Triple Chocolate Cream Pie

This recipe originated from Cooks Illustrated. I hope they don't mind me posting this recipe, but if you are chocoholics like we are, they will want to get it out to the entire civilized world. I claim absolutely NO creativity here. This pie will give you a buzz like you've never had before. There's a few back-and-forth steps in making it, and it can be a little confusing. When you taste the final result, however, you'll never remember all the steps. It is wonderful as a stand alone dessert, and especially good with a demitasse of espresso.

Two kinds of chocolate and Oreo cookies are used to produce a pie with rich chocolate flavor, and an easy-to-slice crust. We wanted a super rich and decadent creamy pie, with a well-balanced chocolate flavor somewhere between a milkshake and a melted candy bar, and a delicious, easy-to-slice crust.

A combination of semisweet and unsweetened chocolate produced the ultimate rounded, intense chocolate flavor. The custard texture depends upon carefully pouring the egg yolk mixture into simmering half-and-half, then whisking in cold butter.

Pulverized Oreos (regular or the double chocolate ones) and a bit of melted butter afford the tastiest, most tender, sliceable crumb crust.

Chocolate Cream PieFor the best chocolate flavor and texture, I recommend either Callebaut semisweet and unsweetened chocolates, Hershey's Special Dark and Hershey's unsweetened chocolates, or Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate and Bakers unsweetened chocolate. Do not combine the yolks and sugar in advance of making the filling--the sugar will begin to denature the yolks, and the finished cream will be pitted. Makes a 9-inch pie.

Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust

16 - 18 Oreo cookies (with filling), broken into rough pieces, about 2 1/2 cups
2 TBS butter , melted and cooled

Chocolate Cream Filling

2 1/2 cups half-and-half
pinch table salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS cornstarch
6 Large egg yolks at room temperature, (protein strands attached to yolk) removed
6 tablespoons butter (cold), cut into 6 pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (cold)
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

(For an added dimension, add 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon. It REALLY enhances the chocolate)

1. For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process cookies with 15 one-second pulses, then let machine run until crumbs are uniformly fine, about 15 seconds. (Alternatively, place cookies in large zipper-lock plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.) Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl, drizzle with butter, and use fingers or a wooden spoon to combine until butter is evenly distributed.

2. Pour crumbs into 9-inch pie plate. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Refrigerate lined pie plate 20 minutes or more to firm crumbs, then bake until crumbs are fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing filling.

3. For the Filling: Bring half-and-half, salt, and about 3 tablespoons sugar to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Stir together remaining sugar and cornstarch in small bowl, then sprinkle over yolks and whisk, scraping down sides of bowl, if necessary, until mixture is glossy and sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk yolks thoroughly in medium bowl until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. When half-and-half reaches full simmer, drizzle about 1/2 cup hot half-and-half over yolks, whisking constantly to temper; then whisk egg yolk mixture into simmering half-and-half (mixture should thicken in about 30 seconds). Return to simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.

4. Remove to a cool burner. Whisk in butter until incorporated; add chocolates and whisk until melted, scraping pan bottom to fully incorporate. Stir in vanilla, then immediately pour filling into baked and cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate pie until filling is cold and firm, about 3 hours. (The plastic wrap will stick at first, but then release once solidified.)

5. Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, Cinnamon, and vanilla in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Spread or pipe whipped cream over chilled pie filling.

NOTE: If you are not confident in getting a stiff whipped cream, dissolve a tsp. of gelatin and 3 TBS water. Place on low heat until completely dissolved. Drizzle the gelatin/water mixture in the whipped cream just before you feel the peaks are stiff enough; continue beating until well-incorporated. Refrigerate immediately. Spread the whipped cream once it has set up.

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Mincemeat for Pies and Filled Cookies

Some folks like mincemeat...others don't. In any event, here's a recipe worth trying. We've made this recipe over and over again for the past 41-years. If you DO like mincemeat, then you are in for a real treat.





