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
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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.