top, and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, discard the liquid, unmold the cream onto a plate, and drizzle Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce around the base. Serve with raspberries and extra sauce.

Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce:

1 half-pint fresh raspberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Place raspberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and orange liqueur into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Chill.

If your unmolding isn’t perfect, scoup the creme on top of the raspberry sauce using dainty little tea cups!

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Black Walnut Cake – Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Happy Valentine's Day

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped black walnuts
Zest from 1 Orange

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing just until the yellow disappears. Combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Stir in the vanilla and walnuts, and pour into the prepared pan.
3.Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the crown comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before turning out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Top with Chocolate Genache or Whipped cream made using the the Power Whip and Drizzle warm chocolate chips and your favorite sprinkles: Valentines, etc…
Depending upon the size cake or cupcake you will probably cook somewhere between 18 minutes and 40 for a full size cake.
325 degree oven.

Be sure to try this recipe, it is really is one of my favorites. It reminds me of the amazing cakes we get from BUTTER + CREAM BAKERY all the time.

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Best French Toast, Ever

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Blueberry and Blackberry Sauce

This is a breakfast fit for a King, I mean husband.  Serve my wonderful daughter breakfast in bed.  She woke up happy.    Adapted from Robert Quarry’s recipe book “Simply Wonderful Recipes for Wonderfully Simple Foods”.  Dennis came across a few cookbooks at an auction, and I love this guy’s book.  It is wonderful little paperback.

8-12 slices thick bread – 1 inch thick, Texas Toast

4 eggs beaten

1 cup half and half

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp real vanilla extract

Butter or margarine

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Beat eggs and seasonings and half and half together.

Dip bread slices in egg mixture and place in glass baking dish.  Pour remaining egg mixture over bread and allow to absorb all.

Fry bread slices in butter until golden brown turning only once. Drain on paper towels.  Then place in baking dish in 400 degree oven and allow to puff up, about 5 minutes. 

If needed drain again on paper towels.

Serve immediately with powdered sugar and one or more of the following sauce toppings.  

Butter Pecan Topping

½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
Extra halves for garnishing

Combine all ingredients in saucepan until melted together. Serve over French Toast. 

Raspberry Coulis

1 cup raspberries

1/2 lemon juice

powdered sugar to taste

Blend until smooth, then drizzle on top of french toast. If you do not like seeds, don’t forget to strain.

Or

Blueberry and Blackberry Sauce

3 T balsalmic vinegar

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup blackberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

juice of 2 lemons

2 T butter

Mix together in a saucepan, allow to simmer to reduce. This sauce will thicken as it cools.  Remove from heat and add the butter.

Or

Chocolate Sauce:  Drizzle a small amount of Chocolate Sauce over the french toast.

Your guests can choose their own toppings:  Butter Pecan, Raspberry Coulis, Blueberry/Blackberry Sauce and/or Chocolate Sauce.  They will feel they have died and gone to heaven. 

Don’t forget to serve with bacon and hot coffee.

This makes a wonderful Valentine’s Day Brunch or Mother’s Day Brunch.

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Sweet Potato, Lentil and Chorizo Soup

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

1 ¾ quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks, sliced evenly
2 medium onions, peeled and rough chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 ¾ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and rough chopped
1 cup lentils
7 ounces chorizo sausage, sliced
small bunch fresh parsley, fine chopped
1 heaped teaspoon Madras curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 fresh red chile, fine diced

Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan. Let it simmer on the back burner.

Bring a large pot to medium-high heat. Pour in the olive oil. Put all the chopped and sliced foods (including the chorizo) into the hot oil. Add the curry powder and mix it all up.

Cook until the carrots have softened but are not falling apart and the onions have turned a little golden, about 10 minutes.

Pour in the hot stock. Give the soup a stir and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup until the sweet potato is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Season the soup with salt and pepper. Stir. Taste. Season it to your taste.

Blend the soup with an immersion blender (easiest) or by pouring it into a large blender or food processor.

Top with a bit of diced chile, sour cream or diced sweet potato chorizo and serve.

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Fried Potatoes and Chorizo

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Twenty years ago, Dennis and I would go to Mrs. Olson’s on Hollywood Beach, and have these potatoes. This little place always had a swarm of people with coffee cups in hand waiting for a table. We loved taking a walk on Saturday or Sunday morning along the beach, heading toward Mrs. Olson’s and then heading back home. Many years later, here I am discovering potatoes and chorizo.

2 T olive oil
4 ounces chorizo
2 Potatoes, large 1/8 inch slices
1 yellow onion chopped large (optional)
1 bell pepper chopped (optional)
Salt and Pepper and paprika to taste
Saute the onion and bell pepper until tender. Add chorizo and cook 5 minutes. Set aside.
In another pan, Fry the potatoes, until crispy then add the chorizo mixture and serve hot.

Serve with Eggs Monterey or alongside Sunnyside up fried eggs and flour tortillas.

