Cream Puffs with Whipped Cream & Vanilla Filling

 

Makes 24                                      Cream Puffs on Nonni's China

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup of boiling water 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

4 eggs (room temperature) 

Directions: 

Combine butter and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add flour all at once, stirring rapidly.  Cook and stir just until mixture thickens and leaves the sides of pan. Remove from heat. 

Transfer dough to a small mixing bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each egg, with an electric mixer on medium speed. Continue beating until the mixture looks satiny smooth. 

Chill for one hour. 

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an uncreased baking sheet, lined with parchment paper - about one inch apart.  Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375F and continue baking for 30 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Filling: 

Beat 250 ml (1 cup) of whipping cream with 1 tablespoon of icing/confectioners sugar.  Add 1/2 cup of vanilla pudding (prepared).  Beat a little more till stiff.  Cut the cream puffs in half with a sharp serrated knife.  Add about 1 tablespoon of the filling on each one, and put the top back on.  Sprinkle the puffs with icing sugar. 

Drizzle melted chocolate on top of each cream puff if desired. 

Serve on a plate with raspberries, or strawberries. 

Nonni's Raisin Pie

 

Ingredients: 

2 cups of Thompson Seedless Raisins 

2 cups of water 

3 tbs flour 

¼ cup white sugar 

1-2  tbs lemon juice 

1 apple cut thinly sliced 

pinch of cinnamon

Directions: 

Combine the raisins and water together in a small saucepan.  Boil gently for about 10 minutes till 

the water just covers the raisins.  Take off the heat and add the flour/sugar and stir.  Return to heat for 1-2 minutes. 

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice.  Stir.

Set aside to cool.  

Fill pie shell with the raisin mixture. Top with the sliced apples, sprinkled with cinnamon. Cover with top crust.

Brush the crust with milk. Cut vents in the top to let out steam. 

Bake at 400F for 10 minutes and 350F for about 40 till crust is browned. 

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

Makes 1 Dozen

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar + 1 TBS
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp salt - or less
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sour cream, plain yogurt or buttermilk *
1 cup of fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and add the sugar, vanilla and lemon rind.  Slowly add the oil while beating with a mixer or whisk.
Mix the flour, salt and soda together in.  Stir 1/3 of the flour into the batter.  Then add 1/2 of the sour cream. Add another 1/3 of the flour. Then stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of sour cream. Then finish with the last 1/3 of the flour. Mix gently - if you overmix you will get peaked tops.
Gently stir in the berries. Fresh berries are preferable for this recipe (wild or cultivated) as frozen berries will turn the batter blue.

Spoon into a greased muffin tin.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (optional).

Bake at 400F for 18-20 minutes in the middle of the oven. Remove from the oven and cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes.  Gently remove and cool on a rack.  Store in a container or freeze.

This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com. The sugar has been cut in half so they are not too sweet.
Tip: When measuring flour, fluff the flour and then spoon it into the cup measure. Level it off using the edge of a knife.

* To make buttermilk add 1 TBS of white vinegar to 1 cup (less one TBS) of milk. 

Chicken Thighs Baked with Lemon & Prosciutto

Chicken thighs in baking dish, sprinkled with lemon rind

Cooked thighs ready to serve

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
rind of one lemon, finely grated
4-6 slices of prosciutto, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
2 tsp of porketta seasoning, (see below)
     or your favorite chicken seasoning
1/4 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives (optional)
salt & pepper

Directions:

Mix the olive oil, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Trim the chicken pieces.
Place them on a shallow baking dish and pour the olive oil/lemon mixture over them.  Toss a few times and place the chicken pieces smooth side up.  Sprinkle with the seasoning and prosciutto pieces. Top with the fresh lemon rind.

Bake at 375F for about 8 - 12 minutes till just done.  Do not over cook.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with potatoes and green beans/carrots.  This dish also goes well with a side dish of pasta with tomato sauce.

Porketta Spice Mix:

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 TBS dill seed
1 TBS fennel seed
1/2 tsp oregano 
1 tsp lemon pepper 
1/4 tsp onion powder 

Chickpea Salad with Fresh Herbs & Green Onion

Chickpea Salad with Parsley & Coriander 

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain full-fat Greek Yogurt (Face) or Vegan Substitute
3 TBS Mayonnaise or Vegan mayo
2 TBS lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of kosher salt (or less)
1/2 tsp of black pepper
2 TBS finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for serving
  Or 2 TBS fresh Coriander, finely chopped
2 TBS finely chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
3 15-oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed *
1 cup finely diced celery (about 3 stalks)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion, white & green parts (2-3 scallions)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt & pepper.  Whisk until smooth, then add the dill or coriander, and parsley and stir to combine.  Set aside.

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and using a fork, lightly mash about 1/3 of them.  Add the celery and green onions and toss.

Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well, and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Sprinkle with more dill/coriander and parsley and serve.  You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.  Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

This recipe is adapted from the NY Times recipe website.

*  The first time I made this, (photo) I used only 1 can of chickpeas...(my mistake!) which made the salad very crunchy with all the celery and green onion - but I thought it was delicious! I did cut down on the salt & pepper and perhaps would only use 1 TBS of lemon juice next time. You could always add more to taste.
It had a nice consistency like a potato salad without the potatoes.

Artichoke Bites

This is an easy recipe from Canadian Living Magazine.  Great for entertaining!

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts (6 oz.)
1 onion finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
6 eggs - well-beaten
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp oregano
dash of Tabasco sauce
freshly ground pepper
2 cups of grated old white cheddar cheese (1 8-oz package)


Directions:

Measure 1/4 c of the marinade from the jar of artichokes and put into a medium skillet.  Discard remaining marinade from the jar and chop the artichokes into 1/2 inch pieces.
Heat marinade in a skillet and cook the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs.  Stir in onion-garlic mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, oregano, a few drops of Tabasco, and pepper to taste.  Add the cheese and then add the artichokes.

Spoon into a buttered 8-inch square glass baking dish.  Bake at 325F for about 30 to 35 minutes until set. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut into squares and serve.  This recipe can be prepared a day or two in advance and reheated.  Store wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.

Makes 24 squares.

Crock Pot Ribs

This recipe is from a Youtube video Harry sent me and said 'try this!'  They were excellent!
I think you can make the rub as detailed or just use your favorite rub. There are directions on how to lay the ribs in the crock pot. "Thick side down and ribs (bone) in the center" It worked very well.

Ingredients:

Pork Back Ribs - one or two racks depending on your family.

Rub - either purchased, or prepared as per the video.

Rub the racks and cut them in half to fit the crock pot.

Put them in the crock pot and set it on high for 6 hours. Nothing else is put in the crock pot.
After they are done, brush them with a bbq sauce and then broil them for 1-2 minutes if you like. Brush lightly with barbecue sauce.