Beets in Mustard Cream

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Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh beet peeledboiled until tender and then slicevery thinly
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup lite olive oil or 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
• 1 cup plain yogurt

Steps:

• Thoroughly combine mustard vinegar saltamp; pepper
• Slowly whisk in the olive oil pouring in a slow steady stream whisking all the while
• Stir in the yogurt to finish the dressing
• Pour the mustard cream over the beets toss cover and refrigerate for at least an hour

Coconut Jelly

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Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons agar-agar powder or 4 tablespoons agar-agar flakes
• 2 14 ounce cans coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil
• Mix agar agar with cold water before adding to boiling water
• Mix agar agar solution in boiling water
• Let cook for 5 minutes
• Add sugar and cook till dissolved
• Add coconut milk and vanilla
• Cook 5 minutes
• Pour in dish and cool in refrigerator
• It will form two layer a clear layer and a white layer

Cold Asparagus with Pecans

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs fresh asparagus as young and tender as possible
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ground black pepper

Steps:

• Trim the asparagus and cook in boiling water for 6-7 minutes or until barely tender and still bright green; drain and rinse under cold water then drain again
• Arrange in 1 or 2 layers in an oblong serving dish
• Mix the pecans with the oil vinegar soy sauce and sugar; pour over the asparagus lifting the stalks so that the mixture penetrates to the bottom
• Sprinkle with pepper
• Serve chilled
• This dish can be made up to 36 hours ahead of serving time

Cold Cream of Cucumber Soup

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Ingredients:

• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 5 smooth-skinned cucumbers
• 1 potato peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 leeks coarsely chopped
• 1 shallot chopped
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and halved
• 1 cup sour cream or 1 cup yogurt
• salt freshly ground black pepper
• fresh chives

Steps:

• Bring the vegetable broth to the boil
• Chop 4 of the cucumbers coarsely
• Thinly slice the fifth and set the slices aside
• Add the chopped cucumbers potato leeks shallot and garlic to the boiling broth and cook until tender about 45 minutes
• Remove from heat and blend
• Add salt and pepper to taste and cool
• Refrigerate for several hours until well chilled
• To serve pour the chilled soup into a soup tureen add the sliced cucumbers and chopped chives
• Spoon the sour cream or yogurt on top or serve it separately at the table

Cucumber-Only Salad

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Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• 4 tablespoons fat-free Italian salad dressing

Steps:

• Peel cucumber and slice
• De-gut center of cucumber to take away seeds and mushy part
• Put cucumber slices in bowl and pour fat free italian dressing on top
• Best if chilled overnight
• but can be eaten right away

Devil's Food Cupcakes W/Chocolate Ganache Frosting amp; Centers

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Ingredients:

• 13 ounces heavy cream
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate I use a bag of chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup cocoa preferably but not absolutely Valrhona or Cocoa Barry Extract Supermarket cheap stuff works also
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise I use fat free and it works fine
• 2 cups sifted cake flour I rarely ever sift as I find that cake flour seems to always measure right I know I should
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Steps:

• GANACHE
• In a sauce pan bring your cream to a light boil
• Then pour in the chocolate and start stirring immediately
• Keep going until you have a smooth mixture
• At first this will seem like its not working as the chocolate hasnt begun to mix with the cream
• Then
• in second
• it will start to form Just give it time
• Remove from heat and set aside to cool
• Dont be tempted to taste throughout the cooling process as youre not supposed to touch the ganache until it sets
• Put ganache in fridge until youre ready to use
• If youre making these in a hurry
• start making the batter
• If not
• make the batter when youre ready to start baking your cupcakes
• CUPCAKES
• Pre-heat oven to 375F
• Line cupcake tray with cupcake papers
• Whisk together water and cocoa
• Set aside and let completely cool you can put this in the fridge too
• When cocoa mixture is cool
• whisk in the mayonnaise and vanilla until smooth
• Meanwhile
• combine dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low until combined
• Once mixed
• increase speed to medium and beat in cocoa mixture for one minute
• The batter is supposed to be thin
• but Ive seen it thin/medium
• Poor batter into a measuring cup with a spout and fill each cupcake 1/4 the way full
• Now take out your ganache and with a spoon make a small ganache ball and set one ball in the center of each cupcake
• Continue to fill each cupcake until its 3/4 the way full to prevent spilling batter
• Check to make sure your oven is at 375 and bake for 15-20 minutes until cupcakes are set
• Poke with a toothpick to confirm they are done
• The toothpick should slide out smoothly without any cake on it
• Once completely cooled make sure you cool the cupcakes or your ganache will melt
• frost with the rest of your ganache frosting
• You should have extra ganache left over - about a cup

