Monster Mashed Potatoes

Yield:6 to 8 servings
Cook 20 min

4 pounds golden creamer potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Put the potatoes into a large pot, add the bay leaf, 2 tablespoons salt, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain them well and remove the bay leaf. Meanwhile, heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan. Put the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a bowl. Add the hot cream and season with salt and pepper. Mix together with a spoon and add the chives.

I like this recipe because it is potatoes, which are one of the essential food groups.

Cheesy Herb Popovers

Yield:18 to 20
Cook Time 25 min

1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons reserved beef fat, butter, or vegetable oil (or a combination)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces goat cheese, cut or crumbled into 18 to 20 equal pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush 18 to 20 wells of 2 popover or muffin tins with some of the melted fat. Place tins in the oven to heat while you prepare the popover batter.
Combine the eggs, flour, salt, thyme, rosemary, and pepper in a blender and blend until well combined. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the blender. While the blender is running, add the milk and cream in a slow stream until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Remove tins from the oven and fill each prepared well halfway with some of the batter. Place a piece of the cheese in the center of each cup and pour the remaining batter over so that the cups are filled 2/3 of the way. Bake the popovers until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

This recipe is great because it is cheesy and delicious, and who doesn't like cheese!

Spicy Sausage in Carrozza

Yield: 6
Cook Time:25 min

6 spicy Italian sausages
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
15 whole garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 (4-ounce) pieces pizza dough, store bought

In a saucepan add 1/2-inch water to the pan. Immerse sausages in water and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove sausage and dry the pan. Return to the heat and add the olive oil on medium heat. When hot return the sausage to the pan with garlic cloves and saute until medium brown all over. Remove garlic to a bowl. Remove sausage to a plate to cool. Use a fork to mash the garlic with salt and pepper. Stir in mustard and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut each piece of dough into 2 and roll out until 1/4-inch thick. Cut 6 pieces of dough about 3 inches wide and 1/2-inch shorter then the length of sausage, just enough to wrap around sausage with the ends peeking out. Spread bottom of each dough with a tablespoon of garlic/mustard paste. Set sausage on top, moisten 1 dough edge with a wet finger so it sticks together and roll. Press the seam firmly and set them on a lightly floured sheet pan, seam side down. Brush with olive oil. Bake until brown all around.
Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut into 3/4-inch long pieces and serve.

This recipe is wonderful on a cold or rainy night. The heat from the spicy sausage will warm you right up!

Pasta Pomodorini

Yield: 4

3/4 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup sliced garlic
1/2 teaspoon finely minced Calabrian chilies, or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pint small cherry tomatoes, stems removed, crushed between your thumb and forefinger
Sea salt, preferably gray salt
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, each torn into 2 or 3 pieces
Wedge of Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta.
While the pasta cooks, heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cook until the slivers are golden brown and crisp, then add the chilies and cook for about 30 seconds. Raise the heat to high and add the tomatoes. Simmer briskly to soften the tomatoes and thicken the juices, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.
When the pasta is al dente, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the warm pot off the heat. Add the sauce and the basil and mix well. Add some of the reserved cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and grate Parmesan over the top to taste. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Serve immediately.

Everyone loves pasta, so this meal is perfect!

Mystery Pirate Ships

Yield: 6

6 hard-cooked eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 (2.5-ounce) package smoked, sliced, chopped, pressed, cooked ham
12 green olives, optional

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks. Set whites aside.
Place yolks in 1-quart plastic food-storage bag. Add mayonnaise, relish and mustard. Press out air. Close bag. Press and roll bag until yolk mixture is thoroughly blended. Push yolk mixture toward bottom corner of bag. Snip off about 1/2 inch of bag corner. Squeezing bag gently from the top, fill reserved whites with yolk mixture.
Place each filled egg on 1 ham slice. Turn 2 opposite corners up over the yolk mixture and gently press. For masts and flags, stick wooden picks topped with olives into the boats, if desired. Chill to blend flavors.

Tis recipe is great for kids during Halloween, or any time of year!

