Brown Butter Pear Cake

Brown Butter Pear Cake by Yoly  Nanci Zombro found this one for me.  I made it once without the frosting and people loved it.  The frosting looks like a winner as well, I just did not have time to ice it.  We both suffered from an abundance of pears and this helped wonderfully well.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups peeled and diced pears

1 cup chopped walnuts

Brown Butter Icing:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in large bowl.

Beat sugar and eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed in a separate bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until well-blended. Mix in flour mixture until batter is smooth. Fold in pears and walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared tube pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting on a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it is a rich brown color and has a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until icing is thick and smooth. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin icing to desired consistency. Drizzle icing over cooled cake.

Lemon Lush -GF version

Lemon Lush –GF Version

This recipe was adapted by Nanci Zombro

Crust:

1.5 Cups King Arthur GF Baking Mix

3/4 Cup Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery sticks - non GMO, dairy free, vegan

1 Cup chopped walnuts (any nut will do)

Layer 1

1 tub plain Better Than Cream Cheese made by Toffuti

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Cool Whip

Layer 2

2 sm pkg Lemon Instant Pudding

4 Cups Lactose Free Milk or Coconut milk

Cover with plain Cool Whip.  Sprinkle with nuts.

Parmesan Potatoes

Years ago, Angela got me a bed and breakfast cookbook.  It was a compilation of recipes served in Northwest Bed and Breakfast hotels.  We made this recipe right away and it has been a staple of many a Lewis gatherings ever since.  Easy, tasty, and the leftovers everyone wants...if only there were any!

6 medium potatoes, peeled

½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

¼ cup flour

1 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

½ cup butter. Melted

Preheat oven to 350.

Quarter potatoes and then cut them in half again.

In plastic gallon zip lock bag, combine cheese, flour and seasonings.

Pour melted butter into a 9 X 13 pan.

Add potatoes to plastic bag and mix with flour.

Add coated potatoes to pan and toss them in butter.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Stir potatoes.

Bake for another 20 minutes.

Baked Potato Soup

 Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes (Idaho or russet)

12 slices   bacon

1 onion diced

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups 2 percent low-fat milk, heated

5 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces sour cream

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the potatoes on a roasting tray and bake for 45 minutes. When done, the tip of a paring knife should go through the potatoes easily.

Sauté the diced onion in some light olive oil till translucent.

 

Add the flour to the onions in the pot and stir to combine.

 Cook, without adding color, until the flour and fat has combined, about 1 minute.

 Pour in the milk while you whisk to incorporate. 

Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

Scoop out the potato pulp from the skins and add to the milk mixture. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon leaving it a little bit chunky.

Prepare bacon in microwave.   I like mine to be slightly crunchy for this application.

Beyond this point, you can add the bacon directly to the soup or allow people to garnish as they will.  I usually do not add them to the soup but serve them as condiments to make the vegetarians happy.

Add the cooked bacon (leaving a little out for garnishing the soup), 1 cup of the cheese, and season well with salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted.

Remove from the heat.

Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with sour cream (from a squeeze bottle), sprinkle with remaining bacon bits, grated cheese and chives.

Mustard Sauce (not glaze)

This is from Nadine Onstot who made it for a ham dinner at SPC.

1 c. white sugar

1/2 c. yellow mustard

1/4 c. vinegar

1/2 c. water

1 T flour

1 beaten egg

1/4 c. butter

Mix sugar and flour in pan. 

 Add liquids and egg. 

 Stir. 

 Add butter.

Cook over low heat until thickened.

Store in jar in refrigerator.

Insanely Easy Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

1 TB vegetable oil
1 Cup Chopped Onions
3/4 Cup Chopped Carrots
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Cup Chopped Green Pepper
1 Cup Chopped Red Bell Pepper
3/4 Cup chopped celery
1 TB Chili Powder
1.5 Cups Chopped fresh Tomatoes
1.5 Cups Chopped fresh Mushrooms
1 Can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
1 Can (19 oz) Kidney Beans with liquid
1 Can (11 oz) Whole Kernel Corn, un-drained
1 TB ground Cumin
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp dried basil

Directions

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat

Sauté onions, carrots, and garlic until tender.  

Stir in green pepper, red pepper, celery and chili powder.

Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.

Stir in mushrooms, and cook 4 minutes.
  
Stir in tomatoes, beans, corn.  

Season with cumin, oregano and basil.


Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium.  

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally,

Baked Mashed Potato Casserole

This recipe is from Nanci Zombro.  We have used it at SPC many times.  

Ingredients

·        14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, and more for the pan

·        6 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

·        2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

·        1 ½ cups sour cream

·        1 teaspoon black pepper

·        6 tablespoons finely chopped chives

·        ⅔ cup bread crumbs

·        ⅔ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1.     Lightly grease a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan.

2.     In a large pot, bring the potatoes, 4 quarts water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil. Boil potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

3.     Mash potatoes with 10 tablespoons butter, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Mash in the chives. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Spread potatoes into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate for up to three days.

4.     In a small bowl, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, bread crumbs and cheese. Mix together until it forms coarse crumbs. Crumbs can be refrigerated for three days.

5.     Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the potato casserole and bake until golden and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.