This another fabulous vegetable to serve. Even the doubters will love it. Try it out, it may become a favourite of yours.
Serves 4-6
- 1 1/2 pounds broccolini (approximately 3 bunches)
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Day before: Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add broccolini, stirring to separate and cook about two minutes. Transfer drained broccolini to paper towels to drain. Cool.
Wrap broccolini in several layers of clean paper towels and store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Day of Dinner: Melt butter in large fry pan over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and pecans. Sauté until the shallots are softened. Increase to high heat stirring constantly, until the butter is browned and pecans are aromatic (about three minutes). Add the broccolini and heat through. Serve.
I know, you could try to blush when you get all the compliments, but I doubt it. Just smile…who ordered that second martini?
Papaya and Shrimp Salad
This is, by far, the most favourite Appetizer I can serve. I love it…the flavours, textures are amazing. A real winner, I promise.
Serves 4-6
- 2 ripe papayas
- 2 heads butter lettuce
- 1 1/2 lbs. fresh, cooked shrimp (med to large)
- 1 cup mayonnaise (not salad dressing)
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. curry powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. honey (to taste)
Wash and spin dry the lettuce. Take one large or two small leaves and put on salad plates.
Next, peel, remove the seeds and slice the papaya, arranging on top of the lettuce leaves in a pretty pattern. Arrange the shrimp on top and drizzle the dressing over the salad, using it all.
This is so finger licking tasty, it is insane. Personally, I don’t much care for the taste of curry but this is so subtle. It is just fabulous.
Broccoli Orange Salad
Even Mikey likes this. My grandaughter (when small) called broccoli ‘trees’. So this is a nice way to eat the ‘trees’.
Serves 4-6
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup Hellmans mayonnaise
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 8 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
- 2 cups thinly slices fresh button mushrooms
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans
- 10 oz. can orange slices drained, or
- 2 blood oranges segmented (if in season)
In a saucepan, whisk the first six ingredients and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the mayo until smooth. Cool. Marinate broccoli in dressing for several hours. Add remaining ingredients and toss well.
Serve with grilled Italian Bread, two servings of warm sunshine, and a bottle or so of wine. Enjoy! Bring it on. Tell me, does this qualify as being “green”?
I know, that’s bad…later
Rhubarb Coffee Cake
What a wonderful time of year – Spring….when all things are new again. With Spring, comes rhubarb and this is a great way to use it.
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup Crisco Oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cups rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
- 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup berry sugar
- 1 tbsp. butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, oil and egg together.
Blend flour, buttermilk, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla. Blend with the egg mixture. Fold in the rhubarb and nuts.
Place in 2 greased 9 x 5 loaf pans. Combine sugar and butter brush over the top of the loaves. Bake for 1 hour. Remove to rack and cool for 10 minutes before removing. Cool completely.
Either ask all your friends over for coffee and freeze one wrapped in parchment paper and tin foil over that to seal in, or you will eat it all up.
Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms
Portabello mushrooms are great at any time.
Serves 4
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
- 6 finely chopped button mushrooms
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- 3 canned plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 tsp fresh, chopped sage
- 1/2 cup chardonnay wine
Heat one tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Lightly brown breadcrumbs until they are a light golden brown. Transfer this to a large bowl.
Clean medium Portobello mushrooms, stems finely chopped, gills removed. You can even peel the top layer off and not affect the mushroom in any way.
Now heat one tbsp oil in same skillet and saute the button mushrooms, stirring until cooked; add the mushroom stems, salt and pepper to taste, stirring for about three minutes.
Add the tomatoes, sage and one-half of the wine cooking until the liquid is almost evaporated. Set aside one-half of the bread crumbs and stir the mushroom mixture into the remaining bread crumbs.
Heat the last one tbsp oil in a skillet and cook the caps upside down, covered for five minutes. Turn caps over and add the remaining wine, cook covered just until caps are juicy but tender and fill the caps with the filling.
Heat mushrooms through until hot. Sprinkle remaining toasted bread crumbs on top.
Note: By removing the gills, you are removing the bitter part of the mushroom.
Serve a nice white, crisp and chilled wine and voila! Wonderful.
Pear/Pecan Loaf with Lime Glaze
This is so great, it almost makes you want to go around the neighborhood and tell them you want to borrow a cup of coffee and you will bring the tasty treat.
- 1- 16 oz. can of pear halves
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- pinch of allspice
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup Crisco Oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp. lime zest
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3 tbsp. pear juice
- 1 cup icing sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain pears but save the syrup. Reserve 1 pear half for garnish.
Puree the pears and add the syrup to measure 1 cup.
Mix pears with the oil, egg and lime rind. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and allspice. Stir in the whole wheat flour. Now stir in the pear mixture.
Blend in the nuts. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.
Cut reserved pear half into 6 slices and spread over the top of the loaf.. Bake for 50-60 minutes. When finished baking, remove from oven and spoon the thin glaze over the top. Store overnight before cutting (All things good are worth waiting for, right?)
Blend pear juice with icing sugar to make a glaze and drizzle over cake.
Note: You COULD have this for breakfast, but then I would put a pat of butter (or 2) in a frypan and brown both sides. Oh yeah! …..what diet?
While waiting for tomorrow to come, work on making martinis. Just sayin’ .
Mandolin “Show Stopper” Salad
This is not a difficult salad to prepare but it is definitely a show stopper in appearance. I love it because it LOOKS so different.
Serves 4
- 3 large seedless English Cucumbers
- 6 cups of torn baby greens
- 1 small red onion, cut into really thin wedges
- Small can water chestnuts
- 1/4 cup bottled red wine vinaigrette
Note: It will require a mandolin to make the cucumber bowl.
