Recipes

Homemade Dogfood

2008-01-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Special thanks to CarolAnn who knows more about this than anyone else, and has instructed John, who is now the dog food chef extrodinairre.
Suggested ingredients
2 – 3 pounds ground beef or turkey (to be used raw)**
3 cups uncooked rice
3 cups shredded veggies* (eg carrots and broccoli)
good leftovers such as cheese, cornbread, multi grain bread, oatmeal
beef broth
eggs

Cook the rice and dump it into a huge bowl and let it cool. Lay a large piece of wax paper on the counter. Get out the zip lock bags and have them ready on another piece of wax paper. (You don’t want to be getting raw meat on anything else around the kitchen once you get started.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with your bare hands. Use beef broth and/or eggs to make a sticky consistency. At this point, the dog can taste it, and let you know how you are doing.
Roll into balls (golf ball sized up to tennis ball sized, depending on the dog’s meal size) and arrange on the wax paper. Put 4 balls into each Ziploc bag and freeze. Thaw each bag in the fridge before using.

*dogs should NOT get onions, peppers, eggplant or tomatoes
**our vet said to cook the patties, because of the bad bacteria that can be found in ground meats. However, Carol Ann says dogs have enzymenes to protect them (makes sense, since they would eat raw meat in the wild). Because Cleo is so sick, I'm not taking any chances and I flatten it and fry it in a saucepan.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2007-06-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

7 oz Scharffenberger bittersweet chocolate
½ lb European unsalted butter
4 eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt

Put the chocolate and butter in top of a double boiler over simmering water to melt slowly.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease the sides and bottom of 10” springform pan, line bottom with parchment paper and grease it as well.
Separate eggs – whites in smaller bowl and yolks in larger bowl. Add half of the sugar to the yolks and beat with an electric mixer several minutes until it is pale and thick like custard.
Add the cocoa and salt to the melted chocolate and stir up. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolk bowl and fold gently until well blended.
Beat the egg whites with cleaned beaters until they form soft peaks, gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until firm, glossy peaks form.
Add about a quarter of the whites to the chocolate-yolk mixture and gently fold until blended. Carefully fold in the remaining whites, trying to preserve as much volume as possible.
Slide the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, approximately 40 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Run a think knife around the inside of the pan to release the cake, and unlatch an remove the side of the pan.
Let the cake cool completely before cutting; it will be fragile while still warm. As the cake cools, it will collapse like a fallen souflee – that’s fine.

Serve with fresh raspberries and whipped cream, or ice cream.

Potato-Tomato-Cheese Casserole

2007-01-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

Potato-Tomato-Cheese Casserole

2 lbs potatoes (8 small or 5 medium)
6 Tbs butter
1 ½ lbs ripe tomatoes (12 small)
basil leaves (12 or more)
2/3 lb mozzarella cheese
6 hard-boiled eggs
2/3 cup fresh parsley
½ cup Parmesan cheese (plus more)

Boil the potatoes until they are just barely tender, drain them, peel them and cut in thick slices. (Do slicing and make the topping while they cook.)

Melt 2 tbs butter in the bottom of a large shallow casserole dish. Arrange potatoes in one layer and salt them. Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on top. Add salt and pepper and basil leaves (whole or snipped up). Sliced mozzarella makes the next layer.

Topping
Peel and grate the eggs into a bowl. Add 4 tbsp melted butter, snipped up parsley and Parmesan. Mix. Spread over the top of the casserole and sprinkle on a little more parmesan.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Mint Ice Cream Dessert

2006-08-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

Food snobs laugh at this dessert, and choose the tiramisu, but then end up sampling this and loving it.
Helping to demonstrate the creation of this delicious summer dessert (perfect for your weekend barbecue) is Daniel, from Holland. He can't wait to try it when he gets home. Unfortunately they do not have Oreos in Holland. And they do not have mint chip ice cream.

Ingredients:
1 package of Oreo Cookies
1 cube butter or margarine
1 carton of Mint-chocolate chip ice cream (the inexpensive kind that comes in a box)
Hershey’s syrup

First make sure the large rectangular glass pan will not be needed for marinating chicken or roasting potatoes.