Easy Bread and Butter Pickles

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Ingredients:

• 8 small pickling cucumbers unpeeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1 medium onion cut in half and thinly sliced
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Steps:

• Combine cucumbers onion vinegar sugar salt mustard seeds dry mustard turmeric crushed red pepper and celery seeds; heat to boiling over high heat stirring occasionally
• Boil 1 minute stirring frequently
• Pour cucumber mixture into a large bowl; cool to room temperature stirring occasionally
• Cover and chill overnight before serving
• You can spoon cooled cucumbers and their liquid into jars with tight-fitting lids and refrigerate up to 4 weeks

Easy Gingerbread Cookies

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Ingredients:

• 1 6 ounce package butterscotch pudding mix or 1 6 ounce package Vegetarian butterscotch pudding mix
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Steps:

• Cream pudding and pie filling mix with butter and sugar; add egg and blend well
• Combine flour baking soda ginger and cinnamon; blend into pudding mixture
• Chill dough for 1 hour or until firm
• Roll dough on a floured board to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutter
• Place on greased baking sheets; use a straw to make a hole in the top of the cookie for hanging on the tree if desired
• Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes
• Remove from oven and cool on wire rack
• Decorate if desired

Eggs with Garlic and Parsley Oil

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Ingredients:

• 1 dozen egg
• 1/2 cup tightly packed parsley
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil preferably Spanish extra-virgin
• 1 small carrot grated
• 4 green Spanish olives sliced
• 4 black olives sliced

Steps:

• Hardboil the eggs
• Place the eggs into a large saucepan
• cover with enough cold water to have 2 of water above the eggs
• Bring the eggs to a boil
• boil for 1 minute
• remove the eggs from the heat
• cover with a lid and set aside for 18 minutes
• Pour off the hot water and immediately fill the pan with cold water
• and keep pouring out and refilling
• until the water remains cool
• This will stop the eggs from continuing to cook
• This technique makes a hard-boiled egg that is cooked through
• without being tough or rubbery
• It also has a yolk that is a beautiful color with none of that over-cooked grayish-green rim
• Once the eggs have cooled; peel
• quarter and place into a decorative plate or bowl
• I prefer to use a slightly smaller serving dish and place the quartered eggs where they are laying slightly on top of each other
• Similiar to the way you layer fruit on a tart
• Place the parsley
• garlic
• paprika
• and black pepper into a blender container
• Pulse until the parsley and garlic are minced
• Then slowly add the olive oil while running the blender
• Drizzle the flavored oil over the eggs
• reserving 1/4 of the oil
• Garnish with the grated carrot
• sliced green olives
• and sliced black olives
• Drizzle the remaining flavored oil over the garnished eggs
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
• Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving

English Pea Salad

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Ingredients:

• 2 15 ounce cans English peas well drained
• 2 hard-boiled eggs boiled and peeled
• 1/2 medium onion peeled and minced
• 4 tablespoons pickle relish
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Steps:

• Place peas in a large bowl
• Chop hard boiled eggs and add to peas along with the minced onion pickle relish and mayonnaise
• Stir gently to combine
• Chill until ready to serve

Fat Free Vegetable Dip

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Ingredients:

• 1 envelope fat-free ranch dressing mix
• 16 ounces fat free sour cream

Steps:

• Mix sour cream and ranch dressing and chill
• Serve with any vegetables

Fresh Pineapple Fruit Salad

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Ingredients:

• 1 whole pineapple
• 1 papaya peeled seeded and cut in chunks
• 1/4 lb seedless grapes
• 1 apple peeled cored and cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1 banana sliced
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 lime quartered as garnish

Steps:

• Cut pineapple lengthwise into quarters
• Cut away and discard core
• Remove pineapple flesh by carefully cutting between it and the outer skin of pineapple to use the shell for a salad bowl
• Cut pineapple into chunks and combine with remaining ingredients except lime wedges in a bowl
• Gently toss and chill if desired
• Serve fruit salad in a pineapple shell topped with lime garnish

Fruit Breakfast Rolls

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Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup dried fruit blueberries cranberries cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 loaf frozen white bread dough thawed
• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine melted
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Steps:

