Salad Nicoise

This is a family favorite and requested often at the dinner table. Also, I've served it at many group parties because it can be prepared in advance and served immediately upon the arrival of guests to the house. It makes a big impression and leaves a smile on every ones face - even to your mother-in-law - and that's from personal experience!

By name, this salad has many versions, but this one was created and improved many times over - especially the salad dressing. It has a touch of perfection!

Recipe courtesy Rick McConnell - Salad Specialst

Dressing
Mix:
Heaping tbl. of Dijon Mustard
½ tbl. of sugar
6-8 dashes of pepper
¼ cup vinegar
Shake in bottle to mix well

Add:
¼ cup of vegetable oil
Shake in bottle and mix well
Set aside or refrigerate

Salad
Cube and Steam Red Potatoes (approx. one per person)
Slice and Steam String Beans (appox. eight per person)
Prepare before serving and refrigerate or chill in cold water after steaming

Next:
Pour lemon juice over solid tuna and mix with mayonnaise and dill seed to taste
Slice roma tomato
5 Whole black olives
Sliver dilled beets
Set aside while preparing serving plate with lettuce

Next:
Break up romaine lettuce and place on serving plate
Place tuna mix in center of serving plate
Side dress tuna with slivered beets, cubed potatoes, cut string beans, sliced tomatoes and black olives (place in a criss-cross pattern and circular pattern)

Refrigerate salad on plate until ready to serve. Pour dressing mix over salad and serve chilled. Serve with a smile to add flavor and flare to dish!

American Dream Torte

This cake makes the american dream seem possible, because the cake is possible to make and look pretty too. It came from "The Pampered Chef - ALL THE BEST" Cookbook (www.pamperedchef.com).

It is a combination of pound cake, raspberry flavored gelatin, raspberry seedless jam, thawed whipped topping, cream cheese, white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling, raspberries and blueberries. The cake is baked, cut into three sections, brushed with gelatin mixture, layered with the creamed filling and topped with fresh fruit. I baked it in a 9x13 cake pan as the recipe suggested. Next time I'm going to try it in a sheet cake pan. By using this other pan the cake should have thinner cake layers, and be more wide than high. It was difficult to cut and serve the cake as shown.

Nonetheless, I got lots of compliments on this one and it lifted every ones spirits high for the day!

For the recipe click here!

Thai-Style Black Bean Salad

This is an interesting combination of ingredients. I had tried something similar from an Xagave cookbook, so I wanted to try the Taste of Home version.

I did not like the flavor of this as well as the other. The 1/3 cup of agave made the difference for me. So, make this recipe but add the agave to make it more flavorful!

For the recipe click here!

Carrot Cake Cookies

I have a challenge passing up any interesting looking carrot cake. It's a weakness of mine. When I saw this recipe I had to try it immediately. It was not disappointing, but satified my craving for the cake, however in cookie form. It's a WINNER in my cookbook!!!!!!!!

Recipe courtesy Becky Low - Dairy Farmers of Utah

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 1/2-2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/3 cups peeled and grated carrots
2/3 cup drained crushed pineapple
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

Beat together softened butter, white and brown sugars; beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir together white flour, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into butter and sugar mixture. Stir in carrots, pineapple, raisins and nuts. If needed, stir in additional flour to create desired consistency (to test desired consistency, drop a spoonful on prepared baking sheet and bake; if cookie spreads too much, stir in additional flour). Drop by mounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Remove from baking sheet and cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional
3 cups powdered sugar
1-4 teaspoons milk, if needed

Method:
Beat together cream cheese and butter until soft and fluffy. Add vanilla and optional lemon juice, beat. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth; if needed, thin frosting to desired consistency by beating in 1 teaspoon milk at a time until frosting reaches desired spreading consistency.

Honey Spice Cake with Rum Glaze

What a simple cake to prepare and serve. The most difficult part is separating the egg yolks and whites, then whipping up the egg whites until they peak. Once the basic batter is prepared you fold in the whipped egg whites and the cake is ready to bake. It comes out of the oven golden brown and fluffy. The rum glaze really makes the cake enjoyable, so do not miss out on this part of the presenation.