1. In a large bowl crush the Oreo cookies until they are small crumbs. This is harder and messier than you would think.

2. Meanwhile melt the butter. Use the wrapper to grease the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the melted margarine to the cookie crumbs and mix well.
At this point the sous-chef should open the carton of ice cream and start making rough calculations as to how many slices will be needed to fill the pan.

4. Set aside about one half cup of crumb mixture and press the rest evenly in the pan.

5. If the ice cream layer does not come out perfectly, simply shift some ice cream around and smooth it over with a spatula.
6. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top of the ice cream. Drizzle with a pattern of Hershey's syrup.

6.5 Daniel added a Dutch-touch to this dessert by adding those famous Dutch sprinkles.

7. Cover with foil and put in the freezer. (Realizing there is not enough room in the freezer will encourage a quick clean out.)
8. Let it thaw for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

Real Cherry Pie

2006-07-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

Real Cherry Pie

This makes two cherry pies, because by the time you are done, you will want to have at least two pies to show for it. Freeze one pie or plan to have the neighbors over for a barbecue. First you need a friend with a sour cherry tree. Go there on a hot day in early July with your kids and plastic bags. Argue over who gets the ladder first. If you don’t get the ladder, climb the tree so that you are higher than the ladder anyway.
Most cherries can be pitted by pulling gently on the stem, otherwise use a handy cherry (and olive) pitting tool (available at our T & C) Kids can do this out on the porch in old clothes.

Crust:

4 cups flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/3 cups of shortening
4 tablespoons of cold butter
1/2 cup very cold water

Sift flour and salt together. Cut the shortening and butter into the flour with two knives until it is pea sized. (This is very boring, but don’t try any shortcuts.) Sprinkle in the water and mix with a fork. Add a little more water if necessary to hold it all together. Divide into four balls and keep in the fridge until cherries are ready.

Cherry filling:

8 cups of pitted sour cherries
2-21/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup quick cooking tapioca
1/4 cup Kirsch or a few drops of almond flavoring

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir a little. Lit it sit for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450. Roll out pie crusts. Fill with fruit. If freezing pie, make a solid top crust and do not prick until it is time to bake. Otherwise make a nice lattice top. Bake 10 minutes at 450, reduce heat to 350 and bake about 40 minutes longer. When the pies are cool, start making homemade vanilla ice cream.

Summer Berry Dessert

2006-06-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Mini (individual sized) angel food cakes
Ben and Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio Ice Cream
Lots of berries
Whipped Cream

Put the angel food cake in the dessert bowl. Place a small scoop of ice cream in the center of it. Add lots of berries. Add lots of whipped cream. Add more berries.

Birthday Fruit Cake

2006-06-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

Birthday fruit cake is quite different from fruitcake. First of all it is delicious, second, requires no baking and third is healthy!
Recipe kindly shared by Sue.

Tools Required: Corer, Long wooden skewers
Ingredients: Seedless watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew melon, Pineapple (or star fruit)
Steps:
Cut seven one-inch thick slices of watermelon. Leave the rind on the first level and decorate it with the corer tool to make the green/white pattern. Alternate the rest of the layers of watermelon with smooth cut and zig-zag cut edges. (Olaf, experienced with sharp tools, did this part.)
Make the candles: Use the corer tool to make cylindrical shapes of honeydew and cantaloupe. Alternate the fruits onto the skewers. Top each with a wedge of pineapple or a slice of star fruit. Done!

Life-Sized Birthday Cake

2006-04-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

Life-Sized Cake Recipe and Step by Step Assembly Instructions

Ingredients:
12-18 cakes (13 x 9 inches each)
8 - 12 pounds powdered sugar
3 pounds of butter
cake decorating tubes

The first thing to do is find out how tall your subject is, and in the case of someone very tall, you may need to measure your table to be assured that it is long enough to display the final product.

Really creative types may pooh-pooh the idea of planning out the design and number of cakes required, but it is well worth the extra time. Remember, with cake there is no erasing. And it would be a pity to find out on party day, while arranging cakes that you are a head short.

