Recipes

BASIC IMPROVED MASHED POTATO
Mashed potato is usually a rush-job and can be boring. You may find hints here to enliven them from the mundane into something really special. So, here is my own strategy for conjuring up palate-smashing, mashed-spuds.
Peel the required number of large old potatoes, then dice them into quite small cubes.
Either boil the diced potatoes in a large saucepan containing excess of initially kettle-boiled water, or alternatively, more quickly microwave the diced potato in some pre-boiling water in a microwave-proof rice-steamer.
While the unlucky potato dice are cooking, cover the bottom of a(nother) saucepan; large enough for the potato as well; with 1cm or so of milk and add a slice of butter. Gently warm the milk and allow the butter to melt without charring it or boiling the milk over. Importantly; season the milk with the following:
(1)ground white pepper (the preferred pepper with potato);
(2)A generous spoonful of English mustard power (this adds flavour and it is also an emulsifier that will ensure eventual diffusion of the butter, milk and seasoning into the potato);
(3)vegetable stock flavouring in the form of crumbled vegetable stock-cube(s); or a generous spoonful of vegetable bouillon; or a tablespoonful of herb-containing stuffing mix. The latter has the extra advantage of thickening the milk-mix when it is next re-warmed with the seasoning.
The quantities of the above depend on the volume of potato under preparation.
When the potatoes are cooked (very soft), and the seasoning is well-integrated into the butter and milk, take the milk-mix off the heat; then, after straining away the cooking-water through a colander and while they are still hot, add the potato pieces to the milk-mix. Mash the potatoes into a pulp; occasionally stirring them around with a wooden spoon - both to mix in the seasoning and also to ensure that no potato pieces hide away under camouflage to escape being pulped. Following this, transfer the finished mashed potato into a lidded casserole, which can be oven-heated close to serving time.
A golden brown finish can be provided near the end of this final heating by removing the casserole lid aand turning up the oven-temperature for a time.
Mashed potatoes can also be upgraded by mashing in separately-cooked (to ensure they are softened for mashing) root vegetables; especially swede and carrot.
Rayray; 13th November 2007

Does anyone have a clam chowder recipe? My husband is a fussy eater but loved it when we were in America, so thought I'd try to do the right thing and make it at home.

Also, I made this Chick Pea Curry the other night, and I loved it.

2 Onions
4 cloves garlic,
1Tbspn oil
1 tspn chilli pwder
1 tspn turmeric
1 tspn paprika
1 tspn cumin
1 tspn garam masala
1 Tbspn ground coriander
2 x 440 g (14oz) cans of chickpeas, drained
1 x 440 g can of diced tomatoes
Fry sliced onions and garlic until onions are soft. Add chilli, turmeric, paprika, cumin and coriander, stir over heat for 1 minute. Add chickpeas and undrained tomatoes. Simmer covered over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir in garam masala, simmer further 10 minutes.

This is fairly hot with the 1 tspn of chilli, but would be fine either omitted or reduced.

Mini Xmas Puddings.
Buy a commercial Xmas pudding, liberally sprinkle with alcohol of your choice and roll into bite-size pieces. Melt white chocolate and place dollop on top. Decorate with a tiny piece of glace cherry and 'mint leaf' lolly. Place in miniature patty cases. This makes heaps,looks fantastic, tastes delicious and you can legitimately claim to have 'whipped them up' yourself.

SWISS TURKEY HAM BAKE
(Casserole for leftover Turkey & Ham after the Holidays)

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbls butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 (3 or 4 oz)can/jar sliced mushrooms
1 cup light cream (1/2 & 1/2)
2 Tbls dry sherry
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 cup cubed cooked hame
1 (5 oz) can water chestnuts (sliced & drained)
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
3 Tbls butter (melted)

Cook onion in butter till tender (not browed). Blend in flour, salt & pepper. Add drained mushrooms, cream and sherry. Cook & stir until thickened. Add turkey, ham & water chestnuts. Pour into a 1/2 qt casserole, top with cheese. Mix bread crumbs and melted butter, sprinkle around the edge. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes until lightly browned. Serves 6.

