Keebler Cracker Cookies

Joy Kamstra of Southminster Presbyterian Church makes these little wonders when she does coffee hour.  We begged and begged her for the recipe and she said that it was too easy for all of us.  But there we were, slurping them down!  She finally relented and gave us the recipe and now we make it available to the public.  Thanks, Joy!   J

Ingredients

1 box Keebler crackers

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

Sliced almonds

Instructions

Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spray with oil.

Line up crackers in jelly roll pan side by side and end to end.

Melt butter in a sauce pan and add sugar.

Pour melted butter mixture over crackers.

Sprinkle with lots of sliced almonds.

Bake in a 325 oven for 15 to 17 minutes.

Break up and serve.

French Hot chocolate

I keep trying to find a recipe as good as the hot chocolate that I had at Multaris in Nice, France.  This is darn close!

1 vanilla pod

20 oz whole milk

I cup cream

2 TBSP brown Sugar

Pinch salt

5.5 oz Bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped fine

3.5 oz milk chocolate finely chopped

10.5 oz heavy cream whipped to serve

Split vanilla pod lengthwise and scoop out seeds.

Add them to the milk along with the whole pod and add cream as well.

Add sugar and salt and bring to a simmer-NO BOILING!

Turn off heat, take vanilla pod out and add chocolates, whisking till smooth

Add heat again and bring to a slow simmer-DO NOT BOIL

Then pour into cups and add whipped cream.

Greek Lemon Potatoes

 We have made these many times for many different events.  It multiplies well.  Doubling it fits into a standard chafing dish perfectly.

         

QTY   measure       ingredient

8        whole  Potatoes, peeled cut into wedges

4        cloves garlic

0.5     cup     olive oil

1        cup     water

1        TB      Dried Oregano

¼       cup     lemon juice

some            sea salt

some            pepper

Peel and cut potatoes into wedges of roughly uniform width and length.                          

Make marinade of the next seven ingredients.  Pour over peeled wedges.                      

Cook potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.                                           

Stir potatoes and bake for another 20 minutes.                                                   

Judge your desired level of browness- I like mine singed a bit on the edges- and cook till achieved.  Don't let potatoes get dry and add more water if needed.      

You can use other things in place of the water like chicken stock.  Water works fine.                                         

Cornish Pasties

Cornish Pasties

Yield: 10 pasties

 Use the Pastry for Pasty dough for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS 

FILLING

8 ounces lean ground beef

6 ounces boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 -5 tablespoons beef gravy or 4 -5 tablespoons beef stock

1 teaspoon dried herbs ( thyme, marjoram, sage)

salt and pepper

milk

DIRECTIONS

Combine beef, potatoes, onion and herbs and season generously with salt and pepper.

Stir in enough beef gravy to bind mixture.

Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to thickness of 1/8 of an inch.

Using 5-6 inch in diameter, round cutter, cut 10 circles.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Lightly grease baking sheet.

Mound meat mixture lightly in center of each circle; brush border with milk; fold dough in half over filling, pinching edges together to seal.

Brush pastries with milk.

Arrange on prepared sheet.

Bake 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 340F and continue baking until pasties are light brown, about 45-50 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Pastry for Pastys

FOR THE PASTRY

8 oz butter

10 oz hot water

2 cups flour , plus extra for dusting

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 large free-range egg , beaten

Bring your butter and water to the boil in a large pan, then take the pan off the heat.

Stir the flour and salt into the mixture bit by bit with a spoon, until you’ve got a dough.

Tip it on to a floured surface and use your hands to shape it into a smooth disk.

Put the disk of dough into a floured bowl, dust the top with flour, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes (Sometimes longer.  Make sure the dough is cool before working.  If you let it go overnight, bring it to near room temperature before working it.)  

Cannelloni

We made this for 65 people at Southminster for our SPC Together Spring Celebration.  It was very well received. 

Tomato sauce (use canned sauce)

White Sauce (Recipe follows)

2 TBSP butter

1 lb boneless skinless chicken

1 medium onion

1 garlic clove

2 TBSP white wine

1 large egg

2 tsp tomato paste

½ tsp salt

1/2 tsp rosemary

1 package of frozen spinach 10oz Drained and squeezed free of water!

10 uncooked cannelloni shells

Boiling water

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

White Sauce

3 TBSP butter

3 TBSP flour

½ tsp salt

1 ¾ half and half

Instructions

Prepare White sauce

Melt butter over medium heat

Stir in flour and salt until bubbly

Whisk in half and half and stir till the mixture thickens.

Set aside to mix into recipe.

Prepare Cannelloni filling

Add butter to pan and heat chicken.

Remove from pan to separate plate and let cool.

Add onion and garlic to drippings in chicken pan. Cook till onion is translucent.

Add wine and cook till wine evaporates.

Transfer onion mixture to bowl and whisk in egg, tomato paste, salt, rosemary, pepper and salt and nutmeg and 1/3 cup of the white sauce.

Finely chop chicken and spinach and add to onion mixture.

Heat oven to 350.

Cook Cannelloni shells in boiling salted water until al dente about 6 to 10 minutes.

Drain shells and rinse in cold water.  Drain well.

Coat bottom of 13 X 9 pan with Tomato sauce. 

Fill each shell with ¼ cup of the chicken mixture. Place in baking pan and spoon white sauce over each shell.  Finish with tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with cheeses and bake uncovered for 35 minutes until golden.

Focaccia

     

Inspired by Carol Field

3 ten inch rounds or two 11 X 16 sheets.

Ingredients

2 ½ tsp active dry yeast

¼ warm water

½ tsp sugar

2 TBSP Olive Oil

2 ¼ cup water at room temperature

7 ½ cups  AP flour (half AP and half Bread Flour if you wish)

1 TBSP Fine salt

Directions

Stir yeast into the warm water and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let it stand for 10 minutes till foamy.

Stir in 2 ¼ cup water and olive oil.

Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix together.

Add up to 5 and ½ cups of flour as needed until the dough comes together. 

Knead on a flour surface till velvety and soft-not sticky!  About 8 to 10 minutes.

1^st Rise

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it rise till it has doubled in sized about 1 ½ hours.  (I found an hour was enough time)

2^nd Rise

Cut the dough to desired shape and press into your oiled pans or sheets.  Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 more minutes.

3^rd Rise

I have never had the patience for this step but Carol recommends that you dimple the dough with your fingers, cover it with a towel and let it rise for 2 more hours!!!!! 

Top with your choice of toppings.  I like to put Extra Virgin Olive oil with Rosemary and Sea salt one loaf.  Pesto sauce all over the second and herbs such as basil, oregano and thyme with parmesan cheese.  Do what you like and experiment to find that awesome combination.  Tomorrow I am going to make some with some sautéed onions and olive oil.  Let your imagination rule the day!

Bake in a hot oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, turning as needed.  You can spray misting water over the baking dough three times in the first ten minutes if you wish.  Eat warm!