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Pesto Torte

I made a double recipe for this party:

LAYERED CHEESE AND PESTO TORTE
Fills 4-cup mold

1 cup fresh pesto (I use homemade but use your favorite)

Cheese: 1- 8 oz package cream cheese, softened, 5 oz Brie or
Camembert, rinds removed, 1/2 cup whipping cream.

Beat cheeses together with mixer until nearly smooth. In a
second bowl, beat whipping cream until it forms soft peaks.
Fold whipped cream into cheese.

Prepare mold by lining with plastic wrap. Spread 1/4 cheese
mix in mold (sometimes I sprinkle toasted pine nuts in first
depending on the mold I am using) then 1/3 of the pesto and
so on- Refrigerate to set up and unmold.

 
Hummus/ Pita crisps

I tripled this recipe for the party:

My favorite HUMMUS (serves 6)

1 can (15-1/2 oz) garbanzo beans, drained
1 T good olive oil
juice of 2 medium lemons
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
3/4 C Tahini (sesame seed paste)*
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
salt to taste
kalmata olives for garnish
Process garbanzos, oil, lemon juice and garlic until smooth. Add tahini, paprika, salt and pepper and process 1 minutes. Mound in bowl and garnish with olives. Serve at room temperature.

*If tahini is unavailable, make your own: Brown 1 C sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat, shaking frequently so they don't burn. Put in a blender with 1T olive oil. Process until it is a smooth paste. Easy!

POCKET ANGLES (Pita Crisps)

1 large pita “loaf” per 2 people
3 T melted olive oil, with
3 minced cloves of garlic mixed in
parmesan cheese
Cut pita into 6 or 8 equal triangles. Pull the 2 sides of each piece apart, so that now you have 12 or 16 pieces. Place, rough side up, on a cookie sheet. Spoon the garlic butter on them, sprinkle with pepper and then parmesan, and run under the broiler until brown. If you are doing a large quantity, bake them at 350 until crisp instead of broiling.

 
Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb

This is one of my favorite recipes. I used about 12 lbs of lamb and tripled the marinade.

GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB
(serves 6-smileys/bigeyes.gif

Either have your butcher bone and butterfly a 6-lb. leg of lamb, or do it yourself. Trim off as much fat as possible. Marinate overnight.

8 cloves garlic, mashed
2 T fresh rosemary
1 tsp coarse-ground pepper
pinch cinnamon
4 T olive oil
4 T red wine
5 T Dijon mustard

1/2 C olive oil
3 T red wine
Fresh rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, bay leaves
salt and pepper

Grind first four ingredients together until they are a paste. Mix in 4 T olive oil and 4 T red wine. Arrange lamb in a glass baking dish, cut side down. Cut slits in surface, then spoon and press mixture into the entire surface of the lamb. Rub mustard over the surface. Combine 1/2 C oil and 3 T wine, and pour over meat, turning to coat. Refrigerate overnight.
Grill lamb to medium rare. Scatter fresh herb sprigs over coals. Use up marinade, basting frequently. Slice thinly across the grain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 
Cathy Z's Crunchy Baked Chicken

This is something I made up years ago and make frequently. The trick to using this recipe for a crowd is to make sure the bottom of the chicken doesn't get soggy- so use a rack in the oven.

I tweaked this again since the last time I posted it and I made 4 times this recipe for the party:

Cathy Z's Crunchy Baked Chicken or also called
POTATO BAKED CHICKEN (3-4 servings)
Delicious and very easy; like "fried" chicken in the oven!

3 to 3-1/2 lb. cut-up pieces of chicken (it is best with bone-in chicken pieces but for a party I use boneless)

1 C dry potato flakes
1 C Parmesan cheese
1 T garlic powder
1 T thyme
1 T paprika
1 T pepper
1-1/2 c good salsa
1 egg
4 T melted butter

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bag or bowl and set aside. Mix the salsa and beaten egg together in a bowl. Dip chicken in salsa/ egg mixture and roll in the dry ingredients. Place on an oiled rack on a jelly roll pan, drizzle with the butter and bake 30-40 minutes or until golden in a 350° oven.