BUTTERMILK WAFFLES
(Light & Fluffy)

1/4 lb (1 cube) butter
2 Cups flour
2 tsp baking power
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbls sugar
3 eggs separated
2 cups buttermilk

Heat waffle iron.
Melt butter, set aside.
Sift together flour, baking powder. baking soda, salt & sugar into large bowl.
Whip egg whites till stiff.
Beat egg yolks till light yellow, slowly add buttermilk while beating and then melted butter - mixing well.
Dump liquid mixture in the flour mixture and stir together.
Fold in egg whites.
Spoon mixture on to waffle iron - cook to golden brown.

"ALMOST HEALTHY" PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

(It's really not healthy. It's just not as UNhealthy as most cheesecakes!)

CRUST

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup Splenda (or sugar - or combo)
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten (SAVE yolk for cake)
2 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 Tbs. melted butter (oh, go on and splurge, make it a full tablespoon!)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt with a fork. Add the egg white, oil, butter and vanilla. Mix with fingertips until well blended. Press into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a lightly oiled 9-inch springform pan.

CAKE

1 can pumpkin (16 oz. size)
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese*
4 whole eggs plus yolk left over from crust recipe
3/4 cup sugar (or Splenda - or half and half)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

In food processor, beat everything together until it's smooth. When you think it's ready, keep beating! The more it's beaten, the creamier the cake. Pour over crust and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

* can be any kind. I use two of the low-fat and one no-fat

ANZAC BISCUITS
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup dessicated coconut (I leave this out)
3/4 cup caster sugar (fine sugar, regular US would work fine)
125g butter (4 oz)
1 tablespoon golden syrup (I used to be able to get this at Pavillions in CA)
1.5 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons boiling water

Oven to 150 deg C
Butter trays
Place flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a large mixing bowl, stir until combined.
Combine butter and golden syrup in small pan, stir over high heat until melted. Mix soda with boiling water, add to melted butter and syrup. Add to flour mixture, stir until combined.
Shape level tablespoonsful of mixture into balls and flatten slightly; place onto prepared trays, about 6 cm (2.5 in) apart.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden (I cook for much less than that and have biscuits more like the American cookies - softer and chewier - Basically when the edges are brown, but the very middle is not). Let stand on tray for 2 minutes then move to wire rack to cool.

ADDITION TO PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE RECIPE:

Cover cake with whipped cream before serving!!!

This is in response to a wongerful suggestion by Ruby in the SA3 room about giving each other a gift of our favourite Christmas recipe. I am giving this to all sudokuists for Christmas this year, but especially to my sisters and brothers from Sudokuaholics Anonymous, who have all taken the pledge, and supported each other in their quest to REMAIN addicted to sudoku! Finally, after days of trying to remember it, I found I had the thing the whole time!

Layered Christmas Ice-Cream Cake
(this makes sense in the Sth Hemisphere!)

2lt vanilla ice-cream
VANILLA LAYER -
1t vanilla extract
PINK LAYER -
300ml cream
2T icing sugar
60g glacé cherries, chopped
1t vanilla essence
pink food colouring
3T cherry marnier(optional)
CHOCOLATE LAYER -
1T cocoa, heaped
1C raisins, roughly chopped
2T rum(or sherry, brandy)

Vanilla layer-Soften 1/3 of the ice-cream, fold in vanilla extract then spread evenly into the bottom of a springform tin or pudding basin, lined with over-lapping strips of freezer wrap (to help with the later lifting out of the completed cake). Freeze until hard.
Pink layer-Whip cream, fold in icing sugar, vanilla essence, cherries, marnier(if used) and drops of food colour till desired shade of pink. Fold into another 1/3 of the softened ice-cream. Spread over vanilla layer and refreeze.
Chocolate layer-Heat rum, raisins and cocoa gently in small saucepan for 5 mins. Cool. When cooled completely, fold into remaining softened ice-cream and spread over the pink layer.
Cover cake with freezer wrap to stop crystals forming, then foil and refreeze until needed.
To serve-Remove cake from the freezer and let stand for 5 mins. Gently warm sides of basin or tin with a warm damp cloth to help with the removal. Turn upside down onto plate and remove basin or tin side and base. Remove freezer wrap strips and decorate as desired.
Serve immediately.

