Category Archives: 12. Holidays

Sep26

Lavender Lemonade

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lavenderIMG_3887

Lavender Lemonade
Makes 2 liters or 1/2 gallon

I served this at my Lavender Inspired Table at the Sun Valley Harvest Festival’s Grand Tasting tour on Sept. 22, 2013.  Everyone, and I sincerely mean everyone, just loved it.  It really is a wonderful drink for spring or summer.  But actually, it wouldn’t be that bad for winter either and you could introduce some Christmas décor for a holiday treat.

Ingredients:

  1. 2 cups lavender syrup
  2. 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  3. 5 cups water
  4. Lemon slices (for garnish)
  5. Ice with lemon rind inserted before freezing

Directions:

  1. In a large pitcher, combine the lavender syrup, lemon juice, and water.
  2.  Pour into glasses over prepared ice, and garnish with some pretty lemon slices!
  3. Or put in a punch bowl, pitcher or the perfect lemonade server with a spigot on the side (as shown in the picture).

 

Lavender Syrup
Makes 2 cups

  1. 2 cups water
  2. 1 1/2 cups sugar
  3. 2 tablespoons dried lavender buds

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar, and lavender to a boil. Remove the pan from heat, then cover with a lid and let the lavender steep for at least half an hour however I let it steep overnight for best results.
  2. Strain the mixture into a jar or bottle.
  3. It will keep for a week or two in the fridge during which you can add it to iced tea, hot tea, seltzer, gin or vodka concoctions, champagne, limoncello, or… this lovely lavender lemonade! As for the hard liquor, I found that it pairs beautifully with Basil infused vodka. I also heard that it will keep longer if you introduce a bit of vodka in it before storing.
Sep26

No-Churn Ice Cream Recipe # 2 with various fruits and/or LAVENDER culinary buds

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lavenderNo-Churn Ice Cream Recipe # 2 with various fruits and/or LAVENDER culinary buds

Makes 4 pints

Here’s another WICKED recipe.  I  have received a lot of comments and compliments on my other fast, easy and yummy no-churn ice cream recipe so I thought I’d give you all another recipe which I also like a lot.  I think that it turns out a bit softer than the other one.  It’s excellent served in a pretty glass layered with fresh fruit and this ice cream.

Ingredients:

  1. 4 egg whites
  2. 1 ¾ C. superfine sugar
  3. 2 ½ C. heavy cream
  4. 2 ripe mangoes, flesh roughly chopped into 1-inch chunks, strawberries cut in smaller pieces, whole raspberries or blueberries ; peaches, apricots, banana cut in bits; add some chocolate chips; and for Lavender, add 1/2 C. lavender simple syrup and reduce the amount of heavy cream to 2 cups.

Instructions:

  1.  In a glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites till thick.
  2. Add the sugar and beat until stiff.
  3. Add the cream and continue beating until mixture is thick and creamy.
  4. If you wish to make the lavender version, beat everything before adding the simple syrup.  When your mixture is thick and creamy in step 3, beat in the simple syrup in several additions.
  5. Gently fold in the fruit or fruit pieces.
  6. Cover and place in freezer until almost set (3-4 hours)
  7. Take, out and beat once more.  Put in airtight containers in the freezer overnight.

Lavender Simple Syrup Recipe (Makes 2 Cups):

Ingredients:

  1. 2 C. water
  2. 1 ½ C. superfine sugar
  3. 2 Tblsp. dried culinary lavender buds

Instructions:

  1. In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and lavender to a boil.  Remove the pan from the heat and then cover with a lid.  Let this mixture steep for at least 1/2 hour however, I let it steep overnight for best results.
  2. Strain the syrup into a jar or bottle.  It will keep for a week or two in the fridge during which you can add it to iced tea, hot tea, hard liquor concoctions (basil flavored vodka works fabulously well), champagne, or lemonade (look for my separate recipe for that under Lavender Lemonade). I’ve heard that it will keep better if you introduce some vodka in the syrup.

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help or hosting

 @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

Aug14

Free Form Fruit Tart

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free form fruit tart

Free Form Fruit Tart

Serves 4 to 8 (depending on sizes served)

 Easy as can be to make and delicious—that’s what this desert is.  Heavens, it takes no time what so ever to make (45 minutes at the most) and to bake;  everyone will for sure think that it took you all day and will ouuu and ahhhh and probably, you won’t have any left over’s—so you’ll have to make another the next day just to satisfy yourself.

