The next hot day, try this…it’s wonderful!

Ingredients:

1 lb linguini
1/4 c. olive oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 2 lemons
1/2 c. chopped fresh scallion or chive
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
salt & freshly ground peppah
parmesan cheese (fresh grated, not that canned stuff) to taste

You can also add, to make it “more” — steamed shrimp & asparagus spears, chopped tomatoes & grilled chicken, etc., etc.

Directions:

Cook linguini boiling salted water till done; drain well. Combine next 5 ingredients in a large serving bowl. Add pasta & toss well. Sprinkle with salt & peppah — toss in parmesan to taste. Serve & enjoy!

Hi, I’m Janet, aka fondofelves and I thought I’d start off my first post with a recipe for Dog Cookies! I have two dogs, Max & Wolf, and I like to feed my guys wholesome, organic, human quality food. They LOVE these cookies!!!

Ingredients

2 cups of corn flour (not to be confused with corn starch or cornmeal)
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of whole milk powder & water OR enough liquid milk to make a dough

Directions

Put the corn flour, oil, eggs and milk powder into a bowl, and add water (or liquid milk if you are not using powder) slowly. Mix until the dough can be formed into small balls without sticking to your fingers.

Place the balls on a greased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and flatten with a fork or if you’re feeling lazy, just press the dough onto the cookie sheet and score with a knife into small squares (don’t make them too thin or they’ll crumble, or too thick or they won’t bake properly). Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. They should be well-cooked but not to the point they start turning brown.

Get ready for some spice! It’s Summer, and that means it’s grilling time… Use this rub on steaks or chicken, serve up with a wedge of lime and some cerveza.

1/4 c. black peppercorns
2 tsp. whole allspice
1 stick cinnamon, about 2-1/2 inches long
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano leaves
2 heads garlic, roasted, peeled
2 dried chipotle or chili peppers
sea or kosher salt

Grate the entire cinnamon stick, and toss everything into your molcajete and give it all a coarse grind. Rub it into the meat of your choice and grill to perfection!

This is a fairly rich beef stew thanks to the buttery fingerlings, and is absolutely perfect for cold, rainy days. Feel free to incorporate your favorite dumpling recipe or serve over buttermilk biscuits. I like to add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl as I serve dish it out. If someone has a cold or is stuffed up, toss in a little horseradish. Heck, even if you don’t have a cold it’s a nice way to add a little kick to this rich and hearty dish.

1 lb. Stew Beef (Top Round, cubed)
1.5 C. baby carrots
12 small fingerling potatoes
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 med. yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 C. Vegetable stock
4 C. water
1 tbs. Worchester
1/4 c. red wine or port
1 tbs. unsalted butter
Sour cream (if desired)
Black pepper corns, coarsely crushed
Sea salt
Olive oil

Take the stock pot you’ll be using and heat the olive oil in the bottom. Toss in the meat and brown until the surface begins to caramelize. Deglaze the pot with the wine, and add the onions. Simmer until most of the wine is cooked off and the onions are clear. Add the butter, Worchester, celery, carrots, broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to keep it at a steady medium boil, just rolling, until you’ve reduced the volume to half. The carrots should just be getting soft at this point.

Wash the fingerlings, and add them to the pot. Season with the peppercorns and salt. Continue to boil until the potatoes are cooked through and the broth begins to thicken. If the broth doesn’t thicken enough on it’s own you can cheat and use a bit of cornstarch.

Yield: 4 generous portions.

… just wanted to show off this picture perfect lasagna I made.

Hey, mac users — download and try out this cool little Recipe application:

Connoisseur makes managing your recipes as easy as iTunes makes managing your music. From the elegant and snappy interface to auto-completing ingredients, we have put in the hard yards so you can focus on what is important; entertaining your guests.

You can add you own recipes, print out (or sync with your iPod) shopping lists, and organize by cuisine, meal, or ingredient.

• Connoisseur by The Little App Factory

Here is my first crack at a Chili. I’m a fan of spicy foods, so you might like to adjust the amount of chilis and spices, to your individual taste.

