RECIPE: Yellow Heirloom Tomato Sauce

RECIPE: Chedder and Carrot Cheese Log Ball

Carrot and Cheddar Cheese Roll

1 package Cream Cheese
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup cheddar, finely shredded
Salt
Pepper

Bring the cream cheese up to room temperature. Combine all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir them all together either with a large spoon or with a hand mixer. Form into a ball. Place on a sheet of saran wrap and roll into a log. Let sit in the refrigerator about 30 minutes so it becomes firmish and serve.

RECIPE: Quiche

RECIPE: Lavendar Chocolate Souffles

ENTERTAINING: The Grinch!

So, I sewed up this Grinch Costume! Well sort of. I bought the slippers, gloves and mask. The mask is really scary but it was scarier at first. It had yellow teeth and yellow eyes which made it too demonic. So, I found some paint at about 2 in the morning before the party and painted them white. A bit better. Not much but worth the effort. I sewed the green furry pants and the green furry neck cover. I had a red fleece hoodie but I cut the hood off and cut off thte hand pouch. Then I sewed on all those medium sized pom-poms. It came out perfectly. My twin club's Holiday Family party was a Grinch theme. Merry Grinchmas! Thank God one of the moms volunteered to wear this very hot costume.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Twas the Night Before Christmas

PHOTOGRAPHS: Red Peppers

QUICK COOK RECIPE: Meatloaf with Taco Seasoning

QUICK COOK RECIPE: Vegetable Cheese Enchiladas

RECIPE: How To Make Pesto Sauce

QUICK COOK RECIPE: Pudding Pops

ON FOOD: How to Peel a Tomato

RECIPE: Foie Gras Bouchees

Foie Gras in Puff Pastry Bouches
Makes 18

2 9” x 12” sheet puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 anjou pear
1 cup framboise liqueur
½ block rougie foie gras

Pour the framboise into a high walled saucepan. Bring to a boil. Be careful and stand back, the liqueur might ignite it the walls of the saucepan aren’t high enough. But, if it does, just let the alcohol burn off. Lower heat to a simmer and reduce to 1/4 cup.

To make the bouches, place puff pastry on cutting board. With 1 ½” biscuit cutter, cut 18 rounds and place on a baking sheet. Cut another 18 rounds then with a ¾” biscuit cutter or apple corer cut the center out of the rounds to make rings. Place the rings on top of the rounds and press together. Brush the pastry with egg wash. Prick the center, not the rings, with a fork all over it. Place the baking sheet in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400 F. Once it reaches temperature, place the baking sheet in oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven. Reduce temperature to 350 F. Pierce the center again with a fork and push the center down. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core the pear. Slice into 1/8-1/4” pieces. Cut rounds with the small biscuit cutter or the apple corer. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and push the pear rounds into the center of the puff pastry bouches. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the foie gras into thin slices and cut into rounds with the small biscuit cutter or the apple corer. Take the bouchees out of the oven and place the foie gras rounds on top of the pear. Place on serving platter. Drizzle with framboise syrup. Serve.

RECIPE: Pate with Fig Puree

Pate with Fig Puree
Makes 36

36 Mini toasts
1 block Rougie Foie Gras
3 tablespoons Fig Puree

Place the mini toasts on serving platter. Slice the foie gras thinly, about 1/8” thick, into squares that will fit onto the mini toasts. Place squares of foie gras onto the mini toasts. Drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of fig puree on top of each foie gras mini toast. Serve.

RECIPE: Roast Pears

Roast Pears

RECIPE: Roast Goose with Pears

Alsatian Goose with Pears
Serves 6

1 12-pound goose
Salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
8 Pears, peeled, each cut into quarters
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cup William Pear Liqueur
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon flour

Preheat to 325°F. Remove giblets and neck from cavity. Pull out any lumps of fat. Using a sharp fork, pierce the skin of the goose all over. Place the fork almost parallel to the skin so the skin, not the meat is pricked. Rinse goose inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle inside and out with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon ginger. Make a few slits in the skin place garlic slices into slits. Place the carrots, onion, and celery into the body cavity. Truss the bird. Place goose on rack, breast side up, in large roasting pan. Place the orange slices on top of the bird.

Roast goose 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with drippings and remove some of the excess fat that has dripped down; reserve 6 tablespoons fat. When the wings begin to brown, cover with tinfoil. Turn goose over, breast side down. Cover the wings with tinfoil. The roasting pan will have accumulated lots of fat; spoon the fat into a metal bowl and reserve. Roast another 1 1/2 hours until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. The temperature will increase to 180°F.

