Posted on 05/19/2017 3:47:18 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Well, we’re back!
I thought we’d do something different this week, and post the recipes that our friends and family like the most and always request.
I have two that I’ve routinely taken to potlucks and parties that are always asked for again. The first is Olive Cheese Balls – a pimento-stuffed green olive wrapped in cheesy pastry. This is a very old recipe that has always remained popular, and is very easy to do. It’s one pastry that I do make in the food processor rather than manually cutting the fat and cheese into the flour , and I make the balls/puffs the easier way, by just pinching a bit off of the dough and forming it around the olive. (The pic above comes from Betty Crocker; but the recipes for this are almost all identical; sometimes a modest pinch of cayenne is added to the dough.)
Olive Cheese Puffs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Blend together in food processor:
2 Cups grated Cheddar Cheese
½ Cup Butter (or Margarine)
1-1/4 cup of Flour, salted to taste
Process until dough comes together in a ball. Chill before forming puffs.
You will need a jar of small to medium sized pimento stuffed olives.
Puffs can be formed by pinching off small balls of dough, patting into a circle, and forming the circle around a green olive. Or, dough can be rolled out to ¼ inch thickness, cut into 2 inch squares, and each square wrapped around an olive.
Place Puffs on a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.
To freeze unbaked, freeze on cookie sheet and remove to freezer containers when frozen. When ready to bake, allow 3-5 minutes extra baking time. These are every bit as good when frozen this way and baked later.
There is always the odd person who doesn't like olives, and in that case you can just form the dough into balls, leaving out the olive. You will want to double the recipe in that case, and might add the good pinch of cayenne.
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The other recipe that I receive repeated requests for is Chicken and Dumplings. I use the America’s Test Kitchen recipe, and make the dish the night before. I do this on the stove-top, and once the dumplings are done I take them out and store them separately. At the party, I carry the chicken mixture in a crockpot, and add the dumplings to heat up about ½ hr. before serving:
Here, step by step, is the recipe from ‘A Feast for the Eyes’:
http://www.afeastfortheeyes.net/2010/12/chicken-dumplings-american-classic-from.html
(My husband would like credit for being the one who actually executes this recipe – he’s got a great ‘quenelle’ technique going on, when making those dumplings ;-)
-JT
It's a New England custom to have pie for breakfast....not incidentally N/E
is blessed w/ fields of abundant blueberry patches. Serve this pie and you'll
feel like a native New Englander even if the berries came from the
supermarket produce section.
BLUEBERRY CRUMB SOUR CREAM PIE
FILLING combine 3⁄4 c sugar, 2 tbl flour; elec/mixer in on med cup sour
cream, egg, 1 1⁄2 tsp vanilla, 1⁄4 tsp salt five min. Carefully fold in 2 1⁄2
cups blueberries.
Pour into deep dish unbaked pie crust (foil edges first). Bake 400 deg 30
min. Remove to counter; sprinkle on Topping; bake top golden 400 deg
10-15 min. Cool on counter throughly before slicing.
CRUMB TOPPING fork/crumble 3 tb flour, 2 tb sugar, 1 1⁄2 tb cold butter.
Blueberries are on sale just about everywhere, now.
That’s a beautiful cake!
Your olive cheese puffs remind me of the Brazilian cheese puffs (pao de queijo) that I recently ate at a Brazilian restaurant. I couldn’t stop myself. So yummy! I’ve since made them with success from the recipe below.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/pao-de-queijo-aka-brazilian-cheese-puffs-1266023
LOL! Been there, done that! As a result my brothers and I can cook.
About a decade ago my brothers cornered me and asked me to bring all the sides every Thanksgiving. Every November I cart all the sides from DC to Asheville for the holiday. Mom made the turkey.
A couple years ago, Mom called and said she doesn't like cooking turkey, (We could tell.) so she asked me to stop at KFC on my way down!! That's now our tradition. Better than her turkey. MUCH!
MOCHA TORTE
PREP Wax paper-line bottoms 2-8x1-1/2" round cake pans; grease/flour-dust pans.
PREP Combine 2 c toasted nuts, 2 tbl flour, 2 1/2 tea b/powder.