Pre-Heat oven to 425F

Ingredients for the free-form pie crust:

  1. 1 ¼  C. flour
  2. 1/2 Tsp. salt
  3. 3 Tblsp. sugar
  4. 1 stick butter= 8 Tblsp. (room temp is the best, but if not, cut into small pieces)
  5. 3 Tblsp. very cold water (plus more if necessary)

Directions for making the pie crust:

  1. Whisk flour, salt and sugar in a medium sized bowl.
  2. Cut in the butter in the dry ingredients till mixture is well blended and looks like cornmeal. You can use two knives, forks or a pastry blender, but if you have a processor, do the following:  For the first 2 steps process the dry ingredients with a quick one, two pulse; then add the butter and process until blended and mixture looks like cornmeal.
  3. If you’ve used a processor, place your ingredients in a bowl. Add the water and mold with hands in order to make into a ball. Try to handle as little as possible so that the crust remains very light and flaky and will not become “heavy”.
  4. Place ball on a large piece of saran wrap; then place another sheet of saran wrap on top and flatten ball.
  5. Take a rolling pin and roll the top saran wrap sheet till your dough ball becomes a rough round of 9 or 10 inches (the dough should be about 1/4 inch thick).
  6. Remove your top saran wrap sheet, pick up the bottom saran sheet with the dough and quickly flip it out on a cookie sheet or pizza pan that has been lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Remove that saran sheet so that your dough is all by its lonesome on the prepared baking sheet. Now you are ready to place your desired filling in the middle of the dough.

Filling Ingredients for the free-form pie crust:

  1. Pitted, peeled, sliced soft fruit; thinly sliced apples, pears; crushed almonds, walnuts, raisins, currents  are all good filling choices.
  2. With fruit, you can toss them with crystallized ginger bits, cinnamon and/or sugar, honey and melted butter, lemon rind and whatever else you like.
  3. 2 Tblsp. melted butter

Final directions:

  1. Place fruit, whatever in the middle of the dough leaving a good 1 ½ inch free border all around.
  2. Fold up the edges of the crust up and around the fruit, pinching the outer edge dough together.
  3. Brush the dough with 2 Tblsp. melted butter and save some melted butter for brushing on the fruit itself.
  4. I also place a bit more sugar on the top of all.
  5. Place the free-form pie which is on the lined cookie sheet or pizza pan in your pre-heated oven until the dough is nice and brown and the fruit is bubbling (about 30 minutes but start checking after 20 minutes).
  6. Remove from oven, cool on a rack and serve warm dusted with confectioner sugar and ice cream or crème fraiche or whipped cream.
Jun9

Cupcakes, Nice and Easy

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cupcakes 2cupcakes

Cupcakes-Coconut, Almond,  Chocolate, Lemon-The Easy Way

Makes 18-24 cupcakes

This is a super simple recipe that results in very light and rich tasting cupcakes.  They way you want them to taste is up to you—————-

Ingredients:

  1. 4 eggs
  2. 2/3 C. white sugar
  3. Dash of almond or vanilla extract or lemon zest  (optional)
  4. 1 ¼ C. all-purpose flour
  5. 1 Tsp. baking powder
  6. 3/4 C. total of the following 3 condiments—combination and amount to equal 3/4 C. wished for chosen by you (ie, it could be solely 3/4 C. coconut; or 1/4 C. coconut and 1/2 C. almonds; so-on-for the light flavor, don’t over dose):
    1. Shredded coconut
    2. Chopped or slivered almonds
    3. Chocolate chips
  7. 8 Tblsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

  1. Combine the 4 eggs, sugar and optional extracts and beat for about 5 minutes until mixture is very thick, pale and forms a ribbon.
  2. Sift the flour with the baking powder .
  3. In the egg mixture, fold in some of the flour mixture and then some of your condiment selection and continue doing that till all folded in.  Lastly, fold in the melted butter.  Fold in well till you can’t see the butter any longer.
  4. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.  By that time, the mixture should be quite thick.
  5. When you’ve put the dough in the refrigerator, pre-heat the oven to 450. As well, spray your muffin pans or line them with paper cupcake liners.  I really like the latter.
  6. After 25 minutes take your mixture out of the refrigerator and scoop the dough out to fill the muffin pans/or liners till each is filled about 3/4 of the way full.
  7. Place on the middle rack in the 450 degree oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down to 400 and bake for 5-7 minutes longer or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick will come out clear.
  8. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
  9. Try not to eat them all at one sitting.

