Cock of the Walk Cole Slaw.

Cock of the Walk Cole Slaw

1 head of cabbage chopped (or 2 bags of ready made)
2 grated carrots
3 green onions chopped
1/4 green bell pepper chopped
1 small white onion or 1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
2 1/2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP Lawry's Season Salt
1 TBSP white vinegar
2 cups Mayo

Mix all ingredients except Mayo. Add Mayo last. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spinach Salad.

Spinach Salad

1 bag Spinach
1 can Mandarin oranges in light syrup drained
1/4 - 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Dressing:
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp yellow mustard
1/4 cup Tarragon Wine Vinegar
1/8 yellow onion chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp celery seed

Place all ingredients in blender and process. Refrigerate unused portion.

Fried Stuffed Avocado.

A friend was just in Austin, TX, and reported the phenomenon of the stuffed avocado. I found this recipe online. Trudy's seems to be one of the epicenters of this dish.

Fried Stuffed Avocado

1/2 avocado
3 shrimp, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh pressed garlic
2 tablespoons pico de gallo
10 ounces white wine
3 ounces cream
2 tablespoons manchego cheese
2 ounces salsa or pasilla chili sauce
artichoke heart, if desired

Take the ½ avocado and remove the skin, leaving avocado ½ whole. Use a scoop and remove some of the flesh around the seed hole to allow for more filling. Dust with flour and wrap in plastic and freeze. Dip the avocado in the relleno batter removing excess batter from the hole and deep fry. Heat, sauté and cook the shrimp with garlic and pico. Deglaze with white wine and add cream to bring to a boil. Add manchego cheese and cook until thickened. Fill the hole with the shrimp mixture and pour sauce around rim and serve. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Relleno Batter

2 eggs, separated
3/4 cup beer, room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

To prepare, place flour in a mixing bowl and add egg yolks, salt, oil, and beer. Stir batter until thoroughly mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours or as long as 24 hours - the longer the better, to a point. Just before using batter, stir it well again. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gently fold egg whites into batter. Fry in oil at 360°F.

San Antonio Chocolate-Cajeta Flan Cake.

San Antonio Chocolate-Cajeta Flan Cake

1 (18.25-ounce) box chocolate or devil's food cake mix, plus ingredients needed to make cake
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup regular milk or water
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 (10.9-ounce) jar cajeta

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan (see note) with nonstick cooking spray. Spray nonstick cooking spray on one side of a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the Bundt pan and form a tight seal. Set aside.

Prepare chocolate cake batter according to package instructions.

Set aside.

Prepare the flan by mixing in a blender the canned milks, regular milk or water, cream cheese, vanilla and eggs. Set aside. Soften the cajeta in its jar (no lid) in the microwave. Pour into prepared Bundt pan and tip the pan so it runs around the sides. Add the cake batter. Add the flan mixture. It will come nearly up to the brim. It's OK if you have a little flan left over. Now use the prepared aluminum foil to seal the Bundt pan tightly.

Carefully place the Bundt pan inside a larger baking pan in the oven. (A disposable pan works fine.) Pour hot water in the larger pan to a depth of 2 inches surrounding the Bundt pan. Bake cake for 2 hours. Do not uncover during baking time. After the baking time is up, remove Bundt pan from water and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Remove foil seal and invert the cake onto a platter with a good rim. The cake will have migrated to the bottom, and the flan will end up on the top; the cajeta will drip down the sides. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Note: If you don't have a 12-cup Bundt, you may use a 10-cup Bundt and bake the leftover batter in an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

Pour enough batter into the prepared 10-cup pan to come 2 inches from the rim of the pan. Pour remaining cake batter into prepared loaf pan. Pour flan mixture to come up within 1 inch of the prepared Bundt pan. Pour remaining flan mixture in loaf pan. Proceed with recipe, but bake 10-cup pan for 1 hour and 55 minutes, and loaf pan for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Mexican Corn Stuffing Casserole.

Mexican Corn Stuffing Casserole

5 cups crumbled corn bread
1 (15-ounce) can creamed corn
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.

Bake the crumbled corn bread on a baking sheet, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until lightly toasted.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add corn bread; toss to evenly combine. Do not overmix. Transfer to prepared baking dish; cover. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes; uncover. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until heated through and top is brown. Makes 8 servings.