Can be made with a crust base - crush 200g choc biscuits mixed with 100g melted, unsalted butter pressed into base. Cool before proceeding as above.
Can be made for any festive occasion when the weather dictates!


A SAFE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Penna Dutch Pumpkin Pie

1 large can (30.04 oz or 850 grams) or (4 cups
cooked) pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 cups evaporated milk
4 eggs
No more than one tablespoon bourbon, whiskey, scotch, brandy, i.e.

Beat eggs first, add milk. In separate bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Mix. Slowly add milk & eggs. Mix well. Bake at 450F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for 35 minutes longer.

{You might want to cover the edges of the pie to prevent over-browning. Remove last ten minutes}

Mamie's Pecan Pie

8-inch pie shell, unbaked
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar with 1 T. flour
2 T. melted butter
1/2 (or 1/3) c. white Karo (corn syrup)- I always use 1/2 cup
1/2 (or 1/3) c. dark Karo
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
grated fresh nutmeg
3/4 - 1 c. broken pecans

Beat 2 eggs. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes and then at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Bake until crust is browned and pie is "set" (not real shaky in the center).
As my mother says, this pie keeps well if you hide it!

TURKEY HASH (from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks)

2 cups cubed cooked turkey or chicken
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked potato (white, sweet or both)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
6 Tbs. heavy or whipping cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. good-quality curry powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1.Preheat the broiler.
2.Combine the turkey, potato, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and parsley in a large bowl. Toss well.
3.In another bowl, stir together the cream, egg, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, curry powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
4.Stir the cream mixture into the turkey, and let it stand for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5.Heat the oil in an ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey mixture, cover, and cook until the bottom is set, 5 minutes.
6.Transfer the skillet to the broiler and broil until the top is set and golden, 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

2 to 3 portions

CINNAMON-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH HARISSA SAUCE

1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbs. sugar
8 small chicken breast halves with skin and bones
8 chicken thighs with skin and bones
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbs. peanut oil
Harissa Sauce (see recipe)

Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Place chicken breasts and thighs in 2-gallon resealable plastic bag. Pour oil mixture over; seal bag. Turn bag to coat chicken with marinade. Chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 475. Transfer chicken to rimmed baking sheet, shaking off marinade. Sprinkle chicken all over with flour. Heat 1 Tbs. peanut oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken to skillet. Cook until golden, adding more oil as needed, about 3 minutes per side. Return chicken to baking sheet, skin side up. Roast until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve with Harissa sauce.

HARISSA SAUCE

1 Tbs. coriander seeds
1 Tbs. caraway seeds
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 large red bell peppers
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

Stir coriander and caraway in small skillet over medium-high heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Transfer to processor. Cook garlic in same skillet, covered, over medium-low heat until tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool. Peel garlic; add to processor.
Char bell peppers over gas flame or broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in plastic bag; let stand for 10 minutes. Peel, seed and coarsely chop peppers; add peppers, oil, sugar and crushed red pepper to processor. Puree. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Basic Clam Chowder

3 slices bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1 bottle (8 oz) clam juice
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (to your taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cans (approximately 7 oz. each) minced clams, with liquid
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
(I have also added instant chicken boullion granules, dried thyme, Worcestershire sauce, (maybe 1/4 tsp. of each) frozen corn, thinly sliced celery... What ever sounds good to you!)
Cook bacon until crisp in a large heavy saucepan. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon. Add onion to bacon drippings, sauté until soft. Add potatoes and clam juice, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. Add minced clams with their liquid. Whisk flour into milk; add to chowder with half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clam chowder thickens and bubbles, or about 3 minutes. Serves 4