Modeling sessions where you sketch out a variety of full body poses of your subject are helpful, unless, of course, it is a surprise. Once you have a finalized design, it needs to be incorporated into a grid of the 13 x 9 proportion of the individual cakes. Unfortunately there is no graph paper in that proportion, so you make some in Excel. But see how it will facilitate the cutting?

Start baking cakes several days in advance and put them in the freezer.
Cover the table with a large piece of cardboard and cover that with aluminum foil.

Lay out the cakes (its ok if they're still frozen)
(Look at that Sparky - he's so cute!)

Study your diagram

Start cutting

The diagram makes it so simple.

Naturally, a LOT of frosting will be required. But it can be so much fun!

Clean up is not quite as much fun.

The fine details require good nerves and a creative mind.

The final product is magnificent!

Dan's Famous Guacamole

2005-07-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

It would not be a summer get-together without Dan’s famous guacamole. Start this half an hour before the guests arrive. First choose the music for the event. Musicals are preferred – perhaps a Gershwin production or a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, or Oklahoma, or possibly Frank Sinatra or Eartha Kitt. Have the music playing while you make this.

3 ripe avacados
1/4 to 1/3 of a medium sized white onion
generous handful of cilantro
2 jalepanos (cooks other than Dan may want to start with one, Dan may choose to use 3)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
one tomato, cut into very small pieces
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional depending on the flavor of the avacados)

Mash the avacados (naturally removing rind and pits) In mini food processor mince onion, cilantro, jalepano and salt. Mix in with avacado. Ask your wife to test it for proper seasoning. Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon if desired. Add tomato.

Sauce for Swordfish

2005-07-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

This is a great sauce for grilled swordfish or halibut.

1 clove garlic
juice of 2 small lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon capers
dash salt

Puree all the ingredients in your mini-blender (you need one of these if you don't have one). Serve in a cute litte pitcher.

Miso Ginger Salmon

2005-07-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

1 to 2 lbs salmon cut into serving portions

Marinade Ingredients:
6 tablespoons red miso
3 tablespoons white wine
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced

Mix all marinade ingredients in large flat glass dish. Add salmon, cover and marinate in refrigerator for least one hour or overnight. Heat grill, remove salmon, grill for three minutes, turn, and grill approximately 4 or 5 more minutes.

Recipe from: Seafood Grilling Twice a Week, by Evie Hansen

The amount of marinade that Doug scrapes off before grilling is determined by the quality of the salmon - the less inherently tasty the salmon, the more he will leave on.

Chocolate Frosting

2005-07-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Frosting

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (for special occasions use the expensive Scharffen Berger chocolate [available at T&C])
1/4 cup butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon Kahlua (or vanilla)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk

Place the chocolate and butter in a small heavy saucepan and melt very slowly. Put it on the lowest heat and stir occasionally. Do not let the chocolate boil! If you are impatient, do chin up and leg lifts on the chin-up bar between stirrings. Pour into small mixer bowl; add confectioners’ sugar, Kahlua and salt. Blend in milk; beat to spreading consistency.

Brie Pasta

2005-07-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

This is a favorite summertime pasta and a great way to use up a lot of garden tomatoes and basil. Believe it or not, we have reduced the fat from the original recipe.

2-3 cups of cut up tomatoes
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup pitted Kalmata olives
half of a wedge of Brie

1 pound linguine
freshly grated Parmesean cheese

Pour olive oil into a large pasta bowl. Add tomatoes and olives. Use the mini grinder to chop the garlic and basil, add that to the bowl and mix. Cut the rind off the Brie and give it to the dog. Tear the remaining cheese into small pieces and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature out of reach of the dog.

Go kayaking or play tennis for a few hours.

Cook linguine, drain and dump hot pasta onto the sauce. Mix and serve with Parmesean and fresh ground pepper.

Spicy Tomato Sauce with Olives and Capers

2005-07-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

Spicy Tomato Sauce with Olives and Capers

28 oz can cut-up tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
20 Kalmata olives (or use half green olives) pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons drained capers
(salt, if needed)

Put pasta water on to boil.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and hot red pepper flakes and sauté over medium heat until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and simmer about 15 minutes. Cook 1 lb pasta.

Pour sauce over the cooked pasta noodles. Serve with parmesean.

Adapted from: Pasta E Verdura by Jack Bishop