I included to the side a small ball of crushed pineapple and a splash of whip cream and sprinkled a mix of cinnamon and sugar on top to create the final touches of color and texture. You'll have to admit it looks yummy and tastes it too!

Flower Garden Soup

This traditional vegetable soup is delightful to serve for family and/or guests. It contains chicken broth, herbs, onion, carrots, zucchini, celery and chicken. The carrots and zucchini are notched before cutting into 1/4" thick slices, creating the appearance of flowers in the soup; thus the name! It looks and tastes healthy, and is really simple to prepare as long as you have the patience to modify the two main vegetable ingredients.

It is a work of art and that's coming from a master gardener!

For this recipe click here!

Spanish Meringue

This is one beautiful cake and a great conversation piece! The nuts make the cake good too! I found the presentation to be more than the overll flavor.

It has all the south of the border spices and tastes sort of like "horchata" for those who know their spanish drinks. It took more baking time than the recipe called for in order to get the cake to set-up, but I enjoyed the watching and waiting.

Buenas suerte con esta torta y buen provecho!

Lemon Fluff

Each time this is served at a dinner party there are "oooooos and ahhhhhhs" from the dinner table. This no fail recipe keeps them coming back for more. The mild lemon and cream flavors seem to appeal to all age groups.

So. . . . many have requested the recipe. Here's the details:

Mix and spread on bottom of a 9" x 11" glass dish and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until brown and let cool:
1 C flour
1 C chopped walnuts
1/2 C butter (melted)

Mix and spread on top of cooled crust:
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
2 C Cool Whip

Mix and spread on top of cream cheese mixture:
2 Small Pkgs. Instant Lemon Pudding
3 C Milk

Spread Cool Whip for the top layer and sprinkle with chopped walnuts, refrigerate for one-two hours before serving.

Paula Deen's Almond Sour Cream Pound Cake

I really enjoyed the taste of this cake. It was simple to prepare and a favorite of many in the office. There was something wonderful about the combination of the toasted almonds, the almond flavoring and the cream cheese frosting that made it hard to not eat more and more and more!

I over mixed the batter and it had too much air before going into the oven, as a result the cake fell. I kept baking it hoping the center would cook thoroughly. I ended up cutting off the bottom of the cake because it was cooked to a crisp and filling the cavity with frosting. I'll just admit it now, I failed in the baking section, but in the presentation part the cake was a winner! Next time I prepare it I'll know better and I can hardly wait to make and serve it again.

The Naughty Senator Cake

The cake is a combination of peppermint, chocolate and rum flavors. The peppermint flavor represents the congresspeople who always seem to smell of mint, the chocolate flavor symbolic of the rich senators and the rum flavor means debauchery or the leading astray morally of the government.

It took time to mix the batter, divide the batter, add the peppermint flavor to one bowl, add food coloring, then pour in the chocolate mix and rum to the other bowl and layer the two batters in the cake pan. To finish you complete the cake by using the end of a knife in a rotating motion to create the marbleing affect before cooking.

The green color adds to the overall interest of the cake and it comes out light and fluffy while it tastes a little like a Andes Mint candy or Junior Mints. Many in the office said they had never had a mint flavored cake and seemed to be well taken by the novelty of the marbled coloring and familiar peppermint flavor, but in cake form. I placed a small mint to the side so the staff could make a true and on the spot comparison between the dessert and candy.

Texas Turkey Soup

This soup is a nice change from the tomato base soups I have been eating. The turkey meat makes it more healthy according to the critics. I enjoyed the mix of vegetables, meat and pasta.

The recipe is easy to follow and the soup thickens up just right with the adding of cornstarch and water. There wasn't a single thing to modify on this recipe. It gets a "BIG TEXAS STAR"!

For the recipe click here!