BATTER Blender/pulse/combine 4 eggs, 3/4 cups sugar; then cover/blend smooth. Add prepared nut mixture. Cover/blend smooth. Spread evenly in pans. Bake 350 deg 20-25 min (spring back when lightly touched---centers may dip slightly). Cool on wire racks 10 min. Liftout layers to cool on racks.
FINAL Spread cooled layers w/ Mocha Frosting; stack layers; frost top and sides. Apply chopped nuts to sides. Loosely cover; chill frosted cake 2-24 hours.
SERVE topped w/ chocolate curls garnish.
MOCHA FROSTING In chilled small bowl dissolve tsp instant coffee crystals in cup h/cream; add 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp vanilla. Elec/mixer on medium just til stiff peaks form (tips stand straight).
Gack! At times it is believed all mothers attended the same cooking school. Mine cooked all the taste out of vegetables: asparagus, broccoli, spinach, English peas, green beans. Or, even worse - served them from a can
Amazing how delicious these same veggies are when fresh and served raw or when frozen and cooked with care before serving.
ANOTHER TIPS video which shows a number of simple ideas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD4F2n0fDJs
Those look good, like gougeres.
Looks yummy! I love blueberries, but my blueberry bushes are about 4 years from producing. But they are growing well!
Hey fellow foodies, thanks for all the great recipes! I just tuned in and spent the last hour copying all the yummy recipes into my files!
JT posted that the markets have blues on sale....so what are you waiting for?
Oh yeah I’ve been buying them.
I just like it better when they are “free”. Other than the cost of the plants, soil acidifier, fertilizer, and hauling rainwater out to them when they were thirsty. When things come from my garden in abundance, then I feel like I can splurge and experiment on recipes.
19 FOOD HACKS THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND
>Fast toasted sandwich
>Cut hard, cold butter
>Always get a proper reward when squeezing your
ketchup bottle, etc.
>Make a proper sandwich
>Cut bread loaf slices
>Separate an egg
>Hard boiled egg: cook and peel
>Half an apple
>Cut a kiwi
>prepare strawberries
Plus more fast tips to be found.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP_1VAcXoBM
Brought to you by 5 Minute Crafts
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC295-Dw_tDNtZXFeAPAW6Aw
If you find these useful, you might think of subscribing to the channel.
23 MOST UNUSUAL CLEANING HACKS THAT WORK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWYu29Jc_0Q
Need to make this. Blueberries are getting good. It looks fantastic. I had better make two so people can have seconds.
Best garlic chicken legs
(Smells so good when making these)
Ingredients
6 tbsp coconut oil, melted;
6 cloves garlic, minced;
4 tsp chilli powder;
2 tsp garlic powder;
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;
10 chicken drumsticks
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
In a large bowl, combine the garlic, chilli powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper as well as the melted coco oil. Dip each cold chicken drumstick into the stuff and lay it in a baking pan (can fit more in a Pyrex pan by laying them end to head to end). Magic will happen. As you lay each leg into your baking pan, the coating will solidify and stay put, giving each leg so much delightful flavor.
Cook for about 1 hour, until the chicken is well cooked, turning the pieces once halfway during the cooking process. Make rice to go with it because you will want to sop up the sauce, trust me.
Makin two is a really good idea......there wont be any leftovers....you can bet good money on that.
WHITE CHCOCOLATE HAYSTACKS
METHOD Melt/stir smooth/creamy in st/steel bowl over simmering water,
12 oz (340g) coarse-chp good quality white chocolate (burns easily.) Offheat
add 1/2 c (75g) roasted peanuts, 1 1/2 c thin pretzel sticks broken into 1 1/2"
pieces, stir well/coat.
FINAL Spoon onto parchmented sheetpan. (If too runny, refrigerate 10 min).
NOTE: Store airtight; refrigerates several weeks.
Sorry to hear about the bad home cooking memories.
My mom’s cooking equaled that of a top chef....but mom’s exceptional cooking was topped by dad’s cooking.
Many times he stepped up when mom was not up to cooking.
He liked nothing better than to roll those post and pans.
His dishes were always delicious.....and memorable.
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