LAMB KORMA
A Korma is a mild curry of large pieces of vegetable; possibly with either lamb or beef. Those red meats can be used because the kinds of vegetables used in a Korma go with them. Pork is not usually used because the dish is eaten in Moslem countries, and neither pork nor poultry suit the vegetables used. This is a useful recipe for dealing with meat and vegetables left over from a roast dinner. It is also useful for those who do not care to have their heads blown off by very hot curries.
The principle is to (1) prepare a sauté of garlic, onion and mild curry powder (can use specifically-prepared Korma powder instead); (2) prepare lightly cooked (al dente) vegetables; (3) combine these and adjust thickness and flavour; (4) cook in an oven as a casserole, (5) finally adjust seasoning to taste.
The finely chopped garlic and onion, along with perhaps root ginger, are lightly fried in oil until soft, with occasional additions of boiling water to prevent scorching. The curry powder; along with ground cardamom, ground cumin, and garam masala; are also, at the same time, fried with the onion and garlic. I add a little toasted sesame oil for extra flavour. Some, who prefer a more spicy dish, can add chopped chilli to the garlic and onions.
The vegetables are each prepared and separately steamed (compared with boiling this conserves flavour), until half cooked (al dente). The root vegetables are white radish (mooli/daikon), swede, carrot, potato, and parsnip. These are listed in order of the length of time they need to steamed. They should be cubed coarsely (1-2cms cubes; to conserve texture), before steaming. Suitable green vegetables are Brussel sprouts, fennel, celery, and small whole shallots. The coarsely chopped green vegetables should be blanched rather than half or fully steamed.
For Korma I usually use lamb that has been left-over from a roast.
The sauté of garlic, onion and spices is mixed with the al dente and blanched vegetables and the diced lamb, and then stirred together with a covering of water or lamb stock, in a large casserole dish. The Korma is finally oven-baked for at least 1 hour at gas mark 4-5.
I use corn-flour paste; ready-prepared thickening granules; or pasted glutinous rice flour to adjust thickening. The flavour can be enhanced with lamb stock from the leg bone and/or by lamb stock cubes. The final curry is served with boiled or fried rice and spicy pickle of your choice. It is preferable to make a large casserole of this dish to increase the effectiveness of the preparation time and for some reason a larger quantity tastes better. Like most curries, after cooking, the flavour will improve by keeping for 24 hours at room temperature.

Rayray’s chocolate mince-pies
for the Christmas rush
[untried recipe – an idea]

Mince pies are usually, quite simply, lidded individual flan pies made from dessert pastry and containing mince-meat (mince-meat being: mixed chopped dried fruits).
I can find no objection to including chocolate among the mince-meat ingredients. Therefore this year I am making my mince pies in the following way:

For the mince-meat, in a large steel bowl, mix the following:
1. Conventional mince-meat (containing suet) from a jar (about 40% of the mix)
2. The following chopped, dried or crystallized fruits:
- cherries, sour cherries, blackcurrants, pineapple, mixed raisins, sultanas and currants.
(I recommend the sour cherries as they impart a very fruity flavour to the mince-meat).
3. Brandy and Green Chatreuse (or rum, or damson gin)
4. Grated, dark, cooking chocolate, and some of the same chocolate cut into small pieces. (The idea is that the grated chocolate will provide background flavour, whist the pieces provide local chocolate 'oases' or ‘nuggets’)
5. Ground almonds. (This helps to absorb the added spirits and to bind the ingredients, as well as proving a nutty flavour.
Cover the bowl and leave this mixture for about 48 hours, stirring occasionally, to integrate the ingredients one with another.