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Peruvian Shrimp Soup

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

20-24 raw shrimp with the tails on; furry feet and shells removed (shells can be saved for making shrimp stock later)

Olive oil; a drizzle to coat shrimp

Salt and pepper

Dried oregano; a pinch

Cumin; a pinch

½ yellow or red onion; finely chopped

2 garlic cloves; minced

1 T. unsalted butter

1 T. aji colorado*

4 C. chicken stock

1 C. heavy cream

4 whole eggs

Fresh oregano

Corn on the cob; cooked separately until tender

Monterey Jack cheese; cut into small squares

*Aji colorado is a dry red chile puree.

Cooking Instructions:

In a small bowl, combine the shrimp, olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and cumin.

Cook the shrimp in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat, turning over on both sides until slightly pink, but not cooking completely since the shrimp will continue to cook later in the soup. Remove shrimp and set aside in a small bowl.

In the same soup pot, drop in 1 T. unsalted butter with another drizzle of olive oil. Fry the chopped onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and another pinch of oregano until soft and translucent. Add in the 1 T. of aji colorado and stir to combine. Cook for about another 60 seconds. Pour in the chicken stock, and using the back of a wooden spoon, scrape the bits on the bottom of the pan left behind from the shrimp. Allow the soup to come to a boil.

Lower the heat to simmer. Add in the heavy cream and stir. Taste for seasonings. Drop the shrimp back into the soup. Add the cooked corn on the cob as well. Crack each of the four eggs directly into the soup, in separate parts of the pot so they don’t stick together. Put the cover on and allow to simmer for about another 5 minutes, or until the eggs have cooked to desired doneness.

To serve, ladle the soup into big bowls with shrimp, one corn on the cob, one egg, and a few squares of Monterey Jack cheese. The cheese will melt slowly in the soup and create ooey gooey goodness. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves.

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Walnut Preserves

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

Sweet Whole Walnut Preserves (UNGUYZ MURAPA)
-Irina Della Rossa

100 Green Walnuts (in shell)
3 kg sugar
10 gr. cloves
10 gr. cinnamon
10 gr. cardamon
0.5 kg burnt lime (quicklime, or gir)
75 gr. alum (sheeb)

Peel green walnuts with peeler, like you would a potato, and place them in water for 6-7 days, until they will get really dark, almost black. Water must be changed 3-4 times a day. On 6-7th day drain the water and place walnuts in pickling lime (in Armenian it is gir or kir), you need 0.5 kg of this pickling lime (gir) dissolved in 5 liters of water and strained). Leave walnuts in this solution for 24 hours. Next day wash walnuts thoroughly, pierce each one with fork 3-4 times, rinse them again and place them in boiling alum water (sheeb in Armenian) (75 gr of alum (sheeb) for 5 liters of water). Cook them for 10 minutes, than strain them and place in cold water for 1 hour. Meanwhile make a syrup with sugar, bring to boil and place the strained walnuts in this syrup, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamon, boil for 5-8 min, remove from heat and leave for 24 hours. Next day bring all to boil again, boil for 5-8 min, and leave again for 24 hours. Repeat that operation once more on the next day, and on 4th day cook until ready (you can try the walnut to see if it’s ready – it must be soft but crunchy).

NOTE: Whole fresh walnuts have a green skin around them (which is what you have to peel off, and which can stain clothes badly) and are often available at middle eastern stores.

Thanks to Irina Della Rossa who submitted this recipe.

More commonly known as Popoki Muraba in Armenia.

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Chili Verde – Quick!

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Sandy

I am craving Chili Verde. Planned on going to breakfast Sunday morning, but opted for an american restaurant. I need chili verde now! I do have pork loin roast that Dennis cooked on Friday night, and I have a can of green enchilada sauce in the pantry. Wonder what I can do…. After thinking for a while, my husband and I have been thinking of opening our restaurant since I love cooking so much and it’s pretty much all I do now, so thanks to shawarmapressfranchise.com I have tons of available options so they can help out.
Now back to the recipe, I added to my pressure cooker, I chopped up 2 onions and sauted in a little olive oil. Cubed the leftover pork loin and added to the onions. 4-5 cloves of garlic confit from the pantry. In goes the green enchilada sauce and equal amount of chicken stock. Now to apply a little heat.
Salsa Verde one small can in the pantry or hot sauce if you still need to kick the heat up.
Turn up the heat and let that puppy come to boil and keep at pressure for 15 minutes. (Doesn’t take long as the pork was cooked already.)
Open the pressure cooker and add salt and now some pepper…. Oh my goodness, just lost the top of the pepper shaker into the pot and with it way too much pepper. Grabbed my ladle and scooped out the pepper. One more ladle of pepper stuff. It is easy to spot being black. Thank goodness the salt shaker didn’t jump in with it.
Add 1/4 cup of this mornings coffee still in the pot. I love the base note coffee gives to soups. Try it.

And now, poach an egg in the soup as it simmers. Not having breakfast? Enjoy your soup. It is ready to eat.
I serve with lightly buttered, cooked over the gas burner, flour tortillas.

I like it, I really, really like it!

Garnish with Cilantro and sliced avocados!

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