Ingredients:

1 Orange peel Grated
1 Lb. Ground Beef (wild game – deer, antelope is particularly good) and will work here fine)
Enough water to cover the ground beef
1 Lb Apples
2 ½ Cups Currants
2 ¾ Cups Raisins
½ Cup Brandy
½ Cup Dry Red Wine
¼ Lb Citron
1 tsp salt
1 TBS ground nutmeg
1 ½ Cups sugar
1 Cup Apple Cider
1 TBS cinnamon

1 Cup meat liquor (broth after boiling ground meat)

Boil ground beef (or game) for about 45-minutes and let it cool in the water; save 1-cup of the broth. Put all ingredients in a big pot -EXCEPT for the brandy and wine. Simmer very slowly for 1-hour while stirring occasionally. Let cool to luke warm, then add brandy and wine. For best results, refrigerate it and let it gather the flavors of the brandy and wine which will further tenderize the product. If you’re not going to use it right away, pack in sterilized jars and pressure cook for 60-minutes at 10-Lbs of pressure.

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Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding

After eating pounds and pounds of turkey and ham for Thanksgiving, we're ready for something different for the Christmas food fest. For the past 15 years, it has been a standing beef rib roast for us. The leftovers are delicious for sandwiches, or you can make your own roast beef hash. The following is a summation of the roast beef dinner.


Roast Beef

This may seem like a very different way of roasting a prime beef cut, but I can guarantee you will never go back to your standard method.

Prime Rib Roast or rib eye at room temperature (very important)

Dijon or brown mustard

Fresh thyme (Lots of it)

Fresh garlic cloves minced

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Place the rib roast, bone side down, starting at the tail or narrow end, make a flap by cutting the fat strip on top of the meat, going toward the thicker part, as far as you can without severing it. Lay the fat strip back, and set aside. If you can get a roast with the ‘lip’ on, that’s the way to go. Mix Dijon, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Spread this mixture on the meat underneath the flap/lip which you just made. Replace the flap and use kitchen string to loosely wrap the meat to keep the flap in place as it roasts, otherwise the flap will curl up. Place the roast in the oven in a shallow roasting pan.

Make sure your roast is at room temperature before you place it in the oven, otherwise you will have an under cooked roast at the end of the cooking cycle. Set the oven temperature at 500° degrees F.

Multiply the roast poundage on the package times 5 minutes to determine the amount of time the meat will roast at 500° degrees F. Be as accurate as possible! Example: if your roast weighs 5.53 pounds, then multiply 5.53 (pounds) times 5 (minutes) which equals = 27.65. This means you will roast your meat for (27.65) or 28 minutes.

At the end of the 28 minutes, turn the oven temperature off. Leave the roast in the oven for at least 2 hours - or more according to your liking as to doneness. During this 2 hour+ time, do not open the oven door as the meat is still cooking. This time is primarily for rare.

Serve with steamed asparagus, green beans, or Brussels sprouts. Mashed potatoes and gravy are aslo recommended. Plan for having brown and serve rolls. Yorkshire pudding is strongly recommended and is posted here further down on the list.

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Dinner Rolls

For quick and easy, foolproof dinner rolls try this recipe.







6 to 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 T. sugar
2 pkgs. Yeast – (5-Tsp)
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
2 T. butter

Note: Also a good recipe for loaf bread. If making dinner rolls add 2 TBS of honey.

In a large bowl, combine 2-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Heat water, milk and butter (plus honey if using) to about 120 degrees. Gradually add to the dough ingredients; beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Add another 1/2 cup flour, beat two minutes at high speed. Add additional flour to make soft dough. (Good time to switch to dough hooks). Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise to 1-1/2 times or doubled.

Punch dough down and shape as desired.

Bake 375 for dinner rolls, about 20 minutes or until suitably browned on top. Brush with butter when done.

Hearth Braid 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Makes about 12-Dinner rolls

For rolls, divide dough into 12-pieces and shape into balls with a lot of tension on the tops. Place side-by-side in lightly buttered glass baking dish.

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Chicken Salad Filled Puff Pastry

This makes a delightful taste tempting appetizer for a party.

Chicken Salad (**)

1-1/2 c. finely chopped cooked chicken
¼ c. finely chopped celery (*)
¼ c. finely chopped onion(*)
1 hard boiled egg, chopped (Optional)
1 TBS sweet pickle relish
1/4 tsp. salt
Garlic powder to taste
Dash of black pepper
1/8 scant tsp or less of curry (Add a pinch as you mix – add more if necessary to develop a subtle taste.
1/3 c. mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients. Chill in covered container until ready to serve.

