Recipes

Some miscellaneous recipes to highlight....

Delicious Broccoli from "Vegetables from an Italian Garden: Season by Season" 

Served at our Thanksgiving Dinner in November 2016 ~ prepared by Cindy

Chourico puffs

This recipe was shared February 2014 by Jeanne  

1/2 lb ground chourico

1 large potato

2 TBS parsley

1 small onion chopped fine

salt & pepper to taste

1 box puff pastry

Peel & boil potato and mash roughly.  Saute onion till soft in olive oil.  Mix all ingredients together and roll into 2 logs & put into refrigerator for 1/2 hour.

Cut  puff pastry lengthwise into 2 equal pieces.  Roll out puff pastry about 8 inches long put one log on the pastry and roll it up place seam side down on a baking sheet then do the other.  Put in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375.  Coat another baking sheet with cooking spray. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator, brush with beaten egg.  Cut into 1 inch thick pieces, place on baking sheet, upright, with seam sides down.  
Bake for about 12-14 minutes until tops are golden brown.

Celery Root & apple salad with Hazelnut vinaigrette

This recipe was shared February 2014 by Jeanne

Vinaigrette

2 TBS Dijon Mustard

1 TBS White wine vinegar

1 TBS Fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 Small garlic clove

1/4 Cup Hazelnut oil

2 TBS olive oil

1 medium celery root peeled & cut into matchsticks

1 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced

1 unpeeled apple, cut into strips

Whisk first 5 ingredients in a bowl, the add hazelnut oil & olive oil.

Toss apples, fennel & celery root with vinaigrette.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Shrimp Empanaditas

This recipe was shared by Jen February 2014

FOR THE FILLING:

2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes' peeled and finely chopped

2 bay leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb shrimp (Prawns), peeled and chopped into %-inch (6-mm) Pieces

4 pickled jalapeño or serrano chiles, finely chopped, with 1 tablespoon pickling liquid

8 pimiento-stuffed green olives, chopped

12 capers, finely chopped

FOR THE DOUGH:

1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 oz low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups (10 oz/ 315g) unbleached all-purpose flour

Sea salt

1 large egg

To make the filling, in a large frying pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and sea salt and pepper to taste, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dry, 10-15 minutes.  Add the shrimp, chiles and pickling liquid, olives, and capers and stir until the shrimp are opaque and the mixture is dry, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, remove and discard the bay leaves, and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes or preferably, Iet cool completely, cover, and refrigerate overnight.  Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper' The filling should be full flavored and highly seasoned.

To make the dough, in a bowl, using a large wooden spoon, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well blended.  Stir in the flour and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and mix well.  Knead the dough just until it holds together and can be formed into a ball.  Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375’F.   Lightly grease a baking sheet.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half.  Roll out one half until it is 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.  Using a 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter cut out rounds.  Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each round, fold the round in half, and seal securely by pressing with your fingers.  Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1/2 teaspoon water.  Brush the tops of the half-moons with the egg mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the empanaditas until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 5 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 30 empanaditas

VASILOPITA CAKE (Greek New Year's Citrus Cake):

This cake is traditionally served at midnight on New Year's Eve. There is a coin hidden in the cake. Each individual is given a slice. There is also a slice dedicated to the "house" or family. Whoever gets the coin is said to have good luck and prosperity for the whole year.

We love this cake so much, we make it all year round!  Shared by Nina August 2013

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2sticks) room temperature/softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
4 extra large eggs (room temperature)
4 tsps baking powder
1 cup milk (room temperature)
Pinch of salt
Rind of 1 lemon
Rind of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla extract

Powdered sugar for dusting/decoration (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (a stand mixer works best for this)
Add eggs one at a time beating slightly in between until light and fluffy

Combine and Sift all dry ingredients
Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and beat into butter mixture
Add aromatics (lemon rind, orange rind, vanilla)
Add milk and remaining dry ingredients alternating as you go.

Pour batter into 2 8" floured, round baking pans or one large floured baking pan. Also, can be made as cupcakes (makes 24).  Note: the batter does rise a good amount. Do not overfill pans.

Cook until cake is a light golden brown. Approximately 30-40 minutes depending on your pans and oven. Check for doneness with toothpick. Toothpick/skewer should come out clean.

Let cakes/cupcakes cool. Dust by sifting powdered on top for decoration.

Happy Cooking!