• In a small bowl
• combine confectioners sugar and milk
• Mix well
• Pour mixture into a 9-in deep-dish pie pan
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the dried fruit and pecans evenly over sugar mixture
• On a lightly floured surface
• roll bread dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle
• Brush with melted butter
• In a sm bowl
• combine brown sugar and cinnamonamp; sprinkle over dough
• Top with remaining 1/2 cup dried fruit
• Roll up rectangle
• jelly-roll style
• starting from a long side
• Pinch to seal edges
• With a sharp knife
• cut roll into 12 slices
• Place slices
• cut-side down
• on top of mixture in pan
• Brush with melted butter
• Let rise
• covered
• in a warm place 30
• minutes
• or until nearly double
• Bake in a preheated 375 F oven 20-25 minutes
• Let cool in pan 1 to 2 minutes
• Invert onto a serving platter
• Serve warm
• Or to make the night before and bake in AM
• Cover with waxed paper
• then with plastic wrap
• Refrigerate 2 to 24 hours
• Before baking
• let chilled rolls stand
• covered
• 20 minutes at room temperature
• Bake in a preheated 375 F oven 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown
• Ifnecessary
• cover rolls with foil the last 10 minutes to prevent overbrowning

Ginger Chocolate Shortbread

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar also known as fruit sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped preserved gingerroot not candied but the type preserved in syrup
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped

Steps:

• Please note that this recipe calls for preserved ginger
• which is the ginger typically sold in jars or in bulk stores where I buy mine that is in a sweet syrup; the type of ginger that is candied and sugared is NOT the type of ginger to use
• Place soft butter and superfine sugar in a mixing bowl and
• using an electric mixer
• blend butter and sugar together until fluffy
• Slowly stir in flour
• then chopped ginger
• then chopped chocolate
• The mixture will be crumbly
• Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log about 1-1/2 inches in diameter; wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm
• about one hour
• Dough keeps well in the fridge for several days
• so theres no need to bake the whole batch up at one time if youre pressed for time
• When ready to bake
• preheat oven to 300F
• Cut logs of cookie dough into slices about 3/8-inch thick I found a sharp serrated steak knife worked better for me than my chefs knife; arrange about two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in centre of oven for 18 to 20 minutes
• Cool cooked cookies on a wire rack; do not store until completely cool

Green Salad With Spinach, Artichokes and Avocado

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Ingredients:

• 1 head boston lettuce
• 1/4 lb baby spinach leaves
• 1 large avocado halved pitted peeled thinly sliced
• 1 14 ounce can artichokes drained
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove finely chopped
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped

Steps:

• Wash and dry all the greens and place in a bowl
• Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl that will fit the avocado slices and artichokes and mix with a whisk to emulsify
• Toss the avocado and artichoke hearts in the dressing to coat adjust seasoning if needed and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes
• To serve add the avocado artichokes and dressing to the lettuce and spinach leaves and lightly toss
• Serve at once

Leaf Salad

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Ingredients:

• 3 cups iceberg lettuce
• 2 cups green cabbage
• 2 cups red cabbage
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup mayonnaise or 1 cup Miracle Whip
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt I use sea salt
• i use a small can of drained mandarin oranges to the dressing also great are using nuts such as almonds real or walnuts we also like bacon bits real

Steps:

• Wash and tear up lettuce into bite size and put in large bowl
• Wash and chop into bite size both red and green cabbage and add to lettuce
• Wash and tear spinach into bite size chunks and add to lettuce cabbage mixture
• Toss and refrigerate until ready to serve
• Dressing
• Mix in a bowl mayo and honey
• Add salt and pepper
• When ready add dressing to salad and serve

Macaroni Dandy Salad

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup Miracle Whip
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tomatoes diced
• 1 cup diced celery
• 3 tablespoons chopped pimientos
• 3 tablespoons green peppers chopped
• salad greens

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions
• Rinse with cold water drain and place in large bowl
• In small bowl mix mayonnaise lemon juice sugar celery seed salt and pepper
• Combine with macaroni and remaining ingredients
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until serving
• Serve on top of salad greens or from bowl

Mushroom Tarts

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold butter diced
• 1 cup cream cheese diced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms chopped
• 8 ounces wild mushrooms chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• salt freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