(*) The celery and onion should be finely shredded in a food processor.

The curry is what makes this chicken recipe salad above and beyond the norm.

(**) This salad is exquisite served in small filled, cream puff pastries [2” diameter]

Cut puffs in half, stuff each half, put back together. and arrange on a nice plate

Cream Puffs

1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat water and butter to boiling. Remove from heat and stir in flour vigorously for about 1 minute, or until mixture forms a ball and cleans the sides of the pan. Stir in eggs. Beat vigorously again until smooth and satiny. Dough will separate at first, but will all comes together after a while. You can drop dough by 1/4 cupful, 3 inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet(s); or, refrigerate for at least 30-minutes then evenly portion the dough .

Bake 20 minutes in a preheated 400° oven. Lower temp. to 350° and bake 15-20 minutes longer, or until the puffs are firm, deep golden in color, and crisp. Cool on wire racks. Cut in half and pull out any under-baked strands, and fill with pastry cream or whatever you like. (Ice cream, pudding, whipped cream, chicken or lobster salad). Replace tops and refrigerate. If these are for dessert puffs, at serving time, dust with confectioner's sugar. Fill these as close to serving time as possible, as they will soften if filled and there will be a long wait before eating.

When working with puff pastry, keeping it cold is crucial. You don't want the butter to melt prematurely. Work quickly with one piece at a time and keep the rest covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Your tools and working area should also be kept cold.

Puff pastry relies upon heat for lift. Preheat your oven at least 15 to 20 minutes before you plan on using it.

Use a very sharp hot knife or pastry/pizza wheel to cut puff pastry, and be sure to cut straight down and not at an angle. Using a dull implement will fuse the layers together and discourage rising.

A half recipe works well.

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Ground Lamb and Orzo

If you like lamb, and are looking for an absolutely wonderful, quick recipe this is it!! It's like a Greek chili, and has multiple uses.

Ingredients:

1 to 1-1/2 Lbs of ground lamb
3-5 Diced garlic cloves
1-Medium onion diced
1-1/2 TBS rosemary needles
1 Tsp ground or powdered oregano
2 TBS Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
3-cups of chicken broth
1 Cup orzo
Juice from 1/2 lemon

Directions:

Brown the lamb, onion, rosemary, oregano, garlic in the olive oil until browned. Do not drain. When browned, add the chicken broth and the orzo. Cover and let simmer on VERY, very low heat for 15-minutes. Add lemon juice a few minutes before serving.

If you have leftovers, you can add bread crumbs, an egg to the leftovers, mix well, refrigerate. Flour the pattie on both sides before frying. Form chilled mixture into patties and fry them as you would a hamburger in olive oil. This would be a great time to make some pita bread and stuff the bread pockets with the fried pattie.

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Pork Loin Cutlets or Chicken Breasts in Lemon-Cucumber white sauce

This sauce has a wonderfully delicate combination of cucumber and lemon flavors.





3 TBS Butter
3 TBS Flour
1/2 Medium Cucumber – Peeled and sliced in ½” thick slices
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1-1 ½ Cups milk or cream
2-3 Large Lemon Myrtle Leaves


2-4 Pork loin ¾” thick slices, or Chicken Breasts B/S
Garlic powder
Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper
¼ Cup Macadamia mountain pepper oil.( Olive oil can be used, but not as tasty)

Macadamia mountain pepper oil is available from Australian exporters.

Make the white sauce (roux) by melting the butter. Remove from heat. Whisk in the flour. Add the milk, cream, and chicken broth. Place on medium flame until it starts to bubble; turn to very low. Add cucumber slices and the lemon myrtle leaves. Simmer on very LOW HEAT UNTIL THE CUCUMBER FALLS APART. Blend into the sauce for a smoother sauce, or leave the chunks.

Sautee the pork or chicken in the macadamia – mountain pepper oil until done, but first sprinkle with garlic salt/powder, onion powder, and salt and pepper. When done to your liking, remove meat to oiled oven proof casserole dish, pour white sauce over the meat, and bake for 20-minutes at 350. Or simply pour sauce over the vermicelli and meat and do not poach.

Serve with garlic bread.

