Susan's Spicy Sausage Cheese Dip

2 blocks cream cheese
1 lb Jimmy Dean hot pork sausage
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can sliced black olives

Cook sausage on the stove. Remove from the pan and set aside. Melt cream cheese in the pan. Add sausage back in along with tomatoes and olives. Serve immediately or transfer to a crock pot to keep warm. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Endive, Apple and Goat Cheese Salad

Salad:3 large endives, unblemished
1 medium Honey Crisp or Braeburn apple
3/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and roughly chopped
3oz goat cheese, crumbled

Apple-Cider Vinaigrette:
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup parsley leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice

For Salad, slice the endive in 1/2-1" pieces and put in a bowl of ice water for 5 min. Drain, sprin and throughly air-dry. Quater, core and thinly slice apple. Toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.

For vinegairette, put all ingredients except for the oil and lemon juice into a food processor or blender. Puree. Add oil slowly and allow to throughly blend. Just before serving, mix in lemon juice.

Toss endive, apple, goat cheese and walnuts with 4-6 Tbs of the dressing (or to taste) in a bowl.

{notes} This salad serves 4-6 people as a side. You can double the endive and apple to make it go further (with no need to increase the other ingredients). Add more dressing if you do that. The dressing makes a boat-load; several times what you actually need, so feel free to scale down. The recipe says you can keep the dressing up to 8 hours in the fridge, but I'd give it a week, probably.

Cranberry Orange Ice Cream

1.5 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
4T orange juice concentrate
2 T water
2T brown sugar

1T vanilla
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar

Heat cranberries through brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, squishing the cranberries as you stir. Cool completely (to speed cooling, pour into a shallow pan and place in fridge for 30 min).

Mix vanilla-sugar in a bowl until sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour into ice cream maker along with the cranberry mixture. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Chicken Wild Rice Cranberry Soup

8 T. unsalted butter
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 c. onion, finely chopped
6 T. flour
6 c. chicken stock
3 c. cooked wild rice
2 - 12.5oz cans of chicken (or about 2 cups cubed or shredded chicken)
1 c. dried cranberries
2 c. milk or half-and-half
4 T. dry sherry
Few dashes of Worchestershire sauce
S & P to taste

Melt butter in Dutch overn over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrot is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken, rice and cranberries. Reduce heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are softened and plumped, about 15 minutes. Stir in all the reminaing ingredients. Stir occasionally until warmed through. Season to taste.

Serves 6-8.

{From Michael's cousin Marija}

Amy's Penne Gorgonzola

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
salt and pepper
6 slices of bacon
1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped
8ox penne pasta
1 cup whole milk
d8 oz gorgonzola, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup walnut pieces
shredded parmesan for garnish

Bake or grill chicken seasoned with salt and pepper

In a large saute pan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels, set aside to cool. Crumble into pieces. Drain grease from pan and heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and sautee until soft.

Cook pasta according to directions (start when chicken is 1/4 done)

Add the milk and thyme to the onion. Bring to a slow boil, add the cheese and parsley. Heat until the cheese is melted and sauce begins to thicken. Turn off heat and add drained pasta, tossing to coat.

Slice the chicken. Serve the pasta topped with sliced chicken, crumbled bacon, walnuts and parmesan.

Alton Brown's Guacamole

3 avocados, smashed
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 roma tomatoes w/o seeds, finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic minced

Combine and enjoy.

Vinarterta

8 cups flour
2 cups butter
3 cups fine sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp cardamom
2 Tbs almond extract
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbs cream
2 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and add the sugar, beating well until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorperated. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Add almond extract and cream, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture. When all is mixed in, form the dough into an even mass on waxed paper and spray with cooking spray. Divide into 5 even parts. Line the bottoms of 9x13" pans with waxed paper. Pat dough into pans. Bake @ 300F until cooked through, but not brown, about 15 min. Let cool 5 minutes, remove from pans. Assemble cake by layering with jam. Wrap and allow to sit for a week or more before serving.

Jeni's Popovers

2 eggs
1 cup unsifted flour (white)
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat oven to 450. In mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add remaining ingredients and beat just until smooth. (Do not over beat) Fill generously greased muffin cups or popover pans half full. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Prick crust with tip of knife during the last 5 minutes to allow steam to escape. Serve piping hot. 6-8 large popovers

Roast Leg of Lamb

1 leg of lamb, bone in (about 5 to 6 pounds)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

Sauce:
1 cup chopped fresh herbs (combination of rosemary, chives, and parsley)
2 cups diced onions
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup red wine
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using your hands, rub the lamb all over with the lemon juice. Pat the garlic and rosemary evenly all over the surface of the meat. Season the meat with the salt and pepper and place the lamb in a roasting pan. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to cook for about 1 hour longer for medium-rare, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers about 145 degrees F to 150 degrees F (be careful that the thermometer does not touch the bone.) Remove lamb from pan and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Position the roasting pan over your stove burners. Add mixed herbs and onions to pan, and stir to combine with pan drippings. Add chicken stock and wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any fond. Reduce over high heat until sauce consistency. Strain before serving, if desired. Slice lamb and serve with sauce drizzled over the top.


