LEMON DROP MARTINI and ROASTED CARROT GINGER SOUP WITH CHILE BUTTER and APPLE BOURBON CAKE

We had wonderful, dear friends for dinner to celebrate her birthday. We wanted to dine in the wine cellar, after cocktails and appetizers in the dining room.
My husband grilled steaks for the main course, and I took care of the rest.

LEMON DROP MARTINI

juice of 6 lemons
4 tablespoons sugar
4 shots of vodka
ice in shaker
fresh mint leaves to serve, if desired

Mix lemon juice, sugar and vodka in a martini shaker filled with ice.
Shake well and pour equally into two martini glasses. Garnish with mint, if desired.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Oprah Magazine, September 2009
www.theoprahmag.com

ROASTED CARROT GINGER SOUP WITH CHILE BUTTER

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cubed
1 pound parsnips, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, sliced
3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
4 cups chicken broth, more if needed
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper

CHILE BUTTER

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Heat oven to 350F.
Combine the carrots, parsnips, onion and ginger in a shallow roasting pan. Dot with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Pour 2 cups of the broth into the pan, cover well and bake until the vegetables are very tender, about 2 hours.
Transfer the vegetables and broth to a large soup pot, add remaining 2 cups of broth. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Puree the soup in a food processor, or with an immersion blender, adding more broth if desired.
Serve portions with a teaspoon of chile butter on top.

CHILE BUTTER

Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, May 2010
www.bonappetit.com/

APPLE BOURBON CAKE

4 cups peeled, cored, coarsely chopped apples
1 cup bourbon
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
whipped cream for serving

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine apples and bourbon. Let apples macerate in bourbon about 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally to mix.
Heat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar, oil and eggs.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Stir into egg mixture. Add bourbon-apples and nuts and stir to combine.
Grease a 9 by 13 baking pan. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette

CANDY BAR CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FROSTING and SNICKERS SURPRISES

Here are a couple of yummy ideas for the halloween candy you may still have lying around.

CANDY BAR CUPCAKES

9 fun size, or 21 mini chocolate coated caramel and creamy nougat bars
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
chocolate marshmallow frosting

Heat oven to 350F.
Melt candy bars and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring until smoth. Set aside.
Beat sugar and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer about 3 minutes, or until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
Combine flour and salt. Stir together buttermilk and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixtre to sugar mixture, alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in melted candy bar mixture and vanilla. Place 36 paper baking cups in muffin pans, spoon batter evenly into paper baking cups, filling two-thirds full.
Bake for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire racks. Spread cupcakes evenly with chocolate-marshmallow frosting.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

3 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup butter, cut up
3/4 cup evaporated milk
6 ounces of chocolate, chopped
6 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Melt first four ingredients in a saucepan, over medium-low heat, stirring 5 minutes or until mixture is smooth.
Transfer chocolate mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed with an electric mixer. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat 5 minutes or until frosting is cool, thick, and spreadable. Stir in 1 tablespoon of vanilla
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living
www.southernliving.com/

SNICKERS SURPRISES

1 stick of butter (softened)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup light brown suar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package snickers miniatures

Combine the butter, peanut butter and sugars using a mixer on a medium to low speed, utnil light and fluffy.
Slowly add the egg and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Then mix in flour, salt and baking soda.
Cover and chill dough for 2 to 3 hours.
Unwrap the snickers miniatures. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Divide into 1 tablespoon pieces and flatten. Place a snickers miniature in the center of each piece of dough and form the dough into a ball around it.
Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 300F for 12 to 15 minutes.
Let cookies cool on a baking rack.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Mars Bright Ideas
www.marsbrightideas.com/search

SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD and SEARED PEAR, BACON AND ARUGULA PANZANELLA and ASPARAGUS, GRAPE AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

Here are three salads that are great with lunch or dinner - with the addition of grilled chicken, they would make a complete, simple, easy to clean-up meal.

I do love the combination of the toasted bread, seared pear and bacon in the panzanella, the freshness of the asparagus, grapes and goat cheese, and the mix of cool, creamy and spicy in the pasta salad.

SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD



1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup mayonnaise
zest and juice from 1 lime
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups macaroni, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed (I used the whole can)
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Mix dressing, mayonnaise, lime zest, juice, pepper sauce and cumin in a large bowl.
Add remaining ingredients, mix lightly.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food and Family, Summer 2011
www.kraftrecipes.com

SEARED PEAR, BACON AND ARUGULA PANZANELLA

Half a loaf of country bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste
5 ounces of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 pears, cored and cut into cubes
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 cups baby arugula
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Heat oven to 400F.
Scatter the bread cubes and pine nuts on a baking sheet and toss with the butter, season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer and bake, stirring halfway through, until golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, crisp the bacon over medium heat for about 12 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Pour out all but 2 teaspoons of the drippings and reserve in a bowl. Return the pan to medium high heat.
Add the pears, season with salt and cook until just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl with the bread, pine nuts, bacon and shallots.
Whisk the vinegar into the reserved bacon drippings. Pour the dressing over the pear mixture, add the arugula and thyme and toss.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine
www.rachaelraymag.com/

ASPARAGUS, GRAPE AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

1 pound of fresh asparagus
4 cups salad greens
2 cups seedless red grapes
8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts
balsamic vinaigrette

Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus, arrange asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water.
Cover and steam 2 to 4 minutes or until asparagus is crisp tender. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
Arrange salad greens on a serving platter, top evenly with asparagus, grapes and next 4 ingredients. Serve with vinaigrette.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, March 2007
www.southernliving.com/

CREAMY PASTA WITH TOMATO CONFIT AND FRESH GOAT CHEESE

I love this creamy, rich, flavorful pasta dish. I first made it as a lunch dish for girlfriends, and recently made it for my family, to favorable reviews.
I like that the pasta gets pan fried, and then cooks slowly in the chicken stock - the same cooking method as a risotto.

CREAMY PASTA WITH TOMATO CONFIT AND FRESH GOAT CHEESE

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
salt
1/2 to 3/4 pound rotini pasta
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
2 tablespoons basil leaves, finely shredded

In a medium saucepan, combine olive oil, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and half of the garlic, bring to a simmer.
Cook over low heat until the tomatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard the thyme and bay leaf.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the pasta and cook, stirring until golden in spots, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, cook for 1 minute.
Add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to the pasta and cook over moderately high heat, stirring constantly, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and cooking until it is nearly absorbed between additions. The pasta is done when it is al dente and suspended in a lightly thickened sauce, about 17 minutes total.
Stir the tomatoes into the pasta. Off the heat, add the goat cheese and parmesan and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the chives and basil and serve right away.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine, October, 2008
www.foodandwine.com

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH GREEN BEANS

I had some fresh green beans, and wanted to do something a little different than my usual boil or roast. I found this recipe, and thought I would try it out - it was definitely different! A meal in itself!

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH GREEN BEANS

fresh green beans
4 slices of bacon
1 small onion, diced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 hard boiled egg, chopped

Cook green beans in a pot of salted, boiling water.
Cook bacon in skillet until crisp and brown, remove from pan and place on paper towels, crumble.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings, add onion and saute until tender.
Blend cornstarch, salt and mustard in a small bowl, and add to pan. Stir chicken broth into skillet.
Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in sugar and vinegar, add beans and heat until bubbly hot. Sprinkle with bacon and egg.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Morning News, 2005

MUSHROOM SOUP WITH TOASTED BREAD

We had friends for dinner, and served this interesting soup as an appetizer, with steak to follow.
The chef grew up in a poor region in France, and this was a recipe he learned from his mother. Pureeing the lush mushrooms with toasted bread, thickens the texture and deepens its flavor and makes for a rich, luscious soup.

MUSHROOM SOUP WITH TOASTED BREAD

three 1/2 inch slices of sourdough bread (6 ounces), crusts removed
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces white mushrooms, coarsely chopped
8 ounces portobello mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and white pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cream
fresh thyme to garnish

Heat oven to 300F.
Bake the bread slices on a baking sheet for about an hour, until deeply browned.
In a pot, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Ad the broth and 1/2 up of the cream, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the mushrooms are tender, 10 minutes.
Add the toasted bread to the soup, simmer until softened, 5 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, puree soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Ladle the soup onto bowls, garnish and serve.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine, February 2009

TOMATO AND TAPENADE TARTLETS

This was a great way to finish up the last of the summer basil and tomatoes. Simple and elegant, I paired the tartlets with a salad and a glass of wine for myself and my husband.

TOMATO AND TAPENADE TARTLETS

1/2 package of frozen puff pastry, thawed

1/2 cup olive tapenade

5 ripe medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices

6 slices of cheddar (the recipe called for fresh mozzarella, but I like something a little more flavorful)

sea salt

balsamic glaze and olive oil to drizzle

12 basil leaves

Heat oven to 400F.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll pastry out on floured surface to 13 inch square. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds, transfer to baking tray. Pierce each round with fork. Top with another sheet of parchment and another baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven, place on rack to cool.

Spread a generous tablespoon of tapenade over each pastry round, top with artfully arranged tomato and cheese slices. Bake 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Arrange basil leaves on top of each tartlet, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic glaze, sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, August, 2008

www.bonappetit.com