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help or hosting

 @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

 

Jun5

Strawberry-Nut Quick Bread

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strawberry nut quick bread

Strawberry-Nut Quick Bread

Makes one 9 X 5 Loaf

I found some very sweet and tasty California strawberries at the Ketchum Atkinsons’ store at a nice price- under $2 for a 1 lb. Clamshell.  So, I of course ate some fresh but the thought of making this very tasty quick moist bread came to mind, so I did create a half a loaf, just for me.  With some whipped cream cheese as a topping, it was delicious.  Of course, I wanted to share this easy recipe so here it is.

Ingredients:

  1. 2 eggs
  2. 1 C. sugar
  3. 1/2 C. oil
  4. 1 ½ C. all-purpose flour
  5. 1 Tsp. baking soda
  6. 2 Tsp. cinnamon
  7. 1/2 Tsp. salt
  8. 1 ½ C. of your favorite chopped nuts
  9. 10 Oz. sliced strawberries –fresh preferably but they can be frozen

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 and oil well a 9 X 5 X 3 loaf pan.  I also sprinkled some sugar on the bottom.
  2. Beat eggs, sugar and oil until well combined.
  3. Mix together well the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt.  I use my whip for this.
  4. Beat or mix all until well blended.  Batter will be thick.
  5. Add the berries and chopped nuts.
  6. Spread the batter in the pan and bake on the middle rack for 55 to 65 minutes.  For half a loaf, I used the same sized pan so the break turned out a bit less thick and it baked in about 40-45 minutes.
  7. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes and remove to a wire rack. 

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help or hosting

 @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

Apr30

Marmalade Drop Cookies–Quick, Easy and Yummy

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marmalade drops with almonds and powder sugarmarmalade drop cookies

Marmalade Drop Cookies

24 cookies

Here is an easy and yummy cookie to make for your family and friends.  They also look pretty.

Ingredients:

  1. 1/2 C. unsalted butter (1 cube), softened
  2. 1/4 C. sugar
  3. 3 Tblsp. sugar on a plate for dipping the dough
  4. 1 egg yolk, beaten with the following:
    1. 1 Tblsp. lemon juice
    2. 1 Tsp. grated lemon peel
    3. 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
    4. 1/4 Tsp. almond extract
  5. 1 C. plus 1 Tblsp. flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet
  3. Beat  softened butter and 1/4 C. sugar with electric beater and when smooth, add the egg yolk mixture.
  4. In a medium sized bowl, place the flour and then mix the butter mixture into it until a smooth dough forms.
  5. Form the dough into about 24 small balls and roll in the plated sugar before placing them on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Lastly, make an indentation in each ball with your finger or thumb.
  6. Place on middle oven rack and bake until tops are lightly golden, about 24 minutes.
  7. Cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a platter.
  8. Place some marmalade or jam of your choice in each indentation. If you wish, you can further decorate with some powdered sugar and sliced almonds.
Mar19

Roasted Turkey Thigh

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roasted turkey thigh

minnestrone cup Roasted Turkey Thigh

One Serves Two

 

 

Who says that turkey is just for Thanksgiving.  I love it year round. However, remember that if for a Thanksgiving dinner there are just 2 of you (or maybe even just your lonesome) this is a an easy turkey dish to make and have and still celebrate that turkey day without having to deal with the whole bird. But I divert. This is the day before spring and when I discovered this lovely 1.69 Lb. turkey thigh for $3.19 at Atkinsons’ the other day turkey sounded good to me so I bought it and had that evening a delicious and economical meal.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 Turkey Thigh (or more if you are serving more than 2)
  2. 1/4 C. olive oil or butter if you don’t mind the extra cholesterol
  3. 1 Tsp. salt
  4. 1/4 Tsp. ground pepper
  5. 2-4 cloves of garlic—peeled or unpeeled-whole or roughly chopped
  6. 1 large carrot chopped in large hunks
  7. 1/2 onion sliced
  8. 2 celery stalks roughly chopped
  9. 4 sprigs of thyme
  10. 4 basil or sage leaves
  11. 1/2 C. turkey or chicken broth

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Olive oil spray an ovenproof dish to accommodate your thigh(s) and veggies.
  3. Place the veggies and broth on the bottom of your dish.
  4. Gently loosen skin from the thigh and spread some olive oil over the meat; then insert the spices and garlic cloves. Smooth skin back over and spread the rest of the olive oil over the thigh.You can also use your olive oil spray to do this instead of using the 1/4 C. olive oil. Now salt and pepper the thigh.
  5. Place the thigh in the dish over the veggies and broth.
  6. Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes or till a meat thermometer registers 175 degrees.
  7. Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
  8. I sided this dish with a ramekin filled with freshly made thick minestrone topped with Parmesan and a fresh salad.  For desert, I served roasted pears.
  9. If you wish gravy, when you’ve removed the thigh and the veggies, thicken the drippings/sauce stove top in a pan over medium high heat with a bit of luke warm water in which you have well stirred a tablespoon or more of cornstarch.