Booger Fondue

Yield: 8

2 cups heavy cream
2 ounces sugar
2 ounces butter
2 pounds white chocolate
6 to 12 drops green food coloring
2 bags of thin pretzel sticks
Strawberries, bananas and thinly sliced apples for dipping
Candy sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
In a non-reactive double boiler set over medium-low heat, bring the cream, sugar, and butter to a boil. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small chunks - a serrated knife works best for this.
Add the chocolate chunks to the cream mixture in the double boiler, whisking, until it is melted and incorporated into the cream. Finally, add the food coloring until it is the desired shade of green.
Keep mixture warm in a fondue pot. Set out the fruit and the pretzels for dipping with long wooden skewers next to the fondue pot. Guests can dip their pretzels or fruit into the fondue and then roll them in the candy sprinkles, if desired.

Black and Orange Bonbons

Yield: 6

1 quart vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup powdered orange drink
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in chunks

With a small ice cream scoop or melon baller, scoop balls of vanilla ice cream onto a cold cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Place in the freezer to reset the ice cream balls to firm.
Put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at medium until liquid, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stop and stir every 30 seconds until melted, be careful not to burn it.
Spread the orange drink powder onto a large plate. Roll the ice cream balls in the powder and return them to the cookie sheet. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the ice cream balls. Return to the freezer until ready to serve.

Bonbons are delicious and fun dessert, and the orange and black make it very festive for Halloween!

Apple Bombolini

Yield: 5

Rustic Dough:
9 ounces cake flour (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into large pieces
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoon cold water

Apple Sauce Filling:
4 Granny Smith apples
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water

Diced Apples:
4 Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lemon, juiced
For the dough*: In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, add the dry ingredients and mix for 5 seconds to blend. Add the butter and vanilla and mix until the butter is about the size of peas. Add the cold water and blend until the dough just comes together. Form the dough into a roughly shaped ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Applesauce filling: Peel, core, and slice the apples. Put the apples with the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and cook until the apples are very soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, and refrigerate.
Diced apples: Peel, core, and cut the apples into large slices. Toss with the sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and set aside.
Assemble the bomboloni: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll out to1/4-inch thick round. Cut into 6-inch rounds. Place about 1/4 cup of the Apple Sauce Filling onto the center of each round. Top with a few pieces of the Diced Apples. Pull the sides up towards the center to form a bundle, pinching the dough together towards top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before baking
Bake the bombolonis: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Remove the bombolonis from the refrigerator and place them on a greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Apple Bombolini is a scrumptious treat for any time of day or year, I guarantee you'll love it!

Bat Wings with Swamp Dip

Yield: 4

20 chicken wings (3-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place wings in a plastic bag set in a shallow dish. In a small bowl stir together soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper, five spice powder and garlic. Pour over wings. Close bag and toss to coat. Chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove wings from bag, reserving marinade.
Place wings on a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade (discard remaining marinade). Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Serve with Swamp Dip.

Swamp Dip: In a small bowl stir together a 8-ounce container of dairy sour cream and 3 tablespoons coarse ground mustard. Garnish with fresh whole chives. Serve with bat wings.

This is essentially just chicken wings but the name creates a fun mood.

Spiderweb Munch

Yield: 16

1 (12-ounce) package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided use
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3 cups toasted rice cereal

Heat morsels and 3/4 cup peanut butter in small, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth; remove from heat. Add sugar; stir vigorously until smooth.
Place cereal in large bowl. Add 1 cup melted chocolate mixture; stir until well coated. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Using small metal spatula, shape into 10-inch circle with slightly raised 1-inch-wide border. Pour remaining chocolate mixture in center of circle; spread to border.

For the Spiderweb: Place remaining peanut butter in small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to pipe concentric circles on top of chocolate. Using wooden pick or tip of sharp knife, pull tip through peanut butter from center to border. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into wedges.

Pecan Praline Morsels

Yield: 2 cups sugared pecans

2 cups whole pecans

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tblsp heavy cream

Cooking spray

Preheat oven 350F.

In medium bowl combine pecans, brown sugar, and heavy cream. Spread into a square baking pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until coating is dry, and slightly crystallized, stirring once. Remove from oven to cool and stir once more. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container.