Move the cucumber lengthwise down the mandolin several times each cucumber to get strips. Use three of the best ones to form into your bowl.
Take three strips per plate, and make ends about two inches back of each one and curl around to make a bowl.
Toss the greens, onion and chestnuts with the dressing and CAREFULLY spoon the mixture in each bowl.
If you can find any flowering chives (from the local market) stand a couple of them in each salad.
This is sooo pretty and quite a different way to serve a salad.
Note: If you are like me, just omit the onion. (just kidding) Don’t get me wrong, I put onions in everyone’s dish, just not mine.
This would look so great at Eastertime.
Best ‘Ticker’ Salad
This is a great salad for those looking after their heart. It is light and lean and great tasting. Try it!
Serves 4
- Bag of mixed baby greens
- 1 papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into segments
- 1 large mango, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup three cheese Italian dressing
- 4 salmon fillets, bones removed
- Or 2 fillets cut in half (portions)
Place greens in a bowl and drizzle some of the dressing over tossing to coat. Divide onto four plates. Arrange the papaya and mango on top of the greens and drizzle with more of the dressing.
Grill the fillets now and when plated, place avocado slices on top of the dish with the salad placed along side of the fillet.
This is actually a very good great for your heart recipe and is very easy to make, you will feel better for making it too.
Bacon Mushroom Soup
I mentioned before, and had previously put in one of the recipes from the cooking class with Chef Justin, (Walnut Beach Resort) that he made four different dishes. This is another of the recipes and believe me, you have never tasted a soup as delicious as this one.
- 8 slices of bacon, diced
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups of sliced mushrooms (your choice)
- 6 tbsp. flour
- 1 litre vegetable stock, hot
- 1 cup half and half cream
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
In a hot soup pot, saute the bacon until crispy and remove from the pot and set aside. Discard the bacon fat EXCEPT for 2 tbsp. you leave in the pot.
Place the pot back on the heat and saute the onions on high to get some quick colour. Once the onions are lightly browned, add the mushrooms and saute.
Once this has cooked, stir in the garlic and flour to make a thick paste. Slowly add the vegetable stock to the mixture, in four equal parts, stirring to incorp- orate the stock in between each addtion.
Add cream and the sprigs of thyme.
Bring the soup to a boil then drop to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes minimum.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the sprigs of thyme. When plating, add a dollop of chive whipped creme fraiche in the middle of each bowl.
Chive Creme fraiche
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. sour cream
- 2 tbsp. fresh chives, finely chopped
Whip the cream until medium peaks appear, then fold in the sour cream and chives.
As mentioned many, many times before I shudder at the mention of chives, BUT and a big BUT, it was fabulous in the soup. You could’t taste them but it enhanced the soup.
Thanks again Justin!
Another Stuffed French Toast
I love French Toast and this is just another way to make it up. It looks good and tastes great.
- 1 loaf brioche bread
- 8 oz. ricotta cheese (beaten until smooth)
- 1 tp. vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon flavouring
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cinamon
- Icing sugar
Slice the loaf into 10 slices. Mix together the ricotto cheese and vanilla and spread over five slices and cover with the remaining five.
Beat together the remaining ingredients and dip the sandwiches into the mixture. Grill slowly in frypan until golden. Remove from pan and plate each sandwich. Dust with icing sugar and add a couple pieces of fruit on the side.
Serve with warm pure maple syrup. Yummy!
Pumpkin Turtle Pie
This pie is soooooo delicious, even by using packaged pudding mixes it’s
still from scratch.
- 1 graham pie crust (ready made)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. caramel ice cream topping
- very generous 1/2 cup pecan pieces, divided
- 1 cup cold milk
- 2 pkgs each (3/4 oz) vanilla instant pudding
- 1 cup pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
- Chocolate, shaved (optional)
Pour one-quarter cup of caramel topping on the pie crust bottom and sprinkle one-half cup chopped pecans on top.
Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices with mixer on low just until well blended, gently fold in one cup of whipped cream and spread into crust.
Refrigerate at least one hour.
Yummy, yummy, yummy……ooohhhhhh, another slice? I couldn’t….well, okay.
Just before serving top with remaining whipped cream, sprinkle remaining
pecans, chopped fine, and drizzle some of the caramel topping across the
top. You can also sprinkle with shaved chocolate if you wish.
OMG…this is like the ‘silk’ pies served in the restaurants and charged big bucks
for. Enjoy!
Welsh Cakes and Stuffed Camenbert Cheese
This could be a wonderful appetizer but also great just for an afternoon luncheon with friends or even a shower for someone special.
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1 large egg, beaten with a fork
- 1/3 cup light cream
Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the butter in until it becomes crumbly. Stir in the raisins. Add egg and cream. Stir until dough holds together forming a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about one quarter inch thick. Cut into three inch circles.
Heat your fry pan to a medium low temperature. Cook cakes, a few at a time, until both sides are browned. Just make sure it is not as hot as you would have for making pancakes. Serve cold with the Camembert below.
Stuffed Camenbert
- 4 oz. small camembert round
- 4 oz. cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tbsp. fresh orange juice
- 2 tbsp sliced toasted almonds
- 2 tbsp sliced seedless red grapes
Cut the cheese round in half horizontally. Mash cream cheese and orange juice together. Add almonds and grapes. Mix well.
Place on bottom round of cheese and place other half on top. Place in center of serving plate and surround with Welsh Cakes. Absolutely wonderful to look at and eat but not hard to make. Just make sure each guest has his own spreader knife.