• PASTRY Place flouramp; salt in food processor and scatter butteramp; cheese over top; pulse together with on-off motion
• Remove from processor form into a ballamp; chill for 30 minutes
• Pinch 1 inch balls from the pastryamp; pat NOT rolled as this pastry is very rich into small tart or muffin tins- or foil tart tins
• Chill until needed
• Preheat oven to 400F
• Heat butter in skillet; add mushroomsamp; saute for 5 minutes or until juices disappear
• Add garlicamp; creamamp; bring to a boil; add lemon juice green onion parsleyamp; seasonings
• Spoon into pastry cases
• Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until pastry is edged with goldamp; mushroom filling is hot
• Turn out of tinsamp; cool for 10 minutes
• These may be frozen on cookie sheets placed in freezer containersamp; reheated from frozen state at 350F for 15 minutes or until filling is hot

Simple, but wonderful avocado dip

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Ingredients:

• 3 ripe avocados
• 16 ounces sour cream
• hot pepper sauce
• garlic
• cayenne pepper
• salt

Steps:

• Take the avocados and get rid of the skin and the seed
• Mash them up
• you can do it using a simple potato masher or even a fork
• Add garlic and mix well
• Stir in about half of the sour cream
• Add spices and hot sauce and stir well
• Let sit for 5-10 minutes
• Leting it sit lets the hot sauce and garlic to go to work
• Add as much sour cream as you want
• The more you add the more heat you will take away
• Enjoy with veggies or chips

Summer Pudding With Rum Whipped Cream

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh strawberries hulled and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups fresh raspberries divided
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 tablespoons framboise eau-de-vie raspberry brandy
• 1 1 lb brioche bread or 1 1 lb egg bread
• 1/2 pint cold heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon dark rum

Steps:

• Combine the strawberries
• sugar
• and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan and cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 5 minutes
• Add 2 cups of raspberries and all the blueberries and cook
• stirring occasionally
• until the mixture reaches a simmer
• Cook for one minute
• Off the heat
• stir in the remaining raspberries and the framboise
• Slice the bread in 1/2-inch-thick slices and remove the crusts
• In the bottom of a 7 1/2-inch round by 3-inch high souffle or baking dish
• ladle about 1/2 cup of the cooked berry mixture
• Arrange slices of bread in a pattern this will become the top when its unmolded and then add more berry mixture to saturate
• Continue adding bread
• cutting it to fit the mold
• and berries
• Finish with bread and cooked berries
• using all of the fruit and syrup
• Place a sheet of plastic wrap loosely over the pudding
• Find a plate approximately the same diameter as the inside of the mold and place it on top
• Weight the mold with a heavy can and refrigerate
• Remove the weight after 6 to 8 hours
• Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
• Just before serving
• run a knife around the outside of the pudding and unmold it upside down onto a serving plate
• Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment
• When it starts to thicken
• add the sugar
• vanilla
• and rum
• Continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks
• Serve pudding in wedges with cold rum whipped cream

Threadgill's French Quarter Pasta Salad

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup black olives sliced
• 1/2 cup green olives sliced
• 1/4 cup green chili diced
• 1 red onion sliced
• 1/2 cup celery finely diced
• 1/2 cup cauliflower diced
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 green bell pepper sliced
• 1/2 carrot finely diced
• 1/2 cup broccoli diced
• 1/2 cup mushroom thinly sliced
• 4 lbs spiral shaped pasta uncookedfresh or frozen dry would work also
• 2 teaspoons parsley minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon basil leaves sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon leaf oregano
• 1 teaspoon tarragon leaf
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup vinaigrette dressing your favorite

Steps:

• Mix all salad ingredients EXCEPT pasta
• Mix salad dressing and pour over vegetables
• Let stand for 12 hours in refrigerator stirring occasionally
• Cook and chill pasta
• Add pasta to the vegetables
• Serve as a salad or as a base for entree salads

Traditional Scottish Brandy Wafers

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Ingredients:

• 2 ounces light corn syrup
• 2 ounces butter
• 2 ounces flour
• 2 ounces caster sugar superfine sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon brandy
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450F and grease a baking sheet
• Melt the butter syrup and sugar over a gentle heat and then stir in the flour ginger and brandy
• Keep stirring for about five minutes
• Drop small teaspoonsfuls onto the baking sheet keeping them well apart
• Bake for five minutes or until they are a pale golden brown
• Using the greased handle of a large wooden spoon roll the wafers round the handle while they are still hot- take care not to burn yourself
• Allow to cool before use