Friday, December 30, 2011

Fresh & Easy Potato Salad

Ingredients:
  • 3 medium russet potatoes
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 pound hot dogs, pierced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper

Directions:
  1. Boil the potatoes whole until tender which is about 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel skin and cut potatoes into bite-size pieces.
  2. Place the hot dogs into a hot grill pan and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cut the hot dogs crosswise into bite-size pieces.
  3. Toss potatoes, hot dogs, basil leaves, and olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if salad seems dry. Toss well and serve!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Minty Fruit with Wine

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cantaloupe, cut into cubes
  • 8 ounce fresh strawberries, sliced in halves
  • 1 cup green grapes, halved lengthwise
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:
  1. Combine the wine and sugar in a small saucepan. Boil for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  2. Prepare the cataloupe, strawberries, grapes, and mint then combine in a large bowl. Pour the warm wine mixture over and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Rosenmunnar Cookies

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup fruit jam of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375º.
  2. Cream together butter and sugar in mixer. Add flour and vanilla extract then mix for 2 minutes. Shape dough into 1 inch diameter balls and place on cookie sheets. Imprint your thumb in the center to make an indentation. Fill with your favorite fruit jam.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Friday, December 23, 2011

French Pound Cake

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Cream butter, milk, and sugar together in a mixer. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Turn mixer to low setting and add in flour, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Turn mixer to medium setting and mix for 5 minutes. Pour batter into a greased cake pan or bundt cake pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Test cake by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean then it's ready. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Seafood & Pinot Grigio Spaghetti

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound spaghetti pasta
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 shallot, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cup Pinot Grigio
  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 pounds clams, washed
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 cups arugula

Directions:
  1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Add the pasta and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until tender but don't let it brown. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add the wine, shrimps, and clams. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, cover and cook until shrimps are pink and the clams have opened which takes about 7 minutes.
  3. Add the pasta to the seafood mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Add the arugula last. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Mayonnaise

Ingredients:
  • 5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 4-inch fries shape
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
  1. Preheat over to 400º.
  2. Place the sweet potato fries on a foil baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake until golden which is about 40 minutes.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice.
  4. Sprinkle baked sweet potato fries with sea salt and pepper. Serve with garlic mayonnaise alongside for dipping.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Baked Dijon Salmon

Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 4 salmon fillets
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 lemon for garnish

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400º.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard, and honey. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs and pecans.
  3. Brush each salmon fillet with honey mustard mixture then sprinkle the top of each fillet with the pecan crumb mixture.
  4. Bake salmon for 12 minutes or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 6 slices of bacon, diced
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 cans of clams
  • 4 cans of chicken broth
  • 1 pound white boiling potatoes, chopped
  • 3 cups half-and-half cream
  • salt and pepper

Directions:
  1. Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and diced bacon then saute until clear. Stir in flour and cook over low heat, stirring frequently for 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  2. In a separate pot, bring clams and chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. In a small saucepan, cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender which is about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  4. Pour hot clam stock into butter and flour mixture and stir constantly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and add cooked potatoes. Add half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper. Heat through but do not boil.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Almond Blueberry Cookies

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries


Directions:
  1. Combine flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a medium bowl.
  2. In another medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat egg into mixture then add milk and almond extract.
  3. Combine and stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Fold in the almonds and blueberries. Put the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 375º. Drop cookies on to baking sheet and bake until golden brown around the edges which is approximately 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound walnut halves
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350º. Spread walnuts over a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until walnuts start to turn brown.
  2. Stir sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, and milk together in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla immediately.
  3. Combine walnuts with the syrup mixture. Stir and coat very well. Spoon nuts onto a sheet of waxed paper and separate nuts with a fork. Store in an airtight container after walnuts are completely cool.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Almond Meal Banana Muffins

Ingredients:
  • 9 oz sliced almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 oz sugar
  • 3 bananas
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt


Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 300º. Prepare muffin tins.
  2. Combine almonds and baking powder in the food processor until finely ground but don’t let it run too long or else it will end up as almond butter. Set aside.
  3. Combine eggs, sugar, bananas, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy. Combine with almond meal.
  4. Pour into each muffin tin and top with thinly sliced bananas and almonds. Bake for 40 minutes and let cool before serving.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Apricot Smoothie

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup milk or almond milk
  • 2 apricots, pitted
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/2 cup ice


Directions:

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Pour into a glass and garnish with fresh mint.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Marinated Edamame

Ingredients:
  • 1 bag of frozen edamame
  • 200 ml of marinated cooking wine sauce
  • Salt


Directions:
  1. Boil a pot of water. In the meantime, wash the edamame in warm water.
  2. When water boils, put edamame into the pot and cover. Remove lid when water boils again and remove edamame with a strainer into a bowl. Dispose excess water in the bowl.
  3. Combine marinated cooking wine sauce with edamame. Do not cover and let cool as this will preserve the edamame’s green color. Season with salt. After it is cool, refrigerate overnight and serve the next day.