Pecan Pie

Ingredients for the dough:
1 cup all purpose white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 T cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup ice water

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Ingredients for the filling:
1/2 cup darkly roasted pecans, ground
3 eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 T melted unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup medium pecan pieces

Preparing the dough:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Using the large holes of a hand grater, grate the butter into the mixing bowl with the flour mixture. Lightly blend the butter and flour mixture with your fingertips until the texture is like coarse cornmeal. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Add the ice water and blend until thoroughly incorporated. Form the dough into a ball and blend until thoroughly incorporated. Form the dough into a ball and place it on a floured cutting board.

Roll out the dough, adding flour as necessary, to 1/8-inch thick. Place an 8 1/2-inch pie pan face down on the dough and cut the dough to fit the pan, leaving a border of about 1 inch.

Line the pan with the dough, trim the edges, and refrigerate until ready to use.

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Preparing the filling:
In an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, add the eggs and beat on high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, salt, and ground roasted pecans. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Stir in the pecan pieces.

Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake until the filling is browned on top and the crust is light golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Serves 6 to 8

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Arroz Con Crema (Creamy Rice)

This can be easily pre-assembled and reheated just prior to serving.


Ingredients:
4 cups water
2 cups Uncle Ben’s or other converted rice
1 T butter
2 teaspoons salt

Ingredients for the sour cream mixture (crema agria preparada):
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 minced garlic clove
2 T lard or vegetable oil
2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove
1 16-ounce can corn (If possible, use fresh corn and boil the cobs to make a stock to cook the rice in)
1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese

Preparing the rice:
Bring water to a boil and add buttter and salt. When the butter is melted, add the rice and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat to very low, cover the rice with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, Take rice out of the saucepan and spread on a baking sheet to cool or allow to cool in the pan uncovered.

Combine the sour cream with the chopped onion and cilantro and add salt to taste.

Heat the lard in a frying pan and add the chopped onion and garlic clove. Dice the poblanos and add to pan when the onion is wilted. Saute for one minute. Let cool and combine with the rice.

Drain the can of corn well and add to the cool rice and poblano mixture. Add the sour cream mixture and mix in the grated cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through in a 350 degree oven. If using a pyrex dish, the oven temperature should be 325 degrees.

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Black Pepper Biscuits and Jam

Ingredients for orange-lemon-blueberry jam:
6 cups prepared fruit, about 6 medium oranges and 4 lemons
1 1/2 cups water
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
6 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl plus 1/4 cup, divided
1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 1/2 pouches fruit pectin
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup honey

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Ingredients for biscuits:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus 4 tablespoons, melted
1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, not super fine and not coarse, somewhere in between

Preparing the jam:
Using a vegetable peeler remove the zest of the oranges and lemons. Cut the zest pieces into thin slices, then finely chop or grind and set aside. Peel and discard remaining white part of the peel from fruit. Chop fruit pulp, reserving any juice and set aside. Place the peels, water and baking soda in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the reserved fruit and juice and cover. Simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Stir the 6 cups sugar into the prepared fruit in the saucepan. Add the butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to a boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Toss the blueberries with honey. Place into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Scoop out blueberries and add to marmalade. Reduce liquid to a syrup and stir into the finished marmalade. Serve at room temperature.

Preparing the biscuits:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Using a dough cutter, combine until ingredients are incorporated. Scatter the cold butter pieces over the top of the flour mixture and continue to combine until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and pulse until the mixture just begins to come together.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly flour counter. Pat the dough into a 10 by 12-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out biscuits. Press together the scraps of dough, and repeat process. Place the biscuits on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper; brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter.

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Old-Fashioned Cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 T baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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Ingredients for the frosting:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or other flavoring

Preparing the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.

Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Cool and decorate with frosting.

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Preparing the frosting:
Cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth gradually add the rest of sugar to reach frosting consistency [see note].

Note: Add more sugar to get this consistency.

Makes 24 cupcakes

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Pork Curry Potstickers

Ingredients for the sauce:
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 T minced Thai basil leaves
2 green onions, minced
1/2 teaspoon Indian curry powder
1/4 cup mirin
2 T oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha)
1 T freshly minced mint leaves

Ingredients for the filling:
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon freshly minced cilantro leaves
1 green onion, minced
1 T oyster sauce
1 T hoisin sauce
1 T mirin
1 T finely minced ginger
40 round gyoza wrappers
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 T canola oil

Preparing the sauce:
Can be done a day in advance of the final preparation. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a non-metallic bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until time to use.

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Preparing the potsticker filling:
Combine all the ingredients in a nonmetallic bowl and mix very well using your hands. Set it aside.

* * * * *

Preparing the potstickers:
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and dust the paper heavily with the cornstarch. Take a gyoza wrapper and put a generous 1 teaspoon, almost 1 tablespoon, dollop of filling in the middle of the gyoza wrapper. Pinch the wrapper all the way around the dumpling to close it up, like a fold/pleat - approximately 4 folds. Give it a little twist around the dumpling's "waist." Arrange the finished dumplings on the cornstarch coated cookie sheet. When all 40 dumplings are finished, cover and refrigerate for 1/2 an hour.

Final cooking steps:

Add the canola oil to a large 12-inch nonstick skillet. Start adding the dumplings to the pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Brown the bottom of the dumplings, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the sauce, cover the pan and steam for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, uncover the pan and turn over all the dumplings to coat with the sauce.

