Recipe Of The Day For Friday 8/20/10- Cookies And Cream Fudge

• 3 (6 ounce) packages white chocolate baking squares
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups coarsely crushed chocolate creme-filled sandwich cookies

Directions

1. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt white chocolate squares, sweetened condensed milk and salt. Remove from heat; stir in crushed cookies.
2. Spread evenly into wax-paper-lined 8-inch square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm.
3. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off paper and cut into squares. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Recipe Of The Day For Wednesday 8/18/10- Spicy Italian Pork Cutlets

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 boneless pork chops, pounded to 1/4 inch thick
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, and quickly sear on both sides. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, and saute the garlic about 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato, chicken broth, wine, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Return the pork chops to the skillet, and continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Serve pork with the tomato and broth mixture from the skillet.

Recipe Of The Day For Friday 8/13/10- Chocolate Nutella Cookies

• 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of Nutella
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix for 10 seconds.
3 Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda (do not skip this step as sifting eliminates clumps of cocoa). Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides at least once to ensure even mixing. Fold in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes.
4 Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 6 dozen.

Recipe Of The Day For Wednesday 8/11/10- Chocolate Palova with Rapberries

For the Meringue Base:

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• 6 large egg whites
• 2 cups superfine sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
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For the Toppings:

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• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups raspberries
• 1 to 2 ounces dark chocolate

Directions

Prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 9-inch-diameter circle on the paper with a pencil, tracing a round cake tin that size.

Flip the paper over so your meringue doesn't touch the pencil marks - you'll still be able to see the circle.

Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Add the chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.

Shape the meringue: Secure the parchment to the baking sheet with a dab of meringue under each corner. Mound the meringue onto the parchment within the circle, smoothing the sides and the top with a spatula.

Bake the meringue: Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.

Let it cool: Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely in the oven. When you'reready to serve, invert onto a big flatbottomed plate and peel off the parchment.

Decorate the Pavlova: Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on top. Coarsely grate the chocolate haphazardly over the top so that you get curls of chocolate rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious color and form to be obscured. You want the Pavlova to look like a frosted cake.

Recipe OF The Day For Monday 8/9/10- Devil's Food Cake

I'm declaring this week CHOCOLATE WEEK!

Frosting:

• 15 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup nonalkalized cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

To make the frosting: Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate, move the bowl gently to let the cream settle. Set the mixture aside until softened, about 4 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Cover the surface of the frosting with plastic wrap. Set aside and let set up at room temperature, about 2 hours.

To make the cake: Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment or wax paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar. Continue beating until light and smooth, about 4 minutes. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat at medium speed for 1 minute more. (Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl again, if needed.) With the mixer running at medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Combine the water and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture, about a 1/4 cup at a time. Carefully pour the hot liquid into the batter. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a large rubber spatula, finish combining the batter until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Lightly drop each pan onto the counter to settle the batter.

Set the pans on the middle rack in the oven. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans and the center springs back when touched lightly, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool the cakes, in the pans, on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake layers out of the pans and cool on the rack. (If not assembling the cake right away, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day, or freeze for up to 2 months.)

Assemble the Devil's Food Cake. Place 1 cake layer upside-down on a cake stand or flat plate. Scoop about 1/3 of the icing onto the center of the layer. Using a large, offset spatula, spread the icing evenly over the layer to the edges. Place the other cake layer, rounded-side up, on top. Evenly spread half of the remaining icing over the top, spreading any excess icing down the sides. Spread the remaining icing around the sides of the cake. Use the tip of the offset spatula to make a swirling pattern in the icing. Serve. Store under a cake dome or loosely wrapped with plastic, at room temperature, for up to 2 days.

Recipe Of The Day For Friday 8/6/10-Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I don't know what it's like in your part of the world, but here in New York it is SO hot and humid! Makes me want to stay inside by the air conditioner all day. And I definitely don't want to turn on the oven so this recipe is recipe is a perfect dinner for hot summer evenings!

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup shredded daikon radish
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1/4 cup bean sprouts
• 3 stalks (1/2 cup) scallions
• 1/4 cup Szechuan sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 head Bibb lettuce leaves

Directions

Split boneless chicken in half. If too thick, pound out to make thinner.
In a medium bowl, mix together radish, carrots, bean sprouts, and scallions. Add Szechuan sauce.
In a small bowl, mix together five-spice, cayenne, salt and pepper. Season chicken breasts lightly with rub. Cut the chicken into strips.
In a large skillet over high heat, add the grapeseed oil. Once hot, sear the chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side. Add butter and lemon to pan and baste the chicken for another minute. Remove chicken to a platter to let cool. Once cooled, dice or shred the chicken.

Place a spoonful of the vegetable mixture and the shredded chicken onto each leaf of lettuce. Roll and serve.

Recipe Of The Day For Wednesday 8/4/10- Chicken Roulades

• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 10 bacon slices (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• Lemon pepper seasoning to taste (or ground black pepper with a little lemon zest)
• 6 Tbsp grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
• 1 Tbps olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Method

1 Working in batches, cook the bacon over medium heat in an ovenproof heavy skillet, until lightly brown but still flexible (not crisp). Place the bacon on paper towels to drain. Cook the shallots in the remaining bacon fat over low heat, stirring, until softened. Transfer shallots with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and leave any fat remaining in skillet. Preheat oven to 300°F.

2 Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With smooth side of a meat pounder pound each breast to 1/8-inch thickness. Discard plastic from boned side of each breast. Sprinkle chicken with lemon pepper (or ground black pepper and a little lemon zest) and salt. Place 2 1/2 slices of bacon lengthwise (parallel with grain of flesh) along middle of each breast. Top with shallots and Parmesan. Using plastic wrap to help you, tightly roll up each breast lengthwise, tucking in the ends to enclose the filling. Secure seams with wooden toothpicks.