Note: If you like a moister stuffing, add up to 1/2 cup chicken broth to mixture before baking.

Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing

Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing

2 buttery-ripe black-skinned avocados (about 1 pound), pitted and peeled
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 & 1/2 cups cultured buttermilk

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the buttermilk. Process till smooth. Add the buttermilk and process till combined. Transfer to a container and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the film onto the surface of the dressing. Refrigerate until serving. May be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Makes 31/2 cups, or about 14 servings.

Presentation: Wash, dry and quarter a head of iceberg lettuce. Use one quarter per serving. After you've drizzled the dressing over the lettuce, you might dust with a little ancho chile powder or chopped green onion.

Mexican Coffee.

Mexican Coffee

3/4 cup coffee beans, ground
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 cups water
1 cup milk
1/3 cup chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place coffee and cinnamon in the filter basket of coffee maker. Add water to coffee maker and brew as directed. In a saucepan, blend milk, chocolate syrup and sugar. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Combine milk mixture and brewed coffee. Stir in vanilla. Makes 6 cups.

Chicken Tetrazzini.

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

6 tbls butter
2 ½ cups chicken broth
½ cup white win
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp garlic
1 bunch green onions
5 tbls flour
1 ¼ cup light cream
¾ cup parmesan cheese
3 cups cooked chicken
12 oz cooked vermicelli
2 tsp oregano
½ cup chopped onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Melt 3 tbls butter over medium heat. Sautee the onions in the butter until tender. Mix in the flour and cook, stirring occasionally until bubbly. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Remove the pan fro the heat and stir in chicken broth, light cream and wine. Return to heat and cook, stirring until sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in parmesan cheese. Mix cooked pasta with sauce and chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe courtesy: Alex Naman- Naman’s Catering

Sausage Stuffed Squash.

Sausage Stuffed Squash

6 yellow summer squash
1 lb. hot or mild sausage
¼ cup chopped onions
¾ cup bread crumbs
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 T oregano
1 T thyme
1 T basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil squash until softened and then cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds from each half. Or, cut in half and remove seeds first, then cook shells gently in 1 T hot olive oil in a covered skillet over medium-low heat. Turn shells once, cooking ~3 minutes on each side or just until tender. Transfer to a rack, cool and pat dry with a paper towel.

Brown the sausage in a skillet, along with onions, and drain. Then mix in bread crumbs, cheese and herbs.

Fill squash shells and bake in oven for 15 minutes. Also may want to add a sprinkle of cheese on top and broil for the last minute.

PB & J Breakfast Cookies

PB & J Breakfast Cookies
from Fix, Freeze, Feast

These are perfect with a glass of milk!

Makes about 32 Cookies

1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam, preferably no sugar added
1/4 cup molasses
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup hulled sunflower seeds

1 cup instant dry milk powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Wax paper

4 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, jam, molasses, eggs, and vanilla in a food processor or by hand in a large bowl. Mix oats, flour, sunflower seeds, dry milk, baking soda, and salt in a separate large bowl. Pour the peanut butter mixture in to the dry ingredients; mix well.

3. Scoop dough with a 1/4-cup measure and place several inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. With your fingers or the back of a spoon, shape into 1-inch-thick patties. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; transfer to a cooling rack. Divide cooled cookies evenly among freezer bags, separating layers with wax paper.

4. Seal and freeze.

To Enjoy: 

Remove desired number of cookies from freezer; thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Bake before freezing?

We like to bake these before freezing so they're easy to grab in the morning. The dough does freeze well thought, so it you prefer, freeze the dough.

East-Indian Rice Ring

East-Indian Rice Ring
from Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Prepare on serving day.

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup light raisins (we omit these)
6 cups hot cooked rice
shredded coconut

In skillet, melt butter and saute chopped onion and almonds until golden. Add light raisins; heat until plump. Add hot rice; mix gently. Press mixture into greased 6 1/2 cup ring mold. Remove from mold at once and place on to a round serving platter. Fill center of rice ring with Orange Curried Chicken. Top with a sprinkling of shredded coconut, if desired.

Orange Curried Chicken

Note: We are trying to get back in the habit of cooking and freezing our meals in advance. This is one of the first new recipes we've tried - and one of the most delicious meals we've made.