For these pie case(s) I use dessert pastry. Dessert pastry is short-crust pastry with added castor (fine) sugar and ground almonds, along with small additions of fat and flour to adjust the dough.
I use individual loose-bottomed flan-cases. Beat out the dough with a fist on a floury surface until it is thin, then line the flan-cases that have been greased on the inside (only). Paint the inner surface of the pastry with folded egg before cooking - for a glaze. The glaze will later protect the inside of the pie-cases from being softened by the mince-meat. Cook the flan cases blind (empty – with no filling), in a preheated oven at gas Mark 5 for about 20 minutes or until a golden colour. Allow to cool, then fill the cases with the matured mince-meat mixture. After that cover the pies with thin, glazed disks of so-far uncooked dough, ready for a final cooking of another 20 minutes at gas Mark 5 just prior to serving. When cooled sufficiently, carefully remove the mince-pies from the flan cases. You may need to chip away outer flakes of pastry to more easily remove the pies from their flan-cases. The pies can be served with whipped double-cream laced with brandy. (Very naughty but very nice I think).

My recipe for a great drink is:

One large measure of Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey with a dash of water.

Why add the water?

encasing the whiskey in dark chocolate is also wonderful

you bet

Celebration Sea-Food Starter
This starter was very successful for Christmas Dinner 2008. It is a variation on, and possible improvement to, the customary Prawn Cocktail. One danger in its preparation is ‘too much’ – remember there is a huge, centrally important main-course to follow. Perhaps the starter could be consumed some time before that main course. Of course, especially in a hot climate or for those who do not care for turkey, this dish could be expanded into a main-course.

Detailed description:
1. 5x Sweet Prawns from a ‘prawn ring;
2. 1x halved sautéed, then-chilled King-Scallop;
3. 2x cubes of raw Queen Tuna;
4. 2-3x small strips of Raw Pickled Herring;
5. 1x rolled three-inch square of sliced Smoked-Salmon;
6. A teaspoonful of red lumpfish caviar
7. bed of Iceberg Lettuce and Water-Cress tips;
8. 2-3x small slices of Avocado;
9. 5x very thin slices of lightly pickled Cucumber;
10. a specially prepared, then-chilled sea-food sauce (see below);
11. a scattering of finely chopped Spring-Onion and Lettuce.

Notes:
The King Scallops are cooked in butter with lemon juice, in which garlic, shallot, and a small piece of chilli, have been softened.
The Raw Herring is mopped dry of excess vinegar.
Before rolling, the Smoked Salmon is seasoned with lime or lemon juice, and cayenne pepper.
The slices of Avocado are splashed with lemon juice to prevent discolouration.
Thinly-sliced cucumber is covered with 50%/50% white balsamic vinegar and water, left for one hour then strained, rinsed, and mopped dry.
For optimum presentation the starter is best assembled in a shallow dish.

The Sea-food sauce:
Reserve the butter, garlic, shallot, chilli, and lemon juice used in cooking the scallops. Add the red parts of the scallops; some finely diced tuna; a small piece of a fish stock-cube; and red lumpfish caviar, then cook for a minute longer. Strain through a fine sieve. Return the red scallop and tuna pieces to the liquid in the frying pan. Continue warming while adding cream and a little glutinous rice-flour paste until thick. Adjust seasoning. Cool, then transfer to the fridge until chilled. Later add a little mayonnaise and cream to the right consistency

This recipe is very, very easy and yummy. It is my mums recipe.

CHEESY CHICKEN CASSEROLE.

The amounts are approx as I never have used a real recipe.

1 can of Cream of Chicken soup approx 410g
6-8 chicken drumsticks
1/8 to 1/4 cup of sherry
1-2 cups water
1 cup of Grated Cheese
Rice for serving.

Brown the chicken. Add the can of soup and water. Slow cook until chicken is nearly falling off the bones. Add sherry. I like to use a good splash but you can add or take as your tastebuds wish.
Just before serving put in a good amount of grated cheese. My hubbie likes it with a mature cheddar, I like a creamier kids cheddar.
Serve on cooked rice.

It is very yummy and very easy. Great to do in a slow cooker.

My mum has now passed on but some of her great recipes will go on forever!