Notes: When I made this, I gave the lamb the rub-down the night before, wrapped it up and stuck it in the fridge. It also took about 1 hour and 15 min at 350. It should still be very pink in the middle. Everyone loved it and went on and on about it, so I'd call it a success.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

8 ½ oz. cake flour (2 cups minus 2 Tbsp.)
8 ½ oz. bread flour (1 2/3 cups)
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
10 oz. unsalted butter, softened (2 ½ sticks; 1 ¼ cups)
10 oz. light brown sugar (1 ¼ cups)
8 oz. granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp.)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly (about half an hour on the counter). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield: About 24 (5-inch) cookies.

Note: Smaller cookies taste good, too, but are not soft like the big cookies. I made them with a medium-sized cookie scoop and baked them for 11 minutes. This yielded 167 1.5" cookies.

Lavender French Cream

from 42nd Street Cafe, Longview, WA

1.5 tsp lavender buds, crumbled
1 cup sour cream (you can use light, if you want)
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar (recipe originally calls for Splenda, which also works well)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
8 oz cream cheese (low-fat works well)
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1/2 lemon

3/4 pound fresh berries (if using strawberries, quarter them)
1/8 tsp each, cinnamon and nutmeg
1/4 tsp rosewater
1/2 cup sugar or Splenda (less if the berries are sweet)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm and well combined. Don't boil.

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let it soften for 1 minute. Gently heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Stir into cream mixture.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add cream mixture, vanilla and zest. Divide into wine glasses and chill for 6+ hours.

Gently toss berries, remaining sugar rosewater and spices. Let sit at room temperature while the french cream is chilling.

Serve the French Cream with berries on top. If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Apple Pie

1 pie crust
4-6 apples (preferably Harrelsons)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Prepare pie crust (or purchase a ready-made crust) for a 9" deep dish pie plate. Peel and slice apples into the crust, heaping. Pour sugar and cinnamon over the apples and shake the plate a bit so it settles (I turn some of the apple slices over so the cinnamon is facing into the pie).

With a fork, mix topping ingredients together:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup soft butter or margarine
3/4 cup flour

Sprinkle topping on top of pie and pat lightly. Place the pie on a foil-lined pan into a pre-heated 450 degree oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes more.


To freeze: Make as directed, but don't bake. Wrap tightly and freeze. To bake, allow frozen pie to sit on the stovetop as the oven preheats. Bake at 450F for 20 minutes, then at 350F for 40 minutes. Apples will be more toothsome and the pie will sink less- even better than baked fresh.

Ravioli with Sweet Potatoes, Mustard Greens and Country Ham

for the dough
1.75-2 cups all-purpose flour (or you can go up to half whole wheat)
2 extra large eggs
1/2 tsp olive oil
water as needed

for the filling
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 Tbs sliced chives
1/2 Tbs chopped parsley

the rest
1 cup coarsely chopped mustard greens (or kale, chard, etc)
1 Tbs bacon fat or olive oil
1 ounce country ham or prosciutto, cut into strips
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving


Mound flour on a large wooden board or marble slab to forma peak with a well in the center. Place eggs and oil in the well and, using a fork, mix them together, gradually bringing in a little flour from the sides. Continue adding flour gradually until the dough comes together and the flour is incorporated. Add water by wetting your hands, as needed, to get a workable dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5-7 min- it will still be a little sticky. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30-60 min.

Combine potatoes. ricotta and herbs in a bowl, stirring well to blend.

Remove dough from fridge and divide into 4 equal portions. Roll the dough out very thin, using a pasta machine or a rolling pin. Cut the dough into 4" squares and fill place 1 tsp of filling on each. wet the edges of the square adn fold over, pressing seams closed firmly.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a skillet, heat 1 Tbs of bacon fat or oil. Add chopped greens and ham and cook just until the greens wilt. Remove from heat.

Cook ravioli in salted water, drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water. Return ravioli and water to the pot. Add the butter, the greens mix, salt, pepper and cheese. Toss until butter is melted. Serve with extra cheese.

Serves 6.

Note: you can freeze the uncooked ravioli by putting them in a single layer on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Once frozen, transfer to a container for storage. Cook, without thawing, as directed above.

Barbecued Pork and Apple Kababs

1/2 cup apricot jam
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grill
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds (about 1 1/2 inches each) pork tenderloin, halved lengthwise and cut into 16 cubes
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
Heat grill to medium-high. Make the sauce: In a large bowl, combine jam, vinegar, tomato paste, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Assemble 4 long skewers, alternating 4 pork cubes with 2 onion wedges and 2 apple wedges on each (begin with pork and end with apple). Roll skewers in remaining tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil grates. Place skewers on grill; cover grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until grill marks are visible, 6 to 8 minutes.