White Chocolate Macademia Nut Pie

This recipe is one of my favorites and turns out perfect every time. It's a dessert that no one can take just one piece of after a dinner meal. The texture is creamy and the chocolate makes it a winner with almost everyone. I keep it frozen and thaw for approximately 20 minutes before cutting and serving into individual pieces.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ganache:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Filling:
6 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus 3/4 cup, whipped soft
6 1/2 (1-ounce) squares premium white baking chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2/3 cup roasted, chopped macadamia nuts
1 pre-baked deep-dish (9-inch) pie shell

Garnish:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 ounces chopped macadamia nuts

Ganache: Place chocolate chips in a metal mixing bowl. Bring cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour simmering cream over chips and stir until melted. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Scrape bowl with a spatula and mix in 1/3 cup heavy cream. Add the melted white chocolate, zest, and nuts and stir just until incorporated. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread into pre-baked pie shell and level off using a rubber spatula. Put in freezer until frozen. To finish pie, place the ganache in the microwave on low for no more than 10 seconds at a time. Stir after each warming, until ganache pours loosely but is not even close to boiling. Be very careful when warming chocolate, as it will burn very quickly when heated in the microwave. Once chocolate is scorched it is unusable. Spread warm ganache over top of frozen pie, smoothing to the edges with a spatula.

Garnish: Beat cream and confectioners' sugar with a handheld electric mixer to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe edges of pie with whipped cream. Sprinkle macadamia nuts over top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sugar Cookies (Soft As Could Be)

I enjoy a good sugar cookie and wanted the ideal recipe. So, I made a new sugar cookie recipe every day for a week until I found this one. It is incredibly soft and well flavored and gets me the "hmmmmm" and "so good" compliment every time. It's a KEEPER!

Cream together:
1½ c white sugar
1 c butter

Add:
1 tsp vanilla (add ½ tsp of peppermint flavoring at Christmas for delight)
2 eggs

Stir in:
1 c sour cream

Sift together and add:
5 c flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp nutmeg

Chill 40 minutes. Roll on floured canvas, fairly thick (1/4” +). Cut w/large cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet (on parchment paper makes them softer) and bake at 375 degrees 10-12 min. Cookies should be large, soft and thick.

FROSTING:

½ c Solid vegetable shortening
½ c Butter or margarine
4 c (1 lb.) sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Butter Rum Cake

This brings back memories to rum lovers. I could not get this cake to bake in the center, ever after two attempts. So, I had to separate the completed batter into two bowls and bake two cakes from the recipe. This allowed the center to bake thoroughly and gave me lots of cake to serve.

The butter and rum glaze makes the cake enjoyable. I decided to dress it up a bit with some powdered sugar sprinkled over the top before serving to the office.

Later, I served it with a maple nut ice cream to family. It was a nice change from the standard vanilla and chocolate cakes.

Oodles of Noodles Soup

I enjoyed the chunks of chicken in this soup. There is lots and lots of noodles, just like the title of the soup. Almost too many noodles for the amount of broth as it is served for a meal.

It was fun to eat and would be a favorite of kids, in my opinion.

For the recipe click here!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

This would be my list as a substitute for "lava cake," but easier to serve in a larger group or dinner setting. The difficulty with this cake is that you cannot ever tell when it is done because the center is to remain soft and gooey. It was a constant guessing game. I made it three times in one day before serving to the office staff.

The first time I baked it too long and it was not gooey enough for my expectation and appeared like a standard cake. The second time I made it, it was too gooey and the cake sat upright in form after coming out of the pan for 45 seconds, then flattened to look like a chocolate pancake. The third time, I realized that it was not like a flowing lava cake, but more like a moist brownie on the inside and more cake-like on the outside. I decided to zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds before serving each plate. The warm chocolate center, crusty outside topped with chocolate ganache and strawberry made it a favorite for pure chocolate lovers!

Tomato Corn Chowder

I found the potatoes in this to be my favorite part. The recipe did not call for celery, but I had some in the refrigerator, so it got thrown in to the pot. It seemed to go well with the other vegetables and flavor of the soup.


The recipe uses the liquid from the canned corn and tomatoes for flavor, so it is simple to prepare. I liked the bacon bits on top to improve the flavor, and I might suggest mixing it into the soup just before serving to enhance the overall flavor even more.