3 Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to reserved fat in skillet and heat over medium high heat. Brown roulades on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer the skillet to middle of oven and bake roulades until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. (Note: we found that our skillet didn't fit in our oven, so we transfered the roulades to a smaller pan.)

4 Transfer chicken to a plate with tongs and keep warm, covered with aluminum foil. Pour off fat from skillet. (Careful! The handle is hot, use an oven mitt.) Add wine to the skillet and deglaze over medium high heat, scraping up brown bits. Boil wine until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Add garlic and butter. Cook mixture over medium low heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour and cook roux, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth and cream and bring to a boil, whisking. Simmer the sauce, whisking, 2 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Keep sauce warm. Remove the wooden toothpicks from roulades and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Spoon some sauce in center of each of 4 plates and arrange roulade slices decoratively on sauce.

Recipe Of The Day For Monday 8/2/10- Gazpacho With Lime Chicken

• 1 large shallot, minced
• Juice of 2 limes, plus wedges for serving
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds chicken cutlets
• 1/2 cup large-cut croutons
• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 bell pepper (any color), stemmed, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat a grill to high. Soak the minced shallot in cold water, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a shallow dish; add the chicken and turn to coat. Grill the chicken until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Let cool, then slice.

Crush half of the croutons; set aside. Soak the remaining croutons in 1/4 cup water, 5 minutes, then squeeze out the water and put in a blender. Drain the shallot and add to the blender along with half each of the diced tomatoes, cucumber and bell pepper. With the motor running, drizzle in the remaining 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add 2 cups ice and blend until smooth. Stir in half of the cilantro and the remaining lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup among bowls. Top with the chicken, the remaining tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper and cilantro and the crushed croutons. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the lime wedges.

Recipe Of The Day For Wednesday 7/28/10- Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce with Penne Pasta

10 medium cloves of garlic plus 4 tablespoons minced garlic (divided)
1 quart whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Roasted roma tomatoes (see recipe)
6 tablespoons pine nuts
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound penne pasta, cooked, drained,
6 to 8 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese, or to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Roast garlic by peeling and separating the 10 cloves but leaving skins on. Place on baking sheet and roast at 300 degrees 20 to 25 minutes (less in a toaster oven), or until cloves are soft and tender and able to slip easily out of their skins. Puree garlic in blender. Transfer to medium pot and add cream, salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until mixture reduces by about a fourth. Set aside but keep warm.

Make roasted tomatoes; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. At this point, dish will be made in two batches, unless you have an extra large saute pan.

Toast pine nuts in non-stick skillet over low heat until golden brown, stirring frequently.

In large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add half the minced garlic and saute until brown, about 2 minutes. Add half the toasted pine nuts, then half the reserved garlic cream sauce. Prepare pasta and immediately add half the pasta to pan. Stir to combine. Add half the basil and half the grated Parmesan cheese and mix gently. Remove from pan and repeat process with remaining ingredients.

Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese and decoratively surround each serving with the four quarters from 1 of the roasted tomatoes. Makes 6 servings.

Roasted roma tomatoes

6 roma tomatoes, quartered
Olive oil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put tomatoes in center of cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Lay thyme sprigs over tomatoes. Sprinkle with garlic and bake in preheated oven 20 minutes until tomatoes are soft but not mushy.

Recipe Of The Day For Monday 7/26/10-Homemade Pop Tarts

• Cooking Time: 25 to 30 minutes
• Servings: 9
• Preparation Time: 1 hour
• For the pastry crust:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks, or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• For the cinnamon sugar filling:
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• For the strawberry filling:
• ¾ cup strawberry jam (or whatever flavor you’d like)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (to brush on pastry)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the cinnamon sugar filling by whisking the ingredients together.

2. If using the strawberry filling, prepare by whisking together the cornstarch and water, and then combine with the jam in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. To make the crust, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work in the butter until it is the size of peas and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. Whisk together the egg and milk and add to the dough. Mix together with a fork until everything is evenly moistened. Knead briefly on a floured surface, if necessary, until the dough comes together.

4. Divide the dough in half. (At this point you can wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.) If you refrigerate the dough, let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling out. Roll out one piece of dough to about 1/8-inch thick, in a 9½ by 12½ rectangle. Using a sharp knife, pastry wheel or bench scraper, trim the rectangle to 9×12 inches. Cut the sheet of dough into nine 3×4 rectangles. Using a spatula, transfer the rectangles to a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Brush the lightly beaten egg on each of the rectangles. Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, leaving a ½-inch of space around the edges.

5. Roll out and cut the second piece of dough in the exact same manner as you did the first. One at a time, place a second rectangle of dough on top of the nine assembled ones. Using your fingers, press around the seams of the dough to make sure they are sealed. Press the tines of a fork around the edges of the rectangles. Prick the tops of the rectangles in multiple spots to allow steam to escape.

6. Refrigerate the pan with the pastries (you don’t need to cover them) for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving. Store pastries in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

* Note 1: Each filling recipes makes enough for a whole recipe (9 pop-tarts). If you make to make a few different filling, just scale back the amounts for the fillings.

* Note 2: Some additional filling ideas: Chocolate chips, Nutella, different jam flavors, dulce de leche, etc. The possibilities are endless!

* Note 3: If your kitchen runs on the warm side, you will need to refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out so that the butter doesn’t start to melt.

*Recipe Credit: browneyedbaker.com