Serves 8

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Chicken Parmesan Fingers with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients for chicken parmesan fingers:
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh thyme or 2 T dried
3 T olive oil
salt and fresnly ground pepper

tomato sauce *

Ingredients for tomato sauce:
1 large onion
8 fresh ripe tomatoes (or canned plum tomatoes, drained)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

Variation: Use 12 lamb chops, 1/2-inch thick, instead of chicken breasts.

Preparing the sauce:
Chop onion in the food processor until finely minced. Coarsely chop the tomatoes in a food processor or blender.

Heat a medium skillet on medium heat. Add olive oil. When oil is hot, add minced onion and cook until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the coarsely chopped tomatoes and reduce heat. Simmer for 45 minutes until sauce thickens a little.

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Preparing the chicken parmesan fingers:
Place the beaten eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken breasts and coat with egg.

Place the parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Dip each piece into the cheese, coating both sides.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Place the chicken in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow the parmesan breading to set, although if pressed for time this step can be skipped. Bring the chicken breasts to room temperature before cooking, approximately 1 hour.

Heat a large skillet, then add the olive oil to cover the bottom of pan.

Cook the chicken breasts until the parmesan crusts are golden; then turn over to fry the other side, 2 to 3 minutes per side. [If cooking lamb chops, the inside will be light pink and juicy.]

Serve with tomato sauce.

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Roasting Vegetables

Asparagus: Leave whole; peel if necessary.

Bell peppers: If not roasting over an open flame, cut these into 1-inch chunks.

Broccoli: Cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch diameter individual florets, the tips of which get charred beautifully crisp. Peel, then halve or quarter thick stems (which are delicious).

Brussels sprouts: Halve them.

Cauliflower: Treat like broccoli.

Corn: Cut into kernels; will cook very quickly and you may only want to brown one side.

Carrots: Cut a 1-inch chunk off the top end at a 45-degree angle. Roll the carrot a quarter turn and repeat. This weird oblique shape gives you lots of surface area to caramelize its abundant sugars. 1/2-inch coins or half-moons also work well.

Eggplant: Cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

Fennel: Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Green beans: Make sure they're tender; old, tough ones get tougher in the oven. Leave whole, stems removed.

Onions: Cut into 1 1/2-inch wedges, and break apart into individual layers.

Parsnips: Treat like carrots.

Radishes: Leave whole if small, about 1 inch in diameter; otherwise cut in 1-inch pieces.

Sweet potatoes: Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Tomatoes: Cut 1-inch-wide wedges or 1/2-inch slices. They won't really brown well but can have a nice concentrated flavor.

Turnips: Cut into 1-inch chunks.

Zucchini and summer squashes: Cut into 1-inch chunks, or oblique-cut like carrots.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. You can go hotter or cooler, depending on what ratio of browning-to-tenderness you want.

Cut vegetables into a big bowl, toss them with plenty of salt and pepper and good extra virgin olive oil.

Spread the vegetables out on a baking sheet, not crowding making sure they're all in one layer. Use multiple sheets if necessary. Place in oven, in the middle or top rack. Turn until all sides are browned.

If browned, but not yet tender, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and sprinkle on some water, maybe a few tablespoons' worth, to cool the pan and to help create a little steam.

Serve by sprinkling a good vinegar (balsamic), fresh herbs (thyme, oregano), nuts, raisins, or shaved parmigiano over the top.

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Polenta and Chicken Tartlets

Serve with a salad of mixed greens for a light lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded store-bought roasted chicken

1/2 cup pesto

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Ingredients for the tartlets:
1 pound instant polenta (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparing the tartlets:
Make the polenta according to package instructions. Just before the polenta is finished thickening, add the cream, salt, and pepper. Pour the polenta onto a greased, rimmed baking sheet. Set aside to cool and firm up, about 30 minutes.

Preparing the topping:
Stir to combine the chicken, pesto, salt, and pepper.

Assembly:
Cut the polenta into rounds for the tartlets, about 24, and place them on a serving platter. Top each polenta tartlet with a spoonful of chicken. Top the chicken with a few dried cranberries.

Serves 4 to 6

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Balsamic Chicken Drumettes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 sprigs of rosemary
5 garlic cloves, halved
10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
2 T toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:
Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

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Vanilla Ricotta and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cones

Ingredients:

12 sugar cones, store-bought

Ingredients for simple syrup:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar

Ingredients for ice cream:
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup whole milk
1 cup simple syrup, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips or flaked, shaved Scharffenberger or Valrhona semisweet chocolate

Ingredients for chocolate hazelnut cone filling:
2/3 cup of Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped Scharffenberg or Valrhona semsisweet chocolate

Optional: chopped hazelnuts for both the cone filling and the ice cream

Preparing the simple syrup:
In a saucepan, combine water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

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Preparing the ice cream:
In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese and milk until smooth. Add the simple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Pour the ricotta mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Add the chocolate chips 10 minutes before the end of freezing.

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Preparing the cones:
Stand 3 sugar cones in each of the 4 glass tumblers. Mix the chocolate-hazelnut spread and chocolate chips together in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is smooth. Spoon 2 teaspoons of chocolate mixture into each sugar cone. Place the glasses in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes until the chocolate becomes firm.

To assemble:
Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop, place 1 scoop of ice cream on top of each sugar cone. Serve immediately.

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