Meanwhile prepare the pears so they can be roasted with the goose for one hour. Toss pears and lemon juice in large bowl. Pour 6 tablespoons goose fat into large baking dish. Place the pears in baking dish and toss with fat. Add sugar, 1/2 cup liqueur and remaining ginger to pears; toss. Bake pears alongside goose until very tender and golden, about 1 hour. Spoon the pears into a serving dish with a slotted spoon to reserve as much liquid as possible. Pour liquid into a saucepan, add stock, remaining liqueur. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half a cup. Sprinkle in flour while whisking and continue to cook a few more minutes so it is slightly thickened. Serve goose with caramelized pears.

RECIPE: Christmas Ham

Glazed Ham Recipe

EVENT: Round Up - Fall Salads - Recipes

I am so very sorry that this round up was so late. Life got seriously in the way! My husband is feeling much better and is doing really well so far. I had two holiday parties to organize and they went off without a hitch. Then I myself collapsed with a cold for a few days. Now I am back to blogging a bit and thought I best get this round up, well, rounded up.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this little event. There all look delicious and I want to try them all!


Blog: A French Foodie in the City
Recipe: Warm Rattes Salad

Aurore, brings us a potato salad with a simple vinaigrette. I had never heard of the Ratte Potato from France. To me it looks like a fingerling potato and from her description it sounds like one too. But you know that there are loads of little differences in all things on this bountiful earth.


Blog: Kitchen Inferno
Recipe: Autumn Salad of Mesclun with St Andre and Hot Walnut Dressing

Mickey has made a salad that I could eat all the time. You just have to mention St. Andre cheese and I drool. I like to eat it with pears after supper. But now I am going to have it for supper.


Blog: Eat Drink Talk
Recipe: Salad of Red Grapes, Feta, Rosemary and Pumpkin Seeds
Jennifer does not have an actual blog but she runs a cooking school in England. She has made this delicious sounding salad. She says that "the combination of the sweet grapes, the salty feta
and the rosemary might seem unusual but it really should be tried. It's especially delicious if the pumpkin seeds are still warm when you assemble the salads."


Blog: Cooking in Westchester the flavorful, spicy way
Recipe: Persimmon, Apple Salad with a Ginger Lemon Vinaigrette

Rinku has made a salad with Persimmon, a quintessential fall fruit. I bet the ginger lemon vinaigrette rounds out the smooth musky flavor of the fruit.


Blog: Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity
Recipe: 1,000 Calorie Salad

Dolores who mentions the salad making pitfalls on Top Chef makes what she calls her 1,000 calorie salad. I had to laugh because I love this kind of salad. Toasted nuts err, I mean candied nuts and all the fixings!


Blog: Savoury Snack
Recipe: Pink Fingertip Salad

Amanda made a scrumptious Beet & Feta Tabbouleh salad. A classic combination of flavors. The sweet beets and the sharp Feta are a perfect match.


Blog: Küchenlatein
Recipe: Pear Coleslaw Salad

Ulrike made a delicious coleslaw in which she added pears. This is a very inventive addition which I will have to try as soon as I can.


Blog: Jumbo Empanadas
Recipe: Roast Beet Salad

Brilynn joins us in the love of beets during the fall. I like the idea of adding fennel seeds to salad. That would add a nice twist.


Blog: Up the Creek without a PatL
Recipe: Wilted Spinach with Warm Bacon Dressing

Pat makes a salad that I would call comfort food. When it is a really cold fall day and you are thinking it could be winter but the calender says it is still fall, then this is the salad for you.


Blog: Gluten-Free By The Bay
Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash, Marconna Almond and Pomegranate Salad

By The Bay roasts up some squash for this salad and sprinkles pomegranate all over. Marconna Almonds are sometiems hard to find but they are worth it.


Blog: Married ...with dinner
Recipe: Pear and Arugula Salad

Anita made one hearty salad but did not care for it which is surprising coming becuase it sounded delcious. But she made a new salad and came up with something she really liked, I think adding the guanciale is what did it.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Roasted Yellow Peppers

RECIPE: Meringue Cups with Fruit and Nutella

Meringue Cups with Fruit and Nutella
Serves 10

10 Meringue Cups
10 tablespoons Nutella
20 tablespoons Whipped Cream
20 tablespoons Berries

I know it is a bit weird to have everything in tablespoons like that but it helps know how much to put on each meringue cup. It is one of the easiest recipes ever! And it is totally delicious.

You can either make the meringue cups yourself or buy them at a nice grocery store. Spoon in 1 tablespoon of Nutella into each cup. Spoon some whipped cream on top. Then spoon 2 tablespoons of beries on top.

QUICK COOK: Pesto Mac n Cheese

1 Box Annies Organic Mac n Cheese with White Cheese
2 tablespoons pesto sauce

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Make sure that you don't use the box with the orange cheese. I really don't think it would taste as good. Stir in the pesto sauce and voila! You are done. Toss in some chopped tomatoes for extra yummy healthiness.