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Pot Roast Supreme

3-4 lb. English Cut Roast , Mock Tender, eye of round, or rump roast

1 chopped onion
1 envelope Onion Soup Mix
3 T Wyler's Low Sodium Beef Bouillon or 14 Oz Can Swanson’s Beef Broth
4 cups water
1 TBS capers
1 Tsp stuffed olives (chopped)
1 or 2 pkgs. Goya Sazón Tomato and Cilantro granules (found in Mexican food section)
2 Stalks celery diced or thinly sliced
2 carrots diced or thinly sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 TBS Garlic powder or granules (optional but recommended)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T Olive Oil for initial browning of the floured beef

Bring the four cups of water to a boil; add soup mix, bouillon/broth, tomato paste, and Sazón. Let simmer slowly. Using a LARGE Dutch oven, brown the floured roast in oil, turning to brown all sides and ends. Then add chopped onion, celery, and carrots and let cook 2 minutes with beef. Add simmering liquid, capers and olives. Bring back to a boil, cover and lower heat to simmer gently. Let cook at least two to three hours depending on the thickness of the roast, turning meat once after half the time. About 30 minutes before the meat is cooked, add peeled, quartered potatoes.

When meat is fork-tender, remove from pot and cover air-tight; wrap in foil. Remove potatoes. Turn up heat under pot and reduce liquid by half. Mix 4 T flour with 1/2 cup water, drizzle slowly into meat liquid whipping constantly with a wire whip until gravy thickness is to your liking. Add the garlic powder here. The onion soup mix and the Sazón have enough salt in them for the whole pot, but you may want to add some. Puree the liquid with a food processor – this will be your dynamite gravy.

This is wonderful served with green beans, Brussels sprouts, or ANY veggie. Garlic bread is a plus!!. Enjoy.

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Apple Stuffing for Poultry and Pork Chops

Stuffing is standard fare for whole chickens, turkey, or pork chops. This is a quick and easy recipe. Can be increased for larger birds.

INGREDIENTS:

2 to 4 slices bacon, diced, fried and browned, or salt pork(*)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 beaten egg
3 apples, peeled, cored, and shredded or finely diced
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
4 cups dried bread crumbs or diced bread (1/2” dice)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp Poultry seasoning
Water if needed

PREPARATION:

Fry diced bacon or diced salt pork until crisp, then add celery and onion; cook until tender. In a large bowl, add all remaining ingredients, adding hot water only if needed. Mix well so that the bread has absorbed the moisture, but is not mushy. Refrigerate immediately if you are not going to use it right away.

(*)= Salt pork adds a much better flavor than bacon

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Il Crepes ha imbottito col pollo, il prosciutto, il formaggio e l'asparago

Crepes stuffed with shredded ham, cooked chicken, asparagus tips, bacon bits and mozarella cheese.

There are three steps to this recipe, but the results are worth it.

FILLING:
1 cup finely diced cooked chicken
1 cup cooked finely diced ham
2 slices bacon fried crispy, drained and crumbled
3/4 cup shredded mozarella
1 tsp porcini mushroom powder.

Finely dice the chicken and ham. Shred the mozarella. Put the ingredients in a bowl, an sprinkle the mushroom powder over all; stir/mix well.

CREPES:

1 cup AP flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
4 TBS melted butter
1/8 tsp orange extract
Canola oil for frying - or use a teflon crepe skillet



3 tbsp. melted butter or oil

Mix with whisk. Heat pan until a drop of water sizzles. Remove pan from heat. Pour batter into center of pan and swirl pan until bottom is covered with batter. Pour any excess batter that doesn't stick to the pan back into batter bowl. Flip crepe and cook the second side. The first side will be a nice even brown; the second side will be an uneven color. Spread crepes out and allow to dry before stacking. If you make ahead and freeze, stack between pieces of wax paper.

WHITE SAUCE:

3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour1 1 c. milk
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. white cooking wine
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. capers (optional)

Melt butter, add flour and stir with wooden spoon until bubbly, but don't let mixture brown. Heat milk and stock to the simmer point. Remove bubbling flour and butter from heat and add boiling liquid all at once and stir vigorously. Return to heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring to prevent scorching. Add cream bit by bit and stir to blend. Add cheese and stir until melted. If instant flour is used, mix all ingredients, except cream, together in saucepan, blend well and heat to simmer point. If sauce is too thick, add additional milk, chicken broth, or wine until consistency is right.