Open grill; baste skewers with some sauce, and cook, turning skewers and basting occasionally with more sauce, until pork is no longer pink in the center and is nicely glazed, 4 to 8 minutes more.

Serves 4.

{From Martha Stewart}

Chili Stew

3 14 oz. cans spicy chili beans
3 14 oz. cans crushed or diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
3 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 bundle of broccoli, cut into heads
1 tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
hot sauce or tabasco sauce to taste

Put everything except for the broccoli into a crock pot and cook on high for 1 hour. Turn heat to low and cook for 3 hours. Add broccoli and cook for another hour on low.

Makes a ton! About 10 servings or more. (To make less leave out one can of beans and one can of crushed tomatoes.)

Bruschetta

25 french bread slices, preferably baguette size
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups diced tomatoes
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place bread slices on large cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until bread is crisp and slightly golden brown.

In a large mixing bowl combine tomatoes, cheese, garlic, basil, vinegar, thyme, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Blend well, cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours. This makes a ton! Spoon on top of bread slices.

Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake

A very rich and dense cheesecake, well worth the cost and time it takes to make.
serves 12-16

1.5 C Oreo Crumbs
1/4 C Butter, melted
***
24 oz Cream Cheese (3 packs)
1/4 C Sour Cream
1/4 C + 2T Kahula, divided
8 oz Good Chocolate, divided
1 C Sugar
1/3 C Cocoa Powder
3 Eggs
1 T Vanilla
1/4 C Evaporated Milk (or heavy cream)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8" spring form pan.

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of pan and bake for 10 min.

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt 6 ounces of the chocolate. Add the sour cream and 1/4 C Kahlua, stir until well blended.

In a mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add cocoa, beating until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture. Pour over prepared crust and bake at 400 for 10 min. Reduce heat to 275 and continue baking for 45 min. Cool in oven with the door propped open.

Melt remaining 2 oz of chocolate. Stir in the evaporated milk (or cream) and remaining 2 T kahlua. Blend well. Spread on top of cake. Refrigerate for 6 hours.


Notes: I made it with the reduced fat cream cheese, light sour cream and Splenda... and sugar free oreos and it worked fantastically, so you can totally make it light and you'd never guess it wasn't awful for you.

Chocolate Situation

Okay, here we have it...

Shopping list:
18 ounces dark chocolate
5 eggs
1/2 cup Just Whites (or 4 past. eggs)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sour cream
7 tablespoons espresso

note: this is just a list of the things you may not have on hand, it is not a complete ingredient list

Base Layer (make 2 days ahead)
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar (I used concentrated apple juice, further reduced by half)
9 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 300F. Line the bottom of an 8" spring form pan with wax paper and spray with cooking spray. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with 3 layers of foil to prepare it for a waterbath.

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.

Melt the chocolate and pour into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake cake in the water bath at 300 for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan.

Cheesecake Layer (make day before):
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
2/3 cup white sugar (I used apple juice concentrate that was further reduced by half)
2 eggs
5 ounces chocolate
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2/3 cup sour cream (I used light)
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons espresso
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare an 8" spring form pan by lining the bottom with wax paper and spraying with cooking spray.

In a medium sized bowl beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar mixing until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat at low speed until very smooth.

Melt the chocolate in a pan or bowl set over boiling water, stir until smooth.
Add chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and blend well. Stir in cream, sour cream, salt, espresso, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for 45 minutes. Center will be soft but will firm up when chilled. Do not over-bake. Leave cake in oven with the heat turned off and the door ajar for 45 minutes. Remove cake from oven and chill for 12 hours.

After the first two layers are chilled:Put the flourless cake layer on the bottom of the spring form pan. Carefully put the cheesecake on top of it. Put the rim of the pan back on. Cover and chill until the day you plan to serve it, at least 4 hours.

The morning or afternoon before you plan to serve the cake, make the final layer:

Top Layer:
4 oz Dark Chocolate
2 T Butter
4 Eggs, seperated (or use 1/2 cup Just Whites and skip the yolks- it'll still work)
1/4 C Heavy Cream
4 T Sugar, seperated (or Splenda)
1t Vanilla

Melt chocolate and butter together until just melted, using a double boiler. Remove from heat. Add egg yolks, mix throughly and set aside.

Beat egg whites and 2T of sugar until stiff. Fold into chocolate mixture. Whip cream, vanilla and remaining sugar until stiff. Fold into chocolate mixture. Spread the mousse on top of the other 2 layers in the spring form pan and cover with plastic wrap. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Right before serving:Whip remaining cream with a dash of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Serve alongside the Situation.

Serves 12-16 (depending on how big you slice it)