Champagne Chicken.

Champagne Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 bottle champagne
1 pound penne pasta

Saute chicken in oil until lightly browned on each side. Remove chicken to a casserole dish, cover with seasonings, then pour champagne over to cover. Add skillet drippings to the chicken and bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove from oven and slice chicken into serving-size pieces.

Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce

8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes
1/8 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1/2 stick butter
8 ounces feta cheese
8 ounces grated Parmesan
1 tsp salt

While chicken is cooking, pour olive oil into a skillet, and heat on medium. Add in garlic & sun-dried tomatoes. Just as the garlic & tomatoes begin to change color, add 1/2 stick of butter and continue stirring. Pour in 2 cups of heavy cream, continuously stirring until mixture starts to thicken. When thickened, add feta cheese and continue to stir. When feta melts, add Parmesan and salt and continue to stir.

Boil pasta until al dente and drain. Serve chicken over pasta and cover with sauce.

Homemade Kahlua-style Liqueur.

A friend sent me this one. I'm not sure if she was suggesting that she needs to drink more, or if I do. Probably both......

Kahlua-style Liqueur

4 c. sugar
2 oz. instant coffee
4 c. boiling water
1 qt. 100 proof vodka
2 vanilla beans

Add 3 cups water to 4 cups sugar. Boil 20 minutes and cool. Mix in a separate bowl or pan, 2 ounces instant coffee and 1 cup boiling water. Let cool. Mix together both mixtures and add 1 quart 100 proof vodka and 2 vanilla beans. Age 3 to 4 weeks. Makes 2 quarts.

Pecan Dream Bars.

Pecan Dream Bars

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1¾ cups firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1 stick butter
4 large eggs
½ cup light corn syrup
1-1/3 cups melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups chopped pecans
1 (8 ounce) package almond brickle chips (may substitute chocolate brickle chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 pan. In a small bowl, combine flour and ¾ cup brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick butter with pastry blender, or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture into pan and bake 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, remaining 1 cup brown sugar, corn syrup and melted butter, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla, pecans and brickle chips. Pour over hot baked crust. Bake 30 minutes or until set. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Raspberry Bars.

Raspberry Bars

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup rolled oats
½-¾ cup seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8x8 square baking pan. In food processor pulse the flour, sugar and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until the dough comes together. Put dough in bowl and gently knead in the oats. Press all but ½ cup of dough into the pan. Spread the jam over the dough leaving a ¼-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the top with the remaining dough, it doesn’t have to cover just sprinkle evenly. Bake about 25 minutes until the edges are golden. Cool about 10 minutes before cutting.

Chocolate Streusel Bars.

The Mobile Register food section had an article today on options to the standard brownie & lemon square. This one, and the next two posts, were the one that most interested me.

Chocolate Streusel Bars

2 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup butter or margarine, divided
¾ cup finely chopped nuts
24 caramels, unwrapped
1(14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and egg. Cut in ½ cup (1 stick) of the butter or margarine until mixture becomes crumbly. Stir in nuts. Reserve 2 cups of crumb mixture, and press remaining mixture into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. While crust is baking, melt caramels, sweetened condensed milk and ¼ cup butter in saucepan over low heat. Add unsweetened chocolate and stir until melted. Pour over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool for several hours or overnight before cutting into squares.

Cold Avocado Soup.

This is the recipe, directly from Carnival Cruise Lines, for their cold avocado soup. As such, it is given for industrial quantity. If anyone wants to split it down to family size, it would be very much appreciated. The soup is perfection!

Here is the direct link to the original file, complete with photo.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

This is from the Columbia Restaurant, a legend in Tampa, Florida. I've heard amazing things about this dessert, especially from my friend, Alice, who fantasizes about it.

6 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 oz. vanilla
28 oz. white chocolate (Small Pieces)
4 eggs
12 egg yolks
18 oz. day-old Cuban bread

Heat cream, milk, sugar and vanilla over medium heat in a large saucepan. When hot and small bubbles form, remove from heat and add 2 & 1/2 cups of the white chocolate, stirring until melted.

Combine eggs and yolks in a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, slowly pour in a little of the cream mixture, whipping on medium speed to incorporate into the eggs to warm them. Slowly add remaining cream, continuing to beat to incorporate.

Cut bread into half-inch slices, place in a large mixing bowl. Pour egg and cream mixture over bread; press bread to absorb mix and allow bread to become soggy. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Grease a 10-by-12-inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the remaining cup of white chocolate to the bread and stir. (Do not let the white chocolate melt.) Pour mixture evenly into prepared pan and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour.

Remove foil, continue to bake for an additional hour (approximately) or until pudding is set and top is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly.

About 20 minutes before serving, slice bread pudding into individual portions and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven until crispy and heated through. Top with White Chocolate Rum Sauce and, if desired, chocolate curls. Serve immediately.

White Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 oz. white chocolate (small pieces)

2 oz. Bacardi Rum

In a medium saucepan, bring cream to a boil over medium heat. Remove from stove and add white chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Add rum, and stir with whisk to incorporate. Keep warm over very low heat until ready to serve. This can be made ahead and refrigerated, then reheated over low heat before serving.

Overnight Coffee Cake.

Saw this in the local paper, and thought that it looked good....

Overnight Coffee Cake

3⁄4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
3⁄4 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 & 1 ⁄2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Pour into a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish. Combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, remove the coffee cake from the oven and bake at 350 de- grees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 min- utes. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and milk. Drizzle over cake and serve warm.

Three Bean White Chicken Chili.

Three Bean White Chicken Chili


1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celerey, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
3 TBSP ground cumin
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 (32 oz.) box good chicken broth, preferably Kitchen Basics brand
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (or a whole rotisserie chicken, deboned & chopped)
1(15 oz) can Great Northern white beans, drained & rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion & celery until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the mixture from heat. Serve warm, topped with shredded cheese & sour cream.

* For a less spicy version, eliminate the jalapenos, double the green chilies, and cut the cayenne in half.

** I made this for dinner tonight, and it is fantastic! Especially on a crisp autumn evening! I'm thinking that next time I'm going to swing it a little more toward the Mexican side, and add in a bunch of cilantro, some diced carrots, and perhaps cut back on the beans and add in some rice. Also, I did the less spicy version, and it was still plenty spicy. I could have easily tolerated the full dose of cayenne, but the rest of the family would not have.