Spread a spoonful or two of filling down the center of each crepe. Roll and turn seam side down in a buttered baking dish. Use remaining 2 cups of cream sauce and remaining cheese for topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Freezes well. If you prepare ahead of time and freeze, defrost and proceed as you would have without freezing.

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Calamari Appetizers

We Italians love calamari (squid). So many people get turned off at the thought of eating a squid, but you really need to try it before making a decision. Many of the finer restaurants offer this succulent appetizer on their menus.


Sauce

2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Sriracha chili sauce (This is hot)
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoon water
Chopped fresh basil leaves

Or you can use the standard shrimp sauce = Ketchup, horse radish, and lemon juice.

Calamari

1 1/2 pounds squid cleaned tubes
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups of self-rising flour), seasoned to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Sauce Instructions

Combine the ginger, shallots and garlic together in a saucepan. Add the sugar, white wine and rice vinegars, tomato paste, water and Sriracha sauce. Stir to blend and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook gently, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Add a few chopped leaves of the basil, cook for a minute or two more, remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate until serving time.

Calamari Instructions

Rinse the squid well and cut the tubes into rings. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Pour the buttermilk into a wide bowl, and put the seasoned flour in a second wide bowl. Pour oil into a deep pan (or covered fryer) to a depth of 3 to 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350F.

Dip a handful or so of the squid into the buttermilk, let drain, then toss into the flour. Coat well, then place squid in a strainer, hold it over the sink and shake off the excess flour. Place the squid into the hot oil and carefully separate the pieces, taking care to avoid any spattering oil. Cook briefly, about 1 minute for the rings. The coating should be golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Serve immediately along with the sauce.

Makes about 6 appetizer servings.
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Fish and Potatoes Poached in White Wine Sauce

This recipe goes well with any mild fish fillets like bass, flounder, crappie or any white fish. We used to make this a lot when we lived in CT where 9-10 pound large-mouthed bass were plentiful. Also is great with thin boneless pork loin chops.





Ingredients for white wine sauce:

4 TBS Butter
4 TBS Flour
1-1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Cup white wine
2 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp onion powder
Salt to taste
1/8 tsp or less of white pepper
Dash of nutmeg

Make a roux by melting butter, remove from heat source, then whisk in the flour, salt and white pepper. Return to the heat source, then add the milk, nutmeg, onion powder and dill seed. Whisk continuously until it thickens; add wine and continue to whisk. Once thickened to a medium sauce, remove from heat. You may need to add more milk if the sauce gets to thick. But remember, the potatoes and the fillets will release additional moisture during the poaching process.


Other ingredients:

4 Medium to large fish fillets
3 Medium peeled potatoes quartered or cut in eighths
Flavored Bread Crumbs
Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a suitably-sized baking dish, lightly oil the bottom and sides. Coat the bottom with a little of the white sauce. Place the fish fillets in the bottom of the baking dish - do not overlap the fillets. Spread more of the white sauce over the fillets.

Place potatoes over the fillets, then pour the remaining white sauce over the potatoes. Sprinkle bread crumbs over all, then the Parmesan cheese.

Cover the baking dish with tin foil. Bake at 325 until the potatoes are cooked - about 45-minutes.

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

If you like cinnamon rolls AND blueberries, this is the ticket to both in one.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp double strength vanilla
1 egg
3 1/3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons SAF Red - Instant Yeast

Filling:

2 TBS melted butter
1 Cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBS cinnamon

Place the first seven ingredients in your bread machine or in a stand mixer with the dough hooks. Select dough cycle, or knead with the dough hooks until you have a smooth dough.

Remove dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead for 2-3 minutes, then roll into an 18x9 rectangle. Brush dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter. In a separate container, mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon, add the blueberries (wet them first) and sprinkle over entire dough surface. Roll up tightly in a jelly roll style. Wet the end seam with water, then press so as to seal the roll.

Slice into 9 equal rolls of 2 inches each, then place in a greased 9x9 inch pan. Cover and let rise 30 to 40 minutes until doubled in size. Bake in a preheated 375F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Drops of lemon extract
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
2 TBS softened butter


Stir and mix all together until very smooth. Spread the glaze while the rolls are still warm.