CHEESE CAKE 1PK. SWEET BISCUITS 150GMS BUTTER GREASE TIN MELT BUTTER. CRUSH BISCUITS ADD MELTED BUTTER TO CRUSHED BISCUITS.PRESS ¾ MIXTURE TO BASS, REST TO SIDES. REFRIDGERATE. 1 TIN CARNATION MILK [CHILLED] 250 GRMS PHILLY CREAM CHEESE ¾ CUP CASTOR SUGAR 1TSP GELATINE 1LEMON JELLY, ½ SET IN ¾ CUP BOILING WATER WITH GELATINE ADDED. JUICE OF 3 LEMONS & RIND OF 1 CREAM CHEESE & SUGAR [SML BOWL] BEAT MILK [LGE BOWL] ADD CHEESE MIXTURE BEAT. ADD ½ SET JELLY, BEAT. ADD LEMOM JUICE & RIND. BEAT. ADD TO BISCUIT CRUST. REFRIDGERATE,UNTIL SET. [ENJOY.]

GWENS BOILED PUDDING ........... 2 CUPS MILK 1TBLE SP BUTTER 4 TBLE SP SUGAR 1 ½ CUPS FRUIT 1T SP C/SODA 1LGE CUP S/R FLOUR. PUT ALL INGREDIENTS IN SAUCPAN [EXCEPT FLOUR & SODA] BOIL 5 MINUTES. TAKE OFF STOVE &ADD SODA THEN FLOUR. MIX. PUT INTO FLOURED PUDDING CLOTH. BOIL 2HRS. MOM JUICE & RIND. BEAT. ADD TO BISCUIT CRUST. REFRIDGERATE,UNTIL SET. [ENJOY.]

Ooops two recipe mix-up. Gwens pud ends at boil 2hrs. ignore the rest.

AUSTRALIAN LAMINGTON RECIPE

1 slab sponge cake(one day old)
4 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
2-3 cups desiccated coconut

To make the icing

Cool the cake for at least half an hour in Fridge or Freezer, then cut into squares or fingers (about 2in. square)
Combine the Sugar and Cocoa in a large bowl
Heat the Milk and Butter until the butter is melted
Add to the sugar/cocoa mixture and mix to a fluid yet runny consistency

To Put Together

Make a production line of Sponge fingers, Chogolate Icing Mixture in a bowl, coconut in a shallow container or plate, and a cooling rack with paper underneath.
Using a fork dip the sponge fingers into the icing, roll it in the coconut covering it well, then place it on the rack to dry.
Once they have dried, place in an airtight container and leave to "mature" for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, before eating.

TORELLINI

600gm Torellini - cheese or veal
cook for 5 mins, cool down

1 red pepper/capsicum sliced into julianne strips
1 packet of cherry tomatoes
20 approx. fresh Basil Leaves

Place Tortellini into a serving dish and toss the above thru it.

Dressing:
1-3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (depending on your taste) I use 3
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
ground pepper
1/4 cup of French Dressing

mix all dressing ingredients together

Pour Dressing over Tortellini.

I prefer to dress this min 1 hour prior to serving, but this dish can be served hot or cold.
enjoy!

STEAMED THAI MEATBALLS

500gm Mince Meat
1/2 onion chopped finely
1 teaspoon Thai Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic minced
1 Beaten egg
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup long grain rice
extra rice to roll in.

Combine and mix well in a large Bowl. Shape into round balls size of golf ball. Roll into rice

Sauce
500ml chicken stock
140ml canned coconut cream
1/2 teaspoon Thai Seasoning
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

Heat sauce in large frypain, place in meatballs and cover - simmmer for 25 minutes.

Serve with Fresh steamed vegies of your choice.
Enjoy!

ITALIAN STYLE RIGATI WITH SALMON & LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

Ingredients
1 pkt Italian Style Rigati (or whatever you like)
100g smoked salmon cut into 1cm thin strips
2 tsps corn flour
1/2 tesp finely grated rind & juice of 1 lemon
Salt & Freshly ground pepper
40g butter
55ml white wine
1 tsp honey
Lemon pepper for seasoning

Cook pasta according to directions

Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in wine, honey, lemon rind & juice and cook until honey has dissolved.
Mix cornflour with 70ml cold water and stir into the lemon mixture.
Bring to the boil, stirring continuously until sauce thickens slightly.
Stir in salmon strips, cover and simmer for 2 minutes.