Time to prepare: 2-3 hours

Serves: 6 to 8

• 1/4 cup bacon grease
• 3 pounds boneless sirloin or chuck roast, cubed
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 5 large jalapeno or serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded & chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 4 New Mexican green or red chiles, roasted, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 6 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer
• 2 ounces tequila
• 3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
• 4 to 5 cups beef stock
• 1/4 cup to 6 tablespoons masa harina
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
• Finely chopped white onions, for garnish
• Sour cream, for garnish

—

1. In a large heavy pot (such as a cast iron Dutch oven), heat the fat or oil over high heat. Add the meat and sear, stirring, until no longer pink.
2. Lower the heat to medium-high. Add the onions, jalapenos, garlic, chiles, and chili powder, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are wilted and start to color, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
4. Add the beer and tequila and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan.
5. Add the chipotles and adobo sauce and 4 cups of the stock, stir well, and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, 2 to 3 hours, adding the remaining cup of stock as needed if the chili becomes too dry or thick.
7. When the meat is tender and the chili is ready, add the masa harina 1 teaspoon at a time to thicken to desired consistency, stirring well and cooking after the addition of each before adding more.
8. Remove from the heat and correct the seasoning, to taste. Skim any fat from the surface.
9. Ladle into bowls and garnish each with cilantro, chopped onions, and a dollop of sour cream.

The salad I made for the party last night was really quick and easy to make.

1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs
1 large crisp apple- Fuji or Gala
3 T dried cranberries, dried currants, or fresh pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup e.v. olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 shallot, diced
crumbled gorgonzola cheese

Whisk oil, lemon juice & diced shallot in a bowl.
Core and slice apple into matchstick size pieces.
Add apple and dried fruit or pomegranate to the bowl and mix.
(I used Craisins, but dried currants or fresh pom seeds would work)
Quarter fennel bulb and slice thin.
(Discard stalks but keep some of the leaves for garnish)
Add fennel to the salad and toss.
Add crumbled gorgonzola to taste and toss.
Garnish with the fennel leaves.

Yum- very cool and refreshing- healthy too!

This is a dish I recently made for Sunday dinner and got some good reviews for. It’s a traditional beef roast with a “game country” European flare. The cut of meat is important, as well as the selection of accoutrements.

Game Country Roast Beef

1.5 lbs. cut of sirloin roast.
10 Austrian crescent potatoes
1.5 c. of baby carrots
10 cremini mushrooms
5 Cippolini Onions
1 c. vegetable stock
3/4 c. port wine
Dash each of:
Crushed coriander seeds
Crushed black pepper
Cracked fennel seeds
Rubbed sage
Dried oregano
Kosher salt

2 tbs. olive oil.

You want to use a dish that can go from the stove top to the oven here. I use my Fiestaware roasting pan, but of course anything will do.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the oil in your pan on your stovetop and brown both sides of the roast until it’s looking good. Deglaze the pan with a bit of the port and reduce the heat. Add the veggies, the vegetable broth, and the rest of the port. Dust the top of the roast with the seasonings.
Cover, and place in the oven for about an hour and a half and don’t touch it until you take it out to serve.

Serves 4.

Real basic, old world flavors. This would be prime with a true game meat like venison, or something more extravagant like buffalo.

1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 cups flour
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GANACHE
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream

CAKE:

Lightly grease and flour a 10″ tube or 12-cup Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine with peanut butter. Add sugar
and combine until light in color. Add eggs one at a time, beating well
after each addition. Mixture should be light and fluffy. Add vanilla
extract. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add
flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour.
Combine batter until it is smooth and creamy. Pour into prepared pan.

Place pan into COLD oven. Set oven to 325^ and bake until the tester
comes out clean, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Let cake cool in pan 30 minutes
before turning out onto rack. Remove from pan and cool completely. Cover
with ganache.

GANACHE:

Heat cream until boiling. Pour over chocolate chips and whisk until it is
creamy and smooth. Let cool for 2-3 minutes.

Place cake on a rack and place rack over a large clean baking sheet (to
catch the drips). Pour ganache over the top and let it cascade over the
cake, enrobing it completely. Remove rack from dirty baking sheet and
place it over a clean one. Scrape up remaining ganache and reheat it, if
necessary, to pour over cake again if spots are missed.

Straight up traditional pumpkin pie. Quick and easy, and it tastes damn good 

Pumpkin Pie

1 can pumpkin pie filling, not the crappy pie in a can stuff, but just plain old pumpkin in a can.
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground clove
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. whole milk
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1 9" pie crust (recipe follows)

Blend all ingredients on low speed until fluffy and fully blended. Set aside in your refrigerator while you make the crust.

Pie Crust

1 1/3 c. pastry
    flour
   

1/2 c. soft butter
   

3 tsp ice
    water
 

The key here is ice cold water.  Blend the flour and butter, adding the water as the dough begins to form. Knead the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover, and let it chill in your ‘fridge for about 20 min. The colder it is the easier it will be to roll out. I suck at rolling dough, so tackle that task however you wish. This is a fairly moist dough so don’t be afraid to use a lot of extra flour when rolling it out. I folded and re-rolled mine several times.

Place the crust into your greased pie pan, pour in your filling, and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 min. or until the filling has set up.