Orange Curried Chicken
from The Everything Meals for a Month Cookbook by Linda Larsen

Serve this delicious Indian dish with extra curry powder for those who like it hot.
To serve immediately, add frozen peppers and onions and simmer 5 to 8 minutes until hot: serve over rice.

Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons flous
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 cups frozen peppers and onions

1. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Combine flour, curry powder, and salt on large plate. Add chicken and toss to coat.

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add chicken; cook and stir until chicken is almost cooked. Add orange juice; simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add evaporated milk, stir, and remove from heat.

3. Chill mixture in refrigerator or ice-water bath until cold. Add frozen vegetables and mix gently. Wrap, label, and freeze.

4. To thaw and reheat. Thaw mixture overnight in refrigerator. Place in heavy skillet and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Serve over hot cooked rice. (The East-Indian Rice Ring is a perfect complement to this dish.)

Steak au Poivre.

From Alton Brown.

Steak au Poivre

4 tenderloin steaks, 6-8 oz. each and no more than 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup Cognac, plus 1 teaspoon
1 cup heavy cream

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking. Sprinkle all sides with salt.

Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, the bottom of a cast iron skillet, or using a mallet and pie pan. Spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate. Press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface. Set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan. For medium-rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side. Once done, remove the steaks to a plate, tent with foil and set aside. Pour off the excess fat but do not wipe or scrape the pan clean.

Off of the heat, add 1/3 cup Cognac to the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match or firestick. Gently shake pan until the flames die. Return the pan to medium heat and add the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Add the teaspoon of Cognac and season, to taste, with salt. Add the steaks back to the pan, spoon the sauce over, and serve.

Chocolate.

Last week's edition of NPR's Kitchen Window, which featured chocolate, was excellent. Be sure to check it out!

Inaugural Dessert.

This was the inaugural luncheon dessert. As for the entree & sides, they didn't seem very exciting to me, but judge for yourself.

Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake
Yield: 10 servings

Apple Filling
4 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup water
1/₃ cup granulated sugar
1/₃ cup apple sauce
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Grated zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bread Crust
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melt 10 of tablespoons
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
34 slices brioche bread (or white bread)

Equipment
10 Ceramic baking ramekins or metal molds (3” diameter)

Sauce
2 cups caramel sauce(store bought)
2 cups granny smith apples, peeled, cored, diced small
Pinch sugar
Pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

Filling:
1. Melt butter in 6-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add apples and caramelize, add water, cook, stirring occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are completely soft. Remove cover and add sugar, nutmeg and salt. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring apples frequently, until liquid has completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, apple sauce and vanilla. Set aside to cool while making crust. The filling can be made one day ahead

Making crust and assembly:
1. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Grease 8 ceramic dishes with 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle sugar in dish and tilt to coat bottom and sides. Tap out excess sugar and set aside.
2. Using a bread knife, remove crusts from bread. Center the bottom of mold over one of the bread squares. Cut around mold to form circle to use as the top. Make a total of 20 of these round pieces. Ten will be for the bottom and 10 will be used for the top. Dip each one in melted butter and place at the bottom of mold.
3. Cut each of the 15 remaining slices of bread into four rectangular pieces. Dip one side of each strip in the melted butter and arrange strips, upright, around the inside of molds, buttered-sides against mold and overlapping by about 1/2” to completely line mold. Use 6 rectangles to line the mold.
4. Spoon the apple filling into bread-lined molds, mounding it slightly in center.
5. Take the remaining ten rounds of bread and dip pieces of bread into the melted butter and place on top of filling, buttered-sides up. Press down lightly.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover top loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until top is deep golden brown and side slices are golden brown (slide a thin-bladed knife between bread and pan to check). Remove from oven, uncover, and let rest for 15 minutes on wire rack. Run thin-bladed knife around edges of molds to be able to flip the mold out onto serving plates.
7. For the apple cinnamon caramel sauce, sauté 1 cup of peeled and diced Granny Smith apples in butter, add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon. Allow to cook until apples are lightly browned and all sugars have dissolved. Remove from heat and add 2 cups caramel sauce to the apples and stir to coat apples.

To Assemble:
Pour caramel apple sauce over warmed apple cakes and serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Inaugural Seafood Stew.

This was the first course at President Obama's inaugural luncheon, immediately following his swearing in.