Drain pasta and toss with lemon butter and salmon sauce.
Season with lemon pepper and parsley.

LOOKING FOR QUICK & EASY RECIPES! Madby (Sharlene) has requested some quick & easy main dish recipes. If you post some, please label them "Q&E". I'll add them (and any other recipes posted since January 26) to the next revision of the cookbook. I plan to update it once a month. Angie - your latest recipes look super!!!

CALICO BEANS

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 cup chopped onion, sautéed in bacon fat
1 lb. hamburger, cooked
1/2 cup catsup
1 Tbs. vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can butter beans, drained
1 can pork & beans, NOT drained
1 can kidney beans, drained

Mix together the bacon, onion and hamburger. Stir in the catsup, vinegar and brown sugar. Add the 3 cans of beans and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8. Freezes well.

Steve From Sydney contributed this:

TANGINE LAMB SHANKS

Grind/mix half teaspoon each coriander, cumin, pepper, chilli, cinnamon. Ginger finely cut. teaspoon palm sugar (or raw). Diced onion, halved fresh tomatoes. Sear shanks in pan. Oil in oven dish, heat on stove and fry onions 2 mins add spices and sugar, ginger. Add tomatoes and 250ml stock. Add shanks. Bake in oven 1 hour+ 180C. Can be made ahead and reheated. Voila.

Angie's recipe for rigati with smoked salmon reminded me of another smoked salmon recipe, which I am posting below:

FARFALLE (BOWTIE) PASTA WITH SMOKED SALMON, CAPERS AND DILL

1 lb. smoked salmon (thinly sliced and coarsely diced)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 Tbs. drained capers
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
4 Tbs. finely diced red onion
salt & pepper to taste
4 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz. farfalle (bowtie) pasta

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Place salmon in a large serving bowl and gently stir in the olive oil, garlic, capers, dill, onion, salt, freshly ground pepper and Parmesan cheese. Set aside to warm to room temperature or just until flavors mingle.
3. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain well and add immediately to sauce. Toss to coat and serve with extra Parmesan.

(Although best served at room temperature, refrigerated leftovers are also delicious!)

Serves 8

Thought I'd posted this before, but I guess I didn't!

HERB-RUBBED BABY BACK RIBS

1/4 cup paprika
3 tablespoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon salt*
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper*
3 racks baby back ribs (7 to 8 lbs. total)**
Barbecue Sauce of choice (I like Chipotle-Raspberry Sauce)

1. In a small bowl, mix paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Rinse ribs and pat dry. Rub herb mixture over both sides of each rack, pressing so it sticks. Wrap each rack in heavy-duty foil (see Notes).
2. Prepare grill for indirect heat: If using charcoal, ignite 60 briquets in a chimney starter (or mounded directly on the fire grate). When they're dotted with gray ash, in 15 to 20 minutes, push equal amounts to opposite sides of grate. Add 3 more briquets to each mound now and every 30 minutes while cooking. Set a drip pan on grate between mounds, then set cooking grate in place. If using gas, turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat for 10 minutes. Then turn center burner(s) off so heat is at edges of grill, not under cooking area; turn outside burners to medium.
3. Lay foil-wrapped ribs on grill, convex (meaty) side up, not directly over heat; overlap slightly if necessary. Cover and cook until tender when pierced (through foil), 1 1/4 hours. Carefully remove foil from ribs. Brush both sides of rubs with barbecue sauce and cook, meaty side up, until sauce is browned, about 10 minutes. Brush both sides again, and cook meaty side down until browned on that side, about 10 minutes longer.
4. Transfer ribs to a board and cut between bones into individual ribs. Season to taste with salt and serve with remaining barbecue sauce.
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

JANE’S NOTES:

* - Used Montreal Steak Seasoning instead of salt & pepper.
** - Cooked 4 racks instead of 3 but didn’t need to alter the ingredients for the rub. There was plenty! Also, we really didn't need to cook the 4th rack. We had 7 people for dinner and had tons of leftovers! I'm not complaining, mind you!