Savory Herb-Stuffed Shrooms

Yield: 24 appetizers

24 medium mushrooms, about 1 lb

6 tblsp reduced-fat stick margarine

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 tsp garlic powder, or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (3 oz) package low-fat cream cheese, softened

3 tblsp grated Parmesan

2 tblsp chopped fresh parsley leaves, or 2 tsp dried parsley flakes

1 cup packaged  herb-seasoned stuffing croutons

Preheat oven 425F.

Remove stems from mushrooms. Chop enough stems to make 1 cup. melt 2 tblsp margarine in saucepan. Brush mushroom cap tops with margarine, place top side down in shallow baking pan and brush undersides of caps. Heat remaining margarine in same saucepan. Add chopped mushroom stems, onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in cream cheese, combining with fork if necessary. Add Parmesan cheese, parsley and herb seasoned stuffing. Mix thoroughly. Spoon about 1 tblsp stuffing mixture into each mushroom cap. Bake until heated through.

Barbecued Succotash

Yield: 4 servings

1 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

1/2 red onion

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10 oz) box frozen corn 

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup smokey barbecue sauce

2 tblsp chopped chives, parsley or cilantro leaves, for garnish

Heat medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and peppers and saute 5 minutes. Add beans and corn and season with salt and pepper. When corn heats through, add barbecue sauce. Stir to combine and serve succotash with chopped chives, parsley or cilantro to garnish.

Puttanesca Pizza

Yields: 4 servings

2 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tblsp anchovy paste or 6 fillets flat anchovies

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes 

1/2 cup chopped pitted good quality black olives

handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 prepared thin crust pizza shell 

3/4 lb very thinly sliced fresh or fresh smoked mozzarella

Preheat oven 425F

Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, anchovy paste, and red pepper flakes. When anchovies (if whole) melt or garlic is tender, about 2 minutes, add tomatoes and olives. Simmer sauce 3 to 4 minutes.

Top pizza with sauce and the sliced cheese. Bake pizza for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and crust is crisp. Cut and serve.

Pumpkin Shell Soup

1 medium sized pumpkin

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tblsp butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves cut-sides down on a buttered cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour.

Scoop out the flesh and pass it through a sieve. In a heavy saucepan, combine the pumpkin with the remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until warm.

    

Witches' Fingers

Yield: 5 dozen

1 cup Butter, softened

1 cup Icing sugar (powdered sugar)

1 Egg

1 tsp Almond extract

1 tsp Vanilla 

2 2/3 cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched

In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla. Beat in flour and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes.  

 

Pumpkin Pasties

Makes about 3 dozen miniature pasties.2 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup sugar1 1 lb. can pumpkin(or 2 cups fresh, roasted in the oven then pressed through a strainer)1/2 tsp. salt1 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. ginger 1/4 tsp. cloves1 2/3 cups evap. milk (1 can)1/2 tsp. allspice9 oz pie crust pastry (enough for two single standard pie crusts)Bake the pie filling only (no crust) in a large greased casserole dish in hot oven (425F) for 15 minutes. Keep oven door closed and reduce temp to moderate (350 degrees F/180 degress Celsuis) and continue baking for 45 minutes or until table knife inserted in center of dish comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Make or purchase pie crust pastry. Roll thin and cut into circles approx 4" in diameter. Put a spoonful of the cool pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed. Slice three small slits in the top for venting, place on a greased cookie sheet, and bake only until crust is a light golden-brown. The pumpkin filling will begin to make the crust soggy, so best baked the day of serving. Can be made ahead by freezing the assembled pasties unbaked on cookie sheets, then thawed and baked the day of serving.

Brittle Meringue Bones

3 large egg whites1/4 tsp. cream of tartar1/8 tsp. salt2/3 cup white sugar1/2 tsp. vanillaPreheat oven to 200F. Line cookie sheet with brown paper bag or parchment. In a medium sized bowl at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt till fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla. Place in pastry bag fitted with a medium plain piping tip. Pipe 3" bone shapes onto parchment or brown paper bag. Bake 1 hour until set. Turn off oven, dry in oven 1 hour. Be sure to store in airtight containers or they will become soggy. Makes 4 to 5 dozen small finger-sized bones.