For the recipe click here!

Cocoa Bread with Stewed Yard Peaches

I couldn't seem to get enough of this dessert. The batter has a combination of flavors including; molasses, sugar, unsweetened cocoa and ground cinnamon. This creates a very interesting overall flavor to the bread.

I used frozen peaches for the stewed topping. This sugar and water with the peaches, warmed and served over the top makes a tasting finish. Then I completed the presentation with a splash of whip cream and dash of cinnamon. This recipe was highly complimented and requested again soon!

Mary Carole Battle's Mother's Wacky Cake

The history of this cake was fascinating. It was created during WWII when dairy products were scarce and was an answer to wartime desperate homemakers. This recipe involves no butter, no eggs, and no milk. The books says that the Seven-Minute Frosting takes more time to make than the cake itself. I would concur.

The frosting turned out wonderful and successful. I feel that I could make a Seven-Minute Frosting now at the "drop of a hat." The key is adding cream of tartar to the mix so the granular sugar crystals cannot "reconnect" and turn the frosting back to sugar. I also have discovered that White Karo Syrup will keep the frosting from doing the same. A great chemical discovery thanks to the inter-net.

The cake is simple. The frosting is complicated to make according to my colleagues. However, the two opposites combined were enjoyable from all the comments in the office.

Hearty Ham and Cabbage Chowder

I made this in celebration of St. Patrick's Day and acknowledging the Irish. It was simple to make had a variety of vegetables. The ketchup and brown sugar resulted in a sweet flavor in the chowder. It was not one of my favorites and serve due to the very sweet flavor. I'll save this for the desserts!

For the recipe click here!

Chocolate Pound Cake

I really like this cake for a chocolate delight. It went into the bundt pan easily and a came out easily. I added an extra 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa to the batter because it just didn't look rich enough in flavor to my taste. Also, I topped the cake with a chocolate ganache before serving to the office. This made it an incredible chocolate experience for everyone. I would use this recipe for any chocolate cake I serve in the future. It was dense and delightful!

30 Minute Minestrone Soup

I found this recipe in the book because the ingredients just happen to be in the refrigerator at the time, except for the spinach and beef broth required to complete the task. I did have some basil leaves on hand, so I used these instead of the spinach, and cut into small pieces. I also had chicken broth in the cupboard, so this went into the soup rather than the beef broth. I found these to be easy substitutions and created a wonderful flavored soup. I used 10 basil leaves for the amount of spinach and equal amount of chicken broth as called for in the recipe. The broth of the soup had a sweet and savory taste.

I would do it again, the exact same way!

For the recipe click here!

ATF Gingerbread

This cake was interesting to all in the office. Once they tasted the cake, gingerbread desserts went high on the charts. The texture and color of this cake was wonderful, so dense and dark, and easy to cut into perfect squares for serving. The book cautions that crystallized ginger is expensive. You're not kidding on this one! A member of the office staff found a recipe on the inter-net for making this topping, so there is a less expensive route to go if you don't mind peeling ginger root. This approach would just take more time, but save you money.

The cream cheese frosting recipe made the cake incredible to eat. Someone commented that it tasted like ice cream topping, so smooth and flavorful. If you are not into cutting out gingerbread cookies, here is a sure way to get the same effect with a cake!

Acorn Squash Soup

I used two acorn squash for this recipe. I found it to be just barley enough to make the three cups required for the soup mixture. Once I had put all the ingredients together, I chose NOT to put it in the blender and puree the contents, but rather used a potato masher to smooth out the contents of the soup. I really liked it this way. The curry and dill spices together was a nice change to standard squash soup recipes.

Do not, I mean, do not forget to put the crumbled bacon pieces on top of the soup before eating. This small touch of flavor and texture made the soup a winner!

For the recipe click here!

Dorie Greenspan's Rum Drenches Vanilla Cake

When this recipe was named "rum drenches vanilla cake," that is exactly what it is, and nothing more. It seemed plain to me, so I finished off the recipe by creating a powder sugar glaze with rum flavoring and drenched the cakes for an added punch of taste.