 

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help or hosting

@ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

 

Mar6

A Breeze to Make Oreo Truffle Eggs Especially for Easter

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A Breeze to Make Oreo Truffle Eggs Especially for Easter

Makes around 40-45egg truffles for Aubrey

You may have run into this yummy truffle recipe however it escaped my attention until I was introduced to it at a party just recently.  It was so delicious that my iron will in regards to sweet temptations broke down and I indulged in several. But, I wondered what made them so good because when I asked the gal who had brought them, she said that they were deceivingly easy to make and even kids with parental help could make them. So lo and behold, I found the recipe on the net and true enough, they are a breeze to make. You all know how I love to share good things so here is this breeze to make recipe.  I thought that one could actually form the shapes to look more like chocolate Easter eggs— give that a try—and enjoy.

Ingredients:

  1. One 16. Oz. package of OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
  2. One 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened or one 8 oz. carton of softened Cream Cheese.
  3. Two 8 oz. packages Bakers Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted. Kraft suggests placing the unwrapped chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and to microwave on high 2 ½ minutes or until chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 30 seconds.  For myself, I place the opened chocolate in a microwave bowl, put about 2 ¼  Tsp. of unsalted butter on top and micro on medium for about 2 minutes, then stir and continue microwaving on medium for 30 to 60 seconds more stirring intermittently until chocolate and butter are all melted. Sometimes I omit the butter.  If you are into professional looking exteriors, you probably should temper the chocolate which takes a bit of patience and time.  For tempering instructions, look that up on the net or a good cookbook.

Instructions:

  1. Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor(about 1/4 C.); reserve this for later use.   You can also crush the cookies in a plastic bag using a rolling pin.
  2. Crush the remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs and place in a medium bowl.
  3. Add cream cheese and mix until well blended. I used my hands.
  4. Roll cookie mixture in 40 balls or if for Easter, into egg shapes. They should be about one inch in diameter to give you a general idea of the appropriate size.
  5. Dip balls/eggs in the melted chocolate; place on a wax or parchment papered baking sheet.
  6. To easily coat the truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate.  Use 2 forks to roll the truffles in the chocolate until evenly coated.  Remove the truffles with the forks letting any excess chocolate drip back in the bowl.  Place truffles on your papered prepared baking sheet.   If you have any left-over chocolate, store that in the frig. for some other later use.
  7. Sprinkle the balls with the reserved crumbs if you wish.
  8. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
  9. I have frozen these and they turn out just fine.  In fact, I eat them straight out of the freezer and they are delicious. I also have put some crushed lavender culinary buds in the cream cheese and that has turned out well.

I dare you not to eat them all immediately.  However, if you are that strong of will and constitution, store in a tightly covered contained in the frig. for a later serving.  Don’t plan on any left-over’s.

Mar6

Artichokes Spells Green Goodie for St. Pat’s

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Frost Kissed Artichokes are in town—just in time to celebrate the GREEN of St. Pats (PART ONE)

This is the first of a two series presentation of Artichoke Recipes—so stay tuned!!

 

I do really enjoy artichokes and have had a lot of fun with new comers in the instruction of the “how to eat” an artichoke.  When I resided in CA I used to grow these edible thistles in my yard so I garnered very fresh chokes that barely needed to be cooked.  Here our chokes are usually a bit older however the ones I picked up the other day at the Bellevue Atkinsons’ for such a good price were the frost kissed variety so I knew that they weren’t very old. Sure enough, when cooking them I started smelling their fragrant aroma in 20 minutes and 5 minutes later, they were done and delicious. Frost Kissing occurs when the temps drop below 32 degrees resulting in an enhanced nutty flavored artichoke. So if you like this veggie, hurry and get some.  They also make great appetizers.

 

There are a myriad of ways to which to treat this thistle in a culinary fashion.  I’ve even been given a recipe dealing with using raw artichoke strips in a salad.  Sad to say, I was very disappointed with that recipe. Below is the way I’ve always cooked my choke plus another easy greener recipe I thought you might enjoy.  Next week will be another very tasty recipe that my editor, Leslie Thompson, a terrific cook, is offering for the followers of this column.   