I’ve been told by an authentic English friend that it’s some of the best ever 

The Christmas trifle for 2004 was a strawberry-banana with egg nog custard concoction. I actually cheated and used Cool Whip as I had forgotten to pick up whipping cream. It was quick and easy, but I would not recommend it… You don’t need a trifle bowl either, but it just looks so good if you do have one to make it in.

Trifle

Approx. 50 Lady Fingers
2 sachets of Bird’s Custard powder, prepared according to directions on the box, but substituting egg nog for milk
2 bananas
1 c. quartered strawberries
1 c. Pimm’s No. 1
2c. whipped cream
1/3 c. pureed strawberries

In your trifle bowl, make a ring around the diameter with the lady fingers, and make one layer covering the bottom. Slice the banana and toss the slices onto this first layer of lady fingers, then cover them with another layer of lady fingers. Toss in the strawberries and cover them with one layer of lady fingers. Pour the Pimm’s over the fruit/ lady finger layers making sure to soak it all… if you need to add more booze, feel free to do so.
Prepare your custard. When using ‘nog, you don’t have to ring it to a full boil.  Remove it from heat as soon as it starts to thicken. Pour into the trifle boil, taking the time to shake the bowl every now and again to ensure the custard gets down into the nooks and crannies. Fill it to the top of the ring of lady fingers. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your ‘fridge to cool and allowing the custard to set up.
Just before serving, whip up the whipped cream so it’s fluffy, and dollop onto the top of the custard. Drizzle the purred strawberries on top, and serve!

These are the cookies recipies for the tasty treats I served up at my Cookies, Coktails, and Christmas Vacation party… finally.

Snicker-Doodle Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. soft butter
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. Flour
2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix the sugar, butter, and eggs. Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, and soda. Knead the dogh into a ball and place it in your fridge to chill.
Combine 2 t. sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into 1" balls and roll them in the cinnamon/ sugar mixture. Bake for 8-10 minutes. cool completely on wire racks. You should get about 4 dozen.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

These are crispy molasses cookies that are great for dipping, and work GREAT for ice cream sandwiches!

3/4 c. soft butter1 c. sugar1/4 c. dark molasses1 egg2 c. sifted flour2 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. ground cloves1/2 tsp. ground ginger
In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add molasses and egg, beating until well blended. Add the flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Knead into a large ball, cover, and chill.
Put some sugar (I like large granulated organic sugar) in a pie dish.
Form into 1 inch balls roll each in the sugar and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Let stand for a minute then remove cookies to wire rack and cool. Makes about 4 dozen.

Rum Cookies

These little cannonballs of tasty goodness rock… use good rum, I prefer Bermudian Black Seal rum.

1 c. softened, unsalted butter
1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
2 c. pastry flour
1 c. finely chopped pecans
3 tbs. of rum

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the butter large mixing bowl at medium speed until very creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar, beating until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. 
Combine the flour, nuts and add that to the mixing bowl and blend. 
Now pitch in the rum. Knead the dough to fully blend everything and chill for a few minutes so it’s easier to handle.
Shape cookies into 1/2 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets, slightly pressing them to ensure they don’t roll all over the place.
Bake for about 10-15 minutes, remove from the oven and place on cooling racks over wax paper.
When cool spread with Rum Glaze (recipe below.)

Rum Glaze

3/4 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. milk
1 tbs. rum
Combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk and rum. Whisk until smooth.  Spoon over the cooled cookies.  This is a great glaze for devil’s food cake too!

Kiss Cookies

Old reliable, I generally refer to these as Nipple Cookies, but then again my mind is permanently in the gutter so… yeah. 

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. milk
1 tbs. Kahlua
4 dozen kisses, unwrapped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix flour, and baking soda. Add butter and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Make 1” balls. Roll in sugar.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and add 1 kiss to the center of each cookie.

Another winner from "Breakfast for Dinner."  This was my take on a recipe that is popular at a fancy bed and breakfast over in New York.  I stepped up to Half-andHalf from milk, and added the clove, and tweaked a few things here and there. It is always a crowd pleaser.

Praline French Toast Bake
1 loaf of bread (16 to 20 ounces, dense and crusty is the best, like farmer’s bread)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash of salt
Dash of ground clove

Slice bread into triangles.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Dip the bread triangles in the egg mixture and arrange them in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch baking dish in standing rows, overlapping the slices. Pour some of the remaining egg mixture over the bread filling the baking dish approx. 1/2 way.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare the praline topping (recipe below.)