 
Asian Steak Salad

This is more of a method than a recipe as I knew what dressing I would use but made up the rest as I went. I decided on grilled tri tip marinated in a combo of low sodium soy sauce/lemon grass/ chopped onion/chopped garlic/chopped kaffir lime leaves/Thai fish sauce and pepper.

The salad was mixed baby greens, some watercress, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh mint, chopped Japanese cukes and some mixed sprouts.

The dressing was out of a bottle- yup, that's right. Paul Newman's low fat Oriental Dressing. Great stuff.

After the meat was grilled I let it sit for about ten minutes then sliced it into bite-sized pieces. I tossed the rest of the salad with dressing then added the meat and tossed again.

Delicious!

 
Spicy Shrimp Salad w/Mango and Grapes, Sweet-and-Sour Coconut Vinaigrette

Absolutely delicious is this recipe. It comes from Roy Yamaguchi's "Pacific Bounty" cookbook but the recipe belongs to Chef Philippe Padovani. The original recipe is for an appetizer so I will post this as I made it for the party. If you try it, don't tweak the sweet and sour coconut vinaigrette- it is perfect as is:

Spicy Shrimp Salad w/Mango and Grapes, Sweet-and-Sour Coconut Vinaigrette (serves 20-25)

Sweet and Sour Coconut Vinaigrette:
2 cups coconut milk
8 tbsp oriental chili paste
4 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
8 tbsp fish sauce
8 tbsp lime juice

Bring coconut milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

Garlic and shallots:
8 tbsp sliced garlic
8 tbsp sliced shallots
3/4 c vegetable oil

Saute the garlic and shallots in the oil until crispy. Remove from oil and set aside to dry.

Shrimp Salad:

4 Hayden or any other ripe Mangoes, peeled and sliced into chunks
12 cups halved green and black grapes (I used small whole grapes)
4 red chilies, finely diced (I used Thai peppers but any hot pepper will do)
about 70 cooked, shelled and deveined shrimp (I used 10-12/lb large shrimp)
1 cup chopped cilantro

Mix together all the salad ingredients and the sweet and sour coconut vinaigrette then toss with garlic, shallots and cilantro.

For serving: lettuce leaves and extra chopped Cilantro

 
Caesar Salad with homemade Croutons

Here is my favorite Caesar dressing and how I make croutons:

CAESAR SALAD
Makes 1 cup dressing and two big salads
3 garlic cloves
3 minced anchovy fillets
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice (or more)
1-1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 heads Romaine, torn up
homemade croutons (recipe follows)

Put garlic, anchovy, egg yolks, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, salt and lemon juice in food processor and process. Add 1 cup olive oil in a stream and process until thick. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Set aside.

To make croutons: Cut baguette into large cubes. In a frying pan, put about 1/3 cup olive oil and heat until hot. Add bread cubes and saute on both sides until brown. Sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese over the top of the croutons and saute another few minutes. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Mix greens and dressing and sprinkle with croutons.

 
Fudge-topped Brownies

This is the recipe CynupstateNY posted in T&T- I've made these often and they are ALWAYS a hit:

Fudge Topped Brownies

1 cup butter or margarine, melted (I use butter)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use really good quality cocoa- not Hershey's)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350º F.
In a large bowl, combine melted butter,
sugar, flour, unsweetened baking cocoa,
baking powder, eggs, milk, and vanilla;
beat well. Stir in chopped walnuts.
Spread in a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until the brownie
pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Meanwhile, melt semisweet chocolate chips
with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.
Immediately spread over the hot brownies.
Cool.
Makes 24 bars.

 
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake

For the strawberries I hulled and cut into quarters then sifted some powdered sugar over the top, mixed and let sit on the counter to macerate until the party.

My favorite shortcake recipe is from Betty Lessard who was the owner of Betty's Pies in Two Harbors, MN years ago. I tripled the recipe for the party and made larger shortcakes. Here it is:

Rich Shortcake

2 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 c butter
1/2 c half & half
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Sift dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Cut in the butter with fork or pastry cutter. Mix half & half and egg together. Lightly mix this into the dry ingredients just enough to moisten. Any more will make it tough.

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 6-8

 
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