Friday, June 28, 2013

Vanilla Ice Cream

3 cups sugar
8 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
8 c whole milk
4 c heavy whipping cream
4 vanilla beans, cut length wise and scraped
4 egg yolks

Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Add vanilla beans. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly.

Remove from heat.

Whisk egg yolks together, gradually whisk in 2 cups hot cream mixture into yolks. Add yolk mixture to remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly.

Cool 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Place plastic wrap directly on cream mixture, and chill 8-24 hours.

Freeze in 5 quart ice cream freezer as per freezer instructions.

Adapted from Southern Living.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

http://www.heatherchristo.com

Ingredients
  • -4 ounces roasted red peppers(packed in water and drained)
  • -2 cloves garlic
  • -¼ cup almonds
  • -½ cup fresh parsley, rough chopped)
  • -1/4 cup olive oil
  • -kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  1. 1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the red peppers, garlic, almonds and parsley. Stream in the olive oil and then season to taste with kosher salt.


Feta Cheese Dip



¾ pound Feta cheese, broken into pieces
2 green onions, chopped
1 fresh red chili, stem removed, chopped
2 Tbs dill
2 Tbs oregano
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1) In the bowl of a food processor, combine the feta, green onion, chili and herbs.
2) Pulse until the cheese is well combined.
3) Add the olive oil and lemon juice and puree until smooth.
http://www.heatherchristo.com

Monday, June 10, 2013

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup


INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons butter
4 large yellow onions, sliced and
separated into rings
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
8 slices of French bread
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/3 cup shredded Emmental cheese
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
cheese
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella
cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1.Heat butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir onions until they become translucent, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle onions with sugar; reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, until onions are soft and browned, at least 30 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2.Stir sherry into onion mixture and scrape bottom of pot to dissolve small bits of browned food from the pot. Transfer onions into a slow cooker and pour in beef broth. Season to taste with sea salt; stir in thyme and bay leaf. Cover cooker, set on High, and cook 4 to 6 hours. If desired, set on Low and cook 8 to 10 hours.
3.About 10 minutes before serving, set oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet.
4.Broil bread slices until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
5.Combine Gruyere, Emmental, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses in a bowl, tossing lightly. Fill oven-safe soup crocks 3/4 full of onion soup and float a bread slice in each bowl. Top with about 2 tablespoons of cheese mixture per serving.
6.Place filled bowls onto a baking sheet and broil until cheese topping is lightly browned and bubbling, about 2 minutes.

One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta

Serves 4 to 6 as an entree
12 ounces linguine pasta
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor)
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
1small package sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Spinach at the end
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.
Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .

Stir in 4-6 cups of spinach.
Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with parmesan cheese.

Baklava

Best made 24-36 hours before serving. From Mary Dahl via Jo Dee Neilson

Pastry:

1 lb package phyllo pastry
1 c butter, melted
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c chopped pecans
1 c chopped almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 c sugar

Brush a jelly-roll pan with melted butter. Place 6 pastry shells in the pan, brushing the top of each with melted butter using a pastry brush.
Mix the nuts, sugar, and spices together in a bowl. Spread half the nut mixture on the pastry.
Place 6 more layers of pastry on top, buttering each layer. Layer with remaining nut mixture and then remaining pastry, buttering each layer.
Cut into diamond shapes before baking.
Bake 30 minutes at 325, and then 30 more minutes at 300.

Remove from oven and immediately pour warm syrup over hot Baklava.

Syrup:

1 1/2 c sugar
6 T honey
1 1/2 c water
1 T lemon juice

Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.