 

Basic Instruction for Prepping an Artichoke:

Hold the choke by its long end and with a scissor, cut the individual leaf ends off so that the thorns are removed; next, with a serrated knife, cut both ends of the choke: the stem close to the choke bottom and the very top off about 1/2 inch.  Now wash them and they are ready to be cooked.

Margot’s Favorite Way:

Cooking instructions:

Place the chokes in a tall pot that accommodates your chokes and fill the pot with water (I put in warm or hot water) that goes about half way up. In the water add a dash of olive oil,  one or two bay leaves, one or two whole peeled or even unpeeled garlic cloves, some pepper corns and a dash of sea salt and a squirt of your favorite vinegar or lemon juice.  You can also add some fresh tarragon or thyme.  Put the pot on the burner and when the water comes to a boil, turn it down to a rolling simmer and place a top that will fit in and not on top of the pot. This will keep the chokes under the liquid and from discoloring. If you don’t have that size top, just put a regular top on the pot. Start testing in 25 minutes by trying to take a leaf off with ease to see if it is tender. I use tongs to do that. Also I’ve noticed that when the choke starts smelling good, that’s when you know that it’s about done.  An artichoke can be done in as little as 20 minutes or as long as a bit over an hour—depending on size and age.  When done, turn the choke upside down in a bowl to drain. If you have left over’s, they can be stored in the frig for several days and reheated in the micro or just enjoyed cold or stuffed for hors d’oeuvres. Oh my, so many options with a choke—————–

I like to eat my chokes plain but many people like to dip the leaves in melted butter, olive oil or mayonnaise.  You can even combine the butter or olive oil you are using as a dipping sauce with a dash of minced garlic, lemon juice and S&P or/and some grated Parmesan or some dill or Dijon mustard.  And if serving the choke cold as an hors d’oeuvre, mayo with a dash of curry or other powder is a breeze to whip up. Well, you get the idea—- imagination is the ingredient here.

Lastly, no matter how you cook and eat your choke, don’t forget to remove the uneatable furry/fuzzy part to get to the best part—the heart. Also remember to provide an empty bowl on the side of the artichoke for discarded leaves and when guests are present, I usually put one discarded leaf in the bowl as an example.

Thinking of St. Pats, here’s an extra green to stuff in your choke:

  1. When choke is cooked, remove the interior including the fuzz and heart and fill it with 1/2 C. of frozen peas. Place a bit of butter on the peas and add some fresh mint, garlic or other seasoning.  Microwave in a covered dish for about 1 ½ minutes.  The peas will be done. If your artichoke had been refrigerated, the micro waving time may take a bit longer. Garnish with fresh mint and serve with fresh mayo and a shamrock.

There are so many choices in cooking a choke and as time goes on, I’ll pass on some more yummy recipes concerning this wonderful thistle.  However, don’t forget, if you have a special recipe concerning the artichoke or anything for that matter, be sure to pass it on directly to me or Leslie and you’ll get a nice Albertson’s $20 gift card.

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

Frost Kissed Artichokes are in town—just in time to celebrate the GREEN of St. Pats (PART TWO)

This is the second of a two series presentation of Artichoke Recipes

 

It’s amazing when looking up the history on various vegetables how very long ago they were mentioned in the discovered writings of ancient times.  The artichoke was mentioned by the Greeks and the Romans and even in the excavations of the Roman-period in Egypt.  So I imagine that  Cleopatra and Julius or Mark enjoyed them at one of their soirees.  Later in time, they found their way to France (Avignon) and Italy and down to the hinterlands of Holland.  The Dutch introduced them to England and they grew in Henry VIII”s garden at Newhall in 1530. He also probably dined on them at one of his lively soirees.  Then by the French immigrants coming to Louisiana, the choke was introduced; it also was introduced to California by Spanish immigrants.  Presently, can you believe, 100% of the U.S. crop is provided by California (if they aren’t torn up for vineyards—I hope not) and 80% is grown in the Steinbeck country of Monterrey County. Castroville, on the Pacific in Monterrey County proclaims itself to be “The Artichoke Center of the World”.  They hold a very fun festival there each year.  Don’t miss it if you are in the area.  If I remember correctly, there’s even artichoke ice cream to be tasted.