Seafood Stew
Yield: 10 servings

6 (1 Lb) Maine lobsters
20 medium size Sea scallops
36 Large shrimp, peel, cleaned and tail removed, aprox. 2 lbs.
10 (1 oz) pieces of black cod
½ cup small dice carrots
½ cup small dice celery
½ cup small dice leek
½ cup small dice Idaho potato
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper or black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 quart heavy cream
1 cup dry vermouth (can be made without)

10 (5 inch) puff pastry rounds

Equipment
10 (3 ½ inch) terrines/ramekins or serving dish of your choice

Directions
1. Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil; poach lobsters, then shrimp, then black cod and last scallops. After seafood is cooked, remove from water; reserve water and bring to boil.
2. Cook all vegetables in liquid that was used for the seafood, remove vegetables when tender. Allow the liquid to continue to boil until only 1qt of liquid remains. This will be the base for the sauce.
3. Bring seafood liquid back to a boil and add the vermouth and heavy cream and reduce by half, season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste. You have reached your desired thickness when the sauce will cover the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.
4. Cut Maine lobster, shrimp and scallops into bite size pieces.
5. Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees.
6. Fold seafood and vegetables into cool sauce, being careful not to mix too much as this will break up the seafood. Scoop mixture into terrines or oven proof baking dish of your choice.
7. Cover terrines with puff pastry rounds, brush them with egg wash and bake them until golden brown about 8-10 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. You can cook this 2-3 hours ahead of time and keep warm at 150 F degrees.

*All seafood can be substituted with other favorite options of your choice and availability.

Pralines #1.

I've wanted to make pralines for a while, but for some reason they have intimidated me. The timing of the heat, the very quick setting up, etc. But, I tried this recipe tonight, and it worked well. It's quick, and excellently flavored. They are not quite as smooth & creamy as I prefer, but still very, very good. Of course, now, I get to try more recipes to find the exact version that I want. And, after a quick browsing of my cookbooks, there are an amazing variety of praline recipes out there.

Pralines

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups pecan pieces

Combine sugars, then add milk and mix well. Cook over medium heat until mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 236-238 degrees. Remove from heat, and quickly stir in butter, vanilla, and pecans. Beat until creamy. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper.

Dutch Baby.

Lorraine saw Alton Brown make this last night, and immediately made one for us. It is fantastic! It's like a cross between a pancake & a beignet. It is really simple to make.

Alton's Recipe

Chocolate Truffles.

(From NPR's Kitchen Window)
Chocolate Truffles

The lovely thing about making truffles is that you can take a simple recipe and dress it up with chopped walnuts or hazelnuts or dried fruit, such as dried cranberries. Of course, the pure chocolate version is equally delicious, with either a dusting of cocoa or a chocolate coating. Makes 1 dozen truffles

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
9 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocoa), chopped, divided
Chocolate Coating (recipe below) or unsweetened cocoa powder, optional

Bring cream to simmer in small heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir 7 ounces chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Remove from heat. Add remaining 2 ounces chocolate and stir until smooth. Stir in cream. Chill truffle base until firm enough to roll, about 3 hours.

Line rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Roll 2 teaspoons truffle base between fingertips into ball. Transfer to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffle base. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Chilled truffles can then be rolled in unsweetened cocoa powder or the Chocolate Coating.

Chocolate Coating

8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocoa), chopped

Line another rimmed baking sheet with wax paper. Stir chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water just until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly in a shallow bowl.

Take a chilled truffle and lightly roll it in the melted chocolate. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining melted chocolate and truffles, rewarming chocolate if necessary.

Chill finished truffles until firm, about 1 hour. Truffles can be made 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Caramels.

(From NPR's Kitchen Window)

Candy is ideal for sending in gift packages. And who doesn't like caramels? This recipe is easily doubled. Makes 1 dozen caramels

Caramels

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter, cut into three one-tablespoon pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel (a type of sea salt sold at most health food stores and specialty food markets)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water

Special equipment: parchment paper*, candy thermometer

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.

Bring cream, butter and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248 degrees on the candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool for at least 2 hours.

Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting the two ends to close. Caramels will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container.

* Parchment paper or wax paper is a must for wrapping the caramels; they will stick to anything else.