Banana-Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins are terrific for breakfast or a break. They are loaded with nutrition and fiber, AND very tasty.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups oatmeal (instant)

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cardamon

2 ripe bananas

2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup brown sugar
Milk as needed to make a medium-thick batter.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, or a six cup Texas sized muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats and boiling water. Mix well until fully hydrated.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cardamon.

In a glass measure, mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork. Add enough vegetable oil to reach the 1 1/8 cup mark. (A little more is ok – say, a cup and a half) Stir together, then add to the oatmeal mixture, along with the egg, vanilla and sugar. Mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix gently until combined. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

I use the Texas-sized muffin tin – makes 6-large muffins, but you can also use the standard 12-muffin tin.

Honey Sesame Seed Pork Tenderloin

Pork... the OTHER white meat. This is a fast, easy to prepare meal. Can be served with most any vegetable, but brocolli or cauliflower with a mild cheese sauce goes exceptionally well. You might also want to consider asparagus with a Hollandaise sauce, and a twice baked potato.







Ingredients

1-2 lbs. Boneless Pork Tenderloin
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated or shredded fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons sesame seed

Instructions

Combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. Place tenderloin in a heavy plastic bag, pour soy mixture over to coat. Let marinate 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in refrigerator. Remove pork from marinade, pat dry.

Mix together honey and brown sugar in a shallow plate. Place sesame seed on a separate shallow plate. Roll pork entire tenderloin in the honey mixture, coating well; then roll in sesame seed. Roast in a shallow pan at 400 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes, until meat thermometer inserted registers 160 degrees F. Remove to serving platter, slice thinly to serve.

Serves four - that is unless you are extra hungry. :-)

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Chicken Lo Mein

This is a fast, tasty meal that is a great variation from the everyday doldrums of pork and beef.


1 Whole chicken breast or 1 ½ Lbs Chicken tenders
2 TBS Sesame Oil
1 Bunch Scallions
½ Lb Bean Sprouts
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1 TBS Corn starch
2 Cups Shredded Lettuce
1 TBS Chopped Pimiento
Mini canned corn cobs (Optional)
Brocolli Flowerettes (Optional)
Vermicelli Pasta

Bone chicken breast, reserving skin and bone. Slice meat into thin strips;
set aside. Simmer the skin and bone in 1 ¼ cups of water for 15-minutes.
Strain into cup; add enough water, if necessary, to make one cup of broth.
Boil vermicelli according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sauté the chicken until it’s golden brown on
all sides. Add chopped Scallions; sauté one minute longer. Add Reserved
chicken broth and Cook until thick and clear. Fold in the bean sprouts,
1 ½ cups of the shredded lettuce, and cooked vermicelli. Continue heating
until the lettuce is wilted, and the mixture is well combined. Serve and top
with remaining lettuce and the pimiento.

This is absolutely delicious served cold as a pasta salad.
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Almond-Coconut Crumb Topped Peach Pie

If you have never had a peach crumb pie, or have never LIKED peach pie, get ready for the dessert treat of a life time. We made this for the first time today, and will be making it again, and again.

1 recipe Pie Pastry, Single Crust, refrigerated

FILLING:

6 Cups frozen sliced peaches, partially thawed

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

COCONUT-ALMOND CRUMB TOPPNG:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 tablespoon milk

If you haven’t already, prepare the pie pastry and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.

On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Gently tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the overhang into an upstanding ridge. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Combine the peaches, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1/3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl and toss well to mix. Set aside for 10 minutes to juice. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix the tapioca flour with the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Sprinkle this mixture over the fruit and mix well. Stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. Turn the filling into the chilled pie shell and smooth the filling to even it out. Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, almonds, and coconut in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Scatter the butter over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the milk and process again until the crumbs are like medium fine gravel. Transfer to a large bowl and rub gently between your fingers to make the crumbs uniform in texture. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove the pie from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Carefully dump the crumbs in the center of the pie and spread them evenly. Press on the crumbs gently to compact them. Return the pie to the oven, placing it so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward. Slide a large aluminum foil-lined baking sheet onto the rack below to catch any spills. Bake until the juices bubble thickly around the edge, about 30 minutes. Use a very thick layer of crumb topping.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

Foolproof Italian Bread

For whatever reason, when baking bread is mentioned, so many people are simply not confident enough to make or bake it. Your worries are over!! If you have a stand mixer with bread hooks, you CAN make this bread with total confidence!! If you follow the simple directions given here, you will be suddenly known as a 'bread master. If you have been putting off baking bread, no need to put it off any longer; success is on the way.