Praline Topping
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pour the praline topping evenly over the bread mixture and bake for 40 minutes or so, until everything is puffed and lightly golden, and the praline misture is bubbly. Remove from the overn carefully, and let cool for about 10 minutes. Serves 8.
I placed the baking dish on a cookie sheet. This is super sweet and tasty, so try it without syrup and butter.

2 Cups
Bisquick
2 Teaspoons Poppy Seed
2 Eggs
2 8-oz. Cartons of Lemon Yogurt
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

Mix all
ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. You can cheat and use an electric beater if
you want

Grease your waffle iron,
and let it preheat. Pour on your batter
& cook until crisp and steaming, about 5 min on average.

Yields approx. 7 waffles
from a 9" iron.

Serve with fresh butter,
and lemon or lime curd, or your choice of syrups/ sauces.

These are light and airy pancakes, and go great with traditional maple
syrup and fresh butter. Of course fruit syrup, jams, compote, and
anything else you like on your pancakes will work as well.  Consider
adding: chopped fruit, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, coconut,
marshmallows, or whatever catches your fancy before you slap them on
the griddle!

Quick ‘n Easy Pancakes
2 c. Bisquick
1 3/4 c. milk (you can substitute half and half, or if you’re feeling extra decadent buttermilk)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbs sugar
1 egg

In a medium bowl, mix the Bisquick, baking powder, and sugar together. Add the milk and egg, and stir to combine. Finally, whisk in the lemon juice. If you’re adding fruits or something else, do it at this point.
Grease a griddle or heavy skillet. Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat and then add the batter, by 1/3 cup increments. Cook until little bubbles appear around the edges of the pancake, and then flip. Cook on the second side until golden brown and cooked through in the middle. Serves 4.

This is a big meal that will make anyone who loves food happy, and keep
you busy in the kitchen, but it is the real deal and very tasty on a nice summer night.

Fish

2 pounds of fresh haddock fillets.  I can’t
stress enough that you need fresh, not pre-frozen fish.
1 whole fresh lemon 

Chips   

Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes

Batter
1 c. whole milk
2 tbs. vinegar
1 tsp. oil (I usually
use peanut oil)
2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher/
coarse salt

Prep the fish by washing in ice cold water to remove any loose scales or
"slime" and promptly coat with the juice from that lemon. Cut the fillets into
approx. 6" long pieces/squares and set aside. While you prep everything else,
keep that fish as cold as possible!

Begin pre-heating your deep fryer, or if you’re working on your stovetop,
heat a generous amount of fresh vegetable oil.  But seriously, if you’re going
to make this invest in a deep fryer.  They are useful for so many tasty
treats.

Peel and slice the potatoes into shoe-string size, you know what a French fry
looks like!  Now, ideally you’ll deep fry these, but you can bake them at 375
degrees for approx. 20 min. and it will free up the fryer for the fish and make
things a bit less hectic for you.

Now, the batter.  This is a traditional recipe, and for the life of me I
can’t remember where I got it from.  I’ve had it for a long, long time.
Mix
everything but the vinegar and 1 c. of the flour together in a bowl that will
allow you to dip the fish in.  Place that 1 c. of flour in another bowl large
enough to let you coat the fish pieces.
Get set up by your fryer with the
fish ready, the bowl of flour, and the bowl of batter.  Quickly whisk in the
vinegar to the batter, and get to work.
You want to thoroughly coat each
piece of fish with the flour, then the batter, and plunge it carefully into the
fryer.  Be sure to come back to each piece and lift it from the bottom to ensure
you don’t end up with a stuck mess ‘o fish.  It’ll be done quickly, when the
batter has turned a golden brown… approx. 5 minutes with 375 degree
oil.

This serves about 4 people with generous portions.  Serve it with a good
hearty ale or stout (of course Bass or Guinness are highly recommended) and plenty of malt vinegar.

These don’t really have a name, but I love them.  They’re kind of like an Almond Joy candy bar, but with pecans instead of almonds.  That adds just the right amount of sweetness to take these into decadent territory.  I can up with this on a whim one day when I was bored and had the munchies.

MFCs

1 c. soft butter
1 1/2 c. natural, unbleached sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
3 c. pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
5 c. milk chocolate chips
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease your cookie sheets.
Combine the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, and stir them into the creamed mixture it’s blended well.
Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, coconut and pralines. Drop onto the prepped cookie sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and I usually press them with a fork (like you do with peanut butter cookies) and let them cool on the pan for a minute or so before transferring them to cooling racks.

I never get the same count out of a batch, but this makes a decent amount of cookies.   Recently, on a trip back to Buffalo for Thanksgiving I was munching a few of these at the airport.  Three people asked me about them because they just smell and look so amazing.  Kinda funny.