Quick and Easy
spicy Mexican Pie
8 servings
Serve with a green salad, this is a meal in one dish.

Prep time less than 20 min, bake time 20 min
Preheat ovenn to 400*F (200 C)

1 1/2 pound of ground beef, turkey or venison, and 1/2 package of Frozen Birds Eye(brand) Onion/pepper stir fry. browned and drained

salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
I 16 oz can of pinto beans, or Mexican seasoned red beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 (1.25 oz) packet of tacco seasoning mix
1/2 package ( 16 oz size) frozen nibblet corn or 1 can corn niblets
1 8 oz package corn muffin mix
1 cup shreded chedar cheese ( low fat or fat free works also)

Preheat oven 400 degrees F (200 C) Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray
Brown the ground meat and onion pepper mix, Drain and fat. Add everything but the corn muffin mix and cheese. Add water if needed to make a sause of the taco seasoning.
Prepare the corn muffin mix, and ;ayer the above mixture into bottom of your baking pan. top with the cheese, then spoon on the cornbread mix.

Bake in the preheated oven aprox 20 min, till the cornbreaad is golden brown.

I did not have corn muffin mix, and made up a small recipe of cornbread, worked fine.


I froze half for later, will let you know how it survived.

Thanks to Elizabeth David



250g (9 oz) dark bitter chocolate

150g (5 oz) castor sugar

150g (5 oz) butter

100g (3 oz) (2/3 cup) ground almonds

5 eggs separated



Melt chocolate, sugar and butter in a bowl sitting in a pot of simmering water.



Remove from heat, stir thoroughly to combine, mix in almonds, then beat in the egg yolks one by one.



Beat the egg whites until stiff and peaky and stir a couple of spoonfuls into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, before gently folding in the rest.



Turn into a buttered and floured 20 cm (8”) round or square cake tin and bake at 180C (350F) for 40 – 50 mins. [I have a fan forced oven and it needs less time]



Cool a bit before removing from tin.



Enjoy

Forgot to leave the cake's name!! It's just
"Incredibly Wonderful Chocolate Cake"

Quick and Easy (and delicious!)

Gail's Lamb Racks

1 lamb rack per person (3-4 chops/rack)
honey
garlic, crushed
rosemary
white wine
jelly/jam of choice (I use plum, but could be redcurrant, cranberry etc)

Preheat oven to 180C.
Pour a little honey on to each rack. Spread a little crushed garlic on top of the honey, then sprinkle with some rosemary leaves, all to taste.
Place in a roasting dish and bake for 25-30 mins.
When cooked to your liking, remove to a plate and keep warm.
Deglaze roasting pan with a little white wine over a medium heat. Add jelly of your choice, stir till blended. Pour over lamb racks when serving.

I serve this with simple boiled potatoes and steamed mixed veg.

RANCHO RAIBLE’S HUEVOS CON QUESO

10 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
16 oz. shredded jack cheese (mild cheddar can be substituted)
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
2 four-oz. cans chopped green chilies


Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and stir into eggs. Batter will be lumpy. Add cheese, butter and chilies. Pour into greased pan (9 x 13) and bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Serves 10 to 12

VEGGIE FRITTATA

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 minced garlic clove
2 large Swiss chard leaves (coarsely chopped)
1 medium zucchini (coarsely chopped)
6 eggs
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese

Lightly oil a 9-inch pie pan.

Heat the olive oil in wide frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute about 5 minutes. Add the Swiss chard (or spinach) and zucchini and cook until veggies are soft (about five minutes). Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Beat the eggs with salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Stir in the cheeses and the cooked veggies.

Pour into pie pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

6 servings

NOTE: You can use just about any veggies you want. Leftover oven-roasted potatoes are great, as is asparagus. Sometimes I use an assortment of mushrooms, and I often top the dish with sliced fresh tomatoes before baking.