Leslie Thompson’s (the Weekly Sun’s Editor) Favorite Way (when time allows):

Preheat oven to 425.  Prep them as above, THEN, take loads of fresh minced garlic; pull the leaves back and sprinkle the garlic among the leaves. Then, add some Parmesan cheese in the leaves too (stuff down anything that’s left sticking up). Next lightly sprinkle them with a favorite herb mix (I usually make a thyme and sage blend that I mix myself) and S&P. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice and drizzle some olive oil over it all. Then wrap them up in a double layer of heavy tin foil making sure that they are totally sealed. Bake them in a 425 oven for an hour or 45 minutes for small ones.

There are so many choices in cooking a choke and as time goes on, I’ll pass on some more yummy recipes concerning this wonderful thistle.  And don’t forget, if you have a special recipe concerning the artichoke or anything for that matter, be sure to pass it on directly to me or Leslie and you’ll get a nice Albertson’s $20 gift card.

Roasted Red Pepper/Artichoke Dip: (a very colorful dish when placed on cooked artichoke leaves)

Ingredients:

  1. 4 Artichoke hearts (fresh is preferable of course)
  2. 1 leek, diced
  3. 2 Tblsp. butter
  4. 1 C. of roasted Red Peppers (from a jar) drained
  5. 3/4 C. Grated Parmesan
  6. 3 Tblsp. mayonnaise

Instructions:

  1.  In a small sauté pan over medium high heat,  add the butter and when it’s melted and warm, add the leeks.  Cook until leeks are tender. Set aside to cool.
  2. Add artichoke hearts, peppers, cheese, mayo and cooled leeks to food processor or blender.  Pulse until dip is smooth and well combined.
  3. Serve with artichoke leaves, chips or fresh veggies.

 

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

Feb22

A breeze to make coffee and Other Flavored Ice Creams (no ice-cream maker necessary)

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No Churn Icecream & Pear

No Churn Coffee Ice Cream and Other Flavored Ice Creams (A BREEZE TO MAKE)

Picture is of a fresh cut up pear and some no churn coffee/chocolate ice cream

YES!!!!  You can also make Lemon and Orange and vanilla and  ????????

Makes almost 2 Pints

Thanks go to NPR and to hearing Nigella Lawson, fabulous Italian cook and author of cook books, talk about her recipe for this ice cream.  Well, I love coffee flavored goodies and I LOVE ice cream; so, this recipe was just up my alley.  I couldn’t wait to look it up on the net.  I couldn’t wait to get all of the proper ingredients to make it.  I couldn’t wait to get it in the freezer.  And that wasn’t till a late PM so guess what I had for breakfast–  So, now, just in case you are not in the “know” I wanted to share her recipe with you.  I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have (oh dear, I hate to get on the scales in the morning because honestly there are a TON of calories here), however, as Nigella says, she’s never without it and I know why.  I haven’t priced this out; however, I do think that it is cheaper than buying a good coffee ice cream and certainly it is better.  I can’t wager how good it’s for the waist line though—sorry.

Ingredients:

  1. 2/3 C. SWEETENED CONDENSED milk
  2. 2 Tblsp. instant espresso powder (I couldn’t find this here so I bought instant espresso coffee which I now keep in the freezer and mixed 2 Tblsp. of the granules with 2 Tsp. boiling water)
  3. 2 Tblsp. of some sort of coffee liqueur
  4. 1 ¼ C. HEAVY cream
  5. Two one-pint airtight containers

Directions:

  1. Put the condensed milk in a bowl and stir in the espresso powder or the substitute I’ve listed and the liqueur.
  2. In a separate bowl beat the cream until it reaches soft peaks.
  3. Fold the cream into the condensed milk mixture and pour into your airtight containers.
  4. Freeze for 6 hours at least or overnight. I found that I had to do it overnight for it to reach its properly frozen state.
  5. Delicious and you can serve the coffee flavor  with melted chocolate.  Or I was thinking that you could even swirl melted chocolate in the coffee flavor which I’m going to try next time I make that flavor. For a great vanilla, I put 1-2 Tblsp. good vanilla flavoring (taste to see you don’t have too much vanilla) and a splash of vodka for a bit of kick.  You won’t taste the vodka but I think that it makes it a bit richer.

OK–now you want to make another flavor?  Today, 2/23/13, I made Lemon Ice Cream substituting 2 Tblsp. Crystal Light Natural Lemonade Drink Mix Powder and 2 Tblsp. lemon flavored vodka for the coffee recipe ingredients.  I bought that airplane size vodka bottle for $1.50.  I also added some lemon zest/peel in the mixture.  Delicious.  I can’t wait to make orange, berry and you name it.  So much more economical than buying and also so much better.