6 to 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 T. sugar
2 TBS instant yeast
2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
2 TBS softened butter

Makes 2-Loaves or a half dozen hoagie rolls.


In large bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Heat water, milk and butter to about 120 degrees. Gradually add to the dough ingredients; beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 1/2 cup flour; beat two minutes at high speed. Change beaters to the dough hooks. Add additional flour to make soft dough. Add additional water if necessary. When dough is ready it will pull away from the sides of the bowl. Place in lightly greased bowl, turn several times to completely coat the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let raise to double in size.

Punch dough down and shape as desired. Let rise until 1 ½ times original size. Score the dough horizontally one time, or across the loaves several times on each loaf.

Bake at 375F. for about 20 minutes.

This dough freezes well and rises nicely after thawing and shaping.

Can use this recipe for hamburger-shaped rolls too.
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Il pasto granoturco pane italiano (Corn meal Italian Bread)

This is a delightful, ciabatta type bread that you will make time after time.

1 TBS Instant yeast

1 1/2 Cup bottled water

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sea salt

½ Cup White Corn Meal

1 ½ Cups boiling water

4 Cups High Gluten Bread Flour

2 Cups AP Flour

1 TBS Olive Oil

Boil 1 1/2 cups of bottled water in a medium sauce pan. Once boiling, remove from heat and quickly add the corn meal and salt. Stir so it is completely hydrated. Stir occasionally to assure there is no dry corn meal at the bottom of the pan. Let the mix cool completely. Here, you will have a corn meal mash or mush.

Add yeast to a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, and 1 1/2 cups warm bottled water (105-110). Mix well with beaters and let sit for 12-15 minutes until it gets creamy/foamy. Add one cup of bread flour and olive oil. Beat well with beaters. Add cooled corn meal and continue beating until well blended. Switch to oiled bread hooks.

Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time until you get a silky dough. The dough may be sticky, so add more flour until you are comfortable with the feel of the dough. The dough should pull away from the edges of the pan.

Place in large oiled bowl; turn several times to fully coat dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise to doubled. This will take only about 30-45 minutes.

Once doubled lightly flour counter, gently de-gas, and shape to either one large boule, or two small ones. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil, lightly cover with plastic wrap, and let rise to doubled in size. You can add seeds of your choice at this point. You can also do a refrigerated rise for 6-12 hours. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Turn oven to 450F. Make sure you have a steam pan in oven. Once up to temperature, fill steam pan with hot water, spray oven sides with water – being careful NOT to spray light bulb or oven door glass. Place shaped dough in 450F. oven for 10-minutes. After 10-minutes, spray oven and turn cookie sheet 180 degrees for even baking. Reduce temperature to 400F. Bake for an additional twenty minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 180F. Remove from oven, and rub top of loaves with a stick of butter.

Let cool one hour before slicing. This bread gains flavor the longer it sits – up to four days. It has the beautiful texture of a ciabatta if not de-gassed too much for the second rising.

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Grilled Lamb and Onions on Rosemary Skewers

Lamb, garlic, and rosemary are a perfect blend. I'm not sure how easy it is to find the rosemary skewers in the U.S.,but they can be ordered over the internet primarily from Australia where rosemary is grown in huge amounts for both domestic use and exporting.

3 Lbs lamb, trimmed, cut into 1" Cubes

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine

1 large shallot, chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbls chopped fresh rosemary

24-30 pearl onions, trimmed and peeled

Salt and black pepper, freshly ground

12 rosemary skewers, fresh or dried

Combine all ingredients (except rosemary skewers) in a bowl and toss. Marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, mixing occasionally. Remove lamb cubes and discard marinade. Thread lamb and onions alternately on to the skewers. You may need to make the hole for the rosemary skewers with a metal skewer.

Grill on barbeque for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until cooked as desired.

Serves 6

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